Do Ya Like My Books?

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Hey kids, it's been a while since I've done this, and I thought with the holidays fast approaching it might be a decent time...

If you've read any of my books and thought they were worthwhile, here's a gentle reminder that they'd make a great Christmas gift.

What gets someone in the Yuletide spirit like an Albino Zombie wreaking havoc on a small town?

What makes you think of Jesus' birthday more than a story about a retired history teacher fighting for his soul against an Indian curse?

What better way to celebrate family togetherness than reading about magical families fighting each other with animal totems?

That's right! Scott F. Falkner volumes make fantastic Christmas gifts for those "hard to buy for" friends and relatives!

Anyway, here's some links to put my books in your loved ones' stockings:

"The Feast of Catchville"

http://www.amazon.com/Feast-Catchville-Scott-F-Falkner/dp/1600760112/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228711538&sr=1-4

http://www.stonegarden.net/index.php?main_page=product_book_info&cPath=17_1&products_id=49&zenid=04d3d858f4e3dd08766d7b735ac56bb0

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Feast-Of-Catchville/Scott-F-Falkner/e/9781600760112/?itm=3

"Swaybuck"

http://www.amazon.com/Swaybuck-Scott-F-Falkner/dp/1600760546/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228711538&sr=1-3

http://www.stonegarden.net/index.php?main_page=product_book_info&cPath=17_1&products_id=59&zenid=04d3d858f4e3dd08766d7b735ac56bb0

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Swaybuck/Scott-F-Falkner/e/9781600760549/?itm=4

"Delving: Obligations"

http://www.amazon.com/Delving-Obligations-Scott-F-Falkner/dp/1600760538/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228711538&sr=1-2

http://www.stonegarden.net/index.php?main_page=product_book_info&cPath=17_2&products_id=69&zenid=04d3d858f4e3dd08766d7b735ac56bb0

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Delving/Scott-F-Falkner/e/9781600760532/?itm=2

"Delving: Assassins"

http://www.amazon.com/Delving-Assassins-Scott-F-Falkner/dp/1600760880/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228711538&sr=1-1

http://www.stonegarden.net/index.php?main_page=product_book_info&cPath=17_2&products_id=103&zenid=04d3d858f4e3dd08766d7b735ac56bb0

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Delving/Scott-F-Falkner/e/9781600760884/?itm=1

OH! AND ONE MORE THING!

If you do like my books, I'd like to ask one thing more of you...
Even if it's a little one-sentence blurb, reviews really do make a big difference. Going to Amazon or Barnes & Noble's website and writing a little something about any of my books that you've read would make all the difference in the world, and would be a most appreciated xmas gift from you to me. I don't think I've ever requested reviews from my readers in the past, so this is an inaugeral plea. Below you'll find the links for Amazon and Barnes and Noble that lead straight to "my" pages, and you can review the individual books from there. If you would, I thank ye kindly in advance.
Oh, and of course, if you find an opportunity to review my stuff elsewhere, via GoodReads or your own personal blog, or what-have-you - please do. A hearty thanks from yours truly.

Here's the Amazon and B&N links:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Scott%20F.%20Falkner

http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?ATH=Scott+F+Falkner

Scotty-Doo! Where Are You?!

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"Over here!"

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

Well, well, well - people actually do read the blog - that's great to know. Over the past few weeks I've gotten no less than twenty-six emails regarding my apparent pseudo-vacation from the internet.

"What's up with the Crichton post being your last one?"

"Why aren't you posting anymore? I hope nothing's wrong..."

"What's the deal? Are you still writing?"

Falkner? Where are you!?

First off, thanks for the concern. Second of all, I'm a bit frightened and a tad thrilled at some of your apparent addictions to The Daily Cave. Hee. Yes, I'm still here, and yes I'm still writing - in fact, the writing is a large part of the reason that I haven't been "online" much as of late.

It's a double-edged sword, ain't it?

You gotta write to stay in the game - hell, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't a writer - I'd probably be in the midst of a flame war over at Ain't It Cool or Shocklines. At the same time, however, in the world of being a burgeoning writer, you've got to stay visible, and in the opening decade of the 21st Century, the easiest and best way to do it is via the internet.

Spend too much time online and you can't get any writing done.

Spend too much time writing, and everyone thinks you're dead.

Ah well.

In the words of the unimitable Jack Torrence: "Honey? I'm home."

First off I want to address a few writing questions that have been posed to me by readers over the last few weeks:

The first is from Antonym Mouse (who's turning into a regular at the blogger version of the Cave - yay!):

AM writes: Out of sheer curiosity, being a Wisconsinite myself, what section of Wisconsin have you moved to?Also, your new house sounds like a dream. It also sounds like a perfect source of inspiration. When I write I like to dial in on a certain object and create a story sort of focused around that, whether it be a central or a more supplemental part of the story. That house sounds most excellent in that respect.

First off, thanks for your questions and great comments, Mouse. Second, where I live is a bit of a mystery, eh? Privacy is a big thing for me. Those that know where I live, know where I live. Those that don't can wonder. :) Being a bit less dramatic, however, I live in the Northwestern Tier of the state, far enough north to understand that January is unbearable without a major-league snowblower in the garage and a case of Leinies in the fridge - (wink - hint given).

Yeah, the house is growing its sea legs, and we're growing with it. I'm getting used to the way the second story stairwell leans to the left when you're walking down it and where the main floor hardwood creaks when you step on it. I'm liking it more and more.

The next question was emailed to me by a woman who only wishes to be referred to as "Dammit Janet": "Scott, just writing to let you know how much I enjoy your books. I've read The Feast of Catchville, Swaybuck, and the first Delving book. As much as I liked Delving, I'm really not a dark fantasy fan, if that's what you want to classify it as. For the most part, my favorite genre is horror, with the occasional mystery thrown in for fun. What I wanted to ask you is, with the science fiction serial that was available through your web page, your horror books, and now the dark fantasy Delving series, do you or your publishers ever want to tie you down to just one genre? I've read in the past that authors who jump from genre to genre have a harder time building up readership than authors who stick to a single genre. Just curious. Oh, and one more thing, write more horror books! You're great at it!

