Last Things First...

Lenora and I went to see The Dark Knight last night. It was a GREAT movie. Easily as good as Iron Man, and better than Batman Begins. That's my idea of a good time.

What's better? There's a Coldstone Creamery on the south side of Tucson! A five minute trip (well, ten), and I'll have great ice cream. It doesn't get much better than that.

Well, that's not true. It does. The getting better just takes more time, is all. Tomorrow I have a phone meeting with an editor about the stories I've been pitching him. Doesn't that sound misleading? Like he wants to buy one? Nah, nothing that great. He's just trying to get me to pitch him stories that are more in line with his place in the sandbox. I'm very excited about that, to tell the truth. I have a lot more stories to pitch, and if they're more in line with what he's looking for, then I have a better shot of getting a story picked up.

What else? You want more? Sheesh. Demanding.

Okay. I've been in touch with Hannibal Tabu of the 104. He said that it was too early to begin looking for more apprentices, but he'd treat this like a sports recruitment, and gave me some marching orders. He also gave me a deadline to get him some writing I've done. September 8. Gives me time to do some writing and refining.

Hmm. I don't seem to be as garrolous today. Wonder what that's all about.

Anything else, working backwards? I don't think so. So, forward again.

I'm on vacation. Have been for a while. It's my first real vacation in years, to tell the truth. Actually, come to think of it, it's my first real vacation ever. Sure, I've taken vacations before, but I always considered them to be working vacations. When I was in Virginia Beach, I'd head up to NY or something because I had to, or went to San Diego for a few days (which is when I met my wife in person). There was even a trip to the San Diego Comic-Con, and I had a blast.

That was the entire reason I took this vacation, to tell the truth. When I first started working for the city of Tucson, I had to sign up for some vacation. I didn't want to, but was almost forced to. Anyway, I signed up for the vacation over the SDCC weekend, and then promptly forgot about it. It was damn near a year away, so why worry about it. It was a nice surprise when they asked me for my vacation signup that I found out I had vacation time coming, and then remembered signing up for this time. I was able to work it so that I had ten whole days off, but only taking three days of vacation and one floating holiday. That's my idea of a good time.

But then, I became financially embarrased. We moved twice, and other things were happening that I'm now in the process of taking care of. So instead of going to San Diego, I'm here at home. The only bad part about it is that I've only spent a little more time with my wife. She has things to do, too, and of course, does them.

So what have I been doing with all my time? Some of it was spent cleaning, some reading, some writing. Speaking of which, I just thought of something else I've done. Great news, actually. I've found an artist for another title of mine, and am in the process of converting a lot of my characters into snapshots using City of Heroes so the artist knows what direction to take it. I've also written a document that will keep me in a particular direction. We're hoping to start work in September or October, and I have some other things I want to get done, as well. Looking forward to that. The City of Heroes character creation just takes a while, is all, and it doesn't do everything I want it to do. It couldn't, and I understand that. Far be it from me to blame the program for not being able to do a manifestation of the Phoenix Force, for example. I'll just have to be pretty descriptive when I do the character designs. I have plans. I have plans.

I've also been thinking about a couple of stories. They've been burning a hole in my mind, but I have to rework the pitch for one, and write the pitch for the other, but that'll happen after my conversation tomorrow. I may send him four pitches, where I usually send him three. I have to either expand or undercut the genre I'm writing in, and that's easier said than done. One of the stories- okay, two of the stories- would possibly be doing just that, but that's for him to decide.

Actually, I have three pitches already written and ready to go, but want to send them after I talk to him. That's really not asking too much, especially when it could lead to a lot of other things. One of the stories is Ministry, a tale about government; the other is a story about a private detective. I'm actually going to be rewriting that pitch, incorporating some of the recent thoughts I've been having lately. Then there's the story he wants to see again, but more as a comedy. Not something I really want to do, but I'm trying to make it work. I'm just not seeing it come together.

The good news is that there's another story he wants to see again, as well. The Confessional. He wants a complete rethink of it, and I'm going to give it to him. This one I can do. I want to give that one some time to simmer in my head, though. See how else I can say it- push the story into other areas to really get across what I want it to do.

Then there's Her Voice, which is new. I haven't written a word of it yet. Well, that's not true. It started out as something else, and morphed into this. A sadly triumphant story of loss and love. It has me excited, too. I just have to find the best way to tell the story. I have two ways to go, and now that I think about it, it may be best if I use them both in the separate stories. The first way for the first story I was writing, and the second way for this story. It works. Now I just have to find the rest of the story for each of them.

