Well, this is certainly something that will make me want to re-watch the series (not the prequels for God’s sake). I’m sorry that I have been lax in updating this blog. Things have been getting hairy at work and I am working on the novel to try to get it finished by the end of March. If I get lucky enough, I am going to have the three added chapters finished by the end of this week and send off the second draft to the volunteers (no, really – I politely asked them and they agreed… the fools…). I’ve fallen behind on several of my favorite shows – with Fox, that’s usually the kiss of death. Anyway – I have some biscuits and gravy with a side of coffee in me, so I am feeling a little better.

As I mentioned earlier, the novel is coming along. I am going to work to get the chapters finished and put into the novel with any luck by the end of the week. I like the turn at the end of the chapter I am working on now (‘Paid‘). It does reflect on Rhona’s set of morals – yes, she actually has some and we get an idea on how strong Anya’s sense of honor is. Personally, I will be happy when this is done and gone. I am itching to work on other projects and get other things published. I am working to make this my career, and I’ve been told that the back catalogue will be where most of the money will be made. So I need to work on that back catalogue. On the up side, I’ve got so much stuff in my head I don’t think I’ll be out of work anytime soon.

They tell me that this Wednesday is going to be the first day of Spring. We had snow in my location yesterday:

The perils of being non-migratory

While I love the cold weather, I am ready for Spring. This has been a rather bitter Winter and not that much in terms of snow. Of course, feel free to point this blog out to me when the Summer heat hits me like a hammer. I am not a fan of Summer, but I am hoping this year to have enough money to try to go to a local water park, or at least get to a hotel with a pool. On completely unrelated news… I preordered Bioshock: Infinite and I got a little surprise – Bioshock! I got the original game on my computer. Seriously, as far as scary games goes – Bioshock is one of the better ones, especially with the better graphics than the X-Box version. I knew the Splicers were disfigured, but on the PC… yuck! Wow. This game is one of my favorites – an honest story line, choices that have strong repercussions further down the game and several very cunning lessons in economics, philosophy and politics. I hope that Bioshock: Infinite will be a successor to the franchise.

Well, it’s time for more coffee and a shower.

Hope y’all have a good day.

Sincerely,

Seething With Apathy

I had a good writing session last night and I had a good idea that I can’t wait to develop on – I am a little hesitant about it because it might paint the main character as a bit self-centered. Yeah, I don’t want her to be the white knight since that’s a stretch for her morally, but I also don’t want her to be the other villain. I might expand on it a little bit more – add in a smaller scene and switch POV characters in the following chapter. I think I’m going to get this done by the weekend and get it off to everyone by the beginning of next week – a little ahead of schedule! – and I can get to I/O
Error and get that finished a little ahead of time on that one as well. Just need to try to build on the successes that I am making today. I’m getting a little excited and giggly… no, wait – that’s the coffee.

Today I think I am going to go on ahead and finish up the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon series and do my own little analysis of it next Saturday. This Saturday, I have the writer’s meeting to go to so I’ll have to get up earlier than normal. Loki said it best – it would be nice to sleep in on every Saturday, but this is helping me with the novel. I wish I had net this group a lot sooner… I also wish I had taken this up a lot sooner as well, but only because of Amazon am I able to get stuff out there. I’m doing it now, however and that’s all that matters. Well… that and a payday.

In a couple of weeks, I will have a few days of vacation coming up to play this on Steam and hopefully get in contact with some friends. I’m going to write on Monday, since the game won’t release until midnight; but I have no illusions about Tuesday or Wednesday – few things are going to tear me away from the computer. Which is why I am going to try to get the novel’s re-writes done so I can dedicate some time to writing and some time to the game. Speaking of games – I am almost finished with Halo 4 and my disappointment with and of it grows mightily. I’m saving that for a future blog post.

Well, I must shower and get ready for work… 8 days remain.

Sincerely,

Seething With Apathy

The last time, I recommended the show, today I recommend the podcast. It’s one of the better show related podcasts that I’ve listened to (given that the show is still going… sorry ‘Awake podcast’) in a while. They keep up to date with news in the show and entertain listener’s e-mail without being snarky. All in all, this is one of the better podcasts I listen to on a regular basis.

Well, the chapter has ended and I am getting ready to start the second chapter for re-writes. This chapter should be a little slower than the previous one, with this one there is going to be more conflict and we get to see that the Scholars aren’t just swords a-flashin’ and a-stabbin’. There should be one more re-written chapter and a little tweaking of the following chapter – thus ending the main set of re-writes. I’ll send it off to my editor and my beta readers for a final look-over to make some changes and call it done. Celebrations will be had, bail will be paid and work on I/O Error will resume. I am confident that I will have the novel’s final draft finished by month’s end and eyeing an end of July formal release into the wild. I am going to shoot for an October release for I/O Error with Valentina’s Feast coming out hopefully for St. Valentine’s Day. Hopefully with those three books out, I can start to make enough income to either reduce my hours at work or even quit. I think I can take one more year there (provided I’m not fired in the meantime).

