Thursday, April 17, 2014
FOTS Grand Tactical
Reworking the grand tactical scale for my game Fire On The Suns. This one will use a grid system similar to the one used in the strategic system. I've had a hex-based system in place for years using a hex map image superimposed on an Excel spreadsheet, but it always seemed just a bit "off". Both system use vector-based movement (in 2D), but the hex map isn't really user-friendly in Excel. I've got the grid coordinates laid out, the light hour boundaries established (1, 2, and 3), and the grid coordinate and movement system established including a handy movement utility that appears to function. The hex-based system sometimes got clunky and confusing when plotting vectors and calculating when things would be detected at up to 6 light hour ranges (60 hexes or in the new version grid squares of 6 light minutes each).
Also, the hex-based system just seemed to take some of the drama out of writing about the battles in the first FOTS novel. I'm hoping something like,
"Enemy drive flares detected. Grid Six, bearing zero nine eight. Range three light hours"
will be a little more exciting.
Of course, just because the enemy might have appeared in grid 6 and 3 light hours away does not, in any case, mean they're still there. Depending on one's position in the system they could be anywhere up to 6 hours movement (about 72 light minutes for most starships - or 12 grid squares) away from that position in any direction when you detect them.
Very, very few starships in FOTS can hide from anybody bothering to watch for them (and the ones that can usually use deception or trickery to do so). Those drive flares are very bright and the ships themselves are not exactly "quiet" (glowing hot in the infrared from their environmental systems at the very least). Given the scale it might _just_ be possible to watch every grid square along the 3 light hour boundary where most ships can warp into a system (there'd be 3600 of them (60x60), but that's an awful lot of watch stations to try to build and manage plus by the time you spot them there's a good chance they're already light seconds to light minutes away from where they were when detection occurred.
What this will do, however, is establish a fairly easy and comfortably manageable and, I hope, intuitive system for managing combat between fleets at the grand tactical scale. The FOTS Battle Engine can handle all the tactical stuff when fleets actually come to blows.
Thursday, April 03, 2014
Trials Of A GM
A friend of mine recently decided to bow out of a game he'd invested a lot of time and effort in because the GM rescinded a decision he'd made. I've been in that position more than once so I understand where he's coming from, and, to be frank, the GM in this case, is in the wrong.
A GM runs a game. He plans it. He plots it. He wrangles the players, balances forces, creates the NPCs and sets them loose in the world. He creates the background. He writes the storyline.
But once the game is underway the GM cannot, and should not, dictate all possible avenues of game play for every player - especially in a non-video 4X game of the free-form style I'm talking about here.
The GM, just like a writer, has to be flexible enough to allow his players and his characters to "go with the flow" of the storyline he has set in place.
He (or she so as not to be too sexist here) can set up cut-scenes, scenes which must happen within the game, and has an extraordinary amount of flexibility when it ccmes to creating new scenes that have to happen within a game.
But a GM should never, ever, in my not so humble opinion, ever dictate that certain things cannot happen within the context of an open-ended or even closed-ended game. This is a path toward chaos and players quitting because they cannot do what they believe will advance their own agenda in the game.
Now, the GM has a certain ability to influence the course of his game - indeed, he has perhaps ultimate power in that regard - but to simply erase a player's ability to do what they want, to backtrack or sidestep the GM's storyline, to deviate from that storyline, is to alienate players in that game and to leave egg on the face of the GM in that regard. Other players are going to reconsider whether or not they want to play in that GM's games again because of such heavy-handedness, plus potential players who are considering juping in may not be enticed in the future into doing so.
And that affects all the GMs in a game - not just that one.
I've stayed out of the argument thus far, but I can see a thousand ways this particular GM might have been able to wrangle the player's decision(s) in-game to better his storyline.
The same, I believe, hold true for writing. When a character simply will not hold true to the plot, it's not generally a good idea to force them to toe the line. In fact, because characters have a habit of going off on their own and ding their own thing if a plot is decent enough, sometimes the story can come out better than the GM/writer ever thought it could.
When players make their own decisions about their characters and their worlds and their empires - that's the player thinking for the GM/writer.
Give them their head, let them have free rein. But be prepared to throw your own or a different monkey wrnech in their path along their way.
Let them live and die on their own. Only that way will your characters become truly human and truly memorable. And maybe, just maybe along the way you'll have more story than you ever thought possible.
Thanks,
Greg
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Seizing Control
Just a short post this afternoon (maybe more later) to say I'm back and seizing control of this blog back from the Viagra and whatnot spammers. I'll be making more frequent posts from now on and I'm going to invite a few people from the FOTS (Fire On The Suns) community to post occasionally as well.
Had to figure out how to break back in to my own blog if you can believe that one.
Still in Tulsa, OK area, still working for APSCO, Inc. as their Tech Writer and Document Controller. Still writing (just finished the outline for Fire On The Suns: A Storm Upon The Deep and started writing the first part of the book last night - it should reach 80 thousand words, maybe a bit more or less, by the end).
Thanks,
Greg
Thursday, October 04, 2012
Random Check In
Wow, it's been almost 6 months since my last post.
