Out the Other Side & Much More

Last week I kinda got some crummy news but it was wrapped with lots of silver linings. Lots.

But first…

I’ve survived the plague, and the lockdown, and have managed to crack out 20 chapters on Book 4 of Akiniwazisaga.  The sad part? This may only be 20% of the entire book length.  I’m not sure, but this bad boy’s going to be a whopper.  If you want to keep up with the latest details on what’s going on in writing and life in general, you can check it out on my Discord Channel.  Link above. It’s worth it.

it even gave me a chance to read some Realmie books I purchased last conference.  Here’s some of them I bought:

 

Three resources for writing. Fight Write is a Realmie Resource I had to purchase after the Con, she ran out. Highly recommended

Some fun reading by fellow Realmies.

 

Speaking of Discord…

The news finally broke this year that Realm Makers 2020 conference has gone virtual, thanks mostly to the State of New Jersey unable to unclench long enough to pull their head’s out and take a breath.  That means RM2020 is now a virtual conference, like all the other conventions and conferences all over the US stretching into next year.  I just… I… Come ON people, you don’t quarantine healthy individuals!  So here’s where the silver linings begin.

In the process of setting up for the virtual RM2020, we were told that it will be using Discord as a big part of it’s operation.  I happened to be right place/right time cheerleading and helping out on a different RM related Discord forum and got the powers that be to understand what was happening and how the system works. Thanks to those fortuitous (yeah, I see God’s hand all over it) I became a moderator to help out with handling the training of a lot of conference goers and then assisting as a mod for the con!  Woot! So that’s kinda fun to be on the inside of that one. A lot of energy has been spent on this setup and onboarding of writers from all over the world, it’s almost been a full time job.

Which leads me to the blessing in disguise of being laid off just as COVID19 shut everything down. So we’ll see how long it takes either to get a call back (ain’t holding my breath) or a new position.  Till then, writing, RM modding and creative endeavors will fill my days, mortared together with job hunting.

What about those other creative endeavors?  Music!  I’ve mentioned for a while I’m doing music, well now I’m posting some stuff on my youtube channel, with more to come as I feel appropriate and have the time.  Unfortunately the last song was too long, so Youtube rejected it.  Will have to try with some others. Here’s one example.

I’m an enthusiastic amature, so take that into account.

 

And as sort of a bittersweet farewell to the idea of going to Atlantic City this year, here are pictures from last year’s RM to cheer me up, and for you to enjoy too.

Two of my fellow diners at the awards banquet. Elizabeth Liberty Lewis & Kaitlyn Emery

Cosplay competition finalists. The Leeroyyy Jenkins card won against stiff competition

Our MC, Mermaid Wonder Woman

Amazon Wonder Woman

Award Winning author Kerry Neitz

An outstanding elf costume

Dr. Strange runs this show.

Kerry Neitz and me, the cartoon before the movie

Sophia Hansen as Kaylee. Even had the strawberries.

Always bring a banana and an Edward Scissorhands to a party

The wonderful Sheraton Chalet Inn in St. Louis. What better place for Spec Fic authors to gather.

Lockdown Social Interaction

As a stone introvert who can literally go an entire week without seeing another human being, I give this a jolly “meh”. I’m fairly battle hardened to isolation.

For those going through social withdrawal, don’t forget my Discord server. I’m on usually in the evenings chatting about stuff with friends and fans that may have nothing to do with my writing. Just a good social place. For the time being Discord has graciously raised their channel capacity to 50. Ergo, now is the time to check it out.  The link to get there is in the menu bar.

During the day, I am often working on book 4 and music of all things, but I will try to be regularly available at night if people are needing somewhere to go and just hang out.

If I hop on the server, I will be streaming Guild Wars 2.  Probably going to finish the last part of the Icebrood Saga sometime this week.

Hope to see some new faces!

Quick Edit!

Also, here’s a new challenge for you!  I give you the Protect Your TP Pandemic Challenge! The video is hilarious, and Carla does some great information for writers in the field of hand to hand combat. Check her out!

Judo for the Pandemic

How will you protect your TP?

1917: Cinematic Excellence and Trauma

“So,” he says cautiously, “I watched 1917 today…”

 

 

“…and I am feeling rather brutalized.” So I needed to share my feelings to help exorcise my psychic trauma.

The movie was good enough to deserve the accolades heaped upon it, particularly in the technical realm. I knew going in it was going to be realistic. But, I didn’t expect the visceral nature and sheer magnitude of hopelessness and grief it would convey. Not necessarily in a “good” way like you get in some war movies that springboard to the greater good. No, the feeling of futility and the monstrous industrial wholesale slaughter on display tore my emotions open.

