I started many months ago, and I finally finished revising the existing books in The Maze to extract the distasteful aspect it had before. Book 7 is coming along, but I've been mired in something else for the moment. It will open with a foreward to explain to anyone who did read the previous books what changed and why. That will be the only official mention of it in the books themselves. After awhile, I'll remove it and let the series move forward without any memory of what came before.
I can't promise precise release dates in the future, but they'll come here and there. Lots of ideas. Bright future.
Monday, December 30, 2019
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
The Maze Re-release Update
Since May, I've reread all of the existing material (after another hiatus). Books 1-6 are either available, or they will be in the coming weeks. I'm starting to go through book 7, and I intend to finish it.
Going back through this series has been nice after so long away from it. I got to see me develop as a writer from the first one, originally begun in 2013, to the newest one finished during a flurry of writing in 2017. It's amazing to see how far they've come and to see myself improve through them.
Each one gets better and reads faster. They'll finally be ready to show again. Join me in The Maze.
Going back through this series has been nice after so long away from it. I got to see me develop as a writer from the first one, originally begun in 2013, to the newest one finished during a flurry of writing in 2017. It's amazing to see how far they've come and to see myself improve through them.
Each one gets better and reads faster. They'll finally be ready to show again. Join me in The Maze.
Friday, May 31, 2019
Rerelease of The Maze
Following a football game in September 2017, a member of the Pride of Broken Arrow marching band jumped to his death from the top of the football stands. It was one of the rare times when a band rehearsal was canceled the following day to allow time for discussion and healing over the loss of a friend. While I did not know him personally, the incident caused me to look hard at the series I had created where people who committed suicide were picked up by a machine called The Maze as an act of redemption. My books have not historically had a large readership, so I could take some solace in knowing this child had not read my stories and taken any leads from them. This did not chance the fact that book one opened with a detailed representation of a woman standing on the roof of a building before letting herself fall to her death. Yes, she was saved in the story, but at the end of the prologue, you didn't know that.
I never liked the suicide aspect of The Maze. Ever. It was one of the base fundamental roots of the story, but I always hated it. Through the years, I always wanted there to be a better way, and my mind never left that idea. Book 1 had been continuously available since 2013 while books 2 through 6 had only been up since late 2017, but in June 2018, I pulled them all down. I had an idea, but it needed development. The people in the Maze were no longer going to be suicide victims.
I knew the change would be hard since the idea permeated not only the characters' backstories, but every idea I had moving forward for future characters. It was mentioned in conversation popping up now and then throughout the story especially when doubts of one's place were expressed. The prologue and first couple chapters of book 1 required a complete overhaul since it dealt exclusively with what happened and what led the character to commit the act.
Once those chapters were redone, I had to reread everything to catch every single reference to suicide made everywhere along with modifying methods taken, reasons given, etc. Three main characters meant three backstories needed heavy modification to still lead them to the Maze in a dramatic way, but revised so that the backstory still worked in context and had a satisfying conclusion without its original ending.
At the time of this post, I have completely reread book 1, and I've done multiple searches for key words in book 2 to locate discussions of suicide and backstories.
The bottom line here is that suicide isn't a joke. It isn't some method an author should use to track characters into a story when there are better ways of doing it. It's ok to talk about it. It's ok to build a story that deals with it. But my stories didn't do that. Instead, I used it flippantly as a method to get things rollings before forgetting all about it and moving on. when it happens, people don't just forget about it. It affects everyone in a wide circle like those ripples in the water.
The victim in 2017 was part of a musical group. They spent a lot of time together. His section was hit the hardest because they knew him the best. My youngest wasn't in the marching band at that point, but she plays the same instrument, so when she heard what he played, she was impacted even though she didn't know him. Musicians stick together. When I meet another trombone player, it's akin to fraternity brothers from different chapters meeting. Instant bond. So not knowing him, she felt like she lost a member of her section family. This rippled out through the band who lost one of their own, and a band as a whole is a family. They spend a lot of time together and know each other across the sections. As a parent and an alumnus of the band, I was dumbfounded as well. I know how close everyone gets, and even with his band family so close and having music be a part of his life, he still did what he did.
I had to make a change. I could not have that element be an integral part of entering my story. I could not risk this series be any kind of success and let people know that the way to get in is to try to kill yourself and hope for the best. That's something I could not live with. People are very impressionable. They wait for their letter from Hogwarts. They try to use the Force. They watch the skies for Superman. They wonder if their car is really a car or changes into a robot at night. They drive on deserted roads hoping to be abducted by aliens. They wait for the Doctor and the Tardis. I couldn't be the guy whose entry on that list was: and they throw themselves from bridges hoping to get picked up by the Maze. No. That would not be my legacy.
So now, if you've read the first book of the Maze, you'll find a new prologue. It doesn't start on a rooftop but inside an apartment. Michelle is still depressed, but instead of jumping to her death, she is making do with drinking away her troubles and watching the ceiling fan spin. Instead of a mysterious "matter transporter" to snap her away, the elevator we know and love opens up in her living room, its light blasting through the gloom to invite her to enter it. It is no spoiler to say she does though it's fair to say that with as much as she had to drink, she thought she was hallucinating until she woke up in a new place with new people and a new adventure ahead of her.
If you've read my books before, thank you so much for your support, and if you haven't, welcome to my worlds. The Maze will be re-released over the next couple of months culminating in the long awaited seventh book in the series, originally slated for November 2017 before life imploded. Thanks and enjoy.
I never liked the suicide aspect of The Maze. Ever. It was one of the base fundamental roots of the story, but I always hated it. Through the years, I always wanted there to be a better way, and my mind never left that idea. Book 1 had been continuously available since 2013 while books 2 through 6 had only been up since late 2017, but in June 2018, I pulled them all down. I had an idea, but it needed development. The people in the Maze were no longer going to be suicide victims.
I knew the change would be hard since the idea permeated not only the characters' backstories, but every idea I had moving forward for future characters. It was mentioned in conversation popping up now and then throughout the story especially when doubts of one's place were expressed. The prologue and first couple chapters of book 1 required a complete overhaul since it dealt exclusively with what happened and what led the character to commit the act.
Once those chapters were redone, I had to reread everything to catch every single reference to suicide made everywhere along with modifying methods taken, reasons given, etc. Three main characters meant three backstories needed heavy modification to still lead them to the Maze in a dramatic way, but revised so that the backstory still worked in context and had a satisfying conclusion without its original ending.
At the time of this post, I have completely reread book 1, and I've done multiple searches for key words in book 2 to locate discussions of suicide and backstories.
The bottom line here is that suicide isn't a joke. It isn't some method an author should use to track characters into a story when there are better ways of doing it. It's ok to talk about it. It's ok to build a story that deals with it. But my stories didn't do that. Instead, I used it flippantly as a method to get things rollings before forgetting all about it and moving on. when it happens, people don't just forget about it. It affects everyone in a wide circle like those ripples in the water.
The victim in 2017 was part of a musical group. They spent a lot of time together. His section was hit the hardest because they knew him the best. My youngest wasn't in the marching band at that point, but she plays the same instrument, so when she heard what he played, she was impacted even though she didn't know him. Musicians stick together. When I meet another trombone player, it's akin to fraternity brothers from different chapters meeting. Instant bond. So not knowing him, she felt like she lost a member of her section family. This rippled out through the band who lost one of their own, and a band as a whole is a family. They spend a lot of time together and know each other across the sections. As a parent and an alumnus of the band, I was dumbfounded as well. I know how close everyone gets, and even with his band family so close and having music be a part of his life, he still did what he did.