That's too long.
Job's going well, but I'm buried in paper.
Relationship attempt didn't pan out and, in fact, went horribly awry.
Fire On The Suns, Volume 1 is finally finished and I'm working on a second draft and putting all the pieces together. I always knew this would be a series.
I've started a new WIP, another "icky bug" with the working title Hivers. Third Pulse hit a milestone and I'm now working on the outline for the next third of the book. Gated is still on hold.
Just a brief update today. I'll see about posting more frequently soon.
Saturday, April 07, 2012
New Job, New Stories, New Paths
It's been awhile (again) since I posted, but in the meantime there have been several new developments in my life and career.
First off, in the last 3 months I've published the short stories Survival, Infection, Showdown, and A Day In The Life to Smashwords, Amazon and PubIt! These are some of the best stories I've ever done, I think.
I've pushed the novel Fire On The Suns to almost 54 thousand words and the Kon'tai-Py'ron war is erupting, the Py'ron I'an is in the hands of a mad emperor, the Swarm is in the process of being completely destroyed by a mysterious and unknown enemy, and the Terran Federal Republic is finding itself caught up in an inextricable web of interstellar diplomacy and deception as it is drawn deeper into the Kon'tai-Py'ron conflict. Meanwhile, the Py'ron plot to smash the Kon'tai and drive back the Kon'tai's Terran allies by bringing in the Hee'Dra on their side of the war, and the Saurian Confederation (working name) has embarked on an expedition against the Arachnids (working name) far on the other side of the TFR. War has come to the local region of the galaxy, a war that will gradually draw in all of the known powers and many unknowns and which will leave the region forever changed.
Third Pulse has been pushed to just under 28 thousand words. Our hero Max is beginning to raise his own army to combat the sinister designs of the villain Blood Wyrm. But Blood Wyrm has plans of his own and, in a move to capture Max, has confronted and trapped him, alone, in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Against overwhelming odds, Max is fighting a desperate battle against a multitude if villains and minions, hoping his friends and allies can reach him in time.
Gated is currently sitting at 12 thousand words or so while I focus on other projects such as the short stories The Bar (zombies), another story of the 416th Space Marines Pathfinders Regiment, and a follow-up to my old story Knock On Wood.
In more, um, personal news, I've just been hired by a new employer after almost 7 months out of work. This is one of those dream jobs, a technical writing position paying $15/hour which is better pay than I've made since 2007 and excellent pay for the area I'm living in now. Plus, it's a regular M-F schedule the likes of which I haven't worked since 2002.
You might also say I'm pursuing something of a relationship with someone I'm deeply interested in. Whether or not she's as deeply interested in this, um, pursuit, remains to be seen, but I have my fingers crossed.
So, needy to say, I've been a bit busy over the last couple of months and look forward to being just as busy over the next several.
I'll try to post more often, but that will depend fully on how things go down the road (I always try, I rarely, it seems, actually succeed).
First off, in the last 3 months I've published the short stories Survival, Infection, Showdown, and A Day In The Life to Smashwords, Amazon and PubIt! These are some of the best stories I've ever done, I think.
I've pushed the novel Fire On The Suns to almost 54 thousand words and the Kon'tai-Py'ron war is erupting, the Py'ron I'an is in the hands of a mad emperor, the Swarm is in the process of being completely destroyed by a mysterious and unknown enemy, and the Terran Federal Republic is finding itself caught up in an inextricable web of interstellar diplomacy and deception as it is drawn deeper into the Kon'tai-Py'ron conflict. Meanwhile, the Py'ron plot to smash the Kon'tai and drive back the Kon'tai's Terran allies by bringing in the Hee'Dra on their side of the war, and the Saurian Confederation (working name) has embarked on an expedition against the Arachnids (working name) far on the other side of the TFR. War has come to the local region of the galaxy, a war that will gradually draw in all of the known powers and many unknowns and which will leave the region forever changed.
Third Pulse has been pushed to just under 28 thousand words. Our hero Max is beginning to raise his own army to combat the sinister designs of the villain Blood Wyrm. But Blood Wyrm has plans of his own and, in a move to capture Max, has confronted and trapped him, alone, in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Against overwhelming odds, Max is fighting a desperate battle against a multitude if villains and minions, hoping his friends and allies can reach him in time.
Gated is currently sitting at 12 thousand words or so while I focus on other projects such as the short stories The Bar (zombies), another story of the 416th Space Marines Pathfinders Regiment, and a follow-up to my old story Knock On Wood.
In more, um, personal news, I've just been hired by a new employer after almost 7 months out of work. This is one of those dream jobs, a technical writing position paying $15/hour which is better pay than I've made since 2007 and excellent pay for the area I'm living in now. Plus, it's a regular M-F schedule the likes of which I haven't worked since 2002.
You might also say I'm pursuing something of a relationship with someone I'm deeply interested in. Whether or not she's as deeply interested in this, um, pursuit, remains to be seen, but I have my fingers crossed.
So, needy to say, I've been a bit busy over the last couple of months and look forward to being just as busy over the next several.
