Justin Bell's Blog, page 2

New Novella Launch and NanoWriMo Updates!

We are eight days through November and it already feels like a whirlwind…

First and foremost – the latest War of the Three Planets novella “Voyage to Athelon” is now live on Amazon!

Book Five is a big step in Brie Northstar’s journey as we gear up for the last leg… War of the Three Planets is scheduled to wrap up after Book Nine, so we are about to embark on the final installment of this nine novella “trilogy” with some pretty fun stuff coming.

Along with that, it’s officially November, which means NanoWriMo time.  I have been cruising so far, eight days deep and almost 21,000 words under my belt.  Book Seven of War of the Three Planets is nearly complete and I’m ready to ramp up for Book Eight.  My goal is to have all nine books written by the end of the year, with publishing wrapping up by March.  Going to be a busy few months!

Once again, thanks to everyone for their support.  I’ve got some pretty big things planned for 2018, including a jump back to Thriller territory, so stay tuned!  Meanwhile, hit up Amazon for the latest War of the Three Planets!

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NanoWriMo 2017 is upon us!

November always seems to sneak up on me, and to be honest, I don’t focus quite as much attention on NanoWriMo as I used to.  At this point I’ve written four novels (well, seven actually, though three are in various stages of revision) and eight novellas and I feel pretty good about my capacity to string a bunch of nonsense words together consecutively.

But there’s still something about NanoWriMo.  After all, it was NanoWriMo 2014 where I finished the first draft of The Fog of Dreams, a crazy cobbling together of ideas that would eventually kick off the Operation: Harvest Trilogy.

It was NanoWriMo 2016 where I put the finishing touches on Tipping Point, the novel that would then complete the Operation: Harvest Trilogy.

So, now what?  I’ve got no more Operation: Harvest to work on, and I’m in the throes of a short fiction science-fiction series…no novels to write there.

That being said, I feel strongly about working on something this month, so I’ve decided to be extra ambitious.  I’ve been completing pretty much one novella every month since I started this project back in May.  So for NanoWriMo this year, I’m shooting for two.  Each one averages anywhere from 25,000 – 30,000 words, so if I can knock off two novellas, that will hit my 50K goal and get me some breathing room in publishing as well.

Sounds like a win-win.

So here we are, a week away from the start of NanoWriMo 2017 and I’m officially ready to go.  Outlines have been written, character fates have been sealed.

NanoWriMo 2017, I’m ready.

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War of the Three Planets in Paperback!

Long time no talk!

Hope everyone has had a good summer.  I’ve been spending a lot of time writing, that’s for sure, but I’ve been able to do some events with the family and get some exercise…a pretty darn good summer, over all.

As folks might be aware in the midst of the summer season I started a new writing project, The War of the Three Planets.  It’s a shorter novella-length series that I’m aiming to release monthly and so far so good!

When I announced the new project, some folks were a bit disappointed that it wasn’t available in paperback.  Due to the length of the work, I wasn’t sure it was really designed for paperback, but I’ve decided to do something a little different.

I completed three novellas this summer (and actually just posted a fourth one last month), so I’ve now collected Books 1 – 3 into a “War of the Three Planets Collection” which is a 90,000 word novel-length feature.  It’s available now in Kindle format and finally it’s also available in Paperback!

I know a lot of folks really like the sensation of having something physical in hand to read, so to try and appease those readers, the paperback format is there for you.  I figure that also gives people a little more meat as well, being full blown novel length rather than the shorter novellas.

At this point the plan is to write 12 total novellas, which would involve four separate collections.  I’ve almost finished the first draft of book 5, and hope to have the sixth book available by close to the end of the year.

I’m having a blast with this new project and hope folks out there enjoy it, especially those of you who love paperbacks.

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It’s almost Defenders time!

Yeah, I have a weakness for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  I admit it.  I spent way more money on comics than I’d like to think about throughout my younger years, and while I’ve phased out of comic buying, I’m firmly entrenched in the MCU and each new release feels like an event.