I had to make a change. I could not have that element be an integral part of entering my story. I could not risk this series be any kind of success and let people know that the way to get in is to try to kill yourself and hope for the best. That's something I could not live with. People are very impressionable. They wait for their letter from Hogwarts. They try to use the Force. They watch the skies for Superman. They wonder if their car is really a car or changes into a robot at night. They drive on deserted roads hoping to be abducted by aliens. They wait for the Doctor and the Tardis. I couldn't be the guy whose entry on that list was: and they throw themselves from bridges hoping to get picked up by the Maze. No. That would not be my legacy.
So now, if you've read the first book of the Maze, you'll find a new prologue. It doesn't start on a rooftop but inside an apartment. Michelle is still depressed, but instead of jumping to her death, she is making do with drinking away her troubles and watching the ceiling fan spin. Instead of a mysterious "matter transporter" to snap her away, the elevator we know and love opens up in her living room, its light blasting through the gloom to invite her to enter it. It is no spoiler to say she does though it's fair to say that with as much as she had to drink, she thought she was hallucinating until she woke up in a new place with new people and a new adventure ahead of her.
If you've read my books before, thank you so much for your support, and if you haven't, welcome to my worlds. The Maze will be re-released over the next couple of months culminating in the long awaited seventh book in the series, originally slated for November 2017 before life imploded. Thanks and enjoy.
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Limbo
Greetings out there. If you have looked at Amazon recently, you may notice that the Fempiror and Maze books are not currently available for purchase. This is because of the relaunch effort that is going on behind the scenes. Amazon will still bring these up in search results, but any opportunity to purchase them right now is somehow coming from third party sellers, who are likely trying to print them from Createspace and collecting some kind of intermediary profit. Well, it isn't possible to attain them at all right now, and I know for sure that unless someone bought one of the very, very copies that ever sold, there is no way to get one at this time. You'll never see those old covers for sale again.
In a few weeks, the rerelease will come and there will be new covers, but the content of the previously released books will be the same. Well, mostly. There will be some typo correction and I shuffled something around in Fempiror 1, but it's the same stuff.
After that... Ah, after that. How about Fempiror 5? Or Maze 2 and beyond? Yup, I'm writing like a maniac, and this time, I'm following through. More to follow, but for now, don't get scalped on my books.
In a few weeks, the rerelease will come and there will be new covers, but the content of the previously released books will be the same. Well, mostly. There will be some typo correction and I shuffled something around in Fempiror 1, but it's the same stuff.
After that... Ah, after that. How about Fempiror 5? Or Maze 2 and beyond? Yup, I'm writing like a maniac, and this time, I'm following through. More to follow, but for now, don't get scalped on my books.
Thursday, July 13, 2017
It's Gonna Be The Future Soon
Big changes are coming. After eight years of sitting quietly on Amazon, I'm going to pull five of my books, give them a new cover, revisit their titles, and give them a fresh release. Every two weeks one of these will be hitting the store, but that's not all.I have felt a rebirth on the writing side, and I've been writing every day. This has resulted in half a Fempiror novel in the last week, and I hope to finish over the next one. I have a 2nd Maze book finished already, and I plan to complete them in time to hit between the Fempiror novels of the same numerical designations. Once Fempiror 5 is complete, I will write a couple Maze books before doing Fempiror 6. From there, I plan to alternate writing Fempiror and Maze series books as fast as possible so that there is never a lack for these stories.
Fempiror, as a reminder, is my story of genetically altered warriors from the past who live a very long time and have some sweet tech as a result. They play with the vampire tropes without ever crossing into vampire territory which adds an element of interest to this very heavily fantasy influenced series.
The Maze, by contrast, is mostly straight-up sci-fi, but it's all about time travel. Three people live in something they only know as the Maze that drops them at various points in history across the universe to complete something. They just don't know what. It has some significant differences from Doctor Who, but enough in common that fans of the BBC series will enjoy it.
I'll be creating a mailing list fairly soon, so perhaps you'll want to sign up for that to get more updates as they occur. Stay tuned.
Fempiror, as a reminder, is my story of genetically altered warriors from the past who live a very long time and have some sweet tech as a result. They play with the vampire tropes without ever crossing into vampire territory which adds an element of interest to this very heavily fantasy influenced series.
The Maze, by contrast, is mostly straight-up sci-fi, but it's all about time travel. Three people live in something they only know as the Maze that drops them at various points in history across the universe to complete something. They just don't know what. It has some significant differences from Doctor Who, but enough in common that fans of the BBC series will enjoy it.
I'll be creating a mailing list fairly soon, so perhaps you'll want to sign up for that to get more updates as they occur. Stay tuned.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Unusual words
Being a writer, I like a wide variety of words, and over the years, I've amassed quite a few words that have some specific meanings that English doesn't have a word for. Some of these I've pulled from other languages, some were swiped from a couple of articles on Cracked.com about words, but I figured I'd share them all right here today.
grevaldor (noun) - (pronounced grev-ALL-door) a parent who has experienced the death of a child. A person who has lost a child. Based on the Old French grever which is the root word for grieve and Old English ealdor for parent.
prepone (verb) - to rescheduled something to occur prior to its previously scheduled time. The opposite of postpone.
stinn (noun) - a person who is standing in a stationary position blocking whatever it is you need to do for no discernable reason. This most often applies to two people talking in front of a sink or water cooler without actually using those items. Sentences: "I needed to refill my water, but I couldn't make the stinn move." "The stinns were blind to the world talking football in front of the restroom door, so I figured I'd just go upstairs."
prax (noun) - Anyone trying to sneak more than the posted maximum allowed items in an express lane at a grocery store. "It clearly says 10 items or less, and that prax has 15."
prax (verb) - the act of taking more than the posted maximum allowed item in an express lane at a grocery store. "You'll never be able to prax with that many items." Future sign at an express lane: "No Praxing"
drevend (noun) - an item you want to deal with or accomplish at some point, but probably never will. Usually part of a list of other, similar items. "He ranked reading the Bible with the other drevends in his life." "As they searched through his effects, one drevend after another revealed itself." "The 1001 movies you must watch before you die is more of a list of drevends than something anyone might actually do."
neech (noun) - An inevitable, obvious, and often childish, comeback or notion (that may or may not be clever) that someone (who clearly thinks they are clever) felt they had to say eventually about a subject. "I had to concede to the neech that yes, Queen of Hearts does sound like Queen of Farts." "Yes, I have heard the neech that the Retardis was the slower second version of the Tardis."
requiz (verb) - 1. to ask the same question over and over again. 2. to ask an incessant number of questions past the point of logical understanding of the subject. requizzer (noun) someone who requizzes. "The new person has requizzed me so many times, I'm not sure they'll understand." "How many times can we requiz this subject?" "I try to steer clear of requizzers. Too much time lost."
probochondriac (noun) - someone who has the same problem over and over again. "This probochondriac has managed to break their PC a dozen times this week."
