Anthology is GO!

So, as of a few minutes ago, the anthology is a go! I have completed all of the editing, the formatting, and even the cover image. I decided against the interior art, mainly due to wanting to be done with it (more on that later).

Right now I'm going to sit on it for a bit, then probably start sending it out to my PDF purchasers within the next day or two.

For those wanting a .mobi file, that will take a bit of doing. I have to re-familiarize myself with the program I use to create them, and then make sure all of the formatting translates properly. So, assuming I can get that all figured out, I should be able to send that out in a few days.

So, if you are interested in this anthology, click the link to the right, and make sure to tell me which format you want, and if you want it sent to a different email address than your PayPal account uses. This includes those who want a .mobi file. Let me know your Kindle's address and I can send it there.

***

Anyways, as I inferred in my first new post, I'd like to get back into blogging about my usual stuff. So, here goes.

As long-time readers may recall, I have been struggling mightily with completing my Masters in History. Right now, I just need the Capstone and I am done. I quickly changed my mind about taking a comprehensive exam. I have, ironically for someone with a love of history, a horrible memory for the details. Dates, names, places, etc., it all escapes me when I try to remember it. In all honesty, History was probably the worst choice for a major for me. But, here I am. It's too late to turn back now.

So, I decided on the Thesis route. But, after dropping out of the Thesis class twice for being unable to really wrap my head around the concept, I switched my program at my college to a new one, which includes a "preparatory" class that wasn't included in my old program (and therefore, would not be paid for with Financial Aid). And I just started that class this week.

The main textbook had a nice section explaining the difference between a Term paper, which is all I had done up to this point, and a Thesis. And that was HUGE for me. I might actually get through this and come out with a Masters Degree (and a mountain of student debt, but let's not dwell on that).

On the writing front, I have been struggling to settle on a single project. This, as you may also recall, has been a problem of mine for years. Though I have taken to writing quite a lot of RPG material. I may even re-open my RPG blog and talk about that.

As for reading, I actually hit 14 of my stated goal of 20 books for 2018 last night. granted several of them are kid's books that I have read to my son at bedtime, and at least one of them is a graphic novel (Spider-man Noir, highly recommended!). But, hey, reading is reading, right?

Anyways, anything fun happen in my absence?

Cover art?

One of the final steps in producing this anthology of my stories is artwork. Artwork always gives me the most trouble, especially when it has to do with some of my RPG writing projects. So, I'm happy to share that I actually have a cover image I am going to probably use.

The interesting thing is that this artwork solved two problems I was struggling with. First off, it relates to the stories inside by being a direct reference to one of them. It's a modification of the cover used for "The Orc Way" (as you can see in the link image to the right). And that fact lead me to a solution for the other problem I had; what to title the whole thing.

Turns out "Orcish Ways" makes for a good title. It relates to the stories, as many of them involve orcs in some way. And with the cover image being used, it all kind of ties together nicely.

Now I'm waiting for my wife to do the interior art. Which are basically going to be portraits of the protagonists for each. She's already started, so i imagine those will get cranked out soon (she's pretty quick once she gets going on them).

Anyways, here's the artwork I am most likely going to use for the cover. Unless someone comes along and hands me something better.

An anthology in the works!

I am re-opening this blog with a request for help combined with a bit of self-promotion. Don't worry, I plan to be around for more of my usual wit and charm as well.

The Pitch:
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I am doing a fundraiser for my family. And, in an effort to avoid the fees associated with sites like GoFundMe and the like, I am handling it all myself.

However, this won’t just be me panhandling. This will be me selling my creations. As many of you know, I like to write fantasy stories. For a long time I had had many up on Amazon Kindle. But, those sales petered out pretty rapidly, and honestly weren’t very strong to begin with. So, I unpublished them and have been trying to find a home for them. Unfortunately, the market for “reprints” (which is what they are, since they were previously published) is pretty lean, and never pays well.

I have mentioned doing this before, but I find the situation is calling for some urgency. To that end, I am in the process of putting all of my stories together, along with a few new, unpublished stories, into an anthology. Right now, the initial plan will be to offer it electronically. There will be two options, PDF and .mobi (the format read by Kindle). I may find others that I can do and offer those as well. I will also be looking into POD versions through Lulu (or someplace else, if anyone has suggestions).

Right now, the work is about 80% done. Each story will have a brief introduction discussing the background of the story’s writing, what inspired and motivated me, and where the idea came from. Additionally, they will all be put through a quick editorial review, combing out any snarls and fixing any errors, and maybe adding a bit of clarification if necessary. And lastly I will put together some artwork for the cover and maybe some interior illustrations (though those don’t always work well with Kindle formats).

At this time, I am going to open it up for pre-orders of electronic formats through PayPal (see also the link on the sidebar to the right). If you are interested, the price is $5.00. When you place the order, make sure you tell me your preferred format, PDF or Kindle. If you choose Kindle, include your Kindle Account email address, and I can send the .mobi file directly there, assuming I can still create one. If not, your Kindle app is actually quite capable of reading PDFs as well.

Thank you for taking a moment to hear me out here. I appreciate even just that. And, if you aren’t interested in the actual anthology, I totally get it. No worries. I just ask that you consider sharing this. That, in itself, will be a huge help.

The following is the Table of Contents:

“Blood from Sand”
A desert warrior and an escaped slave who is more than she appears battle the dark arts of a mad sorcerer who wants what she has stolen.

“Pekra”
In orc society, it is the females who choose their mates. Pekra sets her eye on one, but another has already marked him for her own.

“The Orc Way”
A group of orcs have been tasked with kidnapping a dwarf to learn the secrets of forging steel. The one they find turns out to be more than they had anticipated.

