ME T.V. Monday!

Things have, literally, not been the same in our house since our cable company (finally) started showing the ME T.V. network....which is a good thing. Anyone who knows me, or was around during this past A to Z Blogging Challenge knows just how much I enjoy classic television, so I'm sure you can just imagine how having a channel dedicated to those shows could keep me glued to the set.

Well, not really "glued", but I've definitely started watching a lot more t.v. than I did back when my choices were limited to the modern day deluge of reality television and politically correct dreck.

I mean, where else but in the 60s and 70s could you watch shows like....

Hogan's Heroes- A show about a World War II German prison camp run by inept Nazis where the prisoners didn't want to escape. "Hoooogannn!"

The Beverly Hillbillies- Where a backwoods family strikes oil and turns the "sleepy" little town of Beverly Hills upside down. "Wellllll doggies!"

Columbo- Way before such quirky detectives like Monk came about, you had Columbo. A short, rumpled clothes wearing, cigar smoking, seemingly absent minded police officer who was, in reality, the sharpest knife in the drawer. "Oh, just one more thing...."

Get Smart- A dimwitted goofball becomes a super-spy and survives, week after week. "Missed it by that much!"

I mean, honestly, I don't think shows like this would even be given a pilot, much less an order for a series in today's market. While many look upon these short of shows as gimmicky or simple, I think of them as great entertainment that only strives to, well, entertain....nothing more and nothing less.

I'll be writing more about ME T.V., in the hopes of alternating it with Music Monday....which will return next week.

Have a great week!

A New Hope!

Well, not -that- long ago....

The other night I got a familiar itch that I haven't had in quite a while and, no, it wasn't poison ivy.

The itch to jump back into my WIPs. Any would do, so I opted to go strap myself into my W.A.Y.B.A.C.K. machine and turn the dial to 2011. This was the year....the only year, unfortunately, that I won NaNoWriMo with a tale that mashed my love for old movies and science fiction.

The story of a defective, time repairing, android....The T.E.M.P. Agency. 

I've yet to come up with a decisive ending to the tale, but still hit my NaNo winning word count, so I happily chalked it up as a "win". 

Anyway, it's been a while since I've done any editing and decided the best way to do things was to go through and reread the whole story, then jump into editing. 

Now, here's the strange part. A lot of what I was reading sounded like someone else had written it. I mean, and not to toot my own horn, but there were quite a few areas where I was thinking "Man, this isn't half bad." Granted, the whole thing is still as rough as a sandpaper factory.....but going back and revisiting it, the thing has potential.

Anyone who really knows me, I mean someone who's known me for years, knows that I very, rarely, praise myself for doing much of anything. It's not that I don't have confidence, I do. I've just never been one to brag. Probably a byproduct of my midwestern upbringing. I've also never been one to crow about my writing....mainly because I've always seen it as very amateurish. 

Which, in many ways, it still is.

I've really been struggling with my writing, lately, as evidenced by my silence on this blog. The distractions I used to easily avoid have really been roping me in and I've been letting them. Mainly out of laziness, a bit of burnout, and coupled with some discouragement.

This, though, really gave me some hope. The more I read, the more I heard a Steve Urkel-esque voice in my head saying, "Did I do that?".

Like I said, my story, so far, isn't going to set the literary world on fire....but it's really warming up my little corner of the imagination and, more importantly, it's giving me......hope.

Better late than never!!

Don't you hate when you tell someone that you'll do something....then totally forget it??

I know that I sure do, but it's exactly what I did when I told uber-blogger Tyrean Martinson of Tyrean's Writing Spot that I'd help her with her cover reveal.....last Friday.

Well, since I can't hop into my trusty DeLorean and zip back five days, I suppose I'll just have to do it now.....so, without further ado, I give you a slightly timeliness impaired reveal of Tyrean's cover for her latest novel....Champion In Flight.

A year after she won the battle for Septily, Clara feels trapped in Skycliff by the Allied Council. As the last pieces of information about the Healing Caves fall into place, Clara is attacked by an assassin. Covert Drinaii mercenaries and the Council aren’t going to stop Clara from her quest to heal her broken blade. As Champion of Aramatir, she must act.
Meanwhile, in the joint kingdoms of Rrysorria and Wylandria, the youngest and still cursed swan prince despairs of ever being whole again. In a moment of anger and desperation, Liam discovers a blood link between him and a dark sorceress. 

