A Week in Writing #526 - COVID/Flu Vaccinations

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

As I've mentioned before, Powers Squared will be at L.A. Comic-Con in October. That was part of the reason we decided this past Friday to get our Covid and Flu Vaccinations. And while we were aware that there would be side effects, none of expected that it would pretty much lay us up for Saturday. The vaccines are a good idea for everyone, but just beware it's going to kick Covid and the flu, but your own ass a little bit, too.

So, if you're going to be attending L.A. ComicCon, please look us up using this handy little map.

And, if you're coming on Sunday, please check out our panel, Under the Radar. It's at noon on Sunday in room 406A. (And, yes, I'm aware Steve Prince's name is mispelled and the app will be updated.) We're going to have a podcast with all of the participants on the 27th, so that might be fun to watch.

On the subject of Powers Squared, we had a good session on Sunday afternoon, going over sketches by our new artist, Jen Moreno. She started work on Issue #28 "Agnes Wreckage" (working title) and Paul and I had a call with her going over the pages. Good stuff.

Because of the side-effects, mentioned above, no new review this week from me. We instead watched Shorts 2, a collection from Mystery Science Theater 3000. My review of The First Auto was the Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked. And, if  you missed it, like I did, there was a Wednesday is Game Day review of 20 Small Mazes, written by Trevor.

On our Friday podcast, On the Air with Powers Squared, we interviewed James Salvani, a comic book artist and writer, best known for his work on the Darkwing Duck comic books. He talked about his career as well as his new Kickstarter for Pirates: A Graphic History. (That's a link to the Kickstarter).  If you'd like to hear the podcast, you can listen here, or you can wait and watch it on Wednesday at 2:30 pm PDT here.

To round out the week, I started editing on Skylar. This is my favorite part of the writing process, editing my own work, and trying to make it better. I've gone through about 154 pages so far and that will be my primary project next week.

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

A Week in Writing #525 - 10 Years of Weeks

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

Well, I'm going to consider this my 10th anniversary for writing this blog. I think the first post came out on September 1, 2014, but my first A Week in Writing was the 7th. If you're looking for some retrospective or a detail of what I've learned in that time, I'm going to disappoint you. What I've learned in the past ten years is not to give up. You've got to keep trying, keep moving forward and not stop. If your dream is to write, then you've got to write.

Before getting on with it though, I do want to thank my son Paul, who has been the editor on this blog for its entire run. It would be gibberish without him.

Since this blog is supposed to be about the past week, we're going to discuss that.

While this blog is celebrating it's 10th anniversary, we just did our 260th On the Air with Powers Squared. Since we've had him on the show seven times before, we decided to celebrate the milestone with Lucas Scheffel, a comic book creator from Australia. We talked about his projects, his recent con appearances and even his son's own book Pepperoni Man. But in a change of pace, we also discussed "Family Affair" Parts 1 and 2. You can listen to our conversation here or watch it on Wednesday at 2:30 pm on our YouTube channel.

During the week, we reviewed Julia's sketches for her final six pages of Issue #27. I believe I mentioned this previously, but Julia and Jen will be trading jobs on the book. Hopefully, we can get the issue completed by the end of the year.

Let's move on to Trophy Unlocked. This week, I had two reviews on the blog. The Saturday Morning Review was mine for Chaplin (1992). On Saturday, we went to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, so I wrote the review for that film and it went up this morning. I also started a review of Professional Sweetheart, but I'm not done with that one yet.

Since we were going to review Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, I thought I would take a look at my older review of Beetlejuice. At the end of the review was an outdated link to Warner Bros's Archive site, so I removed it. Apparently, removing that led to the blogger.com people pulling the review, referring it saying it "was flagged to us for review. We have determined that it violates our guidelines..." Huh? Editing is a violation of their guidelines? Apparently, we were spamming??? Anyway, it apparently righted itself and the post is back up.

And, if that wasn't enough, I believe I've finished the first draft of Skylar. I'm hoping net week to start editing. I believe there are still holes, but it's time to get on with it.

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

A Week in Writing #524 - Finally Getting Up to Speed

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

For whatever reason, the last two weeks have been a slog for me trying to get anything done. Late starts and falling asleep haven't helped. But this past week, I feel like I got back into it and made some real progress on things.

But let's start with the newest issue of Powers Squared, "Family Affair, Part 1", which drops on September 4. In this issue, Marty and Eli must get ready for something they've been trying to avoid, seeing their parents, Peter and Peggy Powers. And it turns out that their parents have secrets of their own. The issue will be available in both print and digital through The Campus Store on our website.

We also recorded a preview of the issue with colorist Julia Canon joining Paul, Trevor and myself. It is scheduled to be released the same day that the issue comes out. Hear it now here or watch it later on our YouTube channel (@powerssquared).

Speaking of podcasts, next week will be #260 for On the Air with Powers Squared, or five years, so be sure to check it out next Friday, September 6 at 6 pm PDT on twitch.tv/powerssquared.

