Éric has had an eclectic career which ranges from casino dealer to canal boat captain to radio station DJ. Since 2009, he’s worked as a desktop publisher for the federal government. During his off time, he works as a freelance typesetter for various Canadian-based authors and publishers, roasts gourmet flavoured coffee, runs several pen-and-paper role-playing games, writes, and helps run JenEric-Designs.ca (Home of the TravellingTARDIS.com).
He lives in Ottawa, Ontario with his author wife, daughter, and son.
I’ve had an extremely productive day on the day job, and house front, unfortunately not so much on the writing front.
I’m going to take this week off from writing unless things go fantastically with the Galactus sized project I just got at work. It’ll give me some time to plot and prepare. This novel has been going in interesting and fun directions.
I was once again part of Silver Stag Entertainment’s Nights at the Round Table. Check it out.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGtHuKuj4qc&w=560&h=315]
Character Death
I still need help deciding who will die in my novel. At the moment it’s a three way tie. (I can hear a certain author-friend laughing manically.)
I made you a promise a few months ago that I would kill off a character in my next story. I jumped straight into a novel. So I need your help to decide what character to kill. There are 6 main characters and 2 secondary characters that you can choose from. I’ll describe them and you vote in the poll below. If you can’t see the poll vote in the comments, or message me on facebook.
Primary Characters
Adelaide
Female. Of Scottish descent, 24, average height orange/red hair green eyes. She’s the floor counselor for the patients at the institute. She has a master’s degree and a secret. She has lived her whole life with an imaginary friend. This fuels her need to understand psychological disorders.
Ashley
Female. Of Hispanic descent, 19, average height brown hair, green eyes. She’s an uber geek who has been hospitalized for violent night terrors. She is the only patient in her group who was court ordered to go to the institute, after she violently attacked her boyfriend in her sleep on prom night.
Kathrine (Kitty)
Female. Adelaide’s imaginary friend that is part tiger part human. She has a penchant for being a little wild and enjoying making sexual innuendoes. She’s playful and has a strange ability to know things that Adelaide doesn’t.
Kiri
Female. Of Maori descent, 16, short with very short black hair and reddish brown eyes. Suffering from a near fatal case of Anorexia and of sleep eating, she’s been at the institute for almost two years. She wrestles with what she knows is true and what she believes is true. She blames her mother, who is more interested in social status and what’s lady like, for most of her issues.
Paul
Male. White, 25, tall blond with blue eyes. After an extremely traumatic event Paul left the police force. In his dreams he smells fire and wakes up coughing ash. He checks into the institute after he starts setting fires while he sleeps.
Terrance
Transgendered (Physically male). White, 16, tall and broad with light brown hair and eyes. Terrance is a sleepwalker. He openly repeats his hyper-conservative family’s views on homosexuality, despite not understand it. He is the smallest and the most passive of four brothers and has been picked on his whole life. It has caused him to close himself off and not admit, even to himself, that his is transgendered.
Secondary Characters
Doctor Campbell
Male. White, 56 tall grey brown hair with grey eyes. The world’s specialist in Parasomnia related disorders and the head of the Aux-Anges Institute. He hides a secret. *Spoiler spoiler spoiler* is his *Spoiler*
Michael
Maile. African-Canadian, 25 average height short dark brown hair and light brown eyes. He is a nurse at the hospital. He’s a lucid dreamer and all around nice guy. He’s the patient’s favorite nurse. Will possibly be upgraded to main character if one of them dies.
I have a lot of stuff to talk about today so let’s split it up into topics.
House
Let’s start with the good news. My wife and I have bought a house. My in-laws have been a great help throughout the process and I am lucky to have them. We’re moving on the 29th of March, which means I’ll be crazy stupid busy for the next month. I’m trying to fight down the panic right now.
Who thought moving 800+movies and 2300+ books would be so much work?
Writing
The last book I wrote came together in amazing and beautiful ways, for me anyways. It was a culmination of three years’ worth of thinking and planning.
This new book isn’t like that. Writing is hard. No seriously, some days I wonder why I bother. I’ve been writing a novel a year for the past three years and I’m now a third of the way through my fifth novel and sometimes I feel like it’s just too much work.
Then I start writing and realize how much joy it brings me. It’s a feeling that I have to hold onto even in my most depressed and insecure moments.
But sometimes it would be nice to get appreciation from someone who doesn’t know me.
Publisher Response
In that vein, I received word from one of the two publishers yesterday. It’s a kinda rejection and possibly the nicest I’ve received. That’s saying something, I’ve been rejected several dozen times (not much compared to most authors but I’m still young and haven’t written enough short stories) and they’ve all be extremely nice about it. I’ve really only received 2 kinds of rejections; the nice ones and the “no response” rejections.
