Adam Oster's Blog, page 85

Jurassic Park: The Book: My Review

Yeah, I get it, why the heck would anyone feel the need to write a review of a book that was published two decades ago, especially if that book was made into a series spawning motion picture that even today is still discussed in Hollywood (especially now that they are officially moving forward on JP4!).

The thing is. . . I needed something to write about, and, well, this seemed as good as any.

If you haven’t read the book yet in your life, it’s probably safe to assume you never will.  Knowing that, I still suggest you give this book a read if you have any interest in science fiction, or, even more importantly, action-packed techno-thriller dinosaur books involving a return to your own childhood’s awe of these fantastic monsters.

Heck, this book/movie is considered the catalyst for the dramatic increase in kids enrolling in paleontology programs over the last  two decades.  In other words, Crichton (with some definite credit given to Spielberg) did such an amazing job in showcasing his awe for these mystical creatures that an entire generation responded by wanting to learn more about them and study them for life.  That says a whole lot about a book that is, at its core, simply an action-adventure novel.  Crichton fits so much detail about these monsters into his tale that it becomes impossible to not want to know more.  Sure, some of the details he outlines have been determined to be, at least in part, inaccurate, but that doesn’t matter, it creates this sense of awe and a need to know more. . . all while having dilophosaurs rip out the intestines of Dennis Nedry while he attempts to perform his dastardly deed.

Based on my previous post regarding this book/movie series, I think it’s easily seen that I’m a big fan of them.  I hadn’t read Jurassic Park since it first came out, back in ’93, so I’m happy to state that re-reading it two decades later (and two decades older), I still came out of it feeling rather grateful for the experience.  Sure, I’m pissed at Mr. Crichton for killing off a character that he brings back in the book’s sequel with the lame explanation of “the doctor’s worked miracles”, but that’s forgivable considering how much I love the character of Ian Malcolm. . . and how much his character makes The Lost World a strong book.

Crichton loves to fill his books with as many facts as possible, attempting to make his fictional worlds appear that much more realistic because of how much reality it is based on.  This can bog the story down somewhat, especially as Ian Malcolm pontificates on whether or not science should even be allowed to perform the things they do, but it also manages to give the book an extra level of interest.  In my older age, I found myself wanting to look into the ideas behind the genetic experiments they developed in the book, see how close they were to the reality of the time, and to see how close they are to possible today.  I found myself gaining more and more interest into the world of genetic science, even in my old-man hatred of gene patents.

But, in the end. . . I just wanted to read about dinosaurs vs humans, to experience again this theme park gone awry and to feel those same feelings of how much I want to be in that same position, even though it would mean certain death.

The book holds up even twenty years later, and that’s a true testament to the author’s abilities.

That’s all I can really say.  20 years later and it’s still a damned fine book.  Can’t wait to get back into reading the sequel. . .

Heroes vs. Villains

Yesterday yet another tragedy occurred within our nation’s borders.  What happened during yesterday’s marathon in Boston is nothing new, yet, of course, no less tragic.  The news reports lately seem to be filled with reports like this, of people committed these horrendous atrocities.

These people, no matter what brought them to do their dreadful deeds, are villains, plain and simple.

Writing a book about superheroes had brought me to a point where I had done a lot of research into the concepts behind villainy, what types of things actually brought people to the point where they would perform terrible acts against their fellow man.  I quickly became aware that there’s very little difference between the villains of real life and the villains of the comic book world (or any literature for that matter).  There is a plethora of excuses these people use as reasons for enacting their evil plots.  And, just like the villains of comic-book fame. . . they seem to harbor very little care for how this will directly affect the people who are immediately involved.  It’s usually to send some sort of message, even if the message is as small as “notice me!”.

In my research, I also did some looking into the heroes of the world, the people who we find in these situations that truly step up and do something completely amazing to help those in need.  Yesterday’s events brought many such people into focus, such as the runners who completed the marathon and then ran to give blood for those who had been injured, or the first responders, who, as always, leapt into action to help every single person they could.  The weird thing is. . . there’s very little information to be found about these people.  The motivations behind their actions, the things in their lives that brought them to their saving acts, just never receive any form of focus. . . and, honestly, these people, many times, become completely forgotten.

