Merry Christmas...

All right. Looks like we're just about finished with the second round of free days for the Guardian on Amazon.
So what are the final results?

Amazon.com - 178
Amazon.co.uk - 47
Amazon.de - 5
Amazon.fr - 1

Hmm, overall it's better than the first time--not by much, but better. But it's not a fair comparison, as the first time was only 2 days and this time was 3. Then again, these should be unique downloads, so seeing a drop is expected.

Thank you all for participating, and if you missed it again, I think the next set of free days will be in a couple of months. (Sometime in March?)

And finally, for some personal records:
6 books have been sold for the month of December. 2 of those were for Guardian.

Kind of a depressing, but since there really doesn't seem to be much interest in the series, the final book of the trilogy for the Coranite Chronicles will be on an indefinite hiatus.

Get ready for the next Free promotion...

On Dec 10th and 11th, the Guardian (Coranite Chronicles) was free on Amazon. It wasn't really planned in advance. Amazon just gave this free promotions tool recently. And so I thought I'd give it a test run to see if it works. And it seems to work fine.

This time I will announce the dates for the next free promotion in case you missed the last one.
The next free promotion will be from Dec. 25th (Yay, Christmas!) to the 27th. That's three whole days.

By this time the current promotion will be coming to a close, so for my own records, I'm going to list the current (and most likely final) results of putting the Guardian as free on Amazon.
Amazon.com - 148 downloads.
Amazon.co.uk - 25 downloads.
Amazon.de - 2 downloads.

And for some final thoughts...
If you've downloaded it/bought it, I really, really hope you enjoy it. I really do.
I know that there is at least one person who is disappointed in the book, and so I must apologize if it doesn't/didn't meet your expectations.

The Guardian - FREE for a LIMITED time only (Dec 10 to 11) on Amazon

The Guardian (sequel to the Judge of the Coranite Chronicles) is FREE for a LIMITED time only.
Amazon now has a thing where I can offer certain books for free, but only for a few days. I can set the days, so I figure, better sooner than later right?

The Guardian is FREE to download right now.
You have two whole days to nab it: Saturday and Sunday.
AMAZON US LINK HERE

If you haven't bought the book yet, this may be the best time to check it out.
It's a limited time offer, so go get it while you can.
____
For Personal records: Judge sold 2 books so far for the month of Dec.

December

2012 is coming up soon. Another year went by in a flash.
Only 3 sales last month. (2 for the Guardian). Inching our way to 100.
Maybe we'll break 100 by the end of next year?
Well, seeing some people buy the Judge every now and then gives me some hope.
So, 10 sales total for the Guardian.

Welcome to November...

Not gonna talk about much so I can keep the posts below alive. Just the usual quick monthly report.
6 more sales of all books for October.
Specifically for the Guardian, a grand total of 8 sales.
It might not be lighting up the charts, but it's progress.

Thank you all for the support and have another great month!

Yessss...

Welp, it took a while...but now we have two more books of the Guardian sold--bringing our (semi)grand total of all book sales to 78! Thank you! And once again, I apologize for any distracting typos you may find. I searched pretty thoroughly, but there will always be some crafty little typos that manage to sneak past.

And for those of you who are wondering what all the hubbub (not so much hub as bub)  is about,
I recently released the sequel to the Judge (Coranite Chronicles).
It's called the Guardian and is currently available in the Kindle store,
and on paperback from Createspace or Amazon.
You can find the links on the Where to Buy page on the right.
And a brief (pdf) preview of the Guardian is here: https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1088590

I am a broken record.

And thanks again for all your encouraging support, your cool reviews, your wonderful comments, your yummy sales and any other nice things :)

The Guardian Book version is now available on Create Space.

The Guardian (paperback) is now available on CreateSpace.
https://www.createspace.com/3699005
It'll take a while before the paperback gets listed on Amazon.

The Guardian - Kindle Version up on Amazon.

And here we go! The Guardian is now up on Amazon Kindle for $0.99!

US link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005QU8A5G

UK link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005QU8A5G

And...oddly enough, someone bought a copy before I even found out it was up already.

So, thank you! :D (That brings our total sales up by 2)
If you're wondering if the sequel is any good before you buy it, you can check out the lengthy preview on the post below, OR you can view the preview on Amazon, but I think it's probably only a few pages or a chapter.

Also,
I don't know if anyone cares to buy a paperback(almost nobody buys them ), but I've put that into the system just for completionist's sake. I just need to see if everything looks all right in a proof copy before I set it in stone. I mostly put it up because I like to have a personal copy as a memento.
______________________

A word from the Author (I feel kinda silly writing that title):

It has been a long journey in writing this book. It pretty much drove me insane. I thought I would be able to finish it much earlier, but pushing through the last few chapters was tough. But I didn't want to go back on my word. I said I would write it and so I did. At that time, I had already finished half of the book. I thought it'd be simple to just finish it up. Boy, was I wrong. However, I know there are a few fans out there of book and so this is my act of saying thanks to everyone who cared.

Coranite Chronicles has always held a special place in my heart.
I think that everyone has a story to tell. And Coranite Chronicles was mine.
Even though I plan out the story ahead of time and know what's going to happen, it's always something else to put it into words. And when I finally can read it (during the process of editing), I am delighted to know that someone else (however, few) might read this story and enjoy it.

Due to time constraints, (I really wanted to just get it done with so I could focus on other things), I had to keep the book short and to the point. When I first wrote the Judge, I messed around with a lot of ideas...so much so that the book was over 150,000 words. And that's too much for a novel so I had to cut out entire sections. With the Guardian, it felt like the opposite. I made it so simple and basic that I had to expand upon things. And by the end of it, I still felt like there was more that could've been done, but it would've taken waaaay to long to properly plan it out and write it.

And really, I do have some regrets about the whole thing. The first thing is that I didn't take as much time to edit it. I revised the Judge straight through at least a dozen times and every time I went through it I always noticed something wrong. And when I wrote the Judge, my friends and family would help me out by reading it. Time has changed. Everyone is too busy with life now to read my book and give advice/opinions. That was one of the more painful things about writing the Guardian. I was flying solo. And because of that, it makes me nervous. I hope I didn't screw up really bad somewhere.

It probably won't have the same impact on you guys, but I love the ending of this book. It is really such a painful cliffhanger though. There really wasn't much I could do because it is the end of the book and sets the stage for Book 3, which wraps up the trilogy's storyline. It's only fitting for it to be that way. Doesn't make it any more pleasant.

Anyway, happy reading. Best wishes. I really, really hope everyone enjoys it. I was never a good writer, but I do hope I've improved enough in the craft to make this book even better than the Judge. And if you like it, remember to tell your friends about it. I'm just a lowly indie author, so every little bit of word-of-mouth helps me out a lot.

Ahh, finally done with the Guardian.

I can't believe it. It's done. I have finished uploading the book to Amazon Kindle distribution.
However, it'll take some time (about a day?) before they put it up for sale.
In the meantime, I uploaded a preview for the book here in PDF format:
https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1088590

It's a pretty big preview. It includes the prologue and the first five chapters.
<--------And there is the cover. Simple. But it works. (I know, I know, some parts of the drawing aren't that great) Anyway, it's not really a big deal since it'll mostly be digital sales anyway.

And finally, for the mini-synopsis:

A terrible incident. A Federation battleship destroyed, its crew mercilessly slaughtered. The prime suspects? The Guardians of the Elements—powerful spirit beings in control of all nature. No longer considered a myth, the Guardians are feared by the Federation for their incredible abilities to manipulate fire, ice and thunder. The solution? All out war.

But there are those who realize the Federation is making a big mistake. The Guardians aren’t to blame. A much more sinister force is at work, pitting the strongest factions against each other. And an all out war against the Guardians will only result in untold death and destruction.

The next thrilling adventure of the Coranite Chronicles is here! 

Join Darek and his friends as they scour zombie-infested starships, explore the mysterious void between dimensions, race across the sky on hover boards, escape from underwater civilizations, battle massive armored giants, and witness the revival of a deadly evil.

