I’ve got a new liquor article out on Primer. This one’s all about gin, and covers sixteen different entries into that vast category. I go through each and give notes on the nose and taste, as well as running them through a “Martini Test” to see how they play with vermouth and orange bitters. Here’s a quote:

The first time I ever tasted gin, to the best of my knowledge, was a sip of a Sapphire and Tonic my good friend Nora was drinking. I took my sip and tilted my head, considering, and then I told her: “this tastes like cologne.”

My opinion’s changed a bit in the years since. Gin – spicy, juniper-y, citrus-y gin – is delicious, and if you don’t think so, then I submit you simply haven’t found the right gin yet. You need to find your gateway into that world, and from there your tastes will expand until, like me, you one day find yourself sitting in front of sixteen bottles of the stuff and thinking each of these is completely different.

Already a fan of gin and looking to branch out? Not currently a fan and curious if there’s anything you might like? Just want to read about booze? Well, this article’s got you covered. Go check it out!

Wow, how has it been two months since I last posted here? Time flies, my friends, especially when you’re working on a bunch of different stuff. Let’s cover all that work, shall we?

The II AM Trilogy

With the exception of an upcoming contest, I’ve put the II AM Trilogy to bed by creating a compilation eBook that contains all three titles in one file, and by redesigning the website. Note: if you’ve already read TBTB, Blood Hunt, and TCotS, there is nothing new in the collection and you should not feel any need to buy it (unless you want it all in one file for some reason). This is just a way for interested new readers to get the whole thing at once instead of having to download/buy three different ebooks. It’s not intended as a cash-grab from people who already paid for my work.

You can get more info at the new II AM Trilogy website. There’s also a FAQ, the full historical timeline (starting at 5000 BCE and going all the way to present day), and some other fun stuff.

The Broken God Machine

I’ve completed the final draft of The Broken God Machine, making substantial changes to the narrative that I think really help the book. It will shortly be going out to my advance readers for one last, quick round of feedback, following which it will head for my editor Lauren. We’re looking good for an early fall 2013 release! I’ve also engaged a very talented illustrator to do the cover. You should check out his website!

More on TBGM in the coming weeks.

Monster Hunters

The original draft of Monster Hunters is a fun book and I like it a lot, but it’s severely flawed from a structure standpoint: basically the climax happens in the middle and the whole last third of the book is stuff that really should take place before said climax. This is what happens when you write a novel in 30 days with very little thought put into it beforehand beyond “this girl kills a werewolf and gets recruited by a school that trains monster hunters” …

So I’m restructuring it, basically by cutting and pasting the chapters and then reading through and changing stuff that no longer makes sense (like the climax happening in February when, in the new order of things, it should happen in June). After that, it’ll go out to my advance readers for their first round of feedback. I have no idea if I will ever release this book, let alone when, but I’d like to at least advance it along the stages.

Also I’m renaming it from “Morgan Skylark and the Monster Hunters” to “The Monster Hunters – Book 1: The Werewolf at the Window” … but since the name’s never been official anyway, it really doesn’t matter much!

Non-Fiction

HUGE gin roundup coming to Primer soon. I submitted it at the end of March so it’ll probably be up in late April or early May. Sixteen gins with full tasting notes, plus I did a martini test for each one. It’s a fun, informative read (I think).

The Future

With The Broken God Machine about to leave my hands for a couple of months, my thoughts are turning to starting a new book. I’ve spoken before about a revenge thriller set in a partially flooded, future Brooklyn, and that’s what I’ll likely be working on next. It should b a standalone book, like TBGM, and I’m expecting it to come in at about 95,000 words, also like TBGM (that’s a bit longer than The Blood That Bonds). Sometimes these projects have a tendency to grow, though, so we’ll see. At 1,500 words a day, I should be able to crank this thing out in about two months. Which is just about the amount of time Lauren needs for editing TBGM. Serendipitous!

That’s it for now.

I’ve written up another article for Primer Magazine, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Learn how to craft six delicious champagne cocktails, some old classics, some newly created by yours truly. Here’s a quote:

Take it from a guy who married a French girl: Champagne is the way to a woman’s heart. There’s just something about sparkling wine that’s inherently romantic. Maybe it’s the special glasses. Maybe it’s the tickle of the bubbles. Maybe it’s the way that it turns any occasion into something of a celebration. Whatever the reason, it’s hard to go wrong with a cocktail that features a healthy dose of bubbly.

Sparkling wine, particularly drier varieties, will mix with just about any liquor under the sun … or stars, if you want to stick with the romantic theme. France’s classic Kir Royale, perhaps the most famous Champagne cocktail, is nothing more than an ounce or so of crème de cassis(black currant liqueur) added to the glass before the wine is poured. You can do this same thing with a wide variety of liqueurs, and most will produce something nice, albeit a little one-dimensional. We like extra dimensions here at Primer, so we’re featuring recipes that are a little more complex, subtle, and nuanced.

