Jack Lewis Baillot's Blog, page 77

"If we win we eats you whole?" "Fair enough."

   Coming October 8th
 Detective Isidore Thaddeus Reichmann doesn't want friends but Lisbeth has given him no choice. She stepped into his life, promising never to leave his side and slowly, Isidore accepts her thrust of friendship. Together they solve mysteries, rather, he solves them and she gets into trouble. They are inseparable and secretly Isidore enjoys his constant companion. However, a time is coming when promises will be broken and a friendship tested - and the end result will forever change Isidore's life. 
 The reason for this short story is to help in clearing up some of the mystery surrounding Isidore's past. Everything else about Isidore is explained in the books, but this story he tells no one. (At least, not in the books.) However, it is important for the reader to know it, to understand better what is going on. Originally I was going to release the story before the last book. However, while editing I realized most of Isidore's story is kept in mystery and throwing one more on top might add confusion. Therefore, I consulted my expert in matters like this, my artist Clair, and we weighed the pros and cons. Part of me wanted to keep the story hidden until the end - for drama's sake, but we finally decided it the impact of the story might have more effect if the story were released before book one. Therefore, to understand some things going on in book one, this story is important. If, however, you wish to wait till the end...don't read it yet. But, you've been warned. It might just make things more confusing. 

"Reality is a lovely place, but I wouldn't want to live there."

 I'm right now wrapped up in a blanket, listening to what my brothers call hippy music, and trying to decide if I want tea now or later. It is afternoon and the storm which pounded us with rain this morning has broken, which is sad. 
 I've been having one of those weeks...I don't really know why people call them such. I think it is a term women made up for, "Look at me wrong and die." Basically, I've had a crummy week. We all get them, when ever disaster imaginable hits us like a bag of bird feathers.  My bird feathers consisted of a boss accusing me unjustly, friends changing and needing time alone, contracts, and a sharp pain in my side which probably isn't good. (If I have to go to the doctor again I think...hm, don't know what I will do. Run for my life screaming like Mickey when the frozen rats fell on him? Yeaaah.)

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 Anyhow, between deadlines and sicknesses and contracts and trying not to flood the bathroom, I've been in a funk for the last few days. The kind of, "Leave me alone to die." So, today, I ditched my editing, naughty me, and went for a hike up in the mountains, in the rain, with John. Really, nothing clears a funk like getting pelted with icy raindrops while hoping the trigger happy hunters aren't going to mistake you in your baggy pilot jacket for a deer.  Sure, not all my problems are gone, which is good, because then I'd be dead, but I'm as back to normal now as I ever get. And I'm back to editing. Not the book, but the short story I kept hinting at. I've almost finished it, then I will probably do one of the backwards edits and then I will try formatting. Formatting will be fun if I can figure it out. (Also, since this edit isn't as long and tedious as the book, you will be spared the random, my brain is suffering from editing, posts.)
 Also, since I am out of my funk - really, I think rain is a better cure then chocolate! - I've thought it was time to give a proper book update. 
 First off, comments.  I love all your comments, and I like answering them, and reading your blogs. However, with the editing, trailer, formatting, more editing, cover, writing, I don't have as much time to read your blogs as I would like. I try to read them all at least once a week - and if you leave a comment I read your new post when I answer it. (This isn't a bribery to get more comments, it is just less time consuming for me to do it this way for now. I'm trying to re-work my schedule to get to more blogs. But, just so you know, I'm not ignoring all of you. You know...just busy fighting dragons and feeding a baby hedgehog and all)
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 Two: THANK YOU ALL MY NEW FOLLOWERS!!!!!!!!!! I'm now at 46, and I keep staring at the number in shock. Like Moriarty when he was talking to Sherlock. "Then you can relish the look of surprise on my face." (Er...um, no, I don't look like Moriarty.)
 Three: In the last post someone asked when the book will be released now I've turned down the contract. I'm afraid I cannot release the official date yet - as I'm still not sure that will BE the official date. (I will go into more detail with all this next week, when I explain better what's going on.) Right now though, I guess it will be okay to share the month.  Fall is out. I'm not sure when I got so behind on everything, but yeah, getting it out this fall - seeing as how it is already fall...just isn't going to work. Both my artist and I would fall over from exhaustion and we are already close to doing that as is. So, to spare you all the fainting, I moved it back. To......December. Besides, a Christmasy release might be more fun. (I'm not saying it is coming out Christmas day or anything, just that it is coming out more the middle of December then the first.)
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 And now I am going to go hunt down the time Elementary will be showing today. (Ducks the BBC fans and the flying tomatoes.) What can I say? This is my revenge against Moffat, and it isn't like I could let my friend Abbey watch it on her own. Sometimes, revenge means friends have to stick together. *Smirk*
 Allons-y!!!

