I want to scream!

Edvard Munch “The Scream” made in 1893, let it be known kiddies, if you paint on cardboard you too might be able to sell it for 120 MILLON dollars! 

Yup, that's it, really

You think Edvard ever thought that this work would sell for that? “Hey, hon. Check this out! It’s worth 120 million. Don’t toss out those pizza boxes!”

Picked up a few books on Grammar, by reading this you might be able to tell I haven’t read them yet! Actually I started to look at one and I’ve read about linking verbs now. Then I tossed the book aside and did a few pages of edits for my book. I’m not sure if it’s helping or making it worse. I need my editor to come back from Comic-Con so that I can hear how bad I messed things up.

To this end; I think that my idea of broken grammar should be "art" that people should mail me 120 million dollars for the privilege of owning the rites all my first draft manuscripts. For that price I'll even throw in the movie rights, go ahead, you can have them, now give me the hat made of money.

Speaking of second, third, and fourth drafts (and on and on), I'd like to say that I'm super deep into my next draft of my book. But that wouldn't be a true statement. After collecting feedback from a few places, there are a few overhauls that need to be done on the start of the book. One of the ongoing themes every published author told me; I need to make sure that every book can stand alone. I'm doing some work that should help this, but I'm not looking for a complete reboot of the book. Some of the changes that I'm doing will require a few fixes to the first book too. I'm not sure how that will look to the people have already bought my first book, but I promise that you aren’t missing anything. In fact, I can say that you have more with your current edition than the updated one.

Something that keeps picking at the back of my mind is that I watched other well published authors do all things that I'm currently doing. Such as; large info dumps, and making books that can't stand alone. I guess I'm not allowed to break these rules till I'm well established.

Dern it.

Once I'm famous I'm going to turn in a dog turd and say "Publish it, I'm the Dufalo bitch!"

AHHH the soft and fluffy dreams of authors...

Okay that was a way off subject rant! Long story short (too late), I've got a new draft of the start of how Corporate Policy and I'm about toss the first two chapters over the wall to my editor to take a look through. I have to have all these pages on my copy editor's desk by August first. (Love ya Amie!)

For all those that went to Comic-Con international it sounded like it was an epic showing, I didn't go, not my thing. The wife went, so it's just been the boys around the house over the week, we watched GUY movies, GUY pizza in, and GUY eating out! So guy hygene, lets just say the boy needed a bath by Friday :)

If they did an "All-the-Hawt-Chicks-From-All-the-Sci-Fi-Shows-That-You-Love-Con" I would be there, I'd help put it on, I'm sure I'd be arrested by the end of the first day of panels. But till they do that con, I'm going to stick to the conventions that have something to do with learning from or talking with authors in smaller settings. Orycon is this November and I'm going to go. Rusty-Con is in Tacoma Washington sometime this summer/fall? I'm going to have to see if that one is worth going to.

Books I’m currently reading:

This area is slow while I get heavy into edit mode. I have a lot of paper all around me trying to make heads or tails out of my story. Here take a look:

Ahh, my heart tries to stop just looking at it.
Wait, what am I doing with that can of air...

Ok back to books now.

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson - I'm only like 1/3 through the book, maybe a bit more. It's good so far, but we haven't reached the "other shoe drops" moment in the book so I'm holding out for that.

Apathy and Other Small Victories by Paul Neilan - I'm only 5% into this book, but O.M.G. (Yeah that's right, I put periods in there, what you going to do about it?) funny as hell. I can't wait to have a little more time on my hands to take this novel of hilarity in larger helpings. It was on Max Berry's reading list, so I had hope. With the limited sampling I've had, it has lived up to billing.

Movies:

2001 - That right suckers! I bought it on Blue Ray and watched it! The transfer was AMAZINGBALLS (This is the new hip word I hear. You have to follow these conversations at your coffee shop so you too can stay cool.) My brother thought that 2001 was MUCH better than 2010, now that I have watched them back to back, I think that he's totally right. My opinion has flipped someone call the papers.

Bringing up Baby - An 1938 movie that I heard about in the back of Dean Koontz's Tick Tock (PS if you haven't read this book, just put the blog down now and go read it...then come back) It's labeled by Dean as a "Screwball comedy" and I believe it was one of the inspirations for Tick Tock. (There is some other author, James Patterson that made a book called Tick Tock, don't read that one. You're reading the wrong book!) I watched the movie after ordering it on Netflix, and then turned around and bought a copy to keep for my very own! It was best movie of 1938!* (Note: This is a blanket statement with no true facts or research to back it up. I didn't even know the movie was release in 1938 till I looked it up, right now.)

Music:

Mirrored by Battles - IN LOVE! I'm trying to think of what they are like...Maybe Spiritualized? I hear a live recording of Atlas and I was hooked at once!

The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do by Fiona Apple - So, Fiona, that whole thing is the title? Wow this the best CD since "When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He'll Win the Whole Thing 'Fore He Enters the Ring There's No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where to Land and If You Fall It Won't Matter, Cuz You'll Know That You're Right" (bolded for your pleasure) No, now that I think about it... Wait I forgot what I was saying while typing that title.

Oh right, When the pawn... was better, but I wanted to take this moment to show people this isn't her longest title, she's cut back. I love how she use "Cuz", great way to keep that letter count down. Hell it doesn't matter what she releases, I'll buy it all, her voice is like ear crack to me.

That is enough for this week!

I'll chat with you soon!

Robert

There is nothing wrong with a Brazilian falling through the ceiling

“There is nothing wrong with a Brazilian falling through the ceiling”

-          Mike Shepherd

Ok this is quote may have been taken way out of context from a Westercon panel but I really loved it.

It was Westercon 65 over the weekend and it was only my second Con ever. I didn’t even know what I should expect, but I didn’t think that it would have been that awesome! I have a lot of people to thank so let me get the list.

First I want to thank my friends at the NWIA, they were fun to hang with, and they kept positive when it was very clear this was not a con that should of have had a dealer’s room. I think our highlight was when Guest of Honor, Robin Hobb came by and talked with us for about 10 minutes. Well it was for me.

Next, to all the authors that I met and talked with during the con, wow!

David Silas – Great chatting with you about my books, and your feedback was wonderful. You have changed my story ark so much and you don’t even know yet.

Susan Matthews – I read over your notes and hope that all my action scenes will deserve that kind of praise.

Gregory Wilson – You are an amazing panelists, your feedback was even better, your right on my grammar and I think in the end what you said is right, I need to care more and show that. 

Anna Sheehan – You stopped me on the way out of your panel to talk with me. The advice was well received, I promise you.  I’m going to buy a copy of your German book so I can put the cover on your English one as you loved it so much more!
I’m so glad that I got the chance to connect with you on YA writing, I’d love the chance to do it again soon.

Robin Hobb – Who has a picture of my back up on her blog, forever I’ll be part of Hobb’s blog HAHAHA! But I do want to thank Robin, she has to be about the most down to earth Guest of Honor to have ever done a con. I can’t tell you how many little conversations I had with her and even had some questions most wouldn’t ask answered. 

My favorite question to ask was what her favorite Pixar movies were.
Answer: Incredibles , then, Up. She has not seen Brave yet.
Also she saved my friend from being crush by a door, and signed all the books she brought to the Con.

And lastly, I want to give a very special thanks to…
Mike Shepherd – After a panel I asked him if he had two minutes to talk, he said sure. We moved down the hall to another room and he didn’t give me two minutes, he gave me a whole hour. I had a very well published, and Guest of Honor for Orycon, answering my questions, one on one no one else there. He was very patient and was willing to sit there for as long as I wanted to talk his ear off. I couldn’t believe it, I was very, very, honored. And if you haven’t bought every one of his 15 books, do it right damn now!

Those are the big ones that I wanted to thank; there were many, many, many, more that I didn’t name and its shame on me that I didn’t give them all the credit they deserve.

On to the details!