I had a wireless keyboard, but I had to let it go. It was dying and not sending all the letters I was typing. I changed the batteries, reset the connection a couple of times and there was no joy. So, I gently set it to the side and got out the original keyboard for the PC. I have to admit – I like the feel of these keys. Yeah, I am weird that way. I like my keys to feel and sound a certain way when I hit them, just like I use only one pen when I write (you’re welcome Pilot Pen – since Pentel killed my favorite.) on paper. Yes, I am picky about the pens in my hands and the keyboard under my fingertips. Sadly, I can only find my pens at one location, so I am going to have to start hording them soon. I don’t have a problem. Not at all.

I am going to do something over the next few days. Since I got the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, I have been considering watching the episodes again and making some commentaries about them. I love the cartoon and I am trying to sharpen my critical writing skills a little. If I have to do something like this, I should do it with something that I love. I might do it once a week – Saturday seems appropriate. I am going to finish off the series (given my speed, the first review might be this Saturday) and start the reviews.

Well, I need to write, shower and trudge off to work. Hope y’all have a good day.

Sincerely,

Seething With Apathy

If you’re not watching this show, you are missing out. I’m a fan of the comic and I have to admit, I like the different direction that this show is taking. I do need to get back to the comic, I think I’m at least 4 or 5 volumes behind. Seriously – AMC is cranking out some good shows and it’s a pity that two of them are going by the wayside. Oh, well – I should cut back on my TV viewing anyways and make more room for writing. Yeah – that didn’t sound sincere to me either. 😀

I am rewriting a couple of chapters in the novel, and I have come to a bit of a crossroads. Do I make one of the members of the carnival somewhat sympathetic to Rhona in the last art of the chapter, or do I go on ahead to the next chapter and keep the carnival as a group of people that we are to dislike passionately? For now, I do not see the carnival coming back into Rhona’s life any time soon, so I don’t believe that there is a need to start to kinda-sorta humanize them. On the other part… well, no – there is no other part to it. We should keep the carnival as a group of miscreants and lowlifes. There – it’s done. We can go back to disliking them. I’m going to have a good reason for everybody to hate them in the next couple of chapters and I can’t wait to write it. Frankly, I can’t wait for this book to get done and printed. Which means I am going to have to work some more on it tonight… more coffee for me I suppose.

I still get ideas and I feverishly write them down, no matter how bad they seem to be at the time (why would someone want to be possessed?) since from some of the worst ideas I think I have, they can still be folded into something else and have a chance to shine (‘Lord of the Rings’ meets ‘Frankenstein’… really?). Never discount an idea would be the third good piece of advice I would give to aspiring writers. The first two would be: 1) read 2) write. Well, speaking of that, I should get back to the novel and get that new chapter started. I hope everyone has a good day.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

I know that I am going to be loopy tomorrow, but I can’t sleep right now since work has gotten me too keyed up to relax. Seriously, at this point, if I am fired, I would be the happiest person on the planet. They can take the house, the car and almost every possession. As long as I have a laptop, a power source and a wi-fi connection, I can write and do what I feel I was meant to do. I am just tired of having to bite my tongue when I am the one being called a liar at work because the sales people are the ones who are making it hard on me. Honestly, if I get another ass-hat on my phone tomorrow; I will stand up, gather my things and just walk out. One person who reads this blog (and such a benighted soul she is) understands what I am talking about since she worked in the same company I do. Seriously, most of my job is helping people – but it’s those few salesmen that I have to deal with… or more accurately, clean up their messes – that make me want to throw my hands up in the air and just hand the keys of the house over to the bank and say ‘Here you go, nie moj cyrk, nie moje malpy.‘

I acknowledge that I complain about my job and my life circumstances, and I also acknowledge that only I can change these things. However, the cost of changing them may be too high right now. I know that it is in my best interest to hang in there… but I feel that I have been doing that for far too long. As the Bard said: … and thus conscience makes cowards of us all. Of course, when that was spoken, it was suicide that was being contemplated, not foreclosure – but in my circumstance, it’s the same thing. To be honest, I feel at times that I am still at this job because it’s expected of me. I signed the papers and took the job. I better appreciate what Tyler Durden’s point he was trying to make in this speech. I don’t really have a house or a car or a TV or anything, really. All I have are a list of obligations – giri to use the Japanese term, but that’s sounds just as hollow. Giri is bound in honor and unswerving loyalty to your master, even if it calls for death. Is this it? Is my diamyo a bank – a huge faceless thing that reminds me that my duty is as light as a feather… or a headset in my case? Should I try to buck the heuristic learning of my parents who had the only concern that I stay employed, no matter the mental or emotional cost? I’ve spoken that when I am at work, I feel like I’m drowning. I know that one thing that I feel I’ve been called to do, and I want to run to it with the abandon reserved for lovers – but at the same time, I like that I have a roof over my head and a car in the driveway.

