Lord of the Matrix

I made a bunch of videos in late 2011 and 2012 - a new hobby for me that I leapt into with both feet. Then I stopped. I just lost my enthusiasm. A shame - I had a ton of great ideas.

Then, last month, I found the mojo again and madeLord of the Matrix. I got a really good deal on some action figures, and saw an opportunity to do a skit I've had in my head since 2002, the year the first Lord of the Rings movie came out.

I'd bought my brother a bunch of the Burger King LOTR toys for Christmas (remember those? Some of them lit up, some of them had sound bytes like "The Ring must be destroyed," and "Then what are we waiting for?"), because he's been a fan of the book for as long as I can remember. I was messing around with the toy of Elf Chief Elrond, played in the films by Hugo Weaving, and I remembered another important movie role Hugo had played - Agent Smith in The Matrix. I put some of Agent Smith's lines in Elrond's mouth, and took advantage of the fact that, in The Fellowship of The Ring, Frodo used the fake name of Mr. Underhill. "Mister Underhill," I said in my best Hugo Weaving voice. "My name is Frodo!" I added in a voice not totally dissimilar to Keanu Reeves...

After that, the skit wrote itself. I haven't even written it down, as such - I've just had it in my head for eleven years. Finally I've had the opportunity to visualize it, thanks to six affordable action figures from The Silver Snail, an Elrod action figure from Ebay, and a plush South Park Satan given to me years ago by a friend. Filming took about a week, using lots of cardboard for sets. In some shots I'm afraid you can see the puppeteer's fingers, but overall I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out. Here it is! If you are a fan of both movies (and of Hugo Weaving), this will hopefully give you a few chuckles.

Autumn Attitude

The summer has wound down, and fall is upon us. I'm hanging in there, trying to stay positive.

I've temporarily stopped work on Zombie Jesus Day again. For the last two weeks of August I was busy as all heck with three Toronto.com articles. Four, if you count the one they needed me to rewrite. I'm delighted I felt able to do that many articles for them. My confidence and motivation have improved. You can find those articles, and the others I've written, by clicking here.

I also wrote a new short story! It is set in the Cupid War universe, and relates directly to the spin-off novel I've been working on, I, Suicide. I'm feeling renewed enthusiasm for that project, which is why I've started work on Chapter 12 of that book instead of jumping back into ZJD. I will post that story here on the blog, but not just yet.

I'm going to attend GenreCon in October! This con is out in Guelph, which will necessitate a bus trip and a two-night hotel stay. It will be my third out-of-Toronto convention (the other two being Can Con last year and Con Cept in 2006), and I really want to do many more. My finances will have to improve before that can happen.

The first step to improving those finances would be getting a job. Finding one has been very discouraging; I look for what I want, but keep finding myself under qualified. Or over-qualified. Or they want me to be two or three different things at once. And then there are job search articles; you can find out what I think of those here.

I've been working on a new YouTube video for my channel. I haven't made one in over a year; I've had a good, fun experience getting back into the swing of it. I call it Lord of The Matrix, and I'll write a post about the making of it soon. Here's the link to the video. Enjoy!

I may not have a steady income right now, but I've had more good days than bad lately. The time off has actually been quite healing, and I'm feeling a lot more optimistic about my future.

A big announcement is coming soon. Stay tuned...

So Now I'm 40

Yes, today is the day of my 40th Birthday. It's an enormous milestone, the way all birthdays that end in a '0' tend to be. I'm glad I was able to get one last birthday in before the apocalypse, which is of course scheduled for next Friday.

*#$*ing Mayans.

The day has gone well. I had a job interview that seemed to go swimmingly. I got some more work done on my current novel project, Zombie Jesus Day, and am nearing the 1st 3rd mark. Violet got me the blu-ray of The Avengers as my birthday present, and I am currently enjoying a second viewing (with director commentary!). I had my party last Saturday; it involved good friends, English beer, and a fantastic selection of chicken wings. Good times all around, and memories I shall cherish while the world is ending.

I've had some good writing-related stuff recently. My good friend Rebecca Lovatt reviewed my novel The Cupid War, and you can read that review here. She also did a thorough and intensive interview with me, and the link to that is here.

My good friend Steven Pearl, author of Tinker's Plague, filmed an interview with me at SFContario. You can see Part I of that interview by clicking here.

So, happy birthday to me! Jolly good, and all that stuff. Now, if you'll excuse me, The Daily Show is on. Bye!

New Vid & Amazon Page

I have a couple of new things to report! First, I have made another book-describing video, this one about Evil. You can see that vid by clicking here.

I now have an Amazon page! Click right here to have a look.

I've nearly finished another chapter of my latest comic fantasy. That one has been going well, with lots of ideas flowing. I've also finally started revising Kids Who Know. KWK is a story I'm really excited about, but I've felt too intimidated to edit it for the longest time. I've revised 100 pages so far, and it is going well.

Yay!

Feeling Low, But Getting Help

Blogging hasn't come easy, lately. I've been busy. Up to new things. I've been making some videos with my new digital camera. You can check them out on Youtube here.

The main reason I haven't been blogging, however, is that I've been sick. I mentioned this in my last post, but I decided to be a bit more forthcoming.

I live with two mood disorders - depression and anxiety. I take pills for both, and they help to some extent. Some days are good days, and some are bad. The month of September was a series of bad days.

I won't get into all the details of why it was a bad month. A fellow author advised me against detailing my personal problems on forums intended primarily to connect with readers, and to some extent I agree. I'm not going to pretend that I'm always okay, however. And if I broke a leg or caught the flu, I'd feel no hesitation at all in saying so. Mental health issues shouldn't be treated any differently.

One negative side effect has been a sharp decline in my writing. Over the last year my productivity has gone way down, and for days at a time I wasn't able to create anything. I still had ideas, but no desire to write them down. I just couldn't. I was terrified I'd lost that desire forever.

Luckily, it didn't. I've been getting some much-needed help, and slowly but surely I'm picking the pace back up again. My treatment continues, and I plan to make up for lost time. I hope to blog more, but when I have a lot on my plate I tend to feel overwhelmed. Be patient with me. Become a fan on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter - I'm on those a lot more than I am here.

Remind me you are waiting, and nudge me along. It will help. It really will.

Time Out For Sick Leave

September was bad. Let's not dwell on it.

Once upon A Romance Review did a write up on The Cupid War. Very nice of them! Please check it out here.

I've also started posting videos on Youtube. I picked up a webcam for a very affordable price, and now I am able to promote myself in a brand new way. Here's my latest video, where I discuss The Cupid War.

I've been ill for a while, and it has taken its toll on my writing in the last couple of years. I have two novel projects on the go right now, but both are moving slowly while I undergo treatment. I am getting better; I wasn't able to write much of anything last month. I am moving forward, even if only by baby steps.

One thing that has changed for the better is that I have a better understanding of what I want to do. I'm planning to expand my writing to include articles for entertainment media, and ghostwriting. More on those plans as they develop.