Considering "The Source" - Questions about the "Q Gospel" Or Synoptic Sayings Source

Just re-reading and re-considering Burton L Mack's important 1993 book The Lost Gospel: The Book Of Q & Christian Origins.

In the fifteen or so years since I first read the book, I've learned a lot more about modern scholarship on early Christian history and origins, about what we think we know about the formulation of dogma and canon in the early Christian churches. And so my new reading of Mack's book was done with a better educated and thus, perhaps, more critical mind. I certainly have more questions than answers at the end of my reading.

If you're used to my writing about comic books and science fiction this discussion of heavy, esoteric theological and historical deconstruction may strike you as strange - but this stuff fascinates me. Matter of fact, my whole book Neo-Gnosis is dedicated to related exploration, reading and studies. I grew up Roman Catholic, but the more I learned about Christian Origins and the Church the less I wanted to be a part of it.

So I find my own way. And while I'm writing fiction, I have a hard time reading new fiction - just hard to keep so many fictional worlds alive in my mind all at once. So I read a lot of non-fiction, and a lot about early Christianity and the quest for the "historical" Jesus - stripping away the "myth" from the "man" as best we can.

It's not easy to hold discussions about Jesus, who he was, what he did, and how his scattered followers became the Church we know today. The extremists who use his name would like to claim exclusive rights to JESUS CHRIST as a trademark, of sorts, for their brand of religion. The so-called Christianity that calls itself Fundamentalist, or Conservative Evangelical, is actually an anti-Christ system in my opinion - see my "Holy Shit: Or... Pat Robertson is the Anti-Christ" for more. Their fragile "faith" will brook no questioning of the Jesus story they THINK is in their Bibles. Evidently, they don't actually READ their Bibles... or else their supposed "literal" reading of the Book is much more interpretation than they care to admit. 'Cause what they get out of it? I don't see it in there.

These rabid folks on the so-called "Christian" Right and their constant misappropriation of Jesus' name make it hard to talk about him and his legacy in reasonable terms with rational, thinking people. But there are rational, thinking historians, form criticists, and scholars who are looking at the origins of the Jesus movement, and what we can learn from the texts we have and the ones we've found in the last century or so, like the Dead Sea Scrolls and the lost Christian writings dug up in Egypt near Nag Hammadi. Primary source scholars are pouring over the evidence we still have to try to reconstruct what we can know about its evolution, to try to peer back through the veils of history to see what was going on back then, when Jesus was walking around the Palestine and Galilee.

As I cannot read Aramaic, Greek or Latin, I must rely on those who can... I'm more a reading or secondary source scholar, I suppose. The more I read, the less the primary source scholars agree with one another - the nuances of their disunity become more apparent. But reading these various ideas is like mental exercise - like mind candy for me - and so I continue to look for new and different ideas and considerations of the sources.

And speaking of sources... this brings me to my current question about Q.

The briefest background on Q, in case you need it: It is widely accepted that the Gospel in Mark's name was written first, circa 70 AD. Matthew's came next, probably in the 80s, John's and Luke's in the 90's, early 100s. Though the gospel in John's name is very different, when you place Mark, Matthew and Luke side-by-side you see they have similarities and overlapping phrases and stories. It is apparent to many that Matthew and Luke both copied from Mark - the way each borrowed from Mark also showed what each cared to emphasize about Jesus in their versions.

In addition to the material from Mark, Matthew and Luke share other material. Some argue this is because Luke copied from Matthew, end of story. But many more have shown that the "Markan" material copied by both gospel writers came from slightly different source documents, and sometimes Luke's gospel's version of Mark's events or phrasing is of an earlier form than Matthew's, in a more primitive Greek, which is evidence that Matthew and Luke were written independent of one another. That being the case, it appears that Matthew and Luke both used another common source or two, because there is overlapping material in both that doesn't come from Mark. The German theologians who originally figured this out called their hypothetical source "Q" - from the German for "source" - "quelle".

Over the last 100 years or so, scholars using form criticism and other textual redaction techniques have attempted to draw this lost source out of the gospels. They found it was probably not a narrative book, but instead a collection of sayings. The discovery of the lost "Gospel of Thomas" in the mid-twentieth century bolstered this viewpoint - though it was not Q, it was a collection of the sayings of Jesus, and showed that his followers did indeed create such collections. In addition, Thomas also shared some of the previously identified Q material with Matthew and Luke!

Others went further, and argued that textual criticism showed that Q had to be a unified whole of its own, even though an original document has never been found. Still others took that hypothetical whole and broke IT down even further, suggesting that 3 layers of development could be perceived in the the text. The most strident of this group went so far as to then say you could deduce who the earliest followers of Jesus were from what was included in the earliest layer, or strata of Q, which they called Q1. This is Burton Mack's point of view, and he hammers it home in The Lost Gospel: The Book Of Q & Christian Origins.

As I read Mack's confident stratification of Q (advancing his arguments from another scholar's, John Kloppenborg',s stratification), and once again encountered his gleeful stripping away of the apocalyptic overtones from the earliest layer of his Q material, I now understood he's arguing directly against others who cast Jesus as a Jewish Apocalyptic Prophet, from Albert Schweitzer down to modern scholars like Bart Ehrman.

But another question bothered me. Mack suggests - actually, he insists... he doesn't really ever just "suggest" anything - the Hellenization of the Galilee and Q's location in Galilee argue for the possibility - for Mack the "fact" - that Jesus was a Cynic Sage. But when we strip away the apocalyptic overtones of the Q2 strata to get at Mack's sage, we also strip away ALL the references in Q to the places of Galilee. Q1 not only has no apocalyptic phrasing, it also lacks any locations and thus any possible certitude of its locale of origin. No?

Mack argues audaciously not only for the reality of Q, but also for the ability to stratify the work chronologically in order to deduce from the earliest "layer" the character of the group of Jesus' followers who compiled the earliest form of the work. But part of his argument stems from the character of the Galilee at the time of Jesus and his earliest followers - even though the earliest layer is as bereft of references to places as it is apocalyptic proclamations. How can he have it both ways?

I don't have the answer. But it is an interesting question to ponder...

Sketch Cards for Cancer - My 4 Cards

Here's the Event Information:

Blue Line Pro Sketch Card Event for Cancer 2010

3rd Annual
SKETCH CARD BENEFIT AUCTION
AND GALLERY SHOW
FOR AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
May 22, 2010

The Third Annual Sketch Card Event for Cancer has been announced!

Comics 2 Games is hosting a SKETCH CARD GALLERY SHOW and Benefit Auction for American Cancer Society on May 22, 2010. 

Proceeds will go to the AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY.

Location: Comics 2 Games, 8470 US 42., Florence, KY 41042 phone: .

For more information about participating or attending the event email: Sketchcards@bluelinepro.com .

Here are the 4 Cards I'm contributing to the Sketch Cards for Cancer Auction:

If you're an artist and you want to get involved, you have until April 21st to get your cards in. The details on the auction can be found here over on Bill Nichols' blog: http://comicsmentor.com/?page_id=94

Come May 15th or so, you'll be able to bid for these on eBay, with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society!

PodOmatic | Podcast - The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast - Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Episode Ninety-Six

Just up - a brand new podcast episode! Featuring chapters three and four of the remastered version of Vatican Assassin - plus news and stuff:

Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast - Episode Ninety-Six

Health Care Reform is a BFD!

