Official blog of G. A. Lodise

Has it really been 6 months????

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:49:42 +0000

Wow, I guess I’ve been busy. Tau Openga (The Last Days) is complete. Final copy editing is taking place with the hopes of having it ready to send to a publisher sometime this summer. In other news, I did an experiment on interweaving The Farthest Reaches as pure journal into Inside the Circle. It works. I’m 250 pages into the new book with maybe another 150-200 to go. I’m updating some language, rewriting awkward passages, and just strengthening the narrative overall as I go. Hoping to complete this by the end of May so that it too can be sent off .

August TLD Update

admin — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 23:14:49 +0000

57k words. Final parts of the book are wrapped up in my mind. Just need to write them. Probably another 5k words. Keep going back to an earlier scene, though, cause it just ain’t workin’ out the way it needs to. My plan is to finish the book and then review and strengthen the character arcs and each individual scene. It might help to do that and then work on this scene that’s killin’ me. Maybe it will make itself more apparent at that point.

The Last Days – May update

admin — Mon, 16 May 2011 22:43:09 +0000

Went back through the entire book so far and updated for plot points, character dev, typos. At 48k words and I think it’s 3/4 of the way through.

The writing has become complicated, though, becuase I keep seeing other themes to explore. I’m fairly hard on any new ideas I get and want to add. They really have to add depth to the characters in order for me to allow them to be included. One theme that runs through the book is the sense of depression that comes from nostalgia for times that were better than the present. There is no going back. There is no way to recapture the greatness of the past. There is only the ability to live in the present and create new events that will themselves become objects for nostalgia.

The real rub is that as we age, it is more difficult to lose ourselves to the moment. We are constantly hoping to relive the past or we are dreading the impending future. So how many occurrences of this is sufficient to explore it in enough detail to provide the character with depth and not OD on the theme? How blatant do I have to be? I prefer to sneak things. But I think the likelihood of someone catching it on the first pass then becomes much less. They really have to be paying attention. As usual, I will probably satisfy myself first and the reader second. If it works for me, then the reader can deal. That’s artistic license, right? Pay attention!

Reviews

admin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 04:16:03 +0000

Interesting that within 24 hrs I get two polar opposite reviews of my book Inside the Circle. One was a person who got the digital download and didn’t even finish it. The other read a hard copy in two sittings. The guy who didn’t finish it complained that it was hard to follow or didn’t make sense. The other person had nothing but good things to say about the characters, plot, language use, etc. Totally jazzed.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that there can be such divergent opinions. People are by nature different to some extreme degrees. But this really drove that home. I appreciated both for taking the time to read the book (or most of it) and give me their feedback.

Music of The Last Days

admin — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 06:24:08 +0000

I’ve been compiling a list of the music that I have listened to while writing this book. I think it does a good job of adding another dimension to the story. Some of the tracks I listen to (repeatedly) while writing:

Horsey Horse by Alaska in Winter
M4 Part II by Faunts
Cake$ by 48/4
The Changing Storm by Metris

All of these are excellent tracks by fantastics artists. I highly recommend checking them out.

Finally…

admin — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 22:34:48 +0000

Broke 40k words this week. I’d get more done if I could quit my day job…and didn’t have kids…or a life. I’m finding time for the story though where I can. I had a great break though while cycling and it lead to a rapid 2000 words (and counting).

Oct ’10 – The Last Days

admin — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 03:21:05 +0000

34k words. I finally got them out of the impasse I was stuck in. It seems that I have to carve out time, even 15 minutes if that’s all I have, to work on the book. I really have to fight for this thing to get done. But I still believe it wants to be finished. And I like the direction it is going.

Sept ’10 Update

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 05:15:13 +0000

Broke 32k words. Coming really slowly at this junction. Trying to figure out how to get these folks to where the need to go. The prior section was a real build up and now I’m trying to work the story some more. The details are the most difficult parts.

Two fans/friends have begun badgering me about new work. They really liked Port Moresby. That short appears to be everyone’s fav so far. I sent some advance chapters of the new book.

The Last Days – June 29th Update

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:36:37 +0000

I took May off. The ideas had stopped coming. And I was busy with other things. That time off let my mind wander around over the story and come up with new ideas. It’s an amazing process, like your brain keeps working on the project at a sub level while you go about your business on the main level. I hit 24,000 words yesterday. In the middle of chapter 10. Still trying to figure out how long this thing will be. One minute I think it will only be about double where ever I’m at and then another minute I remember all the other parts that need to come into play and I realize it will be much longer.

The Last Days – March 31 2010 update

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:20:07 +0000

Writing has begun. Chapters 1-5 in the can with chapter 5 being a particularly fun one. Word count so far: 14500. I expect the book to be between 60-90k words when all is said and done.

On a side note: the Kindle editions of Inside the Circle and The Farthest Reaches continue to sell very well.

Also, recently finished Hesse’s Narcissus & Goldmund. Interesting story. Surprised though that this was Hesse’s breakthrough novel. I do admire that Hesse manages to say what he needs to say in such a quick story. Unlike the Fountainhead which requires a commitment of 752 pages. There’s something to be said for making a point succinctly. IMHO.