42 Days of 666: Day 34 with Joe McKinney

For the next 42 days we're going to be counting down to the release of SEAL Team 666. Why 42? Because it's the answer to the universal question.

Today we have Joe McKinney.I've known Joe since he rolled  rolled me up for soliciting back in the '90s. I was in a suit, he was in a dress, it was love at first sight until I discovered he was undercover. Who knew he'd look so good in polka dots.

 Just kidding. I count Joe one of my good friends in the industry. There's probably nothing I wouldn't do for him. We first met, when was it, 2004? 2006? Does time fly that quickly? Anyway, Joe's responsible for the Deadworld Series-- smart, procedural, character-driving zombie novels. He also wrote one hell of a ghost story in Inheritance, which I called 'an artful haunting with the gloomy quality of a Terrance Malick crime drama.' For those who don't get the Malick reference, I'm specifically referring to Badlands, the loosely based on the real life murder spree of Charles Starkweather. His book holds the same erstwhile gloom that frames the movie.

 

1. What’s your favorite military movie, book or television show?

Narrowing down to one is almost impossible, especially when you open the field to books, movies and TV.  On the small screen I loved Pacific and the Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War.  I even have a soft spot for Hogan’s Heroes, which I used to watch everyday after school.  My favorite books would probably be Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried and Shelby Foote’s three volume masterpiece, The Civil War.  But since I have to pick a favorite I’m going to have to go with Alfred Hitchcock’s under-appreciated 1944 classic, Lifeboat.

2. Why is it your favorite? Here’s where you can ramble a bit.

Well, I could have named half a dozen war movies that are better than Lifeboat.  Saving Private Ryan, for instance.  Or The Great Escape.  Or Patton.  Or Full Metal Jacket.  Even some of the second tier war movies are better, like Breaker Morant and Victory and The Big Red One.  But none of them excited me the way Lifeboat did.  It was the first of Hitchcock’s closed space films, a style that he went on to perfect in Rope and Rear Window, and I think the sense of claustrophobia that limited setting created is a big part of the picture’s appeal for me.  It creates a natural pressure cooker for the characters as they slip into desperation and mutual distrust.  Lifeboat also benefits from a script by John Steinbeck (a good part of it, at any rate).  The characterization is strong, creating complex portraits of Germans that aren’t really all that bad and Allies that aren’t really all that good.  And of course the final production carries Hitchcock’s stylistic fingerprints all over it, which is never a bad thing.  Sure it’s not the grand scope of films like Saving Private Ryan or Toro Toro Toro, but it’s big drama on a small stage, and it’s a film I keep coming back to year after year.

3. What themes are overused? And is it overused, or just truthful observation?

Probably the whole “band of brothers” thing.  And I’m not just talking about our modern films like Saving Private Ryan and all the others.  Look at the Shakespeare play from which that phrase comes, Henry V.  On the surface the play reads like a patriotic pep rally, but it’s actually layered with irony condemning many of the big hero attributes we’ve heaped on Henry.  It was clear the “band of brothers” theme was tired even then, in the 1590s.  I don’t think it’s gotten any fresher since then. 

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Thanks, Joe!

And everyone please don't forget to Pre-order SEAL Team 666 from your favorite store:

Powell's ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ Indiebound ~ Overstock ~ WalMart ~ Books-a-Million ~ Mysterious Galaxy ~ Poisoned Pen ~ Dark Delicacies ~ Hastings Books and Music  

Another SEAL Team 666 Book Cometh

Looky what I just saw on Publisher's Marketplace: 

'Weston Ochse's SEAL TEAM 666: AGE OF BLOOD, featuring the return of the elite team known as "Triple Six," who leap back into action when a Senator's daughter is kidnapped by a mysterious group, only to discover an occult conspiracy deep in the heart of Mexico to return the world to the Age of Blood, again to Brendan Deneen and Peter Joseph at Thomas Dunne Books, for publication in Fall 2013, by Robert Fleck at Professional Media Services (World). '

Big. Horking. Deal.

Love it.

42 Days of 666 - Day 35 with Lincoln Crisler

For the next 42 days we're going to be counting down to the release of SEAL Team 666. why 42? Because it's the answer to the universal question.

Today we have Lincoln Crisler. I've known Lincoln since he exploded onto the scene at three years ago. He's gone from unknown to one of the rising names in the genre. Interestingly enough, he's still a soldier. Stationed in Georgia, he continues his service to the military.

