Alterpedia – Vampires

In the Alters’ World (and the series of books found here), creatures of legend reveal themselves to the world. Born through genetic abnormalities, defects and mutations, the Alters have lived for centuries as outcasts of human society, hiding their true nature from the world while colorful stories have been written by many to describe what they’ve seen. How are these creatures different from what was described in the stories? What relationship do they have with humanity? Every entry of the Alterpedia will delve into a new creature from around the world. This week we cover:

Vampires

BladeEdwardBella

One of the most storied and varied Alters in fiction and folklore, the Vampire is found in variations across the world with differences from one region’s legends to another. Ranging from the popular European depictions to the more modern depictions from film and literature, many stories spread about Vampires and their kin. The accuracy of these stories range from accurate to completely off the mark – leaving the question: which of these are true?

If we studied every aspect of these legendary figures we would spend an eternity addressing all of the subtle changes from one variation to another. Instead we shall address the most significant features of Vampires, both real and imagined. Continue reading Alterpedia – Vampires

A Word To The Indies

For the last few posts, I’ve been laying it into the publishing industry for not supporting the independent authors that have been springing up like weeds everywhere. But to leave it at that, I feel, would be a disservice to everyone. There’s someone else that needs to have a little bit of a reality check: Indies.

frustrated_writer

Recently I’ve been proudly posting the banner “Indies and eBooks: Saviors of the Industry!” and I stand by that. I firmly believe the things I’ve said about how the sheer numbers of indies can and will make an impact if they’re allowed to. I believe that men and women like you, me and everyone in between can come together and patch this industry up like the music and film industries were in the past.

Continue reading A Word To The Indies

Indies and eBooks: Saviors of the Industry! – Solutions

For those following me last month, you know that I’ve been on something of a rant about the failures of the publishing industry and the grim numbers they keep touting. But all along I’ve been saying that Independents and eBooks can and will turn things around if we put a full measure of support behind them. The eBook support has become so obvious that a lot of publishers have finally started to move in the right direction. But I still believe that independents just might be able to patch the rest of the holes and fix this thing once and for all before it crumbles around us.

 

Just one question: How?

Continue reading Indies and eBooks: Saviors of the Industry! – Solutions

Indies and eBooks: Saviors of the Industry! – Nor any drop to drink

So, here we are again. In my previous entries I’ve laid out my belief that independents and ebooks are going to actually save the publishing industry. The last post even went so far as to suggest one of the ways this could work. But after all is said and done, there’s still a problem that can’t be glossed over.

Even as eBook sales start to rise, they haven’t dramatically increased the number of readers. For every new eBook sold, that really isn’t a “new” customer so much as it’s one less traditional book sold. Obviously, if publishers started to follow through on the eCommerce side of things that would only get worse. But there’s still hope.

A few years ago there was a poll conducted that showed that 1 in 4 adults in the United States hadn’t read a single book in 2006. This is pretty damn grim, especially when we can catch photos like this:

 

This is how Planet of the Apes happened people. Sure, the newest movie suggests that it was science gone awry. But let’s all be honest, if James Franco’s character in that movie had read a few more books he would have realized literature long ago warned us of the dangers of a smart ape turning on its masters.

worse than illegal immigration

Continue reading Indies and eBooks: Saviors of the Industry! – Nor any drop to drink

Indies and eBooks: Saviors of the Industry! – Water Water Everywhere

In my last post I made some declarations. Some of them, admittedly, are either common sense or a little crazy. But I still believe in the basic premise of everything I have said and will say.

Independents are the key to the publishing industry revitalizing and stepping into the future. To do this, they’re going to have to make heavy use of the eBook format that is sometimes despised by what we’re going to go ahead and call “traditionalists”.

But I’d be a real dick to just leave it there and not explain how exactly I figure they can do this. People can make claims like that all they want and just be speaking from their ass. But that’s not how I roll.

So let’s get some examples going, shall we?

Continue reading Indies and eBooks: Saviors of the Industry! – Water Water Everywhere

Independents and eBooks: Saviors of the Industry! An Introduction

Okay, first of all, I know I’m late. But this could have been next September so what are you complaining about? Second, yeah, I know that title is writing a little more than I can cash. Third, I totally believe it to be true.

There’s been a recent upheaval in the publishing community as it realizes that independents are on the rise and eBooks are taking a great deal of the wind out of the sails of the traditional book. Some people have embraced this and have decided that this format and this movement needs all the support it can get. But, in my opinion, it’s not nearly enough.

For a long time there’s been a stigma around the idea of the independent author. They’re shut out of most of the writing unions and guilds, they rarely qualify for any of the award ceremonies and getting your work reviewed by a professional can be troublesome and requires some doing. Then, after all of that, if they happen to be a big hit they aren’t acknowledged until someone signs to publish more of their work. Up until that point you’re not just excluded from the industry – some might blame you for the recent decline in sales. In no other industry is someone treated like a leper for striking it out on their own as much as they are in publishing.

The music industry has embraced several independent talents over the years. Hell, in recent years that seems to be their lifeblood. The film industry devotes entire festivals to their independents. But authors? You better hope you don’t ever need someone to piss on you if you get set on fire. Not only will they not do it but the only liquid that might get tossed on the flames is a little of the stuff they’ve been passing off as water.

 

Continue reading Independents and eBooks: Saviors of the Industry! An Introduction

eXhaustion and the “eVil” of eBooks

Keeping up with the internet as a writer can sometimes be a bit taxing. With all of the expectations placed on independent writers, the idea that you then have to continue to put out content can be unreasonable and stressful. Honestly, I realized this some time back when my self-publishing experiment turned out to suck more than I thought it would and I found myself burnt out on all of the little facets of self-promotion required.

I know most people who start writing blogs or opening twitter accounts happen to treat it like some sort of hobby, but it’s always been part of my work for me. It’s not that I dislike writing (obviously, look at the length of my posts) but I’ve always wanted my stories to speak for themselves rather than me rambling on in their place. I don’t feel all that interesting most of the time. And when my work was suffering in the past, and boy did it suffer, I lashed out a little bit at the social networking and web logging thing.

“Oh my god,” you’re saying sarcastically, “an emotionally unbalanced writer?!”

Yeah, well, let’s get something straight, I didn’t burn out because I’m emotionally unbalanced (though aren’t we all?). I burnt out because there’s aspects of the industry which suck hard, like the vacuum of space, and they don’t tell you squat about it until you actually get into the thick of things. You really don’t learn it until you’re slugging it out with people in a public forum.

But along the way it does start proving itself useful. You get a feel of the communities, you get a feel of the culture. In a way, you can use social media as a way of studying people and how they think. And eventually there are things you start to see as trends of thought on the internet, as you’re swimming through everyone’s stray thoughts and updates on their lives. In the process of seeing that, I realized there’s something that needs to be said.

To put it simply: Technology and progress are not the enemy of art.

Continue reading eXhaustion and the “eVil” of eBooks

“Father’s” Day

Usually when I come to write a blog post I’m hoping to be somewhat entertaining or informative. I usually feel like trying to make something more happen than “me” (and sometimes fail). A couple times I’ve come to the blog with something to get off my chest. This, unfortunately, may be one of those times.

Today’s Father’s Day and a recent string of events has reminded me that the word “father” is a heavy word. What exactly defines a father in today’s society? In my opinion, it’s not as simple as people think it is.

Over the years I’ve realized that being considered a child’s father isn’t something that should just be given from the moment of birth, it’s something you earn. When I was born my dad was in the navy and he was gone a lot for the first couple years of my life. A lot of the stages of my early life were spent around my mother and grandmother. But eventually, he left the navy and came home.

Closest representation of dad possible since he takes no photos(not exaggerating much either)

 

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How To Satisfy The Midnight Munchies

It’s late at night, you’ve had a rough day, the neighbors keep giving you crap and you just need to forget your problems. You do what you can to try to block out the rest of the world, but something serious happens. You’ve got the midnight munchies.

What can you possibly do? If you went out to eat what you want you’d probably have the cops on your ass. Surely, there has to be alternatives.

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Alterpedia – Zombies

In the Alters’ World (and the series of books found here), creatures of legend reveal themselves to the world. Born through genetic abnormalities, defects and mutations, the Alters have lived for centuries as outcasts of human society, hiding their true nature from the world while colorful stories have been written by many to describe what they’ve seen. How are these creatures different from what was described in the stories? What relationship do they have with humanity? Every entry of the Alterpedia will delve into a new creature from around the world. This week we cover:

Zombies

The term Zombie originally meant someone cursed with a mind-control spell which made them shuffling, mindless drones that took their master’s every command. Over time this definition has fallen out of use (to be taken up by Palin supporters) and the more common definition has come into use. Despite using the Haitian name, the concept of walking corpses is a worldwide phenomenon, this was thought to be due to a common fear of death and the occasional corpse being dug up by canines (sometimes by the individuals mentioned two posts back.)

They were wrong.

But, given the vast waves of undead folklore, it’d be hard to weed out myth from reality if we focused on all of those. Instead, we’ll focus on the most commonly known depiction of these complex and thought provoking figures.

Continue reading Alterpedia – Zombies