Going big in 2017

Just updating the blog with a quick update on what I'm working on right now. I posted this over on my facebook page, but figured I should update the blog too.

I had fully intended to have my comic, Urban Myth Investigators, finished by October, but of course things didn't go as plan. I've since pushed back the release date to February of 2017.

After that, in April I plan on releasing the first book in my YA superhero series, Freshman Sidekick. This is book 1 in a four book series. Hopefully I can get them all edited in time and I plan on releasing each book one month apart. If you like shows like The Flash or that "can't catch a break" type character like Peter Parker, I think you'll enjoy Freshman Sidekick.

Then, in Q3 of 2017, I will be releasing book 1 in my YA urban fantasy series, Silverbane, of the Blackgate Trilogy. More on that later next year. Basically, if you like werewolves and vampires, and are fans of shows like Teen Wolf or Vampire Diaries, I think you'll like it.

I'm not looking at 2017 as a make it or break it year, but I'm definitely pushing harder next year with my output and trying to really hit the market hard with my publishing schedule. As such, I don't plan on tabling any conventions. 2017 is all about production. Go big or go home.

Alright, that's it for now.

Friendly reminder...

Just a friendly reminder of what success looks like...

There is no try.

Getting close to finishing my pitch for my next project. Still a long ways to go, as I will be submitting to comic publishers and agents, but if all else fails, and no one bites, I'll be publishing it myself, because I really believe in this project.

If I do end up self-publishing it, I'll talk about it more, but for now I'll just tell you it's an all-ages, space adventure with an 11 year old little girl as the hero of  the story. It's awesome! :)

As I'm working on it, I've been listening to podcasts, as I usually do, and I thought I'd link to a couple specific podcast episodes, because the guest on them, just tell it like it is. Making comics can be grueling and is a long process. You've got to cut out all the things that are necessary and focus on the comic. 

One was on Paper Wings podcasts, and one is Comics Are Great podcast, where in both instances, the guests say basically, "Hey, focus! You can't say you wanna makes comics and then go off and play video games or watch the newest episodes of tv shows that are on. You've got to focus."

So that's what I'm doing.

Focusing. Do or do not. There is no try.

With that being said, he's that part of Star Wars, where Yoda deals out that invaluable advice.

See ya in the funny pages!

This week's quote of the week is...

"There is nothing except this. There's no art opening, no charity, nothing to sign. There's the next mission, and nothing else."- Tony Stark


Having blinders on can sometimes be a bad thing. You have to look outside the window every once in a while, stop and smell the roses, and just precipitate this life. It's healthy and refreshes you. But then there are times when you just have to strap into your seat, hit the throttle, aim for the finish line, and don't let anything stop you.

Tunnel vision is sometimes needed, because if you're like me, you can get excited about a project, but then when the actual time comes around to work on the project you get sidetrack by all the sparkly images on the internet, all the weird tweets on twitter, and all the nonsensical, bad mojo, negativity dwelling in your brain. You have to push it all aside. As Morpheus in The Matrix put it, you have to let it all go. Fear. Doubt. Fear your mind. And in this case, freeing you're mind is actually locking it down in place, ignoring all the other things and Get. The. Job. Done.

Sometimes you just have to focus, otherwise you're never going to accomplish what you want to accomplish and you're always be sitting on your couch, groaning to yourself, "Why, oh why, isn't my comic finished!?" (That's me sometimes)

But really, the answer lies in yourself. It's all about focus. Push yourself. You don't gain muscles by exercising whenever you feel like it, and when you do exercise, just doing the bare minimum. No!! You gain muscles by pushing yourself, adding weights on top of weights, doing more than you did last time, and not stopping till you are where you want to be. 

Whether it's making comics or anything else you want to do (and it doesn't have to be just one thing) you can do it, you just need that drive, and put on a pair of blinders. Block out all the time wasting, albeit fun, stuff for a while, adapt to tunnel vision and, focus on the "next mission". These is nothing else.

Be Awesome.

Zero attracts Zero

I was talking to someone today and they said something that for some reason struck a cord. "If you're looking up, you can get up." It was words of encouragement and help, letting me know that things aren't as bad as you think they are, and for some reason those words hit me.

Now, I know taken literally, that might not be true due to circumstances beyond our control physically, but emotionally and metaphorically, they hit me. I heard those words and I thought to myself, "That's true. If I'm looking up, that means I'm alive. That means I'm breathing air another day and I'm here." I can't quite explain why those words affected me so much, but they did.

Something else that was said is that "zero attracts zero". Again, those words touched me. If I block everyone out, regardless of what I'm going through, then I'm cutting out not only the negative and bad things I want to get rid of, but I'm cutting and blocking out the positive things that will help. The people and places and experiences that will help me get through the troubling times that everyone faces. We all are fighting our own battles and wars and we all have scars of whatever nightmares we face. But in battles and wars, the winning side usually has allies. Someone there to draw support from. We need that support. It's something that can help and build us up, even if some days all we want to do is stay inside, pull the covers over our head and block out the world.

The world is still gonna be there tomorrow. The sun is going to rise tomorrow. If you're looking up you can get up. So please, get up, get out into the world and let the sun hit you on your face. Enjoy the sounds of the world and the beauties that are out there. Give yourself a chance, instead of keeping it from yourself. And find those you trust. It doesn't have to be hundreds or dozens. One or two will suffice. Find those who will be there for you.

Sometimes we think we are alone, but we aren't. We're only alone when we let ourselves think that and keep to ourselves. Zero attracts zero.