Slacosphere (noun) - 1. a region consisting of a cluster of non-productive people, aka slackers. "Henderson works up on the 17th floor in the slacosphere with the rest of those boneheads." 2. a room designed for the sole purpose of avoiding productivity. "Have a seat on the comfy couch and check out my new 84" flatscreen, the centerpiece of my slacosphere."
rollaction (noun), rollact (verb) - the literal eye roll or reaction your wife gives when you do those weird little things she loves about you that she rolls her eyes at every time. "Tell that joke she's heard before? She rollacts as expected."
backashan - a beautiful girl, as long as she is viewed from behind. Similar to butterface, as in everything about her its hot but her face. Etymology: from Japanese Bakku-Shan
stairway comeback - when you think if the perfect verbal comeback...much too late - Etymology: Espirit d'escalier (French)
Lapinye - a look between two people that suggests a shared, unspoken desire - Etymology: Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan)
Backfang - a person with a face badly in need of a fist. As in smug or not knowing when not to say something stupid or embarrassing - Etymology: Backpfeifengesicht (German)
Nunchi - the art of not becoming a backfang (backpfeifengesicht). As in knowing when not to say something to get punched. - Etymology: Nunchi (Korean)
Shlematzle - someone who had nothing but bad luck - Etymology: Shlimazl (Yiddish)
Tatamay & honay (ta-ta-may & hoe-nay) - what you pretend to believe and what you actually believe, respectively. - Etymology: Tatemae & honne (Japanese)
Malareach - when people interrupt you at meal time - Etymology: Sgiomlaireachd (Scottish gaelic)
Tingo - to borrow from a friend until he has nothing left - Etymology: Tingo (Pascuense)
macgyver - to pull a MacGyver. The art of slapping together a solution to a problem at the last minute with no advanced planning and no resources. - Etymology: Desenrascanco (Portuguese)
Shemojam - to eat past the point if being full just because the food tastes good. Lit. I accidentally ate the whole thing - Etymology: Shemomedjamo (Georgian)
sad-weight - excess weight gained from emotional overeating. - Etymology: Kummerspeck (German) Lit. Grief bacon
Kikamore - a teenager or 20 something who has withdrawn from society, often obsessed with TV and video games. - Etymology: Hikikomori (Japanese)
Nomborshule - an answer that is unrelated to the question. ex. to give a nomborshule. - Etymology: Gadrii nombor shulen jongu (Tibetan) Lit. Giving a green answer to a blue question
dorcheck - to go outside to check if an expected visitor has arrived, over and over again. - Etymology: Iktsuarpok (Inuit)
Kail - an ugly miserable woman who yells obscenities at her kids - Etymology: Kaelling (Danish)
snidebow - a building (often little our no value to the proprietor) constructed with the sole purpose of harassing or inconveniencing his neighbor in some way. - Etymology: Neidbau (German) Lit. Envy building
grammar nazi - a person who believes it is their destiny to stamp out all spelling and punctuation mistakes at the cost of popularity, self-esteem, and mental well-being. Etymology: Pilkunnussija (Finnish) Lit. Comma Fuckers
==
Butterface - A person, usually a girl, who is beautiful everywhere except in the face.
Lie-chiatrist - An unqualifie person who diagnoses themselves with a mental illness that they don't actually have, for the sole purpose of using it as an easy go-to excuse for their irresponsible behavior.
Gasterval - the period between when a relationship starts and when you first openly fart in front of your partner
Bleakfast - the first meal of the day, consisting of cold leftover from the night before
Intelliduh - stupid actions or words by an otherwise intelligent person
slocking - a popular online pastime best known for being cruise control for cool (having something to do with CAPS LOCK)
zeitgaffe - a cultural reference that is sufficiently inaccurate or outdated to demonstrate that the make of the reference is out of touch with, or separate from, the prevailing group
malamorous - Of a villain in a work, being appealing to fans despite being the antagonist of the work, often because of handsome appearance or justifiable motivation
Friendstipation - the inability to poop when somebody you know might hear
Necroliker - someone who likes a post on Facebook about the loss of a loved one.
Xacuate - The process of attempting to rapidly close a web page before it can be seen by someone else.
Gamacho - The undeserved sense of grandeur and arrogance an individual gets at winning a video game, often making the game miserable for other players.
Wikinius - a person who claims to be an expert in a cetain topic when it's clear they've only read the wikipedia entry on it.
Factoidiot (fack-TOID-ee-uht) - 1. a person who (often incorrectly) quotes a movie or TV show they've never seen. 2. A person who repeats a bit of trivia and knows nothing else about the subject.
yammertia - The resistance of a tiresome, one-sided conversation to any change in its state of motion
apostraphy - The phenomenon of losing supporters in an Internet argument due to the inability to express oneself in proper grammar, orthography, and punctuation.
obstacolleague - a co-worker whose inability to work well (or work at all) forces you to neglect your own duties - so you can fix their mess.
Meeternity - 1. An unproductive business meeting that feels as if it will never end. 2. A string of pointless meetings that last all day halting productivity.
Malaproboner - an inappropriate or inopportune erection of the penis
Consterpation - 1. a long, painful conversation in which every word in a struggle to get out. 2. an awkward dialogue characterized by long pauses and uncomfortable silences.
McRibocrite - a person who complains about how disgusting fast food is, but eats it anyway.
Camoufanning - turning on a bathroom fan to muffle pooping noises
Interawktion - a moment wherein you and a person you've just met share an uncomfortable silence because you've shared something overly weird and/or personal
Soapbombing - deliberately steering all conversations towards one particular issue about which you are very outspoken.
cinefalsity - the spontaneous act of lying to someone about seeing a movie or TV show when you know you haven't.
qui-goner - a character who you always knew was going to die, right from the first scene.
Eleventurer - a master of one-upmanship. the person given to articulating the details of his possessions and his accomplishments deemed to be superior to any you might mention: his higer horsepower, more megapixels, better concert seats, longer workout, etc.
Moistery - inexplicable dampness
keyjam - the dirt, grime, and gunk found in between the keys of a keyboard
lactease - to place any size container of milk back in a refrigerator with only a half fluid ounce remaining at the bottom.
viewgling - intentional search of the internet for plot points and spoilers of movies, so you never again have to hear people gasp when you tell them that you haven't seen Godfather II.
greatsgusting - you knew it was disgusting, but you ate it anyway. And it was delicious.
ninjestrians - people dressed in dark clothing walking along unlighted roads at night
sortamatopoeia - a word for something that doesn't make a sound, but if it did, would sound exactly like that word. ex. bling, slink, glisten
======
"Farpotshket" (Yiddish) - Something that was a little bit broken ... until you tried to fix it. Now it's totally screwed.
"Yaourt" (French) - To sing along in nonsensical noises that vaguely resemble the lyrics of a song.
"Attaccabottoni" (Italian) - A person who corners you to tell you long, meaningless stories, usually about his oh-so-miserable life.
"Epibreren" (Dutch) - Pretending that you're doing something super important, while in reality you're being super lazy.
"Soare cu Dinti" (Romanian) - Weather that looks great until you actually step out in it. Specifically, a beautiful sunny but frigid day.
"Utepils" (Norwegian) - That first beer you drink outside when the weather finally turns warm.
"Drachenfutter" (German) - A gift a man gives to his wife to apologize when he's done something stupid (typically staying out way too late).
"Tartle" (Scots) - The momentary consternation you feel when you go to introduce someone and realize that you've forgotten his or her name. Can also function as a verb.
grevaldor (noun) - (pronounced grev-ALL-door) a parent who has experienced the death of a child. A person who has lost a child. Based on the Old French grever which is the root word for grieve and Old English ealdor for parent.
prepone (verb) - to rescheduled something to occur prior to its previously scheduled time. The opposite of postpone.
stinn (noun) - a person who is standing in a stationary position blocking whatever it is you need to do for no discernable reason. This most often applies to two people talking in front of a sink or water cooler without actually using those items. Sentences: "I needed to refill my water, but I couldn't make the stinn move." "The stinns were blind to the world talking football in front of the restroom door, so I figured I'd just go upstairs."
prax (noun) - Anyone trying to sneak more than the posted maximum allowed items in an express lane at a grocery store. "It clearly says 10 items or less, and that prax has 15."
prax (verb) - the act of taking more than the posted maximum allowed item in an express lane at a grocery store. "You'll never be able to prax with that many items." Future sign at an express lane: "No Praxing"
drevend (noun) - an item you want to deal with or accomplish at some point, but probably never will. Usually part of a list of other, similar items. "He ranked reading the Bible with the other drevends in his life." "As they searched through his effects, one drevend after another revealed itself." "The 1001 movies you must watch before you die is more of a list of drevends than something anyone might actually do."
neech (noun) - An inevitable, obvious, and often childish, comeback or notion (that may or may not be clever) that someone (who clearly thinks they are clever) felt they had to say eventually about a subject. "I had to concede to the neech that yes, Queen of Hearts does sound like Queen of Farts." "Yes, I have heard the neech that the Retardis was the slower second version of the Tardis."
requiz (verb) - 1. to ask the same question over and over again. 2. to ask an incessant number of questions past the point of logical understanding of the subject. requizzer (noun) someone who requizzes. "The new person has requizzed me so many times, I'm not sure they'll understand." "How many times can we requiz this subject?" "I try to steer clear of requizzers. Too much time lost."
probochondriac (noun) - someone who has the same problem over and over again. "This probochondriac has managed to break their PC a dozen times this week."
