Adam Oster's Blog, page 86

New Page on Site (and how I’ve been spotlighted again)

The Super Shield

Howdy folks,

Sales for The Legend of Buddy Hero are still going like gangbusters.  Seriously, I couldn’t be more excited about how fast this is moving, considering I didn’t get all of my prep work done before accidentally hitting that publish button. . . oh yeah, I didn’t tell you that, did I?  I had intended to release this sucker later in the week, after doing some lead up, but. . . well, apparently I’m less technologically inclined when it comes to which buttons to click.

Anyways, things are still moving fast in the world of the fat mogul, and I’m starting to pop up all around the web.  To highlight that fact, I’ve added a new page to the site, entitled fatmogul @ LARGE.  It’s a repository of where you can find me on other people’s websites and cool stuff like that.

In fact, just this morning I wound up appearing on the brilliant (and beautiful) U.K. author extraordinaire’s website, doing a little talk about how awesome it is to be an independent author.  Yup, you may just wind up thinking that independent authors are the coolest cats in town if you head over there and do some reading.

Got some more content coming at you soon!

GO BUY BUDDY!  and since it’s free, why not leave a review?

THE LEGEND OF BUDDY HERO – FOR SALE NOW! (FREE!!!) – also, the reveal of the winning cover

Good morning everyone.  If you are one of the lucky folks who has signed up for e-mail alerts telling you when my new books have come out, you’re already aware.  As of about 5pm yesterday, The Legend of Buddy Hero appeared on Amazon sites around the world.  As of approximately midnight, it became free.

That’s right, as part of the release week extravaganza, The Legend of Buddy Hero is absolutely free to purchase.  Now, this book will continue to be free to borrow for Amazon Prime members for the indefinite future, but you can only purchase this sucker to own for free and read on whatever electronic reader you choose from today through Friday at midnight.  So, get your mouse clickers ready and head on over to your favorite Amazon store and click the shiny orange button that says you love Buddy.

Heck, maybe some of you don’t have electronic readers.  Maybe there’s still a few of you who would prefer to not read books on a screen.  That’s cool, I’m totally with you (although I have found my own Kindle to be a magnificent friend on vacations).  The thing is. . . maybe you’ll change you’re mind.  Buying today will save you five whole dollars in the future.

Even better, by buying for free, today (or later this week, if you are waffling for some reason on this completely string-free deal), you’re helping me out immensely.  Every book I sell this opening week moves me up higher on the Amazon rankings, making me that much more visible to the world at large.  So, by buying your book for free, today, you’re helping someone else find my book to buy for slightly more money than free in the future.

So go, now!

Also, the pretty clear winner of the ‘contest’ of covers is the one pictured here.  I have to admit, I’m a fan. . . just wasn’t sure I wanted that person’s ugly mug gracing the cover for forever. . .

Stay tuned for more release week fun.  I should be popping up in different locations around the web.  And, I may just have a visitor or two stop by as well.

Here’s some links to help you find Buddy:

US: http://tinyurl.com/BuddyHeroUS

UK: http://tinyurl.com/BuddyHeroUK

And when you get done purchasing, click on Amazon’s fancy share button so you can tell the world how much you love Buddy, just like this guy here:

 

THE BIG REVEAL! (Book covers!)

Sorry for the radio silence last week. . . got really busy with life and whatnot, and honestly forgot about writing anything in this space at all.

However, to make up for it, I have something special.  Book covers!

The amazingly talented Amanda Obenhoffer (still waiting on preferred contact information for her, if you would like to have some amazing covers produced like these, contact me and I’ll forward on your info to her) sent me 10 fantastic cover mock ups last week.  The problem is. . . now I have too many to choose from.  I love them all.  So, I figured I’d give all of you the opportunity to voice your opinion.

I’m pretty lazy, so I’m not going to come up with any cool functionality to do this.  The covers are below, with a pretty simple title.  Either vote in the comments here, on facebook, or shoot me an e-mail message.  I’d love to hear which ones are your favorites.  I know which ones mine are, but I’d like to see where the rest of the world sits.  I narrowed the choices down to five to make things slightly easier.

