Grimtoberfest Has Arrived

Grimtoberfest is here and I have joined the dark horde of grimdark fantasy writers in doing an siege on our own pocketbooks with this joint slashing of prices on our respective books.

I've got my own novel BRUTAL cut down to .99 cents for the next few days. Check out the rest of the catalog from these rogues HERE


p.s.

I should also mention I've re-released a collection under the pen name that some of you may already be familiar with - what was Whispers of the Goddess has been rebooted under the James Alderdice banner as The Slayer

I just wanted that to be clear, so nobody grabbed the book twice. I meant to add another Tyr story to the collection but just didn't quite get around to it - this has been a hard month for writing and I'm still way behind.

Til next time

David

Walking Through Walls

A writing experiment I did across 2014-2016 was  Walking Through Walls, an ongoing fantasy noir serial that ran in Utah Geek Magazine. My tale ran for the first 13 issues and came out to just about 30K words. Not too long, not too short.

I was sitting on it for awhile but with the relative success of BRUTAL and my pen name of James Alderdice, I decided I might as well release Walking Through Walls too just to build up a backlist for the fantasy based pen name.

It is set in the same secondary world as BRUTAL but is centrally based in Tolburn, the biggest dirtiest city in that world, whereas BRUTAL is taking place in a dirty backwater far removed from the rest of the goings on. There are no character crossovers or mentions yet, maybe just some very simple geographic references - And I don't even have an official map made up yet.

In my mind it is a prequel of sorts to something I have been working on for ages and brainstorming that I'm calling GODS & ROBBERS.

I looked at the project as a writing exercise since I had to come up with a quick tale of around 2,000 to 2,500 words an issue and hook the reader each time, have a wrap-up but also a cliffhanger for the next chapter. It was fun but perhaps lacks the flow of a novel. Most of it is first person featuring a character named Kenaz, who is no secret prince, no chosen one waiting to be called forth, no great fighter, no man of means or anything special, but he can travel outside his body and gather information. So that's his semi-criminal profession, but then he gets wrapped up in a job for multiple employers that all conflict with one another and that's where he gets smacked with a fistful of trouble.

Toward the end though I really wanted some scenes with a side character so the narrative drifts from first person to third and back again. Probably not the best format and definitely something I won't do for the continuation of the Gods & Robbers saga.

I've been having it available at 2.99 but think I'll do a promotion to .99  for Walking Through Walls by the weekend just to give it a little more traction. So if any of you feel like checking it out, that'd be great. And as always reviews are forever appreciated.

Life The Universe and Everything for the Weekend

Its that time of year again, Life The Universe and Everything the annual science fiction/ fantasy writers convention.

This is one of the best, mostly because there are so many writers and other creatives to rub shoulders with. You'd be hard pressed to come up with any con where you could hang with more. I have been to some other big writer conventions, but this one is full of my people - everything Spec-Fic!

And of course I'm a guest once again, so I'll be on panels, lounging in the green room and trying to even get a little more writing done to fulfill my "pulp speed" expectations.

Here is my schedule - its a little Thursday heavy.

Thursday, February 16
9am
Novel vs. Short Story
Arches (Provo Marriott), 9am - 9:50am
Tags: Writing
David Boop, Christopher Husberg (M), Terra Luft, Eric James Stone, Scott R. Parkin, David J. West
The novel vs. the short story. How can they benefit from each other? How are the skill-sets different? How do you know which to choose?

11am
I Can't Believe You Haven't Read This . . .
Juniper (Provo Marriott), 11am - 11:50am
Tags: Books
Kenna Blaylock, C.H Lindsay (M), David J. West, Jessica Day George,
Not-to-be-missed middle grade and young adult books from writers of the genre and those who know it best.

12pm
So You Want to Write Horror...
Arches (Provo Marriott), 12pm - 12:50pm
Tags: Writing
Courtney Alameda, Larry Correia, Steve Diamond, Terra Luft, David J. West (M)
Get tips for writing horror. How do you know if horror is for you? Tips for beginners.

4pm
Making a Living on the Macabre
Bryce (Provo Marriott), 4pm - 4:50pm
Tags: Books
Courtney Alameda, Cheree Alsop (M), David J. West
Fantasy horror writers and how they create their works. Let's look at the works that hit a homerun and the writers that created them.

5pm
The Art of the Hook
Arches (Provo Marriott), 5pm - 5:50pm
Tags: Writing
Larry Correia, James Ganiere, Scott R. Parkin, J. Scott Savage, Andrea Pearson (M), David J. West
First lines and first chapters matter. How do you get readers interested in your story? In your characters?

