Jason Arnett's Blog, page 2

Systems Update: Upbeat

There’s a loud, powerful pounding at the door and then the bell rings. Already aggravated that your No Solicitors sign has been ignored – yet again! – this election season, you’re ready to give the poor fool a rant on the value of their education with special emphasis on reading and comprehension. You’re surprised no one is there when you open the door. Kids; ring and run or whatever they call it now. You walk out into the driveway to look up the street but it’s empty, devoid of movement and sound but for the wind blowing leaves into neighbor’s yards. No dogs barking, no cars approaching though you can smell a fire pit on the breeze. No one is out in their front yard. It’s a nice fall night.

Bewildered, you go back inside and lock the storm door and the inner door. Once the latch is closed you turn to go back to the kitchen and that’s when you see him. Tall, dressed in a brown trench coat, spiky blond hair, a look of disappointment on his face standing in the middle of your living room, watching you. Your heart begins to race.

Hi, I’m Jason. I write things for myself and hope others will like them. 

UPBEAT

Pretty soon we’ll be deep into Talking Head Analysis Overdrive season, and that brings a lot more tedium to the news media. Still, opinion can be important, often influencing those who are unsure for whatever reason to swing their attention one way or another. I don’t agree with every opinion and I give more weight to informed, educated opinion than I do the ones that sound good in small bites, which is something that I wish everyone did. Still. Stifling opinions is not something we should do in America but it happens. Witness the Washington Post and L.A. Times owners declining to put themselves at odds with one of the candidates.

In the aftermath of Bezos spiking the WaPo endorsement for President I moved two preorders for books from Amazon to my local independent bookstore. Pricing at both was exactly the same and the only difference is that I’ll have to pick them up at the store instead of my front porch. No big deal.

The convenience of Amazon is a powerful thing and it’s valuable for stuff you can’t get locally. (In part due to Amazon’s desire to be the One and Only.) The more we spend in our home communities, though, the stronger, the better those communities become. Spending cash in those places when you can also accomplishes the same thing because that money stays in the community rather than being siphoned off by the big banks and their partners as ‘fees’ for processing.

I’m not big into audiobooks and don’t have Audible, but my local library has resources for that if I feel the need.  I’ll use a local shop for used books (or biblio.com) instead of Abebooks, too. Just in case you don’t know, Amazon owns both Audible and Abebooks so I’ll avoid them as much as I can, too.

Of course this doesn’t work for everyone and I recognize that. But because it does for me, I’m switching as much as I can away from a juggernaut of loss leaders and convenience to the community I live in. If I and a few others start spending more locally, maybe things will get better. Certainly, I’ll be more engaged with it by being more out in it.

Blast off.WRITING ABOUT SCIENCE FICTION

I’ve been reading a lot of blogs and various ‘news’ pieces about science fiction and most of them amount to very light opinion pieces that are more like pregnant social media posts than actual thinking about the genre. As a consumer of science fiction in all its forms, I enjoy light opinion pieces as much as deeper thoughts. So I’m writing this from a place of love for the genre and love for those who create everything in and around it. I’m not calling anyone out.

Now, with my metaphorical editor hat on, let’s explore what my consumer half would like to see more of when bloggers write about science fiction. 

It always amuses me to see new writing about concepts like the multiverse and note the author’s reference is no more than twenty years old and rooted in first experiences with the concept are less than five years old. The idea of multiple universes has been around for quite a long time, long enough to say that it’s not really new any more. Perhaps it’s just being a middle-aged white man in the world now, and I know that writers fall out of favor (and out of print) along the path to the future, but contributions to the genre shouldn’t be overlooked or forgotten. In fifty years, will the current batch of multiverse stories still be remembered by anyone except those that experienced them in the moment? History says likely not.

But let’s explore how a writer could embrace that history in their discussion of the concept. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction gives a reasonable history of the term ‘multiverse’ and – via The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction – one can find a timeline of references to the term throughout the genre. Additionally, just visiting a better-known resource such as Wikipedia will give anyone writing about the concept some context. I mean, this is the low-hanging fruit but even doing a scholarly search through Google yields easily accessible thoughts on the concept from respected sources such as Scientific American.

Science fiction is a genre of ideas and dialogue, of looking forward from today and extrapolating what the future might hold, of remembering the past and striving not to repeat it. Taking it seriously when writing about the genre should be an implied imperative. Not that the genre is always serious, but writing about it should be unless the intent is to be comic. 

What this consumer (and editor if the hat is still on) wants is intelligent dialogue about the subject of science fiction. Discussion is what we have now, the one way cry of someone begging to be heard on the subject of their favorite things about that subject. What I want to see is more thoughtful musing on aspects of science fiction and what it means to the writer, inviting others to agree or disagree in the same thoughtful way.

(I know, I know. It’s the Internet and I’m asking for a unicorn. I can dream, can’t I?)

So hit me up with some serious writing on the subject of science fiction and share your thoughts, if you’re so inclined. Links in the comments to quality dialogue on the subject are appreciated.

CONSOMMÉ

Damn, the new album from The Cure – the first in 16 years? – is the heaviest thing I’ve heard in a long, long time. It’s so dark and a fine companion to, as others have said, David Bowie’s final album Blackstar. I mean, wow. WOW. Songs Of a Lost World is an amazing record and I wish it was a bit longer, but I’m glad to have it to listen to and absorb.

Harlan Ellison’s The Last Dangerous Visions has arrived at my home (via my local bookstore) and I’m exploring it a bit at a time. It’s taken decades to get here and I want to savor it.

Finally, I’ll reaffirm that I’m all in with Harley Quinn’s and Poison Ivy’s romance on the Harley Quinn cartoon. And when I read Poison Ivy in comics I hear Lake Bell’s voice.

ASSERTIONThe Magic 8-Ball sees you.AT CAPACITY

Wow, that was a lot. Am I procrastinating writing Masque? Maybe a little. (And it’s not like I’m not writing. I’ve been writing a lot on Masque – I mean five drafts now is a lot of words. Isn’t it?) But I digress.

I’m passionate about my favorite subjects and I want it to be better. Being that I have no influence in this realm, I’m really just shouting into the void which shrugs and closes itself off. Then that stranger shows up in your living room, wanting to talk about – whatever.

Your vote (like your dollar) counts more at the local level than nationally, but every vote is important. You also don’t have to broadcast who you voted for. Please just vote.

Our resiliency as a society is tested every day now and in sometimes disturbingly innovative ways over the last ten years or so, too. All that stress builds up and exacts a toll. Trusting people is more difficult than ever before but there are still some who can be trusted if only we recognize them. I choose to trust people until they prove I can’t. 

