Category Archives: Writing

Posts about my writing work or writing in general

Smoke Blog: Revolution

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Gotta love it when the cigar guy at a store doesn’t know a thing about the cigars he sells.

I went to a Friar Tuck, a large liquor store which carries a wide variety of spirits and related offerings. They don’t have a proper walk-in humidor, but they do have a humidified display cabinet with a modest selection. The Peoria location usually has Punch, Macanudo, Romeo y Julieta, and a rotating selection of other brands, so in a pinch I’m happy to shop there.

This time I spotted the Revolution, a brand I hadn’t heard of before. I like trying new brands and the price was right, so when the cigar guy came over with his key, I asked him, “What can you tell me about the Revolution?”

Revolution

The flattened face of the Revolution cigar

“It’s good!” he said.

I gave him a moment, he said nothing more. “Do you know what kind of tobacco it’s made with?”

“Uhhhh…”

Swell.

Then he says, “It’s got a medium body?”

Argh. The wrapper looked a bit dark for that, but he clearly had no idea.

There’s another chain liquor store in the Chicago area called Binny’s. They have full, walk-in humidors and they hire people who actually know cigars to manage them. If Friar Tuck can’t do all that, fine, but why not at least post similar display tags as Binny’s? Something with a description, the blend, maybe even cigar ratings from popular review sources like Cigar Aficionado?

So I bought four anyway. I’m an adventurous guy, and two of the three friends I was shopping for aren’t all that concerned about brand and blend.

Tonight's writing setup

How to make the magic happen

I’ve since learned the Revolution is part of the Altadis Te-Amo brand from Mexico, and it’s made with a blend of Nicaraguan and San Andres tobaccos, primarily Corojo. It’s box-pressed, but it’s more of an flattened oval than square, and is labeled “Ovalado.” It has a sturdy feel and a slight coarseness to the wrapper.

I smoked two before writing this review: one while hanging out with friends and one while doing some writing. I used a simple punch cutter on the first and had a difficult draw. With the second I did two overlapping punches to create a wider hole, and this worked much better. (I didn’t know if it would hold together after a scissor cut, and I don’t have a V cutter right now.) Both lost their oval shape as I smoked, which I thought was odd, but it didn’t affect the smoking experience.

The Revolution is stronger than medium, but I wouldn’t call it a full-bodied smoke like a maduro. It had a bold, spicy flavor without being harsh or peppery. Both sticks burned clean and even despite the draw of the first cigar, producing plenty of rich smoke and leaving a fine, sturdy ash.

All in all a good smoke, and because my friends selected something else out of another humidor, I still have two more. They’ll pair nicely with the remaining Boulevard craft beers in my fridge as I write this weekend.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

FCBD: Big Bad Wolves

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Big Bad Wolves page 1

“Big Bad Wolves” Page 1. Henderson killed on this.

Not going to make it out to a comic shop for Free Comic Book Day? No problem! Click on over to check out my short comic Big Bad Wolves for free on Indie Pulp.

Featuring artwork by Mike Henderson, Big Bad Wolves introduces some of the characters from the first book in the Pack series, Winter Kill. In fact, it sets up the incident that kicks off the opening events of the novel.

If you’d prefer a shorter (and, let’s be honest, cheaper) introduction to The Pack, check out the short story “Bravo Four” for only 99 cents. Set in Vietnam, “Bravo Four” dips a little into the back story of the series, and it includes an extended preview of Winter Kill.

Enjoy!

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

On Readings

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I’m not a fan of readings. Not a fan of sitting through them, and not a fan of reading myself.

I’ve been told I’m pretty good at it. I’ve given readings large and small, and I’ve had folks listening close. I’ve also had one or two where I could tell I lost the crowd. Problem is, the work can’t carry it’s own; the writer has to carry the work. It’s as much performance as it is writing skill, which is why readings are a lot more difficult than most writers realize.

This morning, Anthony Neil Smith pointed out another complication:

 

A writer versus that reflex to check the phone every time it pings or vibrates? Competing with that urge to multitask and knock towers over onto cartoon pigs? Good luck.

It’s more than just that, though. To me, why should I listen to something the reader can read for himself? Why should I read something from the middle of a book, when the audience will have no clue what’s happening or who the characters are? Two more reasons for the audience to tune out.

For my money—as in, the money I’d spend to travel out to a bookstore, crash at a hotel, down a drink or two—the writer’s better off selling himself than selling books. Call it a talk, a Q&A, or a panel discussion, now the writer is directly engaging the audience. Even if he’s just giving a speech, he’s able to maintain eye contact and monitor the crowd, not just keep his nose in a book, and the performance pressure is off.

On the audience side, one of my more memorable readings was given by Andrew Vachss. First thing he did? He told us readings are boring and we’d be having a conversation instead. That hour went by in a flash because the whole room stayed focused. Then he signed a bunch of books for us and off we went. It’s gotta be eight years ago now, but it’s still the first one I think of.

Now, if you’re the type of writer who has that performance side nailed, by all means, keep it up. I have yet to see Brian Keene flub a reading, for example, but we’re not all former radio DJs. His readers expect it.

The rest of us? Sell what you’ve got, folks. Better sell yourself and all of your work than to read one chapter and hope the crowd buys one book.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

The Deadliest Ad

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The remastered and relaunched version of my debut novel, Deadliest of the Species, has been out a few weeks now. Response has been good, but things have been quiet on the review front.

My publisher worked up a new ad, and it should be making the rounds soon:

She's back, and she's waiting for you

She’s back, and she’s waiting for you

Check it out on Kindle, Nook, or Smashwords (with more to come, including trade paperback). I’ve been waiting a long time for this, and I hope the rest of you find it worth the wait, too.

Already have Deadliest? Great! Thank you very much. If you enjoyed it, be sure to read the extended preview for Winter Kill at the end, or peruse my other work in the side column on my home page. Some of it is even free!

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

Smoke Blog: Kicking Off the Season

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It took until April, but I finally got out to the porch with a cigar.

Breaking the porch chair back in with a RyJ Lonsdale #cigar

Just a short one to kick things off

It’s finally the season where I’ll be able to sit outside with a cigar and the laptop or iPad and get some real work done. I find it’s a lot less distracting that way, and I stay more focused. In my office, it’s far too easy to get distracted by web surfing and finding other things to read.

As for the cigar, the Romeo y Julieta 1875 lonsdale is a decent little smoke. It’s a Sumatra wrapper, near as I can tell from a quick Google search, and I think the small size and tight draw made it burn a little hotter and harsher than I normally prefer. Its larger cousins from the Reserva Real line tend to be a lot smoother and more enjoyable, but I didn’t have an hour to kill smoking a toro or corona tonight.

That’s not unusual for a lonsdale, in my opinion. The size is designed for a quick smoke, something for when I’m in a hurry, or for when I’m working in the yard or washing the motorcycle. A good friend preferred them while on duty as an EMT because he had a much better chance of finishing between calls and didn’t feel bad if he had to chuck it when a call came in.

There are storms on the horizon for this week. After that, we have some nice weather again. Here’s looking forward to a productive Spring and Summer.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

Work for Hire: Swallow Your Pride

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I hear a consistent gripe from friends when it comes to doing work for hire: they don’t get to tell the story they want to tell. Whether it’s comics, ghost-written prose, or media tie-ins and novelizations, the content owner has the ultimate say in what does and doesn’t see print.

I’m having a similar problem with the project I’m writing right now. My first draft took the story one direction, and I felt pretty good about it. Then the rewrites came, and I had to do some extensive revision because my plot didn’t jive with the editor’s. I didn’t have a complete outline to work from, so I didn’t have a a solid idea of the project’s vision before plotting it all out.

You know what? I was okay with that.

The whole idea behind work for hire is it’s not my project to begin with. My job is to match the editor’s vision, or at least stay within the constraints he gives me. Period. I can offer advice and opinion, and they can take it or leave it, as fits the work. This applies whether we’re talking a small indie publisher or one of the Big Two. Even the popular guys who sell a ton of books for DC and Marvel can only go so far, and they know it. They may have earned a little more trust and leeway, but a Superman story still has to be a Superman story.

So I dove in and made the changes my editor asked for. It stung a little, but the paycheck soothed the pain.

What it comes down to is deciding whether the direction a project is headed should still have the writer’s name on it. If a writer can’t live with the changes he’s contracted to make, it’s not time to draw a line in the sand. If he’s made his case, he should either accept the editorial response or walk away. I’m fortunate I’m not in that situation, but I’ve seen others have to make the tough decision to break away from an editor (especially when that decision is complicated by the politics of getting more work or not). It’s part of the business.

This is why it’s not uncommon to see guys sticking with creator-owned work despite the costs and effort required to get a new project off the ground. Contracted work keeps the lights on and puts food on the table, but the ultimate goal for most creators is to set out on their own. This is where the potential for real money is, especially in the long term. More importantly, it’s also where we find creative satisfaction.

In the meantime, we put our heads down, do the work, and keep the lights on. It will pay off.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

DotS: Remastered and Relaunched

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She’s back!

After ten years out of print, Deadliest of the Species, my Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, is now available from Evileye Books.

Deadliest Book Stack

Now available on Nook and Kindle!

 

She’s been through a lot in the interim, but she’s now in good hands with my editors at Evileye, the same guys who helped bring you Winter Kill. Judging by the email and convention conversations I’ve had over the years, this release is going to make a lot of people happy.

This new, electronic edition of Deadliest of the Species is only $2.99. It’s already live for the Nook and Kindle. Other electronic formats will follow shortly, including iBooks, and we’ll have a trade paperback edition soon after that.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.