Doug McIntire

My Newsletters

Update: I've discontinued the newsletters and I'm using the blog to keep you up on what I'm doing.

I thought that this might be an interesting and fun way to see what I've been up to. Keep checking back. I plan on adding more newsletters all the time.

Click on the links below to go to my newsletters. The current newsletters are on the top of the list. Archived newsletters are on the bottom.

  June 2008

  May 2008

  April 2008

  March 2008

  February 2008

  January 2008

  2007 Archive

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June 2008

My Writing Projects

Wow, a busy month for writing! I've been working my butt off trying to get my short stories submitted. I figure I can't get published if I don't submit.

And speaking of getting published, I had a story get picked up for publication! I submitted Phlebotomists Anonymous to SNM Horror Magazine on June 15, 2008. On Thursday, June 26th, at 7:31 pm, Steve, one of the editors, responded with a rejection that the story just wasn't what they were after for the July issue.

Along with the rejection was a very nice personalized message. Steve said, "This story was well written and had a neat angle..." He went on to say quite a bit more about the story. It was the first personalized feedback I've received on a story and I appreciated that he took the time to give it. He was also passing it to one of the other editors to see if she would like to do a review of it on her blog.

Then, at 7:43 pm, just 12 minutes later, I received another email from Steve asking me if I would consider waiting until the November issue to have it published. In essence, the story had been accepted for publication!

I also had a Agents and Editors Conference that I attended here in Austin. I was pitching A New Witch. The book idea was very well received, and I have since sent the manuscript to several different agents for their consideration!

Whew! If that isn't enough for one month, I don't know what is. I told you it was a busy month.

What Else am I Doing?

June was just a busy month. Not only is my son home from college, but my daughter started her swim season. That means that every Saturday, we have a swim meet somewhere or other.

We also took a family vacation, of sorts, up to Dallas to Great Wolf Lodge. It's an indoor water park. I have to say that I was a little skeptical about it, but I have to admit that we had a great time!

What I'm Reading

I finished reading The Green Marine by Graham Dale. It was a great read! I even went out to Amazon.com to post a review of the book. I expected this book to either be pro-war or anti-war. It was both, and neither. It was just one marine's view of what happened to him while he was in Iraq. Well done Graham!

I started reading Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Cory is one of the original podcasters of serialized novels, which is what inspired me to pick up this book. I'm not finished with it yet though, so I'll have to tell you what I think about it next month.

I'm also still listening to Nocturnal a Podcast by Scott Sigler. It's coming close to the end and I have to say it's quite exciting.

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May 2008

My Writing Projects

I've been doing a lot of writing this month too. Still working on short stories. And this month, I've decided to do something a little different. I'm going to track the status of my of my submissions and more importantly, my rejections, on My Writing. Yeah, I know. No one likes to think about rejections. But you have to understand that as an author, rejections are part of the normal process.

In his book On Writing Stephen King talks about how he had a nail driven into a wall, and he would hang his rejection letters there on the nail. I do something similar. I have a big 3-inch ring binder full of document protectors. I print out each rejection letter (usually e-mail), and put it in the book in a document protector. I'm trying to collect 100 rejections for each short story. Trying to collect that many rejections does two things for me. First of all, it makes me submit them for publication. You can't get published if you don't submit your material. Second, I know that my writing is pretty good, so sooner or later, someone is going to accept it. I figure that in the process of collecting 100 NOs, someone just might say YES.

What Else am I Doing?

May is always a really busy month for my wife and I. My birthday is in late April. Her birthday is in the first week of May. On top of that, we got married the day before her birthday. Put all of that together and we have a lot of celebrating to do within a 7-day time span. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it is a little excessive.

But we survived that and then immediately took a trip to Odessa to pick up Xavier from college. He did pretty well for his first year, and I have to say that his mom and I are both pretty proud of him! It seems like the freshman year of college is what really separates the men from the boys, as it were. Xavier survived his first year and is actually looking forward to his sophomore year. Way to go, Xavier!

Toward the end of the month, we went up to Scarborough Faire for Memorial Day weekend. On Sunday, we met up with Randall, a friend of mine you'll recognize from my motorcycle stories that are posted online, as well as his new lady, Lydia, and her kids, Kade and Katie. We had a great time, but wow, it was hot out. By the end of the day, we were beat.

While we were there, Randall had me insulted by a comedian in one of the shows. I forget who it was, but he makes his living out of insulting people (not bad work if you can get it). Trust me when I tell you that I really can't even begin to put up the things that were said on this web site. Suffice it to say that I've now been insulted by a professional, so don't come whining to me with your amateur insults!

