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Jak Phoenix Update – November 6th, 2010
The Jak Phoenix Free eBook promotion will be ending on November 12th, so grab yourself a copy as soon as you can. http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/9293 Downloads were pretty strong during the promotion, so I hope people out there are enjoying the story.
On another note, the transition over to this site is now complete and so you are looking at the new official www.jakphoenix.com. There are some really cool posts on the way too – character sketches, a new review and some story snippets. Check back soon!
Matt Williams
Author of Jak Phoenix, a space opera adventure novel.
Musical Accompaniment
Jak Phoenix now has an instrumental theme song. I know, I know, the bandwidth used when everyone flocks to hear it could quite possibly disable the Internet, but I’m selfishly willing to take that risk.
This was recorded at home with my own instruments. Even though I tried to mellow the guitar tracks into the mix as much as possible, I’m quite proud of the awesome growly tone on the rhythm guitar track from my Fender Texas Special pickups. This sound has absolutely nothing at all to do with a Space Opera tale, but I think it works. Even if it doesn’t, it has to for now.
The song is on YouTube below this article. I don’t really have anything for a video yet, but YouTube is the best way to get any sort of multimedia out. You’ll just see a few still images while the song snippet plays.
If you have a second, I’d really appreciate if you could go to YouTube and “Like” this or throw down a comment.
Thanks again for reading!
Matt Williams
Author of the Jak Phoenix Space Adventures at www.jakphoenix.com
www.facebook.com/jakphoenix
Read Jak Phoenix:
Smashwords.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
Amazon.co.uk
Barnesandnoble.com
Chapters.ca
iTunes (For iPad and iPhone)
Kobobooks.com
First Post of the New Jak Phoenix Blog!
The following is a blog entry entitled, ‘Jak Phoenix: Doing Something About it,’ from Matt Williams, author of the novel, Jak Phoenix.
I started writing Jak Phoenix in September 2008, after beers with friends led to the inevitable conversations nerds have about movies, comics, space and how we always had ‘better ideas’ than the churned-out supply of Hollywood remakes and reboots.
‘Better ideas’ is a pretty subjective term, but after the 50th conversation about being able to do something better without having any experience doing said task, I decided to put my money where my mouth was. Write a book. Pretty easy right?
Wrong. Writing, while rewarding, is difficult. Decent original ideas are hard to come by. The line between something marketable and garbage is pretty blurred. I am convinced the key to being a successful author lies more in self-discipline and an intense work ethic. Putting words down is tiring, stressful, boring and exhilarating all at the same time. At the very least, my efforts over the 15 months dedicated to putting the book together has given me the utmost respect for writers of anything; be it books, news articles, scripts, plays, or commercials.
I am no Hemingway. I am several large steps below a guy who has read a Hemingway. My goal was never to write a life changing magnum opus of epic proportions, but to have fun with the archetypes we all grew up admiring. From a literary standpoint, I’d have to say my biggest influence came from Ian Fleming. Not from a story perspective, but in action, suspense and pacing. What you read won’t be boring. I can promise you that much. My short attention span wouldn’t allow for boredom.
I set out to write a story that made me feel like I did the first time I saw the original Star Wars. Jak Phoenix morphed into something different when my focus swayed a little into the comedic field, but the simplicity, strong characterizations and appeal to mainstream readers remained intact. I wanted something everyone could have fun reading, with relatable flawed characters and a light tone. I’d had enough of the doom and gloom so prevalent in media these days. I’m not ashamed to admit I wanted a slam bang space opera.
My novel is far from perfect and I am the first to admit it. But, I went out on a limb and ‘did something about it,’ and for that I am proud. My fiancée’s understanding to my dedication toward sitting at the computer for multi-hour stretched will also never be forgotten. Her support is part of the reason she is my fiancée.
If you have read Jak Phoenix, I sincerely hope you enjoy it, as I certainly did while I was writing it. I picked the book up off the shelf the other day and started reading it. With my best attempt to separate myself as the author, I can honestly say it still put a smile on my face. Goal accomplished.
Matt Williams
http://mattdwilliams.wordpress.com/
Author of the Jak Phoenix Space Adventures at www.jakphoenix.com
Jak Phoenix is available at:
Amazon.com Paperbacks
Barnes and Noble Paperbacks
Barnes and Noble ebooks
Smashwords ebooks
