Well, I’ve got some news. You know how I created a page for The Quiet Game a while back? Well, I decided that since I’ve got Reborn City coming out in November and Snake coming out sometime next year and whatnot, it didn’t make sense for me to have pages for all of my books. It’s just too much work for a college student who already has a pretty big workload, and I can’t afford an assistant (plus I don’t really need one). So I decided to condense everything into a single page: Rami Ungar the Writer.
Yes, just like this blog. Makes sense, right? I plan to post links to my blog there, as well as some updates and other things happening in my life that I can’t put into a blog post for a variety of reasons. And I’m hoping to get plenty of people interested in my new page, talking not just things in my life or my writing, but also thinks happening in the media and in the world, links to the works and blogs of friends, and…well, the possibilities are endless.
If you’d like to subscribe to my Facebook page, you can follow this link here. Also, I still have a Twitter account, so you can click on this link here and check that out if you wish. You don’t have to, but I’d really appreciate it if you did. I’ll also be setting up the links on the About Me page, so they’ll be there if anyone wants to check them out after reading future posts.
All for now. I’m going to try to get some work on Video Rage done. Maybe even get half a chapter written! Let’s see how I do.
(This is the sequel to my previous post The Rabid Fans. In this installment, the fans are nuttier, the anger is much more bloodthirsty, and the references to Charlaine Harris’s work…is basically not part of this post. Sorry, but it’s an old story, and frankly there’s more to this phenomenon than vampires in the Bible belt. Onto the sequel, which may or may not be better than the original, depending on your opinion)
He’s Batman, deal with it.
Hollywood is being terrorized. Well, not really terrorized. More like annoyed. A few weeks ago, Warner Bros. announced that in the Man of Steel sequel, good ol’ Bats will be played by Ben Affleck. Now personally I have no problem with Affleck. He’s a capable actor, I liked him in Daredevil, and I’m sure, given the chance, he will break new ground in the role of Batman (if they force him to play a Bale copycat or something else that’s been done before, then God help the producers of the film). However, some fans were not so happy with the casting decision, taking to Twitter to voice their discontent in a tweeting storm. Many sent angry letters to Warner Bros. to tell them they hated their casting decision, and some even started a petition on the White House We the People page to get the White House involved.
That petition was taken down because, for all the obvious reasons, the White House isn’t going to take part in a casting call in Hollywood. They’ve got some bigger problems to deal with, in case you haven’t noticed. But then things got crazier, when this past week Universal Pictures and Focus Features announced that Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam and Ben and Kate actress Dakota Jonston were cast in the roles of the leads for the upcoming film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey. Moms and middle-aged women and a former neighbor of mine who just happens to be a fan weren’t happy when the announcement came out. Instead, they started a petition, this one on Change.org apparently, asking that instead of Hunnam and Johnston, Matt Bomer and Alexis Beidel play the roles.
I’m surprised this is being made into a movie, but hey, if it makes money, why not?
Obviously, Hollywood ignored both outpourings of fan reactions. And I’m not surprised. After all, a lot more goes into a casting besides good looks. Talent, availability, willingness to play a role, chemistry, and a bunch of other factors go into the casting of a single character. And if the fans don’t like it, that’s their decision. In a meantime, there’s a movie to make, and not enough time to bother with annoyed men and women on their computers.
That’s Hollywood’s line of reasoning, anyway. But honestly, I think even the elites in LA are a little annoyed and worried. Heck, I find it worrying. Fans these days seem so…entitled. It’s not just casting calls, but demands for sequels (or threats should a sequel/remake be made), certain characters be made couples or else. It’s insane.
So let me take this moment to let all you rabid fans out there know one very important thing: THERE’S A F***ING LIMIT TO HOW MUCH OBLIGATION HOLLYWOOD HAS TO YOU, AND YOU’RE BLOODY WELL OVER THAT F***ING LIMIT!!! I mean honestly, the people who make these pieces of entertainment don’t have to make these films/shows/books. They could easily find other things to do or make. Yes, they’ll try and stay close to the original vein of the story, and they will do what they feel is best. You may not like it, but to assume that you know better than the producers and directors and writers is just plain snobbish arrogance. I mean come on! They have money and creating a brilliant story on their minds when they make these things. To assume they’re not trying to make the best story possible or that for some reason a simple fan knows better, well before the story is even made, seems imbecilic to me.
