S.W. Hammond's Blog, page 15
June 28, 2017
Interview: 'Gods' & The Writing Process
SW Hammond talks with Amber Stoke about the creative process behind The Final Book: Gods, favorite characters, and the future of the trilogy.
What was the inspiration for your story?
The idea for The Final Book came to me as I was digging fencepost holes in Colorado Springs. I had a lot of time to myself, digging hole after hole by hand in an empty field. Anyone who has been to Colorado Springs knows that you can't escape the shadow of Pikes Peak--the mountain is enormous, majestic, and inspiring. While peaceful and sunny in the middle of town, you can watch storms come in over the top of its peak, the wind blowing snow for miles out into the sky. It seemed to me that if moody ol' Zeus were ever to leave Mount Olympus, this would be his peak of choice. Frustrated, sweating, and barely scratching away at the dirt, my mind became lost in a fantastic tale of the Gods living right above the city.
What kept you going throughout the writing process?
June 27, 2017
George Berkeley: Make Philosophy Great Again
George Berkeley slides onto the scene a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business; the “cool guy” that’s had enough of these schoolmen stinkin’ up the place with their Pigpen philosophy.
Yeah, he might be a little self-indulgent—I assume he has orange skin and sweet comb-over—but that’s okay because he speaks for us common folk. He waves a big banner of common sense and God, and as long as I can keep my guns, I’ll vote for him as my favorite modern philosopher.
“It’s gonna be huge,” I envision Georgie B trying to explain himself to a confused reporter. “What I make public here has, after a long and scrupulous inquiry, seemed to me evidently true and not unuseful to be known—particularly to those who are tainted with skepticism or want a demonstration of the existence and immateriality of God or the natural immortality of the soul” (438). Yeehaw—I like the sounds of that campaign promise! Let’s see if he can build that wall.
Using the “illiterate bulk of mankind” as his inspiration (438), Berkeley strives to regain a child-like wonder and innocence of philosophy. The good ol’ days—back when God was the single end-all be-all for everything. What are you thinking, philosophy? “All these questions,” Berkeley snorts, “which multiply and grow upon us as we advance in speculation, until at length, having wandered through many intricate mazes, we find ourselves just where we were, or which is worse, sit down in a forlorn skepticism” (439). I have to agree with him. The more I read Spinoza, Leibniz, and Locke, the more disheartened I become. These guys are the white-curly-haired version of an Internet forum. All this bickering back and forth over speculative and unknowable details is like a Kevin Smith film critiquing Star Wars—only God or George Lucas can answer these questions, and neither is picking up the phone. Like Berkeley, all I’m looking for is some practical knowledge and insight—answer a few questions before taking on the multiverse.
George Berkeley: Make Philosophy Great Again
George Berkeley slides onto the scene a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business; the “cool guy” that’s had enough of these schoolmen stinkin’ up the place with their Pigpen philosophy.
Yeah, he might be a little self-indulgent—I assume he has orange skin and sweet comb-over—but that’s okay because he speaks for us common folk. He waves a big banner of common sense and God, and as long as I can keep my guns, I’ll vote for him as my favorite modern philosopher.
“It’s gonna be huge,” I envision Georgie B trying to explain himself to a confused reporter. “What I make public here has, after a long and scrupulous inquiry, seemed to me evidently true and not unuseful to be known—particularly to those who are tainted with skepticism or want a demonstration of the existence and immateriality of God or the natural immortality of the soul” (438). Yeehaw—I like the sounds of that campaign promise! Let’s see if he can build that wall.
June 21, 2017
Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con - June 23, 24, 25
Artist Alley–Booth A73
One of the happiest days of the year—comic con! Swing by my booth and say hi!
I’ll be taking high quality photos of fabulous cosplayers and posting them on Instagram and my site. I'm also stoked to talk about all things nerd and geek–emphasis on storytelling (bonus points for anything The OA or Life Is Strange!). Finally, and I suppose most importantly, I'll be selling and signing hardcover and paperback copies of my new novel The Final Book: Gods!
It'd mean the world if you picked up a copy of my book–hopefully next year we'll see Ana, Josh, William and Pom running around the convention floor, haha.
Excited to have fun with everyone!
Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con - June 23, 24, 25
Artist Alley–Booth A73
One of the happiest days of the year—comic con! Swing by my booth and say hi!
I’ll be taking high quality photos of fabulous cosplayers and posting them on Instagram and my site. I'm also stoked to talk about all things nerd and geek–emphasis on storytelling (bonus points for anything The OA or Life Is Strange!). Finally, and I suppose most importantly, I'll be selling and signing hardcover and paperback copies of my new novel The Final Book: Gods!
It'd mean the world if you picked up a copy of my book–hopefully next year we'll see Ana, Josh, William and Pom running around the convention floor, haha.
Excited to have fun with everyone! Click for show information and to purchase tickets.
June 13, 2017
Life Is Strange: The Perfect Storm
Life Is Strange became a perfect storm of teenage angst, friendship, and adorable quirkiness backed by thoughtful storytelling and a heart-in-throat twist.
