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

No one really pays attention to Facebook right? I put a picture on my Facebook page that, I feel accurately represents my emotional state concerning my present working conditions:

In all fairness, I can’t pull off the headband the way she does.

Given our current societal fears of workplace violence, my saving grace is that I don’t go by my known name on Facebook… but there are some people from work who I have friended. Maybe that was a bit of a hasty choice. The friending, not the picture. Well, if HR does decide to have a talk with me, then my defense will be: ‘you’ve never worked in a call center, have you?‘ It should work.

I am working on a romance project while the cast of I/O Error decides what they want to do. I’m putting it in the same ‘world’ as a couple of other books just to make things easier as far as what’s what. I need to get a mapping program, since the map I’ve been using looks suspiciously familiar:

I can see the sea from here!

If anyone has a suggestion, feel free. Once I’ve mastered it (please be simple…), I’ll start making maps for the stories just so I can be consistent with the landscape and get a good sense of ‘this is a real place’. Especially with the fantasy stories where everything is interconnected (somewhat… there is a four hundred year gap that I might occupy with something), I want to have that sense of continuity. Also it will keep me working if all goes well for me and the books.

Arrgh – I am so slow today. I need to get more coffee and try to focus on the characters for the new project. So, with that in mind – I should go. My people need me.

Thanks for reading,

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

I’m awake at 9:30! I guess all it took was Art Bell and Shiny Toy Guns in concert to me out of bed. So I am a little bit ahead of schedule today… could this be the beginning of a grand new era? I am hoping to get more productive – which is one of my biggest faults as far as writing. I am slow – winter molasses slow. It takes me almost an hour to write this blog and I am trying to keep it short at 500 words. Another fault? Easily distracted. Hopefully, I can beat both by just getting up a little earlier and having more coffee in my system.

I/O Error is stalling out on me, so I am going to work on something else for a while. I don’t know if this falls under the sin of ‘easily distracted’ or I just get bored with what I am doing and move on to something else. So, I am moving on to a romance novel that’s been rolling around in my head for a while. It’s taking place in the same world as one of my other novel series (which I hope to get to one day before I die), so this will allow me to do a little more world building. I’m still committed to my main goal of getting one novel finished by the end of March – since I am doing final revisions on one, this is a goal that looks like I can complete in a reasonable period of time. I’ve got so many ideas flitting about like glittery yarn in front of cat with ADD. Right now, I am getting things formatted in Scrivener so that I can just flip from idea to idea and try to maintain some sort of progress.

Does anyone remember the TV series Kings? I do. Much to my surprise, it’s on iTunes for $12.00. I don’t know how I lived before Apple TV. There are a lot of old series that were abandoned for whatever reality show Universal needed to ram down our throats (bitter about G4? Nope, not me…) on iTunes. So far, the only big complaint I have about it is that there seems to be no support for the NFL, then again – it’s not the season yet, but I can catch hockey, baseball and basketball on it with a modest (!) fee. I’ve been looking to get into hockey, and this would be a good time… but I think I can hold out until next season. Baseball looks good, but I am more of a fan of the home team, so I might try it next season, and I am not a huge fan of basketball, college (no matter how hard my hometown tries…) or otherwise. I am hoping that there will be full games on iTunes during the regular football season. Who knows? I might actually be able to follow my favorite team for a change.

Well, speaking of being productive – I should work on something. I hope y’all have a good day.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

I am going to give this to everyone. A lot of it… OK… all of it is accurate. Horribly, horribly accurate – but, hey I didn’t choose this, it chose me. I am still sore and tense when I wake up in the morning. I am beginning to wonder if I should go see a doctor. Granted, I have always been tense and anxious, but this is above and beyond. I’ve been planning to get some more absinthe soon, so I’m hoping to find a way to relieve this stress. I am still rocking out to the Art Bell stream and there is good news! Art Bell might be coming back to radio! Hopefully, this will mean a podcast to listen to on my Apple TV. Yes, the love affair continues. I am going to get a $50.00 card and start getting the current shows that I like (NCIS, The Americans and The Following – don’t fret, there’s more) and work on the previous seasons when I can. I recommend Apple TV if you ever find yourself wanting to cut the cable but keep watching your favorite shows.

I have the titles for the After/Ever series:

• Book One: The Thief’s Cant
  
• Book Two: The Crusader’s Prayer
  
• Book Three: The Magician’s Canticle
  
• Book Four: The Woodman’s Song
  
• Book Five: The Rider’s Myth
  

I am going to put up 23 chapters on Kindle Serials, each for ninety-nine cents. I might gather up all the chapters and put them together into a single book and sell that separately. So far, there is going to be five to seven thousand words per chapter, so it’s going to be a steal either way (especially if I sell the full book for about $5.50 @ 115K words). Of course, I just need to finish something. Today, it’s I/O Error with my mad robots and cursed ships. Tomorrow, it’s going to be poor, poor Rhonda and her issues. Saturday, it’s a little of everybody and re-writes of the first novel.

Wow… I can’t seem to get awake enough today. On a different note: This! Say what you want – I’ve been looking forward to this game since I heard about waaaaaay back in early 2012. I’m a fan of the Bioshock series and I have high expectations concerning the latest chapter. I certainly like how they have plugged into both the zeitgeist of the time for the game and the pop culture aura of when the games were published.

