Tag Archives: relics & remains

Progress Report

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Yes, I’m alive. I’ve just been too busy to post to the blog.

Most of it is due to the extra time I’ve been putting into my martial arts training lately. I’ve got a big day coming in March and I need to be prepared. To do so has meant extra training with fellow students, extra classes, and both studying and practicing at home. It’s been like this since Fall, so I’m looking forward to more breathing room this Spring.

It goes back to making the time we need: I make some time to write, and that’s more important than making time to blog. There are a few things I’ve been meaning to post for a while, including a follow-up to my Gone Digital post, but there are other, more pressing projects that require my attention.

There’s an announcement coming soon on one of those projects, and I’ve recently turned in the latest draft of a work-for-hire project that’s consumed a chunk of my writing time (I’m waiting to hear from the editors on whether it will be the final draft). The final edits on Lie with the Dead have suffered as a result of the extra karate practice, the unannounced project, and the work-for-hire project, but it will be back on the high priority list this week.

There’s more in the works. I want to re-release an old short story through Kindle, and I have plans for more The Pack short stories as well as the third novel. I’ve got a crime opportunity I’m working on, and plans for separate projects I can’t talk about yet. After said Big Karate Day in March, things should open up dramatically for all of it.

I’ve also learned the Cadence in Decay anthology is officially dead. Relics & Remains is still out there, but I haven’t heard any news about how it’s doing. If you’ve read it, an Amazon review would be appreciated.

So, yes, I still live. And now I must dash off to a few hours of karate classes, as well as the dojo’s annual Chinese New Year party. Afterwards, I plan to camp out at a Starbucks and get some work done.

Tomorrow? Motorcycle show! \m/ I should be home in time for—you guessed it—more karate practice with the team for the Big Karate Day. Yep, it’s been a big commitment.

It’ll be worth it.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

Relics & Remains Now Available in TPB

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Have you been waiting for Relics & Remains in a dead tree edition? Today’s the day, my friends.

Relics & Remains front cover

Relics & Remains horror anthology

Edited by Ty Schwamberger, Relics & Remains features a great lineup of several of my friends. My own story, “Good for What Ails Ya”, leads off the anthology.

If you’d still prefer an electronic copy, it’s also available in a Kindle Edition.

Whatever your method of consumption, I hope you dig it, and please do leave a review!

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

Relics & Remains Available Now

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If you’re the e-reader type, the Relics & Remains anthology is now available for both Kindle and Nook.

The book trailer from the editor offers a hint about each story:

This is my first time taking the lead in an anthology. No pressure.

 

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

Good for What Ails Ya

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My short story “Good for What Ails Ya” will at last see the light of day on Halloween.

“GFWAY” will be part of the Relics & Remains anthology edited by Ty Schwamberger and published by E-Volve Books/Naked Snake Press.

Relics & Remains front cover

New publisher, same cover

I believe all of the original contributors are on board, but don’t hold me to that. Those of us listed on the cover are still there, anyway.

I haven’t received word on pricing, but it appears the E-Volve/NSP catalog is available on Kindle. I’ll look into Nook, Smashwords, etc., after the book is released next week.

Relics & Remains back cover

Congrats to Ty for putting together a solid lineup, and thanks to E-Volve/Naked Snake for picking up the book. We’ve been waiting on this one for two years now, and I’m looking forward to hearing what folks think of it.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

Production Update

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Things may look quiet around here, but I’ve been busy as hell in the background.

First, I’m happy to announce I sold a short story called “The Wrench in Her Works” to the first Shotgun Honey anthology, which I believe is scheduled for an October release. The full contents are not public yet, but there are some great contributors lined up and I’m looking forward to reading the whole thing.

Second, I’ve signed a new contract for Relics & Remains, so my horror short “Good for What Ails Ya” may make an appearance before long after all. It sounds like the anthology is in good hands, so if all the contributors are aboard for the second attempt, the book will drop sooner rather than later.

Lie with the Dead is still under review with my editor at Evileye, and I hope to have the last round of revisions back soon. Then it’s one last round of proofing and editing before it goes into the publication pipeline. I hope to have a release date for you soon, hopefully before the end of the year.

LwtD is a sequel to Winter Kill, which is still available on Kindle and in TPB. You can also get an extended preview of Winter Kill with the “Bravo Four” short for only 99 cents on Kindle. Expect another Pack short before long, too.

This week I’ll be wrapping up the scripts for a comic mini/OGN. I’m under contract, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. When the company makes their announcements and editorial has approved the first draft and things are moving along, then I’ll share. I hate jinxing projects, and I’ve had enough books fall out from under me over the years that I’m starting to feel like a tease.

Any Oliveri completists in the house? Check out Financial Intelligence from Smarter Comics. I adapted the book to script. Probably one of the toughest gigs I’ve taken (I’m just not an accounting guy), but it paid some bills and it’s set me up for some more work from the publisher. These are the kinds of gigs which get me one step closer to writing full time and escaping IT hell.

