Timothy Nies

New book, new thoughts and some dragons

2014-02-28T07:53:00.001-08:00

It has been awhile since I have been here, not sure why it has taken me so long to get back. A lot has happened that has kept me away but the call of a new book always get me in the mood to write more then I should and blogging is a good way to deal with the literary overflow.

As I mentioned, a new book is in the works indeed. Interestingly enough, something requested and a bit of a challenge. Anne, my wife, would like a book written by me about dragons and deemed it to be in the first person perspective, not my usual Modus operandi and also one that I am not too familiar with, other then my rantings here.

The fist steps of any novel is to figure out what it will be about and of course this being a first person perspective it must also be about someone, in this case someone that goes looking for dragons. This felt like the best premise to go with. I could have gone with the point of view of a dragon but being was dis-inspired by Clive Barker's Mister B. Gone. I feel more secure if I stick to the human POV, as I doubt I could pull a dragon's one off just as well as Mr. Barker could pull a daemon's one.

So, there's a start and now let the world unfold. I have no idea how it is for other authors but for me when I start a fresh, I find that a whole world unfolds out of no where. As if it had always been there and I just noticed it for the first time. I start to see things in this new place and slowly my world of dragons blooms from my mind and I can see into it. I can see Unicorns and war and all kinds of interesting dimensional implications but most importantly there is lots to investigate and explore. Especially the quest for immortality seems to be very prominent here, is that something dragons are tried to? Not sure if that is just me or a real thing but I mean to find out and I hope you will join me.

Superman trailer analysis, Part 3

2012-07-30T05:12:00.001-07:00

Continuing where the previous two left off, this post will deal with parts 3, 4 and 5 of the man of steel trailer. To summarize the method used, this is an attempt to deconstruct the trailer shot by shot with the goal to figure out the meaning of the imagery and finding some hidden clues as to what the film might be about.

Third part (0:37 to 0:49)

Picture of young Clark Kent and Pa Kent

Here again washed out colors, no brightness, slightly faded giving a feel of passage of time. What we are shown is a picture of Pa kent kneeling besides young Clark at a science fair. He is smiling and appears to be proud of his son, The exhibit, a scale model volcano, was good enough to win the fair as Clark is holding up a medal with 1st prize written on it. A hand (I assumes Clark's) touches the picture, indicating a remembrance of a found memory. I interpret this to mean a longing to go back to simpler time when things were better. The shot also helps establish what young Clark looks like. This image has a pained feel to it. Mixed with the pervious parts, this is giving me the strong impression that Clark feels guilty for something that happened to his father.

Boy with cape running to laundry line.

More laundry, but this time red and white instead of gray and blue. So happier laundry? The tone of the image is also brighter and as it follows the image of of the photo this would appear to be a tiny flash back of young Clark, running around with a red cape (which is odd but I'll get to that in a moment). The happy running and warmer colors is adding to the sensation that Clark's youth was a happier time then the one he is enduring now. I am not sure what the symbology of laundry on a clothes line is but they've used it twice now so it must have some significance. Perhaps its an indication of homeliness? Or perhaps its just a Clark thing and he associates laundry with comfort? Just speculating here.

The red cape is weird though if you think about it. Supposedly he is going to become Superman, and I assume that this is a sort of pointing to things to come. But why is he running around with one tied around his neck? It would make sense for kids that have seen the man of steel flying around to mimic him. But this is young superman, who exactly is he trying to mimic?

Clark hitchhiking

And were back to the dark brooding blue and grays, meaning the flashback is over and another pointer to a unhappy present, as its a strong contrast against the warmer two shots of the past.

Here we see Clark walking down a road, with snow just to added to the imagery of him being in a bad place, the snow is adding on to the cold reality Clark is living through at the moment. He has a duffle bag over his shoulder, indicating that he's traveling (no doubt filled with blue jeans and white and gray shirts) and the size and the manner he's carrying it indicates to me that he's been traveling for a while, which would make him a wanderer.
The symbology of this shot is well done. Here we have superman,who can run faster than a speeding bullet and leap tall building in a single leap but he's hitchhiking. Two reasons I can think he is doing this. First, using his powers is either a reminder that he's not human or its a reminder of something bad he did with them (see above about his dad) the second he's hitchhiking not because he need help getting somewhere but maybe because he is looking to connect with people. I am leaning towards the second, because the truck he is trying to hitch a ride with doesn't stop and this would fit well with the empty cage analogy I was talking about in my previous post. Clark again reaching out to people that can't or won't give him what he is looking for. It might be both though. Also Clark beard is a less prominent so this might be an indication that he has just started he's journey of self-pity/ self-discovery or he found a razor after he got off the fishing boat.

Fourth Part

Sun over Smallville

This is my favorite shot, it expresses so many things and works on different levels. It also works well for both voice overs to drive home what is being said. It seems prominently to be an image of hope and the myst over the houses kind of implies that they are hidden from it or that the sun will soon make the myst go away and bring light (hope) to everyone there. Either way its also an indication that things are about to change, but in a positive way. This is also shows warm colors chasing away the dark blue and gray. This is not a flash back, I think this is looking towards the future of Clark's possible destiny.

Butterfly caught in link of chain

The butterfly could mean a lot of things but here I think it is a visualization of the choice Clark has to make. I looks to me to represent the state humanity. It is delicate and beautiful but stuck in something of it on making and its up to Clark to either give it the nudge to free it or not. Which fits in with the pervious image of hope and looking to the man Clark could become and the impact he could have on the world. If this was the intention, then its a neat metaphor.

Boy and the Dog

Here we have young Clark in the background and a big dog in the fore ground. The camera is focused on the dog which to me means a benevolent guardian keeping an eye on his care, in this case the boy. This is again hinting at Superman's roll or destiny of the man he should become if he so choses but in case there was any doubt about which way this is going to go you get this shot...

Young Clark striking the iconic Superman with his fists on this hips pose. (again with the laundry in the background, would really love to know what the meaning of it is). The pose means that Clark has what he needs already in him he just needs to use it. And just incase you were unsure as to where all of this is heading you get part 5 of the trailer.

Fifth part

Up, up and away...

This part seems to be only added to the trailer to reassure you that superman in full costume will be in the movie. Though really well done, it totally undermines the tension the rest of the trailer had been trying to establish. They could have ended it with the last shot of the fourth part.

So what does this all mean? In my next post I am going to try to find out. there will also be a look at the two voice overs and then use the conclusion from the imagery to come up with some theories to makes sense of all of this.

Superman trailer analysis, part 2

2012-07-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

Second Part Superman trailer analysis (0:23-0:33)

Continuing where the previous post left off, and get straight into tackling the next part of the trailer. To clarify the method, I am going through the trailer shot by shot attempting to figure out the meaning of the imagery in the hopes of discovering some hidden clues to what the file will be like.

So far we have seen a rock, laundry on a clothesline and a seagull all of which point to trouble or indecision. The next parts looks to establish Clark as he is now or at the start of his journey. Which by the look of things is to a bearded fisherman.

Boat on dock

The next part of the trailer starts with a shot of a boot dry docked and Clark sitting behind it. The boat could imply that something is out of its element, unused or stagnate. It could also be that it represents the preparation of a journey. The boat is being repaired or stored for later use. The boat looks worn, as if it has been battered by the elements and needs a break much like Clark looks. This is an image of pause or replenishment though the bleak colors make it point more towards stagnation and waisting.

Clark petting a dog

The tone is darker and continuing the moody blues and gray atmosphere. The dog is walking up to Clark and he pets it. The display of affection could be seen as nonjudgmental acceptance on the dogs side and the petting representing Clark's desire to be liked without worry of who he is. This is also the first time we see Clark and he looks scruffy and has a beard and there is noting Super about him. The beard could have several meanings but here I think it it could mean that he hiding his face either from himself or others.

Fisher boat in rough water

The fishing boat is cuting through the raging waves and could be hinting or representing Clark's search to find something but there is resistance to his quest on all sides.

Man hauling in empty cages

This was a tough one and I am still not sure what the significance of this one is. You have a man throwing out floaters (the orange and white things) from an empty cage. It could imply a failed catch or it could mean that the people Clark is surrounding himself have nothing to offer him and each is like the empty cage... not sure though but we see the image of the empty cage again later so it much have some significance .

Clark unhooking rope

The next shot is also hard to interpret. At face value its clearing trying to establish that Clark is one of the crew and working side by side with the rest of the fisherman. An image of Clark trying to fit in. Again good close up on the beard. But what exactly is he doing here? He unhooks a line and then looks towards something, his expression is a mixture of a few emotions. After watching it over a few times the best I can get from it is that he is unhooking the floater for a fishing cage, but then stops at what he sees. which is this...

If you look closely (and this is the best image I could find) the cage doesn't have any of the plastic floating devices attached to it and I think Clark was supposed to attach the line he's holding to it but the empty cage get thrown overboard before he does. In keeping with the idea that the cages are symbolic representations of the people around him (or the lack of what he needs), one could take this to mean that he needs to stop attaching himself to them and let them go. Again this is pure speculation and I may be reading way too much into it.

Conclusion of the Second part

The second part of the trailer is continuing the mood of the first part and the colour pallet is slightly darker. The fishing boat appears to represent a tough personal voyage or possible a tough choice that goes against what is expected. The imagery of the dog, the scruffy beard and of Clark working on a fishing boat all seem to point to him wanting to fit in as a human but its not bringing the fullfilment he is looking for or that he is hiding or suppressing part of who he is .

Next post, part Three and Four: where we see some other colors than blue and gray and superman trying to hitch a ride.

New Superman trailers, analysis: Part 1

2012-07-25T04:55:00.003-07:00

This was a fun post to write. Its the first time I have attempted to analyze a movie trailer and considering how many of these I watch in a year, it strikes me as odd that I never thought to explore one in detail this way before.

