Category Archives: Books/Literature

Books/Literature

The Annotated Big Sleep (2018)

There are writers and there are writers.

Raymond Chandler, to me, is one of the best writers there ever was: A man who could make his noir mystery novels absolutely sing.  Almost every line in every one of his books, of which he wrote a mere 7 if them (an eighth novel was in the works when he passed away in 1959), were fascinating, hilarious, and eminently interesting.

Mr. Chandler turned to writing relatively late in life and his first stories appearing in “pulp” magazines such as Black Mask.  When he made his jump to novels with The Big Sleep (his first novel) he took elements from these stories and reworking them.

The Big Sleep, which was originally released in 1939, is one of my all time favorite Chandler novels (though Farewell, My Lovely and The Long Goodbye are nothing to sneeze at!) and anyone with any interest in great mystery novels should check it out.

Now, I’m not pointing out this novel just for the heck of it.  I’m pointing it out because a few days ago The Annotated Big Sleep was released both in Paperback and Kindle and I’m not going to beat around the bush: You should get it.

Here’s my Amazon review of the novel:

Love Raymond Chandler’s novels -he is one of my all time favorite authors- and love The Big Sleep in particular and the Annotated Big Sleep is a truly wonderful peek behind the curtain at what makes this novel tick. We get a wealth of information regarding the creation of this book, particularly interesting being the short stories -and samples offered- of how Chandler “cannibalized” some of his short stories in the creation of this book.

We also get some wonderful history of L.A. back in the 1930’s, a guide to the slang Chandler used (much of this, of course, has become well known through books and films), as well as some very interesting insight into Chandler himself.

Having read the novel a few times before, this Annotated Edition was truly eye-opening, especially when it comes to some of the novel’s sexuality. I was always aware of it, but when pointed out in the Annotations it became clear to me that Mr. Chandler had some serious hang ups regarding sexuality, whether “straight” or otherwise. Still, after all this time one must be cautious to draw too many conclusions, though the inference of the author’s possible sexuality presented in one of the notations is certainly intriguing.

I have the Kindle edition of the book and it is incredibly easy to read the book and switch to the voluminous amount of footnotes. You read along and when you find a footnote you simply tap on it and are instantly transported to the information presented. Sometimes its offered with beautiful illustrations, often with very informative explanations, and once you’re done reading the footnote, you just tap the footnote number again and you’re back to where you were reading. Couldn’t be easier!

So if you’re a fan of Raymond Chandler’s works as I am and, as I said before, want to get a damn good peek behind the curtain regarding this novel, you absolutely must have The Annotated Big Sleep.

Books/Literature

Corrosive Knights, a 7/22/18 update

Last posted an update on 7/13/18 (you can read it here) and figured it was time to post another update.

I was hopeful I could make it through the computer corrections of the latest draft of book #7 in the Corrosive Knights series in a matter of two weeks or so.

Things are moving along but perhaps a little slower than I was hoping.  Right now I’m on page 128 of the draft and, given the total page count is 233 pages (single spaced, 10 point font size), it means I’ve got 105 pages to go.

On the plus side, I’m more than halfway through the whole thing.  On the minus side, it’s been nine days since I started and there remain those 105 pages left to do and currently I’m in a sticky point that will require some creative thought/story reworking.

As I get closer to getting a novel “done”, I start to pay really close attention to the various details that make the book’s story “work”.

If you’ve read any of my novels, they tend to have complex (but hopefully not complicated!) plots that require a lot of moving parts to mesh together and make sense when all is said and done.

Book #7 is no exception and as I get further and further along in the drafts, I not only question the pace and story’s unfolding, but also make sure that the various story elements are logical.

It’s a frustrating stage to be at yet one that one has to work through to get the novel done.

Don’t get me wrong: Though it may be a frustrating time, overall I’m happy overall with the pace.  Yeah, there’s work being done on my house and, by that very nature, total concentration on this book isn’t always possible, and there’s also the sticky plot points to deal with, but I know that by the time I finish getting all the material into the computer and formally finish off Draft #7 of Book #7, I’ll be that much closer to being done.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

Books/Literature

Corrosive Knights, a 7/13/18 update

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Yeah, I know, I just did an update a couple of days ago.

This is going to be a quick one:

Yesterday, I began the process of transferring my pen & ink revisions from the printed page to the Word file and in that first day I made it through 32 pages of material.  The full printed work comes to 233 pages as printed (full 8 1/2 x 11 pages, single spaced font sized 10).

If I were to keep up that incredible (and it is incredible!) pace, I could theoretically be done with the entire Word file/draft in a matter of 6-7 more days.

Of course, that won’t quite happen.  As I said before, I do have people doing some work on my house and these early pages of the book are pretty close to being “done”… there are some pages toward the middle and end of the book that will require more scrutiny.

More scrutiny = more work = more time spend on them.

Still, it’s not entirely inconceivable that within the next two weeks, perhaps a little more, I’ll be done with the 7th draft completely and be on my way to draft #8 and this represents a hell of a speedup versus the months it would take me to do earlier drafts.

The bottom line is that this book is getting very near being done, which is what I said in my last update.

Now, let’s get back to it! 😉

Books/Literature

Corrosive Knights, a 7/11/18 update

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It isn’t often when you finally get that glimpse into the culmination of one of your fondest -and long held- dreams.

Today I finished reading/revising on paper the 7th draft of 7th book in the Corrosive Knights series.

When writing my novels, this is the way it goes: I finish up a draft on the computer, print it out, then read the printed version carefully and put down any additions/subtractions by pen.  Once done, I transfer all those pen & ink revisions into the computer and once done with that I print it out and go over the print out once again.

So, as mentioned, I’ve read and done the pen & ink revisions seven times now and, perhaps starting tomorrow (we’ll see, got some workers around the house fixing some stuff up), I’ll get on the computer and begin transferring those revisions into the Word file.

For those keeping track, I started reading and proofing the book on 6/28, which means its taken me a little less than two weeks to do this reading/revision.  I suspect it will take perhaps another couple of weeks, give or take and depending on that work being done on the house, to transfer those revisions into the Word file and fully complete this 7th draft of the book.

Getting all this done to the 6th draft of the book took two months and five or so days, which means I’m speeding up the time it takes to finish a revision.  This in turn means there is less revision needed which in turn means the book is that much closer to being completed.

Again, if time permits and I can work in peace on the computer, I suspect this entire draft from printout to printout/start to end will take me roughly a month and that culmination of the dream becomes that much closer to being a reality.

So yeah, its fair to say I’m elated.  Not just because of this book, which I’m so damn proud of, but this entire series.

It has come out far, far better than I dared think it would, and, you know what?  I’m not just elated.  I’m freaking ecstatic!!!!!!

All right, calm down.

There’s still some work to be done.  There are parts in the novel’s mid section which need to be tightened.  The story beats are good, but the way I described what happens during these parts needs sharpening.  There are also a couple of small add-ons needed toward the book’s conclusion.  However, nothing very big.

The story itself, as they say in movies, is basically locked down.

When I started this novel, I hoped November 2018 would be my far end deadline to finish everything up.  Sure, I hoped it could be done and released earlier, but these novels do have a way of taking their time and this one, just like the others, certainly has done that.  I don’t believe I’ll get it done much earlier and there is the possibility I might take a little longer.

As with all things creative, it’s extremely difficult to predict with any kind of absolute certainty when this will be finished.

Regardless, it’s close, dear readers.  It’s very close now.  Another two or three drafts might just do it.

Keep those fingers crossed!

Books/Literature

This is ridiculous…

…and I want to be very clear: I have absolutely nothing to do with it.

If you’re interested in buying any of my books, whether digital or physical copies, you can go over to Amazon.com and you’ll find all my stuff in this convenient little nook I’ve made for myself:

Amazon: E. R. Torre Books

Today, I went over there just to see how things were going (always am on the lookout for reviews… whether good or bad), and I find the listing for the physical copy of my graphic novel The Dark Fringe (it is available for digital download for a mere $4.99, free with kindle unlimited), is being sold by someone for… $619.13.

That’s right: Six hundred nineteen dollars and thirteen cents.

Here’s the proof:

Now, as I said at the start of this post, I have nothing at all to do with this.  Indeed, at this point in time I have nothing at all to do with the physical copy sales of this graphic novel.  The books being sold are copies originally released some 10 years ago and are still circulating within comic book stores and/or used bookstores.

