Donald J. Bingle April 2020 Newsletter |
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There's nothing like a good quarantine to get you moving on those projects you keep putting off. In this case, it's the third book in my series of Dick Thornby Thrillers. A couple of years ago, I re-released Net Impact, the first book in my spy thriller series, and released Wet Work, the next in the series. I ran a successful Kickstarter to promote the two books. One of the stretch goals for the Kickstarter was that I'd write the third book in the series, Flash Drive, if the project raised enough money. I already had the basic idea for the plot, so I had a cover made up to match the covers of the two books included in the crowdfunding. Since the stretch goal wasn't met, I didn't rush to do the next book, instead spending my time on some other projects and on marketing endeavors for my existing works. I also worked on the needed research for Flash Drive at a leisurely pace. Earlier this year, though, I revved up reviewing and expanding that research. When I sheltered in place on March 18, I moved actually getting around to writing the book to my front burner. Of course, I didn't actually start writing until March 30 and I'm not exactly burning up my keyboard with my pace, but as I write this, I'm at the beginning of Chapter 4, which is about 8.6% into my anticipated wordcount. I'm updating my progress from time to time on Facebook. But, if you follow me there, expect those updates to run in fits and starts. I don't write every day and, from time to time there will be breaks as I work out some plot details or dive into some extra research. |
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| | Reviews Can Be Good, But Not Always. GREENSWORD: A Tale of Extreme Global Warming. Oddly enough, I actually wrote my novel GREENSWORD as a screenplay before I wrote it as a book. But the difficult thing about screenplays is getting anyone at all to read them. I'd gotten lucky on my first screenplay ("For Queen and Queenie"), which made it past Jim Carrey's agent to his manager, but didn't have much luck peddling GREENSWORD (then titled Extreme Global Warming) on the screenplay circuit. (This, despite the fact that someone paid a million bucks for the screenplay for The Day After Tomorrow.) I decided my cinematic tale had a better chance of getting turned into a movie if it came out as a book first. At least people would read it and maybe one of them would be in the film industry. Since my first novel, Forced Conversion, was published in hard cover by Five Star, I approached them with the novel version of my darkly comedic eco-thriller. And they published it in hardback, too. Sure, they focus mostly on the library market, not retail, but I considered getting out a second hardback book to be a bit of a coup for an unknown writer. I got some nice blurbs from USA Today Bestselling Author of the Warlands trilogy, Elizabeth A Vaughan, and from Hugo and Nebula Award Winner, Robert J. Sawyer. The marketing folks from Five Star were helpful, too, sending review copies out to their usual list of reviewers. I got quite favorable reviews from Library Journal, The American Library Association's Booklist, and even Romance Reviews Today. (You can see those blurbs and reviews here.) The reviewer for Publisher's Weekly, however, did not like the book, starting off the review with: "This heavy-handed take on environmentalism neither amuses nor provokes." I really don't mind bad reviews (some people don't like my best-reviewed stuff) and I never argue with them, but I do think just maybe the book actually did "provoke" a bit. Nowadays, the notion that some rabid environmentalists might do something over-the-top (like a Thanos snap or releasing a population-reducing contagion) to save the planet isn't so farfetched. (Note, such things are merely fictional plot ideas, NOT a conspiracy theory.) But more than a decade ago, such a suggestion was blasphemous. The frustrating thing about the PW review, however, wasn't that it was bad, but that Amazon seemed to have an arrangement with PW at the time to always list PW's review first, so there was no hiding their condemnation or burying it amidst more favorable comments. I suspect this is one of the reasons why, despite getting BookBub promotions for several of my other books, this one always gets rejected. Such is the life of the author. You can only control what you can control. This year is the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, though, and as I like to say in my promotions for this book: "GREENSWORD is a darkly comedic eco-thriller written by an author so dedicated to the environment he arranged to be born on Earth Day sixteen years before it was even founded." And, if that doesn't tell you something about the voice and attitude of my book, no review will. You can find GREENSWORD here. Coronavirus/Covid 19 and Conventions Things are fine here during the lockdown. We've been isolated at home (or in the car) since March 18 and the puppies haven't gotten tired of us being around yet. I just got an announcement that Origins has been postponed from June 17-21 to October 7-11. An online Origins will still occur during the regular June dates. Here's a link for the details, though there are more details to come. In the meantime, for those of you missing gaming, scifi, or writing conventions with all the stay-at-home orders, check out the conventions already being held online on Facebook at ConTinual: The Con That Never Ends and ConCellation 2020. And, as always, if you are looking for some free stories to read to try out new authors, The Infinite Bard now has even more stories to occupy your quarantine time. Stay home. Stay safe. Take care. | | |
