After Sanity Update

Hello Everyone!

I've been absent from the blog for quite some time. For those that have been following me through other avenues, you'll know most of the reasons. Instead of putting post after post of pretty much the same thing, I've opted for putting one section labeled "what happened" for those that are interested. It'll be pretty ranty, so I didn't want to subject everyone to that. But, once it's ready, I'll simply make a blog post and point towards it.

On to the GOOD news!

Despite being absent from the blog, I have been exceedingly busy all over the place where my writing in concerned.

After Sanity : Corporate Aspirations [part 1] has already been on shelves for nearly 4 years at this point.

After Sanity : Finding Obligations [part 2] sees it's kick off this weekend at PopCon in Indianapolis (June 7 - 9 2019). And, as such, the official release date is June 11th, to commemorate my first fans birthday. A great gent that still prefers to be known to the wide world as "Mash Radar".

After Sanity : Creating Solutions [part 3] is in it's final edit pass. Then it will be on to formatting and the book should be released within the next two months. (Baring any other foolishness.

As for the rest of After Sanity, I'm expecting book 4 to be released early to mid next year. One thing that will help tremendously, is when I found an artist that was willing to do the art for my covers, I actually had them go through and do the remaining 5. Given that the first artist refused the request for 2 because of time constraints on their part. [Which I can understand and respect the fact they were so candid about their work load] Still, it was havoc trying to find someone that could do what I needed. So, when I did, I booked them for 5 book covers back to back.

I just received my early print copies of Finding Obligations, and I'll be using them for the presale this weekend at PopCon in Indianapolis.

I'm also simultaneously working on a variety of other writing projects, but those are mostly going to be kept under my hat until the time's right.

Also, I apologize for the absence and lack of updates. I'm not that great at all of this and am still struggling with updating and being informative, but not spamy and obnoxious. But, I'm going to try to at least do monthly updates to show whatever progress is / has been on made on various stories. If nothing else stories worked on and total word count created. That might be interesting info. Along with random writing tips and tricks I think others could appreciate / benefit from knowing.

Take it easy out there everyone!

Wes

That time of the year

I got a little story for you all. And, unlike my normal fair, this one's actually nonfiction. A true story of my evening tonight:

Hey everyone,

As most of you know, I’ve had a pretty shitty ass year. Year plus really. Almost two years. Yeah, time has not been too great for Mr. Beardy. The “Jolly Green Giant” has had less reason to be so jolly in recent past. Not saying everything’s sucked, there’s been a good amount of great times out there with family and friends over the same time period. Have even managed to make some new friends along the way.

But, there’s still been some serious reason for “the grumps” with everything going on

Counter to “business as usual” I had something really unexpected happen today. After I got picked up by my mother, and we were heading home, she had to do the usual route of stopping in to use the restroom, like PRONTO, so I had her get off the highway exit and hit up the McD’s. While there we decided to get something to eat in the area, and she had me look up local area eats. It’s too damn cold and snowy to go anywhere else. Or risk going too far out of our way with unknown weather lurking an d horrible drivers multiplying like rabbits in spring.

We settled on Los Rancheros.

We ordered our food and drinks, and got it lickity split. I mean the service was FAST son. Granted, there was only 1 other guy there, so this may not be an accurate representation, but it was pretty good to say the least. However, in the interim time between getting our drinks and our food, the other gentlemen there, the only other customer in the place, got up and left. On his way by our table, we were seated near the door with my foot propped up as usual, he wished us a Merry Christmas.

Christmas being 2 weeks away, I hadn’t gotten used to that level of random festivities yet. However, I cheerfully replied and wished him a safe journey home. And he left.

My Spidey/DM sense tingled, and I wasn’t sure what was up. I don’t know if it was the timing of it. The extra split second over the shoulder regard, or what. But, tingle tingle.

Anyway.

Food arrived, and it was pretty good. Like I said. FAST service. We ate, had a hard time finishing everything, and, had to request a box.

It was at this point that I realized what my DM sense had picked up. But I wasn’t able to figure out.

The waiter informed us that the gentleman at the other table, had given the waiter some money for our meal. And told us the new amount that we owed. Which wasn’t much.

My mom literally could not fathom what was going on. It took several time for the waiter to explain it, then I had to translate.

