L.R. Giles's Blog, page 3

Friday Night Fights: Batman vs. 007

Image Courtesy of Wrestlezone.com

Last week I posed an earth shattering question on Facebook. In a fight, decided by a ten-count knockout, who’d win: Spider-Man or Wolverine?

The debate went on for days. While many of the arguments were sound, my friend John pointed out that the fight had been decided more than twenty years ago in the pages of the aptly titled Spider-man vs. Wolverine. Result: Draw.

So, this week, I’m mixing it up a bit. I’m tossing two well-matched opponents from different univ...

Extreme Homepage Makeover

Hey gang…how do you like my new web digs?

In anticipation of the upcoming release of FAKE ID, I decided to give the site a makeover. I want to thank Tessa Elwood of Pop Color Web Design for hooking it up. If you’re in the market for a great site and stellar customer service experience, you’ll want to reach out to her.

Also, if you saw the landing page, you probably noticed the placeholder for the FAKE ID cover. The real thing is coming soon (VERY SOON). Stay tuned, because I may be giving you g...

Shhhh…(kinda top secret)

Hey gang, just doing my usual drive-by posting. News and updates are going to be coming faster and furious(er?) since FAKE ID debuts in LESS THAN A YEAR!!! It’s been such a long journey that it’s hard to believe we’re so close now. HOWEVER, this post is not about my current project. It’s about my NEXT project.

Can’t give you details yet because it’s still in the classified phase (black bars and all), but here’s a glimpse at how things are progressing.

BTW – Everything’s not blacked out.

More soo...

Admit You Have a Passion

In my last post, I touched on a belief I have that as some (most?) adults get older, they tend to suppress the things that truly make them happy, to the point where they forget SOMEthing once brought them joy. I likened it to building a wall between what’s considered real (miserable daily existence) and what’s considered fantasy ( for example, making money building things from LEGOs,because that’s SOOOO farfetched).

Here’s the thing, I do believe many people have built these walls, but I don’t...

What Do YOU LOVE To Do?

There’s something I see more and more the older I get. Adults dealing with lives they thought would be drastically different, and perhaps losing themselves because of it. You didn’t become the ballplayer, or musician, or Silicon Valley whiz kid jet setting all over the world. You’ve got the mortgage, the children, the car needs a new alternator, there’s the homeowner’s association meeting with that jerk who doesn’t clean up after his dog, and on and on…

Call it what you want. The Rat Race. A R...

My Next Big Thing: FAKE ID

Last week, I got tapped to participate in “The Next Big Thing”, an ongoing blogging experience for up-and-coming writers. The way it works is an awesome writer (A. B. Westrick, author of BROTHERHOOD in this case) tags me, I post details about my next project here, then I tag other writers to do the same on their blogs next week.

“Easy-Peezy,” as Brooks Hatlen would say.

What is the title of your book?

FAKE ID

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A teen in witness protection investigates...

Memoirs of a Drowning Man

Hey Gang. Yep, it’s really been 7 months since my last update. SIGH…

THEN

I gotta be honest with you. It’s been a crazy year, and, unfortunately, my site maintenance fell by the wayside. Since my last update, I was:

Laid off from my day job of 10 years (Boo! Hiss!)
Given a new title for my Summer 2013 YA debut novel. WHISPERTOWN is now FAKE ID
Bumped. Meaning my Summer 2013 YA Debut novel got pushed back to early 2014 (not necessarily a bad thing)
Asked to revise said novel twice (1st time was a MA...

Could Idris Elba be the secret hero in PROMETHEUS?

*SPECULATION WARNING*

I have not seen PROMETHEUS, the latest sci-fi film from , the director of the classic ALIEN (to which PROMETHEUS is a prequel). Nothing I say here will spoil the movie for you because it is simply conjecture. However, I am basing the thesis of this post on things I’ve observed in the film’s promotional material. And I will be referring to major plot points in ALIEN and its sequels, which could be considered spoilers if you’re the rare person who cares enough t...

For Writers: What you can learn from the MAD MEN

Courtesy of USAToday

Last night I caught INSIDE THE ACTOR’S STUDIO and the special guests were the talented creator and actors behind one of TVs most popular series, MAD MEN. If you aren’t familiar with the 1960s period drama about an advertising executive who is a portrait of duality, no worries, this lesson won’t be lost on you.

Towards the end of the episode, during Q&A, a drama student recounted her experiences in amateur productions, explaining how invaluable she found the weeks and weeks...

Readers, why I haven’t been very good to you…

Hey, there. I know it’s been awhile. But look, I bought you flowers.

Now, listen. I know I haven’t been around much, I understand if you don’t want to take my gift, and you’re tired of my disappearing acts. Just…just give me a chance to explain.

See, first, the good news: I’ve been in my cave, producing a bunch of new stuff. Now, the bad news: I can’t really show you any of it yet.

Here’s the sitch: I used to be an independent author. Solely. That meant I could write as fast as possible, publish...