Shaun Meeks's Blog - Posts Tagged "shutdown"
Shutdown
Well, there's bad news and then there's this. In the middle of last year, I fried my laptop out and was unable to recover my novel in progress, Shutdown. It was alright though because I had backed up the file a few days prior, so I only lost a small amount of the actual story. I put the novel on hold to finish up some project for upcoming anthologies and to finish the stories in Brother's Ilk. Today, as the edits for Brother's Ilk are finishing up, I thought it would be a great time to start working on the novel again. I plug the USB into the new laptop and found the file was lost, the whole USB somehow wiped or corrupted, so it seems it's back to square one with it. I still plan on having this out as soon as possible, late spring to early summer, so it really will be crunch time now. I will be updating my progress here, not a daily word count or anything so trite, but will update on how fast it is going, story line updates and I am even thinking about holding a little contest for one of the characters in the story to be named after a reader. In fact, I will start with that. Below will be a link to my Facebook fan page and as soon as it reaches 500 likes, I will choose a name from those people to become a character in the book.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaun-M...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaun-M...
Shutdown update
My latest novel, Shutdown, has had some real ups and downs in the last year. It was slated to be released the spring of 2013, but after losing the original manuscript in a computer accident, I had to start the project from scratch. It was a little disheartening to have to do that, and I gave up on it for longer than I should have.
Thankfully, I have gotten back on board with it and am now closing in on a finish for it. Last week I managed to get 16,000 words done in four days, so with that said, I should be done writing and editing the book by the end of July. Or sooner.
The book is about a hacker, Tim "Mouse" Jones, who is hired to break into a building owned by a genetics corporation called GenCross. He is hired to steal a file from the mainframe, then upload a virus into the computer that will shut down the building's entire network and wipe all the files from its memory. But when things go wrong and Mouse finds himself trapped in the building, trying to stay out of jail isn't his only concern, he also needs to stay alive.
I have already been contacted by a few publishers about sending the manuscript to them and look forward to sending it off once it's done.
Thankfully, I have gotten back on board with it and am now closing in on a finish for it. Last week I managed to get 16,000 words done in four days, so with that said, I should be done writing and editing the book by the end of July. Or sooner.
The book is about a hacker, Tim "Mouse" Jones, who is hired to break into a building owned by a genetics corporation called GenCross. He is hired to steal a file from the mainframe, then upload a virus into the computer that will shut down the building's entire network and wipe all the files from its memory. But when things go wrong and Mouse finds himself trapped in the building, trying to stay out of jail isn't his only concern, he also needs to stay alive.
I have already been contacted by a few publishers about sending the manuscript to them and look forward to sending it off once it's done.
Shutdown First Draft
This weekend, I finally finished the first draft of my new novel, Shutdown. It took longer than I would have liked due to invites to so many new and cool anthologies. I tried to steer clear of some of them, but what can you do when you get cool opportunities to write stories for some amazing people and amazing collections. Some of these include anthologies by Ellen Datlow, William Cook, The Horror Zine, Michael Bailey, Adam Millard and Chizine. Also there is one that I am still working on for an anthology of stories that take place after Clive Barker's Nightbreed/Cabal.
Regardless, the first draft is done, 93,000 words so far. The book is a strange mix of horror, sci-fi and thriller and moves pretty fast paced. I am hoping to get it polished by the end of this month then ship it over to my editor. She is a tough one that doesn't pull punches, and that's what I need. Once that is done I will start sending it off to publishers that have already contacted me with interest in it. I was hoping to have the book out by the end of the year, but it may not be ready until 2014. If that's the case, there will still be a new release by me this year, a collection of short stories called Dark Reaches. That will be out for the holiday season this December.
I look forward to releasing the novel and seeing what everyone thinks. Once the polish is done on it, I will quickly start work on my next book, The Gate at Lake Drive, which is the the first book of the Dillon Monster Dick series.
Regardless, the first draft is done, 93,000 words so far. The book is a strange mix of horror, sci-fi and thriller and moves pretty fast paced. I am hoping to get it polished by the end of this month then ship it over to my editor. She is a tough one that doesn't pull punches, and that's what I need. Once that is done I will start sending it off to publishers that have already contacted me with interest in it. I was hoping to have the book out by the end of the year, but it may not be ready until 2014. If that's the case, there will still be a new release by me this year, a collection of short stories called Dark Reaches. That will be out for the holiday season this December.
I look forward to releasing the novel and seeing what everyone thinks. Once the polish is done on it, I will quickly start work on my next book, The Gate at Lake Drive, which is the the first book of the Dillon Monster Dick series.
