Foxy's Journal

4:41pm: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36600332/ns/world_news-americas/?gt1=43001

This would NEVER happen in Chicago...

8:04pm: Shit, I'm tired of people running their goddamn mouths. Go get a life, you assholes.

1:36pm:
http://www.lulu.com/content/content/7190398
It's my book...
Also on www.arkhambridge.com , that's my publisher...

11:35pm: Man, the new Coast to Coast AM website is the most underwhelming piece of crap I've ever seen. They just shifted the layout around and put some new fonts on it and put George's stupid face-for-radio up there and that's it? That's what he's been so excited about? That's what he's been talking about for the past... what is it, four, five months? What the hell took so long? Why'd they remove the upcoming shows teasers? Why did they remove the link to Ian Punnet's blog, other than the fact that George is trying to hijack the show entirely and submit us all to his banal non-interviewing questioneer style? George was excited about this, has he even seen a website before?

...at least it's better than the TimeCube style of web-pages most of the guests on the show have.

Also, Ed Dames is a moron. George asked him why he hasn't remote-viewed Osama's location and Ed was all like 'well we could but we couldn't do anything about it because nobody wants to find him because [politics].' Really. Really? That's the best you could come up with, Ed? If you could -- and that's a pretty big if -- why not just tell the world where he is? Hell, Moussad would probably take him out then. You know why he didn't say that? Cuz he's a crock of shit, that's why. It just hurts to listen to him, and George is always talking about how great he is because he was 'dead on' with Steve Fosset's location. He was in the mountains. Really? Really. Even better was that he predicted an 'upcoming global economic collapse'. Cuz... history hasn't shown that happening before.

Guess what? I predict there's going to be a war in the future! I'll write a book about it and then you can give me money for being unimpressive!

4:37pm:

'I wanted to thank you for your submission to <name>.  I found your story-line had many interesting factors that I liked but after reviewing your material and although I find considerable merit in it, I have opted to pass on your work.

8:48pm:

That's it. I'm leaving the internet for awhile. You assholes entertain yourselves.

7:45pm: There's no point in writing. I'm never going to get anywhere. I think I'll give up and let all my dreams and ideas die...

7:56pm: I hate my life so much. This was a mistake. I should've stayed home. God, I wish I was dead. Why can't I die in a car crash or something so I can be a tragedy instead of an embaressment? Suicide is a sin, I can't do that... what would my dog do without me? He'd have to come to. I can't ever hurt him. Guilt keeps me alive... the pain... don't let them see you like this, you worked so hard for this all and now you don't want it! Why! Why is this happening to me, why am I so... alone? Choice... I abandoned them! I let them... go... I ran away, run away, save yourself... but I'm not worth saving... damnit, I should have stayed there! I could be useless with friends instead of worthless alone! The worst thing I've ever done... I flip out at my friends, I've gone unstable again... can't let anyone know, do you know what they'll do to me when they find out? I'll lose my job... what will I do then? I'll lose my home... my dog's home... everything I worked for... I'm throwing it all away, why is my head so bad? I'm a horrible person... go away...

6:26am: Home now...
...details to follow.

8:58am: For personal reasons, I need to take some time away from the internet. I'm sorry. I don't know when I'll return. Some of you know what this is about.

8:27am: A Recusal
Please don't ask me my opinion on the auto industry bailout. I can't provide an unbiased (well, less-biased, maybe) opinion. Most of my dad's remaining income is from a pension from a Chevrolet dealership, so I can't help take this debate personally. Please, it's just better for all involved not to get into it with me. Thank you.

5:22am:

A friend of mine says that I talk about my real life too much. I thought he was just being silly but when I look at it, I feel like there may be truth to it. Sometimes I wonder if it's secure to talk about anything on the internet, or safe.

10:00am: Tales from the Front

...or: What the Hell Is Going On.

Time for a status update!

Yesterday I got a response from DAW: they don't want my book. I had high hopes for them, too, since they've already published books with anthropomorphic-style critters. Bummer, right?

Yeah, sort of.

