Forrest Aguirre, in the Leaves

So, my publisher and distributor are using Edelweiss to get galleys of Heraclix & Pomp out to reviewers. Can someone give me the low-down on how this works? I'm really working from square one here. Assume I know absolutely nothing about how galleys get out to reviewers, and so forth, because . . . I know absolutely nothing.

Help?

Thanks!

Forrest

I can never keep up with memes. So here's a blast from the past. Enjoy!

Booklet or Tome? Novella.

Pre-owned or New? Given my taste in books, it's rare that I actually find what I'm looking for in used book stores. This is a good thing, since I can't just willy-nilly go and buy new books. For me, the book is an investment of time and money, and I don't have much of each, so I go used first, then, if I can't find it used after a year or so of looking, I'll buy new . . . if I'm still interested in the book. I make exceptions for books that I am uber-excited about. I won't wait a year to buy them and I'll even occasionally pre-order a book I am particularly excited about.

Historical Fiction or Fantasy? There's a difference? Not in my writing!

Hardcover or Paperback? I strive for hardcovers and settle for paperbacks.

Funny or Sad? Funny enough, sad. Besides Wodehouse, are there any truly funny authors? I love books that can mix the two to satisfy my grim sense of humor.

Do You Prefer Reading in Summer or Winter? Summer. I read in Winter because there's not much else to do. I read in Summer because I really want to. I love going to the community gardens or arboretums or nature conservatories (there are many of these paradises in Madison, WI) and reading a book out in nature. Reading a book out in nature during a Wisconsin winter is hazardous to your health.

Classics or Mainstream? Yes, please. But mostly obscure works that have the potential to become classics or books that started out as obscure and have become cult classics.

Guidebook or Fiction? Fiction. I'm a man. I don't need directions . . .

Crime Novel or Thriller? I prefer books that have elements of each, but am not enamored of either subgenre. With a gun to my head, I'd say “Crme Novel”. Ironic, isn't it?

Ebook or Print? I prefer print. But I do read E-books, as well, just not nearly as often. I love the physical artifact of the book, how it looks, the heft of it, the way it takes up 3-dimensional space, it's smell, etc.

Collecting or Clearing Out? Depends on how good the book is. Fantastic books, I keep. I might even go hunting for a hardcover or limited edition if I'm in love with it. Otherwise, I take my loss and sell it to the used book store so I can buy more. Yes, I like losing money this way. It turns me on.

Internet or Bookstore? I love bookstores. But many of the books I want are so obscure that I can't find them at a bookstore, so I will order them over the internet. I long for bookstores that can afford to keep all those strange, bizarre, difficult to find titles that I want to buy. Alas, businesses have to make money and if they choose me as their target customer, they're aiming for a very small audience.

Backlist or New Publications? A little from column A, a little from column B.

Best or Bad Seller? Definitely bad. It's rare that I truly love a best-selling book. It happens, occasionally, but as a rule, give me obscure works and I will shout about them from the rooftops all day long. My taste thrives in dark, out of the way corners.

Cookbook or Baking Book? Cookbook, but only as an outline. Like I said, I'm a man. I don't need no stinking directions!

Yeah, yeah - it was supposed to be posted yesterday - but it's my birthday weekend and I also decided to do two!! :)

As both an undergraduate and graduate student, I had a penchant for spending time in the rare manuscripts rooms at both BYU and University of Wisconsin-Madison. While my studies in African History did require me to spend time there to peruse books for research, I enjoyed taking time to thumb through (with gloved hands, of course) everything from medieval manuscripts to pioneer journals to (my favorite) the entire selection of Yellow Book Quarterly, which had nothing at all to do with my research. But hey, I paid tuition (still am, thank you student loans), so I figured I could go in and read what I liked, so long as I left things undamaged and unsoiled by my grubby hands (hence the gloves). But I never once thought of stealing any of these books. Part of it was my conscience (I consider myself an honest person and I hate, hate, hate people who lie a lot), and part of it was security measures put in place to discourage temptation and crimes of opportunity. Now, having done a little writing myself, I know how much work goes into writing a book, let alone the outrageous consumption of time and materials that must have gone into books in the early modern era. Old books are treasures. They should be kept that way: safe and secure.

But there are people out there who will steal such books, usually, I am told, to resell them for profit.

But John Gilkey was is not such a man. 

The title The Man Who Loved Books too Much would lead you to believe that Gilkey bought rare books with other people's credit card information because . . . well, he loved them. But the author shows that Gilkey stole rare books because he loved himself too much. 

A few reviewers have rated this book poorly because they find Gilkey's acts reprehensible. Yes, they are. The man is a selfish slouch with a sense of entitlement that would give Ronald Reagan heart attacks. But I rate books solely on the book and whether or not it was successful. And here, I have to say . . . "meh". 

Bartlett is a journalist. I'll admit to not having a very high opinion of most journalists (especially since I ran for local political office years ago and saw, firsthand, how they distort people's words to suit their own need for "the story"), but I thought I'd give her the benefit of the doubt. The whole schtick of the book - book thief, book detective, literary obsession - seemed very interesting. 

And it was . . . until Bartlett decided to put herself in the book. I found the story of the book thief and his pursuit compelling reading. I was fascinated by the internal workings of the rare book industry. 

But then . . . well, Allison, things got weird between us. You started wondering if you could get into the thief's head and went on and on about your involvement with the case. You forgot that there needs to be some element of objectivity in a journalistic piece and you questioned this very simple assumption. You did a layman's psychological self-examination of yourself and laid it all out for the reader. Only this reader didn't want it. The story was enough in itself. I loved the story. I don't know if the editor applied pressure, thinking it would sell more books or if you just needed the filler or what, exactly. But sometimes it's best to quit while your still ahead. Or, better yet, quit before you inadvertently shine the spotlight on yourself.

*sigh*

I'm a huge fan of the game "Capture the Flag". I played a few times as a young man, but as an adult, I've become an aficionado. This is the result of several campouts as a leader of youth through BSA or being the leader of my church's youth group. I've played it dozens of times in a wide variety of areas. There's something thrilling about this game, especially if it's played over a wide expanse of forest. One tactic that I've used successfully involves teasing out the opposing players and noting their limits. While they might send out a couple of runners to go after your flag, chances are that there are at least a few of the opposing team who will stay close, but not too close, to their flag, tied by an invisible tether to its location. Once you work around and "pull" the opposing players out as far as they're willing to go, you can determine the whereabouts of their flag. You "pull" by intentionally exposing your position without being caught. The key is dropping hints that you are around, but not directly showing yourself. Rocks and sticks are best for this, if you have a good throwing arm. Or shaking a tree when you are certain you are out of the opposing team's direct line of sight tends to draw their attention. Throughout the course of several games, however, there will be times when you are seen and may be caught in the very act of deception. Sometimes you can still salvage the game, but you usually have to pull back and start approaching the enemy from a different angle. Once your cover is blown, your entire plan of attack can be ruined.

And this speaks to my only strong complaint about "The Lost Boy," by Greg Ruth. The artwork is amazing, the plot is stronger than many I've seen in graphic novels, and the characterization, for the most part, is good to great (more on that later). My biggest problem with the book is that Ruth plays his hand a little too strongly in a couple of places. Had he done so only once, I think this would be a strong contender for a five-star rating. But the mistake is made in a couple of places: foreshadowing becomes over-exposure, and the reader can easily guess key elements of how this is going to end up. Too easily. Toning down the foreshadowing would have done a great deal to push this graphic novel to near-perfection.

Back in the 1950s, a boy, Walt, disappears from a small town. In the present day, another boy, Nate, discovers an old tape player under the floorboards of his bedroom after he moves with his family into town. Nate listens to the tapes, which are narrated by Walt, so many decades ago, and begins to discover that Walt had learned of a fae world beyond the mundane in which dog-riding crickets and talking dolls are the norm. Nate's neighbor, Tabitha, seems to know something about this world, as well. The two of them team up to solve the mystery of where Walt disappeared and find themselves embroiled in events that will have consequences for far more than them or the small town in which they live. As the story progresses, we are introduced to more and more characters and slowly, a picture emerges of several factions vying for control of The Key, which will assure dominance in both the fae world and in the mundane world. Ruth does a masterful job of slowly introducing the different character's motives and intentions, but, in doing so, lets foreshadowing show a bit too much about future plot twists. In fact, what should have been a major plot twist is telegraphed far too plainly (and too early) by a conversation between the talking doll Tom Button and Haloran, an older man who serves as Walt's, then Nate and Tabitha's, guide to the other world.

All of the characters are strong and unique. None of them "bleed" into the others, as I've seen in too many graphic novels. I found the characters of Walt, Tabitha, and Baron Tick to be the most compelling and interesting. My one complaint is with Haloran, who becomes a sort of flawed messiah figure who knows his place in the worlds, but is not always sure how to act in them. While interesting, I felt that Haloran was flat, maybe a bit rushed. There are some deep, poignant moments, but the long stretches of silence, which were probably meant to imply an aloof wisdom, end up reading as a simple omission on the part of the writer.

