Halloween

October 31st, 2024

Thursday, October 31st. The city streets are crowded for the holiday...

I technically stayed true to my "once a month" blog posts, albeit now it's like once every calendar month.  Anyway, happy Halloween, everybody.  I think it's sad that some countries don't or can't celebrate this holiday, because it's a really fun one. Been catching up on some horror movies this past week, like Friday the 13th, Smile, John Carpenter's The Fog, and From Beyond.  Today, of course, I did the required yearly rewatch of Over the Garden Wall. It's a masterpiece, not just in the medium of animation, but a credit to the underrated genre of cosmic horror, and an example of great writing and vision. 

I've been busy with school and work. Working on writing an animated web series for a class assignment, which has been an interesting and educating experience. It's a version of my long time idea for the series titled Desert Bluffs. Seven nine minute episodes, each team member in charge of writing their own. Really fun assignment, and a good chance to flesh out the actual version of the show more, so one day it'll be fully fleshed when or if it becomes a real television series in the future. 

Just came back from taking my sisters trick-or-treating. I didn't have a costume this year, which felt wrong to me. I think next year I'll go as Ford  from Gravity Falls, or maybe Ryan Gosling's character from Drive. We'll see if I can pull off that jacket. 

Don't' have a lot to say this time. Writing, as always. Obligatory "buy my book!". Thanks for reading. Have a safe Halloween. 

Until next time. 

Currently listening to: The Man Who Sold the World 

Lit Fest

September 12th, 2024

This past weekend, I shared a table with Joe Rulli at Printer's Row Lit Fest in Chicago. I brought with me ten physical copies of For Sword and Planet, and completely sold out! Thank you to everyone who bought a book and requested it signed. I hope you enjoy the read. It's crazy to think that some people are crazy enough to be interested in this weird piece of fiction. It's still available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble to order for yourself. It'll be on the official Shy City House website soon. 

A lot of friends came to visit me at the fest, which was really heartwarming. Joe suggested to me that I should try and be a guest speaker at the fest next year. I don't know what I would talk about, but he seems to think it's a good idea. We'll see. Lit Fest certaintly opened my eyes to the wider world of the book buisness. Not 40 feet away from our table, I saw Veronica Roth signing her new book for a long line of eagerly awaiting fans. The fest definitely gave me a boost of motivation, and I've been making some good progress on my other writing projects. Who knows? Maybe next Lit Fest I'll have two books to sell. 

I'm going to try and get a copy of For Sword and Planet into the Chicago Public Library system within the next few weeks. I have a lot of fond memories when I was younger browsing the library for hours and taking home 20 new books to read from authors and titles I'd never heard of. Maybe my book will the same impact on some poor kid. I also want to stock For Sword and Planet in some bookstores around Chicago in the future, as well. I think having a physical copy for people to see in front of them makes all the difference, from otherwise telling them its available to buy online. 

Joe was incredibly generous to share his table with me for Lit Fest. Check out his projects here. 

I tuned in for the presidential debate Tuesday night, as I finished some work for class. The choice isn't even close. Kamala Harris is focused, knowledgeable, and competent. Her opponent is Donald Trump. He looked like he was falling asleep in the middle of the debate. There's a reason he lost the last election, and do we really want a president with "concepts of a plan"? If you're eligible to vote, please do. It's impossible to stress just how important it is that Kamala wins this election. Trump lost the popular vote in 2016. Stastically, most of America doesn't want him as our president. Let's keep it that way. 

Until next time. 

Currently listening to: Dancing in the Moonlight 

For Sword and Planet Is Out Now!

August 31st, 2024

My sophmore year of college starts on Tuesday.  After a stressfull spring semster, I signed up for some fun classes this semester. I'm especially looking forward to Screenwriting II: Televison Writing and European History: Medieval. 

