Playing Catch-Up

Wow, it’s amazing how two and a half months can just fly by, huh?

I’ve noticed that quite a few more people have signed on to follow my blog page, and I can’t thank you enough for that. I also can’t apologize enough for not having some fresh material to post here for so long. My last post was the big news that Rocking Horse Publishing had picked up the paperback & eBook rights to “Excelsior,” and that the first of my trilogy – “The Excelsior Journey” – will be re-released in November of this year. That was March 1. It’s now May 16.

Yeah, it’s been a while.

So please allow me this time to shake off some of the blogging rust and fill you in on what’s been happening in my life – both personal & literary – ever since I posted the news about Excelsior’s new home.

First of all, last year, I started writing the occasional post for Booktrib.com, a website geared toward book lovers, and originally concentrated on films that had been adapted from books and discussed how they differed from the original books. It was a fun column, but I could tell something was... a little off with me as I wrote it. It felt more laboring than when I wrote Scene Anatomy 101 and The UBS Evening Movie News for 411Mania.com. Maybe writing for that site for all those years had me feeling burnt out on writing about movies.

When I started writing for 411Mania in 2004, the only fiction I had done at that time was “From Parts Unknown” in 2002. And when I took my month off in June of 2008 to write the first draft of “Excelsior,” I announced that number 200 would be my final SA 101 post not long after coming back. A year after, I put in my two-week notice for my news report and officially retired from being a weekly columnist for the site. Of course, one year later, the webmaster Ashish Pabari invited me to join the news staff and doing that kept me going financially until I started my current job in August of 2012. So with all that, plus with the love of writing fiction coming back to me, it had been difficult for me to go back to what I used to cover.

However, while participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this past April, I had an idea to occasionally write for Booktrib about the process of working on a new book while preparing for the re-launch of “Excelsior.” So in the weeks and months to come, you’ll be seeing me there a lot more (and writing a lot less words since I want to keep my posts there between 300-600 words, just to get into the habit).

Now, what’s the “new book” I just mentioned? Well, it was what I started last April, the first of two “Excelsior” sequels. This one is called “Ever Upward: Part Two of The Excelsior Journey” and I’m more than 30,000 words into it. Instead of just jumping into the first draft like I did in 2008, I took over a month to write an outline in January and I’ve felt the writing going a lot smoother this time around and it’s been refreshing to have some kind of map that I could use as a guide while not being committed to every twist and turn I had written a few months ago. And if my editor’s reaction tells me anything, it’s that you guys are really going to enjoy this particular story. I even got my mother interested in maybe – just maybe – reading it for herself. (It’s alright if she doesn’t, though. She’s not a big sci-fi person.)

As 2013 continues to unfold, you’re going to see a lot of changes around here. I am planning on giving this website a full overhaul to make it look more appealing, I’ll be re-doing my Pinterest pages to get more traffic there, and I’ll be using my new Campaign Cartographer software to create some maps of Denab IV to post on the site. I also just started an ask.fm account, so if anyone wants to ask me anything regarding my writing, upcoming stories, characters, etc., you can feel free to ask. I’d like to set it up so that I can post some video answers to give the site more multimedia, but we’ll see how that goes in time.

I’ve also been researching various ways to turn a book signing into an event, and those ideas have me incredibly excited for this November. I know I’m with a publisher now and part of their appeal was that I won’t be alone when it comes to the marketing, but having gone through the self-publishing life before – and possibly doing it again when “From Parts Unknown” is finished – I don’t want to let everything I’ve learned go to waste. Besides, Rocking Horse Publishing is taking a chance on me, and I will never forget that, so I want this not only to be an event for me, but for them. I want everyone to be familiar with RHP, with All on the Same Page Bookstore, with indie bookstores in general. To put it mildly, I want to blow the shit out of this book signing. I want a packed store, I want people who are excited to be there, I want people buying other local authors’ books in addition to mine, I want all of that and more!

But before November, I’ll be dancing! Some of you know that I’ve fallen in love with West Coast Swing dancing, and last year, at the Meet Me in St. Louis event, I took third place in the Jack-N-Jill competition (Newcomer division). Not only will I be trying again for the first place trophy, but I also just received an invitation to dance with one of my teachers – the ever-awesome Dawn DeGrushe – in the Pro-Am competition (Novice division). So this year, I have two chances to bring another trophy home. Therefore, I’ll be getting back into gear with dancing so I have more than just my limited moveset (As it is right now, Hulk Hogan has more moves than me). Plus, I’ve seen how I look on camera so if there was ever a good motivation to lose more weight, this is it!

