In which Gischler pretends to know a thing or two

Go HERE.

Enjoy.

Make Mine Marvel

Behold: The Cool News.

LaSalle Remembered

As you all know by now, Anthony Neil Smith and I have penned a screenplay called Pulp Boy based (loosely) on the life of the late, great pulp author Emerson LaSalle. Well, LaSalle's estate sent me a package the other day containing some great photos which just shows you the sort of life LaSalle led. Enjoy.

WINNER

My novel Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse has won the Bookspot Central book vs. book march madness style smackdown tournament.

I bet you're all glad this tournament thingy is over, so you can stop hearing me beg for votes. Hey, I'm glad too. I was getting sick of myself. I think I e-mailed ever person I ever met to get them in on the action. So it's over. No more harassing you. (At least not about this.) And man, this tournament lasted a MONTH. At first I was all like, "Hey, maybe vote for me if you have the time." But by the end it was "Oh, God help! I Need votes NOW!" So it feels good not to be so manic about it anymore. Yeah, time to calm it down. Breathe, Gischler. In through the nose and out through the mouth.

And it's also time to thank some folks. For everyone who voted in any round (many of you in every round): Thanks. I mean it. I really appreciate your taking the time. It's quite likely some of you logged into the Bookspot Central website specifically to vote for me and don't plan on ever going back again. Understandable. But it's a good website, full of entertaining reviews and commentary, so I hope you'll go back for a visit now and then.

One of the purposes of the tournament was to get people talking about books and maybe put readers onto authors they haven't read before. It worked. I've ordered Goblin War by Jim Hines and plan to order The Way of the Shadows by Brent Weeks. And while I do think some folks will order Go-Go now that might not have before, I think this strategy has backfired a bit too ... at least to some minor degree.

The tone of the competition seemed to change slightly in the last two rounds. I suspect some people will be resentful their pet book didn't win and will avoid my book at all costs. Indeed, some of the comments in the final round were a bit sad. One voter said that we should all vote for Brent Weeks since he was the "underdog" because Gischler has "published 25 novels." Did I? Did I black out for a decade? If so, then some publishers owe me a shitload of back royalties. I haven't published 25 novels. Not even close. And I assume that most of Weeks' reader are upstanding decent folk. Anyway, it's only a slight blemish on an otherwise positive experience.

But the fact remains that it is very damn cool that I've won. Hey, I lost an Edgar Award and an Anthony Award. So it's about time we scored one for the Gischler

Again ... you guys. YOU guys. Thanks.

Your last chance for quality karma!

Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank those who've voted for my novel Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse in Book Spot Central's tournament. You're the best. But voting is still open, and the race is too close to call. Voting closes tonight. So if you've been waiting to vote to make a last minute, dramatic impact, now is the time. Please go here and vote. Thanks!

HOME ALONE

So the wife and boy are away to see grandma and grandpa. I am home alone bachelor style. I always take these opportunities to hurt myself. Later today hot wings. At some point I will cook a crock pot full of my famous 12-alarm radioactive death chili. Jackie is one smart, pretty helluva wife, but she does not truck with spicy food. I will probably also smoke cigars until I wheeze, twitch and pass out. This is why it's good that I not be left alone too often or for very long. I also stay up late and watch DVDs, so I'll be sleep deprived on top of everything else. Later today, I will be setting up my bachelor pavilion outside -- computer for novel writing, TV for viewing the Masters, near the grill for wings, etc. It better not rain [shakes fist at sky.]

Oh, and you didn't think I could stop myself from mentioning this again, did you? Please vote for my novel Go-GO Girls of the Apocalypse at Book Spot Central. It's a tight race, and I need your help. A number of people have already earned their awesome-wings by voting. Please help and go right here to vote.

Once more into the breach, Dear Friends!

Folks, if you've been following blogpocalypse recently, then you know I've been bugging the crap out of you to vote for me at Book Spot Central's book vs. book smackdown tournament, a competition organized like March Madness basketball. At first it was sort of a lark, but then I was in the sweet sixteen, then the elite eight, and then -- much to my sincere surprise -- the final four.

Now I'm in the finals, and, I'll be honest, it's still all for fun ... but I really really want to win. I admit it.

This is going to be a tough one, people. I'm definitely the underdog. I'm up against a fantasy novel called The Way of the Shadow by Brent Weeks. Right now the vote count is as tight as hell, but Weeks has a lot of loyal readers and once they really wake up and mobilize, the Gischler is in some deep doo-doo.

You guys have taken me me this far. It's all you. And I'm grateful as hell. I'm going to be borrowing against good deeds until the year 2024 to pay back the karma debt.

But I need you just one more time. One more vote (and they also ask for a sentence or two to explain why) and I can stop hounding you about this. For those who've vote already ... thanks. Go get your friends and neighbors to vote now. For the rest of you, baby, this is it. The final push. Please go here and vote. You do have to register, but I understand it just takes a minute.

Thanks and double thanks.

Coming soon ...

The Sequel ... to go back for seconds or not?

Those who've read my books (and thanks for doing that) know that I don't write a series. I'm not a series kind of guy. This is not to say anything against those who do write a good series. Heck, that Reacher fellow has a lot more readers than I do. But it's just not for me. When I sit down to write a novel, I like knowing I can do anything I want with the cast of characters. I can use them up. Nobody needs to survive for further installments. And then I have a nice clean slate for the next book. New characters, new situations. I don't have to go back to earlier books to maintain continuity. Clear sailing.

Recently, I got an e-mail from a dude named Scott who suggested I stop jacking around and get to work on a a sequel to Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse since he liked it so much. Scott is not alone in this sentiment. I have gotten a lot of requests for a sequel. Dare I say a shitload? Yes, I dare. Some of these requests came in the form of e-mails, others in person when I went around doing some signing events last summer. It seemed like the first question out of everyone's mouth was "when are we going to see more adventures with Mortimer?"

Here's the thing: For the first time ever I was actually excited about the idea of writing a sequel. I even went as far as thinking up additional characters, a general plot and strategies for avoiding what I consider to be common pitfalls with sequels. I pitched the idea for a sequel to my publisher.

My publisher said this: "You should shove that idea straight up your ass, Gischler."

Okay, they were more professional and polite than that. They explained that traditionally sequels only sell half as well as the first novel. They were not hip to a sequel. (Although calling my next novel Vampire A Go-GO sort of makes it sound like a sequel.)

So there you have it, people. I anticipate I will still have readers requesting a sequel, and I wish I could have better news for them. But until my publisher (or some other publisher?) comes demanding I get writing the next apocalypse book, it looks like a NO-GO instead of a GO-GO.

Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse in the Final Four

Well, folks I owe all of you a heartfelt thanks. Your votes have put my novel into the final four in Book Spot Central's book vs. book tournament. I'm actually surprised as hell because it looked to me like Jim Hines' novel Goblin War was going to run away with it. My thanks to Jim for running a good campaign. He's got a lot of loyal readers, and I think the tournament has done its job in bringing worthy novels to our attention. Well done, Book Spot Central.

I'll refrain from the hard sell at the moment, but if you happen to want to vote, I'd appreciate it. VOTE HERE. Let's keep it on the level people. One vote per person.

(And I promise a non-"vote for me" blog post coming soon.)