Heath Stallcup's Blog, page 12

Introducing: Shawn Chesser

It has been my pleasure to be a part of a really cool group of horror authors.  Over the next few weeks, I hope to highlight each of these fellows and let you the reader get to know a wee bit more about each of them.

Tonight I bring you a short interview I did with none other than Shawn Chesser!

Normally I ask for a short Bio to give the readers a quick primer on who we’re talking with, but come on!  This is Shawn Friggin Chesser here people!  But, in case you’ve been living under a rock or just arrived from another planet…

Bio: Shawn Chesser, a practicing father, has been a zombie fanatic for decades. He likes his creatures shambling, trudging and moaning. As for fast, agile, screaming specimens… not so much. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife, two kids, and three fish.

If any of you didn’t notice, I got the ‘friggin’ in there, didn’t I?  That’s a little joke between the two of us.  He’s been having his covers reworked by a really awesome graphics group and I commented that he really needed to have his name BIGGER.  He hemmed and hawed a bit until I declared, ‘C’mon man.  This is Shawn Friggin Chesser we’re talking about.  The name needs to be HUGE!’  Then I used my mad MS Paint skills and totally defaced his cover…but I think the point was made.

Shawn, I want to thank you for dropping by and gracing my humble blog with your presence.  As I mentioned, the whole point of this is to get the word out about your latest release and spread the word about you and your awesome writing.  How about we start with your Social Media links:

My pleasure.

Warpath: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse on Amazon http://tinyurl.com/n7nvda7

Author Web Page http://www.shawnchesser.com/

FB page https://tinyurl.com/ksr93lg

FB author page https://tinyurl.com/lc36v9g

Amazon author page https://tinyurl.com/k8a7pnv

Twitter handle @sdchess

Sweet.  Hopefully we can get more people to stop by these places and experience all of the awesomeness that is Shawn Chesser!

Now, to the bangers and mash.  We can rapid fire a few simple Q&A for the folks and get the word out about your zombie series!

Me: What is the title of your latest release?

Shawn: Warpath: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

 

Me: Can you give us a spoiler-free quick description of it?

Warpath: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse- In the crucible that is the zombie apocalypse, Cade Grayson, father, husband, and former Delta Force operator has forged new friendships and tempered old ones. In those same metaphorical flames, he has seen blood spilled, loved ones perish, and dealt his own brand of justice. Now, three weeks after a world-wide viral outbreak has left the United States in ruins and transformed most of her population into walking corpses hungering for the flesh of the living, he finds himself at an Army Forward Operating Base on the outskirts of Grand Junction, Colorado. With only a set of GPS coordinates to go by, Cade must deliver his small family and a trio of young people from the distant outpost, across hundreds of miles of Utah’s sun-baked high desert, to the promise of safety the random-looking string of numbers represent. Meanwhile, eagerly awaiting their arrival at the Eden compound, Duncan Winters goes about the grim task of burying the recently fallen. With each shovelful of dirt he deposits on the bodies of kin and friends, his insatiable desire to strike back at the people responsible tugs him ever closer to the edge of insanity. With the dead hunting and moving in herds of ever-increasing size, will Cade and his group survive the running of the gauntlet? Will Duncan see the light and accept that he truly needs Cade’s special set of skills in order to find and bring those responsible for the recent murders and abductions to justice? Or will he give in to burning desires, shirk the old adage that revenge is a dish best served cold, and go it alone, charging blindly headlong down the Warpath to certain disaster? Come along and find out who has what it takes to survive the Zombie Apocalypse.

Me: Man, I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this one.  I’m still catching up though so I’m really glad you didn’t let any real spoilers slip.   So, what (if anything) makes this one unique?

Shawn: Warpath is a post-apocalyptic thriller set in a thoroughly devastated United States. This fast paced romp through Colorado, Utah, and Idaho is unique in that it features not only heavily armed hard-charging soldiers in camouflage and body armor, but also a group of regular citizens who have come together and are doing their best to survive the zombie apocalypse. Thrown into the mix are strong female characters, a group of younger survivors trying to find their place in the new world, and a host of human baddies my readers love to hate.

