GODZILLA vs SMOKEY

Nobody stares better than Ken Watanabe, and if you’ve seen Godzilla 2014, then you might have few other questions. The most popular question in my email box is, “Could Smokey handle Godzilla?”

Since the match-up is unlikely to ever happen, we’ll have to deal with this in a hypothetical method.

Godzilla is better known in most circles, so that would give him the hometown favorite advantage. He’s also one of the few creatures around that are bigger than Smokey, and not by just a little. Godzilla is what, like 350 feet tall? He might be a shade over that, depending on the viewing angle of those buildings behind him.

Smokey is roughly 149 feet long with a wingspan of 185 feet. With two heads, one that can breathe fire and the other that breathes out ice, Smokey has options not available to Godzilla. Of course, Godzilla’s no slouch. He’s got that blue-hot lightning breath, but I not sure how much range it has. For certain, it works well in close quarters.

Godzilla’s the master of the water, but I don’t think Smokey would be suckered into taking a dip. Even the MUTO’s in his recent movie didn’t fall for that. Initially, Smokey’s power of flight seems unbeatable, but if you remember, one of those MUTOs could slip the surly bonds well enough to carry a nuclear submarine with it. Godzilla adapted and overcame. Things are looking bad for Smokey, but don’t count him out yet.

Smokey was there in all three books of The Chronicles of Susah series. He saves her and carries her into battle against the ogres in book one (THE DRAGONEERS), he survives in book two (THE LOST DRAGONEER) to take her back to service, and in book three (THE LAST DRAGONEER) he stays with her all the way to the end. I won’t say anymore so as to not spoil the read but after all of that you’ve got to love Smokey.

As is Godzilla, Smokey’s a good guy who uses discernment in his killing ways. We don’t talk about it much, but sometimes it’s a good thing to kill a bad guy. In this case, we would have two good guys fighting each other; thus, ultimately a good guy would lose. So how would it go?

Smokey is at his greatest lethality is when he’s teamed with three other double-headed flying dragons pulling a fully armed chariot with a qualified crew. Of course, that would not give Godzilla much of a chance. With all things consider, the answer still depends on the rules of engagement.

Using standard Monster v MUTO Agreements (MMA) tournament rules, if Godzilla and Smokey mix it up in Vegas or San Francisco--one-v-one standing amidst the casinos and buildings--there’s a very good chance that Godzilla walks away from a dead Smokey. If, however, Godzilla tries to stand against Smokey when he's part of his dragoneer combat chariot team, using antediluvian steampunk combat tactics, techniques and procedures, which means Godzilla would be engaged with water fusion bombs from between 5000-10,000 feet, then there’s an even better chance that Godzilla’s going to wind up having what’s left of his bones picked clean by seagulls.

So it’s never really the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight that’s allowed to come out of the dog.

Thanks for reading.

  

Find the book and go read it. You'll be glad you did.

World Wide Writing Process Blog Tour

Welcome to the Antediluvian Steampunk Blog stop on your adventure. This is my debut participation in any blog tour, and I hope you enjoy your visit. First of all, I'd like to express my appreciation for Yelle Hughes, author of Aegean Chronicles series as she asked me to join in with this international blog hop. You can read Yelle's blog here and see what she and her guest authors are up to.

What am I working on?

THE LOST DRAGONEER, the third novel in my Chronicles of Susah series is finally available in a printed version here. In March, the eBook was published and made available at Amazon, but getting the format right for the printed book required more work. I've learned much since I began my writer journey, and this book demonstrated the best of me, for now. I'm pleased with the quality of this 630-page production and I think you will be, too.

My next big hairy audacious goal (BHAG) is to use my improved writing superpowers to produce a revised second edition of my first two books. Susah fans needn't worry as the story isn't changing, but the mechanical presentation will as to match the quality of what's in book three.

Fortunately, the 20,000+ who've bought the eBooks will be able to upgrade their kindle versions for free via Amazon, as is the case with all kindle eBooks. Eventually, the first edition printed version will be taken out of print as the second edition nears completion. I can't imagine those books will become collector's items within my life time, but that might change after the movies, action figures, video games, and theme park become the talk of the land. For now, my goal is to make the readers' experience from the beginning of the series consistent. Please be patience with me as I must do this before I venture onward with my fourth book, more on that later--much later.

Why do I write what I do?