We spent the night in a motel about 3 miles up the road, and by the next morning, we decided to go back to Scarborough Faire. We stayed until about 2:00 pm and had even more fun than we did the first day. We caught a couple of the shows we'd missed and it wasn't quite as hot. Overall, good times!

What I'm Reading

I finished Infected by Scott Sigler. Go out and get that book! If you like horror, you're going to like it. I never listened to the original Infected (it had another name back then, don't ask me but there were a couple of name changes along the way), so I really didn't know what to expect. I have to say that I liked it a lot. Scott is also posting the new-and-improved Infected Podcasts. Check them out at www.scottsigler.com.

I'm also still listening to Nocturnal a Podcast by Scott Sigler. Yeah, I know, it's all about Scott again this month.

I read The Drawing of the Three, Book 2 of the Gunslinger Series by Stephen King. The Series is starting to get pretty interesting.

Currently, I'm reading The Green Marine by Graham Dale. Graham is a friend of mine that I met in one of the local bars. I knew him for several weeks before I discovered that he was also an author and had a book coming out. It came out on May 16th. I had to order it from Amazon UK, but it arrived the day after it was released so I was pretty happy.

Graham is an Irishman living in the United States. After 9/11, he joined the US Marines. The Green Marine is a story about his adventures. I have to say it's a good read, and I especially like it because I know how Graham talks. He has a bit of an Irish accent, and I can actually hear him as I'm reading the book! Good job Graham!

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April 2008

My Writing Projects

I've been doing a lot of writing this month. All short stories. I've completed several of them and now have links up on My Writing.

I'm also still trying to get my short stories published. I have to say, it's a lot of work for very little reward. Consider the amount of time it takes to write them, edit them, and polish them. Then there's the market research you have to do before you can even figure out who to send it to. Then, of course, there's the waiting. Some markets are really fast. Others can take up to 90 days to respond. And in the end, the story may sell for only $20 or $30. That puts the pay, per hour, at far less than minimum wage.

But I'm really not complaining. I just forgot how much work there is to it. The benefit is that when short stories are accepted, it builds up an author's credentials. It's just how the game is played.

What Else am I Doing?

On Friday, April 11th, I drove to Houston, about 3 1/2 hours away, to go to a book signing by Scott Sigler at Murder by the Book, a bookstore in Houston. Scott read from his recently published novel, Infected, did some questions and answers, and then signed books. I would say it was quite a success. The bookstore ran out of copies of Infected to sell. I had a copy with me that I'd purchased prior, but I wanted to buy another copy as well.

The signing went longer than I expected. There must have been at least 75 people there; quite a handful for a little bookstore.

My wife and daughter both went with me. Remember that Sarah is only 12, but she really got into the whole thing. I had Scott sign the book to "Sarah." She was pretty thrilled about it. She even asked a couple of questions. While the Q&A session was going on, she asked Scott if he was his own favorite author. Of course Scott said he was, but then added Stephen King and a few others to the list.

Sarah and I were among the last to get our book signed. When we went up to him, she asked him if he had any advice for a young author. He asked us to hang out and wanted to give the question the answer it deserved. He talked to us for quite some time.

After the signing, there was a pub crawl to the Two Rows Bar, a micro-brewery about a mile away from the bookstore. Sarah didn't go, it being a bar and she being twelve, but it turns out it was also a restaurant and she could have gone. Maria stayed in the hotel with Sarah, so I went to the pub crawl without them.

There must have been thirty junkies (Scott's term for fans) at the bar. Scott said later that he was surprised at the turnout. I took a seat at a table with a few other Sigler junkies and talked a little. Scott moved from one table to another and by the end of the night, came over and sat right beside me. It was great.

Scott started podcasting his novels, giving them away for free when he couldn't get a publishing deal (he had a deal with Time-Warner, but September 11th put a squash on that). Scott's approach was innovating and, I think, a sign of things to come. I was thrilled that I got to sit next to him and pick his brain.

What I'm Reading

Okay, so I was reading So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane. It was a book that my daughter didn't seem to get into, so I wanted to read it and see if I liked it. I have to say that I didn't. I stopped reading about halfway through it. It just got a little too weird for me. The white hole that was following around the main character and hiccuping-out motorcycles was a little too much. Fun, but not quite what I was looking for.

I'm still listening to Nocturnal a Podcast by Scott Sigler. It's getting pretty interesting.

