Christmas Dinner 2014 - or what to do with two turkeys, 33 Onions and a pound of Chorizo

My mom and dad live in Tucson and we always flip flop who does Christmas Dinner and who does Thanksgiving Dinner. They had Thanksgiving this year, so Christmas is on me and Yvonne. Sometimes we make a huge turkey. Sometimes we make ham. Sometimes we have a turkey and a ham. My mom's a fan of having a turkey and a goose, but for some reason I'm never fond of the goose. One year we had a standing rib roast. It was awesome, but we discovered that we didn't then have any turkey meat for Christmas sandwiches for which my wife is famous for and one of the reasons I was tricked into marrying her.

This year we're going to have two small turkeys. How'd I come to that decision? Well, after Christmas and Thanksgiving I usually go out and buy hams and turkeys the stores put at ultra-cheap prices, trying to get rid of them before they go bad. We have a full size upright freezer that is packed with food. We decided this summer that we need to start eating some of the food from it instead of our normal store and forget policy. So I noticed that I'd bought a small 12 pound turkey last year after Christmas. Well, 12 pounds is about enough to feed my nephew and too small for six people and the planned leftovers we're looking forward to.

Then it came to me. Let's have two small turkeys!

So we're having two small turkeys. One is going to be traditional, probably with rosemary and lemon flavors. The other is going to be southwestern so I think I'm going to baste it in chipotle butter.

The cool thing about the way I cook turkeys is that it only takes about 90 minutes. You see, I crank the oven up to 500 and they cook very quickly. They still stay moist and their skin is nice and crispy. I think it was in the food network magazine or one of those that detailed exactly how to do it. I've been using it now for 5 years and it has worked perfectly every time. If anyone needs me to, I could probably make a copy of the pages from the magazine that provide this magical advice.

I also cook the dressing(s) at least a day ahead. Not only does it make things easier the morning of, but it gives me time to warm them up while the meat is resting and I am carving. One of my staple dressings is a Southwest Cornbread and Chorizo Dressing with Butternut Squash and Fennel. Not only is it good with turkey, but it makes an amazing breakfast hash. I've been known to make it throughout the year, just so I can have some of the hash. Incidentally, I got the dressing out of a November 2005 Sunset Magazine where it won the Best Dressing Contest. A lady named Victoria Johnson really needs the credit for this. It was her recipe.

The other dressing is going to be more traditional. It's a sausage and rye dressing, made from scratch, of course. I'll make these the day before which will allow for  time for cooking other things and won't make the morning such a rush. We traditionally have dinner at 2 PM and open presents at about 11 AM, so we need the time.

The only other thing I'll make a day ahead is the little amuse bouche I like to make. It's a very small portion of cold coconut and corn soup that awakens the tastebuds and gets them ready to disco through dinner. I like to have this waiting in the middle of everyone's plates to start the meal.

So, enough blathering. One important point before the list, though. You see, I'm very thankful for being able to put out a spread like this. There were many times growing up where we were so poor we only ate pancakes for every meal for weeks at a time. There were many holidays in the military where I had to get a turkey and fixings from the Chaplain, which is something that still goes on in the military. So I appreciate now being able to afford such fare... much of it thanks to my fans.

Christmas Dinner 2014

• Deviled Eggs
• Corn & Coconut Soup
• White Cheddar Cheese Marinated in Honey
• Cranberry Sauce
• 2 Young Turkeys (one traditional and one southwestern)
• Southwest Cornbread and Chorizo Dressing with Butternut Squash and Fennel
• Sausage and Rye Dressing
• Lumpy Mashed Potatoes
• Gravy
• Brussel Sprout Slaw
• Roasted Onions with Lemon
• Kings Hawaiian Dinner Rolls
• Orange Cake
• Vanilla Ice Cream with Pistachios and Thyme

Yvonne makes a great Christmas Sandwich with turkey, cranberry sauce, dressing, and cream cheese on white Italian bread. I'm almost looking forward to that more than the big meal.

And of course there will be drinkage. 

Probably lots and lots of wine.

I hope everyone has a terrific Christmas. 

I'll snap food porn for you all later.

Now it's off to a Christmas Party.

Laters.

Introducing GRUNT TRAITOR

Grunt Traitor is the sequel to my ground-breaking first book from Solaris-- Grunt Life, a PTSD-positive military sci fi novel where PTSD sufferers are specifically recruited to join a special task force because there's something in their brain chemistry that makes it easier for them to fight the aliens who are about to invade planet Earth. Grunt Life has been hugely successful, selling out the first print run within days of release.

Here's what some are saying about Grunt Life.

From Pop Cults - 'Ochse goes beyond the normal chaos of combat and asks of the tough questions that we, as a greater society, are just starting to ask. In this novel, he addresses one of the biggest killers of our veterans these days: suicide.  While the taking of one’s life has been addressed before, Ochse embraces it and integrates it into his story without making it the focus of the book or glorifying it. The book starts out with a suicide attempt, but it isn’t for the reasons that you would expect. Ochse was willing to get past the Hollywood and mainstream media explanations of military suicide and try to address some of the real reasons why veterans would be willing to end their lives. This is a subject that needs to be addressed openly and honestly, and Ochse was brave enough to risk turning some readers off to do it. I think that many of the readers who do get turned off by his frank observations on this subject might feel that way because it hits way too close to home. I don’t want this to sound like a challenge, but for some folks out there, this might be the book that makes them stop and think.' 

