The Return of “Watchmage…”

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*Professor Farnsworth Voice* Good news everyone! After much soul searching, advice-ignoring, and professional pestering, I have decided to return to the serial version of “The Watchmage of Old New York.” I have a 3rd story arc that is almost ready, titled “The Wild Hunt.”

Previously, I stopped writing the serial so that I can novelize each story arc. The fact is, why must I do one and not the other? I could wait and play for the long term, or I can do things now. If a publisher wants to buy the novels, I’ll worry about that then. No use in stifling myself for a bunch of “what ifs.”

Besides, this story arc is so freakin good, I can’t sit on it any longer.

The projected release for “The Wild Hunt” is Mon, August 26.

In the meantime, catch up on the first two stories at ‪#JukepopSerials‬. Registration is FREE

The Daily Grind

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Whelp, it took more time than I expected, but I finally finished Act II of the Watchmage reboot. This past month has been a rough one for writing, between enjoying the summer, then being sick, then being a different kind of sick. I like to write about 1000 words a day. I’ve been hovering below 500.

Still, I can’t complain. i have the job that I’ve dreamed my whole life for. No matter what a train wreck the rest of my life is (and it is) I have that. Complaining about writing is such a brag-complaint that I’m almost ashamed of doing it. Or, I would be if I had any shame left (the people that grew up with me know what I mean).

I’ve been pretty quiet here about “The Watchmage of Old New York,” as opposed to my Facebook Page, where I don’t shut up about it. But all that not shutting up has paid off. Watchmage is currently ranked 3rd at Jukepop Serials, with 133 unique voters and 1463 positive votes!! Huzzah!! I am so thankful to all of you that have read and voted for Watchmage. I love writing these stories, and I love the Watchmage World. I’ll keep writing if you keep reading 😉

Damn it’s hot!

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How hot is it?

It’s so hot, that I passed by my local bank. They normally have a sign showing the time and temperature. This one just had the time…IT COULDN’T FIT THE TEMPERATURE ON IT!!

I know I haven’t been here in a while. I’ve mostly been using my facebook fan page, which I’m sure you are all fans of (right?). I promise to blog more.

There’s a lot of stuff on my mind, but nothing that i can really formulate. Maybe next time.

Song of Simon News, CPAP Madness, and a Tribute to Valerie…

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Hey everyone. I just got an email from the artist that is doing the cover for “Song of Simon.” She sent me the final draft, and I like it a lot. It’s a different interpretation from how I pictured Simon–the boy looks more Latino than Irish–but there is a haunted look in his eyes that perfectly describes who Simon is. I am not too concerned with details. Details are less important than Truth. Also, I wouldn’t want to interfere with another artist’s interpretation. Seeing other people interpret your work is part of the fun (See my post on Fan Fiction).

On Wednesday I finally got a CPAP Machine to help with my Sleep Apnea. The doctor said to try it a little at a time to get used to it, so I used it for an hour during the day yesterday. I used it for an hour this morning, and I was almost able to fall asleep. Maybe tonight I can go all the way and actually get to sleep. It makes me sad that I can’t wear my glasses with it on though. I need the full mask, and it just wasn’t made for glasses. Oh well, don’t need glasses to sleep.

Next Wednesday, Mercy College is giving out a small award in Valerie’s name. I think that the award goes to either the top student in the writing department, or the winning story in a contest. Either way, I am happy about it. Even if years in the future, people no longer know who she was, she will still be helping her students. I remember when I was a senior, I was runner up for a similar contest. I only won a gift certificate, but it gave me the confidence I needed. Maybe my writing wasn’t as terrible as I thought. The encouragement is more valuable than the prize.

Odd Weekend

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It was an odd weekend.

I’ve been in a depressive cycle for the past few weeks, and the weekends have been the worst. I’ve felt very lonely. I used to spend my weekends with Valerie, and now that she is gone, I don’t know what to do with myself.

On Saturday, me and Val’s mom cleaned out her apartment.

Most of the things were already packed away, but Val’s mom’s wanted me to have some of her stuff. She is moving, and the books are too much to store or move cross country with. So i took some of her things: a few books that have meaning to me, some dvds, and the rest of her toys. I took a small cabinet too because I need something to rest my CPAP machine on, and it is just too pretty to go into storage. I have a big box of books too, which I am going to offer to friends or to the library. My books are already in storage, I don’t know why I took more, except that I loved the reader.

I am kinda excited about how the complete runs of “Buffy:TVS” and “Angel.” I feel a little guilty for being excited about it though.

I thought that it would be much harder than it was. I thought that I would be overcome with grief. The truth is, I carry my grief around with me and no specific time or place will make it better or worse. It was actually very nice to see Val’s family again, and I had a great time.

Saturday night I went down to Chelsea to see my brother perform at the Metropolitan Room. He’s an aspriring stand up comic, and even though he’s only done a couple of shows, his act is pretty damn good. Writing must be a familial talent.

Speaking of, I did almost no writing last week. Every five chapters or so, I take a week off to edit the previous five chapters. It’s hard to get back into it though. I only wrote about 700 words yesterday, and I am struggling today.

