Instruction On Shakespeare
Shakespeare, or someone else?
Even though YouTube is in great danger of being completely engulfed in AI slop there are still plenty of gems to be found there. I miss the old days of YouTube, when there was no algorithm to speak of and you found interesting videos based on your own interests and brain power.
One of the great things about this site is it can serve as a great educational platform. I’ve found several great teachers who can help illuminate one’s knowledge and understanding of the genius of Shakespeare. And, for the record, I never believed in this nonsense that Shakespeare wasn’t a real person, or that he couldn’t write the very works he is credited with writing. I find that theory silly, classist and without merit. This essay here is enlightening on why Shakespeare’s ideas about how the classes interacted with one another wasn’t particularly accurate at the time, which lends credence to the fact that he actually wrote those plays. It’s a very good and enlightening read.
Were Shakespeare’s Plays Written By An Aristocrat?
There truly was a man named William Shakespeare and yes, he actually wrote the plays he is attributed to writing.
Paul Cantor, my favorite instructor on Shakespeare is one of the best teachers you can find anywhere. Sadly, Cantor has since passed from this mortal coil but his instruction on understanding Shakespeare’s plays remain on YouTube. If you love Shakespeare I urge you to please give his videos a look. In my opinion, they are the next best thing to attending an ivy-league university course on the subject.
Paul also adroitly addresses the notion of Shakespeare actually being an aristocrat writing under the name “Shakespeare”. He is no fan of the theory and slaps it down as the nonsense that it is. Even if you disagree I think that you will find his videos on the plays worth your time.
First DRAft
I don’t have much to say right now as I’m still at work on the manuscript. But I have finished the first draft of Message At The Deep. Usually when this happens I take about a week to relax my mind and work on other things. Well, I’ve done that and now I am in the beginning revision stage where the body is being filled in or changed as need be. Sometimes this is the most difficult and the most rewarding phase of a book for me.
On another note I have been looking out for new books to read. I am making my way through C. J. Cherryh’s Chanur saga and I love it. I wonder why I’d never read it back in the 80’s? Too busy reading those hoary Dungeons and Dragons books, I guess! I did read some of her other books back then but this is my favorite series from her. I may do a blog post on this series alone soon. It’s a classic in science fiction. Everyone should read it.
On a YouTube book blog I found out about a fantasy book called Godfallen by Tim Meyer. They were talking about the cover and how much they loved that retro fantasy look. I love it too and I plan to check the story out. Much respect to the artist of this cover. I love science fiction and fantasy covers from the 70’s and 80’s. They remind me of what an awesome and carefree childhood I had back then.
Retro? Yes, retro!
This book sounds good too. I will be checking this out on my next trip to Powell’s. It’s giving me Conan the Barbarian vibes, and that is a very good thing!
Happy reading!
Reminders And research
Things are coming along and I’m even thinking of plots for the next few books in this series but it is always a good idea to go over principles of good storytelling and for me that is John Truby’s two towering achievements, The Anatomy of Story and The Anatomy of Genres. I can’t recommend these two books enough for any writer when looking for how to shape a story idea or organize a bunch of ideas or plot points when getting ready to work on a new manuscript. I’m also planning to build a shop here for my books on this website so that books can be sold right here, directly.
Life is doing what life does, happening and closing and opening doors to new and old paths. Jumbled thinking, I know, but this is stream of consciousness stuff, so, forgive me.
The protagonist of this new series, Jonas, is turning out to be who I can truly resonate with. He is very different form that last protagonist I wrote about, Robert Astor, whom I loved writing about very much. He was cheerful, outgoing almost nothing got him down for long. Jonas is very different and it is interesting to see the difference in personality. A Princess of Mars was the main inspiration for the Mission series and Robert Astor was, I suppose you could say, a goofy, self-effacing version of John Carter. Jonas Johnson is very different and for him I had always specifically was inspired by the Knights Templar. In an unofficial way he is an errant knight. In any case, in a few weeks it will be time for me to take a trip to Powell’s bookstore for some books on the Templar Knights. So I’ve got quite a bit of homework to do. Truby, along with the history of the templars. But this is the kind of homework that is fun to do!
Happy reading!
Humming Along
Changes are always taking place. Family drama and issues. Another family change is happening. This time it’s a good thing. Major debts are being paid off one by one (yay!) I couldn’t be happier.
The manuscript is coming along nicely. It seems at this point that I may be writing ten books for this new series. I already have the titles worked out. of course this can change in time but this is part of the road-map that I enjoy working creating for my stories. I know that free writers would be scandalized by such stick-in-the-mud ways but I love doing that and I often come up with a title first and then build a story around that. That’s just how I roll!
Tentative titles:
Message At The Deep
The Red Book (or The Red Book of Ralston)
The Great Game
House of Air
Super Unknown
Blood and Consequences
Where The Stars Are Strange
The Goodship Carcossa
On The Hour Of Our Meeting
The Raven And The Phoenix
Several are inspired by Tolkien, as you may have noticed, one by Soundgarden, one by Ambrose Bierce and one, tangentially by Arthur Conan Doyle. Whether these titles will remain is another matter. Things can always change. Anyway, I don’t have much to say besides that. I hope those that are on the subscriber list enjoyed the short story I wrote. Happy reading and writing!
About Time
Microsoft and Google have ruined computing and the internet for me! After twenty years of using Google and thirty years of using Microsoft, both of these companies have pushed me to make radical changes.
This comes on the heels of my getting back to a more analog-friendly lifestyle anyway. I should have made these changes a long time ago. In fact, I did try to switch to Linux about twenty-five years ago. I think it was the Kali distro (I think). It ended in tears since I had no idea what I was doing and I went running back to Microsoft. Not this time. The copilot AI nonsense, keylogging from the OS, constant ads, and the constant surveillance of these companies on their users, and there are plenty of other bad actors who are part of this surveillance, it is enough! I’ve had it! Microsoft won’t even allow its new distro, Windows 11, on to computers that lack the certain brand new AI chip requirements, bringing the hated forced obsolescence to mind, something I railed against years ago when I was still on Blogger.
I thought about rolling back to Windows Vista, my favorite Windows, or Windows 7, but the security issues make me nervous. Microsft is no longer supporting these versions, especially not Vista. Vista was the most beautiful version of Microsoft and I loved it and 7 is a close second. But given that Linux has made great strides in making distros for non-technical users, and is well known for giving users more privacy, I decided on Linux and I won’t be using Google search anymore. I’m also migrating from Gmail. I will alert subscribers of my new email soon. There shouldn’t be any changes subscribers have to make on their end. Later this year I’ll be getting a de-googled phone. I’m excited by this!
Lately, I’ve been getting more into physical books (naturally, as a writer) old stereos, record players, records, old radios, CDs, DVDs and all manner of physical media. After all, I’m a child of the 70’s and 80’s. I grew up with analog stuff. I’m even looking into shortwave radio. More on that later this year. Anything to fight what Shoshana Zuboff called The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, the name of a very good book, which of course, she is the author. Leaving some of this stuff behind has given me more time to be more productive and it has increased my happiness overall. when ads and social media posts aren’t making you feel inadequate as a human being and driving you crazy trying to keep up with everything, you can relax and find better things to do. Like I’ve said, this should have been done years ago. Well, the next best time to do it is now.
Cha, Cha,Cha, cha, Changes. . .
I’m hearing about some wicked things coming our way when it comes to Amazon! And what might that be? Less ownership over our own Kindle devices! It seems that After the 26th of this month (February) Amazon will take away an option to allow Kindle users to download their Kindle content to their computers and keep it. Why Big Tech seems to be going the way of Klaus “you will own nothing and you will be happy” Schwab is disturbing but we need to fight back by downloading as much stuff that we own that we can, and in some respects, go analog. I remember a time when I loved technology. I loved the internet. But tech elites have ruined so many things for people over the years, the most precious things being freedom of speech and freely shared information of all sorts. I’ve also decided to switch to Linux next month. But that is an entirely different post!
So, the reason for this post is simple. I have been planning to open my own bookshop through my website at some point this year anyway. That was the original plan but instead of late fall I may be opening the online shop some time in September. This action by Amazon has made me decide to get moving sooner on the online shop. On my online shop readers can purchase and download my books and keep their copies forever. No tricks!
Another thing that will be coming out this fall is the first book of my new science fiction series Message At The Deep. I’m also working on a new short story that will be released next month. Subscribers will get the short story for free. Not a subscriber? Subscribe here!
Now, I must get back to work!
Progress On The Jonas Johnson Series
It’s been a while since I’ve made a blog post but never fear, I am here, working hard on my new series. Things are coming along well and I am excited about this new series. The first book, Message At The Deep is opening up well. One thing I do struggle with is the voice and tone of the first book in a series. Each book and each series has its own style, voice and tone and it wasn’t until I’d gotten to the seventh chapter that the style and voice in this series truly started to reveal itself to me. This is science fiction but there are medieval elements of knighthood in it as well, which makes it an unusual balance when it comes to tone and style. Trust me to embark on a project that makes little sense!
