Miles of Hell

I am just sitting down to write my next novel. I'm working on the outline as we speak. It will be my first true "monster" novel. Here's the synopsis:

“When Dembe Lutalo was only seven years old he was kidnapped by the Lord’s Revolutionary Militia in Uganda and forced to become a child soldier. For five years he fought and killed, tortured and dismembered at the command of his general until he escaped to America where he was adopted by a former Red Cross volunteer he’d met in Africa named Jonathan Moore.
Four years later, Dembe has a new life, a new father, and the promise of a career as a marathon runner. But when he and his adopted father enter the Miles of Hell ultra-marathon, 135 miles through Death Valley in mid-July, he finds himself in a life and death struggle against vicious humanoid predators, the merciless heat and grueling terrain of the Mojave desert, and the memories of Dembe’s own brutal past which may be his only hope of survival.”

The research on child soldiers has been eye-opening to say the least. The brutality that exists in this world is far more vicious and extreme than anything fiction has yet to approximate. But I'm trying ;)

It will probably take me three or four months to finish this one. I'm guessing I should have it done by late February or early March and then another six to twelve months before it's published. I wouldn't look for it to see print until winter of 2010/2011.

Don't Let Your Neighbors Die

I said once and have said often in regards to the benevolence of God, that the most fundamental and basic criterion, the minimum requirement for a father be he heavenly or earthly is that he not let his children suffer or die if it is within his power to prevent it. Allowing preventable suffering to occur is incompatible with moral virtue. This is self-evident and should require no further argument. The greatest good for the greatest number should be the goal of any ethical society that holds the sanctity of human life above all other virtues. What then must we think of our fellow Americans who oppose universal health care? How can we think them anything but evil and reprehensible?

If my only objection to allowing millions of low income mothers to receive prenatal care and reduce infant mortality is that I don't want my taxes to go up then what does that say about my love of humanity? If my only objection to allowing millions of my fellow Americans to receive preventive care that might forestall some debilitating illness is that it does not adhere to my dogmatic capitalist ideology then what does that say about my own benevolence? If I would allow my hatred of a single politician or political party to get in the way of one diabetic receiving insulin, one cancer or Leukemia patient receiving chemo, one AIDS patient receiving integrase inhibitors,then I would be a monster, a villain, a thoroughly reprehensible human being.

So then what are the motivations behind those who protest so vehemently against government sponsored health care or socialized medicine or public health care or whatever they want to call it? We must assume they are not all evil and greedy no matter how much we may wish to paint them as such? So how do they justify their seeming inhumanity.

"I don't want my tax dollars going to fund abortions!"
"I don't want my tax dollars paying for illegal immigrants!"
"I don't want the government deciding whether I or my loved ones are too old or sick to waste money on!"
"I don't want long lines for health care like they have at the DMV and the post office!"
"I don't want government run health care to have an unfair competitive advantage over private health care and put all those companies out of business increasing unemployment and causing another economic crisis!"

Did I get them all? Okay, so let's look at these objections one at a time.

I'm not a Christian so I have no objection to abortion for religious reasons. I do have an objection to hundreds of thousands of unwanted children being born into the already overcrowded ghettoes of America and what that would do to both the crime rate and the economy. Think of the neighborhood crackwhore or meth addict and her stream of endless "Baby Daddies" getting knocked up in between trips to rehab and/or the penitentiary and tell me how society would benefit from forcing them to give birth to children doomed to repeat the cycle? But that's just my opinion and it is not a popular one to be sure. The reality is that the proposed health care overhaul does not provide for abortions anymore than private health care does yet I don't see anyone picketing Blue Cross or Cigna.

The idea that universal health care would cover illegal immigrants is a stupid one. Your tax dollars are already paying for the health care of illegal immigrant but only at twice the rate because they are showing up in emergency rooms. Just like you'd would be covered by Canada's health care system if you got injured on a trip to Toronto. Urgent care costs thousands more than preventive medicine. But they are trying to find a way to exclude illegal immigrants just for you folks.

