What’s up with Jotham?
Happy New Year! I never know when it’s too late to say Happy New Year to someone. Is there a cutoff date? Is March 22nd too late? Or are you done with Happy New Year greetings January 2nd? Okay, I’m joking around, but do you have a cutoff? Do you even wish people a Happy New Year? I said it to someone on January 4th and they twisted their face at me. Maybe I missed the memo on wishing people happiness and good fortune in the new year. It’s all business these days. No time for chit-chat, well except when you get my newsletter, we take it slow and easy. LOL. Send me an email, and let me know when you think it’s too late to say Happy New Year! I don’t do resolutions or anything like that, but the title of the interlude, “NOTHING WITHOUT INTENTION” from Solange’s ‘When I Get Home’ album resonated with me (the entire album is great). As I move through 2023 I will try to be aware of the INTENTIONS before I take an action.
MarsCon 2023
I mentioned this in my December newsletter, but I am going to be a guest and panelist at MarsCon 2023 next week in Virginia Beach, VA! MarsCon January 13-15th 2023!
I’ll be on six panels:
Religion, Magic and Science
Worldbuilding: Food and Drink
Researching Your Story
Do They Still Need HMO’s in Your World?
Dystopia is a Double Edge Sword for the Author
How Do You Define SciFi in 2023?
I am so excited. This was one of my personal writer/creator goals to be invited to a Con and be on panels talking about science and science fiction. Come on down and check it out! Hope to see you there and talk about Handwavium!
So, What Else is New For 2023?
During the last two weeks of 2022 (I was doing a bad job at taking time off from work), but I had several great conversations (actual reader of this newsletter wrote me emails) with other writers and creatives about the creative process, staying motivated, the dreaded imposter syndrome, and sharing tips and resources that I’ve accumulated on my writing journey. Also, there was a chorus of voices that want to see more science in these newsletter (and that podcast). So, a few changes you will see in the newsletter. One, I will go back to the twice a month format. One newsletter like this one and another were I talk about the science in fiction and say Handwavium a lot.
Also I was asked to talk more about the ups, downs, lefts, and rights of my writing journey, the process of creating and staying creative. It’s very easy, and fun, to talk about the successes and share the celebrations, but it’s not fair to gloss over the failures, setbacks, sacrifices, and grit that goes into the sauce. Hopefully by sharing these stories it will help motivate both you and I.
I am also working on a resource page for my website. I may post it incomplete and update as we go on this journey together. Thank you for spending your time with me. Okay, that’s it for now, but you can always email (I do answer back) or follow me online for real time tracking and to see what craft beers I’m drinking (find me on Untappd @jomega22). Well not much activity during Dry January, but I will be trying non-Alcoholic beers and mock tails. As always thank you for your continued support. Please keep reading to see what I’ve been keeping myself entertained with!
What am I Reading and Listening to:
Comics: The Jet Saga: Row Sky
I was at a John Streetz Alliance Comic and Craft event at Soundgrowler Brewery in December 2022 and I met Row Sky, among other creators I’ll be taking about over this year. Row introduced me to the world he is creating through his words and comics. A world where superhero’s are just being discovered and exploited. Here is what The Jet Saga is all about in Row’s words:
“Kevin is trying to find his self-worth in a world where heroes are now just becoming a thing. While a nation is being divided by inescapable change, Kevin is desperately trying to provoke change within himself.”
Go learn more about Row Sky and his comic at his website (there are trailers and art work).
******** Fiction / Indie-Fiction:
The Deep: Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, Jonathan Snipes:
This was the first book I’ve read in 2023, and it was incredible. And the process and transformation of the idea and themes in the book cross several creative disciplines, Music, Writing, and Art. The book has its roots in the Music of Drexciya, a Detroit based Techno duo. The story reimagines the horror of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade by posing the question, “What if the descendants of pregnant mothers thrown overboard created an underwater society?” This theme was picked up by Daveed Diggs and his rap group Clipping. The idea was further explored and expanded by author Rivers Solomon in the book, ‘The Deep.” And to keep the idea and world building expanding, Abdul Qadim Haqq created a graphic novel: The Book Of Drexciya Volume One and Two
Back copy excerpt for ‘The Deep’: “The water-breathing descendants of African slave women tossed overboard have built their own underwater society—and must reclaim the memories of their past to shape their future in this brilliantly imaginative novella inspired by the Hugo Award nominated song “The Deep” from Daveed Diggs’ rap group Clipping. Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu. Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago. Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are. Inspired by a song produced by the rap group Clipping for the This American Life episode “We Are In The Future,” The Deep is vividly original and uniquely affecting.
Non-Fiction:
Robert McKee Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen
I am continuing my journey and deep dive into the theory of story, and after focusing on structure, I am moving to dialogue.
Backcopy: ”Now, in Dialogue, McKee offers the same in-depth analysis for how characters speak on the screen, on the stage, and on the page in believable and engaging ways. From Macbeth to Breaking Bad, McKee deconstructs key scenes to illustrate the strategies and techniques of dialogue. Dialogue applies a framework of incisive thinking to instruct the prospective writer on how to craft artful, impactful speech.”
******* Music/Podcasts: No new Podcast to report: Still catching up on them all! But on the Music Front, there have been several mentions in this newsletter already, Solange, Drexciya, and Clipping, but I was gifted a subscription to Vinyl Moon by my lovely wife Georgia (atomicnumber14). And I did some organizing. Vinyl Moon is like a mix tape on vinyl, but they create a multimedia experience, Art, Story and Music. I am excited to get new additions every month. Also, I spent part of my holiday vacation organizing my vinyl collection. I used my woodworking skill and laser engraver to make dividers for my LPs. I will do the same for the hundreds of 45s that I have. Maybe I need to get a jukebox.
Okay, that’s where I’m at. I’ll try to update y’all every month on books, comics, and music (podcasts) that I’ve been digging! I’ll try to add some indie author reads! Email me and let me know what you’ve been into and what I should check out! Or follow me online for more realtime updates: Jotham’s Social Links
Find your next favorite book or author with these newsletter giveaways or virtual book-fairs:
Book Fairs — Discover New Authors
Author Newsletter Swaps
Nothing new this month.