I like covers. I especially like covers when I get to work with people that are basically distilled talent.  Karl did the Night’s Fall covers while in a jungle (true story), trekking out to feed me samples from whatever cobbled together Wi-Fi he could find.  I think you’ll agree that despite the jungle environs, the results are spectacular.  He’s given me artwork that resulted in some spectacular wrap-around covers for the physical editions. E.g., the paperback: Or the hard cover: Enjoy 🙂

Yo. You can now get your shiny new copy of Night’s Fall.  Go on, click.  (Hopefully) by the time you read this, you’ll be able to get digital, paperback, and hardcover editions there. It’s been five years since Val climbed out of the ruins of Biomne’s research facility. Five years of running from the creature he’s become. Five years of trying to turn the curse into a blessing. He’s scratching out a living in the heart of Chicago, trying to make ends meet while saving those he can. His friend John has found a home with girlfriend Sky. The three of them share an apartment in a city too big to care. Stories of Val’s dark gift have reached across the seas to Talin Moray, a man who will stop at nothing to possess the power of the Night. Talin Read More …

Night’s Fall is … almost finished. By “almost,” I mean that the manuscript has survived the cutting harpies of narrative feedback, and is on its way to getting a series of quality edits.  The story is more or less hammered home.  Fuck yeah. Believe me when I tell you, the hard stuff is done. I showed a draft cover to you before.  Since then I’ve been in touch with the talented Karl Thiart who has done me a glorious cover.  Sure, I can’t give you the book yet, but how about the paperback cover?

Related to my previous post on looking after the body, you also need to look after the mind. I play video games. A little while ago Ubisoft released Assassin’s Creed: Unity.  This thing was a steaming pile of shit — buggy at release, and had great “features” like always-on voice chat so some of the multiplayer missions had people mouth breathing into your living room.  I normally give Ubisoft a bit of a pass – the company makes great games where chicks don’t have their breasts hanging out.  Hell, they made the amazing Child of Light, and let me tell you that being a fairy tale princess is an outstanding experience.  But Unity was a sin. A friend got their newer Syndicate game.  I kept that thing at arm’s length, but he wouldn’t shut up about it, so I grabbed it Read More …

It’s that time again. I’m in need of beta readers for Night’s Fall.  I figure that editing of the first draft will be done by the end of January, so “February” is the date I’m looking at for Santa’s little helpers to read the book. Like last time, I’m after the especially talented among you.  Those people who can read, and mark up, a manuscript (110,000 words) in two to three weeks. There will be two teams — more on that in a bit.  The thing though is that I’m really interested in what you like about the story.  It’s super easy to tear something to shreds, but it’s just as important (perhaps a little more so) to know what sticks with you, what you wanted to read more of, and whether you liked the damn story.  The likeable aspects of the story Read More …

Got a new BBQ.  It’s awesome. We’ve done some pretty interesting food experiments so far.  Pizza didn’t work out so well — I turned it too hot, which gave a little too much of that smoky flavour — but we’ve had some other amazing successes. Spatchcocked chicken?  No problem.  First, de-spine your bird. Then, put it on the BBQ.  Breast-side down at first, then flip.  You’ll need to time it yourself, but 15-20 minutes a side is probably good in our Weber on low. Once you’ve cooked your bird, let it stand for a good 10 minutes before you slice it.  Try to ignore the neighbours queuing at the fence, because it smells divine. Last night we went a bit crazy and made potato “waffles” in the iron, with grilled tamari-marinated thighs and vegetation done on the Weber.  The waffles Read More …

I thought it would be useful to let you know where I hang out online. 1000 ways to get in touch with me:1. text2. email3. tweet4. facebook…999. writing with my blood on a wall1000. telephone — Sarah Houghton (@TheLiB) January 4, 2016 (I stole this idea from Larry, who is more of a media superstar than I can ever be). RSS: This site spits out RSS for the newsreader of your choice.  Here it is. Mailing List: behold.  New signups get a free ebook copy of Night’s Favour. Facebook: I’ll post here from time to time, because I get that a lot of people CBF with blogs ‘n’ shit. Twitter: I spend a lot of time lurking on here.  140 characters is about the most of any one human I can take, so it’s perfect.  @ParryForte is my ‘hood. Instagram: I, Read More …

I’m at that delicate phase where I need to find some new cover art. You know, I feel … the pressure.  Night’s Favour’s cover art was pretty outstanding — I’d like to keep with the theme, but that piece did seem fairly one-of-a-kind.  I don’t want Night’s Fall’s cover to seem less than it’s prequel. Know any artists who want to do some cover art?

Merry Christmas, all of you. I know it’s been a shade on the quiet side around here, and that’s because I’ve been slaving over a hot keyboard.  I wanted to finish Night’s Fall‘s first draft this year, and this evening I nailed it. As y’all probably know, there’s a few steps still to go before you can have it in your mits.  Lots of editing, rewriting, editing, critique, rewriting, editing, and general anxiety attacks still to go.  I need to find a bunch of beta readers to tell me if it sucks!  But … there it is.  I can enter Christmas Day knowing how this story ends. Have a safe Christmas.  See you next time.  

I killed a major character today. It’s not (spoilers? I mean, it’s not like my books don’t have a body count that is legion) the only one that drops in Night’s Fall, but I tend to hit a bit of a funk afterwards because I want all the good guys to live forever.  Unfortunately, that’s shit storytelling, so if it’s plausible that someone dies, well. Now, I’ll go drink myself to sleep.