Look, just – be real with each other. Stop trying to one up and garner likes in the process. Do your thing and let others do theirs. Support your friends and let the negative crap slough off like water off a duck. They say authenticity is the coin of the realm. So be yourself, okay? Take a deep breath, take a step back, and disengage whenever you can. Care for yourself and I’ll see you when I see you.

Would You Like to Get These Updates Delivered to Your Inbox?

These not-so-briefs will always live here so you can drop in whenever you remember or whenever it’s convenient. But if you’d like to be notified that something new has popped up, drop an email addy below and you’ll be signed up like it’s a newsletter, sort of. It will always be absolutely free and you can tell your friends about it, too. I’d be grateful if you did.

Subscribe

Systems Update: Slow-Rolling

A stranger walks into the bar where you’re hiding out before confronting the rest of your life. The stranger sits three stools down from you and orders a double whiskey, neat. You return your attention to your drink but the stranger is so out of place you can’t help but glance at them again. They’ve turned toward you, one elbow on the bar, fingers interlaced. “How’s it going?”

Hi. I’m Jason. I know it’s been a while but I’ve written things you might like if you’re into indie science fiction. Thank you for tuning in. If you like what you see here, there’s a link at the bottom of this post where you can subscribe and get these very infrequent updates sent right to your inbox. No pressure.

I don’t know who made this but it’s brilliant and will happily give credit where it’s due.WONDERMENT

It’s October and for the first time in nine years my Kansas City Royals were in the postseason by virtue of winning a wildcard playoff series. If there’s a surprise this season it was that the Royals were there. A small-market baseball team with a payroll that would barely cover only the infield of the New York Yankees should only be a punching bag for the big boys during the regular season. Maybe they serve as a farm team, developing talent that the rich teams will cherry pick when they become free agents. 

The small-market sports teams across America are kind of like indie authors, don’t you think? I mean, yeah, it’s a bit of a stretch, but when you’re in the trenches of writing, revising, editing, and promoting your work it sure feels like you’re a kind of punching bag. (Maybe it’s just me.) 

You know how it is. A lot of us work full-time jobs, have families or family obligations, and we spend free moments trying to pull the stories in our heads out to relieve the pressure. Stealing time on the bus or at lunch, after the spouse and/or kids go to bed, literally any time we can find to put pen to paper or fingers to keys. And that time comes and goes, ebbs and flows, with the tides of our lives, too. 

Which brings me to the update on Masque. Time is a commodity that’s in short supply of late so it’s taking longer to build this draft. If you’re a creative person you know that sometimes things take longer than the last thing you made. It’s really because each project (song, book, film, etc…) is unique and demands different things of the person creating them. Masque is pulling stuff from deep inside me and making this book a bit too personal at times. The first few drafts had too much me in them so I’m pulling all that out and leaving the story bits. 

It’s a process. But things are moving forward if only a thousand words at a time.

When someone asks a creative how long creating takes, there’s no answer that satisfies them. Right? People think everything they consume for entertainment must be easy to make. It’s not, though. Take my Royals, for instance. Nine years to get back to just the postseason. Masque won’t take that long, though. I promise.

ASSERTION

I’m going to try out something here and see if it works for me and those who read. A little bit of encouragement that I found useful on social media. Sometimes we get too deep in our heads and we forget why we started. One of the things I encourage in writers I meet is to not give up. Maybe the thing you’re working on isn’t the thing that’s going to make you famous or even sort-of well-known but that’s not its purpose. The purpose of creating things is to learn from them and apply the lessons on the next thing. 

So, that in mind, here are a couple of affirmations I came across recently:

drsheenahoward on Threads: Don’t stop creating just because the world doesn’t understand you yet.

purplee.skye on Threads: Dear Authors: You’re currently writing someone’s favorite book. Please don’t give up Authors of Threads

CONSOMMÉ 

 The only current show that’s really got my attention is The Penguin on max. While I’ve never been a huge fan of the character in the comics but Colin Farrell disappearing so completely into the part in The Batman intrigued me. Farrell’s performances of late (Banshees of Inisherin as well as Sugar) have been terrific and so far he’s not disappointed here. The thing I really like about the series is that it feels like a Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale comic from back in the day. It’s Gotham City the way it should be, the way it needs to be for a Batman to exist. 

Plus, everyone is justifiably talking about how great Cristin Milioti is. “Cent’Anni” is a kind of coming out party for her, but it works so well because of her performance leading up to it. Villains get the best stories, and Sofia Falcone here is getting excellent treatment in a top-notch show. Plus now we get Theo Rossi, whose work I’ve always enjoyed.

Matt Wagner’s latest Grendel arc just concluded and there’s a massive twist at the end of Devil’s Crucible – Defiance #4 that pays off decades of Grendel stories. It’s too bad the tv show didn’t take off but the comics have been consistent and provocative in the best ways. If you’ve never read them, I recommend checking if you library has copies of the Grendel Archives. The only thing missing from them is the crossovers with Batman. Hopefully there’ll be a reprint of those books in the near future.

AT CAPACITY

I’ve met some strangers in my time. Haven’t we all, though? Some of them turn out to be really interesting people and if you’re lucky, they become friends. Now I do love to mix with people from time to time, especially in my day job, but it’s exhausting. I can appear to be extroverted but that’s not my nature. 

A good day at a show and a good day at my day job* – for me – are pretty much the same thing. I’ve enjoyed talking with people I know and with people I’ve just met. We’ve connected in various ways and there’s a lot of positive charge in the air. I’m pumped and want to enjoy the feeling. And when the high recedes, as it always does, I’m left needing to recenter myself. So doing some mindfulness exercises helps, and spending time being grounded again by my everyday relationships with my wife and close friends. It’s all about perspective. 

So recognize what works for you, good and bad. Know that the highs go away and hopefully the lows do, too. This extrovert needs to introvert after each big day. Your mileage may vary.

Here’s that subscription link I mentioned above. You can pretend it’s a newsletter because it’ll deliver right to your inbox. Thanks for reading.

Subscribe

See you when I see you.

*I’m very, very lucky that I enjoy my day job and I’m pretty good at it.

Systems Update: Recovery

Hi. I’m Jason and I tell stories you might want to know about.

RECOVERY

This spring I worked every day for six, almost seven weeks on significant revisions to MASQUE and then I did it again, revising the revision for another three weeks. Every day for about ten weeks I was working away to write a book I am very proud of and know can be better with every pass. The day after finishing that second pass, I decided to rest and spend a day with my wife. 

I was tired. 

After a couple of days, I went back into the office and opened the document, preparing to dive back in.

Only nothing happened. I stared at the first chapter and – nothing. Nothing at all. No inspiration, no pleasure in reading the work. Everything was flat.

The book wasn’t bad. I recognized the good I’d done with revisions so it wasn’t that. Rather it was just exhaustion. I work a full-time job like the vast majority of writers and life and work sometimes do not align so that art can be made. It was just one of those times where I recognized that I had to have some time away.