“On Pain of Delivery” (New)
A pregnant Pekra is left behind when her mate must make a journey for the clan. Her only companion is an outcast dwarf. When cabin fever sets in, all hell breaks loose.

“Severance”
An assassin takes a job, but to survive killing her target, she must battle the most dangerous foe she can imagine.

“The Darkest Seed” (New)
A strange fog arises, enveloping a Viking ship. What the fog brings with it is beyond even the most feared imaginings of these fierce warriors.

“The Gauntlet of Glowar” (New)
A mercenary is left for dead on a battlefield, but somehow lives. Yet, in order to survive, he must make a pact with an ancient artifact.

“The Keep of Glowar” (New)
Lead to an ancient, abandoned ruin by an annoying spirit, a warrior must confront the new tenants and their horrific leader.

“The Naked Dead” (New)
What started out as a routine cargo run turns into a horrific fight for life, as an intrepid space explorer must use his considerable skill and wit to escape certain doom.

“Blackskull’s Captive”
A young boy is captured by orc space pirates, and unwittingly leads them to their next victims. So, he decides that next time it will not be so easy for the brutes.

Thank you all!

Once more unto the breach!

It's almost November again.  And you know what that means.  That's right. No shaving for an entire month!

Oh, and I'm also going to try to write 50k words in 30 days.

Yep, NaNoWriMo is upon us once more. And, even though I have failed several times in the past, I am going to give it another go. But this time will be different.  Why, you ask?  Because this time I'm doing something different.

I have always kind of been a "pantser" when it comes to writing.  I start with a cast of characters in my head, some general idea of the "world" involved, and a basic plot. I know what I want to happen by "The End" but not in a detailed way.

This time, though, I am going to be working from a relatively detailed outline. I started by writing a one-sentence description of each chapter. And now I am about 2/3 of the way through expanding those into 1-2 paragraph expositions. Interestingly, I have added a few chapters as I have gone along, and now it's a much more complete story. I have a feeling that, when I finally finish the final draft, the book will probably weigh in much heavier than the projected 50k word rough I will write next month.

In short, I'm going to write this book like a real* writer.

The story is one that I have flirted with for many months. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have mentioned it here a few times. Basically orc mercenaries in space. And I even came up with some ways to integrate the magic and high-tech without it seeming forced. I think it'll be cool. And really, that's why we write anyways, right? Because we write the stories we want to read.

I even started a Facebook group for a few of us to post word counts and try to keep each other motivated. Heck, my wife is even going to try it. You know, among all of the other plates she's spinning (what with running for governor and all).

I'll probably post about my progress here as well, so stay tuned!

*"real" as in "more successful than me"

Military Science Fantasy

Military Science Fantasy. That’s what I am currently writing. Again. Some of you may recall that many moons ago I had decided to write a book about orcs in a Science Fantasy setting. One friend mentioned calling it the “Orcspendibles,” basically being a mashup of the Expendables with orcs. I loved the idea, and have jotted notes, made false starts, and even started an RPG project related to it.

Well, I think I may have made some REAL progress now. A couple of weeks ago I laid out the entire plot for the (first) book in bullet points, with each sentence describing a chapter. I ended up with 15 chapters. I later added a few more to flesh out the plot with some subplot points. And today I’m starting to expand those one-sentence descriptions into 1-2 paragraphs each.

One of the things that I was stumbling with was where I was drawing my inspiration. I know most writers will say “Find your own voice; do your own thing; etc.” And while I totally get that, I find a lot of my own writing begins with what is inspiring the story in general. When I write Sword & Sorcery, it usually starts with some Conan elements. Fantasy often draws from D&D and the related novels I have read. Planetary Romance usually draws from Burroughs. So, where were my Orcspendibles going to draw from?

Initially, I was digging into military sci-fi and stuff like that. But that wasn’t really doing it for me. Then it hit me, I needed to attack it from a different angle. Instead of focusing on the Sci-Fi elements, I looked to the Military part. And that came to me in the form of all of those Mack Bolan novels I’ve read, as well as other modern military action novels. I’m also looking at movies of the same bent, with the obvious choice being the Expendables films, and even a few plot points borrowed from The Wild Geese.

It seems, in hindsight, like a “duh” moment, especially considering the whole things started with the Expendables with orcs. But I just needed to cycle through the other elements until I came full-circle back to where the idea was born.

I think as a writer, I do that a lot. But, in the end, while some elements may seem familiar, I’m hoping to put a new spin on it all and make something unique. Because, really, isn’t that what writing fiction is all about these days anyways?

Reading Habits

For 2017, I set myself a goal on Goodreads of reading 25 books. I’m currently sitting on 14/25 completed. I am including in that list books I read to my son before bed, and graphic novels. So far, I’ve stuck a lot to my normal reading habits. A couple of Men’s Adventure, some Sword & Sorcery, etc. However, I am trying to force myself to branch out a little bit.

My current reading is The Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham. This is kind of a departure for me. Initially, I started reading it because several friends recommended it when I asked about Epic Fantasy with non-human races. And, while technically it meets those two requirements, it deviates greatly from my previous experiences with that sub-genre (admittedly mainly D&D-based fiction).

This book has a lot of political intrigue, and characterization. The first is something I usually don’t get into (and it’s why I never really had much interest in Game of Thrones). However, I am kind of digging it this time around. And that’s probably due to the second item above, characterization.