Am I the only one who has this issue? Or am I the only one who’s talking about it?

Good morning all. I’m a little behind on things because I had to get my vida loca on and watch a two hour documentary on the Reformation. Yeah – I live it up here when I am not at work. Surprised that the neighbors haven’t had me arrested after that whole twenty-four hour ‘How Things Work’ marathon I did to celebrate New Year’s. When I cut the cable, I am going to miss the Science Channel – but I’ll more than make up for it with an extra $100.00 in my wallet.

The novel treatment is going along. I am trying hard to keep in Rhona’s (the main character) head for the next couple of chapters. Since we’re dealing with the circus, it would be nice to get a better idea as to why she would leave… and I actually get to write another ice cream scene and I want to get her reaction to it. I am taking my time with it in order to really get it right. I also need coffee right now, if you will excuse me… better. At any rate, I am looking forward to getting this done so I can focus more on other projects. After all, the key (and this has been taught to me by various other self-published writers) is back catalogue. The back catalogue in my head is huge. I’m looking forward to getting it out on paper… or electrons… you know what I mean.

I have stopped playing Borderlands 2 for a while now that I got Halo 4. I know, I know – midget overpopulation will kill them all with depleted resources, only I can stop Handsome Jack (for the fifth time in a row), blah, blah, blah. I have to admit, Halo 4 looks gorgeous and the game play does take some getting used to (the control set up is way different between the two games. I tried to jump, ended up punching someone instead). My biggest complaint is that there is little if anything new. In one chapter – I have to drive a Ghost vehicle through a crumbling landscape. Does this sound familiar? Another chapter has me going down a long corridor and shooting enemies that come at me. Is that déjà vu I smell? So far, Studio 343 and Microsoft are banking on neat graphics and nostalgia to sell this iteration of Halo. I hope that they don’t continue to rely on this formula for the next two parts of the expected trilogy. I’m also a little concerned that there is no backstory given to the Forerunners or the Prometheans in the game itself. I haven’t read any of the novelizations, and I haven’t gotten far in the game – so I am holding out judgment on that. On the upside – the opening cinematic does treat the Spartans seriously and addresses some concerns I had as far as the expanded universe of Halo went. So far, I would say that if you’re a fan of the series… you probably got this at midnight and anything I say isn’t going to sway you. However, if you’re holding out just to hear my opinion, then I would wait until it gets cheaper (like I did) and get it. Bioshock: Infinite is another matter.

Well, time to work, shower and watch Dungeons and Dragons. Hope y’all have a good day.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

… and I got out of bed a lot earlier than usual, which is a surprise to me. Art Bell is talking about out-of-body/altered states and I am working on my second cup of coffee – my crazy life, right? I have absolutely no experience with this, so I’m finding this mildly interesting. Anyways – I’m up now, so I am going to try to make the best of it. Mostly by not passing out when the coffee loses its effect.

The novel has hit the half-way point for the rewrites as far as pages go (page 106 out of 211) and I am very happy about finally solving a problem that was pointed out to me by my editor. The initial problem was that I needed to have the main character go back to group that had been fairly cruel to her and it led to me writing one of my best horror scenes ever. I really, really wanted to keep that scene, so I tried to think of any way to keep them with the group. So, I decided to go around that scene and work on some of the other pages. Disgusted with myself (… and it was Saturday), I took a late shower. As I was scrubbing away, inspiration hit me. I hopped out of the shower, dried off myself enough to write down a couple of words to remind me what I needed to do:

Caravan Riding

I would also like to note that I didn’t completely dry myself off and it was below freezing (my house is a little drafty) – yes, that is my dedication to the Craft: the risk of frostbite in places that shouldn’t have to worry about frostbite. What I mean by this is that there are tribes of barbarians from the North that come down every now and then – think of Viking raids. The caravan routes are prime targets, so the caravans that travel during this time hire people to guard and ride with them. The other main character (Anya) is from an area that deals with the barbarians (collectively called the Kuonradi – based off of the area they live) on a regular basis. They run into the group that the main character (Rhona) fled from. They interact (read: someone gets a bloody nose and rich at the same time) and Anya asks to ride along with a caravan because they need help fending off the barbarians. We get some halfway decent character building and in the morning Anya walks down to join the caravan… only to find out that the caravan that she volunteered to protect includes the group that was cruel to Rhona. Rhona tells Anya to back out, let the barbarians take the caravan and do the dirty work. Anya tells Rhona that as much as she would like to watch the barbarians pillage, ruin and rape the group, but she gave her word and if she backed out, it would get back to her home and she would catch hell for it. So – I get to keep the scene, get some more character building in on everyone and everyone’s happy… well, except for the guy with the broken nose – but he’s a douchebag, so it doesn’t count.

