Jake Jeffries's Blog: Dark Watchman, page 5

Coffee Beans are the Senzu Beans of Reality

Greetings friends,

It is amazing how much stuff one can accumulate through the years. Lately, I have been packing up my things in order to gear up for a move. Here is a list of things that stuck out to me as I have been going through everything.

My obsession with Dragonball Z is over 9000!

One of the items I uncovered whilst packing is a box of my old toys I played with when I was younger. Some of them I had forgotten about. Some of them are also in better condition than others. Dragonball Z introduced me the concept of Ki and energy attacks. Before that, most of my playtime with action figures consisted of melee attacks such as punches and body slams. However, when Goku unleashes a Kamehameha it would be required for his opponent to be thrown into the wall. Also, sometimes I just wanted to stand Goku up at night before bed so that I could get back to it the next evening and have him launch a Spirit Bomb. One of my favorite pastimes growing up was playing the Dragonball Z trading card game.

Batman vs Superman

For the longest time I claimed that my favorite superhero was Superman. I do have a ton of Superman related items that I have collected. However, it seems like my love of Superman has become rivaled by my love of Batman. When I was younger I considered Anime heroes separate from comic heroes as well. The lines have become blurred and now my list of inspirations and heroes is endless and it is hard to pick one over the other. There is a quote by Sheldon B. Kopp that I disagree with, “If you have a hero, look again; you have diminished yourself in some way.” On the contrary, I believe that the type of qualities in a hero that one chooses has a way of reflecting those same qualities within oneself. I also believe that one of the reasons Batman is such an appealing hero is due to his many flaws. This goes to show us that in spite of those flaws, we can still be heroes. Also, he is the fucking Batman!

Coffee Beans are the Senzu Beans of Reality

As I’ve gotten older I have developed an extreme love and need of coffee. Pick your jaws up off the floor; this should come as no surprise to anyone. My favorite brand is Death Wish. My love of coffee has resulted in a collection of coffee mugs. Death Wish has some fantastic mugs made by Deneen Pottery. The most recent addition to my collection cost me $40 off of Ebay because it has sold out at every Hot Topic across the country. It combines my love of coffee with my obsession for Dragonball Z. Everyone needs a Goku Kaio-Ken heat reactive mug. If you decide to embark on a quest for one, good luck!

Thank you,

Jake Jeffries

Enter the Dark Watchman Update

Greetings friends,

Enter the Dark Watchman is in full swing. It is my current project of focus (aside from preparing to move). I am having a blast creating the various characters that will make up the follow-up to Bad Blood Rising. The antagonist(s) is shaping up to be quite interesting. Jack the protagonist is an extremely fun character to write. He isn’t afraid to place himself into precarious situations. I am also reminded of a quote by David Tennant, “I like playing grumpy characters on screen, although obviously in real life I’m invariably of a bright and sunny disposition.” I’m far from having a bright and sunny disposition, but nonetheless I enjoy writing grumpy characters such as Jack. Bad Blood Rising is very much a tale of vengeance. In contrast Enter the Dark Watchman is going to have more of a mystery flow. Vangetsu and Jack both aren’t the type to back down from a fight. Vangetsu had the experience and powers to back it up. Jack is more vulnerable because he is only a mortal human. This will play a major factor in how Jack deals with supernatural beings as opposed to how Vangetsu dealt with them.

“This is my smile.” Click for David’s website.

In the meantime, I would like to try to inject some fresh blood into Bad Blood Rising. I have created a book trailer that will hopefully generate some buzz on YouTube. There is a new free promo currently active over at Amazon for the Kindle version as well (Active days will be 8-21-2015 through 8-25-2015). The music is performed by the talented musician Daniel Tidwell who was kind enough to give me permission to use it for the short video. If you like it, then please check out his website.

Click for Daniel’s website.

Soon I will be checking into getting artwork created for Enter the Dark Watchman. One of my favorite artists to work with is Sean Yager. He is phenomenal. If you like the artwork he has done for my series so far be sure to also check out his other works. He has a fantastic comic series as well. Below is a picture of a promotional propaganda style poster I commissioned him to do for the Dark Watchman series. I am extremely excited to reveal it! I was going to wait until the release of Enter the Dark Watchman but I couldn’t wait any longer. I have prints and magnets of the poster that I plan on posting around town to coincide with the release of Enter the Dark Watchman. I may end up using some in giveaways as well.

Click for Sean’s website.

The timetable for Enter the Dark Watchman is looking like it may not be until the middle of next year for its release. This is factoring in the distractions of moving and settling into a new location. I have uploaded a new sample of chapters 1-2.