Adventures in Family Life

Yesterday, in a fit of “where-the-hell-is-spring” cabin fever, my family and I embarked upon an unplanned adventure.  Where we had initially intended to stop by Govin’s Farm and check out all of the newbie animals that had been birthed recently, we decided to extend that trip even further and continue on to the Twin Cities following our visit with the baby-mals.  Without really telling our children (who immediately went into nap-time mode as we re-entered the car) we made our way the extra hour to the Mall of America, both of them awaking as we neared the parking garage.

Needless to say, they were both confused, but then also delighted. I mean, these two played hard, walking around, checking stuff out, hugging sharks and sea-sponges.  My daughter and I rode on the Log Chute together, and we overall just had a spectacular time doing something, as opposed to the winter-long drought of doing much of anything at all.

We ended the affair by finding some friends of ours and having dinner with them. . . one of the two being my daughter’s favorite person in the world (so much so that without any prompting from anyone, my daughter, about a year ago, declared this person her sister and defies anyone to state anything different, even if you were to say, perhaps, that there’s no way she could be her biological sister).  All in all, it was a great time, and we all got the reboot I think we needed.  Both of my children were much happier to be dropped off at school today than they have been in recent weeks, and I feel much more energized than I have been for quite some time. My wife, I believe, even appears to be walking with a bit more of a spring in her step, even if she’s looking rather exhausted from over-extending herself yesterday.

Adventures are awesome, everyone needs them. I think doing something out of the ordinary, although it can be quite a lot of work, does a ton for the brain in breaking up the monotony of daily life.  I know I’ve been needing one for a while, and although I still am not super excited about the standard return to work that is a Monday, I’m feeling much more capable of facing the day. . . all things which really just state that Spring should hurry the heck up and get here already.

Adventures, however, have something even more interesting that tend to occur. . . that is, meeting new people.  I talked to a ton of new people over the course of yesterday, most of the conversations being little more than a slight exchange of words.  There was even one proud father moment where I saw a family escaping a store with their rowdy crying children who then pointed at me, holding hands with my two rather quiet and smiling children, and saying “Why can’t you be good like those kids are.  Look at them!”  Seriously. . . proud of my kids for just being awesome. They know when to get rowdy, and they know when to chill out (most of the time).  Of course, the lollipops they were currently devouring probably helped a lot in keeping their attentions contained.

However, there was one interaction that stuck most with me, and that was with a 10-year old girl as me and my daughter waited in line to ride the Log Chute.  She was in line by herself (that alone seeming kind of odd) and was very eager to talk with us (someone really needs to teach this kid about stranger danger, especially when hanging out at indoor theme parks by herself). Just in these few pieces of information I gleaned from the start, I began gathering a lot of assumptions about the type of kid she was, and the type of household she lived in. . .

Then she hit me with the whopper.  Right before getting on the ride, we were talking about siblings, as she was interested in learning about my daughter’s brother.  I asked her about her siblings, in which she listed off the 4 different family members she called brothers and sisters, and then told me that her older sister was 8 days older than her.  My mind instantly went to adoption, although seeming odd with the assumptions I had previously made about her family.  She corrected me. . . half-sister.

Mind blown.  I mean, there’s very few options available in this situation for how she could have a half-sister 8 days older than her. . . and from my knowledge, the old-school Mormon population in Minnesota is pretty darn small.  But for her, at ten, to not only be aware of this other sibling, but also to consider her openly as her sister. . . I seriously needed to talk to this girl more.

I’m not doing any judging here, because I don’t have the facts.  I mean, the father in this situation obviously has something fishy going on (at the very least), but I don’t know his life.  However, this girl is the type of person I get excited to meet (not that way, pervs).  At ten years old, she’s already got an incredibly intriguing back story that any author would love to be able to craft.  I need to know the details and figure out what’s going to happen in her life, considering how she’s been prepared for it so far.