At the beginning of August, I went to GenCon, working with Aaron Miller at his booth. He does amazing art for D&D and Magic: The Gathering. While I was at the convention, I met a group of people working on an amazing project called Mythic Americas. It's a tabletop roleplaying game like D&D, but instead of european-centric fantasy and mythology, it's centered on the indigenous people of the Americas. It's a brilliant idea, and you should support their project if you're able to, by purchasing their handbook or beautiful minis. I got a mini of a Priest of Inti for myself. 

Since I last updated my blog, the Gravity Falls fandom has seen a bit of a rennaisance. The release of The Book of Bill introduced many satisfying resolutions to some long-running mysteries of the show, while introducing some new ones. It's been a lot of fun interacting with an old fandom that's had some new life breathed into it, once again reinvigorating my love for the show. 

On a less happy note, the Star Wars show The Acolyte was recently canceled after one season. The show may not have been perfect, but it was a breath of fresh air in the midst of countless spin-offs jailed within the confines of the movies. It has one of the coolest Sith designs ever, and every actor on The Acolyte did an incredible job. Disney canceling this show after one season is a sad reminder that in this era of televison, if your project doesn't do Stranger Things numbers and get 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, executives will delete it for a tax write-off. My hope is that one day The Acolyte, and so many other canceled projects, will be ressurected, given 20+ episode seasons, and be given a chance to grow and find its footing. 

Lastly, on September 7 & 8th, I will have a booth at Lit Fest in Chicago. Come find me on those days in Printer's Row on Polk Street, Table 402 "Rulli Rights Books, LLC". I will be selling 10 physical copies of For Sword and Planet. By then, theoretically even tomorrow, September 1st, my books will be availabe on the Shy City House website and Amazon to order for yourself. I will be posting on my various social medias as soon as they are available, so stay tuned for that. 

I can't wait to finally share my weird, ambitious, fantastical book with the world. Until next time. 

Currently listening to: Zombie 

Upcoming Projects

July 8th, 2024

Released some official character art for For Sword and Planet. As the launch of that book gets nearer, I get more and more excited. Ella did an excellent job drawing those portraits. Go check out her website. She's also working on the cover for the novel. 

My good friend, Ivo, invited me to go with him to GenCon this year, a big, convention for D&D, Magic: The Gathering, and other games and TTRPGS. He's working a booth with Aaron Miller, an illustrator for Magic, Dungeons and Dragons, and other related stuff. Should be a fun time. I can meet lots of talented artists and writers, and get access to a nerd's treasure trove of minis and dice. 

Ivo and I are also in the middle of designing a Dungeons and Dragons campaign book, right now titled Search for the Swallowed City. It's inspired by a mix of desert cultures around the world, including the American West, Mexican indigenous peoples, Andean, and Ancient Egyptian. It's a wild ride and we're having lots of fun writing it. Whether it's left as a hobby or as something to be published one day remains to be seen, but Ivo has lots of connections in the D&D world. 

I'm currently deep in the writing process for another manuscript, which right now I'm calling Crow Eater. It's very inspired by Berserk, which I'm also in the middle of reading. It's the first manga I've ever picked up, and I'm loving it so far. The artwork is beautiful, and the characters Guts, Casca, and Griffith are so intricately written and rich. At times, it can go a little overboard on the edginess, I think, but overall I think it's a perfect dark fantasy, and I can see how many writers have taken inspiration from it since them. 

I'm really clunky at writing anything about myself or in real life, so excuse my lame send-off to this post. Until next time. 

Currently listening to: Fortunate Son 

Soft Release Date

May 27th, 2024

Freshman year of college: done. Over. Annihilated. Begging for it's life. 

Andy at Shy City House gave me a tentative release date of September 2024 for For Sword and Planet. This is purely based on my wish to participate in Chicago's Printer's Row Lit Fest. For those of you who don't know, Lit Fest is a yearly event for writers to set up convention-style tables and sell their work. Not only would I make a little extra dough, but I would also get to meet many other awesome authors. I would share a table with Joe, who's also selling his books, simply because there's a limited amount of space there. The event is in September, so if we're able to get my book out by then, you can expect to see my face and my book at List Fest. 

