Jason Halstead's Blog, page 54

Voidhawk – Redemption is gold!

I called a friend a Public Relations Whore today, then decided to shorten it to simply PRW for ease of use. I'm a guy, we do that. It's called efficiency, which is ironic since it would be more efficient to just call it lazy.

So why would I label her with PRW? Well she's got some pretty rocking sales going on this month. I'm very happy for her, and more than a little interested in how I can follow suit (although to be fair, I seem to have a rush of sales myself on Kindle – watch out John Locke, I've got your number!).

Even more important, and salient to the subject of this post, I just released Voidhawk – Redemption! Sadly one of my distribution channels is broken, so thus far it's not as available as I'd like it to be. I'll be making it more available as days pass, but until then it can be found at Novel Concept Publishing or via the Kindle store in a couple of days. I'll send out an update as soon as the other channels become available as well (including Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Nobles, Sony, Kobo, etc.).

So what's it about and who cares? Well Voidhawk – Redemption follows the adventures of Rosh, one of the primary characters from the first two Voidhawk books. Here's the blurb off the back of the book:

"Having left the ship and crew behind, Rosh has spent years alone in the void, working for the highest bidder. Plagued by memories of his former friends, lessons learned, and loves lost the cursed warrior struggles to find a purpose for his enduring existence.

Stumbling into a plot to usurp a throne, Rosh inadvertently becomes the master of a powerful demoness. Unable to rid himself of her for fear of what she might do to the rest of the world, Rosh is forced to bring her with him and attempt to teach her the difference between right and wrong. The irony of having been on the receiving end of those same lessons himself not so long ago is not lost on him.

As the impossible happens and the demoness seeks to learn new ways to please her Master, Rosh'es inner demons prove to be no less a threat. Before the warrior is ready a new danger awaits on a battlefield he has spent his entire life avoiding."

Two items of note: the first is that the cover art was done by A.J. McLain and, I have to say, I'm damned impressed with everything he turns out for me. Sure, I poke and prod him to the point where he probably has ground most of his molars away, but there's no denying the man can make a pretty picture! The other item is that this book is the third in the Voidhawk series, but because of its solitary nature the first two need not have been read beforehand.

To further pimp Andy out, here's the cover of the book:

Voidhawk - Redemption

Less is more

A hectic schedule has prevented regular – or even semi-regular posting. That doesn't mean nothing of interest is taking place though! Far from it… even if it is of interest mostly to me.

On the 'holding myself accountable' tab my cutting saga continues. This morning the scale read off 223.5 and 10.5% bodyfat. That means in the span of around 5 weeks I've lost 17.5 pounds, or between 3 and 4 pounds a week. Hardly biggest loser style but a sane person would be an idiot to complain. Especially since that's roughly 2% of my body weight. For most people I've put through this particular diet, 2% / week is a typical rate.

On the upside, my numbers in the gym are going up – mostly. I'm up to 4 sets of 225lbs on the bench for 8 reps each as of last night, supersetted with 225lb barbell bentover rows (6 reps each set). There's 20 – 30 seconds of rest between those, then 45 – 60 seconds of rest before I start the next superset. Still a potential far cry from my glory days when I could bench 385 without a shirt for a rep or two then follow it up with 20 reps of 225, but this is about the journey – not the destination.

Been having troubles with my thighs hurting on a lot of lower body stuff (Squats, deadlifts, and even leg presses). Some advice from a therapist who's also a friend (physical, not mental / emotional), has me stretching out my hip flexors and that seems to be doing wonders. About the same time I managed to get a minor groin pull while leg pressing. I thought it was behind me, but attempting some squats last night it let me know that going heavy on them might not be in my best interests. This getting older and wiser stuff really sucks.

