No secret I dislike Mrs. Clinton a great deal...But I have to give credit to her concession speech...I almost came off liking her...Had we seen more of this Hillary through the campaign, she might have had a shot...

Moving slowly on the read through. At current pace maybe last week in June for a final draft. The printer I just bought is a bit temperamental and not helping things...

I decided it was silly to give a deadline to myself since this slower-winded approach has worked so well for me (and the narrative)...No sense in rushing to the finish since I've been at this story since October 03. Writing it since May 06...Tomes take time! Remember that - if not for alliteration's sake alone.

I'm beyond happy that my main man Barack Obamba will be the democratic nominee. I've been donating about $250 a month to his campaign since January, so I'm going to pretend that it some how tipped him over the edge. Not really.

Few thoughts:
1. If you happen to be one of these crazy Hillary supporters who can't let go. Stop. Get a grip on yourself. For one, you're making Ron Paul supporters look sane. Two, Barack won fair-and-square and ran a really above-the-belt campaign. Unlike Mrs. Clinton who just embarrassed herself and used every dirty-lying-cheat in the book.

A simple example: Barack Obamba follows the rules, doesn't put his name on the ballot in Michigan. Clinton agrees to these rules then reneges once she's losing as a last ditch effort. And some how she has the gall to insist Michigan should be counted as is. Foolish desperate cheater. And if you happen to be a scorned Clinton supporter who agrees with her on this and will vote for McCain in the fall as some sort of silly childish punishment to the Democratic party. Here's where I suggest you stick your head. Flush regularly till your mind is clear again.

2. I think this is going to be a defining moment in US history. There are two clear choices: a visionary who's as close to an honest politician as we're ever going to get or a fuddy-duddy old creep with a disastrous agenda and the charisma of a wart covered bark toad. It's like watching Mr. Roper run for president...

And I'm not sure if there is a such thing as a bark toad. But it sounded good. Anyway - if McCain beats Obamba he will do so by using bogeyman techniques to scare the American voter into the Republican agenda. If that happens then I think the US deserves everything it gets for the next four years. Drown in it.

Barack & Roll, baby!

Good news: I'm basically finished with the first draft.

I have to do another read-through and add some small portions here-and-there for consistency's sake...but then it's off!

I sent a previous draft to my agent back in October 07 and she said it felt a little half-cooked, citing some confusion around the antagonists' plight. After a mini-pout session, I agreed and have been working on streamlining everything since...

After my next read-through, I could feasibly finish the draft in about 10-14 hours of clean up...I'd like to have that finished by June 1. Will I? Maybe...Been pretty lazy lately and spending my time on other ventures...Like drinking, napping & good-old Krav Maga...

One thing is for certain...That I will be finished sometime in June...So I'm easing into it...

I have the title too, but am always weary about releasing that until it's been approved by my agency...

rock,
-bg.

First off, I just wanted to report in on my new book. I have been making good progress on it. There was something in the mix I didn't like that I couldn't quite nail down. I spent the past week basically working on the backstory/outline in hopes to flush it out. After this was completed, the problem became glaringly obvious. Feels like I finally pulled an unseen splinter from my sore thumb, thinking my hand was broken...

Hey, I'll admit it...I've seen better analogies. I'm 80% sure that doesn't even make sense. Oh, well - I'm short on time today.

So apparently the writer's strike is coming to a close.

This is good news for me...I was in negotiations to sell a film option for Burn, Christmas!! Burn!! just before the strike hit, but everyone interested bugged off when it became official.

I'm not sure if things will be back on the table after the strike is over, but at least there won't be any industry barriers...

Who knows...I keep getting bites here and there for BXB & The Saddest Little Robot - this was definitely the most serious inquiry I'd ever received, so I'm hoping for the best...It would be a dream come true for me if any of my books ever made it to a movie - so I'll take any positive thoughts you can send my way!

So now that I essentially know what I need to do to have a decent working first draft, I've basically used the entire month of January to nap. Coming down with the flu didn't help much. I thought I was on my death bed last weekend. And yet I live on to tell my tale of survival...Now with a nice case of bronchitis...

Anyway...

I've also spent a good amount of time staring at things, reading books about horses & trying to relearn Fantasia in D minor by that Mozart dude (which this 8 year old girl plays much better than me)...oh...and I've been refurnishing my apartment which takes a lot of time staring at catalogs & such...I'm buying this chair next week. I've decided my apartment should look as much like a Stanley Kubrick film as possible...It's a start.



I did get a good chunk of an essential new chapter written, but only about half of it...


My goal is to continue to do nothing for the rest of this week (great goal, right?) & start to wrap it up on Sunday night...



I've reached that part of the project where it's basically 99% finished...and that last 1% feels like jogging a marathon. I'll get it finished sooner-than-later...



But if my current work flow is indicative of any completion date...I'm shooting for early Spring. That's fine as it will be just about two years of physical writing on the book - which isn't too shabby considering it's a 600 page manuscript.

Then it's onto this idea I've been working on about horses which is about half-way written...



Back to Mozart & Kubrick!

-bg.

A nice gentleman by the name of Ron Davis (I'm assuming the guy in the photo) contacted me for a weekly humor piece that runs in The Times Tribune in Scranton, PA...



I submit for your approval: Ron's questions. My answers...

Well, after about three months of stewing over it, I've figured out the best means to tighten the story.


There are several plot points running conjointly and currently they feel fractured. I realized by expanding one of the subcharacter's roles that this could all be fixed.



I still have to write the new sections...but it shouldn't be too laborious...



If all goes well - I think a mid-Feb first draft will be in order. Finally! This has been the longest book project I've ever worked on. With research and writing combined almost four years of hard work. Light at the end of the tunnel...



I promised to get this book finished sooner than later...



Thanks for checking in,

-bg.

So I was trying to upgrade my blog and in the process completely nuked everything. Good work. Not that I was going to win any blogging awards soon, but I liked it to keep track of progress.



Progress round up:

- Just finished my first historical fiction/horror novel. Some things to report in a bit. Project is going well. Still some editorial concerns before it's off on the sale block. I'm kind of taking my time with it - probably won't finish it up till year end...