Late to the Show

Unless I’m mistaken, The Avengers set a new record for biggest opening weekend. Everybody I talked to and everything I read said that the entire world had seen the movie, yet I had not. It was a busy weekend spent out of state visiting relatives. Good times, but devoid of any spandex wearing superheroes. So last night after work we decided it was time to stop living in the dark – we rounded up the kids and headed off to the theater!

As another point of interest, we saw the 3d version of the show. We hadn’t planned on it, but our timing made it so that we could walk in to the 3d movie or wait 40 minutes for the next one. Ever tried spending 40 minutes in  crowded theater with a 3 and a 5 year old? I shelled out the extra cash and expected to not be wowed by the 3d.

I was shocked by how much better the 3d was than I expected. Even the previews were impressive! Granted, they could have cut at least three of the previews out, if not four or five, but I still did my best to enjoy them. Then the main show came along and it was a nonstop good time. Not to worry, I won’t share any spoilers, but I do have some thoughts.

As entertaining as The Avengers was, in hindsight there were parts that just don’t seem necessary. Maybe I missed something or maybe there’s behind the scenes work that will be more apparent in Avengers 2. As it was, I just didn’t understand why it unfolded the way it did. Sure, the scenes worked to pull the heroes together and make a team out of them (well, mostly), but looking back it seems forced or contrived. Does it detract from the enjoyability or entertainment factors? Hell no! It’s just the writer in me that doesn’t like a cop out.

Even with that said, Joss Whedon is the man. I’ve been a worshiper from afar ever since Firefly came out. Now, with the Avengers behind him, I see no reason for my faith to waver.

My favorite character / superhero? That’s an easy one! A little past halfway through the movie I had both my kids on my lap. They weren’t scared, just enjoying it. Acting on a hunch, I leaned in between them and whispered, “Are you guys ready to see Daddy’s favorite superhero?”

They were, and they even asked which one. I hushed them, we were in a movie theater after all, and told them to keep watching. Sure enough, in a few moments Bruce Banner got angry. Then he proceeded to spook the crap out of my son when he took off after Black Widow.  I was thrilled by the superhero deathmatch throughout the movie as well. Trust me, that’s not a spoiler, I was just reminded of the special run comics I’d enjoyed as a kid that pitted this badass against that badass. Very fun!

And as The Hulk kept on getting better and better, I felt he really dominated the latter third of the movie. I was cool with that, I’ve been a Hulk fan since I was old enough to watch The Incredible Hulk starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. I don’t doubt that played a part in me becoming a competitive powerlifter a few years ago (and setting a couple of state records).

Now where did the movie fall short? I’m not sure it did, to be honest. I was disappointed to see Mark Ruffalo instead of Ed Norton as Bruce Banner – but that doesn’t mean Mark Ruffalo didn’t do a great job. In fact, it might have been necessary to not have Ed Norton in it. I have a feeling Mr. Norton might have stolen the show. Captain America was a heck of a lot better in The Avengers than he was in his own movie. Sure, I get the necessity to have the first Captain America to set the stage for much of what occurred, but wow was it boring. Tony Stark and Iron Man? Great, as usual. Pepper Pots in some short shorts in the beginning? Can’t go wrong!

That leaves Thor. My wife got my daughter to agree that Thor was there favorite because he was so “dreamy”. Barf. I used to like Thor before that comment. I think he’s too scrawny to play the Norse God of Thunder, but at least in this one he wasn’t prancing around with his shirt off. I want my superhero tanks to be big and beefy. Well defined is a must and I understand the physique I’m asking for is either the result of computer graphics or a lot of anabolic chemicals. All the same, when I’m talking about bigger / better than human – I expect bigger / better than human. At no point did Thor disappoint me though.

Natalie Rushman / Natasha Romanov / Black Widow. I actually thought the actress had changed between Iron Man 2 and The Avengers. Scarlett Johannson bulked up for The Avengers, and I don’t feel she did so in a good way. I much preferred how she looked in Iron Man 2. Even better though was how she acted. She kept it real, displaying a hint of weakness at the appropriate times and even showing how terrified she’d been whenever she was within the same time zone as The Hulk. Black Widow truly kicked ass, but compared to the superheroes involved, her performance was outstanding.

