Weston Ochse's Blog, page 2

Our Keto Reset - Day 1

Day 1.
Nothing spectacular happened yesterday, but then this was just the first day. We didn't have any urges, probably because of the eating debauchery we had last weekend.

We got up and walked a mile before I went to work.

Today's menu:

Breakfast:
Two Hard Boiled Eggs
2 oz Cheddar Cheese
Mid Morning: 
2 oz Cashews
Lunch:
2 Inside Out Sandwiches (mortadella, Genoa salami, ham, Munster cheese, banana pepper, roasted red pepper, mayo, and lettuce)
Afternoon:
2 oz Colby Jack Cheese
Dinner:
Rotisserie Chicken
Cauliflower

As you can see, nothing fancy. We don't have the cookbooks we ordered yet, so we're playing it safe.

Of note, I only ate half my breakfast and half of my lunch. I'm not used to eating in the mornings, but 5 smaller meals a day is better than two large ones so.We split the chicken down the middle for dinner and still had enough left over for each of us for tomorrow's lunch.

The only time I was ever challenged was when I went to a matinee at the movie theater. There's literally nothing there I can eat or drink. I bought a water and it cost $4. Now, that's a crime.

We both recorded our starting weights. We will not share what they were, but we will share ho much we lose or gain day to day.

Weston: 0
Yvonne: 0

Our Keto Reset - Day Zero

In this era of save games and respawning, one wonders why we can't do it in real life. Why can't I respawn while my friends stand over my body to keep others from stealing my loot? Why can't I just save game when I'm thin and healthy, indulge for a while, then return to the save? One thing we know for sure is that those options don't exist in reality.

One way I've been able to get healthy is by deploying. Sure, I've seen people return fatter from a tour in Afghanistan, but that takes effort. What with no alcohol and the opportunity to workout every day, one can't help but become more healthy. Well, I don't really want to deploy again anytime soon. My PTSD is finally under control thanks to a happy pill and the world's best therapist, so that option is out.

What about the South Beach Diet, you ask?

Or why not do the grapefruit fast all the Hollywood movie stars do to get in shape for their movies? Pro tip. Don't believe for a second they drink grapefruit juice and then poof! they're suddenly hard bodies. They have dietitians and private trainers who work them like dogs. Since I can't afford either of those that option is out to me as well.

What we have seen is that we've had a lot of friends do Keto and succeed. They make the lifestyle change. They dedicate themselves and are healthier for it. So, Yvonne and I thought we'd like to do the same. She has some pounds that are so dedicated to staying with her, she can't even bribe them to go away. And between my stress, an injury, and some depression, I've gained too much weight to be healthy. So we're going to try Keto for health and body image.

But we're only going to try it for 60 days (at least that's the goal).

We want to use Keto and accompanying Ketosis to cleanse our body of the results of way too much refined sugar, grains, and other bad things. Then, at the end of 60 days, we'll look at how we want to proceed and move in that direction.

At this point on Day Zero we don't really want pizzas, pasta, and bread to disappear from our life. The idea is after 60 days, find a way to moderate the intake of those horrible but delectable foods, while keeping the best of Keto around.

I can see the purists looking askance at us. They have every right to. Everyone has to choose their own paths and this is ours. Is it the right one? We hope it is but we're not sure. Nothing in life is certain except death and taxes and that Disney is going to mess up the Star Wars franchise. But at least we'll try.

What we're going to do is make daily posts. Yvonne and I are both influencers and taste makers and we have a lot of people who look to us for advice. I can tell you this, we're going to eat well. We're going to try some great Keto recipes. If this journey is going to be hard, we might as well eat well on the way.

So here we go.

Day Zero.

Keto Reset Day 1 starts tomorrow.

Wish us luck.

A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs

I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of this book witch contains a small novel and a rich novella. I was eager to read it and justifiably so. Here's my blurb for the book.

"John Horner Jacobs' fiction has always been subversively stylistic. He wields his lean muscular prose with an ease that has been gifted. Where his earlier fiction impresses with its reach, The Sea Dreams It Is The Sky explodes with cosmic understatement and it is the words between words where he succeeds the most. Reminiscent of the best of Jorge Luis Borges and Roberto Balano, Jacobs doubles-down with his own mythology and shares with us a world of hidden brigades, secret associations, and a lushness of spirit that carries our inquisitive main character far beyond the shores of safe belief. Then he gifts us with My Heart Struck Sorrow, a southern gothic musical haunting that becomes an almanac of the human spirit. His characters in each story are in search of something they don't know, but in the end find something they aren't sure of. I'd say this is Jacobs' best, but I know it's not true as long as he continues writing. As much as I am in love with what he has written, its what's yet to come that has me waiting and breathless." - Weston Ochse, Best-selling author of SEAL Team 666 and Burning Sky
The book is available to the public on October 8th. I encourage you to pre-order it from your favorite bookstore. Try Mysterious Galaxy or search for it on IndiBound (your link to independent booksellers).

New Author Alert - James E. Mack

There's an author who needs some love. Cards on the table. I know the guy. He's written two books. Both take place in Scotland. Both are thrillers, but not necessarily military. Here's the thing. I love Scotland. If you've been then you know the deal. If you haven't this is a great chance to learn about the wonderful country.
The author is James Mack. I know a metric ton of information about him so let me share what he says about himself on his Amazon page so I don't speak out of turn.

James E Mack was born in Scotland but spent much of his childhood abroad, gaining a love of nature, the outdoors and wildlife. He became a Commando in the late 1980s and a member of a Special Operations unit, with a 22-year career serving in many of the world's troubled hot spots.

James is the real deal.
His first book is Only the Dead .

In the chaos of conflict, Sergeant Finn Douglas, a veteran Royal Marine Commando, is forced to commit a terrible act to save the lives of his men. Haunted by his actions and devastated by the loss of his family to a terrorist attack, he turns his back on war and killing and escapes to a wilderness off the coast of Scotland.

As a team of Military Police are dispatched to track Finn down and bring him to justice, it provides one of the men with the opportunity to redress an old grudge against the Marines.

And he will stop at nothing to see this through.

When a gang of violent wildlife-poachers shatter his sanctuary, Finn has no choice but to intervene in order to save the lives of the people and animals that he has come to admire. But his actions soon provide the Military Police with a lead, and incur the wrath of the poachers' psychotic leader.

In the mid-winter, mountain wilderness, the manhunt becomes a race against time between the forces of law and order and a vicious murderer determined to take his revenge.

A novel similar to Only the Dead is Bearskin which takes place in Appalachia.
His second book is Fear the Dark . 

Police Constable Tess Cameron loves her job in the coastal village of St Cyrus. With her Sergeant due for retirement, Tess has her sights set on making detective. Life is good. 

When she arrests a violent stranger who refuses to reveal his identity, Tess suspects that all is not as it seems. Digging further into the background of the mysterious stranger, she finds that he is a disgraced former Special Forces soldier with a chequered past.

When the worst storm of winter hits the village and communications and electricity are cut, the severe weather is blamed. Tess however, feels that something more sinister may be responsible for their isolation.

Because the stranger has friends.

This has the feeling of a rural Attack on Precinct 13. I've been to the setting and James nailed it.
So there you have it. Two great books. Please give them a try.

I'm Coming to Patreon - Will You Join Me?

The big news for 2019 is I'm going to create a Patreon page. It's going to launch Feb 1. I was down on this for a long time, but that's before I realized what Patreon was there for. I thought a Patreon was for me, but I was totally wrong. Patreon is there for you. It's so that you can interact with some of your favorite creators, get personal with them, and receive great rewards for your Patreonage.
This is a preview of my Patreon About You page. Please take a look at it and note that my first ten Patreons will receive a SEAL Team 666 Team Black patch and a special note from me. Also note the rewards I'm going to be providing to my Patreons.

Hi! I'm Weston Ochse (pronounced oaks). Welcome to my Patreon page.

But wait, Who is this Weston Ochse?

Good question.

As of this writing, I’ve had 30 professionally published books. My work has appeared in DC and IDW comics. I’ve had nonfiction in Soldier of Fortune magazine. My work has received movie interest, once from Wesley Snipes, and currently from Dwayne Johnson. With over 120 professionally published works of short fiction, I’ve written my own original works, as well as worked in the universes of Predator, Hellboy, X-Files, Aliens, and Clive Barker’s Midian. I was one of the original writers of V-Wars which inspired the TV show soon to come from Netflix. I also write poetry and have been published in both peered and non-peered literary journals.

I'm also a tastemaker. I turn you onto things you never knew you wanted turned on to. I find things that are new and cool and unusual and share them so you can try new and cool and unusual things.

I'm a born story teller. My ancestors traveled the now British Isles, telling stories, singing songs, delivering poetry, and performing for those who would provide patronage. Fast forward to the 21st Century, we still have bards, but the venue has completely changed. No longer are we performing in dusty castles with questionable food and wine. We perform at small venues or from the comfort of our own homes. I am a modern bard (you don’t want me to sing) and have been patronless for too long. I seek patrons to inspire me, to make me want to work for them, to be a part of my creative process. I’m seeking you.

Why call this Living Dangerously? Many of you also know I have a military background, including two recent tours to Afghanistan. I’ve been to 57 countries, travel extensively for my writing, and often find myself in unusual places. When I’m not writing, I like hiking, fly fishing, cooking, and reading. I prefer single malt Speyside Scotch whiskeys, California Chardonnay, and seafood. I used to be good at martial arts before I got old, but I’m still one of the first to run into any fight to protect my people. I live the life of a Chaotic Good Paladin. It’s just who I am. I’d rather live dangerously than live safely--live boringly. Wouldn’t you? Do you want to live dangerously with me?

But enough about me. Let’s talk about you. I want you to be my Patreon. I want to write and perform for you. Here are some of the things I will be working on, and according to which Tier you choose, you will have exclusive access to these things:
 Short Stories I want to write for you. Each month, I will give you some topics and take your input and write a short story based on what you’ve asked for. I mean, who does that?I will also write the occasional exclusive essay and post pictures of what I am doing from day-to-day. You can share as well. In fact, we will live dangerously together.A book of poetry about my time in Afghanistan. I thought that I might want to write a story or an essay, but neither those would capture the essence of what I want to relate. I think only through the lens of verse can I best explain how it feels to be in such a place. This will be exclusive to you until it’s formally published.Novellas about the continuing adventures of Special Unit 77. They’ve already had two adventures, and I will provide those to you over a period of time. Then I will begin working on the next one, then the next, then the next. Fans of SEAL Team 666 will love Special Unit 77. Set in late 1960s San Francisco, Special Unit 77 protects the West Coast of America from supernatural attack by foreign powers. This will be exclusive to you until it’s formally published.A serialized novel called The Lost City of Hateful Things. I started it and set it aside, but I want to finish it. Only by having patrons can this happen. This will make you a true patron because I will be finishing it for you. What’s it about? A group of five injured soldiers in the Walter Reed Army Hospital Wounded Warrior Clinic are bored out of their minds. At the urging of one of their group, they decide to take a busman’s holiday to find the lost city of Uqbar, mentioned in fiction and non-fiction for hundreds of years. The city is also the centerpiece of Argentinian author Jorge Louis Borges’ short story Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.They will find the city and it will be terrible, because they will discover why it is also known as the City of Hateful Things. This will be exclusive to you until it’s formally published.And more. I will frequently give you surprises. Random acts of creativity for your patronage.
What is exclusivity? It’s just as it sounds. I write these for you. Some of these will be published once everything is finished. For the poetry, novel and the novella, I will make some poems and the first few chapters of each available to the general public only so they know what they are missing. But for the rest of it, it’s all exclusive. This is what you are paying for and this is what you get.

I’ll also get personal and you can get personal back. I’ve been a patron of Fucking Amanda Palmer for a while and she gets personal. Will I get that personal? Will I show you my tits? I could but it would be disappointing. So I might not get as personal as she does, but I will spill my guts on occasion and ask your for advice.

Here’s something I read recently from someone wondering about how we think about our patrons and it stuck with me.
 “It was frightening to be so personal with strangers, and others warned me against it. But these were the people who had urged us to be entirely true to ourselves. And I think perhaps some part of me wanted to test the limits of this newfound support for authenticity. Was it limited to the book project? Or did it extend to us as individuals? Each time I’d write something intimate, I’d cringe as I hit the “post update” button. Each time I’d expect someone to accuse me of “oversharing” or being “unprofessional.” But the result of my openness was not the rejection or criticism, I expected. The result was kindness, warmth, trust, and empathy. And something beautiful was happening for backers who chose emotional investment. They, like me, began to sense connection and meaning that transcended the book. Long before we delivered anything, several backers who had supported hundreds of campaigns said that ours was their favorite."  -Wendy Ice, Courtesy of Amanda Palmer
This is what I am looking for.

I want a connection.

