Strike Back Done, Dustin Clare, too

With the CineMax series Strike Back ended, so too is the brief reappearance of actor Dustin Clare. Before the final season aired, the show had promoted Dustin Clare as a new character on the show, and I was looking forward to it. I had always thought highly of Dustin Clare as an actor ever since he starred in the STARZ show Spartacus. He "stole the show" so to speak.

But I never saw him in anything since, and Spartacus ended a few years ago. Finally, with him being cast in Strike Back, another show I had been watching, I was relieved that he hadn't faded away in the sunset. But with the final season of Strike Back finished now, I was disappointed with the role he played. And that's because the role was a very small one, and really an insignificant one.

Dustin Clare played what at first seemed like a mercenary, working for the CIA, but ended up being just another hitman, leading a team of hitmen, who were hired by, I'm not even sure who hired them, actually, but the bottom line was, he was a bad guy. That's not a problem, really, but the role was weak, and I was let down, because I had thought it was going to be a bigger part for him, and for the show. It wasn't. He had little "air" time, and the part he played was nothing more than a scumbag with the IQ of a street rat. His potential as a character actor is so much more than that.

In fact, I've made no secret that I would choose him to play the part of Trent Smith, the main character in my Killer Series, Killer of Killers and Killer Eyes. I still think he could pull it off, but I don't base that opinion on anything I saw in Strike Back. I base that opinion on his performance playing Gannicus, from Spartacus and Gods of the Arena, the Spartacus prequel.

In those shows, Dustin Clare had charisma. He was overflowing with it, actually. So much so, that he stole the show, as I said. The part in Strike Back offered no charisma at all. But in Spartacus, as Gannicus, he was so filled with charisma that he could have challenged Sean Connery, William Shatner, and even Clint Eastwood, from the iconic roles that made them famous. That's what I thought of Dustin Clare, and that's why I still believe he'd make a great Trent Smith.

But of course, it would take the right producers and director to make that work. I don't doubt that the producers and director of a show like those are vital to making a character work, and without the right people in place on both sides of the camera, it would be a long shot. But, it's worked so well, so many times, that all an actor needs is the right role, and the right people behind him, and his career would take off. Here's to hoping that some producer and director will take Melissa Ratel's advice, (you can read it in the margin to the right,) and make Killer of Killers into a movie. And cast Dustin Clare as Trent Smith. It would be his James Bond, Captain Kirk, or Man with no Name. Here's to hoping.

Walking Dead Season Six Premiere Well Done

I was criticizing the Fear the Walking Dead series, comparing it unfavorably to the original Walking Dead series, and the season six premiere of the Walking Dead was confirmation of that. It aired the other day, and it was really well done. It was riveting, action packed, and dramatic. All the things which Fear the Walking Dead isn't.

It's hard to believe the same people produce both shows, and I don't understand why the spinoff is so much the opposite of the original. By opposite, I mean just that. It's boring, slow, and uninteresting. That doesn't mean it can't become like the original. Sometimes shows start slowly, but speed up in action, drama, etc. Here's to hoping Fear does speed up. If it doesn't, well, it's a good thing the original is back. There's a reason it's the number one show on TV today. It's so well written, and rarely disappoints. The main character, Rick Grimes, does the things you would expect a character like him would do. They're the things I would do if I were him.

There are moments, to be sure, that it does take a turn to the point where you question the writing, but when that happens, it gets back on track quickly enough so you can deal with it. As long as that is the case, I expect Walking Dead to remain the number one show.

Fear the Walking Dead? I don't think so...

I had been enjoying the original Walking Dead series, and I was thinking the spinoff Fear the Walking Dead might be a good series to watch while waiting for the original to resume. But after seeing the first few episodes, I have concluded the writers must not be the same writers, since the plots of the episodes and the actions of the characters have been very poorly written by comparison.

Fear's main character, Travis, for example, beats someone to death, after it had been established that he was a kind and gentle soul, a high school English teacher, even, and a proponent of non-violence. Now, he's a berserker who beats a soldier to death with his bare hands. It took Rick, the main character in the original series, four years to reach that point, and Rick was a Deputy Sheriff who was involved in a shootout with criminals in the very first episode. And despite his constant and continuous confrontations with zombies and evil humans, it still took him near five years to reach the point that Travis reached by episode six of season one.

And the reason Travis beat the soldier to death with his bare hands was just as stupid. The soldier takes a shot at the daughter of a man who had tortured him, even though he had been romantically involved with the girl, and he had the man at gunpoint. In addition to that, the man had admitted to the soldier that he was a torturer in San Salvador, during the civil wars that occurred over there. So the soldier had every reason to shoot him. But instead he shoots the innocent daughter, who he had been kissing and hugging the episode before. But so as not to worry the audience it turns out he only winged the girl. She's only shot in the arm, so no real harm done, except for the fact that mild mannered Travis beats him to death with his bare hands. It made no sense.

Furthermore, the soldiers themselves are portrayed as cowardly, dastardly, and scummy, quick to abandon their duties and their posts, and quick to abandon each other. Still, I'll stick it out to the end, since the original resumes this coming Sunday. Here's to hoping the original will stay true to its original quality of character development and plots. We'll see.

Martial Arts Stories Remain Popular

There's a new TV show coming soon, and it features martial artists. I forget the name of it, but I saw it advertised last night while browsing on the tube. I read about other Martial Arts shows coming to TV soon, as well, and it just goes to show that the Martial Arts genre remains popular.

I remember years ago there was a popular TV show called Kung Fu, and you can't get any more martial artsy than that. It was out during the Bruce Lee era. Bruce Lee movies were poplar, and they still are. More recently, a Martial Arts movie won the best foreign film Oscar. Of course I'm referring to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, which I just watched the other night with my oldest son. It really was an excellent movie. Even with subtitles.

And some of the more recent thriller movies might also be considered martial arts movies, like all the Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Jason Statham movies, etc. I love those movies. Particularly when you get Jason Statham and Jet Li in the same movie, like we did with the movie called War. Movies like that give you a great story line to go with the martial arts action, which is what I strive to do with my own Martial Arts stories, Killer of Killers and its sequel, Killer Eyes.

Speaking of Killer Eyes, I'm happy to report that during my first read through of the PDF file I received yesterday, I found no typos. Typos have a way of hiding, however, and then they leap out at you when you least expect it, like a jungle booby trap.

Well, here's to hoping all my proof reading over the last few months cleared out all those 'booby traps' and the text is clean all the way through. Look for the release of Killer Eyes within the next few days!

PDF of final draft to Killer Eyes has Arrived

Got the PDF  of Killer Eyes yesterday, and that's what I'll be sending to a few advance reviewers. That is, if they have time to read it. The three advanced reviewers of Killer of Killers had nice things to say about that one, so I'm hoping they will like Killer Eyes as much.

In fact, two of them said in their reviews that they were hoping or wishing for a book two of the Killer of Killers story because there were some questions left unanswered in Book One. Those questions are answered in Killer Eyes, but I might have a couple more questions at the end of Killer Eyes that are again left unanswered. Can't say for sure. You'll have to read it to find out.

Look for the release of Killer Eyes soon. Maybe as soon as this week!

Killer Eyes Ready to be Published

Killer Eyes is on its way to publication! I sent the absolute final draft last night. Nancy, the publisher at Melange, was so wise to give me a final shot at fixing all inconsistencies, and it paid off. I found a place in the beginning that wasn't consistent with a place in the end. Had the book been published, that inconsistency would have been permanent.

I'm referring to POV. It's something I was sure had been fixed completely. A person's POV in the beginning should be the same at the end, and it is now, thanks to that last read-through. And there was one more thing. Main character Trent Smith is more about vengeance than revenge. On the back cover blurb I had failed to notice the word revenge was used. (I had written it that way when I first composed the blurb.) But when I edited the interior blurb, I realized the word vengeance was the right word to use. But I didn't change the back cover version of that blurb. I didn't have access to that file, so I couldn't change it.

I did advise Nancy, and she said it will be taken care of, and then sent off to the printer. So it's a day for celebration for me. Another book is finished and in the process of publication. Even though I don't drink, I'll break out the champagne. I'll have a glass for each book published. Which is three for now. But more to come. And very soon.

Old Cover Still Available on Amazon

One of the teachers over here at the school where I teach bought a copy of Killer of Killers on Amazon.com, and interestingly, he received a copy with the original cover. That must mean if anyone prefers the old cover, then they can still get it. But from Amazon. That also must mean that Amazon stocked up on copies with the original cover.

If you prefer the new cover, then you can get it from Melange directly, or perhaps from Lulu, which is the printing company, because they sell their books directly, too. In fact, it's Lulu, not the publisher, Melange, that's advertising their books on the USA Today site I mentioned recently. I discovered that Lulu is also advertising their books on other online sites, as well. I saw their books on YouTube, and a few other places. So that's good. The more promotion, the better.

And it's true that Killer of Killers is holding steady in its sales ranking in the six figure areas. That's far from being a best seller, but it's better than the seven figure ranking it had before the advertising. Can't complain about that. Here's hoping it does climb the rankings. Next step would be to break the five figure rankings, like it has done on the Lulu rankings. Fingers crossed.