Back? From Erstwhile?

Whew. It's been a busy time. In addition to all the usual drains on my time and energy that I inevitably go on about in this space (blah blah day job blah blah family blah), most of you probably know the latest thing that's been tugging at the sleeve of my life.

My new webcomic, Cold Iron Badge, launched last week on Modern Tales. You can read it here!

I think the launch went well, and the response has been really positive so far. Thanks to everyone who has already shared your thoughts!

Cold Iron Badge is around three-quarters written, and with our planned weekly update schedule -- with a new short scene appearing every Monday, there's plenty of time for me to finish it without too much deadline pressure.

By the way, that means that the next installment will be up tomorrow, so please do check it out!

But there was also a lot of other prep work. Talking with Patrick about all sorts of details related to the launch, logos and promotional images and all kinds of other stuff. Doing an interview with Patrick and Modern Tales editor Shaenon Garrity.

So, I've got a new webcomic up and running. It's not hypothetical any more. People I don't know can read it whenever they want. And Greg and I have been talking about reviving the Xeno's Arrow website and doing more to promote that project -- with the long-term goal of creating new material. And a couple of months back, as I mentioned, I was published in Weird Tales.

So, I've been busy. But also...

I think I might be back.

From erstwhile.

Which not only means that I'm noticeably busier, but also leaves me with the question of what this blog is for, now.

That's something I need to think about. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated.

Here Comes The Sundry

It's been a fairly hectic couple of weeks. Lots going on at work, and at home, and on the creative front as well.

All of it vital, productive, interesting background and developmental stuff that makes for lousy anecdotes.

Patrick and I are gearing up for the launch of Cold Iron Badge on Modern Tales. Greg and I are talking about some new things to do with Xeno's Arrow. I have a writers group meeting coming up this week.

Good stuff. It's keeping me busy. I'm thinking all the time. But it's just not a particularly interesting part of the process to anyone who isn't actually in it.

Sorry. There'll be plenty happening over the next couple of weeks. Around mid-July and August, things are really going to start popping -- and there'll be announcements before that. But right now, it's all in such early stages that there's nothing to tell.

Nothing Sundry About It!

Cold Iron Badge! Modern Tales! July 2008!

I was due for a little good news, I think -- and, boy, did I get some! Cold Iron Badge will launch on Modern Tales this July, and I couldn't be happier.

What a trifecta: A prestigious venue for my project. The chance to bring new material to a new audience. The opportunity to work with Patrick... It's an amazing way for everything to come together for Cold Iron Badge.

Thanks to Modern Tales's editor, the illustrious Shaenon Garrity, for her support. To Patrick for his hard work and mad skillz. And to everyone whose kind words about the preview pages encouraged me to keep moving forward.

Patrick and I are still working on the details of the exact launch date. I'll definitely keep you all posted.

Feeding the Body, Feeding the Mind

I had dinner Saturday night with some of the old comics gang -- Greg, Tara Tallan and Rob "Tragic Lad" Clark. Getting the band back together is always a good time, but this occasion was particularly inspiring. I've been wanting a chance to pick Rob and Tara's brains about webcomics, promotion, and how best to use all the new web-based tools that have been developed over the past few years to facilitate both.

My brain is buzzing. So many ideas to explore, so many things to learn. So many opportunities! It's a little daunting and really exciting.

Plus, we had ice cream! Win!

I've Always Been A Twit, So This Was The Next Logical Step

I've joined Twitter, the social networking site that Rob Clark describes as a "micro-blogging platform". If you tweet on Twitter, or you want to, you can follow me here!

How Can I Think With A Brain This Full?!

Forgive me if I seem a little breathless. Over the space of a week I went from having a lot going on, but nothing much happening, to having a huge pile of happening on top of everything that's going on.

I'm literally tingling with excitement. Actually, that might just be the caffeine.

Regardless, there's going to be lots more for me to tell and to share over the next few weeks. Keep watching this space!

How Can I Be So Boring When So Much Is Happening?

Just a quick update -- it doesn't really merit the venerable and honourable title of "Sundry", you see.

I have been very busy. Writer's Group was good! Progress on Cold Iron Badge continues! I baked a loaf of bread!

Yeah, the excitement never stops with yours truly, I tell ya.

Sundry, Bloody Sundry

It's been a hectic three weeks. Lots going on at work, always stuff to do at home.

