It‘s alive! You can now read my latest adult fantasy serial “The Cold Shoulder” on #KindleVella. The first six episodes are posted and the first three are free to read. Hope you‘ll enjoy meeting Aden Murai, a bounty hunter with a price on his head.
https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/product/B098WB4V9Y
#fantasy
In an act that is either “Expert-Level Social Distancing” or suicidal idiocy, I‘ve spent this past weekend at the Porches, a writers retreat in Norwood, VA (aka the middle of freakin‘ nowhere). I and six friends were going to come. They all cancelled because of COVID-19 (their concerns were well-founded). I decided to come anyway. I‘ll be sad to leave tomorrow, but I‘ll have added more than 15,000 words to my current WIP. Don‘t regret it.
This is too cute not to share here, too. Someone got a much-needed grooming today, so he‘ll enter the next decade looking a lot spiffier. #WicketsWorld #dogsoflitsy #beforeandafter
Added more than 1,400 words to my current work in progress. I made sure to dress appropriately for the occasion, too. #amwriting #PlayingTheDeadHand #yafantasy #YouShouldBeWriting
This weekend, I‘m at my favorite writing retreat: The Porches in Norwood, Virginia. This is my view as I write (taken at sunset). Managed to write 4,700 words today in my current WIP. If I can figure out what needs to happen next in this story, I‘ll get it at least past 5,000. 🤞 #PlayingTheDeadHand #AmWriting
So, I‘ve been querying agents for a long time now with one of my unpublished projects, and yesterday, an agent asked for me to send the full manuscript. I‘m honestly freaking out, because that‘s the last hurdle in the querying process. I‘ve no idea how long it might take the agent to read it and get back to me with an offer of representation or a rejection. The waiting is awful. 🤞 #AmWriting #AmQuerying #FreakingOut
I‘m participating in #SFFpit over on Twitter today in hopes of getting an agent. Promoting two manuscripts I‘ve written. RTs to boost the signal of my tweets would be most appreciated. I love to write, but anything to improve my chances of pulling in more money from it for my family would be wonderful. 🤞 Thanks, and if you already follow me on Twitter at “BillTheWildcat,” I apologize for my many tweets of self promotion today.
My daughter painted this last night in thirty minutes. I love her and envy her talent all at once. I‘ve long known how artistically gifted she is, but every now and then, she still manages to surprise me. #proudpapa
Day 3 for #LiteraryLuck is “Selfie Sunday.” The weather here in Richmond has resembled the grey lifelessness in the title story to my short story collection. Wicket and I are quite done with it. #RainRainGoF%€£Off #WicketsWorld
The title story to my short story collection was originally the opening story in an anthology titled Four in the Hole. It‘s the longest of my published short stories and has a special place in my writing, because it was my first published YA story (even though the collection wasn‘t YA). The toughest part of this story for me was that it was taken from the first third of an unpublished novel, so finding a way to end it was hard. #shortstories
My wife Sheri and I rang in the new year playing a bookish game I‘d not heard of before called “Bring Your Own Book.” You draw a card with random prompts, and you have to find a line (or lines) from the book you‘ve chosen to find the funniest response. Our host, one of my best friends, had a copy of my short story collection, The Deadlands, so I used that. This game was a blast! Sheri used a copy of my novel, Gidion‘s Hunt. #cardgame
My grumpy dragon Windsor found a new friend at ConGregate 2018. Waiting to get the new guy home for the Dragon Queen (aka Sheri (aka my wife)) to give him a proper name. #dragonsoflitsy #grumpydragon
So, I‘ve been MIA for the most part this past week. Writing has taken priority over my reading. This past weekend, I even went to a writers retreat in Norwood, VA, called the Porches. I was working on a project with the working title, The Dreaming Galaxy, and during the four nights I was there, I wrote more than 15,000 words. That‘s left me with a bit of a writing hangover. Still got more to write, but the rough draft is nearly done.
Nothing beats a case of the Monday's like comming home to #bookmail. Thank you @BillBlume for your generous #13kgiveaway I'm looking forward to diving into The Deadlands & the sneak peak into The Dreaming Galaxy.
