The Writing Progress...

Things have been busy, from the kickoff to Keeneland's Fall Racing Meet where I'm part of the broadcast team, to a visit to Maysville Kentucky to do the keynote speech to the kickoff event for the READ ON! program

The kickoff event was fantastic. Dr. Shires and everyone from the Kentucky Gateway Museum made me feel right at home, and I managed to get to the podium without tripping too! LOL I gave a speech on the literary strengths and merit of the fantasy genre, and the talk appeared to go over pretty well from some of the comments I got afterwards. Great program too! Over 1,000 copies of Ursula K. LeGuin's first Earthsea novel will be distributed in the program to students, as the theme of this year's program is fantasy.

Just found out that I will have a reading slot at the Kentucky Book Fair (held in Frankfort KY) on November 12th, at 2pm. They only have 12 reading slots, so I was really stoked to get the word that I had one.

Writing has been going well. Been working hard on polishing the third Fires in Eden novel. Really concentrating on the arrangement of the threads,to try to set a nice pace to the book. The placement of the threads make a big difference in terms of the overall flow. With some of the cliffhanger action transpiring in this one, I'm having a lot of fun with determining what point of view will follow another.

Readers will be exploring quite a bit more of Midragard and Avanor, and the prime city of Avanor, Avalos, including the Unifier's great mountain citadel. Quite a bit advances in the plot, and several things from Dream of Legends are tied up nicely, regarding the Battle on the Plains of Athelney and the invasion going on in the Five Realms.

There are some really powerful moments in this one, in terms of the series, shown from the perspectives of both sides in the conflict. Expect quite a bit of action, some new territory, and some further development of the main characters.


Also in regards to the Fires in Eden series, we are getting close to the announcement of an exciting new short story series, which will involve eBooks and eventual single author collections...readers of the Fires in Eden series, and those of the Rising Dawn Saga, are in for some new adventures!

Writing, New Events, and a Few Updates

Finished up my tasks as one of the directors for the broadcasts of the big thoroughbred auctions at Keeneland. Things concluded well at the Keeneland Yearling Sale, as they brought in over $225 million dollars. As I've mentioned before, it is kind of surreal to be in such an environment, as it is very different from the economic reality you see everywhere when you exit the grounds and go about your daily business. All in all, it went very well, and it is always inspiring to be around something that is on an upswing and successful.

As always is the case after a hard-pressed sales period, the past week has been swamped with all kinds of things I couldn't directly get to during the two weeks of sales. Primarily, this involved a trip to Louisville to coordinate on some events next year that I will be involved with. One, of course, is FandomFest,in Louisville KY which has been moved to June 29-July 1 in 2012. It will be at the Galt House this year, so we have the kind of venue that fits the caliber of this event. Should be an amazing weekend, and I will have all kinds of updates here.

I will also be getting underway on Duckon in Chicago and a new Birmingham event scheduled for the last week in February. More on both of those very soon.

I also got invited to be the keynote speaker at the kick-off event for the Read On! program coordinated by the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center, in Maysville, KY. this year's theme is fantasy, and they have invited me to talk about my experiences writing fantasy. Should be a lot of fun. The date is Wednesday, October 5, at the Maysville Conference Center on 2nd Street in Maysville KY.

Writing is the one thing I don't put on the backburner, and I've been hard at it all throughout, primarily on the third book in the Fires in Eden Series. I'm going through the threads with a fine-toothed comb, and really working hard on the sequencing of the threads, so that the pacing of the book is as strong as possible. From the Elder, to Avalos and Avanor, to the ongoing invasions of Saxany and the Five Realms, a lot is happening, and I want this new installment to be action packed while also exploring some new areas of Ave. Readers can expect to become much more familiar with Avalos and Midragard especially... hint, hint.

I am also working on polishing some short stories set in Ave for an exciting new eBook series at Seventh Star Press. There will be an announcement on this soon, but Steven Shrewsbury, the great sword and sorcery author at SSP, and myself, will be the first two out of the gate. The short stories will be a great introduction for new readers into Ave, and for current readers the short stories will take you to many places in Ave you haven't explored yet, while deepening some of Ave's history for you.

I should also have some Dreams of Steam II books listed in the online store at my site pretty shortly, as in around Monday. Those ordering the anthology, containing my second Harvey and Solomon story, can get it signed and personalized, as well as get a special commemorative Harvey button. I have a small number in, so if you want one, be sure to order it relatively soon.

Last, but not least, a great new Dream of Legends review was just posted up at Fantasy Book Review in the UK. They scored it a 9 out of 10, and you can check it out here:
http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/blog/2011/09/30/dream-of-legends-fires-in-eden-book-2-by-stephen-zimmer-reviewed/

That about sums things up for the moment. Busy, but I like it that way! :)