See me talk about revenge in fiction at http://pensfatales.com

I don’t do that. People still come, and I feel bad about it. Coming up with posts that don’t sound pretentious is hard.

Anyway, here’s an update on me. Since it’s my effing site.

Ford Kelly 2, SKINLESS, is with my agent. I can’t remember if I like the book or not. I think I do.

I’ve started Ford Kelly 3, which had a title but it sounded like a romantic comedy so now it doesn’t have a title. I have most of the first draft outlined, more than I’ve ever done before. I usually don’t work that way but this story seemed to click. I am more excited about it than any book I’ve written so far, which is saying something. It has some Sci Fi elements. I don’t know if that’s allowed. Duane Swierczynski wrote THE WHEELMAN, a “normal” crime novel. His follow up, THE BLONDE, while not a direct sequel, is set in the same universe. It features some science fiction. I figured if he can do it, I can.

Anyway, the idea is too cool to pass up, so I’ll wait until someone tells me to stop.

I’m reading NUMB by Sean Ferrell. It is amazing. I suggest you go order it right now. By suggest I mean you should do it or suffer dire consequences.

I’m excited about finishing this book sometime in the spring. After, I’ll have to look at the four or five books I’ve got brewing, and pick a direction. So much good stuff. If Kelly gets his own series, great. Three books would feel complete, but there’s always room for more. He’s an interesting guy. Can’t wait for you to meet him.

In early March I’m guest blogging at Pens Fatales. Look for that. It’s about revenge. I should probably finish writing it.

I’ll try to check in here more often. I am paying for the damn thing.

Instead, this will be called THINGS THAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR.

Let’s begin:

In 2009, I was introduced to crime fiction. I discovered the authors Charlie Huston, Duane Swierczynski, and Josh Bazell. I picked up Beat the Reaper on a whim and fell in love. The three authors listed above (with a few others) inspired me to try my hand at crime fiction, putting the urban fantasy stuff in a drawer. Good riddance.

With the finish of SKINLESS at midnight on Chrismat Eve, I completed three books this year. Each one took exactly four months. I did not plan that. I hope that pace continues into 2010, since I have two books right now warring to get out of my head. One is Ford Kelly #3 and the other is a science fiction/fantasy type book thing. Both promise to kick ass. The two math classes I’m taking next semester promise to kick mine.

This year I got an agent. That was pretty cool.

This year I went to Bouchercon and got to meet a boatload of kickass writers. I hung out with Patrick Lee most of the time, not realizing until December that I am a HUGE fan. Seriously, THE BREACH will own you.

Hanging out with Janet Reid was incredible. Imagine following someone’s blog for a year, combing over it for tips on how to write queries and break into the business. Now imagine going out to a fancy restaurant with that person, and having them buy you dinner. And drinks. Learning more about the community firsthand. I still haven’t gotten over it.

I got to know one of my writer heroes, Jeff Somers, a little better. In January I was a fanboy who managed to get a copy of the last page of the original draft of The Electric Church from him. He MAILED it to me. I framed it and hung it above my bookshelves. Now we share an agent.

Thanks to Twitter, I have a lot of new writer friends, and with the help of Bill Cameron, Jeff Somers, and Sean Ferrell, created Team TEAM. I love them all.

I got closer to finishing school. Hoping for a million dollar book deal so I can quit early.

Some other stuff happened. It’s all boring. I forgot why I started making this post in the first place.

Actually, that’s one of the reasons.

I love and appreciate her because she gave me a second chance.

In the fall of 08, I was an urban fantasy writer who was about to write his third book of the year. I hated urban fantasy, and wanted to do something fresh and fun.

Then I found a book with a kickass cover, THE ELECTRIC CHURCH. I read it. The attitude and first person perspective hooked me. While not strictly crime fiction, it was my first encounter with an antihero I actually liked. I wanted to write stuff like this.

More importantly, I wanted Jeff Somers’ agent.

That spring I wrote a superhero novel with an Avery-esque character. It was brilliant. No really. I’d been following Janet’s blog and queryshark, hoping to find some insight I could use to sway her.

