Got this from Derrick Ferguson.
1. Are you a “pantser” or a “plotter?”
I'm definitely a pantser. I have a general idea of where I'm going but I don't follow any roadmaps -- I let the characters take me there on whichever path they choose.
2. Detailed character sketches or “their character will be revealed to me as I write?"
More of the revealed as I go along. When I write a story, it's kind of like I'm having a conversation with the character and as we go further and further, they'll tell me more and more about themselves.
3. Do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing?
Again, I have a general idea but I leave enough room for spontaneity. Writing for me is kind of like playing jazz.
4. Books on plotting – useful or harmful?
I really wouldn't call them either useful or harmful. I think of books on plotting more as case studies -- they show you how other writers go about their craft. But replicating another writer's process won't really help you, you have to find your own style.
But I do know this -- if someone tells you "this is how you write," then they're dead wrong. There is no set formula, it's not like assembling a bookshelf. You just need to find your own path.
5. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?
I go through phases. There are times when I can't write for shit and there are times when I can't stop. But the itch never goes away, which makes the times when I'm blocked extremely frustrating.
6. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?
I wouldn't call them short bursts but I do go through bursts. It's maybe a few months of solid, nonstop writing followed by a few months of burnout.
7. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?
It varies. Since I have a lot of downtime at my job, I do a lot of writing there. There was a time when I was still in Chicago when the only place I could get any solid work done was when I was at a hookah lounge I frequented. But since coming to Japan, I do most of my writing during my downtime at the office. However lately, I've started writing at night while I'm at home.
8. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?
For the longest time, I always had music going in the background. But since I do most of my work at the office now, music isn't really an option. I can work in either setting, really.
9. Computer or longhand? (Or typewriter?)
Definitely computer. When I was a kid, I wrote longhand all the time. But nowadays, I'm all about modern technology, especially since I can type faster and longer than I can write.
10. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One?
Not really. I have a rough idea but I usually change it as I go along.
11. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?
Not at all. I just write what hits me. I grew up with genre fiction, it's still what I love, so that's what I write. Doesn't matter if it's not as prestigious or profitable as literary fiction or memoirs or whatnot but it's what I enjoy and at the end of the day, that's what's important. You start writing for the market, you've forgotten the primary goal of writing.
12. Editing – love it or hate it?
I've got a background in editing so I have no quarrel with it and I'll frequently do some minor editing as I write. But I know there's a limit. Once a story is finished, I'll proofread it once, make any changes I think are necessary, and then send it off to someone else to give it another look. If I do more than one self-edit, I'll never stop.
13. Why do you want to write?
I really don't know. It's not something I really want to do, oftentimes it can be extremely frustrating. It's something I feel I have to do. I guess in that way, you could call me a bit of an addict.
14. Do you want to publish your work? Why?
I've been published. Derrick said it best, it's a logical progression. It's not because I expect to be rich and famous, it's because I want my work to be seen by as many people as possible.
15. Do like to write alone or do you like to work with others?
I've done both and I enjoy both, depending on my mood. My comic writing that's been published has been written in conjunction with someone else, usually in the form of loose plotting. And Love & Bullets (coming in 2010 from Pulpwork Press) began as a screenplay that was plotted by someone else, although it evolved quite a bit from that screenplay.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
KAGEMONO: TOOTH AND CLAW NOW AVAILABLE
| Price per Unit (piece): $16.50 | |
| Bigger and badder than ever, KAGEMONO: TOOTH AND CLAW will drag you screaming and laughing through ten all new stories: a werewolf-infested city, a coma ward, a sanctuary for vampires, an old factory, the bathroom of tomorrow, a psychic medium's copy shop, a Miami courthouse, a bluesman's shag-pad, and a suburban home with a very unusual closet. Edited by Jason Franks. 84 pages, squarebound, B&W interior, colour cover. | |
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Marvel bows to the almighty Mouse
First came the announcement that Disney had bought out Marvel Entertainment. That loud crack you heard next? That was the sound of the Internet breaking.
Everyone's been talking about it and CNN even had an article with the obligatory ZIP! POW! BAM! headline (seriously people, that joke wasn't funny the first five thousand times and repeating it has done the opposite of making it funnier).
As is usually the case with any sort of big announcement that affects the comic industry, the fan community is up in arms with “doom and gloom” scenarios and Chicken Littles are scurrying across various message boards to let us know repeatedly that the sky is falling. So let's get some facts straight.
