August 16, 2010: Please welcome the great David Defigueredo onboard, and check out his darkly surreal beauties here!
A minor update on my progress. Work on the book continues, albeit at a slower pace as I'm forced to work two part-time jobs to bring in enough to pay the bills (the life of most working creative types). But it continues, and more importantly, it improves through the process of trimming, revising and correcting. Editing is what shapes the work, and is really a crucial stage, as it cuts off the excess, finds gaps in logic, and generally conceives better and smarter ways of telling the tale that needs to be told. The third draft is also a difficult one because you've seen your work so much by that point that it's often difficult to maintain objectivity, and sometimes, to just not mentally gloss over things.
That's why, ultimately, any aspiring writer *needs* the help of outside editors and proofreaders. There's no two ways about that. As a former reviews editor (for The Baum Bugle), I've read and reviewed countless published works that suffered because they didn't employ the benefit of a proofreader/editor. Even the great J.R.R. Tolkien himself, a Professor of Linguistics at one of the most prestigious universities in the known world, Oxford, utilized the abilities of his son as proofreader/editor for his work.
The other necessary tool for doing a proper 3d draft revision is the one thing we rarely seem to have, time. Time allows the author to disconnect a little from his former drafts, so that when he approaches it again, it's with fresh eyes, enabling him to take the critical approach necessary towards the former draft. It's a lot of work, this process. People who haven't written a book don't realize just how much work it is, and just how frustrating, exhausting, time-consuming and nerve-wracking writing can be.
Like any creative endeavour, it's very much a process of exposing yourself, but trying to do so in a way that makes you look your best. In the end, you just have to let go and hope that you've done enough to make this work the best you possibly could, so that in ten years time, you can crack it open and say, "Hey! That's not too bad!" Ultimately, the writer is the harshest critic of his own work, and the one who has to live with the praise (hopefully) and condemnation (inevitable), and that mostly from himself. And for what? Writing is not going to make anyone wealthy these days (unless you're already an established name, or have really good contacts). We do it for the love of the craft and the subject for which we're writing about. If others come to love and benefit from what we've done, that's the real gain that we receive, that, and the sense of accomplishment from a job well done.
Signing out for now!
July 19, 2010: I'm pleased to announce that the superb Eric Pouhier has joined our ranks! Click his name to visit his photography site.
July 14, 2010: Sorry for the delay in posting updates! We have a new artist to welcome onboard, the excellent Norberto Villanueva! Click on his name to check out his photographs.
Editing on the book is proceeding apace. My first editor, Rich Handley (author of The Planet of the Apes Timeline) is helping me make judicious trims, while a new second editor, the great Derek Stevens (A Leaf Falls Skyward), is making his own way through. Between these two professionals, I've no doubt this book will be the best it can be.
May 22, 2010: Please welcome two very talented artists: Seth Collett from South Africa and Marcela Bolivar from Columbia. Their vivid and haunting works can be found here and here.
May 16, 2010: Some very sad news just broke: Ronnie James Dio has died today at the age of 67. Ronnie had been battling stomach cancer for some time and had hoped to beat it. Fans and all who respected his talents bow their heads in silent prayer. In his illustrative career and with his soaring, operatic voice, Ronnie James Dio fronted Elf, Rainbow, the later incarnation of Black Sabbath, recently known as Heaven and Hell, and his own successful band, Dio. He will be sorely missed. "Today my heart is broken," said Ronnie's wife, Wendy, "Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV8x2HKTRdM
May 16, 2010: The super-talented Janet Chui has joined us! Check out her excellent images here.
May 10, 2010: Please welcome the very cool Melissa Bond, whose eerie artwork and photographs can be found here.
May 3, 2010: Lots of new artists coming onboard! Welcome the magnificent Ania Bibulowicz, better known as Ania of the Dead! You can find her crepuscular creations here.
May 1, 2010: Welcome aboard the fantastic Laurie Lipton! You can find examples of her moody, evocative work here at her site!
April 30, 2010: Welcome aboard the renowned illustrators Wojciech (Voytek) Nowakowski and Christophe Vacher! As we forge ahead with so much exciting talent, I continue to strive to make the text as worthwhile as the art. My friend and editor Rich Handley has begun proofreading/editing the 2nd draft (now at 545 pages!) as I continue the search for a publisher. There's been some suggestions to self-publish the book in two volumes, so as to save the cost for consumers, which I'm considering. We'll see. More news to come!
March 12, 2010: We have a new photographer onboard! Welcome John and Vickie Dicus of Rivenrock Gardens! This couple is doing some very cool things out in California, including producing organic cacti. This stuff is awesome and good for you! Check out their site at www.rivenrock.com.
February 13, 2010: Today is the 40th Anniversary of Black Sabbath's debut album! To commemorate the event, I've posted a link to a sample entry from the upcoming book, Black Sabbath's first official song (not counting the still unreleased "A Song for Jim"), "Wicked World". To read this entry, click here.
December 29, 2009: I'm going to at some point put some samples up for you guys to read. I want to wait until my proofreader/editor goes through everything first, which may be a little bit. But it's on my mind to get a few things up there. Things are shaping up nicely, although I'm taking longer than I'd prefer (Isn't that usually the case?) Admittedly, you can't rush these things. I want to make a book that Butler, Iommi, Ward and Osbourne, not to mention the rest of you guys, would be proud to have on your shelves. The business of interpretation is an interesting one, and the more I delve into these lyrics, the more I find. What surprises me too is just how socially conscious, positive and spiritually profound many of these songs really were (even more than I had originally conceived), not to mention controversial (for their time and for now, although perhaps in different ways). Some of you might be wondering if I ever get sick of the songs and lyrics after two years of intensive studying, not to mention the twenty-six years prior of listening to Black Sabbath. But you know, I don't. I still really love listening to these albums and they continue taking me places like nothing else ever has. I have no doubt I'll be enjoying them for many, many years to come.
