Just A Couple Of Things That Made Me Smile....

There were a couple of things I saw this morning that made me smile so here they are. The first is a picture I came across while surfing the web:


The print is a little hard to read. It says:
Harry Potter: I am the greatest wizard in the whole world!
Harry Dresden: Whatever, kid.
HP: Shall we duel?
HD: Your funeral, kid.
HP: Todificus!
HP: It didn't work!
HD: My turn kid!
HD: Eat Hellfire!

Sorry, not to knock Harry Potter, I loved the books, but Dresden is my main man. This was shooting the milk from my cheerios out my nose over breakfast funny.
The other thing I saw was a t-shirt. It said, simply: "Screw Team Edward Cullen. Go Team Thomas Wraith."
Again, another reference to the Dresden Files that you probably won't understand unless you've read the series. But then, if you haven't read the series, then what are you doing here? Shame on you. Go and read it now.
And now, I'm off to work for the day.

Hammer Down

All right. I admit it. The past two weeks have been less than productive, and this coming off of the holiday season during which my effort has been sub-par at best.
But all of that is about to change.

I have a project that I'm working on called Dead in the Water. I've been working on it off and on for over a year. At one point the project was, pardon the pun, dead in the water.
Since then, I pulled out my notes and took another stab at it during nanowrimo. I fixed a lot of the things that were bothering me about it and really got excited about it. I finished the first draft for nano and now I'm working on the rewrite.
The problem is that I wrote it very fast during nano, and to be able to do so, I had to leave out several characters and their subplots. I'm now going through the process of putting them in, making sure that I have a consistency throughout, and all the while correcting any oversights that I find along the way.
I've been poking at this, but to be honest, it's time to just get this project over with. I have ideas for several new projects that I'd like to work on, and I'm really bothered that this one isn't done yet.
I have all I need in place. Time to just do it.
So over the next couple of weeks I'll be doing just that. It will be a mini nanowrimo for me, except that when I'm done I'll have the second draft of my book ready to send out to beta readers and there will be much rejoicing. Until then, however, it will be late nights and guarana capsules and Pepsi. I've procrastinated long enough. Time to finish.
Wish me luck, and if anybody would like to volunteer to read the manuscript for me and tell me what they think, email me at portertrepanier@hotmail.com. The goal is to be done by Superbowl Sunday.
Not wanting to leave you on such a serious and melodramatic note, here's something to laugh at today:

We all know that January is the month to set goals in the area of physical excellence. February is the month to break them. No, just kidding, but if you are trying to get in shape this year, I hope you have better success than these people. I just started a running routine, and it's helped me get a handle on my schedule. A lot.
Just forcing myself to be disciplined for running is forcing me to become more structured in other areas of my life, too. And it feels great.
So, again, wish me luck. Thanks for following my blog and I hope to have good news the next time I post. Until then, Adeu!

10 Movies That Made me Want to be an Author

I've wanted to be a writer for a long time. In elementary school I wrote stories for fun. I loved the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine and the Hardy Boys. Subsequently, I wrote a couple of cheap knock-offs of those series, so carried away was I with my infatuation with them.
Since then, I've come a long way, and, thankfully, I no longer am limited to writing Goosebumps fanfic. I'm working on my second book, and have half a dozen respectable short stories that I'm working on getting published.
Through the years, I've maintained a strong love for the written word. But one of the things that has continued to excite me about writing fiction is seeing on the silver screen. The following is the list of my top ten movies that made me want to either become a writer or continue working hard to become one.

• Casablanca This is probably my favorite movie, tops. It's a timeless classic, with plenty of romance, intrigue, and action. True, it's not something that would thrill special-effects fanatics today, but the writing, the story, is awesome.
• Gone With The Wind I first saw this movie when I was about 5 years old. I love the way it is written, for the clever way it tells the audience about an entire time period and what it was like, all the while telling a great story. History is fun, at least for me, as is fiction. Combine them effectively and you've got cinematic and literary gold.
• Million-Dollar Baby I saw this movie shortly after getting home off of my mission for the LDS church. It literally knocked my socks off. This was probably the first time I got really excited about writing, at least as far as thinking of it as a career.
• Gran Torino Between this and Million-Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood really outdid himself. I loved the themes that were prevalent throughout this show, and the ending, much like the one in Million-Dollar Baby, was fantastic.
• Secret Window From the King of Creepy comes this story about an author accused of plagiarism. When he is hounded by this stranger, things quickly get out of control. Johnny Depp did a great job, but again, the reason I'm including it is because the story is written really well.
• Pirates of the Caribbean The whole franchise. Do I really have to explain why this movie made me want to write awesome fiction?
• The Hunt for Red October Classic cold-war suspense involving awesome submarine technology and Scottish and Russian accents. Regardless the story is really good and one that helped shape me as an author.
• Alien vs Predator Hey, this is my list, not AMC's, so I'll put this one on it if I want. And just the first one, not the load of tripe that they put out in the second one. The first movie did a great job of combining two of my favorite franchises while at the same time making a great story out of it. Score one for fanfic, I guess.
• Misery Another one from Stephen King, this one is a good story, though, based on the content, I'm not sure that it made me want to be a published author. Ever. But it's a good story and one of my favorites nonetheless.
• The Shawshank Redemption I know that King's work is more than amply covered already, but that is not a bias, more a tribute to just how good his work is. And one of the crowning achievements that made it to film was The Shawshank Redemption. Strong story, good characters, and compelling themes throughout. Also, if you've seen the movie and enjoyed as much as I did, you might like this following little clip:

Anyway, these are some of the films that helped shape me as an author. What about you? What are some movies that you feel have influenced your writing positively?

Birthday Shout-Out

On this day in 1892 J.R.R. Tolkien was born. Ironically, the Father of the Fantasy Genre's birthday comes just one day after Isaac Asimov, who if not the Father of Sci-Fi, at least his work has been key to the development of that genre.

Anyway, I've enjoyed both of these authors for years. They're classics in their own right. I just wanted to take a chance and thank both of these men for there contributions to the world of fiction. Happy Birthday.

Looking Ahead

I just came off a wonderful Christmas weekend. I hope that all of my readers enjoyed one as well. There's something magical about this time of year. Many believe that that's all a bunch of hocum, but it's true. If you want proof, just look at how much effort is spent trying to squash Christmas and yet despite it all Christmas continues to touch our hearts and make us think of our fellowman. Total score: Christmas-2010, Anti-Christmas forces-0.
Anyway, like I said, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I sure did. My kid is sooo spoiled, and it was fun to watch her. My wife went above and beyond, giving me several very awesome gifts. All said I cleaned up on books, which always makes me happy. I've been reading some of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt series, and I wanted to get into some of his other works to see what they're like. My wife obliged. She gave me The Chase and The Wrecker, the first two books in the Isaac Bell series, a story about a detective in America around the first part of last century. The first book, The Chase, takes place in 1906, and jumps all over the western United States.
I couldn't help it, so over yesterday I knocked out the first hundred pages or so. First impressions: Good, the story is very entertaining, but I had to laugh at the main character, Isaac Bell. One of the big pet peeves I had with the Dirk Pitt series is Dirk. He's a crappy character with very little actual work put into his character. He's James Bond in a Speedo. He can get any woman to fall for him merely by being around her.
Isaac Bell on the other hand... is exactly the same way. They both even collect cars of sorts( though Isaac has a much smaller collection, perhaps because in 1906 there just aren't all that many cars)
No, don't get me wrong, I like the books. Just don't come for a major investment in the main character(or any of the characters for that matter). Just plan on a good mystery, laced in with a lot of history and wrapped up neatly in a big ol' adventure bow.
Anyhow, New Years is this week, and I'll be doing the traditional round of reformations. Some of them will concern this blog. Please, let me know in your comments what you like, what you don't, and what you'd like to see more of, after all you guys are what makes this blog worthwhile. So post a comment and let me know. Here's some ideas I'm going to be introducing:
Following a series. I want to start following a series, reviewing a book regularly every month. I have some ideas, but I'm open for suggestions. If there's a series you would like me to review, let me know and I'll consider it.
Classics. Every month, I'm going to review a pick from the Barnes and Noble Classics list, complete with synopsis. I'll cover the central themes and pick some quotes from the book that I find particularly memorable. If for no other reason, this will be a great way to find out what the some of those books you always meant to read but never quite get around to are all about.
Short Stories. I'll be putting up a little bit of my own short fiction, from time to time. I typically write in the horror/fantasy/mystery genres.
That's what I've got so far. Thanks for reading!

