Killer of Killer Sales Picking Up

I got my annual sales report from my first publisher Melange and it showed a marked increase in book sales over the past year. That was nice. I don't expect to be on the best seller's list any time soon, but it was a nice surprise to see Killer of Killers selling better than ever.

I guess it's like that sometimes. If the trend keeps up, who knows what might happen. I had the idea to send a copy of the two books to Dustin Clare's agent and see if something might happen in the film department regarding those books.

The idea behind that is it seems Dustin Clare's career really isn't taking off like I think it should. And I'm sure like he wishes it would. He's working and making films, but not like Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, or Jason Statham. I think movie producers just haven't found the right vehicle for him yet. And that's where Killer of Killers and Killer Eyes come in.

I mean Jason Statham wasn't all that famous before his Transporter movies catapulted him to stardom. Same with Cruise and Pitt. They each had a movie or a franchise that brought them fame. I'm thinking my Killer books could do that for Dustin Clare. Of course it would need top directors and fight scene coordinators. Like Corey Yuen. He was the man in charge of the Transporter movies, and many other great martial arts movies.

So I tried to contact Dustin Clare's agent, but found out you have to pay to join some website and only then you get the information you need. I passed. Why? Because it's not a sure thing. I can't see myself paying for information that will get me nothing in return. I'm not at that stage yet. If it never becomes a movie, that's fine. Trent Smith will still live on the pages of the books.

And I will get back to writing about the world's greatest martial artist soon. The third book is started, and I plan on finishing it. Some day. Someday soon.

Walking Dead Getting Dumber and Dumber

Since I compared the latest Thor movie with the Pink Panther comedies featuring the comedian Peter Sellers as the inept Inspector Clouseau, I might as well chime in on the state of the Walking Dead TV show. It's getting dumber and dumber, not unlike the movie of the same name.

I mean talk about stupid. And I understand it's the writers making the characters do these stupid things. Last night we had a dude facing a woman holding an RPG pointed straight at him. Now the dude was a member of the hated enemy gang called the Saviors and the dude knew the woman facing him with the RPG was one of the members of a community at war with his gang. Instead of surrendering or running for his life, he makes the stupidest comment. "You ain't gonna use that, little girl," after which the woman fires the RPD and blows him up.

Completely stupid writing. Another example is when Rick, the show's main character, walks alone and unarmed into another enemy camp. It's a camp that had just betrayed him, and he faces the woman who led the betrayal and had shot him point blank. How stupid can you get? This group is a committed ally to the hated Saviors, and the woman had just shot him. She even makes it clear that she had just betrayed him and she had just shot him.

But Rick only answers that she only "grazed" him so he wasn't mad. Stupid writing. I mean what was to stop her or anyone in her community to shoot Rick right then and there? There are so many more examples of just plain stupid writing in the show over the past couple seasons, it's a wonder The Walking Dead remains TV's most popular show. 

Even my favorite TV show, The Blacklist, had a stupid moment last episode. The suitcase full of bones, which the show is not letting viewers know exactly whose bones they are, only that it's a secret that Red Redington is driven to keep, is finally recovered by Red. But does Red even look inside to make sure the bones are there when he's driving off with Tom?

No. Tom had put the bones into a big black leather case, which Red doesn't even wonder why Tom suddenly has a big black leather case with him as they are driving away after Red saved him. You would think Red would wonder why Tom suddenly has that case, and what the heck was inside it. You would think Red would ask, "Say, Tom, where'd you get that big black leather case, and um, just what the heck do you have in there?"

But no. He's content to watch Tom wander off. And only then does Red check the suitcase to make sure the bones are still in there, but of course, they're not. And of course, Tom made off with Red's special bones, having just learned the secret. But again, viewers have no clue what's so special about those bones. Whose bones are they? Liz's mom's bones maybe. But that would be too obvious.

I suppose the answer will come soon enough but in the process of reaching that point I don't appreciate such dumb writing from any show I watch. Lazy writing is not good writing. Stupid writing is even worse. In Blacklist the writing is lazy. In The Walking Dead, it's just stupid. Here's to hoping the writing gets back to the quality the shows had when they began.

Thor - the New Inspector Clouseau

I saw the new Thor movie, and I was shocked to see the writers get away with turning Thor into a character not unlike the infamous Inspector Clouseau. Which is not the way the "God of Thunder" should ever be portrayed.

I mean, come on. It seems the Marvel/Disney studios are just itching for comedy. The gritty drama-filled stories we saw when Thor was in the Avengers are not happening anymore. Even Thor's prior solo movies weren't this stupid. Yes, I said it. Stupid.

Not that the Inspector Clouseau movies were stupid. I mean Peter Sellers' portrayal of the inept and stupid Inspector Clouseau was brilliant. That was the character of Clouseau. He was inept and stupid, but lovable to the audience if not the other characters in the movie. It was great comedy.

But Thor is not supposed to be an inept and stupid character. He's the frickin' God of Thunder, not a slapstick clown. A Thor movie should not be a comedy. But that's what they made it into. A comedy like the Pink Panther movies. It was so wrong. And sad.

Gone was the suave, strong, near invincible, and MIGHTY Thor. Instead we get a wimp who's controlled by a coin-sized taser attached to his neck which is activated by remote control the size of a lighter. It didn't work. Thor is not a wimp.  He's the frickin' God of Thunder!

