F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction Author

To Be Human

The Intruders

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I LOVE this series.

This is my new X-Files.

Finally! A show worthy of the X-Files legacy, yet kick-ass all in its own right!

And I near missed it, if it hadn’t been for one of my Twitter friends, Cindy, aka @Mater2Six. On the day of  its first or second airing, she asked me if I’d heard of it. I hadn’t. I went looking. I’d missed it.

Then found it!

Quite fitting for this show.

I found the online site and watched the first two episodes back-to-back staying up until 2 a.m. or something when they were still airing the online versions. This show just grabs you by the throat and it don’t let go! Admittedly, the first episode was a little jarring, but just stay with it. It all fits, it all works.

And the character of Maddie. Oh. My God. This girl is killer!

I’m posting this some seven months later, because the post had gotten lost in the shuffle! I had meant to post this back in October, but things had gotten quite busy for me. I hope it…returns…I visited their website, but didn’t find anything talking about its (if you click the Qui Reverti links, it gives stuff away, so don’t select them if you want to catch the episodes first) Qui Reverti return. I do hope we see it again this Fall. In the meantime you can look for it at these locations (which I haven’t tried, so I hope some are still in operation). You can also buy on Amazon.

But…but…Qui Reverti! It can‘t die!

The show is inspired by the 2007 Michael Marshal novel of the same name.

Of course, maybe Shepherd got to the producers….

Award Winning…What?!

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Seriously?

Award Winning-Expertly-Milled-in-the-USA-Gold Medal-Premium Quality-Over-125-Years-of-Baking-Success-Enriched-Bleached-Presifted-All-Purpose Author, F. P. Dorchak (© 2015, F. P. Dorchak composition of some really, pretty damned good flour).
Award Winning-Expertly-Milled-in-the-USA-Gold Medal-Premium Quality-Over-125-Years-of-Baking-Success-Enriched-Bleached-Presifted-All-Purpose Author, F. P. Dorchak (© 2015, F. P. Dorchak composition of some really, pretty damned good flour).

When I see this associated with any author and not a bag of flour I cringe and immediately get all pissy.

It seems, methinks, that every author I come across has won some kind of award.

Even me.

My blog won a Liebster Award in 2013. Does that make me “award-winning?”

Oh, and I did take second place in a PPWC writing contest way back in ’92.

Award winning?

Now, I’m not trying to diminish everyone’s hard-won and legitimate successes, I’m really not, but it just really bugs me that I see so many “award winning” authors out there that, well, have awards from places I’ve never heard of or are awards that are, what I consider, kinda “incestuous” to only the organization “awarding” it.

Or such books are so labeled and I’ve never heard of them.

Or, you know, that they’re labeled at all.

It doesn’t even matter the reasoning behind it…it just annoys me on principle.

Yeah. It does.

I mean, “Hugo winner” used to mean something until I read Bob Mayer’s post. Same with NYT’s and WSJ’s Best seller lists, when I read somewhere how these are “fixed” (wish I could find that article but this one will serve the point).  I just don’t believe much in any award-winning labels anymore.

Except for flour. The stuff that works really, really well. And tastes good, too.

I’ve read some “award winners” and wasn’t all that impressed with most of what I’ve read (not counting Hugo winners when I was a kid; it seemed that might have meant something back in the day…but I’ve also found when I tried to reread some of the fiction I read as a kid that I thought had been great…that the writing actually wasn’t all that well-written, so am still kinda up-in-the-air about the whole thing…)

I’ve removed the Liebster award image from my blog. I felt weird putting it there in the first place and have wanted to remove it for a while and just never got to it. It was fun answering the questions and nominating others I thought really deserved it—and I truly thank and appreciate the guy who nominated me for it, I really do, that was très cool of you, Samir—but I really don’t want to get into all that “award labeling.” I’ve never been one for “pomp and circumstance” (not a fan of it while in the military…still not). Let the “thing” (whatever it is) stand and speak for itself.

I mean, do you ever really see or hear anything about “Stephen King, award-winning author…”? No. All you hear is:

Stephen King.

Then you pee your pants, clean up, know exactly what is meant by “Stephen King” (his name is always italicized). You don’t need any adjectives or adverbs or whatever those modifier-thingees are supposed to be called before or after his name.

That’s what I’m talkin’ about.

Okay, okay, I know…there’s also the whole “best selling” debate, and King and others have been so labeled, but that kinda dilutes my whole argument so I’m just gonna ignore it. My blog, my topics.

The upshot of either discussion is that I don’t want to be coached into what you’re bringing to the table…I just want to see what your words do to me.

