BOOK 3, draft two....DONE!!!

What's up everyone?!?!? First off, I'm back stateside, so that's cool.

But more importantly than my safe return...I'M DONE WITH THE SECOND DRAFT!!!!

That's right, literally just finished draft two of "The Other Side" right now, and I mean right now! I wanted to shut off my computer and I donno, go eat, go do something, anything to get me away from a computer screen, buuuuuuuut I wanted to share this piece of awesome info with ya'll.

"So, Thompson, what does that mean?"

Good question...I probably have mentioned it before, but I do write a few more drafts before I send it off....BUT WHAT IT MEANS is that we are SUPER close to release... while I can't give a specific release date, this day- finishing draft two- marks the beginning of the end (dramatic pause.....aaaaaand continue) I mean all that's left is cleaning up the story and adding my finishing touches...kinda like sanding a sculpture, or nothing like it, I donno, I don't sculpt.

I will say that this story is exhausting...in every sense of the word. This epic has everything I know you'll be craving and I'm anxious for you to read and see how it all ends...

But there you have it..I'm tired so no more for right now...any questions about the process (other than "when's the release date?") and I'll be happy to answer.

Stay tuned for more, world...

-me

Well Hello There :)

Hey Guys just had a couple minutes so I wanted to write ya'll. How's everyone been? Anything new to report? Working on any projects? Seen any movies lately?

So bit by bit I've been chiseling away at draft two. Still quite the monster, but I'm gonna continue to work at it, don't worry :)

I know there's been a few reviews out there, but I'm curious...what are you guys thinking of the story so far? Likes/dislikes? The Change step things up a bit? What are you expecting for the third book?

Oh fun news...this weekend there is gonna be a super sweet deal in case you wanna get your hands on the books ;) ;) that's "wink wink" for the people who need the visual.

Be sure to check out amazon.com/author/asthompsonamazon.com/author/asthompson on FRIDAY!!!

See ya soon, and don't be shy to write me :)

G'day world,

me

So this is where I'm at...

Alright, let's get right into it. Good news/Bad news.

Good news is I'm more than halfway through with the second draft of the third book! Yay!! It's crazy, sad, happy, gritty and, well, awesome!

Bad news is it's not gonna be done for a few more months :(

"But Thompson, why not? You left us hanging and we want to know how it all ends! Is that so much to ask for?!?!" you shout to the heavens, well, maybe you didn't but I'm just gonna assume you did.

My reply is...

"I'm leeeeeeeeeeeeaving on a jet plane (yes, I'm singing it out-loud)" but I know when I'll be back again.... and unfortunately I won't be back til summertime. Can't tell ya where I'm working, can't have my stalkers following me outta the country ;)

Now I know I've told a few people I'd try to have Book Three (The Other Side) out by the end of January, but honestly this book is sooooo freakin' long, like EPIC-long, that it's just been incredibly time consuming. And it's not like I'm lolly-gagging (hi, 1950's) I really am hard at work! There's no way I was gonna rush the story and put out a POS finale, so just know that I'm working hard to get you the best quality book you deserve.

BUT!

That being said, I am over halfway done and with the second draft (traditionally the draft that takes the longest for me), so when I finish, take a small break to regain my sanity, I'll hit the third and fourth drafts hard and get you the story ASAP!

If you have any questions, or need any updates, let me know. I'll be happy to respond.

Hope all six of ya'll are well and stay tuned.

Peace world,

me

Near Dark (1987) film review

A couple days ago I was invited by Vincent and Armada to come back for another episode of Under Candlelight. For the podcast/hangout we critiqued the movie Near Dark...which you may or may not know was a vampire movie starring Bill Paxton, Lance Henrikson, Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Patrelli from Heroes) and a bunch of others.

The movie was, well, interesting. But don't let that word make you shy away from watching it if you haven't. Despite some plot holes and weird character dynamics, the movie overall was enjoyable and Bill Paxton was freakin' awesome to watch- like psychotic, hysterical and straight up out of control. 

During the episode, we tend to go off on random tangents and half the time I'm rambling on and forget the questions, but it's a blast. If you have some time or want to have some audio/video running behind the screen while you "work" check out these links.

Here's straight audio:

audio only

Here's the youtube link that shows us all and, sorry Vincent, the Human Pineapple.

youtube A/V

Til next time...

yours truly, yes I mean you.

What Matters Most

Hi everyone. Happy Tuesday...it's Tuesday, right? I've lost track, anyway, so this is an essay/poem that I wrote a few days back. I was sitting on the couch and it hit me, a revelation of sorts. My hope is that it resonates with you, or at the very least, you can take something from it and apply it to your life.  If all else, I hope you enjoy!

***

What Matters Most

?

What’s funny is you already know the answer to that question. You already know what matters most, but you have become blind to it, so numb, so conditioned to falsity. Some think it is as difficult as solving the meaning of life, but that question is easy. Life itself is the meaning. Do you get it yet? Do you understand? 

Still, people ponder the question, “What matters most?” And today I found the answer....