I want to connect with you.

So, thank you for being my patron.

I’m excited to create with you.

I’m excited to create for you.

Oh Snap - Looks Like I Have A Shared Universe

I've been doing this subconsciously for longer than I have been doing it consciously. After thirty books, including hardback novellas and short story collections, as well as more than 140 published short stories, I'm realizing that many of them live in the same universe and am beginning to impose an intentionality to them.

Books like Grunt Life, Grunt Traitor and Grunt Hero, clearly can't be part of the shared universe because I basically fuck up the planet until there's only a few of us left.


Similarly, I can't include Empire of Salt (Zombies) or the Vampire Outlaw books (SF). But there are a lot I can include.

What made me do this?

It really struck me last year when I was planning to write Dead Sky, which I just turned in last week to Solaris Boos. I knew I was going to have astral projection (Spoiler) in the book, so I hearkened all the way back to my first novel, Scarecrow Gods, which also included astral projection. By having the same astral rules, I made them shared universe.

I'm also referencing characters, ideas, and units from other books. I've yet to have a character cross over, but I'm planning that now. A little late after 30 books, I know, but better late than never.

Well, I do have a Special Unit 77 appearing in Dead Sky, so maybe that's a crossover.

Then I saw a Patreon only post (I think--or was it a newsletter--cant find it--maybe a FB post, oh well) from Brian Keene that listed all the books and stories in his universe. Knowing how much Brian puts out (lol), it was an impressive list. So I figured I'd better up my game and do the same so my fans can get what they want. My list isn't going to be complete for awhile, because I'm in the seemingly forever process of recording all of my short stories and novellas into a data base, but I have to start somewhere.

I'm not sure what to call it but for now I'll use the mega lame name of The Shared Universe of Weston Ochse.

Here they are so far:

Novels:Scarecrow GodsRecalled to LifeThe Golden ThreadSEAL Team 666ST666: Age of BloodST666: Reign of EvilBurning SkyDead SkyNovellas:
Cold War Gothic (Special Unit 77)The Bohemian Grove(Special Unit 77)
Novels in Progress:
OberonThe Red UnicornThe Devils Swing The Murder KingFree Riders Bone Chase Well, that's it so far. I'm open for some input. What does everyone think? Did I miss anything?

Anyone Remember Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser or Fritz Leiber?

This is a joyously fun tale starring Hemmo and Doogie and hooker mermaids, talking Sturgeons, and sentient octopi, set in 1950s Astoria, Oregon.

Reposting this from editor Eric Guignard.

DAY 2 OF ANNOUNCING! Table of Contents for: POP THE CLUTCH: THRILLING TALES OF ROCKABILLY, MONSTERS, AND HOT ROD HORROR

I’ll be posting all contributors here, one-a-day, to reveal the table of contents for the latest anthology that I’ve created: Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror, to be published by Dark Moon Books in January 14, 2019!

DAY 2 of 18: Weston Ochse
1. Seanan McGuire presents “The Golden Girls of Fall”
2. Weston Ochse presents “Sea Lords of the Columbia”


EXCERPT:
. . . Hemmo slapped his beer down and open-mouth-ogled his war buddy and best friend. “What do you mean the fish spoke to you?”
Hemmo Saarsgaard was an acre tall compared to Doogie and as angular as a pike. They each wore a white t-shirt underneath leather jackets. Blue jeans and combat boots finished their ensemble. Doogie couldn’t help note that they were still in uniform albeit not the same uniform they’d worn in Korea. The difference was that back then they’d been part of something—part of something special. Now they were just—they weren’t part of anything. They were just drifting like every other war-aged man in America back in the Land of the Big PX with no focus and no prospects.
Doogie pushed the ennui aside and stood a little straighter. “Just as I said. It spoke to me.”
“I mean, did its lips move? Did it swim up to you and begin a conversation? I mean, come on, Doogie, you can’t just lead with, Did I tell you what the fish said?”
“It didn’t swim up. I caught it. I just told you. And no, its lips didn’t move. It spoke to me in my head.”. . .
—“ Sea Lords of the Columbia” by Weston Ochse



ABOUT: WESTON OCHSE
WESTON OCHSE is the author of more than twenty books. His work has appeared in various anthologies and magazines, including The Tampa Review, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Soldier of Fortune, IDW, and DC Comics. His work has also been a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award five times and he’s been honored to have won the Bram Stoker Award for First Novel. He’s recently worked on several franchises, including Aliens, Predator, Hellboy, Clive Barker’s Midian, V-Wars, Joe Ledger, and X-Files. He splits his time between Arizona and Oregon and absolutely loves the outdoors. When he’s not writing, you can find him hiking, running, fly fishing, or just fusting about.

