Almost there...

In less than a week, my first published work, self-published, yes, but published nonetheless, will be released for sale. Something that I wrote will be out there for people to buy. And read. That is a pretty big thing. A HUGE thing, in fact.

It's not necessarily my best work, as a matter of fact, I know it's not as good as it could have been, but it's what it SHOULD be.

I never intended to go out and hit a home-run with my first issue of LEGACY. There's a few reasons for that. LEGACY is a long-form story, a style that has come under fire the last year or so from some critics who dislike having  to read more than one issue to get the whole story. I get their points on it, and in fact, I agree with many that we need more "one and done" books as they call them. It's not exclusive to comic books by any means. When was the last time you saw a really good movie that didn't end up with a sequel or prequel, later on? LEGACY is a story that spans from the late 1800s to the "future", and therefore it only makes sense to be told in long form. LEGACY is a generational story, it is a story of a city, the people who live in it, and their families- it only makes sense that not every book will tell a complete story. Not to say that there won't be issues like that- I have SEVERAL in mind, as a matter of fact. 

But I digress.

LEGACY #1 is an introduction to the city and some of the players; the people that we'll follow and get to know as the series goes on. Locations that we'll go back to and will have their own stories to be told. A friend of mine once told me that he could never get in to Batman or Spider-Man or any other comic that had been out for a long time because the depth of history and story was just "too much to catch up on". 

As a matter of fact, my favorite comic book writer, Geoff Johns, answered that very question in an interview once, and I thought it rang quite true. I'm paraphrasing but the basic of it was "when you first meet someone, you don't suddenly know everything about them- they've lived a life before you met them, and it takes time gradually you learn bits and pieces of their lives and even then, there will always be things that you didn't know, that await discovery, or that you will never know".

I probably butchered his quote but I'm working from memory and he's much more eloquent than myself. The idea stuck with me though. The idea that you have to start somewhere and I took that and applied it to the first issue of LEGACY. #1 is a handshake, a "how do you do" or a name-tag saying "hi, my name is...". You aren't meant to know everything right away. It's not meant to tell a complete story, it's meant to give you just enough to make you want to come back and explore some more. To give you a peek into the world that I'm creating. 

A world that I hope you'll find interesting and fun as I do. One that evolves every day- a world much like our own; a world full of people, both good and bad, and others just trying to get by. A world where wondrous things happen as well as the mundane, where hopes and dreams are realized and where struggles sometimes are too much for one person to overcome. A place where anything can, and will, happen. It's a lot like your life and the world around you. 

But this world has supervillains. Alien armadas. Giant killer robots. Time rifts that threaten to tear apart reality. Dark sorcerers bent on conquest. Secret societies who wish to dominate people's hearts and rule humanity. It's a scary world to live in. 

There is hope, however. Much like our world, there are good people who strive to make it a better place to live, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to guard against these new and frightening threats, sentries against the worst that might come our way. There are heroes. Like us, they are, for the most part, human. They have within them the same potential for greatness and the same frailties that they seek to overcome. Some will fall. Some will soar higher and accomplish more than they could ever dream. 

Much like us.

So why should you read LEGACY? What does it have to offer? Hopes and dreams. Fears and nightmares. Failure and success. Stories of life. But in colorful costumes and cool super-powered fights. Sounds like fun, huh?  ;)

LEGACY #1 has been a journey for me of not only time put in, but of lessons learned. It's one thing to read a book, comic or otherwise, it's another to write one. I've been fortunate enough to have a good support team in place, and a great partner in doing this first book, Mr. Mike Campeau. I cannot thank him enough for all his hard work on this initial chapter in not only LEGACY, but in my writing career. Huh. Writing career. That looks pretty cool. Here's hoping that you think the same of #1 and tune in for the next chapter in the book and my career as a writer. It's going to be a heckuva story, however it all works out.

Follow your dreams, before you know it, you'll be living them.

Andrew

The Best Laid Plans...

OK. So remember how the other week I said that I'd be writing more- both on scripts and here on the blog? Regular installments and all that jazz? Well... Yeah... Best laid plains and so. 

