Goodreads, Under the Dome

Yes, I've been slacking off. So first, here is the link to  my most recent Sanford News column from almost two weeks ago.

I've been doing a lot of writing on Rock Star, so that's exciting. The goal was to have the first draft finished by the end of June. It is almost the end of June, so I am revising that goal to the end of July. I knew it started with a J.

I'm trying to start an author page on Goodreads. I have no idea if that will help with sales, but I'll give it a shot. I'd completely forgotten about that site, I'm a member but I really don't use it enough to know what I'm doing. Maybe that will change.

I just finished reading "Echo Park", by Michael Connelly. It's the first book I've read by him and I liked it. I have to say, though, that it seemed like a hundred other crime thriller books out there. But it was good, well written with a little twist at the end. I wanted nothing I really had to think about while I read, so it was perfect. I started reading "The Bonfire of the Vanities" today.

Tonight is the first episode of "Under the Dome", based on Stephen King's book. I rarely watch television - Psych and Justified are the only shows I watch, unless you count old episodes of Batman - but I'm going to give this one a shot because I really enjoyed the book. I hope I don't forget and miss it, but I'm sure it will be available to watch online if I do. The beauty of the internet.

It is really hot out there, about 95. After all the cold weather we've had, I'll take it. And the thunderstorms yesterday, wow. Of course, it helps that we have central air.

The Auctioneer on Kindle, Arrested Development

My new novel, "The Auctioneer", is now available in print and on Kindle, or any other reading device you may want to use. My wife just read "A Tale of Two Cities" on her iphone. It seemed rather small to me, but anything that you're comfortable with, I guess.

So it's nice to have that published. I'm pleased with it. The "Rock Star" book I'm writing now is going okay. I'm up to about 48,000 words. My goal is to have the first draft finished by the end of June, so I really need to get moving. It's about a rock star (no kidding) who quit his band and disappeared, only to be discovered by a reporter thirty years later living a simple life in Maine. The band gets back together and decides to do another tour. That's all I've got so far.

I finished reading "Duma Key". It was really good, stretched the imagination a bit much at the end but overall a very good book. Not as good as "Under The Dome", but that was one of Stephen King's all-time best. I have to say, I actually find his more recent books to be better than his older ones. Maybe not better. Different. Not as scary or original, maybe, but he seems to be a better storyteller now. Since I'm not a big fan of the scary, I enjoy his newer books.

Last night I finished watching the new season of "Arrested Development". There were some good parts but overall it was very disappointing. The episodes dragged on way too long, for one thing. The original series was great because it was an ensemble and when you lose that, you lose a great deal of the greatness. Kind of how none of The Beatles were never as good solo as they were with the band. A lot of people are saying that the new Arrested Development is like the second trilogy of Star Wars movies that George Lucas made about 10 or 15 years ago. In my opinion, the show is not that bad - how could it be - but it certainly could have been better.