WriteOnCon 2011 Is Coming!

I'm so excited! WriteOnCon is kicking off its second year next week, and I'm excited to see what they've got lined up for this year!

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, WriteOnCon is a convention geared toward kidlit writers (like me) with speakers including fellow writers who are already at where we want to be, editors who can help us make our writing the best it can be, and agents who can get our writing where it needs to be. This is no ordinary convention, though. There's no registration table, no attendance fee, no long lines, and no scurrying about a convention floor to get from one panel to another. Nope, this convention is FREE and takes place ENTIRELY ONLINE in the form of written essays, chatrooms, forums and vlogs. It's the new wave of conventions, where you don't even have to leave home or change out of your pajamas to participate!

As the Fabulous Five Founders get everything lined up for this year's convention, take a look back at my quick review of their landmark first year starting with Day One, Day Two and Day Three! If you're a children's or young adult writer, you'll definitely want to check this out. Even if you're not, there's plenty here for writers of all types to walk away with some extra knowledge to kick their game up a notch.

Check out their website here, and stay tuned for my review of this year's WriteOnCon!

Print vs. Digital: Can They Coexist In Peace?

"Print is dead."
—Egon Spengler, Ghostbusters

Not yet, Egon, but those words definitely mean more in today’s publishing world than they did back in 1984. While concrete statistics vary depending on source and the increased availability of devices that can be used as e-readers over the years, one thing everyone can agree on is this: Sales of digital books are dramatically rising, and sales of printed books are not.

Jump over to Comic Booked and read all about Print vs. Digital: Can They Coexist In Peace?

Zak Hennessey and the Cybertooth Project

I first met Zak Hennessey many years ago over a shared pastime: pen and paper role-playing games. Not only did he exhibit some impressive storytelling talents by running some of the best original scenarios our game table has ever seen, he added an amazing visual aspect to the games by drawing our characters and illustrating both key scenes and “what if” parody images. It came as no surprise, then, to find out that he was a comic book creator.

Though it’s been a long time since those game nights, the Colorado resident and I have kept in touch through the interwebs and the occasional convention-related visits, reminiscing about those long nights of dice-rolling and sharing stories of our new projects. Zak’s latest comic book creation, The Cybertooth Project, is an exciting new foray into the world of digital comics for him, and one that is set to be the cornerstone of his new publishing company, Biotoxic Studios. In-between prepping this new series for launch and the varied demands of running his own independent comic book company online, he answered a few questions about his new project and the decision to move into digital publication.



Jump over to Comic Booked and read all about The Cybertooth Project: An Interview with Creator Zak Hennessey!

And when you're done there, head over to The Cybertooth Project Kickstarter page and donate a few dollars to help a creator's dream become a reality!

Tell the Truth Tuesday

I’ve been pretty busy this past week. Not so much with the Comic Booked articles, though I’ve been doing that, too, but generally trying to keep an income flowing in. Also, spending time with my beloved, who is celebrating a birthday this week. (Everyone say “Happy birthday, Loki!” in the comments below!) But with everything that’s been going on, I didn’t want you to think I’m only going to be linking to my Comic Booked articles on my blog. So, let’s take it by the numbers, shall we?

1) Working for Comic Booked is exactly what it is, work. I used to go to events and talk to comic book creators as a fan, now I’m doing it both as a fan and as a professional. I talk to people and pull together information for an article, then go home and write it all up in MS Word. Then I edit the piece, maybe even have someone look it over for me if I’m lucky and have the time. I log into WordPress and copy over everything I’ve written, adding in links and uploading images to flesh it out and appease the SEO requirements, along with tags, article title, description of article, etc. Then I submit the article for the editors to review for publication on the site. All in all, it’s pretty involved and not nearly as simple as writing up a little piece and sending it in.

2) Though it may be work, writing for Comic Booked is an excellent learning experience. I didn’t even know what SEO was until I started working for them. Getting trained in how to put together an article for them has helped my own writing significantly (specifically in terms of my own blog), and I’m sure there’s still more to learn.

3) I don’t work in a vacuum. There are other members of Team Comic Booked out here, like Nicole Sixx and Cousin Matt, and they’re good people. I’ve covered three events now with Nicole, and I’ll likely cover more with her as time passes. Cousin Matt, it should be noted, is the Comic Booked forums guru, and a fellow gamer!

4) As awesome as it is to write about comics and comic-related events for Comic Booked, they’re not paying my bills. No, I’m picking up every odd job I can to make ends meet, and I’ve been hired as a consultant for two people who own their own businesses this past month. I’ve also been working my organizational magic for a law office, and I’m hoping to get steady office work again soon. Gotta find a steady gig again so I can afford to write, right?