Well, I am getting another cup of coffee before I get back to re-writing the two chapters and trying to trim the rest of the novel down to the 70-75K range. Once that’s done, I will have a crack team of readers pour over the final draft and give me a go-no go before I publish it. With any luck, I can meet the deadline and have it out in the while by the end of June.

I hope your day goes as well.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

The day off was nice. Consisting of me going out to eat, watching the latest episode of The Americans and getting another couple of pages of re-writes done. I am contemplating calling in again just to have another day off… but I don’t think I can afford it at this point. So, I will go back to work and try to muddle through for eight hours and get another two days off. I probably should think these things through a little better next time. 😀

As mentioned earlier, the novel continues along with the re-writes. I am going to write the insert tonight when I get home and try to eek past the halfway point. I’m hoping that with the insert, I can get the word count down a little. 70K is the average for a novel, but I am trying to get down a little bit just to make sure there’s no fluff, but if I put my nose back to the grindstone (eww). I should be on track to have this novel finished and at least presumably ready for publication – I’m going to hand it off to a couple of other people to have them look at it just to see if there is something else to be done before I declare it finished and let it loose into the cold, unfeeling world. After that, I am going to give I/O Error the joy of my full attention to get it done by my next deadline of the end of June. For this year I would like to finish up the already started projects before doing any brand new ones. After I/O Error, I am going to work on Spooksayer: Primum Movens and give that maybe a two quarter deadline just to make sure it’s the best it can be.

I am still enjoying the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. It’s a nice little nostalgic trip to take – of course; there are a lot of other things that I can appreciate about it. Looking back, it was the first time I had been exposed to the idea of subtext. Hank and Sheila were an item. We were never told that, but we could infer it. There are also a lot of little moments that I appreciated: that the characters grew in time – especially Presto. As you watch the show, he seems to get better with his hat. Eric – when the chips were down – could be counted on to make the right choice and that seemed to come easier for him as the series went on. If you ever get the chance, watch an episode or two. A lot of people may remember the cartoons of that era being nothing more than 30 minute commercials (let’s face it – this was a subtle one as well), but there are few cartoons from any era that have a very well written plot or script to it.

Well, I should shower, contemplate more hooky and get ready for work.

Hope your day is a lot better.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

Well, I did it. I called in with a “plumber emergency” (not entirely false… I’m getting an estimate to have the floor and tub replaced) and I am going to take this day off because, let’s face it – I want to breathe. If anyone were to ask me how I feel when I am at work, I tell them that I feel like I’m drowning. So, I am sneaking out of the pool for an hour to get a snack and a drink. Yes, I am going out to lunch and maybe even dinner tonight. While I am getting another official vacation in March, I really need a day off sooner than that. Some of you who read this will understand. I also got paid, so I am going to steadily build my iTunes TV library in preparation for cutting the cable at the end of the Games of Thrones season. I need a hard deadline for that. The whooshing sound they make is relaxing to me.

Last night, I had a sudden will to work and I edited a couple more pages of the novel. I am now almost halfway through and I am going to write a little more on After Ever and try to finish up that little episode. I’m giving more thought to having that serialized, but I want to finish a whole season before I put it out there. I also need to find a model to do the cover art for After Ever – I have an idea, but I need to come up with a way to ask and not sound creepy. I know what you’re thinking: good luck with that. Thank you. I will need it. As far as the novel goes – I am going to try something: I am going to write a little side bit – try my best to keep the part that might have to be removed, but if it must come out, then I have something ready in its place. I know, I know… ‘murder your darlings’ and all that, but the scene that I am going to have to remove would make a couple of other scenes make no sense at all. Don’t worry, I will pull it off in the end.

I continue my efforts to not have to upgrade my phone in the event I have to cut bait with Adriana Lima. I took it into the shop and they ended up doing the unthinkable… and I didn’t realize how many programs I had in it until I looked at the cleaned out husk that was my phone’s memory. Some programs (Angry Birds) I can’t find in the market. Yes, I didn’t play those games that much, but it was the notion that I had them there. I also had to remove the texts from a good friend of mine that passed away recently, so there is a little bitterness in that. Well, it was a wash – I got this! Fight on, Spartan!

Well, I need to get some work done. Hope y’all have a good day.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy