James McGowan Reader Group- Telling the Good Stories

Hi there.

So much of our lives involves stories.  Not just the fictional ones we consume in various media, but the non-fictional ones that we’ve each lived.  The ones that we recount when we gather with friends and family at happy occasions, and also sad ones.

I recently attended the funeral of my grandfather.  While he had been in decline over the last few years, he passed away somewhat  quickly and it was thankfully non-Covid related.  One thing that really heartened me was all the stories that recounted his wry and stoic personality.  A quintessential cowboy who lived 93 years, who could recite poetry he learned in school, and still had a hankerin’ to ride a horse, though he wisely stopped a few years back.  He also had a sweet tooth for off-brand lemon Oreo’s, which grand kids and great grand kids also greatly enjoyed.

He’ll certainly be missed.  And I’m glad the good stories of his life will be told for years to come.  Next time,you wander down memory lane with those you care about, take a moment to appreciate everyone who’s telling the tales and listening to them.  They won’t be there forever.
Recommendation Corner
The Suicide Squad (2021 Movie)

I’m part of the problem with this movie’s box office under performance.  I watched it on HBO Max without guilt, and I loved it.  This movie lived up to it’s name much better than the 2016 version.  It involves a large team of conscripted villains who must carry out a mission in a fictional Latin American country in exchange for reduced sentences, or get their heads exploded.  Despite the ridiculous characters, you actually come to care for them.  King Shark is sure to be many people’s favorite with his line: “Num num?”  My favorite was Polka Dot Man and his mom.  Hilarious and awesome.  Check it out.

Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tcalkovsky

This book has a cool twist on the typical fantasy race fare.  They are all human with insect “kinden” sub groups.  Flies are short and can conjure wings, Beetles are stocky and persistant, Wasps are flying, stinging @ssholes just like their insect counterparts, and so on.  The story revolves around an over-the-hill Beetle spymaster/professor who  must recruit some of his brightest students for a secret mission against the encroaching Wasp empire.  It also has an interesting debuff for a lot of the characters where some cannot figure out how to use any form of technology, while others cannot acknowledge magic even when its effects are used in plain view.  There are many more books in this series, so I’ll likely be recommending other parts of the series in future installments.
That’s all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim

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Matt Burnhelt’s nightmares will come true.

Matt Burnhelt is Ed’s older brother. He also possesses hyper powers. Unlike Ed, his are more subtle. He can convert the Flames of Tumult into any other form of electromagnetic or magical energy. He is a master planner with a keen mind that notices details missed by others. Nightmares that he can never remember plague him nightly. Nightmares that might just creep into the waking world.

James McGowan Reader Group- Food Faves

Hey hey!

I have been enjoying a bit more fun in the sun with friends and family.  I’ve also been returning to get some take out from some favorite restaurants.  The Central Great Plains and Colorado have a regional outfit called Old Chicago.  They make deep dish pizzas that are fantastic.  The Thai Chicken pizza is my favorite.  It has sweet Thai sauce instead of pizza sauce, so it’s more specialty than traditional, but oh my do I love it.  So good.

Backyard barbecues have also been something I’ve sorely missed this past year.  My wife and I hung out with some friends recently on their patio where they made us some A+ burgers and Polish sausages.  I announced that I would eat the h*** out that grilled foodage.  And eat the h*** out of it I most certainly did.

I’m also marinating some steaks with a mixture of Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce and brown sugar.  I’ll be searing them and then using the trusty sous vide.  It shall be epic.

These are all summer treats for me.  I usually skew more on the herbivore end of my omnivore diet.  I enjoy making black bean rice bowls and a soup concoction that I call chili veggie soupy.

Do you have any fave foods that you recommend either from restaurants or that you make?
Recommendation Corner
Reckless by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

I’m a a big fan of this creative team’s crime comics.  This hardcover trade focuses on a man named Ethan Reckless in the early 1980’s.  He’s sort of a low-grade, sloppy, one-man A-Team.  He was once an FBI undercover agent that infiltrated a violent anti-war group in the late years of the Vietnam War.  It ended badly, leaving him with a scar.  He now makes ends meet by working out of a closed movie theater and hiring himself out to people who need help with a non-advertised 800 number.  People who are often shady with conflicting agendas.  Things start going sideways when a woman from his undercover past reaches out to him.  Great dialogue, gritty art, and realistic violence.  Check it out.