Doing some work this summer. Some traveling, hopefully. I'm determined to get at least one manuscript first draft done with this summer, so I have something to begin querying literary agents. For Sword and Planet is just the first step. I'm going to try and keep the momentum going. More books! More! 

I'm looking forward to the release of Star Wars: The Acolyte in June. It has a great writing team, and a great cast. I'm excited for how they will expand the franchise. Working my way through my long list of movies I need to catch up on. Slowly. Just started the new season of My Adventures With Superman. Great stuff so far. I like the slower pace of developing Clark as a character. Something which the more recent movies didn't get. At some point I really want a crossover episode with Batman. 

Lastly, I'm continuosly working on the lore of Ettiah's Ember. Starting today, I'm going to occasionally post snippets of lore on the site, for now accompanying details to For Sword and Planet, which the book readers can enjoy when the novel finally comes out.  Busy, fun summer ahead for me. Wishing the same for all of you. Until next time. 

Currently listening to: Kutimuy

Late Night Thoughts

March 10th, 2024

Am I writing this mostly to avoid doing my homework? Probably. I think I'm going to drop my animation minor by the time the new semester rolls around. I love animation- it's a beautiful artform that is tragically underappreciated, and if I do pursue a career in film, I definitely want to make animated projects. It is SO MUCH WORK, though! I can barely keep up (I'm not). Computer Animation is kicking my ass, so yeah I think it'll turn into more of a thing that I practice in my free time, which is fine with me. Hand-drawn (2D) animation is still my favorite to practice. 

I'm receiving feedback in a couple weeks on my manuscript for For Sword and Planet, so I have that to look forward to. I've been trying to keep up some writing projects while I'm procrastinating my schoolwork, but mostly I end up procrastinating those writing projects. I've been feeling good about my work-in-progress, American Fantasy, which is my novel exploring the theme of "The Great American Novel" and if a book with a fantasy setting could apply.  I also started a new WIP I'm titling Alien Gods. I have a problem, I know. This one is more of a rehash of my oldest manuscript, Those That Might Consider it Red. It's my first novel I've ever written to completion, and I don't want to let it go to waste, but I've been struggling editing it. It's not at the level I feel comfortable querying anymore, but I think Alien Gods may be the answer to that. I won't say too much, but like most works of fiction in the twentieth and twenty-first century, it is inspired by Frank Herbert's Dune. 

I saw Dune: Part Two for the second time in theaters, today. I think it's a fantastic adaptation of the novel, and one of those movies that are meant to be experienced in the theater. Speaking of movies, Lily Gladstone was SNUBBED at The Oscars, today! She should've won! Please, instate me into The Academy. I will make some changes. 

I've been doing lots of worldbuilding. All of my novels take place in the same universe, so I have an enormous notes app chalk-full of the world's history, places, creatures, and so forth. For Sword and Planet is just the tip of the iceberg. At least, it won't be if I don't fail school and I write a manuscript to it's completion. 

I'm kidding. Mostly. Uhhh, that's all I had left to talk about, I think. Until next time. 

Currently listening to: Dreams 

The State of the World

February 11th, 2024

Palestine deserves freedom. As of right now, there are close to 27,000 people dead (Palestinian Death Toll), including children. Israel has bombed schools and hospitals, claiming them as sites of Hamas "military bases". Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, American news corporations ignore conflicts within Yemen and the Red Sea, and while the Superbowl claims to be run on clean energy, there are multiple millionaires flying private jets to the event, spewing carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Despite attempting a coup in January of 2021, our justice system has failed to incarcerate former United States president Donald Trump, and it is looking extremely likely that he will be the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

A few weeks ago, my friend Ezan sent me a blog post written by author George R.R. Martin, talking about these very same topics. He had an understandably bleak outlook on the state of the world, and that's what I want to cover in this post. 

