New Lease On Life (Stage Four Release Date Announcement)

In my last post I detailed the negative of the past two years.  A habit that I seem to have fallen into over the past year.  Doom and Gloom do not make the heart grow fonder.  At times over these past two years it has felt like I've been on a train that has come off the tracks.  The unconventional way I have gone about things for much of my life has led me to feel like that on more than one or two occasions.

I was asked recently Do you have any regrets?

I've made more than a couple poor decisions in my life, so I had to think about the question for a moment. After I eliminated a few choices, I told this person that my decision to leave California was probably my biggest regret.  While living in Georgia has kept me close to my family, I miss the artistic community and culture of Los Angeles.  Don't get me wrong, I love Georgia.  And my time in LA was a love/ hate relationship.   In the twelve years I have been back in Georgia there have been moments where I felt that I was part of an artistic environment.  However, those moments were because I either paid to be a part of it, or had to give so much of myself that those moments were of my own invention.

LA and the ATL are two different worlds.

My time in LA was about my attempts to start an acting career.  When I left I was tired of the scene, but I thought I would be back.  Life happened and that return was indefinitely postponed.  It's funny to think about it in context with what i am doing now.  I was planning to do research on Cipher when I left LA so that I might write my first big screenplay.  The world seemed to pave the way for me, making my path back East as easy as could be.   

What's funny is how much more difficult things have been while working on Monarch--the story that finally delivers a version of Cipher to the public.  Like many journeys, things start off with a clear picture of where one is going and the path is free of obstacles.  The longer that journey lasts, and the closer one gets to the end, obstacles inevitably seem to pop up, altering the course or changing the journey altogether.

It was not my intention back in 2000 to write Monarch.  The story and the characters had not even been imagined yet.  It took the writing of twenty screenplays and several short stories, not to mention taking numerous writing classes, attending several seminars and devoting years to writing groups, to gather enough confidence to try and tackle a novel.

I must confess that while all of the above was extremely helpful, my most influential experience over the past decade was people watching.  People watching is an invaluable tool for writers.  If you can't pick things up about people, there is no point in trying to write a story that involves them.

Like in real life, my characters are amalgamate of their environment, their surroundings. They are also made up of large portions of myself.  I could go through just about every character I've ever written and find a piece of myself in them.

With the end nearly in site...

Since I released Stage Two I've had to begin thinking about what happens after the release of Monarch.  For two years it was my beacon and I followed it without question.  The two J's, June and July, have been tough months.  I feared putting the cart before the horse by planning too far ahead, losing track of the last two stages and their need for release over the next few months.

The Mid-Summer Blues of Two Zero One Two

It appears my desire to release stage three relatively close together to stage two shall not be fulfilled.  While I would have liked to have my vision of the apocalypse out as soon as possible, it will not be that easy.  It seems that the old expression "wish in one hand and $!&+ in the other" is confirmed once again. These past two years have been the most demoralizing in my entire life and the $!&+ keeps piling up.

To set such a lofty goal (the writing of a seven hundred page book for my first novel) was an undertaking that I felt I was prepared for back in 2010.  I had my health, a purpose (break away from screenwriting and hop on the eBook revolution), and enough drive and passion to meet the tricky but distant enough deadline of 12/21/2012.

In retrospect, if I hadn't been so eager to deliver my long ago written screenplay Cipher (a story that deals with 2012) before this coming December, I might have begun my literary career with a manageable 300-page story.  No, I had to try and tackle the world.  The challenge of incorporating Cipher into a larger story proved too tempting.  Back in 2010 as I was preparing to begin, I had no idea what was ahead of me--only big ideas and a plan to reach my goals.  


The first six months spent writing the initial draft were gravy.  The story flowed forth with such ease that I became overconfident, maybe even cocky.  There was so much time remaining and I was making such good progress, who could have blamed me for feeling like I was ahead of the game.  Time, it turns out, does not like to be taken lightly.  

