Books, Family, Personal, Podcasts, Projects

Happy December! Happy Advent Calendar Season!

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Many updates!

I haven’t talked about it much (Bad Mur!) but I’m the new co-host of the spec fic arm of the Carolina Bookbeat show on WCOM in Carrboro, NC, along with Sam Montgomery-Blinn. We talk every first Monday of the month about speculative fiction books. You can listen live on the radio, online, or download our podcast.

Seeing as how I’m in Carrboro for half the first Monday of the month (this includes driving time and lunch time) it pretty much destroys my day. I’m trying to get Ghost Train to New Orleans episodes up on Monday, but every 4th week (like, say, this one) it will have to be Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Same for I Should Be Writing, incidentally. I have a new computer coming, and that should make recording much easier. Tomorrow or Wednesday there should be new awesomeness. At least on my end. On your end things will sound the same.

NaNoWriMo was a failure, again, but I got around 30k words for the month, which is much better than my usual average. I consider it a win.

Speaking of writing, it’s the holidays and it’s time to buy presents for loved ones. And books make great gifts! Signed books, even!

Lastly, it’s Advent season again, and we are celebrating with a new year of our Advent Calendar podcast, inspired by Grant’s Advent Calendar. This year’s theme is Radio World, and my daughter Fiona will be doing an old timey radio drama, every voice. We have permission from the awesome John Anealio to use his “Batman Smells (A Rebuttal)” as our theme song again! Additional content includes graphics from RexWolf2 and music from Kevin MacLeod, both used under Creative Commons licenses. You can see our first episode below, and subscribe with this feed:

https://murverse.com/tag/advent/feed

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Books, Podcasts, Projects

Ghost Train to New Orleans, NaNo, and ISBW update

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So many recordings, so little time!

First– Ghost Train to New Orleans episode 8 is here! And did you hear that Amazon and Hachette stopped fussing at one another? Yes, you can get copies of Ghost Train to New Orleans and The Shambling Guide to New York City from Amazon lickety-split now, no “arrives in 2-3 weeks” BS.

Ghost Train to New Orleans
The book: Chapel Hill Comics (signed!) ~ B&N ~Powell’s ~ Amazon (aff. link)~ Indiebound ~ Waterstones
The audiobook: Ambling Books ~ Audible

The Shambling Guide to New York City
The book: B&N ~ Indie ~ Waterstones ~ Chapel Hill Comics (signed!) ~ Powell’s ~ Amazon (aff. link)
The audiobook: Ambling ~ Audible

Second – NaNoWriMo, yeah, it doesn’t look good, but I’m still writing. Still podcasting daily for Patreon supporters, although Patreon is not allowing me to send patrons emails anymore. Links are posted in the Patreon-only updates.

Third– ISBW with interviews is on hiatus until I can get my computer and recording rig setup working again. I don’t know what’s wrong, which is kind of worse because I don’t know what to fix. Apologies.

Personal, Projects

John Anealio’s NaNoWriMo Music, and more

As I peek up from the hell that is this week, I gasp for air and leave you with the news that John Anealio is offering his NaNoWriMo EP for “pay what you want.” He wrote both the ISBW theme song and the NaNoWriMo song, and you can get both songs (and two remixes) for whatever you like to pay. John has always been a supporter of my work and I like to send people his way for his awesome music.

~

Speaking of NaNoWriMo, well…

or, more officially with live updates:

Yeah…. But I’m still going. I am not giving up this month.

Books, Projects

Ghost Train to New Orleans, Episode 7

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Ghost Train to New OrleansEpisode 7 of Ghost Train to New Orleans, is here via FREE podcast!

You can subscribe to this podcast with this feed.
https://murverse.com/tag/GTNOLA/feed

If you’re enjoying the story, consider supporting me by purchasing the book either in book stores, in online retail stores, ebook stores, or via Audible.com. If you purchase the book, then it will increase the chances for a book 3!

This will only be live until 31 July, 2015. Subscribe now!

The book: Chapel Hill Comics (signed!) ~ B&N ~Powell’s ~ Amazon (aff. link)
~ Indiebound ~ Waterstones
The audiobook! Ambling Books ~ Audible

Don’t have book 1, The Shambling Guide to New York City yet?
The book: B&N ~ Indie ~ Waterstones ~ Chapel Hill Comics (signed!) ~ Powell’s ~ Amazon (aff. link)

The audiobook: (Ambling) (Audible)

Personal, Travel

Greetings from World Fantasy Con

I’m writing this from my hotel room at World Fantasy Con. Last night I did something crazy and walked back to my hotel at an insane hour- 10:30. Kids, a new sign of age is turning in early at a convention and being oh so happy for just flannel pajamas and tea. The Tor party was fun until it reached critical mass, and I was ready for some fresh air and some Netflix.