1. What’s your favorite military movie, book or television show?

I'm sure in 42 days you're going to hear this a few times, but if I had to pick just one, Full Metal Jacket would be it. Others include Top Gun, The Hunt for Red October and The Rock, for those who'd like some variety.

2. Why is it your favorite? Here’s where you can ramble a bit.

It's pretty visceral, especially when viewed by an 18-year old kid fresh out of boot camp in 2001, eight months before 9/11 even happened. Not only did Kubrick's movie show a vastly different basic training experience from the one I had just finished, I came of age in the 90s, when Vietnam and its aftermath was well past us. Full Metal Jacket portrayed an otherwordly realm to me as much as the science fiction and fantasy I grew up reading, to be completely honest. 

Having said that, my life has been a patchwork of visceral experiences, something I'd like to think is reflected in my choice of entertainment and, more importantly, my writing. I watch and read less military-related material than you might imagine, since I am a soldier and like my entertainment to provide an escape. For a similar reason, the military has yet to figure into my fiction work. I do, however, enjoy shows like Dexter, Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead and brutal books by guys like Jack Ketchum, Brian Keene and Wrath James White. 

I also produce what I hope is some pretty raw and entertaining reading material, most recently my CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY? anthology of dark superhero fiction (featuring Wes and a plethora of other fine wordsmiths, I should point out) and FOUR IN THE MORNING, featuring my mid-life crisis novella with a dark science fiction bent alongside novellas by Tim Marquitz, Ed Erdelac and Malon Edwards. I love wizards, ghosts, monsters and The Goddamn Batman, but give it to me raw and with as much logic and realism as can be applied to such creatures--just like Kubrick did--and I'll love you long time. Which is, of course, the same relationship I try to build with my readers. 

3. What themes are overused? And is it overused, or just truthful observation?

Speaking as a genre author as well as a soldier, the most overused military theme in genre fiction might be its frequent negative portrayal. I guess this is perhaps most prevalent in post-apocalyptic fiction. It might be because the stories are written by people unfamiliar with the service. Perhaps it's an extension of the mistrust of the government that also features prominently in those sort of stories (where a secret lab is typically believed to be responsible for the outbreak). I've read more than one horror story where the soldiers featured therein were rape-happy mercenaries, drunk on the last vestiges of real power available in a world gone to hell. The fairest portrayals in my memory have been written by servicemen--Wes' EMPIRE OF SALT and Bryon Morrigan's THE DESERT and ACHERON spring to mind, along with John Hornor Jacobs' THIS DARK EARTH, to which I lent my expertise as a consultant.

In reality, you'd probably end up with a lot of that--the military just might be America's most diverse workforce, and I've served with patriotic workhorses, college kids looking to pay off loans, wimps who've obviously bitten off more than they could chew, tiny lesbians who could still beat the brakes off some of the guys I've worked with and more than one redneck who ran his mouth about the wrong social topics until being threatened with a cigarette in the eye. So, in the kind of stories I enjoy reading, some soldiers would absolutely turn mercenary, use their talents for bad, etc. but many others would do the right thing. Similar to any other cross-section of humanity, I'd imagine.

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Thanks, Lincoln!

Don't forget to Pre-order SEAL Team 666 from your favorite store:

Powell's  ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ Indiebound ~ Overstock ~ WalMart ~ Books-a-Million ~ Mysterious Galaxy ~ Poisoned Pen ~ Dark Delicacies ~ Hastings Books and Music  

42 Days of 666: Day 36 with Ray Garton

For the next 42 days we're going to be counting down to the release of SEAL Team 666. why 42? Because it's the answer to the universal question.

Today we have Ray Garton. I've known Ray for as long as I've been writing. He's sort of been my big brother, even though he doesn't know it. But I follow his lead in things, I see what he does, I read his blog Preposterous Twaddlecock, and often, I try and emulate him, just as little brothers around the world try and emulate their big brothers. His phenomenal novel of Los Angeles, Sex and Violence in Hollywood was published in 2001. I still contend that this is perhaps his best work. At the time I rated it right along with Pulitzer Prize winning books like Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay. I still stand by that assertion.

Ray Garton is the author of over 60 novels, novellas, short story collections, movie novelizations and TV tie-ins.  His work spans the genres of horror, crime, and suspense.  His 1987 erotic vampire novel Live Girls was called "artful" by the New York Times and was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award.  In 2006, he received the Grand Master of Horror Award at the World Horror Convention.  His 2001 comedy thriller Sex and Violence in Hollywood is being developed for the screen.  His most recent novels, Meds (a thriller with deadly side effects) and Trailer Park Noir are available in paperback and as ebooks from E-Reads, and his seventh collection, Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth, was recently published by Cemetery Dance Publications.  His short story "The Man in the Palace Theater" and his erotic noir novella Serpent Girl are available for Kindle and Nook.  You can see his bibliography and keep up with new releases at his website, RayGartonOnline.com.  He lives in northern California with his wife Dawn.

