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THE AUTHOR'S NEWS PAGE

August/December 2007

I have been hired as an elementary school teacher. Although the commitment will make routine writing difficult, I will have occasional intense writing sessions on track breaks and holidays. After a year's hiatus, it will be full steam ahead in 2008.

January/February 2007

Haligan's Snag monthly update. This new year may prove to be unproductive, as I have begun classes that may lead to an elementary school teaching position in the Clark County School District (CCSD). The good news is that should I succeed in becoming a teacher, I will have a lot more free time to devote to writing. I will keep you posted. More to follow...

December 2006

Haligan's Snag monthly update. December 18 DS-2.18/new text/p. 62. I worked on this dream sequence virtually every day for two weeks! Due to the holidays, I will continue after the first of the year. My New Year's resolution is to work hard throughout 2007 on this second tome.

September/October/November 2006

Haligan's Snag update. Due to job training that required four weeks of intensive home study, numerous weekends that involved everything from installing ceramic tile to assisting a friend on a major administrative project for her university, and a fair amount of procrastination on my part, I did not get back to my writing, and Fall 2006 slipped by without any progress on my book. However, I made a point to get back into the groove come December.

August 2006

Haligan's Snag monthly update. August 8 DS-2.15/new text/p. 53. August 13 DS-2.16/new text/p. 55. August 16 DS-2.17/new text/p. 56.

July 2006

Haligan's Snag monthly update. July 5 To my surprise, I was very unhappy with DS-2.11, and after a few days of probing my discontent, I realized that the new text was no better than the original text in terms of internal logic and plot continuity. I don't know how the inner voice works, but it definitely speaks up, and I always listen. So, I let things simmer in my subconscious awhile, and then I put my brain to work figuring out what the specific problems were. I discovered that the basic premise held solid, but that the angle was all wrong. So I've been spending the last few days coming up with a new approach, and jotting down notes along the way. I quickly realized that a new rewrite would not only be a vast improvement over the original in all departments, but that it would also carry quite a bit of impact on future related scenes in this and future tomes. (It will also require a small revision to a previous scene.) Anyway, I have just finished creating two pages of new notes for the series that explore the long-term ramifications of this one scene! Yes, I know that without specifics, this is all quite vague. The point is that writing fiction is a cerebral process that does not make smooth advances. Sometimes, you have to go back and rethink it. Then rewrite it. And accept the consequences! July 12 DS-2.11/new text/p. 42. I finally got it right on this pivotal scene. Due to a plot expansion, the new text runs two pages longer than the initial rewrite. July 16 DS-2.12/new and revised text/p. 44. July 20 DS-2.13/new and revised text/p. 46. July 26 DS-2.14/new text/p. 49.

June 2006

Haligan's Snag monthly update. June 1 DS-2.8/new text/p. 35. June 8 DS-2.9 & DS-2.10/new text/p. 38. June 22 DS-2.11/new text/p. 40. [See July above!]

May 25, 2006

Haligan's Snag update. Just finished a difficult rewrite of DS-2.6 and DS-2.7. With these nine new pages finished, I have now completed 32 pages of single-spaced text. (Published text would be approximately double that many pages). Last year, I got no further than DS-2.4 and DS-2.5 (17 pages of text) because of a "situation" that put my fiction on an 8-month hiatus. I don't foresee any work obstacles for the remainder of this year. It's a slow process, though, especially in these early pages. Fortunately, things should eventually speed up as I work my way towards dream sequences which do not require rewriting, but rather a few revisions.

In my updates, I will continue to make reference to page numbers. This is because a dream sequence can vary greatly in length. It may be as short as a few lines, or it may be dozens of pages long. I expect the next few dream sequences will be rather short and easy to repair, so expect a new update soon!

May 2006

A seven-month "situation" that prevented me from devoting myself to Haligan's Snag has finally come to an end. I am now ready to get down to business. Over the next couple of years, dear reader in waiting, you can expect updates on work in progress. Writing is a long and painstaking process. But at least now it's a GO !

March 2006

A year ago, I got a second job working part-time as a dealer in a small casino. In early February 2006, I quit my full-time Strip job in order to fill in for a full-time employee on leave of absence. Although that employee returned to work on March 6, I was able to continue working a full-time schedule. On March 27, I was promoted from extra board to full-time employee status. This is good news for two reasons. First, since the pay is better, I will be able to upgrade my home and set aside funds for future publishing costs. Secondly, with only one job, I will finally have some time to devote to my fiction. The "situation" remains, but that should be resolved very soon. Stay tuned for progress on Haligan's Snag!

January 2006

Last year, 2005, was devastating in terms of accomplishing any work on Haligan's Snag. In March, I began a second job that has kept me essentially working seven days a week, except for the occasional PTO. Then, a situation arose in September that has kept me thoroughly occupied in my free hours. The second job and "situation" continue into 2006, but should be resolved within a few months. At that time, I will delve back into my fiction---and post more News here. Folks, it's difficult when you have to make a living and attend to issues. And JK Rowling thought she had it rough!