Her story isn’t unique, I’m sure, but it’s interesting all the same. . . and one that I unfortunately couldn’t get all the details of in the manner of 5 minutes while waiting in line.  Heck, for all I know, she could have been making it up, similar to how my daughter claims that a woman only 2 years younger than me is her sister (a few years older than her mother as well).

It all adds to the intrigue.

This is the kind of stuff I love about adventures, getting to see new people and trying to figure out what all makes them tick.  I know it’s part of the writer in me to want to craft these back stories for people who I only see for the briefest of moments.  Interestingly enough. . . the best one’s I’ve met, generally occur while waiting in line for a ride.

Anyways, the adventure was great, and I now have the very basic idea brewing for a new character that I’ll need to place somewhere.  She won’t fit in any current book I’m working on, but there may be one or two down the line in the queue that are looking for a young girl with such an interesting back story (as the one I’ve created, seeing as all I really know about this little girl is that she has a half-sister 8 days older than herself. . . and she could very well be making that up).

Alright, I’ve got some work to get to. . . I’m ready to get back to writing THE RISE OF THE FAT MOGUL.  I’ve been feeling quite poorly about my lack of attention to that for the past couple weeks and have so many ideas about where it’s going as well.

Have a good one!

The Doctor and The Fat Mogul

Since I’ve been too busy to do any real writing for the past ~2 weeks, I’m at a loss of what to tell you folks for updates.  It’s been a crazy month so far, and there’s currently no real hopes of it slowing down soon.  However, I hate to leave this site dormant, and although I try not to do too many reviews in a given week. . . here’s another review, albeit, slightly different.

Doctor Who. . . if you haven’t watched the rebooted (yet, not officially rebooted, I suppose relaunched would be the official term) series, you must do that now.  It beloved by many, but in my talks with folks familiar with the old series, particularly though who live in the U.K., they just don’t seem to care about it.

I found this odd, to be honest.  I mean, these folks (as well as several hipster-y state-side nerds who claim the old series is the best) declare a love for the series, but really have no interest in seeing the continuation.  In almost all of these conversations, not a single one of them had even seen an episode of the new stuff. . . yet knew it couldn’t add up.

As a big fan of the new series (seriously, find it, watch it), I figured this must mean that there was something incredibly special about the old series and placed myself on the adventure of watching every old series episode I could get my hands on.  I am currently about halfway through the episodes of the 4th doctor. . . or, you know, 1977.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m still planning on getting through the rest of the old series, there is definitely a certain charm about them.  However, this stuff doesn’t even compare to the current series.  I love me a good ol’ monster flick.  I’ll still sit down and watch a Godzilla film and enjoy every minute of it.  That’s what these are, an episodic series of monster flicks.  They are fun, they are cute, but, well, the polish just isn’t there.  The new series has that going for it.  The new stuff is cute, has monsters, AND it’s incredibly polished.  It takes all the best parts of the original series and cleans it up and makes it much more epic.  Instead of laughing at the rubber suits in the old series, you get to focus on the actual stories at hand (well. . . the first season or so of the new series was still a little rough on that kind of stuff).

The new stuff really does take everything the old series had and just makes it better.  Sure, there’s no Tom Baker somehow never tripping over his scarf that should constantly be wrapping itself around his ankles as he offers people Jelly Babies. . . well, not yet, he’s supposed to be appearing in the 50th anniversary episode this year, but the new Doctor’s really have taken on that same attitude that the old doctors had. . . at least doctors 4-7.

I’m enjoying the old series, but it’s not something that you have to give all your attention to.  It’s a really great option to watch while I’m getting other stuff done, as it doesn’t suck me in completely, but amuses me frequently enough to get me out of spreadsheet hell a little bit.

It’s fun. . .but anyone who says it’s better is really just playing the hipster card a little too hard.