Ever have more stories than you know what to do with? That's me. Not all of them will get done, but I have faith that a good portion of them will. Hell, Spawn was years in the making, as was Wanted. I have time, but I'm actively working to make it happen.

That's really about it. I have to pick up Lenora in a little bit, and that's going to be my day. Get some writing done later, if not tomorrow.

Okay, I'm gone. Have a great one. I have to make a list of questions to ask the editor tomorrow, as well as some writing.

You be good. Listen to some Bootsy.

-Steven

Being Flexible

Last time, I said I was going to spend yesterday with Lenora, and today working on my writing.

Well, yesterday I spent sleeping (and finally feel caught up!), and today Lenora said she's going to stay home- but she's still debating that with herself.

Which means I'm a bit out of luck for writing, if she does.

Personally, I'm quite happy if she stays home. We haven't spent much time together lately. I've gone over my job some, but not much. I work from Friday to Monday now, with Tuesday-Thursday off. What does that mean for my marriage? Not much, except I don't get to see my wife as often as I'd like. She has to take days off in the middle of the week in order to spend real time with me, and while I love it, I'm also not happy about it. Her job is one of those where if she's not there, she comes back to yesterday's pile, as well as today's pile. I'm extremely happy that my job isn't like that anymore. I just have to deal with things right this very moment, and then it's done. I don't even have a desk- just a space I occupy for my shift. It's great.

What else is great is the fact that I have a plan. Implementation starts today. Once successful, it frees up my checkbook so that I can actually see some of the money I'm "making."

It'll also allow me to hire another artist for a project I've had in my head for years.

I saw this artist on DW, and he's perfect for the needs of the story. He does both pencils and inks, with very clean lines and clear storytelling ability. If he accepts my generous offer, I suspect great things from us.

We'll see what happens.

It's almost 5:30 am. Lenora is going to be up in a little bit. We made an agreement to pick weeds at first light. (It's HOT here, and we want to do it while it's cool.) It shouldn't take too long- not even an hour, if we're lucky.

So, I'm off to pick weeds, look for an address or call my ex-wife, and get some court papers notarized and put them in the mail.

Then I'm going to watch a movie with my wife while we put away laundry.

And then nap, because I have some overtime today.

That's my plan. What are YOU doing?

-Steven

Getting It Done (kinda)

Okay, I've been watching Clue as I go to sleep for the past few sleep cycles (I can't call them nights- going to bed at 4 am is not a "night", no matter how long you sleep for!), and it's as good as I remember. I watched the trailer, and there's a scene in the trailer that didn't make the cut of the movie. Yeah, I know it that well. Kinda sad, I know, but don't tell me you don't know every word to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, or Grease, or Blazing Saddles. So, no digs on me about clue. Besides, Leslie Ann Warren and Colleen Camp were sexy in it.

Before the move, I was flipping channels and landed on Murder She Wrote. Angela Landsbury and Tom Bosly, yadda yadda. However, Tom was looking for a new deputy, and it turned out to be a woman. Her face bothered me, because I couldn't place it. And then the light bulb finally went off- Colleen Camp.

I was watching the new (not scary) Halloween. The nurse that got killed by little Mikey? She looked familiar as hell to me, but I couldn't place her. Watching the commentary track, it turned out to be Sybil Danning. I was only slightly horrified. She still looks good (I loves me some older wimmins!), but there was something going on with her teeth that was un-sexy. All it did was serve to remind me I need to get Howling II: Your Sister's A Werewolf. (Yes, I like bad movies! Give me a good bad movie over this cgi crap any day. At least those movies have real special effects.)

Yes, I'm still waiting to hear about the pitches I sent. This is the last time I'll mention it for a while. In the meantime, I'm working on other pitches.

I still have yet to watch Benny Hill. When I get some downtime lately, it's basically sleep time. So, that's on my plate. However, it's not the monkey that's on my back. THAT particular monkey belongs to a private detective I'm also going to submit. I'm combining some elements from other stories I have in order to make this new one, and while I find it interesting, I'm having trouble writing an interesting pitch for it. I'll work on it on Wednesday. Tomorrow is my day with Lenora, and I have some overtime to do on Wednesday. When I'm not doing the overtime, I'll be working on the pitches. Then I'm off on Thurs, and that'll probably be devoted to cleaning house.

