tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936778682387865082024-02-19T08:07:37.439-08:00Ken Pagano's BlogK. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-61949380036280045402012-12-20T12:03:00.000-08:002013-01-19T12:04:19.893-08:00The short winter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Thanks to all of you, my readers, and my friends for checking in with me over the last few weeks and asking how progress is coming for the next installment. I’ve been quiet. I injured myself. Slipped, really. On a puddle in the bathroom created by some water bailed out of the tub by my fun-loving toddlers, who through no fault of their own didn’t realize that their dad could slip.</div>
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I did.</div>
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That unfortunate event almost ruined Super Tuesday (I recorded the election) and had to lay flat on the couch for the entire night and the subsequent five days. I popped back some pills to help manage the pain. Thankfully, my leg didn’t inflate too much but I did get a rather wonderful, large black and blue patch that did spread out from the back of my knee up and over my thigh.</div>
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The series of unfortunate events just continued from there. I got sick. I was taking some prerequisites for grad school, some family drama came up, and well, you get the picture.</div>
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Lion of the Dark… well, took a nap.</div>
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Rest assured I’m working on the next installment and with any luck it’ll be up after the New Year. Leo is about to endure his first test of friendship in the fifth installment, A Long Embrace.</div>
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K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-4358559923640743542012-11-06T12:05:00.000-08:002013-01-19T12:05:42.624-08:00A sneak peek at A Long Embrace, Book 5 in the monthly serial, Lion of the Dark. Enjoy!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In the last installment of <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Lion of the Dark,</strong> Leo wakes up in Wendy’s bedroom, disoriented and ashamed at himself for killing Stanley. He’s just lost his first battle with the bloodmonger, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier. Meanwhile, after having underestimated Juliet’s trust Alexander gets shoved out of a moving Escalade at high speed right into the nosferatu ambush. Within moments he’s being tossed around like a rag doll. Not long after that his captor drags him underground. Alexander formulates a desperate plan. He doesn’t have a choice. If his borrowed body is destroyed he will be cast out, back to the underworld. Solo, he’s got to shift gears while Leo no longer feeling alone realizes he has friends—supernatural friends. This bond will continue to shape Leo’s epic journey as he steps closer to becoming the Lion of the Dark.</div>
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I hit the ground running, reaching inside for all the speed I had.</div>
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Didn’t matter I had no idea where Wendy was. I just had to get there fast.</div>
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Streetlights blurred past me. Giant trees bowed and curved away like giant black squids trailing thorny tentacles. Bushy evergreens looked like they might snap they were bent so far at the center. Cold air bit my skin.</div>
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The air on my left stirred. First there was smoke and then there was shimmer.</div>
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“Hold up.”</div>
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I slowed. Christof slid up alongside me, satin cape rippling.</div>
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We both heard Wendy scream again.</div>
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“She’s nearby,” I called out, putting on the brakes. The world caught up. “I’ll go this way. You head around that way. Meet in the middle.”</div>
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Christof nodded and took off, northbound. He wasn’t through the intersection before we stopped and swung our eyes toward a cry for help.</div>
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“The park!” Christof shouted, and burst from his spot. Dark smoke curled away from the length of his back, the backs of his knees, covering me in an odorless cloud.</div>
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Within the next heartbeat I stepped into a sprint, quickly gaining on Christof, passing him, racing toward the park and praying Wendy wasn’t in the arms of a vampire. The thought of her like that sent cold shivers down my spine.</div>
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My blood bubbled.</div>
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And then it happened: fear turned into anger.</div>
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The bloodmonger wanted to emerge. It folded upward, stretching, eager, pushing its arms through mine as if my limbs were sleeves, stepping into my feet as though they were shoes. It started to push me aside. What good was I going to be like this?</div>
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No…</div>
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My fangs dropped.</div>
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<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">No! Wendy is my friend—Do you hear that?—My friend!</i></div>
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I turned inward, reaching for every knuckle … organ … bone. I imagined the bloodmonger nowhere near any of them and for the first time since the beast awoke … I consciously pushed back.</div>
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<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Not today!</i></div>
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My head, then, began to pound. My body felt woozy. Wow! Its craving was strong.</div>
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But—my will—was stronger. My eyes flew open. A crimson veil lay over the world. The backs of my eyes pumped from the amount of blood now circulating through their nerves.</div>
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<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">This is my body. I’m in charge! </i>and threw my arms around my chest, gripping my biceps tightly.</div>
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By now I was shaking, the bloodmonger wanted to get out so badly. I doubled over onto the grass.</div>
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Right. Left. I rolled around, fighting to gain dominance.</div>
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The bloodmonger insisted, thrusting its will into my hands, stretching through them as if they were latex gloves.</div>
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My hands burned.</div>
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Fingernails elongated into talons.</div>
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My fangs cocked.</div>
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Squinting, thinking of Wendy I pushed back.</div>
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Although we haven’t known each other for very long the connection we have is deeper than any relationship I’ve ever had with someone. We were perfect pairs. Between us there were no awkward moments, no misunderstandings. Our friendship was so easy. I felt lucky to have her in my life. She helped me learn how now to accept things that were beyond my control and take charge of them. From our talks I found hope, and a cause worth fighting for: defending Creston from harm.</div>
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I growled.</div>
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Wendy lived in Creston.</div>
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<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Leave her alone!</i></div>
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In my mind the bloodmonger flashed fangs, backpedaling as I asserted myself, irritated I hadn’t conceded.</div>
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On every previous occasion I was too weak to resist its hunger game but at this moment it was being denied… and that’s when I shut it down, giving it a right hook right between the eyes.</div>
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Shocked, it lost its balance, spinning away.</div>
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At a mental ledge looking down a deep chasm, I watched the bloodmonger grow smaller as it fell into darkness, howling with frustration.</div>
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I suddenly felt a tingling in my chest, a sense of accomplishment. I couldn’t believe it. <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">I did it!</i> But there was no time to celebrate. I had to—</div>
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“Leo!” Christof shouted.</div>
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Grabbing grass I pulled myself up and pushed off the ground, crossing the final stretch, bounding over the curb and into the park.</div>