So I ended up taking nearly the entire month of June to reset.

I have always recommended that taking time away, taking time to think, taking time to just be is important. And after a run like that, nearly 70 days continuous, it made sense to step away and think about other things.

I’m here to tell you, this really helped. For the last week or so I’ve been back at it with fresh eyes and the good work I’d already done is there waiting to be further improved. Everything is coming together. This is another significant re-write and it’s tighter for having done all the work so far. More updates next time.

Until then, every day you write you finish with more than you had before so keep writing. 

IMPLANT

My thoughts on AI are below. They’re all mine so you’re welcome to take up any issues you have with what I say with me in the comments. If you’re civil and we’re talking, great. That’s what this place is for. If you’re an asshole, you’re out the window. This is the only notification you get.

Artificial Intelligence shows promise as a tool for research. As it has been applied so far to creative endeavors, it’s a team of pickpockets working its way through a crowd with a great deal of success. The lack of ethics in the training of AI isn’t surprising given the state of society and the continuing denigration of artistic expression. 

So while I don’t, and can’t, endorse using Artificial Intelligence image generators as they exist now for anything because of the way they were trained, the concept of AI is intriguing. Also terrifying. 

Aside from how it was trained, the way artificial intelligence (and NFTs and digital currencies) servers consume power is something that should concern everyone. Server farms and data centers (different sides of the same coin) are popping up everywhere and they’re eating up a lot of electricity as well as creating terrible noise issues for their neighbors. Once again, we need to pay attention to the effects of convenience on the world around us. Faster computer chips are great! But what’s the total cost? Anyone? 

It’s important to keep the pressure on to train AI properly, with recognition, permission, and payment. If I want to learn from Haruki Murakami, I buy his books or get them from the library (which paid for it) to read and study. Same with music or movies. There are services such as Masterclass where you can learn from your choice of teachers at your own pace. The same has to be true of artificial intelligence, requiring payment to its teachers though it’ll learn much faster. (Probably eating as much electricity as the Flash does hotdogs after a big mission.) As the saying goes There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch and these corporations developing AI should be willing to invest to do it right, not just fast.

It’s no secret that people who aren’t creative, or believe they are not creative, are jealous of those who are actively creative. It’s a mystery where art comes from, they think, and this whole push on AI is them trying to steal Jack’s magic beans before he can plant them. Let’s hold the owners and trainers of AI accountable and keep the pressure on corporations that want to take advantage of The Talent. 

SNAP OUT OF IT

The latest season of Doctor Who has wrapped up and overall I’m pretty pleased with Russell T. Davies’ return to the franchise. Some great high points and a couple of head scratchers but in general, yeah. This season was fun. I enjoyed it. 

There are some moments that stood out to me. In particular, “Dot and Bubble.” The commentary on racism was powerful as was the comment on physical isolation due to social media, and the idea of classism, too. What stuck with me was the final scene with The Doctor begging to save the characters who are doomed because of their bubble. His desperation on full display thanks to Ncuti Gatwa’s wonderful, emotional performance, The Doctor is crushed at the refusal but not surprised given how he was treated by the main character.

”I will save you if you let me!” he cries out and in that moment it struck me that there was a possibility RTD was speaking to the fandom as well. Most likely not just the trolls but everyone who has a problem with an actor, a story point, whether or not something is canon, or any of the myriad other nit-picky things that haters latch on to. “I will entertain you if you let me” is the kind of social contract that is more difficult than ever to properly execute. 

Whether it’s Star Wars, Marvel, or any other fandom it’s important that fans understand the people involved are doing everything they’ve been hired to do. If you haven’t accomplished something comparable to what you’re critiquing, be very careful about trying to sound like an expert. There are myriad challenges to making art and if you haven’t done it, you don’t know. It’s really that simple. 

If you aren’t entertained, it’s okay. Not every story is for every fan. That can feel pretty awful if you’re thoroughly engaged with the universe. Tempering that engagement is key, my friends. It’s one thing to be a fan. It’s something else entirely to be a fanatic.

____

THIS IS NOT AN ARGUMENT

Here is a list of some of my favorite comicbook films. Note I don’t say these are “the best” or anything like that. This list is not in any order and is subjective to my tastes and not based on anything but what I like. So, not an argument.

Superman, the movie and Superman 2Spider-Man 2The Dark KnightWonder WomanA History of ViolenceRoad to PerditionCaptain America Winter SoldierWould You Like to Get These Updates Delivered to Your Inbox?

These not-so-briefs will always live here so you can drop in whenever you remember or whenever it’s convenient. But if you’d like to be notified that something new has popped up, drop an email addy below and you’ll be signed up. It’s absolutely free and you can tell your friends about it, too. I’d be grateful if you did.

Subscribe

AT CAPACITY

I’m overwhelmed and I’m missing some relationships that once were important to me. Work has been a lot this month and I’ve had successes I’d have loved to have shared with some folks but they aren’t in my life any more. Which is more than okay. I’m not interested in sympathy or empathy or pity. What I am interested in is staying upbeat, working on positive things, and making myself better than I was yesterday. Anyone who’s along for that ride, who wants to be with me as I do this, is absolutely welcome. I will, in turn, cheer you on with your successes and support your growth and burgeoning self-awareness.

The capacity to love is boundless if you embrace it. That’s the theme of my life, I suppose. I want to love as much as I can in all the appropriate ways I can. It feels right, though it’s weird to say it out loud or even write this way. Celebrate the good stuff, acknowledge the difficulties and work through them, then share what’s been learned with others in an effort to minimize their missteps. That’s storytelling, isn’t it?

I love you all. Stay well. I’ll see you when I see you.

Systems Update: Drafting

The constructor fleet moves off, having completed their task. The new bypass will be completed by another fleet later on, and that team will have to deal with the lack of planning of the whole project. Yes, the papers were filed but by a solitary clerk who no one listened to and who had a penchant for making small changes. Looked at in aggregate, the changes will spell out their name. A small joke that results in the inconvenience of billions over time. That one, they’ll say when their joke is discovered, that one is a piece of work. Wish I’d thought of it.

Hello from the hills of Eastern Kansas. I’m Jason and I write stories you might like to read.

ORGAN OF RECORD: MASQUE

I’m deep into the third draft/revision of MASQUE and this book keeps getting stronger. I’ve changed my process here a bit (which I think I’ve written about before) and at the end of each draft I’ve reread the work and summarized each section of each chapter so I can see the plot more clearly. In the case of first to second it not only helpful, but essential that I’d done this. Rereading and summarizing the second draft showed where the plot still dragged, where things had been mentioned and then forgotten, and the overall arcs of the main and supporting characters. As I’m typing this, I’m thinking about leaving this and getting back to building on the book. 

And it’s become a novel. This story is based off a short story in my A MAP OF THE PROBLEM (which was once two short stories but combined for that publication) which I intended as a novella. Draft 1 was around 44,000 words. Draft 2 came in at 65,000 words and I suspect the third draft will be slightly more than that, possibly 70,000 words or more. So now it’s a novel.

The other thing that I’m doing with this is leaving myself big notes that I realize are big notes and not an attempt at overexpositioning (not sure that’s a word but what the hell) since the story is told first person. In this draft I’m breaking those notes down into scenes or sentences to get the ideas across. This stems from feedback I got on an early draft of THE ENVOY and which the reader debated whether or not to tell me they checked out when I ran a way-too-long bit of exposition in the middle. I’d rather hear what makes you check out of one of my stories at that stage than you trying to save my feelings. Even if I think you’re wrong (they weren’t) I still want to know what affects you about the story.

So this book is taking longer than I wanted but it’s happening and will be released I hope in the fall. I’ll also include pronunciation guides because that’s feedback I’ve gotten now, too.

Oh, and I should mention here that all my self-pubbed books will be available more widely once I get to the beta-reading process where I can focus on other things. Right now I’m so into telling this story the best I can that I’m not working on anything else. The day job is taking too much brainspace.

THE VOICE IN THE BOX

It’s been a while now since broadcaster Bob Edwards passed. It’s been longer that his wonderful hour-long interview program The Bob Edwards Show was on XM and I got to hear terrific conversations with really interesting people, some who I’d heard of and many I hadn’t.

But it was his NPR tenure that I miss the most. I listened to Bob on NPR every morning for years and years. His warm baritone was comforting and his easy manner with guests was so different even from his heroes like Edward R. Murrow, Eric Sevareid, or Walter Cronkite. I trusted that he was telling me the truth, that he was asking questions I needed answers to. His was the voice that gave me hope on 9/11 that this wasn’t the beginning of World War III.

His book, The Voice in the Box, is the memoir that we get where he leans into being summarily dismissed from NPR but doesn’t seem to want to tell us what all he’d heard as to why. It’s strange to read this kind of book from a journalist who doesn’t explore a topic fully but it kind of makes sense in retrospect. He was obviously hurt by the firing though he went on to make even better radio elsewhere. Until the suits again decided it wasn’t worth it.

The lesson, as I take it, is to keep as much control for yourself and do the job as you understand it. When someone asks for an explanation, don’t hold back as to the importance of what you’re doing, but don’t beg for their understanding, either. Money does what money does because money wants to make more money.

Tributes from colleague Scott Simon, and this appreciation from the Morning Edition team capture some of what I felt for someone I knew only a little. Did I mention that he and I corresponded briefly via email back in the day? He was on the radio in an issue of Fantastic Four that Chris Claremont wrote decades ago now. He told the story of how Neal Conan and other NPR staffers ended up in various issues of things Claremont wrote and asked if I could send him a copy of the FF issue in question, which I did.

Bob was a cool guy.

A Very Brief Aside

Do you like to hear people read things? I’ve started an online store that’ll have various things and other stuff. Thanks for looking.

Hey, here’s where I get to say that if you type your email in the box below, you can get future posts, very infrequently because I’d rather be writing than blogging, delivered to your inbox. I hope you’ll consider it but it’s okay if you don’t.

Subscribe

TOWEL DAY

Every year on May 25th, we celebrate the publication of Douglas Adams’ seminal comedic science fiction by knowing where our towels are. I’ve listened to, read, and watched as many version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as I can and it never fails to make laugh and think at the same time.

It was Maria, the punk girl with spiky black hair, a pierced nose, and pink eye shadow, who told Mom that I would love the book. I don’t remember where I got a copy from but I know I read it in paperback and absolutely fell in love with it. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe might have been out at that point, too, and I devoured it as soon as I could get a copy. Hearing the radio play was a joy and when it gets to the part where the two books combined in the narrative, I was never not going to love Douglas Adams’s work. Maria, here’s to you. Thank you for turning me on to some really great art.

Since I don’t write comedy, I greatly appreciate it in others. I was already a hardcore Monty Python fan and Robin Williams’ standup bits had been memorized so that I could amuse myself and others at the drop of a hat. But the terribly mislabeled Hitchhiker’s trilogy will always be a staple in my life. I missed getting this post up on Towel Day, but that’s because my calendar was not turned to the proper month and obviously my notifications on my phone had been tampered with somehow. 

AT CAPACITY

I mentioned above that the day job was taking up a lot of brainspace. It’s true that I have more work on my plate than at almost any other point in my career, and I’m writing a novel and planning two follow-ups but I’ve never been happier. There’s very little stress around any of this because there’s a ton of support at work and at home. Having people who give a damn makes a great deal of difference when you’re approaching a mountainous to-do list.

I hope you have that in your life, too. It seems to be true that success comes from never quite giving up, never quitting, but also remaining true to the vision and mission of what you’re working toward. Keep being creative, friends, keep making the little changes that allow you the freedom you need to actually feel free to do what you want. Ever onward, always forward. Never give up, never surrender.

I’ll see you when I see you.

Subscribe?

This is the end of the post, but I’ll remind you that if you type your email in the box below, you can get future posts, very infrequently because I’d rather be writing than blogging, delivered to your inbox. No pressure. I don’t want you to miss when MASQUE drops this fall is why I’m bringing it up again.

Subscribe

Systems Update: Water

Here we are gathered ‘round the fire again on a dark, cool spring evening, ready for stories. The old man listens to what the youngsters think are stories but which are really the ideas of outlines for stories. They amuse each other, but nothing is illuminated and he decides it is best to keep quiet until it’s his turn. There is no understanding of the events that are described, only incredulity at the fact they can’t get what they wanted. When it’s his turn, they roll their eyes and sip their drinks. One plays with the fire. When he is done, the youngsters sit in silence, digesting what they’ve heard. Then they decide it means nothing to their current state and go to bed having missed the point. The old man smiles. This is the way of the world. Tomorrow he will seek another audience.

Hi, I’m Jason. I tell stories you might like to read. Welcome.

ORGAN OF RECORD: Masque

The Envoy is continuing its run of sales every month since its release while I’m working on the re-write of its follow-up, MASQUE, Second of All the Devils Are Here. I’ve reached the point where I can add some scenes back in from the revised first draft and go ahead and apply select revisions so it all fits together seamlessly. I mentioned last time that this book has changed my process in any number of ways and that’s also continuing.

So at this point, two-thirds of the way into the story, I’m accomplishing everything I want to. The pace is good, I’m proud of the characters I’m developing (though there’s only one truly good person in the cast), and the world building is, well, I’m happy I don’t live in that world because it feels real to me. The test of all this is whether or not readers enjoy it. I’m really looking forward to finding out what you all think this summer.

All writers want to know if readers like their work. We tend to crave validation of some kind, especially in the form of money, but praise is an acceptable coin of the realm when readers offer it. So never hesitate to toss a rating or a couple of kind words out for us. Think of it as cookies and milk for Santa Claus: the more nice things we get, the more we keep doing what makes you happy.

If you want to keep up with my progress more often , you can follow along on my social media.

I’ve been posting a photo every week to let you know how many words I’ve been writing on the new draft of Masque. The links to Threads, Instagram, and Bluesky are at the top of the page, along with a link to my Tumblr which doesn’t get updated very often. It’s kinda sad, actually.Subscribe

This is where I remind you that you can fill out the box below and get these infrequent updates delivered straight to your email inbox. (And THANK YOU to those who’ve already subscribed!)

Subscribe

Creative Tension

It’s the time of year when I break out my copy of XTC’s Skylarking which is one of my all-time favorite records. I first heard about the band from a friend and co-worker of my Mom’s, Maria. She was a punk girl with spiky black hair, a pierced nose, and pink eye shadow who told me one day that she thought I’d really like them because I was super into the Beatles and PInk Floyd. I was a kid, early teens, and my life was such that I didn’t have access (or didn’t know I didn’t have access) to a way to hear them. It wasn’t until Dear God hit on MTV that I knew she was right. By then, I’d lost track of her and there was no way to find her. I never knew her last name. (Maria also turned me on to Douglas Adams, but that’s another story.)

So, Dear God speaks to me and my anger and frustration with religion and I have my own money at that point and I go to the only record store I know, a local shop called Kief’s, and bought the album. When I got home I played it through and then played it again and again. My roommates were pretty tired of it but The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul and Season Cycle and That’s Really Super, Supergirl were hitting me and as a whole, the album just made sense. I could see a shape that I’d never seen before and I wanted more.

(Another Satellite is terribly appropriate for the eclipse tomorrow, too.)

That’s the public side, the consumption of a creative piece of work. The other side, technically private but which sometimes spills out into the public, is that there are people making these things for me to consume. I mean, I have some difficult relationships in my daily life but I work through them to accomplish the goals. Same thing happens in creative work. You can look up more details now simply by checking in at Wikipedia, but in summary, the band and the producer had a very difficult relationship in making Skylarking. There were battles over what instruments should be where, which song should be cut to make room for a potential hit. And there were battles within the band, too. It’s a fascinating story about a terrific album and worth your time if any of those things pique your interest. XTC is terribly underrated and if you get the chance to see the documentary about them, yeah, do that.

1986 original release cover2010 reissue cover

As a writer, I can attest to internal struggles when writing. My Zero Drafts are filled with more honest dialogue (read: LOTS of swearing) that has to get revised in the later drafts. I’d prefer to leave it but I do consider the audience who may not want all the f*bombs and creative combinations that I hear in everyday life so I revise. It’s not censorship in any way at all, so don’t get confused about that. It’s acknowledgement of the wider potential audience. So if you ever thought there were too many curse words in something I wrote, rest assured there were a great deal more, once upon a time.

It’s a resolution of the tension that most of us writers feel. What we want to say versus what we think will be heard. It’s about getting the point of our work across.

Ephemera: Writers Helping Writers

Because I’m in revisions and I’m constantly looking for how other writers do the same thing I’m trying to do. It’s the quest for improvement as I see it. So, here are two links that I’ve found useful of late.

N.K. Jemisin is a force. I’ve expressed my love for her Far Sector series and I actively seek more of her Green Lantern, Jo Mullein. Jemisin’s award-winning fiction is engrossing in a way I hope to be able to achieve one day, so I went looking to see if she’d ever talked about her process, and sure enough she has. I love that she calls revisions “Book Renovation” because that really clicks with me. Check it and see if there’s anything there useful to you.

Book Renovation

I met Jonathan Maberry at a comic convention in Kansas City and hosted a panel for him, then met him again in KC at a science fiction convention the next year. He’s a terribly open and supportive writer who also conducts popular (and affordable!) master classes on things like writing fight/action scenes. His Joe Ledger books are some of the most crisp, divinely inspired action writing I’ve read. I sit in on his Facebook AMAs every so often and he’s talked about his revision process (it’s very detailed) and how he outlines his novels in addition to answering fan questions. Fortunately, he’s compiled all his advice and resources into one page on his website.

Free Stuff For Writers

Do with these what you will.

At Capacity

I had a health incident a couple of weeks back due to a nasty stomach virus that came on very quickly. I’m okay, but I learned what syncope is as a result. As the virus ran through me, and boy did it RUN, I got severely dehydrated which I’d made worse by not drinking any water at all that day. Presaged by sweating, chills, and lightheadedness, vasalvago syncope happened followed by my first-ever ambulance ride to the Emergency Room.

My wife was terrified. I was out of it. It was the middle of the night and we didn’t know if I’d had a heart attack, a stroke, or a recurrence of blood clots. Fortunately, it was just dehydration. And I didn’t do any damage to my head when I passed out, which was also lucky.

So learn from me, friends. Drink lots of water every day. Watch your intake of fluids that dehydrate you. And make sure you communicate clearly with the folks who love you. Tell them how you feel, physically and mentally. Don’t be afraid to be you, even if you have to revise the words you use.

Oh, and don’t stare directly at the sun. Seems like that needs to be repeated every so often.

See you when I see you.

SYSTEMS UPDATE: Sprung

Winter, such as it was, has passed through and is now on vacation somewhere else. Spring is already warmer here than it should be by at least 10 degrees every night and day and that’s worrisome. Robert Heinlein said:

I think that science fiction, even the corniest of it, even the most outlandish of it, no matter how badly it’s written, has a therapeutic value because all of it has as its primary postulate: THAT THE WORLD DOES CHANGE.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of that idea.

“The Discovery of the Future,” Guest of Honor Speech, 3rd World Science Fiction Convention, Denver, Colorado (4 July 1941)

I hope he’s right. Because it’s changed a couple of times and not enough of us seems interested in getting the world back to a state that’ll be liveable for more than a couple generations.

Hi, I’m Jason. Your bright ray of sunshine.

Organ of Record

So let me give you some good news, eh? My third self-published book, The Envoy, dropped in July and has, to date, sold in every single month since its release. I’m overjoyed at this! It’s not a bestseller and it’s not nearly enough to encourage me to quit my day job but it’s a good sign. Plus just yesterday I heard from a reader who’s nearly done reading it that their palms were sweaty after reading one of the big action scenes. That’s a really nice compliment.

