What's your excuse?

Got a good excuse for not fulfilling your dream? Maybe you've got a couple. I know I do. Then I read a post like this by Marc Cenedalla and I realize my excuses are pretty lame.

What's Happening, Hot Stuff?

Been awhile since I posted. I hate that but it's been really, really hectic in the personal life. I have been doing a bit of publicity for "The Battle of Caerlon". I've been writing on the sequel "Lisanor" and reading quite a bit.
Right now I am reading The Sentinels series by Van Allen Plexico. Loving that.
I bought "Apocalypse of Enoch" by Shane Moore and I can't wait to read it.
I watched "Hemingway and Gellhorn". A great movie. Inspiring and daunting. Hemingway was messed up, but also brilliant.

The Avengers

So, I went and saw The Avengers last weekend. I'm not sure how I didn't post about it.
It was everything it should have been. I started reading Avengers comics in the mid 1970's. I consider myself an expert on how Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Hawkeye should interact.
To me, Black Widow will always be a bad guy...and Hawkeye is a bit suspect since he started out as a bad guy.
Hulk is just Hulk.
This movie captures the relationships so well. Avengers has always been about relationships. Cap is the leader, the soldier, but he won't leave a man (or woman) behind. Thor should consider himself above them all, but they have earned his respect. Iron Man is arrogant, but he is a true friend. Hulk has rage issues, but he's good at heart.
Of course the action scenes are mind blowingly awesome. Scarlet Johansson is mega hot and the whole cast is just beautiful.
What can I say, I should have known that when Joss Whedon takes over a franchise, it's going to be great. He has all the makings of the next George Lucas (except he seems to love his fans). There is action, coolness, and laughs galore. One area he needs to work on...his bad guys. In this one it's Loki. Loki is...ok. He's just not someone we love to hate. He's not Darth Vader.
I'll get past that. We will certainly have another Avengers movie to watch and I personally cannot wait!

Game of Thrones

I really enjoy Game of Thrones on HBO. I love the books. If you haven't read them, do it...like right now. Stop reading this post and go buy one of them.
Seriously though, I find it super inspirational and immersive and interesting. I have thought this since I picked it up in 1996 and started the first page.
One thing I love about the series is also the one thing that drives me crazy.
What I expect to happen...that never happens. Many of the events that occur in the story are so unexpected. I think the story is going to go one way and it goes in a completely different direction. It does this in a way that makes it super interesting...I guess a lot like life. The people who should get married don't always get married. The people who should live are sometimes killed. Sometimes Brett Favre and the Vikings lose to the Saints and we don't get to see the Favre/Manning Superbowl I always dreamed of...but I digress.

This series has been fantastic from the start. If you like fantasy, then you should be watching. It has great action, cool magic (that is more than a little scary), dragons, zombies and wizards and all in a way that is cool and completely without camp...and if that's not enough, the steamy scenes are well worth the watching.

Mid Year

Almost to mid year. Time to evaluate those 2012 goals and see how we are doing. How are you going with yours?
In taking a look at mine, I got GGE Publishing launched..sort of. First story still to be published. We started "Stitch", saw "The Battle of Caerlon" published and made progress on "Return To Glory". In the personal life I have kept up my fitness goals and had lots of good family time (there is a lot more detail on those goals in my personal "goals" file).
Here is what I would like to do for the remainder of 2012.

• ·         Finish Lisanor - The second in The Pendragon Chronicles
• ·         Finish Rodentia - GGE's rated G story. about 75% complete.
• ·         Publish Seeds of Vyldur - The first GGE published novel.
• ·         Edit/rewrite RTG - About 50% complete
• ·         Edit Warchitect - Underway
• ·         Begin Stitch (finish first draft) - Underway
• ·         Possibly publish RTG - The second GGE published work
• ·         Begin planning more for Pantheon - A superhero style project for development next year (2013).
• 
  

 So let's see how we do on those by December!

What are your goals? How are you going?

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! Today we are honoring all of those who have given their lives in service to the American armed forces, establishing and maintaining our freedom.
For most of us, it is a combination patriotic celebration and glorious day off from the 9 to 5. When I was a kid, it was just another day off. There seemed to be plenty of them.
Now, it seems like there is never enough of them and each one is almost sacred.
What to do? How to spend this gift of a few hours where I get to be myself for a change?
Well, for me, I will figure something out. My perfect day would have a good deal of writing and editing, maybe some gaming with my friends and my sons. A nice meal out of the house with my lovely wife. Maybe some work in the yard or a trip to the beach. I like to be a little productive and a lot relaxed.
Here's my advice today - whatever you do, don't be too hard on yourself if you just waste the day away and a relaxed haze. On the other hand, don't be too easy on yourself either. Find something that you will be happy to tell the coworkers about tomorrow when they ask "How was your holiday?"

Writing Magic

I am reading "Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly" by Gail Carson Levine. I will post a longer review soon. It's a short read so it should not take me long. It includes a lot of writing exercises that I should probably take the time to do. It seems fun. I am like everyone else though, more ideas than time, so we'll see what happens with the exercises. I know it would be good practice.

The Pendragon Chronicles

I promise not to devote this entire blog to shameless self promotion, but there will be a little. In the event that there are a few folks out there who do enjoy a new look at Arthur Pendragon's world, then it might be fun to have a facebook page devoted to the discussion of all things Arthurian.

So, here's the FB Page for "The Pendragon Chronicles", so stop by and give us a "like" and join the conversation!

And enjoy this concept image of Bedivere, drawn and colored by the highly-skilled Danny Kelly

The Battle of Caerlon - release date (it's today)

Green Gates has officially released it's first title! How excited am I? Numb with excitement!

It's an ebook from Double Dragon Press.

"The Battle of Caerlon" is the first in the Pendragon Chronicles. (the second is 90% complete already).

This all stemmed from my idea that the Pendragon Legend needed serious updating, and not the updating that has been going on lately where writers try and tell what it was "really" like. King Arthur may have existed, who knows, but the story is a fantasy story. Magic, Dwarves, Monsters and all that jazz. It needs to be written for the modern fantasy readers. That story, the one where Arthur is a young warrior, destined for greatness as he tries to stem off an invasion and put down eleven rebel kings all while magic is crashing down onto Britannia and mucking with the world around him...that story begins here...

Check it out here!

Here's the synopsis;

Britannia is shattered by war. Rome has withdrawn, leaving the island kingdom in ruins. Eleven Rebel Kings have elected King Lot as High King in direct opposition to The Council of Kings. The Council has elected Arthur, the son of Uther Pendragon- the former High King- as their Dux Bellorum, or War Duke. Arthur has assembled a force of the land’s mightiest heroes into The Pendragon Legion and has taken the field against the rebel kings. Meanwhile, King Lot, his own forces comprised of Uther’s greatest generals, has allied himself with the darkest of magic in his bid to defeat The Pendragon Legion and become Britannia’s High King. The ensuing war pits fathers against sons and brothers against brothers as the battle between good and evil threatens to engulf all of the land.

So go check it out at Double Dragon Press. If you aren't crazy about it...I apologize, but it's the legend as I see it. Full of war, blood, magic, sex, betrayal and all that makes drama interesting. 

Cinco De Mayo

I will be doing some editing today for a story written by a good friend and a great writer, Walter Rhein. The soundtrack will be the new album "Dry" by my good friend Johnny Blackthorn (just released - pick it up!). And the drink? The perfect Margarita, of course. Today I will eschew the cheapo margaritas I normally make and go for a more traditional recipe. Here's one I snagged off of Yahoo (the source of all information)

The Recipe: The Perfect Agave Margarita

Ingredients

·         Kosher salt

·         2 lime slices or wedges

·         1/4 cup tequila blanco

·         2 tablespoons agave syrup (nectar)

·         2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Preparation

·         Pour some kosher salt into a small dish. Rub 1 lime slice over half the rim of an Old Fashioned glass (if you prefer your Margarita on the rocks) or a coupe glass (if you prefer it up). Dip rim of glass into salt.

·         Combine tequila, agave syrup, and juice in a cocktail shaker; fill with ice and shake well. Strain into prepared glass. Garnish with second lime slice.

Who's a good writer?

Here's a post that's probably been pontificated on at least a million times.
What makes a good writer?
Ok, you have to be able to formulate a good sentence. You have to be decent with grammer and you should be able to spell a little.
It's more than that though, right? I know plent of folks who can formulate the perfect sentence, grammatically, but that doesn't make them a storyteller. I guess it should also be noted that many of my favorite storyteller's play pretty fast and loose with the grammatical rules anyway.
So what is it?
Here's some background. Got another rejection today, this one from an agent. Rejection letters are something that happen pretty regulary. I write to please myself. Tim (Green) sees it the same way. Not looking to impress anyone too much, however, we love some of these characters and stories and would like to share them. It's not about money, fame, celebrity or any of that. We want to share our stories with like-minded people and maybe entertain them a bit in the process.
So we write, we publish and sometimes we submit. Why not try some traditional avenues as well, right?
Sometimes we get accepted and sometimes we get rejected. This happens to the best of them. Tim Burton gets ideas rejected all the time. So it shouldn't bother me...right?
Well, it does bother me. I don't know why. I go through stages from "to hell with you, . You wouldn't know a good story if it crawled up your pants leg and bit your dangling participle!" al the way to "We are the suckiest writers ever and should just go bag groceries for a living so our lack of creative energy won't poison the rest of society." And finally, I come back to "Soldier on, Bastards" (to borrow a phrase from Paddy and The Rats).
So what makes a good writer? Can it be "ensured" that you will be good? Lots of folks come out of programs granting a Masters in Creative Writing. Are all of those people then Masters? Do they get published to wide acclaim (I don't think so, but I have no data). Here are some facts on my favorites authors.
I know Stephen King has a degree in English. JK Rowling majored in French and The Classics. Joe Abercrombie studied Psychology. Terry Brooks majored in English Literature and has an advanced degree in Law. George RR Martin - degree in journalism. Robert Jordan had a degree in Physics.
J.R.R. Tolkien was, primarily a linguist. Robert Howard was basically a well-read, self taught prolific writer who piled up rejection slips for years before becoming successul. Fritz Leiber studied philosophy, but was a Shakespearan actor from the time he was a child, thanks to his parent's acting troupe.
Brian Jacques attended the school of Hard Knocks basically. No formal training as a writer, but lots of life experiences to draw from. R.A. Salvatore majored in Communications and English. William King, while his bio is vague, seemed to gain his writing expertise through work as a game designer. Nathan Long seems to have developed by trial and error, becoming first a screen writer before moving into novel. Ed Greenwood is a librarian who has been writing stories since he was a child. D&D gave him the outlet for a world he had conceived years earlier. D.A. Adams has a Masters in Writing but will be the first person to tell you that he thinks it is not necessary for writers. Mary Robinette Kowal (my cousin by the way...I'm a shameless namedropper) is a legendary puppeteer (like works for Jim Henson productions) and a voice actor (actress?) who also happens to be a kick ass writer.
So what do these folks have in common? Creativity, sure. Great storytelling ability, obviously. But what makes one better than the other and is there a path one could set out on, today, to end up at the same place as this list of folks. Some richer than others (King, Rowling), some with more work under their belt (Jacques) but all prolific, well-loved storytellers with books deemed "acceptable".
Not all are flawless at grammar. Not all have the credentials of a great education in writing.
I suspect they just had a story to tell, so they wrote it. Then they submitted it, again, and again and again. In some cases, it might have been accepted on the first try and gotten a huge advance. In other cases, it might have taken so long it seemed like a fools errand. But they kept going. Of course there are persistent people who feel like success continues to elude them.
So what's they key? I don't know. I don't have it. I suspect a lot of these folks don't know what it is either. I am sure in many cases they know what it isn't.
Puzzling. Felt cathartic to write about though.

Genre Fiction (it's what I am all about)

Discovered a great post today on Genre Fiction as art! This is near and dear to my heart (since I am all about genre fiction). Then again, maybe art is not what I'm after in the strictest sense. I think GGE considers itself more of an entertainer, but art can show up in the strangest places I suppose. Read the article and let me know what you think.

Derivative

I'm not sure what's so bad about "derivative" fantasy worlds. I guess what I write is "derivative". See, I was really excited a few days ago, I saw an editor who sounded like someone I would love to work with, but then I read that he did not fantasy worlds that were "derivative in any way".
I like derivative. I mean, I read original fantasy worlds, but sometimes it's cool to see a fireball, and elf, a dwarf, a dragon and all that jazz. Dwarfs hate elfs, magicians aren't great in combat, trolls burn, ogres are super tough but not all that smart.
I guess these are tropes of fantasy as originated by Tolkien and then perpetuated by D&D, but I enjoy them.
I am reading a D&D graphic novel and it is everything D&D was when I was a kid (IDW Publishing rocks by the way). In addition, I am playing a game called "Legend of Grimrock" and it makes me feel the same thrill I used to feel around a gaming table.
I like reading Warhammer fantasy books and I enjoy some D&D novels. I used to love Salvatore, but it got a bit repetitive, but I still recommend him to people who have never read his stuff.
So, what's so bad about derivative? Can't you tell a good story and be derivative?
When I think derivative, I think Westerns. They have all sorts of common elements, but people love them. Couldn't we do the same thing with fantasy?
I don't know, but I think I will continue being a bit derivative while applying my own touches. It works for me. I guess that's my art. We'll see where it goes.

Geeked about these flicks

So, here's 7 movies I can't wait to see!

1. The Avengers
2. The Amazing Spiderman
3. Men In Black 3
4. GI Joe 2
5. Prometheus
6. Battleship
7. The Dark Knight Rises

Death and Taxes

They are both unavoidable I suppose, but one is final and the other means you are still kicking. You are still in the bout and you still have a chance to be whatever it is you are meant to be.
I paid GGE's annual tax burden today, which is admittedly slight because we didn't sell a darn thing in 2011.
We did, however, sow lots of seed and start making some great products that will sell.
I am actually looking forward to the day when the tax burden starts to grow.
Still, I was reminded of two things:

1. There were a lot of plans I wanted to accomplish before this point
2. I have, however, accomplished a lot of the goals I set out for last year (website update underway, publishing moving along, internet presence, etc)

So, here's to another year! We'll see where we are next year at this time.

Legend of Grimrock

So, like most fantasy/sci-fi writers out there, I have certainly spent my share of time around a roleplaying table (and I'm happy I have - some of the best memories and closest friendships).
So, when my oldest son told me about "Legend of Grimrock", I immediately thought "Dungeon Crawl"! Cool!
Basically, four adventurers are sentenced to death, but their death sentence is commuted...if they can survive the dungeon of Grim rock. It's a towering mountain, filled with a honey comb of traps, monsters and all manner of creepiness. Why do they put prisoners there? I don't know...to keep down the monster population? To look for treasures so the Empire can steal them back when the adventurers emerge? Doesn't matter. The fun part is, you make up four characters and go in and kick some ass.
Personally, I will be making up four of the main characters from my own novel "Return To Glory". I know those rascals so well it will be fun to run through the dungeons with them.
Wait? "Return To Glory" is about "The Seven Companions! Who gets left out?"
Well, there are no dwarfs in Legend of Grimrock so Merrick can't go. There actually aren't elves either but I can look past that. There are no priests so no healers.
For me, it will be

• Roegr (warrior - there aren't Rangers in the game, but I will pump up his archery)
• Jared (mage)
• Kildar (rogue)
• Feral (warrior)

We'll see how they do. who does that leave out?

• Alexandra (warrior) - if my initial party dies, she'll lead a group to save them
• Gideon (warrior) - Roegr's protege
• Merrick (warrior) - there aren't any dwarfs so he won't show up unless there is an expansion.

In any event, nothing like a six pack of brew and a dungeon crawl with my favorite characters. I wish it were around the table with my friends, but this will prove fun nonetheless!

Another hyperproductive day

What did I get done today? I did work out and edited one chapter. Other than that...I read.

Let me explain. I read several books at one time. Right now I was reading like 5 at once and I jump back and forth like changing the channels on the TV.

Then, all at once, I finish several books. Today, I finished:

• Tough Sh*t - Kevin Smith
• The Art of NonConformity - Chris Guillebeau
• Unlimited Power - Anthony Robbins
• I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell - Tucker Max

All served to be extremely inspirational, expecially Chris Guillebeau's and Kevin Smith's. I immediately when and added Kevin Smith's SModcast to my favorites and have been listening to it. It's not great, but it's good and right now, that's good enough!

Day 2 of hyperproductivity

Took a slight hit to the hyperproductivity today. I was to pick my son up at Logan airport at 5:00, so I arrived at 4:15 with my other two kiddos in tow. My wife called to let me know she was wrong, it wasn't 5:00, it was 6:00. No big deal.

Then she called back...

James missed his flight from Spring Breaking in NC. He would now be arriving at 9:00 pm....what? 4.5 hours in Logan?

What to do? We went to the Borders books, we bought books, we went to Kidport (playground), we shopped at Brookstone, we went to the sports bar. I read, they played, they played on Ipads...we made the best of it.

Here is a pic of me making the best of it.

Trying to at least move my creativity forward, I bought this book by Kevin Smith and read over half of it in the airport. It's really good! And pretty inspirational. I recently read "Unlimited Power" by Tony Robbins. There is some crap in Unlimited Power, but there is some gold as well. One piece of gold is that we should emulate people who have done what we would like to do. Based on that, I started reading a biography of Walt Disney. When I saw one of Kevin Smith, an autobiography no less, it seemed perfect. Here is an overweight comic nerd with a love of movies...much like yours truly!

So, what did I accomplished today? I did my workout. I managed to get Jamie home from Logan. I did edit some in Seeds of Vyldur. I was not perfect on my diet (reference the picture above). I did, however, have a memorable day at Logan with my kiddos.
Here's a pic of the kiddos at the airport

So, on to day 3!

First day of hyper productivity

Well, my first day of hyper-productivity is almost in the books. Here's how I did:

• Got the kids everywhere they needed to be
• Ran 5 miles
• Stayed on my diet
• Edited "Seeds of Vyldur"
• Made serious progress on selecting a cover image for SOV
• I am about to do some more editing AND write a little

Looking forward to doing more tomorrow!

What did you do today? 

Day 1

Well, my wife left me today! Not for good or anything like that. She has a bit of a family emergency back home in TN, that is going to require her to spend a few months there caring for a sick relative. Before that, however, she is off to Texas to help her sister move into her first newly constructed home.
This leaves me in Boston for 20 weeks. Ten weeks with the kids and ten weeks without (I will take them to TN for the second ten weeks and I will visit as often as possible).
After the 20 weeks, we should all be reunited here in Boston.
So, how to spend 20 weeks or roughly 140 days. Well, I hope, rather than moping around and counting the days till September, that I can use the time to be productive. So, I want to accomplish something each of the next 140 days. This is day 1. Here is my plan:

·         Blog

·         Run 3-4 miles

·         Edit Seeds of Vyldur

·         GGP Website

·         Edit RTG

·         Stay on my diet

·         Get Abby to and from Karate

            I hope to report on my progress

Les Miserables

Finally got to go see Les Miserables on the stage here in Boston. I have wanted to see this musical for 25 years. Here is a recap of my history with Les Mis

• When it launched, a hot girl in high school was totally into it. Trying to impress her one day, I tried to reference it and I pronounced it sounding something like Lez Mizzeraballs. Embarrassing. 
• When I was in college, a good friend sang the music constantly prompting me to want to buy the CD
• After I graduated college, I finally managed to buy the CD and spent several days trying to put the story together from the music. I got...close
• While I was a firefighter (a lifetime ago), I bought the book and read it, realized it was nothing like the musical, but it made me love the musical all the more (and made me a bit of an expert on the battle of Waterloo since it is detailed in the novel for some strange reason). 
• Now that I knew the story, I listened to the CD again, and again, and again. Loved it. Memorized it.
• It was still fifteen years before I was finally in a town where Les Mis was coming to visit. 
• My wife surprised me with tickets three weeks ago.
• I saw Les Mis last weekend.

So, how was it when viewed live? It was breathtaking, life changing and unbelievably fantastic. I am still blown away. I could see it another hundred times. It is a fantastic story and the music is amazing, but the whole production is mind boggling. The way the sets change so quickly, the way the effects are done...everything about it.

One note about the production I saw in Boston. Fantine was different than I have ever heard her before. Usually she comes across as sad and a it pathetic to me. Sure she's had a terrible time, but as Kenny Rogers put it, "Every hand's a winner and every hand's a loser." Fantine has always seemed to wallow in her misery. (Admittedly, her life does suck). In any event, the Fantine in this most recent production was awesome. She was clearly pissed off! (As she should be). I loved how angry she came across. It made her much more likeable to me.

So, anyway, I am thrilled that I finally got to see this musical. It is three hours long but it feels like it is about an hour. One other nice thing about the Boston Opera House, you can have alcohol in your seats so I was also able to suck down some adult beverages while enjoying Les Mis. For me, it was like meeting a hot sorority sister you admired from afar in college only now you discover that she is even hotter, and you have a few drinks before sleeping with her and then once you do, it is even better than you ever expected. A crude analogy perhaps, but one that is very apt.

It was just that freaking good!

John Carter and his place in metahuman history

I saw John Carter of Mars last night with my two sons. First off, I have to say that is was a really, really great movie.
It got me thinking though about John Carter's place in Metahuman history. When I think of the first "superhero", I immediately think Superman, but I know many credit the book "Gladiator" as containing the first "superhero" even though the main character never fought crime, he was bulletproof and exceptionally fast and strong. He seems a close approximation of "Golden Boy" from the "Wild Cards" series (though the character in Gladiator has a different origin - all metahumans in the "Wild Cards" series have a shared origin through an alien virus).
In any event, I immediately went to the interwebs to solve this conundrum and came upon a relatively decent argument that Mandrake the Magician could be considered the first superhero with his ability to mesmerize people and the fact that he fought baddies.
Through the comments on the Mandrake argument, however, I found people confused by the argument. People asked, "What about Jesus? The Greek Gods? Robin Hood? Zorro?"
So for the sake of the argument, I would say Robin Hood, Zorro, Tarzan don't count. They don't have "powers". Some folks from these old stories do though (Merlin, Gawain). But I would lump Merlin in with the Greek Gods as mythology and/or religion. Jesus falls in one of those two categories (depending on your belief system). So we are left with the following definition - Metahuman powers, not of mythological or religious origins and probably created in America.
That being the case, I would say that superheroes are an invention of the 20th century, but rather than Superman, Mandrake or the dude from Gladiator, probably began with John Carter. Same origin as Superman (sent to an alien planet - Mars in this case - and give metahuman powers due to the planet's environment. He then uses those powers to fight oppression).

So, to summarize this very long and rambling post - Go see John Carter of Mars, a movie about the FIRST Superhero.

Mass Effect 3

Cranked up Mass Effect 3 last night and I was not disappointed! A return to The Normandy and some old friends like Admiral Anderson. Kaida Alenko showed back up! Awesome, but he gets hurt pretty bad.
Got Dr. Chakwas back on the ship and ran around with Liara Tsoni (still hot, in an alien way).
It was amazing to me to feel like I had met back up with actual friends when I started playing the game. I promise it's not because I am an anti-social reclusive geek, it's because the storyline for Mass Effect  and Mass Effect 2 were so immersive that it is a thrill to return to. Think of a great movie, but one that is very long and you get to influence the choices.
To be fair, I had the same feeling when I read prequels to "Lonesome Dove".
I can foresee a few days of power gaming as I attempt to save Earth from the Reapers (and hook up with Liara again - ok...maybe I am a little bit of a reclusive geek).

Big Step!!!!

Green Gates Entertainment is definitely launching a publishing arm in 2012. Does this mean we aren't still selling stories to others? Nope. We have a three book deal with Double Dragon Press and we are still under contract with Wild Child Publishing and we'll keep writing and shopping stories around.
Here's the two factors that went into this decision though:

1. Even the stuff we have sold has taken years to get out to the public. Maybe this represents lost revenue, but at the very least, we can get things to market more quickly. 
2. There are other writers out there who are not currently affiliated with GGE who write speculative fiction that is very cool. We can help bring these authors to print as well.

So, we have come close to signing our first author AND we are going to start producing some of our own works as well. It should be very exciting!

What are the challenges? The biggest is overcoming the "small press" stigma. People are so used to small press works being sub-standard. We will struggle with overcoming this perception. Personally, I think with devotion to quality and keeping our standards high, we won't produce drek, but only time and public opinion will tell.

In the meantime, check out the new publishing website.

J Edgar

I watched J. Edgar yesterday and it was such a great movie. What surprised me was how pensive it made me feel.
One thing that was particularly interesting was that it was a true biopic covering a huge portion of J. Edgar Hoover's life.
I guess after watching a movie like that, it's hard not to consider one's own legacy.
This guy gave his life to a cause he was passionate about. Some of his techniques may have been misguided and his sexuality has always been a question, but I think what might be the saddest piece is that whether gay or straight, misguided or not, J. Edgar never seemed to find whatever it was in life he was looking for despite gaining the highest level of achievement in his chosen profession.
The movie itself has a great quote that I will paraphrase, " All to often, historian's judge the past as if it were today and thus do not apply the appropriate context".
I have read this sort of notion before and I find it to be true. After watching the movie, I refuse to judge J. Edgar, other than to feel a bit sad for him and wonder if he ever found the peace and acceptance he seemed to seek.
It's a stark reminder that an office and an income can't bring us happiness.

Unlimited Power (another post)

I think I already posted about Unlimited Power. I just wanted to add a few thoughts.
I still love this book Very concrete suggestions, some may be a bit metaphysical for me, but even the author (Tony Robbins) admits a reader will take and use what sounds right and discard what doesn't seem right.
He has some interesting ideas about diet (Vegan). I am actually considering a vegetarian diet for a few months to see how that affects me...but I digress.
What I wanted to write about was goal-setting. I have reached my favorite chapter where we spend fifteen minutes with a blank sheet of paper deciding what we want. It's exciting, it's liberating and it's scary as hell!
What do I want? Do I want to be George Lucas? Walt Disney? Jimmy Buffet? Something in between?
I have a hundred dreams, but I can't pursue them all. I need to distill them down.
Obviously telling stories is a huge part of my dream. Now I just need to spend the time writing down what I want...specifically. The key is to dream big. Aim for the moon. Even if you miss, you might land among the stars.
I think about football players (cue the song "Ghetto Dreams") who start in poverty but picture themselves playing in the Super Bowl until one day, there they are. It can happen for any of us, but first we have to have a target...otherwise, it's pretty hard to hit.

Free the Gubs!

I don't normally shill products, mainly I like talking about writing, movies, etc, but I also like roleplaying games, strategy games and any game that presents an immersive world to play in (Think Talisman).
GUBS is just such a card game. It's not complicated in any way, so it takes no time to learn (unlike Magic). It is fun, immersive and cute. I had a great time playing it and it left me wanting to go look under mushrooms for Gub colonies.

Damn you 2012!

2012 has been a real bitch to me thus far! Professionally she kicked me right in the stones at the first of the year. Sure, the Giants won the Super Bowl, which was AWESOME! And I cranked up my running again, which is also awesome.
Writing though? not a bit!
I need to get the website updated, have a contract signed for the first GGE published work and I need to write some on our new horror novel which even scares me!
Then I need to edit Return To Glory and edit The Forsaken and edit Warchitect and about a hundred other things.
So far though I have just been stressed, spun my wheels and been a giant grouch! Let's change that!
So confession is good for the soul. Let's start a new day!

Unlimited Power!

Have you ever ready "Unlimited Power" by Tony Robbins? I know...how cheesy...he's like the stereotype for every motivational speaker ever!
Having said that, ever since I saw an interview with him about 20 years ago, I have wanted to read his books or listen to his tapes. I mean, why knock it if you haven't tried it?
So, I finally bought "Unlimited Power", which I think was his first book.
So, the thing is, it makes a ton of sense. I love what I am reading so far. I can't give a lot of specifics because I am only partway into it, but I think I know where we are headed.
I think the book is going to show me how to

1. Define (specifically) what I want to achieve
2. Believe that thing is achievable
3. Alter my thoughts, demeanor and physical presence to better help me achieve that goal
4. Model the steps others have taken to achieve similar goals
5. Finally - diligently work to achieve my goal

There is much more to it than that, but I have already learned a couple of things. For example, with Green Gates, I haven't quite defined what I specifically want to achieve. Are we Publishers? Writers? Artists? Producers? Directors? All of that? 

In actuality, we are probably all of that...think Walt Disney or George Lucas or even Stan Lee (at least that's my vision). So I need to model that behavior. I need to write everyday, develop scripts, or screenplays or work on short films. The right steps are out there, I just need to discover them...then I need to perform that work day after day after day. 

"We are what we repeatedly do"  - that's not a new quote. That's age-old stuff.

One of my problems is I get a bit fractured. I am a runner, I lift weights, I play music, I am an amateur mixologist, I am an artist, I am a scientist (day job). I need to focus with laser like intensity on an area. I know that and now I need to do it. I am hoping that as I gain more knowledge (like reading "Unlimited Power") I will continue making progress towards my goals...I just need to be very, very specific about what that goal is.

Opportunity

I'll keep my comments brief. You need to go read this post by Seth Godin.

Plan for 2012?

So, what's happening for you in 2012?
Here's some GGE Plans:

1. Finish reviewing the proof of "The Battle of Caerlon" - the first in our Pendragon Chronicles, being published by Double Dragon Press.
2. Work through the editing of "The Forsaken" with Wild Child Publishing
3. Continue polishing "Return to Glory" with Floyd Largent - an absolutely fantastic editor.
4. Working towards launching Green Gates Publishing with the publication of a new work from Walter Rhein (more details to follow)
5. Work towards lettering and finishing up the Danger Guild Comic.
6. Finish up the rough draft of our newest horror story
7. Begin polishing "The Warchitect" now that its been rejected by most of our standard publishers.
8. Revamp our website - it's past time for a little upgrade

So that's our 2012 plan in broad terms. What are some of your goals for 2012?