James R. Tuck's Blog, page 4

THE OBLIGATORY NEW YEAR’S POST (or rangin’ in 2013 a bit late)

Loyals and True Believers we made it another year.

2013 Hell yeah and Amen and pass the bourbon.

I’m like most of you, I try to make changes with each new year. Most of them have to do with writing but there are more so here’s some random resolutions that are bouncing around in my head.

1) 60% OF A MILLION

I did some figuring the other day. If I write 2,000 words a day, taking off one day a week and allowing for 13 sick days, at the end of 2013 I will have written 600,000 words. SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND! That’s astounding. I’m going to give it my best try, keeping track and seeing if it can be done. I’ve got about 240,000 words worth of projects laid out for the year which leaves 360,000 words to spend on new things. It’s exciting!

2) SPEAKING OF WRITING

I am making a conscious decision to quit screwing around with my wordsmithy. I am seeking out new words and new ways to use them, studying poets of the caliber of Yeats, Tennyson, and Donne. I’ll be pulling out the Ecclesiastes and the Psalms (in both King James and Douay-Rheim) and the early turn of the century (not the 21st) writers like the church fathers. Basically I want to get my Cormac McCarthy on and combine the lyrical sentence work with my pulp sensibility.

3) LOSE WEIGHT

Yep. We all say it but unlike you I stepped on a scale that informed me I was a super svelte 383 lbs. Let that sink in for a second. I am SEVENTEEN POUNDS FROM BEING 400. That is a bit ridiculous. I’ve always been a big guy. I like being a big guy but it is time to reel that shit in.

4) WORK THE TATTOO GIG LIKE A BUSINESS OWNER

I can be honest with you. This past year I really let the shop take care of itself while I chased my author dreams. I don’t regret anything and the shop did fine but I know that Family tradition needs my attention. If I just leave it be it will not thrive and I LOVE my shop, I want it to grow and be the best shop it can be. It’s a great place and even if words flow through my veins, tattooing is in my bones. It was there first and is still part of my DNA. So the ship is being tightened up, changes implemented and new things put in motion.

5) A NEW SCHEDULE

This all happens with a bit of structure on my part. Instead of willy nilly doing whatever the hell I want I have to apply this brain of mine to the situation and manufacture a workable schedule to do what I want. I am pretty sure I have it worked out and it is implemented and undergoing study to see where it needs be tweaked for efficiency.

 

Other than the big five it’s a bunch of little things. I plan to drink more bourbon, to meet new folks, to explore new forms of writing and new pieces of art. I’m 42 and I love my life and I plan to truly enjoy it all.

 

SNIPPET (not from anything I’m working on, just a bit I wrote)

You want to know the difference between you and me?

You see a man walking, carrying a gas can and smoking a cigarette, you assume there’s a car on the side of the road either behind or in front of him.

I see the same man and assume somebody somewhere nearby did something that deserves being set on fire for.

Reblogging a great article: 8 Writing Techniques to Win You a Pulitzer | Jane Friedman

I am reading BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy because he is a total literary badass and I want to write like him.  I ran across this article, which by title sounds vaguely manipulative, but actually just gives some great advice (with examples) of how to write better.

8 Writing Techniques to Win You a Pulitzer | Jane Friedman.

STRAP ON THEM IRONS BOYS (or the announcement of a new project)

If you been paying attention to my social media (and if you haven’t then why not?) then you know I am a part of the Outlaws Of Fiction. We’re like the Four Horsemen of WCW. Four authors who write edgy stuff and buck the system making our own way. If you like my stuff, you will probably like theirs and vice a versa. We see eye to eye and all.

The Outlaws are: Yours Truly, D. A. Adams, Brady Allen, and Steven Shrewsbury. (click their names to go to their respective sites)

See what I mean? If you are familiar with any of them I can see you nodding your head and going: “Yep, them and James are cut from the same cloth.”  We got a BLOG, a FACEBOOK PAGE, and lot of fire in our bellies (but that might be the bourbon….or Brady’s chili.)

Well, this is the post where I tell you we ain’t all talk. We have decided, as writers are won’t to do, to collaborate on a new project. So allow me to introduce to the world formally:

LOWDOWN, DESPERATE, AND DAMNED Four Tales Set In The Weird West.

Blurb:

There was a time in America’s past that never happened. Where mythic heroes strapped iron on their hips and strode across the frontier and far reaches of the American West to make a name for themselves. A time of gunslingers and bounty hunters, outlaws and lawmen; a bloody age where you lived by the gun and survived by your willingness to use it. In this fictional past, the West was weird: heavy laden with bloodsuckers, skinwalkers, monsters not yet named, and dead men walking. Discover a West of old gods and dark magick, of demons and witches, where the razor-thin difference between life and death hung on being a ruthless bastard, a cunning cowboy, or having just one more bullet.

 

This is just a mock up to give you a taste. Not the final cover.

 

So the skinny is this: We each are writing a weird western novella. these novellas will be gathered into a 4-pack and published. We haven’t looked for a publisher yet, but we have a few in our sights. We’ll finish our part while it’s still winter, but it will be in 2013.

I’ll keep you posted with updates, snippets, and the like but my story will probably either be a Caleb Donner story (survivor of the Donner Party and now a bounty hunter with a dark secret living inside him), possibly a novella set in my WASTELAND world (more on THAT later), or a story about Robert McGee which is this guy.

This is a real picture of a real guy who survived being scalped AS A CHILD. Imagine the tough sunnuvabitch you have to be to live your life with your skull open to the world like that.

 

HAVING A FRIEND OVER FOR THANKSGIVING (or A Guest Blog Up In Da House By Matthew W. Quinn)

Today we have my friend Matt Quinn on the blog. Matt is a member of my writing group and he has just sold a story to Heroic Fantasy Quarterly (“Nicor”) that will appear after the first of the year. He’s a fine fellow, a gentleman AND a scholar, so listen up as he tells you about researching as it pertains to writing.

Things I’ve Learned about Writing Research

The Author Himself Matthew W. Quinn

By Matthew W. Quinn

One of the most important aspects of writing is research. If an error throws the reader out of the story or provokes them to throw the book against the wall, you have failed.

For my novel Battle for the Wastelands and its companion novella Son of Grendel, I had to do a lot of research on Civil War battles and weapons. Both Wikipedia and YouTube proved quite useful, as I could quickly find out about different guns, then go to YouTube to watch them being fired.

However, my current hard science fiction project (which does not yet have a title even though it’s already spawning sequels) will require even more. There are plenty of books about the Civil War that won’t be hard to find, but finding a book from the 1980s about the Strategic Defense Initiative and in particular a proposed nuke-pumped laser is harder. Furthermore, it’s set in a future space-based United States Navy, so there’s an extra layer of research that simply Must Get Done if I want to sell to military and former military people.

My most helpful resource has been the public library system. Although you can get a lot of superficial information from the Internet, books are what’ll help you go deep. When I lived on the South Side of Atlanta, the statewide PINES library system was extremely helpful in getting me the information I needed. When I moved to the North Side, the Atlanta-Fulton library system became my new mainstay. Libraries often have books that bookstores don’t. One of my big research sources for Battle for the Wastelands was the series Daily Life In…, in particular the ones about Victorian England, the United States during the Civil War, and the 19th Century American frontier. Those books were apparently fairly limited in terms of press run, since the Amazon price for each one is around $50. They’re especially valuable because although many history books cover big-picture items like wars and the reasons behind economic shake-ups, they won’t go into detail about how people lived, what they ate, etc.

Writing groups are another source. Different group members often know a lot about particular topics. For example, James knows a lot about firearms. During a critique of Son of Grendel, he pointed out that I should depict insurgents firing modern assault rifles on full auto reloading, since this goes through bullets VERY fast. Although I’d depicted them having to fight the guns dragging upward, I’d forgotten about that even though it’s fairly common sense. Another group member is a retired Army sergeant who’s been quite helpful in areas of military protocol and tactics, including a scene in Son of Grendel where a colonel is directing soldiers during a firefight while on horseback — he might as well be wearing a sign that says “Kill Me” — and a scene in Battle for the Wastelands in which a sergeant oversees shooting drills.

Meanwhile, at least three members of my other writing group are retired military. One provided some good advice on portraying a military policewoman’s reaction to being hit on in a bar (probably not a good one), while another — a retired Navy submarine chief — provided a lot of material about Navy culture and protocol. He also informed me of the “one crew one screw” rule in which collective punishments are used to give all members of a unit incentive to keep troublemakers under control. I was sure to use this in Battle for the Wastelands when a sergeant makes all members of a squad do “gaspers” (what I describe as “an unholy mix of squatting, push-ups, and jumping to their feet”) when three members get into an argument.

However, you’ve got to make sure you’re using quality material for your research. I remember (hopefully incorrectly) a history of Anglo-Saxon England I read in high school implied the Normans imposed the infamous “first night” on England after their conquest, but the historical evidence for this “right” even existing is rather spotty. If something seems weird, I would recommend looking for corroboration in other sources.

Matthew W. Quinn is a published writer of short stories and currently shopping his novel: BATTLE FOR THE WASTELANDS. His horror tales “Melon Heads,”  “I am the Wendigo,” and “The Beast of the Bosporus” and his science-fiction story “Coil Gun” can be found on Amazon.com, while his licensed BattleTech story “Skirmish at the Vale’s Edge” can be found on BattleCorps.

Matt’s blog is HERE

 

 

SOME MOVIES FOR NEXT YEAR I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO (or careful James, your narcissim is showing)

Time for a new post up in here, up in here.

I’ve been writing my ass off today so I am going to jack in a bunch of trailers for upcoming movies I am looking forward to, maybe a few classics I aim to revisit, and there might even be a tv show or two.

Here ya go.

 

 

Trying a wordcount meter

[progpress title="RED RIGHT HAND" goal="80000" current="23513"]

WHAT THE HELL HAS JAMES BEEN DOING LATELY? (aka: status report)

Hello Loyals and True Believers. I hope you are well. I love you all and it is good to see you again.

I have many writer friends and occasionally they post up what they are doing and how it is going so I figured I would do the same.

I am going to list things by project name, brief description, and then the status of the project.

So here goes:

RED RIGHT HAND:  Charlie, a survivor of something terrible, gets dragged into a mad hunt for elder gods who are breaking their prison on the other side of the universe and coming to our world.  Her hunting partners are Brad and The Crawling Chaos, Nyarlathotep himself. It’s dark urban fantasy based out of the Lovecraft Mythos and I freaking love the way it is going. Rough sketched for 3 books.  STATUS: 25% complete on first draft. I WILL finish the first draft over November.

THE CLOCKWORK COURTESAN:  Tesla’s nephew and a Clockwork girl in an action adventure/steampunk tale that has dirigibles, clockwork people, magic, Pinkerton Agents, mechanikal cyborgs, and a lot of romance. STATUS: 25% done but on hold. I think the story needs to gestate a little bit longer.

SUPER SEKRIT COLLABORATION WITH A NYT BESTSELLING AUTHOR: Holy crap y’all. I am so damn excited about this one I can barely keep it in…but I have to so no details except to say that this is an urban fantasy take on a classic tale, set in medieval times, and done in a totally fresh and new way. My collaborator is almost got her schedule clear (one more week) and then we start. IT IS GONNA ROCK!  STATUS: Character sheets done, outline 90% done.

THUNDER ON THE BATTLEFIELD ANTHOLOGY: I get to try my hand at editing! This is the sword and sorcery antho from Seventh Star Press that will hit 2nd quarter of 2013. The deadline isn’t for another 3 months but I have been getting some truly awesome submissions and it will be a terrific collection of heroic fantasy.  STATUS: Pre-selecting the submissions for acceptance.

WEIRD WESTERN ANTHOLOGY:  I am now a proud member of The Outlaws Of Fiction with Brady Allen, D.A. Adams, and Steven Shrewsbury. We are the Four Horsemen of the Writer-pocalypse. We are joining forces to compile 4 novellas (one each) for a collection. It will be a weird western theme and it is gonna rock. My story stars Caleb Donner, a survivor of the Donner Party Massacre who wanders the west as a pariah and a hired gun. He gets into some crazy stuff. We will be pitching a publisher in a few months. STATUS: Planning stage, but my story is outlined and in the que to be written. (20,000 words should be a 2 week turnaround, written and revised)

* check out the Outlaws Of Fiction on our BLOG and our FACEBOOK PAGE

THAT WAY LIES MADNESS: This is written and ready to roll. It’s the Lovecraft Mythos in space. It’s dark, spooky, and straight space horror. I love it. I love the world, I love the voice, I love the main character. I have the cover ready (art by me) and the rights to “He Stopped Loving Her Today” reverted in October so I am including it as a backup story. I am also including interior art drawn by me.  This one will available in both e-book and print.   STATUS: I have some interior art pieces to draw, after that I just lay it out and pub it. I plan to have this done by end of month also.

HE STOPPED LOVING HER TODAY COMIC BOOK SCRIPT: I am writing a comic book script based on my zombie love story as a way to pitch comic book companies to allow me to write for them. I LOVE comic books. I’ve been a fanboy since I was a kid and now the industry is looking for novel writers to write for them so I am getting this written as a sample script. Of course if someone wants to make it a comic book then I am totally game.  STATUS: 33% done. Also will be finished by months end.

 

So there you go. That is what I am doing. Along with doing some work on the tattoo shop to prepare for 2013. Its been open for near 4 years so its time for some newness. So far it is all on track for 2013 to rock your face off.

I GOT A NEW OFFICE (oh hell yeah)

Yep. The Daughter moved out and I have turned her room into my office. I miss her, but I do like having a place with a big monitor and no internet to write in. Her bed is still there because, thankfully, she does come home to visit and we need a place where guests could, theoretically, stay overnight.

Now we are having a writer’s group Halloween party soon, so I will will post up a full on video tour of the office then, but for now I want to show you my desk.

Yep. I got my Boondock Saints Poster, one of three Frank Frazetta prints, a bunch of books from Conan to Mack Bolan, Wally Wood’s PANELS THAT ALWAYS WORK print, a rosary, a framed hotrod magazine, a crapton of action figures, and my Conan comic screen saver on my big piss off monitor.

I love it.

Here’s a closer shot of how it looks when I look up from the monitor while writing and a list of the figures you see.

From the left:

Hellboy vinyl statue, some zombie viking figure that I am sure is a McFarlane toy, Svadun and Belit (Queen of the Black Coast) from the Conan action figure line from McFarlane with Viking Spawn looking down from above (I have had that figure for near twenty years!),  Conan himself with a big ass hammer, Cthulhu all gnarly looking, Ash with chainsaw and boomstick in the upper corner, and finally My Little Cthulhu with screaming victims.

This is where I go to send wordcount to Valhalla.

YOU CAN BE WHERE I WILL BE (making it easy for fans and stalkers lol)

OFFICIAL CONTEST FROM THE  OLDE CITY, NEW BLOOD CONVENTION

Dearly Beloved, 
We are gathered here today, to join two awesome things in a state of increased awesomeness.
Today, we’re bringing together an author/reader mini-con, and the chance to WIN YOUR WAY IN FOR FREE!

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen… starting today, you will all have 7 days to hop around from author to author, blogger to blogger, and enter at every stop to win one of 3 FREE REGISTRATIONS to Olde City, New Blood, the upcoming urban fantasy/paranormal romance mini-con in St. Augustine, FL next February.

You can check out the official website for the complete list of Featured Authors (I’ll give you a hint… one of them is ME!!) and Featured Bloggers. There’s also a main contest post with all the participating authors, bloggers, and dates for the contest. It’s super easy. Visit each of the spotlight blog posts and author websites listed, fill out the Rafflecopter link on each one (one entry PER POST, not per day… and yes, they will be checking), and POOF, multiple entries to WIN!!

The prize is one of 3 FREE REGISTRATIONS to see me and about 49 other authors on the sunny beaches of St. Augustine, Florida, from Feb 8th-10, 2013. We’re going to be doing panels, readings, meet & greets, and just generally having a fun weekend with our incredible fans!! Please keep in mind, if you win, you’ll have to cover your own travel and hotel expenses, but your ticket into the party will be on Olde City, New Blood!!!

The contest runs from September 30th – October 6th, and the 3 winners will be announced on September 7th. Don’t forget to click the Rafflecopter link below before you hop off to check out the rest of the contest posts!! Good Luck, everyone!! I hope to see you ALL in Florida this February!!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!