So, let’s recap. I got a sequel to finish, I got the original book to prepare for its re-release, I got a website that needs a full overhaul, I got a lot of ideas to apply to the site, I got a lot of ideas for materials to use for the upcoming re-release, I got weight to lose, I got dancing to do, I got… let’s see, what else…OH YEAH! Moving into the new house next month, keeping up with my day job, simple stuff like that. All I ask is that you guys just bear with me while I figure the rest of this year out, and I guarantee you, the rest of 2013 will never have a dull moment!

Rocking Horse Publishing Picks Up Excelsior!

"If Excelsior was actually born when I created him, he'd be in college now."

I remember telling my friends this back in July of 2010, when I was preparing my self-published YA/SF novel "Excelsior" for its release. I said that because the main character had gone through quite a bit since he was created in 1992.

For those who are new to the site and to my writing - and if you are, welcome! - the character Excelsior was the latest part of a small universe of characters that some friends of mine and I created back in 1985 to pass the time between assignments in school. To say the look of the characters was primitive would be an understatement, but we were all about the characters and wanted to create some robots that were in the same vein as TransFormers and Star Wars. The next year, I went to a different school and eventually lost contact with everyone when I moved out of Poughkeepsie, NY. But I had those characters so I kept chipping away at them, giving them more detail and adding more backstory.

By 1992, my characters had become something completely different from what they were seven years before, and instead of creating comic strips that I had before, I started writing about them with the occasional illustration. But during that time, I felt the need to add a new character to the universe and the pieces fell into place for me to create Excelsior. Since then, his backstory changed multiple times, but the essence of the character stayed the same. In 2008, the time came for me to tell the definitive introduction of Excelsior, and two years later, on the same year that the character celebrated his 18th birthday, he was "off to college," sent out to make something of himself.

Now, in 2013, the same year that Excelsior will celebrate his 21st birthday, I can now say that he's "moving into a new home." Last week, I was given the news that Rocking Horse Publishing has picked up Excelsior and will be re-releasing the novel in both paperback and eBook this November! To say I'm proud of this character and how far he's gone is an understatement, and he wouldn't be anywhere near where he is now if it weren't for such a great support team that he and I have enjoyed through the years. So to my wife Cheryl, my family, my editor JeriAnn, my proofreader Susan, everyone in the Indie Book Collective, and all of you who've read Excelsior, reviewed it, spread the word about it, I can't thank you enough for helping to take this character to the next level. And thank you to Robin Tidwell of Rocking Horse Publishing for having faith in this story and wanting to see it unfold under her banner.

To learn more about them, click HERE.

Outlining "Ever Upward" (Or Drawing the Map Before Your Journey)

So there I was, sitting in front of my NetBook and basking in the glow of FINALLY finishing up the latest draft of "From Parts Unknown: Part 4," when a sudden feeling of dread hit me. I had joined The Resolution Writers on Facebook because I felt the need to commit myself to writing every single day in 2013. It seemed like that was the only way I could get my momentum back as a writer. (There's an old saying that the more you write, the better you get at it, and I couldn't agree more.)

But then a burst of inspiration struck. Since I've been planning on writing "Ever Upward: Book Two of The Excelsior Journeys" before finishing the "From Parts Unknown" serial (You gotta give the people what they want, and judging by the sales numbers and giveaway results, readers are more interested in Denab IV than the CGL), but I wasn't quite geared up to just dive into the first draft, I should spend this time wisely and figure out the stumbling blocks in my head for this upcoming story. The premise of "Ever Upward" has been in my head for almost 20 years now, and I obviously want to do right by it, but at the same time, its long history with me has made it more than a little intimidating. Could this story match my own expectations once I get it out on the screen?

