Greetings,

My 2006 novella Fear and Loathing in Bat Country: Hunter S. Thompson Versus Dracula is now available on the Nook at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fear-and-loathing-in-bat-country-jason-andrew/1007628272

This is my first Nook title and thus it is free for the next couple of days and make sure that the bugs have been worked out. Limited time only. Then you will have to pay a whole $1 to read it!

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award finalists were posted this morning. You can check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_363151022_1?ie=UTF8&docId=1000803041&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=left-1&pf_rd_r=13BXGR27J9C8RNJ78209&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1369538842&pf_rd_i=332264011

Congratulations to all of the authors that progressed to the final round! All of the entries that I’ve read thus far have been well deserving of moving to the next round. It is interesting to see how the different judges commented on the various entries. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about how the gate keepers will review a submission. Skill and preparation can take you to the door, but you won’t be invited in unless the story strikes the right emotional response in the reader.

After five weeks of heavy, heavy freelance work, I’ve decided to take this week off from the grind in order to rest. (My vacation might get shortened if I get more work or edits back before the weekend is over.) I have a lovely road trip to Portland planned for this weekend. This means I shall get to go to my favorite bookstore in the world. Yes, I love Powells.

I’ve been reading a book about creativity and success. Successful artists tend to have two common characteristics; versatility and raw determination. An artist might not be able to do his dream job right away. The trick is to put his dreams into every job. Raw determination is almost as important as talent. I’ve seen really talented writers, singers, and painters simply surrender their dream.

This morning I pulled out my notebook to plan the next writing cycle to maximize my time and help focus. I should have several weeks between technical writing contracts in the near future and I want to make sure I have a good focus during that time least I spend all of my time in my polar bear PJs watching old episodes of the Misfits of Science.

Here is my to do list:

• Revise synopsis down to one page, submit to a new publisher.
• Submit The Highway West to a new agent.
• Finish writing the first draft of A Wicked Messenger (20,000 words left)
• Write a story about Papo in the afterlife for an upcoming anthology
• Write a story about a unicorn named Sky for an upcoming anthology
• Look at list of awesome anthologies and try to squeeze in stories
• Edit The Maelstrom of Forever
• Write novella Salvation Heights
• Write Parliament of Stars

Joe Quesada has been in charge of Marvel Comics for over a decade. His current title is Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment.

There is a big controversy over his recent statements over saying that there isn't a female character in the Marvel Universe that he can make a big tent-pole movie out of. You can read about it here: http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/05/21/she-has-no-head-dear-marvel-stop-ruining-everything/

I think he is right, but not for the obvious reasons. I think this is an area where Marvel Comics simply fails, especially compared to DC Comics.

The majority of the really awesome female characters fall under the X-Men franchise and those rights don't belong to Marvel Comics and won't revert until they quit making crappy movies. None: I believe this is a big reason why the X-Men have remained important even when they have had crappy writers and confusing storylines.

For the record, I don't think that the Black Widow, Hawkeye, or Nick Fury can carry a blockbuster movie. These are awesome characters, but not quite stars.

I think that a good comic book movie has to have the following three points to be great:

1. A solid, but simple origin not tied to other characters. For example, you can describe the origin for the following characters in two sentences: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Batman, Blade, and Superman.

2. The powers of the super hero should be interesting visually for the movie to be awesome.

3. The hero must have interesting villains.

Sometimes you can get away with only two out of the three, but those movies don't tend to hit the big time. I think this is why the Hulk movies usually fail. His villains are boring as hell. I tried to think of awesome female characters from the Marvel Universe that would fit under my suggested paradigm. I couldn't find any off the top of my head that weren't somehow connected to the X-Men.

I even checked this list to make sure I didn’t miss anyone: http://marvel.com/universe/Category:Women

Note: I did not include any X-Women past or present. Or characters tied to the X-Men. That includes Rogue, Storm, Phoneix, Psylock, the Scarlet Witch, and Dazzler.

Special note: I will send seething hate to the first person that suggests Squirrel Girl.

Here were my top contenders.

Monica Rambeau / Captain Marvel has a simple origin and interesting power that I bet would be awesome to see on screen. The problem is that her writers have shat on the character for years and allowed other characters to steal her hero name over and over again. (She has had like 3 superhero names stolen from her.) She also has no villains worthy of the name. I love this character. The proper writer could make her a star. Don't believe me? Think about what Bendis did to Luke Cage.

Spider Woman has way too complex of an origin story. I can't even keep it straight. Her main villains is Hydra, which could connect to Captain America, but overall are boring without a Red Skull type character. I also think people would expect her to be more tied to Spiderman, which would be impossible due to rights and wouldn't make sense history wise.

Ms. Marvel has a simple origin story, but her history is crazy and complex including the time the Avengers let her get date-raped drugged into another dimension. This history could be streamlined, but alas her main villains are connected to the X-Men. How could you tell a proper Ms. Marvel story without including Rogue?

She-Hulk is a fun, dynamic character. The lawyer bit would be fun to put into a movie. However, her origin is tied to the Hulk and she doesn't have her own villains.