I queried for THE FIRST RULE OF HEROISM. Janet rejected me the next day. I disagreed with that, because I wanted her to be my agent.

So I wrote another book, true crime fiction this time. A book I thought she would like. I submitted the query to queryshark and got a request the next day. Send this ms to me! she said.

Which I would’ve done had I been more than 60 pages through the final draft.

I busted out the rest of the book. The girl I was seeing said “So long” since I didn’t do anything but write. I got a full request from Janet Reid, dammit!

So I submitted the manuscript. I felt feverish. I got a reply saying it might take awhile to hear back. Cool, I started doing coke to keep my mind off it. That part’s a joke.

I got a reply that Saturday. She really wanted to love it.

Heart pounding, I read on.

Attached was the first two chapters, edited. Could I apply those edits to the entire ms?

Shit yes I could. It was simple mistakes I needed someone to point out to me. Things like “Uncle Martin is sitting against the wall . . .” became “Uncle Martin sits against the wall.” I spent the next 24 hours doing several passes, cutting more than 2000 bullshit words that acted as a leg cramp for the pace.

I submitted at 10 pm. She read at midnight. Got my call the next day. Went on submission the day after.

She could’ve said Not for me, but she didn’t. She gave me a chance. Those two edited chapters really opened my eyes to mistakes that could’ve become lifelong had I not caught them this early.

Also, I typed this on a phone. That’s how much I appreciate her.

Special thanks to Kody for creating Agent Appreciation Day!

Scroll down, it’s the second story.

It may or may not star a very minor character from my novel.

Here’s the link:

http://pulpmetalmagazine.webs.com/fiction.htm

http://lit1033.com/2009/12/03/thoughts-of-my-father-by.aspx

It’s about a superhero who loses his powers. Under a thousand words, so it won’t take too much time. Starts around 36 minutes through the podcast.

I’m still knee-deep in the final draft of Kelly #2, which I’m calling SKINLESS. It features HIV and gas tankers. It’s brutal and fun. When I finish this month, expect regular posts again.

As such, I haven’t been posting. That’s bad, since I’m the new guy and it’s nice that a regular amount of people are coming to my site every day.

So, yeah. What do you guys want to hear about? I’m pretty much an expert in everything except deep sea diving.

Some authors choose not to describe their main characters. Particularly if it’s a first person story.

Great, good. Don’t care.

What I care about is when the author decides to describe their character forty pages into the story.

Or sixty pages.

Or, gasp, one hundred and twenty pages.

Or, for the love of eff, in the second book of a series when the character wasn’t described at all in book one.

Wait, I say. I’ve already developed a version of this character in my head. He has black hair, not sandy hair. He has a strong jaw? What’s a strong jaw. HE’S SHORT? WTF?

Maybe I’m the only one, but this tears me out of a book.

Either give me a picture early on, or let me make up my own.

Leaving your readers wanting more.

That tingly feeling you get when you close a book. A chill. You think about it day’s later, a little sad that it’s over. The final scene has resonated with you.

Unfortunately, they never tell you how to achieve that.

I came across a perfect example while finishing up MY DEAD BODY by Charlie Huston. Through five books we follow Joe Pitt through hell. If the guy gets a break, it doesn’t last long.

SPOILERS:

After all is said and done, Joe grabs his girl from the Enclave HQ and hooks up with a Vampyre biker gang. They prepare to ride out of Manhattan, to seek refuge as Vampyres are revealed to the world.

These two paragraphs are near the end:

A few blocks from the bridge I pull to the curb outside a deli. When I come out I have five packs of Luckys. I peel one open and stick a smoke in my face and my girl digs my old Zippo from my jacket pocket and gives me a light.

Some moments, they’re worth what you go through to get there.

__________________________________________________________

WOW!

WOW!

THAT’S RESONANCE.

Some moments, they’re worth what you go through to get there. We know exactly what Joe Pitt is talking about. The road ahead will be hard for him and his kind, but that moment is frozen in time. It was all worth it.

(Click twice for full size.)