I also ran into a guy at the gym last night who was doing 405lb deadlifts. I was shocked – it's rare I see anybody other than myself doing real lower body exercises like squats and deadlifts, especially that heavy. I asked him what his best pull ever was and he admitted he wasn't sure, but he thought it was around 575. Damn big number, if it's legit. Then I asked him how much he weighed because this kid looked good – nice and lean and had a real good build to him. He's only around 170. I then told him in a combination of four letter words what I thought of him! That's guy / gym – talk for good job, by the way. He walked away with a smile on his face.

170lbs deadlifting 575lbs? Seems pretty damned impressive. 510lbs would be 3x his body weight, so that's damn near 3.5x. Is it possible? Sure! Is it possible if a person is natural? Mmmm…well…maybe. I won't deny the guy his claim, but it is only natural for anybody with aspirations towards an achievement like that to want to cheapen the success by making claims of "cheating". Except the thing is, the only way it's cheapened is if he didn't lock it out properly or otherwise lifted it in a non-legitimate way. It's hard to cheat a deadlift, incidentally.

Does using steroids cheapen an accomplishment like that? I say no. Sure, it potentially puts the user in a different league than a non-hormonally enhanced lifter, but numbers are numbers. It's quantitative, not qualitative. 575lbs is 575lbs, whether it's picked up by a man or a forklift. I did 565 once in my basement gym but it was ugly and probably wouldn't have counted in a competition due to the lack of smoothness of the lift. 550 is my best competition lift. In both cases I weighed over 50lbs more than that guy did. I should also mention that I've got some pretty good genetics for strength, blood tests have shown that my body likes to convert the natural juices in my system to raw power – but I'm nowhere near to being in that elite class of natural genetics that makes the top class of power lifters and strong men in the world. I may be in the 1% of the male population that can bench their body weight + 100lbs or more, but it's that .1% of the male population that sets the records and gives the rest of us goals to shoot for.

So steroids don't cheapen the results, in my opinion. I say that because where should the line be drawn? No protein shakes? No creatine? No red meat? No protein at all? Hell, why not outlaw food – it's not part of what occurs in the body naturally, especially if you eat regular genetically modified food versus organic food. Or cattle that are given antibiotics versus all natural grass fed cattle.

No, I firmly believe that the choice is up to the athletes and the leagues they perform in. Untested federations for powerlifting, for example, are probably poor places for a natural lifter to compete with hopes of winning his or her weight class. Similarly competing in a professional league such as the NFL, NHL, or NBA is a bad place for a person who wants records, success, and large paychecks but is unwilling to swallow "special" pills or bare their cheeks to needles. For those natural people there are different venues – tested federations and minor league sports (yet still professional). Of course the money and fame is nowhere near as good…

So tell me again who's fault it is that anabolic steroid use is considered a problem? It can't be because the American public wants to watch these "cheaters" do incredible things and are willing to pay the inflated prices necessary to support them?

Wow, not sure how my update on weight loss turned into a discussion on anabolic / androgenic steroids, but it seems viable none the less. I say make the stuff legal and allow people to use it under a doctor's supervision so that it can be studied, tested, researched, and made safe. Besides, that turns a very large market that is currently under the table and cash based into something the government can get its hook into and tax, raising money for local and federal governments to help out the economy. People are safer, there's more honesty in the world, and it's a drop in the bucket to help out the economy – good thing we're turning a blind eye to the problem and letting the media burn witches at the stake instead.

Cutting – Week 2

Had a productive Memorial Day weekend – lots of yard work, some landscaping, and time spent terrorizing my kids both with water and on the trampoline. Sure they think it's fun now but some day they'll need therapy! And all of it while sweating like Frosty the snowman at a mid-July carnival without a snow cone booth. Northeastern Ohio seems to hover around 95% humidity or more at all times.

Tonight at the gym saw an improvement in my energy systems. It might not have looked like it, but I recovered faster after getting home and was able to spend less time resting between sets. I hit better numbers on my reps as well this time around. No coincidence that my back is feeling a bit better I'm sure.

But anyhow, about 10 days into my cut I'm down 10.5 pounds. Lots of that is water weight but I'm also seeing an improvement in the mirror. Calipers told me I was at 12.7% body fat half a week ago, I'll try to remember to check 'em again in the morning.

The secret? Eating less and eliminating carbs. I'm not going as balls out on carb removal as my wife is. Perhaps I should but I'm afraid of losing muscle mass as well as fat, instead I'm trying to burn the fat off with exercise rather than going catabolic due to caloric restriction.

Ironically a fellow powerlifter in Europe recently made a post stating, "Powerlifters don't diet!" I enjoyed the sentiment and made sure I complimented her on it. She's a solid but small girl but proportionally speaking has some very impressive measurements. And by measurements I mean lifts! Then again most athletic people seem small to me these days. 10.5 pounds down and I'm still tipping the scales at a hair over 230!

Back to the Gym!

It's been a while since I've posted a workout related blog so here's what I'm doing these days. It started out with me spending a month or so bulking up to 241 lbs. That's a funny weight to me. I was talking to a guy at my day job and he mentioned his brother being 6'2″ tall and 235 pounds. I thought, "Wow, big guy." Then I realized something. "Wait a minute," says I to myself.

"Yeah, self, we're 6'1″ and 241lbs. We're not that big!" Self said back to me.

A day or so later I was talking to a guy on the shop floor and he looked like a gymrat himself. I asked him what gym he went to and he laughed, saying it was just from lifting seats and doing yard work. He followed it up with telling me all the guys he talks to out there agree that I'm the biggest cat in the shop and I'm in the front office! Shocked the hell out of me. I suffer from little-man syndrome. Not sure I'll ever think of myself as big enough.

So, to confuse this further after peaking at 241 I noticed the shadows of my abs had disappeared. Creeping up around 13% – 14% bodyfat, bad news. My wife hit a plateau herself and is anxious to get rid of a few extra carb induced pounds (yeah, I know, you can't tell because she's smoking hot regardless but chicks do this to themelves). I offered to go on a major cut with her to help out. And so this weekend it began. Caloric restriction and cutting back to about 20% or less of the calories coming in from carbs. Then there was the workout changes… and that's where things get the most entertaining.

Monday night:

Leg press (8 reps @ 400lbs x 5 sets, about 30 – 45 seconds between each set)

Pull ups / chin ups (bodyweight only, 8 reps x 4 sets varying my grip with each set, about 45 – 60 seconds between sets)

Bench press (4 sets, 225 x 8, 225 x 6, 225 x 6, 225 x 4) supersetted with…

Bentover one arm dumbbell rows (4 sets, 75lbs x 8 reps each (for each arm))

The superset was what really kicked my ass. I had sweat running off my face and I was gasping for air like a fish out of water. Afterwards I came close to puking a few times and had to rest in a cool room at home for 30+ minutes before I could even stand up and feel human again.

Wednesday night:

Trap Bar Deadlifts (280 x 8, 370 x 8, 370 x 8, 370 x 8, 45 – 60 seconds between sets)

Declined Sit Ups (8 reps x 4 sets, 20 – 30 seconds rest between sets)

Inclined Dumbbell bench press (65 x 8, 65 x 8 – stopped because of some intense cramping in my previously torn left pec) supersetted with..

Bentover DB rows (both arms at once, 65 x 8, 65 x 8 )

Went home and felt nauseous and miserable for another 30 – 60 minutes. No threat of puking but I had to wait almost two hours until I could eat dinner.

The problem with being a powerlifter – each set is supposed to be done with optimal energy and strength. The cutting crap is kicking my ass. Proof I need to work more on my energy systems. Who knows, maybe I'll build some muscle with this too since I never work out like this. My body doesn't know what to do with it, it just knows it does NOT like it!

The Art of Submission

That title sounds much naughtier than I intended it to. That's okay though, I kind of like it. Rather than discussing something borderline inappropriate I'm referring to submitting pieces of writing. Since Novel Concept Publishing is starting to take off, we've seen a fair amount of submissions being sent our way. What we're looking for initially is a query letter to interest us in the piece, followed by a sample of the manuscript. And that is where things generally go wrong.

