Whoah.

I've been busy. My 'real' job has taken over my life the last few weeks, but things should be slowly settling down, and I'll get back to my goal of 3-5 posts per week.

I'll be talking about the three corporations that have fucked me over, and I'll be posting documents to back up my accusations, so that will be fun.

I'll be talking about the holiday preview podcast Tony and I will be doing in September.

I'll be talking about the new Mass Effect DLC, assuming it ever actually works w/ the Steam version of the game.

I'll be talking about my continued journey down the dark path of the MBA.

I'll be talking a bit about what's been stalling me in regards to the book, and what my future plans are for the series.

Also, if you're one of the three getting a free book from me, they have not yet been ordered. I apologize for that, but I have my reasons. They'll be ordered in a week. If you have the sense to live here in St. Louis, then you'll get in two weeks. If you live elsewhere, you'll see it in about three weeks. In the meantime, why not tide yourself over with the $1.25 ebook?

I'm going to try and get a 'real' post up before the weekend.

So, to anyone who's read the book or is reading it: what do you think? Do you have any questions? How would you describe it?

-Blaine

Shout-outs, love, & the weekend

I have two saved & unfinished posts that never quite made it here Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Shit hit the fan at work, and I've been too exhausted to post at night.

Today, in the tradition of my Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday posts, is just some random updates and musings.

First, thank you so much to everyone that has been supportive in the first week of my book release. I'll admit that I stress waaay too much about sales, but the few books I've sold have meant everything to me, and each and every sale leads to total elation for me. It's been wonderful to pretend like I'm a real writer, but at least I can claim to be a published author.

Speaking of the book, I'm ending the run of the limited first editions next week or so. The second edition will be slightly different in terms of extra (non-story text) content and cover, and the font will be different. The first edition is going away next week, so if you want one, buy it now. There is an unlimited number at this moment, waiting for you to order.


I need to give a HUGE shout-out to Laurance & Physical City for the bad-ass art they've started to churn out for me. They, in one fell swoop, instantly made me regret not contracting them for my book art, though they've got me thinking about a comic book/animated version of my book series. It's ripe for it. You're going to see their art start to populate this page today or this weekend, and I'm only going to bug them for more.

Lemme put it like this: If you don't contract them for all your art or marketing or advertising or attempts at getting laid, you are straight retarded.

I didn't understand what good art could mean for my book promotion until Physical City started sending me concepts.

Please, please give them a look for any and all art needs you may have on a project!


Next, last night, Tony came over to watch the Rams' first preseason game and play Madden NFL 10. I came away from both pretty pleased, overall, though some things bothered me about both.

The Rams need to fix Bulger. Scott Linehan, the greatest coward ever to coach in the NFL, got into Bulger's head during his reign of terror, and a) convinced Bulger that he should stand there and get sacked rather than risk throwing a pass and b) deprived Bulger of any and all passion he's ever had for football.

While Bulger did look better last night than he has in a couple years, he still lets himself get sacked far too easily, and he's obnoxiously gun-shy when it comes to slinging passes.

As for Madden, I dug it. Tony hates it. All of his complaints (persistent year-to-year problems, animation glitches, rubber-band AI) are all legit, and bother me, as well, but not nearly as much. I still think it's a fun game, even though I agree with nearly every point he made.

What's nice about Madden is that I put in work each year to improve my skill in the game, and I get to see that pay off in my actual play. I don't want Madden to fundamentally change. I think the core mechanics work just fine, the game looks a little better each year, the presentation gets a little slicker, and they finally restored every feature the game had 5 years ago (create-a-team, player customization, etc.) that was inexplicably stripped out for so-called next-gen releases.

Now that's what I call progress.

As for Tony's issues, as I said, I agree with them all, though I will also point out that he does this every year. Every late summer, I pick up the new NCAA Football and Madden, and goes absolutely through the fucking roof if one of his receivers dares drop a pass. If he ever has even one fewer point than the person against which he's playing, he will bitch and moan at them until they allow him into their endzone. Only then does the constant stream of negativity and hate slow a bit.

To say that he walks into it with a few pre-existing opinions might be a tad bit of an understatement. Playing next to him, one can't help but wonder if, perhaps, Peter Moore is secretly his father, who met his mother while stationed somewhere during a war, then fled when she disclosed her pregnancy to him, and to this day, Tony has sworn himself to nothing but a devotion to patricide.