Like any good book in this genre, there are multiple plot-lines developing at once. Abraham revolves each plot-line around a single character, or small group of characters. And each chapter shifts to a new focus from the previous. As the story progresses, some of them cross over with each other, but the plot-lines remain distinct. I find that I like that. Mainly because all of his focus characters are very interesting. And I find that when I reach the end of a chapter, I look forward to getting to the next chapter about that character. But that eagerness is tempered by the fact that the intervening chapters are just as interesting.

Does that all make sense?

I think the one thing that really sets this apart from my usual fare is a lack of combat and action. Not that it’s absent. It’s just more sparse. Normally if someone isn't getting their skull split within the first chapter, I’m put off. But this time I’m not minding it so much.

I also always have a Kindle on tap to read on my phone when I don’t have my book handy (what I refer to as my “bathroom reading”). I recently finished Charles Gramlich’s Under the Ember Star, and am now working on Ashe Armstrong’s A Demon in the Desert (Grimluk, Demon Hunter Book 1).

Overall, I think I may be able to hit 25 books (maybe more) by year’s end. I’m happy about that.

Iron Fist on Netflix

Today I am going to re-open my long-dormant blog with a rant.

For those who may not recall, I am a huge Marvel Comics fan. And I have diligently watched everything they have put on screen (there’s a couple of cartoons I haven’t seen yet). For the most part, I have enjoyed the vast majority of it. But, today I want to talk about Netflix’s Iron Fist, and subsequently, The Defenders.

Let me start by saying that among the Netflix Marvel shows, Iron Fist was the weakest. It had the most issues that made it difficult to stomach at moments, and I think there could have been some better choices made in casting and filming. That being said, I still give it a solid 7/10. It had a lot of exciting moments, a few surprises, and some good action. But there are some issues that others always bring up that I just want to put my own take on.

“Danny should have been Asian.”
I hate this one the most, so I will start here. First of all, the character in the comics isn’t Asian. That in itself is reason enough. I am very against recoloring existing literary characters, personally. The only time it has ever worked in the context of comics is Nick Fury, and that is only because he is based on an alternate universe version of the character, and is totally separate from the “original” character. But, aside from that, there are social issues that make Danny being white more relevant. Danny represents the dichotomy of a privileged white kid being raised in a disciplined and Spartan environment. This plays into another point I will make later on. And finally, making him Asian would have been so stereotypical. You may as well say that only Asians can master the martial arts. By that logic, everyone in the entire show should have been Asian, and it probably should have been set in Hong Kong, rather than New York. Here’s another small tidbit: Kun’Lun is not Asian. It is an extra-dimensional location that is home to people of all colors and ethnicities. Which should have been made amply clear in the first few episodes of The Defenders.

“Danny is a whiny kid who never acts mature.”
Or some variation. This is a legit complaint on the surface, but it’s easily explained if you put the character in the proper context. As stated above, Danny spent his first years as a wealthy, privileged white kid. He had that torn away, and spent his formative years in an isolated environment that was the polar opposite in almost every way to what he knew before. That alone would cause some emotional confusion for him when he returns to the normal world, and tries to resume his former life. Add to that the fact that during his time in Kun’Lun, he was immersed in tradition, prophesy, and mysticism, and then later, once he became the Iron Fist, it was hammered into him that he had a destiny to fulfill. In his mind, that is all that matters. He is focused and driven by this “destiny” to the point where he has tunnel vision, and can’t see the realities of the outside world. The only lens he has to view that outside world is through the eyes of a small child. Given time, he will eventually reconcile the two. And you can even see hints of him getting there in The Defenders. I think in Season 2, he will be a much more relatable character.

Honestly, my complaints are mainly visual. First of all, Danny should be much more fit-looking than he is, IMHO. This IS a comic book movie, after all. I get that they were going for the sleek, slender look (probably because of Bruce Lee), but he could have done with a bit more muscle. I also wish that he could look more adept at martial arts. He looks a bit better in The Defenders, but you can still tell that Finn is pulling a David Carradine for this character. Casting a real martial artist would have been a much better choice.

The one thing that all of the shows suffer from is poor lighting. Each of them have scads of fights that happen in dark places (night time alleys, tunnels, etc.). Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to see what is going on. In the opening scene of Defenders ep.1, my screen was practically black during the entire fight. Just poor filming technique.

Am I disappointed in the overall portrayal of one of my favorite comic book characters? Maybe a little. But I also think that is partially due to the others being so well-done. Both of Daredevil’s seasons are top-notch, Jessica’s show is a great view of the darker side of comics, and Luke’s show is a fine example of updating a characters roots without changing anything about his core. Each of them had problems too, but they were far outweighed by the good. Iron Fist comes up shorter in that balance, but it’s not horrible.

In short, I enjoy the character for how he is portrayed in the context of the Netflix/marvel universe. And I look forward to finishing up Defenders this week, and to seeing the subsequent seasons already slated.

Goodbye 2016

As a whole, 2016 wasn't that good of a year for me.  I mean, yeah the number of celebrity deaths that hit me hard last year was pretty bad (right up until the very last, with William Christopher).  But that was just one part of it.

There's also the fact that, politically, the country took a turn that, to me, seems like more of a nose-dive, with the election of Trump, and the supporting of current Teabagger Republicans in office.  In short, I don't think people really thought things through, politically.  And I am honestly afraid of the potential consequences.  My hope that I am wrong is there, but it's like a small glowing ember in a dark and scary forest.

On a more personal front, I started a new job in January of last year.  And while that seems like it should be a good thing, in hindsight it kind of wasn't.  Sure my salary is a bit more, and the fact that I will actually get raises every year is a huge plus.  But really, that's where it ends.  The job itself is tedious and mind-numbing, and often frustrating and depressing.  We're understaffed, and micro-managed by a management team that is too disassociated with the processes in the trenches to see how stressful the job is.  But, I'm muscling through it.  All the while on the lookout for something actually better.

