bishop

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On being young (but getting old)

No, this is not going to be one of those ‘shake my fist in the air’ posts. Nor is it going to be one of those ‘kids today, mumble grumble’ type posts. This is about something completely different . . . well, not so very different: It’s about growing old, yet still being young.

Growing up is optional.

Growing old is mandatory. (Is there a second part to this?)

We grow all the time (duh!), that’s kind of the point of living. You grow bigger, older, more frail, and then you die. All we are is dust in the wind, and so forth. During this time, everything changes, again and again and again. The world changes around you, and you change within it. We’re all shaped by what’s going on around us, as well as personal experience, friends and family. But even with all this happening – are we still stuck? When do we ‘shift’ from young to old? Is it just our age? Can you ever truly change within an already established framework?

Yes and no.

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A new novella – The Floor Above

New year, new story! Like the previous one, this one is mostly set in the colder reaches of Noman. Enra Vadir, an unsuccessful entrepreneur from the far west, gets a shot at his big break one day when he’s invited to a fancy party way up in the Brend mountains. Sogen Valley, the invitation says, a place he’s never even heard of. Ushered on by his friends, Enra decides to go – but quickly realizes not everything is quite as it seems. As it turns out, the biting cold will be the least of his problems up there.

The Floor Above

The Floor Above – click to read!

The Floor Above establishes one of the new characters in Frostbites (book II), and also sets the stage when it comes to the climate and weather. (It’s gonna get cold, if you didn’t understand that from the title) Apart from that, this novella is also an incredibly meta piece of storytelling, packed with references to myself and a few colleagues at work. I suppose in an extreme sense, you could say it’s based on a true story: A friend of mine did indeed get invited to a ‘party in the mountains’ as it were. He also planned on going, and the exchange between the four friends in the beginning is almost piece by piece taken from our own conversations. Thankfully, my friend never left, and Robert didn’t follow – no colleagues were harmed during the writing of this novella!

If you want crime, fantasy, murder and a good dose of comedy – this novella is definitely for you.

Sincerely, Bishop

 

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Defending tropes

So now that my book is finally out, and selling like empty snail-houses, I can finally focus on some other things. (Such as writing the next one.) As beautiful as my wife’s eye is, I’m getting a little tired of seeing it everywhere, so I’ll try to update this page a little more often, and with at least some content that isn’t Fall of Noman-related. With that said; here’s a short rundown of two major tropes writers often use, as well as a possible explanation for using them.

I’m currently following the new Walking Dead series – I think it’s great, it’s okay if you don’t, that’s not what this post is about – and while it’s generally quite good, there are some ‘plot required stupidity’ moments. After a short discussion with my wife, I started thinking. In Fear the Walking Dead, the characters don’t know what we know, and they don’t think like we do. You and I know very well there are zombies walkers/infected/thriller-reenacters around every corner, and – having been corrupted by years and years of various narratives and stories – we know that if a character forgets something in the previous room, it’s only because there’s danger there, to scare the audience. “Why would he ever forget something in there, when he knows there’ll be trouble if he returns?! Can’t he hear the scary music?!”

The thing is: they can’t hear the music, or feel the foreshadowing. A part of suspending your disbelief is coming to terms with this. Most of all movies or TV-series reset the world and starts at zero. These characters haven’t experienced anything creepy yet, and they aren’t suspecting a thing! (Disclaimer: Yeah, when they still allow zombies biters/munchers to sneak up on them after six years in the wastelands, that’s pretty fucking weak-sauce.)

Whatever you do . . . don't blink!

Whatever you do . . . don’t blink!

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Release!

Well guys and gals, it’s finally official! Awakenings (the first book in the Fall of . . . and so forth), is completed, edited, formatted and, most importantly, published! That’s right! It’s finally out in the world!

By clicking here, or the image below, you’ll arrive at my Amazon author page, which lets you buy it in both paperback and as an e-book. (As well as featuring a bio and some images of the very handsome author.) Of course, I urge you all to buy at least three copies each, but more importantly: rate it, review it and recommend it to others! I’m only as good as your opinion here, people, which means I’m at your mercy. I’m not gonna beg any more than that, but believe you me, I’m going to spam this sucker now that it’s finally out in the world!

Thanks once again for following me this far. Now I’ll just have to keep working on the next one, and the next one after that. (I’m about 1/6 into Frostbites, and halfway through Fall, but you’ll hear more on that later. Let’s concentrate on Awakenings for now.)

Click to visit my Amazon author page!

Click to visit my Amazon author page! Browse, buy, rate, review!

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Whoop, there it is!

Done!

Ready to publish (soon!)

So, basically this means that I’m done reading and revising and editing and revising and reading and editing and revising and you get the picture. Now I’m just waiting for my lovely wife/editor/manager/partner/superhero to skim through it one last time, and I can get this baby published.

Updates will be posted here as it’s (self)published, of course, probably within a month, give or take. (Oh, and if you know me personally, I will harass the everloving crap out of you when the book drops. I’ve heard it’s the Christmas present of 2015! Give it to everyone you know!)

Thanks for all the support!
Sincerely, Bishop