Kyle Michel Sullivan's Blog: https://www.myirishnovel.com/, page 240
February 10, 2015
"Blood Angel" returns to the fore...
An agent wants to read BA to see about representing me. Sort of came out of nowhere...though I guess I might have contacted them, once upon a time and they just took a while to get back to me. Anyway, it nudged me into reworking the ending with an idea I once had for it. I don't expect much from this, but you never know.
It's funny, but the ending of BA is totally different from what I thought it would be when the story first came to me. Initially, I was going to set it in St. Louis and do a play on the legend of Tristan and Isolde. Not Wagner's version but the earlier stories that influenced the idea of Lancelot and Guinevere in the Arthurian stories...albeit with a tragic end. Tristan would die and Gabrielle would let herself be destroyed by walking into the sunrise.
Hmm...maybe more Wagner-esque than I'm willing to admit.
But the story never would sit right. I tried New Orleans but that was too Anne Rice-ish. I considered LA's Latino Jazz scene, with Tristan being a cool cat with a horn...but that wasn't it, either. Neither was Miami and the Caribbean rhythm. Then Katrina slammed into New Orleans, and the vultures came out to pick on the bones of the dying city...and I found my way in.
The script's done well in competitions -- winning or placing well in nearly a dozen. But it's not a vampires are cool story, nor is it Buffy... redux. It's got some serious sex in it, and is borderline non-PC thanks to Dmitriy, Gabrielle's vampire companion, being gay and vicious. I've got another gay character in it to mitigate that, but it's still pretty harsh.
What's harsher is Gabrielle and her plan to seduce Tristan into becoming like her, even though it means giving up everything he loves. Including his music. Their encounters are as erotic as you can get without it being porno. I used Almodovar's Matador as my guideline, there.
I worked my ass off to get this script going. Blew several thousand dollars of my 401K money. Went to Austin's Film Festival and networked and did seminars and workshops...hell, I paid to have a budget worked up and business plan developed to show how it could make a good bit of cash. Did storyboards for a couple scenes. I was even pimping Jonathan Togo and Christina Ricci as possible leads, to give people the visuals (emphasis on possible, since I hadn't made contact with either one of them). But it didn't fit any ready-made niches, and so it didn't fly. I guess. That, or I really seriously suck at selling anything.
I may make it into a book...I dunno. I'll see what happens with this agent. But it's low on the priority list, right now. I want to finish OT and The Alice 65 and Bugzters and Underground Guy before I focus on that.
Still, thinking about it makes me sad...because I know it would've been a good, sexy film.
It's funny, but the ending of BA is totally different from what I thought it would be when the story first came to me. Initially, I was going to set it in St. Louis and do a play on the legend of Tristan and Isolde. Not Wagner's version but the earlier stories that influenced the idea of Lancelot and Guinevere in the Arthurian stories...albeit with a tragic end. Tristan would die and Gabrielle would let herself be destroyed by walking into the sunrise.
Hmm...maybe more Wagner-esque than I'm willing to admit.
But the story never would sit right. I tried New Orleans but that was too Anne Rice-ish. I considered LA's Latino Jazz scene, with Tristan being a cool cat with a horn...but that wasn't it, either. Neither was Miami and the Caribbean rhythm. Then Katrina slammed into New Orleans, and the vultures came out to pick on the bones of the dying city...and I found my way in.
The script's done well in competitions -- winning or placing well in nearly a dozen. But it's not a vampires are cool story, nor is it Buffy... redux. It's got some serious sex in it, and is borderline non-PC thanks to Dmitriy, Gabrielle's vampire companion, being gay and vicious. I've got another gay character in it to mitigate that, but it's still pretty harsh.
What's harsher is Gabrielle and her plan to seduce Tristan into becoming like her, even though it means giving up everything he loves. Including his music. Their encounters are as erotic as you can get without it being porno. I used Almodovar's Matador as my guideline, there.
I worked my ass off to get this script going. Blew several thousand dollars of my 401K money. Went to Austin's Film Festival and networked and did seminars and workshops...hell, I paid to have a budget worked up and business plan developed to show how it could make a good bit of cash. Did storyboards for a couple scenes. I was even pimping Jonathan Togo and Christina Ricci as possible leads, to give people the visuals (emphasis on possible, since I hadn't made contact with either one of them). But it didn't fit any ready-made niches, and so it didn't fly. I guess. That, or I really seriously suck at selling anything.I may make it into a book...I dunno. I'll see what happens with this agent. But it's low on the priority list, right now. I want to finish OT and The Alice 65 and Bugzters and Underground Guy before I focus on that.
Still, thinking about it makes me sad...because I know it would've been a good, sexy film.
February 9, 2015
Green water...
Seems the water in Miami has a hint of a green tint to it. Dunno what the cause is, but it's one more reason never to use tap water, anywhere. Especially when it's not simple and clear. Make you sicker than sick...even if all you do is brush your teeth in it.
It's weird, but Miami feels like another country. It's warm and humid and has the kind of rain that comes straight down and is warm, like Houston, Honolulu, and Bangkok. I got nicely soaked just walking from the warehouse to my car. Fortunately, I realized long ago that I won't melt, no matter how much like the wicked witch of the west I behave.
I didn't do any sight-seeing. The city does not really interest me. The downtown area reminds me of Matamoros, Mexico, down by Brownsville. Tight streets smelling of piss and garbage. I guess I could have hopped over to South Beach, again, but why? I've been there and wasn't all that impressed. I guess I'd feel different if I were into clubbing, but I stopped that years ago.
Instead I went back to Fort Lauderdale's silly airport and had a late lunch, then worked on OT till time for my flight. I'm redoing the last 100 pages, again...and again until I feel they do the job. This is where everything comes together and it needs to be understood. Who knows if it works, but still...I'm working at it.
Next week is a day trip to Dayton, then the week after is Lisbon. Then who knows what's next?
Not me, that's fer dang shure...
It's weird, but Miami feels like another country. It's warm and humid and has the kind of rain that comes straight down and is warm, like Houston, Honolulu, and Bangkok. I got nicely soaked just walking from the warehouse to my car. Fortunately, I realized long ago that I won't melt, no matter how much like the wicked witch of the west I behave.
I didn't do any sight-seeing. The city does not really interest me. The downtown area reminds me of Matamoros, Mexico, down by Brownsville. Tight streets smelling of piss and garbage. I guess I could have hopped over to South Beach, again, but why? I've been there and wasn't all that impressed. I guess I'd feel different if I were into clubbing, but I stopped that years ago.
Instead I went back to Fort Lauderdale's silly airport and had a late lunch, then worked on OT till time for my flight. I'm redoing the last 100 pages, again...and again until I feel they do the job. This is where everything comes together and it needs to be understood. Who knows if it works, but still...I'm working at it.
Next week is a day trip to Dayton, then the week after is Lisbon. Then who knows what's next?
Not me, that's fer dang shure...
February 8, 2015
Miami
Reminds me of Bangkok and Hong Kong, for some reason. Maybe it's the narrow downtown streets. Or the 7/11 every block or so -- 7/11s that do NOT sell DR. Pepper!!!!!! AAAAIIIIGHH! Or the heat in the middle of winter. Or the junky shops and off-beat restaurants. I dunno. It's just a mess.
Of course, I haven't had much chance to see anything, yet. I spent nearly 2 hours on the 95 South to go 2 miles; 4 out of 5 lanes were closed, for some reason, and the crews were taking everything apart when I finally got to the blockage point. So I got to the job just in time. That's what I get for staying in Fort Lauderdale overnight...albeit for free.
I got more work done on OT, at least. The killer is set, and seems to get away with it. In a way. Jake's not out for justice; he's out to end the situation, so he gets to be as hard-assed and sneaky as his father. He also confronts some of his own demons -- like some of the things he did in prison in order to survive, things that eat at him.
Jake's got his flaws and attitudes, but I like how he's turning out. He's a complex creature, once I'd love to know. And he's crazy as hell. The big reveal happens while he's stoned out of his mind and giggling through it all...god, I hope that works. I figure one more pass to make sure I haven't contradicted myself or lost the thread of the story, in any way, then it's begging for feedback.
More snow in Buffalo...how nice...
Of course, I haven't had much chance to see anything, yet. I spent nearly 2 hours on the 95 South to go 2 miles; 4 out of 5 lanes were closed, for some reason, and the crews were taking everything apart when I finally got to the blockage point. So I got to the job just in time. That's what I get for staying in Fort Lauderdale overnight...albeit for free.
I got more work done on OT, at least. The killer is set, and seems to get away with it. In a way. Jake's not out for justice; he's out to end the situation, so he gets to be as hard-assed and sneaky as his father. He also confronts some of his own demons -- like some of the things he did in prison in order to survive, things that eat at him.
Jake's got his flaws and attitudes, but I like how he's turning out. He's a complex creature, once I'd love to know. And he's crazy as hell. The big reveal happens while he's stoned out of his mind and giggling through it all...god, I hope that works. I figure one more pass to make sure I haven't contradicted myself or lost the thread of the story, in any way, then it's begging for feedback.
