Zachary Rawlins's Blog, page 3
March 15, 2012
Typing Left-Handed
A quick note for anyone waiting on reviews, blog posts, returned emails, or feedback on your fiction - I'm not ignoring you, or being a flake, I promise.
Six months back, I injured my shoulder, fraying one of the tendons and damaging my rotator cuff. I tried to tough it out with cortisone shots and physical therapy, but it hasn't worked too well.
Thus, surgery. Not a bad or scary one, though I am nervous, simply because it will be my first.
The recovery will be short. The whole procedure shouldn't disrupt my publication schedule.
But typing is quite painful at the moment. Until I get my shoulder fixed, most of my typing energy is reserved for my day job, as well as moving forward on my own writing projects, very slowly. This should be cleared up in the next month or two, but until then, please be patient with me - I will get back to you, it just might take a little while, since I probably had to type left-handed.
Cheers!
Six months back, I injured my shoulder, fraying one of the tendons and damaging my rotator cuff. I tried to tough it out with cortisone shots and physical therapy, but it hasn't worked too well.
Thus, surgery. Not a bad or scary one, though I am nervous, simply because it will be my first.
The recovery will be short. The whole procedure shouldn't disrupt my publication schedule.
But typing is quite painful at the moment. Until I get my shoulder fixed, most of my typing energy is reserved for my day job, as well as moving forward on my own writing projects, very slowly. This should be cleared up in the next month or two, but until then, please be patient with me - I will get back to you, it just might take a little while, since I probably had to type left-handed.
Cheers!
February 28, 2012
What is next for The Central Series
I've gotten a bunch of emails asking variations of these questions, so I thought I would quickly put all the relevant information here.
At the moment, I am producing a better edit of the text for The Academy and The Anathema for upload, with numerous edits and corrections. If you saw a typo or a mistake that bothered you in any of my books, I encourage you to contact me and make me aware - I appreciate the help. Just give me enough the text so that I can find it via a search. In addition, once the new edits are complete, I will be creating epub editions of both books for distribution on the Nook, and possibly iTunes as well.
I will be putting out a short story collection to bridge the gap between the 2nd and 3rd books in The Central Series, including one story about anything fans request. The collection will be the usual 99 cent price, but if you don't feel like paying for it, at least one of the short stories will be available for free. All of the material will be bonus - skipping the short stories will not affect your ability to read The Central Series, it will merely deepen the universe for those who are interested. Voting is still open for the topic of the last short story, and in a rough tie between Alice Gallow, a guidebook to Central, or everyone's favorite Changeling, Eerie. So let me know if you have an opinion.
I have gotten some complaints about the release dates for the remainder of the series. First off, let me apologize - if I were a full-time writer, I could easily put out two books in a year. Because I have a day job - and because I don't charge enough to make much of anything off book sales - it takes a while. Secondly, please be patient - a book a year is actually pretty fast. The first two novels were both about 140,000 words after editing, and the last three are longer. Also, I need to a break in between The Central Series novels to write something else and recharge my creativity. Finally, I would like to take the time to try and address the editing problems that have caused problems for some readers. Working on my own, there is a limit to how fast I can produce material at an appropriate quality level. If you happen to be a professional editor or proofer who wants to work for virtually no money, let me know!
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to provide a positive review or a nice email. Each one means a great deal to me, and I truly appreciate it. If you emailed me about something, or asked me a question and I failed to respond, forgive me - the scope of the response to my work has taken me by surprise - and then email me again. I probably just missed your first attempt.
As usual, I am working on something new and exciting (two things, really) - but I don't want to say anything yet. Suffice to say I think will enjoy the new stuff I have on tap for this year.
I hope you will continue to give my work a chance! If you wish to contact me for any reason, I can be reached at spook_nine@yahoo.com, or at the Facebook pages for The Central Series and Unknown Kadath Estates. Cheers!
At the moment, I am producing a better edit of the text for The Academy and The Anathema for upload, with numerous edits and corrections. If you saw a typo or a mistake that bothered you in any of my books, I encourage you to contact me and make me aware - I appreciate the help. Just give me enough the text so that I can find it via a search. In addition, once the new edits are complete, I will be creating epub editions of both books for distribution on the Nook, and possibly iTunes as well.
I will be putting out a short story collection to bridge the gap between the 2nd and 3rd books in The Central Series, including one story about anything fans request. The collection will be the usual 99 cent price, but if you don't feel like paying for it, at least one of the short stories will be available for free. All of the material will be bonus - skipping the short stories will not affect your ability to read The Central Series, it will merely deepen the universe for those who are interested. Voting is still open for the topic of the last short story, and in a rough tie between Alice Gallow, a guidebook to Central, or everyone's favorite Changeling, Eerie. So let me know if you have an opinion.
I have gotten some complaints about the release dates for the remainder of the series. First off, let me apologize - if I were a full-time writer, I could easily put out two books in a year. Because I have a day job - and because I don't charge enough to make much of anything off book sales - it takes a while. Secondly, please be patient - a book a year is actually pretty fast. The first two novels were both about 140,000 words after editing, and the last three are longer. Also, I need to a break in between The Central Series novels to write something else and recharge my creativity. Finally, I would like to take the time to try and address the editing problems that have caused problems for some readers. Working on my own, there is a limit to how fast I can produce material at an appropriate quality level. If you happen to be a professional editor or proofer who wants to work for virtually no money, let me know!
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to provide a positive review or a nice email. Each one means a great deal to me, and I truly appreciate it. If you emailed me about something, or asked me a question and I failed to respond, forgive me - the scope of the response to my work has taken me by surprise - and then email me again. I probably just missed your first attempt.
As usual, I am working on something new and exciting (two things, really) - but I don't want to say anything yet. Suffice to say I think will enjoy the new stuff I have on tap for this year.
I hope you will continue to give my work a chance! If you wish to contact me for any reason, I can be reached at spook_nine@yahoo.com, or at the Facebook pages for The Central Series and Unknown Kadath Estates. Cheers!
February 10, 2012
Fan's Choice
Since there will be an actual gap in time between the release of The Anathema and the the third book in the series, The Far Shores, I have decided to release a small collection of short stories set in the world of The Central Series to help bridge the gap.
I already have the bulk of the stories written, but I wanted to included one more to cap it off, as a thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed the books. So, what would you like to see? Is there a specific character, theme or scene that you would like to see explored?
Send me an email at spook_nine@yahoo.com, or hit up the FB page for The Central Series, and let me know what interests you, and whatever people pick, I will make it happen. Cheers!
I already have the bulk of the stories written, but I wanted to included one more to cap it off, as a thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed the books. So, what would you like to see? Is there a specific character, theme or scene that you would like to see explored?
Send me an email at spook_nine@yahoo.com, or hit up the FB page for The Central Series, and let me know what interests you, and whatever people pick, I will make it happen. Cheers!
February 8, 2012
An American Light Novel
In my earlier post, I discussed some of my reasons for wanting to try and write in the style of a Japanese light novel. Today, I'd like to talk about some of the things I liked about light novels, and wanted to include in my own work, and the things that I thought wouldn't translate for an American audience.
Light novels are known for several unique attributes, namely - illustrations, novella-length, literary minimalism, emphasis on dialogue, and heavy use of word and language play. In addition, most light novels are heavily defined by the cultural and entertainment expectations of their primarily Japanese consumers. I will address each aspect separately.
Illustrations
As I mentioned earlier, I love illustrated novels, graphic novels, and comic books, so this one was easy. I knew I wanted to include illustrations, it was just a matter of deciding what kind of feel I wanted, and then finding an artist who could produce it.
I went with Xi Lu primarily because of her excellence in depicting realistic females - I decided early on that I did not want the illustrations to be in a pinup or exploitative style. Most of the light novels in the US are illustrated in the shonen (for boys) style, which is very concerned with doe-eyed, moe anime girls. I wanted something more grounded, something prettier to contrast with the horrifying setting.