December 2004

I have resumed work on Haligan's Snag. In 2003, I wrote new introductory text to the tome, and over the course of 2004, I've been mainly constrained to just taking some notes. I've been sidetracked by my patio, a second job, and visitors. But I'm back on track now, having just completed a 2-page "Note From the Editor."

March 2004

Welcome to my new web site!

First, I must apologize for the extreme delay in publishing this web site. Rather than offer lame excuses, I would simply like to say that it's up and running finally, and that I will be updating it regularly. I am particularly looking forward to interaction with readers.

I am not a whiz at web site construction, as a quick tour of Emmy-de-Zelaware.com will make abundantly clear. It is functional, though, and should serve its purpose reasonably well. If you have any suggestions on how to improve it, I will consider them (and evaluate my ability to execute them).

You will notice on this News Page, I have included some information about the 14 volumes that will eventually be published in the series. For Golgor!, Malekösta!, and Zenys Zordega!, I found myself unable to offer any detail ("Sorry, no comment"). To say anything at all about the plot would enter spoiler territory, and I have not yet determined their particular style or structure. Enough information is provided in the pages of Part I: Bar-LeDeuc to permit some advanced commentary on the remaining volumes of Yaaländogs!, whose title alone makes it clear that alien contact is imminent.

Although Part I: Bar-LeDeuc lists the Tetralogy titles up front, I am unwilling to divulge the names of individual volumes prematurely. Part I: Bar-LeDeuc announces ("A paraître ...") the name of the second volume in the series on its back cover. The back cover of Haligan's Snag will likewise announce the name of the third volume (identified below by its initials, TT). All future titles will be thus unveiled. Although I will not offer any confirmations, some future titles will inevitably appear in the text of one or more volumes already in print. Nevertheless, I will adhere to my plan.

You will notice that the individual books that comprise The Dreams of Emmy de Zelaware tetralogy are being published in multiple parts ("volumes"). The 5-4-3-2 descending volume count is not arbitrary. The series begins broadly with an introduction to several future civilizations, and then gradually, through a quickening of plot, comes to focus on a singular event. The absence of the number "1" in the volume countdown is mathematically obvious ("Part I" implies that a book is incomplete). But there is also a symbolic reason for a final two-part book, which will become clear when the time comes.

The Dreams of Emmy de Zelaware Emmy de Zelaware's dreams are published as a Tetralogy (unfortunately, "quadrilogy" is not in the dictionary, though it is no longer, say, alien to our vocabulary) in fourteen parts (it is merely a coincidence that the universe is 14 billion years old). The four books—Yaaländogs! (five parts), Golgor! (four parts), Malekösta! (three parts), and Zenys Zordega! (two parts)—represent Emmy's dream cycles. Serving as bookends to these titles are a Prologue and an Epilogue in which a certain Rida Medville documents first-hand the remarkable life of Emmy de Zelaware before and after her eleven-year sleep.

Yaaländogs!

Part I: Bar-LeDeuc

Currently available at Amazon.com and Beginning2EndPublishing.com in soft cover. Hard cover editions, which include a few corrections and an extra paragraph or two, are only available from me (see "How To Order" page). I recommend the hard cover, as all future volumes will be published as hard cover only.

This first volume introduces the reader to a space colony unofficially named Ozark-Aden. It is primarily a collection of anecdotes grouped around a central short story entitled The Broughstar Ghost.

Part II: Haligan's Snag

The original draft of Haligan's Snag was written during the 1980s, and it was originally intended to be the first volume in the series. However, it soon became clear that an introductory piece was needed to establish the setting and familiarize the reader with Zarcadian society. So, in the late 1990s, I penned Bar-LeDeuc. I am currently reworking Haligan's Snag. This second volume is presented in a "soap opera" format. Multiple storylines, a generous cast of characters, and lots of dialogue. Daily life in the colony on the eve of King Kalehod Day.

Part III: TT

This is a stand-alone story that breaks the continuity of Part II: Haligan's Snag and Part IV: KK. It also offers a dramatic break in style (traditional narrative) and a radical change in structure (mise en abyme). Although the reader may be tempted to skip this volume, it contains themes that are essential to the "dream mosaic" as a whole. Also, it is highly entertaining. Approximately 200 pages of this volume were written in the early 1990s. I will resume work on it once I have completed Part II: Haligan's Snag.

Note: All fourteen volumes in the series have fixed titles. Each published volume announces the title of the subsequent volume. I will not provide future titles prematurely. However, I will provide title abbreviations.

Part IV: KK

This volume picks up the loose plot threads at the end of Part II: Haligan's Snag and continues to weave them "soap opera"-style. It relates the events of King Kalehod Day and sets the stage for alien contact.

Note: Although I will not confirm any title prematurely, I'm not oblivious to the fact that certain title abbreviations will be transparent to the reader. Also, since this is a space-bound science fiction series, the mention of "alien contact" doesn't exactly constitute a spoiler.

Part V: TOB

The final volume unmasks the Yaaländogs! and clues the reader to the new direction that will be taken by later books in the Tetralogy.

Golgor!

Part I: IC