Why I’m an Author…Not Simply a Writer

Posted: January 19, 2012 in Fiction, Publishing, Writing

Defining an Author

Dictionary.com defines a writer as a person engaged in writing books, articles, stories, etc., especially as an occupation or profession; an author or journalist. That’s a very simple and vague definition of what a writer is, but it does sum it up. I’d like to take that a step further, though. Writing is a lot more involved than just putting words together to form a sentence. What I do like about this particular definition is the word “engaged.” That word defines a vital part of the writing life. One who is engaged in something is dedicated and focused on that particular task. Going back to the simple definition of a writer, anyone who writes something is technically a writer, right? Wrong. This is why as a writer of fiction I like to instead define myself as an author…not simply a writer.

Let’s look at how Dictionary.com defines an author: a person who writes a novel, poem, essay, etc.; the composer of literary work, as distinguished from a compiler, translator, editor, or copyist.

Mirriam-Webster defines an author as one that originates or creates; the writer of a literary work.

Now that sounds more like it.

The Author’s Writing Canvas

Writing fiction is a form of art. It involves using your imagination and telling a story that is original and hopefully keeps your reader turning the pages. This is a challenging process because when you are writing fiction you have to remember that while you may think you have written a great scene, you may lose your reader’s attention if that scene isn’t painted well on your writing canvas. You have to figure out how to capture your audience when telling your story, and more importantly, show the reader the details of your written scene. If the reader can’t visualize what you have written then it may be time to pull out the red editor’s pen.

When assembling your story your work of art includes everything from setting, characters, dialogue, pace, sentence structure and the overall plot. That’s a lot to think about when building a story and it can be quite a challenging process, but that’s part of the fun, especially when your characters disagree with your outline and you have to rethink the whole damn story. Those voices in your head get to arguing about where the story should be heading, and as much as you want to be in control, sometimes you just have to concede and give your characters the reins.

I’m an Author Because I Love to Write

I’m preaching to myself when it comes to all of the details involved in trying to create a story that others will enjoy, and when I’m staring at my computer screen with the deer-in-the-headlights look as writer’s block rears its ugly face at me, I have to step away from my writing canvas and remind myself why I’m an author. When I get discouraged after literally putting years of hard work into a book that doesn’t sell, which I truly enjoyed writing (and enjoy reading), that’s when I have to remind myself that I’m an author because I love to write. That’s it. Nothing more. Nothing less. If I write for the sole purpose of making a buck, then I need to stop writing.

Obviously, I hope people will spend a few bucks and dedicate some of their valuable time to read my work of art, my work of fiction, and enjoy it. However, if I don’t become the next Amazon best-selling author, or even get one five-star review, that’s okay. Why? It’s okay because I’m an author who simply loves to write.

The Author’s Thermometer

If you are struggling with your work of art and sometimes feel like kicking that writing canvas to the ground in frustration because your masterpiece isn’t selling, it’s time to take your temperature, because you may just be getting hot headed about nothing. Are you tempted to stop writing because you are entertaining the assumption that it’s not worth continuing to write because nobody is reading your work? That temperature gauge is getting too high now and you need to cool off. Just relax, take a deep breath and remind yourself of why you are an author. Why did you start writing to begin with? What is it that motivates you to continue writing? How do you measure your success as an author? Do you measure your success based on the amount of copies you sell or do you measure your success in the satisfaction of publishing a work of art? Your work of art!

Just Write!

Write because you love it. Write because you enjoy the creative process. Write because you are an author. Just write! Nothing more. Nothing less.

Sharky Teeth

You might also like:

Devil’s Nightmare by Robert Pruneda available in print and eBook formats. Click the image below for more details.
Devil's Nightmare

Huge Mistake or Best Decision Ever Made?

Posted: January 12, 2012 in Business, Lifestyle, Writing

The End of a Career and Making the Right Choices

On Sept. 27, 2011 I ended a career in the newspaper industry after six and a half years of employment. Let’s just say there were some professional differences of opinion of some management decisions and a certain situation was so poorly handled that it finally triggered my decision to part ways with the company. As the obituaries coordinator and an advertising sales rep, I basically sold advertising to funeral homes and handled all aspects of publishing obituaries for the region. Without boring you with the details of the actual job, while it wasn’t the most glamorous job to have, it was a job that I really enjoyed, particularly in dealing with my business clients (the funeral homes). And before you comment about how it must have been a dead-end job, how the people I worked with were a bunch of stiffs, and start chanting “Bring out your dead,” as an obituary writer, I always got the last word. 🙂

