Wednesday, April 22, 2015

AHOY! BOOK PIRATES

"If you wrote something for which someone sent you a check, if you cashed the check and it didn't bounce, and if you then paid the light bill with the money, I consider you talented." ~Stephen King

Book pirates, who sail the digital seas, are out there right now. Lurking. Searching. 

MILK-BLOOD is being stolen quite regularly. My google alert is full of websites offering the book for free. I have seen a few readers with a coating of milk-blood on their upper lips. 

Rock on, Book Pirate.

I can't say it's not off-putting, (like when someone stole my daughter's bike from my garage) But overall, I ain't mad bro. The day nobody wants to steal my shit is a sad day indeed. But you don't have to steal what is offered freely. (To request a free copy, write me here.) Fortunately, I am a hobbyist writer who does not expect his books to pay the mortgage.  Just maybe the light bill.

Not only are books being pirated, but goodread reviews are tooLike in this link here.

I found this most interesting forum, which you can read here, and is also copied and pasted below. A reader asks for free copies of MILK-BLOOD,  someone responds with, "hey, dude, maybe think twice." Someone then warns that the book is "disgusting and unpleasant." The thread finally concludes with the statement:  "I have a feeling the author is from another planet. It is the only explanation of his knowledge."

Exposed! for yes I am from another planet. One where authors and readers and pirates all live side by side, for you can't steal what is freely given. Nor would you steal if you had an idea of the torment an author goes through. For if you like the book, it makes sense to pay the author's light bill so they can see their way to write you another. I'd be incredibly sad if my favorite writers had to do all their work in the dark.
  
    • Post
    • Reuheattya
      Hi, I want to download books, because my local Library doesnt have the book I'm looking for. So Where can I download books in pdf format? I would like MILK-BLOOD: A Tale of Urban Horror by Mark Matthews, but other books to, so where do I go if I want to Download Books? 

      Thanks in Advance.
      Rietervi
      Cory Doctorow is one of the few that is willing to give his books for free. Baen publishers are willing to give some of their books for free also. Pirate sites like Scribd are being sued by authors that are getting ripped off. J. K Rawling is suing Scribd. Think about that. If you spent years writing a book and someone scanned it and gave it away to others costing you sales. how would THAT makes you feel?
      Franusem
      It was not pleasant to read it. There were some disgusting scenes and moments... Uuh...
      Tamuge
      Administrator
      Hey Reuheattya,
      Urbooklibrary is the best. You can get almost any book you want for free, new or old doesn't matter. You can find all their books in their play store download app online, just type in general ebooks download

      http://www.booklibrary...

      Reuheattya
      Thanks! BookLibrary have just been added to my Bookmarks! :)
      Promporttho
      I have a feeling that the author is from another planet. It is the only explanation for his knowledge.
      Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

Friday, April 17, 2015

Oh the Good Old Hockey Game

"oh the good old hockey game, is the best game you can name.
And the best game you can name, is the good old hockey game."

It's hockey playoff season, and a most wonderful time of the year. I grew up playing hockey and watching hockey. My dad used to take me to see the Red Wings at the old Olympia in Detroit. I can still remember the red brick barn  shake due to the crowd.

Now I am a huge fan of the sport, not only of the Red Wings, who have made the playoffs 24 straight seasons and are one of the most special sports franchises in the world, but of all the NHL playoffs. I fake my way through NCAA March Madness, for my madness starts in April. A 7 game series of a good hockey match has all the drama of The Game of Thrones, and nearly just as many deaths. Watching Marsek for the Wings play like Hasek was special.  And I'm loving the Sens/Habs series. If (when) the wings are out, then the remaining Canadian team is who I always root for. For the Sens/Habs intra-country battle, I'm rooting for the Sens after their incredible run the last two months.
Darren Helm, perhaps my favorite Red Wing. (also looks a ton like Ed Norton)

This week was also the debut of my first 40 and over hockey game. My leg is too damaged to run, but I found that I could skate. In fact, in comparison, I am a faster skater than runner (I have a 8-0 record at the ages 18 and over race when I take my daughters skating. Well, I actually did lose once, but the person tested positive for steroids).

So, I went out and skated a few times, seemed to go fine, and I signed up for a 40 and over league. I was terrified that a real game would shred my leg damage apart, but my leg seemed to have held up fine. I was so incredibly geeked. I have not had the exhilaration of being drenched in sweat, of gasping for air, of feeling alive with physical exhaustion. I so needed it.

But....

I started the game with an achey back, and my back did get torn apart. It hurt the whole game such that with each minute, I could bend over less. The ride home and the night was full of pain. When I woke up, I had to roll over to the floor, crawl to the dresser, and use that to get myself up. I literally could not get up. The pain was the most excruciating thing I have ever felt. On a scale of 10 out of 10, this one went to 11.

I shuffled to the coffee maker, telling myself that if I ever found out this was permanent, I would kill myself. My wife rescued me, brought me a couple golf clubs to use as canes (they work!) since I could not walk, and later on drove me to my doctor who is well used to my sports injuries. She gave me steroids (oh shit, now I'll test positive) and muscle relaxers.  They are slowly helping, and overall,  I am happy as hell, for my back problems are not chronic and I believe will take care of myself. But my leg, that has not been able to run, can skate again.

I am not going to take to aging gracefully, not lightly, but shall Rage, rage at the dying of the light (Rage = stupidity at times, yes).  I signed up for "Old Man Hockey," I tell my daughters.

 "Are you going to stop playing old man hockey daddy since you broke your back?" my youngest asked.  

hmmmmm.... how to explain it.

"Would you stop playing minecraft if it burnt your fingers to touch the button?"

Her face was terrified. She thought it over.

 "I would still play. You should always do what you love."

Amen.

 

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

What I'm Writing, Reading, Running, and Watching

WRITING
I have written a couple hundred thousand words since MILK-BLOOD was released last June.

The problem is, of these 200k words, they are spread out among probably 36 different short stories and novels. In other words, I have word counts, not stories, and  "Writers tell stories not word counts." (Chuck Wendig) Right on. If 500k can't tell a story, I have nothing, so I'm trying to focus.

I read somewhere that plotting is like throwing wet noodles against the wall. You throw enough until they stick, but you waste a lot of noodles. That's where I'm at. I throw until the story sucks me in and the plot grabs me and demands to be written. My manic-ness takes over. Obsession becomes more than enough to focus my attention. Keeps me up at night. When I do sleep, obsession is waiting for me, listening to me breathe by the side of the bed knowing I will waken at 3:15 am.

I have been pondering wether to release a sequel to any of my previous books. Seems wrong to create these characters and let them die. I have chapters, paragraphs and snippets written on all of them, including MILK-BLOOD and On the Lips of Children.

Then I think of ET which I watched with my children recently.  They cried and cuddled and laughed and felt the full emotional impact, and when ET was whisked away, they asked to see the sequel. I broke the bad news that there was none, and we talked about what they thought might have come next. The story that they have imagined in their own heads is perhaps more powerful than any film could capture.

Sequels to MILK-BLOOD and On the Lips of Children will be written, but if beta readers don't like them, you'll have to read them by digging through my digital garbage.


READING
I've been big on the DNF: (Did Not Finish) lately. Perhaps my short attention span is to blame, or perhaps I'm grasping at too many titles. Probably my tastes are such that don't always align with others. Example (In film) I loved the movie The Counselor but it got panned by critics and most hated it. If you loved that movie, we are automatically friends.

Right now I'm 25% in and hooked on American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It's darkly comedic, myth-making, quirky, and the characters are both larger than life but also everyday lost souls.  I had no idea Gaiman was like this, but I should have known after Caroline scared the heck out of my daughter. So far, I see him as an American Kafka meets Chia Miellville.



RUNNING
I ran 4.5 miles this past weekend. 1.5 on Saturday, and 3 on Sunday, with breaks. This is pathetic but exciting, and I would say this could lead to increased mileage and frequency and I could call myself a runner again, but my leg has been throbbing ever since. It's like my quad muscle is bone, and I can feel how tight it is, and the blood is struggling to get through. When the heart beats, the leg throbs, some of it painful, other parts just annoying.   Acupuncture has helped. Massage has helped. MRIs and cortisone shots and a thousand and one doctors and months of rest have not. The distress of this is too much to state.

WATCHING
I didn't love the finale of The Walking Dead, and made a minor mistake by tweeting about it, since some folks didn't love that I didn't love it.  Rick as demi-God doesn't work for me as much as Rick as confused, ambivalent leader.  When there is major in-fighting within Ricks group is when the show is at its best for me. Shane, Merle, those were the days. But this season had some incredible, best yet episodes.

Better Call Saul has been a treat, American Crime has been powerful, but largely I'm on countdown to Game of Thrones.

I finally watched the movie Gone Girl and it blew me away. I expected something much lesser than the novel, and found the movie as unforgettable as the book. I have so much Gillian Flynn love that I imagine her tossing noodles against the wall and what a piece of art it would make. I would certainly watch.


 

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Star of Little Orphan Annie To Play the Role of Lilly in Movie Version of MILK-BLOOD

I am ecstatic to announce that starting this summer, the movie version of MILK-BLOOD will begin filming on location on the East side of Detroit. Right on Brentwood Street, where the novel takes place.

Quvenzhane Wallis from the recent remake of Little Orhan Annie has signed on to play the role of Lilly.

After the magical realism of Beast of the Southern Wild, and the incredibly optimistic remake of Little Orphan Annie, Quvenzhane and her parents felt Lilly from MILK-BLOOD was the perfect role for the 11 year old actress.
"I love Annie, but the concern is the story presents a 'false narrative'. A fable for the privileged to explain the plight of the disenfranchised. Lilly is really the true type of orphan for our time."
Wise, witty, and gritty beyond her years, the oscar nominated actress added; "The sun may come out tomorrow, but your bottom dollar has been long spent. You just can't afford that kind of sunshine in some parts."


Playing the part of Lilly's father will be Lennie James known for his role as Morgan from The Walking Dead

"The true horror of the script blew me away. Smashing in brains of zombies is nothing compared to the steps Zach needs to take. Rick Grimes wouldn't last the night on Brentwood Street."


Angela Bassett will be aged by special effects guru Tom Savini in order to play the role of Lilly's Grandmother. "An Urban Detroit Witch will come natural after doing some voodoo in the bayou," said Bassett, referring to her role in American Horror Story 

Look for MILK-BLOOD on its release date of April 1st, 2018.
Or pick up a copy for just .99 cents this week.
(Only one of these statements is an April Fools)

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