1. What’s your favorite military movie, book or television show?

Joseph Heller’s Catch-22.


2. Why is it your favorite? Here’s where you can ramble a bit.

First of all, it’s the funniest damned book I’ve ever read.  It still makes me laugh out loud.  I have a copy in the bedroom beside the bed.  The novel is rather episodic, so whenever I’m feeling a little blue and need a laugh, I can pick the book up and begin any chapter and before I reach the end of the first page, I’ll be laughing.

My father was a WWII veteran, and I grew up on the stories of his experiences in Germany.  I especially enjoyed his stories about the mysterious workings of the U.S. Army, most of which never made sense to him.  As an adult, I’ve had a number of friends who were veterans, particularly my late friend Paul Meredith, who had endless stories about the insanity of the Vietnam War.  The military stories that have always stayed with me seem to be those with a kind of anarchic craziness to them.  M*A*S*H would be my favorite TV show in this category, and that description certainly applies there.

The thing is, I know this is not a fully accurate depiction of the military, especially during wartime.  But to be honest, I don’t like those.  I still vividly remember watching the Vietnam War when I was a kid.  It was on the news every night.  Not sanitized footage, either, but really ugly, horrifying stuff.  My dad was a news junkie, and we watched every broadcast.  The news footage of the war gave me as many nightmares as the horror movies I watched back then, maybe more.  In fact, I wish I’d never watched any of it.  I got to the point where I left the room when coverage of the war began because I just couldn’t take it.  It scared me, depressed me.  It made me not want to grow up.  Ever.

Catch-22 does a great job, I think, of presenting both the craziest and even darkest aspects of the military along with the ugliness of war, and somehow, Heller manages to make me laugh while he accomplishes that.  I think it’s an enormously entertaining book.  It has a kind of Marx Brothers sensibility marbled with some very serious shit.


3. What themes are overused? And is it overused, or just truthful observation?

The book is about the insanity of war, so there’s a lot of that.  Insanity, cognitive dissonance, circular logic.  Because that’s the point of the book, I don’t think it’s overused.  However, it paints a pretty bleak picture of the military.  The officers are pretty despicable, and the GIs are either pretending to be crazy to get out of service, or they really are crazy.  I have to believe there are officers in all branches of our military who are there because they sincerely want to serve the country and who care about the men and women under them, just as I know that there are countless men and women who don’t want to run away from their jobs and who aren’t crazy.  Of course, I’ve never been in the military, so I really don’t know what I’m talking about.  I’m going by stories I’ve been told by veterans.  I think there’s a lot of truthful observation in Catch-22, and it accomplishes what it sets out to do.  I know it’s kind of narrow in its characterizations and in the things it focuses on, but that was the point.  It wasn’t a love letter to military service, and I probably wouldn’t have read it if it were.  And damn, it’s funny.

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Thanks, Ray!

Don't forget to Pre-order SEAL Team 666 from your favorite store:

Powell's  ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ Indiebound ~ Overstock ~ WalMart ~ Books-a-Million ~ Mysterious Galaxy ~ Poisoned Pen ~ Dark Delicacies ~ Hastings Books and Music  

42 Days of 666 - Day 37 with Sarah Pinborough

 For the next 42 days we're going to be counting down to the release of SEAL Team 666. Why 42? Because it's the answer to the universal question.

Today we have Sarah Pinborough. We first met sometime back in the last decade. We disagree on the actual time, but one thing we can agree on is it was in a bar and our faces were probably flushed.  She's an extraordinary writer, whose Dog-Faced Gods Trilogy just blew me out of the water. She lives in London, wears tinfoil hats in the evening, and bathes in a gold-plated vat of Chardonnay.