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There were four of them flapping leathery wings high above Christof. Nightmarish things. Two thin legs each ending in four claws dangled from a pot-bellied torso. Bony hips protruded from a shallow belt of fur there was no point in trimming. Their genitals were out for all to see. Four pairs of skin flaps, jaw to collar bone functioned like fish gills. They had three pink irises, the pupils a darker shade, while four rows of short sharp teeth lined their small mouths. In place of a middle finger they had an extra long digit shaped like a crook. Something the Ancient Egyptians might have used to give a dead person’s brains a quick spin. Their moist skin was purplish gray.</div>
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Christof was doing well despite being outnumbered. Wendy lay beside him. She wasn’t moving. Jeepers and Morgan and Creepers faced foes, backs arched, hissing.</div>
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If there was one thing my dad taught me to be was unexpected.</div>
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A few yards from the fray, I leaped, and using Christof’s shoulder as a springboard, sailed toward the vampire in my trajectory. We collided, punching its face as we plummeted to the ground.</div>
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Before it could grab me, I tumbled away.</div>
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“Don’t let them envelop you,” Christof shouted, after I was upright. “Underarm glands secret an enzyme that’ll blend you into mashed potatoes.”</div>
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<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Won’t be letting them do that any time soon.</i></div>
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“What are these things?”</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A Long Embrace </strong>is Book Five in the ongoing monthly serial <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Lion of the Dark</strong>.</div>
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<em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Copyright K. Anthony Pagano, 2012</em></div>
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<em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.</em></div>
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K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-60693039420530840162012-07-08T13:36:00.001-07:002012-07-08T13:36:49.036-07:00And so it begins... the Lion of the Dark, on Kindle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Oh, what a feeling.<br />
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I'm going through my favorite songs right now because I'm just beaming.</div>
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After a burst of inspiration a few weeks back while working on the (nearly finished) first draft of the three-part forthcoming novella series, The Crinkled Foil, through Deepwood Publishing, I got this crazy idea about vampires.</div>
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I'm not sure why, honestly. Maybe it was the coffee. Lion Kona usually gets me in an awesome mood. Best coffee I've ever had.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_gstY-E4O4_t3dt8Qe0pPqf_sTzRCNFqF2cTeMnKKsQJTS6IBJbr-zi2r7xnrw9XShBeUr8AIgDLkOgwvZzWRl7ld5Qyt_7MkM716KumSBYKBLrgh6Nsad_8ZANftWMgDu7OdXnmSnY/s1600/our+other+blood3+sample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_gstY-E4O4_t3dt8Qe0pPqf_sTzRCNFqF2cTeMnKKsQJTS6IBJbr-zi2r7xnrw9XShBeUr8AIgDLkOgwvZzWRl7ld5Qyt_7MkM716KumSBYKBLrgh6Nsad_8ZANftWMgDu7OdXnmSnY/s200/our+other+blood3+sample.jpg" width="133" /></a>Maybe, it wasn't the coffee?</div>
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Perhaps it's because my family is NUTS about all things undead. Hannah, as you know, is a Twihard fan, and Shannon loves her some Zombie and Interview with the Vampire (which she can watch daily, if she was allowed to).</div>
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I enjoy the undead too... but in my own way.</div>
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Well, maybe it started there. Either way you slice it, I created this character named Leo. He's a dräcul vampire, which, in the mythos I've created, means a vampire didn't turn him by biting him. Being dräcul means he carries the gene for dräculism. And the story just went from there.</div>
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The official launch of the serial the Lion of the Dark is tomorrow, Monday, July 9, 2012, and will publish every second Monday of the month, unless for some blast of science fiction I've been recruited for the NASA shuttle program. Doubtful, but that would still be cool.</div>
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So, I'm beaming. I pre-released the first installment, Our Other Blood, not expecting it to be approved so quickly by Amazon, since the KDP site says 12 hours for the okay. Well, it got the okay within four hours of being uploaded toAmazon and the official e-mail notice about six hours later.</div>
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(In case you're wondering why I care about all these details, I'm journaling this part. A few weeks from now I'm going to forget all this experience as I'll be mind deep in writing the next few installments and working with my graphic artist to design the covers.</div>
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What's the story about? Teen angst. Leo hasn't completed his conversion from human to vampire in over a year, and as far as he's concerned the longer it takes the better. But, as he learns, supernatural delay comes with a cost.</div>
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Follow Leo monthly as he struggles with his supernatural powers, conflicts between family and friends, and most of all, himself. Should he finally take that plunge and just bite down? This and more to come...</div>
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To buy Our Other Blood, follow the link below. Thanks for reading and supporting indie authors.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Other-Blood-Lion-Dark-ebook/dp/B008IJRW74/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1341779376&sr=8-16&keywords=our+other+blood">http://www.amazon.com/Other-Blood-Lion-Dark-ebook/dp/B008IJRW74/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1341779376&sr=8-16&keywords=our+other+blood</a> </div>
</div>K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-456348644712368502012-06-10T16:00:00.002-07:002012-06-10T16:00:57.568-07:00Nearing the end of the first draft<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A few weeks back Shan and a few friends kinda suddenly got the same idea. They suggested, rather than update my story progress by a word count, I update my progress with a percentage. Got loads of feedback from that suggestion and it's actually a better way to express my process.<br />
<br />
Posting my word count started to sound like I was boasting. Cuz some days I was able to write 3,000 words a night. Right?!? Crazy. Last year at this time if I got in 250 words that was a miracle.<br />
<br />
If my math is accurate I've achieved 74 percent of the first draft. Feels good to see that. Real good, because I've written 100 percent two times now, once each for the first draft of the first and second part of the three-part series.<br />
<br />
Well, that was before the publisher sent an e-mail telling me they've switched gears and decided to publish the story as a novella.<br />
<br />
All by its lonesome, which may include the original short story, Intertwined...<br />
<br />
I just about lost it.<br />
<br />
To go from a short story to a novella within half a year seems magical all in itself.<br />
<br />
With a little structural changes I'll easily be able to combine relevant scenes and turn them into chapters. No big deal. Sounds like a hassle but not really. Again, I write scenes. In fact my story folder has sub-folders, one for Notes, The Pitch (the story summary I queried Deepwood Publishing), Scenes, and WIP.<br />
<br />
It paid off in dividends to be a little but organized. If you know me I have to work hard at it. Being organized is not my natural state. I'm a creative person and would rather spend my time, well, you know, creating...<br />
<br />
The end of the first draft nears.<br />
<br />
I'll take a few days off and then dive right into edits, and then the percent goes back to zero, and then back up to 100 and then it's off to the publisher for alpha reads and formatting. :)<br />
</div>K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-13646012673480248752012-06-09T15:25:00.001-07:002012-06-10T15:44:37.601-07:00In the Eye of the Storm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wondering where I've been these past few months, since December???<br />
<br />
Well, I've been writing.<br />
<br />
As fast as my fingers can hit the keys, as often as I can stand to write, as often as I can squeeze in the time to actually write.<br />
<br />
What am I writing???
The Crinkled Foil, a three-part series of short stories centered around the same cast of characters introduced in the short story, Intertwined, being published by Deepwood Publishing.<br />
<br />
Intertwined was intended as a one-shot with some potential for continuing storylines.
From this story grew The Crinkled Foil, which expands on characters in that story, as well as some new faces.<br />
<br />
It's been a crazy twist of fate since Deepwood accepted that first short story. I find myself squeezing every minute I can to write, to think, to re-read the drafts I've written so far.
