October 2006
Hello everyone,
Lots of things have been going on, but most are pretty boring. My web host kept having unannounced down time, they lost mail on several occasions (with no indication to me or the sender that the messages didn't get through), and their customer support sucked, so I switched hosts. I need this email address to work all the time so I don't miss an agent or editor's email. It turns out that switching hosts is a real pain in the butt, and the process leaves your website down for over a week.
I finally have the site back up, but I decided to take the opportunity to redesign a few things, so changes will be coming. The first thing I need to change is the newsletter. The software I used managed to put random characters in the message, and that just looks bad. So, does anyone know a good software or service for doing mailing lists?
On the more interesting side of things, I am almost done revamping the first six chapters of A Clockwork Murder, and now it is very clearly a murder mystery. My critique group agrees that it starts out stronger and sets the reader up for what is to come. Once I finish the update, I'll send it out to the agents and editors who expressed interest before. Then on to the rest of the agenting world.
I'm also gearing up for NaNoWriMo in November. This year I'll write a science fictiony-science thrillery story. It is set in the current day, but some non-existent technology will send the main character down the road to Troubleville. If I can pull it off, you'll have a "whoa" moment at the end that makes you re-read it and see it in a whole new light. Much like the movies "The Usual Suspects", "The Illusionist", and "Memento". By the way, I recommend all of those movies.
Wish me luck as I try to get the new ACM out the door before November 1st!
--Todd