James McGowan Reader Group- Looking Down the Road

Howdy, all.

Much of my neck of the woods got the deep freeze treatment for the past few weeks.  If you were affected by the polar vortex in the US, I hope things have gotten better for you as time has gone on.  Things seem to be getting better as somewhat warmer temperatures creep back in.

As spring peeks around the corner, I have a positive outlook for the future right now.  After months of being cooped up indoors with the cold, and many months more of doing the social distance thing, I am hopeful that things might get back to some form of normalcy toward late summer and fall.  More vaccines appear to be ramping up in the US, which is a welcome development.

I will be attending another virtual round of LitCon in early March (5th through 7th).  Check out their site.  It’s free to attend.  I have a virtual booth in the fantasy section.  In April, I’ll be attending the Nebraska Writers Guild virtual conference as well. 

On top of that, I’ll be releasing The New Players in March or April.  It will focus on new characters who must contend with Corsis and his ally, Hekati the Unmaker.
Players of the Game Character Spotlight: Hekati
Hekati has many guises.  The cyborg goddess is but one.  She cultivates flowers that twist bodies and minds to her will.

She is featured prominently on the upcoming New Players cover.  More on that next month, or you can get an advanced peak of it on my LitCon virtual booth with the link above.
Recommendation Corner
Onward

This Pixar movie came out last March just as the pandemic was really hitting the US.  It’s a shame that it didn’t get more recognition.  My wife and I recently watched it on Disney+.  It takes place in a world populated by mythological people like elves, satyrs, and centaurs where magic was shunted aside by technology because tech is easier.  The plot focuses on two elf brothers voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt who go on a quest involving their deceased father.  If you want to see a buddy/brother movie with Spider-Man and Starlord (or at least their voices), check it out.

Autonomous by Amalee Newitz

This novel takes place a few hundred years from now where nations appear to have reorganized in alignment with giant pharma companies.  Human life has been extended, but inequality still reigns with designer medicines largely unavailable to the larger populace.  One main character, a female rogue scientist named Jack, tries to help the downtrodden with free medicine that she pirates from pharma companies.  She finances it with her side business of selling recreational drugs, but that goes wrong when people start working themselves to death as a result of a side effect of a drug she pirated.  Eliasz, a stoic government agent, hunts for her while having an increasingly confused working relationship with his robot partner, Paladin.  It’s a believable future that could totally come to pass.  Good stuff.
That’s all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim

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James McGowan Reader Group- The New Music Binge-o-rama

Happy New Year, everyone.

Winter is here.  Lots of snow.  Lots of fear and anger.  Show someone that you care about them however you can. Perform a little act to kindness. If Gandalf says it keeps the darkness at bay, then I think it’s worth a try.

I’ve been trying out other new inputs as well.  I go through phases where I listen to music while I’m writing.  Other times I need it quiet.  Right now is definitely a music kinda mood for me. 

The big trends for me right now are epic sounding instrumental stuff like the Mad Max Fury Road soundtrack, Archangel by Two Steps from Hell, the Darkest Dungeon soundtrack, and many others.  I will also admit that I’m fond of some non-screamy metal these days.  I’ve been digging some classic Iron Maiden and another band I’ll specifically call out in recommendation corner below.

If you have any epic instrumental music that you like and want to recommend, feel free to let me know.
New Players of the Game Release
The Brigands: The Favor is now available on Kindle for just 99 cents.  The novella focuses on ViRauni.   You can’t go home again, especially when it’s infested by a brain-hacked horde. Get it now.
Recommendation Corner
Theater of Dimensions by Xandria

I’ll preface this with the admission that metal is not for everyone.  This German group transcends the genre in my reckoning.  The leader singer channels powerful operatic melodies akin to Tarja, with a lot of cool riffs and drums from the rest of the band.  Wikipedia says that the band is inactive after the lead singer left the group.  If the band is done, then they left on literal and figurative a high note.

Thin Air by Richard K Morgan

I do enjoy dystopian cyber punk when it’s done right.  This novel definitely falls in that category.  Hakan Veil is an enhanced human enforcer called an Over Rider who is stuck in the urban sprawl of the Mars colony.  He gets drafted by a local cop to babysit a colonial auditor, and conflicting agendas from multiple sources quickly raise the stakes.  Colin Mace reads the audio book version with world-weary grit.  Very compelling stuff.
That’s all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim

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James McGowan Reader Group- A Season of Better Inputs

Howdy, Party People.