First off, the idea that this means all of Marvel's properties will only be for kids and that we've seen the end of characters like Wolverine and the Punisher is absolute lunacy. People, I want you to think about this logically for a minute. Disney is about more than just the mouse with a funny voice. Disney is an international media conglomerate spanning all different areas of entertainment media and all different age groups. You want proof that Marvel isn't in danger of going completely kiddie? One of Disney's subsidiaries is Miramax Films. In case you haven't heard of them before, Miramax is known for putting out films with very questionable content. Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill? Those are technically Disney films.
Now the second part is that this means Joe Quesada will be fired. This is nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of fans who hate what Quesada has done with Marvel. Look, whether you love or hate Quesada's decisions, the fact of the matter is Marvel has become very profitable under his tenure as editor-in-chief. Disney seems to be taking a hands-off approach to Marvel, much like they've done with Pixar and Miramax. That means if it ain't broke, don't fix it, which means Quesada's job is safe. There have been other comments to the extent of, “maybe this means Byrne will be rehired at Marvel” or “this means Bendis will get a promotion.”
People, be realistic—just because Disney bought out Marvel doesn't mean Mickey's going to come in with a magic wand and change everything you don't like about Marvel. Chances are a lot of things will not change at all.
But one more thing about the Quesada angle—a number of people have been going on message boards saying, and I quote, “I hope Quesada gets fired.” I don't care what he's done to your childhood characters, hoping that another human being loses his livelihood just because he's made decisions that have affected nothing other than comic books is crass and rude (although this is the kind of mentality I've come to expect from comic book message boards, which is why I tend to stay away from them).
Personally, as of this writing and until I've seen anything to make me think otherwise, this is a great thing not only for Marvel and Disney but for the industry as a whole. Disney wants to capture the adolescent boy market just as effectively as they've done with adolescent girls with Hannah Montana or High School Musical (the entire tween market). The best way to do that? Find something that appeals to adolescent boys and what better way to do that than with superheroes? Not only superheroes, but superheroes that have a proven track record among this audience.
You ask many adolescent boys who their favorite superheroes are, the most common answers will probably be Spider-Man, Batman and Wolverine. Two out of three isn't so bad. Disney XD already airs both new and old Marvel cartoons, such as Spectacular Spider-Man and Silver Surfer. Expect more Marvel TV courtesy of Disney. Another possibility is live-action television as well—NBC has Heroes and the CW has Smallville. Both shows are very highly ranked and I'm sure Disney wants a piece of that action. Maybe a Young X-Men series featuring students at the Xavier Institute is now a possibility.
Another major interest is movies. Superheroes are very popular and despite the naysayers claims that the fad will die soon (they've been saying this ever since X2 was released), the second highest-grossing movie of all time is The Dark Knight. Maybe the characters themselves will fall out of interest (even that is speculation at best considering that James Bond has spanned four decades, six actors, twenty-two films and a Saturday morning cartoon [and that's just the official series, not counting the Casino Royale spoof or Never Say Never Again]) but the superhero genre is here to stay.
This could of course prove to be a problem. On the one hand, Disney is giving Marvel a hands-off approach, which means once they get the rights of their properties back, Marvel will have more creative control over the movies. So it means an end to films like Elektra or X-Men: The Last Stand and a better chance of seeing future movies treated with the same respect and veneration as Iron Man.
On the other hand, this is a similar problem we see with DC and their relationship with Time Warner. Basically, only so many movies can be made in a given year. So if Disney is going to end up the sole distributor of Marvel films (which they have said they do want to be eventually), that means less Marvel movies and it means less of a focus on smaller characters and more of a focus on the big draws like X-Men, Spider-Man and so on. And it looks like some issues may already start to rise--20th Century Fox has just announced its plans to reboot the Fantastic Four franchise. Can't be coincidence that this announcement comes at the same time as the announcement of the Marvel buyout.
The fact of the matter is, the one thing Disney has kept pretty quiet about is publishing. That leads me to believe that you'll see no big changes as far as Marvel Comics is concerned. There are several benefits Marvel will be able to reap for the comics, however.
First off, distribution. Let's face it, the direct market is broken and has been for years. This could finally be the one thing that breaks the stranglehold Diamond has held on the industry for far too long. Maybe comics will now make their way back to spinner racks and newsstands.
Second, diversity. One of the reasons DC has a much more diverse publishing line than Marvel is because they've got the backing of Time Warner, so they can afford to publish books that aren't as profitable. This means a lot of books that would previously have been canceled may now be able to survive, even without the obligatory Wolverine appearance. That's something I am definitely onboard with. Had this deal happened a few months ago, Captain Britain and MI13 may still be around. This also means another area which Marvel hasn't been as strong in lately—younger readers. They've tried with the Marvel Adventures line, but maybe now we can see an expansion of it, start getting those books in Wal-Marts and Targets and grocery and drug stores across the country.
There are negatives, naturally. For example, Disney is traditionally very territorial and very concerned about copyright infringement. So this could mean an end to commissioned artwork of Marvel characters or sales of comic pages, which is how a lot of artists make a good portion of income. And that could prove to be a very, very bad thing as many artists may now find themselves struggling.
The bottom line there will be changes, but they won't be all bad or all good. There will probably be a mix of both. And until we have any further information, everything at this point is nothing more than complete and total speculation.
So Chicken Little? It's time to shut the hell up.
Everyone's been talking about it and CNN even had an article with the obligatory ZIP! POW! BAM! headline (seriously people, that joke wasn't funny the first five thousand times and repeating it has done the opposite of making it funnier).
As is usually the case with any sort of big announcement that affects the comic industry, the fan community is up in arms with “doom and gloom” scenarios and Chicken Littles are scurrying across various message boards to let us know repeatedly that the sky is falling. So let's get some facts straight.
First off, the idea that this means all of Marvel's properties will only be for kids and that we've seen the end of characters like Wolverine and the Punisher is absolute lunacy. People, I want you to think about this logically for a minute. Disney is about more than just the mouse with a funny voice. Disney is an international media conglomerate spanning all different areas of entertainment media and all different age groups. You want proof that Marvel isn't in danger of going completely kiddie? One of Disney's subsidiaries is Miramax Films. In case you haven't heard of them before, Miramax is known for putting out films with very questionable content. Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill? Those are technically Disney films.
Now the second part is that this means Joe Quesada will be fired. This is nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of fans who hate what Quesada has done with Marvel. Look, whether you love or hate Quesada's decisions, the fact of the matter is Marvel has become very profitable under his tenure as editor-in-chief. Disney seems to be taking a hands-off approach to Marvel, much like they've done with Pixar and Miramax. That means if it ain't broke, don't fix it, which means Quesada's job is safe. There have been other comments to the extent of, “maybe this means Byrne will be rehired at Marvel” or “this means Bendis will get a promotion.”
People, be realistic—just because Disney bought out Marvel doesn't mean Mickey's going to come in with a magic wand and change everything you don't like about Marvel. Chances are a lot of things will not change at all.
But one more thing about the Quesada angle—a number of people have been going on message boards saying, and I quote, “I hope Quesada gets fired.” I don't care what he's done to your childhood characters, hoping that another human being loses his livelihood just because he's made decisions that have affected nothing other than comic books is crass and rude (although this is the kind of mentality I've come to expect from comic book message boards, which is why I tend to stay away from them).
Personally, as of this writing and until I've seen anything to make me think otherwise, this is a great thing not only for Marvel and Disney but for the industry as a whole. Disney wants to capture the adolescent boy market just as effectively as they've done with adolescent girls with Hannah Montana or High School Musical (the entire tween market). The best way to do that? Find something that appeals to adolescent boys and what better way to do that than with superheroes? Not only superheroes, but superheroes that have a proven track record among this audience.
You ask many adolescent boys who their favorite superheroes are, the most common answers will probably be Spider-Man, Batman and Wolverine. Two out of three isn't so bad. Disney XD already airs both new and old Marvel cartoons, such as Spectacular Spider-Man and Silver Surfer. Expect more Marvel TV courtesy of Disney. Another possibility is live-action television as well—NBC has Heroes and the CW has Smallville. Both shows are very highly ranked and I'm sure Disney wants a piece of that action. Maybe a Young X-Men series featuring students at the Xavier Institute is now a possibility.
Another major interest is movies. Superheroes are very popular and despite the naysayers claims that the fad will die soon (they've been saying this ever since X2 was released), the second highest-grossing movie of all time is The Dark Knight. Maybe the characters themselves will fall out of interest (even that is speculation at best considering that James Bond has spanned four decades, six actors, twenty-two films and a Saturday morning cartoon [and that's just the official series, not counting the Casino Royale spoof or Never Say Never Again]) but the superhero genre is here to stay.
