C.E. Dorsett's Blog, page 11

What is Project: Shadow?

While reading, The Impact Equation, thought I would stop and answer one of the first questions:

“Take a few moments and think about this. Don’t rush to the next segment. Pause and ask yourself what the TV station of you (or your business, or both!) looks like. Ask yourself whom it serves. Ask whether you can think of even ten story ideas that match thematically. Brainstorm just a bit.”

— Chris Brogan & Julien Smith. The Impact Equation: Are You Making Things Happen or Just Making Noise? (Kindle Locations 450-452). Kindle Edition.

It is an important set of questions, and one that I have thought about for a long time, but there is something about their frame that makes me see my work differently.

I have not made a secret of the fact that I want to not only write prose, but eventually branch out into comics, movies, video series, and games.  As a solitary writer, I know I can't do everything by myself, but my ambitions have constantly overwhelmed me.

There are so many things I want to do.  So many stories to tell.  Like the Three Stooges, they have all tried to get out of my head at once.  I'm not sure how common writer's block from an over abundance of ideas is, but it has been my bane for a while now.  I need to focus, and work on one thing at a time, sort of.

What does Project: Shadow look like?

Zines.  I know, not a new idea from me, but I think I see a way forward.  3 Zines to be exact:

Our Solemn Hour Zine

This will include Errant Star, Dance the Ghost, Legends of the Jade Moon, Tales of the Silver Fox, and any other Story that fits in my Technofantasy World.

$0.99 / month

Dragons of Night Zine

This will include Wand and Weaver, Blackwood Abbey, and any other story that  fits inside my Contemporary Gothic Fantasy World.

$0.99 / month

Project: Shadow Zine

This will include every Our Solemn Hour, and Dragons of Night Story, as well as any other story I write that doesn't fit in the other two.

$1.99 / month

These Zines will be available for various platforms.  Serials and seasons of content will also be published as eBooks for readers who do not want to subscribe to the zines.

I have also made the difficult decision to make these works free on Wattpad for those who either cannot afford to pay for my work or who do not want to support it.

Crowdfunding Model

I will offer other ways you can support my work through donations and special offers.  I will talk more about these as I set the system up, but it will be a way not only for you to show your support for me, but for me to show my gratitude for your support.

Taking my cues from examples like Nine Inch Nails, Kickstarter, and Subbable, there will be rewards for each level of giving. 

If there are any rewards you would like me to offer, please let me know.

Content Model

Like I said these will be zines, and will have the following features:

At least 1 issue a month each of Dragons of Night and Our Solemn Hour, but I would personally like to release 2 issues a month of each, but I set the price for one.Each issue will contain at least:1 new story1 article about the series or setting.1 behind the scenes articleOther features are possible, but I do not want to over promise.Stories will be published in the zine and Wattpad at the same time.

The reason I decided to make it available for free and for pay at the same time is that I know you all well.  Over the years, you all have slipped me money at conventions, asking for nothing in return, or have purchased a new set of my books every year to show your support.  You are the best people I have ever met, and I am not sure I deserve the level of support you have shown me over the years.  Now, I really want to give back.

I welcome your input on this plan.  If everything goes well, it will be fully implemented in February.  Are you ready to join the Project? 

What would another Serenity movie be about?

When I saw this image, I started wondering what a second Serenity/Firefly movie would be about.  How many characters would Joss kill off?  What could they possibly do the movie about?

Maybe it is because Joss is making the Avengers movies, but I would really love a film that explored and explained "Super Soldier" program that exists in the world.

Throughout the series, and even in the the movie, we got to see a lot of Blue Sun (I presume) agents that were enhanced for some reason.  River was apparently picked up to be a part of this program.

Since we now know that the Reavers were created by accident as a way to pacify the populace, I assume these "super soldiers" have a similar control purpose.

It does feel like a bit of overkill engineer these troops simply as assassins.  I can't help but think that they have an purpose that we haven't seen before.

Mal and the crew have a quasi-decent motivation to pursue this mystery after River's performance in the final battle against the Reavers.  A fight she seemed engineered to engage in.

Perhaps the answer is really that simple, but I feel like there is more there than has been revealed yet.

That is what I would like to see in the next movie, should it ever happen.  What would you like to see?  What questions do you see outstanding in the series?

A New Year Dawns

with your help, 2014 will be amazing!

I really want to thank everyone for making 2013 such a great year.  Thanks you your support, last year was our best year.  Please keep spreading the word, so much more is comming this year.

Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi, you are my only hope!

This year, I am bringing back Project: Shadow and the Zines!

Project: Shadow is the site that started it all.  A community site to share the things we love and working on.  Well, I relaunched just before the new year, and I invite you to join me as I rediscover all the things that I love, and I cannot wait to see what all you have to share.

The Zines will be a collection of serials that will come out every 2 weeks.  Hopefully, they will launch soon, but they will not come out without your help.  For those of you who want early access, join the beta reader's group and help me to get the stories ready for release.

This will be a big year.  I can't wait to see what new wonder 2014 holds for us.

The Flying Man

I am not sure how I missed this when it came out other than to say the internet is a big place.

The filmmaker, Marcus Alqueres, has successfully made a short film that is captivating and creepy.  It is a twist on the superhero as vigilante from the bad guy's and the news' point of view.

I want more.  He set up a Facebook Page, and added a page to his site, here, but it I don't see any hint about more to come.

To be honest, the film feels like something from the Sovereign Universe, I felt the same shock as I did when the Washington Monument turned black in Brave Men Run.

I like the idea of hero as monster.  It is a fun way to tell a story.

A new superhero is coming, only this time it's on his terms. Will he still be considered a hero? Directed, produced, financed, edited and story by Marcus Alqueres (twitter.com/marcusalqueres) m.alqueres@gmail.com Sound and score by: Roger Lima (www.whitenoiselab.com) Manager: Scott Glassgold / IAM Entertainment Website: malqueres.com/The-Flying-Man (for press release) Facebook: facebook.com/TFMshort Credits: Written by: Marcus Alqueres and Henry Grazinoli DOP: Anthony Scott Burns Production Manager: Christopher Yurkovich Visual Effects: João Sita / Marcus Alqueres Cast: Mike: Nick Smyth Rob: Rick Cordeiro Voices:Justin T. Lee Colorist: Marco Polsinelli from Topix Fx A/B Camera: Julian Van Mill / Anthony Scott Burns / Marcus Alqueres Script Revision: Moss Badran Sound Recordist: David Guerra / Randy Resh Production Assistant: Nick Bechard Additional DOP: Marcus Alqueres (opening and hospital scenes) Makeup: Helen Johns / Carly Sellen Special Thanks: Beatriz Costa / Daniel Luna / Richard Penner / Sarah Arruda Fernando Faria / Livia Ramos / Xande Torres / Chris Bahry - Sylvain Taillon / Chris Wallace

Popular is not the same as good or successful

image by The Comic Fan

I am getting a little tired of people equating popularity with quality.  Firefly was not popular, and if we compare it to Star Wars or Star Trek, that would make it a total failure, but is it?

I bring this up because on 4 separate occasions today, someone tried to win an argument by telling me that the project in question made a lot of money or that it was popular.  If that is the standard we are measuring things by then:

Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith was 14.9 times better than SerenityWar of the Worlds was 9.2 times better than SerenityKing Kong was 8.5 times better than SerenityTwilight was 7.6 times better than SerenityThe Twilight Saga: New Moon was 11.6 times better than SerenityThe Twilight Saga: Eclipse was 11.8 times better than SerenityThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 was 11 times better than SerenityThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 was 11.5 times better than Serenity

I am not ready to turn in my brown coat for a sparkling vampire...

Popular is Common

That is why a lot of fans are starting to complain about Doctor Who (I am not one of them).  The show's popularity has come from a hollowing of the characters and shallower plots.  That is how you appeal to a mass audience.

It is not a guarantee of popularity, but it is nearly a requirement.  The only way to appeal to a broad audience is to lower the work to lowest common denominator. 

There are exceptions to the rule. Frank Herbert's Dune is one of the best selling Science Fiction books of all time.  That is the result of a rabid fan-base and curiosity spurred on by the Movie and Miniseries, both of which were over simplifications of the book.  Why?  To garner as wide an audience as possible.

Music video by Marilyn Manson performing This Is The New Shit. (C) 2003 Nothing/Interscope Records

There is nothing like over engineered pop Shock Rock to make the point.