Re: Charlaine Harris

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I want to comment on a situation that recently happened to Charlaine Harris. Some of you might know her as the author of the Southern Vampire Mysteries, also known as the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries, of which the HBO series True Blood is loosely based on.

The last novel in the series, Dead Ever After is slated to come out next week. However, some douchebag not only pirated an early copy and put it on the web, he spoiled the ending, revealing who Sookie ends up with in her love triangle (quadrangle, dodecangle, etc).

Since then, there has been a shitblizzard of insults, curses, and death threats aimed at Harris. Her Facebook fan page
is so riddled with filth that after reading it, I had to go for an AIDS test.

The general complaint among the butthurt is that they DESERVED a certain ending. They DEMANDED it and she didn’t deliver.

I’m not sure what bothers me more: the piracy, which has destroyed the publishing industry and made writing a 20K a year business, or the butthurt fans demanded the ending that they want. Let me make it easy on you. FUCK YOU! Writers are not your bitches! They don’t owe you shit!

The story belongs to the writer and only the writer. They are the driver, and the reader is either along for the ride, or gets out of the car. A writer does not write because he wants money, or because he wants to please you. A writer writes because he has a voice inside of him that needs to be heard. The voice is the only one that a writer has to listen to, not editors and not fans. Once you stop listening to that voice, you have sold out, there is no reason to continue writing.

To those that didn’t like the ending, write some fanfiction and end it the way that you want. Don’t blame the writer for following her voice.

Novel Updates and more Comic Book Questions

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Hi everyone. I decided that I am going to update every Tuesday and Friday. I’ll try, anyway. Sometimes I get so caught up in other work, I forget to update here.

I just finished writing the first 5 chapters to the currently unnamed Watchmage novel, which is a retelling of the serial that I’ve been working on since november. I expect to have the first draft done by the end of the Summer, unless I get a life. My serial, on the other hand, is going strong. It recently moved into 8th Place. If you haven’t VOTED, you really should. We emerging artists need your help.

Song of Simon is still at the editors. I recently submitted all of my author info, including my dedication and acknowledgements. I dedicated it to my Mom and to Valerie. There are some people that might be surprised that they’re in my acknowledgements. If I leave anyone out, I apologize in advance.

My publisher would like me to make a video trailer for SoS. I know nothing about that kind of thing. Luckily I have several filmmaker friends, that I can arrange something with (hopefully). I might even be able to get original music. I like getting my friends involved, so they could get some credit and exposure too.

Now about comics: i was thinking about DC the other day. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam (Captain Marvel) all have connections to Greek Mythology. WW is an Amazon and the daughter of Zeus, AM is King of Atlantis, Shazam draws his power from several Gods/ heroes. So why hasn’t there been a WW, AM, and SZ crossover. As they all have connections to different gods (give AM to Neptune), it would be easy to turn a conflict between the gods into a conflict between their proxies. Both WW and AM, when they are at their best, are flawed heroes (as the best greek heroes are). Put them in a story with Shazam, who has always been portrayed as the purest of heart of all the DC heroes, and you are bound to find sparks.

I heard that the new Shazam isn’t quite as heroic as the one before the reboot. This really pisses me off. The whole appeal of Captain Marvel is his innocence and unshakable devotion to good. Sure, it makes it hard to carry a series like that, but as part of an emsemble, he’s fantastic. In fact, all three of these characters work best in an ensemble (IMHO). Put them together, see what happens.

Earth's Mightiest Mortal...I still think he can take Superman

Injustice: Gods Among Us

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I just got back from GameStop (Stop Game! Stop!) and picked up Injustice. I’m a sucker for comic games, and fighting games are always fun when you have people over (which I never do, but want to. It’s a lonely life). I haven’t opened it yet, but from what I can gather, the story line is this:

The Joker blows up Metropolis and tricks Superman into killing Lois Lane (an obvious trope, and kinda infuriating). Superman goes full on fascist (as we all know that he was capable of…that any of us are capable of) and basically creates The Justice Lords. Batman leads a rebellion against it, which is kinda ironic since he is one of the biggest fascists in the DC Universe (more on this when some comic geek flames me for besmirching Batman).

It’s an interesting premise (though again, the “Women in Refrigerators” trope bothers me). It made me think about something: Has there ever been a crossover where Superman had to stop the Joker, and Batman had to stop Lex Luthor? I don’t think that Supes can stand up to the sheer madness of the Joker (and this video game agrees with me). I also don’t think that Batman can compete with Lex. Lex can very easily discern Batman’s identity with his money and tech (there must be a paper trail a mile long). From there, it would be easy to crush Wayne Tech and take away all of Batman’s toys. Batman without money is still potent, but not against Luthor and his inventions and connections.

I’m sure that this has been done before, but probably with the two heroes switching out. If anything, it shows how the hero and the villian in a comic are a matched pair, an opposite number.

On a side note, I bought the game with the gift card that Valerie gave me for my birthday. Fitting that the last gift that she gave me was something called “Injustice.”