This could of course prove to be a problem. On the one hand, Disney is giving Marvel a hands-off approach, which means once they get the rights of their properties back, Marvel will have more creative control over the movies. So it means an end to films like Elektra or X-Men: The Last Stand and a better chance of seeing future movies treated with the same respect and veneration as Iron Man.
On the other hand, this is a similar problem we see with DC and their relationship with Time Warner. Basically, only so many movies can be made in a given year. So if Disney is going to end up the sole distributor of Marvel films (which they have said they do want to be eventually), that means less Marvel movies and it means less of a focus on smaller characters and more of a focus on the big draws like X-Men, Spider-Man and so on. And it looks like some issues may already start to rise--20th Century Fox has just announced its plans to reboot the Fantastic Four franchise. Can't be coincidence that this announcement comes at the same time as the announcement of the Marvel buyout.
The fact of the matter is, the one thing Disney has kept pretty quiet about is publishing. That leads me to believe that you'll see no big changes as far as Marvel Comics is concerned. There are several benefits Marvel will be able to reap for the comics, however.
First off, distribution. Let's face it, the direct market is broken and has been for years. This could finally be the one thing that breaks the stranglehold Diamond has held on the industry for far too long. Maybe comics will now make their way back to spinner racks and newsstands.
Second, diversity. One of the reasons DC has a much more diverse publishing line than Marvel is because they've got the backing of Time Warner, so they can afford to publish books that aren't as profitable. This means a lot of books that would previously have been canceled may now be able to survive, even without the obligatory Wolverine appearance. That's something I am definitely onboard with. Had this deal happened a few months ago, Captain Britain and MI13 may still be around. This also means another area which Marvel hasn't been as strong in lately—younger readers. They've tried with the Marvel Adventures line, but maybe now we can see an expansion of it, start getting those books in Wal-Marts and Targets and grocery and drug stores across the country.
There are negatives, naturally. For example, Disney is traditionally very territorial and very concerned about copyright infringement. So this could mean an end to commissioned artwork of Marvel characters or sales of comic pages, which is how a lot of artists make a good portion of income. And that could prove to be a very, very bad thing as many artists may now find themselves struggling.
The bottom line there will be changes, but they won't be all bad or all good. There will probably be a mix of both. And until we have any further information, everything at this point is nothing more than complete and total speculation.
So Chicken Little? It's time to shut the hell up.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
From Pulpwork Press
For images and more PWP goodness, check out the link.
Sorry it's been a few weeks folks, but we're still trundling along on the path to self-discovery. Mostly, we're just lazy though.
Well, I'm lazy.
Anyway, word is that Joel Jenkins' Nuclear Suitcase is on the horizon for release, and if you'd be interested in writing a review of the book, please get in touch with us via e-mail or through the message board or forum or whatever that thing is.
Also on the good news front, we've gotten a first look at the cover to 2010's Love & Bullets by Percival Constantine (who, while his name sounds like he should be writing paranormal romance novels and his author's photo suggests he should be writing decadent poetry, has instead crafted a butt-to-the-seat action-adventure thriller), as well as a bit of blurbage to tell us what it's all about...
Beautiful. Cunning. Deadly. These are just a few of the words that describe Angela Lockhart, former operative of the mysterious Agency. Now working as an assassin for an international syndicate called Infernum, led by a mysterious power broker known only as Dante, Lockhart has become the 'Most Wanted' for every major law enforcement agency in the world. But when Agency operative Christian Pierce begins a dangerous game of deception to try and bring her back into the fold, Angela will find herself torn between her old life and her new one...
Doesn't that sound like a good book to ride out an hour or so with?
And, coming next week, big news! Well, more big news.
Medium news.
Really, it depends, I suppose.
I'll simply say this...ALTERNITY.
...
Oh, and wouldn't 'Nuclear Love Bullets' be a great name for a band?
Sorry it's been a few weeks folks, but we're still trundling along on the path to self-discovery. Mostly, we're just lazy though.
Well, I'm lazy.
Anyway, word is that Joel Jenkins' Nuclear Suitcase is on the horizon for release, and if you'd be interested in writing a review of the book, please get in touch with us via e-mail or through the message board or forum or whatever that thing is.