I feel as though the very reason I was created might have been to write these stories. It is as if everything that happened to me in my life was to prepare me to share these stories with you. When I'm writing them, the stories come alive inside of me as if I might have lived these adventures during a previous life. As the words appear, it feels more like remembering something long forgotten than it does making up a story. That's hard to understand if you've never experienced it. I can't be the only one. Regardless, I write what I do because I can't imagine doing anything else.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My novels defy conventional classification because they blend action and emotional tension with technology and spiritual intrigue in a coming of age story wrapped in an epic adventure set in the antediluvian age. Some of my readers have called me the founding father of Antediluvian Steampunk, a new genre. Of course, that genre isn't widely recognized with book retailers, at least not yet.

Originally listed as Epic Fantasy genre, the books were transferred to Amazon's Biblical Fiction genre where they have remained on their best-sellers list ever since. I wasn't familiar with the term "Steampunk" when someone first used it in reference to my writing.
With minimal research, I discovered the term was first coined in 1987. Steampunk incorporates elements from the genres of fantasy, horror, historical fiction, alternate history or other branches of speculative fiction, making it a hybrid genre. Within that mix of activity, Steampunk displays anachronistic technologies or cultures--technology and/or cultures that seem out of place with the setting. 

The antediluvian world is traditionally portrayed as matching the first century A.D. in most of the stories for children: Noah carrying a shepherd crook, everyone wearing simple robes, donkeys and camels as the common conveyances. As adults, most people continued to believe that paradigm. If you consider the probabilities of a nearly perfect people developing virtually no technology over a span of almost 2000 years, it doesn't make sense. Some folks have commented that my novels might be closer to the truth than are the traditional stories. Once you read them for yourself, you might agree that there really is more to the story than you've been told.

How does my writing process work?

My Air Force career taught me how to plan. Plotting is pretty much the same thing as planning. I use a tool called the muse wheel to begin my deliberate plotting process, which provides me with a master plot to guide my writing. Each novel begins with life altering, action-driven events that propel Susah, my protagonist, toward her next adventure. Before I write the first chapter I already know how the book is going to end. The last scene is most vivid in my mind, much like a memory.

As I write, I know where the protagonist is and where she's going; however, I don't have all the little details and conversations planned. Somehow, those things come to me as I'm alone with my keyboard. Little tappings on my Mac metamorphose into the details of an epic adventure, sometimes surprising me with their message. The exact science behind how the muse translates into an organized story mostly eludes me, but I know it happens. My three novels are a testimony to that fact.

Writing a story is one thing, transforming it into a mechanically acceptable manuscript that can be formatted into a desirable book is another thing altogether. Before I bother my editors, I use a grammar checker and online proofreader called Grammarly. The service is available with an annual fee that is well worth it to me, but I my editors are essential.

My tactical editor helps me through each chapter as I write them. After incorporating her suggestions, I used Google documents to collaborate with my operational editor. From there, the edits are used to produce a final draft for a strategic editing, which proceeds much like the familiar shampoo label reads, "lather, rinse, repeat."

I suppose an author-editor team could do that forever. Each round would reveal a few more unacceptable prose errors, and somewhere in a hundred years or so the manuscript would be nearly perfect. Of course, perfect is the enemy of good enough.

With practice, we're supposed to become better at what we do. I am much better than I was when I began my writer's journey years ago, but I'm still far from perfect. In spite of the multiple rounds of improved manuscript drafts and a painstaking formatting process, I know there will be imperfections in my latest book.

I know this because I find errors in every book I read, don't you?

Thanks for reading, and now I'd like to direct your attention to some of my friends who are also authors:

Gay Ingram has been a friend of mine for years.

A little cabin in the piney woods of East Texas is where Gay Ingram has penned words for a number of years. She shares the farm with her husband of fifty-five years. She has one living son, three grand-daughters and two great grandchildren.

An interest in herbs began her long writing career resulting in articles published in national magazines. A creative writing course changed her focus and she now has five novels, a couple memoirs, and a collection of short stories now published. Her love of American History is reflected in two of her novels.

You can visit Gay Ingram's blog here.


Diane Adams Taylor is in an authors support group with me and she is a retired school administrator with over thirty-two years in the field of education. She is now working in her second career as a writer, author, publisher and lecturer. She had her first novel, Circles in Time, published by Tate Publishing in May 2012. Her second novel, The Healer of Wounded Souls, was release through Bush Publishing Company in October 2013. She writes for two on-line publications; one specifically on special education topics and the other as a contributor of short stories. Diane continues to write novels and she is currently working on three new manuscripts as well as a series of children's books and a young adult fantasy series.

You can find Diane's blog here.


My friend, Julia Phillips Smith is the author of the new superhero series featuring a Dark Ages vampire from 6th century Wales.

Julia is the author of dark fantasy novels Bound by Dragonsfyre and Vampires Saints and Lovers, available through online retailers. A graduate of Ryerson Polytechnic University's film program in Toronto, Julia has several scriptwriting credits in addition to her novels. She enjoys life with her husband and mom in Nova Scotia, where the rugged sea and misty forests feed her thirst for gothic tales. Coming next: Book 2 in the Dragonsfyre series takes readers further into the shadows of the Eighth Dominion. Follow if you dare.

Check out Julia's blog here.

Did you notice that all of them are wearing red? I'm sure you noticed the cover of my third novel. After all, how could you miss it? Do you really believe that was a coincidence? I've always been a lucky man, but I believe forces far greater than luck rule this universe.

Speaking of covers, Susah fans should be pleased to know that once they've read THE LAST DRAGONEER, the cover art will finally make sense. Many times, I've been advised to put a dragon on my books since I began this journey; alas, Susah's adventures are about much more than dragons.

There you have it:

A little about me and my books and some tempting information about three great authors. Before you're done, check out the blog links above so you can read about Gay Igram, Daine Adams Taylor, and Julia Phillips Smith. Who knows, you might discover your next favorite author.

If you haven't already done so, you really need to check out all three books of my The Chronicles of Susah series:

The Dragoneers
The Lost Dragoneer
The Last Dragoneer

You've never read anything like them.

"Never underestimate the power of steam." 

Colonel Rek in THE LAST DRAGONEER by C. D. Sutherland

One Day Old

Gators and Friends has something new. They're well known in northern Louisiana for their alligator park, exotic petting zoo, pony rides, and zip line, but did you know that yesterday a newborn llama was added to the herd?

Gators and Friends is one of my favorite places and their season passes are a bargain if you share my enthusiasm. Today I saw the newborn llama and captured the picture you see with this posting. I marveled at its little face and relaxed posture as we hand-fed the adult llamas standing guard. My iPhone's zoom allowed me to appear to be closer than I really was.

Yesterday was an eventful day for me also. After many months of writing, editing, editing, editing, and editing. The printed version of my third novel was approved for publishing. You read right, THE LAST DRAGONEER was published in print on 15 May 2014. Many of your already know, Susah's third great adventure has been available via Kindle since 26 March 2014, but this is the printed book. Like a lot folks, I enjoy holding a tree book in my hands.

As with most independent publishers, my books sell in much greater numbers as an eBook than as a printed version. Some publishers forego the effort and expense involved with print because of that; however, I know a few people only read books in print. Since I believe my books are going to change the world one reader at a time, I need to reach everyone.

With 631 pages, THE LAST DRAGONEER dwarfs my first two novels and so does it's sticker price. Naturally, size is a key factor for a printed book's price.

If you're interested in an autographed copy, you can contact me through many venues. A popular one is via my Facebook Fan page, which if you're interested in an autographed copy you're probably interested in giving me a "like" over there, too.

Happy birthday to the littlest llama and to the longest adventure of Susah, also known as THE LAST DRAGONEER.

What's Your BHAG?

It's pronounced BEE-hag, and James Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1994 book, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, define it as "...an audacious 10-30-year goal to progress towards an envisioned future." They claim a company may have an over-reaching BHAG and other short-term BHAGs. It's nice to know we're not limited. Spelled out, it stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goal.

The USAF used the term "vision statement" to cover their version of the BHAG, though many businesses call it a strategic business statement; however, the distinguishing description used by Collins and Porras is "audacious" in terms of a goal. Often business managers establish short-term, tactical goals ion order to motivate their workers to achieve something the organization would like done. That's cool, it's their choice, but they can't call that a BHAG.

"A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal; people like to shoot for finish lines."

—Collins and Porras, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

Here's a a few BHAGs:

"Organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." Google 

"Every book, ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds." Amazon 

"Tell the rest of the story." Narrow Way Press 

What’s my BHAG? I’m so glad you asked. My BHAG is coded within my books and it’s going to change the world. Really, it is.

Thanks for reading.

Here's a short video trailer of the popular novel THE DRAGONEERS, book one of my Antediluvian trilogy.

Two Fowl For You?

I cooked these two organic, free range chickens for Mother's Day. For those who thought I might have been a vegan, I'm sorry to say I do enjoy a well-cooked bird whenever I can.

Someone told me these were too foul, and I agreed in a matter of speaking. They are two fowls, and that's no baseball analogy.

During our meal I reflected on how tasty these birds were, even though they weren't the best presented entrée I'd ever seen. As an author, that caused me to reflect on the first book of my trilogy, THE CHRONICLES OF SUSAH.

Though mostly well-received and positively reviewed, the dominate negative comment on my debut novel at Amazon is that the story is great, but the book is not. I knew that shortly after publishing my second book, THE LOST DRAGONEER, and was sorely tempted to write a revised second edition of THE DRAGONEERS back then. I shared those intentions with my readers via my Facebook fan page and the response was overwhelming against it.

They wanted the third book more than they wanted an improved presentation of the first adventure. Who could blame them? Susah's adventures are captivating, and what happens next is most desired product of any series you're following.

So that's what I did, and now THE LAST DRAGONEER is available in Kindle. The printed version of this third book is going through yet one more proof review before it will go final, which should be soon. Now, I'll be turning my writing energy toward the revised second edition of THE DRAGONEERS.

If you've already read it, you can rest assured the story isn't changing; however, the scattering of typos, grammatical errors, and formatting issues will change. What will emerge is a book worthy of being called a good book, along with being a good story. I'll post about my progress as it continues.

Big Stakes in Editing

Editing a book is something like cooking a grill load of steaks. There is so much potential for the consumers of your labor to enjoy themselves, but the odds of making a few mistakes are great when there is so much to do. Cooking a dozen perfect steaks and allowing one mistake to make it to the picnic table results in at least one unhappy consumer.

Continuing the analogy, a little posting such as this is more akin to cooking a hotdog. Care has to be taken not to over do it, but stopping short wouldn't be all that bad. I could post a picture, say something cute, and be content with having said my say.

With my third novel, THE LAST DRAGONEER, which completes the trilogy of THE CHRONICLES OF SUSAH, I wanted the mechanical presentation to match the quality of the story. My editorial team gave me tremendous support, but the reality of undertaking is that it is a lot of work.

While crafting THE LAST DRAGONEER, I used an instant grammar checker and online proofreader before sending a chapter draft to my tactical editor. The service is available with an annual fee that is well worth it to me, but it's not like having Bobby Flay mind your grill while you enjoy the sunshine. The technology allowed me to give a superior product to my editor, so that she could work at a more refined level. After incorporating my tactical editor's inputs, I used Google documents to collaborate with my operational editor. Those inputs were used to produce a final draft for a third editing. After that, the chapters were combined into a draft manuscript for an intense round of editing, which resulted in a published novel via Amazon's kindle. At the time, I thought the presentation was perfect.

With my first two novels, I made the typical mistake of publishing the printed edition too soon. This time, I ordered proofs which were used as advanced readers. Once was not enough since the "perfect" presentation proved to have many mechanical errors. A second proof effort revealed another dozen flaws and a few formatting problems, which were all corrected. Of course, I suspect there are some more yet to be discovered.

I know this because I find errors in every book I read, don't you?

  

My Prose is Like a Red Red Rose

Have you noticed how roses are alike and yet different? The roses growing in my garden continue to amaze me with their subtle differences. Initially, the most obvious difference is the reds as opposed to the pink blooms, but it goes beyond color. Each petal seems to have a personality of it's own. Taking a picture of one this morning, highlighted with the rain from the night prior caused me to draw the parallel between my prose and the rose, with all due respect to Robert Burns.

O my prose's like a red, red rose
That's like the others on the shelf;
O my prose's a new adventure
Even if I say so myself.

As different art thou, THE DRAGONEERS,
I've written another two:
THE LOST, and THE LAST DRAGONEER,
Folks need to read them too:

Book One's from innocence to warrior,
Book Two's from warrior to leader:
Book Three the rocks melt like the sun,
And arrives the anticipated water.

If you're read my novels three
You know of what I speak,
There's more to the story than you've been told,
Susah's adventures are not for the meek.