If you believe that there will be death panels than you and Sarah Palin deserve each other. The idea was to have end of life counseling but don't worry, the right-wing idiots have scared that out of the final bill so you can still waste thousands of dollars of medical care on vegetative corpses with heartbeats and no brain activity and no one will suggest that maybe it's time to pull the plug. Happy?

Those who suggest that government run health care would look like the DMV are forgetting that we aren't talking about government hospitals like in Russian. You would still go to the same hospitals and primary care physicians. It's just your insurance that would be owned by the government. You know, like the current government run health care known as Medicare? See any geriatric cheese lines forming at the doctor's office, pharmacies, or hospitals with seniors waiting months to be seen the way the Republicans are trying to scare you into thinking there will be? No? Now what does that tell you? Come on. Put your thinking caps on.

Now, the idea that a public health care option would have an unfair competitive advantage over private insurance is a good one. My answer is this. So? There needs to be more competition in the insurance market where some states are monopolized by only a handful of providers. Why should I care if these billion dollar companies have to lower their rates and make somewhat smaller profits. Do I think government health care would put them out of business? Of course not. They and the pharmaceutical companies would just have to cut back on a few jets and get smaller corporate bonuses come Christmas time.

Look, the bottom line is this. People are dying and going bankrupt because they don't have health insurance. If you're a decent and moral person you have an obligation to do something about it. There is no excuse. None of the worries I listed above are enough for one infant to die because they didn't get proper prenatal care. Not one of them is enough for one cancer patient to go without chemo. Are we a moral country or does capitalism supercede all morality? That is the only question here.

What Am I?

It takes seven or eight years for every cell in your body to die and be replaced by another. So, every eight to ten years you have an entirely different body than the one you had previously except for some of those in the cerebral cortex. You share very few cells in common with the person you were eight years ago, hardly any. So who is this new person? Is it still you?

I turned 39 this year. One year away from the big 40. The year before I said goodbye to my fighting career. First triumphantly in front of family and friends, racking up my 18th victory and then unfortunately, in front of strangers, humbled by a right hand I didn't see, racking up my sixth lost. I am not a fighter anymore. Too old. Too slow. I am now permanently retired. I miss it. I miss having a fighter's physique. I miss the fame, the prestige, and the competition, the thrill of victory. That's all gone now. I am not that guy anymore.

The other day I found myself staring at a woman at the grocery store. She was pretty but not remarkably so. She was the type of woman who I could have charmed with a smile just six years ago. The type whom, in my arrogance, I would have considered not to be in my league. I realized, as I caught myself staring, that she was not staring back. She did not even notice me. Now, I was not in her league. I was beneath her notice. I was just some creepy old man ogling a younger woman. I realized how long it had been since a woman followed me around a store trying to get up the nerve to talk to me. It used to be a common occurrence. Now, I can't remember the last time it happened. I am married now. I shouldn't need the ego boost, but I do. We all do. It's good to get that validation from a stranger. It's good to know you've still got it. I have to learn to live without that now. I am not the guy that women chase anymore.

I look in the mirror now and I can't believe the image that stares back at me. The six pack is long gone, smothered beneath a layer of fat I can't seem to rid myself of. The muscles in my chest and arms don't look the same. Still large but not quite as shapely. No cuts or striations. The gray hairs in my beard are multiplying. I barely recognize myself.

My son left for boarding school this year. He's going to Phillips Exeter Academy, one of the oldest and most prestigious college preparatory schools in the country. Lincoln's son graduated from Exeter. Sultan was one of only 70 boys accepted into the school out of 800 applicants from around the world. I'm proud of him. But now what? Getting him to this point has been my mission for the last fourteen years, doing flash cards with him when he was only a year old, teaching him to read when he was three, teaching him to add, subtract, multiply, and divide at five and six. Teaching him how to write short stories. Giving him his first Stephen King book followed by his first Brian Keene book. Now, his education is in the hands of others. I still set the expectations. He knows that I expect him to go to an Ivy League College, but I am no longer the one responsible for getting him there. Now, it is largely up to him and his teachers. My role as father has diminished and will diminish more and more the older he gets.

After nearly thirteen years I will be leaving Las Vegas soon. I am moving my wife and daughters to Austin, Texas. I will be leaving behind countless friends and acquaintances and possibly even the job and the company I have been a part of for the past decade unless my transfer goes through. I am not sure if this is a negative or a positive. It remains to be seen.

One positive is that my writing career has finally begun it's slow upwards ascent. After ten years of trying, I have made the transition from fighter to writer with some small modicum of success. With that comes a fear of falling, a fear of stagnation. When people ask me what I do it still feels awkward to say I am a novelist instead of a kickboxer. Now, winning the hearts of fans is not as simple as landing a head kick or a left hook. Now, it takes months of writing and many more months waiting for the publisher to do his part and get the book onto the shelves. The immediate gratification of a knockout, a raised hand over a fallen foe, is gone. Now I wait for fans, editors, and critics to judge my work, hoping I was successful, hoping they will understand and approve of my art. It has occurred to me how much easier this process was when I was still a fighter and the writing was just a hobby. The criticisms stung less when I kicked ass for a living.

So much has changed now. There are so many more changes on the horizon. I have always embraced change rather well. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune never held any fear for me. I am a survivor. Come what may. But upheavals of the sort I have undergone this year have not been common. My life alone has not just changed this year. I have changed, mentally, physically, and emotionally. My son is nearly a man. The body that has been my pride and joy for the last twenty five years has succumbed to age and a slowing metabolism. The career by which I defined myself has ended. The sex appeal by which I defined myself has waned. My economic future is uncertain. So what am I now?

I am a different man. A new man. I am a different man from the guy who once turned women's heads just walking through a grocery store. I am a different man from the one who made men's legs weaken and their hearts pound with fear when they stared across a ring at me. I am a different man then the one who ran marathons and could curl nearly 200lbs. I am a different man from the one raised his little boy into a young man. I share hardly any cells in common with that man. So who am I now?

I am still a father. I have two beautiful young daughters who need me every bit as much as Sultan did when he was growing up. I am a husband. I have a beautiful wife who drives me crazy. I am a writer, a novelist. I have a fan or two who actually enjoy the crazy shit I write. It seems I am now the co-chairman of a major Las Vegas convention. I still have a wealth of fighting knowledge that I pass on to up and coming fighters. I still have a a hell of a straight right even if it is considerably slower. I may never have a six pack again but my upper body ain't bad for a guy who's almost forty. For a writer, I'm in excellent shape. I have a great resume even if my future employment is uncertain. I may never be a Las Vegas resident again but I will be a citizen of Austin, Texas.

So what am I now? I have no fucking idea. I don't know if the future will be heaven or hell. I don't know whether to look forward to it with enthusiasm or trepidation. But one thing I have always been and will always be is a survivor. Come heaven or hell I will remain unbowed. Come what may I will remain Wrath James White in whatever form I may take.

KillerCon Programming Schedule!

KillerCon Programming

Thursday:
12:00 to 5:00PM Registration
5:00PM: Strip Crawl! Shuttles will leave every thirty minutes to take you to and from the Las Vegas Strip to enjoy the glitz and glamour of some of the world’s largest casinos.
10:00PM to 4:00AM: Pajama Party and Horror Movie Marathon in the Hospitality Suite. Six hours of nonstop horror—what better way to get you in the mood for the weekend?

Friday:
10:00AM: Registration and dealer’s room open
10:00AM The Seven Deadly Sins of Writing the Short Story: The basics every writer needs to know to avoid rejection from paragraph one. Moderator Adam Pepper. Panelists Hal Bodner, Gardner Goldsmith, Paul Gifford, Gene O’Neill, Erik Williams.
10:00AM: Reading by Gord Rollo
10:30AM: Reading by Nathan Walpow
11:00AM Anatomy of A Serial Killer: How to write a realistic psychopath, dispose of a body, and other things the FBI would rather you didn’t know. Moderator Nathan Walpow. Panelists Gord Rollo, Mark Worthen, Dave Simms, Tim Marquitz, Noel Hynd
11:00AM: Reading by Gene O’Neill
11:30AM: Reading by Adam Pepper
12:00-1:00PM: Lunch
1:00PM: Six Million Ways To Die: How to Write A Realistic Murder Scene While Avoiding Clichés and Utter Absurdity. Moderator Brian Keene. Panelists Joe Lansdale, F. Paul Wilson, Edward Lee, Bill Gagliani, Nathan Walpow.
1:00PM: Reading by L.L. Soares
1:30PM: Reading by Meghan Knierim
2:00PM: Seven Deadly Sins of Marketing and Self-Promotion. Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy: How to promote yourself and your work. Moderator: Matt Schwartz. Panelists: Brian Keene, Gabrielle Faust, Gene O’Neill, Kasey Lansdale, Maurice Broaddus, Lori Perkins
2:00PM: Reading by Edward Lee
2:30PM: Reading by F. Paul Wilson
2:30-4:00PM Q&A with Joe Lansdale, Heather Graham & Edward Lee
3:00PM Bite Me, Chew off my Face, but Love Me: When did vampires, werewolves and other monsters become love interests? Moderator Gabrielle Faust. Panelists Bill Gagliani, L.A. Banks, Beth Blue, Cory Cramer, BL Morgan.
3:00PM Reading by John Skipp
3:30PM Reading by Cody Goodfellow
4:00PM Seven Deadly Sins of Working with an Editor: How to learn to listen and to let go of your prose, no matter how beautiful. Moderator: Meghan Knierim. Panelists: Bailey Hunter, Roy Robbins, Angela James, Bill Gilchrist, Kim Richards-Gilchrist, Kelli Dunlap.
4:00PM Reading by Brian Keene
4:30PM Reading by Sèphera Girón
5:00PM Seven Deadly Sins of Self-Publishing: Authors Talk About The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing. Moderator: Jennifer Caress. Panelists: BL Morgan, Paul Gifford, Rick Holderman, Azrael Paul Damien
5:00PM Reading by Mark Worthen
5:30PM Reading by Kurt Newton
6:00-8:00PM Official Welcome/Opening Ceremonies; Cocktail Party with our Guests of Honor!
7:00PM Dealer’s Room Closes
8:00PM Sensual and Spooky: Is Paranormal Romance the new horror? Moderator Jeannie Eddy. Panelists L.A. Banks, Heather Graham, Sèphera Girón, Hal Bodner
8:00PM Reading by Wrath James White
8:30PM Reading by Rain Graves
9:00PM Creative Fiction Contest! (Judges TBA)
10:00-?PM Damnation Books Party in the Hospitality Suite!

Saturday:
Pitch sessions (details TBA)
10:00AM: Registration and dealer’s room open
10:00AM Seven Deadly Sins of Characterization: Writing Believable Characters While Avoiding the Tropes: Moderator: Bill Gagliani. Panelists L.A. Banks, Hal Bodner, Maurice Broaddus, Adam Coats.
10:00AM: Reading by Gardner Goldsmith
10:30AM: Reading by Noel Hynd
11:00AM Seven Deadly Sins of Living With a Writer. The Highs and Lows of Life With A Writer. Moderator: Jeannie Eddy. Panelists: Karen Lansdale, Christie White, Mark Worthen, Kelli Dunlap, Derek Sullivan.
11:00AM: Reading by Lisa Mannetti
11:30AM: Reading by Bill Gagliani
12:00-1:00PM: Lunch
1:00PM: What makes a good horror movie? Moderator L.L. Soares. Panelists Mike McCarty, Edward Lee, John Palisano, Kurt Newton, Zac Sanford
1:00PM Reading by Heather Graham
1:30PM Reading by William Ollie
1:00-3:00PM Marketing and Promoting Your Book on a Shoestring Budget with Matt Schwartz, Director of digital strategy for Random House Publishing Group and an adjunct professor teaching book marketing at New York University. Learn the tricks of the digital trade in this 2-hour seminar that will teach you more than a dozen ways to market your book and build your online fan base that are free or cost next-to-nothing. Limited to 20 seats per seminar, you will receive custom advice specific to your books and goals. These tips can assist established authors and newcomers alike. This is a FREE event but is limited to 20 attendees. First come, first served! Sign-up will be available at Registration, or by emailing committee@killercon.org (registered members only).
2:00PM: Eros and Thanatos: Erotic Horror vs. Paranormal Romance vs. Pornography. What’s the difference? Moderator Sèphera Girón. Panelists Angela James, Rain Graves, Meghan Knierim, Heather Graham, Lori Perkins
2:00PM Reading by L.A. Banks
2:30PM Adam Coats Lecture: Martial arts, techniques, and adding realistic fight scenes to your fiction
2:30-4PM: Q&A with Allen K, L.A. Banks & Brian Keene
3:00PM: Seven Deadly Sins of Writing Extreme Horror: The Fine Art of Sex and Violence. Moderator: Gord Rollo. Panelists: Edward Lee, Amy Grech, Cody Goodfellow, John Skipp, Gardner Goldsmith, Wrath James White, Monica J. O'Rourke
3:00-5:00PM Inside Digital Publishing with Angela James, industry expert and Editorial Director of Quartet Press. Get answers to your questions about digital publishing. Angela James offers a frank discussion on all aspects of digital publishing, answering questions from previous sessions, as well as questions you come prepared to ask, such as: Why don't e-publishers pay at least a minimum $1000 advance to all of their authors? What are the benefits of this shift from the long-time “business model” used by print houses? Is there a future for e-books other than erotica? Why should print authors also look to publish e-books? What should I know about my digital rights with traditional publishing houses? Limited to 12 seats, Angela’s workshop will assist established authors and newcomers alike. This is a FREE event but is limited to 12 attendees. First come, first served! Sign-up will be available at Registration, or by emailing committee@killercon.org (registered members only).
3:00PM Reading by John Palisano
3:30PM Reading by Jeannie Eddy
4:00PM Turning a Monster on its Ear: Can You Really Romance a Zombie? Moderator Gord Rollo. Panelists Brian Keene, Lori Perkins, John Skipp, Cody Goodfellow
4:00PM Reading by Joe Lansdale
4:30PM Reading by Maurice Broaddus
5:00-7:00PM Mass Signing
7:00PM Dealer Room Closes
7:00PM Strip Crawl! Shuttles will leave every thirty minutes to take you to and from the Las Vegas Strip to enjoy the glitz and glamour of some of the world’s largest casinos.
7:00PM Male or Female? The game show that challenges the audience to guess the gender of the author of a passage of classic or current horror. Can you tell the difference? Moderator Matt Schwartz. Panelists Allen K, Maurice Broaddus, Rain Graves, L.L. Soares
8:00PM Seven Deadly Sins of Writing Erotic Fiction: Moderator: Gabrielle Faust. Panelists: Sèphera Girón, Rain Graves, Hal Bodner, L.A. Banks, Jeannie Eddy
8:00PM Reading by Rhodi Hawk
8:30PM Reading by Amy Grech
9:00PM Book Reviewing vs. Criticism: What’s the difference? Moderator Jim Argendeli. Panelists Bill Gagliani, James La Chance, Barbara Vey, Chris Welch, Jerry Unangst, Kelli Dunlap.
10:00PM Open Mic Poetry Reading hosted by Rain Graves: You weren’t planning on going to bed tonight anyway, were you?
11:00PM Erotic Horror Fiction Contest! (Judges TBA)

Sunday:
10:00AM: Dealer’s room open
10:00AM Seven Deadly Sins of Horror Art: Becoming famous while you’re still alive. What the horror artist does in and for the genre. Moderator GAK. Panelists Allen K, John Palisano, Russell Dickerson
10:00AM Reading by Azrael Paul Damien
10:30AM Reading by Cory Cramer
11:00AM Seven Deadly Sins of Plot Development: Why storytelling is more than just having a good plot. Moderator Rain Graves. Panelists: Joe Lansdale, Lisa Mannetti, Brian Keene, Sèphera Girón
11:00AM Reading by Paul Gifford
12:00PM Seven Deadly Sins of Working with an Agent. Moderator: Adam Pepper. Panelists Robert Fleck, Lori Perkins, Laura Bradford, Jeannie Eddy, Angela James
12:00PM Reading by Tim Marquitz
1:00PM Closing Ceremonies
6:00PM Dead Dog Party in the Hospitality Suite

Go to www.killercon.org for more information and to register for the convention.

Evil Never Dies

So, my wife and I have been going through a really scary time the last few weeks. I was driving home from the gym about three weeks ago, listening to NPR as usual, when I heard a story about skin cancer. The announcer was describing the differences between melanomas and carcinomas and how to tell them apart. The description he gave sounded very much like a spot I had seen on my wife's arm. I decided to call her right then and there. I told her to make an appointment with a dermatologist. She did and they were able to get her in the next day.

At the dermatologists office the doctor walked in and walked directly over to Christie and circled a spot on her shoulder.

"Is this what you're here about?"

Well, they did a biopsy and it came back positive for melanoma. I was at work when I found out. I cried a little. I never cry. Ever. In case you don't know, melanoma is the bad one, the fatal one. I pulled myself together before I went home. The last thing Christie needed was to see tears in my eyes. I had to be strong for her. I held her while she cried and I assured her that everything would be okay.

We went back to the doctor last week and they cut a hole in her shoulder one inch all around the area where the melanoma had been discovered, cutting all the way to the bone. Then they performed another biopsy on what they removed. We had to wait a week to find out the results.

Today we went to the Nevada Cancer Institute. We registered her with the Cancer Association of America. They gave her a little card with her picture on it. Everyone there was amazingly polite and professional and just plain nice. It scared the shit out of us. We signed papers with the Cancer Research Institute allowing them to use her blood samples for research. Needless to say, we were scared to death by the time we finally got to see the oncologist. Luckily, he had good news. The surgery had been a success and all the cancer was gone. We had caught it before it had grown more than a few millimeters. The difference between a few millimeters of melanoma and a few centimeters of melanoma is the difference between a 90% survival rate and a 60%. It hadn't spread. There's a 30% chance that it will reoccur but if she stays out of the sun and wears sunblock she should be fine. I looked over at her after we got the good news and smiled.

"I told you, you'd be okay. Evil never dies."

Everyone Dies Famous In A Small Town

Everyone Dies Famous In A Small Town is the story of Mika Alonzo a promiscuous, drug-addicted, young girl suffering from schizophrenia who lives in Bishop, California, a small town in the Sierra Nevadas where people seem to be dying all around her under increasingly violent and bizarre circumstances. Is it all in her head or does it have something to do with the water babies, evil spirits that live in the lake whose voices sound like the cries of young children and summon strangers to the lake to be drowned?

This book is as close to bizarro fiction as I get. It's equal parts twisted, perverse, gruesome, and sad and it's all based on actual events. It will be published by Thunderstorm Books sometime in 2010. I'm sure you guys are going to love it.

Lottery!

The Apex author lottery is going on now! Win some cool books (written by me) Hero, Succulent Prey, and Orgy of Souls!
http://www.apexauthorlottery.info/products/orgy-of-souls-hero-succulent-prey-wrath-james-white