Brain Damage: The Blog of the Swands

Stay Dead 2: The Dead & The Dying

2013-05-16T11:21:00.000-04:00

So, my second novel, Stay Dead 2: The Dead & The Dying is done and available. I tried to write the best story I could. I gave it my all and I'm really freaking happy with how it turned out. Writing this book was really a challenge--not because finding the time to write was hard, or anything like that, but because I let the negative reviews of my first novel--Stay Dead--get to me. I tried to block them out, tried not to pay attention to them, but they were always there. Regardless of my insecurities I pushed on and got it done.

I'll admit, I released Stay Dead before I should have. Not that, in my opinion the story isn't good, but because there were a lot of errors and mistakes and lots of little shit that could've been cleaned up before it's release. I was too eager to put it out and in the end the book and I suffered for it. Well, I like to learn from my mistakes. I hired an editor to go over Stay Dead and make sure there was nothing too glaring editorially. I made a few small changes, fixed some formatting issues, fixed a few more spelling errors and brought the same editor--Adam Staffaroni--in for book two. My wife and I labored over catching my spelling errors--of which there were many. My first readers were awesome and insightful as always. I held off. Reading it again, making sure it was just right and just where I wanted it to be. Now it's ready and now I don't care what the reviews will say--well, I probably will care a little, but I'm trying to ignore them all and just keep moving forward to books three and four where I think I will truly bring something new and original into the zombie genre.

If you haven't given any of my Stay Dead works a read, check out Stay Dead (Book One) it's FREE over here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/51562
Why is it free? Well, I want to reach new readers. The book doesn't sell too well since the bad reviews--even after I've cleaned up my errors and the misspelled words have been corrected--most of them anyway, but it's just not selling. The damage is done. So why not free? I hope more people will check it out and then check out The Dead & The Dying and all the hell that will follow in the coming installments.

Once amazon finds out it's free there, they will probably match it. Read it, and keep in mind that it's a series. Stay Dead 2: The Dead & The Dying picks up directly after Stay Dead. Book Three is in progress and I will warn you right now, we take a closer look at our characters in the Mount Weather Special Facility. So all the other characters in SD 1 and SD 2 will not reappear until Book Four. I'm in the process of outlining both of those books now and what I have planned out is something I think is truly different, some of which is foreshadowed in The Dead & The Dying which you can get at any of the links below.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/314720
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CPWUUFG
In Print: http://www.amazon.com/Stay-Dead-The-Dying-Volume/dp/0615803199
https://www.createspace.com/4245645

Stay Dead (Book One) Print Edition now available

2013-04-03T13:52:00.000-04:00

So for a while I didn't care to have a print edition of any of my written works. Not entirely sure why, as I still love printed books, so when I was finished with The Dead & The Dying (Stay Dead Book Two) I decided it was time. I personally want to see them sitting on my shelf--whether or not anyone else does. And I decided to go back to my original Stay Dead logo. I also changed the cover and brought in an Editor for the series--Adam Staffaroni whom I've worked with at DC Comics and BOOM! Studios. He's now going over Book Two and I hope to be publishing it soon--like in a month soon. So if you've enjoyed Stay Dead and want to grab a print edition you can get it from either of these links:

https://www.createspace.com/4193759

http://amzn.com/0615783090

I thank you in advance, and I hope you look forward to Book Two. Book Three is already in progress too!

Die Winter Die!

2013-03-22T08:53:00.000-04:00

One of my blog readers reached out to me to see if he could use one of my pieces for a band flyer. I said sure. I used to make a few flyers in my day, and I don't think I ever asked anyone if it was cool if I used their art or images. He sent me a pic of the flyer and it looks pretty cool. Here it is…

Pet Semetary VS The Bravest Warriors

2013-03-21T22:44:00.000-04:00

So tonight I finished listening to an audio book of Stephen King's Pet Semetary and man did I forget how heartbreaking and utterly crushing this story is. I was lettering some pages for Bravest Warriors #7--a funny book from BOOM! Studios, a book that will usually have me laughing aloud as I work, but not this time. I was so bummed out. I'm glad the story is over now. There, I feel better already.

Kickstart my heart

2013-02-19T19:10:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone,
I know it's been awhile since I've posted on the regular, but that will be a changing. 2013 I'm going back to basics, cutting out a bunch of bullshit and finding time to do the creative things I really want to, rather than things I get paid to do. Sometimes, they are one and the same, but not always. One of the things I want to this year is to help get Omega, Earth's Hero funded. This is a new original comic book written by Keith Latch with a stellar art team signed on to see it through. To learn more about that, check out this link to it's kickstarter page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brokenmind/omega-issue-1crashing-into-earth

I'll be posting some more shit soon…

Happy Holidays!

2012-12-21T13:46:00.001-05:00

Zombie sketch

2012-10-18T10:26:00.002-04:00

And here's a crummy sketch/drawing of zombies on a lunch break. I just banged this out really quickly so I could get the sketch assignment done on time. I kind of like the face of the zombie looking at us, but that's about it.

Dick Tracy character modernizations.

2012-10-18T10:23:00.004-04:00

I did these for a sketch group/blog that I belong to--Sketch Attack!--they were modern takes on old Dick Tracy characters. So here you have Prune Face and Flattop.

Sketch Attack! Sixshooter from the Puppet Master movies.

2012-10-18T10:18:00.001-04:00

AFFLICTED

2012-06-27T16:56:00.003-04:00

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/06/25/dont-lose-your-head-over-afflicted-mia/

I lettered this book about a year ago, and now it's finally seeing a release. Check out the teaser over at Bleeding Cool and some more info about a cool new mini-series.

