Friday, May 07, 2021
Les Grossman Meet Hans Gruber
Monday, April 26, 2021
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Book Review: Kill Zone
Kill Zone by Damir Salkovic
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A dystopian feast, Salkovic's world mixes the techno jargon of William Gibson's cyberpunk with the surreal blend of entertainment and violence found in books such as The Running Man and The Hunger Games.
When the system upends Frank Clayton's life, he signs up to appear in a brutal reality show where survival and ratings closely intertwine. But a series of events points Clayton down a road to revenge against the indifferent corporate forces that destroyed his family.
Salkovic excels at description. He handles action well. However at several points the pacing seemed slowed by both action and description, braking the story's forward motion. Nevertheless, for the most part, the narrative moves rapidly, immersing the reader in one man's struggle for justice in a savage dog-eat-dog world.
An excellent pick for lovers of the dystopian genre as well as military sci-fi.
View all my reviews
Monday, April 19, 2021
Paul Rugg Explains the Art of Puppetry
Sunday, April 11, 2021
Mental Toughness Practical Applications
bobandrosemary.com |
If I lost anything since the twin deaths of animation writing and marathon running, it was a certain hardy mental attitude. When combined with chasing little dopamine hits on the Internet, the decay has proved devastating. Over the last thirteen years, my unfinished writing projects have multiplied while my weight has ballooned. At one point I went over a year writing folders of prose without completing so much as a short story. During the same period, my weight topped out at 271 lbs with a svelte 48" waist.
Mental toughness was easy to see in exercise. Pain and discomfort are present. To push past them requires effort. I would allow myself to quit after five seconds of such effort. I usually lasted longer. Gradually, I acclimated to stressing myself. Pushing hard on certain workouts became the norm. The payoff was on race days.
In writing, mental toughness exhibits itself every day in a series of little nos. No to checking email, or social media, or watching one short YouTube skateboard fail. No to stopping early or quitting a project to begin a new one or hating everything you've written. Perhaps no is not the word. Perhaps its the phrase "maybe later."
As in exercise, the ability to apply the phrase can be built gradually. "Let me write one more sentence." "I'll first reach the end of the chapter." "This isn't too bad. I'll keep going a little longer."
Sadly the Internet trims your attention span and flushes out new knowledge with newer knowledge or, worse, trivia, ensuring that nothing stays in your head long enough to become wisdom. As I train for a 5k in July, I decided to reacquire mental toughness. If in running, then why not in writing?
Here's a book I used to help prepare me mentally for the 2007 Phoenix Marathon. It's so old, there's not even a Kindle version. But I'm returning to its pages for inspiration and techniques to help me grow as a runner and a writer.
Five seconds here, a maybe later there. It adds up like compound interest.
Tuesday, April 06, 2021
What's the Difference Between Panic-PTSD-and Combat Fatigue?
Journey of a Prophetic Feeler |
No, it's not the setup for a joke. But writers might want to know the difference. Author Caroline Furlong lays out the markers in an info-packed blog post. Furlong points out how the ignorant often conflate this trio of afflictions.
How So?
". . . no combat veteran is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. Those improvised devices waiting to explode are warped human beings that have chosen their paths and who are seldom veterans. The popular press/media paints with as broad a pop-psychology pastel brush as possible in this matter so as to demean, depress, and indict all those who have served in the nation's armed forces. Combat Fatigue, meanwhile, is almost entirely ignored, by both authors and the media and their pet psycho-babblers."
Learn more about these distinctions with a difference at Furlong's blog A Song of Joy.
Sunday, April 04, 2021
Godzilla vs. King Kong Pitch Meeting
Courtesy of comic Ryan George over at Screen Rant. SPOILER ALERT in case you wish to be among the dozens eager to witness this CGI fest. Keep a careful eye out for plot holes.
Friday, April 02, 2021
Monday, March 29, 2021
Antifa Profits Off Mayhem
Another week, another gem by comic Ryan Long as he smashes the idea known as antifa.
Saturday, March 27, 2021
New Hallow Mass eBook Edition in Pre-Order
frontporch.club |
Hallow Mass edition two—ebook only— preorder is available via literary aggregator site Draft2Digital at Barnes & Noble Nook, Rakuten Kobo, Apple and more. Additional markets will become available as April 9 approaches.
What about Stinking Amazon?
The colossus sets its own rules. Should you wish to preorder, as I've done in the past, then you must sign up for their Kindle program. You will then be exclusive to the behemoth for the next ninety days. Good preorder success has been mine in the past, but I'm open to testing new waters. For no other reason that it allows me a small rebellion against Amazon's monopoly stranglehold on books.
That said, the paperback edition and ebook will be out on Amazon come April 9.
New paperback cover; due to launch on Amazon April 9. |
What is the Difference Between an Edition and a Volume?
Glad I typed that. Bob B. at Yahoo! Answers crushes the question.
"Some publications cannot be fitted into a single book or journal, so they split it across multiple volumes.
Also, sometimes a given publication is revised/updated and re-published, in which case the re-published version is a "new edition".
You savvy, G.I.?
Should you wish to avoid reading a future promotional blog post, go here for advance knowledge of my next ebook release via Draft2Digital.
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