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Truancy City First Draft Complete, posted 2009-08-17 by I.F.

Finally, after two years of work, the first draft of the final entry in the Truancy trilogy is now complete. If you have any interest in such things, you can view my entire Truancy City writing journal on the forums here--I've done my best to chronicle the process from start to finish.

This draft of Truancy City is 152,666 words long. In comparison, Truancy had a mere total of 107,557 words and Truancy Origins clocked in at 146,685. This makes Truancy City my most robust work to date by a substantial amount. Even though it has yet to be edited, I am very pleased with how this draft turned out. I hope you will enjoy it as much when it is released.

Truancy Origins Countdown: Day 1 - The Characters, posted 2009-03-03 by I.F.

The day has come. Truancy Origins should be available in bookstores starting today, and can be ordered online as well. For the final countdown entry, I've decided to give you something new: select profiles for characters in Truancy Origins. I've tried to refrain from spoilers, but nonetheless proceed with caution - especially if you haven't read Truancy yet:

Zen: As the Mayor's son, Zen has access to all sorts of luxuries, though lately he has become disillusioned with his lifestyle. Despite having a reputation for being brilliant and persuasive, his grades are poor and he is constantly at odds with his teachers. With his spirit yearning for freedom, he comes across a shocking truth about his father's regime, prompting him to leave his old life behind. Gathering up some like-minded individuals, Zen is prepared to change the City at all costs.

"Your schoolwork, your grades, all your precious achievements, all it proves is complicity!" - Zen

Red: A young vagrant who was expelled from school years ago. Living alone on the streets has blunted his naturally positive personality, and he does what he has to to survive. His life has become a routine of searching for food and shelter while fleeing from Rothenberg's Enforcers. He has recently joined up with a gang of other vagrants, unaware that the situation in the City around him is rapidly beginning to unravel.

"I don't need you. I did fine by myself for years." - Red

Rothenberg: A hardline Enforcer recently promoted to Chief Truancy Officer, he has been entrusted by the Mayor to clean up the City's vagrant problem. He performs this job with relish, possessing nothing but contempt for unruly children. Although generally respected by his fellow Enforcers, dark rumors are circulating about his needless brutality on the job and in his home.

"Those animals get more audacious every day." - Rothenberg

Edward: A resident of the District 18 Orphanage, Edward has earned a reputation for being hardworking and intelligent. This innocent facade hides a darker nature, an instinct for cruelty and dominance. He exercises these urges by causing trouble for foster parents, beating up older boys, and manipulating adults. However, he dreams of having the power to cause much greater mischief...

"If I feel like visiting an abandoned district, who's going to stop me? You? By all means, Enforcer, try it." - Edward

?: Something strange is walking the streets in the abandoned districts of the City. The vagrants whisper about an unearthly pale girl with a chain, appearing and vanishing at will. Some fear her as a spirit of malice, while others claim she's a force for good. Most dismiss the tales as lies or the rantings of the insane. Whatever the truth is, the whispers grow only louder with each sighting.

"I was just minding my own business, and bam! She appears out of thin air! Completely pale, with glowing red eyes and this living chain that coiled around like a snake!"

Truancy Origins Countdown: Day 2 - The Book Itself, posted 2009-03-02 by I.F.

I myself only recently received the final hardcover versions that are going on shelves. It's always a nice feeling to see your work in such a solid form. I originally wanted a white theme for the book, but blue ended up working really well. Here's what to look for when you enter the bookstore:

Truancy Origins Countdown: Day 3 - The Prologue, posted 2009-03-01 by I.F.

Well, it's almost time. Truancy Origins will be released in just two days now. To those of you anticipating it, I've decided to give you a little treat for each of those three days to help you get excited. Today I'm giving you a sizable chunk of the prologue, which should answer some questions left over from Truancy while raising others.

Warning: If you want to read the whole book uninterrupted, the following passage does have spoilers!

Truancy Origins Prologue

Books Section Update: Truancy Origins, posted 2009-02-08 by Zyid

In a long overdue development, the Books section has been updated with a profile for Truancy Origins, including cover art, page count, and release date. We're less than a month away from the actual release, so everyone should start marking their calendars. We're not done yet with releasing information, so stay tuned as we approach March 3rd!

By the way, don't be deceived by the page count! It may have fewer pages than Truancy, but it's a much longer book. The publishers decided to go with a smaller font size for this release in order to avoid making it overly long.

Comic Con 2009, posted 2009-02-04 by I.F.

Just like last year, I will again be at the New York Comic Con to speak for the "New York City Through Its Authors" panel. The panel will take place at 5:45pm this Friday, so drop by if you happen to be around.