Use of Language
Obviously, I don't mean translating a light novel into English. I am refering to another prominent trait of Japanese light novels - relying on wordplay, particularly between the two different methods of writing Japanese (best summed up as 'formal' and 'informal', though it goes much deeper). If you have ever watched or read anything from Nisio Isin's work (Bakemonogatari, Zaregoto) or watched the anime 'Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei', you know what I mean. Totally untranslatable jokes in Japanese, about Japanese. These puns are what keep translators up at night, and part of what alienates an American audience.
This was something I minimized, but if you look closely at some of the main character's names, among other things, you will find embedded language jokes.
Literary Minimalism
Light novelist practice a very spare form. They basically ditch most description and setting, as well as the 'he said-she said' portion of dialog tagging that makes it possible to tell who is saying what.
I like this style, and I largely left intact, with one exception - I did use identifiers in conversations that went on a long time, or had more than two parties involved, for enhanced readability. In addition, I beefed up the setting a bit.
Setting
Most Japanese works seem to revolve around a high school setting - an attribute often credited to a sort of national pedophilia. This isn't exactly the case - it would be more accurate to say that, for the average Japanese person, high school represents 'the best time of their lives'. Culturally, the Japanese tend to marry early or not at all, and graduate directly to demanding universities, enter the workforce directly after graduating, or become a homemaker (sadly, this option is stilled forced on many women). This means that a great deal of romantic and social nostalgia is focused on the high school period.
That, and of course, they like school girls.
Americans don't relate very well to the high school setting, except in the context of Young Adult novels. My first book, The Academy, is often mistaken for a YA novel, simply because of the school setting. 15-year old protagonists may be the norm in Japan, but in the United States they are relegated to novels for teenagers.
I knew I wanted a surreal, gothic setting that fit into my overall metaverse. I had been thinking about working with Lovecraft's mythos for sometime, particularly with the not-very-good novel 'The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath'. And I knew that I wanted to set the story in one central location, so that all the characters would regularly, naturally interact, but it couldn't be a school.
The break-through came late at night, with a simple note that said 'Melrose Place + Cthulhu'. The rest of it just fell into place.
Sexuality
Light novels are often very 'ecchi' - a Japanese word for the letter 'H' that means moderately sexual in nature, mildly perverted, like a pinup model or a PG-13 movie. While there is generally only implied nudity, and no sex (the Japanese value virginity to a very creepy extent, meaning no characters can actually have sex), but lots of flirtatious language, sexual puns, and a pervading misogynist interpretation of female sexuality. Basically, this boils down to inappropriately young girls throwing themselves at the main character, spouting of innuendo and panty shots.
That wouldn't work in the US, and anyway, it isn't how I write. I knew that there would be sexual content in my novel, and I didn't want to mimic the infantile or repetitive nature of the standard light novel. Part of the function of Sumire's character was to act as a parody of some of these ideas. In short, this is one of the areas where I stuck close to standard Western conventions, rather than the traditions of the light novel.
Dialogue
Characters in light novels generally don't talk to each other. They either monologue, or they have completely disconnected conversations, where the responses are often only peripherally linked to the previous statement. This creates an interesting, befuddling and ultimately alienating experience for the average reader.
This was another convention that had to go. I tried to keep the conversation sharp, witty, and a little naughty, as it usually is in a light novel, but I wanted constructive dialogue, not a series of amusing non-sequiturs.
---
That about wraps it up for this post. I will do one more entry about the origins of Paranoid Magical Thinking and light novels, and then move on to a discussion of why I self-publish, and what that experience has been like for me. As always, if you want to hit me up for any reason, my email is spook_nine@yahoo.com.
Light novels are known for several unique attributes, namely - illustrations, novella-length, literary minimalism, emphasis on dialogue, and heavy use of word and language play. In addition, most light novels are heavily defined by the cultural and entertainment expectations of their primarily Japanese consumers. I will address each aspect separately.
Illustrations
As I mentioned earlier, I love illustrated novels, graphic novels, and comic books, so this one was easy. I knew I wanted to include illustrations, it was just a matter of deciding what kind of feel I wanted, and then finding an artist who could produce it.
I went with Xi Lu primarily because of her excellence in depicting realistic females - I decided early on that I did not want the illustrations to be in a pinup or exploitative style. Most of the light novels in the US are illustrated in the shonen (for boys) style, which is very concerned with doe-eyed, moe anime girls. I wanted something more grounded, something prettier to contrast with the horrifying setting.
Use of Language
Obviously, I don't mean translating a light novel into English. I am refering to another prominent trait of Japanese light novels - relying on wordplay, particularly between the two different methods of writing Japanese (best summed up as 'formal' and 'informal', though it goes much deeper). If you have ever watched or read anything from Nisio Isin's work (Bakemonogatari, Zaregoto) or watched the anime 'Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei', you know what I mean. Totally untranslatable jokes in Japanese, about Japanese. These puns are what keep translators up at night, and part of what alienates an American audience.
This was something I minimized, but if you look closely at some of the main character's names, among other things, you will find embedded language jokes.
Literary Minimalism
Light novelist practice a very spare form. They basically ditch most description and setting, as well as the 'he said-she said' portion of dialog tagging that makes it possible to tell who is saying what.
I like this style, and I largely left intact, with one exception - I did use identifiers in conversations that went on a long time, or had more than two parties involved, for enhanced readability. In addition, I beefed up the setting a bit.
Setting
Most Japanese works seem to revolve around a high school setting - an attribute often credited to a sort of national pedophilia. This isn't exactly the case - it would be more accurate to say that, for the average Japanese person, high school represents 'the best time of their lives'. Culturally, the Japanese tend to marry early or not at all, and graduate directly to demanding universities, enter the workforce directly after graduating, or become a homemaker (sadly, this option is stilled forced on many women). This means that a great deal of romantic and social nostalgia is focused on the high school period.
That, and of course, they like school girls.
Americans don't relate very well to the high school setting, except in the context of Young Adult novels. My first book, The Academy, is often mistaken for a YA novel, simply because of the school setting. 15-year old protagonists may be the norm in Japan, but in the United States they are relegated to novels for teenagers.
I knew I wanted a surreal, gothic setting that fit into my overall metaverse. I had been thinking about working with Lovecraft's mythos for sometime, particularly with the not-very-good novel 'The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath'. And I knew that I wanted to set the story in one central location, so that all the characters would regularly, naturally interact, but it couldn't be a school.
The break-through came late at night, with a simple note that said 'Melrose Place + Cthulhu'. The rest of it just fell into place.
Sexuality
Light novels are often very 'ecchi' - a Japanese word for the letter 'H' that means moderately sexual in nature, mildly perverted, like a pinup model or a PG-13 movie. While there is generally only implied nudity, and no sex (the Japanese value virginity to a very creepy extent, meaning no characters can actually have sex), but lots of flirtatious language, sexual puns, and a pervading misogynist interpretation of female sexuality. Basically, this boils down to inappropriately young girls throwing themselves at the main character, spouting of innuendo and panty shots.
That wouldn't work in the US, and anyway, it isn't how I write. I knew that there would be sexual content in my novel, and I didn't want to mimic the infantile or repetitive nature of the standard light novel. Part of the function of Sumire's character was to act as a parody of some of these ideas. In short, this is one of the areas where I stuck close to standard Western conventions, rather than the traditions of the light novel.
Dialogue
Characters in light novels generally don't talk to each other. They either monologue, or they have completely disconnected conversations, where the responses are often only peripherally linked to the previous statement. This creates an interesting, befuddling and ultimately alienating experience for the average reader.
This was another convention that had to go. I tried to keep the conversation sharp, witty, and a little naughty, as it usually is in a light novel, but I wanted constructive dialogue, not a series of amusing non-sequiturs.
---
That about wraps it up for this post. I will do one more entry about the origins of Paranoid Magical Thinking and light novels, and then move on to a discussion of why I self-publish, and what that experience has been like for me. As always, if you want to hit me up for any reason, my email is spook_nine@yahoo.com.
February 1, 2012
The Anathema
I will return to my discussion of light novels later this week. In the meantime, I just wanted to mention that the second novel in The Central Series, The Anathema, is on Amazon and available for purchase!
http://www.amazon.com/Anathema-Centra...
If you enjoyed The Academy, please check it out! Thanks, and as always, you can reach me at spook_nine@yahoo.com with whatever you would like to chat about.
http://www.amazon.com/Anathema-Centra...
If you enjoyed The Academy, please check it out! Thanks, and as always, you can reach me at spook_nine@yahoo.com with whatever you would like to chat about.
January 12, 2012
Why I Wanted to Write a Light Novel
A quick recap, for those who don't know - light novels are a form of literature that is very popular in Japan, Taiwan and China. They are illustrated short novels (about the length of novella) designed primarily for e-readers, written in a peculiar, minimalist, dialogue heavy style. Very few light novels have ever been published in America, mostly anime tie-ins with major franchises like Spice and Wolf or A Certain Magical Railgun, but they represent a huge percentage of publishing in Asia. Despite the 'light' in the title, there is no limit to the subject matter or intended age of the reader implied - this is not like the Western 'Young Adult' label. Light novels can be experimental, complicated, even horrifying.
So why did I, an average guy from California, become interested in writing a light novel? And why did I bother to write in a style known for a poor reception in the US?
I'm glad you asked.
I am lucky enough to have some Japanese friends who are patient/obsessive enough to translate light novels that have otherwise never crossed the Pacific. While some of their work is a little muddled, and formatting problems are rife, I was fascinated from the first volume I read. This is partly due to my own preference for illustrated novels - Alice in Wonderland is my single favorite book, after all, and I have many of the illustrations tattooed on me - and partly due to the sheer novelty of the style.
I had been kicking around the idea of writing something using elements of the Cthulhu mythos (see HP Lovecraft), particularly parts of The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, an extremely pulpy adventure story in the style of Burrough's Conan novels that I had loved as a child, and found a bit more ridiculous as an adult (no offense to Lovecraft - he was a great writer, and he didn't think the book was any good either). My problem was that I didn't want to write a horror novel. I wanted to write something that would be psychological in nature, funny, dark and sexy, as a sort of working break from my science-fiction novels, The Central Series.
At just the right time, I was given a crude dub of the utterly brilliant anime and light novel, Bakemonogatari, a collection of experiment light fiction from Japan called Faust, and a rough homemade internet translation of a few of NisiOisiN's books (perhaps the most important Japanese author in the genre). I was blown away, super-excited to discover a literary tradition that I was completely unfamiliar with.
Soon, these two very different ideas begin to tentatively mix in my head - the beginning of my own humble work, The Unknown Kadath Estates .
In the next entry, I will talk a little bit about what I liked about Asian light novels, what I thought was wrong with them to attract a US audience, and how I eventually laid out my own theory on what an American Light Novel could be.
Thanks for reading, and, as always, feel free to hit me up at spook_nine@yahoo.com with any questions.
So why did I, an average guy from California, become interested in writing a light novel? And why did I bother to write in a style known for a poor reception in the US?
I'm glad you asked.
I am lucky enough to have some Japanese friends who are patient/obsessive enough to translate light novels that have otherwise never crossed the Pacific. While some of their work is a little muddled, and formatting problems are rife, I was fascinated from the first volume I read. This is partly due to my own preference for illustrated novels - Alice in Wonderland is my single favorite book, after all, and I have many of the illustrations tattooed on me - and partly due to the sheer novelty of the style.
I had been kicking around the idea of writing something using elements of the Cthulhu mythos (see HP Lovecraft), particularly parts of The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, an extremely pulpy adventure story in the style of Burrough's Conan novels that I had loved as a child, and found a bit more ridiculous as an adult (no offense to Lovecraft - he was a great writer, and he didn't think the book was any good either). My problem was that I didn't want to write a horror novel. I wanted to write something that would be psychological in nature, funny, dark and sexy, as a sort of working break from my science-fiction novels, The Central Series.
At just the right time, I was given a crude dub of the utterly brilliant anime and light novel, Bakemonogatari, a collection of experiment light fiction from Japan called Faust, and a rough homemade internet translation of a few of NisiOisiN's books (perhaps the most important Japanese author in the genre). I was blown away, super-excited to discover a literary tradition that I was completely unfamiliar with.
