Harry

RANDOMNESS FOR 12/8

1. Domestic abuse: Killers ‘follow eight-stage pattern’, study says.

2. The real reason hearing your own voice can make you cringe.

3. Water isn’t the most hydra...

ONE MAN AT ONE WEEK

Publication day for One Man was Tuesday, November 26th, which means that yesterday marked the end of the first week of sales. Honestly, it’s the most important week.

So how has it gone?

Honestly, not all that great!

“But Harry,” you say, “that’s eight days.”

Yes, but I’m ...

Welp, It's Black Friday

Today is Black Friday, and if you’re planning to visit a bookstore to do any of your holiday shopping, I just want to make note that you ought to be able to order One Man through Ingram.

I hope so, at least. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

Thanks very much to everyone who bought the book and everyone who has written an online review. Right now, the book is selling to people who already know and like my work, but spreading the word will help this book (and my backl...

Your Free Copy of One Man

Enclosed is a link to your copy of One Man. 

There aren't many perks to this Patreon, I'm afraid, but this is definitely one of them. 

Before today, my favorite of my books was probably Circle of Enemies. Now, it's this book. 

I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please post a review online. Those reviews are the best thing anyone can do to help a book find an audience. 

If you'd rather have a Kindle-friendly .mobi file, I'm about to pu...

THE ONE MAN POST

“One Man is a superbly realised story set in a rich and fascinating world. The horror grips, the fantasy delights and the characters remain vivid and real to the end.” — Justina Robson

It’s been four years since I released a new novel.

Four plus, actually, and I’m a little embarrassed that it’s been that long. There was the Twenty Palaces novella, The Twisted Path, of course, but still. Four years.

This book is the reason.

One Man pre-release

You may have noticed that my new book, One Man: A City of Fallen Gods Novel, is in pre-release. It comes out the Tuesday before (American) Thanksgiving, which is only next week. 

But you don't have to order it, or buy it. You're here, reading this, as one of my patrons. 

So, on the day it's released to the general public, you'll get access to the ebook through a post on this site. It's one of the few perks you get for being here. 

Thanks for your support. ...

Mysteries, Ghosts, and Doubled Narratives: Why the New Nancy Drew Series Doesn't Work

Every whodunnit mystery has two narratives. The first is the crime at the center of the story. How the murder was planned and carried out. The history between killer and victim. The red herring clues that point to innocent parties, and the backstory that makes those parties credible suspects. And so on. All of that comprises a complex narrative that, at the beginning of the book, is hidden from the reader and the protagonist.

The second narrative is the one the reader reads, in which th...

The Iron Gate and One Man Update Coming Soon

I know I owe you guys an update on the status of my new books but things have been extra busy on my end, including a celebration of my silver anniversary. 

Soon, though. Soon. 

Til Happiness Do Us Part: Healthy Relationships and Dramatic Tension

This post contains minor spoilers for Jessica Jones S3 and Stranger Things S3 along with huge, misery-making spoilers for Veronica Mars S4. The stuff I want to talk about in JJ or ST happen in the first episode, but with VM I’m going to talk about the Big Important Ending. 

Spoiler space. 

A little more spoiler space. 

And a jump: 

When I did my 2019-08-03 05:32:31 +0000 UTC View Post

THE IRON GATE KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN AT 24 HOURS

After 24 hours, the dollar amount guarantees more than 90,000 words, so I’m thinking The Iron Gate is going to be a novel.

It also looks like the campaign might reach the upper limit, which means I’d have to write the next Twenty Palaces book pretty much right away. (For more info about the upper limit, check the campaign page itself).

This is wild, guys. This is also a lot o...

About that Twenty Palaces Kickstarter

Depending on how you are connected to my online BS, you may soon see (or have already seen) a notice that I started a new Kickstarter for the next Twenty Palaces story. 

Important note: You guys, as Patreon backers, will still get the final story for free. Once it's finished and ready to send, every current backer will get a copy. You don't need to back the campaign for that sweet Ray Lilly angst. 

For the curious, the campaign itself is right here:

WHAT ARE THE ODDS? HALF-ASSED GUESSES ABOUT STRANGER THINGS 3

Between Christmas and New Years–right before the MS-DOS/date announcement promowas released–I kept thinking about what was in store for season three of Stranger Things. Not about who gets to live and who gets to die. The show has always been fairly gentle on the main cast, even thought it can be deadly for the supporting cast. #JusticeforBarb #JusticeforBenny #JusticeforMews #JusticeforHeather(pending) But what about the...

DROWNING DOESN’T LOOK LIKE DROWNING, 2019

Up here in the northern hemisphere, summer is about to start, so it’s time to repost my annual warning for 2019:

How to recognize when someone is drowning.

It’s not what you think. Before you take your kids or loved ones into the water, read this article.

Please.

Last Post for a While

I wanted to write a little review of Avengers: Endgame, so I did. It's full of spoilers, so if you are avoiding them, don't click. 

That's why I'm not copying it here, btw. I don't want ppl who haven't seen it yet to have the end ruined for them unexpectedly. 

Now I can get back to my book. Here you go. 

ht...

THE INFINITY SAGA: A 22-EPISODE “SEASON” OF THEATRICAL TV SPREAD OVER TEN YEARS

Here’s a quote I haven’t forgotten from Manohla Dargis’s NYTimes review of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

[The Marvel Cinematic Universe] is vast, complicated, lucrative and ever-expanding. It’s also intrinsically uninteresting for viewers (at least one!) who just want a good movie. 

Confession: I remember no one saying this about The Return o...

NEW AND DEFINITIVE LISTING OF MCU FILMS (W/ COMMENTARY) DON’T @ ME

With Avengers: Endgame dropping this week, I decided to finally finish this post. Don’t bother trying to argue with me, because I’m 100% correct on all of this. Rotten Tomatoes scores added so you can see how wrong everyone else is.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (RT: 90%) Still the best of the MCU, with terrific villains, interesting locations, and a plot you give a shit about. Steve Rogers is a man who isn’t sure if he should continue to serve, and disco...

FOR EVERY FAILURE, AN OPPORTUNITY

If you’re backing my Patreon, you may have noticed that it has been switched back on. That is, it’s back to a monthly basis, charging credit cards at the start of every month. I’d turned it “off” because I’d started a new job. As of this week I’m no longer working there, so it’s on again. 

I’ve never been fired for being bad at a job before, but you know what? It was the right thing for them to do. I absolutely should have been let go. And I’m glad for it.

New Blog Post

I blogged about CAPTAIN MARVEL, a movie I really enjoyed. 

Normallly, I'd reproduce it here, but it's so spoiler-filled i figured t would be better to drop a link.

Thank you all.

A Brief Post about the Changes to this Patreon

The Super Bowl is starting so no one will see this, but what the hell. 

You might have notices (but probably not) that you were not charged for February. That's because I changed the payment schedule from "Monthly" to "Delivered" or whatever they're calling it. Basically, you won't have to pay unless I post new fiction here. 

Or something. 

The reason is that I have a day job now. It's been two weeks, they haven't fired me, and things seem to be going along st...

THE PRESSURE TO CONTINUE THE STORY AFTER THE STORY

That video above? Worth watching, like Ellis’s other work. 

(Actually, I’m sort of assuming the video shows up, since WordPress’s new “block” system doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.) 

If you’ve watched it (and let me say again, you should) you already know that it’s a discussion of some relatively recent critical schools of thought about literature, namely, does the author have any authority over the story and characters outside the published text...

Movies with Mikey vs. 8 Harry Potter Films: The Path to Success

Hey, let’s talk a little bit about something that way too many people have already talked about: the Harry Potter films. And by “talk about” I mean “share this series of three Movies with Mikey episodes about the franchise. 

Go ahead and watch. They’re good. If you’re not sure why you should bother, read more below.

The first time I told someone outside my family that I planned to binge all eight Harry Potter movies (nearly 20 hours worth of films but maybe more w...

Happy Holidays

Important: STRANGER THINGS is a Christmas show. 

Here’s hoping you have a peaceful holiday, however you celebrate (or even if you don’t)

AQUAMAN

I bought a ticket to AQUAMAN. Deliberately.

If I’m speaking honestly, Aquaman might be the second superhero I ever really liked as a kid. (after ’67 Spider-man, obviously). This was before I was reading comics, and my sole exposure to the genre was cartoons. I had to look up the name of the show–The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure–but he was my favorite character, with the rings coming out of the bridge of his nose and water blasts/balls/whatever that he threw. 

Th...

“MANKIND WAS MY BUSINESS”: THE ANNUAL REPOST OF THE BEST (OBJECTIVELY) VERSION OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Each year, I share this version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, which is still my favorite of all the versions of that famous story. 

Because of the way they portray the ghosts and the spirits. There is no spookier version, and even fifty years later, the animation is gorgeous. So great, in fact, that it won an Oscar for short animated film, and prompted the Academy to change their rules so that shows that were first broadcast on TV were no longer eligible for their reward. 

It’...

The Usual Giftmas Pics

Let's see if this works:

Edit: Nope! It doesn't work at all. The actual post, with images that will post on my blog but not on Patreon, is right here:

http://harryjconnolly.com/the-usual-giftmas-pics/ 

Click on the link to see pretty Christmas-y stuff (along with some creepy pics that make me feel uncomfortable)

Sorry for not posting them right here, but Patreon is uncool...

FANTASTIC BEASTS 2 AND THE BASIC APPEAL OF A THING

In a now-deleted tweet, another author wrote that the Fantastic Beasts movies sounded like the Star Wars prequels, because they focused on worldbuilding at the expense of characterization. That got me thinking about the basic appeal of fantasy stories, and what role worldbuilding and characterization plays in making that appeal long-lasting.  

If someone as savvy as the one mentioned above thinks the Fantastic Beast films have Star Wars Prequel-level characterization, that's a major failu...

LONG TIME READERS WILL KNOW WHAT THIS PHOTO MEANS

But damn… A can?

I used to buy Arrogant Bastard Ale in a 22 oz bottle, but everything’s in cans now.

Maybe this makes me an old, but cans still feel cheap. The beer tastes fine, but it’s not as pleasurable to drink.

But yes, this means that THE CROWN OF INFAMY is sitting in my agent�...

SHORT REVIEWS FROM THIS YEAR’S HALLOWEEN BINGE

Some short reviews of Halloween-themed binge watches from this year (which isn’t over yet, obviously).

Horror is at once my least- and most-favorite genres. I don’t like stuff that too gross or gory. I’m not a big fan of torture, or grime, or people being torn apart. Misogynistic torture porn is my least favorite sort of movie. Spooky, evocative supernatural stories might be my favorite. 

Anyway, this is what I’ve watched so far this year. And I’m sending this out as a fir...

HEROES FOR HIRE CANCELLED BY NETFLIX

On social media I’ve been pretty open about how pleased I was with the second season of Iron Fist. It wasn’t perfect, but it did away with the unlikable Danny Rand of the first season and told a more interesting story, with better villains, interesting fight scenes and, unfortunately, the lingering effects of a couple of bad decisions from the first season. 

It didn’t help. Nobody watched. Iron Fist was cancelled shortly after the season dropped.

And now, 2018-10-21 16:56:57 +0000 UTC View Post

LONG LIVE PHYSICAL MEDIA

Hey, check out what arrived in the mail:

Last month I had a hankering to watch this, but it wasn’t available on the streaming services I pay for (and I try not to spend money renting tv shows or films on streaming, because budget). Luckily, Netflix had the dvd. 

And it was terrific. Better, in fact, than I remember. Bonnie Bedelia has this incredible presence without ever raising her voice, and Jam...