Raymond Gaynor's Blog, page 31
August 18, 2021
GRIND, SPUTTER, POP…WHEEZE
WHAT the heck is happening to book readership? More importantly, what the heck is happening to publishing? Is it the Great Fight of the Big Guys (in this case Barnes and Noble, Ingram and Amazon)? COVID-delta? Nationalism? Global Economic Restructuring? Or perhaps printers are finally running out of virgin trees to make paper and not recycling? Is it Universal Greed and resulting Uncontrolled Inflation? Is it that no one wants to work anymore? Is it global mass migration? Is it that propaganda is the new (mis)informational norm? Is the criminal element taking over? Do people just not respect each other anymore and are insanely impulsive (can’t agree? Quick, grab a gun…)?
Or is it a combination, a Perfect Storm, of several or even all of the above? How would I know. But I wrote about it with William Maltese in the naughty LBGTQ action political drama, TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1434403556, and it’s actually quite scary feeling like a prophet more than a thriller and science fiction author: President-Elect Mathias “Alexander the Great” Jackson learns on election eve that the current President has resigned with over a trillion dollars in petroleum securities, leaving the US leaderless and facing an economic crisis of unparalleled proportions. President Jackson, wrongly accused of manufacturing the crisis, turns to his two must trusted political aides, Adelphous Tripler and Shawn Clarke. Committed lovers, Tripler and Clarke must reluctantly separate to carry out a series of incredibly challenging tasks for their discredited leader that takes them around the globe. With murder and mayhem facing them every step of the way, will they manage to get back to each other alive?
And that’s just the beginning. The sequel, Amazon genre bestseller and multi-award-winning THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859, continues in the best tradition of future mongering: Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.
Video Book Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
Tired of waiting to see what’s happening all about us? THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, digital and audiobook versions; purchased by K. Simmons Productions (https://kspllc.media/future-projects) for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
Or is it a combination, a Perfect Storm, of several or even all of the above? How would I know. But I wrote about it with William Maltese in the naughty LBGTQ action political drama, TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1434403556, and it’s actually quite scary feeling like a prophet more than a thriller and science fiction author: President-Elect Mathias “Alexander the Great” Jackson learns on election eve that the current President has resigned with over a trillion dollars in petroleum securities, leaving the US leaderless and facing an economic crisis of unparalleled proportions. President Jackson, wrongly accused of manufacturing the crisis, turns to his two must trusted political aides, Adelphous Tripler and Shawn Clarke. Committed lovers, Tripler and Clarke must reluctantly separate to carry out a series of incredibly challenging tasks for their discredited leader that takes them around the globe. With murder and mayhem facing them every step of the way, will they manage to get back to each other alive?
And that’s just the beginning. The sequel, Amazon genre bestseller and multi-award-winning THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859, continues in the best tradition of future mongering: Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.
Video Book Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
Tired of waiting to see what’s happening all about us? THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, digital and audiobook versions; purchased by K. Simmons Productions (https://kspllc.media/future-projects) for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
August 16, 2021
THE EDGE OF MADNESS AT GERTRUDE STEIN’S SALON
I’M often asked where I frequent when not actively acting or authoring. The answer, at least in my mind, is Gertrude Stein’s 1920 Paris Salon at 27 rue de Fleurus. It might be more accurate to say where Gertrude “held court” especially on Saturday nights. If ever there was a setting in this world emotionally akin to that in the Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859), it would have to be there. With drop-ins like Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Ezra Pound, Gavin Williamson, Thornton Wilder, Sherwood Anderson, Francis Cyril Rose, Bob Brown, René Crevel, Élisabeth de Gramont, Francis Picabia, Claribel Cone, Mildred Aldrich, Jane Peterson, Carl Van Vechten and Henri Matisse, how could it have been anything less?
In Woody Allen’s 2011 “Midnight in Paris,” a little known writer has the opportunity of presenting his newest (and in this case first) novel to the likes of Stein and Hemingway. Oh, yes, I would have loved to have had the opportunity to do the same with THE EDGE OF MADNESS. Or TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1434403556). William and I should have definitely both been there. And then there’s QUANTUM DEATH (Savant 2016) by A. G. Hayes with Raymond Gaynor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0996325530). Yep, make that A. G., William and I. “Good evening, Gertrude. Hey there Ernest.”