Finally, this weekend I’ll be firing off the third entry in my new Dispatches from the Front column over at Indie Pulp. The first two entries, “Darkness is Darkness, Blood is Blood” and “Gods vs Engineers” are still available.

The rest is all hush-hush and in development. I’ve got some research to do, and of course I need to put in a lot of keyboard time. I may be facing an artist hunt before long, which I’m both excited about and dreading.

Just gotta keep moving forward.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

Production Updates

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I have bad news and good news.

First, I just learned Relics & Remains was canceled by the publisher, without warning to the original editor. My apologies to those of you who have been waiting on it. I wasn’t given a reason, but I’m assuming the problem is financial, a common problem for most small presses.

The good news is the editor re-sold the anthology to a new publisher. I don’t want to say which one until all of the contracts are signed, and it’s too early to speculate on a release date. I’m hoping it won’t be long, though, as the stories are already done; it’s just a matter of getting them into print.

I’m told the signature sheets for Cadence in Decay, forthcoming from Mansion House Books, will go into circulation soon. Excellent. This will get it one step closer to publication.

Finally, Lie with the Dead is still in draft status. In the meantime, might I entice you with The Burning Maiden, due to drop at any moment from Evileye Books? Trust me, you’re going to dig this one.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

Some Rambling on Writing

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If you follow me on Twitter, you saw my mini-rant about developing an exit strategy from your day job if it’s not one you’re content to do for the next ten, twenty, even thirty years. My goal is, and always has been, to write full time, and after some problems and distractions this year I’ve been rebuilding the plan for that goal, including putting together the exit strategy.

Things are moving in the right direction. Lie with the Dead has been delivered to Evileye Books, and depending upon how much still needs to be rewritten, fans won’t have to wait much longer. For those of you new to The Pack, you may want to start with Winter Kill, which is only $2.99 on Kindle or $12.99 in paperback. You can even get a free taste in comics form with Big Bad Wolves over at Indie Pulp. Big Bad Wolves takes place prior to Winter Kill and features art by Mike Henderson.

Brainstorming

Gotta keep the magic coming

Also from Evileye, The Burning Maiden is due early next year. I’m excited about the lineup for this one, and if production goes well and the rumors hold true, we’ll see an e-book edition soon. Expect news of another Evileye anthology soon after, including yet another short story from yours truly.

Crime/noir fans may want to check out the latest issue of Needle Magazine. Folks have been very complimentary of my contribution, “With This Bullet”, and I plan to do more work like that soon. For a free taste of my crime fiction, check out “Tweet Tweet, Little Twat” over at Shotgun Honey.

In other short story news:

  • Relics & Remains is still going to happen, but I have no news on it yet
  • I just sold “Dead Cache” to the anthology Cadence in Decay due early 2012 from Mansion House Books
  • “Bravo Four”, a The Pack piece, is undergoing final rewrites and I’ll have more news soon
  • “‘Til Undeath Do Us Part” is still waiting for publication in a zombie anthology
  • I hope to have publication news for a commissioned short featuring a pulp heroine soon
  • “Inazuma” is still available as a free download

Short stories don’t pay the bills, and sometimes the wait before they see print can be frustrating, but they’re fun to do and they help promote the big stuff. In the next few months I’ll be mining my short story and novella backlist to see what else I can get to you, too. No sense letting their bits rot away on the hard drive.

Moving forward, there’s a lot going on. In fact, it was my intention this weekend to put together the outline for the third The Pack novel and plot out another novel and a commissioned novella. Then the Christmas tree had to go up and I lost a ton of time putting plastic over our windows for the winter. Wonderful.

The third Pack novel will have the priority from here out. A huge part of the exit strategy is getting The Pack back on track. Both The Pack 3 and the novella are due in fairly short order, and the novella will be part of a Mansion House Books trilogy antho including Ty Schwamberger and Gord Rollo. Once they’re both turned in, I plan to start tinkering with that other novel, Sick Day.

Some of you may recognize that name. Yeah, I’ve been sitting on it a while. I’m seeing some opportunities open for it, however, so it’s coming time to put it to paper and get it into an editor’s hands. Contracted work will have to come first, but I still want this book to happen.

This, by the way, is the short list. There are two semi-aborted web comics I’d like to do, one of which I’ve thought about turning into a prose book or a novella series instead. A half-complete novel called Powerless may still have value. A trunk crime novel needs a rewrite (or I at least need to salvage the title for something else). There’s another property I’ve mentioned to one of my editors and he’s shown interest, but I have yet to put the pitch together because I’ve been so tied up with The Pack. Finally, two people have told me I need to try my hand at young adult work, and that led to a really solid idea for another project.

That’s the problem: I’ve got plenty of things happening that could keep me busy full time, but it’s still the day job that keeps my family fed and I’m stuck for a while. If I stick to the exit strategy, though, that will change soon enough.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.