I'm having fun.<br />
<br />
And that's the point, even as the storm races, screaming, whirling around me as I budget my time to complete my first novella. If I had my druthers, The Crinkled Foil will be the first of many. Only time will tell.<br />
<br />
Thanks for stopping by.</div>K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-78298207589697946962011-12-04T16:00:00.000-08:002011-12-04T16:00:39.330-08:00Setting some goals for myselfA shout out to fellow blogger Krista at itakethepen.blogspot.com.<br />
<br />
I was reading her blog recently about setting goals and the importance about being flexible, because life has a funny way of distracting writers who are trying to write a story. Like who really wants to go to the grocery store? Or pump gas into the car? Isn't there an app for that? No? There should be... :)<br />
<br />
So, here's to setting some goals.<br />
<br />
Goal 1: Writing is fun.<br />
<br />
Goal 2: 1,000 words a night.<br />
<br />
Phew! Now that I've got my goals etched in pixels, that short story doesn't seem such a daunting task after all!<br />
<br />
Now... *taps chin* what adventures should these characters take?<br />
<br />
*grins*K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-66139717048035785842011-12-01T16:30:00.000-08:002011-12-01T16:53:17.507-08:00Having trouble developing characters in your story? Try this tipI hit a stumbling block the other day as I was developing characters for my current WIP. As I started to flesh them out I began to realize something in my process that I hadn't noticed before. Maybe it was subconscious. Maybe it's because I lean toward a specific character type. I don't know why exactly but a light came on.<br />
<br />
Most characters we create start out as a concept, in some form or another, and as we mold them with ideas and opinions and dialogue and all the other cultural nuances, they start to develop personalities, and start to make choices. I don't know about you, but I'll write a scene of dialogue for a character to familiarize myself with his or her voice. It helps to read it out loud too. :)<br />
<br />
The other night I was crafting my WIP, and like I said, I stumbled onto something. There's no name for it. Just polarities, I suppose. I guess I could call it Four Square, but isn't that taken?<br />
<br />
I digress...<br />
<br />
Imagine a square split up into four quadrants. Quadrant I, or the upper right hand corner, is the character's Spirituality. To the left, in that upper corner, is the character's Leadership. Below that, in the lower left corner, is the character's Impulse (now opposite the character's Spirituality). And to the right, in that corner, is the character's Destiny (now opposite the character's Leadership). Draw a line between opposites. Cool, huh?<br />
<br />
So what does all this have to do with a character in your story? It's just a reminder that whenever your character does something impulsive it pulls him away from his spirituality, and vice versa. The same is true of the character when he moves toward his destiny. He moves away from leadership. Because following one's destiny means following one's own path, not ahead of the path of others, although often a leader is made along the way... Aragorn, for example. It's also important to note that Spirituality and Destiny, share a side, as they face the outside world together. And, also, the same is true, as you move around the square. Spirituality + Leadership; Leadership + Impulse; Impulse + Destiny. See what I mean? You can start to see your character's struggles in these areas; your character's ability to cope or not cope.<br />
<br />
Is your character not coping? Perhaps he's trying to lead his impulses. A lot of villains stay in this area if they never leave it. Remember, too, that this isn't some hard and fast categorization. It's just a tool to help you visualize how your character is moving through the story. It also doesn't mean that a character can't jump around between them in a single chapter. It can happen. This tool is just to give you some perspective on where the character might be in a conversation, or in his thoughts. If he's always spiritual, and moving toward his destiny, then he's far from his impulse and leadership. Also, a leader can be leading people toward destiny. But is it a safe voyage? That's all for you, er, the characters to decide.<br />
<br />
Hope this helps. :)K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-41019787319568453062011-11-28T19:55:00.000-08:002011-11-28T22:56:05.538-08:00World building from the map up...A long time table-top RPG player and game master, I like me a good setting as much as I enjoy creating 'em. I would spend hours over a table with dozens of pencils and a stack of paper -- early on I used square-grid or hexagon-grid sheets, and then moved onto blank sheets.<br />
<br />
It's important to say that world building from the map up is always a map in progress because at any given time you can draw a tighter map, focusing on a very specific area with fully-detailed roads, villages, towns, farms -- even that oak tree where young love blossoms.<br />
<br />
My world building rarely begins with a coastline. Most of the time it starts as a few letters. An "M" to represent a mountain. See it? Two snowy white peaks... Then as I draw them I change up their size. The larger the M, the bigger the mountain. If I think of a name for the mountain range, I just jot it down somewhere nearby. Then, as I cluster them together I start to think about who would live there. Dwarves? Ogres? Bears? Snow leopards? Wolves? The list starts to form. Keep in mind they're just lists. This is world building, not an enemy list for your heroes. It's all in progress so at any time you can draw a line through any of those creatures, but never erase them. Ideas shouldn't be erased. They should be edited. Modified. Edited into a final draft, much like your story.<br />
<br />
And as I would overlap those letter M's some of them get sent into the background. And as I did that I would jot down other enemies. You see the trigger here is what inhabitants and what creatures co-exist and which ones don't.<br />
<br />
Eventually, I'll move into other geography. Rivers get the squiggle and bend, just like a letter S, snaking through the world. What might those rivers be like? Roaring, calm, shallow, deep, murky, a gate to the elemental plane of water? You see the goal of a map isn't to immediately define its function. It's to give you seeds...<br />
<br />
A map is the place(s) in which your characters live and thrive. Civilizations build and fall over time. Within them are people busy in their routines, hopes and dreams. They have troubles, near and far, some visible, while others search for power.<br />
<br />
The important thing to remember here is geography becomes a foundation, not a limitation.<br />
<br />
Your characters might feel trapped by the conditions of their life--but that's human nature, not the order of the natural world. Think about why people live in a forest, a mountain, along a river or coastline. Do these people need resources? That's a given. More importantly, what are these people like? Peaceful? Warriors? Farmers? Builders? Or, are they refugees, driven out of their homeland there by some tyrant? Where they exiled as punishment? Or, have they always lived there, perennially, able to trace traditions to their first ancestors? And if they can, how do they? A town square? A monument?<br />
<br />
As these details emerge in the map, so will the societies in which your characters live, their political views, cultural expressions, and ultimately the place that gives birth to the heroes that will shape the world as they journey through that map.<br />
<br />
Seeds...<br />
<br />
Pencils at the ready...<br />
<br />
... and...<br />
<br />
M...K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-49394556485144678192011-11-26T13:55:00.000-08:002011-11-26T13:55:29.583-08:00Duck season. No, rabbit season... No, bird seasonIt's official.<br />
<br />
I'm officially, unconditionally, anatomically, diabolically, irreverently, enslaved to twitter.<br />
<br />
That is all.<br />
<br />
Or, should I say, does nanonomicon want a cracker?<br />
<br />
Stuff it, beakie!K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-65436137078422386732011-11-23T22:06:00.000-08:002011-11-23T22:06:59.581-08:00Music for the evening: Explosions in the Sky... Listening to Explosions in the Sky while following the characters I've created for the Splintered Lands on some adventures. I've got a few plots in mind. Hopefully the SL Board will bite them.<br />
<br />
I've got a three-parter that opens up opportunities for some slowing down. Although the first story was fast-paced in areas and slow in others, I left myself plenty of room to expand on them.<br />
<br />
Back to the plotting board, or as our group once did, logged on to the Plot Barn.<br />
<br />
Happy writing...<br />
<br />
Adventures await!K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-2255750613547668392011-11-22T22:19:00.000-08:002011-11-22T22:19:21.810-08:00I'm getting published!Yesterday was like a good-vibe overload.<br />
