Almost three months, I see! What’s happened since?
-Put the book on hold (150 or so pages in, need to focus on school)
-Got right back in to writing Self Made Villains (am now 4 issues in, out of a planned 12 – writing comics is relaxing and fun, a great way to de-stress from school)
-Received the final version of “Fury” – I’ve now felt a small inkling of the joy I’ll feel when something bigger gets published!
-Attended Small Press Expo – Fun times, new friends, carousing, Oreos, and a thirty-minute escapade involving the worst map ever devised and a nonexistent karaoke bar (oh, and meeting incredibly cool webcomic people)
-Saw / had things signed by Marjane Satrapi
-Read more comics and books
Other things happened, of course, but you’re not interested in them. I have nothing new to offer you at this junction, but I promise that more writing will come.
I will also start attending more conventions, and possibly exhibiting (once I have the money to cover the costs, as well as some products to sell). Granted, there’s a lot of money involved, but I think it’s all worth it in the end.
I’m about halfway through writing the novel’s first draft, which finally has a tentative – yet abysmal – working title :
“We Come In Peace, And My, You Look Tasty”.
I really should get back to writing it, but my brain hasn’t been completely functional these past couple of days. I blame bad indigestion, not getting to sleep until 2 am, getting up at 6, and not enough caffeine to compensate.
In additional positive news, my first published comics work, “Full Disclosure”, which will be in Insomnia Publications “Layer Zero” anthology next year, finally has an artist – the fantastic, talented, and all-around jaw-droppingly-good Ben Bates.
Granted, I know that first draft’s going to be a long way from being complete, but I’m proud of hitting a milestone. Last year, writing a novel was a pie-in-the-sky hope; now, it’s looking more real by the day. Here’s hoping I’ll see it on shelves by next year, while I’m on to the next one. Or two. Or three.
Oh – when the first draft’s done, i’ve got a couple of short story ideas lined up to crank out, so you’ll have a little literary snack or two to tide you over until the book is done. Until then, keep the faith and read some guys I’ve been checking out lately – the great George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series, John Varley’s Rolling Thunder, Haruki Murakami’s South of the Border, West of the Sun, and Paul Dini’s Batman : Streets of Gotham.
There’s something inherently satisfying about seeing the beginnings of a new reality.
I re-wrote the first chapter of a novel I’m working on – again, a horrible non-secret.
All the same, it came out great. I’ve got a different, more powerful kind of mojo going back into this project – I intend to have it done and being shopped around before the summer’s out.
I’m also juggling about four other things at the same time, creative-wise. I’ve got a comic script being prepared for an anthology coming out next year, and writing for an additional website, on top of my comic book reviewing obligations.
Oh, and grad school. Yeah. That thing.
Note to self – maybe I should throttle back one of these days…
Got two big things for you today – a last, and a first.
The last – Lucky Me : Caduceus. The Epilogue. I’m a big fan of nice, open, positive endings, and I think this one does quite nicely.
The first – What Went Wrong… which I have to admit, I liked doing so much, I’m going to do it again.
Let’s be frank (On second thought, let’s not, Frank’s kind of a dick) – I love recommending things, and a fifth of my comic collection is currently on loan to friends of mine. I get a true sense of joy when I’m able to share the experience of something I love with others.
As such, Three Things will keep going, on the monthly schedule I have. But, on a slightly more frequent schedule, I’ll be doing What Went Wrong, and most likely with individual issues of comics.
Without further ado, I give you… Episode 2.5.
I’m obviously not the only one doing something like this, but I feel I’ll be one of the better voices out there. Depends on how interested people are in spot-on commentary and crude, albeit witty, drawings, like my third point – exemplified by a robot humping a magical sword.
I think you’ll particularly like this one. You might notice a few things are different about this story, compared to the earlier ones.
(This is intentional.)
I’m back home again for spring break. The second video blog entry will be put together and posted on YouTube sometime next week; but there are a few people I’m looking forward to seeing in the near future.
Also, I purchased my first long box on Saturday. I was running out of shelf space, so I had to find some way to store my loose comics in a tidy manner.
I was always a geek. Now I’m just more comfortable expressing it.
So, after ignoring it for quite some time, I’ve realized that it may be wise to go for a pen name.
Suggestions have included:
Dog’s name, same last name.
Middle name, same last name.
Something resembling a 1920’s serial adventurer’s name.
Something evocative, resembling an unintelligible (or unpronounceable) symbol.
and, naturally, Max Power.