Me: Ain’t that the truth.  And you really do have strong female characters in your stories.  I remember you talking about possibly incorporating that into future covers.  Anyway, tell us about your zombies? Slow and rotting, but any chance of incorporating the viral fast ones in the future?

Shawn: I’m a Romero purist, Heath. My zombies are slow, plodding, and tend to hunt in packs, usually overwhelming their prey with their strength in numbers. These creatures are infected by the Omega virus which is present in their saliva and blood and spread by introduction of those bodily fluids to the living, mainly via bites. Infection of the Omega virus (so far) has proven one hundred percent fatal, however, the victim’s turn time is determined by a wide variety of factors.

Me: Ah.  Staying true to the original.  Well, there are a grand majority of folks who think that those are the only true zombies, so I can’t blame you a bit.  But tell me this?  What was your first experience with zombie media (movie, book, comic, etc)? Was that experience what drew you into writing the genre?

Shawn: When I turned twelve or thirteen my mom let me rent Night of the Living Dead and the original Day of the Dead on Beta or VHS…can’t remember which. I watched them with a couple buddies and have been a fan of the genre ever since. My desire to live vicariously through my characters in a world created in my own imagination is what prompted me to write Trudge. Over the course of a rainy fall and winter I wrote that first novel in small chapters on my iPhone while my son, Cade, played soccer and rode trikes at the indoor park. A friend read the first incarnation, liked it, then turned me on to Smashwords where I eventually self published my short debut novel.

Me: And man, are we ever glad that you did!  I think Trudge is my favorite because it introduces us to Cade and his family.  It’s raw and gritty and…well.  It feels like it COULD happen.  Forgive my gushing.  I just really liked the story.  Okay, now for a goofy question. Pop Quiz: The dead rise now and you can choose ONE weapon as your only weapon during the Zombie Apocalypse. What is it and what do you think are your chances at survival are?

Shawn: I know this is kind of a cop-out but, if the dead were to rise today, Heath, I’d want them to be the Romero variety. Frankly, if I had to face the rage infected creatures in 28 Day’s Later or the fast Zs from WWZ or the Dawn of the Dead remake I would have me foraging for Depends undergarments more so than beans, bullets and band aids.

Me: Sorry.  I snorted on that one.  Here I am thinking you’re gonna call dibs on some fancy assault rifle and you’re worried about Depends.  You got me with that one.  Okay, how about this one…if you had to give a list of authors who most heavily influenced your work, who would make that list?

Shawn: Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Cormac McCarthy, Dean Koontz, Terry Brooks, Lee Child, Brad Thor, Vince Flynn … to name a few.

Me: I know most of those names, but thanks for giving me a few new ones to check out, hehehehe.  Now to get personal. How do you balance your ‘writing time’ with ‘family time’? Do you find your wife encouraging you more now that you have a huge fan base?

Shawn: You know, Heath, my wife wears the pants in the family and I pretty much do whatever the hell she says. (Sound of whip cracking in the background) I find this approach instrumental at reducing domestic friction in our household. All kidding aside actually being able to make a living writing is a definite win-win in that I get to set my own hours, spend those hours doing something that is still very rewarding and then decide when I want to punch the clock and commence that short commute from my upstairs office and go down and hang with my family.

Me: Awesome.  And trust me…I think we all can relate with who rules the roost in most homes.  Shawn, thank you so much for dropping by and giving us some insight into what’s going on and what’s new with you.  I really appreciate it and I’m sure my followers will appreciate the heads up on your series.

Folks, seriously, if you haven’t checked out Shawn’s ‘Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse’ series, you NEED to!  You won’t regret it.

Shawn: Thanks for having me, Heath. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you via FB. Perhaps we’ll meet at a future Con or WHC.

Me: I am SO looking forward to that.  Take care buddy!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Okay, I know it’s a stupid title to announce the first of the Monster Squad books to be produced as an audiobook, but at the time, I thought it was cute.

I waited to announce the audible release of Return of the Phoenix because of my commitment to the Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2014.  My date for SZBT was the 17th and I didn’t want to overshadow the author being highlighted.  If you didn’t get a chance to check out that interview, scroll down and give it a read.  Julianne Snow was the guest of honor and she’s a truly awesome little gal.  See?  Already I digress…I came here to announce the audio release and almost got sidetracked by her awesomeness!