Slacosphere (noun) - 1. a region consisting of a cluster of non-productive people, aka slackers. "Henderson works up on the 17th floor in the slacosphere with the rest of those boneheads." 2. a room designed for the sole purpose of avoiding productivity. "Have a seat on the comfy couch and check out my new 84" flatscreen, the centerpiece of my slacosphere."
rollaction (noun), rollact (verb) - the literal eye roll or reaction your wife gives when you do those weird little things she loves about you that she rolls her eyes at every time. "Tell that joke she's heard before? She rollacts as expected."
backashan - a beautiful girl, as long as she is viewed from behind. Similar to butterface, as in everything about her its hot but her face. Etymology: from Japanese Bakku-Shan
stairway comeback - when you think if the perfect verbal comeback...much too late - Etymology: Espirit d'escalier (French)
Lapinye - a look between two people that suggests a shared, unspoken desire - Etymology: Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan)
Backfang - a person with a face badly in need of a fist. As in smug or not knowing when not to say something stupid or embarrassing - Etymology: Backpfeifengesicht (German)
Nunchi - the art of not becoming a backfang (backpfeifengesicht). As in knowing when not to say something to get punched. - Etymology: Nunchi (Korean)
Shlematzle - someone who had nothing but bad luck - Etymology: Shlimazl (Yiddish)
Tatamay & honay (ta-ta-may & hoe-nay) - what you pretend to believe and what you actually believe, respectively. - Etymology: Tatemae & honne (Japanese)
Malareach - when people interrupt you at meal time - Etymology: Sgiomlaireachd (Scottish gaelic)
Tingo - to borrow from a friend until he has nothing left - Etymology: Tingo (Pascuense)
macgyver - to pull a MacGyver. The art of slapping together a solution to a problem at the last minute with no advanced planning and no resources. - Etymology: Desenrascanco (Portuguese)
Shemojam - to eat past the point if being full just because the food tastes good. Lit. I accidentally ate the whole thing - Etymology: Shemomedjamo (Georgian)
sad-weight - excess weight gained from emotional overeating. - Etymology: Kummerspeck (German) Lit. Grief bacon
Kikamore - a teenager or 20 something who has withdrawn from society, often obsessed with TV and video games. - Etymology: Hikikomori (Japanese)
Nomborshule - an answer that is unrelated to the question. ex. to give a nomborshule. - Etymology: Gadrii nombor shulen jongu (Tibetan) Lit. Giving a green answer to a blue question
dorcheck - to go outside to check if an expected visitor has arrived, over and over again. - Etymology: Iktsuarpok (Inuit)
Kail - an ugly miserable woman who yells obscenities at her kids - Etymology: Kaelling (Danish)
snidebow - a building (often little our no value to the proprietor) constructed with the sole purpose of harassing or inconveniencing his neighbor in some way. - Etymology: Neidbau (German) Lit. Envy building
grammar nazi - a person who believes it is their destiny to stamp out all spelling and punctuation mistakes at the cost of popularity, self-esteem, and mental well-being. Etymology: Pilkunnussija (Finnish) Lit. Comma Fuckers
==
Butterface - A person, usually a girl, who is beautiful everywhere except in the face.
Lie-chiatrist - An unqualifie person who diagnoses themselves with a mental illness that they don't actually have, for the sole purpose of using it as an easy go-to excuse for their irresponsible behavior.
Gasterval - the period between when a relationship starts and when you first openly fart in front of your partner
Bleakfast - the first meal of the day, consisting of cold leftover from the night before
Intelliduh - stupid actions or words by an otherwise intelligent person
slocking - a popular online pastime best known for being cruise control for cool (having something to do with CAPS LOCK)
zeitgaffe - a cultural reference that is sufficiently inaccurate or outdated to demonstrate that the make of the reference is out of touch with, or separate from, the prevailing group
malamorous - Of a villain in a work, being appealing to fans despite being the antagonist of the work, often because of handsome appearance or justifiable motivation
Friendstipation - the inability to poop when somebody you know might hear
Necroliker - someone who likes a post on Facebook about the loss of a loved one.
Xacuate - The process of attempting to rapidly close a web page before it can be seen by someone else.
Gamacho - The undeserved sense of grandeur and arrogance an individual gets at winning a video game, often making the game miserable for other players.
Wikinius - a person who claims to be an expert in a cetain topic when it's clear they've only read the wikipedia entry on it.
Factoidiot (fack-TOID-ee-uht) - 1. a person who (often incorrectly) quotes a movie or TV show they've never seen. 2. A person who repeats a bit of trivia and knows nothing else about the subject.
yammertia - The resistance of a tiresome, one-sided conversation to any change in its state of motion
apostraphy - The phenomenon of losing supporters in an Internet argument due to the inability to express oneself in proper grammar, orthography, and punctuation.
obstacolleague - a co-worker whose inability to work well (or work at all) forces you to neglect your own duties - so you can fix their mess.
Meeternity - 1. An unproductive business meeting that feels as if it will never end. 2. A string of pointless meetings that last all day halting productivity.
Malaproboner - an inappropriate or inopportune erection of the penis
Consterpation - 1. a long, painful conversation in which every word in a struggle to get out. 2. an awkward dialogue characterized by long pauses and uncomfortable silences.
McRibocrite - a person who complains about how disgusting fast food is, but eats it anyway.
Camoufanning - turning on a bathroom fan to muffle pooping noises
Interawktion - a moment wherein you and a person you've just met share an uncomfortable silence because you've shared something overly weird and/or personal
Soapbombing - deliberately steering all conversations towards one particular issue about which you are very outspoken.
cinefalsity - the spontaneous act of lying to someone about seeing a movie or TV show when you know you haven't.
qui-goner - a character who you always knew was going to die, right from the first scene.
Eleventurer - a master of one-upmanship. the person given to articulating the details of his possessions and his accomplishments deemed to be superior to any you might mention: his higer horsepower, more megapixels, better concert seats, longer workout, etc.
Moistery - inexplicable dampness
keyjam - the dirt, grime, and gunk found in between the keys of a keyboard
lactease - to place any size container of milk back in a refrigerator with only a half fluid ounce remaining at the bottom.
viewgling - intentional search of the internet for plot points and spoilers of movies, so you never again have to hear people gasp when you tell them that you haven't seen Godfather II.
greatsgusting - you knew it was disgusting, but you ate it anyway. And it was delicious.
ninjestrians - people dressed in dark clothing walking along unlighted roads at night
sortamatopoeia - a word for something that doesn't make a sound, but if it did, would sound exactly like that word. ex. bling, slink, glisten
======
"Farpotshket" (Yiddish) - Something that was a little bit broken ... until you tried to fix it. Now it's totally screwed.
"Yaourt" (French) - To sing along in nonsensical noises that vaguely resemble the lyrics of a song.