As we stare back at the sucknado that was March through December of 2020, I think it’s a good idea to keep a few things in mind.  Just as 2020 did not immediately start as a rancid dumpster fire (at least in the US), it will not stop burning just because paper calendars have been replaced and electronic ones tick forward to 2021. 

Still, there is something to be said for the symbolic turning turning of the calendar page. And that is better than nothing.  Let us hope the vaccines help get us out of the “gap” and into the new and improved normal.

As part of this, I personally am going to try striving for a season of better inputs. 

For me, here’s what that means: Keeping most news at arms length and averting my attention from the anger and fear like they’re part of a horrible traffic accident.  The truly important stuff will find its way to me in one way or another.  Wasting less time on social media and more time reading the books and comics in my backlog.  Consuming only compelling video content, not filler.  While I do a halfway decent job of eating healthy, I could be better, and I’ll aim to do just that. 

Will I stumble?  Definitely.  Will I keep on trying?  That’s the theme for the year.  Get better inputs in my life.  An off day does not mean the season is ruined.  It’s just an off day.

As a side note, I totally stole this idea from a CGP Grey Youtube video I saw earlier this year.  Type in “CGP Grey Themes” and you’ll find it.

Perhaps you can think of a personal theme of the season as well.
Players of the Game Updates
I plan to release The Brigands: The Favor novella sometime soon.  It will be for a buck on Amazon in Kindle form only.  It focuses on ViRauni as she returns someplace she long ago abandoned.

I’m finished up with the latest draft of the Breakers.  I have it sent out to beta readers and will soon send it off to my editor.  I’m still pretty happy with how it turned out.  And the preliminary cover is quite neat too.  I’ll share that down the road.

Currently, I’m working on the next “.5” novella, “The Breakers: Jagged Pieces”.  It’s an extended epilogue and bridge between Book 4 and Book 5.  I’m enjoying it so far.

Here’s an image of Nirva Iniv, one of the main villains from the series.  She is Avril’s sadistic mother.  She wanted to save the world once upon a time.  Now, she wants it under her heel.
December Recommendations
Pearl Harbor Minute By Minute by Time Ghost

Time Ghost’s World War II channel put together one of their best real time documentaries yet with this five-hour recounting of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  As a History major, it’s right in my wheel house, or at least my home office.  It was really well done and did an excellent job of remaining objective, while showing the darkness of modern war.  It also presented FDR’s “Day of Infamy” speech in its entirety.  Say what you will about the man, he could orate with the best of them.  A very well done series.  As the hosts like to say: “Never Forget!”

Gideon Falls by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino

This comic series is almost over with an issue to go, so it might be worth waiting for various collected editions.  I’ll avoid spoiling too much.  It starts with a focus on two main characters.  A seemingly-unstable person named Norton wears a surgical mask (this comic was made pre-Covid) and searches through garbage heaps for splinters of a dire black barn in the city of Gideon Falls.  An alcoholic priest named Wilfred is assigned to a small town, also named Gideon Falls, and has to team up with a local sheriff when bad stuff involving a black barn also starts creeping into town.  If you like mind-bendy sci-fi horror, this series is for you.
That’s all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe. 

And Happy New Year!

Jim

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James McGowan Reader Group- Tales from LitCon

Hi, all.

This past weekend I virtually attended LitCon.  It was a gathering of indie authors that had several interesting panels, and break out discussions.  I attended a world building panel moderated by AF Stewart where we talked about social structures, classes, and other fun stuff.  CL Gaber was also part of the discussion, which was a treat.

I also chatted with several other very engaging authors like Richard White, Joe Compton, and Karina Kantas.  It was an invigorating experience.

Lots of the panel content and discussions are posted on the LitCon Facebook Page.  Feel free to give them a watch.
November Recommendations
Mandalorian Season 2.

I’m current up through episode 4.  This is the best Star Wars iteration of the Disney Era.  Hands down.  They do a fantastic job with the western in space vibe.  I loved seeing Timothy Oliphant in it.  And Baby Yoda (aka The Child) remains very cute and continues to eat all kinds of… well, basically anything that moves that is smaller than him.  I gotta wonder if the Yoda race is some kind of group of apex predators.  The effects are also very close to movie quality.  I enjoy it.

