The “I don’t want to buy something I already own” Blues

This is an old article I wrote back in 2014. I feel it’s worth reposting. 🙂

One of my biggest fears is having to re-buy all my DVD’s in another “New Gen” form of media. It’s a nightmarish notion I refer to as the “Mediapocalypse!”

Remember when we all had cassette tapes? I had maybe thirty tapes in my collection, and I really drug my feet over to CDs.  I think I had to re-buy maybe fifteen of my albums again. Even at the young age of 18-19 years old, I felt a very clear sense of wrongness in that act. Dude, I paid $8 for that Metallica Master of Puppets tape and now I got to pay another $12 for the CD! That’s bullshit!

Oh, but I have done much worse since…

Back in the early and mid 90’s, there was a monthly comic book convention that I attended in King of Prussia, PA. I almost always drove up with my friends, Chris and Sean. (And we almost always forgot Bob.) (That’s a story for another time.) We mostly went to meet comic book artists and hold rounds of witty banter with them while getting sketches done, but Chris and I were also into Japanese Animation.

This little comic convention, held in the basement of a Holiday Inn, was perfect for just that. They always had a bunch of different vendors blaring clips from movies, so it was easy to get an idea of what you might like by just standing near a vendor’s table for five minutes.

One day, I bought something like seven VHS tapes. All of a fantasy anime called The Record of Lodoss War. They were bad copies, and get this, they were subtitled by fans. “FOR FANS BY FANS” – the title screen would say. What that meant was: missing words, wrong words, and different names for different characters. It was a year before I knew the main character’s name was Parn, not Pern or Pan. I mean I kinda thought it was Parn… from the Japanese men and women screaming it… but when you have read Pern enough on screen, yeah, it sinks in.

Anyway, for as bad as these copies were, my friends and I loved them and watched them a bunch of times.  Six months or so later, I was at the convention again and guess what? These two guys who we bought most of your videos from had NEW copies that were crystal-clear but had no subtitles and no dubbing. Pure Japanese language! Yep, I bought them all. Now we could at least watch this awesome epic fantasy series in good quality.

You might think that was enough, right? Nope, some years later, I saw that The Record of Lodoss War was being released in America and it had real official subtitles! Score! I ordered it, of course. Now I had three full versions of the show.

I would love to say that is the end of this tale, but it’s not. A couple years passed, and one day I was looking in a catalogue and wouldn’t you know, a The Record of Lodoss War box set…and…wait for it….wait for it….DUBBED!!! OMG! Dubbed? Really?  So, I ordered that bad boy post-haste.  Now, my friends and I could watch it all in crystal-clear VHS quality and hear the lines spoke in English. No more bad subtitles for us! And holy crap the main character’s name was Parn! Confirmed!

VHS Set

So, here is where I get my sick fear of another change in media. Maybe like eight-nine years ago, and seventeen-eighteen years after my first purchase of the series, I found a DVD set of The Record of Lodoss War on Amazon.com and of course, I ordered it.

Recap!

—bad quality version with homemade subtitles on VHS.  Check!

—good quality version with no subtitles, pure Japanese on VHS.  Check!

—official version with subtitles on VHS.  Check!

—official version with dubbing on VHS (box set).  Check!

—good quality version with English dubbing on DVD.  Check!

Yes, I have owned five versions of the Lodoss War. I only own the DVD set now. Okay-okay, I guess at one point I had like 30-35 VHS tapes of the show.

DVD Set

Can you blame me for fearing a future media change? Not counting my forty or more box sets of shows like Buffy, Angel, Rome, True Blood, Spartacus, and all the GI JOES… I must have like 200+ DVDs.  And I, for damn sure, don’t want to buy them all…all over again. Hell no!  Do you know what a season of Star Trek on DVD used to cost??? Seriously, the thought of having to do that makes my skin all red and splotchy… I think I might be getting some sort of weird, “I don’t want to purchase something I already own” hive. 

Wait… Is that a Blu-Ray copy of The Avengers?

*sigh*

2022 Update – YES, I bought Lodoss War in streaming format. Like you even needed to ask!

Kevin James Breaux

www.kevinbreaux.com

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ONE SMOKING HOT FAIRY TAIL has a new edition!

Hi all,

ONE SMOKING HOT FAIRY TAIL (OSHFT) is book one in a series of urban fantasy novels I wrote a few years ago and now it is available in its second edition.

Click here to order at Amazon.com

I’m very proud of this book. I’m very proud of this series. Personally, this was a great accomplishment for me as an author. OSHFT has received many awards and great praise. So has the other books in the series: TWO POLLUTED BLACK-HEART ROMANCES and THREE BURNING RED RUNAWAY BRIDES. The series itself has even won awards.

I decided that this year was a good time to prepare a second edition. I did another edit pass and cleaned up a few small mistakes. I redesigned the interior formatting and made some changes to the cover. I’m happy with the results and want to promote it with lots of zeal again!

Maybe in a couple months, like the end of the year, I will work on a second edition of TWO POLLUTED BLACK-HEART ROMANCES. It needs some changes to my social media accounts and probably has a typo or two inside. What novel doesn’t, right? When I was a kid, my dad loved to point out mistakes in books by Robert Ludlum or Steven King. This was long before I started writing. I think he showed me because he wanted me to see that no one was perfect. Or maybe he just found it funny. Who knows?

What is OSHFT about? Here’s the synopsis.

America’s population is slowly dying due to an epidemic, and Alexander, an ancient, immortal shaman, has medicine that can heal people. It has one small side effect—Alexander’s able to control the minds of anyone taking the drug, nicknamed “dust.”

Alexander plans to take over the country once dust is released to the general public, crushing anyone who stands in the way. He needs just a little bit more of a certain magical ingredient to make the medication work properly: fairy wings.

​An intelligent, stunning fairy, Sabrina was also America’s sweetheart—until a video of a crime she was involved in surfaces, nearly destroying her. A year later, she’s finally ready to step back into the spotlight. Together with her bodyguard, Mira, a water spirit in human form, Sabrina’s prepared to start over.

​Things are starting to look up until she meets Alexander in a club and goes from social outcast to tortured captive in the blink of an eye. Will she be able to escape the evil shaman and his mind-controlled slaves in time to save herself and everyone she cares about?

This is Sabrina London with her wings on display.

Here Are A Few Review Quotes

“Kevin Breaux takes no prisoners! This is raw, funny, edgy, unapologetic and highly weird. Buckle up.” -Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of Patient Zero and Kill Switch.

“I absolutely loved the mythology that Breaux created—placing a creative twist to the fairy tales that we know and love today.” -Arely of The Fantastical World of Wonders Book Review Blog.

“The story is chock-full of action that involves a ton of paranormal creatures who are all existing in the human world. But threaded within the story are other miniature vignettes in time and from history about how all these characters got to this place.” Christi Snow – Author and Book Reviewer.

“With each turn of a page the story, the characters, the tone, and the mood seem to change in the most breath-taking ways.” – Billy Dale Green.

Let’s not forget Moselle.

Hope you check them out. Give ONE SMOKING HOT FAIRY TAIL a try if you enjoy things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood, Sookie Stackhouse, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, The White Wolf RPG games… etc. 🙂

Thanks all!

Write Makes Might!

Kevin James Breaux

www.kevinbreaux.com

My New Novel Has Been Out for Two Months Now.

On my Kindle app. Click the picture to put it on yours!

Hi all,

My new novel Young Davy Crockett: The Wild Frontier with Dinosaurs was released on 2/22/22. A really exciting set of numbers for a really exciting release day for me.

Since its release a few reviews have come. Overall good ones too. I even won an award.

Here is a link to this review at Literary Titan.

In this post, I would like to share just a few of the reviews I have received for Young Davy Crockett: The Wild Frontier with Dinosaurs. Thanks!

Review:

Young Davy Crockett is a fast-paced adventure story with plenty of hunting action. When Davy Crockett comes home after a lengthy absence, he discovers that many of the hunters in his community have vanished. Davy, who is a talented hunter, understands that hunters only go missing when they are being chased by something more competent than them. Davy makes it his mission to figure out what’s going on by searching the neighbouring forests, but what he finds is something he’s never seen before: dinosaurs.

Kevin James Breaux’s History vs. Pre-history Series begins with this enthralling novel. It was such a wonderful read, free of clients and with a new and original plot that was devoid of any clichés. The writing style is ideal for younger adult readers who want a lot of action from the very first page and throughout the novel. Davy is a bold figure who is capable of facing the unknown and uncovering the mystery of the missing hunters, as readers will discover. Breaux deftly crafts a compelling narrative out of reality, fantasy, science, and history.

