Weston Ochse's Blog, page 40

Blood Ocean and Demons

Many of you probably know that I finished my first round of edits for my Abaddon Books novel, Blood Ocean, at the beginning of September. Although I didn't have enough time to send them out to my Beta Readers before I sent the novel to my editor, I did send them nonetheless, hoping for comments and corrections I could add in the final round of edits. But that was it. Since then, it has been a black hole of comments, the gravitational pull so severe, it had begun ripping free ideas that my novel was a crapfest where nothing happened that anyone cared about. But then, one of my Betas, Paul Legerski, who I first met when I lived in L.A., Twittered the following comment to me--

"Combine parts Tarzan, Three Musketeers, Peter Pan, add a splash of Hawaiian Horror, a splash of Far Eastern Martial Arts, a dollop of 1970s flair, a skewer of WWII Nazis, shake well, and serve-- call it BLOOD OCEAN and drink deeply. Brilliant! This is gonna be huge!"

Yeah. Paul saved me from myself and that vigorous and vicious monster, self-doubt.Now to hear back from my editor. I expect it any day now. If it's true to form, the manuscript will bleed red from track changes. But that's okay. It's never as many edits as I think and ultimately not as many as it needs.

Do me a favor. I've already had several people email me that they pre-ordered it. Not sure if they charge you now or later. What I would like you to do is add it to your wishlist either on Amazon or Barnes and Nobles. Even better would be to contact your favorite bookstore and ask them to put you on a waiting list for the book. I recommend Mysterious Galaxy for one of the best brick and mortar stores on the planet. Although they have stores in San Diego and Redondo Beach, they do heavy business online as well. You can contact them there. Tell them you'd like to be on the 'Reserve List' for Blood Ocean.





On Thursday, I received the John Skipp-edited anthology DEMONS in the mail. It's a big, hardback-sized, paperback book at 631 pages. I am so happy to be in it. Frankly, it was touch and go. Skipp loved my story, but there was some concern that the publisher Black Dog and Leventhal might find the subject matter a little too disturbing.


But after Dinah Dunn at Black Dog read the story, it was a done deal. In fact, I was at the World Horror Convention when I got the text from John telling me I was in. PSYCHED!

So I was so excited when I got the book in the mail that I immediately set about creating this video. You'll note it starts with Take 57. Let's just say I had trouble starting it. Then about halfway through, my wife walks in the front door, coming home from work. Jeese. What a soup sandwich. Still, I left this up and posted it to Facebook because I need to be true to my fans and friends and you need to be able to laugh at me from time to time.

I hope you enjoy it. I also hope that when you pick up a copy of DEMONS that you turn to my story first and learn the glory of a forest filled with demonic still-born babies and a hero you don't want to root for.

Exclusive Interview with Dark Regions Press

From Dark Regions Press Newsletter today: 
Publishing this on my blog for all of you who don't get the newsletter. It includes a free sample story from my brand new collection - MULTIPLEX FANDANGO