The reason that that these two trailers sparked my interest is because they stood out. Not just because superhero movies trailers (the batman ones aside) usually don't get promoted this way, more often then not their packed with action and shots to show off their special effects. Which isn't the case with this one (well made a little at the end). There seems to have been some actual effort put into what they wanted to communicate about the film.

Disclaimer

I assume, based of what I've see from the trailer, that some thought must have gone into making them but I don't know to what extent. To me it looks like they are laying down some ground work, preparing fans and telling them that this is not going to be like other superman movies. However I need to be cautious about it. Trailers are generally considered promotional material and are crafted by the movie studio marketing department and not by the film makers (at least that is what I am told). The marketing department's goal is to promote the film and sell it. Too often I have seen trailers that have tried to sell the film as one thing when it was actually something else. Which leads to the conclusion that anything I interpret for the trailer may be far fetched or way off the mark, but that's a risk I am willing to take.

The symbolism

Since both trailers show the same bit of film, it makes sense to start by breaking down the imagery and explore the meaning of the images. The trailer is divided into 5 parts, if using the word screens as dividers (no idea what they are really called), and that is how I broke down the analysis. When starting this I had planed to do all of the imagery in one post but after right about the first part it became quickly clear that would make this a very long read so I decided to break it down into a few depending on how long they get.

First part (0:10 to 0:18)

Water washing over a stone.

The meaning of this can be that either the stone represents an idea that is been drowned by new input or that the idea is the water but is being divided by a unmovable concept or reality, which is the stone. Either way the theme is the same; something is being forced to confront the other. This is an image of conflict but a gentle one, hinting a inner turmoil.

Cloths on a washing line twisting in the wind.

Cloths could be a clue to a type of man and here we see jeans and plaid shirt, worker clothes, possibly hinting at Clark Kent upbringing and they are being tossing around in a gathering wind hanging from a cloths line. The image could represent Clark's past or identity clinging on while things out of his control, the wind, are assaulting it. The wind could be his power or a part of himself that he is trying to deny but circumstances are making it hard. There is something ominous about the clouds and it looks like a storm is gathering. This image implies the coming of a force that will blow the laundry away. This is an image of foreboding and denial or self delusion. beside who hands their washing up when a storm is coming?

Seagull hovering in the wind

The Seagull is hovering in the wind remaining in place. It could move on but its easier for it to let the wind carry it. This is an image of complacency or of comfort. It might allude to Clark's desire to remain where he is. Choosing not to go against the wind and confront the hard choices, but it also implying that he's not letting the wind blow him back that he is happy with where he is and is make an effort to stay there.

Conclusion of the first part

Turmoil, denial, complacency and maybe some comfort in knowing where you are but with a creeping sense of coming change or doom. The first part of the trailer is setting up the mood and these concept combined with the melancholy music, gray and blue color pallet looks to me that this is going to be a very happy film indeed...

Next post, part two: where we see a fishing boat and a bearded superman pet a dog... fun stuff.

Trailers for new Superman movie; The Man of steel

2012-07-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

Two teaser trailers have hit the net for the new superman movie: The Man of Steel. At first glance they don't say much about the movie and both have the same video, the difference between the two lies with the voice overs. The choice trailer is voiced by Kevin Costner as Pa Kent and the Destiny trailer is Russell Crowe as Jor-El.

Yet, I found myself going back and watching them over again. Something about them was itching the back of my mind and I couldn't put my finger on it. To be clear I think these look good and promising of things to come but the imagery used is what got me intrigued. So much so that I think that there are some strong hints here as to what the movie may be about, more than meets the eye at first glance (or maybe I am reading too much into it now, since I've watched them over fifty times ). Thought I do not believe I am the only one that's picking up on this, as much of my initial conclusions were echoed by others, like here at badass digest.

To see if there is anything to this hypothesis I decided to do some research and I am working on two blog posts about these trailers. The first one dissecting the symbolism of the images used, the second useing the conclusions of the first post to theorize possible plot of the upcomming film. Its a lot of work but I hope to have the first post up tomorrow. In the mean time if you have any thoughts on the trailers I would love to hear them.

First Trailer: Choice*

Second Trailer: Destiny*

* The trailers don't have names but I needed away to reference them so I named them Choice and Destiny.

The Crust of the Underworld; an excerpt

2012-07-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

“I don’t have time for this,” Godiva contested, shifting on her foot, readying for another assault.
“Then you will just have to make some,” the man clarified, waving his hand at her. “Now sit down and hear me out.”
At the gesture Godiva flew backward, landing on the deck chair, next to where Guillaume was standing, on the other end of the pool.
“Mon dieu,” the crew man whimpered, looking down at Godiva then back to the man.
“Don’t worry I didn’t hurt her,” the man interjected, walking towards the pair. He stopped two yards before Godiva. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Dusk.” He paused, letting his words hang in the air, but when neither of them reacted he frowned. “Tell me that you know of me?”
“I don’t usually remember the names of pompous preening peacocks,” Godiva advised, getting to her feet.

Saturn Rising; an excerpt

2012-07-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

Six feet above the roof of the Ambassador Hotel in Chicago, a red speck manifested out of thin air. Much like the stain from the prick of a needle, the wound on the skin of space grew. As it became larger the unstable droplet wobbled, hovering in place, and started to spin on itself like a wrinkled kidney bean suspended in free fall. It was small and insignificant, like most infections when they start.

Soon the membranous sac expanded, inflating with liquid drawn from a hidden source, rendering its crystalline crimson crust taught and smooth. First it grew to the size of a heart, then a full bladder then to that of a ball of wrapped up intestines but it didn’t stop there, it swelled further still, until the base of it touched the ground with a quiver that rippled the surface from bottom to the top. There, pulsating, the ambulance sized sphere sat, its heft solidifying, and the deep wine surface gleamed in the sun. This pause was only temporary, for stepping through a door, unseen, at the center of it a shadow of a person appeared: initiating the second phase of the time weaver's fail safe.

Webkit (does't) work

2012-07-21T17:47:00.002-07:00

First I was like...

I have been putting in quite a lot of time on my new website www.theredorb.com. Which is fun, as a long time ago I used to do a bit of web design (back in the HTML 1.0 days) and thought it would be a nice challenge to try learning some of the new features HTML 5 has to offer. Very soon I stumbled upon on some example code for Webkit (which is a open source browser rendering engine). Playing around with some of the other websites that use it I thought; this is pretty cool and doesn't look too complicated to learn. I must use this for my website.

Well, I got a little carried away with it, as with most new things I get caught up with, and have spent the entire day messing around trying to create something that I though would be interesting and maybe just a little out of the reach of my skill set.

And here is the result. (UPDATE! if you view web page in a browser other than Safari or Chrome you won't see the result.)

Then, after I was done getting the whole thing to work right, I thought I'd test to see how the website is displayed by the different browsers. Turns out there is a lot of difference between them, in fact the only browsers that the page works on correctly is Apple's Safari and Google Chrome. Which is kind of a bummer.

...then I was like

So I am now left with the choice to either scrap the page I just spent 8 hours working on and I think is pretty neat or try to find a solution that will work with all browsers, which will probably involve hours of research and learning new code to make it work the same way as the elements that I have already made do... sigh.

(Update: I implemented a work around, now only people with safari and chrome can see the 3d effects.)

Ni No Kuni....

2012-07-19T22:58:00.001-07:00

Spirited Away

Studio Ghibli has made some incredible movies: Spirited Away, Howls moving castle, Princess Mononoko, just to name a few. What they produce, is animated story telling in a world of its own, There isn't much to compare these movies to. The rich depth and imagination drips from them, seeping into your mind like an infusion of joy. If you haven't seen any of these films you should go and check them out.

Howl's Moving Castle

The animation studio that comes close to the quality of story telling is Pixar. They bring the same dedication and love to the animated craft. The technical detail that each Pixar movie introduces pushes the visual boundaries of 3D animation and I really enjoy watching them however to me, they always feel very secure. Don't get me wrong, Pixar does a fantastic job of bringing the stories they tell to life, but there is aways this sensation when watching them that they are not straying too far away from the known and try to keep the odd to a minimum or within a safe zone (except for Pixar's UP, just watch the beginning it'll pull you right in). It's like they are constraining creative posiblities out of fear of alienaing their audience. Which is understandable, Pixar's movies are probably very expecive to make and they are looking to keep risk to a minimum.

Princes Mononoke

Studio Ghibli on the other hand goes to places unknown and feel unhindered. They constantly surprise me. Their movies are always a little odd, cute and boarding on disturbing. To me the mix works wonderfully. Always full of mind challenges so unexpected it nearly takes you off guard. Very often I wonder for who exactly they are making these movies for because the thematic subject choices are pretty heavy for kids.

Getting to the point of this post, I have recently discovered, with great joy I might add, that there is a video game in the works from Ghibli called Ni No Kuni. Its been a long time since I have gotten excited about a video game, but I tell you what, from what I have seen this looks like it going to be a lot of fun to play.

The Great and Powerful seeds of doubt...

2012-07-18T17:39:00.002-07:00

There are some new pictures out of Disney's OZ: The Great and Powerful and the art direction on this look fantastical.

I am excited about this movie, but still not sure what to make of it. Director Sam Raimi is one of my favorite and I think this project is right up his alley. I am sure he will bring a unique vision to the story and I am also confident that he will honor the heart of the source material. James Franco, who is playing the lead, is a great actor, some are a little put off by him but I am not too worried about his performance.

There is though, one thing that does have me worried. In the trailer it says that this is produced by the same people that produced Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland... and there friends, we find that doubt starts to creeps in. Alice in Wonderland had all the elements, (like this movie) to be a truly great Tim Burton film yet, somehow it wasn't mixed right and felt a little hollow to me. Mich like a grand soufflé that looked majestic but deflates the moment you put your fork to it to take a bite.

I am still tentatively hoping that Oz: the Great and powerful will be a pleasant surprise when it comes out and from what I have seen so far so good, but I fear that seeds of doubt have already started to gestate in mind and fear the things that are still to come.

Disney’s fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Now here's a sport I can get behind.

2012-07-18T04:43:00.001-07:00

I have no idea what is going on or what is going on but man does this look like a fun sport to watch. This is a the new Justice video "New Lands". First time I have heard of them but I whole heartily approve of this video. More please.

When is a cupcake art?

2012-07-17T16:06:00.003-07:00

This is a cupcake, as in you can eat this and once you have, you can tell the world what art tastes like. Staring at this I have mixed feelings, I really would like to try one, but at the same time I feel like eating it would make me a bad person for ingesting something so cool looking.

There is a bunch more pictures of wondrous cakes and cupcakes over on Cake wrecks.

Fighting aliens, with an Irish twist.

2012-07-17T04:28:00.000-07:00

In Irish cinemas from August 10th 2012. Directed by Jon Wright, GRABBERS tells the story of Ciarán O'Shea, a charming but heavy-drinking local Garda who is tasked with greeting Lisa Nolan, a straight-laced young officer who has just arrived to a small fishing village off the West coast of Ireland. Not that there's much for them to do, aside from dealing with the occasional drunk, and that's usually O'Shea himself. But strange doings are afoot: the crew of a fishing boat disappears, whales start appearing dead on the shore, a local lobsterman catches a strange tentacled creature in his trap. Soon it becomes clear to Garda O'Shea and Nolan that there's something big out there, and that it's hungry. It's time to rally the villagers, arm the troops...and head to the pub!

Watched the trailer? Yup

Read the synopsis? Yup

Ready to watch the movie? Hell Yes!

What nightmares will come from eating Oreos?

2012-07-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

This is awesome! Slightly creepy agreed, and probably what I will dream with be chasing me the next time I binge on a box of Oreos before bedtime.... but still awesome.

Source wigalicious toys

Light sabers are like bacon, it just makes things better

2012-07-15T08:58:00.002-07:00

This is a solid action scene on its own, but the light saber add just that extra flavor to make it a whole value geek meal. I especially like Jamie Lannister's expression at the end; he looks like he just watched someone eat the last cookie, the one that he had been eying for the past five hours.

The Crust of the Underworld and other Tommy Adams news

2012-07-13T19:55:00.002-07:00

Good news everyone, my second short story in the build up to the Red Orb saga, The Crust of the Underworld, is a step closer to completion. The first draft is done and reviewed. Which always is a happy time for me because now its time to break out the turtle wax and start polishing the heck out of it until it gleams. This is by far the hardest and most grueling process of writing in my opinion but it has to be done.

The other big sign that things are moving along is that the fantastically talented artist Crystal Ben has agreed to do the cover to this book, you can checkout her art and website over here.

For those that cannot wait to read the short, (all three of you, you know who you are) once the first chapter of "The Crust of the Underworld" has been edited, proof read and sufficiently polished I plan to post a per-release sample on scribd.com, but in the mean time if you want to read samples of my other works you can find many of them already there.

For those that are on facebook, I've done some work to Tommy Adams' FB Page and have even added a store to buy signed copies of my books, which you can fine here.

And to round up the rest of what I have been up to this week, I have spent a considerable amount of time discovering the joys of iMovie and have been messing around, perhaps a little too much, with it. The Result of which are a few trailers for "The Bread to Ozzy" which you can view below.

Trailer #1

Trailer #2

Curious to know what everyone thinks of these, so please feel free to express your opinions in the comment section.

My muse is looking good!

2012-07-07T16:06:00.001-07:00

Today I found the perfect accessory for my muse. My muse; a small skull carved from stone with copper wire antennae to channel creative signals, sounds kind of weird when I write it down like this...but that is what it is. And before today it was just that, an odd looking stone with a piece of copper strung through it sitting next to my computer screen. One which I would occasionally asked question to...

BUT NO MORE!

Today, during an impulse stop a goodwill, I found the best thing in the world to elevate the simple stone from inanimate object to something of near relic status; the instrument of this transformation is cunningly simple. None other than a small glass case. The result, which you can see in the picture, is great. Perhaps not as great as a talking skull inhabited by a knowledge spirit, but a step in the right direction. Maybe I should name the muse now? give it some more character.

Anyway how about you? Do you have a small object that you keep near you creative workspace and use as an anthropomorphic symbolization of your create impulses?

If you do, would love to hear about in the comments.

Does magic need rules?

2012-07-01T13:56:00.002-07:00

While debating the finer points of some hypothetical argument I was attempting, but failing, to win, the conversation stumbled upon something that threw me off. The short debate started with the following question;

How does the magic work in your world?

Me: Well...eh? It just does, doesn't it? I mean its magic, it doesn't really do much then what its intended to do. To drive the plot usually.

Other Person: No, it can just do that. The magic wielder needs some from of limitation, he can't just do what he wants, that that would be unrealistic. Can everyone in your world with magical abilities turn the moon into butter or the seas to lemonade.

Me: No... But we would they want to?

Other Person: There needs to be some logic or rules to how the magic works to make it believable.

Me: Believable? Its magic there’s nothing realistic about it. All the spell are fantasy its not really going to happen...is it?

