tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4666218211399971592024-03-14T06:21:28.714-05:00John Quick, AuthorThe online ramblings of a new voice in horror.John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-88824126921111546202021-09-03T02:26:00.001-05:002021-09-03T02:26:45.518-05:00Changes are Coming<p>In case you've missed it, I have totally sucked at keeping up with this site. Time, life, whatever the reason, it happens. Therefore, I'm making a change.</p><p>I'm currently working on a new website to replace this one. This blog will remain live, but it will no longer be the face I'm putting out to the world. Instead, it will be what it's supposed to be: a place to leave my thoughts when I have them and feel they're worth leaving. The new site will become my face, and will be the first point of contact for anyone heading to johnquickfiction.com.</p><p>Keep your eyes peeled, and I'll be revealing it soon! </p>John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-40161077392252135942019-11-10T04:46:00.001-06:002019-11-10T04:46:59.599-06:00Yeah, I Know...One of the things I always wondered about when I first made this site was how often I'd actually keep up with it. I did well for a while, and then it kind of fell by the wayside thanks to the loads of other stuff I've been doing. Well, I doubt that's going to get better any time soon, but I did at least do a few updates to reflect my release schedule for the rest of 2019 and 2020, and the current projects I'm working on. Here's a few more details.<br />
<br />
First, it's NaNoWriMo, which means I'm buckling down on a project for that. I'm doing a sequel to <i style="font-weight: bold;">DAMNATION TRAIL</i>, tentatively called <i style="font-weight: bold;">SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN</i>. If things work out, I'll end up self-pubbing this at some point, just like I did with DT.<br />
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Second, I've been picking up some freelance formatting jobs, which has taken up some time, but brings some extra money in, always a good thing.<br />
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Third, I'm also working on my arachnophobia novel, <i style="font-weight: bold;">INFESTED</i>. I paused for NaNoWriMo, and plan to get back and finish it next month.<br />
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I'm also doing a collaboration with Armand Rosamilia called <i style="font-weight: bold;">THE PRICE</i>. I've got it at the moment, and will send it back to him as soon as I do my chapter. Still a ways off from being done, but it <i>is</i> a lot of fun.<br />
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On the release front, there's a lot going on.<br />
<br />
First up, on December 10, 2019, <i style="font-weight: bold;">HIDDEN HEARTS</i> comes out through Silver Shamrock Publications. It's been retitled <i style="font-weight: bold;">THE CORRUPTION OF ALSTON HOUSE</i>, and details are on the Bookshelf page.<br />
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Then, on January 24, 2020, <i style="font-weight: bold;">CONSEQUENCES</i> gets a facelift, a foreword from Bryan Smith himself, and a full-scale re-release through Poltergeist Press. The old version goes out of print on December 1, 2019, so watch for information on the new one in paperback, eBook, and--for the first time--HARDBACK(!!!) very, very soon.<br />
<br />
Later in 2020, I have two more novels coming out. <i style="font-weight: bold;">SAVAGE MOUNTAIN</i> will likely be first, from Grindhouse Press, followed just before Scares That Care Charity Weekend, VA by the second Cochran Investigations novel, <i style="font-weight: bold;">ONE LAST DANCE</i>. There are a couple of other things in the fire, but nothing ready for discussion yet, so let's leave it there.<br />
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As you can see, I've been busy. Hopefully I get better at updating this site, but don't hold your breath.John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-45010073500899982522019-07-26T02:11:00.001-05:002019-07-26T12:02:20.811-05:00This One Time, At Writer's Camp....<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s been close to a week now, and my brain is
somewhat recovered, so I think I can detail my thoughts and feelings about my
very first NECON!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One quick note before we get started: most pictures
here were taken by Tony Tremblay, who acts as NECON’s unofficial photographer.
If it’s an awesome shot, he gets all the credit, not me. I was just the
subject.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzb2-zwkw8GciDg1z_bowwGyGP8IxbyqoFxn4XUhtilDXzj9BmPhs0sO-MubHkmZM138Jx6hSwSzOO36qF0yfg5ENOd1H8sjUNDatXDNlqOhNXqsfAbOCK5ODvV_QY0YOQNr-bik6BI8P/s1600/67035764_3397203823653181_1759478711956013056_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzb2-zwkw8GciDg1z_bowwGyGP8IxbyqoFxn4XUhtilDXzj9BmPhs0sO-MubHkmZM138Jx6hSwSzOO36qF0yfg5ENOd1H8sjUNDatXDNlqOhNXqsfAbOCK5ODvV_QY0YOQNr-bik6BI8P/s320/67035764_3397203823653181_1759478711956013056_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The NECON 39 Camp Photo. Can you find me?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For those who don’t know, NECON is the Northeastern
Writer’s Conference, held just outside Providence, RI every summer. It is a
place where authors, editors, artists, and publishers gather to kick back for a
few days, have a few drinks, do a little networking, and basically have some
fun for a weekend to relax after dealing with the day jobs all year long. It is
widely considered to be summer camp for writing professionals, and that is most
assuredly the feeling I got from it. Maybe that wasn’t the original intent, but
it’s a damn good definition, and it’s what I’m sticking with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I first became aware of NECON shortly after starting
my own foray into this insane industry. As time passed, I learned more about
it, and thought it would be something I would really enjoy, but I was put off a
bit by the cost of attendance. Then I found myself at the author’s after party
for Scares That Care last year, where both Brian Keene and Armand Rosamilia
informed me and my wife that I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">had</i> to
attend this conference. I was also informed that the cost wasn’t just an
admission cost, but included my hotel room for the weekend as well as meals for
the time I was there. Taken in that light, it wasn’t so bad. On the drive home,
my wife informed me, in no uncertain terms, that I was going this year. I asked
how we were going to pay for it, and the plane tickets to get me there, and she
said it didn’t matter, I was going.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From August of last year until July of this year, I
wondered how in the hell that was going to happen, but lo and behold, happen it
did. On Thursday morning at the ungodly hour of 6 AM, I found myself on a plane
bound for Newark, where I would have a two hour layover, and then it was on to
Providence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I landed just after noon local time and immediately
went outside for a smoke since I’d spent five hours without one. I know, nasty
habit, I need to quit, yadda, yadda. I still needed it. After that, it was back
into baggage claim to find my ride. We had a couple of other people to pick up
around one, and then it was off to The Roger Williams University Baypoint Inn
and Conference Center.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We arrived just before two, so I was able to check
in and drop my luggage in my room. I had no idea who my roommate was going to
be for the weekend, but I figured I’d find out before the day was out. At this
point, it was time to figure out what this thing was all about. I headed
downstairs and ambled around for a bit, but didn’t find anyone I knew already,
so I found myself outside on the smoker’s bench waiting to see what the day
would bring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let me interject that writers, by and large, are
massive introverts. Many have learned to engage “table mode” while at cons
where we’re at a table trying to win new readers and sell our work, but we
chose a solitary profession for a reason. It’s not that we don’t like people
(well, in most cases), it’s just that we don’t know how to interact with them
all that well. As such, I discovered that since NECON is not a “table mode”
type of event, I was going to have to exert some effort in order to engage with
people. This is where my being a smoker actually helped. See, in my day jobs,
that was how I made acquaintances with people. Smoke with them, end up in idle
conversation, and see what clicks.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasOehUsPhfqI-xaRfffmJPgybIG39ozJ3YcgnqEbdnkbsgbMsr-N7DAvFQLnd6vvHov5Tj4CD6sG8w2QSTS1LzyQd9VAt2NATIvw8WpOQNAZgQGX2Atd-EjoJOltfdGKcLuv2LfVaXWCj/s1600/67391394_2828541497172832_3933125071635218432_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasOehUsPhfqI-xaRfffmJPgybIG39ozJ3YcgnqEbdnkbsgbMsr-N7DAvFQLnd6vvHov5Tj4CD6sG8w2QSTS1LzyQd9VAt2NATIvw8WpOQNAZgQGX2Atd-EjoJOltfdGKcLuv2LfVaXWCj/s320/67391394_2828541497172832_3933125071635218432_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the smoker's bench on Thursday. L-R: Ed Kurtz, me,<br />
and Gam.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thanks to this procedure, I was able to
finally meet (in person rather than Facebook) and chat with Ed Kurtz and his
very patient partner Gam. If you know Ed, you know what I’m talking about. Gam’s
most common comment over the weekend was to look at Ed and ask, incredulously, “what
the fuck is wrong with you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyway, after a bit of that, I saw Jeff Stand and
his wife Lynne Hanson arrive. I’d met both of them before, at Scares and at his
signing here in Nashville. Lynne was actually originally tapped to be the cover
artist for What Sleeps Beneath. I ended up having lovely conversations with
both of them, made all the better when the Aussie crazy man Aaron Dries showed
up. I got to talk to Jeff about his Nashville signing, and the venue he used,
and came away from it positive I needed to try it for myself. He even offered
to come up and do it with me, which I didn’t realize until hours later, and
which kept me smiling off and on the rest of the weekend and beyond.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also discovered that Thursday was the only day
food wasn’t provided for me. There was a saughy roast at 10PM, but that wasn’t
really the same thing as dinner. I shuffled this conundrum to the back of my
mind and kept mingling here and there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Around six, Armand Rosamilia finally managed to
break free of the purgatory that is apparently Connecticut traffic and showed
up with Chuck Buda, Jay Wilburn, and new up-and-comer J.C. Walsh in tow. We
caught up after last seeing each other at Scares and talking a few times via
Skype and Facebook, and then conversation turned to dinner. I ended up joining
the four of them as well as Jeff and Lynne for a trip to a nearby Chinese place
where we had an incredibly fun dinner, and then it was back to the conference
for the first night of drinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaazGmwgtLr1WkUu7QGS0DK9HZvQ_TI3x6zaUoqlaGGo4MjtvmFbuthJV9UpEIiunGCvlUnvcvytihcNwtmLY07laR47nfHbBeB9bT-Q4EYrOAsImQUdzoEw3c0pdnnqL9UIgc6_Hn7OqC/s1600/67500910_2830464583647190_7753081543181991936_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaazGmwgtLr1WkUu7QGS0DK9HZvQ_TI3x6zaUoqlaGGo4MjtvmFbuthJV9UpEIiunGCvlUnvcvytihcNwtmLY07laR47nfHbBeB9bT-Q4EYrOAsImQUdzoEw3c0pdnnqL9UIgc6_Hn7OqC/s320/67500910_2830464583647190_7753081543181991936_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thursday night's Scotch tasting. If ever a picture summed<br />
up NECON, this is it.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let me make something clear. I’d been making the joke
for months that since this was a gathering of writers, it was basically a
weekend filled with drinking everything you could get your hands on. That
turned out to be more true than I’d expected. Thursday night kicked off with a
scotch tasting. That should tell you something. Drinking was definitely a major
element of the weekend. Keep that in mind, even if it doesn’t seem like it’s
important.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’d been awake since 3:30 AM central time, so it
didn’t take much for me to be done. I headed back to my room, where I
discovered I still didn’t have a roommate. True, people would be coming in on
Friday as well, but I sure wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I
kicked back and watched a little TV, then crashed for the night, curious and
anxious what was to come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I somehow managed to be up in time for breakfast,
where I met back up with Armand, Chuck, Jay, and JC. Tommy Clark joined us, and
we became the lobby version of the Mando Mafia. If we weren’t in a panel, at a
meal, on the smoker’s bench, or drinking in the quad, you could find us on the
couches in the lobby, watching people come to and fro.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZokli4ScJ3MnRXg1eJsj2-ymH5kICjWLDyJNwquHLKfzmIVpR4hgPh0LyoUBc8feHk4fVv4SdRJe7SVjOg2LtMpKaF_ja6B2wRXHvPP1VtG1Mq3eds1FUCULihGANfD3rNep5BqkeQFMy/s1600/67260531_10161946018210463_7944360076372869120_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="714" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZokli4ScJ3MnRXg1eJsj2-ymH5kICjWLDyJNwquHLKfzmIVpR4hgPh0LyoUBc8feHk4fVv4SdRJe7SVjOg2LtMpKaF_ja6B2wRXHvPP1VtG1Mq3eds1FUCULihGANfD3rNep5BqkeQFMy/s320/67260531_10161946018210463_7944360076372869120_n.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bloodshot Books and Silver Shamrock<br />
representing! With Todd Keisling. Photo<br />
by Erica Keisling.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Honestly, Friday went by in a blur. I know I finally
got to meet my Bloodshot Books publisher Pete Kahle in person, and talked
business with him a bit. I also met and connected with April Hawks, Vikki
Ciaffone, and the awesome artist Ogmios on the smoker’s bench, where we could
often be found holding court. Through Armand, I met my Bloodshot Books and
Silver Shamrock stablemate Todd Keisling and his lovely wife, Erica. We ended
up having some good conversations on Friday, but unfortunately, they got
repeated on Saturday since I started on some Wild Turkey Honey after dinner and
didn’t remember having the initial conversations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Which brings us to Friday night. Me, Chuck, and
Armand didn’t understand why the biggest party would be on Saturday since we
were all leaving Sunday, so we decided Friday was our night to tie one on.
There is a saying that “what happens at NECON, stays at NECON” so I won’t detail
that much, but I will say I saw a side of Chuck I never expected, and that
amused me to no end. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I got back to my room, I was amazed to discover
that I’d acquired a roommate at some point. He was already asleep, so I tiptoed
around and made it to bed without waking him, and then was out like a light for
the end of night two.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFVbvcaiWmxFM0gWgi0YdPJD3Jnxp80tjsyFjM4SbjBieGmFpVU6LklYj1k77TLu4Yx_RtGFsQaGs_T8wcoKf-Xb66WUgzD8CbAQvlSTXjxh5IoebvR-s1t6QhERIs_wiiRn_WhKBZndT/s1600/67259385_2518457951509479_5245385705395322880_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFVbvcaiWmxFM0gWgi0YdPJD3Jnxp80tjsyFjM4SbjBieGmFpVU6LklYj1k77TLu4Yx_RtGFsQaGs_T8wcoKf-Xb66WUgzD8CbAQvlSTXjxh5IoebvR-s1t6QhERIs_wiiRn_WhKBZndT/s320/67259385_2518457951509479_5245385705395322880_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friday night on the quad. L-R: Todd Keisling, Erica Keisling,<br />
J.C. Walsh, and my drunk ass. Photo by J.C. Walsh.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Incredibly, I was up in time for breakfast again on
Saturday. I won’t name names, but that was more than many people managed. It
was another day of hanging out, being part of the lobby Mando Mafia, attending
panels, and basically getting to know people I’d only met online before that
weekend. I also managed to finally meet up with Rachel Autumn Deering, my
convention sister from Scares That Care, and her beautiful finance Ashley. We’d
missed each other the last couple of days for whatever reason, but on Saturday
we finally got the chance to catch up. I also got to meet the wonderful Hillary
Monahan, and had an awesome conversation about our bassets and dogs in general.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Later in the day, I attended what turned out to be
the high point of the weekend for me: Grady Hendrix’s live performance of
Paperbacks From Hell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPrIKdczOUbuzPY4P0vW7htchqE3M9cs5Z0YqGiSIgIUQTIMnhmfh3_jcXzZojVf0F3iA_PqjehPJXUjIvp0GZXjSK_Ey_3qqJtlR0J3V_2EoljSEVLwppiT7cGRDqrDQhu0v_qNFLNPEv/s1600/67234327_2286312025032647_5565095747990323200_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPrIKdczOUbuzPY4P0vW7htchqE3M9cs5Z0YqGiSIgIUQTIMnhmfh3_jcXzZojVf0F3iA_PqjehPJXUjIvp0GZXjSK_Ey_3qqJtlR0J3V_2EoljSEVLwppiT7cGRDqrDQhu0v_qNFLNPEv/s320/67234327_2286312025032647_5565095747990323200_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saturday morning Mando Mafia, with special appearance by<br />
Aaron Dries. Where's Chuck? Wouldn't you like to know?<br />
Meme by Tommy Clark.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For those who haven’t read it, Grady’s book of the
same name is a history of paperback horror from 1967 up until the crash in the
mid-nineties. What the book may not tell you is that Grady is a man with impeccable
comedic timing and a knack for performance. I laughed my ass off and fought
back tears in equal measure during his presentation, and strongly urge you to
see this if you get the chance. Want to know why us writers do what we do? That
presentation will explain it better than we ever could. And Grady? My skeleton thanks
you for the encouragement that it can be anything it desires, meat sack
surrounding it be damned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After that, it was back to the quad for more saughys
and more hanging out. I was determined I wasn’t going to drink, but author C.M.
Heil convinced me to have a couple of shots. We ended up chatting a bit as
well. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I went to bed mostly sober, but still crashed hard.
Next thing I knew, it was Sunday, and it was time for the fun to wind down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I had breakfast with Armand and the crew again, but
they were heading out right after, so it was bittersweet. Yeah, I was going to
see them at Scares this year, but goodbyes always suck, no matter how
temporary. I saw them off, and then it was time to start saying my farewells to
a brand new family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And yes, that’s what they were. In my mind, NECON
might be summer camp with Scares That Care being the family reunion, but that
doesn’t belittle the fact that the folks I met and connected with at NECON were
also now family. If I make a connection with you, it is both meaningful and
lasting. If you make your way into my heart, you’re not getting out easily. That
was exactly what happened at NECON.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After saying my goodbyes, the only thing left was to
wait until everyone was ready to head back to the airport. I didn’t want to
leave, but I was missing my wife, my kids, my dogs, and my freakin’ bed.
