Un-CONventional

The time to be a nerd is now! Well actually the time to be a nerd has been pretty much now for the last 10 years and it doesn’t seem like we will be hitting a slow down at any time in the near future. The true question for the nerd about town is what Convention, or Con for the savvy among you, should you go to?

It all depends on what you are looking for, if you are just in search of the biggest and brightest stars and entertainment, well then maybe one of the larger ones Comic Con San Diego, Dragon Con, New York City Comic Con, even Emerald City Con may be for you. There pop culture meets comics, and you get to see stars from some of your favorite shows and movies. If you are looking for comic books and merch buys there are hundreds of smaller conventions that have exactly what you need! And if you are just looking to start out and maybe work your way to the bigger Cons maybe go to Long Beach Comic Con or Wonder Con to get a taste of what it is all about. Also note I am in Southern California so you should look up smaller Conventions in your region, i.e. Wizard World, Heroes and Villains etc.

There are, in fact, those of us who are professionals at Con going. From packing to planning who you want to see, where you want to go, and how long you can be there, we can pack it all down to a science. Beware though mighty traveler things to occur and plans get broke, and after about 15 years of going to Cons you too can become jaded and burned out. Try to not go to every nerd Con out there, go to a few different ones, mix it up, try to enjoy the floor at larger Cons rather than spending every one of them waiting in a line to hear some folks talk about something you will get to see next year. Also meet people, being a nerdy person can be hard at times, maybe easier now as time goes on, I just know when I was younger it was difficult being an extrovert nerd. So talk to folks, make friends, enjoy other people perspective because meeting folks that are into some of the same stuff you are is awesome!

Water, snacks, and pace yourself. Pack the first two and remember the last one.

Last but not least keep an open mind, you won’t like every fandom, most people can’t as there are just far too many expansive ones to like them all, but that doesn’t mean you can’t merely sit back and enjoy them.

Most of all have fun! This is a vacation not a job, enjoy.

 

Wonder Woman Was Wonderful, Wondrous Even Spectacular?

A great movie with a good message, a great story, and solid casting is hard to come by and onder Woman did just that for me. I enjoyed the entire show, I didn’t have a “wow this is lagging” moment and most of all I didn’t stop and wonder where the plot was leading us. We kind of knew where it was going, and with the intro to Diana in BvS we knew where she would end up, but the way the told the first part of her story on how she got there and what jaded her about man’s world is what was fascinating.

Now I have openly heard and argued against some of the complaints about the movie, everyone complains about everything in this world we now live in it is a reality and it sucks. I have also clearly spoken against the “fans” of comics, not all but the loud corner of general haters, as they don’t recall a time when we didn’t have a superhero movie or three every year. It’s a sad reality when you hear people bash a show that actually tries to be unique in its own way, and introduces magic and gods in such a subtle way that it just fits the reality of what DC and Warner Bros are dealing in.

I won’t blow any plot points, or give a critical review, that’s what your mind is for. Go see it and love it or hate it on your own accord, don’t let the “critics” tell you what’s good or bad about it.

Let me know what you think below!

Soon to Come: Titans & Young Justice: Outsiders

WARNER BROS. TELEVISION AND DC ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE

ALL-NEW LIVE-ACTION SERIES “TITANS,” FROM EXECUTIVE

PRODUCERS AKIVA GOLDSMAN, GEOFF JOHNS,

GREG BERLANTI AND SARAH SCHECHTER,

TO DEBUT IN 2018

 

“YOUNG JUSTICE: OUTSIDERS,” THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED THIRD

SEASON OF WARNER BROS. ANIMATION’S “YOUNG JUSTICE,”

ALSO TO BOW NEXT YEAR

 

Series Will Air Exclusively on Upcoming DC-Branded

Direct-to-Consumer Digital Service

 

(April 25, 2017 – Burbank, CA) Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment today announced that executive producers Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter are teaming up for the all-new live-action drama series “Titans,” which will debut in 2018. Additionally, Warner Bros. Animation’s “Young Justice: Outsiders,” the highly anticipated third season of the popular “Young Justice” series, is also ramping up for its first mission next year.

Both fan-driven series are in early stages of production and will air exclusively on a DC-branded direct-to-consumer digital service in 2018. Operated by Warner Bros. Digital Networks Group, the new digital service will deliver an immersive experience designed just for DC fans.

“Titans” follows a group of young soon-to-be Super Heroes recruited from every corner of the DC Universe. In this action-packed series, Dick Grayson emerges from the shadows to become the leader of a fearless band of new heroes, including Starfire, Raven and many others. “Titans” is a dramatic, live-action adventure series that will explore and celebrate one of the most popular comic book teams ever.

“Titans” will be written by Akiva Goldsman (“Star Trek: Discovery,” “Underground”), Geoff Johns (President & Chief Creative Officer, DC Entertainment; “The Flash,” “Arrow”) and Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “The Flash,” “Supergirl”). Goldsman, Johns, Berlanti and Sarah Schechter (“Arrow,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “The Flash,” “Supergirl”) are executive producers of the series from Weed Road Pictures and Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

In “Young Justice: Outsiders,” the teenage Super Heroes of the DC Universe come of age in an animated world of super-powers, Super-Villains and super secrets. In the highly anticipated new season, the team faces its greatest challenge yet as it takes on meta-human trafficking and the terrifying threat it creates for a society caught in the crossfire of a genetic arms race spanning the globe and the galaxy. Equally praised by critics and viewers for its impressive visuals and rich storytelling, “Young Justice” reached more than 25 million unique viewers in each of its two seasons on Cartoon Network. This passionate fan support set the stage for the new third season.

Sam Register (“Teen Titans Go!,” “Justice League Action”) is executive producer of “Young Justice.” Brandon Vietti (“Batman: Under the Red Hood,” “Superman Doomsday”) and Greg Weisman (“Star Wars Rebels,” “Gargoyles”) are producers of the series, produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Emmy Award winner Phil Bourassa (“Young Justice,” “Justice League Dark,” “Teen Titans: The Judas Contract”) serves as the series’ art director.

For updates on these exciting new series and the upcoming DC digital service, visit www.DCFanUpdates.com.

First Look: CW Black Lightning Pilot Costume

Check out the below a new hopeful addition to the Arrowverse on CW!

BLACK LIGHTNING STRIKES IN ATLANTA

Black Lightning First Image Revealed with Production Underway in Atlanta on NewPilot for The CW from Warner Bros. Television, Based on DC Characters

New Costume Designed by Laura Jean Shannon

Please find attached the first image from The CW drama pilot BLACK LIGHTNING, from Warner Bros. Television and based on DC characters.

BLACK LIGHTNING stars Cress Williams (Hart of Dixie) as Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning.

The costume for Black Lightning was designed by Laura Jean Shannon, whose many film and television credits include the upcoming Jumanji sequel, The Jungle Book, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Blade: Trinity, Good Girls Revolt and Iron Man, for which she was nominated for a Costume Designers Guild Award.

Executive producer/writer/director Salim Akil said: “I knew way too much about the world as a young boy growing up in Richmond, California. I was no stranger to violence, death, hopelessness or the feeling that no one cared about what was happening in my life.

“Comics were a great way for me to escape. I was about 13 when BLACK LIGHTNING was created, and finally there was a Black Super Hero that gave a damn about our neighborhood and our lives.

“Resurrecting him at a time in our society when a sense of hope is lacking…BLACK LIGHTNING will be that hope. And in updating the suit, it will signal to a new generation that it’s time to harness and release our power, and become our own Super Heroes.”

Production is currently underway in Atlanta.

The first African-American DC Super Hero to have his own stand-alone comic title, BLACK LIGHTNING is based on the character created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden in 1977. Jefferson Pierce made his choice: he hung up the suit and his secret identity years ago, but with one daughter hell-bent on justice and the other a star student being recruited by a local gang, he’ll be pulled back into the fight as the wanted vigilante and DC legend — Black Lightning.

Greg Berlanti, Salim Akil, Mara Brock Akil and Sarah Schechter are executive producers of BLACK LIGHTNING, from Berlanti Productions and Akil Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Salim Akil is directing the pilot from a script he wrote.