Here’s the spiel.  Falcon Sound Studio’s Jack Voorhies threw himself into this production and it shows.  Talking with Jack, he’s told me how he got excited doing this project.  He really thinks that the premise has potential (and coming from him, that means something).  But first we have to get the word out about Phoenix, drive the interest up and get some reviews.

Keep an eye out for contests in the near future for free downloads of Phoenix and if you happen to run an audiobook review blog or website, feel free to contact me.

In the meantime, if you just can’t wait…here’s the link:

Amazon.com: Return of the Phoenix: Monster Squad, Book 1 (Audible Audio Edition): Heath Stallcup, Jack Voorhies: Books

SZBT 2014: Julianne Snow

SWEET!  Today we have Julianne Snow in our studio (really, it’s my dining room, but hey…struggling writer and all that). Read on for some truly cool stuff!

Summer of Zombie 2014 SPOTLIGHT ON:

Julianne Snow

Okay, we all want to know… what is your latest zombie release?

Glimpses of the Undead

Ooh,…love that cover!

Give us a quick description of it. But, no spoilers please. People get upset if you give too much away…

Glimpses of the Undead is a short story collection that takes on zombies in different forms of short fiction. While comprised mostly of horror stories featuring zombies, there is one that takes the genre in a different direction. A direction where zombies are living among us and companies have capitalized on that. The idea itself has struck a chord and will be developed into a full-length novel at some point.

That’s a different spin.  I think it sounds pretty cool.

Tell us something unique about it.

There’s a little humour, some sex, and a vampire thrown in among the horror for good measure…

My interest is definitely piqued. 

How about some links for people to purchase it.

Amazon: US, UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, India, Australia

Amazon US Print

Smashwords

CreateSpace

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

iBooks (Apple)

Let’s share your promo links with folks so they can find you a little easier.

Twitter: @CdnZmbiRytr

Facebook: Julianne Snow

FB Fan Page: Julianne Snow, Author

Amazon Author Page: Julianne Snow

Goodreads: Julianne Snow

Google+: Julianne Snow

Blogs: Days with the Undead, The FlipSide of Julianne & Zombieholics Anonymous

Let’s share a short Bio with the readers so they can get a feel for you.

Julianne Snow is the author of the Days with the Undead series and Glimpses of the Undead. She is the founder of Zombieholics Anonymous and the Publicist at Sirens Call Publications. Writing in the realms of speculative fiction, Julianne has roots that go deep into horror and is a member of the Horror Writers Association. With pieces of short fiction in various publications, Julianne always has a few surprises up her sleeves. Be sure to check out The Carnival 13, a collaborative round-robin novella for charity which she contributed to and helped to spearhead which was released in October 2013.

Awesome.  Thank you Julianne for stopping in and telling us about Glimpses of the Undead.  Sounds like a great read and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it!

Okay, everybody rush out and get your copy today and help support your favorite zombie authors.  Don’t forget to support those who feed your habit and as always, leave a review!  It’s more important than you’ll ever know.

And now, a few words from our unpaid sponsors…

*   *   *   *   *

The stench of rotting flesh is in the air! Welcome to the Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2014, with 33 of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of June.

Stop by the event page on Facebook so you don’t miss an interview, guest post or teaser… and pick up some great swag as well! Giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as interaction with them! #SummerZombie

https://www.facebook.com/events/286215754875261/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular&source=1

AND so you don’t miss any of the posts in June, here’s the complete list, updated daily:

http://armandrosamilia.com/2014/06/01/summer-of-zombie-blog-tour-2014-post-links/

 

Getting Older and Other Ponderings

Used to be that this time of year really bothered me. June was a pain in so many ways.  My birthday, Father’s Day and the two were so close together. Don’t misunderstand, though.  When I was a kid, who didn’t look forward to a birthday?  The presents, getting to be a whole year older, the presents, the party, the presents? Yes, birthdays were fun when I was little.

