A Difficult Decision

I suck at this.

I am at that stage where I need to put a business name on things. Copyright by (blank), published by (blank), "visit (blank.com) for more details..." I need to come up with something catchy, memorable and unique that goes with my business image. I think. Maybe it just needs to be short.

My first business name was "Jayde World Productions" which was named for the world of my comic book (Jayde). Not obvious. It also sounded like some kind of Asian arts and crafts company. Looking it up on Manta.com, I found this entry:

"Jayde World Productions in Phoenix, AZ is a private company categorized under Motion Picture Producers and Studios. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of less than $500,000 and employs a staff of approximately 1 to 4. Companies like Jayde World Productions usually offer: Creative Video Productions, Film Production Rentals, Indie Film Production, Documentary Film Production and Venus Film Production."

This is all bullshit. I don't know how they determined I was a motion picture company that offered any of that crap. But that's the internet for you. The annual revenue is correct at least; I make far less than 500 grand annually. I don't even know what 500 grand looks like.

Anyhow, I need to make up a new publishing name that sounds cool and captures the spirit of what I'm up to. I want to incorporate my fantasy book series starting with The Gold Cat's Daughter with my Devon the Demon Duck From Hell series. Current ideas are:

Gold Cat Publishing

Gilded Mallard

Golden Pekin Publishing

Quackery Press

Duck Walk Press

...and variations thereof. 

I hope I come up with something soon; opinions and ideas are appreciated. There might also be a shiny nickel in it for the best idea, so don't be shy! Vote early and often!

Recording an Audio Book

I've never talked so much in my life.

I'm planning to release an audio version of "The Gold Cat's Daughter" to coincide with the print and e-release, and let me tell you, it's a lot of work. I have a new respect for anyone who has to read lines before a microphone or camera. I've flubbed at least two lines per page, and it's my own words I'm reading. You'd think I'd get it right.

I had the good fortune to meet a guy at work who had lots of audio equipment and experience using it. He offered to record my book, but I don't think either of us knew what we were getting in to. He doesn't have a professional studio and I'm not a professional voice actor, so we can only go as long as the ambient noise is at a minimum and my voice holds up. It's a challenge for us both to make this work but he has the harder job by far: that of sound-proofing the room and dealing with all the technical aspects. I just have to show up with my bag of voices and healthy throat.

Each chapter takes an average of 1 1/2 hours to read through, retakes and all. I was delighted to learn after taking a few weeks off that we were on chapter nine, three more than I remembered. There are fourteen total in this book, so it is almost done. That's a good thing too because the summer months are coming and that little room will get warmer and warmer.

Todd, my sound guy, once remarked that I have a lot of "shit" in my book. This is because after each mistake I mutter "shit" into the mic. It's his cue to pause. It's a system we developed naturally with no forethought and it seems to work out fine. Any curse words not in the book will of course be edited out. We do a technique called 'punching in' which means recording over the mistakes, so the editing process should mostly be all about timing.

The real unknown quantity is my voice. I don't know if it's the kind of voice someone would want to listen to for hours on end. I've been told it's low-key and monotonous; maybe my book will be recommended for insomniacs? I hope not. Anyway, I plan to have a portion of the audio book available for free on my eventual website so buyers can make up their own minds.

I really wanted to read it all with a British accent, but I felt that would be dishonest somehow...

The Coolest Thing Evar!

Yeah OK, it was the hot chick on the cover.

That's why I agreed to read "Dead Witch Walking" with my book group back in 2004. Little did I know it would lead to the Coolest Thing EVAR. (That's how you spell 'ever' on the internet, btw). I loved the book so much I was inspired to do some fan art, which I originally posted on the Yahoo "Hollows" site and which I've reposted here.
I got lots of positive feedback from other fans, but the really gratifying thing was the author herself was quite pleased. Kim Harrison (later revealed to be Dawn Cook in disguise) told me that the pictures brought a big smile to her face.