I’ll tell you again, though, you already know what it is. But what good is a story where you already know the ending? So, for that sake, let me paint the picture by asking you the question...

what matters most?

Is it love? Romantic love, I mean. Do you want to do everything for that person? Do they make you crazy in the way nobody will ever know or understand? Do they keep you up at night? Do you wake up with a phone call in the middle of it? Are they the first thought of your day, after you’ve spent a whole night dreaming about them? Do you imagine what life would be like without them? No, because you probably can’t imagine life without them. But, at the end of the day, at the end of a lifetime lived seemingly for them, do they love you as you did them?

what matters most?

Is it family and friends? Is it the people you’ve known the longest? Or the ones who know you the most? The ones who pulled you out of bed on a random Friday night? Or the ones you invite over for Thanksgiving dinner when they’re away from their families during college? The ones who are willing to stand by your side and sing the cheesiest karaoke song to a bar full of ten drunks? Are they the ones who you confide your deepest, darkest secrets? The ones who won’t judge you on those admissions? The ones who will get arrested for you, the ones who will fight for you, the ones who would die for you? The parents, brothers, sisters and the ones who you would call-so even if you weren’t connected by blood?

what matters most?

Is it your goals? The aspirations you work so hard to achieve? Is it the endless hours spent behind the cover of a book or the screen of a computer? Or the studying and studying and studying to prep you for the tests you take to get the grades you need to send you off to the college of your dreams? Perhaps it’s the job you’ve worked your whole life? The one your father did or the one where you started as a bus boy and graduated to executive chef? Is it the sense of pride in accomplishment? Is it the big house, the money, the cars, the respect from your nameless neighbors, named the Jones' next door? Will you be fulfilled in being that other person who you dreamed of being? But is that really you?

what matters most?

Maybe, just maybe, it’s pleasure. From the first hit of joint to chasing the dragon up your arm? The epic sensation, the never-ending tingling feeling of pure Nirvana derived from chemical artificiality. What about sex? Pleasure at it’s purest, most natural, organic definition. The undefinable feeling of being with and inside that person. The hard-10, the great white buffalo, the one you’ve only ever fantasized about? How about the high you get while performing on stage? Being the world’s idol, the person the media can’t get enough of? Your face plastered across every magazine, TV, and website. Knowing that you are the best there ever was, and believing you are the best there ever will be? Would that make you happy? 

what matters most?

Creativity perhaps? The songwriter laying down the greatest musical track of a generation? The actor who achieved the accolades for a career of top-notch acting? Walking up to the stage that is surrounded by hundreds of your piers only to know that you won, that you were better than the rest? How about the quiet, starving artists who sees the impurity and flaws of a world, so they become a recluse and paint the most amazing portrait only to have it sit lonely in a storage space for all eternity? More-so, how is creativity defined and judged? By a crooked academy? By the public you’ve tried to hard to win over? When you’ve played your last tune, acted your last performance, and written your last verse, what has it all been for?

.

..

...

....

.....

Here we are, at the end. Do you get it yet? Do you understand now? Can you answer the question, what matters most? If not, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I haven’t done a better job explaining it. I’m sorry you have failed to see what is in front of you. I’m sorry you are unhappily pursuing what you think matters, but not what matters most.

So what does matter most? I’ll tell you what I have discovered. What matters most is life. Specifically, you ask? It’s the moment. Each and every one of them. The billions upon trillions of moments that make us who we are. Happy. Sad. Hope. Sorrow. They are filled with love and heartbreak. With each and every one of the aforementioned, or with none of them. For happiness is inside you and all around you. It’s up to you to choose what makes you happy and what matters most. 

For moments are what make us who we are. In a moment an idea is born. In a moment life is conceived. In a moment love is found and never let go of. In a moment a person realizes their value and self worth. In a moment two people on opposite sides of the planet share a common thought of change and act on it. In a moment the last rays of sun fill the sky with the most vibrant, beautiful colors. 

What matters most? It is the moment. So how will you respond to it? How will you react to bad situation? Will you fall apart? How about a good one? Will you remain humble? Are you willing to forgive a mistake, to set aside past hate, to forgive the unforgivable, in order to reconnect with a long lost someone with whom you once shared happiness? Or courageous enough take the time to develop something new and fresh? Moments can be scary, moments can be difficult. Don’t be afraid of the unknown. Don't be too proud to pass up a good thing. Don't be too quick to succumb to the bad. For the easiest things aren't always the best. But the best things in life are fundamentally free...love, happiness, peace.

No matter what happens in your life, one thing is constant, and that is you. You are the one making the choices for yourself. You are the one who decides where a moment leads to. Do not sweat the small stuff, but also, know that we are sum of our parts just as though we are a sum of our moments. Good breeds good, bad breeds bad. We choose who we are. We choose who we want to be. We choose what matters most.

So as you walk through your life and think about your future and what matters most to you, I propose this. Live to be happy. Find what makes you happy and choose that. Cherish those moments when you have them. And when they leave, take comfort in the fact that you will find them again. For eventually, like magnetism, what you seek will be drawn to you and you to it. Whether it is in your creativity, the time spent with someone special, helping the less fortunate, or realizing a dream come true...

