Mark Tullius's Blog, page 10

Episode 182: Rage, TBI, and a Message for Pop Warner Parents

It was a very productive writing week and I'm about to put the finishing touches on Try Not to Die: In the Wild West. Also had a great meeting with Steve Montgomery about his TNTD: Super High.

Sage Ricci, the mastermind behind TNTD: In the Wizard's Tower is designing a new Try Not to Die shirt.

Looking forward to hitting the Knotfest concert tonight with my family.

I share a very embarrassing road rage incident I had earlier this week.

All the talk of TBI and CTE only makes it that much more difficult to stand by and watch countless kids sustain unnecessary damage playing contact sports before 14. The repeated blows to the head and the concussions can change the trajectory of your child's life, and all because they wanted to play a sport. Please look at the research that has been done and take your emotions out of the decision. Ask yourself is this sport safe for my kid? 

Includes the short story "Mutual Understanding" taken from Somber Stroll and narrated by Tee Quillin.

Episode 181: TikTok Time, Answering Reader Questions and the short story ”Safety First”

Recap on the Rammstein concert. Plenty of cool fire and awesome music but I need to be closer to the stage in order to appreciate it.

The lineup of authors for the anthology Dethfest Confessions has nearly been filled and I couldn't be happier.

I'm continuing with 3-4 meetings a week with coauthors for the TNTD series and I'm excited to have just received the Wild West back from Palisano. This book is nearly done and will be book 5.

I'm challenging myself to post 3-4 times on TikTok every day for the next 30 days. I'm actually enjoying it and can't wait to see what kind of difference in makes on my readership.

Part of this will be answering reader questions on here. Here are todays' questions:

Don Young asked:

1. If you are trying to escape a homicidal madman which member of your family would you sacrifice to save the rest?

2. What do you have with in 5 feet of yourself at this moment you could use to fight off a home intruder?

3. Most traumatic way to die? a) chipper shredder while alive b) drowning c) burning alive.

Emily Haynes asked: 

4. Did you write a book with your daughter?

(16:20) The short story "Safety First" narrated by Tee Quillin and taken from the Somber Stroll audiobook.

Episode 181: TikTok Time, Answering Reader Questions and ”the short story Safety First”

Recap on the Rammstein concert. Plenty of cool fire and awesome music but I need to be closer to the stage in order to appreciate it.

The lineup of authors for the anthology Dethfest Confessions has nearly been filled and I couldn't be happier.

I'm continuing with 3-4 meetings a week with coauthors for the TNTD series and I'm excited to have just received the Wild West back from Palisano. This book is nearly done and will be book 5.

I'm challenging myself to post 3-4 times on TikTok every day for the next 30 days. I'm actually enjoying it and can't wait to see what kind of difference in makes on my readership.

Part of this will be answering reader questions on here. Here are todays' questions:

Don Young asked:

1. If you are trying to escape a homicidal madman which member of your family would you sacrifice to save the rest?

2. What do you have with in 5 feet of yourself at this moment you could use to fight off a home intruder?

3. Most traumatic way to die? a) chipper shredder while alive b) drowning c) burning alive.

Emily Haynes asked: 

4. Did you write a book with your daughter?

(16:20) The short story "Safety First" narrated by Tee Quillin and taken from the Somber Stroll audiobook.

Episode 180: Rammstein, Resurrection, and wRestling

After a two-year wait, I'm finally headed to see Rammstein tonight at the L.A. Colliseum. I'm a huge fan of their music and have been played the hell out of them as part of my passive German learning. This concert, and Knotfest in two weeks, should be great in helping me beef up and improve Try Not to Die: At Dethfest.

I'm excited that I'm looking at about 6 book releases over the next 12 months. One of the ones I'm really excited about is Super High which Steve Montgomery and I just ressurected. I just went over the main path and loved how fast-paced and exciting it is. 

I had a great time doing an in-person yoga class at Child's Pose studio in LA with Lauren Eckstrom from Inner Dimensions. She's such an incredible instructor and that practice helped set my mind for the rest of this positive and productive week.

Volleyball season is nearly over for my daughter and she's already set her sights on wrestling. She'd like to start getting stronger and training for it which is awesome. This is motivating me to get into better shape so I can train with her.

