Book cover design: a diy approach
Though I’m still deeply undecided about whether to self-pub or shop around my first novel (hooray, I’m still editing, so I’ve got plenty of time!), I found this post about using public domain artwork to help you design your own book cover using public domain artwork. 
The writer, and amateur designer, Casey Dexter turned to reddit for feedback. By far the funniest interaction on that thread:
Everyone’s a critic, eh? Haha. To the right, you can see his results.
The Cringer Begins – Movies and comics
I may be the only person whose reaction, when hearing about a movie based on a comic book series, winces like I just found a new cavity. I am my own special breed of superhero: The Cringer.
Okay, okay, so some of the Batman and Spiderman flicks were pretty good and yes, I liked the Watchmen movie. But the Hulk? Batman and Robin? Thor (what the fuck Rotten Tomatoes, how did this get 77%)? The X-Men movies were almost not barf-worthy. Almost. Had it not been for Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan it would have been unwatchable. An aside: seriously, shouldn’t those two be in a buddy cop movie together? Or a drag remake of Thelma & Louise? Well, I’d watch it.
Granted, I have some beef with superheroes (probably why I liked Watchmen). So outside of superheroes, I feel a little bit better about things, though still guarded. Sin City? Pretty, but stupid (plus, fuck Wank Miller), Ghostworld? Meh, okay. I never saw Scott Pilgrim (I know, I KNOW).
Anyways, when I saw that Brian K. Vaughn’s Y: The Last Man, may be getting the Hollywood treatment (and threats of a series!!! no less), well, you can imagine how The Cringer reacted: with his trademark cringe as he pulled up his collar against the evils of a dark, dark night.
My latest for the Apex Books blog: Zombies!
Go check out my latest blog post, published today on the Apex Book Company’ s blog, From the crypt: Zombies, from cultural appropriation to post-modern symbol.
It’s an interesting thought that from the colonial trade in slaves came the fear of loss of self that becoming a zombie originally represented. Now in a post-colonial era, capitalism has stolen that cultural narrative, one that arguably has begun to eat it from within. The change now is that the symbol of the zombie has been embraced by the working class as a sort of symbol. People play games where they are zombie characters, they cheer for zombies in film and even participate in races dressed as zombies. The idea has morphed from powerlessness but not towards something that is powerful.
Game of Beers! Beer of Thrones!
I know the Game of Thrones beers have been out for a while with the Iron Throne Blonde Ale but I’m super excited to see that Ommegang Brewery has released their newest to the collection, Take the Black Stout. This beer’s a nod to the Night’s Watch who are the shield that guards the realm of men.
I know that it’s a marketing gimmick but as a Game of Thrones AND beer fan, this hits me in all the right spots. Cheers!
Writing gig alert! MTV Geek!
Head’s up, MTV Geek is looking for writers to focus on technology/science; anime or a breaking news reporter.
This is a paid gig (no mention of how much) and open only to US residents. Go here for more info.
My current project
...and the editing has commenced