Wesley Autrey, whom you may remember as the Subway Savior, the man who, several years ago back in 2007, jumped onto a subway track to save a complete stranger; he received a great deal of press back then, yet, he mostly shied away from the press, stating his famous phrase “I’m not a hero.”  Sure, he made the rounds on several talk shows, but, in the end, he saw himself as just a man who saw someone in need and did what he could to help him.

Or the amazing acts of the first responders to the September 11th attacks, resulting in the fatality of many fine men and women who were “simply doing their job”. . . simply doing their job to help people no matter what the risks to themselves may be.

These people, these heroes. . . they’re where you see the real difference between comic books and real life.  These aren’t people who are safe from danger, they aren’t leaping into action, knowing that nothing can hurt them.  They are real life and blood humans, in their frail human bodies, risking life and limb to help their fellow man.  They don’t dress in garish costumes hoping to get noticed, they do their jobs (and well beyond what can be considered part of any job description) day in and day out with almost no recognition for their deeds.

These deeds do sometimes receive some notice.  In fact, both DC and Marvel (and probably several of the smaller imprints) produced some amazing work as an homage to those who gave their lives as heroes after the September 11th attacks.  Both companies presented some amazing heartfelt work showcasing these true heroes of the world.

But is it enough?

Too often, the heroes get publicized and immortalized.  James Holmes, the shooter during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises last summer, is a name many more people are familiar with than those such as Jon Blunk, Matt McQuinn, or Alex Teves (names that took me quite a bit of searching to find), who made themselves into human shields and ultimately died.  The wikipedia page for the shooting itself is filled with information regarding Holmes, but when it comes to the heroes, the above listed names only appear as victims, nothing more.

But that’s the thing. . . these people don’t do what they do for fame or publicity.  They don’t do it so they can go down in the history books as a hero.  They do it because that’s who they are, people who care enough for their fellow man to risk their own lives to save them.

The story of yesterday’s bombing will undoubtedly focus on the identification of the bomber(s). We all mourn the passing of those who paid the ultimate price.  But in the end. . . the story will focus on the villain, not the heroes.  There’s another place where comic books and real life diverge.

A common message that goes out during times like these is one (currently attributed to Mr. Rogers, which Snopes claims to be accurate) stating to look for the helpers.  That’s a great message.  Look for the helpers, mourn the lost.  As far as the villain. . . I don’t even know what to say.  I just hate that the villain’s face is the one we’ll connect with any such tragedy.

My heart goes out to everyone effected by yesterday’s bombing.  This shouldn’t be the type of thing anyone should ever have to go through.  I fear that as long as we give the villain this opportunity to get center stage, we won’t be seeing the end of these types of things any time soon.

Have a good one.

(Insert uninformed joke about global warming here)

Seriously Wisconsin, winter is done, let’s be done with the snow.  This picture is the scene I awoke to this morning…possibly a fair shade better than the torrential snowstorm of hail, sleet and snow I woke up to yesterday.

Anyways, although the weather isn’t changing, life is certainly in the midt of flux for me right now.

Yesterday was supposed to involve one interview for one job I was trying to get into (in many ways a dream job), but suddenly I had two additional interviews scheduled for another job I had applied for (less dreamy, but more money).  Adding on a sick son, I was crazy busy. I even have to admit that I did nor get my thousand words written (I’ll rectify that by catching up on those today).

Both employers have stated their intentions to make job offers to the winning applicants next week.

Add into that the fact that I have a photo shoot for volume one next week for an article they are doing on Buddy, and you can see how crazy of a week that is already shaping up to be.

As such, I’m keeping this short so I can get caught up on everything I’m behind on. Should have more news next week.

Have a good weekend!

Writer’s Fatigue

Get your hand off that mouse and write, sucka!

So, last week I was able to convince the amazingly talented Claire C. Riley to write a little guest post on here, for which she chose the topic of Writer’s Block.  If you haven’t read it, you most certainly should.  It’s a fun little piece filled with the basic message of “you aren’t alone” and a little bit of advice on how to circumvent this epidemic that all writers face at one point or another.

However, this got me thinking about my own struggles with writing.  You see, I never really seem to have a true issue with thinking of things to write about.  My mind is constantly aflutter with the prospects for stories.  My list of future books/stories I want to write grows much faster than I can could ever hope to keep up with and when I actually sit down to write a book, the first draft flows like extremely thin gravy.

