Canister X – A.P. Fuchs: Zombie, Paranormal Romance and Superhero Novelist, Blogger, Artist, Publisher

You know, you read all these different articles on how to properly use Twitter. Some say to tweet a couple of times a day, others to interact with folks regularly, others say a mix of the two . . . . I guess it depends on your goals and why you have your Twitter feed to begin with. In my case, it’s to talk with readers, meet new people, get some news on the topics that interest me, and also to tell people about my books.
It’s also a source of content for this blog as once in a while I’ll post a Twitter capture of what I’m talking about on there, or post a rant about something.

What do you use Twitter for?

Here’s what’s been going on on my feed since the 31, the most recent tweet being the one on top.

@topshelfcomix Any word on when the Bacchus Omnibus will be out? Been excited for it since I heard about it a couple years back. Pls advise.

@guaybrian Thanks for the retweet!

From my wife’s Mom Blog – Easter baking: http://wp.me/p2zeUV-df via @ladybugstuff #mommyblogging #blogs #easter

Disney Pixar’s ‘Nemo’ Sequel ‘Finding Dory’ Arriving in 2015 http://on.mash.to/XVu10K via @mashable

Comic Convention this weekend. Having a table there. Love it. http://www.c4popculture.com #comics #conventions

@seams16 Thanks for shout, Eric!

@CraigBrummer @pajartstudio @SEvanTownsend @marieharbon @AHDeCarrasco @FictionWriter1 @emarxbooks @KathyReinhart Thanks for the shout out!

@templestark Jack of all trades, master of none, basically.

@EcomBuffet You’re welcome!

Mystery. Legend. #Bigfoot. Hairy tales to make your skin crawl. BIGFOOT TERROR TALES VOL. 1 http://amzn.to/RS4KDi #kindle #horror #ebooks

The Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media by @EcomBuffet http://www.searchenginejournal.com/seven-deadly-sins-of-social-media/10380/ … via @sejournal

23 Ways for a Comic Artist to Survive and Thrive in any Economy – Optimum Wound http://www.optimumwound.com/23-ways-for-a-comic-artist-to-survive-and-thrive-in-any-economy.htm …

APRIL FOOL • by Paul A. Freeman http://www.everydayfiction.com/april-fool-by-paul-a-freeman/ … via @everydayfiction

Keep up to date with superhero and monster book publisher Coscom Entertainment on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/coscomentertainment … #zombies #superheroes

Undead World Trilogy comes to an end in an epic war between Zombies, Man, Demons & Angels in REDEMPTION OF THE DEAD http://amzn.to/14Az4KV

@templestark Like with comics, Diamond became the only game in town later screwing the little guy. Hope Amazon doesn’t do the same thing.

@templestark The monopoly Amazon holds–and is growing–scares me as a writer and publisher. Too much power to one source.

Amazon Acquires Book Recommendations Site and Social Network Goodreads – WebProNews http://www.webpronews.com/amazon-acquires-book-recommendations-site-goodreads-2013-03 …

Last day for a 99-cent ZOMBIE FIGHT NIGHT! Think UFC meets Night of the Living Dead plus robots, ninjas, vamps & more http://amzn.to/cENxW9

To help raise funds to print the third Axiom-man issue, I’m offering this set of original artwork Axiom-man sketch cards. Pics below.

Please support independent comics by getting one or more of the cards below. Thanks in advance for your support.

Specs:

Axiom-man Sketch Card Series One. Eleven cards, each an original piece of art never to be reproduced. Signed and dated by A.P. Fuchs on the back. Topside signatures can be arranged upon request.

Each card measures 2.25″ by 3.5″, neatly trimmed, black-and-white artwork with gray highlights.

Cards are $5 each, postage included.

Set retail value at $55. Pick up the whole set and save, just $50.

Pls PM on Facebook or email if interested.

Cards (click for larger image):

Nothing fancy, but something I like to call home.

The good folks over at Beacon News conducted an interview with me and have now aired it on the Web.

Please go here to give it a read.

Thanks.

Last year I put out zombie poetry anthology called Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes: Zany Zombie Poetry for the Undead Head. It was the only zombie poetry anthology out there, and still is. You could almost consider it a benchmark in zombie achievement, if there is such a thing, and the reviews have all been positive thus far.

Horrornews.net is the latest place to review the book, and I’m really thrilled they enjoyed it.

