Monthly Archives: June 2018

Blog, News, Appearances, Announcements

My Upcoming Appearances for Summer 2018

I may not have a new book out this year (yet), but I am making appearances at several events in the tristate area this summer. This will give you several opportunities to meet me, buy a book, and get it autographed. I’ll be participating in other events at these shows, as well, so you can see me outside the vendor hall and hang out.

So, in chronological order:

G-Fest XXV
When: July 13-15, 2018
Where: The Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois
Website: http://www.g-fan.com/html/gfest_xxv/gfest_xxv.php

This is the annual gathering of the kaiju nerds. I attended last year with my Kaijuvision Radio co-host, Brian Scherschel, to promote our upcoming podcast. (Although, I did get myself on a kaiju writing panel). Now that KVR is up and running, we’re returning. This time we’re on several panels throughout the weekend—including a live KVR episode recording entitled “Godzilla and the Japanese National Spirit.” I’ll also be on two kaiju writing panels and one for the recent film Pacific Rim: Uprising. I won’t be in the vendor hall, but I’ll have copies of Destroyer and The Worlds of Nathan Marchand available for purchase and signing.

Gen-Con 2018
When: August 2-5, 2018
Where: The Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana
Website: http://www.gencon.com/

“The best four days in gaming” returns for another huge year. It’s become a staple of my summer and the biggest event I attend all year. I’ll be in Authors Avenue in the vendor hall with all my Gen-Con writer friends. I’ll be selling and signing my own books as well as the newest volume of Missing Pieces, which features a new short story by yours truly. I might slip away to a few events throughout the day, and I’ll be attending events in the evening for sure, so we can hang out, if you want.

FYI: It seems the time was changed since this poster was created. The event’s pages now say 10am-4pm.

True Believers Fest 2018
When: August 11, 2018, 10am-4pm
Where: Marquis Comics in Kentwood, Michigan
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/2144061572493810/

This is a small one-day event I was invited to vend at thanks to my partner in crime and Nerd Chapel founder, Eric Anderson. It’s a free family event. I’ve never been to this comic shop before, but I’m always in the market for finding cool new nerdy hangouts. It’s appropriate that I’m vending at this event since I, like Stan “The Man” Lee, like referring to my fans as “True Believers.”

I’ll see you…out there! Be there or be square!

Blog

Loving the Work You Do

(I missed a week. Gotta break that habit).

Eric Liddell in the film Chariots of Fire (which I still haven’t seen…).

“If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. That’s a lie! If you love what you do, you’ll work hard everyday.”

This was spoken by Chris Spalding, the co-owner of the ballroom dance studio I attend on a regular basis. It was part of the toast he gave during the fifth anniversary party for the studio. I loved it because it was challenging and encouraging. It’s not something one typically hears.

We all want to work a job we love. Spending hours of our day doing something we hate is soul-crushing. It’s a consequence of the Fall in Eden (Gen. 3:17-19), so we want to stave it off as much as possible. Unfortunately, millennials in particular have a reputation for chasing unattainable “dream jobs” or thinking they’re entitled to an easy life (and then crumbling under the slightest pressure when they don’t get it). Whether this reputation is deserved or not, there are many people who refuse to accept the reality of toil.

That’s why I love what Mr. Spalding said. It’s a mindset that lives within the tension: Love what you do but work hard at it. The curse hasn’t been lifted. We still have to make a living by the sweat of our brows. That is an inescapable reality until Christ returns to “make all things new.” But when we are doing what God created us to, we can find joy in the midst of that toil. Joy that will compel us to work even harder. We’ll dream bigger, take more risks, and strive to become better. Work becomes more than a means to make money.

This, I believe, is an example of God’s grace to humanity. He didn’t abandon us in our sin. He instilled desires and talents within us, and those can lead us to the purpose He gave us. I’m reminded of what Eric Liddell said in the film Chariots of Fire (which I still haven’t seen), “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.” That’s the feeling every human being, whether they’ll admit it or not, longs to find. It’s God’s foothold in this fallen world, His way of keeping claim on His creation. And, I daresay, a means of reaching out to humanity.

People aren’t good at living within tension, but the wise will tell you that there are many paradoxes in life. They can’t all be solved. The quicker that’s accepted, the easier life becomes.

Do you love what you do? Work hard at it!

Do you hate what you do? Make a change! You’ll do yourself and the world a favor.

How do you live this out? What do you do to live in this tension between toil and joy?

Uncategorized

Change: The Only Constant

A new chapter of my life is about to begin.

I’ll be attending a local university to pursue an M.A. in English with a writing concentration. I hope to use this degree to bolster my career.

This is something I’ve thought about doing for a long time. When I graduated college, I believed I could take on the world. My peers advanced in their careers relatively easily, it seemed. I was nervous, for sure, but I was confident I would make quick headway.

Then reality set in.