Yes, I understand there are people who want sequels to John Carter or Dredd 3D despite their miserable box office intakes (I wouldn’t mind the latter personally). And I know you want the characters you love to be portrayed by competent actors who look like they would fit the parts (I’m a little skeptical because the person playing Sue Snell in the Carrie remake isn’t a brunette). And I know you want certain characters to end up with each other at the end of the series (I was a Harry-Hermione supporter until Book 5 or 6, I’ll admit it now). But listen, you’ve got to let these things go. Give the filmmakers and writers and directors a chance, and stop thinking you know better. I’m willing to see if the new Sue Snell can impress me. I want to see if Affleck can break new ground at the Dark Knight. And I think Harry-Ginny and Ron-Hermione has a sort-of harmony to it.
There will not be a sequel. Harassment must cease. Failure to comply will result in the ultimate punishment provided by law.
Besides, the world won’t end if there’s no sequel to your beloved film. People won’t die if the favorite actor/actress plays a certain part. The universe won’t cause a storm if Character A and Character B end up in love and having cute babies together. The world moves on, because everything I’ve listed above–50 Shades, Superman vs. Batman, Carrie and John Carter and Dredd 3D and others–they’re all FICTION. Not real, fake, born from the imaginations of people who are paid to lie. Yes, they feel real and I understand that, but at the end of the day, it’s all fictional and therefore irrelevant to the workings of the world.
Help those being treated like mutants now.
Stop Assad with me!
If you must get angry about something, then think about this: people in Syria are being killed like humans when faced with General Zod. In many nations, LGBT communities and women are treated like Marvel’s mutants. In many nations, women can’t decide between two hunks who look good without their shirts on or have sex with mysterious and tortured partners. They get married off to men sometimes much older than them by their parents and if they protest they can get tortured or killed without any protection from the law.
Now that’s something to get upset about!
But if you still disagree with me on all that I’ve discussed above, I’ve some friends I want you to meet. They’re very animated, but I think they’ll take good care of you and you’ll learn a lot from them and their foundation.
Get the picture? Good. Have a lovely evening, everybody. Hope you’re not planning on sending me hate comments or discussing casting and writing decisions for the latest Star Trek movie (yes, there were obvious flaws in that movie, but that’s a post for another time. Probably never).
I don’t know if book trailers really increase book sales. I’m pretty sure that when I did the book trailer for The Quiet Game (see it here, if you dare). So when I finally had a release date for Reborn City, I had to ask myself, “Do I really want to spend an hour or two making a freaking video that probably create a viral sensation, let alone bring in some revenue for me?”
But then I discovered that you can make videos on your YouTube account. Yeah, I found that out just this week. I have no idea if that’s a new thing or if that option’s been around for a while and I’ve just been oblivious. But yeah, I sat down today, I pulled up YouTube, started creating a video on YouTube. Took me about twenty minutes and then all I had to do was upload it onto YouTube while I went to have Shabbos dinner.
This video is about twenty-five seconds long and features music by the rap group “Triple C’s”, with there song “Where Ya From?” Hey, they even have a song that uses the West Reborn dialect! I just noticed that. Also, the photo of “Reborn City” is actually a shot of the Las Vegas strip. I know, I know, but what do you want from me? I can’t afford to create my own original picture of my conception of Central Reborn. I do what I can.
In any case, I’m very satisfied with the results. Heck, I’ll try and make another video some time, see if I can improve for the next book trailer. Yes, I said the next book trailer. If I can get one done in twenty minutes, imagine what I can get done with an hour and some practice! Snake‘s trailer will be the s**t!
So, without further ado, here’s the official trailer for Reborn City. And subscribe to my channel…as it is. Comments welcome.
Two years ago, at my local library branch, I signed onto WordPress for the first time and wrote a little post saying what I wanted to do with this blog I was writing. A year ago, I wrote a post during my lunch break at work about how a year had passed and what had changed for my blog (you can read it here if you’d like). And today, I am happy to announce that Rami Ungar the Writer is now two years old (I’m seriously hoping blogs don’t have terrible twos). It’s been an amazing journey these past two years, filled with meeting new friends, plenty of fun and new experiences, and even a published collection of short stories! Let me tell you, it’s been fun.
As my blog currently stands, I’ve written 527 posts and 4 pages, which has led to the blog being viewed a total number of 14,231 times at the time of posting. It has also been commented on 1,110 times, and has garnered 328 followers. And to all who’ve been following me and supporting me up to this point, I would like to thank you kindly for your help. It means a lot to me that you would continue to follow me after all this time, giving me your support and your love, and even occasionally reading or even buying my published writings.
Today I’ll be working hard to continue bringing awesome horror fiction to the world. I’m going to start Chapter Seven of Video Rage later today and hopefully finish it by the time the Sabbath comes in. And while I’m writing it, I’ll keep in mind all of you, you who have helped me, read my work, and supported me these past two years.