All jokes aside, there was a lot involved in publishing obituaries on a daily basis. There was the death verification process; writing and editing; photo scanning and editing; maintaining the daily death notices column (basically a list of recent deaths with funeral home contact information), keeping up with every visitation, prayer service, rosary, funeral and burial in a 13-county area and ensuring every one of them was published on the correct day with the correct times and locations; coordinating with the editorial department to determine space needed for obituaries; and designing obituary page(s) accordingly. On top of that there was the customer service (both for funeral homes and families of the deceased), payments and collections, selling advertising to funeral homes, (deep breath) and processing memoriam ads. Yeah, it was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it.

So, why did I leave a job that I obviously enjoyed? Since this is a public forum, I’ll answer that simply with personal reasons that many people can probably relate with when the stress level in certain aspects of the job (the professional differences of opinion…I’m being very kind there) just wasn’t worth dealing with anymore.

After leaving a company that I used to love working for and planned to retire from, I found myself unemployed and stepping into the unknown. I didn’t have another job lined up, and I spent several weeks trying to find that right job. Nothing appealed to me in this town. So, I decided to take the self-employment route.

Transitioning to Self-Employment

At the time of my departure from the newspaper, I had been working on building a home-based business (with plans on opening an office at some point in the near future) on a part-time basis. I had actually started this business venture back in 2004 with resume writing services, general small business office support (similar to outsourcing temp work), and Photo DVD production. It brought in some extra income, but I didn’t put a lot of effort into it back then. I ended up putting the business on the backburner after starting my career in the newspaper industry, but now I have decided it is time to seriously focus on my dream of small business ownership. I knew there was a lot of risk involved, a lot of trial and error, planning, and long hours of development. A friend and former manager of mine has also been building a small business since 2001 while working full-time as a human resources director. She is now self-employed and focusing 100% of her effort in building her own business. So, we are now helping each other out. I needed a regular small business client to get the small business office support services “department” off the ground, and she obviously needed the admin support. Over the past few months, things have been working very well with only minor hiccups. We have a great system going that works well for both of us. Just recently, one of my former customers from the newspaper contacted me about helping them with a project. They have a full staff, but they just didn’t have time to create all of the documents needed in house. So, they outsourced the job to me. Today I received word that the owner wants to discuss hiring me on a part-time basis. We have yet to discuss details.

So, transitioning from full-time traditional employment to self-employment hasn’t been easy and has been a bit worrisome at times, and there have been times where I thought I made a huge mistake by quitting my job. However, while I still miss my old job and my customers, the “pros” of self-employment have far outweighed the “cons” at this point of the transition. The obvious negative aspect of resigning from my position at the newspaper is the steady paycheck. While the pay wasn’t great, it wasn’t bad either…not to mention benefits (which, to tell the truth, weren’t all that great anyway). However, the steady paycheck issue may soon be resolved to some degree if everything pans out well with the part-time opportunity I mentioned earlier.

What I have most enjoyed from self-employment has been the fact that I’m the boss (although, I can be a bit of a slave driver sometimes…I worked on a project until 2 a.m. last night!) and determine my work schedule and have a lot more flexibility in prioritizing and managing projects. If I decide I want to work in the evening, so I can take care of other things during the day, I can…all while still meeting any project deadlines. Working on my terms and not having to answer to someone else’s opinion of how they think my job should be done (or even as far as treating me like I don’t have a brain) has reduced my negative stress level to near zero. That alone has been worth it!

More Time for Writing

I think one of the most significant things that has occurred ever since I quit my full-time job at the newspaper is that because my stress level has reached much healthier levels, I have been able to focus more on writing. My participation in #WIP500 has been very successful so far with over 11,000 words written in my current work-in-progress (WIP). Granted these words may not be the greatest, but the story is unfolding at a nice pace. My focus is to just get the story written and then go back to polish it up, rewrite and cut out the unnecessary fat where needed.

It feels great to be writing again and I truly believe that 2012 is going to be the best year I’ve had in a long time. I’m not talking about financially, either. I am a firm believer that money can’t buy happiness and that you can be in a job that pays well, has great benefits, but if you’re not happy, then it’s probably time to rethink your priorities. I would much rather earn less and live comfortably, than be rich, stressed out and miserable. Obviously you need money to pay the bills, and the social aspect of many jobs is important too (one thing I do miss from the traditional ball-and-chain job), so I’m not saying quit your job and become a hermit. What I am saying is that if you aren’t happy with your job, if you have the means to explore other options that will make you happy, I say the least you can do is consider it. If you have a great idea for a business that you believe has a customer base in your area, do the research, and go for it!