Well the GOOD news is that I have at least being keeping up with the script stuff. A bit. LEGACY #5 is almost done- last week (I think) I hammered out six really good pages in one night, and now we're pretty much at the end of that book. Four pages left- the last one a splash-style page, so that will be very easy to write. Essentially I'm telling the artist what's happening (very basic stuff) and to make it LOOK COOL. With the super talented individuals I work with, I have no doubt that it will. 

That's pretty much where we're at, at the moment, but if you follow the Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/September17Productions ) or the Twitter ( @AndrewLorenz17 ) you'll have seen that I've decided to expand the S17verse a bit.

Welcome Canada's very own superhuman team, Canada Corps! Comprised of seven individuals from a variety of backgrounds and reasons for being part of this squad of heroes, The Corps will protect not only the Great White North, but the world as well. This isn't some token team, these guys can give any villain or hero a run for their money. And, in typical Canadian fashion (except maybe me) they do it without the need to be as flashy and media-seeking as their global counterparts (what can I say, I LIKE the attention).

As I finish fleshing out the details (this weekend most likely as they are 90% done) I will be posting more about them on here, and maybe even highlighting the process behind their creation. That's assuming you folks want to risk peering inside my head. It's an often confusing place but it's filled with shiny things and chocolate, so there's that, at least.  

LEGACY #1, despite still being in the printing process, has already managed to sell, through an informal pre-order, 1/3 of the Collector's Edition and about 1/6 of the regular edition. Not bad, considering that the book won't be released until June 28th. 

New Guard #1 is coming along, and we're on a brief hiatus for work on LEGACY- #3 linework is completed but, due to bills (man, I hate those), we've pushed back the start on that until the beginning of July. Artists like getting paid for the work they do, apparently. And rightfully so. When you see some of the stuff that Andre's come up with... Well if I had the cash, I'd be giving him a huge raise. Fan-freaking-tastic stuff. Hands-down better than half the stuff on the stands. I buy about three dozen titles a month, so I KNOW what I'm talking about. 

Tomorrow night, as far as I can tell, I'm going to have some free time, so if I manage to stay away from the PS3 and other distractions, I'm going to finish of LEGACY #5 and maybe do up another of these. There's a few fellow creative-type people- written word, drawn picture, as well as musical sorta stuff who I really think you should take a glance at or listen to. Not only are they talented, they're good people too- at least in my opinion. Good people, good art. Good times!

Catch you wonderful folks later!

                                                                              Andrew   
 

It's May 5, 2013. To date, I have written zero blogs, one chapter of my novel Formerly Known As the Invincible Kid, and have yet to complete a full comic book script since this year began. For a guy who is trying to establish himself as a writer, self-published or not, this is unacceptable. 

I could offer dozens of reasons as to why I've had such low production: my boys on the weekends take up a lot of time, still adjusting to a new job that I started not that long before the new year started, I've started a (fairly) steady work-out program that I wasn't doing before, I've made time to catch up with friends that I haven't seen in months, and spent a fair bit of time coordinating the art for my various comic books in production. Also, the dog ate my homework. Yeah...that excuse never flew in school (plus I don't have a dog) and it sure doesn't now. 

There IS no excuse for not writing. If you want to write, you make the time. Five minutes less of playing DCU Online wouldn't kill me, and really my artists are such great people to deal with that there's no way I could even jokingly call it WORK. Genuine pleasure to collaborate with and just talk to. 

I'm not saying I haven't written ANYTHING- in fact I rewrote (twice, in fact) the script for LEGACY #5. Both rewrites were not to my liking and I scrapped both and started over again. First time that I've done a third draft, which, by the way, is turning out to be my best yet. You folks are going to love it when the book comes out in the first quarter of next year. Or is that second quarter...? Either way, it'll be a great comic and well worth the wait!

So, what's the point of this blog, you may ask? Well, for one, it's an apology to anyone who's supported this dream of being a writer, that I have, because, I haven't been lately. A writer, writes. It doubles as a public declaration that I'm going to get my act together, ass in gear and all that other stuff- I WILL be posting regular, weekly, blog posts. If nothing else, at least THAT will ensure I am doing SOME type of regular writing. You can expect topics to range all over the place- some will be about my on-going writing journey, some will be random rants (possibly spiced rum induced) and others will profile various writers, artists, musicians, movies, tv shows, comic books and other goodness that I believe that you, my loyal followers (and you other poor saps who somehow found your way on here), would benefit from learning about. If I think it's cool, then it MUST be. Right?

Catch you next week!

                                                                 Andrew Lorenz
                                                                             (aka Captain Awesome)       

New Day Job aka Thing That Pays For What I Really WANT To Be Doing

      So here we are, on week number two at my new job. New jobs, to me, are both exciting and terrifying. I absolutely HATE not knowing what the hell I'm doing (though really you'd think I'd be used to that by now) but at the same time there's something quite...relaxing in being able to shrug and say "Hm. I dunno, I'm the new guy." And then go find some other poor bastard to do whatever crazy job it is that needs to be done. Luckily so far it hasn't been too terribly difficult, a lot of similarities to the old job; including many of the same people- an advantage to staying within the industry. Good teachers help a great deal too (thanks, Matt!). The new place is quite a bit more PROfessional though. Meetings with charts and stuff? Pro. The old place was more fly by the seat of your pants- which always made it quite exciting. Miss that to a degree. Hoping that I can bring some of that professionalism into my fun job, aka writing and publishing, but still bring the enthusiasm and excitement of not knowing what's going to happen next that I learned from the old job.
     Legacy is moving along, Mike is hard at work on page 15 for Legacy #1 and it's looking great so far, really hoping that my writing does it justice. Very excited as we're coming to the last few pages of the book- I cut it back down to a 20 page story but I plan on having it be 24 pages- 4 pages of extras! What kind of extras? Well I can't reveal EVERYTHING just yet, gotta save SOMETHING for down the road, but expect to see some sweet bonus art from both Legacy artist Mike Campeau as well as a gentleman by the name of Darren Calvert. If you've been following the September17 Productions Facebook page you'll have seen his name mentioned before. If you haven't, seriously, get to it! Darren has been working on some character designs for both Legacy and future projects which will be coming to light as we roll into 2013. These two guys do some seriously great work, and are both fantastic people to work with. And Canadian! That's right, it's an all Canadian project, so far! It'd be really cool if I could keep it that way, nothing against anyone else, but it'd be neat, I think, to highlight some Canadian talent. I'm sure the They Stand On Guard blog would agree with me on that. Another great Canadian dude runs that, make sure to check it out! theystandonguard.blogspot.com/
     In writing news, I kind of slacked off, ok I completely slacked off, in the last few weeks leading into the job change, but the script for Legacy #4 will be in to the lovely Shannon, Editor Supreme, by this week's due date and #5 will be done in a MUCH more timely fashion. Or else. So I have been told. When a pregnant redhead says that to you- make sure you do it. You do NOT want to find out what the "or else" is. Trust me on this.
     Next month is NaNoWriMo, aka National Novel Writing Month. The goal, in case the name didn't give it away, is to write a novel in a month. Yep, that's right, 50,000 words or more in 30 days or less. I participated in my first one last year and made it pretty much halfway. Not too shabby considering I was working two jobs at the time and it was my first shot at it. It really showed me how much discipline is required to set aside the time to write on a regular basis and, with a couple recent exceptions, I've managed to carry on the lessons I learned from it. Innocents Lost, the first Steven Kincaid mystery novel, was last year's project and for this year I may revisit that character in a different story. Or not. I've narrowed it down to four ideas and by the end of next week I hope to have it down to one or two. A backup plan never hurts. Although at a 1700 word per day pace you REALLY don't want to scrap something and try to play catch up. Perhaps I'll write a brief synopsis for each and have people vote on the S17 Facebook page? That's be pretty cool, I think. I'll be keeping everyone appraised as I pick away at it.
     Well that's pretty much it for now, catch you all next time!

                                                                                                                 Andrew

Reboots, Rewrites, Returns, Remixes and Other Words That Start With "R"

     Hey there! Long time no see! Unless of course you saw the Twitter link that redirected (look! another word starting with "Re"!) you here to see a sneak peak of some character design art. Which means you are not only lucky enough to get an exclusive glimpse of things to come in Legacy, but that you are COOL because you follow me on Twitter (@AndrewLorenz17, just in case you aren't, though I can't imagine why you wouldn't be). Either way, welcome back to the blog...of awesomeness! Or mediocreness. Is that a word? If not, it should be. So...where shall we start? When in doubt...follow the title!

      If you follow either of the "Big Two" in the comics industry, you're no doubt aware of DC's "New 52" reboot and Marvel's..."not reboot, but reLAUNCH". Because changing that last part of the word means that it's SO DIFFERENT from the other guys. It might be, but to me that's like saying it's very warm out versus it's hot out. Details, details. Either way, it's shorts and sandals weather.  Alot of fans are up in arms about all the changes that are being made to characters- previously existing storylines or even characters that they invested countless hours and dollars in are, in their mind, thrown away on a whim. I get where they're coming from. It's not easy to see something that means alot to you twisted into something that you don't even recognize. Then again, sometimes things have a way of working themselves out. I mean growing up, I loved watching Adam West as Batman. Does that mean that I hated the animated cartoon or the live actions movies of later years? Or Scott Snyder's recent run? Nope! If anything thing it made me appreciate each incarnation of them that much more. Something that people tend to forget, even myself at times, is that stories END. Whether "happily ever after" or some other variation, all stories, including our own, have an ending. Sometimes our actions in life, as real or imaginary characters, live on after us, but the story is never the same at that point. It evolves, changes. Into something better or worse, only time can tell. I don't like all the changes that DC has made, and I'm sure to disagree with a few of the ones that Marvel is going to make but, I know, in time, things will change again, and maybe I'll find that it's for the better.

     Speaking of DC's New 52... Rob Liefeld recently departed DC's employ in a rather abrupt manner, expressing a fair bit of...displeasure, with how things were being run. I'll freely admit to checking out what he had to say, beyond being curious as to how "sensational" it was, I love getting ANY insight into the inner workings of a successful comic book company. Why wouldn't I? Any kind of help I can get into making MY books work is well worth a quick read (or longer). Occassionally, I also learn a bit about life. Deep, huh? While I wholeheartedly agree with Mr.Liefeld's freedom and right to rant (I mean isn't that what I'M doing, right now?) I question how responsible it was. Don't get me wrong- I'm not saying he isn't correct in what he said or did, I just question it's possible influence on other creators- either amateur or professional. Some people enjoy having a target painted on them so that they can rise up and dive into battle (words or otherwise), while others are merely content to do their job and ignore the "greater issues". If you're wondering, I'm more of the former, despite my questioning of the responsibility of it. I just know that things like this often have a way of blowing up and affecting more than just the few folks initially involved. Collateral damage, I guess. The thing that makes me think about it is that I am currently on my way out of where I'm employed and although it's voluntary, there are issues that I have with how things are being done. Does this mean I'm going to rant and rave on here? Nope. I don't see a point to it. It doesn't mean that the problems are any less because of my lack of restraint, I just know that for every action there is a reaction and that what I do affects more than just me. The internet gives everyone the power to express themselves, which is one of the greatest things ever, but just remember, we also have a responsibility to use it wisely.

    Returns... Hmm. I HAVE RETURNED! To the blog, that is. I want to be more active with this and much more REGULAR (another R!) with getting posts up. We'll see. A lot of things in transition since June so more than what should have, got put off. I'll make a last part of the year push to make up for it. Most likely. Possibly. Maybe. I'll try. Cut me some slack, will ya?? I kid.

     I had something about remixes that I was going to say but, quite honestly, by this point I've forgotten. This post ended up being a lot different than what I had thought it was going to be and, as usual, I got distracted and off on some tangent and forgot to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to find my way back. Alas, c'est la vie.

     A couple quick notes here to wrap things up: 

1. If you have a buck you can spare, you should really really REALLY look into throwing it into this  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/watchguard/watchguard-teen-force-5
Charlie is a super awesome guy and I would take it as a personal favor if you were to send him some support- he's well deserving of it and the stuff he has lined up seems pretty wicked cool. Even if you don't have the cash to spare, take a look or, if you're able, pass it on for other people to read about. 

2. Legacy #1 is progressing at a steady pace, we've moved back the release date, as of this time I don't have any specifics, but rest assured we're doing our best to make it worth the wait. Mike just sent me the roughs for page 14 and it looks AWESOME. Really excited about you guys getting to check it all out. When it does come out, I'll have both physical and digital copies available. The digital copy will be probably twice the page count of the physical copy as it will feature the entire script as well as some rough art. I'll have some bonus content in the print copy as well; don't want to leave anyone out!

3. Even if there is an NHL lockout this year, rest assured the Boston Bruins still kick ass.

4. I'm attempting to cut back on junk food. So far, so good. Possibly because I have none available to me at the moment. Someone want to email me a donut? That'd be swell.

5. Skyrim has been my drug of choice lately, although, thankfully, I seem to be losing interest. I've managed to start making a dent in the massive pile of unread books I have. Currently reading one from Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar series. Great books, highly suggest you check them out.

     That's about all for today, catch you wonderful people next time!
                                       
                                                                                                           Andrew aka Captain Awesome


P.S   Refund, Reap, Realize, Register, Record, Reinforce, and Realize. Words that start with R.

Sneak peek!

Never Give Up, Never Surrender!

First off, Galaxy Quest rocks. GREAT movie, very funny. Go watch it and tell me I'm wrong. I dare you. But why would you want to look so foolish? Captain Awesome is always right. ALWAYS. Unless he wishes to be wrong, to give you the sense of how it feels to be as awesome as him. That's right, that time you thought that I was wrong? Oh I was RIGHT, I just decided to let you win. Taste the awesomeness, enjoy it. It won't last long, for Captain Awesome will be right again. And soon. Ok...well THAT sure diverged quickly from where I'd planned it to go. Though, as usual, it will end up there eventually. The best part of the journey is the voyage. Or voyage is the journey. Or trip. Whatever...

So! To the reason for this blog title! Yes, as always, I'm going to explain it. Not that I don't think you could figure it out for yourself, I just enjoy explaining things. Obviously if you choose to read this blog you are an intelligent, cultured, well-groomed and all around swell person. And if you aren't, well... Even dumb people should enjoy good things. Alas, I digress once again. I know I said I'd try to cut down on the writing about... well about my writing, but this is one of those things I like to brag about! I found myself doing the page breakdown for the latest issue of Legacy (#2 if you're keeping track, which by the way you should be) and I realized that I was short two pages. In the middle of the freaking book. Smooth, huh? After a (very) mild panic attack and thoughts about burning my notebook, I decided that, when in doubt, refer back to characters that you're already established. So now I have not one, but two mini-scenes that set up what comes after it. I hear they even have a fancy writer term for it...foreshadowing. Amazingly I think it turned out VERY well and in the span of the next 3 days I will be writing it out into the script. I'm quite excited and will post some of it on here next weekend for your enjoyment!

So the moral of this blog/story? Never give up, never surrender. I myself have never liked the idea of just giving up or giving in. Not really sure why, just how I'm built I guess. Not just in my writing either. If you look at many choices that I've made in my life, I've never given up on things, or people, easily. There may be several years of down time inbetween, but just up and walking away for good...that's just not the Captain's style. Don't get me wrong, kids, sometimes walking away could be the very best idea. It could save you alot of pain and hardship and heartache. But you'll never know unless you try. And not knowing is always a helluva lot worse. So go out there, give it your all, take the bumps and bruises and setbacks and just carry on and greet it with a grin. Because there's nothing sweeter than the little victories in life, even if they do sometimes fade away too quickly.

                                                  Going back to the grind,

                                                                      Captain Awesome

Grin
If you're up against a bruiser and you're getting knocked about —
      Grin.
If you're feeling pretty groggy, and you're licked beyond a doubt —
      Grin.
Don't let him see you're funking, let him know with every clout,
Though your face is battered to a pulp, your blooming heart is stout;
Just stand upon your pins until the beggar knocks you out —
      And grin.
This life's a bally battle, and the same advice holds true
      Of grin.
If you're up against it badly, then it's only one on you,
      So grin.
If the future's black as thunder, don't let people see you're blue;
Just cultivate a cast-iron smile of joy the whole day through;
If they call you "Little Sunshine",
wish that they'd no troubles, too —
      You may — grin.
Rise up in the morning with the will that, smooth or rough,
      You'll grin.
Sink to sleep at midnight, and although you're feeling tough,
      Yet grin.
There's nothing gained by whining, and you're not that kind of stuff;
You're a fighter from away back, and you won't take a rebuff;
Your trouble is that you don't know when you have had enough —
      Don't give in.
If Fate should down you, just get up and take another cuff;
You may bank on it that there is no philosophy like bluff,
      And grin.
                  -Robert Service