Thursday, April 28, 2011

Quick Take on HBO's Game of Thrones

Seriously? I've only posted once this whole month? There goes my theory that more time = more blog posts. Just so I don't end the month with only one post to show for it, I'm going to share my latest discovery.

HBO's new Game of Thrones series has me completely hooked from the first episode. In fact, I was so impressed with it, I watched the first episode three times and the second episode twice (so far). I've been trying to steer clear of any book series that's not finished (I didn't read the Harry Potter books until the 7th was released), but I may have to make an exception for Mr. George R. R. Martin and his A Song of Ice and Fire series.

The second episode also gave me my new favorite quote, as delivered by Tyrion Lannister: "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone..."

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

An Exciting Announcement

Since the effort is underway, I feel confident in finally making this announcement and keeping myself accountable here. The rumors are true: I'm currently working on getting The Everyday Divinities Project short stories to your e-reader of choice!

Now that I've made that bold declaration, let me give you the story behind it.

I'd always had it in my mind to take the short stories here on my blog and package them in one convenient and easy to read file format. I imagined all of them collected on one .pdf with a great layout and design, made available here to anyone who wanted it. The problem I had with that, however, is the same problem I have with theatrical releases of TV shows like The Simpsons and The X-Files: Why would I want to pay money for something that I could get for free?

The answer, of course, is that you'll be getting something better than what you'd get for free. Granted, that's another bold statement coming from me, but hear me out.

While I'm still going to pursue the traditional publishing route with my trilogy after I iron out its kinks, I want to get the ball rolling with my fictional world. I want to start putting The Everyday Divinities Project out there where everyone can find it, not just those who stumble across my site. And I want to make it as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. The divinities demand it, and who am I to deny them their request?

To make this possible, I'm broadening the scope beyond just a .pdf release on my blog. I'm looking into the .mobi format for Kindle, maybe even a spot in the new Kindle Singles if the finished product meets their submission guidelines. I'm looking into the .epub format for other e-readers like the Nook, because I hate monopolies and I believe in the literary equivalent of wide theatrical release over limited engagements. That's not a guarantee that it'll be available in all of those formats, but I'm definitely putting in my research. And yes, I'm still looking into putting an easy to print .pdf up here, too, for those who want a dead tree edition.

Whatever the format, you'll get an anthology of my short stories, all under The Everyday Divinities Project umbrella. Well, almost all of my short stories. The Copier won't be in there because I have other plans for that particular tale. The other five will definitely be included, though. More than that, my previously unedited stories are getting the spit and polish treatment right now so they'll be print-worthy. That's right, three of the five stories in this anthology may actually be notably different in the final product! Add in an introduction to the anthology, some honest to goodness layout and maybe even a spectacular cover, and you'll have a fine piece of e-publishing from yours truly.

I should get back to it, though. Break is over, and there's still much work to be done before an actual release date is announced!