Other (now slightly more smug) person: Ah, but it would make your story more interesting and engaging if you made the magic believable. Give it some structure so the reader know how far a person can go with it.

Me: Ah?... good point.

Thinking back on it, its not a bad questions.

Which is why I am writing about it here, what do you think? Is this true should the magic in a story have a set of rules or adhere to some set manner that it will react, like magical physics? Do you feel that it makes a story more engaging if you understand the mechanics of the magic that is being used by the different supernatural creatures? or is it just hog wash and magic should do as magic does and doesn't need no stinking explanation?

Love to hear your opinions in the comments.

Update

2012-06-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I wrote a post on my blog and thought I'd share a few tid-bits about what's new in the Tommy Adams world.

The big thing is that my new short story "The Road to Ozzy" is done and now available for sale on Apple's iBookstore and amazon.com. I think its a pretty cool story and the illustration Kathryn Hudson made work really well.

I also made a short audio sample of the book where you can listen to hear. it the first time I did this and am curious to the response it will get. you can listen to it here.

The next short story "Crust of the Underworld" is also close to being completed and I am shooting for a release by the end of July. This short is all about Godiva Suet and I think its a fun story. Still no illustrater on board for this story yet, though I am negotiating with someone that I think would be perfect.

The other big shake up is my new website www.theredorb.com. This is now the central source for updates and information for all my books. Please head on over and check it out.

In a little bit of sad news, the www.majitoroium.com website after today will be shutting down. Though I have great love for this site and there are some big plans for the majitorium domain in the future, I am regrettably too constraint on time to get everything done the way it needs to be right now and it will have to wait until the opportune time before I can relaunch it again.

Tommy Adams also has a Facebook page and if you want to stay up to date on all the developments please click here and hit the like button.

Amazon's KDP Select does it work?

2012-01-14T07:11:00.000-08:00

The answer for me is yes.

I've been using Amazon's self publishing program for about three years now, as well as a few others, such a smashwords.com, scribd.com and Lulu.com. Though the later three are excellent websites, I don't sell my book there any more cause they didn't work for me and I think the crowds that shop there are not a viable market to sell more than a couple of books too. That is however only my opinion based on my experiences, others claim great success with these websites, I wish I knew what I did wrong.

I still think its troublesome that one company is gaining so much say in the self publishing market but at this point they are the big game in town so why fight it. Other option will present themselves over time as things develop but right now Amamzon.com is ahead of the curve so why not take advantage of it while you can.

Don't miss understand me here, amazon isn't flawless. Two things that alway bugged my about amazon KDP program is that:

There is no way for me to really promote my book on amazon.com
There is no way to track things. I have no idea of how many people are downloading a sample of my books or even how many people visited my book's page on amazon.

These are two things the other website I mentioned above can do.

Well, I think I wasn't alone in my silent grumblings because amazon introduced the KDP Select program a while back and addressed one of the issues, namely:

YOU CAN NOW PROMOTE YOU BOOK ON AMAZON.COM

I've got to say this thing is amazing, the result of being able to give a book away for free on amazon.com has had a huge effect. I would even go as far to say if you were going to do just one thing to promote your book use KDP select.

Some tips:

If you wanted to really take advantage of this, combine the KDP select free days with a google adword campaign. Its cost a little yes but the returns are well worth it.

If you only have the one book to give away, you might consider making a sample of it and give that away for free instead of the whole book. Doing so is also a usfule way to see what people think of your writing. If a 100 people download your sample chapters and not one person buys your complete book, maybe you might consider giving the work another look as clearly something about the story isn't engaging the readers.

The other things that I would warn against is don't promote your book for free on amazon in the hopes of getting reviews. After giving away hundreds of copies I have yet to see one person write a review about the part they downloaded for free. If its reviews you're after I would recommend to go to the people that review books. There are hundreds (thousands?) of blogs out there most of the people that run them are very nice and very helpful and often writers themselves so they know a thing or two about what you need.

Well no werewolves in this post, just some of my thoughts on KDP select program.

If you want to add your thoughts please do in the comment section.

Werewolf, the human appeal

2011-12-30T10:59:00.000-08:00

The reason I got started with this whole werewolf spiel is because most of what I had read/seen until then was just bad and very little, after I had started to dig into the subject matter, was better.

Most of it was either bad fiction,

Underworld,

Werewolf as vampire fodder

bad characters,

Twilight New moon,

Werewolf as 'cute' rebond guy from vampire

(have some self respect man!)

weird motivations,

The Wolfman 2010,

Daddy issues gone out of control

strange plots

Brotherhood of the wolf,

tell me in one sentence WTF this film is about, I dare you.

And most of it repetitive to the point that I now suspect there is a werewolf archetype that is ingrained in the mass subconscious mind (thought template might be a better word). It kind of sad but the werewolf tale has evolved into a simplistic story line that can be used as a counter weight for other supernatural creatures. A nicely packaged plot device encased in emergency glass that can be broken to ward off writers block which can be shoe horned into a story.

Worse still, the werewolf character never gets a chance to develop, he or she remains what it is. A static and very often only wolf (non-human side until it dies) monster lurking in the depths of a poor conjured reverse deus ex machina, ready to pounce on a dwindling storyline in need of a shot of excitement. The result is often hollow and remains firmly rooted in the before mentioned mass agreed concept, as in:

"Then a werewolf jumped out from the dark and hunted -- enter protagonist name here-- until the night was done and the full moon set,"

but the werewolf remains blurred at the edges. Little thought into what makes the wolf tick which chains it down forever as an ill fitting plot vehicle to move a story along. Then when the story is focused on the werewolf, its usually more about the wolf then the man. Which is a shame because the human side of it should be as equally important or more so, as its the side that the reader can relate to. Any effort to make the reader care about the man/women stuck in the werewolf might give the beast some dramatic weight and a much needed dimension other then "the monster of the night".

Which brings me to the NBC show Grimm. If you want to see what I am mean by adding a little dramatic weight go check it out. Its a great show, though not entirely werewolf more werewolfish, but it is an example of seeing the man behind the beast(s).

Agree or disagree let me know in the comments below

In the spirit of werewolves

2011-11-16T18:07:00.001-08:00

Inspired to make something of the research on werewolves I've done, I thought I'd give a go at forming a hypotheses of sorts for my own werewolf tale and take a small step towards defining my own lore.

First question if felt I should start with is: How should the werewolf curse spread?

Granted its an odd place to start, but bare with me. Understanding how the werewolf curse spreads has important implication. The motive or result will have a great motivational impact on the characters and story's tone. So what would it be for me? Taking a look at the established I feel there is a lot of room for improvement.

Most werewolf stories the curse is transmitted through a bite or a scratch to a new, and more often then not a highly unwilling, victim. Which I think (and will explain in a moment) is far a to easy of a solution and one that often brushes over some other possibilities for exploration. Well I say easy... surviving a werewolf attack is probably not the easiest thing to do but still there should be more to it then a mere scratch or bite. Aside from the fact that it lacks something in the creativity department, it also lacks intention. The process should be more interesting and appealing to some degree and should be filled with a sense of purpose, enough at least that a human would volunteer to try it. For argument sake compare the scratch/bite method to with how vampires go about it.

Vampire stories have a variety of process and rituals of procreation that ensures that the making of the vampire is generally a deliberate one and also a somewhat chosen act. It also has the added bonus of an inbuilt hierarchic bond between the old an new vampire. All good stuff you don't get with werewolves stories and I got ask why not?

The popular scratch/bite manner generally has the result that a newly created member is nothing more than a traumatized victim of a bloody assault and after the attack there is little interaction with the new werewolf's creature. Which, and you'll hopefully agree, doesn't sound like the most appealing way to join the werewolf club. The other thing I don't like about the scratch bite thing that its completely random. A werewolf can make a new werewolf and never know about it. More troubling, when continuing on that thought that if all it takes is a scratch then the werewolf curse is distilled to nothing more then a rapidly transmitted affliction similarly to the likes of zombies. And how long would it take for the werewolf population to grow so exponentially large that it would quickly paralyze human society as is often the case with zombie stories.

To me it the scratch/bite method just doesn't fit right. Just from reading up on wolves you quickly see there is a complex group behavior symbology of which could/should apply to werewolves. For instance, there is a natural order in a wolf pack and wolves hunt in a pack. Not to get too deep in the matter but my point being do a little digging and you can find good stuff to build on. The genrally impression I get from most modern werewolf lore is that a lot of the stuff that could be at the core is added later as an after thought.

The conclusion is that the process or ritual would have to be sufficiently complex that not every Tom, Dick and Harry would be turned into a wolf-man by a rough brush in with fang or claw but appealing enough that new recruits would want to try it .

So how should the werewolf curse work then? any suggestion or idea would be most welcome.

Let me tell you of the Road cry

2011-11-11T17:22:00.001-08:00

The man, Orbixtheus, eased back in the dusty lounge chair, it protest audibly with a wiry cry of protest. The springs, nearly rusted through, flaked dry red tears. For the chair, just like the rest of the house, it was effort to be used. Decay had lain claim to everything in this abode. The signs of entropic's touch were abound, from the fraying orange pattered fabric the six foot tall man rested on, to the decomposing wood that held the floor the chair stood on. The house was a skeletal memory of the home it had once been, when the young North Dakota farming couple hat had built it all those forgotten years ago.

Orbixtheus cared little for the history of the house, to him it was a convenient place to hide. He positioned his large hands on the arm rests, the sleeves of his bordeaux red coat covering the exposed stuffing that statically bled from the ripped material, he griped the hardwood curls at the end, causing his silver ruby red ring to make a hollow click when it connected with the polished surface.

"Remind me lad, have I ever told you of the Road Cry?" Orbixtheus smiled though his thick gray beard. His dark eyes fix on the boy starved for his attention, the young man shook his head.
"No?" Orbixtheus drew out the word. "Then I will. Its important that you know about your people, epically if you are to lead them." The man brought his right hand to his face to rub his chin. "But where to start?" He tapped a finger against his lower lip. "At the beginning I suppose." The teenage boy stood three yards before the man, his hands at his side and his face without a hint of emotion.
"Werewolves." the man whispered with a gleam in his eye. "What do you know of them?"The boy shrugged.
"Then, that is were we will start."

Wolverine a modern werewolf?

2011-10-31T18:57:00.000-07:00

Is the popular marvel comic book character wolverine a modern werewolf? Well no... but he does have similarities that are worth a closer look. What got me interested in wolverine to start with is that he is one of the more popular characters in the marvel comic's cannon, and he has been for decades. Its striking, at least to me, how close he resembles to a werewolf. For instance let me list some of the properties wolverine shares with werewolf lore:
1) Wolverine has a strong inner beast that is often symbolized as a wolf.
2) He heals incredibly fast.
3) He has a relationship with a precious metal, andimantium, though its more of a strength than a weakness
4) When he reveals his claws it's a painful, thought minor, transformation.
5) Heightened senses
6) Excessive body hair

I feel like there is something there, really the one thing that he is lacking and probably the most important reason why he can't be considered a modern werewolf is that his abilities lack any relation with the moon (see previous post about what two traits I think define a werewolf).

See how well he fits in

Yet, I could easily see this character joining and be accepted by a pack of werewolves as he has so much in common with them. I am sure the good people at marvel have already explored the similarities and there is most likely a smart comic book out there with Wolverine teaming up or fighting a werewolf or... Wait I stand corrected, there is nothing good about the people at marvel, just look at it...sigh that's just... Well at least they didn't take it any further then a stupid toy...

Seriously?

ANYWAY...Weather or not wolverine is a werewolf or not isn't really the point. What I am interested in is to find ways to tweak the werewolf as we know it and devise a myth that would help make it more relevant then just a stock adversary for modern vampires. I think Wolverine is a well suited template or guide to help define a modern werewolf and exploring what traits that make wolverine, well wolverine, and could be useful as a point of reference.

So what do you think makes wolverine wolverine? Is it his code, his internal brooding or perhaps its his ruthless calculated manner to get the job done. Please let me know what you think in the comments.

Are zombies for the burbs?

2011-10-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

From werewolf to zombie in 3 easy steps

While doing research on werewolves, an oddity developed and sidetracked me completely. It happened when I was looking at my notes and had written the following.

City =Vampire
Countryside= Werewolf
Suburbs =?

Living in suburbia myself, I got eagerly distracted and started to theorize what kind of mythical creature would feel at home and thrive in a sub-city kind of landscape. Then it dawned on me; Zombies!

I am sure more people have come to this conclusion but looking at the three groups together like that got me thinking about how to fit them together in a comprehensible and plausible narrative, more specifically how could I project the relationship of the three on the different landscapes and in turn what would the different types of land add to their myths.

Bending my mind over this I got inspired by a vague memory from one of my high school history classes (you know, as one does). The class in mind was about the impact of the industrial revolution on a countries social-economical development. How the rise of manufacturing changed the socials structures and caused huge shifts in population and wealth. So taking that train of thought I summarized that this surely would have effected more then just humans. What if I added werewolves to the mix as a starting point?

Let me explain by blatantly over simplifying the one aspect of the industrial revolution that seems to fit (so I can then quickly move onto what I am getting at); The social-economical development I am thinking about goes as follows; As a country becomes more industrialized its economy develops introducing more wealth and opportunity, as a result the population starts to migrate from the countryside to the cities to take advantage of these opportunities, then as the city expands over the years, space becomes an issue, people move out of the city into the newly created suburbs.

To apply the above to my zombie proposition, I envision the following scenario. Werewolves move or are forced to the city, as time passes they become vampires who then as more time passes become zombies that are forced out to the suburbs.

The concept needs a little work, but I especially like the idea of the suburbs acting as a border between city and country, making the zombies a natural divider of the two others. Also, there is something to be said about the relational dynamics of the three groups in such a setting. Vampires having developed from werewolves and then looking down on them as lesser beings to only live in fear of becoming mindless zombies that are totally consumed by their hunger, which switches from blood to brains.

There are a whole lot of other facets in this I'd like to explore, such as: How did the vampires evolved from the werewolves? how long would it take for a werewolf to become a vampire and why do the vampires become zombies and what is the process? why did the werewolves move from the country side to the city? But most importantly this introduces a cycle that connects the three groups together.

Could be a fun premisses to write about.

Also, I can't help wonder about the motivations that drives the three human predators and what their lusts implies about the different groups they then prey on; Is it somewhat telling that the manifestation of their ultimate hunger, so concentrated into a single urge, that it needs to be fulfill above all else, might it in fact be a reflection of a mass subconscious want that is lacking in the hunted humans lives?

Or put more simply: What does a Zombie's hunger for brains say about the suburban population it preys on?

Zombie Propaganda

Just a thought I wanted to share. So what kind of mythical creature would you have chosen to prey on suburbanites ? Perhaps you have better ideas to add? I'd love to hear what they are in the comments.