Thanks for the email, Janet, and thanks for reading. As of today, no one has "pressured" me to stick to a single genre. So far, I've been incredibly lucky to work with Stone Garden Press, a publisher that is open to a wide range of subjects. As for limiting myself to one genre - I understand what you mean about building readership, and that has crossed my mind from time to time, but it comes down to this: If I'm forced into a situation where I have to write something, the writing becomes less fun, and more forced in the process. (What was that Johnny Cash quote, "If you put the screws on me I'm gonna screw right out from under ya!"). I guess there's a point where you have to decide whether you're going to do this for the art or for the money. The brilliant ones, of course, do both. I've elected to follow my head and heart simultaneously, and to write what I want to write. Hopefully, if I do it well enough, readers like yourself might take a chance on something that you haven't read before, and maybe, just maybe you'll dig it.

As to writing more horror? Definitely. A great horror book, actually two are on the horizon. Keep your eyes peeled.

Okay, the last question we'll address today is from Jess via the blogger version of the blog - (is that redundant?):

Scott, I saw in your previous posts that you're ok with answering questons. Mine is, how much does your real life play into you work? Do oyou use actual events from your life in your books. Just curious. Thanks.

Thanks for the question, Jess. And as a reminder, any of you fine folks out there are free to ask me whatever, whenever. You can do it anonymously through the Blogger version of The Daily Cave, (though I do like to read at least a first name so I have an idea of whom I'm responding to) through the myspace version, or just email me through the Contact section of www.scottfalkner.com .

Okay, now to the question. Real life events? Yes, I actually shot a zombified deputy when I was in college which made its way into one of my... okay, okay, I'm kidding. Of course I've drawn on real life experiences when writing my books, though they're not written down verbatim - otherwise it wouldn't be fiction. More than events, I - as all good writers do - try to tap into emotions that have been caused by certain events in my "real" life, and try to transpose those emotions to events happening within my books. I'm trying to rack my brain to see if there's anything from the books that are out now that were close to something that happened in my own life... hmm. The only thing that really comes to mind is the funeral scene in "Swaybuck." The part when the pastor tells Carl the thing about sap running over a broken branch is a way that a tree "cries" or "mourns" a death... yeah. That was actually told to me by a pastor at a funeral for a family member of mine.

Anyway, thanks for the question, Jess. I hope I answered it adequately.

All right. I think that's it for this installment. Yes. I'm here. Yes. I'm writing, or at least I will be in a moment. Lot's will be happening in the buildup to and past the end of the year. "Exile: The Collected Helman Graff" comes out next month, and we'll have lots of Goodies (with a capital "G") to be read in anticipation of it. I promise to check in more, too.

Michael Crichton's Legacy

Earlier today, I was extremely saddened when I learned of Michael Crichton's passing just yesterday. Apparently he'd been struggling with some version of cancer for some time. He was only sixty-six.

When I first started envisioning a life as a writer, it may surprise you to find out that I didn't want to be Steve King. I didn't even want to be Clive Barker.

I wanted to be Michael Crichton.

Crichton transcended not only genre, but medium as well. He started out writing mystery paperbacks in the 60's while he was in medical school: he thought it would be a keen way to earn some extra money. He never thought they were worth much - posterity-wise - and he had them published under a pseudonym. After becoming a full-fledged doctor, however, writing appealed to him more an more while the politics of medicine appealed to him less and less. Crichton wrote everything from the aformentioned mysteries, to historical-based adventure ("The Great Train Robbery" and "Eaters of the Dead") to academic science-fiction adventure ("Congo," "Sphere," "The Andromeda Strain," "Jurassic Park") to what I would call science-fiction "warning" books, ("Prey," "State of Fear," "Next"). Whatever you classify his work as, you must classify it as a "Crichton" work. He was one of those authors that carved out a distinctive style all his own, and perfected it.

Given the opportunity to direct a feature film version of his own novel, "The Great Train Robbery" - Crichton reluctantly agreed. This foray into film was only the first of several "behind the scenes" attachments to many popular films and television series. Virtually all of Crichton's fictional works have been made into films, or are in development. He shepherded "E.R." into being - and of course, his novel about Dino-DNA inspired Steven Spielberg to make one of the most far-reaching and successful films of the twentieth century.

I admired Michael Crichton's honesty and his stubbornnes; he was one of those authors/creators that did what he wanted, when he wanted. He will be sorely missed, but oft remembered.

If you haven't read Crichton's autobiography - "Travels" - I HIGHLY recommend it. I GUARANTEE that you won't be disappointed.

The Big Spout

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One of the hardest things about having a blog attached to a quote-unquote "career" is that you have to mind what you say on said blog. "Mind what you say?" you ask. But that sounds like censorship... self-censorship, yes. But still censorship.

Let me explain.

Let's say I want to speak my mind on what I call one of the major-breakers: these are the big topics that seem to divide a large majority of people, something like abortion or presidential politics, or global warming, or evolution (and those last two shouldn't involve any debate at all but that's neither here nor there).

When speaking on these issues, there's a few things I need to consider:

First of all, "How many readers do you want to risk losing?"

I have to admit, that one rarely registers. If there's someone who's racist or homophobic and is going to be insulted by my viewpoints, to tell you the truth, I don't want you buying my books.

Secondly - and here's the big one - "How much do I want to distract you from the reason this blog exists in the first place?"

Would "The Daily Cave" be here if I weren't a writer? Probably, but in a different format, and as part of something you regular readers would never have come across. If that were the case, I'd probably be much, much more outspoken about certain topics. The thing is, though, I 'am' a writer, and "The Daily Cave" is about my writing and other imaginative creations.

Perhaps it's a self-limitation thing, the more I think about it. If I were to spout off about what pisses me off on a daily basis, there'd be little time to write much else, and again, that would eat into the time I like to spend writing books, (kind of like I'm doing right now... heh). Anyway, the idea is to STAY FOCUSED on why this blog is here. I must admit, however, there have been quite a few times when I've thought about starting an anonymous blog, of adopting an alias and spilling my opinions on quite a few things onto the screen. But, again, that would detract from what I really enjoy doing.

To be sure, you long time readers know that from time to time I've put myself out there in TDC, telling you what I think about this or that, but believe me, there's much more that's been held in check... because I want to stay focused.

So, what do you think? Is it important to keep an "author" blog confined to "author" issues, or would it be better if I spouted off about this and that? Just curious.

Touching Base in a Big Way

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It's a whole new world.