Flight of the Monarch

Well sound the trumpets and strike up the band.  Great news, everyone.  After seven agonizing weeks of waiting, the frustration is over.  Amazon has sent out the mass email to all of you who have purchased Monarch (Stages 1-4) through their website.

I am very pleased with the content of those emails, too.  It gives people a choice of replying "yes" to the email as you did back in December, or by going to your Manage Your Kindle page on Amazon.  

Anybody who has kept up with this Blog will know that this is a gigantic relief for me.  I try not to get stressed out over things that cannot be controlled, but this book has not been like just any other thing.

All I can do is avoid making the same mistake with my next book.  As I have said before, the writing of a serial story is traditionally released with each individual part made for sale in order, with the whole thing released only after all the other parts are out there.

My attempt to utilize the Amazon update system for the release of Monarch blew up in my face over these past seven weeks.  This was never supposed to be about changing the way books are released.  I just tried to make it as easy and affordable for a reader to get a hold of my book.

Don't get me wrong, I still think a book that receives updates is a good idea.  This is a digital age and such a thing should be possible without hassle or delay.  It's just that all readers who purchase this type of book need to be aware of those updates when they are made available, and they need not be punished by delays for expecting that, either.  

Who knows maybe things will change because of my vociferous complaining over the past month and a half. I'm just glad that the emails have finally gone out.

Now I can focus on the positive, and start looking forward to the release of Stage Three.
The Apocalypse is Nigh!   

-aap

  

July Update for Monarch

As you have undoubtedly heard me talk about before, the release of stage two of Monarch  has been a minor disaster.  I can no longer stay angry with Amazon.  I must now accept the blame entirely as my own.

My desire to utilize the technology of the time caused me to go against what thousands of others have done when releasing a story in parts, as a serial.  Releasing Monarch  under the assumption that timely email updates would coincide with the release of each stage was naive on my part.  While I thought, and still do think, that it would be a great way to read a book, the application of the technology is not truly available to a consumer yet.

When I released Stage One in December of 2011, everything worked out perfectly.  A little too perfectly.  I was under the foolish belief that the rest of the stages would release in similar fashion.  That wasn't the case, and it looks like it won't be the case with Stages Three or Four, either.  I cannot apologize enough for my horrible planning blunder.     

I have since removed from sale on Amazon the version of Monarch (Stages 1-4) that requires updates, and from everywhere else except Smashwords.  Smashwords is the only place I know for certain that a customer has access to updates as soon as they are posted.  Updates to each stage will be made available to Amazon customers who purchased Monarch in the Manage Your Kindle page on the Amazon website, and when and if they ever send out emails alerting you.

The four individual Stages (Egg, Larva, Chrysalis and Butterfly) will be available separately on multiple eBook retail websites (Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Google, etc.).  Upon the release of Stage Four Monarch will take flight again.

2012 MLB First-Half of the Season

The 2012 Major League Baseball season is nearing the All-Star break.  It has been an entertaining first half of the season so far, especially if you are a fan of great pitching.

There have been five no-hitters thrown so far this year, two of those were from the National League (Johan Santana and Matt Cain), while two more were from the American League (Jared Weaver and Phil Humber).  The other no-hitter was provided during interleague play by a bevy of Seattle Mariners (Kevin Milwood, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmson).  

Five no-hitters so far this year is two more than all of last year and one less then 2010—the supposed “year of the pitcher.”  The year 1884 is the true record holder for most no-hitters in a year with eight.  Since then the most dominant stretch of pitching excellence was in the years 1990 and 1991 when seven no-hitters were thrown in each of those years.  A forty-four year old Nolan Ryan, the Texas flame thrower who frequently exceeded speeds with his fastball of over 100 mph, pitched a no-hitter in each of those years.  Those were the same years that my favorite team, the Atlanta Braves, a team that came to be known for its great pitching, began their run of excellent play. 

Just because there have been five no-hitters thrown already this year, and we’re not yet at the All-Star break, doesn’t mean that the 1884 record is likely to be broken.  Arms tend to tire near the end of July as the heat of summer and number of innings pitched begins to take its toll on a starting pitcher.  Even if a new record were to be set, there will be no fireworks, no tickertape parade, and no trophy.  It is not an individual or team achievement and therefore it would not be celebrated as such. 

Future generations will marvel that in the live-ball era (when hitting home runs was supposed to be easier) pitching was the most impressive aspect of the time.  With all the great young arms coming into the game, even if the 128-year-old record were to fall it may very well be broken again much, much sooner than that. 

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here—there is still the second half of the season to go.  With so many surprising teams in contention this year (Baltimore and Washington to name a couple), it is shaping up to be a memorable season with or without such a longstanding record falling.

Say Goodbye

I had hoped that this next Monarch update would be more positive in nature, but alas things have not changed and I must again convey the negative.   A long exasperated sigh...

I have reached my wits end with Amazon.  I don't know what else to do.  For over one month I have checked my email hoping that they would have sent out the update to my readers.  During that time I have spent countless hours writing emails to the KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) department with no resolution.

Out of respect to my readers who have gone without their update I have unpublished Monarch on Amazon.  A piece of me dies by having to do this, but for the time being it is the right thing to do. 

Monarch is still available through Smashwords, Apple, Barnes and Noble and other eBook providers.  Stages One and Two will still be available on Amazon, but I can no longer in good conscience allow Monarch to remain up for purchase on their website.  Not until they address this issue.  It is shameful what they have done, and just so you know I have given them more than just a tiny piece of my mind.  That may not help to expedite the process but it sure felt good.  

My greatest fear now is that this inexcusable delay might happen again for the last two stages.  Amazon has unwittingly taken a piece of my joy away.  There should be moments of joy for me as I release these individual parts of my first book.  The rocky roads I have faced to get my work into a reader's hands (writing, editing, rewriting) were supposed to be the most formidable part of the process.

The most daunting stresses I have faced along the way are much the same as those facing my main character in Monarch: Keeping Promises.  I promised my readers that the first two stages of Monarch would be available by X and X days, and I have been able to deliver so far.  Amazon promised on several occasions over the last month that they would send out a mass email to my readers.  Read a few of my last blog posts and you'll know how well that's going.  Ginger made a promise to herself up on the mountain at the end of Stage One, and Stage Two deals largely with her attempt to keep that promise.  She said, "If you can't keep the promises you make to yourself, how can you expect to keep them to others?"  Needless to say, she was dealing with some internal stress at the time.  Ginger and I both have internal stress to deal with, but what stress is Amazon under?  If you can't keep your promises then don't make them.  Is that so difficult?  Just keep your promises is all I'm saying.  

With so little time for me to get Monarch completed and into a reader's hands, I was forced to put my trust in what people promised me that they would do.  If you are a big business and break promises, that business should suffer a loss and not be allowed to carry on as if their errors are nothing.  If you are an individual, know that no positive word will be spread about you and that when all is said and done you won't be a part of anything that follows. 

I firmly believe in a code of conduct when dealing with others.  The Golden Rule of conduct is golden for a reason.  (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.)  When you are wronged you are right to make it known to others that someone or some company has done you wrong.  Some call it Karma, others call it Justice.  However one sees it, the breaking of promises shatters that code of conduct and paves the way for bad business and fractures relationships.  

In addition to hurting those of us who are still awaiting our updates, the Amazon house of horrors for an update system has led me to not want others to have to suffer needlessly because of Amazon's incompetence.  I cannot allow more people to suffer the needlessly long wait that others of us have in anticipation of an email update.

It's bad enough I've had to loose money because of Amazon by giving away my book to make up for their not updating it, but now I fear my reputation may be tarnished before I've even had a chance to release the entirety of my first book.  Suck it Amazon!

-aap