A Week in Writing #621 - Probably Not Tabling at SDCC

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

San Diego Comic-Con is a little over a week away, and even though I have tried to be ready to come off the waitlist to table at the show a second year, I'm really doubting, at this point, that we're going to get the call. I do feel a bit of disappointment at not being chosen, but I hear that it happens to everyone. It's just I'd like to know what we could do to increase our profile and get selected outright rather than playing the waiting game.

We're still going and leaving on Tuesday, even though we're not setting up. Last year, we had a good time prior to Preview Night and wanted to give it another go. Besides, hotel rooms are relatively cheap on Tuesday night before nearly doubling the next day. That all said, in two weeks, there will most likely be a delay in this blog post. I do plan to attend various panels and will report on them, like I always do.

Work continues on issue #30 of Powers Squared, "Aroma Therapy" with the artist working on the last few pages of the issue. That issue should come out next year. I also set up a page on our website for Issue #28, "Agnes Wreckage, Part 1" which we're hoping to drop in August. It's very blank at the moment, with more to come.

I've written two reviews this week. On Wednesday, we went to a Fathom screening of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. Even though I've reviewed the film once, seeing it on a big screen with an audience not made up of film students was a new experience and brought a different appreciation for the film. I also just finished one for Young and Innocent, a 1937 Hitchcock film, which I saw on the little screen at home. As always, not sure when those will see the light of day.

However, my review of Moana was the Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked. However, this was the 1926 "documentary", not the latest Disney live-action/animated remake of an animated film. The Wednesday Game Day review was Paul's for Deltarune Chapter 5.

I don't know how you felt about PlayStation's recent announcement that in 2028, they would no longer be producing physical discs for their videogames, but that didn't sit well with us, so our Friday On the Air with Powers Squared podcast was "The Benefits of Physical Media." You can watch it for the next few days on our Twitch channel, listen to it now here, or wait until Wednesday at 2:30 pm PDT and watch it on our YouTube channel.

Still working on the ending for Blackmail. I did take a swing but I wasn't happy with it. I'll work more on it this coming week.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week.

A Week in Writing #620 - Happy 5th!

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing and that you had a happy and safe 4th.

With the 250th birthday of America upon us, we decided to spend our podcast on Friday talking with Lucas Scheffel, a comic book creator from Australia, who also happens to have a Master's Degree in American History. Lucas was making his 12th appearance on our podcast, On the Air with Powers Squared. We covered a lot of topics and it's always fun to have him on. You can watch it on our twitch channel for the next few days, listen to it now, or watch it on our YouTube channel on Wednesday after 2:30 pm PDT.

The big goal for the week was the newsletter, which we finished and sent this morning. We may not have all the subscribers we'd like but we try to be consistent. The newsletter covers all things Powers Squared and The Blade of Miracles. I've given up asking you to join the mailing list, so you're left on the outside regarding The Hound Dogs' Howl.

Work continues on the next issue of Powers Squared. The first eight are colored and lettered and the next six have been drawn with work on pages 15 and 16 this week. But the issue won't be coming out until next year.

No word from SDCC about tabling. I did reach out to them and ask if I could find out where we were on the waitlist. They did answer back but, of course, didn't answer my question in the least: "Thank you for reaching out and letting us know you'll be able to take any last minute openings. If we have something for you, we'll contact you." Do they work for agents, as that sounds like a form letter, I may be reading it wrong, but I'm not confident at this point. Still, I feel like I have to be ready. I've reached out to our printer about getting books ready, but we're not getting the proofs until Monday, so a big order, just in case. Got to cover my bases.

No new review from me this week. Things sort of got away from us this weekend. Saturday night we were cooking out and making smores, so a movie wasn't really in the cards, though we sort of had A Hard Day's Night on; what's more patriotic than that? The Wednesday Game Day review on Trophy Unlocked, was Paul's review of 007 First Light. The Saturday Morning Review was Trevor's review of John Wick: Chapter 2. And we had a surprise Sunday morning review of Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, also written by Trevor.

I did get a chance to work on Blackmail and I'm sort of happy to say I'm almost done; two more chapters to go. I'm at 88,612 words. I'll be finishing it this week. Sorry to see it end in a way.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week.

A Week in Writing #619 - Feeling Good for a Change

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

I had a very nice surprise on Saturday, which I'd like to share. A little over a year ago, we left six copies of our then two trades with Golden Apple Comics in Hollywood. We were supposed to go back in six months to see how things went. As they say, life is what happens while you're busy making other plans, going back seemed to be put off and off and off. When I ran into Ryan, the owner, at WonderCon this spring, I apologized but he seemed to take it in stride. But we finally planned on going and that became one of the things we did on Saturday; wrote it on the calendar and everything.