That’s not to say that what I write is all that good. . . my first drafts typically need a great deal of love.  I’m generally of the thought process that I should get it all on paper first and then make it awesome later.  This can be seen quite evidently in THE LEGEND OF BUDDY HERO if you were one of the lucky few to see the book the first time I attempted to release it. . . it was rough and a far cry from what the book is today.

Yet, although I don’t typically face issues with Writer’s Block, I do find myself going great stretches of time without writing, much longer than I would care to admit.  Take the sequel to Buddy Hero, for example.  I started working on that book around a month ago, spent two days putting a lot of work into the opening chapters (of which I think are pretty darn brilliant) and then haven’t written more than ten words since.

I like to call this phenomena Writer’s Fatigue.  Sure, I could blame it on the fact that I’ve been incredibly busy lately, life has taken a few turns I hadn’t expected, and then, of course, the whole release week of THE LEGEND OF BUDDY HERO found me being quite overwhelmed with promotional-type things to take care of (as well as a possibly obsessive checking of sales numbers).  The truth of the matter is that whenever I would open that document to start writing, I just couldn’t pull together the energy to do so.

There’s many factors that play into this issue (for me at least).  There’s the standard fear that I’ll write yet another book that will never see the light of day. . . or, you know, never sell.  There’s the constant trepidation that everything I write is absolute crap.  And, there’s the even larger issue of wondering whether or not my time could be better spent doing something completely different. . . like cleaning the iguana’s cage.

But, in the end, it really just comes down to me looking at the page and then trying to find some way to procrastinate.

And it’s stupid.  I love to write.  In fact, I find it incredibly therapeutic.  My wife agrees.  When I’m writing, I’m happier.  When I’m not. . . yeah.

And the really stupid thing about all of it is that it really just takes that first push to force myself to write a set number of words a day that really gets me moving forward.

So, here’s my advice to any and all writers, whether aspiring, or current.  It’s one that I’ve seen from so many successful writers that I don’t know how anyone isn’t already aware of it.  The best advice I think any author could ever receive could be put into one word.  Write.

I read somewhere once that author Stephen King writes 4000 words a day, every day, no matter whether it’s a holiday, weekend, child’s graduation ceremony, whatever.  He just writes.  Just like a musician needs to play their instrument for at least an hour a day, an author needs to do the same.  However, since it’s so easy to just sit in front of the computer and become distracted by facebook, twitter, checking on your farm in farmville, or whatever, I think the idea of setting a set amount of words to write every day seems the smart one to stick by.  I know I fall short of it all too often. . . and I’ll never get to the point where I’ll be writing on weekends or holidays.  Sorry, just can’t be done.  But, here’s my (late) New Year’s resolution.

I will write at least 1,000 words every week day (excluding major holidays and vacation time). This isn’t counting blog writing, as there’s very little that occurs on here that is of any literary worth.  1,000 truly creative words, whether it’s towards a current work in progress or one I suddenly feel inspired to put some words toward.

That’s it.  I will write.

Now I’ve just got to get my procrastinating brain in gear to sign on as well. . .

Have a good one.

New Short Story Available

I promised last week that I would have a little special something for all of you available today, due to the overwhelming response for Buddy’s release into the wild.  Unfortunately, I’ve been having some technical difficulties in getting it to show up on Amazon, but today I reveal to you the first of a series of short stories giving some of the back story on Buddy Hero and The Defenders of America.

They’re nothing special, just silly little sequences showing what Buddy and company were getting up to way back before the events of THE LEGEND OF BUDDY HERO.  It’s free, so it will give you all a little chance to taste the story before digging in and spending your hard earned $2.99 on the full novel.  Or, if you have already, gives you a little back story, as well as hinting at some of the items that are yet to come.

I think it’s a fun little tale, and I hope you all enjoy it.

It’s currently only available on smashwords, but should be showing up on Amazon and other retailed soon.  I’ll post some updates as they come.

 

In other news, although we’re still awaiting the first reviews to hit Amazon, the book’s still moving up the ranks, even though it’s no longer free.  Some further interviews and the like should be cropping up over the course of the next month, and I’m back to work on writing the sequel THE RISE OF THE FAT MOGUL.  And. . . I’m really excited to finish the revisions on THE AGORA FILES, due out somewhere near August.