Prior to this I was on the writing side of things. I wrote the stories and sent them out. I struggled vehemently to come up with interesting query letters and then sent out what I considered to be well edited samples of my own manuscripts. Looking back in time, I now have to wonder at my success. Granted, I was published and went out to publish several more (and continue to do so), but I know for a fact that my initial one was rife with problems.

The query letter, my friends and would-be applicants, is important in catching the publisher or agent's eye. My own growing experience tells me that it does not need to be worthy of a Pulitzer. It does, however, need to be grammatically and typographically correct. Show me something that interests me, even if your story seems to come from a cookie cutter template, explain why that template worked for you and how you spun it into something groovy.

Then there's the manuscript sample. We're after a sample of the manuscript, enough to interest us. To date I've had a few that left me wanting. I've seen a few that were too abstract and a few that were filled with an alarming collection of grammatical / typographical mistakes. On the flip side, I've read a couple that were full of promise, yet still had some editorial snafus. The one that has impressed me the most so far ended the sample with a catchy hook that left me wanting more. Kudos to that author, I had to break down and ask for the full manuscript.

I say breakdown as though it's a game or a challenge. It's not really. I want good stories. I want to see some quality work that the author is proud to have written and I'll be proud to have played a part in polishing and nudging it along the way.

I throw out a very special thanks to those who accepted my first few attempts at writing. I'm sure they were rough and in need of a lot of work, but I appreciate the willingness to look past the typos and failures of self-editing. I've since learned better ways to do things, even by myself, and I encourage those who are struggling to get those first few acceptance emails under their belts to keep trying. Print the documents you want to submit out and read them to yourself with a red pen in hand. Read it aloud even, so you know what it sounds like outside your head as well as inside. It's amazing what a difference that can make.

And then, when you're sure you've replaced all the 'there' with 'their' and the 'to' with 'too', or the 'four' with 'for' and 'form' with 'from', then send it in and we can get past the silly stuff and into whether or not you really do have a story people want to read.

Smattering of stuff

The next Voidhawk novel, Voidhawk – Redemption is in cover art phase. It's the third in my Voidhawk fantasy series and it focuses primarily on the life and activities of Rosh following the end of Voidhawk – The Elder Race.

Ice Princess, the sequel to Wanted, has had the rough draft and first edit completed! What remains is cover art and a final / line edit.

Elsewhere I've got three edited novels in the Dark Earth series ready to roll out, they only need cover art to be published and pushed out. The Lost Girls, Traitor, and Wolfgirl all taking place in the same time frame that Voices unfolds.

NCP for the win!

What is NCP? So glad you asked! It's the lazy man's abbreviation for my new endeavor with my business partner, Jane Taylor. http://www.novelconceptpublishing.com is an ebook publishing company that we've launched. Isn't the market saturated with these things? Our studies say it is not. And more importantly I will say it's damn hard to find a decent ebook to read!

So what makes NCP different? It's a publishing company focusing on writers because we are writers. Our goal is to retain as little as possible for the company and push the majority of the revenue to the people who did the work – the writers. We've got talented artists ready to assist with cover work and editors with experience to help refine the books into something truly special and marketable. Or, if the author has their own cover art that's acceptable they get an extra cut of the take. How's that for making a person the master of their own destiny?

So what about finding a decent book to read? I tried to find something last weekend and I was inundated with all the stuff out there I hadn't ever heard of. Reviews and ratings were scarce and the descriptions of the books were either lacking or insufficient. In the end, I ran out of time and found nothing that appealed to me. My goal, therefore, is to make sure anything NCP puts out there has all of those things so that people can find out and be satisfied with what they find.

NCP has a Facebook fan page as well, check it out for latest updates. In the meantime we are open and accepting submissions. Check it out and feel free to let us know your thoughts!

