Visitors to my Music page know I’ve produced many tracks for multimedia. Theme songs, spot cues, drops/bumpers, etc. However, the closest to a complete score that I’d recorded was for my 2006 short film Featurette, clocking in at a mere 19 minutes. Then came an opportunity to compose for a new serialized horror podcast called LARKSPUR UNDERGROUND. We’ll get down and nerdy in a bit, but first the story.
Continue readingThis one takes my previous video, “Antidote,” to the next level: a logical progression from studio to stage. Enjoy!
Special thanks to Pat Redd and School of Rock Overland Park.
With my Finding the Light album release this week, I figured I should preview a full track. And in the same spirit as the recording process, why not keep the video DIY, too?
Continue readingHere it is! She’s a beaut, eh? The artwork comes from the illustrious brush of Boden Steiner. He said the concept originated in my song “Costumes,” which is a nostalgic tune that’s partly about kids auditioning different personalities (“trying on costumes”) and figuring out what kind of people they want to become. The album’s larger themes are probably obvious from the title and his bold step into what surely will be flight, yeah?
(Click pics to embiggen.)
Now that Finding the Light has been mixed and mastered, here’s a six-minute sampler with a little from each track.
Intrigued? I’m anxious for you to take the entire 50-minute journey, because so far only two people have heard it: the mastering engineer and cover artist (the only two roles I delegated).
My next post—very soon—will be to reveal the cover artwork. I’m expecting a mid-September release if everything falls into place. Still got a bunch of flaming hoops to navigate, like the design, manufacturing, publishing, and online stores. At that time I’ll link up a dedicated page with all the info to get it in your CD, download, or streaming library.
This album will need all the promotional help it can get, so I’d appreciate you loosening up those jaws in preparation to spread the Word of mouth … or any other mouth-love you can provide. Thank you, and enjoy!
My lack of recent updates is because historically most of them have been literary, and I’m on hiatus from that world for a bit. (I will, however, be hanging in Minneapolis during AWP, eager to let you buy me drinks.) My stack of unread books grows monthly, as I’ve barely cracked a spine since last summer. But if you figure I’ve gone dormant, perish those thoughts.
I’m recording a new album.
What would convince you to eat another human being?
This is our first topic on a new must-listen podcast: Important Question? where we explore and debate such taboos with the profundity and absurdity and hilarity they warrant. Ensuing episodes will examine other grey areas soaking in our collective grey matter, like, I dunno … ruining a child’s Christmas(?) or taking a bullet for a stranger(?).
Alongside myself, the devil’s original advocate (author, BookTuber, marketer) Caleb J Ross brings his perverse wit and flexible morality (and web hosting) to the dialogue. Will it end in aural fisticuffs or virtual high-fives? Who knows. Either way, you’ll come away with the requisite ammunition to argue these topics later with your racist grandmother.
Episodes post weekly or biweekly and are 15-20 minutes: more Adult Swim than sitcom. And yes, that’s me performing the theme song. Find the complete episode guide at ImportantQuestionPodcast.com. Get interactive, Like us on Facebook.com/ImportantQuestion for even more fun media and discussion.
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Visit my archive of podcast appearances here.
This anthology contains my short story “‘Burgatory” originally published at Solarcide a few years ago, but which has been offline for a while. It’s about a life-insurance salesman facing his mortality as planes of the multiverse collide.
From the publisher:
Visions, plagues, angels. A different view of the miracle of birth. Bestiality farms, departing souls, talking cold sores, and of course, elder gods. All of this and more. Edited by Martin Garrity and Nathan Pettigrew, this is a collection of some of the darkest and most peculiar words ever published by Solarcide. The long-awaited return of some of the craziest, funniest, and most brutal fiction that was featured during the first couple of years of the site’s operations. Featuring an introduction by neo-noir road warrior, Richard Thomas, and boasting stories from wonderful folk such as Ben Tanzer, Gordon Highland, Brandon Tietz, Rebecca Jones-Howe, and Garrett Cook. Wicked words are contained within.
Table of Contents:
Introduction – Richard Thomas
Perfectly Natural – Jessica Leonard
Horsepower – Bryan Howie & K. A. Hunter
Child – David Bobis
‘Burgatory – Gordon Highland
A Lady on the Streets – Renee Asher Pickup
Triple Flash – Len Kuntz
Enhancement – Garrett Cook
Distance From Daddy – Rebecca Jones-Howe
Something Special – Ben Tanzer
Carl – Brandon Tietz
Hands and Tendrils – Axel Taiari
The Love – Teri Skultety
The Legend Of Johnny Bell – Laura Andrews
My Life In A Brutalist Concrete Bunker – Tony Rauch
Year of the Pig – Andrea Taylor
Love, Posey – Michael J. Riser
Buy at: Amazon US Amazon UK Createspace
You may have noticed that I read a lot of four- and five-star books. That’s not me being generous with my ratings, it’s because most were prequalified recommendations from those whose tastes I trust. Neo-noir, crime fiction, southern gothic, literary fiction: these are my preferred genres. I have little interest right now in young adult, sci-fi, fantasy, bizarro, alt-lit, or most of the speculative fictions involving creatures. Exceptions exist, and have certainly provided some eyebrow-raising reads, especially those which transcend or subvert their genre’s prescriptions. But with so many excellent purchased books lying in wait, well … hopefully I’ll live to see retirement (and my eyesight holds up) so that I may partake in new genre adventures.
What does a five-star rating really mean, anyway? That’s it’s a perfect book? No. Even loosely defined, few would be worthy in this reader’s opinion. It means it’s in the top 20th percentile of all books. Four stars would mean it’s better than 60-80% of others. That’s not such rarefied air when you consider the sheer quantity of pulp populating the shelves.
I know a lot of authors. We chat online, socialize at events, even edit each other’s work. Of the 120 to-be-read books on my shelf, 45 are by those I consider friends or peers: most of whom you’re unlikely to find on chain-store shelves, deserving as they may be. Am I biased? Of course! It’s subjective, just like anyone’s reviews. Who knows, my friendship may be worth an extra star, but that’s not to inflate their ratings for marketing purposes, merely my own opinion, which may be subject to influence in the same way you’ll cheer for a local band because you know the bass player. My own books of course receive five self-stars because I wouldn’t have published them were they not my very best effort at that time.
Star ratings in general I only find useful as a consensus just like how I trust Rotten Tomatoes for movies. The detailed reviews are what I read, for context. Even if I rate a book four stars, I’ll still use that opportunity for critique as well as praise. Similarly, reading a two-star review might still get me excited for a book if they detail elements where our tastes differ. When I only leave stars in lieu of a text review, that’s probably for a popular title that’s been sufficiently discussed, where I have nothing new to add. Or it was a bad book that will ultimately die of its own hand without public flogging from me (that’s what happy hour is for). I do wish authors were more willing to be critical of one another’s work these days, but it’s offset by readers having a public voice/platform that used to be the sole domain of journalists. If I’m going to spend the extra energy doing a write-up, it’s probably for an underserved book worth celebrating. Regarding my own titles, I care nothing about ratings, only that readers made an attempt to engage with it and that their analysis is thoughtful, for better or worse.
If you’ve read an indie or small-press author’s work, the best thing you can do for them is to spread the word. Goodreads reviews are appreciated, but what we really want is for you to post on the retailers’ product pages: the point of purchase where many potential readers make their decisions. It requires little effort to copy/paste these across platforms, and can help the author tremendously.
For those unfamiliar with my own work, I recommend starting with my novel Flashover. I also have a collection of stories and verse called Submission Windows, as well as my debut novel, Major Inversions, recently released in audiobook.
Also, it’s Short Story Month (#shortstorymonth)! I’ve read nearly a hundred so far, and encourage you to check out some of the online freebies I’ve linked.
