Tuesday, August 26, 2014
a quote from the venerable Larry Spectre
"They said it was madness, but I thought it was common sense! Someone's making your life hell? Get rid of them! You're making your own life hell? Well, then get rid of you! Our benevolent Christian empire didn't see eye to eye with me on such things."
Monday, August 25, 2014
What the hell have I been doing?
For those who keep up with this (if that's anyone), I've been getting questions about Nightmarescape lately. Here's the deal: the first proof had some things that needed to be fixed. I've made the corrections and sent them back to my editor and printer. I should be receiving a second bound proof by the end of this week or early next week at the latest. Once I approve it, they will send me copies within a week or so. The ebook version will follow soon after.
That does not mean that I have become lax or that my ADHD has settled a bit. For the last few weeks, I have been seized with a mania of poetry writing. When I have reached 200 of them, I will compile them into two volumes and release them separately.
What is in these books? Well it's me, so consider the source. You will not find love poetry, the beauty of a tree, etc in these volumes. Instead expect the burn of futile frustrations answered by nihilistic absurdity. If that sounds appealing, then standby for the currently unnamed volumes. If you hate it, perfect. Fuck off.
That does not mean that I have become lax or that my ADHD has settled a bit. For the last few weeks, I have been seized with a mania of poetry writing. When I have reached 200 of them, I will compile them into two volumes and release them separately.
What is in these books? Well it's me, so consider the source. You will not find love poetry, the beauty of a tree, etc in these volumes. Instead expect the burn of futile frustrations answered by nihilistic absurdity. If that sounds appealing, then standby for the currently unnamed volumes. If you hate it, perfect. Fuck off.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Follow Up: Book Review for J.H. Glaze's Northwest
As I said a few days ago, I'd write a review for this one when I got to it and now I'm getting to it. I give you J.H. Glaze's second book in the John Hazard series: Northwest.
Whereas The Spirit Box was all about atmosphere and character development, Northwest takes a different approach and goes for the throat with a brutal survival story. It begins with Hazard having left his job as a police detective and having gone into private paranormal investigations. This has led him to join forces with Dr. Macy Renner, who is planning a trip to investigate unexplained disappearances in the wilds of the American Northwest. Dr. Renner has assembled a group of students along with Hazard to carry out the investigation in the wilderness. At the last minute, they grab a girl named Emily to go along with them as a camera operator. The problem with her...she has recently witnessed a mob hit and hired goons are chasing after her. There are other characters in the cast who come along with their own share of baggage, but in the end, most of them end up being slaughter fodder. Upon getting their private plane knocked out of the sky, the group learns that monstrous carnivorous alien beasts have been responsible for the disappearances and are now looking to consume them.
Hazard is the only person in the group with any real survival experience and the rest of the group is kind of a motley crew (think the people on Whale Wars) that is more or less damned from the start. As I said before, this book relies more heavily on suspense and action than character or atmosphere building. The main development in character is between John and Emily who end up having a pretty well written romantic relationship. You also learn that Dr. Renner is not to be trusted. Glaze also does gore pretty well in this book. It is used to effect, but not to excess. It's kind of a crucial element when you have hulking alien hunger beasts running around.
The suspense is taught throughout from Emily getting chased by thugs in the beginning to the first encounter with the dread creatures and their cannibalistic brood to a canoe ride down a raging river that is pretty sure to end in disaster. It's not something to read if you want to be calm and lower your blood pressure. You will want certain characters to survive and others not so much. There are some pretty cathartic moments when the shitty ones get their comeuppins (don't care if that's a real word or not).
In all, I liked this one and it was a fun direction for Hazard that let him flex his action muscles a little more. Next in the series is Send No Angel, which I'll get to eventually when I finish working on my own shit.
Speaking of which....look for Nightmarescape in early September...the Nightmare begins soon....
Whereas The Spirit Box was all about atmosphere and character development, Northwest takes a different approach and goes for the throat with a brutal survival story. It begins with Hazard having left his job as a police detective and having gone into private paranormal investigations. This has led him to join forces with Dr. Macy Renner, who is planning a trip to investigate unexplained disappearances in the wilds of the American Northwest. Dr. Renner has assembled a group of students along with Hazard to carry out the investigation in the wilderness. At the last minute, they grab a girl named Emily to go along with them as a camera operator. The problem with her...she has recently witnessed a mob hit and hired goons are chasing after her. There are other characters in the cast who come along with their own share of baggage, but in the end, most of them end up being slaughter fodder. Upon getting their private plane knocked out of the sky, the group learns that monstrous carnivorous alien beasts have been responsible for the disappearances and are now looking to consume them.
Hazard is the only person in the group with any real survival experience and the rest of the group is kind of a motley crew (think the people on Whale Wars) that is more or less damned from the start. As I said before, this book relies more heavily on suspense and action than character or atmosphere building. The main development in character is between John and Emily who end up having a pretty well written romantic relationship. You also learn that Dr. Renner is not to be trusted. Glaze also does gore pretty well in this book. It is used to effect, but not to excess. It's kind of a crucial element when you have hulking alien hunger beasts running around.
The suspense is taught throughout from Emily getting chased by thugs in the beginning to the first encounter with the dread creatures and their cannibalistic brood to a canoe ride down a raging river that is pretty sure to end in disaster. It's not something to read if you want to be calm and lower your blood pressure. You will want certain characters to survive and others not so much. There are some pretty cathartic moments when the shitty ones get their comeuppins (don't care if that's a real word or not).
In all, I liked this one and it was a fun direction for Hazard that let him flex his action muscles a little more. Next in the series is Send No Angel, which I'll get to eventually when I finish working on my own shit.
Speaking of which....look for Nightmarescape in early September...the Nightmare begins soon....
Monday, August 18, 2014
Shoutout: J.H. Glaze
Been a minute since I posted. I've been editing the proof for Nightmarescape and seized with an manic outburst of poetry writing. Please forgive me. Or don't. As always: If you hate it, perfect. Fuck off.
After that if you're still here, you might be interested in this post; a shoutout to fellow local Atlanta author J.H. Glaze.
I met Glaze at Days of the Dead back in February of this year and he has helped me with navigating the waters of self-publishing as a fantasy writer. During our first meeting, he became excited upon hearing about my background in police work and hooked me up with a copy of The Spirit Box.
This book begins a series chronicling the adventures of Detective John Hazard, who is willing to bend the rules a bit while being a complete shit magnet for strange situations. The story begins with Hazard investigating a brutal double homicide in a somewhat small midwestern town. While that's going on, people begin to turn up missing...an irregular occurrence for such an environment.
Well it turns out that lonely loser Walt has located an powerful artifact in his dead mother's antique shop. It is none other than the entitled spirit box, and it's possessed by the soul of an ancient king who is hungry for more souls. The box offers promises of power to Walt...and who is he to refuse...
Insanity and mayhem ensue from there as the town seems to go crazy as Hazard attempts to keep a lid on all of it. Eventually, the story concludes in a pretty epic showdown between the mortal and the supernatural.
Throughout it all, this book is simply dripping with atmosphere. From the heavy oppressiveness of the hot summer streets, to Walt's lonely neglected apartment, to the haven of lost souls known as T's Diner, the settings are strong and shove your ass right down in their constituent environments.
Character development is on full display here as well. Glaze does an excellent job of illustrating the back stories for his main characters while also breathing a lot of life into his supporting cast. In short, there's nobody in this story who lacks reason for what they do and everyone has a strong believability.
Walt is the star of this show. Glaze paints him as a lonely frustrated man in his 40s who is alienated, dejected, and frustrated. His frustrations and feelings of failure roll off the pages heavily and into the reader's mind. When the box comes calling, how can someone like him resist its promises?
Check out the Spirit Box. You'll be glad you did. I also picked up Glaze's second book with Hazard: Northwest. Give me some time and I'll write about that one too.
After that if you're still here, you might be interested in this post; a shoutout to fellow local Atlanta author J.H. Glaze.
I met Glaze at Days of the Dead back in February of this year and he has helped me with navigating the waters of self-publishing as a fantasy writer. During our first meeting, he became excited upon hearing about my background in police work and hooked me up with a copy of The Spirit Box.
This book begins a series chronicling the adventures of Detective John Hazard, who is willing to bend the rules a bit while being a complete shit magnet for strange situations. The story begins with Hazard investigating a brutal double homicide in a somewhat small midwestern town. While that's going on, people begin to turn up missing...an irregular occurrence for such an environment.
Well it turns out that lonely loser Walt has located an powerful artifact in his dead mother's antique shop. It is none other than the entitled spirit box, and it's possessed by the soul of an ancient king who is hungry for more souls. The box offers promises of power to Walt...and who is he to refuse...
Insanity and mayhem ensue from there as the town seems to go crazy as Hazard attempts to keep a lid on all of it. Eventually, the story concludes in a pretty epic showdown between the mortal and the supernatural.
Throughout it all, this book is simply dripping with atmosphere. From the heavy oppressiveness of the hot summer streets, to Walt's lonely neglected apartment, to the haven of lost souls known as T's Diner, the settings are strong and shove your ass right down in their constituent environments.
Character development is on full display here as well. Glaze does an excellent job of illustrating the back stories for his main characters while also breathing a lot of life into his supporting cast. In short, there's nobody in this story who lacks reason for what they do and everyone has a strong believability.
Walt is the star of this show. Glaze paints him as a lonely frustrated man in his 40s who is alienated, dejected, and frustrated. His frustrations and feelings of failure roll off the pages heavily and into the reader's mind. When the box comes calling, how can someone like him resist its promises?
Check out the Spirit Box. You'll be glad you did. I also picked up Glaze's second book with Hazard: Northwest. Give me some time and I'll write about that one too.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Be patient kids...
So the proof had a few errors. I have sent my corrections back and should have the final version next week sometime...then look for print copies in early September.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Character Bio: Banshee
Banshee
In life, Banshee was a violent eco-activist who resorted to acts of terrorism to end what she perceived to be human wrongdoings against the planet. She was driven by a sense of actually wanting to effect change through violence rather than sitting around talking or protesting. She did not view her actions as "right" or "wrong", but rather evaluated them based on practical effect. To her, human history itself was written in blood and little ever changed without violence.
