I'm not one for begging, and I loathe those to whom it comes easily. That being said, when things get dire, sometimes we need a little help.
As you should know, we are moving this week into a new apartment. This is mainly because, during our efforts to buy a house, we got screwed over by a laxidasical loan officer, who didn't lock our interest rate when he should have, and when it subsequently jumped a whole point within a week, we suddenly didn't qualify for the loan. We lost a few hundred dollars and our current apartment (it was rented out from under us shortly after giving our 60-day notice).
So, now we have to move. And with all of that, things are constrictingly tight right now. To that end, I have put up a "Donate" button on the right. But, this isn't just a plea for money, or even just a "tip jar" (though you are certainly welcome to use it as such). What I am proposing is a sale of sorts.
If you click on either of the pages above, you will be taken to my respective eBook storefronts at Amazon and Smashwords. Now, if you like, you can certainly purchase any of my stories there. However, if you see one (or more) that you are thinking you would like to try, please consider buying direct through me.
If you click the donate button, and donate at least $1.00, I will email any one of the stories you see in those stores directly to you (or your Kindle account), in whatever format you would like. Also, for every extra $1 you donate, I will send you an additonal story of your choice.
When you click the Donate button, it should take you to the PayPal site, where you can designate how much you would like. In the message box, simply type in the title(s) you would like, the preffered format (PDF, epub, .mobi), and your email address.
In this way, you get something in return, paltry as it may be. And my conscience remains (relatively) clear.
If you encounter any problems with the donate button, you can let me know here, or email me directly.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Whether you wish to donate or not, I appreciate you being here.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Pre-Writing
It just hit me today that I have been letting this blog languish (and now I'm wondering if anyone noticed). I have been posting at my gaming blog a lot, though. In fact, most of my leisure thoughts keep turning to role-playing games lately. I should probably step back from that a bit. Not that I will. But I probably should.
Anyways, a while back I posted a status on Facebook about how dumb I feel when I can't remember how to spell a character's name from a previous story. Apparently I'm not the only one who does this. However, all of my friends who commented have characters with complex and oddly-spelled names. Which made me feel kinda dumb, since my character has a pretty simple name. In my case, it's a matter of replacing an "a" with an "e" every time. Need to work on that.
One thing that came up was that most writers keep some kind of reference document, or "cheat sheet" handy when writing, just for this kind of thing. I have rarely done that, and when I have, I always seem to forget about it, or not need it. But, I think for my next project, I am going to do it, and do it right.
The project is basically "orcs in space." The idea is one that has been rolling around for ages (it originated with a Dragon*Star campaign I ran in San Diego). One day a few weeks ago, I lamented that I was feeling creatively dried up, and a friend, who knows well my love of orcs, as well as my love of Stallone movies, suggested "The Expendables with orcs." Holy cow! That's awesome!
So, here I am dreaming up some ideas for Sgt. Gorm and the Reavers (though the team name might change, as I use Reavers in my fantasy stories). Interestingly, I posed the question of what kinds of missions would you expect a mercenary group to go on, looking for things like rescue, destruction, assassination, etc. What I got were pieces of advice on how to make the stories interesting. Not what I was looking for, but I appreciated the input.
Something else I am doing is writing up a background for orcs as they exist in the Star Frontiers universe. This serves the dual purpose of keeping the race consistent, and providing some background for that game. I'm having fun with that too.
Too bad I have homework to do. And we're moving soon. And life keeps handing us lemons and stuff.
Anyways, a while back I posted a status on Facebook about how dumb I feel when I can't remember how to spell a character's name from a previous story. Apparently I'm not the only one who does this. However, all of my friends who commented have characters with complex and oddly-spelled names. Which made me feel kinda dumb, since my character has a pretty simple name. In my case, it's a matter of replacing an "a" with an "e" every time. Need to work on that.
One thing that came up was that most writers keep some kind of reference document, or "cheat sheet" handy when writing, just for this kind of thing. I have rarely done that, and when I have, I always seem to forget about it, or not need it. But, I think for my next project, I am going to do it, and do it right.
The project is basically "orcs in space." The idea is one that has been rolling around for ages (it originated with a Dragon*Star campaign I ran in San Diego). One day a few weeks ago, I lamented that I was feeling creatively dried up, and a friend, who knows well my love of orcs, as well as my love of Stallone movies, suggested "The Expendables with orcs." Holy cow! That's awesome!