This work has aspects of historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction, as well as thriller elements. While this work included all of those qualities, it also contained much more. It was a dark story with a lot of action and unexpected turns, not light and joyful story. The action and repercussions scenarios are constantly stacked on top of one other. The characters are amusing, though occasionally terrible. I must admit, the notion is extremely unusual and, at times, perplexing. In future works, Mr Breaux has allowed himself plenty of space for character growth. Breaux has done an amazing job with world-building. I had a clear picture in my mind of the places these folks visit. The finale was surprising and fantastic, and it left me eagerly anticipating the next book! – @reads_nancy on Instagram.

Review:

Young Davy Crockett is a fun and wild read full of adventure and hunting action. Davy, a thirteen year old boy was sent by his father away from town for a hunting job. He returned to his town almost a year later to find that some of the hunters of his town have gone missing.

This can mean only one thing : A better hunter is hunting them! What could be this wild beast? Never in his wild dreams, Davy had imagined that it’s a dinosaur that’s hunting the hunters and is the reason behind hunters going missing.

I loved reading this book. It was such a refreshing book, free of clićhes, with a fresh and original story, devoid of all familiar tropes. I liked Davy’s character, he is bold and savage, loves being in nature and is a hunter to the core. But what makes him likeable is that he is kind and genuinely cares about people.

The book is enjoyable and I was looking forward to the adventures while reading it. It has a really nice story and Davy makes a good protagonist. The writing style is effortless, lucid and perspicuous. The language used is simple, making this book accessible to all. Also, the story is such that it can be enjoyed by readers of all age. – @rubyisreading_ on Instagram.

Read this one below.

Review:

Young Davy Crockett: The Wild Frontier with Dinosaurs by award-winning
author Kevin James Breaux is set in Tennessee in 1798 and
follows the exploits of the young but capable hunter. Davy had just
returned from a month-long task that was forced upon him by his
father when he found out that local hunters who had ventured into
the forest never returned. This is troubling news, as it can only
mean one thing; the hunters are now the hunted. Davy sets out to
track the mysterious beast and kill it before more lives are lost, but
his quarry is a fierce beast and even deadlier than a cougar. Davy
isn’t aware that such a beast should not be taken lightly nor that it
should not be possible for such an animal to be alive in this day and
age. In this thrilling book, two worlds collide as animals from the
Jurassic period roam the Earth once more. Will Davy, the greatest
hunter of all, bring home a prized trophy, or will he be the hunted?

Young Davy Crockett was a thrilling and imaginative book. It was
my first time reading a western that had dinosaurs in it and though
outlaws, gunslingers, and duels weren’t present, it was still a blast
to read. The main reason is the thrill that I got from the scenes
where Davy is out hunting. I had no idea that a hunt could be so
suspenseful and exhilarating, as I believed that hunting mainly
involved waiting in a bush followed by more waiting in a bush for
one’s prey. To my surprise though, it turns out that hunting involves
a lot more than simply waiting and that it is very interesting. Kevin
James Breaux has conveyed the thrill of a hunt perfectly. The
author described the hunts beautifully and with ample details.
Another good thing about this book for me was the plot. The plot
was extraordinary, considering that this was a short story, yet it felt
complete and not rushed or lacking anything crucial in any way. It
held my interest and focus throughout its duration and had a few
surprises for me. It was an excellent and unique plot as well, and I
can tell that the next entries in this series will be a joy to read. I’d
like to recommend this compelling and memorable read to readers
that desire a short but excellent book. – Reviewed by Nicholus Schroeder for Readers’ Favorite and given 5 Stars!

Have I convinced you to give it a try yet? If so, check it out here on Amazon Kindle.

Thanks for your time!

Write Makes Might!

Kevin James Breaux

www.kevinbreaux.com

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A Little Background…

Hey all! Since this is a new blog, let me give you a little background into my writing history. I’ll be brief. 🙂

I started writing when I was a kid. Just something to do for fun and pass the time. Later, when I was in college, I decided to try and actually write a book. After a couple years, writing maybe once or twice a month, I had a book done. My dad and I edited it and I found a vanity press to publish it. Done!

Around that time, I started to meet other authors. Professionals. This is before social media, so when I say I was meeting people, I was actually meeting them in bookstores and such. Meeting them in person.

I was invited to a local writer’s group. At this point, I was writing short stories and wanted to see if I could sell one. The writer’s group I joined was a local PA/NJ chapter of the HWA (Horror Writer’s Assoc.) and it was run by Jonathan Maberry. This was before his first fiction novel, GHOST ROAD BLUES, was published; back when he only had a few short stories and “guidebooks” in print.

Jonathan taught me everything. And in no time, I had sold my first short story and was able to officially join the HWA. This was back in 2006-2007.

Taking what I had learned from Jonathan, I reworked my writing career. I started selling a lot of short stories. I rewrote and re-edited my written novels. I created detailed submission packages with professionally written queries, synopses, summaries and more.

I was growing as an author every day and it wasn’t long before I was getting manuscript requests.

Another skill Jonathan taught me was how to write a full-length novel of 80-100K words in nine months. With that skill, I wrote what I consider to be my best work.

More and more submission packages went out. Remember, this is back when all agent submissions were snail mail. Yes. Snail mail.

After mailing them, you had to wait. It could be anywhere from two to six or even twelve months before you had an answer. That being said, I had multiple manuscript requests. In fact, the number of requests I received from 2007-2010 was pretty impressive, when you look back at it. Even more impressive once all submissions turned to emails. I would get a partial or full request 2-3 times a month.

That is when I had my first real publishing deal with a small press publisher (that’s a long story for another time).

2011 Book Signing at Powells.

During the years that followed, when I had two novels out in small press, and some short stories out in e-book format, I began to gain a following. People recognized my work. I had good reviews and book signings in bookstores. In 2011, Powell’s invited me to the Authorfest for the first time!

Bigger things were happening too. I had a TV production company reach out to me to write scripts for a Viking Age TV show (not VIKINGS). I turned them down. And I had a movie production company review my one movie. This was a crazy moment. My unpublished novel went against a published one and…of course came in second place. The movie production company decided to make Mortal Instruments into a movie instead of my book ONE SMOKING HOT FAIRY TAIL. This still burns my butt a little. Why? Well, because I needed an agent’s help back. With a literary agent supporting me, I might have gotten that movie deal.

This is a tale of a foul-mouthed, fairy princess after a fall from grace. She had it all: fame, fortune, beauty… and now she is being hunted for her wings.

About two years later, I was signed by a New York Literary Agency. Like all authors, I felt like I had won the lottery. But that agent did not do the things they promised me. I was told there would be a spreadsheet shared with me that I could track all their submissions to publishers. I never saw it. So, who knows if they really did any work for me at all. After two years of nothing but excuses, I parted ways with them.

At this point, with my one series being self-published, the rollercoaster ride was slowing down. I was questioning my future as an author, when suddenly I got a new publishing deal for the epic fantasy series that had been published before (the original publisher broke contract). I felt like I was back in business. New books being published. New book events. New book signings. I was promoting a lot. Getting good reviews…etc.

BOOM. COVID.

Book events stopped. Book signings stopped. The new publisher of my epic fantasy series stopped paying me and broke contract. I kinda felt like giving up. I kinda did give up.

But then the one book I had written, the only one yet to be unpublished, suddenly got a publishing deal. And a good deal. At a publisher I really respected. I am talking about the new YA/MG book that was just published on 2/22/22.

It’s funny. Many years prior, Jonthan Maberry challenged me to write a YA/MG horror book. I accepted the challenge and wrote that book. But with it being a new genre for me, I only did light submissions for it over the years. Its publisher being the very last place I sent it.

So, never give up. Clearly.

This brings us to today. I have another book deal in the works. And I am rebranding my social media. Want to see my publishing history to get a picture of the road I have traveled? I pasted it below.

Thanks so much for reading this brief history of my writing career!

Write Makes Might!

Kevin James Breaux

www.kevinbreaux.com

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Kevin James Breaux – Publishing History

—————–2020——————–

YOUNG DAVY CROCKETT: THE WILD FRONTER WITH DINOSAURS – Suspense Publishing – 2/22/22

—————–2020——————–

BLOOD DIVIDED – Azure Spider – 9/15/20

** Silver Award – Literary Titan Book Review December 2020

—————–2019——————–

THREE BURNING RED RUNAWAY BRIDES – 1/14/19

** Gold Award – Literary Titan Book Review March 2019

**2nd Place Best Series Award Winner Paranormal Romance Guild 1/2020

—————–2018—————–

SOUL BORN – Azure Spider – 11/15/2018

** Gold Award – Literary Titan Book Review Jan 2019

**2nd Place Award Winner Paranormal Romance Guild 2/2021

—————–2017—————–

TWO POLLUTED BLACK-HEART ROMANCES – 6/7/2017

** Gold Award – Literary Titan Book Review August 2017

** Paranormal Romance Guild Nominated Book 2/18 and 2nd Place winner

THE LIFEBLOOD OF ILL-FATED WOMEN – 1/1/2017

** Gold Award – Literary Titan Book Review March 2017

—————–2016—————–

ENDING SUMMER NIGHTS – 10/28/16 – self-published ebook

ONE SMOKING HOT FAIRY TAIL – 4/6/16

**Pitch Perfect Pick Winner 6/22/16.

**Paranormal Romance Guild Nominated Book 2/17 and 1st Place Winner.

** Gold Award – Literary Titan Book Review April 2017

**1st Place Award Winner! Best New Paranormal Novel – Paranormal Romance Guild 2/2017

—————–2015—————–

SOUL BORN – Reborn Edition 1/20/2015 – self-published 4th Edition 2/6/2018

DARK WATER: BEAMING SMILE – self-published ebook – 1/15/2015

—————–Earlier—————–

Dead Man’s Party – short – ebook – Hellfire Publishing – 7/26/2013

The Journal of USS Indianapolis Survivor: Stefanos “Stevie” Georgiou” – Zombie Jesus and Other True Stories Anthology – Dark Moon Press – 11/3/2012

***3rd place Preditors and Editors poll 2012

She. Her. You. – Slices of Flesh Anthology. – Dark Moon Press – 3/29/2012

***Bram Stoker Nominated

Beer VS Zombies – Dark Moon Digest Magazine Issue #7 – 3/20/2012

Blood Divided – Dark Quest Books – 12/30/2011

Geek’s-eye View – article – Suspense Magazine November Issue 11/6/2011

Dark Water: Beaming Smile – Hellfire Publishing 10/2011

3rd place Preditors and Editors poll 2011

How the Castle BREAUX was built. – article – Suspense Magazine August Issue 8/10/2011

Top that Pokemon! – article – Suspense Magazine July Issue 7/1/2011

Mother’s Milk – Too Much Boogie – L-L Publications 4/2011

A Battle of Ego – Anthology of Ichor III – UnEarthedPress 4/2011

A Way to a Man’s Heart is Through His Stomach – Hellfire Publishing e-book 4/2011

Soul Born – Dark Quest Books – 11/30/2010

***1st place Preditors and Editors poll 2010

The Darkness part #7

A Tale of Many Reviews as part of the 2010 Spooktacular Event 10/2010

Ending Summer Nights – Lucrezia Magazine 5/2010

***9th placed P&E poll 2010

Only the Dead will Stand – Dead History: a zombie anthology Living Dead Press 2/2010

Love in the Time of ZOMBIES – Lucrezia Magazine 8/2009

For The Team – Bare Back Magazine 8/2009

Bang! PORTUGAL – Lucrezia Magazine 2/2009

***3rd place Preditors and Editors Poll 2009

Dead Man’s Party (original version) 1st publishing to Written World Magazine 6/2008

2nd publishing to Lucrezia Magazine 11/2008

Welcome Back!

I used to blog about my books and history as an author over on Blogger. I still have two blogs there, one for my Water Kingdom Series and one for the Soul Born Saga. But it was time for a reboot. I have been rebranding in the last year. Why? Largely because I have a new novel out at a new publisher. In fact, my first venture into the YA realm. Please note, I am not a YA author. Or plan to switch to only YA works. I’m a wicked word slinger who considers themselves multi-genre. I do NOT like being stuck in one box. I like to try new things. And years ago, when I was challenged to write a MG/YA book, with a scary thriller or horror theme, by my mentor Jonathan Maberry, I did not back down. I wrote that book and I shopped it around until it found a publisher I liked.

Which brings us to today. That book, Young Davy Crockett: The Wild Frontier with Dinosaurs – Book One in the History vs. Pre-history Series, was released this week on 2/22/22 by Suspense Publishing. (2/22/22! Yes, on a Tuesday!)

Found here in Kindle format. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S4QK5KZ

With this new book release, came the realization that I needed to start a new blog about my works. Hope you enjoy it.

Write Makes Might!

Kevin James Breaux

www.kevinbreaux.com

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