The story takes place in a struggling fishing village in the Pacific Northwest; a setting that plays seamlessly with hipster-savvy characters and strong female leads. You take control of our budding photographer protagonist, Max, on her 18th birthday as she’s recently enrolled in prestigious art-driven boarding school for gifted students. In the opening scene she has a crazy premonition and discovers that she has ability to control—reverse—time. It’s awesome. It’s every indie stereotype personified in a cataclysm of so much sugary-pop goodness that it hurts your teeth and rots your mind—only to later sideswipe you with depth and soul.
Life Is Strange: Grrrls That Rock
Life Is Strange became a perfect storm of teenage angst, friendship, and adorable quirkiness backed by thoughtful storytelling and a heart-in-throat twist.
The story takes place in a struggling fishing village in the Pacific Northwest; a setting that plays seamlessly with hipster-savvy characters and strong female leads. You take control of our budding photographer protagonist, Max, on her 18th birthday as she’s recently enrolled in prestigious art-driven boarding school for gifted students. In the opening scene she has a crazy premonition and discovers that she has ability to control—reverse—time. It’s awesome. It’s every indie stereotype personified in a cataclysm of so much sugary-pop goodness that it hurts your teeth and rots your mind—only to later sideswipe you with depth and soul.
Release Day! The Final Book: Gods
Hardcover, Paperback, and Digital!
Today is the big day–the release of my novel The Final Book: Gods! Available in hardcover, paperback, and digital versions from all major online retailers–order today. Please help spread the word and leave reviews!
Hardcover $24.99:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/sw-hammond/the-final-book-gods/hardcover/product-23221541.html
Paperback $12.99:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/099628544X
Amazon Kindle $4.99:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XQKD8Q3
Apple iBooks $4.99:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-final-book-gods/id1222379123?ls=1&mt=11
Multi-cultural, multi-historical, and spanning man's faith across time, The Final Book is a controversial and blasphemous last chapter of humanity.
In the beginning there was love. The Goddess of Life in an elated romance with a beloved mortal. Her sister killed him. Their combined actions ripping a hole in destiny and plaguing mankind with an age of unprecedented corruption, vicious holy wars, and religious absolution.
Though long forgotten by the mortals they serve, Zeus and his Pantheon continue to foster and protect mankind which is tearing itself apart—but even God isn't infallible. After failed diplomacy, the King of the Gods is left with no choice but to take the persona of a modern man—the famed genetic scientist Dr. Hork. In an effort to preserve the future by reshaping the past, Dr. Hork uses Project Genesis—the transfer of consciousness—to send subjects back in time. However, not without devastating failures. Subjects of the experiment wreak havoc upon humanity until a familiar character is reborn to correct the course.
Reincarnated and ready to fulfill his true destiny, Joshua Bach is the catalyst the Gods have been waiting for—and Dr. Hork’s final beacon of salvation. Ferociously idealistic, the free-spirited young man struggles to come-of-age in a time and society ruled by money and corruption. Under the wing of the Gods, Josh rediscovers his purpose, along with a love that can only be considered timeless.
Set in three periods—modern day, the 1960s, and ancient Mesopotamia—this epic blends human history, ruthless mythology, science fiction, and the supernatural to tell a love story of the future.
June 6, 2017
The Final Book: Interview With Laurie Jenkins
From favorite characters to dreamy love letters!
Laurie was kind enough to help with some promotion for the upcoming release of The Final Book: Gods and did a short interview that was originally featured on her website. Laurie is avid GoodReads reviewer and runs an active book blog. Be sure to visit her site to enter to win an Amazon giftcard and signed copies of my book! The contest runs through June 18.
Tell us about a favorite character from your book.
Gods is unique in that several characters share the workload—there’s not a single “most important” protagonist. Very quickly you’ll realize who the plot is centralized around, but it’s a team effort. With that said, I’m quite fond of Ana. She’s not in the book a ton, but she’s immensely important. I guess she’s what I would like to aspire to be—she’s burdened by unimaginable cosmic knowledge, but chooses to be happy in spite of it. She knows of all the tragedy that is about befall man, yet remains compassionate and excited about life. She just seems like someone I’d love to hangout with—she also doesn’t take any of William’s crap, and that’s admirable.
What are these things called “Artifacts” scattered throughout the book?
The artifacts are meant to add historical context to the story. Most of the artifacts are factual snippets of history that plays well and supports the fictional tale. These artifacts are presented to the reader by an ominous narrator that begins the story in the prologue. This narrator curated these particular bits of history and used them to tie together the over-arching story.
June 5, 2017
Big Data: Removing Bias Within The Judicial System
Ideological partisanship is deteriorating our society.
It’s very nature fosters inequality, stunts progression, and detracts from the common good. This poison has completely consumed the Executive and Legislative branches of government, and continues to leech into the Judicial—the people’s single safe-haven that promises unwavering and unbiased justice to all regardless of race, class, creed, or religion. By using big data, we can offer empirical certainty that equal and consistent justice is being served—and if it’s not, the ability to remove its offenders.
I: The Constitution and Why Partisanship Doesn’t Apply
There have been no news articles, no insight offered by academic or legal scholars, no pragmatic solutions that have overwhelmingly demonstrated the value of partisanship. Ever. Nothing of these arguments in support bias show how the effects of its good outweigh that of its bad—it’s all theory and opinion to convince us that partisanship is necessary. And it’s worked. We willingly accept—celebrate—the pillaging of our democratic system in the name of a political party and even go as far to evangelize it.
