Jason Arnett's Blog, page 5

I’m Back. Let’s Get to Brass Tacks.

Is This Thing On?

A writer is supposed to write for an audience of one, themself, before anyone else. If I can amuse myself with a turn of phrase or by spending some time exploring an idea, then I’m successful in the writing of that piece. If that bit of writing happens to amuse, bemuse, enrage, or otherwise engage others, then the piece itself is successful.

Hi. I’m Jason and I write things. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Organ of Record

Typically, I’ll spend a couple of hours each night after work on writing. It’s not every day because it doesn’t have to be. There are no deadlines beyond the ones I’ve put in place for myself, and there’s no clamor for the next book so I really am writing to amuse myself at this point. And just so it’s clear, I’m good with the state of things as they are currently. It means I get to create without a lot of folks looking over my shoulder but when I’m done, there are a few who are interested and want to read. An ideal state, all things considered.

I’ve been busy the last few years and writing has come in spurts, often between obligations like school and work. Now that I’m done with school, I’m using the time I spent studying to apply myself to writing. I have a lot of goals for the year – some of which I’ve mentioned here – but mostly it’s getting back in the saddle to type away at things that have been running back and forth across my mind.

Over the last year I would come home from work, watch 45-60 minutes of whatever show I was trying to keep up with while eating dinner, then spend three hours (sometimes more) working on assignments, reading the texts, or engaging in the interminable discussion questions online students get to work on instead of engaging with classmates in person. When I couldn’t work any more I would go out to the living room where my wife and the dog would pretend to recognize me and spend an hour or so with them before shambling off to bed and not-very-often restful sleep. The alarm would startle me awake and I’d start the process over again: commute, work, commute, dinner, homework, family time, sleep. It was the rhythm of life for me.

Truthfully, it’s been a week and I kind of miss it. However, I have stories I want to tell, so I’m using the discipline learned in school and applying it to writing. It’s been really helpful.

So in the week since I finished, I’ve been in revisions on War In Vain, the second Wave book with Rob Schamberger. (You can buy the first one, Rudow Can’t Fail at this link.)The truest thing about writing what you want to read is that you better want to read it because you’re going to read that writing dozens of times (if you’re doing it correctly) before any other eyes see it. I’ve read this novella ten times and I’m still amazed that I wrote it. It’s paced well and I love the characters. Despite that, Rob reminded me when we finally got to hang out last week that the third act had some issues. He is, of course, right about this because his story sense is highly developed and though I didn’t see it at first, with each re-read it came to me. I’ve been using time in the garden and walking the dog, as well as my commute, to work on the issues and I’m building that fix in my writing time.

Revisions should be done soonish, depending on how much I get done over the weekend, and then I’m rereading the draft for a solo novella, Black Moon, and revising that for release later in the year. I’m also working on plotting the third (untitled) Wave book and another solo novella, both due by the end of spring in 2023. My writing plans encompass the next three years at this point. You see, I’ve got a lot of time to make up for and I mean to do it.

Brighter Than a Thousand Suns

In the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita – translated as “The Song by God” and referred to as the Gita – a most holy Hindu text, the character Arjuna is enlightened by his mentor, Krishna, with supreme knowledge before going into war. Enjoined by Arjuna to reveal his true self, Krishna manifests himself as a being with many mouths and many eyes. Interpret that as you will, but the atomic scientist Robert Oppenheimer noted for himself during the Trinity test in New Mexico that the moment was as “[I]f the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendour of the mighty one.” You may be more familiar with the other quote that comes from the same source: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

As I learn more about other cultures than mine, I become fascinated with the intersections like those above. Hinduism has, as noted in the linked article above, a non-linear sense of time and that intrigues me as a storyteller. In the terrific first season of HBO’s True Detective, Rust Cohle delivers the cryptic line “Time is a flat circle” and that intersection of pop culture and religion is even more enticing. Now I’m thinking about how time can be linear, non-linear, or something else completely new.

Over the last year and a half or so I’ve become a big fan of Killing Joke and as I was working my way through their discography, I ‘discovered’ their 1986 album Brighter Than a Thousand Suns. It’s a very commercial record, sounds a lot like U2 in the period only tougher and waaaay more political but not nearly as tough as the punk ethic of their first three albums and not as accessible, maybe, as Night Time which spawned the iconic single Eighties but there are some real gems here. In particular I want to point to Rubicon which has this line:

The magic of our science shines brighter than a thousand suns

Liberty in new dimensions ruthless and spectacular

Songwriters: Jeremy Coleman / Kevin Walker / Matthew Ferguson / Paul Vincent Raven

With the chorus, it sort of makes a perfect protest song in this moment, though I can’t say if that was the original intention. I say that because of this article I heard on NPR last week.