1. What’s your favorite military movie, book or television show?

I never really think I like military drama, but when I look back at stuff I've read or watched - primarily watched when it comes to action drama - there's quite a lot of it. When I was a kid I was a proper daddy's girl and he introduced me to films such as; Where Eagles Dare, The Dirty Dozen, Battle of Britain, Bridge on the river Kwai (my dad was actually in that one!), Das Boot, the big red one and endless others. As I grew up, I still watched new military films - Saving Private Ryan, Platoon etc - but my natural leanings to Horror and SciFi mean that I tend to watch military with weird now. And, I have to say my favourite of all of recent years has to be Battlestar Galactica but that encompasses so much of society than just the military so I won't pick it. Now, call me cheesy but I loved Stargate SG:1. (I'm a girl)

2.    Why is it your favorite? Here’s where you can ramble a bit.

I loved the blend of sci-fi and team work in it. Plus, although it's not as dark as the stuff I normally watch it was really imaginative and had lots of ongoing storylines. Plus, there was humour and some sentimental stuff too. Although it was family entertainment there were some difficult decision that had to be made. I'm a geek, what can I say?

3.    What themes are overused? And is it overused, or just truthful observation?

I think in any military drama patriotism can be overplayed. People invariable don't die for their country. They die for a set of beliefs, and I think the reasons behind bravery can be more complex- and more interesting - than the love of one's country or the need to protect it. I love the dynamics of teams of very different people brought together by a uniform and suddenly in a life-threatening situation, but the presentation of these characters can quite often be stereotypical (one coward, one wisecracker, etc). But perhaps that's how it is.

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If you're stateside, Matter of Blood, the first of the Dog-Faced Gods Trilogy will be available in April. If you can't wait, like me, You can order your copies from overseas, or from booksellers who carry the overseas titles. I've read all three and they are some of my favorite books.

Thanks, Sarah!

Don't forget to Pre-order SEAL Team 666 from your favorite store:

Powell's  ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ Indiebound ~ Overstock ~ WalMart ~ Books-a-Million ~ Mysterious Galaxy ~ Poisoned Pen ~ Dark Delicacies ~ Hastings Books and Music                            

   

42 Days of 666 - Day 38 with Gene O'Neill

For the next 42 days we're going to be counting down to the release of SEAL Team 666. Why 42? Because it's the answer to the universal question.

Today we have Gene O'Neill. We've been friends since I started writing. Gene is a born storyteller, as eager to write it as he is to tell it. He's at once a modern day Mark Twain and a socially conscious, popular genre fiction writer like Sam Delaney and George R.R. Martin.  I'm very pleased to call him a friend. If you haven't read any of Gene's work, I highly recommend Taste of Tenderloin, which won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection in 2010.

1. What’s your favorite military movie, book or television show?

I love the movie Apocalypse Now because I admire Conrad's novella, HEART OF DARKNESS, which is the basis. I also think the movie *feels* right--the chaos, confusion, and a kind of crazy surreal humor. A good example of chaotic confusion is the surreal scene upriver with a pyrotechnic display going on, with two infantrymen manning a  machine gun firing off bursts into the night at what? The assassin asks them who's in charge? Neither knows. Does it make any difference at that moment?  Of course the cavalry charge in the attack helicopters with The Ride of the Valkyries blasting over loud speakers led by the lunatic Colonel is priceless. His classic: I love the smell of napalm in the morning... is really funny. This kind of strange humor during a very dangerous situation is something that happens but isn't often portrayed in books/movies.

2. Why is it your favorite? Here’s where you can ramble a bit.

I like the book MATTERHORN by Karl Malantes because it too has the right *feel.* The book about Marine ground pounders in Vietnam also shows two things not often mentioned about men in stressful situations. First, the superstitious behavior adopted, the odd rituals that squads go through--much like the odd behavior of baseball players going up to bat. Secondly, Malantes, who went to an Ivy league college and writes really well, points out something not often discussed. At some point a veteran squad can become desensitized to fear, stress, and death of comrades, and at some point actually look forward to conducting missions, engaging the enemy. An unexpected reaction, that civilians might consider kind of a group psychopathic response. maybe so.

Anyhow, this book and this movie presents, in my opinion,  a more realistic *feel* than others, like the acclaimed Full Metal Jacket--which gives a very skewed impression of not only combat but Marine Boot

Camp.

3. What themes are overused? And is it overused, or just truthful observation?

Of course the presentation of heroes and heroic action with patriotic background music in movies is really Hollywood fiction. Overdone. Bogus. Men overcome their fear and fight because they don't want to let down others in their squad, their buddies. I suspect all good outfits capitalize on this bonding. Ideology is rarely heard even from officers, never discussed by troops.

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Thanks Gene!

Don't forget to Pre-order SEAL Team 666 from your favorite store:

Powell's  ~ Amazon ~ B&;N ~ Indiebound ~ Overstock ~ WalMart ~ Books-a-Million ~ Mysterious Galaxy ~ Poisoned Pen ~ Dark Delicacies ~ Hastings Books and Music               

Name Your Price for 8 eBooks + Charity

Here's how it works:  Pay what you want! You choose how much you want to pay for these six awesome indie books. (Click on each book above to check them out!) You decide how much of your purchase goes to the author and how much goes to help keep StoryBundle running. If your purchase price beats $9, you get two bonus books – Resurrection Inc., by Kevin J. Anderson, and Coming of Age: 3 Novellas, by Douglas Clegg. The books by these two New York Times bestselling authors are only available if you pay over the bonus price, so you don't want to miss out!

Cliek here to get more information or to order.

 
 

 
 



Cliek here to get more information or to order.  

42 Days of 666 - Day 39 with Gini Koch

For the next 42 days we're going to be counting down to the release of SEAL Team 666. why 42? Because it's the answer to the universal question.

Today we have Gini Koch. I've known Gini for several years, ever since she screamed my name across a crowded room - WINSTON!! Well, okay, she almost screamed my name. Since then we hang out whenever we can. Most recently, I saved her from a haunted room at the Gadsden Hotel in Douglas, Arizona, but that's a different story.

Gini Koch lives in Hell’s Orientation Area (aka Phoenix, AZ), works her butt off (sadly, not literally) by day, and writes by night with the rest of the beautiful people. She writes the fast, fresh and funny Alien/Katherine “Kitty” Katt series for DAW Books, the Necropolis Enforcement Files series, and the Martian Alliance Chronicles series for Musa Publishing. As G.J. Koch she writes the Alexander Outland series for Night Shade Books. She also writes under a variety of other pen names (including Anita Ensal, Jemma Chase, A.E. Stanton, and J.C. Koch), listens to all kinds of music 24/7, and is a proud comics geek-girl willing to discuss at any time why Wolverine is the best superhero ever (even if Deadpool does get all the best lines). She speaks frequently on what it takes to become a successful author and other aspects of writing and the publishing business.

1. What’s your favorite military movie, book or television show?

It’s a tough choice, because I truly love a lot of military movies, but when forced, like now, to choose only one, mine’s got to be “The Great Escape”. (This is, btw, ONLY because I think of “Captain America” as a superhero movie first and a military movie second.) For books, it’s probably Terry Pratchett’s “Jingo” (but only because I haven’t read “SEAL Team 666” yet). TV show would be “Hogan’s Heroes”. Yes, yes, what can I say? I tend to like the funny stuff. (See? I have so many faves I had to choose one in each category.)

2. Why is it your favorite?

“The Great Escape” is my fave because it tosses in everything that makes these kinds of movies so interesting and entertaining. You have a diverse team of misfits and unwilling specialists working against terrible odds. There’s danger, real life and death danger, there’s laughs, there’s intrigue…I could go on. And, it had James Garner as The Scrounger (the conmen are always my fave characters, regardless of genre). Sure, Steve McQueen as The Cooler King was indeed the King of Cool, but nothing looked better than James Garner in a turtleneck flashing that cocky smile. (I’m a simple creature, me.)

As for why “Jingo” as favorite book, it’s because Pratchett took different genre tropes and turned them on their sides. And I love his writing because he gets so many deep ideas and ideals across with humor.

I wouldn’t classify myself as a “classic” military reader -- I like them just like other books in other genres, but I tend to lean towards nonfiction for most of my military reading. No idea why, other than my lifelong crush on Winston Churchill. (I read his autobiography far too early in life, I suppose.)

“Hogan’s Heroes” is easy -- it was consistently funny. It’s the “funny” side of “The Great Escape”, where the good guys never die, never get recaptured (unless they want to be), and good always triumphs over evil.

3. What themes are overused? And is it overused, or just truthful observation?

You know, I’m Tropes Girl. I think things get “overused” because people enjoy them, relate to them, or want to see them. I WANT to see the good guys win. I WANT to see them fight against horrific odds and still manage to come out on top. I WANT to see the ragtag team of losers beat the superior forces. I WANT to see the elite team do what they do best for Mom, apple pie, and America and her Allies and all the good and innocent people the world over. Sure, if it’s horror, I expect bad things to happen. But I still WANT good to triumph over evil. If it doesn’t, then I demand a sequel where it does, or at least makes more headway. (Hint, hint, Wes.)

I want to see all those things as filtered by the authors, directors, and actors creating them, which will make them different, yet still the same. But each time someone writes a story with a military setting it’s a little different. Each actor brings a different nuance to a role. Each director puts his or her own mark on their film or TV show. And I want to read and see all of them.

