tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123589302024-03-18T17:18:52.226+08:00Something Sticky This Way ComesAn adventure is, by nature, a thing that comes to us. It is a thing that chooses us, not a thing that we choose. ~G.K. ChestertonMichael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.comBlogger524125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-15975238927469108292022-02-15T19:28:00.002+08:002022-02-15T19:28:27.603+08:00Right then. How's everyone? I remembered that I have a blog!Let's just pretend that I've been updating this regularly, shall we? We can avoid any embarrassing, uncomfortable questions, like 'what have you been doing all this time' or 'where's that money you owe me' and such.The only solid info I have for you is that all the Amra Thetys books now have a hardcover edition. Well, they call it a case laminate edition. YouMichael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-7092020161762487342020-05-24T13:12:00.003+08:002020-05-24T13:12:37.104+08:00Writing update, y'all
Hello everybody. The world is a tire fire right now, and
what I’m up to, writing-wise, is rightfully way, way down anybody’s list
of concerns. But a few people have checked in, and so I thought it a good idea
to give y’all an update.
I’ve got several book in the works – most writers I know
like to work on one thing at a time, because most writers I know are smarter
than me. Or more normal. Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-29740616069323955872019-10-24T13:40:00.000+08:002019-10-24T13:40:52.924+08:00New book on the way - first chapter Hello all-
Halloween will soon be here (my absolute favorite holiday).
That's it. That's the post.
No, but seriously, I've got a new book coming out on December 3rd, and it's a little bit different. It's still fantasy (though perhaps a bit darker than you're used to from me) but it's in the dungeon core subgenre.
Those of you familiar with Gamelit and LitRPG will know what that is, Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-77281064412781295362019-08-18T18:06:00.000+08:002019-08-18T18:06:35.007+08:00The post book release blues
(This blog post has been adapted from a Twitter thread at the request of Carrie D. Miller, whose latest book, Copper Pennies, is out as we speak.)
* * *
Hi friends. Today I want to talk about the post book release blues. Not every author gets it, nor is it the same for every author, but it's a real thing. Having just seen The Thief Who Went to War out the door, it has been heavily on my mind.Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-79287728574295283122019-06-08T13:33:00.001+08:002019-06-08T13:33:52.769+08:00The Thief Who Went to War
Well. It’s, uh, been a while since we least heard from Amra and Hogren. According to Amazon, the first publication of Thief Who Wasn’t There was on June 5th, 2015, so at the time of this writing, it’s been four years and two days. That’s a long time to wait for a sequel. Not GRRM long, not Patrick Rothfuss long, but long. Too long. And for that I’d like to apologize and explain a bit.
When IMichael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-88555961630964096072019-05-17T13:58:00.000+08:002019-05-17T13:58:44.383+08:00The Madness of ‘The Bells’
The fifth episode of the final season of Game of Thrones
brought rioting from its fans. I’ma talk about it. As if you didn’t already
know, spoilers ahead.
The scene was set thusly: The Iron Fleet is burning. The
city’s gates are breached. The dozens of scorpions that line the city’s walls
have been reduced to ash and splinters by the creature they were designed to
kill. The allied troops of Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-49360589464404676152019-01-16T00:58:00.000+08:002019-01-16T00:58:20.103+08:00Notes from the trenches #1It's hard to give crunchy updates, ones that can objectively measure progress on a novel. The most obvious one is word count, and it is a useful measure, of course; a book is a collection of words, after all, and the more of them there are in a draft, the closer it likely is to being finished. Currently Amra 5 is sitting at just over 11,000 words. Averaging the other Amra books, we'd get a word Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-65632741016120001322018-12-30T12:45:00.000+08:002018-12-30T14:57:12.155+08:00*nervous chuckle* will be the title of my memoir
Hey, everybody. Long time no talk, yeah? *nervous chuckle*
So, um, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, whether
you celebrate or not, and I hope that the very rapidly approaching new year
treats you better than the old.