We were both floored to say the least.

I got to say, this whole situation has had me tripping over myself. I’ve had this whole year of suck, then this random guy. This guy that I didn’t even get his name. Someone that I only caught a glimpse of, and probably wouldn’t even recognize his face if I saw him again. This amazing human being, showed me that there’s at least a glimmer of goodness and light left in humanity.

So, whoever you are good sir, and wherever you are and are headed, I thank you with the deepest sincerity, and hope you find the coming year as bright as you’ve made the end of my year.

I’ve always heard of stories like this. And I always thought it was amazing. But, I can tell ya, it’s even more so when you’re actually in the story.

Art projects update

This is my first art project blog posting, so it’s going to be rather long. It was brought to my attention that some people may be interested in what I’m working on, my process(es), and my progress. So, I’ll be recording as much of that here as possible.

Since September I have been raiding scrap piles to keep things from going to the dump. I have amassed quite a horde, and expect to be churning out some pieces soon. Most likely before Christmas.

On top of this, I had an opportunity that I just could not ignore. On November 17th, I was given an upright piano from 1909. I’ve been able to confirm it via its serial number that you can see below. This is probably one of my most ambitious projects I’ve ever decided to undertake. My plan is to take the harp portion of it, and make a touch art piece coffee table. That idea is that you’ll be able to lift the clear top, and strum the strings of the harp. It makes a pretty kool sound that sort of makes it its own horror music sound track.

Most of the rest of the wood will be used to make a pair of slanted front writing desks. One I will be keeping, I am unsure about the other. May sell it. Only time will tell.

The rest of the wood will be used to make other pieces. Jewelry boxes mostly. And, if I can swing it, an upright full length mirror jewelry cabinet / armoire.

There is a LOT of wood. I’m unsure of the exact type, but the hypothesis is mahogany. It is a rather heavy hard wood, so that makes sense.

On top of this, the keys have been confirmed to be natural African elephant ivory. At least, veneers. There’s a lot of opinions on what should be done with the pieces. Including crushing and destroying it. However, I’m of the mindset that that would be incredibly wasteful. The beautiful creature had already lost its life over 100 years ago at that, for these veneers to exist. To honor it, I’ll be making sure to use as much as possible and limit waste. It’s the last I can do. I’m planning on using these pieces for a variety of projects. I’m leaning towards Japanese inspired pictures with Koi carved of the ivory. Only time will tell. Other pieces will be used for inlays in the various wood projects listed above. I’ve already contacted the division of Fish and Wildlife, and have been instructed in what all I need to do from a legal stand point. Geeze… the things I do for my art.

Thanks to my friends and fellow guild members for helping move this beast around! Even torn down, it has some weight to it. More than I’m supposed to be messing with for sure.

I have managed to decommission the piano to the point that it’s a pile of wood, and the harp.

 Getting the upright supports off was a nightmare. I nearly burnt up a blade trying to cut it. Tough stuff. Makes it just as able to be the pieces I want to make.

I eventually found my personal savior. A hatchet that I used as a chisel. The last pieces popped off with little effort now that I had the right tools.

In the process, I broke some of the sound board. Big problem. It changes the sound of it. I’ll have to fix it with glue. Once bonded, it’ll basically be a single piece of wood again. This glues serious business.

Speaking of the right tools. I made this right angle jig to glue one of my pieces back together. I made it free hand. I made it by eye… I was rather impressed with myself and my skills.

You know the only thing that’d be even more fabulous than completely eyeing a 90 degree angle perfectly?

The piece you were planning on using said perfect 90 degree jig on, NOT being square (90 degree turn) seriously, look at this. Apparently, even in this fine quality craftsmanship they decided, meh, close enough. Pffft… have to figure something else out.

I’ve glued it all back together and this is how it’s currently sitting. As of 12/3/2016.

I’m running into some major design problems with it. As, I want to make the coffee table entirely aout of piano pieces. However, it needs a frame for support. However, the pieces I have are only 41in to work with. However, the harp is like 58 by 51… meaning I’ll need 2 pieces. However, I only have 6 segments. However, I don’t have enough linear footage once you factor in all the joinery that needs to be done.

Uhg!

Tools and other projects in budding form.

Lapdesk: In progress (80%)

I’m converting an old wooden silverware flatware box into a lapdesk and storage for my laptop. Currently, I’ve carved the space so my laptop fits in perfectly. I just need to take a bit more wood off, so it’s not SO snug, then add a sliding panel to the bottom for the mouse to set on. I also may add a small bean bag to the bottom so I can rest it across my legs without causing too much problem.

Saw sled: DONE

For working on a saw table, a saw sled is very helpful. It gets rid of the friction from the piece sliding across the surface of the table, and instead lets the pieces to be cut, glide across on the sled. I had a bit of problem with trying ot make this with scrap pieces, so I had to go and actually buy a 2’ x 2’ birch plywood board to use. So far so good, and It’s finished. I’ll just have to keep an eye on it’s calibration to make sure it’s still cutting at a perfect perpendicular angle to the blade.

Silicon carving box: In progress, 75% done

Both Silicon and bone dust is toxic and harmful to breath. So, to prevent that, I’m making a box for each type of media to carve in. The dust will be contained in there, so I won’t have to deal with the problem as I work on my pieces. Current one is for silicon, the bone version will come much later. (I want to hurry up and get started on my geishas!) The boards have bene all cut to size. Now I just need the top portion, with the hinges, and put in a clear front piece to see through. I’ll also have to put holes for my hands to enter.

Starry Night mixed media: In progress (20% done)

I’m making a replica of Van Gogh’s Starry Night with computer parts. The template is made and most of the supplies have been gathered. As the saying goes, there’s nothing to it, but to do it, at this point.

Welp, that's it for tonight. I have a few other projects going, of course, but they aren't far enough along to really be worth mentioning at this juncture.

Hope you enjoyed the update, stay safe out there!

Wes Kirk

The journey continues...

Hi everyone.

It has been quite some time since I posted to Kirk’s Corner. A lot has been going on, and I have been trying to keep updates going out through other methods, mainly facebook.

For everyone unsure of what’s been going on, I’ll go ahead and give a quick recap here.

Just before my last post, on May 1st 2015 to be exact, I had an accident at the place I was working. Home Depot. Well, things went downhill quickly. I was serious mistreated, and they seemed to be playing a game of “How childish can we get and how can we break his restrictions next.”

I progressively got worse, and have been. 

The work comp insurance, Liberty Mutual, has seemed to do their best to interfere with my treatment.

I stuck around Home Depot for as long as I could, despite the growing dangers. In the end, I did quit in the middle of August this year. I only stayed because I KNEW, the second I quit, Liberty Mutual was going to yank my medical insurance and stop paying for everything.

After I got a lawyer, who gave his blessing to my quitting, I quit. Shortly after, and exactly as predicted, they cut my medical care funding, and stopped paying for even my medications, which even their own doctors have said I will continue needing.

I am looking at a permanent disability, and the very real prospect of never being able to hold down a normal job for the rest of my life. However long that is.

Currently my lawyer is fighting with them, as the insurance company has started refusing to even talk to my lawyer for about a month straight.

I have started working on a variety of projects, trying to keep myself mentally in the right zone. Writing has… not been as productive as I wish I could say. However, I have not stopped writing all together. In fact, I just won NaNoWriMo 2016.

For NaNoWriMo I ended up writing a Supernatual thriller that has already grown to have an entire trilogy planned out.

On top of all of this, and since about September, I’ve gotten in touch with a local crafting guild. I’m using their location and resources to not only try and keep me busy, but improve myself. I’m learning a variety of skills that, should I ever actually get better, I’ll be far more valuable to a variety of companies. Plus, I’ll be able to expand my art and work pieces into much bigger categories.

The injury is seriously slowing me down. If you have a chronic pain, you know what I’m talking about. On top of losing most of the use of my right foot, and thus leg, I’m in constant pain. Pain of this caliber drains your stamina regardless of what you’re doing. It’s just doing things makes it far worse.

So, that is the reason I’m so slow. I have to keep stopping to try and recover enough to continue. It’s really disheartening to end up taking weeks for something that should be a day project.

However. I’m making SOME progress with my pieces, so I’ll try to focus on that.

I’ll be posting projects I’m working on. Of which, and as most know already, there are many. But, most of these are art of some from. Wood working, metal, sculpture, mixed media, etc. Basically whatever I can get my hands on. Some of these I’ll be selling, and I’ll post those pieces on etcy. Some I’ll be giving away, or keeping for my own use / enjoyment. Just depends on how things go.