Quality matters.

As media is becoming more disintermediated, content creators like myself have to focus on character, setting, and story.  While I would never say my stuff is perfect, I have followed my interests, and not what I thought would make me the most money.

Postmodern life has lost its flavor.  The homogenized, plastic fantastic modern world was sheathed with a pasteurized mock-rebellious and faux-individualistic veneer.  Manufactured rage like the Duck Dynasty publicity stunt are the new normal.

People can relax now, they did something.  Placation is simple.  One well placed manufactured crisis and both sides vent, and get to feel like they won.  Theatrics.

I took that tangent to point out that even our news is poorly manufactured.

If there is any hope for our society regaining any credibility and flavor returning to life, we have to start caring about things again.

Care about what exactly?

Honesty and integrity.  I may not be a great writer, but my fiction is honest.  It is what I love.  It comes from my heart.  I am not alone.  There are others.  Emerian Rich and Matthew Wayne Selznick, just to name a couple.

If fans are unimportant, because what will make them happy will not appeal to a mainstream audience, then the math is backwards.

We cannot afford anymore to give up on the things we love.  I love Star Trek, and that love is not being reciprocated, so I am creating my own scifi series to fill the niche.

Passion drives us, not money, not popularity.  We have to stand up for ourselves, only then, together, can we bring the passion back.

DJ Earworm's United State of Pop 2013 (Living the Fantasy)

Every year, DJ Earworm mashes up of the most popular songs in the US.  Living the Fantasy is proof that this year's 25 biggest hits were so much better than last years.

World Go Boom from 2011 is still my favorite year in review, but well, music has been degenerating a lot lately.

I just wish at least 1 Snoop Lion song made the mix this year.  Is there a song you think should have been a bigger hit than it was?

Top of the Pops 2013- Hey Brother

Mashup Germany has taken the top 36 songs of 2013 and made Hey Brother (Top of the Pops 2013).

Did you catch all the songs?  Is your favorite missing from the Mashup?

Jinkx need a Mario Warp Pipe

Hmm, I wonder how hard it would be to turn the back room of the house into a Mario wonderland for Jinkx and Shadow.

Brian is always saying that he wants to do more woodworking, and this would be a perfect project for him.

Oh, and since Jinkx loves to knock things over and make a lot of noise,  maybe some rubber bricks for her to bust up for the dog to play with.  It is something fun to think about.

Fate's Harrow is back out and the Christmas Specials are coming.

In time for its 7th Anniversary

It is hard to believe that it has been 7 years since I wrote the adventures of Ara'lu Nergal, Dov Lavan, Tien Shaa, and Adir Radd.  How time flies?

I want to thank everyone who helped me get this book ready, and everyone who voted for the cover.  None of this would be possible without your care and support.

This edition of the book contains the original unpublished prologue, Dreaming of Midnight, and the unpublished final chapter, Wings of Destiny.  So if you read it when it originally came out almost 7 years ago, there is even more in this edition.

Get your copy here.  It will be free until Friday, so don't wait too long to pick up your copy.
 

7 years of Fate's Harrow

It is hard for me to believe that on December 30th, Fate's Harrow will be 7 years old.  It really doesn't feel right, but time flies when you are having fun, right?

This serial was a milestone for me.  It was my first story to hit #1 on the Amazon bestseller chart.  After my experience with Liquid Sky, I needed that boost to my confidence to keep me going.

If it wasn't for this book, I might not have kept writing.  Thank you to everyone who picked up a copy when it first came out, and thank you for getting your copy of the new edition.
 

Christmas specials

Keep an eye out for the releases of this years Christmas specials. 

The Krampus is coming to Dragons of Night in the new story, The Yule Mask (Facebook Page | Google+ Page).

Our Solemn Hour has come with the new story, Sisters of the Light (Facebook Page | Google+ Page).
 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I hope that all you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I have a lot of resolutions for next year, and I expect you to help keep me on track.

White Christmas Cocktail

In honor of the season, this weeks cocktail is the White Christmas:

4 oz. eggnog
1/2 oz. White chocolate Liqueur
1 oz.  Southern Comfort

Serve it in a snifter with chocolate flake on top in the arms of someone you love.