Yesterday I saw a video on a Freshly Pressed post on pregnancy in science fiction and fantasy, particularly the “mystical pregnancy”. The full video is below:
This video got me thinking. First I started thinking about all the instances not mentioned in this video: Nymphadora Tonks in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Scully once again in the seventh-eighth seasons of The X-Files, Amy Pond in the sixth series of Doctor Who, Ruth Gallagher in the second book of The Age of Misrule trilogy, Lady Gaga in the Born This Way music video and live performances, Padme Amidala in Revenge of the Sith–you can stop me anytime, you know.
Then it got me thinking about the use of pregnancy in fiction, particularly the TV shows, movies, and books I like. It was a bit of a shock, how transparent and flat these women can become when they are impregnated by their writers. Some are barely there at all as characters. It’s a little sad, and kind of sexist, reducing an entire complex being to the process of pregnancy of birth. And if you need a great example, take a look at Padme in Revenge of the Sith. She gets maybe twenty minutes of screen-time, has very few significant lines, and in the end dies of heartbreak after giving birth. I think her most memorable line from that movie was “So this is how democracy ends: to the sound of thunderous applause.”
To reiterate, this wasn’t what fans were hoping to see.
But after discussing things with the Suspense/Thriller Writers group I belong to on Facebook and sleeping on the subject a bit, I came to a realization that while pregnancies, and mystical pregnancies as well, are used perhaps a bit too much in fiction, it’s the portrayal of the characters that matters the most. For example, Padme’s pregnancy is a very bad example of how badly the subject of pregnancy can be handled. However there are better examples, such as Aeryn Sun from Farscape. According to writer David Lucas: “Aeryn: surrounded by enemies, gives birth. Later, with the baby in a sling, emerges even stronger as a character and as a fighter as she has something even more precious to fight for.” Note this part of a FB comment, so that’s why there’s two colons there.
Two other writers, John Saunders and Annette Wright, points out the character of Sarah Connor in the first two Terminator films. In the first film, Sarah is naïve and has to struggle a lot. But her pregnancy and its aftermath helps hone her into a fierce fighting machine, pun totally intended.
Don’t mess with Sarah Connor, people.
And there are plenty of other examples where female protagonists and other characters have used their pregnancy to grow as characters rather than become one-dimensional breeding machines. For example, Adalind Schade from Grimm becomes even more of a schemer and antagonist, because now she has something over the other characters: the birth of a new prince. Ripley in Alien 3 had a chest-burster growing in her body, but instead of letting the men do the work, she worked proactively to defeat the Dog Alien and kill the Queen growing inside her (and yes, I’m counting that as a mystical pregnancy). And there are probably loads of examples I can’t even think of, showing that portrayal is most important in using pregnancy in science fiction and fantasy.
This was a woman who didn’t let an alien baby get in her way!
So for future reference, I’ll make sure to take a look at pregnancies in fiction and see how it’s portrayed, what works, what doesn’t work, and what can make up a positive or a negative portrayal. I may even write an article on this for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, if I can find the time.
Plus I’d like to check out the other videos in that Tropes vs. Women series. It looks interesting, and I might just learn something important that’ll improve my fiction writing in the future.
As always, thought and comments are welcome on this subject. What is your take on pregnancy in fiction, particularly mystical pregnancy?
It’s sometimes difficult for me to find a subject that gets me incensed enough that I write a post about it. Usually it’s related to women’s rights or gun control. Today, it’s a combination of gun control and wondering how stupid our leaders can get!
He got away with murder, and I don’t know why.
If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, George Zimmerman was found not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin. I find that hard to believe, seeing as Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watchman, saw Martin walking home at night in a neighborhood he lived in, thought that because he was black and in a hoodie he was suspicious, called the police who told him not to follow Martin, followed him anyway, got into an altercation with Martin, and then shot him. In addition, Zimmerman has had prior brushes with the law, including assaulting an ex-girlfriend and a police officer!
And yet because of Stand Your Ground laws and doubts on Martin’s role in the tragedy, Zimmerman gets off scot-free and gets his gun back, despite everything that’s happened! If you ask me, George Zimmerman not only got away with murder, he showed how dangerous Stand Your Ground laws are. These laws say that I’m allowed to use a firearm within the state, and if I claim self-defense, I can’t be punished for it. And that’s even if I go into a bar with a loaded gun and deliberately pick a fight. It’s a law that allows you to get away with murder.