While Tony and I share many similarities in terms of tastes, sports games is not one of them (thuogh we do both bemoan the lack of MVP Baseball in our lives). I like practicing, learning systems, and fussing for hours with systems, menus, and strategies. Tony likes to be winning, and cannot enjoy himself if he is not winning. Even then, if he's not winning in the way he originally intended to be, he is upset. And will inform you of his ill feelings. For several hours straight. Until he wins.

To be fair, though, I really don't like the way the AI utterly shatters reality in order to make plays work or not. Players skate around on shoes made of Crisco, they hurtle through the air as though one were partaking in a game of pigkin in the Matrix, and they morph into seemingly impossible poses, all to satisfy the AI's perception of how the game should be going. That is annoying, definitely.

My biggest issue, though, is this exclusivity crap that has ruined video game baseball, utterly, and has kept Madden in a state of perpetual mediocrity during this 'next-gen' era of consoles. EA Football (Madden/NCAA) has no competition, year in and year out, and that has hurt it. Remember how Madden's annual releases were almost holidays, back in the PS2/XBox days? That excitement has been tempered, rather dramatically, I think, and it's because Madden doesn't have to try as hard anymore, and the fans can sense that. I used to be excited to try out the new Madden. Yesterday, I felt more like I was 'very interested.' I hope the NFL shreds that agreement ASAP. I miss having 3-4 options for my pigskin fix each year. The competition was a good thing (see NFL 2k1), and if it ever comes back, I have no doubt EA will still be top dog, though they'll finally be pushed to earn the billing.

Anyway, to close the Madden discussion out, I love the fact that I can translate what I observe @ the Ed and on TV when watching my Rams and implement it in the game. I'm one of the best I've ever seen when it comes to implementing the running game in NCAA/Madden, and that's from seeing how the running game actually works in football, and using that. I used to run for shit in these games, and now, I actually prefer to run.

Madden NFL 10 is a very, very niche title. Any broad appeal this series had went out the window when they fucked their competition outta the game, rather than beating them on the open market. This game is for hardcore NFL fans that either a) know how offenses and defenses in football work, or b) are willing to learn. If you don't fit that narrow description, don't bother.

I like it that way, though. I want my football to be hardcore. I don't want it diluted the way RPG combat has been over the last decade.


Last, what have you cats liked the most from my blogs? Based on what you've read here, or my old 1UP blog before, what would you like me to write about the most?

Thanks for reading, and thanks for your feedback!

Oh, and if you've bought a book, PLEASE go here and add a review once you're done! Thanks so much!

-Blaine


(Oooh, that's some SEXY art from Physical City, huh?!)

What Scares You?

Today will be a short post, since I got totally ass-raped at work (figuratively, of course; I'm not paid enough to allow sodomy).

What are the scariest moments you've ever experienced, whether it be in real life, in a game, while watching a film, reading a book, etc?

One of the things I'm always trying to crack is what scares people. There's something about fear that absolutely intrigues me. Fear, for me, is almost akin to spicy Indian food, where I'm always begging for it, but then when it's served to me, I can barely tolerate the intensity of it.

I love having the shit scared out of me, but when it comes to games, I hit my tolerance level, and sometimes have to walk away. I can only beat Silent Hill games when I have someone with me. People have laughed at me as I launch out of my seat, screaming, during certain moments in the early games of that series.

I've barricaded my bedroom door after watching 3 Amityville documentaries in one night.

I've gone hunting in the yard (knife in hand) for aliens after watching too many abduction stories and seeing aliens through my sliding door (or so I thought at the time.)

I don't go in the ocean for fear of being eaten by a shark, but stand ready with a weapon, should my foolish ocean-going wife and son be attacked.

I also have a collection of short horror stories that I add to from time to time, and I'm always trying to find out what it is about 'what's under the bed?' and 'what's outside my window?' and 'what's that sound?' that keeps us up at night as children, and that we still sometimes fight against as adults.

My wife and I always debate this, since things like aliens, creatures, monsters, etc. don't scare her, but she won't watch any film that features people doing horrible things. People scare her, not creatures.

I, as I've explained, fear monsters. People, though, don't scare me in the slightest. I know I can hold my own in a fight, and I understand people. Aliens, sharks, the undead aren't something I can understand (or grok, if you rather), and there's something about their utterly inhuman existence that just terrifies me.

I don't know. I don't think I totally understand what 'fear' is, nor do I think I have a full grasp on what scares me the most.