That leads me to the newsletter, The Hound Dogs' Howl, which came out today. It's not hard to write, but it does take some time and I have to come up with a couple of news items besides just pointing to past podcasts. This time, I wrote about Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon, twins comic book writers and creators from Brazil. While you should join the mailing list, you can also read it here if you'd like.

Still getting ready for our turn at L.A. Comic-Con. I don't yet know where on the floor we'll be, but the panel I proposed, Under the Radar, will be Sunday at noon in room 406 B. We're planning on a pre-Con podcast with the participants and moderator on Friday, September 27.

There always seems like there's something else to do to get ready and I'm afraid we're still putting together the pieces. I would imagine things would be going together quicker and cheaper if this wasn't our first major Con. Hopefully, the next one won't take so much set up. Hopefully, there will be a next one.

We have all the books. This week, we bought sample t-shirts to hang up. Again, we're not selling them at the Con, but I've reduced the price on each to $20 and there will be a 15% discount, so I hope that is enticing enough to hopefully make some sales during the Con. Still need to buy the dolly for all the stuff.

Finished my review of Lady Be Good this week and began the process around The First Auto. My review of High School Confidential! (1958) was the Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked. When we were picking one, I thought it might be appropriate since school was starting all over the country.

And I also worked on Skylar this week. Though I never wrote a 1000 words a day, that's a goal, I did complete the first draft of a chapter I wanted to write, so I made progress there as well.

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

A Week in Writing # 523 - Another Slow Week

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

This has not been another red-letter week for me, when it came to writing. This week's excuse: the DNC and watching speechs after dinner and sometimes until almost 10 at night. I'm not going to get political, but that's my excuse this week.

The main project, which did take time, is trying to revise a "handout" that I'd like to make available at LA Comic-Con, describing our books. I use the word handout loosely, meaning something to have available at the table for passerbys to puruse, in case they want to look, but not speak. Prep continues in big and small ways, including ordering s-hooks to use to hang sample t-shirts from. We settled on the samples, now I'm trying to lower the prices before I order any.

We did receive an invite to participate in the first ever Neurodiversity Comic Con on November 9 in NYC. That, as they say, is a litttle too far for us. We are donating a couple of hardback trades to the cause, but it would be a little too expensive to participate in person. If you're interested in the con, you can find more information here: http://www.diversitycomiccon.com

We're still prepping for the next issue of Powers Squared  to be released on September 4. Paul and I spent a few minutes getting the book up on Kindle and GlobalComix. Family Affair, Part 1 sees Marty and Eli preparing for a visit from their estranged parents, Peter and Peggy Powers. And even though the boys have their secrets, their parents have some of their own. You can read a review of the issue: here.

This past week's podcast starred Trevor as we discussed Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Trevor has been reading the long-running comic book series, which is a good thing for a podcast about a book series. You can listen here or watch it on YouTube on Wednesday.

One more note about Powers Squared, I realized this morning that the newsletter is only a week away, so that's something else I'm going to have to work on this week.

Even though I haven't really worked on my backlog of reviews to write, and frankly, I may skip some, my review of What! No Beer? was the Saturday morning review on Trophy Unlocked.

And I did do cursory work on Skylar, but nothing to write home about.

I do plan to start sending queries again but I'll probably wait until after LA Comic-Con, as I don't need more disappointment in my life.

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

A Week in Writing #522 - Personal Changes and Fighting the Tired

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

I don't want to get into it right now, but things are changing that may lead to changes in finances. and I I'm talking, of course, about Powers Squared. I've been financing it and after a while, that will probably have to stop. I'm hoping we can do a Kickstarter next year and raise some capital to continue when the self-financing pool gets shallow. More details forthcoming but that's all I'm going to say about it now.

On the subject of Powers Squared, we had our 15th Comic Book Club meeting on Friday. Julia Canon and Jen Moreno joined Paul, Trevor and I to discuss Marvel’s Secret Reverse by Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! There was a 4-to-1 on recommending the book, but you'll have to listen to or watch the podcast to find out the split.

Still doing some prep work for L.A. Comic-Con, which is now less than two months away. The books I've ordered have arrived, as has a display rack for the books. There are still odds and ends we need to purchase, but the list is getting shorter. Today, as an example, we ordered a cloth to go over the table if and when we're away. I will, of course, publicize the location when I know it, and that might not be until after September 1st.

And I still don't know the date and place of the panel, Under the Radar, but I will, of course, publicize that as soon as I know.

A surprise Saturday Morning Review for me, my review of You've Got Mail was selected. We had originally thought about it as a possible drive-by Christmas movie, but it's really too drive-by to really count for that.

I did finish my review of Daughter of Shanghai and have begun, barely, one for Lady Be Good (1941). Again, not sure when either will appear.

I worked for three days on Skylar this week, and while I made a change in the storyline, my three days of work amounted to about a 1000 pages total. I'm trying to power through being tired to work on it, but sometimes the tired wins.