There was only one way to find out, by writing an official outline for "Ever Upward." And I had an unexpected ally in an eBook I bought a while back: Rachel Aaron's "2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love." It's one of the many different how-to writing guides out there, but this one struck a chord with me because Aaron asked me a very important question: If you don't know your story, who does? She talks about her own issues with writing and how she would spend hours upon ourselves figuring out her story as she was in the midst of her first draft. This made the process difficult and frustrating for her, and I know that feeling all too well. But once she started outlining her story and created a step-by-step guide for each chapter, all she had to do was use that as a reference and the words flowed from her fingers onto the screen. In time, she had upped her production from 2,000 words a day (which is already impressive) to 10,000 words a day (which is mind-blowing).

That was my plan for this outline, to create a step-by-step guide to what happens in "Ever Upward." And after over three weeks of writing, I finished it and sent it off to my editor, JeriAnn Geller. Now, this might have meant that I was ready to start writing the prologue, but like the awesome collaborator she is, she had some questions regarding some new characters, including a love interest for Matthew Peters, the main character and host of Excelsior's lifeforce. We talked for over an hour, and I literally got off the phone a half hour ago as I write this blog entry. To say that the conversation finished with me feeling more inspired is a bit of an understatement. Now I'm ready to go back and fill in the blanks of the original outline and create a more concrete guide to take me through each chapter.

So this is my advice to all of you writers out there. Before you start Chapter 1, create an outline of your story. Before you set out on your journey, draw a map so you know where you're going and you won't get lost or easily frustrated. And above all, have an editor on hand, someone you can spitball with, someone who won't mind being spoiled by knowing what's going to happen in this book. The more you chat, the more ideas pop up. Trust me, JeriAnn and I have been doing this quite a bit in the past four-plus years with this character and his universe.

Now, will my outline and the new ideas get me into a 10,000 words-a-day rhythm? I don't know, but I'm anxious to find out and that's the most important part of being a writer: the urge to write.

The urge is back, and I owe it to both my outline and my editor. And if her enthusiasm is any indication, I think you're all going to love where this character goes in "Ever Upward: Book Two of The Excelsior Journeys."

A Christmas Story Drinking Game

This Monday night, the annual tradition of “24 Hours of A Christmas Story” will begin. As promised, the film begins at 8:00pm Christmas Eve and plays over and over until 8:00pm Christmas Day.

Why not have fun with it? So here's my drinking game for A Christmas Story. Make sure you have plenty of your drink of choice handy, and whoever is hosting the party will ask a question right before the movie starts. The question is:

What is the name of the Jean Shepherd book this movie is based on? Whoever says the correct answer first - “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” - gets to pick one person out of the group to take three drinks.

Take One Drink When This Happens:

Carols are sung.

The word “Red Rider” is uttered.

We see the Mother in the kitchen.

Whenever a kid screams.

The phrase, “You'll shoot your eye out” is said.

When a child swears, including “Smart ass.”

When we see a shot from Ralphie's point-of-view.

Any time we see Santa on the screen. (Whenever the camera cuts away from Santa, as soon as he's in the shot again, take one drink.)

Take Two Drinks When This Happens:

When “The Old Man” spouts artificial profanity.

Whenever Randy whines, screams or cries.

When a bully laughs. Two more once they roar.

When the Bumpus hounds appear.

When an adult screams, whether in joy, fear, despair or furious anger (Schwartz's mom, for example).

Any time the leg lamp is shown on screen. (Whenever the camera cuts away from the leg lamp, as soon as it's in the shot again, take two drinks.)

Take Three Drinks When This Happens:

We see the beginning of one of Ralph's fantasies.

When Randy has food on his face.

Whenever anyone has soap in their mouth.

When Ralphie gets the numbers from the Little Orphan Annie radio show.

While Ralphie decodes.

Keep drinking when we see the kids being chased to and from school by the bullies. Stop drinking when the scene ends.

Keep drinking while Ralphie says, “Ohhhhhh fffffffudge” and stop when he finishes.

The first person to catch a Wizard of Oz reference chooses who finishes their drink.

Follow these instructions and you'll likely be hosting an impromptu sleepover since your guests will be passed out. Enjoy...

Play Santa

It’s that time of year again, when people across the country are putting the lights up outside their homes, setting up their Christmas trees (real or artificial) and enjoying the various carols on the radio. So much of what we do to celebrate the season is so automatic that it’s easy to get stuck in an annual rut. I know that’s been the case for me more often than not, but ten years ago, I discovered a very special way to get the spirits bright once again.