The link to the sample is below:

Enter the Dark Watchman Sample

Thank you,

Jake Jeffries

If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him

Greetings friends,

Recently I have developed an obsession with watching Criminal Minds. I have a habit of bouncing from one show to another at times depending on if I have the ability to continue watching the series. I wanted to take a break from watching through House since I only have the final season to watch so I started Criminal Minds season 1. It hooked me from the first episode. It helps that we get amazing performances by Mandy Patinkin, Matthew Gray Gubler, Shemar Moore, Thomas Gibson, and Kirsten Vangsness. As a writer, I find the premise of the show focusing on the profilers of the BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) fascinating. I even enjoy the quotes that are read to us by random members of the cast during some of the transition scenes. I have even garnered some invaluable inspiration from some of the episodes that are helping me with my current detective story. The motive aspect of the human condition is something that has always interested me. I like investigating what makes people tick and how certain personas differ from one another. Imagine my excitement when I discovered that there is a tie-in book out that focuses on the criminal minds among us. I look forward to adding it to my collection.

In exploring what makes other people tick, I am inevitably discovering new things about what makes me tick as well. Last week I finished reading a book that I had started a while back but hadn’t got around to finishing yet. It is part of a reading challenge I am doing. The book was If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him by Sheldon B. Kopp. I had not heard of the book until I was watching Fringe and Peter gave the book to Olivia as a gift. It has helped to enlighten me on the subject of life. Many of us at some point in time start to question the meaning of life; sometimes this leads to an existential crisis. The thing to keep in mind is that we are all on a pilgrimage of sorts on this spinning rock in the universe. The majority of us get tied up in dwelling on the past or focusing on the future that we forget that we are living in the present. This is not to say that reflecting or planning is wrong. Reflection and planning are both important tools that are valuable to us. But it is just that, a tool to be wielded in your hands to shape yourself. The past and future aren’t meant to be a prison that holds us frozen in time. I am no stranger to panic attacks and I can vouch that negative reflection or presumptions are not helpful to anyone unless it is an attempt to unearth the root of a current problem that one is attempting to understand. There is a time for reflection or meditation in moderation. In my experience it also helps to be able to reflect or plan objectively.

Here are some excerpts from If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him that I found particularly enlightening:

The Zen Master warns: “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!” This admonition points up that no meaning that comes from outside ourselves is real. The Buddhahood of each of us has already been obtained. We need only recognize it. Philosophy, religion, patriotism, all are empty idols. The only meaning in our lives is what we each bring them. Killing the Buddha on the road means destroying the hope that anything outside of ourselves can be our master. No one is any bigger than anyone else. There are no mothers or fathers for grown-ups, only sisters and brothers.

The Zen way to see the truth is through your everyday eyes. It is only the heartless questioning of life as-it-is that ties a man in knots. A man does not need an answer in order to find peace. He needs only to surrender to his existence, to cease the needless, empty questioning. The secret of enlightenment is when you are hungry, eat; and when you are tired, sleep.

Joseph Conrad – Heart of Darkness

It seems to me that the greater problem belongs to those who turn away, who will not look unblinkingly into the darkness of their own hearts. Inhuman catastrophes such as the Holocaust, the Nazi extermination of the Jews, come about not because of the immense evil of one man-beast, such as the unbelievable monstrosity of Adolf Hitler. Such horrors are not possible because of the evil of one man, but because of the folly of the many. Because so many men will not face the darkness of their own hearts, a few can wreak havoc on the rest of us.

Enlightenment and the freedom it brings are always imminent but our very efforts to catch hold of what we are seeking may prevent us from discovering what is already there. There is the image of the man who imagines himself to be a prisoner in a cell. He stands at one end of this small, dark, barren room, on his toes, with arms stretched upward, hands grasping for support onto a small, barred window, the room’s only apparent source of light. If he holds on tight, straining toward the window, turning his head just so, he can see a bit of bright sunlight barely visible between the uppermost bars. This light is his only hope. He will not risk losing it. And so he continues to strain toward that bit of light, holding tightly to the bars. So committed is his effort not to lose sight of that glimmer of life-giving light, that it never occurs to him to let go and explore the darkness of the rest of the cell. So it is that he never discovers that the door at the other end of the cell is open, that he is free. He has always been free to walk out into the brightness of the day, if only he would let go.

An Eschatological Laundry List:

1. This is it!

2. There are no hidden meanings.

3. You can’t get there from here, and besides there’s no place else to go.

4. We are already dying, and we will be dead for a long time.

5. Nothing lasts.

6. There is no way of getting all you want.

7. You can’t have anything unless you let go of it.

8. You only get to keep what you give away.

9. There is no particular reason why you lost out on some things.

10. The world is not necessarily just. Being good often does not pay off and there is no compensation for misfortune.

11. You have a responsibility to do your best nonetheless.

12. It is a random universe to which we bring meaning.

13. You don’t really control anything.

14. You can’t make anyone love you.

15. No one is any stronger or any weaker than anyone else.

16. Everyone is, in his own way, vulnerable.

17. There are no great men.

18. If you have a hero, look again: you have diminished yourself in some way.

19. Everyone lies, cheats, pretends (yes, you too, and most certainly I myself).

20. All evil is potential vitality in need of transformation.

21. All of you is worth something, if you will only own it.

22. Progress is an illusion.

23. Evil can be displaced but never eradicated, as all solutions breed new problems.

24. Yet it is necessary to keep on struggling toward solution.

25. Childhood is a nightmare.

26. But it is so very hard to be an on-your-own, take-care-of-yourself-cause-there-is-no-one-else-to-do-it-for-you grown-up.

27. Each of us is ultimately alone.

28. The most important things, each man must do for himself.

29. Love is not enough, but it sure helps.

30. We have only ourselves, and one another. That may not be much, but that’s all there is.

31. How strange, that so often, it all seems worth it.

32. We must live within the ambiguity of partial freedom, partial power, and partial knowledge.

33. All important decisions must be made on the basis of insufficient data.

34. Yet we are responsible for everything we do.

35. No excuses will be accepted.

36. You can run, but you can’t hide.

37. It is most important to run out of scapegoats.

38. We must learn the power of living with our helplessness.

39. The only victory lies in surrender to oneself.

40. All of the significant battles are waged within the self.

41. You are free to do whatever you like. You need only face the consequences.

42. What do you know…for sure…anyway?

43. Learn to forgive yourself, again and again and again and again…

End of excerpts. I urge you to check out the full book.

I’m a collector of many things such as Movies, Books, Comics, Figures, Posters, Art, Swords, and Knives. My taste is quite eclectic. Lately I have cut back and even cleared out some things that I have either lost interest in or has become too expensive to keep up with. I struggle with the impulse to buy certain items. Luckily, I have the ability to use restraint when it comes to choosing whether or not to buy items for my collections or pay bills. Soon I will be moving to a new house. The fewer things I have to move with me the better. I plan on going through my things and seeing if there are any more things I can part with. I do not want to become a clinical hoarder. However, there is one thing (or two) that I have always wanted to own that I have never had the room or the money for. At the moment, I still don’t have the money for but maybe one day. That thing is a pinball machine. I have my eye on a couple that already have the spouse seal of approval. Pictures are below!

Thank you,

Jake Jeffries

Big Damn Heroes

Greetings friends,

It should go without saying that I am huge fan of the TV show Firefly. As a result, Summer Glau has become one of my favorite actresses. She is great in many other shows and movies as well. Last year she was supposed to be at a Wizard World convention that I attended but she got the opportunity for a role in Arrow and took it (I don’t blame her). Luckily, she came back to my area for Gen-Con! My fiancé and I jumped at the opportunity to meet her and she is a very lovely person. I found out that Summer had a birthday recently, so we decided to get her some gifts to celebrate. She loved them! It made her day. She in turn made mine by requesting to give us both a hug which we graciously accepted. It is always awesome when you are able to meet your heroes in real life and they become big damn heroes.

It was also a pleasure to meet Terry Brooks! Author of the Shannara series and many other things. Believe it or not, I actually haven’t read anything that he has written. My fiancé and her Mother are avid fans and it was nice to be able to share in their excitement. Also, soon I will be reading Terry Brooks when I can find the time. He is a fantastic person and I do find the descriptions of his books to be very intriguing.

Although I love tabletop gaming, I also love the pop-culture side of Gen-Con as well. It does a great job of blending both fandoms. This year there was a lot of waiting in lines but it was worth it. As always, there were many fun people to interact with. The costumes were great as usual. Gen-Con is more than just a convention it is an experience. Being able to share the experience with my fiancé just makes it that much better. I love that we both love some of the same things. One of my favorite things about Gen-Con is seeing the enormous talent of the artists that attend. This year, I was drawn to an artist that had some Dresden Files artwork on display. It was the best Dresden art I have seen since Chris McGrath. Much to my delight, I found out that he worked on some of the Dresden Files comics. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher is my favorite series of all time. I bought both Dresden prints that he had for sale. You can get them from his website if you are interested.