I also requested to become an apprentice of the Hundred and Four. Kinda like the 4400, but much different. (Was that show any good? I only watched a couple of episodes. It seemed decent enough.) What is the 104? Basically, it's a group of people that will help teach how to write in a multitude of disciplines, as well as the business side of writing. The editor in chief of the endeavor is Hannibal Tabu, creator of The Buy Pile, which is where I learned of the 104 in the first place. (Hannibal is also the assumed first name of my private detective. Hannibal means "grace of Baal" and is the name of a great general of Carthage, from Africa. But you knew that, right?) So, we'll see what happens with that. I really like their mission statement, and I truly want to become a better writer. I just have to wait almost a week to hear back from him.

They say patience is a virtue, but I'm as patient as a llama with it's tail on fire.

Okay, time for bed. What's the movie? I don't remember. It'll be a b/w horror movie, though. Those are the best kinds. Which reminds me of another pitch I have to write... Wednesday, llama. Wednesday.

Be good. Go buy a Public Enemy album today.

-Steven

Not Dead Yet!

I've had a headache for the past few days. Nothing major, but I haven't really felt like doing too much. Lenora says it's a stress headache, and while I'm inclined to believe her, I really try not to stress too much. Really.

Comics-wise, things are on hold for a while. I'm broke, so I'm in no position to get an inker for the pages I have, nor get the rest of the art team paid for. I have another project that I'd like to do as well, but without the money to pay the artist, that's on hold, too. The good thing is that he'll wait to get paid before starting. He doesn't mind being in a holding pattern, and I'm VERY happy about that.

I'm still waiting to hear back on some pitches I sent in. The guy there usually takes about a month, so I have another couple of weeks to go. That's okay. Gives me time to work up some other pitches for him. That's a nut I'm going to crack. I have an idea for a private detective story that I want to send him, as well as a few others that I'll work on tonight when I go to work. The detective story is kicking my ass, though. I have to find a way to succinctly say what I want to do, and still make it interesting. It's something to work on. I'll get it done.

I've also decided to work on a werewolf story, but something that's not been done a billion times, you know? Most of the werewolf stories you see are the same thing: guy gets bitten, and now wants to get rid of the curse. He just has to find the one that bit him, or go all the way to the start of the strain, and kill them. Some variation of the "wanting to get rid of the curse" is as old as The Wolf Man, and frankly, I'm tired of it. I've had this idea for a couple of weeks now, even before I read Fool Moon by Jim Butcher. I forgot that I knew some things about werewolves, and could have sworn I had a werewolf book in my personal library, but I was wrong. So, I have to get some books on it. Yes, I know, the web is right there, but I can also get a lot of reading done at work, and since I don't have the money to pay for an aircard as yet, buying books and taking them with me will have to do.

There's also a writer I'm working with to take a screenplay he wrote and turn it into a graphic novel. I gave him a few tasks to write some other scripts before tackling the conversion, so that it's more of a natural thing for him, and he did pretty well. The conversion itself, though, may be a bit harder. We both are going to break it down, and see where each issue lies before comparing notes. I'm trying to get him to think critically, as well as think as a comic book writer. It's a bit different than thinking as a screenwriter. It'll be good for him.

I'm also waiting to hear back from Cary about the proposition I made him. He's been silent so far- maybe he doesn't like it. No skin off my nose if he doesn't. As always, we'll see what happens.

Tennis. -sigh- Federer lost Wimbledon to Nadal. That blew me away.

Wait. Let me set the stage a little bit.

I don't have tv here. Remember being broke? Well, the money for the internet is really all we have right now. So I haven't been able to get my tennis on. It's a little worse here in Tucson, because the Cox cable here doesn't carry the Tennis Channel. The house I moved from had Comcast, and they carried it, as did the Cox in Virginia Beach, but not here in Tucson. At the other house, was still too broke to get the sports package, but was able to catch about half the tennis on ESPN2. But like I said, since we moved, no cable except for the internet.

So, as I was checking my hotmail account, I saw that Nadal beat Federer. I wasn't happy. Lenora loves Nadal, and I'm a Roger fan. She gives Roger props for being extremely talented, but doesn't like him. It went five sets, though, and while I'm not happy about the outcome, it was a better showing than Roger's French Open showing. Next is the U.S. Open. We'll see what happens there. At least it was an all Williams final on the women's side. The sisters need to become a force to be reckoned with in women's tennis again. With Justine Henin out of the picture, all they really have to do now is beat the Serbs and Maria. Not too tough, right? Yes, there is some sarcasm in there.

