Sunday, July 27, 2008

Creating a Graphic Novel: Writing the Script

My job in this whole graphic novel thing (besides providing description of the major characters and, well, writing the story to begin with) is to write the script for the graphic novel--and I don't have much time. Once my artist, Adam Black, gets done with the concept art (that's another blog), he's going to want to get started on the graphic novel.

As I stated in my blog on choosing an artist, I've never written a graphic novel script, but I have written a screenplay, and that's pretty close. I grabbed The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel, read a few of the "greats," and got started.

First, I needed to divide A Prophecy Forgotten into panels. As I explained in an earlier blog, panels are the little boxes on the comic book pages with the pictures. Most comic books have about 6-7 panels on a page. Now, here's the tricky part. Graphic novels are published in color. Color is expensive. The more pages in a graphic novel, the more expensive it gets. Put too many pages in your graphic novel, and buyers will ignore it because of the cost. Therefore, panel count is important. (This is why we've divided A Prophecy Forgotten into two books. It keeps the cost for each book low, and allows me to preserve more of the content.)

Converting a novel into a graphic novel on some levels is easy.

  • The story is already created.
  • The characters are already developed.
  • So are all those little visual details that I spent hours honing when I was writing the novel.
  • Etc.

However, there are still some problems I've had to deal with.

  • Prose. All those little paragraphs that explain how mornachts explode when they die? Paragraphs like that don't work in a graphic novel. Somehow, I have to show all of my mythology instead of tell it. (I dumbed down Josephi and made him ask a lot of questions so I could get the mythology out in the open through dialogue.)
  • Scenes that are just "talking heads." Conversations where nothing is going on in books don't work well in graphic novels. Therefore, I had to shorten a lot of conversations or eliminate them.
  • Dialogue. It all has to be shortened. The dialogue bubbles are only so big, and I've still got to leave room for the picture. (I've been told that artists don't like dialogue infringing on their territory. Mr. Black suggests 40 words per panel as an average.)


  • Cutting out portions of the novel. This is always the hardest part, but it's got to be done. Unfortunately, it's not enough just to shorten the dialogue. I had to cut out a few subplots, including the possibility of Tommy hardening.

When I first started writing the script, I felt like I was cutting a lot of the things that I felt like made A Prophecy Forgotten good. That, and because I'm not a comic book reader, I don't really know what makes comic book readers go "ooh!" (I can push the buttons of a fantasy reader. I have no idea what buttons to push for a graphic novel reader.) I got incredibly nervous about my panels, and that's when decided to follow my mantra: When you don't know what you're doing, find someone who does. I turned to...

...My TOP SECRET Military Expert (the TSME), who happens to be a comic book fan and collector. (No, I will not divulge his name. He is too imperative to Out of the Shadows and Book III. And no, I will not share. Go find your own TSME!) He looked through my skeleton of a script and gave me some invaluable advice on things such a dialogue, flow, panel condensing, and even a few military terms here and there. (I think the most exciting part about it was that he didn't make that many corrections. He made a few, but not the amount I was expecting.)

Once I inputed the TSME's feedback, I then had to take all my panels and divide them into boards or pages. That is the hardest part. Each page is kind of it's own little entity, so a writer needs to keep the ideas from overlapping.

Now, I'm working on writing description for each panel so Mr. Black knows exactly what I want him to draw. For instance, in the first panel of the graphic novel, one of my villains is trying to get Gabriella to join his group of evil dudes. (Like the anti-spoiler description?) My description for Mr. Black:

INTERIOR, NIGHT. GABRIELLA, holding her helmet, is backed against the wall. Looking over the back of [A VILLAIN] wearing an LAF uniform holding a sword. Don’t show his face. It’s darkened, so I’m thinking a lot of blue, here. Let’s put a window here somewhere so the audience will know what she is flying out of. Show the beginnings of stars through the window, and maybe make the sun almost set. (Like the orange-purple thing instead of lots of orange.)


Like a screenplay, I am capitalizing each character the first time he or she appears. Because only Mr. Black is going to be reading it, I can carry on like a conversation. Since this is the first panel, the audience needs to know where it is and what's going on. I'm going to use two tools for that: Captions and dialogue. Captions are usually in a rectangle box in comics. Then there's dialogue, which is represented by the character's name and is in the dialogue bubbles all of us are familiar with. So here we go:

CAPTION: Heaven’s Realm, The City of Ezzer, Elysia.

CAPTION: Graduation is complete. Elysia’s newest female guard retrieves helmet from the shower house, but finds something more sinister lurking inside.

[A VILLAIN]: I’ll make this simple for a new runt like you, Gabriella. You will join us, or you will die.


You'll notice that I've changed the beginning a bit from the novel version of A Prophecy Forgotten, which begins in a hospital room. They say you should begin graphic novels with a bang!

Writing A Graphic Novel: Concept Art

Want to Know What Mornachts Look Like?

My graphic novel artist, Adam Black, and I are currently in the "concept art" stage of creating the A Prophecy Forgotten graphic novel. Before Mr. Black begins to draw a whole bunch of panels, it's important that he and I agree on what the characters look like. The process:

  1. I sent Mr. Black a description of each major character, including height, build, eye color, hair color, and in my case, wing color. I also gave him a short description of each character so he can give the characters, well, character. I also tried to give pictures of actors and actresses that I thought looked like my characters.
  2. Mr. Black asked me for quotes from my characters to better nail their personalities. I gave him the quotes, including some quotes in Out of the Shadows, as my characters develop and change through the series.
  3. Mr. Black draws up a few quick sketches, sends them to me, and we discuss any changes that may be needed. Our priorities are Davian, mornachts, Gabriella, and Tommy. (Then probably Marcus, Eric, Snead, Josephi, Salla, and Zephor.)
  4. Once we get the concept art done, Mr. Black starts drawing the graphic novel, meaning I have to get the graphic novel finished ASAP. (Can you say "lattes" and "late nights"?

Mr. Black and I are still working on Davian. His hair is giving us some trouble. But his first sketch of a mornacht was nearly perfect! Although, I must admit that these mornachts are really scary. It's going to make writing the scenes with mornachts in them just a bit more heart pounding for me...

Here's the first concept art picture of a mornacht. Now Mr. Black is working on the armor.

BabelCon 08: Watch Me "Getting Knotted" on Video!

My friend, Rachel, is a member of Cast Aways Open Theatre Troupe. They aid various charities with their work, and at BabelCon, they aided McMain's Charity for Children, based in Baton Rouge. They dress up as--well I think it was Renaissance--courtiers. Each of them has a made-up name with that last name being Knot, such as Slip Knot. It's really funny. (I suggested the names Waste Knot and Want Knot...) My friend, Rachel, is the court jester (Wench Knot), and my friend, Damian, is Plunge Knot (but explaining that story would take to long).

Throughout BabelCon, the members of Cast Aways paraded around holding court, and they are hilarious. On the last day, Cast Aways made me an honorary member of their troupe, dubbing me...Publish Knot. (It was Rachel's idea.)

Here is a link to the video of me getting totally embarrassed. It's only about a minute long. Thanks to Keith for taking the video and posting it on-line!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Listen to Chapter 5 of A Prophecy Forgotten: Book II of the Elysian Chronicles

Hear A Prophecy Forgotten the way I intended it to be read!

As all of us wait for Out of the Shadows: Book II of the Elysian Chronicles, I've decideed to entertain you with a few podcasts (i.e. a FREE downloadable audio versions of my novel in mp3 format so you can listen to it on your computer, your iPod, or burn a CD) of A Prophecy Forgotten: Book I of the Elysian Chronicles. For those of you who cannot afford the cost of the hard-cover version of A Prophecy Forgotten, this is a good way to test it out for free. (And stay tuned for more information on the upcoming paperback version.) I will continue posting new chapters every few weeks, so please continue to check the blog.

Click to read my latest installment: "Chapter 5: Poisoned Water." (The title of this chapter actually has a double meaning...)

Also, if you missed previous chapters, please click on the links below:

This Week’s Final Cut In Movies show (07/26/08): The Dark Knight

On this week’s show, I'll be discussing The Dark Night, how to create terror in an audience without any blood, what to do after you kick the thug holding a knife at you, and other science fiction & fantasy news.

The show will air from 8:00-9:00am & pm and re-air throughout the week at the same times on http://www.adastraradio.com/. To listen to tonight's show:

Missed Saturday's edition of The Final Cut? Don’t worry, you can catch the re-runs each day from 8:00-9:00am & pm at http://www.adastraradio.com/, or you can download the podcast at M. B. Weston's Podcasts site or by following this link on iTunes.

Last Week’s Final Cut In Movies show (07/20/08): Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Sorry everyone. I forgot to post this last week.

On this week’s show, I'll be discussing Hellboy, renewing my vows against movie critics, and other science fiction & fantasy news.

The show will air from 8:00-9:00am & pm and re-air throughout the week at the same times on http://www.adastraradio.com/. To listen to tonight's show:

Missed Saturday's edition of The Final Cut? Don’t worry, you can catch the re-runs each day from 8:00-9:00am & pm at http://www.adastraradio.com/, or you can download the podcast at M. B. Weston's Podcasts site or by following this link on iTunes.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Interview Questions...

I just filled out an interview for Suspense Magazine, and I figured I'd share it with all of you!