 

Of course, that being said, Tom is finally starting to settle into his role a bit more by the episode I’m on currently. . . so, perhaps as I move into the later doctors I’ll see a bit more of what everyone misses. . . perhaps.

My First Guest Post!

Oh yeah, in other news, I’ve just completed my first guest post on a friend’s blog.

 

It’s pretty exciting stuff.  Go to Jaclyn Aurore’s pretty website and hear me wax on (with only a little bit of waxing off) about how authors need to stick together in order to make it in this world of our’s today.

Free Book!

Nope, sorry, not mine. . . not yet anyways.  However, a fantastic book by a wonderful writer came out this week, and today just so happens to be the last day he will be offering it for free. . . meaning. . . go here and click on that easy one click button and make it yours, whether you have a kindle or other ereader or not. . . because, it’s free. . . and it won’t be tomorrow.

 

In fact, he’s over in Dublin. . . who knows what time zone they’re in.  You may only have 10 minutes before the day is over for him and then you will be required to pay money for an amazing book.

 

Seriously though, Godhead by Ken Mooney is wonderfully written, so much so that you’ll wonder how this could possibly be a debut novel.

 

And Ken is such a great guy, giving him a little boost to his ranking on Amazon would be a great little gift for him to end his day with.

 

So do it.  Now!  http://www.amazon.com/Godhead-ebook/dp/B00BW25DWU/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1363798267&sr=8-30&keywords=godhead

If you’re one my non US readers, you may have to do a search on your country’s amazon page to find it

Affleck was the Bomb in Phantoms

I just finished watching Phantoms. . .

This movie has been on my too-watch list for way too long merely because of one line in the movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.  ”Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms”, spoken by Ben Affleck, in character as Holden.

The problem is, I never actually looked into this film at all, I didn’t read reviews, didn’t read the plot, didn’t look into who else was in it. . . nothing.

I had absolutely no expectation except for the possibility of Affleck being “the bomb”.

Had I actually done any of this, it is quite doubtful I would have watched this film.  I mean, first of all, it’s based on a Dean Koontz novel. . . meh.

The cover here calls the movie a thriller, but it’s very little more than a crappy horror flick, without the boobs even. . .   Just like every Stephen King film adaptation ever, this movie was obviously put out on a minimal budget, expecting Koontz fans to lap it up.  It wasn’t horrible, but it’s definitely not worth the watch.  There’s nothing that happens here that hasn’t happened in every light horror flick ever.  In fact, it’s almost like a really bad rip off of Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain (the book, not any of the adaptations). . . stripped of Crichton’s trademark over-sciencing, and adding in some Stephen King-style demon-stuff.

Affleck was most definitely not “the bomb”.  He was alright, but nothing special came from his role.  I do, however, have to give mad props to Liev Schrieber.  This guy seems to own the creepy bad guy role, but manages to add yet another layer of creepy onto this. . . and he’s not even the bad guy (well, not really).

Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I have finally watched this film I have lazily felt I should watch for over a decade, and I’ve found it lacking.

Wanna fight about it?

The Many Failures of The Fat Mogul

I’d count this as a success!

Those of you who know me, may know that I can be somewhat of a dreamer.  I tend to develop these crazy ideas in my head regarding some sort of creative project and then become a bit too obsessed with the completion of the project.  Sure, there are some that have fallen by the wayside, never actually seen to fruition.  . .ok, there’s a ton of those, but there’s several giant projects I’ve taken on over the years that I’ve seen to the finish.  I’m quite proud of  that.

A discussion with my wife last night led me to reflecting on these insane projects I’ve put myself into, ones that have left my head swirling with possibilities of moving forward and actually being able to develop a bit more a career path than I currently have.  I’ve always been well aware of the multitude of failures that I’ve left in my wake.  The couple of film projects I’ve pursued and completed are fantastic examples of that.  In fact, the last film project I worked on is something I wish I could burn from existence. . .