I've been working away on Cold Iron Badge -- Act 3 is still a bit of a bear, but that's more because it's turning out to be a longer script than I thought, not because of any insoluble issues in the narrative.

I mean, I knew that plot points that could be expressed in a single sentence of the outline ("Our heroes fight a giant clockwork banana. In space!") were going to take up rather more pages of script. But the ratio -- the number of script pages it takes to express a plot point -- has been higher for Cold Iron Badge than in my other comics work.

It progresses. Slowly. But it progresses. A related project, which is not so much on the creative side -- and which I'm not going to go into details about yet -- has been moving more quickly.

I Know Where My Towel Is

Today is Towel Day, when we honour the memory of Douglas Adams. It's a good day to know where your towel is, try a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster and, if you're especially ambitious, to try to throw yourself at the ground, and miss.

Rory Root and Robert Asprin

And as of this week, two more names that can only be honoured in memory from now on.

On Monday came the untimely death of Rory Root. Rory was not well-known outside of comics publishing and retailing, but within those realms he cast a very long shadow. His store, Comic Relief, was literally one of the best in the world, a model and inspiration for the industry. He was a tireless voice advocating for comics and graphics novels, and a supporter of Xeno's Arrow. I only had the pleasure of meeting him in person a couple of times, but I liked him very much and respected him tremendously.

He was a boundlessly energetic and positive person who did an unbelievable amount of good for the medium and business of comics. He will be greatly missed.

Then, on Thursday, Robert Asprin died. A writer of science-fiction and fantasy, his work was among my favourites when I was a teenager -- especially the Myth Adventures series of comedic fantasy novels. And although his writing and my own tastes eventually went in different directions, I still remember and cherish the delight I felt at enjoying his work for the first time. His style -- at least in the books of his I most enjoyed -- was breezy and sunny, full of wit and comedic asides. I suspect that it influenced my early development as a writer rather strongly.
He, too, will be missed.

I Didn't Really Want to End on a Down Note...

Let's see... my Writers Group meets this week. That'll be fun.

Oh, and Greg and I were finally shamed into reviving the long-moribund Xeno's Arrow Forum. Drop by to read all about it and chastise us for our lack of internet-savvy!

I may have some actual news over the next week or so -- it depends on the Cold Iron Badge-related matter I mentioned. I'll keep you all posted!

Sunday Sundries Raids Again!

Gigantis: The Sunday Sundries!
The Volcano Sundries!
Sunday Sundries's Counter Attack!
Stephen: The Fire Monster!

(This barely relates to the actual subject matter of my post, by the way; I just like old-school Toho Godzilla movies. And most of them have many, many titles.)

Yesterday was Free Comic Book Day -- the comic book industry's big annual public outreach event. And a day devoted to getting long-time and first-time readers alike into comic book stores to discover the amazing depth and breadth of the medium of comics seemed like a fine occasion to get the old gang back together.

FCBD itself was fine, although I actually got to the Beguiling more or less at the end of the day. I did get some free comics -- titles I had never read before -- but I was more into our dinner plans for afterwards.

Getting my old comics posse back together -- in whatever permutation our busy lives allow -- is always fun. And it's always inspiring. Someone always has new art to show around, there are always new stories, new ideas, and new plans.

Saturday was no exception -- it fuelled the fire in my belly.

And the truth is, with work and family and all the day-to-day concerns that wear us all down, I need every little spark of passion I can get. It's hard to stay focused and excited about creative work when I can only eke out a few minutes at a time to actually do it, on the bus or on my lunch or late at night.

I'm feeling that excitement now. For Cold Iron Badge. For Xeno's Arrow.

Cool plans are being discussed. Awesome comics are being made. People who have been away from the game are getting back to it. And I want to be part of it all.

Thanks to Greg, Jeff, Chris, Tara, David and Adrian (even though we only saw you for about five minutes, Adrian). You inspire me. Let's do it again soon.

Or, uh, the BI-weekly Update...?

This Year, April Really Is The Cruelest Month

Yeah, I'm a little out of my groove this month. I've been really tired for some reason, and having a hard time focusing on anything that isn't work/kids/sleep.

That, more than anything, is the reason for my not posting a Sundries last weekend. It's like the old Bloom County strip about the media trying to cope with a day when literally nothing happens. ("Nothing: Is it the new something?") It's possible. But it's embarrassing.

Slow Iron Badge

Chapter 3 of Cold Iron Badge progresses, but v...e...r...y... s...l...o...w...l...y. That's with a capital "...", if you're curious.

