Jayce Grayson's Blog

Well, I promised, and now I've delivered. XIANNE can now be had for next to nothing and won't even clutter up your bookshelves. Do people still have bookshelves? Probably not. Ahhh, I remember bookshelves....

Anyway, in my on-going effort to keep up with 21st-century technology, I have abandoned my old tried-and-true method of carving each copy of my novel onto stone tablets in favor of "digitizing" it to the "webby-net". In less than a minute, you can own XIANNE: A COMEDY OF CULTURES: VOLUME ONE by going to http://www.amazon.com/Xianne-Comedy-C...

Please "LIKE" it while you're there, and take advantage of the opportunity to read the sample that's available if you're undecided. Just click on the cover and read away!

I hope everyone who deigns to buy it will also provide feedback here, or on Amazon, or anywhere you like. And don't forget to visit my new author page on Facebook. I'd appreciate any and all "LIKE"s that I can get there: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jayce-G...

THE GATE by Jason Brant gets 5 stars from me because my ratings are based on my personal enjoyment of the material at hand, and Jason absolutely delivered for me this time. He seems to have a firm grasp on character interaction; that's for sure! I would be content to read endless volumes of "Bryan" and "Kyle" bantering with each other, even if he had no plot--but plot he DOES have, and it would be the biggest spoiler of all time if I disclosed exactly how it made the book so enjoyable for me. I can only say that THE GATE isn't what it may at first seem....

How many of us would accept a job working for a television show--including an opportunity to APPEAR in it--even if we felt the stars of the show were complete idiots? Many of us, no doubt. That's just what happens to Bryan and Kyle as they join THE SPECTER SLAYERS on an outing to investigate the mysterious Danver Church, billed as "one of the most haunted places in America". They are joined on the adventure by best-selling horror author Katie Upshaw (another of Jason's frustrating hotties), and the stage is set for chills and thrills--and laugh-out-loud comedy!--as nothing goes according to plan, and our heroes are forced to wing it through life-threatening weirdness that could only be conceived by Jason Brant.

I, personally, am not that much of a horror and/or supernatural-paranormal fan, but Jason's novella ECHOES introduced me to his writing style--particularly the way he handles characters--and I gave him the benefit of the doubt, and I was rewarded for such wisdom by being greatly entertained by this fast-paced, hard-to-put-down full-length novel.

The characters are well-developed, and highly-entertaining, easily the best part of the book for me. Those of you who like the "dark and scary" will also love the atmosphere of this tale. And if you like MONSTERS...well, you are DEFINITELY in for a treat!

My two favorite quotes from the many excellent ones to be found are:

"And now you're telling me that the 'spirit world' smells like shit."

and

"Hey Kyle, do you remember the time I followed you into the woods to fight monsters with nothing but a rock? Oh you don't? That's probably because we're both dead."

A great read. Get THE GATE....

Jason Brant

Yesterday, 9/1, I began the third (and what SHOULD be the final) edit/revision of the second installment of my tale, XIANNE: A COMEDY OF CULTURES. Chapter One, entitled HARRY DOBBS, received a few changes of tense and a couple of tweaks in dialogue, but otherwise passed muster with me. I'm hoping that's indicative of how the rest of the job will go.

The action in Volume Two takes place primarily on the surface of the Moon, in and around the Lunar settlement of SUNITA, near the headquarters of Captain Tom Duncan's DUNCAN INDUSTRIES. Here, my narrator/protagonist, Jim, encounters four new characters from the crew of XIANNE, whom I hope will prove to be as entertaining as those from Volume One. If I take at face value the comments I've received from Cynthia Shepp (CYNTHIA SHEPP BOOKS REVIEWS AND EDITING), who has had opportunity to read an early draft, then I have succeeded in making them so.

Please judge for yourself, however. Naturally, I hope everyone will check out XIANNE: A COMEDY OF CULTURES: VOLUME ONE, and then get ready for the soon-to-be-released VOLUME TWO!

Xianne: A Comedy of Cultures: Volume One

Today I completed the 2nd revision of XIANNE VOLUME TWO--which was my THIRD trip through it, if you count the initial writing of it in 2008. I will now let dust collect on it for awhile before calling it up again for the 3rd--and final--revision.

"Revision" means different things to me, depending upon which revision it is. For instance, the 1st revision involves not only the correcting of spelling, punctuation, etc., but also quite a bit of re-writing. Sometimes it'll just be the tweaking of a few words in a sentence here and there. Other times it's adding or subtracting whole passages that just do not sit right with me.

The 2nd revision--the one I just completed--is primarily the hunt for misspelled words, missing or extra spaces, quotation marks, and the like. And if I do come upon a sequence that passed muster first time through, but which now niggles at my noggin...you guessed it--I'll tweak it till it don't squeak no more!

Next--the 3rd revision--I'll re-size the display of the text, giving me a different perspective in which previously-missed errors will sometimes seem to leap right off the page for attention. It's basically a read-through; not much I'll want to change now.

So, soon, XIANNE: A COMEDY OF CULTURES: VOLUME TWO will be ready for publication.

Cynthia Shepp is GIVING my book away again! So if you go to her Facebook page--"Cynthia Shepp Book Reviews And Editing"--you can enter the contest pinned to the top of it.

If anyone misses me, I'll be out on the street, begging for alms....

A great first work!

Jason Brant nearly killed me with the pace of this action/suspense/thriller, plowing ahead at such speed that I found I had finished it in only TWO HOURS! The rapid read was only partially the result of the book not being long enough (though I'd've probably had a heart attack--or, at the very least, shin splints--if it had been a marathon rather than the sprint it was)--I simply couldn't stop!

Terrific characters that kept me thinking, "What a great premise for a TV series on Syfy!" Part X-FILES, part WAREHOUSE 13, part PSYCHE, part PATRIOT GAMES.... A psychic war-veteran, enlisted (against his will) to attempt to thwart the vengeful schemes of a mind-controlling terrorist.... Corrupt politicians, double-dealing government agencies, sexy women, and enough pop-culture references to keep a smile on your face right to the end! So much FUN, despite the rather sinister plot. And an ending that has cemented the author as my mortal enemy...unless he immediately undertakes to write a sequel--a LONGER sequel!

I'm giving ECHOES 4 stars out of 5--withholding the maximum rating due solely to the brevity of the book, and the disappointing deficiency of the character "Samantha". There was the promise of profound pleasure (hinted at early on), but, alas, I felt as did the protagonist, regarding her:

"At least I got to touch them once"....

COBALT ON A RAINY DAY is one of only two books that I have ever purchased due solely to the title. The other was I AM THE ONLY RUNNING FOOTMAN by Martha Grimes, and I concluded that the title was the very best thing about that one. But not so with COBALT. I was very pleasantly intrigued from the outset, where the author discloses the origin of such a beckoning title in her acknowledgements. As the story unfolded, after a mysterious prologue, I found myself to be deeply interested--emotionally invested--in the developing romantic relationship between the two women, "Mattie" and "Angela". The entire tale was so true-to-life that it was difficult for me to believe that I was reading fiction. The things the characters say and do in this novel are the things that REAL people say and do. I very much recommend this book, and I think it would make an excellent movie--Think MULHOLLAND DRIVE without the creepiness.

I give it 4 stars out of 5, and refer you to Amazon.com for more information, as I cannot find it here on Goodreads.

I've received several inquiries as to whether/when XIANNE will be available as an e-book.

The answer is YES, and fairly soon (perhaps a couple of months).

This prompts me, however, to explain my personal feelings about this technological advancement, and why I did not employ it from the outset.

Let me be very clear about the fact that I absolutely see the convenience and practicality of the e-reader, containing multitudes of books within its magic e-reader innards. I'll probably own one myself before long.

However, I chose not to have XIANNE available in that format from the beginning--NOT to thwart sales, and not as some form of "old-fogey" protest, but--because from the time I was a young teen, I've dreamed of being a published author. This, of course, was due simply to the great love I had for books and those who wrote them. Never once, though, in all that dreaming, did I ever envision my stories--my WORDS--scrolling across the face of an electronic device. In fact, I know of no author who did. I wanted to write--to create--and I wanted to see my creation in the same form as those I had come to love from childhood. I wanted to see my name on the cover of A BOOK ON A SHELF....

I wanted to hold it, to flip through its pages, to BREATHE IN ITS SCENT....

Certainly an e-book is more practical. It saves trees; it saves space.

But once I obtain one, I can guarantee you that I will NOT loan it out, risking it not being returned.... I will NOT take it to the beach or poolside, risking it getting dirty or wet.... In effect, the e-reader will quash my loaning of literature, and much of my "outdoor" reading.

Technology is wonderful. I, myself, write science-fiction. But I am admittedly nostalgic for a time when we didn't have everything at our fingertips. No, I wouldn't want to do away with our advancements; I simply sometimes miss the way things used to be.

I am a book collector. In my life, I have combed through so many used-book stores and come away with so many treasures that I couldn't possibly relate all the stories to you--nor my elation each time it happened. Now, however, I have only to search online for that rare edition I've always wanted, click "add to cart", enter my credit card number, and a few days later, I can hold it in my hands. Somehow these victories ring hollow.... The thrill of the hunt is gone forever....

I do not apologize for missing the "old" days.

And I wanted my first novel, XIANNE, to be available--if only for a little while--in the format that originally inspired me to write...an Actual Real Book.

Not much of a blog today, but I did want to post a thank you to everyone who has visited my author page on Facebook. Thanks for all the "Likes", and I hope all of you will do me the added honor of reading my novel XIANNE, then tell me what you think--and feel free to be brutally honest; it's YOUR money, after all. (And please don't forget to tell your friends, too. Even if you HATE it; why should you suffer alone?)

Today I made it through the 3rd revision of chapter 10 of VOLUME TWO, which is entitled "GAY WING". Can't wait for the feedback on this volume.

Also, you might check out the images that I posted on the author page (Jayce Grayson-Author) on Facebook, as well. You will see three of the United States' astronauts after whom some of the Lunar and Martian settlements in XIANNE are named. These are very strong and confident women who are very positive role models, and who have contributed significantly to America's space program.
Sunita Williams holds the current record for long-duration spaceflight among women, and is--even as I write this--orbiting above the Earth on the International Space Station, ALPHA. She is also the only Human to have run the Boston Marathon from 220+ miles ABOVE Boston!

Well, I now have a personal Facebook page(Jayce Grayson), as well as an author page (Jayce Grayson-Author)--thanks to the assistance of Cynthia Shepp. Not to mention the very flattering review that she posted for XIANNE.

(I suppose I'll never get her paid off....)

Now I just need everyone to "follow", "like", and "share" like mad to help me get a fan base built for XIANNE. I'll do my best to respond to questions and comments, and to otherwise interact with those of you who support me--that is, of course, until I become so filthy rich and famous that I forget my roots and the people who were there for me at the beginning. Till then, though, I will be very appreciative of you all.

Volume Two of XIANNE is coming along nicely. Don't know how "panty-drenching" it is (you can blame Cynthia for that), but I'm enjoying going back through it again. The chapter I'm going to revise today is called "Terminator Effect", and I best get to it.

Thanks again, everyone, and be sure to tell your friends!