This movie can give PTSD, for I sure feel like something was ripped out of my soul after seeing it. I’m still kind of reeling hours later. To see the unflinching after effects of those battles had no hope in them like in “War Horse”, or the feel swell of pride from success like in “The Patriot”. It’s left me wounded, feeling worse than I ever felt watching “Full Metal Jacket” or “Platoon”. I’ve been slowly coming to a realization of the spiritual effects of such entertainments.

Derek Prince warns of such things because the shocks can open us up to torment from the demonic. The spirit of death, fear and grief are pickled all through 1917 in my opinion. You will need a hard heart indeed to get through it unscathed. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. Movies seem to be doing this more and more often lately. Sorry, I just need to get this out lest it fester in my head by going unattended, unfelt, and not understood. Part of the grieving process for a wound in the spirit.

And in the midst of all that, there is one writing twist that is so good, it almost feels like a mean trick. I was left shocked that the writers would do such a thing. It completely changes the tone of the movie in certain respects. Some things become heroic, and others become bittersweet tragedy.

Anyway, I needed to flush this out somewhere, and maybe others have seen it and know what I’m talking about and feel the same. A stellar accomplishment in film-making, excellent story.

 

View at your own risk.

A very happy discovery

After questioning what has been going on as of late with sales, I had been worried with the silence. Turns out I just have to search harder for data on sales because Amazon are doo-doo poopie-heads with sharing data.

I am apparently doing well in Germany!  Never expected that, so I’m really glad to say Danke! Dankeschoen mein freundes!

Yeah, I know bad German. I’ll have to watch more Rammstein videos.  LOL

What’s more amazing is it’s book 1, so doubly happy on that.  Book 3 is puttering along decent, but I would really REALLY love it if you’d give me a couple reviews and tell everyone what you thought about it.  Here or on Goodreads.com would be great helps!

Tis where you the fan can help us writers most. 🙂

Anyway, thank you all.  Danke!

Pre-Order Ready!

That’s right everyone.  You can find the pre-order for “Into the High Places” available on Amazon for the e-book.  The print copies should… SHOULD be ready by the release on January 2nd.  Everything is in order and this is happening barring some interweb mass disaster.  Order your copy today!

 

Trials, Tribulations & Pre-Orders

Been a long time, and mostly not my fault.  I’ll take some of the blame and most of the credit on this.

Apparently WordPress is somehow entangled with Facebook.  Since I find Facebook reprehensible and evil, I’m moving my social media presence to Discord.  There you will be able to get the most up to date information on what’s going on and even hang out with me from time to time.  No hard set schedule, but that’s where I’m moving stuff.  I’ll still maintain a presence here as a reference point until I find a new platform to operate off of that will direct people to the Discord home of Resonant Point.

Follow this link below, sign up if you haven’t already, and it will let you join up through either their website, a downloadable app or mobile app (which is actually really sweet).

Entre nous!

https://discord.gg/zU2DMWH

Now, this has been kind of part of the reason why I’ve been away so long and why things have not hit deadlines without a peep.  Outside interference of a technical sort. Another is that work.  My dayjob is not playing nice with me and so I don’t have a lot of energy to write or the inspiration to do so, let alone format (which I find nothing short of torture).  I used to think editing was bad.  It’s not.  It’s just boring and tedious.

And the last is I wanted to hire out for someone else to help me with formatting and prepping the files for the printer.  Well those plans fell through, and I fell into a technical funk that I just couldn’t break.  The last 3 times I went through processing this for ebooks I wanted to gouge my eyes out.  Well, till yesterday, I was stuck.  Unwilling to do this critical work that had to be done.  I do apologize for that.  But I’m a complex little pirate.

Yesterday, one of my fellow realmies helped me out and I discovered that I had the tools all along, and I just didn’t know how to use them properly!  So I fixed the issues, and it looks pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

That means the ebook is going up for pre-order for January 2nd.  So all you people with your Christmas money can get a copy!  I’m going to try and have the print books ready at the same time but it will depend on whether or not Amazon gives me crap about linking them.  So bear with me.

Pre-Orders starting any hour now for January 2nd release.

Coming January 2nd!