I've been writing on my lunch hour, even on the subway (I normally find public transit way too crowded and stressful to write, but you gotta use the time you've got, right?) So it is happening, albeit at a pace that frustrates me.

Part of the problem with this incremental approach is that the characters are still pretty new to me, so it can sometimes take a while for me to find their voices. And then I have to stop and go back to work.

I'd love to have a day, even an afternoon, to go heads-down and finish the chapter -- maybe May will be more conducive?

The Writers Group and the Screenplay

My Writers Group met last week, and another piece of my screenplay was up for discussion.

Hmm. Have I talked about the screenplay recently? I back-burnered the postmodern-y, genre-bending romantic comedy I originally brought to the group, and instead I've been offering pieces from the thriller I started, and blogged about, a couple of years ago.

It's about time for me to incorporate some of the great feedback I've been getting and write a new draft. One which, uh, actually finishes the script, which kind of ran out of gas at the Act 2/Act 3 transition and has been languishing ever since.

It's called Dark Green, by the way.

A Colder, Rainier, Better Week?

The weather in Toronto is supposed to get back to seasonal norms starting tomorrow -- rainy, and in the mid-single-digit Celsius range -- from the June-like temperatures we've been enjoying.

For all that, I think it might be a better week for me. I took a real kick at my sleep deficit today, and I'm feeling excited about both Cold Iron Badge and Dark Green. I'll keep you posted, of course.

I Should Just Call it the 'Weekly Update' or Something...

Welcome to another lazy Sunday -- so lazy, it lasted through most of Monday!

Script Happens
Posting the latest Cold Iron Badge preview has been another kick in the motivator, and I've been moving forward with the script for Chapter 3. I'm at the stage where I need to get the stuff I've been writing in my notebook on my lunch break out of my notebook and into the computer, and carving out the time to do that has been another challenge.

You Can Get Pigtails & Potbellies Online?
My old friend Mike White returns to comics after several years away from the game with his new web strip, Pigtails & Potbellies. It's about a pig, a little girl who doesn't talk much, and a guy who makes Steve Dallas look like Steven Hawking.

Seeing new comics from Mike is just pure, unremitting joy -- every panel is so full of energy and fun! I can't recommend his work enough, so I'll just ask you this: Do you want to be happier?

Then read Pigtails & Potbellies.

Dreams Can Come True... Especially Weird Ones
Some of you will remember, back in January, when I posted It Turns Out I Have a Secret History -- about discovering that my great-grandfather, Victor Lauriston, had written short stories for the old pulp magazines. Including, to my shock and delight, for the great-grandfather of modern fantasy and horror fiction, Weird Tales. H. P. Lovecraft was featured in the same issue.

Through a fortuitous bit of web alchemy, Steven H. Segal, the editorial and creative director of Weird Tales -- yes, it's still going strong -- saw that post, and asked if I'd be interested in telling my story in the 85th Anniversary issue of Weird Tales.

To say that I was, yes, definitely interested would be to understate the case by several orders of magnitude. It's fair to say that email was the most exciting thing that happened to me in January -- and I got my new job that month.

So: My piece appears in the current issue of Weird Tales, the 85th Anniversary issue, #349. It's available in stores, or directly from the publisher.

I'm in Weird Tales.

Wow.

To say that this is a dream come true is not hyperbole, but a simple statement of fact. A weird dream, to be sure. But my dream.

And, just to give great-grandfather a run for his money? Also featured in this issue are luminaries like Ken Hite, Tanith Lee...

And Michael Moorcock.

I doubt I'll be able to top this one, but I'll have more updates next week, plus any one-off rants that time permits in between.

The Adventures of Sunday Sundries Across the 8th Dimension

I'm once again invoking artistic license, and proceeding with numbering these updates as though there had been a 'Sunday Sundries VII' last week. Mostly because the Buckaroo Banzai reference was too much fun to wait another week for.

I skipped the update because, well, not a whole lot of note had been happening. I spent a lot of last weekend too tired to do much besides stare at the walls, after having coordinated moving the office to a new space that Friday.

No, I didn't have to do the actually lifting and carrying -- and thank goodness -- but the stress of being responsible for the whole deal wore me right out. Keep in mind, I've had my job for less than two months, and I was single-handedly dealing with organizing the whole move. Exciting, I learned a lot and the new location is great. But it was tiring.