Well – I am sorry to cut this a little short, but I need to get ready for work. I’ll have to do this later.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

It’s been a week since I got Apple TV and I have to admit it has exceeded my expectations. Not only can it pull up things from my iTunes account, but things from my computer – so, I can listen to music stored in my iTunes files and audio podcasts I have subscribed to in iTunes (which are the only ones I get). I am still committed to cutting the cable at the end of the season of Game of Thrones. In the meantime, I am going to get season passes for most of my favorite shows (only this show isn’t on iTunes, but it’s on broadcast, so I won’t miss anything) and get the back seasons. I’ve gotten Burn Notice caught up and I am going to get the current season of NCIS and the remaining five seasons… but first, I am going to get the current season of Warehouse 13. Yes, I am one of the few people who don’t get their tails all bushy over that show – it’s not science fiction, but hey – it’s not wrestling either. It’s another show I heartily recommend, alongside Continuum if for no other reason than Lexa Doig (*sigh*).

Speaking of sighing – I am almost (40 pages away) half way from finishing the re-writes for the first novel. The current project (After Ever) has had one major problem hurtled: one of the main characters now has an ending. This may not sound like a major deal, but I like to know where the story is going to end for the characters and Rhonda was the only one that had any sort of unclear ending to the series… and I so desperately wanted to avoid the clichéd ending
for her. So I figured that I would take an ending that might be a little clichéd, but it’s at least a little upbeat for her given that she is suffering worse than the others that came back. Well… not as bad as William, obviously, but suffering anyway. Now, the only characters I have to nail down are Alanza and The Rider. I am still working on I/O Error, but it’s on a rotating cycle between that and After Ever. After Ever is going to be a subscription series, not to put the cart before the horse, but I am currently thinking about hiring a model for the cover for the first series. If anyone has any suggestions – feel free to drop them in the comments section. Please – keep in mind that the budget for this is going to be around $600.00 for the model. So, if you know any young women who want to earn an innocent six hundred – direct them my way, please.

Well, I am getting another cup of coffee and am going to try to work a little on After Ever and get some better ideas about The Rider. I hope you all have a great day!

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

Hey all. I was worse of a shambles than usual this morning. Actually slept through a documentary I was looking forward to watching. A couple cups of coffee later and I was rushing out the door. I blame the late night I pulled — just gave up and wrote the first half of the first chapter for the serial. I am also raising money to hire someone to be a model for the cover if the first book with deals with Rhonda. I am also trying to figure out I should conclude her tale. If I go the temporary happiness route, then she will end up going back to the realm. If I take the permanent happiness route, then she gets better and uses her circumstances to help herself and others. Some of the other characters have a defined story arc, but Rhonda (I keep typing Rhona, dang it) is the one with a more nebulous story to be told. Now, I am still getting everything to be set to sever the cord come later this year. Thanks to my Blu-Ray player, I was able to get my Amazon account to my TV. I took a quick tour through the Free Movies and I am surprised over the content that they have. A lot better than what I was anticipating. Between that, Apple and maybe VuDu — I should have no problem at all keeping myself entertained. I continue my trip through the fogs of nostalgia with the D&DC set I got. “The Eye of the Beholder”… one of the weaker episodes. Still better than here, but unless that beholder was far more allergic to flowers than I am, Sir John should have been one less arm than he was at the end of the episode. At least, that’s what would have happened if I did it. The first episode was a bit on the eye-rolling side with the “white hair/white hare” gag. I do have to remind myself that it didn’t really hit it’s stride until late in the season. The animation is clunky, but… well…

Hey all.  I was worse of a shambles than usual this morning.  Actually slept through a documentary I was looking forward to watching.  A couple cups of coffee later and I was rushing out the door.  I blame the late night I pulled — just gave up and wrote the first half of the first chapter for the serial.  I am also raising money to hire someone to be a model for the cover if the first book with deals with Rhonda.  I am also trying to figure out I should conclude her tale.  If I go the temporary happiness route, then she will end up going back to the realm.  If I take the permanent happiness route, then she gets better and uses her circumstances to help herself and others.  Some of the other characters have a defined story arc, but Rhonda (I keep typing Rhona, dang it) is the one with a more nebulous story to be told.

Now, I am still getting everything to be set to sever the cord come later this year.  Thanks to my Blu-Ray player, I was able to get my Amazon account to my TV.  I took a quick tour through the Free Movies and I am surprised over the content that they have.  A lot better than what I was anticipating.  Between that, Apple and maybe VuDu — I should have no problem at all keeping myself entertained.

I continue my trip through the fogs of nostalgia with the D&DC set I got. “The Eye of the Beholder”… one of the weaker episodes.  Still better than here, but unless that beholder was far more allergic to flowers than I am, Sir John should have been one less arm than he was at the end of the episode.  At least, that’s what would have happened if I did it.  The first episode was a bit on the eye-rolling side with the “white hair/white hare” gag.  I do have to remind myself that it didn’t really hit it’s stride until late in the season.  The animation is clunky, but… well… I can blame this cartoon for at least two of my fetishes.

Well, I need to get back to the front.  Hope you all have a better day.