Now why then?  Well, with waiting so long it just makes sense to release a book next year as well, and give me the time to get the 4th book out maybe same time next 2021.  Sooner if I can swing it. Remember, that’s a deadline, and what did I say about them in my last post?  That’s right… wave at them as they drift by.  But now that I got this workaround for this blog, I’ll post more details when they’re more concretely available.

So there we are.

Can’t wait for it to be over and I can move forward and complete this story arc.  Reimar’s been so patient. ;D

 

So Who Wants an ARC E-book?

That’s right, this post does what it says on the tin.

Book 3 is so close to coming out (delayed oh so long much to my frustration).  I wanted to make sure that this was as good a quality product as I can get it.  I’ve had some very helpful people and editors and beta-readers and people to fish me out from under the bed with coathangers to help me get this far.

Actually not all the delays were caused by me as much as some things didn’t happen during the last editing/formatting stages that I was hoping for, so, there have been adjustments made.

I really do try to not be this guy… but I am.

So, here’s the next step.  I’m going to do a staggered rollout.  First step, once I am sure that the formatting isn’t broken, and things haven’t gone so awry that I have to pay extra money to get them fixed, I’ll be sending out ARC copies of my ebook to those interested.  Remember, this will be in exchange for spreading the word via honest review on your site/blog/vlog if you have them, or on some other social media, but definitely on Amazon.  So of course, if this is something you want to do, make sure to say you were given a free advance copy for an honest review.

After I’ve given you all a week or two to take a look, I’ll do an official ebook release.  If any typos are caught that I’ve missed (the things are like roaches.  I swear!) they’ll be corrected through the proper channels.

Then 2-4 weeks after, the print copies will come out, and we’ll get them on the shelves of your local bookstore.

How can one become an ARC reader?  I’m going to make it a 2 step process.

1. Sign up to my blog here.

2. Send me a message through the site saying you want in.

Let me know what kind of a social reach you have if you are a reviewer or where you plan to share your reviews.  I want to see them too. 🙂

This info will not be used for a marketing list, except to see if you’ll want in for the next book.

That’s it.

Then when the book is ready to send, I will confirm with you where I am sending this copy, and then it’s up to you to do that voodoo you do so well.

Mind you this is the middle book of a story arc, but you should be able to get enough context that you won’t need to have read the first two books.  Otherwise, you know where to find me and ask questions.

Speaking of which!

I have created the Resonant Point Discord Channel.

https://discord.gg/pxft5EF

If you use the app, (the phone app is great too) you can come here and hang out.  I’ve also tested the link and the browser works too.  You must sign up, of course, but it’s free. I typically can be found nearly every week streaming Guild Wars 2, and we also have voice channels in which to chat.  Updates happen there much faster, as well as conversations on various subjects in the text channels.

It’s rated PG of course.  We want to be safe for little ears to be in the room if you’re using speakers.

So that’s what’s been happening.

I can’t wait to get this in your hands, so start signing up.  This may be ready to happen before Oct 2019 begins!

See you all soon.

 

P.S. I’m dying to start writing Book 4. So many things have finally come together.

Reached the Mountaintop

After Realm Makers 2019, (if you want a recap and pictures, come on now, give me a like here)  I got all enthused and had burned off some of that courage to see if I could get placed in a bookstore.  Today, it happened!

I went in to Lighthouse Books in Green Bay, WI and there I sat on the shelves, nestled menacingly in between all the Amish Romances, like a Gargoyle on a Victorian mansion glowering over the innocent besotted lovers

According to the store staff, they’d already sold a couple this week, so I’m a very happy boy!

What’s that hiding among them Amish Romances???

I mean I keep hearing Lord Percy Percy in my head demanding to know if I’m a gloater.  Darn right I am!  This is the biggest ego stroke for me as an author so far.  Yes, this is small potatoes and not that big a deal to most, but still.  Blow yer own horn lest it n’er be blown at all.  AmIright?

Could it be????

 

Oh yeah, that’s the stuff right there.

 

 

And on a related note, I am opening up my own Discord channel.  You want to know more of what’s going on in my life, a place to chat and ask questions?  Even talk live?  This is the place to go!

Resonant Point Discord Server Join here!

It’s app is available for PC and phone.  Does excellent VOIP too.  I will be hanging out there when gaming, and available to chat about this that and the other thing.

I really hope to see you there.  It will also have more consistent content (basically me talking at/with/around/over and under and through) what’s going on. And there will be some more fun stuff will be coming in this as I grow my social media platform.  I so hate that term, BTW, it sounds so…. disingenuous.  But it is what it is, it be what it be to quote a friend of mine.  I just have to learn how to set things up and find a few more pieces to connect up.  Then we’ll be cookin with gas!