<br />
It started early in the day after getting breakfast together for everyone. Scrambled the usual eggs and cooked the usual cut-up potatoes in oil, garlic, and chili powder. (I think I even grabbed coffee, too.)<br />
<br />
But honestly, since I opened the e-mail, the last (nearly) two days have been a total blur. A good-vibe sensation. I sent the final draft out to the pub last week and hadn't immediately heard anything. From my experience in this digital correspondence world not hearing right away doesn't mean much, but when a story gets rejected, it gets rejected almost immediately. Who knows why... But so far that's been my experience.<br />
<br />
So, for the last week, I checked e-mail. Looking. Wondering. Laughing ay myself for chewing fingernails in my head. But, hey, that's the risk... right?<br />
<br />
An artist isn't an artist until he's critiqued...<br />
<br />
The story idea started a few months back when a long-time friend of mine tipped me off to The Splintered Lands. Part social-networking, part shared world, part open reserve for unpublished authors to sink their teeth into a post-apocolyptic fantasy setting.<br />
<br />
Something about this group piqued my interest. Not sure what. Well, after a few weeks of going back and forth I decided to pitch an idea.<br />
<br />
They looked at it, replied with suggestions to make the story fit better; gladly adjusted them, and then sent it back. It was like this for a few e-mails...<br />
<br />
Then the writing began.<br />
<br />
From the get go I knew that I wanted to try a different convention than I've ever attempted. In the end, I think--at least I hope--the characters and the story benefitted from it. Early on I typed away like a fiend. The first words I typed were: I am.<br />
<br />
But as with life things come up. I got distracted. I left the story. Came back to it. Thought about it. Put myself in it. Turned away to focus on the things happening in my life, and for many months didn't touch it.<br />
<br />
It's been in the back of my thoughts the whole time.<br />
<br />
So, a few weeks ago, I came back to it, and within a few sessions I finished it... phew...!<br />
<br />
But I didn't send it. I held it back. And looked at it again a few days later. I'm glad I didn't send it. Needed a polish? Yup. Needed fresh eyes? Yup. (That's my years of journalism talking, BTW.) When newsrooms use the word edit, what they often mean is the reporter is too close to the story to see the (facets of the) story. So the extra eyes accomplish many things. Mainly for accuracy, chiefly for context. Readers are often around longer then the journalists and might be able to nimbly recall historical details the reporter may not.<br />
<br />
I gave it another crafting round.<br />
<br />
And sent that.<br />
<br />
A week later I got the news every author wants to hear: We would like to publish your work.<br />
<br />
Cloud 9.<br />
<br />
Or, as we say around here: 88-13.<br />
<br />
It's an old phrase my girlfriend's daughter--the Twilight fan (remember?)--said when she was a little girl. For her, it meant the ultimate joy. The impossible, possible. The best day ever. Ever. 88-13.<br />
<br />
And, guess what. The SL Board wants to see more stories. Oh, what a day.<br />
<br />
Can't wait to see it published.<br />
<br />
Published. Did I just say that out loud? Really?<br />
<br />
REALLY?<br />
<br />
88-13!K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-929756392510153822011-11-18T12:50:00.000-08:002011-11-18T12:50:37.346-08:00A month of well-mannnered frivolity... NaNoWriMo style :)I'm going to try to say it three times fast.<br />
<br />
Babbling<br />
Bumbling<br />
Band of<br />
Baboons<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Babbling</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Bumbling</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Band of</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Baboons</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Babbling</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Bumbling</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Band of</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Baboons</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Yeah, I got nothing on the Weasley twins.</div><br />
<br />
<br />
But on NaNoWriMo... I am laying the smack down.<br />
<br />
NaNoWriMo, you ask. Let's get a few things clear: it's not haiku for little people, or poetry written by the Space Time Continuum. Although that would be interesting. For me it's about the little things.<br />
<br />
I feel a chant coming...<br />
<br />
All the small things. Truth care and truth brings... hmm-mmm-hmmm--<br />
<br />
My mind is all over the place today.<br />
<br />
Got some good news. Some great news... and still waiting to hear about a short story I submitted. Over all a great month. My friends have talked about NaNoWriMo for years. And they've all encouraged me to give it a shot. Why not? It's a month of absolute writing bliss. Well, it's supposed to be that way. One month. That's all. I can do it--<br />
<br />
But I'm a very slow writer. My usual daily word count is somewhere around 300 words. Sometimes I can hit 500. On a very rare occasion I can dart passed 1,000. But if you've got kids. You know what I mean when I say that by the end of the day you're exhausted. I have two toddlers. Not so easy. Breakfast by 9:30. First nap at 11:30. Lunch at 1:30. Second Nap at 2:30. Break, for, oh, maybe 45 minutes. By this time I've got either West Wing, Start Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Smallville, or Heroes playing in my computer. Then its dinner prep and cooking. By the time I sit down to write it's close to 8:30.<br />
<br />
So, I knew that going into this National Novel Writing Month the obstacles were great. There was no way in hell that I would even approach half of that number, until I put my mind to it.<br />
<br />
I said screw it. I'm doing this cerebral triatholon.<br />
<br />
Well, it's week three and I've clocked in more than 30,000 words. Not bad for 18 days. Not bad at all. But there have been some effects. I'm tired more throughout the day. Some of my writing rambles. I drink way much more coffee than normal. But really, in the end, what have I done?<br />
<br />
Seriously?<br />
<br />
What I have accomplished?<br />
<br />
For starters. I attempted it.<br />
<br />
That's not that huge, but it's huge for me. I don't like starting something and then quitting. Cuz once I'm invested I want to push myself. And learn from that experience. But more than anything, I like writing. I enjoy storytelling. For me storytelling is very much like cooking. How many recipes are there? How many ways are there to tell a story? You get the drift...<br />
<br />
So, here I am. Pleased with myself. Wondering if I cane ver go back to writing only 300 words a day. By the way, the word count up to here is 492. (And I haven't even started working on my fiction yet.)<br />
<br />
Ahhh. Feels wonderful.<br />
<br />
I can't say that enough. Feels absolutely wonderful.K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-61606054994624083122011-11-05T19:09:00.000-07:002011-11-05T19:09:24.656-07:00There's a hole in my fantasy TV time slot...I miss Legend of the Seeker, the television adaptation of Terry Goodkind's The Sword of Truth novels.<br />
<br />
To get my viewing fix I've been watching it again on Netflix Instant, and I gotta say, I'm still bummed out the show was cancelled, but darn it if I didn't try to help the peeps at saveourseeker.com with some graphic design to get the powers that be to think about it one last time before dumping it.<br />
<br />
There were a bunch of rumors floating around last year as to why the show got the axe, only after two seasons--and of course a ton of fans leaped at the opportunity to support the show and to convince the leadership to either bring the series back or sell it off to a network so that it might continue.<br />
<br />
Rumors of a possible courtship between Scifi Channel and a few others (although these few others as far as I know weren't legitimate. I think I even heard Disney whispered in there, but who are we to actually know. These things are hush-hush until they're public. Like James Bond. MGM was getting cut up and so there was fear the greatest spy of movie history might be a 00 without his downturned pistol, that missing number 7).<br />
<br />
It's too bad, really. Seeker was an awesome show.<br />
<br />
Helmed by Spiderman director Sam Raimi, it featured a great cast of actors and those heroic characters that followed the journey of a hero learning the values of service in order to lead his people out from under the clutches of the villain, Darken Rahl.<br />
<br />
Every episode had something memorable.<br />
<br />
Sometimes it was a character, like the Listener (the boy who could read minds), the meddling witch Shota (who switched the Seeker with a groom on his wedding day) as well as a revolving cast of Mord'Sith, those treacherous assassin women sworn to serve Rahl.<br />
<br />