The Visage of a Hero

By: Michael Worthan

A persons view of a hero is based upon many factors, and those factors vary upon the person, the beliefs, their interests, and so much more. Simply put no one thinks the exact same thing about a hero all the time, and even when opinions are similar it was a different train of thought that brought that person to their conclusion. Now the same can be said about literally anything, why do you like your favorite novel, color, website and so on and so forth. The internet, and Social Media to a major extent, have exacerbated these differences and turned them into hate riddled arguments all the while breaking up friendships and ruining movies and shows just because “enter opinion here” did not come about or look the way you felt it/she/he/they should have.

Most don’t recall when we did not have a new superhero/heroine movie out every year, let alone two or three of them, and as we became spoiled with our favorite heroes on the big screen, we also began to complain. We started with minor things and then started nitpicking the plot, the characters looks, their cadence, their race, their gender, and those opinions started to spark outrage, to move fan against fan, and it separated us. Our fandom has been splintered by hate and anger, by bigotry and vitriol from people who are brave behind a keyboard and cruel to boot. We have forgotten what it was like to be the unpopular mass, to be able to go to a Convention to just have fun and speak to people who get us, who understand our fandoms and don’t judge us for them, even if they don’t understand them. There’s always been divisive opinions in comics and movies, but hell we enjoyed hearing about them and were able, at one point, to discuss them as people, as fans, regardless of who we are. Being a nerd has gone from all inclusive to mocking those that are new to fandoms and making sure that they don’t explore other ones by mocking their likes and dislikes. The state of our world, the state of our nation, and the state of nerdom are starting to mirror each other and that is not a reflection I want to be a part of.

For every hero there must be a villain, a foil to rage against the just and righteous, but what happens when that villain is the very group that has made that hero? What occurs when the hero themselves are taken out of being heroic and made to be a symbol for something not so amazing? What is the visage of your hero? Maybe it’s taking someone who knows nothing about something you love and introducing them to it, maybe it’s listening and understanding each others points of view without name calling or yelling. Possibly you can simply be a hero by accepting that not everyone will like the same things, and that sometimes letting go of reality and just immersing yourself into fiction for a few hours could be worth the trip. Maybe being a hero is allowing your tattoos, art, writing, or collection tell their own story and sharing it when asked. We as nerds have always wanted to be on the top of the food chain, and now that we technically are maybe we should bring others into the fold.

I know I will, will you?

 

Lionsgate and Atom Tickets Team Up for Morphin Mondays Campaign

By: Mark Patton
ATOM TICKETS TEAMS UP WITH LIONSGATE ON EXCLUSIVE

‘MORPHIN MONDAYS’ PROGRAM FOR “SABAN’S POWER RANGERS” MOVIE

 

Fans will receive exclusive content, movie ticket deals and social giveaways each Monday prior to film’s March 24 release. Advance tickets for “Saban’s Power Rangers” on sale today

LOS ANGELES and SANTA MONICA, CA, March 6, 2017 – Advance tickets for “Saban’s Power Rangers” go on sale today and Atom Tickets, the first-of-its-kind theatrical mobile ticketing platform, has partnered with global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) to launch “Morphin Mondays” in support of the highly anticipated film, which debuts in theaters nationwide on March 24, 2017. The “Morphin Mondays” promotion includes exclusive content and deals each Monday leading up to the film’s release—March 6, March 13 and March 20.

Starting today, Atom users have the chance to purchase their ticket for “Saban’s Power Rangers” for just $5 when they invite five friends to see the movie with them via the Atom Tickets app. The program plays off the team of five Power Rangers and takes advantage of the app’s integrated social experience that allows users to invite friends to a movie without paying for them. Each person invited has the opportunity to get their own $5 ticket by inviting five other friends to join the group, further fueling the program’s virality.

“Atom is the only ticketing app that focuses on movies as a group experience,” said Matthew Bakal, executive chairman and co-founder of Atom Tickets. “Pairing the social appeal of Power Rangers with our app’s proprietary invite technology, ‘Morphin Mondays’ encourages users to plan a night out with their friends to see this entertaining new film and taps into the audience’s desire for shared experiences.”

In addition to Morphin Mondays, today Atom unveiled an exclusive Power Rangers movie poster that can only be seen on the Atom platform. A few lucky fans will receive the exclusive poster signed by the cast via social media giveaways.

Directed by Dean Israelite, the film stars Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G and Ludi Lin as the Power Rangers and also features Bill Hader, Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Banks. The movie follows five ordinary teens who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove—and the world—is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat.  Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so, they will have to overcome their real-life issues and before it’s too late, and band together as the Power Rangers.

Atom Tickets is a game-changing mobile app and website that is revolutionizing the movie ticketing industry to make movie experiences faster, easier and more social than ever. Atom lets users pre-order movie tickets and concessions and provides a VIP experience that includes bypassing lines at theaters. The user-friendly platform also lets moviegoers watch trailers, read reviews and coordinate movie outings with friends while allowing each person to pay separately with just a few simple taps.

How Atom Tickets Works:
Atom Tickets re-imagines the most convenient way for users to plan a night out at the movies. The free app and website provide relevant reviews, trailers and synopses to help customers make the best decision on what to see. Moviegoers may then invite friends (via Facebook or their contact lists) to purchase their own tickets to join them. Atom offers streamlined ordering of tickets and concessions from any Android or iOS phone. At the theater, users go directly to the ushers and concession counters, where they simply scan a QR code at tablet kiosks. Paper tickets and IOUs have been replaced by Atom’s innovative platform, which keeps all plans, messaging, payment and tickets in one place.

 About Atom Tickets
Atom Tickets is the first-of-its-kind theatrical mobile ticketing platform. Through its patent pending recommendation and personalization technology, Atom Tickets allows consumers to search for films instantly, invite friends, buy tickets, pre-order concessions and more. Enabled on 15,000 screens across the U.S., the platform’s innovative marketing capabilities help studios, exhibitors and brands maximize revenue opportunities. Atom Tickets is available as a free app in theApple App Store and the Google Play Store and online at atomtickets.com.

 About Lionsgate
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) is a vertically integrated next generation global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, premium pay television networks, home entertainment, global distribution and sales, interactive ventures and games and location-based entertainment.

With the acquisition of Starz, Lionsgate adds to its portfolio of businesses the flagship STARZ premium pay network serving 24.3 million subscribers and the STARZ ENCORE platform with 31 million subscribers. The combined company will operate five over-the-top (OTT) streaming services and the STARZ app delivering content directly to consumers.

The Company’s feature film business spans eight labels and includes the blockbuster The Hunger Games franchise, the Now You See Me series, the box office blockbuster La La Land, which won six Academy Awards®, the hit franchise sequel John Wick: Chapter Two, double Oscar winner Hacksaw Ridge, Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween, CBS Films/Lionsgate’s Hell or High Water, Roadside Attractions’ critically-acclaimed Manchester by the Sea, Codeblack Films’ breakout concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion Films’ Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

One of the largest independent television businesses in the world, Lionsgate’s slate of premium quality series encompasses nearly 90 shows on more than 40 different networks. These include the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, the fan favorite Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the hit drama The Royals, the acclaimed Casual, the breakout success Greenleaf and hit STARZ series including Outlander, Black Sails, Survivor’s Remorse and Power, the second highest-rated premium pay television series of 2016.

Lionsgate’s home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of more than 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment and Starz brands are synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com

 

About Saban’s Power Rangers
Saban’s Power Rangers franchise is the brainchild of Haim Saban, creator and producer of the original “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” hit series that launched in 1993. Following its introduction, “Power Rangers” quickly became the most-watched children’s television program in the United States and remains one of the top-rated and longest running kids live-action series in television history. The series follows the adventures of a group of ordinary teens who morph into superheroes and save the world from evil. It is seen in more than 150 markets, translated into numerous languages and a favorite on many key international children’s programming blocks around the world. For more information, visitwww.powerrangers.com.

Celebrate the Doctor! Dr. Seuss That Is

By Michael Worthan

We now live in a world if divisive talk, painful rhetoric, and in general all of our Facebook feeds are full to the brim of bad news. So here I am looking at something a bit more cheerful, something that not only will bring a smile to your face, but if you read his books as a child like I did it will bring back some pretty amazing nostalgic memories. Tomorrow is the birthday of Theodor Geisel otherwise known by his famous moniker Dr. Seuss.

Whenever I hear the name Dr. Seuss I begin reminiscing about all of the different books of his I read, and am also put in awe of how influential his books have been in literature. To this day children and adults alike still enjoy his words in one form or another.

He was a true wordsmith, an person who inspired literacy as well as creativity, and is a legend for all to enjoy.

If you’d like some sweet sweet Dr. Seuss gear check out TVStoreOnline.com! Great people, great product, great prices, and a great amount of nerd swag beyond the great Doctors.

“We bust more rhymes than Theodor Geisel did…”
-MC Frontalot “Nerdcore Rising”

Too Many Rangers

By: Michael Worthan

It’s MORPHIN TIME!!!!

If you know that cry you were a child, or an adult who was a fan, when Power Rangers first came on the scene, that was 23 years ago. Now we have a ton of Power Rangers stuff coming back, making a massive resurgence and I’m here to talk about it!

So if you hadn’t noticed in the last few months there has been a massive influx of Power Rangers happening in the media, and a lot of it is getting the spotlight.With the new Power Rangers movie coming out on March 24th 2017 starring well known vets Bryan Cranston as Zordon, Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, and Bill Hader as everyone’s favorite sidekick robot Alpha 5. This take on the Rangers still features five teenagers with attitude heavily, but it also seems to be a darkened version of the campy show we all grew up with, with fans being divided we will just have to wait and see how the new Power Rangers are taken when the movie opens.

Then we have not one, not two, but three different Power Ranger comic books that are up and running right, my favorite of the three is Kyle Higgins take on the Rangers right after Tommy the Green Ranger joined the fold. You see in fighting, temperaments flare, as well as distrust and angst, y’know like real teenagers. It is great storytelling and even though it rides on Power Rangers old tropes of wearing the color of the Ranger you are all the time, Putty Patrollers not being all that useful, and yelling when you morph, it has heart and a great inside story that the show never would have been able to do. The ending of the first arch makes you take a step back and wonder.

The second book, which currently is running, is all about Kimberly the pink Ranger. She is retired, away from home, and some bad things start to go down. Luckily she has Zordon and Alpha 5 in her corner as they re-up the retired Rangers powers and she once again morphs into action. This story brings in some different themes, and rides well with the Pink Ranger being the main character. In general I think this would have made a good TV show if given the proper budget and done well, but it’s just as well it is comic book form.

The third comic book, and one that just started not too long ago, is Justice League vs Power Rangers. The base story is that the Rangers are thrown into the DC Universe and are met by the one and only Justice League. How things go and what truly occurs is not for me to spoil, but you do get the Versus part almost right away and it is pretty phenomenal.

While all of this is going on we still have the Saban branded show running at full steam with its 23rd season having started on Nickelodeon already, Ninja Steel in America. For twenty three years people have donned the colorful costumes and defended the world against a plethora of different villains. The names and zords may change, but the message always stays the same, Good vs. Evil, with evil sometimes turning good. Its not exactly riveting storytelling but for those of us that like to have some campy fun the shows are always a great watch.

And last but not least, beyond the plethora of merchandise either coming out or soon to be coming out, we have a video game on PS4 and XBox One, that is a side scrolling adventure in the vein of the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games, as well as a few other great arcade games. This fun little game can be purchased digitally and it seems like they’ll have some cool DLC content with it so enjoy!

As always share, comment, and never hate.

‘InJustice 2: The Lines Are Redrawn’

By: Michael Worthan

Well after a ton of teasing, some videos of new characters, and of course the unknown drop date of Injustice 2 we finally received more teasing, but we do have a drop date of May 16th 2017! So in four short long months we will get to play DC and NetherRealm Studios beautiful and fun brain child once more. For the trailer look below! And for a short blurb here you go: Injustice 2 is NetherRealm Studios’ super-powered sequel to the hit game Injustice: Gods Among Us that allows players to build and power up the ultimate version of their favorite DC characters. Featuring a massive selection of DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains,  Injustice 2 continues the epic cinematic story introduced in Injustice: Gods Among Us as Batman and his allies work towards putting the pieces of society back together while struggling against those who want to restore Superman’s regime.  In the midst of the chaos, a new threat appears that will put Earth’s existence at risk. 

Re-Introducing an Interview with the Incomparable Brent Weeks!

Written by: Michael Worthan

Every now and then I get to meet someone I am a massive fan of and who shatters my expectations of how they will be. I have been following Brent Weeks since the Night Angel series came out and it is one of the better reading choices I have made in my life. Getting to interview him has always been a great experience and he is open and honest about his feelings, and has taken time out a number of times to speak to me on the different sites I have been a part of. It is now my genuine honor to have him on my website, one I own outright. So check out the interview below, buy his book HERE and visit his site HERE .

How did the Lightbringer books go from trilogy to series?

Funny story. I had always sort of thought that this was going to be a significantly bigger story than the Night Angel Trilogy was. But I had originally pitched it to Orbit as a trilogy. However, as soon as I sent off the completed manuscript of the first book, The Black Prism, I sent an email to my editor, saying, “Yeah, this isn’t going to be three books.” Unfortunately, the memo never made it to the UK, so some UK readers got a book labeled “The Lightbringer Trilogy”, where the US has always seen “Series” on the title. As for it being five books instead of four, I had thought that I could squeeze all the awesome action that I’ve had planned into just four volumes. But when I started doing that, I realized the series would lose a lot of depth of feeling and resonance if I forced it into four books. So with many apologies, I changed it to five — so far fans have been really happy.

Within your books you’ve always been descriptive, but in this series you make race, eye color, and marks on characters’ bodies very important as it pertains to their magical abilities. Was that a difficult task to keep track of?

Actually, I’d quibble with calling my writing descriptive. I’ve never been the kind of writer who is going to tell you about all the sequins on a dress, or every detail of a feast, or belabor a landscape for half a page, much less two or three. What I do instead is describe the character traits that are important to the characters themselves, and thus have an impact on the plot and their decisions. Is that hard to keep track of? Yes, absolutely. In fact, I often pepper my assistant with questions: What was this guy’s hair color again? Were they cousins? Who were their parents? And so forth. Once you get in the neighborhood of a million words, it’s probably impossible to keep track of all the history and lore by yourself. 

Although your book is full of strong men, you have also developed very strong women. From Karris, to Teia, and especially in Book 4 we see Tisis grow. How important was it for you to see these characters develop and not just become stagnant?

It’s important to me that every character comes across as honest and vibrant. And I think the very best characters are capable of growth and change, albeit not always in a positive direction. And sometimes our world and our choices can change us positively and negatively at the exact same time. 

As someone who grew up with many strong women in his life I see these characters and relate to the reactions others have to them, what inspired them for you?

I’ve known strong women, and I’ve known weak women; I’ve known strong men, and I’ve known weak men. I don’t see the problems of writing female characters as unique problems, I see them as another iteration of the same problem: how can I write a character that feels real, and is deeply interesting, whether I like them or not? Certainly it takes some special labors to get characters right if they are very dissimilar to me. But I refer back to Dorothy Sayers, who snarkily titled an essay she wrote, “Are Women Human?” Women are human first. Does gender matter? Does how society treats you matter? Absolutely. But let’s not miss the forest for the trees. 

There is always talk about making books movies. We’ve seen the good and the bad when these come down the pike. Has there been any talk about making either the Night Angel Trilogy or the Lightbringer Series a show or movie? What fears do you have about doing something like that?

Mostly I fear just getting sidetracked. A lot of writers, I think, see getting a movie made as their ticket to being socially relevant and wealthy. So they spend a lot of time reaching for that and getting excited when some random producer from Hollywood sends an email. Sure, it’s exciting to get an email from a random producer. But what I do is write the best books I’m capable of. So for the time being, I am holding on to my movie rights, and I’ve said no to everybody who’s come and asked. If Steven Spielberg or Peter Jackson came knocking at my door, I would certainly let them in. But I’m also perfectly content to never make a movie deal. I’m already doing what I love.

Now that we have book four, and even though you are just now going on a book tour, what can fans expect next from you?

I’ve already started writing Book 5. I’ll be saying no to side projects and working on that. That will probably be the next thing fans see from me. No promises about when that will be published. I’ll point out that I have written a book every two years for the last 14 years now.

Last question: As a fellow facial hair aficionado I must say nice beard. What care products do you use?

Haha! I use some beard oils. I’ve tried a few, but I like one from Cliff Original, and a beard soap from the same. I have to keep my cheeks shaven on my daughters’ and wife’s request/demand, so I also use the Cliff Original shave butter, which is a total indulgence because it’s way too expensive. So I’ll sort of ricochet back and forth between dollar store shave cream and that. Thanks for having me on, I can’t believe we talked beard care!