Bottom line for me: If action, adventure, and heroism are “overused”, then call me a girl who likes repetition.

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Thanks Gini!

Don't forget to Pre-order SEAL Team 666 from your favorite store:

Powell's  ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ Indiebound ~ Overstock ~ WalMart ~ Books-a-Million ~ Mysterious Galaxy ~ Poisoned Pen ~ Dark Delicacies ~ Hastings Books and Music               

Also Buy Gini Koch's Alien Diplomacy, Alien Proliferation, Alien in the Family, Alien Tango and
Touched by an Alien right NOW online or at a bookstore near you!

Alien vs. Alien releases December 4, 2012. 

Pre-order your copy from your local
bookstore or online TODAY!

42 Days of 666 - Day 40 with Rain Graves

For the next 42 days we're going to be counting down to the release of SEAL Team 666. Why 42? Because 42 is the answer to the universal question and knowing it is the only thing that will keep you from pining over the world premiere of SEAL Team 666. Plus, we think these answers are pretty awesome, giving you a glimpse into some of the world's most interesting people.

Today we have Rain Graves. You'll probably note that she demurred from using the prescribed format. But you see, she is a poet and she lives in San Francisco, and she is the High Priestess of MoFo, so we allow this of her. I've known Rain since I was a puppy in the writing industry. Winner of the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Poetry Collection, she's a genius at pairing words, the tango, and can make a New York Cabbie cry for momma if pissed off. Publishers Weekly described her work as "Bukowski meets Lovecraft." If you've met her, you know that this describes her in her entirety.

The following three questions were asked to everyone. These are Rain's responses:

1. What’s your favorite military movie, book or television show?

2. Why is it your favorite? Here’s where you can ramble a bit. 

SCENT OF A WOMAN

Because it outlines what happens to those who serve *after* they come home...throughout the rest of their lives. What they live with, and what they don't think they can live with. Overused theme? OORAH. Did it work? Did Al Pacino dance a blind tango? (Some of you might now know that Rain won many Tango competitions, and has danced and trained with the best in the world. So no matter how badass Pacino truly is in this movie, methinks there's a little love of tango coloring her decision.)

TOP GUN

Because every Tom Boy wants to be Tom Cruise in this movie, and every girl wants to loose that loving feeling at least once in her life, just to get it back again. Overused theme? Cocky wannabe pilot wears his dress uniform to get laid. And it works. Chicks just want to trap a military guy for the steady paycheck and babies. And it works. Snotty show-offs don't endanger the team's safety and always save the day. Doesn't work.

INGLORIOUS BASTARDS

This one should be obvious, but it's vicious in its approach, which seems more realistic to me for those on the ground, living it, Overused theme? Lets all kill Hitler.

CLEOPATRA

Because as much as it was a love story, it was also a war story - both civil and otherwise. Overused theme? That Cleopatra was an intelligent but seductive woman who had no choice but to bed up with Rome in order to save her skin, and her throne. It does work in this movie, but not for history's sake: Cleopatra was an intelligent woman of average looks that had a commanding presence of both intimidating intellect and power, that formed strategic and assured (with heirs) alliances to gain world power through Rome.

300

Pure, raw, fighting for a cause. Right or wrong. Overused theme: Men in loin cloths bred to fight to the death don't care about armor--just their honor. Yes, it works. For me, anyway...

GLADIATOR

What happens to a man's soul after fighting campaigns and then enslavement as a result of fighting in those campaigns--sorta like our boys coming home from Vietnam and being trapped in a wheelchair, fighting the prisons of their minds after too much time in the jungle, or worse, as a POW. No love from home and country. Just a lot of forced murder to obtain freedom.

3. What themes are overused? And is it overused, or just truthful observation?

Overused themes? Not for me, no. Unless you want me to bitch about the Gladius not being historically accurate, but I'll leave that one to the newsgroup nerds.

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Check out Rain's forthcoming book, The Four Elements, with poetry also with Charlee Jacob, Linda Addison, and Marge Simon (pre-orders now avail).

Thanks Rain!

Don't forget to Pre-order SEAL Team 666 from your favorite store:

Powell's  ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ Indiebound ~ Overstock ~ WalMart ~ Books-a-Million ~ Mysterious Galaxy ~ Poisoned Pen ~ Dark Delicacies ~ Hastings Books and Music               

Halloween Horror eBook Bundle - 8 Novels

Have I got a deal for you!

I rarely do a cut-and-paste post, but I thought this one promoting Storybundle.com deserved a little blog love.