American Vampire: Lord Of Nightmares

2012-06-22T09:50:00.002-04:00

So it's been a while since I've been able to blog--which is a good thing, cause it means I've been busy! But I just wanted to say how excited I am to be back on an American Vampire comic...it's a mini-series and features some truly stunning artwork from Dustin Nguyen, and a great story by Scott Snyder. The colorist, John Kalis--I think I spelled that wrong--is also bringing a lot to the mix and is really setting the mood.

Some other things I've been lettering that you can still find on the shelves are…Dial H #2 (a really cool and quirky series), Adventure Time, coming soon you should be seeing Marceline and the Scream Queens (where I also colored one of the covers! More on that soon!), Supurbia will be out as an ongoing series in the next few weeks! Actually, there's a lot of cool things going on so maybe I'll resurrect my old weekly post "Things I Lettered" if anyone's interested.

Goat Skull Brush & Ink illustration on bristol board

2012-05-07T18:53:00.001-04:00

Goat Skull Brush & Ink illustration on bristol board.

DIAL H #1 out this week!!

2012-05-05T20:54:00.000-04:00

DIAL H is out this week and is going to be a fun ride. This is exactly the kind of book I want to read more of so I hope it does really well--which I think it will. It's dark, strange, and just stunning to look at.

Here's a link to read more about it over at Newsarama: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/china-mieville-dial-h-dc-comics-new-52-second-wave.html

Two new paintings…

2012-04-26T13:48:00.002-04:00

So I've been able to get some painting done. Mostly to warm myself up for a super secret project I'm working on, and I came up with these:

Jake was at my side for most of them and was working on some paintings of his own, which I think came out far better than these.

The Last Woman On Earth eBook Free for your kindle!

2012-03-05T08:20:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone, today you can pick up The Last Woman On Earth short story for free for your kindle, or kindle reading app: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007FR0QQ4

Hope you enjoy it.

The Last Woman On Earth eBook

2012-03-01T15:59:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, this month's short story, The Last Woman On Earth, is up and available for purchase. It's enrolled in KDP Select, so pretty soon I will be picking my promo days and you can get it for free.

The Last Woman On Earth is a short story where Noelle, a good girl with a mean streak, is pressured into joining her boyfriend, Zeke, and his younger, simpler brother Burt to hang out in their new fallout shelter. Little does she know the two boys have ulterior motives, but little do they know her father taught her to be prepared for anything.

Approximate word count: 2,700

GI Joe mania over at Sketch Attack

2012-02-29T10:26:00.001-05:00

Our last sketch assignment was G.I. Joe and it was a ton of fun. I love G.I. Joe and couldn't wait to get started, unfortunately I couldn't devote the time to it that I wanted to. I really wanted to make a double page spread of the all the dreadnoks partying it up around a campfire, I was only able to get as far as character sketches, and a rough 'cover' idea. Anyway, go check it out, there's a lot of really good sketches over there: http://sketchattack.tumblr.com/ we have more artists involved and it's really turning out to be an awesome blog.

Blog Hop

2012-02-03T11:35:00.002-05:00

Bone Bat Rising

2012-02-02T20:11:00.001-05:00

Here's the final poster that transpired from those crummy sketches. Steve and Gord over at The Bone Bat podcast were happy and so was I. It was really fun to get to draw something for a change. Go check out the bone bat show's website and subscribe, they're funny as hell and play some good tunes: http://bonehand.com/bonebatff.html and you can find out more about the Film Fest.

Sketchytons Part 3

2012-02-02T20:04:00.000-05:00

Then things started to shape up. Gone were the cartoony elements and I found myself on the right track.

Sketchytons Part 2

2012-02-02T20:01:00.000-05:00

Then this abomination happened…

Sketchytons.

2012-02-02T19:59:00.001-05:00

Here's the first sketch I did for the Bonebat Film Fest 2012 poster. I had in mind that these would be cartoony and animated. Turns out, this was the wrong approach. I eventually figured it out as you'll see soon.

Scars of Envy: Forsaken Me

2012-02-02T19:45:00.000-05:00

If you're into heavy music, than you need to check out Scars of Envy's Forsaken Me. These guys are tearin' it up.

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/scarsofenvy#

The Devil Gave Me A Gun free on amazon!

2012-02-01T08:06:00.000-05:00

Here it is, The Devil Gave Me A Gun, for free on amazon.com for your kindle! Please go download it. Thanks in advance and Kieth and I hope you enjoy the story.
http://www.amazon.com/Devil-Gave-Me-Gun-ebook/dp/B0072PLMTE

The Devil Gave Me A Gun

2012-01-28T14:22:00.000-05:00

The Devil Gave Me A Gun is a short story that I wrote with fellow writer Keith Latch over the last few weeks. It's a story that I don't think either of us could have wrote by ourselves. It was a really fun experience and it won't be the last time we collaborate on a story, either. Right now it's 99 cents at amazon and we're enrolling it into the KDP Select program, because the free promotional days are just amazing. The reach I've been getting by sheer amount of downloads still boggles my mind, whether it will translate to increased sales or some sort of fan base I don't know, in the meantime it's just cool to watch those download numbers skyrocket through a promo day.

So far, my trying to write a new short story every month this year is working out. This will be my February story and will be available for free in February for at least two days. Next month's story is done and I just have to go back in and fix it up so it's fit for consumption. So, get used to more of these posts, but I'm not trying to get you to cough up 99 cents every time I write something. No, what I'd like is for everyone to download it on a free day and leave a review. A story in exchange for a few words expressing your thoughts on it is a great deal, I think.

But enough about that, I have to get back to lettering comics…