To be honest, I expected to come away with 12 copies of the books, but to my surprise, they had sold 4 of each and kept the other four to sell them as well. I know there are books out there by indie publishers that sell that many in an afternoon at a con, but for me and Powers Squared, this was a big deal. So, I left the shop feeling good with more money in my pocket than I had going in.

While we're on the subject of Powers Squared, our artist is now working on page 15 of the next issue and the colorist has finished the first 8 pages, so things are coming togther.

Still waiting to hear if we're going to be called off the bench again for San Diego Comic Con. I'm not getting a good feeling about that, so we might not be tabling there this year. We are, and pardon me if I've mentioned this before, going to be Guests at L.A. Comic Con in October, so things aren't so bad, I guess.

I did work some on Blackmail this past week, but it's been a little slower than I expected. I've rewritten bits and pieces of the story leading up to the third act, so to speak, of the story. The word count is now at 88,460, as I've been taking away as much as I've been adding. I'm not going to promise a date when I'll be done, as there will be other things, no doubt that will come up, or have to be done this next week.

Our podcast this week, "OAPS #357 - DesignerCon 2026 (Pasadena)", was recapping our recent experience at DesignerCon last weekend. You never waste an experience when you do a podcast. You can watch now on our twitch channel for the next few days, listen to it here, or wait until Wednesday at 2:30 pm PDT to watch it on our YouTube channel.

Next Friday will be somewhat momentous, as it will be the eve of the United States' 250th anniversary. We're not a political podcast, but wanted to not let such a memorable anniversary go by without comment, so we've invited Lucas Scheffel (Angry Fred, Gary the Gorilla, Ned Kelly: First Blood) to be our guest, as he was an American History major in college.

I did write a review today for Supergirl, which we watched in a theater this morning. I think you'll have to wait until tomorrow to know what I thought about it. Otherwise, Trophy Unlocked is starting a summer of John Wick reviews, beginning with Trevor's review of the first film, John Wick. There will be other reviews, but we had a backlog of those films, so stayed tuned.

This coming week, will be more about the monthly newsletter than anything else. The Hound Dogs' Howl comes out once a month on the first Sunday of the month, so if you want to get your own copy, sign up. It's FREE!

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week.

A Week in Writing #618 - Tell Me If This Has Happened to You

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing. And Happy Father's Day!

We were going to do a very different podcast than we ended up doing. The idea was to talk about the 70th anniversary of San Romero Community College, the fake college where Powers Squared is based. The plan was to do an unboxing of the t-shirts I had ordered to celebrate, and, hopefully encourage someone to buy when they went online. Instead, we ended up talking about Toy Story 5 as well as the entire franchise.

The pivot came when we unboxed the shirts and discovered we got the wrong ones. Instead of the 70th anniversary shirts, we got the regular shirts. To complete the tale, I had also ordered one for the artist who designed them and she received hers earlier than we were going to do the podcast. She said they looked good, so I thought we were good to go. Turns out, I had inadvertantly ordered her the old t-shirt and she was tired when she looked at it, and didn't notice the error. The supplier is supposed to make good on ours, so hopefully that'll come quickly. And, yes, I ordered the artist the correct one this time. My guess is someone completed her order and then just continued with ours not noticing they were different items.

If you're interested, you can listen to the podcast here, and/or wait until Wednesday at 2:30 pm PDT to watch it on our YouTube channel (@powerssquared).

Speaking of Toy Story 5, I wrote the review, which came out today on Trophy Unlocked. This was a culmination of Toy Story related reviews, including the Wednesday Game Day review of Toy Story 3 (Game) by Trevor, and his second opinion review of Toy Story 4, which was the Saturday Morning Review on the blog.

I did mention last week that I was going to Designer-Con, known as D-Con on Saturday in Pasadena. It was my first time to attend. Even though we had weekend passes, it was pretty easy to do it all in one afternoon. It's more like LightBox than say Comic-Con. A lot of creatives showing their wares. We were able to make contact with someone we would like to have on the podcast, and see artists we were familiar with, but overall, we had a good time. No panels to attend, but still a lot of walking.

Work continues on the next issues of Powers Squared, though we sort of working on the same page for a week now. I think it'll get sorted out, but it really comes down to consistency of how a room looks now to how it's looked in previous issues.

I did work, and I'm still working on Blackmail. I'm still going through the last few chapters, currently making minor changes. It's currently 88,467 words, if you're still counting.