Finally, at around two that afternoon, it was time. We loaded into the van, and
off we went.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Was it fate that my flight was an hour and a half
delayed? Maybe. It sucked, but I got through it. Still, I left with the
certainty that I would be back again. Maybe not next year, but I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">would</i> be back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Overall, NECON was a new experience. That
occasionally terrifies me, and occasionally uplifts me. This was thankfully the
latter. I came home feeling rejuvenated with my chosen career. I felt joyful at
the time I’d had, and excited to experience it again. That was my best case
scenario, and I’m pleased that it was the outcome I received.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To the Booth family and everyone involved with
NECON, I thank you. To the people I met, connected with, had conversations
with, and even just briefly interacted with, I thank you. In fact, to everyone
who was a part of NECON 39, I thank you. You all helped to make this newcomer
feel welcomed, and reinforced his belief that the writing community, and the
horror community in particular, is the single best group of folks on the
planet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I had a blast, and I will definitely be back. You
can count on it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-75481347362685987472019-07-08T18:23:00.002-05:002019-07-08T18:23:50.561-05:00A Quick (Hah!) Update...Just a brief post to keep everyone apprised of what I've got going on.<br />
<br />
First off, break out the champagne! I just signed a contract with Silver Shamrock Publications for my haunted house novel, <b>HIDDEN HEARTS</b>. If you look back through the entries here, you'll see a few while it was in development, and come this November, you'll get the chance to see the finished product. Stay tuned for more information as it comes closer to release.<br />
<br />
Next up, I do have two convention appearances coming up in the next few weeks. Next Thursday, I'll be headed to Providence for NECON 39. It's going to be my first time there, so if you attend, come say "hi" and help me get over the nerves. Also, if you're interested, there will be a limited number of copies for <b>WHAT SLEEPS BENEATH</b> at the Bloodshot Books table, that I will be more than willing to sign if you ask.<br />
<br />
I'll be home for a week, and then it's off to Williamsburg for Scares That Care Charity Weekend 6, where I'll be set up in the first floor vendor's room. Again, stop in and chat, and if you're of a mind, I will have copies of all my work available for purchase and signing! I'll also be doing a public reading on Friday night, August 2, at 9:00 PM, so come and listen to me and Lucas Milliron do our best to entertain you.<br />
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That's it for now, but keep watching for me to start regular posts on here again very soon!John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-32525880468667215292019-02-08T01:35:00.000-06:002019-02-08T01:35:25.584-06:00MilestonesOkay, it's a little early to celebrate, but I'm going to anyway.<br />
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If you've been following along on here, you know I've been struggling with writing thanks to my depression lately. To be completely frank about it, I haven't been able to finish anything novel-length since at least March of last year.<br />
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It's looking like that's about to change.<br />
<br />
I've referenced HELLFIRE on my progress bar over there, and mentioned it several times on Facebook and Twitter. I started it as my first long-form project since my diagnosis, and now, finally, I can see the end to it in sight. I've already figured out the last three chapters (if I can pull it off in the writing, they should be quite mind-blowing), and am firmly in the third act. I see the end in sight, in other words. I'm feeling that old excitement coming back, and hopefully, that will be enough to see me through.<br />
<br />
Two more chapters done the night I write and post this, only a handful left before the climax I set up in the fist. I finally feel that same passion I did when I first started this with an eye toward doing it professionally again. I have to say: that's a glorious feeling.<br />
<br />
My life's not where I want it to be; far from it. But at least this one aspect is finally back on track.<br />
<br />
And that's cause for celebration!John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-45036381220590782522018-12-10T17:37:00.000-06:002018-12-10T17:37:47.056-06:00Over the Horizon - Upcoming Event AnnouncementsDecember, and the year 2018 with it, are almost over. Now the time begins to look forward to 2019 and beyond! In that spirit, here's a few things you can expect from me in the coming year.<br />
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In March, <b>WHAT SLEEPS BENEATH</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>will see release through Bloodshot Books. This is my first time working with Pete Kahle's incredible small press, and I'm super excited to see this one hit shelves. Pete's got everything from me, so it's just waiting on a cover and an exact release date. Rest assured, as soon as I know, you'll know, too.<br />
<br />
When I started this, I set a goal of two releases a year. Up until now, I've had to self-publish something to keep track with that. For the first time, it looks like I won't have to do that. 2019 will also see the release of the first in the Cochran Investigations series, <b>DEMON AT THE WINDOW</b>. This one's a long time gestating, but now it's being birthed for all to enjoy! It's currently headed into edits and cover design, and you will see it sometime in 2019 from the fine folks at Sinister Grin Press!<br />
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Will I continue my trend of releasing a novella or short story collection next year as well? Guess we'll have to wait and see.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cYJp3xB-PzhqK7vP3z3NnDPD7eE2mdGrI26tHiEIPfAdib300ylmKA8ShWKI7TqONtHS59BOimpohpHcgUMzxaSQBi_nXNgMQGTFCuzLKlYX0EQKEu0lfWXpqbRuYcbeTgKhY_Y9pnJ1/s1600/STCBanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cYJp3xB-PzhqK7vP3z3NnDPD7eE2mdGrI26tHiEIPfAdib300ylmKA8ShWKI7TqONtHS59BOimpohpHcgUMzxaSQBi_nXNgMQGTFCuzLKlYX0EQKEu0lfWXpqbRuYcbeTgKhY_Y9pnJ1/s200/STCBanner.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
2019 will also see a first for me: my first public appearance / signing! I'll be at Scares That Care Charity Weekend 6 from August 2nd to the 4th in Williamsburg, VA. You'll be able to find me in the first floor vendor's room selling and signing books, so stop by and say "howdy!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZetfoa3fUDyy4TfLVoO-Ae39uIuKjdJDFnwPJco7my4w7hsh2j199CI_6JU9GGGjI89XQq9Io9I1Ame74QDkgmq8ZDV2CTIkS2AiVj_I-jOPgh8Wj-UHgeaQcco4YhbMDo4CqMr2fde6o/s1600/Necon_FlagLogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="308" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZetfoa3fUDyy4TfLVoO-Ae39uIuKjdJDFnwPJco7my4w7hsh2j199CI_6JU9GGGjI89XQq9Io9I1Ame74QDkgmq8ZDV2CTIkS2AiVj_I-jOPgh8Wj-UHgeaQcco4YhbMDo4CqMr2fde6o/s200/Necon_FlagLogo.jpg" width="200" /></a>Finally, I will be attending my first NECON from July 18th to the 21st in Providence, RI. This one's not exactly a public thing, it's more for writers and other professionals in the industry, but if you're there, and if you happen to see me, feel free to come and chat. I'm looking to get everything I can out of this conference, and that means talking to as many new people as possible!</div>
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And that's it, at least for now! I may have more happening next year--in fact, I HOPE I do--but even if nothing else happens, this is the busiest year I've had since I started in this industry, and I'm really looking forward to it!</div>
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2018 was rough in a lot of ways, but 2019 is looking to be promising, so here's to hoping that isn't just an illusion, and on to many more great and wondrous things!</div>
John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-88306276682181411212018-09-30T23:06:00.000-05:002018-09-30T23:06:00.501-05:00A Dose of RealityI'm going to do something that, as a guy, I'm not supposed to do. I'm going to admit that I, like many, many others, suffer from mental illness. Specifically, I deal with Chronic Depression with General Anxiety Disorder.<br />
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Let me get this out of the way right up front: I'm not making this post seeking your pity or your sympathy, nor am I doing it to try and increase my sales. Beyond that sentence, I don't intend to mention any of those topics again during this post. I AM doing it to help shine a light on it, and to let people know they're not alone if they are also dealing with it.<br />
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I can't tell you when it started. Maybe it was high school, maybe it was before, maybe it was in the years afterward. I do know that I've dealt with the symptoms for many, many years now, without ever having the guts to talk to an actual doctor about it. I was raised--as were far too many people of my generation--to believe that, as a man, I wasn't supposed to feel this way. Things weren't going right? Suck it up and deal. Feeling overwhelmed? Man up and take care of business. Fate / The World / Whatever crushing you beneath its heel? Fight it off and do what you have to do.<br />
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The reality is, sometimes none of that is possible.<br />
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The brain is, in my opinion, the most powerful organ in the human body. It can bring your to your highest heights, it can drag you to your lowest lows. Call it your conscience, your karma, your ego, or whatever you want. The truth is, it doesn't matter. All that DOES matter is that it happens, and when it does, you're helpless to stop it.<br />
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For as long as I can remember, I've felt like I just wasn't good enough. For what? Didn't matter. I didn't feel I deserved it. Even when I got married and had kids, I always wondered why I'd been given something like that, and always felt I wasn't doing enough to provide for my wife or my kids. I always felt like I didn't fit in, even if I was in a crowd of people who all felt the same way I did.<br />
<br />
Many authors talk about "impostor syndrome", the feeling that you don't deserve the recognition and praise you get for your work. Add that in on top of everything else, and even the thing that brings me joy becomes a vehicle for my mind to use against me.<br />
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Let me tell you, that can fuck with you.<br />
<br />
Finally, after years of remaining silent, I confided in my wife what I was feeling. If you can't do that with your spouse, who CAN you do it with, right? I was terrified. I was so certain she would think I was less of a man, less of a person. I should have known better; I realize and acknowledge that. The problem is, your brain will only let you believe what it wants you to believe. Therefore, I suffered until that night I tearfully poured my entire heart out.<br />
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Guess what? She didn't think less of me. She offered me what comfort she could and suggested I tell my doctor, to actively DO something to try and counteract it. With her encouragement, I did just that. It took a LOT of psyching up and rehearsing in my head what I was going to say, but I managed to do it. I was screaming inside the entire time, but I did it.<br />
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Thankfully, I had a doctor who took me seriously. I had a doctor who understood how hard it was for me to bring this up at all, much less discuss it in as much depth as we did. We talked about medication and counseling, and basically set out a plan of action to try and bring my issues under some kind of control.<br />
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I freely admit that I didn't completely do my part. There was a part of me that was still sure it wouldn't help, COULDN'T help. But I took the meds. I discussed the side effects that I thought were more harmful than helpful. And for a while, it worked.<br />
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Then, earlier this month, I realized that medication without commitment is basically worthless. If I wasn't willing to do whatever it took to try and bring my life and mind and soul back into balance, the medication was nothing more than a Band-Aid on a sucking chest wound.<br />
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Part of that commitment, to me, is being willing to talk about the problem, for several reasons. First, if I can't admit that I have a problem, I'm only making it worse. It's no different than keeping everything bottled up and hoping it'll go away on its own. Second, it's selfish of me to not admit I have a problem. It IS personal, don't get me wrong, but I've often seen posts online from other people who suffer from depression, and they've helped me in that they showed me I wasn't alone. For me to keep it to myself might deprive someone of that same small comfort when the smallest comfort can mean so much.<br />
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That's why I'm making this post: to let anyone who needs to know that they're not alone. There are other people out there who are going through something similar. We're all fighting together, even if it doesn't always feel like it.<br />
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I'm doing other things. I'm fighting. I'm looking into finding a therapist to talk to, searching for more help than the medication can offer. I've always viewed my writing as my therapy, and it DOES help, but it's not enough. Not if I don't want this to win. I'm stronger than the disease--and make no mistake: mental illness IS a disease. It WILL NOT beat me.<br />
<br />
My name is John Quick. I'm a husband, a father, and a writer. I also suffer from mental illness. If you do as well, know I'm right there in the trenches, fighting the good fight right beside you. It's okay to feel bad sometimes. It's okay to cry when you do. That doesn't lessen us as people, men or women. It's just an outlet to get rid of the bad stuff we keep inside sometimes. We do it, move past it, and--to quote Doctor Who's Winston Churchill--keep buggering on. We're not going to give up. Ever.<br />
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And you know what? We're going to win this fight.John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-49061096356031861882018-08-18T16:12:00.000-05:002018-08-18T16:12:21.635-05:00Storytelling in the Strangest PlacesWhile I was taking a break from writing to get my head straight, one of the things I did to fill my time was catch up on my gaming. Not tabletop, this time, but rather video games. I've been a fan of them for a long, long time, but life prevented me from getting into any good ones lately. Since I had the chance, I decided to try out some of the ones that I'd been hearing lots of good things about. As a result, I found two in particular that really struck me as having some immaculate storytelling that drew me in just as much as any book or movie or television show could.<br />
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People have been saying for years that video games are the next generation of immersive home entertainment, perhaps even poised to overtake TV and movies. With storytelling like these two possess, I can definitely see it.<br />
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As a side note, before I dig into what made these games impact me, they are single player games. I've done the multiplayer thing before, primarily with World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic, but I've discovered that no matter how good the story might be in those games, eventually they reach a point where playing them feels more like work than relaxation. I was part of a raiding guild in WoW before I quit playing it, and if coordinating a bunch of people to be online at the same time in order to try and defeat a dungeon that takes upwards of eight hours or more sounds like fun to you, I have to wonder if you've ever tried it. Therefore, I tend to stick to single player experiences now, since I can drop in and out as I have the time, and have no commitments to anyone other than myself.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_SMZpaKxEUtBzy063IsFICDv6X96BYOjEkRJ9AkCCsLBxPhVT1T3_UpAi8h0a9olbwFC-bxznpGq4E8a47IkaktsYuusGHRDXIaZ1RqFdMBsZLaYfHkqNWCQ4I8UXklCY7xpKKuSfq68/s1600/lifeisstrangereview-04-1065300.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_SMZpaKxEUtBzy063IsFICDv6X96BYOjEkRJ9AkCCsLBxPhVT1T3_UpAi8h0a9olbwFC-bxznpGq4E8a47IkaktsYuusGHRDXIaZ1RqFdMBsZLaYfHkqNWCQ4I8UXklCY7xpKKuSfq68/s200/lifeisstrangereview-04-1065300.png" width="200" /></a>The first one I got into, based on rave reviews on the internet, was Life is Strange. For those who've never played it or heard of it, you play as Max (never Maxine) Caulfield, an eighteen year old photography student at a private school in Arcadia Bay, Oregon. Max grew up in this town, until her parents moved away to Seattle with her. She hasn't been back for five years, during which time she ghosted her best friend, Chloe, and now struggles to get up the nerve to apologize for it. The game starts with you in the midst of a massive storm, fighting your way up the hill to the lighthouse overlooking the town. Once you reach it, you see a tornado closing in on the town, large enough to destroy it with ease.<br />
<br />
You awaken in your photography class and realize it was just a dream, even if it didn't feel like one. Class finishes, giving you time to get accustomed to the world through Max's journal entries, and interactions with some of your classmates and the teacher, Mark Jefferson, a man who was famous in the nineties and now teaches a new generation.We discover that Max is a typical insecure high school girl, maybe a bit on the shy side, and who doesn't feel like she fits in with the beautiful and well-off students in school. She goes to the bathroom to clear her head, takes a picture of a strange blue butterfly, and then witnesses an unhinged male student enter, get confronted by a blue-haired punk girl, and then shoot the girl who was berating him. In response to this event, Max discovers she has the ability to rewind time. She uses this ability to save the punk girl, and begins a long and strange adventure filled with conspiracy at the school, an impending storm, and emotional upheaval.<br />
<br />
What makes this game stand out are the characters. As you play, you become acquainted with the various students and come to care about them like they're real people. From reconnecting with your former best friend, to discovering possible romantic interest in her, to helping the sweet Christian girl fighting depression, to trying to win over the school's queen bitch, to trying to solve a missing persons case, every character you interact with has a real personality that is deep and developed and makes them feel like old friends. The emotional punch this causes is very real, and more than once I found myself with a pounding heart and tense muscles waiting to see how a certain event might play out. The game carries a warning before each episode that the choices you make affect the past, present, and future, and the game delivers on this. The rewind mechanic means that you can try different things in dialogue and action, and truly does affect how the story progresses from that point.<br />
<br />
Two key moments in particular struck me exceptionally hard. In one, you have to literally talk someone off a roof before they throw themselves off of it. Adding to the tension of this scene, you lose access to your powers, having used them up in your attempt to reach them in time. If you didn't spend the time getting to know this person, saving them becomes more difficult, if not impossible. And the results are real: if you fail to save them, that's it. They're not in the rest of the game. The scene also transitions fast enough that you don't get to save and reload to try again. You get one shot, that's it. The second is during the game's climax, where you have to make an impossible choice that has been hinted at during various points in the game, but carries an emotional toll no matter which way you choose.<br />
<br />
The world itself is rich and filled with secrets that couldn't be fully answered in one game, or even the<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsRLVHNrp9xrtQlO26pgGorgYGmmbaX7EDEJU5sjJY3J4mrPTleNuDXgA69r1L0FFibvSiGPSN35QEEg2uzGU4s8XdhFMOYlZtZBRfyTIvRdoh4eGpm7n9zHRGZdCFm71OaEPdPD1IrUv/s1600/header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="460" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsRLVHNrp9xrtQlO26pgGorgYGmmbaX7EDEJU5sjJY3J4mrPTleNuDXgA69r1L0FFibvSiGPSN35QEEg2uzGU4s8XdhFMOYlZtZBRfyTIvRdoh4eGpm7n9zHRGZdCFm71OaEPdPD1IrUv/s200/header.jpg" width="200" /></a> game and its prequel, Before the Storm. Perhaps the impending sequel will give us some, but I kind of doubt it. The setting is based strongly on worlds like those found in The X-Files and Twin Peaks (as confirmed by the developers themselves and a few Easter Eggs found in the game itself), so definitive answers are unlikely to ever appear. Instead of being frustrating, though, this only serves to make the world that much more interesting, and keeps the player invested in playing through future installments to try and uncover exactly what is going on in these strange Northwestern locales.<br />
<br />
Emotional connection, rich character development, a mysterious locale, and an unerring creep factor. This could have been put on television and would have become a hit. This is storytelling at its finest.<br />
<br />
The other game that really hit me and stuck with me was Doki Doki Literature Club. I nearly skipped this one, since the whole "Japanese Dating Simulator Visual Novel" thing isn't a genre that holds much interest for me. After hearing many times that it is worth it to ignore the base genre and give it a shot, I finally caved and went for it. The game was free, after all, so what did I have to lose beyond a couple hours?<br />
<br />
Things start off normally enough. You play as a student at a high school in Japan, and your best friend, Sayori, is determined to get you to join one of the school's extracurricular clubs. Naturally, she does her best to convince you to try out her club, the Literature Club. There, you meet the three other members, Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika, the president. All three are cute girls, and over the course of the game, you realize that all three are showing romantic interest in you.<br />
<br />
So far, it's the stereotypical dating simulator. You make choices that lead you down a romantic path with one of the four girls, and fully expect it to culminate in a "happily ever after" scenario. Then the twist comes, and things take a turn for the weird.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtbBNwt086K0fAtZ9cj8bTyrDuDoHQQPy6tgSQMzPUM1P3iVexiSDUbRH-Az42GDFgFlOoBwxhiLpkqfv8GH5ut7P6acGpO5MG-wiRtQubgdN43gFCaI8hIjNEzzg2E-XQnOEWc5L21uM/s1600/slpB3Mm.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="800" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtbBNwt086K0fAtZ9cj8bTyrDuDoHQQPy6tgSQMzPUM1P3iVexiSDUbRH-Az42GDFgFlOoBwxhiLpkqfv8GH5ut7P6acGpO5MG-wiRtQubgdN43gFCaI8hIjNEzzg2E-XQnOEWc5L21uM/s200/slpB3Mm.png" width="200" /></a>One of the girls dies, and the game seems to end. Only it doesn't. The menu screen has changed, with that character's image now warped and distorted, and some of the text messed up as well. A quick check shows that your save files are gone as well, meaning the only path forward is through. You restart the game, and it seems like another play-through at first, only that dead character is showing up warped and distorted, and you're unable to read their dialogue anymore. Then the screen flickers, and the character is changed to one of the other ones, and you enter a truly horrific story that continues building in disturbing content until the end finally comes, the secrets are revealed, and things truly get bizarre.<br />
<br />
Character self-awareness isn't a new concept; Deadpool has build an entire shtick with it, after all. Doki Doki Literature Club takes it to a whole new level, though. The actual game files themselves are altered over the course of a play-through, and perusal of them at various points reveal disturbing clues as to what is really going on in the story itself. No longer are you simply an observer, watching the events unfold. The game makes you an active participant of the tale, a character yourself, and the immersion pays off with the unnerving quality the game's final act adopts. This is horror at its finest, making the person watching / reading it feel so much a part of it, that they feel fear in a more pronounced way. Even if the fear is only "who hacked my computer?", it's still fear, and that means it worked. I mean, the game even knows if you're playing through Steam, and if you do livestreams, it knows when its being recorded. When it comes up during gameplay, that knowledge becomes damned freaky!<br />
<br />
The two games take very different approaches, but have one key element in common: they are exceptional examples of how storytelling can be used to connect someone to a fictional world, and make them invested in it. In writing, I've heard it said (and believe myself) that if you care about the characters, the plot is in many ways irrelevant. Both these games take this thought and run with it. You care about the characters, you care about what happens to them. You feel heartache, you jump, and--especially in the case of the Before the Storm bonus episode detailing Max and Chloe's last day together before Max moves to Seattle--you may even cry like a damned baby. That, to me, is the hallmark of a great story, and these two games are perfect examples of how media not known for its storytelling can put it to effective use.<br />
<br />
If you're interested in playing either of them, Life is Strange is available on PC, XBox, and Playstation. The first episode is free, or you can get all five for around $20. Before the Storm is also available on the same platforms, for around the same price (though it is exclusive to newer generation consoles, so if you don't have an XBox One or a PS4, you might need to look into the PC version on Steam). Doki Doki Literature Club is one hundred percent free, but is only available on PC (either through Steam or the DDLC home page at <a href="https://ddlc.moe/">https://ddlc.moe</a>).John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-9872793634118733252018-08-08T00:56:00.001-05:002018-08-08T01:26:17.178-05:00Scares That Care V: Healing By HelpingFor a horror author, at least one with a similar mindset to my own, there is one event every year that eclipses all others. That event is the Scares That Care Charity Weekend, held for the fifth consecutive year at the Doubletree by Hilton in Williamsburg, VA from August 3-5. Like last year, I went, and since I'm somewhat recovered from it--enough that I can think coherently, at any rate--I figured it was time to recount my experience there, and also to reveal the reasons behind my radio silence for the last few months, and how attending this horror family reunion helped me finish crawling out of a pretty dark place. To make everyone's life easier, I'll save the really personal stuff for the end, so you can skip it if you so choose to.<br />
<br />
This was my second time attending Scares That Care, but that didn't mean it felt any less exciting or fun than the first time. Sure, maybe I had more of an idea what to expect this go-around, but that only enhanced my anticipation leading into it. My friend, Joe, who went with me last year, was unable to do so again, but I managed to convince my wife to come along, so I had the added excitement of introducing someone new to the wonderful event that is that convention weekend.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YPt-urGOD-tAtEfEVCIc7Vx5htzWR5jKlgbiByOaOmJzPfE13wYKUmaeDiNoQik16TMRgS8wK_24hiP9AlKSJs5b9YRiP1mDyLFilpn5s73br1SiUHvy2LsCojWc-HREb9dsT5rAcrkz/s1600/20180802_094707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YPt-urGOD-tAtEfEVCIc7Vx5htzWR5jKlgbiByOaOmJzPfE13wYKUmaeDiNoQik16TMRgS8wK_24hiP9AlKSJs5b9YRiP1mDyLFilpn5s73br1SiUHvy2LsCojWc-HREb9dsT5rAcrkz/s200/20180802_094707.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My wife was obviously thrilled by <br />
my conversations during the <br />
trip north.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We headed out on Thursday morning, about an hour and a half behind schedule, to undertake the long drive from our home just outside Nashville to Williamsburg. Once we reached Knoxville, where we would switch from heading east to heading north, rain hit so hard I could barely see past the front of the car. Remembering my rather eventful trip to see Brian Keene at ConNooga back in February (<a href="https://johnquickauthor.blogspot.com/2018/02/all-in-name-of-relaxation.html" target="_blank">which you can read about here</a>), I prepared myself for the worst. Thankfully, I'd borrowed a more stable vehicle from my mother, and while the rain continued most of the rest of the way to Williamsburg, it did ease off enough to make the trip uneventful. Two stops for gas and nearly eleven hours later, and we pulled into the parking lot of our hotel home for the next three nights.<br />
<br />
Since we weren't splitting expenses this time around, we opted for cheap and decent as opposed to proximity to the Doubletree. Part of me expected a similar train wreck to what we'd endured from our room in Chattanooga, but luckily, it was nowhere near as bad. We did notice the room was lacking a smoke alarm (it was a smoking room, but still), and the hot tub (sweetening the deal to convince my wife to come along) was on carpet instead of tile, but it didn't look like a miniature, and was comfortable enough. I'd stay there again, so if I mentioned where it was to you during conversation over the weekend, I do recommend it--just don't expect the Four Seasons. We checked in, grabbed a bite to eat, and then after confirming there were people I knew up and hanging out at the Doubletree, we headed there to say hello.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-yhrGB4ReiwXtAy5eg6myxP9iGJy8KxakFLQkDvFP8LACemhhjgJgvQu0MM9g-5inWae9s5Cytux2ydoVLvTGrEsXfDXiPVeJbTnL7DvvnIlcZghkbMWfk2AMiCT_N5jrgMGLCpavfWg/s1600/38471716_10160612510050463_5344404638806310912_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="544" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-yhrGB4ReiwXtAy5eg6myxP9iGJy8KxakFLQkDvFP8LACemhhjgJgvQu0MM9g-5inWae9s5Cytux2ydoVLvTGrEsXfDXiPVeJbTnL7DvvnIlcZghkbMWfk2AMiCT_N5jrgMGLCpavfWg/s200/38471716_10160612510050463_5344404638806310912_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel Autumn Deering -<br />
Silver Fox Edition</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Right away we met up with Russell Coy and Steve Wynne, a pair of up-and-coming writers I had the privelidge of meeting last year. We chatted for a bit, and then I decided to head inside and grab a beer from the bar. That trip of maybe a football field's length ended up taking nearly a half an hour, because about the time I saw the entrance to the bar, I heard a chorus of voices calling out my affectionate nickname from last year ("Best John"), and was nearly tackled by Anna Hayward, who proceeded to try and squeeze the life out of me with her (very welcomed) greeting hug. I proceeded to become reacquainted with the Werewolves of Williamsburg (AKA The Inhabitants of the Secret Room--more on that later), and found myself becoming one of Rachel Autumn Deering's alter egos--the "Silver Fox" variant, as it were.<br />
<br />
After a pleasant time catching up and (after I finally got my overly-expensive hotel bar beer) introducing my wife to everyone, the pair of us decided to call it an early night since the long drive was finally catching up to us. We went back to the hotel, made prodigious use of that hot tub, and then went to bed. For my wife, tomorrow was an unknown, something she wasn't sure about since, as I've mentioned before, she's not that good with people she doesn't know very well. For me, tired as I was, I could barely sleep because I could hardly wait for the fun to begin for another year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Sj4uiH_z_9m8MMEsp_MNXdbnDtVFHvOneUmEcPdehNEOX3yaKGRILetB7uSQFWUFSI_0x8N-xwtLHKf2fUp_6HM8CQ9G4iy8NINcc_MGRKDEhPFFEhO8pfRdjg09hP03YOBnWBcxrzg0/s1600/20180803_123829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Sj4uiH_z_9m8MMEsp_MNXdbnDtVFHvOneUmEcPdehNEOX3yaKGRILetB7uSQFWUFSI_0x8N-xwtLHKf2fUp_6HM8CQ9G4iy8NINcc_MGRKDEhPFFEhO8pfRdjg09hP03YOBnWBcxrzg0/s200/20180803_123829.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All right, frog, I'm watching<br />
you....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The next morning, we headed back to the Doubletree to trade in our tickets for wristbands and then chose to explore Williamsburg until the convention actually started at 5 that afternoon. We played the role of tourist to the hilt, as my wife found a trading post / souvenir shop where she got a picture with a wooden bear and got a little too close to a "Peace Frog". A few more similar stops later, and the time had come at last. Back to the Doubletree we went, to kick off Scares That Care V.<br />
<br />
First up was the vendor room, where I got the chance to meet back up with many of my contemporaries, chat about the business and life in general, and show off my lovely wife a bit more. Despite her previous trepidation, I could tell she was a little excited to finally put faces to names for folks I'd talked about the last couple of years, since I entered this strange and insane profession. As we talked to friends and colleagues like Matt Hayward, Patrick Lacey, Aaron Dries, Tim Meyer, Wile E. Young, and Somer Canon, I could almost see her visibly relaxing as she realized she had no reason to be intimidated by any of them.<br />
<br />
After that, we took a quick smoke break where she caught the attention of Father Evil, who proceeded to taunt her in his amusingly evil way until we finally went back inside. For those who have never seen him, check out his site (<a href="http://www.fatherevil.com/">www.fatherevil.com</a>) and imagine him walking around with his own personal soundtrack of spooky church music. He continued to taunt her every time we passed him for the rest of the day, which I found hilarious and she found mildly amusing. I only wish I'd gotten a picture, but since he was doing a photo op the next day that we missed, I never got one.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2pJdW9VmPUwVYApvGbuwEUeekm_VaHVrKe3-_fYUIlIO4OubxDx68lqrNOK2nhAIu3c16_FkdN_1OL2_byvwODAi3xE5u2b5Wewuj9chfsy4fUY63vno5YQj9Za6wCUHNasu2Z5WYMZY/s1600/20180803_201529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2pJdW9VmPUwVYApvGbuwEUeekm_VaHVrKe3-_fYUIlIO4OubxDx68lqrNOK2nhAIu3c16_FkdN_1OL2_byvwODAi3xE5u2b5Wewuj9chfsy4fUY63vno5YQj9Za6wCUHNasu2Z5WYMZY/s200/20180803_201529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No excited tears; he'd have found them<br />
a waste of good suffering.....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After our encounter with the Bad Father, we hit up the celebrity room. There I got to introduce my wife to some of my influences and mentors like Jonathan Janz, Armand Rosamilia, Mary SanGiovanni, Jeff Strand, Lynne Hansen, and the eternally enthusiastic Chuck Buda. I got an autograph and picture with the High Pope of Hell, Pinhead himself, the incredible Doug Bradley, and then we headed off to a panel on Splatterpunk which I quite enjoyed, as did my wife, despite her having no clue who any of the authors mentioned by the panelists were.<br />
<br />
Yes, I did my best to educate her after the fact, but Splatterpunk just isn't her thing, I fear. Psychological horror is more her speed.<br />
<br />
After the panel, we did a bit more wandering, catching up, and exploring the sights on display. Late that evening, we attended a live taping of Brian Keene's Horror Show podcast, which featured the actor John Anderson, who proved to be hilarious, down-to-earth, and just as big a geek as I am. I knew I was winning my wife over to the dark side when she commented how much she enjoyed that, and I think I may have turned her into at least an occasional listener (you're welcome, Brian).<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsFz3klWe9PgEldXJ_7sVLPZ5GW5HqfMfxF1LX22GHT4pV555O0C6UnR0iahn4D-TRA2p3DYQnFHlM7KkJ2snkcu1idIW-k0GKVAunDJ8Yb7vANq99EbOLq0OspSkVBhailiotFUKhIS-/s1600/20180804_022725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsFz3klWe9PgEldXJ_7sVLPZ5GW5HqfMfxF1LX22GHT4pV555O0C6UnR0iahn4D-TRA2p3DYQnFHlM7KkJ2snkcu1idIW-k0GKVAunDJ8Yb7vANq99EbOLq0OspSkVBhailiotFUKhIS-/s200/20180804_022725.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah, the water of life.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When the convention closed up for the day, we hung out a while longer, waiting to see if there was to be a round of Werewolves that night. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, the game had to be postponed. Still, it was just as much fun to hang out and be with my extended horror family again, so the night was still enjoyable. At some point Rachel adopted me as her con brother (betcha didn't think I'd remember that, didya?), and then Matt presented me with something I'd been trying to get for a long time--a bottle of Writer's Tears Irish Whiskey. I wanted it from the second I saw the name, but it's only available in four states in the US, and Tennessee isn't one of them. Luckily, he was able to bring me a bottle straight from Dublin, so I finally have a whiskey that I can refill while I work. Friday was over, but Saturday--the longest day of the con--was looming large. Back to the hotel for sleep, and it arrived.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwE2nU7XkSQeiA1_gXmwX3qeaGHqMXt6j8Rd-o_rxCj3U3vhof6K4ZHs4WKzAtMmtRo1EUimCGratfVFSri8Z-BOYZDjCruGl3U-8N7hUx8LNcjhT1ncc1Xm86ECALUrYTwZuCgI91ZUFT/s1600/20180804_144252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwE2nU7XkSQeiA1_gXmwX3qeaGHqMXt6j8Rd-o_rxCj3U3vhof6K4ZHs4WKzAtMmtRo1EUimCGratfVFSri8Z-BOYZDjCruGl3U-8N7hUx8LNcjhT1ncc1Xm86ECALUrYTwZuCgI91ZUFT/s200/20180804_144252.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two exceptional authors,<br />
two exceptional readings.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Last year, since it was my first time attending, I felt like I had to do every panel, every reading, every <i>everything</i>, but this year I didn't put myself under that same pressure. As a result, we slept in a bit and headed to the convention a little later. After picking out a few things from the assorted vendors and getting to finally meet my 80's hair metal buddy Glenn Rolfe, we caught a reading from Jonathan Janz and Dan Padavona. It turned out to be the perfect choice to introduce my wife to author readings, because she loved both of them: Janz because of what a super-nice guy he is in real life and how sickeningly talented he is at his craft (and his pants, can't forget those), and Padavona because the excerpt he read (from <i>The Face of Midnight</i>) was exactly the kind of thing she enjoys.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrQn3lKLs90xQib1uLPs4Y-CSahrDNtKQNhYPWEgwHItp5bEIhevyhBtWCyICmOYlmbubC0mbKJJjulovKWxBVsJTFirnl3BeLJNItqFXqpRCvtDXVcKIv6s_UHp9PjXD9_ufZIPhN1ez/s1600/20180804_170432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrQn3lKLs90xQib1uLPs4Y-CSahrDNtKQNhYPWEgwHItp5bEIhevyhBtWCyICmOYlmbubC0mbKJJjulovKWxBVsJTFirnl3BeLJNItqFXqpRCvtDXVcKIv6s_UHp9PjXD9_ufZIPhN1ez/s200/20180804_170432.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The proud papa and the opening<br />
shot of his baby.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We took a break to grab some late lunch / early dinner, and then headed back to catch the screening of Mike Lombardo's <i>I'm Dreaming of a White Doomsday</i>. The movie was incredible (even if my ass did fall asleep halfway through thanks to those brutal hotel chairs), and lived up to every bit of hype I'd seen for it. Mike (who wrote, directed, produced, and edited the movie) and Executive Producer Brian Keene did a brief Q&A afterward, where we learned that the movie might just be viewable outside of a festival setting before the year is out, as well as some interesting behind the scenes tidbits about the guerrilla-style making of the film and it's three-year long gestation. Brian stopped me as we were leaving to invite me to the author's after party, and then it was time to catch what may have been my wife's most-anticipated event: the costume contest.<br />
<br />
I missed the contest last year since I was hitting up nearly everything on the writer's track programming I could get to without cloning myself, so I thought it would be an interesting change of pace this time around. It turned out to be, for more reasons than I imagined.<br />
<br />
I've mentioned Brian Keene a few times during this post, and in others, but if you're not a fan of his work or part of the horror publishing world, you may not be fully aware of exactly what kind of a person he is. To readers, he is an incredible author, a Bram Stoker award winner, and one of the statesmen in the industry. To us writers, he's the Godfather of the later generations, our Batman when we need him to be, and the man who not only accepted the role left when Richard Laymon passed, but ran with it and made it shine a little brighter in the process. Beyond all that, he is one of the most caring and devoted people I've ever had the pleasure to meet, and cares very deeply not only for Scares That Care, but the mandate it represents. Last year, he ran a 24-hour live stream of his Horror Show podcast, and raised over $10,000 for the charity. This year, he did it again and more than doubled that amount.<br />
<br />
At the beginning of the summer, Brian was badly burned while helping his next door neighbor burn off debris left by flooding and storms. As a working writer, like so many of them, he didn't have health insurance. The industry poured out its support for him through a GoFundMe page and private donations, and helped to lighten his load somewhat. Despite being in recovery from that incident, he was still there at Scares this weekend, doing all he could to help raise money for the charity and making sure the event ran as smoothly as possible.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwguJ55O-7T5O4S1ric8WVto9HtB1vFEnYKkUODxTogB2GsNtyarHwZn1qB22ZS6RwkXxjgZLRPUwdtbbbVhHtwztP3ZqJh-OAOum1Q1aO0lmzkK7K_aeCkcf0pYV3ug34V1K80FINbZzp/s1600/38637444_10155643530311398_1272527689441345536_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="960" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwguJ55O-7T5O4S1ric8WVto9HtB1vFEnYKkUODxTogB2GsNtyarHwZn1qB22ZS6RwkXxjgZLRPUwdtbbbVhHtwztP3ZqJh-OAOum1Q1aO0lmzkK7K_aeCkcf0pYV3ug34V1K80FINbZzp/s200/38637444_10155643530311398_1272527689441345536_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank you, Brian Keene<br />
Photo by Braken MacLeod</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
As the costume contest started, Brian was recognized by Joe Ripple, the charity's founder and CEO, as well as its Board of Directors. He was presented with an award for his tireless service in helping to fight real monsters, and was moved to tears by the outpouring of support. Every author at the event attended, and every one of us know how much he deserved that award, and so much more besides.<br />
<br />
Joe Ripple gave the audience a quick run-down of the charity's history (which I'll recount in a bit), and then it was on to the kid's portion of the contest.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to do a play-by-play here, because this post is already long enough. Suffice it to say, there was a ton of dedication and creativity on display here, from both the kids and the adults, and I am so thankful I wasn't one of the judges who had to decide who the winners would be. Of special note to me, however, were a Steampunk Mad Hatter, a father / son Pennywise and Georgie duo, and a girl trapped in the Day of the Dead who did not break character a single time while she was on stage.<br />
<br />