  1. Who would you say has been your biggest inspiration?
    I would say that C. S. Lewis has been my biggest inspiration, followed by JRR Tolkien.
  2. What is your all-time favorite book?
    Probably The Lord of the Rings. I could read that over and over again.
  3. How long do you normally take to research your book?
    Depends. The bulk of the research of A Prophecy Forgotten wasn’t really research. It was more the development of the world of Heaven’s Realm (my little fantasy dimension). Because A Prophecy Forgotten is fantasy, I can basically just make stuff up and get away with it. I did, however, do a lot of research in warfare—especially Special Ops such as Navy SEALs, Green Berets, and Delta Force. Out of the Shadows, the sequel to A Prophecy Forgotten, required more research and less world development. I had already developed the world, so that was easy. However, the Earth part of Out of the Shadows takes place at the Naval Academy. That required a trip to Annapolis, extensive interviews, books, etc. Never write you novel in a real place unless you’ve lived there.
  4. What is on your iPod now?
    A whole bunch of stuff. What’s funny is that the bulk of it is classical, but I really don’t listen to classical that much. (Although “Morning” by Grieg is my favorite piece of music.) I’ve got a lot of Sinatra, some Nat King Cole, some Whitney Houston and Seline Dion. I’ve also got some Brian Setzer and a few sound tracks, as well as a lot of Beatles and Oldies. (I love Oldies.) Really, anything that I can sing to. I would like a lot more songs, but songs cost money, and I’d rather spend my money promoting my writing than purchasing Fruity-licious, or Bubblelicious, or whatever Beyonce and Fergie are singing right now.
  5. Do you have any superstitions when you write, little quirks, etc?
    No real superstitions or quirks, but I like my desk and the area around me to be clean and free of “visual clutter,” and I like to do my editing near a window. I have no clue why. I think it’s because I would rather be outside than inside, but I live in South Florida and being outside without sweating is only possible in the winter.
  6. If you could solve any mystery for yourself, what would it be?
    Where in the world is Osama Bin Ladin? Just kidding. Well, not really. Any mystery for myself…? This is a toughie. I was first thinking about how the Aztecs were able to lift those huge pieces of rock, but I’m going back to my original answer. There are a lot of innocent people dying in the world today because of terrorists, and that includes the peaceful Muslims living under extremist-led regimes, innocent civilians who died here in America on 9-11, our soldiers, and even the civilian casualties of war in Iraq who were never targets to begin with. War sucks, even when it’s necessary. (Just ask those who lived in London during World War II.) The mystery I would like to solve is 1) where are the terrorist leaders, and 2) who is funding them. That would lower the world’s death toll—for a while anyway.
  7. If you could talk to any person, Alive or Dead, for one hour, who would it be?
    Stephen King, so I could beg him to blurb my books. Him or Osama Bin Ladin. My first question: Can you please give me your exact coordinates? Tee hee.
  8. I love to hear stories from authors about their first published book, how did you get it done?
    I was in the process of preparing to send out my manuscript. I had a list of agents ready to go, and I attended the Naples Press Club Writer’s Conference back in 2006. I noticed that they were allowing us to sign up for a free pitch session with ArcheBooks Publishing. My thoughts were, “Well, I’ll never make it anyway, but it will be good practice for when I start to try to find a publisher for this thing.” The night before, I prepared everything that the ArcheBooks website said to send (just in case the editor asked me to “send him something.” Then I’d have it right there and skip that step.) The list included the first 50 pages, a 1 page synopsis, a 5 page synopsis, and a marketing plan. I was up until 4:00am! I only got 2 hours of sleep that night, so that morning I had 2 Starbucks Double Shots, a coffee chaser, and a jelly dough-nut. I started shaking from nerves, sugar, and caffeine, and I continued to shake for literally 4 hours before my pitch session. When the editor asked me what my book was about, I gave him a blank stare. Brilliant, huh? Then, he asked me who my main character was, and my brain clicked in. 6 weeks later, I had a contract.
  9. What future plans can you tell us about?
    A Prophecy Forgotten is being turned into a graphic novel so I’m currently working on the graphic novel script. Ad Astra Radio, an Internet radio company that I do a talk show for, is also planning on pitching an Elysian Chronicles radio program to the guys who do Dr. Who in England, or something like that. (Radio is not my expertise.) Also, Out of the Shadows, the sequel to A Prophecy Forgotten should be available sometime in October or early November.
  10. When you are not writing, what do you like to do for fun?
    Hmm. When I’m not writing, promoting, planning future promotions, recording my radio program, working on my graphic novel script, or staring numbly into my computer screen during moments when my brain checks out, what is it that I do? Well, I jog and I work out. I also spend time with my family, mainly on Sundays. I honestly don’t have much time to do anything. I think that’s why I’m so stressed. I’ve been asking God to make the days 36 hours instead of just 24, but He hasn’t granted my request, yet. If I do have spare time, right now I’ll watch a Yankees game, like I did today. They won, too! (Although I was putting new ISBN stickers on all of my bookmarks while I watched. A little multi-tasking is a good thing.)

BREAKING NEWS: Wandering Sage Publications LLC Picks Up the Rights to the Elysian Chronicles

Both A Prophecy Forgotten and Out of the Shadows will debut in paperback!

First, many of you who read my MySpace blog may remember the cruel little April Fool's Day joke I played on you where I said, "Out of the Shadows publication stalled. The manuscript may not see print." That was incredibly mean of me, and I do apologize--again.

I'm mentioning that because this is NOT a joke, and I wanted to make sure everyone knew that. Actually, it's amazingly good news!

Wandering Sage Publications, LLC has acquired the rights to The Elysian Chronicles, meaning both A Prophecy Forgotten and Out of the Shadows. (Wandering Sage is the same publisher that is publishing A Prophecy Forgotten as a graphic novel.)

Best news first:
For those of you going to DragonCon, you can purchase a DragonCon-only Limited Edition of A Prophecy Forgotten in trade paperback at the Con (signed, of course.)

Now for the rest of the good news:

A Prophecy Forgotten: Book I of the Elysian Chronicles (ISBN 1-59507-169-5) in hardcover is now out of print.
There are: 5 books in the Naples Barnes & Noble, a few more at the Gulf Coast Town Center Borders in Ft. Myers, about 8 at the Carrollwood Barnes & Noble in Tampa, and 3 new on Amazon.com. (Only 4 used are available as well.) Other books may exist, but I'm not sure where. This means that when I become really famous, those books are going to be worth a bunch of money... It also means that if you really want a hardcover of A Prophecy Forgotten, buy it now!

A Prophecy Forgotten (ISBN 1-933300-09-4) will soon be available as a trade paperback!
This will include a few editing changes and an updated prologue (with an extra scene)... I will be giving you more news as time goes on, including when you can purchase it at bookstores!

Out of the Shadows (ISBN 1-933300-08-6) will be available soon in trade paperback (making it more affordable).
I do not have a date yet on its release, but be assured that I will let everyone know the moment I find out. Target dates are set between 4-6 months.

I think that's about it for the current news. Stay tuned for updates and...the new book cover....

Monday, July 21, 2008

The SCA is the Society for Creative Anachronisms, and it tries to recreate the best of the middle ages by learning and doing the arts and skills. (I copied that from their brochure.) They had a booth at BabelCon, where they displayed some really cool stuff that they had created, such as lace, metal work, leather work, furniture, and my personal favorite: weaponry.

You all know that I love weapons.

One of the members passed my table and we started talking. He was wearing chainmail. (Okay, it’s really called “mail” but if I say, he was wearing mail, then half the world is going to wonder if he was dressed as a postman considering people do dress in costumes at these conventions.) We started talking and I asked him about who made his mail, etc.

Now, I write about guardian angels and its very important for me to hold and experience the weapons they carry so I know what they feel like after a hard battle. And chainmail is very important because it’s heavy and therefore would impede flight. (Davian tells Gabriella all about it in A Prophecy Forgotten.) Now, I’ve picked up a few swords (see my pics of me with a broadsword), but I have never actually tried on mail.

And I must admit, I have been dying to get my hands on some so I could try it on for quite some time.

Somehow, it came up in conversation, and the SCA member let me try on his mail.

That stuff is pretty heavy! Although, I have been told that chainmail fit for me would be lighter. Also, the middle ages dudes would wrap a belt around the mail and the belt would actually add support and make it feel lighter.

Then, some other members of the SCA let me try on their breastplates (Eek! Two secret dreams fulfilled in one day!)...

...and a helmet.

You can check out pictures of this in my “Fantasy Conventions” photo album.

As I talked with the SCA members, I realized something. I think that we 21st century humans don’t give those who lived before us the credit they deserve. Many of the things that they did and created were absolutely brilliant. I got to look at different breastplate designs as well as chainmail designs, and the people of the middle ages took so much into account. I was definitely impressed with what people of the Middle Ages were able to do without computers and science grants.

Now, if I can just convince Roger Clemons to hit me in the ribs with a 95 mph fastball… (Hey, I’m a big believer in letting the players take care of pitchers hitting batters themselves instead of getting the umpires involved, but I want to know what it feels like to get hit with a fastball before I go spouting off.)

BabelCon 08: Don’t Go to Baton Rouge Expecting to Lose Weight

My friends, Rachel and Damian, whom I met at BabelCon last year, let me stay with them this weekend. Now Rachel and Damian possess a lot of great qualities, such as hospitality, kindness, and the sincere desire to help. They also know all the good places to eat in Baton Rouge, and they made sure to take me.

Let’s see… What are the great things that I got to eat this week?

Brunet’s (sp?) is a hole in the wall restaurant in Baton Rouge. We ate there, and I ordered the “Crawfish Dinner” because it gave you little samples of everything. So I tried:

  • Gumbo
  • Crawfish Au Gratin
  • Fried Crawfish
  • Crawfish Etoufette (sp?)
  • Spiced Crawfish (To die for. I probably said “Wow” about 15 times that night.)
  • Then I tried some of Rachel’s boiled shrimp which actually was boiled in a spice I can’t remember and it was soooo good.

Other amazing things I tried this weekend:

  • Rachel’s Grandmother’s Chicken Alba. Soooo good.
  • A Taco Bonita from a Mexican restaurant. I still don’t know what exactly it was, but it was really good.
  • Community Coffee. You guys from Baton Rouge know what I’m talking about. For those of you who don’t, let’s just say that Starbucks is closing down 9 Baton Rouge stores because of it.
  • Then, my friends from Kerlak Publishing went to a local store and brought back a bunch of…benettes? I don’t know how to spell it, and I kept pronouncing it wrong because I kept mixing it up with a bunelo, which is a Cuban doughnut. But let me tell you about these puppies. They’re like fried croissants with powdered sugar on them. Oh my goodness!!!! Wow, wow, and wow! It took all my self-control not to eat another.
  • Then Damian got us Krispy Crème doughnuts this morning. I love Krispy Crème!

So, all that weight I’ve lost? I’m probably back where I started. Thanks guys! (And I’m sure I spelled stuff wrong. I really apologize if I didn’t. I have a hard enough time spelling words in English.)

BabelCon 08: Travel Tales (from the Crypt) 2

I woke up Friday morning, after going to sleep Friday morning… That just sounds weird, but it’s the truth. I slept for only three hours Thursday night…Friday morning…whatever, amounting to 5 hours total sleep for both Wednesday and Thursday. What a way to begin another four hour road trip through four states and then a weekend-long Science Fiction/Fantasy Con, huh?

I decided to stop by the Air Force Armament Museum for research purposes before I left Ft. Walton Beach, and I headed out. That’s when I looked at the gas meter. (I know it has a different name, but I can’t remember it. I’m still recovering from this weekend.)

The little yellow light next to the E was flashing.

Oh Boy! Another travel tale! And this one is Vintage Michelle!

See, I had a problem. I was stuck between of a bunch of air force bases. (Get a map of Florida and look in the panhandle. You’ll see Eglin AFB, something like Duke Field, and two others taking up a whole bunch of space around the Ft. Walton Beach area. Why is this a problem? Because there just aren’t a lot of gas stations in totally rural areas like Air Force Bases, and I can’t just drive up and ask the nice Air Force base guards if I can drop in and use some of their jet fuel. Gosh, my Camry can’t even take diesel

I clicked the “info” button on my steering wheel, and saw that I only had 6 miles left of gas.

Pucker factor of…8…

Then I saw what looked to be my salvation. A gas station! Except, I think it was called “Bob’s Gas Station” or something like that. If you’ve been reading the blog, you know how much I get nervous around gas stations—especially rundown gas stations. The last time I stopped at a “Bob’s Family Gas and Tobacco”, I ended up putting diesel in my car because the fuel wasn’t marked well enough. I pulled in anyway, and I noticed that the numbers on the gas station that tell you how much gas you’ve put in were, well…they looked like slot machines. You know…not digital. Those little roundy things from the 50s.

I simply couldn’t do it. I don’t want another Bob’s Gas experience, thank you very much. (I might have felt better if someone else was pumping gas or if someone else besides the random bum was entering Bob’s X-Mart.) So I kept going.

4 miles. Pucker factor of 9…

Did I mention that I really didn’t know where I was because I was out of my “MapQuest range”?

Now this is the beauty of understanding geography. I had no clue where I was, but I knew I was heading toward the beach, and hence toward the inhabited parts of Ft. Walton Beach with gas stations. So I just kept going driving.

Pucker factor of 10.

Then, I hit highway 85 again somehow. (I think Ft. Walton is surrounded by magically appearing forks in the road that can only be found by sleep-deprived mortals.) How did I know it was 85? Because I drove past that particular intersection 3 times the night before!!!

Heck, I even knew I was coming up on a Hess because I pulled in there the night before to try to gather my wits and figure out where I was. So I pulled into the same Hess, got some gas, and went on my way, where I hit the Air Force Armament Museum and took a bunch of pictures of planes. (You can see these pics in the “Elysian Chronicles Inspirations” album. Why? Because they are! Especially the missile launchers, but only my TSMA (Top Secret Military Advisor--more on him later) knows why…) I also spent some time talking with the museum director, George W. Jones. After that, I headed toward Baton Rouge, and for the first time, had an uneventful trip.

Friday, July 18, 2008

BabelCon 2008: Travel Tales (of the Crypt)

I live in Naples, Florida--right across from Miami. I'm closer to Cuba than I am to any state in the Union, and it takes a good 8 hours drive time to get to Georgia. It also takes about 13 to 14 hours to get to Baton Rouge, where BabelCon is.

After much consideration, I decided to break up the trip and stay with a friend in the panhandle of Florida tonight--wait, that would be this morning at this point (4:32am)--and on the way back as two trips of 13 hours of driving alone can be quite dangerous.

My plan:

  • Have everything packed and ready by yesterday--wait, Wednesday--and in the car.
  • Record my radio show on Hellboy yesterday--wait, Wednesday.
  • Write my angels speech that I am giving on Saturday. (This should be interesting. I write about fake angels--why I call them Cherubians instead of angels, and done little to no research on angels.)
  • Leave Thursday morning so I could not have to speed and hang out in a coffee shop with my three to four hours of spare time, editing my graphic novel.

That was before some really cool stuff happened this week that I can technically talk about but it's freakin' 4:37 in the morning. Big picture: Wandering Sage Publications is turning A Prophecy Forgotten into a paperback! If you are going to DragonCon, you will actually be able to purchase a limited edition DragonCon only paperback, but the room is spinning right now and everything is blurry, so I think waiting for another blogwill do it more justice.

So, instead of getting everything ready for my radio show and preparing my speech on angels, I've been focusing on contract negotiations and rights issues. And, of course, these kinds of things tend to zap me out of focus.

So, I ended up getting about 2 hours of sleep last night--I mean Wednesday night.

And I ended up recording my radio show this morning--I mean Thursday morning. My plan? Record everything in Naples, leave in time to reach my destination, and edit the show up here.

You know, I should have learned back in March when I put diesel in my car that I shouldn't try to operate on 2 hours of sleep--especially when I'm traveling.

Problem 1: I left 2 hours later than I should have (@ 2:30pm). I arrived at Ft. Walton Beach around, oh, 10 o'clock their time after driving 8 hours. (Yes, it's a nine hour drive. I just went a little...faster.) When I arrived, I had my MapQuest directions in front of me, ready to go. Of course, it was pitch black outside and in the car, so every time I wanted to read said MapQuest directions, I had to turn on a light.

That's when I remembered that Ft. Walton Beach doesn't believe in using street signs that people can see at night. And MapQuest requires being able to see street signs.

Let's see, where did I visit before I finally reached my friend's house? Hmmm.

  • Well, I got all the way downtown, and I realized that I had long since passed the .8 miles to my turn. (I kind of knew that at about a mile, but I always assume Mapquest is the one in the wrong. I don't know why I do this since I haven't been right yet.)
  • Then, I turned around and tried to retrace my steps, but I somehow took a left hand turn that I didn't even know was a turn--I believe it's called a fork in the road. Remember--not very good street signs. I ended up almost saying hello to the nice guards at the Eglin Air Force Base entrance.
  • I had to go back where I started, which was the wrong place to begin with but it was the only way I could find the right way to retrace my steps... (Did any of you get that?)
  • I finally guessed right on the street, and I eventually made it to my destination.
  • No, I did not call for directions. I really wanted to figure it out on my own. (Guys, admit it. You can relate.)

Then, after visiting with my friend and her hubby, I started to work on editing my radio program so I could upload it to Ad Astra's site.

That's when I realized that I had left about 4 minutes out of my first segment, meaning that my 36 minute show was only 32 minutes. I didn't have any radio equipment with me to record anything extra. (Obviously a case of severe fried brain, and I drove all the way up here with it!)

4 minutes is,like, a whole radio segment!

I literally almost burst into tears. But, I'm pretty stubborn, and I decided I had to figure out how to fix it. So here's what I did.

  • Remember that "audio version" of A Prophecy Forgotten that ArcheBooks tried to create that, well, put people to sleep because a computerized voice was reading it? I've got the program that creates the voice on my computer. Now, having a robot talk for four minutes doesn't make for good radio, but having a robot talk for two words and then using some of my past recordings does.
  • I created an mp3 file of a robotic man saying "Last week." It sounds, well, mostly real.
  • Then, in front of each of the 5 segments that I originally recorded, I added the parts of me making fun of movie critics and quoting movie critics during last week's show. Example:
    Man's voice: Last Week...
    Me: And so-and-so from so-and-so said.... Trust me they were hilarious. You've got to listen to last week's show if you haven't.
  • I still needed a full minute, so each segment of this week's show has an extra 12 seconds of Final Cut music at the end.
  • Problem solved...

