Alienus Tempus the Memoir Reboot

I have decided (once again) to work on my memoir. It is of the same name as the novel, Alienus Tempus.

That being the case, I will not have the first draft of Alienus Tempus the novel by the end of this year. Most of the

groundwork for the memoir has been completed for some time, but for a reason that now eludes me I decided to work

on the fictionalized version of my life, which would be the novel.

I guess sometimes I think that what has transpired in my life is so unbelievable that people would simply not believe

those things to have happened. Therefor, I thought that a "fictional autobiography" (aka... the novel) would be a better

medium. And though I do intend to finish the novel one day, for various reasons I cannot publicly disclose as of yet, I

am compelled to work on the memoir once again.

I have no definite time frame, though I hope to have if complete and publishable some time in March 2015.

I will be keeping the facebook page for Alienus Tempus the novel active as I definitely intend to finish in the future.

Soon, I will be creating a facebook page for Alienus Tempus the memior. I plan that page to be more active than the

novel page was. There will be several multimedia additions and excerpts to the page.

I will post the link when it is available.

I hope to see some of you there...

Clarion Write-a-Thon

I just joined the the Clarion annual Write-a-Thon. It begins Sunday, June 22 and runs for 6 weeks. It coincides with the actual physical Clarion Writer's Workshop for Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers.

There are about 18 who actually are chosen from an application pool. When I'm published (eventually, I promise) I will be eligible for the actual workshop held at UC San Diego.

Please click on my profile and browse the site to see what it's all about. Then consider donating to the Clarion Writer's Workshop (through my profile) so that future students will be able to attend the workshop in San Diego. The fundraising goals will help those future workshoppers and will allow me to be eligible for certain gifts as well. If I raise $250 I get a critique from a Clarion graduate. I'm setting my goal at $100. If $20 is donated from my profile I can become part of a team of other Write-a-Thonners.

I have recently pledged to finish a first draft of my novel, Alienus Tempus, by the end of this year. If I can make my writing goal of 10,500 words, it'll be a great boost to accomplish that goal.

Hope you check out my profile and at least cheer me on through facebook. Thanks!

Clarion Write-a-Thon member page

Alienus Tempus Facebook page

Book Time

I realize that I've yet to indicate which books I read in January and will have read this month.

So, here they are...

1. WWW. WATCH (book 2 of the WWW trilogy) by Robert Sawyer - paperback
2. Where Do You Get Your Ideas? by Fred White - paperback
3. Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu - audiobook
4. The Art of War by Sun Tzu - audiobook

I'm not going to make my quota for this month (at least unless I get a wild hair up my a%$). I've been sick with the most stupid ailments this month and part of last. Sinus infections, post nasal drip, and now the post nasal drip is causing chest congestion which could lead to pneumonia, I can't get any women to talk to me online and I don't get out much so I don't know many in person (ok, the last may have been TMI, but, there ya' have it).

1. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem - interchanged between audiobook and ebook
1. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius -interchanged between audiobook and ebook

It seems that I'm having a tendency to listen to audiobooks when they are available. I think this is because I can walk while listening and do other mindless household chores. Even though, I should be doing everything I can mindfully, even those pesky dishes. All in the name of efficiency, eh?

I'm also thinking that instead of working on the science-fictional autobiography (which, I don't think anyone including myself is quite ready for), I've decided to turn the very first story I wrote (in 2002) of about 16k words into a novel. I think it's doable and it will be enjoyable.

It's tentatively called Sub-U, since 2002, and bears some thematic and plot similarities with Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, and a combination of Ubik, Maze of Death and Eye in the Sky by Philip K Dick.

A Brave New Plan

Just the third week into the new year, and I've decided to tweak my goal of reading one book a week for the remainder of the year.

For just over a month I was out of commission due to a series of upper respiratory infections and sinus infections with a tooth abscess on top. I began reading my first book, WWW.WATCH by Robert Sawyer shortly after Jan 1st, but it was a slow process. When you are down, it's difficult to complete things you know you need to. I rebelled, kicked and screamed all the way until early Monday morning Jan 20th when I finally completed it. It's not that I didn't enjoy the book (I did for the most part). It took 2 rounds of antibiotics only to determine the little buggers were resistant to it. That was 20 days being ill and no relief. It wasn't until I began a 3 day regime of Zithromax that the infection began to slow and I started feeling better. OCD and ADD hardly ever help the situation.

However, I did indeed finish the book in 2 weeks. Last year I picked it up and read the first 40 pages at least on 4 or 5 occasions. Even this late achieved goal led me to completion. So, goal setting really does work. Now for the tweaks I was talking about.

I intend to read (or listen to) at least 4 books in any given calendar month. This leaves me some leeway should I fall ill or some other series of unfortunate events occur. The lesser restrictions benefit the ADD part of me. I realize I made the initial goal of 1 book a week to combat the ADD. Oh well. Come on, throw me a bone. I'm still reading more material than I have in a long time.

The efficiency is much better overall. For example, should I finish a book 2 days before the "week" was over, I'd be uncertain about beginning another for fear that I could not complete it within the 2 days allotted. This caused more anxiety than what remaining time on the schedule was worth. With the new method I can begin that book anyway.

Have any of you tweaked a resolution or goal to suit your needs at the time? I'd like to hear from you.

Book-A-Week & Outline-A-Month

I'm sure the Blogosphere is bound to be buzzing like busy bee's considering this is the time that many will be posting their goals, resolutions, and projects for the upcoming year. This is a good a time as any to throw my lot in the mix and reacquaint myself to the Blogosphere. I've decided to undertake another New Year's resolution/challenge. This is but one of many, however, I would like to have some accountability for this one. And since it involves writing, I'll make that intention here.

I haven't been doing much writing or reading for that matter. OCD and ADD can do that to you. Couple that with being undisciplined and I'm a complete disaster.  It's a long and slow journey. Like the Chinese philosopher Laozi said  "A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".  

I am going to attempt to read at least one book a week during this calendar year of 2013. I hope that the practice will carry on to my remaining years. There is so much to read and so little time. For me, this seems like an olympic leap than a small step, however, because I'll be focusing mostly on the reading and the outlining (and exercise of course) I will push some of these other worries, burdens, and aspirations to a dark hidden crevice in my mind. That's right. I said aspirations. I have so much I want to do and learn and because of the OCD and ADD, it precludes me from this. So it stands to reason that this may actually help with my OCD and ADD since I'll be narrowing my focus by not taking on too much of a variety of things. Reading and Outlining/Writing Novels. That's all I'm about this year. To hell with everything else, I say!

I've already made some selections that I'll read for sure.  I'll post a tentative schedule soon. Feel free to comment about my choice of selections and the selections themselves. And if you would like to join me in your own Book-A-Week, let's get in touch.

I plan on reading from a fairly broad variety of both fiction and nonfiction books. Most of the fiction will be from the Science Fiction and Hi-Tech Thriller genres. There is some fantasy I want to delve into.  On the nonfiction side, I'll be reading mostly popular science and philosophy books. Those I have chosen or will choose will be books that I find relevant to the research I need for my novel and story ideas.

This week I'll be reading WWW:WATCH, the second of the WWW trilogy by Robert J Sawyer. The first I read about 2-3 years ago. I plan on finishing Sunday at the latest.

I'm also going to begin a nonfiction writing book, Where do You Get Your Ideas? by Fred White. I'm allowing up to 2-3 weeks to finish this one, although I'm shooting for 1-2.

My first day has now begun, but the week will usually begin on Monday and end on Sunday.

I'm also planning on completing one novel outline (detailed, if possible) a month. 

I hope to post more often in the future. I'll certainly have more writing related posts to share. 
So... if you'd like to join me on this adventure, I'll be happy to have you on board. 

Happy New Year to all and good luck with all your goals and resolutions...

Frank Bertrand writings about PKD on Scribd

Frank Bertrand has been a Philip Dick fan since probably before I was born. In the 70's and 80's he conducted several interviews with Phil, and has written extensively about him since Phil's death.

I read a few of his articles when I first had the "PKD connection" on 6-23-2002. I'll be rereading those articles and even more for the first time.

His writings can be found here at Scribd

I've got a lot of rereading to do so I can complete this memoir. I'm looking forward to it.

Thank you, Frank, for all the time and hard work you have put in for the PKD community.

My Memoir Kickstarter Project Launched

I've officially launched my Kickstarter project today. Kickstarter is a fundraising site for creative projects. In this model, one launches a project and sets a deadline to meet their funding goal (1-60 days). If the funding is not met then the project will not be funded. It is an all-or-nothing situation.  Rewards (usually in the form of the finished product, e.g. books, CD's, DVD's, ect.  The more you donate, the better the rewards. Also rewarding, is knowing that you will help someone fulfill one of their dreams, that they may not have been able to do otherwise.

My memoir, called Alienus Tempus, concerns how I manage mental illness and common and not-so common philosophical inquiries while trying to explain mysterious and remarkable events that concern the late science fiction writer, Philip K Dick.

If you happen to read this post, please take a look at my project even if you decide not to donate. That's okay... just so you know that one day this memoir will be available to everyone at no cost.  I want to get this story out. It's my dharma.