Dire Tides

As you may or may not be aware, I am currently working on my second book. This time, it isn't quite as autobiographical as my first, Not Only Am I With The Band... I should hope not considering the fact that it deals with a serial killer. Yep, and we aren't talking Dexter here folks. Cold, calculating, quite insane... fun stuff, nes't pas?

Which isn't to say that there isn't some of me and my experiences in this new novel; how could that ever be. Authors of fiction that say there is not some semblance of themselves, their experiences in their novels is lying. It is all just a matter of degrees. Sometimes there is a lot of the author in the work, sometimes not so much so.

In the case of Dire Tides (catchy title, eh?) there are a number of elements from past experiences included. Rhonda and I met . and honeymooned on Cape Cod the locale for most of this book. We spent a goodly number of hours in Provincetown ; the specific locale for most of this book. On holiday on the Cape I sang karaoke at the Governor Bradford in downtown P'Town which does in fact have karaoke seven days a week ("Drag Karaoke" no less).

The characters that frequent the karaoke bar at the Gov'nor are based in any number of ways on the real life people that I sing with on a weekly basis; on shared experiences (thank you Alina, I forgot all about the paper clip progression but you can bet your ass it is going to be integrated into the novel).

This is a work in progress folks. I have set myself a deadline for the end of May to have the first draft of this puppy all wrapped up. No deadlines from editors or publishers mind. Just something that I can shoot for. The amount of editing and draft revisions required afterwards are a black hole for me at the moment. With my first novel my editor said there weren't alot of edits required outside of grammar, spelling and some small breaches of continuity. But then again I had spent the better part of two years writing, reviewing and editing it before it ever reached his inbox.

Considering the fact that my first book was based in large part on personal experience, the task of writing a novel "from scratch" has been challenging; but in a fun and completely infectious way. I'm having a blast folks. I will continue to provide occasional updates and samples here as I believe are warranted.

Check out an excerpt here

Aardvark's Picks and Pans

Someone who enjoys writing books will almost always enjoy reading books as well. Stephen King would pay his youngs boys to read books aloud and record themselves so he could listen to them when he was on long trips.

So, while I have no children to read books aloud and record them for me, I still enjoy books the old fashion way.

Now, like anyone who reads, I have my favourite authors. First and foremost is Stephen King; a love affair which started with the publication of his second novel ("Salem's Lot"; still one of my favourites). I really enjoy Clive Barker, whom I have met on two separate occasions at book signings. Nice guy. When someone asked him if his wrists didn't get sore from signing books so much he commented that he has strong wrists because he jerks off so much. What a card.

Now, of and by itself, having favourite authors is never a bad thing. You pretty much know what you are getting and, once the author starts telling you their tale in that voice which is particularly theirs; well, it's quite a special relationship. From time to time it is always fun to check out someone else's favourite author. Expand your horizons as it were; and so it was with "The Zombie Survival Guide" and "World War Z". My friend Shawn swears by these books, and if you checkout his Facebook page I know that he has them down as two of his favourites.

Hell, zombies? I'm there. So I picked both books up to give them a spin.

The Zombie Survival Guide

Max Brook's first zombie tale reads like a how to manual for, well, surviving a zombie outbreak. It is done straight up, with illustrations and played as an actual How To book. Starting with the description of levels of zombie outbreaks the book expounds upon desirable weapons to combat the hordes of undead, stating each weapon's pros and cons. Same with terrain, sandy as compared to swampy, flat as opposed to rocky; which shelters are the best defensible and which ones are deathtraps. What to pack and what to leave behind. So realistic was the book that, at times I found myself wondering if we had some of the materials on the list and, if not, how hard would it be to procure them.

At the end of the book there are a goodly number of "case studies" and recorded events from throughout history when zombie outbreaks occurred.

The one thing that I did find a little tiring about the book was the degree of repetition. Each new step or lesson was presaged with reminders about ideal weaponry, defensive positions etc etc.

The case studies whet my appetite for Max Brook's second novel

World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War

And the second book did not disappoint. Written from the perspective of a journalist traveling around the globe to interview survivors of the first Zombie War; the titular Wold War Z. The anicdotes are organized in such a way as to tell the sorry tale of how mankind nearly lost it's foothold on the good old planet earth and the lengths to which humankind had to go to survive.

Max Brooks has an inate skill to make each interviewee sound different from the last, different coloquialisms, slang not to mention tales to tell, each as harrowing as the next. As the voice of the interviewer Brooks keeps a consistent tone throughout; asking for clarification or expansion from subjects down the line from a preceeding chat.

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