I don’t anticipate the first book’s release until the fall of this year. I do plan to publish a partial chapter on my blog and if you are on the mailing list (it’s a good idea! Get on the mailing list) I will be publishing two chapters for subscribers. Look for that sometime in the spring. I am also working on a fantasy short story. Look for its release in February. I will only be releasing the short story to subscribers, so sign up for the mailing list! Happy reading!
ON Philosophy
“Wisdom is the most important thing, so acquire wisdom, And with all you acquire, acquire understanding.” - Proverbs 4:7.
I’ve been reading philosophy this past summer and listening to philosophy podcasts lately. One philosophy that I’ve long been attracted to is Stoicism. I am currently reading The Discourses by Epictetus and will probably go into reading something from Marcus Aurelius after finishing that. I’m also reading Jung as well, though technically he is psychology. I have a large tomb from Freud that is still on my TBR pile. Much of these ideas can help any writer become a better one.
Not all philosophy is appealing to me. The Old Ones I plan to read - Augustine, Plato, Socrates, Zeno (if I can even find anything from him) I plan to read. Also, I am currently listening to a lecture series on Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy by Dr. Corey Oleson. There are some philosophies that I have thought of as poisonous to Western society (Nietzche, Kant, Voltaire, Foucault) which I am in no hurry to read. I’m not saying that I will never read them but I wouldn’t regard it as a great loss if I never get around to them.
This is a series I plan to write about from time to time as I come to some revelation or if I want to work through my thoughts on what I read on this blog. Of course, there is also Biblical philosophy, though technically, that would more about theology. But there is a kind of philosophy in the Bible as well. After all, philosophy is a kind of wisdom about the world and the heavens. Wordly wisdom, or human wisdom is often in conflict with Godly wisdom in some way or another. But that doesn’t mean something can’t be learnt from such wisdom. I have found Stoicism to be quite appealing, especially in these turbulent and anxiety-riddled times. So far, from what I am learning from it, at its most basic sense, the Stoic does not worry about the forces and things beyond his control. He is concerned with living a life of Virtue and the things he can control and one of those things is getting his emotions and feelings under the dominion of his rational mind. Strict self-control and discipline, unto the point where he no longer fears Death. I think there is wisdom in thinking about Life in these terms.
And my favorite idea about the definition of wisdom comes from the Bible - “The Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” - Proverbs 9:10. Happy Reading.
An Apetite For weird Fiction
A lost place where strange forests thrive and black stars rise. . .
A lost place where strange forests thrive and black stars rise. . .
I’m still working my way down my current TBR pile. But I am planning to explore more weird fiction. I already have Poe’s works, one of the preeminent ones in that genre ( if you can call it that), of course, there is Lovecraft, who I’ve read in the past.
I’ve listened by audiobook to The Hyperborean Cycle by Clarke Ashton Smith which I have enjoyed immensely. His writing reminds me very much of Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, and for good reason, that selection of short stories was partially inspired by those two authors.
Whom I haven’t read yet and need to is Robert W. Chambers, author of the book of short stories called The King in Yellow. Quite influential as authors in that genre go. There was a popular and critically acclaimed TV show that used the Yellow King as its theme. I also ran across a work by M. R. James, a story narrated by the wonderful Christopher Lee, and I plan to find more from him.
These writers exist in the gray areas between genres or have pioneered whole genres by themselves, like Poe. When I write my own stories I often mix genres. When I write fantasy, I add science fiction elements and when I write science fiction I add fantasy elements. It was something that I’ve always done. I do feel a kinship with these genre-bending authors and I also like the archaic style of their writings. I realize that this style and genre-bending isn’t popular these days. I’m always behind the curve, off the path or whatever. I never manage to do what is popular. I gave up on that sort of thing years ago.
But when did I ever follow anyone else’s rules?
Back to the TBR pile. I will be putting these authors on my next TBR pile, as well as a few books on the Templar Knights as well as some important science fiction authors and even myth. I have some interesting things coming up on the next reading pile. Happy reading!
New Release!
Finally! It's here!
Finally, it is here! Mission: Future Fantastic! I will be uploading it to various places this coming week. When a manuscript is finally, truly completed. It feels great! I can say that I’ve finished this series, thank God! It was looking kind of iffy for a few years!
Now, on to the next manuscript!
Look for the links to the various stores where it will be sold at this website!
