2011 (Books, Sites and RollBots!)
Well then. 2010 is just about done. What a crazy year. Anyone else feel we just got started?
Things obviously didn't go the way they were supposed to this year. I wrote 12 books in 2009, but only 6 in 2010. Granted, most of those were longer works, but it still feels a bit empty. I barely posted on the site, and I've almost fallen completely off of Twitter. Money has been lean, but work has been hectic, and the convergence of the two is best described as agony. I haven't had to appeal for donations, but I came really damn close once or twice. I live most of the year on one side of the country, flying back to see my family when possible, which has kicked me in the head psychologically. Definitely not good. I wanted to do so much more, but I just couldn't pull it all off.
That said, I did do some really cool stuff this year. Let's see how many you remember:
The Man With the Improbable Leg with Lord Likely! My favourite SteamDuck story, and just oodles of fun to produce. If you haven't read it, you can grab a copy on Kindle for $0.99.
The Scarlet Lemming is the second Gare Marx story, and was a drawn out livewriting experiment. I wrote the entire thing in a Starbucks in Ottawa in the dead of winter, which was actually more fun than it sounds. You can read the story in its rough form here on the site, but expect the fully-edited version sometime in 2011.
Blast Radius is the second story in the The New Real series, wherein we learn more about Jyi's past, and Darvey goes off the reservation. I really really like the way this story came together, and it gave me the confidence I needed to do trickier stories later in the year. You can read the rough version here, but in this case, the final copy won't be out until 2012, along with the rest of the TNR saga.
Tori's Row is the paranormal thriller written with the immeasurable Nancy Brauer. The first two acts of the book are out, and the third is being written AS WE SPEAK, so look for that in early 2011, along with the final, packaged product. You can read it on the site until that day...
Arkady and Kain was my WeSeWriMo entry, where I cranked out a chapter a day for 31 days in August. It was also the first time I tried live-livewriting, where you could see me typing in Google Docs. A&K is midway through its extensive rewrite, and is on track for an April, 2011 release (it's not readable until that time). BTW, if you want to sign up to be a preview reader on this book, just drop me a line. All you need to do is promise to write a review :)
Polarity is, of course, the second Dustrunners book. It's easily my favourite book of the year, and really, really fun to read, even for me, which is saying something. Polarity is being rewritten heavily so it's in good shape for its May 2011 release. If you want to sign up to be a preview reader, again, just drop me a line. You'll get the first peek at the extra layers I get to add when I'm not bloody rushed :)
Other Sides! It's not strictly a book I wrote, but I did contribute a story. The book is fantastic on Kindle, and in print, too! Get your fix of web fiction! Do it now!
So that was 2010. In terms of numbers, I did well enough. Livewriting numbers have been impressive (Polarity was easily the most popular one yet, with lots of actual new registrations on the site!), the overall readership of older works has been solid, and my Kindle sales haven't been too shabby either. I might add a donation button on the site again, but I'm still on the fence about that. If I'd put more attention into running 1889 this year, I'd be a lot happier now. But alas, the choices we make...
So what's up for 2011? Lots. 10 books planned, and 6 of them are mine! Some of it is still top secret, but what I can tell you a few things:
Totally Random is a big, major site I'm overseeing starting in January. It's creative, but it's not what I usually do, unless you count TorrentBoy. I can't say much more about it, except that it will be buckets of fun, and I'm really excited to be involved. I'll give you updates as I can.
Clockhopper is my steampunk adventure, which I'll be livewriting near the end of February. It's about a warranty adjuster in the wild west, and the dangerous assignment he finds himself saddled with. If I get my ducks in order, I think it will raise the bar on the interactivity of livewriting. Watch for it!
The Archivists is coming a month later, at the end of March. I can't even tell you what it's about, but it will be a fun romp through space and time, with an added twist that should blow your mind. Oh, and there's another thing... I will only say this: I will be more jetlagged than usual.
TorrentBoy Returns! Yes, I'm going to make a concerted effort to get TorrentBoy going again. And by "concerted" I mean I will dedicate at least a week to it. Hey, that's a big investment for me right now!
Rob the Robot just landed its second season, and I'm writing a few episodes. If you haven't seen it, it's a cute preschool series with three robots and an alien, getting into trouble around the galaxy. I'm going to try and tweet about scriptwriting travails more in 2011, so if you see me cursing Orbit, you'll know what I'm referring to.
RollBots. I meant to have a definitive update by today, but there has been a development that is confusing things. I will say this: by the end of JANUARY, you will know the fate of RollBots. It'll be one of three options, and two of them are pretty fantastic. I know it's taking a long time, but the wait will be worth it. And to tide you over, how about this tidbit: when the city loses contact with the last Zuushin, it does something really surprising, which is a big factor in how Spin fends off the invasion.
That's all we've got for today. I'll do my best to update things more in the coming weeks, but at the moment, I have about 15 hours of work left to do today, and only nine hours of productive time left to do it. Yay for schedules!
See you on the other side, people! Thanks for taking the crazy ride with me!
