Keyboard for Hire

The writing for season four of Littlest Pet Shop finished up recently so I'm looking for work (that's me in freelance-ready pose #12 with optional pipe attachment).

Please keep this scribe/actor in mind when you're staffing your new show, looking for freelance freshness on your existing one, casting a role, or a combination of any of those. Thank you!

Spirited Away - 8 Bit Cinema Edition

If you're a fan of master anime director Hayao Miyazaki's brilliant Spirited Away and old-school 8 Bit gaming (as I am), then you should LOVE this offering from 8 Bit Cinema. It is truly inspired!

iAi Bloggers' Book of the Month: 'Rogue Goddesses' by Gary Henry

Gary Henry's newly published Rogue Goddesses (fantasy/sci fi/action adventure) is the long-awaited sequel to his 2012 release American Goddesses and I'm pleased to feature it on my blog.

About the book: Evil superwoman Melnikova seeks revenge and world-domination. Earth’s mightiest champions fall before her. Set in 2030 A.D. and 600 years beyond, Rogue Goddesses details a world in the grip of cruel women possessing omnipotent powers. Humankind’s only hope of averting this catastrophic future — one teen-aged girl desperately afraid of her own emerging powers.

“I loved this novel, it’s a lot of fun and it makes a refreshing change to read about women who are kicking ass and saving the world.” ~ E.L. Lindley, author

“Rogue Goddesses is a 15-star out of five-star read.” ~ Tammy Dewhirst, Rabid Readers Reviews
Find it on:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Kobo

About the author: Gary Henry’s publications include a volume of short stories, What Happened to Jory and Other Dark Departures, and a collection of poetry, The Moon Poem and Other Strange Jingle Jangles.  

He also publishes a book review blog, Honest Indie Book Reviews.

I'd Like to Read These Books on Kindle!

Amazon has a feature available on the pages of many pre-digital age books to help them make the transition to Kindle.

I've got two out-of-print children's picture books, Nonsense! He Yelled and Road Trip,  that fall neatly into this category and, not surprisingly, I would like to see them on Kindle. Why?


Out-of-Print Books --> Books Re-Released on Kindle = Renewed Income for Author and Illustrator

Yes, it's an absurd long shot to even dream about this possibility becoming a reality as it would mean a fair amount of work by my old publisher (Dial, BFYR) -- reformatting for Kindle, specifically -- but if enough people expressed interest...who knows? It might happen.

If you have two seconds to spare and wouldn't mind spending them clicking those links, I'd be beholden to ya.

The text links below will take you to each book's Amazon page. Just scroll down until you find the Tell the Publisher! bit you see above and then click away. Thanks!

Nonsense! He Yelled

Road Trip

Because Kung Fu + Avengers = Awesome

I love old-school kung fu movies and the Avengers so imagine my delight when this gem showed up! Go on, imagine it!

Discovery Family Announces Season 4 of Littlest Pet Shop

Well the pets are finally out of the bag. Yesterday, Discovery Family announced Season 4 of Littlest Pet Shop with their 'DISCOVERY FAMILY CHANNEL LEAPS INTO 2015-16 UPFRONT SEASON' press release. For the uninitiated, an 'upfront' is a meeting where new shows/new seasons of existing shows are announced by a network so advertisers can buy commercial time early or 'upfront.'

We LPS writers have been working on Season 4 since last June (I had my final script of the season 'locked' last month) so it's nice to be able to share the news. I think the fans with be well-pleased with this new round of Pet Shop hijinx.

Here's hoping Hasbro/DF gets us started on Season 5 before this coming June!

Just In Case You Want to See Me in a Commercial

Shot this funny spot back in February. It was a blast to be working as an actor again (I'm the businessman who comes in at the end and says, "Gary?"). May they run it frequently and for a very long time!

iAi Bloggers' Book of the Month: 'Undrastormur: A Viking Tale of Troublesome Trolls' by Roger Eschbacher

Yes! My novelette, UNDRASTORMUR: A VIKING TALE OF TROUBLESOME TROLLS is this month's featured iAi bloggers' title. It's available as an eBook through Amazon for a very reasonable $0.99.

Here are the details, in case you're interested and might want to, oh, I don't know, buy and review the book? ;)

Undrastormur: A Viking Tale of Troublesome Trolls
a fantasy/adventure novelette

"Eirik has a problem. A lot of problems, actually. While he was out gathering mushrooms, his small Norse village was overrun by nasty trolls with a taste for human flesh. Now Eirik, the last surviving descendant of Drengur Darkbeard, a powerful Viking galdrakarl or wizard, must undertake a perilous journey to find the missing half of Drengur's iron staff. Only then can he save his neighbors by calling down the undrastormur, a violent and powerful gift from Thor, the god of thunder."

Amazon US (Kindle): http://goo.gl/nOFkAR

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Roger Eschbacher lives in Los Angeles, California, where he's worked as a writer/actor for over 30 years (read his IMDb page for the whole grisly story). These days he works primarily as a TV animation writer who's written for shows you've heard of like SCOOBY DOO: MYSTERY INCORPORATED, WABBIT, and LITTLEST PET SHOP and a few you haven't. Along the way he managed to get nominated for an Emmy. He's the author of the middle-grade fantasy adventure novel DRAGONFRIEND (winner of a 2012 BRAG Medallion) and its sequel GIANTKILLER. Roger's most recent work is UNDRASTORMUR: A Viking Tale of Troublesome Trolls, a novelette available on Amazon.

To learn more about Roger and his books please visit these links:

Blog: http://www.rogereschbacher.com/
Facebook Author Page: http://goo.gl/ugfQ7c
Amazon Author Page: http://goo.gl/Ku3FCy
Goodreads: http://goo.gl/B3zDqu
Twitter:http://goo.gl/1OWUad

Tweetables:

A new fantasy adventure, UNDRASTORMUR: A Viking Tale of Troublesome Trolls by @RogerEschbacher is here: http://goo.gl/v5Vwge #kindle #iai

MG/YA fantasy novelette for 99¢! UNDRASTORMUR: A Viking Tale of Troublesome Trolls by @RogerEschbacher http://goo.gl/v5Vwge #kindle #iai

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Thanks to all the great blogger/authors at iAi (Independent Authors International) for their support!

Roger Eschbacher: I Was Almost on the 2013 MTV Movie Awards w/ Rebel Wilson

Thought you folks might enjoy this. It's a pre-taped segment for the 2013 MTV Movie Awards called "True Life: I'm Jennifer Lawrence's Sister" where Ms. Wilson plays Ms. Lawrence's "lesser-known" sister. Unfortunately, the bit was cut for time but I had a blast working with Rebel Wilson who couldn't have been nicer. I show up at around the :58 mark. Enjoy!

iAi Book of the Month: 'Army of Worn Soles' by Scott Bury

This month's iAi featured book of the month is Army of Worn Soles by Scott Bury.

Some info:

Army of Worn Soles

A Canadian is drafted into the Soviet Red Army in 1941, just in time to be thrown against Nazi Germany's invasion in Operation Barbarossa. Caught in the vise of the Nazi and Communist forces, Maurice Bury concentrates on keeping his men alive as they retreat across Ukraine from the German juggernaut. Now the question is: will they escape from the hell of the POW camp before they starve to death?

"The story is gripping and emotional. So well written that it will make you suffer and cry with Maurice, and also laugh with him and celebrate”—Cinta Garcia de la Rosa, Authors You Want to Read
“This book gripped me right from the start.’—Samreen Ahsan, award-winning author of A Silent Prayer
“A perfect title for this poignant true story”—Elise Stokes, author of the Cassidy Jones adventures

To purchase Army of Worn Soles, please go HERE.

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Scott Bury is a journalist, editor and writer living in Ottawa, Canada.  His first novel, The Bones of the Earth, was published in 2011. His first published fiction was a short story, Sam, the Strawb Part, the proceeds of which are donated to an autism charity. One Shade of Red, was published in 2013. His latest book is Army of Worn Soles, a memoir in novel format that tells the true story of the author's father in law, drafted into the Red Army in 1941. He is now working on a sequel.

A Welcome Writing Distraction

Can we play now?

Author Bio Revamp: Feedback Welcome

Just revamped my author bio (the one I'll be using here and elsewhere on the web). Take a look and let me know what you think. Suggestions are welcome.

"Roger Eschbacher was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a career in entertainment. He's been an actor and a television writer (his page on IMDb reveals the whole grisly story). These days he works primarily as a TV animation writer who's written for a lot of shows you've heard of and a lot you haven't. Somewhere along the way he even managed to get nominated for an Emmy. In addition to "Dragonfriend," his debut middle-grade fantasy adventure novel (winner of a 2012 BRAG Medallion) and "Giantkiller," its sequel, he's also written "Undrastormur: A Viking Tale of Troublesome Trolls." To learn more about Roger's books and other writing, please visit www.rogereschbacher.com."

Thanks!

My Top Six 2015 Creative Goals and Resolutions

6) Complete outline for the third book in my 'Dragonfriend' series.

I take my time with my outlines and try to make them as complete as possible (while leaving plenty of room for the little discoveries we authors delight in), but haven't done any work on this one since July. That's unacceptable and I intend to complete it before this fall. Bonus goal: Write a first draft of the novel before the end of the year, possibly during NaNoWriMo (which I happen to enjoy, but haven't been able to participate in for a couple of years).

5) Complete edit of the space opera YA novel I wrote.

I finished the first draft of this manuscript a while back and set it aside until my thoughts cleared. Guess what? They cleared and so this one's back on the to-do list. 

4) Start and complete first draft of short story anthology based in Norse mythology.

 I researched this one extensively over the summer and now need to get busy on it.

3) Finish editing my kid's novel.

Yes, my 18yr old wrote a fantasy novel and it's awesome. It's also 100k+ words and I've got to knuckle down and devote the time to it that it deserves. Deep breath.

2) Complete the pitch bible for a cool animated show I'm creating.

It's funny and character-driven with lots of fun dystopian action. I just have to get off my keister and get it done. Bonus goal: Write the pilot script, too.

1) Get a full-time writing/acting/anything gig.

2014, don't let the door hit you on the way out. While blessed with freelance writing work on a couple of great shows, last year was particularly dry and the gaps between script assignments have been brutal. A regular paycheck over an extended period of time is sorely needed. This one is the priority, hence its ranking at #1.

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There are some serious time-eaters on this list and I doubt I'll get the whole thing done, but I'm going for it. I'll report back at the end of the year and let you know how successful I was.

What's on your list of creative goals and resolutions for 2015?

The Pets Are Back! Littlest Pet Shop Returns

After taking a mid-season break (all the fashionable shows are doing it), Littlest Pet Shop returns this Saturday, 12/13 at 12:30p ET/11:30a CT on Discovery Family. Check it out!

iAi Book of the Month: Bones of the Earth by Scott Bury

This month's iAi featured book of the month is The Bones of the Earth by Scott Bury.

(Personal endorsement: Buy it, it's really good!)

Some details:  

The Dark Age, eastern Europe: the earth has decided to rid itself of humanity with earthquakes, volcanoes and new plagues. Civilizations, even the mighty Roman Empire, crumble under the pressure of barbarian waves that are fleeing worse terrors.

Rejected by his own people, pursued by a dragon, young Javor heads for Constantinople, the centre of civilization, looking for answers to the puzzle of his great-grandfather’s dagger and the murder of his family.

On the ancient, crumbling Roman highway across haunted, deserted Dacia, Javor rescues the beautiful Danisa from a human sacrifice. He cannot help falling in love with her. But Danisa has her own plans, and when she is kidnapped again, Javor has to wonder: what is the connection between his dagger, his lover and his enemies?

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 To purchase The Bones of the Earth go HERE.

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Scott Bury is a journalist, editor and writer living in Ottawa.  His first published fiction is “Sam, the Strawb Part,” a children’s adventure story. It can be purchased from Amazon.com. All royalties from sales of this story go to Children at Risk, an Ottawa-based charity that supports families of children with autism spectrum disorders. He has also published a short story for free download as an e-pub, Dark Clouds, which is also available from Amazon in e-book format. The Bones of the Earth is his first novel.