They basically said they liked the story and the characters but that it needed a good rewrite and editing. The word “compelling” was used which I take as a great compliment.
The only part that stung was that they said it read like a first draft. It was my sixth draft and third rewrite. I’ve reached the point with the book were I know I need professional help. (Insert Psychologist joke here!) They did say I could resubmit once I had reedited and rewrote the novel.
It makes sense, they’re a smaller publishing company and my book needs an editor, which is expensive. I’ll wait and see what the other publishing house says and then I’ll have to look for an editor. Unfortunately editors are expensive and we just bought a house.
Anyone know a good editor that won’t cost me more than a used car?
As I said I’m still waiting on one reply for this novel and I’m waiting on a short story anthology. I’m still hopeful.
I would like to thank the publishing house for the sweet things they said… so if you’re reading, thank you.
Silver Stag Entertainment
I’ve really been enjoying being a guest of this podcast for the past few weeks. It’s great to sit around and chat about movies and books with smart and funny people.
I was on the panel this week for The Diamond Throne by David Eddings.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm7qhKtNFlo]
Survey
Tomorrow is the last day to fill in our survey so if you want to win that 10$ gift card this is your chance.
Things at work have been crazy. I’m busier than I’ve ever been. It’s refreshing but doesn’t leave a lot of time to write. I’m a little behind for this week but I’ll try to catch-up tomorrow.
Work isn’t the only thing that’s crazy. Things at home are just as busy. I can’t really discuss it yet but big changes are coming for me and my wife.
Now if you haven’t had the chance to check out our contest. Now’s the time. Jen will be selling at Ottawa Geek Market and if you do our survey you’ll have a chance to win at $10 gift certificate for anything she makes or a commission.
The other day I came across this comic and it got me thinking.
Click to read the rest of this hilarious comic
Here’s the story of the last Horcrux:
In the last days before the battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort decided that he must survive. To this end he created a last Horcrux, one that no one could ever find. Unlike his others, he used and ordinary grain of sand.
This last Horcrux was tossed into the deepest ocean. Oneits way into the deepest parts of the ocean, a deep water fish mistook it for food and chased it down. It swallowed the grain of sand and proceeded to swim into a magical tear between worlds.
The tear led into a lake. Being a deep water fish, the poor fish was completely blinded by the light in this little lake. It was quickly caught by a fisherman, who gutted it and brought it home. The fish’s guts however were left on the beach to decompose.
There the grain stayed for a few years until a jewellers apprentice came looking for sand to temper jewellery. The sand on this beach was perfect. He collected a large sack of sand including the grain which was a Horcrux.
The sand was brought to a land called Erigion and was to be used in the forging of magical rings by the Lord of Gifts himself Annatar.
With Annatar’s help, the Elves of Erigion forged Seven rings for the Dwarf-Lords, and nine rings for the Mortal Men. The lord of Erigion, Celebrimbor, didn’t trust Annatar and under the guise of perfecting the art of ring forging, he created another three while Annatar watched.
Annatar was actually an evil lord called Sauron who had hopes to dominate all of Middle-earth. His corrupting touch had infused the first seven and nine with a little of his own power but since he hadn’t touched the three they had been spared.
As Annatar, Sauron, watched the forging of the three elven rings of power, his senses pulled him towards the sand. As he probed the sand with his power he realised that some poor human wizard had bound a piece of his soul to a grain of sand.
At first, this made the dark lord laugh, but then it gave him an idea. Having completed teaching Celebrimbor and the Elvin smiths how to create magical rings, he departed to Mordor, where he had made his home and empire.
Once there, he forged another ring with the sand in the fires of Orodruin, later to be called Mount Doom. There in his secret forge, Sammath Naur, he used the sand one last time. He followed the example of the human wizard and split his soul into the ring, and giving it the ability to control the others.
The gold was soft and when it was placed in the sand to temper it, a grain of sand was forced deep into its core. Trapping the last remnants of Voldemort’s soul, inside the ring.
We all know what happened to that ring and how the last Horcrux was destroyed.
Late in the night, Gollum, Bilbo, and Frodo could sometimes hear the cries of Voldemort’s soul from the ring. It’s probably better we don’t know what horrors Sauron inflicted on him.
Tomorrow I’ll have a short Harry Potter fanfic for you.
I’m glad that January is over. No seriously. I was sick for most of it and when I wasn’t I felt like crap. So far February is better.
In an interesting story I missed my stop on the bus this morning and didn’t realize until I got off one stop later. There is nothing more discombobulating than expecting one bus stop and getting another.
On the writing front I started chapter 5 yesterday of Parasomnia (Working title) and am still enjoying it. Someone asked me what it was and I thought about it for the first time. I think it could be considered a Supernatural thriller.
On the vlog front, I’ve finally got all the equipment and tonight I’ll be installing Ubuntu on my computer and testing out some linux based video editing software. Maybe by the end of the month I’ll have something posted.
In related new Jen took part in a panel on Roverandom by Tolkien, over on the Silver Stag Entertainment’s youtube Chanel.
At the JenEric Designs headquarters, (our house) we’ve been discussing the future of JenEric Designs, Aspiring Something, Travels of the Cocheted Tardis, JenEric Photography, and FADDS Role Playing. We’ve come to the conclusion that splitting our audience is probably a bad thing and we plan on combining all the products under one website and adding a webstore. We’re in the design stages at the moment and hope to get everything done by July or August.
In the same train of thought, we would greatly appreciate you filling out our tiny little survey. It will be up until mid February.
The point of the survey is to improve what we have and produce better stuff. Please help.
I’m getting a strange feeling as I’m writing. (Not that kind of feeling, you’re dirty.) It’s something I haven’t felt since I wrote the first Elizabeth book. I don’t know if anyone is going to want, or enjoy reading the book I’m writing, and I really don’t care. I’m having fun writing it. There’s something joyously broken about my characters and I look forward to seeing what happens to them.
At least one of them will die in the second act and I’m not sure which one. I might kill off the one I like the least or most or I might ask you for help. We’ll see what happens.
JenEric Designs is starting to plan for our 2014 events and stuff. With that in mind we’re asking everyone who enjoys our products (JenEric Designs Crochet, Travelling Tardis, and Aspiring Something) to fill in a short ten question Survey.
Please fill in our survey! (If we have a good enough response rate we might do something special for our fans.)
I’m getting a strange feeling as I’m writing. (Not that kind of feeling, you’re dirty.) It’s something I haven’t felt since I wrote the first Elizabeth book. I don’t know if anyone is going to want, or enjoy reading the book I’m writing, and I really don’t care. I’m having fun writing it. There’s something joyously broken about my characters and I look forward to seeing what happens to them.
At least one of them will die in the second act and I’m not sure which one. I might kill off the one I like the least or most or I might ask you for help. We’ll see what happens.
JenEric Designs is starting to plan for our 2014 events and stuff. With that in mind we’re asking everyone who enjoys our products (JenEric Designs Crochet, Travelling Tardis, and Aspiring Something) to fill in a short ten question Survey.
Please fill in our survey! (If we have a good enough response rate we might do something special for our fans.)
I’m neck deep in a new novel set in a psychiatric institute for people with Parasomnia. So far it’s a lot of fun to write. I’m still working on the concept for my Vlog. Testing things out, playing with the equipment, and being a total chicken. On top of my weekly Modern RPG that I’m running.
Still no word about the book I submitted. Hopefully before March.
Something that’s been draining a lot of time and energy from me lately is being sick. I spent a few days last week, completely dead. To top that off both my wife and I are starting to feel colds. Hopefully they’ll go away, or we’re nuts, or both.
On their Facebook Page, Silver Stag Entertainment asked for suggestion for movies. In case you want to do a psychological analysis of my mind (Please don’t, that way leads to madness.) here’s what I suggested:
Wall-E
The Incredibles
Willow
Alien
The Last Starfigher
Dude Where’s my Car
Splice
Journey to the Center of the Earth(1959)
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)
The Court Jester
Stargate
The Gamers
Frankenstein (1931)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Rocky Horror Picture Show.
They also asked on their Goodreads Book Club, for book suggestions. Here are mine:
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
The Silvered by Tanya Huff
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Redshirts by John Scalzi
Terrier by Tamora Pierce
Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
The Sleeping Dragon by Joel Rosenberg
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
In the Tall Grass by Stephen King and Joe Hill
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini
The Sleeping God by Violette Malan
How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper
Sins of the Son by Linda Poitevin
Destiny’s Blood by Marie Bilodeau
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
Wyrm by Mark Fabi
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
The Hunter’s Moon by O.R. Melling
Hollow Earth by John and Carole Barrowman
Defining Diana by Hayden Trenholm
Disappearing Nightly by Laura Resnick
The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clark
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Red Mars by Ben Bova
Don’t Bite the Sun by Tanith Lee
Knight Life by Peter David
That’s it for now. I’m going to see if I can nap with my eyes open.
