Random Thoughts for September 2016

I actually really liked Independence Day Resurgence. When I first saw it I kind of dismissed it and only recently upon reflection really enjoyed it. Sure, it's ridiculous beyond all comprehension, but it's still a really good time at the movies. Jeff Goldblum looks to be having a fantastic time, continuing on in his classic role from the original. Really, the only thing that really didn't sit well with me was the exclusion of Will Smith's character in a silly fashion. I'm sure they did it so that they could potentially bring him back for the sequel, but who knows if that's even going to happen now. Let's be clear: it's a terrible movie. I just enjoyed it.

I'm ready for Ronda Rousey to be back. The UFC Women's Bantamweight division has been sorely lacking since her hiatus. Holm, after destroying Tate for five rounds, lost the belt she earned from Rousey due to a rear naked choke she had escaped from earlier. Then "Cupcake" Tate put on a terrible title fight performance (after barely making weight, one minute before the time limit) against Amanda Nunez. Holm lost a fight to who is now the next contender, Valentina Schevchenko. A woman who lost a decision to Nunez that could have easily gone her way. Schevchenko is going to destroy Nunez, thus giving us ANOTHER champion in barely a year. Rousey is an animal. I've watched a lot of elite MMA fighters and Rousey is in a league of her own. She got overly emotional and thought she was invincible. She knows that's not the case now and, in a division that's playing hot potato with the title, it's only a matter of time before the queen returns to her throne.

UFC 202 was incredible and there is no controversy. It's unfortunate because the same type of thing happens with any big fight and I have a hard time being mad at it because without that kind of fight, I would have never been able to get into the sport (Rousey/Holm was my first PPV). There just happen to be several points of contention between those that watch the sport regularly and those that just tune in for big events, looking for knockouts. Conor wasn't running. The greatest ref in the entire game, Big John McCarthy, said he wasn't running. Watch more fighting if you think he was.

I don't like the casting of Zendaya as Mary Jane Watson. Apparently that makes me racist. She's a gorgeous young woman who is absolutely super model quality but she's not MJ. She's not a red-head and she's not Caucasian which, given the character's importance to a lot of people, I think is a slap in the face to fans everywhere. And please don't be fooled, it's racist. Just because it's a white person being changed, doesn't suddenly change the rules. If you want Peter Parker to be dating a black girl (which I'm totally down with) then create a new character for him to date, don't take one of the most popular Gingers in all of comics and take away a hero from children and adults alike.

I always like to pick an "underdog" team to root for every NFL season. Usually my pick is the Oakland Raiders but they don't really need it anymore. They have Derek Carr, Latavius Murray, Amari Cooper and a helluva great offensive line. They don't really need it. So instead I'll be rooting for the St Louis Los Angeles Rams. They've always had a team I liked but it never looked like it was worth investing in. And don't worry, I'll still root for the Patriots over anybody. I'm not losing my mind completely.

CM Punk fights for the first time tonight. And I couldn't be more excited. If you know me, you know that my favorite Professional Wrestler of all time is CM Punk. He is a big reason why I got back into wrestling back in 2009 and am forever grateful for that fact. Will he win tonight? It's anyone's guess but I know who I'll be rooting for and who my money is on. Win, lose, or draw, we're in for one helluva fight.

"The Crimson Summer" Q&A (SPOILERS)

This is the followup Q&A filled with spoilers so you'll have to highlight the text in order to be able to view it.

This is a slasher, why no opening kill?

I toyed with this idea for a little bit but ultimately decided against it. I figured it may be a risk, since there isn't a murder until a ways into the story, but was hoping the mystery in the set up would help to satiate anyone's lust for carnage. Since it didn't end up happening, I guess I can tell you what it was originally going to be: there was to be a prequel chapter that went over the events of 1991, from the perspective of the Killer. I liked the idea but thought it may be a little too cliche and ultimately decided against it. I thought the mystery of what happened in 1991 was much better than actually showing it, especially since's it is described by Liz later.

Where's all the sex?

I've gotten this question more times than I can count and I have a very simple answer for that: I felt weird writing it. Had the characters been a little older, I'm not sure if I would have had an issue but given their age, I did. With the violence, I felt that I was already pushing some boundaries and didn't want to go too far into the dark side on that front. Any of the characters that would have been having sex were below the age of 18 and so I didn't feel right going further into that. Things were already gratuitous enough and I didn't want to be classless. Do I regret it? Not really, as I already have felt awkward enough about my masturbation line and excessive drug use.