Another artist that grabbed mine and my fiancés attention for the past few years is Nene Thomas. This year we picked up some of her artwork and I invested in her book: The Unwinding Path. It is fantastic, the artwork is simply stunning. I highly recommend exploring her website. If puzzles are your thing, she has many of those available as well.

My future mother-in-law got me this awesome version of Doctor Who Monopoly! Collecting awesome Monopoly editions is becoming quite a hobby of mine. I love the pieces that come in this edition and absolutely cannot wait to play it.

My current wallet is still ok for now, but I always like having a backup. I found this at one of the booths and quickly threw my money at them.

King of the wallets

Thank you,

Jake Jeffries

The Hope of the Universe

Greetings friends,

Grim Bureaucracy is currently free on the Kindle over at Amazon that runs until the 21st! If you prefer a print copy then I have a Goodreads Giveaway that is active until then as well. If you miss out those opportunities, print copies are available through Amazon and I plan on making it freely available through the Kindle as often as possible.

The Dark Watchman is coming along nicely. I’m excited about some of the recent developments to the story. When I was first coming up with the idea I kept thinking about how evil is normally associated with living in the shadows. I became obsessed with creating an anti-hero that wielded the power of darkness against the forces of evil. The main protagonist of The Dark Watchman series will have the abilities of an elemental with control over dark energy. Evil needs to know that there is no escape even in the darkness. Evil can take on any shade. Hell, even that psychiatrist that helped you so much with your personal demons might really be a cannibalistic serial killer.

In my stories I am going to make it a point to not be afraid to show the results of collateral damage. Lately I keep being reminded of the harsh criticism of the movie Man of Steel. Warning, spoilers ahead. In my opinion I saw nothing wrong with what is the biggest argument with the movie as a whole. There is a lot of commentary on the fact that most of Metropolis got destroyed and that Superman killed General Zod. Never mind the fact that Zod is trying to destroy all life on the damn planet with his machine and that Superman did the best he could to keep collateral damage at a minimum. When he is taking on multiple Kryptonians whose directive is to destroy the world then they are probably going to try to direct the fight back to where the most damage can occur. In the end it came down to Zod or the family he was directing his laser beams at. Superman chose to save the innocents and kill Zod to end his murderous rampage. In some ways Zod may have wanted to die in the midst of battle as an honorable way to go. Did Superman violate his “do not kill” policy? In a way yes, but he did so because he was presented with an impossible choice. Is Superman any less of a hero? I don’t think so. He is the one that has to live with the fact that he decided to make an exception to the rule in order to protect an innocent family that was not able to protect themselves. In fact, I argue that it may make Superman more of a hero for doing what he did. The people arguing that the collateral damage and impossible choice ruined Man of Steel are the same people forgetting that time in one of the most popular comic arcs when Superman and Doomsday killed each other. There was nothing Superman could do to prevent some of the collateral damage then either. Metropolis got its ass handed to them because that happens when you have someone with the force of Superman battling the equal and opposite force of Doomsday. I didn’t see Superman walking around Metropolis punching people’s heads off or decapitating them with his laser eyes. That would be a violation of Superman’s character (pending of course upon whether or not he is infected with red Kryptonite or if Bizarro is being an ass that day). I also recently got asked why on Earth Batman would be fighting against Superman in the new movie. I had to explain that their personalities commonly clash and that the trailer does a great job of depicting that Bruce Wayne lost some shit in the collateral damage of Superman’s fight with Zod. Although Superman didn’t directly take a shit in Bruce Wayne’s Wheaties, I could understand why Batman would confront him about what happened. I am hoping that Batman comes around to understanding that Superman did what he had to do.

He may have saved us all, but look at that building and that car. He’s probably bleeding on Lois’ jacket too. What an ass…

Another hero that comes to mind that has a similar “do not kill” policy is the pure hearted Goku from Dragonball Z. He is not afraid to risk his life to protect those that can’t protect themselves. One of my favorite quotes of his goes like this, “I am the hope of the universe. I am the answer to all living things that cry out for peace. I am protector of the innocent. I am the light in the darkness. I am truth. Ally to good! Nightmare to you!” The battle between Goku and Frieza does a great job of highlighting the age-old struggle of good vs evil.

Sometimes you just have to Super Saiyan bitch slap the evil out of them.