What bothers me most about their response (it's a form letter, but at least it was obviously hand-folded so that's something) isn't that it's necessarily negative. It doesn't say 'your book is stupid and so are you'; it's three paragraphs, and the second one is essentially about the economy.

Yeah, they rejected my book because its 'economically unfeasible', to paraphrase someone from my book. They don't believe it'd be a commercial success in this market.

...um, okay.

So how do you respond to that? How do you react to that? It took them exactly 21 days from the date of sending (not receipt) to the date of receipt of a response. What does that mean? Is that bad? Or is that more of a 'we're only looking for really dynamite shit right now'?

In other news, I've been randomly touching up Foxhunt! for no particular reason. I'm on verson 3.2 (third draft and second minor mod), and right now I'm really just fiddling with a little left-over mechanics that I want to tinker with. And some general word changes and terminology. Nothing terribly exciting.

Alex Stayl's book about whatever is up to about 30,000 words, including a handful of random excerpts I've written in advance. You know how it is, an idea for a certain scene or conversation comes to mind for later on and you jot it down real quick and then figure out a way to incorporate it in the future. I've got some interesting ones right now, but I'm still worried that the story's a little dry.

Part of that is setting. I love my setting but I don't think I'm properly conveying that with what I have. Another part of the setting is that I don't think I've fully nailed down what it should be; there's things I feel that are missing, or that it's not distinctive enough. That's hard to deal with, really.

Another part is Stayl. I think I need to do some character exercises to flesh him out a bit more. I should be able to answer any questions that anyone has about him, right? Better still, they shouldn't have questions.

Anyway, back to the publisher search.

I went searching for more new publishers yesterday and... found one. So I'm up to four big publishers (two of which I've already used up, EDGE and DAW), and one mid-level publisher (Nomadic Delirium or something like that, bonus points for being similar to an Armored Saint album). Although this is cross-referenced against sci-fi action-adventure publishers that accept unsolicited submissions, as well as checking against Preditors & Editors and Writer Beware. And a handful that don't accept 'non-Earth sci-fi'. And one that only accepts unsolicited submissions four months of the year.

No, Del Ray isn't accepting unsolicited submissions.

So I'm down to Tor, Baen, and Nomadic Delirium. Bleh.

So before I get any further let me just take a moment to ask if anyone has recommendations for legitimate publishers that would be accepted unsolicited submissions, or otherwise ideas.

Anyway, I'm hoping to use the internet as a resource (for free) without having to pay money for the Writer's Guide to Whatnot, but so far it doesn't seem like it's being particularly useful, since a large amount of results are... questionable.

Now, after that, my second option is... eh, one of the couple of dedicated 'furry' publishers. Of course, it'd have to be a totally clean one -- no offense to all but I want to avoid the whole sexual area of the fandom. Please don't lecture me about that; it's just not that kind of book and I'm not that sort of writer. I already forgot who that one was, but Watts mentioned it so I can ask her again, she's been published already, so huzzah. At the very least, if I find a good publisher, I can get those books into cons... but on the other hand, there's a certain... stigma about the furry community. No, don't argue, it's there, okay?

Wait, I lied. There's a slightly-ahead-of-second-option, eBooks. I'm not too keen on it because (a) I'm still worried about piracy, (b) I've heard rumors that Amazon and Barnes & Noble are trying to come out with their own proprietary deals for eBooks that would shut out anyone who doesn't publish with them (please correct me if I'm wrong on that), and (c) it takes away the fun of smashing people in the face with my book while screaming YEAH EAT THAT SUCKAH LOOK WHAT I DID! YEAAAAAAAAAAAH!

...though I'm keeping the option open. The nice thing about those two, though, is that I should theoretically be able to explore my options with furry publishers without making commitments, so those two are essentially even because I could speak to a publisher/editor one-vee-one, if you dig me. Comments?

...and my last option is self-publishing. Now, before I get 10,000 comments for Lulu (or the minute-biography of David Wong), let me just say that's my last, last option. I've heard that it's very, very, very difficult to (a) make a lot of sales with Lulu (a Lulu bestseller is 500 copies), (b) there's a stigma against it and it'll be hard to move from that to real publishing, and (c) it's a buttload of work.

