Moe Lane's Blog, page 586
March 7, 2022
In the Mail: THE LAST GRADUATE (Hardcover).
Yeah, I know: I already had the digital version of THE LAST GRADUATE. That’s how it works: I buy the Kindle book in this series because then I can read it at 12:00:01 AM, the night it comes out. And then, at some point, I go and get the hardcover version so that I can have it in the family library for the rest of time. The Scholomance series is just that good. I begrudge sleep when it comes to wolfing those books down for the first time.
Moe Lane
#commissionearned
PS: Magical school where the survival rate is 25%, but teenaged mages sign up anyway because all the other options are all so, so much worse. Our heroine is El; and oh, but does she hate being called that. Not that anyone would dare. I would not let her join my adventuring party; I would, instead, humbly ask to join hers.
So, I tried a Facebook Ad for the Kickstarter.
I am… not convinced that it did a single blessed thing for me. Now, getting a link on Skin Horse on Sunday? That lit things up for the TINSEL RAIN Kickstarter. I am not sure if the problems I have with Facebook ads (or Amazon ads, for that matter) are because of the ads, or me – but I’m pretty sure that they are problems; and I don’t really know how to fix them. I’ve looked up possible solutions, but they invariably involve me buying some service that will magically make everything awesome. Yeah, I don’t believe that one either. And double yeah: I can see where the money’s being made there.
Ach, well, it could be worse. Plenty of self-published writers out there would love to have my situation, I know. I should be more grateful about it.
Interesting detail about SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME.
At least, I think this is interesting (SPOILERS for SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME):
When Zendaya’s MJ falls, Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man saves her. It’s an emotional moment for many reasons, harkening back to his character not being able to save Gwen (Emma Stone). Says [sound designer Tony] Lamberti, “It was scored with a giant choir, but when Tom Rothman, head of the studio saw the playback, he told the room and everyone involved that we were selling ourselves short by not making it a real catch-your-breath moment.”
…It’s almost as if Sony has people running it who like Spider-Man movies. Because Tom Rothman was right: slapping too much music onto that scene wouldn’t have worked properly. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that a movie head honcho might know what he’s doing about making movies, but… well. Have you seen some of the superhero movies the studios have put out, over the years? You can’t always rely on that level of love and dedication, is what I’m saying.
#commissionearned
Two weeks in on TINSEL RAIN: 40% of the way to the audiobook stretch goal!
This means, obviously, that the project has already funded – so the TINSEL RAIN Kickstarter is going really well right now. We’re chugging along on getting to the short story sampler stretch goal, too – that’s at 74% – and almost at 18% for the goal that will give BACKERS an EXTRA BOOK!
So, you know: tell all your friends. Heck, tell your rivals. They might be cool people, outside of that. I try not to get involved in fights I’ve got no business being in.
03/07/22 Snippet, THE DECALOGUE KILLER.
Moving along!
Patreon!Friday, 11 AM: It was a little late for breakfast, but the diner still had the morning paper. And my story was on the front: DECALOGUE KILLER SMITES AGAIN! I figured it would be — I had rushed to get the copy to the night editor before the print run started — but it’s always nice to see virtue rewarded.
DECALOGUE KILLER SMITES AGAIN!
By Joe Boyden
Last night, a seedy alley revealed the final resting place of a local businessman, new victim of the so-called “Decalogue Killer.” The victim, whose name is being withheld, was come across by a Bay City police patrol in the notorious Greenbay district. There were no witnesses, but a single gray feather — the infamous trademark of the Decalogue Killer — was pulled from the victim’s broken body. Bay City police refused to discuss the case, or any leads.
This is the seventh victim of the Decalogue Killer in three months…
I shook my head at the night editor. I had carefully put in a caveat or two, but tabloid sensitivities had won out over mine. Besides, the night editor was right. It was obviously the Killer, so why keep the lawyers happy?
March 6, 2022
‘Once in a Lifetime.’
Once in a Lifetime, Talking Heads
#commissionearned
03/06/2022 Snippet, THE DECALOGUE KILLER.
The old story wasn’t working. This one is.
Patreon!Thursday, 3 AM. The city quiets down, this time of night. Oh, it never wants to, like a child who keeps yawning for five minutes more; but when it just can’t stay awake any longer, it collects itself and settles in for a few hours of fitful street, before rising in dawn’s early light. Maybe the eyes are more red than bright, and the tail’s still ragged in places, but this city needs all the beauty sleep it can get. So when it sleeps, it sleeps deep.
The guy in the alley in front of me was sleeping deep, too. The kind no alarm clock can shift. I wasn’t immediately sure about the cause of death, although I figured the pool of blood underneath him was a clue. It was for sure the cops weren’t treating this as somebody accidentally falling onto a wall.
One of those cops detached herself from the crime scene and strode her way over to where I was standing and scribbling notes. “Oh, it’s you, Joe,” she said. “I don’t suppose you wanna confess now, save us all some time?”
“And a good morning to you too, Sergeant Meyer.” I peered past her, trying to scribble details about the crime scene before this turned into a for-real shoo-off. She nicely gave me a whole thirty seconds before her foot started tapping. “All right, all right. You know how it is. I gotta get it down in my head, make sure it’s fresh. Right.” I looked at her. “So, you’re who I’m interviewing?”
Tweet of the Day, I’m Sorry… edition.
…except that I’m not.
"Couldn't we have stolen cars, instead?"
— Ogiel (Moe Lane) (@Ogiel23) March 7, 2022
Said squicked-out thieves in Denver 'bout those heads…" https://t.co/DMn36ysJkV
THE BATMAN opens to $128.5 million.
Which is pretty good, considering how many people reviewed-kvetched about THE BATMAN: “In another clear sign that moviegoing is alive and well despite ceasing during the pandemic, Warner Bros.’ The Batman is delivering the second-best opening since 2019. That’s after Spider-Man: No Way Home with $128.5M after a $43.2M Saturday, which was -24% against the pic’s opening Friday+previews. Around the globe, Batman made $248.5M. There’s a very good chance by tomorrow AM that Batman could rise beyond $130M.”
I, alas, haven’t seen it yet. I was going to, but last-minute family scheduling got in the way. But I figure I can hold out until the next weekend. Besides, it’s a Batman movie. I’m pretty sure I know how this flick is going to go.
Patreon Microfiction: Fear, After All.
Hrm. I forgot about ‘Fear, After All.’ The premise ain’t half bad. And ‘Decalogue Killer’ has a certain ring to it.
Patreon!