Also on the good news front, we've gotten a first look at the cover to 2010's Love & Bullets by Percival Constantine (who, while his name sounds like he should be writing paranormal romance novels and his author's photo suggests he should be writing decadent poetry, has instead crafted a butt-to-the-seat action-adventure thriller), as well as a bit of blurbage to tell us what it's all about...
Beautiful. Cunning. Deadly. These are just a few of the words that describe Angela Lockhart, former operative of the mysterious Agency. Now working as an assassin for an international syndicate called Infernum, led by a mysterious power broker known only as Dante, Lockhart has become the 'Most Wanted' for every major law enforcement agency in the world. But when Agency operative Christian Pierce begins a dangerous game of deception to try and bring her back into the fold, Angela will find herself torn between her old life and her new one...
Doesn't that sound like a good book to ride out an hour or so with?
And, coming next week, big news! Well, more big news.
Medium news.
Really, it depends, I suppose.
I'll simply say this...ALTERNITY.
...
Oh, and wouldn't 'Nuclear Love Bullets' be a great name for a band?
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Writer Beware
As I usually do in the mornings before I head off to work, I sat down in front of my computer with my coffee and checked my e-mail. As I've been focusing more on my day job and less on my novel and comic book endeavors, my Gmail account has been pretty quiet.
But today, I received the following letter:
I'm not an idiot. Not in any sense of the word. And I can smell a scam when I see one. This is definitely a scam. There are a few telltale signs right off the bat that this is not a legitimate marketing agency.
The first is the horrible command of the English language. If you're going to try and market a book, you should at least know the basics of grammar.
The second is that they contacted me and inquired only about my first novel, FALLEN. They didn't ask me about CHASING THE DRAGON and I know why -- they found my old website, which hasn't been updated in over a year. They did no other research on my name, they didn't bother to find out any additional information about me. Also, although FALLEN was published through Lulu.com, CHASING THE DRAGON was published through CreateSpace. So if they weren't trolling about my website, they were trolling Lulu's website looking for suckers.
The third is that they contacted me and any marketing agency that contacts a self-published writer out of the blue is one to be curious about.
A look at their website shows that their "affordable" prices range from $250 all the way to over $2000. Now, I have a very good full-time job in which I make a very healthy salary, more than enough to support myself. But despite this, I don't have hundreds or thousands of dollars to just blow away on a service like this. This is not an affordable service, not if you're middle class and certainly not if you're a struggling, first-time writer.
Their website also shows that they're a subsidiary of Yen Chen Support Corp, which I looked up. It's an Asian-based outsourcing company. Judging from the poorly worded e-mail as well as the comments I've read from other authors in which they were contacted by BookWhirl representatives who have very heavy accents and very broken English shows that these so-called "marketing specialists" are nothing more than telemarketers with a fancy title.
Publishing is a difficult business, especially if you're going the self-publishing route. You'll be lucky if you get anyone to buy your book, let alone turn a healthy profit. But you should still avoid "marketing" companies that rely on telemarketing and spam e-mail campaigns. If these are the tactics they use to advertise to you, what makes you think the tactics they use to advertise your book will be any different?
But today, I received the following letter:
Dear Percival Constantine,
A pleasant day!
I’m --------- a Marketing Specialist of Bookwhirl.com.
I came across with your book entitled, Fallen. We are interested to promote it and we’d like to help you reach out up to 5,000,000 individuals and let them know about you and your book.
Here at BookWhirl.com, we can help you achieve and attain the goal that you want the most for your book.
If your schedule permits, I would like to have an audience with you over the phone to discuss our different Marketing Services. Otherwise, you can always visit us online during your free time at www.BookWhirl.com. If you have any questions, know that you are always welcome to reply to this e-mail or give me a call at ---------- extension ----.
I hope to hear from you soon and have a nice day!
Sincerely yours,
--------------
I'm not an idiot. Not in any sense of the word. And I can smell a scam when I see one. This is definitely a scam. There are a few telltale signs right off the bat that this is not a legitimate marketing agency.
The first is the horrible command of the English language. If you're going to try and market a book, you should at least know the basics of grammar.
