Hello there!
Welcome to the new folks who have joined in the past month. Spring is so close, prepare for an onslaught of gardening pics and antidotes. A few quick notes upfront:
All previous newsletters are archived. Lots of stuff to check out including a link to the original 2011 screenplay of THE BLACK SKY, hints and helps to get started on the real work easter egg hunt teased at the back of the book, and more!
If you read and enjoyed THE BLACK SKY, I would be grateful if you left a positive review or a rating at Amazon or GoodReads.
There’s a “music inspired by” soundtrack you can listen to at your favorite streaming sites like Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, etc. If you prefer physical media, you can also grab the album on a compact disc at Bandcamp.
For those that have read THE BLACK SKY, you may remember a mention or two of a bar called “The Dank,” the place Tessa worked at in college where she and Bishop met. I created a virtual playlist for this “punk rock bar,” which you can check out on Spotify. (Hint: this isn’t the last time you’ll be hearing about The Dank in a book)
WRITING
THE RED SKY is slowly gaining momentum. I’ve switched from having a prologue to starting with the first chapter. The same thing happened with THE BLACK SKY - I had a long prologue full of exposition and ended up cutting it and repurposing the information throughout the book. I’ve now written the first five chapters - slow and steady progress, which is fine with me. Writing THE BLACK SKY happened 500 words at a time, each day on a lunch break from work.
At some point in the near future, I’m going to put out a call for BETA READERS. If you are interested, I’ll let you know how to get in touch. Still writing and want to get to a logical point before I make a request.
For THE RED SKY playlist on Spotify, new additions include Tom Morello and Mogwai. The playlist is regularly updated with new music I listen to when writing.
OMERTA SOL is getting bits and pieces completed as well, with the prologue and first chapter completed. As THE BLACK SKY and THE RED SKY are written from multiple third-person perspectives, this is the first time I’ll be writing from the first-person perspective, so it’s different and my thought process has to change about how to relay information, which is a good challenge.
RECENT READS
Finished the second book in The Expanse series: CALIBAN’S WAR. Everything I liked about LEVIATHAN WAKES gets hit out of the park in CALIBAN’S WAR. Primarily, that's because of Avasarala and Bobbie joining the fray, two distinctly different but utterly indispensable characters. Even though this book is longer than LW, it flies by thanks to always escalating and developing drama and stakes.
TV/MOVIES
FEAR CITY (Netflix) - Three episodes over three hours that give an in-depth look at the mafia in New York City in the 1970s and 80s.
FRAMING BRITNEY SPEARS (Hulu) - Eye-opening and sometimes shocking.
CLASS ACTION PARK (HBOMax) - The most dangerous amusement park in American history, as told by the people who visited and worked there.
A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES (AMC) - Not usually a fan of witches and vampires, but this is very well done and entertaining.
SEARCHING FOR ITALY with STANLEY TUCCI (CNN) - Walking around Italy and eating food? I’m sold.
HIGH SCORE (Netflix) - History of video games, lots of interesting/enlightening stuff.
MUSIC
What are you watching, reading, listening to at the moment?
Stay Safe!
Tim