Friday, February 17
10am
Hottest Women in Science Fiction
Bryce (Provo Marriott), 10am - 10:50am
Tags: Books
Jana S. Brown, Adam McLain (M), David J. West
It's not your sexy cover babe. We're talking women writers and their works, but you knew that already, right?

6pm - 8pm
Book Signing
Zion, Bryce and Arches

I'll have print copies of Scavengers, Six-Gun Serenade and others - but this is the first time I'll have those to sign.

So for all my long-distance friends - this would be the one to someday make it too.

Comic Con Time

This is the big one - for me. Salt Lake Comic Con  is new, just a couple years old now and doesn't have near the name recognition of a slew of others like San Diego, New York or even Dragon Con but it is big. Around 150 K people are in attendance and by Saturday it is crazy. I do most of my looking around on Thursday before the crowds swell up. My boys will come with me on Saturday - they are cooking up their own cosplay for it. Mathias is thinking about being the Demogorgon from Stranger Things and Bear wants to be a steampunk Deadpool.

In any case, of course I'm a guest this year and will be signing books at Booth 2220 with my friends the Space Balrogs. I'll be on several panels as follows.

The Rocketeer- Celebrating an Overlooked Classic

Thursday September 1, 2016 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm 

25 years ago Disney's THE ROCKETEER starring Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, and Timothy Dalton soared into cinemas, but never found the mass audience it deserved. We take a look back at the highlights, making-of, and more about the film, as well as the franchise that never was (but should have been).
Room: 255C

Killing the Stigma - Combating Mental Illness Misinformation in Popular Culture

Friday September 2, 2016 10:00 am to 11:00 am 
(Hey, that's frigging early!!!)
Ranging from Batman's gallery of villains, the mad scientist and the homicidal socially awkward killer, fandom is rife with poor portrayals of mental illness and how it affects the person with the diagnosis. This panel will dissect and examine movies, television, comics, and books and their use of mental illness to drive their plots.
Room: 1551 A

Choose Your Own Apocalypse: Marvel Monsters Edition
Saturday September 3, 2016 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm 

The bad news is, the world is gonna end. The good news is, you get to pick how you go out. Will it be at the hands of the seductive Enchantress, or will humanity be consumed by Venom, Carnage & other corrupted Klyntar? Or will the world fall to the oldest mutant alive; a monster god appropriately named, Apocalypse? You get to decide in an interactive panel game of epic proportions! In Choose Your Own Apocalypse, each panelist represents a different way the world is going to end. A moderator conducts the panelists and audience through a series of rounds in which the panelists have to make their case for their specific apocalypse. They do this using campaign speeches, witty rhetoric, and performance art. Then the audience gets to choose who is the winner.

Room: 255C

An interesting thing to me about this Con in particular is I'm not on any writing tracks - which I always was before and you know what - that's a good thing. Who goes to writing tracks? Other writers. Do they want to get your book? Not very often. Usually they want to talk to you about their books. So as far as sales and fans its kind of a wash - talking fandom is usually the better way to go - so its all good this way.

I have print copies of Cold Slither I'll be signing and I'm very pleased with how its been doing online -its been sitting in the top ten for western horror and Whispers Out of the Dust has been joining it as of today. So that's pretty cool. I have admittedly tried to learn a little more about marketing this week than before when I just put stuff out there and hoped it would sell.

Oh and I believe the 12th issue of Utah Geek will be there as well featuring the 12th chapter in my ongoing noir fantasy serial Walking Through Walls. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna wrap it up in chapter 13 and then figure out what to do with it. Either release it as a novella or cannibalize it for another work - I'm not sure yet. I'll have a lot of pics to post next week when its over. Til next time.

FanX 2016 Recap

I had a lot of fun this last weekend at the jr. spring version of Salt Lake Comic Con = FanX

They cap it at 50k people instead of the 150K for Septembers SLCC. Ina lot of ways this can be nicer, the crowds arent wall to wall and you can have more interactions etc.

I was on several panels that a couple writing tracks and some fan oriented ones about Tolkien and Lovecraft.

This top pic is from the I've written a book - Now What? With me, my friend Dave Butler, Richard Paul Evans and a romance writer,  an agent, and an acquisitions editor. It was fun, there was almost an argument between pro-self-publishing Richard Paul Evans and the agent, but sadly it didn't quite get that far. ;)
Before that I was on another panel about Pantsing and Plotting and it was funny how all of the writers you see pictured below started pantsing and have been gradually moving to plotting.