The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie

The First Law series is always fun for a grim-dark fantasy world.  It’s a mix of steampunk colliding with a more savage land of Norse vikings.  The wry humor in the narrative and dialogue is my favorite part.  The POV characters all think they’re in the right, but almost always do the wrong thing that achieves the exact opposite result of their intentions.  This is most true for Leo, a heroic idiot who is easy to manipulate, especially by the ambitious Savine.  The foppish Prince Orso emerges as the most likable character as civil war creeps closer and closer.  Steven Pacey does a great job with the audio book reading with many distinct voices.  Give it a read or listen.
That’s all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim

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Fernallus is fearsome when he wants to be. His jokes are worse.

Fernallus is one of the main characters in The New Players.  He is a young and highly intelligent Dragon who often assumes the guise of a Human male with varying garish hair colors.  The top image shows him in his more fearsome Dragon form.  He appears far more affable as a green-haired non-reptile in the next rendering.

He is a close friend of the Burnhelt family and Tamona.  He also makes terrible jokes.  But they love him anyway.  Their enemies do not.

James McGowan Reader Group- The New Players Are Here

Howdy.

The New Players is now available on Amazon in print and Kindle Unlimited.  Give it a look.

It’s a big expansion in the Player of the Game saga with characters like Ed Burnhelt who face off against Corsis and the Game.  The New Players will interact with Ashe and Avril in the upcoming books.

I’m excited to share it with you!
Grab the New Players on Amazon
Recommendation Corner
Invincible

I binged through the cartoon on Amazon Prime, then I binged through the comic series on Comixology.  Both had Robert Kirkman’s involvement.  He created the Walking Dead comic and show.  At a very high level, the blurb for the series is what if a Superboy-type character had to take over for a Superman-type character.  Both versions are very graphic, showing the gory consequences of what a super-powered fights would do to bodies and infrastructure.  The ensemble cast is great.  The character of Amber in particular is vastly better in the show with far more depth than her comic counterpart.  I’ll be interested to see where they take that character in future seasons.  Walton Goggins as Cecil is also a standout performance.  Watch the show first, then read the first 12 trades of the comic for free on Comixology Unlimited.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I loved the Martian and liked Artemis.  This novel surpasses both of them.  The story centers on an amnesiac astronaut named Grace who has figure out why a single celled organism is feeding on the sun and how to stop it.  He’s both an anti Walter White from Breaking Bad and an anti Mark Watney from the Martian.  If you’re able, grab the audiobook version.  Ray Porter gives an excellent performance and a particular character definitely benefits from the audio aspect.  Very good stuff.
That’s all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim

Click here to view the original format.

James McGowan Reader Group- Shaking the Magic 8 Ball

Howdy!

Things might be looking up.  Or maybe we’re actually upside down and we’re looking down.  I have no idea.

Will things get to a point where we can… gasp… safely visit friends in family in small to medium groups?  Will the quaran-times endure?  Let’s find out with the magic 8 ball.

Me: “Magic 8 ball, when shall the plague at last break?”

(Shaking motion)

Magic 8 ball: “Outlook hazy.  Ask again later.”

Me: “Some help you are…”

In all seriousness, find fun and happiness where you can.  Sooner or later, this season shall end.
Recommendation Corner
How To by Randall Munroe

XKCD is one of my favorite web comics.  Munroe’s prior book, What If, asked absurd questions such as what would happen if the oceans of Earth were transferred to Mars.  This book takes the opposite track by asking sensible questions and providing absurd answers.  One of my favorites is how to throw things.  It eventually devolves into an exercise where quarterbacks are throwing blenders, and singers throwing microwave ovens.  Silly stuff that’s absolutely worth a read.

Powers: The Best Ever by Brian Bendis and Michael Oeming

This graphic novel is most likely the conclusion of the Powers saga.  I’ve been a fan of this comic book since the late 90’s.  It’s a street level homicide detective story that takes place in an exceptionally violent and unsafe world of superheroes.  One of the detectives, Christian Walker, used to have powers that granted him flight and strength.  But those are gone now, and he is aging.  An old enemy with an old grudge doesn’t care.  He will make Walker pay. It’s a great send off for the characters of the series.  Really well done.  Check it out.
That’s all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim

Click here to view the original format.

James McGowan Reader Group- The New Players are Coming.

Hey there!

Things just might be turning a few corners.  The weather’s getting warmer.  I got my second jab.  And I got a new book coming out next month.

It’s called “The New Players”.  They live in a brighter world. But their future is dark.
 
Here’s a preview of its cover with Ed Burnhelt and his ally Tamona facing off against the cyborg goddess, Hekati.  It’s part of the promo below and you can also purchase it on Amazon in June.
Recommendation Corner
The Unmade Podcast

I got into this podcast a few months ago and it is fantastic.  Brady Haran, an educational Youtuber, and Tim Hein, his old buddy from grade school, each talk about ideas for new podcasts.  But that’s just the frame work.  It’s mostly about two old friends joking around with made up sports, spoons of the week, and a glorious number of renditions of the Sofa Shop jingle.  Their jolly banter is very much something the world needs right now.  Give it a listen.

Later by Stephen King

Say what you will, but King is a first-rate storyteller.  The story involves a boy who can see dead people.  King steers into the skid by getting the Sixth Sense comparison out of the way early.  Jamie is a great character, and his interactions with both living and dead characters are believable and gripping, especially with a particular mad bomber.  The audio book narrator, Seth Numrich, gives a great performance as well, both nuanced and punchy.  Check it out.
That’s all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim

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Ed Burnhelt does what is hard.

Ed is one of the main characters in the upcoming “The New Players” novel, Book 3 in the series.  He hails from the advanced and isolated nation of New Grelland, and is the youngest member of a powerful and influential family.

He is gifted with Flames of Tumult that generate within his body, which grant him hyper speed and strength, and the capability to think faster than most computers.  He can also vent the electric fire from his eyes.  He is also a skilled duelist, wielding his deceased mother’s sword.

But there are draw backs to this power.  He had to spend a year in sensory deprivation to accustom himself to his enhanced perception of time.  His fellow Grells fear him, seeing an unstable weapon, rather than a person.

All of this was by design, not chance.  His family engineered his lot in life, knowing the consequences it would inflict on him.

They had to.

Corsis always lurks on the periphery.  And the Burnhelt’s need every advantage they can get to fight him.  It will not be easy, but Ed has spent his life girding himself for the trials to come.

He does what is hard.

James McGowan Reader Group- LitCon Weekend

Howdy, all. LitCon is this weekend.  If you’re interested in taking a look at the works of other indie authors, feel free to take a look at their site and the Youtube channel.  I’ll also be participating in a panel or two. Also, check out the books on the LitCon 2021 Giveaway.  Cool stories await!
LitCon.org LitCon on Youtube LitCon Book Giveaway
Players of the Game Artist Spotlight
I work with a few artists for cover and website content with my Players of the Game series.  Mikhail Palamarchuk is especially good, and I’ve featured a few of his finished works in the past.

I’ll provide him a description of a character along with images that match the vibe of what I’m wanting.

Here’s a great example with Violet.  She’s a Skin Bot, an android-type character who appears in the upcoming New Players novel.  First, I get a rough sketch:
Then I give Mikhail feedback, and he provides me iterations based on my notes to arrive at the finished version.

I have him give me a variety of styles, either a higher-detail airbrush style, or a lower-detail comic book style. 

The finished version of Violet is the latter. Mikhail’s stuff is just plain rad.  That’s right.  Rad.
You can view more of his even better stuff including several of my Players of the Game characters on his ArtStation page.
Mikhail Palamarchuk’s ArtStation Page
That’s all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim

Click here to view the original format.