Tag: Robin Hood’s Faire

Weekly Update – February 27, 2018

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Business of writing, Event, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Writing process, Young AdultLeave a comment

As you’ve probably heard already, Action Figures – The Black End War is now available on e-book! You can buy it here at InnsmouthLook.com or on Amazon for the Kindle, Barnes & Noble for the Nook, and Kobo.

The print edition is coming soon. I just had to wait for Tricia to finish up her cool propaganda poster-style back cover art, which you can see right here!

WRITING PROJECTS

Well Behaved Women: Made it past the 48,000 word mark. The third act is within reach!

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – book four: First draft in progress.

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage: Fourth draft written.

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Rough plotting in progress.

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins (audiobook): Review completed, final editing in progress.

APPEARANCES and EVENTS

  • THIS WEEKEND! Saturday, March 3, noon to 3 PM: AuthorStock 2018, Barnes & Noble, Millbury, MA. Meet 30 local authors to learn about their work and the craft of writing. I’ll be doing a presentation on cover art and its importance for indie authors at 1 PM and selling and signing books the rest of the time.

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

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Weekly Update – February 20, 2018

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Business of writing, Event, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Writing process, Young AdultLeave a comment

As you might recall, I announced last month that I had written a script for a mini-comic for Underdog Comics. That’s still coming, but for now, go take a look at the first mini-comic coming from the company this year. Tessa will be illustrating my story as well!

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War: Edited and formatted, waiting on cover art. So close to being finished!

Well Behaved Women: Even though the first draft isn’t finished, I spent last week going over what I had down already to refresh my memory and help me nail down the rest of the story. The problem with being a “pantser” (a writer who largely makes things up as he goes and doesn’t pre-plan much, if at all) is that as stories develop, so do plot holes, and I had to reexamine what I had so I could figure out where it was going. Glad I did, because it helped me patch up some plot holes and get back on track. Current draft stands at a little under 47,000 words.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – book four: First draft in progress.

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage: Fourth draft written and it’s ready for test-readers, who I will start harassing once book seven is out.

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Rough plotting in progress.

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins (audiobook): Review completed, final editing in progress.

APPEARANCES and EVENTS

  • Saturday, March 3, noon to 2 PM: AuthorStock 2018, Barnes & Noble, Millbury, MA. Meet 30 local authors to learn about their work and the craft of writing. I’ll be doing a presentation on cover art and its importance for indie authors.

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – February 13, 2018

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Business of writing, Event, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Writing process, Young Adult2 Comments

Planning continues for my appearance at the AuthorStock 2018 event (details below).

I learned this week that I’m supposed to make a presentation at the event, which caught me off-guard. I thought I’d be there mostly to sign books — which I will be — but apparently the participating authors are expected to do something for 15 minutes. Some are doing readings, others are doing hands-on activities for kids.

After kicking ideas around, I decided I’m going to talk about something not strictly writing-related, but still very important to indie authors: cover art. I’m going to talk about the importance of having strong covers and the process that goes into having a cover made for you. And fortunately, I have plenty of visual aids courtesy of WIP pics my awesome cover artist Tricia has sent me over the years.

Speaking of which…

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War: Edited and formatted, waiting on cover art. And here’s the latest work-in-progress version! FYI, those oddly out of place photos are placeholders for where lovingly hand-drawn aliens will go. Oh, and I hope you don’t get too attached to Eye Guy on the lower right. He’s gone. He was a little too out there for my tastes. Also? He was looking at me funny.

Well Behaved Women: Lots of progress over the weekend!

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – book four: First draft in progress.

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage: Third draft written.

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Rough plotting in progress.

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins (audiobook): Review completed, final editing in progress.

APPEARANCES and EVENTS

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – February 6, 2018

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Business of writing, Event, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Writing process, Young AdultLeave a comment

Hey, you. You busy on Saturday, March 3?

If not, then come on down to the Barnes & Noble in Millbury, MA, in the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley, for AuthorStock 2018. I’ll be there from noon until 2 PM doing…something. I’m actually not sure what I’ll be doing, but as soon as I find out from event organizers, I’ll let you all know.

WRITING PROJECTS

Well Behaved Women: Hit 42,000 words on book two…and 2,000 words on book three. Yeah, I jump around.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – book four: First draft in progress.

Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War: Edited and formatted, waiting on cover art.

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage: Third draft written.

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Rough plotting in progress.

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins (audiobook): Review completed, final editing in progress.

APPEARANCES and EVENTS

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – January 30, 2018

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Business of writing, Event, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Writing process, Young AdultLeave a comment

Still pretty sore from a weekend of stage combat seminars, which I take every winter to freshen up my skills for the forthcoming spring renaissance faire season. I have a pretty heavy fight load for the spring show (more on that below) so I need to scrap the rust off so I’m ready to craft some quality fake violence.

WRITING PROJECTS

Well Behaved Women: After several weeks of slow-going, I’ve finally hashed out the plot issues and got back to serious work last week. The first draft is new creeping up on the 40,000 word mark, and once I finish book two I will be ready to plunge right into writing book three.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – book four: First draft in progress. Got a couple thousand words in last week, in-between thinking over WBW stuff.

Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War: Edited and formatted, waiting on cover art — which is in progress! Tricia is playing around with Carrie’s new look a little, and this is one of the concepts she’s experimenting with.

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage: Third draft written.

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Rough plotting in progress.

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins (audiobook): Review completed, final editing in progress.

APPEARANCES and EVENTS

  • Saturday, February 17, 5 PM to 9 PM: Connecticut Renaissance Faire/Robin Hood’s Faire Meet the Directors Mixer. The producers of the Connecticut Renaissance Faire in Lebanon, CT and Robin Hood’s Faire, which has relocated this year to Lancaster, MA, are hosting a special promotional event at their Southbridge, MA headquarters to drum up interest in this year’s auditions for the two shows. If you’re interested, stop on by to meet with the directors — including me! I’ll be returning to the spring show as fight director.

MISC.

The end is nigh!

You have until the end of the day tomorrow to grab Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins along with 33 other titles for free as part of a superhero fiction cross-promotion.

You also have until tomorrow to submit a story for the New England Speculative Writers group’s open call for its first anthology. If you’re a New England-based writer, you’re eligible to submit a story. Go here to get the full details.

Finally, if you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – January 23, 2018

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Business of writing, Event, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Writing process, Young AdultLeave a comment

Big announcement time!

Over the weekend I signed a contract with a Boston-based indie comic company, Underdog Comics, to write a mini-comic for them. It’s a steampunk adventure called Freedom Winds and features a crew of women pirates fighting the so-called “triangle trade” during the Golden Age of Piracy.

Underdog Comics’ overarching mission is to increase diversity in media, and that’s a mission I can get behind.

I met the company’s founder, Tessa, at Arisia 2018, and after talking about Action Figures and what I try to do with that series in terms of representation, she asked if I’d be interested in writing a script for her. She had a couple of concepts in need of a writer, one of which was “steampunk pirate women.” By the end of the day I’d come up with some characters and a basic concept, and I spent the following week fleshing it out. I finished the script this past weekend and submitted it on Sunday.

Tessa herself will be the artist on the mini-comic, and I’ve already seen some of her character sketches. They’re looking pretty damn cool.

Freedom Winds is scheduled for a March release. I’ll keep you all updated as things progress.

WRITING PROJECTS

Well Behaved Women: Got some more work done but, for time constraint reasons, not as much as I’d hoped. My day gig is back in full swing, though so hopefully I’ll return to pounding out more than a page a day. In the meantime, I managed to finish work on one of the costumes for the March photo shoot, and I think it looks pretty damn good.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – book four: First draft in progress.

Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War: Edited and formatted, waiting on cover art.

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage: Third draft written.

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Rough plotting in progress.

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins (audiobook): Review completed, final editing in progress.

APPEARANCES and EVENTS

  • Saturday, February 17, 5 PM to 9 PM: Connecticut Renaissance Faire/Robin Hood’s Faire Meet the Directors Mixer. The producers of the Connecticut Renaissance Faire in Lebanon, CT and Robin Hood’s Faire, which has relocated this year to Lancaster, MA, are hosting a special promotional event at their Southbridge, MA headquarters to drum up interest in this year’s auditions for the two shows. If you’re interested, stop on by to meet with the directors — including me! I’ll be returning to the spring show as fight director.

MISC.

I’m taking part in a month-long cross-promotion with several other superhero fiction authors, and until January 31 you can grab Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins along with 32 other titles for free!

It’s the final countdown for the New England Speculative Writers group’s open call for its first anthology. If you’re a New England-based writer, you’re eligible to submit a story. The deadline for submission is January 31, so get cracking! Go here to get the full details.

Finally, if you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – May 30, 2017

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Event, Freelance work, Novels, Renaissance faires, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Writing process, Young AdultLeave a comment

Robin Hood’s Faire is over, and it was a great run. For the most part I’m spending today recovering, and this weekend I get to return to my regular writing schedule — which is good, because I’ve fallen behind.

WRITING PROJECTS

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Blades of Glory: Got a little work in and I’m within arm’s reach of the 50,000 work mark.

Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War: Second draft finished, third draft in process.

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage: Second draft finished.

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Rough plotting in progress.

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins: Audiobook recording in progress.

APPEARANCES and EVENTS

MISC.

It’s all official now, so I’d like to announce that I am writing a mud show script for an act that will appear at the Mutton & Mead Medieval Festival in Turners Fall, Massachusetts next month. Bonus: the lead performer is my friend Jen, who is also the narrator for my Action Figures audiobook!

Weekly Update – May 23, 2017

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Event, Novels, Renaissance faires, Sharing The Love, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Writing process, Young AdultLeave a comment

Another slowish week. It was a three-day weekend at Robin Hood’s Faire, but damn, was it a good weekend. Well, except for the fact it ended with a contact lens sliding up into my head and refusing to come out until I was halfway home. Good times.

WRITING PROJECTS

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Blades of Glory: Got a little work in and I’m within arm’s reach of the 50,000 work mark.

Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War: Second draft finished, third draft in process.

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage: Second draft finished.

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Rough plotting in progress.

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins: Audiobook recording in progress.

APPEARANCES and EVENTS

MISC.

Copyright Gia Publications Inc.

I’d like to give a shout-out to my friend Allyssa Norton, who provided the art for a new children’s book, Momma, Buy Me a China Doll (First Steps in Music series) by author John M. Feierabend. Her work is truly beautiful and she’s already been tapped to provide the art for a second children’s book. Go check her stuff out! Now! Do it. Doooo iiiiiiit.

Weekly Update – May 16, 2017

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Event, Freelance work, Novels, Renaissance faires, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Writing process, Young AdultLeave a comment

Another slow week, mostly due to the opening of Robin Hood’s Faire. One weekend down, two to go!

WRITING PROJECTS

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Blades of Glory: No progress since last week, but I’m planning to get back into it this week before packing up for a three-day weekend at RHF.

Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War: Second draft finished, and I did a little work on draft three based on some feedback from a beta reader I wanted to get out of my head before I forgot it all. I ended up adding about 2,000 words to the manuscript.

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage: Second draft finished.

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Rough plotting in progress.

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins: Audiobook recording in progress.

APPEARANCES and EVENTS

MISC.

I’ve been tapped to write up a script for an independent renaissance faire act — a mud show, to be precise. I should be getting some info this week on what’s needed for the show.

Weekly Update – May 9, 2017

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Event, Novels, Renaissance faires, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Writing process, Young AdultLeave a comment

Another slow week, but there is some stuff to report. Keep reading…

WRITING PROJECTS

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Blades of Glory: I had only one writing day this week but I managed to make the most of it. I am finally through a tough sequence and getting back into the story proper, and I’m creeping up on the 47,000 word mark. Woo!

Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War: Second draft finished. Another test reader weighed in, and his main note was, “You bastard.”

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage: Second draft finished.

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Rough plotting in progress.

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins: Audiobook recording…is almost done! My narrator has just about finished things up and is polishing the recording a bit before sending it to me for review. My goal was to have this ready for a summer release and it’s looking like I might just realize that goal.

APPEARANCES and EVENTS

MISC.

It’s opening weekend of Robin Hood’s Faire in North Haven, CT, so if you are in the area, come visit and see a fun show that we’ve put a lot of hard work into. In particular, come and check out my awesome fight cast! Dave, John, Amy, Phil, and Samantha have done me proud in my first foray as fight director and I expect nothing less from them than brilliance and perfection.

The Robin Hood’s Faire cast. Photo by CT Hannon, Photoshop by Brian Harvard. And in case you’re wondering, I’m the guy on the right in the leather bullet helmet.