Howdy gang,
How's November treating you? I've survived another round of time change, that pointless annual tradition where we make everyone slightly sleepy and confused and we eat dinner earlier. Now it's dark at 5:00pm and I can feel winter reaching out to me with its cold, unfeeling hands. Honestly, who is lobbying the government to make us keep doing this? Clock lobbyists?
To keep warm, I'm writing like a champ. My writing group is doing something we've dubbed "Novel By New Year", our formalized attempts to finish a book by Dec 31.
For those waiting impatiently for book 3 of the Hotel, you'll be happy to know that I'm at around 30,000 words. The Hotel books usually hover around 75,000, so, like Bon Joni says, I'm half-way there.
Wait a second. Bon Jovi is terrible at math.
Anyway, I'm really excited for how this one has turned out. I promised an excerpt, so let me tickle you with a conversation Emma is having about the people she knows. Hint: Emma is not very good a lying.
“What are their names?”
Ah, shoot. Trick-based names would come off as weird. She needed to make up normal names for her friends. Her mind went blank. “Um. Charmly, Hushophine, Bluntcal and Vain…t”
“Vaint?”
Emma turned beat red and doubled down. “It’s Swedish.”
“Charmly, Hushophine, Bluntcal and Vaint.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Okay sweetie. I won’t ask any more questions.”
Oh Emma, what trouble have you gotten yourself into now?
Hey speaking of the Hotel, I was thinking of doing a FAQ about the upcoming book. If you have any questions about the final book in the installment, email me or hit me up on Twitter at @mikejamesauthor
Obviously, I'll stay away from spoilers, but now's your chance to ask me anything and everything about the books you've always wondered about. I'll feature them in an upcoming newsletter.
On to final news. I had a short story accepted in an anthology! It's available for purchase now (link below) and I'm so excited to have been included. It's called "The Website is Broken" and it's about how modern office life is basically indistinguishable from agony.
Lastly, let me give you a sneak of what I'm reading right now.
I'm quite in love with this new book of short stories I got by the always brilliant Douglas Coupland. It's his first release in a few years and it's wonderful to read his work again. It's definitely worth your time to check this out
