What’s up with Jotham?
It’s been a month or so since we last chatted, and it’s been a busy time. I am doing the second round of Developmental edits on my novel with my agent (hopefully I’ll have more details soon). I have been working on my promotional package and keeping track of a new electron scope being installed at the University (Remember I am a research professor at UChicago).
I am getting ready to be at Printer’s Row Lit Fest again this year in the Chicago Writers Association (September 10th noon-3:30pm), and I’ll be at the Sci-Fi Family Day (Discovery World, 500 N. Harbor Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53202). Saturday, October 1st, 2022 from 9:00am-4:00pm. And more exciting news I have been invited as a guest to MarsCon 2023 (January 13- 15th). More details to follow in the coming months, but I will be on 3-4 panels. Virginia Beach here I come! Oh, and you may be wondering about the deal with the Binder Clips—So, on social media a lot of writers have been talking about the ‘thing’ they acquire and need to write. Most of these ‘things’ seemed to be office related ‘things’; pens, notebooks, mugs, etc (someone said whiskey). But, as I was looking over this list, I kept thinking, “I don’t have a ‘thing’.” I like using weighted pens and Micron pens, but I buy the same ones, not a collection. I don’t use notebooks that much, because have you ever tried to decipher my handwriting—good luck—I have a bottle of Writer’s Tears, but only have a glass for celebratory events. So, here I am a writer, and I have no ‘thing’ (note: you don’t need a ‘thing’ to be a writer, just write). I didn’t have a ‘thing’, and I’m a writer. I chalked this up to some useless Social Media trend and went about my happy author and scientist life. Well, as I started to work on the most recent developmental edits—I made a plan, teased out the two character arcs, printed my outline, synopsis, chapters—staring at the piles of paper, my mind froze as I realized I didn’t have any more binder clips. How could I edit without binder clips? Why was I out of binder clips? Did someone take my binder clips? After searching through every desk, kitchen, bathroom, drawers, I realized I had no binder clips, and turned to Amazon to fix the problem. I ordered a few binder clips and a couple days later my sweet binder clips arrived, and all was right again in my writer’s universe —
I think I found my writer ‘thing’. LOL Okay, that’s it for now, but you can always email or follow me online for real time tracking and to see what craft beers I’m drinking (find me on Untappd @jomega22). As always thank you for your continued support and email or follow me online if you want to say hi! Keep reading to see what I’ve been keeping myself entertained with!
What am I reading and Listening to:
Comics: Salty Roos:
Overall premise: After being coated by alien spores, Salty, Rodney, and Ollie are transformed into anthropomorphic kangaroos! The three Roos, along with their human liaison Piper, travel the world, solving mysteries and fighting crime.
Salty Roos 1,2, and 3 are written by Jon Parrish (A friend that I’ve featured in this newsletter before, his new series Mega Centurions just dropped), drawn by Diego Toro, colored by Kóte Carvajal, and lettered by Cristian Docolomansky. It’s being published by Blue Roos Comics, which is helmed by the creator of Salty Roos, publisher Erick Anderson.
Roos #1: As the crew try to get some R&R up in Allagash, a town in Aroostook County, Maine known for its UFO sightings and the alien abduction of four men. While on the trail of a couple missing hunters, the four get ambushed and find themselves in the clutches of the Wild Man of the Snows.
Roos #2: The Roos travel to Martha’s Vineyard and learn the legend of Trader Jack, a commander turned pirate, whose ghost is said to be haunting the sea. Can the crew find out what’s really going on, or will they be forced to walk the plank?!
Roos #3: The Roos attend supernatural writer K. R. Conway's book signing, but can they survive the ultimate haunted house?
Salty Roos #4 (All You Can Eat Buffet!) is written by Ben Miller (My friend from Guerrilla Publishing)
After people start mysteriously disappearing, a quiet Cape Cod community discovers they're under attack by a huge bloodsucking tentacle monster! As a storm approaches, the Roos help coordinate the town's defenses while Nanuke Guido organizes a party at his pub, intending to keep the island's residents safe, unaware of the danger lurking close by. Can the Roos save the townsfolk in time or will they all be turned into an all-you-can-eat buffet?
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******** Fiction / Indie-Fiction:
Jim Terry: Come Home Indio (a Graphic Novel
I mentioned Jim in my last newsletter and I checked out more of his stuff and discovered his graphic novel Come Home Indio. I love Jim’s art (added another piece to my Snake Plissken artist collection), but go check out Jim’s art work, comics and books on his shop, you will not be disappointed.
Back copy excerpt for ‘Come Home Indio’: “In his memoir, we are invited to walk through the life of the author, Jim Terry, as he struggles to find security and comfort in an often hostile environment. Between the Ho-Chunk community of his Native American family in Wisconsin and his schoolmates in the Chicago suburbs, he tries in vain to fit in and eventually turns to alcohol to provide an escape from increasing loneliness and alienation. Terry also shares with the reader in exquisite detail the process by which he finds hope and gets sober, as well as the powerful experience of finding something to believe in and to belong to at the Dakota Access Pipeline resistance at Standing Rock.” Go add it to your TBR-list (If you order it from Jim’s shop he will do a little art work in it!)
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Non-Fiction:
Matt Bell: Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts
So, for the past couple weeks I have been focusing on the craft of writing and in particular the editing process (Since I am editing two novels) and the overall craft of story telling in Novels, Movies, Comics, Theater, etc. I recommend Matt’s book as it has a lot of practical advice as you go from idea to polished manuscript.