Not wanting to pay the outrageous bar prices anymore, my wife and I headed out to grab a six-pack from the 7/11 down the street. While we were leaving, we got the message: Werewolves was on in the "Secret Room". We got the beer, some snacks, a couple of drinks for my wife (she didn't do alcohol this weekend, since SOMEBODY had to get us back to our hotel), and then off we went to the village to see who would be killed and who would be the killers.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMa8YFAHOWX7ArUncLviieaVI5SwN77MjJed85pHsCz5h0B7L02L925V8TKaIgt6N_HujQMu0T3Gp8YmsJExe28dB0uaE-cwjTluVZb6FobPU806RzMz3_c1j5UHRED3pIyR2G5bsHGytk/s1600/38697933_10156659502972459_1685116859373846528_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1316" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMa8YFAHOWX7ArUncLviieaVI5SwN77MjJed85pHsCz5h0B7L02L925V8TKaIgt6N_HujQMu0T3Gp8YmsJExe28dB0uaE-cwjTluVZb6FobPU806RzMz3_c1j5UHRED3pIyR2G5bsHGytk/s320/38697933_10156659502972459_1685116859373846528_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Werewolves of Williamsburg, also known as the <br />
denizens of the "Secret Room". Photo by Rachel Autumn<br />
Deering.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm not going to tell you where the secret room is, nor am I going to recount everything that occurred there. What happens in that room, stays in that room, if you will (so your secret is safe with me, Mister Janz, lol). I will, however, give you this much: after I tried to explain the game to my wife, she wasn't interested in playing. After the first round, however, she happily joined in, and had a blast doing so. It was here that she earned her own affectionate nickname--proof positive she had been accepted into the "cool kids' group": "Mrs. Best John". When I get a table next year (with her as my guest), she fully intends to alter her name badge to that. So to Melissa, Rachel, and Jessica, who awarded her the moniker, you have my undying thanks for making her feel so included when she wasn't sure she would be. Love you guys for that, and for so much more.<br />
<br />
Not long after we received a cackling lesson from what I consider an expert (I'm told they could hear it all the way in the lobby, and I laugh when I imagine the looks on people's faces at that), we retired to the author's after party, where we enjoyed some conversation and drinks and basically felt like we'd finally come home. From there, it was back to the hotel for our final night (my wife did drive, despite telling me not to drink too much because she wouldn't; needless to say, I didn't listen).<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTzpyqbbsMVVgn9-6tiN4NlSTpnrDgV0MCsJ4CzJDFXbWnIRVwdlUWlvfXY6wUbxWYyvAXucHLld3pv6VFRp_XUVKe9y4Cy43YpS7oTqglFL8645hzzltFeNRiTV4x99tJWnrKHvxAj4E/s1600/20180805_151314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTzpyqbbsMVVgn9-6tiN4NlSTpnrDgV0MCsJ4CzJDFXbWnIRVwdlUWlvfXY6wUbxWYyvAXucHLld3pv6VFRp_XUVKe9y4Cy43YpS7oTqglFL8645hzzltFeNRiTV4x99tJWnrKHvxAj4E/s200/20180805_151314.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neither me nor Chuck Buda wanted the<br />
weekend to be over.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sunday. Perhaps the worst day of the con. Why? Because it's the day we had to say goodbye for another year. My wife and I slept in again, almost right up to check-out, in fact, and then headed back for our final visit to Scares That Care V. We made our rounds, had our last-minute conversations that we didn't want to end, and snatched a few pictures as well, so we could continue to remember the weekend for the months to come before the next one. We did stop in for a very interactive taping of Armand and Chuck's Mando Method podcast, where all the authors in the room discussed the craft of writing--a topic my wife found exceptionally interesting, since it gave her some insight into how we do the crazy thing we do. I managed to corner Mike Lombardo to interview him about <i>White Doomsday</i> for my own burgeoning Schlock 'Til You Drop podcast, a few more farewells, and then it was time to begin the long and depressing journey home again.<br />
<br />
To this point, the trip had been uneventful Naturally, it couldn't last. At least it wasn't as bad as coming home from ConNooga. We stopped at IHOP for a "quick" lunch before hitting the interstate, and ended up stuck for nearly two hours thanks to some of the slowest service I've ever seen from any restaurant. Hell, it took fifteen minutes just to get the check! After that, however, it was smooth sailing, and we pulled into our driveway at around 3:30 in the morning, unloaded our luggage, and proceeded to sleep like it was an Olympic sport. We took the next day to recover, then I had to finally take off my wristband and return to the real world until I can rejoin my family once again.<br />
<br />
If all of this sounds like a tremendous amount of fun, it was. But it was also so much more than that.<br />
<br />
When Joe Ripple was a Baltimore Police Detective, his partner had a little girl with a terminal illness. Sadly, she passed away, and Joe found himself one of her pall bearers. The events stuck with him, and he decided to combine his love of horror and a desire to help people like his partner and his daughter into a single grand idea with a noble and singular purpose. Thus was born Scares That Care, the charity that fights real monsters. What kind of monsters, you ask? Childhood disease, burns, breast cancer--those monsters. Every year, the charity chooses three families, and all proceeds from the convention and various appearances during the rest of the year go to them, to help lighten their load in times of trouble. This year, Joe showed up on Saturday night in tights, a light-up corset, and feather boas, fully intent on wandering through the hotel bar. Why? Because he believed that a couple of hours of embarrassment was more than worth raising money to help a woman fighting breast cancer. He raised over $2000 this way. That, folks, is commitment to a cause, and that is why we love this convention as much as we all do. Yes, we get to see friends we don't see any other time of the year, yes we get to drink and laugh and have a wonderful time, but we also get to help people who really need it, and that makes everything else pale by comparison.<br />
<br />
On a personal note, it was something else for me, too, this year.<br />
<br />
I mentioned my radio silence. Back in late March / early April, I found myself in a very dark place. I'd become disillusioned with writing, had hit a creative wall, and couldn't get even a single word down on paper without deleting it and giving up for the day. My stress was rising on an almost daily basis, and every problem that arose, no matter how minor, felt like the weight of another world crashing down on my shoulders. I never felt any desire to do harm to myself, but there were many times I wished I could just sleep for six months or so and then wake up and deal with whatever the new status quo was. I disconnected from social media, withdrew from writing (and knowing I'd just released a novella I needed to be pushing only added to my misery), and basically crawled inside my own head WAY too far. During this time, I was diagnosed with depression and general anxiety disorder, and put on medication to try and help with it--which ended up being a struggle all its own, too. My outlook on the future was bleak.<br />
<br />
Except for Scares That Care. That was my lifeline. No matter what happened, I was going to go, in the hopes that being with my horror family would help me in ways I couldn't even put into words.<br />
<br />
Then, three weeks before the convention, I found myself in the ER.<br />
<br />
I've mentioned before on this blog how I have health issues related to my heart. High blood pressure, an enlarged ventricle, a slight murmur. Well, for whatever reason, my medications stopped working the way they were supposed to. I thought I had a sinus infection; the headache, lethargy, and what felt like a slight fever were all in evidence. So, I go to the doctor. They checked my vital signs and discovered my blood pressure was nearly 200 over 100, and my heart rate was 110 and rising. Their solution: do not pass "Go", do not collect $200, go directly to the Emergency Room. They even called my cardiologist and told him I was on the way.<br />
<br />
The hope of going to Scares had been helping me pull out of the hole I was in, and this new setback nearly sent me right back into a spiral again, not to mention the idea that I might not even make it long enough to go. I called my wife, trying to hide how terrified I really was, and did as I was told.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, it wasn't as serious as they made it out to be. After seven hours in the ER and a full bag of IV fluids, my pressure dropped to high normal, my heart rate went back to something resembling acceptable, and I was discharged with an adjustment to my medications. They called it "Unspecified Tachycardia", a fancy way of saying "we have no idea why your heart was beating so fast." My cardiologist clarified that it was Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT), meaning that enlarged ventricle had begun sending out strange electrical signals for some reason. I still have some testing to go in order to figure out if the medications are all I need or if more should be done, but it IS under control again, now.<br />
<br />
On a side note, thank you to everyone who expressed concern and asked about me this past weekend. Knowing you all care so much meant more to me than I can ever express in words, which, for a writer, is impressive indeed.<br />
<br />
The crisis was averted, and all was back on track. Then, the money we were going to be using to pay for the trip was delayed. This time, it looked like the trip was off. The spiral began again.<br />
<br />
My wife has often said she is the worst writer's wife ever, because she's not a huge reader and didn't know how to properly support me in my career as a writer, other than to support my desire to do it and encourage me as much as she could. Well, when that money fell through, she squeezed our budget to the breaking point, and found a way we could still go after all. Words cannot express how much that meant to me, and how much it adds to the many, many reasons why I love her so dearly.<br />
<br />
Attending Scares That Care was my lifeline, and it proved to be exactly that. On the drive up, I had the idea for two new stories come to my mind for the first time in months. On the way back, I came up with an entire short story inspired by Matt Hayward's <i>Welcome to the Show</i> anthology, which I wrote in a fever pitch Monday evening. My wife, having seen what actually occurs at a convention, suddenly saw how she could offer me the support she felt she'd been lacking, and we spent the bulk of the trip home discussing business plans for my career, and how to make sure we had the money to not only get us both back to Scares next year, but me to NECON as well. Up until this point, I'd been trying to get out of my hole by jamming my fingers in the dirt and pulling for all I was worth. All of you folks I talked to and hung out with this past weekend, though? You threw me a rope and pulled me out. I have emerged from this weekend with a positive outlook on not only my career, but my life in general, and that is due in no small part to all of you, and to Joe Ripple and the Scares That Care community and family. I have to smile when I consider that by helping three families in need, I also managed to help heal myself, as well.<br />
<br />
And THAT, folks, is why Scares That Care Charity Weekend is the best convention in the history of conventions, and why Scares That Care is a charity I will support until the day I finally enter that long sleep.<br />
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John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-11949156863528224222018-03-13T10:00:00.000-05:002018-03-13T10:00:42.323-05:00Now for My Next Trick...Here it is, the official cover reveal for my upcoming novella, DAMNATION TRAIL!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwrcKHKSvCwfilMTPD4Qwg36llnfDM-h_GBjdocgqHViwA7E12vthAJwfq-tEtsz1JVWIXFcM3ME3IBLSxv6McIAuwmY3N72mYLjeao9fC3pNKNNEaRmf0EOpeQcVaQQwwAMgG1ChHFx5/s1600/Damnation+Trail+Front+Cover+-+Final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwrcKHKSvCwfilMTPD4Qwg36llnfDM-h_GBjdocgqHViwA7E12vthAJwfq-tEtsz1JVWIXFcM3ME3IBLSxv6McIAuwmY3N72mYLjeao9fC3pNKNNEaRmf0EOpeQcVaQQwwAMgG1ChHFx5/s640/Damnation+Trail+Front+Cover+-+Final.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><b><i>How far would you go for justice?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><b>Came the wanderer to the church that bright Sunday afternoon...</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>He
was looking for a preacher, his hope gone hopeless. His heart was
heavy, his soul was burdened, and misery had become his existence. He'd
lost all he held dear, and found himself involved in something he
couldn't get himself out of.</b></div>
</span><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>This is his story, how he came to find himself riding on the DAMNATION TRAIL</b></div>
</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><b>Experience a new take on a classic story in a classic setting from the author of THE JOURNAL OF JEREMY TODD and MUDCAT,</b></span></div>
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The sidebar and Bookshelf links will be up later this afternoon, but digital pre-orders are available now <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BCTQS6L" target="_blank">over at Amazon</a> for only $1.99, with a print edition coming when it releases on April 17th! Make sure to check it out, and I hope you enjoy it!John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-5023227779392459992018-02-25T14:51:00.000-06:002018-02-25T14:51:55.125-06:00All in the Name of RelaxationSometimes you just need to get away, even if it's just for a night. The real fun comes when even your escape refuses to let you free from the stress you were trying to avoid.<br />
<br />
I'll explain. As a caution, this is a long post, though I think you'll find it amusing enough. Looking back on it, I certainly do....<br />
<br />
A while back, I saw that Brian Keene was going to be at ConNooga in Chattanooga, a pretty easy 2 hour drive for me. I looked at my day job schedule and finances, and found that it was possible for me to go, as long as I went on Sunday, the less expensive of the con's three days, and (at the time) the one day I had off from the day job. Two hours there, spend some time hanging out and such, and then two hours back. A fairly easy day trip.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
This time, though, I didn't want to go alone or with a friend who already somewhat understands this crazy world of writing and publishing, I wanted my wife to come with me. She accepts that I'm one of those weird creative folks, and supports my chosen insanity--I mean career path, but she hasn't had a lot of exposure to others like me. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to bring her into the broader part of this aspect of my life. As it was the perfect chance for the two of us to spend some time alone together without kids or stress or the like, she agreed.<br />
<br />
Okay, it took a little more convincing since she's not good with people she doesn't know, but convince her I did.<br />
<br />
After making sure she was off the Saturday before (yesterday, as I write this), she asked me what I thought about driving down on Saturday night after I got off from my day job at 3:30 and getting a room for the night. It would give us more time, and we could relax more and not have to rush. After finding a room fairly cheap, I said hell yeah and booked it.<br />
<br />
I've met Brian before, once at a signing (also in Chattanooga) and again at Scares That Care last year. Neither were very conductive environments for actual conversation with someone who's been doing this writing thing much longer than I have and who could give me some pointers to keep from losing my mind at it. My wife also pointed out that she would feel weird about hanging out around his table at the con itself, and suggested I see if we might could meet up Saturday night, since we would be getting in earlier. I reached out the day before we left, and things worked out so we would meet at the bar for a few drinks. Awesome. The stars were aligning.<br />
<br />
The fun started on Saturday. My wife's vehicle has been out of commission for the last two weeks while I juggle finances and diagnosis of the problem, so we would be taking my car. The problem was that one of my tires had a leak in it, and would probably need to be replaced. Even worse, it was pulling hard to the right, so I figured an alignment was in the cards, too. So, while I was at the day job, my wife goes to get the tire replaced, and we would both just hope that was the ultimate culprit and we could hold off on the alignment for a while.<br />
<br />
Only the problem wasn't just the one tire. It was BOTH front tires. Storms were scheduled to hit while we were on the road, which meant it would not be an ideal situation to change a tire on the side of the interstate, so we went ahead and replaced them both. Miracle of miracles, though, it fixed the pulling issue as well. Forty bucks for a used tire beat the hell out of eighty or more for an alignment, so I figured we were coming out ahead. Crisis averted.<br />
<br />
That one, at least.<br />
<br />
We headed out a little later than anticipated, but not terribly so. She'd already made sure we had gas and the like, so off we went.<br />
<br />
If you've ever driven from just outside Nashville to Chattanooga on I-24, then you know about the fun stretch where you cross Monteagle Mountain. If not, here's a hint: it is so memorable, especially to truckers, that it's been immortalized in <i>Smokey and the Bandit</i> during the opening song where Jerry Reed sings about Bandit navigating Monteagle grade. It's roughly six degrees coming down, and there are runaway truck lanes every mile or so. Needless to say, you want decent weather when you cross it.<br />
<br />
We didn't have that. We had pouring rain across the entire mountain. In the evening, so it was already dark out.<br />
<br />
It was at this point that I realized my windshield wipers were pretty much just smearing the rain around. I grabbed the wheel with both hands, slowed WAAAAY down, and laser-focused my eyes on the road ahead of me. Finally, after what felt like forever but was really only about twenty minutes, the road leveled out, the rain faded to a light mist and then stopped, and we were back up to normal interstate speeds. And hey, we made it through, so after two potential road crises, surely we were clear for a relaxing weekend now, right?<br />
<br />
Since we'd lost so much time, we went straight to the hotel bar where we were supposed to meet Brian, figuring we'd check into our hotel on the other side of the city afterward. The reservation didn't specify a check-in time, only the normal "after x PM", so things were still on track.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtPOwX8PFjR7g-1VfAUHjYUz_r4UHChmwPds18Sq-ZLskPLqd70DACaIOESaX1AWnrwa5Wcvc2Ixk-qOcBwBIyuZvhRnN0ns2X01aavpLrrGOspMJYO4Piqr9j59TB3lXjIf08ah5K_bO/s1600/Me+and+Keene+Memed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="375" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtPOwX8PFjR7g-1VfAUHjYUz_r4UHChmwPds18Sq-ZLskPLqd70DACaIOESaX1AWnrwa5Wcvc2Ixk-qOcBwBIyuZvhRnN0ns2X01aavpLrrGOspMJYO4Piqr9j59TB3lXjIf08ah5K_bO/s320/Me+and+Keene+Memed.jpg" width="320" /></a>We made it to the hotel bar, and spent a pleasant couple of hours with Brian, Eddie Coulter, Gavin Dillinger (who I discovered lives right up the road from me), and Shana from Serial Box. I kept my promise to Wile E. Young and got him a picture of Brian he could meme, and after deciding we were all tired of shouting over the loudest acoustic musician I've ever head, we said good night.<br />
<br />
My wife and I head off to our hotel on the other side of town, get checked in, and head up to the room. It was here we discovered how much pictures on a website can lie. The room, with a single Queen bed, was exceptionally small. Roughly half the size of any other hotel room I've ever been in. Oh well, it's just for one night, it'll be fine. I kick my shoes off while my wife discovers that in order to get the room at the temperature you wanted it, you had to find the sweet spot on the AC controls. It worked off and on as expected the rest of the night, at least. I go over to put my phone on the side table, and discover that the AC drain runs right underneath the carpet. A very cold, wet foot was not what I expected, as you might imagine.<br />
<br />
We then discover that the lighting is not typical of other hotel rooms. The main room had a long fluorescent light across the head of the bed, and there were no lamps on the side tables. We look around and discover another fixture near the television. I clicked it on, and both of us were momentarily blinded by at least a hundred watt bulb instead of the forty or sixty watt we would have expected. That light went back off, and stayed off.<br />
<br />Around this time, I realize that the rent has come due on the beer I'd had earlier, so off I went to pay it, only to discover something fairly disturbing. The sink and toilet were on the same side of the bathroom, not that unusual, with the mirror extending from one wall, all the way across to the tub. Including directly in front of the toilet. And low enough to provide a view of myself I've never sought out, nor really desired to have. I decided that whoever installed that mirror had to be a narcissist and assumed everyone else was, too. I stared at the tub, did what I had to do, and got the hell out of there.<br />
<br />
Aside from that, it was a relatively uneventful night. The hotel breakfast was actually pretty decent as far as hotel breakfasts go, so we ate, packed up the car, got gas, and started off for the actual convention, so I could get a couple of things signed before doing some touristy things in Chattanooga and starting the trip back home again. We did make a quick side-trip to Wal-Mart so I could get new wiper blades, as it was already misting rain and I didn't want a repeat of the night before. After that, it should be clear sailing.<br />
<br />
At which point the car decided our fun wasn't over yet.<br />
<br />