On the Kindle

Five books available in the Kindle store for anyone who has a Kindle and just can't wait to get them!

Dark Earth | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YR53SO

Voices | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YR4Z88

Sex Sells | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YQVLEU

Wanted | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YQVLBS

Human Nature | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YQGWJO

Voidhawk – The Elder Race | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YQGIWK

Let's Be Clear On This…

Obama did not kill Osama Bin Laden… Gee, ya think? You mean he didn't go through Navy SEAL training and personally squeeze off the rounds from a silenced MP5 that ended Osama Bin Laden's life? What could he possible have been doing that was more important than that? He obviously explained to the world that it was by his hand that the terrorist was killed, after all.

Okay, that's enough sarcasm. And yes, sarcasm in the extreme it was. I see on Facebook 25% or more of the people posting are putting this incredibly ignorant status up about Obama not killing him and how it was not an Obama victory but an American victory. After all, Obama was trying to keep our troops from getting paid, right? Wrong.

I have family and friends in the military. I used to be in the military. At no point where the people putting their lives in danger at risk of not being paid for it. That was explained clearly to them before the budget crisis came to a head. Naturally the media doesn't want the public to know that – where's the story in that?

Now let's talk about victory. An American victory? Only in the sense that the CIA and the Navy SEALs were directly responsible for the actions that led to this victory. Victory, however, is a hollow term. More people are dead because of this ignorance and intentional misinformation. I'm referring to the doctrine of hatred followed by al Qaeda. It is a sad state of affairs in the world if the only way to prevent violence is through the use of violence. My mother was wrong, violence does solve problems, though it is never a good or preferable solution. For the record I am ecstatic that the threat he represented is gone – but I am fearful of the vacuum left behind and what might fill it.

So why the ballbusting on Obama? Obama focused the military and CIA on going after Bin Laden, hard to believe he should get any credit for that. But let's put that aside. As an important disclaimer I want to point out that I did not vote for Obama. Do I think he's doing a good job? Beats the hell out of me. I'm not qualified to know if he's doing good or not. I'll vehemently argue that less than 1% of the people who read this blog (either now or in the future) will be qualified to make that call. Is he doing everything he can to do the job to the best of his ability? Yes, absolutely. Even his staunchest opponents will agree that he's trying as hard as he can.

So again, why cut the guy's ankles off? It reminds me of the lack of support America showed for our troops in Vietnam and Korea. They did the best they could and were hamstrung by the system we allow to exist. Does that mean they don't deserve our support? Fuck no! We've learned a shameful lesson from those days when our soldiers were spurned. Why should Obama be the subject of condescension by couch-critics for trying to do a job to the best of his beliefs and ability in spite of the obstacles put in his way by the very system we allow to exist? Or was putting Obama in office another mistake the American people have made and allowed to persist?

Food for thought. I don't have the answers and I'm not qualified to offer expert opinions. An excellent opportunity for debate, even if virtually everyone I know is similarly unqualified in the area of running a country. I only ask that an attempt be made to limit the spreading of misinformation and ignorance.

Bag of Tricks

I've been crazy busy recently, hence the absence of anything worth talking about on here. Okay, so maybe I don't often have anything worth talking about – but normally that doesn't stop me.

First up Voices has been reviewed and I find myself very pleased with the results of that review:

Athena, The Romance Studio, 4/5 Hearts!

"Human Nature is a truly magnificent book. I am amazed at how much depth and complexity all the characters and the plot have. This isn't just a book about aliens invading the Earth. This is a story about how to be human in a world where humans aren't relevant anymore…Angie and Dawn are incredible characters…"

Following on that I've been busy tying up loose ends and trying to insure my stuff is available wherever possible. All my currently published books are available on the Kindle store now and Goodreads.com. I've also updated my Amazon info to include enhanced descriptions and even a brief blurb from the author (that's me) on each one of them.

There's more, but that project is an ongoing one and it is awaiting a more impressive unveiling. More of a ribbon cutting kind of thing, in fact…