The Atomic Age

As an illustrator turned writer, I think all of us sketchy/painty/scribbily types should know how stories are put together because it doubles your creative, monitizeable, output.

So I get this: http://www.livehacked.com/how-to-write-a-novel/ on my twitter feed and I think "You know what, I've written a couple of books and I've packaged a couple of books and writing is hard. If this is any good I think I'll pass it along to other artsy types who are trying to get started with the whole book thing..."

Thus I followed the link and subscribed and I'm gonna jump right in and see where this train takes me, good or bad.

Day One and I have to say, I'm not impressed so far. He opens by telling me that he is NOT:

·   A "Pro" writer

·   A writing teacher

·   A lecturer

Well...OK, then. In fairness, I think I get what he is trying to say, but it just doesn't fill me with warm fuzzies about his competence, which ironically I was more convinced of before his introduction.

Second error. He tells you to buy Scrivner. This may be a totally unprovoked show of love for a particular writing program BUT it smells like a "I get a kickback for pushing this on you..." type of thing. I'm not saying that's what's happening, but he leaves himself open to that interpretation. Worse, the whole point of clicking on the link was "Free Writing Course". I work with a lot of students and FREE works for them. Scrivner on the other hand is forty five bucks.

Artists and creatives lack any number of emotional/intellectual traits that the rest of the world seem to have locked up. We need to save the space for the worlds we are creating. For the methods we will employ to create those worlds, and yes, to enjoy them for ourselves. But that kind of constant emotional deep-diving tends to leave us with a glaring lack of consistency.

When creatives get uptight or depressed they tend to do something the rest of the world can't imagine (and with good reason) they stop working.

Think about it artists-If your doctor had a bad day, do you really want to live in a world where he can tell you to come back later when he is in "a better place"? How would you react if your mechanic said he wouldn't put the tires (you just paid for) on your car because he got a call from his girlfriend and she is breaking up with him.

Try to remember that people are depending on your output to do business. Business is important to a lot of people. They enjoy it and put effort into it just like we do when we are really into a project. You wouldn't want someone to make up random excuses for why you don't get to draw today based on some random event from their life, which has nothing to do with you.

The good news for us, is that our "condition" has a cure.

Day Planning.

You don't need a fancy Day-Timer style book, any notebooks or phone app will do. Take 30 min. in the morning and plan out what you need to do that day. Anything that doesn't get finished goes to the top of the list for the next day. It's simple and works like a charm. Also, when you find yourself feeling crappy and uncreative, just pick something from the list that is more technical in nature and do that instead. You may not do everything on your list but you will at least have done something.

This will lead to more time, and happier clients. Enjoy.

League Entertainment Co-Founder Ken Chapman and I have started linking up with local writing groups to share our journey, relay up-to-the-minute industry information and offer any advice that might strengthen and support the writing community as a whole. The process is never one sided, of course, and we learn from each encounter and are strengthened in turn. 

The first of these exciting, community building experiences was courtesy of The Palm Harbor School of the Novel. PHSN is an intimately small writers group that feels more like an evening with family or your best friends in college. That's not to say it's all young pups, a wide age group is represented, but an atmosphere of youthful exuberance permeates the gathering. The diversified background of the members is also a plus. From doctors to tech specialists to retired businessmen to just plain-old, full-time authors there was an intelligent and stimulating conversation waiting around every corner.

If PHSN is a gift then its founder Shirley S. is the bow that completes it. Caring and beautiful, Shirley is the "Coach" of this supportive and friendly team and brings everything with her that the title would imply.

Published or not, if you are writing and would like the support and critique of other writers, in a super-positive atmosphere, by all means check out The Palm Harbor School of the Novel. You won't regret it.

Want more of Simon Vector and his strange, scary, adventure-filled world? Well fear not, space traveler, League Entertainment has anticipated your need! ENTRYPOINT™ novellas offer exciting and unexpected insights into every one of our fictional worlds, and SIMON VECTOR is no exception.

The best part is; you don’t even need to have read SIMON VECTOR to enjoy them! We’ve created each ENTRYPOINT™ novella as an exciting stand-alone story of action, terror, revenge or tragedy. You’ll learn additional background information about the characters and gain story insight not available to those readers that have only read SIMON VECTOR.  ENTRYPOINT™  novellas don’t need to be read in any order, either! Just pick one up and join in the action at any point, with no fear of getting lost.

Alone, in a set, or as a companion to SIMON VECTOR, our ENTRYPOINT™ novellas are an exciting and well priced way to jump into some great science fiction with little risk to time or wallet.

Just finished Adam-Troy Castro's OUR HUMAN. This was the best money I have spent on any sci-fi in the last year. It's a gift for the ninety-nine cents. Getting something this good, from an author this recognized, at this price, is very rare.

Seriously, you have to try this out.

If you have downloaded SIMON VECTOR, and liked it, please help out The League and write a review for it on Amazon. This is very important to our overall ranking, which drives sales and makes producing the next book possible.

We do all we can to bring you high-end entertainment at the best prices. Your reviews make that process go faster and better!

Also, you will make the Stern Otter happy.

Dark, dark, awesome science fiction. I have been waiting for this one and just bought mine.

It's very cool that I've released SIMON VECTOR, my second co-authored (with Ken Chapman) novel. The book is doing well and I am grateful to friends, fans and family for helping us get this far.

But today I'm feeling particular grateful to my friend and industry mentor, the great sci-fi master, Adam-Troy Castro.

Adam fought hard to insure that League Entertainment got its first gig with Harper Collins, a national release, double contract titled (respectively) Z is for Zombie and V is for Vampire. He wrote, I illustrated and (minor) history was made.

Adam is a tireless supporter of my work and my company (League Entertainment) and my career. There is nothing I wouldn't do for this generous, brilliant and award winning author. Unfortunately, there also isn't very much I can do for him. So, I will simply tell you to go out right now and familiarize yourself with his works. You will thank me if you do.

By the way, Adam just won an award for his story "With Unclean Hands" and you can check it out at Analog Online.

Things I cannot resist:

1. Kissing Adam-Troy Castro's bald pate.

2.Taking silly picture with aforementioned bald, sci-fi/fantasy writing genius.

Nice, brief mention in Publishers Weekly. Yay!

Just a few hours left to get the first, awesome, book in the SIMON VECTOR series for just...NOTHING! Completely FREE! And while you're at it, have this free wallpaper.

http://amzn.to/SVKin1 for the book

Only a few hours left to join the more than ONE THOUSAND other fans to download their FREE copy of our sc-fi horror, hit - SIMON VECTOR! Remember; this is a Kindle edition, and you can get a free Kindle reader for your Mac or PC even if you don't have the Kindle device. Enjoy!

If you don't have a Kindle and want to read your FREE copy of our new sci-fi, horror novel, SIMON VECTOR, don't despair. Here is a link to get a free app for your computer that will let you read it right off your desktop.

Tonight at midnight League Entertainment's Sci-Fi, horror novel SIMON VECTOR , goes online at Amazon for 5 days,  ABSOLUTELY FREE.

This is our gift to all of you who supported us, waited on us to finish, told your friends about us etc. Thank You! Now go enjoy your free book!

Kindle Edition

Adam Castro and I just won the coveted Polidori Award: Check it out here.