That goes for writing, too! If you have a story that has been floating around your head for millennia, it’s not going to write itself. Just do it! Don’t worry about whether or not you think people will buy it or not. If selling the books is your main motivation for writing, then you are writing for the wrong reason.

This brings up another topic, which I will write about in next week’s post: “Why I am a Writer…”

I hope to see you there and thanks for taking the time to read my post. Cheers!

Update: It’s now the middle of 2013 and business has been doing well and throughout 2012 I worked on my first horror-thriller Devil’s Nightmare which I published in January 2013. Leaving my traditional job was definitely the best decision I ever made. 

SCRATCH LINE

Profile Photo (Cropped)Robert “Sharky” Pruneda is a native Texan, video game “enthusiast” [addict], and fan of all things horror. He left a career in the newspaper industry in 2011 to pursue the life of a nocturnal author, brainstorming new and creative ways to creep out his readers. He doesn’t only write horror though. He also pens the occasional family-oriented tale just to keep from going completely nuts with all those creatures of the night whispering in his ears. When he’s not pulling ideas out of his twisted brain, you’ll likely find him on social media or fighting alongside his fellow gaming buddies where they all get shot up into Swiss cheese (or turned into little bite-sized chunks because of “Sharky’s” obsession with explosives). Medic!

Pursue your dreams . . . and never look back.

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Highway Patrol Complaint to USMC

Posted: January 7, 2012 in Jokes

I normally wouldn’t use my blog to share a joke I received via e-mail, but this one was so funny I had to share it. Those who may have or currently serve in the military will more than likely enjoy this one.

Two Texas Highway Patrol officers were conducting speeding enforcement on Highway 77, just south of Kingsville, Texas.

One of the officers was using a handheld radar device to check speeding vehicles approaching the town of Kingsville. The officers were suddenly surprised when the radar gun began reading 300 miles per hour and climbing.

The officer attempted to reset the radar gun, but it would not reset and then it suddenly turned off.

Just then a deafening roar over the Mesquite tree tops on Highway 77 revealed that the radar had in fact locked on to a USMC F/A-18 Hornet which was engaged in a low flying exercise near it’s naval air home base location in Kingsville.

Back at the Texas Highway Patrol Headquarters in Corpus Christi the patrol captain fired off a complaint to the U.S. Naval Base commander in Kingsville for shutting down his equipment.

The reply came back in true USMC style:

“Thank you for your letter….

You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Hornet had detected the presence of, and subsequently locked on to, your hostile radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back to it, which is why it shut down.

Furthermore, an air-to-ground missile aboard the fully armed aircraft had also automatically locked on to your equipment’s location.

Fortunately, the Marine pilot flying the Hornet recognized the situation for what it was, quickly responded to the missile system alert status and was able to override the automated defense system before the missile was launched to destroy the hostile radar position on the side of Hwy 77, south of Kingsville.

The pilot suggests you cover your mouths when swearing at them, since the video systems on these jets are very high tech.

Sergeant Johnson, the officer holding the radar gun, should get his dentist to check his left rear molar. It appears the filling is loose. Also, the snap is broken on his holster.

Semper Fi.”

Story Source: E-mail circulation (original author unknown); images added for this blog post
Texas Highway Patrol image source: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
FA/18 Hornet image source: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

My Commitment to Writing in 2012

Posted: January 3, 2012 in #WIP500, Fiction, Writing

A New Challenge for 2012

A couple of days ago I mentioned that I decided to accept the #WIP500 challenge that my friend Cara Michaels is hosting. If you aren’t familiar with the #WIP500 challenge, I’ll give a brief explanation. First of all, for those of you that use Twitter (which is probably everyone who follows this site) you’ll recognize the title of the challenge is in the form of a hash tag, so everyone interested and involved have a place to announce their successes and communicate with other writers taking the challenge. Basically, the #WIP500 challenge involves writing at least 500 words every day for your current work-in-progress (WIP). Since this year is a leap year, if you write 500 words a day, you’ll have 183,000 words written by the end of the year! That’s plenty of words for multiple projects. Writing 500 words a day seemed like a reasonable goal for me, so I jumped on board.