Chris Morey: Firstoff, can you tell us a little about Multiplex Fandango? Is there a theme to thebook or are the stories independent of one another? 
Weston Ochse: Fandangomeans many things. 
It's a dance for sure. Most often using triple meter, itcranks along. Much of the Flamenco music is a Fandango. 
Fandango also means 'afoolish or useless act.' But of course the foolishness of such an act is alwaysin the eye of the beholder. Rarely do those doing something like a fandangothink it's foolish or useless. But to me, above all, fandango is a journey. 
Kevin Reynolds, who went on to direct such movies as The Beast, Rapa Nui, RobinHood Prince of Thieves, Dances with Wolves and The Count of Monte Cristo, madehis directorial debut in 1985 with FANDANGO. Starring a young Kevin Costner andJudd Nelson, it's the story of fiveTexas collegestudents in 1971who go off on one last journey before they part their separateways, many of them going toVietnam.  It's a coming of age movie about how we growup and change.  Quintin Tarantino, one ofmy cinematic idols said of the movie, "Fandango is one of the bestdirectorial debuts in the history of cinema. I saw Fandango five timesat the movie theater and it only played for a fucking week, all right." 
Multiplex is just what it is - it's a mega theater withmultiple screens.  When you put the pairof words together, you get a place with multiple screens delivering a fandangoon each one. My writing has always been called cinematic. That was never myintention, but probably a result of being a child of pop-culture.  The results of that cinematic quality in thisshort story collection are word pictures that will take you places. 
CM: You dedicate the book in part to RayBradbury and Joe Lansdale. Can you tell us how they have influenced you?
Weston Ochse: Besidesthe fact that they are two of the best short story writers in the last 50years? 
Ray Bradbury's The Sound of Summer Running, which became thenovel Dandelion Wine was the mostinfluential story I ever read. It changed the way I looked at literature. Inthat story alone I discovered literature's transformative nature and am stunnedevery time I read it. Then of course there's Dandelion Wine's dark brother, Something Wicked This Way Comes. Bothset in the same fictional town, Something Wickeddeals with the dark in the same ways Dandeliondealt with the light.
Joe Lansdale is aliterary barracuda. He's a razor-sharp tumbleweed that rolls right over yourexpectations. All you have to do is read TheNight They Left the Picture Show to learn that. Joe's ability to entertainwith both humor and violence, while simultaneously dealing with complex socialissues is the model story for me.  In my forwardto the anthology I wrote-- JoeLansdale is a literary samurai. His dojo is the page. His two-fisted katanaswings completely eviscerated my sense of what should be when I read "NightThey Missed the Horror Show" and "On the Far Side of theCadillacDesertwith Dead Folks." We have a lot in common. Our southern heritage. Our love ofmartial arts. Our sly look at the world. I'm double honored and humbled that hewrote the introduction to Multiplex Fandango.


CM: Multiplex Fandango contains yourBram Stoker award finalist short story "The Crossing of Aldo Rey" andyour Bram Stoker award finalist novella "Redemption Roadshow." Whatdo you think of the awards process?

Weston Ochse: Awards mean many things to different people.I appreciate them and am humbled when nominated or when I receive them.  A literary award is recognition by your peersthat for one brief moment you captured magic with your pen. I won the BramStoker Award for Superior Achievement in First Novel right out of the gates.That award, which sits on my office shelf, definitely meant a lot to me. When Iwas writing my first novel I was filled with self doubt. It took me two yearsto write it and I was terribly unsure if it would even be readable. The awardwas a world-sized sigh of relief. Since then I've been nominated for thePushcart Prize for Short Fiction, as well as the two awards you mentioned inyour question. Although they didn't win, they were considered among the fourbest literary works of their type for that year. That alone is an honor that Iterrifically appreciate.
CM: Why do you write horror and weird fiction? What draws you to thegenre?

Weston Ochse: I never planned on being a horror author. Ijust ended up that way. In fact, when I started writing I just wanted to be awriter. Frankly, regardless of what I write, that's who I am. That the endresult is categorized as horror, or dark fantasy, or weird fiction, well,that's someone else's categorization. Interestly enough, I'm not very well readin the horror genre. I'm not a horror snob, it's just that because of my Masterof Fine Arts Degree (or perhaps my degree is a result of that), I'm interestedin all sorts of literature, to include what is called literary fiction. I've gonearound and around with some friends on this subject when they make fun of mefor not knowing this author or that book. What I think I bring to the genre isa fresh voice, fresh blood and a fresh take on horror.
CM: For those who don't know already, how would you describe your writing style?

Weston Ochse: I don't know if I can accurately dothat.  Really, that's for other folks todo. That's like asking Megan Fox how she looks so sexy or a girl how come shekisses so well. As far as my writing style, there are a lot of nice folks whohave written reviews about it. Read Horror recently reviewed a novella of minethusly--'The twists and turns of the plotare handled adeptly and the characterization is superbly nuanced, creatingfully-rounded and believable characters. The prose is crisp, flowing and attimes simply beautiful. The climax, equal parts horrifying and uplifting,leaves you with a sense of one journey ending as a new one begins.' This isa pretty common description of my writing. I've also been called 'a writers writer,' which is a joy everytime I read it. To me that says that not only do readers appreciate my approachto a narrative, but so do my peers and other professionals.
CM: What do you have in the works?
Weston Ochse: PromotingMultiplex Fandango. I want as many people to read it as possible. This is mybest work collected in one volume. Of the more than 100 short stories I'vewritten, these are the very best. Plus it has an amazing cover by Bram Stokerwinning artist Vincent Chong. Heck, with Joe, me and Vince, that's a BramStoker Trifecta. When I'm not promoting this, I'm working on a novel forSt. Martin's Press called SEAL Team 666. I also recentlyfinished an apocalyptic novel for Abaddon Books out ofEngland calledBloodOcean.That's due out in mass market paperback in Feb 2012.
CM: To those unsure about orderingMultiplex Fandango, what would you do? Weston Ochse: I'd send themto you, Chris. Dark Regions has the process down. CM: If fans want to contact you, what's the best way to do that?
Weston Ochse:  www.westonochse.com is my website. Fromthere you can go to my facebook, twitter, and message board. You can alsoaccess my books, free stories, screenplays, etc. It's probably the best placeto go. There's also a link there to a page dedicated to Multiplex Fandango,where authors such as Conrad Williams, Steve Tem, Jeff Marriotte, Rain Graves,Rocky Wood, Steven Spruill and Dani Kollin have all provided positive comments. Click here to read more about or order Multiplex Fandango by Weston Ochse!