Then there's the fact that my wife was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  And while it's not currently as debilitating as it could be, it did require a lot of adjustments on our part.  We're getting through that, though.  And while there are certainly bad days, we know how to handle them now.  Of course, my daughter was diagnosed with a learning disorder as well, which makes things just that more complicated.  But, while her behavior issues sometimes exacerbate bad days, like with the MS, we're learning to cope and adjust there too.

And finally there's my writing.  Or, I should say, lack thereof.  2016 started off bad, with me failing to muster up the ability to write my Senior Thesis.  So, I still have that hanging over my head.  All I need to do is write that thing, and I can graduate with a Masters Degree.  But, it looms so large in my head, that I feel like I'm facing a dragon with nothing but an old baseball bat.  It's not helped by the fact that I have retained so little of what I learned in getting to that point, that I feel like the entire effort was a complete waste.  And that all I managed to get out of it was a huge amount of student debt.

This bled directly into my fiction writing as well.  I was unable to write anything all year.  I started many times, but everything felt like eating dry, stale bread.  I wasn't even able to crank out a single 10k word story for an anthology I was supposed to be in (and had six months to write).  And now I feel like a failure, and that I let people down.  I know they probably aren't judging me for it, but I'm judging myself.  And that's bad enough.

Heck, even just reading has been a struggle.  I have started about ten different books this year, and I think I managed to finish two, maybe three of them.

But, that's all in the past, right?  Onward and upward, as they say?

This year I really want to focus more on writing.  I would like to actually do the Thesis sometime, and just get that monkey off of my back.  I would also like to complete a few projects.  But, mainly I just want to write more.  So, I'm going to try to set aside my distractions more often than I have been, and pound my keyboard until it vomits out some tales.

I also plan to read more.  I set up a goal of 25 books this year over at Goodreads.  I think it's funny that a lot of my friends are setting goals of 100+ books.  But, considering how slow of a reader I can be, and the fact that making myself just sit and read is difficult, 25 is pretty lofty for me, personally.  So, that's what I'm aiming for.

I also want to get more active, and get these health issues under control (just like most everyone else, I suppose).

And finally, I just want to learn to enjoy what I have more.  2016 saw me wrestling with depression and lethargy on a nearly daily basis.  I really want to change that.  I've never been a very motivated person, and not much of a "self starter" or "go getter" type.  So, I know it will be an effort.  But, with the support of my wife, and my friends and family, I think I can take some good strides forward in 2017.

So, here's to crankin' out some good tunes, and dancing on the grave of 2016, as we move forward into these "interesting times."

Jumping Genres

So, I finished reading the novelization for the Warcraft movie yesterday.  Loved it.  Noticed a couple of loose-hanging plot threads, but they are kind of minor.  Oddly enough, they could be really good hooks for a sequel. But if the movie doesn't warrant one, I'm not sure another book will ever come along either.

Overall, though, I greatly enjoyed the book.  The characters were all very fleshed out, and with the added benefit of internal narrative, it allowed a better view of the characters' various backgrounds.  The action was exciting, and the world-building was more than adequate.  It's clearly meant to be the first in a trilogy or series, building on a modified variation of the Warcraft video game lore.  If you saw the movie (or even if you didn't), you might enjoy the book, as well as the prequel Durotan.

After I was done, I knew I wanted to keep this reading momentum going, so I immediately went to my shelf for another book.  I have many, many unread books, and I seem to gain new ones at least every week on average.  So, there was no shortage to choose from.  But, having just finished an epic fantasy, I kind of wanted to go in a different direction.  Mainly because I knew that another fantasy would probably suffer by comparison.

I briefly considered a Mack Bolan book.  I even read the first few pages.  But, it didn't really grab me, so I slid it back and perused some more.  Then I lit upon my small collection of westerns.  They're mostly Louis L'Amour, so I grabbed those and read the backs of each.  After some contemplation, I decided on Brionne.  It's hooked me right away.

One thing I have to say about L'Amour, he doesn't screw around.  He likes to build his world through narrative, giving the reader everything they need at the moment, and not much more.  He's also not afraid to hit you with tragedy early on to set up his hero's journey.  Brionne is a former Army officer who turned down a post to President Grant's cabinet, in order to travel out west with his son, after his wife is killed by outlaws who were hoping to catch him at home.  But, his journey west is already nerve-wracking, and he suspects he's being followed.

On a broader note, I've been having little crises about my life a lot.  My job is not doing anything for my mood and happiness aside from providing a paycheck.  So, I'm already looking at other options.  I am one class away from a MS in History, but that class is basically me writing a Thesis.  And when I tried to do it last time, it was not going well.  I ended up dropping in order to not fail.  I need to figure that out, because being this close and not being able to finish is killing me.

I started looking into what it would take to become a teacher.  After going to back-to-school night for my stepdaughter, I started thinking that I could probably do that.  And I might even enjoy it.  So, I'm looking into the various avenues of getting certified.  However, right now it looks like another 2 years of schooling, which I dread having to pay for.  Yet, a part of me says "Why worry?  You already have a mountain of student dept, what's a few thousand more?"

I'm still thinking about all of that.

In the meantime, I'm trying to get myself to write again, but it's slow-going.  I did manage to submit a story for publication, so I'm hoping that will pan out.  And I have a few other projects, as always.  Including one with an actual deadline.  In fact, I should probably be working on that instead of this blog...

