My Heart In Aurora

As I was at work this morning, at exactly 5:47--I had just looked at the clock--my boss comes up to me and tells me about a shooting at a midnight showing of Dark Knight Rises. She told me about it mainly because I've been incessantly talking about the movie for the last two days at work, prattling on about how excited I am to see it. 

Since then I've felt this awful sadness whenever I think about seeing the movie. I'll be going out with my wife and best friend on Sunday morning. It isn't often I get truly emotional about things like this. When Virginia Tech happened, I felt bad for the victims but it didn't hit home for me. Maybe because I've been thinking about going to see the final Chris Nolan Batman film, putting myself in that chair mentally for weeks now. Maybe that's why I feel such serious disquiet about the shooting. 

Not that twelve people's deaths isn't enough. You hear about these kinds of things on the news and your brain transforms it into a sense that it won't happen to you. My brain is telling me that it could. That could have been me, my wife, my best friend Patrick. We live in Kentucky, of course, but the idea is the same. One minute we might be enjoying the film, the next just gone. 

The randomness of it staggers me. So senseless and terrible. I write a lot of deaths into my work, some of them gruesome and truly awful. I talk about the waste of it and the loss of human potential and love and wonder that happens when a person passes away. 

And I feel that so much right now. As if those folks were my friends. 

I posted a tweet about the shooting when I got home this morning, expressing love for all the victims. Shockingly, one of my fans on my author page on facebook responded to that tweet when it was posted there. She says here that she and her husband were in the theater when the shooting started. They ran like hell to get away. 

That struck me hard. We live in this huge world, but the connections between us are so startlingly close. Here I am, a guy trying to entertain with his words on his couch in central Kentucky, and I almost lost someone that supported me. Someone I didn't know but was there as a part of my life anyway. It's weird and wonderful and terrifying all at the same time. One single degree of separation from this tragedy. 

I found myself feeling genuine relief that the lady in question and her husband made it out okay. She's a reader--describing herself as a 'loyal reader'--but before today she was a profile on a page. A number in my 'like' column. Now she's someone that I know, a person whose potential and impact on the people around her, including myself, could have been gone in a blink. 

Is there a point to this? I don't know. I'm feeling more grief for an event outside my own personal sphere of experience than I have at any point since 9/11. I want to do something for those people, and for Jaqueline Lader, the fan herself. I wish I could help. Even if just to give comfort to the injured, to the families of the slain. Maybe it's selfish because I think it would make me feel better, but I also deeply want every one of them to know that I care. We care. 

Human beings let unimportant things get between us too often. I'm as guilty of it as anyone. In the wake of tragedy it's vital that we remember that we're all human. I don't know what drove the killer to act as he did, and I'm sure the media will have theory after theory and people all over will place blame on whatever issue is their pet peeve. 

I don't want to do that. I don't care what made him do it, and I don't care what happens to him now other than hoping justice is served. I care that all too often we see awful things happen and get sucked into argument and finger-pointing. We forget the real human impact of the event itself. My hope is to avoid that. It may be a silly dream, but I want to see sympathy and love for all those affected to a degree that no one can imagine. 

Surely, if one man can cause so much pain, ten thousand--ten million--of us can at least begin to heal it. 

Excellent Authors and Friends

I promised I'd post this today, and I feel pretty good that I'm doing it. I've been meaning to mention some of my author friends again, as it's been a long time since I've done that. So while you're waiting for Monster to come out, please check out each of these links.

Annetta Ribken can be found at Wordwebbing, which is her website and blog. Normally I'd link to all the stuff Netta has written, but the list is pretty long. Instead allow me to point you to her Amazon author page, where you can peruse her works.

Netta and I became friends after she read the first installment of Living With the Dead and contacted me on facebook. She has been a font of great advice, wisdom, and deeply inappropriate humor for me. She's awesome and talented as all hell, one of the few authors I know that excels equally as an editor and writer. If you're having a hard time picking one of her works to read, let me suggest her novel, Athena's Promise. I've read several of her collections of flash fiction, but this novel has a special place in my heart, as she allowed me to beta read it. It's fun and funny, with moments of beauty and darkness. You won't be disappointed.

Lori Whitwam theoretically writes romance, but I'll be damned if she can't bend genres better than almost anyone I've read. Her debut novel, Make or Break is damn good. But it's the novella she wrote for my Year One collection of Living With the Dead--Monsters Unmasked--that really and truly blew me away with her talent. Maybe because I read it before her novel. Monsters is a sort of romance set in a world overrun by the living dead (my world, in fact) that manages to convey the most vile deeds a human being can do, yet show the strength and power one woman has to overcome them.