You want to know where science fiction and fantasy writers get their ideas? This is one way that works for me. Absorbing as much as I can about as much as I can and waiting for the connections to close. So if time is a flat circle, and yet non-linear, and it can be bent by the magic of science to show us new dimensions? Yeah, I want to explore that. If you add in the personal philosophy of KJ’s singer-seer Jaz Coleman, there’s endless ideas to mine from all that. I watched the Killing Joke documentary The Death and Resurrection Show agape and disbelieving in how they view their music (energy generation), each other, and the world around them. I don’t agree with all of it but that’s the beauty of being open-minded: all I have to do is be quiet and try to understand. Check them out if you like and if you’re not into punk or metal, Night Time and Brighter Than a Thousand Suns might appeal to you.

At Capacity

I’m not aiming to write a bunch of long-winded posts all the time, and frankly I believe I’ll just be here monthly at this point with only the occasional mid-month update. Like if there’s something exciting I want to point to or I’m going to be somewhere in the real world where we might meet. I’ll update the APPEARANCES tab when it’s appropriate, too.

I’m not going to lie that pursuing my education online after decades away from a classroom was easy because it wasn’t. I work full-time and have relationships to maintain (though I’m not always the best at that in good times). Add in the stress and strain of the pandemic, lockdown, paranoia vis a vis vaccines, a brutal election cycle, and the growing divisions among people who have always had more in common with each other than difference, and you have an idea how crazy my life has been these last few years. Patience is a virtue, for sure, and determination. I worked hard, did all the readings, participated in all those damned discussions, and put every ounce of energy (and as much creativity as possible) into the assignments in each class. I did well, too.

But downtime is important. And kindness. Remember that everyone reacts to everything very differently. You probably see this in your own household, so I would ask you to take the patience and kindness that you can exhibit at home and apply it to the rest of the world. I promise you that those in the service industries are doing the absolute best they can with the staff, support, and training they get which – often more than sometimes – isn’t sufficient when everything was what we considered ‘normal’ before. Take care of yourself so that you can show that kindness and patience to others. Hug the ones you love.

I’m grateful to you who read this entire thing. I’ll see you when I see you.

Watch this space

Now that I have some time back in my days, I’ll be here more often with updates on what I’ve written, the science that interests me, stuff I’m reading/watching/listening to, and what I think about all of it in context with the rest of the world. There will be nods to politics because politics affects us all whether we want it to or not. The last 40 years are clear evidence of that in light of the SCOTUS ruling on Friday June 24, 2022.

So grab your coffee or whatever you want to drink and be prepared for what’s to come. This is the guiding principle:

I think that science fiction, even the corniest of it, even the most outlandish of it, no matter how badly it’s written, has therapeutic value because all of it has as its primary postulate that the world does change. I cannot overemphasize the importance of that idea.

Robert A. Heinlein, 1941, at the Third World Science Fiction Convention in Denver, CO.

Peeking Around the Corner

I’m ducking my head in here to tell you that I’ve been thinking a lot about how this place will function once I’m done with school and able to spend that time on actual writing. I think I know what it’ll be, but I’m testing some ideas in what little spare time I have and it may take longer than I want it to because my first priority is to get WAR IN VAIN in your hands by the end of summer. Cross your fingers for that.

The writer in process.

And I can’t wait to get to edit BLACK MOON because then I can start on the next novella in The Wave series and the one that comes after that. And all the others.

I’ve got a short story I’m trying to place and every rejection is “it’s not right for us” so I’ll keep looking in the hope I can find the right place for it. I think you’d like it and I’m pleased with how it came out. Stay tuned.

Anyway, it’s four more weeks until I can start any of this. Thanks for your patience and hanging in with me here. The end of the year promises to be pretty full if everything goes according to plan…

Title Announcement(s)

Right. So a little bit ago on Twitter I announced two new novellas:

@ajasont on Twitter, March 25, 2022.

(Well, to be fair, the title for WAR IN VAIN was already out there so it’s only one real announcement, but who’s counting?) Here’s a bit of a tease about both stories. WAR IN VAIN is a war story in the vein of 1980s action flicks but without 90% of the testosterone. The main character is new to the Wave though she makes quite an impression, and this tale takes place prior to the events of RUDOW, but you’ll have to wait to see the ultimate connection. Rob and I are excited to get this in your hands because the next one… Well, more on that later.

In BLACK MOON, there’s a dying alien empire that could be saved if a former envoy would come out of his self-imposed exile to do it. Rogue elements of the noble class who are having their way with the empire don’t want him to. Why did he quit? What could draw him back? Sci-fi space opera action and political intrigue under 40,000 words.

You can find all my books through Amazon. If you like them, please leave a review there or on GoodReads or both. Please tell your friends. If you’d like to read a review of RUDOW CAN’T FAIL, here’s what CJ Bunce at Borg.com had to say about it.

Finding Killing Joke

In the mid 80s, when Metallica released their Garage Days Re-revisited EP, I fell in love with the entire thing but one track in particular stood out: The Wait. That was the first time I heard of Killing Joke. Then in 1988 came Alan Moore’s and Brian Bolland’s brilliant Batman: The Killing Joke. (The band and the comic aren’t necessarily related, but certainly Alan Moore was aware of the band.) And then I moved on.

Every so often, I’d run across a reference to KJ the band when I read interviews with some bands but never investigated. This was pre-Internet, and I wasn’t aware of a place where I would have heard any of the music of KJ. I missed MTV for most of the 80s, too, so I missed their biggest hits. Kind of a perfect storm of my own ignorance and a lack of resources. None of my friends or fellow musicians were into the band. I really wish I’d heard Extremities, Dirt, and Other Repressed Emotions in 1990 when it came out because Ministry’s Psalm 69 was the album I got instead.

Start to finish, one of the heaviest, most aggressive records I’ve ever heard. I would have lived inside this album for years, studied and learned from it.

Flash forward to 2021 and I was cruising YouTube when I decided to go listen to Failure’s Ken Andrews song Sword and Shield. While it played, I perused the comments and found someone mentioned how that song reminded them of Killing Joke. Failure is one of my favorite bands (I tell everyone I know about them) and Andrews’ solo stuff has always appealed to me. So off I went to revisit The Wait.

And then I found Eighties, Love Like Blood, Kings and Queens, The Hum, Empire Song, Wardance, and holy shit how had I missed this band? I found a bunch of mix lists and just let them play, making notes of songs that stood out. That first list had over forty titles.

Listen to “Eighties” and you can’t deny that KJ had a significant influence on Nirvana. Listen to the whole album and you can see why it was their biggest hit.

But then came Extremities… and Money Is Not Our God, The Beautiful Dead, and the atmospheric brilliance of Inside the Termite Mound. I was hooked and listening to everything I could. I read their Wikipedia entry, researched more articles and interviews with Jaz Coleman and the band, found there was a documentary. Dave Grohl played drums on their 2003 self-titled album for free and we got maybe Dave’s best drum work and another industrial masterpiece.

Just put on the headphones and crank this one up. If you’re a fan of any kind of heavy, industrial music this is a treat. So much syncopation that you’ll bounce all the way through it.

By the middle of December I’d listened to every studio album, watched several live concert videos on YouTube, and seen the documentary (The Death and Resurrection Show is on the Roku Channel). Apparently I was making up for 30 years of not supporting the band in six months. I’m absolutely in love with the music in every period. They deserve much wider recognition because once you start listening to them, you can hear how many other bands they’ve influenced.

Geordie’s guitar sounds, the drums (especially Martin Atkins on Extremities…), Jaz’s voice growling, shouting pain and anger then soaring above the wail have connected with me in a way that I haven’t found in music in a long, long time. Maybe the band is old hat to some, but they shouldn’t be written off. They’re important. Politically and socially they comment in words and music on the state of things in ways that other bands don’t. I don’t agree with all their points of view but I understand them. They challenge me and I like that in some of my music.

It’s wonderful to still be finding music that moves me like Killing Joke does and that they are still out there. They toured with TOOL in 2019 before everything and just released a live recording from that trip. Since 1979, the Joke has been a band I should have been listening to, a generator tapping into various sources of power and translating into a language we can understand. All we have to do is pay attention.

2021 Awards Eligibility

Hi. If you’re reading for awards eligibility, here are the things I wrote or co-wrote that came out this year.

Agent of D.A.N.G.E.R. #2: Extraordinary Arrays was published by Actionopolis in July of 2021.

After gestating on various hard drives for a while, the trilogy of Agent of D.A.N.G.E.R. novellas was completed this year. They’re aimed at middle-grade readers who like science fiction and adventure. Influenced in equal parts by Saturday morning cartoons and comic books, these books are quick reads and finish up the tale of disavowed secret agents fighting an ancient, cosmic evil.

Agent of D.A.N.G.E.R. #3: Weird Circles was also published in July 2021 by Actionopolis.

The third novella of the cycle, Weird Circles, is the longest of the three, but each can be read in an afternoon or binged in a single day if you’re into that. Covers by Phil Hester with Shannon Denton.

Rudow Can’t Fail arrived in August of 2021 in digital and physical formats.

The last entry in my year is the novella Rudow Can’t Fail, co-written with Rob Schamberger who also painted the cover. It’s our “Mars noir” that is filled with sex, cursing, intrigue, and politics. Definitely aimed at adults, it’s the beginning of a trilogy of novellas that set up a series of novels yet to come.

You can find all my books on Amazon. Thanks for reading!

The End of 2021

Happy New Year, friends. Thanks for reading. Let’s swing into 2022 like Spider-Man through the steel canyons of Manhattan.

Despite starting out in the midst of a pandemic that resulted in (and continues) needless deaths, an insurrection at the nation’s capital, and further deep divisions along political lines, 2021 has been a good year for me personally. Maybe that’s selfish. There’s a lot wrong with [gestures at everything] – yeah, but it’s not wrong to be pleased with personal progress. (I do try to help others as much as I can.) So, selfish, yeah, but not wrong.

 

I wrote a short story that I’m very proud of and am still seeking a home for. I continued my seemingly perpetual educational journey and graduated with my associate’s degree (with President’s honors) in May. I wrote 33,000 words of a novella before moving on to pursue my bachelor’s. I took out student loans. Three books came out in July. I appeared at Planet Comicon while working full-time and taking classes. My grades remain ridiculously high. My wife still loves me. My son visits every so often.

 

The highlights are pretty high, I think. I don’t dwell on the negative stuff, but there are things that will need my attention in the next few months. All of it can be handled. Even the times when I wasn’t sure of myself, or when I was scared or overwhelmed or lonely. My psyche is capable of processing fear and anguish, but the coping mechanism is to eat that stuff away, or drink it. I know I’ve got work to do. Writing helps, so does walking. In November my body tried to kill me again, and now we know how that needs to be dealt with.

But the good stuff is GREAT. I got to see friends I hadn’t seen in almost two years at Planet. I began a professional partnership with my good friend Rob Schamberger. I am supported by a wonderful group of fellow creatives who know when to push me and when to let me alone. It feels like I might be near the top of whatever game I’ve got, but I know there’s more over the horizon. I’m aiming to get there and to celebrate that when I do.

 

I can’t do everything. A dear friend tells me that and then goes on to say that just because you can’t do everything it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do anything. That applies to so many pieces of my world I can’t even begin to count them. An acquaintance says that in the end all that matters is how we treat each other and I agree with that, too. If we are all doing something and treating each other with respect and empathy, love when we can, then the world is going to be better. Slow and steady wins the race.

 

So for 2022, I wish you luck and love and all the good things. Do something you haven’t done before and try to make it worthwhile. Be kind, especially in your various communities. Small acts have big ramifications.

 

Happy New Year, friends.

Rebooting a Classic in Babylon 5

To be clear up front: I was more than 20 years late to the joy that is Babylon 5, and I only came to it because Rob Schamberger pushed me, and pushed hard, to watch it. I’m no expert, I’m not a long-time fan of the series, but I am rabid in my love of what was achieved by J. Michael Straczynski and his company of actors and the crew. At only three watch-throughs, I’m still a newbie and I’m still discovering nuance every time. I’m behind the so-called ‘real’ fans, but I’m a real fan, too.

Vorlons, man. And just wait until you meet Zathras.

There are so many things others have said about B5 that echo exactly what I feel about the show, so I won’t go into that here. Instead, I’ll confess that I didn’t watch in its original run. I had access, PNET was on our cable provider in the 90s, but I was a snob in 1993. I wrote it off as a poor man’s Star Trek and forgot about it. Occasionally I would pass it while I was channel surfing and would gloss over it after less than two minutes. Bruce Boxleitner? That guy from Scarecrow and Mrs. King? (Yeah, I know he was Tron, too, but S&MK was more recent and stuck in my head. Nah, no thanks. Not for me.

Bottom line: I didn’t get what JMS was doing with Babylon 5. It was over my head, and in my judgmental haste, I was never going to give it a chance.

Fast forward to 2018 when Rob and I are at Minsky’s catching up and talking about all things science fiction. He starts to tell me everything he loves about B5 and it sounds interesting to me. This is 20 years after the show has ended and I’m intrigued. I agreed to give it a shot. He lent me his precious DVDs and I watched.

First season is rough, to be sure, but it finds its legs about halfway through and the acting gets slightly better. However, it’s the story between Londo and G’Kar that fascinates me. (I didn’t know about the trials and tribulations of lead Michael O’Hare then, and now that I do, his performance is beyond impressive.) As the second season progresses, I am deeply drawn to Boxleitner’s John Sheridan and I see the influences that JMS has pulled from. By the end of season 2, I’m hopelessly in love with all the characters, no matter how inexpertly played.