I’m sorry, but aren’t we supposed to stop murderers, not help them?
And not only is the law nonsensical, it’s not applied equally. Right around the same time of the Zimmerman verdict, a woman of African American heritage was convicted. Why? She had fired a shotgun at the ceiling of her home in order to defend herself against her violent boyfriend. Under Florida’s laws, you think she would be protected and her boyfriend prosecuted for assault. You’d be wrong. Despite the defense’s use of Stand Your Ground, she got convicted and sent away for 20 years.
So a murderer get’s away with murder and get’s his gun back after killing a black teenager, but a black woman who didn’t kill anybody and was actually defending herself gets 20 years? What the heck is going on down there?
Looks about right, doesn’t it?
And despite how ineffective, unequally applied, and dangerous these laws are, Governor Rick Scott says he won’t call in a special session of the Florida legislature to review Stand Your Ground laws. Instead, he asks protestors to “talk to your legislators” and is calling for a day of prayer on Sunday.
Prayer? That’s your solution? You’re going to pray for a solution to just magically pop into your lap, Governor Scott? Why not take some action and act like a leader? Or would your NRA backers be cranky if you did that?
Honestly, I don’t blame Stevie Wonder for wanting to boycott the state. I’ll boycott it too while these crazy laws are in effect. And I hope the protestors down in Florida who want Stand Your Ground laws repealed and are the ones who are really taking action are able to enact some sort of change. Because honestly, how many more people are we going to let die for the sake of people who fear their profits will be slashed or that an all-powerful dictatorship will emerge by putting a few comon-sense restrictions on the Second Amendment?
I’ll try and write some more later. I’ve got some anger to vent over the situation in Texas, and boy, will I enjoy writing that!
Between finishing the last post and getting out of the shower, I realized that there wasn’t enough time to watch a movie before bed (another time, perhaps). Which is why I decided to write this post, featuring my first review of The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones. (If you’re interested in reading but don’t have the link, click here). It comes from one of my beta readers, and it was posted on her Facebook status. And by the way, this happens to be my mother.
Yes, I know your family is supposed to love everything you write, even if you have your character choking a baby (please don’t ever write anything as sick as that). But my mom’s a little different. For starters, my mother was the one who got me into Anne Rice and Stephen King. Yes, she did. Originally a fan of the two authors, she’s the one who lent me Interview with the Vampire and told me to read Stephen King when I’d read several Anne Rice books. She’s also lent me other books and turned me onto other writers like Dean Koontz and Dan Brown. She also introduced me to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The X-Files, shows which had a profound influence on me and my writing.
So even though she’s family and even though my mother doesn’t get the same sort of thrills I do from horror movies (I feel delightfully terrified while she’s just terrified), she’s definitely helped in molding me into the writer I am. Which was why I was very delighted when I called her and she told me she was about one short story into the book. And later when I logged onto Facebook, I was greeted with my first review. What did Rabbi Wendy Warren Ungar have to say? Why this:
“Reading Rami’s new book of short stories that was just published, (shameless promotion here), and I’ve discovered that my son is yet another author I can’t read at night!”
If you haven’t noticed, the subtitle on this blog is “Scared yet? My job here is done.” Well folks, my job here is done. Because I’ve always dreamed of giving someone a fright with my writing, and hearing that my mother can’t read my work at night gives me a small sense of accomplishment. I like knowing that I can deliver the goods when I say my stories are scary, and I like knowing I’m getting the sort of reactions I’d hoped for.
So Mom, thanks for reviewing and shamelessly promoting and all that. It means a lot to me and I hope to make even better stories as time goes on.
I also hope to post more reviews for The Quiet Game as they come. I know some friends have said they’ll write a review when they’re done, so I’m sure those reviews will show up in the next couple of weeks. Until then I hope you enjoy reading The Quiet Game as much as I enjoyed writing it, putting it together, and sending it out to you.
See what I see? It’s what the Slender Man is supposed to look like.
Lately I’ve been fascinated with the Slender Man. Okay, not so much lately. More like for a long while now. It’s only been recently that I’ve been doubly psyched with the Slender Man, enough to write a post about him anyway. I blame that on the fact that I saw a really awesome and totally freaky indie movie on Slender Man, proving that indie films can actually be terrifying.
