Back to The Vase

Now that my John Dunn book is completed and awaiting its release in July, I have decided to make the most of my time with one of my other books The Vase. It was an earlier novel I wrote, and the one for which this blog is named. And now I have this opportunity to go back and improve it much like I did with Killer of Killers, and like I did all these past months with the John Dunn manuscript. That is, I was going over it and over it and finding any and all typos, and making improvements in the prose wherever I thought it was needed.

And because of that the manuscript is better than ever. I wasn't quite happy with The Vase when Penumbra Publishing released it some years ago. And now that Penumbra has gone out of business, and all rights to The Vase have been returned to me, I will make it the ultimate piece of literature and then get it published again.

To be frank, Penumbra released The Vase before I believed it was ready. I wasn't quite finished revising it when my editor decided it was good enough and pulled the trigger for publication. Well, it's flattering to think an editor believed it was good enough, but I didn't think it was. And I'm the author. I believed it needed more work. But I wasn't the boss. The editor was the boss, and he published it. It was good, sure, but I'm a perfectionist, as all artists should be.

And what makes a perfectionist? Being PICKY! Yes, PICKY, PICKY, PICKY. Truth be told, if you are not picky about your own work, you are not a perfectionist, and your work will always be less than what it might have been had you been PICKY.

I'll never forget someone called me picky because I wanted an art piece to be rendered better. I wanted this part better, and I wanted that part better. They were little things, but nevertheless, they were things evident in the composition, and I wanted them fixed. Oh, but that took more work, and since the piece was a joint effort, the other person was unwilling to put in that extra work. I insisted, and therefore came the name-calling. Well, PICKY, was the word this person used.

And I will freely admit to being picky when it comes to anything that I want to be PERFECT. And as I tell my students, art is really the only thing in this world that CAN be perfect. So make it happen! Make it perfect!. And right about now, The Vase is nearly there. Sure, it's not quite there yet. But soon enough it will be. And when it's released again, be it by one of my current publishers, Knox Robinson or Melange, or yet another, the manuscript will be perfect.

And what a story it is. A unique and original concept. Ancient scenes recorded in the grooves of a ceramic vase. And being released by accident in the form of solar-powered holograms. And of course all the subplots that go with it. The people who see the images, not knowing they are holograms projected from a spinning ancient vase, think the images are ghosts. And all the other happenings, and all right there in Nazareth, Israel.

Of course, we all know who spent time in Nazareth, Israel, don't we? Yep, the one and only. So The Vase is being revised right now, meaning all the things I wasn't happy with in the first release are being taken care of right now. Can't wait to see this one in print again. It could be the best story of all. At least of all the stories I've written. But, you know what? Maybe the best story of all stories ever written. That's how I feel about it. We'll see how that goes over. At the earliest it would be a 2018 release. Stay tuned.

Galley was good, but there's always something

Like I said, there's always something, and the more you look the more you find. First I found the space in the word presented. Then I found a missing end quote. Today I found an indentation that was further than the normal. Anyone might consider these to be typical typos. But the funny thing is, all three of these "typos" were not in the file I sent from which the PDF file was converted.

I guess things like that happen, which is why the author is supposed to check for it. In the process of checking, I found the name Utshingwayo used twice before he was supposed to be introduced to the story, and before that I found an s was used for the plural of the word  Zulu in a dialogue where the language was isiZulu. I advised Dana of all these in the hopes that she will correct them before the printing begins.

Actually, I haven't advised her yet of the indentation error. I will wait on that until tomorrow, because today I already sent an email about the name Utshingwayo. If that can be changed to the name Qetuka, it will be fine. But I don't want to inundate her with more than one email in a day, so I'll wait until tomorrow for the indentation thing.

And since tomorrow is the last day of April, and the day all files are supposed to be completed, I'm hoping all corrections will be made and I can be confident the John Dunn book is error-free once and for all, and ready for printing.  Fingers crossed for that.

I really will be satisfied if the John Dunn book is as error-free as my Killer of Killers book. And all before it's publication, too. It took a second edition for the Killer of Killers book to be error-free. But I'm okay with that. I'm a perfectionist. As all artists are, or should be. And being so, I take pride in my art being perfect. Whether it's a book, a painting, drawing, or sculpture, or a musical composition, it's perfection for which I strive. Nothing less.

Because in art, perfection can be achieved. And if the artist isn't driven to achieve it, then why the heck would anyone want to check it out? They wouldn't. Without total commitment to his or her art, said art is not worth checking out. Whether it's a drawing, painting, sculpture, book, or song. That's the way it is, and that's the way it should be.

Kanye had a point

I am no Kanye West fan. I haven't heard a single one of his "songs." I can't even name one. I know nothing about him aside from the fact that he's some kind of rapper or something. But when my son played back the speech Kanye gave at last night's award show, I heard part of it. It seemed like a rambling rant of sorts, during which he even admitted to being stoned at the time.

But during that speech there was one point Kanye West made that resounded with me. And that point was that he couldn't understand awards shows because they turned artists into "losers." His point was this: an artist will dedicate his life to the production of an album of music into which he put his heart and soul, only to be labeled a "loser" to whomever it was that won the award for the year's "best" album. It makes these "awards" a negative thing.

I felt the rest of his "speech" was nothing more than a self-serving rant, but that one point, I felt was right on. In singling out one song, or one album, or one video, or for that matter, one movie, or one actor/actress, or whatever, the byproduct of that "award" is to infer all other artists are losers.

I believe as did Marlon Brando and George C. Scott, that awards of this type are bogus. It's all political, which is another subject I find abhorrent. Art is something that can be shared by all. Whether it's music, movies, acting, writing, novels, etc, art is a subjective thing.  And since tastes and opinions vary, you really can't label one a winner and all others the losers. One person's favorite song, movie, book, etc, could very well be another person's most hated song, movie, book, etc.

I say get rid of these award shows. But then, they'll lose out on a money making machine, so it will never happen. Plus it promotes their products, and for those reasons these shows will endure. But Kanye's point is valid, and I agree with it.

What Makes an Artist Great?

When it comes to art, be it writing, drawing, or music, what is it that makes an artist great? Besides training, natural talent, and experience? There's another word that would qualify. And that word is NITPICKY! Being NITPICKY is what separates a great artist from an average one.

Being NITPICKY means an artist won't settle for work that could be BETTER. Being NITPICKY means the artist strives for the absolute BEST work that is humanly possible! Being NITPICKY means an artist wants his or her work to be PERFECT.

If an artist didn't care about his or her work being as best as it could be, then he or she wouldn't be NITPICKY. That kind of an artist will settle for mediocrity. So yes, I'm nitpicky. At least when it comes to my art. Whether it's a drawing, a painting, a novel, or my book's cover designs, I'm NITPICKY. And I'm NITPICKY because I'm a perfectionist. Because I do want every piece of art I am associated with to be as good as it can possibly be.

Does that mean I succeed at being perfect in everything I do? Of course not. But I strive for it. At least in my art. And as a teacher I tell my students that, even though no person can be perfect, as the old saying goes, no one is perfect...it doesn't mean their art can't be perfect. Art is one of the few things in this world that CAN be perfect. But only if the artist is NITPICKY.

Okay. That's the lesson for today. The school year is ready to start. And my focus this year will be great artists are NITPICKY! I never used that word before. But it's a good one.

Books to Movies-How Much is Changed?

I'm all for books being made into movies, especially if the story is one that would benefit from the latest modern technologies for special effects. Some movies didn't need spectacular special effects. Like the James Bond movies. Some movies really couldn't be done without them, like the more recent slew of comic book/superhero movies.

The Lord of the Rings books were also stories that needed modern CGI, and boy, did Peter Jackson deliver some winners, and he's still at it.

But the knock on books to movies was that usually the movies did not do justice to the books. Or the movies made too many changes to the story as told in the books, and those changes were not for the better. Sometimes, the movie was right on, and sometimes the movie was better.

Examples of movies being better than the books include Goldfinger and From Russia With Love. But the other Bond movies? I'd say no.

There are many examples of movies that were nowhere near as good as the books. Some people may argue that the vast majority of movies fit into that category. When the first Conan movie came out, I was really disappointed. That was not Conan on the screen. I still remember when I first saw that movie, I stood up at its conclusion and declared, "That wasn't Conan!"

People who were fans of the Batman character from DC comics knew how I felt. The early Batman shows and movies were not true to the Batman legend, I heard them say. The TV show with Adam West as Batman was a silly and goofy spoof. Even the Tim Burton movies were far from what the "real" Batman was supposed to have been.

As for me, I was never a Batman "fan" but I could understand where they were coming from. Especially when I saw how badly Conan was depicted on film. The later Batman movies, made by Christopher Nolan, I've been told, hit the mark, however. Those were considered acceptable by the Batman fans, even the hardcore Batman fans.

Marvel Comics has a lot of great characters that benefit from the CGI effects of modern movie making. But Stan Lee, the man from Marvel who invented most of those characters, apparently doesn't demand that his characters are depicted on film the way he had written them. Is that a sell out? Many people would say so. It seems the fans are more concerned about the accurate depiction of his characters than he is.

One man I have come to respect is Frank Miller, the comics writer/artist who wrote and illustrated the graphic novels Sin City. I heard that when movie maker Robert Rodriguez approached him to make his books into a movie, Miller automatically assumed Rodriguez would change his stories, and he said no.

Can you believe that? An author saying no to Hollywood? Now that's integrity. It was only when Rodriguez promised that the movie would be 100% true to the book, did Miller consider it, and when Rodriguez offered Miller a co-directing role in the movie to ensure he would be satisfied, Miller finally agreed. And it was a great movie.

I would hope I could have as much integrity. But I don't think so. I have not achieved anything close to what Miller has achieved. He was able to say no. I don't think I could. But right now I can only wish I could be in that position. It would be a dream come true.

Writing Novels is an Art

I'm a perfectionist. That may be annoying to people around me, but if you don't know me, then you won't be annoyed. Instead, you would appreciate the perfectionist that wants his books written perfectly, or as near perfectly as humanly possible. Or anything that has to do with an artistic creation, be it a novel, a painting, a song, or a sculpture. The people who enjoy these things will be very glad that I'm a perfectionist.

And that's because artists should be perfectionists. I talked about it recently on one of my blog posts. Being a perfectionist is what makes art great. If you're not a perfectionist, then why bother making art at all. And don't forget, writing novels is an art.

When I started being an artist, that is drawing with a pencil, I wanted my art to be as good as I could make it. Then when I started painting, I had the same goal, the same objective. And the same thing when I started sculpting. And then the same thing when I started writing songs.

And then I started writing novels. Like the other subjects, it was a learning experience. But the learning happened. Like with everything, the more I did it, the better I got, and now, as The Vase and the second edition of Killer of Killers will attest, the writing is something of which I can be very proud. I read these books over and over, and I can't help but to be pleased every time.

As soon as I get the advance print copy of KOK, 2nd Edition, and okay it, I'll use my next shipment of books for promotions and reviews. That means I'll be hitting all the bookstores in town. And that will be exciting for me. In the meantime, stay tuned, because I will let you know on this blog when the 2nd edition is ready to purchase on line. Until then.

Covers!

So Cogito told me that they are working on a cover for THE VASE. Now that is exciting. I know that covers are very important. A lot of people buy books based on the cover! I know when I was a kid, I did that. Of course, THE VASE is not a kid's book, but still the importance of a cover cannot be understated.

Here is one of the greatest covers of all time:

And here's another:

And another:













Of course, these are all Conan covers, and they are painted by, imo, the greatest artist of the 20th Century, Frank Frazetta. And when I was a kid, boy did those covers ever work! How could a boy NOT want to read about the guy on those covers? Unfortunately, Frank Frazetta passed away recently, which was truly a loss to society.

But from what I know of Cogito and Transit, they mostly go with photography for their book covers, and since Frank's not around anymore, that's just as well. I've seen the Cogito/Transit covers, and I think they're all great. So I'm sure they'll come up with something perfect for THE VASE. Can't wait to see it.