More snow in Buffalo...how nice...
February 7, 2015
Russell Tovey being adorable
I don't know what show this is from, but I have to share it -- he's so damned cute...
This will probably wind up as an Adam & Casey moment in The Alice '65.
This will probably wind up as an Adam & Casey moment in The Alice '65.
Decision time...
The problem with most authors isn't procrastination (though that is a serious issue, at times); it's making up your mind. You get a story going, get the characters to work with you on it, listen to their suggestions and input, start honing the story...and then suddenly you're faced with the reality that once it's done, it's done and you fall into the trap of, "Am I making the right choices here?" "Am I going too far or have I become lost in obscurity?" "Am I hearing things right from my characters?"
I mean, I know that's the way it works for me. Because I rarely know what's going to be in the story before I start it. I have a vague idea and a folder filled with notes of possibilities, but nothing solid except in the back of my scrambled brain.
I've heard of authors who outline the story beforehand and then everything else is fitted to it. I can't work like that; it bores me. I've tried, and I lose interest about halfway through. Granted, it makes for chaos in my mind as I write, and a lot of wasted effort, I suppose, since I wind up with hundreds of pages that get tossed aside...like with OT when it started solidifying itself...though many of those are due to my tendency towards Hollywood-style melodrama, something Jake is not about to let me get away with.
I cannot think of a story I've written (that I like how it turned out) where I've done a full outline, first. I think the closest I came was Find Ray T, and that was just a quickie list of things I wanted in the script. Plus I was buzzed when I did the first draft of it, so that was probably a good thing to do in order to keep my loopiness on target. Same for Blood Angel. It wasn't till Katrina that I was able to find a way into that story...and then it all but wrote itself...including an ending that goes against the grain of romance.
I usually just dive into the story once I have the characters and let it build from there. Such is the life of this author. But somehow it seems to work out. When I started writing HTRASG, I was fairly certain the ending would be tragic, but in what way or with which character dying was beyond me. Then the whole thing swooped into Curt protecting Shayes after destroying him. Totally unplanned...but it made for a much better ending, and it really messes people up. I've had reviews on GoodReads for that book where they can't believe they felt pity or concern for a man who is, essentially, a serial rapist. Made me very proud.
With OT, I was trying to avoid the obvious and repetitive, as regards who the killer is, but I couldn't weasel around it in a way that made sense. So...I changed it back and just hope it works. All I can say now is, it fits. And it's brutal. And I have no idea why it went that way. But it is what it is.
Whether or not it looks good is yet to be told.[image error]
I mean, I know that's the way it works for me. Because I rarely know what's going to be in the story before I start it. I have a vague idea and a folder filled with notes of possibilities, but nothing solid except in the back of my scrambled brain.
I've heard of authors who outline the story beforehand and then everything else is fitted to it. I can't work like that; it bores me. I've tried, and I lose interest about halfway through. Granted, it makes for chaos in my mind as I write, and a lot of wasted effort, I suppose, since I wind up with hundreds of pages that get tossed aside...like with OT when it started solidifying itself...though many of those are due to my tendency towards Hollywood-style melodrama, something Jake is not about to let me get away with.
I cannot think of a story I've written (that I like how it turned out) where I've done a full outline, first. I think the closest I came was Find Ray T, and that was just a quickie list of things I wanted in the script. Plus I was buzzed when I did the first draft of it, so that was probably a good thing to do in order to keep my loopiness on target. Same for Blood Angel. It wasn't till Katrina that I was able to find a way into that story...and then it all but wrote itself...including an ending that goes against the grain of romance.
I usually just dive into the story once I have the characters and let it build from there. Such is the life of this author. But somehow it seems to work out. When I started writing HTRASG, I was fairly certain the ending would be tragic, but in what way or with which character dying was beyond me. Then the whole thing swooped into Curt protecting Shayes after destroying him. Totally unplanned...but it made for a much better ending, and it really messes people up. I've had reviews on GoodReads for that book where they can't believe they felt pity or concern for a man who is, essentially, a serial rapist. Made me very proud.
With OT, I was trying to avoid the obvious and repetitive, as regards who the killer is, but I couldn't weasel around it in a way that made sense. So...I changed it back and just hope it works. All I can say now is, it fits. And it's brutal. And I have no idea why it went that way. But it is what it is.
Whether or not it looks good is yet to be told.[image error]
February 6, 2015
ARGH!!! As Charlie Brown would say...
