I just got asked when Angst 3 will be ready?

...Good question :)

Last week I released the first 16 chapters of my 3rd Angst novel into the wild. The alpha team is hopefully enjoying them now, and on the verge of hating where I left the story. Mwa ha ha! I've actually written 2/3rds of Drowning in Angst, and am working on filling in that all important middle part. You know, the story.
Minor spoiler if you haven’t read my 2nd fantasy novel Buried in Angst...but if you have, you probably remember that I left a few, tiny cliffhangers at the end. *Ahem* While they really pushed the series in the direction I wanted, they have made the 3rd installment a challenge.
More than ever, I really feel the need to be careful. I introduced a lot at the end of book 2 and could easily dive too deep into those stories. I don't want to dilute the main story of Angst and his friends, so I'm taking my time to be careful. It's tricky, and more time consuming than I expected.
It's really important to me that my fantasy novels are fun and easy to read, but remain interesting enough to hold your attention. That sort of balance becomes precarious when you have multiple dangling plot threads. Those threads could easily live on their own, but I really feel that each of them needs to feed into the main story to remain relevant. <Insert deep sigh> While I’m having fun, it's not nearly as easy as I thought it would be.
The important thing is I feel really good about what I've written so far. (If I didn't, I’d start over.) The beginning, and ending, of each book is clear in my head as if I just watched it in the theater. (Wouldn't that be nice!) While the path may be a little bumpy, I really do know where I’m headed...most of the time.
Aside from personal tragedy or Yellowstone blowing up (what could possibly go wrong?), Drowning in Angst will be released in 2014. My goal is to have it done by the end of the summer, and if it's not I promise to let you know!

Wow...just...Demicon 25

Insecure David (yeah, he's in there somewhere) has a nagging concern. At what point and time do I wear out my welcome? Do I go to the same cons repeatedly, or do I visit them every other year so they don't suffer David burnout? The only real measure I have for this is book sales. (Well, and spitting. When people spit on me, that's a bad sign.) Cons really aren't about book sales; I consider selling books a bonus to the rest of the adventure. But if I only sold five or ten books, I'd have to wonder if it would be wise to give everyone a break. And after a great Demicon 24, I would never have expected to sell more.

Cristi and I arrived Friday with plenty of time to get checked in and set up the booth without a last minute rush. Fridays are typically slow, which allowed time to meet our neighbors. This was good because the dealer room is about the size of my first apartment and we were going to be spending 3 very close days with them. I've mentioned before that cons are really about making friends. Our neighbor Ashley Schonberg was pretty fantastic. Check out her cool blog and then buy her cool stuff.

Friday night Cristi and I got to meet up with some old friends from High School. (And yes, the three of us are old; Cristi is not.) It was great of them to come out and visit. We had just enough time to get caught up, take some pics, and do a little baby holding. I also learned about their involvement in Bikers Against Child Abuse. From the mission statement: "We do not condone the use of violence or physical force in --any manner, however, if circumstances arise such that we are the only obstacle preventing a child from further abuse, we stand ready to be that obstacle." Personally, I think that's awesome! Please visit their site to find more: http://www.bacaworld.org/ or if you're in Iowa here is a link to the local chapter: http://iowa.bacaworld.org/

This was the 1st time I had the pleasure of sitting on panels at Demicon, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Friday night I hosted a panel comparing the Marvel and DC approaches to motion pictures and television. Saturday I hosted a panel to discuss Star Wars movie news and speculate on Disney's influence. I also sat on a panel Saturday night with author Dennis Green on Finding Time to Write. Be sure to visit Dennis' site to learn more about his writing.  All of the panels were well attended and inspired some lively discussions. I received several compliments, and I didn't even hear anyone snore! (I also got to wear my Superman cape for my superhero panel. Win!)

Room parties at Demicon are superb. We were up late into the night, enjoying both costumes and the good company. Fortunately nobody recorded me singing "Happy" in the karaoke room, but I have to share this video of our friend Joe singing "Stars" from Les Misérables. Before picking up the mic, he mentioned never having sung this song before, but that it was one of his favorites. While I assume everyone is a better singer than me, I never expected his Broadway voice. I promise, it's worth a few minutes to listen. http://youtu.be/15R42QQlDUA

My sincere thanks to everyone who makes Demicon happen and allowing me to participate. I really appreciate the great spot in the dealer room too! I also need to thanks Amanda Alexander for coordinating the panels and including me in the fun! Finally, to all of our friends, you're awesome - we can't wait to see you next year!

I also have to thank my partner in crime. Those who spent time with Cristi at Demicon know she is much more than a pretty face.  (Though she is definitely that, too!) I couldn't ask for better support. She rocks the costume, is always great help, has fantastic suggestions, and is so much fun. I really couldn't do cons without her, nor would I want to. Thanks Shiny!

Oh, and about those book sales. I sold more books than last year. I will now throw those theories and insecurities out the window and just continue showing up to the party - especially if the party is Demicon!

If you'd like to see all of the fun pictures, you can view them on Facebook or Google+.