Tag Archives: post-apocalyptic

Lessons from a Reader: Keep Your Opinions Out Of It

I’ve been reading a lot lately. I’m currently on book number 18 of 2012. With all that reading there are some things I like and some things I can’t stand.

One thing I’ve always wished I was better at was taking lessons from what I read and applying that to what I write. Being a writer you’d think that would be obvious, but it never is. I’m the kind of reader that wants to know what’s going to happen next, so I usually fly through the text and don’t slow down enough to learn some lessons as a writer.

So I’m going to start posting these notes to myself, these lessons from a reader so maybe I can start saving some of this insight.

Keep Your Opinions Out Of It
When you’re writing fiction, I don’t care about your politics. In Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer the character’s mother (Who also happens to be a writer—oh my gosh, stop making your characters writers, it comes across as lazy! Research another career.) goes off on Fox News and the president encamped at a Texas ranch. Gee, which president could that be?

Obviously the author is not a fan of George W. Bush. But who cares? It doesn’t help the story. You just turned your character into a stereotype and needlessly annoyed half your audience. And for what? Nothing.

There are times when political opinions are necessary in fiction, but make them necessary. They should make the character three dimensional, adding intrigue and depth, not cardboard flatness.

2011 Reading List

Once again I’ve cataloged all the books I’ve read in the past year. It was a decent year for reading and as in the past the list is dominated by favorite authors and post-apocalyptic sci-fi.

I’ve noticed my reading really picks up when I find an engaging story and really drops off when I read non-fiction that doesn’t have some sort of story structure that maintains my interest. As a case in point, I remember reading the 23rd book on the list in late July. At that rate I should have read more than 28 books in the year, but I got slogged down in several marketing books in the fall and didn’t get re-engaged in good stories until the end of the year (no offense to those non-fiction books, it’s just the nature of the beast). As in past years, having a stack of books I’m eager to dive into next always helps. That plagued my fall reading as well.

You can also check out my previous reading lists: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001.

Continue reading 2011 Reading List

2010 Reading List

Time for my annual brag-a-thon of the books I read in the past year. Nobody likely cares, but I find joy in keeping a running tally. Plus it’s fun to keep track of stuff on an annual basis (like when I turn on the heat—yes,  I’m weird).

This year was a mix of post-apocalyptic tales and some of my favorite authors. I tend to put off reading some of my favorite authors so I can save up their stories, but the result is never I read them. So this year I got around to reading a few from some of my favorites like Anne Lamott, Barbara Kingsolver and Frederick Buencher. I also dove more deeply into the post-apocalyptic genre, carrying over last year’s obsession and being spurned on by publishing my own story.

This year I think I managed to read more books than I have since 2002. I’ve found one way to read more is to have a stack of books on hand that I’m eager to read. That way when I finish one book I can dive right into the next book. Most of my reading droughts happen when I don’t dive into a new book right away. Oddly enough, I’ve had to turn to the library to keep that interesting stack of books (cuz the 1,500+ books in our personal library aren’t enough?!). Carrying a book with me wherever I go also helps me read more—I get my best reading done while waiting for the dogs to pee.

You can also check out my previous reading lists: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001.

Continue reading 2010 Reading List

Looking Back at 2010

It’s New Year’s Eve and nobody’s really working today, so it’s time for a little 2010 recap. Thankfully my wife did a full recap in photos, so I can skimp a little.

2010 has been insane.

Bigger Family
The biggest moment, of course, was welcoming a preteen into our family, along with all the Hannah Montana and Justin Bieber and sparkly pink that comes with a pre-teen. It’s been quite a ride with Yeshumnesh and we’ve got a ways to go. I’ve never felt so old—and at the same time so young. I did manage to welcome Yeshumnesh into our family with a new haircut. First time in three years I paid for one. The mohawk made our Christmas card.

Writing Wins
I also published three books:

Addition by Adoption, is my book of tweets about raising kids and bringing Milo home from Ethiopia. A portion of the proceeds go to clean water in Ethiopia, and in September we hit the $5,000 mark and raised enough to build a well in Ethiopia. The book is also just barely turning a profit, which is exciting.