So, please share your scariest memories, whether they be from real life, or from some form of media. I'm really interested to compare and contrast the responses, so fire away! Thanks!

-Blaine

Please be sure to check out my novel, the Endless Wars: the Descent! Thanks!

Open Source & Writing

There are certain benefits to having absolutely no direction in life. One of them is that you accidentally learn a lot about a variety of subjects. You might be amazed what you pick up when you bounce from being a Video Game store manager to an art school student (graduated with a 4-year BA!) to a restaurant manager to an IT student/professional.

One of the best discoveries along the way has been open source software. I used to be just another brainless Microsoft-using drone, banging out my stories on Microsoft Word on Microsoft 95/ME/XP, until John led an intervention.

He mocked me ruthlessly for months, saying unkind things about my intelligence, waistline, and penis, until I finally caved and installed Ubuntu on one of my PCs. From there, I discovered all kinds of open source applications and now the only software I ever pay for is games.

Open Source & the Writer
I'm a writer. I also work in IT. I don't know if I can properly explain to you how diametrically opposed these two worlds are.

Allow me, then, to tell you why every writer out there should use open source software.

There are few things in this world that I find more childish and obnoxious than the person who prides themselves on their ignorance, as if being open to being taken advantage of is some idiotic badge of honor. Technophobia was cute back when the Church was still allowed to be transparent about its hateful agenda, and they were killing people who pointed out that the world is round. Nowadays, you have companies like Apple & Norton who prey on the technologically retarded by making them pay for services they don't need and overpay for various wares that could be more easily gotten if the user dared to challenge themselves a little and learn the basics of computing.

I'm a writer and a musician. I love musicians but tend to battle most other writers. Most musicians have a grasp of two basic principles very dear to my heart: the embrace of technology & the ability to play well with others. Again, that's most, as I understand that there are plenty of self-absorbed pricks in the music industry.

Anyway, by and large, musicians tend to be pretty cool dudes, and as long as they're hungry, they'll let themselves be pretty versatile and learn any skill necessary to let themselves quit their horrible retail/fast-food job.

Writers, though, aren't always the most tech-savvy, which surprises me, as they should be using computers all the fucking time.

Talk to any serious writer, ask them about their writing process, and they will lay out for you this amazingly elaborate ritual that takes place in a very specific setting during a certain time of day. I don't know why so many writers want so badly to restrict the circumstances under which they can be most productive, but hey, ya gotta be at least a little neurotic to be an artist.

This isn't to say that I don't understand the need for ideal comfort when writing, as I absolutely do. When I write, I like being alone, I like bright lights, I like being able to recline a bit, and that's about it. My process is another post unto itself, but I just wanted to point out how much cooler I am than other writers.

Writers, though, with all their twisted neuroses, need for attention, and desire for cripplingly specific creative process should LOVE open source software.

For me, it came down to three things. One, free software. Two, customization. Three, community.

If you want Windows 7 & Microsoft Office 2007 this fall, you're forking over $500-800. No shit. If you want Ubuntu + OpenOffice, it's free, and just as powerful. If you need to, you can save as MS Word docs, or as .pdf, or whatever you need.

Additionally, by opting for the free open source solution, you're helping adjust the market in that direction. Software tends to be outrageously overpriced, and every little market correction helps.

As for the customization, this is the big one. Ubuntu is fully cuztomizable, and very easily so. OpenOffice has many, many extensions, and can be easily customized, as well. What this allows the writer to do is create his/her ideal writing space on their computer. By being able to tweak both the OS and the word processor, you can make things more comfortable for yourself, and allow yourself to cut the bullshit and get to the writing that much faster.

I've found this is especially nice on my netbook, which I use quite a bit for editing. I write a bit on it, but the keyboard's a little small for the furious slamming of keys. It is, however, perfect for curling up on the bed and editing.

The last point, community, was one I wasn't expecting. Being a user of FOSS instantly connects you with a huge community of people who not only use the same software as you, but often times contribute to the project, so if you ever have questions, you have a vast pool of people who are willing to help you out.

Additionally, you're able to help out quite a bit by contributing feedback on the various projects, which is invaluable.

What's nice, too, is that you may find yourself actually pulled into the tech side a little more, and may just learn a thing or two.

It took me ages and ages to finally lock down and put out my book, and I can easily say that switching to open source software was a huge reinvigoration, as it allowed me a free and easy way to create the perfect writing environment for myself.

So, if you're a writer, I urge you to check out the FOSS scene, and see if there's anything there for you. You may be pleasantly surprised by how much you can get for nothing.