"Attaccabottoni" (Italian) - A person who corners you to tell you long, meaningless stories, usually about his oh-so-miserable life.
"Epibreren" (Dutch) - Pretending that you're doing something super important, while in reality you're being super lazy.
"Soare cu Dinti" (Romanian) - Weather that looks great until you actually step out in it. Specifically, a beautiful sunny but frigid day.
"Utepils" (Norwegian) - That first beer you drink outside when the weather finally turns warm.
"Drachenfutter" (German) - A gift a man gives to his wife to apologize when he's done something stupid (typically staying out way too late).
"Tartle" (Scots) - The momentary consternation you feel when you go to introduce someone and realize that you've forgotten his or her name. Can also function as a verb.
Monday, August 8, 2016
August 8 Update
Due to a variety of happenings, I've not gotten further through the next Fempiror or Maze books. I did get The Maze 2 over a hump where it had been stuck for awhile, and currently, it is quite tense. The problem has been finding the time to write. Rest assured that I am not abandoning either of these projects, nor are they "on hold." I will complete them when I can. At the moment, I have having trouble making the time.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Maze and Fempiror Updates
So it is time for me to come clean and let everyone know how things are going here. I'm finally getting back into the swing of things, and honestly, making myself tell the world how it is standing is a big help. It sort of adds some accountability to the whole thing.
I have been primarily working on The Modern Fempiror story, which presently sits at 28,000 words, so not much better than the last update. I mean, a little progress is better than none at all, but it is no where near where I had hoped, and it definitely won't be done in two weeks.
I've been breaking this up with the Maze 2, and I had a fantastically focused session of writing taking the story up to 39,000 words at this point. I have a feeling this one might settle between 40,000 and 50,000 words, and while that seems short, that is actually where I wanted it to be since the idea behind the Maze was shorter stories kind of like a serial novel series. For those who like page counts better, 40,000 words works out to around 160 pages while 50,000 works out to around 200. The first Narnia book, by comparison, was only 32,000.
So it is coming along, and I'll be closing out the Maze 2 fairly shortly. Here's the rub on that one, however. I wrote it sporadically over the course of a couple of years, and returning to it recently., I had to look up most of the names to even know who was who. So, I expect a good amount of time revising it.
I would expect Fempiror to be done quicker because its story has been done for years. I'm just translating it into a novel. So, very little revision will be necessary. I'll be sure to keep you updated frequently. I know once a week would be great, so we'll see.
I have been primarily working on The Modern Fempiror story, which presently sits at 28,000 words, so not much better than the last update. I mean, a little progress is better than none at all, but it is no where near where I had hoped, and it definitely won't be done in two weeks.
I've been breaking this up with the Maze 2, and I had a fantastically focused session of writing taking the story up to 39,000 words at this point. I have a feeling this one might settle between 40,000 and 50,000 words, and while that seems short, that is actually where I wanted it to be since the idea behind the Maze was shorter stories kind of like a serial novel series. For those who like page counts better, 40,000 words works out to around 160 pages while 50,000 works out to around 200. The first Narnia book, by comparison, was only 32,000.
So it is coming along, and I'll be closing out the Maze 2 fairly shortly. Here's the rub on that one, however. I wrote it sporadically over the course of a couple of years, and returning to it recently., I had to look up most of the names to even know who was who. So, I expect a good amount of time revising it.
I would expect Fempiror to be done quicker because its story has been done for years. I'm just translating it into a novel. So, very little revision will be necessary. I'll be sure to keep you updated frequently. I know once a week would be great, so we'll see.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Status Update
Plans get made. Plans get upended. You want to do something and decide it will be done a certain way. This is immediately followed by all hell breaking loose. If I had a few weeks similar to the time when I was procrastinating, then I would be further along, but instead, I had a few weeks of "how much can go wrong?" Of course, one can now point out the hours of videos I have posted of my playing video games on YouTube during that time, and I'll nod sheepishly
So what has gone on to be so time consuming? Well, I moved my website to a different provider which took a bit of doing, and I also redesigned it. I'm in the process, to put it more accurately. It's kind of all there, but more work to be done.
I also had to switch out a computer which involved backing stuff up, uninstalling, and then reinstalling what I had.
I also changed out my garbage disposal last weekend and built a shelf two weekends ago . That was fun...sort of. The weekend before that, I had to, shall we say, shore up my chimney after we discovered a massive hole in the side of the woodwork. It's been non-stop.
To be fair, I do a lot of different things, and juggling it is a bit tricky. Tonight, for example, I will be conducting my modest orchestra and I really need to arrange some music for next month. It take time to arrange music. That will take away from writing.
At the end of it all, I intended to have a first draft by Friday, but instead, I'm at 24,000 words. It's a bit short of a full book, and not much past where I was on my last report. I don't know what to promise by Friday. I really want to hit a conservative 40,000, if I can, but I fear that may be asking too much of myself given my history.
I guess we'll see what happens.
So what has gone on to be so time consuming? Well, I moved my website to a different provider which took a bit of doing, and I also redesigned it. I'm in the process, to put it more accurately. It's kind of all there, but more work to be done.
I also had to switch out a computer which involved backing stuff up, uninstalling, and then reinstalling what I had.
I also changed out my garbage disposal last weekend and built a shelf two weekends ago . That was fun...sort of. The weekend before that, I had to, shall we say, shore up my chimney after we discovered a massive hole in the side of the woodwork. It's been non-stop.
To be fair, I do a lot of different things, and juggling it is a bit tricky. Tonight, for example, I will be conducting my modest orchestra and I really need to arrange some music for next month. It take time to arrange music. That will take away from writing.
At the end of it all, I intended to have a first draft by Friday, but instead, I'm at 24,000 words. It's a bit short of a full book, and not much past where I was on my last report. I don't know what to promise by Friday. I really want to hit a conservative 40,000, if I can, but I fear that may be asking too much of myself given my history.
I guess we'll see what happens.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Next Fempiror Status
Last week was not a good week for writing anything. It sounds like an excuse, but when it comes to the previous weeks of my life when I just wasn't writing anything, I could at least say I was choosing to do something else. Last week was a bit of a mess. I did get in a few thousand words, so I'm up to 18,000 at this point. I'm shooting for at least 60,000.
I also find that I'm moving through my source material a lot quicker than I anticipated. I'm just shy of halfway through, which will definitely make me come up short if I don't find some untold story in there to fill it out. I'm not talking about fluff. I'm talking about something relevant that will enhance the story that is already there. I'm starting with what amounts to a script for a TV show on this one, so it is intended to move quickly from point to point, but in a book, while you want brevity and movement, you also have the time to tell a story more completely.
This is akin to what I did with the third book and the backstory of Vladimir. That whole 17th century sequence was not in the original screenplay. I recognized that it would be good to back up a few steps and tell a second story that filled out Vladimir's backstory, and in doing so, I expanded the size of the book from a bit short to the longest one to that point.
That's what I'm looking for in this one. I mean, there is a significant untold story in there, but I have to decide which of the untold stories are good for right now, and which should be saved for later. We are dealing with 2004 in this one, and David is in the United States. We do have the untold story of how he arrived, but I sort of wanted to do that as its own tale...if there is enough there to make it so. There are quite a few other characters in this new series, so tangents with any of them are more than possible. I just have to see which ones best fit the overall story arc of the moment.
I also find that I'm moving through my source material a lot quicker than I anticipated. I'm just shy of halfway through, which will definitely make me come up short if I don't find some untold story in there to fill it out. I'm not talking about fluff. I'm talking about something relevant that will enhance the story that is already there. I'm starting with what amounts to a script for a TV show on this one, so it is intended to move quickly from point to point, but in a book, while you want brevity and movement, you also have the time to tell a story more completely.