I got to meet quite a few people just running around, these are the guys from the ongoing fantasy movie series Mythica. Adam Johnson (the one on my right) has been a friend of my wife for years and if we go back far enough is partially responsible for Melissa and I getting together.

I really liked this version of Goser the Goserian.

AZPowergirl, I enjoyed talking to her all three days. She is funny and I love that she is running for the AZ House of Representatives.

I chatted with Stewart Petersen a few moments (this was his first Comic Con) I take it you all have seen Where the Red Fern Grows among others.

This is an up and coming actress/producer friend of mine Wren Barnes. I didn't realize I was making a gif at the time.

I thought this was one of the best cosplay's I saw at the whole con an Alien family.

Rising cosplay star Joanie Brosas in an incognito moment

 My sons in the Green Room, I'm not sure they understand the exclusivity yet that they are privileged with.

This Black Cat requested my son pose with her - he made his own Anti-Venom costume - he was the only Anti-Venom I saw at the con.

And finally I'll share one of my darkest moments. The Space Balrogs do a Choose Your Own Apocalypse audience participation comedy game at most cons we got to (Emerald City next month!) and this one was based on the TV show Supernatural - I was at a loss considering I've never watched it so I did my best to fake it as Death one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. I did pretty good but ultimately Craig Nybo won as Crowley. And as usual I think Jason is the funniest - here is a six-minute highlight.

All in all it was good, made some new friends and had a good time with old ones. Sold a few books and met  some great fans. Looking forward to the next one!

FANX 2016!

I'm pumped for this one the Fan Xperience - the spring version of Salt Lake Comic Con! I'm on five panels (as of yesterday) it was still 3 on Monday.

Here is the schedule.

My first panel at 1:00 pm today is a writing track on Pantsing vs Plotting.

I've always been a pantsing guy, but recently I have worked with outlines a bit more and I would have to admit it has made me faster.


At 5:00 pm today, I'll be a part of the Choose Your Own Apocalypse, audience participation game. Supernatural edition. I may be a t a loss here since I've never watched the show, but I did school myself on it a bit last night.


Friday, I have another writers track at 10:00 am on How we (or you) get published - again it will be with writer friends of mine and I think I have some interesting bits to add to the discussion so it will
be fun.

Saturday will be my favorite panels. At Noon, I'll be on a All Things Tolkien panel and then the last panel of the night at 8:00 pm is the Lovecraft: Not Meant to Voyage Far panel.

I've also got a booth with friends (the Space Balrogs) and I think its gotta be in the most prime con real estate we've ever had. Right in the center beside a main thoroughfare = Green 16.

I'll post some pics to Twitter, Facebook and such but will do a recap blog post soon too.


Oh and I almost forgot, the latest issue #10 of Utah Geek will be release there too and I must say I think omy ongoing fantasy serial is just getting better with each issue - this time its "The Hammer of Witches"! and I love this cover! I forget who the artist is, but I was told its the Guest of Honor artist at World Horror Con that I'll be at the end of next month.

Life, The Universe and Everything

This weekend Thursday the 11th, Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th are LTUE
a supremely awesome genre centered writing conference. Held in the Provo Marriott, its conveniently close to home (and where I'll be for World Horror Con this April). I don't know of any other writers con where you can rub shoulders with so many greats at one time, and of course I am also a guest and speaking at 8 different panels myself.

I linked the schedule above but for clarity here is my own

Thursday
from 1pm to 2pm - Non-Tolkien-derivatives, Beyond noble elves and burly dwarves in the Amphitheater
and from 6pm to 8pm I'll be co-hosting Sibyl’s Scriptorium Contests Award Ceremony

Friday
from 10am to 11am Sympathy for the Devil (writing great villains)
from 12pm to 1 pm Screenwriting (which will be more of me faking it til I make it)
from 3pm to 4 pm Horror Games: Incorporating Theme Effectively
from 4pm to 5 pm Conan the Barbarian and the adventure fiction of Robert E Howard (finally one I feel pretty damn confident about!!!)

Saturday
from 1pm to 2pm Greek Mythology in the Modern Day
from 2 pm to 3 pm Coffee, Tea, and Revolutions


These are all writing related so I can use writing related chops, but I was surprised I was flagged for the Horror Games and Screenwriting tracks, I've read and researched both but I sure don't want to come off as a clown who doesn't know his stuff on these two.