This coming week, we're planning to go to Golden Apple and pick up the trades that didn't sell. We were supposed to go back about six months ago, but Saturdays are hard to plan, so we're planning to go next Saturday. Hopefully, some sold, but otherwise, we can reuse them.

Still no word about SDCC, but I'm still trying to get ready in case it happens. We're hopefully, readying possible trades of both Powers Squared  and The Blade of Miracles. We got proofs back yesterday and made some minor changes, so hopefully, they'll look better.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back her next week.

A Week in Writing #617 - So, I Lied

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

I know I said last week that I would be working on Blackmail this week, but I didn't. Instead, I continued to work on the new story, untitled at this juncture. It's been a combination of editing what I had previously written as well as some new bits to tie it together. I do plan to get back to Blackmail, but this one sort of drew me in. In this one, he's hired to find a girl that supposedly ran away from home the summer before her senior year at high school. The twist is that it was 15 years ago. Also, at this point, J.D., my main character, is now a father by his wife, so I get to mix that into the story as well. At this stage, I'm 17,771 words in, compared to the 20,546 words I had on the first draft and there is only one more chapter from the previous version, then I will get back to Blackmail and finish that up.

Our podcast this week was our 24th Comic Book Club. This time it was my choice, usually I let my turn pass but I had become aware of what was supposed to be one of the first graphic novels, It Rhymes with Lust written by Arnold Drake and Leslie Waller (under the pseudonym "Drake Waller"), with art by Matt Baker and inks by Ray Osrin. Besides the three of us, Rachel Wells and Julia Canon were also there to give their opinions. The book dates from 1950, and is influenced by film noir. You can watch it on our twitch channel for the next few days but there may be audio issues. You're better off listening to it here or waiting until Wednesday at 2:30 pm PDT to watch it on our YouTube channel.

I'm sort of working for a review of The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1929), though sometimes watching a movie on Saturday night can be a dicey endeavor. And, yes, I dozed during the watching, so I'm rewatching those parts I missed. Being more awake has made me enjoy it more, but I won't be starting a review until I've seen it all. Trophy Unlocked isn't dependent on me for reviews and there were three this past week, starting with Tuesday's review of The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act, written by Paul. The Wednesday Game Day review was Paul's review of River City Girls 2; and the Saturday Morning Review was Paul's of Toy Story 3: it is his blog after all.

Waiting for a second proof of the third Trade for Powers Squared and a first for Trevor's for The Blade of Miracles. Trying to get ready in case we're called off the bench for San Diego Comic-Con. We were last year, so you never know. I just don't want to be caught flat-footed again. We managed to scramble to get everything ready with three weeks notice but the stars sort of aligned for some of that to happen, and I don't want to count on that coming together again.

Work continues on issue #30 of Powers Squared. Our artist is currently working on page 14 and our colorist is working on the first 8 pages. The next issue to come out would #28, "Agnes, Wreckage", Part 1 and I think we're probably looking at August for that to come out. It's going to be an interesting story arc, as two different artists will have drawn the two issues.

So next week, I should get back to Blackmail and finish my review of The Last of Mrs. Cheyney. Next weekend, we're attending DesignerCon in Pasadena. I've never attended it before, so it will be new, and hopefully exciting. I'll be writing about it after.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week.

A Week in Writing #616 - Going Back to LA Comic Con

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

The big news for me this week, is that SRCC Press, the publisher behind Powers Squared and The Blade of Miracles, will be returning to LA Comic Con in October, as a "guest" of the convention. It seems like every other year, we get involved with this Con. In 2022, we had a panel at the show and in 2024, we tabled and had a panel. Now, we're going back two years later. This is one of those things about Cons that I wouldn't have known if someone hadn't brought it to my attention. Steven Prince, the creator of Monster Matador, brought it to my attention, so I applied. We get a table and two chairs and I'm sure we'll be in the garage somewhere as the halls are being rennovated for the 2028 Olympics, but a free table is a free table. I'll give you more as I learn more, and, of course, will write about the experience here.

This week, the newsletter was the prime activity. Happy to say it was finished and sent out this morning, which is always a good feeling. If you haven't signed up for it, you have until August 1st to do so, if you'd like to receive it. Enroll here. It comes out once a month and it is FREE.

Our podcast this week featured another comic book writer, David Lucarelli, one of the only people we actually talked to at the Fanbase 10th Anniversary Potluck, a couple of weeks ago. He's the writer behind Tinsletown, The Children's Vampire Hunting Brigade, and Dr. Zomba's Ghostly Tales. Cool guy and I think it's a good interview. We prepped questions and he kept answering them before we asked, which is always nice. You can catch it on our Twitch channel for the next few days, listen here, and/or wait to watch it on our YouTube channel on Wednesday at 2:30 pm.