Free short story from Multiplex Fandango by Weston Ochse now available for download!








We are happy to announce that Multiplex Fandango by Weston Ochse is now in stock and shipping to customers!  We are now offering a free short story from the collection as a downloadable PDF (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):

Image above not loading?  Click here to download the free sample.  
Click here to read more about or order Multiplex Fandango by Weston Ochse!












Multiplex Fandango. Say it. Multi-plex Fan-dan-go. It's beautiful, isn't it? Just rolls off the tongue. It's almost as beautiful and satisfying as the book you may now be holding in your hands, or reading a review about. What we're seeing here is quite possibly the most comfortable, relaxed, and expert takeover that the horror genre has ever seen. With Multiplex Fandango, Weston Ochse has created an incredible collection, and has given the reader one of the smoothest, most satisfying reads they could ever come across. To drive the point home, Joe Landsdale says in the intro that "This is a book that could almost have been written for me.", but I disagree - this book was written for anyone looking for imaginative, intelligent, and thoroughly awe-inspiring, but strangely uplifting scares that force the reader to think more than react." - Paperback Horror
"This is a book that could almost have been written for me."- Eight-Time Bram Stoker Award Winner Joe R. Lansdale on Multiplex Fandango
"Multiplex Fandango is a smooth mix of the old school pulp horror vibe and new storytelling, elegantly crafted for the modern reader. - Rain Graves, Bram Stoker Award winner for The Gossamer Eye
"Weston Ochse is to horror what Bradbury is to science fiction -- an artist whose craft, stories and voice are so distinct and mesmerizing that you can't help but be enthralled. Multiplex Fandango is yet another in a long line of exclamation points that reminds us of that fact." - Dani Kollin, Prometheus Award-winning author of The Unincorporated Man
"The truth of the matter is that for all the drive-in movie references, what Weston Ochse has really created in Multiplex Fandango is a travelogue. Acting as narrator and guide, Weston takes you on a trip to places familiar and obscure--New Orleans, the Sonoran desert, Mexico's Pacific coast, and the dark, impenetrable reaches of the soul. He shows off sights that chill the blood, and as with any good trip, the things seen and experienced along the way will stay with you for a lifetime." - Jeff Mariotte, Novelist and Comic Book Author
"Make way for a new powerhouse on the block. Hard work and formidable skills have already shot-gunned Ochse to the front of the genre's exciting new pack of writers. With creative brawn, brains, and balls, the guy's locked, loaded, and switched to full-auto, blazing away with his unique and original brand of modern horror, one of the few new writers, I'd say, who will help re-define the field for the future."- Master of Dark Fiction Edward Lee on Weston Ochse
Click here to read more about or order Multiplex Fandango by Weston Ochse!

Freedom to Write

Freedom to Write is a loaded title. On the surface, it seems like this would be an essay about being free to write what you want-- politically? Most of us are, unless we live in countries like Myanmar or North Korea.

No, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm really talking about limitations-- writing limitations --but I don't want to use that word. I hate the word limitation and despise its existence.

Limitation is the opposite of freedom. If words have power, then limitation has power, after all, it is the result of self editing, self imposition, and self doubt. The common theme in all those words is the word self. That is you!

So okay, I'll just come right out and say it -- Self-imposed Limitations.