I also heard again from someone over the weekend that they were anxiously awaiting the follow-up. I’m still looking at early summer to release MASQUE, the Second of All the Devils Are Here despite having to do a page one rewrite. I found that, in revisions, I was doing more work to fix things that I’d pantsed in the drafting than it would be to just start over. So.

I’ve gone back and done all the outlining, plotting, world-building, and character sketches I should have done in the first place and am knee-deep in rewriting. Not be all braggy about it but I think it’s already miles ahead of the initial draft and you all are going to be pleased. This is a biography of the enigmatic leader of the Kashone people imprisoned on Earth. It details his struggles to keep agents of the Sah Empire from scuttling his plans to get his people home as well as his own trials and tribulations. I’m pretty sure if you liked The Envoy, you’re going to like this one. Watch for a cover reveal in May.

This book is changing my process quite a bit as I’m already doing the work ahead for the third book in the series. So, if I’m doing this writer thing correctly, you might see the next installment after Masque in six or seven months instead of nearly a year. Stay tuned.

SUBSCRIBE

This is where I remind you that you can fill out the box below and get these very infrequent updates delivered straight to your email inbox. (And THANK YOU to those who’ve already subscribed!)

Subscribe

Planet Comicon 2024

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Planet Comicon this year was a real blast. I’d made the difficult decision not to table on my own but was offered the opportunity to guest star with my friends Kevin Dilmore and Dayton Ward which I took advantage of on Saturday. The show was overwhelming (and there were numerous problems because of it) with ALL the people in attendance but my experiences with the con staff and volunteers were amazing and the patience by the staff in the hall was exemplary. I hope Bartle Hall works out the plumbing issues and collaborates with cellular providers to provide better service inside which is affected by so many being there. Vendors and their customers will be so appreciative of those efforts. 

It was so busy I heard tales of people spending nearly an entire day in line to meet celebrities if they got to them at all. The restrooms were overrun and there were reports of insanely long lines and non-working toilets on the ladies’ side and just getting in took some folks three or more hours, we heard. Not everything that went wrong was the show’s fault (see: parking and plumbing problems) and if one is frustrated and/or angry and looking for things to be angry about there was plenty for them to chew on. But overall, it was a HUGE show the likes of which we’ve never seen in KC.

I got to hang out with friends I’ve been tabling next to for nearly a decade, and I am so grateful to Kevin and Dayton for hosting me for the day. Being a part of the show as an exhibitor trying to turn people on to my books is one of the highlights of my year. And every year I get to meet and connect with readers and fellow creators and I feel more and more a part of the community of creatives in KC. This year, I got a message from Stephanie Hansen at Metamorphosis Literary Agency asking if I would be available to moderate a panel of authors and that is ALWAYS a terrific experience. Not only do I get to meet new people, but I get to be part of the conversation about how books get made. I’m still jazzed that Stephanie thought enough of me to ask if I could help. 

My con was a great experience. I wish I’d been able to be there on Sunday but hey, there’s always next year. Congratulations to everyone involved and I hope you all get a well-deserved rest. Looking forward to 2025!

At Capacity

One of the things that gets overlooked when giving advice on how to break in as a creative is making connections. Meeting people doesn’t always have to be about ‘what can you do for me?’ things and it shouldn’t be. You want to connect with like-minded folks who get invested in your success over time because they like you and your work. I am not nearly the raconteur I’d like to be and I’m often not very clever. I joke that my first drafts of comments are almost always a wreck and in person that translates into awkwardness. I never want anyone in a conversation to be uncomfortable, including me, so that imposter syndrome hangs on.

But recently I’ve felt like, with the relative success of The Envoy, I’m more confident than I’ve been in years. I feel like I’m a pretty good writer and every once in a while I land a particularly good section of writing and that’s something I wouldn’t have said ten years ago. This doesn’t mean anything is going to my head and I’m not looking to keep improving, it only means that I know that I’m capable. Once I find my audience, they’ll know it, too.

Be good to one another, friends. It’s going to be a weird year with a repeat election scrum that’ll be just as important as the last three were. As bad as it may get, it’s not new and we know how to deal with it now. Take care of yourself first before caring for others, and don’t engage with trolls whose only goal is to make your day worse. Find escape or solace in your favorite things and come back rejuvenated.

Until next time. I’ll see you when I see you.

SYSTEMS UPDATE: The Clang

As 2023 winds down (internal designation Year of Great Expense), it’s useful to look back and see what was accomplished. Here are the headlines:

Three novellas were drafted and one was published.A short story went out on submission but didn’t get any bites.Four other short stories have been reworked for different formats.THE ENVOY earned a really nice review by a reader.I had my first-ever solo appearance which by all accounts went very well.I sold more physical copies of my entire catalog than I ever have in a single year. December was surprisingly brisk, at least for me.

What’s ahead is a new short story, more exploration of the new format, finishing the Zero draft of one novella and revising the second while plotting then writing the Third of All the Devils Are Here and then plotting The Fourth. There might be more in the short story department, too, because my brain can’t shut off and the idea I had in July just won’t let me go.

Posted to Instagram in ‘23. The immediate aftermath of my cataract surgeries. It’s wonderful to see 20/20 for the first time in my life.

I joined Threads (@ajasont) and Bluesky (also @ajasont) and am finding a community of writers that reminds me a great deal of the community I first found on Twitter back only twelve years ago.

And in my day job, I went to three conferences that helped shape how I think about that work and how I think about my writing. I’ve always known that success on both sides of the equation are intertwined and this year was yet another confirmation of that.

So all things considered, it was a good (if sometimes terribly stressful) year. The closing bells chime the mix of cheer and fear, hope and groping for the year to come to be somewhat less about money and more about dreaming and creating.

A PITCH

If you like what I’m doing here, please subscribe to get these irregular updates sent directly to your inbox. You can find a link to do that at the bottom of the WELCOME page. Thanks.

You can find all my books on the BOOKS page. I am revising the next in this series and hope it’ll be out in the spring of ‘24.AT CAPACITY

It was tempting to write a big year-end list of the things I liked in 2023 like most folks do. Instead, my closing here is a reiteration to like what you like and don’t be ashamed of it. For instance, I like nearly every rockin’ Bryan Adams song there is but the sappy stuff leaves me cold. And there’s no reason on Earth I should like Crime Scene Kitchen but I am fascinated with that dumb show. 

The more we talk about the things we love, the things we like, the things that made us smile for a second, the better the world will be. I’m resolving to spend less time on negative things, including people, than I did this year. I’m resolving to give in less to my fears and take more chances creatively. I have space in my life to do that so I’m going to.

Superman gets it. Be like Superman.

Whatever works for you, resolve to do that more. I hope you’ll find some happiness in working positively toward your goals.

When we get right down to it, being kind to yourself allows you to be kind to others and we definitely need that energy in the world. 