From Elitest Book Reviews - 'Weston Ochse is an awesome author. I put his stuff next to Correia and Maberry without hesitation. While I was curious about Ochse’s work before, now I’m excited to read it. All of it. It’s pretty easy to see that Ochse is one of the better authors for action SF out there, and GRUNT LIFE was an absolute blast to read."'

Now to introduce Grunt Traitor

Their spies were among us for years. They mapped our electrical infrastructure, learned our weaknesses, then they flipped the switch, throwing us back into the Dark Ages. Only OMBRA and its battalions around the world seem capable of defending Earth from the next wave of attack—terraforming.

This is a time for heroes. For killers. For Grunts.

But at what price can we gain our freedom from these yet to be identified aliens?

Benjamin Carter Mason will be asked this question over and over as he dives deep into the nasty heart of an alien transformed Los Angeles. And in the end, he might just be the last person on Earth defending what it means to be human… our humanity.

Grunt Traitor will be available in July 2015. It can be preordered from your favorite store at Simon and Schuster. Go there now and help me get the first print run sold out before it's even released.

And if you have the time, read my blog post about the REAL and IMPORTANT issue of PTSD. More people have it than you know and it's not merely limited to the military.

Southern California Signing Tour for SEAL Team 666, Grunt Life, and many more

For the third year in a row I have the privilege of signing books in Southern California. In what has become an annual tradition, I'll be signing books next week at stores and libraries from Ventura to San Diego and points in between. Along the way I'll eat some great food, meet some fans, new and old friends, and booksellers, and be witness to the spectacular Pacific Ocean. This year I'll have my wife with me which will make it even more special. Gosh knows we've taken some personal hits recently and this time away from things will serve to rejuvinate us for the new year.

I'm posting my schedule below. Please come out and join me. You'll find that I'll be more than eager to talk about writing, books, and publishing. I'm linking

these to my Facebook Events Pages, in case you need more information.

 

Sunday Dec 7

4 - 7 PM

Barnes and Nobles, 4820 Telephone Rd, Ventura, California 93003 

Link to Event

Mon Dec 8 

4 - 6 PM

Gatsby Books, 5535 E Spring St, Long Beach, California 90808

Link to Event

Tue Dec 9

7 - 9 PM

Dark Delicacies, 3512 W Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, California 91505
Link to Event

Wed Dec 10

4 - 5 PM

San Gabriel Library, 500 S Del Mar Ave, San Gabriel, California 91776

Link to Event

Sat Dec 13

Mysterious Galaxy at their NEW LOCATION 

5943 Balboa Ave, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92117

Link to Event

 I hope to see everyone. Come see me in person. I don't get out much and this might be your only chance.

SEAL Team 666 and Grunt Life Make the Newspaper

I was interviewed on Veteran's Day by the local paper about the release of Reign of Evil -- the third installment of the SEAL Team 666 series from Thomas Dunne Books. The photographer showed up and took some snappies. Then the reporter arrived-- a young man fresh out of Penn State. We spent roughly an hour talking about this and that in our front room surrounded by books.

Today the article came out. A two page spread in the special Thursday Temp edition of the Sierra Vista Herald. The last time I was in the paper it was as part of an article about my wife and stud author Yvonne Navarro where the reporter called me the 'smiling Rotarian.' I come out much better in this article. HAHA.

There are a few factual errors. I was asked about my bracelet seen in the picture and said it was sent to me from a fan (Sean Neeld). I never mentioned it was given to me at a signing. There's also a that-who grammer error that I might have made verbally, but should have been changed textually. And then the Coen brothers are mentioned-- Fargo and Oh Brother Where Art Thou fame. Imagine what a movie from them would look like -- Oh SEAL Team 666 Where Art Thou.

But other than that, it looks like a great article.

The reporter also laments the fact that the script for SEAL Team 666 (Thomas Dunne Books) is being written by another team - the Hayes Brothers. It's actually very common to have multiple versions of the script with many different writers. It's actually a good thing.

We also spent a lot of time talking about the PTSD-positive novel Grunt Life (Solaris) and about the awesome reception its had within the PTSD community. Thankfully, the reporter was able to capture some of that conversation. Although it's a military science fiction mass market paperback, I think it has some important things to say about PTSD and the men and women who have it.

 All in all it is a terrific article.

Here's a link to the article. Thank you Sierra Vista Herald.

http://www.svherald.com/content/robert-charette/2014/11/12/391916

Ask the Great Guru Weston Anything - Oct 2014

It's so hard to know so much. Such a weighty responsibility. So from time to time I take time to give of myself to the FOWs of the world (Friends of Weston). This is a service I gladly do. And it's something that allows FOWs to be some of the smartest folks on the planet. Last night I offered my services on Facebook and I will now answer the following sixty-nine questions.

So here we go.

Bryan Thomas Schmidt What is the most true to life situation you've ever used in one of your novels?
Answer: The feeling of fear of a soldier about to go into combat.

Logan L. Masterson What is the airspeed of an unladen African Swallow?
Answer: It's difficult to measure the airspeed of an African Swallow because it's really a non-migratory species. The European Swallow, however,  is more easily measured. A 54-year survey of 26,285 European Swallows captured and released by the Avian Demography Unit of the University of Capetown finds that the average adult European swallow has a wing length of 12.2 cm and a body mass of 20.3 grams. Because wing beat frequency and wing amplitude both scale with body mass,5 and flight kinematic data is available for at least 22 other bird species,6 it should be possible to estimate the frequency (f ) and amplitude (A) of the European Swallow by a comparison with similar species. With those two numbers, it will be possible to estimate airspeed (U).

Hank Garner Who is your favorite comic book character and why?
Answer: The original Captain Marvel- Mar-Vell. He was sent to watch Earth and ultimately defected to us. Even at a young age I realized how cool and right that was.

Frank Raymond Michaels Are your characters ever based on real people in your life?
Answer: Yes.

Rosefyre Flannery Have you ever visited Wickenburg, Arizona and why? Did you eat there and enjoy your visit?
Answer: Yes. To spend time with my son. We had steak at one of the places and it was pretty good.

Darren Mckeeman What does human flesh taste like?
Answer: A little more firmer than cat meat and less tangy than gerbil.

Jeanna Tendean What do you do to make yourself feel better when you're sad?
Answer: Say to myself the worst day in America is better than the best day in Afghanistan.

Ladonna Perkins What is one thing you regret doing in your life?
Answer: I don't have any regrets. The path I chose is what made me who I am today.

Geno Mortensen How did you meet Yvonne Navarro?
Answer: We met at the World Horror Convention in Denver in 2000.

Mark McLaughlin Who DID leave that cake out in the rain?
Answer: Christopher Golden.

S.D. Hintz What inspired you to write your current series?
Answer: The chance to merge military and the supernatural together was too cool to pass up.

Justin Schmid Can you eat just one Lays potato chip?
Answer: Duh... no!

David Wilson I had a dream where you were writing a novel for our O.C.L.T. series, and I wondered if there was any truth to it...
Answer: I dreamed I was getting a five figure advance for writing it.

Ashley Clayton Have you ever done any research on UFOs and the military's refusal to acknowledge their existence (ie Roswell and Wright Patt AFB?)
Answer: I began reading about Project Blue Book when I was ten and am still fascinated by it.

Jordan Baker How will you possibly answer all of these questions without selling your soul for eternal life in order to continue answering these questions?
Answer: The weight of my responsibility is immense.

Sunni Brock What's that on your shirt?
Answer: Dog smutz.

Stephen Kozeniewski My car won't start about 1 time in 24. Do you think it's an issue with the solenoid or the flywheel?
Answer: Neither, it's the orbiting aliens targeting you with their on-off clicker.

Sean Lewis What happened to the rednecks?
Answer: Theyre still there. The good thing is that even when they get a divorce they can still be cousins.

John D. Harvey What is your favorite handgun make and model? Would appreciate reasons for your choice if you have time/bandwidth.
Answer: Sig Saur P226. I put about 5,000 rounds through one and it stood up very well. Love the trigger pull and the weight of the barrel.

Martel Sardina Best concert you've ever been to?
Answer: Styx - Mister Roboto

Rob Meyer What is the scariest thing that has bitten you?
Answer: Brown Recluse Spider, three times on my knee cap. The skin in a four inch area necrotized and then sloughed off.

Danny Evarts What colour is angel piss?'
Answer: Chartreuse.

Mark Dunham They are making a movie about your life. Who do you want to play you in the movie?
Answer: They better hurry up or I'll have to play a grandfather.

Kristin Morris In a battle of the heavens, which pantheon/god would come out on top?
Answer: Melnibonean

Sean Ellis What does the Fox say?
Answer: REE REE REE REE REE REE REE REEE!

Rob Meyer Weston, you have just discovered your life is a work of fiction. Who wrote it? What genre is it? And who do you most want to have it as their favorite book? (I know, multiple questions, but I hope the question is interesting enough to make it worthwhile).
Answer: Quintin Tarantino. Gangster Bildungsroman. John Skipp.

Joe Miles Your life story is slated for production in '15. Who is going to play you and Yvonne?
Answer: Micheal Bein and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Rochelle Smith Who wins... Godzilla or the Kaijus, colossal monsters which have emerged from an interdimensional portal on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
Answer: Godzilla!

Scott Glener How did you get interested in cooking & gourmet food?
Answer: If I'm going to injest calories, I want to have only the best. Plus, before I met Yvonne all I could cook was nuggets and hot dogs. I had to learn to cook so I'd have value added.

Larry Meier Weston , have you any aspirations to write the screenplays for any film adaptations of your work?. Also, have you ever thought of making a great Dane a major character in your work, ala Dean Koontz?
Answer: I've already written screenplays adapting my work. Wesley Snipes almost did the movie based on my novel Blaze of Glory. Both Ghost and Goblin appeared as mutants in The Golden Thread.

Rob Meyer Duane Johnson comes to you asking you to coach him for Seal Team 666. He insists you take him someplace risky. Where do you take him?
Answer: Most dangerous place I have ever been Papua new Guinea.

Rob Meyer You wake up in the body of a living celebrity. Who is it?
Answer: Tarantino.

Rose Blackthorn Since you're a bit of a gourmand, I wonder... what's the worst thing you've eaten?
Answer: Hominy. I can't even get it past my teeth.

Rob Meyer If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
Answer: As hokey as it stands, world fucking peace.

Jay Chase Has the world ever gone matrix on you??? Where time slowed down, or you sped up and everything was preternaturally clear... Or even better have you ever seen the cat pass by twice, making you question 'all of it'???
Answer: I often think I'm a playtoy of the fickle Gods of Fate.

Jay Chase Or more apropos to reality... Have you ever had to suck down gas twice in one day????
Answer: No.

Rob Meyer Has the world ever gone matrix on you??? Where time slowed down, or you sped up and everything was preternaturally clear... Or even better have you ever seen the cat pass by twice, making you question 'all of it'??? (Damn it! Reboot guys, before he reads it!)
Answer: Yikes!

Bill Kuehl What is the life of meaning?
Answer: The answer of knowing.

Collie James What, and who inspired you to start writing? And what was your scariest battle? Oh, and do you ever get depressed about your writing and feel it's not good? Not saying it isn't, just wondering .
Answer: Reading so many bad published books and telling myself I could do better. An altercation with tribesmen in Papua New Guinea. Yes.

Bill Kuehl What novel or short story do you wish you had written?
Answer: Dune.

Catherine Bader Do you know who I really am???
Answer: No.

Carl Hose When are we getting a cookbook complete with photography that makes us drool?
Answer: Working on it.

Djuana Berlin How much wood would a wood chuck, chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?
Answer: Half a rick an hour.

David Gerrold Who sawed Courtney's boat?
Answer: Dean Grennell, but he cheated.

Kimberly K Stewart-Holmes What did u do when u was in the military? Are u still in the military?
Answer: Intelligence. Sort of.

Wendy Protagonist What did I miss?
Answer: 3/4s of the fun.

Chris Ansted When are you going write a book with Jeremy Robinson?
Answer: Who's that? HAHAHA.

Mikel Dornhecker Jr Have you killed a Zombie with a Train yet?
Answer: It's on my bucket list, right after ride a bull named Fu Manchu.

Bob Ford Well, brother, I'll ask my standard question... of your entire life... what's the strangest thing you've ever witnessed?
Answer: Two warring tribes on either side of the fairway of a Papua New Guinea Golf Course stop killing each other long enough for me and the rest of my foursome to play through. True story.

Denise Dumars So, is it REALLY possible to get red wine out of a white tablecloth?
Answer: Yes, baking soda and bleach.

Matthew Harper What rhymes with orange?
Answer: Orange. 

Scott Virtes Where is Attila the Hun buried?
Answer: Grant's Tomb.

Nancy Holder Cavemen or astronauts?
Answer: Cavemen, always.

Maryelizabeth Hart Pluto -- still a planet?
Answer: Hell's yeah!

Morgan Griffith If you could ride Jules Verne's machine back through time, what year and place would you visit?
Answer: Probably sometime in the Dark Ages.

Jamey Philipp If you could ride Jules Verne's back through a machine, what machine would that be?
Answer: A Volkswagon.
.
Rick Hipson A food fight rages on in your fridge while you sleep. By warning there can be only one victor. Which food will prevail?
Answer: In my fridge, the Siracha mayo would win.

David Mariotte Are you Jimmy Ray?
Answer: No, but you should ask Jimmy Ray if he is me.

David Mariotte What is the best bear?
Answer: Any bear not chasing me.

And that my FOWs is a wrap. I'm sure by now your brain has swelled with all your new-found knowledge. Use it wisely.

Now go forth and take over the world!

A Letter to My Dead Dog

Dear Ghost, 

Thank you for giving us your heart and your happiness. I remember when we got you from the rescue  

in Phoenix. It was like matchmaking. We took Goblin up to make sure he'd get along as if it was a blind date. When you began to nibble at his toes we knew everything was going to be okay, especially when Goblin gave us that look which meant can we keep her? You came home with us and became part of our lives. Every day you were happy to see us. Every day you were thrilled to be a part of our lives. Even as you were dying I knew that you were happy we were there. I could see it in your eyes even as you faded away.

I am so happy you were a part of our lives.

But there are some things I am sorry for.

I'm sorry that you were set on fire when you were six months old. If I could find the man who did it, I'd let him know what it felt like. Sometimes when you slept and dreamed and were howling, I knew you were reliving that moment. I'm so sorry that ever happened to you.

I'm sorry you were born deaf because an asshole breeder was trying to breed a merle even though he or she knew there was an 80% failure rate and didn't care. Because of this you were never able to hear the love we heaped on you. You were never able to listen to your mom as she spoke the most loving words to you.

I'm sorry you were turned over to a rescue. Okay, I'm only half sorry for that. Because had you not

gone to a rescue, we never would have found you.

I'm sorry that I wasn't always patient. You were a spastic little beast. You shook your ears too loud and you never learned to lick. You'd just hover your face in front of ours knowing you should do something, but not knowing what to do. Now I wish I could hear your too-loud-ear-flaps again and that you'd do that face-hovering thing.

I'm sorry that I yelled at you in frustration. It was stupid of me. After all, who yells at a deaf dog?

I'm sorry for so many things, but most of all, I'm sorry that you are dead.

We will meet again someday. Until then, run free in the fields of heaven, chasing forever rabbits, howling at the moon, and listening to the great big universe with ears that can finally hear. And every once in a while, pause, listen, and you can hear us talking about you. You might even hear us calling you. If that should happen, come to us, and let us love you for a time before you return to the fields of forever rabbits.

I love you, Ghost.

Until we meet again.

BOOKLIST REVIEW of REIGN OF EVIL

Reign of Evil.
Ochse, Weston (Author)
Oct 2014. 336 p. St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne, hardcover, $26.99. (9781250056009). St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne, e-book, (9781466859586).

"The latest in the SEAL Team 666 series, which craftily blends horror with elite military action, opens with an absolute shocker. A reenactment at Stonehenge turns into murder when the “fake” sacrifice becomes all too real. For one of the team, the death is personal, and he is willing to sacrifice the mission and his life for revenge. Will his loyalty keep him from going rogue? Will his colleagues be able to trust him to do the right thing? Throw in creepy beasts and King Arthur, and the end result is another winner from Ochse. The military action is first rate, and the horror is tight and scary. Readers who enjoy Brad Taylor's and Brad Thor's military thrillers, but who don’t mind stories that add to the military mix some over-the-top terror in the manner of Jonathan Maberry, will find this the perfect diversion. The ending screams for a sequel, which would be most welcome. - Jeff Ayers"

WESTON'S 2014 BOOK CONTEST

2014 has been a big year in publishing for me with four novels being published. For the next 21 days I'm going to hold a contest. To participate in the contest you must take a picture of at least three of the books published this year in your possession. These books are Reign of Evil, Grunt Life, Ghost Heart, and Halfway House. Two of the books MUST BE Reign of Evil and Halfway House.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Take a picture with the appropriate books. Post the picture to Facebook and tag me. Also go to my website (www.westonochse.com) and under the contacts tab, send me an email telling me you've done this with the SUBJECT LINE as BOOK CONTEST (in case I miss the FB photo). Include your name in the email so I know to go to your page. I know some of you have these books as electronic only. I encourage you to use your phone to take pictures of the covers on your electronic medium, then feel free to photoshop them.

And No Cheating! Cheaters will be hunted down and eaten by a starving cheetah the publicly humilated using the best of what social media has to offer!

 JUDGING: There will be FIVE prizes. Points WILL be given for originality.

GRAND PRIZE: Signed original manuscript for SEAL Team 666. Yes. This is the final galley proof that I edited prior to it going to publishing. And I will kill you (see below)

FOUR OTHER PRIZES: Each of you will win a free signed book from me and I will kill you in the upcoming Solaris Book Grunt Traitor. We can discuss which book of mine you don't have and want and I can see if I have a copy to spare. Regarding your joyful murder at the hands of an alien, we can also discuss how you want to die.

DEADLINE: November 4, 2014.

Less than 24 Hours Until SEAL Team 666 Reign of Evil Goes Live

SEAL Team 666 Reign of Evil hits the streets in two days. Ordering a copy now will help make sales go through the roof. A book is largely judged by how well it does with the first days of being for sale. So I need your help. If you're planning on buying one, want to buy another as a gift, want to buy one to give away, or just want to buy one to throw at the next guy who solicits at your door, please do it within the next 72 hours. 

I'm including a link that has a bunch of buying options. And if you have a favorite store like The Poisoned Pen Bookstore or Barnes And Noble's/Starbucks (in Fayetteville) or Barnes and Nobles (Ventura) or Barnes & Noble Booksellers (Phoenix) or Mysterious Galaxy, give them a call or go to their website and order from them. 

Also don't forget on opening day to also go down to your favorite bookstore and buy a copy from them. This is when I need you to help me so I can keep bringing you great fiction.

Soda Pop Soldier Review - Prepare to Level Up

Nick Cole's new Soda Pop Soldier is as different from The Wasteland Saga as Skyrim is to Donkey Kong. Not that The Wasteland Saga is as emotionally bankrupt as Donkey Kong. It's not. And it's awesome. It's just so different it seems as if someone else wrote it. In a way, it was. It's clear that John Saxon wrote this book while Nick Cole wrote the other one--John Saxon being both an actor who starred in Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon as well as being the nom de guerre of the main character of Soda Pop Soldier.  And Nick Cole can level up with 10,000 cool points for channeling the great unsung pop-culture icon of the 1970s.

The great great grandchild of Neuromancer (Gibson), Soda Pop Soldier shares its inventiveness, themes of moral bankruptcy and greed, and isolationism with it's siblings Reamde (Stephenson) and Ready Player One (Cline). But it achieves more. I'm not sure if John Saxon used these as stepping stones, or came up with the premise whole cloth in the vacuum of his shag-carpeted, spinning disco ball, scotch soaked mind, but whatever +5 Potion of Inventiveness he sucked down, it worked.

But that's all creation myth. 

Soda Pop Soldier has not one but two online universes John Saxon interacts with. The first is the corporate war gaming universe of a pseudo-Vietnam where megacorporation victories are rewarded with mega-advertising. The second is The Black, which is a truly vile hole in the internet where within the constructs of a game, players can do some truly terrible things that have consequences in the real world, all the while viewers pay to watch. What's most interesting is that behind all that vileness is a Tolkeinesque quest MMORPG that shines with its brilliant reincarnations of all the questings we have come to know and love as fans of high action high fantasy, roleplaying, and online gaming.

All this set on a timer that if it goes off could mean the end to our fabled hero and true author of the book, the venerable John Saxon.

On a personal note, as a fellow writer, I can tell Nick Cole is a foodie. The way he describes food in this book is nothing short of old-school Ventura-based porn. I can almost see him leering as he wrote about garlicky fries and mile-high club sandwiches. And of course there's the scotch. Never forget the scotch. Our hero drinks enough of it to fuel a pair of funny cars at San Bernardino Motor Speedway.

As an author and a soldier--fellow soldier it appears--the fighting and combat sequences rang true. Having written knock-down-dragged-out fight scenes for my SEAL Team 666 series as well as my Grunt series, I know how mentally challenging these are to get right, to keep track of all the personnel and havoc we're choreographing. 

And I loved the nod to Corporal Hicks. I wanted to scream Punch it Bishop! every time there was an Aliens reference.

So here we are.

When I read Reamde I thought that was the best thing I'd read using online gaming as a theme. 

When I read Ready Player One I thought that was the best thing I'd read using online gaming as a theme.

And they were... at the time I read them.

Now that I've read Soda Pop Soldier, I know that this is the best thing I've read using online gaming as a theme.

And it will remain so right up until the point that it isn't. When something else comes along. But that eventual usurpation will have no effect on the lasting quality and immoral goodness John Saxon nee Nick Cole created with this masterpiece the megacorporation HarperCollins calls Soda Pop Soldier.

An Update On My Upcoming Projects.

I could probably say that I'm Busier Than...

•     a five dollar hooker
•     a Jehova's Witness at doors unlimited
•     handicapped parking at the special olympics
•     O.J. Simpson in a white meat slaughterhouse
•     Michael Jackson in a day care center  

Ahh. The way we do love to turn phrases.

So what's on my radar?

GRUNT TRAITOR - This is the second book in my alien invasion series following the exploits of

PTSD-suffering heroes trying to save the world.  About 100k words. Due January 1st.

SNAFU II Novella - I will return to the time of Cold War Gothic and bring back Special Unit 77 in a tale of ultimate survival against the Bohemian Grove. About 15k words. Due January 31st.

V-Wars Volume 4 - I already have my story planned out for this. It will come in at about 8000 words. It's due sometime in the spring of 2015. This will mark my third V-Wars story.

LIMBUS Novella - I've been contracted to write in the world of Limbus. Much like V-Wars, this is a book of integrated stories telling a larger tale. In this case, that there's a secret society really controlling everything. This should be a lot of fun. About 25k words. Due March 31st.

Urban Allies Collaboration - I'm working with David Wellington to create a collaborative tale staring Jack Walker from SEAL Team 666 and Laura Caxton from his eponymous series. About 7500 words. Due May 31st.

Then there's the very strong possibility of a fourth SEAL Team 666 book, when if contracted, I'll need to begin January 1st with a deadline of April 22nd. About 100k words.

Add to that two novels in progress, 4 short stories I need to complete for my next collection, and one super-secret project.

There will be some new fiction coming out as well.

The Shade of My Chinaman will appear in the upcoming anniversary edition of Carpe Noctem. See their Kickstarter here for goodies. It's a story in which the shades of murdered people suddenly appear to their murderers and will not go away. This worldwide phenomenon has virtually crippled the world and will be the downfall of an already troubled married couple.

On Tranquility Tides I Rise is a novella which will appear in the Dark Regions Press anthology Behind Enemy Lines. This is the story of a young sergeant in the Iraq War, his relationship to his dead brother, and the effect of the moon on our souls.

The Devil Until the Credits Roll will appear in the Clive Barker anthology Midian Unmade to be published by Tor. I've created a new Midian monster for this one. But just know, there are times when humans can be so much more the monster.I wrote this in Afghanistan. 

American Golem will appear in OPERATION ARCANA edited by John Joseph Adams. The story involves a familiy's desire to have revenge on the IED-maker who killed their son in Afghanistan.

The Art of Courage will appear in The Dark Phantastique anthology from Cycatrix Press. It revolves around bull fighting in Spain and the idea of Schadenfreude, and stars Ernest Hemingway. 

Reliving Through Better Chemistry will appear in the anthology Library of the Dead. It's the story of some teenagers who discover how to relive moments of someone's life by combining ADHD

medicine with the ashes of the dead. It's rollicking good fun right up until they decide to relive the life of a child abuser.

A reprint of Tarzan Doesn't Live Here Anymore will appear in SNAFU: Heroes due out the same day as Reign of Evil below.This story originally appeared in my collection Multiplex Fandango which was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award in Best Collection.

Let's not forget that SEAL Team 666: Reign of Evil is due out in two weeks. In this edition, the SEALs must come to the aid of one of their own, who while mourning the loss of a loved one, becomes embroiled in the worst supernatural calamity to ever befall England.

And of course the novel Halfway House which is due out now. Featuring a L.A. gangs, a quest for an Elvis Presley Double Platinum album, Hollywood Porn Directors, a WWII curse, and a haunted house.

I think that's all that's coming. I can't be sure. I have so much shit going on. Still, these are some stories to look forward to.

Yep. I'm surely going to be busy. 

I'll be as busy as

•    Richard Simmons on a fat farm
•     a gopher on a golf course
•     a bar of soap at San Quentin
•     Ted Kennedy in an all-girls school
•     and those poor 72 virgins.

Well, now. 

Hold the phone.

Not as busy as all that, I suppose.

Having A Grunt Life

Grunt Life came out and immediately went into a second printing. So happy that people Grok my style of Military SF. Now, nine days into the sequel, Grunt Traitor, I'm doing things to planet earth no one should ever be allowed to. It's galactically evil, but the logical outcome if we will are ever unfortunate to be invaded and terraformed.