I want to read the jacket copy…take in the cover…check out what’s between the covers (kinda like checking out what’s between a person’s ears…). Now, I don’t have to like what’s between the covers…but I can certainly appreciate the wielded skill. I feel that way about a couple of authors I’ve read—damn good authors but don’t like what they write. I really can appreciate kick-ass writing even if I don’t like the content.

Yet (<sigh>)…I know it’s all about promotion and marketing annnd whatnot.

I know being on a best-seller list means more money to authors. I’ve read that readers like to see that kinda stuff on covers…but I gotta say, I just don’t know that I believe it. That readers really care whether or not “award-winning” (or “best selling”) graces the cover of any book. What I’ve got from my informal survey of the 3.5 people I’ve asked such questions of was that, no, they really don’t care. They just want a good story—in some manner—that grabs them. makes em cry, angry, or emote and associate in some way with the story. In some manner. I think it’s the media and the publishing industry that cares about what’s on covers. When I was a young kid buying books the only thing I cared about on the covers were how frigging cool the images and graphics were! As an “aware” adult author/reader the only thing I care about on the cover is how fricking cool the images and graphics are! Sorry, but I have to side with Franzen, here, I really don’t want an Oprah sticker taking up space on any cool cover graphics!

What the heck’s behind the sticker? Like author intrusion into a story, such embellishments intrude into the weltanshauung of the cover!

Is Oprah adrift and in the boat with that tiger and that guy?

Did Oprah just give the dirty and barefoot and smiling 1930’s kid money?

So, nothing against Oprah or all the authors who received hard-won accolades for their efforts—we all like to think we’re making a difference in this world—but, in the end…whenever I hear that someone is “award-winning”… I just automatically think of them as being nothing more than

A sack-a-flour.

You-Turns

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You-Turn. (By Eric Kilby from USA (Confusing Sign Uploaded by xnatedawgx) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
You-Turn. (By Eric Kilby from USA [Confusing Sign Uploaded by xnatedawgx] [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
I always used to say “I hate regurgitating myself.”

And this is a true statement…I really haven’t liked redoing my work or, well, anything. I’ve figured once I’d done something, it’s done…time to move on.

Then reality would intervene.

Never say never.

It doesn’t mean that everything I’ve done was perfect and not to be trifled with…what it means was that I’m done with whatever I’ve done, either a job or a manuscript; whatever: got that T-shirt. Time to move forward. But as my life progresses and I get older I find that the energy behind my life seems to beg to differ. It seems much of my life bears repeating.

My writing. Job hunts. TV reruns. Reincarnation.

I posted a list of my writing projects over the years…and how I’ve gone back and reworked several of them to publish. Most of my published history (all of my novels) is work I’d done years ago. Maybe this is nothing new to authors in general…but to me, well, it’s the subject of this post.

Take a look at this post: I did one about my short-lived modeling career. Retrospective.

And there’s my current work in progress (WIP) that I’m looking to publish in the coming months. More retro.

Oh, and in my daily life…my day job…there’s a certain line of energy that seems to have me revisiting the past. Returning to that which I’ve “come from” in a certain fashion. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the work I’m doing or have done in the past…it’s just that I’ve returned to it a couple times over the years.  It’s the whole “retro argument” I’m making here….

However and curiously…as I’ve grown older I don’t seem to have as much “against” going retro in and of itself anymore…I guess it’s only natural that after you’ve lived “some life” and gone down all those roads paved-and-otherwise it’s only natural to revisit some of those journeys as all the roads you’ve traveled cross and weave in and out. When you’re younger you’re afire with boundless energy and ready to frickin’ carve (not just carve, but frickin’ carve…) your name into the world…but after a while (if you live long enough) you come upon those carved-names in the strangest of places…places you’d never dreamed of every seeing again….

Life has a way of getting you to reflect.

Everything changes.

And eventually those changes transition the physical world…so enjoy life while it’s happening. There are far worse things that can befall a soul than having to, you know, redo a thing or two.

Enjoy life. Enjoy the journey.

Enjoy your You-turns.

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Hate The Author…Still Read Their Work…?

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Just Because You Can Say It Doesn't Mean... (By Unknown or not provided (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
Just Because You Can Say It Doesn’t Mean… (By Unknown or not provided (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

I read a post by another writer who said that he would still read the work of an author he couldn’t stand. To me he was essentially saying he could separate the person from his work.

I gave that some thought.

Some years back I sat in a session at a writer’s conference given by a very famous writer. Very famous.

I couldn’t stand the guy. To be frank (pardon the pun) I found the guy a total dick. He also openly and with great relish dumped on other writers’ work. Named names. And the bulk of the audience was “in there” with him!

I was stunned.

And I was gonna buy one of his books. I didn’t.

To this day I can’t think about one good thing to say about this guy, that’s how off-putting he was to me.

I can’t support a writer (or any other person) if I can’t stand that person. If I find them abhorrent in whatever way bugs the shit out of me.

Why would I possibly want to support a livelihood if I don’t like the message?

I mean, I might possibly find an exception in the future and eat my words, but today I cannot think of a single exception to this rule: if I can’t stand you or your message I more than likely will not read your work. It’s hard for me to separate the two. I will wish you well and personal and spiritual growth (please have some spiritual growth…), but I will not be supporting your habit.

Now, I’m sure there are probably some authors I read who are jerks and I just don’t realize it. True. But if I do, I will most likely not continue to support them. There are just too many other books out there to read, and if this reasoning culls the herd for me, so be it. I wish you all (even the jerks) peace and growth in your journey through life…I just don’t want to be a part of it.

Update on WIP: Out For Proofing

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Wailing Loon (2013, F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner)
Wailing Loon (2013, F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner)

After seven months of rework, I’ve completed going back through my current Work-in-Progress (WIP) and sent it out for my beta reader/proofreader review. I’ve also sent it off to my “Cover Guy,” Lon Kirschner, so he can read it and come up with the cover (Lon is one of the rare breed who actually reads all books he does covers for).

To me, it’s a powerful love story written with strong sexual elements. I wouldn’t necessarily call it “erotic fiction,” per se, as I’ve mentioned before…but can see how it could definitely be classified as such. Especially since I even subtitle it “an erotic tale of nonphysical love.”

Now, whether it succeeds or not will be interesting as I get my comments back from my readers. Hopefully the content justifies the story.

I’m looking to get comments back by the end of May, expect to incorporate them within a month or so, then get the manuscript formatted, which can take a couple weeks, depending on Pam’s schedule—but she already has me “penciled in” for the summer. So…if this passes muster…this should see the light of day around a June-ish/July timeframe. I’m also looking to do this as an e-book. If the sales do well, I’ll also publish as a softcover trade.

What’s next?

Well, that will be it for drawer-manuscripts (those manuscripts written and hidden away in drawers)…I mean, I have several other manuscripts (mss) I haven’t published, but I really want to get back to something new…and that means a couple years of work. It takes me on average about 2 1/2 years to complete a new manuscript. However, if my current novel sells well, I’m very interested in publishing some of my short stories…but that’s only if the income will carry the outflow of publishing said book.

And none of this considers promotion!

Yes, I plan on doing more promotion…and am trying to work up some ideas there. Hard to do when you have a more-than-full-time day job. So, if any of you have speaking engagements or signings you think might be a good idea for this or any of my other work, feel free to contact me, at fpdorchak at fpdorchak dot com. I can do telephone interviews, blog interviews, guest blogs, et cetera.

So, while you’re waiting for the final product, feel free to check out my Pinterest site for this WIP, to load up on some of the imagery this novel has to offer.

I thank all who have been supporting my (and other indie author) work—thank you all so damned much! Even “on your own” it takes a TEAM to publish a book! And part of that team is the readership!

Otherwise, it’s a return to more blogging and new writing!

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Bob Mayer—The Terminator

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https://youtu.be/YvRb9jZ9wFk

I’ve met Bob Mayer.

Met him at the 2008 Pikes Peak Writers Conference (PPWC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I’d read a couple of his Area 51 novels. Liked them. So, I thought, here’s a pretty cool guy…why not go meet him and see what he’s like. I liked how he didn’t ignore all the security measures in secure settings and write his characters out of sticky situations by just changing the scene (and instead had to show some crafty maneuvering around said security systems, not ignoring that there are measures to detect your every move and high security places would have them!). Anyway, I thought I’d introduce myself to him.

Yeaaah, about that….

Bob has said in posts that he’s become a bit more outgoing, more personable since he’s been out in the wild, but when I first met him, well…not so much. I remember when I first introduced myself to him at a PPWC mixer years ago and I found myself pulling my own teeth just to get him to talk. After a while I was answering my own questions…and it took me a couple of sentences to realize…well, he’d long since disappeared…

It was like he’d wielded some arcane form of Ninja Kung-fu sfumare on me.

To this day, I don’t know how he’d done that.

So…I was reading one of his blog posts last weekend, his “Traits of Successful Writers II,” and I realized I just had to share about Bob…as The Terminator. In this post he says words to the effect that the best thing about writers’ groups is not the actual writing stuff…but the different characters—the actual people, the writers—in the writer’s group. Trying to figure out their motivations…why they “act the way they do.”

OMG. Flashback…PPWC 2008.

You see, Bob is an extremely observant fellow. A former Green Beret (the big white words on this webpage say it all…).  He’s always watching…observing. I say this not because I know Bob any kind of “well,” but because I’d actually caught him doing so one night at the PPWC hotel’s bar. I was a few feet away from him, hidden by and blending in with the indigenous human foliage. As I scanned the room, I spotted Bob. By himself. And what Bob was doing was…

Studying.

Assessing.

Taking in the lay of the land.

I watched as he took it all in…the people, the terrain, and (I assumed) who was a threat…who he could take…how he could take ’em…even his own method of extraction. I wondered what manner of Special Forces (SF) witchery he had concealed upon his person…you know, besides his hands, feet, elbows, and head. I was sure in a pinch he could use his ear lobes in ways that would make grown men cry…or perhaps a better way of stating this is that Bob would have men use their own ear lobes in ways that would make them cry….

Anyway, as I carried on my insipid, casual conversation…throwing out well-placed laughter here and there…I observed Bob. He seemed to flit in and out of existence (dang it, how does he do that?).

He was laser-like in his gaze. I imagined his mind…his physical vision…was something very much like the Terminator Vision, above…

Scan Mode…

Analysis: THREAT

Assessment: NEUTRALIZE

MALE HT: 510

WT: 0173

ENDOMORPH

INEBRIATED…HITTING ON UNINTERESTED HOT AGENT

Weapon Selection: LEFT PINKY

Weapon Employment: MAXIMUM DAMAGE/EMBARRASSMENT

Yeah, that’s how I see Bob. As the Terminator. When he looks at you he’s not really looking at you.

He’s looking through you.

Into your soul.

And it hurts.

He knows how you move…what your beliefs are…which foot you use to step forward with…what your dominant hand is…and what you had for breakfast…three nights ago…yeah, that’s right…nights. He knew you ate your breakfast for dinner that night. All by observing how you hold yourself, how you behave in public, hold your drink, your mannerisms. The lies you’re telling agents and editors…your friends (you bastard!).

Special Forces training.

Ninja Kung-fu sfumare training.

So, when I read that blog post, those—and similar passages—where he always asks different questions than your average non-Green Beret (like, “There’s what they are saying and there is what they are meaning.“), it brought me back to that dark, crowded bar. To observing the silent, restrained “Quiet Professional” (because, make no mistake about it, however Bob described himself to the public, to the unlucky target-of-opportunity who tries to strike up a conversation with him…at least at that point in his life…Bob was still wound up in his SF mode from what I observed…) as he continued to stalk the jungles of his past….

He was frigging sizing up everybody…the layout of the bar…and why those who built the bar built it the way they did…and what were (and are) their thoughts on the current political climate….

I returned to my conversation. Tossed out (I thought) a rather well-placed laugh.

When I next looked over to Bob—

He was looking directly at me.

Eyes laser-like. Full of knowing.

He took a sip from his drink.

Never blinked.

I peed my pants.

He fricking knew everything about me—I damned-well felt my soul being downloaded into him.

What does that feel like?

Like your guts are being sucked out through your you-know-what. And the accompanying vacuum is like a black hole in your colon.

He knew I’d been eying him.

Knew I thought I knew what he was doing….

I checked myself. Yup, still peeing my pants.

Felt Number 2 close at hand.

I blinked.

Gone. He was gone.

Had he ever really been there?

I saw him—or thought I did—a couple times after that…but every time I blinked, he was no longer there. Curiously, during the rest of the conference I had the strangest urge to tug at my earlobes, come to my feet, and belt out a few choruses of Zip-e-de-do-da! in the middle of conference sessions.

More SF Ninja mind tricks?

I may never know.

Anyway, I like how Bob thinks. His blog posts go counter to traditional thinking (pun intended). He analyzes everything.

Motivations. Outcomes. Potentials. Probabilities. Blueprints.

He is the very definition of Special Forces: unconventional.

He is someone to listen to. Learn from.

Observe.

But just realize that whatever you think you’re observing about Bob…is only part of the picture…if it’s even there at all.

Sfumare.

He’s a master at this stuff. A master at obfuscation.

A master of unconventional writefare.

And he has his Terminator Vision set on you.

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Fine Print: Mr. Mayer may surely be analyzing why I wrote this. Or not. In any event, I apologize, Mr. Mayer, for the current state of my mind and whatever you unearth in there. This post was written purely for the story and nothing else (it’s always about the story with me…even if it embarrasses me). No disrespect is intended to Mr. Mayer’s Green Beret background or himself as a person—I have nothing but respect for this guy and all his efforts in the publishing industry. He’s unconventional and forward thinking. We need more of this in many areas of life and I applaud him. Thank you, Mr. Mayer, for all you’ve done and continue to do…and thanks for not showing up behind me at my desk (yes, I just checked six…) after having posted this…

…at least I don’t think you’re that slightly different-looking part to my wallpaper I’ve never noticed before behind me and why the hell are my earlobes so damned itchy….

Bob Mayer’s Write on the River site: https://writeitforward.wordpress.com/

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