Tag: children of nostradamus

Let’s Talk about Sex (in Writing)

Apr. 07 Behind the Writing, News 3 comments

April is the first time this year I’ve had a moment to pause and breath. The world behind the scenes for this author have been busy and productive (more busy it seems.) I’m one of a trio putting together an anthology with the New England Speculative Writers and while it’s extremely rewarding, nobody warned us how much work it would take. Along with that I released the   of Suburban Zombie High and much to my surprise, it blew away my expectations. And now my attention has been firmly set on finishing books two and three of the Children of Nostradamus. But enough of the boring stuff, let’s get to the fun stuff.

Let’s talk about sex.

If you’ve read my books, you know I’m anything but a prude. My characters get into fights, wade through puddles of blood, and have no problem severing a head. However, in all my books, there has been a consistent lack of low-light turn up the Barry White sexy time. In Suburban Zombie, even the busty school nurse and her male play thing only do the nasty behind closed (extremely thick) doors. In the Children of Nostradamus, it’s been hard to give my characters down time have some “get down” time. Writing novels in a condensed time frame (each of my books takes place in two or three days) and you’re being chased by bad guys, typically survival is more important than doing the horizontal mambo. However, in Night Shadows, we get jiggy with it. The two characters decide surviving isn’t enough, they let off some steam of the naked variety.

Fade to black.

I make the joke that eventually I’ll write some sort of smut. But here’s my dirty secret, I have performance anxiety when my characters get bumping and grinding. In Night Legions it gets a bit more explicit. As the stakes are risen, tension is at its worst, I decided to have another go at it. The showers are steamy, the characters are naked, and it the mood is perfect. Fade to black? What the hell? Yet again, I wuss out.

I’ve read numerous novels in which there is sex, but most often I find it’s an indulgent fantasy completely unnecessary to the story. Even at times when the sex is essential to the plot, it gets clunky. The author has done a great job at creating these characters and being candid with their responses, and then sexy time language comes into play. Who, and I mean who in their entire life, has referred to “their manhood” or “nether regions?” And how sexy is it to refer to human anatomy by their actual names? That leaves a lot of slang which requires some porno music and a shag carpet.

My beta readers are pouring over the rough manuscript right now. They’ve been asked to gauge my character’s need for stress relief. We’ll see what makes it into the book and what drops to the cutting room floor. Death? No problem. Cannibalism? Sure! Soul theft? All the time. Sex? Whoa, slow down.

So how do you like sex handled in your novels? Turn up the steam or close the blinds?

Tags: , , ,

Back to Where It Started

Oct. 20 Behind the Writing, Comic Geekery no comments
14724200_10207773819883593_1086527424_o
14699428_10207773819923594_992041259_o

He’s going to kill me. I’m going to die from a nib penned thrust into my jugular. But it’ll be worth it. Technically this is the first “fan art” created for the Children of Nostradamus series. These illustrations were created by the very man who used to join me at the dining room table and give life to a world filled with superheroes. While I penned the dialogue and created the stories, Nick Leonard created the visuals. We were Jerry Siegal and Joe Shuster, Chris Claremont and Len Wein, Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. The dreams of a seventh grader evolve, but sitting at that table is where it all started.

While the Nighthawks has been turned into a novel, it had a very different origin. The character names and powers may be the same, we had a much more expansive cast than what I’ve introduced at this point. The memories are fuzzy and not all of this might be accurate, but I’ll see what I can recall.

Vanessa, the character drawn above was never meant to be human. Her telepathy and wings are part of her alien species. A rogue from another planet, she was one of the few people who knew Earth was being overrun by her race. She led the Nighthawks, which wasn’t the name of the team at this point, but the actual name eludes me.

Prism, an original creation by Nick. A character composed of almost liquid metal who could reflect light and focus it into lasers. Part of a team which also included a character named after King Midas whose touch changed any object’s molecular makeup turning it to gold.

Magus, the Doctor Strange of our universe. His abilities focus on magic and suffered from visions of demons seeking to take over the world. He would later be the love interest of Jasmine, a militant woman with metal skin.

Our world imitated the stage set by Marvel Comics, but we tended to focus on darker storylines and favoring Chris Claremont’s saga style of storytelling. Life hadn’t provided the experience necessary to create a story of depth, but we did practice and imitate. Now, a dark world set in the future is being constructed based on these youthful ramblings.

Now that the world has been built, and the stories are being told, the only question is, “What’s next?” There are plans to continue in this world for a long time to come.

Tags: , , ,

Children of Nostradamus Begins Promotional Campaign

Jan. 20 News no comments

genesisbanner

The first book in the Children of Nostradamus series, Nighthawks is getting close to being released. The book will be released in early March if the time-table remains on track with my publisher. This means pre-orders will be available sometime before then. As soon as I have more information, I promise, you’ll know about it.

While I begin gearing up with promotions for the book (I seriously have to write a few dozen interviews for bloggers) I decided to try something a bit different. When the show Heroes came out on NBC several years ago, I was captivated with their supplemental marketing campaign. They included artwork, comic books, webisodes, interviews with characters and so forth. It became a media blitz and at the time, was unheard of and took the world by storm. It’s only fitting I make sure to put my best foot forward with a debut novel in what I hope to be a long-lasting fruitful series.

Nick Leonard and I throughout middle school would collaborate on this undeveloped world and build stories around our protagonists. Inspired by the comic books we found ourselves immersed in, our ideas resembled the medium we favored. It’s twenty years later and the stories have had time to grow up. The superheroes aren’t trying to save the world in feats of selflessness, they’re trying to discover or reclaim their humanity. Before a psychic is murdered, she finds she can’t see beyond a dark abyss in the future. Through a series of letters detailing the future, she puts together a group of Children of Nostradamus, beings with unexplained abilities, before she dies. The story begins when Conthan, a sarcastic painter is given a letter at a gallery opening that details an unavoidable future and reveals he is a Child of Nostradamus.

When the world is predicted to end, the Children of Nostradamus emerge…

The Genesis Division began as a private sector company utilizing advanced technology to help the disabled. By creating advanced prosthetics, the wounded were able to lead normal lives. Rising to a Fortune 100 company one of the most influential names in body augmentation, they partnered with the military’s research and development team. The program began to shift, instead of replacing missing limbs, soldiers sacrificed their bodies for augmentation and enhancements. Genesis Division created a new soldier, faster, stronger, able to process uncanny information and wired into the military information network. Now in 2032 the Genesis Division has created Body Shops, places for the military personnel and the extremely affluent to enhance their bodies. The mission of Genesis Division: rebuild, enhance, protect.

Enlist with Genesis Division for more information at wwww.genesisdivision.com

Tags: , ,

Reflecting While Looking Forward (Part 1)

Jan. 03 News no comments

Books Published: 2
Books Written: 2

I started 2015 sitting at a bench in Starbucks, typing away across from Cristina, a fellow writer. We stopped to talk goals and the failure of New Years resolutions. She had decided instead of a resolution, she was going to pick a word that would guide her year. It was genius, a small pep-talk in a single word that would help propel me through the trials and tribulations of the upcoming word. With so much on my plate, there was a single phrase that came to mind. I wanted to finish, to end, and to be done with several large taxing projects. From this emerged my word: conclude.

To Conclude

In retrospect, there was so much on my plate, I’m not sure I would ever be capable of completing it all. But there was much I finished/terminated/ended in 2015. While I didn’t reach every goal, the list of things I finished was impressive for me.

  1. I.Am.Maine In early February, I put to rest, a project that had consumed my life and my writing for several years. The emotional investment for this project was intense and while it had become my outlet for my grief and sorrow, it was time to finish. The book hit the market and because of the amazing people I knew growing up, it exceeded my expectations and made multiple top lists on Amazon. Hearing the stories it invoked in others was the most rewarding as it gave me the confidence to move into bigger projects.
  2. Suburban Zombie High: The Reunion & The Final Class While I had thought it would be released earlier, it wasn’t until June I finished this project. It hit the market and followed suit with the first book. The comments people made were positive and they enjoyed the fast paced adventure it took them on. Their kind words had me start the final book, “The Final Class” of the series in hopes to be released early in 2016. While the writing for that book went well, it had its bumps and bruises as it is only half completed.
  3. Children of Nostradamus: Nighthawks This book has been a labor of love and during the course of 2015 went through major edits at the suggestion of beta readers. The overhaul changed the book, maturing it and giving it the final touches it really needed. With the help of my writing group and a delightful young lady from Alaska, I prepared my query letter and solicited a multitude of publishers. I landed my first small press contract in the fall of 2015 and would result in me spending a good chunk of my fall editing and preparing this book for release in March of 2016.
  4. I.Am.Maine: Snapshots of Small Town Maine While I made steady progress to completing this project, I didn’t quite get it where I wanted it. I found myself a bit consumed with the creative process and unable to produce work that met my definition of “satisfactory.” I hemmed and hawed until I had to shelf the project until I was able to dedicate more attention to it. Thankfully, it’s not far from being done and will see the light of day during 2016.
  5. Graphic Design Text Book This project sat on a shelf all year. I stared at it with contempt. It would not be touched. This year however, I have allotted space to at least make progress with it.
  6. New Series There was a new book on the docket to be written this year. I set it as my NaNoWriMo challenge and while I made steady progress in the book. I reached a point where it had jumped the shark and was a mangled mess I couldn’t rectify. I will however be revisiting it as there is promise, just need some more work on the characters and the plot and I think it’ll be a great single book that will keep readers amused and laughing. Soon.

While I didn’t hit all my benchmarks or meet all my deadlines, I made significant progress to my overall writing career. This has changed the course of 2016 for me and now I’m looking forward thinking what will this year bring? What projects will be added and what projects will be abandoned. I’m thinking it may be time to try some new smaller challenges instead of these frequent large time sucking goals. I’m on a hunt for a word, something that will guide me for the next twelve months. I’ll have one soon, and it’ll be a constant reminder of moving forward, letting go, and taking strides in a positive direction. Soon, I’ll have it.

Tags: , , ,
%d bloggers like this: