Well, since I got my article on the NYC Police Riot of 1857 up before the anniversary date (6/16), I should start on the consequences. Next month would be the Dead Rabbits Riot. Better get on that soon.
Super secret writing project is coming along well and should be out this fall. I need to edit a couple more stories.
That’s it. Carry on.
Because sales are lagging, and because Amazon blocked or deleted a bunch of reviews from review sites, I’m having another 99 cent sale. If you like my writing and have an interest in history or fantasy (both would be optimal) you’ll probably dig this book. It has a 4.8 rating on Amazon right now, so people agree. You can buy it here.
Meanwhile, the sequel is with my beta-readers. So far I’m getting positive feedback for it. I don’t know when it’ll be out. My editor is only available during semester breaks (he’s a professor at NYU), and I want to do another draft based on the beta feedback before I give it to him. I wanted it to be out in November, but I’d rather have it out later than put out an inferior product.
On Sunday I will be at the Writers in the Mountains Book Festival. I’m nervous as hell because they’ll be agents there. I’m not very good with people, and usually embarrass myself. Combined with my anxiety and ocd disorders, this could be…awkward.
That’s all. Carry on.
I’m about to plagiarize Garfield: I hate Mondays.
Here’s my hatred in gif form:
Mondays should come with margaritas.
BTW: The GREAT MAY 99 CENT SALE of The Watchmage of Old New York is still going on. Pick up your copy RIGHT MEOW!
Love you all. Hope your Monday doesn’t suck.
Hey everyone. I decided to have a sale on The Watchmage of Old New York for this week only. Why? Because I CAN!!!! Also because sales and reviews are falling off.
Sooo, the sale is on Amazon only, and only for the ebook. If you like my blog, you’ll probably like Watchmage. It’s the same writer, you know 😉 You’ll also be helping a neat-o dude like me. I consider every purchase a hug (and each review is a belly rub…I love belly rubs)
Yes, I know it’s shameless pandering…But I gotta eat.
In case you haven’t heard of The Watchmage of Old New York yet, let me hit you with the book blurb:
It’s the holidays and I’m a giving kinda guy, so I put The Watchmage of Old New York up for only 99 cents on Amazon (on other sites it’s still $2.99). This’ll only be until New Years, so pick your copy up today.
Obviously this is only for the e-book. Amazon won’t let you sell the paper version for that cheap. If you want a signed paperback, with your own special dedication, contact me and I’ll make it happen.
Seriously, buy my book…do I have to bust out Jon Lovitz again?
Ok, so you don’t ACTUALLY have to buy my book. Honestly, I hate shilling like this. But if you like this blog, you’ll probably like my novels too.
Source: Why Santa Claus Is a New Yorker
A new article from my New York History series. It discusses the origins of our modern version of Santa Claus, and how it popularized the rarely celebrated Christ (yes, there was a time when no one celebrated it). I think you’ll be surprised by what you learn.
Ok, I swear that I’m going to start adding more source material on NYC History today. I already have something on 19th century slang written (my own notes for Watchmage). I just have to rearrange it for consumption. Right now it’s in a form that only I can understand.
I should organize my files better. One day I’m going to be dead, and people are going to need to find my important files…
Inner Critic: Wow, Craig, that’s freaking morbid.
Neuroses: Yeah, people are gonna think you’re all emo and shit. A 38 year old emo. Good job.
Muse: “Whateva, whateva, I do what I want.”
Brain: Will someone make another pot of coffee…PLEASE?
Anyway, I have to do some more editing, but hopefully I’ll get it up soon…
Id: Hehehehe, you said “get it up.”
Sex Drive: You rang?
Neuroses: You’re ruining your blog with dick jokes!
Id: “Moar dick jokes, moar gooder.”
Neuroses: Now you’re just making obscure references.
Id: “I resemble that remark…”
Neuroses: SEE!!!
Brain: If you get me some damn coffee, I’ll be more original!!!
Stomach: *growls*
Brain: “Quiet, you!”
Neuroses: ENOUGH WITH THE DAMN REFERENCES!!
silence….
Id: “Fatality…Neuroses, wins.”
Brain: *sigh*
Now you’ve seen what goes on in my head. Take that, Disney!
Neuroses: You haven’t even seen the movie, and you’re doing a parody.
Brain: It’s ok, I used to watch Herman’s Head.
