Under the Influence – When you don't even know it.

I wear a lot of my influences on my sleeve.  As a child of the 80s (the 1980s, I should probably specify.  I'm not from the future.  At least not yet.  I am, however, working tirelessly to turn my Hyundai into a time machine), I was raised on a diet of Jim Cameron movies, He-Man cartoons, permed hair and big, puffy shoulder pads.  Good times, right? 

In terms of books, I've been influenced by the works of Clive Barker, Robert Jordan, and countless others. 

But there are times when I track down a film I've mostly forgotten—when I revisit a movie or TV show or a book that lives only in the comforting embrace of nostalgia—that I realize I have influences I didn't even know I had. 

Take RoboCop, for example.  I liked it well enough when I caught it on tape as a kid.  I barely remembered it as an adult, though.  I knew a guy got turned into a Creature From the Black Lagoon by toxic waste (toxic waste was huge in the 80s, btw).  I knew a guy got blowed up real good after snorting coke out of a chick's cleavage (cocain was also huge in the 80s, btw).   And I knew there was a giant, hulking cop who did super bad-ass stuff like punching terrorists through drywall. 

What I didn't realize, however, was how much this movie got into my head.  How much it stuck with me.  And I might never have realized this, had I not rewatched the film after picking up the original RoboCop trilogy the other day (the less said about the cringe-inducing second and third films, the better). 

My first novel features a man named Brandon Morales—a cop, no less—who dies at the start of the book, gunned down in the line of duty.  Sound familiar yet?

Okay, so that's pretty much where the similarities end between my book and RoboCop (Brandon doesn't become a giant, hulking robot who does bad-ass stuff like punching terrorists through drywall.  Instead, he gets sent to Hell, meets a chick who's far more bad-ass than he is, and together they try to escape the afterlife), but still... 

Reviewers have compared the novel to everything from “The Matrix” to “Dante's Inferno."  But RoboCop?  Yeah, that was unexpected.

Chicago Tribune Printer's Row Lit Fest - aka Selling Books for Fun and Profit

This last weekend, I got the opportunity to hang out with my publishers and five of my fellow Post Mortem Press authors at the PMP table at Printer's Row in downtown Chicago.  I'd already had the pleasure to meet Cynthia Pelayo (author of Young Adult award-winning novel Santa Muerte), Christian Larsen (author of the urban fantasy Losing Touch), and Brian Dobbins (author of the witch/detective historical fiction novel, Jasmine's Tale), but this year I got to meet Max Booth III (author of the darkly comedic Toxicity) and Josef Matulich (author of the newly released Camp Arcanum, which I heard him describe as a novel about “magic, sex, and power tools.”)   Oh, and I was also there selling copies of Try Not to Burn, a supernatural thriller which has been called "The Matrix meets Dante's Inferno."

From left, Josef Matulich, Cynthia Pelayo, Christian Larsen, Max Booth III, Yours Truly, and Brian Dobbins

Alcohol may have been consumed during the event, as Brian smuggled in bourbon, and Christian has recently taken to hazing his fellow authors with a beverage called “Malort.”  Apparently, only 1 in 49 people like the taste of it.  I was warned to step away from the table when I drank it, just in case I had a negative reaction.  After drinking it, though, I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about.  Perhaps I'm one of the 49, or perhaps it's because most hard liquor tastes the same to me (I'm more of a vodka man, myself), but I thought it tasted fine.  

This was my second year at Printer's Row, and each time I've gone, my publisher has sold out of the copies they brought of Try Not to Burn.  Thankfully, I always bring some copies of my own to events like this, just in case.  By the time I rode the train back home on Sunday, I only had 2 copies of my book left in the box.  

Closeup of my book at the PMP table at Printer's Row, right next to Cynthia's Santa Muerte

 Last year went so well I wasn't sure it could be topped, but somehow, this year was even wilder, with more authors, more books sold, and some wonderful people in the crowd.  The authors came from as far as San Antonio, Texas (where Max is located) to attend the event, Josef showed off his juggling skills at one point, and I lost count of the number of people who stopped for a photo opp with Max and Christian as they held up their...um...well, let's just say they put together some “eccentric” signs that drew a few crowds.  A photographer from the Chicago Tribune even stopped by to snap their picture.  

Christian and Max doing their best hobo impressions...If anyone asks, I don't know them.

I also lost track of the number of fire trucks that raced by throughout the weekend, but I'm hoping the event is just located close to a fire station, and that the apocalypse wasn't actually happening somewhere in the city, because it almost seemed like it at some points.  

The weather managed to behave itself this year, which I was thankful for.  Last year, there was a bit of a drizzle on Sunday, and this year, rain was threatening to fall on Saturday, but we had clear skies all the way through.  

If you were at the event, thank you so much for stopping by for a chat and/or to buy a book, and for making the weekend such a wonderful and unforgettable time. 

Lineup Announced for the Racine, Wisconsin Barnes & Noble Local Author's Day

Here is the list I was just sent of the authors who will be appearing at the Barnes & Noble in Racine, Wisconsin on August 16th, 2014.  (Schedules permitting, of course.)

My fellow Post Mortem Press author, Christian Larsen, will be there as well.  (He's the one who gave me the heads up about the event.  Thanks again, Chris!)

Adult Authors:        
1 - Michael Matula (author of Try Not to Burn)
2 - Richard Thomas (author of The New Black)   
3 - Anita Meyer (author of The Primordial Language—Confirmation of the Divine Creator)    
4 - Carol Schaufel (author of By the Grace of God and You: An Autobiography)   
5 - Christian Larsen (author of Losing Touch)    
6 - Diana Kanecki (author of Summer Love)    
7 - George Fennell (author of Racine, Wisconsin: Drum and Bugle Corps Capital of the World)    
8 - Michael Major (author of One Man’s Castle)
9 - JoBe Cerny (author of Red Cin)   
10 - Marcie Eanes (author of Passion’s Zest)    

Children’s book authors:        
1 - Sandra Nowicki (author of Sparkles the Rainbow Pony)     
2 - Karen Franco (author of Just Hold My Hand)    
3 - Linda Hocutt (author of Where’s Charlie?)

Picture book authors will take over the event from 10 am to 11:30 am (I think I'll be sitting that one out), then there will be a Panel of Authors from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, moderated by the B&N community manager and featuring the Adult Authors listed above.  A writing workshop is scheduled for 1 to 2 pm, and then audience members will be able to stretch their legs and mix and mingle with the authors from 2 to 3, during the "Open House" portion of the event. 

I'm very much looking forward to it.  Hope to see you there, if you're in the area.