This is akin to what I did with the third book and the backstory of Vladimir. That whole 17th century sequence was not in the original screenplay. I recognized that it would be good to back up a few steps and tell a second story that filled out Vladimir's backstory, and in doing so, I expanded the size of the book from a bit short to the longest one to that point.
That's what I'm looking for in this one. I mean, there is a significant untold story in there, but I have to decide which of the untold stories are good for right now, and which should be saved for later. We are dealing with 2004 in this one, and David is in the United States. We do have the untold story of how he arrived, but I sort of wanted to do that as its own tale...if there is enough there to make it so. There are quite a few other characters in this new series, so tangents with any of them are more than possible. I just have to see which ones best fit the overall story arc of the moment.
Friday, June 17, 2016
The Armor of Belial
The third of my present writing endeavors is unrelated to the others...well, except that I wrote it while procrastinating on Fempiror 4. Fempiror 4 procrastination was really good to me. I'm glad it's written, but I did a lot while avoiding it.
So what is this about? Well, originally, it was an exercise in screenwriting. I took a screenwriting book that had a screenwriting template, and I decided to follow it to the letter to see how a screenplay would turn out while using it. It turned out to be very good. Of my own works, this is one of my favorite stories. So naturally, while searching for something to procrastinate on Maze 2 with, this came up.
On some other planet in some other time, a ruler has his workers searching for an ancient artifact. Not ancient, really, but just somewhat old and really powerful, of course. Well, he never said what it was, and his minions should have been keeping an eye on the workers because one of them found it, and accidentally activated it for his own purposes. His own purposes being to use it against the bad guy, of course. Well, the bad guy doesn't much appreciate it and takes advantage of the fact that the guy has a family.
It's a big sci-fi adventure story where the good guy gets support along the way in a quest to the bad guy's stronghold to take him down while fighting against this Armor of Belial that he has come into the possession of. Some cool characters and some great drama in there along with a fair amount of imagination and clever stuff going on. I admit to being partially inspired by a video game, but that's another topic entirely.
Date for release? Well, I really should concentrate on the other two, but this one keeps drawing me in. To be fair, I've only barely started it, so I'll put it in the third place of October 1.
So there you go. At least three new books for Christmas, though I want to get through more. I've been complacent here, and I need to write.
Whatever happens, if I fail to meet those deadlines, I'll have some bad excuse as to why, and you're not obligated to accept any of them.
So what is this about? Well, originally, it was an exercise in screenwriting. I took a screenwriting book that had a screenwriting template, and I decided to follow it to the letter to see how a screenplay would turn out while using it. It turned out to be very good. Of my own works, this is one of my favorite stories. So naturally, while searching for something to procrastinate on Maze 2 with, this came up.
On some other planet in some other time, a ruler has his workers searching for an ancient artifact. Not ancient, really, but just somewhat old and really powerful, of course. Well, he never said what it was, and his minions should have been keeping an eye on the workers because one of them found it, and accidentally activated it for his own purposes. His own purposes being to use it against the bad guy, of course. Well, the bad guy doesn't much appreciate it and takes advantage of the fact that the guy has a family.
It's a big sci-fi adventure story where the good guy gets support along the way in a quest to the bad guy's stronghold to take him down while fighting against this Armor of Belial that he has come into the possession of. Some cool characters and some great drama in there along with a fair amount of imagination and clever stuff going on. I admit to being partially inspired by a video game, but that's another topic entirely.
Date for release? Well, I really should concentrate on the other two, but this one keeps drawing me in. To be fair, I've only barely started it, so I'll put it in the third place of October 1.
So there you go. At least three new books for Christmas, though I want to get through more. I've been complacent here, and I need to write.
Whatever happens, if I fail to meet those deadlines, I'll have some bad excuse as to why, and you're not obligated to accept any of them.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
The Kursas
So if you know me, you know that the fourth Fempiror book took forever. While I wasn't writing that, I was procrastinating as only an author can: by writing a completely different book. Not just a different book, in this case, but I conceived of an entirely different series (that my wife prefers over Fempiror). This series is The Maze.
What is the Maze? Well, imagine if you actually got to the point of following through on suicide. I mean, that's as bad as it gets. For the record, I never have, so I can't say I know, but I have a vivid imagination. Well, there are people out there who have "almost" committed suicide, but they turned it around at the last minute.
In The Maze, these people followed through and instead of dying, they were transported into another location where they are tasked with going to different worlds in different times to complete some unknown task. When they've finished what they've come to do, they are eventually allowed to go home with a better perspective on life, starting back where they left off.
The first Maze book introduced us to this concept as well as showing us that they get around time and space in an elevator that opens a portal to another world, and they get randomly picked up when they're "done," whenever that is. Thus far, no one in the Maze story is actually controlling where they go, not even the one who is designated as the "Guide." The Guide is some kind of sentient consciousness that hangs out in the head of one of the Maze inhabitants, storing the knowledge they pick up as they go along.
Book one took us to a city on a planet in the distant future where some experiment had set everyone "out of phase." After the quest took them to the brink of losing everything, they were able to go back to the Maze hub, for lack of a better term, to wait for the next adventure. It also teased stories to come since time travel in The Maze universe is a series of fixed points meaning that they've already done what they're going to do, so they discovered they're part of a past event that they haven't experienced yet.
Book two takes our travelers to another planet in another time that has some unwanted visitors. A race of people resembling lizards, or dragons, has besieged a planet looking for a device that was in the cargo bay of one of their own ships that crashed decades earlier. These lizard people are called Kursas, and we find their interstellar military are some mean people. So it's up to Blake, Michelle, and Perry to sort out what this device is and get the Kursas off the planet without wiping out the local populace.
When do I want to finish this one? Well, it's the most precarious of the three. The Fempiror one is based on an existing teleplay, so it's outlined to the end already. The other one is also based on an existing screenplay, so I know where it is going. I am now about 35,000 words into this Maze book, so I should have a ways to go. I'll give myself till September 1 to finish writing it, revise it, and put it out there. Hopefully, I don't regret that. I actually wanted them to be a little quicker than that, so here's hoping.
What is the Maze? Well, imagine if you actually got to the point of following through on suicide. I mean, that's as bad as it gets. For the record, I never have, so I can't say I know, but I have a vivid imagination. Well, there are people out there who have "almost" committed suicide, but they turned it around at the last minute.
In The Maze, these people followed through and instead of dying, they were transported into another location where they are tasked with going to different worlds in different times to complete some unknown task. When they've finished what they've come to do, they are eventually allowed to go home with a better perspective on life, starting back where they left off.
The first Maze book introduced us to this concept as well as showing us that they get around time and space in an elevator that opens a portal to another world, and they get randomly picked up when they're "done," whenever that is. Thus far, no one in the Maze story is actually controlling where they go, not even the one who is designated as the "Guide." The Guide is some kind of sentient consciousness that hangs out in the head of one of the Maze inhabitants, storing the knowledge they pick up as they go along.
Book one took us to a city on a planet in the distant future where some experiment had set everyone "out of phase." After the quest took them to the brink of losing everything, they were able to go back to the Maze hub, for lack of a better term, to wait for the next adventure. It also teased stories to come since time travel in The Maze universe is a series of fixed points meaning that they've already done what they're going to do, so they discovered they're part of a past event that they haven't experienced yet.
Book two takes our travelers to another planet in another time that has some unwanted visitors. A race of people resembling lizards, or dragons, has besieged a planet looking for a device that was in the cargo bay of one of their own ships that crashed decades earlier. These lizard people are called Kursas, and we find their interstellar military are some mean people. So it's up to Blake, Michelle, and Perry to sort out what this device is and get the Kursas off the planet without wiping out the local populace.
