Can’t Stop the Serenity

I’m pleased to announce that Harmsway Press is an official sponsor of the 10th annual Can’t Stop the Serenity global charity event, benefiting Equality Now.

Since its inauguration, the Firefly/Serenity fandom through CSTS has raised over $1 million for international women’s rights and other important charities.

Whether you’re a Browncoat, purple-belly or just believe in doing good works, check them out:

http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/

http://www.equalitynow.org/

Murderous Row in Print

Happy Phil Bowman Day, Snyper fans!

Appropriately in time for the holiday, the print version of “Murderous Row” is now available here through the Snyper Store.

Digital editions are still available as a Kindle exclusive on Amazon.

Get your signed copy today!

 

Happy Holidays

Happy holidays, Snyper fans. The prequel novella “Murderous Row” has been uploaded to Amazon and should be available by Christmas morning. It’s a real holiday miracle!

http://www.amazon.com/Murderous-Row-Snyper-Merideth-Harmon-ebook/dp/B00QZKR2X2

Typesetting is underway for the print version, which will be available here at the Snyper Store when it is completed.

Murderous Row

After a long and busy convention summer, I’m finally happy to announce that the Snyper novella “Murderous Row” is now in the hands of my editor for final revisions, with an anticipated holiday release both in paperback and as an Amazon e-book exclusive.

The prequel is set about three months before the start of the main novel and will touch on some of the “how Phil gets Ashley” story while Phil struggles with his latest P.I. case. – JMH

Twin Tiers Comic-Con

I’m a featured guest this weekend at Twin Tiers Comic-Con in Elmira, NY. So far it’s been spectacular–including a big round of fireworks last night to mark the city’s 150 anniversary.

If you’re in the Southern Tier or Northern Tier (which is apparently south of the Southern Tier) or elsewhere in the Upstate NY/Eastern PA area, stop by tomorrow and say hi. I’ll be at table 117 in the Artist’s Alley and participating in the Create Your Own panel. See you there! – JMH

Live from Shore Leave

Shore Leave was one of my first big regional conventions, so I was happy to return this year–both for the convention itself and as my first solo launch as an independent vendor. Quite simply, I’ve been overwhelmed by the fine reception and support I’ve received here.

So if you’ve stopped by my table to say hi, buy a book, share a laugh or indulge in a temporary tattoo, thank you for making this convention a great experience. And if you’ve yet to stop by, we still have one more day where you can find me on the main level in the dealer’s corridor. Thanks, everyone! – JMH

Wizard World Philadelphia

A big thank you to everyone I got to meet and visit this past weekend at Wizard World Philadelphia. The crowds were huge, largely due to the presence of the big damn heroes Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk, not to mention the tag-team Whogasm of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. I swear, you couldn’t swing a lightsaber without hitting a Jayne cunning hat or a fez in there.

Next up on the convention schedule is Shore Leave on August 1-3 in Maryland, plus also a possible last-minute add for another venue shortly afterward. More details as I get them.

And of course a very big thank you to all the folks who stopped by to say hi, picked up a book or donated to Equality Now on behalf of the Browncoats of NYC.

JMH

2014 Summer Convention Schedule

In conjunction with the Pennsylvania Browncoats and the Browncoats of New York City, I’ll have a table at Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con on June 19-22. Stop by and say hi, pickup up a book, flask or other new Snyper merchandise. Or if you’re in the mood to do good works, you can pick up a hand-knitted cunning hat or other Firefly-inspired items. The Browncoat groups’ charitable proceeds benefit Equality Now, so that’s a win for everyone.

Then August 1-3, I’ll be flying solo and running my own table at Shore Leave 36 in Baltimore, MD.

Hope to see you all there!

Snyper and the Assassination

Spoiler Warning: This post discusses some plot points and details behind Snyper: A Matter of Caliber.

As I mentioned in the end notes of the book, the idea of tying Eros into the JFK assassination was the initial thought I had for the whole concept of the novel: Phil as the quintessential hit man, able to go anywhere and take out the most difficult targets. And as an immortal being with a godly nature, he’d naturally figure largely into the course of human history. So it made sense that if there were a gunman on the grassy knoll, Phil could easily have fit that role. Not to mention that it also blends together two different types of mythology, classical Greek with Eros and modern American with the second gunman, which is perhaps one of the most pervasive myths in our contemporary culture.

The big question when I revisited the idea, however, was if it would work as a starting point for the novel. And, perhaps more importantly, if I should even “go there.” After all, I’m a Gen-X guy who wasn’t even born when the assassination happened. But I’d lived through other national tragedies like Challenger and 9/11, and I understand that same “I remember exactly what I was doing” feeling everyone who was alive for JFK describes. I spent two months doing hard-core research on the assassination, and when I decided that I could fit Phil into the middle of Dealey Plaza with some sort of factual accuracy, I chose to approach the handling of it as straight as possible. I’d focus on the event, rather than the target, and incorporate as many facts and details as I could. For stylistic reasons and perhaps a slight bit of emotional distance, I wouldn’t mention Kennedy by name; he’s simply “the President”, which didn’t turn out as clunky or awkward as a choice as I expected.

Oswald, on the other hand, I kept fully referenced. But I also didn’t want to make him a default villain. Personally, I don’t know what to think about Oswald. It’s easier to accept him being a lone actor on a personal mission of some sort, but at the same time, none of the facts we know (or think we know) seem to add up. The Warren Commission wasn’t necessarily subject to our standard rules of law and evidentiary procedure, and Oswald’s guilt is based more on hearsay and conjecture rather than by objective evidence. Phil raises a lot of those questions in the novel because in some respects, Snyper is a book about victims. Phil’s one. Oswald is one. If you stop and count all of them, the list gets pretty long—which is why noir is such a good stylistic choice. Few people get out of noir unscathed.

The lead quote for the novel comes from Mark Lane’s book Rush to Judgment. Oswald’s mother hired Lane as a kind of defense attorney to help clear the family name, and while some of the postulations are now outdated from new information, the line about nobody apparently noticing Oswald because he was so average resonated deeply with who Phil is. That exact averageness is what allows him to blend into crowds via his perception magic. And if you want to follow the logic of it, if Phil were the gunman on the grassy knoll, his perception magic would actually explain why all the eyewitnesses were so inconsistent.

Writing Oswald was far more difficult than I expected. When I finally got to the interrogation scene, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what words to put in his mouth. So I cheated, if you’ll call it that, and didn’t. Nearly all of his dialogue is taken from recordings and transcripts of what he actually said, both while in police custody and during a pre-assassination radio interview I found. It makes for a weird, disjointed scene, but ultimately, I think the choice works.

The idea of presenting Dan as his grandson came after a series of what-ifs. Oswald had two little girls when he died, an infant and a toddler, which would mean by the time the book takes place, they would be middle-aged and likely parents. So I thought: What if the daughters moved on and decided not to tell their own kids their dark family secret? It seemed reasonable enough. And it gave me a convenient parallel for Phil as he’s dealing with his own identity and the struggle of living under the shadow of a murderous grandparent.

Little did I know until I was almost finished with the book, that’s close to what happened in real life. Oswald’s youngest daughter was an infant at the time, and when his widow remarried a couple of years later, the girl grew up under a different name, thought her stepfather was her real dad and all that. She gave an interview when the Oliver Stone movie came out in the ’90s and explained how she never knew the truth until she was playing in the attic one day and found a box of old letters and newspaper clippings left over from the assassination. She confronted her mother about them, and suddenly her entire life was upside down. Until then, Oswald had just been that bad guy she learned about in school; now he was her dad. So if Dan’s situation comes across as a bit contrived, he’s not that far off the mark. Or it’s proof that real life actually is stranger than fiction.

Stranger still is how Jackie Kennedy did go on to marry Aristotle Onassis, a Greek shipping magnate immensely proud of his cultural heritage. It’s a small detail, perhaps insignificant, but in Phil’s world of gods interfering with mortal lives, it somehow makes perfect sense to have the owner of Olympic Airlines figure into the mix.

Whether it all works is up to the reader, of course. If you’re familiar with the assassination and some of the details and theories, hopefully I’ve provided enough facts to keep the story intriguing. And if you’re not familiar with that dark moment in American history, hopefully the story flows well without bogging down with unnecessary detail.

Geek Outlaw Giveaway

As part of its July contest, GeekOutlaw.com is giving away free signed copies of Snyper (and official Hot Nerd Girl calendars!) over on its website. Here’s the link:

http://geekoutlaw.com/win-free-loot-outlaw-rewards-hot-nerd-girl-calendar-contest-july-2013/