 ________________________________________

And that's it for now.  I hope you guys enjoy the preview. I'll put up the link to the amazon link when they finish whatever it is they are doing.

All right! Cover done.

Almost done now. Cover is finished. Book is finished. Description is finished. The only problem? Formatting issues. I want to make sure all the indentations are good. Should be finished in a couple of hours.
It will be such a relief to finally have this thing done.

The Guardian

Hard to believe it has taken so long. But I'm finally finished with the Guardian. I didn't want to spend too much time on it, so it turned out shorter than the Judge, but still a good length, I suppose.
Anyway, it's done, but before I put it up on Amazon, I need to make the (dreaded) cover.
So...hopefully I can make something nice and simple and upload the book soon.

Just a quick update.

The book is pretty much complete. But now I need to do some editing. Not sure how long it'll take as the book is about 100,000 words or so. Hopefully won't take too long.

The Guardian is Almost Complete!

Finally, the news some of you may have possibly perhaps been waiting for...
 The Guardian is almost complete.
Just got about a chapter and a half left to finish up. And once I'm done writing it, I'm gonna need to do a few edits. So, almost done, but not gonna be released quite yet. I'm hoping to finish it in a week or two.
I am dreading the creation of another cover though. It's troublesome and I'm not really that great of an artist.

I initially planned on adding a few extra chapters from the intro of the 3rd book, but since I'm not planning on working on the 3rd book, I'll save myself the trouble. Maybe I'll write a few rough drafts for a couple of chapters and let you guys read it, but that'll be it. Nothing official.

As for the plan for the release? I'm thinking of just putting it on Amazon Kindle, and it'll only be for a buck, like the Judge. I said I would make it free, but I don't plan on doing that immediately. But I'm giving you this warning ahead of time: I'm going to make the Guardian free, but I will do it AFTER a few months. If you can wait, then wait. But if you can and would like to support my books, please buy the Amazon Kindle version when I put it up. Thanks.

If you're wondering why I want to hold off on making it free, it's because I'm hoping that if people buy the books, it might actually get somewhere on Amazon's charts and offer up some (kinda) free publicity.
I mean, just take a look at the other books:
THE JUDGE - Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #356,516 Paid in Kindle Store
AWAKE - Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #295,221 Paid in Kindle Store

Yeah...those are some pretty low rankings.

Anyway, we're up to 70 books sold! Three in the last month. It's been almost a year since I've uh...put my books up for free and well, it has made a difference. So, I'm glad and thankful that some of you are willing to buy my book even though it is currently free. Thank you all very much, and I hope to get The Guardian out into your hands as soon as possible.

A New Month...

And it's that time again. The monthly update.
Wow, I can't believe August is here already.

Sales: 2!

I was looking through the news to see if there's anything nice happening lately. I could always use some good news. It's troubling then that the media mostly focuses on bad news--which can't be helped.

So...let's see...hmm.... war, terrorism, crime, debt crisis, disasters...
What the heck...gamer dies from playing games twelve hours a day? A blind woman gets choked and mugged in broad daylight? China censors information about a train crash? School bus catches on fire on the first day of school (How does that even happen)?
Yup, everything looks bad.

Meh, forget the news.

Uh...the last movie of Harry Potter came out in July.
Seeing that it was the end of an era, I thought I might as well check it out.
My thoughts on the movie? It was fine. I can't say I had high expectations. But it did its job.

I felt pretty...disappointed by the very end though. I think it said something like 19 years later, but it really looked weird. Seeing all of them wear grown-up clothing didn't really make them look older.

Anyway, the Guardian is about...er...85% done maybe? As always, I hope to finish it soon.
Until next time...

Summer is unofficially here!

Some people consider June to be part of summer, but I say...that July is when you really feel it. Summer feels especially hot this year. But maybe I just feel that way every year because I forget just how HOT summer really is.

Anyway, four sales for the month of June. Not bad. We're...getting somewhere--I think.
Okay, it's a decline(ever so slightly)...but not dead yet!
Speaking of dead (ominous voice needed), The Judge has disappeared from the top 10 rankings on Free Ebooks. I don't remember if I talked about this, but I might as well make a mention of this again. We had a good run. It was amazing while it lasted.

My book, S3, doesn't seem to have any takers. Ah, I so wished it would've made it into the Amazon contest. But what can you do? But I'm not going to stop pitching until I've reached out to every last agent.

I'm thinking of trying something new for the next book. But gotta finish the Guardian first.
I hope I can finish it soon.

About to make a post...

There hasn't been much going on lately. So I figured I might as well just keep these updates to a minimum. I'm having a really hard time finishing The Guardian. But I don't just want to throw it out there and call it a day. I'll make an "End of the month" post on the 30th.

Favorite drink of a hot summer day?

Now that the hot summer days are here, it's time to think about refreshing ice-cold drinks to keep cool.

As I've said before, I personally feel that water is boring. While it may be healthy and whatnot, it's not really my go-to drink when the weather gets hot and humid.

My personal favorites were Iced-Tea and Lemonade. How convenient then that they come in powdered forms. Even a one day old baby could make it (given some adult-assistance)! Just dump all the powder/sugar in a cup, add water+ice, and mix to your heart's content. Then just drink:  Shuuup. Clink. Aaaaaaah.

Of course, variety is the spice of life! We can't just let it end there. There are also plenty of other quick/easy/convenient cold drinks to fix up in emergencies.

Milk shakes, pina coladas, milk teas, and fruit punch are also nice cold drinks to whip up and enjoy.

And who can forget the existence of thirst-quenching soda (not baking)?
Man, we sure live in a such a convenient time when anything is just simply stored and easily accessible. Can you imagine having to run up a tall mountain (or live in the coldest place on Earth) just to get snow cone?
And what would be the point of eating something cold if it is cold?

Okay, I've rambled on long enough about pointless things.
Anyway, there've been a lot of tornadoes in the midwest lately. So...I hope everyone stays safe.
There's not much you can do but run I guess. Too bad scientists can't invent a way to disperse tornadoes.

Condensed Progress Report:
One sale. Whoo. CC is still on top ten of FreeEbooks (over 32,000 downloads!).
The Guardian is about 70% done.

What time is it kids?

What time is it? Why, it's HOWDY DOODY--er...okay, it's actually Jury Duty time, but it doesn't have the same terribly sung theme song.



Yeah, so that's what's up. The best part of Jury Duty? The vending machine in the Jury Assembly room ripped me off. It said 85 cents. I put in a buck and got back a dime. So there you have it. One missing nickel.

Two more sales!

We've finally got our sales for this month. Two books sold! Ah, progress, progress.

What is there to talk about? I don't know, the world's been pretty much in a mess lately.
Giant storms have been wreaking havoc in southern US. And that has only added to our problems as of late. Gas prices has almost hit $4 a gallon! It's not like it hasn't happened before. But even so, I guess it has a few good things going for it (less cars on the road=less polution?).
Has the economy been getting any better? Maybe? The news is always conflicting on that. They like to say: "HEY! THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER!" But...I wonder if the public feels the same way.

And the middle east never seems to be at peace. I really hope they can solve their problems soon. Turmoil is sucky. A very sucky thing. You know, that's a very interesting thing. When I was in elementary school I used to wonder (as the stupid little kid I was) why do people always talk about world peace? Well, it's obvious. Because there's never peace. :( :( :(
Speaking of middle east, they say Osama's been killed. Everyone's making a big fuss over it, but I wonder if it really changes anything.

But wait, isn't there ANY GOOD NEWS? Uh...something about a marriage of royalty. That's nice? I guess.

I watched the first two episodes of Doctor Who. Interesting concept. I mean, as ridiculous as always, (and I love ridiculousness, it's practically my middle name--whatever that means) but still entertaining nonetheless. I don't really want to spoil anything, but I really love the memory extraction. It's like nothing ever happens...but IT DOES. And you don't realize it until it's too late. Those aliens were U-G-L-Y though. No nightmares thankfully. Well, there was that one nightmare, in which I kept getting chased by a friggin' T-Rex, but that has nothing to do with Doctor Who.

See attachment for your winning information!

