Conlan Brown's Blog

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The Coming Epic

I advertised it weeks ago, and now I'm finally posting it. With the holidays finally over I can (at last) put real attention into the INTREPID and get it out to you, fine readers. With the New Year just hours away it seemed only right to start this new adventure on the first day of the year.

The official blog site is now up here. Take a look!


Or visit any time at conlanbrownintrepid.blogspot.com/

Introducing: The Intrepid

The last few months I've been putting together the new book, getting it ready for proposal format, and generally trying to get the next book in print.

In doing this I have gained an agent: Amanda Luedeke of MacGregor Literary. I have nothing but good things to say about Amanda - hardworking, intelligent, and coming from a tremendous pedigree of agent training. Being a member of MacGregor she is the protégé of THE Chip MacGregor (a tremendous agent who, sadly, just discontinued his incredible blog).
Amanda has proven perfect for me because she possesses unique talent: the ability to calm me down and refocus me on productive things. I tend toward obsession. Once a thought enters my head and sticks it's virtually impossible for me to move on to something else. Day-to-day activities are also on this list. Having an agent like Amanda has helped me retool my habits as an author and get better at what I do.
All that to say: I've been busy. Haven't been blogging, and the as a result have not been connecting with you good people. So here we go....
Reconnect sequence initiating in 3, 2, 1....
During the month of November I took part in a beloved pass-time among writers: National Novel Writing Month. That's right - complete a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I didn't succeed. Not even close. But I'm still working.
Before I started I took a vote from you, dear readers, to decide what genre of fiction I should write. By an overwhelming landslide it was established that I should write a superhero novel.
Thus, the first installment in my modern epic of super-powered heroes is nearly ready to unveil.
At the moment I'm looking for the best possible way to deliver the pdf of this first installment to you fine people. With luck, I'll have a method for this by the end of the week.
Now, just to avoid confusion: this is not the new book I'm working with Amanda on. This is just for fun: a gift to you, my readers. But I've really been enjoying working on this and hope it is as much fun for you guys to read as it was for me to write.
So, for the first time ever, allow me to unveil my most recent NaNoWriMo masterpiece - THE INTREPID

When a meteorite from another dimension falls to earth it brings with it a mysterious being who seeks to save humanity from some impending destruction. As he calls together his 'INTREPID HONOR GUARD' one thing has become clear: it is not a hero's right to bleed...

...It is their responsibility. 

"The INTREPID" draws from the tradition of 'Golden Age' comic books to weave a story of what it truly means to be a hero, and the cost it comes with.

This book is just for fun and is not intended for publication other than here on the internet. But soon, very soon, faithful readers, The Intrepid: Invocation will be online. As you probably noticed it is clearly labeled as 'act 1' and is the first in a five part series.
Brace yourself: the Great Dread One is rising, and the time has come for heroes.

History and Fantasy

Question: what are the odds that this picture was taken in America?

I've spent the last few months of my life considering the fantasy genre and its lack of wide-scale success. Indeed, science fiction and fantasy (Speculative Fiction) make only about 6% of the books sold in the United States. That means that for every 100 books sold in this country only 6 are Speculative Fiction. Now, there are lots of good reasons why the appeal of these books can be so low. Chief among these is the demand for personal investment (memorizing dozens of unpronounceable names, places, and complex ideas, etc…) and the level of education the reader is probably expected to have. However I would like to focus on one specific area of Spec-Fic: fantasy.


Here in the United States, and especially in the CBA market, there can be some pretty serious uphill battles in getting that stuff off the ground. So I would like to postulate the theory. I'm not entirely certain of this, and I'm not married to it (so I guess it's more of a hypothesis) but what I have noticed is as follows: traditional fantasy is a largely European phenomenon.

Stop and consider for a moment. Out of all of the well-loved fantasy written in the last… well… ever, it was almost all written by Europeans. More to the point, the overwhelming majority are from the UK. J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Susan Cooper, Brian Jacques, and even Terry Pratchett are all from the UK. Though, there are exceptions. Most notable would be Robert E. Howard, author of the Conan stories of the 1930s. But what you'll see in these stories is a dramatic shift in style and even genre (Howard is sometimes credited with originating the Sword & Sorcery sub-genre).


Thus brings me to the really important question: why?

I suppose I should back up a little while I start saying this. There are lots of genres of fantasy, and there are lots of Americans who have been very successful. Superman is an American fantasy, and so also is Stephen King's massively popular Dark Tower series. One could also very safely say that Star Wars is a fantasy. But what you'll notice about all of these is that they are not "traditional" fantasies. In other words (or to put it very bluntly) the are not pseudo-European. They do not usually involve castles, dragons, peasants, kings, feudal systems, or any of the things that European history is steeped in. Indeed, Star Wars is often cited (as much as anything) as being a Western – the quintessential American genre. Continue through the list of successful American fantasies and you will find that most have major roots in the Western genre. Both Stephen King's Roland the Gunslinger and R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt the Dark Elf are admittedly by their creators inspired largely by Clint Eastwood's 'Man With No Name' (Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, Good, Bad and Ugly). Even Conan has some very arguably Western traits.


What I think we're seeing is a clear case of cultural honesty. While a person (this includes me) may want to write about castles, kings, and knights, those are historical and cultural allusions to things that are not part of American history. Our history is one defined by the Old West, World War II, and the international space race (all are drawn upon heavily in the creation of the great American myth of Star Wars).
[image error] This says it all.

I would even go so far as to say that part of the success of Avatar comes from its (blatant) allusions to American history.



Now, none of this is any way is meant to say that American culture, history, and society is in any way superior to that of other cultures and places. I'm simply suggesting that if you are an American writer, writing for American readers, then perhaps the best way to resonate with them is to stay American and not pretend to be a European.

Just a very personal thought. Reactions welcome. 

Holy Bat-Cake!

First: my official website has been redesigned, updated and relaunched. If you haven't been yet please check it out!

This week I'm house-sitting for a friend. He also used to be one of my college professors (the head of my department, to be exact). A man of God and a really great friend. He's been a boat-load of help as I've worked on this latest book (more on that some other time).

Mostly I'm watching his dog, Topper.

Behold: Topper

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Great dog. Very quiet (most of the time), but REALLY hyper at moments. The dog requires a lot of stimulation. Like a junkyard dog (a lot of the more aggressive breeds of dog just need proper stimulation, and it's only when they don't get it do they eat people (so I'm told)).

Funny story about that. When I was working as a Location Manager for the Hertz Corporation at Denver International Airport I would drive by this same house every day, and there was a car parked out front (just in front of the highway), facing oncoming traffic. And every day there was a guy sitting in the driver's seat, casually reading his newspaper, and his massive dog in the passenger's seat, with it's head hanging out the window watching the incoming traffic (and LOVING it). I suppose this was all meant to keep the dog from going crazy and becoming a monstrous predator. Just amusing to see the same thing day after day after day after....

So when I got the email a few weeks ago my friend explained that he'd make sure to pack the refrigerator with my "favorites". Being a goof-ball I replied that Batman was my favorite and was wondering if he could stuff Batman in there (I'm still pretty certain there's a Mr. Freeze reference in there somewhere). Alas, when I arrived with the intention of using the time to write, I discovered that Batman was not in the refrigerator. Instead, I found the following:

Behold:

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Yes, that's a Batman pencil/notebook set. And a note with a bat-signal on it. Wicked awesome :)

But that's not all. This is the (literal) icing on the cake. I also found this waiting for me:

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Please try to contain your palpable envy :)

So that's what I'm doing this week; hanging out with a really neat dog, writing, and eating Batman cake (I actually can't bring myself to cut it, it's so STINKING awesome).

Happy 4th of July, all!

Why Do We Blog?

Social networking is a weird thing. Why do we do it? It's so we can keep in touch with our friends, right? Which brings me to blogging. Here I am attempting to blog, but I'll be really honest with you: it's awkward. The idea is to create content that people want to read. On that list are the popular subjects for authors: teaching about writing craft, griping about politics, or talking about author/industry news. These are all noble things about which to blog, yet there are serious problems with all of these when I consider using them.

Allow me now to provide you with a lengthy discourse on this conclusion:

Writing Craft: This is where authors write blogs about how to be a good writer. All joking aside, I'm good enough to get published and to enjoy moderate success based on my efforts. However, Robert Liparulo, Frank Peretti, or even Ted Dekker, I am not. Even if I am good, I have yet to enjoy the kind of serious success that is really required in order for me to stand before all of cyber-space and declare that I have better things to say about the craft of writing than anybody else out there blogging on the subject (Including Brandlyn Collins, who not only blogs daily about her craft, but has absolutely earned the right to tell others about how she does it). I just haven't proven my quality to the world yet. It's sort of like newly weds teaching a class on marital longevity. I simply don't have the credentials.

Politics: I don't write overtly political books; therefore it is not pertinent to my writing career. The only other reason I would do this is because I perceived myself as a celebrity worthy of everyone's attention so that I could tell you what is wrong with this country. Even if I were enough of a celebrity to warrant someone's attention about politics, I am fundamentally opposed to this practice. Celebrities are as qualified to use their platform to comment on politics as a bumblebee is qualified to comment on the quality of motorcycles. I write books about people getting punched in the face, I really have no place using that fact to tell you my thoughts about a flat-tax or to gripe about politicians who don't belong to the same party as me.

Author/Industry News: The problem with author news is that most of it is boring for the moment. Do you really want to know that I procrastinated all day? I know I don't want to admit it to all of you. As for the industry: I'm new to all of this. I'm just now learning all of this myself. And I'm not exactly standing in the pipeline of new news. For that I'd look to Chip MacGregor (who is my hero).

Therefore I have come to only one conclusion: Today I shall post a picture of my parent's brand new kittens.

[image error] Missy - the only girl

[image error] Tigger - The hyperactive male

[image error] Group shot - Including Hobbs (white paws) the other male

And there you have it. The important and interesting things I have to talk about right now. It isn't the most amazing thing ever, but these kittens (about 6 weeks old) are so cute they'll make your head explode :)

Back to blogging

It's been quite a while since last I blogged at all.
I knew better than to quit blogging, but I did it anyway. Perhaps it was one of those author things where we suddenly go a little bit crazy and stop doing logical things (like not leaving the house; a time-honored tradition amongst us brilliant wordsmiths). Regardless, I'm back.
So—time to start.
This last year my marketing person at Strang communications: the amazing, talented, and hardworking Leann Hamby, had a baby without my permission. While this was a source of joy for all parties involved, it also resulted in her taking a maternity leave. The good news is that she came back as soon as her time was up. The bad news: two weeks later her husband got a job in another state and she left my publishing company. The result: confusion. Panic. Mayhem.
Seriously.
There were things like burning savannah grasslands and giraffes fleeing mindlessly from the apocalyptic flames (themselves also alight). A secondary result was a total breakdown in communication between myself and the marketing department at Strang.
Great people. Equally hardworking and talented—we just had no clue what each other was doing. So, now we're trying to get the word out about the new book The Overseer and to do it in a big hurry. You see, we lost time and ground in the confusion, and now we're trying to do right by you, dear readers, and make sure that all of you not only know that The Overseer is for sale, but that it is so good you should buy four copies. Seriously.
Thus I implore you, dear reader—go out today and buy four copies of The Overseer and give them to friends or something. Or use them for firewood. Or, there is always the timeless Overseer doorstop. Good stuff. Or, better still, you could let all your friends know that this book is perhaps the best one you have ever read. That would probably do it J
While I'm at it; I'd like to correct some serious oversights that have occurred in the last 12 months.First: there is a young man, Andrew Slocum, who requires acknowledgement. In my last-minute shuffle to get the book complete I neglected to include him in the acknowledgements of the new book, thanking him for all his incredible help with promotion, and his infectious enthusiasm. I truly owe him an apology and hope to get that corrected in the next book.
Second: I'd like to give a shout out to all my readers from Cornerstone music fest who helped with the proofreading of the second book. Yes, that's right Mr. Coffey, I'm talking about you. These guys did make it into the acknowledgements, but I wanted to let you guys know that I'm blogging again and that your ongoing help and encouragement has been invaluable.
So, there it all is: I'm back in the marketing saddle. For those of you who live in the Denver area you should be hearing radio advertisements for the new book any day now (hopefully by this Friday). I'm rebuilding the website, and I'm hoping to make the most of the incredible opportunities and blessings that have been given to me.
Until next time: I love you all, and I am truly blessed.