Gather round the crystal ball, everybody. It’s time to look into the future … of writing.

My writing, specifically. I have five titles out right now: three TVD recap collections, Sire, the first Vampires of St. Troy novel, and Debutante, a St. Troy novella.

I’ll have at least two more novels coming out this year. Scion, the second St. Troy novel, is complete. The only thing standing between me and publication is the copyediting. I’m working on that right now (I’m actually writing this just to get a break), and I’ll be sending the manuscript out to some volunteers sometime next week.

I’ve also started work on The Wild Hunt, the first novel in The Godless Saint series. TGS is the story of Caden Lyndsey, a man who receives glimpses of the future and wields the power to change it. In The Wild Hunt, he confronts a group of people trying to resurrecting an old Norse religion … and might end up resurrecting an angry Norse god instead.

TGS is a rare instance of maltheist fiction … in this series’ universe, God is real … and he’s the bad guy.

The first novel I ever wrote (which lives now and forever in my desk drawer backup hard drive) was set in the Godless Saint universe. This series has been kicking around in my head for years now, longer even than the St. Troy novels, and I’m excited to finally share it with people. I think people who like the CW’s Supernatural or Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files will get a kick out of this book.

I’ve been writing about ten pages a day on this, which is just about one scene. At that rate, the first draft should be done in two months. I think that the outline is strong enough that it will be ready for publication after a few tweeks and a copyedit, so expect The Wild Hunt sometime in mid-year.

After that … I’m not sure. St. Troy and The Godless Saint are both ongoing series, and there are more books coming from both; Regent from ST and Possession from TGS are the next titles in the queue. But I think I might introduce a third series, just to keep myself form getting bored.

What series? Well, I’m not exactly sure … and you might have a say in the matter. Here are some of the ideas I’m tossing around:

The Witches of Castlewood: On her eighteenth birthday, our heroine finds an old leather book in her college’s library … and can hear it calling her name.

The Werewolves of Port Mercer: A girl finds herself being hunted by a werewolf, and may have to invoke ancient magics in order to protect herself.

Excalibur: This is a more traditional YA story. When a champion falls, the Lady of the Lake – yes, that one – summons a high school boy to compete for a the hero’s mantle. This story ends up with more of a Sci-Fi feel than fantasy.

The Janus Project: When a bully threatens her best friend, the heroine flips out and beats him to a pulp … and starts to remember the truth about her family. This one is also Sci-Fi

Or I could just bite the bullet and write a quick, trashy vampire porn and become rich.

And, of course, there will still be your weekly Vampire Diaries recaps (and, if fortune smiles on us, The Originals, too).

So what say ye, assembled hordes of the internet? Do any of these tickle your fancy?

previously, on The Vampire Diaries…

Elena Gilbert: What the hell even is Iquity?

Damon Salvatore: Iquity is the characteristic I exhibit when I do not allow you to remove all of your clothes and ride me like a naughty pony, no matter how much you and or I both want it, because the quote unquote Sire bond between us may make you less than capable of consent.

Elena Gilbert: Oh, so it’s like not being a raging douchebag?

Damon Salvatore: With a side of pent up sexual frustration that will probably lead to the death of a cheerleader and/or epic hatesex with Rebekah next episode, yeah.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are two approaches to writing, both of which drive me batshit insane.

The first is put forth mainly by author agents and, when they bother to talk to us, publishers. They will tell you that a book is never ready, that you need to edit and re-write and polish and prune and fluff and buff that book over and over again, and then, when it’s in absolutely the best shape possible … start all over again.

I’ve heard people proudly – proudly – state that they’ve spent the last ten years on a book that no one else has read yet. And I’ve heard agents tout these writers as examples of dedication to the craft.

And if that’s all you want out of this, if your only goal is to produce art, then that’s fine. You’re achieving your goal. But if you actually want to tell stories – to someone other than yourself, that is – at some point you have to let that manuscript out the door. And if you actually want to pay your electric bill, well, unless you’re getting seven-figure advances, you’d better be putting out more than one novel a decade.

It’s insulting to me, this idea that a novel is never ready, that a mere author is incapable of producing work that is worthy of being read.

But then there’s the other extreme, the “one and done” crowd, who claim that editing will “scare of the muse” or “frighten the word nymphs” or “quench the creative spirit.” These folks like to quote one of Heinlein’s Business Rules: “You must refrain from rewriting except to editorial order.”

There’s actually a lot of good advice in Heinlein’s rules, particularly numbers one and two: “You must write,” and “You must finish what you start.” You will never tell a story or sell a book if you aren’t writing and finishing. But, “you must refrain from rewriting” is one of Heinlein’s business rules, not one of his writing rules.

If you’re trying to pay the bills, it makes sense to have as much content on the market as possible. Short stories, novells, articles, collections … get them out there and get paid. And it’s possible, especially if you’ve been doing this for a while, that a lot of what you put out there will actually be good. But will it be great? Will it be the story you’re trying to tell?

I believe that in most things, the truth is found in the balance between two extremes. I don’t think you should spend a quarter of your life polishing one manuscript, but I don’t think you should assault your readers with the first thing that dribbles out of your brain, either, at least not usually.

Debutante took me a week to write, and it required very little rewriting to get it ready for print. But it was a very simple, straightforward, and short story that dropped into my head fully-formed. I knew what story I was trying to tell when I started.

On the other hand, there’s the next St. Troy novel, which I’ve already finished twice. That’s two whole novels sitting in a drawer on my hard drive that no one will ever see, because they aren’t the real novel. Oh, they’re complete. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end. They hit all of the plot points that a novel is supposed to have. There are characters, and they behave true to themselves.

But those two novels just weren’t right. They weren’t right for me, and they weren’t right for my readers. But this third draft? This third draft is the story I want to tell. It hit me like a bolt of lightning, and now I’m writing five thousand words a day, easy. I’ll have the third draft done within a month, and it will be right, I can feel it.

That’s the balance, for me. I could have sold the first novel, and the second one is even better. But the third draft, that one is right, and once it’s done and copyedited, any further editing would make it worse, not better.

Update

Wow, that was fast! All of the review copies of Sire and Debutante are gone. Thanks to everyone who agreed to participarte!

I’ve sent copies to everyone who’s requested them, so if you haven’t gotten yours, check your spam box or email me.

-thomas

I’m an attention whore.

That isn’t exactly a secret. Actually, that’s in my “about the author” bio on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. And I wouldn’t spend nearly as much time building a Twitter following or writing this blog if I didn’t want people to pay attention to me.

That means I love feedback. I love to know what you guys think about my writing: what worked for you and what didn’t. That’s the only way I can improve as a writer, the only way I can give you more of what you want to read and less of what you don’t.

Reviews also help other readers. A well-written review – positive or negative – helps people sort through the three-hundred thousand books (literally) that were published in the United States last year. I don’t want to take money from people who are going to hate my stories. I’d much rather connect with readers who are going to enjoy escaping into St. Troy.

So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to give away copies of my novels – Sire, Debutante, or both – to the first fifty people who ask for them. Just send me a message using my contact form and let me know what you want, and what format (Kindle, ePub, PDF). And what I’m asking in return is a promise to leave a review on Amazon.

It doesn’t have to be a good review. I’m not trying to force a bunch of five-star ratings (though I wouldn’t cry if that happened). They just have to be honest reviews. Tell me – and the world – what you really think. That will help me tell better stories, and help readers decide if they should add St. Troy to their shelves.

The debutantes’ ball has been a tradition at St. Rosemary’s Preparatory School for the past hundred and sixty years. Held every summer, the Ball is an opportunity for the girls of St. Rosemary’s to be introduced to the boys of St. Augustine’s Academy for Young Men. Brendan Clark has been in attendance each and every year. And each time he has selected a beautiful young girl, won her affections … and fed on her blood. And then he slips away into the night, vanishing as suddenly as he arrived. But when a ferocious vampire attacks the Governor’s daughter—and leaves a pile of corpses laying at Brendan’s feet—he will be forced to leave his bloodlust behind become an angel of mercy to a girl in mortal peril. If only she didn’t look so delicious …

Debutante is my latest novella, a stand-alone story in the Vampires of St. Troy universe. You can read the first chapter for free, or buy for just $2.99 from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, or Smashwords. As always, the book is DRM-free.

Hey everyone, I just wanted to give you a quick update on my writing schedule.

Work on Scion, the second Vampires of St. Troy novel, is going well. I’m about half way through this edit, and hope (key word there) to have it done – edited, proofread, and cover image designed) in about a month.

But, since I’ve been spending so much time on that story, my brain got a little foggy, and the writing got a little difficult. So I took a week off, set Scion aside, and worked on a story that’s been tickling the back of my brain for a couple of years now. The result is Debutante, a 30,000 word (120 pages, roughly) novella set in the St. Troy universe but featuring an entirely new set of characters.

The story is complete, and is being copyedited right now. The Lady is also working on a cover for me, and we should be ready to go to print in a couple of weeks. Over the next few days I’ll be releasing the cover image, jacket copy, and first chapter, and there will be a giveaway for people who buy Debutante when it’s released.

Here’s a very nice review of Sire from Angelized 1st:

Galvin took many of the things I love about other books/films/shows in this genre, and left out all the things I hate. None of the girls are weak. None of the guys are “perfect.” Everything doesn’t always work out the way you plan. Sometimes people you care about die. Life is complicated, and becomes even more so when you introduce vampires and werewolves into the picture. Caitlin finds this out in her first day at college, and the story takes off from there. Sire moves at a break-neck pace that makes it hard to put down.

You can read the rest of the review here.

Previously, on Sire Book Club…

Spoiler warning: these posts are (obviously) going to be spoiler heavy, so if you haven’t read the book yet, but plan to, be careful.

Also, I don’t want to spoil things from people who are reading along with us, so please don’t talk about things that happen in latter chapters. Once these chapter-by-chapter posts are done, I’ll do one last, whole-book post where we can talk about anything that didn’t fit into a particular chapter.

If you don’t have the book, you can get it right now in digital format. And if you order the paperback, you can get a free digital copy. (Also: let me know if you have a problem getting that digital copy. It’s worked for everyone that’s tried so far, but I still don’t entirely trust it.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Previously, on Sire Book Club…

Spoiler warning: these posts are (obviously) going to be spoiler heavy, so if you haven’t read the book yet, but plan to, be careful.

Also, I don’t want to spoil things from people who are reading along with us, so please don’t talk about things that happen in latter chapters. Once these chapter-by-chapter posts are done, I’ll do one last, whole-book post where we can talk about anything that didn’t fit into a particular chapter.

If you don’t have the book, you can get it right now in digital format. And if you order the paperback, you can get a free digital copy. (Also: let me know if you have a problem getting that digital copy. It’s worked for everyone that’s tried so far, but I still don’t entirely trust it.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Previously, on Sire Book Club…

Spoiler warning: these posts are (obviously) going to be spoiler heavy, so if you haven’t read the book yet, but plan to, be careful.

Also, I don’t want to spoil things from people who are reading along with us, so please don’t talk about things that happen in latter chapters. Once these chapter-by-chapter posts are done, I’ll do one last, whole-book post where we can talk about anything that didn’t fit into a particular chapter.

If you don’t have the book, you can get it right now in digital format. And if you order the paperback, you can get a free digital copy. (Also: let me know if you have a problem getting that digital copy. It’s worked for everyone that’s tried so far, but I still don’t entirely trust it.)

Read the rest of this entry »