Tag: woolastonentertainment

Self-Publishing Thru Queens Public Library

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Wednesday, November 12, 2014: Self Publishing Thru Queens Public Library

Welcome back, everyone! This week’s blog is for my fellow indie writers: those of you who have self-published your work, or are thinking about self-publishing.  One of the challenges I face as a writer, is simply getting people to read my work.  Gaining exposure can be difficult.  Thankfully, I came across a wonderful resource which may help solve that problem: The Queens Public Library.  For those of you in NY, or at least familiar with NY, my wonderful state is broken into 5 boroughs (“counties” in other states).  There’s Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island.  I live in Queens, and I use the Queens Public Library ALOT.  A librarian recently informed me, QPL has a new program, where writers can publish their work in the form of an ebook, and make their work available for patrons to borrow through the library system.  You won’t receive any royalties for this, but it is a great way to gain some exposure.  I have decided to participate.  Below, is a link to the QPL site, where writers wan upload their work for consideration:

http://www.queenslibrary.org/services/self-publish

I strongly recommend this.  When you upload your work, you also have the option of including  a link to a website, if  a physical copy of your book is available for sale.

Next week: The birth of Our Lady of Righteous Rage, and the 20th anniversary of Woolaston Entertainment! (yes, my creation is turning 20!). Until next week…

Blog from Woolaston Entertainment: Valentine Apart Series

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Thursday, October 23, 2014: Valentine Apart

Happy Thursday, everyone! Welcome back to the weekly blog on Woolaston Entertainment.com. This week, I’d like to share a little info about a new series I’m working on. It’s the “Valentine Apart” series. Simply put, this series will focus on characters in the Valentine series aside from Val herself. There are currently two working titles: Allan & Mac, and Her Name is Lola Vencent.

Allan & Mac

These are two characters you won’t be familiar with, but they will play very important roles in Valentine 3, when it becomes available. They’re a pair of siblings and hit men as well. Their methods of carrying out their hits are a bit unorthodox (example: Mac’s idea of drowning an alcoholic in a tub of beer, to serve as an ironic death). Despite Allan and Mac’s chosen profession, the story itself is a dark comedy. The pair finds time in between jobs to have sarcastic arguments with one another over who makes a better hit man. There are some dramatic elements as well, such as the strained relationship between the pair and their father, and the question of whether or not they’re “doing the right thing”. Even if you’ve never read Valentine, I believe you’ll enjoy it.

Her Name is Lola Vencent

You already know Lola Vencent. She’s Rafferty’s former valkyrie. She a close friend of Val Entienne, aka Valentine. She’s also pretty good with a gun. This arc of the story takes you back in time, to Lola’s college days, her friendship with Barbara O’Riley, and the events that led her to work for Rafferty in the first place. Although both stories take place before Valentine is introduced, Her Name is Lola Vencent serves as more of a prelude to the Valentine series than Allan & Mac.

I’m hoping to make both books available before Valentine 3. I think both will provide more insight into the characters who are already in the series, and those who are about to be introduced.

Until next week…..

New Blog from Woolaston Entertainment.com

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Thursday, June 12, 2014: Anatomy of a Song w/ Our Lady of Righteous Rage, and the Fortune’s Wing Screenplay

 

Salutations, everyone! Welcome to the weekly blog.  This week, I’d like to discuss some of the inspiration behind the lyrics in Our Lady of Righteous Rage, as well as the upcoming screenplay for Fortune’s Wing.  Plus, I’ve made several changes to this website.  So, let’s get started.

 

Anatomy of a Song

 

One of the most important elements of Our Lady is music, and by music, I mean the lyrics to the band’s songs.  The first full set of lyrics to appear in the book, are the lyrics to “Wish You Well”.  It’s the song Amy writes in reference to her father.  In reality, it’s a song I wrote for my father.  The line, “I wish you well”, sounds like she’s wishing her father luck.  The truth is, she’s being sarcastic.  She doesn’t wish him well at all.  More or less, what she’s trying to say is, “Hey, you were never around when I needed you, but I’ll move on, so forget you”.  The lyrics, “This would be so easy/ If you were just deceased”, doesn’t mean she wishes her father was dead.  What Amy is referring to, is if her father was dead, at least that would be an excuse for him not spending time with her.  The fact that he is alive and well and just doesn’t see her, makes the situation harder to deal with.  Another important song in the book (and my personal favorite) is “Come for the Wake, Stay for the Funeral”.  Amy writes this song after her mother’s aunt’s funeral.  Disgusted by the way her family is acting during the wake and at the burial site, Amy begins to view the service as a sort of “Spectator Sport”.  The opening lyrics to the song, “All you spectators please gather ‘round/The dearly beloved is barely in the ground” relates to the conversations Amy overhears during the service: people simply wondering if the aunt left them anything in her will.  No one seems to care that she is no longer living.  In reality, I wrote this song in 2009, after my mother’s Aunt Dorothy passed away.  Same situation: people just wanted to know who would get her house or her money.  Next, is Nick’s song, “Smoke and Glass”.  The complete lyrics do not appear in the book, however, the song is a tribute to September 11th.

 

The lyrics that the characters write in the story run parallel with the events in their lives.  But, this is what most songwriters do: use the events in their lives as inspiration for their music.  I suppose this is true for writers of any sort.  Charles Dickens is a good example.  Some of his best work involves young men born into unfortunate circumstances, and later, their lives turn around for the better.  I wrote the lyrics for all of Our Lady’s songs, and bits and pieces of my life can be found in the lyrics.

 

 

Screenplay for Fortune’s Wing

 

I’ve had several people approach me about writing a screenplay for at least one of my books. What’s taken me so long is, I’ve never written a screenplay before, and I didn’t know how to go about doing so.  Thankfully, I have enrolled in an online screenwriting class, so, as I work on my screenplay for my assignment, I will also develop a screenplay for Fortune’s Wing.  Its going to take awhile, but I am determined to finish it.  So, someday, you may see an adaptation of Fortune’s Wing  on the big screen (fingers crossed).  If you’re interested in taking the screenwriting class, check it out on Skillshare.com.  The class is being taught by James Franco.  I’ll post a link to the site on the bottom of this blog.

 

 

Changes to the Website

 

Yes, you may have noticed, things are different on Woolaston Entertainment.com! The mail order form is GONE.  That’s right: GONE.  I am no longer pushing the paperback editions of my books, which I published with Xlirbis.  If you would still like a copy, please email me: woolent@hotmail.com.  My biography and the W.E. biography are on a separate page now.  On the homepage, you were greeted by Val Entienne from Valentine.  I’m still working on some other ideas, so please continue to visit the site for new content.

 

 

Thank you to my Facebook and Instagram followers.  And a very big thank you to the 245 people following me on Twitter! Thank you to everyone on WordPress, Tumblr, and Skillshare, too.  Until next week….

 

 

Here’s the link for the screenwriting class with James Franco on Skillshare.com:

 

http://www.skillshare.com/classes/film-and-video/Introduction-to-Screenwriting-for-Short-Films/637339250?via=browse