PREORDER NOW FOR THIS AND 17 OTHER TALES OF THRILLING FUN AND IMAGINATION!!
Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Clutch-Thrilling-Ro…/…/1949491056
Publisher’s Page: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/pop_the_clutch.html
Releasing: January 14, 2019

“A fitting tribute to the 1950s with this 18-story compendium of hot rods, rock ’n’ roll, and creature features come to life.” —Publishers Weekly

Templeton Gate Reviews Burning Sky

I was chuffed as they say in the UK about this review. I love these guys and constantly want to impress them because if I can do that, it means I've done something. Looks like I did. 5 stars. Wow.
Here's an excerpt:

This is highly recommended. I'm willing to follow wherever Ochse leads, and I need to track down some of his earlier work. Yesterday I rated this 5 stars at Amazon and Goodreads, and also mentioned that the author might be surprised about other books I thought of while reading. One of them was still very much fresh in my mind, since I had read Joe Haldeman's Hugo and Nebula winner Forever Peace for the first time last week. What I'm referencing is only the part about the Jupiter Project and the speculation as to what might happen if it was completed. Another book I thought of is Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker, still one of the best books I've ever read. It is all about the vastness of the cosmos, the wide range of species that dwell on various planets of the far-flung galaxies, and the possible discovery of the ultimate creator of it all. I've typed several other sentences, edited them, then decided to delete them as too spoilery. I'll leave it as an exercise for other readers to figure out why those books came to mind. Is there an ultimate beginning point to the universe, or an ultimate end point, or is it a perpetual motion machine, destined to repeat forever? Is everything Boy Scout experiences part of the fugue? Will he ever escape it? I don't know yet, but I'm anxious to find out. If you're not into such musings, if you only want military action (there is plenty of that here) this might not be the book for you. If you're game for things beyond the material world, even as a mere thought experiment, there is much here to satisfy. It has prompted me to do more research into Zoroastrianism and other spiritual disciplines, which I hope to do before the announced sequel, Dead Sky, is released.

You can read the entire very lengthy review here.

Radioactive Reviews Burning Sky

I was very psyched to see that Radioactive Book Reviews decided to review Burning Sky. They are known to be a no shit hard-assed review site that can be trusted. 
Here's an excerpt.

Overall this book was good, but not my new favourite. I really think there’s a huge difference between what the book looks like on the outside, what the description describes it to be, and what it actually is. I think if you like books about army guys and girls killing things and battling their own problems as well as supernatural ones, you’re going to like this. If you like books that change their entire being in the middle, you’re going to like this. And if you like books that confuse you a little but in a good way, then this is the book for you. 

To read the entire review, you can find it here. 

Burning Sky Makes Another Best of 2018 List

Adman, Bonvivant, and Author, John Hornor Jacobs had his own best list for 2018. Among many illustrious books, he included Burning Sky. Here's what he had to say:

I really enjoyed this book. I’ve said elsewhere that Weston’s short fiction moves with terrifying grace, but his novels have a muscular poetry to them. Burning Sky, his newest novel, moves with urgency and forcefulness with the precision of, well, a military combat team, which just so happens to be the center and beating heart of this fascinating novel. It starts already rolling hard and continues, with some twists and turns and an elegant mystery that sneaks up on you along the way, to a cataclysmically great ending. Ochse’s inclusion of Zoroastrianism (a word, I have learned, I have a terrible time spelling without digital help) is inspired and really caught me in its grasp – I realized how little I actually know about it – so it offers a rich and intricate world for readers to discover, delivered by Weston’s assured voice. Wes makes you care about this menagerie of hard-bit soldiers, drawing you in to feel like you’re part of the team, and then he does horrible things to them. And he fucks with your head while he’s at it. If you like brilliantly rendered military fiction, if you like cosmic horror with new and interesting takes on mythology (seriously, he opens the door a crack for you by the end, exposing the potential for so much more), it’s not a book to be missed. Thankfully, there are more stories coming in this series.

To see his entire list and make sure you have the right books on your TBR, follow this link.