Interrogation.

This is a game on Steam.  It’s a visual novel that takes place in a city that’s under threat from a domestic terrorist organization.  You play a cop who’s the head of the task force that’s trying to stop them from blowing up buildings.  The writing is very tight, and you get in some very morally grey situations in your drive to try to zero in on the terrorists.  A compelling game for those who liked Choose Your Own Adventure novels back in the late 20th century.
That’s all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim

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What does Corsis fear?

Corsis is the primary villain of the Players of the Game series.  He covertly manipulates the events of Sufrinzon, Trojis, and many other realms all for his depraved entertainment.

His urbane demeanor hides a monstrous personality.  He has more power than a pantheon of gods.  He also takes on many forms.  The Lizard is the first one that readers encounter in Repenter.  There are many others.

Here’s a sample of his interaction with Ashe from Repenter:

“Harm?” He spoke the word with an absurd shrill of his voice. “Ashe, you couldn’t touch me even if you could mance the most potent fire in existence. I have no fear of you in that regard.”

Ashe stepped back once more. “Then we’re fine.”

“Oh, no. We’re not.” The archmancer drummed his fingers on his leg. “You see, I do fear you.”

Ashe cocked an eyebrow. “You can’t be serious.”

“Deadly.” Corsis rushed to him. His toothy jaws came within inches of Ashe’s face. The feint smell of fruit from the chilled beverage filled the Lizard’s breath. “I fear your mind.”

James McGowan Reader Group- A Boy Named Sous Vide

Hey there.

The slog through the 2020 year of clarity continues.  In addition to work and novel writing, I’ve started dabbling in Sous Vide cooking.  It’s pretty idiot proof.  You buy a device that looks like an oversized curling iron, put in in a big pot, have it heat up the water via a smart phone interface, let the water to warm up to sub boiling temperatures, then put in whatever you’re wanting to cook in a freezer bag, and let the heat do the rest. 

I’ve made some fantastic chicken and some decent New York Strip steaks.  Pair it with some baked sweet potato wedges, and you got yourself a tasty meal.  I’m going to try making hamburgers with it at some point, though I remain skeptical on how those will turn out.
Players of the Game Updates
Repenter: The Hidden Chapters is also re-released on Kindle.  And it is permanently zero dollars.  Get it now.
Grab Repenter: The Hidden Chapters
Other Players of the Game Updates:

I’ve just received the edits back for bonus content books: The Brigands: The Favor and The New Players: Origins. I’ll be releasing them both in the coming months on Kindle.

I’m also about two thirds of the way through the revision of Players of the Game Book 4: The Breakers. I’m adding details and fixing logic problems. Here’s a fun little dialogue excerpt:

Xax released his friend’s shoulder. “Vance, meet Smiley and Tammy.”

“Tamona,” the Chan’la said.

“Ashe,” the masked man said.

Vance gave them a weary nod. “Vanzvulkous.”

Tamona let out a chuckle that sounded more like weak coughs. “Good to know that you’re consistent, Xax.”

Tamona, Xax, and Vance are newer characters that are introduced in New Players and Breakers.

The Prairies Book Review also gave Brigands a good review. You can read it here.
October Recommendations
The Man Who Effed Up Time: 

This is a fun mini series from Aftershock Comics by John Layman and Karl Mostert.  The premise is that a lowly technician uses a time machine to try and make his lot in life better, and well, effs up time.  The first page had me with a crossbow-wielding samurai constable riding a dinosaur chasing the main character.  That’s a pretty quick indicator on whether you will like this series or not.  I fall under the “likey” column.

Network Effect by Martha Wells: 

Murderbot is back!  This introverted anti-Terminator is the hero we both deserve and need.  This time around, it has to help its friend, an intelligent ship it calls ART (Asshole Research Transport).  ART has run afoul of contaminated alien tech and cult-like followers that Murderbot only refers to as “Targets”.  The introverted android may want to just watch entertainment media, but on more than one occasion it demands, “Don’t hurt my humans.”  Its inner conflict as it gets embroiled in the fight against the Targets is both fun and compelling.
That’s all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim

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