Ah, it was just good fantasy storytelling. Deep. Rich. Funny. Sordid. Swashbuckling. You name it. the show had it. At least Seeker got to Season Two. The Charlie's Angels reboot didn't even get that far. It's getting harder to keep a good show on the air it seems.<br />
<br />
Well, that's not entirely true.<br />
<br />
The Walking Dead is doing just fine.<br />
<br />
That might be because it's not competing in its time slot. It's on AMC, plus all the other issues affecting programming, advertising, audiences, local station buy-in, the list goes on. I'm no expert on television management but hey, if the show is good, I'll watch it. And buy the box sets.<br />
<br />
And watch it again... and again.<br />
<br />
Any other Seeker fans out there?<br />
<br />
p.s. Its got 4/5 stars on Netflix. Don't know about Hulu, but I've heard good things there.K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-89145531209637183812011-11-04T10:50:00.000-07:002011-11-04T10:50:50.236-07:00I don't suffer from short-term commitment loss. I'm a graphic artist!For the past, oh, six months or so I've been balancing -- and when I say balancing I mean juggling, and why I say juggling what I really mean to say is working on several short stories (one a candidate for an anthology) and a few others an ongoing project with a few friends of mine, an iPhone video game app (with all the art done by yours truly), and an RPG game setting that if all goes well on that front will be publishing sometime next year.<br />
<br />
But as will all projects, a deadline isn't a deadline until it's broken.<br />
<br />
Good thing I don't have newsroom editors anymore, cuz crazy talk like that is just asking for trouble.<br />
<br />
I was a newspaper designer for many years, so juggling projects even on deadline isn't really stressful.<br />
<br />
Right now, it's finding the time to concentrate.<br />
<br />
Designing A1s, Section covers, doubletrucks, you name it, for me like being a flowing river. I can work slowly, gently and find the idea, and then blitz over rocks, and then roar around bends. Design has always been easy to do. Problem is when I'm in the zone, everyone around me notices.<br />
<br />
It just happens.<br />
<br />
I start by warming myself up. Could be anything from checking Facebook or e-mail to calling a friend I haven't heard from in a while. And if it takes an hour to catch up, so what. Work can wait, because in the end, when I start designing my fingers are flying across the keyboard and holding down those hot keys.<br />
<br />
A few hours later, I've got a mock-up, or a shell, as its referred to on the inside. A few rounds of does it work, does it flow, does it make sense, is it the right vision, the right message, the right art, and then its off to the finishing touches--unless its ripped because the news changed. Happens. I've designed an A1 twice in twenty minutes. Sounds monumental, but not really. Only some story packages get reworked.<br />
<br />
That's the nature of the biz.<br />
<br />
So, with all this experience is it any wonder that I'm always juggling a few projects simultaneously?<br />
<br />
Nope.<br />
<br />
The goal is to balance them and complete them.<br />
<br />
So, here's to completing them, while doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, finding time for a shower and brushing my teeth, oh, and going to grocery store.<br />
<br />
Hot keys, my friends and readers. It's all about the hot keys!K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-5054214313782116712011-08-22T23:46:00.000-07:002011-08-22T23:46:18.306-07:00Sounds Like Theme SpiritFor the past few months I've been huddled over my computer crafting a modern-day supernatural storyline, with a huge cast of characters, that, well, has taken me into a direction I was not expecting to tread.<br />
<br />
I'm pulling out all the stops.<br />
<br />
It's nothing I've ever attempted before. I'm pushing myself. Hard. Thanks to a few professionals in their respected fields I won't come off (crosses fingers) like an amateur...<br />
<br />
Just for fun I decided to create a playlist for the main character cast featured in this first installment. I wasn't looking to compile a soundtrack, just something to listen to, something I could rely on for some occasional inspiration.<br />
<br />
So, I dug around.<br />
<br />
I'm still digging.<br />
<br />
It's a different exercise for me, to consider a musical component as characterization, but can you honestly tell me you can't instantly recognize the theme song or a featured artist of your favorite sitcom or drama, or movie trailer?<br />
<br />
Yeah, I can name about fifty off the top of my head... starting with Remy Zero, then The All American Rejects, and very close after that One Republic; the list goes on to include many artists my friends didn't know rotated in my playlist...<br />
<br />
Oh, like Filo and Peri, or Eva Cassidy, or Face to Face, or Metallica.<br />
<br />
Do any of these sound familiar?... (:<br />
<br />
See you guys around.<br />
<br />
It's back to the story...K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-12133624430602067822011-07-15T00:12:00.000-07:002011-07-15T00:12:58.572-07:00It was inevitable. Life sucks.Baring fangs...<br />
<br />
I have turned this crappy string of luck into a deep well of emotional resource material for a storyline I have been developing. I'm broadening my genre writing. Most of the time I craft high fantasy stories. I've decided to dabble into the paranormal.<br />
<br />
Oh, not just any paranormal.<br />
<br />
A spectrum of it.<br />
<br />
Can't tell you anything of course.<br />
<br />
It would ruin the surprise.<br />
<br />
But just think of it as my way of branching out, while still keeping to my fantasy roots, because in the end isn't paranormal just fantasy anyway, but with a different stereotype? I'm not talking vampiric elves here... I'm talking about zombies and werewolves.<br />
<br />
But--thumbs twiddling--which to choose, and why?<br />
<br />
This'll be the shortest blog I've written so far because I can't turn away from developing the setting for too long. There's just so much in my head...<br />
<br />
I'll keep everyone posted on when the first installment will be released, and where you can pick up a copy, or e-copy... (:K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-70954169940833703492011-07-11T18:48:00.000-07:002011-07-11T18:48:34.163-07:00My boy could win a shatter glass contest with his screechIf you've spent even an hour with us you'll know what I mean when I say JJ can sing.<br />
<br />
He can belt out those high notes like Mariah Carey.<br />
<br />
He can scream bloody murder better than the bimbo running for her life in a horror flick.<br />
<br />
I think we can it and send it to a movie exec as a gag gift, complete with resume and glamour shot. Who knows, right? JJ might get noticed and be on his way to a wonderful career in scream acting.<br />
<br />
Did I mention that the other day he screamed so loud my ears were ringing for about a half hour afterward? Yeah, it was that bad. Too bad we weren't cruising through an elven forest. They could have shot him in the dark.<br />
<br />
Or better yet, send him to the School for the Gifted where Professor X can help him control his vocal chords, cuz the boy can put Banshee to shame.<br />
<br />
Oh, yeah, I'm bragging. Because I can.<br />
<br />
When I get around to it, I'll record him, and put it up on the blog. Maybe then, you'll have an appreciation for the absolute ear shattering screech he can produce. Then again, it's probably a precursor to some musical talent.<br />
<br />
We have an old guitar lying around the house. First day he found it, he flexed his fingers gently, strumming the guitar with practiced ease. Not plucking at it like he was trying to snap the strings. No. Gentle, dancing, from his fingertips. Everyone who stops by comments. He's only 15 months old. Amazing.<br />
<br />
I'm hoping to find him a good music teacher. Hopefully a teacher with ear plugs.K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-25917841363779350202011-07-02T08:32:00.000-07:002011-07-02T08:32:25.077-07:00A new beginning and Moby DickFeels good to be hitting the keyboard again.<br />
<br />
The click, click--<br />
<br />
The tap, no wait, erase that--that's what I want! Yeah...<br />
<br />
Most nights I'm working on a short story, novella or some form of writing.<br />
<br />
Over the last few weeks I've been Facebook chatting with a good friend of mine. He's going through final edits for his sci-fi story. He's almost done. He's got cover art (and a cover design thanks to yours truly), some marketing ideas, and as we were talking about our respective heroes: his in a sci-fi world, and mine in a high fantasy world, we both realized how invaluable this experience has been. I'd say so far, but so far it isn't even close to being far from anything. Really, it's closer to a beginning.<br />
<br />
A new beginning.<br />
<br />
Oh, there's no cash flow yet. We may never make enough money to sustain rent or mortgage, but we can't say we haven't tried.<br />
<br />
Most importantly we're having fun along the way.<br />
<br />
