As you may have noticed, in the midst of edits for Of Cogs & Corsets, planning the trip to FenCon in September, and launching a brand new podcast (more on that later), I have decided to finally upgrade my blog to Thesis. So please, mind the dust and ever-growing changes as I try to get this site into some kind of order.

A lot is going on with me right now, hence the lack of blogposts here. Right now, one of the biggest developments for me as a writer (and now, I guess, independent publisher?) is my jump into the digital arena.

Well more like push. Between Pip and Laurie, they both got sick of me waiting at the end of the high dive.

Of course, digital publishing is nothing new to me, if you consider the Tales from the Archives podcast and my previous podiobooks as digital (audio) publications; but it’s a fact that not everyone listens to podcast fiction. Some still prefer to physically read what I write, and I’m more than okay with that. So with Pip working the fu at Smashwords and Amazon, we’re releasing 99¢ short stories, and I’ve got two on the market with more to come.

My Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences’ short story “Darkest before the Darkwater” just went live yesterday on the podcast, but I pre-released it as one of the Ministry’s 99-Penny Dreadfuls. “Darkest before the Darkwater” along with providing a look into the world of the Ministry is also a preview of my current work in progress. You might recognize the protagonist, and get an idea of what direction I’m intending to take him in this reboot of MOREVI. You can be assured there will be more Ministry shorts will come out from both Pip and myself, and some might even make it to our future 2012 project, Tales from the Archives: Volume 2.

If you’re wanting something steamier than my steampunk, you’re in luck as Pip’s releasing her Erotica ala Carte short stories as eBooks. She’s including in her first wave of erotica my superhero short, “Release Me.”  My other Erotica ala Carte offering “Dagger of the Mind” is slated for sometime in the future, but the release on that is entirely Pip’s call.

For those of you enjoying your digital short fiction on iPad and Nook, Smashwords is catching up with our releases, so stick close to either my blog or Pip’s, and we’ll keep you in the loop on what we release and when it is available.

If you are curious as to why we are releasing our stories 99¢ at a time as opposed to anthologies, I think you might want to have a listen to a new podcast Pip and I have just started. It’s called The Shared Desk, a blending of Pip’s Whispers at the Edge with my blast-from-the-past The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy. We’ve been wanting to do a writing podcast for a few months now, and finally we sat down and fired up the mics. If you have a listen share your thoughts (and questions) with us on that blog or on the show’s voice mail.

So yes, I’m still out here, being productive. Maybe this weekend, with that extra day and no Dragon*Con, I might just get another blogpost or two in the hopper. Much like a podcast, it always feels good to get a blogpost out.

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We’ve been sitting on this cover art for months!

When Pip Ballantine and I first saw it, we were over the moon. Imagine the heartbreak when our editor, Diana Gill, told us “You can’t post this anywhere just yet.” To watch the evolution of this cover, from the earlier drafts to the final product, has been a real trip; and while this is my fifth novel, it feels like my first.

Who is the artist? No clue. We know the artists were in-house and open to our input (something unheard of, particularly with new authors) when it came to cover ideas. We said, “Keep it simple. Have the heroes on the cover. Eliza should be armed to the teeth and up front. Wellington should be hanging in the back, enjoying a spot of tea.”

The rest came from the creative minds of Harper Voyager (formerly Eos Books).

You know that blogpost I keep promising, both here and on my Facebook group? Well, a fire has been lit under my bottom with the arrival of these cover flats. Somewhere during line edits (yes, I go on and say it — between the lines…), I’ll be going into my thoughts and feelings on this steampunk project, and how Eliza and Wellington will be affecting Rafe, Askana, and Billi. It’s not bad news, rest assured. It’s just a very different direction for myself as a writer.

I think the important bit to walk away with from this post is that in May 2011, I step back to where my heart has always been: Fiction.

Thanking Laurie McLean (my agent) and Diana Gill seems so inadequate, but I do appreciate this opportunity that they have given me. Laurie could have easily passed on this idea Pip and I hatched over Skype one night, but she saw the potential and got behind the book. Diana, with everything on her desk, not only saw the potential but really got behind the book in the negotiations; and in our discussions and her notes, she gave us her time and expertise and made the story even better. Thank you, both.

And thank you, Pip. She was pretty much set with Geist and Spectyr. She knows my cold feet when it comes to collaborations. She pressed, and she inspired me. Pip got me writing fiction again, and with our current preliminary work on Of Cogs & Corsets, it feels great. Who knew my Muse had a New Zealand accent? I really am blessed to have you in my life.

So, one step closer, here we are — a book cover for my first mass market paperback, coming to a book store near you in May. If you want to find out more about what we have planned in the ways of blog tours, appearances, and accompanying podcast, pay us a visit at The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.

May your weekend be full of that steampunk funk. Cheers!

I admit that my blog (both of them) have been a bit quiet since taking on the Day Job and working through a busy October, but hopefully this sneak peek at what I’ve been up to will make my pockets of quiet worthwhile.

Recorded before a live audience at World Fantasy Convention, award-winning podcaster and award-nominated author Philippa Ballantine and I unveiled (with the blessings of our agent) our work-in-progress now working its way through submissions: Books & Braun, our Steampunk take on The Avengers. This is the first time that we have revealed to the public any selections from the work (apart from the odd quotes and teasers in our respective tweet streams), and we had a blast with this presentation. Our plan is to eventually podcast it in this fashion: Pip and I supplying the respective narration, a “few” (HA!) production elements, a musical score, and artwork featured by Carrie Seidman. We hope you enjoy this listen at what we have cooking in the creative kitchen.

BLOGGERS & PODCASTERS: We are releasing this reading under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Both Pip and I encourage you to syndicate this episode and point your subscribers to this endeavor of ours. We also would love to hear your feedback on this preview both here and at Pip’s website. Thank you for giving us a bit of space on your mp3 player of choice, and we will keep you posted on what happens with our daring duo from the clandestine organization that is The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.