What would Stein or Hemingway have said of THE EDGE OF MADNESS? Perhaps what a more contemporary reviewer said:
“In the early twenty-first century, TOTAL MELTDOWN led to the dissolution of the former United States of America, now seen by NewAmericans as a historical oddity. Reduced to half of its former size, NewAmerica relies on global trade and the contribution of off-worlders, human immigrants to other planets. Under the guidance of Jackson, Tripler, Clarke, and Stewart, the four political icons of the new world, society has passed through major cultural, economic, educational, and religious transformations.
“Draff Rob Brie [Septican-Smite] is born and raised in Emory, one of the communities in the new government capital, Chicago, concatenated in NewSpeak to “Chica.” According to the new rules, he spends only the first two years of his life with his biological parents. Immediately afterward, he becomes a member of a “social family” or “nest” and is assigned a PerCust, a personal state custodian. Together with Simi Andry Jan [Jan-Rho] and Billy Fran Frunk [Tordon-Cass], Draff forms “Trio Safe Prime” or “The Trinity.” Both his gay friend Billy and mysterious Simi accept him as their leader and fight for his love. Endowed with an extraordinary sense of smell, Draff has always felt different from everybody else. Closer to Billy but drawn to Simi, he needs to figure out who he is and what he wants for his future…
“Raymond Gaynor touches on many sensitive issues in our current world. From this perspective, the book is thought-provoking and invites us to see things in a different light. For example, NewAmericans promote an education system based on cooperation and critical thinking rather than individualism and competitiveness. As a result, graduate learners who could apply what they learned to real-life situations were in far greater demand over those simply acquiring a diploma. In terms of religion, I loved the description of Wicca, the new universal religion. Any member could join, leave, and rejoin the religious community at any time…
“THE EDGE OF MADNESS is also a story of self-discovery and spiritual growth. Due to his inquisitive mind, Draff has no problems learning about the history and culture of NewAmerica. His many names reflect the new social organization: he is “Septican-Smite” when first introduced to someone, “Brie” whenever he does something wrong, “Rob” when he is good to his friends and acquaintances, and “Draff” to those with whom he is intimate. Raymond Gaynor skillfully sketches the image of a strong young man who needs to come to terms with his special powers and sexual drives. Depending on his choices, he could develop into either a freak or a synesthetic savant capable of melding his senses… [then again, couldn’t we all?]
“All in all, I am recommending this novel to fans of post-apocalyptic fiction who are interested in social and political transformations, technological changes, sexual awakening, and spiritual development.”
What more can I say other than “Thank you, Gertrude and Ernest. May you live forever in the hearts of the many novelists aspiring throughout their lifetime for greatness.”
The Edge of Madness
Total Meltdown: A Tripler and Clarke Adventure
Quantum Death
In Woody Allen’s 2011 “Midnight in Paris,” a little known writer has the opportunity of presenting his newest (and in this case first) novel to the likes of Stein and Hemingway. Oh, yes, I would have loved to have had the opportunity to do the same with THE EDGE OF MADNESS. Or TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1434403556). William and I should have definitely both been there. And then there’s QUANTUM DEATH (Savant 2016) by A. G. Hayes with Raymond Gaynor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0996325530). Yep, make that A. G., William and I. “Good evening, Gertrude. Hey there Ernest.”
What would Stein or Hemingway have said of THE EDGE OF MADNESS? Perhaps what a more contemporary reviewer said:
“In the early twenty-first century, TOTAL MELTDOWN led to the dissolution of the former United States of America, now seen by NewAmericans as a historical oddity. Reduced to half of its former size, NewAmerica relies on global trade and the contribution of off-worlders, human immigrants to other planets. Under the guidance of Jackson, Tripler, Clarke, and Stewart, the four political icons of the new world, society has passed through major cultural, economic, educational, and religious transformations.
