The Necropolis Legacy

I don't know who cares about this, but I renamed the third Necropolis book again today. 

For those keeping score, we started with the working title Surf Girl Keeva, then tried The Centurion Murders, and now we're onto The Necropolis Legacy. Aside from the fact that I don't think a book called Surf Girl Keeva can follow a book called Gun Girl Gracie, I've also gotten to the point where I've now written enough to have a sense for the new book's themes. The Necropolis Legacy fits those themes way better than The Centurion Murders ever did, and here we are. 

The Return of Dr. Necropolis (Audiobook): Part 1

Friends, 

If you follow this blog, you already know I've been working on an audiobook version of The Return of Dr. Necropolis. I've actually been working on it for a few months now. This is the third or fourth rendition, and I think I'm finally happy with the way it sounds.

I'll put some thoughts after the jump, but if you're interested, you can listen to this initial section right now, either via the embedded GoogleDrive player below or using this link. 

It's a 32MB audiofile, so if you go to download it, just know what you're getting yourself into. The reading itself runs just under half an hour. Lengthwise, that's exactly what I wanted.

Now Playing The Return of Dr. Necropolis: Prologue + Chapter 1

AFF Lifestyle #1: Football, R-Day, & Robots

Are there people who follow me here who don't follow AFF? I've wondered for awhile. Granted, I don't necessarily post a lot here anymore.

Anyway, the new show is up. We wound up doing about half of it on off-season Army Football news, schedule analysis, and Mailbag questions. For the rest, we talked about AI!

I'm still wondering if we're eventually gonna get cancelled because of this show, but I was really happy with it, so I'm sharing it.

I Got a Rejection Letter Today

Friends, I got a rejection letter today, and I'm ludicrously happy about it. I mean, I get that the book's not for everyone, and in this case, I think I might've accidentally sent it to their YA Department... which was really dumb if that's what happened. 

The book is about middle age, and it's a hard-R. It's definitely not YA.

Oops.

Anyway. Craig got back to me from Dreamsphere Books, and he said No, which was fine. I really, really appreciate that he got back to me at all. I've been expecting nothing but silence from here until I give up in December. A straightforward rejection absolutely okay.

I've Still Never Drowned Anyone.

Kind of an odd, frustrating day at the pool this morning. It was a shame, too, because I had good stuff in the water. 

I get there, and a guy is swimming, and thinking nothing of it, I start to jump into the lane with him. But while I'm still stretching, that guy gets out and another guy jumps in. Dude gives me a hard look and says, "I'm not a good swimmer, so I prefer not to share a lane."

Friends, this is not a thing at your local YMCA. We all have to share. That's just simple reality.

Book Submissions Looks Like a Sucker's Game

Friends, I'm looking for a publisher for The Return of Dr. Necropolis, and it is a frustrating process. 

Yes, that's me on the cover.

Dr. Necropolis Update: Final Rewrite

Hello friends and Happy MONDAY!

I don't know who's still interested in this project, but in case you're wondering, I'm about halfway through the final rewrite. It's going pretty well, but I'll admit that it's also been a LOT more comprehensive than I'd expected. 

Chapter 4 (Rewrite): The Diamond District

I finally finished rewriting Chapter 4. I expect that'll be the hardest rewrite in the book. I've been working on it for the past four days.

If you're wondering, I most wanted to strengthen Tiffany's voice. I also put Zulu into ACUs when he'd originally been in a superhero suit, and I added some clarity to some of the backstory, hopefully without slowing the overall narrative.

What do you think?

Testing Audiobook Tech

I recorded the first two chapters of my book. This isn't perfect. It's basically just a draft. But feel free to check it out if you're interested.

And... it looks like I can't actually upload the audio by itself. So here's a link to a shared mp3 file via Google Drive.

The Return of Dr. Necropolis (Audiobook Test): Chapters 1 & 2

I already have some notes, but please, let me know what you think!

An Invitation to Haters

Sent my book to a potential agent. Got rejected. This is fine. It’s what I was expecting.

However. I’m having a moment.

How does one know that their book is terrible?

I realize that if you have to ask, you already know the answer.

Chapter 1: Running Late

Sally convinced me to write a new Chapter 1 for The Return of Dr. Necropolis. Her comments made me feel like Tiffany wasn't coming across heroically enough in the book's early going, a concern I'd had in the back of my mind since before the re-write. I'd therefore been considering something like this for awhile. I just hadn't pulled the trigger until this past weekend.

I gotta say that I'm still not totally sure where to put this. But you can tell me what you think of it, either in context with the rest of the book or as a standalone piece.

Thanks in advance!

The Return of Dr. Necropolis: Audio Book Options

My wife and I were talking on Sunday when she suggested I consider changing my pen name to Dan E. Cabeza. I've used Danno E. Cabeza for years online and on the various As For Football podcasts, but I can admit that it's not the most serious pen name, and I'm worried that people won't take The Return of Dr. Necropolis seriously because of it. Not that Dr. Necropolis is necessarily some think-piece, but it's unserious in an entirely different direction. 

Necropolis is a comic-style adventure story with some adult themes. Danno E. Cabeza is just a ridiculous name that I happen to like. I worry that the pen name will make people think the book is some kind of comedy. That's definitely not what it is.

Notes on a Saturday Morning

Good morning, friends. 

Since early December, I've been working steadily on The Return of Dr. Necropolis and its sequel Gun Girl Gracie, and now that both are done in draft, I'm at loose ends. I still woke up at 5:30 am this morning out of sheer habit, but with nothing to work on, I've just been sitting here.

It's so weird not to have anything to work on, but I feel like I really NEED to take some time away and attempt to get some perspective on my own work. We'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, here are some thinky-thoughts, just to scratch the itch.