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Blog Tour – SKYPE / Book giveaway

My friends at Jeanbooknerd are running a blog tour for STORM and in addition to giving away some signed arcs, the top prize…drumroll please…is a Skype visit with me.  Here’s the link.

http://www.booknerdtours.com/2014/trailer-blast-storm-by-d-j-machale.html

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STORM – Tour information

We’re putting together the tour for STORM that will be in March.  As I did with SYLO, I’m putting it out there to you guys to give me suggestions on the places you would like me to visit.  That helped a lot in planning the last tour so I’m hoping you guys will come through again.  Note:  I probably won’t be going back to the stores/cities that I visited on the last tour…it’s too soon!  We’ll have to wait for SYLO III for that.

So, send me your ideas.  If I get a number of responses about any one place, it might just get on the schedule!

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Launch (On the SYLO tour)

Getting ready to hit the road (or the airport) to begin the SYLO tour.

I’m pretty psyched because I set a deadline for myself to hit before I started traveling, and that was to complete the first (rough) draft of SYLO III, and I did it.  I typed the words “THE END” today.  Of course, there’s still a boatload of work to be done before I even turn it into my publisher in November, but it’s a good feeling to know that it’s all been roughed out and now I can set the Wayback Machine and concentrate on talking about SYLO.  (Or SYLO I)

The first stop will be in Madison Connecticut on the 16th.  I’ll be speaking at some schools in the morning and then visiting the great R.J. Julia store in the afternoon.  (Check the appearance schedule for details)  The last time I was at that store was with The Soldiers of Halla, so that was a few years (and book series) ago.

I hope to see many of you on the tour.  If I’m not getting near you, maybe we can correct that in March during the STORM tour.

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SYLO Tour update – September 11th

A few little changes to the schedule.

I’ve added the link to the Perrot Library in Old Greenwich, CT.

Also, there will NOT be a public event at Lake Forest Books in Lake Forest, IL.  I’ll only be visiting schools that day.  Sorry!

Appearances

 

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SYLO III

As I’ve done with many of my other books, I’m doing the cliche’ writer thing and spending a week in the mountains, with my dog, to concentrate on finishing the first draft of SYLO III.  It’s kind of magical.  I’m totally secluded with nothing to do but focus on the story and the words.  It’s amazing how that helps the flow of ideas and general creativity, not to mention productivity.

Many readers have asked me how to get over writer’s block.  My theory is that writer’s block isn’t about not being able to come up with ideas, it’s when you have too many ideas and thoughts competing for valuable brain-time and that keeps you from focusing on your story.  Normally at home, when I get stuck I go for a run.  It’s remarkable how doing a simple physical exercise washes away all the extraneous thoughts.   I often come up with incredible ideas while running, or solve a problem I’ve been wrestling with for days.

That’s what it’s like getting away to the mountains, alone (except for the dog) where all thoughts are focused on only one thing.  The story.  It’s been an incredible week and right now I’m writing the climax to not only SYLO III, but The SYLO Chronicles.

Not that I want to be a tease, but I’m getting all goose-bumpy while I write.  That’s a good sign.

And BTW…I’ve come up with a title too.  But I’m not telling anybody yet.  Not even my publisher.  I don’t want it showing up on Amazon next week.

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STORM and stuff

Just finished going through the proof of STORM.  It’s amazing how many little things slip through the cracks at each step.  After doing untold drafts and being scrutinized by several editors, wacky things still pop up…like the exact same phrase used two paragraphs apart.  Or my calling the island Chinicook in one chapter, and Chillicott in another.  Yeesh.  Even after so many eyes are on it, I’ll inevitably get an e-mail from a reader who points out a type-o somewhere.  Ahhhhh!  But we’re trying.  Honest, we’re trying.

I’m also now getting close to finishing a first draft of SYLO III.  In my head, the story is coming to a close, so it’s going to be weird going on tour next month and only able to talk about SYLO I!  I’m going to have to be on my toes not to be giving away spoilers because believe me, to say that things hit the fan with this story is an understatement.

We’re finalizing the stops for the tour.  Check out the latest dates/places on the “Appearance” page.  If I’m not getting anywhere near you on this tour, sorry.  We won’t be adding any more stops.  However, I’ll be going on the road again when STORM comes out in March, so hopefully I can get to some of the requested spots that we missed this time around.

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KRUU Radio Interview

This is a link to a lengthy radio interview I did recently.  I talk about SYLO and writing and all sorts of other stuff.  It’s long, so if you feel like listening to me go blah, blah, blah for a while, follow the link!

http://www.kruufm.com/audio/by/title/20130715_-_d_j_machale

 

 

 

 

 

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SURPRISE! Title and cover of SYLO #2

It was a surprise to me too. Unbeknownst (I love that word) to everyone I’ve spoken to, (meaning, nobody will admit to who did it) the cover for SYLO #2 has been released in cyber space. Oops. SYLO #1 hasn’t even been published yet! Ahhhhhh! Okay, I’m over it. So, here it is, with little (or no, actually) fanfare, build-up, or teasing, is the title and cover for the second book of The SYLO Chronicles.

STORM_31

STORM will be published in March, so forget all about this and go read the first book…as soon as it comes out. Sheesh.

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Are You Afraid of the Dark?

This is a fun BuzzFeed article about my show Are You Afraid of the Dark? If you remember the show, you’ll get a kick out of these “behind the scenes” bits of info.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/15-are-you-afraid-of-the-dark-secrets

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Writing on the Sidewalk – Interview

Here’s a link to an interview I did for the Writing on the Sidewalk blog. Thanks Suzanne!

http://writingonthesidewalk.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/author-spotlight-and-book-giveaway-dj-machale/

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