 HAHA, sorry. I wasn't really going to leave. I promised you the plot of the short story and information on it. Including the title. Which you can find HERE/ CLICK HERE. I would love to know your thoughts on it. And, when it is out, I hope it is some consolation for my having to move the book's release date back.

 Anyways, I'm going now. I'm ready for bed.

 ALLONS-Y! This time for real. 

COULSON LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!

 Where to begin. Should I tell you about the contract today, or the short story? Which needs more fanfare for the weekend? Or, should I post an editing picture and go to bed to drown myself in the sorrowful fact that the Ponds are...oh wait. Most of you haven't made it to the Ponds in your Doctor Who watching, so I will save the spoilers. River Song I ain't.

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 I could tell you about how I fell against the shower door while I was...well, taking a shower, and how I almost flooded the bathroom again. Or, I could fill your time with regales of pirates and dancing trees. I could weave a tale about an evil king who desired to crush a land under his thumb and the gallant knight who stood against him. Though, such tales always have a knight. Let ours be a timid maiden, frightened of her own shadow. Her journey takes her into places where her deepest fears lurk and alone she must face them, finding in the end a friend has always been at her side, taking her hand when she needed it most. 
 Okay, enough of my feet dragging. I'll do the contract today because I wish to do something special with the story. Not sure WHAT yet, but just throwing the summery out there is very unlike me. Sometimes I relish drama too much. 
 I will admit outright, my choice I made on the contract wasn't easy. I've been dreaming of something like this since I was thirteen. That's more then ten years. Having to pick between a glittery contract and rights was like having to decide if I wanted to be shot or stabbed, only less painful...or not. 
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 I will admit, all of your thoughts on it helped. Also, talking about it out loud to someone who at least listened for fifteen minutes, or was it fourteen, helped as well. You would not BELIEVE the trouble I have in keeping people's attention. "Do I have the kind of face no one listens to...again?"
 I took into consideration what everyone had said, but no, I didn't let other people's opinions sway me. (I don't mean that rudely. Just, sometimes, when someone tells someone something the first someone will change their mind because of what the second someone said and then it isn't really the first someone's choice, just what they think the second someone wishes.) Get it? Got it. Good. I can say without doubt the final decision was the one I felt best, because I felt it thus. 
 So, in short, I've turned it down. 
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 Part of me is still kicking myself for this. "HOW COULD YOU! TEN YEARS YOU'VE WANTED THIS! DO YOU THINK CONTRACTS FALL INTO YOUR LAP EVERY DAY?! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY AUTHORS WOULD KILL FOR A CONTRACT!?"  However, the silent screaming is small, MUCH smaller then the twisted dread which filled me every time I thought about the contract. Give up so many of my rights? Keeping my rights is one reason I went with self publishing. 
 Okay, now this part sounds selfish and greedy and...all that. But here is the truth of it. I WANT complete rights over my work. I want the final say. I want the cover I want, not one someone else who didn't put hours into the story thinks will fit it. I've put too much hard work and research into covers, too much thought to give up cover rights.  On that same note, I put too much hard work into the actual story to have something changed I want left in. I'm open for ideas and help, don't get me wrong. I'd kill for a Critic partner - no, I wouldn't kill the partner. I'd kill a certain someone who ruined a certain character because he didn't use his brilliant brain *Eyebrows go up* Okay, fine, no killing.  But it isn't that which I'm talking about. It is the story itself. It is the plot in the first book which seems to have no connection at first but which I've worked hard in tying together. This is my story, and I want it to stay mine till the end. 
 Though, I guess that isn't completely true. Right now the story is mine, but when it comes out I hope all of you will make it yours and enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it. I want this story to be yours as well, but since it isn't out yet...I guess it can't be, yet. 
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 One of the other reasons I don't wish to go with Hydra is the wait. I know, time is good in most cases. But eight months? That is almost a year. And yes, you all said you would wait but I don't think it is wise for me to put it on hold. And I don't wish to wait another eight months to release book two. I'm hoping to have it out six months after the first. *SPOILER!* But that is the only spoiler you're getting. 
 Anyways, there it is, laid out for you in black and white...er, gray and purple. 
 All this means I'm back to where I started. Cover on my own. I'm not worried though anymore. I know the cover I want and I will do it alone if I must. It is the trailer which is my main concern at the moment. I'm back to hounding my help, unless I can figure it out myself. (I don't suppose any of you knows how to make movie things and wouldn't mind in helping put a trailer together?)
 Okay! Okay!  Sorry, John is telling me to finish. He says it is his turn to post now. So, I will close. That is all I had to say anyways. Tomorrow I will show you the story, or, kind of. SO! Come back! Your evil over lord commands you!

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 Real fast though. I updated the book summery again. What do you all think? http://haphazardlyimplausible.blogspot.com/p/the-haphazardly-implausible-series.html And who else has seen The Avengers this week?! Did you watch the gag reel? Deleted Scenes? All the cool extras?! (As you can tell...I did watch it. Last night, with my brother. It's just as cool the fifth or sixth time 8-D)

 ALLONS-Y!

 P.S. John posted and he answers all his comments in the post they are left in. (Since he's still a baby, he's not so great at reading over people's blogs. Usually he is too busy napping and playing and eating. But he loves comments and will answer them all.)

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!!

 Thank you for everyone who told me about the comment's on John's Blog. I had forgotten new blogs are set right away to have those annoying words under them. Now it is word free and even users without blogs can comment. 
 I've a better update coming soon on the contract but right now I just need sleep, lots of sleep - I should probably stop staying up so late. And chocolate because of the short story I'm working, which I will talk more about later as well. 
 I attached the link to John's Blog up by the book pages on the top of mine. I'm not sure if I will leave it there, I will likely move it to the side, but at least for now you will be able to find it more easily. 
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 ALLONS-Y!

"I want to know about these Strangers like me."

 Well, as I said. Once I finished editing I was getting a baby hedgehog and naming him John. And well, here he is! And you thought I was joking about getting one. *Smirk*
 Anyhow, John wishes to be a writer, like me. So I set him up his own blog because he wanted to meet all of you and share his adventures with you. (He enjoyed reading your comments on the posts about him.) He would love for you to stop by his blog and say hi. He says he will say hi back...ug, I should have had him write this post. 
 I have a story to finish working on, a sad story I've put off for too long. (It is connected to Haphazardly Implausible and should be released in October.)  But first I need to finish it. So I will just give you the link to John's blog where he makes a proper introduction. And I will go finish the story. 
 http://johnthehedgehog.blogspot.com/
 ALLONS-Y!

"Greg? Why do you call him Greg?" "That's his first name."

 I'm in dire need of a blue journal so I can walk up to people and ask, "So, where are we now?"
 I also want to thank all of you. A ton. Like, shout it from the top of some....not wait! I know! "I want to scream to the world my excitement! Do you know many Ferri's?"   I'm now at 44 followers and averaging ten comments a day mostly. I NEVER thought I'd make it this far. Also, thank you all for your thoughts on the contract. I found them all very helpful and kind and though I've not completely made my decision yet I think I am close. I've given it a lot of thought and talked to my mum about it. I will let you all know when I've decided. 
 I'd say more, but I'm not feeling well and have a lot going on so am kind of bummed since it isn't nice things going on. I think I will crawl into bed and read for awhile before I fall asleep. Best way to fall asleep. 
 Quote is from Sherlock, when Watson tells him Lestrade's name. 
 Allons-y

"You would not believe your eyes, if 10,000 fire flies, lit up the world as I fell asleep."

 This is the part where I share my news then leave it over the weekend to simmer and stare at you all like Indiana on a bad day. Don't worry, my post won't bite...I don't think. 
I feel I should delay the news, draw it out, just to see how many of you I can drive insane. Though, if I'm too mean, you all might pack up and move to Mars without me, leaving me on hoverless board earth to starve. Yeah, I think I will share.

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 Where to begin? You all know I'm going to self publish. You all know I've been working at this for...let's see...all summer I think now. Maybe longer. I've lost track of time. Not good. 
 I'm getting off track. 
 What I mean to say is this, I've been given a contract. A real, living, breathing, just for me contract. For me. This, has been, a life long dream - or close enough - for me. And now here it is, staring up at mean, all glittery and new and just for me. And I should be dancing on the coffee table we don't have. Instead, I'm...not. 
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 Like everything in my life, a new glittering contract simply cannot be a joyful affair. My life isn't that simple. (I should note here, the contract is from the self publishers Hydra. HAIL HYDRA!) But, as I said, I cannot just, enjoy something. I cannot sit back and beam and dance around and shout to the world, "I, JACK, HAVE BEEN GIVEN A CONTRACT!" Because, if I accept this contract, I will loose some things and maybe loose others. (The others I cannot tell you about yet. But the can I can.)
 First, rights on the cover. Which, right now, might not be a bad thing. You know, cover issues and all. Still, to loose rights on it, not what I really want. I know the cover I want, it is just GETTING said cover. 
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 Second, Fall release is O U T! No chance. AT ALL! According to Hydra, it will be five to eight months before the book will be released. Will this be worth it? Yeah, probably. (They're going to find me an EDITOR! MY OWN LIVING, BREATHING EDITOR!!!!!!!!! *Hugs invisible Editor.*) I would put the book on hold for a living, breathing editor. 
 BUT. As I mentioned, I don't have a job. And I have rent to pay. My mum is confident I can make enough for rent on my books, but not if it comes out in five or eight months. (But, I am working on something. Just, that is kind of a surprise for later once I have more information.)
 Third is the worse part of all. But I cannot go into that right now. So, it is on hold. 
 However, this is where I stand now. Do I take this lovely, shinny, glittering all my own contract? No money down to publish, a living...no MY living, breathing editor...or do I pass it by, keep on as I'm going, and publish the book in a few months as planned? 
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 For right now, I think I will just stare at my very own glittery contract and enjoy it. Because...well, it is mine after all. And I never thought I'd have one. 
 What do you think of my glittery contract? If the book doesn't come out until eight more months, would any of you be willing to wait that long for it? Or would it be forgotten like all the other "to be" published books? I value all of your thoughts. 
 I also thought, in honour of the contract, I should give my site some new colours! What do you think?

 ALLONS-Y!! I'm off to find my lost glasses. 

"I wish that we could sail our sad days away, forever, in deep blue seas of paper mache."

 In which Jack complains of Modern Scientists and Inventors. 

 I need a show of hands. How many of you have seen Back to the Future? The plot of these movies was brilliant, I could do without all the language though. Anyhow, I'm sure most everyone has seen or heard about them. About how Marty McFly traveled to 2015 and flew about on a hover board. 
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 You all know what year this is, right? And how we only have three months to 2013. Which is only two years to 2015. And we all know 2000 was the start of the future. So, we've been living in the future for 12 years. 12. Most everyone who was born in the beginning of the future is now almost a teenager. 
 You can see where I'm going with this, can't you? The future was supposed to have light sabers, and homes on Mars, and a jet in every garage, and spaceships almost in every garage. We were supposed to be traveling the stars, meeting bow tie wearing Aliens, battling Sith lords, and hanging out with Wookees. In the least we were supposed to have hover cars, or even boards.


 And Scientists have had 12 years to be working on this stuff. Okay, so you can't make a Wookee, or a Sith Lord unless you chop his arms and legs off and throw him in lava...any volunteers? BUT you CAN make light sabers, and spaceships, and homes on Mars, and HOVER BOARDS! 
 What have Scientists been up to for the last 12 years? Testing how easy it was for Gollum to bite off Frodo's finger? Was anyone even asking that question? Sure, we have cool cell phones and Ipads...but my skates don't hover, so really, I don't care. My watch doesn't have a Stark pop up computer in it. My glasses don't have Xray vision and little computer screens to tell me who are the enemy spies. And I STILL don't own a light saber to complete my sword collection. 12 years, wasted.


 If we don't have hover boards in two years, I'm packing my bags and moving to Mars. Even if there aren't any houses there yet. Who's with me?

 What do you hope we have in the future?
 Allons-y!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"If you can fly don't stop at the sky 'cause there's foot prints on the moon."

 My sister has given me two very odd nicknames. One fits me well. It is Sherlock. The other, I don't know...it is Snape. So, according to my sister I'm clever, over active, unsociable, (This much is true. She often points out just how much I am like Sherlock, shocking really. Oh, except for the clever. More like, easily board and I get very gloomy at times.) Also it seems she thinks I have greasy hair and am distend to be alone and die of a broken heart. (Thank you, sister dear. So nice to know someone has such high hopes for my future.)
My hair only looks like this SOME times. 


 ANYHOW...That had NOTHING to do with this post in which I announce I FINISHED EDITING TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I plan to fall over and sleep. (I'll do a longer post on this later when my brain is working again.)
 But, I noticed something. Something I thank all of you for. You, my dearest readers, you have brought me up to forty followers! I almost fell over in a faint...or jumped about my room and stubbed my toe on my trunk. You all are so kind and I'm in shock so many of you read my blog. It makes me feel loved. 
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 I would like to hold a kind of thank you for everyone. But I'm not sure what to do, and since whenever I get into a fix I hold a voting, I think I should do so again. I thought about holding a contest, but then only one follower would get a thank you, when it is ALL of you I want to thank.  I've tried to think up other ideas, like a contest, but I'm not sure what it would be or how that would be a thanks.  I could release something from my book. A short story all of you would like to read, you could even pick what it would be about. But, again, not sure how good of a thank you that is. So, I'm open for ideas. Anything you have throw at me, just do it softly please. I don't want to get hit in the head with flying ideas. They can hurt. 
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 And now I'm going to bed to read Jules Verne if I can manage my fat volume while laying down.

 I bet most of you know the quote.

 Allons-y!

"Now if you don't mind, I have to keep moving and find my way off this drunken tub." "Tub...? Tub? TUB!?!"

 We once again interrupt your regularly scheduled programme to say....

 Jack is a cashew.

 Points to whoever gets it.

 ALLON-Y!!!!!!