New Reviews for Carpathia

 Carpathia  2 Responses »
Jan 242012
 
Carpathia

Carpathia — my upcoming historical horror novel that mashes up vampires and the Titanic — picked up a hat trick of glowing reviews over the past week. The book won’t be out until the end of February, but these reviewers got their hands on advance reader copies, and I’m happy they did.

First, Nibbles at Fantasy Nibbles gives the book four out of five stars. Her harshest complaint is “It wasn’t long enough,” but she goes far beyond that, saying:

It’s no end of fun. Pure crucifix-wielding, stake-plunging goodness. With icebergs. Brilliant!

Second, Shadowhawk at Founding Fields raves over the book. As he says:

Verdict: Matt Forbeck is bloody brilliant.

Third, over at Famous Monsters of Filmland, Wesley Chu loves the book too.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. But by the next morning, after barely sleeping a wink, I can honestly say I am now a fan of both historical fiction and horror, as long as Matt Forbeck is the author.

Thanks to each of them for taking the time to read the book and for not being shy with their praise. That kind of support makes me grin.

Parlez-Vous Amortels?

 Amortals  No Responses »
Jan 232012
 
Amortals

Last week, on January 19, my novel Amortals was published in French by L’Atalante Éditions as Amortels. It features a snazzy new cover by David Demaret and was translated by Denis E. Savine. Many thanks to both of them, and I hope Denis’s text is as excellent as David’s illustration — which I trust it is, but I can’t read a lick of French.

L’Atalante is a fantastic publisher that puts Amortals in excellent company, alongside works created by a staggering list of excellent authors, including Terry Pratchett, Poul Anderson, Michael Moorcock, Glen Cook, Walter Jon Williams, Lev Grossman, and John Scalzi. I’m thrilled to see Amortels reach out to a whole new audience, and I’m looking forward to seeing how my French friends and readers take to it.

12 for ’12 Starts Today

 12 for '12, Brave New World  2 Responses »
Jan 162012
 
Brave New World

I finally managed to clear the decks of a few lingering projects left over from 2011, and I’m plunging into the first of the 12 for ’12 novels today. Sharp folks like you might realize that this only gives me 16 days to write 50,000 words, and you’re absolutely right.

Nothing like starting off the year with an extra challenge.

As of the moment, I’ve already written 25,000 words and a comic script this month. Given that I have an outline, characters, and a world all ready to go for this first book, I’m confident I can get it done by the end of the month. That doesn’t mean it won’t be a stretch, but it’s doable.

If you cast your eyes over to the right-hand columns on my website, you’ll see I’ve installed a couple progress bars. The first tallies the number of words written for the current book — currently titled Matt Forbeck’s Brave New World: Revolution — and the second counts up the number of 12 for ’12 books completed so far. You might notice they look a little empty at the moment, but that’s fine. We’re in early days, and it’s my job to fill them up.

Wish me luck.

12 for ’12 Starts — Really Soon!

 12 for '12, Brave New World  No Responses »
Jan 022012
 
12 for '12

I’d hoped to launch straight into the Brave New World novels trilogy that makes up the first quarter of my 12 for ’12 project straight away on January 1. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out quite that smoothly. Due to family illnesses and computer troubles, I lost a couple weeks worth of work time toward the end of the year, and I still have an obligation or two I have to fulfill before I can put my nose to that so-shiny grindstone.

The current plan is to wrap everything up by the end of the week. This should give me a full three weeks to finish the first book in the BNW trilogy. That sounds like a push, I know, but it’s about what I had planned, so I’m not too worried about it — yet.

I’m cooking along on my current project (worldbuilding for a yet-to-be announced thing) and just punched out a cool 5,000 words for it today. Meanwhile, I’m diving into the old Brave New World Roleplaying Game books to refresh my memory about all the things I wrote for it a decade or more ago. I’m happy to say there’s a lot of great material there, and it all jibes well with my plans so far.

So, wish me luck on this busy week so I can make the most of a busy month. Thanks!

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