Freitag, 30. Januar 2009

The world is going to end on December the 21st, 2012… or so the Mayans would have us believe anyway.
The Mayan calendar only actually goes up to that date, marking the end of an epoch and the beginning of another, or giving the date for the Apocalypse.
Nobody really knows.
I've read quite a lot on the subject and the evidence to support the "it's-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it" speculation is extraordinarily weighty. In fact, to the man on the street who doesn't know a solar flare to a case of sunburn, it's all too convincing.
The theory goes that the alignment of the planets in our solar system and the position of our solar system in relation to the Milky Way on that day, will leave us open to a massive drenching of solar energy (i.e. radiation).
Now I've just encapsulated the whole theory in one neat little paragraph but it'd take a whole book to put it across properly, so I'll stop right there.
What I want to tell you about is an Anthology of short stories about the End of the World according to the Mayan Calendar thingy-majig. Severed press want short stories based around AD2012; which, incidentally, is what it's called.
I'm interested.
I've got till April to sort a story out, (plenty of time), and to do all my research, (what research? I know the subject backwards).
So I think I'll make the deadline.
Right, the story…
Well I had a think about it last night.
My story development process normally revolves around the beginning, then the end, the characters and then the bit in the middle.
So my beginning will start off with the hero, or maybe the villain… yes, he'll be a villain, watching the world through lead lined glass as the first invisible spears of radiation hit the world. (Invisible spears of radiation… I like that one, it stays).
The ending of any short story must have a twist. I hate short stories that dwindle off into an artistic nothingness leaving the reader to guess at what happened.
Realisation of a definite point is far better than aimlessly contemplating on what the writer might have meant, is my school of thought on an ending.
As it happens, I have an ending already so I'm one sixteenth of the way there already.
Easy.
April, watch out Severed press, I'm gonna knock your socks off, lol.

Take care.
Reg :-)

Montag, 26. Januar 2009

Finished the "Hot-Gates-into-a-comic" thing.
I'm going to leave it for the day and then look at it again tomorrow, just to make sure the story flows nicely and that it makes sense.
I'm really excited about it actually.

Still heard nothing from the Snowbooks peeps.
Is that a good sign?
Knowing my luck, no.
Whatever, at least they want to see the whole MS and not just the first six chapters and a synopsis. It makes you feel like they're giving you a fighting chance, (until that rejection slip just wafts through the intray and destroys my day...Doh!)

So, that's it dear reader.
Take care and have a good one.
Reg :-)

Freitag, 23. Januar 2009

So what's new then?
Well nothing actually.
I'm steadily eating up the pages on the "Hot Gates into a comic story" idea and my buddy, The Chee, wants to do it whether Dani can sort out something with one of her friends or not.
Which is mighty Welsh of him, actually.
I'm off now for the whole weekend, which is nice.
A party tonight and tomorrow followed by a Sunday of rest and recuperation on the sofa being tortured by my kids.

I'm sorting out an outline for a short story set in WW1. Nothing definite yet but it's on the tip of my cerebral lobes and I'll splurge it out onto a page sometime next week… sounds a bit naughty that doesn't it?
Only to the dirty-minded, Reg.
Oh.
OK, whatever, catch you again.
Reg :-)

Mittwoch, 21. Januar 2009

Nothing to add today.

I wish somebody would mail me with some good news...
literally speaking of course.

Reg :-/

Donnerstag, 15. Januar 2009

So here's the plan.
You know about the 300-Spartans-go-vampire story that I scribbled down.
Well a mate of mine is a graphic designer, who is itching to do a graphic novel.
It was originally intended to do it for 'Division' but the time involved in changing a 140,000 word novel into an elongated comic book was too daunting to really consider.
We played with the thought every time we were whammoed together but it never went any place further than the drunken drawing board.
However, The Hot Gates, as it's called is only 10,275 words. A far more promising project, with closer horizons and a tighter play.
It's a job that could be accomplished in his spare time and not get in the way of his career.

So The Chief, (The Chief of Beers, what a stupid nickname. We also call him The Chee, which is even stupider.)
As I was saying, the Chief is willing to put The Hot Gates down in comic form.
However, I don't want to mess the boy around. It would be far better to find a publishing firm who deal in this type of literature first and then put it to paper.
That's where my friend Dani comes in.
When we first mentioned putting Div. of the Damned into comic form, Dani said that she knew two comic book publishers personally.
"Well," said I, "do you think they'd be interested in this?"
"I don't know" was the reply. "I'll have to find out."
And that's where it all sort of drizzled out.
Anyway, I've asked her again if she's still in contact with these comic book dudes and I'm hoping against hope that she say's yes.
I can't tell you how much I'm hoping here, lol.

