Tag Archives: Buy a book!

C (in a Roman sense)…

by in Art, Collaboration, Criminal Element, Landmarks, Process, Writing and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This is the 100th post here on Surfing the Zeitgeist. Since I began this project the subjects have ranged from legend to futurism. From creative process to both profession writing and sculpture. From who I have been to who I aspire to be.

Maintaining a nearly weekly schedule on a blog has helped focus my thinking, which as you’ve seen can range across a wide range of topics. That’s fine for amusement but when there’s a task at hand it helps to have a structure and/or outline. There have been a few personal landmarks along the way – not the least of which being the loss of Leonard Nimoy.

I’ve also been able to celebrate my collaborations with Leanna Renee Hieber, the Nerdy Duo, and Simon Berman. There have been links to my other blog-work at Criminal Element. Through all the past 99 posts I have enjoyed tracking the nations from which Visits and Likes have come. The number of countries on that tally coincidentally sits at 99. It’s fun to have a bet with myself on the next addition to the list but I’m nearly always surprised, though I am fairly certain № 100 will not be North Korea.

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Apart from providing insight to how I go about my projects I’ve given a few glimpses at my philosophy – hopefully without being controversial. My heroes and notions of civics don’t have to be yours; if we all agreed on every point what would be the purpose of a blog anyway?

A hero’s journey and a personal one may both fall under the rubric of per aspera ad astra (through hardships to the stars). High hopes lead to higher aim. My motto for the past 25 years has been, “The only raw material required to manufacture hope is time.”

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for your delight at reading…

by in Creative Writing, Invitation, Psychic phenomena, Sci fi and fantasy, Spiritualism, Strong female characters, Support the Arts and tagged , | Leave a comment

Chuck Francisco of Pop Kernal called Book I of The Eterna Files, by my very dear friend and business partner – Leanna Renee Hieber, “the Empire Strikes Back of Victorian paranormal gothic”.  I have described her work in reviews and on panels at conventions as being located four blocks west of the intersection of Poe and Stoker. Her work and many conversations with her have helped me make my own writing and thinking a bit more accessible; I have a tendency to range cerebral.

Ms. Hieber is a diligent and skilled crafter of characters you’ll want to include among the circle of your fictional friends. It is they who guide you as they make their way along the boundaries between this world and a stranger one. The ripples on the veil are not caused by a night breeze but the tendrils of death and dark fates.

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Book II, titled Eterna and Omega launched today. The privilege of discussing and reading parts of it before the release was mine but it is now something you can share. I gladly and strongly recommend buying a copy. You may not be as certain about strange sounds around midnight after this worthy tale.

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The Return of Strangely Beautiful!

by in Imagination, Inspiration, Invitation, Spiritualism, Strong female characters, Suggested Reading, Support the Arts and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Good People,

Permit me to (re)introduce you to a very important book. If an earlier addition of Strangely Beautiful is on your shelf, you’re in for the special treat of new content. If you’ve not had the pleasure of reading this tale, you are invited to make a purchase of it today. Once it arrives, I’m certain you will enjoy the time spent with Leanna Renee Hieber’s finely crafted and much beloved characters.

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The unique and original creation – Percy Parker – features in this work by a true pioneer in Gothic & Gaslamp fantasy. Miss Parker is, in a sense, an outcast from birth but who among us hasn’t felt the same way some point in our lives? She and Alexi Rychman take center stage, surrounded by mystery and almost Poe-like goings-on.

If you’re a fan of such film and television series as Crimson Peak, Ripper Street, and Penny Dreadful than Strangely Beautiful must adorn your attention and library.

You can read more here.

This post is, of course, utterly share-able.

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…tap to put a new Tome into play…

by in Contribution, Opportunity, Support the Arts and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

With just six days to go for the funding deadline (and it being solidly in the Halloween season) I would like to take this opportunity to remind visitors to this blog about Simon Berman’s kickstarter initiative to bring something new to the Cthulhu mythos. The book will be a collection of old and new stories set within and inspired by H. P. Lovecraft’s universe. And if this is the first post seen by a new visitor to Surfing the Zeitgeist, let me also add, “Welcome.”

Writing is about an adventure – an adaptation in character as the result of a crisis. I feel that’s what I’ve managed to contribute to the new book in question with my short story, “Letters from the Sea”.

If you have already participated in this kickstarter, you have my thanks. I would also request that you share the link and encourage others to join you in lending support. If you’re new to this blog and/or knowledge of this project, please view the kickstarter page and the archive, along with the art and illustration sections, of Surfing the Zeitgeist. Perhaps I can then extend the welcome to “Welcome aboard.”

For Copy & Paste ease, here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/p2yasta

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From his house at R’lyeh…

by in Art, Collaboration, Creative Writing, Kickstarter and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Almost two weeks ago, I mentioned that a kickstarter effort was upcoming. Good news!

lovecraftRoughly four days back, Simon Berman launched his project to fund the publication of a wonderful book. I couldn’t be more pleased. Apart from the re-release of some of H. P. Lovecraft‘s most influential fiction, Mr. Berman wanted to incorporate new, original content that might expand the mythos and potentially draw new fans. I presume that an attempt was made to contact the spirit of Lovecraft. He seems to remain unavailable.

Both my collaborator on other projects, Leanna Renee Hieber, and I were among those who individually contributed pieces. We were able to choose topics and themes from a list of suggestions provided by Mr. Berman. I’ve written in the past that mythology and maps† have been fascinations of mine for some while. So my selection was a very specific aspect of myth that has also wound as a particular thread through the Cthulhu saga almost since its inception.

In some ways, I found this experience to be a contrast and counterpoint to my current work on A Song Heard in the Future.

224e98469a8fcab15954c115f042d967_original† And when this kickstarter reaches the stretch goal, an attractive map will be added to the end papers of the book. At present, the project is 20% the way to including said map and 25% the way to funding without it. Wouldn’t you prefer having the map inside? I would.

To support this project and to help others find it, please click here — http://tinyurl.com/p2yasta.
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All fled – all done? No. Not yet begun…

by in Creative Writing, H.P. Lovecraft, Homage, Inspiration and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

1658478_10152339202313623_868086721_oAn announcement was recently made so a post here that I’d expected to make next month can be early. (That might make up for missing a post or two while away at Dragon Con and Space Coast Comic Con.)

An opportunity to contribute to an upcoming anthology of Cthulhu-related stories was shared with me by my business partner and coauthor – Leanna Renee Hieber. A gentleman with whom she’s worked in the past, one Mr. Simon Berman, was collecting work for the project.

There were several topics to choose from and I selected the one that most closely matched a long-standing interest of mine. If you’ve been reading Surfing the Zeitgeist, you may even be able to guess. Ms. Hieber chose a different but no less compelling subject.

Guessing, however, won’t have to last very long. There will soon be a kickstarter effort to bring the anthology to a shelf near you (hopefully one in your own home library). Once that’s a success, you can confirm your suppositions about the topics selected. Until then, enjoy taking the role of paranormal investigator.

This was a very enjoyable project and also exciting. I may not yet have arrived but I can see the road signs.

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“Let me sum up.”

by in Collaboration, Creative Writing, Gratitude, Inspiration and tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

An annoyingly catchy tune from 1992, Dizz Knee Land by Dada, has been on my mind for the past few days – but with “Dragon Con” substituted for “Disneyland”.

thom at dragon conNote: I apologize if that song is now playing on repeat in your head.

This will be my second year attending Dragon Con. I will be posting a schedule of the panels on which I’ll be presenting as the date grows a bit closer.

This event is, as you might suppose, always very exciting. It has been a busy year for me since my first time there. I’m in progress on two novels, which readers of this blog are aware. Together with my coauthor and business partner, Leanna Renee Hieber, we have introduced the adorable “feels assistants” – a.k.a. Pandora’s Pets to more than 100 customers and a growing number of stores. I was quite honored to develop the four separate covers for Ms. Hieber’s upcoming release of the Dark Next Chronicles.

DNCWe have both written separately for an illustrated anthology of Lovecraftsmanship that’s expected to launch in October – probably just in time for Halloween. Along with the other two members of PsychWing (i.e., The Nerdy Duo) we are developing a short science fiction film.

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It has been a year (plus) of dreams coming true.

Note: Until after Dragon Con there may be a slight disruption in my once-a-week posting to Surfing the Zeitgeist.

Seriously?…

by in Art, Creative Writing, Creativity, Hollywood, Perspective and tagged , , | 3 Comments

seriously

Whether called reboot, reimagining, or remake – there is, at least, one almost guaranteed reaction when Hollywood makes the announcement: There is nearly always complaint by loyal fans of the quintessential (older) version.
And when the film is released, it never plays to a completely empty theater.
Nearly 125 remakes were released between 2003 to 2012. That would be one a month, on average. Said remakes brought in a combined box office gross of $12 billion.
The explanation for the remake frenzy is “the foreign market”. I’m not sure I buy that. Surely folks in The People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国) get just as bored by/tired of an endless chain or rehash as anyone else.
I think… I hope — that the people of the Republic of Nauru (Naoero) are desirous of new and original ideas and content.
Hollywood’s emphasis on the reliably bankable is a polite way of saying they are risk-averse. Similarly, when they want it accessible, that means they don’t want to challenge or offend.
But personally, I enjoy having my assumptions challenged and my knowledge expanded. A film can be both confusing (at first) and offensive (if for effect) – so long as the end result is teaching a valuable, needed lesson. And, yes, I do expect a message from entertainment. If there isn’t to be a message – fireworks displays are free and generally ubiquitous during blockbuster season.
Nearly all work by the motion picture industry is based on brand & franchise now. There were times – and not so very long ago – when filmmakers were just as interested in story and moral as I still am.
The above Hollywood preferences may have contributed to the opinion – voiced by many – that Hollywood is out of ideas. That’s absurd. There are new novels being published every month.
The solution is clear! Reward storytellers.
Don’t go a see a film unless the trailer, pre-release press, and/or critical reviews illustrate that said film presents a new idea.
Buy a book instead.
You probably know an author. You may be one. We craft stories that we feel make important observations about life and may offer the equivalent of life-hacks within our work. Sometimes telling these stories means a sacrifice or two in the life of the author. There are tales behind the tales a reader may never know. When you hold a new book, and before you start reading, try to imagine the heroic journey the author (along with her or his allies) have already been on to see it safely into your hands.
The novel is a kind of gift-with-purchase. What you pay for is that unknown adventure the author has been through to tell you something potentially important.
If enough people do this – buying a book Instead of seeing a movie – some studio is bound to option a story you’ve read. We won’t have wasted money on a disappointing two hour retread. We also actually own a book as an added bonus.
Everybody wins! You, the book store, the publisher, the editor, and the author all get to smile. The film executives will wonder why – until the buy and read it too.
Coming soon…
 
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