When do I want to finish this one? Well, it's the most precarious of the three. The Fempiror one is based on an existing teleplay, so it's outlined to the end already. The other one is also based on an existing screenplay, so I know where it is going. I am now about 35,000 words into this Maze book, so I should have a ways to go. I'll give myself till September 1 to finish writing it, revise it, and put it out there. Hopefully, I don't regret that. I actually wanted them to be a little quicker than that, so here's hoping.
Monday, June 13, 2016
It's a Birthday
You know, my birthday was on June 5. It was last week. I didn't post anything because I'm getting back into blogging. Also, 41 is a non-event. 40 is bigger, but that was last year, and who wants to talk about last year?
Today is actually my oldest daughter's birthday. She's 17, and that's more significant than 41. At 17, you can finally go to R-rated movies by yourself.
Not that she's vying to do this, really. I mean, movie ratings are there to let you know about the content of a film as it relates to children, and honestly, once I was an adult, I stopped paying attention to ratings entirely until I had children. Even then, they're more or less guidelines. Heck, we accidentally watched an R-rated movie the other day. Who knew the Extended Edition of the third Hobbit movie was rated R? I certainly didn't until it popped up. We watched it anyway, and it was just some violent stuff in it that took it over the edge.
Anyway, happy birthday to my London. Best wishes as she enters her senior year of high school and moves past that to work towards an Astrophysics degree. She likes space that much. And she's going for the doctorate, and is amused by the idea of "Dr. London."
Today is actually my oldest daughter's birthday. She's 17, and that's more significant than 41. At 17, you can finally go to R-rated movies by yourself.
Not that she's vying to do this, really. I mean, movie ratings are there to let you know about the content of a film as it relates to children, and honestly, once I was an adult, I stopped paying attention to ratings entirely until I had children. Even then, they're more or less guidelines. Heck, we accidentally watched an R-rated movie the other day. Who knew the Extended Edition of the third Hobbit movie was rated R? I certainly didn't until it popped up. We watched it anyway, and it was just some violent stuff in it that took it over the edge.
Anyway, happy birthday to my London. Best wishes as she enters her senior year of high school and moves past that to work towards an Astrophysics degree. She likes space that much. And she's going for the doctorate, and is amused by the idea of "Dr. London."
Friday, June 10, 2016
The Modern Fempiror Chronicles
I don't know if that series title will stick or if it'll just the "The Fempiror Chronicles" with another number. When I started The Fempiror Chronicles, the intent was never to attach numbers to them because I designed the series to be very fluid and with the ability to plug stories into the gaps. In fact, I have an idea for a storyline to fit between books one and two involving Beth. If you've read them, them you'll think that's a cool idea. If you haven't, seriously, you should be reading that instead of this...no, finish this first, and then read that.
Anyway, I had once envisioned sorting out the series order by cracking open the front cover to check the date or by assigned a date number for the core story to the spine instead of a flat out 1, 2, etc. So book 1 would actually be 177506, book 2 would be 178510, book 3 would be 181902, book 4 would be 188808 or 188906 (I'm kind of on the fence), and book 5 would be 200410. I use book 5 very loosely because I had another idea which would have a number of maybe 191005. Of course, the trouble with this numbering system is that it only has the month, meaning I'd have to drill down to the day for the Beth story idea since it would start as 177506 is ending, meaning that it is also 177506. I'd have to go through the whole idea and make the numbers 8 digits instead.
I digress.
You want to know about the one I'm actually writing. The 200410 story. Yes, that does mean the date on the story is October 2004. Non-spoiler answers since I'm dealing with an established series here. Is David Taylor still in it? Yes. Is he a major character? Yes. Is he the main character? Hm. Here's the thing. This particular aspect of the Fempiror storyline was written as a bit of procrastination from writing the fourth screenplay (at the time), and it was written as a virtual series. This means there are many characters to follow, and it keeps going after this one is over.
This is a reason I'm considering a different series name, but it is also still The Fempiror Chronicles. It's also why I'm considering the date based numbering system. It could get really confusing really quickly.
Anyway, that's the first book on my writing desk. The Modern Fempiror Chronicles, or The Fempiror Chronicles: The Modern Era. Not sure yet. But the book title, itself, departs from the "This of the That" title format, and is just called "Lost and Found."
Probably.
Date? Well, this one should go quick since it's based on an existing teleplay (or three, depending on length). Let's say August 1, and I'll really try to fulfill that or have a good excuse if I don't.
Anyway, I had once envisioned sorting out the series order by cracking open the front cover to check the date or by assigned a date number for the core story to the spine instead of a flat out 1, 2, etc. So book 1 would actually be 177506, book 2 would be 178510, book 3 would be 181902, book 4 would be 188808 or 188906 (I'm kind of on the fence), and book 5 would be 200410. I use book 5 very loosely because I had another idea which would have a number of maybe 191005. Of course, the trouble with this numbering system is that it only has the month, meaning I'd have to drill down to the day for the Beth story idea since it would start as 177506 is ending, meaning that it is also 177506. I'd have to go through the whole idea and make the numbers 8 digits instead.
I digress.
You want to know about the one I'm actually writing. The 200410 story. Yes, that does mean the date on the story is October 2004. Non-spoiler answers since I'm dealing with an established series here. Is David Taylor still in it? Yes. Is he a major character? Yes. Is he the main character? Hm. Here's the thing. This particular aspect of the Fempiror storyline was written as a bit of procrastination from writing the fourth screenplay (at the time), and it was written as a virtual series. This means there are many characters to follow, and it keeps going after this one is over.
This is a reason I'm considering a different series name, but it is also still The Fempiror Chronicles. It's also why I'm considering the date based numbering system. It could get really confusing really quickly.
Anyway, that's the first book on my writing desk. The Modern Fempiror Chronicles, or The Fempiror Chronicles: The Modern Era. Not sure yet. But the book title, itself, departs from the "This of the That" title format, and is just called "Lost and Found."
Probably.
Date? Well, this one should go quick since it's based on an existing teleplay (or three, depending on length). Let's say August 1, and I'll really try to fulfill that or have a good excuse if I don't.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Three New Books In Process
Next on our agenda of up and coming books from yours truly finds me working on three of them simultaneously. I want to apologize for being so aloof on writing more. It took an eternity to get from Fempiror 3 to 4, and now, I have this Maze thing out there as a series promise and only one book in it. Anyone with half a brain will tell you that one story does not make a series. If you put up a TV series with one episode, you'd be sent home packing. Can I get away with calling it a pilot?
Anyway, the point here is that in the coming days, I'll be talking about the books I'm working on right now, and do I dare project a completion date for any of them? It would be wise, actually, so I'll have a date to hold myself to. Three makes it a bit more complicated, but it's not as bad as it might seem.
Just gotta, you know, be responsible here.
So the preview for the coming books is this: more Fempiror, more Maze, and something else. Stay tuned.
Anyway, the point here is that in the coming days, I'll be talking about the books I'm working on right now, and do I dare project a completion date for any of them? It would be wise, actually, so I'll have a date to hold myself to. Three makes it a bit more complicated, but it's not as bad as it might seem.
Just gotta, you know, be responsible here.
So the preview for the coming books is this: more Fempiror, more Maze, and something else. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Print and Digital
So there is always the question of distribution when it comes to books, since a book isn't worth much if no one reads it. I started out with Createspace back when it charged you an extra $40 a year to knock the price down a little and make more off the sales. Now, Createspace doesn't charge anything for the same service, so I save a bunch a year now that I have seven books up. Those paperbacks are all available on Amazon and of course, on Createspace's site.
But digital distribution is another question. One struggle was whether to make the books Amazon exclusives through the KDP Select program or to make them globally available in nearly every eBook store know to mankind through Smashwords. For a little bit, I had them on KDP, but I finally decided to kill the select and go everywhere. Select has some advantages, to be sure, but I'm not sure they outweigh the overall bonus of global distribution in nearly every ebook store out there.
So if you have a Kindle, you can still buy it. If you have a Nook, you can get it. If you want to shop the Apple store, you can get it. If you have any random eReader from about anywhere, you can read it. That's the advantage of global. I do miss out on per page reads, but that is only for those in the Kindle Unlimited program or Prime people who own actual Kindles. It is actually very restrictive. I also miss out on the Kindle Countdown deals program which was good for a bit. Still, the global distribution for eBooks is far better.
So the transition is happening now. Grab the paperbacks always because they'll outlast all of us. But if you have an eReader of any kind, in a couple weeks, you can read it no matter what brand it is,
But digital distribution is another question. One struggle was whether to make the books Amazon exclusives through the KDP Select program or to make them globally available in nearly every eBook store know to mankind through Smashwords. For a little bit, I had them on KDP, but I finally decided to kill the select and go everywhere. Select has some advantages, to be sure, but I'm not sure they outweigh the overall bonus of global distribution in nearly every ebook store out there.
So if you have a Kindle, you can still buy it. If you have a Nook, you can get it. If you want to shop the Apple store, you can get it. If you have any random eReader from about anywhere, you can read it. That's the advantage of global. I do miss out on per page reads, but that is only for those in the Kindle Unlimited program or Prime people who own actual Kindles. It is actually very restrictive. I also miss out on the Kindle Countdown deals program which was good for a bit. Still, the global distribution for eBooks is far better.
So the transition is happening now. Grab the paperbacks always because they'll outlast all of us. But if you have an eReader of any kind, in a couple weeks, you can read it no matter what brand it is,
Friday, June 3, 2016
Vengeance
The first screenplay I ever wrote was a slasher called Vengeance that changed a lot over its life cycle. Basically, I was learning to write something new, and through lots of feedback, the script and story changed into what it is now. I novelized that script, and it is presently available as a Kindle book. Once I get the cover I have in my head completed, I'll release a print version as well.
While it began life as a slasher, it turned into something much better, and the novelization takes it one step further by painting some pretty decent characters and ensuring that the heartstrings are played at least a little anytime one of them meets an untimely end. It still possesses some tropes of the slasher genre, and the end does indicate a sequel (though I'll need to reconstruct it as I lost that draft when I accidentally reformatted the hard drive it lived on).
But overall, I think the novel turned out better than the script, and while someone did option the script once, it came to nothing as these things often do. I do hope you enjoy the book though.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Looking Forward
This is a new beginning. On here, I'll try to be short and relevant. Give single topics of interest to you who might follow what I'm doing, but not overwhelm you with tons of info on a single post. After all, we all have better things to do. I have better things to write, and you have better things to read.
The last post on this blog was in 2011. That's a long time ago and a lot has changed. The idea for many projects has fallen by the wayside and I primarily focus on writing books at this point. I have seven books on Amazon now of a variety of genres. Four of them are of the Fempiror Chronicles, one is anew series called The Maze, and the other two are sort of one-offs. Well, one says "to be continued...'' but we'll see.
All of my books are available to purchase on the Kindle as well as being available to borrow with the Kindle Unlimited subscription service. In fact, for the foreseeable future, I plan on making all of my books available through this Kindle Unlimited, so a subscription to that is like unlimited future reads of whatever I write. I'm not sure if that's motivation or not.
After completing the fourth Fempiror book, I'm turning my focus to The Maze, primarily, but I have ideas for others as well. I would like to increase my book output considerably, if I can, but I know that means focusing more time on it. You know, instead of focusing time on other things...like video games and Facebook.
So in the spirit of keeping this short and relevant, this is where I'll end this. knock on wood, I'll use this blog for short, relevant posts related to bigger things as opposed to lengthy rants about politics, religion, and the way of the world. Seriously, that's what the books are for.
The last post on this blog was in 2011. That's a long time ago and a lot has changed. The idea for many projects has fallen by the wayside and I primarily focus on writing books at this point. I have seven books on Amazon now of a variety of genres. Four of them are of the Fempiror Chronicles, one is anew series called The Maze, and the other two are sort of one-offs. Well, one says "to be continued...'' but we'll see.
All of my books are available to purchase on the Kindle as well as being available to borrow with the Kindle Unlimited subscription service. In fact, for the foreseeable future, I plan on making all of my books available through this Kindle Unlimited, so a subscription to that is like unlimited future reads of whatever I write. I'm not sure if that's motivation or not.
After completing the fourth Fempiror book, I'm turning my focus to The Maze, primarily, but I have ideas for others as well. I would like to increase my book output considerably, if I can, but I know that means focusing more time on it. You know, instead of focusing time on other things...like video games and Facebook.
So in the spirit of keeping this short and relevant, this is where I'll end this. knock on wood, I'll use this blog for short, relevant posts related to bigger things as opposed to lengthy rants about politics, religion, and the way of the world. Seriously, that's what the books are for.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Plans for 2011
So we have a new year upon us, and I figure it's a good time to look at my long range plans and see where I actually stand. I wanted to have produced another feature or two by now, I had planned to complete another novel as well, and I wanted to also have completed one of my concept recordings at least. Well, as life tends to go, I got very little of that done.
If I weigh out what I could realistically complete, I have the following ideas:
1. I recently finished the first draft of the 3rd Fempiror book, so I could have that one in the bag in a few months.
2. My two favorite low budget features are Alien Proof and Inexplicable. I want to start working on Inexplicable first since it requires no digital effects for any part of it. Alien Proof is Sci-Fi, so I at least need some kind of spaceship effect along with either a way to fake my way around a spaceship set or an actual set. Bit more of a budget there, but the script is hilarious.
3. I always want to do something album related, but I'm not sure of the best way yet. I could probably record 100% of it myself, and if I limit myself to 10-12 songs, it might be more doable than the concept album.
4. Beyond the 3rd Fempiror book, I have other stories I want to write. One is a sci-fi epic along a completely different vein from Fempiror called The Armor of Belial, but it's also only one book. Like Fempiror, it's a screenplay I wrote, but the budget on that one would be so high that without an existing novel, no one would ever make it. I figure once I have the 3rd Fempiror book done, I'll write that one while I'm working out the story for the 4th Fempiror. I also have a series of children's books in my head, but I'll either need to work out my art skills or have someone else good at art to illustrate.
Such are the plans. I want to be more active in updating this blog with actual progress, which means I have to make actual progress.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Status Update
It's been several months since I've posted and I thought it would be fair to post an update as to where we stand. The One Night soundtrack is at a complete standstill partly due to time and partly due to no female singer. All attempts to solicit a female singer have met with failure leading me to believe that maybe now isn't the time for this.
I'm wanting to temporarily move on to another feature in the hopes that maybe I'll run into someone who can sing who knows someone else interested in completing this One Night project with me. I would really like to complete it in the near future. It should never have taken this long. That seems to be my mantra, doesn't it?
For a feature, I've got Inexplicable on the brain as well as two others: one is called Alien Proof which is a comedy I'd done with some Australians a few years back and another is incomplete for the moment, but is an Amnesia thriller. I've been writing it specifically to utilize locations that I should be able to easily get. It's about halfway done, but since I'm writing it under part of a challenge, there's a due date of September 7 (I think) to adhere to. Therefore, it will be done in a couple of weeks. So with three features sitting right there, I'm seriously considering doing more than one at a time. We'll see...
The only other thing is the third Fempiror book, and I've been dreadfully slow at getting it written. I'm on Chapter 3, which is slow considering how quickly I had the first draft of book two done. Need to work on it.
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