COVER REVEAL: Ministry Protocol: Thrilling Tales from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences

It's time for a cover reveal!

This is more than just a cover reveal for me. This is the cover reveal of the anthology that holds my first published short story. Sit tight. We're going into...

The Department of Backstory

I met Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine through podcasting, and for various reasons, they're some of the coolest people ever.

Last year at Dragon*Con, they invited me to write a story for the companion podcast to their Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series, which, if you haven't read it, is like a London-based steampunk version of the X-Files. The podcast, called Tales from the Archives, featured the cases of different ministry agents as told by authors from around the podcasting and writing circles.

I squeed. I came up with two characters and figured out what a steampunk Bakumatsu Japan would look like. Then I started writing. It was one of those fugue states where you hear birds chirping outside, then look up to find yourself sitting on the edge of your bed in your underwear, legs burned from the bottom of your overheated laptop, and for some reason you still have shoes on. I mean, you know that feel, right? That could just be me. Nevermind.

I turned in my story, which is titled The Incident of the Clockwork Mikoshi, simultaneously terrified and excited because, well, it was a long short story, almost 8k, and I wasn't sure it was short enough to be included. By the time Tee got back to me, I was sure it was too long and the steampunk tribute to the Shinsengumi, Shinto pantheon, and mobile suits had been overkill.

Then they offered me a spot in the anthology, pending a few revisions and the success of the kickstarter. And I was like, 'anthology means, like, published and stuff. Which means they liked it. They like-liked it.' And then I was like:

Ministry Protocol Cover Reveal!

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novels are a multi-award winning steampunk series, which tells the story of the government agency committed to keeping citizens safe from the strange, the unusual, and the bizarre.  

In a very successful Kickstarter in July, the Ministry Initiative was funded, allowing the creation of both a roleplaying game and a brand new anthology. 

Ministry Protocol: Thrilling Tales from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is a collection of short stories that will take readers across the Empire and all over the world, revealing new facets of familiar characters and introducing new agents, allies, and enemies from the Ministry’s colourful history. 

The authors of this globe-spanning anthology include Delilah S. Dawson, Leanna Renee Hieber, Alex White, Jared Axelrod, Tiffany Trent, Peter Woodworth, Jack Mangan, JR Blackwell, Dan Rabarts, Lauren Harris, Karina Cooper, and Glenn Freund from The League of S.T.E.A.M. 

And one of the Ministry’s creators, Tee Morris, presents the origin story of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences itself.  

Look for the ebook coming in August, with signed print editions to follow.  

Feast your eyes on the cover art from the Ministry renaissance man, Alex White, and spread the word about the anthology by entering the giveaway.

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How to Burn a Candle

Finishing a story holds exactly the same amount of joy as eating a giant bowl of peach shaved ice.

On Sunday morning, I finished a short story--the first thing I've finished since completing my first draft of Bull-Rushing the Ghost earlier this year. Of course, I've worked on plenty, and the short story is barely the length of two novel chapters in Heretic, but there's something about FINISHING a whole narrative that gives me a sense of accomplishment and slingshots me through the next few days.

This time was better than most, though. First, it was a story I'd been asked to write, so I was a but apprehensive about writing toward specifications. It turned out well enough, though. Second, it's the first thing I've completed since my Wiley Coyote-esque plunge over the cliff of creative overexertion.

About that cliff. Regular readers might have noticed I've neglected the blog over the past weeks. 20 days into NaNoWriMo, I waved the white flag. I could barely force myself to pick up pen or keyboard, and my utter exhaustion forced me to admit a fact I'd been trying to hide from myself: all year I've been burning the candle at both ends, trying desperately to balance a mentally-draining job with personal commitments, health issues, and the, frankly, alarming number of creative pursuits.

I write throughout the year, so while giving up on NaNo was a blow to my pride, it didn't hurt my page-count much. But I won NaNo the previous two years--in '10 because I was unemployed and had nothing better to do, in '11 because I guess I just had more energy. This year's defeat indicated larger problems.

I didn't realize how much I needed a break until I NaNo-Failed-To-WriMo.

So I took some time off. Three weeks, in fact. During that time I didn't try to write. Rather than trying to bend my protesting brain to the page, I cleaned, watched Netflix, slept, and read like a madwoman.

I'd forgotten how much I like reading. There was a reason I started this whole writing thing.

For anyone who's lit up both ends of the creative firecracker, I recommend bingeing on books.  I read serious books and "crunchy" books, YA and literary criticism, traditional and self-published, ebooks, audiobooks, paper, and hardback. I reread the Last Herald Mage trilogy. I finally read the latest Scott Lynch. I returned to Riverside. I even read an LGBT firefighter romance novel, which made me smile despite the "read that in a fanfic once" porn-industry sub-plot (yes, really). The binge reminded me how much I love falling into other worlds and stories, falling in love with characters like Atticus O'Sullivan, Wellington Books Esq., Deryn Sharp, Bard Stefan, Locke Lamora, and the Mad Duke Tremontaine.

Speaking of Wellington Books Esq...

I've finished the short story for +Tee Morris  and +Philippa Ballantine's The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: Tales from the Archives, and it's currently out with a handful of alpha readers. I should be right on time with the first draft.

Finishing a story after what had felt like a creative drought left me feeling like I was soaring in a chariot pulled by a team of Nyan-cats, because it was a great reminder of what I could do when I wasn't stretching myself too thin.

So, I have two writing-related resolutions for 2013:

1. Read at least one book a week, no matter what kind.
2. Learn how to burn a candle: one end at a time, because there will still be enough light to see by.

What gives you a creative high? Have you burned the candle at both ends? What do you do to relax when you've overtapped your creative well? What are your creative New Years Resolutions?