Here’s the most recent video in The Bookstore series. There’s a protest taking place. The 99% have had their fill of Twilight, and it’s about to get as ugly as they can make until their girlfriends make them see the movie again.
Xtranormal
Catching Up on the Writering
So Kate Gosselin is “freaking out “ over her show being cancelled.
I really don’t care. I just couldn’t come up with an intro.
Although, seriously? She’s upset because her career has been derailed? Watch the video. It’s amazing how much she sounds like…well, like Kate Gosselin. Woman’s nuttier than a can of almonds.
It’s been some time since life has allowed me the time and energy to focus on writing, as well as the myriad other projects I want to work on. Now that I’ve left my post at The Corner Bookstore, I’m going to dive headlong into the wordy pool and see what comes of it. The primary objective right now is to finish Book 1 in The Storyteller series, which is tentatively called The Heart of Darkness. I should, all things being equal, complete that manuscript some time in October (preferably before I head to Richmond, Va for The James River Writers Confererence).
As I manage that daunting task, I mean to pick up the pieces of the abandoned Bookstore series of videos (newest one below) and continue building a platform with which to turn my bizzaro experiences as a bookseller into a television pilot. Think Arrested Development meets The Office and you’ll get a decent idea. Something that allows for a good bit of insanity but is more character driven than built around the location. I hope to have a new video up every Wednesday.
Additionally, I’ll have a few posts to add to The Adventures of Ducky Thomas, including his long overdue story of traveling to New York City. That post, for what it’s worth will be called The Massive Warship, and has an awful lot to do with his visit to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The hope with Ducky is to translate his adventures into chapter books. I think the world needs stories about an adventurous duck. Ducky agrees.
Now that Flutter is out and selling, I will be returning again to the world of Timothy Webb and telling what may, or may not, be the final book in that series. I’m rather fond of Timothy and Natasha, so I may violate ever known rule of writing just to hang on to them. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, The Christ Corporation Series has a Facebook page. Like it. I’ll be posting updates there.
Finally, staring me in the face with the depth and deadness of a salivating zombie is a story that takes the traditional Zombie Apocalypse for rocking ride where it’s never been before. Not sure yet if I want to write the novel or the screenplay, but as I have information to offer, I’ll be tossing it up here on the blog.
…of which I will be visiting more often. Obviously, right?
So with nothing in my way but myself, all of these projects will be complete or underway within the next six months. I’m piling it on and looking forward to what comes of it.
Oh, and in the near future I’ll be looking for you to determine what absolutely ridiculous show I show blog about on a regular basis. That one is wide open. Anything from Springer to Gossip Girl, from The View to 90210. It’s not my call. It’s yours. I’m not sure who I hope to entertain more with that, but I’m quite positive it will be me.
That said, here’s the latest in The Bookstore series, called Potter is Hotter. Time to decide between Cullen and Potter. And pretty dresses.
The Bookstore, Episode 7 Lady Muslim
Here’s #7 in The Bookstore series. This one is based on a customer I encountered today. She seemed perfectly normal, albeit odd as she wandered from spot to spot in the store, looking at nothing and everything at once. Then she decided to tell me something. Whisper something, actually. And so, here she is, immortalized as only Xtranormal can.
Tweeting the Quack
This is actually a post from the Southern Authors Blog, A Good Blog is Hard to Find, but I would be doing it a great disservice if I didn’t post it everywhere, so, here it is. May your day be filled with the glory of my brilliance.
And stuff.
——-
This is a duck. His name is Ducky Thomas. He is a duck named Thomas.
He’s stuffed full of cute, loves adventures, and is quite convinced that the world is the most fantastic thing a duck could ever hope for. He also loves the cat who loves him most.
This is a video about a bookstore. It has nothing to do with ducks–not yet anyway I guess I must admit–but does indeed have a lot to do with the point.
They both have something in common. They have nothing directly to do with the books I write, but have everything to do with me as a writer. They are independent of what is published, but a vital cog in the publicity of who I am. And they aren’t the end or the beginning. They are the journey.