And here I thought Gmail had perfected their spam blocker. But today I got one of those infamous YOU WIN emails from Nigeria in my inbox. I cannot deny that it made me kinda happy at first...until I realized it was just spam. I don't think I've ever really won a sweepstakes/contest thing in my life and I've been entering those darn things all the time. Can't win anything. :( I guess the odds are pretty bad. Although, I did win Jury Duty for next month, if you can call that winning.

Anyway, another day has come and gone. And we got another sale! Coranite Chronicles still hanging in there on the top ten and we are still inching ever so slowly towards 30,000 downloads!

Oh, and it has finally come upon us! Doctor Who's next season is here! I was never really a fan of the series, but I really like this latest Doctor and his seasons.

Easter Easter Easter!

It's that time of the year again! (Yes, I know, every time of the year comes again, every year with the possible exception of Feb29.) Easter! I've always wondered... why is it called Easter?
Now with the power of the Internet, there is no need to wonder!
*does quick google search*
Hmm... Looks complicated. Something about Old English taking the name from Germanic calendar which refers to the month of April named after some pagan goddess...
*mumble mumble*
Who comes up with this stuff? WHO?
Now I don't even want to bother searching for the origin of bunnies that lay eggs.

Post for the Week

Today, I thought I'd try to give some kind of progress report on the Guardian. Basically, I'm currently on working chapters 18-20. And I expect there to be about 30 chapters. After I finish writing it, I'm going to do some extensive editing. *sigh* I keep wishing I'd be done with it, but...it always takes so long. Hopefully I can get through the editing quickly.

Cleaning up

Another sale! Up to 55! 5's are like S's. And S's stand for Super!

Okay, enough about that. Yesterday was insanely hot. And I mean, hot(what else would I mean?). It was only inside though. Outside was cool. Anyway, my computer got totally fried from the heat. I checked the temps on the cpu and it was reaching almost 70c while idle! Kept crashing and freezing up. So I decided to clean it up a bit. So much dust everywhere! Thick balls of dust. THICK BAAAAAAAALLS! After cleaning up the dust, it now idles in the 40's. Not great, but I don't really have the money to look into a better cooling situation. Oh...well....works fine, can't complain.

First sale of the month.

It may have taken a while, but now we can all celebrate! Yes, one more book sold. Up to 54 books now!
Weather's been pretty crazy lately. It was insanely hot yesterday, then we had this ridiculous thunderstorm with crazy winds, and now it's kinda cold. Typical. Also...it looks like that stupid web counter is busted. Figures. I know it's free and all, but what's the point if they just break after a few months?

April fools!

April fools!...oh wait, I'm one day late.
Uh...progress report? I don't know. Maybe the Guardians is still about 30-40% done.
But I've been making some changes so it kind of added extra editing.
How much longer? I'm not sure. I want to finish it by this month. We'll see.
S3 threw me off track totally.
The Judge is still hanging in there on the top 10 fiction ebooks on Free-Ebooks.net. I'm surprised it's been there for as long as it has. It's always at the bottom so it's nerve-wrecking. It's at 27558 downloads. Almost to 30,000. No sales for this month. Bummer. I wonder if a better economy would help. But I don't know. The book is only 1$ online and I think I've only sold about 30 or so of them.

As for some added news:
As you all probably know I won't be writing the final book of Darek's trilogy. I think it's supposed to be called The Immortal. But I think I might try to just write a few chapters and throw it in at the end of the Guardian.
Even though I will make the Guardian free, I don't think I'll put it on Free-Ebooks.net. Why? It's a simple reason: putting books on Free-Ebooks cost money. Downloading the books may be free, but putting it up does come with like a $20 cost. Yeah, $20 may not sound like much. But I'm dirt poor. Maybe even poorer than dirt.

I'll have links on here. But it'll be kind of sad because I don't think people really visit this blog.

26000

Well, I said I wouldn't really do it, but I figure I might as well do it once in a while. There hasn't really been much news lately, aside from...all the crazy world news going on (massive earthquakes, devastation, mysterious disappearances/deaths of animals, wars/revolutions/unrest in the middle east, etc. ).

So...it's back to our little insignificant news that few people care about:

We've broken over 26,000 downloads on Free-Ebooks. As always, IT'S OVER 9,000!
We've got 3 more sales on our books, bringing us to a grand total of 53 books sold! That's almost 100(well, not really)! Thank you, thank you, thank you (3 for 3) for buying. I don't think I'll ever reach the top 100 best sellers on the kindle store at this rate, but it's nice to know you guys/gals care.   :D

Oh, speaking of best sellers. Let's include those rankings here too!

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #56,402 Paid in Kindle Store --this is for The Judge.
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #179,060 Paid in Kindle Store --this is for Awake.

Surprising, isn't it? I mean, the difference in sales between these two books is probably like...5-10 books or something. Wow, so every book sale is like a 10,000 rank jump? Insane! But...still kind of depressing too. 56,000? I mean...that's a loooooooooong way from top 100. And if you aren't in the top 100...how the heck are people going to know you exist? I'm still hoping for some random super sudden surge of sales! Still hasn't come yet. But, hey, you never know. Crazy things can happen!

And yes, I'm still working on the Guardian(2nd book of Coranite). We are still alive.


But it's taking a lot longer than I expected. I've still got tons of things to work out. I want to make this book as good as it can be, and address some of the issues and concerns that some people complain about.

I've been pitching my other book around, but it looks like no takers. Oh well, just going to keep trying until every last one is complete.

The devastation continues...

Just when you thought things would be over...it looks like Japan still has trouble ahead. After suffering a massive earthquake AND hundreds of powerful aftershocks AND a tsunami...now their nuclear reactors are acting up. On top of all those problems, people have lost homes, a lot more are still without power, people are still missing, and the economy (which was never that great to begin with) is going to suffer even more. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be living there right now. I hope they can recover from this.

8.9 Earthquake in Japan

Can you believe it? 8.9! The images of it are quite horrific. Looks pretty much like a disaster movie, except real of course. I hope the people there are all right. It sounds like it'd be quite a tragedy.

First sale of the month!

Another month has come and gone...and we finally have our first sales (two sales) of the month!
Hey, it's better than nothing. :)

That brings our grand total up to 48!  I can't believe sales are still crawling along.
Another unbelievable fact? One of those sales was actually a PAPERBACK. In fact, it was the first ever paperback sold of Awake! Wow! To be honest, paperbacks really haven't sold...at all. So...whoever bought that book...you are very special (in a good way of course). That is just amazing. I don't even check the paperback sales anymore because no one buys them...but BAM--there it is! Our first paperback sale of Awake!

More Hong Kong Talk

I've been down in the dumps lately (so bad you wouldn't believe) so I've decided to try to forget about my troubles, if only for a moment, by talking more about my trip to Hong Kong.

What did I do in Hong Kong besides walk endlessly through the streets in order to reach my destinations?

We did do a bit of sightseeing, but honestly, as I'm very weird, I'm not the type to care for sightseeing (I really don't care for traveling either). But since I was there I figured I might as well. That's what tourists do, right? Beyond seeing all the stores, restaurants and dark, dirty, damp, scary back alleys, we visited a few of the simple tourist traps.

We're here!

The first place we stopped by was the Avenue of Stars. It's basically like Hollywood's Walk of Fame, except it's by a harbor. You can see Hong Kong island from the place and I'm sure it's quite beautiful...when it's not rainy,  cloudy, or foggy. Not much to do there. Very much the definition of sight see. You just see the sight. And that's it. There were a few stores readily available to take your money, but I certainly didn't feel like visiting them. It didn't look like anyone bothered to visit the stores, but I'm sure some (touristy type) people care about buying...that stuff. So yeah...walked around, looked at stars on the floor with the names of...stars, and gazed at some of their statues and monuments.

Look! That's Hong Kong island behind Bruce Lee--either that or a humpback whale.

All three of us forgot to turn off the stupid flash.

The other place we went to was the Museum of Science. I've been to the museum of natural history a long time ago (and don't remember anything) but I've very rarely visited museums in my life time. I thought it'd be interesting to see what a Hong Kong museum was like, but I was sorely disappointed. Okay, I did enjoy it a bit, but overall, I was expecting something more...grand. Perhaps I went to the wrong museum, or perhaps museums aren't HK's specialty, but whatever it was, it just seemed a little too basic for me. Also, I've noticed lots of schools doing field trips to the museum...so I guess it was designed to cater more toward school kids in their undying thirst for knowledge. It did seem like a fun place to take kids. The highlight of the experience would have to be the mirrors. I really liked the visual effects that they've made with the mirrors. It was really cool to see what can be done by just manipulating the positions of mirrors.

Are pictures allowed in here? Well...too late.

I'm not sure if we went to other places (my memory is a blur by now), but I'll dive into my next subject at a later time.

Just another post...

I've been really depressed lately. Especially since I didn't pass the first round of the ABNA contest again. Yes...I got denied...again. :(

I'm convinced that the first round is really the most difficult round because it's all scored on the pitch...which is a very difficult thing to handle. So...is that the end of S3: A Smack in Time? I don't know. I'm going to pitch it to agents again and see if there's anyone who's interested in it. Until I can find an agent, I'm going to continue working on the sequel of the Judge.

S3 won't be free, but the Guardian will be. I've decided that I want everyone to have a chance to read the Coranite Chronicles.

I think I said this before, but I'll say (write) it again. I will finish the Guardian and make it freely available, but I probably won't finish the trilogy. This may be sad news to whoever cares about CC, but unless I can get published, it's really not feasible to continue working on this series. It's kinda sad that only two books will be released, but...who knows, maybe sometime in the future we'll be able to continue this journey. But until then...

Anyway, thanks for all your support guys. As you can see from the counter above, we've sold 46 books! WOOHOO! Thank you so much for buying my books! For every sale, my heart skips a beat.

I'm back.

Yes, I'm back from a really long journey. I went to a faraway place known as...Hong Kong. Due to pressure from the higher ups, I must now talk about my trip. So I will. I'm going to break it down in several posts.

Pet your key card...NOW!

 Hong Kong--an interesting place due to its circumstances. While mainly Chinese, it does have the remains of Western influences from when it was under British control. And because of that, it's very...tourist friendly. All the signs are translated into English and they primarily use the typical numbers (1-9) instead of the Chinese numbers. But the people do still speak mostly Cantonese, so it does feel awkward to speak English in the city. And, of course, the television programs are mostly Chinese as well, so it does help to know the language.

Asian people. Lots of them.

I felt that culture shock the moment I arrived. It's kind of scary to see such a different world than I'm used to. Where I come from (US of A), all Chinese people look alike. But when I went to Hong Kong, I felt the opposite. Suddenly, all white people began to look alike. I guess it's just a minority/majority thing. When you see the diversity of one race, another race becomes...very samey.

The sky is always white... :(

The weather was...odd. I've been told that it's warm in Hong Kong. During the whole week I was there...IT WAS COLD.  At night, in the hotel I was staying, it was freezing! I couldn't even feel my feet. Even with layers I could still feel the cold. It must have been about 40 degrees (Fahrenheit). They don't have heaters because it's normally warm, and the blankets are thin too. While I was in Hong Kong, I never saw the sun. In fact, I've been told there is a mountain near Hong Kong island. But from where I was (Kowloon island), it was practically non-existent. There was so much fog...you couldn't see anything. I don't know what to believe anymore.

If it's a wide open space...no one will flock to it.

And the last thing to talk about before I wrap up this post. Hong Kong is a very...confined...and crowded place. I suppose it's only natural for a city to be...less than spacious. But it only served to make everything so complicated. I guess, to complain about something like that is kind of silly, but I might as well. Hotel rooms are basically just for sleeping. Shopping centers...are a battle zone. Ever see a horde of bugs scramble on top of each other? Just imagine that, but with hundreds of humans in a small tight corridor.

Updated Previews...

I've noticed some people don't like to download stuff when reading previews. So I decided to create two previews.
Here's a shortened version of the excerpt (viewable on the web):
https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1077841

And here's the long version (PDF file only):
https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1077842

Disappearing Soon?

Looks like I'm going to disappear next week. More secretive stuff that I won't divulge.
Anyway, I'll be gone so, in the meantime I hope you all will be enjoying life and what it offers.
Life is too short to grumble and complain.

I have a preview of my next book on the post below this one. However, I don't think I will be making S3 free.
It is my...actually, no, I won't say it. I can't say it.

Check out the preview if you liked my other books. I'll be taking it down in a couple of weeks...so, it's a time limited offer :P

If you like it, I hope you'll get a copy when it comes out.
If you hate it, then...oh well!

IT IS FINISHED

Okay, I can no longer edit the submission. I am not satisfied with the submission. I feel like it could still use a lot of work. But there is not enough time in this world for me to work on it so...what can you do?

Now it is time for me to unveil the project....
The title (as I've said before) is called  S3: A Smack in Time.

First, here is the link to the preview:
https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1077618

 It's the first four chapters...so you can get a good feel for the story. The book is 26 chapters long.


__________________________________________________________
Here is the description:

On the first day of high school, Stanley already expects nothing more than another typical year. All that changes, however, when two chance encounters cause him to question his understanding of reality.

He meets Karen, the girl of his dreams, who unfortunately is a paranoid nutcase claiming to be a test subject in a bizarre experiment to create child prodigies. Then there’s Jack, a self-proclaimed time traveler, who hops in through Stanley’s bedroom window, spouting nonsense about how the world has already ended over six thousand times without anyone noticing.

Stanley dismisses them both as lunatics. But when a brush with danger forces him to escape through a mysterious portal in his closet, he thinks he might be going crazy as well.

Stanley arrives in the land outside of time, where a band of kooks recruit him as their next secret agent. Though he is reluctant to join them in their plans to save the world from foreseen destruction, he is quickly on board when he discovers there are certain benefits to being a hero: a handsome salary, free food and, best of all, someone to do his homework for him.

But the life of a young time-traveling secret agent is no bed of roses. With Jack and Karen by his side, Stanley is thrust into a silly adventure involving bone-shattering thumb wars, sickle-wielding senior citizens full of vengeance, and Portal-Potties—the practical, yet disgusting way for fast travel.

Along his journey, Stanley starts to wonder whether he wants to save the world or destroy it, as he unveils the deep mystery behind a plot…that he unknowingly devised himself.

Packed with action and comedy, S3: A SMACK IN TIME is a science fiction adventure that pokes fun at how the world always needs to be saved.
__________________________________________________________

So yeah, there you have it. It's meant to be silly, a parody of sorts. Now no one will be able to take me seriously!

Today's the big day!

Today is the final day for submissions on ABNA. While I did submit my stuff already, it is also the final day for edits. I'm going to be working on my manuscript until about 11pm EST. Then...I'll finally unveil the details of the project here. I've already put up a page on the side bar, but there's no info on it just yet.

I'm deciding how many chapters I'll let you guys preview. I'm thinking maybe about 4 chapters(which is about 20% of the story?). I'm also keeping a tally of how many people like/dislike it. So...please leave some feedback, either here or on the preview page.

To date, three people have read my manuscript and here are the results.

Current Tally:
Likes: 2
Dislikes: 1

EEK. That's a 66(.666666666666666)% approval rating!

Deck Building Games

Now here's something I found interesting: Deck building games!
I had never heard of them before, but just recently found out about them on the web.

I like games. And without saying, that also includes board games and card games and whatever. So I became really intrigued when I discovered these deck building games.

I'm sure they sell these all over the place. So far, all I can really find are these three:
Dominion - supposedly the pioneer of this genre. came out in 2008? Family friendly. Boring setting. But still supposed to be really solid in its gameplay.

Thunderstone - has some similar mechanics, but more high fantasy/dungeon crawler/RPG themed. you can have heroes with different classes, they kill monsters, level up, etc. Looks to have some really awesome artwork.

Resident Evil: Deck Building Game - kind of like thunderstone, but with Resident Evil characters, enemies and stuff.

I'm sure there are probably more, but I can't really find any good source of info that explains everything and stuff (I keep saying "and stuff" because my head hurts and I don't want to think).

So what's so friggin' awesome about these games that make me really want to get one?
I guess I'll start with some back story.
*cue Flashback music
A loooooooooooong long...long long time ago, when I was just a wee little lad, I loved board games/card games (Okay, I essentially still do). What makes them so great? Well, they have that "feel." You can hold the pieces in your hand and everyone gathers around to have some fun. It's simple, easy to pick up and play...and you can usually watch a movie WHILE you're playing! You can't really do that with video games because of how fast paced they usually are. You can play a game, hang out with friends and watch a movie at the same time! AAAAAAAWESSOOME.
One thing I particularly liked was card games. Namely: stuff like tcgs. trading card games...where your goal is to build a cool deck and compete against other players. The problem? Well, when I was young I used to love Star Wars(still do). So I thought...if I wanted to get a TCG...Star Wars was the way to go! Unfortunately...the rules sucked (too complicated) and no one played it. I still have the decks stashed in my uh...stash. *SIGH*

And that's the end of the story. Depressing isn't it? Of course, the REAL issue lies with TCGs themselves.
1) To improve your deck you must BUY expansions. Even though you'll get some rare cards, card trading isn't exactly the BIGGEST thing in the world. Only certain enthusiasts care about TCGs. So...it's a pain in the butt to really do anything with it. And it's a...waste of money.
2) To play the game...you need friends WITH THE GAME. Not everyone's a fan of this stuff...so it's hard to actually play against people in your normal everyday life. Without competition...they're just a worthless deck of cards.
3) If it's not a popular tcg, it'll die down in popularity...and no one will care about it...and no one will sell it anymore. So you gotta just go with the winning side.

In other words....it's a pain to get people to care about it and a pain to get people to play it (unless you do tournaments and stuff but that's too bothersome for me).

So why are deck building games different?
Well, for one thing...they act more like a boardgame. When you buy the game...you get all the cards you need! While they do have expansions, they are COMPLETE expansions that are only needed to improve replay value. In other words...something nice...but not necessary. You get all the coolness of TCG in one sweet package of a game that a group of 2-4 can play.

Not only that...but some of these deck building games also offer...single player experiences. Of course it won't be as fun, but that's already better than having a deck of cards that you can only use in limited situations.

(ugh, my head and eyes really hurt. I'm going to end this quick).
And that's the reason why I probably won't ever play a deck building game.
The reason is...because it looks like it'd be hard to get a bunch of people together who'd be interested in playing this sort of thing. So while...I super love the concept and totally dig it. And would be dying to play this new wave of cardgame/board game things. I'll have to just be depressed that no one else I know will care.
*SIGH*

Poppin' in

Just a quick post to announce that we've broken 20,000 downloads on Free-Ebooks.net!
It's been a struggle to reach it, but we've finally done it! I think that's pretty much it. I mean, the downloads have slooooowed down so much, that it'll take forever to reach anything else. So that's probably the final update for that. It was a difficult goal, but we've made it, somehow.

Now I know you 51 (?) fans are eagerly awaiting the details on my submission to ABNA.
Just hold tight. The end is near. A few more days and this will be finally over!

Some of you might be a bit sad that the sequel to the Judge isn't out yet...but it'll be out eventually...I hope. I'm not sure how long it'll take, but I'll try to crank it out as fast as I can. I'm thinking it'll probably be free as well, with options to buy for those of you who like to support us indie authors.

And that's it. Thanks everyone...for supporting the cause!

Details on my submission...

Right now, I'm still working on my submission. After I'm done and I've got everything solid and locked in. I think I'll probably put the details on this site. You know, like what the book's about and maybe a preview for you guys to check out.

All I'll say now is that it is somewhat different from my past works.
The title of the book is going to be S3: A Smack in Time.
It is not meant to be a part of a series.
It is designed to be more focused, simple, understandable and fun.

Coranite Chronicles was meant to be just some crazy fantasy with tons of characters, factions, wars, special powers/magic and stuff.

Awake was meant to be just like..well...almost like a dream.

The biggest change in S3 is the point of view. I decided to go for a first person perspective. The reason for this is because I wanted to focus on the main character. It's easier to get a grasp on how they view things if you're seeing things through their eyes.

The second biggest change is that I wanted to make this clear: my books are not really serious. I think some people misunderstand my stories. And that's perhaps I straddle the line too much. So in S3...I make things quite clear. This book is meant to be ridiculous, silly, and over-the-top. And that's how my books have always been, but I think people don't always understand that, so I wanted to make it clear this time.

Not quite over...

A quick thanks to whoever bought my book. We're now up to 41 total sales!

And now...I'm still working on my ABNA submission. It never seems complete no matter how much I work on it, so I might as well put as much time as I can into it.

I don't know how much time I have to work on it. Apparently I can still edit my submission until either the 6th of February or until we hit 5000 submissions in my category. Now...the 6th is easy to understand, but for the 5000 limit...they don't even have a counter or anything! So...yeah, pretty much just gotta work at it and check the site until it's totally over.

IT'S 6AM

It's 6AM...and no...I did not wake up early. In fact, I haven't slept yet! YAY!

Update time: my eyes hurt from staring at this stupid computer screen for over...18 hours?

Yeah...it's time to go to sleeeeep.

On a very related note. I have submitted my submission to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest! I was trying to submit it at 12 AM after working 12 hours on it. But then I realized I still had changes to make. Apparently SIX HOURS WORTH! And no, it's not done. I still have a lot I want to change. But I have submitted a decent copy just in case the submissions get filled up and closed. Now I'm SAFE! I'm definitely IN!

I know one of you (aka. Myself) is rooting for me. So thanks.
Yes. I'm talking to myself. Because it's 6Am.
And I've been writing and writing and writing...and...ow...my finger hurts.
And no, I do not rely on such methods as caffeine to stay awake.
SHEER WILL POWER!

Oh, my eyes! They buuuuurn!
Okay, I'm going to sleep for real this time. But for some reason I can't stop typing, but I can't really see either. Staring at the white screen of the word processor has made everything painful. Now I'm hearing...an alarm. Apparently I have an alarm that goes off at 6:10. But because I'm never usually awake at that time...I've never heard it before. Amazing.

Okay, I'm going to sleep for real again. Good morning.

Silence...

I've not been posting recently because there just isn't as much time as I thought there'd be. Tomorrow's the day for the submission! Just thought I'd let the world know before I hop back into seclusion and seek the way to perfect the manuscript and pitch.
So yeah, that's what's happening.

See you all on the flip side.

Oh, the agony!

I had forgotten how painful it is to write a pitch.
No matter how many times I read it...I just can't conclude the darn thing!
AAAAAAAAAH! It's driving me craaaaazy!
Darn it, why did the pitch have to be the first round?
Ugh. Only a few days left until the submission opens.
I'm really behind schedule. Nothing is going as planned.
THIS IS MADNESS!

Top 5 Songs that I randomly whistle from time to time

I said I'd do another stupid top ten list and here it is!
Well, I'd do a top ten...but they take forever to write up. So...top 5 it is!
Top 5 songs that I randomly whistle from time to time! (Not gaming related ed.)
They're not really in order, so I could continue with this at another time.
If I do continue it, tomorrow, it'll probably be only game songs.


1) Somewhere Out There
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTc03M4lPXU

Now, I don't know anything about the origin of the song(who wrote it/sang it/whatever), but I first heard it in American Tail. To be honest, I never really watched this movie much. Probably only watched it once...a long, long time ago. I don't remember ANYTHING from the movie...except this song(stuck in my head for decades!). And it's either a testament to how great this song is...or how painful it is to me. Honestly, just listening to this song on youtube is killing me inside, like someone is stabbing me in the heart, furiously and repeatedly, with unicorns and rainbows! HAVE AT THEE COLD HEART OF THE MODERN ERA!
Though I can fight back the tears, I can't stop the UNGHing.
It brings to mind a simpler time...when everything was perfect.

2) The Bare Necessities
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ogQ0uge06o

Something something bare necessities, something something mother's natures recipes. I don't memorize words to songs. And the only way I'd ever sing it...is if I got the lyrics right in front of me. Thankfully, whistling a song is simple and easy. It's got a good rhythm. This movie I watched several times, but I forgot most of the plot by now. However, this song stuck with me...forever.

3) A spoonful of sugar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5IW9wK_HNg

Ah Mary poppins. I found bedknobs and broomsticks to be kinda scary when I was little. Aw, heck, I found Mary Poppins a bit insane (and some of the things were creepy, but not that much). But I also found it to be quite fun. The songs get stuck in your head and that's all you need to whistle. Did they whistle in the movie? I have a feeling they did. And it's that one-two punch that burns the melody in your head.

4) Hakuna Matata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejEVczA8PLU

This song kind of reminds me of the bare necessities. It almost has that same concept to it. Maybe that is what is so enduring about these songs. When you listen to these songs (or maybe watch the video of it), your worries take a back seat. You start thinking, "Hey, maybe life ain't so bad!" HAKUNA MATATA! YEAH! No worries for the rest of your life! SWEEEEET! Life is great!
Then it hits you like a truck: even in the movie, poor simba had to get pulled out of his paradise to go fight skarfacedudelionthing. It's like a metaphor for: When this movie is over...you gotta get back to life too...suckah.

5) Somewhere over the Rainbow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HRa4X07jdE

Yet another movie that I've never really watched and still...the song resides within my mind. I'm not sure how it got there. Maybe people used it a lot in commercials or something because I sure as heck don't remember ever watching this movie. In fact, I don't even know the latter half of the song. I only whistle the beginning.

Public Bathroom Scares

Quick News: Another sale! YESSS! One more week till ABNA submissions start! NOOO!

Stupid Topic? Public Bathroom Scares.

There is something I dread about public places. And that is...THE PUBLIC BATHROOM.
It's not about the cleanliness. First of all, I am a guy. And, though I have never seen the inside of the women's bathroom, I can assure you that a men's bathroom is MUCH WORSE.

Just yesterday, I was at the urinal (or also known as...the waterfall of great relief...) and lo and behold...as I walk up to it...I step in a puddle.

Now, sometimes, it can be quite ambiguous. And my fears can be softened due to the uncertainty. Perhaps the flush was SOOOO POWERFUL that water may have accidentally and magically flown out. Or perhaps the pipes were leaking...and a bit of unlucky dripping occurred. But the ambiguity can only be applied...when the liquid is CLEAR. When the liquid is...( I dare not specify) a certain color, I proceed to scrape the bottom of my shoe all over the floor with fury and disgust.

But...again...It's not about the stains on the walls or the puddles on the floor. It's not even about the crazy people who look and laugh at you while you're trying to do your number 1 in pee--er, peace.
No, my issue lies with something else entirely. It's kind of due to my imagination.

You see...whenever I'm at the urinal, I watch my back. I listen for people walking through and glance over the shoulder whenever someone comes around. Why? I always have this fear that someone is going to slam my head against the wall or something.

It's really because of movies. Movies always use the bathroom as a battleground. And rightfully so, I suppose. After all, the bathroom is not monitored by security cameras, has easy access to water so you can wash away blood from yourself or fingerprints on areas you've touched, and last(but not least) bathroom are usually used as an ambush area because it is a place people let their guard down.
It's hard to "go" when you're worried about everything. The bathroom is place you have to relax.

If a rough and tough cop has to force an answer outta someone, it's in the bathroom. If a bad guy wants to ambush a good guy, it's in the bathroom.
Oh public bathrooms...how you have become such a messy place!

So, yes, I blame movies. Every time I go into the bathroom my thoughts turn to bathroom brawls, where people smash opponents against plumbing, stuff them into toilets, and pipes burst, splashing water everywhere.

An 80s/90s Revival

The 80's and 90's were interesting times. Okay, that was a pretty stupid statement. I suppose all time is interesting in their own ways.
But they were more interesting to me, I figure, because I lived through it(kinda, sorta).

And among those times came some amazing movies that were somewhat influential to my mind and life and whatever else.

Some of my favorite movies from those times are:
Back to the Future (Trilogy)
Matrix (1 mostly. I still can't remember what 2 and 3 were about.)
Independence Day
Jurassic Park
Terminator 2
Men in Black
Ghostbusters

And probably some others I can't remember.

I wouldn't consider these movies to be works of art, but they did fuel my love for that which is not real. And while these series/franchises/movies have had some breaths of life in the past. I've noticed recently that things have been coming back in the form of games. And really, I never would have ever in my life imagined that they would be making new games of such old movies(stories)!
Once again, nostalgia sells...especially after ten to twenty years.

Here's a quick look at some of the new games that have either come out or are coming out:

(no embeds cause it screws up when it's widescreen)
First, Ghostbusters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyVGSGynYpg

Came out two years ago (time sure flies). They got back the voices, got back to the basics and brought them back to life when we thought it was all over. Really, these things just come out of the blue. I guess it's the cycle thing, where they think they can just make a quick buck outta nostalgia (and they can...and they did). Still sweet though. Even just watching the trailer with that awesome music gives me the shiver-me-timbers.

Now you can do all that stuff you ever wanted to do in a real ghostbusters game! Like...cross streams! And...trap ghosts! And...listen to awesome "Who ya gonna call" music ALL THE TIME!


Next. Back to the Future! This one is done by telltale games, a company that specializes in point and click adventures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3blzGwd4xLg

Once again they just hook me with that music!
Doo, doo, doo doo...! "Tell me Docta, where are we going this time?"
UNGHHHH! ARRRGH! SO MUCH NOSTALGIA!

This one takes a more...cartoonish approach. However, they even did Marty's voice pretty well. Some of the characters can be hard to recognize due to the new look, but overall, it looks pretty fantastic! Now you can...time travel! And screw up time just like marty does all the time!


And finally. Jurassic Park!
This one's not actually a trailer. They haven't gotten around to it yet, but there are some screenshots here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOzH_9Ny6_M

This revival thingamabobie is really amazing. I know, I know...they kinda still do make Jurassic Park movies(so it's not really a revival)...but they just keep getting worse and worse! Here's hoping to a good game that does justice to the original!
Now you can...get...eaten...by...a...dinosaur? Hmm...well, that was the appeal of the movies wasn't it? To watch people get eaten by dinosaurs, I mean.
Doesn't sound pleasant. But...who knows? Maybe...you'll survive. (And then get eaten off screen).

Everything is slowing down...

Just thought I'd take a quick break from writing/editing to make a quick post.

I am not a big fan of fruit. That's not to say that I don't like fruit...because I do. Fruit's nice. It's healthy, packed with lots of vitamins and minerals. Nature's natural dessert (snack? treat?). And there's plenty of variety in fruit...that there's probably something for everyone.

Even so, I must admit that...unless I'm starving and fruit is the only option, I won't be eating it. Why is that? Well...I'm pretty sure it's the conditioning from the modern world. It's also the same reason I don't care much for water either.

Here's the main reason:
I'm lazy. I've always been told this strange tale where a man was sooooo lazy that he did not want to move or do anything at all. He did not even want to get up to get food. And so...he would only eat what people would give him. One day, his family went on a trip without him (naturally), and since they knew how lazy he was, they tied a large cake on his neck so that he would only have to bend down to eat the cake. When they came back from the trip...they found him dead...because he would only eat the top of the cake...but when it came down to the bottom...it was too far for him to reach for. Yeah...it doesn't make any sense. After all, he'd much sooner die of thirst than hunger with this arrangement. But that's not the moral of the story.

Anyway, I am sort of like that. To me...fruit is just something of a pain in the butt to eat. You either have fruit that you need to peel...fruit that has pits in it...fruit that you need to cut...fruit that is messy...or fruit that just isn't all that delicious. Or possibly even a combination of everything. They're such a hassle, which is why (not so coincidentally), some of my favorite fruits happen to be:
Apples and Bananas. Why?
Apples: you eat it and throw out the core. no mess.
Bananas: you peel off the sides, which are usually pretty easy, and eat the rest. throw out peel. no mess.
You don't have to get your hands sticky and you don't have to really work to get at the "meat."

And the other reason?
It's usually not that sweet. And this is what I mean when I talk about conditioning. The world has manufactured the treat. The only reason you enjoy a fruit is because it is a sweet treat with a natural sugar. But since I've eaten other man-made snacks all my life, it's hard not to pick one over the other at times.

There was a time in my life that I dreaded drinking water. I had to force myself to drink water! Why? Because I knew what awaited me when I drank...was something tasteless...and bland. I would look at a glass of water and long for juice or soda. After years of forcing myself to drink water, it's much easier to do it now.

Anyway...that's my pointless blog post for today. I'll get back to work now.

Aww...here it comes... (Super Long Multi Post?)

Free-Ebooks.net now has a ranking system for their top 10 most popular books. And now...the sad part...The Judge is falling off the chart. Barely hanging on at the 10th spot. And we were so close to 18,000 too.... But I suppose all good things must come to an end (I feel like I've said this a million times).
________________________________________________________

Anyway, things have been pretty crazy with the snow. I mean...we only had ONE snow storm...and that caused the whole county (not country) to not have school for a week! That's crazy. I've never heard of skipping school for a week because of snow.
Everything got messed up. Postal service got held up for three days. Trash guys haven't even showed up at all.

A little snow and all society falls.
________________________________________________________

At the moment, I don't know how I feel. I don't want to think about it. I try to blot out all thoughts, feelings, worries and concerns from my mind.

Am I sad that Coranite Chronicles was not as good as I had hoped? Yeah.
I don't really care about Awake, so it has exceeded my expectations in that regard and I'm satisfied with it.
But Coranite Chronicles...was kind of like a child...my child...even if that sounds totally weird.

But with the fall of Coranite Chronicles...I feel...that I really must give it my all in order to, at least, make it to the final round of the ABNA contest.
_____________________________________________________________

With that said, I'm just going to move on. I don't want to go to bed full of worry.
I'll finish this SLMP with a talk about video games.

Let's see.... What should I talk about? Something recent? Something old? Something popular? Or perhaps something...lesser known?

Maybe I'll start with...my favorite game(s) of all time.


That's right. Super Mario Galaxy 1+2 are my favorites games of all time. Now, of course, that's a bit silly to say isn't, it? After all...Galaxy 2 only just came out last year in...May. But I stand by the "of all time" statement...because quite frankly, you just know these things.

Now...for some people...there shouldn't be a need to explain my choice. It's not some obscure hidden gem or anything. It's a popular game...widely known...a big seller (though not as big as the 2D mario titles). But for those who don't quite understand the appeal of these games...I shall start...from the...beginning.

I grew up...in the age of Mario (the age of NES really). Got my first NES (Nintendo Entertainment System for those of you...who really have no idea what I'm talking about) when I was about four or five. Splendid games they were, those Mario games. I mean...just look at all the other games in those times! Most of them...we're pretty much badly designed or super hard for no reason.

But not Mario. No. They were hard...but fair. And they worked to bring tons of creativity in a genre where people just slapped their hands together and said, "We made a game!"

Honestly, if you gave me a NES today (due to your supreme generosity), there are very few games I would even bother to play on it. Many licensed games, games based on movies or cartoons...they were absolutely HORRIBLE. They rarely, if ever, made any sense. And...they were usually just simple run-attack-die type of games. Pointlessly hard, completely ridiculous goals and objectives, impossible to find secrets...the list goes on and on. Even flash games today are probably more fun than most NES titles. (And just think...those NES games cost over $50! And that was in the 90's!)

But I'm not here to complain about the NES (even though I will at any given moment). I'm here to explain about Galaxy!

And before I continue, let me add that I had never played a 3D Mario platformer before Galaxy. That's right. I've never played Mario 64 and I've never played Sunshine. And quite frankly, I don't really have much of an urge to play them. I mean, I would play them--if you strapped me in a chair, tossed me a controller, threw me in front of a tv, and turned it on for me. SURE! I'd play it. But...at the moment, I'm already super satisfied by what Super Mario Galaxy has to offer me.

When I first heard that Super Mario Galaxy was coming out, I wasn't sure what to think. I had never played a 3D Mario game, but the concept seemed tempting. However, what really sold me on the game...was nostalgia. A pretty lame reason, for sure, but I can't deny it.
Nintendo really can sell you your childhood.

The reason I remotely cared about buying/playing Super Mario Galaxy was really due to the mario games of old. Hearing those wonderful tunes that had been stuck in my head for twenty years...in a glorious orchestral remix...is really an experience hard to describe. Candy to my ears? Pure bliss in my head? I don't know what to call it. All I know is...that it works.

Every time I turn on the game and hop into a level...the soundtrack gets in my head...and lets all the little fairies prance on my brain cells. It is delight. It is sweet. It is...obsessive. How can music be this good? Nostalgia. Sometimes I wonder...if I had never heard those songs over and over again when I was a child...would it have the same effect? I can never find out.

But aside from the music...the design of the game is quite amazing as well. There is an incredible amount of variety. There are levels where you clumsily ride a manta ray down a huge roller-coaster of water suspended in midair. Then there's a little segment with fire and ice. Spin Mario around...and he skates along the ice like he's a gold medalist. Spin Mario around...and he shoots fireballs from his BARE HANDS(I've never seen any plumber do that before). There are even levels where Mario rides a giant ball (yeah...I didn't want to write it either) and learning to steer with the motion control is half the fun! On top of that...you never really have to play the game any specific way. Through tricks, you can find secret areas and shortcuts. You can go to places you never even thought were part of the game. You can try to challenge yourself because of how flexible Mario can be (again...I feel like everything can be worded better).

There are a million things I can say about this game--from the gorgeous environments, to the delightfully cute designs of the characters.

But there can be no easier way to sum up my feelings than this:
I can never get bored of the games.
Super Mario Galaxy 1/2 are quite literally...
the only games in existence...
that I can never get bored of.

And that's it for today. I still don't get why I have a blog. But sometimes it feels...relieving (almost like...going to the bathroom) to just write thoughts on something. It's a bit of a break from writing a story.

Some Random Thoughts (aka. Blog Post)

So here we are at another day in our writing/editing marathon.
I sold another book (Whoohoo!) and that brings the total up to 38!

I've been struggling with the editing for S3, as always.
I'm reading, editing and writing...and...everything is just a big blur.
It's like one of those things where you don't know where you came from or where you're going.

I got a comment on the Judge on that free-ebooks site that was a reminder of the biggest hurdle I face: grabbing the reader in the first few pages. If someone doesn't get hooked, BAM, you're screwed.

I got a similar comment for S3 a while back from a friend. I've been working at it...but...it will always nag me. I will never be sure if it's fixed.

I constantly read the first few pages and think...
How can I do this? Simple? Elegant? Extravagant? Do I throw the loop or do I play it safe? Do I hint at insanity...or bring it down-to-earth? Does this work? Or is it boring?

This book contest focuses on three things: a synopsis, an excerpt, and the full manuscript. Of course, I can't just throw myself on one. I need to make sure everything works. But...this isn't a test/an exam either. There are no right or wrong answers(except for the grammar portion, which, understandably is still an issue with me).

We've got eleven days left. I've reached chapter 8 in my editing (spree?). I still haven't prepared the synopsis...and I'm absolutely dreading that round. If you don't know...I got knocked out of the running by last year's synopsis. Even something like this synopsis is terribly important. But even then...it's 1/5 for the contestants. Only a thousand can pass the first round.

Oh boy...it almost feels like my stomach is twisting and turning at my thoughts.
Oh well...back to work. I was hoping this blog post would calm me down, but it's had the opposite effect. Figures. Maybe tonight I'll talk about gaming instead. That'll calm my nerves.

Another Sale

We're up to 37 on the sales!
It has slowed down a lot, but...that makes it about...one a month? If we're lucky, we'll reach 50 by the end of the year ;)

Anywayz, another snow slow day. Those crazy kids are at it again, totally clogging up the streets with their sledding. Can't believe they haven't gone to school for TWO DAYS IN A ROW. Back in my day, you only had off for one...and then the next day, they'd DRAG YOU TO SCHOOL(figuratively).

