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I have changed my official author website for a more professional look.

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www.tristanvick.com




Thank you.

Seasons of Freethought Introduction

Seasons of Freethought is a special project I've been working on for some time. It collects the Freethought publications of G.W. Foote and puts them back into print in one affordable collection. But instead of just writing another sales pitch, I thought I'd share with you the new Introduction to this collected volume by yours truly.

INTRODUCTION

TRISTAN VICK

Sentenced and confined to a year in prison for the victimless crime of blasphemy, George William Foote did not let this little setback dissuade him from speaking out against the cruelties and absurdities of religion. In fact, having a year of his life taken away for the “offense” of blaspheming against the Christian God only made him more entrenched in his cause to dole out just criticism of religious injustice  hypocrisy, and cruelty all the while fighting for the noble causes of the freedom of speech, and of freedom of thought and expression.

Publisher of the skeptical and freethought magazine the Freethinker, began in 1881 and which is still published to this day,^[1]Foote himself would later republish his favorite speeches, lectures, letters,and essays in several works. Of his numerous book publications, the ones which stand out the most are his Freethought series, which include Arrows of Freethought and Flowers of Freethought in two volumes.

I have decided to reproduce all three of Foote’s famous, or rather infamous, Freethought publications here in one collected volume under the fitting title: Seasons of Freethought. Furthermore, I have selected these works not only because they seemed to be of sentimental value to Foote himself, but also because of the extremely beneficial wealth of insights into literature, religion, and human nature that only an intellectual like G.W. Foote could have provided.

Foote was a man devoted to fighting superstition wherever it reared its ugly head and, to his credit, never shied away from doling out a sarcastic quip in the name of Freethought. G.W. Foote did as much to spread the values of Freethought as Thomas Paine, Robert G. Ingersoll, and d’Holbach, and he should not be quickly forgotten for his lofty contributions to the Freethought movement. In addition to running the Freethinker, Foote would go on to succeed Bradlaugh as President of the National Secular Society, a position he’d maintain for twenty-five years. G.W. Foote lived from 1850 to 1915.

In reproducing G.W. Foote’s Freethought publications I have taken some minor liberties. The main reasons for the changes are simply for reading convenience and economy. As an Englishman, many of Foote’s spellings retain the British spellings (e.g., colour instead of color and centre instead of center, etc.), which I have Americanized wherever possible, except in the cases of direct quotes from English poetry and prose.

In addition to using the standardized American English forms, I have also elected to use the more modern spellings, punctuation,contractions, and conjugations as outlined in the Oxford English Corpus. As such,the old spelling forms using un- prefixes have been changed to the modern spellings using im- prefixes where applicable, so that unplausible becomes implausible and so on and so forth.

As for contractions, wherever there are two separate words for the same single word form, such as every one, forever,and can not, I have chosen to use the contracted single word forms of everyone,forever, and cannot.

Finally, I have omitted the duplicate chapters “Who are the Blasphemers?” and “The Gospel of Freethought” from Flowers of Freethought series one and two, which are also found in the first book Arrows of Freethought. Any other changes you may find are purely cosmetic, which is to say, for aesthetic and stylistic purposes only and do not alter the content or meaning in any considerable way.

Beyond these rather mundane technical enhancements, I have tried to stay as true to the source material as possible while updating it for a modern readership. Most assuredly, I am pleased to present a new generation of Freethinkers, Skeptics, and Atheists with an accessible and affordable collection of works by one of the greatest defenders of Freethoughtand free speech who ever lived.

---

[1] See: http://freethinker.co.uk/

New Imprint Logo

I thought about hiring a professional company to design me a logo for my publishing imprint, but at the moment I am financially strapped. I have spent all my money on books covers, editing, and formatting.

As such, I decided I would use what modicum of talent I have to design my own logo. Something recognizable, yet not to complicated. Something eye-catching, but not too busy.

To make a long story short -- here is what I came up with. 

I rather like it.

Bitten 3 Cover Reveal!

Alright, alright, alright! It's just a month away from publication (the manuscript for part 3 is being edited as we speak) but I thought I would sneak the cover reveal out there early anyway! 

It's another excellent design by Glendon Haddix and his company Streetlight Graphics.

Social Media: Use it and Abuse it!

I have read various opinions on how authors ought to use social media. Best seller Jonathan Gunson, for example, thinks it's a big rookie mistake to shout out your book on Twitter and other social media (Facebook, Tumblr, Goodreads, etc.)

But I rather think it's like the brilliant blogger and self published author Christian Mihai says, it's not so much about how you use social media that matters, it's how well you develop your platform.

Both authors, however, stress the importance of reader interaction. People log onto social media to *interact with their favorite authors as well as fellow readers.

Neil Gaiman is a master of this. He also happens to have one of the most read blogs of any living author.

But what if you're a new comer? What if you, like many struggling authors, have a day job to support your family and cannot spend hours on end trying to *interact on social media?

What then?

Then do what I do, screw the opinions of successful authors. They're not successful because they mastered Twitter. They're successful because they have a damn good book which resonates with readers and they happened to luck out in the timing and the response.

Even Neil Gaiman knows luck has a little to do with an authors success.

That said, I think Mihai is right. Improving one's social media platform could never hurt. But at the same time, is sending a shout out to a book you've published going to turn readers off?

Probably not. If you have an excellent book, it will find a fan base. Just don't expect word of mouth to be instantaneous. As a self published author, you still have to do some selling.

My book Bitten has been out for over a year and the sequel, which just came out this month, has already sold twice as many copies, and I haven't pimped it nearly as much as the first book.

Does that mean I turned readers off with all my "shouting" on the first one? I highly doubt it.

It's just that after nearly a year of non-stop interview inquiries, sending out promotional copies for anyone who would read it, and yes, pimping my book like a shameless book whore, I have more name recognition. It helps.

So as long as you do try to interact a little bit with your readers and fans, and you create a strong platform with good networking between the various social media, feel free to abuse it. Heck, the way I see it, if you didn't use it at all then you'd just have one less outlet to advertise your book.

Can a new author take it too far? Certainly  If all you are doing is reposting the same link again and again, well, that would get old fast. But if you're like me, and you simply don't have time to master every form of social media, then focus on the one you are good at and as for the rest, use them however you see fit.

If you have a quality book, people will notice, regardless of how you advertise, or don't. But certainly  it couldn't hurt to pimp it a little bit.

Case in point: I put up a link to my book Bitten 2 and generate 30 sales in one hour. 30 sales I wouldn't have had if I had thought, oh well, Mr. Gunson is probably right. Nobody will want to read me if I just advertise another ole zombie book.

Actually, yeah, there is always somebody curious enough to click on the link to your book. Will that mean they are apt to buy it? Probably not. But sometimes I like a good shouting match, so shout away fellow Indie authors! Be proud of your work.

Besides, if people really cared about conversations, I mean real conversations, they wouldn't be spending all their time on social media sites which limit what they can say to catch phrases and two-bit jokes, or a series of fleeting memes. 

So if I actually do scare someone away with my shouting, I hope they can outrun the sound of my booming voice, because YEEEEARGHHHH! Also, Bitten 2 is available for Barnes & Noble's Nook as well as Amazon's Kindle.

So I'll keep abusing social media, whether people like it or not. I'll let my unnatural charm take care of the rest--although I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing.

--Tristan Vick

Somnambulant Things

Hush now,
The crepuscular hour is upon us;
Whence creep the somnambulant things
Athirst for your ichor, beware!
Sweet scent of fear infused adipose perspiration,
Stirs their unnatural yearning;
A perpetual famishment of hellish torment
Marked by aching moans and insatiable hunger
Guard well the pulp of your being,
Both marrow and meat,
From the somnambulant things
And their unwholesome cravings

by Tristan Vick

Bitten 2 Paperback! Now Available!

Bitten 2 Paperback is now on sale! 

It's live on CreateSpace. Amazon is being slow as usual. 240 pages of zombie goodness! 

Cut and Paste:

https://www.createspace.com/4121118

Dredd

I just finished watching the bloody, very bloody, Dredd reboot.

A couple of things I liked about it. I liked that Dredd, played by Karl Urban, kept his helmet on the whole time, like he's supposed to.

I liked the fact that it was a throwback to violent 80s action flicks like Rambo and Robocop.

It had the bright neon colors and all the senseless shooting. The bad guys were bad just for the sake of having someone for the good guys to blow away. Simple. No complex story line. Just good guys wasting bad guys. Druggies. Guns. More guns. And a lot of bullets flying across a wash of red splatter.

I liked that the whole look was 80's retro, but with the seamless use of today's CGI standards.

The things I didn't like: Every goddamn time they introduced the drug slow-mo the actual film would cut to a slow motion reel of people high on slow-mo. Every goddamn time. The first time was long... and gave the viewer the gist. Every time after that initial car chase in slow-mo was just overkill. The drug wasn't as interesting as the filmmakers apparently thought it was.

I didn't like the Mama character either. The character had no real motivation for wanting to kill Dredd. She is the head drug lord of the Peach Trees area and wants to expand her franchise. The best way to do that would simply be to have had her man killed by some patsy, and let the patsy take the fall. Two birds with one stone.

Taking on a Judge seemed rather stupid. There just wasn't any reason for it. It guaranteed Mama real big trouble.

*Spoilers*

If Mama would have just left Dredd alone, she could have made her little 9/11 call later and pulled a few inside favors and nobody would have ever been the wiser as to what she was up to.

Instead she's just hell bent on killing Dredd, not for some reason, but for no reason at all.

So the character is written with two ways out of her situation and she ignores each one just so she can keep trying to kill Dredd. But why? It never explained why she hated him so much. Other than Mama is just a throwback to 80's villains--a character of evil, doped up, crack-heads high on insanity from one too many hits.

The performances were all good.

I was hoping for some satire, you know, what makes the Dredd comics so appealing. But there wasn't any. It was just a straight up action flick.

**End Spoilers**

Low Down

Over all, I give it a 6.5 out of 10. 

It's entertaining enough for a second viewing, or the occasional viewing when you're in a blast-em-up shoot-em-up mood. But beyond that, it's your standard fair gun romp with lots of splatter.

I know a lot of people still prefer the Stallone one better. I like both for different reasons. This new Dredd plays it straight. It's realistic. Gritty. No camp this time around. That appeals to some. The Stallone one was a lot more fun as far as popcorn films go. But it's just a matter of preference. I rate the Stallone version a 7.0 out of 10 just because it does have humor and a compelling plot with a villain with a real reason for wanting Dredd out of the big picture.

Bitten: Dream Casting Call

Here are my picks of actors and actresses who I'd like to see as my characters from my horror survival/zombie novel BITTEN: A Resurrection Thriller.



The enigmatic Jennifer Hurley to be played by Viva Bianca 




The regal Rachael Ramirez to be played by Katrina Law



The jar-head Jared Barnes to be played by Jensen Ackles



The combat marine Ulysses Noble to be played by Kevin Phillips



The mysterious Cowboy to be played by Daniel Feuerriegel



The sinister Dr. Treslen to be played by Idris Elba



The take charge General Greer to be played by Karl Urban




The heroine Alyssa Briggs to be played by Rachel Nichols.

Ipsissima Verba

As a writer one of the main things I am in search for is the ipsissima verba. This literally means "the perfect words."

I spend a lot of time on the first lines as well of the last lines of my novels. I rewrote the first paragraph to my debut novel Bitten: A Resurrection Thriller at least a dozen times. I rewrote the ending twice as many times just to get the feel of prosody it has along with being damn cool imagery. 

My new novel, Bitten: Land of the Rising Dead, was the same. The beginning was a little easier this time around because I was in the swing of things, but the ending was, pardon my French, a royal bitch.

I rewrote the ending so many times I lost count. Then, still not being satisfied, I DELETED it.

I started from scratch, and, still, I wasn't satisfied.

After going through the story I realized that in order to find the perfect ending I either had to write another 60,000 words or else do something different. I chose different, because the next 60,000 words are coming anyway in the third novel, Bitten: Kingdom of the Living Dead.

This time the Epilogue is a mini short story that is broken into four codas. Usually an epilogue is just a closing segment, but since this is book two of an ongoing series, I thought it would be fun to play with the medium and push the creative boundaries a little. So what I came up with was an extended epilogue, and what better to call it than a coda?

Finally, I had found an ending I liked. 

But again, it wasn't quite right. So I rewrote it several times. Then I rewrote it several times more. 

Now I have something I'm satisfied with.

It's strange that the beginning and ending of everything I write is such a challenge. But I think that's because I desperately want to hook the reader and also leave them satisfied. I think this becomes even more important when you're writing a series.

As for the pages between the opening and the close, those come naturally to me. 

As it happens, I love to write dialog, and the pages begin to fill themselves. Basically, after creating a cast of characters and writing out character bios (and backgrounds), at a certain point, the characters begin to write themselves.

Once they come to life, so to speak, I tend to let them dictate the direction of the story. Sometimes as I write them (rather freely) they will say or do something that is even unexpected to me. That's part of the fun of getting caught up in free-verse. When you're writing like that, loose and fast, and the imagination engine is spooled up to full, sometimes the subconscious kicks out things that make one's characters do or say the unexpected.

I like whenever this happens, because whenever it happens, it inevitably is a pleasant surprise. More often than not it also improves my plot. Of course, this forces me to have to go back and revise my outline, because the character did something that wasn't compatible with the way I initially plotted the story, but it always works out for the better. I think it works because it adds an interesting twist to the story, which allows you to explore different avenues of character personalities, motivations, or plot points which help to really flesh out the story. Additionally, it tends to make the character much more realistic feeling. 

You'll be glad to know that I am currently searching for the ipsissima verba for my third book in the Bitten series. How many more zombie books will I write? I don't know. I'll keep writing them as long as I am having fun with the characters and with the world I've created. Also, I have plenty of other projects I am currently working on, including a non-fiction compendium of essays. That's a whole other style of writing, and a whole other discussion.

Until then, may all you writers find the words you are looking for, and to all the rest, happy reading!

A Couple of Short Novellas and other Works

I have many works in the pipeline. Currently I am in the process of editing Bitten 2: Land of the Rising Dead and getting it prepped for a February release. At the same time I am working on a religious/spiritual anthology of deconversion stories about people who lost their religious faith and became atheists and agnostics.

On top of all this, I have finished a couple of digital short novellas (one romance and one erotica). Both will be out in the next couple of weeks. Instead of explaining the details, I'll just do the cover reveals and let the mystery linger until intrigue forms and compels you to rush out and buy it once they are available for download. 

Daughter of Sol: Book One (News)

I have just begun writing my science fiction space opera series called Daughter of Sol.

It will be a couple years off yet before completion, as this is the most ambitious fiction novel I have ever begun. I want the science to be believable even as it is largely an intergalactic fairy-tale. It's the culmination of my life long love for science fiction and my passion for theoretical physics coming together under one collective umbrella of my imagination.

I have created a mock-up "teaser" cover, which was intended only as a sort of promotional gimmick but has steadily been growing on me. I may try to snag the rights to the background image as I am considering using it for the real novel. 

The background space art comes from the talented folks over at GT Graphic Design and Photography. Check them out if you get a chance!

All this, however, just to explain why I haven't been blogging as much recently. 

Bitten After Dark 6 and Bitten 2 Updates!

Just a friendly reminder that Bitten After Dark 6 is now available for download on Amazon.com.

IMPORTANT UPDATE
As I was editing the After Dark stories and compiling them into a novel format, I realized that the story I told was more or less what I had in mind for BITTEN 2: Land of the Rising dead.

I have always intended the second novel to be less of a sequel and more of a stand alone story set in the same universe. As such, Bitten After Dark will BECOME Bitten 2: Land of the Rising Dead.

Literature, like any art, is constantly evolving--hopeful to the end goal of the artist's vision. As I thought about what I wanted Bitten 2 to be about, it was essentially the story I told in the After Dark series.

That said, the novel version which collects all of the 'After Dark' stories will be broken into 22 chapters, instead of the original 6. I found that the 30 page chapters was just too long--and that breaking them up really increases the flow of the story and makes the reader feel that they are making substantial progress with the book. It moves along more briskly when you can keep track of the pace.

As it is a much different novel, a love story instead of a survival horror, the format is a little different this time around. There are only five main characters in the entire story instead of the 50 or so in the original BITTEN novel.
That's a huge change right there, but the story isn't any less captivating.  In fact, I think the focus on just a few survivors really makes the characters come out more, since we spend so much personal time with them.

As a love story, it has a different tone. But at the same time it fleshes out the Bitten mythos.

What I initially began as Bitten 2, which I am 12 chapters into as of this writing, will become Bitten 3: Kingdom of the Living Dead. 

Bitten 3 effectively combines the surviving members of Bitten 1 and Bitten 2 together into an epic finally. With a few surprises thrown in. Bitten 3 is similar to the first book in that it's got plenty of characters and it jumps between individual stories instead of focusing on just a handful of main characters like Bitten 2. 

The reason I went a different direction with Bitten 2 was to see if I could tell a different type of story. Also, I didn't want it to suffer from second novel syndrome, where the second part of a trilogy is always less well received  It's actually an entirely different story with a different cast of characters within a different genre. It will be book ended by two similar style tales which makes this trilogy truly unique. 

Whether or not this little writing experiment will be successful is a different matter entirely. The fate of the Bitten series lies entirely in the hands of the Bitten fans and zombie/horror aficionados. 

Additionally, Bitten 2: Land of the Rising Dead will have some additional chapters not available in the digital downloads of the After Dark series. I had to play around with the format a bit to make it tie back into the universe yet maintain it's stand alone appeal.

Bitten 2: Land of the Rising Dead will be available sometime in February if all goes to schedule. 

Drunken Zombie Reviews BITTEN!

The fine folks over at Drunken Zombie have written an in-depth review of my debut zombie novel. It's quite detailed and quite good. Check it out!

DRUNKEN ZOMBIE.com

Bitten: After Dark 5 Now Available!

The fifth installment to the After Dark serial is now available for purchase on Amazon.com (only $0.99)

With only one final chapter left, I have begun compiling the short stories into a novella. Actually, the page count looks like it will be coming in around 210 when all is said and done, including a special book only Epilogue, which means it is turning into more of a novel.

I couldn't be happier with the way this series is turning out. I tried some new things, and the narrative is brisk, and the characters are fleshed out in detail, and there are surprises and twists and turns, and it lays the ground for what will be the main story arc in BITTEN 2: Land of the Rising Dead (coming summer of 2013).

So, if you've been enjoying the series thus far, just wait, you're in store for an epic finale!

Peace and chicken grease! Try not to get any bites.

--Tristan Vick

The cover reveal of After Dark 6.

Bitten: After Dark 4 FREE Promo!

Bitten: After Dark 4 is FREE for Kindle for the next 5 days (October 13 to 18!).

If you don't own a Kindle, be sure to download the Kindle app for your phone or PC. 

BITTEN: After Dark updates!

Bitten: After Dark 4, the climax of the short story series, is now available for download!

Don't forget to check out the Bitten 1-3 omnibus. The omnibus is available on both Amazon.com for Kindle and Barnes & Noble for Nook.

Finally, Bitten: After Dark 5 is in the editing stages, and the big finale, part 6, is being plotted today.

Both part 5 and 6 will be available in the last week of October and first week of November, respectively. In the works is a paperback edition for a New Years release!

Video and Quote of the Day: Pamela Meyer on Truth Bias

"Unless we're given a reason to believe otherwise, human beings--Americans in particular--are generally hardwired to assume that what we are told is true and what we see is real." --Pamela Meyer (Liespotting, p.7)

Here's a TED talk by Meyer worth checking out also.

After Dark 3 and the After Dark Omnibus!

BITTEN: After Dark 3, the third in my zombie short story series which tie into BITTEN and BITTEN 2, is now available on Amazon.com.

ALSO...

The Bitten: After Dark Omnibus, collecting the After Dark short stories 1-3, is now available.

Check them out!

What is the Most Recognized Word Ever?

I have read, most recently in Pamela Myers' excellent book Lie Spotting, that the words OK, Coke, and Shakespeare are the most universally recognized worlds in the world.

After Googling this, OK and Coke get the most hits, but I don't know if this is entirely accurate. Maybe in the English speaking world it is.

But in the non-English speaking world Coke is the only one with any worldwide recognition, even if it is known by its full name Coca-cola.

Having traveled to various Asian countries, including China, S. Korea, and Japan, I have noticed that "Bye-bye" is part of their everyday vernacular. OK isn't part of their lexicon.

I asked my Thai and Vietnamese friends, and they both informed me that both "Bye-bye" and Coca-cola are known. 

Meanwhile, in my conversations with my Asian friends, Shakespeare is a known word, but most people don't exactly know much more than the fact that he was the West's most famous writer.

However, my best bet for most globally recognized words, and yes all three are English due to the fact it is the dominant language on this planet, would be: Coca-Cola, Bye-Bye, and Jesus Christ.

These words would most likely be followed closely by the word "Muhammad." Both religious figures make the list simply because there are billions of Christians and Muslims permeating the world, and are found in almost every developed culture. Additionally, Muhammad is the most chosen name to give a child in the world.

I would say the words CD, DVD, and Shakespeare are a close runners up.

If anyone has some actual data on this, feel free to post it in the comments section below. I would like to research this more. Also, I filter all posts with links, so don't freak out if the post doesn't show up immediately. It will take several hours before I can get around to checking the link to see if it isn't malicious and then approve it.