I'm cruising down the interstate to the other side of town when suddenly my check engine light pops on and I lose power. I get off the interstate as quickly as I can, and pull into a gas station parking lot to figure out what fresh hell this was. I had a code reader in the car since I'd been working on my wife's truck, so I hooked it up and waited nervously for the result.<br />
<br />
I don't remember the code number, but the description was something about a rocker arm stuck in the off position. My stomach dropped. I looked it up and felt a little better because on my car, that code usually has to do with oil pressure, generally when the oil level gets too low, the filter gets clogged, or a sensor goes bad. Nothing to do with the actual rocker arm, which would not be an easy side-of-the-road fix. I check the oil, it is a bit low, so I take a chance that the gas station has the correct kind for my car. They did. I put it in, reset the engine codes, and off we went again.<br />
<br />
Only to have the same thing happen.<br />
<br />
We decided our best option was to try and limp the car back closer to home in case we had to call someone to come get us, so we turned back onto I-24 toward Nashville and started looking for an oil change place that's actually open on a Sunday, just in case it was the filter or dirty oil. Google says there's one in Manchester. It's a bit of a haul, but we'll try for it.<br />
<br />
Montealgle Mountain was just as much fun to cross going back, but for an entirely different reason. Ever tried driving up an eight degree grade with no power? I don't recommend it, unless you like to make yourself tense for no good reason.<br />
<br />
We make it to Manchester, following the GPS instructions, and find ourselves in front of a run-down house in the middle of nowhere. Not a Valvoline shop, in other words. I pull out my phone, check for a Valvoline, get a completely different address, and the information that it is currently closed permanently. Shit. So we head for another trip to that all-purpose consumerist paradise, Wal-Mart.<br />
<br />
They tell us it's a two hour wait for an oil change. We say thank you very much and decide to shoot for one in Murfreesboro, even closer to home. After all, we've made it this far.<br />
<br />
We make it, and miracle of miracles, there's absolutely no wait. We pull in, I tell the guy I need an oil and filter change, he gets my information, and off we go. When I asked if there was anything we could do to get the price a little lower, considering this was an unexpected expense, he even knocked $23 off, so whoever you were, THANK YOU for that!<br />
<br />
Fifteen minutes later, we're back on the road, and I actually seem to have power back in the car. We were close enough to home that we didn't need to hit the interstate, so we stayed on the secondary roads and had no further issues. I cleared the codes again when we got home, and I suppose we'll see when my wife takes the car to work tomorrow whether or not the problem's actually fixed, but I think we may have gotten off lucky with that one.<br />
<br />
But there was one final kick to come. I'd heard of a new taco place from some people I work with at the day job, and decided that since it was lunch time, and we hadn't yet concluded our weekend getaway, we should try it out and see for ourselves. I could taste the tacos. Until I pulled up and found that they were closed on Sundays.<br />
<br />
Me: "You've got to be freaking kidding me!"<br />
My wife: (laughing and giggling) "That's hilarious! Take me home."<br />
<br />
So I did.<br />
<br />
I guess this is what I get for trying to relax. Okay, so aside from the travel time, which always sucks, it wasn't really that bad. I got the chance to introduce my wife to some really cool folks, I had a wonderful and educational time talking to Brian, and best of all, my wife and I finally got some time for just the two of us. I would've happily shoved the car off a cliff, but everything else was nice.<br />
<br />
Except, the worst part of it all? I'm still craving tacos.<br />
<br />
At least THAT problem is easy to fix.John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-14529124784408524952018-02-12T14:16:00.000-06:002018-02-12T14:16:04.702-06:00On the HorizonIt's been a busy week for me, and one where I haven't managed to get a lot of actual writing done. That always leaves me feeling out-of-sorts, but sometimes it's just unavoidable. I have made some progress on both SATYR and WARLOCK, as well as knocking out the prologue of my modern-day fairy-tale that will be up after one of those is done. Also, since my brain never seems to shut off, I've been tinkering with other ideas. So, in the interest of helping myself keep things straight, here's what's coming down the pipeline for me in the next few months.<br />
<br />
First, I have made arrangements to do some behind the scenes work on books for other folks as well. I won't be going into detail on that because I'm honestly not sure how much I'm allowed to say about it, but once I can announce more, I will.<br />
<br />
Second, if you're expecting signed books from me, they ARE coming, I promise. It's been rough finance-wise the last few weeks, and I just had a vehicular emergency to deal with, but I'll be getting those in the mail VERY soon. I am sorry for the delay, but some things just can't be avoided.<br />
<br />
Next, as I mentioned, I'm working on two books at once again. This time around, it's easier than the last time I attempted it. I think because it's helping to keep things fresher for me, more fun. I get stuck on one, I switch to the other, and vice-versa. No more trying to hammer my way through when the story's not showing me what's next fast enough. I'm even planning a third project, so all of those should be getting progress updates in the very near future.<br />
<br />
Finally, I'm tinkering with an idea. It was originally going to be a feature on this site, but that may be changing to something else. I'll announce it once I have more of an idea what format it's going to take, and exactly how it's going to work.<br />
<br />
Also, I have something planned for late spring that I'll be announcing sometime next month, and have a new novel coming from Bloodshot Books near the end of this year or start of next year, so keep an eye out for announcements regarding that as summer crosses into fall. I'm also working on some other things that I hope to have announcements for in the very near future. I may not be very vocal about what I'm doing, but rest assured there is A LOT going on. I just have to wait until there's something to talk about before doing so.<br />
<br />
That said, you can make sure to check out my latest appearance on Armand Rosamilia's Arm Cast Podcast by clicking <a href="http://armcast.projectentertainment.libsynpro.com/arm-cast-podcast-episode-193-quick" target="_blank">here</a>. He even does a brief review of MUDCAT on the air, which I had no idea was coming when I recorded the interview. It's looking like everyone so far has enjoyed reading that one as much as I enjoyed writing it, so that is an immeasurable relief!<br />
<br />
Anyway, back to the grind stone, and keep your eyes peeled for more announcements soon!John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-80820872829445566452018-01-15T19:19:00.003-06:002018-01-15T19:19:26.149-06:00Today Was a Good Day<div class="tr_bq">
Not one, but TWO cool things happened in the writing world today!</div>
<br />
First, I officially signed with Bloodshot Books for the release of WHAT SLEEPS BENEATH, my coming-of-age / vampire novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo in 2016! Watch for it late this year or early next year. To whet your interest, here's the pitch I gave Pete Kahle to get him hooked:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"All Ryan wanted from life was to be cool enough to hook up with the girl of his dreams. If that meant breaking into the town’s abandoned asylum and stealing a memento for the school jerks, so be it. What he didn’t expect was to find a corpse in the basement. An old, withered corpse with a wooden stake in its heart. A stake he knocked free on accident.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
When a strange dream prompts him to return, he discovers that sometimes legends and myths are real, and finds himself somehow psychically linked to an actual vampire. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, and it’s one he can’t even share with his best friend, Hunter.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Then Hunter goes missing, the first in a string of disappearances that rock the small town where Ryan lives. The cause is even more monstrous than his new “friend.” Whatever happens next, Ryan knows his life will never be the same—provided he survives long enough to have a life…"</blockquote>
<br />
And to top it off, I discovered <a href="http://thehauntedreadingroom.blogspot.com/2018/01/review-mudcat.html" target="_blank">this review</a> of MUDCAT by Mallory Heart Reviews over at The Haunted Reading Room! Here's a snippet for you:<br />
<blockquote>
<br />"The prologue blew me out of the water {intentional analogy!} with a scene of extreme horror I could never have imagined, then rocketed right on with one intensity after another! ...All this, and CHARACTER EVOLUTION! I absolutely adore MUDCAT!"</blockquote>
All in all, two awesome things in one day! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-84642149380433620342017-12-18T17:53:00.002-06:002017-12-18T17:53:20.477-06:00Exploring the Great DivideGarbage. Unsatisfying. A waste of time. Audience rating of 53% on Rotten Tomatoes.<br />
<br />
And yet also:<br />
<br />
Awesome. Incredible. The epic we've been waiting for. Critic rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.<br />
<br />
I'm talking, of course, about <b style="font-style: italic;">The Last Jedi</b>, AKA Star Wars Episode VIII, AKA the newest divisive chapter in the long-running saga. What amazes me is how there seems to be absolutely no middle ground in reactions this time, aside from a very, very small few. I find it interesting enough that instead of doing a review for the movie like I intended, I'm going to try and explore the possible reasons for this, as a fan and a storyteller. For the record, yes, I saw it and enjoyed the hell out of it. That said, I do understand why some fans may not care for it. I hear your complaints, and am going to try and address them here.<br />
<br />
Or I'm just going to talk out of my ass for a little while. You decide.<br />
<br />
Fear not, I have kept this all spoiler-free as far as <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Last Jedi</i> is concerned. All the others are fair game.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Since I mentioned that I'm a fan, both of Star Wars and of the movie in question, let's start there: with the fans.<br />
<br />
Most, if not all, of us grew up with Star Wars. We saw the original trilogy in full or at least in part on the big screen as it came out or during one of the many re-releases--and no, I'm not talking about the theatrical run for the Special Editions in 1997. We're the ones who remember empty streets in Mos Eisley, made up excuses for why Ben Kenobi's lightsaber was white and flickering during his duel with Vader (the dark side sabers created shorts in a "good" saber, FYI), and who understand that Han didn't shoot first, he shot <i>only</i>. We endured the agonizing sixteen year wait until Episode I, and then complained about midichlorians and the addition of fart jokes to that galaxy far, far away. We were annoyed at how whiny Darth Vader was before he turned, made fun of how much he hated sand, and wondered how out of all the men in the galaxy, Padme fell in love with the one who was so damned awkward, wooden, and downright <i>creepy</i> when it came to romance.<br />
<br />
Then an amazing thing happened. Disney bought Lucasfilm and made the announcement we'd been dreaming of since 1983: there would be a new Star Wars trilogy featuring the original cast, even Harrison Ford who didn't want to do <b><i>Return of the Jedi</i></b>, much less anything else related to the franchise. We were nervous, sure, but we celebrated all the same and held our collective breaths for the story we'd been waiting for.<br />
<br />
That lasted right up until the actual release of <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Force Awakens</i>.<br />
<br />
With that chapter, the split that had begun with the prequels and healed when the new trilogy was announced reopened. A lightsaber that had a cross-guard. "Darth Emo." Holy crap, you killed Han, you bastards! Worst of all, it felt like a beat-for-beat retelling of <i style="font-weight: bold;">A New Hope</i>, right down to the flawed planet-busting superweapon. This was what we waited for? It was Disney's fault, it was J.J. Abrams's fault, Kathleen Kennedy, Lawrence Kasden--there were plenty of directions to point fingers. But hey, Episode VIII would have a different writer / director, so maybe that could redeem our hopes, right?<br />
<br />
Now <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Last Jedi</i> is here, and that split has grown into a full-blown chasm.<br />
<br />
But why? Why is this potential fans' dream turning out to be such a nightmare for 47% of them?<br />
<br />
Personally, I think there's a couple of major reasons, and the first is one nobody's going to want to hear. You ready for it? Here goes:<br />
<br />
<i>They didn't write these movies for us fans.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Well, not just for us, at least.<br />
<br />
Chuck Wendig already addressed this point quite succinctly <a href="http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2017/12/18/the-last-jedi-a-mirror-slowly-cracking/" target="_blank">over on his blog</a> (Warning: MAJOR spoilers there!), so I won't rehash it here. The basic premise is that the powers that be (i.e. Disney and Lucasfilm) have to reach the widest possible audience, which means they can't just play fan-service and expect that everyone who goes to see the new movies will have caught up on the saga first. They also need to draw in those who have never seen a Star Wars movie before now, and turn them into fans like the rest of us, too. It's basic business, even if we're upset it's intruding on our fandom.<br />
<br />
The second reason ties directly into that first one, and is also just as simple.<br />
<br />
<i>Star Wars is, was, and probably always will be for kids</i>.<br />
<br />
We fans either forgot or willfully ignored a key point Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm, and Disney all told us when they announced the sequel trilogy: it would bring the saga to a new generation. That meant that from the moment they announced the return of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford, this trilogy was always going to be about passing the torch to a new group of heroes. This, in my estimation, was also why they chose to wipe the slate clean and relegate the Expanded Universe--something Lucasfilm <i>did</i> consider canon up until then, especially since they signed off on every single storyline--to "Legends" status. It was a clue most of us, myself included, missed: this might not be about Luke's new Jedi, or his kid(s), or Han and Leia's kids. It would be both for and about a truly <i>new</i> generation.<br />
<br />
A generation that may not have ever seen the original trilogy, I should point out. I'll get back to that.<br />
<br />
Let me tell you an anecdote. When I was eight, shortly after I saw <i style="font-weight: bold;">Return of the Jedi</i> on the big screen, I had a dream that I incredibly still remember all these years later. In the dream, the <i>Millennium Falcon </i>landed in my front yard, and the characters from the original trilogy came to visit me. Not the cast, mind you, but Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, and the droids. When they left, Princess Leia actually gave me a good-bye kiss <i>ON THE LIPS</i>! Granted, that last probably had more to do with the combination of a certain metal bikini and my body's inevitable march toward puberty than to my burgeoning entry into fandom, but I digress.<br />
<br />
Now on the other hand, if I were a kid the same age having a similar dream, those would not be the characters starring in it, especially if the only Star Wars movies I'd seen were Episodes VII and VIII. Instead, I would have been visited by Poe, Finn, Rey, and BB-8. Maybe I'd have gotten my good-bye kiss from Rey, maybe not--she is portrayed in a much different way than how Leia was in <i style="font-weight: bold;">RotJ</i>--but the point is that for me, Han would be nothing more than the bad guy's dad who got killed, Leia would have meant about as much to me as Mon Mothma did in '83, and Luke would have been a strange mix of Ben Kenobi and Yoda.<br />
<br />
Viewed in that light, of course <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Force Awakens</i> feels like <i style="font-weight: bold;">A New Hope</i>, because for this new generation, that's exactly what it is. Instead of being Luke's movie and the beginning of his overall story, however, it was more nuanced. It was Han's movie, as he passed the role of cocky hotshot pilot to Poe. Which means that <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Last Jedi</i> is Luke doing the same thing for the Force-users / Jedi with Rey, and Episode IX... well, tragically, we no longer know, do we? Obviously it would have been Leia and Finn's movie, but change is inevitable and with Carrie Fisher's untimely passing, now we have to wait and see.<br />
<br />
Would I have loved to have seen the original heroes back in the center of the action again? Absolutely, but I also have to acknowledge that 34 years after the fact made that wish nothing more than a pipe dream. Beyond that, I doubt it would have managed anywhere near the financial success that <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Force Awakens</i> enjoyed. Kids from a new generation wouldn't have cared nearly as much as we older fans would.<br />
<br />
Another argument I've heard goes something like this: "George Lucas intended the new movies to be about the next generation of Skywalkers since it's their story for the first six."<br />
<br />
I hear you, and while I could argue that Kylo Ren <i>is</i> a confirmed part of the Skywalker line, I also know that's not really the point. The "Lucas Argument" is meant to convey the idea that had he maintained creative control of the franchise, the new movies would be more in line with what we expect from Star Wars. I could also counter that with the fact that one of his last acts at Lucasfilm before he sold it off was to appoint Kathleen Kennedy as, essentially, custodian of the franchise, and if he trusted her, then we should, too, but I acknowledge it's a flimsy counter, so I'll say this instead:<br />
<br />
George Lucas is a visionary with a vivid imagination, has a deep understanding of how and why epic stories become epic and memorable, knows how to tell a captivating story through film, and is an exceptional technical director. That said, he is also terrible at directing actors ("Do it again, faster and with more intensity."), has a tin ear when it comes to dialogue, and needs someone who's not afraid to tell him "no" in order to properly convey those captivating, epic stories.<br />
<br />
If we use the prequels as an example, we can assume he would have written and directed Episodes VII, VIII, and IX on his own and would have probably given us something that generated just as many mixed feelings as Episodes I, II, and III. I could nitpick those movies in order to prove that point, but this is already long enough, so I'll save that for another post, should anyone actually be interested in it.<br />
<br />
Of course, George was known for borrowing from the EU (he didn't name Coruscant, Timothy Zhan did in <i>Heir to the Empire</i>), so aside from Dave Filoni moving from animation to live-action, he was possibly our only hope to get Mara Jade in a movie, so I <i>am</i> torn there.<br />
<br />
To start winding this down, the original trilogy was magic linked to a specific time in our lives and a specific era of movie-making. It gave us things we had never seen on-screen before, but that no longer holds true. ILM didn't rest on its laurels after <i style="font-weight: bold;">Return of the Jedi</i> wrapped. They kept pushing the boundaries, giving us more and more photo-realistic effects until they came full circle with the prequels. We also grew up, so now, while the magic <i>is</i> still there, it's like watching David Copperfield when you know how the illusions are done. Our problem as fans is that we're waiting for that magic to be as potent as it was when we thought it actually <i>was</i> magic instead of simple slight-of-hand and smoke and mirrors. Unfortunately, the genie's out of the bottle and he ain't going back in.<br />
<br />
The saga is evolving, whether we like it or not. We can either evolve along with it, and understand that as much as it pains us, we have to share it with others who aren't as familiar or passionate about it, or we'll never like another Star Wars movie again, no matter what the story or who makes it. That doesn't mean we have to give up what we had--we still have that on one of the 50,000 different home video releases--but it does mean we have to actually make room for something more from this tale that's become such an ingrained part of us. Ultimately, there's no right answer here. You can be content with the original trilogy and nothing more, or the original and prequels, or add the television shows, add the original EU, or go with the flow and accept the "official" Lucasfilm vision for it. Or, disregard what you don't like and allow your own mind to fill in the blanks for everything else if you want. That's the beauty of stories--they are nothing more than what you make them.<br />
<br />
