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by Melissa Sweet Houghton Mifflin 2008 Covers are funny things. You're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but a lot of time goes into making those covers appealing so that you'll pick them up. Also, after the umpteen-millionth time you decide to ignore your gut feeling and give a book a chance despite its cover, and get burned, you decide that maybe you should trust the gut a little

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In a bit or irony, I've finished red-lining GOODHALO. Sort of fitting on Valentine's Day, eh? You know with the red and the zombies and the...

Nevermind.

Anyway. It's a big step toward being closer to getting this puppy ready for 'prime time.' As quick as I am with other parts of this process, technical editing is always (for me) the most TEDIOUS part of the whole process. I'd much rather write 18 more books than have to tech-edit one.

But...that's the way it's done...at least in my funky little world.

Here's a small sample of what a part of one page of GOODHALO looks like, red-lined and all.

Man...doesn't that look like FUN? Actually, this is what just about EVERY page of my manuscript looks like. I mean, it's not the same words or anything like that, but it's chock-full of red. Again, this is my process. I tend to draft it fast to keep my short attention span in check and then it's a bit more fun to transcribe the changes, punch it up a bit, give it another scrutinizing read-through and then incorporate needed changes and suggestions from my fabulous critique partners.

Oh, how I'd love this thing to be ready by Spring. That's what I'm shooting for. The second installment is pounding on the door like you wouldn't believe.

All right. My work is done here. Hope you had a decent V-Day, y'all.

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Nerdery Week - It's been decided, so mark your calendars. Nerdery Week shall take place on February 17th - 23rd. Seven days of complete nerdiness interconnected through this world we like to call the internet. You'll meet new people! You'll see where they sit! You'll see all the garbage they keep in their respective workspaces!

But TKT, I'm still confused and a bit scared and there's that thing with the paste. How do I get involved in NW?

Simple, friend:

1. Take a picture or two (or eighteen).
2. Post it on your blog.
3. Write about your workspace.
4. Slap 'Nerdery Week' somewhere in the post's title.
5. Link back to other people engaged in complete Nerdery nerdism.

On paper this may sound boring as all get-out, but I really don't think it'll disappoint. I'm endlessly fascinated when I see the places where people do their thing (writing, blogging, playing video games, losing auctions, etc). It's an extension of a person's character and I think it'll be fun to celebrate that which makes us all nerdy.

Yes. Even you over there folding your arms and pretending that you're not a nerd. You are. Deal.

Power Up - I know there's nothing people love to read more than what game I'm playing on Xbox 360 these days, so I think I'll just come right out and say it. I'm completely taken by Call of Duty 4. In a word: WOW. After completely dominating The Simpsons Game it's a crazy change of pace. One week I'm trying to get the Krusty Koupon off of a billboard high above Springfield, the next week I'm carrying a wounded soldier across a radiation soaked amusement park. Sweet mother of invention, this is the stuff dreams are made of.

Eels - I know I don't need to plug the world's greatest band, but they just recently released two albums that are perfect for those of you wanting to see what they're all about. For the uninitiated, might I suggest: Meet the Eels? It's a collection of their best stuff from their first 10 years and it's like a primer into their fantastic world. There is some potty-mouth on there, but hey...that's what those parental advisory stickers are for. As a bonus, you get a DVD with a bunch of their music videos. Now that's value!

Their other release is called Useless Trinkets and it's two discs (2!) of b-sides and songs they've done for soundtracks. As if that weren't enough, there's also a DVD with their 2006(?) Lollapalooza performance on there. What more can you ask for?

Answer: Nothing. There is nothing else to ask for.

Goodhalo - Well, it's getting there. I'm hoping to have this monster edited and in enough of a fighting shape to begin submitting to my Top 5 agent-types sometime next month. Ambitious? Yes. Necessary? Most definitely. Plus, I'm itching (itching!) to get working on the second book in the series. It's going to be like 85 pounds of awesome in a 3 pound bag with handles.

Travis: Celebrating 3 Years of Quality - It's going to be my little guy's 3 year mark on Monday, so we're having a party for him on Saturday. Therein lies the problem... Family from out of town are crazy sick. We're talking antibiotics sick. Also, there's supposed to be a major snowstorm hitting us...oh, say Saturday or so. Even though we're not doing a full-scale dinner/activities/all day event, we're worried that people won't be able to make it. Regardless, we've decided that no matter what, this kid is going to have a party that will tear the socks right off of his little Fred Flintstone feet (like I have) and make him explode with happiness. Thy will be done, lil' TKT. Thy will be done.

Dave Attell - I get to go see stand-up comedian Dave Attell tonight at the Pantages in Minneapolis. Holler!

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• I feel like a zombie today. Since I've got a 2 (almost 3!) year old who comes in contact with a handful of other kids on a daily basis, he picks up all sorts of fun germs/colds/etc. I got his cold and it LEVELED me. I'm sniffling like an old man with a snot-nose.


• By request, I am letting a co-worker borrow my copy of Zack Snyder's remake of the immortal Dawn of the Dead DVD...UNRATED! She asked me if it was scary. Huh. How do you answer that? I think I said: Nah.


• I'm within reach of having my entire GOODHALO book red-lined. Then, finally, I'll get to spend the better part of February punching it up and getting it ready to query. I've got zombies on the brain, y'all.


• My critique partner in crime (Triple S) and I met last Sunday morning for a brief meeting, despite the awful, awful deep freeze Minnesota has been subjected to. She presented me with a little blue bag and told me she got me something for my Nerdery* Below are shots of the awesomeness the bag contained:

Seriously. The level of cool reached an all-time apex as I pulled these bad boys out. Triple S pointed out which zombies really wouldn't fit into my book because of modern additions (briefcase, suit, footwear) to their undead persons. The really cool thing? They GLOW IN THE DARK. Do you think I wasted any time once I got home in holding them under a light in the Nerdery and shutting all the lights down?

I didn't.



No Skull-Cap & No Shirt Zombie - This zombie looks like a fella who met his untimely death all whilst watching football on the tube. He couldn't be bothered to put on a shirt and he somehow lost the top of his head, exposing his meaty brain. His arms are extended for quick human-grabbing action.


One-Armed Zombie W/Fetch - Ol' One Arm joins our other undead friend in going shirtless. He sports the tattered short pants that are all the rage amonst zombies this season. His loyal dog, Fetch was kind enough to fetch his arm and prominantly displays his prize in his rotten jaws.



I'm going to keep the zombie magic going this weekend by watching Fido and Resident Evil: Extinction on DVD. It'll even things out methinks.

* The Nerdery is my office, where all the 'magic' happens....and by magic, I mean it's a room where I write, surrounded by all kinds of crap a 35 year old man should be ashamed to own. Also, it has a fridge.

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So, I hit kind of a big landmark last night and I'm pretty excited about it.

Despite the urging from my Nintendo Wii to go out and play Super Mario Galaxy for an extra hour, I pushed through and hit the 100 page point on my editing/red-penning of GOODHALO. While that might seem like nothing to most (or all) of y'all, this is a big deal for yours truly.

Here's why (bulleted for ease of digestion)

• I write my 1st drafts in single-spaced 10 pt font. Why? Well, when I'm writing, I don't let myself feel like a couple of pages is that big of a deal. Think about it. If I kick out 5 pages, formatted the way I do it, it's really like 7.5 pages or more.
• I only have 58 pages left to edit. Thomas, you've written a 158 page fantasy-type story with zombies in it? That's like a pamphlet, dog! Haven't you been paying attention? When I reformat it for agents/publishers/people who want to read it, it'll clock in well over 340 pages. Not bad for Book One (of three).
• I'm REALLY looking forward to tossing the red pen aside and getting into what I call the 'punching up' portion of writing. If you were to poll me, I'd say the part about writing I like least is the red-lining (what I'm doing now). What do I like best? Writing the book, hands down. 'Punching it up' is a close second.
• Being at page 100 (and you should SEE how much I mark the pages up!) means I'm that much closer to drafting out GOODHALO II: FLIGHT OF THE FAMILIAR (working title) and eventually GOODHALO III: NAME OF THE FATHER (working, etc...)
• I hate to say it, but I sort of miss querying agents. Once GOODHALO is ready (and it'll be soon) it's time to set my baby free and see what will come from all this craziness.

Say...remember that book I wrote over the course of October? The novel I kicked out in 31 days during what I affectionately called SHOCKTOBER? If you need a refresher, it's on the sidebar under the title ANNA 2.0.

Yeah. That one.

Well, I haven't forgotten about that little beast and I had some spare time a Sunday ago and I pulled it out of my man-purse/satchel/Indiana Jones-looking bag and flipped it open to a random chapter. I was fully prepared to re-taste my breakfast at how bad it would be, but...

I was pleasantly surprised. Lest you forget, it's the story of a 16 year old girl who, despite her better judgement, helps her mom beta-test a suit of battle armor designed for police/SWAT team raids. She's a gymnast, sister, and boyfriend...three things I know absolutely nothing about.

Well, I'll be garsh-darned if the story isn't actually...pretty good. I talked about it with my fabulous new critique partner and I gave (what I thought was) a totally crappy pitch. I essentially said:

"It's like Iron Man, but with a kick-ass high school chick in the story. I never liked superheroes who were just BORN with powers, but really gravitated toward vulnerable characters who had to overcome something to become...great."

So, that's another bout of editing I've got lined up for sometime this year, which gave me the idea (and subsequent challenge I'm going to try):

I plan to draft out GOODHALO II while I red-pen the heck out of ANNA 2.0. I sort of want to be in the position by the end of this year to have:

• 2 Books ready to submit (GOODHALO & ANNA 2.o)
• At least 2 new books drafted (GOODHALO II & CALL ME CARP & ???)
• The time to finish my long-forgotten pet project (TRAVIS & THE MAGIC SANDBOX 3)

It could happen.

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