You can check out the full article over at Primer!

Primer Magazine has posted my latest article. This one took a while to put together, as I had to hunt down and research a variety of entry-level Irish Whiskies (and a few at higher price points). Then I had to perform the arduous task of tasting all of the whiskies while taking notes, which I did multiple times for each brand. Arduous, I tell you!

But thanks to my tremendous sacrifices, a pretty good article was born. I can’t claim that I made it to ever possible Irish whiskey in the $20 range, but I did cover six good ones. Here’s a peek:

There was a time not all that long ago when Irish whiskey was the most popular liquor in the world. Sadly, a number of factors – including two World Wars, the Irish War of Independence, Prohibition in the United States, and Irish distilleries’ refusal to accept the speedier production capabilities of the Coffey still – led to its downfall. Today, only three distilleries remain in Ireland, responsible for all of the Irish whiskey featured in this article, and all that can be found on liquor store shelves across the world.

But after decades of struggle, Irish whiskey is making a comeback in the United States and abroad. The number of brands is growing and stores are stocking more and more varieties. Best of all, Irish whiskey is still inexpensive compared to scotch or even most bourbon of similar quality. Basic, blended whiskies from Ireland are perfectly drinkable, even neat, and can be had for eighteen to twenty-five bucks a bottle.

You can read the whole thing over at Primer!

They’re celebrating James Bond’s fiftieth anniversary over at Primer this month, and I couldn’t resist contributing a cocktail article about arguably the most famous drink recipe known to man. “Vodka martini, shaken, not stirred” has been quoted countless times in the last five decades. But is the drink itself any good? And what about Bond’s original drink of choice, the Vesper?

Here’s a quote:

Bond’s go-to drink might be the most famous cocktail recipe on earth – or at least the most-quoted – but it’s probably not the best. Bond liked his martinis dry, which meant little or no French vermouth, and the switch from gin to vodka removed a whole host of botanicals from the equation. The shaken-not-stirred part? That won’t “bruise” the alcohol (which is nonsense), but what it will do is both dilute and aerate the drink substantially more than stirring. The funny thing is: this has a much more profound impact on a gin martini, where the aeration changes the aromatic notes, and the dilution has a noticeable impact on flavor. Vodka is made to be flavorless, for all intents and purposes; all you’re doing by shaking instead of stirring is reducing the alcohol burn.

You can read the whole article over at Primer!

I was lucky enough to receive a sample of The Dalmor 12 Year scotch from their distributor, and I’ve written up my thoughts on it for Primer Magazine. While bourbon remains my true whiskey love, I’ve been known to dally with scotch on occasion (not to mention rye, Irish whiskey, and Canadian whiskey … I’m a bit of a strumpet, I guess). I’ve educated my palate enough to be able to enjoy both smooth scotches and some of the smokier offerings, and I was happy to have the chance to check out a product I hadn’t tried before.

Here’s a clip:

Bourbon and rye have made some tremendous leaps in reputation in the last ten years or so, and while there are many who will always hold the whiskies of Ireland closest to their heart (perhaps in a flask), it would be difficult to argue that there is a more highly-regarded form of whisky out there than Scotland’s most famous liquor.

You could spend a lifetime developing your appreciation and knowledge for Scotch. Many have. But to do that you need to get started, and there’s the kicker – Scotch is such high-variance liquor that it can be frightening, baffling, and intimidating to newcomers. Grab the wrong bottle, for example, and your first sip is going to wallop you with smoky peat flavors for which most people require time and effort to develop a taste. This effect has scared off more than one neophyte.

You can read the whole thing over at Primer Magazine.

Ah, summer … the time of the year when you want to sip on refreshing cocktails that feature lots of fruit juices. The rum drinks of the Caribbean are a great start, but consider also the often-maligned category of “Tiki Drinks,” recipes that were inspired by, if not exactly invented in, the South Pacific.

That’s exactly what I do in my latest article for Primer Magazine, where I bring you some history, some suggestions, and seven delicious recipes for Tiki drinks. No sour mixes or over-sweetened nonsense here; all of these drinks use fresh fruit juices and delicious liquors in perfect combination. Check out the article and learn more about this overlooked category of cocktails!

Here’s an excerpt:

When I think of Tiki drinks, an image immediately forms in my mind: I see a gigantic banyan tree, its limbs stretched out in every direction, and around its trunk a dwelling built of massive, dark, wooden beams, with a thatched roof and little lamps hanging in its windows. Expatriates from many countries gather there, wearing suits of white linen and flower-print gowns, to sip exotic concoctions while staring out through the mosquito netting at the setting sun as it sinks into the crashing ocean. In the distance, drums pound out a powerful rhythm.

You can read the full article over at Primer.

Another of my cocktail articles has gone up over on Primer Magazine. I’m really happy with this one: it focuses on a single drink, the Daiquiri, and delves into the history and evolution of the cocktail. This was a really fun article to research and write. I’m not just a fan of making and drinking cocktails, I’m also fascinated by their history. In addition to half a dozen well-regarded tomes of recipes, I own a few out-of-print books on the subject that I’ve found at local used bookstores (one of them, the fantastic Straight Up or On the Rocks by William Grimes, is back in print in paperback), and I’ve read through each of them cover to cover.

Alcohol has been a huge part of mankind’s history, and just the last 150 years alone are fascinating. I’m going to be doing a history article on the Margarita next, and am hoping to continue on with them in the future. Hopefully, the readers over at Primer will find them as interesting to read as I do to write.

Here’s an excerpt!

A real Daiquiri consists of white rum, lime juice, and simple syrup, shaken and strained into a chilled cocktail glass and garnished with a lime wedge. The resulting fizzy, foamy, off-white concoction is named for the town in which it was invented, and that invention happened by happy accident in 1896. The drink was created by Jennings Cox, an American engineer who managed the Cuban properties for two American companies (credit as co-creator is also often given to a Cuban engineer named Pagliuchi). With important guests on the way, and finding himself without a source of gin – the genteel spirit at the time – Cox worried that they would not find the local tipple palatable if served neat. He added lime juice and sugar to the island’s pure cane rum, and a classic was born.

It’s a fun, interesting read about a very tasty drink. Why not stop by and check it out?

Whoah, it’s been way too long since I updated this here blog. The good news is: that’s because I’ve been hammering away at The Children of the Sun! Between that and my full-time job, I just haven’t had a ton of time for the peripheral stuff. I have been posting to my facebook page, though, so if you’re into that sort of thing you should go “like” me so you can get those updates! In the meantime, here are some updates on various projects:

The Children of the Sun

Man, this book is a beast! There’s just so much stuff that happens. I think you guys will like it and come out feeling satisfied at the end, but it’s hard to tell when I’m in the midst of the drafting process. On that note, I have trimmed an amazing amount from the first draft, almost 25,000 words, with more to go. I basically went in and did massive surgery, first, before I started the second draft. This left a lot of gaping holes that need to be sewn up (I literally deleted two entire chapters and also nuked a character from the book), but trust me: the resulting book will be leaner, meaner, and a better read. It’ll also focus more on Two, which is good since she’s the star!

I’m more than 65,000 words into the second draft now, and humming along. Every time I finish a chapter, I spend the next day going through it and then send it off to my editor, Lauren. This will let her get started on the easy stuff (punctuation, grammar, typos), and then when she has the full manuscript in hand she can help with things like flow, consistency, and outright story errors. She’s good at that stuff, which is an immense relief when you’re working on a massive novel and are no longer sure that what you’re writing even makes sense!

I’ve set some very aggressive word goals for myself for July. I don’t know if it’ll QUITE be done by the time I head for France in August, but that’s OK … long plane rides are a great excuse for writing. I’ll be posting progress updates here more frequently moving forward. Also, Karla‘s cover is coming along beautifully and I’ll be posting more images soon! She’s way past the sketch seen above.

The Broken God Machine

Well, the good news is: The Broken God Machine is out there in the big, scary world of agent submissions. The even better news is: it’s already had a bite. An agent for a prominent New York firm requested the full manuscript and is reading it over. Additionally, an editor at St. Martin’s Press (a division of Macmillan) is taking a look as well.

Now, the most likely result is that both of them pass on it — that’s just the way it works. But still, it’s pretty great to be getting some interest. Should be hearing back from one or both of them pretty soon. Wish me luck!

Non-Fiction Work

I’ll be doing some more cocktail articles this summer. I’ve got one already submitted to Primer that chronicles the history of the Daiquiri. After that will be a Tiki Drink roundup, and then a history of the Margarita. I’ll be posting here as the articles go live. I also am doing some spirits reviewing over on my Tumblr.

More coming soon. Stay tuned!

Making good cocktails is, like pretty much anything else, mostly a matter of practice. The problem of course is that even cheap liquor adds up after a while, and it can get frustrating to keep wasting it on stuff that’s undrinkable. Trust me, I know: I’ve been into mixology and cocktail crafting for several years now, and I still sometimes come up with something that’s just straight-up gross!

On that note, my latest article is up over on Primer Magazine — I talk about improvising cocktails and things you can keep in mind to help make sure you don’t end up crafting drinks that would be better off poured down the drain.

Here’s a clip:

As you begin building a bar and exploring the world of cocktails, at some point you will find yourself in one of two situations. Either you will be filled with the desire to create beverages of your own, or you’ll end up wanting to make a drink but not having any recipes handy. In both cases, you’re going to have to improvise, and there are a few simple practices you can follow that will help ensure that what ends up in your glass wouldn’t be better-off poured down the sink.

Here are five tips that will help you craft cocktails that amuse and delight, even if you don’t have any books on hand.

You can read the entire thing over at Primer!