I don't pretend to be completely educated on these topics. I try and read the news as often as I can and remember to, but it is difficult to stay informed, especially with topics journalists ignore. I hear many within my generation and others saying that they don't read the news anymore, because it's depressing, and has a negative impact on mental health. I can respect the need to maintain a healthy mental state, but the problem is I think TikTok and other social media platforms spread opinions and humor into the everyday life of everyone who frequently uses them. I find myself frusterated with posts blaming current president Joe Biden with the many issues within our country. There are definitely many things to criticize him about, and indeed we should excercise our right of free speech to do so, but I feel that this drives away focus from the Senate and House of Representatives, and how many of them are responsible for the disastrous laws passed, such as Roe V. Wade. These are the people running the United States, and it is blatently obvious how uniformed or uncaring they are. 

I'm worried these often viral tweets and TikTok videos will cost Biden the election, and the last thing our country needs is Donald Trump in charge again. Please, as often as you can spare it, read the news, and vote if you are eligible this year. 

We are living in turbulent times, and the darker winter months make it easy to slip into a hole of fear and despair. I won't preach "look at the bright side", because there are many people directly affected by the chaos around us, and to them it is impossible to ignore. All I want to say is, I believe there is hope for Palestine, for Ukraine, for the Earth. I believe that our children will grow up on a better Earth than we are living in now. 

Palestinian Relief 

An Update

November 30th, 2023

I had brunch with my editor, just a week ago. We talked about my progress with For Sword and Planet. He and Andy at Shy City House are very nice, and are giving me plenty of time to work on the book. They made it clear that there was no rush to complete it. Nevertheless, I asked Joe to give me a deadline to turn in my current draft to him. He gave me until January 15th, which I think is more than fair. 

It's been a hard few months for me. I've always been a terrible procrastinator, as my unfinished novel and late homework assignments can attest to, but college has been a much harder obstacle than I initially anticipated. Commuting from home makes it difficult to find friends and socialize a lot. I basically show up for class, then immediately head back home. Those who live in dorms are constantly exposed to people around them, so it's not as much of a challenge. I don't like most of my classes. I think they're filled with busy work and are mostly just there to squeeze us out of four year's worth of tuition. That, and combined with recent losses in my family hitting me just as I started this brand new experience, has made life difficult. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. Many people around the world never even get the chance to receive higher education, and I shouldn't take what I have for granted. Still, what's the point of a blog if not to whine about things? 

I saw old friends over Thanksgiving break, back from college. It was nice seeing them after so long. I'm looking forward to the end of the semester, partly because of the lack of class, and partly so I can see them again. Though, on a more cheerful note, I'm very anxious for the Percy Jackson show to come out in December. Those books meant so much to me as a kid, and it's amazing to think of how far I've come since then. Rick Riordan is a brilliant writer, and I'm excited to see how his masterpiece gets translated onto the big screen. 

Not much more to talk about this month. Sometimes complaining helps me air out any negative feelings that are holding me back from getting work done. Back to writing, and back to editing my short film for class which I shot with with my friends over break, as shown in the picture above. Until next time. 

Currently listening to: Riptide 

The Winds of Winter

October 30th, 2023

I've been thinking about George R.R. Martin's Winds of Winter novel, the fabled continuation in his book series, A Song of Ice and Fire. It's been... what? Twelve years now since he published the latest book, and people don't let him forget it. Under every tweet, for every blog post, there's someone commenting: "When Winds?" I get it. Fans are excited to see what becomes of Jon Snow, Daenarys Targarian, and of course, Delores Ed, but give the man a break. Not to compare myself to a legend, but it takes time to write a book! I should know, I'm taking my sweet time with For Sword and Planet. 

Editing is under way. I'd say I'm about 75% through the process of lengthening it, which is my primary obstacle at the moment. I'm taking the opportunity to give POV chapters to characters who need it, and expanding the universe. After that, it should just be a simple process of rewriting small segments and grammar mistakes. 