In this e-publishing experience we've realized how important writing is to us. How reading... books period are important to us.<br />
<br />
Reminds me of a conversation we had a few days ago when he said everyone is so busy trying to write the next big novel that they aren't writing something people want to read.<br />
<br />
Might as well have handed out three for one coupons to Hometown Buffet. The next few hours were a blur. We talked about Melville, Dickens, King, and I think somewhere in there Hughes and Asimov and Sagan.<br />
<br />
We talked about what is popular. Why it's popular. The changes in the industry. The push for independent artists. The publishing world in general. The economy and how it effects decisions, and then people, which if I remember correctly semi-coloned into Marx.<br />
<br />
The road maps that publishers and authors have used for the last few decades are not so reliable anymore. Blame it on e-readers, blame it on book markets, blame it on genres, blame it on whatever you want to blame it on. There is no absolute to this constant disorientation in publishing.<br />
<br />
Hours I tell you... just flew by. Not much writing got done, but it felt good that for those hours, huddled over the computer, coffee beside me, the whip-click-whip of the kitchen fan I felt like a university student again arguing virtues.<br />
<br />
Someday we'll be adding our stories to the Kindle market. Someday we'll be adding our stories to the market after that. It's best to just keep a weather eye open because we're not just staring down Moby Dick from the bow, harpoon ready, fighting for our souls; we're trying to balance ourselves on swells, at the same time.K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-70398891292082439322011-05-31T14:56:00.000-07:002011-05-31T14:56:05.846-07:00Team Edward or Team Jacob? Yeah, I'm surrounded. Switzerland!Laugh all you want.<br />
<br />
I had to pull out the Switzerland card.<br />
<br />
My 12-year-old stepdaughter is a dedicated Twihard fan. She's not a crazy mess--take that back, she's all about Team Edward. She's got the posters, shirts, bags, calendars, (I think ringtones, but I haven't creeped her phone, because that's just not cool). Twihard? Yeah, she doesn't have to try that hard at all. She read the books like they were pasta.<br />
<br />
Invariably, every few weeks we'll get dragged into a discussion about the series. As a dad I'm interested in talking about her interests with her, and I like to talk mad crap about the series.<br />
<br />
But then she brings up Smallville, and we're having a go-around about the virtues of storytelling, my man-soaps, her girl-soaps, her like for Edward, I like Chloe... So round and round we go.<br />
<br />
The other day, she caught me watching Eclipse without her.<br />
<br />
Oops. Busted.<br />
<br />
She let me have it.<br />
<br />
I suppose I deserved it. Her mom just gave me a look that basically said, "You're on your own on this one."<br />
<br />
In my defense, I like Victoria. Well, her new cast, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron Howard's daughter. I grew up with Mayberry, with Happy Days, with Ron's list of movies, and one of his recent directions, Da Vinci Code, as well as Angels & Demons.<br />
<br />
My favorite Bryce movie was an M. Knight film: The Village. Can't watch this movie enough. It's my second favorite M. Knight film, right after Sixth Sense, followed by the other M. Knight/Bryce team up, Lady in the Water.<br />
<br />
You see where this is going?<br />
<br />
I like Bryce. She can play innocent, sinister, and now Bryce is in another film slated for this year: The Help. Heard about it after my girlfriend and her daughter came back from the latest installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Penelope Cruz is in that flick, too. She's steamy. Her accent? Just keep talking...<br />
<br />
I don't have to try that hard at all either. I like me a hottie in a film just like my stepdaughter likes her hotties.<br />
<br />
There's a gender divide, but hey, we get to talk about Twilight for a while. We get to talk about cool things (but I'm too old for cool. Drool? Not yet. I've got some decades in me still) and fill our day with some stepdad/stepdaughter time, which as any parent knows is like trying to pin down a zephyr. She's growing up so fast. I'm just trying hard to keep up with her. Best way to do that is to stay in the middle, somewhere in Switzerland.K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-46181580270234940172011-05-29T15:32:00.000-07:002011-05-29T15:32:48.695-07:00James Frey co-wrote I am Number Four?At first I thought the pseudonym he used was intentional, as a way to get around the criticism he'd gotten for A Million Little Pieces. It's not.<div><br />
</div><div>But then again, I didn't have an issue with that book.</div><div><br />
</div><div>My issue was with the publisher for marketing A Million Little Pieces as non-fiction, rather than fiction. Oh, wait, not non-fiction, I later discovered, faction: the blending of reality and fantasy based in reality. Whatever. Whoever came up with that name dismissed James Frey's claim he intended the book to be fiction. It wasn't an intersection of factual research and his imagination.</div><div><br />
</div><div>It was fiction. Fiction is super-altered reality, fantastical. Ever seen a few drunk people at a bar? Yeah, the drunker they are the funnier they can be. Behavior doesn't border on crazy, it's down right fantastical. Same with drugs. The drug scene. Recreational drug use. My opinions on drugs are for another post. Don't infer anything. If you care to read, I'll write it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>James Frey had to go on Oprah and apologize. Timbaland feat. One Republic put it nicely: It's too late to apologize. That was intended for the publisher.</div><div><br />
</div><div>A Million Little Pieces shouldn't even count as faction. Ask anyone who's been drunk or blazed and they'll tell you. They don't remember facts, only images and feelings. So how could James Frey be held accountable for his drug-induced experience, or getting himself admitted to a drug clinic? How much of his recollection could be counted as true to fact? Can't. Too many facts couldn't be corroborated. Therefore it's fiction. Like the man said.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Got me thinking after I watched I Am Number Four on DVD the other day.</div><div><br />
</div><div>James Frey co-wrote Four under a pseudonym. At first I thought this was intentional after the backlash. A picture I found online shows him sporting a Civil War beard. I wondered if he was trying to misdirect viewers from remembering him or that he'd gotten to a point in his life where a clean shaven face just didn't matter. Did he really give a flying million pieces of shit?</div><div><br />
</div><div>Probably not.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I wouldn't. Especially after being told that his break-out novel was a complete piece of crap. Nearly ruined him. And while on Oprah, he had to apologize for the publisher. Total crap. But Oprah's praise can bring about unwanted scrutiny. I think that's what go the attempted discredit ball rolling. James Frey bounced back, but under a pseudonym.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Is that what authors have to do to keep writing? It's not we don't know he co-wrote Four. A simple Google search pulls it up. That's how the discredit ball got momentum: a few people searching the Internet to fact check James Frey. Not sure why they had to, but Oprah is a powerful woman. Someone wanted to see her fall down a little bit. Didn't work. James Frey got a lot of publicity for his appearance. Got humiliated too.</div><div><br />
</div><div>What originally drew me to Four was its screenwriters, the duo behind Smallville's first seven seasons, Gough and Millar. Any fan of the series can instantly recognize their stamp. They helped Sam Raimi bring Spider-man to the big screen.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Many viewers complained Four just took too long to get into the action. Which is true. But that's Gough and Millar for you. The humanity in Four builds until it reaches superhumanity. The adaptation seems simplified and typical comic book fair but the script is so well grounded the dialogue and controlled action feel natural, on the verge of greatness. And that's Gough's and Millar's talent. Super heroes develop. They're not instantly born.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The film follows the book very closely. Slow to build and then everything comes together.</div><div><br />
</div><div>It wasn't hard to see why Gough and Millar joined the project. They like struggling young heroes. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Too bad the movie wasn't a hit. It had a decent turnout, but not enough warm seats for a sequel. Maybe not. James Frey continues to write. Gough and Millar continue to adapt stories.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Kept me realizing James Frey had created an undeniable form of fiction.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Check that box; and put the eraser away. </div><div><br />
</div><div>So, what now Patticus Lore? Where is Four headed?</div>K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-21283576977395557852011-05-16T22:56:00.000-07:002011-05-16T22:56:39.703-07:00Smallville sparked a YA storyLately I've been crafting a story that's been approved for consideration for an anthology, and while I know exactly where the characters are headed, the good guys and the bad guys, I've been working this story for the past few weeks. Working it hard.<br />
<br />
There's something to the setting that grabbed my attention. I think it's the humanity. The reduction of it. The absolute naked truth to the setting. I have yet to explore that richness. But it's a harsh world. And while I am fully enjoying the story I have to step away from it for a bit. There's no official date for the anthology's release but I know the date is looming.<br />
<br />
While taking a break I was rummaging through some folders on my desktop and rediscovered a young adult story I was developing a few years back, about four years ago, I think. I got the idea while watching an episode of Smallville.<br />
<br />
The story started out as notes, as most of my stories do. I had a main character. I had a few friends. A foil. A few villains. And the nemesis. And I had the setting, along with its magic system. But I shelved the story right around the time I was changing jobs. I cam back to it while working as a part-time newspaper designer for a citizen journalism model project and would have started it up again but was later hired as the art director for a different start-up newspaper. It's been a few years now, and I completely forgot about the series until the other night.<br />
<br />
Man, why did I stop writing this? I was reading through my notes and some short stories I wrote about various characters and I gotta say I fell right back into that world. It's as though I never left.<br />
<br />
It's got all the usual fantasy components, but with some modern worry in it.<br />
<br />
I know that at some point I'm going to step back into this world and finish the stories. It's intended as a series of books. It's just a matter of time. There are just too many stories within the story I want to write. I really like these characters. Most importantly I really like the main character and his friends.<br />
<br />
When things settle down a bit, I'm going to turn my eyes toward them and hopefully give them the ink they deserve.K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-10065553403292166532011-04-30T17:20:00.000-07:002011-04-30T17:20:56.975-07:00Ridding the bird's eye in my writingI've been collaborating with a few friends over the past few weeks. And it's been loads of fun. What I like most about our collaboration is the maturity of our friendships. We haven't actually seen each other in years, but the bonds of fellowship we created more than a decade ago remain strong.<br />
<br />
The setting we've been developing as backdrop for the stories we're hoping to collect into an anthology is nothing short than the best we want it to be.<br />
<br />
There's something in it for each of us, and we're working hard at making it interesting for any fantasy reader.<br />
<br />
The more we develop the setting the more I start to realize that what we've done is create a playground. There's so much to explore. Heroes. Villains. Myths. Legends. Artifacts. Geography. Culture. Quests. A boy. A girl. A fantasy setting... (:<br />
<br />
As I craft my first story I also realize that I have spent so much time fleshing out the setting that my writer's eye needs glasses. I'm too far sighted. Writer peeps refer to this storytelling stigma in need of editor optometry as the voyeur.<br />
<br />
I'm too busy telling the story. I'm not owning it, not showing it.<br />
<br />
There is but one cure for this bird's eye view in my writing.<br />
<br />
I have to be "in" the characters, in their mannerisms, their hopes, their motives, their actions; "in" the air, the storms, the trees, the flowers, the seeds; "in" every aspect of the story until the veil between my mind and my word is transparent.<br />
<br />
I've been working on this everyday. In many ways blogging has helped me to erase that gap. Blogging is all about me. Me. Me... ME!<br />
<br />
As egocentric as that sounds, its true for characters in a story. Keeping the characters always in the center of the story is what keeps a story from turning into checkers, moving pieces with no sense of identity or a will of their own, controlled by some invisible omnipotent hand.<br />
<br />
There is one more thing. The most important lifeline. I have to care about the characters, whether morally just or vacant, trusting or cautious, altruistic or power hungry, philosopher or tyrant... If I'm not pumping my imagination into that character, he or she has to be reworked until the character means something more than a shell of words.K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-59709638517425187482011-04-28T00:46:00.000-07:002011-04-28T08:04:03.282-07:00We're moving. Yeah, again... But guess what I found?!We're moving in a few weeks, again. North from the place we never thought we would leave.<br />
<br />
If you've ever had a chance to hang out with us, we say that a lot. We've said that at least eight times in the last seven years. We've moved, oh, what six times in the last four years? I hate moving, but moving is like job hunting. We transplant across town to where living within our means is just another day.<br />
<br />
We thought we'd never leave the apartment we've been renting since only January, but here we are, moving once more.<br />
<br />
In the last five months a lot has changed. Some changes were expected. Some changes were not. Job changed. Interests changed. Diaper changes. Shan is almost finished with her undergrad courses. Then it's off to grad school. Her daughter changed schools. The toddlers are older. I've dived head first into app development and fiction writing. We've all changed with the changes in the economy...<br />
<br />
But, we never thought we would be changing addresses, again, so soon.<br />
<br />
We suspected we would at some point. Shan has career goals. She's been talking about what her options are for practicum hours and opportunities she would have after earning her master's degree. Plus the kids will be older. There's five of us. Lots of mouths to feed. Lots of room needed to play. Lots of challenges to undertake. Lots and lots more.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, we're moving.<br />
<br />
We're moving into the family house where her mom spent the last years of her life raising her three daughters, where we'll be responsible for our share of the utilities, some garden work (which I'm looking forward to, now that cooking is as natural to me as drawing), and some other TLC around the house.<br />
<br />
That's it.<br />
<br />
No more rent.<br />
<br />
No more security deposits.<br />
<br />
No more sleepless nights because someone is trying to break into the apartment for the fifth time this week!<br />
<br />
But who knows. We'll probably uproot sometime down the road just when we think everything is going well. We'll pack just to unpack...again.<br />
<br />
Over the last few weeks we've been taking inventory of our things. There isn't much room for our stuff. We'll be renting a garage for whatever can't fit into the house. Although Shan's sister made a really good point today at lunch: What's the point of storing it for a long time? You won't get any use out of it.<br />
<br />
Duh--<br />
<br />
We're so used to moving, the process has been engrained. We want to keep our stuff safe until we need it again. But when is that? In a few months? Years? Why not yard sale it? Well, that's when we realized we would need some storage in the rooms for our things. So, we started touring second hand stores.<br />
<br />
Our first stop was Goodwill. We strolled around the store thinking about our plans for the bedroom, the living room, the kitchen, the kids room, the bathroom... the usual adventure in decorating, when we stumbled upon a few interesting items.<br />
<br />
Shan's been in a French country mood lately. Anything that fits that design theme she wants to look at it and store a picture in her cell phone. She's got the bedroom mostly mapped out and now is starting to put together some of the visual details. I like her style choices. Now, it's just a matter of finding the right paint, creating the right mood, and finally settling down for a long time.<br />
<br />
We want the kids to grow up in a house. Not an apartment. Apartment living has passed its expiration date. Our upstairs neighbors clean at 2 a.m. Can we complain? Sure. But why? We know the woman of the house works odd hours and the man of the house works even stranger hours.<br />
<br />