A few ill-fitting jobs and one bad economy later, and I found myself a struggling artist at a day job I didn’t much care for. It was like that for a long time. Yes, I did keep writing. I wrote many things. It’s my passion, and unlike what Mike Rowe says, I’m good at it. I’m a dreamer by nature. It’s who I am. If writers took his advice, they’d quit submitting stories after two or three rejections. Trust me, I know, because I’ve been in that boat (and it felt like the Titanic).

Someone suggested a few years ago I go to grad school. I wasn’t sure I could do it. I’d grown to hate debt, so I refused to take out more student loans. But after a little investigating, I learned I could become a teaching assistant to pay for it, so that became my goal. I took a class over a summer to make it happen. Unfortunately, there was either a lot of competition for a TA position or no openings. So, I waited.

Now the time seems to be right. If all goes as planned, I start in the fall. I plan to move to avoid driving up to two hours both ways to the university.

This is just one of several major changes I’m making. Honestly, it’s overwhelming. I haven’t liked my current situation, but I got used to it. “Better the devil you know,” as the old saying goes. It was my “normal,” even if I hated it. Now I’m making a paradigm shift so huge, it feels more like a paradigm earthquake.

I’ve realized, however, that (besides God and the fact that everything freezes) the only constant in the universe is change. We may fight against it, but it will come. Personally, I’d rather make the changes myself. Even that is risky, though. The outcome is rarely certain. I’m reminded of a Bible passage in James 4:13-15: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’” Even if you aren’t a Christian, I think you can see the wisdom in this. It’s never good to assume an outcome because it’s uncertain. “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men,” wrote Robert Burns, “Gang aft a-gley.”

Perhaps it’s providential that I’m writing a second nerd/geek devotional with Eric Anderson, and its central theme is change.

Fear not, True Believers. I’ll still be writing. I can’t very well give that up.

What are some significant changes you’ve navigated? How did you do it?

Blog

‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Spoiler-Free Review

So, as I said I’d do in my previous blog, I saw Solo: A Star Wars Story. Much like with Avengers: Infinity War, it’s difficult to talk about it without giving spoilers. I’ll do my best to give you quick general impressions and address the so-called issues the angry, entitled contingents of the fanbase have brought up.

Some have said this was a story nobody wanted nor needed to see. Maybe. Does it suffer from some “prequel-itis”? A little, but not so much that it bothered me. Some liked that Han was a mysterious rogue whose past we didn’t know fully. If that’s you, you probably won’t like this film. For me, much like with Indiana Jones (another iconic Harrison Ford character), while I wasn’t clamoring to know Han’s backstory, I was happy to see it. In this, we learn how he met Chewbacca (which was hilarious), met Lando, and acquired the Millennium Falcon, among other things. It was cool.

In fact, it was a bit better than I expected. The film actually surprised me a few times. I thought one character would die since this character is never referenced again in other films, but that didn’t happen. Another character I never expected to see again (despite appearing on the TV shows) made a cameo. I have to give kudos there.

As has been pointed out by other reviewers, Ron Howard films Solo like a western. Heck, the first 30 minutes or so gave me flashbacks to the pilot episode of the short-lived but awesome TV series Firefly, which was essentially a space western. There’s a train robbery, bandits, gambling in a “saloon,” and grand vistas.

Much adieu was made about Alden Ehrenreich’s performance when the trailers dropped. Angry fans insisted he couldn’t act and/or didn’t look like Harrison Ford, so someone else should’ve been cast. Honestly, I don’t think they would’ve been completely happy with anyone else playing the character. No one else has ever done it (this isn’t James Bond we’re talking about), so it’s huge shoes to fill for anyone. Regardless, a quick glimpse at Ehrenreich’s filmography will reveal that he’s an accomplished actor. He delivers here. He channels Harrison Ford while also putting his own take on the character.

Another standout, surprisingly, is Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. Glover copies Billy Dee Williams exactly. His mannerisms, speech patterns, everything. It’s like watching Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy in the new Star Trek films. As for the pansexual thing, there was nothing that indicated he was like that. Lando has always oozed charm, and unless it was with ladies, it never seemed sexual. Now, there is a “female” droid named L3 who believes Lando is in love with him, and it’s certainly true that Lando cares for “her,” but it’s never plainly said that they’re in a relationship. In other words, Lando is just being Lando. I’m thinking the filmmakers made that claim just to look progressive. (If you want an example of a clearly-stated pansexual character in a sci-fi franchise, look at Capt. Jack from Doctor Who).

Also, Woody Harrelson and Paul Bettany are great. Just thought I’d throw that in.

I will ding the film for bordering on excessive nostalgic references. These come with the territory, given the sort of story it is, but they could’ve been dialed back slightly. It was cool to hear John Williams compose a new theme for Han in this film, though.

Overall, I still prefer Rogue One to this, as far as spin-off Star Wars films go (I thought that one was bolder), but this is still solid. Do yourself and the franchise a favor and see this film, if only to spite the naysayer factions in the fanbase who can never be pleased.

Final Grade: B+