M.L.S. Weech's Blog, page 14

Announcing the 2021 M.L.S. Weech October Book Cover of the Month! November’s Contest is Moving Along

BRIEF SHOUTOUT: Hazel is still out and doing well. If you haven’t checked out my new graphic novel that I did with Collin Fogel, please consider picking it up.

Greetings All,

We’ve just wrapped up another month of voting as we plod along to the 2021 M.L.S. Weech Book Cover of the Year.

Let’s start by announcing that. The 2021 M.L.S. Weech October Book Cover of the Month is …

You Give Magic A Bad Name beat out three other very good covers. It’s light and detail really help set it apart. I want to congratulate Ty Burson and wish the cover the best of luck in the 2021 Book Cover of the Year poll.

We’re actually close to announcing November’s winner, but we need a few more covers first. The week two winner of November is …

Oldtech by D. Edward had a very nostalgic Robotech kind of feel, and the detail of that figure in the middle is just cool. This cover will join Doormen in the November poll.

You can vote for the next cover right here.

I’d appreciate it if you took a moment to visit my YouTube channel and gave it a like and subscribe. It’s a good way to show support and help get artists and other authors recognition.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Visits From A Man Named Nobody 53

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Sixteen

May 14, 2036, 4:31 p.m. 

14 Years, 202 Days Ago

Paul and Jordan sat talking in the school cafeteria. They’d just done the fourth successful test of the vacuum field. This time, they created the field without any casing. The blue orb formed and maintained its shape just like they hoped, but they didn’t have any idea how to connect one field to the other without running into the same problem they’d been trying to avoid. 

Paul listened to Jordan while he ate a bite of something that was either meatloaf of Salisbury steak. It was warm and filling regardless.

“Why don’t we try forming two fields to start?”

It was a good idea. “We can try that,” Paul replied after swallowing his food. Jordan shoved some food in his mouth while Paul continued. “Let’s do them close together in a large container. That way, if they connect on their own, we minimize risk.”

Jordan nodded. 

“I don’t really think they’ll just randomly connect. I feel like there is something that connects them that we haven’t figured out yet,” Paul said. “But when we test this next phase, we should test various patterns.”

“Like what?” Even with his mouth half full, Jordan could’t help but ask the question.

“We don’t know if the fields generate each other when you pick a destination or not. Do they have to be formed and then connected, or does the destination cause the second field to form?”

Jordan shrugged at Paul’s thoughts. 

“Hey?” 

The word drew Paul’s attention to a young woman who’d somehow managed to walk right up to his left side without him noticing. Then again, when Paul put his focus on anything, he tended to forget everything else. How long had she been standing there?

Even as he pondered the question, he realized he knew her.

“Oh! Hey, Lidia!”

She smiled at him. She had a pretty smile that accented a narrow face. “I think you forgot,” she said.

“Forgot what?” Then it hit him. “OH! Right! Um.” He was supposed to help her study for her test. “Why don’t you sit here?” He moved over to give her room to sit. “Do you have your notes on you? Maybe I can run grab my notes.”

“I have my notes.” She sat down, causing a long black strand of hair to tumble over her eye. “I was just hoping you’d sort of quiz me and tell me if I’m wrong.” 

“Yeah, we can do that,” Paul said.

“We?” Jordan asked. “I was, um, about to go.”

“You don’t have anywhere to be.” Paul said.

Jordan gave him a suffering look. “Can I talk to you over there for a minute?”

“Over there?” Paul asked. “What’s —“

“Just come here,” Jordan said. He sounded like Paul had left all the equipment out and left Jordan to put it away again. 

“We’ll be back,” Paul told Lidia. He still wasn’t sure why they were walking away in the moment.

They made it a few steps away, and Jordan stopped. 

“Why are you leading her on?” Jordan asked.

“What?” Paul replied. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jordan rolled his eyes. “Listen, man. I know you have more experience than me, but isn’t it kind of obvious Lidia thought ‘help me study’ was code for ‘take me out?’”

Paul thought for a second. That couldn’t be right. “She brought her notes though. She just wants to study.”

Jordan rubbed his temples with a thumb and index finger. “She probably just wanted the excuse, especially since it looks like you stood her up.”

“I can’t stand someone up when it wasn’t a date,” Paul said.

