Its almost time. I’m just a few chapters away from finishing off the second draft of the new Star Brigade book. Thank GOD! Looking forward to jumping into new territory for a bit. The new version should be good, and I’ve been able to tweak a few areas that needed some expanding. Even better, the short story experiment is working!
I’ve churned out a number of new short stories for Star Brigade and am currently working on a new one as we speak! Again, the great thing about this is really fleshing out the characters in more intimate ways than can be done in a novel with multiple POVs. Plus, I get to expand the universe in ways that are both fun and possible teasers at what’s to come in future stores. However, these short stories are compliments and not essentials to join in on the Star Brigade universe. The major thing about this experiment is that I’m still writing and learning how to better multitask my editing with another writing project, which is very essential for writers of all types. Funtivities.
Another cool project was born out of all this. I wrote the very first anything of a new book series that I’ve been developing for the past five+ years. Its from a secondary character’s POV, examines her relationships to one of the primary story leads and I’m really excited about it. Once I officially start on this series, more info will be revealed. Can’t wait!
BOOKS
Speaking of books and such, I’ve been making sure to read more frequently. After I finished A Storm of Swords, I then read the final book in the Hunger Games series “Mockingjay”. Suzanne Collins is an extremely talented writer, however, that book was such a huge fucking disappointment! It had the potential to be epic. However, it just retread familiar ground way too often and really ruined the main character. That’s all I’ll say for those who haven’t read the book yet.
After that, I jumped headlong into a book a friend of mine recommended late last year, “Ready Player One.” The cover and link to it on Amazon is below.
I’m about halfway through the book, and after about 40-50 pages of world building, the book has really started to take off. Its dystopian future/cyberpunk/alternate history sci-fi (is any sci-fi medium just one sub-genre anymore?). Ready Player One is also a huge neon gift-wrapped, geek chic love letter to the 80s. So naturally I’m digging that. I’ll give more conclusive thoughts once I finished in the next week or so.
TV SHOWS
With summer comes HBO’s summer TV season. Season 5 of True Blood and the new Aaron Sorkin show “The Newsroom“. How are they doing so far?
True Blood. So far, this season is looking far better than Season 4. Vampires are taking center stage, as they should on a show about…well, vampires. Finally, Sookie is starting catch shit for her actions. Bill and Eric continue to be awesome when away from Sookie. Tara as a vampire and with the always awesome Pam as her Maker has vast potential (where I initially felt that the character of Tara had no legs left). If the Authority aspect along with Russell Eddington continues to yield fruit, this season would be a nice swan song for Allan Ball has he steps down as showrunner.
The Newsroom. I really, really want to like this show. The problem? The characters are really, really unlikable. Like cringe-worthy when you watch the preachy behavior, the arrogance, the portfolio of opinions that serve no purpose to the storyline or even dialogue, and the at times manufactured stupidity. The women leads are written like dumbshits who are so professionally and romantically inept that they need a preachy and sanctimonious male douche-canoe to save themselves from their very incompetent existence. How can anyone take a news show EP seriously when she can’t even send a frakking email properly. And I like Emily Mortimer as an actress. She deserves far better than this. As does Allison Pill, who is awesome as an actress, yet her character seems to not be able to handle herself when dealing with an ex-boyfriend from years past and has to be saved by her talky, condescending boss who is clearly being set up to be her love interest. It’s a common thing in Sorkin shows to have the main love arc (Jeff Daniels/Emily Mortimer) and then the secondary love arc(s) (Allison Pill/ Pill’s boss. Don’t care enough to look up his name). But the women are written so poorly and the men so obnoxiously I really don’t care enough to see either of these two pairings happen. Another weird thing about Sorkin shows. It seems like every character talks the same hyperactive way as they pontify on the ills of society; they either pontify angrily, smugly, sulkily under their breath when another character’s angry or smug barrage is overwhelming or they pontify crazily. Eesh. I’m going to give this show a few more episodes to show me something does make getting through an episode such a chore. Or else, I’m out.
Anyhow. I’m going to try and see the new Spider Man movie either tonight or tomorrow. I’ll give my thoughts on that once I do. Till next time folks!
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