Expanding the universe. What does that mean? Well, on top of Winds, I've also been thinking about the phrase "Modern Day Mythologies". I've seen it thrown around a lot when describing franchises like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. The definition seems to be pretty loose. From what I can gather, put simply, a modern mythology is any story that explores aspects of humanity such as wonder and fear, and what it means to be human. This can be applied to basically any story, and I intend to apply it to my own. I have long-term plans for my writing projects, but I won't go into too much detail besides that. 

For Sword and Planet is definitely inspired by mythology. Arthurian myth, with King Arthur, Excalibur, and his Knights of the Round Table. The Lady of the Lake, bestowed quests, and what it means to be a hero. Disney movies as well, such as Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast. Also incorporated is folklore, like the legend of La Llorona. I think to craft a mythology, you need to look back and see what others have done, and sort of comment on those. 

My "writing" voice. It's hard to identify aspects of your own voice, something which becomes so familiar to you you don't even register it, and pinpoint what makes it you. A constant in the feedback I've gotten from my peers throughout the years is that I don't like to spill too much information in my writing. I make my readers work for it, use the clues I sprinkle throughout the text to come to conclusions on their own. A few weeks ago, I had to make a two-minute short film for one of my classes, and in the feedback I received I found that they said the same thing. The scenes I filmed were slow-paced, deliberate. I used the rule of thirds to direct the viewers attention to the subject, and then to the light in the far back of the room, showing off how empty it was. I mean, don't get me wrong, its definitely not going to any festivals, but my point is that my "writing" voice transferred over to my "cinematic" voice, or a creative voice in general. So, to leave you off with something to think about, can you differentiate your speaking voice with your writing voice? Can your writing voice be applied to different fields and hobbies? Let me know. I'm genuinely curious. 

Winter is coming. It's getting colder in Chicago. Today marks the start of a brutal march to school every morning. Wish me luck, and until next time. 

Currently listening to: California Dreamin' 

For Sword and Planet

September 4th, 2023

I'm back. College is just around the corner, starting this Tuesday as I'm writing this. That's not even the biggest news for me right now, though. Not one bit. I'm publishing a book! 

For Sword and Planet is my debut novel, published under Shy City House . As some of you may know, I've been querying another novel for some time, Those That Might Consider it Red. This novel is not that. For Sword and Planet utilizes the rather niche sub-genre of fantasy called Sword and Planet. The best way I can describe it is a fantasy world with elements of science-fiction, maybe ancient technology from long ago. The show "Adventure Time" would be the best example of this. My novel takes inspiration from the rosy language of Shakespeare and the mythos of King Arthur. I wanted it to feel like a Disney movie with a dark, dark twist. 

How I came to publish this novel is kind of random. Joseph Anthony Rulli is a Chicago writer, who's written novels such as "Chicago Marching: A History of Protest, Authority, and Violence", and "Chicago Socialism: The People's History". I've known him for a long time, since he worked at a Trader Joe's my mom and I frequented when I was younger. This past year I got in touch with him, hoping to gain some wisdom into the world of writing. We had coffee, and eventually I realized that this novella that I wrote, For Sword and Planet, might be the perfect fit for the publishing house he had written for. 

I had gotten into the mindset of taking a step back from Those That Might Consider it Red. I think its a hard sell for query agents. Not only a debut novel for an 18-year old writer, but one intended to be the start to a series. I wanted to have at least one published book to speak of under my belt before I started querying again, and that's what I've done. 

So Joe's my editor now. We agreed that a full-length novel would be a better fit for For Sword and Planet, and so its path of evolution , from a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, to a 10-minute play, to flash-fiction, to novella, and finally to novel is now underway. 

I haven't given up on Those That Might Consider it Red. I feel particularly attached to that story, and I don't intend on leaving it to gather dust. After I publish For Sword and Planet, I think that'll be next on my list, and aim it for a bigger publishing house. 