I once said I'd never write a zombie novel. I thought my gawd, how prosaic is that? Zombies have been so done they are over done. Then I spoke with the editor of Abaddon Books in England and he said that he'd be interested in seeing a pitch for a zombie novel from me. That's the sort of motivation we all dream of-- to have an editor ask you for something that could be made into a mass market paperback? So I pitched Abaddon and ultimately wrote the book Empire of Salt, which has done Great Guns for Abaddon. I was able to put my own stamp on the genre, creating a work that adds to the collection of zombie literature. I am so glad that I didn't succumb to my self limitation not to write a zombie novel. There's a good chance that my current success is predicated on this.

Self-editing. Self-editing is the interference in the creative cycle of one's ideas on what should or should not be included in a narrative. Self-editing is the choice we make as we write something regarding which word to use. This is normally fueled by what we each individually bring to the narrative. I've often found that the first word is the best word to use because it is the product of creativity rather than the product of a 20/20 editorial vision. I'd rather change the context of the word than change the word. Anything less is being untrue to the narrative.
Self Imposition. What the hell does that mean? I mean when you the writer impose yourself on the narrative construct. Who you are when you are writing informs the characters you write. You have to consciously remember this because your character might not share your point of view. It probably won't even share your gender or sexual preference. If you want to get good at this write some stories with as far an opposite of yourself as possible, then re-read it and see if it rings true? You'll find out more about yourself in this process than any three trips to the psychologist AND become a better writer.
Self-doubt. Lee Child wants you to have self doubt. Stephen King wants you to have self doubt. Danielle Steele wants you to have self doubt. Hell, I want you to have self doubt. Because if you stop writing and working because of some internalized belief that your work is substandard then it makes all of us who write without self-doubt, or who are able to conquer it, better able to be published. The more of you self doubters there are the easier my path is to publishing success. Me with zombies from the Tucson Zombie Walk whom I never would have met if I'd allowed self doubt to creep into my creative process
So you have the complete freedom to write as long as you beware of your SELF. You can be the biggest roadblock to your own success. In fact, you probably are. Talent is one thing. Hard work is another. But the inculcation of freedom to do whatever we want to and with the narrative is something only those of us brave enough to write live with out a net can perform.

I'm fearless. I have no self limitations. I have another novel coming out from Abaddon in Feb 2012 called Blood Ocean and a novel coming out from St. Martin's Press in the Fall of 2012. 

And you ain't like me.

Or are you?

Do you not have the freedom to write?

Then figure out why not.

Coupons for Crack Babies

Coupons.

I see then in magazines, newspapers, fliers. We get the Wednesday paper just to get all the coupons.

Coupons are good.

And coupons are bad.

I've always been of the mind that coupons are like crack. The more you use them the more you want them. I know that I've not intended on buying things and have changed my mind because I had a $2.00 off coupon. So  I spent $10 to save $2.00. Even my simple math can tell me that is a $8.00 loss. But at least I have something to show for it.

When I'm at the grocery store I see women with binders filled with current coupons. I can't imagine how long they take every day putting the new coupons in, replacing the old, and cross referencing. I wonder if they are arranged by food group or by food type. I've always thought I'd arrange it by aisle, especially since I go to the same store 98% of the time. In fact, I go to Fry's so often that I should have my own parking space.

My Wife's Crack Ice Cream HabitLet me talk about Fry's for a moment.  For my corner of Arizona, it's a pretty decent store. They have good meats, good wine, and good seafood. They are my wife's crack ice cream dealer. They are my wine distributor. They have most vegetables and fruit I want and hold frequent sales. I can get a free bite of sushi if I time it right. They have a great deli counter that has my own crack version of meat - mortadella. All in all, besides some hiccups along the way it's been a good store.

And like most stores nowadays, they issue you a VIP card that gives discounts and points towards free gas. When you buy something, the machine spits out additional coupons for something they think you'd buy based on your purchases. They probably use a modified eighth-grade version of the algorithm which is use by Google or Facebook.  If you like this, then try that. If you're friends with this jamoke, then you should friends with this jamoke. That sort of thing.

But when I buy wine from the self-serve checkout a strange thing happens.I get coupons for Enfamil. So the algroythm is saying that people who buy wine also buy Enfamil. The odds are that somewhere a lot of men or women are buying both of these together at great frequency. It has to be. Why else would they offer me baby formula EVERY TIME I BUY WINE!

I wonder if I should bring it to the stores attention.

Me- Excuse me, sir?
Manager- Yes?
Me- Do you know that every time that I buy wine that it gives me coupons for baby formula?
Manager-Isn't that nice.
Me- Don't you think you might be promoting something... unhealthy?
Manager- There's nothing unhealthy about baby formula.
Me- But why do you offer it to everyone who buys wine?
Manager-Wouldn't you?