OT just changed the killer on me, again. And it's irritating as hell because I don't know what works, anymore. If this one's right or that one or even if the direction it's going is correct. Maddening, is this creative process...because half the time you're wondering if you're creating crap instead of magic.
I'll have to decide. I can't keep bouncing around like this. It's just I know that something's wrong somewhere in the story, since it's being so indecisive, and I've no idea what that is, yet. I do know the final chapter is pretty tight and right. It's the two before that making my life hell.
I'm headed down to Miami, tomorrow. Since the weather's so cold and snowy, and going to get more-so on Sunday, I decided to not take the chance of my 7:45 am flight being cancelled and head down on a day early. I've got points enough to get a hotel room at La Quinta, and I was already into a car for 2 days, and Jet Blue let me change without a penalty due to concerns about the weather. So I spend some of Sunday in Fort Lauderdale and have a nice easy drive down to the venue, on Sunday.
I hope. I can just see this going completely wrong, like my Hong Kong flight, did. But then again, maybe I'll have time to visit Rodiney Santiago...
That's be fun...
I'll have to decide. I can't keep bouncing around like this. It's just I know that something's wrong somewhere in the story, since it's being so indecisive, and I've no idea what that is, yet. I do know the final chapter is pretty tight and right. It's the two before that making my life hell.
I'm headed down to Miami, tomorrow. Since the weather's so cold and snowy, and going to get more-so on Sunday, I decided to not take the chance of my 7:45 am flight being cancelled and head down on a day early. I've got points enough to get a hotel room at La Quinta, and I was already into a car for 2 days, and Jet Blue let me change without a penalty due to concerns about the weather. So I spend some of Sunday in Fort Lauderdale and have a nice easy drive down to the venue, on Sunday.
I hope. I can just see this going completely wrong, like my Hong Kong flight, did. But then again, maybe I'll have time to visit Rodiney Santiago...
That's be fun...
February 4, 2015
Run, run, run...
Spent the last couple of days running around trying to see friends while I'm still here. Damn, they live all over the place. But I did get to have a good Indian meal with my good buddy, Brad Rushing, Adam Lima and Sharon Rushing. Then I saw my German actors friends, Thure and Patricia Riefenstein for a little while and then had dinner with Karl & Carrie Armstrong. That's all I had time for, dammit.
I'm headed home on a noon plane, tomorrow, and I don't want to go. Buffalo's just a place to stay, right now; it'll never be home, not like LA. Even after driving from Torrance to Ontario to return some things on behalf of the company, and then from there to Topanga, in the middle of evening rush hour, I still felt right at home.
Oh well...at least Buffalo's cheap to live in. And Niagara Falls and Toronto are not far away.
I'll work more on OT en route home, tomorrow. I've kept myself close to NY time while out here, so that won't be so bad Friday morning. And I'm almost done with Cipro so I can start having tea, again.
Small pleasures for a small person who ain't so small... [image error]
I'm headed home on a noon plane, tomorrow, and I don't want to go. Buffalo's just a place to stay, right now; it'll never be home, not like LA. Even after driving from Torrance to Ontario to return some things on behalf of the company, and then from there to Topanga, in the middle of evening rush hour, I still felt right at home.
Oh well...at least Buffalo's cheap to live in. And Niagara Falls and Toronto are not far away.
I'll work more on OT en route home, tomorrow. I've kept myself close to NY time while out here, so that won't be so bad Friday morning. And I'm almost done with Cipro so I can start having tea, again.
Small pleasures for a small person who ain't so small... [image error]
February 2, 2015
Maybe I gots my model for Jake...
I heard from Jordan; he's open to me using his face on the cover of OT. I sent him some possibles to see if he's okay with those...and if the photographer is. that'll be the next fun step -- finding out how much this will cost.
I really like this image of him, by Jean Quelquejeu.
I lightened it up a bit so I could see the line of it; it's really dark and coppery and amazingly hot. But none of this guy's photos had him in a shirt, and I don't wan to distract from what the story is about by suggesting it's an erotic novel. There really isn't much sex in it.
This photo by A Olivier is nice for positioning, and there's one in suspenders that can be made to look like he's in a shirt, but I can't do anything about the beard. Jake's got a goatee, and that is that. Besides, I think Jordan looks best with that kind of facial hair.
So...I found a number of others on his portfolio that are good. This boy's been busy. It's them big, brown, wary eyes that did it, I bet.
The job went a lot smoother than I thought it would, today. We're almost half done. Wow.
Oh, and on a side note of self-contratulation -- The Cowboy King of Texas is in the Top 100 of the Emerging Screenwriters' Competition. Woo-hoo!!
