Category: Blogging

Tickety Boo Forum

On By J.R. HandleyIn Blogging, update, WritingLeave a comment

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Hey Space Cadets, just a quick note to tell you that the gracious people over at Tickety Boo Press Ltd. have given me some space in their forums.  It’s designed to be a place for readers and writers and everyone in-between to chat about books and their love of the written word.  Pop over and say hi, leave a comment and join us in the usual shenanigans!!  Now, if you haven’t finished your gift shopping or wrapping… what are you doing in front of your computer?  GO!!!  Otherwise, click here to join us in the forums to talk books!

 

Also, check out the SciFi Explorations if you’re looking for science fiction deals.  It’s a mailing list that sends deals and recommendations to your inbox of the stories you know you’ll love.  If what I write is up your alley, then they’ll have many more recommendations.  Most of them, at least while they’re in the mailing, are on sale at a steal of a price.

 

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Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bessJR

 

 –> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are owned by JR Handley.

 

Playing with Legos

On By J.R. HandleyIn Blogging, Writing21 Comments

File:Warhammer game.jpg

Hello Space Cadets, how are you today?  I’m doing good and going through my interweb folders and finding older posts that nobody read.  I want to bring them into the light of day now that this is a real blog, so bear with me.  This was my fourth post, so climb with me into the wayback machine and let’s go!  I won’t even edit the errors, so you can see how far we’ve come!

 

Beep, bop, boop, beep…..

 

Looking back in time!

 

Today I was, in fact, playing with Legos.  My wife came home to find me playing with Legos after a long hard day at work housewifing.  Naturally she was curious, as there was real work to be done.  Dishes to be washed, Christmas presents to be wrapped, good ole fashioned adulting.  My answer was simple, “I’m building sand-tables.”  What are sand-tables you ask?  Well, they are places where you use sand that can be molded to accurately represent the topography of a specific battlefield.  Basically, you use a sandbox to plan your battles.  When I used this in Army ROTC, we sometimes even used little green army men!  I seem to remember those little troopers being the same color my face turned after I ate my first MRE!!!  I am using Legos (as well as army men, yay!) for this purpose, allowing me to plan out a battle that makes sense and can be clearly explained.  Hopefully this means I write better battle scenes, but at a minimum this helps me clarify things in my own head.  That’s an important factor if I’m going to tell that story to my audience.  Let’s just say she wasn’t convinced, but finally my puppy dog eyes paid off.

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

JR

 

–> This image is under available under the free creative commons and was originally posted to Flickr.com.  It was uploaded to Commons using Flickr upload bot on 15:22, 25 July 2007 (UTC) by Ranveig (talk). On that date it was licensed under the license linked to above.

A Moment of Silence

On By J.R. HandleyIn Blogging, Human Legion Series, Sleeping Legion Series, update, Writing6 Comments

Hello Space Cadets, today I’m the bearer of bad news.  Today we mourn the loss of one of my closest friends and a staple of the first two Sleeping Legion novels.  Additionally, I had the unpleasant duty of killing off several Red Shirts and my heart breaks.  My spouse might call them imaginary, but I know they’re real.  She also likes to point out that it was I who killed them.  Yes, cold hearted bastard that I am, I killed them all.  Almost an entire regiment had to die today, so that Serendine might be free of the New Order heathens.  I know the truth, they were cold heartedly murdered by those Hardit scum.  In memoriam, I would like a moment of silence as we celebrate those poor young lives cut drastically short by the ravages of war. 

 

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Thank you for your kind considerations.  Please make all bereavement donations to the Human Legion Widows and Orphans Fund.

 

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

JR

 

 –> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section, are owned by JR Handley or are being used under the Fair Use Doctrine.  The image of the statue can be purchased at the Mainely Urns and Memorials website.  It’s called the Battle Field Cross Memorial Sculpture and no copyright infringement is intended.  We at Team Handley fully credit this company for their masterful artistry and value the intellectual property rights of our fellow artists.  Seriously, check out their stuff if you are ever unfortunate enough to need to commemorate fallen loved ones.

Prompting Creativity

On By J.R. HandleyIn Blogging, update, Writing9 Comments

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Hello Space Cadets, how is everyone today?  Just a quick update, I have finished my short story for the Roswell Anthology from Tickety Boo and will be sending it to my editor today!  Once I submit it, I’ll keep posting updates on the process.  If you like science fiction, why don’t you write something and submit it!  It was a lot of fun and sparked about two dozen or so novel ideas that I fully plan on exploring.  We would all love to hear about your process, your final project and whether or not it got picked up.

 

For today’s blog, I decided to share a fun little writing prompt I found.  This challenge came from high school, somehow, I never started it.  Shh, don’t tell my teachers.  I decided to give it a shot and set some ground rules for myself.  I needed it to be flash fiction, to practice my abilities at writing the shorter stuff as well.  I wanted to keep it around 125 words and I only had one extra word I couldn’t cut.  And I had to do it in under 5 minutes.  Here is the results of my efforts, feel free to point and laugh!  And if you’re feeling especially froggy, jump on in and write your own reply to this prompt!  Can’t wait to read it if you do!

 

Writing Prompt: What started a centuries-old blood feud?

 

The Banpiro Clan and the Lupo Clan attended their neighborhoods weekly shad planking, and were enjoying a hearty meal. The beer was flowing, wine was in every glass and the kids were joyfully playing in the adjacent meadow. When Lordette-Chief Banpiro and Lord-Chief Lupo got to the buffet line there was only one slice of pecan pie left. Deciding to strike a blow for equality, Lord-Chief Lupo ate the last slice of pie.

Undone by the lack of civility, Lordette-Chief Banpiro slapped the Lupo Clan Chief and challenged him to a dual. History never knew exactly who fought whom, but the feud that followed has lasted eons and stood the test of time, while the battle that followed has been lost among the ravages of time.

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

JR

 

 –> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section.

World Building Wednesday: Sand Tables

On By J.R. HandleyIn Blogging, Infantry, Sleeping Legion Series, update, Writing7 Comments

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Hello Space Cadets, how is everyone doing today?  What’s that?  I can’t hear you, sound off like you got a pair!  And if you don’t, fake it till you make it!  So, now that I have your attention, let’s have a little chat over coffee!  Today I decided to give you get a sneak peek into how I wrote my battle scenes.  Let’s dive into the world of sand tables, sometimes called Recess for Soldiers!

 

So where to start, first let me start by discussing what a sand table is.  In a nutshell, a sand table is a surface bearing a three-dimensional map of a given piece of land.  According the Merriam-Webster, it’s “a table bearing a relief model of a terrain built to scale for study or demonstration especially of military tactics.”  Basically, I a super special map!  The military has used them since forever, long before Christ was even a Corporal.

 

Now that I’ve explained what a sand table is, I’ve decided to show you the one I made for my first novel.  Yes, The Legion Awakes, which will be published on December 19th, 2016.  It’s an improvised sand table for a combat scene in the novel involving a battle that my main character is involved in.  Wanna know more, read the book!  You’ve probably already read this, but please let me be prideful for just a few words!  I’m currently writing The Sleeping Legion Series set in the military science fiction world of Tim C. Taylor.  That book will be out soon, so I wanted to share some of how I got here.  Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, let us return to our regularly scheduled programing.

 

Anyway, the key to a successful sand table is that they provide you with the opportunity to visualize the battle space in three-dimensions.  This allows you to better describe the field as you’ve envisioned it.  It allows you to envision all of the obstacles which might get in the way of the armies you are describing, though this could work for any type of writing, combat or otherwise.  I supposed I would be remiss if I didn’t also tell you that these can be used to model towns, and other generic settings for your works in progress.  Not as exciting, but certainly necessary.  They are used by the military for strategic visualizations, are extremely helpful with strategic planning, but can be used by everyone!!

 

Without further adieu, my masterpiece!

 

My Sand Table

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LEGEND:

Cups: Akoni Mountains

Green Sponges: Dense forests

Brown Building Blocks: Old Government Tower and Akoni City

Blue Paper: Water Features; Dynia River and Lake Charon

 

Now that we’ve covered this in depth, feel free to sound off in the comments below!  And if this tickled your fancy, click the follow button and never miss out on the insanity or shenanigans from the Handley Trenches!

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

JR

 

 –> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are owned by JR Handley.

 

Anthology Submission

On By J.R. HandleyIn Blogging, Reading, Writing11 Comments

Hello Space Cadets, how are you today?  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, mine was a busy one.  My wife is studying for her exams so my sons and I are having boy time!  We will play some Halo, go for a walk, play backgammon and generally goof off.  Today I wanted to remind you of an opportunity to get published in an upcoming anthology with Tickety Boo Press Ltd..  These stories must be about the Roswell Incident, where a supposed alien crashed, the Area 51 Conspiracy or anything else you can come up with to link into the theme.  If you have questions, go on over to their site and ask away!  The deadline is February 28th, 2017 and the story should be in the 2-5k range.  Hope this finds you well, and serves as your big break!!  If you do submit, and it gets picked up, come on back and we can share in the good news together!!  Just click here and you’ll be able to read the submission guidelines!  Interviews and free press from all of my imaginary friends in the audience!  

 

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Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

JR

 

 –> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are screen grabs taken by JR Handley for use under the Fair Use Doctrine.

Calling All Romance Writers

On By J.R. HandleyIn Blogging, Reading, Writing2 Comments

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Hello Space Cadets, how are you on this fine Tuesday?  I’m doing great, busy but finally back to doing what I do best… procrastinating!  Seriously. Once I get a few blogs pre-written and edited, I get to dive back into the mayhem of the Legion’s quest to rid the New Order from Tranquility-4.  Does that sound like Greek to you? Then buy my book when it comes out to translate it!  Promise, it’s like the secret decoder ring of the universe!

 

Now, for the main attraction!  As you may have noticed, I’ve posted a few Tickety Boo Press Ltd. posts regarding calls for writers and ARC readers.  Just so you know I’ll post any I find, and I have found one for my romance writers!  The fine folks at Authors.me are looking for any romantic tales, so if you’ve just finished one (or are close) maybe you should get it ready to submit to these fine folks!  Seriously, they look like legit traditional publishers.  If what you see in the image below sounds like your thing, click here.

 

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Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

 JR

 

–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are screen grabs taken by JR Handley for use under the Fair Use Doctrine.

NaNoWriMo Update

On By J.R. HandleyIn Blogging, NaNoWriMo, update, Writing18 Comments

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Hello Space Cadets, I’m sorry for the delay in posting lately. I AM still alive; my alien overlords haven’t called me back yet.  I took a few days off for Thanksgiving, and then had to play a crazy game of catch up to finish the NaNoWriMo event.  It has been insane!  Long days, longer nights and loads of coffee.

 

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Okay, as for the NaNo… let me give you a recap. I finished the rewrites for book two, Fortress Beta City.  It’s now with my copy editor for the last pre-publication pass.  This was a lot of work, hours of conference calls giggling over pizza, but it is done.  It is, hands down, the favorite book I’ve written.  My former editor, and boss, was so close to the story that together we missed some ways it could’ve been better.  I imagine that many authors who let outsiders play in their sandbox experience these issues.  I think book one, The Legion Awakes is good, but I’m even happier with book two.  And let’s face it, there is also the element of my improving skill at storytelling.

 

In addition to Thanksgiving, I had my 35th birthday just after Thanksgiving and it was wonderful.  My wife is very supportive of my work, so she bought me a fancy dancy ergonomic desk chair.  Stand back boys and girls, she’s mine and I’m keeping her!!  My birthday present to myself was finishing book two, Fortress Beta City.  Like I said earlier, the final structural/content editing pass is done, and I don’t tend to worry about the copy editing!!  Hey, I’m just not too overly attached to the commas and whatnot.  Now we wait for the final formatting before it’s off to the presses!!!!!  Okay, maybe beta readers too…. but IT IS DONE!!!!

 

Now that I’ve mentioned the editing, I need to pretend my momma taught me some manners.  I’m not an ungrateful frakker, so thank you Corey Truax!!  You do good work, glad we hired you!! Tim C Taylor will love the finished product!!

 

Sorry literary world, he can’t be your editor…. HE’S ALL MINE!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

Continuing on my NaNo writing journey, I also pushed past book two and wrote over 36,000 words into book three, Operation Breakout.  I’m loving this book too, it’s full of action and has improved upon the mistakes I made in earlier novels.  I feel like Operation Breakout is the fulfillment of the promise of high action that was made in Fortress Beta City, and as a writer I always want to honor the implicit promises I make.

 

Growing, always growing (and not just my belly) towards being a better novelist.  That’s what I hope I’m doing anyway.  Hopefully readers will agree; I’m sure I’ll find out soon.  I’ve not done it alone, I’ve had great mentors and support.  I won’t list those mentors today, but I will write a post about who they are since they are so very supportive of new writers.  They host podcasts, webpages and Facebook groups that are very supportive environments.  Another noob would be welcome, the Fire Marshal just extended our digital capacity!  Again, more to come!!

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

JR

–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are personally owned by the author of the Human Legion Universe.

Warrior Weekend Interview Series

On By J.R. HandleyIn Blogging, Warrior Weekend Interview Series30 Comments

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Hello Space Cadets, like I mentioned yesterday I didn’t plan ahead well enough for an interview series.  I am working on playing catch-up, but let me tell you about what I envision with this.  If you missed it, I’m a combat veteran of the Late Unpleasantness in Mesopotamia.  It changed me, my world view, and the content of the stories I tell.  I’m curious how other veterans in the writing world (authors, editors, publishers, etc.) manage it.  How does it affect their process?

 

One thing that has always been important to me is to support other veterans, so this is my chance to pay it forward.  It is my thanks to the thousands who manned the lines with me.  It introduces them to the world, and lets us reminisce for a few on our shared experiences.  I hope you find this worthwhile, but on top of their military service (for any country), they are readers and writers just like us.  Maybe together we can learn from each other.

 

Since I don’t have any larger post planned for today, I wanted to recommend a book.  When I got back from Iraq my brain injury made reading difficult.  I couldn’t concentrate, the words blurred and I gave up.  Even the large print books weren’t cutting it.  I’d given up, and was listening to my neurologist lecture me again about exercising my mind when he decided to find a solution for me.  If you don’t know, your brain is like any other muscle.  If you don’t use it, you lose it.  When you suffer head injuries, the potential for the loss of said muscle down the line grows exponentially.  To combat that, they recommend brain teasers and the like, in addition to reading a lot.  After much nagging, I set a routine, I wake up and do a Sudoku or crossword puzzle with my morning coffee. 

 

My doctor wasn’t satisfied with a few minutes of mind games so he did some research about an amazing new technology called a Kindle.  It has a few neat features; backlighting, magnification and could read the book to you when you needed a break.  I was convinced, my parents ponied up the cash (gotta love supportive mothers) and I was off to the races.  I started with all of the free books available and narrowed down my searches to science fiction and fantasy.  I’m a huge fan of military science fiction and space opera, always have been since I found an old copy of Heinlein’s Starship Trooper in my local library.  It was old, battered and tucked into the back shelf.  I figured if it was good enough for someone to hide it, making sure it was there for them, I had to read it too.  Since then there have been many other good stories, jaunts through space and the like.  Now armed with a Kindle, I sought out books that fit into that genre.

 

The first successful Kindle search I made from within the device lead me to Terry Mixon and his Empire of Bones Saga.  It was great, made even better by the fact that Terry was an Army guy like me.  Let’s face it, a lot of the military veterans writing science fiction are Navy guys.  They figure SPACE ship, OCEAN going ship…. They’re all ships!  I honestly gave him a chance just because he was from the 101st Airborne too.  I wasn’t disappointed and you won’t be either.  Go check it out!

 

Empire of Bones (Book 1 of The Empire of Bones Saga) by [Mixon, Terry]

 

Finally, I’ll recommend a short story by my boss and science fiction author Tim C. Taylor!  Welcome Home, Janissary is set in the universe I’m writing in, and it is definitely worth a read!  It’s currently free, so you’ll get your money’s worth!!

 Welcome Home, Janissary by [Taylor, Tim C.]

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

JR

–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section.

Blog & Writing Update

On By J.R. HandleyIn Blogging, Writing8 Comments

 

Hello Space Cadets!!  In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting articles about the various parts of my writing process.  I plan on covering alien creation, foreign languages and character creation.  In addition, I’ll write about how I ‘invent’ new technologies and where I conduct my research.  There will be posts about resources I use, and mentors I’ve been lucky enough to have.  Now that my website is wrapping up, it is time to do all of the prep work for a smooth transition into my blog schedule.  I look forward to bringing you with me on this journey, and can’t wait to read your comments in the forthcoming posts. 

 

Now, as for a quick NaNoWriMo update!  I’ve been sucking it recently, life has been crazy and I’m way behind.  With two special needs kids, you just have to seize life by the… and carry on.  I grab words where I can and attend my local Hampton Roads NaNo Group’s Friday write-ins to catch up.  Yesterday I managed to crank out 900 words while I was there, not bad since I am working on a crappy laptop that isn’t comfortable for my sore hands.  This has convinced me to double down on my goals of learning to better use my Dragon software and lighten the load on my hands.  So, now that we’ve gotten here…. It is time for my word weigh-in and the judgement that will surely follow.  It is Day 12 and I’m sitting at 13,052 words.  I hope to finish the day at 17,000 words but that might just be a pipe dream.  I still have to take my son out clothes shopping, he’s outgrown everything he owns.  Ugh, not only is he EATING me out of house and home, now he’s growing like a weed.

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

 brown_bess

JR

—> As usual, the image I used today can be found under Google’s “labeled for reuse” section.