Things continue to roll on here in the dark corner where I sit and work in.  Southern Devils has now surpassed the word count benchmark to be considered a full novel by the Horror Writers Association, so I suppose I have written my first novel (this was not intended to be novel…or my first, but here we are).  The editor is already in place and I have set myself a deadline of July 31 to deliver the completed manuscript.  From there, we will work through a couple of drafts and it will be ready to submit this fall.

You know what?

I’m really scared about it.  Moving from short story, to novella, and onto novel has been a rough transition.  The waiting is going to be the worst, but I have a short list of presses that I want to take at shot at.

What will you do after you type The End?

Why I’m going to drink a six-pack and smoke a cigar.  The happiness of being done will be short-lived however, because I have to start work on the sequel quickly.  I have the research in place and I plan on doing it a lot faster than this one went.

So, right now alt-history zombies will consume my next year or so.  There a few other projects I’m working on with some other writers and a few stories I owe that I’m still going to write.  Short stories were fun, but I need to kick this thing in gear and go for broke if I want to make anything happen.  If a call really speaks to me and pays, I’ll consider it.  My yearly goal of ten new published shorts is going away next year as I shift focus to the follow-up novel.  Once it is complete, the outline and the first four chapters of another novel is ready to go.  In a way, the die has been cast and I’ve crossed my own personal Rubicon River.

There is no going back, all chips are going on the table, and let’s kick some ass.  I hope you enjoy the ride…

Oh yeah, the cool picture up top, I almost forgot.  That is the original artwork that was produced for my story, “Midnight Rider”, which will be in a charity anthology later this year.  Big shout out to Anthony J. Rapino for the opportunity to pick up this piece for my personal collection.  It is matted, framed, and being enjoyed.  Another big shout out to Nicolas Caesar for the awesome piece he did for my story.  I thank both of you very much.

So before I bid goodnight, I’ll leave you with some food for thought.  What do you get when you let 13 horror authors loose to wreck literary mayhem?  That my friends is all you get for now, except those involved are superb and the book is going to knock your socks off.

Goodnight…