Recent Reads

As often happens I have been waffling back and forth between what to read lately. I had started and stopped a couple of things (if anyone is paying attention to the right side of this blog, they probably noticed that). I'm very much a "mood" reader. Meaning, I need to be in the mood for something. Otherwise, regardless of how good it is, it won't capture my interest.

So, anyways, I was in the mood for some D&D-based fiction. To that end I polled all my geeky friends, just to see if they had some favorites that I hadn't read. Unfortunately, I had read the majority of their suggestions. So, I scoured the used book store shelves for something, and I landed on a volume from the series that Wizards of the Coast put out in support of D&D 3E. I have blogged about one of these before. And I have read one or two of the others, but not this one. So, I gave it a go.

This one focused on Mialee, the elf wizard, and dealt with the undead. The main villain was a wight, with a lot of abilities that your normal wight from the Monster Manual doesn't have. In reality, he was probably more of a lich than a wight, but I just went with it. The story was pretty cool, and the characters were all fairly interesting. Not a lot of characterization, but about what you would expect in a 200-pager.

The plot was somewhat predictable, but that was fine. The main purpose of these books has always been to showcase the stuff you can do in the game. So, there were some neat little things that you could easily plug into your own game. Which is really what makes these books fun for gamers to read. Honestly, this was probably the coolest marketing strategy I have ever seen for a game. I plan to collect all of them (there were 8 or so of these).

In other reading, I read a couple of Thor graphic novels, The God Butcher and Godbomb. These two collected the first 11 issues of his recent series. I had already read Goddess of Thunder, where a woman takes up Mjolnir and becomes the new Thor. I knew her identity, but it was cool to see how the story unfolded anyways.

These two took place before that, and involved a being known as the God Butcher. Very interesting story involving the slaughter of immortal beings who serve as deities across the cosmos. At one point, you had three versions of Thor fighting side-by-side, thanks to the wonders of time-travel. Over all, highly recommended.

My current reading is The Summer Tree, by Guy Gavrel Kay. One of my co-workers dropped the whole trilogy in our book-trade box, so, after some gushing reccomendations from friends, I grabbed them all up, and have started in on the first book. Haven't gotten far enough into it yet to form an opinion. But the setup is a proven winner for me, so I have high hopes.

I also started reading the first issue of Skelos last night. I had backed the kickstarter at the level that gets me every issue in eBook format. So far, so good. the first story was a bit disturbing, but seems to fit into the theme of the journal. I suspect I will enjoy the Sword & Sorcery-style stories more than the horror ones. But, that's just me.

A Gathering of Ravens

I feel like I have been along for a lot of this ride with my good friend, Scott Oden.  This book has been in the works for a while, and I've seen the trials and tribulations associated with trying to write novel through him.

This will be Scott's fourth novel, and a departure of sorts form everything he's done previously.  Having been privileged to read his first draft, I can hardly wait for this release.  And I think a lot of people who may mosey by here will also enjoy it.

So, to that end, have a look at Scott's blog, subscribe if it interests you, and gather among the rest of us who wait with great anticipation for what is sure to be an amazing literary experience.

5 Characters I’d like to see in the MCU

…but none of them are likely to happen.

I love the MCU movies. And while I have my favorites, even the worst of the bunch are still fun and entertaining.  But, as a long-time Marvel fanboy, there are some characters that I would love to see in the MCU, but I know are just not going to happen.  Here are five of those.

1.  Will the REAL Nick Fury please step forward?
Now, I love Sam Jackson.  And as much as it rankled me at the beginning, I understand why they went with the Ultimate Universe version of Nick Fury for the MCU.  But, I still kind of long for the classic Nick.  You know, the white guy who has been kicking ass since WWII?  There is even a way they could integrate him into the current MCU continuity.  And it involves a trope that has been bandied around for James Bond several times in the past.  "Nick Fury" is just a name.  It's handed off to a new SHIELD leader every so often.  I had started writing a screenplay about this where the old Nick came out of retirement to help out the new Nick.  I think it would work really well.

My fan casting:  Bruce Campbell

2.  From the Captain to USAgent
One of the best story lines from Captain America during the 80's (IMHO) was when Cap ran afoul of an upstart would-be replacement named Super Patriot.  John Walker has superhuman strength and durability, granted by a process he went through at the hands of The Power Broker.  Long story short, the US government decided they owned the name and identity of Captain America, and when Steve Rogers gave up the mantle out of a desire to not be beholden to the whims of an ever-changing government, they recruited John Walker to take over.  In the end, it wasn't a good fit.  Steve came back to the role, and John eventually donned Steve's old black and red uniform that he wore when he called himself simply The Captain.  As the government's version of Captain America, John has had a long and varied career as USAgent.

My fan casting: John Cena

3. Behold the Prince of Power!
With Thor making such a huge impact on the MCU, I understand why they don't want to bring in Hercules.  I mean, to the average viewer, what's difference between one super powered warrior-god from mythology and another?  But to us Marvel fans, we understand that the two characters couldn't be more dissimilar.  First of all, Herc is half-mortal, and he spent the majority of his life on Earth.  So, even though his appearance and attitudes hearken back to his mythological roots, he has an understanding of humanity that Thor never will.  Plus, Hercules, as Marvel presents him, would add the element of fun and levity, as he is the resident "party boy" superhero.  Plus, wouldn't it be cool to see a tussle between Hercules and Thor?  Or even Hercules and Hulk?