Fun fun.  Have a good one!

Jurassic Park, Writing, and the Future

In case you’re wondering. Yes, it was this poster.

It has been a crazy awesome week.  In a matter of four days we managed to give away just under 400 copies of THE LEGEND OF BUDDY HERO to people all across the globe.  I can’t even express how amazing it has been to see the book be received so readily.  Sure, it was being given away for free, but seriously, there’s thousands of free ebooks out there right now, for Buddy to have found its way onto so many ereaders. . . well, it makes this writer ready to move forward.

The next step, of course, is to await the reviews to start coming in.  I’m not going to be one of those folks harping on all of you to put out gushing reviews of my book to get it to the top.  I won’t even be begging that you review the sucker.  I just hope to get some honest feedback from people who chose to read the book.

But none of that really matters right now.  What does is that I just got home from watching Jurassic Park in 3d.

And how may this apply, you are probably asking yourselves.

Well, it just so happens that approximately 20 years ago, I became aware of an upcoming movie, and, of course, the book it was based on.  I actually remember the day rather clearly.  One of my cousins (one I haven’t talked to in way too long, come to think of it), who happened to enjoy reading just as much as I did, told me about a book she was reading and how excited she was for the movie to come out.  She got me excited about the subject matter, being that I was a young buck and really into dinosaurs, but concerned over the rather tense situations she explained occurred over the course of the book.

After some time considering it, my curiosity won out, and I picked up the book and began reading.  I was completely engrossed.  This book had everything I was into at the time.  The detail that went into the science behind everything astounded me.  The way the author was able to describe the action was like nothing else I had read at the time (seeing as I had been previously relegated to rather juvenile reading material).  It was, in my mind, brilliant.  Then the movie came out.  I had to see that movie!

Jurassic Park was stuck in my brain for months.  But what was even more stuck in my brain was the idea of writing something like this, something stuck so far out from what should appear to be practical, but, with the appropriate amount of description seeming incredibly feasible.  And the action. . .

That was when I had decided to write my first book.  Underneath the shimmer of my brand new poster depicting a Tyrannosaurus Rex feasting on the wheel of a modified Ford Explorer, I began plotting the basic synopsis for my epic novel.  I don’t remember the name of the book, but the basic concept was simple (and quite obviously similar to the book/movie I had fallen in love with).  A couple of kids got stuck inside an indoor safari park and found themselves running from all sorts of wildlife in order to stay alive.  Although when I usually tell this story, I state that I finished the book in two pages, the truth of the matter is that I never actually completed the story.  I sat down, began writing, and within a couple pages realized I was already way too far into the story to have as little written down as I did.  That was when I crumpled up the pages and threw them into the trash.  That was the first time I decided I could never be a writer.

However, in some sort of action of Kismet, I find myself today, almost 20 years later, in a very similar situation.  There was no planning involved.  A couple months ago, I found myself wanting to read the book Jurassic Park once again.  I had picked the book up at a garage sale or some other such thing within the last year and had been considering reading it, but the need cropped out of nowhere somewhere mid-February.  I placed it in my to-be-read pile, awaiting the completion of a few other books I had in queue (it actually ended up getting bumped a tad).  And then, a couple weeks ago, I found out they were re-releasing the movie in 3D. All at the same time I was finally in a place where I felt I had written a book I could be proud of.

It wasn’t until tonight that I realized JP was the impetus for the writing of my first book.

And here I am, 20 years later, feeling the need to write. . . I think 11-year old me would be proud.

Anyways, I really need to get to sleep.  Once again, I want to thank everyone for all of the support and really rocking the push to get this book in as many hands as possible.  We well surpassed the 12 books I was expecting to have given out this week.  As such, I spent a great part of today working on something I hope to be able to reveal on Monday.  It’s not much, but, well. . . I hope you’ll like it.

Have a great weekend!

 

Oh, and JP3D?  It totally held up.

Introducing the Magnificent Claire Riley! (Quite possibly the next queen of England)

Fellow author (and a mighty fine friend of mine), Claire Riley, decided to take a moment away from her tea time and Doctor Who marathons (do you get that she’s from England yet?) and put together some content to plop right here on this very spot.  I suggest you lean closer to your screen.  Those British accents can be really hard to read.  She’s graced us with both an article and some answers to a few questions I sent her way.  Without further something or other. . . I present Claire:

Writers block, everyone gets it!

Author Claire C. Riley

How hard can it be?

You’ve asked yourself that same question so many times in the last hour that you’ve lost count. You feel like head-butting your keyboard, shouting at the screen, snapping all your pencils in pure unadulterated rage that the lead inside of them refuses to give up their dirty little secrets.

You read through the last line that you wrote and delete it all. Tapping the delete button with enough fury to break the stupid little key. Rubbish, all of it, and the worst part is, it took you over an hour to write it.

Seriously, how hard can it be to put a few ideas onto paper? A computer? Whatever! You have a plot, you know where it starts, where it finishes, you know your characters, so just do it, write…

Writers block. In a word is a total bitch. It’s also one of those mystical things that affect every writer at some point in the game.

You can stare, and stare, and stare some more, but that paper is still showing blank. The quiet whirr and hum of your computer is doing nothing to get you going either.

So you go put the kettle on, you fetch a snack. Yeah, that’ll do it. Refreshments. That’s just what you need to get you back in the zone. A sugar and caffeine high.

Still nothing? Pfft. Okay, so what about a walk? Yeah, a walk and some fresh air will clear the fog. You know the ideas are there. Stuck, trapped, crying out for release. You can almost taste the words on the end of your tongue. Maybe that’s the answer. You go and check your tongue in the bathroom mirror, alas, it’s just a tongue. And that’s another half hour wasted, scrubbing your tongue free of scum.

So, what do you do when the dreaded writers block hits?

Well, if you scour the internet you should find a ton of so called solutions to get you out of your current funk. Me? I think we’re too hard on ourselves.

You get stuck on that one scene and just can’t get past it. You know where you want it to go, but how to get from point A to point D is an enigma. So how about you just skip this part? How about you move on to a different scene in the book. You know which scene I’m talking about. It’s the one that you’re in such a big hurry to get to, and that’s why you have your current writers block. So skip this bit and move on. Come back to it when you are feeling less bogged down, less stressed and generally less Meh about it all. And stop beating yourself up about it. It happens to us all.

If that doesn’t work then go look at some of your old work. Yes, your realllllly old stuff. Yes! The embarrassing stuff, and re-write it. You’ll see how much you have grown as a writer, how much you have learnt, developed and honed your skill, and you will be able to look at your most current project with a fresh and more confident set of eyes.

 

It works for me anyway.

Claire C Riley

 

Interview with a U.K. Vampire (-related author)

1. Who the heck are you?

Hey, I’m Claire C Riley, woot! Wait, the woot isn’t part of the name. So I guess it’s just Claire C Riley.

2. Where are you from?

I live in the UK with my hubby and three kids, and one scruffy dog!

3. Why are you here? By that, I mean, what are you trying to promote? Hint: This is probably a good time to sell us on your work

I’m here to tell you about my new book, Limerence. Totally not something that Adam would normally read, but he seems to like it all the same. It’s a sexy supernatural romance with thriller and psychological horror elements. I’ve basically tried to take things back to their roots with the genre. There’s vampires in it, but that’s more of a sub plot than the actual plot. And they are scary not sparkly. Though I did enjoy Twilight.

4. What made you decide to do such a thing?

I like vampires, horror, romance and I liked the word Limerence so I put them all together and this is what I got. I was also sick of all the different twists and turns with vampires and how they weren’t scary or dangerous anymore.

5. Are you proud of it? Why?

Yeah, I am. I never thought I would finish it if I’m honest, and I certainly never thought that I would have it up for sale AND actually sell any!

6. What is your favorite word in your book? If that’s too difficult, favorite phrase?

Limerence!! That sounds silly, but it was the word that inspired the book.

7. How long did it take you to create this?

I actually started writing it about two years ago, but I caught swine flu and nearly died so obviously it went on a bit of a back burner. Then I got pregnant with our third daughter and once again it had to wait. Last September I basically thought, ‘screw this’ and picked it up again. I was sick of my job, and it’s not that I necessarily think that I’ll ever be able to give up my day job, but it kind of makes it seem a little better knowing that I’m living my dream of writing at the same time.

Oh wait, the question was how long it took me to create. So, basically six months.

8. Any cool stories about what inspired you to do it?

Ermmm, see previous points about death, birth, and sucky jobs!

Oh, and originally I saw the word Limerence in a magazine article about stalkers and how everyone has the same tendency to be limerent about someone, but most of us contain it. I thought it was a pretty cool word and liked the thought that when I was growing up and staring at posters of movie stars on my walls and truly believing that they would fall in love with me if they ever met me, well that was basically a limerent reaction and not me being a loser!

9. What do you do when you’re not creating artistic masterpieces?

I work in an office, and I’m a mum to three gorgeous girls. Oh, and I’m a wife!

10. If you hadn’t done it first, what other artist would be most likely to have written your book?

I’m honestly not sure. I’ve tried to take the whole vampire thing back to it’s roots, like Bram stoker style, but for the 21st century so maybe him if he wasn’t dead. But then I sound arrogant that I would even categorise my book in the same league as his work, so I’m back to, I’m honestly not sure.

11. What are your plans for the future? Sequels? New books? Movies? Book Tours? Hollywood Walk of Fame?

I’ve actually spoken to a wax artist about going into Madame Tussauds, but they said no. Booooo ,petty rules about not being famous and what not.

I have the sequel to Limerence started already, I’m hoping to be completed with it approx. August time. I’ve also started a completely different book called Odium. It’s a post-apocalyptic dystopian horror about survival, romance and zombies. I’m soooooo excited about this book it’s ridiculous. I’ve tried to do the same thing here as I did with Limerence and take the main element, in this case zombies, back to their roots. Think Night of The Living Dead. None of this super-fast, super strong, clever zombies. Zombies are scary because their dead. They have reanimated and now want to eat the living. That’s scary, we don’t need any other angle. Well, maybe we do, but I provide that with a kick ass cast of characters.

12. Very important. . . where can we find your book? Now that we know you, it’s pretty obvious we all need to have a copy!

Of course you do! ;0)

PAPERBACK

http://bit.ly/LimerencePBUSA (USA)

http://bit.ly/LimerencePBUK (UK)

eBOOK

http://bit.ly/LimerenceEBUSA (USA)

http://bit.ly/LimerenceEBUK (UK)

It is also up for free loan for KDP Select members.

 

13. Any other ways to contact you? Website, twitter, e-mail address you want filled with spam?

www.clairecriley.com

http://www.facebook.com/#!/ClaireCRileyLimerence?fref=ts

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17564467-limerence?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book

@clairecriley

 

14. Any last notes you’d like to make that hasn’t been covered here, such as why you dedicated your book to Adam?

Ha ha, well, you see, Adam has been such an inspiration to me whilst writing Limerence (editors note: I get that a lot. . . ). If it wasn’t for him I don’t think I could have written those sex scenes so well. Erm, yeah wait, what was I saying? Anyway…

Just if you do buy it, hell, if you buy any book, be sure to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads and any other book site that you know of. Us authors really do have to beg, borrow and steal to get every single review for our books, and it really is the bread and butter of promoting. A thousand people can download or order your book, but if only one reviews it, what good does it do? Your still an unknown, you still have no chance of succeeding.

Help an author, adopt a tiger. No, wait, I mean, help an author, write a review.

 

Thanks for having me everyone. I hope that you had fun looking into my sordid mind!

 

 

Update on the Week of Release for THE LEGEND OF BUDDY HERO

First, once again, I can’t begin to express how amazing this week has been in terms of support coming from not only my awesome friends and family, but from all over the world.  The network of independent authors is growing strong, and the successes my book has seen so far is a great example of that.

Me, in Germany, 2008. . . course, looks like Japan deserves the visit even more.

Second. . . Japan!  Although it was awesome to see Germany taking such an immediate liking to my book, I knew I had an in there through my wife.  Japan. . . I have no clue how you’ve found me, but you’ve already overtaken Germany in sales and as of last look, THE LEGEND OF BUDDY HERO is #243 for all free kindle books on amazon.co.jp.  That’s since this morning!

Seriously cool.

