Dusting off the 'ole Damn Boots

It’s s stupid metaphor for getting back into writing.

“Dusting off boots”

Makes ya think of these, doesn’t it?

…maybe more dust and less snow.

Like I said, a stupid metaphor, and a stock photo.

I stopped writing back in January of ‘22—maybe longer than that.

Sometime back before then my Editor gave back my edited 2nd Novel. The experience was humbling. Truth be told it was a slow-burning reality-check, punch to the fucking gut. The thing is, I know I’m a good writer. But only I know this. Maybe a few other people do to—maybe. But a few hundred people don’t know this—certainly not a few thousand. And I’m untested. Getting my incomplete 2nd Novel edited was a test. And I wouldn’t say I failed. I had to fucking regroup—get my shit together and do a lot of thinking.

I took some time off. I didn’t write. I let me creativity out in other ways. I started a YouTube Channel building Legos. I had another kid.

ChatGPT and MidJourney came out during this time away from writing. I started prompting AI Generated art that you can buy here in my store. Some of it is based on the world I am writing into existence and some of it is quirky pop-art—shit I find interesting.

DJ Stark

Back to those dusty boots…

I’m plotting out my story again. I’m not writing—not just yet. I’m laying the foundation. I’m doing several somethings that I’ve never done before:

1. I’m writing on a Mac. Yeah I know. What the fuck, right? But hear me out! David Bowie—yes I’m comparing myself to David Bowie—went through all these phases in his career. He was Ziggy, Aladdin Sane, Halloween Jack, The Thin White Duke and the Blind Prophet. Up until now I’ve been the Windows Guy. Now I’m entering my Mac Guy Persona. It’s kinda groovy actually. The software I’m using, Scrivener and Aeon Timeline were sorta built for this type of hardware. The ease in which I can switch between the two apps is nothing short of amazing. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll evolve into my next persona before too long, or become some kind of weird pan-technical chimera.

2. I’m making an outline. I’m not going to use the dumb writing terms involving “pants” and “plans” but I was always of the “pants” variety. It was physically jarring to try and outline—to plan out a story, which has always been something of an organic process for me. But the reality of this story is, it’s been swimming around between my synapses now for years. I know all the beats, all the scenes, and all the not yet conceived scenes that will come into being based on the ideas and rules of the story that I’ve already established. So it’s time for me to stop spinning my fucking wheels and literarily jerking-off with writes and rewrites. Time to get my shit in order. I’m not writing right now. I’m outlining, plotting, and carving a fucking map—a story bible to follow when I actually start writing. I’m doing everything short of etching this motherfucker in stone and then I’m going to look at it, pick a section, and start writing out the pros, start check off the boxes and getting it done, once and for all.

3. I’m not putting any time limits or pressure on the Hows and the Whens. It will be ready when it’s ready. It will also be ready when I don’t have a steaming pile of shit for my Editor.

4. Lastly, I’ve given up Coffee thanks to the-virus-that-shan’t-be-named. After that little nuisance coffee makes me anxious to the point of panic attacks—another something I’ve never ever done before.

I think that covers my year-plus off of writing, thinking of writing, and doing anything having to do with fiction.

Oh, and I’ve started reading fiction again.

So what have I been reading? Glad you asked:

1. The Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas—Pretty good but the antagonist was about as 2D as one could get before being 1D, very lame. Hated the bad-guy for all the wrong reasons.

2. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino—Just started this. Loving it like I loved the movie. Add a lot more depth to the characters that cinema just doesn’t have time to convey. Gonna rewatch the 3-Hour movie again afterwards.

3. In the queue I have Dan O’Malley’s Blitz, Justin Cronin’s The Ferryman, David Wong’s If this Book Exists, You’re in the Wong Universe, and some James Axler pulp-apocalyptic sci-fi for when I feel like taking this whole literary thing seriously.

Cheers!

Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio

I’ve read a lot of great books lately and have done little to tell you about them. I’m going to start with the last book I finished and work my way backwards. By the time I get to Neil Gaiman’s, The Graveyard Book, I’ll probably sum it up with one line, two words: It’s good.

Empire of Silence might as well take place in the Warhammer 40K universe, if 40K had a sex drive, and passion beyond the whole ‘grim darkness of war’ bullshit.

Empire of Silence has a libido. It’s grown a pair, yet remains grim and dark and veering on the brink of war. There’s depth to the characters, a heretic-seeking clergy, noble houses of every shape and color, palace intrigue, gladiatorial events, xenocide.

It’s science fiction that often feels like high fantasy.

Marlowe is an arrogant sheltered protagonist that ultimately finds humility from his experiences outside of palace life. Don’t get me wrong, he still maintains his prickish mannerisms, but he’s seen some shit—he becomes: dynamic.

It’s the first book in the series. The next book, according to the all-knowing Amazon isn’t due out until July, so you have some time. It’s a long read, but Samuel Roukin’s performance in the audio version is amazing, bitter, and yet—soothing, like a dry bottle of wine, or a kick in the teeth.

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory

Spoonbenders is the story of a Greek-Irish family. The only difference between my own family and the one in the story is that my family does no possess any sort of telekinetic or psychic powers.

...that I know of.

The eldest daughter knows if a person is lying or telling the truth.

The eldest son can move objects with him mind.

The baby of the family is the worlds greatest psychic.

The grandson can astral project.

And the grandfather is a master of cards, slight of hand, and all things Penn and Teller.

Those were probably spoilers. It probably doesn't matter though. Where the story goes from there is quite unique. This is one of those, it could happen in real life but there are sci-fi elements at play sort of stories. It's sorta what Stephen Kings does with horror, only the stakes are much lower.

It takes place in 1995.

It was a good book to get into after a break from reading, and The Library at Mount Char. 

I'm re-reading The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch for the book club I'm hosting. It's a long book but there's still time to read it and join in the discussion. This Thursday. At 7PM. Southborough Library.

Then I'll be starting The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. That should keep me busy for a while. 45 Hours and 32 Minutes in fact. 

Sea of Rust by Robert Cargill

The premise for Sea of Rust is the backstory/explanation that Morpheus gives Neo when he first asks about the Matrix. The long and short being: We went to war with AI of our own creation, they were faster, better, smarter than us, and royally kicks our sorry fleshy asses into near-extinction. Where Sea of Rust differs from The Matrix is that Sea of Rust goes all the way--the machines not only win the war, but they literally kill every single man, woman and child on the earth, leaving robot-kind in charge of the planet.

Let that sink in for a minute. Only we arrogant humans would assume that we'd be needed to power the machines--living a simulated life in a virtual world, hooked up as a giant battery. 

Sea of Rust is probably a great deal closer to a real life AI vs Humans scenario then anything currently out there in both books and movies.

And there are no punches being pulled here. There are moments in this book that were very hard to take. Movies will show scenes of able-bodied men being killed by antagonist or protagonist, and the audience will watch and accept this without disgust or resentment. We've grown so used to the James Bond henchman, that these faceless masses might as well be machines.

But have a robot kill a child, or a baby?

Sea of Rust pulls no punches.

In the midst of these rather squeamish scenes--necessary scenes in order to tell an effective story--I greatly enjoyed this book. The main character was truly a product created by man. Her calculating and cold outlook on life was the soul of a machine, and yet she experienced something of a moral conflict within herself as humans often do.

This is a story about AI where the robots do not feel boxy and soulless. This is AI with heart.

Lock In by John Scalzi

Lock In by John Scalzi is a story of a large segment of the world's population succumbing to a paralysis invoking flu, leaving their minds completely intact. Technology moves in and gives these people robotic bodies in order for them to continue contributing to society. In the midst of all this a great detective story unfolds involving two FBI agents, one of them, a flu suffer--equipped in their robot body--the other, flesh and blood. The story is told in the first-person from the POV of the robotic-human FBI agent.

Lock In blurs the lines of gender. I would normally roll my eyes at this as a form of pandering to what it currently a hot-button issue in society. But the subtly in which Scalzi does this is very good. The reader is never given any hints if the protagonist is male or female. The plot doesn't hinge on their sexuality and it's never brought up. The fact that this character is piloting what I imagine to be a very androgynous--albeit humanoid vehicle--sets the stage for a neutral being for both male and female characters to interact with. Does it border on the fringes of a Progressive Utopian fantasy? Maybe. But it isn't preachy or heavy-handed. 

The audio book was recorded by both a male and female readers, adding an interactive element to your reading experience. In my opinion, it's a no-brainer as to which version is the superior read. Amber Bensen is the female reader and she does a sensational job.

I did not, nor will I ever, read the male version of Lock In, as Wil Wheaton is the reader, and he has lost all credibility as a reader of so much as the Dictionary after what he did to Masters of Doom. Unforgivable, bordering on shameful.

Lock In reminded me of the novels by J.D. Robb...just without the sex. One might argue that this would be a setback. I guess it all depends on what your cup o' tea happens to be. The world of Lock In is much more believable then Robb's fantastical sci-fi universe. Scalzi's human piloted androids are not super-human, and there is no robot/human uprising. The story stays within the boundaries of a detective-style who-done-it, in the not so distant sci-fi future. 

The Passage Trilogy

If you're looking for a different kind of horror story, then I recommend, The Passage, by Justin Cronin. It's a novel about vampires, but it's unlike anything pertaining to vampires that you've ever read before. This isn't Bram Stoker and this certainly isn't Ann Rice. And though there is a supernatural element to the story, it surprisingly doesn't have anything to do with the traditional vampire mythos.

The Passage uses science fiction as a sub-genre quite well One example was how the vampires, or 'virals' are brought into this world--through a secret military project conducted on American soil. It's very much like the start of a good Resident Evil game, complete with things going horribly, horribly wrong.

But there's more to The Passage than vampires. Cronin is at his best with the development of both his characters and the world he's created for them. This is a world that pokes at the edges of our own--albeit, a world that has seen better days. Hurricane Katrina has happened in Cronin's world, and it was quickly followed-up by a second hurricane that left the Louisiana coast all but uninhabitable. The children of our current politicians are now running the show, and doing just about as well as their predecessors. These details give the reader a sense of inclusion, which make the unfolding events much more horrifying.

Characters are expendable, but not in the way George RR Martin would carelessly kill-off someone. There's an actual sense of life to Cronin's characters. It's almost as if the story were a simulation of life happening during this horrible event, yet there is still room for heroes to emerge.

The Passage by itself is an epic book. There's a lot in here and it's well worth reading. It's also the first in a trilogy. The Twelve and The City of Mirrors continue the journey where The Passage left us. I really enjoyed getting lost in this world--though at times it proved to be quite sad, and often frustrating. By the end I was left with a peaceful sense of closure.

I added The Passage to the Reading List section of this website, though I could very easily put the entire trilogy in there. I'm just too lazy to spend that much time web designing.

Speaking of the Reading List, go check it out. It's like a blog post, only much much shorter. These are all books I've read and have covered in the blog. But unlike the blog, these are books that stand out as true favorites of mine. I've included the synopsis from Amazon and my own thoughts on the book. If you're interested in buying the book, simply click on the book cover and you'll be magically whisked away to Amazon--or the amazon...I can't remember which. Doing so will also help support this very website.