But now?  Now it’s not so much fun.  I don’t like being the center of attention. I mean, I love it when somebody contacts me and says something like, “I loved your books!” but to celebrate something like getting older?  Or ‘Fathers Day’? I feel like I don’t measure up.  Like I’m not worthy.  Like my kids deserve so much more.  It wasn’t until just recently that I realized…Fathers Day isn’t for ME.  It’s for THEM.  It’s that day when your kids get to make the home made cards and glue macaroni to it.  Or they break out their crayons and create something that is THEIR idea of who Dad is.  It gives them the chance to celebrate and say, “I love you, Pops!”

Very few things are more precious to a parent than their memories of their kids growing up.  When I think back through ALL of the special memories…both sets of twins, all the hundreds (if not thousands) of ball games, all of the sticky faced kisses and yes…fights, I’m reminded of what is probably the first truly shocking moment of being a parent.

This little guy:

had grown up some.  He was celebrating a birthday with all of his little friends. We had taken him to see Michael Keaton play Batman and he loved the movie.  So…what does any dad (who is totally infatuated with Batman) do?  I rented the costume.

At the time, we lived in Washington state.  They had a helmet a law and I rode home in full Batman costume on a big black motorcycle (full fairing) and prayed the entire way I wouldn’t run into a cop.  Little sticky faces were plastered to the windows of every car I passed, cape waving in the wind…and there he was.  The Washington State Trooper.  He did a double take when he saw me.  Then gave me a thumbs up with a cheesy grin. He was either a fan or had kids himself.

The party itself really holds little to no memory for me.  It was what happened afterward.  When the kids were all leaving and I was sick of sweating in places I shouldn’t, I snuck into the bedroom to peel off the costume.  As I pulled the cowl off I heard this small, quiet little gasp and I turned to see my oldest standing in the doorway, his eyes as big as saucers, his little face pale.  “My daddy is Batman…” It was one of those defining moments for both father and son.

Yes.  I AM Batman.  Just as you are now Green Lantern for your son.

So, to dads everywhere…BE Superman.  BE Batman.  BE…Dora.  Just BE there.

I’m gonna go to the Batcave to polish the Batmobile.  I want it to look good for when I take Mrs. Batman out for my birthday dinner.

SZBT 2014!

If you are a zombie fan, then you KNOW what time it is.  The month of May may be Zombie Awareness month, but this JUNE it’s ‘Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2014′!

Every day in the month of June, one author is chosen to be highlighted and we learn a little something about him or her.  What makes them tick, what to look forward to in the near future, what got them where they are now, who they look up to in the field or maybe how they got twisted the way they are.  Hopefully it’s something new that you the readers didn’t already know. If you’re a die hard fan, then odds are, you already know the whole back story on all these wonderfully gifted writers.  If not, then you have a lot to look forward to.

Next week is my turn.  I don’t know yet who I’ll be hosting on my blog, but I sincerely hope to bring you something new and exciting.  Armand Rosamilia is hosting the SZBT this year and between the radio shows, the Authors Supporting Our Troops 2014, writing, blogging and saving nuns from burning buses…I honestly don’t know where this guy finds the time to DO what he does?! Secretly, I think he has cloned himself, but don’t tell anybody.  I don’t want to start any unfounded rumors…

Check back next week for the author interview HERE!  Check in with Facebook at the event, “Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2014″ to find interviews, guest posts, teasers, prizes, cool swag and so much more! 

Subtle Changes

Those of you who travel here to catch up on things will be pleased to know that I wrapped up MS5- Homecoming a couple of weeks ago and have been tapping away at MS6- Snapback ever since.  I’m hoping that this next saga will only be a three book tale, but you never know exactly where the story will take you.  I will say that I’m fairly excited about one small aspect.  I’ve been wanting to delve into the world of YA stories for a while. Well, since Phoenix really.  Originally, I intended for the Monster Squad stories to be young adult, but in my efforts to ‘keep it real’, the language didn’t allow that.  Then the story took on a life of its own and if you’ve read them, you know.  Things happen. While many may feel that they’re appropriate for young people, my publisher and I both felt it best to engage the adult filters when searching for them.

And yet, I digress.  No doubt, if you’ve been here before, you probably noticed a small change when you came here today.  Unless you’re on a mobile device.  I have no idea what you may or may not see on your phone.  BUT, the changes in layout and images that you’re seeing are in preparations for bigger changes that I hope are soon to come.