Scott Sigler gets double-booking this month. Not only am I listening to Nocturnal on Podcast, I'm also reading Infected. Infected is Scott's newest published novel and was released on April 1st.

I'm also still listening to short story Podcasts, but I've decided to stop listing them. I listen to them on my way to and from work, and when I'm on the treadmill, okay, just to and from work, and there are far too many to even keep track of.

If you haven't checked out podcasts for audio fiction, I highly recommend it. You can get into it with just a computer. You can also put them on any MP3 player since they're in MP3 format. Get out there and listen to some!

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March 2008

My Writing Projects

The big new is that I've sent a couple of my short stories off to see if I can get them published. The two I sent off were Kutter and Number Two for Brains. I haven't heard anything back yet, on either one, but I'm hopeful.

Both places said that they should respond in about a month, so maybe by next month's newsletter, I might have some news. I hope.

What Else am I Doing?

March. Spring Break. That meant that Sarah got a week off from school while mom and I juggled what we were going to do with her during her time off. It also meant that Alex came home for a few days from college. We didn't get to see much of him because he spent a few days in Port Aransas or was off visiting friends. Maria still missed him when he left though.

I also discovered that my all-time favorite computer game, X-Wing works on my current computer. I dug out my joystick and I've been logging flight time since then. I have to say, it's lots of fun and brings back a lot of memories, but it sure is hard on the writing.

My philosophy on computer games is that they're great, as long as it's someone else playing them. Me, I like to play them, but I know my limits. I will be playing and look up and discover it's 4:00 o'clock in the morning and I have to get ready for work in a couple of hours. So, I tend not to play computer games. X-Wing is the exception.

Although I have to say that the Wii we got Sarah for Christmas gets a fair amount of use as well. Maria and I have both reached Pro-status in golfing. Sarah and I are Pro bowlers too.

What I'm Reading

I'm still listening to Nocturnal a Podcast by Scott Sigler. I'm currently on Episode 19, but I've downloaded Episodes 20 & 21.

I finished reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. What an interesting story. I'm not sure what it is I find so compelling about that novel. At first glance, it almost seems to be haphazard in its organization and structure, but it's not. When you really look at it, it seems that there was a purpose for everything, a hidden meaning, or it's a metaphor for something else. Maybe that's just happenstance. I don't know. And let me, once again, reiterate that I am NOT a serial killer.

I've also finished reading The Gunslinger, Book I of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Somehow, I never got into the whole Dark Tower series when it came out, so I thought it might be worth taking out for a test drive. I have to say, the comment, "Turn to the first page and begin the most compulsive reading experience of our time" is a pretty bold claim though. It was pretty good though. I went out and bought the next couple of books as well. My list of things to read seems to be getting longer and longer.

This month, I've decided that I'm not going to list all the short stories (Podcasts) that I listened to this month (and there were a lot). Instead, I'm going to list the ones that I thought really stood out. The ones I really liked are:

Right now, I'm reading So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane. It's one that my daughter didn't seem to get into, so I wanted to read it and see if I like it. I'm about a third of the way through it. I didn't really like it at first, but before I knew it, I was turning the pages, so I think it kind of snuck up on me. So far, I'd give it 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

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February 2008

My Writing Projects

I've done a lot of writing this month, in spite of the fact that I took a week and a half off. It has been primarily short stories, though I'm about to resurrect my novel Werewolf. I've also decided to change the name to Crying Wolf. I heard from an old friend of mine recently, Sasha, and she gave me the inspiration I needed for a name change.

I can't tell you how many short stories I've cranked out this month. I would hazard a guess at seven in various stages of completeness. March is the month I'm going to push to try to get a couple of them published. I currently have a couple of candidates that I really like and want to get out there.

What Else am I Doing?

Of course work is still crazy (isn't it always). I thought it would settle out a little since last month, but it has, in fact, gotten worse. I'm also doing a lot more writing at work, which makes the writing after work a little tougher.

I've been spending a lot of time on Myspace.com getting my profile updated and stuff. I don't have my MySpace page the way I like it yet, but you can check it out at: www.myspace.com/dougmcintire.

What I'm Reading

I'm still listening to Nocturnal a Podcast by Scott Sigler. I'm currently on Episode 12, though he's now released the next several installments.

I've finished reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. What a great story, but I have to say that I was a little disappointed in the end. I think that it was all tied up a little too neatly. I don't think that would take off many points though. If I were to rate it, I would probably give it 4 stars out of 5. Overall, I enjoyed it and I thought the writing was phenomenal.