To highlight just what I'm talking about let me point out the moment Thor throws some kind of iron ball against a window expecting it to smash through the window. But does the iron ball smash through the window? No. Just like you would see with Clouseau, the iron ball bounces off the window and rebounds right back to hit Thor in the head, knocking him down like a fool. Or as I've said, like Inspector Clouseau. There were many other examples, but that was the highlight. Or more aptly said in this case, the lowlight.

Yeah, we got to see Thor fight the Hulk to a standstill. And he was actually beating the Hulk in a one-on-one fight until that taser coin attached to his his neck was activated by remote control in the hands of another goofy character played by Jeff Goldblum. It sent Thor into a seizure and subsequent coma which kept him from finishing the fight. So Thor's best scene, beating the Hulk mano y mano was cut short by the little coin on his neck. It was a major let down.

By the way, who's idea was it to show the Hulk's ass? This is a Disney movie? I guess men's asses are all in vogue nowadays. Heaven forbid the movies ever show a woman's ass again. But men's asses? Yeah. After all, Hollywood made us see Jon Snow's ass in that last GOT, but not Daenerys's ass or any other woman's ass. That's taboo now. Hey, Hollywood. I don't think your audience wants to see the Hulk's ass. I certainly didn't. But I digress.

Marvel and Disney are turning the great Marvel heroes into bumbling idiots. Gone are the cool, suave, confident heroes we grew up loving. Now we have to see fools and clowns. At least that's the way it was in the latest Thor movie. It was so wrong. And sad.

The Vase is Better than Ever...

With the rewrites, my novel, The Vase is better than ever. It has vastly improved in the prose, and that was only because I was relentless in making sure the prose is as good as it can be. Sadly that includes parts that I had already submitted. I had submitted to a couple Big Fives and some agents. But Since then I have rewritten many parts. That means, once again, I should have waited before submitting.

It's the same mistake I've made often. Which is being in too much of a hurry to submit. Patience is a virtue, and that has been said often. I tried to instill that virtue, but when it comes to submitting, I guess that particular virtue escapes me. I can only hope that at the stage of writing the manuscript was in at the time I submitted, it was good enough.

My reasoning for improving even the parts that had been submitted is that if the full is requested, then when whoever reads it, they will read an even better version. So that is my hope. I have learned also that being hopeful is almost useless. you hope for this or you hope for that, and it seems that just the fact that you find yourself hoping means that it's already a lost cause.

How many times have you hoped for something that didn't come to pass? Hoping means that something is either impossible or near impossible. And then if the impossible happens, it's more like a miracle. But, yeah, I suppose miracles do happen. So, here's to hoping.

Be Careful with Rewrites

I had finished the rewrite of The Vase, and I have started another rewrite. But I'm catching myself being too picky. I had said before that being picky was a good thing. Being picky is what makes a perfectionist. And it's true, but there comes a point when a piece of work is finished, and going back over it again and again, LOOKING for something to rewrite might not be in its best interest.

For example, I am rewriting scenes that were good to begin with. They didn't need a rewrite. But there I go, thinking it needs a rewrite. Sometimes I spend time rewriting this or that, and then I decide that it was better before the rewrite. That's called wasting time. A writer has got to be able to determine when the writing is done. For good. And when not to rewrite.

Usually I have no problem with that. It's probably that I have these months in front of me waiting for Macmillan Australia to examine my submission which was the first 100 pages. And yes, since I submitted those pages I have indeed rewritten some of those scenes. Which may or may not be a good thing. I had always believed in making your writing better. My point is that sometimes that might not be necessary.

So the answer? Once you've reached a point that you are satisfied, get busy on another work. There is always another story to tell. And even though I had thought I didn't want to write anymore books, and I probably won't, I do have other books in the works.

And there's always my music. I have so many songs that also need to be rewritten. And re-recorded. And I've been doing that too lately. There is a satisfaction in composing your own music. Even if no one else in the world will ever hear them. Or appreciate them. Is that why musicians compose music? So other people can appreciate them? Why would a writer write a book if no one else would ever read those books? I guess a writer would stop if that were the case. And I might. As for the music? I'll at least keep up with that until the songs that need rewriting are done. Then...we'll see.

Finished The Vase Rewrite

Well, it took a little longer than I thought it would. But I just completed a first rewrite of The Vase. It's not like I actually rewrote the book. I just revised it, as in polished up the prose, and made it a better written book. That will surely go a long way for a Big Five publisher to accept it for publication. Any publisher, really, but I'm shooting for the stars this time.

Macmillan Australia is my best shot. They would be perfect, and they've had the first 100 pages now for about five weeks. But they say on their website it may take up to six months before any decision is made. Still, I'm glad I polished up the prose. I will probably go through it at least one more time. Why not? If I have five months more to wait or even three to four, I might as well maximize my chances if they do request the full. Here's to hoping.

In the meantime I might go back to Inside the Outhouse. Not sure. I kind of ran out of steam for that one. It's aimed at middle school level and being an adult, maybe I'm not so invested in it. Still it doesn't mean I will never go back to it. And then there's Book 3 in my Killer series. At one point it was titled Killer on the Payroll. Then I changed the title to Killer Not for Hire. It's kind of the opposite, but I figure it's a more accurate one. Seeing as how Trent Smith, the world's greatest martial artist, doesn't work for anyone. Ever.

So back to The Vase for more improvements, and then I'll just keep on writing, then I'll keep on composing, and I'll keep on creating art. That's what I do.