Posts Tagged ‘living and life’

I’ve Been Using Drones Recently

Posted: July 18, 2013 in Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Yes, you read that title right. I’ve been using drones recently. I started using them sometime this past weekend, and I’ve been using them almost every night since. Mostly I fly them around certain sections of the state of Colorado, usually near Interstate 70. I’ve fired a few missile and several bullets. The drones were fun to pilot, but they had a bad habit of getting destroyed, and it’s not really my fault. Still, I might get blamed for it, so I won’t be piloting drones for a while.

This is actually the model of drone–or a variation of it–that I used.

Now you are probably wondering variations of “What the f**k is he talking about?” and “How the hell did he get his hands on drones?” Well the answer is simple: I wrote them into the second chapter of Video Rage as part of a fun little battle sequence. I thought it’d be interesting to use drones in this chapter, especially since drones are still relatively new to us now and many people, myself included, are at the very least a little wary of drones and their use by the military, if not downright scared of them. It ended up working out very well, because the drones showed how powerless my protagonists can be even with their powers, and how hard they have to work to stay alive.

Got you, didn’t I?

The drones also allowed me to do something I planned for this novel: cause friction. Something happens to one of the characters during the drone attack, and it causes some tension in the tight-knit group of people who star in this novel of mine. Later on there will be more tension between the Hydras, and we’ll see what happens when that tension hits a boiling point. Believe me, things will get ugly as a result.

I’ll be using drones again later in VR. The drones in Chapter 2 are very similar to drones used today by the US military, but in later chapters I plan on using new drones that the military probably hasn’t dreamt of yet (or if they have, my friend Matthew Williams will know of them). It’ll be interesting to see how the use of drones will work out, both for the story and for the characters.

At the very least, it’ll make for some interesting reading.

Now I’m going to take a break, shower, and then sit down for a movie. Tomorrow I’ll try to start the next chapter of Laura Horn. Things will heat up over in that storyline as well.

 

The Quiet Game Launch Party

Posted: July 17, 2013 in Living and Life, Progress Report, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

tqg-cover[1]

Welcome! Come one and all to the launch party for The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones. Seeing as I can’t actually afford a launch party, this post has just become Ohio’s most happening place right now. We have so much for you, but first, why not have a drink?

Expensive champagne all the way from Google. And have some hors d’oeuvres:

And before we get to the entertainment portion of the party, I’d just like to thank everyone for coming. Your support has meant the world to me, and without it I seriously doubt any of us would be reading The Quiet Game over the next couple of weeks. A special shout-out goes to my family, a spectacular “BOO!” to my beta-readers and their excellent feedback, and a cauldron full of weird goop for all those who contributed in some way to the creation of The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones.

Now I know you want to scroll down and download or order a copy of the book. I know, I know. But before you do, there’s some wonderful entertainment here for you. First, we have a special performance by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. They’ll be telling us why I should shop at the thrift store more often.


Thank you, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Macklemore. I can’t tell which one is which, truth be told. Now, before we bring out our next guest performers out, I’d just like to say a few words on how The Quiet Game came to be. During the Fall 2012 semester at Ohio State, I started toying with the idea of writing a collection of short stories. I had several ideas for short stories on my tack board, and the critiquing of Reborn City was taking longer than I thought it would. So after the semester ended, I shrugged and said “Why not?” That later lead to five really creepy short stories being written over the course of a month, with one of them being rewritten several times over. Then there was some artwork to create, a book trailer, a copyright to get, but in the end it led to The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones.

And you know what? It was worth it!

Our next performance is from the group who asks, “Is there a more logical way this movie could’ve ended?” Please welcome the folks from HISHEdotcom and their new video, “How Man of Steel Should Have Ended.”


Boy, was that something else! Now I know you all want to get back to your day jobs, so I won’t keep you much longer. I just would like to say thank you, and I hope you will indulge me by watching the book trailer for The Quiet Game one more time.

Now without further ado, here is The Quiet Game: Five Tale To Chill Your Bones! First we have the Amazon page! Very cool, right? And for a limited time, you can save twenty-seven cents when you buy from Amazon now! That means instead of paying $5.50, you pay $5.23 (you’re on your own for shipping and handling).

And right after it, we have the link for that wonderful e-book sharing website. Yes, it’s the Smashwords link! A lovely page, in a lovely shade of blue.

Well, thank you all for coming and I hope you enjoy reading The Quiet Game. I hope you’ll also tell your friends and family about it and maybe write a review or two about it (every review helps). I would just like to close this party by having Mr. Macklemore and Mr. Lewis come back on stage. Which one are you guys again? Oh, what does it matter? Party hard!

The Quiet Game: Less Than 24 Hours

Posted: July 16, 2013 in Progress Report, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , ,
8

God, time seems to fly! Just yesterday it seems I started counting down the days till July 17. Now it’s the 16th, I’ve got so many people wanting to read my book, and I’m pretty sure I’ve solved all problems that would’ve delayed the publication of the print version if left unsolved (yes, you can breathe a little easier now).

I’d also like to reveal why there was almost a delay in the publication of the print paperback of The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones. Look at the cover below.

tqg-cover[1]

You see all that lettering along the sides? Apparently it’s a little too close to the edge, so CreateSpace told me to change it so that it doesn’t get cut out when The Quiet Game goes to print. For that, I had to download a free trial of Photoshop and do a little bit of tweaking, but I ended up creating an awesome cover exclusively for the print version (the one above will be used for the e-book). Check it out:

print paperback version.

print paperback version.

Pretty sweet, huh? And I still manage to get the creepy effect without losing anything in the trim. And next time I design my own cover, I’ll know not to put too much on the edges so that CreateSpace doesn’t send me an email telling me there’s problems with the cover.

Hope you’re as excited as I am for the publication. I’ll write again when it comes out. Until then, hope you’re not too scared to read it!

Is It The Style, Or Is It Me?

Posted: July 14, 2013 in Living and Life, Novel, Reflections, Writing
Tags: , , , ,
4

Lately I’ve noticed I’m a bit more irritable when I read works by other authors. I had some trouble getting through the slower parts of Stephen King’s Cujo, becoming annoyed with the style of King’s writing (imagine that from me!). And when I was reading the first couple chapters of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, I kept glancing at things she did that I did not like about her writing style. Granted, her book was like a bad combination of Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Da Vinci Code, making it so that I couldn’t get past page 70, but there were still many things about her writing style, particularly in the first chapter, that just bothered me.

Perhaps this might have something to do with my own writing process. Over the past year or so my own style of writing has emerged, and I find myself much more comfortable with that style of writing than I do with other styles. Or maybe now that my own style’s emerged so much, I tend to nitpick at the styles of other authors, thinking about what works and what doesn’t work. After all, I was reading Horns by Joe Hill recently, and while I liked the overall story, the non-linear structure and the lack of warning between traveling bacwards and forwards in time confused me quite a bit. I don’t like to do flashbacks without some sort of warning to the reader, so maybe it has something to do with that.

Not to say that I may just not like reading the styles of other writers. In fact, I’m reading two books right now: one is the zombie novel of a friend of mine, and the other is the memoirs of an Israeli soldier. I find both of their works intriguing and fun to read, though all the military jargon is a bit difficult for me. So maybe it’s not that I don’t like the styles of other writers, but more that I know what I want when I read a novel and when I don’t get it, I feel annoyed.

Whatever the reason is, I’m pretty sure it has something to do with my own writing in some way or another. After all, plenty of the authors I read are responsible for the author I’ve become, so perhaps I’m picking up on something that connects me to them.

What’s your take on this?

The Quiet Game: Five Days Till The Release!

Posted: July 12, 2013 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , ,
0
5 days to go.

5 days to go.

At home, the cable, phone, and Internet is still out, no thanks to a storm on Wednesday that knocked all three out. I have a feeling that it’ll all be restored tomorrow during the Sabbath, when traditional jewish homes like my own don’t use cable, phones, or the Internet. Wouldn’t that be typical?

But enough about that. it’s five days till The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones is available, and I cannot wait! Already I’ve had several people come up to me or  email me or message me or whatever saying they cannot wait to either download the book or get it in the mail. As for me, I’m just excited that my book is coming out, that people want to read it, and all this hard work I’ve been putting in since I was ten is paying off. In five days, I can consider myself a published writer with a book on the shelves.

Or on Amazon. It’s print-on-demand, so if a lot of people and a couple of libraries order copies, I guess I can call it print-on-demand then.

Assuming the Internet’s working tomorrow, I’ll write another post for the four-day mark. Until then, I’m counting down the hours!

Video Rage: First Chapter Written

Posted: July 11, 2013 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

And it has begun! Last night, with my cable/Internet/phone service out but my electricity still working, I set out to work on Video Rage, the sequel to Reborn City (out November 1st). I had started on it several days ago, truth be told, but I had run into all sorts of distractions, so finishing just one chapter was not easy. But last night, with classical and opera music in my ears and no TV or Internet to get in my way, I set about finishing up the chapter. And sure enough I did, with 11 pages and a little over thirty-two hundred words total (page count is based on Times New Roman, 12-point font, and double-spaced lines, so that is not a reflection of what it will be when the novel actually comes out).

Video Rage starts about 11 days after the end of Reborn City, so besides setting the tone and the setting for the story, I used the first chapter to reveal what had happened to the ten main characters since they left the titular city in RC. Suffice to say, I did not make things easy for my characters. They are now wanted for crimes they did not commit and are trying to head east across the North American continent to find asylum somewhere. Of course, things don’t go as planned, especially when a powerful corporation with its own private army is searching for you.

And I’m bringing back a very fearsome and dangerous character from RC to further impede the progress of the Hydras (that’s the name of the gang my main characters belong to, in case you didn’t know). Mix in a little conflict between the main characters, and some rather bloody but heroic deaths, and I think I might have a decent sequel on my hands.

Now that I have one chapter of VR written, I’ll switch off to my other novel-in-progress, Laura Horn. The chapters for LH are much smaller than VR (which shows how differently I write thrillers versus how I write sci-fi novels). I’ll probably do another progress report on VR when I’ve written five more chapters, putting me one-sixth of the way through the novel.

Until that time, look out for a few more posts, including the announcement that I’ve finished the first chapter of LH. Should make for at least a good time-killer.

The Quiet Game: Out In Six Days

Posted: July 11, 2013 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0
Coming out in 6 days. Who's pumped?

Coming out in 6 days. Who’s pumped?

I had a special post prepared for yesterday, the one-week mark before The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones came out. But there was a huge thunderstorm and I lost my cable, Internet, and phone service, which made me unable to write and post the article. And it was going to be a good one too, with a short clip from the movie The Ring. You know, “seven days”? I did manage to get that clip on Twitter and Facebook though, so that’s something.

Anyway, there’s less than a week till The Quiet Game is available for download and/or purchase. The culmination of eight months of hard work and editing, it’ll be available as a print-paperback for $5.50 and as an e-book for $1.29. Five short stories, all pretty scary (or at the very least, pretty weird). I’m really looking forward to putting it out next week and I hope everybody enjoys reading it.

If you are interested in reading The Quiet Game and would like to know more, pleas visit the Short Story Collections page for a brief look at what is offered. I garauntee it’ll be worth the read. And if you would like to celebrate with me when The Quiet Game comes out, I’ll be throwing an online party on this blog the day The Quiet Game comes out. What will be there? Plenty: digital food and drinks, funny, groovy, and scary videos, and of course a link to the guest of honor: The Quiet Game‘s Amazon page.

Until then, look forward for more countdown posts and news from yours truly!

Individual Pages For My Books

Posted: July 7, 2013 in ideas, Living and Life, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

I was reading a post on Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors the other day and one of the authors, Ruth Nordin, suggested that if I were to have a page for my books, I should have individual pages for my books, or at least individual books for each series and each stand alone novel. I decided that was a good idea, so I went ahead and created three new pages, one for short story collections, one for the Reborn City series, and one for Snake.