The last time I checked, 125 people have accepted the #WIP500 challenge with more than half of them already reporting their daily word counts. So far, for the first two days I have added 1300 words for my current project, The Devil’s Nightmare, bringing it to a grand total of 2034 words.

The Devil’s Nightmare

My current WIP, The Devil’s Nightmare, is only in its infant stage right now, but I’m excited to be writing again and working in a genre that I have always loved…horror! I’ve had this story floating around in the back of my mind for a while now and decided that 2012 was going to be the year to take stab at the horror genre. If I don’t do it now, I may not get another chance later…you know, considering that the world is suppose to end on Dec. 21, 2012. Let’s just hope the Mayans were wrong about that one!

My tentative goal is to have The Devil’s Nightmare ready for e-book distribution by Oct. 31, 2012 and then in print sometime shortly after that. This is, of course, if everything goes as planned, but you know how that goes! If I manage to hit my 500-word daily #WIP500 quota, then getting The Devil’s Nightmare published this year shouldn’t be a problem. One thing is for sure, though…I don’t want to rush through this one! I want to make sure that The Devil’s Nightmare is handled correctly, written well, edited well, and has a great cover. Thanks to the awesome writing community on Twitter that I have had the pleasure networking with in 2011, finding the perfect editor and cover artist for The Devil’s Nightmare will be a heck of a lot easier (and here come the marketing tweets and emails). 🙂

Pushing Forward

Last year was like riding an emotional roller coaster. I have a lot of great things to reflect on from last year, but there were also some events that got me a bit depressed too. However, as the new year approached I was ready to leave the past in the rear view mirror and tackle 2012 head on. I decided to focus on my goals with my head held high and a confident heart that I can and will succeed this year no matter what it takes to do so. In my next post I’ll be writing a little bit about my experience of quitting a job that I loved to pursue a dream of operating my own business and focusing more on writing.

I love reading your comments, so feel free to share your thoughts. Also, be sure to click the follow button below or subscribe to my blog via email by entering your email address in the sidebar. Thanks for visiting!

New Year Resolutions: Happy New Year!

Posted: December 31, 2011 in Holidays, New Year

Wow! December has flown by hasn’t it? With all the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving, “Black Friday” (I mean Black November… or whatever the stores were resorting to this year to try to get us to spend money with them), Christmas, and now the new year, I’ve realized that I haven’t posted anything on my blog since Nov. 15, with the exception of a “Happy Thanksgiving” message on Nov. 24.

I normally don’t try to make “New Year Resolutions” because 10 times out of 10, I always fail at them. However, this year I figured what the heck. So, without further ado, here is my list of resolutions (in no particular order) for 2012:

  1. Exercise every day (Not to be confused with exorcising which I try to do every day anyway).
  2. Write every day (I am taking the #WIP500 challenge, which I will write about in another post).
  3. Publish an Amazon best-seller (Heck, a book that sells at all for that matter! LOL!).
  4. Write at least one blog post a week.
  5. Read my Bible every day (See resolution No. 1).
  6. Take time out of every day to read some good fiction novels.
  7. Win the lottery (Okay, this one will be a bit difficult since I don’t actually buy lottery tickets).
  8. Get the “Bat Mobile” out of the “Bat Cave” and cruising on the Texas streets again.
  9. Enjoy $even figure$ (Okay, this probably will be collectable action figures, but I can dream).
  10. Win the lottery.Image source: http://hellasmultimedia.com/webimages/
  11. Survive more than five seconds before getting shot in the back on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
  12. Figure out why I keep playing a game that I stink at! #GluttonForPunishment
  13. Join VGA (Video Gamers Anonymous).
  14.  Win the lottery.
  15. Survive the Dec. 21, 2012 Apocalypse (Zombie, Meteor, Alien Invasion, Killer Tomatoes, Etc.)
  16. Have a profitable year after resigning from a career in the newspaper industry to work for myself.
  17. Spend more time with friends and family IN PERSON instead of just online and texting (You know you’ve texted someone in the same house or even the same room, too! Don’t deny it!)
  18.  Win the lottery.
  19. Take a REAL vacation that involves packing bags, buying airline tickets, going through airline security, jetlag, lost luggage, $5.00 bags of peanuts, maxed out credit cards from spending too much money on excursions and souvenirs that’ll end up in a garage sale, (insert needle scratching across record noise). On second thought… Never mind! A No. 2 special at Burger King and a matinee movie at the Cinemark Theater will work just fine for me.
  20. Learn how to make a cheese cake! I LOVE eating cheesecake!
  21. Spend less time watching TV and more time reading and writing.
  22. Dust off my vintage collection of video games (Intellivision and Sega Master System) and beat those high scores. (Probably setting myself for disappointment since I was once good at these games… when I was 12!)
  23. Try to find it in my heart to forgive Netflix for raising my subscription rate 60%. They really do have a great service and I MAY reactive my account this year. Just not right now.
  24. Find cheaper (and legal) alternatives to cable/satellite TV, phone, and Internet (re: Internet… my guinea pigs are on order).
  25.  Buy a lottery ticket.


