Relentless Writing

dexbonus: leecario: ive been scrolling through tumblr and been reading people post “o I never...

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 16:34:05 -0500

leecario:

ive been scrolling through tumblr and been reading people post “o I never found a valentine” and junk like that

so i say we do some old kindergarden shit on valentines day and stick together like we used to.

we should send each other drawings, cute pics, compliments, videos, whatever to each other

were all getting valentines this year

reblog so we can try to spread this

aww this is a cute idea :)

Dragonborn (Skyrim DLC)

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:29:48 -0500

Where to begin? Dragonborn is aesthetically great. That’s a good place to start, I think. The music is a three-way mix between the Skyrim soundtrack, a few new tracks and, best of all, some of the old Morrowind songs. Visually, Solstheim is distinct from Skyrim as I knew it would be. The south of the island ow looks more like Vvardenfell than the Solstheim I remember from Bloodmoon ever since the red Year, but more on that later. The north is mostly glacial ice, with a small band of snowy pine forests in between. The things that reappear from Morrowind like bonemold armor, Redoran bugshell houses and Telvanni Mushroom Towers look like graphically enhanced versions of the same visual style of it’s predecessor. Apocrypha, the realm of Oblivion the player will get to visit, is an infinite library that is visually distinct from all other locations in the series so far and is, in terms of gameplay, a lot more of what Oblivion should have done with it’s Daedric realms.

The lore books are good, adding some new info on Solstheim and finally explaining “Red Year” in detail. Also, we learn what the Dunmer people think of the Tribunal 200 years after the events of Morrowind. Really, the whole DLC, being both the first time a location appears twice since Arena and the second time a character has recurred in the series is a load of fanservice for Elder Scrolls lovers.

There are two main plots, the Dragonborn story which has a lot of awesome buildup and a lackluster-but-not-terrible ending and a villain whose character arc can be given the same description and the Telvanni plotline, where you work with the wizard Neloth. The latter is my favorite quest line in all of Skyrim and it’s DLCs. Both are interesting, but while the Telvanni arc is better written the Dragonborn story has a lot more gameplay rewards like several new Shouts and weapons.

All in all, the best Skyrim DLC yet and I hope they top it with the next one, whatever that may be.

A Guy Steals a Loaf of Bread: and shit goes down Seriously,...

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 21:02:29 -0500

A Guy Steals a Loaf of Bread: and shit goes down

Seriously, guys.

miraaks: i tried to illustrate vivec’s trial because it didn’t...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:47:15 -0500

miraaks:

i tried to illustrate vivec’s trial because it didn’t make any sense before so i made it make more sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

And that’s where Vivec went between Morrowind and Oblivion.

Back to work

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:04:04 -0500

So my little vacation from writing in a serious capacity has extended from the release of King of the Water Roads until a few days ago. I dug up a dusty old project and have determined it’s time to give it a try from an adult perspective (I finished the first “draft” at seventeen, with the expected results). I know more in terms of how to write, mythology, fantasy and just plain life experience, and I still have faith in the core subject matter, so I think it could work.

mydrunkkitchen: Soup kitchening it up w/...

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:35:54 -0500

mydrunkkitchen:

Soup kitchening it up w/ @epicmealtime.

EHRMAGEHRD MDK AND EMT!

My week

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 20:15:14 -0500

Was insane. Apparently the hardest project to pass through the office in some time landed right on my desk Monday. It got so crazy that I was drinking shitty vanilla brandy just to keep my shoulders below my forehead-level.

By today, I was basically delirious with tiredness. To the point where, as I walked home from lunch, this was my thought process (I’ll try to preserve the cadence via use of italics):

“I wish I could find a vending machine, I could kill a soda right now. And a deer. Then I’d eat the deer… while drinking the soda!”

Yeah. Also, it snowed. It was really pretty, but all of my shoes have holes in them. So that’s a thing. But I worked a lot, so I get paid a lot.

…Buy my book!

More tech, a note, a confession and the usual.

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 19:28:05 -0500

Only in reverse order.

The usual is, of course, that I would love for you all to tell people to buy my book. And yes, I know that I’ve linked it before, but my hands now have an impulse reaction to wrap the phrase “my book” in the link the first time it’s said in a given conversation. In any case, while I’m not an impartial judge I think people will enjoy it.

The second, and this is related, is a confession. I really don’t give a damn about the Wii U. I like Nintendo. I grew up on Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is my favorite game from before the era of behind-the-back cameras and 3D motion. Ocarina of Time is my favorite game of my childhood period, and I still love to play it and all main console Zelda games when I get the chance. But do you notice a pattern? The only game that I consider among the gaming greats on a Nintendo console that isn’t a Nintendo IP is Tales of Symphonia for the GameCube. And beyond that, I’ve played the Mario game already. The only game I’m looking forward to on the Wii U is the only Nintendo franchise that really interests me anymore, the inevitable eventual Zelda game.

The note is, really, related to both of the above. One of the many, many reasons I want the book to sell is to justify getting a Wii U. Because I want to play whatever new Zelda games come, but my days of buying consoles based on interest in a single game are on hold until I make another digit or more a year. I mean, I bought the xbox based on KotOR and I found many other serieses, like the Elder Scrolls, that I like better, and bought a 360 for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and have found many games but no serieses I like better, but I’m older and more cautious now. Too cautious to try that trick a third time.

And here’s the tech, related to all. Libboo’s system is there to gamify selling my book, and the books of others on their site. Members (and joining is free) get points for every time someone clicks a “buzzer” link, which can be got from the book’s page. The buzzers with the most points at the end of the week get free copy codes to use or distribute as they see fit. The best buzzers on the site get a free nook with all the books published via Libboo on them. And the week’s counter just reset, so now is the perfect time to join.

Well, this upcoming week is looking pretty busy, on account of we’re still recovering from the aftereffects of Sandy hitting New York, where our parent company is based, so I won’t be on very much. Hell, I might not even be able to star at the countdown timer for the RvB season 10 finale because I’ll still be out. You guys can help with that by convincing people to get enough copies of my book that I can write full time.

Because after all, “it’s good to have ambition.”

I love Deadpool.

Sat, 03 Nov 2012 16:24:48 -0400

I love Deadpool.

I did it!

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:31:20 -0400

I have a book out!

King of the Water Roads is for sale on Libboo for $1.99 a pop. But here’s the trick, Libboo offers prizes for registered buzzers who plug books a lot. Since I am a registered user, that means I am eligible for prizes on my own book.

So, who wants to compete with me? Who wants to beat me at my own game and sell more copies of that book than the writer himself? If you do, just try me. Even if you don’t, it’s a super cheap fantasy novel and it’s pretty short, to boot, so you can get a nice little chunk of story to fill a weekend. Make sure to tell all your friends!

My book comes out in two days!

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 22:00:15 -0400

If you’re into the whole facebook scene, I made a page for the book itself and an event page for the book’s release via Libboo, an affiliate of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Give me a hand, guys. Due to expenses accrued during production I need to sell five hundred copies to break even. Some of you may recognize that number as the ballpark estimate of a successful first novel. That is the case, so I have some work to do and I would appreciate your help. Even if you can’t buy it for lack of money or lack of e-readers, any time you can spare to spread those links (and starting November 1st, the links to the book itself on kindle and nook) is time I need.

I know a whole chunk of you have way more followers than I do. The more people I can get this book to, the more time I can write more books (and faff about on video games), so even thirty seconds to mention it in a journal or a tweet is a big help.

So, let’s get to the metaphorical ass-kicking, shall we?

I owe you one plug

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 17:35:14 -0400

Thanks Megan!

Hey that Let’s Talk Fantasy Books blog is pretty cool. “She plugs my book and doesn’t afraid of anything.”

She’s also a seemingly limitless source of fantasy .gifs, so if you want those definitely give her a follow.

Boston Book Festival!

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:26:44 -0400

I’ll be there! I have a mustache and a black cowboy hat, so say “hi” if you see me. I’ll be plugging King of the Water Roads there and chilling with Libboo.

Come check it out!

The King arrives November 1st!

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 20:56:44 -0400

My book, King of the Water Roads: The Violet Scar, arrives on ebook November 1st!

Any and all readers and lovers of fantasy, check out the link and tell all your friends! This will have to suffice for my Friday blog, because I am beat after my celebration workout. Speaking of celebrations, everyone is invited to the pre-release party, going on from a few days ago until the release itself on the facebook page!

November Decisions

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:25:13 -0400

In November, Americans and truly all citizens of the civilized world will have to make a vital, life-changing decision.

They will have to decide whether to buy my book on Nook or Kindle. BOOSH!

King of the Water Roads: The Violet Scar is coming November 1st via Libboo, the first novel by me, Joseph Mazzola.

In the kingdom of Markasia, guardsman Garth Gerisson is branded a traitor. He escapes among the very fugitives he once herded towards execution and must find a life worth living in a land with no resources and no law outside the word of a near-absentee king and the cold law of steel.

Youtube fans

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:29:16 -0400

I play a little game with myself sometimes. I try to see which fanbase, as represented on Youtube comments, is the worst ever. Naturally, youtube comments are legendary for being the place where sexually frustrated teenage boys seem capable of venting only by anonymously hurling obscenities at the entertainment choices of other people who live hundreds of miles away. Therefore, what I am about to say does not besmirch the fanbase of the winning category as a whole.

And the winner is (dudududududududududududududududududu…. that’s my impersonation of a drumroll) music.

Now, let me explain why. I have only once in my life seen someone say a book wasn’t a “real book.” I have never seen someone dislike a game or film subgenre and offhandedly declare that anything in them was not a real film. People may insult anyone who plays call of Duty (not sure why) but I, at least, have never seen someone just come out and say that FPS games are not “really” video games.

Then there’s music. Go to a dubstep video on youtube. Pretty much anything that isn’t by Lindsey Stirling (who is awesome). Count the comments that say dubstep isn’t “really music.” Or hell, if you have a time machine, call me. But first, use it to go back to when Metal was new, or rock even. Ask people about it. How many people said that it wasn’t “real music?” Usually the line was that it was “just random noises and screaming.” Or rap! When I was in junior high, if I had a dollar for every time someone said rap wasn’t really music, but was “just people talking about how awesome rape and violence are,” I wouldn’t be worrying over my job hours this week.

So okay, maybe this does reflect on more than just youtube fans. My bad. Either way, think about that. Entire genres of music are slapped with the “it’s not real music” label. I don’t see that in any other media. I assume it must happen, but not nearly as much.

I have a lot of things on the brain today, so expect a blog bonanza out of me this weekend.

Hella week

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 18:08:44 -0400

I went to a concert and kept pace with a train on foot. That was interesting. Either way, I’m hoping to write some extra stuff this weekend. it’ll be great.

Time flies

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 22:19:33 -0400

It really does. But something happened this weekend I’ve been wondering about for a long time, so I figure I’ll talk about it.

It’s not uncommon for me to wake up before I have to. Usually it’s only by a few minutes, so I just doze then get up. But today, it was a little different.

This morning I woke up at 6:30. That’s my normal weekday time to wake up, because work. Today is Sunday, for those of you who don’t keep track, and therefore the only day I don’t need to get up early on an average week. So I went back to sleep. It should be noted I went to sleep last night at 1:30 AM after a pretty good Skyrim session, so I had done what I could consider a full night’s sleep.

I fell back to sleep near-instantly and when I woke again it was noon.

I’ve often wondered what would happen if I had two separate full night’s sleeps back to back. In the interest of science I will tell you the effects: I was groggy and because I had been longer than usual without caffeine, even asleep, I had a headache. All in all, I’ll sleep once in a day-night cycle from now on. Next experiment: will a cheddar cheese stick give me weird dreams?

I love youtube

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 21:14:35 -0400

Right now I am loading up a few random vlogs and some let’s plays. All of them, I know in advance, will be absolutely great. I just want everyone to take a few moments to appreciate that the internet allows us to find and share talent across the world who, if they had started even a few years ago, nobody outside of their own neighborhood would ever have heard of.

My recommendations for his week are Hannah Hart (MyHarto and YourHarto), Dodger (PressHeartToContinue and DexterityBonus) and, of course, Rooster Teeth (… RoosterTeeth).

Oh, and this bit here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDaPwWtBVDY&list=PL385418DE435359E6&index=23&feature=plpp_video

Just a cool remix some random dude did and put on the internet for our amusement. Any other huge Vegeta fanboys out there? You’ll love this.

Libboo Pilot!

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 19:17:40 -0400

Hey everybody, the Libboo Pilot is a thing now!

Enough reblogging for the moment, let me tell all of you that Libboo’s pilot is finally happening. I don’t know exactly when my book will be out, but you can sate your appetite for good books until then with the e-book of The Heart and the Fist.

I am also using this blog to demonstrate the new “buzzing” idea. The more people click that link, the higher I go on a scale of one to Fernando measuring how good a buzzer I am. It will help to build my brand so more people are aware of me when King of the Water Roads: The Violet Scar drops. So definitely give that book a peek as you wait, I hope with bated breath, for mine.