News!!

Next month, I will be a published author! To explain this somewhat sudden turn of events, there needs to some exposition, so here we go:

There is a newly founded publisher called "Zombie Nation Publishing," and earlier this year, they released an anthology of Zombie-related fiction called "Zombie St. Pete," and one of the cool things about the anthology was that the setting of the stories compiled is none other than right here in my wonderful hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida! The first release was a huge success, and so in September, a second book is going to be released, with new fiction and poetry. 

One of the staff members of Zombie Nation Publishing was a classmate of my friend and occasional writing partner Stephanie Smith, and he contacted her, hoping that she could help him find a local poet who would be willing to contribute poetry to the anthology. That poet is me! I wrote, revised, proofed, re-revised, re-proofed and re-re-revised a pair of poems for the anthology, and if all goes to plan, I will be published next month!

As a little sneak preview of the anthology, I figured I would enclose a short snippet of one of the poems, just you whet your appetite.  Enjoy!

An excerpt from "Thoughts upon the Beach"

Sway on, palm tree leaves, no
different now, the beach.
No longer haunt
for breathing souls,
moan's drown the seagull's screech

—Zack

I Am The Messenger Review

Well, I haven't posted a review for "Hero Type," I haven't written any poetry or fiction, and my scripts are as last minute as ever. Looks like I'm well on my way to doing nothing that I said I was going to do.


So, to combat this, I'm going to post an impromptu review of a book I just recently finished, "I Am The Messenger" by Markus Zusak. (For you non-Americans, the book was released as "The Messenger")

                   

 I Am The Messenger is the story of Ed Kennedy, a 19-year-old cab driver. After foiling a bank robbery, Ed begins to receive playing cards in the mail, each one an ace of a different suit with addresses or clues marked on them, and realizes that he is now a messenger, and that it is his job to decipher the clues to deliver the messages to people in his town, whether it be a pair of squabbling brothers or a worn-down priest or a shy teenager.

As the story progresses, Ed's targets turn from strangers around town to his tight-knit circle of friends, and then, to himself.  Ed Kennedy is not the messenger, but something else entirely.  I'll let you read it and find out

This is not my first encounter with the work of Markus Zusak; I have read and now own a copy of his most famous work, The Book Thief(Which I'll probably review in the coming weeks).  I Am The Messenger a good story, well-written and organic.  It's not the perfect book, but it's certainly easier to read than the purple prose of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series.  I suggest you go out and borrow this book from your local library right away.

Decluttering My Life

It's been a while since I've posted anything on here, but in my defense, my life is a chaotic mess. I always have something I should be doing from the moment I drag myself out of bed in the morning to when I drag myself back to my bed at the end of the day. Whether I'm doing stuff for the band I'm in or writing skits for the children's ministry puppet and drama team I co-lead or working or whatever, there's always something on my plate. And frankly, I haven't been great at organizing my time. 

The scripts I write are due every other week, and though I have the source material on my desk, I don't usually due them until the day they're due.

The songs I have to learn so I can record them are in a folder on my headboard, but it's usually not until the last minute that I actually practice them. 

I have six or seven writing projects that I'm working on, and none of them are ever going to be completed if all I do is glance over them as I search for my copy of Ico.

I have a Youtube channel I've been neglecting since December, a Dailybooth account I haven't used in just as long, and this blog, which has a dozen half-baked posts sitting in drafts.

It's not like I don't have free time.  I have a LOT of free time, thanks to the fact I'm taking the semester off from my studying and only working 20-hours or so a week. I just don't use that time well, and when I sit down and think about it, having nothing to show from the last few months but some money in the bank for school and a car is an absolute disgrace.

So here's what I'm going to do.  I'm going to cut the things out of my life that I don't have the drive or resources to complete.  This is what I'm cutting out:

1. My Youtube channel.  I  lack a camera or personal computer to make videos with any sort of regularity, and when I do borrow a camera from my brother, I don't know what the heck I'm going to say or do. Solution? Not even try to make videos for a while. Now, I'm not saying that I will never make videos again, just that for right now, there are things I would rather spend my time and resources on. If things change and I have the desire to make videos and can do it, I will.  I know I've got a few subscribers that I'm potentially letting down(I say potentially because, in all honestly, my videos were never that great.) and for that, I'm sorry. But I have to do this.

2. My Dailybooth.  This isn't a huge deal, because I never think about it, but still.

3. Video Gaming. I enjoy playing video games, but the sense of satisfaction I get out of beating a game is nothing compared to feeling I get when I finish a poem or a short story, and I would rather focus more on writing.

4. Marathon Show-Watching.  In the past, I've blown whole days and weeks doing but watching TV shows.  It's fun, but it's something I can live without.  Exception: LOST.

In addition to cutting things out, I'm going to set goals for myself, and these are a few.

1. Read my entire Bible before the year is over.

2. Write scripts at least 5 days before they're due.

3. Practice my guitar/bass at least an hour a day (Not including songwriting or song-learning.)

4. Write two poems a month.  If I like them enough, I'll post them here.

5. Write at least 25 pages of fiction a month.

6. Post a book review once a month on this blog.  This month, I'm going to be reviewing "Hero Type" by Barry Lyga.

I'm tired of wasting my life, and now I'm going to do something about it. I would love to hear your thoughts.

—Z