“Did you say you’d meet her?”

“Yeah.”

“And you forgot.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Even if it wasn’t a date, you left her hanging, but I think she likes you,” Jordan said.

Paul looked at her. Slender and small, she seemed focused on her books. “Naw.” He drew out the word to accent his doubt. 

“Just because you don’t see how pretty she is doesn’t mean she’s not interested in you,” Jordan said.

“So you think she’s pretty,” Paul said. Ohhh!

“Anyone not named Paul who looks at her for five minutes would see she’s cute, but you’re avoiding her. She sits next to you in two classes and has sat with us for lunch more times than I can remember.”

“And never once asked me out.” Paul said.

“That time she talked about going to the game,” Jordan said. 

“She doesn’t even like basket ball.”

“The new movie that came out,” Jordan said.

“That was the night of Beta Test One.”

“And whenever she asked for help studying?”

“She has finals,” Paul’s voice went up an octave.”

… to be continued …

We Got Some Reviews to Share!

Greetings all,

First, let me please thank you for the reception Hazel has received thus far. Even as I type this, things are looking good. I don’t know if we’ll hit our goal, but things are already going pretty darn well. But I’ll have more on that next week. For now, what I do have are some reviews for Hazel and one for Bob.

Since we only have one for Bob, let’s start with that.

Here’s a five-star review from Cowan on Audible:

What a journey

Such a great book! Felt like a trilogy all wrapped into one book. So much heart put into this book and I can’t wait to get my hands on the other ones. This book has it all and takes you through a full range of emotions. Highly recommend picking this one up!

As for Hazel, well she has two reviews. Check out this four star review and this five star review. Neither of them have a lot of words, but I promise they both have a ton of value. If you’ve read Hazel in some form or another (or any of my books), we’d appreciate a rating and review. Also, if you haven’t tried Hazel out, maybe these reviews will inspire you to check it out.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

The Paperback Version of Hazel Is Now Live

Greetings all,

No review today, sorry about that. The reason there is no review is because I finally have the paperback graphic novel of Hazel out in the world!

You can get your copy right here!

So I’m a man who believes in goals, and I like talking about those goals. I’m asking for your help and, honestly, your money.

I’m hoping you loyal readers are comic fans and know some comic fans. My goals for this book for this week (Oct. 27 – Nov. 2) are: 110 sales and 50 reviews. I can only do that with your support.

Why those numbers? Well, my handy Publisher Rocket tells me that’s the number I need to hit to reach number one. I think that might be electronic sales (meaning the $7.99 ebook), but man, if I sell 110 copies in a week of anything I won’t care what rank I am, I’ll just be stoked.

The 50 reviews is old news. I’d do backflips for 50 reviews on any of my titles. That’s when Amazon starts helping a little bit in terms of visibility. So if I can reach those goals, this product would be easily off to the greatest start any of my products have ever been on.

Are you willing to help me? Do you like comics? Will you buy ours? Will you share this post and link with your friends and get them to read and review it?

It would mean to world to me. If you do, post a comment here so I can thank you.

Regardless, I’m always thankful for your support.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Announcing the Week 1 2021 M.L.S. Weech Book Cover of the Month of November!

Greetings all, the first thing I’d like to do is remind you that the voting for the 2021 M.L.S. Weech Book Cover of the Month of November is still live. You can pick your favorite from the four previous winners. You can do that here.

November is off and running, and I’m happy to announce the winner for week one, which is …

The Doormen by Victor Godinez had great use of color and light. Those concentric circles really do draw the eye in. And each one seems to frame a different scene. This is our first contender for the November 2021 M.L.S. Weech Book Cover of the Month.

You can vote for Week 2’s cover right here.

I’d be very grateful if you took a moment to pop over to my YouTube channel, where you can watch me talk about all seven covers you can vote for this week. If you gave it a like and subscribe (click the bell notification), I’d be elated!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Visits From A Man Named Nobody 52

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The driver helpfully pulled in front of Paul’s dormitory. He stepped out only realizing how exhausted he was as he stretched. He forced himself to make the climb to his room. Each step seemed to be just an inch or so higher than the last. 