Jennifer Hale is a cool character as a sorceress, but she doesn’t even have a super hero name. She also has no villains. She is mostly tied to the Swamp Thing.

Songbird is kind of a cool character. Her origin story would have to be simplified. I bet her powers could look awesome on screen. However, she is the classic good girl gone bad for a while. The problem is that she is only interesting when she is trying to be a good guy stuck with the Thunderbolts. (I do think a Thunderbolts movie would be awesome and a number of those characters are interesting female characters.)

The problem is that the Marvel Universe needs better female heroes. Half of the readers of comics are women these days if judging from the fan fiction forums. You want those readers Marvel Comics? You had best start creating characters that inspire them rather than retreading yet another version of Spiderman, the X-men, or New Secret Avengers. This requires the artists and the writers to make new characters for this generation.

Today was a working Saturday. I finished writing the second of my contracted chapters for Hunters Hunted 2.

I took a break in the middle of the day to watch one of my favorite movies Ed Wood. Johnny Depp has never been finer than in this movie, not even Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

I grew up with a great deal of love of monster movies. Every Saturday afternoon, I watched the Creature Feature and watched the horror greats such as Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and the mighty Bela Lugosi. It must have been a magical time for movie goers.
Ed Wood loved monster movies. He was unashamed of that love and did crazy things to make that dream happen. His friends were a rag-tag crew that helped his dream, even going so far as to be baptized to get funding for Plan 9 From Outer Space. Sometimes, I wonder if I have the grit to stick with my dream like he did in the face of solid rejection and scorn.

Tonight, I was finishing my work when I was poked from a good friend Mario. A number of friends were at a local pub nearby and so Lisa and I took a break to visit with them. It was a fine night with good friends that cheer me forward and drag me away from the computer to take breaks. I was drinking a Bloody Mary and looking at the circle of friends and I realized that how lucky I am as a person.

Granted, none of them are as crazy as Bunny Breckinridge, but almost as colorful.

Weird that I would be the happiest I've ever been at 39. Fate is a strange mistress.

I have a small break for lunch and so I thought I would write a little bit about my life as it is today. I have disappeared the last couple of weeks. Deadlines have forced me to submerge into my hidey hole and write and work. Thankfully, I have a loving wife that helps monitor my stress levels and ensures that I take at least one day off a week to relax. Married life is pretty awesome, even if my wife steals cuddles from me and wakes me up way too often.

I’ve managed to have a couple of breaks with friends, see the Avengers, and have a small echo of an actual life. Despite the various bits of stress this year, I feel I am in a much, much better place as though I finally figured out how to do this thing called life.

The Last Daughter of Eve plotline is finally over and thus I can take a break for a couple of months from storytelling in the Camarilla. I’ve run the flagship venue for two major conventions and ran through a major plot on the global level effecting hundreds of players. I’m tired and need a break. However, I am very glad that the players enjoyed it.

My technical writing contract ends early in June. This means that I am really swamped at work trying to complete all of the tasks my wonderful employers wanted finished before this contract ended. I am hopeful that I will get at least two weeks between assignments.

In other writing news:

My deadline for my materials from White Wolf’s Hunters Hunted 2 is in ten days and thus that has become my top priority. Progress is going well, but on occasion very slow.

Naturally, I paused major efforts towards completing my novel, A Wicked Messenger. When I stopped, I had reached 64,000 or so.

I owe a story in August for a special themed anthology that I am very, very excited about. I have a different story to conceive and write in June for another anthology.

I’ve been asked if I am interested in writing a couple of essays based on my work with the Seattle Sinner and Butcher Knives & Body Counts: Essays on the Formula, Frights, and Fun of the Slasher Film. I’m very interested in the subject matter.

I have an usually large number of items pending and if I am playing the odds then I should get some positive news here shortly. I’m pretty sure that I haven’t progressed to the last round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, which means I shall need to start looking into new publishers for The Highway West.

I am hoping that some of my recent luck and success will help me locate a suitable agent.

The last week has been very busy for me. I’ve been spending most of my writing cycles researching and working on my sections of Hunters Hunted 2 for White Wolf Books. I’ve looked at so many WoD books I’m dreaming about them. I’ve been taking my time to fill my sections with the maximum amount of awesome.

My lovely wife just finished reviewing “The Murmur of Lorelei” and returned it with copyedits. This story was an informal love letter to my wife. Tonight, I will be finishing that story and sending it to the editor a couple of days early!

At lunch, I did a vague outline for the short story that Michael Dyer won titled “What I Did During My Summer Vacation by Susan Sampson.” This story will be set in my Ravenswood Academy universe of mad super science and legalized villainy. It features Robotic Ben Franklin!

Once my freelance duties are fulfilled, I’ll be making a mad dash to finish the sequel to my novel The Highway West titled A Wicked Messenger.

I have a firm mental picture of the last two story arcs and I’m very excited. I have names for all of the remaining chapters with the notable exception of the last chapter. I’m considering either “Lenny Bruce is not Afraid” or “New Ways to Fall Apart.”

Thanks to my meta-outline for the Dreamlands Chronicles, I’ve been able to see cameos from characters that will appear in the Omega Watch trilogy. Thus far my outline has:

Dreamlands Chronicles:

The Highway West Trilogy:
• The Highway West
• A Wicked Messenger
• The Man of Constant Sorrow

The Omega Watch Trilogy:
• The Omega Watch
• Project Ouroboros
• The Arc Paradox

This is so surreal. The only thing that could be more off the wall would be if Tommy Lee called me on the phone and said, "Hey Jason, Vince Neil is on vacation and we need to sing for us tonight."

In 1994, I bought my first copy of Vampire: the Masquerade and loved it. I was 20 at the time and a sophomore in college. Some of players wanted to play mortals fighting against the evil in the world and so I bought one additional book titled the Hunters Hunted. We ran a campaign that changed my life, how I view stories, and how I thought gaming could be done. (I owe all of my storytelling abilites and understanding of players based on that game.)

Eighteen years later, I’m still in love with Vampire: the Masquerade. I’ve been involved with the Mind’s Eye Society (formerly called the Camarilla) for fifteen years on and off. Last year, I ran the venue (Cam-Anarch) for MES for Grand Masquerade 2011 and then the same for XX Anniversary Convention for MES. (I’ve just been grateful that my friends and fellow members have put up with my random goobery and enjoyed the plots and ignored the bits that weren’t as awesome.)

Yesterday, I signed the contract to be one of the writers for the Hunter’s Hunted 2. I can’t say anything else, but more information will be released via official channels soon.

And to celebrate, here is a little Motley Lou. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQjrImkXv6E

My novel The Highway West had advanced to the semifinals in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. From 5,000 entries, there are now only fifty left in the Young Adult category.

This is a wonderful birthday present!

One of my Secret Projects just had a death knell. , but I feel really good over all.

Holy crap! I made Ellen Datlow’s Honorable Mention List for Best Horror of 2011. This is a major deal for a writer. (She is more or less the top editor in the dark fantasy and horror anthology field. Every year she edits the Year’s Best Anthology in Horror anthology.)

The story that received the honor was “Moonlight in Scarlet” which appeared in the Cover of Darkness, September issue. You can check it out here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/99054

By nature, I am an introvert. I’ve never been comfortable in crowds. Usually, I feel drained emotionally and physically when I am completely surrounded with people. It isn’t so much a phobia merely a preference. It took a long time for me to develop proper social skills. I think the Camarilla really helped me develop those skills. It taught me how to manage crowds and exist within a group of people. I have friends such as Mario Medina that feed from crowds like vampires. I am not so lucky, but I’m starting to manage.

When I returned to Fresno for my cousin’s funeral, a number of relatives commented how comfortable and articulate they found me and was surprised that I could be charming and talking to them. I can only imagine the mess I was when I first left California.

This weekend is Norwestcon. This is a huge science fiction and fantasy convention. It also means a good thousand plus people in the same hotel. I managed to run an 800 person game at Grand Masquerade 2011, but this makes me a little nervous.

Writing has always been a private thing and only in the last year did I even fully come out of the closet and discuss it with friends openly. I have remind myself that networking is part of the business. I wish I had Jason Carl’s natural skills. Someday that man will be the secret master of the world.

I have two meetings this weekend. Fingers are crossed. I have a number of friends and acquaintances visiting. I plan to hit a number of the panels.

Work with Secret Project #1 has been paused until I get a contract and the budget is approved. I am very excited on this one.

Secret Project #2 seems a bit dubious at this point. The team I would be working with is sheer awesome. However, the discussion over the contract has been running six months now and I’m starting to feel less confident than I once was. I am very disappointed by this, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. This is a property I really love and so I still have a bit of hope.

The bright side of the fence is that there is now a Secret Project #3 involving a dark fantasy erotica novella for this year. This is looking very good at the moment.

My novel The Highway West is a Quarter Finalist at the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. I am fairly proud of making it to this round, but there is still a long, long way to go. You can see the excerpt here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Highway-West-Entry-ebook/dp/B007GEBZU2/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Writing on the sequel A Wicked Messenger is proceeding at a good pace. I expect to be done by the end of May or beginning of June for the first draft. I know it seems weird to write a sequel to a novel that hasn’t been published or accepted yet, but I feel this story in my bones.

I have a couple of short stories I need to complete in the next month or two. Two of them were invitation only anthologies. Those can be intimidating because you really want to do well for the editor that remembered you. I did a good deal of research and brainstorming last night for the one due at the end of May. I am going to start this story after Norwestcon.

Thus far these are the stories of mine that will be published this year:

“The Application of Discipline” and “Omega” will be appearing in a forthcoming Wildside Press megapack e-anthology as reprints.

“Lessons Learned From My 5th Attempt to Conquer the World” will be appearing in Stupefying Stories.

“Lay Down Your Hair” will appear in the anthology Queer Fish 2 from Pink Narcissus Press.

“The Sky God’s Daughter” will appear in the anthology Daughters of Icarus from Pink Narcissus Press.

“Recovery” will appear in the anthology In SITU from Dagan Books.

"The Honey Offering" will appear in the anthology The Extinction Files anthology by Alter Press.

"A Test of Will" shall appear in the Anthology of Ichor IV by Unearthed Press.