Includes the short story "Ultimate Wish" off of Somber Stroll and narrated by Tee Quillin.

Episode 179: 15 Years as a Family Man

Today I'm celebrating 15 years of marriage (and 14.5 years of kids).

I've always had a hard time sharing my emotions out loud so I decided to share some of them on here as practice.

I review of Midnight Men by Kevin David Anderson, which I thought was excellent. I'm really looking forward to collaborating with Kevin.

A reminder The Thing in the Labyrinth Book Club will be discussing Brightside Sept 25 at 7:30 Pacific. To sign up, please email ashesantana at gmail.com.

TNTD: At Dethfest is flowing and we're getting close to wrapping up the main story. At this rate, the book will be finished before Halloween.

(15:00) Also includes the short story "Crossing the line" which is from Somber Stroll and narrated by Tee Quillin.

Episode 178: Caitlin Marceau - Her Turn to be Terrifying

My special guest this week is Caitlin Marceau, a talented author and lecturer based in Montreal. I met Caitlin through the HWA and am excited to be creating a couple Try Not to Die's with her.

We cover a lot of ground in the episode:

Talk of her latest novellete Magnum Opus and the feelings of jealousy.

What novels and short story collections she has coming out soon.

What inspired her to write, and what draws her to horror.

How she handles hate and intolerance.

Whether Canada is more or less tolerant than the US.

Why she likes to write about Canada and it's lore.

How the Pandemic recharged her writing career.

You can check out here website here - http://caitlinmarceau.ca/

And click here to subscribe to her newsletter and get a free story.https://www.getrevue.co/profile/caitl...

Episode 177: Heavy Metal and Hard Truths

It has been a rollercoaster of a week with a lot of positives and negatives.

Fortunately I've figured out how to better deal with those negatives and finding ways to stay healthy and productive. 

I'm excited to be done with TNTD: In the Wild West for now, that TNTD: At Ghostland is coming close to completion, and that TNTD: At Dethfest is finally flowing. I just knocked out a bunch on the book yesterday and plan to have this one wrapped up by the end of the month.

I am keeping Brightside on sale for $0.99 for the audiobook all of September

and the audiobook for $2.99 at Apple, Chirp, and Barnes & Noble - 

https://books2read.com/b/47lN07

Also includes the first chapter of Brightside narrated by Tee Quillin.

Episode 176: A.E Santana, Storytelling, and The Thing in The Labyrinth Horror Book Club

My special guest this week is A.E. Santana, a friend I made through the Horror Writers Association.

She talks about storytelling and how she was drawn to horror

Some of the benefits of getting her MFA

Recurring themes in her work

(14:50) The Thing in the Labyrinth Book Club which she currently runs. I'm honored next month we'll be reading Brightside together. Here's a link to that - 

(26:30) A.E. reads an excerpt from her short story "Tasty Amy"

For more info on A.E. and her writing, check out her website -  https://www.aesantana.com/

Episode 175: Back to School, Birthdays, and a Break from Cannabis

One again, my kids returning to school brings on a new bout of mild depression. Although that might have something to do with me being sober the last four days and taking a break from cannabis.

I'm sure turning 50 has also been dragging me down a bit, even though I'm probably the healthiest and most mentally stable as I've ever been.

Been keeping up with my yoga practice, a solid 10 days in a row, and I'm nearly done with TNTD: In the Wild West.

This week, I switched many of my books from being exclusive to Amazon. You can now find Brightside, Unlocking, and several of my other books on your favorite platform, including most libraries.

I'm also excited that The Thing in the Labyrinth book club will be reading Brightside in September. I hope you'll be able to join us: https://mailchi.mp/70ef9dd5830f/horro...

Episode 174: Accidents, Angels, and Apologies

My father had a bad bike accident which landed him in the hospital with a fractured pelvis.

Thank you to Oscar Chavez and his son who saw the crash and took my father home. 

Seeing my dad in pain and dealing with other stressors in my household got the best of me. Even with all the yoga and self-care, I still found myself way too impatient with my mother and had to apologize for it.

I'm still trying to finish Try Not to Die: In the Wild West by next Friday when I turn 50.

(15:30) The next 3 chapters of Try Not to Die: In the Pandemic narrated by A.J. Carter.