That leaves Hawkeye. Personally, I think they could have left him. Behind. Out. Whatever. Seriously, a bow and arrow? I’m a hunter and I’ve spent a lot of time hunting and on the range with a bow. I love shooting, but there are so many reasons why bringing a bow to a Ragnarok level event is not a good idea. Especially when the people around you have firearms, energy weapons, and mythical hammers that are capable of summoning lightning strikes. As a kid I was never into The Avengers much. The Incredible Hulk and X-Men were my comics of choice, so I didn’t know much about Hawkeye. I don’t feel like I missed out on anything either.

So what’s next? Avengers 2? Count me in! Iron Man 3? I’m there. Captain America 2? Er…okay, why not. Another Hulk movie? Yes, please! But until then I have to stick with my own superheroes in the stories I write. Most of them can only aspire to the Black Widow / Hawkeye level of prowess. Although there’s one guy in the Voidhawk series that seems kind of hulkish…

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

Cover Art Research Continued

Wanted, on Amazon

There, you’ve seen the original cover art for Wanted. This is my most successful book in terms of quantity of sales. Why is that? A couple of reasons – the title has some punch and makes you “want” to know more and the cover art is very striking and powerful. The book blurb, I believe, makes you want to know more as well. Thus a sale is born. Case in point, if you’re curious about the book you can click on the image above to check it out on Amazon or the links below to find it on other retailers (Barnes and Noble / Smashwords).

But alas, a cover art change is in the works! It’s already done, actually, I just haven’t applied it yet. Why change it if it’s doing well? I don’t own the original image, my former publisher does. Since I have pulled it from their ranks I lost my right to use that image beyond the end of this year. Fortunately, working with Willsin Rowe we’ve come up with an incredible replacement – one I personally like more than the original.

Why do I like it more? Easy – it has the same powerful elements in it but it also has people. Wanted isn’t a story about a city being blown up, it’s a story about the characters. Things happen to these characters and they must learn from them and adapt to overcome those things. The grow and become better people – or they become fertilizer for the daisies.

So, without any more delay, here’s the new and improved cover. In the interest of obtaining as much accurate research data as possible I’m going to switch it over on November 1st. If you’d like to pick up Wanted before then, click on the image above or below or, for a non-Amazon purchase, check out the links at the bottom.

Wanted, on Amazon

To pick up Wanted for your Nook or various other e-reader / PC try one of these links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0053KJ2QU/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwboo024-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B0053KJ2QU

Barnes and Nobles: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Wanted/Jason-Halstead/e/2940012787965

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/61275

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com

A Flawed Character

I’m days away from releasing a new book. Prolific, aren’t I? It’s called a backlist, which is stuff that has accumulated over the months and years and I’m just now getting out. The only thing slowing me down is cover art. You see that’s that most expensive part for me since I’ve proven time and again I don’t have the talent to create a decent cover on my own. So I get with some talented artists and, working with them, try to come up with an incredible image to covert a would-be reader into a customer. Thing is, it costs money. So, if you’d like to see more of my stuff available sooner then the solution is simple: buy more of my books! Think of it as an investment – the more you put into it, the more it returns in terms of giving you new material to read more frequently.

So back to the new back and character flaws. It’s called, “The Lost Girls,” and it takes place in my Dark Earth setting. If you’ve read Dark Earth let me forewarn you – it’s extremely different. Dark Earth takes place here and now (ish), with a healthy amount of time spent transported to another earth that is geographically similar but primitive and savage in most other aspects. “The Lost Girls” takes place in the year 2056, after many portals have opened between the Earth and Dark Earth. One of those portals is in Phoenix, which happens to be where Katalina Wimple lives.

Katalina, or Kat as she allows her precious few friends to call her, is a police officer. She works for VDI, Valley Defense Incorporated. The policing services for the greater Phoenix valley have been outsourced to a security firm – a common occurrence among larger and even some smaller cities throughout the United States. Kat is a detective, and one who takes on special cases. She’s hard to get along with and extremely independent, which prevents her from working with a partner or even having too much to do with her fellow officers. Kat also has a driving need to save every woman she can, starting with the youngest ones and working up from there. She takes on the harshest of cases: serial rapists, kidnappings, domestic abuse, and anything else that oppresses or hurts a woman or child. In The Lost Girls Kat’s trying to stop young women from being abducted and forced into slavery. Secretly she’s looking for the reason behind the latest crime to be caused by a man. A man she can manufacture an excuse to punish.

