Author: jspeet

For those that haven’t seen this on Facebook, here’s a little thing my artist for Trekker put together for promo purposes. I hope you enjoy it. I think it’s kind of nifty.

 

 

Well, the artwork for Trekker is almost finished. Got the e-book covers and promo stuff, now just awaiting the traditional book cover (front, back, and spine). Looks interesting so far.

Well, due to my procrastination, and then an artist having to bail (bummer on that – I loved her art work), the cover art for Trekker has taken a while. Good news, though. I have an artist working on it right now.

Most cover art for Indies (independently published authors – which is what I am) is usually done with a graphic designer taking stock images and slapping a title on the book. There might be some manipulation of the image to make it look more illustrated than photographed, but that’s about it. And, for some reason, they always have the person’s back to you, as if the protagonist is looking at something you, too, can see.  I hate that style!

Hence, my long delay in getting an artist. I had to find an illustrator who could create what I wanted, not just pull stock images and slap them together. Yes, it costs a bit more, but I believe the cost and effort is worth it.

I’m really looking forward to what my artist comes up with (based, of course, upon the concept art by my daughter). It will be illustrated, and it will also have Bill and Meri on the cover. I’m aiming for a cuter Meri (just google “cute redheads” and pick one and that will do).

Okay, between formatting Trekker, investigating fraud, and moving youngest spawn into her new apartment in Redmond (she’s attending DigiPen Institute of Technology to earn a BFA in Digital Arts and Animation – she currently does the concept art for my covers – one day to hopefully do the covers), I managed to take a break and see a couple of movies – one with Spawn 2 and the esposa, and the other with just Spawn 2 – Crazy Rich Asians and Alpha.

I truly enjoyed both movies and think both are Oscar worthy. I’m sure many of you have already heard about Crazy Rich Asians, so I won’t go too much into it other than to say it’s predictable but fun.

Alpha, on the other hand, was just amazing. Also predictable, but in a different manner. Many interesting plot twists along the way (and sort of reminds me somewhat of Trekker). I’d love to know who developed the language (or what language it was based on). The entire movie is in this language with English subtitles. Fortunately, there isn’t much dialog, but some of it is truly funny. I’d say this is probably based on a YA novel, but I couldn’t find anything to support that assertion.  Kodi Smit-McPhee does an amazing job as the boy, Keda, and Chuck, who plays the wolf Alpha, also did a great job (I think both deserve Oscars).

Reckon I’ll have to make more room on the DVD shelves in the library (yes, we do have a library in my house, occupied with wall-to-wall built in shelves – which I made – all filled with books and DVDs) for both movies when they come out on DVD. Alas, the library also has a couch and television (where we watch movies – but fortunately don’t have cable/satellite/antenna reception – gag me with a spoon when it comes to the drivel that’s on television).

After a couple of days, I managed to get Trekker formatted for paperback editions. Just need the cover art completed and I’ll publish it.

I know many are waiting (and I had hoped to get this out by today), but things happen. To say that I’ve been busy is to put it mildly (to give you a hint, I’m working over this holiday weekend, with fraud cases stacked up and clients patiently waiting).

I’ll make an announcement as soon as it’s ready.

 

Finally, after many mind-numbing hours (days?), the rewriting for Trekker is complete.  My editor is awesome (but, I still don’t accept all her recommendations – just the Type A personality in me). Next step, getting the formatting done for printing and getting the cover art done.  As I’m a bit busy over the next week or so, not sure when I’ll be able to get back to it, but hopefully I’ll have everything lined up for a pre-September release.

Well, the editing on Trekker continues (along with some writing in Explorer). I’m now about 122 pages in (of 373). I was hoping to be done before August ended, but now….

Last night I watched Edge of 17, starring Hailee Steinfeld (from Pitch Perfect 2 and Pitch Perfect 3 fame), Woody Harrelson, and Kyra Sedgewick. Basic plot line – coming of age for a 17 year old girl who isn’t the best at interacting with people, and has issues with her perfect brother and mom.  Truly enjoyable movie (I felt pained just watching Hailee’s character deal with all the stuff she went through, and her overall bad decisions).

I actually enjoyed the movie (what the hell, I enjoy a lot of coming of age movies – The Sure Thing, Sixteen Candles, Some Kind of Wonderful, etc.) and thought the ending, while somewhat predictable, was cute.

Another movie I had the chance to see with the fam was Mamma Mia! Here we go again. Like the original Mamma Mia, the cast was great, the acting great, and the story quite entertaining. No spoilers, so I won’t tell you anything about it other than to say go see it. The only negative thing I found was that the musical score wasn’t as good as the original, but that’s to be expected, as most of Abba’s good stuff was used in Mamma Mia!

I’m hoping to see Incredibles 2 soon (I hear it’s even better than the original!).

Well, after far too long, the hiatus is over. I’m back to working on Explorer (passed 12K words today), and finally got the editor’s comments back on Trekker.  It’ll take a few days to wade through them, make the corrections, and add some stuff she thinks would help the story (then back to her for a quick review on the additions).

So, the short story is that Trekker should be available by the end of August (as long as I can get the artist on board, too).

 

So, on top of preparing to attend the Outdoor Retailer Show in two weeks and having been at the Northwest Overland Rally last week, I managed to sneak in a couple of movies (along with a couple of thousand words in Explorer while awaiting my editor’s comments for Trekker).

Last night I saw the acclaimed La La Land starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. While okay, it wasn’t anything to shout about. I actually thought Gosling’s role/acting was better than Stone’s, but, what the hey, what do I know? She won the Academy Award, and he didn’t.   Good story, good dance scenes, but they killed the dog (reference Turner and Hooch if you don’t understand what I’m talking about).

Tonight’s cinematic adventure was Loving, the story about the inter-racial marriage that made its way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Having been a cop in Virginia, all I can say is, “boy, is that accurate!” I still remember my academy days where they talked about sodomy being a felony.  I know, no comparison, but it just goes to show how much some people like to butt into other people’s business with no just cause.  Anyhow, Loving is a great movie – one I highly recommend watching. Especially as it gives you a sense of what others have gone through just to live life. I thought it was far better than La La Land (despite Stone and Gosling). Great story and fantastic performances.

Changing topic. While at the Northwest Overland Rally in Plain, WA, I met a former Marine (is there such a thing?) who told me about a great video he made while finishing up a tour in Iraq. If you’ve ever seen Office Space (starring Ron Livingston and Jennifer Aniston, with John C. McGinley doing an awesome job), you’ll love Office Space Ramadi.