A new review surfaced of Grunt Life from Hugo Award-nominated Elitist Book Reviews. I'll share
the first paragraph and the last paragraph, but for the rest you need to go to the site.

First: "I’ve been on the look-out for novels similar to those of Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter series and Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger novels. I love the mix of Military Thriller with SF/Fantasy/Whatever. It didn’t have to be magic, but I needed something that was contemporary, actiony, and with speculative elements in it."

Last: "Weston Ochse is an awesome author. I put his stuff next to Correia and Maberry without hesitation. While I was curious about Ochse’s work before, now I’m excited to read it. All of it. It’s pretty easy to see that Ochse is one of the better authors for action SF out there, and GRUNT LIFE was an absolute blast to read."

Do you have your copy yet? I ask you then why not?

I'll Be Glad to Toss Your Book in the Trash

So sayeth a brand new fan I've received. Along with all the emails I received from my website contact link today was a gem of an email about my novel Blood Ocean, which was part of the Afterblight Chronicles published by Abaddon Books (UK).

Here's the email:

"After reading your contribution to the Afterblight Chronicles, I can say that I will never read another one of your books again. I have issues with it since I started it. But being someone who doesn't give up on a series and who enjoys SciFi, I am going through them. If this is any indication of your work, well lets just say, your no where as good a (sic) your complementaries. So, unless you have a another book in the Series, I will be glad to toss this junk in the trash where it belongs." - name withheld by me

Here was my reply:

"Thank you! Can I ask what your issue was?"

I'm waiting on a response.

His response will sort of indicate what sort of person he is. You see, this is my most brutal book. I mean, hell, it's post apocalyptic. It's supposed to be brutal, right? But it also has transgender characters, cannibalism, anti-Caucasian sentiment, and I heap a ton of fictional baggage on the Japanese.

Is he Japanese?

Did he take umbrage at me making white people evil?

Is he a vegan?

Maybe he doesn't like LGBTs.

This book is still available. It was published in 2012. This is not an advertisement, but here's what the book is about if you've never heard of it.

Waterworld meets Point Break as Kavika, an under-sized boy living in the floating Sargasso City - jigsawed together with ships, submarines, barges and oil tankers off the coast of what was once known as California, must strive to overcome his lowly status and the condemnation of his peers in order to save his city from an enemy living within.

Survivors of the Cull, a Plague that wiped out people without the blood type O-neg, struggle in the floating Sargasso City jigsawed together with ships, submarines, barges and oil tankers off the coast of what was once known as California.

Separated by demarcations of turf, ethnicity and fear, it’s not so much living as existing. High above it all swing the Pali Boys: descendants of Hawaiian warriors, they desire to lift themselves and the spirits of the residents below by performing an increasingly impossible series of extreme stunts, designed to test their manhood, and demonstrate the vibrancy humanity once had.

But as a conspiracy of murder unfolds and blood attacks increase, Kavika a single under-sized Pali Boy must strive to overcome his lowly status and the condemnation of his peers in order to save them all from an enemy living within.

The book received mixed reviews when it came out. Some consider it the favorite of my 20+ published books. Others don't like it for the brutality. And some think I spent too much time in scene setting. But everyone had at least something good to say about it. 

Update: I've waited 24 hours for a reply, but didn't receive on. But I did put my detective skills to work, you know, those I got from watching television. His name is in his email, which I can see. I Facebooked his name and there is one person out there with a mutual friend of that same name. If that's the same person, then he's white, southern, and middle aged. So being Japanese is out. Maybe he's a white vegan?

So there you have it. You can't please everyone, but at least this fine upstanding gentleman gave me a laugh.

My Email Exploded This Morning

I guess Amazon is getting more aggressive. Either that or I have more fans. I have a book coming out in October. No surprise to me or to anyone following me on facebook. But now it seems that everyone who's ever bought a book from me now knows because Amazon bulk emailed them. Funny thing is, though, that some folks thought that the email was from me, went to my website, and sent me emails. Some of them are down-right hilarious.

This was in the email everyone got.

A sampling of these emails include:

• Stop sending me spam! I don't like your books.
• So happy to see you doing so well.
• Loving SEAL Team 666.
• When is the movie coming out.
• How'd you get my email address?
• Can you introduce me to the Rock?
• Cousin XXX got this from Amazon, where he obviously bought your books, and forwarded it to almost everyone on his family mailing list.
• I didn't know you wrote books.
• Cool logo on the cover. Are you selling it?
• How do you pronounce your name?
• I hate your guts!!!
• Do you know Jonathan Maberry? Can you get him to blurb a book for me too?
• Is this self-published?
• Where do you get your ideas?
• Why did you name the dog after a vacuum cleaner?
• Please unsubscribe me from this list.

 I could go on, but you get the idea.

Of course I'm probably preaching to the choir. If you're reading this and you've ever bought one of my books from Amazon then chances are you received the Amazon bulk emailer too. Know this:

• I didn't send this email.
• I don't know when the movie is coming out.
• I can't introduce you to the Rock.
• I'm not selling the logo. MGM currently has the rights to it.
• I didn't get your email address. 
• Yes I write books.
• Thank you for hating my guts.
• I get my ideas from a  woman in Iowa who sells them on eBay.
• The dog is named after a president.
• Jonathan Maberry is probably too busy to blurb your book.
• My name is pronounced like Oaks.
• The book is not self-published.
• And thank you for loving SEAL Team 666

I hope this helps everyone.

