Derek McCaw's Blog: Deciding I'm a Writer

Black Rose by Arlo Z. Graves

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I picked this up on a whim and ended up devouring it. It fits as "Weird Western," and an interesting twist on the AI debate. Whether intended or not, I couldn't help think that.

Set in an alternate early 20th century, Black Rose depicts an America at war with machines becoming sentient through living silver, with gunslingers and bounty hunters tracking them down. The trick is the silver also infects humans. That's almost saying too much, because the world-building is so fascinating I don't want to spoil it.

I saw one twist coming, but then Graves pulled a twist on THAT, so... I really enjoyed this book and need to trust my whims more often.



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I didn't work with Jason Williams to write his story because I thought we would get rich. I just thought his story should be told. And truth be told, I wanted to see if I could do it.

Guess what? I was right. The story should have been told. And several bookstore owners agreed with me. Jason and I will be appearing together at several specialty stores that I have frequented and enjoyed for years -- so it's an extra honor to be able to sit behind a table at each one, signing copies of I Was Flesh Gordon with Jason.

November 10 -- Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego at 4 pm.

For a few years, they've had a major presence at Comic-Con International, and I always discover something new and cool there. This will be my first time at their brick and mortar store, and I hope others will consider our book to be something new and cool.

November 17 -- The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach, screening and signing beginning at 9 pm

Store co-owner Mike Wellman has been a friend and supporter for years, and his mentor had been an extra in Flesh Gordon, so this seemed a perfect confluence. We'll be a "Comic Bug After Dark" event, showing the original movie and then signing books afterward. I hope we get a chance to do this kind of thing again.

November 18 -- Dark Delicacies in Burbank, 4 p.m.

Who doesn't love this store? Cool clothes, toys, and of course tons of DVDs and books to help you take a deep dive into horror. Again, it's a shop I've been going to for a few years, and some of my favorite authors have been at their table. Jason will also have posters and stills for sale.

I hope you can come out to one of these. The best part about writing -- other than writing -- is getting to meet people who enjoy reading it.

Also, the writer posted on Bookgasm.com, another site I didn't know but like the looks of.

It's this summer's bio you didn't know you wanted to read.

You know what? I'll take it.

I bought books this past weekend. A lot of books — some former Hugo nominees, some just because they fit in my wheelhouse of what I call “my literary mac and cheese.” What I discovered was that every bookseller I talked to (and bought from) was interested in carrying I Was Flesh Gordon, thought they could sell it, and hadn’t heard of it.

As a result, I realize that conventions have just changed for me. Usually I go and drum up interviews for the podcast, talk to people because I like talking to people, and hang out. For the first time — and it should have occurred to me long ago — I have to sell myself, harder than I’m comfortable.

But that’s all right. The experience of getting a book published has changed my way of thinking about what I want to do, and what I can accomplish. I’m working on some fiction for the first time in a while, and I’m also reading a lot more fiction than I have in a while. (See above with all those books. All. Those. Books.)

I attended a kaffeeklatsch held by my friend Kevin Andrew Murphy, and it was a pleasure hearing him read some of his work. And listening to it helped me a lot in thinking about some of the fiction I’m working on — what’s missing as I have not yet given myself permission to just finish the skeleton before fleshing it all out. Though he may not read this blog, thank you, Kevin, for a lesson you taught me. Also, for the mead.

I’m not a hard-drinking writer, but I do love mead.

My go-to shop in Northern California is Illusive Comics & Games in Santa Clara, and store owner Anna Warren Cebrian has been kind enough to suggest that we hold a signing event there. After looking at the calendar and making sure that she would have enough copies of the book, we're pleased to announce that I will be there on Wednesday, September 19th to sign books and no doubt talk comics. Because that's what we do.
RSVP here!

I'll be at WorldCon in San Jose next week, and really looking forward to it, but in that weird way of not knowing what to expect. I've never been to one, though I've been to smaller science fiction and fantasy conventions, and enjoyed them.

When I was a kid, the Hugo Awards seemed so distant, but if I didn't know what to buy when I walked into my local WaldenBooks or, better still, A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books in Cupertino, I looked for the things that had won Hugos. That's if there were no Doc Savage books, or possibly something by Philip Jose Farmer. As I came to active fandom rather late, it hadn't occurred to me that one day I could be in a position to actually vote on the Hugos.

That I could was reason enough to join WorldCon, and then it was pretty cool that it would be in San Jose. From the time of my joining until now, I've read much more science fiction than I have in years, and then got a book published about a (somewhat) forgotten science fiction classic film.

Other things happened as a result of that, and other things happened to the left of that, that spurred me to start working on fiction again. I've done more than dip a toe in to short stories, and begun collaborating on a comics project that I hope has potential.

The journey begins... again.