My Writing: Why I Love Being Indie

Why I Love Being Indie

It comes down to one thing - control. I wanted to maintain complete control of each part of the process of creating my novel, from first draft to final product. I did my own research, did my first preliminary edits, found my wonderfully insightful beta-readers, auditioned and hired my own quick and thorough editor, selected my own amazing cover designer and final beautiful cover design, found a formatter who quickly and effectively formatted my novel in unique EPUB, MOBI, and CreateSpace ready formats, and sought out my first generous reviewers.

By maintaining control then I know if I am successful, I deserve the credit, and if things don't work out the way I would like, I only have myself to blame. I will not worry about others' decisions interfering with my vision, and as someone who writes primarily for the joy of having a creative outlet, I wouldn't want it any other way, 

Read more thoughts about Being Indie at A Spark in the Dark:
https://clrozelle.wordpress.com/2014/12/08/10-things-that-suck-and-rock-about-being-an-indie-author-part-1/

My Reviews: Birdman

Warning, minor spoilers ahead.

Birdman (the unexpected virtue of ignorance)

Riggan Thomas (played by Michael Keaton) was once a major celebrity as the start of a major Hollywood Blockbuster Superhero Trilogy, Birdman. His films grossed millions at the box office and became part of a multi-billion dollar franchise that could have made several more films and billions of more dollars had he chosen to continue, but feeling type cast and stuck in a he turns down the opportunity to do Birdman 4. The film finds him twenty years later, in a world where relevancy seems to be judged on social media likes and viral videos hits, than talent so Riggan turns to the Broadway stage to find himself. He writes, directs, stars, and seemingly personally finances a play based on a short story written by Raymond Carver "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love."

The plot continues in a strange dark comedy featuring Riggan's recovery drug addict daughter, Sam (Emma Stone), his girlfriend and fellow actress Laura (Andrea Riseborough),  his lawyer/producer/best-friend, Jake (Zach Galifianakus) the insecure ingenue Lesley (Naomi Watts), and bad-boy Broadway veteran Mike (Edward Norton). The twist of this film is an art imitating life imitating art imitating life sort of moment as the reality of everything starts to become clear - or does it? Just when you think you've got everyone figured out, you are left with a sense of doubt and then it's over.

Overall, I found this film to be intriguing and tongue-in-cheek look at the world of Hollywood and the ever changing idea of fame, stardom, celebrity and true talent. An authentic chemistry existed amongst the entire cast drawing you into their crazy, raw, complicated world. I found the casting of a former Batman, to be especially clever given the plot and Emma Stone's performance as his daughter to be strangely perfect. I'd recommend this film and expect it to see some buzz in the upcoming award season.

NaNoWriMo 2014!

It's that time of year again. It's time to forget your hobbies, your family, your pets, and to wish you could forget your job. It's time to write over 1000 words a day and still feel like inadequate. It's time to become so engrossed in your writing, that all other goals get set aside. It is time for National Novel Writing Month.

This year I really want to win. While I've participated three years in the past and accomplished a lot of worthwhile writing, I've never technically "won" by achieving the 50K words that is the goal. This year, I want that to change. So I've plotted and thought and planned and done just about everything short of starting my project.

What is my project? If all goes as planned, I will be working on a sequel to Beyond the Reach of Judgement. Of course, anyone who has done NaNoWriMo in the past knows that things don't always go as planned. Sometimes things take on a life of their own in November, but as of this moment my current project looks something like this: (SPOILER ALERT for those who haven't read Beyond the Reach of Judgement)



"...the story of Ruth 25 years after the loss of Julien, as she comes to grips with her new life and new role in the world and of Agent Wolf as she nears retirement from the Department of Homeland Security's paranormal unit. Wolf is assigned to one final mission and discovers a strange sense of déjà vu after she finds herself again in Kansas City, MO dealing with dead prostitutes and chasing vampires, and Ruth seeks answers to her draw back to the city where she and Julien first met."


Thoughts?