Why all the drinking and drug use?

This is a book about teenagers. I really think that about sums it up but if you somehow think that teenagers are innocent little angels, I have news for you. So that's why I included a lot of that. Most teens drink alcohol at some point and at least try marijuana. I didn't think it was an accurate portrayal unless I included that, especially since I was avoiding excessive sex.

Can we talk about THE KILLER?!

This is something that nearly everyone gets a hold of me about when they've finished the book. I've managed to keep it a secret from even my closest of friends/family (Marc still doesn't know who the killer is and he was there from the very beginning of my insane ideas for this book). So it's time to finally discuss it.
Carol was conceived to be the killer from almost the very beginning. There was a brief bit of time where I was toying with the idea of Carol and Al but I ultimately decided I wanted it to be entirely her idea. I think the idea that one person can do all of this damage and have such violence pent up inside them is terrifying. The original plan was to have the last words of the book reveal the identity of the killer but I ended up adding "See you real soon" because I thought it really showed how fucked up Carol is. I also thought that it capped things off well, while still letting the reader know that more is along the way.

I really have to thank Marc for opening my eyes to Carol. Originally she was much more overt and annoying in her obsession with Watanka. But after he told me she was his favorite character and he admired how much she loved her job, I changed my approach to the character. It made me see her main motivation as just serving the camp and ultimately that ended up being the catalyst for what made her crack. If you want to see the much more overt and annoying Carol, check out some of the chapters that I released nearly two years ago.

When will the sequel be out?

At this point, I have absolutely no freaking idea. Crimson Summer has been out for just over two months and I'm hard at work on Lies Our Family Tell Us which I am looking to get published. After that, work on the sequel will begin full force. I already have several ideas about where the book is going--Hell, I guess I don't have to beat around the bush. It will still be the slasher theme but I will tease that it will be taking place at a different location and Watanka will not be involved in any way, shape or form. I was really tempted to start right away, but I really want more reader feedback before I dive back into that world. See what worked and what didn't; which I think I have a pretty good idea of now. The only characters I can confirm as returning are Liz, Chase, and Carol.

"The Crimson Summer" Q&A (spoiler-free)

Ever since the release of the book I've been bombarded with questions of all shapes and sizes. In an effort to make it easier on both myself and those seeking answers, I've compiled a list of some of the most commonly asked questions regarding "The Crimson Summer."

I will be following up next week with one that answers all of the spoilery questions.

Where are the zombies?

This has repeatedly made me laugh because I didn't think that I had left the story such a mystery that people would even consider this a possibility. Unfortunately for zombie lovers though, www.zombievictim.com is simply the name of this here website and an online pseudonym I've had for over twelve years. Websites are usually included on the back of books, so I included my own without even thinking of what people would imply about the book's story. I doubt I will ever do a zombie story (the genre just doesn't interest me these days) so I hope I didn't disappoint anyone who got their hopes up.

Did you write yourself into any of the characters?

I get this question a lot because people close to me appear to see me in multiple characters which has been a little surprising. I was very conscious of how I made each character and how they acted/reacted to the world. Some were based on common Slasher tropes and others were an assembly of various personalities but none of the characters are based on anyone in my life nor myself. This has been a little bit of a difficult process in that many reader's have attributed some of the character's actions with my own line of thinking which couldn't be the furthest from the truth. So please don't attribute anything that my characters say/do with myself. I'm a writer. I make things up.

Funnily enough, if you had a gun to my head and asked which character was most similar to myself then I'd probably say Marion--a person no one has guessed as such. But, of course, she's a much more caring and empathetic person than me. She'd likely go on to do some noble cause like being a teacher. So even the character I consider most like me, is still far and away from myself.

Why a "Summer Camp Slasher" for your first book?

I needed something "simple" to write as I was already going to have enough challenges, given that it was my first book. There's no genre I know better than horror and, after having stayed away from the sub-genre for so long, I decided to go in full-stop. I've always felt that "Summer Camp Slashers" never really took advantage of the location. When I was a kid, prior to having seen the Friday the 13th films but still knowing of the character of Jason Voorhees, I would come up with these elaborate scenarios that never really came to pass once I saw the films. So Crimson Summer is my attempt to rectify that.

As far as what I mean by "simple to write", I mean that it had an easy to follow structure, that I knew like the back of my hand, and have a completed book on my hands. I didn't want to just write something and have a hundred thousand word convoluted mess. And a "slasher book" is something that doesn't really get written but I knew on name alone, people would know what it was about. The only trope I really deviated from was an opening kill, which I'll get into in the next post.

Was self-publishing difficult?

It certainly wasn't easy but the process itself isn't too hard as long as you put in the work. Just getting a completed first draft of a book is hard enough but then going through it over and over can be enragingly tough. Self-publishing means you have to go through the book with more a fine tooth comb than ever thought possible. I've read The Crimson Summer upwards of fifty times, once all drafts have been accounted for. This is actually the reason I still haven't read the print version of the book. I read the kindle version prior to launch for a last minute spelling/grammatical check but I haven't read more than a few passages of the print version yet. I plan to do that once work starts on a sequel and I need a refresh on the characters. But as of yet, nothing because I had to labor over it for so ridiculously long. There are spelling/grammatical errors in the book, I'm sure but, after having an editor and several people readthrough it before release, I'm okay with a couple mistakes slipping through the cracks. It's only natural.

Who is your favorite character?

At first, I thought that either Chase or Louie would be my favorite characters but as I wrote them, I got further away from what they were originally intended as. So Marion became my favorite character early on because of her drive. While she's wanting to provide these kids with a great summer, she also treats her Head Counselor position as simply a job. She doesn't do everything perfect and is the person so many other's lean on for support. Nearly everyone comes to Marion for help because they know she can handle it. It's hard not to like someone like that.

What's next?

I'm currently writing a horror/adventure story written from the first-person perspective. I've been writing it for about a month and a half and it's been going great. It's called Lies Our Family Tell Us and it's the most excited I've ever been writing a story. I'm finally able to go wild with my imagination and really do something that I've wanted since I was a kid: create my own unique world. There are creatures, there's fucked up shit happening, but ultimately its one characters journey to reach their full potential. I think that's something we can all relate to.

Stay tuned next week for the spoiler-filled portion of the Q&A.

Have a question that wasn't answered here? Email me at tylernicholswrites@gmail.com or leave a comment below!

Random Thoughts for July 2016

Netflix started doing this thing called "Flixtapes." I'm not entirely sure if it's anything other than a complete waste of time but I am enjoying making different playlists. It'll make things a lot easier when it comes to giving people movie suggestions and, as someone who is often asked for Netflix suggestions by a variety of people, this little tool comes in handy. Here's the first playlist I made (obviously horror related): CLICK HERE!

Shameless is absolutely fantastic. I've heard about this show for so long, and it's always been appealing to me, but I'd never taken the plunge. With Netflix adding the first four seasons, it was a no-brainer to finally dive right in. William H Macy plays against type and Emmy Rossum steals the show in what is a show that everyone should be watching. These are people who are breaking the law and doing so in order to survive and feed their family.

Having a book out is both weird and exhilarating. It's been a very exciting experience and one that I still don't quite understand. Autographing books and doing phone interviews are not something that I'd really even thought about having to do so soon. That always felt like something in the future.

The second book is coming along great. I was able to plan it so I could start my next book, while still in the marketing phase of book one. It's been a little difficult at times, but the circumstances have all lined up for the book to be done in this timeframe, so that's what I'm shooting for. Regardless, the book won't come out until next year, followed by a sequel to The Crimson Summer. It's a lot of work but those are the things I've planned out and know I'll be doing. Anything past that, I haven't really thought about.

Stranger Things is amazing but not for everyone. I was really hoping it'd be one of those shows that I can recommend to anyone and everyone but this is clearly for a niche audience that will love it passionately. Speaking of which, it's been awesome to have so many friends reach out to me about this show and say it's tailor-made for me. The recognition of some of my favorite things by friends has been great.

I absolutely adore "slice of life" movies. And no one does them better than Richard Linklater. From Dazed and Confused to Boyhood, he's always managed to provide insight into a decade long passed. Everybody Wants Some is just that and while it doesn't quite have the driving story of the other aforementioned films, it's still extremely satisfying. I had very high expectations for this "spiritual successor to Dazed and Confused" and it delivered. In fact, I'd say it's going to take a special kind of movie to knock it out of the top spot for favorite film this year.

I've been attempting to read more and more. Every month that passes, I've been trying to get through more reading than the previous. It doesn't always work out but it's been very mentally stimulating. If you want to see what I've been reading/am currently reading then head over to Goodreads.

Childhood All Summed Up

Jon Lajoie (Taco from "The League") has a new band, Wolfie's Just Fine, and they've released an awesome new music video inspired by "Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning."

I've watched this video at least five times now and I simply cannot get enough. Every aspect of this is aimed directly at me. It's hard for someone like me not to absolutely love this music video/song. While I didn't grow up in the 80's, the experience that this kid is going through is absolutely universal. That pure sense of helplessness as you watch some unsuspecting victim bite it is so unique to the horror genre. As a kid, I didn't fully understand how movies worked like I do now and was able to lose myself in them (something I wish I could do now). I WAS this kid.

I understand if you didn't have the same type of experiences growing up, I still believe this is a great video/song that is a lot deeper than the surface dictates. I keep watching the video and noticing new aspects that make it hit even closer to home. And the ending is just perfect.

Worried about violence? No problem.

Had to retake the "holding the book" pic for promotional purposes.

If there's one statement that has been prevalent when readers have been finishing up The Crimson Summer it's that "it's nothing like expected." So far, it's only been said in a positive light but it still made me wonder if I had done my job in promoting the book. Maybe I was making this seem like too "run of a mill slasher."

Let's get into the whole reason I wrote the book in the first place...

When I was a teenager I was absolutely obsessed with horror movies. It didn't matter what sub-genre it happened to fall into, I was watching everything and anything. My favorite sub-genre has always remained the same: slasher. A Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and, of course, Friday the 13th were all staples of my teenage years. I would watch these films on loop, adding in whatever other similar movies I could find (Pieces, Happy Birthday To Me, Aprils Fools Day, etc.). I dissected these movies and knew the formula better than I did the one's in my math homework (my Math grade often reflected that). These were still the days of "First Time On DVD!" releases and I would pick up whatever horror movie it happened to be, regardless of whether I had seen it or not. But that obsession just wouldn't stop. So I took to Amazon to find something else that could fill my time: books.

Little did I know that the book I was looking for never quite existed. Slasher books were not and still aren't much of a thing. The ones that are out there are usually based on film franchises and even those still fell to the same logistical issues of the movies from which they were based. That's when the idea came to me: why not just write my own book? It percolated for a period of time while I went and pursued screenwriting and film-making. Then, with a choice in front of me, I decided to finally pursue what I had been thinking about for over a decade.

So I started the process of making my slasher book come to life. I quickly decided that I wanted to do a more logical approach to Friday the 13th. My plan was to create many different characters, really have you get to know them, and them kill them off in horrific ways. I wanted to abide by the moral code set forth by so many slashers before it while also deterring from that to throw some red herrings into the mix.

BUY IT HERE!

I'm not going to pretend that the book came easy. There were a lot of long, sleepless nights where I labored over making sense of it all. This book brought me to tears as I would read long passages and just hate everything about it. I had more ups and downs with this book than I thought could be possible with a Word Document, but I made it out the other side with a book I'm extremely proud of. It's MY version of Friday the 13th, which is to say it's nothing like Friday the 13th at all. The only thing that The Crimson Summer has in common with F13 is that there's a killer at a summer camp. That's where it ends.

So if you're hesitant about the book because you're worried it's going to be tasteless sex and glorifying violence, please know that's not the case at all. While many horror facets take that approach, it's never been an appealing route and all important works of fiction, for me, have been reliant on the characters. So that has always been my primary focus, no matter what story I'm trying to tell. So if you're wanting a character piece, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy here. I promise you won't regret it.

A Word On The Crimson Summer

This article features VERY LIGHT spoilers for The Crimson Summer. It doesn't give away any plot points but there are vague scenes mentioned so if you want to go in 100% fresh, stop reading after the trailer.

Purchase it here: http://amzn.to/1OuwK17

The first week of release for my debut novel, The Crimson Summer, is drawing to a close. It's been awesome to see the support from people I never expected it from and exciting to engage with those that are reading/have already read it (Yes, there are people that have already finished the book and that is absolutely mind-blowing to me).

There were a lot of people that bought Day One that I wasn't expecting to pick the book up so fast due to their lack of interest in horror. But they picked it up. Despite their lack of interest towards the genre they supported me and that means the absolute world. Speaking of support in places I wasn't expecting, I had many of my past teachers pick up copies of the book. This has both excited and terrified me given that the first chapter deals with awkward masturbation and an odd obsession with frog guts. Here's hoping they'll be able to look at me the same.

If you're reading this and you haven't picked up a copy yet, please don't feel bad. I understand how life goes and picking it up right away isn't in the cards for everybody. I had to wait to purchase a good friend of mine's book because things were rough financially at the time of release. It happens. I don't hold it against you at all. Nor do I hold it against you if you bought it and are not able to read it immediately. Again, life happens and I understand that.

With all the comments from people who are reading/finishing the book, there are some things that I'd like to address, whether it's something I had planned on talking about or something that has been brought to my attention recently, I figured now was as good of a time as any.

First of all, no character in the book is based upon myself. I know that it's hard for people to differentiate the story from me, given that my narrative is a very conversational tone, and the narrator has my voice. This has lead to several people coming up to me as saying "XXXX character is totally you." I take it as a compliment as, given that there's no one I know better than myself, I purposely used small qualities of my own for some of the leads. But please, just because you see one aspect and go "Oh that's so Tyler", that doesn't mean the other aspects of the character are representative of me. No character is myself in the same way that none of the other characters in the story are based on anyone else in my life. Traits are traits and names are names.

There's a particular debate in the film on Superheroes that people keep thinking is me venting. It's not. I used that debate simply because it was one of the most prevalent ones in the world of pop culture because of the popularity of comic book movies right now. I wanted to represent that by having two characters talk about it in a way that I've seen over and over. There are some people that don't see that particular film as bad, but those aren't my characters. This was just another way for me to really get you to know these characters without taking up too much time.

I've also been getting questions about autographs. While I would absolutely love to have an option for autographs right now, that is just not in the cards. This is only my first book and I think it's a little pompous to have an "autographed" option. If you want to get my Herbie Hancock, then you will just have to do so in person. (note: for all of you Michigan folks, I should be back to visit in August, so if you want a signed copy, I can do it then.)

I have plans to do a Q&A in a month, so that should answer anything that I haven't answered here. I didn't want to go into too many details because I know the majority of people have not reached the end yet. The Q&A will be spoiler laden and answer some of the lingering questions you may have upon reaching the final page. Not all questions will be answered as there are some things in the book that are intentionally vague but I'll do my best to expand upon the ones I can answer.

I know that this is getting old and tired but I really have to thank each and every one of you that has purchased the book. Having so much support has been amazing and really makes all the hard work worth it. I can only hope that it just keeps spreading and opens up to more and more people because as great as royalties are, the real joy is getting to talk to fans of the book. Creating a world is hard work but having people invested in it?

Worth it.

The Crimson Summer - AVAILABLE NOW!!!

Synopsis: Summers at Camp Watanka are never easy. The buildings are dilapidated and the heat can be scorching, but for the teenage campers the greatest threat of all is the social minefield they must endure. Until this Summer. When strange disappearances start occurring, the threat becomes deadly, turning the camp into a fight for survival. A fight that few will get out of alive. Told from the perspective of a different camper or counselor each chapter, follow their journey to discover the mystery behind Watanka, and whether they'll become a hero or just another victim...

I'm so excited to announce that my first novel, "The Crimson Summer", is available NOW! That's right, you can just head over to Amazon and see what I've been up to for these past two years. There's a physical version and a digital version available. It's also available at various retailers but Amazon has the best deal, so that's where I'd recommend.

BUY IT HERE!!!

This book features drug use, violence, and excessive swearing (can't really make a slasher featuring a bunch of teenagers without those) so if any of those things offend you then this book may not be for you. I still think that the journey with the characters is worth it but that's a decision to be made by you and I respect whatever you fall upon (just don't ask me for a free copy.).

I hope that you enjoy the book and please feel free to write to me and let me know what you thought. It's been a blast interacting with the people that have read it thus far and I can't wait to discuss it more. Don't forget to leave a review on Amazon, that way others can see what you thought of it as well. Most of all, I hope that you enjoy your journey to Camp Watanka as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks for all of the support,
Tyler