Please read the review here, and grab a copy of the book for your collection by going here or clicking on the thumbnail above.

The anthology covers undead mayhem, survival, love, loss, guns, video games, and all kinds of graveyard delights. (Plus it would make a cool Christmas present to the zombie afficiando in your family.)

Thanks.

Right now I’m waist-deep (no, really, I’m about halfway through it) in Batman: Arkham Asylum on PS3, which is a stunning game and is something I so badly wish they’d use as the story for Batman 3. Yet, of course, the main baddie is the Joker so it’s not going to happen. Still . . .

But coming up real soon is what looks to be another stunning superhero masterpiece and that is Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. In short, the premise is some kind of mystical crystal that keeps all known universes/realities separate has been shattered and as a result, you, the fortunate player, get to select between FOUR Spider-Man styles/game-modes to try and right the wrong from a universe of your choosing.

Only two of the Spider-Man dimensions have been revealed so far: the Amazing Spider-Man (the one we all know and love), plus the ultra-cool Spider-Man Noir, which is Spidey in the ’30s in a Sin City sort of environment.

Below is a couple trailers for the game.

I plan on picking this up the day it comes out.

Saturday, June 5, 2010
Time: 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Location: Coles, Kildonan Place Shopping Centre
City/Town: Winnipeg, MB

Come stop by Coles, KP this Saturday where I’ll be signing copies of Zombie Fight Night, Blood of the Dead, Dead Science, Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes, plus anything you bring by you would like to me to sign, like beer cans, hats and pencils.

** And you know what’s great about this event? Everything in the store is 10%+ off! So that means, you guessed it, you can score some Fuchs undead fiction for cheap! **

Plus also be sure to come by and get your picture taken for free with a werewolf fighting a zombie. No really, this fight is happening. Gonna be awesome.

What’s Zombie Fight Night about?

In 2027 A.D., the Zombie Apocalypse took the world by storm and no one was prepared. Countless lives were lost as humanity battled to regain control of their planet. Eventually, they did, and out of the ashes of fallen civilization rose a new world, one bent on revenge against the hordes of the undead that took everything from them.

Enter Tony Sterpanko, entrepreneur extraordinaire who found a way to capitalize on humanity’s thirst for vengeance against the zombie. He created Zombie Fight Night, a worldwide craze where the undead men and women who remained from the apocalypse faced off against people and beings that once existed on Earth or were existing for the first time.

It is ten years later and at Blood Bay Arena, fortunes are won and lost. Men are made millionaires over night. Others are not so lucky and find themselves broken and destitute.

Mick Chelsey is one such man: gambling addict, lousy husband and Zombie Fight Night fanatic.

Except now, in order to still watch the fights and try to win back all he’s lost, he needs to bet fast and big otherwise death will come for him.

Let the battles begin.

Zombies fight Bigfoot, werewolves, vampires, Axiom-man, Bruce Lee, samurai, kickboxers, robots and more in this ode to blood-and-guts action from Blood of the Dead author, A.P. Fuchs.

You ready to get it on?

Thanks in advance to those who come down.

The event can be found on Facebook here.

When you rely on your art for your living, finances tend to be a bigger issue than those who work a regular 9-5. At least with a 9-5, they have the assurance of a paycheck every 2 weeks provided that put their 80 hours in.

That said, when your income varies month-to-month, it’s good to save some cash where you can in case worse comes to worse.

This post is meant as an open discussion, so feel free to leave other ideas or suggestions in the comments box below. Let’s do this together and everybody wins.

Ideas to save money:

- turn off lights when not in the room

- depending on the size of your toilet tank, take one or more 500ml pop bottles, fill it with water and stick it in the tank. It’s called water displacement, so when the tank fills up after use, it fills up 500ml (or more) less than if it wasn’t there. Two flushes and you just saved yourself a liter of water (or more) on your bill. All you need is enough water to get the job done anyway

- use power efficient light bulbs where possible

- unplug appliances when not in use. These still draw power even though they’re not turned on-

- plant a garden and grow your own produce. This also goes for herbs as these can be grown indoors year round provided they’re near a source of sun.

