I love the idea that an efficiency expert for evil supervillains takes over. It’s like the rise of a mob boss in a world of narcissistic, incompetent superheroes. Kinda of like Scarface meets the Tick. Funny, intelligent and well-produced. This book is a joy.
Ted Curran, on the iTunes Music Store
This story is a brilliant critique of modern business practices and corporate culture. In this wicked comedy Patrick E. McLean illustrates how the supervillains of yesteryear pale in comparison to the ruthlessness of Edwin, his evil consultant. Edwin’s character is a purer and more calculating breed than his employers.
RexPopulous, on the iTunes Music Store
Recent Posts About Evil
How to Succeed in Evil: Consultation with a Vampire is Released!
The latest installment in the How to Succeed in Evil saga is now live on Amazon. You can get it right here: http://www.amazon.com/Consultation-Vampire-Succeed-Evil-ebook/dp/B006XY68Y4
It’s a novella-length prequel to the first book. Agnes is alive and Topper, well, he’s still Topper. The set up is this: Edwin is approached by a vampire for advice on how to deal with the constraints of the modern world. Y’know, he wants Edwin to help him use unique powers to their best end.
It’s a pretty fun satire of the vampire genre in general. Which, c’mon, you gotta be just a little sick of, right? As Agnes observes in this story, “You live for hundreds of years and the most fitting consort you can find; the creature that fascinates you; Who you cannot bear live without is a teen-aged girl?” There’s plenty of stuff to poke fun at in this genre.
In addition to having some well-deserved fun with what I think of as ‘modern’ vampires, I wrote this story to work with Topper as a more central character. In the first book he was fun, he was over the top, but he was also little one-dimensional. Not anymore. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still absurdity and obscenity galore, but with this story you’ll get to know the manic little lawyer a little better.
I hope you’ll check it out. And I hope it will tide you over while I finish editing How to Succeed in Evil: Hostile Takeover.
NaNOPE — 49,070 in 30 days.
So I missed 50k in November, but it was worthwhile nonetheless. It’s really hard to write that many words while editing. I ran into some pretty serious problems along the way, but came up with some pretty good solutions. That’s great for the work, but not so great for the word count. I call it…
What I’m Writing — NaNonNoWriMo Progress
So I’m NOT writing a novel this month. But, in the spirit of NaNo I’m cranking out 50,000+ words anyway. On what you may ask? Rewrites on the sequel to How to Succeed in Evil, Hostile Takeover will take up some of that. So will a HtSiE novella called “Consultation with a Vampire.” I’m happy…
Okay, I’m in. NaNONNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo is such a good thing, I can’t resist. I wrote 1,800 yesterday, so I’m off to the races already. But there’s a twist. I’m not going to write a novel. Which makes it NaNONNoWriMo for me. I’m going to put up 50,000+ words in November. And I’m going to count editing the HtSiE novel…
E-book Pricing and the Elasticity of Demand
(a guest post of mine that originally appeared on the Creative Penn) As a writer raised by Economists, I have some perspective that other’s don’t have, and maybe don’t want. (There’s a reason it’s called the dismal science after all.) But when approaching the question of how to price an e-book, sound economic theory (not…
A Giant Laser in Space — No, Really.
It’s one of those classic tropes of SuperVilliany — the GIANT LASER IN SPACE. An idea so ridiculous that it could only exist within the frail pages of a comic book or a pulp novel. Or so I thought. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2032057/Laser-assisted-water-condensation-used-create-rainfall.html If you’ve read How to Succeed in Evil, you’ll know I spend a bit of…
A Learning Experience?
So, obviously, I’m very happy about the recent success of How to Succeed in Evil. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s… it’s… a learning experience? Very much so. I’ve practiced a couple arts in my time, and there is a commonality between all of them. Progress equates to learning. When I realized this I became very…
UPDATE — How to Succeed in Evil e-book
How is my little book doing? The short answer is AWESOME. Better than I ever expected. It’s been up for two months now. There was, of course, the initial bump upon release, then sales died down. Or so I thought. It’s steadily been picking up steam and is currently averaging 18 books a day. By…
An excerpt from HtSiE: Hostile Takeover.
Just a little peek at a bit I’m really liking from the big soupy pile of words that is any (and especially my) first draft. Edwin making a video. As rule, Edwin avoided the spotlight, but as CEO and primary owner of Omdemnity Insurance, there were certain figurehead roles that he needed to fill. You…
Announcing HtSiE:Hostile Takeover
Okay, it’s officially begun. Or since I’ve just crossed the 50,000 word mark on the sequel to How to Succeed in Evil, maybe it’s more appropriate to say, “It has already done been begotten.” (Ah, scratch that, that can’t ever be appropriate to say. Verb tense, anyone?) Anyway, the sequel is coming and it’s title…
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