Evan Pickering's Blog, page 7

My favorite End o’the World Books of 2016…

HOOD is a Proud member of FROMTHEWASTES top books of 2016!

From the Wastes...

I know it’s 2017, but it’s barely 2017 and seeing as how I’d (hopefully) be late for my own funeral, I figured it wasn’t too late to talk about my favorite end-of-the-world stories from 2016.

I don’t keep track of how many books I read in a year… I should probably start doing that. I’ve also never made a favorites list for those that were… well, my favorites.  I should probably start doing that too.  I should probably say something to the effect that although some/all of these may not have been published in 2016, I read them in 2016.  They are not in any kind of order – they’re all my fav’s.

The covers are linked to the book’s Amazon page and you can click on the author’s name to go to their website/amazon page.

So, here we go…

All the Elders Orphans by Melissa Dykes…

Ms. Dykes…

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My Favorite Post-Apocalypse Movies of the 1990’s…

My Comrade in Post-apoc Evan C. dishing some hot knowledge

From the Wastes...

The 90’s…. it was only a decade prior to this one that I was just a kid.  Now I was a soldier, a combat veteran, a college graduate, a husband (well, for a year anyway – Gads, what an utter slut!), and working man.  Didn’t stop my inner nerd from enjoying that which I enjoyed most… post-apocalypse movies!!!

The 90’s were known for being the decade in which we moved from practical effects to full-blown CG.  It was amazing how things changed in just ten years!

As always, click the poster to watch a trailer, clip, or full movie.

12 Monkeys – Based on a 1962 French independent film called La Jetée, 12 Monkeys was directed by Terry Gilliam.  This is without a doubt, one of my favorite PA movies of all time.  For those who did Terry Gilliam, this is a masterpiece.  For those who may not dig Brad Pitt, this…

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Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes…

So, I’ve pulled the trigger.

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After a goodly bit of deliberating, talking to my readers, some hand-wringing and objective analysis, I’ve decided to change BOOK 2 of the American Rebirth Series.

The changes are as follows:

New Title: LEGENDS
New Cover
Added Content: Prologue – Survivors

It wasn’t easy deciding to make these changes, but they are decidedly the right ones, in my mind.

Truth is, I’m still learning as an author/publisher. As much as I loved WHISKEY as a title and the cover, I don’t think it was doing my story due service.

Truth #2, it’s not sexy to think about, but things like Cover, Title and Blurb are just marketing tools. They are the 9mm, salted meat and purified water to the wasteland survivor that is my series. The story itself, that’s the heart of the survivor. That’s where the good stuff is.

So, my job is to make those things as effective as I can. Here’s why I made the changes I made:

WHISKEY is a title I love, and a character close to my heart. But the story is about much, much more than just Whiskey. If someone who reads HOOD loves Whiskey, they’ll read book 2. If they are lukewarm or worse about him as a character, they certainly won’t buy a book that seems like it’s all about him.
When thinking about the big picture in terms of the title of Book 3 and beyond, I want to have more inter-connectivity between my titles. Choosing only character names hems me in a goodly bit. It can also confuse the shit out of prospective readers who haven’t read any of them.
BOOK 2 is a story that truly continues the Legends of HOOD. The cover and title then need to convey that this book truly is a spiritual successor to Book 1, and not a giant left turn that follows a different character from now on.
Making thematic-color commonalities between books seems to be a pretty good way of making sure readers recognize your sequels when they see them. Hence the color change on the Cover.

So that’s it.

I really appreciate the feedback from everyone who I talked to. To those who loved WHISKEY as a title and cover, I hope what I’ve said above makes sense as to why I changed it. I really appreciate everyone’s support.

So if you have an old copy of WHISKEY, well, now you have a vintage/collector’s item.

Alright — Consciousness creates reality

Hey let’s go to switzerland Fuck this world Switzerland Yeah I’m down for switzerland Fuck this world Switzerland The Swiss will be sweet the beats will be fresh The meats, the besh, let’s go have a sesh on a fjord we’ll never be bored in Switzerland

via Alright — Consciousness creates reality

 

I dig it. Switzerland is awesome

To The Readers…

As I am in the process of outlining & writing Book 3, I’ve been reflecting a bit on what I’ve done so far. As I hope to wrap up this three-book arc (more novels in the series sure to come thereafter, but I want Books 1-3 to come to a satisfying completion) I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ve done well and what I can improve on.

I’ve done plenty of self-reflection on the matter. Some things are clear, others are not. That’s where you all come in.

I’d really love feedback from you–the reader. So I’ve tossed a few questions together. As some of you may know I’ve been mulling over a title/cover change for Book 2… So in the spirit of feedback:

Feel free to answer in the comments, or email me at EvanPickering@EvanPickeringAuthor.com

What do you think of the cover of WHISKEY, Book 2? Does it or doesn’t it make you interested in reading the book?
What do you think of the title of WHISKEY, Book 2? If you had to choose between WHISKEY or LEGENDS as the title, which do you think would be more appealing?
What was your favorite thing about the Book(s)? This could be as simple as a character dynamic, or a scene, or facet of the world, etc. No wrong answer.
What was your least favorite thing about the Book(s)? Again, no wrong answer. Don’t worry about my feelings (lol) I want feedback!
Any comments/questions feel free to speak up. It can be regarding the above or anything else.