I was extremely fortunate in my internet travels and ran into a young lady that absolutely blew me away.  ‘Why?’ you may ask.  I’m so glad you did! When I first saw her, I got chills.  She IS Laura Youngblood.  I mean, when I saw her picture, it was exactly who I pictured when I wrote that character.  We began to talk and the next thing I know, she’s telling me about graphics and splash pages and…she’s web design smart.  The graphic you see at the top of the page is a crop from an image she threw together in just a couple of minutes while we were messaging each other on Facebook.  I had sent her some images I had from the book covers, t-shirt designs, logos…just different images that were sitting on my hard drive.  I’m telling ya, the lady is awesome.  I wish I could tell everybody her name, but she hasn’t really given me permission so I’ll keep it to myself for now (Lisa Vasquez and she’s AWESOME at graphics and web design, but you did NOT hear it from me…unless she’s cool with it, then I totally told you to contact her).  So if she gives me permission to spread her name around, I’ll let you know how to contact her (at http://thedevilshalo.com/ ).

It’s taking a bit of time because we both have a bunch of irons in the fire but hopefully soon, you’ll see a cleaner and much cooler site with a neat portal or splash page or whatever it was she called it. Stay tuned!

While It’s Hot

Do you like buffets?  You know what I’m talking about. Dozens of different flavors all spread out so that you can sample the things you know you like or if you’re feeling adventurous, you can experiment a little and jump into something new, just to test the waters? Yeah.  Buffets are good.

My kids love the Chinese buffet.  They know they want Chinese food, but they aren’t sure exactly WHAT they want.  The buffet is the perfect answer.  They can’t pronounce it, but they know they like ‘chicken on a stick’. Or they want that ‘white stuff crammed into the cracker flower’. They sometimes like a steaming bowl of ‘egg yuck soup’. Anything with shrimp is usually good as long as it’s not the ‘snot covered shrimp with onions’. Yeah.  There goes my appetite.

Well, back to my point.

For a limited time you can have a mind buffet…of sorts.  No, not brains for you zombie wanna-be’s.  But, for those who have yet to partake in the Epic Apocalypse box set, it is currently on sale for (get this)…less than a dollar.  Can you believe that?  99 cents buys you full length novels from the likes of John O’Brien, James Cook, Shawn Chesser and Armand Rosamilia.  They even let Mark Tufo toss in with these guys.  As a bonus, there’s a lip smacking teaser from Joe McKinney in it as well.  The only down side is, they let me put my stuff in it…sort of like that green gooey stuff over by the Sushi bar.  Yes, the pistachio ice cream has turned!

This set has a little bit of everything, and for the price, you can’t lose.

So do yourself a favor.  Check it out.  You’ll be glad you did.

World Horror Convention

Most of you are aware by now that the World Horror Convention is going on in Portland, OR.  Anybody and everybody that has anything to do with horror is converging on the city of Portland to rub elbows and hang out, have fun and network, visit with old friends and meet new ones.

While I won’t be there to enjoy the festivities, a lot of my friends and fellow authors will be.  If you are close, stop by and visit them.  If you are traveling there for the convention, spend some time at the different booths, but make sure you stop by May December Publishing and say hi to Todd and Denise Brown.  Then swing by and give the fellas from the Epic Apocalypse set a visit too.  Mark Tufo, Shawn Chesser, John O’Brien, Joe McKinney and Armand Rosamilia are manning a booth and if you are lucky, you might catch all of them at the same time.

Trust me when I say that it’s killing me inside to know that everybody is there and I’m not, but know that I’ll be there in spirit, wishing all of them the best of luck.  Plans are already in place for next year in Atlanta, but alas, that’s a whole year away.  Until then, if you want a set of autographed books, a Monster Squad coffee mug or bumper sticker you can find it at May December’s booth along with some other swag that I sent along to help spread the word.

So, have fun, see all of the cool things that Portland has to offer and enjoy yourself!

My Plea To You

I’ll try to keep this short and sweet.  Nobody likes to read through tons of unnecessary verbage so…

If you have read ANY of my published works and could take a few moments from your busy schedule to leave a review at Amazon, I would be eternally grateful.  You know (especially if you’ve read through my mind spew here) how important reviews are.  I also know how valuable your time is.  That is why I hate to ask, but I feel compelled to at the same time.

