Welcome to the mirror page for my novel, A Pius Man. It has history, explosions, philosophy, gunfights, theology, and action sequences with an armored truck on the Spanish Steps, all around the mystery of Pope Pius XII. This page will be updated frequently. If you want more immediate updates, go to apiusman.blogspot.com
Sorry about this everyone, but I'm taking a break. It wasn't planned. I hadn't expected to wimp out and stop posting, it just happened. I even went out and scoured Youtube for something to post for a music blog, and nothing new looked interesting.
So, that said, I'm going to repost a trailer, and hope no one notices.
I wrote A Pius Man in 2004. Thinking I wanted a real job to fall back on, I went for a PhD in history, tinkering with the novel on occasion along the way. At the end of 2006, I discovered that I was screwed on the PhD angle, and my books were my fallback.
Since then, A Pius Man has outlasted two agents, and even the professor who originally inspired it. It brought me a great new friend, and then I lost several.
I am not going to discuss the Connecticut shooting. The day of the shooting, Facebook was filled with so many left-wing anti-gun @$$h0l3s trying to politicize dead children that I had to point out that the bodies were not even room temperature yet, and the political parasites were trying to stand on their still steaming bodies.
There was even someone on Facebook within six hours who stated that, yes, he would have rather that the children has had all been set on fire, because at least then they wouldn't have been shot. He said that. I cannot make this crap up.
Do you want to know what's worse than killing children? People trying to make political points off of their dead bodies. These people make me violently ill.
And the worst thing? There are already people making excuses for this murdering psycho -- "bright," or "autistic" or "Aspergers," and other exculpatory or complimentary words are being thrown at us to excuse mass murder, as though blaming the guns for the slaughter. Again while at the same time defaming innocent civilians, painting 94 million American gun owners with the same brush of mass murder.
People make me ill. And I've made myself sick just writing about this. Notice, I haven't said one thing about the shooting itself, just the aftermath.
The people of ancient Carthage were a money-worshiping people. To sacrifice to their god, they would toss the biggest drain on their pocketbooks into a fire. They would throw in their children.
If you were someone who spent time online on Friday talking about monsters who own guns instead of passing along prayers, then look in the mirror. You already threw the baby into the fire for your political points. Enjoy.
I try not to make this a blog for solely my own personal opinions, I have another blog for that, but I read an article last week that kinda annoyed me. I deeply appreciate the artwork, the graphics, and even the storytelling of some games. The graphics of the upcoming Lara Croft game, or the storytelling of the Mass Effect trilogy, could go toe to toe with movies, and could certainly replace some actors. I mean, seriously, look at the video below.
How long did it take you to see that this was NOT live action?
But for all that, there’s been an ongoing debate in the video game community that goes something like this – the last round of major video game consoles came out in 2005 (the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 4), and the technology has advanced soooo much since then, surely it is time to move on.
You might smell a bit of burning rubber at this point. That’s my brain hitting the brakes hard and going “huh?”
When the Xbox 360 came out, game companies needed to increase their hired programmers tenfold as games transitioned to HD. The PS3 came out at the same time, and it came out in Blu-ray, which was even higher definition, and made the costs of making games so prohibitive that it took years before the PS3 had a solid roster of games.
Really, everybody? First, I quite literally don’t know what I’m missing. So I can’t see how I can be biased against your games because there’s something better out there – because, as the companies themselves have noted, there isn’t anything better than the current generation. Is there really a problem with getting the most out of the technology we have?
Let’s take a look. To the right, this is the original Xbox game Halo: Combat Evolved. Dinky by today’s standards, but I remember when I saw it and said, “Awesome.” It’s still a nice looking game.
Fast forward ten years. There was a rerelease of the original game with Xbox 360 technology, and it was called, to no one’s great surprise, Halo: Combat Evolved. Anniversary.
You can see the difference. The position of the body isn’t as stiff, the graphics are more detailed, the colors are richer. It is visibly better.
And now, finally, we look at Halo 4, using the exact same Xbox 360 graphics. It already looks like they’ve gone through another generation already.
Here’s a side by side or two, just to make it even clearer.
I’m hard pressed to imagine how anyone could think that we’ve hit the limit of the current generation of gaming technology, since Halo 3 and Halo 4 are the same generation. Will the next round look even better? Of course. My question is – is there a rush?
Second, could there be another reason why companies are losing money? Let’s think about this a moment. Their video games are $60, or $70, brand new. They’re not cutting costs on the games, and with gaming seasons that have over a dozen new, top-shelf games coming out at the same time, do they seriously expect people to drop over $700 on their products? Does anyone have $700 just lying around anymore?
I think I would rather pay $14, or even $30, on a used game – games that the distributors like Gamestop make money on, but the original publishers don’t. There have been so many games played that way, there has been talk of making video games non-sellable my giving out a one-time code that make the game unusable to anyone else. If you want to trash the video game industry, make it impossible to play used games.)
So, what is the problem with the current generation of consoles? Well, let's see -- coding has filtered down to street level. Anyone who knows what they're doing with a computer can probably start putting together their own game -- and anyone with a Kickstarter account can finance it. Low-rent competition is good for the soul.
Maybe I'm just a backwards Catholic, who acknowledges that progress is cumulative. You can't get to point Z while simultaneously jettisoning point A-Y -- Catholics throw out nothing. Don't believe me? Look at the Vatican archives sometime. But most atheists, so-called "progressives" (of all sides of the spectrum), and now the video games, try throwing out everything from the past, and hope really hard that no one else will remember it either -- be it how many atheist regimes disintegrate, or how truly dark the "Dark Ages" could have gotten without the Catholic church.
I prefer to get the most out of what's there than try to move on and pretend that last console (or, on the larger scale, the last few hundred years) didn't happen.
This is a music blog sort of day. You may recall that these are the same people who brought you "Cello Wars" and my music blog featuring "Bring him Home" from Les Miserables. If you don't recall them, you'll still like this -- they're doing the entire soundtrack of the Ring cycle (Tolkein, not Wagner) with two guys.
Before I begin, A Pius Man is free on Kindle every Friday this month. I only ask if you take a copy, you leave the most positive review you can when you're done.
I was going to schedule my first "Angry Review" vlog todag -- a concept inspired by the "Angry Joe" video game reviews on Youtube. In commemoration of Dan Brown's release Inferno, I was going to do a filmed version of my Da Vinci Code review, which I did for this blog, and which I toned down for Examiner.com.
However, I've noticed something lately; I'm too tightly wound, frustrated, angry, and on the verge of full- blown insanity. Don't get be wrong, the books are selling well enough, sorta. Codename: Winterborn is actually selling better than A Pius Man. They've sold more than It Was Only On Stun! (remember that? No one else does either)
But I'm exhausted. I said yesterday that I was on the point of "media blitz" where I'm the one who's blitzed. What have I done? you ask. Well....
I've been contacting every conceivable bookstore within New York City, shooting for independent bookstores ... do you know how many of those stores are in New York? And why must I do this? Because Barnes & Noble won't let me in the front door as an author.
I've been posting flyers around my neighborhood, and outside of Barnes and Nobles, so they may not even let me in as a customer.
I've been trying to get quotes from Authors ranging from John Ringo, Vince Flynn, Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, Douglas Preston, James Patterson, James Rollins and Nelson DeMille. I've heard back from exactly one, and that was Vince Flynn's PR guy giving me a brush off and a middle finger.
I've interviewed with practically everyone who came along. The best interviews thus far being from Stuart West and Daria DiGiovanni (I linked to her review, but you can find the interview easily enough on her site). There was Catholic Fiction, and Indie Review (twice), and others that won't even be posting for a few months. That doesn't include the guest posts on the "Catholic revenge "novel, and redemption in fiction,
I've been sending out copies in hard copy to anyone I can talk into it -- AND I'VE STILL FORGOTTEN TO SEND ONE TO DARIA, NUTS!!! (Daria, I've got the books, I just need the mailers, honest).
I've applied for the Catholic Writer's Guild Seal of Approval, which will take at least the rest of May.
My next step is to go to Bostwick Communications and pay them to spam the universe for my novel. We'll see how that goes. If that goes.
And I've had three -- count 'em, three -- reviews on A Pius Man over at Amazon.com, and two of them because I had to ask for them. (Not Mr. West, he volunteered)
In case you're wondering, being a writer really is a full time job; but the pay is still commission-based. Unlike a real 9-5 job, the hours can range from 40-80 hours a week, and can cost you more friends than you can imagine. Not to mention having bridges burned while you're still on them.
Right now, I'm just very tired. I think I'm going to plug myself into either a good book, or my Xbox. It's either that or an electrical socket.
For this one, you have to listen for the music. Otherwise, it just looks like a really strange rendition of Thriller ..... only with better music. Also, I think the only reason this vid was done with zombies had more to do with Halloween than anything to do with the music itself.
Yes, every Friday this month, you can get A Pius Man, A Holy Thriller, written by me, Declan Finn, for free, on your Kindle.
It has history. It has explosions. It has death, doom, destruction, love, faith, and an armored SUV rolling down the Spanish steps, and the most kick ass pontiff since Julius III (who was almost more warlord than religious figure).
You can take your Dan Brown, your limp and lame killer-albino-monk assassins, and throw them to the bottom of the Marianas trench. A Pius Man has everything short of an RPG shooting through St. Peter's, and that's because I'm saving it for the next book.
However, in the event that you do take the book for your Kindle, would you kindly leave a review on Amazon.com? Preferably a 5-star review?
For those of my long time readers who are confused by this particular message, and why this sounds so manic, I'm at the point of a media blitz where I'm the one who's blitzed.
I may be posting a special vlog tomorrow. I'll let you know.
Yes, I stole the title theme from a JD Robb series, if not a straight title rip-off.
Today isn't really a blog post, but a notification or two. More like a blog posting board.
First of all -- you can get A Pius Man on Kindle for free every Friday this month. No, free. Honest. Just do me a favor, and please pound out a quick, 5-star review on my Amazon.com page, here. 4 stars are also nice. I'll even take 3.
Yes, I'm desperate. I'm at the part of a media blitz where I'm the one who's blitzed.
Next, Karina Fabian is still doing her blog tour for her latest Dragon Eye novella. So, go take a look at the lat two days.
Third and finally: I've written a guest post for the blog Catholic Once Again. Which sounds like an Irish rebel song I heard once or a hundred times. It's about redemption in fiction -- and not just for bad guys.
Because when my heroes go bad, they go really, really bad.
I'm going to go back to editing A Pius Legacy. Enjoy.
After a Fios installation that came a day early, we're back.
Again, I'm going to mention that A Pius Man is free on Kindle every Friday this month. Feel free to try it out, and then buy the book a few times later. Thanks. :)
Now, the mini review.
The plot:
Being a private detective in the border town of the Faerie and Mundane worlds isn’t easy, even for a dragon like Vern. Still, finding the wayward brother of a teary damsel in distress shouldn’t have gotten so dangerous. When his partner, Sister Grace, gets poisoned by a dart meant for him, Vern offers to find an artifact in exchange for a cure. However, this is no ordinary trinket—with a little magic power, it could control all of mankind. Can Vern find the artifact, and will he sacrifice the fate of two worlds for the life of his best friend?
Review: I recommend that if you haven't read the Vern novels yet, please read this first. It's nice, short, and to the point, representative of the other books in the series, and a whole .99 cents on Kindle, and it's highly amusing if you've ever seen The Maltese Falcon.
I only have one problem with this, mainly because I read the last Vern book -- we're going to Sister Grace in the hospital? Again?
Other than that. it's fun. Go see the Maltese Falcon -- it must be on tv somewhere -- then read Greater Treasures. You won't be disappointed.
Excerpt:
Given the day I was having, it came as no surprise that when I got home, I found the dogs sprawled in a drugged sleep and the sounds of things being overturned from within the warehouse. I decided not to bother with subtlety, but I did resist the urge to burst in with flames going full-blast. I had questions first.Naturally, I walked straight in to find an automatic weapon—yep, a bona fide black-market AK-47—and I thought only Faerie lived their clichés—and six other weapons of various types pointed at me. I didn't stop, just closed the door with my tail while I strolled in slow and placid-like. My visitors had shaved heads, faces painted white with clown paint, and black t-shirts with swastikas in white circles. "If you're the housekeeping service, you're fired."
"You stay right there, or we gonna fire you!" said one guy from the sidelines as he held his nunchucks at the ready. What'd he think he would do—whack me on the nose? I turned to the one holding the assault rifle. "Scraping the bottom of the barrel with that one, weren't you?"
"He's right. You just stay still while we search the place."
"The place" was a ten-thousand square foot warehouse with offices on the upper floor. Boxes I still hadn't opened line the walls and made a maze in the second warehouse room. I settled myself on the floor and rested my head on my crossed arms. "Go ahead. I get half of anything you find."
They stared at me, unbelieving. I smiled back. Mr. Cooperation, that's me. Finally, Big Gun snarled for the others to get to work. As he turned his back on me, Nunchucks muttered, "I got your half. Don't think I don't." Guess he learned such witty repartee in Hitler Youth Summer Camp.I watched and listened and waited. With eight teenage skinheads trashing my place, it was only a matter of time. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you," I suggested as Nunchucks made a grab for the doorknob to Grace's workshop."You gonna stop me?" He turned the knob."Nope," I said as I closed my ears and my eyes. Even so, I saw the otherworldly light and heard the harmonious roar of Divine Vengeance followed by Mundane screams."The Heavenly Host on the other hand…"
I waited until the screams died down to whimpers before opening my eyes and rising.Four of the skinheads were unconscious. Three may as well have been; they were curled up in the fetal position, whimpering. Nunchucks was actually crying for his mommy. Big Guns had collapsed to the floor as well, the gun thrown away from him. He was sitting and rocking and making high-pitched keening through the roof of his mouth.I'd tell Grace to tone down her wards some, except that the effect is directly proportional to the evilness of the intent. Suddenly, I was feeling a little shaky about my earlier entrance.Knights out of the armor now. I went around, collecting weapons in the office trash can and poking through pockets. I found the usual stuff—driver's licenses, credit cards, petty cash… One kid had a condom; wishful thinking on his part, I knew. Another had a report card. MLK High. Wonder if he was the one beating up Faerie kids? Honor roll grades, too. Of all the years I've battled evil, there were still some things I didn't understand.As I was returning Big Guns' (aka Rick Matherston's) wallet back into his jacket pocket, he blinked and focused on me."What was that?"
"Angels, kid." Actually a kind of magical shadow of the real thing, but close enough.
"But I thought angels were—"
"There's a reason why their first words are usually 'Fear not!' whenever they meet a human."His eyes returned to their unfocused stare. I almost felt sorry for him. Then I noticed the letters FARISLAR tattooed on his knuckles. Faerie slayer.