Do they deserve it? Without a doubt. But Kat makes for a poor choice in an avenging angel. Even if she’s always underestimated her idea of justice always seems to end up with her getting nearly as much abuse as she dishes out. There’s a reason for the abuse, both from her and to her. She’s a scarred person, physically and emotionally, and if she wasn’t so damn dedicated and good at her job she’d be lucky to have a job doing night security at a strip mall.

I’ll probably have a post or two more about Katalina. She’s one of my favorite characters because she’s so strong and forceful, but so flawed and weak at the same time. She took control of me and demanded I write about her in spite of the plans I had to the contrary.

The Lost Girls will launch this month. Two follow up novels are in process as well, “Traitor” and “Wolfgirl”. “Traitor” heads back through the portal to spend time on Dark Earth, exploring how Native American beliefs and mysticisms could have developed without the oppression of Europeans. Hefty does of paranormal there, but nothing like what “Wolfgirl” introduces via a trip to the darker and seedier side of Las Vegas, including the secret portal created for the rich and famous who want to experience a Dark Earth style of Las Vegas – one without rules and regulations.

Biting the Apple

I came downstairs tonight from reading a bedtime story to my kids and was greeted by my wife’s surprise announcement, “Steve Jobs died!”

“Woah,” says I. Yeah, wordy, I know.

I was surprised, not that he died – he had an incurable cancer – but that it happened so abruptly. Jobs did a wonderful job of mastering the press, so I suppose it’s no surprise. Still, I honestly believe Steve Jobs was a modern legend and the world will be remembering him much the same way it does Henry Ford (brilliant, but frequently a real asshole).

I think it’s a damn shame that he’s gone. The guy was and is an inspiration to entrepreneurs everywhere. I could be wrong, but I expect Apple to suffer greatly now that he’s gone. Out of respect for the brilliant tyrant that was Steve Jobs I won’t talk smack about his company. I will admit that I’m hoping the new Kindle Fire and Touch models rock even more because of this though!

And look, I’m not even turning this into a self-serving post by encouraging people to go buy my stuff. Even thought I suspect Steve Jobs, of all people, would approve of me trying to turn his news into a marketing tool. He was a crafty son of a gun, after all!

Character Driven Books

Years and years ago I had all sorts of appreciation for science fiction and fantasy. I had tons of ideas and things I wanted to do and share with regards to it, but it turned out I had a rough time staying focused. Forget about writing, just narrowing down something so I could write about it was virtually impossible. I managed a few crappy pieces here and there, but that’ exactly what they were, crap.

I read something written by R.A. Heinlein that changed all of that. It wasn’t one of his books, but a letter to somebody who was a fan of his and wanted to become a writer themselves. I might be wrong, but I think it was Spider Robinson that he was corresponding with. Regardless, what he told him stuck with me and changed the way I started writing. It was about making stories about characters, not about worlds or ideas. Those are just details and plot devices, it’s the characters that people want to read about. Characters are what people identify with. If that wasn’t the case we’d be happy watching paint dry!

Ever since I’ve had no problem writing. The trick is creating characters that are flawed and interesting. Characters that need to learn and evolve throughout the course of a book. And, of course, characters I can toss into a meat grinder to force a little extra fun out of them.

My favorite characters are women. Not because I’ve got any disturbing emotional issues or because I had an awkward relationship with my parents when I was younger. No, I think I prefer writing about female characters because society expects them to be more vulnerable and weak. Anybody who’s read any of my books knows that my chicks are never weak. Sure, maybe they have troubled times but who doesn’t? By the end they’ve all become strong characters that generally kick a little proverbial ass along the way.

I can’t help it, I like to show that even some of the most troubled and screwed up women out there can find their niche and do some damage. Take Jessie from my books Wanted and Ice Princess as an example. She starts out as a serious mess and has her share of relapses and roadblocks along the way, but life’s about fighting, not about giving up. Once she learns that it’s only a matter of time until she shows signs of being worthy of the air she’s been breathing.

Or there’s Katalina, the upcoming star in a soon to be released book called The Lost Girls. She’s police detective with a chip on her shoulder and an overstuffed set of luggage full of issues. She’s a great female lead, my only problem was trying to keep her self-destructive from doing her in long enough so that she’d have a chance to show just how incredible she really is. The Lost Girls is coming out soon, a few weeks at the outset, so I won’t share any spoilers about her or it. Nonetheless, I feel pretty confident it’s going to be a great book and I’m very proud of it and her. So proud I wrote two follow up sequels to it before even releasing the first one!