Not bad for 2 hours of sleep in 48 hours, is it? Of course, all this editing took me about 4 hours, hence the 4:00 in the morning blog time (ooh, it's almost 5:00). Then it took me about 30 minutes to get the whole thing uploaded on Ad Astra's Server.

So, if you listen to the Ad Astra version, don't judge me too harshly this week. (I just used the shortened version for the podcast version.)

And now, I'm off to bed so I can get some sleep before I visit the Naval Air Museum (hopefully) and then drive 4 hours to Baton Rouge. If you see me nodding off at BabelCon, just wake me up.

Oh, yeah, and I've got an angels speech to write, too.

One more thing. Those little bottled Starbucks frapaccinos that you can buy at grocery stores really don't help wake you up.

Monday, July 14, 2008

M. B. Weston’s Events for the Week: 07/14/08-07/20/08

Here are my author and radio events this week:

***Please Note: For those of you who bought A Prophecy Forgotten at BabelCon last year, and are eagerly awaiting Out of the Shadows, I apologize, but it will not be out in time. However, PLEASE stop by my table. I have a special suprise for you, including MORE of Out of the Shadows than just the prologue and first two chapters (which I have already uploaded to my website). (Think you hated me when I left you hanging after the first two chapters? Just wait until you read what I'll be handing out this weekend. Can you say "Cliffhanger"?)

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason, which is being adapted into a graphic novel series by Wandering Sage Press, Inc., with Weston penning the script and KISS comic book artist, Adam Black, doing the art. Weston is also the host of The Final Cut, an internet radio talk show about science fiction and fantasy movies on Ad Astra Radio, which can also be heard as a podcast on M. B. Weston's Podcasts site or on iTunes. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Listen to Chapter 4 of A Prophecy Forgotten: Book I of the Elysian Chronicles!

Hear A Prophecy Forgotten the way I intended it to be read!

As all of us wait for Out of the Shadows: Book II of the Elysian Chronicles to get out of editing, I've decideed to entertain you with a few podcasts (i.e. a FREE downloadable audio versions of my novel in mp3 format so you can listen to it on your computer, your iPod, or burn a CD) of A Prophecy Forgotten: Book I of the Elysian Chronicles. For those of you who cannot afford the cost of the hard-cover version of A Prophecy Forgotten, this is a good way to test it out for free. I will continue posting new chapters every few weeks, so please continue to check the blog.

Click to read my latest installment: "Chapter 4: Mornachts and Monsters."

Also, if you missed previous chapters, please click on the links below:

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason, which is being adapted into a graphic novel series by Wandering Sage Press, Inc., with Weston penning the script and KISS comic book artist, Adam Black, doing the art. Weston is also the host of The Final Cut, an internet radio talk show about science fiction and fantasy movies on Ad Astra Radio, which can also be heard as a podcast on M. B. Weston's Podcasts site or on iTunes. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

Friday, July 11, 2008

This Week’s Final Cut In Movies show (07/11/08): Hancock

On this week’s show, I'll be discussing Hancock, Will Smith, and other science fiction & fantasy news. Oh, and I'll be blasting the bobbleheads (i.e. movie critics). Trust me, this one is a blast!

The show will air from 8:00-9:00am & pm and re-air throughout the week at the same times on http://www.adastraradio.com/. To listen to tonight's show:

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason, which is being adapted into a graphic novel series by Wandering Sage Press, Inc., with Weston penning the script and KISS comic book artist, Adam Black, doing the art. Weston is also the host of The Final Cut, an internet radio talk show about science fiction and fantasy movies on Ad Astra Radio, which can also be heard as a podcast on M. B. Weston's Podcasts site or on iTunes. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Creating a Graphic Novel: Choosing an Artist

While I'm hurriedly finishing up the graphic novel "script" for part one of A Prophecy Forgotten: Book I of the Elysian Chronicles, I figured I would share a bit of the process of creating a graphic novel--or in my case, adapting a novel into a graphic novel.

Once Wandering Sage Publications, ArcheBooks, and I came to an agreement that Wandering Sage would produce a graphic novel adaptation of A Prophecy Forgotten, we needed to find an artist.

Well, you don't just copy a page of your novel and throw it out on the Internet. You've got to tell the artist what to draw. The more detailed you are, the easier and faster it is for the artist. My job was to write a "script" for one page of a graphic novel. Here's the part where the vocabulary comes in--Wandering Sage had to teach it to me. I guess in comic book lingo, a page usually has 6-7 panels. (A panel is a box with, say, Batman and Robbin running and a dialogue bubble coming out of Robin's mouth with the words, "Holy toasted popcorn, Batman! The Joker almost killed us!")

That meant I had to try my hand at writing a graphic novel script for one page of A Prophecy Forgotten--6 panels. Honestly, choosing which scene to write about was the hardest part. Originally, I considered using a high-octane scene with lots of action, but Shane Moore (a fellow author and VP of Wandering Sage's graphic novel division) suggested I do a scene with high emotion because action is easier for an artist to draw.

So I chose my climax--the scene right before the villain is revealed. (If you're going to make it difficult, make it really difficult!)

My biggest problem: I have never written a graphic novel. I've also never read comic books. The only thing I've done remotely close to a graphic novel was a full length romantic comedy screen play that I wrote for the original Project Greenlight contest, which I obviously didn't win.

Freak out! I'm a perfectionist, and I want to do things well. It's really hard to do things well if you have no idea what you are doing!!

My first objective--get my hands on some graphic novels. I borrowed V for Vendetta, 300, and The Dark Knight: Batman Returns from a graphic novel loving friend, and read them. (Well, I skimmed Batman.) I focused on dialogue, how scenes were set up, and how everything seemed to flow together.

My second objective--get professional advice on how to write a graphic novel script. That involved a trip to the bookstore and a $20 purchase of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel by writer Nat Gertler and artist Steve Lieber. I read it through, cover to cover (and I also read the aforementioned graphic novels) over Memorial Day weekend in Texas.

I created a script for a page using Mr. Gertler's format, sent it off to Shane, and waited while Shane sent out an all call to artists and sent them my page. (Now, to be fair, I also created a very lengthy description of each of the characters in the scene, as well as the armor. If you've read A Prophecy Forgotten, you know how important the armor is.)

Then, I waited until Shane received submissions and forwarded them to me. We chose Adam Black for a few reasons. First, he had a bit of a resume, meaning he has a pre-existing audience. This will help graphic novel sales. Second, Adam was able to put several details into his drawing that showed intangible emotion. That's really the only way I can describe it. It's like, you look at a scene and feel something more than just what the scene is supposed to show. (300 is a good example of that.)

I can't show you the full script for the page that I wrote, nor can I show you Adam's whole page--as that would give away too many spoilers for those of you who have not read A Prophecy Forgotten. I will give you an example of the first panel and what Adam did with it.

What I wrote:
(1)
Interior, night. Glow torch sconces illuminate the Command Bunker’s stone walls. Stars peak in through arched windows. Maps, drawings, and tables lay strewn across the floor. Camera angle looking above torso of a dead LAF SOLDIER lying face down on a table with a sword sticking out of his back (where his wings hit) and focusing on the door, where DAVIAN, MARCUS, TYCE, and THEO have burst in. Door slams against the wall. Davian is in front. Marcus stands behind his left shoulder. Theo & Tyce stand behind his right. They are all grungy, with scrapes and bruises from fighting for four hours.

1 CAPTION: The Command Bunker
2 MARCUS: What happened?
3 DAVIAN: Where’s Zephor?

Yes, the dialogue is a little cheesier than I prefer, but remember that this is a graphic novel. It's about the pics.

Adam's Panel



I like the armor, here. (I hope Adam likes drawing it, because he's going to be drawing it a lot!) I also liked Davian's wings as he came running through the door. You'll note that Adam didn't draw everything I said to draw. There's no Theo and Tyce coming in. But he's the visual guy--he figured out that Theo and Tyce just wouldn't fit. I respect that, and I want that in an artist. This whole thing is about making the graphic novel look good. Not about me getting my way.

Here are some more of what Adam drew and why I liked it.


Dude, Adam nailed Marcus--don't you think? (I'm sure all of you can see why I'm so excited to be working with Adam.)



Here, my villain has just finished killing...someone... Sorry, gotta keep the spoilers out. I loved this drawing because it's shows motion. The sword is mid-swing, and it looks like it's moving. I also like the villain's pose. It's so high-testosterone, and you can tell the villain is angry and bitter. There is emotion in his stroke.






This one was amazing. (It's part of the above panel. This actually was the clincher on the decision to go with Adam. Notice the soldiers' wings, and look at the difference in wings here from Davian's wings above. Adam made a subtle change in the wings, almost making them stick up straight, which accentuates their evil look. I just thought it was brilliant!


I hope that you all have a better understanding of why we chose Adam and why I'm so excited about this whole thing!

Stay tuned for my next blogs about concept art and writing the script.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Listen to Chapter 3 of A Prophecy Forgotten: Book I of the Elysian Chronicles!

Hear A Prophecy Forgotten the way I intended it to be read!

As all of us wait for Out of the Shadows: Book II of the Elysian Chronicles to get out of editing, I've decideed to entertain you with a few podcasts (i.e. a FREE downloadable audio versions of my novel in mp3 format so you can listen to it on your computer, your iPod, or burn a CD) of A Prophecy Forgotten: Book I of the Elysian Chronicles. For those of you who cannot afford the cost of the hard-cover version of A Prophecy Forgotten, this is a good way to test it out for free. I will continue posting new chapters every few weeks, so please continue to check the blog.

Click to read my latest installment: "Chapter Three: Rumble in the Schoolyard."

Also, if you missed previous chapters, please click on the links below:

Six Degrees of Separation from Me to Kevin Bacon!

My brother-in-law turned me onto this three Sundays ago when he found out about my new graphic novel artist, Adam Black's, association with KISS. He said, "Hey, you might be six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon!"

For those of you unfamiliar with what I'm talking about here, let me see if I can remember the details. I believe a someone wrote an article trying to prove that each person in the world could be connected through six people.

(Think of it like your MySpace network. You've got, like, one hundred friends, and somehow MySpace calculates your "network" to be in the millions because you connect to your friends, who are connected to their own friends who are connected to.... You get the picture. MySpace assumes that theoretically, if you friend-requested all those friends, you'd have millions of friends, which we all know isn't really feasible.)

Anyway two DJ's were talking about the the article somehow figured out that separation rhymes with Kevin Bacon, and the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" was born. It's something you play when you're on a ten hour car ride, and you've already played the Alphabet Game about twenty times and need something else to occupy your mind. The goal is to pick an actor and try to connect that actor with Kevin bacon through movies or relationships.

(I'm sure all of you remember the Super Bowl commercial for the Visa Check card a few years ago where Mr. Bacon went and got about 6 people to prove his identity. The commercial was alluding to this little cult game...)

