Hello Reader!

As my readership, you merit more. In these fortnightly missives, I need to provide added-value. I need to give you something to benefit from. Doubling down on that today.

Potent Quote:

Related to that, I've spent four years stepping up, stepping out, "risking face" and spending endless hours trying to believe in myself. I'm getting there. I have an event I need you at on November 7th at 6. "Come see the would-be author come to believe in himself at long last." Mark@ Watermark.

On Routines:

In school we use a strategy for ideation called "I used to think, but now I know." I used to hate routine and ritual. It felt like math and spreadsheets. Now I know the value of consistency. It all makes life operate with less friction.

If that's too heady: the more I automate, the less I waste thinking about it. Especially mundane things where there's no creativity expensed anyway, why think about it? Suit up like a firefighter.

Film: Angel Heart

Loyal readers know this already: I watch a horror movie every week with my son. It's not my genre of choice, but after a year or so, I've gained appreciation for it. It's not for the faint of heart or weak of mind. Find yourself a connoisseur of the genre. Mine is very informative and careful with my viewing. Of over 3,000 movies he's watched, he carefully shares ones I might find some value in.

In October, he's given free reign to really try to spook me. Last night's movie was Angel Heart from 1987. (Mickey Rourke was once a very attractive leading man. DeNiro can be menacing simply with press-on nails. Lisa Bonet, well, let's just say I've now seen too much of her.) The film was first rated X, then they cut 10 seconds to back it down to rated R, and I'd say it's a R13, a hard R. View with that foreknowledge.

Angel Heart is an absolute treasure of Film Noir, set in 1955. If you have no idea what that genre is, study the cinematography of this movie, and you'll always have it as a touch point. Loved that!

Yes, the film was frightening. More, however, it had a fantastic storyline (and I mean fantastic in both a literal and complementary way.) It was first a novel, William Hjortsberg's 1978 novel Falling Angel. Thus, it has careful characterization, superb dialogue, and some great quotes, like this one:

It's stated by a very sinister character (spoiler: Satan), and the way he delivers the line, musing and nostalgic and owning the irony of it all--chef's kiss. The line is attributed variously to Yogi Berra (of course), Mordecai M. Kaplan, and my dad. I'm going to use it in my time travel stories.

Tech I like

If you've yet to check out Google Workspace's Notebook LM, you're missing out. Users load their documents, and NotebookLM makes, essentially, an AI ChatGPT-ish thing just for your content. I have one with all my books in it, allowing me to check for consistency, create a character bible, a glossary, etc. PRICELESS.

Check it out: One thing they recently added was an audio summation (essentially a two person podcast) feature. You'll have to log into Google, but then if you would, check this example out, where AI has a good conversation with itself about my latest release, Future Fugitives. It's trippy!

What's next?

Well, the Treasure Trove IS an author newsletter, so here's all that you need right now:

• I'm still careening from the great experience at the Kansas Author's Club retreat and conference.
• I'm eager to attend the book launch of Jillian Forsberg's The Rhino Keeper yet this month.
• I've ordered fifty paperbacks of my works to sell at author events. (See Kim Gordon quote above).
• I'm short on short stories this week, for I've fallen through a poetry portal. What's a fiction guy's poetry look like? You tell me: Pick these up <<FREE POEM

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