Until then, go check out Wanted and Ice Princess – they’re doing great for a writer like me who came out of nowhere and insisted that even an everyday guy like me can put something worth reading out there. Wanted’s been floating between the 10,000 and 20,000 rating marks on Amazon, this is a great opportunity to stick it to the man and join the team of the peasant hero, admission is only $.99 on Amazon to pick up a copy of Wanted!

Wanted, on Amazon

Ice Princess, on Amazon

Good Things Come to Those Who’ve Waited – Ice Princess

It’s taken years, literally, but it’s finally here. The sequel to Wanted has been released and the editorial reviews it’s had so far are downright outstanding! Ice Princess is yours for the reading!

Ice Princess, on Amazon

Tanya Kurkova is still wanted. The technology used to rebuild her can’t be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. This time her father has sent a new hunter after her. A new hunter with the same technology plus years of experience and unlimited resources.

What he doesn’t have is a clear memory of the last year of his life. The answers to his questions lie in the desolate wilderness of southeastern Utah. One way or another, she has to be brought in.

For Tanya once escape becomes impossible only one option remains: revenge.

It’s on the usual places (Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and a few others as it reaches its distribution network). Or you can go to my website, http://www.booksbyjason.com, and download the free sample to see if it lives up to the hype!.

Out on a Ledge

1.5 Miles up some rough hills in high desert heat to Delicate Arch in Moab, Utah

Simmer down, nobody’s jumping. In fact, the ledge isn’t what you think it is. It’s a geological formation that, for the life of me, I didn’t expect to see within a hundred miles of me.

I grew up in Michigan about fifteen – twenty miles from a place called Grand Ledge. Contained within Grand Ledge, along the Grand River, was a natural formation of rocks called the Ledges. Great to hike amongst and climb on. Great beginner climbing opportunities.

Vacationed in various places with bigger and better rocks – mostly near Marquette, Michigan. So, naturally, I climbed em. Hey, I was a boy. Still am, I just don’t get up as quick when I fall down. Northern Michigan at any time of the year is beautiful. Harsh in the winter, but no less beautiful. Climbing in the winter, incidentally, is a bad idea. As is hiking too late in the evening and having the sun go down on you while you’ve still got two hours through nearly pitch black woods with very scant trails to follow. Not that I know anyone that’s happened to….

So from Michigan I moved to southeastern Utah. Moab, to be precise. Moab, a place visited by people from all over the world for its hiking and climbing opportunities. It’s another absolutely beautiful place. Most of Utah is, with northern Utah reminding me of Michigan UP. There are many things I can say about my time spent out there but of them not a one is a complaint as to the scenery.

Next we moved to eastern Ohio. What’s Ohio got for me? Lots of civilization and a good job until the writing thing takes off enough to take over. At this rate it’ll end up being something for my retirement. Regardless, Ohio is considered, by me, to be a flat and geographically boring state. Sure, a couple of decent rivers, and some good hills in the southeastern portion of it, but that’s about it.

My wife heard of a place called Nelson Ledges from a friend of hers. We looked it up and decided to risk it. We went there today and I was all but blown away by it. Nothing too tall, although we did find one cross in a fenced off area where someone had slipped and fallen to their death. A couple of smaller waterfalls and a lot of niches, crevices and caves. We tromped around there, occasionally having to carry and assist our kids through the more difficult spots, for a few hours. All in all, it was a blast.

I was reminded of a cross between Utah, with the ledges and crevices, and Michigan Upper Peninsula with the greenery and pleasant temperatures. A perfect blend, in my opinion. We plan on heading back again and doing more exploring. The moral of the story was to not judge a book by its cover. Sure it Ohio and sure it’s flat like the chest of a thirteen year old boy, but it’s got some hidden surprises if you look hard enough.

Am I Smarter than a Kindegartner?

This is a short but highly amusing story from just last night. I arrived home and was engulfed in the usual excited banter from young kids happy to see me. Surviving that, we soon moved on to dinner (whole wheat spaghetti, for those curious). During dinner my daughter, who’s five years old, asked if I knew something that one of her classmates had said in school that day. Also if I knew it was that classmates birthday.