-Blaine

PS - any other writer-ly or tech stuff you wanna read about here?

Please be sure to check out my novel, the Endless Wars: the Descent! Thanks!

The Endless Wars: the Descent is out!

So, I published the book today. You can evidence of this publishing here.

I was just working online with Lulu, the printer/distributor (this is self-published), and towards the end of the process, I hit 'finish,' not realizing it meant FINISH. Next thing I knew, there was my book, ready for order.


Let's get the consumer stuff outta the way.

First, the (paper) book cost $15. I'm not happy about that, but that's the cheapest I could get it for now, and still retain my independence.

That being said, there is a $1.25 ebook option. Go to Lulu, do a search for 'endless wars,' and that seems to be the only way to find the mega-cheap ebook option. I know. I'm still working out some of the kinks here.

Why the huge difference? Well, I confirmed something that I'd long suspected, which is that there is minimal cost for printers/distributors/publishers when it comes to ebooks. Originally, I was set to make 80% of the revenue on the book @ $5/sale. I sat there for a moment, and decided to make the same amount off each version, and pass the savings to you guys. I mean, I'd rather make $1 per book and sell as many copies as possible than screw you all on the ebook discount.

It was tempting. I felt the pull of the publishing dark side, but felt compelled to try and do something different, and see if I can actually make somewhat of a dent by coming in as cheap as possible on the book.

Besides, I have no delusions that I'm ever going to make a lotta money doing this. I publish the Endless Wars series because I love writing, and I love telling stories, and it'd be awesome to actually have a persistent conversation with a lot of people about those subjects. Writing and storytelling are becoming lost arts, and I just want to contribute while it's all still relevant.

I think I've said it here before, but as long as this book doesn't single-handedly kill my writing career, I'm cool.

Also, the Amazon and B&N links are coming. They may not be available immediately, as my ISBN is still being sorted out. I'm trying to set aside $99 to buy it so that I own all the rights to the book. These initial copies won't have an ISBN, but that will be coming soon.


The Book

Here's the blurb again:

...it's 2001. Taran Walker is 23 and is reeling from catching the girl of his dreams with another man. He has failed in nearly every meaningful way in life, and is living in an abandoned halfway house with some friends as he ponders his next scheme. Meanwhile, there is a convergence of souls, some young and some ancient, in St. Louis, and though he doesn't realize it, Taran is at the center of it. He is the one to finally lead the ultimate rebellion and throw off the shackles that have held humanity back since the beginning of time. He will have to fight his way through underworlds and parallel universes, he will battle vampires and rival gods, as well as their lethal servants, but not without the help of a rather interesting mix of friends and allies. From gun-toting dwarves to magic-infused vampires to dope-peddling succubi, Taran will be aided by all manner of creatures and friends. It's the perfect blend of ancient fantasy archetypes and settings and real-world sensibilities and settings. Discover the world you never knew existed but for which you secretly yearned.

So, yeah, I wrote it 10 years ago, blah blah blah, finally went back, dusted it off, edited it, and brought the series back. This is all stuff that if you've read this blog before, you know.

I think that one thing people will dig quite a bit is the richness of the universe. This book is just the tip of the iceberg, and is pretty dense with a lot of mythology that has been crafted and refined over the last decade, with a promise of a lot more to come. It's one of those series that has the possibility for infinite stories, due to the variety contained in the world.

I dunno. I like reading about universes in which there is a realistically infinite world, in terms of interesting stories, and I've tried to craft not only a number or worlds, but several different universes, as well.

Of course, what's at the heart of these books is religion. The Endless Wars series takes the Judeo-Christian mythology and turns it into science fiction. The series, to me, at least, is really a hybrid of urban fantasy and science fiction, since it culls elements from both, but it's also a very character-driven drama in the way things unfold and affect each of the characters.

Wank wank wank. Anyway...

...I will admit that I am nervous about how my 20-something writing is going to be received. As I've talked about previously on here, I tried to really let the book be the book my 21-year old self wanted it to be, to kind of honor my old life, almost like a posthumous release for the old "me" that used to be interesting.

Really, though, I've touched this one up quite a bit, though I did leave in the conversational voice to the text. The voice of the book is one that is made for being read aloud. I tried, at the time, to write it in the style of oral storytelling, because that seemed like a good idea. Again, at the time.

So, lemme know what ya think of that, should you ever take pity on me and buy my book. I'm only expecting to sell a handful, so my feelings won't be hurt.

Anyway, if you would, please, buy the book or the ebook, and lemme know what ya think!

I'll be back with more to continue shamelessly plugging my book soon.

-Blaine

Even closer...

...got the book back from my editor/wife. She doesn't normally read that slowly, but was taking time to give me a thorough ass-kicking from an editorial standpoint. Some stuff she loved, some stuff she hated, and I am now poring through her notes and making minor adjustments in preparation for submitting the manuscript to Lulu to get the thing printed.

The manuscript, now, is at 260 pages, but that will likely increase a little.

I had a very minimalist cover in mind that was simply a black & white photo of a building (central to this particular book) for the front and back of the book, but have decided that I'd rather have plain white w/ black courier font for the covers & spine. Just seems cleaner and less pretentious. I dunno. I just like the way it looks in my head. We'll see. I'd like to have each book in the series be kinda uniform in that respect.

I've confirmed the book will be available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble, as well as the Lulu site.

There will be an e-book version available at some point, but I don't know if it will be day & date with the print version.

There will NOT be a Kindle version, as I've pulled my support for the device after the 1984 fiasco.

I don't yet have a release date. I have a feeling it'll be this month, but it could slip to September. I may push it to September just so I have time to actually build up some anticipation for it. Again, we'll see.

I've made some cost-related decisions, as well. Any additional content that's included will likely be downloadable, to reduce the cost of the book. The more the book costs to make, the more I have to charge. Also, I will be taking a dollar or less per book, in an effort to further reduce cost.

I've started the second book, and it was refreshing to really bang out some new material with these characters for the first time in years. If the first book was dark, this one is cold. With any luck, it won't be another 10 years between books, and I can put out a couple a year. I feel great about the second book thus far.

I'm also thinking about doing a free online-only prequel series of shorts to help flesh out the worlds that appear in these books. I've got the first one in the bag, and am kinda sitting on it while I decide what to do with it.

There have been two very rough things in this process: nightmares and lost companions.

Writing the book gave me nightmares, and editing it has had the same effect. There's some really twisted, deeply personal shit in this volume, and writing/editing it forces me to confront a lot of this shit, at least on some level, and the result is nightmares. Not the kind ya laugh and tell your wife about the next day, either.

My Linux netbook is down at the moment, at least until I either diagnose it or send it in to the manufacturer. It's covered under warranty, but I have a feeling that the HDD is on its last legs. I'm going to try and grab an image of it this week, before I send it in, but I worry that I can't keep it running long enough to grab said image. We shall see.

Either way, that netbook was HUGE in getting this thing edited. It's only 8.9 inches across and weighs 2 pounds, so it was a delight to just lie in bed, read, and edit. It's also my only portable option for Linux at the moment, and Linux is ideal for writers.

With Linux and a little know-how, a writer can pick up a cheap-ass Linux netbook, and customize the shit out of it, thus creating his/her ideal writing/editing setup. Ask any serious writer, and they'll tell you that they are very particular about their rituals, spaces, setups, etc. for when they write. I'm not as overly sensitive as most writers and don't like to cripple myself by limiting the conditions under which I can write.

That reminds me, some day I'd like to post about my dealings with other writers, and how most of them hate me, and how musicians are actually 'my people.' Just know that most writers are amazingly pretentious douchebags who want nothing more than to masturbate to ten-cent words.

Anyway, the netbook will be up and running again soon, but since I back everything up every day in quadruplicate, it's not too big an issue. That thing is just my favorite object in the world, and my most useful tool (other than my penis.)

I'll be back soon. The breaks between posts will be shorter from here on out, since there will be more to talk about the closer we get to release day.

Real quick, I've been reading my first ebook. I wasn't sure if I wanted to publish in that format, so I decided to test-drive a book. I've been reading the first Song of Ice and Fire book in this format, and so far, I really like it. I've been using eReader (running via Wine) on my Ubuntu netbook (which is perfect as an ebook reader, another reason I already miss it.) The netbook is so light and small, one can hold it easily in one hand and lie on his/her back, or lie in any preferred reading position. The nicest thing is that the backgrounds and font are totally customizable, so you can adjust everything until it's nice and easy on your eyes. I think I like it.

In the meantime, let's talk books. What are your favorites? Who are your favorite authors? Favorite genres? Do you like ebooks? What do you think of the Kindle? Anything!

Alright, let's get this hype machine going! HOOWAH!

-Blaine