The second is that they contacted me and inquired only about my first novel, FALLEN. They didn't ask me about CHASING THE DRAGON and I know why -- they found my old website, which hasn't been updated in over a year. They did no other research on my name, they didn't bother to find out any additional information about me. Also, although FALLEN was published through Lulu.com, CHASING THE DRAGON was published through CreateSpace. So if they weren't trolling about my website, they were trolling Lulu's website looking for suckers.
The third is that they contacted me and any marketing agency that contacts a self-published writer out of the blue is one to be curious about.
A look at their website shows that their "affordable" prices range from $250 all the way to over $2000. Now, I have a very good full-time job in which I make a very healthy salary, more than enough to support myself. But despite this, I don't have hundreds or thousands of dollars to just blow away on a service like this. This is not an affordable service, not if you're middle class and certainly not if you're a struggling, first-time writer.
Their website also shows that they're a subsidiary of Yen Chen Support Corp, which I looked up. It's an Asian-based outsourcing company. Judging from the poorly worded e-mail as well as the comments I've read from other authors in which they were contacted by BookWhirl representatives who have very heavy accents and very broken English shows that these so-called "marketing specialists" are nothing more than telemarketers with a fancy title.
Publishing is a difficult business, especially if you're going the self-publishing route. You'll be lucky if you get anyone to buy your book, let alone turn a healthy profit. But you should still avoid "marketing" companies that rely on telemarketing and spam e-mail campaigns. If these are the tactics they use to advertise to you, what makes you think the tactics they use to advertise your book will be any different?
Friday, April 24, 2009
At long last, an update!
I probably should have done this a while ago, but I suppose it's serendipitous that I've chosen now to update because I've got some very good news to share with all of you. The first piece of news is that I've recently gotten some very positive feedback on Chasing The Dragon. Not in the form of reviews, unfortunately, but the fact that people are actually reading my work and enjoying it puts me on cloud nine. Hearing praise about a book you thought wouldn't go anywhere and no one seemed interested in brightens up my day. When someone approached me recently and told me how much he enjoyed it, I spent a good hour or so just asking him questions and talking with him about various subjects tangentially related to the work. Unfortunately, this hasn't been enough to spur my interest in finishing the sequel, Die By The Sword. And Elias Starr and the Prometheus Engine is still a bit stalled as well.
The second piece of good news is that my first writing assignment for AC Comics' Femforce title has been published! Here is the blurb from AC Comics' webpage:
"... the return of THREETA, last seen in FF # 142. As gangster Tony Balistreri has his renegade scientist fire the mystery weapon at THREETA, he has no idea of the socking results- it makes the king-sized superheroine even BIGGGER, in "Size Matters". But what happens when THREETA's mild-mannered alter-egos remain oversized as well? Script by Percival Constantine, Pencils bt Dennis Chacon, and inks by Jeff Austin."
You can purchase the issue on AC Comics' webpage.
The second big news is that I've caught the writing bug again! I just finished the manuscript of Love & Bullets, including the edits, and sent it off to some people. I'm really excited about this book and I'm very confident in its potential. As I've mentioned before, this is a very personal project for me. After both the film and comic versions fell through, I rewrote the first script, got about halfway into it before other things popped up.
Then, in answer to a challenge from my buddy Jason Franks (more information on him and the comic story we worked on together once I have it), I wrote up the opening scene from the revised script as a short story for an anthology. After I wrote it, I had the drive to keep going, so I novelized the entire story, making revisions where necessary and now, it's finished. I went through and edited it and then sent it off to some people who may be interested. More on that as it becomes available. But I have planned out the series connected to this book, at least roughly.
I've also got the writing bug in regards to another potential book series, featuring another character I've nursed for a while (and tried to do in comic form without much luck). I plan on getting started with one of those books very shortly, once I've decompressed a bit from the excitement over finishing Love & Bullets.
Sadly, not much else to report on other projects I've talked about here. The comic work has come to a stop for the most part, mainly because I have dealt with far too many artists who chose to stop answering e-mails. A note to anyone who wants to get involved in any sort of industry -- please keep in touch with people. If you can't take on or stay with an assignment, don't ignore e-mails. Just politely tell the person that you're no longer able to commit for whatever reason you may have. You can even make up a reason if you like, it doesn't matter, just as long as you have a reason.
But when you refuse to respond to messages, don't give any reason for the lack of a response, then you begin to develop a reputation as being unprofessional. And in an industry where there is an abundance of talent, far exceeding the availability, professionalism is key.
