Jake Bible Fiction

  • Growing Up Fundamentalist…Pagan!

    Oh yeah, if that title doesn’t get your attention then there is no hope for you!

    Fundamentalist Pagan? Is that even real?

    Trust me, it is. I figured in this time of Pagan ritual (look up where Christmas really came from), I’d give some details into my own Pagan past and how it defines my work.

    You see, fundamentalists come in all shapes and sizes, all religions and beliefs, all dietary extremes, you name the subject and someone will fit the description of a fundamentalist in regards to that subject.

    Maybe a quick definition of fundamentalist is in order!

    Definition of Fundamentalism:

    1 a often capitalized : a movement in 20th century Protestantism emphasizing the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to Christian life and teaching b : the beliefs of this movement c : adherence to such beliefs
    2 : a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles

    Yep, that about sums it up in definition 2.

    Let me be very clear here, this post is not about religion or theology, not at all. In fact, as I watch your eyes glaze over, this post isn’t even about Paganism or really fundamentalism. It’s about how fundamentalism has influenced my writing and especially my subject matter.

    Now, I can see the look in many bloggers’ eyes right now. That look says, “That’s quite a set up if you aren’t going to actually talk about fundamentalism and paganism.” In which I respond, “Just hold on, it’ll all make sense soon!” You see, I was raised to believe all conventional religions were the Evil that was destroying the world. And yet, my name is Jacob David Bible. Sure, it’s just a name and doesn’t define me. But, when you are trying to avoid discussion about theology, or specifically Christianity, and your name is Bible, well, good luck with that.

    I spent my entire childhood being asked, “Are you a Christian? Which church do you go to?” and being the young, whippersnapper I was, I’d reply, “No, I’m not Christian. Christianity destroyed the earth religions and created a paternalistic hegemony that has driven all free thinkers into hiding.” The usual response? “Oh, well, that’s quite a name…”

    “What does this have to do with writing?” you ask. Well, this set me up to be a rebel and heretic while also having the power of one of the most influential religions in history at my fingertips. If that isn’t the beginning of an epic saga then I don’t know what is!

    I could embrace the mysteries of Druidism, the peace of Buddhism, the contradictory joy of Taoism, the millions of gods of Hinduism and the secrets of Astrology, with all the different healing and health elements that come with those and yet, I could walk the mainstream world of American Christianity with open arms. I mean, after all, who’s going to reject a guy named Jacob David Bible?

    “But the writing!” Stop yelling at me. Don’t you see? What are religions? Any religion? Come on, guess! Give up? They are stories! Parables, fables, moral lessons, genealogical recordings, creationist musings, explanations of the mysteries of the universe and life itself! In religion we find the richest treasure trove of speculative fiction ever! This is where it all started. Whether a kick-ass resurrection story or how the world rests on the back of a great turtle (Prachet didn’t think that up on his own). Where else can people be turned to salt or a multi-limbed goddess of Death can devour the world? A great big dog headed god holds the fate of your afterlife in it’s paw? Not enough for you? What about the Djinn or ghuls of Arabia? No? Still not convinced? Harpies then? Demi-gods that must slay minotaurs or destroy cyclopean monsters? Wow, y’all are tough nuts.

    Okay, let’s change stories. How about instead of characters and creation myths, what about all the end of the world legends? I’m a post-apocalyptic writer. All my novels take place after the world as we know it has been destroyed some way or another. You know, like the Apocalypse that comes to play in Armageddon? Or maybe Ragnarok? 2012 anyone? Yep, without those great Pagan, and Big 3, End Of Days stories I’d have nothing.

    Now, I’m not going to go into my own beliefs, that would just tick some of you off and also start one of those pointless theological arguments. Plus I’m right, so no need for you guys to even bother! 😉 (Big wink there).  But without my exposure to the thousands of different myths beyond Christianity, Judaism and Islam (and including those, too!) I wouldn’t have the depths to draw from that I do. Trust me, buy a copy of DEAD MECH and you’ll find a few themes in there. Many are buried under the blood and guts, the violence and gore, but they are there.

    Read definition 2 again. “strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles”. That’s story and plot, people! By having to always argue and question my beliefs and the beliefs of others as a child, I fine-tuned a part of me that looks for the loophole, the weak point of every argument. It is something I’ve had to struggle with my whole life, how not to be an argumentative asshole that’s always pointing out the flaws. But, oh the mad plot skills it gave me! I read over a draft and I know exactly where my story weaknesses are. I know where the inconsistencies are and I am able to fix them. Once again, read DEAD MECH, you’ll find holes and missing explanations. They are there for a reason! I know every single one of them and they make for great jumping points for the next books! Fill in those holes and what have you got? One solid mofo of a story! Thank you Fundamentalist Paganism!

    Is that all that drives and defines me? Hell no! I’ve got way more going on, plus I like to buck trends and convention and rip the skin off the myths and rules, turn them inside out and make readers squirm a bit. Religion can be brutal, sure, but if you make your followers nauseous they can’t really sit through a sermon. And thats where I come in! I take those bits or story, those archetypes and warp them so you are constantly off-kilter and looking over your shoulder. I ain’t here to make pretty stories, I’m here to grab you by your guts and pull! And you can thank Fundamentalist Paganism for that!

    Okay, enough word rambling. I hope everyone had themselves a wonderful Christmas, Solstice, Festivus, Hahnukka, Kwanza, Yule time, Great Spaghetti Monster buffet feast, etc. Here’s to the New Year!

    Cheers!

  • The Best Laid Plans…

    Monday already? Wow, guess it’s time for another blogpost.

    I posted on my Facebook fan page that I needed some ideas on what to write about. Not that I don’t have a ton of ideas, but the ones in my head may not be what you want to read. I was lucky to get a great response which has led to the following words.

    When I first started DEAD MECH, I had grand plans for world domination! I still do, but of course reality gave me a good, hard slap upside the head and those plans, while still there, are moving like a slow assault instead of the juggernaut I expected.

    This should not come as a surprise to any busy author, or podcaster, that has a full time job and a family. I’ve listened to a ton of podcasters saying how much work podcasting is and read a million interviews (well, maybe only 900,000 interviews) by authors on the long hours spent writing into the wee hours of the night in order to get words on paper and their project finished. For some reason (reason equaling my giant, stupid ego) I thought I was above all this hassle and I’d be able to whip out a novel, podcast it, get it published, make some merchandise, get a TV or movie deal, make those projects, get paid millions and then life would just take care of itself. Completely realistic, right?

    Well, I accomplished quite a bit of this and probably could have gotten to the other stuff (maybe not the millions of dollars, right off…), but there was one thing I didn’t account for. DEAD MECH isn’t a one-off novel, it’s part of a three book series. And those other two books don’t write themselves. Now, I’m used to multi-tasking, I’m a parent and husband that works full time, so you have to multi-task or nothing gets done, but I’ve never been an author before. There are aspects of a writer’s life you don’t realize until they are right in your face.

    The first aspect is there is only so much time in the day and only so much a brain can do within that time. I’m lucky I write fast, so getting my word count in isn’t too hard. The other stuff though… Yikes! In order to get more content out there, and keep the DEAD MECH machine rolling, I’ve had to put the merchandising, the graphic novel, the really cool video campaign I wanted to do, the RPG, the all important interviews, etc, on hold and just write.

    Second novel is written, though. “What?” you say. “Second novel written?” Yeah, I’ve kept that under wraps pretty well, don’t you think? (I’ll say more in the coming months). But, it’s still rough and needs work. I’m also in the middle of writing a YA novel not related to DEAD MECH. That is taking up a ton of time, also. (More info on that soon, too).

    In addition, I happen to be one of those people that is done creating at a certain point in the day. I can’t push it, I can’t force it to happen and I can’t just crank out crap to fix later. I have to have decompression time to let the stories work themselves in my head. I’m a systems guy, a bit of an efficiency expert, and I’m OCD when it comes to wasted energy and time. If my brain says, “Work time over! Relax now or I shut down EVERYTHING!” then I have to comply or whatever I try to produce will just have to be re-done later and my OCD kicks in and I freeze up for days. Trust me, I’ve tried.

    There is this other thing that has gotten in the way of building the DEAD MECH empire: money. Cash, scratch, credits, cha-ching, etc. That’s one detail you can’t get around. To this day I have not made a single penny off DEAD MECH. “But what about all those signed books you shipped?” you ask. Nope, that money went to pay for other writing expenses. No profit so far. Ugh! So without cash there can be no posters, bumper stickers, caps, mouse pads, beer cozies and all that good stuff China makes for us. I do hope to have it out there at some point, but many factors go into this.

    “But haven’t you had folks volunteer time and resources?” you ask. Wow, you guys sure are chatty today! I have had many people volunteer time and resources and I have taken a few up on those offers. The only problem right now is I don’t even have time-slash-brain power to coordinate the volunteers. If only I had a business manager and/or audio producer. But, what would the ramifications/expectations be in that kind of relationship? I can’t even wrap my mind around that at all. Business and creation don’t always want to play nice in the ole brainpan.

    Now, I am NOT complaining. This is NOT a sympathy post. I just wanted to give y’all a little insight into my motivations and actions. I’m hoping some folks may learn from this or, at the very least, remember reading this when they find themselves in the same situation. Not in an “I told you so” way, but in a “You’re not alone!” way.

    What more is there to say? Plenty, but I’ll have to save those words for the future. Before I go, I would like to say a special thank you to one volunteer that has been tireless in his work for me. Ed Delaney! You know him by the great podcast graphic he did for DEAD MECH and the OUTSTANDING cover he did for the published novel. If you haven’t gone to www.peculiarcomics.com then you should right away. Have a look see at what ED is up to. He’s an amazing artist and creator and a pretty darn good writer in his own right. Check him out!

    That’s all for now, I better get back to writing novels and all that jazz.

    Cheers Y’all!

  • We aren’t always saying what we think we are…

    So, I had a new blog post all ready to go today, but decided I’d have my wife read it over first before launching. I don’t usually do this, mainly because we are both so busy. But this time, I had this gut feeling I should let someone else read the post before putting it out there, even though I liked it and thought it was ready.

    Good thing I did have her read it! While she liked it, her impression was I was being a little insulting and could easily alienate some of my core fan base. That wasn’t my intention at all, but apparently the snark in me was a little too strong in that post.

    This led me to write this instead. It’s a warning many on the internet have given before, but until today, it was one I thought I had avoided. That warning is: your “voice” can’t be heard when writing! Be careful how you say things!

    So much gets lost in translation from brain to page, especially when writing off the cuff like in a blogpost. I am so used to rambling along in my podcast intros, with all the disclaimers, inflections and self-deprecating comments, that I forget that y’all can’t hear my inflections and obvious mocking tones when I’m writing. What would normally be considered just a joke, could easily be misinterpreted as an insult if not worded correctly. Yikes! I dodged a few bullets by having someone read my post before I hit the “Publish” button.

    I can only imagine the comments I would have received.

    Maybe later on I’ll publish the post as an example of what not to write. Kinda a learning lesson. I don’t know, I could risk being misunderstood even with a giant disclaimer at the beginning.

    So, if any lesson can be taken from this post, it’s that if you feel at all hesitant to say something then don’t. Or at least have someone read it over (or listen, if it’s audio) before you put it out there for all the world to see. Once you do that, you can’t take it back (thank you archive.org).

    Hope everyone is doing well on this fine and wintry day (wintry here in the Appalachians).

    Cheers Y’all!

  • Friday Night Drabble Party!

    Well, winter has hit the Appalachians!

    So, for tonight’s Party I decided to whip up a quick drabble this morning that has that frigid feel. I’ll let it stand as it is: a cold, cold mystery.

    I bring you, “The Weather Outside…”

    Enjoy!

    The Weather Outside…

    Disclaimer: Dress appropriately, this is a chilly one!

  • What defines me…

    I figure for my first real blog post I would talk about my favorite subject: ME!
    In all seriousness (stop laughing), I just want to take a few moments and explain my life and creative process. Everyone has their own ideas and expectations for writers, and before I started writing in earnest I did too, but very few people actually understand the reality of a writer’s life.

    Here is my reality and my priorities (some of them):
    I am a Father and a Husband. This is numero uno. There is no wiggle room in this priority. There isn’t enough money in the world to take this off the top of the list. I can honestly say that. Without my family there is zero point to any of this. This truly defines the way I work, what I work on and how much time I put into my work. Understand this when you wonder why I don’t work harder at podcasting, promotion, conventions, interviews, getting novels out quicker, etc. I have a full time job being a Father and Husband.

    Next, I do work full time. This means the majority of my life is spent making a living other than writing. It would be great to write full time at some point, but the reality of that happening is slim. Why slim? There are many statistics regarding how many writers make a living at it, but the biggest is this: only between 5-10 percent of novelists make enough money to do it full time. Now think about how only 5-10 percent of all writers ever get a novel published and you can understand just how difficult it is to be a full time writer (novelist, at least, which is what I am).

    So, when you take into account The Fam and the job, it’s amazing I get anything written at all.

    Now, I have to be 100% honest. Even though I haven’t seen a penny of profit from any of my writing, money is my true motivation to write. GASP! I know, I know, I can hear so many of you saying, “It’s not about the art?”, “What about the creative process?”, “You don’t do it just to entertain?”. Nope. I am not an artist that can produce art for art’s sake. Never have been. I grew up in a very artistic household and was surrounded by art for art’s sake. Not my thing. Even when I would play with ceramics, I would make something functional: an incense holder, a bowl, a pen holder, etc. Now, this doesn’t mean I don’t believe in my art, or that I am a commercial whore. I will only write what I want to write and will not just crank something out for money’s sake. BUT, if I don’t feel an idea is commercially viable then I will shelve that idea and work on something I do feel is commercially viable. It’s just how I am wound.

    Last, I am hedonistic in nature. If it isn’t fun for me then I’m not doing it. Now, being a Father, I know that there is stuff that HAS to be done. That’s just reality. But, really, if writing, podcasting, promotion, etc ever becomes more work than it’s worth, well, then that will be the end of the story. No more Jake Bible novels. I can honestly say that. Really.

    With ALL of that said there are two certainties in my life: I love my family more than anything and will kick anyone’s ass that tries to come between me and them. And, I love to write. I truly, truly, truly love to write. I don’t plan on quitting either of these passions, so there really isn’t any risk of me getting divorced or splitting from the novel scene.

    Do I sound like a bummer? I’m not. I am actually a hopeless dreamer. I believe in positive thought as the strongest force out there. No one ever got anything done by being a pessimist. Unless their goal is to bring everyone down, then they succeed all too often. I have high hopes for my life and writing and have VERY big dreams I plan on fulfilling. I don’t settle for partial realization. If I set my mind to something I will accomplish it. It’s just how I’m made up.

    How is that for a first blog post? I think it lives up to my reputation for quality rambling. What do you think?

    Feel free to chime in and take me to task if you want. Or agree 100% and be the sycophantic following I’ve always hoped for!

    Thanks everyone for everything you do out there. Trust me, I appreciate the fact that I even have a forum to post my gobbledy-gook. I may sound like a self-involved wanker, but I do truly appreciate each and every person that has taken the time to support me and to read and/or listen to my work. Without you I’m just talking to air!

    Cheers Y’all!

    PS- BUY DEAD MECH!