The Species of Blessing Avenue Now Available!

Like the title says, my latest novella is available in print at FurPlanet (http://furplanet.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=572) and on Amazon for the Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088GX2EO)

Now, here’s where I ask you guys for some assistance. Don’t worry, it won’t cost you a cent! On June 10th, I plan to make the Kindle edition free for a day. I call upon all of you to download a copy on that day. I want to see if being in the top ten will make a difference in sales.

So help a geekboy out, will you? Thanks in advance!

2012 Readathon: May

Novels

Heaven by Mur Lafferty Hell by Mur Lafferty Earth by Mur Lafferty Wasteland by Mur Lafferty War by Mur Lafferty Hell to Pay By Simon R. Green Matt Forbeck’s Brave New World by Matt Forbeck Guided Toward Salvation (Akela) by Ben Goodridge The Nex by Tim Pratt Alone on the Edge by Patrick Stutzman In Wilder Lands by Jim Galford Robyn’s Egg by Mark Souza

Short Stories

John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner by Susanna Clarke So Deep That the Bottom Could Not Be Seen by Genevieve Valentine The Go-Slow by Nnedi Okorafor Too Fatal a Poison by Krista Hoeppner Leahy The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Robert Silverberg The Secret of Calling Rabbits by Wendy N. Wagner The Wizards of Perfil by Kelly Link Stormfront by M.C.A. Hogarth Money for Sorrow, Made Joy by M.C.A. Hogarth Freedom, Spiced and Drunk by M.C.A. Hogarth Unspeakable by M.C.A. Hogarth

2012 Readathon: April

Novels:

Twilightwatch by Sergei Lukyaneko 7 & 7 by Greg Stolze 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Short Stories:

Hearts of Ice by Patrick O’Duffy Shrimp by Greg Stolze Watching the Fireworks by Patrick O’Duffy The Recent 86 Tram Disaster as Outlined in a Series of Ten Character Studies by Patrick O’Duffy The Comfort Shack by Mark Souza Neath Lily Pond by Mark Souza The Diary of Horatio White by Mark Souza

The Species of Blessing Avenue Concept Cover

The Species of Blessing Avenue: Concept Cover

Concept art for The Species of Blessing Avenue cover!

It’s drawn by ninjav, and I think he did a great job.

Of course, people who pledge get to see the final cover (both front and back), so if you want to pledge, you only have five days left!

Here’s a handy link for those who might want to pledge:

http://kck.st/H7TewB

The Species of Blessing Avenue Bookmarks Concept

The Species of Blessing Avenue: Bookmarks Sketch!

Here are the concept sketches for the bookmarks to my novella The Species of Blessing Avenue, as drawn by Stagor55.

People who pledge will get to see the finished art, so why not pledge today?

2012 Readathon: March!

Novels:

Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup

Shotgun Gravy by Chuck Wendig

Somebody Comes to Town, Somebody Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow

Timeless by Gail Carriger

Short Stories:

Skylands: Large Living by Sylvan Scott

Christmas in NeverEarth by Sylvan Scott

The Rose Petal Thief by Sylvan Scott

One-Click Banishment by Jeremiah Tolbert

Goblintown Justice by Matt Forbeck

The Ereshkigal Working by Jonathan L Howard

Wizard’s Apprentice by Delia Sherman

The Sorcerer Minus by Jefferey Ford

Home Again, Home Again by Cory Doctorow

Nimbly and the Dimension Hoppers by Cory Doctorow

Life So Dear or Peace So Sweet by C.C. Finlay

Beasts of Burden by Sylvan Scott

Skylands: Storm Warning by Sylvan Scott

The Descent by Patrick O’Duffy

The Clockwork Changeling by Sylvan Scott

Seven Things

My friend Vince did a meme regarding seven things. So I took the challenge, and he gave me seven things to talk about.

“How you met Aaron”

Aaron is my boyfriend, for those of you who don’t know.

It all started with an email. A fan email. He wanted to let me know how much he loved my writings and fell in love with one character in particular. So I responded, and he responded to that…

…and I didn’t reply. I forgot to, and when he sent another email two weeks later, I thought it was brand new.

Of course, I realized my error, and one thing led to another. We started emailing each other. We started talking on the phone. He came to visit for a week, and then we were hooked.

“Killing characters”

Yeah, somehow I’m known for killing off my characters even though I don’t really kill off that many. It’s not done on a whim–if it serves the story, then I’ll do it, but only after thinking of it for a long time. One of the prime examples is the death of Soulfighter, a character I loved to write about in Gaming Guardians and Powergamers. Her death was a natural flow of events, and she died a heroine’s death. Her death meant something.

Of course, that doesn’t mean every death means something, but it should serve to further the story. That said, I hate killing off characters.

“Baristas”

I was a barista for a while. Unfortunately it was for a Starbucks, which has no clue as to what a barista is. It soured me on ever wanting to work for a coffee shop again, but at least I got a novel out of it. (also, see jackals)

“Jackals”

I’ve always loved Anubis, who is a jackal headed god. That said, I love the mythological black jackals. I created one for Second Life and after working at Starbucks I named him Venti. I even wrote a novel about his misadventures, and people seem to like the character.

Now, my question for Vince is will he ever read that book?

“Leather pants”

Unfortunately I’ve never worn leather pants, but I have worn vinyl pants. Stuff was skintight, lemme tell you.

“The gym”

At the tail end of January 2011 I finally started lifting weights. I’d always wanted to exercise, but I could come up with any excuse not to. One day, I decided to make myself a promise: If I could work out for four weeks, I’d try the dieting, the supplements, the works. I succeed! And ever since then I’ve been hitting the gym like clockwork. Vince hates me for my white genes, since I have supposedly gotten bigger than him in a year’s time.

I think he secretly like it, though. I know I don’t mind him checking me out.

“Best reaction you’ve gotten from fans over something you did in your comics”

I would say that one guy’s irrational hatred of Carpe Diem would be the best reaction. But I’ll say my boyfriend’s fan mail over Brahma in Gaming Guardians. The Alex story. You know the one, GG fans. Yeah, that one.

A Brief Review: Goblintown Justice

Goblintown Justice is a short story by Matt Forbeck, and can be found for free over at Smashwords. It’s set in his “Shotguns & Sorcery” universe, which will be a trilogy of novels.

“Ex-adventurer Max Gibson knows he’s found trouble when he stumbles out of his favorite tavern and into a murder scene, but when he realizes that both the victim and the blood-spattered orc kneeling over her are old friends of his, it gets far worse. Arrested as an accomplice to the crime, Gibson must work fast to find out what really happened and clear his name before his still-living friend pays the ultimate price.”

That’s the premise for the story. By reading the story you learn a lot about the setting, and it left me hungry for more. The mystery of who killed the victim is resolved fairly quickly, and logically at that. Matt Forbeck is an excellent storyteller, but I knew that going into the story.

If you’re a fan of fantasy settings that have a twist to it, Goblintown Justice is the story for you.

2012 Readathon: February!

Novels:

Amortals by Matt Forbeck

Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth by Simon R Green

Short stories:

If You Go Into the Woods by David Gaughran

Mommy Issues of the Dead by TA Pratt

2012 Readathon: January!

In an effort to post something at least once a month, here are the books I have read in January:

What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz

Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green

Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon R. Green

Sourcery by Terry Prachett

Nightingale’s Lament by Simon R. Green

Red Sails in the Fallout: A Gamma World Novel by Paul Kidd

Hex in the City by Simon R. Green

Paths Not Taken by Simon R. Green

Wild Cards by George R.R. Martin and others

Deadlands: Perdition’s Daughter by Shane Hensley

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Deadlands: Independence Day

The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton

Let’s not forget the short stories I have read in January!

I Cthulhu by Neil Gaiman

Naked Angel by Joe R. Lansdale (from L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories)

Street Wizard by Simon R. Green (from Way of the Wizard)

The Old Gray Dragon by Ben Goodridge