My Cousin Jonathan

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1776, Alfred Hitchcock, Amadeus, Anthony Perkins, Baron van Swieten, Broadway, Charles Lamont, Checking Out, Dustin Hoffman, Dylan, F. Murray Abraham, Harry Belafonte, Jessica Lange, Jonathan Moore, Jonathon Ascott, Love of Life, Lyman Hall, Marco Dark, New Orleans, New York, Psycho, Ray Wise, Rising Sun, Robocop, Swamp Thing, To Sleep in the Ground, Tootsie, Twin Peaks, Wild Honey

I normally abstain from posting about my family as I adhere to the belief that some things are just too personal for social media.  But being that Jonathan’s birthday is here, I felt that the timing was appropriate.

Jonathan Moore was known by his television role as Charles Lamont on the daytime drama Love of Life from 1966-1978.  On the big screen he was familiar to audiences as Dr. Lyman Hall (delegate from Georgia) in 1776 and as Baron van Swieten in the 1984 Academy Award-winning film Amadeus.  But before all of this, he was an accomplished stage actor on Broadway.  His stage credits include such productions as Wild Honey, Amadeus, Checking Out, 1776, and Dylan.  He was also my relative (first cousin once removed) on my mother’s side of the family. 

He was born John Miller Moore, Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He later took the stage and professional name of Jonathan Moore.  He was a decorated soldier in World War II and afterward became an artist in Paris.  Soon the acting bug bit and he moved to New York where he joined the prestigious Actors Studio.  While focusing on his acting career, he was a roommate with both the famous singer and actor Harry Belafonte and Anthony Perkins who portrayed one of cinema’s most indelible and terrifying characters, Norman Bates, in the Alfred Hitchcock smash horror/thriller/suspense hit Psycho.

I idolized Jonathan as a child and remember watching him on television when staying home on sick days and during summer vacation in kindergarten and elementary school.  His visits to Louisiana were thrilling.  He was my cousin, but he was also a celebrity whom I had gotten to know from television.  He always took the time to play outside with my cousins and I during holidays and family reunions, and he was often the center of attention.  On one of his trips, he paid my siblings and I a surprise visit at our school.  Some of the teachers and parents recognized him from Love of Life at the time, and I was very proud to tell them that he was my cousin. 

He was the celebrity of our family, but he remained refreshingly modest and humble.  Jonathan spoke with a rich baritone voice that can be heard in some of his roles on-screen before you even see him in the camera frame.  He had a sophisticated air about him that I gravitated toward.  He was always cool, classy, and debonair in my eyes, and he always will be.  

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Paying Homage to the Monsters

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Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Carl Laemmle, Claude Rains, Colin Clive, collage, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Dracula, Elsa Lanchester, film posters, Frankenstein, Frankenstein's Monster, Halloween, Happy Halloween, Julia Adams, Karl Freund, Lon Chaney Jr., Marco Dark, Phantom of the Opera, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, To Sleep in the Ground, Tod Browning, Universal Studios Classic Monsters

I enjoy the Universal Studios classic monster films.  I bought this Blu-ray set in 2014.  It features eight of the more popular and famous Universal monster movies.  The set came with postcards of the original film posters.  I made them into a collage a while back.

Trivia time!  Look closely at the titles of the films.  If you have read my novel, “To Sleep in the Ground,” then you may have gotten the joke I made in the book about some of the film titles seen here.  If you haven’t read my novel yet, but do so in the future, can you catch the hidden joke?  Hint:  You do not have to buy the book in order to read the joke.  It’s included in the free sample “Look inside” preview of my book on Amazon.  Happy hunting!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Will I Ever Get a Review?: The Curse of the Self-Published Author

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A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake-A Foreigner's Perspective, Amazon Review, Book Review, First Book Review, Review, The DiVacci Curse, To Sleep in the Ground, Will I Ever Get A Review?

I asked this question in my mind many times over the years until one day when I happened to check the listing for my nonfiction book “A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011, Japan Earthquake-A Foreigner’s Perspective” and noticed that someone had finally answered that question. I had my first review of my work! The review was posted on March 8 of this year. It took almost a decade to happen, but it did actually happen. Four months later I am still shocked that I finally joined the ranks of those fortunate, self-published souls who can proudly say that their work has been officially reviewed. I am delighted and humbled for such an honor and wish to thank the kind person who took the time to purchase and read my book, then write and post the review. They rated my book three out of five stars, and I am honored.