Till then, ciao for niao!

PS: to any of you out there that bet me they could make it into bookstores first back in high school, and you know who you are… pay up.

Book 3 is Approaching so Fast!

Just a quick note on the state of Book Three of the Akiniwazisaga.

“Into The High Places” is in the final stages of editing and formatting.  Barring any interference, the desire is to release by Labor Day.

As a little thank you for your patience from not getting it out in July, here’s an excerpt from what’s to come:

1. Beyond the Bounds of Law

 

Brother Finn looked back through the branches of the forest and down the path they had climbed to leave the Eitrfjord. Far in the distance, the last sliver of Lake Wanashiabinoogi shimmered, begging him to turn back. Finn stared at the bright flickers on the deep blue of water, palms sweating and his heart began to pound for a brand new reason.

“Just one more step, Bergie,” Finn muttered.

“All it would take is one more step, the lake would disappear from sight and my skoggang breaks,” he said to his ever faithful companion who only panted in reply. “I would become fredlause, you know? Unprotected by the law, any man who desired to take my life could do so without fear. Just like a wild animal… no reprisals… no feud… no trial. Only justice served.”

Glancing further down the trail at the small ad hoc company with whom he had thrown in his lot, Finn was still astonished with his reasoning. He gave Bergamot, his mastiff , a bittersweet smile. She waited patiently under her heavy packs.

“Such is my life,” Brother Finn said with a small snort. “Why should I even care about breaking my obedience to the Kyrkja so much? They were the unjust ones, but yet I remain chained to their ideas and authority regardless of its perversion,” he complained to her.

Misty sunlight sliced up the shade of the thick forest into glittering magical shafts. A still voice whispered in his mind, “The needs of the Forsamling are far greater than claims of the Orthodoxy. The purposes of God are grander than the vision of a few petty men in comfortable palaces.”

Brother Finn nodded a few times with the wise words that came from somewhere deep within, drew a cleansing breath through his nose and resolved to serve both his Lord and his Tign. Turning his back to the lake, Finn began descending the deer trail. The act completed his disobedience to the laws of man. His fate rested in the hands of God and Visekonge.

Far down the slope the group headed toward the sound of a babbling brook. No one had noticed Finn’s personal struggle or failure to keep up. Their long climb out of the Eitrfjord made them grateful to have a downward slope that quickened their steps. Finn could no longer see the rest of the party through the foliage but heard their voices echoing through the trees. They were much too loud for Finn’s comfort. Who knew what else could be listening among the curtains of green? He and Bergamot rushed to catch up. As the slope grew steeper, gaps in the canopy showed they were rapidly descending into a series of interconnected valleys. The white and gray peaks and palisades of the Ondeandkorgfjell fanned out before them, ominous and beautiful.

A branch cracked above and to his left. Finn had just enough time to see Friar Amr flying at him from out of a dense cluster of spruce with a bloodcurdling grin on his face. Brother Finn could not bring his harpoon to bear on Amr’s attack in time and was bowled over with a loud whoof.

Thyrnir charged out of some dense brush, barrelling down the grade. Bergamot wheeled on Thyrnir and growled, intercepting the other dog’s attack, knocking him down with her superior size, using her packs like armor. The two dogs tore at each other in a frenzy, while both their masters slashed and blocked each other in a blind tangle. Friar Amr’s strikes missed by a hair’s breadth with the barb of his harpoon but struck soundly with the blunt end. Brother Finn fought to gain distance from this savage attack.

Then just as quickly as it began, Friar Amr and Thyrnir vanished!

Photo by Bruce Getty on Pexels.com

 

 

 

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jog

Home is both a welcome and sad thing today.

Today, I come back to reality for I have survived Realm Makers Conference 2019.  Half melted from the heat wave, exhausted and generally feeling like a pile o puppy poo from the long drive it was an outstanding experience. I sold some books, gave away a LOT of swag, took some classes that REALLY challenged me, had some very helpful mentor appointments, pitched a new idea for a second project and loved every minute of it.

I have evidence I was there with a few pictures, but don’t take many and do not like being in them generally speaking. If I get enough people who want to see some, I’ll share a little bit about the experience… but y’all better show you want to see these through likes.  Otherwise they’re mine, all mine.

Yes… that is half a pot.  No photographic trickery.  I’m too tired.

But now to recover, and brace for re-entry into the real world.  I am not ready.  Time for coffee.