As for me, I'm going to give these new movies a chance, and will hopefully keep enjoying my new visits to that galaxy far, far away for a very long time to come.John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-34268554790060645802017-11-28T19:11:00.003-06:002017-11-28T19:11:26.823-06:00Jeremy Todd Speaks, and So Do I<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="9u85v" data-offset-key="6b3pk-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="6b3pk-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">A little late sharing this out, but I did an interview with The</span></span><span data-offset-key="6b3pk-2-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> Gal in the Blue Mask book blog , and it went up a few days ago. As an added bonus, you can also check out a character interview she did with Jeremy Todd, the "author" of THE JOURNAL OF JEREMY TODD! Make sure to give them a look!</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="ttkr-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://the-gal-in-the-blue-mask.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-gals-2017-halloween-frivolities-day_85.html" target="_blank">Jeremy Todd's interview</a>.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="61c77-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://the-gal-in-the-blue-mask.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-gals-2017-halloween-frivolities-day_13.html" target="_blank">My interview</a>.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="61c77-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Both will be up on the Publicity page very shortly.</span></div>
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John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-25160531290092050062017-11-26T16:46:00.001-06:002017-11-26T16:46:54.724-06:00MUDCAT: Release, Pre-Order, and PromotionThe time is coming fast, now: MUDCAT is about to escape into the world.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATF-BJjiDW-P7NI3Sv45611UsPEFqrbH4sxcdCDGXkEAbzkzc7J6E-24FR9qsI5QV-tKiCt9hHkRZdfVUwhCp-Ck0Fsyf0xVJIO5UXnXTVtZM3EqeEb6GWHp5_19UuursMGeUh-oH1NL1/s1600/Mudcat_Ad_Banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATF-BJjiDW-P7NI3Sv45611UsPEFqrbH4sxcdCDGXkEAbzkzc7J6E-24FR9qsI5QV-tKiCt9hHkRZdfVUwhCp-Ck0Fsyf0xVJIO5UXnXTVtZM3EqeEb6GWHp5_19UuursMGeUh-oH1NL1/s320/Mudcat_Ad_Banner.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The date is set: December 5, 2017, and you can pre-order it now using the link on the right side of this page! Digital edition will be $3.99, the paperback is TBA (but yes, there will be both)! Stay tuned for updates regarding the promotional tour stops online as they are announced by JEA Press.</div>
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Make sure to also keep tabs on their page at <a href="http://www.jellingtonashton.com/" target="_blank">http://www.jellingtonashton.com/</a> for more information as well!</div>
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John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-46883957105348663252017-11-25T12:00:00.000-06:002017-11-25T12:00:12.279-06:00Cover Reveal: MUDCATYou know what? I love this so much, I'm not even going to build it up first. Without further ado, here's the full print cover for MUDCAT!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWfqG_ZGHhkVun9sOKTn0l9BHH-N5VczviYiYge5w9_axL96lSw1WyFq8zTW2wGm104cnURXDXwOtdI128XGJTsul6cMXGJxyj0co98xp7lCMWAA2k1cq0qM0lyje22_nuvRqXy2Tl9Jy5/s1600/Mudcat_Full_Print_Cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="960" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWfqG_ZGHhkVun9sOKTn0l9BHH-N5VczviYiYge5w9_axL96lSw1WyFq8zTW2wGm104cnURXDXwOtdI128XGJTsul6cMXGJxyj0co98xp7lCMWAA2k1cq0qM0lyje22_nuvRqXy2Tl9Jy5/s400/Mudcat_Full_Print_Cover.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Click the image to make it bigger, so you can enjoy it at full size!</div>
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Thanks go out to the appropriately named Michael "Fish" Fisher for his incredible work on this one, and for elevating my "B-Movie" theme into an "A" cover.</div>
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Look for it to escape very, very soon!</div>
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#MudcatLives</div>
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John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-29825490382224659592017-11-18T20:46:00.000-06:002017-11-25T14:54:35.405-06:00The Fun of Writing FantasyI have two loves when it comes to fiction: horror and fantasy. Just as I've lost myself in a novel by Stephen King or Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon or Brian Keene, so, too have I gone to other worlds in tales by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, and George R.R. Martin. By extension, I've tried my hand at writing fantasy, too, to mixed results.<br />
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One of the first original novels I did was fantasy. I intended for it to be the first of a series, and while I think there were some good bits, most of it was utter garbage that will hopefully never see the light of day--at least not in the form it is now. A few years ago, I tried again. I got through a few chapters, and then I put it down. It just wasn't time.<br />
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Then a friend and I came up with a fantasy world for a Dungeons & Dragons game, and something clicked. I picked that in-progress novel back up, read over it, and realized it wasn't as bad as I thought at the time. So I went back to work on it. And finished it. And then finished the second book in what will probably be a trilogy called The Time of Ashes Cycle.<br />
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Here's the problem: I'm a pantser by nature. That means I have a story idea and start writing. I don't plan things out, I don't think very far ahead, I just let the characters and story pull me along. Fantasy, due to the intricacies inherent in the genre, doesn't work well with pantsers. Therefore, I've had to do a hybrid plotter / pantser thing that I am totally not used to.<br />
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A few examples.<br />
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For one, I set up a dangling plot thread in the first book to tell what the main character would be doing in the second one. Then I wrote the second one a couple of months later, and completely forgot the plot thread was there. As a result, the main character does nothing for a large chunk of the book. Not only that, but I didn't even remember the thread when I did the second draft of that first book. I only caught it on the third. Much swearing ensued as I realized the additional content I get to write for the second volume. At least I was preparing for revisions, so I was already prepared to dig into that manuscript again.<br />
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Another good one: timelines. The world this story is set in has A LOT of history to it. A good thousand years or so. In theory, at least. I also realized while working on that third draft that there is no flow to the continuity or the events being referenced from the past. All that history, and I didn't create a simple timeline to follow for when those events occurred. Something else to put into place before going into revisions.<br />
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Then there's maps. Pick up a fantasy book and open to one of the first pages. What do you see? That's right, a world or region map. Maybe even a city map, if that city is crucial to the story. For a world so detailed, the only map I've got is one sketched on a sheet of notebook paper. Nothing digital to put with the series when it gets picked up or if I self-pub it. So I've spent the evening watching map-making tutorials for GIMP and Photoshop so I can at least get a basic map together to include with the book. "But John," you say. "Isn't that what a publisher's for? To help with that interior art, like they did with JEREMY TODD?" Well, yes, but if they don't know what the world looks like or how it's laid out, how can they make an accurate map? See the dilemma?<br />
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Last but not least, foreshadowing. Now, even as a pantser, I've managed to foreshadow events in books, usually by enhancing it during the revision process. For a fantasy series, I'm not just doing it within a book, but also for future books in the series. In Time of Ashes, I have to set up a major conflict for book three, the climax of the whole storyline. Aside from a couple of throwaway bits in the first book and some ham-handed bits near the end of the second, that hasn't happened yet. Even more work for the revisions process!<br />
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What does all this mean? Ultimately, I've hit a point where I've managed to scare the shit out of myself over this series. I'm going to finish it--I'm too close not to, now--but I am intimidated as hell over it. I suddenly understand why those fantasy authors I enjoy take so long between books in their own series (except for Sanderson, who's more of a writing machine than I am!). Mad that Kingkiller Chronicle Day Three isn't out after five years? I'm not so much anymore. I kind of get it. I still think Martin writes too slow, but he'll admit that himself, so that's different.<br />
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I'm going to get through this, and, like I said, I'm going to finish this series. Pride won't let me give it up, if nothing else. But the next time you pick up a thousand-page epic by some fantasy author, keep in mind the work that went in behind the scenes, all the hours of worldbuilding before a single word went down on the page, all the details that had to be thought out, all the plot threads that had to be trimmed or tied together, and be thankful there are those out there who are insane enough to do it.<br />
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As if I needed more proof of how crazy I am....John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-29192168026123428962017-09-30T20:34:00.000-05:002017-09-30T20:34:57.959-05:00I Definitely Know How to Run My MouthSeptember is creeping into October, Halloween is almost upon us (yay!), and looking back, I've had a productive summer. THE JOURNAL OF JEREMY TODD came out near the end of July, I hit Scares That Care Charity Weekend days later, and I've done three different podcast interviews that came out since then where I've talked about JEREMY TODD, CONSEQUENCES, and dropped some hints about my forthcoming novel from JEA Press, MUDCAT. In case you missed any, here they were:<br />
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<b><a href="http://armcast.projectentertainment.libsynpro.com/arm-cast-podcast-episode-165-scares-that-care" target="_blank">Arm Cast Podcast Episode 165, Recorded Live at Scares That Care</a></b><br />
Armand Rosamilia had a revolving door on his guest seat during this one, so in addition to the segment where I appear with Wile E. Young, you can also hear him chat with author and podcaster Tommy Clark, super fan Tim Feely, podcaster Elizabeth Katheryn Gray, and author and podcaster Frank Edler.<br />
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<b><a href="http://thehorrorshowbk.projectentertainment.libsynpro.com/john-quick-the-horror-show-with-brian-keene-ep-130" target="_blank">The Horror Show with Brian Keene, Episode 130</a></b><br />
Brian was slammed with helping to keep Scares That Care running smoothly, so I got the privelidge of being Mary SanGiovanni's first solo interview that Sunday morning, with Dave Thomas providing occasional comments as well as running the technical end of things.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.unnervingmagazine.com/single-post/2017/09/25/Interview-with-John-Quick" target="_blank">Unnerving Magazine Interview Series, September 25, 2017</a></b><br />
I had a chat with Eddie Generous from Unnerving Magazine about the origins of JEREMY TODD, Stephen King's hit or miss movie adaptations, and other things for his Author Interview series.<br />
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In addition to those, I also made a cameo appearance in <b><a href="http://mandomethod.projectentertainment.libsynpro.com/the-mando-method-podcast-episode-47-scares-that-care" target="_blank">The Mando Method Episode 47</a></b>, where I was a member of the live studio audience at Scares That Care, and was occasionally pulled in by Armand and Chuck as they talked about their experiences at the con.<br />
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I'll be adding all this to my Publicity page soon, but for now, you can feel free to follow any or all of the links above and see what I had to say. For that matter, check out their other episodes as well, as all of them are entertaining and - in the case of Mando Method - quite informative, especially to anyone who wants to try their hand at this insane profession of writing for a living.John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-326824810928914792017-09-11T01:59:00.000-05:002017-09-30T19:47:30.882-05:00You'll Float, Too: My Review of Stephen King's "IT: Chapter One"Adapting a novel to another medium is no easy task. Add in a previous adaptation that has achieved a level of cult success, and things get even harder. When the work in question is from Stephen King, a man whose career is littered with a series of hit-or-miss (mostly miss) adaptations to the screen, the task might even start to border on the impossible. Finally, consider that the source material is a whopping 1,000+ pages, and many would prefer to give up before they even begin. The odds are almost guaranteed that you'll produce something closer to Maximum Overdrive than you will to Shawshank Redemption or The Green Mile.<br />
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Thankfully, IT gets it right.<br />
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There's a balance to adapting a novel to a visual medium, be it comics or television or movies. The printed word allows you to get inside your character's heads, to <i>be</i> the character in a way. Since a book can be as long as it needs to be, the story can be a slow-burner to develop the characters and the world and the problems. Movies and television have a set amount of time to tell the story, so often such luxuries fall by the wayside. In Hollywood, it's generally accepted that 1 page of script is the equivalent of 1 minute of screen time. A thousand hours is longer than most television series ever get, much less a movie. So how do you adapt it, and do it right?<br />
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By getting to the essence of the story and the characters, and not spending a large amount of time on the fluff.<br />
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There are a lot of things going on in the novel for IT, but at its core, it's about fear and the loss of innocence that comes from growing up. To illustrate this, King tells the story from the point of view of the characters as children, and then again as adults, 27 years later. The old TV miniseries, did it over the course of two nights and three to four hours. For the movie version, it's done in a similar vein: split into two, with the first having a hefty two hour and fifteen minute runtime. This one is about the kids, the Losers' Club.<br />
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And the screenwriters definitely understood the essence of their fear and innocence. As we meet the Losers, I found myself smiling fondly, like I was seeing old friends I'd lost touch with over the years. They're that close to their novel counterparts. Not exact, there are some pretty significant changes, but the <i>essence</i> of those characters is there. Did they look precisely like they'd been described? No. But it didn't matter. Those kids did a great job in their roles, with special props to Sophia Lillis for her incredibly nuanced portrayal of Beverly Marsh and Finn Wolfhard's spot-on Richie Tozier.<br />
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As to Pennywise itself, Tim Curry set the bar high with his version of the killer clown back in the 1990 TV adaptation, but Bill Skaarsgard is more than up to the task. His take is different, and in my opinion, more of what the character we saw in the book was than Curry's. It feels like heresy to say that, but it's the truth. That they used CGI in some interesting ways with him also made it feel more like the Pennywise that haunted me as a kid reading the novel alone in my room at night. It goes from subtle to overblown at the drop of a hat, but always serves the character in an effective way.<br />
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The story is significantly pared down from the books, as was the TV version. The difference is that this one keeps the more disturbing elements that ABC didn't want to show. The Losers' fears and how they manifest are done quite well, and while they aren't all that scary to me as an adult, I can see how they would be to myself when I was their age. Gone are the large chunks of exposition that detail the history of Derry and the horrible things that happen there. We get the important parts of it in maybe ten to fifteen minutes of screen time, and that's really all that's needed. The rest is cool to read, mind you, but it's not essential to the story.<br />
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Unfortunately, we did lose some of the dynamic between the bullies (Bowers, Criss, and Huggins, oh, my!) and the bullied during this adaptation. Perhaps to compensate, the times they <i>are</i> on screen are exceptionally powerful. The crucial moment when Henry Bowers confronts Ben Hanscom next to the Barrens is there, and it plays almost exactly as brutal as it felt when I first read it back in 1987. On the other hand, we got to see more of Bev's personal demons as well, something that was lacking in the 1990 adaptation. It was nice to finally be shown that her father wasn't the only bully in her life.<br />
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Speaking of the Barrens, if there's one thing I really missed, that was it. I can understand why it was removed, as there's just so much story and not much time to tell it in, but I would've loved to have seen more of it. I felt the kids' bond with one another, but I think a few more scenes of them hanging out in the Barrens would have really cemented it for me.<br />
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Some people have complained that this should have been set in the late 50's like it was in the book, but I disagree. True, the 80's were an era of excess, but we only see it that way <i>now</i>. Back when it was happening, when I was a kid the same age as these kids, I never saw it that way. And while Derry is an analog for Bangor, it still keeps the small-town feel present in the book, so that innocence remains despite the era. That it could have been my own childhood in a way maybe enhanced it for me. Your mileage may vary here.<br />
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Things that were there that I was thrilled to see on-screen: Richie's motormouth (they don't call him "Trashmouth Tozier" for nothing, you know...), the house on Neibolt Street, the strange re-occurrence of the number "27", a beautiful update to the old "photo album" scene, the relationship between Henry Bowers and his father, a subtle and possibly creepier update to the relationship between Bev and her father, and what may have been my favorite element from the book, Ben's haiku actually having a meaning for him and Bev.<br />
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Some of the changes, as evidenced by that list, were perfect for the story. A notable example is that Pennywise's catchphrase has a meaning now (I'll let you figure out what I mean because, spoilers). Perhaps the best was the ending itself, when the Losers confront It in It's lair. The book had some issues with this part (a child orgy? Really, Uncle Steve?), and was almost too heady to accurately reflect on-screen. The TV series tried, and failed spectacularly at it (I believe Wrath James White referred to it as "the Space Spider"). Here, we got what we needed: while there was a hint that Pennywise was something much, much worse than just a simple creepy clown, most of it was left to the viewer's imagination, and we got to see the kids fighting the thing that has been broadcast as the villain since the first clown appeared on the book's cover. I did have one issue with a part of this climax, which I'll not talk about since it would qualify as a spoiler, but I got over it quickly enough. It just seemed like the screenwriters had written themselves into a corner and needed a quick way out, so they did... this. That's probably not the case, but it <i>felt</i> that way, and pulled me out of the story a bit. Thankfully, they were able to pull me right back in with relative ease.<br />
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Overall, this is an adaptation done right. The balance between what made the book work and what can be shown on screen is there, making the movie more than live up to the hype built up around it. The beautiful part is that if the adult chapter of the movie doesn't maintain that, it almost doesn't matter. This is IT the way it should be, and for me ranks right up there with Shawshank and Green Mile as the best of King.<br />
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I rate this one four and a half out of five red balloons.John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-39279239354796363592017-07-30T02:57:00.001-05:002017-09-30T19:47:41.715-05:00Real Ghosts from the Past: The Story Behind THE JOURNAL OF JEREMY TODD<div class="MsoNormal">
Every story starts somewhere. For CONSEQUENCES, it was a
local legend from my high school days. For THE JOURNAL OF JEREMY TODD, it
starts more recently, but it does dig into things that happened as far back as
middle school for me, and also digs into things that keep themselves hidden in
the dark recesses of my mind, only coming out on occasion when I’m feeling
especially vulnerable. Writing the story helped me to deal with those to some
degree, and hopefully writing this “story behind the story” post will help me
finish exorcising them. Will it get rid of them? No, they’ve been there too
long, and have become a part of who I am. But hopefully they’ll lose what
little remains of their sting, and that’s more important, anyway.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Since JEREMY TODD has only been out for a couple of weeks
now, I’ll try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible for those who haven’t
managed to get very far into it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the themes in JEREMY TODD is bullying, and how
victims of bullying deal with it as they get older. This is the first and only
time I’ve ever gone into a story with even that much of a theme in mind.