That especially feels true with Defenders.  As a huge Daredevil fan, the announcement of a Daredevil Netflix series several years back filled me with frantic anticipation.  But the news that it would throw the first stone in an effort to establish a “street level” MCU culminating in a Defenders series?  That was even better.  Regardless of what people think of the MCU now, I still hold firm that the lead up and execution of the original Avengers film was one of the greatest events in cinematic history.  Looking past the actual quality of the films (which seems to be in fierce argument these days) the coordination and forethought involved in creating this universe is pretty amazing.  So amazing that it’s shaped a decade of Hollywood as other studios scramble to try and mimic Marvel’s success.

Season One of Daredevil was like a 13 episode dream for me, seeing my all time favorite Marvel character treated with care and executed to perfection kept me smiling for thirteen straight hours.  Season two was more of the same.

But really, it was the pleasant surprise of Jessica Jones (a character I never had any attachment for) and Luke Cage that made me a fan of this new Netflix universe.  Iron Fist didn’t hold to the same standard, unfortunately, but still… the fact that we’re less than 24 hours away from another Marvel Cinematic event is enough to keep that smile on my face all day long.

I cannot wait to see Daredevil and Jessica Jones side-by-side.  I can’t wait to see the first stage in the Heroes for Hire duo of Luke Cage and Iron Fist.  I can’t wait for Elektra’s return, for more of the Hand, and to see just what the hell is up with Sigourney Weaver’s character.

This is going to be a hell of a weekend.

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Late to the party – Ready Player One

I’m a kid of the 80s.  Born in ’74, grew up in the hay day of G.I. Joe, Transformers, He-Man, and the birth of console video games.  I sit here at 43 and still love all of these things.  My writing room is full of toys, I’ve got an X-Box One and Playstation 4 (though, full disclosure, I don’t use them much) and I am infatuated with the recent slate of comic book movies.  Being an 80’s kid is pretty damn cool even in 2017.

I’d heard quite a bit about Ready Player One ever since its debut, but hadn’t taken the time to read it, mostly because I was trying to focus on books in my genre.  I’m a believer that reading in the same genre as you write helps develop your writing techniques, so for a long time, I’ve been focused on thrillers.  Ready Player One is not that.

But as preparation for a weekend trip to New Jersey, where I knew I’d be spending a ton of time in the car, I picked up the audio book and pounded through about 70% of it.  Yeah, it’s a lot of fun…but it’s not the perfect epitome of 80’s pop culture that many are making it out to be.

Maybe it’s because my main fascination in the 80’s was action figures, and Ernest Kline is quite clearly more focused on video and computer games as the genesis of his story.  That being said, the story is interesting and captivating, and it will clearly make for a great movie.

The idea of creating this “OASIS” virtual reality environment where the majority of the human population has gravitated towards to remove themselves from the harsh reality of the world is certainly intriguing, though it feels a bit heavy handed in Ready Player One.  The dystopian world of 2044 has ravaged the planet and as a form of escape, the OASIS provides this “perfect world” outlet for people of all kinds to be the person they want to be.

Soon enough it spirals into this real-life video game of sorts where you have to upgrade your characters, acquire items and embark on a quest to find this mysterious Easter Egg left by the world’s developer.  The connection between the real world and the artificial is very seamless as the book goes on, though I’ll admit I didn’t feel like there were very serious stakes.  Yes, avatars in the OASIS can “die” but at its core, it still felt like a video game.  Kline isn’t necessarily the best writer, but the story he tells is captivating and the character evolution over time gives them some nice depth, and he has a talent for messaging, though I could see some of his messages not being very appreciated by all the readers of his work.

I’m not finished yet, though I think I’ll be done within the next week or two, and I find myself pretty eager to watch the film.  This is one of those rare cases where I almost feel like the film might play better than the novel did.  As I’ve been getting further along, I’ve also started seeing some cool parallels between the virtual universe in Ready Player One and my own world in the War of the Three Planets series.  A lighter take on science fiction where you don’t necessarily establish very strict rules of physics, language, or mythology, you just kind of create a world and have some fun with it.  I could see fans of Ready Player One enjoying the tales of Brie Northstar as well, but maybe I’m wrong.

Anyway…I’m a firm believer that to evolve your author career, you need to be a belligerent reader, and although this particular novel falls outside my normal genre, I’m glad I’ve been reading it, I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly and look forward to seeing it on the big screen, especially with Spielberg at the helm.

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War of the Three Planets Book Two is on Amazon!

It’s launch day!

One short month after launching my new short fiction sci-fi series War of the Three Planets, Book Two is now available on Amazon.com!

It’s a quick, but fun read at a pretty cheap price and is also part of Kindle Unlimited, so please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

I’ve been a fan of science fiction for a long while, but this is really my first foray into writing it.  I’m sure I’m breaking all sorts of long established sci-fi rules, but I’m having fun with it.

Again, check it out now on Amazon.com and take a peek at the cover below.  You can also grab Book One – Daughter of Athelon as well while you’re at it.  

War of the Three Planets – a new Wolf’s Head Publishing project

So, I’ve got a secret…  a few weeks back I launched a new book series.

For years I devoted my time and creative energy towards crafting my debut trilogy Operation: Harvest (boxed set available on Amazon

It’s a dog’s life – Part 05

It’s Monday, May 22nd, a date that I am not soon to forget.

Maxwell’s gone now.  As of 1:00pm this afternoon, our first and only dog has gone from an ‘is’ to a ‘was’.

Ugh how hard are those words to type.

As folks might have guessed reading through these posts, at thirteen years old, Max was nearing the end.  For the past several months his kidneys have been in slow deterioration and over the past few weeks he’s been having increasing trouble breathing.  He’s been waking up at night several times and after every little yapping outburst has to stop and collect himself for a few moments.

Odd that having to do this never actually prevented any of his yapping outbursts…  He’s our Max until the end.

He was our Max until the end.  Will I ever get used to speaking about him in the past tense?

The echoes of his jingling harness and clicking claws will be in this house for a long time.  The faint ghost of his white furred body nestled into the couch or perched on the back of his favorite chair.  Those images will be there, though he will not.

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This weekend we opened the door to the outside and just let him run free.  For the first time ever, unleashed, unshackled, just free to do whatever he wanted to do.  Run through the grass?  Go for it.  Eat the grass?  Why not.

Enjoy the beautiful sunshine, Max, just like you always have.

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All those times I cursed your name as I chased you down, or tried to get you to stop barking, or found a stray pile of crap in the basement…all those times I snapped at you to hurry up as you took your sweet time taking a leak in the backyard.  All of those times I said anything other than ‘good dog’ or did anything but show you how much I loved you…  I’m sorry.

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All those times you just wanted to play and I was tired or it was crate time…  I’m sorry.

All those times you just wanted to kill that UPS intruder or chase off the uniformed mailman who was certainly coming to the house to hurt us, and I scolded you and told you to be quiet…  I’m sorry.

I know you were happy and I know you loved our family.  I know you had a good life.

Lord knows you made ours better by being in it.  Love you buddy.   You were a good dog.

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It’s a dog’s life – Part 04

It’s 2017 now.

Maxwell has been a part of our family for nearly thirteen years and it seems impossible to consider.  He’s a fixture.  Always there, that jingling harness  ringing out from the living room to greet us when we get home, the clicking of claws on the floor as he prances by the basement door, waiting to go out.

There are two siblings now, one of them 11 and one of them 7 and they’re just getting to the age where they appreciate him.  He moves slow, but not that slow.  He sleeps a lot, but always at our feet on our bed, giving us that one last cockeyed smirk before he dreams his doggy dreams.  We live in our third house since he’s joined the family, and this one has more stairs than the other two, which he’s not a big fan of these days, but we’re here, so he manages it.

We’ve been through several different treats and several different foods, because Max is Max and he wouldn’t be our Max if he didn’t have severe allergies to pretty much every single edible item that exists on the planet.  Currently he eats Rachel Ray’s Nutrish dry foods and chewy treats and manages to keep those down without tearing at his skin too much.

He’s an old man by all definitions.  Thirteen in human years means a whopping 91 in dog years and as a nonagenarian the truth is he’s already lived longer in his little corner of the world than most of the rest of us likely will.

