E.R. Torre's Blog, page 62

…Sigh… Corrosive Knights, Redux

A while back I posted this…

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The original covers (for the most part) of my physical copies of the seven books in the Corrosive Knights series.

How about an update?

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Yeah, I’m happy!

Corrosive Knights, a 1/8/19 Update

It’s the 8th of January and, since yesterday for many people and students, its back to work.

For me, the release of both Legacy of the Argus, the concluding chapter of my Corrosive Knights series, and the fact that I was able to get all the covers re-done and revise the first book in the series, Mechanic, couldn’t have been accomplished at a better time. By finishing all that tough work by mid-December, I was able to take a very much needed two week vacation -at least from writing!- and recharge the ol’ battery.

For quite a while now I’ve been showing people this graphic of the Corrosive Knights books:

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As you can see from the graphic, I planned an 8th Corrosive Knights book, one that would serve as an “epilogue” to the series/story. I’ve even noted that the book is mostly written, though to be fair the story I wrote is actually more of a novella rather than a full novel (I believe the total word count of that draft wound up being around 20,000 words versus the usual 100,000 words -give or take- of the other novels).

Thing is, the “epilogue” as written is something of a concluding chapter to the Corrosive Knights series and I’m not sure I want to go there quite yet.

Don’t get me wrong: The Epilogue doesn’t “kill off” every/any character or provide some kind of Apocalyptic scenario. But it is set in a future farther from that presented in Legacy of the Argus and, again, I’m not sure if I want to go there yet.

Why?

Because the story is indeed something of a wrap up of the Corrosive Knights series and I feel like there’s more storytelling to do with the characters and the various timelines they’re set in.

Even though the seven books present a nice complete story, over my writing break, I thought about what I wanted to do next and considered the Epilogue and, because it was so short, felt it was best to bulk it up and add a few more elements to it.

And as I did, I started to think about another interesting story line apart from what was in the Epilogue. Yeah, though I may have taken a writing “break”, that didn’t mean my brain wasn’t working on another story.

At this time, I have the building blocks to a new story and, over the next few weeks, I’m going to work on it, chip away as well as build up. See where it takes me.

The story looks like it will NOT be part of that Epilogue, but rather another story set in the Corrosive Knights universe which could serve as an interesting add on without seeming like something I’m pulling out of (excuse my French) ass.

If all works out, it will be a stand-alone story which might just lead into other stories set in my beloved universe.

Give me a little time to work things out.

If you’ve liked what’s come before, you know I won’t release anything unless I’m really happy with it.

I’ll keep you informed!

Sketchin’ 100

Wow… the big 100!

Today we have Carolyn Jones, best known for playing Morticia Addams in “The Addams Family”, as Marsha, Queen of Diamonds as she appeared on the Batman TV show!

Ms. Jones was the second member of the Addams Family to appear on the Batman TV series. The first was Ted Cassidy who appeared in a window cameo as Lurch, and the third was John Astin, Gomez Addams, who played an alternate Riddler… hmmm… maybe next? 

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Once again, regarding technology…

I’ve written many times before of my -I guess you could call it amusement- over the gnashing of the teeth of business/wall-street types toward the supposed “fall” of technological best sellers.

I recall the many articles released years ago -erroneously, IMHO- talking about how the desktop computer market might be “done”, when in reality what I felt was happening was that people simply weren’t buying new desktop computers at the same pace as before because the technology had plateaued.

In other words, in the past, ever year it seemed a far better desktop computer would be released, so much better than last year’s version that you were effectively encouraged to buy the next generation to “keep up” with the latest programs.

But there came a time, around when desktop computers sported the Pentium chips, that the technology had reached that plateau. Suddenly, instead of needing to buy a new computer every year, you could hang on to you “old” computer for many years before needing or wanting a “new” one.

So the time has come with Apple and their iPhone.

Will Oremus at Slate.com wrote this fascinating article which I encourage you guys to read:

Why the iPhone is finally fading

Mr. Oremus notes many of the things I’ve been saying for years now: That there was a time getting a “new” iPhone (in my case, talking about desktop computers) was a thrill. There was something new and magical about jumping from an 8088 processor to a 286, then 386, then 486, and finally Pentium computer.

So too was there magic in going from the early iPhones to the later models. People would stand in ridiculously long lines getting the latest model and reveling in being among the first to have the latest model.

But as with desktop computers, iPhones have plateaued. Perhaps it happened around the time the iPhone 6 was released. Its the model I still have and use. Its camera is pretty weak compared to the more modern iPhones, but otherwise its a perfectly functional cell phone and I suspect I’ll replace it only when it no longer works well with me.

Mr. Oremus goes on to theorize as to what “comes next”. He feels it may be machines like the Amazon Echo, AI machines that you talk to and get what you need from them.

I’m in agreement with him that these machines are certainly intriguing, even if they are also scary regarding privacy.

On the one hand its wonderful to ask the machine what the weather will be tomorrow and get your answer almost right away. Or ask it to play an album or song. Or, if you’re doing some timed task, tell it to set up a timer. If you have the proper devices, you can also have these machines linked to the lights in your home and, instead of stumbling around for a light switch, tell your device to turn on “X” light.

It’s fairly simple stuff -at least what I use it for- but a nice convenience.

But like the desktop computer and the iPhone before it, I suspect these devices will also have their ceiling.

And then we’ll wonder what’s next.

Sketchin’ 99

Been a while since working on the old Batman TV show characters. Here’s Vincent Price in the role of… Egghead! He would appear in that role for seven episodes.

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Sketchin’ 98

Been a while…

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Have yourselves a “Giant” New Years!

See you on the other side!

THe Meg (2018): A (mildly) belated review

I’ll go really short and sweet here: The Meg is a popcorn film through and through: Nothing serious, never terribly gory or scary or action packed, yet nonetheless scary and exciting enough to make for passable -if ultimately forgettable- entertainment. Here’s the movie’s trailer:

I know it sounds like I’m damning the movie with faint praise, but I assure you: This film is not a disaster by any means. It was pleasant enough to watch -as pleasant, I suppose, as any giant murderous shark film can be. Of course, when dealing with a movie involving sharks, you’re bound to find echoes of Jaws. What somewhat surprised me is that there were also echoes, especially in the movie’s opening act, to a long forgotten 1973 film named The Neptune Factor…

Don’t say you don’t learn a few things about films from the past ’round these parts!

Anyway, despite the seeming faint praise, I recommend The Meg. It ain’t Jaws (go see that if you’d rather), but if you’re curious and you’ve got the time to kill, you could do far, far worse.

Happy Holidays!!!

Hope everyone out there has a wonderful time and a very, very happy New Years!

Bring on 2019… it has to be better than the craziness of 2018, right?

…right?!

Automation gone wild…

As I’ve made it known for a while now, I just released Legacy of the Argus, the 7th and concluding chapter in my initial Corrosive Knights series.

Now, getting this book ready to be released required plenty of steps beyond simply “writing” the book itself. For the Kindle (digital) release, I had to prepare the manuscript properly along with the cover art, etc. For the print copy, the same had to be done but, as I’m very careful to make sure everything works out fine, I request a “proof” copy so that I can hold the book in my own two hands and see that everything on it is proper.

I did this with Legacy of the Argus and once I gave it a good look I approved the book and now both Kindle and paperback versions are available.

Now, for those who order things from Amazon.com, you may be aware that once you do order something from them, once in a while you’ll get an email pointing out your purchase and asking you to rate it on a 5 star basis. I’ve had books, household items, etc. ordered through Amazon and now and again get these emails asking for me to review the item.

This is the first time I received a request to rate a proof copy of one of my books!

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So… I’m being asked to give a review for a product -the proof of my novel- for… what reason exactly? The way this is presented is not me telling Amazon they’ve done a good job… indeed, they already knew that when I approved the book for sale!… but instead this form email is being sent as if the proof of the book is a product in and of itself and is available for purchase through Amazon to all clients…!

Only, of course, it isn’t. The proof copy is something that comes only to me and, should I wish it, to others I may want to get it and see it. But now that the book has been formally approved, the proof copy is a thing of the past. If people want Legacy of the Argus, they can order it and it will come without that “Not for resale” notation over the cover/backcover. If I want to get copies of my book, I will likewise order the approved version and don’t have to worry about proof copies anymore.

I wonder… if I were to “review” the proof, would my review appear on the book’s listing itself? I suspect it will.

And how obnoxious would it be for the author of a book to give his own book five stars?!

Best/worst movies of 2018

As the year winds down, we get those wonderful lists of best and worst films of 2018.

As usual, I find myself having seen precious few of either!

First up, from i09.com and written by Germain Lussier we have…

10 Best and 5 Worst films of 2018

Now, the website from which this list came from deals with sci-fi/fantasy films so of course the list consists of films within that genre. Of the best films listed, I’ve seen two of them: A Quiet Place and Mission: Impossible – Fallout. I feel both films are quite good but imperfect. A Quiet Place is a wonderful exercise in tension BUT the story itself, and the logic of the situation presented, has some serious flaws. And if you focus on them, you’re likely to not feel that positive regarding this film. As for M:I, it was a good, solid action film, IMHO, but “more of the same” and not quiet as good as the previous M:I film.

All right, let’s get some more worst of lists. Here is Peter Travers from Rolling Stone offering his…

10 Worst Films of 2018

I haven’t seen any of the listed films, though I’m about to get The Meg from Netflix. I heard, for the most part, good things about the film so I’m keeping my fingers crossed… and my expectations low!