Meeting Your Heroes…

There is an old expression out there that you should never meet your heroes. Most of the time, you have put them up on a pedestal in your mind and to have that come crashing down can be devastating. Back when I had a MySpace page (remember when MySpace was cool?), I liked to do my own graphics and I had one that featured the Top 5 people I would liked to be trapped in an elevator with. Vin Diesel was tops in the list because we go to the same barber and I want to do a CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK comic book. But what if I actually got a chance to meet Vin and he blew me off or was a total jerk. It would sour all of my feelings for him – wouldn’t be a fan anymore. Hans Zimmer? Joe Quesada? Stephen Colbert? How would it change my feelings if they were jerks?
So with MySpace dying, I converted over to Facebook. I have become fans of several famous people, one of which was Seth Grahame-Smith, after reading his book Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Curious to see what other writers might be on the list and having just finished The Ghost King, I looked up my #1 favorite author of all time. I have what I call my Magnificent Seven – the seven people who have influenced me the most creatively. Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Cameron, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Kevin Smith, and topping the list is George Lucas. (I know that is only six.) Lucas tops the list in the number one category. But imagine my surprise when I found #2 on my list on Facebook…
The #2 slot belongs to a gentleman named R.A. Salvatore. Salvatore is not the household name that others are on the list. Although most people might not know Lee or McFarlane. Google or Wikipedia them. I can’t do everything for you! Salvatore is a New York Times Best Selling Author who created the character of Drizzt Do’Urden. Salvatore made me want to write. In all his book dust jackets, they talk of how The Lord of the Rings changed his life. I always wanted to meet him, shake his hand and say, “The Crystal Shard changed my life.”
That book put me on the path to becoming a writer. There is no doubt about it. I think it is a rarity where you can look back on something and say, “This [book/film/college class/set of boobs/etc.] changed my life.” So on his FB page, it had an email address.
Hey, if he didn’t want fans to email him, he wouldn’t put the address out there. Right? Now, again, you don’t want to put people up on pedestals. Many times they do not survive the fall when they crash down to reality. But I sent a politely worded email to Mr. Salvatore and tried not to gush too much.
Imagine my surprise when he emailed me back… And not some form letter. He actually took the time to write me back. That is a pretty cool thing. And we have exchanged several emails since. I was going to be an eternal fan of his anyway but to know that he appreciates his fans… that just cements it even more.
Life is all about lessons. You cannot imagine my excitement when R.A. Salvatore popped up in my email inbox… When it comes to fan mail or if I ever am popular enough to make into the comic book convention circuit, I am going to remember how important it is to be accessible and friendly to fans. I probably would have been that way anyway – Mrs. Foley’s baby boy could not be any other way. But it is always nice to get some reinforcement.

The Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated…

What the hell? I haven’t done an entry since the end of March? I know most of you Ryaddicts must be pulling your hair out at this point. I wish I could explain my absence. It might be my addiction to World of Warcraft or my recent involvement with Facebook. I wish I could say that. But truth be told, I have signed gag orders with the government promising not to disclose too much information. Let’s just say that certain ninja skills were required in a place I like to call Ear-nay Fghanistan-way. The world is now safer because of me. You’re welcome. Medal of Freedom please… [Making grabby hand gestures.]
Getting back into the swing of things takes a little time and practice. I have created two pages on Facebook. One is dedicated to all the crazy wackadoo that one would expect coming from me – even though I have toned down my language now that both my boys are on FB. The other page is dedicated to me as a Comic Book Writer – which is infinitely more professional and probably more insightful.
But I am trying to get back into the swing of things. With a little bit of luck, my current comic book publisher and I are in negotiations to possibly create my first 100% original project for them. You have to understand how big a milestone this is for me creatively. All of my projects thus far have all been adaptations of classic novels, mythological stories, or commissioned projects. Even with all my other publishers (Image, MVCreations, and Arcana), all my works have been commissions… except for one.
That title is known as THE PRAETORIAN. The artist assigned to that project (the ridiculously talented Robert Gill) is chewing through Issue #3 as I write this blog. So between THE PRAETORIAN and this current project that I have submitted, it would give me two books that are all me. 100%. Which means if they suck story content or character wise, it is all on me. On the other hand, if they are a success and people like them, it is all on me. And that is pretty darn cool. I am not saying that Robert and I are creating the next Drizzt Do’Urden or Red Sonja or anything – that will be kind of up to the readers to decide. But to create a character that has the potential to be out there in the comic book lexicon... Well that should be the dream of every comic book creator.
As a creative individual, you inevitably want to flex your muscles. You want to expand your horizons to become a better writer. I took on the task of writing STOLEN HEARTS because I wanted to see if I could write a romance book. I wanted to see if I could. Thankfully, given the editorial comments, blog reviews, and reader praise, I guess I did a pretty good job. But you never know until you try. That is why you have to get out of your comfort zone every now and again. Broaden those horizons. You won’t be sorry. At least if you fail, you fail while daring greatly…

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
Teddy Roosevelt, speaking at the Sorbonne in Paris, April 23, 1910