Anyway, once I picked my jaw back up from the floor, I investigated who exactly was selling my book for that much.  Here’s what I found:

As you can see, there are four listings from which one can buy a physical copy of The Dark Fringe.  However, if you look closer, you see that despite the four listing, the book is being sold through two companies.  One listing, the very reasonable $10.00 one (the book originally sold new for $9.95 when it was initially released), is from Comics4Less and they ship from Illinois.  The other three listings are for a company called Red Rhino which ships from North Carolina.

Frankly, all three of their prices, from $69.73 to the outrageous $619.17 (which, strangely, is different from the $619.13 listed in the first graphic) are… well… outrageous.  Especially considering the fact that the “cheapest” copy on that list, for $69.73, is the one that’s listed as “like new” and the subsequent copies are “very good” ($74.52) and “acceptable” (Big Bertha at $619.17).

I… don’t get it.

Again, I have no affiliation with Red Rhino.  I have no idea what type of company they are, though the nearly 7500 reviews do paint them in a very positive 91% approval light.

Perhaps this is some kind of typo?

Given there are three prices, I somehow think not.

Regardless, I’m posting this because I don’t want anyone to think I’m somehow behind the pricing of these books through this company.

Mind you, I’m well aware of the collector market and I know older publications can become “hot” and command high prices, especially if they’re rare (and given the limited print fun, physical copies The Dark Fringe TPB are indeed fairly rare).

I personally would love to think my older works are worth that much but… I don’t think so.  At least not quite yet.

Maybe someday.

Books/Literature

On Writing…

Been a while since I posted some personal thoughts on the writing process but, as I’m not elbow deep in the 7th Draft of my latest Corrosive Knights novel, I realized it was a good time to go into at least one very important -perhaps THE most important!- element in writing:

Be concise.

Make every word, sentence, paragraph, and chapter count.  Trim the fat and, even more importantly, be on the lookout for it.

Authors are like any other people: You’re -quite understandably- proud of things you can do.  This goes for things you do on your job to things you do in your free time and can take the form of many things.  Whether it be cooking a meal, cleaning your home, setting tile, building a dog/tree house, running a personal best mile, etc. etc. etc. one takes pride in one’s accomplishments and creative writing, in my case specifically, is what I absolutely live for.

I love the act of writing a book, even when its a freaking pain in my ass and things don’t seem to be quite right and it takes too long to get through a certain section or you bemoan all the time spent before your computer or reading through the printouts.

The satisfaction comes at the end, when you know you’ve done your best and created something you’re proud of and, even more importantly, you’re certain its something others will enjoy.

But here’s the thing: You can’t fall too much in love with your work and get to a point where you’re blinded to potential weaknesses.

When I was elbow deep in Draft #6 of the book, there was a section in it toward the beginning that, frankly, wasn’t all that exciting to read through.  I would go even so far as to say I found it something of a chore to read.

I didn’t think much of it at the time, figuring I was either exhausted (as I frequently am… I fear sometimes I work myself a little too hard even as another part of my mind berates me for not working hard enough!) or too concerned with other sections of the book that needed work or… whatever.

So here I was yesterday in Draft #7 of the book and I get to that same part and… its boring me.

Again.

This time around I put the draft down and decide to take a bathroom break.  As I do so, I think about that section of the book (a chapter, really), and recall my similar feelings when I read that particular section a while back.

I have sudden, blinding insight and realize, perhaps one draft too later (but better late than never!) that if I’m feeling bored reading this particular chapter, and its my own freaking work, then how will others react to it?

So I think some more.  The chapter is important to the story so eliminating it entirely is out of the question.  No, I realized, there was a need to take another careful look at it and read it yet again and try to see why it wasn’t working.

Though I was past that chapter, I returned to it, resolved to unlock this mystery.

With that mindset, I realized the chapter had more bloat than others.  I simply went into too much description of things that ultimately didn’t matter all that much to the story, even though the events in the particular chapter were important to the overall novel.

And I became a surgeon and carefully went over the chapter line by line by line and cut all the things that were not necessary while keeping all the things that were.  In the end, I suspect the first half of this chapter will be roughly half the length it originally was, but readers will move through this chapter much quicker and the points I was trying to make will be made that much faster.

The late author Elmore Leonard had a fascinating list of 10 Creative Writing Do’s and Don’ts (you can read the full list here).  My favorite bit of advice is his very last point:

Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. Think of what you skip reading a novel: thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them.  My most important rule is one that sums (this) up: if it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.