Storybundle.com is a company that launched a few months ago and offers ebook bundles based around a common theme. The bundles are offered on a Pay-What-You-Want basis (minimum $1.00) and buyers can designate where the money from the sale goes – to the creators, to Storybundle, or to the charity matched to that bundle, or any combination thereof. If readers choose to pay above the bonus level, they get two additional books added to the bundle. 

 The ebooks are provided DRM free so that they can be read on any device and are available in a variety of formats. The Halloween Horror Bundle goes live on October 18th and remains available for only 21 days, closing on November 7th. 

Included in the Halloween Horror Bundle will be:

 

Main selections:
Riverwatch by Joseph Nassise
Blaze of Glory by Weston Ochse
Vicarious by Jon F. Merz
The Drought by Patricia Fulton
The Latent Dark by Martin Kee
Taking on the Dead by Annie Walls

Bonus selections:
Coming of Age by Douglas Clegg
Resurrection, Inc. by Kevin J. Anderson

The above authors include multiple Bram Stoker Award nominees and winners, multiple International Horror Guild Award nominees and winners, New York Times bestsellers, a Nebula Award nominee, and a former president of the Horror Writers Association, the world’s largest organization of professional horror writers. In other words, quality writers with quality offerings, all at a pay-what-you-want-price!

Currently StoryBundle has their Second Degree Bundle up (ebooks in the crime and thriller genre) so it's well worth your time to head over now and make sure you check back in on the 18th for the Halloween Horror Bundle. And let just say, I've read several authors contributing to the Halloween Horror Bundle- and they are well worth the donation above a $1!

42 Days of 666 - Day 41 with John Hornor Jacobs

For the next 42 days we're going to be counting down to the release of SEAL Team 666. Why 42? Because it's the answer to the universal question.

Today we have John Hornor Jacobs.  I've known John for several years. Like a lot of my friends in the industry, we met a writers convention. Since then he's published two books, the latest titled This Dark Earth, which has one of the badd-assiest trailers. The first was Southern Gods, and perhaps one of the most original and impressive debuts I've seen in over a decade. John is the reason I wished I lived in Arkansas. I'd love to go over to his house and hash out ideas and talk about our favorite things. Sadly, we tried that and the governor said that one of us had to leave. Since he was there first, well, you know the rest of the story.

The following three questions were asked to everyone. These are John's responses:

1. What’s your favorite military movie, book or television show?

My favorite military book is THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O'Brien. There's never been a more moving and personalized examination of the Vietnam War. As far as movies go, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, BAND OF BROTHERS and BATTLEGROUND are hard to beat, at least where the WWII European Theater is concerned. PATTON is amazing, too. There's a little known German author named Hans Hellmut Kirst who was a non-Nazi Wehrmacht officer and after the war, he wrote a deeply satirical novel called THE WOLVES. He also wrote some thrillers, the best known is THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS and THE NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES.

Going back further, there's Shelby Foote's multi-volume THE CIVIL WAR which is essential non-fiction reading. I'm a bit of a Roman and Greek history buff so I love anything set in the classical world, Pressfields GATES OF FIRE or McCullough's MASTERS OF ROME are a couple I've always enjoyed.

2. Why is it your favorite? Here’s where you can ramble a bit.

But of them all, I would have to say THE THINGS THEY CARRIED as an experience is irreplaceable and takes pre-eminence above all the others. It's a mosaic novel, the tissue of the narrative woven together through interconnected stories. And it contrasts the horrors of war against the conscience of youth. Intensely personal and brutal and moving.

In THIS DARK EARTH, I slipped in a small homage to O'Brien when describing my fictitious Army unit trying to survive after the apocalypse.

3. What themes are overused? And is it overused, or just truthful observation?

I don't think there are many themes about war that are overused. War is the greatest cipher of human civilization and we have to continually fret and worry at the conundrum it poses us - why must we kill others to assure our own safety? Our freedom? What causes mankind to make war? How does war change us as people, as a nation, as a species? If war is justified, how is it justified?

Those questions never go away as long as war is waged. And so, stories of war will always be relevant, whether writ large on a world map or told intimately from the grunt's eye view.

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Thanks John!

Don't forget to Pre-order SEAL Team 666 from your favorite store:

Powell's  ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ Indiebound ~ Overstock ~ WalMart ~ Books-a-Million ~ Mysterious Galaxy ~ Poisoned Pen ~ Dark Delicacies ~ Hastings Books and Music               

42 Days of 666 - Day 42 with Mark Steensland

For the next 42 days we're going to be counting down to the release of SEAL Team 666. why 42? Because it's the answer to the universal question.

