Pacific Rim 2 Redux

They're big and they're hitting each other. I'm so happy!

Hunnam Out, Boyega In

Sure, I like kaiju. I've got a Pinterest board to prove it. But what I really enjoy are giant robots festooned with cool weapons battling kaiju with their own bio-weird-acid-stuff. But since Pacific Rim 2 won't be around until 2018, I'd best find something else to occupy my time. One activity might be reading about Pacific Rim 2, such as this nugget concerning the upcoming film's story:

"Reports suggest that Dr. Newton "newt" Geiszler and Dr. Herman Gottlieb will play an important role in the sequel, leading some fans to believe that Newt's experiences inside the minds of the Kaiju may have disturbed him psychologically, potentially turning him to the dark side."

Read more over at Movie Pilot.

Yog Sothoth Doesn't Respect Safe Spaces

Evil is not a social construct.

On the subject of reading, take advantage of a 41% Christmas discount on my horror novel, Hallow Mass. Discover what happens when the politically correct faculty of Arkham University clash with Lovecraftian monstrosities from another dimension. It's pc versus H.P. as a young grad student learns she must party less and study more if the world is not to be drug into another dimension.

Book Horde thought enough to promote Hallow Mass on this sunny California day.

Ebook version is only $2.99 through the holiday season. Kick the tires first and check out a free sample here.

Writing Projects Over the Last Year

My mental state today.

Progress Sucks

Since completing the last draft of Hallow Mass on this date in 2015, I've meandered aimlessly through the fiction wastelands.

As I prepped Hallow Mass for a late April launch, I spent a few months assembling book videos. First for 50 Shades of Zane Grey, then Hallow Mass. Next I set up a nice YouTube channel.

Then I started writing a science fiction novel. Progress lasted until July. This was followed by an attempt to write and sell a tub of short stories. That fizzled also due to lack of author follow-through. (Save one short story still under consideration.)

Desperate, I briefly considered jumping into NaNoWriMo.

Where did the stinking year go?

I'll complete something soon, long or short. This I so declare.

Lovecraft Halloween Fusion

Hot Horror Novel Features Fight Against Great Old Ones

Bookangel has me down in the lower right corner. 

My hot horror novel, if you must know. Over at Bookangel, Hallow Mass is being promoted to readers in the British Isles. Show our European cousins that you share their commitment to quality horror tales and snag your own copy of Mercy O'Connor's battles against demons, pc colleagues, her family and herself.  Here's a bit more from the book's extended description:

Fine reading for your Halloween pleasure. 

New Release Date for Pacific Rim 2

Hollywood Hopes Bigger is Better at the Box Office

Since mentioning BFG yesterday, I've found that size will indeed matter in a pair of movies out in the coming years. This is strange timing, as I've just finished a draft on a short story saluting the big and tall called, "Starsky and Goliath." Meanwhile, coming to the cinema:

Gigantic 

Here is conflict, I think.

Yes, Jack and his beanstalk return, this time in a Disney animated musical set for release in 2018. You got your good giants and your bad giants, though it's tough to beat Attack on Titan for creepy colossi. (Hajime Isayama's popular manga-animated series-video game-film is the benchmark for big and bad. I've spoofed it and enough on that.) I have an odd feeling Gigantic will veer off in a more peppy direction. Nathan Greno of Tangled fame is parked in the director's chair.

Pacific Rim 2: Maelstrom

Mecha. Would you agree?

With a new release date of February 23, 2018, this sequel to the 2013 kaiju vs. mecha mashup has Steven S. DeKnight directing and, I'm guessing, enough new kaiju and mecha to keep fans as happy as large people with ample food.

On the subject of releases, my horror novel Hallow Mass will be discounted in Kindle form for the 4th of July weekend. Save, save, and, I say, save $4.00 beginning today at 8:00 AM Pacific Time and continuing through Saturday, July 2 when a tale of obligation in the face of terror will be available for .99 The savings continue Sun. and Mon. July 3 and 4 with a $2.00 discount, ending Tue. July 5. Snag your copy and follow the adventures of party girl and reluctant wizard Mercy O'Connor.

Best to all and happy Independence Day, USA!

Female Superhero Tsunami

Bullet Girl makes an interesting point. 