Then it gets weird. And cool.

In 2007, I had a dream. I was wandering in a cluttered book store or library and I climbed up a ladder to some secluded little room full of books and there, seated amongst them, was Kim Harrison. "Kim Harrison?" I asked, and she looked up. Then I awoke. Weird.
The next day I got an e-mail out of the blue from the author. She said she couldn't stop thinking about my artwork and wanted to know if she could let her agent show it to the people at Tokyo Pop. My jaw dropped. Really, it did. *Thunk*  I told her of course, by all means! Cool!.

I got to correspond with her agent Richard Curtis, a very nice and courteous fellow. This was a while before the Hollows graphic novel was in the works, so nothing really came of it. Ah well. I thanked Kim for the opportunity and went on my way, happy for the notice and validation. We artists thrive on validation.

Now for the Coolest Thing Evar. About a year ago in May, I got a Facebook message from Kim asking if I had the time/inclination to do some character drawings for the Hollows world book she was working on. Excuse me;

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Okay, sorry. Reliving the moment.
Slavering in fanboy delirium, I told her I'd love to and threw myself into it with abandon. Wooohoo! And I was getting paid for it too! My first real paying illustration job and it was for my favorite author doing some of my favorite characters! I was happy-dancing for weeks. At first she asked for about a dozen, but the number kept growing and by the September 2010 deadline I turned in 31 pieces, most of which I believe will be published. It has been a great collaboration and I had lots of fun. Did I mention "Squeeee?" I think I did.

Anyway, I got permission to post a few images from the upcoming "Hollows Insider", which is scheduled for release October 25th, 2011. Without further adieu...

Rachel and Jenks (turned big) after an adventure.

Ivy looking suspiciously over her shoulder...

Kisten and the Cincinnati skyline. 

Kim and me (squatting a bit) at the Tuscon Book Festival.

The Work Continues...

This is a status update, the first of what will hopefully be a regular series. I find it much easier to blog about past efforts, mistakes I've made and things I've learned than to tell about the things I’m doing today. I guess I figure it would be more interesting to read about if there’s some kind of conclusion. Well, misgivings aside, here goes:

I am making my way through the internal illustrations for my first novel, doing little pictures for the beginning of each chapter like the Harry Potter books. It’s challenging trying to pull an image from the text that resonates and encompasses the spirit of the writing without giving too much away. I also want to avoid too many character drawings because I want the reader to develop their own images (which is hard for a former comic book artist). So far I have drawn six new pictures and pirated one image from one of my unpublished comic issues. I also did a big city map that will be opposite the Chapter One page, so the reader gets a gander at the setting of the book. It was done more loosely than the ones in the comic book, so it should not be relied upon as a street atlas for the casual tourist.

I have finally cajoled Microsoft Word into formatting the book to my liking, coming in at 356 story pages. Headers and footers gave me the most trouble, making me cry and pound my head on the desk throughout the night. Eventually I overcame the odds and figured it out.

The biggest thing looming in the future is the cover. It will have to be dazzling yet simple, something that is easy to describe yet hard to forget. I want it to be a real piece of fantasy art too; the kind of thing that can be used as a poster, banner or computer wallpaper. It’s going to be a challenge to be sure.

Because the text is locked down and no more content edits will be made, I will be ready to do the audio book recording in the next month. I am really looking forward to that since I haven’t performed as a voice actor since my ‘dungeon master’ days.

Oh, and I will soon be taking a road trip to meet one of my favorite (living) authors Kim Harrison on her Pale Demon release tour! We’ve had a correspondence for a few years and collaborated on a project together but this will be the first time I meet her in person. Happy dance for that! I will post photos after the event.

That’s all for now...

Why I Haven’t Blogged in a Few Weeks

Short answer: I been busy, damn it!

Long answer: I’ve been sleeping, playing video games, working, puzzling over issues with my book, and generally avoiding the big plunge.

In late December I decided to eschew the old ways of begging for representation and waiting for approval from the publishing gods. Instead I’m jumping on the rickety little boat for internet print-on-demand and self publishing. To prove to myself that I’m serious, I’ve been reading other blogs on the topic, gathering all the little tidbits of data and inspiration that I can. I did a final edit on my first novel, formatted it for its eventual print size, made inroads on doing an audio book as well as e-book; all good first steps.

The details of marketing are still eluding me but I figured that like most things you need a finished product to present to reviewers and convention goers. So it’s on to the artwork for the chapter breaks and the cover. My goal is to have a product to show sometime in mid-summer.

Impossible? Maybe. I am a big procrastinator when I have to do everything myself. I will probably need to re-establish a business presence and a website again; not sure the old comic book image will work best anymore. I’ll need to set up a relationship with Amazon and one of the POD publishers. I must wear many hats and I only have one head, large though it may be.

There are a few details I can share at this point:

1)      I’m going back to the original title “The Gold Cat’s Daughter” at 330+ pages.

2)      It will be 5.25x8 inches with a map or two and interior graphics (might as well employ all my strengths).

3)      It will have a digitally painted cover in full color that will have to be the best piece I’ve ever done in any medium.

4)      It will be released with Print-On-Demand, audio, and e-book formats.

5)      I will use my own name.

This last bit is an interesting one for those not in the business. “Why not use your own name?” Well, look at my name. I’ve heard the same stupid jokes since my kindergarten teacher tried her wit on the first day of class. I have a chance to pick something cool and flowing, like ‘Arthur Knight’, ‘Richard Ritter’ or ‘Earl Chevalier’. But I want to make people use the Rude name with a bit less levity and maybe a little respect someday.

If Arnold Schwarzenegger can do it, why can’t I?

Journey to the Bottom of the Bottomless Cup

I started drinking coffee early in life, since it was served with donuts after church. I wanted to seem more adult, so I added some fresh brew to my creamer and sugar. It got me hooked, what can I say.

Anyway, I remember the first time I ordered it in a restaurant. We went to a Denny’s or comparable family eatery after church one Sunday (this was in the late 70’s so it wasn’t as bad as you’d think) and I took it upon myself to order coffee. My parents looked at me as if I had just asked for bourbon but kept silent, not wanting to embarrass me. The waitress brought the drinks and food and I sat there in victory, sipping my coffee and feeling all big and stuff.

Then she came for a refill. She didn’t even ask, she just snuck up and poured us adults our coffee. I looked up from my French toast in time to see my cup filled to the brim again. Fine, I thought. I could use another cup anyway. I added my mix of heavy sugar and cream and sipped away. Oh how my siblings were impressed, or so I believed.

Then she came back again.

And again.

And again.

Every time I emptied the damn cup it was refilled. I was raised to always try and finish my food because there were kids starving in China, so I downed cup after cup. At one point I heard my dad snickering at me. I was getting jittery, my bladder was getting full, and I was trapped in the booth between my parents and siblings.

”Why are you drinking so much coffee?” asked mom.

Dad said, “She keeps filling it and he doesn’t know what to do.”

”Well, what am I supposed to do?” I squeaked. Obviously some vital piece of adult information had eluded me. Was there a secret hand sign? A code word? My brain was firing at a ridiculous rate, going through all the possibilities. Finally I put my spoon over the top of the mug. I figured she’d either get the message or make a mess. My parents just grinned, mocking me silently.

When the waitress came back, she almost poured me another cup but stopped just in time, staring at the spoon like it was a tiny big-eyed kitten that she had just avoided scalding to death. She looked at me and asked, “No more?” in a curiously annoyed tone. I just shook my head and continued sweating.

Finally it was revealed that all I had to do was tell her what I wanted or didn’t want. Imagine that. All it took was five cups of coffee to learn that little life lesson.

Thoughts on turning 40

Well shit.