Soon, these two very different ideas begin to tentatively mix in my head - the beginning of my own humble work, The Unknown Kadath Estates .
In the next entry, I will talk a little bit about what I liked about Asian light novels, what I thought was wrong with them to attract a US audience, and how I eventually laid out my own theory on what an American Light Novel could be.
Thanks for reading, and, as always, feel free to hit me up at spook_nine@yahoo.com with any questions.
January 3, 2012
Technical Difficulties
Hello, and Happy New Year!
2011 went out the hard way for me this year, taking my entire PC workstation with it. I was forced to order a new everything, as my motherboard and CPU appear to be dead. I am awaiting parts from NewEgg now. Once I receive them, I will have to rebuild the machine, which is occasionally an adventure.
Optimistically, I hope to be back up by the end of the week. Realistically? Not sure.
Will this hold up the release of The Anathema? Again, I'm not sure. I was flying along before this happened, and sure I would get it out by the last week in January. Now, that is in doubt, simply based on when I get my computer successfully rebuilt.
Yet another hurdle for the self-published writer, who also happens to be his own tech.
In other matters, thanks to everyone who took the time out to write me or write a nice review of either of my books - totally made my day (and my year). If I didn't write you back, forgive me and try again - I got a lot of mail this year, and probably just lost yours in the shuffle.
For the people who have asked me to review their work, I have already taken on as my requests as I can handle. I will let you all know when I have some free time again. For the artists who have expressed interest in taking over Unknown Kadath - I'm afraid that's Xi Lu's gig until she decides she doesn't want it anymore. The girl is brilliant and easy to work with. But do keep sending me samples - I have another illustrated work in the pipe line that I will need an artist for.
Thanks for the questions regarding Dead to the World - I will be releasing one of the short stories from the collection for free as a preview, so you can look forward to that in the spring, with the collection (5 short stories and a novella) shortly after.
I hope 2012 is good to each and every one of you. I will update once I am back up and running. In the meantime, try and be patient with the one-man show over here - I have to do everything from building the computers to editing the books myself. It's a lot of work. I promise to try and hold to my deadlines, but I hope you'll all forgive me if my broken computer and busted shoulder prove insurmountable, and I'm a little late.
Thanks, as always, for reading, and feel free to hit me up for any reason at spook_nine@yahoo.com.
2011 went out the hard way for me this year, taking my entire PC workstation with it. I was forced to order a new everything, as my motherboard and CPU appear to be dead. I am awaiting parts from NewEgg now. Once I receive them, I will have to rebuild the machine, which is occasionally an adventure.
Optimistically, I hope to be back up by the end of the week. Realistically? Not sure.
Will this hold up the release of The Anathema? Again, I'm not sure. I was flying along before this happened, and sure I would get it out by the last week in January. Now, that is in doubt, simply based on when I get my computer successfully rebuilt.
Yet another hurdle for the self-published writer, who also happens to be his own tech.
In other matters, thanks to everyone who took the time out to write me or write a nice review of either of my books - totally made my day (and my year). If I didn't write you back, forgive me and try again - I got a lot of mail this year, and probably just lost yours in the shuffle.
For the people who have asked me to review their work, I have already taken on as my requests as I can handle. I will let you all know when I have some free time again. For the artists who have expressed interest in taking over Unknown Kadath - I'm afraid that's Xi Lu's gig until she decides she doesn't want it anymore. The girl is brilliant and easy to work with. But do keep sending me samples - I have another illustrated work in the pipe line that I will need an artist for.
Thanks for the questions regarding Dead to the World - I will be releasing one of the short stories from the collection for free as a preview, so you can look forward to that in the spring, with the collection (5 short stories and a novella) shortly after.
I hope 2012 is good to each and every one of you. I will update once I am back up and running. In the meantime, try and be patient with the one-man show over here - I have to do everything from building the computers to editing the books myself. It's a lot of work. I promise to try and hold to my deadlines, but I hope you'll all forgive me if my broken computer and busted shoulder prove insurmountable, and I'm a little late.
Thanks, as always, for reading, and feel free to hit me up for any reason at spook_nine@yahoo.com.
December 20, 2011
New Book!
Paranoid Magical Thinking
Well, it is finally out on Amazon and available for sale - what I believe to be the very first American written light novel, with illustrations by the totally awesome Xi Lu. I hope that some of you check it out and enjoy it.
From here, I'm talking a day or two off to get another cortisone injection in my injured shoulder, then I'm getting to work on final edits and formatting for The Anathema. It's written, and most of the major edits are completed, so I am still pretty confident it will be out before the end of April.
After that, I new edit of The Academy should follow shortly, without all those pesky errors.
Finally, this spring, I will release my first venture into the paranormal romance genre - Dead to the World. Without giving too much away, it's a combination of a detective style collection of short stories and a love story between a necromancer and a ghost.
As always, if you have questions or want to chat, hit me up at spook_nine@yahoo.com. Thanks!
Well, it is finally out on Amazon and available for sale - what I believe to be the very first American written light novel, with illustrations by the totally awesome Xi Lu. I hope that some of you check it out and enjoy it.
From here, I'm talking a day or two off to get another cortisone injection in my injured shoulder, then I'm getting to work on final edits and formatting for The Anathema. It's written, and most of the major edits are completed, so I am still pretty confident it will be out before the end of April.
After that, I new edit of The Academy should follow shortly, without all those pesky errors.
Finally, this spring, I will release my first venture into the paranormal romance genre - Dead to the World. Without giving too much away, it's a combination of a detective style collection of short stories and a love story between a necromancer and a ghost.
As always, if you have questions or want to chat, hit me up at spook_nine@yahoo.com. Thanks!
December 18, 2011
Paranoid Magical Thinking!
My second novel, the first in the Unknown Kadath Estates trilogy, is now available for sale at the Amazon store. This book is very different from my last - it's my take on the Japanese light novel, with illustrations by the total awesome Xi Lu. It combines elements of the Cthulhu mythos, noir story telling, an unreliable narrator, and a rather black sense of humor. I am very proud of it, and I hope that you will consider giving it a try. While it is quite a departure from anything in the current marketplace, I also think it came out quite good.
I should probably explain - a light novel is an Asian concept, basically novella length (72k words, in this case) written in a spare, dialogue heavy format, with illustrations to provide depth and appearance for the main characters. While a few Japanese light novels based on popular anime have been translated, thus far, no American author has taken a crack at the genre, to the best of my knowledge. I am very excited to try and bring what I enjoy about the form and apply to a novel that is Western it is appeal, approach, storytelling and characters. I hope that you enjoy it!
I should probably explain - a light novel is an Asian concept, basically novella length (72k words, in this case) written in a spare, dialogue heavy format, with illustrations to provide depth and appearance for the main characters. While a few Japanese light novels based on popular anime have been translated, thus far, no American author has taken a crack at the genre, to the best of my knowledge. I am very excited to try and bring what I enjoy about the form and apply to a novel that is Western it is appeal, approach, storytelling and characters. I hope that you enjoy it!
December 16, 2011
More Questions
Since I am waiting for my esteemed editor and wife to confirm that their are no weird formatting errors for the Kadath manuscript, and since I think I have figure out how to ice my shoulder and type at the same time, I thought I would answer a couple more reoccurring questions regarding The Central Series.
Why are you writing two series at once, rather than just finishing The Central Series first?
Part of this is just weird timing. I started writing Paranoid Magical Thinking as an e book 'experiment' back when The Academy was still sitting around on various editors, agents, and publishers desks. By the time I finished PMT, I'd already decided to self-publish the Academy. Thus...
Secondarily, I need some time away from the world of The Central Series in order to write about them successfully. Alternating books helps keep them fresh for me. Also, since the average book in the series is about 180,000 words, the five book series will probably come close to a million words before I'm done. That's a lot of time to spend with one group of characters.
What inspired you to write The Central Series?
Depends on how you mean it. Mainly, it happened because I finished Eureka Seven, and was pissed off by the wussy ending, the lack of adult relationships, the lack of consequence to the violence, etc... and thought I could do better.
If you mean what media inspired me, then I would credit a mixture of X-men, the film version of Nightwatch, a bunch of comics by Warren Ellis, and repeated listening to Fever Ray.
Is all the nanite and Ether stuff just another way of saying 'magic'?
Not in my opinion. Talk to me at the end of the series. If I haven't presented a logical argument for a sensible, if fantastic, technological solution for whats going on, then I guess it's magic after all. But I do have an argument...
Do you like Harry Potter?
Not really. I mean, I'm glad it made everyone read again. But I'm a little old for it to have impacted me much. I actually only read the first book, then tuned out during the second, somewhere around the flying car.
I was kind of bothered by the resemblance to Timothy Hunter from Books of Magic at the time. Now I don't really feel that way, but it seemed like cheating back then.
Do you like Twilight?
Nope. I read the first one, got bored, didn't like the message. My idea of a good modern take on the vampire would be the Nightwatch series, or 30 Days of Night.
What about Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
I'm glad to know this is still popular enough to come up. I liked Buffy alot during the early years, less in the middle, and quite a bit near the end. Particularly when they sang. Particularly when Willow made out with girls.
But given the choice, I'd rather watch Firefly.
What anime do you watch?
Not a lot. I mostly read manga. Most recently, I have watched and enjoyed Bakemonogatari, Katanagatari, Black Lagoon, Kimi Ni Tadoke, and Sayonara Sensei. And anytime someone wants to watch My Neighbor Totoro, I am available.
As always, you can reach me at spook_nine@yahoo.com with questions. Thanks for reading!
Why are you writing two series at once, rather than just finishing The Central Series first?
Part of this is just weird timing. I started writing Paranoid Magical Thinking as an e book 'experiment' back when The Academy was still sitting around on various editors, agents, and publishers desks. By the time I finished PMT, I'd already decided to self-publish the Academy. Thus...
Secondarily, I need some time away from the world of The Central Series in order to write about them successfully. Alternating books helps keep them fresh for me. Also, since the average book in the series is about 180,000 words, the five book series will probably come close to a million words before I'm done. That's a lot of time to spend with one group of characters.
What inspired you to write The Central Series?
Depends on how you mean it. Mainly, it happened because I finished Eureka Seven, and was pissed off by the wussy ending, the lack of adult relationships, the lack of consequence to the violence, etc... and thought I could do better.
If you mean what media inspired me, then I would credit a mixture of X-men, the film version of Nightwatch, a bunch of comics by Warren Ellis, and repeated listening to Fever Ray.
Is all the nanite and Ether stuff just another way of saying 'magic'?
Not in my opinion. Talk to me at the end of the series. If I haven't presented a logical argument for a sensible, if fantastic, technological solution for whats going on, then I guess it's magic after all. But I do have an argument...
Do you like Harry Potter?
Not really. I mean, I'm glad it made everyone read again. But I'm a little old for it to have impacted me much. I actually only read the first book, then tuned out during the second, somewhere around the flying car.
I was kind of bothered by the resemblance to Timothy Hunter from Books of Magic at the time. Now I don't really feel that way, but it seemed like cheating back then.
Do you like Twilight?
Nope. I read the first one, got bored, didn't like the message. My idea of a good modern take on the vampire would be the Nightwatch series, or 30 Days of Night.
What about Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
I'm glad to know this is still popular enough to come up. I liked Buffy alot during the early years, less in the middle, and quite a bit near the end. Particularly when they sang. Particularly when Willow made out with girls.
But given the choice, I'd rather watch Firefly.
What anime do you watch?
Not a lot. I mostly read manga. Most recently, I have watched and enjoyed Bakemonogatari, Katanagatari, Black Lagoon, Kimi Ni Tadoke, and Sayonara Sensei. And anytime someone wants to watch My Neighbor Totoro, I am available.
As always, you can reach me at spook_nine@yahoo.com with questions. Thanks for reading!
