The Road to Perinthia

Here we go, kids, your cub reporter, dazed and confused on the road to Perinthia.

If the name doesn't sound at all familiar to you, it shouldn't. It's the capital of one of the Two Kingdoms in THE MYTH HUNTERS and the subsequent books of The Veil. Working on this trilogy is simultaneously one of the most difficult and most fantastic experiences I've ever had as a writer. Both in THE MYTH HUNTERS and in THE BORDERKIND (the second book, which I'm neck deep in these days, to the detriment of all other responsibilities), the characters are taking over. Writers say that kind of thing all the time, and it's happened to me in the past, but I usually just chalk it up to following my own instincts. This is different. Seriously. Characters who weren't in the outline at all suddenly appear and become vital, characters who were supposed to be barely a footnote do the same. Characters who were important to the story but only as plot support have roles that will carry them all the way through to the end of the third book, with subplots and resolutions of their own. They love. They betray. They lie. They demand attention, and they surprise me with what they're capable of.

Maybe you're rolling your eyes. Maybe that's hard to believe. Or, hell, maybe you're a writer, and that kind of thing happens all the time. But let me say, it doesn't happen all the time to me. It makes for a lot of headaches, staring at the screen, telling the little voice in my head to cut the crap, that the story's not supposed to go that way. But then I realize that no matter how much more work it is, that's the RIGHT thing.

I have a plan. I know where this story is going. But how it gets there, and who's going to be alive or dead, and who's telling the truth and who's lying, are all surprises for me. Whenever that happens, writing a book, I feel fortunate. Of course, eventually, other people will go on this journey, and I'll hope they have just as good a time as I'm having. But right now, that's the last of my concerns. I'm still on the road, and just digging the ride.

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On other subjects, this second blog took me forever because I am, indeed, a moron. I had TWO accounts on blogger and didn't know it, so I spent a week wondering why I couldn't get into my blog to post a new one. :) Technology is SO not the friend of the absent-minded.

On the other hand, I-pod IS my friend. I have a few more CDs to download, and then I'm going to cherry pick a few old songs off of I-tunes. But even now, it doesn't matter. I set it on "shuffle," and it's like a radio station with no ads programmed by me. Every song is a pleasant surprise. Right now it's a tune by Keb' Mo'. For those of you who are all up on this stuff, you're likely saying "duh" right about now. For those of you who don't have an I-pod, I can't recommend it highly enough.

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GHOSTS OF ALBION: ACCURSED comes out at the end of October. Can't talk about it now, but there WILL be an opportunity to buy it signed at no additional cost. More news to come. Meanwhile, I'll be at World Fantasy Convention in November, and later in the month, Amber Benson and I will be doing signings to promote the book.

Tuesday, 11/8, B&N Boston University, 7pm
Wed. 11/9, B&N Framingham, Massachusetts @ 7:30 PM
Friday 11/11, B&N Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY 6:30 pm
Thurs., 11/17, Mysterious Galaxy San Diego, 7 pm
Friday, 11/18, Brentano's, Century City, (LA, CA) @ 7 pm
Sat., 11/19, Booksmith, San Francisco, 7pm

Come by and visit. Really looking forward to these events.

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Go Red Sox!

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READING: The Island of Dr. Moreau, by H.G. Wells
WATCHING: Lost, Rome, Extras, House, assorted other stuff
LISTENING: Jack Johnson, RENT soundtrack
WRITING: The Borderkind
SIGNING: Signature sheets for THE SHELL COLLECTOR
RECOMMENDING: FOLLOW by A.J. Matthews, and the extraordinary TWENTIETH CENTURY GHOSTS by Joe Hill

Strange New Worlds

Okay, so maybe for most of you, this world is neither new nor strange. Trust that for me, it's both. Thoughts and words out into the ether . . . puts me in mind of that John Mayer song, where he's writing a love song for no one, romantic words for a girl he may some day meet.

In that spirit (but not in the romantic sense--my wife would kill me), here goes:

Hello all. Welcome to my first ever blog. If you've stumbled upon this, chances are you already know me a little. Those who don't, check out the site at www.christophergolden.com

I turned 38 a few months ago. Doesn't seem old to me, though I know it does to some of you (*koff* Claris *koff*). Even so, it's weird to think I've been a freelance writer for thirteen years at this point. REALLY weird.

That said, this fall and the next couple of years are shaping up to be the most interesting yet. At the moment, I'm focused on writing THE BORDERKIND, the second book in my dark fantasy trilogy for Bantam books. The first one, THE MYTH HUNTERS, comes out in January.

But simultaneously, and wow is it time consuming, I'm working on trying to help promote GHOSTS OF ALBION: ACCURSED. Amber Benson and I created GoA as an animated web serial for the BBC and now we've begun a new novel series with Del Rey books. The first novel is ACCURSED. With my new Wicked Street Team--who are largely responsible for me getting this blog set up, along with Claris--Amber and I are trying to get the word out on GoA. It's publicity central around here the last couple of days. More on that later.

We've got the signing schedule for November for GoA: ACCURSED set up, but are waiting on confirmation.

My friend and frequent writing partner Tom Sniegoski is off to Vancouver today, where they're filming THE FALLEN for ABC Family, based upon his novel series of the same name. Yay, Tom!

And that's the story. What else?

Listening to: Jason Mraz, Madeleine Peyroux, and the thousands of songs I've put on my I-pod.
Watching: tonight, House. Tomorrow night, Lost and Invasion.
Reading: Scholars of Night, John M. Ford.
Writing: The Borderkind
Revising: (a secret project with my buddy Jim Moore that I can't talk about yet)

So there's my first blog. I'm sure I'll get better at it. :) Let me know how I did.