Rez's Kalashnikov from Residue

I will be posting an alternate version on facebook once I get it done so keep an eye out for that. As Rez decides to go on the offensive toward the second half of the book, he needs a CQB monster and something like this would fit the bill nicely. I'm not sure this is the coloration he might choose, but it looks cool and of course the alternate version is likely going to have something different all together. I like the idea that you guys get to see some cool artwork associated with my writing and get a visual of Rez's kit, if anything just to get your mind in the right place for reading. But also readers who are less familiar with all the guns will have something to look at and picture when reading. So the beauty of having alternate versions of the art is that what you picture in your mind is really up to you. There are a few specific things that I will describe in the book that are necessary for the situation, but the rest is left to your imagination and you can picture the gun's exact details the way you like them. It's great to see that the Kalashnikov (AK and all of its many variants) is getting some attention from the aftermarket and has the support to be outfitted as you see here. Not everyone will love the modernized AK and I can understand the sentiment, but to me this still represents a fighting gun which in the end is what the AK was always meant to be.

Rez's Arsenal: Teaser AK

In Residue Rez will be working a new piece of kit (as always) and I have been wanting to get it drawn for quite awhile now. I seriously considered buying an AK variant of some kind myself not long ago and have been on an AK kick of sorts ever since. Of course, those kinds of obsessions always find a way into my writing somehow. I suppose most authors live vicariously through their characters. In Residue things start to get a little bit ugly and Rez grows impatient waiting for results that don't seem to be coming. Going on the offensive is a technique that always seems to be waiting patiently at the top of Rez's tool box, understanding of his socially prudent approaches, but ready when the stick is deemed more appropriate than the carrot.

So I offer this teaser. Like everything I do, it is two projects in one, or three, or four, so somethings need changing. This line art was based on the 5.56 variant as you can tell by the magazine. Rez will be using the classic 7.62 in the book so I'll be changing the mag and throwing in a few other details specific to the weapon Rez uses. Stay tuned.

Resolution is FREE again!

Two minutes before writing this post I changed the price of Resolution on Smashwords to FREE. I think that Amazon will price match, so if you use a Kindle or Kindle app, just keep an eye on it for a few days. Resolution is available from iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Smashwords of course, and others. It might take a couple days but get yourself a copy while this free promo period is going on and tell your friends.

Update on Residue! Still writing furiously to get it out in 2012 and some interesting developments have surfaced as the story matures. We're getting to see just the beginning of Rez's secret life unraveling as the situation from Resolution gets deeper and the problems more complex. New characters are showing up with connections to Falck, the cop Rez killed in Resolution, and the web expands just a little further.

Artwork for you guys. I have been drawing like mad for another project recently, but there is some overlap with this writing project, so you should be able to expect another one of Rez's guns pretty soon. I know which one I'd like to work on for sure.

Updates on Residue and Promo Code

Smashwords is where the gold at and if you use this code: PR79E, you've got yourself a free download of Resolution. It's only good through July 16.

Now for an update on Residue. By 13,000 words Nobel has already visited two crime scenes which involve a total of 16 dead people between the two of them and what appears to be a hitman's signature. In the mean time Rez is flipping snitches to figure out who the players are in an increasing meth problem so that he can put the hurt down. Nobel is caught dealing with left over effects of the Falck scandal from Resolution and seems to be wearing a little thin because of it. This is leaving Rez hanging in the breeze and stuck with more dirty work, which he doesn't appreciate much as it starts to get in the way of what Zeke calls his mission.

All in all I feel really good about Residue and the story itself. I was reading Resolution yesterday and I feel like it doesn't get good direction until you get past chapter five. I doubt that will help make anyone want to read it. However, I feel like Resolution helped me create my characters and built a foundation for the series. I have this notion in the back of my head that maybe there will be a Resolution 2.0 but like with any creative outlet, I feel that it's better to move forward than to look back. I suppose there is a time and place for looking back but if I am growing as a writer or an artist then looking back I should ALWAYS be able to find ways to improve past works right? Therefore if I am growing then everything I do can be improved and I would never get out of the past to move forward. This is how I see it anyway. I hope by showing my readers that I am working hard to make something better the next time and something better than that the time after, I will do more for you all than I would going back to old work and trying to "fix" it.

One more thing, and I have no idea how I didn't think of this before. I wanted to give my readers some exclusive content on Facebook by creating art for the Rez series and posting it there only. That's great (I think?) but at this point, I don't have many fans and I've got artwork that no one is seeing. I use other venues for my art and illustration where lots of people would have seen it and so I have this conflict; post where people will see my work, or not. Then I realized that I could easily do variants of the guns and things which would allow me to post different images in different places, but also offer just a little bit MORE. What a really obvious idea that I hadn't thought of until today. Actually someone suggested something to this effect and I just applied my own interpretation, so it wasn't even my idea. At any rate, I'm thinking that's what I'll do. I can post variants here, and other places, while still having an exclusive image for Facebook. BTW, you can visit my Facebook page to see the first image I've done. It's not really the first since I did the cover for Resolution, but whatever.

New artwork for Residue and Promo Code

Just a reminder that the Smashwords promo code is good through July 16th. If you want a free copy of the book see my last post and I'll hook you up.

Also, I've started doing art for the next book and as bonus content for my readers. If you've read Resolution you know that Rez favors a SIG P245 for concealed carry. So that was a logical gun to draw first. Above is just a teaser and to see the rest go to my Facebook page. If you haven't read Resolution and would like to, just "Like" my Facebook page and I'll get you set up with a code for a free download.

Get Yourself a Free Download of Resolution

Here's how that sweet action is gonna work. You like my Facebook page, or watch this blog, or offer to write a review and you gonna get yourself a free download boys and girls. What you needs to do is leave a post right here telling me that so-and-so just liked you on the Facebook and how I can contact you (which will probably be obvious since we're talking about Facebook and Google ... but whatever) and I'll get you a promo code to use at Smashwords. Here is where you go to get my Smashwords edition of Resolution. One last important note. The code is only good until July 16, 2012. Hustle up!

Wanted to also throw in a little something about Ask David.com. You will find their logo down below on the right and there is a reason I've put it on my page. David sent me an invite to his site and I learned that he is in the business of helping authors get some exposure. Seemed cool to me so I stopped by his site and sent in my information. Now, people can go to AskDavid.com and leave reviews and he likes to have unique content for the stuff he includes there. I gather that he, or someone on his crew, actually goes through the books that get listed, so he puts a lot of time and effort into his creation. If you want to write a review just let me know and I'll get you a Smashwords code.

Author Type Ramblings

You know, I just started this blog and I am fairly certain no one is watching, but I think all people need an outlet for different things and particular aspects of our lives dictate what sort of outlet is needed. I wanted to write about my book, so that's just what I'll do. I had very low expectations coming into this world of ebooks. I don't know if ebooks are going to keep escapist reading alive or if it's already a dwindling past time. I just can't really tell. I know ebooks give some people pause and they wonder what impact it will have on books. I don't think books are so much the problem as reading itself. Of course reading isn't going anywhere, I hope. I think we'll always use written language. But more and more people seem to want to see and hear and maybe read their entertainment. I know I do. I have no subscription to any television at my house. TV offers me personally, almost nothing of interest. Sure, there have been great shows, The Shield comes to mind right away. I've enjoyed, even more than feature films, a large handful of television programs. Fringe, Spartacus, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, and what Heroes COULD have been, all sit on that list for me. But given that TV seems to be quantity over quality, I would say the titles I have enjoyed, compared to what exists and what is absolute trash, is but a paltry fraction of a percent. I did, however, have to concede the other day that I am addicted to Youtube. And I realized why. Youtube is what TV should be. I can go to Youtube and learn, be entertained, laugh, essentially get instantly the kind of programming I'm actually interested in without being advertised to ruthlessly. I get so much more pure content that regardless of "production value" I feel I get more ACTUAL value. And it provides opportunities to creative people, who actually understand what viewers are interested in, to share their visions. It's brilliant.

And books don't have to be all that much different. Sort of like comic books. Pure content in a cheap, little, high value package. I have always wanted my books to be short-ish. I know the feeling when the ride ends but you want it to continue. I have no idea if I provide that or not but I strive to write pure content at a length that is both a full ride but not intimidatingly long. I hadn't put this together until recently, but I think it helps give my writing another bit of focus.

So what's going on in the world of Rez? Well, I've written 9,000 words of the rough draft, but have been spending a lot of my time on the outline and the hand written draft. I write with a Zebra mechanical and a good ole composition book and I doubt that will ever change. Right now the after effects of the Falck scandal from Resolution are still haunting Nobel and new problems are showing their ugly heads as some microscope jockeys in the forensics lab seem to be on a mission to find the gun responsible for launching the round that took Falck's life and the person who pulled the trigger. Nobel knows that the one person still living who may be able to provide any clue at all is Rontay and he wants Rez to think of a violent way of solving that little problem. But, Rez knows that if Rontay ends up a corpse it is evidence to the lab monkeys that they're mission impossible is legitimate. A consultant with the right connections has his fingers in the mix and though his motives are unclear, it's perfectly obvious that he sees and angle worth exploiting for his own personal gain, or the gain of someone with fingers on the strings of the local political structure.

And that's just the dirty business from Resolution. Winston has put a local meth operation on the front burner for Rez and a drug war  races to the verge of going nuclear thanks to the gun handling skills of what appears to be a hitman. As the risk ramps up beyond the capabilities of a single person, Rez finds himself working the fringe until Winston lets him off the leash to get done what needs doing.

Smashwords publishing COMPLETE!

Now you can score Resolution on Smashwords! My "Premium Status" is still pending but I got all the formatting done and I think at this point it's only a matter of time. What that means is, my books will soon be available all over the place. With Smashwords, no matter what device you use to read your ebooks, you're covered. It converts the book to every known frickin' format in the ebook world. If you've got a Sony reader or you've got yourself a Nook, or whatever the case may be, you're set!

Time to get started

As I begin the process of writing book two in my Rez series, and after discovering Smashwords, AND starting an author page on Facebook, a blog seemed like a logical next step. One of the main functions of this blog is going to be a place where readers can find short excerpts from Residue (book 2) as I write it. I think that I'll use Facebook to share images and update the progress of each book as I write them but blogs are a fun way to offer more content and really a place for me to talk about my writing and my characters. I think it might be kinda cool to have a chance to get in the heads of authors I like and if I should accumulate a fan base, perhaps they would feel the same way. I can talk about my process and where I think my characters are going and at the end of the day it could be a sort of virtual note book.

For now you can find Resolution: Events In The Life Of A Man Called Rez at Amazon at this link. And I hope you will eventually find a good reason to like me on Facebook - about the time I start posting some cool pictures and the book gets closer to being published, right? I'm just getting things rolling so be patient. I figure it's never too soon to start!