Category Archives: Update
The Hack is Off and Running
So the crowdfunding campaign to publish my next book, The Hack, is off and running. It’s raised nearly $650 so far. That’s a good start. But there’s a long way to go to hit the target of $3,035, the amount it will take to publish the book with a fighting chance instead of just a thundering meh. Expenses are itemized on the crowdfunding page.
Anyone wondering why I’m going through this rigamarole instead of just uploading a PDF to Amazon can know that it’s because I want to make a physical product that can go in stores and take it on a traditional book tour. I’ll put it out as an e-book, but that is a secondary interest for me with this project, not the principle goal.
I believe in print, and I think you do to. So get on board here
Especially because here are some good perks this time around too including audio stories, films and commissioned works. My favorite is the “Truth or Dare,” which I will respond to on YouTube. As the above picture should illustrate, I have no problem with dares.
The book is only $15. If you’re going to buy it anyway, then why not now? Let’s do this and show the corporate publishing world that doesn’t get to be the sole arbitor of what gets put into the world.
The video I made pimping the campaign is below. Check it out.
Debut Album From The Ratings Battle Now Available for Free Download
The Ratings Battle
I spent 2011 drumming in a really fun band called The Ratings Battle. We did some gigs, a NW tour, recorded an album—one of the best of I’ve played on—and then our guitar player shipped out to basic training, so we had to stop playing for awhile.
But notice that what we didn’t do was ever put that album out.
Shit just got in the way and it sat on my computer for most of 2012, sounding awesome and not being heard by anyone but me. And it really does sound awesome. The studio—which has been around for decades—even uses it as one of their work samples. Not too shabby.
Guitar Matt was on leave for Christmas and we met up and decided to go ahead and make the album available for free download to anyone that wants it. We can always press hard copies later and release them if we want. We’ll have to see when he gets back from Army-stuff.
I decided to call the album Shelf Titled since it sat on the shelf for so long. Don’t like it? Blame me. Who will probably tell you to go fuck yourself because I’m hilarious.
Anyhow, here it is. The long-awaited and super-rocking debut from The Ratings Battle. Enjoy.
More Reviews of My Book, “Secrets & Lies”
Especially in the wake of the Online Review-Gate “scandal,” I find myself in the odd position of being inherently distrustful of glowing reviews on Amazon, and yet jazzed to have them come in from all over the net.
My book has maintained a 5-star rating on Amazon since it was first made available for sale. Several of the writeups are from friends that contributed to the crowdfunding campaign that made it a reality, so high rating should be somewhat expected. But as time has gone in they are starting to come in from “Marlon Randos.”
Here are the two latest blurbs to be added to the Amazon page.
An eclectic collection of stories that take you for a short but exciting ride that sometimes catches you off guard when it throws you out on the street and left wanting… but really, when you think about it, you know the story had to end there… then instead you’re anxious to move on to the next adventure.
And…
Although Secrets and Lies languished on my bookcase for well over two years before being read (cut me some slack, I have a toddler!) I finally started reading it, and as other reviewers have said, I wish I’d picked it up a long time ago. I think the thing I like best about these stories is the narrative voice that ties them all together. Often I found myself mentally cheering that voice on. Read this book if you’re the type of person who views the world as sadly hilarious and the people in it as frustratingly flawed, but loveable anyway. Or just read it because the stories are short, witty, and good.
That second one is actually from someone I know from college—Monica Garcia, the author of a collection of semi-experimental short fiction called Hate Mail that I highly recommend picking up—but I’ll still take it.
Though I wouldn’t say I’m actively hoping for a less than stellar review, it would be interesting to see, just so long as its legitimate. The other half of Online Review Gate is people that pan things for the sake of panning things or because they just don’t like who is behind them and actually have no knowledge of the thing they are panning. And that’s weak sauce.
For Those that Missed Our Musical Puppet Show About Serial Killers
I’ve been wanting to write a musical for awhile now. Mostly, just to see if I could do it. But the problem is that not every story or concept works as a musical. It has to be just the right fit or else it ends up really silly.
Luckily, the right opportunity came along when my friends at Homegrown Theater, asked me to write a puppet show to be a part of their Halloween show in Boise. I decided to play off the Cannibal: The Musical theme and find a really inappropriate noun to attach “the musical” to. After polling some friends, I decided on ritualized murder.
The goal of the show was basically to see what Silence of the Lambs might have looked like were it an absurdist puppet musical. I think it was successful, especially as I liked the way the songs came together to advance the plot, but also be kind of catchy in their own rite.
The show only had a 3-day run, but was by most measures a pretty big success. The audience was full every night and no one walked out or loudly panned it over drinks afterwards.
Video of the show for those that couldn’t make it is below.
New Review of Secrets & Lies Says Book Turned Reviewer Around on Short Fiction
The Idaho Statesman, the local daily did a review of my book for last Sunday’s paper. In case you missed it, some highlights are below.
I’ve never had an interest in reading short fiction. It doesn’t seem plausible to be able to write a compelling enough story that has a character or plot worth getting invested in. But I’ve been converted after reading the collection of short stories in “Secrets & Lies” by Josh Gross.
Josh has a talent for creating an instant connection with a character and his or her story that, unfortunately, seems to be rare in the world of writing today.
Secrets & Lies Now Available as an E-Book and Kindle Singles
The print edition of Secrets & Lies has been out for a while now. But because of a doozy of a file error, I wasn’t able to get it converted to an e-book until very recently.
But I’m happy to report that it is now available for Kindle as an e-book, and that several of the stories are available as singles. You can find all of that via my author page at Amazon.
Next up will be a version for the Apple Store, hopefully with embedded audio versions of the book and a copy of the film adaptation of The Dog House, the first story from the book. No hard timeline on that though.
Secrets & Lies is now available for Kindle.