I made T-Shirts w/ Joe Biden's Classic Quote today:

Health Care is a BFD!

Guest Blog at Podioracket.com!

Not only do I have a new Alibi Jones story in their anthology, I've also written a guest blog this week for Podioracket on why writers might give their work away free....

PodioRacket - What are you putting in your ears?

All About Marvel's Cosmic Warrior Killraven!

Spent a long time putting together this extensive profile on the Marvel Comics' character Killraven. I'm not writing for any website (except my own) right now, but was still itching to share the fruits of my labors. So... I've put it up on my site for your reading pleasure:

Mike Luoma's Cosmic Crackle: Killraven!

My New Story Debuts At MegaCon This Weekend!

I was just posting about this over at http://comicrelated.com and realized I needed to mention it here!

If you're going to MegaCon this weekend, you'll be able to check out a new story from me in a brand new anthology! MegaCon is this weekend, March 12-14, at the Orange County Convention Center Hall D
9899 International Drive in Orlando, Florida. 

Earthbound Comics (http://earthboundcomics.com) is debuting the new issue of the anthology series Lady Fight - Aggression at MegaCon! In the pages of the new issue (check out that stunning cover by Rob Nix!!) you'll find my newest installment in the ongoing saga of SOUVERAIN!

In SOUVERAIN: UNDER GOD, Souverain decides vengeance is HERS! Souverain has gone rogue, leaving the army to wage her own vigilante war for social justice against the warlords and drug traders of Afghanistan!

Ben Ferrari, Earthbound founder and creator of the character, is on art duties once again. The other charter Earthbound man, Matt Grant, lends a hand as well. It's a joy working with these guys!

Earthbound's PR guy, Sebastian Piccione will be at MegaCon with Lady Fight and the other Earthbound titles. Stop by table RED 4 in the Independent Press section, say hello to Sebastian (his cool Cat 5 is in Lady Fight) and take a look at the books. You'll be able to get a copy of Lady Fight: Escalation, too, containing my first Souverain story.



Here's a link to the Earthbound Comics blog with more details:
http://earthboundcomics.com/index.php/2010/02/megacon-details-announced/

AND if you're like me and unable to venture to the con, hope you don't mind if I point out that the issues are also available now at Indy Planet: http://www.indyplanet.com/store/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=earthbound&osCsid=ate0sl1f9agos594m3carf11h4

Ain't It Cool News Comics Reviews Vatican Assassin #1

Pretty Cool Review! Halfway down the page - under "Indie Jones":

Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.

VATICAN ASSASSIN #1
Glow in the Dark Radio Comics

A few years back, Mike Luoma sent me a comic called HOLY SHIT OR PAT ROBERTSON IS THE ANTI-CHRIST. In my review, I tried very hard to be constructive, but ended up giving it a pretty negative review. Basically, I panned the book as barely a comic since it basically was a bunch of splash pages with text adorning either side of the page. The subject, as the title would indicate, was religion. And the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. After reading VATICAN ASSASSIN, Luoma’s follow-up, it appears that the writer took some time to gain understanding of comics. VA reads in a much clearer way, with a definite plot and a theme that may be appealing to some. In the future, the moon has become a hotbed of political and religious turmoil. The Muslim-dominated Mars colonies constantly pose a threat to the moon’s Catholic Church, forcing them to enlist a man known as BC, the Vatican Assassin. That’s the plot, and as you see, it’s of the religified variety. Religion is often a hard sell in comics, and I have to give it to Luoma for writing what he feels passionately about. The book is still as indie as you can get with capable and oft times nicely angled panels, suffering from the usual stiffness of characters that one often associates with indie books. VATICAN ASSASSIN is a much more digestible read than Luoma’s first book, and I have to commend the author for evolving and showing a lot of growth from his first project to this one.

Parting of the Ways

I'm no longer writing for Cosmic Book News... there was a difference of opinion. All good folk over there, but you won't be finding my writing on their site any more.

For those of you kind enough to ask about my "Shut Up and Put Out Yer Comic Book" article, it's now available here:

http://mikeluoma.com/SUAPOYCB.html

A Great Auction for A Great Cause!

Watching the wet snow pile up outside in Burlington...

There is book news to share with you, but the main reason for posting is to let you know about a very cool charity auction going on this weekend. I've donated signed books and original art to “The Boom Effect” – a charity effort on behalf of a young girl who recently lost her mom. You may have heard the promo on my “Glow-in-the-Dark Radio” podcast. More details at http://www.theboomeffect.org/.

From the blog:

The Boom Effect is an “auction to raise funds for Sonic Boom, and was started by a group of podcasters and writers as a way for these communities to show support for the Morris family. Tee Morris is a beloved founding father of the podcasting community; co-creator of Podiobooks.com, writer of four social media books, and the first novelist to serialize his novel. On the 5th of January 2010 Tee found himself facing raising his daughter (with the alias of Sonic Boom) alone, after the sudden, shocking death of his wife Natalie.

The podcasting, writing, and social media community gathered around and within days had raised over $10,000 to cover funeral expenses and other pressing bills Tee was facing. This response was incredible, and showed just how much Tee has touched the lives of others. However now, as a community we are turning our attention to Sonic Boom’s future. She is only five now, and relying on Tee to provide everything for her. We have the aim of providing a trust buffer for her, so that she can go to college if she wants. Nothing is going to replace her mother, but the funds raised will give more opportunities . So writers, podcasters and creative types of all stripes are offering up items for auction.

This event will be a webathon run by Podcasting’s very own Rich Sigfrit, with a plethora of special guests and fun. It will take place live online at 10am EST February 27^th, 2010.”

You'll be able to watch the webathon here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/theboomeffect.

My Items will be auctioned with the “Literature Lots” between Noon and 1pm EST on Saturday. You can place a proxy bid ahead of time, just follow the instructions on the item pages linked below. Proxy bids can be placed up until 10am EST on February 26th. Just so you know – in the interest of keeping things simple, you'll need to pay for successful bids with PayPal.

You can bid on two different auction items from me:

Item One: SB081- Signed copy of doodle-rama and the art work too!

This is a signed first edition of my new paperback design collection, doodle-rama … along with the ORIGINAL ART for one of the designs in the book – “Another Eye” – You’ll own the original signed and dated pen and ink drawing, suitable for framing.

In case you didn't know, I post a “doodle” design every weekday on my doodle-rama website. Released in December of 2009, doodle-rama collects 50 of my favorite designs. I'm going to sign the book to the top bidder and include with the book an actual piece of art found within its pages – “Another Eye”.

Item Two: SB080- Signed copies of of Alibi Jones and Vatican Assassin – The Graphic Novel

I'll sign an issue of my new comic book based on my popular novel and Podiobooks.com Science Fiction Adventure “Vatican Assassin” and a trade paperback first edition of my latest novel Alibi Jones. If you're not familiar with the books – BC is an assassin for the Pope of the New catholic Church in the year 2109 – His latest assignment? Eliminate the Governor of the Moon colony Lunar Prime! AND 23 years later, BC’s son Alibi Jones is off on his own adventures, tracking down a missing friend kidnapped by a sinister alien race…

There are many crafty and creative items in the auction – head over to http://www.theboomeffect.org/ to check out more of the donated lots. There's also more about my books at http://mikeluoma.com and http://glowinthedarkradio.com, naturally.

Speaking of “Vatican Assassin”and Alibi Jones – You can now read the entire first issue of the Vatican Assassin Graphic Novel adaptation, with art by Cristian Navarro, online for free: http://www.drunkduck.com/Vatican_Assassin/ AND you can listen to the entire audiobook of Alibi Jones free at Podiobooks.com: http://www.podiobooks.com/title/alibi-jones Both are complete as of this month!

Also out this month: the new project from myself and artist Juan Carlos Quattordio (we did Panthea Obscura together) – “Everybody Lies”. This “cautionary tale for grown-ups” is a dramatic short story in the form of a comic book – a story of two couples whose everyday lies grow large as their lives unravel. It's not a comic for kids – it's dark, and there's sex and nudity and profanity. It's also free to read online – the pages have been coming out every weekday here:

http://www.drunkduck.com/Everybody_Lies/

Of course, I wouldn't be much of a self-promoter if I didn't ALSO point out that both “Vatican Assassin” #1 and “Everybody Lies” are now available for just $2.99 at Indy Planet :)

Vatican Assassin #1

Everybody Lies

And Alibi Jones is on sale everywhere! You can get it direct from the printer here:

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/alibi-jones/7256433

Still reading chapters of Alibi Jones on my weekly Glow-in-the-Dark Radio podcast – you can listen here: http://glowinthedarkradio.podomatic.com/. There's a new podcast every Friday.

Well, don't want to blather on too much – my real focus IS on The Boom Effect. If you can't watch and bid this Saturday, please consider making a proxy bid. It's a great cause.

Read All of Vatican Assassin #1 Free at DrunkDuck.com

The pages have been going up 2x a week - and today the last 2 pages went up! Read all 23 pages of the first issue of the graphic novel adaptation!

It's science fiction adventure, based on my Vatican Assassin trilogy. The comic book tells the story of BC, who kills for the Pope of the New catholic Church in the year 2109. His current assignment? Eliminate the Governor of Lunar Prime!

Vatican Assassin hosted by DrunkDuck.com

Read Over Half of Everybody Lies Free

Juan Carlos Quattordio and I are posting free pages from our new book "Everybody Lies" every weekday through February. As of today, twelve pages are up and free for you to read - that's just over half of the story!

Click here to read the comic: Everybody Lies

New Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast Episode

Just posted! With Chapter 17 of my Alibi Jones, read by yours truly...

The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast - Episode Ninety

The United Front Podcast

Listen to our second episode!

The United Front Podcast

Everybody Lies - Week 2!

Week 2 of Everybody Lies is underway!

Click on the link to read the first 7 pages for free!

(A reminder - recommended for readers 17 and over)

Alibi Jones Now Complete At Podiobooks! - free audio book

Wanted to be sure to let you know... went a little nuts and loaded up the rest of the audiobook! You can now listen to Alibi Jones in its entirety: Alibi Jones - A free audio book from Podiobooks.com

New Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast

Reading Chapter 16 of Alibi Jones this week on my Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast.

Give a listen...

Everybody Lies!

I'm releasing a different sort of comic book today: Everybody Lies. I've called it "A Slice-of-Life Cautionary Tale For Grown-ups" and tagged it "Sex, Lies and Betrayal" to give you some idea of what it's about.

No capes, no heroes. Just people, living and messing up their lives. Spike & Angela and Dave & Margie are a couple of normal couples, with the usual insecurities, foibles and vices. But when their everyday lies begin escalating, their lives spiral out of control...

"Everybody Lies" is free to read online: A page (or two) goes up every weekday this month at:

http://www.drunkduck.com/Everybody_Lies/


or... Pick up the issue for $2.99 at Indy Planet:


http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_in...roducts_id=3264

Available for direct market distribution through Comics Monkey:

http://www.comicsmonkey.com/index.php?id=3264

I'm creator, writer, and letterer and my good friend Juan Carlos Quattordio (artist on my Panthea Obscura: Deifornication) is on the illustration duties here. There is some brief nudity, there are a couple of sexual situations, and the book is full of language some may find offensive - recommended for mature readers 17+. Any reviewers interested in looking at the book should contact me directly at mike.luoma@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Mike

Watch The Cush Video!

Just found out about this from Dan Bolles' blog at Seven Days! Awesome!!

Anti-Romance Comic Out In Time For Valentine's Day!

Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Comics Presents:

EVERYBODY LIES
Written and Lettered by Mike Luoma
Illustrated by Juan Carlos Quattordio
22 pages
Black & White Interiors
$2.99

Creator Mike Luoma and Artist Juan Carlos Quattordio proudly unveil their latest project, the slice-of-life one-shot Everybody Lies.

Spike & Angela and Dave & Margie are a couple of normal couples, with the usual insecurities, foibles and vices. But when everyday lies begin escalating, their lives spiral out of control...

A cautionary tale for grown-ups? An Anti-Romance comic? Judge for yourself this February as Luoma and Quattordio unveil the story with new, free pages every weekday online at http://www.drunkduck.com/Everybody_Lies/. The entire issue will be presented day-by-day over the course of the month. The comic book will be available for purchase and distribution through IndyPlanet.com and ComicsMonkey.com.

More information available at http://glowinthedarkradio.com

Cover:

Page One:

Podio Wave - 2010, An Early Review: Book blog

Imagine My surprise to click over and see my art/cover leading the way :)

Podio Wave - 2010, An Early Review: Book blog

Artist Needed for Science Fiction Story

Artist Wanted: Science Fiction Story in Upcoming Anthology

Mike Luoma here, writer of "Panthea Obscura" "Red Hot!" "Vatican Assassin" and more – http://glowinthedarkradio.com – looking for ab artist for a 16 page black and white science fiction story which will appear in an upcoming anthology from Earthbound comics.

This isn't a cash job. Instead, creators working with Earthbound get a comp and then issues at cost plus shipping to sell to make profits (akin to putting out your own book). There's more information at their site: http://earthboundcomics.com/submission. If this arrangement sounds beneficial to you, read on and see if you'd like to join my team.

As a reference, Lady Fight from Earthbound is a 2009 Project Fanboy Award Nominated title – I've got a story in the latest issue (here: http://ow.ly/vj5Z) – Now Earthbound is taking on science fiction! My new story has been approved for inclusion in their upcoming anthology. The 16-page story features the lead character from my novel “Alibi Jones” in an early adventure on the planet Cat's Eye, as he runs into an old acquaintance, a con game and, of course, trouble. The story features a few aliens, exotic locations, spacecraft and sexy people.

Need to find the right artist to make the story shine. If you are interested, please send me an email at: mike.luoma@gmail.com. Please include information about your work and links to your material online. Looking forward to hearing from you – Mike

The Inaugural United Front Podcast!

New Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast Up!

Hear Chapter 13 of "Alibi Jones" and readings from my notebooks - some juicy background info this time around on the podcast!

The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast

Self-Published in the 802 | Seven Days

Got a very nice mention for myself and Alibi Jones in Margot Harrison's look at self-publishing in Vermont in Seven Days Newspaper:

Self-Published in the 802 | Seven Days

Vatican Assassin #1 - The Comic Book Is Out!

I'm releasing my new comic book this week, the first issue of my graphic novel adaptation of my science fiction novel Vatican Assassin. Cristian Navarro is the artist helping me bring the story to life in images.

It's out now in the Indy Planet Store:

http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3144

Pages start Friday at Drunk Duck:

http://www.drunkduck.com/Vatican_Assassin/

It's 2109 and an interplanetary religious war is raging between Earth, The Moon and Mars. “BC” – Bernard Campion – may appear to be a priest in the New catholic Church, but he's actually an undercover assassin for the Pope. His new assignment? Visit the city on the Moon, Lunar Prime, act as Public Relations liaison for the Cardinal there – And assassinate the Governor of Lunar Prime, Meredith McEntyre!

Vatican Assassin has enjoyed success as a novel (the first third of my “Vatican Assassin” Trilogy). Also very cool? The chapters of the audiobook (available for free at Podiobooks.com) have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times! The remastered version of the audio book went up earlier this year: http://www.podiobooks.com/title/vatican-assassin-remastered/

There are some preview pages on the Indy Planet page:
http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3144

And Now... Vatican Assassin - The Comic Book!

I'm proud to announce the upcoming publication of Vatican Assassin Issue #1 as artist Cristian Navarro helps me turn my book into a graphic novel! I'll be posting the link to pick up the book here soon. For now, you can see the cover over at Drunk Duck, where I'll be posting free pages every Wednesday and Saturday, after debuting page one on January 1st, 2010!


Vatican Assassin at DrunkDuck.com:

www.drunkduck.com/Vatican_Assassin/

Loving The New Avett Brothers Album

Finally. A new album penetrates. Soulful honesty, honest artistry, songs of yearning and loss, and being lost, and trying to find - "I and Love and You". They've moved to a big label, with a big-time producer at the helm, but the emotions and the production remain raw as Rick Rubin brings out the best from the Avett Brothers throughout, polishing their sound without rounding off its edges - in fact, he gives them an extra edge, a sharpness, an almost brittle quality that sounds more live and crisp than their previous studio efforts. I don't want to analyze it too much. Rather just sit back and listen again...

Artist Wanted: Science Fiction Story in Upcoming Anthology

Artist Wanted: Science Fiction Story in Upcoming Anthology

Just posted this around today:

I'm writer Mike Luoma – http://mikeluoma.com – and I'm looking for the right artist for a 16 page black and white science fiction story which will appear in an upcoming anthology from Earthbound comics. This is a portfolio builder. This is not a cash job. Instead, creators working with Earthbound get a comp and then issues at cost plus shipping to sell to make profits (akin to putting out your own book). There's more information at their site: http://earthboundcomics.com/submission. If this arrangement sounds beneficial to you, read on and see if you'd like to join my team.

As a reference, Lady Fight from Earthbound is a 2009 Project Fanboy Award Nominated title – I've got a story in the latest issue (here: http://ow.ly/vj5Z) – Now Earthbound is taking on science fiction! My new story has been approved for inclusion in their upcoming anthology. The 16-page story features the lead character from my novel “Alibi Jones” in an early adventure on the planet Cat's Eye, as he runs into an old acquaintance, a con game and, of course, trouble. The story features a few aliens, exotic locations, spacecraft and sexy people.

Need to find the right artist to make the story shine. If you are interested, please send me an email at: mike.luoma@gmail.com. Please include information about your work and links to your material online. Looking forward to hearing from you – Mike

Latest update...

Just sending out this email:

Happy Thanksgiving!

There's a lot going on with my books to share with you – lots to be thankful for as we head towards Thanksgiving. Also added some names to the email list, so if this is the first time you're getting one of my updates and wish to be taken off my list, please reply and let me know. Heck, if you've been getting these but are fed up, let me know and I'll take you off the list. Don't mean to annoy.

As you know, I'm still trying to make a name for myself, so any recognition that comes my way is very cool. ProjectFanboy.com gives out the Project Fanboy Awards – and a couple of group efforts I'm involved with have been nominated for this year's awards! The anthology comic book I'm writing “Souverain” for – Lady Fight: Escalation – is up for Best Black and White Title. And the web site for which I've been writing features and my column – http://www.cosmicbooknews.com – is up for two awards: Best Comic Book News Source and Best Comic Book Web Site! You can vote for this year's awards through December 31^st at http://www.projectfanboy.com. I hope you'll stop over there and cast your vote. Speaking of my column, the latest one is here: http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/articles/mlmakingup11. And my most recent “Cosmic Spotlight” was on Monark Starstalker, here: http://cosmicbooknews.com/articles/csmss.

ALIBI JONES continues to come out as an audio book – you can get the free chapters weekly in their “pure” form at Podiobooks.com (http://www.podiobooks.com/title/alibi-jones) and with commentary and news on my Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast. The 80^th episode went up last Friday with chapters seven and eight of ALIBI JONES: http://glowinthedarkradio.podomatic.com/.

My apology – the discount code I shared with you for Lulu.com last month was not a good one. Lulu messed up. They've given me a new 10% off code for November. I double-checked it – seems to work fine, this time: GREATBOOK. You can use it to get 10% off of any book you buy at Lulu.com when you check out. My books are here: http://stores.lulu.com/mikeluoma

Actually, my books are a lot of places. My thanks go out to fellow Podiobook author and publisher Brian Rathbone. Brian not only interviewed me for an upcoming Podioracket podcast, he also got my books up on Mobipocket! The Vatican Assassin Trilogy and my new ALIBI JONES are available for reading on your phone through White Wolf Press, LLC: http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/AuthorDetails.asp?authorId=117289&authorName=Michael+Luoma. ALIBI JONES has been available for the Kindle – now you can get the paperback through Amazon.com as well. Thanks to Smashwords.com, my books are available as eBooks from Barnes & Noble, too. Mark Coker of Smashwords is actively forging beneficial new partnerships – glad my eBooks are on Smashwords – you'll even find some of them there for free, with set-your-own pricing.

Finally, a couple of holiday-related items: Thanks to Podiobooks author A.P. Stephens for organizing “The Gift Of Lit” – you can find books of many genres from independent authors for holiday giving all gathered in one place – my Vatican Assassin Trilogy Omnibus Edition Hardcover is featured: http://glowinthedarkradio.blogspot.com/2009/11/gift-of-lit-holiday-2009.html. If you're looking for unique gifts, you also might want to check out my doodle-rama store. I just went through and updated the designs for T-Shirts and prints: http://www.cafepress.com/doodlerama.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving – I'm especially thankful to have friends and fans like you. Thank you for your support!

Mike

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The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Doodlerama : Mike Luoma's Doodlerama!

Just went through and updated all the T-Shirt and Print designs for doodle-rama. Give an original design on a T-Shirt this holiday season:

Doodlerama: Mike Luoma's Doodle Designs

My Books Are On Mobipocket!

Now you can read my books on your phone - Thanks to White Wolf Press and Mobipocket! http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/AuthorDetails.asp?authorId=117289&authorName=Michael+Luoma

The Gift Of Lit: Holiday 2009

It is with great pleasure I bring forth and introduce you to The Gift of Lit, a collective effort by many of the fine authors from Podiobooks. Together, we would like to share with you our diverse works and invite you to take a look at the nice selection of books we have spent hours, days, months, or years writing.

The Gift of Lit: Holiday 2009 is now here. If you are looking for a great gift this holiday season, rather it be for a family member, friend…or for yourself, take a look at the list below and give one, some, or all of these books your consideration. There are books to suit your needs this holiday season. Here, you will find fantasy, sci-fi, crime drama, speculative fiction, techno thriller, and much more. Help support these authors and spread the joys of literature. Give spark to imagination.

Below, take a look at all of the different titles offered and follow the links to purchase your own copy for yourself or to give that special someone this holiday. Yet, no matter the time of year, The Gift of Lit will be sure to please all readers.

HORROR

NIGHT’S KNIGHTS by Emerian Rich

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $13.00)

Vampires on a quest for knowledge attempt to create the perfect offspring, but from the shadows an even more demonic evil threatens their immortality. Markham is a simple Irish immigrant striving for the American dream in 1860 when coach robbers cause his untimely death. Severina is an exotic beauty from the jungles of Brazil whose family is brutally murdered by the same man she later calls lover. Julien is a knight who serves as guardian angel to his family but has no clue about his predestined fate. Will a powerful mortal named Jespa be the one to save them all?

FANTASY

BRAVE MEN RUN by Matthew Wayne Selznick

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $8.98 new)

April 18, 1985-Into a world already wound tight with the desperate
tensions of the Cold War comes Dr. William Donner with a startling
declaration: superhumans exist, they demand autonomy, and he has the
reality-bending power to enforce their status. The traditional balance
of power is thrown askew by the addition of not one super-powered
human, but six thousand. Before the Donner Declaration, high school
sophomore Nate Charters was just an outsider and self-proclaimed
freak. His unusual appearance, hair-trigger reflexes, and overactive
metabolism should have made him something special, but his differences
and low self-esteem have long since marked him as a target for the
jocks and popular kids. Now, just as his unique nature brings him the
attention of a self-assured older girl, Nate must find his place in
the world. Why is he the way he is? What really happened to his long
dead father? Why is his biggest rival suddenly interested in a private
meeting? Is he part of a remarkable, powerful new minority… or just
a misfit among misfits? Nate must discover the answers to these
questions quickly, because those in power know more about him than he
could ever imagine. And they’re closing in…

LOST GODS by Drew Beatty

Buy it here at >> Lulu << (starts at $15.50 new)

Kweku Anansi is just another member of the African diaspora, trying to
make a place for himself in his adopted home of Toronto, Canada. He
dreams of better days, of a time when he could stop running small time
cons just to make the rent. He dreams of the life he used to live,
centuries ago when he was revered as a god.

A chance encounter with a fellow con man with a dark and secretive
past of his own, plunges them both into the dark world of the lost
gods, gods who would do anything to be worshipped again. Including
destroying the world, if necessary.

How far will Anansi go to reclaim his godhood? What will he give up to
have true power again?

THE FOX by Arlene Radasky

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $20.99 new)

The Fox by Arlene Radasky is a historical romance and fantasy novel that looks at true courage and truly selfless acts. In this epic fiction that crosses centuries, Druid healers at the beginning of recorded time will be rescued from obscurity by an archeologist of the twenty-first century. Jahna’s clan lay in the path of destruction exacted by the Romans. Her fate is sealed unless a bargain is made with the Gods, which without a doubt means a human sacrifice. Two thousand years later, Aine MacRae is on their trail. A struggling archaeologist, she is on the verge of uncovering the village where they once lived. Encouraged by a ghostly visit, she will do whatever it takes to unearth time’s mystery. Greed almost triumphs leaving the truth and ancient stories buried forever, but an undying love is rekindled.

CHASING THE BARD by Philippa Ballantine

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $12.69 new)

Born into the human world with a gift; a gift that brings him to the attention of powers both dark and light from the World of the Fey, it is his burden to defend all the world. Sive, the goddess of battle, hopes that he may be able to change the fate of her people.The Fey are dying, killed by something beyond the boundaries of worlds, and Sive will do anything to save them. So she enlists the help of her trickster cousin Puck to guard the child, and watch him grow into his gift. But a dark power imprisoned by human and Fey, plots to destroy both worlds, and unmake all that they have created. Can one boy stop the destruction, even if he is William Shakespeare?

THE DAWNING OF POWER by Brian Rathbone

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $17.98)

The Dawning of Power is the debut trilogy in Brian Rathbone’s fantasy series: The World of Godsland. Echoes of the ancients power are distant memories, tattered and faded by the passage of eons, but that is about to change. A new dawn has arrived. Latent abilities, harbored in mankind s deepest fibers, wait to be unleashed. Ancient evils awaken, and old fears ignite the fires of war. In times such as these, ordinary people have the power to save the world . . . or destroy it.

THE WHITE SHADOW SAGA: THE STOLEN MOON OF LONDOR by A.P. Stephens

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $8.60)

The era of peace among the elves, men, and dwarves comes to an end when one of Londor’s twin moons disappears from the heavens. Without the moon’s balancing effect, evil forces grow bold, and warfare, sickness, and chaos threaten life itself.

Hearing the prayers of desperation that ride on the violent winds, the ancient wizard Randor Miithra, servant to the elf-gods, takes it upon himself to mend the world he has sworn to protect. The task will not be an easy one, though, for the wizard, too, has begun to feel the effects of the world’s imbalance. As Randor struggles to maintain some semblance of his powers, he meets a secretive band of colorful characters from all walks of life, drawn together by a common goal: to find the stolen moon, whatever the cost. It does not take Randor and his motley company long to see that someone or something does not want the moon returned to the heavens.

The road is perilous…the stakes have never been greater…will they find victory…or will they only find their deaths?

SCIENCE FICTION

THE VATICAN ASSASSIN TRILOGY by Mike Luoma

Buy it here at >> Lulu << (starts as low as $35.99)

This three in one omnibus edition collects all three novels in the “Vatican Assassin” Trilogy under one cover. “Vatican Assassin”, “Vatican Ambassador” and “Vatican Abdicator” are joined in this volume by an extensive appendix of previously unreleased background material. There are some early concept sketches by Mike Luoma, as well as “The History of The Future”: a timeline developed to extrapolate from today into the future setting for the story; “The Original Story Outline”; “The Story of The Project”; “The Alien Timeline” and more.

THE PIRATES OF SUFIRO by David Lee Summers

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $14.95)

The Pirates of Sufiro is the story of a planet and its people — of Ellison Firebrandt the pirate captain living in exile; of Espedie Raton, the con-man looking to make a fresh start for himself and his wife on a new world; of Peter Stone, the ruthless bank executive who discovers a fortune and will do anything to keep it; and of the lawman, Edmund Ray Swan who travels to Sufiro seeking the quiet life but finds a dark secret. It is the story of privateers, farmers, miners, entrepreneurs, and soldiers — all caught up in dramatic events and violent conflicts that will shape the destiny of our galaxy.

CRIME DRAMA

JACK WAKES UP by Seth Harwood

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $7.68)

In JACK WAKES UP, we are introduced to Jack Palms, a movie star turned drug addict, turned has-been who has been living off of the residual checks from Shake ‘Em Down, his one–and-only action movie. The money is drying up though, and this new clean, uneventful life is starting to become too much for Jack to bear. So when an old friend comes calling and asks Jack to use his former celebrity to show some out-of-town high rollers around San Francisco’s club scene, he’s happy to oblige. What Jack doesn’t know, however, is these “guests” are a pack of former KGB agents turned coke dealers out to make a big deal with Jack as their tour guide. Soon people are turning up dead, and Jack’s got too many gunmen after him to count—including a South American drug cartel, a mountain-sized Samoan enforcer, and a mobbed-up strip club owner with an army of thugs. That’s not to mention a gorgeous new girlfriend who may be planning on shooting him in the back and the homicide cop who’s just given Jack twenty-four hours to bring down the Bay Area’s biggest drug dealer.

But the thing that scares Jack the most? He’s starting to have fun.

FICTION

CITY OF MASKS by Mike Reeves-McMillan

Buy it here at >> Lulu << (starts as low as $9.97)

In the city-state of Bonvidaeo, by custom and law everyone must wear a mask and act in character with it, or face civil, social and religious penalties. Gregorius Bass is sent to Bonvidaeo as the Envoy of Calaria (primarily to get him out from underfoot). Masked as the Innocent Man, and in the company of his radical young Bonvidaoan servant, Bass stumbles into mystery, intrigue, heresy and murder.

TECHNO THRILLER

7TH SON: DESCENT by J.C. Hutchins

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $9.21)

As America reels from the bizarre presidential assassination committed by a child, seven men are abducted from their normal lives and delivered to a secret government facility. Each man has his own career, his own specialty. All are identical in appearance. The seven strangers were not born, but grown — unwitting human clones — as part of a project called 7th Son.

The government now wants something from these “John Michael Smiths.” They share the flesh as well as the implanted memories of the psychopath responsible for the president’s murder. The killer has bigger plans, and only these seven have the unique qualifications to track and stop him. But when their progenitor makes the battle personal, it becomes clear John Alpha may know the seven better than they know themselves…

SPECULATIVE FICTION

DREAMING OF DELIVERANCE by R.E. Chambliss

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $19.99)

Five years ago when Lindsay Paulson, a naive college student and talented distance runner, was 18, she was convicted of drug smuggling. Now, halfway through a 10-year prison sentence, she begins having what seem to be dreams, in which she leaves her cell in the night and visits another reality called Trae. Dreaming of Deliverance tells of Lindsay’s experiences both in Trae, where she finds herself among people enslaved by terrifying creatures, and in prison where she tries to make sense of what’s happening in her sleep: Is she actually escaping from prison somehow or is she losing her mind?

FANTASY FICTION HISTORICAL

THE MARK OF A DRUID by Rhonda R. Carpenter

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $16.55 new)

Have you ever had a dream so real that when you awoke, it didn’t leave the recesses of your mind for days? Eve McCormick just did, and this experience will change her life and the lives of those around her permanently. A twenty-six year old hypnotherapist who oversees a research project based on discovering the answer to an age-old question, “Is reincarnation fact or fiction?” must learn to trust a Welsh stranger. An ancient Celtic prophecy and long sought-after revenge entangles the past with the present in the struggle for existence that threatens to destroy her project. A druidess and a shape-shifter must join as one to save the Druid way of life, while a Queen conspires to kill Erin’s only High King. Will the oaths and agendas of the past reach across the centuries to strengthen or destroy?

New Column Up At Cosmic Book News!

I go into detail about my new science fiction novel ALIBI JONES in my new column - just up over at Cosmic Book News:
http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/articles/mlmakingup11

There's also preview art from my upcoming comics - including the graphic novel adaptation of VATICAN ASSASSIN!

More Lettering!

I may be getting the hang of this... I like the results myself. You get a sneak peek at the Graphic Novel Adaptation of Vatican Assassin as I show of my new skills!
Cristian Navarro is doing the artwork. He sent me the first three pages and I lettered them today. It's taking a long time to do each page. Hoping it gets quicker as I get used to my tools. Let me know what you think...

Teaching myself to letter using InkScape

Decided recently that I needed to learn how to letter my own comics.
I've hand-lettered my stuff, but never used a program to do it.

I tried to add text using the image manipulation programs I've been using, Photfiltre and GIMP, but neither really had the functionality needed to do a satisfactory job - not in any kind of timely fashion.

Juan Carlos Quattordio, the artist on my Panthea Obscura, is working on the lettering for our new comic, Everybody Lies. He's not an experienced letterer, but is doing his best. I am very critical, though, and I know he's just barely putting up with my critiques!

As I sent off my latest list of critiques, I realized I had to do it - had to learn lettering. I know how it SHOULD look, and JC's been cool about my feedback... but I didn't have a graphics program that would let me get it looking the way I knew it needed to look.

In the intervening years since I last tried lettering, new graphic freeware had been released. I discovered INKSCAPE! There are several tutorials out there on how to use it. I'm impressed, so far. It's like a free version of Illustrator, they tell me.

Spent today learning the basics I'll need for lettering. I lettered these two pages today. Took me a while! Think the time will be reduced as I learn what I'm doing! Check out the pages, let me know what you think. I'd love to get critiques from working letterers. I've got a long way to go, but it's a start:

Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Edgar Allan Poe Extra

glowinthedarkradio's Podcast

ALIBI JONES is OUT TODAY!

Celebrating the release of my new science fiction novel ALIBI JONES!

Out today in print (!): http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/alibi-jones/7256433

Use the code FALLBOOK when you go through the checkout to save 10% on any of my books at Lulu.com during October.

You can also get it as an eBook for Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/4034

...for the Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Alibi-Jones...

And coming October 16th as a free, downloadable audiobook at Podiobooks.com!

Check out the Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast for an advance listen to the audiobook's Preface.

Just posted a new podcast!

Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Episode 72

glowinthedarkradio's Podcast

"We Are Gray"

Wrote this right after the original attacks eight years ago. My tribute to the day:

We Are Gray

When the Great Buildings collapsed,

Hit by the fists of Bin Laden,
The clouds of billowing dust
Coated the running escaping.
Many were killed in the blasts,
Innocents used by Bin Laden.
Better, then, covered in dust,
Then lost in the ruins of the breaking.
After the vicious attacks
By the cowardly demon Bin Laden,
All of them, covered in dust,
Coughing, and choking, and shaking…

Today we all are gray.
The dust took the color away.
No black, no white – the same.
We are gray today – the same.
When the terrorists hit,
Did they give a shit
About colors, race or creed?
We’re all gray… and red we bleed.

New Spotlight Article on Starlin's Adam Warlock/The Magus Saga

With the reappearance of The Magus in the pages of Guardians of the Galaxy, the time seemed right to take a look back at Jim Starlin's saga of Adam Warlock and The Magus from the mid-seventies.

The first part of my spotlight article is up today:

http://cosmicbooknews.com/articles/csawm

Part two is here: http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/articles/csawm_2.

Enjoy!

Big News In Vermont Politics!

Governor Jim Douglas (R) of Vermont announced today that he will not be running for another term in 2010. Shay Totten of Vermont's Seven Days wrote about the news on their blog BLURT this afternoon:

http://7d.blogs.com/blurt/2009/08/douglas-opts-out-in-10-political-reaction.html

This is big political news in Vermont. It also brought back some personal meories. When I was working on the radio in Montpelier during the past couple of years, I had the opportunity to record Public Service Announcements (PSAs) with several state officials. The Governor recorded a couple of PSAs with me. Never having met Governor Douglas, I didn't know what to expect when he came in for the first of these recording sessions. Jim Douglas turned out to be easy to work with. He came in fully prepared, nailed the read in in one or two takes... and he was remarkably funny! I had no idea that he had such a dry wit before I worked with him (though since then I have heard from some reporters, off the record, that he has some jokes he repeats from time to time...). All the same, he made the whole process simple, fast and enjoyable.

In our current cable news fed political culture, people on opposite political sides tend to demonize each other, or at the very least paint political opponents as somehow very different from themselves. I'm not a fan of Governor Douglas' politics, so meeting him and discovering that he was an okay guy (for a poltician... heh) was instructive. In a way, Jim Douglas put a human face on Republicans for me. Helped me remember there are good and bad people on every side.

I also had the opportunity to work on radio PSAs with Secretary of State Deb Markowitz and State Treasurer Jeb Spaulding, both very nice folks in their own right! It will be interesting to watch the developing political picture in the Green Mountain State over the next few months...

Read The Complete RED HOT Preview Online Now!

I'm the creator and writer of the new comic
"Introducing... RED HOT!"
with killer art & letters from my creative partner Rhys ap Gwyn. Red Hot is a young super-powered hero trying to prove himself.

You can read our eight page preview issue free online:

http://www.drunkduck.com/Introducing_RED_HOT/

"Introducing... RED HOT!" is a three issue miniseries. The Preview Issue is the first eight pages of Issue One "Proof".

Rhys and I are putting out this preview to see if there's any interest in the character and the story... and judging by the page views and the feedback we've seen so far, there certainly is - Thanks for your Tweets and comments! The plan is to release the books through my Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Comics, though we may be going with a larger independent publisher. Can't say more about that just yet. If you get a chance to read the preview, be sure to stop back here and let me know what you think!

Risk Management?

I've been thinking about risk management today. Normal risk management is required for daily life. It's a part of self preservation. But when risk management is taken to an extreme it causes a sort of psychotic paralysis in individuals. When risk management is exercised to an extreme degree on a larger scale, our culture and society suffers not only cultural paralysis but also societal degradation.

The corporation as an entity is supposed to practice risk management as an accepted best practice, though we did not seen investment banks reign in their own risks. Risk management does not seem to be practiced horizontally by corporations, but rather vertically, being dictated from the top down. This is backwards, of course, as the monetary savings gained through risk management applied at the lowest level in the corporation is small when compared to what could be saved by applying true risk management to upper level exchanges. The exception to this is in the health insurance industry, where extreme risk management at the lowest levels has proved highly profitable to health care industry executives.

Risk Management is killing our culture. Corporate risk management is killing the radio & record industries. Worse it's created the health care mess. When corporations try to monetize art, art pays the price. When corps decided to monetize health, the sick paid the price. People are risky. It's not that health insurance is evil, rather that the business model should not be applied to people and their health - it's immoral.

The Corporations' thought that risk costs money leads to attempts to minimize risk and maximize return. Problem is, this model fails with businesses based on successful risk like music. More basically? Corporations are experts at killing the Geese that Lay the Golden Eggs... One of the reasons corporations are so afraid of social media is the element of risk. Risk management may prevent Corps from embracing SM.

Upside Down Corporate Risk Management is hurting our society and is societally at the root of the health care crisis, the economic crash, and culturally at the root of the stagnation of the radio and music industries. It will also get in the way of Corporations adopting Social Media in a meaningful way. The real irony lies in the fact that these corporations are not applying the same degree of risk management to their executive moves, executive compensation and high-level financial transactions. "Do as I say, not as I do," seems to be the modus operandi of the current corporate elite.

New Column and New Comic Page Up!

Keeping busy this summer! Couple new things today...

You can check out a new free page from the eight page preview of "Introducing... RED HOT!" my new comic with artist Rhys ap Gwynn: http://www.drunkduck.com/Introducing_RED_HOT/

And my column on creating comics returns today, too! The eighth installment of "Mike Luoma's Making It Up!" is up over at Cosmic Book News:

http://cosmicbooknews.com/articles/mlmakingup8

Free reading!

If you read the column or check out the comic, be sure to send me an email and let me know what you think!

Mike

2 New RED HOT Pages up Today!

My FREE webcomic "Introducing... RED HOT!" has not one but TWO new pages up today!

Check it out here:

http://www.drunkduck.com/Introducing_RED_HOT/

Created and written by Mike Luoma, Art by Rhys ap Gwynn

How do you prove you're a hero?

Vatican Assassin - Remastered: Free Audiobook Now Available!

It's up and available for you to download now -- the new, remastered VATICAN ASSASSIN!

Details of the remastering are below.

Get it here free: Podiobooks.com

Vatican Assassin REMASTERED Out FRIDAY and More Updates!

Hope you're having a great summer!

Got a couple of big announcements that I wanted to share with you...

First: VATICAN ASSASSIN - REMASTERED

This Friday, July 31st, I'm releasing a new, remastered edition of my FREE Vatican Assassin Audiobook, offered FREE through Podiobooks.com!

Why a remastered version? Well...

Back in September of 2006, I began podcasting "Vatican Assassin" as part of my "Glow-in-the-Dark Radio" Podcast. Learning about digital audio and podcasting as I went along, the recordings were good, but in retrospect could have been better. In a misguided attempt at "tightening" the audio was also severely edited throughout the book. These recordings turned into "Vatican Assassin" on Podiobooks in 2007, and they've been downloaded over 106,000 times now. But when I finished the third book in my trilogy "Vatican Abdicator" earlier this year, and as I began to go through my files for upcoming downloadable audiobooks coming from Podiobooks (more info on that later), it became clear I'd learned a lot in the intervening three years since I'd recorded "Vatican Assassin" - it was time for a new edition!

I rerecorded the first ten chapters of the book - coming from a radio advertising background where you try to fit as much as you can into 30 seconds, my early reads were just too fast. The rest of the reads were fine, but the editing reflected my commercial background as well, there was no breathing room, no spaces! So I went back to the original source files for the rest of the book and re-edited them, restoring and/or adding "breathing room" to the reads. My noise reduction techniques have also improved over the years, so the entire book has been redone with improved (less harsh, more accurate) noise reduction as well.

If you haven't read or listened to Vatican Assassin, it's a science fiction adventure set in 2109. Bernard Campion (aka “BC”) is an assassin for the Pope of the New catholic Church – he struggles with his work's inherent contradictions while trying to take care of “business” during an out of control interplanetary religious war!

“Vatican Assassin” is available as a free downloadable audiobook through Podiobooks.com. What is a Podiobook? As described on the Podiobooks.com website, “The term podiobook was coined by (site co-founder) Evo Terra to describe serialized audiobooks which are distributed via RSS, much like a podcast. Listeners to Podiobooks.com can choose to receive the episodes of their books via an RSS feed or by listening to episodes by directly downloading episodes from this site. Some listeners keep the audio files on their computers, some transfer the book to CD, but most transfer the file on to their MP3 player so they can listen no matter where they are.” Podiobooks.com will soon be offering their audiobooks in traditional downloadable forms as well.

One other note: The Vatican Assassin Trilogy is now available in ebook form at Smashwords.com – choose your own price, or get the books FREE!

Second: “INTRODUCING... RED HOT!” PREVIEW ISSUE OUT NOW!

My adventures in comic book creation continue, as Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Comics proudly presents “Introducing... RED HOT!” in a special eight page preview issue. I've written a three issue miniseries that details the rise of young RED HOT, a new super powered hero for a new time! Artist and letterer Rhys ap Gwyn provides the stunning visuals – Rhys is quite a find as an artist, as you'll see if you head on over to the FREE webcomic at http://www.drunkduck.com/introducing_red_hot. We're posting a page or two each week through August as we unveil this special eight page preview issue. We also have the issue for sale for $1.99 through Indy Planet. If you'd like to get your own copy, you can pick one up here: http://www.indyplanet.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2464 Why put out an eight page preview? While we can publish the series ourselves through Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Comics, Rhys and I are hoping we can get a larger publisher to pick up the book to give us better visibility and distribution. We'll use this preview issue as a pitch to shop the project around and see what happens. Interested publishers can contact me at mike.luoma@gmail.com. Thought I'd throw that in in case you know anyone who might be an interested publisher, heh.

Third: DOODLERAMA: A Doodle A Day By Mike Luoma

Also over at Drunk Duck, you'll find my new “webcomic” Doodlerama. Not a sequential comic, Doodlerama is instead a Doodle-A-Day – every weekday you get a new doodle from out of my sketchbooks. Head on over to http://www.drunkduck.com/Doodlerama/ for today's doodle, and hit the back key to check out any of the past doodles posted.

Fourth: ALIBI JONES!

I'm heading into the home stretch with my fourth and latest novel Alibi Jones. The title character, Alibi, is the son of BC, so the new book is a sequel of sorts to the Vatican Assassin Trilogy. It's twenty-three years later and Alibi Jones works as a mediator for the Solar Alliance Interplanetary Forces Mediation Service – the successor to BC's “Office of Papal Operations”, the OPO. If you enjoyed the trilogy, I think you'll get into this new one – I'm getting some great feedback from my advance readers! I'm waiting on the return of those advance copies. Once I get them back in my hands, there will be maybe one more rewrite and then the book will be on its way to you. I'm hoping to get the actual book out and to start offering the audiobook through Podiobooks.com this fall.

MORE!

There are a couple of other projects in the works. I'm collaborating once again with Juan Carlos Quattordio, the artist on Panthea Obscura, on an entirely different project. Everybody Lies is a comic book for adults, a drama about the lies people tell every day – except this time the lies spiral out of control for our lead characters. Juan Carlos is illustrating this one in black and white, and is working out some new ideas in his artwork that make the book pretty darn compelling. Can't wait to show you more as we get closer to publication!

I'm working with artist Scott Bradley on another unusual comic book project. “STRIKE OUT!” is a three issue Romantic Comedy about a washed out minor league ballplayer – Grizzly Yakamoto – trying to get his life together after a knee injury knocks him out of the game. Still in its early stages, this comic book slice-of-life series should be a breath of fresh air for the comic book industry. It's a different use of the graphic medium than the usual capes and tights. Scott tells me it feels similar to Terry Moore's Strangers In Paradise, but I must confess I haven't read that series.

I'm also working with a third artist on my Horror project, The Gnostic. This project is weird – the first two artists both ended up suffering (hopefully unrelated) mental breakdowns while working on the project. The third artist started working on pages only to have a pinched nerve curtail his drawing for weeks. There may be actual supernatural forces conspiring to keep this one from ever seeing the light of day! Crazy. But hopefully I'll have something more to tell you about it next time around.

That's it for this time – more than enough, really! Hope you'll have a chance to check out VATICAN ASSASSIN – REMASTERED when it comes out this Friday. Be sure to stop over to Drunk Duck to take a look at RED HOT! And DOODLERAMA, too. And I'd love to hear from you! Please email back and let me know what you think.

Happy Summer!

Mike

Introducing RED HOT... and more!

Here he is!

Rhys ap Gwyn is the artist and letterer... wow! Here's the PR

A New Comic Book Hero For A New Time - Get it while it's RED HOT!

Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Comics, Creator and Writer Mike Luoma and Artist Rhys ap Gwyn are proud to present the debut of a super powered hero for the twenty-first century, with the release of the special eight page preview of the first issue of "Introducing RED HOT!"

"Introducing... RED HOT! #0"

Young super-powered hero Red Hot is trying to prove he's capable of following in his super-powered father's footsteps... But instead finds he must prove he's innocent of robbery and murder!

This Special Eight Page Preview Edition of Issue One of Three is available now for just $1.99 at Indy Planet:

(http://www.indyplanet.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2464)

Read the first three pages online FREE:

(http://www.drunkduck.com/Introducing_RED_HOT)


"Introducing... RED HOT! #0"
Special Eight-Page Preview Edition of Issue One
Published by Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Comics

Created and Written by Mike Luoma
Art and Letters by Rhys ap Gwyn

Find out more at http://glowinthedarkradio.com

email Mike Luoma for more information at glowinthedarkradio@gmail.com

Copyright 2009 by Michael Luoma and Rhys ap Gwyn

Writing... some I can share...

Been crazy busy writing, figure why stop while it's flowing!

Just a reminder that you can get 10% off my books at Lulu.com through the end of the month. Just got to my store: http://stores.lulu.com/mikeluoma. Click on any title, add them to your cart, and then, when you are checking out, use the code JUNECONTEST10. Lulu will take 10% off of your order! But this special offer ends on June 30th.

I'm 2/3rds way through writing the romantic comedy, with an artist just starting to work on that.
May be ready to unveil the Super hero project soon...
Also writing some scripts for some shorts for Earthbound comics, using one of their characters, for one of their anthology titles. I've found it incredibly freeing to write this character, talk about flowing! I've come up with three six page short stories for them, just finishing up the third one.

Wrote a comic book review today for Marvel's "War of Kings: Ascension" issue #3. I'm really enjoying this miniseries! This third issue really surprised me in its depth. I had a chance to review it for Cosmic Book News. If you'd like to check it out, it's here:

http://cosmicbooknews.com/reviews/wokasc3review

And Alibi Jones is now in the hands of my proof reader friends! Can't wait to find out what they think, and get their corrections. Getting there...

My Hands Are Sore!

My hands hurt. I'm not even sure why I'm writing this now! Well, I do want to let you know and state for the record that the 2nd (or maybe 3rd draft) of "Alibi Jones" is complete, at the printers for readers editions for proofing! Sarah and Nate, get ready... I say 2nd or 3rd because the first handwritten draft was really scattered, so I'm not sure whether the first typed draft was 1st or 2nd... hmmm.

But I am sure the book is done. First in a new series! Alibi Jones, the title character, is the son of Bernard Campion, BC from the Vatican Assassin Trilogy. It's twenty-three years after the events of the first three books. The Solar Alliance is spreading out amongst the stars. Alibi is in the Mediator Corps, which sees him negotiating interstellar trade deals between races. An old friend disappears and Alibi goes looking for her... but all he finds is trouble!

I'm having too much fun playing in this universe. I think it's safe to say you can expect this to be the start of a new series!

Get 10% Off My Books All Month!

Just received an email this morning from Lulu. Get 10% off your purchase through the end of this month! All you need to do is enter the sale code when you check out: JUNECONTEST10.

Lulu is conducting monthly "sales contests" where the authors who sell the most books win cash prizes. Blatantly trying to drive traffic to Lulu.com, of course! What the heck - Didn't cost anything, so I signed up for June's contest. I received the email with news of the 10% discount this morning. All of a sudden the contest seemed worth entering.

My books at Lulu can all be found on this page, my Lulu "storefront": http://stores.lulu.com/mikeluoma

I was surprised enough by the discount that I wanted to share!