Besides its flaws, "The Lost Boy" is a graphic novel that deserves your attention. It's not perfect, but it might have been. And the ending leaves the door open for possible future volumes, which I will watch for with keen interest.

It was a close game, this time. Maybe next time, Ruth will lure me out enough to sneak up, then rush in to capture the flag.

My publisher is doing a thing. You can win a free book (and, yes, Heraclix & Pomp qualifies)! Maybe more than one. Here's the email they sent out:

"Let's fudge a bit and call this our six month anniversary. It's closer to seven actually, and we're five months away from the release of Chimpanzee, but the story is better if we call April 1st our six month anniversary. Halfway through our first year and halfway to our first new book. This seems like a milestone.  And actually, we just hit a nice round number on the mailing list, so double milestone. AND our new employee started today. TRIPLE MILESTONE.

We should celebrate. Here's how we're going to do that: for every ten new subscribers to the mailing list, we'll pull one of their names at random and offer them a free book. It can be any existing Underland Press title or any of the four titles we've got planned for this fall. AND for every ten new subscribers we get, I'll pull a name from the existing subscriber list (in blocks of ten) and offer that person a free book as well. If we DOUBLE the existing mailing list in the month of April, I'll start over on the early adopters list again and give everyone another chance at a free book. Tell your friends! Let's grow that mailing list.

http://eepurl.com/DWNHP

Welcome to April, my dear early enthusiasts. If this is a roller coaster ride, we're about to hit the top and start hurtling our way down the other side. Buckle up!

-mark"

Here's the website: http://www.resurrectionhouse.com/ 

The signup for the mailing list is on the left hand side. Updates are infrequent and always entertaining. :)

It must be really tough to be a comic book writer/graphic novelist in this day and age. First, there's the proliferation of comics on the internet, which draws an attention-deficit society away from hard copy books in general, let alone graphic novels. Second, and intimately tied to the first, is the sheer volume of self-published graphic novels (in hard copy form, I mean), which makes it easier for your work to get lost in the crowd. And while there is a lot of dross out there, there is a lot of great material out there, both in the self-published vein and coming from "traditional" publishers. Some recent examples of such stellar work in the latter realm are The Manhattan Projects,Prophet, and the Fatale series. 

That's some stiff competition and a not-very-friendly environment in which to find oneself as a graphic novelist.

But you can't blame people for trying. Heck, if I had half the artistic talent of Scott Wegener or the connections with artists enjoyed by Brian Clevinger, I'd take a shot at it myself. I love the graphic novel form, and I'm a decent enough writer. Alas, I am not a great artist. Not even a good artists.

Wegener is a good artist. Behind the front cover, his work is a little sparse and uncluttered for my tastes. I like details and a bit of organic roughness or a sense of aging and decay, if you will, a'la Moebius or Farel Dalrymple, so the artwork in Atomic Robo: Volume One was adequate to the task, but not stunning.

Clevinger is a good writer, too. The narrative stream in this work takes several bends, in the form of flashbacks, each of which adds to the cumulative knowledge about the main character, Robo. 

But it's in the character of Robo that I find my greatest disappointment. The premise is very cool, a robotic man, built by Nikol Tesla in 1923, is brought up by scientists who train him to defend the world from psychotic ne'er-do-wells like the pseudo-Nazi Lord Helsingard. We watch Robo in a series of flashbacks as he fights giant ants, dogfights with a Japanese fighter during World War 2, lands on Mars and infiltrates one of the pyramids of Giza, which is moving toward Luxor, causing destruction with a Deathray as it crawls across the desert. Robo, despite being somewhat vulnerable to major explosions (but only somewhat), succeeds in everything he does, and does so with a snarky attitude that . . . well, that's been played a hundred times before in the graphic novel genre. In some ways, he's like a robotic Hellboy, but without the vulnerability that Hellboy shows, from time to time. And Robo's compatriots seem just as cocky. So cocky, in fact, that they lack humanity.

So, while I enjoyed Atomic Robo: Volume One, I feel that it lacks depth. Perhaps Clevinger and Wegener hit another gear with some of the later books. I know that Robo has a fairly loyal following out there. But I can't be counted among them . . . yet.

I think it might better defuse indie author versus readers tension if amazon and goodreads weren't petitioned for anything (except maybe to hire more staff to handle removal of actually abusive content quicker and without regard to who posted it ).

Instead, petition the advertiser and discoverability sites (like eReader News Today), awards and review publications to ditch their minimum average star rating requirements.  That should lesson the importance of the average star rating.

I'm not sure goodreads or amazon needs to show an average star rating anyway.  Get rid of it completely (or in amazon's case possibly only count verified purchaser star ratings in the average).  Not like all readers use the star ratings the exact same way or even use the suggested ratings scale.