Not to be outdone, I asked her if she knew about neutrino’s being measured at CERN during a three year study that showed them arriving 60 nanoseconds quicker than the speed of light allowed. She claimed that yes, she did know that, then went on to share some other bit of fascinating trivia with me. I felt like was having a Jerry Maguire moment.

My wife then trumped both of us by saying,”Hey Lexie, did you know Daddy’s only one millimeter away from wearing a pocket protector?”

I’m pretty sure my daughter confirmed that yes, she knew that too.

JOBS – Just Obama Blowing Smoke

This acronym was shared with me this morning and while I smiled, I had a hard time finding much to laugh about. I’ve got a job – heck, I’ve got several, but that’s not the reason why. I’ve read a few articles and blogs from pundits who seem to enjoy tearing into the administration for the lack of economic surplus that all Americans would love to see. Through it all I find myself shaking my head, annoyed.

Am I saying Obama has it figured out? Hell no! Then again, neither do I or anyone else who isn’t a maybe of an ultra-secret organization that plots the rise and fall of the world’s economics for their own amusement and gain. It’s easy to play couch-critic though and poke fun at what’s not working. Now let me take a turn at poking fun at the fun-pokers.

Donald Trump, I believe, made an assertion a while back while he was playing a joke and saying he might run for President. He stated that the gov’t should be run by businessmen and women, not politicians. I agree with that wholeheartedly. Take the current and past attempts at boosting economic growth through potential job creation. The gov’t offers money to businesses, under a variety of different methods and with a variety of stipulations. The problem is that businesses are run by people who got where they are because they are smart, not because they are patriotic and because they want to help others out. That does not mean they fall short in either category (patriotism or altruism), only that their jobs and their responsibilities dictate they must make certain decisions. And what is the top priority of any business? Making money.

Given any opportunity a business is going to do a cost benefits analysis and consider the rate of return. On top of that, they are going to evaluate any risks they must take from a conservative position. After all, times have been hard recently and even if they’ve been given a blank check today, that doesn’t mean tomorrow things aren’t going to be worse. Long term and short term goals must be considered.

So when the government says here’s some money, go spend it, and they hope it’s done in a way that will increase jobs. A company will probably find a more efficient way of optimizing their business – after all, labor is arguably the single most controllable facet of most businesses. The mantra of the times is to work smarter, not harder, and to do more with less. As employees we show our worth by multi-tasking and being able to perform better and better in spite of the adversities thrown at us. We’re our own worst enemy, but the alternative is to be fired for poor job performance.

I’m hardly qualified to offer an explanation on the country’s economic condition, yet if a gun was held to my head (or a blog put in front of me), I’d say that I think it’s a slow recovery process. Everybody, from businessperson to guy on the street, feels violated and wary. Our financial significant others have been sleeping around on us and we just found out, so we’re leery of trusting again. Post traumatic stress of the economic kind. We don’t want to put money into something for fear that we’ll lose the money and be left with nothing, and that includes buying a new car or house or toys for our kids at Christmas time. The only fix is healing over time and seeing a steady and reliable positive trend. A few economic surges aren’t going to do it – we’re smart enough to know every climb has a downhill slope on the other side.

So, to draw a conclusion to a confusing post, don’t blame the administration for jobs not bursting forth, blame ourselves. We’re all leery and we’ve got every right to be.

The Thankful End of an Era

My wife likes a lot of the shows on the TLC channel. Me, I’m not much of a TV guy. We DVR NCIS and Combat Hospital and catch up when we can, but that’s about it. Nonetheless I’ve been subjected to a lot of background noise on the TV that has been driving me crazy. Kat Von Dee and LA Ink and the infamous Kate Gosselin of Kate Plus Eight. Both series are ending and I couldn’t be happier!

To be fair, Kat’s show I really don’t care about. She seems to have a train wreck of a life but she’s not really screwing anyone up other than herself with it. Live and learn I say. The other show, run by Kate Gosselin, should have been cancelled years ago. I, personally, couldn’t stand it when it started and my opinion has never once varied.

But good news, the story about the polygamists that fled Utah to Las Vegas – the land of religious freedom – is coming back. Yes, I’m being sarcastic. I could personally care less about this show but the controversial value of it is such that it’s going to generate ratings. Ah the media, such a wonderful thing. Why entertain people or try to teach them something useful when we can splatter somebody’s personal lives all over the world and tease the public with the possibility that it may all end in a flaming ruin?