Sometimes all you have left is a memory, a time when you found yourself, lost yourself, found yourself again . . . in someone else. And sometimes they leave you anyway, but in the end what they’ve given to you is more than what you could have ever asked for. And though they’re gone you have lived because of them and become so much more. You have experienced what most go through their whole lives without, that four-letter word that impacts the world greater than anything else.
Last week I finished CAUGHT IN BLACK HEADLIGHTS, but if you’re a reader of my newsletter, you get advance news so those guys already know about it. It is a book of text and photos, my first in that regard. The next closest thing would be CANISTER X COMIX No. 3, in which photos were used instead of art for the panels.
This one is set for a spring release, looking at late March or early April. Date to be determined.
AXIOM-MAN/CRIMSON CLOAK: SCARLET SYNERGY comes first. (Presently with the editor.)
Gonna be a good year for books. Lots of things planned and, as you can already see, we got 2024’s first two releases already lined up. Are you caught up on everything?
ZOMTROPOLIS is gonna be out soon and then I’ll be neck-deep in THE AXIOM-MAN SAGA writing three books for that before releasing them so my readers know for certain the story arc I’ll be doing will done and complete in 2024.
I’ve been picking away at CAUGHT IN BLACK HEADLIGHTS for years. It’s a poetry book, my fourth thus far. Poems about life, observation, some feelings. Trying something new with my poetry style. I think what’s going to end up happening is I’ll be airing CAUGHT IN BLACK HEADLIGHTS at Patreon 2.0 as in-between book, a pre-online publication alongside ZOMTROPOLIS, which is being serialized there.
All really depends how much I have to say because poetry is about saying something, hopefully something with meaning and some sort of impact.
We’ll see.
In the interim, STILL ABOUT A GIRL is coming back out so you can get your poetry fix through that in the meantime.
The Way of the Fog and Still About a Girl Returning to Life
A long time ago I wrote an epic fantasy (253k words) called THE WAY OF THE FOG: VOLUME ONE OF THE ARK OF LIGHT. It came out in hardcover only. That hardcover is returning. As for paperback and eBook versions, I’ll have to figure something out because the core files were lost in The Great Computer Crash of 2010. I have some ideas on how to recover the files, but it’ll take some time.
As well, my poetry book, STILL A ABOUT A GIRL, is returning to print. It was my third poetry collection and came out early in my career. No reason to not have it out there again. It’s a collection of poems about love and loss and how it changes you.
Stay tuned for more news as these projects return.
In the meantime, lots of books to choose from both here and at Amazon to keep you reading company. Thanks.
Writer’s block can be discouraging. You’re on a roll with your project then suddenly you hit a mental brick wall and the words cease. Hours go by, days, even weeks. You just can’t seem to get past that certain point in your story. You kinda know where it’s going but how to get there? Good question.
My suggestion to overcome writer’s block is to write through it. You can certainly pick the project you’re working on and give it a go, but if that’s not an option, write something else. It doesn’t have to be for publication. It could be a snippet, a thought, a blog post or article, poetry, even a rant about how frustrated you are. The point is to keep writing anyway.
That’s been my personal experience and writing anyway eventually beats down that wall and let’s you resume your project again.
Aside from being a major Tragically Hip fan–and aside from being a fan of Gord’s solo album of which this poetry book is named after–this book got to me. You know, deep down heart stuff. It’s about life, it’s about Canada, it’s about observation, it’s about asking questions that may or may not have answers.
That Gord. Man, he knows how to string words together, both poetically and lyrically. This book contains both the lyrics from Coke Machine Glow as well as other poetry. Gord’s way with words is such that the subject matter of each piece is relatable in some way, whether overtly or subtly, depending on what’s going on in your life. He is also the master of putting together what are at first glance unrelated statements, but upon thinking about them you realize they go perfectly together and beautifully compliment each other.
I’ve always been an advocate Gord Downie can put any set of words to music, and the lyric portion of Coke Machine Glow proves the point. Even the stuff that didn’t make the album easily could have, so now I’m curious why he chose what was made into song and what wasn’t.
Coke Machine Glow is an amazing and touching poetry book. It came with the CD way back when I got it a decade and a half ago and has remained one of my favorite books and albums since.
Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes: Zany Zombie Poetry for the Undead Head
The dead rise. The world dies. Mankind falls and enters Death’s halls.
Over 90 poems of carnage, hopelessness and despair mixed with oodles of the living dead await you. Featuring poems by W. Bill Czolgosz, Paul A. Freeman, Keith Gouveia, J.H. Hobson, Rich Ristow, Lester Smith, Steve Vernon, Zed Zefram, Zombie Zak, and many others, Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes will not only melt your brain . . . it’ll tear out your jugular!