My family and I have officially made the move. We're in a new house, in a new section of the state of Wisconsin, in a whole new mindframe. Things have been hella hectic these past couple of weeks, and as such I've not been around much. I hope you understand.

The work has suffered tremendously these past twenty days or so, and I'm finally to the point where I can catch my breath and readjust - so to speak. I'm using this new living situation to map out some new writing routines that will hopefully have me getting much more work done than my last ones. In the past, I was merely "getting the work done" on a semi-daily basis, with no real structure when it came to the time of day. Now, I'm in a situation where that'll change. 5:15 in the AM is the new start time, and the finish time is whenever those one to two thousand words are finished. Starting so early let's me get the ball rolling when the house is quiet, and will definitely put the hammer down on me to finish before the family gets up and going for the day. Starting right away in the morning will also keep me from staying up until three or four in the morning and being drained and dead throughout the next day.

Call me older. No, call me wiser.

At any rate, the work starts again tomorrow. The books are still on track, and I won't be doing - or not doing - anything on my end to hold up the publishing schedule.

Did I mention I have my own, private office on the main floor of our new house now? The only problem with it, as I've come to find out, is that I have too many books for the available shelving. What to do? Get rid of some books? Ha! Hardly. I'm looking into how best to build some permanent bookshelves into the walls. That'll be coming in the forseeable future. I haven't lived in an old (built circa 1902) house for a long time. Lot's of old woodwork. Hardwood floors. Lot's of nooks and crannies. Solid oak doors. Locks that only skeleton keys could touch. All the little accents that new houses lack. I'm digging it more and more.

Okay. Lot's to do, but I just wanted to check in to let you know that I'm not six feet under, and I'm not avoiding ya'll. I hope you're well. I'll talk to you soon.

And Then There was Nothing

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Wow. Cleared out. Vamoose. All gone...

Well... almost. The truck came and took away virtually everything in my house today. Ten hours of loading boxes yesterday, and about six hours of loading the 'big' stuff today. And now it's all gone. For a few different reasons, I'll still be residing at the house - mostly to tie up loose ends - until the end of next week when I'll join the rest of my family in our new house in the north country. Until then, I've got my dog, my cats, and my computer to keep me company, and that's literally it. Hmm... seems to me that that time would be best spent doing some uninterrupted writing... and that's exactly what I intend to do.

Before that, however, a few of you sent in some questions after the offer laid out in my last blog post, so let's get to those.

Tiffany asked: "Scott, if you could only write one genre, what would it be? And don't just say dark fantasy because it has elements of everything else in it!! If you really, truly, HAD to choose one genre, what would it be?"

Well that's a tough one isn't it? You're right to think that I would choose dark fantasy if given the option. Dark fantasy is vague enough that you can branch out into aspects of horror, fantasy, and even elements of science fiction and space opera, and still be well within the confines of the genre's qualifications - at least from my perspective. And, of course, that's the appeal of Dark Fantasy, isn't it? There really isn't anything set in stone that says that such and such qualifies as being part of the genre and such and such doesn't. Though, really, the same is true for horror - though horror might be a bit more restrictive. All a story has to do to be eligible for the horror moniker is to instill an element of Fear in the reader's mind; now, that fear can be instilled through a variety of ways including but not limited to the use of suspense, the intimation of bodily or mental harm upon the protagonists, the use of supernatural beings or entities, or supply a generous injection of the unknown - because that, as all of you I'm sure are well aware, is what is most frightening to us as human beings.

The Unknown.

Often, that Unknown comes in the form of Death - (note my over-use of capital letters to achieve a lackadaisical attempt at emphasis) - the threat of Death, or the uncertainty of it's finality. Human beings hate being out of the loop, and death is one of those things that the thoughts and musings that take place in the dark little hidey-holes in the backs of our minds refuse to look on as final.

But I'm getting off track.

Before I answer your question, however, let me make it clear that to me genre classifications are a first-rate yawn fest. Of course they help in finding new authors that write the kind of things that you like to read - as in you know where to look at your local bookstore or online, and yet most of my favorite authors downright refuse to be classified by the sheer variety of their voluminous amounts of work. Authors like Richard Matheson, Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman, and even Clive Barker, make themselves hard to pigeonhole to a specific genre.

"What?" you say. "But Clive Barker is a horror writer...?" Really? I'd argue that Imagica is more fantasy than horror. I'd argue that the books of the Abarat are straight ahead fantasy, not to mention Young Adult. I'd argue that Sacrament is horror, but in a subtle sense.

"What?" you say. "But Neil Gaiman is a fantasy writer...?" Really? I'd argue that short stories like Closing Time and Shoggoth's Old Peculiar are terrifying. I'd argue that Good Omens and even Stardust indicate that he's a skilled humorist. Oh, and he writes children's books too... and then there's that comic book thingy... and the screenplays...

Matheson writes everything from fantasy to science fiction to teleplays to horror to westerns to...

Ellison... well, Ellison is Ellison.

All is to say that to me, a writer is either a good one, or a writer isn't. Harlan Ellison hates being termed a "speculative fiction" writer. It narrows what he does in some sense. He is a Writer and nothing more... or less.

I am a Writer.

If, Tiffany, you chloroformed me some evening, bound my hands and mouth, shoved me in the trunk of a 1976 Oldsmobile, waited until I awoke, and poked toothpicks under my fingernails, I might, might mind you, say that if I truly had to choose one genre and only one, I might tell you that that genre would be horror: the classification isn't quite as broad as dark fantasy, but it's close.

Don't fence me in.

And now to the second question. Antonym Mouse (I assume that's an alias) wrote:

"Hello Scott! First off, I just read the Feast of Catchville for my high school Wisconsin literature class, and I ABSOLUTELY /LOVED/ it. I didn't think one ever got truly good books assigned to them to read in school, but I was so very wrong.
Secondly, I am also an aspiring writer. As a young author, the work of others greatly interests me. So, a few questions. When did you really start to know you wanted to write? Did you know then that you wanted to write in the horror genre?"

First off, let me say how thrilled I am that high schools are teaching Catchville. Ah, to mold, slash, infect young minds is a wonderful thing! (Bwa-ha-ha-ha!) Seriously, though, I'm glad you enjoyed it, Mouse. I was trying to think back to the assigned works that affected me most in high-school, and the one that came to mind first was The Metamorphosis by Kafka. No, it wasn't contemporary, but it still had the grit and "newness" of a larger literary world beyond what was usually taught.