Of course, the US is still bringing it in the total sales department and the rest of the world will have to do some heavy lifting to catch up, but still. . . it’s going much better than the 12 total sales I expected for the first week.  I’m waaaaay past that. . . and we’ve just barely started day three. So, I guess I was wrong.  It is possible to give this thing away

There’s still two days left for you to purchase your free ebook copy of THE LEGEND OF BUDDY HERO.  I don’t want to get too crazy, but I’d love to reach 1000 books sold before Amazon finally says I have to charge people for this thing.  I’m already so happy with the response Buddy’s received that I’ve got an extra special something in the works that I’ll try to reveal on Monday. . . it’ll take some free time to do, which I’m mighty low on at the moment, but, since you’ve all been so awesome, I’ll make the time happen.

I’ve also got another author interview (and guest post) coming very soon. . . just gotta remind her to get some additional details my way so we can get this sucker posted.  Stay tuned, mogulings.  This week’s still young!

Trapped Like a Fly in the World Wide Web

Yup, that’s right.  I’m back on Twitter.  And Facebook.  Since I figured I should stop filling up my personal facebook page with all the cool stuff happening with my books, and there were a ton of folks telling me that I needed a better public persona. . . I caved and am now one of the many flies trapped in the web.

 

Add me, follow me, like me, whatever you want to do.  I’ll do my best to keep up.

Interview with Ken Mooney – author of GODHEAD and a helluva good guy

As promised, the release week extravaganza for THE LEGEND OF BUDDY HERO (on sale now at amazon.com and every other amazon outlet #shameless) continues with highlighting some of my favorite independent authors out there.

Today I’ve managed to convince Ken Mooney, author of the recently released Godhead (available now on amazon.com and every other amazon outlet), to stop by and answer a few questions about himself and his new book.  I found Godhead a few months ago on authonomy.com and although he only had a few chapters available (I now have the whole darn book loaded up on my kindle and awaiting to be read), I can’t even fully express how amazing of a writer this guy is.

But, you’ve already read enough of my crap lately. . . let’s meet Ken!

 

1.  Who the heck are you?  

I’m Batman; if I say it often enough, I’ll believe it! But really, Ken Mooney. Officially, it’s Kenneth, but nobody calls me that. Unless you’re my mother. And annoyed at me.

2.  Where are you from?

Dublin, Ireland. Born and raised and still living here.

3.  Why are you here?  By that, I mean, what are you trying to promote?  Hint: This is probably a good time to sell us on your work

Well I launched Godhead (editor’s note: on sale now at amazon.com and all other amazon outlets) into the world a few weeks ago (as of writing this anyway…) and in amongst all the floundering and madness, some crazy people wanted to know more about it. It’s a contemporary fantasy with its roots in Greek mythology; what if the Greek gods were real and fled the city of Olympus when betrayed by one of their own? Centuries later, their descendants find themselves caught up in a war when one of the gods decides that she wants to return home.

4.  What made you decide to do such a thing?

Madness? This was a story that’s been knocking around in my head for a very long time, and already existed in a number of forms. I’ve always wanted to write, ever since I found out that people could write stories and other people would read and enjoy them. So early 2012 I signed up for a once-off “Getting Published” class at a small writing school here in Dublin and that gave me the confidence and push to finally put Godhead  (editor’s note: on sale now at amazon.com and all other amazon outlets) out into the world. Which is funny, because I was thinking of a different book entirely when I went on the course.

5.  Are you proud of it?  Why?

Of course I am. And even if it gets slated, I’ll still be proud of it. I’m a perfectionist; I know if can be better, and every time I’ll look at it, I’ll see something I could have said or done differently. But for the sake of my own sanity, I had to let it go. And now it’s up to Godhead (editor’s note: on sale now at amazon.com and all other amazon outlets) to look after itself.

I think the real test though was that, when I was going through it multiple times to edit, there were still moments that sent a chill down my spine.

6.  What is your favorite word in your book?  If that’s too difficult, favorite phrase?

Word? Eesh…I don’t know. There’s a lot of silly little things that I’m really proud of.

Each section of the book starts with a short invocation of the Muse that I try to channel the classical style, and I think they really set the tone for what follows. Similarly, the name of my epilogue (nope, not saying it here!) is a particularly interesting play on words and, if you’re familiar with the Classics, it should give you a bit of a grin.