Next week, our podcast will be the Comic Book Club, and we'll be discussing It Rhymes With Lust, hailed as the first graphic novel. If you've read it or are curious, check us out at 6 pm PDT at twitch.tv/powerssquared.

I'm finishing up a review of Scarlet Street, which I believe was a recording leftover from TCM's last Summer of Darkness. As always, not sure when it will go up. But there are plenty of other reviews on Trophy Unlocked  for you to read, including Wednesday's Game Day review of I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Paul; Trevor's Second Opinion - Toy Story 2 was the Saturday Morning Review; and there was a surprise review this morning on Mortal Kombat 2, also by Paul. If you haven't caught on, this is Toy Story month on the blog.

I haven't yet picked up with Blackmail. Instead, I read through my sketchy start on another story in the franchise. I've started rewriting it, but I will spend sometime working on Blackmail, since that needs to get done.

Well, that's about it from me. Keep writing and I'll see back here next week.

A Week in Writing #615 - Blackmail (Second Draft) Done

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

Well, the headline is that I've finished a second draft of Blackmail. It's the latest in a series of unpublished novels I've written with main character J.D. Barrister, a Los Angeles based private detective. In this book, J.D. is recently married to Dr. Leanne Wilson, who is also two months pregnant. They attend a fundraiser for victims of the L.A. fires at the home of her ex-husband, actor Terry Wilson. Their marriage ended due to his infidelity. It is at the event that J.D. finds out that Terry, preying on her desire to make him happy, took a series of nude in public photographs of her before and during their marriage. He claims there are two volumes of photos and he offers to give one back each time J.D. does a job for him, rather than publish them, which would be embarrassing and bad publicity for her practice.

The first job is to find a woman that it turns out Terry had underage sex with a few years prior following a convention in Anaheim. J.D. manages to track her down to a small town in Michigan, where she's attending college. They meet and he finds out Terry has been paying for $20,000 a month to keep quiet about the incident. Making contact with her gives J.D. the first volume of photos, but to get the second one, Terry wants J.D. to kill her and record the killing.

I don't know how that sounds to anyone, but if you have comments, please feel free to leave them. It's currently, 88,451 words long and I'm going to give it another go through, as I've changed some actions and want to be sure they all line up.

But rather than start in on that right away, I picked up another story I had started. J.D. is hired to find a runaway who has been missing for 15 years. I was about 20,000 words into it before I decided to work on Blackmail. It doesn't have a title yet. I've started reading through it, finding a half started chapter in the middle of what I've written. I think I know what I was intending to do, but it's been several months.

We ended up having to watch our scheduled Friday night movie on Saturday night, Mortal Kombat, prior to seeing Mortal Kombat II, today. Not a good movie for me to review, so nothing new from me this week. I did finish my review of The Wind, if you're curious, but no date for release. The Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked this week is Paul's Second Opinion Toy Story. Hint: there's going to be more Toy Story content in the weeks to come on that blog.

Spent an evening resizing pages for the next two issues of Powers Squared. It's not work I like to have to do, but someone does. We still need to file for copyrights, perhaps next week, and then decide on a release date. We did hear back from the Copyright office about their turning down our months-old application, can we can simply register them separately. It made sense to us, but we had to ask.

Work continues on the next issue of the book, "Aroma Therapy, Part 1". Our artist is working on page 11, so I'm hoping her work wraps up in a couple of months and the issue will hopefully be finished two months after that. Our colorist is about a month behind the artist and the letterer a month after that.

Our podcast this week, was "(The Rest of) The Fourth Doctor". We had very recently finished watching Season 2 of the Tom Baker series, which was the only one we hadn't seen. This gave us a chance to finish off our discussion from before. You can listen to it on our website, watch it on our twitch.tv channel for the next few days, or wait and watch it on our YouTube channel (@powerssquared) at 2:30 pm PDT on Wednesday. Our guest next week is comic book writer David Blake Lucarelli (Tinseltown, The Children's Vampire Hunting Brigade). We'll go live at 6 pm PDT next Friday at twitch.tv/powerssquared. Be there and Be Squared.

This is newsletter week, so a lot of my attention will be putting together The Hound Dogs' Howl. You can always subscribe, for FREE, at https://mailchi.mp/9b9f918f79af/m1hbvbxiyn. It comes out on the first Sunday of every month, and is different from this blog, if you've ever wondered.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week.