Usually, I just have the story idea and then I write it. I might find something
during edits, some subconscious thing that crept into the story somewhere along
the way, but it’s never a conscious decision. This time, it was. Everyone has
their hot-button topic, the thing that sets their blood to boiling until the
rage is nearly strong enough to consume them. For me, that topic is bullying.<br />
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The main catalyst for THE JOURNAL OF JEREMY TODD was the
suicide of a fourteen year old girl who went to my youngest kid’s school. She
was bullied incessantly, and ended up stabbing herself to death in one of the
local parks near where I live. I already posted a rant about how this made me
feel (<a href="http://johnquickauthor.blogspot.com/2015/09/this-needs-to-stop.html" target="_blank">which you can read here if you’re interested</a>),
so I won’t rehash it. At the time, I thought that rant would get the anger
out of my system, but it didn’t. I also didn’t realize it at the time, but it was
only going to get worse.<o:p></o:p></div>
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See, I was bullied in school. Nowhere near as badly as
Jeremy Todd is in the story, and by high school the majority of it had faded as
I found my own “crowd” to hang out with, but it happened. I wasn’t into sports,
I loved computers and science fiction and horror and comics and the like. I
wore glasses and had an orthodontic device (can’t remember what it was called,
but it was to fix an overbite) and generally had zero self-confidence. I never
got into fights from it—I was always the one who ran away—so the abuse wasn’t
ever physical, but the mental and emotional abuse was more than enough.
Somehow, I managed to push all that to the back of my mind as I grew older. I
realized it wasn’t that important anymore, and tried to move on. The problem was that all of those feelings
were still there, hiding, waiting for the chance to spring out and surprise me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When I started writing Jeremy Todd, they got their chance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I realized almost immediately that this story would only
work if it was told in the first person, and on the heels of that came the
knowledge that it needed to be this guy’s personal journal. Therefore, to write this, I had to <i>become
</i>Jeremy Todd to some degree, had to allow his thoughts to supplant my own for
the couple of hours a night I was sitting in front of that open MS Word
document. Then, as he worked up the nerve to write about his past, I discovered
that those memories I held and tried to keep hidden started peeking out to mess
with me once again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let me go ahead and clarify a couple of things, one of which
I’ve mentioned but feel bears repeating. NONE of the things that happened to
Jeremy Todd happened to me. The abuse I dealt with was much more subtle than
what he had to contend with. Also, with one exception, the bullies in the story
are NOT based on any one person, be it in name or personality. I did blend some
people together, and made a couple up whole-cloth, but I didn’t single anyone
out from those days. The one exception is a name, and no, I won’t be revealing
which character holds the same name as one of my bullies. I have no idea what
they did with their life, and have no intention of dragging their name through
the mud if they’ve become a better person than they once were. My catharsis
came by using them in the story, and that was good enough for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As I was saying, those memories came back as I transcribed
Jeremy Todd’s tale. It’s normal for me to drink a beer or two while I’m writing—three
if it goes especially long. For Jeremy Todd, though, that jumped to a six-pack
or more as well as most of a pack of cigarettes in two to three hours. The character
is dark, and since I was writing in the first person, that by necessity caused
me to go to a dark place. Those memories that kept creeping back made it even
darker. I couldn’t sleep without getting so hammered I passed out. I was
miserable even during the day, and often couldn’t figure out why. I grew to
HATE Jeremy Todd, and considered scrapping the whole idea more than once.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But I didn’t. There was some little voice telling me that I
needed to see it through to the end, needed to write the pain out, in a way. So,
I forced myself to keep going.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The words came easy enough, but that doesn’t mean the story
was easy to write. The exact opposite was true. I didn’t even realize why at
the time. I finished the manuscript and filed it away like all the others, and
got started on something else, something more light-hearted and fun, and tried
to forget about that nasty little thing I’d done. I sent it off to my beta
readers and figured I’d get to the next draft eventually, but for the moment, I
didn’t want to think about it anymore.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then Sinister Grin did their month-long open call for
submissions, and I realized it was the next logical thing for me to work on and
send out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I got my beta feedback and knocked out the second draft in a
week. I wasn’t paying great attention to the story itself, but rather the
technical aspects of cleaning up the first draft and making sure everything was
coherent. Then, incredibly, they took it. A week after I signed the contract, I
decided to sit down and actually <i>read</i>
what I’d written, to try and force myself to dig into what I’d done.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What I discovered first was how much of myself I’d put on the
page. Jeremy’s stories about delivering pizza near the start of the story?
Those actually happened to me, almost exactly as written (with one exception:
he wanted to <i>save</i> someone after the
second one, I just drove away thinking “what the fuck was that?”). He wants to
write comic books, I think it’s obvious the career path I’ve chosen. Even down
to some of the strange thoughts he occasionally has matching my own at times (I’ll
elect to keep those to myself, thank you very much. If you know me well enough,
you might can guess at them, though). Other things were exaggerations on me or
feelings I’ve had. A prime example? I’ve never reacted to anything the way he
does, nor have I ever WANTED to do to anyone the things he does to some of the
folks in this story. I never had to deal with the extreme tragedy in my life he
did. All of that is pure fiction. Still, what is fiction except the lie that covers
the truth?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other thing I learned as I read through the story was
that while I’d convinced myself that all those things from so long ago no
longer mattered, the truth was that they did. Without my even being aware of
it, they’d shaped me and how I reacted to things even as I led what I felt was
a pretty well-adjusted life. When I looked back I could see the struggles I’d
endured, and to some degree still endured. I could see how difficult it had
been to get my self-confidence to a level where it needed to be, how hard it
was to feel like I belonged in the places and with the people I ended up with.
I’d been fighting a war for years in my subconscious, and I’d never even
realized it. It’s possible other people might have seen, but I kind of doubt
that. One of the first things I’d done was to become adept at wearing the mask,
no matter what. Anyone who saw me would have seen someone who appeared to be
doing just find. Hell, it was even what I saw when I looked in the mirror. The
difference was, I could feel the twinges of reality beneath the surface, even
though I was keeping them buried as deep as I could.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is one of the wonderful things about writing horror,
though. I have a dark lens through which I can filter those negative feelings
and emotions, something that acts like a strange sort of self-psychotherapy in
a way. As a result, a funny thing happened once I finished that read-through of
JEREMY TODD: I actually felt better. I’d lanced the wound and allowed the
infection to escape. I’d faced down and fought some of my demons, and came out on the other side as the victor. Did it totally get rid of those feelings? Of course
not. I’m over forty years old; they’re a part of me now. But I did learn to
deal with them instead of trying and ultimately failing to ignore them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even better, as I’ve gotten to know other people in this
field, other horror writers specifically, I’ve heard stories about growing up
that very closely mirror my own. I’ve learned that I’m not alone, and to me,
that’s the biggest struggle when dealing with the after-effects of being
bullied as a kid. When it’s happening, YOU’RE the one it’s happening to. It
doesn’t matter if you were the hundredth person those bullies had dumped on
that day. That’s their methodology, see. They isolate you, make you feel apart
from everyone else. Yet to hear so many others talk about the same things, I
realized that while I felt alone at the time, I never truly was.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People are sometimes surprised that horror writers are some
of the nicest, kindest, most accepting people they’ve ever met. I think this is
one of the reasons why. We see those demons in each other, recognize them as
familiar, and almost instinctively band together to fight them. We see people
who feel like we did, who feel like they don’t belong, and we actively welcome
them. We stand as one and scream that no matter what you’ve gone through, you
are not alone. As writers, we deal with our demons through our work, and as
readers we do it through someone else’s experiences that touch that part in us
that we have in common with them. And the beauty of it is that it works across
no barrier from time or distance. How freaking awesome is that?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Times have changed. What got us picked on as kids is now
considered “cool”. Unfortunately, the bullying continues. They just found
something else to use to beat us down and lift themselves up. Maybe one day we’ll
finally stop it, but for now, all we can do is be there when we’re needed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I didn’t do it in the text, but THE JOURNAL OF JEREMY TODD
is officially dedicated to the memory of Sherokee Harriman and all the others
who were bullied beyond their ability to withstand it, and who decided the only
way out was a permanent way out. It is also dedicated to all those silent
masses who are still being bullied, and are struggling to deal with the
immediate results of it, not to mention the results they won’t know about until
many years from now. I get it: It feels like no one else could possibly understand.
But that’s not true. We are out there. We understand.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
And you are NOT alone.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-45312402131464890902017-07-25T02:51:00.000-05:002017-09-30T19:47:58.001-05:00How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Scares That Care 2017<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This year, I decided to check out the Scares that
Care Weekend in Williamsburg VA. When I first announced I was going to attend
(as a fan this time around, not as a working author), I had several people ask
for me to give a run-down on how it was and what I thought of it, so that’s
what this is. If you’re curious about a first-timer’s experience as a member of
that strange mid-ground world of both a fan and a writer, read on. If not,
well, feel free to skip to the pictures and then move along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A quick note on said pictures: most were taken as I
met folks, and being a writer, authors are where most of my attention fell this
weekend. There are some groups on Facebook where you can see the awesome
cosplay pictures from the con, as well as the other actors and movie guys, so feel free to check those out as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Thursday<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">GPS declared this to be a ten-hour trip, so my
friend and I decided to leave the Nashvillle area at around four in the morning
(Central time) in order to arrive at the hotel just as it became check-in time.
The trip actually took eleven hours, and neither of us got much sleep the night
before, so Thursday already had all the earmarks of a strange and interesting
day before it even got started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiqPjQuWTsQJSc6sHkyvddG5rdr4RAFEH5gZ1Nt-RmY-aAH1ukgTtzXz12XhYF8eIuK9VpP1DJQu4S81RTqVEc5ztSbIHR88x5s1s03-C_dT4n6fvZTCGJ-UFptmULY8fjOaV8TU4Lejp0/s1600/FB_IMG_1500679940829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiqPjQuWTsQJSc6sHkyvddG5rdr4RAFEH5gZ1Nt-RmY-aAH1ukgTtzXz12XhYF8eIuK9VpP1DJQu4S81RTqVEc5ztSbIHR88x5s1s03-C_dT4n6fvZTCGJ-UFptmULY8fjOaV8TU4Lejp0/s200/FB_IMG_1500679940829.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Partners in crime! With Somer Canon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The only event for Thursday night was Scaryoke at
the hotel bar, so after kicking back and trying to relax, and grabbing a bite
to eat, we headed from our hotel down the street to the Doubletree where the
convention was being held. Almost immediately I ran into Somer Canon, whom I’d
become Facebook friends with, and got the chance to finally meet in person. As
I stood there having a beer and chatting with Somer and her husband, Kane Hodder decided to start messing with me over
the length of my hair, and proved he is one of the funniest and nicest assholes
in the business. Kane managed to pull C.J. Graham and Steve Dash into the joke,
too, meaning I had not one, but THREE Jasons giving me shit. Kane promised this
would be going on all weekend, and I had no doubt he was sincere. Want to
insult me? Go for it. I took shit from Jason Freakin’ Voorhees, okay? You got
nothin’.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Somer told me that there was a room aside
for writers to hang out in and talk instead of the crowded hotel bar, so we
headed there and got to watch as Brian Keene, Mary SanGiovanni, and a table full of other friends and authors held an impromptu remembrance for J.F. Gonzales while they signed the
signature sheets for the Clickers Forever anthology done in his honor. This was recorded for Brian's Horror
Show podcast, so you’ll all get to hear it for yourselves some time soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilW3vMiHw5FDu_fKgl1KIxC-jiu2TcjQjN7lt49WXHkFUYQE0uTXJ0-SrECNoAKwmh75O8OaSP0vZpf2ejQJCKOomo8hqIC4_BE_GL45KL15kRMgliMTga-lE0-FBk519hQF_30suPevvP/s1600/IMG_20170721_212920_885.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilW3vMiHw5FDu_fKgl1KIxC-jiu2TcjQjN7lt49WXHkFUYQE0uTXJ0-SrECNoAKwmh75O8OaSP0vZpf2ejQJCKOomo8hqIC4_BE_GL45KL15kRMgliMTga-lE0-FBk519hQF_30suPevvP/s200/IMG_20170721_212920_885.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He might have given me shit, but he's<br />
genuinely one of the nicest guys I've<br />
had the chance to meet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After this wrapped up, it was social hour for
everyone. Somer pointed out the people I didn’t recognize, and I finally got to
put names to faces for all the folks I’ve interacted with on Facebook since
being graciously welcomed into this strange and wonderful horror community.