Golden Age Girls Take Center Stage in Comic Book Roundup

Most know of Wonder Woman, but how many recognize Namora, or Miss Masque or Fantomah? Rafa Rivas is your go-to guy. Over at Ralph Dibny, the World-Famous Englongated Man, Rafa presents, for your enlightenment, a most complete, extensive listing of female comic heroines from the fabled Golden Age of Comics (1936 to 1953).  Says Rafa:

"A little context is necessary. The Golden Age of Comic Books coincided with the Hays Code, which moderated the amount of violence or sex (or even cleavage) movies could shows, and was enforced from 1934 to the late 1950s. Since pulps and comics were largely uncensored back then, they became the biggest outlet for that kind of content. And the fastest way for publishers to serve it was drawing women in Tarzan or Flash Gordon mini-costumes beating thugs."

Rafa takes us back to the beginning of the last century and the female heroines who appeared in the newspapers. Rivas cites early trailblazers such as Connie Kurridge and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, who Rafa refers to as:

"Mother of all Superheroines!

To [artist] Will Eisner's credit, Sheena is not only the first jungle girl, but the first super heroine, and since she was created in 1937, she [was] also older than Superman. A great start for female superheroes. She got her own book in spring 1942, a season before Wonder Woman got hers."

Sheena once again out on a limb.

It's a long article, but with plenty of artwork and a trove of information. Give it a gander.

And while you're out gandering, do stop by Amazon and take a peek at Hallow Mass. Now available in eBook and paperback, my latest horror novel—according to one review—"manages madcap and horrible elements with an almost straight-faced insouciance." 

Clearly, this book is being read by people who use 'insouciance' in their reviews. Join those skilled in employing a French word for breezy indifference today!

Alien Scum Art

Image: Heavy smokers, these alien scum. 

UFO Bastards Aim to Trash Earth  

As I warm into my next book—and first sci-fi effort—that will feature massive kaiju battling alien scum, I've been searching for inspirational artwork to fire me up. I've begun a fine collection over on Pinterest. But here are a few other selections:

Pallas@Deviant Art: 

Love the saucer's retro look, the isolated farm house, the sense of menace. 

Image 

Let's hope the chains hold. Of course, others felt the same way about King Kong.

GalleryHip

This is more like it. Suck up the population with lift-o lights. Then what, I ask you?

My hope is to have the next book out and ready for Christmas 2016.

Using that as a promotional segue, paperback versions of Hallow Mass are now available. Book resellers have already purchased three. Official launch date is tomorrow, April 29. If so inclined, you can pre-order your Kindle copy or click to order a version in durable, old school paper, complete with complimentary back cover blurb from Kirkus Reviews and my new author photo. 

While I'm hawking things, there are only a handful of hours lift to win a free signed copy of said hot new horror novel, Hallow Mass. 15 copies will be mailed out to 15 winners. All you need do for a chance to win is click the button below:

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Hallow Mass

by J.P. Mac

Giveaway ends April 28, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Kalju Size Chart for the Home

Via OregonMuse Sunday Book Thread

See Giant Monsters Measure Up!

Since the book I'm writing now will contain kaiju, I thought to link to a handy size comparison for those writing similar works, or merely curious. (Much more at the link. )

Only a few days left—four to be precise—to enter for a chance to win a free signed copy of my upcoming horror novel Hallow Mass. Kirkus Reviews called it "an entertaining addition to the genre of occult fiction." Find out why by clicking below for the opportunity to snag one of 15 copies.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Hallow Mass

by J.P. Mac

Giveaway ends April 28, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Kirkus Review of Horror Novel

Kirkus Reviews

Hallow Mass Well-Recieved 

"A university gets ensnared in a paranormal battle over a dangerous book in this debut horror novel."

The waiting is over—for me.

Kirkus Reviews has delivered the verdict on Hallow Mass and it is positive. The venerable book reviewing magazine has found that "Wit and humor color the novel . . . ."

Yes, there are a few dings, but overall a wholesome accounting. Read the rest here.

What happens from this point is any one's guess, but the book remains on track to publish next Friday, April 29. The eBook version is available now for pre-order.

The paperback edition, with appropriate quotes from the review, will be ready by the release date. Or,  should you feel fortunate, Goodreads is conducting a giveaway of 15 signed copies, slated to end next Thu. April 28. Try your luck for a book written with "wit and humor."

But don't take it from me. I'm just quoting someone.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Hallow Mass

by J.P. Mac

Giveaway ends April 28, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

A word about Amazon.com publishing. In using their pre-order function, you must upload the final manuscript ten days before release. For me, that was yesterday at the stroke of midnight. The penalties for missing the deadline are stark: all your pre-orders are cancelled, plus you are banned from the pre-order function for a year.

Due to a simple error, the deadline was missed by several hours. I contacted them and explained the situation. They were decent enough to give me a one-time pass on the dire consequences. If they hadn't, I'd be typing here, bitching like crazy. In fairness then, I should use this space to compliment Amazon for its discretion and generosity.

Forward into the rest of the day!

How Much 'Science' Is Necessary in Science Fiction?

Author Wrestles with Proper SF Ratio

Attempting to move ahead with my next book, but keep hitting speed bumps. How much science do I need for verisimilitude in a sci-fi story?

Over the last week I've burrowed deep into the work of Tesla at Colorado Springs, his Wardenclyffe Tower, HAARP, Lenz's Law, Telluric current, Knot Theory, String Theory, and much more in the realm of quantum physics.

I'm growing to hate the whole project, but I can't start unless I know what result a certain character sought to achieve in the realm of science and what what wrong. (Then comes the relatively easy part: how do the characters deal with disaster.)

But last night while watching Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, it struck me that I don't need any heavy theory. Not really.

fanpop

There's a reason Stephen King's The Mist is listed a horror story and not sci-fi, even though something involving the fictional Arrowhead Project goes haywire and kicks everything off. We don't really need to know the science of popping open another dimension. All we really need to know is that it's a hazardous thing for people.

Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy also comes to mind when pondering light, breezy  space fiction.

And despite the setting in 'a galaxy far away,' Star Wars is often referred to as space opera and not science fiction.

So this morning I feel much better, rejuvenated, and ready to outline. Since I'm not bucking to publish in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, all I require is starter science to get the story rolling, then put the characters in maximum jeopardy.

Speaking of books, and that's pretty much all I'm doing these days, Hallow Mass is in pre-order for Kindle editions.

Or, if you feel fortunate, you might enter a giveaway for a free signed copy, courtesy of Goodreads.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Hallow Mass

by J.P. Mac

Giveaway ends April 28, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

And now, back to my rump science.

OregonMuse Delivers First Review of Hallow Mass

Michael Komarck via Space Cadets

Nods to Upcoming Horror Novel

Thanks to OregonMuse, who honchos the Sunday Morning Book Thread over at Ace of Spades HQ. He reviewed my Lovecraftian effort,  Hallow Mass:

"In Dunwich, Massachusetts, only a small, beleaguered band in the Antiquities Section at Miskatonic University is keeping back trans-dimensional horrors from wiping all human life from earth in preparation for the return of the Great Old Ones . . .

Into this simmering conflict steps Mercy O'Connor, an aimless party girl grad student in the Antiquities Section who has yet to find herself or her place in life. She's about to be thrust to the front lines of the age-old battle against ultimate evil . . .  

I liked this book very much. I loved the characters, the bad guys are suitably creepy . . . "

If so motivated, scroll down to What I'm Reading and scope out the rest. 

Hallow Mass is available for pre-order at Amazon. Pre-order delivers you the eBook version on the April 29, release date, but fine durable paperbacks will also be awaiting you at that time. I know this. I know it well.

If you're feeling fit and fortunate, then you might ready yourself for a Goodreads Giveaway starting in three days. 15 signed paperback copies of Hallow Mass will be mailed free of charge to fifteen readers selected via Goodreads algorithms. All you need do is sign up. 

Are you more visually orientated than most? Then stop by here and view a 63-second Hallow Mass book trailer. Or visit BookReels, a site specializing in trailers for the written word. In Staff Picks, check out the trailers for Hallow Mass and Fifty Shades of Zane Grey.  

Oh, what a Sunday. I'm buried in technical details for my next book, a sci-fi effort. Something says I'm overthinking everything, but eventually, I'll burn through the verisimilitude stuff and start writing. 

A happy April weekend to all. 

Hallow Mass Trailer Staff Pick on BookReels

BookReels

Kindly Book Trailer Site Salutes Upcoming Horror Novel Promo

For the second time in the last few weeks, BookReels has seen fit to promote one of my book trailers in its featured spot. Hallow Mass is now available for eBook pre-order on Amazon.com, slated to go live April 29.

In the screen grab above, do note that Fifty Shades of Zane Grey is still visible as a Staff Pick. I like BookReels.   

Hallow Mass Horror Novel Inches Toward Pre-Order

hqwallbase

Lovecraftian Tale Driving Author Mad

Mostly with little details: Library of Congress, ISBN, front and back matter, reviewer copies, new back cover head shots by photo ace Dan Hoffman. All combine to weary me. On a darker note, they are a perfect excuse not to be writing the next book. "Well, I have to research." "I must contact this artist about promotional artwork." "I need to spend hours on Pinterest, checking out sc-fi boards." Any and every excuse not to write the first draft. But the worst is over once that's done. This I know from experience. 

Upside: I'm in charge of the creative process.

Downside: (See Upside.)