Here’s hoping for a future that is far brighter than my recent past.

Wish me luck everyone, for I truly need every ounce that can be spared.

Thanks in advance, and have a great evening.

Wes Kirk

Happy Endings

There are certain stories that people don’t like automatically. Beyond genre and subject objections that is. A story could, based on its statistics and attributes, be well within someone’s tastes and yet they can still despite it. There are many reasons this could happen and, I’m sure, most, if not all, of us are guilty of such bias. I know I am, and I have a perfect example of such loathing.

 

The Perfect Storm has been a focus of my ire since my very first viewing of it. I didn’t have a problem with the story or the plot, just let me get that out of the way. This isn’t a writers pet peeve induced hate. My displeasure was, like many others, focused on the ending. Statements like “It was good… but the ending ruined it!” have been tossed around by many people, including myself, about this story and many others that fall into the same category.

 

As a writer I know, at least logically, that this should NOT be the case. The ending is valid. It is final. It is complete. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with it, but yet there “is.” I have recently, literally in the last couple of days, had an epiphany on why stories like this unfairly draw our wrath. Simply put: we like happy endings.

 

Cinderella, Snow White, and the rest of the Disney Catalog. People enjoy seeing: the princess getting saved, true love discovered, bad guys getting what they deserve, and, most importantly, the Happy Ending.

 

Why are people so focused on the Happy Ending? I believe the answer lies in the alternative. The “NonHappy” Ending is too real, hits too close to home, and, as such, SUCKS. Like I said previously, this is an epiphany brought about over the last couple days. I had the epiphany while sitting in a wheel chair, and watching the light of light fade from a dear family member.

 

My aunt, Sergeant First Class Kimberly Carroll, lost her long battle with leukemia this morning at 8:26am. She was a victim of the very thing that was supposed to save her life: the bone marrow donated to her by her son. She was a victim of the arguably worst sort of marrow rejection: it attacked her body from the inside.

 

While spending as much time as I could at the hospital, along with a good portion of the family, I had the aforementioned epiphany: sometimes, life just isn’t fair. While watching her rapidly waste away, I couldn’t help think “This SUCKS.” And, while trying to make sense of the situation, I made the connection to other stories.

 

People like happy endings because they are fleeting glimpses of what they wish would happen. Beating the odds is called “Beating the odds” for a reason: because most do not. Life, in general, is a far crueler mistress that Disney EVER let on. Most do not get saved in the nick of time. Most do not get brought into the monarchy. And, yes, people actually die.

 

My aunt’s story, much like The Perfect Storm, is not fair, but very real. She received treatment. She had the support from family, friends, and professionals. She was even lucky enough to find a donor inside the family. However, it wasn’t enough even with her long battle.

 

While I say goodbye to my aunt, and continue on with my own living story, I will never forget these lessons. Sometimes, regardless of how much you try, how well things seem to go, and doing everything right, it is still possible to lose. Sometimes, life just sucks, and all you can do is try your best, and hope for your own Happy Ending.


Wes Kirk

Real Advice in Practice

Real Advice in Practice #1


As promised, here is the first of the weekly segments for helping with character development by using references from the real world.


Today I went to a local mall and camped out with some friends in the food court. While eating, chatting, and just generally hanging out, I kept an eye and an ear out for my surroundings. During this particular trip I spotted a couple noteworthy traits / actions that could be used for writing. I'll put in parenthesis my extrapolation of what I discovered.


I heard a lady talking about a guy that never seems to smile, and she was wondering why that is. (This one actually has a pair of things that could be extrapolated from it. First would be the man being referenced. There are a variety of reasons for people not to smile from shame of their bad teeth to simply not expressing themselves that way. The second take away is the lady herself. She presents both a sense a curiosity and caring for someone that she apparently doesn't really know that well. It could be that she's the type of person that likes to fix such situations. It could also simply be office-type gossip, but that's not as interesting in my opinion).