To be fair, I heard that Inside Out is very good.
This post really went off the rails.
Brain: This wouldn’t happen if YOU GOT ME SOME GODDAMMED COFFEE!!!
Fin
Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist). Song of Simon currently has a 4.7/5.0 rating on Amazon, so it’s pretty damn good. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February, 2014, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!
With the first of the “Watchmage” novels coming out this Spring, I decided to bear down and write all those NYC History articles I’ve been promising. The first one is on the New York-Boston Rivalry, and damn, there’s a lot of bad blood there. I had to break it into two parts, and it doesn’t even reach past the Civil War.
Expect it in a couple of days. Or don’t, it’s cool.
Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist). Song of Simon currently has a 4.7/5.0 rating on Amazon, so it’s pretty damn good. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February 2014, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!
I didn’t realize how long it’s been since I’ve posted a blog entry. I’m surprised because I’ve been pretty busy on the site, along with my facebook fan page and my other site devoted to wrestling.
As for this site, I added a few new categories. One is my collection of music history articles, which I’m going to tie in to Song of Simon. For those of you that have read the novel, you know how important music is thematically. It functions as a greek chorus of sorts. I love music, especially old blues and folk that you don’t hear much of anymore. Even my music is stuck in the past.
Right now there are two up, but I have a ton more. I meant to post one on “This Land Is Your Land” for Woody’s birthday yesterday, but I flaked.
Everyday I got the blues, even if I went back in time.
The second category is a collection of essays modified from my Creative Writing lesson plans. There’s only one up now, but more will come.
The third is on New York history, which ties directly into The Watchmage of Old New York. I don’t have any essays written yet, but I’m a fat, stinking, treasure trove of knowledge here.
It’s like a Russian Nesting Doll, only it smells like urine.
I don’t actually stink, and I’m considerably less fat than I was, but you get the picture.
Speaking of Watchmage, I’m still shopping around the first novel, and I’m revising the first ten chapters of the second, tentatively titled “Cold Iron.” For those of you that remember, this story arc in the serial was called “The Great Goblin Revolt.” The serial is still up, by the way, and still free.
Ok, that’s all for now. I’m off to play some Happy Wars.
–Craiggers
Before I start, let me just say that the HIMYM finale last night broke my heart a hundred times. They pushed more buttons than a 9 year old me in my apt building’s elevator.
Now then:
I was born in the Bronx, in a part of the Bronx called Co-op City. I lived there until the 3rd Grade. My New York experience was very different from other peoples’, and I feel weird about that. I didn’t live in a row house and hang out on the stoop. I lived in a massive 33 story apartment building with a courtyard of asphalt and a playground of sand and aging wood. I didn’t have a bodega on the corner. I had an island of shops floating in the middle of the street.
Co-op City is very isolated from the rest of the City. There is no direct subway line (you have to take the bus to the Pelham stop and catch the 6 or just take the bus crosstown). Because I moved out before I was old enough to travel alone, I never got to explore the city. It’s not that big a deal, but it somehow makes me feel unauthentic. It doesn’t help that I speak very slow, with a bit of a drawl. I had severe speech problems as a kid and even today, I can be uncomfortable to listen to.
When I got older, I took regular trips into the city to drink and see shows, but I only went to certain areas. If you asked me how to get somewhere in the West Village, I could probably lead you right there (although it’s been years since I was a regular). Outside of that, I’m fuzzier.
Here’s the issue: I love history, and I am very enamored with the history of New York. I’ve never done the touristy New York things. I’ve never gone to the Empire State Building. I’ve never gone to the statue of liberty (nor would I, it’s a long, hot, trip to the top). But I would like to see Castle Garden. I would like to visit the Lightship Ambrose. I’d like to do the lit walk in Central Park. I want to go inside Trinity Church. I want to experience the city like a tourist.
I don’t like tourists.
I don’t want to walk around with my nose in a tour book. I don’t want to have to carry a map. But the truth is: I am a tourist. I may have once been a New Yorker, but now I’m not. I’m somewhere in between.
I need to just suck it up and go full tourist. There’s a lot of history I want to absorb. I’ll try not to stand in the middle of the sidewalk and block shit up.
Here’s a question for you: Are you more of a New Yorker if you are born there and move away after 10 years, or if you move there as an adult and live there 10 years?
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