My fan casting: Joe Manganiello

4. The Master of Tasks
In his first appearance, the man known as The Taskmaster managed to take down and capture most of the Avengers...by himself!  Born with the mutant ability of "photographic reflexes" Taskmaster can mimic perfectly any physical action he witnesses (within human capabilities).  Thus he can fight as well as Captain America, is as agile as Spider-man, can use a bow like Hawkeye, etc.  He has picked up a plethora talents, and always seems to be able to find new ways to use his power.  Usually portrayed as a villain, he sometimes comes in on the side of good, thus becoming somewhat of an anti-hero over the years.  He is responsible for training John Walker in the fighting style of Cap, as well as in the use of his shield.

My fan casting: Scott Adkins

5.  Tea time for Union Jack
As a British version of Captain America (sort of), Union Jack as a persona actually dates back to WWII, as his first incarnation was as an alter-ego of  James Montgomery Falsworth, who was featured as one of the Howling Commandos in Captain America: the First Avenger.  There have been a few incarnations of the persona over the years, including James' son, but the character is still basically the same in the modern incarnation.  Union Jack is a skilled soldier and commando, who carries a pistol and dagger, and is a highly trained combatant and spy.

My fan casting: Jason Statham

Recent Reads

On a whim I picked up a copy of Andrew J. Offutt's Conan and the Sorcerer at the used book store last week.  I just finished reading it, and I was pleasantly surprised.  The story was suitably Conan, if a bit "fluffed," and the writing, while not quite up to the Howard standard, was still a pretty good entry for the genre.  I'd say Offutt would place about three notches above DeCamp, and a notch above Lin Carter.  Overall, a fun read.

The edition I have was laden with illustrations by Esteban Maroto, who was largely responsible for how I viewed Conan in my minds eye early on (aside from the Frazetta covers, and before I discovered Buscema's work).  This volume had a lot of action shots, and not a few depictions of the naked female form.  And although I could tell that they were there to plump the page-count, I didn't really mind so much.  I may hit up the book store again and get Conan the Mercenary and The Sword of Skelos, as I am told they form a loose trilogy with this one.

In other reading, I've been digging into a few graphic novels from the library, as well as a few comics.  In the same trip where I grabbed the Offutt Conan, I also grabbed a few old issues of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian color comic from 1977.  These were pretty cool to read, but the real treat was the Buscema artwork, inked by Ernie Chan.  Man, I really wish I had discovered Conan at that time.  I'd love to collect a bunch more of these issues, if I can find them.

I also recently read Captain America - Man out of Time, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  A really fun take on Cap's first few days after being thawed out.  Paired with some scenes of WWII, it really gives you a good picture of how Steve Rogers has had to cope with sleeping through so much history.  The artwork was pretty good, and I found myself really engaged with the story.  Highly recommended.

And finally, I breezed through Skull Kickers Treasure Trove Volume 1.  I had been collecting this series, but only managed to grab the first 4 or 5 issues before having to stop.  So, it was cool to see the whole story play out.  This is a really fun comic, filled with action, humor, great art, and snappy dialogue.  Also highly recommended.

Aside from those, I have started and stopped a couple of books.  They were interesting, but they weren't what my brain craved at the time.  Right now I'm still on a Sword & Sorcery kick, and more specifically, a Conan kick.  So, from my own shelf I grabbed Conan the Marauder by John Maddox Roberts.  Back in my days at the conan.com forums, people often mentioned his were the best that the Tor series had to offer.  So, I thought I would give him a go now too.

Not much in the way of writing.  I have been thinking a lot about it lately, but I can't settle myself on a specific project.  I did manage to submit a sci-fi story that had seen a few rejections to another magazine, so there's that.  I'm also reading Steven Pressfield's latest, Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t.  It's as chock full of good advice as his previous works.  And it's actually helping me organize some things in my head.

No one is to blame but me

As a writer, my art has suffered greatly over the past few months. I have barely had the energy to put words to screen beyond the occasional pithy Facebook post and political rant. There are many reasons for this.

First and foremost is the new job. Let me just start by saying that it is boring and tedious. However, the pay is better, the potential for advancement and raises is MUCH better, and it is pretty steady. This last part is what keeps me from writing much. My job keeps me working on stuff all day, unless I consciously take a few minutes (like now) to not overwork myself. Trust me, they are getting their money’s worth with the amount of time that I do actual work.

In my previous job, I had the luxury of having a lot of down-time that I could use to work on my own stuff. That’s how I managed to write so many RPG products, and several short stories over the last few years. But, alas, those days are gone for the time being.

So, you might be asking about my non-work time. You know, when writers with day-jobs usually pursue their passion for wordsmithing. Well, the other downside of this job is that I am mentally exhausted when I get home. Add to that having to deal with various and sundry distractions in our chaotic house, I end up with very little quiet time for myself. And when I do get that, my brain just says “Screw that blank screen! Let’s watch [insert name of show du jour here] instead.” By the time I’ve had my fill of that…oh, look at the time. If I go to bed and fall asleep now *snicker* I can get a solid six hours of sleep before John Mellencamp wakes me up.

So, you see, I have a lot of excuses. And the sad part is, I am fully aware of the fact that they are just that; excuses. But, I’m one of the laziest, most undisciplined people I know sometimes. And unfortunately, my writing is usually the first thing to suffer for it.

So, how can I get through this, and back into a creative groove? I don’t know for sure, but I’m starting by going back to the beginning, and reading for fun. I’m reading all over the place, in the genres that I like to write. I’m also not nailing myself to a single book. I may read a few chapters, then get distracted by another book, and switch over. Fortunately, I can usually pick up a set-aside book where I left off without much issue, as long as it hasn’t been too long. Right now I have four or five books in various states of being read.

I also ran a session of D&D last weekend. For those who don’t play RPG’s, running a game, especially based on your own ideas and worlds, is a very effective way to get creative juices flowing. A lot interesting tidbits came out of that session, and it really got me thinking about made-up stuff.

Anyways, I’m still working on it all. Someday, I think I might even be able to finish something.

The sale is over

Well, that went well. I had my story up for free for five days, and a total of 20 free downloads during that time. I figured I would get more, but it's cool. I probably didn't advertise enough, though I'm not all that sure how much more I could have done.

Either way, that means that there will potentially be 20 reviews forthcoming. Of course, I'm not delusional enough to believe that will happen. But, if I get a 20% return, that will mean 4 new reviews. And that's not bad. More than likely, though, the story will sit in 20 TBR piles, and if/when they do get read, the reader will either forget to review it, or hate it so much that they don't want to review it.

Ok, maybe I'm a pessimist and defeatist. Shoot me.

Anyways, the third Orcs story is done, and gone through my primary beta-reader. Due to some of the story elements involved, I really wanted her opinion. She loved it. I heard her laugh out loud a few times while reading it. And it even solicited an "Oh shit" moment. I'd say it's a success.

I'll let it stew for a bit longer before I revisit it again. I might to try to get another set of eyes on it from a seasoned writer, just to see if there are any ways I can make the narrative a little better (any takers?). Then I have to create a cover, and publish it.

This cycle of stories will probably continue to be Kindles. However, I'm thinking about gathering them all together, once I have a few more written, and publish them as a POD paperback. I've looked into doing so through Lulu, and the cost there is comparable to shelf-bought paperbacks. Just something I'll be thinking about.

In the meantime, I'm eyeing a couple of other WIPs for completion. Both are longer works, possibly even book-length.

Working on Kindles

So, this morning I had some downtime at the office, and decided to look into my Kindle offerings.  First off, I lowered the price of my recent non-fiction work Life on the Cube Farm from $2.99 to $1.50. 

I know the advice from successful writers is to charge what your works are worth.  But, the reality for those of us with little to no name-recognition is that doing so is often a hindrance.  I have made only a single paid sale of that work at the current price.  So, maybe if it's cheaper, more people will be willing to give it a try.  If I sell four copies at the lower price, I will have already made more back than before.  The new pricing should be active later today.

One of the other things I noticed was that a few of my stories have no reviews.  I'd like to remedy that by enticing people to read and review them.  To that end, I'm going to offer a different story for free each month for a period of five days each.  Tomorrow will begin the first sale with Blood from Sand.

The final thing I realized today was that, from the reviews I do have, I see a lot of people stating that they are looking forward to sequels to a few of my more popular stories.  I'm going to try to remedy that too.  I currently have a rough draft of a third Orcs story done.  It focuses on Pekra and Bofdak.  I read it through again today, and I really like the idea, and I think I did some good writing here.  But, it needs polishing, and some more exposition.  So, that's my next project.

I'm still trying to get my motivation to write back.  I figured that building on my short story successes would be a better start than just trying to jump into a longer narrative right away.  I still have a couple of longer works that are getting some attention, though.  So, I haven't given up yet.

World-Building and the Infodump

Now that I have freed myself from some stressful obligations (for now, anyways), I find myself turning my attention back to the creative endeavors that usually make me happy. In this instance, writing fiction. It’s slow-going getting back into it. And most days I can’t muster the energy to actually write anything (life has given me other, newer stressors that I need to deal with), so I am thinking about some of the WIPs I have just sitting out there.

One in particular is a S&S tale with my “Clonan” character. The story sits at about 18k words, if I recall, and is pretty much done. I just need to figure out how to actually end it satisfactorily, and tie up any loose ends. However, some conversations with established writers have me thinking about the whole thing in a different light.

I tend to write shorter fiction. I’ve never been sure why, but I find myself often so daunted by the prospect of an actual novel –length work, that I stick to the shorter stuff. And I recently figured out one reason why that may be.

When I write my stories, the amount and nature of the information presented is usually dictated by the main character. I present the world through his/her eyes, and confine myself to relating only what they know, and even in that it’s usually only what they know in the context of what is happening at the moment. I tend to avoid the “infodump” about the world outside of them, and I think that may be a mistake.

But how do I correct that? I have often railed against the “doorstopper” novels of GRRM and others for being fluffed with so much tediously-detailed, and ultimately superfluous information, that I instinctively avoid that in my own writing. And I think that could be a mistake. I think maybe I should be adding some of those details, though certainly not the extent of Martin or Tom Clancy.

The question is, how do I do it without jarring the reader out of the story? This is something I need to experiment with, and maybe look for some guidance from others on. So, if you have any advice, let me know.

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

I figured that was an appropriate title considering it’s David Bowie’s birthday, and it’s also my last day at my current job.

I’ve worked for the State of Wisconsin for almost five-and-a-half years.  In that time I’ve done a lot, learned a lot, and experienced a lot,  and that’s just the work-related stuff.  Due to the nature of being admin support, I also always had a lot of “unoccupied” time on my hands during work hours.  So, in that time, I did a lot of personal stuff too.

I managed to nearly finish my Master’s degree, and only have my Thesis left to complete in order to graduate.  I managed to write and self-publish several short stories, and several gaming products.  I’ve communicated with people all across the globe, and reconnected with old friends.  I’ve waxed philosophical, political, and nonsensical.  All from the comfort of my work computer, while still managing to complete all of my assigned tasks, and make my Bureau a better place.