Oh, and I finally found a Suncoast Video here, and they had Clue! I've been wanting this movie on dvd for a while, and Lenora let me have it. Wonderful woman, my wife. We also saw some other things we want, and will get when we're not so broke: The Tick vs Season Two, Dark Shadows (have to finish that collection), 24, as well as some random movies. I couldn't tell you what, though. She was looking through the movies, while I was looking at the collections. But now I have Clue, and I'm going to watch it again before taking a nap. Well, that and other movies. And breakfast. Can't forget breakfast. My stomach won't let me. At least my headache seems to be gone. I took the ibuprofin about twelve hours ago, and haven't had a twinge since. That's great news for me. My co-workers were a little worried. I wasn't my usual perky self.

And it's monsoon season here. Finally, we get rain and cloudy days. It's been raining off and on here all night. I just looked out my office window into my "low maintenance" backyard, and noticed a LOT of weeds coming up. I guess I have my work cut out for me either later today or tomorrow morning. When we buy it, I don't know what we're going to do with the backyard, but we'll think of something. Probably a pool area, and some plants. I dunno. Just thoughts.

Okay, I'm done. Food, movies, and sleep, in that order.

Be safe.

-Steven

Finally!!!!

Where to begin?

I'm finally all moved. Yeah, that was a bit of a tribulation, but it's all done, and for that, I'm pretty grateful. The new house is very nice- I'm still enamored with it, and that might take a while to calm down some.

During the move, one of my co-workers, Nicci, asked me if I'd change shifts with her for a couple of weeks. She's pregnant, and not getting enough rest on her shift. I said sure. It's from 1715-0315, and I get an extra dollar for every hour worked between 1800-0600. While an extra dollar isn't much, every little bit helps, you know?

So, we did a straight swap- everywhere she was, I'm going to be, and vice versa. That means we also took each other's overtimes. What does that mean to me? A little more money in my pocket, and the ability to write while at work. Oh, beat me!

So, right after the move, I've been working. Including the overtime I've been working, today is the first day I've had off. I worked seven days straight, and then I'll be working five days straight. What's so bad about that? My work week is only four days long. So, yeah, I'm just a little tired. Hell, I still haven't really put my office together, yet.

So, I've been working at night, and getting some pitches done. The last round I sent was rejected, but I'm getting closer. He DID ask to see something in a different form, though, so I'm working on that. I just need to watch some Benny Hill. It'll be good. (It's Benny Hill!)

I also got in the final page from Bruno. Like all of his other pages, it looks good! I can't wait to find an inker so we can call this puppy done. I have a colorist on standby, as well as Larime for letters. Actually, the colorist knows an inker, and I just have to have some money in reserve to pay him. Actually, I need some money to pay everyone.

Did I mention that making comics is expensive?

So, what's left on my agenda for today? I have to edit two scripts that Benson sent, I have to find and watch Benny Hill, and maybe start putting my office together. Oh, I also have to fix my network so my laptop will stop having a hissy-fit. I also have to e-mail Bruno about the fixes on the pages before calling the pencils done. If I wanted to, I could make this into a full day, but this is supposed to be my day of REST, dammit! LOL I may just do the edits, find Benny Hill, and not move for the rest of the day. That sounds nice.

That's my plan, now. I'm gonna go with it.

Be good, y'hear?

-Steven

Page Two!!

I go to work yesterday, and narrowly make it. I mean narrowly. For my job, you HAVE to be in the briefing room by the appointed time of your shift, to the SECOND, or you're late. Let me clarify with an example: my shift starts at 12:45pm. If I'm in the briefing room at 12:44, I'm good. If I'm in the briefing room at 12:45:01, then I'm late, and will be written up. Yes, it's that serious. How much time did I have to spare? A whole 15 seconds. Yeah.

So I'm at work, and during regular hours, we're not allowed to bring out our laptops or anything like that. Not until after six pm. However, I have a pda as my phone (a Blackjack, and it works great! however, I'm going to trade it for a 16gb iphone. it just makes better sense...), so I checked my e-mail a few hours after I got in.

And what do I find? I find the second page from Bruno, and it's BEAUTIFUL! I sent it to Ken for his approval, but really, I'm loving it. Bruno's a madman! You'll see when I eventually put up a page. I'll show the depths of his madness. He's a bit expensive, but I'm never letting him go. Ever. These pages kick so much ass that I'm using them as screen savers when they come in. Hmm. That's an idea, actually. To use all of the pages I have as screen savers, for all of the comics I've produced. Yep. I'll work on that later.