- had a party? People leave beer cans behind? Take them in for a refund. In Canada we get 10 cents a can or bottle. In some provinces they even take back soda cans, just unfortunately not in mine

- had a baby? Consider hand-me-downs as an option for clothing instead of going out and overloading on the kid’s wardrobe. Though I’m all for treating your baby to a special outfit or three, there’s no point buying a ton of outfits–especially at the rate they burn through them on a daily basis–only to have to replace them six months later

- if able, pay bills that you would normally pay on a monthly basis all in one go. Examples are car insurance, medical insurance (if not covered through work), etc. You save money this way as there’s typically a fee to go month-to-month. Some companies even offer a deal if you pay it off all in one shot

- group errands together so you’re not running out 10 times with the car; if you can do 10 places in 1 or 2 trips, it’s better on gas

- where I live, gas tends to be cheaper toward the weekend so that might a thing to pay attention to in your area

- use coupons when possible

- understand that, despite a few exceptions, generic brand products are usually the same as their name brand counterparts. Why pay more if you don’t have to?

- furnace filter: instead of replacing it when it’s all dusty, take a vacuum over it and clean ‘er up. You usually can get an extra month or two out of it that way before switching it up for another one

- don’t be afraid of dollar stores or bargain shops; they do have good, practical stuff there and it’s not all crap

- buy in bulk; the per unit cost of the product goes way down and you’ll have enough to last a long, long time

- buy coffee before work in the morning? Why not make it at home before stepping out? Getting up an extra 5 minutes early can save you $2 or more a day

- if able, put $20 or more toward your principle owing on every mortgage payment. It’ll save you thousands of dollars in the long run

- when paying off debt, pay off the highest interest debt first and work your way down the list

- when printing from your computer, set it at “draft” instead; saves ink and–at least the HP printer I’m using–the draft quality is excellent so there’s no real need to go above and beyond unless it’s a real important letter or something

Now, in light of the above, I’m not saying live like a pauper. Not at all. Like I’ve told many people over the years who are stingy, “We work so we have money to spend.” Don’t go crazy, but there really is no point in working if you’re not going to treat yourself to a McMeal, DVD, PS3 game, new cooking utensil, etc. now and then. Case in point, when I was 9, I had a paper route. I made around $60-65 every two weeks. Considering inflation, back then that was really good cash for a kid. I saved up for over a year to buy my own computer, but there were times I was very frustrated about just working, working, working but not enjoying the fruits of my labors. Very rarely did I ever dip into my computer fund to buy something. So don’t be afraid to also spend some cash as a reward for all the hours you put in at your job. The above are just ideas to stretch those dollars in practical ways that, with practice, you won’t even notice you’re doing and will have the extra bucks in your pocket for proof.

What do you do to save cash?

My 2010 monster line up so far . . .

A Nightmare on Elm Street:

The Wolfman:

This is it. We are here.

2010 has arrived . . .

. . . and the world is nothing like Back to the Future Part II. Okay, sure, I admit Back to the Future II took place in 2015, so we’re five years off, but still–you’d think if we have flying cars galore by then, we’d ought to be seeing some kind of prototype flying around now, Joe Neighbour already taking one for a test spin. Or what about the hover-boards? Funky hairdos? Oh, wait, we got those, but what about folks walking around in broad daylight in rainbow-colored spandex, Superman not included?

My winter boots are lace-ups and, having been wearing slip-on shoes for the past few years, I got spoiled into not putting any effort into sliding my shoes on. Last night, as I was gearing up to go to my sister’s place for New Year’s, I hated tying my shoes. Those power laces Marty McFly had would have really helped, especially in the case of kids. Have you ever tried tying a four-year-old’s boot as they keep wiggling their feet or stepping up and down the spot? Yikes!

But, I suppose, the cool future as depicted in BttFPII is well on its way. After all, we got information slamming into us 24 hours a day; phones that rival tricorders; eBook readers that look like something out of Star Trek: TNG; thanks to global networking and global sellers, pretty much anything we could ever want is at our fingertips; we got TV screens that show a picture even clearer than real life; virtual reality; cell phones that go in our ears (hello, Star Trek Communicator–coming to a retailer real soon); and tons more.

Welcome to 2010. Gone are the 2-0-0s before the date. We’ve officially crossed the line where we’re no longer at the beginning of a new millenia. We’re into it.

Axiom-man.com will be with you for the ride, coming at you 5-6 days a week with all sorts of goodies, reviews, Youtube whatnots and more.

Stick around. This year is going to be good!