C.S. Daley's Blog, page 14

Incarnators Week 8

Well after weeks of false starts and preparation, I have officially hit the gas pedal. This was easily the best week of writing I have had. Made my word count goal every night. I finished up chapters one and two and should be done with three by tomorrow. It was a great feeling to realize I had finally got a hold of the story and began pounding out words. I admit to growing a little frustrated with myself. Now I can get down to the business of writing and creating.

I think one of the problems with getting started was how many characters and story lines I needed to make sure I addressed in the final book. I'll tell you this, it gives me an appreciation for George R.R. Martin. I don't know how he can possibly keep track of the billion story threads he has going. You add the words up to all three of my novels and it only equals one of his books. Goodness it must be a headache.

The most important item of writing that occurred this week is I know most of the end game. I know where and how all the characters will reach their dramatic conclusion. I can vividly see the final scene for two of them. It is always easier for me when I am writing towards an ending I have in my brain. So far the new character has been my favorite to write (probably because I have no story threads I have to worry about). I have one character I am wrestling with a little but I kind of expected that because I have since the very first book.

I am looking forward to finishing and editing. It will be kind of cool to say I finished a trilogy. It will also give me time to actually start marketing the books. Sales have slowed way down and I am sure this is because I am not out there looking for readers. I wish the marketing wasn't so hard (this is code for I have no clue how to do it). In my perfect writer's world I just put words on paper and readers magically find me. I'll worry about it later. For now I am happy I got my writer's groove back. I love this feeling. Every morning I wake up thinking about what I am going to write and every night I bang it out.

GameStop Suckage

I am going to let all my PC and console game friends in on a big secret. GameStop sucks harder than a Hoover. GameStop may be the single worse place to have to buy a video game in the known universe. GameStop has made a fortune ripping people off for years. Okay, that wasn't really that big of a secret. In fact if you buy games, there is a pretty good chance you are already very aware of the seventh level of hell known as shopping at GameStop.

The problem is that many towns have very few places to choose from when it comes to buying games. In my small town we have a GameStop and a WalMart. That's like asking a customer do you want to drink the Kool-Aid flavored acid or the fruit punch flavored acid.

There is a long list of transgressions this store has pulled over the years. From jacking up prices on console bundles by putting lame ass junk in the bundle to the buying of used games for nothing and then selling them just under the retail price. They do these things because they can.

The latest transgression just boggles my mind though. It seems they have been opening up copies of the new game Deus Ex: The Human Revolution and removing a coupon code for a free download of the game on the OnLive service. This is a $49.00 coupon. They then reseal the box and sell it as new. Apparently, GameStop's definition of new is different then mine. Considering they don't take returns on games that have been opened it seems they must be currently revising their definition of new also.

OnLive is a competitor of GameStop. I can actually understand why it might not make them happy to be giving away coupons for a competitor. However, I think that leaves you only one choice. Don't sell the game. Maybe work out a deal where you sell the game in your stores with a coupon for your services. Oh wait a minute, I forgot. That's not possible because you are not customer friendly and prefer to gouge your customers every chance you get.

As you can probably tell I don't like this company much. I haven't bought anything from them in a long time. I actually buy most of my games through GameFly with an occasional Amazon purchase. I don't trade in games to GameStop either. I would rather give them away for free to my students then look at their smug faces while they act like they are doing me a favor taking my game off my hands.

I keep wondering when some company is going to step in and put GameStop out of business. They are ripe for it. With very little effort you could offer better customer service, a more customer friendly location, and better trade in policies. They are practically daring someone to try. In the meantime, remember when you buy a game from them it might only be almost new.

Hey, Corporate Drone Music Executive – Take My Money Please

I buy a lot of music. This new carpet thing has driven that home because I still have hundreds and hundreds of compact discs that do nothing but gather dust. Why are they gathering dust? The answer is easy I don't listen to compact discs. I only have these discs to keep myself legal. I have tried very hard through the years to not be a pirate. To stay on the right side of the rules. To support all my favorite artists. I don't get rid of the CDs because I know the rules say I can't put music on my iPod from a CD and then sell the CD (although I am seriously considering giving them away to charity but I know this too probably breaks the rules). It pains me that I try to play by the rules but I know that the musical corporate hates me. They have always hated me. I am only a dollar sign.

Every rule ever made has only penalized the honest consumer. I try to live my life in a way that would allow me to be held up to my students as someone who stands by what they believe in. I believe pirating someone's copyright is stealing. We are not entitled to have it just because we can get it easily. There are days though when the urge to track down a corporate pencil pusher and punch him in the skull is almost too much to resist. When the iPod came out they forced Apple to cripple it and put DRM on it. Now, Apple is going to provide a cloud service that I will have to pay more for because the music industry wants a licensing fee for me to store my music in the cloud. Music, I have already bought. The list goes on forever.

Nothing frustrates me more than the inability to buy music from artists I like who are not currently for sale in the United States. How is anything not for sale anywhere in this day and age? It is a digital file for fraks sake. So me, the honest customer, doesn't get to own it unless I pay some crazy price to have it imported. It happens all the time. Today, I heard a song on XM that I loved by the artist KO. I hopped onto iTunes and struck out. Went to Amazon and e-music, no dice. At this point I knew what was coming. Not available to purchase in the US. Where does this artist currently reside and sell his CDs? Why Canada. Do you know how annoying it is to have something I want only available in Canada? (I can hear my Canadian friends snickering already.)

Of course, it is available in the Canadian iTunes store. I want to give them my money but I can't. I can't even go to the artists web site and buy the music because I am sure whatever label he is currently signed to has some contract language that requires him to give up his first-born child and not sell his music without papa's permission. If I was a pirate I would be listening to the music while I typed this blog. Mass media needs to catch up. They keep acting like somehow the digital age is a controllable beast but it isn't. It is going to morph and morph again. Find a way to take my money you silly corporate drone when I want to give it to you and if at all possible stop hating me so much. It is starting to make me angry. You won't like me when I am angry.

Hey, Corporate Drone Music Executive – Take my money please

I buy a lot of music. This new carpet thing has driven that home because I still have hundreds and hundreds of compact discs that do nothing but gather dust. Why are they gathering dust? The answer is easy I don't listen to compact discs. I only have these discs to keep myself legal. I have tried very hard through the years to not be a pirate. To stay on the right side of the rules. To support all my favorite artists. I don't get rid of the CDs because I know the rules say I can't put music on my iPod from a CD and then sell the CD (although I am seriously considering giving them away to charity but I know this too probably breaks the rules). It pains me that I try to play by the rules but I know that the musical corporate hates me. They have always hated me. I am only a dollar sign.

Every rule ever made has only penalized the honest consumer. I try to live my life in a way that would allow me to be held up to my students as someone who stands by what they believe in. I believe pirating someone's copyright is stealing. We are not entitled to have it just because we can get it easily. There are days though when the urge to track down a corporate pencil pusher and punch him in the skull is almost too much to resist. When the iPod came out they forced Apple to cripple it and put DRM on it. Now, Apple is going to provide a cloud service that I will have to pay more for because the music industry wants a licensing fee for me to store my music in the cloud. Music, I have already bought. The list goes on forever.

Nothing frustrates me more than the inability to buy music from artists I like who are not currently for sale in the United States. How is anything not for sale anywhere in this day and age? It is a digital file for fraks sake. So me, the honest customer, doesn't get to own it unless I pay some crazy price to have it imported. It happens all the time. Today, I heard a song on XM that I loved by the artist KO. I hopped onto iTunes and struck out. Went to Amazon and e-music, no dice. At this point I knew what was coming. Not available to purchase in the US. Where does this artist currently reside and sell his CDs? Why Canada. Do you know how annoying it is to have something I want only available in Canada? (I can hear my Canadian friends snickering already.)

Of course, it is available in the Canadian iTunes store. I want to give them my money but I can't. I can't even go to the artists web site and buy the music because I am sure whatever label he is currently signed to has some contract language that requires him to give up his first-born child and not sell his music without papa's permission. If I was a pirate I would be listening to the music while I typed this blog. Mass media needs to catch up. They keep acting like somehow the digital age is a controllable beast but it isn't. It is going to morph and morph again. Find a way to take my money you silly corporate drone when I want to give it to you and if at all possible stop hating me so much. It is starting to make me angry. You won't like me when I am angry.