Today we have Mark Steensland. I first met Mark at NECON, if I remember right. He's a film director and had just directed and produced a short film called Peekers, based on the short story by Kealan Patrick Burke. We've since broken bread and had drink together and he's a good friend in the industry whom I enjoy watching as he gains more and more accolades.

The following three questions were asked to everyone. These are Mark's responses.

1. What’s your favorite military movie, book or television show?

"Full Metal Jacket" is by far my favorite military movie.

2. Why is it your favorite? Here’s where you can ramble a bit.

Kubrick is my favorite director and as much as I love "Paths of Glory," I think he really made the best war movie with "FMJ." All of his films are so repeatable, meaning that you can find new meanings and nuances on every subsequent viewing. I just re-watched it a few months ago and was stunned all over again. And while I could ramble on about how expertly he uses all the craft elements of filmmaking (editing, cinematography, music, etc.), I think this film especially gets at the absolute black heart of what war means for us as humans.

3. What themes are overused? And is it overused, or just truthful

observation?

My dad was a decorated World War Two Veteran (Purple Heart for stepping on a land mine that only took his toes and a Silver Star for bravery for refusing to evacuate until he had directed his platoon to successfully help take control of a German town just before the Battle of the Bulge). The thing is: he never wanted to talk about it. He died when I was young, but I heard from other relatives that as proud as he was, he never escaped the real personal cost of all the lives I'm sure he took. I don't like when films try to make it look like bravery only comes with a reward. The fact is, this kind of experience leaves a mark on your soul. I can't think of but a handful of stories that really communicate that well. "Full Metal Jacket" is at the top, as far as I'm concerned.

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Check out Mark Steensland's new book, Behind the Bookcase. Here's the book trailer that goes with it:

Thanks Mark and thanks to your father for his incredible service!

Don't forget to Pre-order SEAL Team 666 from your favorite store:

Powell's  ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ Indiebound ~ Overstock ~ WalMart ~ Books-a-Million ~ Mysterious Galaxy ~ Poisoned Pen ~ Dark Delicacies ~ Hastings Books and Music                            

Tom Piccirilli Help Desk - Ring Bell for Service

How To Help Tom Piccirilli (UPDATED x 2)

Note: This is copied from Brian Keene's Page for convenience. He had all the data so I'm just providing a new outlet. 

Tom Piccirilli has been a friend and mentor since BEFORE I started writing. He's always been there for me and has never hesitated to provide advice or slap me silly for doing something stupid. This is the time we pay things back. Please, take a moment and do what you can do.

As previously noted, author Tom Piccirilli is battling brain cancer. The disease is aggressive, but so is Tom. Although the surgery was a success, he has a very long fight ahead of him. There are five ways that readers, fans, friends, and peers can help.

1. You can donate money directly via this fundraiser on IndieGoGo. The fundraiser has been set up by Tom’s niece. All proceeds will go directly to Tom.

2. You can purchase one of his digital books published by Crossroads Press. From now until the end of the year, they are waiving their percentage, and 100% of the sales will go to Tom.

3. You can donate money immediately via PayPal to Tom’s sister-in-law. This money will help Tom’s wife Michelle with living expenses now (as the fundraiser money won’t be available until the end of October). See the Donate button atthe top of this page.

4. Following the lead of Crossroads Press, Chi Zine Publications have announced that until the end of the year, 100% of the sales for the digital edition of Tom’sEvery Shallow Cut will also go directly to the author.

5. For the month of October, all proceeds from the sales of Fantastic Stories of the Imagination will be donated to Tom.

Home for Militia, Porn Kings, Zombie Hunters and Writers

Are you a militia looking for a home?

Are you a writer who wants to start a writer's retreat?

Do you want to open up your own porn studio away from prying eyes?

Maybe you want to star a zombie hunting lodge on the edge of civilization?

or perhaps you're just sick and tired of people knocking on your door and trying to sell you something.

If you fit any of these categories, do I have the property for you, for a mere $425,000:

Located near Douglas, Arizona, near the border with Mexico is this lush, 125 acre spread with multiple buildings, a wall, its own well, and a watch tower.

Imagine sitting in the watch tower during a gorgeous desert morning sunrise or sunset, either a high-powered rifle or a book of poetry in your hand. Somethings are just priceless.

In all seriousness, this compound is for sale. I don't know the owner, seller, or whatever. I just think it's kind of cool that there's a complete package for whomever has the desire to buy it... and for a not too expensive price, considering.

Here's the listing.

I want an invitation if you buy it.