And that's November done!

What a month, eh? I know, I know, let's not talk about it.
Let's be positive - I've done NaNoWriMo! 
Are those straws clutched in my hand? I rather think they might be.
Anyway, I've just gone past the 50,000 word mark on a novel despite the crushing, existential angst that is the default emotion of 2016. I consider that an achievement in itself, although to be honest, this year, just finding the will to get out of bed in the morning should earn you a medal.

This novel, which I've called The Beating of an Iron Heart, is actually the same novel I did for the 2014 NaNoWriMo (then called simply Ironheart - see, I came up with that name first, Marvel! You know, in the unlikely event that it ever gets popular enough to warrant attention from anyone who would care).
And there was another attempt at it earlier this year. Basically, this is my third try at getting this damned story to do what I want. It remains to be seen if this one will work out.
Hope springs eternal, right? Man, that phrase sounds hollow this year.

I don't have much else to offer, it's cold (except in the Arctic, but let's not talk about that either because Jesus Christ it's all just too much), and I'm going to pretend that everything isn't going to hell and have a coffee and Irish Cream to celebrate. I might even have a second chocolate biscuit.

Finally, congratulations to everyone who took part in NaNoWriMo this year!
Let's do it all again in 2017. Hopefully I'll actually have finished this story by then and the world won't have ended. Fingers crossed!

Al

Well that didn't quite work!

They'll etch that on my tombstone, if I get one, which I probably won't because who wants to be in a bloody tomb?
This took a morbid turn.
Anyway, I was referring to my attempt to get The Salvager published via the Inkshares crowdfunding publishers. I still think that Inkshares is a cool site, with many cool ideas, but it definitely relies on being able to build up a hefty buzz on the social medias, something I'm rubbish at. There also seems to be a fair amount of authors all funding one another so it's hard to judge how it will all work out.
My next attempt will be to submit it to Angry Robot Books, who are running an open submission period from the 15th of December through to the end of January. It's a long shot but, well, what isn't a long shot when you're trying to get a book out there into the world?
Here's the link if you're interested - http://angryrobotbooks.com/2015/09/announcing-a-new-open-door-period-at-angry-robot/

NaNoWriMo is going on! Normally I'd have been all over this but I was helping my dad install a new kitchen in my house so I completely forgot about it - I'm a solid eleven days behind now but I'm going to see if I can still do it. It's the sequel to Heroes Wanted that I'll be working on, because writing a sequel to a book that hardly anyone bought is a guarantee of success. I proved that with Sorrow's Herald.
That was sarcasm, just in case you didn't pick up on it.

Outside of writing based shenanigans, I'm still playing a load of Heroes of the Storm (and glaring at the empty space on the BattleNet launcher where the Overwatch play button ought to be - c'mon Blizzard, please invite me to the beta!) and Elder Scrolls Online on the PS4.
Also got the Heart of Thorns expansion for Guild Wars 2 but I've not managed to put much time into it yet.

That's it for now. I'll leave you with a pic I did to try (unsuccessfully) to promote The Salvager on Inkshares - it's the main character, Aimee Westmorland, in a poster that is probably familiar to you.

View fullsize

Until next time,
Al

So that was November

Did it rain? Yes, yes it did, though I saw no sign of Slash standing on top of any nearby hills with his guitar.
Obscure joke, right there. Well done/commiserations if you got that.

Anyway, November's done and it is now December! How the hell did that happen? It can't be December already, I refuse to accept that it will soon be 2015.
NaNoWriMo was a success! All fifty thousand words! They're not great words, honestly - it's very evident that it's a first draft. It will need much rewriting before it's fit for general consumption.
Which might be part of the explanation as to why my plan to tempt people into donating to my Movember page (which is still live - click here if my dumb moustache pics have entertained you enough to sling a few quid there way!) by letting people read the first draft as I was writing it was such an abject failure. Ah well, you live and learn.
Still, I think there's a good story lurking inside Ironheart and I'll drag it out one way or another.

Onwards and upwards though, and coming up next we have the release of HEROES WANTED, my new fantasy novel filled with fun and hilarity!
There's even a slightly dumb launch trailer, complete with a heinous attempt at an American accent, and here it is!

Halfway to NaNoWriMo!

Except not quite cos I'm several thousand words behind!
Hey all!
It's the 15th of November, the halfway point of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), so I thought I'd do a progress report. 
There is progress. Slow, painful progress. I'm at a point in Ironheart that I didn't plan out beyond a vague "put some stuff here" type of description and I'm having a bit of a hard time finding the words. I'm also, as mentioned above, quite a long way behind. It should be noted that this is absolutely not my fault - a friend came to visit and, when faced with the choice between writing or drinking and playing computer games... I was weak, internet, and I lacked the willpower to resist.
You can spot the days this occurred quite easily in this NaNoWriMo widget from their site:

Hint: red = bad
Anyway, I'm trying to play catch up now. The mathematicians amongst you will have realised that I really ought to be at 25,000 words at the halfway point, as opposed to the 19,000 I currently have.
You know, you can actually read what I'm writing if you want. The first chapter of Ironheart is here. It is only the first draft though, please bear that in mind!
The reason for this is that it's also Movember so, as well as producing some fine facial hair, I've made my novel available in the hope that you'll find it enjoyable enough to make you want to donate via the links on the pages. So far...not the most successful strategy. At all. In any way.
Still, hope springs eternal and I'm sure I'll get a donation any day now (hint hint).
I mean, look at this magnificent moustache. How can you not be tempted?

And yes, if you're wondering, that is a stuffed Paddington Bear teddy behind me.

Leaving aside books I've not finished writing yet, it's only just over a month until Heroes Wanted comes out - guaranteed (though not in any legally binding way) hilarity with swords and dragons and irate innkeepers! You should totally pre-order it! And then tell your friends about it!

Loins being girded!

Or maybe lions being girded. Can you gird a lion, and is it any more effective than girding a loin? Does sound like it might be quite dangerous.
Anyway...
It's almost NaNoWriMo time again, and once more I find myself trying to put together a novel plan that I will almost certainly end up ignoring within the first two hundred words. So it always seems to go but I swear I'm going to try and stick to the plan this time. Really.

My novel this time is tentatively called Ironheart and that is all I'm telling you for now. Sorry, I'm a terrible tease! It should be good though, I hope. 
I think I'm going to let people read what I've done each day, probably in a Google doc, a bit like I'm doing on the Live Writing page (which I swear I haven't given up on, by the way, I just got distracted and kind of forgot about it. I will write that story one day, I vow it).
As long as you all promise to buy it when I finally release it!

In other news, I'm desperately trying not to suck at marketing (and failing, by and large) - to that end, allow me to mention that Heroes Wanted, my hilarious (I think so anyway) fantasy adventure, is available for pre-order for $2.99 and will be released on 19th of December. Hit the link below!

CLICK ME!

I'm also going to do Movember. Which means that the extensive facial fuzz that currently adorns my ugly mug will have to removed. All of it. The world will see a sight not seen since 1995, my chin (seriously, I've been a bearded idiot for nigh on 20 years) - I'm not sure you're all ready for that. I might video the removal for posterity.
I'm going to donate half the profits from the sales of Crystal Eyes during November (which might very well amount to sweet FA but it's the thought that counts, right?) to the Movember charity.
Note: since Crystal Eyes is just 99 cents I only get 35% from Amazon. Thought it was worth making that clear in case you all rush out and buy it (which you should totally do) and you end up wondering why the donation amount isn't as much as you might have thought.