Incarnators Week 7

Nothing like another lost week of writing. I did get some writing done but the world conspired against me getting on a role. School started this week and I felt a little bit of an obligation to actually be ready. I mean I love writing but it isn't paying the bills. Wait that's not true it pays the coffee bills.

Add into that our brilliant decision to get new carpet installed during the first week of school. Have you ever installed new carpet? You might as well be moving. I was so naive at how long it was going to take to get the house ready. We had to pack five rooms into a kitchen and garage. Also, I have a lot of fucking books. Holy Hardbacks Batman. I now understand why I have embraced digital books so whole- heartedly. I moved all my digital books in one minute flat. I put my IPad away.

It became a giant puzzle trying to fit everything in but we did it (with a big assist from friends who came over Thursday and Friday). I also got to spend time as a cat whisperer. My brother called me on Friday saying Troubadour had climbed to the darkened regions of the closet and wouldn't come down. He is already a nervous cat and the installers sent him over the edge. I rushed home on break and got him down without any injury (my brother did not get so lucky).

The good news is the carpet is in (it is extraordinary. We waited way too long to replace the old one, you could actually see slab). We spent today putting everything back and tomorrow I am back to my regular writing schedule.

Incarnators crawls along but it is crawling. Hopefully this week I can hit the gas petal and make some good progress. It will be nice to start piecing together all of this early writing into something that actually looks like chapters and progress.

Network TV Hates Us – I'm Looking At You AMC

Every year I read about TV networks whining about losing viewers. Losing revenue. Trying to find new methods to capitalize on new media and social media. Some networks whine more than others. I understand the problems and their fears. There is a lot of money involved in making a show. I have a really simple solution. Stop sucking and treat your viewers with respect.

Most of them won't because they are run by giant know-it-all egotists. You don't have to look any farther than the carnage at NBC. I mean seriously, they thought putting Leno on at 10 was a good idea. They matched this brilliant idea by firing Conan and sticking Leno back on the Tonight Show. Even when they accidentally stumbled onto some interesting TV programming, like Heroes, they managed to suck the life out of it faster than the Reverse Flash apparently can blow up the DC Universe.

I am starting to believe networks hate their viewers. When I say networks I mean all networks. Not just the big 4 (okay, I admit that is pushing it. Maybe the big 3 because who the hell knows what NBC is anymore. They couldn't even find a way to make Wonder Woman work). Everyone of them makes a screwy decision that makes absolutely  no sense. Even HBO who generally stands above the fray once canceled Deadwood and replaced it with John From Cincinnati. What the fuck was that all about?

Networks no longer nurture shows. Instant gratification tends to be the name of the game. It doesn't matter how good your show is most of the time. No ratings means you are gone. I think Fox canceled The Family Guy like a million times. Showtime once had an incredible little program called Dead Like Me that they canned way before it's expiration date (in defense of Showtime they have gotten much better). For the most part the networks just keep trotting out the same formula. Every so often one of them hits and then everyone rushes to copy it.

Then there is the bizarre situations at what used to be two of my favorite TV channels. Can anyone tell me why they are even called the SyFy network (which by the way is a stupid name and I believe signaled the beginning of the end for this once good network). The recent cancellation of Eureka was pretty much the end for me. That network is as ridiculous as one of the C movies they play. There was a time you could count on quality but now I wonder how long it will be until they are dead in the water as a destination for science fiction fans.

It could be weirder. SyFy network could be AMC who I believe is now currently attempting to fall on their sword. I think their head of programming is on crack. I don't know what his name is. I read it once but he is unimportant to me. On the other hand I could name all of their show runners. This network has turned itself into the little engine that could.

This has not stopped them from meddling in everything. Matthew Weiner, of Mad Men, won't even speak to the head of programming anymore. Breaking Bad threatened to jump ship and then there is The Walking Dead. AMC's biggest hit. What did they do with their biggest hit? They fired their show runner (Frank Darabont). Reduced the per episode budget and told them that maybe they shouldn't have so many zombies. Someone needs to be punched in the skull. Less zombies! Hello, it is a fucking show about a zombie apocalypse. It needing a certain amount of zombies should not be a surprise.

HBO left the Wire on for five years because it was quality. It never drew the numbers The Walking Dead is drawing. They left it the hell alone. Even with Deadwood they didn't interfere, they just made the mistake of canceling it. AMC is doomed. They can't get out of their own way. This means three more shows I like are probably screwed in the long run. They hate us I tell you. There is a bright side. When they piss me off so bad I think my head might explode I head over to my computer and watch the web series Awkward Embraces. More entertainment in 6 minutes than almost any sitcom currently on TV.

Whispers of the Dead Published

Yes, people, I am a glutton for punishment. Today Whispers of the Dead crossed over into the published world at Amazon. It will soon be available at Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, iTunes, and a bunch of other places (I will post the links as the book goes live). This is my third book out and I am busy finishing the last book in the series. Even better I have a completed novel (Dragonroot) waiting to be edited then published. This means by about March of next year I should have 5 books hanging out in all of the fine online bookstores. At the rate the current books are flying off the virtual bookshelves I will be able to retire when I am, well I will never be able to retire. I will keep writing though. At some point I assume I will obtain worldwide notoriety for the most published  ebooks that no one has ever read (I, of course, hope this does not happen but I like to keep my goals realistic).

If you haven't bought The Shadow Men yet then what are you waiting for? Now book two is out and I promise book three will be out before you know it. Consider it you're supporting the delusional author contribution for the month. Seriously, though, I hope you enjoy the second book. I know a few of my readers were both happy and wanted to kill me all at the same time. This was a good thing though, trust me.

Whispers of the Dead at Amazon

The Shadow Men at Amazon

The Shadow Men at Barnes & Noble

The Shadow Men at Smashwords

The Shadow Men at Amazon UK

Incarnators Week 6

Not a great week of writing but better. I have worked out some kinks with Incarnators and done some plotting. I also spent a bit of time hammering out the last few steps of getting Whispers of the Dead published. Happily, I did accomplish that goal. Whispers of the Dead went on sale at Amazon today. All the other stores will soon follow.

As far as Incarnators goes it is time to get serious. Work is back in session for me tomorrow. Students return on Wednesday. This is actually not a bad thing for me. I actually write a lot better when I am not on summer vacation. Despite my slow start I have not changed my mind on when I want to be done. Incarnators has to be finished by the end of October or beginning of November. This will give me time to take a break and then hammer out the edits. I would like to get the book out before the end of the year. This is going to mean a 2000 word a day goal for at least 30 of the next 60 days. I feel confident I can get it done. I am rested and my brain is clear. It is time to crank this baby out.

This week I spent a lot of time on my new character. His name is Mouse and I love him a lot. I hope my evil side does not get the best of me. I don't always treat the characters I love very well. Having said that I have a character from the first book who I thought wouldn't make it past the fourth chapter who has become a major player. Writing is always full of surprises for me.

Starting on Monday I will start updating the word count on a daily basis. I will not count any words that I have written so far (mostly because I think most of them were background story which I am not sure will be included). Check back in if you're a fan and you can see the word count roll and know you are getting closer to finding out how the whole horrific thing ends. In the meantime I need to get some sleep. Busy week ahead. We have new carpet being installed. School starts and a whole lot of furniture moving.

Depression Sponsor Needed

I do not fear writer's block. No, what I fear is brain block, life block, mother fucking blackness raining from the sky and swallowing me whole block. Truthfully, I would trade a little writer's block to get rid of all the rest of the stuff. I think more than any other reason this is why I have spent about ten hours riding around on my motorcycle this week.

I had forgotten how much riding my motorcycle gave me time to clear my head. Enjoy the scenery and think. I have known for about the last two weeks I had fallen into one of the darker spots I have fallen into in years. I was starting to worry. The last time I felt this depressed and sad I stopped writing for about seven years. I had a top notch case of the sky is falling.

It started when I got back from Comic-Con. Someone I respect said something to me at Comic-Con that sent me into a death spiral of blackness. The implication from the person was pretty clear that my current attempt at writing novels and publishing on my own was folly. I know the person didn't mean to do this but with a few well placed words they showed me exactly where they thought I stood on the writer hierarchy.

It bothered me. I know it did. I said something to Sheri that night on the phone. I stewed on it for days. Then I went home and slunk into a hole. I have been unfocused and unproductive ever since. Last night I was lying in bed and I could feel the tears coming. Anger and sadness mixing together. Most of the anger I am directing squarely at myself. I know I get like this. I am usually better at dealing with it. It almost felt like I wanted it to happen this time. Some sort of ridiculous pity party.

Then I fell asleep (thank goodness). When I woke up this morning I reminded myself how my brain gets. I decided to write this fucker out and remind myself of a few basic tenants of my life. I love my wife, my family and my friends. I love to write. I know some things will always bother me. The world weighs on me.

Poverty and hate and racism make me sad beyond comprehension. Politicians make me want to scream with their fake concern for all of us. Fox News, and all of their brethren make me want to punch myself in the skull with their message of division. People who think they know everything, people who don't know enough and don't care, people who are mean. THey all put weight on my heart no matter how much I try to ignore it.

My brain wants to paint the world black sometimes. I have always been able to resist it. Sometimes it takes longer than others. This was a bad one. I feel better now. I think I am ready to return to the regularly scheduled program. Time to be happy and funny. Time to write. Time to start picking on the things which make my heart heavy in my blog. Time to see a movie. Time to teach children, hug my wife, and play with my kittens. Thank you all of my friends and readers for putting up with this crap sometimes. I know I am getting better at maintaining. It has been a long time since I have had one this bad. I am going to try real hard to avoid the next one. I might have to get myself a depression sponsor. I wonder if Kat Deeley is available?

The Anti-Collector

All my life I have been a collector. It started when I was in third grade with comic books. It moved onto Star Wars action figures and eventually added my biggest collection, autographed books. I have always liked the feeling of having complete sets of things or rare books others wished they had. Like right now, I have a true first edition, first printing autographed edition of George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. The book is relatively rare and getting more and more expensive to buy as the years go on. It sits on my shelf and every time I see it I smile a tiny bit. My collection is full of books like that. I have all but the first 7 or 8 Terry Pratchett Discworld books in hardback. All signed and first editions. Even better they are the U.K versions with the far superior covers. I still get a warm feeling in my stomach when I see my autographed hardback of Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. The book never came out in hardback in the U.S. I had to have a friend in the U.K. track it down for me after I read it. Now it is almost impossible to find and you will pay a pretty penny to own it.

I am not going to lie. For most of my life I have truly loved my autograph book collection. Now as I prepare to pack it up so the new carpet can get installed I realize something has dramatically changed in my brain. I look at the books and realize, for some of them, I don't care that much anymore. I have a strong feeling that many of the books which go into boxes are never going to come out and be put back on shelves. I have turned into the Anti-Collector.

The change has crept over me the last few years. I began to slow up on my buying of autographed books. In part because I was running out of space. I slowly cut back on certain authors' books. I didn't stop reading the author but they were shuffled over to Kindle purchases. Now it has become a full-blown slaughter, the authors I continue to buy autograph copies of  is down to just a handful. Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Christopher Moore, Ian Rankin (Rebus books only) are the only remaining authors I buy.

The change is easy to trace. Sheri and I have only 13 years left of teaching. We started young and this will give us 30 years in the profession. We are going to get out while we still have enough of our senses to enjoy the remaining years together. The plan is to move to big cities we have always wanted to live in and stay there for a while. We knew this would mean paring down the amount of stuff we own. We want to be lean, mean, moving machines. We want to be able to move whenever we feel like it. We want to travel. We want to get on the touring motorcycle we are about to buy and head down a coast. Suddenly, all of these things seemed more important than stuff. When that clicked over in my head I realized it was silly to accumulate things I was just going to part with later. Now when I buy something it is with the knowledge I will be getting rid of it when I am done (like video games) or I plan to keep it even when we start moving. It is kind of a liberating feeling. I liked collecting things but I like the thought of traveling with the woman I love more. I know this all sounds very grown up but have no fear. Upon the completion of writing this blog I will return to my regularly scheduled immaturity.