You know . , . now 35% off for preorder. Pretty soon, they're going to have me paying people to take my book. Crazy. Now I'm going to get back to all of your much more informative and important posts.

OK, I honestly didn't think I would "plug" Heraclix & Pomp for a while since my last post, but they've just dropped the preorder price to 32% off. That's $17.77 for the hardcover. So if you're into hardcovers, and like . . . well, the cover . . . you know what I mean . . . you could do worse than preordering it now. Apparently if the price drops any more (really?) you get the lowest price guaranteed. I won't pretend to understand why or under what circumstances they sell soooo low on a preorder, but if you want the hardcover, get it now! You might want to let your readerly friends know, as well. Or, if you have a readerly enemy, buy the book now, don't tell them, then, when they have to pay full price, flash the receipt and laugh maniacally. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1630230014/

Oh, and did I mention that Heraclix & Pomp will also be coming out as an audible.com audiobook? I'm hoping they can get Ron Perlman for Heraclix's voice. Or maybe James Earl Jones. Or Morgan Freeman. Or Patrick Warburton.

I have no idea who could do Pomp's voice best. I'll have to give that one some thought.

Thanks for your patience with this plug. Now I'm back to reading. This Hofstadter book is going to break me, I swear!

After a grueling week, I'm finally done with major edits to Heraclix & Pomp! Tomorrow (no, wait, later today), whenever I peel myself out of bed (it's late here at Aguirre Mansions), I will run through two more continuity edits. Then, I'm sending it off to the editor and having my two oldest sons give it a read (one of them is a better editor than yours truly - no lie, he's amazing and doesn't hold back when he sees something wrong). After it's passed those "straight face tests," it's done.

Which means that I can plug away some more at Godel, Escher, Bach, or maybe read something else entirely, starting next week. Man. Reading for pleasure; for non-editing purposes. I almost forgot what that was like. I've got a pile of about a dozen books to get through now. Should be fun!

Thanks to all of you for the kind words about the book. And the cover, too. I appreciate it. Please tell your friends about it! You can point them to my blog, hook us up on Twitter or Google+ or Tumblr, or, even better, point them over to me on booklikes!  If they preorder Heraclix & Pomp through amazon.com (yes, I know, evil empire, etc), they get 23% off the hardcover, by the way. Better yet, have them order it through their local bookstore (it will be distributed by Publishers Group West). Or ask your local librarian to order up a copy so you and friends can share it. I'm hoping to give a few copies away on Booklikes, if you're the gambling type. If nothing else, let your friends know about the cool cover. I can't take any credit for it, outside of a few suggestions to the publisher, but my gosh, that cover just kicks butt. I've had several people tell me that they're going to buy the book simply because the cover is so cool!

And the story inside is just as cool! I feel that the cover really reflects the story's atmosphere. I mean, a flesh golem, fairies, devils, sorcery, existentialism, enlightenment, political intrigue, and adventure, all set in the 18th-Century Holy Roman and Ottoman Empires . . . and Hell! 

I've been writing for a few years now, and I'm fairly content with most of my writing to this point (outside of a few early stories which can be found in the bowels of the internet, if you look hard enough - hint: don't bother). But this novel, this is something special. I hope you'll be along for the ride. Heraclix and Pomp - you're going to like them, I think.

Alright, I'll stop gushing for a while. A couple of days, at least. I've got that TBR pile to dive into!

Waaay back on 18 February, Grim posted a "getting to know me" entry which was just brilliant. Unfortunately, that was 2 days before my back surgery, so needless to say, I didn't get to it. I think I can do this now (with frequent breaks to go lay down and rest). So, with HUGE thanks to Grim for creating this thing, it's my turn. I've learned a ton about my booklikes friends, and feel richer for it! I'll be using Grim's dictum of starting each of the 10 entries with "I am," because, well, because Grim said so, and that's good enough for me. Let's go:

1. I am a child of the world. I was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, during the Cold War. My father was a US Air Force sergeant with a certain set of skills (intel, electronic intelligence, and electronic warfare, mostly) that caused him to move a lot. There was only one time we couldn't go with him, when he served (I later learned years after he retired and his classified clearance ran out) as a war planner planning how to invade North Korea. That was back in the '81. Yep. They've got a plan. Anyway, I was born in Germany, then moved to Texas, then to the Philippines (my earliest recallable memories are of the Philippines during the Vietnam War under Ferdinand Marcos, who put the "dick" back in "dictator). After that, we moved back to Texas, then to Italy, then Mom and I moved to Minnesota while dad was being cross-trained down in IL. After that, we reconvened in Nebraska, then moved to England, where I graduated high school. I moved out on my own to Wyoming (long story), stayed a couple of years in Pennsylvania, moved back in with my parents in California, where I met my wife. We lived in California a few years, moved to Utah for my schooling, then moved here to Wisconsin for graduate school and decided to stay. Note that in all of these instances, I *lived* there. These were not just month-long visits. I can't even begin to tell you all the places I've been.

2. I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. It's been a long time now, 26 years, since I've had a drop of alcohol or taken illicit drugs. I also don't smoke. I gave all that crap up about a year after high school. I had done enough of all of them in the previous 5 years to that to last a lifetime. I was in pretty bad shape. What changed? I got busted, faced 10 1/2 years of potential prison time, (re)found religion, and cleaned my act up. Luckily, I didn't have to serve prison time.

3. Related to 2, I am deeply religious. I have very strong moral and spiritual beliefs and am very active with my church. I spend probably 10 hours a week, on average, giving church service, since there is no such thing as a paid clergy in my religion. I get to serve the sick, poor, and downtrodden quite a bit, helping those who are down emotionally and/or spiritually, in bad health, and financially needy. I find great joy in giving this service. 10 hours a week goes by like it's nothing.

4. That said, I am very open minded. I tend to be pretty liberal in my political beliefs, even while I can be rather conservative with my moral beliefs. They have a word for people like me, it's called "independent". I love diversity. I love that I have such a wide range of friends, from all races, beliefs, backgrounds, etc. I have friends of all shades, gay and bi and straight friends (my youngest son is gay, by the way), religious and atheist and agnostic and "religion hater" friends. I won't always agree with you, but I will always respect you and defend your right to believe and do what you want to do, so long as you're not being willfully dumb (see 8 below).

5. I am creative. I love writing. Writing is my drug, it really is. I used to play guitar (more on music in a moment) and need to "pick up the axe" again. It's been a while, but I can play irish tin whistle, as well. I draw, but nowhere nearly as well as my children, who are true artists. i create through role-playing games a lot, too (more on that, as well).

6. I am musical. Not that i'm great at creating music, but I love music. I sing in the shower at top volume and, truth be told, I'm not that bad. Not professional material, but I could win at karaoke (if I went to the bar, but I really don't go to bars much - see above). My tastes are very broad. I'm listening to psytrance/techno as I write this (Infected Mushroom, to be specific). I like (in no particular order) hardcore heavy metal (of all varieties). techno/trance, celtic, bluegrass, jazz of all types from all eras, classical (especially modern classical of the horror movie variety),  "classic" rock, '80s pop, world music, new age, just about everything except gangsta rap and "twangy" country. Music is a very important part of my life.

7. I am a role-playing gamer. I can't overstate the influence this has had on my life, both for good and bad. I barely graduated high school, mostly because I was too busy drinking, getting high, and playing D&D with my friends to actually study or do homework. On the other side, I love being surrounded by roleplaying geeks. My kids and I really enjoy playing RPGs together. Thankfully, they get way better grades than I ever did.

8. That said, I am intelligent. Not trying to be cocky, honestly, but I like surrounding myself with smart people who aren't dicks. It's tough to peel the two away from each other, but it can be done. As a result, I have a really, really hard time with dumb. Not people who are limited because of their genetics or accidents or stuff like that. I hate it when people are willfully stupid, who are fully capable, but too lazy to think for themselves and who say stupid things because they think they are cool. Man, I hate dumb.

9. I am a foodie. You wouldn't know it from my diet lately. But when I can, I love to go out to eat at restaurants that usually cost ridiculous amounts of money. My wife is a marvelous cook (teaches foods at the high school level), and I love to cook, too (though I hate doing dishes more than almost any other domestic chore). I love fine food. I love dark chocolate and am a dark chocolate snob. Lindt is the bottom of the line for me, just tolerable. Godiva isn't much better. I like the really exclusive, mostly handmade stuff, usually sourced from one plantation in some remote place in South America or Africa. I'm a genuine snob, I admit it!

10. I am a pretty nice, reasonable guy. I can be a douchebag with the best of them, and I have a *very* strong sarcastic streak. But, generally speaking, I like people. I'm usually one who is more forgiving, rather than vengeful, unless you screw with my wife or kids, then I might just unleash all fury on your ass. I value diversity. I don't like mean people, but am usually able to blow them off and get on with life.

And I love book lovers. Even those who like "Catcher in the Rye" (which I illogically despise). So there you have it. Hope I didn't scare any of you off, but if I did, I'm sure we'll come around to each other, eventually. The shared love of books goes a long way to encouraging interpersonal harmony!

Thanks for listening.