It was November of 2002, and my roommate Joe and I had wrapped up a production we did in Central Park, our children’s musical Halloween at Belvedere: A Monster Musical Adventure (starring our roommate Dave, who gave a hell of a performance), and we wanted to put together something new. At the end of the month, Joe was invited to put together a small Christmas play for the kids at the Ronald McDonald House in New York City. So we contacted some of our friends and – with input from everyone – we put together a script for a show that would be about 10-15 minutes long and would feature an appearance by Santa Claus.

My original role was going to be the narrator of the show, but the consensus from everyone else was that I should be Santa. But there was a problem: my ego got in the way and I told them that I didn’t want to be the big fat guy. I couldn’t even comfortably say, “Ho Ho Ho.” Finally, after a brief back-and-forth, I decided to just suck it up and put on the big red suit. (Besides, it was still six months before my first trip to Weight Watchers so it wasn’t like I needed to stuff the suit with a pillow.)

On the night of the performance, I kept myself out of sight at the Ronald McDonald House so that Santa’s first appearance was during the show. I went into the men’s room, changed into the suit, put on the beard and hat, and expected to scoff at myself when I looked in the mirror. But surprisingly, I didn’t. The suit looked great, it fit perfectly and I started thinking about how the kids would react.

On cue, I opened the door to the main hall, where the kids and their families were gathered, and saw all these little faces light up when they saw me enter. Or I should say, when they saw Santa enter. The show stopped for just a few seconds to give me time to get into position and some of the kids moved closer to our makeshift stage. The pause also gave me time to wave to the kids and try out a “Ho Ho Ho” for them. (Looking back on it, it didn’t sound that bad.) One kid in particular, who may have been no older than four and wore a small mask over his mouth, got up and walked next to me. He didn’t say anything, he just wanted to be close to Santa, and he stayed there for the rest of the show.

The kids loved the performance and, in addition to doing the play, we were asked to stay and help out the local firefighters with passing out presents to kids. This meant that I was going to stay in my Santa outfit for at least another hour, but not only was I thrilled with the response from the kids, but I was having fun being Santa for them. So even though it was pretty hot in the hall, I didn’t have a problem with keeping the suit and beard on.

A major highlight for me was having each kid come over and take a picture with Santa. They had been through so much worse than I could possibly imagine and here they were with one smile bigger than the last and an incredibly upbeat attitude. One of those kids – I think her name was Melissa, and I’m angry at myself for not being 100% positive about that – designated herself to be my assistant with handing me the gifts to give to the other kids. This girl, I’d guess about 7 or 8 years old, had a smile that you should see to believe, and when I asked for her name, she answered me, then followed it with a big hug. As if I needed another reason to love her already, she tapped me on the shoulder during our gift-giving and whispered, “You’re a much better Santa than the guy last year. He was TERRIBLE!”

After the gift-giving was finished, I could have waved goodbye to the kids, gone into the bathroom and changed out of the Santa outfit. And until that night, I thought I was going to do just that. But I didn’t want to. Sure, it was getting a little stifling with the beard on, but hey, like I said before, these kids had been going through more than I would wish on my worst enemy and they were thrilled to have me there. So I was thrilled to be there for them as Santa, and if I had changed at that moment, I would have missed out on one of my favorite moments that made the whole night worth it.

Remember that little kid I mentioned before with the surgical mask? He didn’t say anything the entire night, he just kept watching me. When I saw him, I waved and he would wave back, but around the tail end of the night, he reached out for my white-gloved hand and led me over to a nearby cooler. He opened it, reached in and pulled out a can of grape soda, then handed it to me. It was one of the sweetest moments in my life, and I owe it all to that Santa suit and to Joe, Pete, Mary and Nicole for talking me into wearing it.

I think we wound up staying there a half-hour longer than we expected, and when it was time to leave, I wondered if there was anything else I could do for these kids as Santa, but the event was winding down anyway. I admit that it felt great to get the beard and hat off, but my spirits were definitely lifted as a result of being at the Ronald McDonald House and spending time with those kids.