Goku does everything he can to minimize collateral damage and to end the fight without killing Frieza. In the end, the entire planet of Namek is sacrificed and Frieza is mortally wounded. Goku walks away leaving us with this message, “Though you brought all of this upon yourself, it’s a shame your life had to end in such a miserable way. I wanted to save you Frieza, but you wouldn’t let me. And now you will have to share the fate of the planet Namek, which you yourself destroyed. I’m tired of fighting, I’m going home.” Goku may not have directly killed Frieza but in the end he didn’t go out of his way to get him off of the planet either. He left him to reap what he had sown.

I believe that both of these heroes acted heroically in the dire situations there were forced to face. The writers of both of the above show great examples of utilitarianism. What would you do if given a similar impossible choice?

Thank you,

Jake Jeffries

The Burden of those Left Behind

Greetings friends,

Today is July 12th 2015. My father would have been 52 years old if he was still with us. In the last blog post I talked about how I made the choice to focus on living a life that he would be proud of and that I could also be proud of myself. That doesn’t mean that I don’t often think about him or miss him dearly. I just choose not to dwell on the void that losing him created in my life. The memories I have with him are many and most of them enjoyable. I remember that he used to sleep on the couch a lot when he would get home from work when I was a toddler. Most of the time I was still awake. He would have me lay down on the floor next to him and he would hold my hand until I fell asleep. He taught me how to ride a bike, drive a car, and numerous other things. We used to go bike riding around town all of the time. On our bike rides sometimes we would stop and get lemon shake-ups from a local restaurant or a glass bottle of Coke from a bookstore that is sadly also no longer with us. There were times when he would pull me out of school to take me fishing. One time he pulled me out of school and took me to a radio station to meet my favorite band at the time because I had won passes to hang out with them. I remember playing pool with him at the local Billiard’s hall. I remember the numerous family vacations and how hard he worked to provide for his family and to show them how much he loved them. Memories are the blessing and the burden of those left behind. Many of us cherish having them but at the same time they can lead to thoughts of many what-if situations. What if they were still here with us for example? I know in a way they are always with us but it would be nice to share just one more hug, just one more conversation. I love you Dad. I promise that soon I will go on a bike ride like we used to do.

Recently I finished reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. It was fantastic, especially for its time. I loved the picture that H.G. Wells painted of the ramifications of the world if it is left to keep traveling along its current course. It was interesting to read about how even in his time there was a concern of an over-population crisis. It was my first foray into the work of H.G. Wells and I look forward to reading more of his work. I am the lucky owner of the Barnes & Noble collectible edition, just look at it!

“We are kept keen on the grindstone of pain and necessity, and, it seemed to me, that here was that hateful grindstone broken at last!” – H.G. Wells The Time Machine

The proof for Grim Bureaucracy arrived! It is adorable. I think it turned out great for a pocket novelette. I am going to do my best to keep the pricing for it down and offer it free whenever possible. I wanted to write the novelette in honor one of my favorite authors of all time, Dante Aligheri. Currently, it is a stand-alone title and has no ties to my other works. Now that I have this finished, I am going to get it up and running on Amazon and then shift my primary writing focus to Enter the Dark Watchman. Odin is excited to be involved in some new stories again! It almost broke his little heart that he wasn’t in Grim Bureaucracy. He wasn’t happy that it had a Hellhound and a Cerberus puppy either. He wouldn’t interact with me for a week.

Thank you,

Jake Jeffries

You Can’t Take The Sky From Me

Greetings friends,

Recently I watched the movie Hector and the Search for Happiness starring Simon Pegg and Rosamund Pike. It got me thinking about life, the pursuit of happiness, and the search for meaning. All of us are different, so what makes me happy or what I find meaningful may be different than what works for you in those categories. The point is to at least take the time to think about it. Coffee makes me happy for instance. The taste, the warmth, and the extra kick I can rely on it to give me in the morning. I find meaning in writing and in making other people happy. The catalyst for happiness can be little things or big moments.

I will be the first to admit that I have a pessimistic side. It used to consume me which led to extremely unhealthy thought patterns. With a combination of medicine and self-help, optimism and pessimism exist in a more balanced yin-yang within me. Reading and the process of learning has been more medicinal to me than any drug a doctor has prescribed me. Although I do have a prescription for medicine to help curb anxiety I feel like that would not be enough. I chose to dive into a myriad of self-help books. One of the most profound ones that I have read and have touted before but can’t tout enough is Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl. It has helped me to learn the process of framing. My father died in 2012. That was a big moment that I definitely was not happy about. I can choose to focus on the loss and let it destroy me which would put me in the position of losing much more or I can choose to focus on living a life that he would be proud of and a life that I can also be proud of myself. I will never forget the things my father taught me and I am happy to have so many memories of him.