Of course, those of you who are not horror aficionados are probably asking yourself, “What the heck is this guy talking about?” Well if you haven’t gone to Wikipedia yet, allow me to explain. Slender Man is an example of modern-day folklore. To be more specific, it started out as an Internet meme. A guy created some photos on his computer that showed a tall man in a suit with long limbs and no features on his face standing really creepily in the background. The photos came along with excerpts from what was supposed to be longer stories of people who have had experiences with the Slender Man. More people created photos showing the Slender Man, and that led to fanfic-like stories on the Internet, artwork, cosplay, and eventually a video game called Slender. The game was a hit, which led to more Slender Man-based work, including a YouTube series or two and some indie movies, one of which I saw this evening on my computer, and more on their way.
Check out this totally awesome trailer for an upcoming adaptation called Entity:
I’m a little dubious on whether or not including a possible government connection is a good idea, but I’m psyched to see this movie when it comes out.
What I really like about this particular Internet meme is not just its popularity, but how powerful it’s become, to the point that it’s become public consciousness like Bloody Mary or the man with the hook who escaped from the mental facility. Heck, some people are even starting to believe that the Slender Man is real, or at least a very old urban legend. That and the consistency of the tales qualify the Slender Man as folklore (though technically any story out there and often religious objects can qualify as folklore). And the tales are pretty consistent throughout: the Slender Man is some sort of spirit or demon that hides in the woods and spirits away people, usually children, and then kills them or devours them or their souls. Sometimes he or his victims leave notes around warning of him.. And occasionally he’ll manifest with multiple tentacle-like arms on his back. Cuh-reepy!
Of course the best part is that the mythos leaves so much to be filled in, and since it started as an Internet meme, Slender Man is in the public domain. Which means anyone can make their own version of the Slender Man story and add, subtract, or spin it any way they want. Of course they have to keep certain aspects so as not to upset the fanbase, but it’s still so awesome. I even have an idea for a novel that’ll utilize Slender Man, or a version of him.
And like I was saying, the Slender Man is an example of a really viral meme and its impact on the global age. Something as small as a couple of doctored photos can multiply and become part of the public consciousness, the subject of games, online TV series, and even movies. Imagine what others could create doing the same process, with the same idea of a supernatural being utilized. Perhaps a ghostly lover found at lakes. Or maybe something involving will-o-the-wisps. Or perhaps a photo showing Elvis in modern-day New York eating a hot dog!
Okay, that last one is a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea, right? It’s the creepy version of Gangnam Style, and there’s potential for much more to materialize. And I can’t wait to see what the people of the world will create.
Do you have a take on Slender Man and/or viral memes from the Internet?
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!
I’ve been blogging here on WordPress for nearly two years (the second anniversary of Rami Ungar the Writer is actually a month and a day away, believe it or not). A lot has happened in that time. I started college, a job, and a new life. I began the publishing process for Reborn City, wrote The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones, which will be coming out in 16 days, I published several short stories and one or two articles, became a writer for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, met my roommate for the apartment I’m getting in August, read all the Hannibal Lecter books, got into The Daily Show, and a few other things.
And witness to most of this is my blog. I’ve been able to record my musings, review movies, TV shows, and books, update people on my writing, and add links to the places my short stories are published. I’ve made some great friends through the blogosphere, a couple of whom have helped me with my writing my being kind enough to offer feedback on my work (by the way, both of those friends are Canadian, so I’ll give them a shout-out by wishing them a happy Canada Day!). I’ve met people who have offered me wonderful advice, given me their own thoughts, and even sometimes argued with me on this or that topic. I even had nearly two-thousand Anne Rice fans reading my review of The Wolf Gift, and I’m happy to say the majority of them reacted positively to it.
You know, my life has been enriched a lot by blogging. Sure at times I was lucky just to get a single person to read the posts I was writing. But these days I’m proud to say I have a little bit of a following going on, and I’m glad that you all keep reading my posts. Sure I lose a few followers every now and then, but most of them keep coming back (God only knows why) and it touches me deeply that you want to read what I’m writing. Thank you so much.
I’m about to start on a new but related adventure: publishing and selling copies of a published collection of short stories. I have trepidation, excitement, doubts, and confidence all going through my system. But whatever happens, I have a feeling that my blog, and the people who read it, are going to be behind it every step of the way.
Oh, and speaking of publishing, remember Daisy, the short story I published on Amazon and Smashwords, not only as a promotion for The Quiet Game but also to see if anyone would read it? Well, it looks like 150 people have downloaded and read it, and I even got one review that gave it an “average” grade. Have no idea if that’s an indication of how The Quiet Game will do (I’m personally hoping it’ll do much better), but it’s still got me excited. Perhaps in the future I’ll have 150 downloads on the first day!
Have you downloaded a copy yet?
Off to go jog now. Once again, thanks for reading my work. I really appreciate it.
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Rami Ungar The Writer 