Military fantasy

Lately I have been watching the GI Joe: Renegades cartoon on NetFlix, and I really like it.  Most of the cheese-factor that plagued the old GI Joe cartoon from the 80's is gone.  The animation is very crisp and nice, the characters are well-done, with good backgrounds and lots of focused face-time (though I admit to being a bit put off at first by how young Duke is), and the story and background is very cool.

I'm also really looking forward to the next live-action movie, Retaliation.  I liked the first one a lot (for what it was) and I am a huge fan of Dwayne Johnson, so this one looks pretty damn cool to me.  Plus, Bruce Willis as the original "Joe"?  How cool is that ???

Of course, as always happens, when I become interested in (ie: obsessed with) a genre, I immediately start to think of Role Playing Games.  Because that's how I roll (my dice).  There has never been an official GI Joe RPG.  As one person online pointed out, that seems like a huge missed opportunity, considering the IP is owned by Hasbro, the current owners of the largest RPG company in the world, Wizards of the Coast.  There have been plenty of fan-created efforts, but nothing really complete; more just notes on how to convert [insert modern RPG here] to run GI Joe.

However, Other World Creations developed an add-on for SpyCraft a few years back, under the OGL, that creates a setting and game very similar to that of GI Joe, but using original names, places, and events.  It's called Strike Force 7, and it's available in d20/SpyCraft and Savage Worlds flavors.  I bought the d20 version ($3.99 for a 72-page watermarked PDF) because, even though I was more interested in the setting info, I wanted a version that I could easily play if I ever managed to get a willing group together.

And of course, the natural progression for my brain is to go from RPGs to writing.  Now, I guess I could just write some GI Joe fanfic and scratch the itch.  But, fanfic never appealed to me.  Mainly because writing is a labor.  Granted, it's a labor of love.  But fanfic is truly thankless.  From what I have seen, you get an extraordinarily high ratio of negative comments to positive.  And my precious writer's sensibilities couldn't handle that.  At least, not without some monetary compensation.  If people buy my writing, and then hate on it...well, at least they BOUGHT it.

So the alternates are to either make up my own universe (which would be a LOT of work, but still maybe doable), or to find an IP that would allow me to write in it.  Which comes down to the question of "How?"  How do I get the rights to write fiction based on an established IP, and make money off of it?  I may look into this, just because I am very curious about the process.

In the meantime, I might just start developing some ideas and characters.  You know, along side all of the other writing prjects I have.  Not the least of which is anything to do for my classes, as well as the historical fiction book on Agesilaus.  But, now I have an old, stripped down laptop that will serve as a fine Mobile Writing Machine.  That should help, right?

Favorite Rock Albums

I thought I would take a break from the usual fare, and talk about music today.  My wife is much more musically-inclined than I am, but I know what I like.  She has her favorites (her email addresses are usually some variation of "Bowie fan"), and I have mine.  We agree on a lot, but differ on some.

Below is a list of some of my favorite Rock Albums of all time (the use of the term "album" probably kind of dates me here).  You should know that these are just MY favorites, and this list will no doubt vary greatly from any given person's. The criteria I used for this list is simple.  The album a) has to be Rock n Roll, b) can't be a "greatest hits" compilation, and c) has to be an album that I like most, if not all of the songs on.

Reckless - Bryan Adams

When I was a sophomore in high school, my new step dad (who is only 9 years older than me...mom was a cougar, apparently) gave me a handful of his records.  This one was the one I listened to the most, and the one that really set the stage for my musical tastes.  I love most of what Bryan Adams does, but this album is by far my favorite.  When I used to have boyhood fantasies of being a rock star, I would sing along with this album, playing my air-guitar like nobody's business.  To this day, I still love these songs.

Appetite for Destruction - Guns n' Roses

This is the album that got me into metal.  Prior to this, I was only passively interested in the sub-genre, preferring more standard fare, like Bryan Adams, Foreigner, Journey, and the like.  But Appetite really grabbed me by the balls.  I still believe that GnR had the chops to become one of the greatest bands in history, and could have been on the level of Led Zeppelin and The Who.  Too bad they imploded, and kind of faded away.  Still, Slash is arguably one of the greatest guitarists in rock history.

5150 - Van Halen

Ok, let me just start by stating that I am one of those strange people who think that Van Halen actually sounded better when they had Sammy Hagar.  I like the Diamond Dave stuff too, but I like the Sammy albums better.  In fact, picking one of those to be my favorite is hard.  But I think, overall, 5150, their fist with Sammy, is my favorite.  A lot of good songs on that one.  And a good mix of sounds.  Some whimsical, some heavy, and all rock.  The album still kicks ass.  And even though they had some great songs in later albums with Sammy, this one was the only one that was a "complete package" for me.

Pride - White Lion

Probably one of the most underrated of the "big hair" bands of the late 80's, White Lion's Pride was and is one of my all-time favorites.  Mike Tramp's vocals are awesome, the lyrics are deep and often thought-provoking, and the riffs are well done.  When the Children Cry is one of the most emotionally charged rock ballads ever, simply because it's not just about the singer's personal love-life.

Escape - Journey

Anyone who knows me personally knows that no list of mine involving music would be complete without some mention of Journey.  It was hard to pick a favorite album, because I know most of their music from their Greatest Hits compilation.  But Escape had the most songs that I love (I even wore a replica t-shirt for a themed family photo a couple of years ago), so it makes my list.  The episode of the TV series "Glee" called "Journeys" is my favorite, and their Journey mix is my all-time favorite TV musical performance.

Operation: Mindcrime - Queensryche

When I was in the Army, my buddy used to listen to this in our room all the time.  I didn't like it at first, but then he made me a copy, and I would listen to it while I walked a guard post around the motor pool late at night.  It amazed me that album tells a story, and a very emotional and cinematic story.  I used to dream about making a movie based on this album.  It's because of this that I can't just listen to one track from it.  That would be like opening a favorite book, and just reading one chapter.  The album as a whole is an experience.

This is just a partial list, and I am sure that, if I thought about it for a long time, I'd probably come up with at least a dozen more to add to it.  But this is what came to me as I thought about it.

As with most of my lists, you can see that I am a child of the 80's.  What can I say?

Writing Priorities

This week will be one filled with priority writing.  First off, I have a little over a week to write an 8-10 page paper on the Battle of Artemisium (which is, by no coincidence, the subject of Scott Oden's next novel, Serpent of Hellas).  I have a basic outline, and a plan for completing it.  So, it will just be a matter of doing the work.

After finally seeing John Carter this weekend, I am inspired to finish my Sword & Planet WIP, so that will probably get the bulk of my fiction attention for a while.  It'll probably be novella-length.  I could cut it shorter, but why?  There is so much story to tell, and I really like the slightly alternate take on the classic S&P setup.

I won't go into too much detail detail about my views on John Carter, except to say that, if you didn't catch it in the first-run theater, you should try to catch it in a second-run, which is where I saw it.  It is AMAZING.  I saw it in 2D (which is fine, since 3D gives me a headache sometimes) and I was astounded.  Imagine the special effects from The Phantom Menace, cleaned up a little, and applied to a real story, with a real plot and GREAT acting.  My favorite part: the Tharks.  They are exactly how I pictured them when I read the books.

On a related side-note, my rants in previous days about the crappy marketing of John Carter inspired my sister-in-law to seek out A Princess of Mars for her Kindle, just to see what the hullabaloo was all about.  She is now addicted, and has officially read more of the series than I have.  She's also downloaded a ton of other ERB books.  It's nice to know I had a hand in spreading the Cult of ERB.

A writer friend of mine, Chris Blanchard, recently blogged about his experiences with dedicating himself to an achievable writing goal.  He has written at least 500 words a day for a few months now, and it has netted him some fine results.  I think I will take his challenge, and set myself the same goal.  Mind you, that's 500 words of fiction.  Facebook and blogging won't count.  And neither will schoolwork.  But I think I can handle that.

I did it again!

Last night I worked feverishly for a good hour or more on the cover of my latest Kindle publication.  This one is a short tale about "Orc romance."  I think it's a fun story, though I doubt I could ever find an actual market for it.  So, self-publishing seemed a natural fit.  I decided to try out Amazon's KDP program, and this one is only available via Kindle for at least the next 90 days.  I've also set it up to be free for the first five days, starting tomorrow.  Right now, it's only 99 cents, but tomorrow thru the 25th, you can download it for nothing. 

You can find it here.

Funny thing is, my wife loves the story so much that she wants to see more about the characters.  Which got me to thinking about the story I had written for Scott Oden's (sadly defunct) anthology.  That story centered around one of the main characters of my "romance" story.  So, the idea came to me that maybe I would expand the other story, and integrate a second plotline involving the main character from the romance.

Does that make sense?  Well, it will if/when I do it.  But that may be off in the future a bit.

Right now, I have two Kindles published, and both involve Orcs.  And, I got to thinking that maybe I should publish something non-Orc related, just to mix things up.  Thing is, I don't really have anything complete.  But I have a few WIPs that I could finish, and I will probably dust one of those off and have a go.

In other writing news, Pulp Empire has announced three new anthologies.  I have ideas for all of them, so I plan to work up some proposals, and hopefully get into at least one.  Regardless of whether they accept my proposal(s) or not, I will probably write the stories anyways.  If Pulp Empire doesn't want them, someone else might, or they may end up on Kindle.

And finally, school.  I have an 8-10 page paper due in less than two weeks.  I should probably start on that soon.  This weekend.  I'm hoping the new power supply for my wife's old laptop arrives today, so I can have a dedicated "mobile writing machine."  That may motivate me to write more often.

Other than that, not much new to discuss.  I'm currently re-reading Hour of the Dragon, by Robert E. Howard.  Odd trivia: I have six versions of this book; hardback, paperback (with intro by KEW), Conan the Conqueror, eBook, the Del Rey edition, and an audiobook recorded from an old book on tape of CtC.  Needless to say, it's one of my all-time favorite books.

Does size matter?

My wife says "yes" and that I am doing fine.  But, that's not what I'm talking about here.

What I am talking about is Role-Playing Games (well, there went a few of my readers).  I am currently writing my second RPG.  It's actually one that has been in the making for longer than Age of the Sword.  Life of Rage is a simple RPG where the player characters are Orcs in a typical Tolkienesque (or more accurately, a WarCraft-esque) setting.  And mainly because I am doing it alone, it promises to be another slim offering, page count-wise.  So this question naturally comes to mind.

Perusing the RPG shelf in any book store or game store, you can see that professionally manufactured games tend to be thick, hardbound, and chock full of fluff and artwork.  But even though that seems to be the industry standard (even most indie RPG's follow this model), is it really necessary?  I mean, can an RPG be pretty bare-bones, and still be fully functional and fun to play? 

I'd like to think so.  Especially since, at near completion (minus artwork and a lot of background for the setting) LoR is only weighing in at 27 pages right now.  I estimate that when all is said and done, the whole thing won't be much more than 50 pages, if that.  Obviously, I could format it to take up more than that, but I probably won't.  Unless it gains some kind of cult following.

Conversely, how much is too little?  LoR is slim, mainly because I put the mechanics up front, and have very little fluff and flavor-text.  I could go the White Wolf route and put short fiction throughout the book.  But what value does that really add, other than just pure entertainment? 

I'm also leaving out a lot of the "crap" that I personally don't find very useful in other RPG's.  Things like rules for movement, encumbrance, lighting, etc.  Instead, I am replacing all of that with what I call "The Rule of Common Sense."  And finally, combat is streamlined, simple and fast (and brutal).  Not a lot of extra fluff needs to be added there either.

So, as table-top gamers, are you turned off by slim game books?  Are we, as a consumer group, conditioned to view bigger as better when we are shopping for a new book?

Relax!

It's Friday, and I feel ok. Aside from a severe jones for a donut earlier (which I just satisfied by buying a cheese danish), today has been pretty uneventful. Work is work. Some small tasks, but nothing to shake the pillars of my office. Finished my midterm exam and turned it in early. Even made a call to a lady in Alaska who is looking for help in getting her grandson out of a bad situation (that was work-related).

Tonight, it's back to our D&D game. One difference, though; my wife won't be there. You see, my 16-year old daughter is visiting from Vegas for Spring Break this week. And tonight, she and my wife are headed to Milwaukee for a concert. Why didn't I go, you ask? Well, frankly, I would just be an embarrassment. I would stick out as that dumpy dad who is only there because he has to be. My wife, on the other hand, has an edgy hairdo, cool clothes, and looks at least 10 years younger than she is. She and my daughter get mistaken for sisters all the time. Besides, the bands they are seeing are about as far from my taste as you can get and still be called "Rock" (and I use the term loosely). And although they aren't exactly my wife's taste either, they're a bit closer. Now, if it were another Bon Jovi concert...

Anyways, it will be just me and the little ones headed over to the DM's house for an evening of pain, mayhem, and destruction. Plus our D&D game.

And tomorrow is even more D&D. One of my friends (who is also in tonight's game group) is running a 12-hour marathon of AD&D (1st Ed.). We're going through the "Against the Giants" modules, and, if possible, into the Demonweb Pits. Should be a blast! Especially considering that, despite all my years of playing, I have never been through those modules.

Of course, I am playing the hulking fighter. Because that's who I am. I'm always the big brute.

On Sunday, my daughter flies back to Vegas. Not "home" but back to Vegas. And I get to miss her dearly until Summer. Fortunately, that's only eight weeks away!

So, what are your plans this weekend? Anything fun?

The Short Story

The initial reactions to my self-published short story, Blackskull's Captive!, has got me thinking about a few things. I have long wanted to be a "published" writer, and I guess I am now, technically (ok, "technically" I have been since about 1996, when I got an article in the then-print Dragon Magazine, but I'm thinking about fiction here). But am I really?

Traditionally, you need a professional publishing in some sort of mass-market publication, such as an anthology or magazine, in order to be considered a "published" short story writer.  And there is merit to this view. After all, anyone with a word processor program and an internet connection can be a published writer, thanks to places like Amazon and Smashwords. But, unlike the pro markets, self-publishing has the stigma of being unpolished, unedited, and generally of lower quality.

Now, this is not to say that all self-published fiction deserves those descriptions. But, unfortunately, a large share of what's out there does.

So, the question becomes, how do I make myself stand out? How do I market a story that, despite the rejection notes, is worthy of publication? Or should I even try? Is there a negative side?

It should be noted that, as of this moment, there are a couple of factors that effect this decision for me personally. First off, I am not a full-time writer in the sense that writing is my only source of income. It is primarily a "hobby" with money-making potential. And even though I dream of striking it rich with the next "Great American Novel (TM)" (just like every other fiction writer), I don't expect it to happen any time soon.

The other thing is that I am only looking at publishing the odd short stories that seem to have a hard time finding a Pro Home. I am also working on a novel, with a few others in the wings, and those will all be taking more traditional routes to publication. But I am a whimsical writer at heart, and I will sometimes write a story without any thought as to where it could get sold or published, and often in a little-utilized genre for the medium.

One option I have considered is simply to create a "publisher" for my eFiction. Charles Gramlich has done this with his Razored Zen Press, and I am already beginning to pester him about how that works for him. So, that may be an option.

Anyways, I guess what I'm really wondering is whether there are ways to get my stuff in front of more readers as a self-publisher of short stories. Any ideas?