I saw a lady breaking out a thick novel, getting comfortable, and digging into the book right in the middle of the food court. Not eating, or meeting anyone, just reading. The food court was rather noisy. (This one has a couple interesting ways that it could be used. She really seemed to be enjoying herself, which got me thinking about the situation. On one side, maybe she has a hard time focusing and reading if an area is too quiet. There are some people that need that kind of background noise. There's also the possibility that she's the sort that wishes to be around people, without actually INTERACTING with people. If she's an introvert, interacting with people requires an expenditure of energy on her part, but that doesn't stop the craving for social / human contact. So that could be a route to take it as well: someone who's lonely, and wants to be around people without any social pressures.)


Saw a guy wearing a pair of headphones, but they were turned off. Guy was just hanging out, and looking around, but with headphones off. (This one you could have some fun with. Maybe he really doesn't like people, and just wants to be left alone so he puts up such a visual cue. What about the possibility of him being deaf, and he does it so people don't think he's ignoring them intentionally? May he was there waiting on someone the whole time, and turned his headset off so he could see better and not get lost in the music. Then there's the story / plot possibilities of him being under cover agent, cop, spy, etc and is actually staking out the area.)


There was a girl who repeatedly braided, and unbraided, the same cluster of hair. (This is an interesting boredom or waiting trait. It could be used as boredom or nervousness. In this particular case I'm pretty sure it was outright boredom as she waited for one of her parents to return from the bathroom. But, used repeatedly in similar situations it could go a good way in showing a fidgety character)


Now, my extrapolations from what I've seen may not be accurate for the real world at all, I'm not trying to pry into people's lives. That isn't necessary. We're writing fiction here, so there's no problem with taking a creative license with what you observe. Take whatever cues you do observe, and find interesting ways to apply or use them. Different actions and traits can be used in widely differing areas, depending on context and whatever it is you establish.


There was another set of traits that I stumbled upon, but that will be for a later post in the week. It will cover treating multiple characters as a single "unit" / single "character"


I'll also post a small short story on the Anthology so you can see how I've used some of these traits in my own works.


Hope this helps! Like always, if you have any questions just drop me a line




--Kirk

Self-Publishing lesson +1

Hi everyone, 

I thought I’d share something I have learned from this whole “self-publishing” drama that I’ve gotten myself into. Hopefully reading this will help you if you decide to go the same route. I’ll post more information and anecdotes as they become available.

For those that don’t already know. I’m going the self-publishing route with After Sanity. I had a lot of reasons for coming to this decision, but they are not part of the current topic, so I’ll avoid any further digression. I released After Sanity: Corporate Aspirations, the first part of six, in early July.

Now, when you go the self-publishing route, YOU are your own marketing department. If you happen to have a marketing guru friend who’s willing to do it for you, so much the better. I don’t. So It’s all me. I knew this in advance, of course. I didn’t kid myself on it. However, I did have one major oversight.

My specific problem has to do with a little thing called ‘timing.” Generally speaking, this wouldn’t be such an issue since my schedule’s so fluid. However, summer and fall is my heavy season. So, in case I haven’t left enough bread crumbs, I picked a horrendous time for me to release my first book.

If you already have some sort of following, or group of people you can recruit to help you spread the good word, so much the better. I’m rather unknown outside of certain circles. And, as I mentioned in my very first post, intentionally stayed out of social media for as long as possible. This has seriously bit me in the rear as it’s forcing me to make those connections now.

To get the word out, I have to be as active as possible in a variety of areas. I don’t mean running around like an Avon salesman and harassing people. I simply mean letting people know that I exist. And, even with that relatively meager goal, I simply didn’t have the time to do it. A great example of that is the extended absence from this blog.

Now that it is the winter / slow season, I’ll be able to spend more time doing things to help get my name out there. My flurry of projects I’m getting into is another example of my attempt to tell the netsphere “Hey! I’m here!” and give some examples of my work.

So, as should be expected, the exposure for the book has suffered dramatically. As such, it’s nowhere near any “best seller lists.” All of this, can be attributed to the lack of marketing and lack of attention on my part.

The takeaway / advice for you: If you are going to self-publish anything, make sure to schedule it so that you actually have the TIME that will be required to do the marketing it will very much need. Getting your name out there during the creation process would also help. But, unlike what several POD printing services may say in their ads. The “Hard part” is NOT over when you finish the book. It’s actually just starting.

Good luck my friends! Until next time.

 

--Kirk