Tag Archives: novels

The Long Lost Blog Post

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This year I wrote 250,529 words, which consists of two books in the Cities That Eat Islands trilogy and 2/3rds of a Radicci Sisters book. I guess that’s not bad. Was hoping to finish the RS book in the summer and then now but life didn’t go that way. I’ll have to finish it after Book 3 of the trilogy in the Spring.

I hope to have 4 new books released by the end of the summer if my health and life goes well.

A few weeks before Thanksgiving I discovered I had a 1cm stone blocking my kidney. The pain was excruciating and I had to go to the hospital for a few days, then after that have a few procedures. Urinating during that month and few weeks was horrible, like someone was twisting a knife in my side.

Now, I’m pain free and what is left inside me is small. I just have to flush it. I can focus on my two root canals. Yeah, a rough end to 2018.

Sorry I haven’t kept up with this blog. It might have to do with the fiction I’m writing. I’ve been creating autistic main characters in my stories and I suppose I’ve been communicating life’s difficulties through them.

Also, the Miki Radicci Holiday sale will end at the end of the year. $1.99 novels in the series and the shorts collection, and Party Girl Crashes the Rapture. Take advantage of it.

And thanks to all those who have bought my work this year. Every little bit helps me financially. I hope to continue to entertain in 2019. 🙂

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Recognizable Voice

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Computer work today. Revised my YA files. Half way done.

Got me thinking of writing YA again. Straight YA without any crime or weirdness. In a way, I did with the sequel to Jesus Freakz earlier this year. Not a big seller right now but that’s okay.

I still play around with the genre in short story form with sci-fi, stuff that when I have enough I’ll collect. I suppose I can squeeze in a novel or two if I wanted. It would be fun to write a novel but I don’t know if it would be marketable for me since my Miki stuff makes the money. Maybe down the line between Miki and Tenebrous projects.

Watched Hollow Triumph. A nice little noir about a released criminal with a college education who hides out from the mob that he just ripped off by stealing the identity of a psychologist that he looks exactly alike. Joan Bennett plays the psychologist’s secretary. Of course she’s wonderful in it. Way different than in Fritz Lang’s Scarlet Street. For those into horror she was the school master in Argento’s Suspiria. Her voice is very recognizable.

Another gas station closed. Have to travel all the way to Kennedy to get gas now. Not too far just annoying.

Apparently bullies have severe brain damage. Situation is more annoying than threatening. Onto phase three.

 

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Always Trust Your Agent, Not

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Little revising on Cities That Eat Islands and I’m done. Started this draft at 80,000 words. After cutting, pasting, and writing, I’m left with a 83,500 word novel.

I’m happy with it. It’s a good part one to a trilogy. I’m geared up for part two, which I hope to start in September when the kids go back to school. Maybe if all goes well I can start in August.

As usual, part two is big in my head and I have many directions like I did with the first one but since I never work with an outline and I just write as I go based on cause and affect…

I’ll just try to keep my head blank on plot for the next few months and write my ideas down in the little green book as I get them.

Snuck some computer work in.

Read an interesting blog post from Chuck Palahniuk one of the authors ripped off from the major and prestigious literary agencies out there today. Always trust the great old agent as they say. You poor writers.

Watched the 3rd part of Arthur. I enjoyed it. Fairly complex plot for a family movie. Good edition to my Besson collection.

Free speech is at war again. Both sides are in battle. I think. I don’t know. Everyone has an agenda. Everyone wants to control someone. What do I know.

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Weird and Oppressive

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More revisions on Cities That Eat Islands. Tomorrow I should be done.

Started watching Part 2 of Luc Besson’s Arthur and the Invisibles. Part 1 was pretty good, which I saw earlier this year. Part leads right into part 3 so I have that to look forward to tomorrow. So far I’m enjoying the mix of live action and animation. It plays like a family version of his other films (Fifth Element or Valarian). A lot of funny lines and stints.

D’s bully situation is somewhat getting better. Although they are not to be in contact with each other, the little monster is talking behind his back and gathering others against him.

I did some research and found out that indeed (as he brags to the girls to score cool points) he is related to a local author by the name of L. Skurnick in Jersey City. Classy. Hopefully, his father who met with school officials today, will make a difference. If not then off to the Bully Councilor. And if that doesn’t work, to the Devil herself.

The internet is still ablaze about what is racism and the Barr tweet and using it to get The View off of ABC. Although I could care less past my artistic disappointment, I just think that biological hate is a much stronger offence than ideological hate. And racist jokes from blacks to whites are funny and okay since, hey, they only been free since the 60s. They have the right to blow off a little steam and we are weird and oppressive.

Anyway. It’s been a bit confusing for me and making people really angry or really mediocre.

Hopefully it will die down soon.

But probably not.

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The Long Post and the Threat of Regression

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FRIDAY

Kids had a half a day so the teachers can leave early from work and prepare for their three day week end. Damn the unions. So I managed to complete a little computer work.

Not able to get much done with BOTH kids home.

Watched Michael Mann’s Manhunter. Been a while since I’ve seen it. A slick minimalistic forensic crime noir. It’s a fine slow burn with great performances from William Petersen and Dennis Farina who you don’t see anymore, sadly. Tom Noonan and Brian Cox were wonderfully psychotic in different ways. What little time Joan Allen had she made a strong impression on the film.

SATURDAY

Did a lot more computer work. Some frustration between linking up the store with the website. HTML bullshit that I have to figure out. Be creative and work around it.