It's got me kind of worried. It's really cloudy...which means even the sun has abandoned us, refusing to end our plight. The snow (or white and shiny ice, whatever it is) isn't melting at all! What if they still have no school tomorrow? I'll still hear those kids going KKKKKSSSSSSHHHHH! down the road every few minutes.

Oh well, too much humbugging. I guess I should be happy for them.
Or not.

There's only one good thing I can hope for in this frozen time. Maybe the evildoers will stay holed up in their houses.

I'm ending the Wlog. We need posts with more impact. Shameless/ful impact. I think those pointless, random, everybody's-time-wasted top ten lists were pretty impactful. Maybe I should stick with those.

First Real Snow of the Season

Here in the south, we don't really get much snow. Most of the time it's really...just mushy rain or hard hail. However, just last night we've actually had some real snow. Probably not a big deal for most people, but it's been a while since I've last seen the whole landscape covered in a few inches of white snow.

For those of you absolutely buried in snow...you have my sympathy. While I'm excited to see such beautiful snow, I'm sure some of you are already quite sick of it.

It's 3AM

It's 3AM. And it's the weekend! Which doesn't mean much for me. But, hey, maybe it means a lot for you guys out there! So enjoy your weekend. Have a good time.
Life is too short to have a...bad time(?).

Breaking away from the Wlog for the weekend. Gonna do my usual pointless posts instead.

Quick updates. It's dark and quiet out there. And cold too. Kinda scary at 3AM. My neighborhood doesn't have lights.
But that's not the update I wanted to talk about.

Um...let's see. Judge is gonna hit 17k on downloads real soon...but today the downloads slowed down quite a bit. Is that the extent of it? *shrugs*
Congratulations(myself)! It's not setting the world on fire, but it's had a good run.

I'm still preparing for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. I've read through the first few chapters over and over. I can't tell if this book is any good, but I can hope like heck that it is! I wish I could somehow scrub my mind clean of this book and read it with a fresh start...but I guess that's impossible when I'm the author.

The submission period begins on the 24th and I want to make sure my book is submitted as soon as possible. That means I've only got about two weeks left. Not looking good. I need a miracle.

I think there's supposed to be some sort of fine line between genius and insanity. I'm no genius, but I think I can aim for insanity. One is better than none.

Writer's Log Day 3

Writer's Log, Earth Date 01.06.2011

It's been three days since I've begun this war...and already my hair has reached new heights--quite literally. I have taken an imaginary vow not to let my hair be cut during this month of struggle. And already the troubles have surfaced. It has become...an afro of sorts. It has always been something of an afro. It's nearly impossible to keep down. And now...my head feels twice as heavy and looks twice as big.

Even putting on my glasses has become a chore. I can no longer put the sides of the glasses over the hair, or else I threaten to bend the hinges of the frame in an unfriendly manner. I must insert the sidepieces through the hair, not over it.

This hair is no ordinary hair either. It twists, waves and curls around. They're like little feathers constantly poking the inside of my ear. When I go to sleep I feel like I'm sleeping on an extra pillow...a pillow of hair. It even gets in my eyes when I'm not looking. Just a turn of my head and I'm stabbed in the eye, betrayed by my own cells, by my own DNA.

The hair has gotten so out of control that many times I wonder...if something is living inside...without my knowledge.

Writer's Log Day 2

Writer's Log, Earth Date 01.05.2011

I encountered a strange difficulty in writing in my log just yesterday. Problems never cease.

I've had trouble sleeping and waking lately. I've also been having weird dreams and nightmares. My schedule has been thrown off. Even the dog's biological clock seems to have gone haywire. The dog hasn't bothered me in my sleep in a long time. Ever since I've been preparing the project, however, the dog has been waking me up very early in the morning...trying to eat my face.

Nothing makes sense anymore. I saw a huge man cross the highway, dressed up as the Statue of Liberty. Even the world is bent on screwing with my mind. No man should ever dress as the Statue of Liberty. It's just plain...odd.

Writer's Log Day 1

Writer's Log, Earth Date: 01.04.2011

Due to some terrible decisions during the holidays, I was very tired and hungry in the morning. I woke up late and starving. To fill the emptiness of my stomach, I sought out meal scraps from whatever I could scrounge up. I devoured some meat, bread and water quite quickly and then proceeded to lock myself up in the room.

I only have three weeks. What was I thinking starting so late? Three weeks to life or death. My desperation has caused me to worry. Will I finish in time? Will I make a worthy product? Only time will tell. I can only pray and hope for the best.

Getting back into writing was harder than I anticipated. I have waited too long to get back into it. My mind has decayed to the point of uselessness. The day has just gotten started...and yet it feels like it will never end. Why must I keep on writing? I must never forget...the passion. For the passion is my fuel. And with it...I shall live.

Baby steps. Little by little. Step by step. That's what I tell myself I need. To write...I must read. It is a painful process for one such as I. Read. Write. Live. Die. This is going to be one heck of a month.

My hands shake. My skin crawls. I have become too weak. Years of writing has caused my muscles to degenerate. I have begun training my strength in order to improve both physical and mental health. It is still too early to tell if such things will help me now. But I have no choice. I must do all that I can...for the mission.

The winter months still remain cold. When will spring come? Not soon enough.

Writer's Log

Starting tonight, I'll probably do a little something simple for this blog. I shall make it a Wlog (a Writer's log) for this month. You know, like a captain's log in Star Trek...but not. Anyway, that'll be for tonight. Just a little heads up. It's nothing particularly special. Just kind of like a journal detailing my experiences as I prepare for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.

So...look forward to that...or not.

Strange News?

Mostly news is bad. Sometimes you get some good news. Most times you get bad news. And then...some days you get strange news...which can be bad too.

And today is one of those days.

In Arkansas thousands of birds fell from the sky...dead. That's a new one. I think in one movie(or perhaps several), I forget which, birds fall from the sky. But in those movies, they are alive...and smashing themselves to their deaths. In this real life story...they just fall dead?

They're still investigating the cause. I'm seeing stuff like new year fireworks forced the birds out of the trees and into some dangerous storm. But I don't think they have anything solid yet.

Anyway, I found that story pretty interesting. Real life is usually pretty mundane, but sometimes you get a weird event out of left field. But, however remarkable, it's also sad and scary. I suppose it's sad because birds are cute. If hundreds of scorpions fell dead from the sky...I don't think it'd be as sad. Maybe more scary.

All right. Time to move on from the strange news of today.
I've been reading reviews on the Judge and I've come to understand...that it has quite a few issues that I need to correct. Of course I can't fix the Judge now.... It's kind of pointless. But I do need to take these criticisms and think about how I can improve the sequel. But it's been hard. From what I can tell, the Judge suffered from too many characters, too little character development, and too many scene changes. I've been trying to work on fixing these issues but it seems almost impossible. Because all of the characters are indeed important in one way or another. *sigh* I hope I can work S3 through this as well.

Happy New Year!!!

A year has come and gone. Hard to believe we're already at 2011. Just think, 2012 is around the corner. I don't believe the world will end in 2012. Something else might happen though. Perhaps a world-changing event will occur. A war? A great, devastating natural disaster? Who knows? Or maybe it'll all be just fine. (Maybe...)

We'll see. We've got one whole year before then. But years tend to pass quite quickly, don't they?

I hope you've all enjoyed your vacations (if you had any).

Not much to talk about. I'm almost cured of this cold. Just got a little cough left.

My battle has just begun. I have 3 weeks to transform S3 into the best I can make it for the contest. I know I'm not that great of a writer, so I must use all of my power, all of my strength to do it (and loooooooooooots of prayer).

With some luck, grace, destiny, and somewhat soft hard work, we just might pull it off.

And to finish off this blog post, I'll just comment on the current situation. We're actually almost up to 15700 downloads! Each day we still get hits! It's amazing! I don't know how it's happening, but I'm grateful that more people are giving the Judge a chance. It's not a bestseller and it may never be all that popular but it's the work that I enjoyed writing the most.

Even more surprising though is that this blog gets so many hits. Before all the hits...it just used to be me, just wandering the lonely electronic halls of this website. Maybe all this random posting gets me somewhere?