I'll try to post more often, but that will depend fully on how things go down the road (I always try, I rarely, it seems, actually succeed).
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tracking Amazon Rankings
Okay, I admit it, I'm addicted to tracking my story's rankings on Amazon (and checking sales). I don't know why precisely, but I like to see when one of my stories drops below the 100k mark. That's an indicator of sales, but not an indicator of major sales (you have to drop down into the 10-20k range for decent sales and the 1-5k range for good sales, and the below 1k rank for sellng like hot cakes).
Honestly, however, the sales rankings on Amazon mean nothing to a writer. Not really. Those rankings, according to noted authority James D. MacDonald over on the Absolute Write forum, are for the readers to allow them to judge the popularity of a book they might be thinking about purchasing.
Personally, I'm beginning to think it's a mistake to put rankings up at all. It's definitely a mistake for a writer to obsess over them and fret about them.
I mean, if you walk into a brick and morter bookstore, you're not going to see books arrayed in some kind of artificial ranking system. You'll see bestsellers, new releases, and books laid out for special sales or holiday seasons, but you will never see a ranking number attached to those books or see them placed on the shelves in any specific order.
What the Amazon rankings do is tell a reader "Hey, this book is popular". The idea begins with the assumption that a reader cannot judge for themselves what book they're actually looking for. In essence, Amazon's ranking system assumes the reader is stupid in my opinion. The rankings, made by some arbitrarily mysterious algorithm, can even be "gamed" (and have been) by savvy or clever marketers. The rankings are not, as is commonly believed, based solely on sales alone (though they probably should be), but Amazon won't tell us what the rest is based on. A guess can be made that it's partially sales, partially searches, partially value, etc., etc., all of which factor into the algorthm that spits out an arbitrary number that the writers can obsess over the numbers and the readers can make entirely arbitrary decisions about the work without even sampling it.
The fact is, the only numbers that should matter to the writer are sales - and they shouldn't matter all that much. Stories either work or they don't. It is impossible to predict whether a story will sell or appeal to readers or not (believe me, some of the stuff I thought was my best work has so far flopped worse than a freshly-caught trout on a rock).
Amazon's rankings might be intended to attract readers, but I think readers should think for themselves. Only you know what you like. Amazon can make suggestions based on what you've purchased or searched for previously, but they can't tell the reader what they like any more than the writer can predict what the reader is going to like and buy.
Be your own person. Read what you want. Do not let Amazon or anyone else try to steer you in any particular direction as a reader.
As a writer, forget those rankings. They're not for you. Look at your sales instead, but don't obsess over them either. You've got better things to do.
Like writing your next piece.
Get busy.
Honestly, however, the sales rankings on Amazon mean nothing to a writer. Not really. Those rankings, according to noted authority James D. MacDonald over on the Absolute Write forum, are for the readers to allow them to judge the popularity of a book they might be thinking about purchasing.
Personally, I'm beginning to think it's a mistake to put rankings up at all. It's definitely a mistake for a writer to obsess over them and fret about them.
I mean, if you walk into a brick and morter bookstore, you're not going to see books arrayed in some kind of artificial ranking system. You'll see bestsellers, new releases, and books laid out for special sales or holiday seasons, but you will never see a ranking number attached to those books or see them placed on the shelves in any specific order.
What the Amazon rankings do is tell a reader "Hey, this book is popular". The idea begins with the assumption that a reader cannot judge for themselves what book they're actually looking for. In essence, Amazon's ranking system assumes the reader is stupid in my opinion. The rankings, made by some arbitrarily mysterious algorithm, can even be "gamed" (and have been) by savvy or clever marketers. The rankings are not, as is commonly believed, based solely on sales alone (though they probably should be), but Amazon won't tell us what the rest is based on. A guess can be made that it's partially sales, partially searches, partially value, etc., etc., all of which factor into the algorthm that spits out an arbitrary number that the writers can obsess over the numbers and the readers can make entirely arbitrary decisions about the work without even sampling it.
The fact is, the only numbers that should matter to the writer are sales - and they shouldn't matter all that much. Stories either work or they don't. It is impossible to predict whether a story will sell or appeal to readers or not (believe me, some of the stuff I thought was my best work has so far flopped worse than a freshly-caught trout on a rock).
Amazon's rankings might be intended to attract readers, but I think readers should think for themselves. Only you know what you like. Amazon can make suggestions based on what you've purchased or searched for previously, but they can't tell the reader what they like any more than the writer can predict what the reader is going to like and buy.
Be your own person. Read what you want. Do not let Amazon or anyone else try to steer you in any particular direction as a reader.
As a writer, forget those rankings. They're not for you. Look at your sales instead, but don't obsess over them either. You've got better things to do.
Like writing your next piece.
Get busy.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing
I stumbled over this great post by Chuck Wendig posted by John Helfers today on FaceBook so I'm linking to it. Lots of great advice in this one and I'm guilty of doing a lot of them myself.
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/01/03/25-things-writers-should-stop-doing/
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/01/03/25-things-writers-should-stop-doing/
Saturday, December 24, 2011
The Battle of Christmas
A horror poem for the season.
