Posts Categorized: Musings

It was a fantastic trip! I’ll wax melodic about the wine, food, and, culture later, for now though, I am still in awe of what was accomplished by the soldiers, airmen, and sailors that were part of the liberation of France in 1944. Much, much more to come!

Beginning in August I will officially be a full-time author! After 11 great years as military history editor at Stackpole Books (and before that, 2 years at Ballantine/Del Rey of Random House), I’m hanging up the editor’s hat (sort of like a fry cook at McDonald’s only with a propeller beanie and a set of wings) and putting most of my time and energy into writing. I say most because some will be devoted to attempting to create what I’ve struggled with thus far, that being a social life.

Will this mean my next novels will appear at something other than a glacial pace? Yup! I have a lot of books I want to write and a lot of places I want to travel to, so it’s time for me to get my butt in gear. First up is finishing the Vietnam War inspired fantasy and jetting off to France.

As the French probably wouldn’t say…Ouiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

Chris

Beginning this afternoon, I am going deep into writing mode and only coming out to run in the park, and maybe catch a movie. Can’t decide between World War Z, Monsters University, or This is the End.

The title saga is on hold at the moment, but one will be announced before too much longer…he says hopefully.

I’d also like to add my voice to those mourning the loss of James Gandolfini who passed away at the age of 51. Like millions of others, I was hooked on The Sopranos and the amazingly complex character studies portrayed on the show.

It occurs to me that if I can post a little more frequently then I won’t have to start every post with an apology for what I haven’t posted in such a long time.

The epic journey to find a title for my next fantasy continues. It’s proving more challenging than I expected, but in the course of my research (listening to the songs of Woodstock, developing a crush on Grace Slick, re-watching the best parts of Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Deer Hunter, Flight of the Intruder, etc) I’ve been able to add an extra layer or two of detail to the novel and really meld the 60s vibe with a medieval fantasy world.

Speaking of fantasy…have you seen the new trailer for The Desolation of Smaug?

Lost my website for a few hours as I completely forgot to renew my url address, or do you just call it url, or address, or something else? When I say I’m not attuned to social media, I’m not kidding. Thanks to Nicole for spotting it and letting me know!

Just now bouncing back from a cold that kicked my butt for a solid week. I think of all the times someone has said I was full of s*** and you know, last week I was. Snot anyway. Pretty colors, too. Mostly in the neon green range.

Writing news – well, the saga does continue and is approaching a conclusion. I’m well over 100,000 words in The Tree Line and still going strong. Not sure what the final word count will be, but this is going to be a THICK book. And though my relationship with deadlines is about as successful as, well, my relationships, I will eventually consummate this one, most likely in the next month or so.