The neighborhood isn't really all that bad. We're just home a lot. I've heard the conversations. Do they have money? They must. They never work. He never leaves. He's always home. The conversations are spoken in Spanish. I understand what they're saying. So, what? I work too. Just from home. I'm a graphic artist. I have a computer. Just because I'm not the typical worker bee, doesn't mean I don't work. But that's what started the rash of attempted break-ins. No, we're not rich. If we were would we be living in a densely populated city? Uh, no. It's time to move.<br />
<br />
At the Goodwill, everything was color-coordinated. Clothes. Flatware. Shoes. Bowls. Candleholders. Shan noticed that and pointed it out. She also saw something that fit her French country motif and was set on buying it. It's a few bucks. Not a bank breaker. Meanwhile I was looking at some kitchen stuff. Most of it was used. I examined a few pieces not sure if I really wanted to add more cookery to the kitchen since what I'm really after is a server. But no luck on that front, so far.<br />
<br />
My eyes suddenly fell onto a stack of trays. Hand-fashioned aluminum tea and serving trays. I lifted each one, admiring, examining the condition of each piece, and then I stumbled upon THE find.<br />
<br />
I knew it wasn't aluminum. The plate was heavier. It was decorated with flowers in relief. My heart starts racing. I know vintage when I see it. I turn the plate over. Towle scrolled on the underside. 1967. The stock number... I look at the sticker price. I couldn't believe it. I felt transported. My imagination wrote an entire story with this plate as its centerpiece.<br />
<br />
I know exactly what I'm going to do with this plate. Shan's mom enjoyed life the way few people do. When she went on her SoCal tag sales and flea market strolls she would often return home with some interesting piece of history. Sometimes that treasure held a lingering smile, like a tea pot or a blanket, the perfect conversation piece. Sometimes it was a pair of worn shoes that had some mileage on its heels. This plate would be used for holiday meals. It was vintage, just like her soul.<br />
<br />
All because we were moving...K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-43878202213930146772011-04-22T23:00:00.000-07:002011-04-22T23:00:33.853-07:00Writing a zombie short story is not so easyI decided to try to write a short story about zombies.<br />
<br />
Then I gave myself a word limit.<br />
<br />
What the hell was I thinking?<br />
<br />
It's not that easy to write a post-apoc story about a survivor struggling with life and death and humanity and a fractured mind in oh, I don't know, less than a few thousand words. There's so much to figure out. What was this person like before the end of the world? What kind of things did this person care about? Family? Friends? What shaped this person's life? Then there's the survivor story in itself. Then, there's the what happens next...<br />
<br />
It was much more difficult than I thought.<br />
<br />
But I like this challenge. I have to write the story tight.<br />
<br />
No crap.<br />
<br />
No long exposition.<br />
<br />
Right to the heart of the story. Fast.<br />
<br />
It's been a good exercise so far.<br />
<br />
My girlfriend is a die-hard zombie fan. If she could take a minor in Zombie Lit she would. She knows a lot. Not just the stories. How they're constructed. The nuances. The metaphors.<br />
<br />
I asked her to read the story.<br />
<br />
She did.<br />
<br />
The next two hours were spent talking about the human condition under crisis.<br />
<br />
She's a psych major.<br />
<br />
We had an amazing conversation about what makes the mind tick. What makes the mind splinter. What shapes personality. What readers expect to see in a zombie movie and what they expect to read in a zombie story.<br />
<br />
So, I have to rewrite. I have to throw the story out entirely.<br />
<br />
She made a great point: A zombie movie isn't so much about the zombies. It's about the survivors and how they cope. That's where a zombie plot really begins. What carries the story is a survivor meeting another survivor. Without that meeting there's no zombie story.<br />
<br />
Well there you have it.<br />
<br />
I'm starting over.<br />
<br />
Have to.<br />
<br />
The story I wrote was a zombie fairytale. There where parts of the story that were decent. But just parts. I was just trying too hard to make the story fit to a word count. This happens sometimes. I was cutting corners, essentially. I wasn't focusing on showing the protagonist's struggle. Well, that's being too harsh a critic. I was. Just not enough.<br />
<br />
I know I can do it.<br />
<br />
I'm going to crunch the story until I get it down to its bare bones and then add just a little bit more... Not much more. Can't put too much life back into a zombie plot. Humanity's been wiped out. What's left? I have the protagonist. I have to think about him some more. I rushed it.... Time to slow him down.<br />
<br />
Tick...<br />
<br />
Tock...<br />
<br />
... tick...<br />
<br />
...K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293677868238786508.post-53630250385858640102011-04-21T10:45:00.000-07:002011-04-21T10:45:52.423-07:00Sometimes I journal in characterA friend asked me how I come up with ideas for roleplaying campaigns. The honest answer is that I don't create a plot line, encounters and maps to populate until I have the entire villain cast firmly in my head. Without him or her and those menacing, power-hungry underlings, the plot would have little, if any, triumph.<br />
<br />
Sure, the players could roll dice from dawn to dusk. And, yes, one of the players undoubtedly would have either made, bought, traded, stole, or just outright inherited some ridiculous ego-fueld bastard sword powered with the undeniable forces of sunlight and righteousness; but how often can he brandish that sword? CONSTANTLY...!<br />
<br />
Whenever he entered a tavern, a temple, a den... every time.<br />
<br />
I can see the group throwing up their arms and groaning--again!--as I'm typing this blog post, smirking. Some real funny shit came out of those sessions. We still talk about the player who said, with his thief, "I motion to the dragon to come over here." The audacity. Everyone roared with laughter. Well, you can imagine what happened next. No, fire didn't race around the dragon's teeth and over its outstretched tongue to incinerate the fop. The damned thing was bored. It hadn't laughed so hard in ages...<br />
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But I knew this ahead of time, and was playing around with various concepts of dragon personalities. Not types, like the classic metallic or chromatic breeds of AD&D dragons. I was toying around ideas like do dragons have a funny bone? Are they always jaded lizards ready and willing to kill for sport? Some, perhaps, but then they'd just be bull sharks with wings and furnaces. If they're intelligent might as well go the distance, right?<br />
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So, I did.<br />
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In the end, the dragon perished, sort of. If I remember correctly, the ranger and the archer fired a stream of arrows at the dragon's neck. He swung his neck back, too high, enraged with the shift in civility. The dragon smacks the cavern roof with his head and loosens stalactites, which come crashing down around the players. The mage-thief among the group predicted this possibility. It was epic. The rumbling cavern. Towering cones of earth. Sweeping gouts of fire. The players were hard pressed and barely escaped...<br />
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But in order to role-play the dragon properly, I had to journal the old creaky lizard, in character.<br />
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I was so engrained with the traditional concept of the RPG dragon, I wasn't sure where to begin. So, the journaling began.<br />
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What was the red death like in his prime? Did he venture far? Did he forge alliances, and if so, with who? He recalled an unfortunate experience with a dragon hunter. He grappled with his own imperfections among his fellow kin. He was embarrassed by his flatulence, which caused him great belly pains and produced even more breaths of fire.<br />
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He discovered a farming village and preyed upon them. They grew something that soothed his belly aches. Yup, you guessed it, ginger.<br />
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All of this I journaled. So that when the time came I knew exactly how the dragon would think, what his mannerisms were, and most importantly, how he would respond to the players' characters.<br />
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Journaling helped me free the dragon from the trappings of stereotypes. And, it gave me a character I have enjoyed thinking about from time to time. I may reconstruct his journals someday. They're long gone, somewhere in a landfill, buried among other adventurous tales. Who knows, I may fully resurrect him. I did, in the campaign, though. He swore to hunt the players down, and finish what they had started...K. Anthony Paganohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905513967986990323noreply@blogger.com0