Monday, I will be starting a new chapter in my career.  I have been hired by the Veteran’s Administration as a Voucher Examiner.  Don’t ask me what that is, exactly, because I only have a vague notion that I will be reviewing benefit vouchers for accuracy and potential fraud.  The location is closer to where I live, and I won’t have to pay for parking (I don’t think).  Both will save me a lot of money each month.  And because it’s a Federal position, the potential for advancement and growth is much greater than it is here at the State level (thanks mainly to Scott Walker).

I imagine that, since my job will actually be focused on specific tasks, unlike the “jack-of-all-trades” nature of admin support, I won’t have nearly as much “free” time during the day.  So, those who see me around Facebook will probably see less of me.  And my infrequent blog posts will probably be even more infrequent.

Of course, once I finish school, I will probably turn my evening attentions towards more creative endeavors.  I am always compelled to create stuff.  So, since I will be unable to do that during the day, it will force me to do it at home.  Which, honestly, is where I should be doing it anyways.  I’ve been lucky the last few years, but I know it’s not normal, nor should it be expected.

So, here’s to 2016 being a year of new beginning already.  And I hope that trend continues.

Writing Experiment

I recently read something (that I'm sure I had read before) which states that writers who talk about their current projects too much are more likely to not finish them.  A friend later posted something saying the same thing, explaining that when you talk about your project, your brain gets the same feeling of accomplishment that you would normally get if you actually finished the project, causing you to lose focus and the motivation to continue.

In light of this, I decided to perform a little experiment.  I recently signed up with the "Freedom with Writing" website.  They send out periodic emails with various writing opportunities, and info on how to make money writing in all kinds of ways.  They also offer some free eBooks on the writing life.  The first one was basically about how to write an eBook for profit.

I decided to take that idea, and run with it.  Long ago I had an idea for a book about what it's like to be admin support.  The idea was to describe, in great detail how to land an office job, how to conduct yourself on that job, what to expect, and what you will need to know (and/or learn) to do the job.  That old file is long gone, but the idea remained.  So, I sat down and started writing.

The thing is, I didn't tell anyone.  I didn't even mention it to my wife.  I just outlined the short book, and wrote.  Granted, it was easy to write as it was simply me pouring out my own knowledge based on years of experience.  But, in just under two weeks, I had a 10k+ eBook done.  And after several re-reads with edits, I decided to publish it on Kindle yesterday.

Now, while I hope it takes off and is a Kindle bestseller, I was actually more pleased with the result of the experiment.  It seems that not talking about the book may have played a part in me being able to finish it.  So, in the future, you will probably hear much less about what I am writing (which is saying something, since I rarely talk about writing these days anyways).  And since I have a big writing assignment due at the end of next month, now is a great time for me to start.

Incidentally, if you are interested in my new eBook, or know someone who might be, the link is below.

Buy on Amazon

Bit of this, bit of that

Had a disappointing trip to a local book store today. I work in downtown Madison, and there is a used book store down near the campus that I used to walk to during lunch every couple of months. They had a section in the back that was mostly just old books that weren’t selling very well. Everything was a $1, and I usually managed to discover at least a couple of good finds. Mostly classics from 60’s and 70’s. Well, today that section is all but gone. At least the fiction paperbacks are. I barely found anything to browse, let alone that looked interesting.

So then I wandered over to the Fantasy/Science Fiction section, which usually had a decent selection of more popular classic paperbacks. Nope, those are largely gone too. The majority of stuff in there now is less than 10 years old, and probably represents books that people bought, read, and traded in to make room for their next purchase. Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot that looked very interesting. But, my wallet is a bit thin these days, so none of it was an option for that reason alone.

I’m a big proponent of collecting old paperbacks. Especially when I learned that the standard policy of most used book stores these days is to try to move those books through their “bargain” sections for a fixed amount of time. After that, they literally get tossed in a dumpster. When I heard that I almost cried. Must be the historian in me, wanting to preserve these relics for future generations. Ah well, I just need to accept that the world is moving forward, I suppose.

Speaking of classic paperbacks, some of you may have noticed that my “Currently Reading” image kind of quietly changes occasionally. I recently finished reading a book I found in one of the boxes I brought home from our storage shed. It was a slim book published by Wizards of the Coast based on their D&D line. I’d read a few of them, and they were generally good for what they were. Which was basically an introduction to what playing a D&D game would be like from a literary standpoint. This one featured my favorite of the “iconic” characters found in the rulebooks, Krusk the half-orc barbarian. All in all, a fun little read.

Ok, I guess that isn’t exactly “classic” literature. Though I’d contend that those little books are just as good as some of the pulp-ish sci-fi books of the 60’s and 70’s.

Anyways, after that one, I was planning on reading The Silmarillion. I’ve never read it, but I love Tolkien’s world-building (even if his actual writing style is a bit dry for my tastes), so I thought it would be interesting. Well, I’m sure it will be in small chunks here and there, but not in one long effort. So, while I’ll probably still browse through, and read choice portions, I chose a different book for my “main” reading; the first volume of Ballantine’s 1991 issue of ERB’s Venus tales, Pirates of Venus. Haven’t actually started it yet, but ERB has yet to disappoint me, so I’m hopeful.

On the writing front, I did about 2/3 of the synopsis for my latest WIP (the Mahak story that I posted a snippet from a while back). But I had to put it aside while I focused on laying the groundwork for my Thesis. I have a pretty detailed outline for that, and started in the draft-writing today. Almost 600 words of introduction today, which is cool. I figure if I can work on putting down about 2500 words a week on that, I should have no problem getting 70 double-spaced pages done by the end of January. Which means I might actually be able to carve out some time for fiction concurrently. I’ll start by finishing the Mahak book, and move on from there. I have a military sci-fi book that I started planning out using the Snowflake Method. I might try to dig into that one next.