It doesn’t feel that way.

It feels like the last thirteen years were but a blink.  A swift moment in time where we added a member to our family, brought him into our lives, loved him and appreciated his love back to us.  One whisper where our family was made whole before we even had children, and where he fills a crucial place at every family event.

Yes there are hassles, there always are.  He can’t hold his bladder as long, he still likes yapping at UPS and the mailman, and it’s still nearly impossible to take him for a walk because he just has to be everywhere and smell everything simultaneously.

Still, he loves being outside and this weekend we let him run free, this crazy little twelve pound psycho who, from time to time, seems to have quite a bit of energy for such an old-ass man.  In the pictures you’ll probably notice he’s missing some hair near his hindquarters, because he’s been wearing a little doggy diaper lately to help him hold his water.

That kind of stuff happens when your kidneys fail, it’s tough to blame him…though it’s also tough to stay calm when you wake up to soaked carpet in the middle of the night.

He’s a great dog.  Even through his yapping and his jumping and his tugging, and his almost uncontrollable enthusiasm for…well…pretty much everything in life.  Although I must admit, at 91 years old, his enthusiasm feels a lot more controlled than it used to. Still, seeing him running and jumping in the grass, playing with the girls, enjoying life completely, even at his age, is inspirational and a real joy.  It makes me realize we didn’t do it nearly as often as we probably should have.

Is he obnoxious?  Yeah, sometimes.  Is he high maintenance?  Always.

But he’s a good dog.

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It’s a dog’s life – Part 03

I won’t lie.  For all of my cuddling and loving words about Maxwell the dog, he has been a challenge for most of his life.  An 80 pound  Rottweiler tied up in a 10 pound furry bag may sound funny, but in reality he’s been somewhat difficult from time to time.

Shortly after our move to our new home we enrolled him in obedience school and we were able to get him to sit, stay, lie down and respond to many verbal commands in a way that made us hopeful.

I tell this story to everyone I know because…well, because it’s funny, but it’s also a microcosm of what living with Max was like.

One afternoon I was home early from work, and UPS arrived, and as always, Max went completely and totally bonkers.  For reasons we’ve never been able to ascertain, Maxwell absolutely hated UPS.  He seemed to be able to smell their damn trucks and if one of them stopped at our house, heaven help them.

So anyway, he jumps on his chair and puts his paws on the window, yapping and screaming and yelling at the UPS driver…  to the point where his paws went through the screen window and he tumbled out onto the front lawn.

Yes THIS window

Now, you’d think that might give a little dog some pause.  It was only a few feet drop, but still.  Normal dogs would take a moment to reflect on the decision they’re making, and just maybe consider another course of action.

Not Max.

The minute Max hit the grass, the took off running.  After the UPS truck.  It becomes crystal clear what I have to do, and I chase after him, in my socks, down the dirt road, screaming his name as the little white jerk tears down the cloud of dust being blown behind the big brown truck.

Eventually Max realized he wasn’t going to catch the stupid thing and sat in the road barking his little brains out while I scooped him up and hauled him away.  I still remember him looking at my face when he realized I was there and giving me the dumbest grin…  “did you see me scare away the nasty brown monster, daddy?  Did you see that?!?”

That was the essence of Maxwell.  Chaos wrapped in a loud, yapping package, mixed in with some truly mindless approval seeking, all within the span of five minutes.

I admit, it got old.  It got very tough to deal with.  We couldn’t take him for a walk because he would pull and tug and choke himself, even with a lambskin guide around his shoulders.  We couldn’t leave him alone in the house uncrated because he would tear things apart, and at one point he actually figured out how to open the pantry, get inside, and eat half a can of cashews (which he then proceeded to vomit all over the kitchen floor, mixed with other scattered trash that he’d strewn).

Even though he was crate trained, he would scream and cry and thrash around in his crate when we left, and in some cases even figured out how to unlatch the thing and escape.

We’d call him Houdini.

Even through all this, at the end of every day, he’d be there at the foot of our bed, stupid, appealing grin on his face, content and ready to join his family in sleep.

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