So, I did a little research, and I am now officially connected to Kevin Bacon:

  1. Me, and my graphic novel artist is...
  2. Adam Black, the artist for the Kiss 4K Web Comic series. He just finished promoting the series with...
  3. Gene Simmons, who starred in Runaway with...
  4. Tom Selleck, who starred in In & Out with...
  5. Matt Dillon, who starred in Wild Things with...
  6. Kevin Bacon.

Yes, I've spent a lot of time on this. Why? Because I'm a geek. It's a big puzzle, and I love solving puzzles. (If you want to keep me quiet, throw a book of sudoku and a pencil at me.)

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

BREAKING NEWS: A Prophecy Forgotten to be Adapted into a Graphic Novel!

KISS 4K Web Comic Artist, Adam Black, will create the artwork! (For those of you unfamiliar with KISS, watch Gene Simmons' Family Jewels.)

Okay, I can finally share the news that I've been sitting on for about a month! Wandering Sage Publications' graphic novel imprint, Abyss Walker Comics, has picked up the graphic novel rights to A Prophecy Forgotten: Book I of the Elysian Chronicles! (For those of you who might not be familiar with the graphic novel genre, think: a novel in comic book form.) KISS comic book artist, Adam Black, has signed on to do the artwork. For those of you who like graphic novels, comic books, and manga, you'll be in for a serious thrill because I can guarantee you Mr. Black's work will be amazing! (I've already gotten a sneak peak at what he can do!)

This means double the exposure and double the audience for the Elysian Chronicles series! I also means that I can add in some visual forms of foreshadowing (and symbolism) for Out of the Shadows and Book III that would be impossible to do with just written prose. (It also gets me a foot in the door to the world of comic books if I ever want to make The Elysian Chronicles into a comic book series, which I do.)

Here's the official scoop:

  • A Prophecy Forgotten will be divided into two graphic novels, meaning I won't be editing out too many scenes. (Kind of like the 7th Harry Potter movie...)
  • I will be doing the adapting (i.e. graphic novel writing), meaning I'm going to be stuck staring at this computer drinking the rest of my coveted stash of Harney & Sons Cherry Blossom Green Tea for quite a while (until the tea runs out--about a month *sniff, sniff*). This also gives me control over the content, so you can be assured that the story is coming from me--not someone hired by me. (I won't become James Patterson, I promise! I'm too much of a control freak.)
  • Working on the graphic novel will not affect the publication date of Out of the Shadows, which is already in editing.
  • I will make it my mission to make sure this will not push back the eventual publication date for Book III. Out of the Shadows coming out late has done that for me. (I cannot, however, guarantee that other forces, to be left unnamed, will not hinder the publication date of Book III.)

What this means for Elysian Chronicles readers:

  • You get to see Elysia in full color! Drawn by Mr. Black, and he's gooooood! (Heck, I want to see Elysia in full color!)
  • You will get to see really cool concept art sketches and previews of things to come--as long as you keep checking the blog and the website.
  • You will get to experience the graphic novel creation process in-depth, as I'll be blogging about it a lot. I figured it would be fun to share, considering this is my first time ever attempting anything like this.
  • Elysian Chronicles art means the possibility of Elysian Chronicles merchandise... Yes, it's being discussed.

So keep checking the blog. This is going to be tons of fun!!!

The Elysian Chronicle: July/August Edition

BREAKING NEWS

A Prophecy Forgotten to become a Graphic Novel!
Wandering Sage Press, Inc. has picked up the graphic novel rights to A Prophecy Forgotten and plans to turn it two graphic novels. Adam Black, the artist for KISS’s KISS 4K Web Comic, will do the artwork. We expect the first graphic novel to come out sometime in 2009. I’m going to be blogging about the process between now and then, so keep checking my blog on MySpace and To Elysia and Back Again. I’ll also be posting a few pieces of art every now and then as a preview of coming attractions.

Out of the Shadows: Book II of the Elysian Chronicles Publication Time Table
I still don’t have a date yet from my publisher on Out of the Shadows’s release, but it is now in editing, meaning it is one step closer to publication. You can monitor its progress at this link. Many of you have e-mailed me, inquiring on its progress, and I really want to thank you. Even though I hate having to tell you I have no idea when it will be out, it’s wonderful that you care enough about the book to e-mail me.

If you want to receive a postcard, notifying you as soon as new books in the Elysian Chronicles series are released, click here and fill out the form!

The Final Cut in Movies: Putting Science Fiction & Fantasy Movies Center Stage.
You can now listen to my science fiction and fantasy movie radio program, The Final Cut in Movies two ways:

Listen to A Prophecy Forgotten the way I intended it to sound.
I’m also podcasting a chapter of A Prophecy Forogtten every few weeks. Check it out on my blog, http://www.mbwestonblog.com/.

If you’ve missed the first few chapters, click on these links to download the mp3 files:

WEBSITE UPDATES
http://www.elysianchronicles.com/

Keep checking the website for new graphic novel artwork and news!

AUTHOR EVENTS

  • The Final Cut Radio Program:
    Every Saturday from 2:00 to 3:00 am & pm, catch me on The Final Cut in Movies radio program at http://www.adastraradio.com/.
  • July 19-20th: Catch me at BabelCon in Baton Rouge!
    I’ll be signing books and giving a few workshops.
  • July 28th-August 1, 9:00 to 12:00 each day
    I’ll be speaking at Center Point Community Church at VBS. If you will be in middle school next year, drop on by. You might just hear a story about Davian…
  • August 29th-September 1: DragonCon, Atlanta, GA.
    I don’t know my schedule yet, but I’ve got a vendor table, so drop on by and say hi! You might even be able to catch a glimpse of some of the newest A Prophecy Forgotten graphic novel art!