Now back to our regularly-scheduled bitchin' an moanin'.
I really like this image of him, by Jean Quelquejeu.
I lightened it up a bit so I could see the line of it; it's really dark and coppery and amazingly hot. But none of this guy's photos had him in a shirt, and I don't wan to distract from what the story is about by suggesting it's an erotic novel. There really isn't much sex in it.
This photo by A Olivier is nice for positioning, and there's one in suspenders that can be made to look like he's in a shirt, but I can't do anything about the beard. Jake's got a goatee, and that is that. Besides, I think Jordan looks best with that kind of facial hair.So...I found a number of others on his portfolio that are good. This boy's been busy. It's them big, brown, wary eyes that did it, I bet.
The job went a lot smoother than I thought it would, today. We're almost half done. Wow.
Oh, and on a side note of self-contratulation -- The Cowboy King of Texas is in the Top 100 of the Emerging Screenwriters' Competition. Woo-hoo!!
Now back to our regularly-scheduled bitchin' an moanin'.
February 1, 2015
In LA
Saw the job. It's gonna be hot, nasty and tiring, in a tiny space with no easy access to loading the truck. Ugh. And of course, this being LA the parking's a nightmare. Screw it. What writer doesn't suffer for his art?
Packed planes coming to LAX. I changed in Phoenix, which is normally a simple thing to do. Today, for some reason, Phoenix had fog! FOG! In the desert! I've never heard of such a thing. What's more, it was so thick, we had to circle till it burned off a little, and when we did land, it was hard. Flights were being delayed and cancelled. The terminal was packed. It was crazy.
It was a long flight -- 4.5 hours -- so I got more work done on OT...and I better be careful. This time through the explanation, it made sense to me. I still have the last two chapters to re-re-re-re-work or polish, depending on my mood. And then I'll go through the whole thing , again. If it's still working...
I heard from a French photographer about Jordan, and he asked me to write in English because my French is so crappy. He's right; I really should figure out the time to work on that, again. Mais, je suis un homme imaginaire...
Oh, damn...the people in the room above me are elephants...
Packed planes coming to LAX. I changed in Phoenix, which is normally a simple thing to do. Today, for some reason, Phoenix had fog! FOG! In the desert! I've never heard of such a thing. What's more, it was so thick, we had to circle till it burned off a little, and when we did land, it was hard. Flights were being delayed and cancelled. The terminal was packed. It was crazy.
It was a long flight -- 4.5 hours -- so I got more work done on OT...and I better be careful. This time through the explanation, it made sense to me. I still have the last two chapters to re-re-re-re-work or polish, depending on my mood. And then I'll go through the whole thing , again. If it's still working...
I heard from a French photographer about Jordan, and he asked me to write in English because my French is so crappy. He's right; I really should figure out the time to work on that, again. Mais, je suis un homme imaginaire...
Oh, damn...the people in the room above me are elephants...
January 31, 2015
And another face I'd like...
But probably cannot get. Not for a price I can afford. He goes by Jordan, and he's done work for artists like Exterface and Pierre et Giles. He's been in DNA Magazine. He's got a resume out the azz...but damn, he'd be good...
In some of his images, he has a goatee. And his eyes carry a haunted, wary look that fits. He's in his early 30s, now, but I saw some images of his late 20s -- he's got his own website -- and he's got the profile.
I got more done on OT, today, as I did two weeks' worth of laundry. I reworked the ending to better fit Jake's story, and I can see where to adjust things to illuminate that, even more. One guy who got cut got added back in, and I'm closing in on 118K in wordage. I'm back to hopeful I can get a decent draft done, soon.
Had to stop to pack for tomorrow. My plane's at 7:50am, meaning I have to be at the airport by 6:50, which means I have to get up at 5:45. What's positive is, once I'm in LA, I won't be getting up for work till the equivalent of 10am.
That, I can live with.
In some of his images, he has a goatee. And his eyes carry a haunted, wary look that fits. He's in his early 30s, now, but I saw some images of his late 20s -- he's got his own website -- and he's got the profile.I got more done on OT, today, as I did two weeks' worth of laundry. I reworked the ending to better fit Jake's story, and I can see where to adjust things to illuminate that, even more. One guy who got cut got added back in, and I'm closing in on 118K in wordage. I'm back to hopeful I can get a decent draft done, soon.
Had to stop to pack for tomorrow. My plane's at 7:50am, meaning I have to be at the airport by 6:50, which means I have to get up at 5:45. What's positive is, once I'm in LA, I won't be getting up for work till the equivalent of 10am.
That, I can live with.