Her life in the world of the living was ended by a group of hunters after she shot one of theirs. The group took their turns brutally raping her before leaving her alone to die. To this day, she wears the barbed wire they used to bind her around her forearms as a constant reminder of her hatred and anger.
Curse and Larry Spectre find her hiding in a dead forest that she claims to be protecting. After a brief scuffle, the two bond over being lost souls full of anger and make a pact; she will help him return to the world of the living sand see his lost lover after which, he will aid her in extracting bloody revenge on the hunters who degraded and killed her. Together, they will destroy all opposition that stands in their way.
Hell hath no fury like a crusty undead dreadlocked woman scorned.
In life, Banshee was a violent eco-activist who resorted to acts of terrorism to end what she perceived to be human wrongdoings against the planet. She was driven by a sense of actually wanting to effect change through violence rather than sitting around talking or protesting. She did not view her actions as "right" or "wrong", but rather evaluated them based on practical effect. To her, human history itself was written in blood and little ever changed without violence.
Her life in the world of the living was ended by a group of hunters after she shot one of theirs. The group took their turns brutally raping her before leaving her alone to die. To this day, she wears the barbed wire they used to bind her around her forearms as a constant reminder of her hatred and anger.
Curse and Larry Spectre find her hiding in a dead forest that she claims to be protecting. After a brief scuffle, the two bond over being lost souls full of anger and make a pact; she will help him return to the world of the living sand see his lost lover after which, he will aid her in extracting bloody revenge on the hunters who degraded and killed her. Together, they will destroy all opposition that stands in their way.
Hell hath no fury like a crusty undead dreadlocked woman scorned.
Music for writing: WHORES
Some people have asked me what I listen to while I'm writing. Well my tastes from everyday tend to bleed over into my creative activities. Therefore, I end up listening to a lot of sludge and death metal with some atmospheric stuff and sometimes heavier music from the 90s tossed in for color. While these guys weren't on my radar back when I was finishing my first manuscript in early 2010, I have become a diehard fan since. They have two albums (Ruiner and Clean) that I have been rocking heavily while working on the second book. Ladies and jerks, I am talking about local Atlanta band Whores.
These guys are amazing on record, and absolutely unbelievable live. The two times I have seen them, they have not disappointed. Their music is harsh and gritty, but in person it is so incredibly tangible. The crunch of the guitars grinds harder, the visceral beats of the drums resonate louder, and the bass just rumbles. To top off their sound, they know how to rock a crowd. I've seen them twice now and both times something fucked up has happened. I saw a pretty good fight at one of the shows, and this past Friday night, someone got knocked into me causing my lower lip to get split and require stitches. There is something so nasty and driving about this music that it tends to conjure realities as gross as its sound when played live.
Noise rock is sorta meh to me on a lot of fronts, but Whores don't just reinvent the wheel, they utterly destroy it before dragging its remnants through a dilapidated parking lot of broken asphalt and shattered glass before smashing what remains into a devastated proximity of the original. Each set begins with an oppressive drone of feedback before exploding into a trawl through frustration and disappointment to build a crescendo of absolute catharsis. It was well worth stumbling down to East Atlanta even though I was tired as hell, well worth the roughly 40 minutes or so I was actually able to see, and worth being in the emergency room at Dekalb Medical til 0530 getting stitches.
Make sure you check these jerks out. As much as I bitch about Atlanta, there is some amazing talent here. It's hard not to be inspired after listening to them either live or on record.
http://whores.bandcamp.com/
These guys are amazing on record, and absolutely unbelievable live. The two times I have seen them, they have not disappointed. Their music is harsh and gritty, but in person it is so incredibly tangible. The crunch of the guitars grinds harder, the visceral beats of the drums resonate louder, and the bass just rumbles. To top off their sound, they know how to rock a crowd. I've seen them twice now and both times something fucked up has happened. I saw a pretty good fight at one of the shows, and this past Friday night, someone got knocked into me causing my lower lip to get split and require stitches. There is something so nasty and driving about this music that it tends to conjure realities as gross as its sound when played live.
Noise rock is sorta meh to me on a lot of fronts, but Whores don't just reinvent the wheel, they utterly destroy it before dragging its remnants through a dilapidated parking lot of broken asphalt and shattered glass before smashing what remains into a devastated proximity of the original. Each set begins with an oppressive drone of feedback before exploding into a trawl through frustration and disappointment to build a crescendo of absolute catharsis. It was well worth stumbling down to East Atlanta even though I was tired as hell, well worth the roughly 40 minutes or so I was actually able to see, and worth being in the emergency room at Dekalb Medical til 0530 getting stitches.
Make sure you check these jerks out. As much as I bitch about Atlanta, there is some amazing talent here. It's hard not to be inspired after listening to them either live or on record.
http://whores.bandcamp.com/
What's this....
So I stopped by my printer yesterday and received my print proof copy of Nightmarescape. Once I read through it and approve the proof, we'll start with a soft cover print run.
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