Whatever, now you know.
Have a good one, whatever it is you're doing.
Reg J

Dienstag, 13. Januar 2009

I've spent the last couple of days thinking up clever one liners for the tracklist on the CD the band is recording.
The idea is to have a line, couplet or saying that connects to the song, under the name of the track.
For example :

The Excorcist
In the cold, lonely churchyard I slipped in the blade, and sang praise to the heavens for the soul I'd just saved.

The song is about a man killing innocent people who he thinks are possessed. There's twelve tracks and therefore twelve of these lines.
One of them, though, is "doin' my 'ead in" as they say just south of the Watford Gap.
For the track 'Zealot' I used the line :

"Man is never more resolute and fulfilled than when he's killing for his God."

Now my question is, have I unknowingly plagiarised this line?
My mate/buddy/pal Adam, (guitar player in the band) reckons it sounds familiar, which is both annoying and worrying at the same time.
Annoying because if I have somehow copied it from some other text then I'll have to bin it.
Disturbing because it means that senile dementia really is unfolding its kraken-like tentacles over my drink addled brain.
I really hope that is not the case.

Any takers on this one?

Reg :-/
(worried)
PS. If it sounds familiar but you don't have the quote for me then I'm going to use it. It's not on Google or Yahoo so...

Sonntag, 11. Januar 2009

So, Sunday.
Normally a day of rest, today I'm going to sort out my second satellite dish so I can receive BBC, ITV and Sianel Pedwar Cymru. Not that I speak Welsh but a couple of sentences a day will make me remember my Gran and Taid who used to use Welsh to curse in front of the children. The unfortunate thing was that we kids knew all the Welsh swear words and it always sent us into raptures to hear our grandparents swearing so openly thinking nobody else knew what they were on about.
So that's that then.
Tee, to your question about the names in The Hot Gates; they're all actual characters from the battle of Thermopylae. The only one I made up was Caturnes because there was no record of the names of Xerxes' oracles.
That's it for today folks. Have a nice weekend.
Reg J

Donnerstag, 8. Januar 2009

42 today, 42 today.
He's got the key to the door,
never been 42 before...
Happy Birthday me!!!

Right, to business.
I sent my short story off yesterday. The Ides of March is about Markus Brutus discovering that Caesar is a vampire and the subsequent series of events that lead up to Caesar's assassination.
Sounds wacky?
Yeah, that's what my Mam said.
Whatever, there it be and there it goes.

So that's it for now. I'm off for my Birthday breakfast of Birthday Boy corn flakes and Birthday Boy toast and jam.
Smile if you're hungry...
:-)
Reg.

Montag, 5. Januar 2009

Twelve days off now.
We, that is my place of work, all had to take three days off this month because of the slow down in production.
It's paid holiday but it comes off of my entitlement.
Not happy about that; I mean, who wants to take holiday in January?
Nobody, that's who. Unless you have a birthday this month, which I do.
Still not happy about it though.
Bah.

My neighbour was told the other day that if the doctors don't do something soon, his heart will give out inside of five years!!!
He's only about forty four. He drinks, but not much, he does sport and he doesn't smoke.
Where is the justice in that? How can there be an all-seeing all-knowing being up there when travesties of fairness like that are going on all around us?
Compare that to my laughable problems.
You can't, can you?

So stop whining Jones!

ok, ok...

Reg

Freitag, 2. Januar 2009

2009 !!!
WAHAY!!!
The year I sell an idea, (be it book, short story or lyric).

Actually, I'm not telling fibs about the lyrics.
The band I write for, "Gods will be done", have a record deal. They're to be found at:

http://www.godswillbedone.de/

I'm afraid the site's in Deutsch but I'm sure you'll get an idea of how they are, (mad as a dyslexic's alphabet soup, actually.)
Anyway, I digress, they're recording a twelve track cd next year and it's going straight into the shops, (well Amazon at first but then the sky's the limit).
So if you like classic thrash metal, have a listen.
If you don't like thrash then don't bother because it'll make your ears bleed, lol.
There are other things in the pipeline as well. A record company in France want to sign them for their French rights and a Japanese chap, who has started a GWBD fanclub, wants to sign them as well... there's gold in them thar hills!

Whatever, I'm not getting excited because metal doesn't sell anyway. The only payment I'll be getting is free beer at gigs, but it's still nice to have my lyrics appreciated.
AND free beer always goes down well, he he he.


Anyway, to the keys...

Happy new Year.
Reg :-)