Clara won the battle for Septily, but her battle isn’t over.

Champion in Flight is the second book in The Champion Trilogy.

And, just in case you're wondering "Tryean who?" (though I'm sure you've seen her around)

Tyrean Martinson lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest, encouraged by her multi-talented husband and daughters. She likes to write, read, teach, ski, bicycle, and walk.

Using her degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in English, Tyrean homeschools her two daughters and teaches writing and literature classes at Harbor Christian Homeschool Co-operative.

Tyrean has been published in e-zines like Every Day Poets, Every Day Fiction and Mindflights, and a few print anthologies like Overcoming Adversity, The Best of Every Day 

Best wishes and continued success to Tyrean!

IWSG: May 2014

This is another one of "those" months, as far as IWSG posts go. No real "news" on the insecurity front and, strangely enough, I'm o.k. with that. Don't get me wrong, there's still tons of insecurities that continue to nag me, but I've made peace with a few of them.

Sure, it makes for an extremely boring post about being an insecure writer but, on the other hand, it also doesn't have the air of something that's been "forced". 

Still chugging along, albeit very slowly, on my WIP as well as still trying to devise an open ending to my original NaNo project from 2010.

Slowly...again, very slowly, both projects are coming along. 

No "blogger burnout" after this years A to Z Blogging Challenge and, in fact, it's helped give me more impetus to write, if anything. That's always a good thing.

I've said it before and I'll continue to say it....I think some insecurity is good for the "writing soul". I thank Mr. Alex J. Cavanaugh for coming up with this great writing exercise and hope we can all overcome these insecurities.....at least enough to get our work published!

A to Z Musings and a Survival Guide!

This was my second year doing the A to Z Blogging Challenge and, I have to admit, it almost wasn't.

After last year's "stress-fest" (brought on myself, I have to say) I had gotten a bit burnt out on blogging. Even though I had pre-written almost half my posts, it still seemed like I didn't have enough time to get out there and visit my 'usual suspects' as well as visit a lot of the new (to me) blogs on the A to Z list. After it was all over I decided I needed a bit of a break and that "break" went on way longer than I wanted. Again, no one to blame but myself, but I also realized that it was only me who could pull myself out of the writing rut I had gotten in.

I had to do something so, when I saw people start gearing up for the challenge this year, that little, yellow, light bulb flashed over my head.

It wasn't until, almost, the 11th hour that I threw my figurative hat into the ring and decided to give it a go.

And, you know what? I'm glad I did.

I had a lot more fun this year than last and I think that mainly stems from my approach. As I went along, last month, I started jotting down a few notes....some things that just popped into my head as I did the challenge...and figured I'd share my observations with you all. My little "survival guide" really helped me keep sane.

"And don't call me 'Chief'!"

Now, when I call this a "survival guide", my main meaning is "how it helped me survive"....your mileage may vary, depending, so here are a few of my observations.

Overall theme: Pacing is the key.

1. Decide why you're taking up the challenge. Is it to gain more contacts/followers/blogs to follow or is it mainly a writing exercise? Do you feel obligated or want to help someone else with co-hosting? Last year, I wanted to cultivate more blogging contacts and, in my mind, that meant hitting as many blogs as I could, as well as new ones. This year, I really wanted something that would make me write every day. Something that would hold me accountable and force me to put my butt in my over comfy chair and start pounding the soft touch, wireless keyboard. You know what? It worked.

2. Don't stress if you can't stop by everyone's blog during the challenge. This was a huge part of what stressed me out last year. I just didn't have a ton of extra time, last year, and it was about the same this year. It takes special dedication to reach out to so many blogs, how folks like Mr. Alex J. Cavanaugh do it, I'll never know. (Yes, I know about the clones, but we're not supposed to talk about that!) This year, I didn't let it bother me. I did what I could in the time that I had. Sure, some days I slacked off, but I felt like, overall, it was worth saving my energy. That leads to the next point....

3. Some days, it's o.k to "phone it in". Some days, I only had the time to write my post and publish it. There wasn't time to go around commenting and, conversely, I wasn't expecting many comments to be showing up on my posts. I still got way more than expected, so bless y'all's hearts and I thank you.

4. If you're a commenter....make it a meaningful comment. We all know, and have heard millions of times, that "Great post" alone does not constitute a meaningful comment, especially on a post you know someone spent a lot of time working on. Take the time to read the post and make a relevant comment. I think I only noticed one comment on one of my posts where it was clear that the person hadn't read (or just did a bad skim job) said post. No big deal, of course, maybe they were following their own survival guide. =)

5. If you're a poster....keep your posts short and sweet. If possible, that is. Nothing worse than trying to make the rounds and having to get through someone's wall of text so you can make that meaningful comment. Of course "short and sweet" can be a very subjective term. I tried to keep my posts on the short side, even though some of them could have gone on for pages....literally. Also, if you take the time to drop by a new blog to comment, give it a quick look and, if the subject matter looks interesting....give them a follow. It doesn't hurt and, if nothing else, let's the poster know people are dropping by.

6. Try to find new blogs and let them know you found them via the A to Z Challenge. I mean, at least for me, that's a large part of participating in the challenge. Spreading the word about new blogs, finding new blogs, making new contacts, etc. Now, in keeping with the theme of this little guide, do this only if you have the time. I tried to make it a point to check the A to Z list and visit at least five new blogs ("new" to me) when I went out commenting and, truth to tell, it didn't take that long to accomplish. I would also leave a "Howdy from the A to Z list" or "I found you through the A to Z Challenge"...things like that. Again, letting them know all their A to Z'ing isn't in vain.

7. Take time to recharge and unwind.  The biggest difference in my approach to the Challenge from last year to this year. On more than one day, I decided I only had the time/inclination to get my post out there...and that was it. As much as I hated not checking in on a daily basis with my "usuals", I felt it was better for my pace to take some time to do something else. The usual things such as taking a walk with my wife, going to the beach, playing a video game, reading a book....things like that occupied my "downtime". If nothing else, this was one of the main factors that kept me from burning out halfway through April.

8. Have fun! While this one should be self explanatory it's, sometimes, not. The Challenge is supposed to be an enjoyable way to blog and, to be honest, it's a bit of an exercise in perseverance. Sort of like a month long marathon, pacing is way more important than sprinting....at least in this old guy's opinion. Just like regular blogging, the A to Z is supposed to be fun so, in that respect, you should do what you can to make it fun for you, first and foremost. Trust me, your blogging buddies will understand....mainly because most of them are feeling the exact same pressures you are.

So, what did you think? Any of the above ring true for you? Any other advice you'd impart on your fellow A to Z'ers?

Again, thank you all for dropping by and helping make my A to Z experience so enjoyable this year.

Z is for : Zorro!!

Zorro was a Walt Disney Company production that ran on the ABC network from 1957 to 1959. It starred Guy Williams, who I was mainly familiar with from Lost In Space, as Don Diego Vega and his alter ego, the Robin Hood of the Old West....Zorro!

The show was well received and got good ratings, but only lasted two seasons due to financial disputes between Disney and ABC over the rights of the show. It's sort of ironic that Disney "won", in the end, having bought ABC.

A top Disney executive was overheard telling some of the ABC people...

"Yeah, we'll show you....we'll now run Zorro all the time!! Muahahaha!!!"

O.k...maybe not.....anyway.....


To be honest, I've only seen this one a handful of times but I do remember catching episodes while watching the old Mickey Mouse Club. Being a big Zorro fan, it was always one of the highlights for me as well as seeing the dad from Lost In Space in the lead.

With that, I'm closing the book on this years A to Z Blogging Challenge. Honestly, I never thought I'd make it through the whole thing. My schedule has been pretty up in the air but, as was my intention, this made me put my butt in the seat and write everyday. I did some basic prep work, but the posts were usually written the night before or the day of whichever letter we were on.

A big thank you to Arlee Bird of Tossing it Out and Alex J. Cavanaugh for spearheading this zany, month long ride through the blogosphere. I'd also like to thank all of you who came by, some almost every day, and left comments....I really appreciate them and you!  I apologize for not getting around as much as I wanted to, but life happens and we do what we can.

I hope you all had a good time with the challenge....I know that I did.

I'll be back on Friday or Saturday with a bit of an A to Z "wrap up" and my A to Z Challenge Survival Guide.