He found his floor and started down the hallway, targeting his door like some sort of sleep-deprived missile. He decided to message Jordan and take a sick day just to regain his energy. He was about to do just that when he noticed a note tucked into the crack in his door. 

He almost didn’t reading, supposing it would be Nobody, offering some vague connection that would only give him more to think about, but Nobody’s conversations and messages weren’t typically in public areas. 

That’s why he used his thick fingers pluck the note out and read it. 

“Paul,” It read. The handwriting was Stacy’s. “I never wanted this to happen. I certainly don’t want you to go to prison. Neither does Nathan.”

Paul supposed Nathan was the new boyfriend. He tamped down a surge of anger and resentment, forcing himself to continue reading the letter.

“I admit that it was wrong to cheat on you. I admit that I should have spoken to you or even just broken up with you, but when I’m with you, you’re just so powerful. You’re like some sort of vortex, and anyone near you just sort of gets caught up in whatever you’re doing. I think this can be a wonderful thing, but it’s scary, too. You terrified me tonight.”

And there it was, the condemnation that Paul’s mother refused to give. Just like his father, Paul was a bully. Maybe he was more polite in his posture at times, but deep down, Stacy sensed his rage. Paul shut his eyes, trying to focus his thoughts. How could he get rid of that anger? Hiding it clearly didn’t work. 

“I think you loved having me, but I don’t think you loved me. I know this hurts to hear, and I promise it hurts me to say it. I fell for the man you could be, and I think you can still be that man. I hope you will, at least. We don’t want you to get in trouble. We just want to go our separate ways. If you really want to make up for it, be the man I think you can be. That man is special. Never, EVER, be the man you were tonight again. That man is horrible and frightening. I’m writing this as a letter because I don’t want any electronic trace. Be happy for me. If I’m wrong, and you loved me, please be happy for me. Don’t hate Nathan, appreciate him because he makes me feel loved. Be the man I though you could be. Please.”

There was a curious amount of space before the next portion of the letter.

“I don’t actually know how to end this. I’ve thought about it for an hour. It’s me, Stacy, and I’m pretty sure you already know that. But, just to be sure.”

Paul’s hand trembled. A part of him wanted to crumble it up and burn it, but he couldn’t make his muscles obey the impulse. The letter was a perfect summary about how he’d felt his whole life. And the question terrified him. Even after what he’d done, Stacy was willing to give him a chance to be the man she thought he could be. Who was that man? Was it the same sort of person Bill would have wanted Paul to become? 

Why did everyone seem to think a person could just say, “I want to be this sort of man,” and then suddenly become that man. Did people really become who they set their minds on becoming? Didn’t people just sort of be who they were and others would decide if they were good or bad? Maybe people tried their best, but they just were who they were. 

That was the question Paul didn’t have any answers for. Did he ever really have a choice in who he could be, or was he destined to be just like his father?

He carefully folded the note back up and opened his door as softly as he could. Then he went inside, setting the letter on his study table before falling on his bed, still wearing all his clothes, and falling fast asleep.

… The end of Chapter fifteen …

… To be continued …

The Paperback Edition of Hazel Will (Hopefully) Be Out Next Week!

Greetings all,

Well, I wanted the paperback to be live as you read this, and I actually had this blog set up for that news. However, it wasn’t to be. The paperback got pushed back to me for some very minor (but numerous) corrections. Most of them have to do with the trim and the page size. They really are minor, and I’m confident I’ll be able to make those last changes in a timely manner. So my hope is the paperback will be out before next week. The paperback edition of Hazel’s graphic novel is will be available for $15.99 on Amazon.

It’s just about 90 pages. The price has way more to do with the cost of printing full color pages and trimming it to the right size than anything else. It is thinner than a lot of books, but you’re getting a lot of art for your money. I certainly hope you’ll consider trying it out.

Thank you so much for reading,

Matt

Book Review: Bleach Volume 51 by Tite Kubo

Spoiler free summary: In Volume 51 of Bleach by Tite Kubo, Ichigo Kurosaki is quickly getting the hang of his Fullbring powers, but it’s a race against time as Tsukishima is targeting Ichigo. He’s apparently attacked at least two of his friends, so Ichigo needs to gain more power quickly before he’s too late.

