Links to pages about IN MAPS & LEGENDS

Just because I like lists and like to organize, here’s a list of all the various places that have to do with our online comic IN MAPS & LEGENDS:

• The In Maps & Legends Facebook page
• Artist Niki Smith’s announcement page at her site: “In Maps & Legends a Zuda.com Finalist!“
• My announcement page: “American Idol Meets Batman. Or… Zuda!“
• My In Maps & Legends page here at this site
• My announcement page over at the Fangs, Fur, & Fey online community

Fun stuff:

• A new contest running from noon 11/10 to 5 p.m. 11/13. [Coming Soon]
• An overview of how we put together the first four panels of the comic: “Building a comic, panel by panel“

Nuts and bolts about the competition:

• Niki’s How to Vote at Zuda page (with tips on how to help Maps win!)
• Zuda’s Frequently Asked Question: How do I help a comic win?
• Current standings for the November competition
• How to add an image to your web site or blog to show your support

Reviews:

• Hypergeek
• The Vault
• Lefty Films Blog
• Art Sequential

Please let me know if I missed anything, and I’ll add it to this list. And thank you, thank you, thank you for reading. It’s so amazing, getting our work out in front of so many people. It’s a huge rush.

Building a comic, panel by panel

I always like behind-the-scenes documentaries, so with the permission of artist Niki Smith, my collaborator on In Maps & Legends, I’m going to do a short how-to of the creation of the first four panels of our online comic.

Frankly, I’m amazed at how fast and how efficiently the comic came together. And the art is simply awesome. I take no credit — I just put down the words and some ideas for the pages. Starting with…

At the top for Week One!

At the end of week one, our comic In Maps & Legends is in the lead! Thanks to everyone for reading and voting!

Woo hoo!

Plunking down the words

Now that the dust has settled a bit for me with the launch of the first eight pages of our comic over at Zuda, and we’re doing pretty well in the competition, if I say so myself, it’s time to start working on some new projects.

I think I’ve finally finished up all the “marketing” work of submitting stories (got an even dozen stories out there right now, which is the most I’ve had in years!) and then polishing up proposals and cover letters so I can submit a novel or two to publishers. Got those done and out of the way as well.

I also created and updated and edited the heck out of my new Publishers Marketplace page. And I even added some “covers” to some stories available on the Kindle on my Amazon.com page. All good stuff to have done, but time-consuming!

I also went through all my notes from the Master Class, at last, and have a list of tasks yet to do. There’s always more books to read and related work to finish up.

But first… I’m itching to WRITE something. I’ve been doing all the business-related stuff for a couple weeks, and while that’s a necessary evil, I want to get back into regular word-wrangling.

So. I’m still fiddling with some ideas for the next 52 pages of the comic, in case we win (and even if we didn’t, I think we’d continue it and submit it elsewhere). I have a bunch of ideas mapped out, and feeling good about it.

I’m also diving into the fixes for the end of my baseball novel, The All Nations Team. I got some great ideas for the book at my workshop, but more than anything, something clicked for me there, and I know exactly what I want to do to fix up the ending.

So now I just have to get used to getting up at 4:30 a.m. again to get my two hours of uninterrupted writing time… Piece of cake, right?

“American Idol” Meets Batman. Or… Zuda!

I can hardly believe I’m making this journal entry. If I go all fanboy on you, feel free to smack me down. But…

I’m writing for DC Comics!

Okay, allow me to ’splain.

Back in July, I worked with author Niki Smith on a comic script to be entered into the monthly competition for Zuda Comics. I took an old novel idea and cranked out a rough script. Never wrote a comic script before, but it was fun. I got to think like a film director, with a limitless set and endless special effects. It was an awesome learning experience.

Niki then took my script and created first some amazing character sketches. Then thumbnails. Then pencils. Then some amazingly crisp inks. Followed by the colored versions, which knocked me out of my chair.

Then we entered them into the contest. And waited. And waited. And now, at last, here’s the big news:

Our comic, “In Maps and Legends,” is live on the Zuda Comics site!

Zuda is the online comics line from DC Comics, the same folks who brought us Batman, Superman, the Sandman, Justice League, Wonder Woman, and countless other amazing characters and stories.

And now, Niki and I are working for them!

Zuda offers an interesting twist on how comics are chosen to be published.

Sort of like “American Idol,” readers get to choose their favorite. So over the course of November, anyone can read “In Maps and Legends” and VOTE. Just log into the site after you create a user ID, read all ten comics (we have some amazing competition), and click the VOTE button for just one comic — the one you think is the best.

Here’s a quick tutorial on voting at the Zuda site  (the site’s a little daunting the first few times you visit). You can also add an image for our comic to your own website, like this one:

So yeah, please check it out, read some great, free comics, and decide which one you like best for this month. The winner gets to continue writing their comic.

Because if you read to page 8 of our comic, we totally leave you with one doozy of a cliffhanger!

Enjoy!