###
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the halls
Something evil was stirring, but not in the malls.
Twas at the North Pole all covered with snow
That it all started with no one to know
The elves felt it first and first were to fall
A sickness among them that started to crawl
And one by one they started to blow
To kill one another and redden the snow
That wasn't the end as the reindeer came next
As elves fell upon them with teeth, claw, and axe
Comet went first, then Cupid and Vixen
Till all that were left were Rudolph and Blitzen
Bravely they fought in retreat to the Shop
Where Santa and others with fear were fraught
As two mighty reindeer killed elves by the lot
But step by step were forced back to the Shop
Within the Shop only Santa could think
As dozens of elves brought the whole kitchen sink
Rudolph and Blitzen were doing their best
But a whole day of fighting had measured their best
Within the Toy Shop sat Santa's sleigh
A little red cart just a few feet away
If Rudolph could reach it away they could fly
But elves were before them, behind them, and sly
Then Blitzen told Rudolph and Santa he'd hold
Elves in the snow till the sleigh could be rolled
Out of the Shop and up into the sky
Guided by Rudolph's sole bleeding eye
Though wounded and bleeding brave Blitzen attacked
And countless were the elves that he racked
Rudolph fell back and shed neither tear
For Santa stood there aquiver in fear
Covered in blood and wounded in stride
Brave Rudolph listened as old Blitzen died
Then facing the old man he said with a snark
This is for you you worthless old fart
Into the sleigh he pushed the old man
And under the harness he pushed his own van
A few moments later ahead of the elves
The little red sleigh leaped above the ice shelves
But by the time they reached the first of their stops
Poor Rudolph knew it'd all been for naught
For Santa was sick with what felled the elves
And Rudolph was nearing the end of himself
And when Santa slipped down the first chimney so free
It was with evil intent and malevolent glee
And Rudolph stood by on the roof with the sleigh
Knowing next year there'd be no going this way
###
###
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the halls
Something evil was stirring, but not in the malls.
Twas at the North Pole all covered with snow
That it all started with no one to know
The elves felt it first and first were to fall
A sickness among them that started to crawl
And one by one they started to blow
To kill one another and redden the snow
That wasn't the end as the reindeer came next
As elves fell upon them with teeth, claw, and axe
Comet went first, then Cupid and Vixen
Till all that were left were Rudolph and Blitzen
Bravely they fought in retreat to the Shop
Where Santa and others with fear were fraught
As two mighty reindeer killed elves by the lot
But step by step were forced back to the Shop
Within the Shop only Santa could think
As dozens of elves brought the whole kitchen sink
Rudolph and Blitzen were doing their best
But a whole day of fighting had measured their best
Within the Toy Shop sat Santa's sleigh
A little red cart just a few feet away
If Rudolph could reach it away they could fly
But elves were before them, behind them, and sly
Then Blitzen told Rudolph and Santa he'd hold
Elves in the snow till the sleigh could be rolled
Out of the Shop and up into the sky
Guided by Rudolph's sole bleeding eye
Though wounded and bleeding brave Blitzen attacked
And countless were the elves that he racked
Rudolph fell back and shed neither tear
For Santa stood there aquiver in fear
Covered in blood and wounded in stride
Brave Rudolph listened as old Blitzen died
Then facing the old man he said with a snark
This is for you you worthless old fart
Into the sleigh he pushed the old man
And under the harness he pushed his own van
A few moments later ahead of the elves
The little red sleigh leaped above the ice shelves
But by the time they reached the first of their stops
Poor Rudolph knew it'd all been for naught
For Santa was sick with what felled the elves
And Rudolph was nearing the end of himself
And when Santa slipped down the first chimney so free
It was with evil intent and malevolent glee
And Rudolph stood by on the roof with the sleigh
Knowing next year there'd be no going this way
###
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Infection & After Action Report On PubIt! (B&N)
Or they soon will be (24-72 hours).
I waited an awful long time to get things working for the B&N Nook, but I have a bit more incentive now. They're another outlet for sales that I've left neglected for far too long.
This gives me Smashwords, Amazon, and now Barnes & Noble as sales points fir my work.
Yea, me!
I waited an awful long time to get things working for the B&N Nook, but I have a bit more incentive now. They're another outlet for sales that I've left neglected for far too long.
This gives me Smashwords, Amazon, and now Barnes & Noble as sales points fir my work.
Yea, me!
Short story "Infection" Published
My 5600 word short science fiction/horror story "Infection" has been published on Smashwords and Amazon for the Kindle. Price is $0.99.
"Infection" is a story of love, loss, and hope in the midst of catastrophe.
"Infection" is a story of love, loss, and hope in the midst of catastrophe.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
HATCHINGS Added To Amazon Prime
As an experiment I've placed my 80k word hard SF novel HATCHINGS in the new Amazon Prime listing for the Kindle. If you're a Prime member you can download the book for free whereas it's $3.99 regularly for Kindle.
I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart. As I said, this is an experiment, and I'll get a percentage of a pot that Amazon has created for books in the Prime listings for each time the book is downloaded.
