Climactic Moment

Well, I have reached the climactic scenes in Children of the Mechanism. I just have to say, there are certain parts of this book that are pretty darn gross, particularly those having to do with the Grong. I really hope I can pull off what I'm attempting with this book. Thematically, it cuts deep with me, but it's also, I realize, a weird little story. We'll see how people react. Another week and I should be done with the first draft.

In other news, I did an interview recently with a website called Book Goodies, where I basically talked about how much of a space cadet I am. Oh well. If you wish to read it, head on over to http://bookgoodies.com/interview-with-author-jeffrey-aaron-miller/ and leave me a little comment there as well, if'n you don't mind.

The Mechanism is Growing

Despite being smack dab in the middle of moving to a new city and new house, I am still finding time to work on Children of the Mechanism. If I keep pace, the first draft will be done by the end of the month. We're standing at roughly 72,000 words in the saga of Bik, Hen, Ekir and Kuo. Although I believe it is ultimately a hopeful story, it is also, in some ways, my bleakest and saddest. Not sure how people will react to it. We shall see.

Here is the preliminary book blurb:

Children of the Mechanism is the story of slaves living and working the bowels of a massive factory. Most of them have never seen more than one or two rooms in their entire lives. They spend their days in harsh manual labor, underfed, dressed in rags, guarded by ruthless robots called Watchers, little understanding the purpose of their work. Life is short and cruel and unhappy. But then one day things begin to go wrong, and some of the slaves catch a glimpse of doors they never knew existed. Gradually, the true nature of the factory is revealed. 

There you go. That's it. And it should be coming to you in the near future. Certainly by about the middle of June. In the meantime, here are some other appearances (both present and upcoming) of my various novels.

First, Shadows of Tockland was mentioned at a blog called Great Indie Reads.

Second, Garden of Dust and Thorns was mentioned on a blog called Awesome Gang.

Third, a blog called Tess Three in the Morning will be doing a feature article on Mary of the Aether with a follow-up on the sequel, Mary of Shadows, on June 6, so look for that.

Finally, I will be the featured fantasy author of the day on Reddit on June 12, so look for that. Specifically, for the uninformed, that will be reddit.com/r/fantasy.

So that's about it for now. Bloodstone and A Whisper in the Void got reviewed at Amazon recently, so let me just make a quick plea that if you have read one of my books, I would greatly appreciate it if you'd take a minute to give me a review at the appropriate website.

Alrighty, that's all for now. Back to packing and cleaning up the house. Yikes.

Not-So-Famous Quotes

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, for your enjoyment today, I present to you a series of quotes from characters in my various novels, including some quotes from unreleased novels. Which one do you deem the most intriguing?

"I don’t want a boring old world where all anyone ever does is grow up and work some awful job for no money and spend Friday evenings watching high school football games and recalling the so-called glory days until they die." -Aiden, Mary of the Aether

"I don’t want sympathy. Sympathy only makes me mad." -Kristen, Mary of Shadows

"I only want to help people. Why does it have to be so complicated?" -Mary, Mary of Starlight

"Destiny has a funny way of making things irrelevant. Superior numbers, for example.” -Cakey, Shadows of Tockland

"Sit and ponder, boy. Dream of killing kings." -Nethil, Bloodstone

"Don’t really know why I do much of anything these days. Does anyone?" -Mithlen, A Whisper in the Void

"Persistence is not a virtue. It is a defect." -Adhi, Garden of Dust and Thorns

"I was born climbing the Mechanism. Nobody ever told me why.” - Hen, Children of the Mechanism 

Words. That's What It's All About

Well, I've managed to write just a smidgen over 51,000 words in 23 days. That's an average of just over 2217 words a day, which is about the average I was hoping for. I did read a blog the other day where some professional indie writer mentioned that he writes 4000-7000 words a day, which made me recoil. How is it even possible? Well, I suppose I could do it if I wrote eight hours a day, which maybe someday I will.

Anywho, Children of the Mechanism is coming right along. We're about halfway through, maybe a bit more. I just wrote one of the creepier scenes I think I've ever written. Look for it in Part Five, if and when you get hold of the book. You'll know it when you read it. Maybe I'm a touch claustrophobic, but I creeped myself out. And that's what it's all about, right?

As I close this blog post, let me remind you to subscribe to my newsletter. Click Here and Live the Dream

Thankee sai and good night.

Latest Developments

Well, I continue to write like a mad fiend on Children of the Mechanism. I'm approaching 42,000 words. I mentioned the book before. It's about slaves living and working in the bowels of a mysterious factory, lorded over by guard robots called Watchers. We are introduced to four characters: Bik, Hen, Ekir and Kuo. They have never met, each one living in a different room in the factory, but their fates are intertwined. That's the story. Anyway, I'm about halfway done with the first draft, so it should be finished by the end of May. A couple of other bits of news.

First of all, I've got a newsletter that will be coming out once or twice a month. If you want to sign up for it, click this link!

 Also, Shadows of Tockland was featured recently on Indie Tribe, so check that one out. Click this link.