Greetings, fellow Bearers!
Whoops! I need to make a slight correction to my previous post! When I said that I had not read any of the Dark Tower series, I was referring to the Stephen King novels themselves. I have, however, read one of the graphic novel prequels to the series, entitled The Gunslinger Reborn which was penned by Peter David. Quite a read.
Sorry, that's the kind of guy I am. I like to be understood literally. :D
Anyway, back to work! See you in the Vein!
J. Dean
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Cubs and inquiries
Greetings, fellow Bearers (and inquisitive minds)!
This week, I want to touch base on two things. First, I've got a poem dedicated to the Chicago Cubs. Any of you who are diehard Cubs fans who lament the century plus of heartbreak brought on by the Northsiders of the Windy City, this one's for you. Don't worry: one day they will do it.
Funny enough: I don't live in Chicago, and having grown up in Michigan, my team was the Tigers. But I caught this documentary on HBO called "Wait 'til next year," which tells the story of the Cubs and the ups and downs they've gone through. Even if you're not a baseball fan, it's an interesting watch. And while baseball isn't my favorite sport, that documentary resonated with me. Last year I went to see the Cubs play the Tigers in Detroit. Great game, although I and my son were forced to leave by the fifth inning (Ever felt humidity in Detroit? It ain't fun). People have asked me who I would root for if the Cubs and Tigers ever met in a World Series. My response? I'll let you know when it happens :D
Second, I've been receiving several requests from people who have asked me to try to describe what sort of fantasy the World of the Vein embodies. This is a difficult one to answer, because anyone who has read The Summoning of Clade Josso will tell you that it's not your typical Tolkien-style fantasy. In other words, you don't have knights and elves and orcs and dragons and what not. While I appreciate the influence Tolkien has on the fantasy world (and let's face it: he deserves a lot of the credit for it, if not almost all of the credit), I didn't want to go in that direction. That's been done by enough authors in my opinion.
What I wanted with the Vein was something fresh and different. Something that blends the past and the future, and has a completely unique look and feel. The beauty of this is that you have a world and a story which stands out in a very unusual way, because there's nothing to compare it to. The drawback, however, is that it's difficult to relate the World of the Vein with anything else out there, because there's nothing to compare it to. That's why I tell people "You just have to read the book."
I suppose that, if there were to be any comparison to make, the closest concept I could compare the Vein to would have to be Stephen King's Dark Tower series, but even this falls short, because from what I understand (I've not read much of it, so I'm going by what little I know), King still relates his fantasy to elements of the "real world," such as New York City and Topeka, Kansas, both of which are found in his series. The hero, Roland, is a gunslinger-a cool concept, I admit, but a very different character in development and motive than the Vein's Clade Josso.
I would certainly welcome anybody who has read both King's novels (or at least The Gunslinger) and mine to put up a comparison of the two. I've intentionally refrained from reading any of King's DT works because I've wanted to keep mine as orginal as possible. Granted, if I did read his novels, it wouldn't change what I have planned, but I think I'll wait until my work is all finished.
Besides, knowing my past with Stephen King, I'll end up dropping off the end of the earth if I start reading anything of his (That's a BIG compliment to Mr. King-I can't put his books down :D )
So, until then, check out the work put up on Smashwords, and Old Velt WILL be finished up soon. Promise.
Until then, See you in the Vein!
J. Dean
This week, I want to touch base on two things. First, I've got a poem dedicated to the Chicago Cubs. Any of you who are diehard Cubs fans who lament the century plus of heartbreak brought on by the Northsiders of the Windy City, this one's for you. Don't worry: one day they will do it.
Funny enough: I don't live in Chicago, and having grown up in Michigan, my team was the Tigers. But I caught this documentary on HBO called "Wait 'til next year," which tells the story of the Cubs and the ups and downs they've gone through. Even if you're not a baseball fan, it's an interesting watch. And while baseball isn't my favorite sport, that documentary resonated with me. Last year I went to see the Cubs play the Tigers in Detroit. Great game, although I and my son were forced to leave by the fifth inning (Ever felt humidity in Detroit? It ain't fun). People have asked me who I would root for if the Cubs and Tigers ever met in a World Series. My response? I'll let you know when it happens :D
Second, I've been receiving several requests from people who have asked me to try to describe what sort of fantasy the World of the Vein embodies. This is a difficult one to answer, because anyone who has read The Summoning of Clade Josso will tell you that it's not your typical Tolkien-style fantasy. In other words, you don't have knights and elves and orcs and dragons and what not. While I appreciate the influence Tolkien has on the fantasy world (and let's face it: he deserves a lot of the credit for it, if not almost all of the credit), I didn't want to go in that direction. That's been done by enough authors in my opinion.
What I wanted with the Vein was something fresh and different. Something that blends the past and the future, and has a completely unique look and feel. The beauty of this is that you have a world and a story which stands out in a very unusual way, because there's nothing to compare it to. The drawback, however, is that it's difficult to relate the World of the Vein with anything else out there, because there's nothing to compare it to. That's why I tell people "You just have to read the book."
I suppose that, if there were to be any comparison to make, the closest concept I could compare the Vein to would have to be Stephen King's Dark Tower series, but even this falls short, because from what I understand (I've not read much of it, so I'm going by what little I know), King still relates his fantasy to elements of the "real world," such as New York City and Topeka, Kansas, both of which are found in his series. The hero, Roland, is a gunslinger-a cool concept, I admit, but a very different character in development and motive than the Vein's Clade Josso.
I would certainly welcome anybody who has read both King's novels (or at least The Gunslinger) and mine to put up a comparison of the two. I've intentionally refrained from reading any of King's DT works because I've wanted to keep mine as orginal as possible. Granted, if I did read his novels, it wouldn't change what I have planned, but I think I'll wait until my work is all finished.
Besides, knowing my past with Stephen King, I'll end up dropping off the end of the earth if I start reading anything of his (That's a BIG compliment to Mr. King-I can't put his books down :D )
So, until then, check out the work put up on Smashwords, and Old Velt WILL be finished up soon. Promise.
Until then, See you in the Vein!
J. Dean
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
100 plus downloads on Fraidy Cat!!!
Greetings, fellow Bearers!
Today we celebrate a milestone! "Fraidy-Cat" has been downloaded over a hundred times! Okay-I'm still a long way off from being mentioned up there with the fiction greats of our time, but it's a start! Those of you who have helped to make this happen, I thank you from the bottom of my heart; it's pretty cool to see people enjoying what you've written. If you get a chance check out a well done review of "Fraidy-Cat" on the Redadept blog, a literary review site whose author was kind enough to take a look at the story and give me a beautiful yet honest review (And I did it without having to bribe anybody! :D )
Time is finally freeing up for me in the meantime, and I've been able to push forward on OLD VELT, which has been a good thing; people have been asking me frequently when the second Vein novel will be done. Be patient, boys and girls: it's getting there!
See you all in the Vein!
J. Dean
Today we celebrate a milestone! "Fraidy-Cat" has been downloaded over a hundred times! Okay-I'm still a long way off from being mentioned up there with the fiction greats of our time, but it's a start! Those of you who have helped to make this happen, I thank you from the bottom of my heart; it's pretty cool to see people enjoying what you've written. If you get a chance check out a well done review of "Fraidy-Cat" on the Redadept blog, a literary review site whose author was kind enough to take a look at the story and give me a beautiful yet honest review (And I did it without having to bribe anybody! :D )
Time is finally freeing up for me in the meantime, and I've been able to push forward on OLD VELT, which has been a good thing; people have been asking me frequently when the second Vein novel will be done. Be patient, boys and girls: it's getting there!
See you all in the Vein!
J. Dean
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Back in the Swing of things....
Greetings, fellow Bearers!
Ah, back in the saddle again, working hard. It was a great Christmas and New Year's, but as fun as it was, I'm glad it's over. Up here, in the not-so-Great White North (Michigan), it's COLD! Okay... granted, it's cold all over, no doubt. But where a friend of my wife lives (A bit south), at least there isn't as much snow. It's not fun trying to drive on slick roads, folks :( Spring can't come soon enough for me. BTW, check out the new SHERLOCK HOLMES movie if you get a chance!
Anyway, check out a couple of more things I've put up on smashwords for your reading pleasure, at least until OLD VELT gets finished. The first is an attempt at poetry, entitled Jungle Prey, which is something I sketched out when a little free time came my way; not enough to work on my Vein novel, but enough to put into print a stab at poetry. Admittedly, I'm not a poetry person. It's hard for me to stay within meters and rhyme schemes and what not (I once did write a sonnet, however, about why sonnets should be done away with). There's one other poem I might put up; a little diddy about the Chicago Cubs, but I'm waiting until some more work on my other stuff can be finished.
The other recent entry is a short story, most of which I wrote over the summer, entitled One Favor Before You Go..., which is a nice little horror piece that I had considered making part of something larger, but for now have shelved, in part because the Vein is more important, and also because I'm not sure I want to be known primarily as a horror writer (Not that I don't like the horror genre, mind you. It's a fun genre, just not my first genre of choice). This one is a "Set your own price" story.
More has been finished on OLD VELT, but it's still not quite done yet. Alexis De Tocqueville once wrote that "in a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part is the ending." How true that can be! But have no fear, my friends; I'm working on it, and will have it done for your enjoyment!
Until next time, continue to read and review! Don't hesitate to put your comments up here, there, or anywhere about my writing! The more the better!
See you in the Vein!
J. Dean
Ah, back in the saddle again, working hard. It was a great Christmas and New Year's, but as fun as it was, I'm glad it's over. Up here, in the not-so-Great White North (Michigan), it's COLD! Okay... granted, it's cold all over, no doubt. But where a friend of my wife lives (A bit south), at least there isn't as much snow. It's not fun trying to drive on slick roads, folks :( Spring can't come soon enough for me. BTW, check out the new SHERLOCK HOLMES movie if you get a chance!
Anyway, check out a couple of more things I've put up on smashwords for your reading pleasure, at least until OLD VELT gets finished. The first is an attempt at poetry, entitled Jungle Prey, which is something I sketched out when a little free time came my way; not enough to work on my Vein novel, but enough to put into print a stab at poetry. Admittedly, I'm not a poetry person. It's hard for me to stay within meters and rhyme schemes and what not (I once did write a sonnet, however, about why sonnets should be done away with). There's one other poem I might put up; a little diddy about the Chicago Cubs, but I'm waiting until some more work on my other stuff can be finished.
The other recent entry is a short story, most of which I wrote over the summer, entitled One Favor Before You Go..., which is a nice little horror piece that I had considered making part of something larger, but for now have shelved, in part because the Vein is more important, and also because I'm not sure I want to be known primarily as a horror writer (Not that I don't like the horror genre, mind you. It's a fun genre, just not my first genre of choice). This one is a "Set your own price" story.
More has been finished on OLD VELT, but it's still not quite done yet. Alexis De Tocqueville once wrote that "in a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part is the ending." How true that can be! But have no fear, my friends; I'm working on it, and will have it done for your enjoyment!
Until next time, continue to read and review! Don't hesitate to put your comments up here, there, or anywhere about my writing! The more the better!
See you in the Vein!
J. Dean
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