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Latest NewsWriting is a thankless job more or less, and I'm sorry to say that, if an unknown author wants a cheering section, by and large he or she has to be the first voice. It's not ego, but in this case at least, it provides some indication whether or not the site is updated and maintains a chronology of the successes and failures of my publishing efforts. Like ideal news, this will be unbiased. You see, although I would love to be published, I no longer expect to retire on my writing income or become known by the national media. The point now is the audience. I want more people to read and enjoy my work because I believe it has intrinsic value. They are my life's work and they won't go down without a fight. There are, however, many things I will NOT DO to get published. I will not lie to an agent or publisher or start a conversation under false pretenses. I will not attempt to make friends with somebody in order to get access to people they know. I will not compromise my values in any way or do anything that I consider to be manipulative or unethical. If that means I end up with a small audience, that's okay with me. Fame and fortune are not worth my soul. My product can stand on its own merrit. I can't tell you that my stories are good or bad because I'm too close to them. They are, however, right. They are as I saw them and the more I do this the more close to the vision I get them. If I'm the only one who reads my work, it would still be worth it for me. About the only value judgement I will make is that I also read science fiction, and I've read many things in print that are awful, and by that I mean so bad that I can't imagine how they got published. My work is no worse than half the stuff out there. The only reason why my work has not been published that I can see is that the editors are generally not reading it. December 24, 2011 Web of Life Goes completed on Podiobooks.com and on KindleThose of you who have listened to Web of Life will know that it is a long story and very different from Homesick. This made the project itself more complex and time consuming. But it is done now and I am exhausted and relieved. As of this writing, Web of Life is now available on Kindle for a modest price of about $2.00. It is also available to listen to on podiobooks for free! Please enjoy and please comment. I am gearing up for Splashdown, but am taking a short break before beginning!July 16, 2011 Web of Life Goes Live on Podiobooks.comYes, at last the time has come! Thanks to all of you who have been waiting patiently, and I sincerely hope that you find it worth the wait. Web of Life is a very different book than Homesick, and it is quite longer, but my hope is that you will find it to be every bit as good an experience. To attend the official launch party on line, click here!May 1, 2011 The Project wins honorable mention in Skyfest V Film and Script FestivalWe just got word yesterday that The Project received honorable mention in the fifth annual Skyfest Film and Script Festival out in Ashville NC. The festival did not include an actual showing, but it was judged with many other works and it did place on the list. We should also mention that 33 Cents, a film produced by Jerry Taylor, who also worked on The Project, won a certificate of excellence. April 17, 2011 The Project Accepted into the Pittsburgh Horror Film FestivalWe have just received word that our most major independent film project, The Project, has just been accepted into the Pittsburgh Horror Film Festival! This festival will take place this summer, from June 3rd to June 5th, and we are hoping to attend. Naturally, we hope The Project wins an award, but even if not we are honored to be a part of this event and consider this to be a victory. Updates will be posted as they come in. Official information can be found at www.pittsburghhorrorfilms.com  January 8, 2011 Window In The Sky Completed! Window in the sky will most likely be the very last story featuring Sally Buds, Ian Merryfield, and most of the other familiar characters they interacted with. While most of the novels in this series were produced within a year, more or less, this one took close to six years. The story was started at least twice, and different versions of many of the chapters existed for a while. In short, Window In The Sky was a horrible mess for a very long time. In the writing of the first draft of any of these novels, each chapter was written seperately, and later combined into a complete story. Before this happens, these novels appeared only as piles of chapters stacked up in some reasonable order, or not. In this case, the whole thing became an eyesore, and I was quite sure it would never be finished.Why did it take so long? Good question! First of all, during the time I wrote this novel, my responsibilities grew dramatically. I was married again, inherited the position of department chair of communications at the university, and built a house. I also produced two movies and attempted to learn PHP. Yes, that would make things a little less efficient, but that wasn't the only reason. Simply put, this story was far more complicated than any of the previous ones, and it enters realms where I don't normally go. Also, quite frankly, I had to learn and grow a lot before I would have been able to write this story. In its current form, Window In The Sky is still a bit rough, but it is together as a complete writing. Window in the Sky tips the scales at 893 double-spaced pages. What happens next? As in all novels in the series, the first draft is the hardest to complete. From there, it will get another detailed read at least before a second draft can be considered done. I will also be creating the cover design, by tradition, and finalizing the chapter names. The remaining part of the game plan will be to publish all works on Kindle, and continue narrating them for Podiobooks. October 2010 Little By Little CompletedA new short story is now being officially added to our list. Little by Little is not science fiction, nor does it really resemble much of my other work in that it goes slightly into the mystical. It is unclear whether or not it will be offered to Asimov's Science Fiction. Please enjoy
October 2010 The Project is featured in the Ava Gardner Independent Film Festival
Part of the success of The Project had to do with the incredibly complex visual effects. Based on the response from the various audiences who have seen the movie, these effects were effective. November 2009 Continued Work on The Project Exceeds Estimates The Project sounded like a simple idea two years ago when it first appeared as an update to a short story I wrote in college. It is a simple story, mostly about a man who is trying to enter a room he was told not to. At first glance, it was thought that this story, then called "The Eye" would not really work visually, so it seemed a poor choice for our latest film project. Once we all agreed on that I immediately started working on a script, which I knew we would all agree would be horrible. Well, a week later the group was sold on the idea and we began casting the characters and planning locations. The beauty of it was that it was still a simple idea. A man walks through the corridors of a soul-less corporation in an attempt to gain access to The Chamber. Along the way he remembers certain key events which we also had to shoot. Still simple. Designing an alien creature was a bit of a challenge, however. It would only appear on the screen for a few seconds but it took about six months to make that happen. All the rest was special effects. Easy, right? We are currently designing video to have taken place within the mind of the character. Nothing seen in this sequence is real, and the basic framework is visual effects that are completely fabricated on the computer. The problem was that each frame of that animation took four hours to generate. Some took longer than that. So far it has taken most of the summer and all of the last two months to begin the process of creating this final sequence. A feat that was originally supposed to take only a few days. Welcome to the world of film making! As much as I would love to be done with this, I can not be until it is done. For this reason, other projects have been delayed. Thank you all for your patience, those of you who are waiting for the reading of Web of Life.
September, 2009 Jim Wins Contest DrawingThe summer was a busy one, but I keep my promises. The drawing for the original manuscript for Homesick was carried out on September 22 and the final Bonus chapter of Homsick was uploaded at that time. Jim, who works in security won the drawing, which was done during the actual recording! Along with this manuscript, Jim received a paper copy of Markerstone and one of the first commercially produced DVD copies of Ultimate Case. I hope these items are worth a great deal of money some day! July 6, 2009 Live interview on Podioracket.comA few minutes ago I had a rare opportunity to share a few words with some fellow writers! Podioracket.com has proven to be a great resource and a great opportunity to meet some great people Rhonda Carpenter was a delightful host and lead a great discussion.July 6, 2009 Homesick is complete! Listen to it on Podiobooks.comSome of my listeners have been visitors on this site for some time, so I'm preaching to the choir here, but this was clearly a landmark for me. It took quite a while to read and edit Homesick, but I feel that the final product speaks for itself. The final chapter of Homesick also includes a brief preview of Web of Life, the next story in line.July 1, 2009 Shooting complete on The ProjectThis weekend principle photography was officially finished as the famous "alien" scene was completed. We will be posting production images shortly.March 11, 2009 Marker Stone goes live on Podiobooks.comI'm pretty sure you all know this already becaus I can't honestly think of any other reference to my website in existence but its mention in my pages on podiobooks. In any case, welcome and thank you for listening. I hope you find it an enjoying experience.March 3, 2009 Ian Sampson Joseph is born!
March 9, 2009 Homesick Podcast is Officially CommisionedNow that Marker Stone is live on podiobooks.com I have to take advantage of the momentum. I have six novels that have never seen the light of day outside my immediate family and friends. Podcasting is the printing press of this generation and I am delighted to share my words with all who will listen.March 10 2009 Code Red Extraction completedJust when I think I'm done with writing another piece of inspiration comes out of the blue. Code Red Extraction deals with the health care system in America and the amazing potential of the current administration for change. This is guaranteed to be offensive, but I don't think it'll be boring.March 6, 2009 Editing Progress on The ProjectJerry and I reached the end of principle editing stage one over the weekend. We have the basic action edited from end to end. the next step will be fine-tuning on edits, shading, and audio sweetening. |
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On October 7th and 9th The Project was screened in the Lampe theatre in Smithfield North Carolina as part of the Ava Gardner Independent Film Festival along with a variety of other independent films produced by local film makers. Present were both producers, myself and Jerry Taylor with our families. The Project received an award for best visual effects. This was the first official public showing of The Project and it was well received.