I think this was a very good idea, and I’m glad I did it. The page for short story collections leaves me a chance to put in more entries if I ever put out another collection of short stories (and there’s always a possibility of that, believe me), and so does the page for Reborn City and its sequels. And as for the page for Snake, I only wrote a fuller description for the entry, but I think it’s more enticing than what I had before, distinguishes the Snake as a protagonist and lets people know what the conflict is without giving too much away. I rather like it.

If you want to read the pages, please scroll up and look at the entries next to Home and About Me. They should be there.

An Idea From A Dream

Posted: July 6, 2013 in ideas, Living and Life, Novel, Writing
Tags: , , ,
0

It’s just amazing what you can find on Google, isn’t it?

Last night I went to bed sometime between half-past eleven and midnight, had some trouble falling asleep, had a nightmare or two, needed a drink of water, finally got to sleep, and then I had the wackiest dream. When I woke up, it was past ten and I was late for synagogue. But it was okay. You know why? That dream I had, the wacky one? It ended up being the basis for an awesome novel idea that I refined throughout the day.

The dream involved me and a bunch of wizards in a cabin. I was a young apprentice, and my own master was telling me to get a certain spell book for a spell that would recreate the ten plagues. In the dream, certain phrases kept going through my mind–Divinity of Israel, Vashta Nerada, etc–and in that weird dreamy way they were all connected and relevant and made sense.

When I woke up, I thought it was a weird dream to have and it was going to make me late for synagogue, but I later held onto the details of the dream and figured they were a gift from The Big Guy Upstairs, a little something to metaphorically chew on for the Sabbath. And I did manage to get to the synagogue for the second half of the Torah service. Heck, I managed to catch a few ideas for the novel from the rabbi’s sermon. If that’s not God doing me another favor, I have no idea what is!

And this is my 500th post. What an interesting thing to write about for it. Gotta give the Big Guy His props when they’re due.

Now I’m going to try and finish a book I started yesterday before I go to bed. Tomorrow I’m going to be doing so much writing I won’t know what to do with myself. Wish me luck!

Why I Can Be Proud On July 4th, 2013

Posted: July 4, 2013 in Living and Life, Politics and Leadership, Reflections, Social Activism
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Whether I’m feeling particularly patriotic on Independence Day in the United States depends on a number of factors. For one, my homeland is always Israel, so although I was born and raised in America, Independence Day isn’t as big a deal for me as it is for others. Also, this country has its problems, and how those problems are being handled and who’s handling them can decide whether or not I want to stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance or if I just wish it would be over so we can get on with the football game.

However this July 4th I’m feeling particularly proud. President Obama’s still in office, and while he’s not the perfect President (who is?), he’s a lot better than some other aspiring executive leaders I could name (but I won’t because I’m polite that way). Also, the Supreme Court (probably the most popular branch of our federal government) said last week that gay marriage must be recognized by the federal government, which means that I can now work for my own state of Ohio to adopt the practice. Not easy, considering that the rural communities are very conservative. But heck, Columbus is the LGBT capital of the Midwest, so that’s something to count in our favor.

And although the United States has some definite problems, including inequality, hungry children, an economy that’s constantly on the edge of another recession (seems like it, anyway), we’re a lot better off than some other nations in the world. In Egypt,  Morsi was ousted from the Presidency despite being democratically elected, and now key members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi’s party, are being arrested. While I don’t approve of the Muslim Brotherhood’s policy towards Israel, America, and religion and government, I can’t help but detect a whiff of dictatorship rising from all this.

And if you go northeast to Syria, you’ll see people still fighting after several years just to gain the right to even experiment with democracy. Meanwhile hundreds die everyday, and no meaningful action has been taken to quell the fighting.

And in other nations, democracy is marred by powerful interests, religious intrusion, rampant corruption, and several other problems. It makes me glad that I’m able to live in a nation where, at the very least, I have rights and access to things I desperately need to survive, such as food, water, shelter, and healthcare. I also have a shot at an education and maybe a job afterwards. And while I have all these things, I can work to fight for others who don’t have the same rights as me, both at home and abroad.

That’s something to be proud of, especially when strides are being made to rectify that inequality. Not many strides, but some good ones. And while I celebrate today, I’ll work to keep these strides coming tomorrow.

Happy Independence Day, everyone.

Older Entries
Newer Entries