“Draff Rob Brie [Septican-Smite] is born and raised in Emory, one of the communities in the new government capital, Chicago, concatenated in NewSpeak to “Chica.” According to the new rules, he spends only the first two years of his life with his biological parents. Immediately afterward, he becomes a member of a “social family” or “nest” and is assigned a PerCust, a personal state custodian. Together with Simi Andry Jan [Jan-Rho] and Billy Fran Frunk [Tordon-Cass], Draff forms “Trio Safe Prime” or “The Trinity.” Both his gay friend Billy and mysterious Simi accept him as their leader and fight for his love. Endowed with an extraordinary sense of smell, Draff has always felt different from everybody else. Closer to Billy but drawn to Simi, he needs to figure out who he is and what he wants for his future…
“Raymond Gaynor touches on many sensitive issues in our current world. From this perspective, the book is thought-provoking and invites us to see things in a different light. For example, NewAmericans promote an education system based on cooperation and critical thinking rather than individualism and competitiveness. As a result, graduate learners who could apply what they learned to real-life situations were in far greater demand over those simply acquiring a diploma. In terms of religion, I loved the description of Wicca, the new universal religion. Any member could join, leave, and rejoin the religious community at any time…
“THE EDGE OF MADNESS is also a story of self-discovery and spiritual growth. Due to his inquisitive mind, Draff has no problems learning about the history and culture of NewAmerica. His many names reflect the new social organization: he is “Septican-Smite” when first introduced to someone, “Brie” whenever he does something wrong, “Rob” when he is good to his friends and acquaintances, and “Draff” to those with whom he is intimate. Raymond Gaynor skillfully sketches the image of a strong young man who needs to come to terms with his special powers and sexual drives. Depending on his choices, he could develop into either a freak or a synesthetic savant capable of melding his senses… [then again, couldn’t we all?]
“All in all, I am recommending this novel to fans of post-apocalyptic fiction who are interested in social and political transformations, technological changes, sexual awakening, and spiritual development.”
What more can I say other than “Thank you, Gertrude and Ernest. May you live forever in the hearts of the many novelists aspiring throughout their lifetime for greatness.”
The Edge of Madness
Total Meltdown: A Tripler and Clarke Adventure
Quantum Death
August 15, 2021
DOUBLING DOWN
HERE it is mid-August 2021, and instead of slowly exiting the COVID pandemic, we’re falling quickly back into it, albeit, COVID-delta. I’ve noted over my years, that most things “natural” (e.g. liking coffee, or gender preference) seem to follow a bell-shaped “Gaussian” curve with “extremes” accounting for 10% (5% at each end). Not so with people’s thoughts about COVID, especially folks who currently decline vaccination, refuse masks and/or are residual Trump-won-the-election supporters. I’m told this rather heterogenous “group” accounts for about 30% at one end, suggesting to me more cause and effect than natural selection. I’m also curious whether a single major cause will ever be identified, and if so, what it will be. From where will it have come? Who, if anyone, will have been behind it? Will it be humanity, seemingly locked in a battle to the finish over refusing to accept stewardship of a “living” earth? Or will it be darker, like the xenophobia associated with the concentration camps of WWII?
If there’s one other thing I’ve learned in life, it’s that history can write a better fiction book than I can. Darker, meaner, more unfeeling and in it all, more inhuman. As inhuman as some dystopian authors present artificial intelligence entities in opposition to humans. Yet, as I just mentioned, human history can write a better and darker, meaner, more unfeeling “fiction” book than I ever could. FDR once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” While I certainly agree, I would have to add to that our own history, our own, typically recorded exploits, leading me to say, in correction, that “the only thing we have to fear is ourselves.”
James Lovelock, in my opinion one of the great minds of our century, says it better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44yiT....
In the multi-award-winning, Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, I (and I invite my readers to) grapple with this very issue. Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS available in printed, digital and audio formats; purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
If there’s one other thing I’ve learned in life, it’s that history can write a better fiction book than I can. Darker, meaner, more unfeeling and in it all, more inhuman. As inhuman as some dystopian authors present artificial intelligence entities in opposition to humans. Yet, as I just mentioned, human history can write a better and darker, meaner, more unfeeling “fiction” book than I ever could. FDR once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” While I certainly agree, I would have to add to that our own history, our own, typically recorded exploits, leading me to say, in correction, that “the only thing we have to fear is ourselves.”
James Lovelock, in my opinion one of the great minds of our century, says it better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44yiT....
In the multi-award-winning, Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, I (and I invite my readers to) grapple with this very issue. Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS available in printed, digital and audio formats; purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
August 13, 2021
MAGRATHEA AGAIN?
THESE are the times that try [hu]man souls, for sure. With COVID-delta cases once again seizing control of medical facilities in state after state in USA and around the world, I sense another Magrathea, the illusory planet in THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY that went into closure, on the horizon. It’s not a pleasant sight. The world, USA and San Francisco are still reeling from the effects of COVID-null. Another local or, God(dess) forbid, national lockdown, like several nations are already experiencing, would stress the will of businesspeople and consumers alike “to da max” as they say in Hawaii.
As an author, I’m trying not to dwell on it. After all, the biggest effect of COVID-null aside from a sudden drop in royalty income, was having a lot of extra home-time to finish several existing and pen several new novels. A second closure, however, might be a very different matter. It’s taken real fighting spirit and trillions upon trillions of dollars to drag the USA and it’s states out of ICU shock. Like in naughty TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese, I don’t know if there’s enough resiliency left to survive another. Of course, history doesn’t work like a novel. It doesn’t respect resiliency and sacrifice. Irrespective, it simply ends up what it is.
Yet, I am always reminded that life is a half-filled, half-empty champagne flute: Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, [in THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor], NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live. And it’s always important to remember that each new generation accepts as “normal” and begins it’s history where the previous generation left off. Perhaps that more than anything else is what ultimately defines resiliency and the future.
Total Meltdown: A Tripler and Clarke Adventure
The Edge of Madness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
THE EDGE OF MADNESS, now available in printed, digital and audiobook formats; purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatments; on sale from Amazon.com throughout August 2021.
As an author, I’m trying not to dwell on it. After all, the biggest effect of COVID-null aside from a sudden drop in royalty income, was having a lot of extra home-time to finish several existing and pen several new novels. A second closure, however, might be a very different matter. It’s taken real fighting spirit and trillions upon trillions of dollars to drag the USA and it’s states out of ICU shock. Like in naughty TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese, I don’t know if there’s enough resiliency left to survive another. Of course, history doesn’t work like a novel. It doesn’t respect resiliency and sacrifice. Irrespective, it simply ends up what it is.
Yet, I am always reminded that life is a half-filled, half-empty champagne flute: Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, [in THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor], NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live. And it’s always important to remember that each new generation accepts as “normal” and begins it’s history where the previous generation left off. Perhaps that more than anything else is what ultimately defines resiliency and the future.
Total Meltdown: A Tripler and Clarke Adventure
The Edge of Madness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
THE EDGE OF MADNESS, now available in printed, digital and audiobook formats; purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatments; on sale from Amazon.com throughout August 2021.
August 12, 2021
AT THE BRINK
SOUNDS not so good, things today being generally “at the brink,” but it might not be so bad.
First, there’s the history of John Brink (https://cl-hs.org/local-history/histo...) a surveyor who, on a separate 1831 assignment, passed through “Chicago in December, 1831. It consisted of Mark Beaubien, John H. Kinzie, Indian agent, and George W. Dole, sutler, and about 300 officers and men at old Fort Dearborn. The whole town at that time could now be stored away in some small corner of any of the Chicago’s present big buildings and the room would hardly be missed.” Eh?
Second, there’s the reported origin of the phrase “at the brink” — According to The Word Detective (http://www.word-detective.com/2012/08...) “brink” first appeared in English around 1300 meaning a “bank of a river, edge of the sea, etc.” In other words, it could be simply the restful bank of a slowly moving river or the edge or border of anything, even the brim of a cup or hat.
