Every Day is Halloween

Sorry I haven't blogged much lately. I've been busy HAVING A BOOK PUBLISHED. Yeah, it's like that. Actually, I've been writing pretty furiously. And now I've got the first e-galleys of the book to look over for misprints or any last second corrections I need to make. I should be done with that within the week (because I don't really do anything else except play Xbox and pass out from migraines) and then after that we'll be sitting pretty for a Holiday Season release! YAAAAAY!!!!

Anyway, when I'm not writing or forgetting where I put stuff, I occasionally go to do things with friends. Last night I went to a Halloween party at Val's place. I've got another party to go to tonight but I may have to cancel because I'm already feeling a migraine coming on--Sorry, Dave and Nina! I will most definitely try to make it though, if only for a little while.

Anyhoo, here are some pictures of the party, starting with my Halloween costume.

Awesome, eh? Okay, no...that isn't me. That's my character from Fallout: New Vegas. Still, he looks pretty bad ass there. I'm actually disappointed because I didn't get to do the costume I wanted because I'm lazy and annoying. I'll do it next year, though.

Here is what I actually wore:

Yeah, that's Green Man from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Well, not the Green Man, my friend Jake as Green Man. My costume was a rather slapdash affair. I spent 10 bucks on that skull mask. The rest of it is just stuff I actually wear. Because I'm that cool.

So here is me, dressed as what I was, and Val, dressed as an existentialist French girl named Fifi. We titled this one, Fifi Flirts with Death. I know they say a pictures says a thousand words, but if that's true then it must take well over a thousand to convey just how emotionally disturbing Val's costume was...not just on us, but on him. You can't really tell from this photo but those are purple leopard-print tights that his sister is never going to be able to wear again. 

Speaking of Val's sister, here is the lovely miss Jacquelyn dressed as a bee! And me, dressed as a creepy old guy standing next to a teenager in a skull mask. Shut up.

This is Jason as...um...you know what? I actually think it's better if I don't try to explain this one.

And then here are some other party goers in their lovely costumes. 

There were more pictures taken later, by other people. But I didn't get that many. Amanda didn't show up to the party until late, and by then I was too drunk to hold a camera but I know some other people took pictures and they'll post them and I'll share. Amanda's costume was adorable, though. So, as soon as someone gets me a picture of it I'll post it on here.

Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

Ross Gipson - Wounded Town

 

This is my best friend Ross. He's got an amazing voice and an unparallelled talent for rhyme and verse. He wrote a song for Joplin after the storm called Wounded Town. You can buy this from Reverb Nation, Amazon or iTunes. All proceeds for the purchase of this song go to helping rebuild Joplin and Joplin schools after the tornado. My friend Aaron Moore plays on Wounded Town, also. Check him out. You should buy some of Ross' other music, too. All proceeds from the sale of his other songs go to helping Ross buy food and shelter.

I was actually with Ross during the Joplin Tornado. He and my wife and I hid in an interior bathroom in our house and waited as the storm passed. We were fine, and our house wasn't damaged, but the devastation started just a few blocks over. It was surreal. We get tornados a lot around Joplin, but they very rarely do much serious damage. We expected this one to be about the same. We had no idea we were sitting less than a quarter of a mile from such a powerful, historic storm.

From Formspring: What made you decide to set your story (or most of it) in Joplin?

That's a good question.

I wanted my books set (or at least started) in Southwest Missouri because it's an area I know, and there aren't a lot of books set there. As far as I know, there haven't been any urban fantasy books set there, either. Originally, I created a fictional version of Joplin called Langston. I can't remember if Joplin didn't exist, or if Langston was a neighbor city, but the layout of the town was identical to Joplin, just different street names and businesses. I was inspired to change the setting to Joplin by Laurell K. Hamilton. Her urban fantasy novels are set in St. Louis, which is also her home. I sent her a message on Myspace asking if I should continue to use a fictional city or the real Joplin. After our brief discussion on the matter, I came to the conclusion that I'd be much happier basing the books in a real-life city. If nothing else, it will make the book more exciting for readers who live in or are familiar with Joplin.

Other places in my first book are fictional. There is no Scorch Hollow in MacDonald county, though there are about a hundred other hollows with colorful names, like Thief Hollow, Scotch Hollow, and so on. Scottish is completely fictional, and in the geography of my fictional SW Missouri, it occupies a small stretch of highway just southwest of Joplin a few miles from the real town of Seneca. In fact, the children from Scottish go to school in Seneca.

In addition to the area's unique character, the topography of the region lends itself well to urban fantasy. Joplin is an urban area, but it has a small town feel. There are no skyscrapers or subways. We do have a trolley, and taxis, but most people drive or (less often) walk where they need to go. Pickups and SUVs are as common a sight as cars. Anywhere you are in Joplin, you are never more than a fifteen minute car ride to being someplace where you can get lost in the woods. 

People in Joplin tend to be very conservative in their political and social outlooks, but rarely interfere in each others business unless they are asked for help. Likewise, many people here are very generous and family-oriented. That isn't to say there aren't assholes in Joplin. There are, certainly...and plenty of racism and prejudice. Also, Joplin is reputed to be the meth capital of North America. When I worked for the State, I saw some of the effects of that. Local criminal elements tend to be small and disorganized, but they are here. But you have to take the good with the bad wherever you are.

But the number one reason I used Joplin in my books is because I knew the area. That might sound lazy, but I felt it would be inauthentic to write about a place I didn't know very well...for example, had I set the book in Kansas City or Dallas. One of the cardinal rules of writing is to write what you know. At the time I started my first novel, I worked full-time for the State, so I didn't have a lot of time to research a new city or make one up with the level of detail required to make the setting engaging. So, I guess the big answer would be: because it was easy.

Follow-up novels occur in other places, like Chicago, the Yukon Territory, the Channel Islands and Africa. Max's first two books happen in Joplin. I haven't done much thinking about his third novel, if there will be one. That's years down the line, if it happens.