The second piece of good news is that my first writing assignment for AC Comics' Femforce title has been published! Here is the blurb from AC Comics' webpage:
"... the return of THREETA, last seen in FF # 142. As gangster Tony Balistreri has his renegade scientist fire the mystery weapon at THREETA, he has no idea of the socking results- it makes the king-sized superheroine even BIGGGER, in "Size Matters". But what happens when THREETA's mild-mannered alter-egos remain oversized as well? Script by Percival Constantine, Pencils bt Dennis Chacon, and inks by Jeff Austin."
You can purchase the issue on AC Comics' webpage.
The second big news is that I've caught the writing bug again! I just finished the manuscript of Love & Bullets, including the edits, and sent it off to some people. I'm really excited about this book and I'm very confident in its potential. As I've mentioned before, this is a very personal project for me. After both the film and comic versions fell through, I rewrote the first script, got about halfway into it before other things popped up.
Then, in answer to a challenge from my buddy Jason Franks (more information on him and the comic story we worked on together once I have it), I wrote up the opening scene from the revised script as a short story for an anthology. After I wrote it, I had the drive to keep going, so I novelized the entire story, making revisions where necessary and now, it's finished. I went through and edited it and then sent it off to some people who may be interested. More on that as it becomes available. But I have planned out the series connected to this book, at least roughly.
I've also got the writing bug in regards to another potential book series, featuring another character I've nursed for a while (and tried to do in comic form without much luck). I plan on getting started with one of those books very shortly, once I've decompressed a bit from the excitement over finishing Love & Bullets.
Sadly, not much else to report on other projects I've talked about here. The comic work has come to a stop for the most part, mainly because I have dealt with far too many artists who chose to stop answering e-mails. A note to anyone who wants to get involved in any sort of industry -- please keep in touch with people. If you can't take on or stay with an assignment, don't ignore e-mails. Just politely tell the person that you're no longer able to commit for whatever reason you may have. You can even make up a reason if you like, it doesn't matter, just as long as you have a reason.
But when you refuse to respond to messages, don't give any reason for the lack of a response, then you begin to develop a reputation as being unprofessional. And in an industry where there is an abundance of talent, far exceeding the availability, professionalism is key.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Writing Update
It's been a while since I gave an actual update, but here is what has been happening lately in my world. For starters, I should start by getting this off my chest -- I haven't written any original material in months. Both my current novel projects -- Elias Starr and the Prometheus Engine and Die By The Sword (the sequel to Chasing The Dragon) -- have come to a screeching halt. My attempts to bring these back up to the previous speed I had managed on them has met with frustration.A few friends helped me deal with some self-doubt I've struggled with in my writing. All of them offered great support, but I want to draw attention to two of them in particular -- Josh Reynolds and Jason Franks. Josh, who writes for a number of anthologies, posted a link on my private web journal to the submission guidelines for several theme anthologies. Jason saw this and then challenged me to join him in submitting to Utility Fog Press' Assassin's Creed anthology.
At first I struggled. Then I remembered the aborted scripts for the Love & Bullets comic. I really love that story and the characters, Kyle Shire and I came up with some great stuff in that original screenplay. After the first issue of the series failed, I went back and rewrote the script for the first issue, although nothing more has come from this endeavor. So I dug out the script and adapted the first scene into prose and submitted it to Utility Fog. We'll see what comes from that.
On the plus side, this has led to me continuing to adapt the scripts to prose. I've gotten 7500 words written so far and haven't finished adapting the first issue of the six-issue series. This is a pretty good sign for me and I'll keep going with this. It's not any new material, but at least it's something and I think it's more marketable than my currently published novels.
As far as comic work goes, there has been some progress. Two pages for the Steampunk Western submission have been penciled, inked and lettered, several more pages still to go unfortunately. It's slow-going, but the pages are really high-quality -- Alain Chan and Jon Michiemo are blowing me away with their work. I think it has a very good chance of getting picked up by a publisher.
Also on the comic front, my first Threeta story for AC Comics' Femforce title has been completed and will be in their next issue. And, referencing Jason yet again, the story he and I co-write, Trauma Ward, has been completed for Black Glass Press' Kagemono anthology. Carl Yonder provided the artwork, some of the sharpest work I've seen from him, and I'm really proud of the lettering. This will take a bit longer before it's available, because Jason chose to make this edition of Kagemono a graphic novel instead of a single issue.
More information as it becomes available.
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