The dagger is my hubs figured it would make a good addition to the photo.
Thanks to everyone who entered my #13kGiveaway for my short story collection The Deadlands. Earlier this morning, I drew the name of the winner from my hat, and the winner is.... @GripLitGrl ! Congratulations, Marianne! I‘ll contact you shortly to get the book sent to you. #giveaway #ShortStories
#13kGiveaway
Bookish things I love:
1. Books, specifically Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen!!!
2. The smell of books; great places to go for this is B&N and your local library!!!
Such an exciting giveaway; can‘t wait to read your stories!!!
A reminder that the #13kGiveaway of my short story collection The Deadlands ends tonight. Repost the above image as a blurb for the book, tag me, & share 2 bookish things you love. I‘ll randomly choose the winner tomorrow. Sadly, I need to limit this to folks in the U.S. As a bonus, I‘ll include a 13th story. I‘m currently writing a dark fantasy, 6-part series of novelettes. The winner gets to read the rough draft of the 1st novelette. #giveaway
CONGRATS @BillBlume on your #13kgiveaway as well as on your book ‘The DEADLANDS and OTHER STORIES‘, which I would ❤️ to read!
Just TWO bookish things that I love? I just love booksleeves! They keep my books cozy and protected when I‘m galavanting about and they cool too. AND I love a good bookish candle (bonus points if it smells like books).
*Note: liking bookmarks is a given, ‘in my book‘ 😹
Thanks for the chance 🤞🏼
Congratulations on your Litsy milestone! 13k, wow! 😍🎉
#13kgiveaway
2 bookish things I love are bookmarks and ... and ... my library card? Does that count? 🤔
A reminder that the #13kGiveaway of my short story collection The Deadlands ends on Saturday. Repost the above image as a blurb for the book, tag me, & share 2 bookish things you love. I‘ll randomly choose the winner 4/1. Sadly, I need to limit this to folks in the U.S. As a bonus, I‘ll include a 13th story. I‘m currently writing a dark fantasy, 6-part series of novelettes. The winner gets to read the rough draft of the 1st novelette. #giveaway
Been meaning to show this off for a while. When I released a few of my previously published short stories as ebook shorts, my friend Phil Hilliker (an artist and a writer) created a few covers for me. Months ago, he surprised me by giving me some updated covers. I love how he added more life to the cover for my story “Waist Deep.” (L) Original, (R) Updated
Amazon: https://goo.gl/UrDcY4
B&N: https://goo.gl/ZpQWU3
#TransformationTuesday #shortstory
Congratulations on The Deadlands and reaching 13k!
🔖Litsy and book sleeves
#13kgiveaway #TheDeadlands
@BillBlume
#13kgiveaway #theDeadlands @BillBlume
1. Bookclub / bookfriends / Litsy
2. Wine & nibbles & chocolate ( at bookclub )
Congratulations @BillBlume on your listy milestone!🎉🎊🎉
Thanks for hosting a generous giveaway opportunity #13kgiveaway #thedeadlands
Two bookish things I love are:
1. Tote bags
2. T-shirts
Check out Bill Blume's Litsy page for more details.
In honor of my litfluence reaching 13k, I‘m doing a giveaway of my short story collection The Deadlands. Repost the above image as a blurb for the book, tag me, & share 2 bookish things you love. I‘ll randomly choose the winner 4/1. Sadly, I need to limit this to folks in the U.S. As a bonus, I‘ll include a 13th story. I‘m currently writing a dark fantasy, 6-part series of novelettes. The winner gets to read the rough draft of the 1st novelette.
So, the number 13 has played an important part in my writing, so in honor of reaching 13k on my litfluence, I‘m planning to do a small giveaway. I‘ll post the details tomorrow, but it‘ll be for a special copy of my short story collection The Deadlands. Stay tuned to this “Litsy channel” to find out more tomorrow. #giveaway #shortstories #THIRTEEN!!!
Like the rest of you, I‘m processing the news from the email about Litsy and LibraryThing. I‘m cautiously optimistic, but also relieved. Let me explain.
In January, I emailed Litsy with a profile question. There was no reply. I sent another email in February; still no reply. It was a red flag to me, and I feared the app admins had lost interest and bailed on us. Perhaps partially true, but I‘m hopeful about the new admins because of this.
1. I feel like a traitor to admit it, but I prefer ebook. Love the convenience, especially for library books. But I‘m still a sucker for an autographed hardback.
2. 8-and-a-half (um, random)
3. Dark chocolate
4. Burn Notice
5. @TheBookKeepers @KevinHearne
#friyayintro
Among the stories in my collection, "Borrowed Shadows" was born from the premise, "What would happen if someone was born without a shadow?" There's a nod to this story earlier in the collection in "Zombie Walk." When Gidion Keep goes past the Byrd Theatre in that story, he runs into a guy with a "falcon head cane" which is the cane Daniel Black uses when he goes on a date at the Byrd in "Borrowed Shadows." #SharedUniverse #TheDeadlands #GidionKeep
Perhaps one of the weirdest and darkest stories in my short story collection is "The Lady in the Loch." The story marries Steampunk and fantasy, drawing on bits of Camelot and my childhood love of Loch Ness (one of those places I really need to visit one day). The launching point for me with this story was the simple question of "What was Excalibur, if it was something more than a sword?" #TheDeadlands #Excalibur #steampunk #darkfantasy #Camelot
The 7th story from my collection originated from a deleted scene. When I started writing Gidion's Blood, the tale of his would-be assassin named Jun was originally the opening scene to the 2nd book in the Gidion Keep series. The adventure reveals just how deadly a threat for vampire hunters (and Gidion) this young vampire is. An interesting fact: because this was deleted from the novel, Gidion's Blood never actually names her. #GidionKeep #YALit
The first story I ever sold focuses on a murder case with a schizophrenic killer and includes a wicked twist. I first conceived this story in college but was only able to write it after working a few years in a 911 center. I'm currently writing a novel that also involves schizophrenia but handles it in a different way. "I am Sam" remains one of my best & most disturbing stories. #TheDeadlands #schizophrenia #murder #shortstories #police #detective
The 5th story in my short story collection was originally in an anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction. I and many of the authors were heavily influenced by Norse mythology, but it was this picture of the Devil trapped in ice (inspired by Dante's Inferno) that locked in my idea for this unusual story of a man helping two young brothers hunt a monster that killed their parents. #TheDeadlands #shortstory #shortstories #postapocalyptic #norsemythology
A last-minute addition to my short story collection was "The Insomniac." This story about a 12-year-old girl who makes money for her family by convincing older kids she can raise the dead is possibly my favorite among my short stories. My editor described it as her "fiction dream spot, where things are kick ass until they're secretly sad." The story is set in Hollywood Cemetery here in Richmond. #TheDeadlands #shortstory #middlegrade #rva #zombies
The 3rd story in my short story collection The Deadlands was a story set between the 1st and 2nd books in my "Gidion Keep, Vampire Hunter" series. What many don't know is that "Zombie Walk" wasn't supposed to be the title when it originally went to press in a previous anthology. The title was supposed to be changed to "Gidion's Zombies" to keep it in the style of the book titles. #GidionKeep #vampire #vampires #vampirehunter #YAlit #youngadult
When I took my first stab at writing Steampunk, I went for something unconventional: near future Steampunk. "Crossfire" went on to be the second story in my short story collection, The Deadlands. I also released it as an ebook single. #TheDeadlands #shortstory #shortstories #steampunk #fantasy #ebooksingle
"Dracarge" is the first story in my short story collection, The Deadlands and Other Stories. It's also a word I made up. The entire story follows two dragons, Special Agent Windsor and his dim-witted partner Kensington, as they investigate the murder of a gremlin at Heathrow Airport. The most interesting thing I discovered in my research: gremlins are a fairly modern myth made popular by author Roald Dahl. #fantasy #RoaldDahl #TheDeadlands
The Deadlands: And Other Stories | 