So, if you want to read a hard science fiction novel with giant insects, action, and adventure for FREE, become an Amazon Prime member and download HATCHINGS. Recommend it to your friends too.
I want to see how this book does over the next 90 days as a Prime listing.
In addition, if you've read any of my stuff, why not drop by Amazon and leave a comment or review? Good, bad, or indifferent, I won't mind (well, I might if it's really scathing, but I'll bite my tongue and withhold any retort)? Comments and reviews are important to writers and maybe more so to reader's. I know a few folks out there have read my stuff (sales figures and a check from Amazon every so often proves that), but my work needs more reviews.
Hunted, for example, just sold another copy, but no one's reviewed it yet. For such an exciting story I'm surprised at this. HATCHINGS sold 3 (yeah, not a huge number, but it's still sales) copies last month, but not a single review. After Action Report has sold dozens of times, but hasn't been reviewed or even comment on. The only review has been for Code Of Law, which wasn't exactly my best effort, and it got 3 stars.
So, go become a Prime member and download HATCHINGS for free. And drop by my G.W. Ellis page and leave some reviews for my other work too.
C'mon, I dare you.
I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart. As I said, this is an experiment, and I'll get a percentage of a pot that Amazon has created for books in the Prime listings for each time the book is downloaded.
So, if you want to read a hard science fiction novel with giant insects, action, and adventure for FREE, become an Amazon Prime member and download HATCHINGS. Recommend it to your friends too.
I want to see how this book does over the next 90 days as a Prime listing.
In addition, if you've read any of my stuff, why not drop by Amazon and leave a comment or review? Good, bad, or indifferent, I won't mind (well, I might if it's really scathing, but I'll bite my tongue and withhold any retort)? Comments and reviews are important to writers and maybe more so to reader's. I know a few folks out there have read my stuff (sales figures and a check from Amazon every so often proves that), but my work needs more reviews.
Hunted, for example, just sold another copy, but no one's reviewed it yet. For such an exciting story I'm surprised at this. HATCHINGS sold 3 (yeah, not a huge number, but it's still sales) copies last month, but not a single review. After Action Report has sold dozens of times, but hasn't been reviewed or even comment on. The only review has been for Code Of Law, which wasn't exactly my best effort, and it got 3 stars.
So, go become a Prime member and download HATCHINGS for free. And drop by my G.W. Ellis page and leave some reviews for my other work too.
C'mon, I dare you.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
How To Embarass A Writer
I recently had a poster on another website forum email me, essentially asking for advice, but one of the things the poster said in their message damn near made my hair stand on end.
I quote,
I downloaded a sample of Hatchings, and it seems to be a very American contribution to the British school of Guy N Smith, Graham Masterton and James Herbert. Good show, old chap, haha.
Now, of course, I denied being anywhere near as good as these Masters. In response, the poster stated,
Right, right, I meant 'in the vein of the Brits', not quite 'on the level of' :), although there's really not much difference between what I read of your style and Smith's. In fact yours may be a tad better, but he had the luck of entering the field in the middle of the 70's horror boom. Like entering the romantic werewolf field today, I guess.
If you want to embarrass a writer, this is an excellent way to go at it. Its incredibly flattering, but there's no way I believe I'm anywhere near as good as Masterson, Smith, or Herbert. I'm getting better, but I'm not there yet.
I do find it interesting that the poster noted that my work appeared to be a very American contribution in the same vein as the British Masters he cites. My early upbringing was in a household in the middle of Ohio with a very Scottish patriarchy, a very close relationship to England, and a matriarchal lineage that was also very English and German. There've been times I've been caught slipping into accented conversation when I didn't even realize I was doing it. In addition, for years I used certain wordage in my writing that was very English without even realizing I was doing it wrong for an American audience or in accordance with American English.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a proud American and I'm proud of my heritage.
I just never quite realized how deeply that heritage had actually affected everything I do.
All writers have heritages. Our stories, our characters, our mannerisms are based in our heritage, probably on a much deeper level than we realize. We show a certain face to the outside world, but our stories are dredged up from deep within our psyches. There's a point where we cannot distinguish what's in our psyche and what's flowing from our fingers in our stories.
Please, forgive us. We too, are products of our heritage.
And because I'm a product of my heritage, it's both embarrassing and incredibly elevating to be compared to, or placed in the same vein as, certain Master writers.
Mostly embarrassing right now.
I quote,
I downloaded a sample of Hatchings, and it seems to be a very American contribution to the British school of Guy N Smith, Graham Masterton and James Herbert. Good show, old chap, haha.
Now, of course, I denied being anywhere near as good as these Masters. In response, the poster stated,
Right, right, I meant 'in the vein of the Brits', not quite 'on the level of' :), although there's really not much difference between what I read of your style and Smith's. In fact yours may be a tad better, but he had the luck of entering the field in the middle of the 70's horror boom. Like entering the romantic werewolf field today, I guess.
If you want to embarrass a writer, this is an excellent way to go at it. Its incredibly flattering, but there's no way I believe I'm anywhere near as good as Masterson, Smith, or Herbert. I'm getting better, but I'm not there yet.