And what I like most of all on these type things is the camaraderie of hanging with other cool writers who Ii consider friends. In this day and age its hard to get together with people anymore and I don't see old friends like I did way back when so these events are nice to mingle and laugh in person with folks.

One fine day, I'd like to make it out where you my regular blog readers are at! Til next time.

Latest Around These Parts...

My latest installment of Walking Through Walls: Chapter 8 Burning Bridges is available online here

I still need to get some print copies, because as I've mentioned before it brings me a great amount of joy to feel I am truly a pulp author with these bi-monthly mags. And it also has a whole lot of Star Wars content for those that are into that.

For myself I am still cautiously optimistic.


And while I have wanted to blog more, life has been busy with the new baby etc.

Funny thing is, quite a while ago, I'm forgetting when exactly I moved my blog comments to accept all as long as it was within say two weeks. After that there was a greater tendency for spam rather than legit comments, still I do get legit ones on old posts every now and again, not that I suspect anyone but me ever see's them.

But I've not been checking the blog for the last few and Lo there was another comment on a post that is almost four years old! It was was my Write What You Don't Know post, wherein I said as a fiction writer how ridiculous it is to think of what our fiction would be without imagination = only writing what we know, and I do absolutely stand by that.

Somebody had to post anonymously and sound all superior about how rich he would be if he had a dollar for all the people out there who don't write well or do good  research and thus respect cross cultural peoples etc.

Whatever dude, there's a lot of bad writers out there and guess what? -they won't get better without working at it. AND lets talk for a moment about what cultural illiterate hole you have been living in. Reading is one of the best ways people can understand and empathize with others. I love to read and want my children to read so they can be better people  - its what books do.

But not everything is "the Best". People read what they like and part of hooking children on reading is letting them read whatever "trash" they like, they will come around and find the good stuff when they are ready. So don't come to my blog disparaging anyone on how they write and on not being culturally sensitive - go take a walk.

Yes, I'm a little inflamed as part of my original response on Write What You Don't know was following that spirit of Robert E. Howard and dreaming great dark dreams and I suspect the person the same tired old arguments against Bob and company. I've seen more of that stuff online lately and I'm dead sick of it and don't need to hear any more on it. Accept great writers for what they are = just people, you take the good with the bad, that's life, get over it.

Into the Belly of Kathulos: UGEEK #6

Chapter 6 of Walking Through Walls: Into the Belly of Kathulos in issue #6 of UGEEK Magazine came out over the Fourth of July weekend, and I wasn't home to get a copy or really post about it until now.

It's got a great steampunk cover (and article inside) and a great cosplay centerfold of a steampunk Snow White by Mala Foxx.

I also noticed a author spotlight on my good friend Jason King, whose latest fantasy novel The Soulless Grave was just released today and an interview with a new facebook friend actress Wren Barnes.

This S&S fantasy noir is going places I didn't expect and I'm quite happy with it.

Thanks to my editors James Wymore, Holli Anderson and Bruce Durham for helping polish it up and I am looking forward to the next chapter that will be out in time for Salt Lake ComicCon. I am hoping that this mag helps spread my gospel and people start buying my other books. I expect that this particular tale will take at least another 6-7 chapters to wrap up and when its done I expect to release it myself for fun.

Mala's pic by the great Vladmir Chopine, who I hope to have do a portrait of me sometime - he has done magnificent work on at least half of my best local writer friends.

Flexing Those Writing Muscles

I have got to say I love the cover for Issue #5 of UGEEK magazine  which contains the fifth chapter of my ongoing noir-fantasy serial Walking Through Walls. 

While the cover itself is the poster for Filmquest, a local fantasy related film festival, I find it serendipitous in regards to what's happening in my tale - specific to this installment Silence Falls on Tolburn's Walls (the title of which is a nod to Robert E. Howard's - Silence Falls on Mecca's Walls)

So, just saying for the sake of my friends here who are avid pulp fans - you of course recognize that elder being who dreams...

I am so pleased with where its going - oft times I don't even know where its taking me until I write it.

Keeping the readers attention with a serial is equivalent to a hardcore workout and I'm feeling it - but I'm also feeling those writing muscles growing too.

Overall this is one of those lessons where you have to push yourself to grow and improve and I am a firm believer in eternal progression.