Yeah, it’s Penn and Teller. It’s also the episode that Neil Gaiman wrote.

If you haven’t watched, you should know that Walter Koenig, Star Trek’s Chekhov, is a villain that will scare you as much as endear you. You should know that there are true Shakespearean moments and real emotions that you will experience if you allow yourself to should you endeavor to watch this groundbreaking series.

And it’s truly groundbreaking. It had a story that was planned for five years (starting in 1993), something that had never been done before on episodic TV. It was the first show to use CGI extensively for the ships and it looks pretty good in the remaster on HBOMax if you want to watch it there. My god, Bill Mumy is fantastic as his character’s love is unrequited. But the aforementioned Londo, played by Peter Jurasik, is the real star, supported perfectly by Andreas Katsulas as G’Kar, who embodies the human condition more so than any other character in the cast.

Look, just watch. You’ll get the episodes where Wayne Alexander will blow you away with his understated performances in several roles. You’ll get a sense of “this was made when?” as the politics of the show play out. If you’re interested in watching a great story, watch Babylon 5. It’s not perfect, but it will reward you if you stick with it. I promise. You won’t be sorry.

The Grey Council is… no. Sorry. Spoilers.

As for the reboot announced today? I’m in. JMS is going to be showrunner and it’ll be a masterclass in how to do it should the CW pick up the pilot. I’m crossing my fingers and hopeful that we’re going to see a new version of the story I’ve come to love as much as my favorite science fictions, one that will exceed my expectations.

For those of you who fear it will be ‘woke’, you need to watch the original series with different eyes. It’s more than ‘woke’, it’s clear-eyed and deliberate.

What Dreams Are Yet to Come...

It's been a wild ride the last couple of years. I've been writing in and around my day job and school work, and there's a lot that hasn't come out yet but will eventually. Please stay tuned for another novella with Rob Schamberger and a solo novella I'm working on in my spare time called ENVOY.

Stay safe everyone! Keep reading.

Planet Comicon 2021: Necessary Precautions

Friends, I am as excited as you are at the thought of getting back to a comic convention, even in the climate we’re in now. I’m going to have copies of all my books, including my collaboration with Rob Schamberger, RUDOW CAN’T FAIL, A MAP OF THE PROBLEM, both the EVOLVER and AGENT OF D.A.N.G.E.R. Trilogies, and some prints of Love, Empathy, Respect.

www.planetcomicon.com

I’m at table 1643 in Artists Alley with authors Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore on one side of me, and J.R. Frontera and her gang from Wordwraith books on the other. We’re calling this the Aisle of Fun because, hey, we’re going to make your experience memorable when you come visit! Be sure to visit my co-author Rob Schamberger at table 1427 to get the other half of the signatures your book might require.

But I can’t help remember that we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. Kansas City requires masks indoors, which includes the hall the convention is in. When you’re there, please honor the safety of the creators, cosplayers, celebrities, and other attendants by wearing your mask over your nose and mouth. I’m asking nicely. However you feel about all of this, it’s a requirement to be on the floor with everyone.

With that in mind, for my own peace of mind and the protection of others I am around after Planet, I’ll be limiting my hours at my table in Artists Alley. I may be around a little before and a little after, but I’m guaranteeing I’ll appear at these times:

FRIDAY: 3:00 pm to 6:00 pmSATURDAY: 11:00 am to 4:00 pmSUNDAY: 11:00 am to 2:00 pm

There will be a plexiglass barrier between us, and I’m sorry for that but it is necessary. I am vaccinated and will be wearing my mask (even though I really don’t like them) and may even wear gloves at times. I’m not sure if I’ll let patrons page through copies of the books, but I’m leaning toward having one copy of everything out though it will be up to the individual to decide whether to pick them up or not. (That’s the reason I’m bringing gloves.)

(I should mention here that it’s likely there will be several demonstrations during the times above on how to fold a fitted sheet. It started with author Kevin Dilmore and I on Facebook and now it’s becoming a whole thing. I don’t understand what the big deal is. ANYway.)

I love this show, I love everyone who stops by to say hello, and I really hoped we’d be in a better position than where we are now. I’ve gone back and forth about whether to even appear at all, but I want to celebrate the release of RUDOW and honestly I want some of the energy that Planet always gives me as I head into autumn.

I’m a very little fish in the ocean of Planet Comicon, but I love the people I get to see and talking to potential new fans. You are all amazing people and I hope to see as many of you as possible over the weekend. Stay safe, friends. You are loved and you are valued.