So, there you have it. Those are my resolutions/goals for 2012. What are your resolutions for 2012? I’d love to read them in the comments.

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted: November 24, 2011 in Holidays, Thanksgiving

I just wanted to post a quick message to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you and your families have a wonderful day, eat well, and enjoy spending time together. And remember the true reason why we celebrate this day. While some may have spent the last week camping out in front of Best Buy (and decide to spend “Thanks”giving there) to save a hundred bucks or so on a TV, those who know the true meaning of Thanksgiving will be spending it with family, catching up on things, playing games, watching movies together and just enjoying the time.

Warm blessings to you and try not to eat too much turkey and pie! 🙂

Author Interview: Carolyn Arnold

Posted: November 15, 2011 in Fiction, Interviews, Publishing, Writing

I’m excited to announce my first guest author at SharkbaitWrites.com, the lovely and very talented Carolyn Arnold. Carolyn just released her latest FBI thriller Eleven last week (on 11.11.11 to be precise) and has taken her book on the road with a promotional blog tour. Today she’s taken time out of her busy schedule to sit down and share a little bit about herself and her latest book. So grab yourself a beverage and make yourself comfortable. We’ll be back after this promotional video of Eleven.

My interview with Carolyn Arnold:

Carolyn, thank you for stopping by to visit SharkbaitWrites.com to help promote your new book Eleven. I have been anticipating its release since I first watched your promotional trailer back in September. I know you have worked hard at promoting it and have had your eyes set on the 11.11.11 release date for what seems like an eternity. Before we get into talking about Eleven, I have a few general questions.

Aside from being an author, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’ve been married for fifteen plus years to my best friend, and am a “furry baby momma” to two beagles, Max and Chelsea, who are two and a half years old.

When did you first realize you wanted to be an author?

I used to write as a teenager and thought it would be amazing to write a full-length novel, but it wasn’t until over four years ago that I rediscovered this passion. From this point, writing became a huge part of my life and now I can’t imagine life without it.

What one author inspired you the most to begin writing novels? What specifically about that author inspired you to write novels?

As far as one author who inspired me to start writing, I can’t say for sure. As I mentioned I did have a desire to write a novel as a teenager – maybe writing is just something I’m meant to do?

However, as writing has become an integral part of my life two authors have influenced and inspired me. This is David Baldacci and Sandra Brown. Both of these authors have inspired me in different ways.

Baldacci writes rich character description, background and motivation. I learned from his example words used to develop and strengthen characters is not only a good thing but integral.

Brown pushes the edge of where I would normally dare venture and I love that.

When you’re not making the keys smoke on your keyboard, what do you like to read?

I love mysteries and thrillers.

When you write your novels do you use outlines, note cards, and intricate planning, or are you a seat-of-the-pants kind of writer… a “pantser”?

Panster! Before I start I have an idea how it’s going to end, but the journey there is with my characters. Before I set out to write, I interview them and get to know them. I find this process helps immensely in rooting out backstory. I also know them better from the first word I write in the book.


Now on to your latest novel…

Eleven published on 11.11.11. Tell us the significance of the number 11 in your latest novel?

Eleven factors into the number of intended victims. Eleven is also the number of incisions the killer makes in his victims. Essentially the number and its representation factor symbiotically into the plot of the novel.

What inspired you to write Eleven?

I love the television series “Criminal Minds” for one. Second, there is this small abandoned home outside of the city I live it. The idea for underground burial chambers just hit me when I saw it one day.

With that said, I’m going to give you the spot light to tell us about your latest thriller Eleven…

Eleven Rooms. Ten Bodies. One Empty Grave.