But it was the second “look out below” sense that produced, around 1600, the figurative use of “brink” to mean, as the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) says, “The very verge of some state, time, event, or action…” This use of “brink” a bad possible outcome produced, in the 1950s, the term “brinkmanship,” defined by the OED as “the art of advancing to the very brink of war but not engaging in it.” Ah, so: thrillers as we call them today.
THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, almost by title definition, is clearly “at the brink.” Since it’s based on plausible extensions of current scientific, technological and sociological events and beliefs, I’ve taken to calling it a “Science Futuring” work, projecting the reader into a future that is not just plausible but likely should things today continue on “as usual.” The point of this kind of work is that being “on the brink” isn’t at all bad, but maybe really good as it gives readers both a broader perspective (weltanschuuang) and choice. It’s not as bad as one might imagine standing on the brink of The Edge of Madness. In fact, take one more mental step beyond the edge of madness and you might be pleasantly (or unpleasantly) surprised at what you see.
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, digital and audio book versions, and has been purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
First, there’s the history of John Brink (https://cl-hs.org/local-history/histo...) a surveyor who, on a separate 1831 assignment, passed through “Chicago in December, 1831. It consisted of Mark Beaubien, John H. Kinzie, Indian agent, and George W. Dole, sutler, and about 300 officers and men at old Fort Dearborn. The whole town at that time could now be stored away in some small corner of any of the Chicago’s present big buildings and the room would hardly be missed.” Eh?
Second, there’s the reported origin of the phrase “at the brink” — According to The Word Detective (http://www.word-detective.com/2012/08...) “brink” first appeared in English around 1300 meaning a “bank of a river, edge of the sea, etc.” In other words, it could be simply the restful bank of a slowly moving river or the edge or border of anything, even the brim of a cup or hat.
But it was the second “look out below” sense that produced, around 1600, the figurative use of “brink” to mean, as the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) says, “The very verge of some state, time, event, or action…” This use of “brink” a bad possible outcome produced, in the 1950s, the term “brinkmanship,” defined by the OED as “the art of advancing to the very brink of war but not engaging in it.” Ah, so: thrillers as we call them today.
THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, almost by title definition, is clearly “at the brink.” Since it’s based on plausible extensions of current scientific, technological and sociological events and beliefs, I’ve taken to calling it a “Science Futuring” work, projecting the reader into a future that is not just plausible but likely should things today continue on “as usual.” The point of this kind of work is that being “on the brink” isn’t at all bad, but maybe really good as it gives readers both a broader perspective (weltanschuuang) and choice. It’s not as bad as one might imagine standing on the brink of The Edge of Madness. In fact, take one more mental step beyond the edge of madness and you might be pleasantly (or unpleasantly) surprised at what you see.
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, digital and audio book versions, and has been purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
August 8, 2021
WHITHER THOU GOEST…
TO follow or lead – that is the question. The publishing world is in such change these days, that much of what we authors used to be able to depend on regarding publicity and marketing is now “out the window” and there’s nothing I’ve seen as yet to replace it. The only solid baseline is and continues to be direct guerrilla publicity and marketing from the author, and, with the rapidly increasing numbers of authors, even it’s impact is slowly being diluted out. I recently finished posting daily for a year to 27 “book/author promoting” Facebook accounts, each with an indicated minimum of 10K “readers,” as well as my own blog and three author/book websites. The impact on sales: nada. Okay, so it’s the Plague Year. I get it. But my gut tells me that what few readers there are left should be even more eager for a great read being stuck at home while COVID, now delta, claims it’s victims. Okay, so even I watch TV and stream-on-demand movies more than before, but I always have a good book at my side. So what’s the solution? Certainly not any of the burgeoning fee-for-service providers of publicity and marketing, which always seem to cost more than the return in sales. Except for the occasional “hit.” It feels rather like going to Las Vegas to win my year’s income. Eh?
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a great read, may I strongly recommend Raymond Gaynor’s THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) with it’s five (Amazon) stars; Amazon genre bestseller achievement; and recognition at both the San Francisco and New York Book Festivals? Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.
TEOM is a Sci-Fu (science-based futuring) novel set in an increasingly hedonistic society, where science and technology continue to run rampant (as they are today) determining the fate of the world’s citizens and societies alike. Neither utopian nor dystopian, TEOM is the perfect “mirror into the future,” providing readers an opportunity to act today to determine humankind’s future direction. Me, I say, “lead” rather than “follow,” whether it be in publicity and marketing or simply choosing what to read and why. Oh, and excuse me a moment while I post this to my blog, websites and all those Facebook accounts…
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS, on SALE throughout August 2021 in printed, ebook and audiobook formats; purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a great read, may I strongly recommend Raymond Gaynor’s THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) with it’s five (Amazon) stars; Amazon genre bestseller achievement; and recognition at both the San Francisco and New York Book Festivals? Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.
TEOM is a Sci-Fu (science-based futuring) novel set in an increasingly hedonistic society, where science and technology continue to run rampant (as they are today) determining the fate of the world’s citizens and societies alike. Neither utopian nor dystopian, TEOM is the perfect “mirror into the future,” providing readers an opportunity to act today to determine humankind’s future direction. Me, I say, “lead” rather than “follow,” whether it be in publicity and marketing or simply choosing what to read and why. Oh, and excuse me a moment while I post this to my blog, websites and all those Facebook accounts…
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS, on SALE throughout August 2021 in printed, ebook and audiobook formats; purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
August 7, 2021
THE SHORT AND THE LONG OF AUTHORING
OKAY, so you’re reading this because you’re an author (hopefully, or an avid reader at least) wondering about what it all means. The “short of it” is about the myriad frustrations with publishing. Publishing wasn’t doing exactly well when bookstores started disappearing (remember Borders, Crown, Waldenbooks, may the rest in peace?), the last behemoth bookstore chain Barnes and Noble was bought out by UK hedge fund Elliot Advisors, distributors, well, began having trouble distributing to fewer and fewer bookstores, then COVID hit and hit hard at every level of publishing. But it’s not to the publishing companies and bookstores that I’m referring here, it’s to publicity and marketing. What used to be a carefully integrated whole, has, in response to the Trump wave, dis-integrated into near functionless pieces, each costing more than the expected return, becoming more and more in my author opinion more of a gambling game where the gamblers lose, and a boat (defined by some as a “well into which one pours money”).
And the long of it? I mentioned in yesterday’s post, that Savant Books and Publications and it’s imprint Aignos Publishing have taken unprecedented steps to re-assemble, re-integrate and move book publishing into the information communication arena by: (1) supporting the new, more visual screenplay-novel; (2) the novella over the novel (a little literary acknowledgement of some of today’s readers’ penchant for flash-fiction); (3) the inception of it’s own, online, COVID-proof, fast-shipping regional bookstores (Savant Bookstore Atlantic, MidWest, Pacific and Honolulu); (4) supporting it’s own distribution company at a consistent 50% off Suggested Retail Price; and (5) working closely with K. Simmons Productions to extend printed, digital and audiobook venues to include manga, animation and cinematic treatments to all Savant/Aignos authors at no additional charge. Go figure.
In my opin, we’ve watched the dinosaurs thrash it out long enough. It’s time for the little mammals to re-emerge and start doing some of the literary work that so desperately needs doing. And it’s already begun with Savant/Aignos/K. Simmons Productions’ “The STATIC Movie” (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) based on a screenplay by multi-award-winning Savant author, Richard Rose (The Lazarus Conspiracies, The Gumshoe, Comic Crusaders, Retribution) premiering worldwide on 25 September 2021, soon to be release by Aignos publishing as a screenplay novel (https://www.savantbooksandpublication...).
And I don’t want to forget my own multi-award-winning, Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor that has been purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatments. Go figure. Again. Or better yet, don’t worry about figuring at all. Grab a copy of TEOM and see for yourself what the short and long of today’s and future authoring is about.
The Edge of Madness
And the long of it? I mentioned in yesterday’s post, that Savant Books and Publications and it’s imprint Aignos Publishing have taken unprecedented steps to re-assemble, re-integrate and move book publishing into the information communication arena by: (1) supporting the new, more visual screenplay-novel; (2) the novella over the novel (a little literary acknowledgement of some of today’s readers’ penchant for flash-fiction); (3) the inception of it’s own, online, COVID-proof, fast-shipping regional bookstores (Savant Bookstore Atlantic, MidWest, Pacific and Honolulu); (4) supporting it’s own distribution company at a consistent 50% off Suggested Retail Price; and (5) working closely with K. Simmons Productions to extend printed, digital and audiobook venues to include manga, animation and cinematic treatments to all Savant/Aignos authors at no additional charge. Go figure.
In my opin, we’ve watched the dinosaurs thrash it out long enough. It’s time for the little mammals to re-emerge and start doing some of the literary work that so desperately needs doing. And it’s already begun with Savant/Aignos/K. Simmons Productions’ “The STATIC Movie” (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) based on a screenplay by multi-award-winning Savant author, Richard Rose (The Lazarus Conspiracies, The Gumshoe, Comic Crusaders, Retribution) premiering worldwide on 25 September 2021, soon to be release by Aignos publishing as a screenplay novel (https://www.savantbooksandpublication...).
And I don’t want to forget my own multi-award-winning, Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor that has been purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatments. Go figure. Again. Or better yet, don’t worry about figuring at all. Grab a copy of TEOM and see for yourself what the short and long of today’s and future authoring is about.
The Edge of Madness
August 6, 2021
A ‘CHICKEN LITTLE’ MOMENT
EH? What’s falling, you ask? Well, not the sky: It’s the price of a copy of the multi-award-winning, Five-Star Rated, Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor!
Printed version: Suggested Retail Price $16.95, now — $12.95 — through August at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859
Kindle eBook version: Suggested Retail Price $7.95, now — $2.99 — through August at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B1663ZZ
Audible audiobook version: Now — FREE — through August with Audible Trial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096H5QMHP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
Purchased by K. Simmons Productions (https://kspllc.media/future-projects) for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
Printed version: Suggested Retail Price $16.95, now — $12.95 — through August at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859
Kindle eBook version: Suggested Retail Price $7.95, now — $2.99 — through August at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B1663ZZ
Audible audiobook version: Now — FREE — through August with Audible Trial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096H5QMHP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
Purchased by K. Simmons Productions (https://kspllc.media/future-projects) for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
August 5, 2021
SO WHAT COMES AFTER BOOKS?
OVER my 40+ years authoring, I’ve often pondered on what, if anything, comes after books. With bookstores declining and the remainder slanting to “used” (in the auto industry “previously owned”) books; publishing and publicity in COVID disarray; the rise of “anyone can be an author” self-publishing; and the much-tooted decline in readers (thought I wonder if “readership” might not be the better word), what comes after the printed, digital and audio book?
This question was raised in earnest about 4 years ago between Savant Books and Publications and K. Simmons Productions, the idea being that by changing the emphasis from content to communication, authors with a book publisher linked to a manga, animation and cinematic studio could see their works appearing in new channels that would appeal to the new audio-video viewer as well. Two years ago, that idea was cemented into a relationship and on 25 September 2021 at 7 p.m. the first book-to-movie product will air on Hawaii’s KHON2, KHII and CW television channels! An author with Savant Books and Publications now has SIX rather than three treatments to look forward to: printed book, eBook, audiobook, manga (comic book), animation and cinematic. It’s even more mainstreamed with Savant Books and Publications’ imprint, Aignos Publishing, which is now entirely focused on a new genre, the “screenplay-novel,” essentially a screenplay with additional narrative that will appeal directly to today’s more visual-action oriented readers/viewers.
Check out The STATIC Movie (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) and the 2021/22 book-to-movie projects already planned! If an author, consider learning to write in screenplay fashion and submitting your completed screenplay-novel directly to Savant Books and Publications. Join us for the premiere proof-of-success of The STATIC Movie. Become part of this new communication concept by a personal crowd-fund donation (https://fundmyfilm.org/narrative-feat.... Or how about expanding your author expertise to include producing, acting or filming? I did! And I’ve found acting and acting executive producing with K. Simmons Productions to be wonderful extensions of authoring, adding substantively to my authoring expertise (https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php).
The Final Filming: https://youtu.be/ZUpRpzOAKDw
This question was raised in earnest about 4 years ago between Savant Books and Publications and K. Simmons Productions, the idea being that by changing the emphasis from content to communication, authors with a book publisher linked to a manga, animation and cinematic studio could see their works appearing in new channels that would appeal to the new audio-video viewer as well. Two years ago, that idea was cemented into a relationship and on 25 September 2021 at 7 p.m. the first book-to-movie product will air on Hawaii’s KHON2, KHII and CW television channels! An author with Savant Books and Publications now has SIX rather than three treatments to look forward to: printed book, eBook, audiobook, manga (comic book), animation and cinematic. It’s even more mainstreamed with Savant Books and Publications’ imprint, Aignos Publishing, which is now entirely focused on a new genre, the “screenplay-novel,” essentially a screenplay with additional narrative that will appeal directly to today’s more visual-action oriented readers/viewers.
Check out The STATIC Movie (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) and the 2021/22 book-to-movie projects already planned! If an author, consider learning to write in screenplay fashion and submitting your completed screenplay-novel directly to Savant Books and Publications. Join us for the premiere proof-of-success of The STATIC Movie. Become part of this new communication concept by a personal crowd-fund donation (https://fundmyfilm.org/narrative-feat.... Or how about expanding your author expertise to include producing, acting or filming? I did! And I’ve found acting and acting executive producing with K. Simmons Productions to be wonderful extensions of authoring, adding substantively to my authoring expertise (https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php).
The Final Filming: https://youtu.be/ZUpRpzOAKDw
August 4, 2021
SWEET NOTHINGS
I’VE always loved that phrase, and am oh-so-pleased to devote today’s post to what I consider one of the most precious attributes of humanness. There’s no one key word here. It’s about affirmation, positivity and loving kindness, without any hidden or further agendas. Okay, so it might be flattery, but who doesn’t like a bit of flattery now and then? Having survived life to this point, don’t each of us deserve a bit of flattery to warm the heart and melt away those myriad demands of daily living?
In some ways, my new multi-award-winning, Amazon genre bestseller, Sci-Fu (yes, “fu” for futuring rather than fiction or fantasy) novel, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor is exactly that: A Sweet Nothing. No agenda. Neither utopian nor dystopian, but simply a peek into a wholly plausible future in which Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.
Adventure? Romance? Love? Erotic? LGBTQ? Hedonistic, you say? Well, perhaps. But like Sweet Nothings, don’t we humans deserve a bit of “hedonistic pleasure” having had to fend off the “Blue Meanies” and “Green Apples” constantly being tossed at us throughout life? And, while admittedly, unbridled hedonism without regard for others can hardly be considered a Sweet Nothing, a bit — a little bit — is, well, in my mind, quite refreshing to the mind, body and spirit.
So, you could say that THE EDGE OF MADNESS is actually a Really Sweet Something: A readers’ treat in a world that doesn’t often offer anything without an agenda.
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS now available in printed, digital and audio formats — purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions
In some ways, my new multi-award-winning, Amazon genre bestseller, Sci-Fu (yes, “fu” for futuring rather than fiction or fantasy) novel, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor is exactly that: A Sweet Nothing. No agenda. Neither utopian nor dystopian, but simply a peek into a wholly plausible future in which Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.
Adventure? Romance? Love? Erotic? LGBTQ? Hedonistic, you say? Well, perhaps. But like Sweet Nothings, don’t we humans deserve a bit of “hedonistic pleasure” having had to fend off the “Blue Meanies” and “Green Apples” constantly being tossed at us throughout life? And, while admittedly, unbridled hedonism without regard for others can hardly be considered a Sweet Nothing, a bit — a little bit — is, well, in my mind, quite refreshing to the mind, body and spirit.
So, you could say that THE EDGE OF MADNESS is actually a Really Sweet Something: A readers’ treat in a world that doesn’t often offer anything without an agenda.
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS now available in printed, digital and audio formats — purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions
