Somebody asked me on WTA what I was working on now. I’m not the kind of guy that works on just one thing. I kind of jump around, fueled by 64 oz Vanilla Cokes from 7-11 (and I don’t use the sissy vanilla, I go over to the coffee bar and squirt in 10 squirts of the French vanilla syrup, because that’s how I roll) Here is what I’m currently working on. With luck, most of these will see the light of day.
Right now I’ve got plans for the following MHI projects:
MHI:2 (from O.Z.P.) Rough Draft Done
MHI:3 (from O.Z.P.) storyline is done, not written
MHI:Alpha (from Earl) storyline is done, not written
MHI:Nemesis (from Franks) only exists as loose notes
An anthology of short stories from various other authors, and two from me, the origin stories for Holly and Trip
The MHI Employee Handbook (a collection of helpful essays for new Hunters)
In addition, I just wrapped up a screenplay called Void which I’m pitching to a local production company. They’re right down the road and have sold a few movies. If they don’t pick it up, I’m going to show it around. It isn’t in the MHI universe, but it should be. It is a tale of mad science, alternative realities, and shape shifting monsters. I wrote the effects scenes to go along specifically with the kind of effects this local company is capable of doing. I’m digging it, and hope I can get it made into an actual movie.
There is a basic plot outline for a screenplay set in the MHI universe. I’m saving that one. It is the story of the TV news show Primeline, and their special episode where they investigate a day in the life of a professional monster hunter, then of course, it all goes horribly wrong.
Right now I am working on the revised actual book version of the Mr. Nightcrawler trilogy, the first of which appeared in rough draft form on THR. It is an epic thriller written by me and NC. It is the only story that I’ve ever seen with two seperate writers, both writing their own protagonist in the first person, and these guys do not get along, up to and including a knife fight. We’ve created an epic story of espionage, thievery, betrayal, destruction, war, revolution, murder, love, and redemption. I’m as proud of it as anything I’ve ever written.
We’re revamping Book I now. My part is probably 80% done. My part of Book II is probably 70% done. The story for Book III is done, but no writing yet. Once we get I polished up, we’ll be farming it around looking for a publisher. I should be able to find someone now that I’ve actually got a resume as a professional type author person.
Once the Nightcrawler trilogy is wrapped up, I’m either writing MHI:3, or working on another project that’s been killing me to write for a year now. It is part sci-fi, part thriller, part action-adventure, part social-commentary. I can’t go into too many details on this one yet, but I’m as excited about this idea as I’ve been for anything I’ve ever thought of. It is the story of a reality TV show where the contestants compete to overthrow a country in a violent military coup. Live.
That last one sounds rather intriguing… Waiting patiently for MHI 2 as well. Thanks for the update.
The last one sounds like a good US policy for dealing with Cuba.
I’m working on it. Though I still say you’re going to have to re-write more than you think you’re going to have to. A couple of major scenes have to be redone from the ground up.
No matter. I’m probably 10% done with my part, which is half the novel. This WILL get done before the .mil ships me off, so help me God.
I will be able to salvage some of the “rough draft” material, myself, but only a couple of scenes. That’s okay. Like I said, my writing has improved quite a bit since we slapped that up on the internet.
It’s going to be dark, though. The first one, anyway. The “expanded universe”, what we informally refer to as the ‘Crawlerverse (which always gives me a giggle), encompasses a young man spending several years of his life engaging in warfare, for fun and profit, while the world spirals into chaos. It’s almost Lovecraftian. (Almost. I’ll try to avoid having people scribble in diaries while otherwordly horrors surround them. It IS told in the first person, though. LOL)
I’m really excited about that other idea you gave me, Larry. I’m really beginning to develop the character of Nixon in my mind. I think there’s going to be Ford, a female love interest, and of course, Clinton, the 5th generation prototype. I’ll need to work on the setting for that one, though. Probably won’t get written until 2010 anyway, what with my other obligations.
Let’s concentrate on getting the Trilogy in print in the interim.
“It is the story of a reality TV show where the contestants compete to overthrow a country in a violent military coup. Live.”
OK, I am shutting up on this one before I get booted out of WTA and banned from this Blog.
Miguel, no go ahead man, it’s cool.
That description doesn’t even really do the whole story justice. It is way weirder. 🙂
Larry, uh when do you sleep? lol between teaching selling every gun in the state & writing, I don’t know how you do it man. Anxiously waiting for MHI 2.
This is a great post Larry!
I think your blog should go like this:
Writing Stuff: Mon
Gun Stuff: Tue, Thu
Rant:s: Wed, Fri
Heuh.
I’m confused… how can an investigative TV show do a show on “a day in the life of a monster hunter” when the .gov has the very existence of monsters a classified secret? Does that Paranormal Secrecy Act (or whatever the proper name for it is; my best friend has my copy right now) get repealed in one of the next two books?
Or would that be telling? 😉
On the reality TV show, ” … just surviving isn’t good enough”
Larry, I thought I was the only guy who put the vanilla syrup from the coffee bar in Coke [Diet in my case]. I use cooking vanilla in coke at home.
so what is status of publication of MHI-1? I foolishly delayed buying it when you first had some for sale, then they ran out.
MHI:1 will be coming out from Baen in Summer 2009. So the earliest we’ll be seeing books again will be like July.