I do find it interesting that the poster noted that my work appeared to be a very American contribution in the same vein as the British Masters he cites. My early upbringing was in a household in the middle of Ohio with a very Scottish patriarchy, a very close relationship to England, and a matriarchal lineage that was also very English and German. There've been times I've been caught slipping into accented conversation when I didn't even realize I was doing it. In addition, for years I used certain wordage in my writing that was very English without even realizing I was doing it wrong for an American audience or in accordance with American English.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a proud American and I'm proud of my heritage.
I just never quite realized how deeply that heritage had actually affected everything I do.
All writers have heritages. Our stories, our characters, our mannerisms are based in our heritage, probably on a much deeper level than we realize. We show a certain face to the outside world, but our stories are dredged up from deep within our psyches. There's a point where we cannot distinguish what's in our psyche and what's flowing from our fingers in our stories.
Please, forgive us. We too, are products of our heritage.
And because I'm a product of my heritage, it's both embarrassing and incredibly elevating to be compared to, or placed in the same vein as, certain Master writers.
Mostly embarrassing right now.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Veteran's Day
One more thing - if you know a vet, thank him and shake his hand.
Today is the day to remember that, in the words of the Billy Ray Cyrus song, "All Gave Some, Some Gave All".
I'd also like to recommend the video "Waltzing Matilda" that's circulating on YouTube and the video from 3 Doors Down (I think) for "We Are One" that should also be available on YouTube.
Remember the veterans in your own family especially, but remember them all.
All gave some. Some gave all.
God bless all veterans everywhere.
Today is the day to remember that, in the words of the Billy Ray Cyrus song, "All Gave Some, Some Gave All".
I'd also like to recommend the video "Waltzing Matilda" that's circulating on YouTube and the video from 3 Doors Down (I think) for "We Are One" that should also be available on YouTube.
Remember the veterans in your own family especially, but remember them all.
All gave some. Some gave all.
God bless all veterans everywhere.
Two New Short Stories
Two new short stories, Hate Music and Hunted, were posted to Amazon for the Kindle and Smashwords for all other platforms earlier this month. They are both currently available for $0.99 each.
Hate Music is a 1thousand word science fiction story set in my Fire On The Suns universe with a darkly humorous twist.
Hunted is an 1800-word horror story with action so fast and furious it will leave you gasping for breath.
I should have Infection, a 5 thousand word horror story, available by the end of this month (it just needs a final review and editing pass).
Work is progressing on Porter's Way, a western/horror short story (that's trying to turn into a novella) set in a world where magic and the Old West co-exist (but this ain't Deadlands, folks), Fire On The Suns (my military space opera novel based on my FOTS game universe) which has reached 55+ thousand words, and an as-yet untitled short story featuring the Devil being grilled by a talk show pundit on his relationship with God. That one's up to about 2 thousand words currently.
I've temporarily ceased working on The Midnight Box, a Quentin Dallas short story due to "issues" with the legendary source material. Still, I might pick it back up after the first of the year along with the novels Gated and Third Pulse, both of which I expect to finish next year.
To-date, I've finished and published 1 novel, 10 short stories, and a collection since late January when I started this 5-year project. I intend to finish at least 1 more novel and 2-5 short stories between now and the end of the year (my goal was 2 novels and 12-15 short stories when I started this thing). I've noticed that my productivity appears to have increased as the year has progressed and I'm putting up better, more polished, much more professional work as I go along.
Give me 4 more years and I might even be decent.
Hate Music is a 1thousand word science fiction story set in my Fire On The Suns universe with a darkly humorous twist.
Hunted is an 1800-word horror story with action so fast and furious it will leave you gasping for breath.
I should have Infection, a 5 thousand word horror story, available by the end of this month (it just needs a final review and editing pass).
Work is progressing on Porter's Way, a western/horror short story (that's trying to turn into a novella) set in a world where magic and the Old West co-exist (but this ain't Deadlands, folks), Fire On The Suns (my military space opera novel based on my FOTS game universe) which has reached 55+ thousand words, and an as-yet untitled short story featuring the Devil being grilled by a talk show pundit on his relationship with God. That one's up to about 2 thousand words currently.
I've temporarily ceased working on The Midnight Box, a Quentin Dallas short story due to "issues" with the legendary source material. Still, I might pick it back up after the first of the year along with the novels Gated and Third Pulse, both of which I expect to finish next year.
To-date, I've finished and published 1 novel, 10 short stories, and a collection since late January when I started this 5-year project. I intend to finish at least 1 more novel and 2-5 short stories between now and the end of the year (my goal was 2 novels and 12-15 short stories when I started this thing). I've noticed that my productivity appears to have increased as the year has progressed and I'm putting up better, more polished, much more professional work as I go along.
Give me 4 more years and I might even be decent.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
New Collection On Smashwords/Kindle
I just put my first 6-pack of short stories up for publishing via Smashwords and Kindle for $2.99. You'll get 6 stories for the price of 3, a couple of them in previously-unpublished form.
The book "The Light Of An Oncoming Train: A 6-Pack Of Short Fiction" ought to be available from Amazon for the Kindle in a couple days. Smashwords might take a bit longer.
The book "The Light Of An Oncoming Train: A 6-Pack Of Short Fiction" ought to be available from Amazon for the Kindle in a couple days. Smashwords might take a bit longer.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Remember
Today is, as I'm sure everyone knows by now, the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I remember where I was and what I was doing. Do you?
There's little that I can say that hasn't already been said by pundits and those who survived the attacks already so all I'll say today is remember.
Remember the heroes who went into those buildings while everyone else was going out. Remember the heroes who fought to take back a hijacked aircraft. Remember the heroes who worked themselves to exhaustion trying to save anyone they could in the short time the victims might have had. Remember the heroes who somehow organized the largest waterborne evacuation in history, bigger even than Dunkirk.
Remember the victims who died that day through no fault of their own, struck down by others who only wanted to hurt and kill as many Americans as they possibly could.
And remember that there are still people out there, diabolical, evil, desperate people who still would do anything they can to hurt and kill as many Americans as possible. They remember us.
As we remember our fallen heroes from that day, remember as well the men and women who have fought and died and been injured in the years before and since 9/11 to protect us here at home. I remember them and I stand beside them should the call ever come for me to do so.
Remember, and honor the heroes for the sacrifices they've made and the sacrifices yet to come. In this way we honor them and pay them the enormous debt we owe them all.
There's little that I can say that hasn't already been said by pundits and those who survived the attacks already so all I'll say today is remember.
Remember the heroes who went into those buildings while everyone else was going out. Remember the heroes who fought to take back a hijacked aircraft. Remember the heroes who worked themselves to exhaustion trying to save anyone they could in the short time the victims might have had. Remember the heroes who somehow organized the largest waterborne evacuation in history, bigger even than Dunkirk.
Remember the victims who died that day through no fault of their own, struck down by others who only wanted to hurt and kill as many Americans as they possibly could.
And remember that there are still people out there, diabolical, evil, desperate people who still would do anything they can to hurt and kill as many Americans as possible. They remember us.
As we remember our fallen heroes from that day, remember as well the men and women who have fought and died and been injured in the years before and since 9/11 to protect us here at home. I remember them and I stand beside them should the call ever come for me to do so.
Remember, and honor the heroes for the sacrifices they've made and the sacrifices yet to come. In this way we honor them and pay them the enormous debt we owe them all.
Friday, August 05, 2011
Writer worries
I worry that my first novel was my last one, the only one I had in me despite the fact I've got 2 or 3 others in various stages of competion.
I worry that I can't complete several short stories because my day job is sucking the life out of me.
I worry about my next idea not coming soon enough to write it fast enough.
I worry about the rent and the electrical and the cable and the $900 of new medical bills I recently acquired and the condition for which remains untreated.
I worry about not being able to write with hands crippled by arthritis.
What I don't worry about? The fact that the next story idea will come, that I can write it, that I'll get through the occasional doldrums, that writer's block is fleeting and imaginary, a figment of my own procrastination, that every day is an opportunity to improve and grow, that my stuff will sell, that I'm not good enough, that I cannot fail because I won't let myself do so nor will the people who read my stuff, that I can pay the bills next month via my day job, but one day my writing will pay those things for me, that I have a future and part of that future includes me as a writer.
It's called hope.
It's a simple 4-letter word, but it's more powerful than almost any other 4-letter word other than love which it is closely related to. Hope is stronger than hate, stronger than lust, stronger than words far longer and far more recognized. Hope is what drives every human being to strive, to drive, to continue on when dark clouds threaten and the wolves are at the door.
Hope is why we write.
Hope that we can express ourselves such that someone else "out there" might, just might, one day understand.
Hope that we might one day, somehow, some way, make a living writing.
Hope that, by some miracle, fortune might shine upon us one day and we will find that voice and be able to express it such that we know we will have said something important.
Hope that we might, one day, entertain even one single other person.
Hope that we might leave something of ourselves to friends, to family, to people unknown, who will remember us long after we have gone on to the big office beyond.
Hope that some small piece of us remains when we're gone.
Hope.
It's a simple word. A 4-letter word.
But it's a writer's word.
Every writer ought to have it framed over their desk so they can look up at it when the doubts come.
Hope.
It's a conjure word too. It has the ability to conjure a writer to roust himself out of the worst depression, the worst pain, the worst doldrums, the worst of anything you can imagine and drive him back to the keyboard or the pad and pen/pencil.
Hope.
It's a writer's word.
Emblazoned it on your heart and over your hearth and in your mind.
It's your word.
I worry that I can't complete several short stories because my day job is sucking the life out of me.
I worry about my next idea not coming soon enough to write it fast enough.
I worry about the rent and the electrical and the cable and the $900 of new medical bills I recently acquired and the condition for which remains untreated.
I worry about not being able to write with hands crippled by arthritis.
