I?m back from the 2007 Baltimore Comic-Con, and I?m exhausted. Partly from the drive there and back, partly from a full day at the booth on Saturday chatting up attendees about Finders Keepers?and partly from consuming a lot of beer Friday and Saturday nights and getting very little sleep in between!

While the San Diego Comic-Con has morphed into this wild Hollywood-led bonanza, the Baltimore Comic-Con, which started running earlier in the decade, is still just a good, old-fashioned comic-bI?m back from the 2007 Baltimore Comic-Con, and I?m exhausted. Partly from the drive there and back, partly from a full day at the booth on Saturday chatting up attendees about Finders Keepers?and partly from consuming a lot of beer Friday and Saturday nights and getting very little sleep in between!

While the San Diego Comic-Con has morphed into this wild Hollywood-led bonanza, the Baltimore Comic-Con, which started running earlier in the decade, is still just a good, old-fashioned comic-book convention for comic-book fans, filled with booth after booth of comic-book creators?some mainstream, and some less known–which means there were artists and writers of X-Men and Spiderman titles, as well as a whole of host of other books from a new crop of creators just breaking in. Not to mention some comic book writers who also happen to write books–like me!

There were also many, many booths filled with retailers selling paperback and hardcover collections of recent popular comic books, and individual comics from the Bronze Age (from the early 1970s to the mid 1980s) and the Silver Age (from the late 1950s to the early 1970s; mostly superhero titles), which have become a hot item over the years, as they are now are quite valuable, if that?s your thing.

Like at the San Diego convention I was there chatting with attendees about Finders Keepers, sharing a snazzy looking booth with Rich Henn (www.timepell.com) and Rich Koslowski (www.richkoslowski.com), with some killer color posters and individual comics velcroed to the display (I’ll have photos soon so you can see what I mean).

At San Diego, reports had 100,000 attendees, while at Baltimore we had a few thousand attendees–still a very respectable number and a lot more manageable for us–with big lines at many booths, mostly filled with fans who wanted to get their books signed by their favorite writers and artists. It was a two-day show. I was there all day Saturday, while Rich and Rich also were at the booth on Sunday.

Even though the Balitmore show was a little slower than we expected, with sales down for a lot of creators, all day long I felt great talking to folks about Finders Keepers–maybe even better than ever–seeing that ?Wow? look in their eyes when they heard about it. And for now, that?s what I?m after. Getting the word out about Finders Keepers, building a potential audience, keeping the buzz growing and growing and growing.

While I keep plugging away to land an agent, Finders Keepers is taking on a life of it?s own, building a reputation as a book that people want to get their hands on. And as I continue talking to a few people who have read advanced copies?or are still reading?the feedback is universally top notch. Which of course just gets my juices flowing and wanting to get back out there and letting the whole world know that Finders Keepers is coming.

That?s all for now, but I?ll be blogging a few more times this week about the 2007 Baltimore Comic-Con, so stayed tuned for more, including pictures from the show …

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/09/10 21:18

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/09/13 07:17

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/09/13 07:28

By the time most of you will read this I will already be on the road to the 2007 Baltimore Comic-Con, which takes place near the inner-harbor in Baltimore. Once again I will be setting up with partners-in-crime Rich Henn and Rich Koslowski, with my last copies of Finders Keepers available for sale–and promotion.

The thing about this show compared to the San Diego Comic-Con is that the Baltimore Comic-Con is about comic books. This is a show for comic book readers who want to by comic booksBy the time most of you will read this I will already be on the road to the 2007 Baltimore Comic-Con, which takes place near the inner-harbor in Baltimore. Once again I will be setting up with partners-in-crime Rich Henn and Rich Koslowski, with my last copies of Finders Keepers available for sale–and promotion.

The thing about this show compared to the San Diego Comic-Con is that the Baltimore Comic-Con is about comic books. This is a show for comic book readers who want to by comic books and graphic novels, and meet the creators. Which is perfect for me, since I wrote Finders Keepers specifically with a comic-book style, with my target audience the same people who like comic books, and TV shows like Heroes and LOST, even before they were TV shows.

And there’s the scope. The San Diego show had about 100,000 attendees. The Baltimore show will probably have a few thousand. That’s still a lot of people, but it’s also more intimate and fun. San Diego is great, but it’s incredibly overwhelming. At the Baltimore show, you can talk more with the fans, because they’re there to interact with the creators. And I’ll also be selling copies of Timespell with co-creator Rich Henn, so that’s a natural hook–and segue–into Finders Keepers.

They’re likely won’t be any Hollywood-type agents and producers there, although you never know, so it’s also a bit more relaxing from that standpoint. It’s more fun because it’s more interactive with the fans, who are also there to spend money on our stuff! So that’s also great.

As with the San Diego show, I will blog throughout next week about my experiences in Baltimore, and will take pictures and get them posted as soon as I can. I’m hoping to be up again on Monday with lots of new tales about Finders Keepers …

Have a great weekend!

The old saying goes that behind every good man is a good woman. Truer words could not be spoken in my case.

As Liz and I are coming up on our fifth wedding anniversary (Nov. 2), I find myself reflecting quite a bit on the years we?ve spent together so far, and the many more that lie ahead. I feel blessed that the gods brought us together. I am truly grateful.

And in regard to Finders Keepers, and my writing overall, Liz has been an absolute champ, constantly supporting me, believing inThe old saying goes that behind every good man is a good woman. Truer words could not be spoken in my case.

As Liz and I are coming up on our fifth wedding anniversary (Nov. 2), I find myself reflecting quite a bit on the years we?ve spent together so far, and the many more that lie ahead. I feel blessed that the gods brought us together. I am truly grateful.

And in regard to Finders Keepers, and my writing overall, Liz has been an absolute champ, constantly supporting me, believing in me. She reads pages for me when I ask and she listens to ideas when I need a sounding board. I don?t always need?or even expect?a lot of feedback, but it?s great just to have someone who will listen.

And when I have those days when I?m frustrated and down, Liz is there to tell me that she believes in me, that sooner or later things will indeed take off, that tomorrow is another day, and many great things can happen in just one day. It?s those moments in particular that mean so much. And it isn?t that Liz is a big rah-rah cheerleader type?she?s not. It?s her soft smiles. It?s her understanding of just how important all this is to me.

Liz backs me by being there, day after day, week after week, year after year. She laughs with me when I?m up and she?s gentle when I?m down. She allows me to be me, and all that comes with it.

What else could I possibly ask for?

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/09/06 13:47

The last few weeks proved a real test for me. I was very energetic, gearing up for another wave of query letters?including sending sample pages requested by a local agent?when my trust printer started getting wonky on me.

I got a message on the read-out that said the color ink cartridge was out and needed replacing. I looked at the message curiously, as the color cartridge was fairly new. Still, I replaced it. And yet the message was still the same. Not good.

So after doing some onlineThe last few weeks proved a real test for me. I was very energetic, gearing up for another wave of query letters?including sending sample pages requested by a local agent?when my trust printer started getting wonky on me.

I got a message on the read-out that said the color ink cartridge was out and needed replacing. I looked at the message curiously, as the color cartridge was fairly new. Still, I replaced it. And yet the message was still the same. Not good.

So after doing some online research, I found that I needed to clean the printer heads, which were likely filled with pools of ink gunk. I did as instructed, getting red, yellow and blue ink all over my hands and arms, and then started the printer back up. Same deal. No dice.

So I went back and did yet more research, and found a bunch of other people who all had the same problem. The reality was that my printer had simply crapped out. The ink heads were done. Toast. And when that happens, it just isn?t worth the money to replace them. It?s time to buy a new printer.

Normally I would have gotten really upset. At least two weeks had gone by without being able to print out letters and keep the momentum flowing on Finders Keepers?something I can directly influence?but I decided to take a more patient approach than I?ve had in the past when these kinds of problems arise, which is me getting angry and petty, yelling at a machine for not functioning properly when I decide that it should. After all, getting upset wasn?t going to magically fix the printer, although the thought did cross my mind to smash it with a hammer until the pages started flowing. But I allowed reason to lead the way, and simply stayed calm. Patient.

In total it took about three and half weeks until I had a new printer in place, but now that it?s up and running and working like a charm, I?m back at it. Over the last week I?ve sent out a dozen query letters?including those sample pages to the agent who requested them?and have several more to go.

And yet I have to admit that a part of me missed not throwing a little tantrum over the faulty machinery?for some reason, acting so petty sometimes makes me feel important; ego stroking, I suppose?and yet the other part of me felt really satisfied that I didn?t let those petty, immature impulses dictate my attitude or my actions.

It?s amazing how much my fate can be tied to a hunk of machinery like a printer, but this is how it goes. Sometimes the printer dies, sometimes the computer dies. It happens. It?ll happen again. It?s just that being a writer in this modern age has me so dependent on these electronic gadgets?gadgets that usually work well?that when they konk out, I get frustrated. But worse, I feel helpless, which is where I think the petty tantrums come from. It?s my lashing out at my lack of control. For the most part, I don?t have the technical expertise to fix these gadgets myself?and to get instant relief from my frustration. To a certain degree, I am at their mercy.

Technology can be wonderful. And sometimes not so much. But at least the flow of agents letters is finally back on track. The buzz is flowing on Finders Keepers, and I?m back in my rhythm, feeling good.

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/09/06 06:51

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/10/16 05:43

At long last I’ve got a bunch of new photos up from the San Diego Comic-Con! So if you want to get some more flavor from the madness that was Comic-Con, go to the photos sections and check it out!

And big thanks goes out to Ray Bonn, for providing most of the new pics!

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/08/30 11:20

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/08/31 06:56At long last I’ve got a bunch of new photos up from the San Diego Comic-Con! So if you want to get some more flavor from the madness that was Comic-Con, go to the photos sections and check it out!

And big thanks goes out to Ray Bonn, for providing most of the new pics!

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/08/30 11:20

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/08/31 06:56

My name is Russ Colchamiro and I?m an insomniac.

People have asked me why I get up at 5 a.m. every day to write, instead of writing at night when I get home from work. There are several reasons, but one is that I [i]can?t [/i]write at night. Not that I?m physically unable?I can actually sit at my desk and clack the keys?but if I do, I?m screwed for the night and the next day.

My battle with insomnia started when I was about three years old. It could have started even earlier, I really My name is Russ Colchamiro and I?m an insomniac.

People have asked me why I get up at 5 a.m. every day to write, instead of writing at night when I get home from work. There are several reasons, but one is that I [i]can?t [/i]write at night. Not that I?m physically unable?I can actually sit at my desk and clack the keys?but if I do, I?m screwed for the night and the next day.

My battle with insomnia started when I was about three years old. It could have started even earlier, I really can?t be sure, but I vividly remember not being able to sleep, even at that age. I have this one particular memory of me, in my little onesy pajamas, making forts on the floor with my little desk chair, well past midnight, and thinking that it was weird that I couldn?t sleep, but that it was a little bit fun to have the extra time to let my mind wander. But as time went on, the last thing I wanted was for my mind to wander at night. That?s when I need to sleep, and I can?t do that if my mind is churning a million miles an hour.

What I?ve learned through experience is that when I write at night, my mind really starts to rev because my mental juices are really flowing. About character development, about dialog. About plot twists and details. And what comes next, and what?s missing, and if people will like my book and when I?ll be finished and when I can start marketing it and if it will get good reviews and if I?ll make money, get on the talk shows, start my next book and the one after that, but also make time to get stuff done around the house and then I?m onto what happed at work and when I have to get up and if I have enough cat food and if not when to get it when to get it where to get it and …

You get my point.

Once my mind starts racing, I can?t stop it. It?s like riding a sled on an icy mountain going downhill?it just picks up speed and doesn?t stop until it finally crashes at the bottom.

So I?ve learned?the hard way?that I need to stop writing a minimum … a minimum … of three hours before I go to bed. Since I go to bed around 10 p.m., that means I have to be done writing by 7 p.m., which doesn?t leave me much time at night. Thus, I get up at 5 a.m. It?s only time during the work week when I can sit and write and not have it wreck my nights.

About three years ago I finally conquered my insomnia, and I plan to keep it that way. But like a recovering alcoholic, it?s easy to slip up, and I have to stay away from temptation. I?m almost always tempted when I get home at night to just write a little bit, just take a few notes, tweak some dialog … blog. Anything.

Why? Because I?m a writer. Because writing calls out to me. It?s who I am. Am I addicted to writing? I don?t know. Maybe. But since I?ll be writing for as long as there?s still breath in my body I needed to figure out some boundaries so that I can function. For me, that means no writing at night.

If you have insomnia, there?s a bunch of things that you can do as part of good sleep hygiene to help train your body to sleep when you?re in bed. The key, I think, is to limit your bed activities. Sleep and sex. And that?s it.

– No TV in bed

– No reading in bed

– No eating in bed

– No talking on the phone in bed

– No iPod in bed

– No laptop in bed

– No exercise 2 hours before bed

– No eating 2 hours before bed

– If you don?t fall asleep in 15 minutes, get up and do something else. When you?re tired, back in bed.

The reason is that you want to train you body?and your mind?that when you?re in actually in your bed, it?s time to go … to … sleep.

Trust me, I didn?t go from insomniac to solid sleeper in one night, but I did adjust over time and now my sleep is reasonably normal. This isn?t to say that I never have a bad night?s sleep. Sometimes I have several bad nights in a row, sometimes even a week. But when I?m not sleeping, it?s usually because I broke some of the rules.

Another big help occurs on those nights when I?m real anxious about the next day. When that happens, I usually get out of bed?regardless of what time it is?and make a list of the all the things I want to do tomorrow. I write them down, getting it all out of my mind. That way I?m not thinking about them in bed, keeping me up all hours. When I?ve gotten that out of the way, I can just lie back, relax and sleep.

For most people, sleep is no big deal. But for me?a writer?it?s a very big deal indeed.

Liz and I have been watching the new series–Mad Men–on AMC, and I can say without hesitation that it is great. It looks and feels like it should be on HBO–in fact, HBO passed on it originally, and now admits that it probably made a mistake.

It’s about these advertising executives in 1960 who work on Madison Avenue–thus Mad Men–but it’s really about the social politics of life back then, when men drink and smoke all day in the office, have all the power, screw their secretaries and geneLiz and I have been watching the new series–Mad Men–on AMC, and I can say without hesitation that it is great. It looks and feels like it should be on HBO–in fact, HBO passed on it originally, and now admits that it probably made a mistake.

It’s about these advertising executives in 1960 who work on Madison Avenue–thus Mad Men–but it’s really about the social politics of life back then, when men drink and smoke all day in the office, have all the power, screw their secretaries and generally keep women in a state of total submission.

The lead character is Don Draper, a 40-ish executive who seems to have it all–great job, great wife and kids–but is hiding some inner turmoil and past that he doesn’t want anyone to know about. He’s got all of these secrets–most of which we don’t know about yet–and it just makes him so fascinating. The supporting characters are great, too, with lots of juicy little subplots. And it’s cheesy subplots, but many subtle moments that gives you a look into the window of these people who act like they know what they’re doing, but deep down don’t seem to have a clue.

It’s great TV. My top recommendation.

Wow. I had no idea that Superbad would be that raunchy. Word for word Superbad might be the most foul-mouthed movie I’ve ever seen. It’s actually a little bit cringe-inducing.

It’s still hilarious and loads of fun, but whoa! I wasn’t execting that.

Worth the price of admission, but definitely the raunchiest of the Apatow movies–Knocked Up and Forty Year Old Vrigin.

They really pushed the envelope on this one …Wow. I had no idea that Superbad would be that raunchy. Word for word Superbad might be the most foul-mouthed movie I’ve ever seen. It’s actually a little bit cringe-inducing.

It’s still hilarious and loads of fun, but whoa! I wasn’t execting that.

Worth the price of admission, but definitely the raunchiest of the Apatow movies–Knocked Up and Forty Year Old Vrigin.

They really pushed the envelope on this one …

As the buzz continues to build on Finders Keepers and as I get ever closer to landing an agent–and a book deal–I’m getting ready to start writing book No. 2.

And let me tell you, just the thought of it really has my juices flowing. I’m excited. And every day that goes by I get just a little more revved up, as I’ve got ideas galore. This baby’s gonna be fun …But there’s one little, itsy-bitsy obstacle standing in the way right now (other than I’m not quite ready; go time should be Oct 1)As the buzz continues to build on Finders Keepers and as I get ever closer to landing an agent–and a book deal–I’m getting ready to start writing book No. 2.

And let me tell you, just the thought of it really has my juices flowing. I’m excited. And every day that goes by I get just a little more revved up, as I’ve got ideas galore. This baby’s gonna be fun …But there’s one little, itsy-bitsy obstacle standing in the way right now (other than I’m not quite ready; go time should be Oct 1):

I’m not in shape.

Sounds weird to say it, even to me, but experience has taught me that to undertake such a massive project isn’t simply a matter of sitting down to write (although that’s a nice first step). I have to physically, emotionally and psychologically prepare myself to do it, as the next book will take me about a year to write, although hopefully less.

I kinda feel like Rocky in the first movie, when he signs on to fight Apollo. Rocky’s alarm goes off at 4 a.m. He’s groggy and miserable. It’s cold outside. He can barely get going, he struggles to complete his work out. But by the time the big fight comes … cue music–Bum bub-ba bum bub-ba bum bub-ba-bum …

And he’s in great shape, running down the streets, jumping over benches, doing on-armed push-ups and lifting crazy weights.

Well … I’m not saying I’ll be jogging through downtown Queens at 4 a.m., but I have to adjust my sleep and morning schedule to get ready to write for the next year.? By the time Oct. 1 rolls around, my schedule will something like this:

Monday, Wed., Friday (a.m.):

4:55 – alarms goes off

5:05 – shower

5:20 – get dressed, small breakfast

5:45 – feed cat

5:50 – open files, start writing

7:15 – go to work

8:30 – 10 pm – regular life stuff

10 (pm): go to sleep

Tuesday and Thursdays:

same as M, W, F, except I work out instead of writing

Saturday and Sunday?

7:00 – alarm goes off

7:30 – work out

9:00 – write (3 to 4 hours)

1 pm – 10 pm – regular life stuff

Which should amount to about 10-12 hours total writing time per week.

In all fairness, I don’t stick to this schedule every single day. Some days I’m just too tired to get up at 5 a.m. Sometimes, I’m sick, sometimes I’ve had a late night. Sometimes regular life just gets in the way. I estimate, however, that I stick to this routine about two-thirds of the time, which is pretty good, I think, all things considered.

Without this routine, I simply can’t get my writing done. I’m a chronic insomniac, so I can’t write at night (more on this later). Plus, after work is my down time, and the time I like to spend with my wife.

So I get up at 5 a.m. And when people first hear that, they tend to cringe. But here’s the thing. I find that many people get up at 6 a.m. So what’s one hour earlier? I go to bed at 10 p.m., which means that if I get right to sleep (sometimes yes, sometimes no), that’s 7 hours sleep. I’ll take it.

But it is a grind. Keeping this pace up over a long stretch isn’t easy. But for me, it’s worth it. And since I’m not at a place yet where I can write to pay the bills, I make the sacrifices to make what I love possible. Because my writing is so important to me, because I’m different without it.

At this point, I’m getting up at around 5:20 a.m. on a semi-regular basis during the week, and then "sleeping in" until about 7:30 a.m. on the weekends. So I’m not quite where I need to be, but I’ve got another month to go. And when October 1 rolls around, I’ll be in game shape. I’ll be ready.

And when that happens, look out.

I’ll be ready to roll.

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/08/26 13:51

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/08/26 13:52

On my way to work today, riding the F train, I was reading [i]American Psycho[/i] by Bret Easton Ellis. I?m about a third of the way through, and at this point in the novel lead character Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale in the movie version) is getting particularly gruesome. He?s just done some very evil things to a homeless person, all between rants about the merits of the Genesis catalog of music and which restaurant is most trendy, and therefore worthwhile of his attentions.

AnOn my way to work today, riding the F train, I was reading [i]American Psycho[/i] by Bret Easton Ellis. I?m about a third of the way through, and at this point in the novel lead character Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale in the movie version) is getting particularly gruesome. He?s just done some very evil things to a homeless person, all between rants about the merits of the Genesis catalog of music and which restaurant is most trendy, and therefore worthwhile of his attentions.

And then a young guy came up to me on the subway, probably in his early 20s, asking if the train we were on would get him to 28th street. I assured him that it would, that he could get off at the 34th street stop at Herald Square, and then walk from there. He was very polite, and thanked me.

A few minutes later, when the train stopped and we both were getting up, he thanked me again. As before, he was polite and sincere. And when we exited onto the platform, he started walking toward the 35th street exit, so I let him know that he actually wanted to go the other way. He turned around, and thanked me yet again.

I know this wasn?t a monumental exchange, but it made me feel good. In just a very small way I made someone?s life just a tiny bit better. He got something out of it, and I got to feel good about myself for a minute. It didn?t solve any of my problems or give me a grand revelation, but it reminded me of the little joys we can get out of the smallest exchanges, and that a lot of little moments add up over time.

As my hero Zig Ziglar says, the world is ultimately changed by the small words and acts that accompany our daily interactions with others.

So this was my good deed for the day. It may have been small, but in it?s own way, it felt big.