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It's Closin' Time...
Well, not exactly closing time, but... this location is gonna be going the way of the dinosaur now. That's right, I'm moving my blog. Getting kinda sick of Blogger and all of the problems I've been having with it, so I'm switching to WordPress. And a friend was nice enough to give me a spot to host it, so here's the new url for any loyal blog readers: http://www.xreal.org/rooftopIt solves a little bit of a problem for me. Wanted something that was a little closer to a personal page, but I didn't want to get a whole new domain and design a web template. So, there ya go. I'll keep this one live so people can read the archives if they so desire, but I won't be updating it anymore. So I'll leave another blog langishing in cyberspace, basically. ;-) See ya'll over at the new spot. Jules <><
To Quote a Famous Person...
I'll have a blog post of more substance up later. But for now, I happened to add a new quote to my list of favorite quotes and thought I'd share 'em with ya. If you have any honorable mentions, feel free to share them. As anyone who's read the Shadow Fox books can attest to, I love a good quote. "I reject your reality and substitute my own." - Adam Savage
"If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl." - H. L. Mencken
"Anything the world can do, we can do five years later and not as well" - Doug Wilson
"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." - E.L. Doctorow
"And I am a comic creator, it's not a stepping stone to anything but the midnight shift at Wendy's." - Brian Michael Bendis
"If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I'd type a little faster." - Isaac Asimov
"It is impossible to discourage the real writers - they don't give a damn what you say, they're going to write." - Sinclair Lewis Jules <>< Currently Listening to: "Snow White Queen" by Evanescence
It's Heeeeerrreee.....
Issue #2's back from the printers and ready for order.Highlights of the day include: - Waiting for the UPS man until 5 PM and nearly kissing him when he arrived, after threatening to steal his truck and do wheelies with it a few minutes prior. (Ok, why is it that when you're really, really expecting a package they wait until the very last minute to deliver it?!) - Talking to Jedi Master Penciler on the phone and discovering that, while I knew he was cool beforehand, he's cool x 5 now. Wow... talk about a really awesome time. Nitty and I had so much fun talking to David. Only took us, like, seven months to finally call the guy. - Emailing everyone and their second cousin's grandmother's best friend to tell them about Issue 2. Can you tell I'm excited? Huh? Huh? Laying off the caffeine for now, Jules <>< Currently Listening to: "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix
Sour Grapes
Boston... not in the MLB postseason. Philadelphia... not in the MLB postseason. Depressing as heck, but something put a little smile on my face this morning. ESPN is advertising for the postseason games and has a new spot featuring Tommy Lasorda as he talks a depressed Boston fan out of the bathroom (where she has locked herself in). The words of wisdom that cause her to finally come out and join the rest for some postseason watching? (Paraphrased) "Remember... October is the month to root for the team playing the Yankees." Had to laugh at that one. ;-) Go Twins! (For Nitty's sake.) Jules <>< Currently Listening to: "Sweet Sacrifice" by Evanescence
Let the Big Beat Hitcha
Updated the radio.blog with some new tunes and decided to make this one an electronica playlist, by popular demand. Big h/t to Micah for some of the tunes on this list. The rest are from my personal collection. One note: "Pretty Little Thing" by Fink isn't technically electronica, but it fit in where I positioned it in the playlist (whether or not it uploaded that way is another issue... lol). I love this tune and have been looking for somewhere to slip it in, so there ya go. Peace, doods. Jules <><
Writerly Type Stuff
Before I begin... c'mon, guys, help me out. Hard rock playlist or a classic rock one? Had a playlist put together of tunes I listened to while writing the vamp book, but then grimaced at 'em and decided no one would be interested in them besides me. ;-) Ok, moving on... Well after 90,000 words and one month (less than, in fact... one month would have been the 27th), The Vampire Flynn is finished... which is just one more weird thing in the Julie economy. Not only is it about 35,000 words less than the norm for me (wow, I finally wrote a book that's typical novel length), but... one freaking month?! What's up with that?! I've never been able to complete a NaNoWriMo challenge (and prolly won't be able to again this year even if I make a go at it), and yet this monstrosity came flying out in less than thirty days. But I am actually very happy with the way that it turned out, all said; tho this might be the final nail in the coffin as far as my reputation is concerned. (Bwuhahahaha) Oh well. Just as long as you all don't think I've gone over to the dark side of the force or anything, it'll be all good. :-) Anyway, lest ye think Scott Reilly and company have gone by the wayside... (Hmm... who would win in a fight; the superpowered master of the bo-staff, Scott Reilly, or the vampire bladesman, Peter Dawes? Man, having multiple protagonists rocks.) ...I restarted the third part of The Shadow Fox Chronicles and have dipped back into the mind of Andy Lane. Have a few obligations to attend to this week, but I've already managed to weasel out 2300 words of that project. In related news, In the Shadow of the Flame is now up at Lulu, but not available for sale until I have a test copy in my hands, have read through it and corrected any errors, and even then I might ask one or two of you if you're game to read and critique. That is, if I can twist any arms. ;-) Might have to use force... or coercion... or a lot of begging and whining. And I have also resumed reading now that I have to spend half of every Sunday service with Kerry in the church library (long story, but I, at least, get to sit through the service every second and fourth weekend and only miss half of it the remainder of the month)... and have discovered the library has a few books by Stephen Lawhead. Am picking through Taliesin and The Paradise War and kinda feel like a dunce for not having checked his work out sooner. Good reads. And I shall be finishing the Chronicles of Amber shortly thereafter, if I've not burned myself out on fantasy by then. ;-) (Don't foresee that happening; if anything it's given me some ammunition for penning something a bit more fantasy-esque myself.) Well, off to see to responsibilities. In the meantime, keep rocking the hizzy, ya'll. I'll be somewhere between the pages of a book. ;-) Peace, Jules <>< Currently Listening to: "Vamos (Surfer Rosa)" by Pixies
This, By Far...
... has got to be one of my favorite pics of Scott ever. The cover to In the Shadow of the Flame with full inks and colors.  (Click for a larger view). I also have a version with the title stuff on it. Click here to view. Mmmm... good art. I'm getting an editorial print of the novel done this week, then I shall make sure everything's up to snuff for a release. :-) Very happy, well-adjusted writer girl over here. Jules <>< Currently Listening to: "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot
Why Do It?
Getting something off of my chest, so set phasers to rant. ;-)Anyone who has ever endured any sort of persecution or misunderstanding - in ways both great and small - knows of the time when their peers and their loved ones have looked at them with wonder in their eyes. Not the wonder of admiration, but the looks that scream, "Why in the world would you put yourself through this. Why would you sacrifice/upset the status quo/move outside of the box in such a way? Why aren't you conforming like the rest of us?" So, why would we do it? What sprite possesses someone to take a step off the beaten path and down the road less traveled. We do it because we have to. There is a compulsion that has seated itself inside of us that tells us this, and only this, path will do. It may be a move of God, an act of obedience towards him - or more subtly may just be what He has hardwired into our circuitry that throws us headlong down a certain path. Whatever it is, we have no choice... we have seen the path, smelled the air, and taken one step forward that has dictated we cannot step backward again. Much like Christian, in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, we care more for the welfare of such a gift, such a need as walking down the path of unorthodoxy, than we do for the admiration of the rest of the world. We do it because we're living out what abides in our souls. Sometimes without knowing it, we are realizing a purpose that has been given to us and us alone. This does not make us somehow more special than the rest, but it definitely paints a portrait of a divine creator who has such a tapestry of creation that He creates some whose purpose it is to be spectacles. Different. Weird, even, but called to be someone a bit less conventional whatever the case. We do it because we cannot picture not doing it. What a strange world it would be if we couldn't wake up in the morning and fulfill the compulsion I spoke of above. What a life half-lived might that be. Yes, our beds are safe and our boxes secure, but if everyone resided within the status quo, then our lives would be utterly without color and form. Who would write the songs that spoke to us? The books that teach us? The paintings that inspire us? We do it because God demonstrates His glory through us, and this is the most important reason. As much joy as it brings us to do what we do, we know it's not about us, but about living out one act in a grand-sweeping play being produced by the creator of all things. We do it because we have not learned how to compromise. And I pray to God we never do. Jules <>< P.S. - To explain... had a rough day today and just got a figurative slap across the face from the mother in law. Thanks for letting me indulge in a little decompression. Currently Listening to: "Fly From The Inside" by Shinedown
I Love the Smell of Good Art in the Morning
Smells like comic books. <g> That's page six of Issue 4, if the file name didn't give it away. Jules <>< Currently Listening to: "More Human Than Human" by White Zombie
Woopah! New Post.
Ok, this one goes out to Hobs and Micah, who were about to jump off of a bridge if I didn't start focusing on the sunny side of things. ;-) Trying to blog impromptu is a bit harder than it looks. But here's my meager attempt at doing so: - First of all, we finally got the second issue into the printer. Note to any aspiring comic creators... do not stay up until 3:30 AM preparing printer files if you must get up at 6 to get kids to school. As figgy puts it, 'Bad juju.' Took me a day to recover. Doing the pre-order thing on the site, but I'll give a holler out when the printer's shipping the books our way. - 50,000 words into the vampire book and I've finally cracked and asked an artist for a depiction of the main character. You knew this was coming. Was gonna hold off, but an artist on d-Art was desperate for commissions and I figured it was as good of an excuse as any. We shall see what comes of this, bwuhahahaha. - Mach-dude, on the other hand, is helping put form in a couple of character concepts I have for a graphic novel. Not much to tell you about it now, aside from the fact that it's a cross between V for Vendetta and Final Fantasy. Best way I can describe the concept. I'll post more on this soon but at least this and the vamp book prove I am capable of writing something other than a Shadow Fox book. (I think. We'll see, I guess... lol.) But here's Mach's take on the main female character, tentatively named Dahlia. - My freaking roof is leaking right now!!! Someone send help immediately!! Ok, that's all the news that's fit to print for now. :-) Better? Jules <>< Currently Listening to: "Meanwhile, Rick James..." by Cake
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