Cheers to 2023 and here’s to a positive 2024. I’ll see you when I see you.

Aerial Antennae

It’s cornbread season here. Cooler temps mean I’m more likely to dash off a quick round of cornbread so I can throw butter on it and watch it melt into the flour, cornmeal, egg, milk, oil, salt, and just a dash of sugar. (Cornbread and corncake are two very different things, friends.)

Hi. I’m Jason and I write things I hope you’ll like.

If you’d like to get future posts sent for free directly to your inbox, drop your email in the box below:

Subscribe

Into the Light

I’ve done some messing around here in an effort to make the place a bit more hospitable. My lack of attention here has maybe cost me some sales, some fans, some credibility so the least I can do is make it a bit more – eh, professional, yeah?

So I’ve cleaned up the Books page, making it easier to read though I’m thinking about changing the order of the books to have my most recent on top. There’s a significant update to the About page, too, that has a new photo and (maybe) new information for you. I’ve also updated the Appearances page so you’ll know that I don’t have anything planned for the rest of the year. Next year’s schedule will update with announcements as they happen. Right now I don’t have anything on my radar prior to fall.

Speaking of appearances, I did my first ever solo meet and greet recently and it was, by all measures, a success. People came to hear me talk, listen to a short reading from The Envoy, and then bought books which I got to sign. It was a nice reminder that these things all need to be cherished in the moment but that you should never let them go to your head, even if the audience is very friendly.

Systems Update

Since I’m still adjusting to my new visual paradigm, I hadn’t spent much time at home on a screen up close until this week. Reading was something I did casually every day of my life and now I have to be more deliberate and find my reading glasses to write and read. it doesn’t suck, but it’s new and will take some time. So when I felt good and sat down to get back to rewriting this short story, I made real progress and wrote nearly three thousand words this week. I’ll finish it later today and then I’ll see how I want to release it.

And MASQUE is ready to be revised, so now that I’m comfortable again and the holidays are approaching with less day job required work, I’ll get to that in a day or two.

There’s a new Murakami book in Japan that doesn’t have a translation announced here yet. The City and It’s Uncertain Walls is “a story that’s long been sealed” so I’m anxious to get this it ASAP.Depth Charge

This week we got the first two episodes of the Apple TV+ series Monarch Legacy of Monsters featuring our returning champion Godzilla. If you saw the trailers and the first scene that was released ahead of the debut you got a good sense of what’s happening in the first tranche of episodes. It’s got a feature quality to it that just blows me away like every Apple science fiction show seems to have. The studio seems to be fully invested in making high-quality sci-fi and I’m here for it. (Foundation was great, SILO was also great, and I’m getting into Invasion and For All Mankind, too.) And hey, the soundtrack for Legacy of Monsters by Leopold Ross is some good writing music, too.

I liked DC’s new Outsiders comic this week.

Music in rotation includes Curtis Mayfield’s SuperFly soundtrack, a selection of work from UNKLE who I didn’t know had a new album out last year, and Siouxie and the Banshees. I’ve also been revisiting Kate Bush’s catalog and am blown away every time I hear the work as a whole. She comes from a time when albums meant more than singles and she is invested in making the sounds connect throughout.

During the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction of her, there were artists covering her work and while the music was perfect, and there was nothing wrong with the vocal performances, it lacked something. There’s a power in Kate Bush’s voice that isn’t maybe readily apparent and must be difficult to emulate without imitating her. Listen closely to “Running Up That Hill” and then listen to anyone else singing it. The punch she delivers in the chorus is something others can’t quite match.

That’s not a criticism of other performers. As I said above there was nothing technically wrong with the covers, there was just something missing. Anyway, you can’t go wrong with any of her albums but if you’d like to hear a brilliant live performance of her work you should buy Before the Dawn.

The cover of Kate Bush’s live album Before the Dawn.Chemistry

I don’t produce content for you, friends. I share my thoughts here when I have something to say. Over on Threads there’s a thriving community of book people (readers and authors) that feels an awful lot like the early days of what the other microblogging site whose name shan’t be mentioned was. There’s support, there’s discussion, and there’s a sense of capital-C Community. It surprises me that there are writers who are horrified to find out they won’t get rich by writing, nor will they become famous. I hope they have the drive to keep writing when they get discouraged, to keep writing when their latest book sells only a handful of copies, to keep writing in the face of overwhelming numbers of books released daily.

I think what it takes to stand out is doing quality work, being unafraid to show your growth, and sheer determination to continue. That’s the spirit of all my advice. Don’t worry about “monetizing your content” because you may make some money that way but you won’t be authentic. It’s better if you don’t try to impress others but do try to impress yourself. Celebrate your accomplishments and those of others. Don’t worry about who’s engaging with you, but who you are engaging with. Sometimes you mix with one person and not the other, that’s okay. Just don’t give up.

Be good to yourself and tell the folks you love that you love them. It matters.

See you when I see you.

The Autumn Leaves Have Fallen

A couple of decades back I was trying to blog often for the few who were interested. It was a thing. Then I stopped for awhile and came back here with far fewer and much farther between updates. I try to keep them relevant to writing which includes life things and consumption of various media that could be influential at some point later on (or maybe it’s just escapist). I wouldn’t expect a lot more updates like this one, but there’s stuff I want to get out into the world here.

Hi, I’m Jason and I write things I hope you’ll like. Glad you’re here.

SOME STRANGE KIND OF EUPHORIA

The way I’m seeing now is taking some time to actually adjust to. You’d think that it would be easy, right? I can see like never before in my life except for up close. Needing readers for computers and books/comics is kind of a pain. For instance, working on the tablet while watching TV requires me either looking over the lenses or taking the glasses off. I said it’s a pain, but it’s just a new paradigm. Takes adjustment. 

So does driving without glasses. I was at an event yesterday and kept feeling my glasses on my nose even though they weren’t there. Driving at night is a VERY different experience, too. There are some ‘lens flares’ from all the lights, but they are nothing like they were before.

Yeah, this is weird for me too.

Astigmatism is measured in diopters. Extreme astigmatism is 3 diopters or more. I had 7 diopters in my left eye with 5 diopters in my right. As of last week, I’m at 1.25 diopters in my left eye and .75 in my right. There’s still some healing going on and maybe a bit of adjustment but it’ll settle with 80 to 90% of my astigmatism GONE. It’s a dramatic change. I was seeing, for the first time in my life – literally – 20/25 at the optometrist three days ago. Maybe dramatic change doesn’t quite cover it, you know?

I’m anxious to get back to my writing routine, but I haven’t been spending too much time at the computer outside of work the last month and that’s going to continue the next couple of weeks while I heal. Headaches are less and farther between and I’m done with surgeries, so I’m looking at the end of November to be really productive. Stay tuned if you’re looking for updates on the follow-up to The Envoy.

RAY OF SUNLIGHT

If you haven’t started watching SCAVENGERS REIGN on HBOMax, you might consider doing so sooner than later. I am SO enamored with this science fiction piece that reminds me of Fantastic Planet, Moebius and 80s Heavy Metal magazine, Miyazaki, and all the best otherworldly, weird science fiction like China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station. If there is an opportunity to write a novelization of what I’ve seen so far of this series, I will put myself out there to try for it. There’s so much in the world building that I can’t get over it. I love that this show, like Genndy Tartakovsky’s PRIMAL, demand you actually watch and not just put it on in the background.

We’ve been revisiting the old Frasier series following the launch of the new Frasier series on Paramount+. There’s a lot of witty writing there and despite the inherent meanness of most of the humor, and the fact that it’s an awfully white show even for its time, we’re finding things to enjoy about it. It’s thirty years old (or so) and I haven’t seen much of the last six of its eleven seasons. There’s something about Frasier’s character, the fish out of water, that lets the show tell its man vs himself story both old and new. With the new series, finding that the character has grown only a little in the interim is less interesting than the characters around him. Overall, I’m enjoying both series, but the older out of a sense of comfort and familiarity and the latter to see how an update would be different. I do love the fact that the bar they hang out in is called Mahoney’s, though, because Fredrick isn’t quite the cold bucket of water Martin was.

RESTRUCTURE REALITY

I’m doing a meet and greet this week (and maybe a reading? I don’t know) in support of THE ENVOY. It’s my first time doing this sort of thing so it’s kind of exciting and a bit daunting. I’m a writer and so by nature a solitary, perhaps more inverted than I care to admit creature. I am able to be extroverted but I need to recharge after doing so. If you’re the same way, we are all in this together yeah?

It’s true.

All this to say, hang in there no matter what you’re going through. Give yourself room to breathe, time to think, and don’t worry about taking that space you need. Drink water. Lots. And know that you control more than you think in terms of what you do and don’t do. You are loved by people that matter to you, even if they don’t know how to show it. Get some sun, too. Stare off at the horizon and imagine something wonderful then do not apologize for it. You’re beautiful and have a lot to contribute. Keep doing that.

I’ll see you when I see you.

Systems Update

Fall is always busier than I ever anticipate due to my day job being in colleges and universities. (I only work for one College, but that’s the industry.) So I’m way overdue for an update here. Hi, I’m Jason and I write things that I hope you will like and tell your friends about. Strap in, there’s more than a bit to cover.

ENDLESS CONSTRUCTION

NaNoWriMo is coming up in a couple of days. I”m a NaNoWriMo veteran but haven’t participated in several years. I ‘won’ every year I did it, and got one great story from it which I’ve rewritten from page one twice now and will have to do again if it’s going to be released into the wild someday. The lessons I learned each year were invaluable to how I approach my writing now. Your mileage may vary, but here’s what I got out of it:

NaNo Lesson 1: Approach my writing as if it were a job. That meant getting to the manuscript every day and making progress. The stated daily goal is the MINIMUM to get to the 50K words. If I went over, then great but I had to hit the minimum the next day, at least, in order to stay on track. This was good training for me.

NaNo Lesson 2: During November it’s all about word count. Don’t worry about quality, don’t bog yourself down in “is this a clever turn of phrase” type critique, and don’t get too crazed about if the story is making any sense. (It likely won’t unless you’ve done a lot of pre-writing/plotting ahead of November 1.)

NaNo Lesson 3: Take advantage of write-ins with your local group. I was part of a TERRIFIC group for several years that continued throughout the year as a writing group. (Eventually we started a website to feature a bunch of us. It was a lot of fun.) Participating helped me feel a part of a community that that enabled me to channel that energy into my work. After a couple of years, I got that REALLY good story. (After a few years, I drifted away from that group but get misty about it sometimes…)

Finally, NaNoWriMo taught me that it was okay to blast out that initial draft and then get to the real work of writing in revision. Having a complete draft is an accomplishment that can’t be taken from you but it’s not the end and neither is NaNo. 

If you manage your expectations it can be valuable to writing in the future. If you think you’re going to write a complete novel, and it’s going to be publishable with only a little work, you’ll probably be disappointed.

IMPLANT

I’ve worn glasses since I was 5. My optometrist has done all she can to correct my vision but I’m saddled with much, much more astigmatism than the average bear. So much that I’ve never seen 20/20 in my life. When my cataracts got bad enough this year, we saw an opportunity to fix the problem.

So, I upgraded from the standard lens implant (that insurance pays for) to Toric lens implants that we hoped would correct a significant chunk of that astigmatism. Boy, were we surprised.

After both eyes were done, my vision has improved about 90% and I no longer need to wear glasses to walk around or drive. I need readers to do computer work and reading, but that’s part-time, specific task stuff. To say that this is life-changing is not an understatement. 

I’m happy to share the whole story with you in person some time. Hope you all have as good a weekend as I’m going to.

AUTONOMOUS ZONE

Happily, I write for myself in the hope that my stories will eventually find readers. I publish my work myself (through Amazon) rather than pursue a traditional publishing contract because I think there’s value in putting the work out and moving on to the next piece rather than sitting on it and wondering if I know the password to get by the gatekeepers. It’s like being in a band and booking an open mic night in order to play in front of people and gauge how the songs you’ve written are working.

There’s been some static regarding an author of note punching down at those of us who are writing independently of a publisher this week, seemingly extolling the virtues of gatekeeping. Well, you know how that goes. My thoughts on such things are that writers of all stripes supporting each other is a good thing. Unless, that is, a big name writer decides to say something reprehensible or just plain wrong. Then they’re a big enough name to be on their own. I will leave it at that.

I’ll be doing a local meet and greet in support of THE ENVOY in the next couple of weeks and still put the word out about it on various social media including my pretty active account on Threads (@ajasont if you want to follow along there). Since that book is the first of a tetralogy, you might be wondering what’s next. If so, fear not. I’ve completed a draft of MASQUE, the Second of All the Devils Are Here, and am beginning revisions this week. I’m hopeful it will be out in late February. 

TIME TO RECLINE

That’s all for this update, don’t you think? If you’ve read this far, thank you. If you’ve read any of my books, THANK YOU. I’m so grateful for everyone who leaves a rating or review and they really do help get the books in front of more potential readers. That’s the kind of support every single indie writer needs and it cost only a little bit of time.

Until we meet again, take care of yourself. Do something fun, take a nap, watch a mindless show, listen to music, drink lots of water. If you’re pondering a major decision, talk to someone who has no investment whatsoever about it and think on their thoughts before deciding. Naps are really good for this.

I’ll see you when I see you.