The review was posted on Amazon. Not long after I first published my nonfiction book, I received a rating on Goodreads of two out of five stars from a reader. Big thanks to the person who rated the book then. No review was written, only a rating was given at the time. I was brand new to the self-publishing world. Since then, my book has been updated and revised, and I think (hope) it makes for a better reading experience now. Perhaps the three-star rating this time reflects that.

It’s no mystery that reviews sell books, especially positive reviews. If you’re a self-published author like me but you haven’t received your first review yet, all I can say is be patient and hang in there. It could happen when you least expect it, but don’t expect it. Reviews of your work should be considered a bonus, not an expectation. Think of it as a privilege and not a right. Legitimate reviews can be very difficult to get. They are not easy to come by for many of us. It may not even be a flattering review that you receive, but at least it will have provoked a strong reaction in the reader, and that is something to feel good about. Isn’t that one of the reasons why many of us write?

Again, I wish to thank the kind person who reviewed “A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011, Japan Earthquake.” Now if only I could get a review for my short story “The DiVacci Curse” and my novel “To Sleep in the Ground!”

A side note:

I am still preparing the paperback version of my nonfiction book. After that, I plan to revise and reformat my short story and novel (e-book and paperback). Then I hope to begin advertising my books in earnest. I don’t think I have enough to do.

Have a safe and healthy summer!

Updated Content of E-books on Amazon.co.jp

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A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake-A Foreigner's Perspective, Amazon Japan, Amazon Marketplace, Amazon U.S., Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.com, Manage your content and devices, The DiVacci Curse, To Sleep in the Ground, updates, updates not available

I hope that everyone is doing well considering the situation. We have all been getting slammed pretty hard by the virus, severe weather, social instability, etc. It doesn’t really matter where you live in the world…we are all dealing with difficulties right now. Keep your chin up and hang in there.

On a different note, and a followup to my previous post, I have discovered the reason why purchasers of my e-books from Amazon.co.jp (Japan) have not been receiving the content updates to my book(s). It appears that Amazon Japan does not automatically make updates available to readers. The reason is because Amazon Japan (not the author) reserves the right to decide whether updates will be made available to readers. If they deem the changes worthy of alerting the readers and allow them to download the updates, then they will do so. Otherwise, too bad. They evaluate the updates on a case by case basis. I am in complete disagreement with this method as I feel that readers have a right to update and get the latest version of the e-book if they have legally purchased it in the past.

Amazon Japan claims that it may make exceptions to the rule if the reader requests the update directly. Authors may do the same, but there is no guarantee that Amazon Japan will honor the request. Final authority rests with Amazon Japan.

I wonder if Amazon.com (U.S.) is aware of this policy. I was told by Amazon.com that updates are made available across all of their marketplaces where e-books are sold. Yet, Amazon Japan operates differently. It would be nice for the two of them to get on the same page with this issue.

I do not want to discourage anyone from purchasing my e-books. All I can say is that if you choose to purchase my e-books from Amazon Japan be aware that you may not be able to update the book’s content after the initial purchase. I wish it were not the case, but there is nothing that I can do to rectify the issue. Different countries have different policies. I have lived in Japan long enough to know that it runs itself according to its own policies and perspectives. All nations do. You either deal with it, or you don’t. That same idea can be applied to current global events, I suppose.

I apologize for any inconvenience that Amazon Japan’s policy may cause those who purchase and read my books. As always, I thank you for your continued support and consideration.

Stay safe and healthy!

More Updates Available!

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Amazon Japan, Amazon KDP, Amazon Marketplace, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.com, e-book, e-book vs. paperback, e-mail, Manage your content and devices, To Sleep in the Ground, Update Available

I updated the content of my e-book To Sleep in the Ground in order to make it consistent with the recently released paperback version. Amazon.com has sent (or will send) e-mails to those who have purchased my e-book in the past notifying them of the updates. If you do not receive an e-mail, then just check the “Manage Your Content and Devices” page of your Amazon account. If you purchased my e-book and do not receive either of these notifications, then please let me know in the comments section of this post and I will inform Amazon.

Regretfully, as of the date of this post, updates are still not available for readers who purchased To Sleep in the Ground from Amazon.co.jp (Japan). I have brought this to Amazon’s attention, and I am in continuing communication with them about the issue. I have experienced that Amazon Japan sometimes operates differently (independently) from Amazon.com. However, Amazon.com has assured me that updates are made available for all Amazon marketplaces in all countries. Again, please let me know via this post if you have purchased the e-book version of T.S.I.T.G. from any Amazon marketplace and have not received an e-mail or notice about the updates. I will do my best to rectify the problem if it’s possible to do so.