There are also a few similes and metaphors that I love; bearing in mind that this is a story about gods, not all of them make sense. And that’s the way it’s meant to play out, because in my head, these gods are so far above us mere mortals that they experience things differently. One of those involves “warm honey dripping through a soul” and I quite like the…ickiness and sensuality of such an expression. There’s a lot of that throughout the book. Some people mightn’t like it, but it’s their loss!

7.  How long did it take you to create this?

This version of Godhead (editors note: did you get it yet?) took about a year, but that’s not really a fair assessment. Its original form was called Destiny which is still hand-written in an A4 notepad in my childhood bedroom. And there are a few more early drafts called knocking around on old hard drives too. The fact that I haven’t even plugged those hard drives in in about five years should give you some ideas.

8.  Any cool stories about what inspired you to do it?

I’m not sure about “cool” stories, but there are a few. As I mentioned, the “Getting Published” writing course gave me a big push and the confidence to challenge myself.

What I think is the biggest inspiration for the book is something that’s included there on the page. Early on in the book, one of my main characters (Megan) watches her grandfather die after a long battle with cancer. It’s a catalyst for getting her involved in the bigger plot, but a lot of the emotions that she feels (and doesn’t) are things that went through my head when the same thing happened to me. Both of my own grandfathers passed away from cancer in 2009 (within a month of each other, which is weird.) And writing those scenes in Godhead helped me to get my head around how I feel. Some friends and family have commented on how personal (and sad) those scenes are, but I’d like to think that they will also mean something to people who don’t know me. And maybe, if they’ve found themselves in a similar position, can find some sense of strength and humour in knowing that it’s happened to someone else.

9.  What do you do when you’re not creating artistic masterpieces?

I’m in TV advertising, but I haven’t been for long; I sort of fell into the industry after being made redundant a few years ago, and fell in love with it. So writing is very much something that I do as and when I can.

I’m a big fan of “stories” in all their shapes and forms, so I really like comic books, movies, video games…something that I can see someone else mastering their craft and enjoying it.

10.  If you hadn’t done it first, what other artist would be most likely to have written your book?

Wow, I honestly don’t know. I’ve sort of described Godhead as The Iliad-rewritten for a post-Buffy audience. It’s…not right, but I can’t really ignore the influence that Joss Whedon has had on building characters. And Ronald D Moore’s work has been a big influence on how I tell stories.

I’ve a very visual style as Godhead plays out in my head; I don’t know about writing, but I can certainly see Zack Snyder directing the movie adaptation.

Hey Zack, I’ve never met you and this is crazy, but here’s my number…call me? (editors note (to Zack): Maybe?)

11.  What are your plans for the future?  Sequels?  New books?  Movies?  Book Tours?  Hollywood Walk of Fame?

There’s at least two sequels in the works; the next one will be called The Hades Contract and is still very much in flux as I decide to change things completely.

Of course, I’d love a movie or a HBO/Showtime series too…who wouldn’t? But that’s mostly based on the way things play out in my brain.

But really…it’s back to the day job for the moment.

12.  Very important. . . where can we find your book?  Now that we know you, it’s pretty obvious we all need to have a copy!

Huzzah! Damn right you do.

Currently, Godhead is just on the Kindle, so you’ll see it when you hit up Amazon. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can also get it on the Kindle App for your smartphone, tablet or computer. I’m waiting to finalise details of my print edition, which will probably be through Createspace, but that should be available May 2013. And I should be on other stores and platforms June 2013…

Formatting is fun, kids…

13.  Any other ways to contact you?  Website, twitter, e-mail address you want filled with spam?

Absolutely. You can’t shut me up on Twitter @kenmooney, and kenmooney.com is served through Tumblr where I mostly just post funny or awesome pictures. And I have a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/kenmooneywriter where I post slightly less-regular updates about the book. You should like me and boost my ego.

14.  Any last notes you’d like to make that hasn’t been covered here, such as why you dedicated your book to Adam?

Umm…Adam, have you been messing with my .epub file again? That dedication wasn’t there yesterday. And neither were those rude words. Aw man, now I need to start again.

But really…the whole “visual style” thing…I have ideas for who should play most of the characters, and I’d really love to hear/see what other people might think too…!

And…y’know, thanks for taking the time to ask the questions, read the answers and maybe even read the book too?