Love those moments and when you do you will find love. 

You will find peace. 

And you will find happiness.

***

The end. Like most of my works, I didn't intend to put it out there, but I figure why not? As I mentioned above, I hope you can take something from this, even if it is something small. 

If you have any questions/comments/concerns/criticisms, please do share, public or private, I'd love to hear what you think. 

Thanks for reading.

-Me

Merry Christmas/Happy Bday

Good Morning, everyone!

Don't worry this post will be short :)

I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. And for those who have different beliefs, I hope you had and continue to have an excellent holiday season. I hope you got to spend it with the close ones in your life, and who knows, maybe you even met some new friends?? There's a ton to be thankful for and one of the things I'm most thankful for has been the opportunity to put my stories out there for you to read. I really appreciate all of you for supporting me in my writing. I hope that as time goes by the writing continues to improve and the stories continue to get better and more exciting.

Also, I wanted to take a minute to say thank you to everyone who wished me a happy bday. I appreciate the messages/calls/texts from all of you. You seriously rock! Aaaaand IF you felt like giving me a present, it wold be awesome to hear you in the form of a review on amazon. Positive or negative, long or short, it's nice to hear from readers to see what they liked/didn't like and how I can continue to make better stories with each book.

That's it, I'm done :)

Again, thank you and I hope all of you had an excellent Christmas/holiday season and whatever your plans are for NYE, have a blast and be safe!! And hey, it's about to be a new year so whatever you've been holding off on, do it! Travel, start a new hobby, ask the person out, go for a career change, learn something new; whatever it is, go for it and give it all you got, you'll be glad you did! Don't let time pass you by!

Bye world!

-me

This Must Be the Week of Celebrity Encounters...

Last weekend was the LBC&HC where I met a ton of great people from +Off Shoot Comics  and Fanboy Comics as well as new and established talent like +B. Alex Thompson (not related...that we know of), +Joshua Silverman (great writer who you should check out)...AND not to mention my run in with +Jonathan Maberry ....all of who added to a super-fun and straight up kick-ass weekend...

How could it get any better you ask? Well, I'm sure you didn't since I'm the one writing this, but I'll tell you anyway...

Hanging out with author/blogger/Zombie-Guide writer +J. Cornell Michel, THAT'S HOW!! I'm just a celebrity magnet!

I made my way up to sunny San Francisco to get away from life for a couple days. Aside from visiting friends, eating delicious clam chowder, touring Alcatraz, and savoring just one piece of Ghiradeli chocolate, my mission was to sit down and get some long-awaited face time with none other than the author of Jordan's Brains... and what a fun night that was..

But first, a little perspective...

Michel wasn't alone that night for dinner- she brought along the other half (And I since I'm not allowed to use his real name, for reasons of anonymity of course, I will refer to Mr. Michel as "Spouse"). So, by the time I navigated to the restaurant, Spouse was relaxing with some wine, while Michel was already one martini deep...let the games begin :)

So there we were, a couple-a' zombie writing living legends, shootin' the shit while I slurped down clam chowder (obviously it's a theme) and she sipped elegantly on martini Numero 2. We talked about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, zombies, more life, Spouse's life, Michel's second book, my books, football, wine and more life (yes, I did want to see how many times I could use the word life before I got annoyed with myself for not thinking of anything else).

Anyway, what a fun, talented and full-of-life person Michel is...and not to mention BUSY! Currently, she's finishing up her second book- which I'm sworn to secrecy to not discuss "hint-hint...it MAY or may not have to do with the undead"- all-the-while she's ready to co-publish a short Christmas-themed zombie poem "Twas the Bite Before Christmas"...I had the opportunity to beta-read it and let me just say it's hysterical and so creative, and the rhyme scheme and descriptions are fantastically done...all three of you reading this, you have to follow her and check up on release dates!!

Unfortunately Michel and Spouse had real jobs so it wasn't the all-night rager I was hoping for, but it was a great time hanging out with them. So, two, or was it three beers later? And a couple martini's for her...the night was closing up...but not without an interview from Michel. I can't even remember how many times I got off topic during her questions (so thanks Michel for dealing with me...and I wasn't even drunk), but eventually I answered (kinda) them...If any of you are interested in checking out the interview click here..you can even see a pic of us two mysterious horror novelists!

So, in closing, what happens when two next-gen horror writers get together? Well, I can't exactly tell you cause we try to keep our lives out of the media...I know, I know, what a cop-out...sad, but it's just something us famous people have to deal with.

Seriously though, we had a great dinner discussing our passions and future projects. Michel is a wonderful person and writer and I want to say thank you to her and Spouse for taking the time to get together with me. I am personally looking forward to another trip up to the bay, but maybe not as much as I am to read her next book.

Oh, and +J. Cornell Michel if you're out there reading this...thanks for signing my book!! And thanks for my present!!

That's it for tonight, ya'll...football time.

Khdahafez dania,

A.S. Teezy