Launch is imminent!  We’re just a few weeks away now.  I have the proof version of my final edition coming in the mail. The official t-shirts are in production. I have the exclusive Comic Con posters already in-hand at home. The Comic Con goody-bag flier is designed and about to go to press as soon as I get my booth number.

When it comes to the launch on Saturday, August 3rd at 7pm at Boswell Bookstore off Downer Avenue in Milwaukee (just in case you want to attend), I just need to figure out the refreshments and what I want to say.  I was hoping to attend a few book launches for other people, but that hasn’t panned out.  I’ve been told to not actually do a reading, and to talk instead about the origins of the story, my work on it, etc.  That should be easy enough.  It’s near and dear to my heart, and I know exactly how the story came about.

In my interview with Hugh Howey earlier this week (http://newbooksinsciencefiction.com/2013/07/17/hugh-c-howey-wool-simon-schuster-2012/) he mentioned how he can never shut off the story and characters in his mind.  I completely identified with him.  One of the things he said that really stuck me was that he never would want to be able to shut it off, that it was dangerous to be away from your characters for a long time.  My interpretation of that is if you don’t keep writing, you get out of the groove, maybe become estranged with your characters.

I’ve been working on so many side efforts like brining D’mok Revival: Awakening to market, working on the video game project for the major comic book property, being a single dad, holding down my job, that writing has actually taken a back seat to the rest of my life.  I can’t even afford the time to play video games right now, and that’s just CRAZY talk for me.  Honestly I have “The Rest of Us” by Naughty Dog just sitting there staring at me, crying out “COME ON! PLAY ME!”  Yet, “sorry, no.”  Not right now.

The upside is the comic book video game project is allowing me some leeway to write the actual story for the game.  At least I’m WRITING, just not in my universe.  I do want to get back to D’mok Revival.  I committed myself to releasing “D’mok Revival: Retribution” in fall of 2014, according to my official press release.  So I’ll need to get moving on that.  There’s a good deal of editing to do back in book two before sending it off to a professional editor for review.  Then there’s book three, then four to edit.

I do miss furthering the story as well.  Seeing there’s three tracks to write as of the end of book 4, there’s a lot to do!  I’m going to get through this launch for the moment, then find a way to really hit the ground running to get the next edition ready.