Michael Whetzel, author

Belle is Dying is out on Amazon. Hit the link here. Vastly different story than what I usually write. Belle is the Goddess of the Muse (my own creation) and this is my fairytale/legend story about her. Intro price of .99 cents. I will upload it to the KOBO and iTunes stores this week. 

Belle will be the headline story for the new short story collection coming out soon, much like Pied Piper was for Raw Feed Stories. It will be the only story from the collection released on its own though. Elder will not fall into this collection either. 

Well, that's another year down the drain. 

Trump is president. 

We lost a lot of good people. Carrie Fisher, Prince, Bowie, the list goes on and on. 

I got a book out. Elder marked my return to self-publishing and was well-received. 

And the Cubs won the series!

Yeah, that's a pretty hefty year. 

So once again...I present the things I have enjoyed in the past 12 months. It's the year in review. 


MOVIES

2016 was a pretty good year for the movie biz. The blockbuster season delivered some gems. Here are some of the ones I enjoyed and one I loved. There are still a lot of flicks I haven't caught yet i.e. Kubo, Don't Breathe, Manchester by the Sea, etc. 

Captain America: Civil War

Just when you think Marvel is getting ready to falter a bit and their movies are getting too big, the above happens. How do they make this work? This is the biggest battle yet and they re-introduced a character in Spidey to the universe. The film was spectacular, and while not really a Captain America movie per se, who really cares?

I mean, if this is just your average Marvel dish, what is Infinity War going to be like? Avengers and Guardians and Doc Strange and Spidey all in the same movies? The only thing better is.....(and it will happen, mark my words).....

X-Men vs. Avengers.

X-Men: Apocalypse 

Speaking of the mutants, why so much hate, people? I really like this movie. Remember the 3rd X-Men movie during the first go around?It was utter crap. Yeah, Apocalypse is the X-Men movie we've been waiting for. It is a bit long, but this was right in my wheelhouse as these are the stories I loved so much in the comics. 
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Deadpool

I was hesitant. But the promotional videos and Ryan Reynolds kept me interested. And I did not see it in theatres. So I started behind. But yeah....Deadpool is here and the world is better for it. 
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10 Cloverfield Lane

Is it a sequel/prequel to Cloverfield? Who knows? But the tone is there and John Goodman is great. Sure, the ending is batshit crazy but still works. The movie is a slow burn and if you have not seen it yet, go redbox it. The experience is unique, which is something Hollywood rarely gets right. 
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Star Wars: Rogue One

The expectations were high for me. Very much. And that first 1/2 hour was not looking good. I was bored. But the caper started and everything fell in place. The best thing, if you know nothing about Star Wars, you can still enjoy this movie. As much as I liked Force Awakens, this is the superior film. 
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Before I share my favorite movie of 2016, here are a couple of shout-outs to some others I enjoyed:

Star Trek: Beyond
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

and what I can't wait for in 2017:

more Star Wars
Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Wonder Woman
Dunkirk
Logan
Alien
Spidey
John Wick 2
Lego Batman
Dark Tower
Blade Runner (OMG!!!!!)
and more!

OK....drumroll.......

For me....this was the year's best:
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I was not really into this when I first saw the previews. It was sci-fi and I'm always up for another sci-fi flick. But at the time we were waiting excitedly for Doctor Strange and this was just something that came out after that movie. But as the trailers kept hitting and I realized who directed it, I became more interested. 

This year my divorce was finalized. It's whatever, but I am always trying to find ways to be with my kids. Movies have been instrumental in this. So anytime I can take them to see a flick, that's great. My son and I went to see Arrival. No real expectaions. We walked out agreeing it was one of the best things we had ever experienced. 

It's a sci-fi alien movie but so much more. Remember how good Interstellar is? Now take that movie and pretend it's a 10 times better. I know, right? And I love Interstellar. 

Arrival is coming towards the end of it's theatrical run. Go see it. Take your family, your friends, someone you care about. It deserves this year's best pic award. 

FYI...Denis Velleneuve directed this, Prisoners, and Sicario. His next is the Blade Runner sequel. I'm all in.

Television

I am ashamed. I have started and not finished both Daredevil and Stranger Things. Yeah, yeah, I know. Epic fail. I'm going to get back to them, I swear. My TV watching was mitigated by school and work and pokemon. But I did find a couple of new things that I enjoyed immensely. 

The Detectorists

It's about a couple of metal detecting fanatics. I stumbled upon it on Netflix and instantly got hooked. It's a quirky comedy with these lovely characters that play and bounce off each other. Looking for something different? I highly recommend this. 

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Black Mirror

Intense. Unsettling. Captivating. This show is crazy. Take Amazing Stories and plunge 10cc's of crack into it and you have Black Mirror. A show that provokes you and makes you uncomfortable without even being gory or scary, just challenging you to think about where we, as a species, are heading with our continued relationship and reliance on technology. Highly recommended. 

Pokemon:Generations

I became a huge Pokemon fan this past year. Pokemon Go was tremendous which led me to the cards which led me to this new show. Each episode contains a short, stand-alone vignette that alludes to some larger back story. Classic characters from throughout the universe make appearances and each episode is done very well. You may not like them if you are looking for complete stories with resolutions and such. But I think this format works pretty fine. 

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It's hilarious!!

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Oh yeah and that happened.....

​.....but this was better.....

Nothing really to add bookwise. I read Roadside Picnic by a Russian author whose name I forget and The Fireman by Joe Hill. Also enjoyed Old Man's War by John Scalzi. 

Right now I'm halfway through Warm Bodies and just started the new Michael Chabon novel. There is a huge pile of books waiting for my attention. 

Writing is ongoing right now. Cube will be released in paperback form within the next month or so. I'm really excited about that as it is my favorite thing I've written. There will be some new novellas hitting soon followed by another short story collection. By the end of 2017, I want to have Worldbreaker and Pied Piper 3 complete and out. 

Hit me up with what you enjoyed this year. 

Peace, 
​Mike

Is it me or is everything just a bit cuckoo right now? BTW, I am attempting to keep this blog updated semi-regularly. As such so may blah blah....

So yeah....cuckoo for cocoa puffs. 

Zika is the new STD. Think about that. We actually have a new sexually transmitted disease in our midst. It makes me think about the advent of AIDs when I was a kid. Is this kind of the same thing? Hit me up in the comments. I was too young to experience the hysteria around AIDs when it grew. As it is, no one seems that worried about Zika....hmm....

The reason I wonder about these things is this is the continuation of our overall story. Planet Earth...yippee-ky-yay. 

And with Trump and Clinton and racial unrest and protests by athletes and Lochte is a douche, we need our escape from reality more than ever. 

Dive into a story. TV, movie, web, book. Escape the rat race being led by actual RATS (Trump/Clinton). 

Russian authors are the bomb. Just dived into ROADSIDE PICNIC by the Strugatsky bros. Really enjoying it. It centers around a past alien visit and the relics they have left behind in the Zone. Men called Stalkers venture into the dangerous region to steal these objects and sell them on the black market. It reminds me a lot of Vandermeer's Southern Reach. Get it here.

I've been also jumping around some short story collections, one by Truman Capote and the other by Kelly Link. 

ELDER is out and while not burning up the charts, I think the most important thing is I've birthed something back out into the open, even though there were a lot of labor pains. No reviews yet, so if you read it, please post a review. Really anxious to see what everyone thought.

I've currently got 2 short stories and a novella on the desktop that I have been alternating work on. PROJECT: DESIGN is going to be this year's Halloween release. I've stumbled on to some unique thoughts regarding spatial influence and feel like DESIGN will hold a very original tale. PROJECT: BELLE will be the next novella, as we look at the power of the muse in a sci-fi fantastical setting. Third work is too early to designate project wise. 

There are new ideas all over the news:

-a scientist recently made a small black hole in his lab

-astronauts training for Mars mission have been living in space-like conditions for months

-Zika (see above)

and on and on and on.....

Just random thoughts and musings. Will try and post once a week and I'll be on the Facebook page a bit too. 

peace, 
​Mike

Elder is out and FREE to download 9/6 thru 9/8.

It will be included in the forthcoming short story collection. 

Click here to get your copy!---------> Mr. Link 

It has been two years and that's too long. I'm back and things are different (as they would be after losing a son). So let's get on with it.......

It's done and is in the final phase of hitting the 'Zon. Here's the unofficial blurb:

In a small town in West Virginia, something has awakened. 

This is my love letter to all things Lovecraft.

Because Cthulhu rises!!!!!

Street date is September 5th i.e. Labor Day. It will be free for a few before settling in at some ridiculously cheap price. 

Thanks for your patience. I've got a new collection of short stories hitting and yes, PP3. 

Let's start walking together again. 

Peace,
Mike

p.s. I will send the newsletter out as soon as Elder is live in Amazon. If you have not signed up yet, now is a good time. 

2014 is over with and I actually have a bit of time to go back and look over some of the things I really enjoyed from a writer's POV. This is not a top 10 list but a summary of all my favorites from the past year:


MOVIES


The Lego Movie - It's easy to forget that this was released in 2014, especially with all the great movies that came after it. But in March we were treated to an all-ages delight in the Lego Movie. Great animation and entertainment are all wrapped up in a movie that everyone can enjoy.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Marvel had an amazing year and it started with the sequel to The First Avenger. Using the Winter Soldier as the main protagonist, Cap dropped some of the superhero fare for some down and dirty secret ops conspiracies. Falcon and Widow were both great and with the announcement of Civil War coming next, Captain America fans should be happy for a long time.

X-Men: Days of Future Past - I love the first 2 XMen movies and the last marks the return of director Bryan Singer to the franchise. And what a return it was. After the messes of The Last Stand and the first Wolverine, Fox managed to capitalize on the success of First Class and unite the two casts into an amazing reboot/not reboot of  what has come before. One of the best in the series. Blink is my new favorite XMan.

Edge of Tomorrow - Many of you skipped this because of the Groundhog Day theme and Tom Cruise. If you did, you missed a great scifi movie. It is a scifi Groundhog Day but the film is loads of fun and tons of high action. Cruise is good. He's always good and Emily Blunt is awesome. Highly recommend checking this out. 

Snowpiercer - I was a big fan of this director but forgot all about this movie when it was released. Finally caught it on Netflix and loved it. Chris Evans is great and the premise (post apoc survivors on a train) is original. The plot has some weak points but the look and feel of the movie make up for it. 

Interstellar - Chris Nolan is simply the best director working in Hollywood today. Everything he does is gold and Interstellar is no exception. A huge science fiction epic wrapped around the story of the broken relationship between father and daughter, Interstellar is grand moviemaking in the tradition of Kubrick's 2001.

But my favorite movie of 2014 came near the end of the summer and is the best thing I believe Marvel Studios has done yet. That is hard for me to say because I love, love, love The Avengers. But the best movie I saw in 2014 was:

Guardians of the Galaxy - James Gunn took a relative unknown property and showed what made it so great. I have never quite experienced a scifi, superhero, comedy action movie all rolled up like this. The effects are tremendous. The cast is perfect. And the music, oh the music. It's a scifi movie with Hooked on a Feeling as one of its signature songs. Rocket and Groot, despite so many misgivings, work. And really make the heart of film. Bring on the sequel and please cross over with some Avengers. I want to see Starlord give Stark some sass.

There were a lot of other good flicks but these were the ones that stood out to me this year. Godzilla almost made it but weak acting took down a notch. The big lizard looked tremendous in his return though. And the Apes sequel helps build what could be a solid franchise. 2015 should be huge with Avengers 2 and Star Wars both dropping. And Mad Max. I want some Mad Max!

Television


There was only one thing on television that got my blood pumping this year. But let me preface this by saying I have not seen Game of Thrones. Big fan of the books but not ready to undertake the show yet. My best show this year:

True Detective is a slow burn of a series. The storyline is intense and the acting is unbelievable. The whole feel of the show radiates a surreal noir-like bad dream. And all you want is more and more. I cannot wait for Season 2. 

Books


Southern Reach Trilogy - Jeff Vandemeer 
I have not read the third one yet but if it is anything like the first two, it will be awesome. A chthulu-like series with heavy doses of science fiction and mystery, each book comes from a different perspective, pushing the story along and tying up everything but not giving you anything. 5 stars for this series. 

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage - Haruki Murakami
The book that sold a million copies on its first day of release in Japan, Murakami is up to his old tricks by exploring the fallout of young Tsukuru's childhood relationships. The symbolism is deep but not enough to lose you. Heck, even the design of the book represents something.

Trees - Warren Ellis and Jason Howard
I will read anything Ellis writes and Trees is pure Ellis at his best. Jason Howard's art is fresh and the story reminds of just how small really are in the world.

And those are some of the things 2014 let me enjoy. Drop me a line with what you liked. 

I'm shopping book covers for ELDER and will have release info real soon. 

For now...

Peace,
Mike

Holy crap! Has it been that long since a blog update. Yeesh! That's embarrassing. So let's get on with it, right?

First off, The Pied Piper of the Undead 2 had a solid release and feedback was great. Reviews started coming in immediately and everyone seemed to like where the story of Peter was heading. If you still have yet to pick up a copy, just click here. I want to talk a little about some of the things I struggled with when writing it so if you have not read it yet, skip this next spoiler section. 




















**SPOILERS**




When I first looked at the sequel to Piper, I knew right off that Peter would not be leaving the town quite yet. Even with the strength he showed starting the theater fire and killing numerous zombies, it would be a huge leap for him to leave his home. I mean, he's still a kid. Hell, he couldn't even leave the tower yet. But he was close. Very close to making that jump into adulthood. 

Enter: Debbie and her kids. 

Right away here is an adult who immediately takes up that role that Peter was fighting so hard against. This takes a lot of pressure off him, especially when he has to deal with the pressure of not being alone anymore and with the young girl who is stirring up all kinds of feelings and desires he never really had to face. 

I knew he would end up killing Kelly. It would be the big tragedy of the story. Peter would have to destroy something he loved. And I wanted this to be the moment he really moves into adulthood. 

Which is why he makes the sacrifice in the end and accepts that he will never leave Rockville. 


***END SPOILERS****





















Now I am going to warn you: Part 3 is nothing like the first two. But I think (and hope) it will work. And it is definitely the last book about Peter. I will have said all I have to say about this character and will move on. Not that I do not like the Pied Piper series. It is far and away my most successful work to date, but I feel with the third book, Peter's journey will have come to its end. 

November saw me undertake NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, with the goal of completing 50,000 words towards a novel in the month's 30 days. This marked the first time I had ever competed, and what a challenge. I was set to finish WORLDBREAKER and release my 1st full stand-alone novel. But a few things happened to get in the way. 

I decided to bring together some of the students at the school I work at to complete their own small NaNo competition. The response was great, and coupled with another student I was tutoring at the time, was a huge time sink. But we have a few middle school minds with completed 10,000 word stories that we will begin workshopping together. The finale: We will compile the finished stories into an anthology and produce an ebook and paperback that can be used for fundraising.

I also agreed to write my own short for the anthology, another time sink, which took away from the main competition some more. 

Whew!!!!

But I am pleasantly happy with this story and will probably release it as a stand-alone too, or have it exclusively in the anthology to help boost some sales for the kiddos. It's called Belle is Dying and is very different from anything else I have released to date. Details on when the anthology will hit, but look for it 1Q 2015.

I also spent a lot of the month hammering at ELDER, my chtulhu inspired homage to all things Lovecraftian. It is almost done and should see release by the end of December/beginning of January. This was a lot of fun to write and I hope you enjoy it too. 

Where does that leave WORLDBREAKER? Well for one, as I worked on it, I realized it was going to be a lot bigger than I initially thought. We're talking in the 100,000 word count or somewhere around it. It is also a very difficult thing to write since it is about the passing of my son, Sam. I have reached a scene in which he makes a cameo and kind of just stopped there. I'm still thinking about how it will go, just not ready to put the words down yet. But I am still working on it and really like what we have so far. 

So the new year approaches and the goals for 2015 are:

-Black Rain 3- I know where it goes, I know what happens, I know how it ends. Just have to clear the schedule to begin work.

-Providence 2 and 3- Both are shorter than the first, but will continue the storylines introduced in book 1. These will be filler on the writing schedule as they are pretty easy to write.

-WORLDBREAKER- keep writing, keep working, until we type the last sentence. 

-The Pied Piper of the Undead 3- Will hit around the same time of the year as 2 did this year. And then will be followed up with a collected version, containing all 3 parts and a bonus story, in a nice paperback edition just in time for the holidays. 

One other thing about NaNoWriMo, I was pleasantly surprised by the support shown by the large group of writers in the Shenandoah Valley. Had no clue there were this many annual participants. Big ups to my pal, Chris Dawson, for finishing his novel and working on the editing process as we speak. Cannot wait to see what he has come up. 

Go see Interstellar. What a great movie.

Go read Murakami's two new books. Good stuff as always.

I'll be back in a few with the cover reveal for ELDER and story synopsis and maybe some news on where the BANDWIDTH audiobook stands.

Peace and Merry Christmas,

Mike

There is supposed to be a photo right here where these words are depicting a giant hole in the roof of my study.

A large rainstorm hit our area, causing the roof to leak, causing the insulation to collect water and break through the ceiling. Narrowly missing my computer. All and all, I was very lucky. The only huge loss was damage to a special book that belonged to Sam. Also some other books and comics.  

It's just a big mess. 

So, SIGH, there is a delay on Pied Piper. Looks like a week behind at least while I deal with roofers and insurance. This also dovetails right into my brother's wedding and the last week of school. So things are getting a bit hairy. 

But we are close. Real close.

Add on the fact that for the past week, every computer in the house has gone on the fritz with an insane pop-up virus and the ability to not find a connection and things grind to an even slower halt. 

But again...we are close. Real close. 

And I am very eager to hit the PUBLISH button. Believe me. 

So while you wait (again), seek out some books by this writer I just discovered. His name is Laird Barron. Also try the new books from Jeff Vandermeer.

If you like Lovecraftian style horror, you will dig these two. 

I'm off to Philly this weekend and then back to hopefully hit PUBLISH soon after that.

Mike

I'm Back!

and announcing this......

Yes, it says May. It will hit at the end of the month. As will a new episode of Worldbreaker.

Following that, there will be an announcement regarding a special project (hopefully if everything falls in place) and Providence 2. 

I am teaching right now, which means I'll have most of the Summer off and I plan on dedicating it solely to Black Rain 3. 

There is a lot to catch up on.

And for the first time in a long time, I'm excited. 

Stay tuned.

Mike