So consider this a challenge from me to anyone who’s not feeling as joyous this season. Contact local charities like the Ronald McDonald House or children’s hospitals and see what steps need to be taken for you to make an appearance as Santa. More often than not, they’ll have the suit there. (They did for us.) Give it a try just once, and if they let you come in (we got involved through one of Joe’s connections), put on the suit and the beard and the hat and the boots, and make a grand entrance for the kids. I promise you, any reservations you had the second before will go away and the kids will love you for it.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AT THE RONALD McDONALD HOUSE.

NaNoWriMo 2012: It's Official!

Way back in 2007, when I first read Chris Baty’s book that introduced me to National Novel Writing Month, “No Plot? No Problem!,” I decided that I would take that challenge and finally tell the story of “Excelsior” that had been in my head since 1992. However, there were quite a few obstacles in my way: the challenge took place in November, and that same month is my wedding anniversary, my wife’s birthday and Thanksgiving. In that order. I didn’t feel right telling my wife that I was going to take all my free time and write a book that same month. Fortunately, I discovered KiwiWriters.org and the Southern Cross Novel Challenge, which takes place in June, and after June 30, “Excelsior” became a reality.

It’s now almost five years later, and I’m neck-deep into the reimagining of my 2002 novel “From Parts Unknown.” Several months ago, I made the decision to turn this story into a five-part serial, and so far, Parts 1-3 have been sent out into the world already. No, they haven’t set the literary world on fire, but I never expected to make much money from this story anyway. This is simply to get the best version of this story out there so I can move on to other things.

However, to say my progress has stalled as of late would be an understatement, so I decided to take the plunge and make this my first official participation in the National Novel Writing Month Challenge.

Now, of course this prompts the question: why are you doing it now when you wouldn’t do it before? What changed between 2008 and now? Well, very little other than where we live and where we work. Yes I’m still married, yes I’m married to the same woman whose birthday will be in November, and yes we’re still celebrating Thanksgiving. But the main thing that’s changed is me. Having conquered the 50,000-word challenge before, I know what’s expected of me and my time. And I’m more confident than I was the first time that I can make each daily deadline without missing anything this November.

Plus, there’s the major factor that I’ve been missing for a while and that I’ve been anxious to get back: a sense of urgency. Since I’m presenting a new version of an old story, this will be a mix of writing and re-writing and a chance to engage in some “word wars” with friends and other writing buddies is just what I need to get myself fully revitalized and get the momentum I need to finally complete this story and move on to the next adventure.

So, if you’re also doing NaNoWriMo 2012, let me know. If you’d like to be a writing buddy, I’d love to have you onboard. My user name on nanowrimo.org is GHWriter1976. See you there!

State of the Serial Address

Good morning, everyone! And for those of you who are currently reading the five-part sci-fi serial “From Parts Unknown,” I hope you’re all enjoying it. I know many of you took advantage of the free promos that I’ve been doing each month, so even if it’s just sitting in the Kindle, I’m looking forward to the time when you start reading out of curiosity and wonder if a story in the vein of 1970s sci-fi films, comic books, conspiracy theories and pro wrestling will be worth your time.

If you haven’t yet picked up Parts 1-3, I invite you to do so here. Each one’s just 99 cents.

From Parts Unknown, Part 1

From Parts Unknown, Part 2

From Parts Unknown, Part 3

Now, I know that some of you – the ones who are all caught up – are expecting Part 4 to be released in the next two weeks. And I was so confident that I was going to make this deadline that I posted it in the book trailer, which you’ll find above. Of course, this decision was made before I got the job I have now, before our loan was approved so we could build a house next year and before everything around me caused my mind to just dry up.

Yes, I know how the story continues and I know that there’s going to be a lot to enjoy in Part 4, but it’s been a real chore lately just getting the right words onto the screen. So yesterday, I made the decision to postpone Part 4 for a month and then release Parts 4 and 5 in the same time period, late November.

Now, with the difficulty I’ve had writing Part 4, why would I just double my workload like this? Simple. I know my writing patterns pretty well, and I know that they tend to have a snowball effect. Once I get going, I’m really going and after a bunch of small nibbles, I’ll take one big bite after another until I can say the story Is finished. I always planned for this serial to be finished before the holidays and I feel that I can accomplish this, even with pushing Part 4 back a month.

So I ask you guys to just bear with me for a little while longer, let me get back into the proper gear and I promise you that you’ll be rewarded for your patience. I’m really excited about the direction this new version of my story is going in, and trust me when I say that Part 4 will be a blast.