2016 Movie Nerdgasm

This is a great time to be a fan of comic books, science fiction, and fantasy. Technology is finally at the point where it is, more or less, affordable to make movies and television shows based on our favorite stories. This year is going to push me and my fellow nerds into getting another job just to see everything that looks even halfway good. I often buy tickets in advance for 15-25 friends to see these types of films, and I fear I’m going to have to be selective because there are so many (though that’s a great problem to have!).

Considering the growing number of superhero movies and television shows, I believe viewers expectations are going to be higher than ever. Personally, I’m an easy going fanboy. Make a halfway decent attempt to entertain me, and you’ve got my money. Muck around with continuity a little and I won’t lose too much sleep. Completely change characters and I'm not as forgiving. (Ahem, Deadpool in the first Wolverine movie, or the neck-breaking Superman...yeah.) I think there is also a danger of oversaturation. Will this year finally pop the balloon, or are there enough great movies and shows coming to keep it going? I’m hoping the latter.

There will definitely be a lot of changes, especially in the superhero genre, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I look at it like this. There have been a lot of different artists, writers and movies all presenting a different take on the Batman character. You can love the campy 1960s television show just as much as you love Michael Keaton or Christian Bale’s versions.  Similarly, I love the 90s television show The Flash for what it was, and the new show for what it is. If 2016 isn’t cookie cutter, if they are unique enough with good scripts, we’re going to have a lot of fun!

I’m splitting this post in two. Below are my thoughts on the movies I’m going to see this year, and the next post will be television. Let’s go!

Deadpool: February 12, 2016 - I laughed more than I should at the first preview (I may have been intoxicated). If they can keep that momentum going with a good enough story, this is going to be awesome. (Can I have a Colossus movie now, too!?)

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: March 25, 2016 After watching the Superman v Batman Dawn of etc etc trailer, did anyone else walk away thinking “I can’t wait for the Wonder Woman movie!”? Otherwise, I reserve judgement, and hope for the best. Here is my favorite preview of the upcoming film :)

Captain America: Civil War: May 6, 2016 Civil War (or Avengers 3.5) marks the start of Phase 3 - I’m excited and bittersweet about this film. The comics were great but so rough. I have faith in Marvel, they continue to make everything work. According to Buzzfeed, the worst Marvel movie is Iron Man 2. I really wish I could make a $600 million dollar mistake. I digress. Civil War is the first film kicking off Phase 3, and I’ll be there!

X-Men: Apocalypse: May 27, 2016 I grew up a huge X-Men fan. I thought the first two movies were fresh when there were less superhero films being made. Now I worry that this upcoming retcon in a secular universe may be a little overdone. I was too critical of Days of Future Past because they were based on the first X-Men comics I read. I think tackling Apocalypse as a villain is ambitious. He was always one of those too-powerful bad guys, and that’s going to be hard to produce on screen. That said, everyone in the sneak looks fantastic, so I’m hopeful. I’d really like to see the X-Men fit back into the Marvel Universe like they are doing with Spider-Man.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: June 6th, 2015 TNMT drinking game: Any time Megan Fox is in the movie to be pretty instead of being April O’Neil reporter, Cristi and I drink. We got hammered during the first film. Go Megan!!!

Warcraft: June 10th, 2016: “Let me tell you about my days raiding in vanilla WoW…” <insert old man wheeze>. My friends are concerned that it’s too late. They have a crazy amount of material to pull from, and a fan base that is both knowledgeable of that history and critical of mistakes. It’s going to be a challenge to present a solid story, make those fans happy, and throw in a few things gamers will recognize that non-players might not without losing either audience.

Independence Day: Resurgence: June 24th, 2016 This preview gave my lovely and beautiful wife goosebumps. We watch the first one as a tradition every 4th of July, it’s a fun alien invasion romp, and I have no doubt the sequel will be as well.

Ghostbusters 3: July 15th, 2016  I read lots of posts bitching about the pics, and that’s after seeing, what, like a dozen photos? stfu! I say give this a chance!

Star Trek Beyond: July 22nd, 2016: I was so pumped when I watched the trailer! The Enterprise getting torn apart by those ships! Scotty almost flying off the edge of a cliff! That transporter trick with Kirk and the hot alien! Hell yeah! And then, I read those highly critical posts by Trekkies as to why this looked more like Fast and Furious and less like a serious, thought provoking addition to the Star Trek franchise. Ahem. Yes. I completely agree. I also refute any evidence that I’ve shown the fun...inappropriately misdirected trailer to all of my friends. (You can find it here! Shhhh!)

