Good Afternoon from Vienna.

I have decided to refrain from using the C-word in this post. It's everywhere anyway, literally and figuratively, and rather than waste your time with a bunch of complaining about what it's like being locked in, that will be all I say on the topic.

Though I will say that a random thought that occurred to me today was how hard this must be on the paranoids. The ones defined as "borderline paranoid," not the actual schizos. The actual schizos are used to being locked up, they're used to staring at walls, they're used to going through flights of fantasy where Voldermort or the Hell's Angels or the CIA are after them.

I passed a woman on the street, coming back from grocery shopping, and she jumped back into a doorway and mumbled over and over again, like a mantra: "be gone, be gone, be gone," and since I live in a city, I really didn't pay that much attention.

Later, I felt for her. I really did. I think that in times like these we learn to appreciate what we have, or we go crazy. Since I don't drink (anymore), this is what I do with my brain.

Also, the trees are blooming where I live. That's nice, too.

New Blood Relaunch April 8th

The Proofs Are In

So, on to what I have been doing over the past few weeks.

I got the first paperback proofs of New Blood ordered. After taking my photoshop and paperback cover course, I really had to get it into my hands. I am very proud and very happy with it. It came last week.

When you're an indie writer, you don't really have to do everything yourself, but my brain is such that it makes me want to. You can hire a cover designer, you can hire people to format your book and all of that, but if you're like me, you push your deadlines down to the wire and I just can't see calling someone up at two in the morning and asking them to change something last minute so I can publish at 8 A.M.

Free Stuff For Members

New Blood Bonus Material

Did you ever wonder what happened to Maddie?  The crazy girl, the one I really love to write?

Well, as part of my promotional relaunch, Maddie, a novella about--you guessed it--what happened to Maddie before and after the New Blood story, is going to be FREE for anybody who reads New Blood after the relaunch OR anybody who takes the time to join the conversation.

With any luck--Corona willing (sorry, I said the C-word)--this will be out by the next newsletter.  If not, since it's going into the back of New Blood the relaunch, it will be out by April 8th. I will still send the download link on the newsletter, so no worries for you. You're set.

The only thing is, I don't like the title. The People With the Dogs sounds like a good title, and dogs are in the story, but I'm not 100% sure about it. I've always struggled with titles. Maybe it comes from the times during my creative writing classes in college when my professor would write at the top "good story--don't like the title."

I thought about just calling it Maddie, because that's who it's about, but I'm still not completely sure about that, either.

If you have any ideas, or want to get in touch, feel free to send me an e-mail here. I appreciate any and all input.

Be Safe

Back when I was growing up, or at least by the time I got to college, "be safe" meant that you should protect yourself during romantic adventures. It was, after all, the high point of the AIDS crisis, and you couldn't walk anywhere on a university campus without being informed of the clear and present danger said romantic adventures might endeavor.

Now it can mean so many things. Wash your hands, get enough toilet paper. Make sure you don't get involved in a brawl at Wal-Mart. Don't get too close to the schizo lady.

Whatever be safe means to you, be safe. And stay tuned. It's about to get crazy.

Take Care
Shane