The Last Ramble of 2016 – Actually it wasn’t all that bad after all.

It seems to be the general consensus that the last twelve months has cumulatively amounted to a pretty shitty year. It’s definitely had its moments, and most of them have seemed bad.  On a personal front we as a family have had some down times in 2016, but we’ve also experienced some profoundly incredible moments.

Writing wise I’ve also had some disappointments this year with work not getting published as originally planned; but that’s all part of the game. The year finished strong with two new books published that contained some of my work. So keep a look out for:

Quatermain: The New Adventures Vol. 2 – that contains my new short story “Stones of Blood,” that takes Quatermain from the streets of London, and an encounter with a certain young consulting detective, to the battlefields of the first Boer War in search of diamond smugglers.

Outside In Boldly Goes – that includes “Trouble in Tombstone” – An alternate report of the events of the classic Star Trek episode Specter of the Gun.

Some of the other highlights of 2016 have included (in no particular order):

• My weekly blog post series at the OpenText Blog, as well as a new monthly column at CMS Wire.
• A return to doing movie reviews for RevolutionSF
• Fun times at various conferences and conventions including the Content Marketing World, Lavacon, DX Summit, Peoria Comic Con, Comicpalooza, Armadillocon, and WizardWorld Austin.
• Guesting on several podcasts such as Batman vs James Bond, Pros@Cons, White Rocket and more.
• Having two of my stories recorded as Audio Book versions on Audible.
• and of course writing a lot of stuff that’s still in the pipeline that will be published next year.

Talking of next year I’ve decided to drop the (mainly) monthly Ramble format for this newsletter and instead I’m planning on diving back into my archives to present some behind the scenes stuff, as well as some insights into current projects, on a  (hopefully)more frequent basis.

Look out 2017  – it’s going to be fun.

 

 

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September – Rambling Around the Web

Something a little different this month. Instead of an update of various writing topics, I thought it was about time I did an updated collection of notes about where you can find me online.

I’m doing a lot of business related writing at the moment, particularly around the subjects of Content Strategy, Content Marketing, and Customer Experience. You can find new blog posts weekly at the OpenText Blog, as well as a new monthly column at CMS Wire. I’m also re-posting selected blogs on LinkedIn and The Content Pool website. If social media is more your style I post links to most of the articles on @TheContentPool Twitter account, and on The Content Pool Facebook page.

Several of my pop-culture projects have their own dedicated sites online.

• Batman – Check out the ongoing history of Batman publications at “Batman on the Cover” on Tumblr, or Instagram.
• James Bond – For updates on the progress of the James Bond Lexicon, general Bond news, and a weekly Bond Trivia quiz follow the BondLexicon Twitter account; of follow us on Tumblr for Bond related artwork.
• U.N.C.L.E. – Likewise we have Twitter and Tumblr accounts charting the work underway on the U.N.C.L.E. Lexicon project.
• Although not directly related to any writing projects I also have a Tumblr account that celebrates my love of plastic model kits, and their box art.

For more general writing news, as well as this website, you can follow my writer’s page on FaceBook, or via my profiles at Amazon or Goodreads.

And for general day-to-day stuff, wacky observations, the occasional bit of news, and to experience my passion for motor-sports, space, history, and many other strange things you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr.

So hope to see you around the web somewhere…

 

 

 

August Rambles

Wow where did the year go? It’s definitely been an interesting and eventful one for us, with more fun still to come.

If things work out to plan the following books will be heading to a store near you or available on-line before the year is over:

• The Joy of Joe – with my essay “So Who Is This Joe Fellow You’ve All Been Talking About,” on my recollections of  Action Man.
• Outside In Boldly Goes – which will contain my take on the classic Star Trek episode “Specter of the Gun.”
• Quatermain Adventures Vol. 2 – containing my story “Stones of Blood.”

In the meantime you can find a new page on this site with direct links to some of my existing books for sale on Amazon.

Work is continuing on editing the James Bond Lexicon project and compiling information for the follow-on U.N.C.L.E. Lexicon, and I’ve made a return to movie reviewing in my Editor-at-Large role for RevolutionSF. You can find my thoughts on the recent Suicide Squad movie online HERE.

A lot of my focus over the last few months has been around my business writing with several white-papers under my belt as well as developing regular series of weekly blog posts which you can find HERE. This has lead to a couple of additional opportunities to write a regular monthly piece for a leading industry thought-leadership website as well as an article for another prestigious media industry magazine. More on these as stuff is published over the coming months.

 

 

 

Rambling into a New Year – January 2016

It’s been a rough few months since I last wrote an update on this blog. Without going into too much details, we’ve faced some serious family health issues, and while things aren’t 100% clear yet, the future is looking better. But during it all we’ve kept writing – maybe not at the speed or the frequency that we’d have like, but putting words on the page, while sometimes a struggle, has provided much needed escape and therapy.

As we kick off the New Year we are looking towards a brighter future and to getting more words written, more stuff published, and planning to get back out to meet more readers.

Here’s our provisional 2016 Signing and Convention schedule so far:

• Lit On Fire – Peoria IL – February 17th
• C2E2 – Chicago IL – March 18-20
• Wizard World St.Louis – April 1-3
• Indiana Comic Con – April 29-May 1
• Peoria Arts and Comics Expo – June 11-12
• Comicpalooza – Houston TX – June 18-19
• WizardWorld Columbus OH – July 29-31

While things may have slowed down we are still working on our on-going writing projects.

COMICS: The script for Issue #12 of FORGOTTEN has been turned in, and work is progressing on final edits for the trade collection collecting Issues #1-5. Work has also started on scripts for a new licensed comics gig that will be announced around mid-year.

THE LEXICON PROJECTS: We have received the manuscript for the JAMES BOND LEXICON back from the publishers with editorial comments, so we are currently doing any corrections or rewrites needed, plus we need to add in new information from the new movie (SPECTRE), the latest Bond novel, (Trigger Mortis), and the new Bond comic book series (VARGR). – Meanwhile background research continues for the U.N.C.L.E. Lexicon project.

Thanks for bearing with us during the few months of silence.

See you on the page in 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

THE MARCH RAMBLE

Thanks to everyone who liked, commented, or read last month’s initial monthly “Ramble.”.

Convention News:

Sad to report that I have to have to pull out of the first Peoria Artist and Comics Expo in May due to family commitments (But it’s for a happy reason – the birth of our grand-daughter is now scheduled on the same weekend) – I wish the organizers all the best for the show.

I have however added ArmadilloCon in Austin to the list for this year, and I’m looking forward to returning to what has been on of my favorite conventions over that last several years.

The updates appearances list now looks  something like this:

• April 19 – Windy City Pulp – Chicago, IL
• April 20-22 – Content Management Strategies conference – Chicago, IL.
• July 24-26 – ArmadilloCon – Austin, TX.

A Fab Surprise

During a visit to the always fun Twist & Shout music store in Denver this month, I picked up a copy of the updated 2013 BEATLES BIBLIOGRAPHY and was pleasantly surprised to read this on page 375

“Porter, Alan J. – Before They Were Beatles– This is a chronological exploration of the ways in which popular music came to play a serious role in the lives of the young men destined to be Beatles. Porter’s portrayals are thorough and well written and he has the ability to draw his readers into not only a historical, but also geographical exploration. This is an engaging text, written by a genuine Northerner, and it is recommended.”

Cool – Thanks to writers Michael Brocken and Melissa Davis for the shout-out.

For more frequent updates, comments, and general observations on life you can follow me on Twitter @alanjporter or on Instagram. For a full list of published work to date check out my website at AlanJPorter.com

SHORT STORIES

Initial feedback on  Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol 7. that includes my story “The Case of the Rotten Corpse,” has been very positive so far. – Thanks to anyone whose picked up a copy over the last few weeks. – In related news, teh previous volume, Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. 6, which includes my story “The Case of the Sugar Pearls” has been nominated for a Best Anthology of 2014 award.

Coming Soon

• Rick Ruby: The latest volume of stories featuring 1930s New York based P.I. Rick Ruby is in production. No information on a release date yet.
• Lotus Ronin: The new Asian Pulp anthology from prose ProSe Press is in production. I’ve done the final copy edits on the debut tale of my new pulp character, The Lotus Ronin, and am waiting for news on a possible publication date.
• Allan Quartermain: Stones of Blood: I’m currently still writing new short-story featuring the classic jungle adventurer in a tale that takes him from the streets of London to the battlefields of the First Boer War. More on this one as it develops.

THE LEXICON PROJECTS

James Bond Lexicon: A Guide to the Worlds of 007: The manuscript for our upcoming James Bond Lexicon has been delivered to the fine folks at Hasslein Books for copy-editing. If things stick to schedule we are aiming for publication around the end of September or early October.

This week I received a new batch of illustrations for the book from artist Pat Carbajal – and as usual they are high quality work. Here’s a taster for a few of the items that graced my email inbox a few days ago.

Don’t forget you can keep up with the latest news about the Bond Lexicon and the world of 007 in general at the book’s Tumblr and Twitter accounts

The Lexicon Affair: A Guide to the world of U.N.C.L.E.: Work continues on The Lexicon Affair, with notes and annotations under way for Season Two of The man From U.N.C.L.E. TV shows, and the Entertainment Publishing comics series. While The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. novels and digest magazines have recently been finished.

You can also follow the dedicated Tumblr and Twitter accounts for updates on the U.N.C.L.E. book’s progress as well as the upcoming new Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie.

COMICS

FORGOTTEN CITY – The second story arc issues (#6-10) are in various stages of production as the Kid Domino team get them ready for uploading to comiXology for digital distribution. I have turned in the detailed page-by-page outline for issues #11-15 and am now at work work on the full script for issue #11

Work is also underway on pulling together the first story-arc (issues #1-5) in a trade-paperback for eventual print distribution. In the meantime don’t forget that issues #1 thru 5 are still available as digital downloads at comiXology for just $1.99 each.

Where To Find Me Around The Interwebs…

I haven’t done this in a few years, so thought it was about time I did an updated list of various places to find me online.

Website:

• AlanJPorter.com

Blogs:

• Alan J. Porter – Writer of Stuff.
• The Content Pool

Social Media:

• Facebook Fanpage: AlanJPorterWriter
• Twitter: @alanjporter / @thecontentpool

Tumblr:

• Wheel Spin! – For my motorsports obsession.
• The James Bond Lexicon – News and notes on James Bond.
• Comic Encounters – Occasional comics related posts.
• AJP Notes – Mainly a place to post various bits of story research.

Writer Profile Pages:

• Amazon
• Goodreads
• LibraryThing
• Wikipedia

 

 

 

I Can’t Keep (Not) Blogging Like This….

New Year’s Day – A time for looking forward to what the next 12 months will hold. A chance to make plans, set goals, and stride forward into the future.

Also a time to reflect on the last 12 months and decide what you can do differently in the year to come. Looking back I was amazed at, despite best intentions, how little I posted anything to this personal blog. A measly 5 entries in a year. Not good enough, Porter.

There was a time, back in the old Live Journal days, that I used to blog almost every day. I’m not sure I will every get back to that level, as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr have taken on the role of places to capture short notes, thoughts, and observations – but I can certainly do a lot better than a post approximately every two months.

Goal #1 for 2014 – Blog more. It’s as simple as that.

It’s all Michael Palin’s fault…

Why am I doing this? Do I really need another place to waffle online? Let’s see I already have:

• A personal Twitter feed, (@alanjporter)
• A consulting Twitter feed. (@4jsgroup)
• A FaceBook page, (for friends, family & colleagues only)
• A Google+ Account
• A Tumblr page for Motorsports,
• A Tumblr page for Comics Encounters,

Not to mention various blogs:

• At RevolutionSF.com 
• The Content Pool
• plus my writing webpage.

And then there’s the writing projects: two active book contracts, with another one to follow. Several in-development comics pitches, at least three publishers waiting on sample chapters for book proposals, two novels in various stages of work; oh yeah and some consulting work too. And then there’s the day job….

Why on earth do I need to be starting a new blog? And why now?

A few month’s ago I decided it was time to close down my old LiveJournal account. I haven’t updated it on a regular basis for months, and the future of LJ is looking more and more shaky. In anticipation of what I see as the eventual collapse of this one time on-line mainstay I’ve started to archive off my old posts dating back to 2002. Of course I couldn’t help stopping to read the odd one or two. And every time I do it reminded me of how much I enjoyed keeping a narrative journal.

I even thought about starting again with the existing LJ account; but to be honest the place had lost its sense of community to the rise of Social Networks. But the idea has kept niggling away at the back of my mind (as things tend to do.)

Then last week I found myself hanging out at BookPeople with an hour to kill and picked up a copy of Michael Palin’s Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years. I soon found myself drawn into his notes and accounts of the early days of Monty Python. It also gave me the impetuous to decide that I wanted to get back to keeping an actual journal. Twitter and FaceBook are OK for the occasional observation and comment; but they don’t lend themselves to much else beyond that.

So the start of a new month, seemed like a good place as any to have another go at keeping an online journal. My last one lasted about 8 years. I’ve no idea if this one will even last a month.