Saturday, March 30, 2019

The Inevitability of Change 2019


2019 is proving to be a challenging year full of chaos and change. Change is not something we can always control. Sometimes it can lead to better things, and at others, not so much.
Two major items hit in the last month related to the author side of my life.

ConDFW


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The first change, which was back in February (though I didn't realize it until this week), was that one of my favorite conventions put on their last round this year. After 17 years ConDFW will be no more. I had no idea this was their last year, and I wasn't able to attend this year and be part of the final event due to health reasons.

They went out with a bang! Which was wonderful. But I regret not having been there.
This convention meant a lot to me. Back in the day, it was the first literary fantasy/science fiction convention I ever attended. It was the year I realized I had no choice but to get out there and network if I wanted any chance at a writing career. (I tend to be something of a wallflower and quite shy.) It was at that first convention that I first met Selina Rosen, Melanie Fletcher, and Jeff Turner. Meetings that had significant impacts on my life as they led me to Yard Dog Press and Zumaya Publications and my first publishing contracts.

I wish Dan Robb and all the other wonderful people who've worked so hard to put such a fun convention together many thanks for all the years of hard work. Kudos guys!


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Mundania Press


Mundania Press
The second change to hit this month was the closing of Mundania Press and their subsidiaries.

For the last couple of years or more, changes by Amazon to make the most of their self-publishing services, weird algorithms, the economy, and a ton of other factors have dried up revenue streams and forced many to go out of business.
Mundania having to close has orphaned two of my novels - "Cross-eyed Dragon Troubles" and "Inner Demons." While all rights have reverted to me, it also means I need to find new homes for these two books.

I'm looking into several solutions to see which way (or ways) I want to use to bring them back in print. So do not despair! But it was definitely a shock to hear of the closing.

My fellow authors and the writing and publishing community are awesome, and several people have reached out to me with suggestions and even possible new homes for the two orphaned novels. It will mean a ton of work, research, and patience, but it's time to look forward rather than back.




I will keep you all updated on what direction I end up taking. It could even end up being one of the best things that could have happened, even if it doesn't feel like it at the moment. Wish me luck!

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Virtual Tourist - GRIS 3/10/19


Well, between the health stuff, company merger, and daylight's savings time, my plans today were put in peril. But I will persevere!
 
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Mini Movie Review

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Captain Marvel - Depending on who you are and how deep you are in comic book fandom will make a HUGE difference on what you'll think about this film. It's a popcorn flick, entertaining with a lot of cute moments. As long as you don't look below the surface, it's enjoyable. Seeing a young Coulson totally did it for me. :P I thought Brie Larson did a great job. There's been a lot of flack about her not being able to act, but I didn't see that. If anything, I have to give her kudos for not just acting with words and expressions but her whole body. Carol Danvers' confident and easy attitude screams from the character just by how she walks down a corridor after the first escape.
 
While the errors regarding canon are many and various, some of the other problems were just lazy. For example, the Skrull Talos spoke like some punk out of the '80s and '90s when, if you take into account the timeline as presented, he had not yet spent much if any time on Earth. (If he had, there would have been several critical bits of information he would have already known about and therefore made the movie moot!). Another big one was with regards to the Kree. All Kree have blue skin, and all the movies and TV shows have presented them that way. The only exception is sometimes some have patches of pure white skin (which makes them looked down on). Rather than try to come up with a plausible reason to tell Carol why her skin was different, they just turned half the Kree population Caucasian. Lazy.
 
If you can ignore stuff like that, you should enjoy the film. It had a nice pace, cool effects, excellent combat sequences, and Goose. I did love that they let the Skrulls have their super funky chins. Rating: 3.25 out of 4 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission.)
 

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Virtual Tourist - GRIS

GRIS - flower gardens
The gardens are a wonderful area. It is also where you pick up the ability to SING!
 
GRIS - the power to sing
Singing affects things and is also visual. The rings you see here are from her voice. It also makes flowers bloom!
 
GRIS - garden
Love the luscious colors.
GRIS - fog
The unknown. Look a the gorgeous pastels!
GRIS - garden hallway
An underwater hallway in the gardens. You can't sing as a fish.
GRIS - flip zone
The bush is made of water so I can swim in it. The yellow line flips the gravity. Gliding past the top drops you up to the floor/ceiling of the other side. Lol.
 
GRIS - moonlit garden
I love the colors, the implied textures, even the depths.
GRIS - final song
A half inverted area and major singing spot.
GRIS - meeting the self
The star path to the meeting the tortured self.
GRIS - a tomb
It is just darn pretty!
Hope you've been staying warm out there. Winter is still trying to hang on, but it is a losing battle. :P
 

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