There. I’ve waxed poetic. Now I can get on with the point.
We all know about Twitter. If you have the time and patience, you can gather a following, make a name for yourself, your opinions, and your work. The same can be said for Facebook, albeit in a more centralized, and long-term kind of way. You’re going to make your friends, have your followers, talk about anything from The Simpsons and their obvious lack of relevance to Obama and his quest for health care. You’ll be “liked”, have the “@” symbol thrown your way, tagged, or even re-posted/re-tweeted. People will laugh with you, at you, talk about why your opinion is pointless and not at all as potent as what they have to say, and send messages to one another about whatever it is you posted last. Above all, they will know you as a writer, and understand you as a person in ways readers never could before, and they will look forward to what you have to post next.
But they are merely one step toward lifting you, as a writer, into the conversations of the world.
We live in a digital age. One in which communication is almost entirely of the written word. We view Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Plancast, Tumbler, and so on as pure facets of publicity, meant to broaden our audience and stamp a nice, fancy, little brand upon our heads. All of which is most certainly true. But it’s not the mere existence of our digital selves on these sites that makes full embrace of what they offer us. It’s what we write. It’s how we use them. It’s taking the blank slate and filling it with content that both evolves who we are as writers, and demonstrates fully what we can do with the words we are blessed with. True, starting a blog and writing about anything–anything at all–is exactly the right approach. But it isn’t the endpoint.
When I first started blogging, I didn’t intend on writing about the adventures of a stuffed duck, and I had no plans to begin at first a blog, and then a series of videos about life in a bookstore. But the more I worked through my personal blog, the more I came to see each entry as a script of my life–pages of the mind fluttering from the inner sanctum of thought to the public forum offered to me. Each entry was another showcase of what I could offer. In a very real sense, each time I posted a blog, I was adding to my resume. Obviously, it is every writer’s great hope that each book that is published will further enhance the aura and legacy of who they are (read in: you will become instantly uber-famous, and own two castles in a decade). But it doesn’t have to end there any more. In fact, the sheer number of books that are being published by extension of the popularity of a blog speak volumes to the time in which we live. Used to be that you had to find a press to print your article, or a series of collected works in which to be included in order to broaden the scope of your work. Now you have the internet, and whatever time you offer it. Work it all in unison and not only do people start to pay attention–no matter how small your collective–but they start to anticipate what’s to come. Then that audience can grow as people share what you have to offer–which is far less work than what you will put into creating it, given that the sharing aspect of it is usually accommodated by the gratifying click of a button.
It’s so very cliche, but the truth is, you never know who is watching, who is reading, who will share what you have to say, who is paying attention to as you scream from every corner of the internet you can crawl from, “HEY! PAY ATTENTION TO ME!” So, go. Do. Find your inner duck. And make every word count. Your future readers will take note.
Back to The Bookstore
The most recent episode of The Bookstore is a fair bit of a self-indulgence. But this is my universe, so I’ll construct it as I like, thank you. Actually, the true point of these videos is simply to entertain and tell a story, and it is my great hope that do exactly that. But I would be remiss in not utilizing it to also promote myself, so why not have Eddie profess me to be one of the greatest writers ever? I was rather touched by his sentiment, even if he’s just doing so in a vain attempt to bait me into doing an event at The Bookstore.
I’ve upgraded to Xtranormal’s new movie-making program, which they call State. It allows for more than 2 characters–which I’ve utilized here–and the ability to move characters around. There’s a nifty voice over thingy that I will ultimately have to give a try, but for now…baby steps.
As with every project I ever undertake, I’m open to comments, thoughts, and ideas. Additionally, I’m very (I think I mean to say VERY) open to you sharing these videos on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere you socially congregate. As well, you can visit the videos on my You Tube page, and add comments, likes, and so forth. Don’t underestimate how much it helps. Same with my books on Amazon. It’s a public forum in which people who have never heard of me (like Stacy in the video) have the opportunity to read what other people are saying.
Ok, enough promoting. Here’s the fourth video in The Bookstore series, Going Viral.
I Have a Wrong Way to Go (until I find the right one) 