Ebook 'Em, Dano

There's no reason these days not to Ebook it. I'm following my own advice. As soon as I complete this particular manuscript I'm Ebooking the bastard. (I've had plenty of time to let the story simmer.)

Here's a collection of tips from a site that specializes in this fascinating electronic form of fun.

"Fresh Ideas" Bound for Spring Reprint

A dark tale of a man who gives fate a tiny assist in order to advance in business, my short story, "Fresh Ideas," will be included in the Spring 2012 anthology Uncle John's Flush Fiction.

The Uncle John's publishing empire was founded on the belief that short, interesting and funny articles should be made available to the general public for their toilet-sitting education and amusement.

"Flush Fiction" will be a collection of flash fiction — under a thousand words or about three double-spaced pages — and I'm honored to have made the cut.

Hopefully, you'll enjoy "Fresh Ideas" very soon as mirth is said to ease tortured bowels. Or, at least, it's said by guys with stories coming out in bathroom-themed anthologies.

Image: flickr

Mars Attacks Cards (or Topps of the Morning To Ye)

Topps Mars Attacks Cards here in all their glory. On the back of each card was a little nugget of story re. the front image as well an update on a Martian invasion of Earth. (In the one to your left, the Martian has a seedy attraction to women's sleep wear.)

I had high hopes for the Tim Burton film version but it turned into campy schtick. I loved these back in the day. You could buy a pack of five and they came with a flat, thin piece of bubble gum. We really did try to collect them all.

Image: Golden Age Comic Book Stories
h/t: Cartoonatics

Get Yer Turtle-Duck On

If you live in and around the LA area, animation ace Rich Arons is signing copies of his kids' book this Sunday. You've still got till tomorrow to RSVP. Go, get a signed copy or three for Christmas. Say 'hi' to Rich. Ask him to draw you something—but buy a book first.

Image: Hound Comics

Dragonfriend Fantasy Kid's Book Hits the Web

In Arthurian times, castle drudge Leonard needs a steady meal while depressed dragon Mantooth needs a reason to live. Can they help each other? Find out in Roger Eschbacher's latest book: Dragonfriend: Leonard the Great, Book One. Released today, the book is available in paperback and Kindle.

Roger is an old chum from the Warner Bros. days. He's got a brace of illustrated kid books under his belt as he slowly carves out a niche in the prose field. Give his most recent work a peek.

Turbie the Turtle-Duck

Young Richie Evans and his turtle-duck experience a day filled with cupcakes, the lost isle of Anomoxie, and a mysterious creature in Lake Deep. Let your youngster discover more in the pages of Rich Aron's new book written and illustrated by the veteran animator. (And an old Warner Bros. chum.)

Fab-oo and Amazon

Tom Ruegger reminds us who got the Emmy ball rolling at the WB.

Also, Amazon offers the Kindle edition of R. Scott McCoy's Necrotic Tissue Best of Anthology containing my short tale, "Dagon and Jill."

So there's all kind of news.

Anthology Update

Per publisher R. Scott McCoy, the anthology containing "Dagon and Jill" is available on ebook at Smashwords.

Best of Necrotic Tissue Anthology for Me

Not necessarily me, but my short story "Dagon and Jill" will be featured in the Best of Necrotic Tissue Anthology to be released next week. I'll provide more info soon so that those inclined to purchase a copy may indeed do so.

I'm woefully behind in sending material out for publication because of recent disclosures in the John P. McCann writing archives. Busy closing up a storage unit, I've come across a great pile of unfinished novels, young adult books, a screenplay, a social history of the Vietnam War and a travel book on my adventures in Southeast Asia working for the State Department and Warner Bros.

Leafing through the stuff, I realize it doesn't all stink as much as I originally thought. There is material to salvage. In addition, I've uncovered over eleven years of original TV animation ideas that the industry passed on. These can be retooled into other formats.

But my first writing priority—aside from earning money—will be Tomorrow Bear. First pitched in 2007, it was shot down by Nick, Disney and Cartoon Network. Reworked with art from Valerie Tidwell, the show was pitched again last spring and I can't recall who passed on it.

But Valerie and I are slogging away in fits and starts crafting an ebook. She has sent me some very funny sketches and I have delivered her several firm promises to finish up a draft.

So I'm in the hole and need to produce and produce I shall. Next finished fiction project will be a Tomorrow Bear adventure involving ursine crime solving and California police cars that have replaced their sirens with electronic whale calls.

UPDATE
I may interrupt TBear to rewrite and submit "Unreasonable Doubt," my non-fiction piece on jury duty. But other that that, it's TBear or hibernation.

Image: Clipartoday

Just Say 'No' Rejection Cure

And they do—editors and publishers and animation execs. Author Leonard Chang talks rejection and the best way to beat the Man.

I went on six pitches this year for three different animated TV projects. No hits. The rejections ranged from blunt to complimentary and, since the process is highly subjective, the reasons for rejection varied in logic. In one instance, my agent gave me pitch guidelines from a studio. I wrote up a show within those guidelines. The show was rejected because "it's not what we're looking for right now." This can enrage a normal man into bending crow bars. But as Chang points out, the only way to sanity and success is to keep on keeping on.

That said, my favorite 2011 rejection came from a magazine editor. He passed on a short story of mine, but a simple 'no thanks' was inadequate. He dissed my characters, plot and pacing as well as slagging the dialogue as "elevator conversation." In closing, the editor invited me to submit again.

I thought of wishing him success in one day achieving his goal of editing The Passive-Aggressive Quarterly.

Instead I just sent the story somewhere else.
h/t: Bernadette Murphy
Image: Clevelandseniors.com

Link to John Locke Article: A Writing-Class Hero

This man placed no barriers between his writing and the public and grew wealthy as a result. I LIKE it.

Shoulder Pitches

Shoulder is healing well with more movement all the time. On Tuesday, I start physical therapy: 2x a week with a home edition. Other than having to sleep and type in the sling, I'm making progress.

Not so much forward-movement with animation. The last of my projects received a 'no.' However there's one more pitch to set-up and deliver before this round is officially history. In the meantime, I may have work writing a form of ebook similar to the old choose your own adventure. I've got to sort through the material and think up a concept. Thankfully, I've had so much marketing work as of late that my typing speed sizzles and I'd be able to knock out the material in fairly short order.

Happy Father's Day to dads everywhere.

"Death Honk" Changes Lives

Not really, but my short story from last year did serve as a call to action. Thanks to author Jonathan Pinnock for his kind remarks re. my rendering of clown-bear fights as detailed in the Journal of Microliterature.

Link to Vonnegut on Story

Kurt Vonnegut diagrams the story.
Via Webless Friend Ken

Published Yet Again

A short story of mine, "Fresh Ideas" has migrated into an anthology, The Best of Every Day Fiction Three. Support small presses, especially the ones that publish my stories. They have the discrimination and taste to rise above their boorish peers.

My Interview in Necrotic Tissue

The latest, and final, issue of Necrotic Tissue includes a fine interview with me where I hold forth briefly on Waylon Jeepers, writing differences between animation and prose, plus my in-depth take on what a poor husband King Kong must have been since he ran through a lot of brides.

As indicated, Necrotic Tissue is closing up shop. I want to wish Publisher/Editor R. Scott McCoy the very best. Putting out a small press genre magazine can be pretty thankless, but "Tissue" kept up the quality on all fronts. His imprint, Stygian Publications, will be publishing an upcoming Necrotic Tissue Best Of which will include my own, "Dagon and Jill."

Writing all that made me pine for fiction writing. Not that cobwebs have grown on the computer keys. I'm cranking out a tsunami of copy for the marketing folks.

And the first of my new animated TV series pitches is this Thursday. Then two next week and one the following week. One pitch will include two separate shows. But very exciting overall. Send me waves of pleasant goodness.

Marketing Tech Gap

My tech skills were pushed beyond their limit yesterday into a new mist-shrouded realm. Most of my Internet savvy consists of pushing "Publish Post" and sending email with doc. attachments. Going into an office yesterday to work for my marketing client drenched me in techno shock. I discovered the programmers send graphic heavy files back and forth using Skype. (Thank you Takineko and Nostalgia Critic for my interview last July requiring me to obtain Skype.) And while barely knowing how to use it, I at least had Skype on my lap top.

The same could not be said for Dreamweaver. With ad copy already wed to graphics and videos, I needed a platform that would allow me to edit on-screen. So began the seeking. First-choice Dreamweaver no longer offered free downloads. That began a second round of Googling plus trial-and-error downloading that I felt compelled to undertake since everyone else was incredibly busy. (And they type incredibly fast, sounding like heavy rain on plastic.) After an honorable amount of floundering, I appealed to a tech who finally got me hooked up with KompoZer. Now I could see copy and graphics and edit the text.

That went fine for awhile until I finished up and needed to Skype the file to my boss.

Having briefly clicked onto another site to check on the health and well-being of various swim suit models, I returned to KompoZer and couldn't locate the stinking file.

Several hours work hung in the balance. Fear roiled my bowels. I searched frantically like a fiery man seeking a foam extinguisher. The file was not deleted, but also not showing up in a readable form anywhere in KompoZer. With time slipping away, I finally appealed for help, certain the techs viewed me as some dinosaur who'd probably try and dial a smart phone. But they were understanding and benevolent. (I was the oldest one in the office by several generations.) My only consolation was that the tech had a hard time finding the elusive file.

Fortunately, my work was accepted and I drove home at 8:00 PM, tired and stressed, but glad I'd hung in there despite gross technological handicaps.

At Warner Bros. I complained about not getting to write on a Mac. What simple, waifish concerns I had back then.
(Images: All4Women.co.za & Another Idiot on line)

'Fresh Ideas' Appears in Anthology

Just read over the story, bio and index for my contribution to The Best of Every Day Fiction 3. Launching on May 21, this hard cover short-story collection should be available at various on-line book emporiums. I'll link to the site when the book goes up. This will be my very first fiction story appearing in an anthology and I'm as pleased as a man with unlimited access to bacon.

Prose and Pitch Update

Turned in three concepts to my agent for 3 brand new animated series. She'll set up meetings and I'll go in with a pleasant smile, a load of confidence and various executive buzzwords refashioned to sound as if they were my very own ideas.

By April's end I need to turn in a book proposal - three chapters and an outline for a Young Adult novel. (Different than the weighty tome I've been blogging about for two years.) The YA chapters/outline mixes elements of dark urban fantasy with H.P. Lovecraft. We shall see what the market says.

Is everyone happy and filled with various jellies? Let me know.

Means to an End

Author Deanna Fei lists her top seven books on writing for writers. When in doubt, write about what you know. And so Deanna did just that.