Adam Cesare stopped by to introduce himself, having recognized me and
remembered that I’d done a review for his novel The Con Season, and also
succeeded in making me feel more welcomed than I could’ve expected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Since we’d been up since before the ass crack of
dawn, my friend and I called it a night early and headed back to our own hotel,
which put an end to the pre-con festivities. A few hours’ sleep, and it was
time for the first official day of the convention!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Friday<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Things kicked off later in the afternoon today, so I
actually got to go in well-rested this time around. Met Armand Rosamilia and
Jay Wilburn when we went to trade our tickets for wristbands, and then headed
to lunch based on an awesome recommendation from Armand. Grabbed a quick nap,
and then we were off to the races.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Friday is typically the slower of the days (aside
from Sunday, which is <i>the</i> slowest) and the place was still full of people. I had an
hour and a half to kill before the first panel, so I hit the celebrity room and
decided to meet some of my heroes and now co-wanderers on this crazy road of
writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAYprmrNuRC1mvO7jHGNAZS8e2KAtqk8i5RCpSp38KxkDg6_FL5XxTbNNBY70bsN4XXMwpoorHcae4FPVaagQyv-tKj7LnCTnjgKr1ws5J7ci13C4PK5VztW7ithtGsczZqYkGvFXvCcs/s1600/IMG_20170721_204828_249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAYprmrNuRC1mvO7jHGNAZS8e2KAtqk8i5RCpSp38KxkDg6_FL5XxTbNNBY70bsN4XXMwpoorHcae4FPVaagQyv-tKj7LnCTnjgKr1ws5J7ci13C4PK5VztW7ithtGsczZqYkGvFXvCcs/s200/IMG_20170721_204828_249.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Warlock himself, Julian Sands.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In addition to great guys like Armand, Ronald Malfi,
and Wrath James White, I also managed to get a picture and an autograph from
the Warlock himself, Julian Sands. Considering that movie was my first favorite
horror film, it was a definite dream come true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In between panels and readings, I managed to wander
through the vendor rooms, where I met even more awesome folks, and like as not,
picked up signed books from them as well. I spent an especially fun time
talking with Chuck Buda, comparing notes about being a new author in horror
(we’re both just now in our second years of it), and then it was off to a
reading. A final trip to the celebrity room where I got to meet and chat with
one of the fathers of splatterpunk, John Skipp, and the most recent addition to
my influence list, Jonathan Janz, and then it was time for things to wind down
in one sense and kick up in another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_lwb816-fkoF2bjTjJ1BAu2apJTCDGmscG1bZ3fk1KiMdHevPOGbkkPxWaVhKhQh7tuzzPzT82y0rURBn7zkW-gs-nid1eZ0x2CSouzmTG_HPc8Xo1jSf7KldNF-v0_8UTzzWqHMlY8S/s1600/IMG_20170721_204552_595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_lwb816-fkoF2bjTjJ1BAu2apJTCDGmscG1bZ3fk1KiMdHevPOGbkkPxWaVhKhQh7tuzzPzT82y0rURBn7zkW-gs-nid1eZ0x2CSouzmTG_HPc8Xo1jSf7KldNF-v0_8UTzzWqHMlY8S/s200/IMG_20170721_204552_595.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The man with more energy than you<br />
could believe - John Skipp.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I wound up having dinner with a herd of authors as well as Mike Lombardo—who is exactly like he sounds on Brian Keene’s aforementioned Horror Show
podcast—and then it was back to the Doubletree for some libations. After some
discussion on what was happening where, and a bit more wandering, I found
myself in a room with a different herd of authors and some readers playing a
round of Werewolves (think the party game Mafia, only horror-styled). After
much conversation and fun, it was time to head back to my hotel for a few hours’
sleep before the insanity that was Saturday at Scares That Care began.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">(And for the record, Kane kept his promise and gave
me shit again today, too….)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Saturday</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The longest day of the con, and one of the most fun
and interesting. Somehow I even escaped Kane Hodder giving me shit, which is a minor
miracle, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRaE9up2uqXlR9L6bOI1U8xoEDvDB_guTNgsjaSDr_eb-ZygVk_OBhQ8dD_iGR7rg5_ksnGB8O3LrSTfvgDh68HLhreWK0JDxgLP3LOVtcHU9zmMvUoz1nP0eNwKWFQGMFxJy1SoB8Qth/s1600/IMG_20170722_134522_763.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRaE9up2uqXlR9L6bOI1U8xoEDvDB_guTNgsjaSDr_eb-ZygVk_OBhQ8dD_iGR7rg5_ksnGB8O3LrSTfvgDh68HLhreWK0JDxgLP3LOVtcHU9zmMvUoz1nP0eNwKWFQGMFxJy1SoB8Qth/s200/IMG_20170722_134522_763.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The insane hosts of The Mando Method,<br />
Chuck Buda and Armand Rosamilia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Most of the day was spent in various panels and
such, from an exploration of splatterpunk, extreme horror, and bizzaro from
several key figures in those genres to a couple of live podcast recordings. The
first was Armand and Chuck’s Mando Method, where they pulled me
in from audience and made sure to say my name roughly a thousand times. Thanks
to both of them for that, by the way. They put me on the spot, but that’s a ton
of unexpected exposure, so I will definitely take it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSy1YkYWBAerkwVj5L8C5zMRAPzcBIa0DBtwUQ3hOZCS_EHb0itWPBLDgCy52qPjy2vdQs_ZHF4Up0CRS2xNgTiTGRm32XC80y7nGanaBYOnaqUFqDHV9xSNsvV_D-1jqQokHmxGobEqmC/s1600/20170722_175824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSy1YkYWBAerkwVj5L8C5zMRAPzcBIa0DBtwUQ3hOZCS_EHb0itWPBLDgCy52qPjy2vdQs_ZHF4Up0CRS2xNgTiTGRm32XC80y7nGanaBYOnaqUFqDHV9xSNsvV_D-1jqQokHmxGobEqmC/s200/20170722_175824.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horror folks running for<br />
the woods...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Not too long after this, the fire alarms in the
hotel went off, prompting an evacuation. No one seemed overly alarmed at this,
so it seemed like a good chance to grab some food. While eating, I found out
some idiot had been smoking in his room and set off the alarms, so while that
guy was apt to have a horrible day once they figured out who they were,
everything else would continue as normal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62SDuk1XXuuo43i6Ihh2SoQe0_ByEZyUmYQV1cSDFmgPw6FmAgZAlWtaLLRibX7AcPcj2bhVbyxBxuXqK-Mq1f3hp30urWHyD3ZQlDrz387YZtJQ_1aU2skEq5Sg07f2ej7fXL_W2BXYB/s1600/IMG_20170723_013040_625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62SDuk1XXuuo43i6Ihh2SoQe0_ByEZyUmYQV1cSDFmgPw6FmAgZAlWtaLLRibX7AcPcj2bhVbyxBxuXqK-Mq1f3hp30urWHyD3ZQlDrz387YZtJQ_1aU2skEq5Sg07f2ej7fXL_W2BXYB/s200/IMG_20170723_013040_625.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At a guess, it was over a hundred degrees<br />
in this room....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Next up was a live taping for two episodes of The
Horror Show with Brian Keene, one of which included an interview with the legendary
authors Joe Lansdale and Chet Williamson, and a Q&A from the audience for
the regular hosts of The Horror Show (except for Coop and Dungeonmaster, who were unable to attend). It was
an awesome experience, except that the air conditioner was broken so it quickly
became the hottest room in the world with the number of people who attended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Once that was over, it was time to hang out and have
some fun again, and I once again joined the “after-hours” group from the night
before for pizza, bourbon, and Werewolves (where Melissa Hayward and Rachel Autumn Deering officially christened me "Best John", which makes me smile just to type). I had to be back for an appointment
at nine Sunday morning, so I called it a night after one round, and headed back
to the hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmmBhpF9aeyH6qT5p-Xfglv76tVv_PcDl3Pk944QEKPBiYk-ldDZTQX4LRQyugtMtGsUh78HiL7wsHNGSjJHRgbI-RvRIcAgqhJZ5m2rxCiK2iZBWXUNm44U0Ru9PU8RBXPCLfEMmkL34/s1600/FB_IMG_1500859612099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmmBhpF9aeyH6qT5p-Xfglv76tVv_PcDl3Pk944QEKPBiYk-ldDZTQX4LRQyugtMtGsUh78HiL7wsHNGSjJHRgbI-RvRIcAgqhJZ5m2rxCiK2iZBWXUNm44U0Ru9PU8RBXPCLfEMmkL34/s320/FB_IMG_1500859612099.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for food before the bourbon; half of the "village" for<br />
Saturday night's round of Werewolves. Photo by Hannah <br />
Carroll.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sunday was coming, and with it the end of this
year’s Scares That Care. While there was a part of me that was ready to get
home to my wife, kids, and herd of doggage, there was another part that was
hoping it wouldn’t come, inevitable as it was….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sunday</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I mentioned, I had to be up for an appointment at nine this morning. Well, I woke up, looked at the clock, and thought “oh, it’s
8:30, I can grab something from the free hotel breakfast before I….” and then I
actually <i>looked</i> at the clock. It wasn’t
8:30. It was 8:50. Thankfully, the hotel I’m staying at isn’t that far from the
Doubletree where the con was being held, so I made it by 9:02. No coffee, but I
was able to get some before we got started, so it was all good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">(And yes, that’s vaguebooking, but I’ll announce what
it is when I have more details, so just bear with me. Trust me, it'll be good.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3sH9EFTRlgh-YQHnrUP0lS71WGABB2tKUk0yaQuShAO1Cwet7CZeaUbz9LyvG06Klbq6j_Lnx3LYDjEmoKnYd6ypxNvwnT52SSUiCWHs9eA9lgB557OiS1E9oC900GpCb8LqGzUWzw7H/s1600/IMG_20170722_180454_701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3sH9EFTRlgh-YQHnrUP0lS71WGABB2tKUk0yaQuShAO1Cwet7CZeaUbz9LyvG06Klbq6j_Lnx3LYDjEmoKnYd6ypxNvwnT52SSUiCWHs9eA9lgB557OiS1E9oC900GpCb8LqGzUWzw7H/s200/IMG_20170722_180454_701.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quite possibly the nicest guy working<br />
in the field of horror fiction, Jonathan<br />
Janz. Not pictured: the flowered pants<br />
he was wearing....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Back to the hotel, pack up, check out, and then off
to the bittersweet final day of Scares That Care.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today was definitely slower than the other days, and
everything was much more relaxed as well. I did manage to catch the reading
from Jonathan Janz and Mary SanGiovanni, both of whom blew the audience away.
After that, it was time to make those dreaded rounds to say goodbye to all the
awesome folks I’d spend the last weekend getting to know and hanging out with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After that, I headed up to the live recording of
Armand’s ArmCast Dead Sexy Podcast, where I was included as a participant
alongside the wonderful Wile E. Young, who is working on his first novel for
Deadite Press. We both had a blast talking to Armand, and then I hung out in
the audience for a few more guests. When that was over, the time had come. As
much as I hated it, I had to go back home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I said goodbye to the last few folks I’d promised to
meet up with before heading out, and then we hit the road for the long trip
back to Tennessee. We got stuck in an accident cleanup within the first hour,
fought through rain so hard you couldn’t see the road and almost constant
cloud-to-ground lightning as we made our way out of Virginia and into
Tennessee, but finally, we made it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
Summary…</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This wasn’t my first convention, but it was my first
in over a decade, and definitely my first where I had a “vested interest” in
going. It was also my first purely horror-themed one, so I really didn’t know
what to expect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2t9yn-cb7Tp6GTcwr69BAF4itRbOZ3c1XRTXCsNLT2bIAv4NLet0BWzIiHcvCOLoZaoLkJY82kk6b3RSzMpaUHDikqf_x2kjtR9pmDIVWNAKoajj3WwAINhRX2Ywbb7Brc1NmvifZdaS/s1600/IMG_20170722_022558_066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2t9yn-cb7Tp6GTcwr69BAF4itRbOZ3c1XRTXCsNLT2bIAv4NLet0BWzIiHcvCOLoZaoLkJY82kk6b3RSzMpaUHDikqf_x2kjtR9pmDIVWNAKoajj3WwAINhRX2Ywbb7Brc1NmvifZdaS/s200/IMG_20170722_022558_066.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is just the swag from Day One...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Uncertain expectations aside, I was blown away. Everyone I
encountered was open, and welcoming. I walked away from that convention feeling
like I’d not just met some contemporaries in the horror fiction field, but that
I’d actually made some friends. It’s one thing to be “friends” on Facebook, but
after meeting and hanging out with these guys, it feels like so much more than
that. I can honestly say that while I’ve only been home for a few hours now as
I write this, I genuinely miss them, and am going to be heartbroken that I won’t
be able to wake up and go see them all again tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m not even going to try and name everyone who I
enjoyed meeting this weekend, because the list is so long and I’m sure I’d
forget someone or something. What I will say is that this weekend made me feel
like this is what I’m supposed to be doing. Everyone I talked to made me feel
like I belonged, and there are no words to express how that feels. It also
reinvigorated me to the whole process of writing and got me fired up for whatever
project is next for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXNdOPRbRfO6o7HavfLI3IkAzkueq_ITxi0OKHLvn3CpIVZaGzHJkU78oIdXVB7xFNt2nf7NHFJoDTASWT-c_VDAeczvW6Y537sxFqGEjezP7OKV5YzcaqtUCD_-eD62fHLhtOnzplxbUZ/s1600/IMG_20170723_152455_832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXNdOPRbRfO6o7HavfLI3IkAzkueq_ITxi0OKHLvn3CpIVZaGzHJkU78oIdXVB7xFNt2nf7NHFJoDTASWT-c_VDAeczvW6Y537sxFqGEjezP7OKV5YzcaqtUCD_-eD62fHLhtOnzplxbUZ/s200/IMG_20170723_152455_832.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of this year's convention hosts,<br />
the multi-talented Brian Keene.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some people have a preconception of horror writers,
actors, and fans as being strange and scary people. While that may be true in
some cases, I’ve seen the exact opposite is more true than not. Here we all
were, at a charity convention that supports those who really need the help. Not
once did I see anyone made to feel anything but welcomed and appreciated for
who they were—whoever they were. Will I go back again? Unquestioningly. I was
asked more than once why I didn’t have a table there this year, and will be
looking at rectifying that for next year as soon as the opportunity arises.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That was how I spent
my summer vacation. And as I sit here preparing this post for publication, looking at those pictures, I realize how much I already miss all those guys and how much I can't wait to see them all again next year. Now to relax and recover, and to savor some memories that will definitely last a lifetime.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-89346300256260506972017-06-29T02:15:00.000-05:002017-06-29T02:15:20.625-05:00The Journal of Jeremy Todd - Cover RevealAs I mentioned in that last post, I've been waiting with tremendous anticipation to show you guys the cover for THE JOURNAL OF JEREMY TODD, and now the time has finally arrived! So here it is, without further ado (click for larger image):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDCWA11t3obxPzCZ9UZ12vGfFGhBATTmoIAPpOI-36VUZWpguBIPbBiDfYzbz0hK5ttyhFkVP7QbaaMjNTlVvlf5xVl1OLAoWVMkufw2pj_2XEYtUr8TFaELlY7PwfHxm388Nuok7YW7i/s1600/Jeremy+Todd+-+Full+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDCWA11t3obxPzCZ9UZ12vGfFGhBATTmoIAPpOI-36VUZWpguBIPbBiDfYzbz0hK5ttyhFkVP7QbaaMjNTlVvlf5xVl1OLAoWVMkufw2pj_2XEYtUr8TFaELlY7PwfHxm388Nuok7YW7i/s320/Jeremy+Todd+-+Full+Cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
You can read more about this one over at the <a href="http://sinistergrinpress.com/blog/journal-jeremy-todd-john-quick/" target="_blank">Sinister Grin Press blog</a>, where you will also learn the cool idea that's going to make this not just a book, but an experience.<br />
<br />
I'll be posting some updates about the idea of making this into an actual journal later on, but for now I want to thank Matt Davis for this incredible cover, and also Kevin Robel from Robel Graphics for the awesome interior graphics and artwork!<br />
<br />
This one will hit in both digital and paperback on July 15th, but you can pre-order it now for your Kindle <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071GS9BQN/" target="_blank">over at Amazon</a>!John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-65919643674441857572017-06-22T16:59:00.000-05:002017-06-22T16:59:17.181-05:00Waiting is the Hardest Part... But It's Worth ItWe've all heard that little homily before in regards to something or another: "waiting is the hardest part." When it comes to publishing, it's a fact of life. Still, once you accept it, you can deal with it. There's a wait between finishing a first draft and starting revisions, and another one once you send the manuscript out for editing, and once more when you submit it somewhere. For all of those, you simply work on something else and the wait doesn't seem so bad.<br />
<br />
When you're in the final countdown to publication, though, that wait is suddenly MUCH more intense.<br />
<br />
As I write this, the release date for THE JOURNAL OF JEREMY TODD is just over three weeks away. We're in the final stages, in other words. That means ramping up the promotional aspect of the release, putting finishing touches on the text so it's as clean as it can be, and the part that's been exceptionally thrilling for me: dealing with the artwork.<br />
<br />
This one's a little different from what I've done before, in that there's actually interior artwork as well as the cover art. I can't explain why, exactly, at least not yet, but there is. When the idea was first tossed out there a couple months ago during the planning stage of the cover art, no one was really sure it would pan out. Then I was talking with my editor, the always wonderful Erin Al-Mehairi, and we came up with the skeleton for that artwork, and it became a little more real.<br />
<br />
And then, last weekend, I saw it for the first time.<br />
<br />
There's a moment when you're putting a book out where it all suddenly becomes real. Maybe it's when you see the listing on Amazon, maybe it's when you send in those final edits, maybe it's the first time you see the cover. For me, it was seeing that PDF proof of the interior art. My first thought as I waited for my phone to download the file was, "holy shit, this is actually happening." Then I opened it and saw the art.<br />
<br />
It's a good thing I was alone in my car at the time. Otherwise, someone would have thought I'd lost my mind.<br />
<br />
I giggled. I barked out a laugh. Then I giggled again. Each page I scrolled through was its own moment of surreal excitement. Vague images that had only existed in my imagination so far as hazy ideas suddenly exploded into full, living color. I skimmed it, pulled off the road, parked, and then looked at them again without worrying that I'd end up crashing if I didn't pay attention. When I got home and loaded it up on the computer, so I could see it in its full glory, the reaction was the same: uncontrollable giggling and smiles. At least my family already thinks I'm nuts, so I didn't have to worry about what they might think of it.<br />
<br />
There's still a bit of waiting to go. We'll be revealing the cover very, very soon, and more details will follow between now and July 15th when the book is unleashed. Still, it's those little moments that make the wait worthwhile. Once you all get to see it, and I no longer have to remain somewhat vague, I hope you'll all agree that the wait was well worth it.John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466621821139997159.post-30522282840805644262017-06-12T16:25:00.000-05:002017-06-12T16:25:51.801-05:00The Journal of Jeremy Todd - Synopsis RevealI've been talking about it, now it's time for you to finally get some idea what it is. Without further ado, here's the official synopsis for THE JOURNAL OF JEREMY TODD, coming July 15th from Sinister Grin Press!<br />
<br />
"I am not crazy.<br />
<br />
Then again, maybe I am. I’ve learned that’s not for the person in question to decide, but rather something decided by others, usually after everything’s happened that’s going to happen to tilt their decision one way or the other. I can think whatever I want, but that’s not going to change how anyone else feels, and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it.<br />
<br />
I’ve had some issues. That I won’t deny. But am I crazy? I suppose that’s going to be up to you to figure out.<br />
<br />
I’ve done things that many people would consider crazy, that’s true. Some of the things I’ve had to deal with—and the way I’ve dealt with them—might also play into the crazy verdict. Still, I maintain that I am not crazy.<br />
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Well, maybe just a little bit. But I don’t think anyone with a kind heart can begrudge me that. I’ve earned my crazy, if you want to see it that way.<br />
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But here, you figure it out. This is my journal, my story, a snippet of my life for a month or so. This is what happened to me around the time of my high school reunion. This is what I did, and why I did it. The story not only of that reunion and the events surrounding it, the ones you’ve probably read about in the papers, but about the things that happened during high school that make it necessary for things to play out the way they did. This is what happened to me, and to Roger, and Nikki, and Chris, and all those kids who thought I was simply a target in school and treated me as such. This is the true story of what they did to me, and what I did to them in return.<br />
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Read it, share my pain, and then you tell me if I’m crazy or not. I’m sure you’ll understand. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.<br />
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I’m sure you’ll agree that I’m not crazy.<br />
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And who cares what that judge thought, anyway?"John Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01957201006016542943noreply@blogger.com0