5) In other writing news, I haven’t forgotten about my trilogy or my anthology, it just got pushed back a bit in the wake of everything else happening in my life. More news on this soon, I promise!

6) Captain America was a much better movie than I thought it would be. Tommy Lee Jones is awesome in it, and Chris Evans really sells Cap as more than just an overgrown boy scout. Hugo Weaving did an excellent Red Skull, even if the role was pretty two-dimensional. Very much looking forward to The Avengers, and if you haven’t seen Cap yet, stay for the awesome after-credits sequence!

7) I’m seeing Cowboys vs. Aliens today, which I’m totally hyped about. C’mon, you have James Bond and Indiana Jones in a western version of the alien invasion movie! What’s not to love?!

8) I got Jim Butcher’s new Dresden Files novel, Ghost Story, and blew through it in record time. I maintain that each Dresden book is better than the last, and this one is no exception. Wow. Very powerful story.

9) The completion of Ghost Story means I can get back to the next Percy Jackson book on my list, The Titan’s Curse. So far, it’s pretty entertaining, and I really like this series. It’s no Harry Potter, but that’s not a bad thing.

10) I’m very hungry, and I should probably get my day started. Lots to do, so it’s time to get to it! …Right after I eat.

After Comic-Con Monday Meet-Up Party!

The San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone, leaving geek culture reeling from the flood of news that pours out of the convention. For those who spent the better part of a week roaming the convention halls in search of their favorite artists, writers, creators and celebrities, it’s a time to wind down and take stock of everything they walked away with; be it autographs, exclusive comics or just plain booth swag. They’re not the only ones enjoying the downtime, though. The same artists, writers, creators and celebrities also take time in the aftermath to decompress from the hectic schedule of signings and panels and reconnect with their fellows in ways that they can’t while in the midst of the Comic-Con crowd.

This is where Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles steps in.



Jump over to Comic Booked and read all about the After Comic-Con Monday Meet-Up Party!

Captain America-Fest!

Captain America: The First Avenger is coming to theaters on July 22! To celebrate the movie’s upcoming release, Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles, CA hosted a Sunday Cap-Fest, and the turnout was amazing!



Yours truly was there with Nicole Sixx to capture all the fun as Golden Apple Comics converted their parking lot into a patriotic festival ground. There was so much to do, I scarcely knew where to start!

Jump over to Comic Booked and read all about Captain America-Fest!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

A couple days ago, I was able to see this last installment of the Harry Potter film franchise as an exclusive screening, thanks to the L.A. Times Hero Complex. My partner in crime, James Lentzsch, braved the increasingly crazed L.A. drivers to get to my neighborhood, and we drove down together to experience the journey’s end in IMAX 3D. We also got there astoundingly early for fear of a mind-bogglingly big crowd, and ended up this close to the start of the line:



Because of that, we got astonishingly good seats, free popcorn and drinks, and a night of epic sorcery and witchcraft.

Jump over to Comic Booked and read my Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2!

And if you'd like to see any of the video from the Q&A after the movie, you can see clips from it here and here.

Quick Take On My First Comic Booked Article!

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm very proud to present to you my introductory piece for Comic Booked! It's all official and live on the site, and so exciting to see on the site's main page!

Follow the link to check it out!

Settling In

For those of you who have been following my blog for the past month, you know that there's been some pretty major events in my life recently. Fortunately, my life is starting to calm down now. I have my car back, I'm personalizing the room I'm now occupying, and I've been getting to know some of my fellow staff writers.

Now it's time to settle in.

After every major event, there's the downtime to reflect on the past, how this event has impacted the present, and what sort of future is built out of it. Even though the car accident wasn't my fault, you can bet I'm more paranoid than ever when I drive in Los Angeles. That accident also lit a fire under me to step up my move from that part of town, and now I rarely venture into that area. While my employment with Comic Booked is still in its infancy, I'm already making plans for articles, interviews and more with the staff.

More than that, "settling in" to me means getting comfortable. I've definitely settled in to my used car that runs like a new car, and I'm starting to find a nice comfortable rhythm with the couple that has graciously allowed me to take up residence in their house for the time being. I'm not quite comfortable in my Comic Booked role, but the staff has been nothing but welcoming and available to me, and I expect that I'll be comfortable with them all in no time. And while I do that, it's always with an eye to the future, looking for ways to better myself and my life and, by extension, the lives around me.

Settling in is a perfect time to form new habits, too. I've already started employing greater awareness of my surroundings when I drive. I'm keeping very good relations with my housemates and even striving to make each room I leave a little better than when I walked in. But all of that pales in the face of the other habit I need to work on: WRITING.

Now that I'm a staff writer of a growing website AND a kidlit author, I'm going to need to step up my dedication to reserving time in the day for my writing. Articles can't get neglected for a scene I'm especially inspired to write, and my trilogy can't be forgotten while I focus on churning out reviews and interviews. Now more than ever, I need to call upon the focus that got me my first novel written and forge my passion into a pursuit like none other.

Don't worry, I won't neglect this blog, either. To the contrary, I may be posting here even more soon...

I Got Comic Booked!

This has been an exciting week for me as a writer and as a comic book geek!

It started on June 24th over Twitter. I was hanging out in my corner of the Twitterverse, as I do from time to time, and a tweet from Comic Booked got my attention. Now, it should be noted that I’d only recently started following them. I don’t do the random follow thing on Twitter very often, and I’m certainly not one to follow back just because you started following me. (Here’s a tip: Engage me in conversation and I’m much more likely to follow you.) But as it turns out, my timing was impeccable. The tweet read:

Want to write for Comic Booked? Email admin@comicbooked.com for more information today! Positions will be filled this weekend!

Now, the first thought that went through my mind, after the initial shock and excitement passed, was that this was my chance to make my dreams come true. It’s no secret that I’m a huge geek. From a very early age, I’ve been collecting comics since the first Transformers issues and watching Adam West’s cheesy take on the Caped Crusader every morning in my terry cloth Batman robe. The years have not diminished this in the least, and I can argue both sides of the Marvel vs. DC debate with the best of them. (And yes, I still have some of those Amalgam Comics issues the two companies published together.) I watch my favorite heroes come to life in movies and TV, both live-action and animated, and I put myself in their shoes in many of their video games. And back when I had a budget for such things, I’d visit as many of the comic book conventions in the area as I could, if only for the chance to shake hands with some of my favorite writers and artists.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Comic books have been a part of my life since I was a little boy, just as much as writing. So you can imagine my excitement at the opportunity to merge my two great passions into one awesome position on the Comic Booked writing staff! I just had to make sure my email to them conveyed two things clearly:

1) I really want to write for them.
2) My geekitude knows no boundaries.

Apparently, it worked as well as I wanted, because I got a response back that Sunday morning, June 26, from the Editor In Chief of Comic Booked. They liked what they read, and bumped me up to the second phase of their staffing process! That meant I had to write up a sample article for them to make sure I was a good fit. Normally, this would be a slam dunk for me. I’d spend the majority of the day working up a stellar article that would make Perry White exclaim “Great Ceasar’s Ghost!” and email it in, no problem. There was just one little hiccup: I was about to embark on a day-long process of moving furniture that would effectively remove me from my computer and any ability to churn out a quality article!

As I tend to do, I bemoaned this new torture in my life on Facebook. In moments, I had a private message from the CEO of Comic Booked that read:

If you're busy today, you can send something in tomorrow. Or, you can let me know here why you want to join the team and we can go from there. I know how it is when you're busy, so no worries at all.

Yeah. The CEO of the company I wanted to work for friended me on Facebook and gave me, a hopeful recruit, permission to submit my sample article a day late because of my dilemma. My desire to join their staff doubled in that moment, and that's a conservative estimate.

After killing myself to finish moving my stuff in record time, I went home and spent the rest of the night working on my sample article. I knew I had an extra day to submit it, but I didn’t want to waste any time. (I might also have wanted to prove that I can meet crazy deadlines by getting it in as early as possible.) I wrote up a great review of one of my favorite DC Universe animated movies, Wonder Woman, gave it a quick self-editorial pass, then sent it off before passing out from exhaustion. Maybe I would have an email from them waiting for me when I woke up.

Or maybe not.

As the week progressed, I grew more and more worried that I hadn’t heard from them yet. Was my writing not up to their standards? Did they not like my review? Hundreds of “what if” scenarios played out in my head, all revolving around what I could have done differently in my sample article to make it more interesting, more exciting, more more. It was agony, I tell you, of kryptonite poisoning proportions.

Then, early on Saturday morning, I got an email from the EIC. I made the grade! I'm now part of Team Comic Booked!

As of the posting of this entry, I’ve made the acquaintance of some of the other new writers who were hired alongside me, as well as the site’s editors. (And I already know one fellow recruit!) My pic and mini-bio have been submitted for inclusion on their Meet the Team page, and I’m already privy to some of the inner workings of this amazing group of fellow geeks. In the coming weeks, I’ll know more about my role on Team Comic Booked, and you can expect many posts from here on out linking to my articles on their site. In the meantime, I’ll be over here, basking in the glow of realizing a dream come true.