Instant Karma?

In 1970, John Lennon recorded and released the single Instant Karma. John based the song on speculating how we would live if karma was immediate rather than across lifetimes.  In keeping with the concept, John wrote, recorded and released the song within a ten day period.

Karma is generally viewed to occur over several, or even many lifetimes, but from my limited understanding, this is a simplistic view.  Karma simply means 'action', and as we know, actions have consequences, which could be across lifetimes, or maybe more quickly than that.

During the past six months I have seen three different people, in three different situations, all have "karma" return on them. Some might simply call it comeuppance, and some would suggest, if they new their earlier actions, that it was just. In each situation there was an obvious correlation between the types of their behaviour and the situations they later found themselves in.  And in each situation they were visibly upset and complained loudly about what had occurred to them.

I take no delight in this. And I'm not saying that the Hindu or Buddhist concept of karma was at play here. I just hope that living your life in a positive way, with integrity, results in positive karma.

Hopefully instant.

After Death Is Shortlisted.

More great news.

After Death, the anthology which includes I Was The Walrus, my John Lennon reincarnation story, has been voted to the 2013 HWA Bram Stoker Award® Final Ballot!

Congratulations to Eric J. Guignard, an amazing editor who is truly deserving of this recognition. Well done, mate.

If you haven't read this anthology yet, you should.

http://ericjguignard.com/after_death.html

Make Your Own Future.

When I was in high school  I had a part time job in a supermarket. Thirty three years ago today, I was out the back of the store doing some menial task when someone told me John Lennon had been shot.

Many times over the years I've wondered what could have been.

Lennon had just released his first album in five years, and while it's no classic it was certainly more accessible than his previous few releases. At least the tracks that were his were.

It certainly seems as though Lennon was finally open to a Beatles reunion. We can only speculate as to whether they would have even come close to the quality of their previous output should they have entered a recording studio once more.

There are many other rumours about John's personal life that may have led him in different directions. And again we can only wonder.

But we have what we have. And we can play the 'what if' game with plenty of others. Hendrix, Cobain, and Morrison.

And writers. What if Salinger or Capote had written more? What if Philip K Dick had lived past the premiere of Blade Runner?

What if I had started writing twenty years earlier?

We have what we have. We are who we are. I'm here, right now, doing this. And if I don't produce more, then that's no one's fault but mine. Do I have a novel ready to burst from me? Will it even sell?

Stick around. We might find out together.

Want To Be A Clone?

I recently saw a video which made me chuckle - John Lennon auditioning for The Voice. And, for the most part, it rings true. This is exactly what these judges would say, and this is exactly how these judges would react.

Okay, let's forget for a moment that I am a musical dinosaur who revels in the past and cannot be convinced that most modern music is anything but monotonous rubbish. Let's ignore 'taste' for the moment. Let's pretend that I personally like 'musicians' who can play the crap out of their instruments and make your heart ache with a well placed note or string bend.

The Voice is not a talent show.

Yes, Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix would not have made it past the blind auditions.

They simply don't check the boxes, the template the show is looking for.

Bobby, Johnny and Jimi could make you fall in love, raise you to anger, or cause you to sob simply with their instruments, their melodies and their words. The so-called 'stars' resulting from the current deluge of 'talent' shows perform vocal gymnastics and tell amazing sob-stories about dead relatives for whom they are performing.

I see a parallel in writing.

Recently I read somewhere that John Irving said if he was trying to break into the market now his manuscript wouldn't get a second look. This is the guy who has sold millions of books (most of them about Vienna, bears, wrestling and writers, but all fantastic). I've been told that I should simply write stories that 'will sell'. (Andy Partridge of XTC was once told the same thing. "Why don't you simply write a hit song?"  He replied, "What do you think I've been trying to do all these years. Mind you, he was also told that he needed to sound more like ZZ Top if he wanted to have a hit) 

I've had rejections where I've been told the writing was good, but x, y and z didn't happen. Perhaps the story simply wasn't good enough, and I accept that. My writing is improving, and I can see that. I also recognise it's close to selling at the markets I want to sell to.

Do you want to have memorable works that stand out with a unique voice? Do you want to be the Jimi, the Bobby, or the of writing?

P.S. - Congratulations to Alan Baxter on his three book deal with Harper Collins.One of the great things about the Australian SpecFic scene is how we revel in each other's success. I think we're mates - at least I consider him to be one now that he has a book deal. At any rate I bought Alan a beer last time I saw him. I think he owes me several now.