I’ve put up a standing offer at my Facebook author page for those who leave an honest review and then contact me with their address, I will send them their choice of either a silicon wrist band or some bumper stickers.

I know it’s not much, but it’s my way of saying thank you for taking your time to do something to help me. Especially at this time of year.  I realize that the school year is winding down, summer ball is gearing up, kids are excited for summer, parents are trying to make plans for summer vacations, etc.  It’s a busy time.  Taking time from your busy schedule for something like this just means that much more.

For those who can, thank you.

Heath

Tipping Point

I really didn’t like my last entry.  It definitely felt like a ‘blog filler’.  This place is supposed to be my little place on the interwebs to come to be closer to you, the reader.  A place where I keep you up on how things are going, what’s new and what’s happening. Since nothing was new but it had been so long since my last entry, I felt compelled to put something up anyway.  The result didn’t sit well with me.

Since then, little has changed.  But the ‘little’ that has is still kind of cool to me.  So I thought I’d share it with you.

First, I’ve reached the tipping point on MS5.  Things are definitely picking up and will be accelerating quickly as I reach the cliffhanger conclusion of this installment of the new saga.  Old friends may or may not survive this next offering.  As many of you came to discover, nobody is safe.  There was a reason behind the losses in MS4.  It may not be apparent, but they are there.  I got a lot of hate mail over those deaths.  I’ve also gotten a LOT more negative criticisms over the last two books, as well.  I’ve actually debated coming here and trying to address them, but…that’s not what this blog is about.  I’ve stated before, the story told itself.  I just typed it.  There are reasons for why things happened the way they did.  We don’t have to like them.  I didn’t like them, how can I expect others to?  Anywho…

Second, I made a new friend.  A new friend that SHOULD play Laura Youngblood if the Monster Squad ever got made into a movie.  Well…if she’s close to six foot tall, she should.  It’s kind of funny, but we hit it off like old high school buddies.  She decides to help me ‘dress up my site’ and when I see a current picture of her.  I nearly fell over.  When I write of Laura…THAT was the face I saw.  It was spooky. Because when I say it was Laura, I don’t mean ‘she kind of sort of looked a little like her if you turn the picture sideways and squint a little…’ No.  I mean, it was as if somebody reached inside my head, pulled the Laura Youngblood file, yanked her photo from her service record and then posted it on Facebook.  Weird, eh?  Well, it was pretty cool, anyway.  Because this gal is really sharp and she’s going to make my website look really professional.  Rather than just a blog, it will have a splash page.  For those of you who are techno-stoopid like me (she had to explain it to me, too) it’s like a portal page with neat graphics and hyperlinks to my blog, links to my books and other stuff like that.  I don’t want to say any more about it because she may scrap the whole idea and go a completely different way.

So…that’s what’s new.  I’m still pushing against the September deadline, but I think it will be good.  Hopefully, I can get this saga pounded out while it’s all still somewhat fresh on my mind and then hand it over to Todd to polish.

Ooh…yeah.  Okay.  I wasn’t going to say anything about the other novels that have been kind of standing by the wayside while I concentrated on the MS series…but.  I sent Corson to a different publishing house for consideration.  No…I’m not upset with MDP.  Let’s quash that rumor before it ever gets started.  But the fact is, they’re swamped.  And it’s just not a high priority.  I understand that.  In fact, I’m okay with that. I talked with Denise and she’s given me her blessing so I feel good about the move with that one.

I also got the opportunity to submit both Whispers and Caldera to an agent via a friend of mine.  A real agent that deals with the big NY publishers.  While I’m not holding my breath, I am hopeful that they are well received.  After all, Whispers is my personal favorite and Caldera is my missus’ favorite. I have no idea how long it will take to hear back on those two, but I’m daring to hope.  The agent is just the first step.

So, that wraps up everything.  Unless you want to know about how well supper went?  We decided to use our new grill tonight.  I made steamed carrots and steamed corn, cheesy squash and grilled sirloin.  Chicken for the girls because that’s their favorite.  Then we had…huh?  Oh.  You don’t care?  Okay.  I can take a hint.