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

A Week in Writing #521 - Getting Ready for L.A. Comic-Con

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

It may seem like it's still months away, actually a little under two, but that doesn't mean there aren't panic moments in getting ready for our table at L.A. Comic-Con. The most obvious is getting the table paid for. I had paid for the half of the cost several months ago and had, I believed, until August 15th to pay the second half.

Now, wouldn't you expect to get an invoice asking the amount due? Or, an email reminder to pay and how to pay it? With about a week to go before the deadline, I had gotten neither. I had spoken to a representative of the Con and had exchanged emails, so I thought I'd try him. When I didn't get a response (and I'm impatient by nature), I tried to call him on the phone we had spoken on. Well, that number was no longer in service. What did that mean? Was he no longer there?

I tried the phone number that was on the original receipt, and again, that number was no longer in service. Well, now I'm getting into full panic-mode and I wrote the person who had sent me the receipt, then the info email for the Con, and I even reached out to the Con on their Facebook page, explaining what I was trying to do.

I did receive an email, from someone else at LA Comic-Con, who sent me an invoice and was able to pay the amount due. I even got a phone call from the contact I had spoken to. Apparently, the Con offices were moving and they were getting new phone numbers.

Not sure if there is a lesson in there or not.

On other L.A. Comic-Con news, my panel was accepted. Under the Radar will return to the Con. Again, it will feature the creators of Powers Squared, but will include Erik Arreaga, the creator behind Chingona, and Steven Prince, the creator behind Monster Matador. The moderator this time will be an upgrade, as John Barber, the Editor in Chief at Pan-Universal Galactic Worldwide. I don't know the day or time or place just yet, but I'm pleased it was approved.

Now, if that wasn't enough excitment for a week, I also decided to order additional copies of our issues for possible sale. I decided to have at least five copies and reordering some allowed me to make updates to the existing issues on the printer's website. We had not only made some edits on the first five issues, but had also add the SRCC print bug to the covers. Turned out to be seven issues and for whatever reason, the printer's website was taking the uploads, so I had to save them in our dropbox and send them links. Well, the dropbox is practically full now and I keep getting fun messages to upgrade.

The podcast this week was very different than previous ones, as both Paul and Trevor were at a Megadeth concert and we were scheduled for a team meeting. I had the great hope of being able to run it solo, but despite copious notes I ran into an issue and artist/colorist Julia Canon took over. It was odd to be on the guest end of the podcast for a change, but I thought it went quite well. You can listen to it here, or wait and watch it on Youtube on Wedensday afternoon at 2:30 pm PDT here.

Based on this week's peek-of-the-week, I also updated the website for the new issue and adding a synopsis that will possibly be changed, but at least it's showing that it's coming. Since the peek is a pencil of the cover, the preview also features the pencils for the cover and pages 1 and 2. I don't want to play with the peek and then give it all away, now do I? That doesn't seem to be fair.

Well, all that didn't leave much time for anything else. I did make some updates to my review of Daughter of Shanghai, but I wouldn't say I got much done. This week's Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked  was Trevor's review of Descendants: The Rise of Red, a Disney+ movie.

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

A Week in Writing #520 - Newsletter Week (and not much else)

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

Being this was the last week of July, I spent time putting together The Hound Dogs' Howl, the monthly newsletter from Powers Squared. While, the newletter sort of writes itself, there are bits that need attention. This month's was writing the section on twins. If you subscribe (and why aren't you?), you would know that we do a focus on twins, real and fictional. Since we had met the Gibbs Sisters, twins who write together, including graphic novels, at a networking event at San Diego Comic-Con, I thought they would be a good choice.

If you're interested, you can read the newsletter here or, better yet, enroll at San Romero Community College here and receive it in your inbox the first Sunday of every month.

Other than that, I didn't really do much writing. Call it the post-Con bends or something, but it takes awhile to recover from the experience.

Last night, as an example, we had had dinner and watched a rather short film, Daughter of Shanghai (1937), but as soon as I sat down afterward to write, I pretty much fell asleep, and it was only 10. Not a productive night to say the least.

While there were no new reviews from me, Trophy Unlocked continued, wrapping up X-Men month with Paul's second look at Deadpool (Game) and finally, on the 31st, his review of Deadpool & Wolverine. The Saturday Morning Review this week was also his review of My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission.

On the business side of things, I submitted my panel and ordered books for L.A. Comic-Con in October; and we wrote follow ups to people we met at SDCC, some of whom we'd like to have as guests on our podcast.

Speaking of On the Air with Powers Squared, we did recount our experience at SDCC, but more from an attendee rather than as a professional. I covered that in last week's post, which I hope someone found useful, or at least interesting. You can listen the podcast here or wait until Wednesday to watch on our YouTube channel (@powerssquared) here. Paul is also working on a video detailing our experience at the Con. Links when those go up.

Nothing else to report, but there's always next week to right the ship.

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