One of the things that I admire about some of the happiest individuals I have known or heard about is that they are very happy despite having been through negative experiences and/or their lack of materialistic things. If they can be happy, then what stops everyone from being happy? Take the time to think about what really makes you happy. If it helps, start making a list or keep a journal and write down something that made you happy that day. If you struggle to think of something then feel free to use the fact that you are alive and hopefully woke up without hornets on your face. That, I assure you is something to be happy about!

Ten things that make me happy:

1) Love

2) Coffee

3) Writing

4) Seeing sparrows hop around

5) Cats/Kittens

6) Dogs/Puppies

7) Making someone smile

8) A bed that is perfect comfy

9) Being home

10) Waking up with no spiders on my face

Another thing I have experienced recently is the process of buying a house. It is infinitely both parts exciting and terrifying. The best part about it is not so much the process or the house itself. It is what the house represents. The person that shares the house with you is someone that also shares your life with you. Another thing I think about is the fact that I could have more money if hadn’t gone to concerts or taken as many trips as I have. However, I wouldn’t have those experiences. Money isn’t everything. Those experiences are priceless.

Here are some quotes that I find meaningful in relation to enjoying life and living a meaningful life.

Thank you,

Jake Jeffries

Ten Things That Help Me Write

Greetings friends,

This time I would like to discuss ten things that help me write. It is not a complete list, but it is the ten things that first come to mind when I consider my writing process. Hopefully they are things that may help you with your own writing processes if applicable. Please bear in mind that these are in no particular order.

Coffee

First of all, I’m an addict. Almost all of my mornings start out with Death Wish Coffee. I swear by it. Most of my writing happens either in the morning or late at night prior to going to bed. The coffee jumpstarts me in the morning and keeps me going up until bedtime. I may supplement my morning coffee intake with Starbucks or tea later in the day but the most important drink to me is the morning cup(s) of it. I do not own any stock in the Death Wish Coffee Company or get any kickbacks. However, I do consider myself one of their biggest fans. If you take the time to try it, then I believe that you will be too.

Music

Some authors prefer complete silence when writing. Not me. There have been times when I have created playlists just for the sole purpose of listening to while writing. If I had the resources I would release soundtracks to all of my novels. All of the main characters in my books have a favorite song. For example, Vangetsu loves the song “Fur Elise” by Beethoven partly because the song contains the name of his deceased wife. Jack Crimson loves metal music and is seen wearing an Iron Maiden “Somewhere in Time” t-shirt in Enter the Dark Watchman. Selene used to have a different name until I listened to the song “My Selene” by Sonata Arctica. As I’ve stated in a previous post I also love listening to particularly heavy metal tracks when writing action-packed fight scenes.

Movies/TV Shows

History has a way of influencing itself. In my philosophy studies I have noticed that many philosophers talk about their notable influences. This is also a common theme in the film/television industry. I’ve heard director’s commentary where they have discussed the director’s or films that inspired them to take up the trade. In the acknowledgement section of my books I try to take the time to thank certain musicians, directors, authors, etc. who may have influenced my thought process with their various works. A fun fact about Bad Blood Rising is that the part where Vangetsu and friends are making their way up through the building is inspired by The Raid: Redemption.

Reading

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I love reading. I would not be a writer if it wasn’t for my love of reading. Luckily I have a mother that taught me how to read at a young age and I have kept with it ever since. English was always one of my strongest subjects in school. Most of the books they had me read I enjoyed. There were some that were a struggle mainly because the subject matter didn’t interest me (I’m looking at you Huckleberry Finn and The Old Man and the Sea) but there were others that I loved beyond measure (The Odyssey, Dante’s Inferno, and various Shakespeare). This doesn’t mean that I want to write a book exactly like someone else. If you wanted to read a James Patterson book then I would expect you to pick up a James Patterson book. I encourage other writers to find what voice works best for them but don’t be afraid to be influenced or inspired by the works of others. One of my assignments in high school that I am most proud of is the creative writing paper that we got assigned as a companion to reading The Odyssey. The paper I wrote was a fan-fiction paper that combined the Odyssey with Dragonball Z.

Pets

Pets are awesome. One of the crowd favorite characters of Bad Blood Rising is Odin the cat. Pets are good for companionship and de-stressing. There have been times when I am overwhelmed with anxiety and then I spend some time with a pet and almost all of my anxiety passes. My preference for pets is cats and dogs. I love them.

Meditating

Some people think meditation requires sitting in the lotus position and chanting, “Om”. If this works for you, then keep it up. It doesn’t have to follow those standards though. Meditation can just be thoughtful introspection throughout the day as you go about your daily activities. One of my favorite forms is on days that I don’t have to work at my day job. I can make my morning coffee and look out the window at nature while drinking it. A couple of other frequent times for me to be involved in meditation are while in the shower and when going to bed. I used get extremely anxious when going to bed and it would take me a long time to get to sleep. An old bad habit of mine was when I lying in bed reflecting on the day I would over-analyze every minute detail of my interactions and think about how I could have done them better. By the time I managed to fall asleep I had worked myself into a bout of depression and self-induced anxiety. Luckily, I have managed to re-frame my thinking and am able to reflect objectively.

Exercise

This is one of the hardest things on the list for me to follow through with. I’m not sure why. After the fact I always feel better about myself and have even more energy than I started with. For some reason I have this mental block about getting started that I turn into a much bigger wall than what it really is. Some of my best ideas have come to me during or after exercise. It is a double-edged sword that as a writer I am content with just sitting in a computer chair for hours on end and just writing while I sip on my coffee or water. Combined with my mostly inactive day job that also requires me to sit in an office chair for hours on end then it really creates an unhealthy combination.

Human Interaction

In my opinion the best way to learn how to write human interactions is to experience human interaction. Don’t be afraid to people watch or listen in on conversations. This is not an excuse to go psycho-paparazzi level on fellow human beings but the more inspiration you can pull from the real world then the more realistic your writing will come across. Pay close attention to body language the next time you check out at the grocery or retail store. The world is full of good and evil. In Superman, Jor-El tells Kal-El (aka Superman aka Clark Kent) that humans are a good people, even though we may lack the light to show us the way. Don’t be afraid to let that light come from within and shine for someone else to follow.

Isolation

Isolation is another important step for me. Recently I bought a pair of noise-cancelling headphones so that I can block out everything else around me and focus on writing when I feel the need to. Life is full of distractions and has a habit of getting out of hand if left to the usual domino effect. One thing leads to another and the next thing you know it is past your bedtime. That is why I included isolation on here. If distractions are a hindrance to your writing ability then noise-cancelling headphones are your best friend.

Writing

The final and most important thing on this list is to make sure to actually take the time to write! Don’t be the person that always talks about how they would like to write a novel and then never does anything with that desire. Make writing a goal and stick with it. If you don’t then the only person you can be upset with is yourself. Whether you are the type that takes pen to paper or takes fingers to keyboard just make sure that if you have a burning desire to write then for God’s sake write. Write like your life depends on it. Also, if I had a dollar for every time I heard the phrase, “Write what you know.” I would be able to pay off my mortgage. It means well but by itself it comes across as a limiting statement. One might think that they shouldn’t write a scene with cooking or about a character that is a chef if they know nothing about cooking. There is truth to the statement, after all who would be comfortable writing about something they don’t know anything about? However, if you currently know nothing about cooking then watch shows about cooking, read a book, take a class, and above all practice. Turn cooking into something you know and then write about it. Don’t let the phrase limit you. If there is something you have always dreamed of doing then go for it. If it requires a skill you currently aren’t great at then practice it. The best writing practice I’ve found for me is the art of writing.

The link to a new short story is below:

The Never-Ending Journey of Odysseus

Thank you,

Jake Jeffries

Reading Challenge

Greetings friends,

The summer reading club at my local library has officially started. If your local library offers such a program then I encourage you to sign up. I’m not sure how the programs work across the country but for my particular library they offer grab bags and entries into a contest to win some really cool stuff. Not that you really need the extra incentives to read, but if you’re reading anyway then you might as well have even more fun with it!

Lately my time has been occupied by reading various books and going through the process of house hunting and buying. Recently I read The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe. He is one of my favorite authors and biggest influences. It is a great short story that has a perfect build up. One of my favorite aspects of it was the madness that the man in captivity went through each time he began to lose hope. I have been making steady progress reading Beyond Good and Evil by Fredrick Nietzsche and House and Philosophy by Various. They are both extremely thought provoking and I highly recommend them for anyone interested in philosophy. House and Philosophy is also great for anyone that is a fan of the TV show.

A side effect of house hunting is getting addicted to HGTV and looking for different things to furnish the house. House Hunters, Fixer Upper, and 2 Chicks and a Hammer are some of my new favorite shows. Another thing that I don’t think I have talked about much is my obsession with cool clocks, globes of various types, and geeky technology. There is a spinning globe that I had the pleasure of seeing in the store at my local Hallmark. I could stand there and watch it for hours. Thinkgeek has it available over their website but it is kind of pricey. Still, one day I hope to get one for my office if they ever lower the price of it or if I find myself with extra cash to splurge on a random purchase. In the realm of geeky technology I discovered a Death Star Bluetooth speaker and levitating orb speaker that factors in my love of music as well. Enjoy the pictures below!

  

Enter the Dark Watchman is coming along nicely. I have edited a few things and made some additions that I believe will add some depth to the story. Jack Crimson is a detective for the IMPD and the main protagonist. I felt that he didn’t have enough things wrong with him. In my mind Jack Crimson as a detective is a cross between Sherlock Holmes, Gregory House, and Will Graham. Enter the Dark Watchman focuses on a new case that gets him involved more heavily with the supernatural beings of the series. Jack struggles with his emotions like all of us do. Also, like House he struggles with constant leg pain that he obtained from an old bullet wound to his left knee. As a result he is addicted to medication. In all honesty, although he is a force of good he can be an arrogant asshole. Some of his peers put up with it because they know he is in constant pain from his injury. They feel sorry for him because as of the start of Enter the Dark Watchman Jack has now lost both of his parents. His higher ups put up with him because of how good of a detective he is. Jack sometimes doesn’t know when to quit pushing forward. When the forces of evil start to push back against our detective then his life may be at risk. The question is, is dead every really dead in a universe where magic and beings of Godlike power exist? Will Jack put aside some of his asshole tendencies for the good of humanity? Keep posted to find out! Below is a picture of what I intend to be the coffee maker in Jack’s office. Detectives need their coffee. Personally, I don’t know how any cases would be solved without it.

My fiancée introduced me to a reading challenge posted by POPSUGAR. It looks extremely fun and I plan on attempting it myself! Join me in trying to read as many as possible. If you need some help getting started, I’ll let you know what Bad Blood Rising could go under! Currently, I am under 30 years of age. It is set in America so if you are currently not living there then it would work for being based in a different country. If you haven’t read anything by me then please do. Feel free to base your judgement on its cover if you like. If you have always wanted to visit Indianapolis then it is set in that city. The book contains magic. If you own it and haven’t read it then shame on you! Just kidding, but it would qualify for that topic. If you are from Indianapolis or your initials are JJ then those are other viable topics. Good luck and have fun!

In case you need any extra motivation for the reading challenge above, here is a picture of chibi Godzilla flexing and roaring for encouragement. He believes in you and I do too!

Thank you,

Jake Jeffries

Format Chokehold

Greetings friends,

Last week was productive. The Grim Bureaucracy novelette is now complete and in the editing phase. Enter the Dark Watchman is taking a bit longer than I had hoped. There have been more interruptions than I would like to admit. I also took the time to research some of the issues I have been having with e-book formats. At one point I wrapped my hands around the neck of my monitor in an attempt to choke it into the correct format. Sadly, that didn’t work like I wanted it to. It took a while but after hitting the wall and stripping every ounce of formatting from Bad Blood Rising and rebuilding the formatting from scratch I was finally able to get the translation to standard e-book formats to play nicely. As a result Bad Blood rising is now available on the Nook and over at Smashwords. I have taken the time to rebuild the formatting for An Attempt to Fill the Void too. Those that have purchased it for the Kindle (Thank you!) should receive an update that has a much better format. My apologies for not catching the errors with the e-book sooner. Soon Grim Bureaucracy will be available as well! Hopefully, now that I know some of the triggers for bad e-book formatting I can avoid them for all projects going forward including Enter the Dark Watchman.

Speaking of Grim Bureaucracy, I have finalized my choice on a cover! Be on the lookout for a free book giveaway to happen sometime in July!

Recently, I finished reading The Martian by Andy Weir. It is fantastic! I love the style and voice that it is written in. The gist of the story is that a storm on Mars causes the astronauts currently on a mission there to have to leave abruptly. Due to some unfortunate events one of the astronauts gets stranded and has to rely on his wit and survival instincts in order to try to live long enough until he can somehow be rescued. The science is good and the fiction is better. I highly recommend it for fans of science fiction, fantasy, and or survivalist stories. If books aren’t your thing (Why are you here?) then keep an eye out for the movie. I haven’t been this excited for a space movie since Interstellar which exceeded my expectations. Gravity was decent, but I thought Interstellar was a much better film. I expect The Martian to be great as well even if they do take their liberties as films usually do.

In other news, Odin has a new favorite place.

The link to a new short story is below:

The Last Resort

Thank you,

Jake Jeffries