Lazy Writing?

I read a few short stories this week that completely underwhelmed me. These stories weren't written by newcomers, writers who could be excused for not nailing all the conventions of storytelling, but pieces by established authors, names that any SF fan would instantly recognise.

I suspect that if I'd submitted some of these under my own name, they would have received a formal rejection.

(It would be an interesting experiment, wouldn't it? I submit one of my stories under an established name, and they submit one of their weaker ones under mine...)

I'm not talking about taste here. There are always going to be stories that appeal to me more than others. But these stories missed entire elements, had 'idiot' plots, (where the protagonist is required to be an idiot in order for the story to work), loose ends, unanswered questions, ridiculous coincidences that allowed characters to overcome difficulties, and in one particular case, no real story at all - that is no crisis or problem for the main character.

Why is this? Is it laziness on the part of the writer, or is it simply a matter of the writer having become a factory and churning stuff out?

Or, like Paul McCartney, are they unable to see their own work is rubbish and there is no one around game to tell them their work is sub-standard. Maybe they need an equal, a 'John Lennon' along side them who can give an honest critique.

As I've written a few times recently, these things are becoming more apparent to me in my own writing. I'm recognising my own weaknesses and working hard to address them. I'm understanding the elements required to create a satisfying tale. And I can see why my earlier work (in some cases) was rejected so quickly.

I truly hope that I continue to learn and improve. I never want to rest on my laurels.

She Loves Y'All.

When John Lennon was five years old, he was put in the position of having to choose between his parents. His father, a merchant sailor home from sea, had taken him away for the weekend with the intention of absconding with him. His mother caught on, and there was a confrontation where John was asked to choose which of his parents he wanted to stay with.

He chose his father. And it was only as his mother was walking away he changed his mind and ran back to her. If that had not happened, John may have become a New Zealander and The Beatles might not have happened.

About a year ago I considered writing a story set in an alternate history where this occurred. I just haven't got round to it yet.

Josh Rountree took a similar premise and had John move to Texas as a teenager, only to fall under the spell of Bob Wills and become a country great.  Wills is a musician I had not previously encountered, but since reading the story I've fallen under his spell also.

Rountree's story, Can't Buy Me Faded Love, is the title story in his collection. If you love music and spec-fic, then I would thoroughly recommend this book. Each story comes with liner notes and a recommended playlist. It's fabulous.

I also recently read Snodgrass, by Ian R. MacLeod, which is another Lennon alternate history This time 50 year old unemployed Lennon ponders his life and what he could have been had he not fallen out with McCartney and left The Beatles. "We could have been bigger than The Hollies," he declares.

And then there's I Was The Walrus, my John Lennon re-incarnation story, which was published in Eric J. Guignard's collection, After Death, and had been receiving great reviews. Three John Lennon spec-fic stories in as many months. Anyone know of any more?

Last night I had a dream in which these three stories were published together and did very well.  How about it, guys?

It Was 40 Years Ago Yesterday...

To say The Beatles broke up because of Yoko Ono is a little simplistic.

From all I've seen and read egos seem to be to blame.  Paul became leader because Brian had gone, and the others resented that. John didn't want Paul to be leader - but couldn't work up the effort to actually do anything himself. George was tired of being treated like the kid brother. Ringo, of course, was Ringo.  If The Beatles had stayed together, he'd have still been there drumming.

And Yoko was there, gazing up at rebellious John.

But as a relative of mine recently said to me, they should have just worked through it and continued making music.  The sum was always greater than the parts. He then echoed Larry Norman, who sang:

The Beatles said, "All You Need is Love"
and then they broke up.

Who knows where their music would have headed if they'd stayed together.

We'd certainly have had the best songs from their respective solo albums (plus ones we don't know, as their lives would have led different paths and the experiences would have changed.) Of course, there's always the chance they would have been terrible. (Think later Rolling Stones).

As the character said at the end of Fanboys, as he's about to see The Phantom Menace after a 15 year wait, "What if it's crap?"

But at least John and Paul were always each other's filters.  And John would have told Paul that Bip Bop was just plain silly, while Paul would have toned down some of John's more scathing attacks. (As well as (hopefully)  preventing Yoko from appearing with her own songs. We're all Water????  Ugh!)

But what's done is done, and the past cannot be changed.

At least we still have Please Please Me to Let It Be, and all the stuff making the rounds for collectors.

But somewhere, in another universe, Paul, John, George and Ringo are getting on stage to belt out some old and new tunes.

And I wish I was there.