When did I know I wanted to write? Hmm... I think I always possessed an innate desire to be creative. Whether it was through words, through art, through acting, or through music, the Humanities have always spoken to me in a way that no other calling could have.

Though I always dabbled in all of those creative endeavors at the same time, I went through what you could call "primary" phases with each one. In high-school, I was primarily a music and art guy. Lots of playing bass and guitar with a band some friends and I put together, and lots of drawing when I was alone in my room, allowing my existential teenage angst to bubble up into a full boil. When I reached college, the acting bug hit full tilt, and I was in a few university productions. However, college is when I realized that writing came easier to me than any of the other creative disciplines; it was also when I realized that it was the one thing that I mined the greatest amount of pleasure from. It was also when it hit me that I could do it professionally.

There's a point in your life where you suddenly realize that you're an adult, and that there's a world of opportunity open to you. Sure, we're all told that we can do anything we want when we get older, but I don't think that the concept really sinks in until you've ridden a few dozen miles in the saddle. At some point in my university experience, it genuinely occurred to me that I could write a story that other people would want to read, that I could in some small way entertain, educate, and possibly open other people's minds to my own skewed way of thinking. When that kernel of a thought did occur to me, it was like the walls came down and I could see clearly for the first time. Of course! I'm a writer!

Easy to think. Harder to do.

But that's what weens writers from the ranks: the willingness to spend the time and put in the ridiculous amount of unrecognized work just to tell a story. Part of me is very glad that I entertained the notion of being a rock star, of being a world famous artist, of being a star of stage and screen before I realized I wanted to devote my life to writing - and writing well. However, there's also a part of me that wishes that I would have realized that I wanted to do it earlier - perhaps when I was in high school - so that I could have started cutting my teeth on the nuts and bolts of it all from the get-go.

But what are ya gonna do? No regrets and all that.

Did I know from the start that I wanted to write horror? Hopefully you've read this entire post and gleaned an impression as to my opinions on genre classifications. But what you're asking is a different animal, and the answer is, nope. I first tried writing science fiction, or more accurately, I tried writing space opera. Sitting down at the keyboard, I strenuously tied a rambling narrative of about 200 thousand words together over the course of about a year into something that vaguely, possibly, resembled something that - if you squinted from a distance - might have resembled a novel.

But it was great practice. It forced me to sit down on a regular basis and perform the physical act of tapping my fingers against a collection of keys. Believe it or not that's one of the hardest things to do as a writer: simply put everything else aside and write. The experience also allowed me to prove to myself that I really could finish a novel-length work. Now, at 200k, I overdid it a bit, but that's all right. It was something I needed to excise before I could move on to the "next thing".

When did horror come up? Somewhere around 1992 I got my hands on a big old book called The Stand by Steve King. I'm sure you've heard of it, and if you haven't, rectify that fact.

Prior to reading that book, my idea of horror was a narrow one. It centered around monsters and ghosts and the usual Bogey Man kind of generic. The Stand showed me what could really be done with the horror genre - how far it could be stretched and how deeply it could saturate the human mind.

I was hooked.

After reading King's tale of "Cap'n Tripps" and Randal Flag, I realized that horror was the conduit through which I could best tell the stories I wanted to tell at the time. I immediately started work on the tale that would eventually become Swaybuck.

Any-hoo - horror bit me at the right time and place. Did I stick with it exclusively? No. Will I return to it? Absolutely. I love to read and write it. As a young writer, Mouse, I think you need to flap around for a bit in the genre muck. Write what you like to read, but don't imitate what you're reading. Understand what's been done in the past, and build on it - take it in new directions and surprise yourself. If you surprise yourself as a writer, you'll definitely surprise your readers.

I hope that answers your questions. Thanks again to both Tiffany and Antonym Mouse for writing in. Anybody else - feel free to drop me a line with whatever you want to know.

And now... back to work.

Questions? Comments? Scathing Rebuttals?

~

Where did summer go? About a week ago, we hit ninety degrees (92 to be exact) for the first time all year. Yesterday morning it was in the low 40's, and tomorrow morning is supposed to be in the high 30's. While walking Wally earlier this evening, I counted seventy-three Canada geese in a field near my house. Just before sunset, they all took off, honking and hooting, headed south towards warmer environs.

I continue to pack up everything we own. The first phase of the move takes place this coming weekend. Also, this weekend marks the release of Metallica's latest album, "Death Magnetic." I feel like a kid on the week before Christmas. I've been listening to the band since 1988. I've seen them live 17 times. I've been in the front row half a dozen times, and I've been in the last row of stadium seats more than once. I had a chance to meet all four of them in 2003, and they were just as down to earth as I thought they'd be. The early releases from this album already mark it as the best stuff they've done since "...And Justice For All," and I couldn't be happier. I'm 35, and hearing new music by my favorite band still makes me feel like it's twenty years ago, when I was fifteen and hearing them for the very first time. As Martha Stewart might say, "It's a good thing."

Ren finally put up the interview I did with him a few weeks ago on the website. You can find it under the Extras section of www.scottfalkner.com.

In my previous blog post, I mentioned that I might be organizing some sort of live Q&A in the near future. Well, after thinking about it a bit, it kind of occurred to me that doing it "live" was a bit pointless. After all, in this day and age it's hard enough to schedule time to do anything we might enjoy, (Tivo's and DVR's are incredibly popular for a reason) much less make certain that you're free to sit down and chat with yours truly. Anyway, what I thought I would do instead is just make it ABUNDANTLY clear that you guys, my readers, are MORE THAN WELCOME to ask me questions via a number of ways:

1. You can post them here on The Daily Cave. You don't have to sign up for anything. You can even post anonymously. Below each post where it says 'comments', you can click on that and either leave a comment or question for me.

2. If you're a myspace member, you can post questions or comments on that version of The Daily Cave, or else just send them to me via my myspace account, or post them in the form of a myspace comment.

3. Email us through the website. All you have to do is go to www.scottfalkner.com, go to the Contact section, and click on the Contact icon.

From now on I'll make a point to address any and all questions posed through the above outlets.

And lo and behold, we've already got one. One of my longtime friends and readers, Tam shot me this question via myspace at the end of my last blog entry:

"I wonder if you write/paint while listening to music and does it inspire you?"

Great question, Tam. And thanks for asking it.

This is a question I've heard asked a lot of writers and artists. Not too long ago, I was listening to an NPR interview with Maurice Sendak. The reporter asked him the above question, and he answered that while writing he needed absolute silence. While doing his initial sketches, he usually listened to music, and while painting/coloring his pieces he watched television. Author, Kealan Patrick Burke has said in the past that he can't have anything on in the background as it provides too much distraction. Brian Keene writes with a variety of different kinds of music playing.

To each his own, I guess.

Personally, when writing I do like to have music on, but it can't be anything with words. Usually, it's classical music, or some soundtrack or another. I feel like the music helps me to detach from the real world; it's almost like an invisible barrier, cutting me off and allowing the imagination to flourish. If the music has words, I likely know them, and the words to the songs get into my head and infect the words I'm trying to write.

Does that make sense?

Painting is a completely different story. I usually paint with a variety of different kinds of music, and when I say variety... My musical tastes vary wildly. Most people who know me are convinced that all I listen to is the heavy stuff: ie. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax and the like. Don't misunderstand, I love all of those bands, but there's a plethora of other types of music that I like, and I'd be doing myself a great disservice to limit myself to only one genre of music.

Let's do a quick experiment. I'll throw my ipod on shuffle, and write down the first ten songs that come up:

1. "You Can't Bring Me Down" by Suicidal Tendencies
2. "Useful Idiot" by Tool
3. "Amor Volat Undique" from Carmina Burana by the Cleveland Orchestra
4. "Enter Sandman" live from Calgary by Metallica
5. "The Map Room - Dawn" from the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" soundtrack by John Williams
6. "Dread and the Fugitive Mind" by Megadeth
7. "Soul Eater" by Danzig
8. "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett
9. "Caribbean Blue" by Enya
10. "Reason Why" by Rachael Yamagata

So there you have it. Probably not as varied as I would have liked just for the sake of making my point, but varied enough.

As far as inspiration goes...

There was a point several years ago where I considered writing a volume of short stories all based on individual songs. That idea never came to fruition, but the possibility is always there. In a more general sense, of course I'm inspired by music. In my mind, that's the reason I listen to it. When it comes to classical music, the moods and feelings it incurs are definitely appreciated and remembered. Those same feelings and moods are then tapped into when applying the same to my own pieces of art - that being either with words or with paint. As far as 'popular' music goes (for lack of a better word) often the lyrics and/or the aggression of a lot of the music I listen to spurs me on. The majority of the popular music I listen to deals with some pretty heavy themes - as in it's not just about scamming on some skank "in da club". Not that there's anything wrong with that type of music if you're into it, it's just that I'm more drawn to music and lyrics that address bigger issues in personal lives and the world at large, and I constantly draw inspiration from music such as that.

Does that answer your question? I hope so, and thanks again for posing it, Tam.

So, now it's up to the rest of you. Feel free to fire off anything on your mind about writing, painting, music, or anything else. The only thing that I'd ask is that if you're inquiring about a certain part of a book that I've written, and the question might spoil details for someone who hasn't read it, then ask the question via the Contact button at the website, or send me a private message through myspace. Thanks in advance.

Moving Interviews Contents Highlight

~

Summer's End has brought many a change in the Falkner household. For the last month or so, I've been living alone while my family has moved on up to our new locale. We're in the process of closing on a new house, and I'm in the midst of packing away stuff I'd forgotten we'd owned. How does one acquire so much stuff?! At any rate, what with getting the kids enrolled in school and all the other hoopla that accompanies a big move, things have been a bit hellish.

Oh yeah, and I'm supposed to have a book finished by now as well.

When the official release for "Exile: The Collected Helman Graff" came out yesterday, I was asked by one of my long-time readers if I could reveal the table of contents. Yeah. I sure can. Here they are:

1. A Whiter Shade of Death
2. Solid Evidence *
3. What Should Not Be
4. Mad Martin *
5. A Simple Haunting
6. Lupine Lover *
7. Operation Valkyrie
8. The Other *
9. Of Hyla Japonica
10. Dig and Delve

* These four stories were including in the promotional chapbook, "Graff: Tales from the Hunt," but all four have been revised and expanded for "Exile: The Collected Helman Graff".

While thinking of how we could amp up the website - I get bored with things very easily - and connect with you guys a bit more, Ren and I realized that we hadn't done a scottfalkner.com interview in a while - in a year or two at least, and what with the recent release of "Delving: Assassins" and the upcoming Graff Collection release, it might be a good time to do another one. So, last weekend, Ren came down to the house and grilled me for a few hours on all the latest going's on. That interview, the third or fourth scottfalkner.com interview - I'm not sure which, will be put up on scottfalkner.com this weekend.

In addition to that, in order to get some input from you - the reader - in the next few weeks I'm going to be doing a live Q&A, where you can get the skinny on all the stuff you've wanted to know about me but were afraid to ask. Details are still being worked out, but keep checking back to find out when and where.

I'll leave you guys with one of the highlights of my past week:

EXILE Announcement

~

Finally! The time has come to announce the new book.
First, the official stuff...

*************************************************

WHO IS HELMAN GRAFF???

Readers have been asking that question since the release of
Scott F. Falkner's very first book. Finally, the mysterious hero from "The Feast of Catchville" is back doing what he does best in ten tales of terrifying adventure.

Facing off against lusty werewolves, maniacal clones, Nazi death machines, billionaire vampires, and much more, Helman Graff uses wits and weapons to vanquish his enemies with a
minimum of mercy.


"EXILE: The Collected Helman Graff"

by Scott F. Falkner

Illustrations by Cover Artist Nathan Fehlauer

From Stone Garden Publishing

JANUARY 2009


*************************************************
Cool, eh?

I'm pretty stoked about it. I'm just putting some finishing touches on a few of the stories and the book will be complete. If you've never read "The Feast of Catchville" or any of the "Delving" titles, don't worry about it. You don't need any knowledge of those to fully enjoy "Exile."

I'm really lucky to have Nate Fehlauer doing the artwork for the book. His work is amazing, and I've just found out that he'll probably be doing an illustration for all ten of the stories in the book. Too cool. Okay, if you want to read more about the book, or check out some wallpapers based on Nate's art, head on over to my site, (www.scottfalkner.com).

It looks like we'll have something new and kinda cool on the website sometime this week. It's something that we haven't done in a while, and maybe you'll get a kick out of it. Stay tuned.

Back to work. Back to packing. Back to anxiously awaiting "Death Magnetic"...

Imminent Announcement...

~

? ? ? ?

Hey kids, just a quick heads-up to say that if you're not a member of the scottfalkner.com Mailing List, you'll want to be asap. Check out why at scottfalkner.com!

August Update

~

Haven't been able to catch up much on the blog updates as of late. Sorry about that - but it couldn't really be helped. Very busy. I do want to say thanks to everyone who came to the book signing last weekend in Northern Wisconsin. Also, thanks to everyone at Thyme Worn for once again making me feel at home, and thanks to Sally at WJMC for the fantastic radio interview.

There's a ton of stuff coming down the pipe next week, including a book announcement.

Thanks for your patience, I promise it'll pay off.

Too Much Real Life

~

The inevitable madness that is my life continues -

I'm currently working my derrière off to finish "The Mystery Book" that will shortly be a mystery no longer. Yeah, you know those "????" images that have been popping up over the last several weeks - soon, very soon, you'll be finding out what those are about, and you'll be introduced to the artist who did them, (here's a hint - it's NOT me). The final pieces of the puzzle are being put together and will be unveiled soon.

Speaking of which, if you are in Rice Lake, Wisconsin next weekend, I'll be reading from and signing copies of "Delving: Assassins" and unveiling the new mystery book at Thyme Worn Treasures. So, if you're in the audience, you'll find out what's what - first hand before everyone else. Buy your plane tickets, gas up the car, and BE THERE next weekend. Check out the Events section of the website, (www.scottfalkner.com) for details. I'll also be doing a radio interview on Northwestern Wisconsin's WJMC some time on Friday - details to be released later this week.

Other than that, there really hasn't been much going on, except for tons and tons and tons of travel, some house hunting, and more travel.

Speaking of which, today I called 911 for the first time in a long time.

There was a car stopped at a crosswalk in a small town I was traveling through. I stopped behind that car, and watched as the driver in front of me waved an elderly man to cross. He started out, passed the car in front of me, and came inches from being hit by an old Mustang driven by a high-school girl as she sped through the intersection. He dived out of the way, hit his head hard on the asphalt, and wasn't moving. While the people in front of me got out of their car to help, I ran to the middle of the intersection and stopped all the other traffic while calling 911. The police and an ambulance came, and they got the guy to the side of the road. Turns out he'll be okay, though there was a lot of blood. They bandaged him up on the spot, and after telling them what I saw, they said I was free to go. Not sure what happened to the teenager, (she did stop as soon as it happened) but it was all pretty crazy.

Too much real life for a Friday afternoon.

OH! And by the by, if you check out the latest Pod of Horror (#46) - which you should be doing on a regular basis anyhow - you'll hear Mark read the letter I wrote to him and Nanci. Get it through itunes or go to their page at HorrorWorld - http://www.horrorworld.org/poh.htm

Examining Extraterrestrials

~

Perhaps you've heard about the interview that Dr. Edgar Mitchell did over the weekend with Kerrang Radio in the UK.

Dr. Mitchell holds a PhD from MIT, was an Apollo Astronaut, and was the sixth man to walk on the moon.

In the radio interview - (the audio of which is available in the youtube video below) - Dr. Mitchell explains that he himself hasn't witnessed aliens firsthand, but that he is privy to knowledge that aliens do in fact exist and have visited Earth. In a rebuttal interview with Discovery.com - (the web link for which is offered at the end of this post) - Dr. Mitchell says that several people who were actually at the Roswell crash in 1949 relayed to him that an alien craft was discovered, as well as alien bodies. He also says that in the late nineties, he met with an Admiral at the Pentagon who confirmed that aliens do exist, and that they have made contact with earth.

The majority of Americans today believe that life does exist outside of Earth. Less believe that aliens have actually visited our planet. The French and Mexican Governments (among others) have admitted that unidentified flying crafts have flown over their airspace that defy present day technology. In 2006, the Vatican proclaimed that "...any eventual proof of extraterrestrial life would in no way diminish any Catholic's faith in God..." There is no doubt that much, if not the majority, of claims concerning aliens is rubbish - however, there is also a large amount of eyewitness accounts and dodgy government activity that certainly warrants more examination.

Some would ask why? What difference could it possibly make whether or not they exist and whether or not they've visited our planet and whether or not the government knows about it?

As an answer, I would supply just one of thousands of possible replies. If an extraterrestrial craft has indeed reached Earth, the energy source required by such a craft for such a journey - that being from other worlds - would be immense. Such an energy source could be beneficial in solving so much of the world's energy problems - from generation to pollution.

At any rate, I thought it was worth thinking about, and thought it worthy to try and get you to think about it too.

Here's the youtube video of the audio from Dr. Edgar Mitchell's interview with Kerrang Radio:




And here is the address for Dr. Mitchell's rebuttal interview with Discovery: http://dsc.discovery.com/space/qa/alien-ufo-edgar-mitchell.html


~

WAITING FOR THE CLICK

~

Writing is both a joyful and daunting art. At certain points of the process you can feel like you're on a cloud, whiling your way through the process with the greatest of ease. There are times when a book feels like it's writing itself - as if you're only there to manually throw the words down as someone whispers them into your ear. There are those times when a character is so real to you, so physically in the room while you're writing their dialogue... Those times when you're reading over what you've written and an interesting, unique, and profound theme that you'd not even thought about exposes itself in glittering detail throughout the entire work. Those times when someone who's read your work tells you that what you've done is important - that you somehow enriched even a small part of their life by writing it...

Those are the good times. Those are the reasons we do it.

And then there are the daunting aspects. The minutiae of it all, the nitpicking - going over every last word and detail to make sure that you've written what you wanted to write. The agonizing pressure to write something worthwhile, to write something new, to write something that takes what you're doing to the next level. The sheer time involved to get it right. The needless yet constant worry that the ideas won't be there tomorrow. The need for a life outside of writing, and living with the knowledge that life outside of writing detracts from writing. Then there's The Block.

For me, that last one is just about the worst. You've heard of Writer's Block to be sure, but there are as many different kinds of Writer's Block as there are authors in the world or stories in the history of man. WB - for brevity's sake - is a catch-all term for anything that impedes the process - scratch and/or amend that to read - anything internal that impedes the process. It's a Deficiency in your mind with a capital 'D', and there's a million and one ways to get around it... at least that's what all the Self Help Writing Blogs say.

My way of getting around it is simple - (or should I say, simply agonizing...): I ignore it. I refuse to accept it. I deny WB's very existence... often at my own peril.

What I mean by that is instead of going on to something else, (as those all-knowing Writer's Blogs suggest) instead of focusing my efforts elsewhere, I'll instead persist with the present project, writing line after line and paragraph after paragraph of complete and utter drivel. In some cases, I've continued this for days, knowing all the while that everything I was putting down would eventually have to be gutted - completely rewritten - if it was ever to have the tiniest chance of ever, ever seeing the light of day. And why do I do this instead switching to a different project? Part of it, I think, is that when WB happens, it infects your mind into thinking that you can't write well on any story - at least that's how it is for me - so what's the point of switching to another one? Another part of it, and this is probably the main reason - at least I like to think that it is - is that I'm just too damn stubborn. WB infuriates me to the point that I begin to think of it as a struggle that must be won at any cost - a failure to do so will mean that the fundamental ability to accomplish what I love doing most will be sacrificed.

Is it as dramatic as all that? It certainly is.

And then, at some point, after trying to think my way around the Block, perhaps for days, perhaps for a few weeks, the clouds part and that particular obstacle that had been throwing me, that particular concept that has proven as illusive as the end of a rainbow, becomes clear. There's this Operatic "Aaaaaah" moment that CLICKS in your mind, and the Block is over. It becomes a figment. A vague literary concept that you can't really remember ever experiencing because you are a confident, influential, and above all capable writer that really doesn't have to deal with that sort of nonsense...

That moment, that Click, when the Block ends, well my friends, that's another of those wondrous, joyful moments in the Writing Game. That's another one of those rushes, and I'm oh so happy to convey to each and every one of you, (or both of you) that the Writing Gods on High blessed me with just such a moment on Friday afternoon.

Things are good.

Things are Clicking.

BTW: CHECK THE OFFICIAL site, (www.scottfalkner.com) on Monday, July 21st for a very special treat. (Here's a hint: ? ? ?)

TO POV OR NOT TO POV

~

I was just sitting down to start writing for the evening and thought that I'd throw up a blog post before I get neck deep into the "mystery" book and forget all about it.

It's funny how I go through the days and something will occur to me and I'll think, "wow, now there's something I could write about on the blog," and then, of course, I sit down in front of the computer and forget all about what that said something was going to be...

I had hoped to hit the second Hellboy movie this week, but was bummed that it didn't quite fit into the Grandmaster's timetable. Of course, now I'm behind, and the Dark Knight comes out this weekend, and I'll be scratching my head wondering which one to see first...

The cover artwork for the new Metallica album, Death Magnetic, (check out Metallica.com to take a gander - it's pretty sweet!) was released today, as was the Kerrang! tune for the Iron Maiden tribute cd, Maiden Heaven. Metallica covered Remember Tomorrow, which I've put up at the end of this blog post - just because you're you!

To tell you the truth, I've been stalling a bit as of late when it comes to the stories in the "mystery" book. I know what the stories are about - as in I know what happens in them, ie. the sequence of events - the problem is that I've become a bit jaded with how they're being told...

Here we go. Here's a subject.

So often when writing a story - be it a short or a novel or whatever - the actual way to tell it becomes obvious. Whether it's in first person or second, whether it's from the point of view of the antagonist or protagonist, or whether its omniscient, all of that will usually make itself clear to me right from the get-go.

Now then. When doing a number of short stories that all sort of interact with one another, (like I'm doing with the 'mystery' book) in order to make them interesting as a collective unit, I've decided to break up the points of view from story to story. That sounds obvious, and yet... It almost seems like the more I think about the POV of the stories, the harder it is to pin down said POV. I've ended up second-guessing myself considerably, and have rewritten more than one of the them with a different POV just to see how it would play out.

Normally when you shake a story up like that, it offers a fresh perspective, and often gives you an easier time of conveying the events in a more interesting way; however, in a few of the tales I'm writing, there just doesn't seem any method that ends up as an absolutely perfect fit. Oh well - it's just a matter of figuring out what works and what doesn't. Speaking of... I should get back to it.

Here's that brand new Iron Maiden cover done by Metallica. Enjoy:

ON THIRTY-FIVE. ON THE PAST. ON THE FUTURE.

~

Guess what? Today I'm 35, which means that I'm now old enough to be President of the United States - and I'm seriously considering it.

Age is odd. At thirty-five, I still feel in some respects like a 22 year old, and in others I feel about 60. My body is hanging in there, despite the havoc I've wreaked upon it (knock on wood) and I still have the majority of my mental facilities, so I guess I don't have much to complain about... then again...

One of the core requirements for an artist is to be unsatisfied. I think that understanding that concept is one of the keys to coping with an artistic life. Once an artist becomes content, becomes satisfied with the status-quo - said artist is dead in a figurative sense, (of course).

I am figuratively very much alive.

It's apropos that my birthday and New Year's are at the polar ends of the year. Today, July 15th, is the absolute center of summer, and of course, January 1st is just about winter's bleakest point. In the past few years when my birthday or New Year's rolled around, I've shied away from looking back over what I've done, as well as avoided looking forward to what I've planned on doing. There were a couple of reasons for that. Dwelling on past accomplishments is a death knell to be sure. You can't rest on your laurels, nor languish in your failures. Learn from both and move on. As far as looking ahead, I was afraid that I was spending a bit too much time thinking (and blogging) about what I was going to do... in place of actually doing it. In addition, I was always afraid of penning (pun not intended) myself into a project - just because I said I was going to do it.

I think it's time for a more political - read: presidential - approach. After all, I'm 35 now, and being presidential is fully age appropriate. I'll talk about what I've done when I want to talk about it, and I'll look ahead when I want to look ahead. I'll think, discuss, and write about what I'm going to do next, and I won't hold myself to it at all... how presidential.

I guess that's sort of a heads up for the two or three people that read this blog: Take it all with a grain of salt.

All right, a year ago (about) the first book of my dark fantasy trilogy called Delving came out. When I wrote the book, it wasn't intended to be a "first" of anything. It was intended to be a stand alone story called Delving. However, the response from early pre-readers exceeded those of my other books, and they all wanted to know what happened after the first Delving book.

After?

How the hell did I know? At any rate, the response was favorable enough that I made the decision to continue on with Delving into another book. After thinking about it for a while, I realized that I sort of did know just where the story could go, and realized that I could pump another two volumes out of it.

The thing was, I had experienced a phenomenal response from my first published book, The Feast of Catchville - and a so-so one from my second, Swaybuck. As a result of the enthusiasm of my then-pre-readers - who wouldn't hesitate to tell me if something sucked - I thought the release of the first Delving book - Delving: Obligations - would be fantastic. I even went and sucked some great blurbs out of a few well known authors in hopes of getting the word out on the novel. Ren and I created a website, actually a "wing" of the official scottfalkner.com website, that catered exclusively to the world of Delving, offering character bios, excerpts, backgrounds, and even t-shirts to try and amp up the release of the book.

And a year ago it came out, and didn't do what I'd necessarily call phenomenally well in the sales department.

I was shocked. Stunned. A general state of disbelief ensued. What did I do wrong? I've not heard one negative review of the book - and by ALL means, if you've read it and didn't like it, I'd love to hear from you, seriously. The promotion matched, if not surpassed that of my other books. WTF?

The only thing that I can really figure is that the books aren't horror novels. They're not about ghosts or zombies. They're certainly dark fantasy, but they're anchored more in character relationships and self-discovery. They're more "literate" than the stuff I've written in the past.

So perhaps that was the problem? I was birthed into the horror genre, and the horror genre wanted nothing to do with the new books.

Okay.

I can deal with that.

A year passed.

Some more people have picked up the first Delving book over the last year. I've heard from some of them, and they all were excited to hear what was going to happen in the second one. Cool. The second book, Delving: Assassins, came out last month. It's different from the first one. It's less introspective and more action-based. It's a book that I would want to read (as is everything I write), and I guess that's all that really matters at this point. I continue to write for me. I've dropped out the whole pre-reader part of the process because I'm just arrogant enough to think that I'm smart enough to know what it is that I want to do and how to do it. I loathe accepting other people's points of view when it comes to my writing. Of course, I work with my editors to put forward the best possible collection of words and sentences - that's my responsibility to my publisher - but as far as the ideas go, as far as the genres go - that's all me.

And now I'm writing what we've been referring to as the "mystery" book. It's a collection of short stories. It's sort of horror, but a lot dark fantasy. It'll be tough for some to latch onto. It'll be perfect for the sensibilities of others. I like it a lot so far. And as I said before...

Next month I begin writing the last Delving book, Delving: Culminations. In tone and theme, it'll be a mix of the first two. There are a lot of family dynamics that need to be addressed. There are a lot of characters who will either kill or be killed. There are Delves that fans of the series will be shocked by. There will be a final confrontation that could mean the end of the world.

There's a book I finished in the last year called Calvin Dyer and the Reatian Horde. I submitted it to a publisher that specializes in what I like to think of as horror-based fantasy and science fiction. Having read other books by this mid-list publisher, I thought Calvin Dyer... might actually be a good fit for them. Guess not. "It's very good - we just don't feel it fits with what we do..." was the response. I guess my inability to pick a genre and stick with it is once again working against me. But what am I gonna do? I write what I like to read. Period. If the rest of the industry can't get behind it, fuck 'em. By the way, if you're a publisher and interested in Western-orientated Dark Fantasy, drop me a line.

Three books are in the works, and about five others are in the "I've written the first few chapters and am still letting them float around in my mind before I really go toe to toe with them" phase. I'm not sure which of these I'll hit after I'm done writing Culminations. Oh, trust me, they'll all get written, it's just a question of order and where my mind is. I've read and heard other authors talk about how you "have" to keep plowing through one book before you head onto the next one.

Every time I hear someone tell me I "HAVE" to do something, my nerves tingle like the hackles on a bloodlusty wolf.

My painting has really, really, suffered in the past year. Again, I worked myself into doing a "series" of paintings called the Zecada Fears. I had this whole idea of accompanying five different paintings with a short story I'd thought up. Great. Two of them are done - you can view them in the Gallery on my website. The third is virtually finished, but it's just a time issue. With three kids, a full docket professionally, and all the other mandatory bullshit that filters into life despite my best efforts to keep it at bay, something's gotta give. One of these years, perhaps 2010 - I'm going to take the entire year off from writing and just paint full time. I look forward to it.

Writing a play is something that I've wanted to do for a long time. I don't feel quite confident enough to do it just yet, but I think I'll start reading more plays in the near future to get a feel for the medium. The undisclosed city - or rather, town - we're moving near in the next few months has a small community theater which I would very much like to get involved in. Perhaps after being a part of a few productions, whether on the stage or behind the scenes - will allow me to absorb that much more of the medium, and get me thinking about writing, producing, and directing theater. We'll put that one in the 'on the horizon' file.

Comics. This is something else that I've been wanting to do for a long time. I'd originally thought of doing a comic utilizing not only my writing talents, but my painting as well. I thought I might do something a la Dave McKean's Arkham Asylum. That possibility is still there, but as with theater, I need to know more about the process. I talked to a friend of mine yesterday that writes comics professionally, and he recommended some resources to look into if I was interested in the process. I'm definitely going to be taking a good long look at it with hopes of writing something for the medium soon.

The small town that we're moving to over the next few months has a very rich history - primarily in the lumber industry. As with most small towns, there's a lot of that history that has been recorded over the years, and most of it is pretty generic. Something I would very much like to do in the coming years is shoot a film concerning the story of the lumber industry in northern Wisconsin. I know a few dark details not included in the majority of the generic histories that make me think a documentary on the subject could be fascinating. Again, film is something that I've only had a limited education in, and documentaries are something that I've never really been schooled in. So, the process will need to be examined, and examine it I will.

There's always something to hold my attention and to look forward to. I guess that's a mark of a life worth continuing. At thirty-five, I'm not satisfied, not by a long shot. There's lots more to do. There's daily vendettas to be addressed. There's barriers to break. There's roles to be discovered.

There's work to be done. Always.