Character: If you can get past the fact that this feels very much like Ichigo’s training as a Visard, you get to know these characters. Yes, the formula is yawn-worthy familiar, but at least you’re getting to know knew people and what drives them. I will say you get to connect with them, and that’s something to this volume’s credit.

Exposition: This was better than the last volume. There’s more action (not in terms of a fight, but in terms of training). So the conversations add to the context, but it’s just about what it would be with any manga, so one has to let that sort of thing go.

Worldbuilding: So we start to understand Fullbring a bit more. Because this feels so much like the Visard arc, even though we’re understanding a different ability, it doesn’t feel unique at all.

Dialogue: There’s some cute dialogue here and there. The characters are unique, but this is generally a strength of the series (even with the exception of the last issue). All manga tend to have those occasional volumes where one character or another explains pretty much the plot of the entire arc. This volume is more witty banter between punches, which is fun if not really content adding.

Description: The art here is cool. It’s not as sweepingly majestic as Demon Slayer, but it is pretty cool to watch. A lot of the moves are more effective for black and white, and that says something for the series.

Overall: This volume is sort of more on track with what I said about the arc overall. Like I mentioned in the character setting, this sequence of events was so formulaically like the Visard arc, it buried what might be great characters. In future arcs, there were some changes and plot development that, even if it is still true to the basic anime patter, give the events an original feel. Not so with this volume. It’s cool in a way, but it’s unoriginal.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Announcing October’s Week 4 Book Cover! Vote for the best of the Month. Vote for November’s Week 1 Cover!

Greetings all,

We’re making our way through the months, and we’ve just found our fourth and final contestant for the October poll.

We don’t do drama in this blog, so let’s get to it.

The winner of October’s Week 4 Book Cover of the Month is …

Unbonded by D.K. Holmberg had great tonality and artistic style. It’s a very cool cover, and I’m glad it made it to the final four.

You can vote for your favorite book cover of all of October right here.

The November contest is also live, and you can vote for Week 1’s cover right here.

I’d be grateful if you stopped by my YouTube channel and gave it a like and subscribe. It really does help a guy out, and it gets these artists and authors some recognition.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Visits From A Man Named Nobody 51

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“That’s a different problem, but repenting before God is only the highest form of repentance. You sought forgiveness from Stacy, which, apparently, she gave, at least to some degree.”

The car continued along the freeway as Paul considered what his mother said. Was that what he was after? He didn’t think so. “I wasn’t after forgiveness, Mom.”

“You were probably trying to be punished because you know what you did was wrong.” Her already normally soft voice was whisper quiet. She was sad about something. It was probably because Paul wanted punishment.

“I think people should pay for what they do,” Paul said. “I think they should get what they deserve.”

“I sincerely hope not,” his mother replied. “I want to give mercy, and I want to receive mercy. I know exactly what I deserve, and that’s why mercy is so wonderful.”

“You deserve to be happy!” The comment came out in a sort of muttered growl.

“And I don’t deserve to be punished for letting your father do what he did to us?” Paul’s head jerked at the question, which came out much more like an accusation.

“You were the victim!”

“And yet I let him do as much to you.”

Paul shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He hadn’t forgotten how he’d treated her as a child. He did whatever he wanted and expected her to let him. Then he got angry at her for giving him exactly what he wanted. It never made any sense. It only got better when he and Jordan became friends. 

“That’s not the same,” Paul said.

“It can’t be both ways, Paul. We either all get everything we deserve, or we all need mercy. But I’m of the opinion that if everyone got exactly what they deserve, we’d all be in a great deal of agony. And before you make some crass extreme counterargument, I acknowledge that some people are far more evil than others, but that’s not my point.”

“There is no one who is good,” Paul said.

“That’s,” she paused in shock. “That’s exactly right. Have you been reading the Bible?”

He’d never even considered telling her before this moment. It never came up. “I read the whole thing around the time he was arrested.” Paul refused to speak his name, and he’d die a million times over before he acknowledged that man as his father. 

Not that it worked. He was literally just like him, and he deserved exactly what that man got. 

A memory flashed in Paul’s mind. It was the night of Nobody’s first visit. The bastard had passed out drunk, and a bottle had tipped over. Paul set it right to be positive the alcoholic wouldn’t trip and hurt himself.

“Paul, are you there?” He’d been years away in the past and hadn’t heard his mother.