This is your chance to pick my brain, help me out and ask me some questions!

I’m hard at work at Book 3. Life has been crazy but I’m making headway. I’m hoping to get it done much faster than the 9 months it took to get Book 2 done. With two books under my belt hopefully I’m getting better (and faster) at this!

Hope you all are enjoying your holidays.

-Evan

Mulling over Title/Cover Change…

So I’m considering changing the title and cover for WHISKEY.

Truth be told, I like the cover and the title as it is… but I’m concerned it isn’t “connected” enough to HOOD so that the casual observer who sees it will recognize that it’s the sequel.

Maybe I’m overthinking things. But I’ve been toying around with covers to satisfy my meandering mind. Arguably, I’m not a digital design artist so my skills are pretty damn limited…

But I need some input from you, the reader/casual observer. Please let me know your thoughts on this matter…

Here’s the original cover:

And here’s the new one I’ve been playing with:

So, what do you think? Do you prefer the old one or the new one? Perhaps a mix of both? What do you think of the potential title change? Or the change of coloration to be more like HOOD?

Truth be told, things like title, cover art… these are just marketing tools. And I want BOOK 2 to feel as much like a spiritual successor to HOOD as possible.

 

Thanks peeps,

Evan Pickering

My Guest Post ApocalypticFiction.com “Our Own Destroyed World”

Our Own Destroyed World

Doesn’t it feel like the end of the world sometimes?

For us, I mean. For us as individuals in our own lives. The longer we live, the probability that we make some catastrophically bad choice for ourselves will eventually reach 100%…

Click below to read more!

http://apocalypticfiction.com/guest-post-from-evan-t-pickering-author-of-hood/

We get to live.

These are turbulent times for many of us. Regardless of which side of the election you’ve been on, it has been a tiring process. I’ve been thinking about life, the greater experience, what it means to be on opposite sides, whether we are ever ‘enemies’ or only just people on opposite sides of a divide.

I got to sit and talk about life, and philosophy, and existence with my lifelong friend Eastin today after class. It was something I think I sorely needed–I think we can all stand to take some time, and talk about all that is, all that could be, all that might or might not be true. There’s so much to be grateful for, there’s so much to question and to contemplate.

Let’s not forget that. Let’s not forget to put down the phones and turn off the screens and talk, not contentiously, not to ‘win’, but just talk.

It is of fundamental human importance.

Here was a thought I had today:

We get to live; express ourselves; chase dreams and love people; fight and make peace and keep searching for something in this wild world. What could possibly be more beautiful than that?

I love you all.

Evan

Anticipation.

So in case you haven’t heard my barrage of tweets and posts, here’s a giant banner to tell you Tomorrow is the release of WHISKEY.

I don’t even know how to put it into words. Like an emotion sandwich. Anticipation is a magical and terrible thing.

From a totally primal sense, it’s strange to think about the idea of knowing what’s about to happen. Not that we know exactly, but we know generally. It’s a survival tool. Millions of years of evolution.

Now we tend to use it for other things. Excitement as you count down the days until you get to see someone you love again. Dread for fear of some oncoming work. The tantalizing ghost-taste of the food your about to eat as you wait for the server to bring it to you.

In my case, I’m using it to dream up a perfect scenario where BOOK 2 is beloved by all and the series becomes huge, simultaneously while imagining a scenario where no one gives a damn and people think it’s meh and I’m back to the drawing board. Like Schroedinger’s cat, both are true at once right now.

But there aren’t two absolute outcomes.

I think I know what the most likely outcome is.

A good portion of those who read HOOD will read WHISKEY. People will largely love it and be excited for BOOK 3, and some will hate it or find it meh, but overall I will now have two books under my belt and more people will be more interested in the series since it isn’t as much as a ‘promise of future books.’ In short, I’m bettering my career.

I believe in my own writing. I believe in my ability to learn and grow. I believe that the risks I took in my stories are going to be something readers really love–Especially when they see where the story is going.

This is the story I’ve been wanting to tell for years. I take an incredible amount of pride and joy in telling it, and how much people have enjoyed it or hated it so far.

So anticipation is going to do its thing. My mind is going to wonder and wander and try to conjure up the future. But I don’t know what’s gonna happen, nobody knows what’s going to happen. That’s what is awesome about the future.

So as the hours count down, I’m going to enjoy this feeling, and just embrace whatever comes.

Have a good tomorrow peeps, now and always.

Evan Pickering

Six more days.

It’s creeping up now. The day of WHISKEY’s release.

The anticipation of things to come is always thrilling, isn’t it? It’s the unknown, the unpredictable power of uncertainty as it drives us through our lives.

I can’t wait.

I’d really love for life to calm down a bit to let me unwind. Grad school needs to chill the fuck out.

But despite the whirring stress gyro in my head, I try to take the time and pull it all apart at the seams. I think about all the stuff I’m grateful for, all the good things in my life and all the stress kind of just melts away.

It also makes working on stuff way easier when you’re relaxed. Workin’ on shit when you’re stressed is like washing Tabasco sauce out of your eyes with battery acid. Don’t do it.

oh and before I ramble too much:

HOOD is on sale for 0.99$! Get your copy now for a damn good post-apoc adventure that will make you feel all the feels!

and also, Sign up for my mailing list for updates, promos and sales about my books!

Happy Friday peeps. I have it on good authority that Monday is gone forever.

-Evan