I love that first line: Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.  In other words, when writing a novel or story of any kind, the author should try their best to keep the stuff people want to read and remove/delete/eliminate the stuff they don’t want to read.

Sounds simple but, of course, it isn’t quite so simple.  For six drafts I had a chapter in my latest book which bothered me yet, dense as I am, didn’t see it for what it was: Bloated.  It was only on the 7th pass that I recognized there was a problem and addressed it.

This is why I work through as many drafts of my novels as I do and take great pains to make sure they’re released when they’re ready.  While it may take a reader a day or two to read one of my novels, it takes me of late two full years to write these works.  But that’s the time needed and that’s the time it takes.

The last thing I want to do is write something that bores people… especially me!  😉

Books/Literature

Corrosive Knights, a 6/27/18 update

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Been a little bit since my last update of 5/17/18 (you can read it here) but the news is -at least to me!- incredibly exciting: I’m finished with the 6th draft of my latest Corrosive Knights book, #7 in the series and the Conclusion to the Corrosive Knights story…

As you can see from the graphic above, this book will be followed by an 8th book which serves as an “epilogue” to the Corrosive Knights story line and which I’ve already finished the first full draft.

Before getting into details, a quick anecdote -and warning!

Yesterday morning I finished up most of the book save for, quite literally, the last three pages.  Much as I wanted to finish it all up, I had to leave the computer and the draft behind to do some other work.  I would not be able to return to finish those last three pages until after 5 P.M.

So I return home and, while the food’s cooking, sit down in front of the computer to finish up those last bits of the book.  Again, 3 pages worth.

I turn the computer on and… something weird happens.  I use Microsoft Word for my writing and have the file both on the hard drive and on my One Drive.  I do this in case I’m able to use my laptop elsewhere to work on the book.  Highly recommended.

However…

It’s been a very long time since I did the hard drive back up.  In fact, the last time I did it was when I started the 6th draft of my novel, a month ago…

Gulp.

I tried to load up both Word and Excel (this is for my other job), then try to load up files for each program and then… nothing.

Neither file loads up.

I get a very, very sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I shut both programs off.  I restart them.  I try to load the files back up.

Nothing.  Again.

Now I’m sweating as my creative life flashes in front of my eyes.  The work I’ve done on draft #6 of the book was mentally very strenuous. I’ve done so much damn work and the idea that all of it, right up to three freaking pages before the very end, may be gone just about gives me a stroke.  I wonder if I have the mental strength to get into that book again, should I have lost all the work I did to this point.

Seriously, I didn’t think I could.  Not right away.

Desperate, I shut everything down and restart the computer.  Once its up, I load up Word and click on the latest draft of the book and…

…it appears.

Needless to say, the first thing I then do is make ANOTHER copy of that draft on my hard drive before getting to work and finishing the whole thing off.  Then, I made ANOTHER back up copy of the finished product.

Moral of the story: Make multiple backups.  Then, make some more.  Just in case.

Alrighty then…

Back to the update:  Book #7 of the Corrosive Knights series is, in my humble opinion, one of the most challenging to work on.  With this series I’ve created a story that unfolds over 20,000 plus years and I’ve taken great pains to make sure this story, which is complex, isn’t complicated.

Further, Book #7 is a concluding chapter and therefore it HAS to focus on and resolve all the major plot points I’ve raised/opened from the first book (Mechanic) on.

And so far I’m incredibly pleased with the results.

I noted, when I began the 6th draft of this book, that the first half of this book is good but the second half was what required work.  I realized this after I read through that draft (from 4/21 to 5/16) and then started putting the corrections/additions into the computer (this took me from 5/17 to 6/26).  In terms of time spent on this draft, its taken a little less than 2 and a half months to go through this draft.

I suspect, strongly, draft #7 will take half that time.

Why?  Because I’ve dealt with all those issues in the little more than second half of the book and feel that all those issues I knew were there were dealt with via my revisions.

As of yesterday, this book is that much closer to being ready for release.  To date, I’ve written six books and spent nearly ten years working on this series and, while we’re approaching the end, I’ll be damned if I don’t release something that isn’t my absolute best.

So hang in there, kind folks.

The work on Book #7 moves along nicely.  Today I’m giving myself a day to rest and unwind before printing up this latest draft and quickly moving on to draft #7.

I strongly suspect, based on being able to fix the things I knew needed fixing in draft #6, that future drafts will focus more on the actual mechanics of the writing, ie spelling and grammar and streamlining bloat versus actual “creative” writing.

Once I fully reach that point, things will move much quicker and the book will soon be available.

Very soon!

Hang in there!

Books/Literature

Need advice on becoming a writer…?

Or perhaps a better writer?

There are a plethora of “how to” books out there regarding this topic and I know what you’re thinking: Which ones are worth spending my vast riches on?

Over at Slate.com we have the following article which may help you separate the wheat from the chaff…

8 best books on writing, according to Novelists, Poets, and Writing Professors

Now, it’s damn tempting to think that reading a few books like these mentioned above will help your writing.  I suspect that if you study them, you will likely help yourself to some degree.

As someone who has considered doing an “On Writing”-type book (I’ve given my advice here and there on this blog), let me be the first to say this: There is no one advice book that will suddenly make you a superb writer.

Yeah, big reveal there, I’m sure.

The fact of the matter is that each author or potential author has their “style” of writing.  Shadow author Walter Gibson was able to produce a mind-boggling amount of words on a daily basis.  I recall he noted how his very last Shadow novel (these novels tended to be between 50-60,000 words so they could be considered novellas) was written in a single long sitting and sent out to the publishers of the pulp magazine the next day.

Stephen King, at least according to what he wrote in his On Writing book, stated he writes a book in roughly three months or so, puts it in a drawer to “let it cool down”, then comes back to revise it and its out.  I suspect that since releasing that book, he’s streamlined his writing habits even more.  I wonder if he revises his books much at all, or leaves it to editors.

Then there are authors who take up to ten years plus to create their work.  Clearly and unlike Walter Gibson and Stephen King, they sweat all the details.  Perhaps a little too much!

Me?  At first I was able to release roughly a book a year but of late I’ve found myself taking two years to write a book.  Though I wish I could release material more quickly -oh how I wish I could!- it takes a while to get all the details of a story together, much less present it in a way that I feel is exciting and interesting to a potential reader.

The thing about writing is that you have to have something of a vault of information in your head regarding stories.  Not only the ones you admire for their success, but also those you look back on and learn from their failures.

Mind you, I’d be the last person to say all my books are magnificent, earth-shattering triumphs (though over at Goodreads.com my books have earned a cumulative average of 4.10 out of 5, something I can’t even begin to say how much I’m humbled by and appreciate).

However, I’ve tried to be a sponge with regard to stories.  I’ve been that way since I was old enough to read.  Whatever it may be, comic books, novels, stories, TV shows, movies, etc. etc. I’ve taken in, enjoyed, then mentally taken apart.  I’ve examined what worked and what didn’t, where the author/actor/director really got me as a viewer/reader and where they didn’t.

Again: What worked and what did not.

And this sort of examination helps me, I feel, as a guide when I’m writing my own works.

Why does it take me 2 years to write a novel?  Because on average I go through 12 drafts of a novel before I feel it is good enough to release.

12 drafts, ladies and gentlemen.

12 times I go through a book, the first 5 or 6 drafts usually being a gradual build up in the story, to the point where I feel I’ve gotten all the elements needed in their proper place.  The next 5-6 drafts tend to be about the storytelling itself, to make sure the book is lean and mean and doesn’t feature any repetition or awkward phraseology.

In other words, work, work, work!

Books/Literature, Movies, TV

Whose property is it anyway…?

I love the internet.  It allows me fast access to near unlimited information, be they technical information, opinions, reviews, analysis, articles, etc. etc. etc.

I’ve learned much, almost every day, and while at times reading people’s opinions (and trolls) can be frustrating, sometimes you have to take the good with the bad and sort things out on your own.

One thing that I’m noticing, however, is that this opening in allowing people to opine on things like movies, books, and TV shows and I’m realizing this leads to a sense of ownership of these properties on the part of fans.

I’ve long pondered why there was an almost literal lynch mob around the release of Batman v. Superman, a movie I liked quite a bit -moreso in its Ultimate Cut- and its director Zack Snyder.  Whatever your opinion of the film is, to many it was as if Mr. Snyder had committed some kind of unforgivable sin with what he did with the characters.

After the film left theaters, the anger turned toward the Ghostbusters remake, though to a somewhat lesser degree, yet for many this too was some kind of unforgivable sin against a beloved property and the people behind it should be… I don’t know, what exactly?

More recently, there appears to have been something of a repeat in the release and the fan reaction with Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  To many fans, the movie was a betrayal of the original Star Wars films (I don’t know… I have the film but as of yet haven’t seen it).

Today and over at Slate.com, I found this article by Willa Paskin which focuses on fan theories regarding the Benedict Cumberbatch starring Sherlock series, specifically that many fans of the show feel the character of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were/are lovers…

The case of the fractured fandom

I find that speculation, which isn’t terribly new regarding Holmes/Watson (the idea that they might secretly be homosexual lovers has been around since at least the 1940’s and likely before!), nonetheless in this era of the internet allowed groups of people, including someone mentioned within the article itself, to really go to town with developing this theory and offering examples of how the creators, in their opinion, were pointing towards this alleged relationship.

Which brings me to this point: Speculation and/or scorn toward the way characters are handled by fans is perfectly fine, but bear in mind: These characters are the property of others and they will do with them what they choose.

Sure, Sherlock Holmes is now in public domain, but the Sherlock TV show is being made by the BBC under the control of several individuals who make the decisions of how the show will progress.  They can, if they want to, read the many fans’ opinions on how the show should progress and whatnot, but ultimately they decide the direction of the show.

(A digression: I suspect the show is done and will not return for a fourth season.  I could be wrong, but that’s just my opinion).

Similarly, whether you liked them or not -and its certainly your right to love or hate them!- the people behind Batman v. Superman and the Ghostbusters remake were granted authority to use these characters and create these properties by the people/companies that control them.

The films themselves may have been great or horrid, but them’s the breaks… not everything works out and with properties such as Batman and Superman, just because one version comes out not to your liking doesn’t mean the ceiling’s about to fall in on any future incarnations of said characters.  Superman survived the release of the not very good Superman III and the outright terrible Superman IV and Batman certain survived the release and ridicule which came after Batman and Robin.

I guess my point is this: Sometimes fandom needs to back off, at least a little, take a breath, and understand that your pleasure/disgust and speculations regarding property X are just that: YOUR opinions on it.

Do you hate Batman v. Superman?  Do you feel the characters in Sherlock are lovers?  Do you feel The Last Jedi was a betrayal of the original Star Wars films?

That’s perfectly legitimate… for you.

And you have every right to either hate these works or love them or speculate about their meaning or anything else you desire.

My worry -and the great danger- is that when fandom becomes powerful enough to dictate the release of new creative endeavors, then we’re treading into dangerous waters.

I feel fandom did affect what DC has done since the release of both Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad.  One has but see the Justice League film to see that end result.

Will the pressure of fans lead, if it should happen, to have Sherlock season 4 reveal that Holmes and Watson are lovers?  Will we have a Last Jedi redo where Luke Skywalker is treated “better”?

I worry when fans become such a powerful force.

But I suppose I also worry too that certain properties have become as big as they are and brings out these emotions in people.

The other day I looked up the top films of 1979 (don’t ask) and it surprised me that the #1 box office film of that year was… wait for it… Kramer vs. Kramer.  The other nine films, in order, were:

The Amityville Horror, Rocky II, Apocalypse Now, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Alien, 10 (the Bo Derek film), The Jerk, Moonraker, The Muppet Movie.

Interesting list, no?  Only two of the movies were sequels and/or part of a series (Rocky II and the James Bond film Moonraker) while a few others became series and/or had sequels but at this point were original works.

Compare that list with the top box office films of last year, 2017:

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, The Fate of the Furious, Despicable Me 3, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Wolf Warrior 2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Wonder Woman.

Of these ten films, a whopping EIGHT of them are part of a series and/or are sequels to other films and one of them, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, is a somewhat-sequel/remake of an original work.  The only “original work” is actually a live action version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast animated film!

So, essentially, NONE of the top 10 highest grossing films of 2017 were “original” works from start to end.

None.

In conclusion, perhaps it’s no wonder, given how many sequels and cultural blanketing these works have created, that fans become so enmeshed in these works.

Books/Literature

Corrosive Knights, a 5/17/18 update

Short one:

Today I began typing the revisions.  So far, moving as expected: Quickly.

As I said in yesterday’s post, the first half of the book is quite good, its the second half that requires a little more work.

Regardless, gotta navigate the hills before gettin’ to the mountains!

I really can’t wait for this book to be done and out there.  So incredibly exciting!

Hang in there!