These failures have had a tendency to weigh on my.  After I completed my first real attempt at a creative project of my own, the first film I produced called Deadline, I was absolutely distraught.  I mean, it’s really stupid that I expected anything more than I got, considering the 30 day deadline we had for the project from start to finish.  And, it’s actually not that bad, all things considered.  But in my head I had developed this idea that it would be perfect, the next Clerks of independent films.  It was stupid, and I realized it at the time, but I had some high hopes that I just couldn’t wash away.  It took me four years after completing that project to even consider trying something like that again, or anything creative for that matter.  I had all but separated myself from any creative pursuits, including the theatre I had spent the majority of the previous few years working with.

I couldn’t handle it.  Seeing my work in its completed state had this effect on me that just left me believing that I had no right to ever try to be creative.  That may be true. . . I suppose, but I’m going to ignore that pessimistic thought for now.

Quick side track, remembering how I reacted to this failure brought me back to my first real memory of an attempt at doing something truly creative, which, believe it or not, was my attempt to write a novel back when I was about 7.  I spent a week thinking about the book I wanted to write and then sat down and spent a whole day working on it. . . I completed a majority of the story in about 3 pages.  I decided I was not a writer.

 

Anyways, back to the lecture at hand. . . after about four years, I once again began thinking about how much I enjoyed the process of creating Deadline and was suddenly hit with an idea of how to address the issues I had seen with my previous work and came up with something much larger in scale.  I decided I was going to do my best to fix things on the production side of things, and unfortunately focused on that a bit more than I should have.  Another rushed production schedule and lack of focus on the writing left me with something that I absolutely can’t watch.  It’s nothing against the cast and crew who helped me put this thing together.  They all did a fantastic job, and I fear I never actually relayed that to them well enough.  No, the failures I saw were entirely my own, and I saw the finished product to actually be a step back from the previous work.

I failed.

Luckily, I did attempt to jump right back on the horse and began development of a few new ideas, this time with a collaborator.  Unfortunately, I was still so distressed over my previous failure that I just couldn’t get up the guts to really try again.  It took me three years before I actually felt ready to move forward.

That’s when I began writing THE LEGEND OF BUDDY HERO.

Now, this is a simplified list of my failures.  There’s been many between of different levels of scale.  All of which were things I considered to be a fantastic idea, but found my implementation lacking.  Each time, seeing my results, I would enter a shame spiral, not certain what I would do with this continually nagging feeling that I should do something creative with my life.

All of these moments sucked hard.  Each time I failed felt like a piece of me dying.  Each time I failed, I found myself in this odd position where I had no personal direction.  But, after I had time to reflect on these failures, I also found myself learning from these experiences.  In fact, I learned a whole helluva lot from each of them, putting myself, each time, in a much better position to pursue the next.

The problem was, I was comparing myself to people who had succeeded, seemingly with little to no failure in their history.  I still do that.  However, a look at any list of quotes from famous people will find a plethora of examples of people talking about how much failure is a prerequisite for success.  I agree wholeheartedly.

If, somehow, I had succeeded with my previous creative attempts, I would have found myself feeling quite embarrassed.  I had no idea of what I was doing (an easy argument could be made that I still don’t) and made things that were all experiments in how to tell the stories I wanted to tell.  If I had somehow succeeded in my initial attempts to sell THE LEGEND OF BUDDY HERO, I would have found myself putting out something much less than the book should be, than the book currently is.

I failed so I could move forward and continue and learn.  I failed, I believe, so I could succeed.

Failure sucks.  I hate it.  But if you want to do something truly unique, something truly original, failure is necessary.  I accept my failures, and I accept that I will continue to fail.  The important part is that I will continue.

Anyways, I’ve got some succeeding to do right now, so I’ll chat with you all later.  Have a good one!

Technical Difficulties now bypassed

Due to a collection of user error and server downtime, the site went down for most of yesterday, and a portion of this morning.

It’s now back up, after some fancy last minute troubleshooting to figure out what I broke during my troubleshooting yesterday

 

Have a good one.