I’m seeing some awesome people, being surprised by others who I didn’t know would be here, and hope to get some recording done today. It’s a good con so far.

TONIGHT I have a 10pm panel. I have no idea how that happened since I avoid evening panels like the plague, but there it is.

NANO REPORT:
In the spirit of full disclosure, here are the ways to look at my writing in the past week:

  • I am behind pace on NaNo. Booooo. I should be at 10000 now (before today’s writing, even!) and I’m at 7200.
  • I’m ahead pace on NaNo. Yaaaaayyy! According to my plan with Susanna’s Pacemaker,  I should be at around 2200 now, and I’m WAY ahead at 7200.
  • Aside- insert quote about massaging statistics to suit your needs here.
  • I have hit a roadblock because I am writing a fantasy and only yesterday did I come across the problem of needing a map, and I don’t have a map. NaNo rules say plow on ahead, but I do admit it stymied me.

My daily NaNo show for Patreon supporters continues, making my hard work recording and editing on Monday all worth it, because right now all I have to do is post a link. (Apologies, yesterday’s link came late at night.) It’s not too late- if you join the Patreon supporters now, you will get links to all the back episodes of the daily show!

Yesterday I had lunch with Gail Carriger and Howard Tayler. They are amazing, creative people who gave me a lot of confidence in my upcoming creative decisions. Some of which you will see here. Stay tuned.

And that’s it for today. I need a shower and a coffee and a writing sprint. Who’s with me? (Um, for the writing. I’ll shower alone, thanks.)

Special Link: last year’s free daily podcast, Day 7. And get all of last year’s special NaNo shows under the NaNoWriMo tag!

Personal

Breaks. I need a lesson.

Sat down. Wrote 600+ words. Felt good. Took break.

And I don’t remember anything after that.

I know logically that the breaks are necessary and you burn out without them. But for me, that break in my mental flow tells my brain that I’m done, and getting back to it is nigh impossible.

I’ve tried pomodoros. I just ignore the “get back to work” signal.

I need help.

If you are a champion break-taker – and I mean someone who takes a break and then gets the hell back to work, not someone who goofs off all the time, cause I don’t need ANY help in that area – email me or @mightymur on Twitter to give advice. I’m at a loss.

(yeah, there are no comments on this blog. I am a strong believer in Do Not Read the Comments, even on my own blog.)

Books, Projects

Ghost Train to New Orleans Ep. 6

Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()

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Ghost Train to New OrleansEpisode 6 of Ghost Train to New Orleans, is here via FREE podcast!

You can subscribe to this podcast with this feed.
https://murverse.com/tag/GTNOLA/feed

If you’re enjoying the story, consider supporting me by purchasing the book either in book stores, in online retail stores, ebook stores, or via Audible.com. If you purchase the book, then it will increase the chances for a book 3!

This will only be live until 31 July, 2015. Subscribe now!

Buy the book*! Chapel Hill Comics (signed books!) ~ B&N ~Powell’s ~ Indiebound ~ Waterstones
Buy the audiobook! Ambling Books ~ Audible

Don’t have book 1, The Shambling Guide to New York City yet?
The book: (BN) (Indie) (Waterstones) (Chapel Hill Comics) (Powell’s)
The audiobook: (Ambling) (Audible)

*Amazon is still fussy with Hachette, my publisher, so AMZ are saying there’s a 1-3 week delay. I’ve heard anecdotes that this is bullshit, as some readers say things still ship on time. YMMV. Get The Shambling Guide to New York City here, and Ghost Train to New Orleans here.

Podcasts, Projects

NaNoWriMo Prep!

Participant-2014-Square-ButtonI’m doing a daily ISBW show focused on NaNoWriMo for Patreon supporters – for as little as a buck a month you can get a daily show while you do NaNoWriMo.

If you can’t, or don’t want to support via Patreon, then be sure to check out last year’s posts on the subject!

* I’m doing the “rising to the challenge” system. Day 1’s wordcount is only 108, but Day 30’s wordcount is a whopping 3210.

Good luck!