And so on. The manager I am sure has no idea whatsover. The algorythm was probably created by the same Russian man who offers phone assisstance using the name Peggy.

I mean, I'd understand it if I was buying vodka. At least then I could use the Enfamil to make White Russians.  Yummmm. 

Got formula?

Killercon Survival Rate

Back from Killercon and the Killercon Survival Rate is Las Vegas 0, Me 1. Woot!

This is an excerpt from my reading-- Go ahead and play it as you read the rest. It makes great background music... Thing of it as Weston Rock Star Radio.



Like everyone else, I had an awesome time. I twitted, twatted, facebooked, and message board to all of you living vicariously through me. Here's what I put on Shocklines after Day 1:

Angel McCoy, Chris Marrs, and Eunice MagillKillercon SightingsLatina Hookers.German Tourists.Ed Lee.Crack-addled cross-dressers.Drug pushers.And I kid you not, a man pushing a woman in a wheelchair down the street, trying to pimp her out for wheel chair sex. Yes folks, we are in THAT part of Vegas. (and I love it)After having dinner with my agent, had a few drinks with Gene O'Neil, Gord Rollo, John Mantooth, Shane McKenzie, Bob Meracle, Nate Southard, and Erik Williams. They saw Lee, but failed to bring him around. They said he looked like he was a man on a mission. Hopefully he wasn't chasing down a wheelchair. Nice to be with fellow writers.

The next day, which was the actual first day of the convention, I spent most of it working in my room on SEAL Team 666.

The Beast and Roy RobbinsMore Killercon SightingsLast night was rabid. Had a great time. Interesting sightings included--Tanya, the six foot tall slender black woman who looked like a rail thin Diana Ross. I'm 90% sure she was a woman. I'm a 100% sure she was an escort. She offered me a discount and gave me her phone number. I thanked her, wished her luck and left her off on the 23rd floor.An hour later returning down from the 24th floor, the door to 23 opened. I half expected it to be Tanya and was wondering what to say: "Have a good time?" "Did everything turn out alright?" I mean, what do you say to an escort, post service? But instead of Tanya, it was Suzanne and Rebecca. They were each about 6 feet in heels (what's up with all the tall women?) I'm 100% sure they were women. Suzanne was in a white short wedding dress. Rebecca was in a black short wedding dress. They were going across the street to get married to each other. I wished them a great life. They both wished me the same.

Me Getting DownAt one point there was a headline that worried folks that Killercon had gotten out of hand -- 1 dead, 2 hurt in Nevada casino brawl

 Really, Can't you get an idea of the spirit of Vegas yet? Can't you feel it?


 At the con, it was great to spend time with and sometimes meet for the first time Wrath James White, Laura Hickman, Ray Garton, Jack Ketchum, Rose, O'Keefe, Carlton Melnick III, Jeff Burk, Jeff Mariotte, Jeremy Wagner, Monica O'Rourke, Brian Lumley, Hal Bodner, James James Gurley, Edward Lee, Monica S. Kuebler, William Gagliani, John Skipp, Nate Southard, John R. Little, Misty Dahl, Gene O'Neil, John Palisano, Gord Rollo, Wendy Cooper, Erik Williams, Mercedes Yardley, El G Grande, PS Gifford, Gabrielle Faust, Ben Etheridge, Evil Ed Coulter (Who is from my hometown!), Mike and Michelle Calvillo, Bill Nola, Jasona nd Sunni Brock, Norm Rubenstein, Steven Booth, Bailey Hunter, RJ Cavender, Jason Reinhardt, John Mantooth, Guido Henkel, Chris Marrs, Robert Devearoux, Jack Staynes, Angel McCoy, David-Matthew Barnes, and so many damn others I know I'll be adding to this for days.And although I appreciated Ed Kurtz challenging me to fisticuffs on Twitter, I'm glad that he demured later on.