What I don't worry about? The fact that the next story idea will come, that I can write it, that I'll get through the occasional doldrums, that writer's block is fleeting and imaginary, a figment of my own procrastination, that every day is an opportunity to improve and grow, that my stuff will sell, that I'm not good enough, that I cannot fail because I won't let myself do so nor will the people who read my stuff, that I can pay the bills next month via my day job, but one day my writing will pay those things for me, that I have a future and part of that future includes me as a writer.
It's called hope.
It's a simple 4-letter word, but it's more powerful than almost any other 4-letter word other than love which it is closely related to. Hope is stronger than hate, stronger than lust, stronger than words far longer and far more recognized. Hope is what drives every human being to strive, to drive, to continue on when dark clouds threaten and the wolves are at the door.
Hope is why we write.
Hope that we can express ourselves such that someone else "out there" might, just might, one day understand.
Hope that we might one day, somehow, some way, make a living writing.
Hope that, by some miracle, fortune might shine upon us one day and we will find that voice and be able to express it such that we know we will have said something important.
Hope that we might, one day, entertain even one single other person.
Hope that we might leave something of ourselves to friends, to family, to people unknown, who will remember us long after we have gone on to the big office beyond.
Hope that some small piece of us remains when we're gone.
Hope.
It's a simple word. A 4-letter word.
But it's a writer's word.
Every writer ought to have it framed over their desk so they can look up at it when the doubts come.
Hope.
It's a conjure word too. It has the ability to conjure a writer to roust himself out of the worst depression, the worst pain, the worst doldrums, the worst of anything you can imagine and drive him back to the keyboard or the pad and pen/pencil.
Hope.
It's a writer's word.
Emblazoned it on your heart and over your hearth and in your mind.
It's your word.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Amazon Kindle Royalties
Yup, you read that right - Amazon Kindle Royalties!
I've got the check sitting right here beside me right now.
It's not an amazing amount, only $12.95 for the period February-April of this year, but it's my first royalty check ever for my fiction work. Someone out there's paid to read my stuff.
That is exciting and exhilarating and scary all at the same time.
It means that I have to create more stories for people to read because I can't make a living on this.
But maybe, just maybe, I've got a chance at this after all.
I started this endeavor earlier this year with a 5-year plan. I'm slightly behind schedule on that plan almost 8 months into it, but receiving this check today has bolstered my hopes and dreams once again. I'm a long way from the finish line of this plan and there's a lot of work, and a lot of learning, left to do yet.
Bit you know what they say - "Money talks, and bullshit walks."
Well, here's money talking. Amazon's been paid for my stories and now they're paying me as promised. I've made more sales since April so I know I'll be receiving more checks in the future.
This is no longer an experiment, no longer a plan, now it's a business.
It's time to get to work.
I've got the check sitting right here beside me right now.
It's not an amazing amount, only $12.95 for the period February-April of this year, but it's my first royalty check ever for my fiction work. Someone out there's paid to read my stuff.
That is exciting and exhilarating and scary all at the same time.
It means that I have to create more stories for people to read because I can't make a living on this.
But maybe, just maybe, I've got a chance at this after all.
I started this endeavor earlier this year with a 5-year plan. I'm slightly behind schedule on that plan almost 8 months into it, but receiving this check today has bolstered my hopes and dreams once again. I'm a long way from the finish line of this plan and there's a lot of work, and a lot of learning, left to do yet.
Bit you know what they say - "Money talks, and bullshit walks."
Well, here's money talking. Amazon's been paid for my stories and now they're paying me as promised. I've made more sales since April so I know I'll be receiving more checks in the future.
This is no longer an experiment, no longer a plan, now it's a business.
It's time to get to work.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
HATCHINGS Now $0.99 for Limited Time Only
For anyone who's interested, I just dropped the price of my SF novel HATCHINGS to $0.99 for a very limited time period only (till the end of the month at the latest). It'll be available from Kindle by this time tomorrow (gotta' republish & review every time you change pricing for Amazon for some reason) and is available for all other platforms via Smashwords.
Friday, July 08, 2011
FOTS Website Back Up
My old gaming website for Fire On The Suns (FOTS) is back up after a multi-year absence thanks to some good friends who secured the domain name and held onto it until I could get back to it.
You can find the site at www.fire-on-the-suns.com
I've also secured the domain name for GWELLIS.com and will soon make that my primary author site.
I'm looking forward to republishing a large number of items from the old days when my game was going strong and new items that never got off the drawing board. I've got at least 2 novels and a couple of standalone indie games designed by friends from way back too that might actually see the light of day in the future.
It may be that my old desktop publishing company Ellis & Company Piblishing could be raised from the dead due to Smashwords and Kindle.
All hail indie publishing!
You can find the site at www.fire-on-the-suns.com
I've also secured the domain name for GWELLIS.com and will soon make that my primary author site.
I'm looking forward to republishing a large number of items from the old days when my game was going strong and new items that never got off the drawing board. I've got at least 2 novels and a couple of standalone indie games designed by friends from way back too that might actually see the light of day in the future.
It may be that my old desktop publishing company Ellis & Company Piblishing could be raised from the dead due to Smashwords and Kindle.
All hail indie publishing!
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