Michael G. Munz

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Archives for December 2007

Christmas Eve Rambling

December 24, 2007 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

So it’s Christmas Eve already. I honestly didn’t realize it had been so long since I’d written here, but I suppose that’s the holiday season for you. I’ve no particular thing in mind to blog about today, so this is likely to be something of a stream-of-consciousness entry…and I warn you, my consciousness can get a little weird. On the plus side, I haven’t just consumed an entire box of chocolate-covered espresso beans. (THAT resulted in some interesting writing, let me tell you. I wonder if I still have that? Maybe I should post it here just for people’s general amusement/horror.)

Side note: There’s a line in Legacy of Memory where Felix makes reference to a similar situation for no particular reason other than he’s Felix. (I was going to put it up here, but, oddly, to it would require a rather lengthy lead-up, so I’ll hold off on that for now.)

I think Mike’s Focus Pendulum(tm) has now swung back the other way, toward writing the second book and away from marketing A Shadow in the Flames. I’ve said it before and I like to repeat myself: marketing is draining and not very much fun. On the plus side, I’ve heard from numerous people now (some of whom I’ve never even met, which is even more cool) that they’re enjoying/enjoyed the book. Some have even ordered more copies to give to friends as gifts, which frankly is a great compliment to me.

Random tidbit about the cover of ASITF: though the city of Northgate is fictional, there IS a location in the book that is actually visible on the cover. The Aristarchus crater, in which a small part of the book takes place, is visible and actually prominent on the image of the moon. See that light spot in the dark grey a little above the nine o’clock position? That’s Aristarchus. I honestly had forgotten exactly where the crater was since I looked it up a long time ago and needed a crater name, so I thought that was kind of neat. I’ve actually no idea where those buildings actually exist, though. (I can tell you that they don’t exist so close together like that, though. It’s an image composited from a larger skyline. Each building, wherever it stands in the real world, is actually at least a few blocks from the others.)

I suppose I should get back to working on LoM–not to mention some final preparations for Christmas with my family tomorrow–so I’ll leave you with a piece of music that someone made me recall last night. It’s from the Children of Dune miniseries from the Sci-Fi Channel, and apparently written in the fictional Fremen language. The hearing the lyrics but not understanding their direct meaning has the effect of turning the vocals into another instrument in the mix, and just creates, as someone put it, a more pure and personal feeling in the listener. (It’s also used to pretty good effect in the miniseries itself.) It’s on YouTube (paired up with a fan-created montage) at www.youtube.com/watch?v=znJdaWzoRYw.

So that’s it for now. Thanks again to all who’ve read the novel so far, and Merry Christmas! (Or, at least, have a festive holiday celebration of your cultural and/or personal preference! There. Now everyone can be happy.) 😉

Mike
www.michaelgmunz.com

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Filed Under: Miscellaneous

Hello from the Wayward…

December 8, 2007 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

Hey, that title sounds like some sort of arthouse play, doesn’t it? Actually the Wayward is the name of a cafe here in Seattle (www.waywardcoffee.com) where I come sometimes. I only recently discovered it, but it’s a nice place so far. They seem to be major Firefly fans here, too.

For the moment, it’s Saturday and I’m taking a short break from doing a bit of book-marketing online to blog a bit. Marketing continues to take up more of my time than I’d like–or at least thinking about marketing and doing what I can about it. (No idea how effective I’ve been just yet, but I suppose every little bit helps.) I’d much rather be working on Legacy of Memory, but I suppose I’ve said that before.

Speaking of Legacy of Memory (the sequel to A Shadow in the Flames), I am making headway, if slowly at the moment. Right now, as I’ve been in an ASITF headspace for the past month or so, I’ve decided to reread what I’ve got of LoM just to refresh myself and recall various themes and character arcs. Of course I can’t help but make a few minor edits as I go. Minor tweaking is something that’s difficult to stop doing. I’ve purposely not reread the first book even after I got my printed copy because I’m sure I’d see something I want to change.

I’m pretty excited about book 2, even though it’s not done yet. I just think it’s a better book–not that the first book isn’t good, of course. It’s just that I can develop characters more and build on things from book 1 now that things are established. It’s also fun for me, as a storyteller, to take elements from book one that I’d purposely cooked for development later and do what I’d planned so long ago. I also think my writing skill has just plain improved a bit, as happens with most writers, so I’m necessarily more proud of this one. Now I just need to finish the first draft, do some major tweaking/editing/revising/etc., and…well, see how well I can get it to press. Then the process of writing book 3, looming on the horizon, shall begin. (If you’re curious, I’m currently thinking of Here Be Dragons for the title of that, though I originally had a different title in mine for Legacy of Memory, too, so that’s subject to change. And NO, I won’t tell you what I was originally going to call LoM. It…it wasn’t good.) 🙂

A Shadow in the Flames is now the #2 best-selling sci-fi book from VirtualBookworm.com! Thanks to everyone who’s helped get me there!

Mike
www.michaelgmunz.com

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Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Writer

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Zeus Is Undead: This One Has Zombies

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Four Fantastical Ways to Lose Your Fingers

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