by john | Dec 7, 2012 | Real Life, Vampires, Writing
I get distracted easily. By shiny things, loud noises, Magic cards, eBay, Craigslist, Facebook, the like.
Pretty much anything.
And lately I’ve been distracted by looking for a job.
It’s not that the writing thing isn’t working out, it’s that the writing thing isn’t working out quite well enough to support me. We’re not starving (which is evident from my waistline) or in danger of losing our house, but we’re eating through our savings a little more quickly than I’d hoped, so I’m probably re-entering the workforce. It’s not a huge deal, I have skills that people are willing to pay for, and I have an interview on Monday.
So that’s happening.
And I finished most of my Bubba work for the year, except the super-secret Skeeter Christmas story that I’m working on that should release next week, just in time for some ho-ho-hilarity.
Guess that’s not much of a secret anymore, is it?
So that’s kinda what’s going on here. I’m looking for full-time employment, or part-time employment, and working hard on resurrecting a local theatre advocacy organization, and writing a bit, and playing Magic. Now it’s time to go work on the rewrites for Paint it Black.
You know, that fourth book in The Black Knight Chronicles that you guys have been waiting a year and a half for? Yeah, the first draft is done, the revised draft is due to my publisher around the first of the year, and hopefully we’ll get that in your hands early in 2013.
Merry Christmas!
by john | Nov 5, 2012 | Book Spotlight
I met Selah Janel at Fandom Fest this year, and loved her as soon as we met. She’s a truly awesome person, and then she submitted one of the best vampire stories I’ve EVER read for The Big Bad. This is her new book, which you should all check out as soon as you can. You won’t be disappointed, she’s amazing!
Cute, too. 🙂
When In the Red was still a vague short story I still knew one set-in-stone fact. It was a story about a guy who wanted to be a rock star, and it was going to be set in a rock n’ roll world. It pains me that this genre has been somewhat forgotten, kicked around, and who knows what else in favor of pop, dance, dub step, and whatever other new subgenres show up every five minutes. I get it. New times, new tastes. Yet many musicians today always seem to cover or pay tribute to those awesome rockers who have come before. Concepts like backstage hijinks, trashed hotel rooms, super-fans, groupies, and interesting substances are a part of every music genre in the performance realm, but they seem to be forever linked with a rock n’ roll world. Besides, there’s something instinctively soul-wrenching about a really great guitar riff, a really killer bass line, a badass drum solo, and a singer who can really wail. For many of us, these are things that get an immediate, visceral reaction. There are idols in every area of music, but since the story also deals with a sundry deal with dark forces, rock music felt right. Not only is it the genre I grew up with (I love all music, but I’ll always favor classic rock and eighties metal), but it has the best stories.
At some point everyone has seen or heard some ridiculous story about some rock star livin’ it up. Whether you’ve been on Snopes.com, read books like Rock n’ Roll Babylon, or get your kicks from movies like Almost Famous, you probably have somewhat of an idea of what I’m talking about (and how hard of a guest post this will be to write without describing some of the better incidents). In my book, Jeremiah signs on with Jack Scratch and Voland Entertainment and instantly, easily becomes a superstar, supposedly destined to bring rock music back from the dead. He’s encouraged to play hard because he’s worked so hard for what he wants (or so he thinks). And he definitely plays hard. He’s in good company, too. Whether it’s The Who trashing hotel rooms, Led Zeppelin discovering new uses for fish, or Mötley Crüe discovering new uses for telecommunications devices, stories about decadence and debauchery have long followed rock. It’s almost expected at this point.
Sure, a lot of these (like the Rod Steward rumors) are very much inflated, and probably not even about him or any other person in question (you can substitute at least five people into that story, and the same anecdote has been told about all of them). It’s probably a failing of mine that things like this amuse me so much, or maybe it’s because I’m a very boring person, myself (All those who know me can stop laughing at that one, thanks). It was fun to make up my own rock urban legends and put Jeremiah through that sort of hazing, especially since shyness is one of the few qualities we share. It was also a little nerve-wracking, knowing that people I know would actually read this book and discover that part of my imagination. At the end of the day, though, I decided to suck it up and get past the nerves, because those little asides and vignettes really make the first part of the book for me.
However, there were other stories that I wanted to touch on that were just as much fun as thinking of what a bassist could hide under a bar table or what kind of hijinks a band could get up to during a recording session. We’re at the point where rock n’ roll and its earlier forms have a long and rich history, and with it comes its own brand of folklore. I didn’t want to directly include the Robert Johnson story in the book, but I did want to allude to it and use elements of it. For those who aren’t aware, the basic story is that Robert Johnson went out to a local crossroads and met a stranger there (the Devil), who taught him how to play guitar better than anyone in the entire world, and he ended up dying to fulfill his contract. Now, in real life there are quite a few holes in that story, but it’s an interesting concept. There are also a number of stories of more recent rockers who supposedly sold their souls for a chance at fame and fortune. After all, everyone has something that they’d give up everything for. A lot of people would do a lot for that kind of attention…and to have security of that position to go with it? Priceless.
In the Red translates things a bit differently. There is a shady deal, though it takes a while for Jeremiah to realize just what he’s gotten himself into. There are magical objects, demons, and plenty of groupies and fans to encourage Jeremiah to play up his alter-ego J.K. Asmodeus to the fullest. There is a crossroads, but it shows up at a different point and ends up being more of a battle of wits than a learning opportunity. There’s plenty of decadence and bad behavior floating around the pages, plenty of questionable activity, and plenty of occurrences that may or may not be real…it just depends on what you believe in.
And thankfully, there’s also plenty of stage time and good ol’ fashioned rock n’ roll to go with it all, because really, it’s the music that makes everything else possible.
Blog – http://www.selahjanel.wordpress.com
Fandom Scene Column – http://www.fandomfestblog.com/blogs/selah-janel
Facebook Author Page – http://www.facebook.com/authorSJ
Facebook Book Page – http://www.facebook.com/intherednovel
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5622096.Selah_Janel
Amazon Author Page – http://www.amazon.com/Selah-Janel/e/B0074DKC9K/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1346815995&sr=1-2-ent
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/SelahJanel
by john | Oct 26, 2012 | Appearances
Hey y’all –
I don’t know about you, but I’m just now getting back into my groove after Dragon*Con and NY Comic Con. That’s certainly one reason I don’t think I can do both of those cons in a year again – they’re just a little too close together for massive cons like that. I know there’s six weeks between them, but I need more. Anyway, nobody cares about all that.
Here’s where you can find me at upcoming events for the next couple weeks. When I’m not at these places, I plan to be nose-first in my keyboard because I’m going to do NaNoWriMo this year and I really intend to blow it up. I think I should be able to easily hammer out 50,000 words in about two weeks, so this bitch better be done by Thanksgiving!
Tonight & Tomorrow Night (and Sunday @2:30, Nov. 1-3 @ 8PM, Nov. 4 @ 2:30PM, Nov. 7-10 @ 8PM, Nov. 11 @ 2:30PM)- 8PM – Theatre Charlotte, In the Heat of the Night. Great play, come check it out. The cast is going to Philosopher’s Stone tonight after the show, you’re welcome to join us and tell us how awesome we are.
Sunday – UNCC Cone Center – UNCC Guild Game Day – this is where the gamer geeks come hang out, play Magic or other games, and I set up my little display table and try to sell books. Worst case I’ll play cards and hang out.
November 14, 7-9PM – I’ll be signing the Black Knight Omnibus at Park Road Books. Faith Hunter and Kalayna Price will be joining me. Come by and say hello. Maybe we’ll grab a beer afterwards. Well, let’s put it this way – I’m going to get a beer afterwards. You’re invited.
November 15 – Time Warner Cable Arena – Madonna. Don’t judge, I’m a married man, and I owe her this. I will be intoxicated. That is all.
November 16-18 – Charleston Convention Center in North Charleston, SC – Magic Grand Prix Charleston. I’ll be playing Magic: The Addiction all weekend long, but if you want to come say hello, I’ll probably have books in my bag if you want to pick one up.
November 22 – Thanksgiving at Mom & Dad’s. There’s always plenty. If you can find the place by lunchtime, drop by. We have extra. Just say you’re Cousin Ralph. No one will notice, but you’re in charge of the cranberry sauce. And it better be that gelatinous crap with the ridges from the can left in it. None of this real cranberries bullshit for my family!
November 24 – New World Comics in High Point – 4PM – 6PM – I’ll be doing a signing in a comic shop. Sounds like I’ll be spending more than I sell again. But I’ll have a great time doing it!
Then December 16th, join me for the Charlotte Comicon at the new location. No I don’t remember where it is, go to the website. It’s the best one-day con in Charlotte. It’s awesome!
Yeah, except for the thirty-seven appearances I have this month, I’ll be writing. No friggin’ wonder I never get anything written. I got more done when I had a day job. At least then I had a lunch break. Whine, whine, whine, grumble, grumble, grumble. See ya in the funny papers!
by john | Oct 24, 2012 | Theatre
Not really, but since I’m performing In the Heat of the Night at Theatre Charlotte starting Friday (get your tickets now!), and I’m nuts-deep in tech and dress rehearsals this week, I figured I’d at least try to knock out a blog post for y’all.
This show is a bag of awesome, and I’m having a hell of a good time working on it. It’s tough, and there’s one costume change in particular that I barely make each night, leaving me panting a little when I come back onstage, but the acting overall is very, very good, and I’ve enjoyed getting back onstage in a show that makes me stretch a bit.
I don’t act much. It’s not just a time thing, there are a lot of reasons. Not the least of which is that I know I’m not the best actor in my age range in town. I’m pretty good, and I work hard, but I don’t have as much innate talent as some other folks. Which makes auditions a little tougher. Once directors work with me and understand that I work my ass off on a show, I can get cast. But auditioning for a new director is hard. It doesn’t help that I’m overweight and have long hair, both of which tend to narrow my “type.” I shaved for this show, though, which I hope shows a willingness to alter my appearance that people weren’t aware of.
But the fact of the matter is that I’m a very good lighting designer, and I can usually find plenty of work doing that to keep me busy. And it pays, while most folks in Charlotte are acting for free. So lighting gigs take precedence over auditions. But I love acting, and I love getting the chance to stretch myself as an actor, which this show does.So if you’re around Charlotte for the next three weeks, I hope you’ll come out and tell me how I’ve done. And feel free to mock my clean-shaven mug. I do.
by john | Oct 19, 2012 | Business of publishing, Writing
So the new Bubba the Monster Hunter story is out. You can check it out here. It’s the culmination of the storyline between Bubba and his psycho father, but at the end of the story I’m a bit of a dick.
I know, big surprise.
Remember, the only thing writers enjoy more than torturing characters is torturing readers. And I get to do both in one shot.
I leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger, but you won’t have to wait too long for a resolutions. I plan to pick back up with Bubba stories in January. So just a couple of months to wait.
But here’s the current plan for Bubba publications.
Shorts 1-4 are collected in Monsters Beware.
Shorts 5-8 are collected in Monsters Mashed.
The next collection will include Sixteen Tons, Family Tradition and Final Countdown. It will be called something like Monsters Everywhere, unless y’all give me a better two-word title starting with the word “monsters.” This will be a $3.99 ebook, a discount over buying all three books individually.
Then I’ll release a collection of all of the Bubba stories to date. It will be called Scattered, Smothered and Chunked: Bubba the Monster Hunter Season One. It’ll be on sale soon as a $9.99 ebook, which is cheaper than buying all eleven books individually.
Bump in the Night is the current Bubba print collection, collecting stories 1-8 for $15. It will go away, never to be seen again. I will soon (probably early next year) have a print edition for Scattered, Smothered and Chunked, so it’s easy for readers to get the whole story in one place. It’ll probably be about $20.
Then next year I’ll work on getting even more adventures of Bubba, Skeeter and Agent Amy. Assuming they all live through Final Countdown.
Just wanted to give y’all a publication update on everybody’s favorite redneck, so you know where we are with things. Lemme know if you’ve got title suggestions or any other feedback on the stories. They’re a lot of fun to write, so I’ll likely keep turning them out on the order of one about every month, with a little break now and then.