Book Review: Pacific Vortex

Who is Dirk Pitt?
Think Indiana Jones in a bathing suit. Maybe a bright Hawaii flower shirt just to complete the ensemble.
For those of you who are not familiar with the Dirk Pitt series by Clive Cussler, that's pretty much the gist of it. This was the second book I've read of the series, and I found them both to be very enjoyable.
Pacific Vortex is the first novel chronologically and probably the shortest. It weighs in at about 300 pages, so it's good if you are looking for a quick read. The genre is awesome adventure with a historical twist. The plot goes as follows:
There is an area of ocean north of Hawaii where over the past fifty years over thirty ships have just disappeared without a trace. A veritable Bermuda Triangle in its own right. But the latest victim is causing a stir in the US Navy. The USS Starbuck, the worlds most formidable nuclear submarine, has disappeared without a trace.
Dirk Pitt, a well-known and talented oceanographer has been sequestered by the Navy to help track it down. But he's fighting more than the vast depths of the largest ocean in the world, he's fighting a hidden secret, one that will threaten everything that is most important to him....
All things considered, I gave this one three stars. Definitely enjoyable, a good book to get lost in. Full of action and adventure, and plenty of cool twists to keep the history buffs happy and entertained.

The way the story flows it reminded me of Pirate Latitudes by Michael Chichton. If you read that book and liked it, I recommend this book to you. Don't look for it to be too deep, but it'll be fun.

Book Review: Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow

I love almost anything historical, but particularly when it has to do with Rome or Greece. I don't know why, but I've always been that way. So, upon finding a ten book series about the Roman Legions, you can imagine how excited I was. I mean, I always hope that when I find a series like this that it will be fantastic and I will have a new author to follow. Bernard Cornwell was one of those for me. I got into his Lords of the North series about the Vikings and from there I've gone to his Civil War series, The Starbuck Chronicles, and to his much more famous, Sharpe books about the Napoleonic wars. But here was a series about Roman Legions. I thought that I'd died and gone to heaven.
I wish I had.
The book started well enough, with a legion running for their lives from a group of savage Celts. The rearguard is dragging a very heavy wagon that is carrying something very valuable through the muddy swamp paths when the Celts break through. The centurion orders the wagon to be sunk into the bog, and marks the location. He then runs for the ships where his Legate, the commander of the legion, is holding the boat for him and his men. The Celts catch them, however, and only the centurion makes it back. He hands the wax tablet marking the location to his commander, and the commander vows to come back and get it, and to subdue the Britons in turn. The commander's name? Gaius Julius Caesar.
Sounds pretty good, right? At least that's what I thought. But as I read on I grew more and more disillusioned. The book cuts to two characters, Cato and Macro, and the Second Legion. Seriously, every character in this book from here on out is a trope and has been done to death. Macro is a hard-nosed centurion, capable of almost anything, except reading or writing. Cato is a palace slave given his freedom on condition he sign it away to a lifetime of service in the legions. He trains under the  traditional drill sergeant character, aptly named Bestia. He of course, decides to single out the soft palace slave for humiliation. Inevitably, Cato rises to every challenge and becomes a hero.
Perhaps the worst thing this book had to offer is the way it just jumps like a CD that skips. One moment, their in a forest village, about to be consumed by a horde of German warriors, that is if the fire that has caught the entire village on fire doesn't get them first. Then, poof! The next paragraph starts with something like: And they all got out because the Legion won the battle and now it's six weeks later and we're all healed up and ready for something else, oh, and by the way, the main character did something heroic, and now we get to see him get the award for it.... Ok, maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but you get the idea. It does this several times and annoyed me to no end.
I will say this. Parts of this book were interesting. I will probably give him another shot, given that this was his first book. But unless he really manages to pick it up in the next book(and I hope so, sheesh, it's a ten book series. They can't all be like this, right?) I'll have to stick to Bernard Cornwell, who, while not having written anything Roman, at least has never let me down, either.