“Sorry,” he said. “I zoned out for a second.”

“I was asking why you read the Bible then?” 

That answer would lead to a lot of other questions. Paul had eluded to Nobody once or twice, but he’d never told the whole story. As he thought, he figured he should have lied to his mother, saying he’d read the Bible after he got close to Bill, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie to his mother or about Bill.

“I was looking for answers.” That was at least a part of the truth. “I didn’t find any. I read the whole thing. I think I’ve read it two or three times, but I don’t believe any of it.”

“Because of what happened to Bill.” She said it as gently as she could given her tone, but talking about Bill was always a way to get Paul angry. 

“Yes.” Maybe by being curt, she’d know to change the subject.

“We can’t accept just part of the Word,” she emphasized the capital. “It’s all true. It’s true that he’s sovereign. It’s true that he’s loving. It’s true that he’s the righteous judge, and it’s true that he calls us when it’s our time. We don’t get to pick when, and, to be honest, I don’t know that we’d ever accept the explanation even if he bothered to give it to us.”

“That part is for certain,” Paul muttered. 

“I’m going to ask about this girl now to shift the subject.”

Paul laughed. She could have just done it.

“I’m not doing it because I’m afraid or unwilling to debate or discuss this with you,” she explained. “I doing it because I’m trying to be patient. You’ve been patient, hearing what I’ve had to say. I think any more on this subject would just be an argument neither of us wants.”

“Yeah,” Paul admitted.

“I imagine Stacy is willing to allow you this chance to change,” his mother said. 

“But why? If I’m capable of doing what I did tonight, what else am I capable of?” And there it was. The last part of his question came out in whine of agony. He was a monster. He should be locked up before he hurt anyone. He wouldn’t be sorry if a bolt of lightning struck him down.  He needed to be punished. He needed to be stopped before he became that man.

“We’re all capable of horrible things, Paul,” his mother said. He couldn’t know for certain without activating the holographic feature of his PID, but he thought he heard a smile in her voice. “But you’re every bit as capable of becoming a kind, loving, patient man. If she’s ever willing to talk to you, maybe ask her why she was so willing to give you such precious gift as her own body. Why was she willing to be your girlfriend? I imagine it’s because she saw the man you could be, the other man you could be. I just wish you’d focus on becoming that man instead of avoiding the other.”

Paul glanced out the window as he ran a hand down his face to dry his tears. He caught the exit to his school from the corner of his eye, but he needed to admit something to his mother. “I’m so afraid of being him.”

“But if you focus on him, so that’s your target,” she said. “You have so many better options to focus on.” 

“Bill is the only better option I have, maybe Jordan or his dad,” Paul said. “I don’t know about so many other options.”

“I do,” his mother replied. “You’ve read the Bible. You have Enoch and Noah, Moses and David, the apostles and, most importantly, Jesus.”

“I thought you were changing the subject.” Paul muttered.

“I did, for an entire minute.” She sounded pleased at her quip. “And before you argue about it for the sake of arguing, go back and look at just one of those people. Would it really be so bad to be like them?”

Paul opened his mouth to say, “yes,” but that lie wouldn’t form on his lips either.

“Then there’s Paul,” his mother said. “Now there’s a case I think you could study. You could ask yourself why he called himself the foremost sinner, and yet he was still chosen to be an apostle to the Gentiles.”

Paul didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t either start an argument or get more Bible references. His contemplative moment turned into a period of silence.

“I’ll leave you to think on it now, but I hope you will,” his mother said. “We didn’t name you after the apostle, but you seem to focus on the punishments people deserved. It would do you some good to see the value of what mercy can do.”

“Ok,” Paul said.

“Thank you.”

Wait? Did she take that as a promise to look into it? “Mom —”

“I’m sure you’re near the school now, and you should see if Stacy is willing to talk to you,” his mother said.

“Mom, I —”

“I’ll talk to you later. I love you always, my son.”

She hung up. That was a dirty trick! She hung up before he could explain he was only acknowledging that he’d heard her. He shook his head. He didn’t actually promise her anything, and she knew it. He wasn’t obligated to study any of that stuff.

The car indeed pulled off the exit and started to pull around to one of the campus’s entrances. 

… to be continued …