Is This Thing On?

Blink, and three years go by.

Um, hi. Been a minute, hasn’t it?

I started this newsletter back in 2020, part of promoting my book NOVEL ADVICE: Practical Wisdom for Your Favorite Literary Characters — still available at your bookseller of choice! But posting fell off a while ago, due to a combination of factors — getting busy with work and trying to figure out how to navigate our slow-motion apocalyspe and, honestly, discomfort with Substack as a platform and a lot of their choices. “Move newsletter off of Substack to another platform” has been sitting on my to-do list for multiple years.

But I haven’t done it. A combination of procrastination, other priorities, and not finding an alternative that’s as easy. (Buttondown seems too fiddly, Ghost seems like too much work, nothing else that’s free seems reliable — am I missing any major options?)

Also mixed into things has been…well…I’ve been quiet. On all platforms. Which is not really like me. I used to post all the time. Twitter mostly, but across lots of different platforms. But over the past few years, my posting has dropped to almost nothing. A few months ago, I started to change that. Posting more on Twitter — I was there before that white supremacist E*lon, and I intend to be there after he’s gone. Trying out Bluesky and Threads. Inspired by the Interview With The Vampire fandom, I’ve even returned to Tumblr. Trying to get back in the habit of sharing the silly, random, ridiculous things that pop into my head.

Trying not to let the inner critic silence me. Which is death for a writer.

And that’s really it — the past few years have been a knock-down, drag out fight with my inner critic. I’ve been working, a lot, but most of that has been work for hire. Not a lot of my own stuff, which isso easy to push to the side. But that’s changed this year. The pumps are moving again, and its become clear to me the more I allow myself to use my voice, in whatever context, the easier everything becomes.

And for some reason, there have been a bunch of new subscribers to this newsletter over the past few weeks (👋 hi! welcome!), even though there hasn’t been a new post in years. So, I’m back. It may not be for long, and I’m still looking for a better home that Substack. But let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the good, shall we?

So, what have I been up to? A lot, including:

• I worked on the video game interactive streaming series Silent Hill: Ascension. Working in emerging media is exciting: there are no rules and nobody can really tell you how things should work. Of course, it can also be very difficult: there are no rules and nobody can really tell you how things should work. SH:A came out last Halloween, and was roundly savaged by critics and audiences. (At one point, the company has to make a statement that said, “No, it wasn’t written by A.I.”) I don’t think I’ve ever worked on something that had such a backlash, it was sort of breathtaking. And then, earlier this hear, the show won an Emmy for Innovation in Emerging Media. An important lesson in not letting the highs get too high or the lows get too low.

• I consulted for AMC Networks on their Anne Rice Immortal Universe project - my job was primarily to read all eighteen of the Rice novels they’d option and write up a franchise bible about it. I ended up writing over 300k words over the course of an entire year. It was a total blast. To be clear, though I worked with the producers and got to see some behind-the-scenes stuff at the beginning, I had nothing to do with making the individual shows. But that didn’t stop me from eagerly tuning in to Interview With The Vampire and following along as it turned into, I shit you not, the best show on television. Seriously, if you haven’t given it a try, put it at the top of your list. The second show, The Mayfair Witches, comes back for its second season soon, and they’re in production on the next on, The Talamasca. I can’t wait for that one!

• I finished up my term as a member of the Peabody Awards Interactive Board of Jurors. It was such a meaningful experience, to work with a group of brilliant, passionate people to indentify digital, interactive, immerisve stories and games and honor them with such a presitigous award. After the previous years’ ceremonies were cancelled due to pandemic and strikes, I got to finally attend a Peabody ceremony this year, and it was incredible. I alos learned that getting your picture taken on a red carpet is a skill, and if you don’t have that skill, you can end up looking like a serial killer.

• There were a bunch of other gigs over the past few years, some interesting, other’s less so. A lot of projects cancelled in the middle or companies steering themselves into ditches. Fun times!

It’s no secret that the entertianment industry has been going through some really rough times of late. But it does feel like things are starting to thaw, just a little bit. I just picked up a freelance gig that, as usual, I can’t talk about. But it’s very exciting and I hope to be able to share more soon.

Red Light Properties on Kickstarter

Dan Goldman is not only a great friend and one of the mesnchiest people you’ll ever meet - he’s also a kick-ass writer and comics artist. And right now, he’s in the middle of a Kickstarter to bring back his cult comic series Red Light Properties.

This one is special, and Dan could use your help. So pop on over and back his Kickstarter if you can. You won’t regret it.

Team of Destiny (Perhaps?)

I’ve written here before about my dyed-in-the-wool fandom of the New York Mets, an acenstral lineage handed down to me by my father. The Mets are a franchise steeped in the improbable, the bizarre, and the magical. But even for us, this year - and the past few weeks - have been unreal.

Against all odds, they’ve found themselves in the NLCS against…the Los Angeles Dodgers. Which means suddenly, I can go! I’ve got my ticket for Game 1 tonight, and I’ll be there in my OMG shirt.

Podcasting

Last week, I had the pleasure of recording an interview with the ARGonauts podcast, which should go up sometime in the next week or so. The conversation turned into a wide (wide!) ranging discussion of the oddball path my career has taken.

I think my favorite part of it was getting to hype up a lot of the collaborators I’ve worked with over the years. The interactive world doesn’t have the same level of transparency as traditional media, so those names don’t always ring out the way they should.

What’s New?

So, gentle readers, if you’re still here…how’ve you been? I always love to hear from you - either as a reply or a comment somewhere in Substacks incresingly walled-off ecosystem. And I promise to not let another three years go by between updates.