In other news, Truancy Origins comes out next month! It was only finished last year, and yet it still feels like so long ago. Expect an update to the books section in the coming weeks with more information and material.

Truancy Origins Preview, posted 2008-09-11 by Zyid

Kaylingrl_1, one of our lucky forum moderators, was recently selected to receive one of the first Advance Reader Copies of Truancy Origins, the anticipated prequel to Truancy. She has kindly created a thread on the forums detailing her impressions of the book, as well as a few hints about what to expect. If you liked Truancy, you should definitely check out her post.

Reading and Signing in New York City, posted 2008-09-11 by I.F.

Attending college at NYU has some benefits. One of those is that I can continue to do readings and signings in my hometown, something I always enjoy. I will be making such an appearance at Revolution Books at 146 W. 26th Street between 6th and 7th Ave. This will be part of the 26th Street Block Party, which is running from 1-4pm this Sunday, the 14th.

Book 3 to be Titled "Truancy City"; Progress Log Now Concluded, posted 2008-08-20 by I.F.

The summer is coming to an end, I'm back in New York, and Truancy City is now halfway done. That was half as much as I originally wanted to complete, but I consider every day of work on it well spent. It's always a surreal yet awesome experience to enter into what I'd describe as a creative trance - a mental state wholly absorbed in the dancing and weaving of plot. I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about; writer's hardly have a monopoly on it. Everyone has fantasies in their head that can sometimes seem realer than reality. My job is to have those every single day, and then commit them to paper.

I've now written two and a half novels within my four years of high school. Soon I will be entering college, where I intend to complete Truancy City, and then start dreaming up future projects. Keeping a daily journal about my progress was new concept for me, but I was pleased to be able to share the process with fans. The feedback, questions, and encouragement I received was very welcome and helpful.

Additionally, I have some good news. Advance Reader Copies of Truancy Origins will be printing this week. As soon as I can get my hands on some, I will post photographs. This means that the manuscript is really just about final now, and if all goes to plan it will be hitting shelves early in 2009.

Meanwhile, soon as Truancy City is complete, you will be first to know. Thank you for staying interested this far - I can only hope you'll remain interested all the way to the end.

Sayonara, I.F.

Book 3 Progress Log Now Up, posted 2008-07-07 by I.F.

It took long enough, but I've finally settled down to do my summer writing. This has become something of a routine for me. For each of the past three summers I have traveled to an isolated location, sealed myself off from as many distractions as possible, and worked on my books. Truancy was a product of my first summer. Truancy Origins (the prequel to Truancy, which will be published in early 2009) was completed over the course of my next two summers. For those trips I went to Maine twice and upstate New York once.

This time I have settled down somewhere in central Florida to write the third and final entry in the Truancy trilogy, a sequel to the first book. As I promised earlier, for the first time I intend to keep a journal about my literary progress, which will be updated on the forums, hopefully on a daily basis.

I'm not sure how many people out there are interested in this, but if you're reading this and would care for a glimpse into the writing process, come on and take a look.

NPR "Tell Me More" Interview with Michelle Martin, posted 2008-06-04 by Zyid

A second big NPR interview just aired on NPR's "Tell Me More" show, which is apparently a pretty big deal!

You can check it out online here.

The author is flying to Budapest today for the Hungarian Book Fair, but I heard about this interview back when it was recorded. It's pretty great, I'd recommend giving it a listen.

Updates, posted 2008-06-01 by I.F.

As you might have noticed, the primary media push for Truancy has concluded. However, there's still a lot going on behind the scenes. Here are a few updates:

1. I recently finished editing the manuscript for the second book in the series, Truancy Origins. It has been accepted by Tor Books and is currently on track to be published in early 2009. The paperback version of Truancy should be released around the same time. I'm hoping that I'll be able to share more details soon.

2. On a personal note, those of you who have been keeping track may have realized that I am finishing up my senior year in High School. There are only a few weeks left to go, and then I will be done with public education for good. As you might imagine, I'm definitely ready for a change. For anyone who's wondering, I will be attending college at NYU next year.

3. I will be visiting Hungary this coming week to promote the Hungarian edition of Truancy. This will be my first trip to Europe, and I'm looking forward to it.

4. With everything that's going on I haven't had as much time to devote to the forums as I'd like, and I recognize that they've been stagnating. However, this summer I will be working on the third and final book in the Truancy trilogy, a direct sequel to Truancy. I intend to blog my progress on the forums every day, for anyone who'd care for a glimpse into the writing process.