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| | Supernatural On Hiatus. Here's Something To Tide You Over. Supernatural was supposed to have its big finale this spring, but the last few shows haven't gotten filmed, what with the quarantines. So the show is on hiatus until the fall. What's a fan to do? Well, there's always official tie-in fiction. I'm a fan of those by Tim Waggoner, one of which you can find here. There's more. In addition, I've got a Supernatural Top Ten List that everyone can read and fight about. Back in 2015 when David Letterman retired, I did ten top ten lists in an effort to be more frequent in my blog posts (this newsletter is a successor to my blog). You can find all of them here. But here's the one for Supernatural fans, originally posted on May 28, 2015. Warning, spoilers from ... uh ... five or more years ago. Today I risk riling up the world's most fanatic fandom by tackling life and death, mostly death, issues on The CW's series, Supernatural, which just finished up its TENTH season by (SPOILER ALERT!!!!) killing off everyone's favorite character of all time ... Death. Cue "Carry On My Wayward Son" and peruse this list of ... The Top Ten Deaths on Supernatural Number 10: Mama Winchester dies on a fiery ceiling just to set up the series. Number 9: Sam is knifed in the back while Dean runs to save him. Number 8: Dean makes a deal with the devil to save Sam from the effects of Number 9, then gets dragged to Hell by hellhounds exactly one year later as part of the deal. Number 7: Sam (possessed by an angel) kills Kevin and it is all Dean’s fault. Number 6: Sam and Dean get taken out by fellow hunters before the opening credits in Dark Side of the Moon. Number 5: Erik Kripke, series creator, gets killed on-screen in The French Mistake. Number 4: Baby (aka Metallicar) gets t-boned by a demon-driven semi at the end of the season one, leaving everyone wondering over the summer whether Sam, Dean, John, and the car can possibly survive. Number 3: Bobby dies in the hospital, hanging on just long enough to give the guys a critical piece of information and call them “idjits.” Number 2: Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot. Dean in Mystery Spot ... And the number 1 death(s) in The CW’s Supernatural television series is: Jo & Ellen. Two beloved characters sacrifice themselves in a gut-wrenching mother/daughter triggered explosion to give the guys a chance of killing the Devil and the gambit doesn’t pay off. Yes, I know some of you may disagree. Let the comments and rants begin. But, before you go all Mark of Cain on me for not mentioning him, let me say for the record that fellow University of Chicago alum Misha Collins is awesome and Castiel is a really cool character, too, but we're talking death scenes here, fans, and even Death's death didn't crack the top ten ... Classic Book Reviews Wool, by Hugh Howey 5 of 5 stars Excellent Science Fiction Yes, I know that I'm late to the game and that Hugh Howey hardly needs another five-star review, but here it is anyway. Wool is what literary science fiction should be all about: a gripping, exquisitely pictured, well plotted (and sub-plotted) tale set in the future with credible characters acting in credible ways to parse out an intriguing (but not frustrating) mystery/history, leading to a satisfying conclusion, all while commenting on mankind/society without beating one over the head. Sure, there were a few technical things (mostly about the underwater sequence) that bothered me and I think the author unnecessarily undercuts suspense with the short opening sequence to Part 3, but altogether this is a very solid book (or, if you prefer to think of it that way, series of five shorter, linked books). In fact, my biggest complaint is that Part 1 is so well-done that I was tempted to stop right there, fully satisfied--worried that going on would disappoint me in some way. Although the last four parts did not disappoint me, I still think it is fair to say that Part 1 is about as well-polished as you are likely to ever get in a novel, especially one that was originally self-published. Highly recommended. | | |
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Keep scrolling. Lots more content below. Check out these StoryOriginApp promotions. |
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Many of you know my friend, William Pack. He's the magician who commissioned Familiar Spirits, the anthology of ghost stories I edited. That's because, in addition to doing magic shows like the one he did at the anniversary party Linda and I had some years ago, the biggest part of his work comes from doing shows on various topics at libraries, senior residences, and community centers. For most of those talks, he has a book he's written on the subject, but he didn't have a book for his Ghost Stories presentation. With the blanket cancellations that have accompanied the shelter-in-place orders here in Illinois, all of his presentations have been wiped out or re-scheduled for much, much later. But, if you have an interest in any of the topics Bill has programs for, you can still order one of his books right now. Topics include: The Essential P.T. Barnum in print or ebook, The Essential Edgar Allan Poe in print, and The Essential Houdini in ebook and print. To find out more about William Pack and his magic, go to https://veryfunnymagic.net/, and for more on his library programs, go to https://libraryprogramming.com/. |
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| | Quite simply, the essential things you should know about the Great Chicago Fire. The true facts and stories of the fire that transformed Chicago through the words and experiences of those that survived the night of horror. William Pack expands on his popular library program and adds supplemental material with songs and poems of the fire, period interviews with Fire Marshall Williams, Reporter Joseph Chamberlin, and city founder Isaac Arnold. From the author of The Essential P.T. Barnum and The Essential Edgar Allan Poe. | | |
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| | Quite simply, the essential things you should know about Houdini. Handcuff King. Escape Artist. International Superstar. Since his death over eighty years ago, Harry Houdini’s life has been chronicled in books, in film, and on television, many still repeat the old Houdini myths. Now, William Pack finds the man behind the myth. Drawing from dozens of published sources, he simplifies Houdini’s life to the essential things you need to know about this American icon. The Essential Houdini traces the master magician’s life from desperate poverty to worldwide fame. | | |
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I'm also participating in a promotion in connection with Ratfish, a Schlock Zone Drive-In Novella by Buck Hanno. Since a key part of the story takes place at a college party, it was a natural to be included in the Spring Break Speculative Fiction promotion. Of course, not all (or even most) of the titles in the promo are party-gone-wrong tales. Check them all out by clicking below. |
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Full disclosure: Various links in my newsletter or on my website may include Amazon Affiliate coding, which gets me a small referral fee (at no cost to you) if you purchase after clicking through. |
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