If @westonochse doesn't meet me at the casino bar he is thereby admitting I could best him at fisticuffs. There: I said it.Ed_Kurtz_Bleeds

Oooh the fun and games at conventions! Lol. The thing was that I was in the middle of my Rock Star Reading of Playlist at the End, which appeared in Shock Totem Magazine recently. The real question was, where was Ed?Shane McKenzie was cool to meet. Gotta love somene who tweets - Weston was a bad-ass gross-out bouncer. Elvis glasses, baby! Shane won the Gross Out Contest with a very well-wrought tale of grandma sex--- barf!Great convention. The highlight, of course, came on Saturday when my agent, Robert Fleck, brought me the St. Martin's Press contracts for SEAL Team 666 for me to sign. I can be seen here doing just that-- Pictures taken by Rose O'Keefe. Special thank to Eunice Magill for the wine. And to Walter Danenhower and Bob Meracle for being such great fans!



Mike Calvillo
Walter Danenhower
Jon Mayberry, me and Jeff Marriotte's Eyes
Jason Brock and Ben Ethridge
Gene O'Neil, Gord Rollo, John Palisano, and Chris Marrs
Guido Henkel
Ed Kurtz
Skipp and Lee and the Deadly Four Fingers of Death
That's all for now. There are plenty of other pictures out there, but these are some of mine.

Thanks Killercon.

Thanks Vegas.

No hookers were injured during the making of this blog.

Two Reviews - Velvet Dogma and Nancy Goats

When a review starts out '

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"I am not well versed in the realm of Science Fiction. I have read very little in the genre as my mind doesn't work that way. That being said, I read Weston Ochse's VELVET DOGMA because I love all of his other fiction output and figured this would be an OK side trip until BLOOD OCEAN is unleashed early next year. Boy, was I wrong!... Ochse amasses a pretty broad landscape...drops these great characters in and let's them go! A really smooth prose and a deft eye to trickery, Weston Ochse has written a modern tale set in the future that should have all of us readers considering what we are doing to this Country...and to ourselves. A very well thought-out meditation...one I wasn't sure SF could be the backdrop for...and I was wrong." Paul Legerski 

Velvet Dogma Reviews

Several reviews this week forVelvet Dogma.These folks have been included in the contest.

HORRORWORLD: Horror World used the words 'blown away,' 'pleasantly surprised,' 'rip-roarin'' and 'incredibly handsome,' when they recently reviewed my original eNovel, Velvet Dogma. Okay, one of those is made up, but it was 'insinuated' okay? Please read the full review and if you haven't managed to get your copy yet, which is less than the cost of a Happy Meal.

I was blown away at the quality of the author's prose.  Talk about smooth!  I am not a technologically adept man, but Ochse did a marvelous job of taking me through a world that is nothing short of an electronics engineers dream.  I still don't pretend to understand how even half of how the gizmo's in Velvet Dogma work, but Ochse did a great job presenting them to the reader in such a way that his succinct descriptions of their concepts alone was enough to get me into the story.  And most importantly for me, Ochse kept the names of the characters, buildings, events, and even most of the gizmo's simple enough where I could remember them without having to create a spread sheet to keep track of them all.

For the full review go here.

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From Wendy Trakes: Another action-packed adventure, Velvet Dogma shows us a frightening potential future shaped by technology and natural disaster through the eyes of Rebecca Mines who has just been released from a 20 year extended vacation in solitary confinement. Rebecca finds herself a visitor in her own city as she is chased from one part of Los Angeles to the next by both police and the criminal element, creating a snapshot image of the high tech new world and the underbelly of society. The crime she committed continues to haunt her as she is hunted from the very moment of her release. This imaginative high-tech thriller is filled with twists and turns, underground worlds and mad scientists, medical miracles, gangs and mystical prophets. For the full review go here.

Three more days in the review contest. If you want to be included, please make sure that you post, video tape, or spray paint a review of VD somewhere!

Velvet Dogma Contest

So here it is.

Velvet Dogma has been out for a week now. Downloads from Barnes and Nobles, Smashwords and Amazon U.S. and Amazon U.K. are excellent. So as a reward to all of you intelligent, engaging and handsome people, I am providing this contest.

This will be  review contest, so you get the chance to tell people what you think of Velvet Dogma. It doesn't have to be 5 Stars/Excellent. Any review is a good review as long as you are honest. I have enough faith in my writing that at the very least you have liked the novel and felt that the meager sum of $3.99 (2.81 UK) for my four months work was adequate.

Here are the contest rules: You can review the book anywhere. On your blog, on facebook, on YouTube, on one of the merchant sites, such as Amazon, Smashwords and/or Barnes and Nobles. ANYWHERE. You can even spray paint it on the side of a bridge and photograph it. ANYWHERE. But to qualify for the contest you have to do it my MIDNIGHT on September 17th.


