Dear friends and followers,

I delivered the first cheque to Chez Doris on Wednesday, for $74. I was given a quick tour of the place. They do some good work there, providing meals and legal services to women who need it. $74 isn’t a lot, I’m embarrassed to say, but every dollar counts.

Things have been getting steadily crazier without my realising it. To everyone who has contacted me recently about anything, I apologise. I’ll make time somehow.

On the writing front: well, "Murder at the Veterans’ Club" is complete but for some minor editing, and I can set it aside to concentrate on other business. I’d have liked to move on to "Best Man for Murder", the sequel, but--some good news, actually--I’m working on something for Choice Of Games, and that’s taking up a good portion of my creative writing energy. And also some of my logic-coding energy. Don’t worry, though: a first draft for "Best Man for Murder" has in fact been completed, and what I should be working on there will actually be a complete rewrite--changing names, key plot elements, and maybe even whodunnit. What’s the point of a second draft if you don’t rethink everything, right?

(Those of you who’ve read the second chapter of "Murder at the Veterans’ Club", did you know that in the original first draft, the thing Benson had stashed away in his safe deposit box was a Gutenberg Bible? Fascinating little Macguffin, but it ended up making no sense.)

Also on the writing front, I am involved in this: "Too Many Controllers", a submission for the current Nerdist contest.

Now, what could a guy whose writing is mostly set in a video-free era possibly have to offer in anthology of video game stories, you must be wondering. Well ... all will be revealed in time. At the very least, follow the book to keep tabs on the news. Or better yet, pre-order a copy. It could be worth noting that this book will almost certainly see daylight before "Murder at the Veterans’ Club"; and short stories can so easily be thought of as little appetisers before the main course.

Until next week: have fun, and keep reading. (Seriously, crazy as things are, I wish I had time to read more.)

Hi Gang!  Thanks for all the interest, tweets, comments and general support.  What a week this has been.  I’ve been working on Drago Siege and Chapter 3 was really getting to be heavy going and I just couldn’t figure out why.  I was scratching my head over it and I ran across some advice by another author that said (basically) when things get impossibly hard - you’ve probably taken a wrong turn somewhere and it is more than likely in regards to lack of foundation or research.  Sure enough, once I thought about it I realized the characters had not been built out enough in my head - so they were all over the place.  Plus, this is my first fantasy full novel, and worldbuilding is going to take some, well, BUILDING.  So that’s what I have done.  Been taking notes on who the characters are (in my mind) and what the rules are in the world they live in.  And FYI - I don’t plan on doing any funding until late in the fall (when the 2nd draft is completed).  Right now I just want to start getting feedback from people  etc.  Thanks for all your input and keep it coming!