November 29, 2009: The second draft is complete. It'll get proofread and edited by an outside party before I begin the third and final draft. There's been some interesting developments as well that I can't yet discuss, as well as some challenges that'll have to be overcome as I move closer towards publishing. More details to come as the days push forward.
October 6th, 2009: Welcome onboard monster maestro, Aeron Alfrey! You can find samples of his work, as well as other works of wonder on the following sites: The Mutated Skeleton Cave, Exhibits from the Imaginary Museum, Monster Brains, Eaten by Ducks and Fantastic Animation! Enjoy!
October 1st, 2009: Two Oz-related packages came in the mail today, The Wizard of Oz Blu-Ray collection and Ozzy Osbourne's new autobiography, I Am Ozzy. I got around to checking out both, though I'll dispense with a review of the former. I was very really rather surprised by Ozzy's book! I've read every biography out there on Ozzy's life (and several times) to do research for my own, and knowing Ozzy's memory, I just wasn't expecting much beyond what we've read from interviews over the years. That'll teach me to prejudge. This thing is chock-full of new information! The chap who aided Ozzy in the writing of this really got the best out of Ozzy. I'm only in the 2nd chapter and there's dozens of recollections in here that you'll find nowhere else, and of the one's you've heard of, they're in far greater detail. And you'll hear 1st hand reactions to them. It's a vastly entertaining read as well, well-written in an easygoing style, and because it's Ozzy's life, it's an admixture of tragic, comic and tragicomic! I can see that about a 1/3 of the book is on Black Sabbath and Sabbath-related material, and already in the second chapter Ozzy's clarified one thing that the media's gotten wrong over the years. Iommi is always described as someone who bullied and beat up Ozzy during school. Not according to Ozzy! I'll be curious to see what else he rectifies!
September 20, 2009: Into the second draft, and things are progressing well. We can happily add the name of illustrator Pol Ledent to our esteemed list of artists! Check out his fantastic work here. Welcome aboard Pol! The book currently stands at the 400 page mark. Not too shabby, but there's still a lot of editing ahead, so let's see what that number becomes by the end of the second draft. One thing I've learned about proofreading and editing your own work is to give it distance and time. Coming to your own work again after having not seen it for a period of weeks or longer allows you to approach the material fresh, as though it wasn't your own. At any rate, I'll also be having it proofread by others prior to the third draft.
July 24, 2009: Tony Iommi is set to score an upcoming horror film from Mike Fleiss' (Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, Hostel) new company Next Films. The movie will be called Black Sabbath, no relation to the Mario Bava film (originally called The Three Faces of Fear) or to the band. Iommi's instrumental work has always been brilliant, so even if the movie's not stellar, it'll be fantastic to hear an album's worth of new instrumental material.
July 23, 2009: Welcome aboard illustrator J.P. Targete to the family! You can check out his amazing work here! Update: This is proving to be a day a welcome! Illustrator Sean Hopp has also joined our team!! Check out his fantastic work here!
July 21, 2009: Ozzy will finally see his autobiography released in October of this year, which aught to be chock full of hilarious and harrowing tales from over the decades. While Ozzy's seen his share of criticism over the years, one thing that can't be denied is that he's lived a colorful life. The book will cover everything from his days as a young boy to the present. What's surprising about this book is that this isn't part one of a series! No US release date has been announced yet, but I'll keep an eye out. Should be a wild time!
July 20, 2009: Completed the 1st draft of the manuscript! Still a ways to go, and as those of you who've written know, there's a giant's world of difference between one's first and second drafts, but it's a landmark nonetheless. Meanwhile, the search for a publisher continues. Without an agent, I'm flying in the face of the wind, but there are still plenty of smaller publishing houses willing to take a look at unsolicited manuscripts. So far, I'm collecting some lovely written rejection letters, but I remain undaunted. As I have no problem self-publishing, it's nice to know there's a safety net upon which I can land. But for the sake of the customer, who's cost will be considerably lower if I secure an outside publisher, I'll continue to look and submit proposals for a time.
Speaking of time... If you have any to spare, Amazon.uk just recently released the new Deluxe Remasters of Black Sabbath and Master of Reality. The quality of these remasters is superb, and a far cry from the horribly overcompressed Rhino remasters, which due to the ear fatigue I get from listening to them, are going on Ebay soon (though I do like the black book of the Black Box, even if the lyrics aren't 100% correct). Aside from the stunning remaster quality that sounds hauntingly like the old LPs when they were new (minus the needle-on-record crackle), the bonus discs contain some real gems: "Lord of this World" with steel guitar completely changes the feel of the song, and is very cool, and how about a new track: "Weevil Woman" (no relation to "Evil Woman") is an unfinished recording from Master of Reality that sounds like it would've been a strong track had they chosen to finish it (and with the album at only 34 minutes, it's anybody's guess why they didn't). There's a lot of other goodies on here, including some fun behind-the-scenes banter that gives you the barest glimpse of what making these albums was like.
