Fast and Furious
OK, so here's the deal. I just spent the last … I lost track of how many hours... finishing the publishing details getting my first novella set to print and sell. My blood sugar is bottoming out at the moment, but I'm happy and excited. In short... well... this post will be short today. (I know, it's bad form to repeat a word in a sentence, that's just where I'm at right now. Sorry.)
So "The Nine Lives of Benjamin Finch" is a short story (pushing novella length) that I originally wrote with the intent of submitting to periodicals to help me gain exposure. After researching the details of that concept, I realized that I wasn't comfortable with giving up my publishing rights for this material to any ONE magazine or periodical, especially when I know nothing about them. (Seriously, most of them, if they print it, they claim it, and it's a lengthy and expensive process to reclaim those publishing rights. You can't publish it anywhere else from then on. It "belongs" to them. F*** 'em. They can't have it. I have bigger plans for this material.)
"Nine Lives" introduces us to Benjamin Finch, a character with a unique problem and a rather colorful past. He's currently stuck in the study of a dread necromancer's tower, and he's about to need the help of a very unlikely ally to escape if he wants to survive. This stand alone story takes place in Chalisaria where the rest of the books take place. It shares the same style of writing and humor and makes for a pretty good sample for anybody not ready to commit time to 400+ pages. Readers of the first two books will see obvious references that they will recognize, but it is not required to have read the first two books to understand what's going on in this short story.
"Nine Lives" clocks in at only around 35 pages, but it's a fun and quick read. It's available in print via Amazon (and eventually most of your favorite retail outlets) and should be in e-book format within the next few days (if not sooner). I just ordered a case of print copies so they *SHOULD* be available when I go to Manhattan on September 8th and for certain to TopCon on September 15th and 16th. (Here's hoping. Crossing everything.)
UPCOMING EVENTS!!!
Saturday, September 8, 2018 - Meet and Greet - Books A Million (BAM), Manhattan Town Centre Mall, Manhattan, KS. 2-4 PM. (Signing and Sales Event)
Saturday/Sunday, September 15/16, 2018 - TopCon Geek Expo - Kansas Expo Centre (Ag Hall), Topeka, KS.
9AM to 6 PM (Convention)
Also, if you're wondering where the cover art came from, Mae McIntosh (who also did "Wolfkin"'s cover) was the artist for this project. OUTSTANDING JOB, MAE!!!
