News and Notes for the Week of June 4

• The first draft of 17th Parallel, my latest novel, is almost finished! It currently clocks in at 98,000 words and is well on its way to 100,000. I already have some major changes in mind, but I have to complete the draft before I can take care of those.

• I'm getting ready to re-read the sequel to I, Crimsonstreak. Once that's finished, I expect to make some significant tweaks to the narrative. The book seems a little overstuffed at the moment, so I need to streamline some plot points and characters. A few of the main characters are underwritten and underdeveloped.

• Another superhero novel, The Franchise, is almost ready for beta readers. I've polished the book over the last two months and plan to do another read-through to see if I can solve a few of the problems with the manuscript.

• My second book signing for I, Crimsonstreak is this Saturday in Madison, Indiana. I'll be at That Book Place to talk about the book and sign a few copies. Would love to see you there if you're anywhere in the Madison/Louisville area!

• I will have another signing at Hastings in Richmond, Indiana, on June 30.

• I may dust off some of my short stories and submit them to some different markets. I've been concentrating primarily on novels over the last few months, but I have some short fiction I'd like to place. Perhaps I'll devote next week specifically to my short stories.