Stuart Gibbs's Blog, page 26

OK, really I said it couldn't be done.  I fully believed that there was no way I could actually write an entire book before Thanksgiving.  (See my 'Insane Deadline' post from a month ago.)  And yet, I did it.
Well, I wrote a first draft.  But still, that's 200 pages long.
I realize that, by sharing this, [...]

I'd like to thank all the fine folks at the Manhattan Beach Barnes & Noble for having me down to their store twice last week, both times to raise money for local schools.  The events were great fun, and I have to give big props to the store for the fine promotion they did.  I [...]

I have just been informed that Belly Up has been selected for the 2012 Lone Star Reading List by the Texas Library Association.  (The actual 2012 list isn't up on their website yet, but I assume it will be soon.)
As you all know, after being selected as a Dorothy Canfield Fisher finalist in the great [...]

[ November 18, 2011; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] I will be at the Barnes & Noble in Manhattan Beach twice next week.  I will be there on Tuesday night, November 15 at 6pm to support the Loyola Village School, and then again on Friday night, November 18 -- also at 6pm -- to support the Lennox Schools Holiday Book Drive.  I understand that [...]

In posting the following list, I do not mean to indicate in any way that Belly Up is actually better than any of the other works.  Only that, according to the reviewers on Goodreads, it is:
Belly Up: 4.05 avg rating
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare: 4.00 avg rating
Romeo & Juliet, same author: 3.73
A Tale of Two Cities, [...]

So here's the dirty secret about The Last Musketeer:  I wrote the first draft in only two months.
I wish I would have had more time, but I didn't, so I worked within the constraints I had and delivered what I thought was the best work possible.  (I was able to do some editing after that [...]

I'd like to point out that 'The Three Musketeers' – the movie that is released today — is not directly connected to my book, The Last Musketeer.  Both drew on Alexander Dumas' original for inspiration — and, truth be told, I believe my publisher's entire marketing plan for my book is "hope the movie does [...]

If anyone out there thinks that the things that happen in Belly Up are stretching the realm of possibility, here's yet another actual bizarre case of zoo madness.
This story is actually quite tragic.  The owner of a private game reserve near Zanesville, Ohio freed all his animals the other night before killing himself.  Now, wild [...]

Last Saturday afternoon, I took my children out for lunch after my son's soccer game.  We ate at The Grove, a very popular outdoor mall across the street from the soccer park, and when we emerged from lunch, we found an absolutely astounding number of people gathered.
It was the day of the Farmer's Market fall [...]

1) Swashbuckling!  Honestly, who doesn't like swashbuckling?
2) Just like visiting Paris in 1615, only cheaper and physically possible.
3) Every copy of the book comes with a free photo of the author!
4) Here's the review from the American Librarian Association:  "Gibbs' playful, action-packed twist on the classic novel includes plenty of humor as Greg attempts to [...]