Well I have certainly been slacking in the “Updating my blog on a regular basis” department. Well, I had some time this week to pound out some thoughts on the keyboard and post here for your reading pleasure.
A unique children’s book written by an actual child!
Several months ago while sitting at my keyboard spewing senseless drivel onto the page until it started to make some sort of logical sense I was interrupted by my beautiful, inquisitive daughter. She asked what I was doing and I explained to her that I was attempting to tell a story. Her eyes lit up, “I want to tell a story!” I pulled her up onto my lap and told her that she could tell me the story and I would type it up for her. Immediately she spoke of a magical world where a beautiful young princess spent her days watching movies, and frolicking in the garden. One day the beautiful princess wanted to ride a rollercoaster, and began walking toward the amusement park. Along the way she met a group of ladybugs that also wanted to ride the rollercoaster with the princess, so they joined her on her walk. When they reached the rollercoaster they found that it could only seat two at a time, and each of the ladybugs wanted to sit next to the princess…Well, I would hate to spoil the Climax and I know everyone is itching to read it.
The book is 100% dictated by my four year old daughter; I simply typed the words up, and removed some redundancies such as, “She wore a beautiful dress that sparkled and it was beautiful.” I also helped her sort out the beginning middle and end by asking questions such as, “What happens next?”
As with any great children’s story there is a lesson to be learned by the last page, and it was a lesson my daughter had in fact learned on her trip to the amusement park last summer. In fact I bet if we were to ask her the name of the princess in the story it would be Zoe! The book also ends on a sort of cliffhanger, which leaves room for possible sequels!
As of now the pages are in the hands of Jessica Scott, a lovely and talented local artist that was so kind as to offer her time and skills in illustrating the story. Once the story has been illustrated we will shop it around for a publisher or simply publish the book ourselves. Ninety percent of the proceeds will go towards Zoe’s college fund, and the remaining ten percent will be donated to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. There will be more details as they become available.
As we get further into the convention season I will share some highlights on past conventions and expectations for this years conventions. To begin I want to look at my top three Fanboy Arguments: The following are actual arguments I have engaged in with passionate Fanboy’s. Though there are many, these are among my favorites.
Superman vs. Dr. Doom: One Fanboy asked a nearby artist for sketch of Dr. Doom and Superman sitting at a table playing chess, and Dr. Doom would be losing. I could not help but pipe up informing him that Dr. Doom would certainly not lose a game of chess to Superman. I spent the following five minutes elucidating the awkward young man that it had nothing to do with Dr. Doom being smarter than Superman, but rather Dr. Doom always planned several steps ahead, and was not afraid to sacrifice his pawns; two key elements in winning a game of chess. I crushed the young mans dreams with the realization that good does not always win.
Vampire Hunter D (D as in done it before): A wide eyed young lady stopped by our table pitching her dream story to anyone that would listen. In her story a half-human, half-vampire woman has dedicated her life to hunting evil vampires. Her story seemed oddly familiar, and I mentioned that to her. She valiantly defended her coveted creation, even referring to it as Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Watchmen – What!?! This was obviously a lose-lose argument for both parties involved, and I did not need a Fanboy (Fangirl in this case) suicide on my conscience, so I politely (as politely as my snarky-ass knows how to anyway) backed away, and wished her good luck.
Chaykin’s biggest fan: Ant and I had the pleasure of meeting Howard Cahykin’s biggest fan at MN’s Fall Con one year. This young man stood in front of our table for a good forty-five minutes reminiscing about his favorite Howard Chaykin stories, and how Howard Chaykin has inspired him artistically. Ant, as usual, has no idea who Howard Chaykin is and simply nodded his head and smiled as if he was following the young man’s train of thought. I did agree with many of the young man’s points especially since I like much of Howard’s early writing, but our harmony turned bitter when I mentioned that I did not care for Howard’s art, even citing it as my reason for dropping Marvel’s Blade, and Punisher War Journal series. The man shot me a look as if I had just eaten his baby; his demeanor shifted from flamboyantly giddy to judgmental, but still flamboyant. The man defended Chaykin’s art as if it was his own, and I had clearly insulted him. In my own style of concession I implied that art is always an issue of individual preference. He left the table with victory in one hand and signed copy of Bloods Own in the other!
