TL:DR

• RIP John Desjarlais
• Snippet from Idol Speculations
• Idol Speculations coloring pages
• Webinar on how to load a book on Amazon Sept 23 ($10)
• Webinar on developing character voice September 29 ($20)

What’s New in FabianSpace

Last week, I got some sad news. One of my writing friends, John Desjarlais, died. It was rather sudden, and I'm awed that his widow had the presence of mind to go through John's emails and let folks know.

I met John through the Catholic Writer's Guild. My clearest first memory was him introducing himself as "Johnny Dangerously!" and then teaching me how to pronounce his last name. He was a great guy with a wonderful sense of humor and a strong faith. He wrote cozy mysteries, and I was always hoping another would come out. He taught journalism and writing at his local college and I knew from our correspondence how much he loved it.

I'm sorry to say that in the past few years, we'd lost track of each other. Nonetheless, I feel the loss. The world is a little less bright with John's light gone from it, but I know he'll be praying for us in heaven.

If any of you knew John and want to send something to his widow, Virginia, let me know. I have an address.

Idol Speculations Mechavern scene

It's not a kaiju movie without a mecha.

This was so amazing. I was MechaVern! I wondered if the spell could be made permanent on standby. How fun would it be to take this body for a spin! Like driving a car. I hadn’t gotten to drive when I was human.

“Vern?” Grace prompted.

“Just getting used to the interface,” I said. “I’m playing with the cameras. Oh!” I gasped as the view to Camera Six changed, and I saw Shogzallie twisting and roaring as the choppers continued to pelt him with gunfire. I couldn’t hear, but I could see the shots coming in fewer groups, the intervals farther apart. They were running out of ammo. I was too far away to see drones, but he wasn’t flailing nearly as much.

“I think it’s time I got out there. Unless there’s something I need to know, I’ll figure it out as I go. Get out of here and get everyone out of the way.”

“Don’t take stupid chances,” Grace warned. “Just because you can’t feel Ryujin’s damage does not mean you can’t be hurt inside Ryujin.”

“We have to exit down the back,” Lorran said. “We’ll let you know when we’re clear. Go slow at first. The levitation spell isn’t exactly meant for something of this size and complexity. We did a lot of improvising.”

Grace tapped her comms and did a check, and I responded that I heard her. Then I waited, watching Shogzallie, small and far-away looking. I was going to have to remember that: Objects on Screens Are Closer Than They Appear.

Purchase Idol Speculations

Idol Speculations Coloring Pages

Originally, I only intended to have a line drawing of Shogzallie for the book, but it was so cool, I couldn't stop! Brent Donoho drew some great pictures of Shogzallie and Vern and I made a little coloring book. Download it here! Then share with me when you color them in!

How to Publish on Amazon – class and demo

The last couple of times I’ve published a book on Amazon, I held a webinar to show folks how it’s done. I’ve had a great response and decided to formalize it into a class. I’ll cover what you need to prepare, some of the basics, and then walk you through a demo, using Idol Speculations as the guinea pig! You’ll leave with an understanding of how to publish using KDP (Amazon’s platform) and a worksheet to help you prepare.

The class is on Saturday, Sept 23, 8-9 PM, Eastern.

$10 (CWG members contact me for a coupon code.)

Learn how to publish on Amazon

Character Voice

I'm enjoying teaching my writing classes, and this month, we're moving to one of my favorite things--character voice. I've broken down the process to help students learn how to create character voices that reveal who the character is, from attitudes to how they see the world. This is a fun class with examples, process breakdowns, and exercises. If you feel like your characters all sound alike or if you want to make your characters stand out, this is the class for you!

Friday, Sept 29, 8-9:30 PM

$20 (CWG members contact me for a coupon code.)

Lets Develop Character Voice!