Josh Karaczewski's Blog, page 4
March 11, 2012
Pinteresting
I started a Pinterest page on "Alexander Murphy's Home for Wayward Celebrities" - hope it piques your pinterest: http://pinterest.com/joshkaraczewski/alexander-murphy-s-home-for-wayward-celebrities/
Welcome Freeloaders!
Like many others this past week, I scrolled through Smashwords' "Read an Ebook Week" site and picked up a few interesting books. But as an indie author that knows the importance of reviews, I know that the ebooks I got were not actually "free", but were a sort of advance that I would repay by posting some reviews or comments online on them after I have finished my reading.
So, if you are here at my blog because you have downloaded a "free" copy of my novel, and you're checking me out, you would do me a great service if you could post, review, or comment on the things you enjoyed about my book online.
Thank you in advance for your help in getting my novel in more hands.
So, if you are here at my blog because you have downloaded a "free" copy of my novel, and you're checking me out, you would do me a great service if you could post, review, or comment on the things you enjoyed about my book online.
Thank you in advance for your help in getting my novel in more hands.
March 3, 2012
Publishing Addendum Volume 5
March 2, 2012
Quotations Various # 2b - The sea
Ah, the sea: my literary mistress. I can't help it, I can't control myself. A lovely passage like this one from Shusaku Endo's "The Samurai" will make me stray from many other fine literary passages:
"He was seeing the great ocean for the first time. There was not a trace of land of land, not even the silhouette of an island. Waves collided, jostled, and sent up war cries like a melee of countless warriors. The prow of the ship thrust like a spear into the gray sky, and the hull, shooting up a tall spout of water, seemed about to plunge into a valley in the ocean, then lurched up once again.
"The samurai's eyes swam. He could scarcely catch his breath in the gusts of wind that pounded his brow. To the east, an ocean of billowing waves. To the west , an ocean of clamouring waves. To the south and to the north, ocean as far as he could see. For the first time in his life the samurai understood the vastness of the sea. Compared to this ocean, his own marshland was little more than a single tiny speck. He groaned at the immensity of it all."
"He was seeing the great ocean for the first time. There was not a trace of land of land, not even the silhouette of an island. Waves collided, jostled, and sent up war cries like a melee of countless warriors. The prow of the ship thrust like a spear into the gray sky, and the hull, shooting up a tall spout of water, seemed about to plunge into a valley in the ocean, then lurched up once again.
"The samurai's eyes swam. He could scarcely catch his breath in the gusts of wind that pounded his brow. To the east, an ocean of billowing waves. To the west , an ocean of clamouring waves. To the south and to the north, ocean as far as he could see. For the first time in his life the samurai understood the vastness of the sea. Compared to this ocean, his own marshland was little more than a single tiny speck. He groaned at the immensity of it all."
January 30, 2012
Quotations Various # 2
"As the samurai and his men cut wood, snow grazed their rustic outfits, brushed against their faces and hands, then melted away as if to underscore the brevity of life." ~ Shusaku Endo, "The Samurai"
The first page, the third paragraph, the fifth line, the third paragraph, the forty-first to seventieth words of the novel.
You've just begun a new novel. You're expecting, perhaps, a little scene-setting, maybe some character introductions; your eyes are really only sliding over the surface of the story so far. Then you encounter the line above.
You almost drop the book. Instead, you close the book and put it down slowly.
If you are a writer, you pause and reevaluate if you should continue to write. You would be lucky to come up with such a stunning line, and would probably not have the audacity to put it so far forward in your story. The pause will seem longer than it is.
But then you will see that the feeling of inadequate talent falling like snow over the idea of your writing doesn't have to cool your motivation. You will feel that if you keep writing down your lines, and then write some more, and continue writing some after that, eventually you will write a line that makes you almost drop your pen. Pause, set your pen down slowly. Reread the line a couple of times.
Then pick up your pen and try to write some more.
The first page, the third paragraph, the fifth line, the third paragraph, the forty-first to seventieth words of the novel.
You've just begun a new novel. You're expecting, perhaps, a little scene-setting, maybe some character introductions; your eyes are really only sliding over the surface of the story so far. Then you encounter the line above.
You almost drop the book. Instead, you close the book and put it down slowly.
If you are a writer, you pause and reevaluate if you should continue to write. You would be lucky to come up with such a stunning line, and would probably not have the audacity to put it so far forward in your story. The pause will seem longer than it is.
But then you will see that the feeling of inadequate talent falling like snow over the idea of your writing doesn't have to cool your motivation. You will feel that if you keep writing down your lines, and then write some more, and continue writing some after that, eventually you will write a line that makes you almost drop your pen. Pause, set your pen down slowly. Reread the line a couple of times.
Then pick up your pen and try to write some more.
December 31, 2011
Publishing Addendum Volume 4
"Alexander Murphy's Home for Wayward Celebrities" is now available for your Kobo reader from the Kobo Bookstore here:
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Alexan...
Also, strangely, listed as a Fiction Anthology.
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Alexan...
Also, strangely, listed as a Fiction Anthology.
December 30, 2011
Publishing Addendum Volume 3
"Alexander Murphy's Home for Wayward Celebrities" is now available at the Reader Store for your Sony Reading Device or Reader App. for Android Tablet here:
http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/josh...
Can't tell you why it's listed under "Fiction Anthologies"...
http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/josh...
Can't tell you why it's listed under "Fiction Anthologies"...
November 20, 2011
Publishing Addendum Volume 2
Hail readers. My novel "Alexander Murphy's Home for Wayward Celebrities" is now available through the diesel e-book store.
Check it out here:
http://search.diesel-ebooks.com/autho...
Check it out here:
http://search.diesel-ebooks.com/autho...
September 24, 2011
Season's Readings Catch-up #1 - Patrick O'Brian
I have always loved tales of the sea. As much as I loved Edgar Allen Poe's horror and detective stories it was his strange and wonderful stories on the open ocean ("Manuscript Found in a Bottle"; "A Descent into the Maelstrom") that most fired my imagination; the initial draw of Tom Clancy was the water-heavy "The Hunt for Red October;" and the next novel I read from Jack London will certainly be "The Sea Wolf."
This interest found its culmination in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series. Through twenty-and-a-half books I felt I was part of Lucky Jack's crew, part of Dr. Maturin's intelligence community. I got to know these characters better than I know many of my friends, so that leaving them abruptly with "21" (because it was unfinished at the time of O'Brian's death) was traumatic; the years I spent reading this series was akin to going away to school: I went in not knowing anyone, learned and experienced so much, shared in so many lives, and then had to return home alone. And there will be no phone calls, no facebook updates, no serendipitous meetings, no reunions to attend. I was left onshore at Aubrey and Maturin's last sailing, and never will they return to my port.
I will not give reviews for individual books in the series, for they all blended together in one vast narrative for me. But if you too are drawn to clear horizons in every direction, adventure with good company, and perhaps even a sea change, volunteer to go aboard. The journey will be worth the melancholy at journey's end.
This interest found its culmination in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series. Through twenty-and-a-half books I felt I was part of Lucky Jack's crew, part of Dr. Maturin's intelligence community. I got to know these characters better than I know many of my friends, so that leaving them abruptly with "21" (because it was unfinished at the time of O'Brian's death) was traumatic; the years I spent reading this series was akin to going away to school: I went in not knowing anyone, learned and experienced so much, shared in so many lives, and then had to return home alone. And there will be no phone calls, no facebook updates, no serendipitous meetings, no reunions to attend. I was left onshore at Aubrey and Maturin's last sailing, and never will they return to my port.
I will not give reviews for individual books in the series, for they all blended together in one vast narrative for me. But if you too are drawn to clear horizons in every direction, adventure with good company, and perhaps even a sea change, volunteer to go aboard. The journey will be worth the melancholy at journey's end.
September 18, 2011
Where I was, and what I was doing
Those visiting this blog may notice the sizable gap between my last "Season's Reading" in early 2009 and my recent flurry of activity. So before I continue on with what passes for "content" on this blog, I thought I would give an explanation.
Firstly, my career as a fledgling teacher occupied most of my intellectual resources, so that when I had a break where I could stop working and devote my mind to the consumption of a story, it was either one that I could share with my family (a film or book or video game with the kids; television or film with my wife after the kids were put down to bed), or in a medium that was more immediately engaging, where I didn't have to work so hard at comprehending form, content, or inferred meaning.
Literature is solitary - while a story experienced through television and film can and should be shared. As much as I crave the mental film of reading, there are the films Up, Coraline, My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, Despicable Me, etc, to share for the first time; the exquisite detail of HD Blu-Ray in Disney re-releases like Sleeping Beauty, to experience anew. So of a weekend morning or family movie night I would rather hold one of my children than a pen or book - I would rather be with them in the landscape of whatever film we are experiencing than alone with an author (even with myself as that author).
And when the children were tucked away and my wife and I could sit together, I wanted to be entertained by a medium that we could share. Lost, Mad Men, Heroes, Burn Notice, Dexter, Entourage, Big Bang Theory, Chuck - all excellent shows where I could immediately see my wife's reaction, know her opinion; relax and commune with the limited conscious time we had together.
And then there were the times when I was alone downstairs - when my loves slumbered - and I could choose my entertainment - usually of a Friday night. Those hours I spent on the movies and TV shows that my wife didn't care to see, or that my kids are not allowed to see yet. Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles; Asian action films like The Myth, Rob-B Hood, House of Fury, PTU, etc; those films and seasons filled the hours when I just wanted to sit on the couch, drink an ale, and neglect the mental and physical duties and obligations of being a Mr. K, and just be Josh.
Then, finally, there were video games. They can also be a shared entertainment experience with my children (Wii Sports Resort, The Legend of Zelda, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Rachet & Clank, Lego Harry Potter, Little Big Planet, and yes, even, occasionally, Disney Sing It Family Hits (what happens in the living room, stays in the living room), and a more immediately gratifying mature gaming experience (Half Life 2, Splinter Cell, Uncharted, Knights of the Old Republic, etc). But what video games offer now are increasingly complex interactive experiences - and the best modern games can offer intellectual engagement with a sense of progress more tangible than a turned page, or a finished chapter; games offer a more readily quantifiable achievement in their gameplay and completion than books - and while they should never be a replacement for literature, they are certainly a rich alternative.
But now, my energies are finally beginning to balance between the work I get paid for (teaching), the work I wouldn't mind getting paid for (writing), and my entertainment choices. So stay tuned for reviews of what I've read over the past couple years, and continuing updates on my writings.
Firstly, my career as a fledgling teacher occupied most of my intellectual resources, so that when I had a break where I could stop working and devote my mind to the consumption of a story, it was either one that I could share with my family (a film or book or video game with the kids; television or film with my wife after the kids were put down to bed), or in a medium that was more immediately engaging, where I didn't have to work so hard at comprehending form, content, or inferred meaning.
Literature is solitary - while a story experienced through television and film can and should be shared. As much as I crave the mental film of reading, there are the films Up, Coraline, My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, Despicable Me, etc, to share for the first time; the exquisite detail of HD Blu-Ray in Disney re-releases like Sleeping Beauty, to experience anew. So of a weekend morning or family movie night I would rather hold one of my children than a pen or book - I would rather be with them in the landscape of whatever film we are experiencing than alone with an author (even with myself as that author).
And when the children were tucked away and my wife and I could sit together, I wanted to be entertained by a medium that we could share. Lost, Mad Men, Heroes, Burn Notice, Dexter, Entourage, Big Bang Theory, Chuck - all excellent shows where I could immediately see my wife's reaction, know her opinion; relax and commune with the limited conscious time we had together.
And then there were the times when I was alone downstairs - when my loves slumbered - and I could choose my entertainment - usually of a Friday night. Those hours I spent on the movies and TV shows that my wife didn't care to see, or that my kids are not allowed to see yet. Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles; Asian action films like The Myth, Rob-B Hood, House of Fury, PTU, etc; those films and seasons filled the hours when I just wanted to sit on the couch, drink an ale, and neglect the mental and physical duties and obligations of being a Mr. K, and just be Josh.
Then, finally, there were video games. They can also be a shared entertainment experience with my children (Wii Sports Resort, The Legend of Zelda, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Rachet & Clank, Lego Harry Potter, Little Big Planet, and yes, even, occasionally, Disney Sing It Family Hits (what happens in the living room, stays in the living room), and a more immediately gratifying mature gaming experience (Half Life 2, Splinter Cell, Uncharted, Knights of the Old Republic, etc). But what video games offer now are increasingly complex interactive experiences - and the best modern games can offer intellectual engagement with a sense of progress more tangible than a turned page, or a finished chapter; games offer a more readily quantifiable achievement in their gameplay and completion than books - and while they should never be a replacement for literature, they are certainly a rich alternative.
But now, my energies are finally beginning to balance between the work I get paid for (teaching), the work I wouldn't mind getting paid for (writing), and my entertainment choices. So stay tuned for reviews of what I've read over the past couple years, and continuing updates on my writings.