I spoke to the property manager for the new house, and we'll have the keys to the place in about thirty minutes. Well, Lenora will. I'm half tempted to load some boxes into the car, go get the keys, and then take them over to the house, but I can wait until this evening. It's Friday (HULK DAY!!!!), and Lenora's off tomorrow. Besides, I don't have to be in to work tomorrow until 12:45, so I'll be good. I'll pick her up tonight, or meet her at the house, and we'll go through it together. There are some friends of hers that will help her move some boxes with their truck over the weekend, which means less for us to move on Monday when we get the truck. Why Monday? Because that's my next day off, and while I appreciate any help that comes my way, I still need to move my stuff myself, you know? So that's where that's coming from.

And the Hulk came out today. I'll probably go see it on Tuesday. I want to help the box office, but at the same time, there's stuff I need to do, like move. What will probably happen is this: go to the movies on Tuesday morning, drop Lenora off to work, go get a haircut, and go back to my new home to continue to unbox. That's the tentative plan, at least.

Hmm. I forgot that I may have to work some overtime today. We'll see what happens. Won't put a cramp in my plans for tonight or tomorrow, it just means that I'll get a little less sleep. But that doesn't matter because I'm heading into the weekend, and things should be slow, especially at night. It's been a LONG time since I've had to work at night. I'm looking forward to it. Especially next month, when my shift changes again. I'll be working from 10:45pm to 7:45am. I'll be able to go in, and immediately pull out my laptop for comic related work.

Oh, and I came up with another idea yesterday as I watched Dr. Who. It needs some work, but basically it'll be about improbable things happening with ubiquitous objects. It'll be good. And Martha Jones? Excuse me. Dr. Martha Jone? That chick is beautiful. I shouldn't even call her a chick, really. I'm not usually attracted to younger women, but this one... yeah. She's just beautiful in a way that Angelina isn't. And when I say younger, I mean younger than 40. Is Salma Hayek 40? If she isn't, then she should be. Oh, the only other younger one that comes to mind is Serena Williams. Yeah. I'm gonna need a cold shower soon...

Anyway, the idea. Yeah. I know what I want to do with it, and it'll work. I just need to flesh it out some more.

Oh! I was reading Popular Science yesterday, and finished a thought on a different story I have. I have this story in a particular setting, and I wanted it to ring true for what was going on. Well, I didn't feel it was really doing that, so the story felt weak to me. This was basically because of the setting. When it gets read, I don't want it to be torn apart because my science was bad. Well, now I can finish it, because my science is now good! My science is good, AND it works with my setting. It doesn't get better than that, really.

Did I mention that I can't wait to start working nights? I have SO much writing to do!

Okay, Lenora should have the keys soon. I'll be seeing my new place again either tonight or tomorrow (depending on if I have to work late or not). I still have to get ready for work, doing such mundane stuff as packing my lunch, showering, getting dressed... I'd rather be moving, but that's just me. The sooner we start, the sooner it's over with.

Be good out there.

-Steven

Overtime and Moving

I was able to pick up some overtime last night. I got the call at 6:45 pm to work from 10:45 pm to 7:45 am. Yeah, it was rough, but only at the end of the shift. However, every little bit helps.

It was a pretty decent night, actually. I got some editing done, I read the screenplay of The Legion, and did some writing on Loxley. I have no complaints.

I also heard from the new property manager. Friday is the day we get to move. I'm not looking forward to it, but excited all the same. It's finally getting into the 100's here, and moving in the daytime is not something I'm looking forward to.

So, Friday it is. I have the day off from work, and that's a great thing. Whoa. No it's not. I was supposed to have some overtime on Friday, and losing that isn't my idea of a good time. Oh, well. It'll all work out. Having that huge chunk of overtime last night will definitely take the sting out. It's just two hours, so instead of having thirteen hours, I'll only have eleven. I'll live.

I had a decent conversation with Benson when I got home. For his vision of The Legion, he had his female lead in a unisex body, and while that's okay in theory, it's not in practice. I gave him some reasons to change a few things around, keeping her female form and changing another detail. Nothing that harms the integrity of the story, and nothing he couldn't live with. Yes, of course I asked if the changes were okay. What kind of cad do you think I am?

Oh, and I got a present from Bruno yesterday. It looks GOOOOD. I'm waiting for the other pages to come in, and then see how much an inker will run me. I need to finish paying for a few things, and Bruno is one of them.

Okay, I'm hungry, and the strange thing is that the movie I'm watching just mentioned food and the time- and both were decently accurate.

I also found another artist that I want to work with. I have a few things he'd be absolutely perfect for. However, it will probably have to wait until my birthday, which is in January. Six months. Six months to the day, actually.

Oh, and today is my oldest cousin's birthday! He's thirty-seven! Happy birthday, Wes!

That's it for now. Be safe.

-Steven