Sorry that there’s not a lot of content right now. I decided to take today to work on book 2 of Jake and the Dynamo, which currently runs under the working title of Dead to Rites.
The book promises crossdressing mech pilots, vampire pastry chefs, double-crossing fairies, swarms of giant wasps, Cthulhu, and a guitar solo.
And lots of goofy humor, sibling arguments, and blood and guts. Just like the last volume.
I have just moved to a new location, so I was out of the loop for about a week while all my electronics were packed away. I just spent most of the day figuring out how to get my Internet service connected—most of that time having been spent trying to remember in which box I packed the power cord for my wireless router. After that, I spent a couple hours on the phone with my new service provider, during which time I spoke to four different technicians, three of whom could not seem to accomplish the simple task of activating my service.
But anyway, I am now back online.
I know I’ve not kept up with things around here. I just finished my degree and I’m starting a new career in a couple of weeks, I’m currently preparing to move. I’ll probably be out of contact for the better part of next week as I’ll first be sending my computer in for service and will then hit the road.
And of course I should have a novel out soon, except we keep hitting unexpected delays. Everything is together except the cover art, and I can tell you that the manuscript looks really, really good. If you’ve read some or all of the web version of Jake and the Dynamo and enjoyed it, you will want to get this book. If you haven’t read it, but like action-adventure or laughing really hard, you will want to get this book.
On another note, because I haven’t been keeping up with news in the genre like I should, this is late—but better late than never. The first half of Sailor Moon Super S, the fourth animated series in the Sailor Moon saga, is out in the uncensored release from Viz. The rest of the series I previous purchased on iTunes, and I will be doing the same again.
I intended to review the second half of Sailor Moon S, though as it turned out, there were few substantial additional comments I wanted to make after I reviewed the first half. By this time, having reviewed the third season of Sailor Moon Crystal, the third arc of Sailor Moon is a horse I’ve beaten half to death anyway. I will probably put up a short review to reiterate a few points and add a few new ones before I move into Super S.
Also worth noting is that Viz has promised to release the S and Super S movies to theaters, just as they did with Sailor Moon R. I will try to see them if possible, but my upcoming move and new job will likely make it impractical if not impossible for me to get to a theater that’s showing them. I’ll keep you posted on that front.
You’ll have to excuse the multi-posting for today. I wrote a new chapter for The League of Extraordinary Grade-Schoolers, but also revised the previous chapters and split them in two. So.
You might notice a new tab in the menu on the upper right, labeled “Fiction.” This page now accumulates all the fiction posted to the site. The next steps are to create “Essay” and “Review” pages that work similarly.
EDIT: The “Essays” and “Reviews” pages are added. They are a work in progress.
Currently doing last-minute touch-ups to the manuscript dealing with a few pesky remaining formatting issues and typos. Should be finished today!
Recently got the previews of the book from the publisher. I’ve looked them over, made comments, and it looks like we’re on track (as far as I know) for the June 1 release date. It looks like we’re still waiting on cover art.
Working now to fix some of the last-minute issues, but from what I’ve seen of it, I think the book is going to look really good.
And it’s illustrated.
And on another note, Roffles Lowell, the official illustrator for Jake and the Dynamo, sent along this little sketch after I announced that the book was set to release on June 1st.
I believe that’s a picture of Dana having finally conquered Chelsea in Magical Girl Rumble.
Featured image: “Saint Tail” by SubaruSumeragi
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m finishing up a graduate program, which is why the posting is infrequent here, but I haven’t forgotten about you.
I am still slowly working on cleaning up the blog and organizing the content. I removed a “currently reading” widget that I never kept updated, but replaced it with one from Goodreads, which will be easier for me to keep current, since I simply have to remember to scan book covers with my phone. I’m still planning to give fiction, essays, and reviews their own pages with a menu at the top, so stay tuned for that as well. Leave comments on any other features you want to see, or recommendations for layout.
Also, since a reader recently asked for a discussion of Christian-themed magical girls, I am currently looking into Saint Tail and Phantom Thief Jeanne, the two Christian magical girl cat burglars who steal for Jesus. As I frequently mention here, works in the magical girl genre often come in pairs: someone produces something with a certain theme, and someone else replies by taking that theme and reversing it. Thus, Phantom Thief Jeanne can be interpreted as a deconstruction of Saint Tail, and it also features a plot twist that makes it a precursor of Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
But we’ll get to all that later. Soon. I promise.
I apologize for slapping up the weirdest fan-fiction you’ve ever seen and then not posting for about a month. I am now in my final term of a graduate program and also working two jobs, which I assume is sufficient to explain why I’m not posting. The fan-fiction I’ll explain later, when I can find the time.
Otherwise, things are much as you’d expect. The novel version of Jake and the Dynamo is out of my hands, probably for good. I haven’t been told a publication date yet, but you will know as soon as I do, so stay tuned. I have also been working on the sequel.
I’m also starting to work on a bit of cleanup and organization on the blog. I’ve removed a couple of widgets from the sidebar that I simply wasn’t good at keeping updated, and I’m planning to add “review” and “essay” tabs at the top, which will take you to archives of each of those (something a reader has asked me for repeatedly).
