Tag: writing

Posted on

The Pain and My New Commitments to You

In this post, I’m going to cover a couple of cool things you may want to be involved in. It’s about a new show, a new book and a new life for both of us.

What you might now know about me is, in addition to writing crime novels and dark fantasy, I’m a Registered Massage Therapist with over 20 years experience in injury rehabilitation and the treatment of disease conditions. (See?)

I work at being an RMT part-time to cobble together an income that finances my writing. At the moment, I’m working very little and things are looking pretty bad. It turns out, I have to work on myself to save myself from myself. I’m going to help you save yourself, too. Here’s what happened:

The Twist

A couple of weeks ago I was home alone. Naturally, since no one could see me, I cranked up some tunes and worked on getting some exercise. Writing is incredibly sedentary so I have to work out when I can. Two minutes later, I twisted my knee by dancing too hard.

Ow. How ridiculous. And OW!

So…shit. Now what? I suspect it’s a medial meniscus tear. Basically, that’s the cushion in the knee and my cushion isn’t working right. The pain has been so bad sometimes that I sweat. Sleep is elusive. When the pain gets intolerable, I use a cane.

Next on the menu: painkillers, ice, chiropractic, exercise, alignment techniques, manual therapy, bracing, cupping, heat and kinesiotape. Turmeric supplements (and lots of the natural spice) helps with joint inflammation. Analgesic creams aren’t touching the pain at all. I can normally squat the whole rack at the gym but I don’t dare do that right now. In fact, the stairs up to the weight room are intimidating and I have to be very careful.

I saw the doc today.

An X-ray and MRI is scheduled. It’s up to me to rehab my way out of trouble before a surgeon decides to get in there with flamethrowers, holy water and hot pokers. There’s ultrasound at my clinic and my friend the chiropractor is excellent, too. Arthroscopy isn’t as popular a solution as it once was, but I’m hoping the answer to my pain will be nothing more than rehabilitative exercise. Fortunately, I’m an expert in that.

Working my way out of pain is one of my part-time jobs now.

It doesn’t pay, but it’s going to feel great to be healthy again. In fact, I’m aiming for more than just going back to normal. I want to be super again. Doesn’t everybody want to feel super? My goals include weight loss (also great for knees and osteoarthritis) and a healthier, more active lifestyle. That can be hard for a writer who often sits still for hours at a time. However, I’ve got a plan for that and it’s already in action. No whining necessary!

I’ve still got writing projects going and collaborators and readers depending on me. My collaborators are patient, but I’m not.

A couple of part-time gigs are in the works to try to make ends meet. Standing at a massage table all day is too much pain at the moment, so I’m off that work for now. I’m dedicating a huge chunk of each day to try to fix my damn knee quickly. However, my plans are bigger than one knee. I’m thinking about your knees, too.

THE PROJECTS

Book sales have tapered off lately so I have to get the next book in the Ghosts & Demons Series revised, edited and beta read etc. and out there! I’m pretty close to finished with the book. Number two in the series is called The End of the World As I Know It and I’m really happy with it. It’s got jokes, action and swordplay galore. Very Buffy.

I am asking for help, but I also plan to give more help. (More on that below.)

If you can spot a typo at arm’s length or shoot an arrow through a plot hole at twenty paces, please join my Steel Falcon Beta Read Team. You’ll get a first look at what happens to Tamara Smythe in the demon apocalypse and laugh your ass off, too. If you want to join the Choir Invisible, just email me at expartepress [AT] gmail [DOT] com with the subject line: STEEL FALCON.

Please note: If you haven’t read The Haunting Lessons (the first book in the series) yet, that’s okay. Your help as a beta reader is appreciated immensely and you’ll get acknowledgement in the book, too.

Now, about that love and joy I’m going to spread around:

Very soon, I’ll launch a health program with daily updates for anyone who cares to follow. I’m hammering out details now, but this is about exercise, eating right and accountability. It’ll involve reports on my progress, exercise tips and tricks to get healthier. This is for me because I need to get on track, but it’s also for readers, viewers and a lot of people I don’t know. Everyone needs to eat and act healthy. I’ll lead by example and report the truth of my successes and failures. I’ll measure every mile of the journey. The reports will keep me on track and I hope they inspire you.

Soon you’ll see posts from me on Vine, Instagram and here, at AllThatChazz.com. Subscribe if’n you ain’t already!

If you’re on the Fitbit, go to Fitbit.com, find Chazz (me!) and be my friend there to kick things off.

This commitment will bleed over to the All That Chazz podcast, as well. This post is already too long, so I’ll talk about that in the next podcast.

How about it?

 Join the fight to live healthier every day. Join me. I’ll share my struggle and encourage you in yours. Soon, I’ll get my health, my job and life back. This isn’t the end. It’s the speed bump before a new beginning. I believe in beginning again. Do you?

~ Steel Falconers: email me at expartepress [AT] gmail [DOT] com.

The rest of you, get a good pair of sneakers out and get a fitbit. First goal: Get at least 10,000 steps every day. I’ll catch up to you soon, and I won’t be hobbling around on a cane!

Posted on

The End of the World As I Know It: Armageddon just got even more Buffy

Holly and I are finishing the manuscript for the next book in the Ghosts & Demons Series. It’s called The End of the World As I Know it and should be released in April.

NEW G & D COVER

This is a draft cover with a quote from Alex Kimmell, author of The Key to Everything. He was talking about the first book in the series, The Haunting Lessons. I’m hoping he’ll like this one, too. Well. I hope everyone likes it. (Please leave a review. We always need more reviews!)

This fun, dark fantasy series tracks Tamara Smythe, a young woman from Iowa who can see ghosts and demons. She joins a secret society dedicated to defending the human race from demons from another dimension. As Tam’s journey evolves, she shares lessons she’s learned about how to combat evil and survive Armageddon. It’s fun, packed with action, jokes and pop culture references (like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for instance!)

Are you a book blogger, reviewer or typo spotter? If you’d like an advanced reading copy for beta reading or for early reviews, please email us at expartepress [AT] gmail [DOT] com. Cheers!

Posted on

On Writing and Word Jazz: When anything could happen

I’m listening to “Wind” by Ibrahim Maaloouf. I am inside and outside of the music at the same time. It’s smoky, bluesy jazz, the sort that uses rich, full notes to have a conversation with your soul about emptiness. I am acutely aware of my aching distance from this bar scene, this cherished scar. 

The air is blue. Maybe that’s the lighting or maybe that’s the hanging cigarette smoke, curling and twisting slowly. Maybe that’s my mood. Maaloouf’s muted trumpet is the instrument most like a mournful loon echoing across a lake at night.

The floor is sticky with splashed beer and spilled grenadine. We swirl our drinks, making them last. We all sway slightly in Maaloouf’s wind, to the feelings the musician stirs. Each breath is heat and lime, igniting need and imagination. Rum is a pickpocket, slipping away with our shyness. The city makes us turn away from each other, avoiding eye contact. Maaloouf, in this bar, now, lets us meet each other again.

The suits are sharp and the ties are leather and thin. The fedoras are not ironic. The curvy woman at the bar wears fire engine lipstick. She looks my way as she sucks an ice cube. Cue glances that turn to smouldering gazes and flirtatious smiles. We are each other’s next glorious mistake. Once we leave this room, anything could happen.

Remember when anything could happen? 

The waiting, melancholy rain makes me want to linger over our drinks, contemplating possibilities. There is sadness, but it’s the romantic kind to revel in. It’s okay to be honest about my feelings on a night like this. I won’t be so free to be honest again until I’m in my seventies.

When I listen to Maaloouf, I’m not even thirty. I am awake and I won’t even think of making my way home to my own bed until dawn. Twenty-six? Twenty-seven? The slide has begun, sure, but I can still say my potential isn’t wasted. Not yet. 

I wish I played jazz. I could still write but I could riff. I could play the same song over and over and my audience would plead to hear it again, exactly the same. I could produce art in three or four-minute sprints of genius instead of book-length marathons. You’d dig it and I’d be cool. Every night would be this night, real and unreal, a scene from a movie before the complications ensue.

If I were Maaloouf, I’d hear the applause from the stage. From my desk…. No.

I’m listening to “Wind” by Ibrahim Maaloouf. There is sadness, but it’s the romantic kind to revel in. I can almost taste the santo libre. 

Posted on

#Podcast: Wombats and Brickbats


Meet Joe Contradiction! He’s a sweet old guy, and by that I mean his blood sugar is alarmingly high. Have some sweet tea, listen to the crickets and enjoy!

This podcast is sponsored by Kit Foster of KitFosterDesign.com, who is not in any way responsible for any content that crosses your eyes, sets your hair on fire and makes you uncomfortable. For all your graphics needs, check out Kit’s portfolio at KitFosterDesign.com.

It’s Feb 3, 2015 and seven of my books are marked down to 99 cents within the next 24 to 48 hours. It’s a pulse sale. That means the deals won’t last long. Head to AllThatChazz.com and click the affiliate links in the sidebar to the right to get your next book of fun, fantasy and danger cheap!

If you enjoy the new format for the show, please leave a review so more people can find the  my new weird.

Cheers and thanks for listening!

~ Chazz

Posted on

Book reviews: In case you didn’t know…

Sometimes when I review a book, I do a video review. Yes, you can do that on Amazon. For instance, yesterday I gave a review to Audiobooks for Indies by Simon Whistler. If you have the time, video reviews are great.

However, if you don’t have the time, a review doesn’t have to be an elaborate, divinely crafted time suck. Just a sentence or two saying you want to join the cult and have the author’s babies will do just fine.

Seriously, though, if you enjoyed a book, please do spread the word. That’s how the last book makes the next book possible.

For your consideration. Thanks! Now go have a great day, or make it a great day.

~ Chazz

Posted on

The All New All That Chazz


This is a rising from the ashes, let’s go crush our enemies type of thing. Buckle up for a brand new Chazz, full of fun.

As we bury the old podcast, we explain how the pit bull’s lipstick has faded but we won’t podfade! This podcast is short, punchy and full of jokes and not a little self-loathing. It’s a new year and a new do. 

This podcast is sponsored by the sweet mad genius, Kit Foster of KitFosterDesign.com. For all your graphics and advertising needs, hit him up. Don’t forget to tell him Chazz sent you.

See you in a few days. In the meantime, please subscribe for updates, advanced reading copies, review copies, deals and more through AllThatChazz.com. That’s also a great place to get your books. (Look to the sidebar to your right for suspense, thrillers, and more of the funny.)

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the new All That Chazz podcast, please leave a review to spread the word of my resurrection.

Cheers!

~ Chazz