This was the best Con for west coast authors, ever.
This was not the best Con for west coast Sci-Fi fans.
Norwest con and Comi-Con is your fan con headquarters for the west coast this year.  (I haven’t been to Orycon yet, but I’m betting it will be more fan friendly as well.)
Westercon, welcome to the writer’s wet dream.
It’s was a small con of about a thousand I’d say, and I’d say 65% writers, the rest were made up of dealers, artists, costumers, and filk. There weren’t as many panels and so unlike Norwescon, there were a lot of panelists from other panels sitting in the audience with you enjoying the conversation too. Really awesome stuff.   Also the groups were smaller in most panels which translated to more open discussion and more of your personal questions getting more attention. It was really wonderful. 
Also there was more debate and ponder panels on, types of dragons, bad guys, things of this nature. Norwescon it was more how to and first time panels.
I’m not sure if this is the usual for this con, but I think that it should be. I loved to see a con, once a year where you have to manuscript under your belt to get in. Nothing published, but you have to show that you are indeed writing, or blogging or whatever. I learned so much and not knowing if I’ll ever get the chance to do so again, I’m lucky to have been a part of this one.

I sold a book on Amazon Saturday and I don’t know who to, I’m all jumpy when I think about a stranger looking at my book,  I get worried they won’t like it!  But I’m glad that I sold a book!

I’m going to be heads down in the rewrite, of Corporate Policy, till August 1^st. With all the feedback in I’ll have my hands really full with that. But I’ll try and keep you all in the loop!

Oil and Water has been set to the side at word count of 82K, I knew it was going to happen, but I really hoped I’d have been closer to done, I set out for a 100K manuscript and I’m looking at 160K. It really is going to be a fat pony.

Books I’ve read:
Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel – Good book, I liked that it was darker for a YA read and it used a dairy for a plot moving prop. It was a good change from what I have been reading as of late. It’s also got me thinking about starting up my own dairy.

500 More Ways To Be A Better Writer by Chuck Wendig – Foul language and not safe for work jokes make this the best book on how to write ever. Its more tips on what you should and shouldn’t be doing and less on the direct craft. I recommend it to anyone that has started a manuscript.

Movies I’ve watched:
A new area I thought I’d put down.

2010 – Old movie, but it was on Netflix and I wanted to check it out again. I’m glad I did. Such a lovely story. Now that I’m reading more I may go and pick up all the books and start going through them.

American Reunion – Funny movie that is really a more an “Oh remember this actor?” kind of plot. But it was a good laugh reel, and that’s what these movies were all about. I will say some of the actors don’t seem like they have aged a day, creepy!

Music:
Aimee Mann – I’m just going through anything and everything that she’s released; I’ve been picking an artist once a month to fill out my collection with their music. This month it’s been her.

Oh and BAM! See ya there!

Robert

Schools out for CONS!

Okay (I'm done using OK, till I mess up and do use it) like holy crap! Lost deep in the heads down, no time to look up, better learn how to breathe ink because it’s the only air I’m going to get this month, first drafts and web book crazy! (Yeah that’s has hard to read as it’s been to do.)


While I’m not going to all the cons my co-author (the second half of the pen name Stanley Dufalo) is heading off to this month. (Run on sentence warning)  We needed to get cracking  to have pages done for when she’s on a plane (with or without snakes) and/or too drunk, passed out in a gutter with the rest of the Con goers because they had too much Joss Whedon dust, and are LSD tripping on Firefly reunion with a Avengers crossovers.
My real worry is now that we’ve started a web book about zombies coming to life at Comi-Con, and Rob Zombie is going to be the opening act for the event, we have written too close to real life and we are going see art become fact! So Del, get ready to live your damn story, because it’s coming!  Myself, on the other hand better find a dead end job mall, because I get to play Elliott, but now that I think about it I don’t think we ever gave him a job and so, I can fit right in buying a cup of coffee.
Here a fake Cali ID for the trip girls:

Right now my day goes a little like this:
1. Stumble out of bed.
2. Somehow find myself at work.
Do stuff
3. Complete job 1 and go play some kind of sport/raid.
4. Pull out Oil and Water, write at least a thousand words on first draft.
5. Work on From Beer to Apocalypse (remember how to spell apocalypse)
6. Mourn my stagnate blog while doing nothing about it and then head to be about 2:30 AM so can do it all again the next day.
It’s a great life; I even try and watch a little Military Channel in bed, but that lasts about 5 minutes before I’m snoring, and subsequently getting kicked all night by the wife to turn the hell over.


I’m going to Westercon, the highlight of this con, for me will be having the manuscript, Cooperate Policy dragged over the coals by professional writers. All this, will be just in time for me to start making all my updates I’ve planned out in July. I’m right on time and where I want to be. The cover isn’t, but I’ve seen betas of it and I look forward to seeing the final soon.
I’m a little disappointed in writing panels at Westercon, I’d have liked to seen a few more on writing. I think that Norwescon was much better for this. Westercon should have taken me up on my offer to run a panel or two, I think they needed it and looking over the list of what they have so far, it’s sparse and they aren’t using all their rooms effectively. Also, it seems I’m supposed to be registering at the same time I’m supposed to be in a few of the panels so F*** that, better fix it.  How the hell am I supposed to get to my Anime girls panel on time.
Okay guys, let me solve the mystery for ya; the Otaku is all about the hawt girl with the big gun playing a dominate roll, but still too sexually frustrated to know what to do in the sack. Done, saved you an hour of your time, enjoy the registry line.


From Beer to Apocalypse, is starting up Chapter 3 this Monday, I’m really excited about this.  We start to get into the really down and dirty zombie brain eating, Oregon under siege, I’m on a boat motherf***er, story now. (minus the boat, sorry to get your hopes up, I shouldn’t have done that.) We seem to have about 20 loyal readers and love you all. Tell a few friends I’d love to get us to 30 loyal readers by the end of summer.

What am I reading right now:
Books:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – Not bad, I saw the movie ad and wanted to check out the book. I enjoyed it, but I felt the writhing was too simplistic for someone that getting straight A’s in high school. It was basically the main characters letters to another person, so maybe they were trying to capture that in an art like way. Worth a read all the same. 

Fifty Shades of Gray by E. L. James – I have never wanted to knife myself while reading a book so bad in my life. It’s been really popular and I try and look at books that are “big” so I can keep a pulse on the fiction world.  That said, the whole plot could be written out in about 60 pages if you remove the bland sex from the book.  Only redeeming quality is if they can get the whole Twilight movie cast to do the Gray movie, double points if they can make it porn.

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket – I’m on book 1 of 13 now, I’m enjoying it, but doing the audio so I get the pleasure of having Tim Curry read them to me. Totally awesome and he’s really good at it.  This will keep my car stereo busy for a few weeks.

Manga:
Stepping on Roses  3-6 : Plot is really moving along, story is going well and art is holding up. If you like romance like stories, it’s worth a read.

Air Gear 23: This has been one of the better ones in a few installments. The one thing that happens when a series goes over 20 books is that the plot seems to grind to a crawl in my opinion.  OhGreat has avoided that in most cases. I’M LOOKING AT YOU NEGIMA!

MUSIC:
Go by Motion City Soundtrack – One of the better albums they have done, love’n it!

Speak in Code by Eve 6 – Came out and April and I didn’t notice, very late 70s punk feel, like the Police. Also good!

Synthetica by Metric – Still getting a feel for this one, but first impressions, not as good as there last CD.

Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins – Yeah it was 1992 and it was amazing. Well it was just remastered. I picked up the deluxe version. This will be weekend candy for me.


OK (Ha got me) enough for now,
Robert Dufalo

A Time Away

It’s been a few, and knowing that I needed to get a blog update out, it was time to put the nose to the grindstone, or maybe better said, "another grindstone"
My friend Joe thinks that I'm a work alcoholic, I'm starting to believe him, now I just need to start focusing my powers to those things that make me more money! Look out Trump, I'm moving in.
Ok that's not happening, so lets move on.


A close friend of mine had their wedding in Hong Kong and so not willing to miss it for the world, I boarded an aircraft and traveled to the other side of said world to be a part of it. When I say be a part of it, I really do mean it. I think that everyone in attendance felt like they were part of it. It was one of the most touching wedding I’ve seen, and I have been to many weddings in my time.

Hong Kong is an interesting place, once you get used to it. And once you are used to it, you really can't help but enjoy it. I found their mass transit to really be one of the best I have ever seen, Mark had told me a little about it before, but seeing it in action (and I do mean in action) it's something that anyone that wanted a PHD in transportation should study closely. Also the best drivers in the WORLD are Hong Kong bus drivers, I say this with all honesty, I've never seen drivers like them. They take these double decker busses and move them around crowds, thins roads, and up and down mountain roads that are perched over looking huge drops. Still they get everywhere on time like some kind of inhuman atomic clock.
The malls are fun because instead if sprawling out over miles of land they go up, and up, and UP. You don’t walk you take escalators up and down, each floor has a ring of shops so you walk a ring, go up a level then walk another ring.
I also want to take a second to thank Mark's family, they were all very kind of me and invited me out to do things with them, for someone that didn't have a real plan, it was nice to piggy back on their plans. I also seemed to run into them everywhere, even the airport when I was getting ready to leave.
Chris, Marks longtime friend, was great too, when everyone else was busy or sleeping Chris and I stayed up late at bars drinking while bartenders kept calling for last rounds after every drink we ordered. (Note to travelers: I think there is about 6 lasts calls in Hong Kong, starting at 2am and ending about 4am.)
I hope to see you all again soon and thank you for helping to make my stay in Hong Kong that much better. I was honored.



Around this I’ve been working hard on my first draft of Oil and Water, my first attempt at a Young Adult book. It’s sitting at 60,000 words now and it’s coming along. It’s not coming as smoothly as I’d thought it would and I find myself doing a lot of work on it to make sure I get high school details right. I’m also learning there are A LOT of things that I didn’t do in high school that maybe I should have! While Nic is going to be valedictorian and get the chance to give the big speech that was never something I wanted to do myself. So there has been a lot of things I've had to learn on the fly like. When should I have started applying to colleges? When should I have taken my SAT? What day should I have taken them on? When should I start hearing back from colleges? How do you get a full right to a college?
Kennedy on the other hand was much easier for me because while we both got good grades in high school (And only starting in high school, let me be clear on that) I wasn't pushing to be some kind of all state academic superstar. So trudge on through this first draft marking out all the things that I enjoyed from high school and finding a lot of things that I missed wondering why I didn't try them at the time.
My feed back is back on my Cooperate Policy and I'm looking forward to doing some cleanup and getting that to editors before I look to release. The cover is coming along and I might do some sneak peak stuff on it soon. But as long as I don't let other author things I want to do get the way, I'll be on schedule and you'll be able to pick it up at the start of October.


Anime, I'm not sure what's happened here, but I'm not watching very much if it, by that I mean I haven't watched anything in months. I'm still reading a boat load of Manga, but no real Anime. I don't like this, some of the best stories I've ever seen are based in Anime and I don't want to start limiting myself to less. I'm going to have make sure and force myself into following again, find some stories and stock up on episodes.



Porn and Sex in literature.
As I sit here I'm reading a draft of a book that I've been asked to give feed back on and there is a sex scene. I looked up from my seat at work cafeteria and I wondered what people would think if they knew just what I was reading right now? Of all the books I read, there is sex in many of them. I'm willing to bet the people reading around me, there sex in those books too. So I ask; is it really ok at work? Because there are no pictures? Why can't I just sit here and read a playboy with a brown paper front? Only I'm reading it and no one else knows. Then again if I turn the playboy around and show it to people is that bad? How about if they read my book? Or if I read aloud?
Such a strange world.

What am I reading:
A slow few weeks. I spent a lot of time writing and reading a friend's book and as it's not published it I won't tell you about that one.
How ever I found time for this one:
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach - Sarah Dessen turned me onto the book and I gave it a try, I'm liking it! I'm the throws (inside joke) of the end and I have NO idea how it's going to finish. Every well done, very good reading. The Characters are a mess!

I'm going to be doing a post every other week for a few,  just a lot of writing I need to get done.

Robert

Hong Kong, here I come!

It’s really starting to get warm outside! I don’t think that I’m used to getting this much sun this early in the season! Next Tuesday I leave for Hong Kong and I’m wondering just how hot it’s going to be there. I’m going for a wedding so I get to be hot AND in a suit, fun-fun.
On the other hand it’s the first time that I’m ever going to be in China and I’m looking forward to seeing a different part of the world and I’ll bring back some pictures for my blog. Really I want to get some good noodles, I've been missing real Asian noodles so very badly!

A good friend of mine invited me along to the Death Cab for Cutie concert and I’m major happy that I went with! It was an epic show and an amazing end and I have to say all kinds of thoughts about the third book in the Dinatech series went through my head. You see I seem to scheme plot the best when I’m listening to music, and in this case live music seems to work just as well.

I don’t want to say too much about the third book because most of you haven’t had the opportunity to read the second book yet. But it made me smile, I can’t wait to start laying out the book.  Also I want Zooey Deschanel to pose for the cover of the third book, anyone have a good way to beg her into it? I sent a tweet isn’t that how all these crazy internet stories start?

 I want to thank again my beta reading team, I got some valuable feedback that I think is really going to pull the story tighter together.

Books I’m currently reading:

The Calling by Kelley Armstrong – I’m about half way through it now, it wasn’t the kind of follow up I was expecting after the first book. It’s a real change from her normal story telling. I’ll keep you in the loop about it.

Hunting Kat by Kelley Armstrong – I know, I’m on a big Kelley kick the last few weeks. She’s put out a lot of things and I’m still working to catch up. This wasn’t the story I was expecting, but I just started get back to you on this next week.

Music of the week:

Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen – I heard it and I couldn’t help not liking it. I love songs with strings in them, even if there synthesized.  

And rest it!

Okay, enough talk about how busy my writing is, because you know it, you've known it for few blogs now. Let’s talk about other subjects that would be way more fun of they were accomplished by a normal person.  OH yeah almost at 30K words in manuscript. :)

It’s been full weekends the last few weeks I’m hoping this one will be a little slower. I still think I’m going to a Death Cab concert this Sunday so all is not lost in the life of being too busy to breathe! I have a work flag football team call the “Coasters” and we play football for the flimsy excuse to bring a keg to every game and drink ourselves stupid. We get the bye this week so that adds to my relax time, trust me it’s a lot of work getting 20 people and keg together. You’d think this would just fall into place for ya.

I may have some good friends of mine moving into our small town of Milton, I don’t know what I’m going to do if that happens. I’ll have never lived this close to friends since I was like 12. Even growing up I’d stopped hanging around with the kids in my own neighborhood by then. I’m thinking about how we can have fun with a favorite football team town rivalry thing this fall.  Oh the options. Anyway I’m super stoked but I’m trying to not show it till it’s done and official.

Books I’ve read this week:

Stay Close, by Harland Coben –  Murder mystery, thriller,  Very well done, I actually learned a few things about how I want to write from this one. I will have to read a few more of his books soon, this is a genre I’m not used to.

The Boyfriend List, by E. Lockhart – YA, Romance, I don’t know why, but I couldn’t put this one down. There was nothing that stood out about this book, but I enjoyed it and finished in like hours. It’s not a long book, and very slice of life. Good times. Pick it up.

Perfect Chemistry, by Simone Elkeles – YA, Romance, I read this one and the Boyfriend List because I wanted to read books that were in subjects that I’m currently wring in my own manuscript, Oil and Water. While I enjoyed the other, this one started good but by the end I couldn’t believe in the main characters anymore and the end was too sappy for me to take, and that’s saying a lot. Don’t pick it up.

Darkest Powers Bonus Pack, by Kelly Armstrong – YA, Supernatural, I’m currently reading this one but mostly done. Just some small short stories wrapping around the 3 book trilogy, this work fills in holes. I always like her stuff so you know the answer already that I’m enjoying it.

 

Current music you should own:

Silversun Pickups – Neck of the Woods. It’s been on pera-repeat in my music players.

See ya next week!

Robert

Rock Writing Week In Review.

A while back I was trying to find the word counts for the Harry Potter books and you know what? I couldn't find the true numbers anywhere.  

Ever hear that phrase, "Stop looking for something and it will show up?" Well here you go, I was reading a article on TAXES! and near the bottom of it was the exact data I was looking for. Love it. 

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/americans-making-over-50000-year-paid-933-percent-all-taxes-2010 

In other news I've been writing like a mad man, I'm about 16k into my 100k manuscript for Oil and Water. Sundays so far have been a great day for writing. Last Sunday I started this work and I got out 4K  and then worked a little each day after. This Sunday I did 6K in one day, it's a first time best for me. I'm rather impressed, the most I've ever done in one day before this was 4K.  

Also I'm still writing on From Beer to Apocalypse, page 10 just went up, it's the second page that I've written after page 3 and 4. Del has been doing the plot setup pages and I have been doing many of the reaction pages. I’m starting to see a theme going on here, but it's working so you don't mess with what works right?  

I really liked doing the Red Tash interview, I have to send her another thank you mail.  Now that I have done one, I'll have to find a good place to ask others, that I can subject them to my twisted humor. It's fun to branch out to other authors, and then I'm given the opportunity to ask them any questions that I want to know about them! WOOT! 

Also I promised Red my Wizard book list: 

1.     Wizard of the Grove. – Tanya Huff

This is one of the most epic feeling stories I’ve ever read, every character in the book was lovable to me and I found myself caring about them so much that I did cry and laugh at their adventures as they happened.  The build up at the start of the story goes against what a lot of people teach in writing an opening. Maybe that’s what I love about it so much.  It is my favorite book ever; it’s almost time to read it again. I wish they would get it on the Kindle.

2.     The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern

This is more of a story of pre World War One magic users and one of the best I’ve ever read.

It was poetry that told a story, and I found that I came to love each and every character and I felt myself pulling for them so much I’d grip tighter when the drama would come. It’s a must read for anyone that enjoys a love story, a story of magic, a story of families, all are wrapped well together so well in this book.

Take the time to read this one, you won’t be disappointed

3.     Stealing Magic – Tanya Huff

This was a set of short stories that she compiled to make one novella and it has to be one of the most brilliant stories about a Wizard ever. I can only strive to live up to making a character this amazing.  Magdelene, the worlds most powerful, and laziest Wizard.  Anyone that writes anything about magic should have to read this book, love or hate it.

4.     Harry Potter Series  - J K Rowling

This sounds rather default, but I’ve not seen many complete worlds of magic that was both involving and fun. The story is better because how much there depth to the world there is and it allows you to lose yourself in the story and the world. I do hope she comes back to tell more wizard stories in this world.

5.     Dime Store Magic – Kelley Armstrong  

This is just one part of a whole world of supernatural girls, with this book they focus on Paige Winterbourne. She’s a witch that works magic in a modern day setting. I like the idea of how magic lasted through the ages and that magic could just be around any corner.  Armstrong puts a great twist on how magic works and how it’s hung-on and not gone extinct.

Last week was major all over the place, yo. 

Tuesday I was in Portland to watch the Matthew Sweet Girlfriend 20th anniversary tour. I remember when that CD came out...20 years ago?! Really? Damn it I'm getting old!  I took two good friends and my brother with me and made a day trip out of it. On the way we hit a German restaurant in Vancouver (Washington), Gustav's. If you get the chance to go, it's a must. I had the Lamb shank, AMAZING! On Wednesday in Seattle, I went to see Matthew at the Triple Door. I spent the money for a VIP table (table 11, totally get it if you can for any show) and made a date of it with the wife. It was worth every penny and them some.  

As he fished “Sick of Myself” he turned and tossed the pick he’d used for the whole set. I looked up and thought. Oh shit that’s going to be close! I was wrong, it wasn’t close. It was dead on. One bounce in the seat and then it dropped into my lap. There was a moment of panic as we tried to figure out where it gone to, then I looked and there it was against my jeans. The ultimate memento of a two-night trip. It's one of those once in a lifetime experiences and I so honored that I got the chance to do it.  

Here are a few pictures to leave you with. 

Robert 

Here are some pics that turned out ok on my phone from the show :

Seattle Triple Door

 Portland Aladin 

The pick toss by Matthew