Speaking of the end of the year, many of you may be aware
that I made public noises with my mouth (or rather fingers, I guess, but let’s
not muddle our metaphors Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-25000706125772267372018-06-14T12:41:00.003+08:002018-06-14T12:41:45.364+08:00Blood in the Cut
So sometimes a character will demand more screen time. Theiner (Moc Mien) from Amra #3 and #4 has been making it known to my subconscious that he has some things he wants to do in front of you folks. They are bad things.
This is a little exploratory writing I did for him, just a snippet. It might end up as a short story, or as a complete novel. (I'm still hard at Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-37730656564849247992018-05-24T22:43:00.003+08:002018-05-24T22:43:56.494+08:00An Unclean Strength: How to get the updated ebookI've been working with an Amazon customer service representative the last few days, trying to get Amazon to push out the updated ebook to everyone who has already bought it. They were reluctant to do so as it would mean folks would lose their notes and highlights and such, which is fine and reasonable.
Instead, if you'd like, you can go to your 'Manage Your Kindle' page (or it might appear as 'Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-65424322262663576462018-05-20T14:25:00.000+08:002018-05-20T14:25:08.788+08:00An update on updates: Everything is updated.Hi all,
Well, I've just spent a week plus updating everything in the Amra Thetys and Skinwalker series. Most of it is cosmetic; Making sure fonts and such match across series.
But.
There were a couple of bugs in Amra #4, one missing word in Amra #3, one very wrong word in Prayers in Steel (No, Michael, a humerus is not generally found in the the leg), and, uh, more than a couple of typos in Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-81872994329490509442018-05-14T14:05:00.002+08:002018-05-14T14:05:30.369+08:00Amra Amra AmraI've all but finished reformatting every book I ever wrote, and in some cases have given them new covers. All the Amra stuff is done, and now I'm working through the Skin Walker books. It has taken, uh, a long time. Days and days. I even added them to Google Play/Google Books.
For someone as technologically challenged and finicky-stuff averse as me, it has been a trial.
BUT, that means, Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-17172585948344230142018-04-27T13:08:00.000+08:002018-04-27T18:30:54.464+08:00The Skin Walker War series: Epic Fantasy or Sword & Sorcery?
I’ve been thinking a
lot about this question, as the release date for An Unclean Strength
draws nearer. You see, there’s a definite worry that I’ll be
‘damned if I do, damned if I don’t’ because of the way I am
approaching the writing of this series. Some epic fantasy readers
will undoubtedly be disappointed that these books are not the
door-stoppers that dominate the genre. Some Sword & Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-38044650010725426302018-04-11T14:45:00.000+08:002018-04-11T14:45:10.572+08:00Fair warning?So the first half of An Unclean Strength is kinda slow, for those familiar with my writing style. I'm feeling unreasonably antsy about that, but it needs to set up a lot of stuff for the slaughter-fest that is the second half of the book, and the bonkers annihilation-level stuff in book three.
I'm hoping people don't mind.
Oh, and uh, spoiler alert, I guess?
May 9th
Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-86029208444206156132018-03-23T13:31:00.001+08:002018-03-23T13:31:05.786+08:00An Unclean StrengthWow, three months already? I am... not good at posting. Or keeping track of time.
Anyway, I'm here to let you know that the sequel to Prayers in Steel is currently available for pre-order, and will release on May 9th. Prayers has seen quite good sales, and some lovely reviews, and I'm working hard to not disappoint when it comes to An Unclean Strength. It's available at all the usual suspects, Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-40609879708291836042017-12-19T15:13:00.001+08:002017-12-19T15:13:39.834+08:00The Skin Walker WarHello all you beautiful people.
2017 has been a long, hard road, both personally and in general, but it has also been a year marked by firsts. For me, it was the first time I've ever earned a degree, so I can't say 2017 was all bad.
I also want to try something new, writing-wise, and I thought maybe you'd like to join in on that.