Though tied in with Lulu is the handful of independent publishers that actually operate through Lulu. No, I'd rather not go through one of those (I'm no advertiser), but it will give me the option of being able to set up my own publishing house for myself to do my entire series, as well as other books set in the universe, and supplementary whatnot. I've gotten a surprising amount of requests for copies of the Books of Creation for instance, and... hell, I ain't written one of those!

Either way, I've got some time before I need to figure out what I'm doing. I'm not spending any money sending out or printing manuscripts until the situation at work is settled. Although Baen accepts electronic submissions so I might consider that because it's free.

Time to run, I'm off to see Quantum of Solace! Also, go Blue!

Comments?

7:11am: The harder I consciously try to not flip out about things, the more I flip out. That's not the way it's supposed to work! I'm sorry, I feel like I've failed... Denare is so nice for reading my messages... I think I could cry.

7:08am: Every day for the past seven days I've been having horrible nightmares. They're all about dying, me dying, my own sence of mortality, or my desires to no longer live. Is that something I should be worried about?

7:19pm: news.aol.com/article/is-it-cool-to-be-an-american-abroad/238998

AKA - Europeans are fucking shallow

3:59pm: Why the hell are you reading this? Don't you have anything better to do?

5:27pm: I hate it here. I want to go home.

6:31pm: New video :

11:05pm: My Life
My life would have been so much better without the internet. If I'd never discovered it those years ago, and gotten myself bogged down in this virtual world instead of the real one. Maybe if I hadn't been suckered into a life with computers I would have grown up happy and normal, and my life could have meant something. If I could go back and change it all, I would. I'd be a happier person if I'd never gone online, or at least not when I did.

6:01pm: A New Story I Wrote
I wrote a new story today. It's called War Never Changes. Yeah, so sue me.

War Never Changes (2,338 words)

The war should have been over by now.

They'd promised. The invasion would be over before the end of summer, they'd be greeted as liberators, and the conquering victors would march through the streets of the capital to a hero's parade. A new regime would be installed, and the two nations would embark on a new future of peace and prosperity, brokered by diplomats and supported by the populace. Only a handful of brave young lads would be forced to give the ultimate sacrifice.

( Continue...Collapse )

5:32am: KWAME TO RESIGN
http://www.wwj.com/Kilpatrick-Pleads-Guilty--Will-Resign/2904617

The best news I've read all week.

10:08pm: Please don't vote if...
Please don't vote if you spend more than two hours a day on YouTube. The high proportion of idiocy to actual content makes it highly likely that your opinions will be skewed towards unrealistic perceptions of the world.

Please don't vote if you have a blog. The mere fact that you have the ability to post opinions does not make them more relevant, useful, intelligent, or necessary. It gives you delusions that people actually care about what you think merely because you can say it. I'm aware of the hypocrisy.

Please don't vote if you watch The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, or their ilk. Serious issues need to be taken seriously, and flippancy leads to complacence. The world is not a land of 'lol politix', actual issues have actual effects, and the mockery of such will only lead to a blissful ignorance of the important causal relations. Ignorance is not bliss; ignorance is the death of freedom.

Please don't vote if you mock tragedy. There is no difference between mocking the effects of natural disasters as there are mocking those who are different because of race, religion, or sexual preference. Abrasive and distasteful humor against one source makes it easier to create that against another. You are contributing to intolerance.

Please don't vote if you consider the internet as a legitimate source of news. Putting information in the hands of people who have no natural right or training to contribute to it is counter-productive.

Please don't vote if you have double standards. You probably don't even realize you do.

Please don't vote if you consider the solution to a problem to be more of that problem. More bad ideas are not a counter to new ideas.

Please don't vote if you are closed-minded and prone to jumping to conclusions and assertions before hearing all options. If you ever hear yourself saying the phrase 'this is the correct way', you have already failed yourself, your friends, and those who depend upon you.

Please don't vote if you're reading this.

I'm not.

12:36pm: Hi.
I'm still here. I just haven't had anything interesting to say lately.

New videos on YouTube, check them out.



Silly spoof made with The Movies.



Descent 2 soundtrack video playlist thing.



Parody of video game reviews.

9:22pm: