The New Year Resolutionists – Uggh

Posted: January 10, 2015 in Writing
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I’m quite a fitness fanatic. I love playing sports and I love training to play my sports better. It’s just flat out fun. (will be posting my American Ninja Warrior submission tape soon…)

So every time I go to the gym in January and February, I find it filled with new faces. The faces of this year’s crop of New Year’s Resolutionists. The gym is usually a little more packed than usual and you have to maneuver between people re-learning what to do.

Now don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great to see people getting back in shape. I always think good of them. What frustrates me is watching them fall off over the next few weeks or months. By spring, I pretty much see the same old faces. The same group of people that endure the cold, the heat, the early, early mornings.

And in all reality, I really do wish more of the New Year Resolutionists would stay. To see newcomers add to the energy in the room. To see that they really do care about their health.

Yes. You knew this was coming around to writing sooner or later. New Year’s Resolutionists could pertain to writers too. To see all the people sitting down at their laptops – this is going to be the year I write that book! Or finish that project. Or something in the writing vein. If we didn’t have new writers, the train would slow down. We wouldn’t be pushing the genre to new heights. How many times do you sit down and watch a movie on TV and wonder, when are they going to come up with something new?

Well, it’s not up to someone else. It’s up to you. Or us. Or whoever wakes up in the morning and wants to do something new. To the person who just can’t stand walking by the book aisle in the supermarket because they know their book isn’t there – yet. Because they haven’t finished the book they’ve been chewing on for the last few years.

Don’t be a short-lived resolutionist. Be a dedicated writer, willing to challenge your own fears and weaknesses and create something that’s never been done before.

The latest thrill

Posted: January 2, 2015 in Writing
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How do you keep up with your genre?
These days it’s impossible to read everyone’s website, blog or tweet.
For me, I have a couple of go-to’s that keep me in the loop. One of my favorites is The Big Thrill newsletter/magazine.
There are great interviews with some of the most successful authors in my genre – Thrillers. As well, there are many great interviews with authors about their latest releases.
In this month’s edition, my friend Joanna Penn (you probably know her as JF Penn or The Creative Penn) does a nice article and introspective with author Scott Mariani.
It’s tightly coupled with my favorite writers conference ThrillerFest, so you’ll see headline ads for it throughout, but I consider these two venues the main vein of thriller writing help and support.
Happy New Year!

Landing on a comet

Posted: December 18, 2014 in Writing
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I must say, I was very intrigued with the whole landing-on-a-comet mission from the European Space Agency (ESA – Europe’s NASA). It spurred memories of the asteroid busting movie “Armageddon”. But what if we thought of comets and asteroids not only as threats, but as transports for communications networks and shuttles of deep space.
I was reading about the fantastic mankind accomplishment and thinking of different ways to use this for a story. Imagine landing satellite and communication stations that would continue to travel throughout the edge of our solar system.
Most comets we hear about come from the Kuiper belt. This belt of ice rocks starts outside of Neptune. In fact, it was later determined that Pluto is yet another Kuiper object. Halley’s comet is believed to originate from this belt and returns from a long orbit every 76 years.
So let’s extend it out a few years. It’s not common place, but we start landing observation satellites on several comets, taking advantage of their long orbits and continued propulsion to start a net of satellites.
One of the short orbit satellites is back after only a few years and is going to get an upgrade. A manned mission takes a small crew of four to land on the comet and replace some component. During their trip out, something happens with their water supply. They’re forced to filter and drink the water from the ice of the comet. As we’ve recently discovered (and this part is true), the water on the comet is slightly different from the water on earth. Captain Russell Chapman can feel himself changing because of this water. He’s healthier. Stronger. Smarter. He goes to collect one more chunk of ice for the return trip and when he returns to their space module, the other three men are gone…

Okay. Not my best. This doesn’t start with a strong story question. But the idea to use asteroids and comets as self-propelled satellites is interesting. Imagine landing on one and missing the moment needed to return home. You could come up with all sorts of ideas.

Please feel free to comment below. I’m wondering myself how this story could be better constructed and end.
Here’s one of the main pages for the team and science behind the magnificent milestone.
Check it out:

Landing on a comet

Closing the gap Part 2 …

Posted: December 9, 2014 in Writing
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The first part of this blog really got me thinking.
It is so very important to hold our standards high and continue to put out work as good if not better than those before us.
I don’t want to ride on coat tails. I don’t want to jump on the band wagon and try to make a quick buck. My name is worth more than that.
Let’s aspire to something greater than that which lays before us. Will I ever put out a book as good as David Baldacci or Steve Berry? Or Lee Child? Maybe. Maybe not. But if I don’t shoot for it I’ll never know. I want to write great. I want the writing to be so transparent that you never notice I’m there.
I want there to be a deeper message. I love thrillers. I love stories. But there are always deeper questions in life that we must answer and I would love to expose the one’s that keep me up at night.
I want to write about my greatest fears, anxieties, fantasies and dreams. Only then will I have exorcised the writing demons that live within.
Here’s a funny but true story about something that happened to me in my younger days.
I was a lead and rhythm guitarist for a band. Great times. Great friends. My friends and I practiced at one of the few storage warehouses that allowed bands to crank it up at night. We played at a million clubs and bars, displaying our skills and songs we so carefully crafted. We never cared about the other local bands. They weren’t our competition. You know who was? It was Rush. Van Halen. Queensryche and Led Zeppelin. I didn’t want to be like the guy down the street. I wanted to be like the people I listened to on my records, cassette or radio.
So my band mates and I were taking a break from rehearsing and we just sat down to have a beer when one of the other bands down a few bays – we called the storage facility “metal mall” – started playing. No biggie. Just another loud band. But then the guitar player clears the way and starts going off. My jaw dropped. This wasn’t usual. This wasn’t from the local domain. This was real talent. All of us were shocked. How could someone this good sneak into our backyard?
We got up and raced down the way not knowing what to expect. I was nervous thinking that suddenly I would be dropped to the bottom of the pile of local guitar heroes.
We were confused. It was a band we knew. Sort of friends of ours. But they were sitting too. Taking a break. Then we realized they were pulsing out music through a CD player. It was a band called Pantera. I had heard of them, but not heard them directly. “Dimebag” Darrell was a massive guitar player. He was still filling our ears with technique and touch that I didn’t expect from a real heavy metal band.
I was relieved. He wasn’t local. But here was another reminder of how high I must climb. From then on I put more effort into playing and practicing.
A few years back I was in my old stomping grounds and ran across a few acquaintances from the times. They remembered me for being such a solid, emotional guitar player. That made me feel good. After all these years, they remembered what heart and soul I put into my instrument.
Now I want to do the same in writing. Maybe I won’t have the same commercial success as the authors I look up to, but if in ten or more years, someone approaches me and says they enjoyed my book, my writing and that it meant something to them, then it will be all worth it.

Closing the gap…

Posted: December 8, 2014 in Writing
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In business we use the term “gap analysis” to determine the reality between what is required and what is available. This can apply to many different places in industry, music and science. And writing…
For me, gap analysis happens when I read a favorite author. One whose work is polished and complete. One with the rhythm of words that I dance along to merrily. And then I read my work. For many years when I balanced the two against each other, my words tripped over themselves. There was no rhythm I could dance to. The idea was present, but it just didn’t shine.
Michelangelo said that a sculpture already lived within the stone he worked on, he merely removed the unneeded pieces.
A blank sheet of paper should represent the same thing.
But I persevered. I wrote. I learned. I asked questions. I’ve been fortunate enough to attend amazing conferences like ThrillerFest and ask my favorite author’s what they’ve done to help them ascend to such heights. Then I wrote some more. And more.
Now when I do gap analysis, the gap isn’t nearly as large. In fact, there are places and times when it sings just right. When characters feel like they’re in your living room, or better yet, when you’re with them in the middle of some heart thumping moment.
It’s taken a long time to get there. But I have a standard. I want desperately to add to the collective known as thriller fiction. One that has given me great thoughts and adventure. But I only want to add quality work. So I endeavor to only release something that is at my standard. Something that says to me “this is as good as it gets”. I don’t want to publish crap. In fact, the absolute danger in indie and self-publishing is the tidal wave of crap that gets put out there. It threatens to turn away readers from such a great medium.
I will not add trash to the junkyard. But I will add color to the landscape. I will add something that adds to the power of the genre I love.
Don’t get sucked in to adding trash. Add something that is better than the last good book you’ve read. We will all be better off because of it.

Espionage malware has been spying since 2008

Posted: December 2, 2014 in Writing
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Worried about the NSA? About Big Brother? Our electronic net of convenience makes it easier for devious individuals to spy on us without our knowledge. Take the case of Regin, a recently discovered malware program that does just that. And it’s been around since at least 2008!
In a world where Big Data has been its own economic force in the sense that it drives what we build and supply, imagine if you had your own Big Data collector and no one knew about it. You don’t just have to steal state secrets to know what other countries are doing, but know what consumers are buying. The name of business is to understand where everyone is going and to get there first. With such knowledge you could amass a pretty substantial boost in commerce.
The targets include international players and the most interesting thing about this is that they believe this is state sponsored. It’s ultra-sophisticated and had to have been developed with a nation’s efforts, not just a few individuals.
Who’s behind this? I don’t know but it sure makes for some great fiction fodder. I could think of quite a few ideas you could leverage from this discovery.
“Robert Thompson was accustomed to chasing down bad guys. But the next one on his list was invisible. It would takes clues and good old fashion detective work to hunt down the creator of the Regin spyware program. Usually this was left to the geek crew, but they came up with nothing. So it was his turn and he had no idea this international secret would be so closely guarded by a nation that was willing to kill anyone who tried to find them…”

The true story is below. Check it out:
Regin – state sponsored malware

Book Cover Design Contest

Posted: November 21, 2014 in Writing
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I know I posted about design cover artwork before, but after following 99designs and their interesting design contest concept, I had to jump in. After you do your design brief and open the contest, many designers put forth their concepts based on your request. I didn’t realize that you could (and probably should) run the contest as ‘blind’. That means that designers don’t see other designers work and potentially steal their ideas.

The best thing you can do to foster good competition and participation is to give the artists feedback. In my case, most of the artists came back with another entry based on my suggestion. At the time of this post, and the first of two rounds is practically over, I had 56 different entries! This has been a really great response and I think part of it is because I gave the best feedback I could and thanked the artists for their time and effort.

So without much ado, I have a favor to ask. Would you please click on the link below and rate the covers I posted?
Feel free to write your own comment if you think adding, removing or tweaking a specific design element would be helpful.
From these choices, I will slim the list down to a select few and choose a winner. At that point I will even be able to ask for more changes and get this just like I want.

To help with perspective, I’m including the rough draft of my back cover copy. Below that is the link to get to the polls.
Enjoy!

James Randall Parker is a synthetic biologist who has heard enough at a conference in Rome. He’s now sure that no one else has implemented artificial DNA into humans like he has. But out of the lab and out of the U.S. for the first time, he’s not prepared for the gauntlet of dynamic personalities and powerful forces that want to steal his work. 

His world is quickly turned upside down when he’s seduced by a beautiful spy and embroiled in a deadly game of scientific espionage that he learns is driven by a secret underground society known as the Nexus. 

Now Jim Parker must team up with the wife he just cheated on, a busy executive with a secret of her own, as they evade the far reaching influence of the Nexus, stomping around some of Italy’s most ancient and storied cities. But when the Nexus assassin tasked with finding and killing him discovers a buried incident that ties him to her own broken life, does she become an ally or motivated enemy?

The Carrington Event will take you through life and death, adventure and discovery. All while being strangled by a hidden solar catastrophe that will disrupt the world order within the next 48 hours…

Vote on your favorite cover design!

Make your teacher proud…

Posted: November 19, 2014 in Writing
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The first part of our lives is infiltrated by academic teachers. Word and number coaches who teach us the very beginning to our own personal knowledge base. As we progress through the education system we are faced with more intricate learnings. Our observations are sharper and we start putting together large chunks of what we understand into massive learned objects. Some of them become ‘enlightenments’ which end up driving us to successful professions.

But along the way, there are experiences that slip through the offered subject matter that have a way of shaping who we are. Some of those who contribute along the way are people we remember with a whole gamut of emotions: despising, awkward, charismatic, endearing.

Who helped shaped your life?

One of my most vivid memories in college was a professor in my junior/senior year. He was tough. Very tough. But also very good. I had an accident where a car radiator blew up and sprayed steaming hot anti-freeze on my back. Massive burns. I still had to finish fixing my car to get home. I ended up with gauze covering over three-quarters of my back, sticky with ointment, there to catch the fluids my body was producing to help heal the wound. It was horrible. Painful.

I had a test in two days – a big test – with this very teacher. I called to tell him there was no way I could drive 50 miles to class (yeah, long drive) to go over the test prep and could I postpone the test itself.

This was an actual, physical ailment. Nothing like faking a cold or flu and crying because I was scared of the test.
Did I get a resounding “yes, certainly”? Nope. Not even close.

He quickly arranged to find another student who lived close to me and someone that would share their test prep notes. And “I’ll see you for the test in two days”.

What? Are you kidding me?

He told me it was a deadline. And we don’t miss deadlines. It was a lesson. I didn’t know it at the time.
I ended up getting the notes and showing up to the test and taking it. I think I got a B+, which was a very good grade in his class.

He made me dig down deep and get over my whiney self and get the job done. I’ll never forget. It helped transform me into a stronger student. I apply that same resolve in every day life. I want to thank him for it. But he’s long gone.
The last thing that I can do is to make him proud. And I endeavor to do that whenever I have a deadline.

Creative first lines…

Posted: November 17, 2014 in Writing
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I am a subscriber to Writer’s Digest. One of the funnest things I like to read is their First Things First section where they provide a picture and challenge readers to write the opening line. They pick and publish the top 10 entries out of about a thousand.
The imagination I see from other readers is amazing. Case in point. In the Jan 2015 issue (not sure how that works, it’s only Nov. 2014), the picture is of a man and woman, facing and embracing each other. The picture is cut off at the top so you can’t see their faces. They’re outside in a park-like area, casually dressed.
I can’t republish the words without consent, but I will tell you about them.
Aside from being highly creative, the same picture brought out tangents from multiple genre’s. I read Romantic, Mystery, Thriller, Comedy and Sci-Fi. They were all very clever, interesting and compelling. They all have a strong voice and good cadence.
Sometimes I try to envision my opening scene as if it were a picture and try to come up with my best first line. If I could come up with something as solid as some of the one’s I’ve read, I’d be happy.
I would certainly encourage you to read some of these first liners. They’re not posted online, sadly. But they are entertaining. I looked at their website trying to find a link to these sharp one liners and failed.
But certainly, looking at a generic picture and putting together a handful of creative, compelling first lines to a book, article or blog would be great exercise.

Control your genes with your thoughts…

Posted: November 16, 2014 in Writing
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This article I found was very interesting. But I wasn’t sure of the practical application. I understand it has to do with modifying a gene expression with your thought, but could you use it to combat diabetes or alzheimer’s with it? I don’t really know. I recently discovered a new acquaintance who may be of some help in this area. She’s a molecular biologist and although this may not be her specific area of expertise, she may help me understand the end goal.
Still, taking this from a game to changing something deep within ourselves is fantastic. Imagine sitting down and thinking about eradicating your cancer for 10 minutes a day and it keeps you perfectly healthy.
This could be an interesting back drop for a story.
I bet someone can use this.

Check it out:
Control genes with your thoughts

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