Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Dragon in Chains - Mini Review

A fascinating look into a world that is largely ignored in western fantasy fiction, Daniel Fox's "Dragon in Chains" is a welcome detour into the realm of Chinese culture and mythology. Fox masterfully weaves several complicated storylines, each centered on a different young man -- the boy Emperor fleeing a deadly rebel General, a jade miner with supernatural strength and endurance, and a maimed river rat who uses his mind and magical chains to keep a great dragon imprisoned beneath the waves. The world Fox invites us to explore is so detailed and vividly described that (to use the old cliche) it really does feel like you're there -- in other words, a superb "escape read".

My only complaint about this otherwise excellent book is that the ending comes on too quickly for my taste with the exciting climax literally occurring on the very last page. I don't insist on an epilogue, but I do like to know how everyone ends up and we don't really get that here. In this case the abrupt ending appears to be a little too obvious setup for a sequel -- but, hey, that's okay as I'm very much looking forward to returning to this fascinating world. Recommended.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Caine Black Knife - Mini Review

"Caine Black Knife" is the third in the series of books centered on the adventures of actor/unstoppable assassin, Hari Michaelson, and is a must read for fans of talented author Matthew Stover. However...

Lacking the "big story" component of the first two books (fate of two worlds hanging in the balance, etc), CBK is also a bit of a jumble -- mixing a present day mini-adventure with a series of flashbacks about how Hari made his bones and became the mega star, Caine.

Personally, I would have preferred it if Mr. Stover had stuck to one story or the other as, for me, this style of back and forth storytelling tends to be more distracting than enjoyable -- just not my thing. And because of these flashbacks CBK has the same sort of mild "oh, that's why" feel that you get from reading the appendixes in LOTR -- enjoyable enough for what they reveal, but not as satisfying as the master's main work.

Overall, Mr. Stover's skill as a writer is evident in CBK and while Caine is still the charismatic rogue that made me love the character in the first books, I guess what I really would have liked was one, fully expanded story with much higher stakes.
"

Friday, August 14, 2009

Should We Even Bother Trying to Get Published?

The answer is yes according to this inspirational post from Evil Editor. He says it's well worth putting in the effort at a time when publishers aren't buying anything.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

My Day Job

I'm very happy to report that I recently completed a script for the new "Scooby Doo -- Mystery Inc." The half-hour series is being produced by Warner Brothers Animation and will air on Cartoon Network (not sure when, but I'll let you know as soon as I find out).

This gig is extra cool for me because, well come on, it's Scooby! It's also most excellent to be working (aka getting paid) in what happens to be my favorite broadcast medium -- television animation. For me, it doesn't get much better than that.

And it's Scooby!!!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Twitter Me This



A succinct and funny summation of why I probably* won't be joining the Tweet Nation.

(Legal Disclaimer: Use of the qualifier "probably" frees this blogger to begin tweeting at some future date should his blissfully dull life become interesting enough to share with close personal friends, family members, and total strangers. Not valid in Delaware.)

Myth of the Tortured Writer

Here's a great post from sf author John Scalzi about "What You Have to Give Up to Write".

(hint: not much if you apply a little discipline)

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Gearing Up for November in July

Just to give you all a heads up...

The National Novel Writing Month challenge starts in a little over 90 days so if you're interested in giving it a try, now might be a good time to start noodling around some ideas of what you want to write.

My method of being ready to rock on Nov. 1st is crude, but effective:
  1. Go to the site (linked above) and sign up. It's free and there are no obligations of any sort -- even to participate in November.
  2. Come up with an idea or two or three. Pick the one that interests/excites you the most.
  3. Describe that idea in a sentence or two.
  4. Expand those sentences into short paragraphs.
  5. Expand those paragraphs into a two or three page synopsis. This is all "what might happen" kind of stuff.
  6. Start breaking down the synopsis and converting it into an outline organized by chapters. You can be fairly arbitrary at this point. Write "Chapter One" and group all the info in your synopsis that you think might go in your first chapter. You don't have to be rigid, it'll change as you start writing. Do this for "Chapter Two" and so on until the end. My outlines tend to be anywhere from 25 to 40+ chapters and five to ten pages long.
  7. As Nov. 1st approaches continue to go through your outline as often as you can, adding whatever you can think of in terms of story, setting, and character. Divide chapters that you suspect are too large, add new ones. Jot down character revealing snippets of possible dialogue, etc.
If you do this, I can guarantee that you'll be well-placed and eager to start writing when the bell sounds on the big day. Just to be clear, you are not writing your novel yet as that would be against the rules, you're getting ready to write.

Think about it. Yes, it's challenging but it's also very satisfying and well worth any effort you'll put into it.

Friday, July 17, 2009

American Gods - Mini Review

Yet another Neil Gaiman success, the story of "American Gods" centers around a character named Shadow -- an enigmatic everyman who is hired by a shady con artist by the name of Mr. Wednesday.

The underlying premise of the book is that various waves of immigrants (going back to those who came over the land bridge) brought their gods with them to America. These gods, made physical by the worship and adoration of their believers, still exist today -- although largely in a diminished capacity.

Now Mr. Wednesday is rounding up all the gods of the ancient mythologies to do battle with the "new gods" of the American pantheon -- Media, Internet, and Mass Transit to name a few. Apparent there's only so much worship to go around and each group is somehow threatened by the others existence.

Nothing is as it seems in this book which I can safely label as a "fantasy thriller". "American Gods" is a delightfully layered read which remains engaging from cover to cover despite complication after complication after complication...

Recommended.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Surprisingly Not Bad

I'm a little over fifty pages into the rewrite of my second middle grade novel "Magic Man". It took me this long to warm up to the task since by the end of last November, I was about as sick of my manuscript as an author could be. But I forced myself to finish the first draft, made a few feeble attempts to start the rewrite, then chucked the whole thing aside for seven months.

And you know what? It worked! As I'm going through the text of what I knew was an absolute piece of poo, I'm delighted to discover that it's actually pretty good. No really! The story pretty much makes sense, dialogue is fairly crisp, the funny parts are more or less funny, and the action sequences border on being exciting -- all the kinds of things I can fix during the editing part of the program. That's what rewriting is for, after all. Very cool.

I've often read that you should give yourself a bit of time before jumping into a rewrite -- to clear your head and let things settle down -- but who knew the suggestion actually worked?!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

The Graveyard Book - Mini Review

With "The Graveyard Book", Neil Gaiman continues to define himself as one of the most original and inventive authors working in the business today. A fan of his work since the graphic series "Sandman", I picked up this book with the certain knowledge that I was in for a storytelling treat. I was not disappointed in the least.

The narrative centers around Nobody Owens, a boy who, as a toddler, was tragically orphaned by the brutal murder of his family. Adopted by the ghosts of a nearby graveyard and protected by a mysterious guardian, "Bod" grows up learning the ways of the dead and with the knowledge that the man who killed his family still hunts for him outside the protection of the graveyard.

Wonderfully illustrated by David McKean, "The Graveyard Book" is a fun and engaging read that easily exceeds all expectations. Highly recommended.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Incandescence - Mini Review

Wikipedia defines hard sci fi as "a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both."

By that definition "Incandescence" by Greg Egan is by far the hardest science fiction book I've read in my entire life. We're talking diamond hard here! If you're into the action-packed drama of space-time geometries, general relativity, and interstellar panspermia...have I got the book for you.

There is a decent story (lost alien race in peril at the forbidden center of the galaxy) buried throughout what amounts to a novel-length discussion of Einstein's theory of general relativity and Newtonian physics, but as a right-brained artist type, I found my eyes glazing over for significant chunks of this book.

Not at all the author's fault as you can tell it's a well-written and carefully reasoned book, but I'm not the kind of reader who's smart enough to appreciate the effort Mr. Egan put into it.

I like sci fi stories about people (alien or otherwise) who have an adventure. I don't need to know about the extremely complicated physics behind that adventure.

Seriously, if you're a gifted scientist/mathematician who delights in theorizing about plasma accretion disks around black holes, you'll totally groove on this book. If you're a dummy like me, not so much.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Finally!

Well, it took longer than I'd expected but I finally finished my screenplay rewrite and sent it off to a trusted reader. He'll give notes which I'll incorporate before sending it off to my writing agents (who will no doubt have additional notes). All part of the process.

I'm very pleased with how this script is turning out. Full of sci fi action and with a healthy dose of comedy, it'd be a movie that I'd like to see if I were a kid. Hopefully that translates into appealing to the current batch of fresh humans.

Like I mentioned before, it'll either make a cool cgi-heavy live action flick or an awesome animated adventure in the style of Japanese anime (with characters not quite as bouncy as the figure to the left). I wouldn't complain either way.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Done! Done! Done! Well, Almost.

Finished up a rough first draft of my Script Frenzy screenplay this weekend. It ended up being 124 pages long. I'd say the last 24 pages took me longer to write than the first 100 for a variety of reasons including time travel, world building logic, and an intense action sequence at the very end. My tiny brain is throbbing but it felt great to type "The End" at the bottom of the page yesterday.

Now the fun part begins -- the editing. The goal is to crank on the rewrite this week and hopefully get it to my trusted beta readers by early next week.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Stepsister Scheme - Mini Review

"The first in what looks to be a 4 or 5 book run, The Stepsister Scheme is an enjoyably cheeky examination of what happens to three famous fairy tale princesses after the "happily ever after".

Cinderella's Prince has been kidnapped so her magically powerful mother-in-law assembles the princesses (also Snow White and Sleeping Beauty) in what can be described as a sort of Charlie's Angels-style ninja strike force. They set off to rescue the Prince, encountering lots of danger, intrigue, and magic along the way. The tone is an interesting blend of heroics, humor, and some "darker" themes. Inventive and original, it does not disappoint by being a typical "mining" of the fairy tale world.

The only negatives are a somewhat gratuitous deus ex machina level character trait for one of the princesses and some rough sexual imagery that kept me from recommending the book to the pre-teens in my family. Yes, despite the cover art obviously designed to appeal to the younger set, this is a book for adults and older teens. Other than that minor quibble -- Recommended."

Eater of the Dead: A Dragon Friend Excerpt

Just in time for Halloween! Check out a featured Dragon Friend excerpt on the BestSelling Reads blog: "The spooky season is upon us! H...