The updates that I made to the novel are considered to be significant improvements to the quality of the e-book according to Amazon. I agree. The overall feel and appearance of the book is better, and I, again, took the time to correct grammatical issues, punctuation, and redundancies in the vocabulary. Ahh, the learning curve involved with first novels. I hope you enjoy the latest version of To Sleep in the Ground.

Thanks for reading, and stay healthy!

“To Sleep in the Ground” Now Available in Paperback!

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Bradley Lobue, e-book vs. paperback, independent publishing, Now Available!, paperback formatting, paperback novel, self-publishing, To Sleep in the Ground

Paperback books have their fans as do e-books. To Sleep in the Ground can now satisfy both!

I’m very happy to announce that my novel is now in paperback form. I originally published T.S.I.T.G. last November in e-book format. A lot of my free time since then has been spent reformatting it, cleaning it up and getting it ready for paperback publication.

The difference in the two styles is greater than many may think. You don’t have to worry about pagination with an e-book, and the appearance of the book is more important in paperback. You have to worry about the front cover versus the back cover, the type of paper you want to use (and it’s color) and even the font for the text. This is important because the font text cannot be changed with a paperback as it can be for an e-book. The reader can choose from a variety of fonts with an e-book. They can even change the size of the text.

It was a tedious but great learning experience. I’m highly motivated now to publish my nonfiction e-book in paperback. But considering that it took me months (and many weekends and days off from work) to whip my e-book into paperback form, I don’t plan on jumping back into the same pond again any time soon. If you are a publisher and would like to take on that role for me, then by all means let me know! As mentioned before, I envy those folks who are fortunate enough to have major publishers behind them to promote their work. After this experience, that feeling has multiplied ten times.

I humbly encourage you to check out To Sleep in the Ground in any of the two formats available. The paperback would be an interesting addition to your bookshelf, and might make for nice conversation as a decorative item on your coffee table. The e-book is available through Amazon in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S.A. The paperback is available through Amazon in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S.A. The book is very reasonably priced in both formats. As always, if you would like more information about any of the books that I have published, please see the My Books page of this blog. Thank you very much for reading.

Hang in there! We will get through this COVID-19 crisis together as long as we remain united, vigilant, considerate and precautious.

Stay healthy!

Click this link to access the paperback version of To Sleep in the Ground: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DC63TGP

Updates Available…

Tags

A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake-A Foreigner's Perspective, authors, Horror, humanity, Manage your content and devices, nonfiction, novel, photos, Short stories, The DiVacci Curse, To Sleep in the Ground, updates

First things first…

I hope that everyone is coping with the pandemic and that lives are being saved by compliance to the worldwide lockdowns.

No offense or disrespect is intended, but I thought that since things seem to be settling down a bit in some areas of the world, and some countries are over their peaks of mass infection, that maybe it was acceptable to post some new info about my books.

Amazon.com has informed me that free updates are available for all three of my e-books.  In order to access the updates, readers who purchased my books in the past can go to their “Manage Your Content and Devices” page in their Amazon account to download the updated and most recent version.  I assume (you know what happens when we do that) that the updates will translate to all Amazon versions of my books no matter what country they were purchased from.  If you have information to the contrary, or would like to chime in with any comments about the updates, then I would be more than grateful and open to them.  Unfortunately, as of the date of this post, the updates are not available for anyone who purchased my books from Amazon.jp here in Japan where I live.  Sorry about that.  I hope it changes.  Perhaps it just takes time for word to spread throughout the entire Amazon kingdom.  That is completely understandable considering the current situation.

As mentioned in previous posts, after I published my first novel, I revisited both my nonfiction book and my short story.  Basic technical changes were made, but I made no changes to the stories.  I just updated and improved the appearance, format and user-friendliness of the books.  I changed some of the front matter to back matter, and made the layout and flow more consistent across all three books.  I also reformatted the photos in my March 11, 2011 nonfiction book among other changes.  I feel that the changes make for a much better reading experience overall.

The free updates are my gift to the readers of my books.  Thank you all very much.  I hope that you will enjoy the improvements.  For those of you who have not yet read my books, then be assured that you will be getting the most current editions and the best possible reading experience that I can offer at this time.  Thank you for your future patronage.

Again, please forgive my selfish post at such a difficult time as this.

I ask your continued prayers for the world.  We are all in this together regardless of gender, race, religion, creed, political ideology, socioeconomic status or income.  Hang in there, everybody.

 

 

 

 

“A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011, Japan Earthquake – A Foreigner’s Perspective” (4th Edition) Now Available!

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e-mail, earthquake, fourth edition, Fukushima, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, grammar, Great East Japan Earthquake, humanity, Koriyama, March 11 2011 earthquake, nonfiction, nuclear crisis, nuclear meltdown, photos, punctuation, revised story, To Sleep in the Ground, tsunami, writing

Lessons learned from writing and editing my first novel To Sleep in the Ground motivated me to revisit my older stories.  A Day of Horror:  The March 11, 2011, Japan Earthquake is my only nonfiction book and the very first book that I self-published.

And was I ever green!  The old cliché that ‘the more you write, the more you learn’ (or something like that) is true.  I cleaned up the grammar and punctuation, and eliminated many redundancies in the story.  The fourth and latest edition is by far the best version of the book.  It’s a better reading experience overall.

The book contains personal e-mails that I wrote to family and friends in America, keeping them updated on the situation in Japan in the days, weeks and months following the initial quake. Photos of the damage to the city in Japan where I live are included, as are photos of one of the port cities devastated by the ensuing tsunami.

If you are interested in how the events of that day unfolded and what it was like to experience the fourth largest earthquake in recorded human history, as well as one of the worst nuclear disasters the modern age has seen, then I encourage you to check it out.  I hope that you find it informative and educational.  All of my books are available through Amazon.

In these volatile times of natural and man-made threats to our existence, parallels can be drawn between current events and the disasters and crisis of the past.  Lessons can be learned.

Thanks for reading,

Brad

Found yourself with a little extra downtime this holiday season?

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Happy New Year, Have a happy New Year, holiday downtime, holiday reading, holiday season, pass the time, recommended, To Sleep in the Ground

Dare I recommend my novel To Sleep in the Ground?

There are worse ways to pass the time.

Have a happy New Year!

Daywalker, Nightwalker or Both?

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1840s, Bram Stoker, Count Graf Orlok, Count Orlock, Daywalker, Dracula, F.W. Murnau, Film, gothic, Henrik Galeen, Horror, Malcolm Rymer, Movie, Nightwalker, Nosferatu, novel, serials, Shadow of the Vampire, The Feast of Blood, Thomas Peckett Prest, To Sleep in the Ground, vampire fiction, vampire novel, Varney the Vampire

It’s one of the most challenging questions for writers of vampire fiction:  Should the vampires in my story walk during the daytime or only appear at night?

This was an issue for me when first writing my vampire novel To Sleep in the Ground.  I’m an ‘after six’ person.  The evening is my favorite time of day.  I could have easily written Marco, the main character of my story, to be a nightwalker only.  The silent film classic Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors (now known popularly by the simple title of Nosferatu) directed by legendary German director F.W. Murnau helped fuel the myth that vampires could be destroyed by sunlight.  Some say that the film created the myth, but I’m not so sure about that.  Hollywood would embellish the concept that vampires were strictly nightwalkers with the sun frying them to a crisp if so much as a hint of it touched their pale skin, and the myth has become a mainstay of vampire fiction.

Instead, I decided to follow the tradition arguably established literarily by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest, authors of the Varney the Vampire (or the Feast of Blood) serials from the middle to late 1840s and allow Marco to walk around in the daytime with limitations; he is weaker and not able to access the full potential of his dark gifts.

Decades later, Bram Stoker’s timeless masterpiece Dracula also echoed the folklore that vampires could walk by day.  Those of us who write vampire or horror literature know Stoker’s novel and love it.  It isn’t the first vampire story ever written, but it is the standard by which many, dare I say most, of us write our vampire fiction today.  It was the inspiration for the influential Nosferatu.  And it’s quite possible that Murnau’s Count Orlok was susceptible to sunlight rather than a stake through the heart because neither he nor the screenwriter Henrik Galeen had official permission to make a film version of the novel.  Count Orlok needed to be different from Count Dracula for obvious reasons.  On a side note, if you’re interested in knowing more about Nosferatu then I suggest the film Shadow of the Vampire.  It’s one of my favorite vampire movies and a wonderful piece of film noir.  It also explores the interesting legend of Max Schreck the actor who portrayed the vampiric Orlok in the film.  I’ll address the film in more detail in my next post.  Be sure to stick around for that.

So, what do you think, should fiction portray vampires as daywalkers, nightwalkers or both?  I say “both” with limitations on the potency of their abilities during the daytime, but I want to hear the opinions of you writers and readers of vampire fiction.  Open up the coffin and chime in.  Feel free to cast your vote via the comments section of this post.  I look forward to hearing from you all…and keep the garlic close to the bedside!