Full Steam Ahead!

Today I typed the words "The End" and it was a wonderful feeling.  The first draft of my next novel (right now I'm still titling it Predatory Animals) is finished.  I'm going to let it ferment for a few weeks then start the revisions.

I had a really good time writing this novel.  It came from a very small idea and blossomed right before my eyes.  There were moments when I hated to stop typing because I wanted to see what came next.  Stephen King describes this experience with the analogy of a paleontologist discovering a fossil in the ground and then slowly and carefully brushing away the dirt to see what kind of animal is hiding below.  I can find no better description.

It is my plan to have Predatory Animals go live by the end of January or the beginning of February.  If all goes well I will also be releasing a collection of short stories, titled Contemplations of Dinner, at the same time.

My pockets are bit empty these days, so I am going to try my luck with a Kickstarter campaign (as I mentioned in my previous post).  In the beginning I had mixed feelings about this path, but after some heavy research and discussing it with other authors--some who have used Kickstarter and some that haven't--I feel much better about it.  It is not about begging for funding or panhandling.  It is really no different than taking pre-orders for your novel and running a reward oriented campaign to stir up interest in you and your work.

I will be starting my Kickstarter campaign sometime in the next week or thereabouts, so keep your eyes pealed.  I'm going to be offering some simple, but nice rewards.  If you can donate I will be forever in your debt.  If you can't or won't, I understand.  Perhaps you could help me spread the word, though.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Full steam ahead!