Then there’s Open Our Eyes, the book that supports homeless advocate Mark Horvath. If you want to know more about what Mark does, read Ka’e k’e‘s story. It’s been a big year for Mark. We also helped him win $50,000. The book has all kinds of big names contributors, like New York Times best-selling author Chris Brogan. All profits from the book go to support Mark’s work with InvisiblePeople.tv. The profits aren’t much—I send Mark his first payment yesterday ($226.56), but he won’t be retiring any time soon. Knowing Mark he’ll be spending it on someone else.

I also published a post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel. More for fun than anything and to give self publishing a try (works nicely, crappy cover and all). The post-apocalyptic fun continued all year as I kept diving into more post-apocalyptic literature (hmm… maybe I should have reversed that order).

For all the writing success, I also had a big failure. My fourth attempt at National Novel Writing Month fell flat. I gave up after two weeks when the story wasn’t coming together and I realized my life was too busy.

Giving Back
With building a well in Ethiopia and publishing a book to fight homelessness I’ve done a lot of giving back this year. But it started even earlier when we responded to an earthquake by coloring. Lexi’s pictures ended up raising $675 for Haiti. Other folks got in on the action about the time the idea fizzled out. I’d love to do more with it, but I think I have enough charity cases on my hand.

Least of These Video Chat

You may remember that I recently published a book. It’s a little sci-fi post-apocalyptic novel called Least of These with a killer cover (you can download a free copy or buy the paperback for $9.99).

Yesterday I sat down and did a little video chat about the book with one of my readers, Jonathan Blundell (my one reader?). Jonathan has been very supportive of my work (and I’m supportive of his work) and it was fun to talk over some of the ideas in the book and how the book came together.

So if you’re looking for the inside scoop on Least of These—how inspiration came from U2 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, how my wife refuses to read it, my take on standard post-apocalyptic plot lines, why it has such an awesome cover—check out the video chat. I even do a little impromptu reading.

For a special bonus, count how many times I say ‘um.’

Get your copy of Least of These now.

I’ve Got a New Book: Least of These

Author Kevin D. Hendricks with his published creation, Least of TheseMy post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel Least of These is now published and widely available (the e-mail newsletter subscribers got the early word last night: subscribe now to be in the know). So much to talk about, I don’t even know where to begin.

What’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi? Think Mad Max’s Road Warrior. It’s the genre I go on and on about all the time. The world has barely survived some apocalypse (duh) and the survivors try to piece together an existence in the aftermath. There are usually recurring themes of boiling life down to its simplest elements, both in day to day survival and in bigger picture terms.

What is Least of These like? It might be comparable to the recent Denzel Washington flick The Book of Eli. Sort of. Mine has some action, some stock villains, a heroic female. But no iPods, swinging machetes (but arrows!) or utter desolation (or Denzel). I wrote Least of These in 2008 as a part of National Novel Writing Month. It’s been very lightly edited and published as a rough draft (hence the lame-o cover). It’s not deep literature, but hopefully it’s good for a rainy afternoon bit of fun (do people still consider reading fun?).

Why is the Internet so cool? Because I published this thing in three days. I got the idea on Tuesday. I went through the manuscript and made minor proofing edits (and missed loads, I’m sure), I did the layout in Microsoft Word, slaved over the cover in Photoshop and by Thursday was uploading a PDF file to CreateSpace. Three days. On Friday I ordered my proof copy. It arrived on Tuesday. You could buy a copy online that night. It was up on Amazon about a week later. Of course it helped that I had a manuscript lying around and had already read through it making editing notes. Go Internet. It’s a cool time to be creating stuff.

Why does the cover suck? Remember ‘published in three days’? Yeah, I have lots of friends who could design something better. Heck, Lexi could design something better (brainstorm!). But I wanted to crank it out quickly. Plus there’s that whole rough draft thing. It seemed disingenuous to put a lot of effort into the cover when I haven’t put a lot of effort into the editing (except for the last time I did that). It’s a rough draft, all the way around. I kind of like the idea of publishing rough draft versions like this. Get it out there, quick and dirty.

Where can I get a copy? You can score yourself a print copy of Least of These for only $9.99 or download the free PDF if you want to take it for a test read. For the record, I get a bigger royalty if you buy through CreateSpace. But buying through Amazon is pretty swell, too, since you can use your shipping deals and throw my book in with your regular shopping.

So there you have it. I had hoped to announce this a week ago, but that’s how things go.

Post-Apocalyptic Double Header

So yesterday I splurged and blew some Christmas money on a post-apocalypitc double header. I went to see The Book of Eli in the afternoon and The Road in the evening, both post-apocalyptic movies released recently. I enjoyed both of them, but I’m also a sucker for post-apoc (let’s just shorten that, shall we? I spell it wrong every time I have to type it out).

If you’re interested, The Road is based on the bleak Cormac McCarthy novel and is, well, bleak. Like most post-apoc, it has a thread of hope, though hope in The Road is the thinnest bit of thread. On a scientific level I also have issues with the nature of the apocalypse (what killed all the animals, insects and plant life but not the people?). But that also makes it that much more bleak. The Book of Eli is more your typical post-apoc based on a mysterious wanderer with a mission. In this case Denzel Washington is trying to safe-guard the last known copy of the Bible. It an interesting premise to pair with a sword-wielding assassin guy who’s hand-chopping skill earns the movie an R-rating. You’d think those audiences wouldn’t have much crossover.

The Book of Eli does a nice job summarizing one of the aspects of post-apoc that I always find fascinating:

“We had more than we needed,” Eli says, remembering what life was like pre-apoc. “We had no idea what was precious and what wasn’t. We threw things away that people kill each other for now.”

That’s why I find post-apoc so fascinating. It strips away all the junk of life and forces us to realize what’s important. In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti we get a glimpse of life in a post-apocalypse state. We got an update from the organization my church supports in Haiti that several hundred people spent each night in a soccer field near the church praying, singing and sharing meals.

When the end of all things comes, only what truly matters is left.

20 Years After Poster Switch

Yesterday I stumbled across a free rental coupon for Redbox, the $1/day rental machine in McDonald’s. I’m a sucker for a free movie, so I started browsing the available movies and came across this: 20 Years After. It’s a post-apocalyptic tale (my favorite), kind of like Children of Men with the whole nobody’s been pregnant thing, except the Clive Owen character is a radio DJ instead of whatever Clive Owen is in Children of Men. Oh, and 20 Years After sucked while Children of Men is amazing.

I wasn’t expecting much from the movie, but the trailer looked OK and it had Azura Skye who had a small but powerful role in season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But the movie was a mess—I got what I paid for.

But that’s not the interesting part. Redbox showed different DVD cover art than what’s showing up everywhere else. Here’s the side-by-side comparison:

20 Years After poster comparison

The real version is on the left, Redbox on the right. Redbox kind of makes it look like a porno. For the record, the girl featured on the cover is pregnant for most of the movie and I don’t think she ever touches a gun (no wolves either). I’d love to know where Redbox got that image. It’s hilariously wrong. The idea of somebody expecting a sexy, gun-toting vixen fighting her way through a post-apocalyptic wasteland and instead getting a pregnant girl who plods along with her hand on her back like pregnant women do is awesome. Talk about bait and switch.

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome is Beyond Bizarre

Mad Max: Beyond ThunderdomeI’ve been thinking about writing a post-apocalyptic fiction novel for National Novel Writing Month, so a couple nights ago I sat down and watched Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Now I chose that movie not because it’s the best example of a post-apocalyptic movie I could think of (there’d be many others, from Mad Max: Road Warrior which I would have picked if I hadn’t watched it a few months ago, to Children of Men to I Am Legend, which is more horror but does a nice job with the setting), but because I haven’t seen it in a while and it has a good mix of post-apocalyptic fun.

Plus: Jokes about pig poop.

Continue reading Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome is Beyond Bizarre

The Island at the End of the World Book Cover Design Contest

Cover design for Sam Taylor's The Island at the End of the World by Greg MatsonThis is a double whammy for me as I’m a sucker for well-designed book covers and post-apocalyptic fiction.

Penguin Books and Creativity have partnered to do a cover design contest for Sam Taylor’s forthcoming book, The Island at the End of the World. They solicited 300 cover designs, picked the top 25 and are sharing those online, and will pick the winner on Thursday. The winning design will be used when the book is published in 2009.

Perhaps I’m biased because it came up first, but I think the very first one is the very best one. It has a simple beauty to it. Love it. What do you think? (via kottke.org)