So, here I am dreaming up some ideas for Sgt. Gorm and the Reavers (though the team name might change, as I use Reavers in my fantasy stories). Interestingly, I posed the question of what kinds of missions would you expect a mercenary group to go on, looking for things like rescue, destruction, assassination, etc. What I got were pieces of advice on how to make the stories interesting. Not what I was looking for, but I appreciated the input.
Something else I am doing is writing up a background for orcs as they exist in the Star Frontiers universe. This serves the dual purpose of keeping the race consistent, and providing some background for that game. I'm having fun with that too.
Too bad I have homework to do. And we're moving soon. And life keeps handing us lemons and stuff.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Still rockin!
I am a huge fan of 80’s music. That’s pretty common knowledge. But, it’s more than just liking the songs, or even a sense of nostalgia. It’s also about the artists of the time. And today I will point out the longevity of some of those favorites.
Within the last 10 years, three of my favorite 80’s acts have come out with all-new material that is just as good as their old stuff, if not even a bit better.
Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day (2005)
Billy Idol – Devil’s Playground (2005)
Rick Springfield – Songs For the End of the World (2012)
Although Rick never really left, he fell off the radar in the late 80’s. But that didn’t slow him down, as he continued to work on TV, in the studio, and most especially on tour almost constantly. Last fall he released his newest album, Songs For the End of the World, and it is amazing. Like Billy Idol and Bon Jovi, there is some signature Rick Springfield in there. But there is also some really great new sounds and some excellent vocals. He rocks out, and you can tell that he still just enjoys being a rock star.
These guys are all in their 50’s and 60’s, and yet they still rock on. All three of these are on my favorite playlist, and I listen to a lot of this music daily.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Whimsical Reading
Does anyone else have this problem? When I get a chance to just sit down and read a book, I often struggle to settle on a title, because my eclectic tastes in literature cause me a great amount of turmoil sometimes. Subsequently, I find that I can only really concentrate on a book, and stick it out to the end, if I am “in the mood” for it.
Due to this, I often start a book, and for whatever reason, have to set it aside for a good while. Then, when I come back to it, I find that, despite the fact that it’s well-written and in a genre I enjoy, if I am not feeling that particular mindset, I can’t dig in. Consequently, I always seem to have at least three books at any given time just sitting on the shelf with bookmarks in them.
I think I am going to resolve to complete those before I start in on a new one. I am currently reading Gauntlegrym by RA Salvatore. But, I really only read it at work, during breaks and such. So, I think that will stay here. At home, I am going to start working on the ones that I really want to finish. I think first up will be The Lion of Cairo by Scott Oden. I’m about half way through it, so I should be able to dig in. His writing and characters are very memorable, so I doubt I will have any trouble settling in if I put my mind to it.
That’s my one saving grace; I seem to have a knack for picking up a book that I started but put down months ago, and getting right back into it without having to move backwards to “refresh.” I just did that with a Mack Bolan book. I had gotten about ¾ of the way through it a couple of months back, but had to set it aside due to many factors. But, when I picked it back up the other day, I got right back in and finished it up within a couple of days.
On the writing front, the next Orc story is progressing nicely. I posted a tease about it on Facebook yesterday, and got some interesting responses. I think this one will surprise some people, even though the plot will probably be predictable and maybe just a pinch cliché. But, it’s more about the characters for me.
Due to this, I often start a book, and for whatever reason, have to set it aside for a good while. Then, when I come back to it, I find that, despite the fact that it’s well-written and in a genre I enjoy, if I am not feeling that particular mindset, I can’t dig in. Consequently, I always seem to have at least three books at any given time just sitting on the shelf with bookmarks in them.
I think I am going to resolve to complete those before I start in on a new one. I am currently reading Gauntlegrym by RA Salvatore. But, I really only read it at work, during breaks and such. So, I think that will stay here. At home, I am going to start working on the ones that I really want to finish. I think first up will be The Lion of Cairo by Scott Oden. I’m about half way through it, so I should be able to dig in. His writing and characters are very memorable, so I doubt I will have any trouble settling in if I put my mind to it.
That’s my one saving grace; I seem to have a knack for picking up a book that I started but put down months ago, and getting right back into it without having to move backwards to “refresh.” I just did that with a Mack Bolan book. I had gotten about ¾ of the way through it a couple of months back, but had to set it aside due to many factors. But, when I picked it back up the other day, I got right back in and finished it up within a couple of days.
On the writing front, the next Orc story is progressing nicely. I posted a tease about it on Facebook yesterday, and got some interesting responses. I think this one will surprise some people, even though the plot will probably be predictable and maybe just a pinch cliché. But, it’s more about the characters for me.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Moving forward
Tomorrow we will be signing the lease on our new apartment. We were supposed to do it yesterday, but there was a breakdown in communications between the people working at the new complex. We have not actually gotten to see the apartment we will be moving into (just a similar unit with a reversed floor plan). And the complex has a policy that new tenants can't sign a lease until they have physically viewed the actual unit. So, we set up an appointment to go see it tomorrow, and then sign the lease. We will be moving in on the 31st.
For the next two and a half weeks we will be furiously sorting, packing, and trashing our current domicile. The goal is to minimize clutter in the new place by throwing out what we don't need (which will NOT include any of my books), put some things into our storage unit (which will probably include some more of my books than is already out there), and only moving what is necessary at this time. I am dreading the actual move itself, but I am excited about being moved. We’ve lived in this apartment for three and a half years, and it has been steadily shrinking. It’ll be nice to stretch out.
In the mean time, life moves forward. Still working on school. My current class is a huge disappointment. It’s History and Popular Culture. That sounds like it would be fun, right? Talking about pop culture today, and maybe comparing it to what qualified as pop culture in past eras (and even other cultures). But no, the focus is exploring “Popular Culture” through the lens of a modern city. So far we have talked about Streets (actual, physical streets), Hospitals, and Hotels…zZZz…
Trying to keep myself mentally active is tough these days. With all of the stress of the impending move, the failed attempt to buy a house, my daughter’s graduation and subsequent relocation to our house, and the normal day-to-day stuff, I have been somewhat creatively dry. This week I had plenty of time to write. My boss is out, and I found that I had a ton of free time on my hands. But, that blank Word Doc just keeps mocking me.
I have done a bit of game-related writing, including a good spat of writing that ended with a low-level adventure. We’re also playing some D&D Next. But I’ll leave that to my other blog, and spare my non-gamer friends.
Last night I did have a sudden inspiration, though. I have been rolling around some ideas for my orc stories, continuing the adventures of Gortek, Pekra, and the Reavers. Right now I have a short story in process focusing on Pekra and Bofdek (the dwarf from The Orc Way). But, I am determined to move past short stories, and start writing longer works. And last night I got an idea for a novel (or maybe a novella, we’ll see) about these characters. It involves invaders and a war.
I’m hammering out some interesting ideas for this. One of them is a character who is a dwarf/human hybrid. This has been done before in fantasy fiction, and it’s interesting to see the various points of view on this idea (mainly from D&D gamers, who are very familiar with interspecies breeding in fantasy settings). I’ll just have to come up with some kind of unique twist on the idea.
For the next two and a half weeks we will be furiously sorting, packing, and trashing our current domicile. The goal is to minimize clutter in the new place by throwing out what we don't need (which will NOT include any of my books), put some things into our storage unit (which will probably include some more of my books than is already out there), and only moving what is necessary at this time. I am dreading the actual move itself, but I am excited about being moved. We’ve lived in this apartment for three and a half years, and it has been steadily shrinking. It’ll be nice to stretch out.
In the mean time, life moves forward. Still working on school. My current class is a huge disappointment. It’s History and Popular Culture. That sounds like it would be fun, right? Talking about pop culture today, and maybe comparing it to what qualified as pop culture in past eras (and even other cultures). But no, the focus is exploring “Popular Culture” through the lens of a modern city. So far we have talked about Streets (actual, physical streets), Hospitals, and Hotels…zZZz…
Trying to keep myself mentally active is tough these days. With all of the stress of the impending move, the failed attempt to buy a house, my daughter’s graduation and subsequent relocation to our house, and the normal day-to-day stuff, I have been somewhat creatively dry. This week I had plenty of time to write. My boss is out, and I found that I had a ton of free time on my hands. But, that blank Word Doc just keeps mocking me.
I have done a bit of game-related writing, including a good spat of writing that ended with a low-level adventure. We’re also playing some D&D Next. But I’ll leave that to my other blog, and spare my non-gamer friends.
Last night I did have a sudden inspiration, though. I have been rolling around some ideas for my orc stories, continuing the adventures of Gortek, Pekra, and the Reavers. Right now I have a short story in process focusing on Pekra and Bofdek (the dwarf from The Orc Way). But, I am determined to move past short stories, and start writing longer works. And last night I got an idea for a novel (or maybe a novella, we’ll see) about these characters. It involves invaders and a war.
I’m hammering out some interesting ideas for this. One of them is a character who is a dwarf/human hybrid. This has been done before in fantasy fiction, and it’s interesting to see the various points of view on this idea (mainly from D&D gamers, who are very familiar with interspecies breeding in fantasy settings). I’ll just have to come up with some kind of unique twist on the idea.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Gaming Fiction
I have a question for the fantasy readers out there: How do you view gaming fiction? What I mean is, where on the heirarchy of literature do novels based on role-playing games (like D&D) fall? This question comes to mind for a couple of reasons. First of all, a few weeks ago I was on Goodreads looking at some of my favorite books, giving them ratings, and a few reviews. And while reading some of the reviews for the Dragonlance Chronicles, I was disheartened to see so many disparraging comments regarding this trilogy, and gaming fiction in general.
Most of the commentary seemed to be pretty dismissive (even if backhanded), and the books are viewed as nothing more than geeks talking about their roleplaying sessions and their favorite characters. As anyone who has actually read these books should know, this couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, there are certain conventions that refer back to the game rules. But really, how is that different than any other fantasy (or genre) fiction? When an author writes a genre story, he sets out specific rules and parameters for how things like magic and religion work within the world of his writing. Just because, in the case of gaming fiction, those rules are actually written in detail, and in the context of a game, doesn't change the fact that they are still rules, and that the characters are still characters.
That being said, I will concede that some gaming fiction seems to step over the line, and come across as a description of a gaming session. However, the higher quality works do not do this. They are fully realized works of fiction that stand alone, and I would wager that the better stuff is on par with more "literary" genre fiction.
The other reason this comes up is that I am starting work on an epic fantasy trilogy. The premise and many of the ideas are closely related to my gaming experience. Now, my trilogy is going to be set in an original world, and will have no actual connection to D&D per se. However, I can foresee some people looking at it and making the connection anyways. And therefore, it could be just dismissed as "gaming fiction" and forgotten by non-gamers. I'd like to avoid that, if possible (assuming I can motivate my lazy ass into writing the damn thing).
I'm not really sure what I'm asking as far as my own writing is concerned. But, I thought it might be good to get some others' perspectives on game-related fiction as a whole to begin with.
Most of the commentary seemed to be pretty dismissive (even if backhanded), and the books are viewed as nothing more than geeks talking about their roleplaying sessions and their favorite characters. As anyone who has actually read these books should know, this couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, there are certain conventions that refer back to the game rules. But really, how is that different than any other fantasy (or genre) fiction? When an author writes a genre story, he sets out specific rules and parameters for how things like magic and religion work within the world of his writing. Just because, in the case of gaming fiction, those rules are actually written in detail, and in the context of a game, doesn't change the fact that they are still rules, and that the characters are still characters.
That being said, I will concede that some gaming fiction seems to step over the line, and come across as a description of a gaming session. However, the higher quality works do not do this. They are fully realized works of fiction that stand alone, and I would wager that the better stuff is on par with more "literary" genre fiction.
The other reason this comes up is that I am starting work on an epic fantasy trilogy. The premise and many of the ideas are closely related to my gaming experience. Now, my trilogy is going to be set in an original world, and will have no actual connection to D&D per se. However, I can foresee some people looking at it and making the connection anyways. And therefore, it could be just dismissed as "gaming fiction" and forgotten by non-gamers. I'd like to avoid that, if possible (assuming I can motivate my lazy ass into writing the damn thing).
I'm not really sure what I'm asking as far as my own writing is concerned. But, I thought it might be good to get some others' perspectives on game-related fiction as a whole to begin with.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Gaming and Stuff
So, I posted this over at my gaming blog, Wishful Gaming, but thought I would re-blog it here too. Cuz I'm excited!
...
So, I get to really get my Geek on in November. I just registered for a 3-day, VIG (Very Important Gamer) pass for Gamehole Con here in Madison on November 1-3.
This will officially be my first gamer convention where I am strictly a patron. I went to Gen Con a few years back, but that was as a vendor, when I worked for ACD Distribution. This time I will be participating in games, sitting in for panels, and probably spending too much money on RPG-related crap that I don’t need (I need to start squirreling money away for this).
I’m kind of excited because, as a VIG pass-holder, I get access to early registration for special events. There is a good chance that I could play in a game run by either Ernie Gygax or Frank Mentzer (or, heaven forbid, BOTH!). Truth be told, this actually makes me nervous. I have this fear of being looked down on by other gamers because I “do it wrong.”
I never said I was a rational person.
Regardless, I am also looking forward to just taking it all in. I’m hoping this thing has a pretty big turnout, and that there will be lots to do. My wife is only going to go on Saturday, so two of my days there I will be on my own. I have a friend who is supposed to be getting the 3-day pass as well, so I will probably hang with him most of the time.
It has taken me many years, but I think I have finally accepted the fact that I am just a big ol’ geek. My exes tended to try to nudge me away from my hobbies, and none of them were ever interested in sharing in my adventures (well, there was one who played AD&D with me…but I’m sure it was just so she could keep tabs on me). My current wife, however, is a gamer. And though our tastes in games are sometimes a bit different (she is a huge Vampire fan), she totally gets my love for the hobby.
So, if you are coming to Madison, look for me. On one of the days, I will be the guy in the black Barbarian t-shirt from my Zazzle store. Not sure what I will wear the other two days, though…
...
In other news, I got confirmation from the editor at Weird tales that my stories are slated to be published in the near future. The issue after the next one is a S&S issue, and he would like to publish both stories there. I offered to edit the stories together, so I may do that, if he likes. This is awesome news, as I had not heard anything in many months, and was about to start shopping the stories around.
There are some new developments on our housing situation, but I will wait until things are finalized to chit-chat about that.
All in all, life is pretty good.
...
So, I get to really get my Geek on in November. I just registered for a 3-day, VIG (Very Important Gamer) pass for Gamehole Con here in Madison on November 1-3.
This will officially be my first gamer convention where I am strictly a patron. I went to Gen Con a few years back, but that was as a vendor, when I worked for ACD Distribution. This time I will be participating in games, sitting in for panels, and probably spending too much money on RPG-related crap that I don’t need (I need to start squirreling money away for this).
I’m kind of excited because, as a VIG pass-holder, I get access to early registration for special events. There is a good chance that I could play in a game run by either Ernie Gygax or Frank Mentzer (or, heaven forbid, BOTH!). Truth be told, this actually makes me nervous. I have this fear of being looked down on by other gamers because I “do it wrong.”
I never said I was a rational person.
Regardless, I am also looking forward to just taking it all in. I’m hoping this thing has a pretty big turnout, and that there will be lots to do. My wife is only going to go on Saturday, so two of my days there I will be on my own. I have a friend who is supposed to be getting the 3-day pass as well, so I will probably hang with him most of the time.
It has taken me many years, but I think I have finally accepted the fact that I am just a big ol’ geek. My exes tended to try to nudge me away from my hobbies, and none of them were ever interested in sharing in my adventures (well, there was one who played AD&D with me…but I’m sure it was just so she could keep tabs on me). My current wife, however, is a gamer. And though our tastes in games are sometimes a bit different (she is a huge Vampire fan), she totally gets my love for the hobby.
So, if you are coming to Madison, look for me. On one of the days, I will be the guy in the black Barbarian t-shirt from my Zazzle store. Not sure what I will wear the other two days, though…
...
In other news, I got confirmation from the editor at Weird tales that my stories are slated to be published in the near future. The issue after the next one is a S&S issue, and he would like to publish both stories there. I offered to edit the stories together, so I may do that, if he likes. This is awesome news, as I had not heard anything in many months, and was about to start shopping the stories around.
There are some new developments on our housing situation, but I will wait until things are finalized to chit-chat about that.
All in all, life is pretty good.
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