[image error] There will be 4 AWARDS PROVIDED.

One award of a Velvet Dogma T-shirt from a follower of this blog (which means if you join and review by the deadline, you have a chance of winning this award).One award of a Velvet Dogma T-shirt selected at random from all the reviews posted.One award of a Velvet Dogma T-shirt upon the selection of the most original review One Overall Award for Best Review -- Signed, numbered and limited edition of Blaze of Glory, written by Weston Ochse, Published by Bloodletting Press (For information about Blaze of Glory) - $50 value.*Note 1 - To qualify for this contest you must inform me of the presence of the review. I recommend doing it in the comments section of this blog posting, but you can also do it any other way you wish that is effective.


*Note 2 - T-shirts can be black, white or gray-- long-sleeved, short-sleeved, or muscle. And yes, you can win all the awards and have Velvet Dogma shirt to wear for the whole family!

* The Lawyers of Binder, Biter and Screw have informed me that I need to mention that I do not condone any use of public or private property for the promotion of my book, unless you own said property, or have the permission in writing from the property owner, or unless said property belongs to a Third World dictator, then all bets are off.

Living Dangerously Weekly: You Are Who You Read

I saw an article about Gary Paulson in a trade magazine the other day and clipped it out. For years I'd been trying to think of the title of this book I'd read when I was a kid, and there it was in the article.  Hatchet. 
Or so I thought. 
You see, when I lived in New Jersey as an eight year old kid, I'd read this book that stuck with me.  It was about a boy who is lost in the woods... you'll have to forgive my memory. Some of the details are sketchy. The setting was the Catskills, which were not all that far from where I lived. As a kid in 1973, I had a pretty idyllic life. I had the run of the small town we lived in, pedaling my bike furiously from one place to the other. I had one of those banana handle bar, ten dollar, indestructible bikes bought from a creepy guy at the edge of town who sold bikes and lawnmowers and probably hooch. My folks worked far away and I remember getting out of school, rushing home, throwing my books down and taking my bike everywhere. There wasn't a trail in the woods I didn't know.  I knew of the special places, like the bushes with the broken beer bottles where I'd occasionally kneel and sniff like an animal, the smell of stale beer as foreign to me as it would be to any creature of the forest. I remember finding the skeleton of a small animal and storing it in a box that I buried in the woods; one which I'd come back to and investigate with the reverence of a Smithsonian scientist. 
Then my mom brought home a book.     
 Hatchet is about a young boy who survives a plane crash in the Yukon, but that wasn't the one I was thinking of. My Side of the Mountain is the one I'd read back then and damn, but that book affected me. This boy runs away from home and lives off the land in the Catskills for two years. He carved fish hooks. He made his own bowls.  He was like a Jedi-Eagle Scout and I remember wanting to be him.  Every time I'd pedal away from home after that I told myself that I could survive out there if I wanted to. I could run away and be able to fish and eat and hunt just like that kid.  There were times I almost didn't come back. After all, I'd read the book, and like any How-to Manual, as long as I followed the directions of Jean Craighead George, I'd be able to survive.
The next year I read My Brother Sam is Dead.  By James Lincoln Collier, I think this was the first book that made me cry. The novel thrust me into the American Revolution with the protagonist who lived and breathed 1775. I learned about patriotism, duty, loyalty and death. This novel truly affected me. Later when I was a father, this was a book I bought specially for my son, just so he could maybe experience some of what the book meant to me. 
The next year we moved to Tennessee. This would be about 1975 when I was ten, or maybe the next year, I can't be sure. I remember ordering a book from the weekly reader program. I brought the exact change in, put it in the envelope with the paper I'd filled out, and waited an impossible three weeks. When it came, I was astounded.  For the life of me, I cannot figure out the title, though.  I googled and searched, but I just can't find it.  But I can tell you the plot. The book was about a young boy kidnapped and taken to communist China by his father's nemesis. The boy learns Chinese and the ways of the people. He's treated as a second son by the Chinese man, but the boy knows better an always holds the hope of rescue in the back of his mind.  Eventually his father comes and saves him. After a perilous journey, they both escape China. To this moment I can remember lines in that book. I know that you have to boil the liche nut to get it to make a dye so you can cover your skin. 
Fast forward to now.
I've read thousands of books, but arguably, these three books I mentioned affected me more than any others.  They directed my life.  After twenty years in the Army, most as an intelligence guy who speaks Chinese, I can't help but believe that each of those books had a major influence in my life.  I can set a snare as easily as I can boil a liche nut.  Sam taught me humanity, the same humanity I levied as a soldier bearing one of the greatest responsibilities a country can bestow. 
It's utterly amazing how books can influence us.  And with that knowledge, I'm becoming more and more cognizant of what I write.  There were times as I was learning my craft that I wrote pretty much anything that came to mind.  And that was fair.  After all, I was in the learning process.  How could I learn without practice?  But now I feel I have the bones to do about anything I put my mind to. 
A few years ago, I was asked and wrote a story that I took the greatest care with in the WW II anthology A Dark and Deadly Valley. I was concerned that, because I was writing about the immediate aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima, I might not do the horrible day justice. I spent an inordinate amount of time researching and trying to find the perfect way to write the story. Eventually I settled on a personal account by a survivor who'd related how he'd been waiting for a train in the station when the bomb had gone off.  When he awoke, he and hundreds of other commuters were fused together, their skin melted by the blast. I decided to begin there.  So far every review has pointed that story as a star of the book. Hiroshima Falling is a story of which I'm proud. I couldn't have written it ten years ago. I couldn't have written it five years ago. I doubt I could have even written it two years ago.  I think I've grown in my writing and in that growing found a way to see past the story to the reader.  
I hope one day I can write a story that will affect a child or an adult in the way those books affected me. I could have been a businessman, I could have been a doctor, or I could have been a priest.  But those books, the amazing writing and characterization and description somehow wove their way into my subconscious and directed who I was to become. 
To direct one's future.
Now, that's talent.
Incidentally, the rest of the Gary Paulsen article went on about how he was proud to be a teller of tales.  So I'll leave you with this:

"I'm a teller of stories.  I put bloody skins on my back and dance around the fire, and I saw what the hunt was like.  It's not erudite; it's not intellectual.  I sail, run dogs, ride horse, play professional poker and tell stories about stuff I've been through.  And I'm still a romantic; I want Bambi to make it out of the fire."

I think I'm more like Paulsen than any other writer. I write about the stuff I've been through. Pretty much all of my writing is experiential fiction. I envy those who can create whole cloth plots from the ether.
I'm not that guy.
And I'm not sure if I'm a Bambi guy, either.
But I am a romantic and I'd give anything if Old Yeller would survive.
  Weston Ochse is the Bram Stoker-winning author or Scarecrow Gods, as well as the author of a number of novels including Empire of Salt, and soon to be published Blood Ocean (Abaddon Books). His most recent publication is an original eNovel called Velvet Dogma.

Velvet Dogma - Live, Naked and in Your Room

Today is the day.

Ironic, really. On the day that I type THE END onto my latest novel Blood Ocean (Afterblight Chronicles),  the very first science fiction novel I wrote goes on sale. I've already told the story of Velvet Dogma on this blog with -- Velvet Dogma Orphaned No More -- where I told the tale of how it came to be and what happened to it on its publishing journey. I gotta say that I am just damn thrilled that you all are going to be able to read my efforts. It's been six long years and now it's here-- Live, Naked and in Your Room for you to read.

Velvet Dogma has been compared to PK Dick and William Gibson. That's someone else's comparison, not mine. My hubris isn't of sufficient stature to place myself among these giants. I do owe credit to and my mind was stimulated by Gibson's Neuromancer, however. That novel along with Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash are two of the best cyberpunk novels ever written-- hell, best science fiction novels written. You'll notice in Velvet Dogma the influence. Thanks to both these literary genius gentlemen for laying such a brilliant foundation for me to play upon.

So here it is. The book is only published in eBook. I've already been asked to publish it in paperback but I said no. I want to try this medium, which is perfect for a novel about the internet and computing. I've taken Joe Konrath's advice to heart and used some of his eBook guiding principals, primarily in the cover. Isn't it awesome? I've also used a lot of his other advice. Notice inside the book you will find links and excerpts to other books, not all of them my own. Thanks Joe for the help.


Here's where you can find Velvet Dogma for $3.99
Amazon - Velvet Dogma
Barnes and Nobles - Velvet Dogma
Smashwords - Velvet Dogma with a free 20% preview and in all formats