Have a terrific day.

Ghost Heart Review Roundup

Remember when you were younger and you read Something Wicked This Way Comes or The Thief of Always or The Traveling Vampire Show and you felt a certain magic in the words, a certain tug at your soul, a warm summer wind through your nostalgia? This is what Yvonne Navarro and I have tried to create. We want a story of troubled youth to be pan-generational. We want a book adults and teens can read with equal pleasure. Most of all, we wanted to write a book that could be read aloud, the reader lending substance and

gravitas to the work.

So far it looks like we've succeeded.

Here are what some are saying about Ghost Heart.

Horrornews.net - "Comparison to Something Wicked This Way Comes immediately comes to mind, as Yvonne and Weston bring in that same comforting yet engaging style of prose that his the eyes and ears like the rumbling voice of Grampa in his rocking chair on a slow twilight eve. They had me full-on from the first paragraph and I dug every second of it. It’s hard to come across people who can mimic the feel of the oral tradition, but these two do it admirably."  Read more here. 

Reading Bites - "What to say about Ghost Heart? It’s so hard to review a book that’s genuinely more of an experience than a read. It’s the story of Matt, a boy facing the break up of his parents and watching his friend’s ghostly guardian spirit fade as she grows up, as he tries desperately to stop time and make it all somehow not happen." Read more here.

Frank Errington - "Husband and wife writing team, Weston Ochse and Yvonne Navarro, have produced something very special with Ghost Heart.  At the center of the story is a very cool kid, a couple of ghost/imaginary friends and his German Shepherd, Kubla Khan." Read more here. 

Don D'Amassa - "A collaboration between two authors of whom I don't see enough. It's also a very unusual novel that is as much fantasy as horror...The story is episodic but the individual encounters are wrapped around the central plot quite nicely. For some reason this reminded me of the early Dark Tower books by Stephen King, although with a darker coloration. It's more a coming of age story with weird overtones than a suspenseful horror novel despite some quite creepy things that happen along the way." Read more here.

Also with cover art from the vastly talented Vincent Chong.

Do you have your copy? Want it in a special edition? Here's the info.

Deluxe Hardcover pricing: $80 USD 

Trade Paperback pricing: $14.95 

USD Ebook pricing: $3.99 USD - 

See more at: http://www.darkregions.com/books/ghost-heart-by-weston-ochse-and-yvonne-navarro#sthash.geYtW816.dpuf

Burgers with Chefitude - Sonoita

I love burgers.

Who doesn't, right?

But I also like a whole lot of other things. I've had two burgers this year. One was homemade from  

lamb...awesome. The other was at the Haunted Hamburger in Jerome and was absolutely unremarkable. So when I saw a review of a burger place in Sonoita (a place I love) by GallivantingGirl called All Hail the Perfect Burger, I was intrigued. Then when I saw that I could make the burger a bison burger, I was excited. Then when I saw that you could order a burger and not know what's going to be on it, I was pretty dead on freaking excited. I had to do it.

Then came the call from the pops. He and mom and my kid brother were going to come down and spend a few days with us. All I did was connect the dots, so yesterday, we drove to Sonoita and arrived at the ubiquitously named "The Cafe." Here's their website. Their motto is Fresh Attitude, Fresh Food, Experience Chefitude. 

About the place. They have wine. They have beer. It's in Sonoita. They have burgers and other things to eat. They have wine. Oh, I said that already. Wine prices were very affordable, especially with the local wines.

Wife's chicken curry soup and Black and Blue Burger

So what did we order? My lovely wife had the black and blue burger because of her love affair with blue cheese. Instead of fries, she substituted for the curry chicken soup. My mom had the black and blue burger as well but she caved in on the fries, although she barely touched them. I might have rescued a few from the dispenser with help from my brother, who had a green chili cheese burger.

My dad and I were the brave ones. We both ordered APE Burgers. We told them we didn't have any allergies. My dad said not too spicy. I said no peanut butter and jelly. Then the waitress left and I noticed a worried look on my dad's face.

"What is it?"

Close-up of wife's Black and Bleu Burger

Me telling them not to use PB&J made him worried that he should have said the same. "If they serve the burger with peanut butter and jelly I'm sending it back."

I smiled and said, "As you should," all the while secretly hoping they would.

Then the burgers came. All were cooked perfectly.

My father was served a Cordon Bleu Burger. Atop the half pound of 80/20 ground beef he had a piece of ham and chicken wrapped in cheese. With the addition of a garlic aoili it was magnificent.

Then I was served a PB&J Burger.  No. Just kidding. I was actually served a burger with bacon, brie and green apple atop a medium rare bison burger. With the addition of siracha mayo and ketchup, this was the best burger I can remember eating. I'm not saying it's the best burger ever, but it's on that list for sure. Somewhere definitely in the top five.

Highly recommend you all go out there. You will not be disappointed. Burgers are a little spendy, but then you're paying for truly terrific ingredients and...chefitude!

Dad's Cordon Bleu Burger

Brie, Bacon and Apple on Buffalo

Close up of -- Brie, Bacon and Apple on Buffalo

Even Closer - Lol

Layered perfectly, cooked perfectly

Close-up of curry chicken soup

My mom's burger. So good.