Lori is, much like Netta, snarky and hilarious. She has been a sounding board, and our mutual love of dogs and being as smart-assed as possible has been sort of a bonding experience. I've been promised that when she and Netta take over the world, I'll be spared. Even if I have to work as an oiled-up manservant.

If you already have Year One and don't want to spent the money to buy Monsters because it's in that collection, then consider buying Make or Break. Or if you're feeling generous and want to support a talented lady, go ahead and buy both.

Joseph Paul Haines  is the third person (counting the above ladies as the first two) who just wrecks my brain with how good he is. Joe wrote Marooned under the name P.J. Druce, a young adult novel that I also beta read. When Joe and I first became friends it was through Lori and Netta, and the ladies suggested I buy Joe's short story collection Ten With A Flag. I did. Then I bought the collection Brave New Worlds just because he has a story in it.

Joe is awesome. I mean that on a lot of levels. He's supremely capable of creating darkness and making you enjoy it, and I couldn't have been happier with Marooned. That book is a lot like Joe himself--complex, honest, and layered in ways that keep you interested.

It's hard to put into words how much I want you to support these folks. As writers they're awesome, but as people they're even better. I can't explain how funny and fun they are, because that's like trying to map out why your best friend is your best friend with dry words and no context.

It helps that their personalities come out in their work. You get to see pieces of them in their characters: Lori, snarky romantic, Netta as the take-no-shit badass with a heart full of hope and love, and Joe studying the things moving around in the shadows but laughing at them instead of cringing away.

I support them. If I won the lottery I'd fulfill a dream of mine and start a publishing house just for indies. I know that seems like a contradiction, but it isn't. I wish I could give them advances and pay them to do the thing they love full-time, do a lot of the work for them, promote and advertise. Because they're worth it as authors and people.

But I can't do that. Not yet, anyway. Maybe when I'm making Stephen King money someday. For now, all I can do is urge you to take a chance, spend on their books what you would spend on a cup of overpriced coffee, and let them take you away for a while.

You'll enjoy the trip.

'Monster' and Real Life Things

I've been meaning to write this post for a while. I've been working on Monster, the sequel to Beautiful, for almost a year. In fact, it will be a year in a few weeks. I want to let you all know the status of the book and why it isn't done, and you can throw metaphorical rotten fruit at me in the comments if you like.

First, please understand that I am extremely busy. I write two Living With the Dead books a year, each of them the length of a novel if not in the same format. That's more than a lot of full-time writers manage. And I'm not full-time at this. I work a regular job as a nurse aide, and that figures in to the problem.

About this time last year the way our schedules are set at work changed. Now, being a CNA is a hard, physical job. It's also pretty emotionally draining. Ever had a loved one pass away or deal with a long-term, serious illness? That's rough for a lot of people. Imagine doing it every day.

Right now I work four days and am off two, rinse and repeat. That means that I get two days off with my wife out of every six weeks since my days off change with each cycle. So not only have I been exhausted by work, but I've been trying to spend the time I have at home with Jess, between writing LWtD and trying to work on Monster.

I'll be honest: for the last year I've been struggling to even move at times, because I'm physically and mentally worn out. I changed the schedule for LWtD so I had a free day every four in which I could research, because I just didn't have the focus to write and research, much less the time.

And the big one, the one that will probably have my mom calling or messaging me shortly after I post this because she's my mom and she worries...

I've been depressed. Not depths-of-my-soul despair, the kind that keeps people in bed, but it has been there. It has been a struggle for me to get out of the low points that the depression has been trying (and occasionally succeeding) to put me in. Don't worry about me, please; I'm okay. I'm dealing with it and over the last few weeks I've been able to get to a much better place.

But these are the reasons that Monster isn't done. I'm stretched thin and trying my best, but on top of everything else this book has become something much different than what I originally planned. It's darker, more focused on the consequences of the main character's choices, and it's hard for me to write it for that reason as well as all of the above. The book won't be out this month or next, I can be pretty certain of that. All I can ask is for your patience and maybe a little understanding.

I've also been meaning to post some links to some other Indie authors you might enjoy, but I'm saving that for my next post. I want to give them all a place to shine without my emo inner child overshadowing them. I'm going to post that tomorrow for sure, so you'll at least have some damn good fiction to read while I work on this book.

I'll also be doing a post about Monster itself within the next week, what you can expect and why it's a very different book than Beautiful.

Back to work.

Josh

My Entire Zombie Series For FREE

Hello! For those of you who have never been here before, my name is Joshua Guess. I write things.

Primarily, I write a blog called Living With the Dead. It's a fictional blog told in real time and set in the zombie apocalypse. Since March of 2010, I've been writing an alternate reality there based on my life. Basically, I write a story and give it away for free.

But I also sell them on the Kindle store, where I am currently exclusive. Why would people pay for what they can get for free? Several reasons. Some folks enjoy LWtD and want to support me as an artist. Some people enjoy the convenience of having easy-to-read versions on their Kindle, smartphone, or Kindle program for PC. A few enjoy the bonus material I've included in a couple of the books.

Starting Saturday morning (June 9), and running through the 13th, you don't have to make the choice. Because for those five days, every LWtD book is free on the Kindle store. Yep, the entire series so far. Now you can read through the blog in six month increments at your convenience. The links are:

Living With the Dead: With Spring Comes The Fall (Book 1, covers the first six months)

Living With the Dead: The Bitter Seasons (Book 2, covers the second six months)

Living With the Dead: Year One (Combines Books 1 and 2, has five short stories, a lovely novella, and some behind-the scenes stuff from me)

Living With the Dead: The Hungry Land ( Book 3, covers the first six months of year two)

Living With the Dead: The Wild Country ( Book 4, covers the second six months of year two)

I'd love for all of you to grab all five. If you decide to get year one, it won't hurt a thing to also get books one and two as well. They aren't huge, and every download can help me in the rankings.

PLEASE BE AWARE: these collections are largely unedited. That's intentional, as I wanted to convey a sense of realism and urgency. The fictional me in the story doesn't have time to worry about making sure every single thing is perfect. That being said, sometime down the road I'll be paying an editor to do some cleanup. Because while people understand my reasoning, it still bugs them. Hell, it bugs me.

Also, I'm planning on releasing a "Year Two" compilation with the release of book 5 in the fall, and I've got a contest going--The Write Away Contest--that you may be interested in. If so, click on the link and check it out.

Thanks to each and every one of you. Please share and tell your friends.

Oh--and welcome to my world.

Muahahaha!

The Official "Write Away!" Contest Post

In my last post I gave you a quick and dirty explanation of a contest I'm currently running. Since these things are apparently supposed to have names, I'm calling this contest the "Write Away!" contest. Here's the official skinny:

Overview:

Six submitted stories will be chosen by me and my trusty beta readers to be included in my "Year Two" collection of Living With the Dead. Each of those six people will receive fifty dollars via paypal and promotion within the book itself as well as on this blog, the Living With the Dead blog, Facebook, and wherever else I can fit them. Submissions are open until August the 15th, and may be sent to me joshguess22@gmail.com with the subject line, "Write Away Contest". 

Requirements:

There is no word limit, and thematically all I ask is that each submission be somehow related to zombies. They can be funny, scary, fantastic, all or none of the above. I want every person to feel free to write whatever strikes their fancy. 

However, there are some very basic restrictions that I don't think will be a problem but need to be stated for the record. Amazon does not allow necrophilia, rape, beastiality, or incest for the purposes of sexual arousal. In short, that means if you're going to write and submit erotica for this contest (which is totally cool with me) then please avoid using those topics as a part of any erotic scenes. If you send me something that violates this rule, I have to nix it. Sorry. 

Rights:

I am NOT buying the sum publishing rights to your story. There are many shady authors and publishers out there that will try to do this to you, and I'm not one of you. The only thing submitting your work to me does is give me the right to include it in the "Year Two" collection of Living With the Dead forever and ever. 

What this means is that you retain all other rights. If you want to include your short fiction in your own collection that happens to publish the very same day as "Year Two", that's okay. You can do whatever you want with it. All you're allowing me is the right to use it in this book for as long as I want to. 

Additional Info:

If you're an author of any stripe, published, indie, or just starting to get into writing, and you're willing to forgo the fifty bucks to get your name out there, I'm willing to include your story if it meets the approval of my beta readers (and my own, of course.) Each author who has their work added in to "Year Two"--whether they're recipients of money or not--will have their website links and whatnot added in the front of the book. 

If you don't care about the money and just want a shot to get in the collection, say so in your submission email. 

Any questions, comments, or concerns can be emailed to me or written as comments on this post. I'll do my best to check it as often as I can. Which might not be every day, just fair warning. 

So Here's the Thing

A lot of you have been asking me about a "Year Two" version of Living With the Dead. I released "Year One" at the same time as book 2 last year, and it killed sales of book two. So this year, when I released book 4, many people wondered why books 3 and 4 weren't bundled in a "Year Two" package. Now you know.

However:

When book 5 of Living With the Dead comes out in early September, I *will* be putting out "Living With the Dead: Year Two". I know, you're super excited. I'll be writing some short fiction as bonus material, but I also want to put out the call for other writers to do the same.

Here's the spiel.

I'm looking for six pieces of fiction from other writers to add to this book. "Year Two" itself will be about 200,000 words, or the length of two books (which makes sense, as it actually is two books). I'm doing at least two short stories, and I want YOU to submit something as well. So from now until August 15th, I'm accepting submissions from anyone and everyone who wants to give.

Requirements:
Zombie-related.

That's it. Your story can be dramatic, funny, silly, whatever you like. The six people I'll be selecting for this will each receive $50 for their submission. Unlike some people out there that put together collections of stuff, I'm not asking you to give up the rights to your work. By submitting, all you're doing is giving me permission to publish your piece in the "Year Two" collection forever and ever. You can do whatever you like with your work, even if you want to publish it yourself the same day. All I'm buying with your $50 is the right to borrow it for this collection ONLY.

Of course, if you don't care about money and want to submit something, I'm happy to add more than six to the collection. Right now I'm budgeted for $300 split between six people. If you want your name our there in this collection and don't care about getting paid, let me know.

I'll be doing another post in the next few days to make this a bit more formal, but that's the gist of it. Send all submissions to me at joshguess22@gmail.com.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Allow Me To Review The Shit Out of "The Avengers"

I saw The Avengers today. I have some things that need to be said.

First, to the critics:

I've read a few of your reviews, and they seem to trend negative not because of the movie itself, but because of the genre, though I'm not sure if you mean action movies or comic book movies. Either way, most of you who've given negative marks have done so using the most verbose and flowery language possible, pointing to the cavernous emptiness and blah blah blah.

My response to you: climb out of the ivory tower, put down the Jonathan Franzen novel, and pick up a goddamn comic book. You're not doing anyone favors by being as out of touch with modern culture as, say, Mitt Romney.

Now, on to my own thoughts.

Is The Avengers perfect? No. There was only one perfect film, and it died for our sins so other films could know the joy of record-breaking opening weekends.

That being said, there was very little to dislike about the movie. I didn't have any issues with it at all, and generally I'm a very picky moviegoer. One small complaint might be a few moments when Scarlett Johansson didn't quite hit her mark as an actor, but those were small things. Easy to ignore.

The script played out beautifully, dialog working seamlessly with the acting and direction. As a comic book fan, I can't express to you how utterly perfect each of the main characters felt in their roles. That goes all the way around--dialog and personalities were spot-on, but the action itself was stylized and tailored to each character. Take Captain America as he bounces around the battlefield, fighting with acrobatic grace one moment and rescuing civilians the next. There were many small scenes taken directly from my mind, images so iconic that you can't help associating them with the characters moving in front of you. Cap, again, as he jumps and pulls himself into a ball behind his shield to escape an explosion. Brilliant and logical.

At two and a half hours long, the movie should have dragged at some point. It didn't. The progression was smooth and always interesting, but the truly surprising element was how much comedy fit in to the story. Joss Whedon's touch was evident there, the hilarious moments between characters giving the film a sense of reality. I believed Tony Stark was a real guy, that Steve Rodgers could walk off the screen at any moment.

It's an action movie, but one with heart. Seeing the struggle Mark Ruffalo goes through (probably the best performance in the film) as Bruce Banner trying to contain the Hulk, actually made me feel bad for the guy. I could see Tony Stark being budged from his self-centered mindset by seeing the suffering around him. I felt the shift in his character.

It might not be a perfect movie, but it is a perfect example of what superheroes should be. At their core, the characters are human (mostly) or at least have a basic humanity. They represent the modern equivalent of Hercules as flawed people with great power. They screw up, they fight, but ultimately they use that power to protect those who can't protect themselves.

I don't know what some critics expected or hoped for from The Avengers but it's clear to me they have no concept of the genre. In reading those negative reviews, I got a sense of disdain for it simply because of what the movie was and not for what the movie says.

Not every film has to be an art house classic, people. It's okay to produce action films, superhero films, and it's just as fine to enjoy them. Bad ones are bereft of meaning in the name of making money, decent ones tell a story but never truly captivate. Great ones capture the spirit of the characters and make your heart move.

This is one of the greats. Hands down. I've never laughed so much during a comic book or action movie, nor felt tears come to my eyes as often. I rooted out loud at times, cheered loudly when bad guys got their comeuppance, and geeked out at every single nod to the source material.

If your opinion is that The Avengers could somehow have been better, then I'm going to tell you something I generally never say about opinions: You are wrong. This movie couldn't have been a better translation of the story. Period.

Now, if you haven't seen it, go do that. Seriously, stop reading and go.