Crunch Time

Hello Everyone,

     Sorry that I’ve been quiet as of late, I’ve been keeping busy writing the third Sebastian book. It’s getting to be crunch time with the deadline for the first draft due on July 1^st. I’ve still got a bit to go, but if I can keep up my pace, I should be able to finish it just in time (as usual) (I believe I turned in the first draft for Agents of the Reaper the day before it was due). I am pretty happy with how Sebastian three is turning out so far. I was having trouble coming up with a title that would be representative of the book, but it finally came to me earlier this week. I’ll probably wait to make that announcement until I'm sure it won’t change. It feels good to be tying up all the loose ends that were left open in the end of book two and bringing the series some closure. There are some really exciting sequences I’ve written over the last week I know you’ll enjoy, I can’t wait for you to read them. Beyond the action, I’ve also intertwined some interesting backstory with events that happened before the first book took place. I know thus far some of the villains have seemed perhaps a little one-dimensional. Really it’s because I haven’t taken the time to talk about their past. In the new book we get some insight into how and why a couple of the ‘bad guys’ have turned out the way that they are. It’s nice to get some origin story for some key characters. I feel like the spirit realm is a very rich tapestry, and I love adding more to its history and mythos. To me the first two books have very different feels, and if I were to compare the third, I would say it is more like the first, but with faster pacing and more action. Speaking of action, it’s looking like the last three chapters of this book are going to be straight action. This should make all of you adrenaline junkies happy. A lot of stuff goes down; some big characters are going to get killed off… hopefully none of your favorites (though I can’t guarantee anything). It’s exciting to be concluding the trilogy; the nostalgia is already starting to hit me as I write. I know I’ll miss the spirit world a lot when I move on to something else. Though there will be closure for Sebastian’s journey, there might just be enough loose ends left open to warrant another book later in the future, should I ever decide to return to it. But for now I am going to enjoy it as the finale of a trilogy that has been an absolute pleasure to write. I’ll keep you updated on the book’s progress.

Take care,

William

Catching up with April

Hello Everyone,

                I hope you’ve been doing well. April has been a busy month so far, but most importantly, I’ve still been moving right along, in the middle of the next Sebastian and the Afterlife book (the finale to the trilogy). I like it a lot so far. I know book two ends leaving a bunch of questions unanswered, but all the loose ends will be accounted for. From having fans of the books approach me and tell me how they think it will end, it looks like some of the outcomes might be a bit unexpected. It makes me happy that the overwhelming consensus from readers says they enjoyed the second book even better than the first. Hopefully the third book will easily top book two. I guarantee you it won’t be short on action!

                At long last I have a book signing coming up. It’s at the Jittery Joes in Athens, Georgia (Atlanta Hwy location) from 7-9pm on Tuesday, May 1^st. There will be copies of the new book available for purchase if you haven’t gotten yours yet. It should be a fun time. Stop by, say hi and get some delicious coffee if you have a chance. Here is the address for your GPS - ‎2950 Atlanta Hwy

Athens, GA 30606

                In other points of interest, my publicist is up for an Independent Book Blogger Award on Goodreads for her literary blog at http://www.girl-who-reads.com/. April 23 is the last day for the public to vote. You should check out her blog, and if you’d like to vote for her, you can do so here - http://www.goodreads.com/book_blogger_award/entry/67

              The other day I won a couple of movie passes from calling into a local radio station. It’s exciting (it’s been a long time since I’ve won something cool). I’m going to pick them up Monday. I think I am going to save them a week for the next movie I really want to see… ‘The Raven’  I mentioned this film on Facebook and Twitter months back. John Cusack is playing Edgar Allan Poe. It looks creepy ... and right up my alley.

                           

I need to go for now, but I’ll be back to post again before you know it.

Take care of yourself,

William

Book Blog Tour

Hey everybody, this coming week is my book blog tour for ‘Agents of the Reaper’. I will be guest-posting and doing interviews at a number of different places on the web. It should be a lot of fun. Here is the lineup so you can check it out throughout the week-

March 10^th - Girl Who Reads blog is kicking off the tour with a promo with some information about 

                        the new book and the tour.

                         http://www.girl-who-reads.com/

March 11^th - William's villain character, Axis Red, does a Guest Post at Bookish Temptations. 

                      http://bookisht​emptations.com/

March 12^th - William's character, Agent Alexander, does a Guest Post at Talk Supe Blog.

                         http://www.talk​ingsupe.com/

March 13^th - Today we're back at Bookish Temptations for a review of Agents of the Reaper.

                         http://bookisht​emptations.com/

March 14^th - William answers interview questions at Kera's Addiction.

                         http://kerasadd​iction.blogspot​.com/

March 15^th - William does a Guest Post about what's on his Bookshelf at Ali’s Bookshelf

                         http://alisbook​shelfreviews.bl​ogspot.com/

March 21^st - William answers interview questions from SOS Aloha Blog.

                        http://sosaloha​.blogspot.com/

I hope everyone enjoys the tour!

William j Barry

Lights

I'm really looking forward to seeing 'Lights' live when her tour comes through Atlanta next week. She's from Canada so it's nice to catch her when she's in the area. What can I say; I'm a sucker for a girl with a lot of synthesizers.

If I chose the Oscar winners (...from the films that have been nominated)

                I enjoy watching the Academy Awards every year. It’s nice to see the stars dressed up and mingling at their yearly prom, though I don’t really care much about who is wearing what.  I’m happy to see Billy Crystal back too. I don’t get too worked up about what movies win because most of my favorite movies would never be considered anyway. But I usually have a horse to root for in almost every category. The tradition for the Oscars at our house is usually my wife and I watching from the beginning of the red carpet arrivals, then her going to bed midway through the awards so that she can get up for work, and me with my trusty bowl of popcorn seeing it through to the end. But this year we are making a little more to do of it, Amanda will be staying up, and we’ll even have our friend Ruth over. We’re even wearing movie related t-shirts. Did I mention more snacks? Oh, well, more snacks too.

I haven’t seen a number of the short films, foreign films and documentaries, so I’m not going to pass judgment on them. But I will tell you some of my major picks.   I know everyone has their own movies that they are pulling for, and I know a number of mine won’t win… but I thought I would talk about where my allegiances lie. Here a list: ‘If I chose the Oscar winners (from the films that have been nominated).’

Without further ado –

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Midnight in Paris

This movie was written brilliantly and beautifully on every level (from story to characters to character development, etc…).

Visual Effects-

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2

(Closely followed by Transformers Dark of the Moon… actually I would be good with either of these taking this category)

I would probably put Real Steel in third.

The effects in in Hugo and Rise of the Planet of the Apes while great, to me were noticeably not quite as polished

Sound Mixing and Editing

I am going with Transformers Dark of the Moon for both of these categories.

Okay, I know, you already knew I was going to pick that… but if you saw that movie you’d know that it was (not only really loud, but) filled with a lot of insanely intricate sound mixing and editing from start to finish.

Music (Original Song)

‘Man or Muppet’ from ‘The Muppets’

The Muppet movie was delightful, and I found myself singing this song to myself long after the movie was over.

Music (Original Score)

Hugo

Makeup

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2

It might not win, but look into your heart… you know it should.

Film Editing

I’m going to take ‘The Artist’ on this one.

I chose this movie because not only did I think the editing was excellent, but they also overcame the added challenge of keeping the story presented in an outdated format interesting to an audience with modern pacing sensibilities.

Directing

I want Woody Allen to win, though I don’t think it will happen.

Costume Design

I would like to see costume design go to ‘The Artist’.

Art Direction

Hugo

Art Direction was tough, I had a hard time choosing between Hugo, The Artist, and Harry Potter.

Cinematography

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Animated Feature Film

Rango

This should absolutely be Rango.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Berenice Bejo in ‘The Artist’

Actor In a Supporting Role

I’d be great to see Jonah Hill win for Moneyball, but I don’t think it will happen.

Actress In a Leading Role

Viola Davis in ‘The Help’

She was excellent.

Actor In a Leading Role

Jean Dujardin in ‘The Artist’

He's amazing

Best Picture

Midnight in Paris

Easily the best picture of the year. I doubt it will win because I don’t think it is heavy-handed enough compared to the types of films that usually win.

As long as  ‘The Tree of Life’ does not win.  That movie is easily among the worst films (if not THE worst film) I’ve ever seen nominated.

Well it’s time to get the snacks ready; the Academy Awards will be starting soon!

Maybe if my choices don’t win, yours will. If nothing else I hope it will be an entertaining evening.

Kind Regards,

William j Barry

Devices of Time Travel

                “Now I got a time machine at home… It only goes forward at regular speed.  It’s essentially a cardboard box and on the outside I wrote ‘time machine’ in Sharpie” – Demetri Martin

                The idea of time travel is something that has fascinated me ever since I first saw the movie ‘Back to the Future’ in 1985. That film had such a profound effect on my childhood that still to this day, if you asked me to pick a favorite film…that would be it.  But to tell the truth, time travel has been a topic in a few movies on my top ten: ‘Donnie Darko’ and ‘Midnight in Paris’ are some others that readily come to mind. I even wrote time travel into my ‘Sebastian and the Afterlife’ books.

                But who hasn’t had a fantasy about time-travelling back and experiencing another time period? Or at least dreamt about going back to tell yourself about the winning lottery numbers or what stocks to buy? I think it would be nice to show up at various points in my life and beat the snot out of myself whenever I was about to make a huge life-altering mistake (… and I’ve made a few in my time… I’ll probably make a couple more before I’m done).

                I’ve sometimes thought it would be fun to go back to the 1980s, when new-wave was cutting edge and classic 80’s movies were first hitting the big screen. Or maybe it'd be nice to experience an earlier time period. It might be good for a visit, but when I think about it further, there were a lot of terrible things going on in the 80s… and most other time periods for that matter.  I don’t even want to consider hygiene or health care when you start really turning back the clock … And there may be oppression and injustice now, but it only gets worse as you go backward. 

                In the film ‘Midnight in Paris’ (which is brilliant, by the way), the pedantic Paul character makes a reference to something called ‘Golden Age Thinking’. He says it’s “the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one ones living in.” His character is effectively annoying in the movie, but this particular statement makes a lot of sense to me. Come to think of it, there are a whole lot of amenities and advancements that have come about in the last ten years that I would never want to have to live without.

                Is my nostalgia misguided? Sure there are some exciting movements and trends in history that would be fun to have a part in, but maybe I have been too lenient on whole time periods. Most of them are not without really terrible elements. So, beyond some of the pop culture, what do I miss about the 1980s? I think the early 1990s were better for me anyway.

                I was a kid in the 80s, and I didn’t really notice as much of the scary things in the world as much as I noticed my dreams … and that my life was ahead of me. Anything was possible. As for me, when I was nine I decided I was going to be a rock star… it was totally going to happen (still might). Maybe my ability to dream unencumbered by my cynicism is what I miss most about the 80s.

                That’s the nicest thing about books and films…they are devices of time travel. Not necessarily to another time period in history, but another time period psychologically. You are free to lose yourself in outlandish ideas, dreaming of the possibilities as if you were a child. Maybe some of the wide-eyed optimism could even creep out of the story and into one’s mentality. Maybe we could all re-realize that the future still holds endless possibilities for us.  So get a book, get a movie; I think it’s time we did more time travelling.

Kind Regards,

William j Barry

I can do all things through Angry Birds…

                I know it’s been a phenomenon for a while now, so it’s old hat, but I still really love the game Angry Birds.  It’s addictive, and I might be suspicious of someone who didn’t enjoy it at all. 

                I like the entire cast of birds, but I think if I had to pick a favorite Angry Bird, it would be the original red one.  Okay, I know he doesn’t have special abilities like many of the other birds, but to me he just seems the angriest… and I appreciate that. On the second swipe of your finger he just lets out a gut-wrenching ‘caw’ as he flies, because he’s so… angry.  He’s been there from the first level, destroying everything he can.  Those green pigs should have never stolen the birds’ eggs.

                I know it’s a stretch, but I feel like I could learn something from these angry ones.  In the game, every so often you’ll get to a level that seems impossible at first.   But despite the challenge, the birds hurl themselves against the obstacles.  Sure, it may take replaying the level a few times, but eventually you’ll either get a strategy or a lucky break. 

                It’d be nice if I had that kind of fortitude; to not give up; to just keep throwing myself against my problem until it crumbled to the ground… even if it seemed impossible (perhaps especially if it seemed impossible).  If you keep working at something you’ll eventually develop a strategy, and you may just get a lucky break. 

                I’m not a very angry person in general, and I’m not saying we should all be perpetually mad and try to lay waste to all that we see.  Don’t do that.  But the world is full of challenges, and metaphoric green pigs that want to steal our dreams away.  I hope I can wake up tomorrow and have the drive to keep throwing myself against the walls that are in my way.  If I keep working at it eventually the barriers will fall and I will get to where I want to be: …back in my recliner, playing Angry Birds, making ludicrous assumptions that they are teaching me something about life.

Kind Regards

William j Barry