From the intro:

The story so far:

Kenaz, an information broker, can step outside his own body to gather secrets. He has been blackmailed by multiple sinister parties. If he doesn’t give them what they want—a powerful artifact known as The Reliliqy—many lives besides his own will pay the price. He has less than a day to get it all together… He has overcome being poisoned and the demonic worm of Vavath, now he just needs to steal The Reliliqy from the city’s most powerful Sorcerer…

Chapter 5. Silence Falls on Tolburn’s Walls

Enjoy...

Walking Through Walls part the Fourth!

The fourth (and best so far) chapter of my "Walking Through Walls" is up in the latest issue of UGEEK Magazine. Locals can find it around at the comic and game shops and here is the link for internet land.

I'm especially happy with how this fantasy action serial has been going, being as surprised myself with what happens.

This is also a move toward a larger issue = double the size and among things inside is an interview with my good friend D.J. Butler. Check it out!

FanX Recap

 Had a real good time hanging with my writer pals and making some new friends. I didn't sell as many books as I might have liked - specifically the new THE MAD SONG - but it did very well online getting as high as #1 on kindles Norse/Viking category and I completely sold out of my other collection Weird Tales of Horror - if I had had a few more copies Saturday night I would have sold them too.

I was on one panel Thursday night the Super villain Presidential debate - we ran out of time and the audience didn't get a chance to vote - due to some mishaps we did it again the next day and Michael-Brent Collings Ghost party won. But I know a lot of people were rooting for Ming the Merciless. I was on three panels Friday and none Saturday, but I had some sales because of my speaking on writing magic and talking GIJOE too.

This con I didn't bump into any celebrities unlike the last one but no big whoop there. Took a few pics to share though.

Met Ireland Reid, a very nice star cosplayer.

Friends forever

the Stig

Me and my oldest, he made the Venom costume himself.

Torgo, he even gave me a coupon for his pizza, I did not take him up on it.

Pretty good Goblin King

Even Teeghra's get thirsty

Five Nights at Freddys some video game thing my kids like.

Harley Quinn SLC a twitter friend

A fantastic Black Cat

The only Red Sonja I saw.

The Mad Song is LIVE!

My latest collection of Sword & Sorcery is live! and today only I'm pushing the kindle version like a street hustler for .99
tomorrow I'm getting it bumped up to 2.99. Get it here!

Yes, its all about those rankings.

A few of these are previously published stories that some of you may have read, but a lot of them are new that I hope you enjoy - including the first 3 chapters of my Walking Through Walls which is currently running in UGEEK magazine.

Check it out!

Fangs for the Kind Words

I'm loathe to keep battering anyone promotion-wise but Hear Ye Hear Ye, I've some things to tout...

The third installment of my fantasy serial, Walking Through Walls is available for a read via pdf
its a continuation of a fantasy action-adventure piece that is a precursor to my bigger novel(s) yet to come in the Gods & Robbers series.

And I got some very kind words from online friend Paul McNamee at his blog about my weird western Fangs of the Dragon ~ Thanks Paul!

Sometimes I get down a bit about how writing is going and these surprise comments/reviews/posts can really turn things around.

Much obliged once again Paul.

Coming UP!

I've got a few things coming up shortly that I'll mention again when they drop. But for now...

I'm a special guest at the 2015 Salt Lake Fan Xperience. Thursday nigh the 29th at 7:30 pm, in the Grand Ballroom no less! me and fellow cohorts the Space Balrogs will be putting on a Supervillain presidential debate. I am Ming The Merciless. I know my usual blog readers are out of state and we will be taping it for the improv comedy sake.


Also at this con (an off season part of Salt Lake Comic Con) I will also have two brand new for this year selections of my writings. The third edition of UGEK magazine with the third installment of Walking Through Walls an action fantasy following my character Kenaz ~

The story so far:

Kenaz, an information broker, can step outside his own body to gather secrets. He has been blackmailed by multiple sinister parties. If he doesn’t give them what they want—a powerful artifact known as the Reliliqy—many lives besides his own will pay the price. He has less than a day to get it all together… 

And finally as I get off my hands, (been taking waaaaaay too long on this) I will have copies of my sword and sorcery collection The Mad Song available for sale. I will post about that again as I plan on having my launch on thursday the 29th just because I can have copies at Comic Con to sign in person. I suspect that will be a collection of my tales that my regular readers will like best, some you may have already read ~ The Mad Song itself from Artifacts and Relics and Weird Tales of Horror but others will be brand new, and a few were only published in obscure collections and the rights have reverted back to me. 

I'm hoping to kick off one hell of a year and m grateful for you all!