Adam Oster's Blog, page 44

Flash Non-Fiction: Mr. Mom

You remember that old Michael Keaton movie, Mr. Mom.  That’s basically my life right now…except with an infant and a three year old…and what feels like infinitely less time.

I mean, seriously…how do people get anything done with an infant around?  Sure, he might be sitting on the floor as I type this, but he’s already ready for me to pick him up, and he’s only given me about two minutes to just sit down and decide on what I’m going to write for today, as well as writing these two paragraphs, which equate to about 93 words so far…

 

Three weeks later.

Oh, I completely forgot about this.  Guess it’s going out as is.

 

Book Review: Guy Erma and the Son of Empire by Sally Ann Melia

I got another book from my friends at iRead Book Tours as part of another author’s blog tour promotion.  I got to read it.  And that’s cool.  And I get to review it.

Everyone knows Guy Erma!  Or so we learn throughout the course of this book.  In fact, the only person who might not be immediately aware of the titular character of this book could be the prince of Freyne 2, who just so happens to have his fate very much entwined with the Dome’s favorite youngster.

Guy Erma and the Son of Empire is a thrilling political science fiction adventure novel (yay genres!) that is as much about political drama as it is about full-on in your face action.

In fact, there is so much going on within the pages of this novel, so much being set up, so many different perspectives and ulterior motives and other such items, that the book sometimes gets a little too heavy for the action to shine through as I would have liked, exciting moments interspersed with plodding plot unfurling.

I actually found myself rather conflicted with how to rate this book.  There’s some amazing stuff going on in here, and I have a feeling that the pieces that I didn’t connect with were purely due to my general disinterest in heavily politically charged fiction.

What this story does well, it does considerably well.  Early on in this book, you definitely recognize that this has the level of world building you would find in books like Dune.  The action reads a lot like Blade Runner (the movie).  And there’s just a whole lot of world to explore here.

If you like Herbert and Dick, I’m guessing you’ll find a lot to love here.  And it would appear that this is the start of a series as well.  I have a feeling that book 2 will be a must-read.

Buy it now!

Guest Post: My Top Ten Favourite Quotes from Star Wars by Sally Ann Melia

My top ten favourite quotes from Star Wars.

 

What makes Star Wars so great?

The story goes that George Lucas had made a long movie, and originally written an even longer script. However the final edit, the cutting of the sequences together, the overlay of a colour wash, and most of all the music was to make Star Wars A New Hope, an unforgettable experience.

I saw the film in 1976 as a child, and it was the single most exciting film I ever saw. You can see my reflections on seeing the film on my home page video: In a nutshell, I started writing Science Fiction Space Opera fiction a short time after.

Please write to me at sally@sallyannmelia.com if you have suggestions for quotes from the other two Star Wars films or if you would like me to give you my best quotes from other films.

And please do not hesitate to add in your favourites in the comments below.

Star Wars was and always has been a hugely important film to many many people, as the days are counted down to the release of The Force Awakens. These Star Wars 10 best quotes are a way of remembering what makes the series great, and getting back into the groove ahead of the film’s release.

So counting down from #10 to the all time #1, please take a look at:

Star Wars 10 Best Quotes,

my personal selection:

#10 Princess Leia: Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXn8-...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXn8-meSd8g

#9 Luke: I am a Jedi like my father before me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSGgO...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSGgODCqpFQ

#8 C3P0: “And don’t let me catch you following me, begging for help, because you won’t get it.”

#7 Luke: What’s this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpTDJ...

#6 Han Solo: Jumping through hyperspace ain’t like dusting crops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcnBG...

 

That was the five five of my Star Wars 10 best quotes, now we head towards the important top three – who will be at number 1?

#5 Red 5 Stay on Target

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Svm...

#4 Medal Ceremony – complete silence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5z2E...

#3 Han Solo’s best bits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugI2n...

#2 Han Solo: Let the Wookie Win

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO6M4...

#1 Obi-wan Kenobi The Force is with you now and always

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=220l5...

That’s it my Star Wars 10 best Quotes.

Please do forward to your friends, and add in your own suggestions.

Star Wars does not belong to just me,

it belongs to all of us.

About Sally Ann Melia:

Sally Ann Melia is life-long Science Fiction fan. She saw Star Wars as a child and has loved Space Opera fiction and tales of huge Galactic Empires ever since; in particular, Frank Herbert’s Dune series and Iain M. Banks Culture. She lives in Farnham, Surrey with husband David, and has two children and three gerbils.

In 2014, she published a young adult science fiction adventure : Guy Erma and the Son of Empire. The book has been received with over 50, 4 & 5 star reviews on Amazon.

This year look out for the new three-part serialisation of Guy Erma and the Son of Empire: Kidnap (17/5/15); Hunter (30/5/15); Exile (14/6/15). Followed by a new book of the artwork created for the series: The Artwork of Guy Erma and the Son of Empire.

The sequel: Guy Erma and the Araneidae Dome is due to be published in November 2015.

Fat Mogul vs. Keeping Up with the Plan

Today (as in the day I’m writing this, not the day you’re reading it) just so happens to be my first day as an unemployed man (well, the first day in which I’d normally be working anyways).  I, obviously, have my own intentions of not missing out on doing all of the things in connection with my writing that I had been doing before, but now have the need to do so while hanging out with two little boys who, you know, need a great deal of attention.

So far, just about an hour and a half into the whole effort, things are looking pretty good.  I’ve got the infant asleep, and the three year old is hanging out watching some batman while working on some puzzles.  And I’m nearly halfway done with all of my normal daily tasks…that’s pretty awesome.  And we’re still on track to get out of the house and do something active before nap time hits (which is intended to be two hours of getting stuff done for this new SaHD (stay at home Dad).)

With that being said, things are looking up for actually being able to keep moving forward with all the things I’m working on, keeping up the momentum on current books and stories, while also still being able to keep my boys doing the things they need to do in order to stay entertained.

Of course…I’m being quite optimistic.  We’ll see how it goes as things move forward.

Anyways, I’m making today’s article short for this very reason.  I want to make sure that I actually keep up with the items I NEED to do, to see how I can fit in the things I WANT to do.

Good luck to me.

And have fun out there!

Flash Fiction Friday: The Writer

I’m pretty sure I’ve written something like this for here before, but I couldn’t find it with a quick (non-dedicated to the task) search…and it’s how I’m feeling today anyways.

 

He sits behind his keyboard, staring at the screen.

“I’ve got nothing,” he says to himself as he decides to glance over at his Facebook feed.  He claims it’s for inspiration, but even he knows that it’s just to avoid the empty slate in front of him.

Three minutes later, he switches back to the white page of blankness, his mind again nagging at him to come up with something brilliant to put to the page.

His phone buzzes, causing him to jump to attention as he fishes it out of his pocket.  He presses the button on the side, to be alerted to a text message stating that his cell phone bill is due.

He briefly considers paying it before he remembers that pay day isn’t until tomorrow, and his balance is woefully low for such superfluous items.  No one calls him anyways.

He taps his fingers across the keyboard, just lightly enough to make the sound of typing, but not enough to actually press any of the buttons and make something appear on the screen.  At least he sounds productive.

DING!

Facebook!  Someone must have comment–nope, just letting him know it’s someone’s birthday today.

It’s always someone’s birthday.

“Maybe I should become one of those people who wish everyone a happy birthday when Facebook reminds me to do so.  But then I’d just be one of those sheep following what Facebook tells me and–” he realizes that he’s going through the same line of thinking he goes through every time he gets one of those notifications.

He returns to his open document window.

“I did have the interesting idea about a guy who could shoot paint out of his hands,” the writer thought.  “Not that I had any idea of what that would actually do, or, you know, anything other than that he shot paint out of his hands.”

“There once was a boy who could shoot paint out of his hands,” he typed.

He stared at the words on the screen.

“Am I writing a limerick?” he mused before deleting the words.

Again his moved his fingers across the keyboard to make a the noise of productivity, without causing any letters to appear.  It was how he thought.  Not that it often came up with anything useful.

“I am Painticus!” he typed, a smile crossing his face before he again deleted the words.

“I hate first sentences,” he growled inwardly.

“It was a dark and stormy night,” he typed, knowing it was an utterly stupid phrase to type.

He left it there.

“Why can’t it be a dark and stormy night?”

“And that’s when our hero arrived.  He wasn’t an ordinary hero.  He was PAINTMAN!”

Now the writer laughed out loud at his own ridiculousness.  And then he stopped.  His brain kicked into gear, and his fingers started flying across the keyboard.

“I was only fourteen the first time it happened, but I’ll never forget the look on my mom’s face when she came into my room that morning and found me laying in bed completely covered in red paint.  I don’t know who was more scared.”

“Not bad,” the writer thought to himself.  He sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.  “Not bad at all.”

He leaned forward again and his fingers disappeared into a flurry of activity.  He’d found his muse, and everything else had melted away.

Fat Mogul vs. The Anthology

from prendas.co.uk

I’ve had for quite some time, as an item on my ‘to-do’ list: “Get involved in an author anthology”.

It’s been there so long that I can’t even find it on the list to cross it off.

You see…I lucked out.  I actually got invited to get involved in just such a thing by some author friends of mine who were just so happening to put one together.

Now, I’m not here to try to sell it to you or anything.  In fact, at the time of me writing this very post, I have very little more than a basic idea of a story to add to this anthology…one that should probably be completely dropped because of how ridiculous it is. (Update: In fact, now that I’ve written the story, I know it shouldn’t be included…but is officially in review for inclusion, I believe)

What I want to talk about is the very idea of an anthology altogether.  Many of my author friends have been smart enough to get connected to author groups, you know, ones where they all work toward promoting each other, trying to look like a group of authors all published under the same brand, even though they’re all actually self-published.  Many of these groups offer anthologies in order to showcase what their group is capable of.

And I’ve been jealous…

No, I’m (mostly) kidding.  What I have been, however, is interested in the very concept.  I’ve read a few of these anthologies and although I’ve found the quality levels of the different stories to be incredibly varied, they’ve definitely showcased some new talent for me.  And if I were to ever find myself in the situation of not having something to read…I can tell you where I’d be looking next (I’ve been reading a lot these past few years and my to-read pile just doesn’t seem to get any smaller…).

In fact, I was so enthused by this idea of an anthology that I had initially started up my own idea of one…one that I’m still working out some of the kinks of, but that I think would be rather incredible, should I be able to work it out.

But the one that I’ve gotten myself involved in is actually, surprisingly, close to the ideas I’ve had…in that we’re working on a basic theme…something I’ve seen in other anthologies, not something I’m trying to pretend is unique.  But it gives the reader something to start with. Other anthologies I’ve read have often had little short stories in them which aim at trying to get you to read their larger books and come off quite stunted.  Here you’re getting entirely original content (well…in theory, I haven’t actually read any of the submissions yet) and really getting an idea of what the authors can do, instead of just getting more marketing material.

What I’m getting at here is that authors are strongest when working together…and authors work best together when they’re each getting something out of it  Anthologies offer the best of these both worlds, allowing for others to really support each other, each bringing in their own audiences to increase the size of the combined force and really working toward making everyone do better at what they do.

And it really works out well for the readers as well, getting these little tastes of what other authors have to offer.  I can tell you from the anthologies I’ve read (and the authors that were within them that I have read their longer works), you can quickly get an idea of what you’re going to get from these folks if you move onto their other stuff, even if you’re not the type of person to generally read short stories or whatever.

So…as an author, find those anthologies. those little booklets of books…and really get yourself into the hands of many new readers.

I’m pretty darned certain it will be worth your while.  Here’s hoping it’ll be worth mine (when it releases sometime in October…).

Have fun out there!

Fat Mogul vs. The Job Hunt (Renewed)

can’t find original source of this image…Let me know if you know it.

So, about a month ago, I wrote a post about how I was starting up the yearly job hunt once again.  A week or so after that, I ended up quitting my job of 7.5 years, which is effectively complete 3 days from when I’m writing this, and about a month before this post actually hits the air.

Making this one of the more interesting pre-written posts I think I’ve ever done…you see…because things might be completely different by the time this actually hits the air…and although I’ve been getting better about updating posts before they hit the air, this one is a rant…and it really has very little more to do than continue to be a rant.

So…yeah…

Jobs…they suck, don’t they?

You see, over the years, I’ve long realized that what I actually longed for was a career.  My job that I recently left served as one for a very long time (7.5 years, to be slightly more precise)…but it was a career that I didn’t want.  In fact, it was a career that I was afraid existed, considering the fact that my initial intention at the job was just to be there for a few months until we got our heads above water (due to some “we just got married” financial situations), and then run off to figure out what I really wanted to do.

Then we bought a house.

And had a kid.

And another kid.

And another kid….

Okay, so, you get the idea: Life got in the way of me quitting.  Not that there weren’t more than enough times where I could have made it happen during those 7.5 years, but well…there was something that I just couldn’t quite work out: What do I want for a career?

This has, admittedly, been an issue for quite some time.

Now, one could take the easy answer and see that I’d love to do something creative for a career (specifically writing).  The problem is…so does somewhere around 247% of the population…meaning that the field is quite full and it’s rather difficult to make a living off of…especially when living in one of the flyover states.

Besides, although I do work my author role as a real career, meaning I work on trying to make it into a successful business, it’s still a hobby..something I do for fun, to kick back and relax.  I’m still quite concerned about the idea of it ever becoming something more than that…I mean, when the thing you use to break away from your day job becomes your day job…what do you do?

So, I’m on the job hunt right now, but it’s not for a career.  Not yet.  I’m looking for something small, something that will give us some supplementary income while I play Mr. Mom for a bit.  I don’t want to just sit around the house when the kids are at school though…so I’m working on that whole career thing..which, admittedly, has been one of my more pressing issues for, well, for around twenty years now (sadly enough).

Which makes this version of the job hunt a lot weirder than before.  I mean, I’m looking for the same jobs I looked for when I was twenty, jobs that don’t take into account what I’ve done for the last 13 years, jobs that don’t need any real expertise…jobs that really just require you to be able to serve food or beverages to needy people…something I’ve become quite good at as a dad.

But it also means that I’m officially on the verge of a career hunt, forcing myself to come up with a real career…and that’s scary.  Mostly because I still really think that being a milk man would be a good career move for me.

Speaking of which…I think that Wisconsin needs more milk men…it seems like something the dairy state should really have hung onto.

Alright.  I’m out of here.  Have fun out there!

(UPDATE: I’m now almost a month into my time as an unemployed man…and no closer to employed…mostly because I’ve been too busy to actually go out and do the whole job hunt.  Going to have to fix that soon, aren’t I?)

Flash Fiction Friday: Bliss

“That was an amazing meal,” she said as she stumbled lightly out the door of the gorgeous hotel into the heavy rain outside.  The red dress she wore turned darker as the rain instantly drenched it.  We ran across the open walkway to a small circular building on the other side, which had a slight overhang, allowing us some freedom from the downpour.

“It really was.  I’m glad you thought of it,” I laughed, as I pulled off my sports jacket and placed it on her shoulders.

“I’m just glad you were able to get reservations.  It was definitely worth every penny,” she smiled as she leaned into me.

I reached into the bag I was holding and pulled out a bottle of port while shooting my new wife a sly grin.

“I’ve got a corkscrew, you want to keep the night going?” I smirked.

“Right here?  You think that’s allowed?”

“Who cares?  It’s dark, no one’s out here because of the rain.  I can’t imagine anyone else will even notice.”

“You’re right,” she giggled.  “Besides, it’s our special day, right?”

“Right!” I bent over and placed the bag on the ground, digging around for the corkscrew I felt happy to have remembered to have bought when I got the wine.

Within a matter of seconds I had the bottle opened and offered my lady the bottle.

“No cups?” she asked.

“Does it matter?”

“Of course not, just thought I’d check,” she said before taking the bottle out of my hand and tipping it back.

I watched in delight as my wife showcased her more dainty side.  She brought the bottle back to level and let out a loud belch, causing us both to laugh.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better woman,” I said as I took her into my arms.

“You had better think that, you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life.”

“Oh, I know,” I smiled, feeling the happiest I had felt in ages.  It might have been raining cats and dogs, but the sun was shining for the two of us.

“You know,” she said as she looked deep in my eyes.  The smile on her face, one of complete bliss, caused me to know even more certainly than before that she was the one for me.  “This might be the best day of my life.”

“Here’s to even more days like this then,” I said as I tipped the bottle back and took my own long drag on the port.

The heavy liquid caught in my throat, causing me to gag involuntarily, spitting up thick liquid in a series of coughs, which continued due to my own laughter at how much more coolly my wife had performed this act than I.

I looked at her as my laughter continued, she looked back.  Suddenly the laughter stopped and she leaned over and kissed me.

It was a great night.

 

Well, that’s only loosely based on truth, but was a fun night…and after so many rather depressing flash fiction stories, thought I’d focus on a much happier one.

Fat Mogul vs. Ch-ch-changes

Hey, I know…the blog atmosphere around here just did a bit of a major change, but guess what?  I’m changing it again.

Due, in part, to how I was feeling about some of the weekly posts topics, and due (in greater part) to the current change in my daily schedule, I’m going to be cutting this blog back to three posts a week.

That’ll be quite the change, considering I’ve been doing five posts a week pretty solidly for what seems like forever…I could look back, but I really don’t feel like it.

Anyways, for now, the posts will now be coming about on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Mondays will become the day to come around if you like rants…because what better day to rant than Monday?  Wednesdays will be a combination of the Marketing Monday and Writer’s Wednesday posts, basically just being self-publishing advice.  And Fridays will continue to be my day for attempting some flash fiction.  Those have been some of the hardest posts to get together (mostly because I have to actually try), but they’re also the ones that I think are the most beneficial for me personally.

So…if this is your daily way to get away from work, I’m sorry to say that I’m cutting out a few days.  You could also take this extra time to read (or re-read) some of my books…or…I don’t know..read someone else’s book, I guess…or just get outside and enjoy the fresh air.  I may be writing this a month prior to it’s posting, but the weather has to have gotten better by now, right?

Alright…that’s all I’ve got for now.

Have fun out there!

Fat Mogul vs. Blog Tours

from alanrinzler.com where he has much better things to say about blog tours

Alright writers, the time has come to talk about the dreaded topic of Book Blog Tours.  You know, that thing where you convince all your friends and family members as well as strangers on the street and basically anyone else you can think of who has a blog, to dedicate some space during a set stretch of time, toward promoting your book.

Or…of course…you could just pay someone to do all that for you.

Book Blog Tours, they’re huge.  In fact, not only have I had a couple for my own books, basically spreading the posts around my author friends, but I’ve also been host to more than a couple.

Rather recently, in fact, I’ve become something of a regular host to one of those groups that actually gets paid to organize these things.  It’s surprisingly cool, in that not only do I get a little extra exposure (not much, but anything helps, right?), but I also generally get an actual physical book out of the deal, which I then read and review, and then, you know, get to fill up my book cases, which haven’t been filling as quickly now that I do a lot of my reading through ebooks.

In fact, many of these books will end up cropping up in my Little Outdoor Library thing that I’ll be building this summer.

But, the question is…do these things really make any real difference in how many books you sell.

For myself, and my own sphere of influence, meaning, the people I can convince to help promote my books without paying them, I’m not so certain it is.  I have quite a few author friends, and they all already pretty much help me promote my books…but they all have about as many readers as I do…meaning that going with the standard (not researched) percentage of 1% ROI, I may get one new reader for every 100 blogs I put my book on.

Obviously, this is, as per my usual, all exaggerated.  In fact, if you get yourself passed around to real blogs, I’m guessing that you can get some fairly nice exposure…but the question is…how do you get passed around to the real blogs?

That, of course, is where these companies that organize book tours come along, but I fear that there might be good reason to question the legitimacy of their efforts.  First of all, they contact folks like me…you know…folks who don’t actually run book review blogs or anything, but just so happen to write the regular review on things like books.  I don’t have much of a readership on here, and these folks are shipping me books to read and review, so it’s not like it’s just the cost to have the organizers find me, there’s also a physical book charge in there as well.  In other words, although I can’t seem to come up with any real numbers on what these organizers will charge to get your books toured around the world…I fear that the places you’re actually going to get to, might not really be the places you want to get.

Unless you want reviews…which are supposed to be the bees knees as far as authors are concerned.

In the end, these things definitely create exposure, and they’re definitely worth some time spent…but I also know that in order to do it correctly, you could spend days upon days of setting things up (or spend piles of cash for those book tour folks who are getting you into the places you really want to get), and even then…I’m not sure that you’re going to get a strong Return on your Investment.

But…I’m pretty cynical when it comes to these sorts of things…if anyone else has had other experiences, I’d love to hear about them.

Have fun out there!