Well, I’m going to hang with the family and eat food, watch my kid open presents and… oh, you didn’t mean what I’m doing for Christmas as in the mundane Christmas festivities? You meant what’s going on in the Jon Del Arroz wondrous world of writing. Well then… Flying Sparks Probably most of you care […]
Buy Your Friends Books For Christmas (And My Other Top Books of 2013)
Been quiet on my blog lately, will address that in a later post. For now… Are you looking for Christmas gifts? Well then, support some great writers, why don’t you? This week I’m making a big push to support authors I both love personally and professionally. These are all books that came out in 2013, […]
Ender’s Game (Movie) – A Critical Review
So, Ender’s Game. I recently reread the book so I could watch the movie, and like the nerd I am, point out where every little scene “got it wrong.” This was one of my favorite science fiction books of my youth, shaping my interest in military SF and space opera along with the epic TV […]
Con-Volution 2013: Post Con Thoughts
(Picture above: The State of Comics panel. I’m on the far right, moderating) This was my first Con-Volution in Burlingame, CA, and the second that these folk have put on. My reflections are going to be from a guest experience, and only attending one of the three days of the con (which was not my […]
Flying Sparks Issue 7 Page 10 and other stories
Almost halfway through the new issue, check it out. http://flyingsparkscomic.com/archive/issue-7-page-10/ In other news, finally started reading Robert Jordan’s final chapter of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light. I am considering doing a post of my whole reaction to the series, since I’ve spent so much time in it, recently rereading the whole thing so […]
Flying Sparks Issue 7 Page 9 / Tyler!
http://flyingsparkscomic.com/archive/issue-7-page-9/ New page of Flying Sparks is up! Don’t forget to check it out. I’ve been a bit quiet the last couple weeks. And that means I’ve not been doing much reading OR writing, which is a bummer on that level, but there’s a GREAT reason for it. And here he is! He’s keeping […]
Review: Channel Zilch by Doug Sharp
Been doing mostly posts with reviews/promotions lately, but I have to with friends so active in the field. Channel Zilch is reviewed below, spoiler free for you. If it sounds like your cup of tea, you can get it on amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1940581907?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1940581907&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2 Channel Zilch by Doug Sharp is a book that defies expectations all the […]
Zharmae Press Anthologies
Well then, I’ve been asked to do a little promoting for my friends at Zharmae Press, and with a story in one of these anthologies myself, I’m happy to do so. Even were I not in one, I’d still post this up. They’re really good people and it’s always good to support indie press,. They’ve […]
Flying Sparks Issue 7 Page 4 Is Up
http://flyingsparkscomic.com/archive/issue-7-page-5/ Our lovely comic page of the week. Thanks again Jethro Morales and Shannon Perkins on artistic duties. I’ve always stated that I love the character moments where two of my characters really start to build something between each other or change, beyond what you see in a lot of superhero comics. In my early issues, […]
Adventures From The Slush Pile #2: Magic, Technologies and Resolutions
Not everything you read in a slush pile is negative. It’s hard not to get jaded when reading, a lot of the time, because you see the same mistakes repeatedly. But even some mistakes can give you an epiphany about your own writing that don’t click until you see it. I’ve heard it said a […]
Adventures From The Slush Pile #1
Some of you may know that I do slush pile reading for speculative short stories. I am the first set of eyes that reads your story, and determines whether the editors should bother reading it. Since I’m going to be doing this work for the foreseeable future, I thought it may be handy to post […]
Distant Memories
A friend of mine is sick, and it reminded me of the first time I truly recall being sick, and spending time on my back. I was probably 10 years old or so, and had a late onset of the chicken pox. It was pretty miserable. I was itchy, crabby, splotchy, everything associated with it. […]
New Flying Sparks Page Up!
http://flyingsparkscomic.com/archive/issue-7-page-4/ A splash page, but a pretty one. Hey…I can post pictures here too, so I’m gonna! But do check out the link, and the whole comic. It’s a good story, I promise. And so many more pages of this pretty art!
Word Count Per Day?
I was asked by a reader, “How many words do you write per day?” Quick answer is: I wish I were that regimented! It’d certainly make my time tables easier to determine. Long answer: It depends on what I’m doing. 1. When it comes to writing comics: I always outline an issue first when I’m […]
New Flying Sparks Page
For those who don’t follow the comic, each wednesday I post up a new page, and so I might as well add another place to let everyone know. http://flyingsparkscomic.com/archive/issue-7-page-3/ Here’s the current page. For those who are following, they’ll see a lot of characters and storylines converging together here. I’m not saying the series […]
The Advantages of A Good Critique Group
I’m about 40% through my first revision of my first novel, tentatively titled Starcrossed, and I started thinking about potential interesting topics along the lines of editing and revision. This part of the process is both the most challenging and rewarding part of writing, so I’m happy to pass on what I’ve learned. Novel revision is […]
What Are Your Favorite Books And Why?
I was asked today to fill out a survey for a publisher, and one of the questions was about favorite books. I won’t reprint the entire survey since I’m sure they intend to use it, but thought this was interesting. Now my top two books stay the same pretty regularly. I know this because they’re the […]
Well Then…
Hi, I’m Jon Del Arroz. You might remember me from such comics as: If-X, Back Row Presents, Flying Sparks. You may also know me from my short fiction in Zharmae Publishing’s anthology, The Irony of Survival. If you happen upon a TARDIS and go even further back, you’ll find my band aprilsrain (you can search for that on iTunes), which […]
Eating Healthy Is Important!
I know I get flak from this all the time from all my people, but nerds, trust me, eating right is important for your longevity, for how you feel, and for everything you do including your creative endeavors because it helps you get your brain going. When you eat poorly, you feel sluggish, slovenly, it […]