Suicide Squad: August 5, 2016 It’s my understanding that this will fit into the DC movie-verse continuity. I’m really glad it’s not just a one-off. The preview is put together well, and tells me that they have a LOT of characters to juggle. While I hope it’s good, the one thing I can guarantee is a lot of cosplay will come from this film!

This link is to a cool image that let's you compare characters from the comics with those in the movie!

Underworld 5: October 21st, 2016 Kate Beckinsale

Doctor Strange: November 4, 2016 Marvel doesn’t shy away from anything, do they? This time they are tackling magic. If they can do this, I have no doubt they can make an exciting superhero movie about SPAM. (Not comparing Dr. Strange to everyone’s favorite canned meat, I’m comparing Marvel’s ability to make their audience suspend disbelief.) At least they’ve got the right actor for it. The early pics of Cumberbatch are A-MA-ZING! Check out more on Entertainment Weekly!

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: November 18th, 2016 Why not? Give us more from the world of Harry Potter. The teaser looks fun!

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: December 16, 2016 After The Force Awakens, I’m hungry for more Star Wars. Rogue One is about the rebels who stole the plans for the Death Star, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how they tackle their first film that isn’t a part of the main story. I’d be really surprised if this is successful as The Force Awakens which is why they often ask my opinion on these things. o.O

I would be remiss in not listing these, and I’m sure there are a few I’ll be seeing.
Gods of Egypt February 26th
The Divergent Series: Allegiant March 18th
The Jungle Book April 15th
The Huntsman: Winter's War April 22nd
Alice Through the Looking Glass May 27th
Tarzan July 1st  (For some reason my wife is looking forward to this one)

I had some Angst in 2015

2015 was a year of incredible highs and terrible lows. It’s been a galactic roller coaster...hey, look, it’s the beautiful Milky Way...hey, look, it’s molten lava in the center of the earth. Ugh. Life threw a lot of extremes at me, and is every reason why I have angst.

The first half of the year was amazing. Just amazing. After a lot of hard work I published Drowning in Angst, my third fantasy novel. I feel like it’s my Empire Strikes Back. If it’s not the best book in the series, I’d like to think it’s close. It’s been well received, meaning I haven’t gotten any hate mail. That’s a good sign.

A lot of great things happened personally that I will always remember. My friend, Marina, got married. Not only did I get to throw her a wedding shower, but I got to sit where family would as she walked down the aisle. I was very touched. I also got to celebrate her 25th birthday with some good friends on a lake trip that I’ll always remember.

This fall, I officiated a wedding for my friends Ashley and Travis. I’ve never done that before and couldn’t be more flattered to be included in something so important. How often do you get the opportunity to help friends take that step? It was glorious.

Every year I think about cutting back on conventions, and every year I’m surprised by how much fun we have. Not only is Cristi a beautiful spokesmodel, a huge help with critiquing my novels, we also have the best adventures at cons! This year, our friends Marina and Mayra both rocked some scalemail armor at ConQuesT in Kansas City. The three of them made that weekend amazing! Not only were they beautiful, not only did they help sell books, but more importantly, we had fun! A friend from work recently asked if Marina was one of my muses. She wasn’t sure if that was the right word, but I was. From here forward I will refer to Cristi, Marina, and Mayra as my muses. All of them are inspiring.

As great as the first half of the year was, the second half was rough. A friend lost her daughter to suicide. My wife and I were close to both of them, and the word tragic doesn’t cover it. I’ve never experienced grief before, and I really never wish to experience it again. I know I will. I think about this every day, and my heart goes out to her family even if it doesn’t make it better. More recently, my mom had a double mastectomy. She’s been battling cancer on and off since I was in college. She’s a fighter, and she’s doing better, but nobody wants to see their parents vulnerable to age or sickness. The good news is that she is just finishing up her final surgery this weekend, and all seems good.

I’ve learned a lot from this year. The most important thing is, don’t hesitate to tell someone you love them. Ever! Not for a second! They may not be here tomorrow for some stupid reason. Tell them, even if it is awkward or weird or is hard. They need to know, and you probably need to tell them. It goes beyond this. Tell people you appreciate them. I fear that we live in a world of hate, it needs all the love we can pour into it. All of it.

Also, don’t stop trying. While I didn’t learn this for the first time this year, my belief has been reaffirmed. Facebook kindly reminded me that I published Angst five years ago. That’s a long time in media years. I can’t imagine how many books and movies and articles and comics have been produced since then. In the short attention span theater of our time, Angst could be long forgotten. But, just the opposite is happening. New readers are still discovering it, relating to it, and enjoying it. Five years after publishing Angst, I received my first handwritten letter thanking me for writing it. Maybe Angst is not going to be forgotten, maybe it’s just getting started! It just proves to me that whether you are five or ninety-five, follow those dreams and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Life is way too short for what ifs.

This year has been a journey of ups and downs. I’m still reeling a bit from the bad times, and making sense of the good. I think it’s good to take a moment and look back on this. Not to dwell or wish something had gone differently, but to remember what it all was. Appreciate the good, learn from the bad, respect that life happens without my input, and then shake it off. Now it’s time to move forward. 2016 is going to be a great year, I’m going to make it so.

Thank you for being a part of my year, and I hope the only Angst in your New Year, is mine! ;)

How Daniel Craig made me feel better about my writing

When I am on the downhill ride of a novel, that part where the ideas tumble out so fast I almost can’t type enough words per minute to keep up, in the back of my head, I remember thinking, “I’m going to keep this momentum going.” At this point of the creative journey, I wake up in the morning and write, I’ll hide at a coffee shop after work and write more, then go home to eat dinner with my family before writing even more after everyone goes to bed. It’s like a sickness. It’s glorious.


When I’m done writing a novel, I’m spent. So much so that I just want to walk away and never look at it again. I love what I've accomplished, but I already ran that marathon and I’m ready for a well-deserved break. Of course, it’s not that easy. The next steps are beta team critiques, editing, cover design, more editing, and lots of marketing. That makes me want to walk away even more.

Months later, when I’ve gotten back in the habit of showing up to work on time, finally fixed that leaky sink, and actually returned to the gym more than 2 days in a row, I start kicking myself, hard. What happened to that momentum? Where did my amazing writing habits go? How is it that life took back over with such a firm grip? Yes, I needed to lose those 10 pounds, and paint the house, and remind my friends I’m alive, and go to that school function, oh yeah, and don’t forget leveling up to 100 and taking the hot office manager to lunch…

The reasons are valid at first, but procrastination eventually takes over. (Taking the hot office manager to lunch is not procrastination, that’s important, but the other stuff is questionable!) I may kick myself, but I still find excuses not to write. The guilt starts seeping in. One of my beta team members will offhandedly comment that I must be getting close to done with the next book by now. Or, a cautious reader will politely ask how the next book is coming. Or, I get the dreaded amazing review that excitedly teases future books. That kind of encouragement is just about everything I could ask for, but I worry that the next novel won’t be as good. So, I beat myself to write words that only trickle out. And then, today, I finally realized...Daniel Craig.

Daniel Craig is an amazing James Bond. I haven’t seen Spectre yet, but I’ve enjoyed all of the Bond movies he’s been in. I mean, Skyfall, right? In spite of the accolades and excitement surrounding their release, when he’s finished a Bond movie, he’s done. I mean, really done. You can google plenty of interviews where he states he’s not making another one. He’ll blast the Bond character (most recently as a misogynist) and state he’s never coming back. But, never say never again (see what I did there?). The man gets exhausted. He puts everything he can into doing an amazing job and the last thing he wants to do is dive back in again. He doesn’t even want to think about it...and that explains a lot. Pierce Brosnan summed it up well in an interview with Hitfix, “By the time you finish making a Bond movie, you don't want to hear the name, see the name or have anything to do with it because you just want to go to ground.”

I hope Craig comes back for another Bond film, they are a lot of fun. He has all of my respect whether he chooses to or not, but I get why he wouldn't. I’ve read interviews with Joss Whedon where he discusses how exhausting it is to do a movie like Avengers. At the end of Age of Ultron, he was just as done as Craig is with Bond. I think before deciding to tackle another big project like that, you have to rest, maybe even heal. You need time to remember what you love about that world and the characters in it. You have to remember why it was fun. Now, I get my problem.

No, writing one of my novels is not on the same scale as creating a tentpole blockbuster...yet ;) I, unfortunately, don’t have the same budget. Unfortunately. I also don’t walk away from my life to focus exclusively on my writing, I can’t. But I do pour everything I have into them, to the point of exhaustion. There are nights I have literally written myself to tears. And now that some people enjoy reading them, it’s that much more important to me that the story is the best I can make it. So, when I’m done, I’m exhausted, and want to walk away.

What I need to remember is... that’s okay. Sure, every writer will tell you that to become good you need to write every day. I’ve told plenty of people that myself; it’s solid advice. But, I think it’s just as important to love writing, to love your characters, and to believe in your story. I have a hard time doing that when I’m exhausted, but over time I remember again why I write, why I’m telling this story and what I love about the characters I write about.

For me, that love is coming back, and it’s about damn time. I’ve written roughly 30% of Angst 4, and have plenty of outline for the rest. More importantly, I’ve started making notes at night, I’m getting giggles throughout the day about what I’m going to write in the evening, I’m getting excited again. I love that. And, the good news is that my excuses are almost gone. The house is just about taped back together, my daughter’s marching band season is over, and the gym can go fuck itself! (I still need to make those lunch plans, though). It’s time, and this is the good part, because I can’t wait to share my next story!

Angst Team Profile: Cristi

There is a lot to be said about best friends. They are there when no one else is. They are the ones who ask what’s wrong because they sense it, not because you complain. They are the ones you party with, but can also have a serious conversation with. You can talk about farting, and bad sex, and insecurities, and doctor visits, and family issues, and money, and everything that you won’t talk about at work. You can argue and get over it. You can be socially awkward to the point of passing out from embarrassment, you can make dumb mistakes, and they don’t judge, they just help you through it. I have one of those friends, and her name is Cristi.

I met Cristi at our day job. The minute she started, I was like, whoa - she’s gorgeous! I wanted to introduce myself, but we were in different departments. She worked call center and I was a systems administrator fixing servers. A junior tech had called me in for help with her computer. I wasn’t supposed to, but in spite of the potential that I would be yelled at, I jumped at the chance. When he told me the problem, I immediately dismissed him to find the notes I had already sent on fixing the issue. I could have walked him through the problem, but I wanted that window to introduce myself. It was a total dick move, and an excellent decision.

You see, Cristi has a personality that is genuine. I could immediately tell that she wasn’t fake, she was amazing. Our relationship took off from that first support call. I invited her to my softball team where we both excelled at playing bad and getting drunk together. Not long after we mostly enjoyed a float trip together and the adventures continued from there. I totally helped her land her boyfriend, Brandon! (Okay, that’s really an exaggeration as I was a pain in the ass.) Needless to say we hit it off and in many ways it feels like we are just getting started!


Cristi is amazing on so many levels. Like her boyfriend, Brandon, she loves animals. Her passion goes beyond the sappy love of a cute animal pic (though, there is some of that too) she has also donated her time to support animal shelters, as well as fostering pets in need. I can also say that she loves people too, especially when they don’t talk to her. (I highly recommend not talking to her in the morning. Shhh.)

She’s not just a pretty face. (Okay, she’s strikingly pretty, but that’s stating the obvious!) I really respect how hard she works. That may sound silly, but she’s the type of person that is always early to work and often staying late. She taught herself that, which makes it even more impressive! Cristi put herself through college and I watched her quickly work her way up from call center agent to being an insurance underwriter in an incredibly complicated field. There are a lot of brains, hard work, and common sense behind her fun loving attitude. It’s why I respect her opinion so much and appreciate her input on my life, and my writing.

Cristi is not a nerd. Just the opposite, she has very little interest in fantasy or science fiction or superheroes or, well, you get the idea. In spite of this, not only has she read my first book multiple times, she has critiqued and contributed to Buried in Angst and Drowning in Angst. Even beyond that, Cristi volunteers her time to be my spokesmodel at conventions. Let me emphasize that she volunteers to help promote my book by rocking the chainmail bikini. I couldn’t possibly afford the modeling she does, and nor does she ever ask for recompense. It always blows people away that she’s beautiful, approachable, but is also involved. I’ve sold a lot of books because of her efforts. But more important, we’ve connected with a lot of people. And, we have fun. We get drunk at cons like professionals. We not only enjoy the adventure, we try to be a part of it!

We are an interesting pair that make a lot of heads turn, and it cracks us up. We go out to a nice dinner and the 20 year age difference brings us great looks of surprise. She’s a head taller, I’m short and pudgy, so she’s obviously not my daughter. We have great chemistry, like close friends do. I don’t know how many times we’ve been asked if we are something else. It makes me feel bad for those asking, for what they are missing in their lives. You see, we are something else, Cristi and I are a great team!

I tease her that I’m her “backup”. If her parents, or besties, or boyfriend, can’t be there for whatever reason, I can often fill in the blank. At the same time, she supports me without question. Cristi is amazing! I couldn’t ask for a better friend, or a better teammate. She has been a force in making my books what they are, and an influence in making my life better, and I’m eternally grateful!