My daughter, M, spent some time with my wife’s Aunt Fuck and mother today while we went to the mall. Aunt Fuck was training M to say her name on her cell phone video so she could sent it to her friends and post it on Facebook. Now sometimes my daughter is repeating “My Name Is M”.

She’s going to be five in a few months. She’s broken out of echolalia. She’s top of her class and surpassing her goals in private ABA and in school. She has a strong chance to be in a mixed class in 3rd grade. Speech is her slight weakness. She should be working on her sentences, voicing what she wants. Communicating her needs. She already knows her name, the names of her family members and her pets.

I feel this aunt is regressing my daughter’s hard work. Also feels like Aunt Fuck is using her like a child pornographer in front of our faces. Giving her commands, making her do it over and over, making sure she looks at the camera. Treating her like a thing. Like she’s a retards, brainless.

But that’s how she talks to everyone. Yes, I hate Aunt Fuck. I’m going to have to ban her from my daughter again. Sigh.

Watched Michael Gornick’s Creepshow 2. This is the new Arrow edition, which looks stunning. This film has grown on me every time I rewatched it. We met Mike Gornick a few times at cons. He’s a nice, generous, and approachable guy. He started off as a Director of Photography for George Romero in the first half of his career. It’s a fun film but doesn’t surpass part 1.

SUNDAY

More computer work today. Boring, blah, blah, back ache, blah.

Helped D with his essay for school. Research.

Because of above had to skip writing group today. *sad face*

Watched Tobe Hooper’s Eaten Alive. It’s his second film. Funny. This film lives up to the reputation of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s bloody, violent, and intense and it’s all on the screen, unlike the other film, which was going for a PG rating or just shadowed out from the lack of lighting or budget. Pure Hooper insanity driven by performances from Neville Brand, Robert Finley, Marilyn Burns, Mel Ferrer, and Robert Englund.

MONDAY

Started last round of edits for Cities That Eat Islands. Thank God, no computer work.

No school for the kids since it was a holiday. We didn’t get invited to any parties. Great!

Helped D with his essay again.

Sorry for such a long post. Wanted to do an autism post too but will save it for tomorrow.

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They Always Get What’s Coming To Them

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Finished this week’s editing goal for Cities That Eat Islands. Next week is the last week on the novel.

Snuck some computer work on the store.

Celebrated my 15 year wedding anniversary with Neen. Were supposed to go to FM at Noon but turned out they didn’t open until 1PM. Considering the time limit with the kids getting out from school, we went to Barcade instead. The food was good. We had a nice time as you can see from the pictures on the right.

Been rereading Hardshell AKA Night Visions 4. A collection with Dean Koontz, Edward Bryant, and Robert McCammon. An oldy from 1987. Still pretty good. The Koontz stories are in his traditional form, but the last one is different; first person and spiritual. Perfect for short story experimentation.

Son and I got some great news from school. His teacher is getting heart surgery. He should be out for a while. I’m hoping the rest of the year. I’m shocked. I didn’t think he had a heart. Yeah, he loves his highest grade students to the point where he acts like a pedophile but that’s not the same thing.

Oh, and speaking of sick fucks getting what they deserve.

Officials: Weinstein to surrender in sexual misconduct probe

So yeah, let’s home this guy finally gets what’s coming to him too.

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Don’t You Have A Filter?

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More work on Cities that Eat Islands.

Submitted cover to designer for paperback version Bawling Sugar Soul.

D was home sick today. Helped him with his essay. A ridiculous subject. A hard one. Finding common ground between the Europeans, the Native Americans, and the African Americans in 1492. Gonna need some creative writing for this one.

So I have a habit of dragging people out of their comfort zones. I’m not just talking about with my books or on the internet where I fall into arguments with dunderheads. In real life too. See, when people say:

“Yeah, you’re a big man hiding behind your keyboard. But in real life you wouldn’t say those things.”

Well, yeah. I do say those things. I’ve had a life time of people telling me:

“You’re so crazy.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Don’t you have a filter?”

“What is wrong with you?”

And on and on.

No, I’m not crazy. I’m autistic. And maybe that means I don’t have a filter and that I’m rude or crazy…to those people. Maybe it means that I tell the truth without holding back. Maybe I want to be part of the conversation and don’t know the right way to break into it so I just verbally belly flop into it. It really depends on the situation.

Most of my life it has gotten me in a lot of trouble. I’ve been beaten in the face, kicked in the spine, kept from getting a promotion at Metlife, gotten in disagreements with co-workers, lost friends in person and on the internet, and fought with in-laws.

But it has benefits aside from my art. I have run into people that don’t react that way. They do take me seriously, accept me when I speak. And when I’m being funny, like unfiltered funny, they laugh. Like my wife and kids and my one or two friends that I manage not to scare away.

It’s hard. It’s one of the main reasons I don’t talk in public much. Making friends is difficult, especially with white people. Usually I have to hang out with a person a few times before I feel comfortable in front of them.

Then there are those people where you get that safe feeling from. They smile at you, they radiate acceptance. I appreciate those.

Personally I don’t mind moving out of my comfort zone. I love watching movies that threaten me, move me. People with ideas and imagination. Shift my thinking and perspective a bit. After all, as humans we have to change. It’s as obvious as our skin.

So why resist that autistic person who is pulling you from your safe place? Embrace them. If they are giving you a view outside the box, take a look. If they are telling you a joke that might be off color, go ahead and laugh. Consider them living art.

I get that society has these invisible laws and you might go to invisible jail if you break them where they will stare at you with invisible lasers filled with invisible shame. But if one resists change they suffer.

Life is short.

What do you have to lose living life set by dead people’s standards except for things you can’t see?

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