Tag Archives: release

by | December 26, 2017 · 10:47 pm

Episode #85: Ending a Series

Did you hear? We have a new book on the shelves! (The digital ones anyway.) With Operation: Endgame out and waiting for you to read, The Shared Desk is looking back on the ministry of Peculiar Occurrences and talks about everything a writer thinks, feels, and fears when wrapping up a series and dropping the curtain on familiar grounds.

And really, are they done with the Ministry? Well……

00:00 —  Introduction

  • Whew! It’s been a week…
  • If you want to relax, Dunkirk is NOT the movie to help you with that.
  • Okay, if you didn’t hear about it today…
    • Operation: Endgame is coming out today in all digital formats.
    • And did you know a new Christmas story is out for Tales from the Archives?
    • Audio and print books are coming in January/February 2018.
    • There’s also a special offer on 12/26 and 12/27 so download your copy now!

04:08 —  Episode #85: Ending a Series

  • You are having so much fun with this series, but now comes a time to wrap it up.
    • Nothing new for Pip with the Books of the Order.
    • For Tee, reaching the end has been proving elusive.
  • There’s a lot of time invested into a series, its characters, its world…and you wonder if you have one more book in you.
  • Is the drive and the desire there?
  • Pip was sad to see Sorcha and Raed go…but she got over it.
  • Tee’s issue with getting Operation: Endgame done — REAL LIFE.
  • Tee’s failed attempts at writing a series
    • MOREVI (which has fans on PSN and Twitch apparently)
    • The Billibub Baddings Mysteries
  • Tee may not have wanted to say goodbye to Books & Braun just yet…
  • The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is not going anywhere. The podcast and this series, however, are done.
  • Ending on your own terms feels pretty damn good.
  • Kickstarter made it clear: A demand was there.
  • Tee finished Operation: Endgame…and fell apart.
  • Achievement Unlocked: We reached the end we had planned.
  • Verity Fitzroy is making the sting of ending a series less painful.
  • Change of all kinds take place in Operation: Endgame.
  • We do resolve things in the book…mostly.
  • BIG SHOUT-OUT to our editor, K.T. Bryski who will be here next week!
  • Humble beginnings to the series and the wild ride that ensued…
  • And we’re still married…but there was that one time during Curse of the Silver Pharaoh….
  • Taking a break from now until the summer because we got stuff to do on our own!
  • How can we forget Countless Hues of Crimson? Rivaled only by this amazing work of literature…
  • Taking a bittersweet Victory Lap

26:40 — Writers Off the Clock

  • We just finished a book. LET’S GO TO THE MOVIES!!!
  • Let’s talk about some of the movies we saw over the weekend….
  • Dunkirk

    • Hans Zimmer decides to actually give us a really amazing score for this cinematic triumph.
    • Wait? you mean, things happened in World War II before Americans got involved?
    • Just brace yourself for those first ten minutes.
    • Hands down, Nolan’s best film.
  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi 

    • Spoiler Alert — JUMP TO TIMECODE 42:09 TO AVOID SPOILERS
    • LAST CHANCE — 42:09 TO AVOID SPOILERS
    • Tee liked it more than Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, but did not like it as much as Rogue One
    • Thoughts on the middle section
    • Thoughts on Rose
    • Thoughts on humor in Star Wars
    • Thoughts on Mary Poppins
    • Thoughts on Fan Rage
    • Thoughts from someone else about how we’ve been here before…
  • Bright

    • Bright is, according to Pip, Shadowrun.
    • It was more like Training Day: Shadowrun, but here’s the rundown of this (pretty damn clever) plot.
    • This is not high art, but it does not pretend to be anything else than what it is. AND IT WORKS!
    • Definitely rocking a Men in Black or Alien Nation vibe.
    • We talked about Suicide Squad, but this is a better film.
    • Critics are hating Bright…but Netflix is listening to the audience. 
    • Why Alien Nation was a better television show than it was a movie.
    • Is race an issue in this movie? Yes. Because LOOK AT OUR FREAKIN’ HEADLINES!

50:42 — The Wrap-Up

  • The Adventures of Centaur Cop, coming soon from Pip Ballantine.
  • We’re done for the year. So, go out, use that Amazon.com gift card, and buy our new book!
  • K.T. Bryski is coming!
  • 2017 was better than 2016, that’s for damn sure.
  • Foreshadowing for the next show — Your Author Word for 2018!
  • If you have an event and want The Shared Desk to appear there, or if you just want to share an opinion about the show, here’s where to find us…
    • 703.791.1701
    • pip@pjballantine.com
    • tee@teemorris.com
    • …and social media, of course.
  • Pip’s Patreon will feature the first episode of her ALL-NEW PODCAST!
  • See you in 2018!

54:15 — The Last Word

[display_podcast]

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

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by | April 12, 2017 · 2:30 am

Episode #73: Something Old, Something New

We’re baaaaaaaaaaaack!!!

Sorry for the skip in the weeks. We’ve been kind of busy these past few weeks. Let us bring you up to speed!

00:00 —  Introduction

  • Creeping towards Show #100….
  • Missed a week here and there, but we are on a….somewhat regular-ish schedule?
  • Sure, we got some feedback in the hopper, but we’re going to focus on something else…
  • Pip’s got a new book out! Have you got your copy of Immortal Progeny yet?
  • Tee’s trying to keep up with writing, but his Dad has not been making things easy…
  • The K.T. Brisket has been perfected. So we’re waiting for K.T. to come back for another visit!

03:58 — Episode 73: Something Old, Something New

  • I ask again—have you got your copy of Immortal Progeny yet?
    • This is her first solo book since Harbinger!
    • A synopsis…with drop-in’s.
    • What took this book so long?
    • Pip goes deep into an epic fantasy locked in a religious war, and two more are coming…
  • While Pip has been working on Immortal Progeny, Tee gets tapped by Wiley Publishing again!
    • Podcasting for Dummies, 2nd Edition hit the shelves over a decade ago.
    • On the third royalty check for this decade-old book, Tee started making calls.
    • In February, offers were made. In March, contracts were signed.
    • Coming to shelves in September 2017 — Podcasting for Dummies, 3rd Edition. BETTER. STRONGER. FASTER.
    • Anyone remember the iRiver?
  • Updating a decade-old book…
  • So what happened today? Somebody asked Tee about Billibub Baddings.
  • When working on titles, it’s not about the art. It’s about paying bills. It’s about survival. It’s about business.
  • A lesson for writers with Elizabeth Bear from Edgar Allan Poe…
  • Tee doesn’t want to phone it in…and there was a nagging voice Tee was haunted by…
  • Even Pip wants Tee to get back to DOPE.
  • A full plate. That is what is going on in 2017—a full friggin’ plate.
  • Tee is picking a direction. It is forward.

31:46 — Writers Off the Clock

  • We prefer to be positive in our Writers Off the Clock segment…but we’re talking about Marvel’s Iron Fist.
  • Was it the whitewashing? Nope. Was it Finn Jones? Nope. (But he did not help his case at all.)
  • WHO’S TO BLAME? THE WRITERS!
    • Iron Fist is what happens when a project is rushed.
    • PROPS TO THE LADIES!!!
    • This is a first draft. A terrible first draft. LET’S FILM IT!
  • Another problem I got: The way martial arts are handled.
    • Absolute amateur hour.
    • When you watch Into the Badlands, this is your bar, Marvel Entertainment. You have to clear it.
    • What was Marvel doing? Cutting corners with martial arts? In Iron Fist?
  • QUICK UPDATE FROM TEE ON FINISHING IRON FIST
  • The script remained throughout a real disservice to the actors.
    • This isn’t all Finn Jones’ fault.
    • The big finale…meh.
    • Lots of time in corporate boardrooms…or BOREDrooms?
  • Does Finn Jones get a pass for not knowing martial arts? EXHIBIT A: The Matrix.
  • Iron Fist was a rushed project, and it shows.

47:43 — The Wrap-Up

  • Hey, Marvel, don’t like our compinions? FIGHT US!
    • Call us at 703.791.1701 (now accessible through the Instagram app!)
    • Send Tee email — tee@teemorris.com
    • Send Pip email — pip@pjballantine.com
    • …or find us on social media everywhere.
  • What’s coming in 2017…
    • 28-30 April, RavenCon 12 in Williamsburg, VA
    • 18 – 21 May, The Nebula Awards Conference in Pittsburgh, PA (It will be Katie, Tee, and Pip…along with others from the Smoky Retreat!)
    • Tee and Pip will be visiting Balticon…
    • Events in the works…
      • A steampunk tea in Ellicott City, Maryland…
      • Guest speakers at a Mystery conference…
      • …and a return to Revel Grove in October!
  • And Tee isn’t busy enough so he’s launch a new podcast all about the video game, Destiny!

[display_podcast]

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

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