Unbelievably, NaNoWriMo starts in two days. Considering I’ve said in the past I wasn’t the biggest fan of it, I can’t say I’m overly excited. I mean, writing a novel in 30 days is hard. I still don’t understand why people looking to write a novel feel the need to write 50K in 30 days, all the while ignoring the other 335 days of the year. This year alone I’ve already written 230,000 words (which is lower than my estimate of 300,000 words, which is where I thought I’d be already), so why the sudden need to crush out 50K in thirty days? Unless, of course, one of my publishers was breathing down my neck, demanding a book I was under contract for… but that’s a horse of a different color indeed.

Still, I’ll root for the NaNo hardcore, simply because everyone needs a little push to finish a novel. I know I do. Of course, my methodology is a bit stranger. I reward myself with cookies and booze. Not the healthiest of options, but it’s not as if I drink every night. And the booze is high quality hooch, damn it. Granted, if I met my daily word count goal every day, I’d probably be a drunk. So maybe it’s good that I don’t always hit my word count?

Anyway, good luck to all the NaNoWriMo participants. May your muse flog you mercilessly.

Bonus: Would you like to win an extremely rare first edition copy of the soon-to-be-a-movie Bigfoot Wars? And a copy of an author’s first-ever comic book? Hey, while we’re at it, why not a free copy of any ebook the author has ever written, plus a copy of his breakthrough milSF novel Homeworld (to which he and I wrote the sequel to)? Admit it, yes, you do. Don’t deny it. My coauthor, Eric Brown, is currently running a contest over on Facebook. If you pick up a copy of Snarlers, Planet Sasquatch: Retaliation, or the Crypto-Squad box set, you’re entered to win. Just pick up a copy at Amazon and message him on Facebook (he’s easily accessible) and BOOM! you’re entered.

Remember: the more people who buy both his and my (mine? bah… English) books, the more publishers look at us and say “Hey, I want their book.”