The Man Who Saved Two Notch is now available in paperback on Amazon!

Keep an eye on  this blog over the next week because I’m going to be posting an announcement about a new contest.  I’ll be giving away an Amazon Kindle Fire.  This is a promotion for my book The Man Who Saved Two Notch. So – hint, hint – you will need to be familiar with the contents of the book in order to be included in the drawing.  I’m going to be making it available for free via Kindle February 1 – February 5, 2012.  Fear not, if you don’t have  a Kindle, you can download a Kindle platform for your computer for free here. Free Kindle App.

Of course, if you want to buy the paperback, I won’t argue.  Click here or the image to get to the detail page on Amazon: The Man Who Saved Two Notch

Should you really send the Mod Squad to find Bigfoot?

Bigfoot has stepped out of the realm of myth and mystery and found himself on the pages of Time magazine’s Newsfeed.  Contributor, Lauren Daniels poses the question, do we really want to find Bigfoot?  Her comment is in reference to the unexpected popularity of Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot.  A show I don’t get to watch because I don’t have Animal Planet.  Thanks to the Interwebs, it’s not really necessary for me to watch it to know what happens each show.  They go to an area where some “credible” video or photographic “evidence” has been collected, and they spend the first half of the show investigating the “evidence.”  Three of them usually say “It’s a squatch,” and the fourth one says something like, “I think it’s a squirrel with a thyroid problem.”  The second half of the show we watch them run around the woods a night in a green hue excitedly whispering to each other “Did you hear that?”

The problem with the show is they never find Bigfoot or any real convincing evidence of Bigfoot.  I am a Bigfoot enthusiast that really wants the myth of the big guy to be true, but even I can see this show has one glaring formulaic hiccup, they don’t produce any conclusive results.  Eventually that is going to wear thin on the viewers.  Daniels suggests that Animal Planet isn’t really interested in finding Bigfoot. The real ratings are in searching for Bigfoot.  As she puts it:

The real question NewsFeed is pondering: does anyone really want to find Bigfoot? Proving Bigfoot’s existence puts an end to all of the fun, and in the case of Animal Planet, some serious ratings. The season-two premiere of Finding Bigfoot had 1.6 million viewers, making it the most watched episode of the programand the second-best season debut of any show on the network.

I happen to think she’s kind of missing the forest for the trees.  If Moneymaker and his crew stumble upon a live or dead Bigfoot, it will be ratings gold, and it will draw more viewers in week after week.  It’s kind of silly to think that finding an undiscovered human or nonhuman primate will kill the show.  I happen to think the opposite is true.  The show only has so much good will and hope to harness from vague images and unidentified sounds before their audience is going to start to bail.  My guess is the ratings will drop significantly next season if they don’t start producing real evidence.

A note on the Ketchum Report: I haven’t reported anything on Dr. Ketchum’s DNA analysis recently because there’s nothing to report.  A few other bloggers are doing a much better job than I could ever do digging up rumors and speculation .  That’s not to say I don’t think they should be reporting the information they are finding. On the contrary, I think they should.  I’ve just decided to take a more measured approach to the news I see and receive.  To be quite frank, some of the characters in the Bigfoot world are a little… defensive and aggressive if you write anything about them, even if you give them favorable coverage.  I’m still trying to figure out why David Paulides is so angry with me.

So, until I hear it from Dr. K herself, I probably won’t be writing anything about her or her study on this blog.  I say probably because if an anonymous source sends me a picture of Dr. K shaking hands with the Bigfoot king, I’ll definitely post it here for your viewing pleasure, and also so you can get ready to make yourself available for the Bigfoot king’s evil bidding.

Hollywood has leverage over the Democrat party because they are major donors to Democrat candidates.  They are going to issue a boycott of all candidates who support the anti-SOPA/PIPA movment.  Make no mistake about it this is about money not political policies or platforms.  The entertainment industry will get behind any candidate that supports SOPA/PIPA.

Being part of the anti-SOPA/PIPA crowd doesn’t mean you support online piracy.  The  SOPA/PIPA law as written gives the government the authority to circumvent the Constitution and legally violate your civil liberties.  The law is so vague and confusing it is a form a martial law over the Internet.  This is bad for you as an individual and it will do even more damage to the US economy.

I’m not political in the least.  I’m fed up with both parties like most people, and like most people, I probably fall somewhere int the middle of the political spectrum; liberal on some issues, conservative on others, and bored by most.  But, I will be watching this fight very carefully.  Any candidate that is against SOPA/PIPA will immediately have my attention.

Here’s a video that does a great job of describing what SOPA/PIPA is, and why it’s a good idea ruined by poor execution and dangerous legislation.

BTW: The Hitler bunker clip you’ve seen (and will see in the video below) comes from a movie called Downfall.  Do yourself a favor, and watch it.  My wife and I watched it on Netflix.  It’s a fantastic movie.  And now I give you a video that contains the following line: “Don’t cry. Disney owns the rights to that emotion.”

Number 2 with a bullet

The Takers soared up the charts Sunday and Monday on Amazon.  It made it as high as number 2 in the Spine-Chilling category on Kindle.  Nice!  It had close to 2,000 downloads.  Thanks to everyone for spreading the word.

While we’re on the subject of my books, I’ll be making Lost Days available for free for the Kindle tomorrow and Thursday (1/18 & 1/19).  Spread the word!  Send your friends the Amazon link: Lost Days

I hate to burst anyone’s bubble that think these are other worldly or Biblical in nature, but I’m pretty sure we’re all witnessing an attempted viral video campaign for an as yet undisclosed film.  Given that this is 2012, and we’ve all heard the prediction that the end is nigh, I’m willing to bet some industrious filmmaker/studio is doing their best to capitalize on the hysteria.

Here’s one of the videos being passed around the interwebs.  It is eerie and unsettling, and in my view, a complete and total hoax.  You can rest easy.

My college football duncery knows no bounds.

On September 7 2011 on this blog, I said the following:

The SEC – This is the year the SEC will cannibalize itself and be without a team in the BCS title game. Yes, LSU looked awesome against Oregon, and the Tide is rolling again this year, and South Carolina is playing with both talent and grit this season, and Arkansas is solid, and Florida is going to scare some people, and Tennessee has a passing game you can’t ignore, blah, blah, blah. That’s the problem. An SEC schedule is more of a gauntlet this year than the last six years.

I give you the world’s worst prediction for this past college football season.  As we all know, the BCS title game (which is a national championship in name only because there is no playoff… but I digress) included not one but two SEC teams.  And Florida only scared Florida fans this year.  And Tennessee’s passing game folded when they lost their top receiver and quarterback to injury.  I was right about South Carolina and Arkansas, but who wasn’t?

BTW – I had Oklahoma and Wisconsin in the BCS title game.  Both teams finished with three losses.

In the interest of full disclosure, here’s how I saw the top ten at the beginning of the year:

1. LSU – But it won’t last. (I was right and wrong about this. I didn’t expect them to make the title game. They ended the year at number two.)
2. Wisconsin – This is the team that impressed me most. The offense is clicking and the defense is scary good. (Fell to number ten.)
3. Oklahoma – The Big 12 (which only has 9.5 teams) is in disarray this year. The Sooners stand to benefit the most from all the turmoil. (Finished the year at number sixteen.)
4. Boise State – Kellen Moore should win the Heisman, but he probably won’t. Why? Rumor has it he’ll be on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. Damn you SI! (Lost a game they should have won and finished at number eight.)
5. Stanford – The LSU game unveiled some major weaknesses in Oregon’s defense and running game. In turn, they exposed the PAC 12’s weakness, their teams. Stanford has Luck. Luck has the talent to carry the team through the less than stellar conference. (Made it through the regular season with one loss, but the loss was a thumping by Oregon. Finished number seven.)
6. Alabama – They have a new quarterback, but in an Alabama system, QB’s are required to play smart not lights out. As long as the guy behind center doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, the Tide will stay in the hunt. (Number one in our hearts (unless you’re an Oklahoma State fan) and minds.  Your mythical national champions.)
7. Texas A&M – Never discount a team with talent and a chip on their shoulder. The coaching staff has an “us against the world” card to play all year. That kind of thing works in college football. (I really missed the boat here.  Texas A&M finished with six losses and nowhere near the top twenty-five.)
8. South Carolina – I think Spurrier is inside Garcia’s head. He knows just how to pull the kid’s strings, and turn him into a spirited leader. The Gamecocks are not a team you want on your schedule this year, and it’s not just because of their semi-phallic name. They have an offense that can score at will.  (I came close on this one.  They finished at number 9, and Spurrier got inside Garcia’s head and sucked out his brains.)
9. Virginia Tech – The ACC doesn’t have much to talk about beyond Maryland’s new uniforms. The Hokies have the potential to dominate the conference. (Va. Tech got hammered twice by a Clemson team that gave up 70 points to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl.  Yikes!  They finished number 21 with three losses.)
10. Houston – I know. I know. Houston? But, they beat a major conference (albeit weak conference) opponent, and they have a cake schedule ahead of them. They could be this year’s TCU and bring in an undefeated record come bowl season.  (If not for Southern Miss, I would have been right about this one.  They beat a Penn State team that should have declined a bowl bid given their situation, but it was an impressive win nonetheless.  They finished 13-1 and at number eighteen.)

My new mantra

We killed the retarded boy.

Those are the first five words of my book The Takers. One of those words has proven to be problematic. The ‘R’ word may be preventing The Takers from taking that next step into its publishing evolution. What I don’t share with you on a regular basis is the finagling and negotiating going on with bigger publishers about The Takers. I’ve been very fortunate in that it has generated interest from some editors and publishers who want to take it to that next level; wider domestic and foreign distribution -among other opportunities that aren’t currently available to me as an indie author.

I’ve done two fairly significant rewrites based on their suggestions and feedback over the years. And, I’ve also created a number or series outlines for the entire Oz Chronicles upon their request, tweaking it here and there to accommodate their concerns. In short, I’ve been extremely flexible in my approach to rewrites and edits. I know that publishing is a business and if they are going to take a risk on me, I need to reward their risk with cooperation in the interest of selling more books for everyone involved. Publishing is a tough, tough business that really doesn’t need another temperamental artist in the mix putting everyone’s jobs in jeopardy.

I’ve gotten extremely close on a couple of occasions to satisfying the bigger publishers and taking that next step, but for various reasons, the deal never came to pass. For the first time, my latest round of publishing volley was put to an end by me – more or less. Through my agent, I have been in contact with a publishing house for about a year. They requested a major rewrite. I did the rewrite. They hated the rewrite. They made more suggestions. One change in particular made me extremely uneasy. They wanted the first line changed. They were uncomfortable with the word retarded. It is an ugly word, and I get it. In talking with my agent, I learned he’s gotten this feedback before from other publishers who have passed on The Takers.

I took the critique seriously. Retarded is an offensive word. There is a fairly strong campaign by the Shriver family and the Special Olympics to raise public awareness about the hurtful nature of the word towards the people and cause they serve. And they are right, it is hurtful and ugly and disrespectful. Trust me; I don’t particularly want to be in direct opposition with people like the Shrivers and the Kennedys. Especially when it comes to the use of the word retarded.

So, I took the next two to three weeks battling with the decision. Would the story be the same without the word? Would it change the nature of Oz himself? Oz is a bully trying to make amends for the way he treated a boy with Down syndrome. He’s wrestling with his own failings as a person, and despite the consequences, he doesn’t let go of bad habits easily. He’s struggling to be a better person. I’ve lived with Oz for eight years now. In a weird writer kind of way, the kid is always sitting somewhere in my mind asking me the same question over and over again. “Am I bad kid who does good things or a good kid who does bad things?” I’m trying to help him find that answer through his Oz Chronicles journey.

My wife finally gave me the nudge I needed to say no. We went to Asheville, NC for Christmas, and she saw a bumper sticker that read, “Never apologize for your art.” That was it. That was the sign we needed. And this was a “we” decision given that our finances could be affected by whatever decision I made. Frankly, if she would have insisted that I make the change (which she would never do), I would have tried to make it work. It would be unfair of me to do otherwise.

So I said no because the word retarded works. It sets the tone of the story of a bully struggling to be a better person. It’s an ugly struggle. Getting rid of the word makes the story too wishy-washy and safe. Safe is no way to tell a story. I don’t care if it’s for the young adult market or contemporary literature. No one would ask a painter to eliminate the color red from his or her palette because it’s too bold and bright. By the same logic, words should never be off limits to a writer.

So I stood up for the word retarded even though I agree with the Shriver family. It’s a strange day when you find yourself defending the indefensible, but you know what? It feels kind of good. I put my art first, and in the end, that’s what writers should do. It doesn’t matter that I have a personal objection to certain words or other people may have objections to the words I use. I have to serve the story first. That’s my first priority as a writer.