I've also been listening to a lot of short stories (Podcasts) as well (I didn't realize how many until I compiled the list). The ones I've listened to include:

I've realized that this is a pretty big list of short stories. Suffice it to say that I really like the podcast short stories that are available on the Internet. If you haven't done so, I recommend that you check them out. I'm not sure that I want to keep naming all the short stories that I read or listen to, but it does get the names of the authors out there, something I am hoping for as well. We'll see if I keep it up next month. Maybe I'll change it around some.

I'm currently working on The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. This is a book I've read before, but I wanted to take a fresh look at it since I'm marketing my novel Crying Wolf as a Werewolf novel of teenage angst. And no, before you ask; I'm not a serial killer!

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January 2008

General Information

Okay, I know that this is the second time I used January 2008 as the title for a newsletter. Let me explain.

I'm trying to publish my newsletters as close to the first of the month as I can. I started out by naming the newsletters with the name of the upcoming month, rather than the month it was about. So, for example, the December Newsletter was really about November.

Well, this year, I decided to make the January Newsletter about January. I know that seems to be common sense, but hey, I'm learning. That all being said, let's get on to the newsletter!

My Writing Projects

I've been doing a lot of writing this month! Werewolf, the working title for my current writing project, was coming along nicely until I realized that I needed a bit more in the way of subplots. Right now it's on hold at about 12,000 words and almost 50 pages, so about a fourth of the way to completion. I'll need to go back to fix a few things before I can really continue. I'm hoping to get back on this in February.

I've also been editing a lot on A New Witch. I'm really pushing to have this completed within a couple of weeks. I like to write more than I like to edit and I'm ready to get on with the writing so I need to get this off my plate.

I've also written three short stories this month. I'll be trying to publish them soon, and maybe even put them into a Podcast. I'll keep you updated on the status of these. Maybe you'll get to read some of my writing sooner rather than later.

What Else am I Doing?

I know that I've said a lot about being hooked on my iPod Nano. I'm so hooked that I went out and bought an iPod Shuffle too. The Nano is a little too big when I get on the treadmill and I was looking for something a little smaller. I like it too, but I'm really glad I didn't start with it. It works for what I bought it for, but it just doesn't have all the gee-whiz stuff that the Nano has.

Work has been absolutely crazy! We've got a new project going on that I'm heavily involved with and it's eating a lot of my time. To make matters worse, I fully expect next month to be worse. Yuk!

It's also end of the fiscal year, always a hard time. This year is worse than usual though. Something you just have to deal with from time to time, but let me state, for the record, that it's no fun!

We did get a chance to go see our son, Xavier, at a swim meet in Sherman, Texas, this month. His mom really misses him. We met her bother and his wife there. It was good times.

I've been upgrading the home entertainment center. If you remember, last month, my buddy Randall bought us a huge television for Christmas. Well, we've been upgrading. Better DVD player, better cables, etc. Next month, we're probably going to add a Blu-ray Disc player into the mix. I'm thinking it's going to be a Sony PlayStation 3. Hey, it plays Blu-ray!

What I'm Reading

I'm still listening to Nocturnal a Podcast by Scott Sigler. I'm currently on Episode 11. I find that I'm quickly becoming one of his "junkies" because I can't seem to wait for the next "fix." Speaking of which, where's the next fix Scott?

I finished reading Midnighters 3 - Blue Noon, the final book in the Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld. What a great ending! I didn't see it coming and I thought he did a wonderful job with it. I liked the series anyway but I have to say that the ending of the third book really put the icing on the cake!

I've also been listening to a lot of short stories (Podcasts) as well (I didn't realize how many until I compiled the list). The ones I've listened to include:

All of them were pretty good and I would recommend any of them for your listening pleasure! Of course, I enjoyed some more than others, but not all tastes are the same. I will leave them to your discovery. Most of these I downloaded from the Apple iTunes Store, but all of them were from and again, you don't need an iPod to listen to a Podcast.

I read Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, Book 1 of the Mercy Thompson Series. I'm not exactly sure what I think about this one yet. If I were to use the five-star rating system, I would probably have to give it 3-stars. Overall it was a good story and the protagonist was quite interesting. I just ordered Blood Bound, the second book in the series. I'm going to hold off further judgement until I read that one.

I started reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Everyone at work has already read this novel and they've been pressuring me to read it, so I finally picked it up. While I'm only about halfway through the book, I do have to say that the writing is very compelling and well done. It really makes me want to read more.

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