I'll be launching a new series soon, as you might already know. Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-63857156519092322592017-12-02T13:43:00.001+08:002017-12-02T13:43:48.423+08:00Welcome, DecemberI am sitting at a coffee shop in Da Nang, Vietnam. It's a gray sky, blustery, with a thin drizzle coming down -- just enough to make the roads slick and put that squinty-eyed frown of distaste on everybody's face. You know the one I mean.
I'm going through revisions for Prayers in Steel (this blog post is my reward for finishing up a chapter that's taken me two and a half days). I'm drinking Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-44496328569261359182017-11-01T16:06:00.000+08:002017-11-01T16:06:09.610+08:00A new addition to the Amra Thetys series, among other newsNo, it isn't Amra #5 - that'll be out next year. But it is set in Amra's world, and features a character many have said they enjoyed. You might remember Lhiewyn, the grumpy old priest from Trouble's Braids (who also penned the Amra's World appendix). In The Last God, we get three interconnected stories told from his point of view.
It isn't necessary to have read any of the Amra books in order Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-63338846330351586402017-08-31T21:59:00.003+08:002017-08-31T22:00:26.293+08:00A writing career in one graphMichael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-2870571780641415502017-08-16T14:21:00.003+08:002017-08-16T14:26:17.254+08:00Dear Amazon Customer Service representative,
Good day to you. I read with real surprise that readers had noted 'errors' in my text, and was even more surprised when these supposed errors were listed in your email. They are not errors, typographical or otherwise.
Cloudroot vs Cloud root
In the first instance, I wrote 'cloudroot' and your email suggests I should change this to 'cloud root'. Since my novel is fantasy and Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-49239655229620992002017-07-28T06:24:00.002+08:002017-07-28T06:24:42.968+08:00How not to write a fantasy series
I do things, as a
writer, that are not in my best interest.
When you write a
series, there should be a clear progression, an arc that bends toward
a final conflict in the story's world, without much deviation. When
you write a first person point of view series, you should never stray
from that point of view, that character. These are not complicated
guidelines, nor are they arbitrary. So ofMichael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-61984442561384675762017-06-25T21:29:00.002+08:002017-06-25T21:38:27.708+08:00A review of Graham Austin-King's Faithless
I'm
going to get a little personal with you here, guys. I've been really, incredibly poor for a couple of years now. Virtually everything I
earn, after basic necessities, has been going towards getting my
degree. Why am I telling you this in a book review? To explain why I
don't do book reviews. Put simply, I don't buy books to read for
pleasure, nowadays, because that's a luxury I've had Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-1718423891053873372017-01-13T12:14:00.002+08:002017-01-13T12:14:43.010+08:00Ye Olde Writing Update
So I've got two
projects that I plan to finish by the end of February. Here's where
we're at on both of them, and after:
Prayers in
Steel
This is a
rewrite/expansion of the Blood Tempered novella
and its unreleased sequel, Weaving Steel.
I'm going back and reworking the terse style and fleshing out
secondary characters, as well as giving it a more 'epic' tone. It's
sitting at about 48,000 Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-17449076858671273292017-01-09T23:30:00.003+08:002017-01-09T23:30:41.006+08:00 Publishing and self publishing: more straight talk from Uncle Mike
I've got some more
things to say. Once again, some of it won't be very popular, but I
believe it to be true. Better you hear it from me than find out on
your own.
1: Embrace
the suck
This is army speak
for the inevitability of ending up in a situation that sucks, and the
attitude that will see you through it. Complaining, time honored
though it may be, will not extricate you from the Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-60181724427917608502017-01-08T12:39:00.003+08:002017-01-08T12:39:51.767+08:00An important announcement
Hi folks,
I've got some
disheartening news to share with you this time around, I'm afraid.
I've decided to take the rights to the Amra Thetys series back from
Ragnarok Publications. The reasons are business-related, and boil
down to this: I doubt I'll ever actually get paid the royalties due
me for sales of the Ragnarok editions of the books. They seem to be
in a pretty big mess over there,Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2