Brandon Fisher never expected this when he signed up as a Special Agent for the FBI. Working in the shadow of Supervisory Special Agent Jack Harper of the Behavioral Analysis Unit his career seemed set. But when the team is called to a small rural town where the remains of ten victims are found in an underground bunker, buried in an unusual way, Brandon knows he’ll never return to his normal life.

With one empty grave, and the case touching close to home, he fears he’s become the target of a psychotic serial killer who wants to make him number eleven. Only thing is, everything Brandon thinks he knows is far from the truth.

Carolyn, this book sounds awesome! I am definitely going to be adding this one to my collection. I look forward to seeing this book rise to the top of the Amazon best sellers list. It has been a great pleasure having you as my first guest author at SharkbaitWrites.com and a part of the Eleven Blog Tour.

Rob, thank you for having me as a guest on your site.

Brief Author Bio:

Carolyn Arnold is the author of several novels in the mystery, thriller and suspense genres. TIES THAT BIND, the first in a police procedural mystery series surrounding Detective Madison Knight, was her debut novel and published May 2011.

Carolyn was born in 1976 in the rural town of Picton, Ontario. While her passion for writing dates back to her teen years, it wasn’t until 2008 that she completed her first novel. She lives with her husband and her two beagles in Southwestern Ontario

Where to connect with Carolyn online:

Amazon Author Page
Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Email

Carolyn Arnold’s Books:

A note to my guests: Thank you for visiting SharkbaitWrites.com and I hope you enjoyed my interview with Carolyn Arnolds. Be sure to visit Carolyn’s web site by clicking here, and if you haven’t done so already, you can get your copy of Eleven here.

Flash Fiction Mondays

Posted: November 8, 2011 in Fiction, Writing

Cara Michaels, a friend of mine that I met on Twitter, hosts a weekly flash fiction challenge every Monday called #MenageMonday on her Defiantly Literate blog. On Monday, October 24, I had the pleasure of participating in this weekly event as a judge. It was the first time I participated in such a thing and I have to say it was very enjoyable. Choosing the winners was not easy; there are so many great writers out there and it was a heck of a lot of fun reading the stories as they were posted throughout the day. You can read those stories, the prompts, and see the winners here:

#MenageMonday Week 8 That I Judged
Winners of #MenageMonday Week 8

Sadly I missed out on the Halloween version of #MenageMonday last week, but I made a point not to miss out on this week’s fun. So, yesterday afternoon I decided to take a stab at this week’s challenge judged by the talented flash fictioneer (of course it’s a word!) Maureen Hovermale. Cara’s photo prompt was probably the most difficult part of coming up with a story, but here’s what I came up with:

David woke up with a throbbing headache. He lifted himself off the cold floor he was laying on, looked around, and realized he was in a holding cell at the Sheriff’s Department.

“You okay, bud?” A cellmate asked noticing the bruises, black eye and abrasions on David’s face.

“I’ve had better days.” David responded as he slowly sat next to his cellmate.

“So, whatcha’ in for?” The cellmate asked with a slight shove.

The last thing David remembered was the tattoo. What did it say? Vivre Libre? “To tell the truth, I don’t remember getting arrested.”

“Damn! You must have been wasted! Or judging by your face, you really got the shit kicked out of you.”

Now David remembered. The woman. The legs. The tattoo. The diamond necklace.

David explained, “I tried to mug a woman coming out of a club and…” Then he saw the woman walk by the cell. He saw the tattoo on her ankle… and the badge that she wore on a lanyard hanging from her neck. “Turns out she was a cop.”

David’s cellmate laughed at the risible turn of events, “Say what you want, dude. You got your ass kicked by a woman!”

***

This was the first time I had ever participating in a flash fiction challenge and it definitely will not be the last. It was a lot of fun being a part of #MenageMonday both as a judge and as a writer. So, be sure to keep an eye out for future 100-200 word flash fiction shorts written by yours truly in the coming weeks. Better yet, if you are a writer, be sure to take a stab at it yourself. It’s not only fun, but it also helps get those creative juices flowing in the old noggin.

Lastly, I’d like to congratulate this week’s #MenageMonday champ, Antonio Angelo, for wearing the crown for two consecutive weeks! Also, congratulations to this week’s Judge’s pet, Jen DeSantis, for having the best use of Judge’s prompt.

As always thank you for visiting my humble establishment online. I hope you enjoyed your stay, and if you did be sure to subscribe to my blog site by either clicking on the FOLLOW tab or by entering your email address in the box on the left margin.

Cheers!

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Goodbye Halloween, Hello Thanksgiving

Posted: November 2, 2011 in Halloween, Holidays, Thanksgiving

Shedding Tears For October

October has come and gone. The ghouls, ghosts and goblins have retreated to their caves, lairs, and second dimensions. Mounds of Halloween candy begs to be eaten and dentists worldwide are rubbing their hands together because of the inevitable cavities that are certain to follow. October has been fun. Hours upon hours of scary movies on AMC, SyFy, and Chiller filled our days with chilling stories of psychopathic murderers, vengeful spirits, and hungry monsters. Serial killers such as Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger have now gone to rest until next year’s ghoulish season of the witch. Many of you are shedding tears of joy because you can finally get a decent night of sleep after endless nightmares from watching too many late night horror flicks. Others are shedding tears because… well, because someone ate the last Snickers bar in the candy bowl!

All kidding aside, I always look forward to October because it starts the beginning of cooler weather and the start of the holiday season (or unholy for those who cringe at the thought of Halloween). I have to admit I’m not a “huge” fan of Halloween (my home’s decoration consisted of a single ceramic Jack-O-Lantern and a small lighted Halloween sign) but it is fun to see how people really get into it. Plus, since I’m a fan of the horror genre, it only makes sense to like Halloween, too. This year I have had the privilege of meeting a number of horror authors that have also helped get me into the Halloween spirit; authors such as R.A. Evans, Jason McKinney, Erik Gustafson and A.J. Aalto to name a few. All four of them are very talented authors, and if you haven’t already done so, be sure to click on their names to visit their web sites.

Cooler Weather and Paranoid Turkeys

The cooler weather that usually comes along with October is a big deal for me since I live in South Texas, especially after suffering through record breaking triple digit temperatures this past summer. We have a nice cold front blowing in this week that will drop the temperatures down to a chilling upper 30s. It’s something that I welcome since I always enjoy the colder temperatures, but not enough to warrant a move up north though. The colder temperatures remind me of two things: Thanksgiving and Christmas, my two absolute favorite holidays of the year.

The passing of Halloween 2011 is also very significant for another reason… the turkeys are now running for their lives! The nightmare is just beginning for them! I can see the turkey community taking cues from Chik-fil-A and starting an “Eat More Ham” campaign. Gobble! Gobble!

A Season of Thanksgiving… and Marketing

November also sparks the beginning of a new season, a season of thanks and the official beginning of the Christmas retail marketing frenzy. We haven’t even enjoyed our Turkey dinners yet and we’re seeing commercials enticing me to buy, buy, buy! Although, now that I think about it, wouldn’t Victory Lane: The Chronicles – Pursuit of a Dream make a great addition to someone’s eBook collection this Christmas?

As we inch closer to Thanksgiving Day (okay, I know my Canadian friends have already celebrated Thanksgiving; they get to have Thanksgiving and Halloween all in the same month!), let us remember all of the things we are thankful for, even when life throws us a curveball. What is it that makes our lives such a blessing amidst the trials and tribulations of hard times and misfortune? What helps us open our eyes each and every day and say it’s a wonderful day? So, what is it that you are thankful for? What is it that gives you strength to ride the through the storm? Is it family? Is it friends? Is it God? Whatever it is remember to never forget about that, and also remember that Thanksgiving Day is just one day out of the year to remind us that we all have a lot to be thankful for. We just have to open our eyes and hearts to realize it sometimes.

I know it’s a bit early in the month to get that in depth about Thanksgiving, but honestly recent events in my life (including losing a job that I absolutely loved and a recent death in the family) have reminded me that life is too short to let any day go by without truly counting the blessings in my life. I hope you do the same.

The Turkey Apocalypse

With that said, I hope you have a wonderful day, enjoy the remainder of those sweets in the candy bowl (Save the Snickers for me!), and look out for those vigilante turkeys! It’s just a matter of time before those turkeys have had enough and decide to strike back. The nearby town of Cuero has a turkey processing plant and is also known as the “unofficial” turkey capital of the world, and after years of Turkey Fest celebrations in October it’s just a matter of time before the turkeys revolt and go on a crusade across Texas. This may very well be the last time we enjoy turkey for Thanksgiving! I know. I know. Thanksgiving without turkey? The horror!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoyed your stay. Be sure to leave comments, and if you haven’t already subscribed you can do so by clicking on the FOLLOW tab below or typing in your e-mail address in the subscription box on the left.

Cheers!

Movie Review: The Thing (2011)

Posted: October 24, 2011 in Horror, Movies

Another 80s remake?

Horror has always been my favorite genre and last year when I read that The Thing was in the works for a 2011 release I surprisingly had mixed feelings, because I absolutely loved the 1982 cult classic with the same title. Considering I am a child of the 80s, my first reaction was, “Oh, great! Another remake of an 80s movie.” With all the remakes of 80s movies, I found myself rolling my eyes and wondering if I would actually give in and see this one in the movie theater. Maybe the fact that I’m now in my mid-30s and movies I watched as a kid are now getting labeled as “classics” (and getting remade or “re-imagined”) is starting to make me feel old. Damn it! I don’t want to grow up! I’m a Toys ‘R Us kid!

A great prequel to a cult classic.

As more information was released about the movie, I began to realize that the 2011 version of The Thing is not a remake at all, or even a sequel. It is in fact a prequel to the 1982 film. So, don’t let the title deceive you. I absolutely loved John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), which was based on the 1951 Howard Hawks-Christian Nyby film titled The Thing From Another World. If you loved The Thing (1982), then I believe you will enjoy The Thing (2011) which has the same creepy feel, gore, suspense, and intensity as Carpenter’s film.

The great thing (no pun intended) about the fact that this movie is not a remake of the 80s cult classic is that you don’t have to watch the 1982 version first to follow the plot. The movie follows that same plot as Carpenter’s version in its own unique way and therefore makes for a great experience whether you are familiar with the story or not. In fact, if you haven’t seen John Carpenter’s film, I highly recommend watching the two movies in the order that the story is told (2011 version and then 1982 version). It will make a great double-feature, providing you enjoy the story itself. If you are a horror buff and likely have already seen Carpenter’s film, then you’ll enjoy how The Thing (2011) fills in the gaps and answers some questions left from the 1982 version, such as why the Norwegians were shooting at the dog in the beginning of Carpenter’s film. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just say that the creators of The Thing (2011) did an excellent job of paying attention to detail and tying the two films together. After watching this movie in the theater, you’ll more than likely want to dust off that old DVD (or VHS tape; Remember those?) and watch John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) again. I certainly did.

Here's my awesome depiction of "The Thing"

CGI Special Effects

Some may argue that the use of CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) was overused in the movie, but I personally think that the CGI added to the experience because it was done so well. However, I completely understand how hardcore horror fans prefer to see these types of films made the old-school way with puppetry and makeup (and it was used in some scenes), something that takes a special talent which I appreciate and admire. With that said I must stress that the use of CGI was done so well in this movie that you more than likely will not be thinking about the CGI when “the thing” is revealed on screen. This is not a low-budget horror flick and the quality of the CGI brings “the thing” to life on screen. This movie was well worth the price of admission.

My Rating

By now you probably have an idea that I would highly recommend watching The Thing in the movie theater if you are a fan of the horror genre. It may not make you jump out of your seat and spill popcorn all over the floor, but it will keep you in suspense and guessing, “Who’s the thing?” That’s part of the fun with this movie. And if you like gore, there’s plenty of that, too!

So, with all of that said, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would rank The Thing with a strong 8.

So, what are you waiting for? Head on over to your favorite theater and go watch The Thing, but keep a watchful eye on your peers, though. They may not be who you think they are!

If you have seen The Thing in the theater already, I’d love to hear your opinion of the movie by commenting on this article.

For more information about The Thing, visit the official site by clicking HERE.

Promo poster image source: Wikipedia

Meeting one of the actors from “The Thing” on Twitter

Last month I met a guy named “Triple A” on Twitter when he stumbled across my account and decided to follow me. The first thing I noticed was that he had a verified Twitter account and that he looked very familiar. It was after reading his profile and clicking on his IMDB link that I realized who he was (and was reminded about the upcoming movie The Thing). @TheOneTripleA is Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (“Triple A” for short) which you may recognize as Mr. Eko from the television series Lost and movies such as The Mummy Returns (Lock-Nah), Congo, and The Bourne Identity (Wombosi). I have to admit that it has been very cool to communicate with a Hollywood actor on Twitter, and he initiated the contact. Since he was kind enough to follow me and take time to chat briefly with me a couple of times, I felt it proper to give him a shout out on my site when writing this review.

Be sure to check out the official site for more info about Mr. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje “Triple A” and follow him on Twitter @TheOneTripleA. He’s a very down-to-earth kind of guy and does occasionally take the time to tweet with his fans.

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