But that was last weekend.

Writing!

Yes, I've been writing, and man does it ever feel good. I realized that it wasn't that I don't have any time -- it's that the time I do have wasn't allowing me to write in the way I was used to.

So the solution was a change of approach.

I've been writing on my lunch hour -- the new space is on the third floor of an office building, and there's a small cafe on the main floor. If I take a late lunch, it's pretty quiet and there's lots of space.

I wasn't sure what kind of results I'd get, having just under a hour to write. But it seems to be working out so far, as does the other big change -- writing longhand.

Yeah. Longhand. My laptop is old, clunky and has a lousy battery, so it would be a pain to drag along on my morning commute, and a bigger pain to try to use in the cafe.

But my notebook and a pen? Hella portable.

Old school, that's me.

Cold Iron Badge!

What have I been working on, this past week of lunch hours? I've been doing a bit of editing on a friend's project, but mostly I've been getting back to Cold Iron Badge. And I finally, finally seem to be getting some traction on my script for Chapter 3.

In more exciting news, Patrick has finished pencilling Chapter 1 -- congratulations! -- with a hefty chunk of those pages also inked and lettered. Which means that we'll have another preview for you shortly!

Coming Soon: Sunday Sundries Against the World Crime League!

There's a lot more to talk about -- especially the big online discussion that's developed over the past couple of weeks regarding the economics of webcomics, but that's a big enough topic to warrant a post of its own.

I'll try to marshal my thoughts on that sometime this week. Assuming that I don't have to move any more offices, that is!

Sunday Sundries VI: The Undiscovered Blog

Well, I feel tres nerdy, dropping Star Trek references in the titles of the three most recent Sunday Sundries. But really: Not a lot of franchises get to six. It's Star Trek, Star Wars and various slasher series from the 80's about nubile adolescents being disembowelled. And I very much didn't want to call this update Sunday Sundries VI: I Stab Your Naked Head.

Wasn't this Supposed to be a Writing Blog?

So, it's the end of a long weekend -- no holiday on Monday for me. Progress on my writing continues to be of the barely-eked-out variety, but it is happening. While things are still going swimmingly at my job, life has been handing me a few lemons on other fronts lately -- enough to outstrip my capacity for lemonade-making.

My writers group meets this week, and I'm hoping that will help to re-energize me.

That's about it. I was hoping to pull it all together with a witty conclusion for you, but that seems to be beyond my capabilities tonight. Eh, they can't all be gems.

Sunday Sundries V: The Bad One Where I Ask Why God Needs A Starship

Outrage quota met; now back to work!

Whew. The big Bill C-10 post is done (see below), and I'm glad. To be honest, it had turned into kind of a monkey on my back. I only have so much time so write, and when I use that time to blog about writing, rather than, you know, actually doing it... Well, let's be gentle and say that it feels like maybe not the best approach to time-management.

Rewarming the Cold Iron Badge

I'm going to work on the work-family-me time balance this week. I've set myself a goal of having two important things completed for Cold Iron Badge by the end of the Easter weekend. One is Chapter 3, which has been taking far too long. The other... well, no point in going into that unless it pans out. Honestly, it's nothing too exciting yet.

Dammit, Jim!

Hey... Come to think of it, why would God need a starship...?

Sunday Sundries IV: The Funny One Where I Travel in Time to Save the Whales

Something Semantic, Something Pedantic.

I keep trying to write something about Bill C-10, and why it's an odious attempt to use tax credits for film and TV production to attack freedom of expression. But I keep getting hung up trying to address the issue of whether it really, technically qualifies as censorship, or not.

I'm just going to have to do an end-run around the hair-splitting. C-10 post coming soon, with the censorship issue tidily ignored.

I Continue to Suck

I also still haven't made much creative progress; that makes three weeks running, and it's starting to piss me off. I need to find a way to deal with this, work, take care of the family, make time to write and do it without having to stay up so late that I turn into a freakin' sleep deprivation zombie.

Webcomics that Bring the Awesome

I mentioned Socks and Barney a little while ago, but it bears repeating: Steve Conley's political satire starring past, present and aspiring White House pets is smart, pointed and funny. And he occasionally quotes me!

And I totally have such a crush on Octopus Pie. Meredith Gran's strip about two young women living in Brooklyn is not only one of the best, and funniest Odd Couple riffs I've seen in a long time, it somehow manages to be scathingly sarcastic and adorable at the same time.

Daylight Saving Time: Threat or Menace?

Right. I've been staring at the screen trying to figure out a clever, dynamic way to wrap up this post for entirely too long. My brain in shutting down. I'm off to try to get my body clock straightened out, post-Spring Forward.

Sunday Sundries III: The Search for Sunday

I missed updating on the "real" Sunday. So I am proclaiming today -- Monday, March 3rd -- a "Sunday of the heart." As a wise man -- okay it was Cowboy Wally -- once said, "I consider every day to be Sunday." It may not be accurate, but it's truthy.

Oh, sure... I could just accept not posting on Sunday and move on, but then I'd have to come up with another clever name, and I don't think I have it in me. Monday Meanderings? Monday Miscellaneary? Not The Sunday Sundries? Ugh. No. See what I mean? Let's just agree that today is Sunday.

But it wouldn't have made the hugest difference, to be honest; there isn't a whole lot to relate this week. Between work and a bug that I picked up (via the kids' day care? Through the doctors I work with? Bad oyster? Who knows...) I haven't done much on the creative front.

Oh, I finally read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Yeah, a little late. But I promised myself that wouldn't buy it and read it until the first weekend after my first paycheque at a new job, as a reward. So, I am now unafraid of spoilers and can get on with my life. I will impose a review on the rest of you if anyone is really interested.

I managed to read while sick, but not write -- so I haven't made as much progress on my screenplay or on Cold Iron Badge as I would have liked.

However, the next Cold Iron Badge preview should be ready for posting soon. It introduces the protagonist, who you haven't met yet.

Sorry. I'll try to be more interesting this week, and have a fun anecdote about moose-wrasslin' or some such next time out.

I should also post about Bill C-10, and how Canada's conservative government is trying to use what looked like a brain-numbingly dull omnibus bill of tax code revisions to try to impose their narrow ideology and intolerant Puritanism on funding for Canadian film and TV. But that'll have to wait until my brain clears just a little more.

Sunday Sundries 2: Electric Blog-aloo

The weekly round-up returns. With a vengeance. Well, no. But it returns.

Socks & Barney Tips the Hat to an Ignorant Canadian!

Fellow comics guy Steve Conley is an old friend from the convention circuit. I was surprised to see that his new webcomic was political satire. Not because I didn't think he had the wit or cartooning chops to pull it off -- he's got those in spades. But Steve has always been in the running for the title of Nicest Guy In Comics; did he have the touch of Alien-esque acid in his blood that a satirist needs?

Oh yeah, he does. Socks & Barney, which is basically election year political commentary by the Clintons' cat and George W. Bush's dog, with a supporting cast of real and fictional pets of the various candidates, quickly became one of my daily must-reads. It's smart and funny and has just the right amount of acid.

Anyway, Steve runs news and commentary about the presidential race on his web page as well; I forwarded him a couple of links to articles in the Toronto Star about the Democrats Abroad primary (which Barack Obama won handily). He posted them, with a very kind tip of the hat to me. If you have any interest in the future of America and therefore, you know, the world, you really should check out Socks & Barney.

New Job: Awesome, But Time-Consuming!

My new job -- it's at the University of Toronto -- has been great so far, but the adjustment to my schedule has certainly impacted on my writing time. I'm getting up a bit earlier, although not a lot, because the kids are early risers anyway. And then I'm busy until after they're in bed. And then I'm pretty worn out, which doesn't make for the most productive writing time.

But the good energy that came from landing my job -- and the feeling of generally coming unstuck that came with it -- have balanced out the tiredness a bit. I've gotten back to Chapter Three of Cold Iron Badge, which is going to be challenging and a lot of fun to write. And I've been mulling over other projects, too, like finally finishing one of my back-burnered screenplays. More news as it happens, of course.

The Writers Continue to Group!

My writers group met last week, which was cool, because one of my projects was up for discussion. Unfortunately, illness and confusion led to a lower-than-usual turnout (and there are only five of us to start with), so Nicole and Dave had to bear the considerable burden of critiquing me on their own. But they were able to rise to the occasion admirably.

I submitted Act One of one of the long-neglected screenplays that I mentioned above, and came away with some really good feedback that will help me build a better second draft. Of course, I really should finish the first draft first...

More Cold Iron Badge Coming Soon!

Patrick just needs to finish some final edits, and then we'll be posting a second preview of finished pages for Cold Iron Badge. I'm very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts.