About Russ Colchamiro


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Russ Colchamiro has written 706 articles so far, you can find them below.


The Story Behind Crossline

Here’s my blog post on the Crazy 8 Web site, about the origins of my new book, Crossline:

http://www.crazy8press.com/2013/03/01/crossline-explained/

As with all great stories, Crossline was inspired by — what else — a girl.

I’ll explain.

Crossline is actually the melding of two completely disparate ideas I developed a dozen years apart. Back in the late ‘90s, I had an idea for a sci-fi comic book mini-series. A buddy of mine helped me see how big Crossline could really be, so I upped the action and then we put the very beginning of Crossline into layout. But the comic book never took off, so to speak.

Yeah. Okay, great. But … what’s this about a girl?

Well … back in high school I had a crush on a redhead, who was a tried and true American Irish lass who also happened to be fiery and passionate about all things Ireland and the IRA. So of course I had to write about it, because who better to capture ‘the troubles’ then a 16-year-old Jewish kid from Long Island who knew absolutely nothing about Ireland?

And so a trilogy of short stories came to be. They were lumpy and unpolished, but there was a real cross-border love story set within political action and intrigue, and each story was an improvement over the last. The framework for something special was in place.

(For the record, I never published the stories, and to my chagrin at the time, I never got the girl.)

And yet … I held onto the story idea, and when at long last I saw how the sci-fi component could really raise the stakes to this human drama, I started writing the novel. It took almost 25 years, but Crossline has finally arrived.

The space adventure gets the action rolling, but there’s a saga that comes with it. And lest this all sounds a bit heavy … fear not. I replaced the original teenaged angst with some philosophical musings, cosmic shenanigans, and loads of humor, cuz like Plato himself liked to say, that’s just how I roll (or maybe it was Confucius, I forget).

In any case, if Crossline sounds like your kinda thing, it will be available both in print and e-book through my pals at Crazy8 Press. Coming soon.

Crazy 8 Press to Publish Crossline

Here’s the blog from Crazy 8 Press announcing my new book, Crossline:

http://www.crazy8press.com/2013/02/16/coming-in-march-crossline-by-russ-colchamiro/

Up until now our little gang at Crazy 8 has published books by just our little band of writers — the founding members, as we like say (ahem-hem). But we finally thought, you know, it’s time we opened our doors to some of Russ Grooves an Alien

our fellow writers and bring them into the Crazy 8 family. As announced at Farpoint this afternoon, this will be our next offering and one we’re excited about.

With that, let’s  welcome our newest brother in arms — author Russ Colchamiro.

If you don’t know Russ, his debut novel was the hilarious sci-fi backpacking comedy Finders Keepers, which he published to some nice fanfare through 3 Finger Prints.

In fact, review site Ruled by Books had this to say about Russ: “There are only a handful of comedic authors that I enjoy, tops among them being Douglas Adams and Christopher Moore. After reading Finders Keepers … add Russ Colchamiro to that list.”

And now he’s back with his latest novel, Crossline, which will debut in Mid-March as the first official Crazy 8 novel written by an outside author.

So what’s Crossline about?

If you ask Russ, he calls it a modern-day Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon-style space opera, with his usual time-bending, philosophical shenanigans mixed in, as well as action, space soaring thrills, some deadly, but lovely ladies, and of course, loads of humor.

Space battles? Check

Wormholes? Check

Alternate realities? Check

Pot smoking shaman? Check

You want more? Keep checking in with us here  for further updates and pretty soon we’ll hear from Russ himself about how this crazy space opera came together.

Russ’ Newsletter: Vol. 7, No. 1 – New Book — Crossline has a Deal!

Howdy Gang!

I hope everybody had a festive New Year’s and that you’re starting off 2013 with a bang.

Liz and I had an adventurous holiday break with our little ninjas, including lots of family time, and now we’re embarking on that classic rite of passage known as potty training! We also squeezed in a few movies, including The Hobbit (2-D version), which was a bit long, but had a great last hour, and Django Unchained, which was bloody, funny, and a bit too long, but also good.

As for my adventures in writing …

Crossline is a go! I have indeed secured a publishing deal, so you will be seeing Crossline in both e-book and print versions some time in March.

Woo Hoo!

As you may have heard (from me), Crossline is a modern-day Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon-style space opera, with my usual philosophical shenanigans mixed in. To get this galactic joyride into your hands (and eyeballs), I’ll be working with the maniacs — and I say that in the best way possible — over at Crazy 8 Press, who have had quite a bit of success in their own right.

The boys at Crazy8iatics, including New York Times best-seller Peter David, as well as Robert Greenberger, Aaron Rosenberg, Glenn Hauman, Michael Jan Friedman, and Howard Weinstein have until now only published their own works, so I have the honor (or is that dishonor?!) of being the first outside author to be invited inside the walls of Castle Crazy.

I’ll have many updates to share in the coming months, including specific publishing dates, snazzy artwork, and, of course, where you can buy your very own copy!

And in case you were wondering if I’ll be doing any conventions and signings …

Russ’ Spring 2013 Convention Schedule

Okay. C’mon. Admit it. You miss me. Well … yer in luck! I’ll have a table, will be doing signings, and may also speak on a few panels at the following sci-fi shows in early Spring:

* Lunacon: March 15 -17, Rye, New York

* RocCon: April 7, Poughkeepsie, New York

If you’d like to come by, stop over and howdy-do!

Rumblings About Finders Keepers II

And while Crossline launches (ha-ha), I’m already hard at work on the first of two Finders Keepers sequels. No word yet on a publishing date, but if all goes well, we’ll be seeing our fun-loving goofballs some time in 2014.

That’s all she wrote for this edition. But stay tuned for updates in the coming weeks and I’ll be sure to have lots of new info to share about Crossline

All the best,

Russ

10 Whumpin’ Rock Songs Daughtry Should Cover

Daughtry’s Break the Spell is by far my favorite album from these guys, and as I’ve blogged about previously, I think they are going to be around a long, long time. Their songs have great hooks, and they’ve got a lead singer — Chris Daughtry himself — sporting a Hall of Fame voice (see where I rank Chris among my favorite rock n’ roll singers ever).

I’m sure the Daughtry boys are itching to get back into the studio, but while they are out there touring, they typically mix in a few cover songs into their set list, including one of my all time favorite rock songs, Rebel Yell by Billy Idol.

 

Speaking of covers, if Chris and the gang are open to suggestion, here are ten whumpin’ rock songs I’d love to hear them bang out. Some you might know, some maybe not, but either way, I think Daughtry would do them all justice:

  • Eye of the Tiger, Survivor
  • Enter Sandman, Metallica
  • Rockin’ in the Free World, Neil Young
  • Like I Do, Live
  • Cum on Feel the Noise, Quiet Riot
  • Plowed, Sponge
  • Twilight Zone, Golden Earring
  • Hazy Shade of Winter, Simon and Garfunkel
  • A Matter of Trust, Billy Joel
  • No Easy Way, Robert Tepper

I’m sure there are many others the Daughtry boys would do justice. Any songs you’d like to hear them cover?

Russ’ Movie Review: Skyfall – Shaken … or Stirred?

There’s been a lot of chatter out there about whether or not Skyfall truly measures up as one of the better, or even elite, James Bond movies, with Casino Royale generally considered by many (including me), to be one of the best in the series and certainly the best Bond outing in many years.

There have been those who felt Skyfall didn’t hit the mark, or that while it is a good movie, it isn’t a good James Bond movie. But I’m here to say this:

Skyfall.

Kicks.

Ass.

Skyfall is not only one of the best Bond movies in the entire 007 series, it’s one of the better movies I’ve seen this year.

What Worked: There is a LOT to like about Skyfall. First, it’s just a great looking and sounding movie, with exotic locales and all the polish a Bond movies deserves.

But on to Mr. Bond himself. Now in his third go as 007, Daniel Craig has never looked more comfortable in the character. Clearly a few years older since he first took the role, he really seems to understand who and what Bond is, and how to embody such an iconic character. Craig has the physical brute force required to handle death-defying situations, the intelligence for the ‘spy’ aspects, and enough charm to woo those lovely ladies.

Skyfall also gives us perhaps the most humanized take of James Bond in the entire series. The detractors say that such human foibles take away from 007, and led to their disappointment. I agree that the existential crisis Bond goes through would only work once. Skyfall has to be a stand-alone entry; it cannot be the model for future outings. But as a one-off, I found the layers of Bond quite compelling, and, in fact, drew me deeper into the character than ever before.

The plot, which borders on being too layered at times, has an actual story and theme, with Bond and others given the time to talk and think and reveal themselves. Unlike many Bond movies, there are only a handful of action sequences, allowing the story to unfold much more organically than we usually get with 007. The rewards are that I was genuinely interested in what was happening, rather than just waiting for something to blow up real good.

Beyond Craig himself, the cast is mostly superb. Judi Dench, as always, is fantastic as M, and we also get believable and even quirky performances from Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whipshaw as the new Q, and Berenice Marlohe as one of the most exotic and alluring Bond girls in a long, long time. And, of course, Javier Bardem as the villain Silva has just the right mix of being twistedly over the top without being a cartoon. He’s a warped mind with a real plan. Quite simply, he is a deadly and unpredictable foil for Mr. Bond.

The fun is back. After the pretty weak and unpolished Quantum of Solace, Skyfall was far more self aware and humorous, and those lighter moments helped elevate — and loosen up — what is a pretty intense movie start to finish. Whereas Casino Royale was more overt popcorn movie, Skyfall is more intense thriller.

What Didn’t Work: Without giving away too much, there wasn’t enough time spent with the Bond girls themselves. Bond is at his most devilish fun when he’s sparring with (and bedding) the delicious Bond girls, and in Skyfall, those scenes are a bit sparse, and one of the reasons I think the detractors didn’t feel that Skyfall was a true “Bond” movie.

Speaking of Bond girls, Naomi Harris as field agent Eve fell flat. Compared to the other performers, she was the weak link. She just didn’t exude the … Bond girlness … we want, and she didn’t bring enough sizzle to the repartee with 007.

As for the plot, Director Sam Mendes said that Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight gave him the confidence to tackle certain themes that are typically absent in popcorn action movies. But with Skyfall, some of the plot is essentially an exact replica of The Dark Knight. The plot works within Skyfall unto itself, but I felt that, not only had I seen this before, I had just seen this before.

The plot also hinged on some pretty incredible timing, in parts, and I’m not sure it would really hold up under tighter scrutiny. Then again, it’s a James Bond movie, so how tight do we expect the plots to be? A minor blip, but a blip nonetheless.

Finally, the opening sequence is an extended action piece that, on paper, delivers real excitement. And at times, it did. But in others, I found the directing to be a bit mechanical. I wasn’t always as riveted as I wanted to be.

Shaken or Stirred?: Skyfall is an intense, riveting and thoroughly entertaining entry in the James Bond franchise that actually had something to say about fighting terror in the modern world, and in fact, is one of the best entrees in the entire 007 series. In some ways I liked Skyfall better than Casino Royale, although it’s not quite as fun, and time will tell if it will have that same “re-watchability” factor.

Whereas Casino Royale was a reboot, Skyfall is re-invigoration.

Skyfall missed opportunities, but for a James Bond fan that demands a real movie with his popcorn fun, I found that Skyfall delivered in a big, big way, and nicely sets up the coming adventures with a character that has finally shed his past so that he can fully engage in the future.

I can’t wait for what 007 has in store for us next.

 

Finders Keepers Hits NY Comic-Con 2012

Sorry I’m a little late on this one, but I’m still catching my breath after the NY Comic-Con.

I was there on Thursday of the 4-day event, but I got more than my money’s worth. Comic-Con is always such a madhouse, with Thursday being the most manageable day by far.

While there I got to see some of my writer pals, including No Small Bills and Too Small For Tall author Aaron Rosenberg, and Glenn Hauman — both with Crazy 8 Press — as well as Keith DeCandido and Star Trek author stud David Mack.

And, as always, I had my adventures with long-time partner-in-crime Rich Henn, who was out there slinging comics like a madman. We wound up having late-night burgers and beers — all was good in the end. Although the fries were wire-thin curly cue, so you had to eat them with a fork – or by the handful. Not prime French fry logistics, but that should only be my biggest problem.

During the show itself, I was out there doing the usual Finders Keepers promotion, and made a new fans, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, of course, this dude:

 

 

 

 

This will likely be my last show of 2012, but based on what’s in the hopper, it’s starting to look like 2013 will be quite a year indeed!

 

Russ’ Newsletter: Vol. 6, No. 4 – 500,000 Hits for Finders Keepers!

Hi Gang-

With just two weeks until Liz and I jump off to Mexico to celebrate our ten year wedding anniversay — yep, it’s been ten years! Whoa! — I’ve got a special Finders Keepers update I think you’ll enjoy:

* As Finders Keepers continues to make its way in the world, it recently reached a pretty cool milestone. For those of you who are unaware, I was one of just a handful of  authors hand-picked a while back by Publishers Weekly to participate in one of its new partner outlets — Wattpad.com — to post content online. The Wattpad Web site is designed to give up-and-coming authors a venue to post their work, and, ultimately, get discovered.

With a steady readership I’m proud to say that Finders Keepers has now reached and surpassed the 500,000 hits plateau. That’s right, readers have now clicked on to at least portions of my debut novel more than a half a million times.

What will this all mean?

Not sure yet, but either way I’m feeling pretty darn good about it. And — pardon the pun — the hits just keep on coming. Is it possible I’ll eventually reach 1 million hits? Let’s find out …

BIG BIG BIG THANKS! to Publishers Weekly, Wattpad, and all the fans who keep on reading!

* And speaking of Finders Keepers, I have now begun my initial work on the first of two sequels! Yep. At long last I am revisiting the adventures of our international and cosmic globetrotting knuckleheads Jason Medley and Theo Barnes, and already have a pretty good idea of the kind of trouble they’ll be getting themselves into this time.

Expect more traveling, more philosophical shenanigans, and, of course, my customary doses of humor, fun, and cosmic lunacy.

There’s loads more to discuss, including highlights from the 2012 NY Comic-Con, but I’ll be sharing those in a special edition newsletter real soon.

Until then …

All the Best,

Russ

Summer TV/Movie Recap: Spiderman, The Dark Knight, Sons of Anarchy and More …

Now that I’ve had a little time to reflect, here’s my rundown of my summer’s TV and movie watching. Have to say, all in all it was pretty darn good:

For my money, The Amazing Spiderman was the best entry in the franchise. I’ve heard complaints that it was too soon to reboot, but I’m not buying it. The Tobey Maquire movies certainly had their moments — the first one being my favorite — but this latest iteration had a great combination of ‘realism’ (as far these things go), fun, humor and lots of heart. The new Peter Parker, played by Andrew Garfield, just seemed far more like a realistic teenager to me. Awkward, confused, but not a total loser dork. And now he’s Spiderman! And they amped up his scientific genius, which was always a core element of the character. Martin Sheen was a GREAT Uncle Ben, and Emma Stone really nailed it as Gwen Stacy. I will admit that the CGI on the Croc wasn’t always great, and the Uncle Ben death scene does have a pretty big flaw, but overall I thought The Amazing Spiderman was great. I can’t wait to see more.

As for The Dark Knight Rises … it was EPIC and intense and a great bookend to the entire three-movie arc. I will say that this last entry wasn’t quite as pure fun as the first two, and, when you take a step back, it has a few plot points that don’t quite hold up, but all in all it was big bang for the buck. Anne Hathaway was especially good, and while Bane wasn’t quite as mesmerizing as The Joker (who could be?), he was a lethal adversary for sure. The creators swung BIG, and for the most part, they landed. I’m really curious to see who takes the reigns next and how they interpret the character.

As for The Avengers, I know it’s sort of geek blasphemy to say, but I didn’t love it. It was kinda entertaining, but I found it to be very loud, very long, and pretty superficial. It looked great, had lots of humor, the HULK was awesome, and the finale did kick some major butt. I’m just hoping that the sequel has more meat on the bones.

On the TV front, Liz and I have been watching The Newsroom. It’s kind of a mixed bag.  The show did get off to a pretty lousy start, and as the season progressed, the intensity and thrill got better overall, and, at times, was great. And Jeff Daniels and Sam Waterston are both great. But one of the shows major weaknesses — and it’s huge — is that the female characters, are, by and large, portrayed as schizo, man-pleasing morons often on the verge of a nervous breakdown over their boyfriends. They just can’t be THIS whacked-out and be the media dream team. The ‘media elite’ as they call themselves on the show. It’s a MAJOR flaw, and one I hope they fix. It’s a show that should be much better than it is.

I’m a little late to the game, but after three seasons of Sons of Anarchy … I’m in. It’s intense, twisty, and extremely violent, but if you like shows like The Shield and Breaking Bad, SOA is worth checking out. I won’t put SOA quite at that level, but it is damn good. These dudes are pure outlaws, and I know I shouldn’t care about them, because they really do pretty bad things pretty often. And yet … I do care. Good TV.

Speaking of Breaking Bad … wow. Just wow. Assuming the final eight episodes hold up (grrrrr … not ’til next July!), Breaking Bad will go down as one of the great TV shows of all time. Bryan Cranston was better than ever, and this last season was filled with great acting across the board, tons of tension, and great plot twists. It is, simply … GREAT.

Next up I still need to watch season 4 of SOA so I can get up to speed for season 5, which started. And Sept. 30 we get the season premieres of Dexter and  Homeland, so I’m pretty psyched there. Otherwise I’ll be watching the final season of The Office, the next season of The Big Bang Theory, and maybe I’ll check out a few of the new shows. Where I’ll find the time, I have no idea, but at least I’ve got some TV to look forward to.

And when it comes to movies … it’s all about Bond. James Bond. Skyfall opens in November. And I. Can’t. Freakin. Wait.

What are you watching …?

Russ’ Newsletter: Vol. 6, No. 3: Crossline Ready to Rock!

Hey Gang-

It was a long, crazy summer on my end, and with that a lot of news to report.

On the home front, my little ninja man decided to make a jail break out of his crib last week, and wound up breaking his wrist. It was my first trip to the ER as a dad, and while I sure hope it’s my last, I have a feeling it won’t be! Little ninja man is doing just fine, and will get his cast off in about three more weeks.

As for my adventures with words and such …

CROSSLINE IS COMPLETE!

It’s been a long time coming, but at long last my second novel — Crossline — is done! D-O-N-E done-done-done. Coming in at just over 90,000 words, Crossline is a fast-paced, modern-day space opera filled with action, adventure, my usual time-bending, philosophical shenanigans, and of, course, loads of humor.

It’s a great feeling to have polished off this bad boy, let me tell you.

But rest assured you will see Crossline in print in 2013 … one way or another!

Yeah, baby!

FINDERS KEEPERS SEQUEL ON TAP

So now that Crossline is done, what’s next? Ooooh. Glad you asked.

While I work on the business side of Crossline, I’ll be heading right back into the lab and will be hard at work on the first of  two Finders Keepers sequels!

That’s right. Your favorite globe-trotting knuckleheads Jason Medley and Theo Barnes will be at it again, off on another adventure where they try to figure out their place in the Universe without, you know … destroying it in the process.

My goal is to have Finders Keepers II ready to go by the end of 2013, so I better get cracking!

* MORE MILESTONE AHEAD

That’s all she wrote for this edition, but I can say it’s all but a guarantee that I’ll have another very cool milestone to announce next time. So until then, enjoy this fabulous weather, and to my Jewish friends, happy holidays …

All the Best!
Russ

www.russcolchamiro.com
@FindKeepNovel

 

Russ’ Newsletter: Vol. 6, Issue 2 – Crossline Follows Father’s Day

Hi Gang-

I’m back after a bit of newsletter hiatus, as I had an unusually hectic few months that required my attentions on multiple fronts. But I’m happy to report lotsa good stuffing coming. The best news, of course, is that my little ninjas are happy and healthy, and in fact have their second birthday coming up in August, if you can believe it. Good gravy!

As for my writing endeavors:

* At the end of March I had a table at the annual ICON sci-fi event in Stonybrook, where Finders Keepers sales were a bit off from last year, but still posed a very strong showing. The questions I was asked most often throughout the weekend? When is the sequel coming out, and will a movie follow?

The answers are: I start the first of two Finders Keepers sequels at the end of the summer and …. I sure as heck hope so! I’m working on it! For an inside look into a potential dream movie cast, click here.

And check out some new integalactic fans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was also fun catching up at the show with fellow authors Aaron Rosenberg, Keith DeCandido and Patrick Thomas.

* Speaking of Finders Keepers, here is a recent compliment, one of the most passionate responses I’ve received in a while: “I can spend an eternity here reading this stunning tale. It was an addicting sling of words that spun a silken web around me, entombed me and I just couldn’t pry myself away from it.”

* As for my newest endeavor, here’s the latest and greatest on Crossline. I will be spending the rest of this month doing intense line edits, fine tuning every last word to ensure that we come away with a rock’ em, sock ’em ass-kicking space adventure … with my usual time bending, philosophical shenanigans included.

After that, I turn the manuscript over to my loyal, trusted and fabulous copy editor Barney O’Neill — who did a bang-up job in the same capacity on Finders Keepers — to ensure that there’s not a word out of place.

And then … get this sucker published!

* Last but not least let me give a special shout out to my beautiful wife, Liz, who just celebrated a birthday, and also to all the dad’s out there for a festive and happy Father’s Day.

That’s all she wrote for this edition. Liz and I are headed off next weekend for a much-need vacation to Spring Lake, N.J., where we’ll spend three days on the beach, staring out at the ocean, while my ninjas and Simon storm the castle, er … get quality time with their grandparents.

Until next time …

All the Best,

Russ

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