I'll hold off on saying more about For Sword and Planet- for now. Advertising is completely in my hands, and I intend to work hard on that. Make sure to follow me on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram to see exclusive details about the book in the coming months. We're still editing it, so there's no release date yet. Stay tuned. I'll be hard at work at college and at writing. 

Until next time. 

Magazines, Methods, Madness, and More

May 18th, 2023 

Hmm... what to talk about now. I'm trying to be a little strategic about things to talk about, because graduation is on May 30th, and that'll be something to talk about, but not until June methinks. 

Aha! Here's something! LEVITATE issue seven is out now! You can read it for free on its website, which I'll link to this post. My time as editor-in-chief of it is coming to an end, sadly. Its a ChiArts student-run literary magazine, so when I'm gone so is my time with it. It was so crazy putting this thing together. The launch event at Volumes Bookcafe was the first time I saw the physical copy, and my jaw nearly dropped. Its triple the length of any issue LEVITATE has released before. Oh, but was it worth it. I expect I've read every single piece in that issue, but I'll be reading them again. Thank you to all of our contributors, thank you to our managing editor, Ms. Kendig, and thank you to my co-editor-in-chief, Jocelyn. 

I've been thinking about writing goals recently. Stephen King writes 10 pages every day. The Guinness World Record for the youngest author to publish a best-selling series goes to Christopher Paolini, the author of The Inheritance Cycle, who published at 19. By no means is it realistic for me to beat the world record, but maybe it'll be interesting to try. I think I have a few advantages over Paolini, anyway. Writing 11 pages a day is a little bit daunting, but if my friend told me he's going to try, why not me, too? 

I'm developing a method to my madness, so to speak. I have a theory that for books to really put your name on the map (take Gaiman, King, Rowling- you don't necessarily know them by their books, you know them by their NAME), the reader, literary agent, whoever, needs to easily imagine scenes on the big screen. What I did for TTMCIR, and other WIPs, is write scenes as if they were in movies. I mean, its structured like a book, sure, but can a reader look at it and imagine it playing on their TV? That's what I'm working on. To build my brand, it needs to be "marketable". 

Heavy quotations on that last bit. Write the book you want to write. Don't worry about trying to make it into a blockbuster or whatever. Hell, I can't say jack until I've actually been published, haha. Ah, well. Frank Herbert was rejected by 20 major publishers before finally releasing Dune. Not that my book compares to his masterpiece, of course.

Against all logic, I have not watched the show Twin Peaks until recently. Loving it! Every single character is fascinating and captivating, and I can really see how this was the inspiration for Gravity Falls. Big ensemble shows like Peaks is so interesting to watch because they work kind of differently, structure-wise, than other non-ensemble shows. Ah, watch. Every "what is he watching?" segment of my blog posts will be shows that have been out for ages I'm finally catching up on. 

As for future projects... hmm. I'll drop some (working) titles: For Sword and Planet. AMERICAN FANTASY. Of Deserts and Delirium. And, of course, starting querying again soon. I've been finishing school, so I haven't had too much time. This summer will hopefully, probably, be a productive one. Until next time. 

First Post 

March 21st, 2023 

I created a website. I figured, as a writer I should have one. That space on Query Manager that asked if I had a website link was haunting me. So... query agents, am I valid now?! Haha... just kidding... please publish me. 

What do I write on here? Every author has a blog, but I feel like I'm not interesting enough to regularly write about. Let's see... I got a full ride into Columbia College in Chicago. That was pretty cool. If I go there I'll definitely focus on screenwriting. I just found out that TOMORROW I find out the results of The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards advancement round for my Gold Key winner, Those That Might Consider it Red. Fingers crossed. Maybe that'll make agents like my book more. 

My friend is writing a Dungeons and Dragons book. I honestly don't know a ton about it, I just know his neighbor, who's an illustrator for DnD and Magic the Gathering is helping him make it. I playtested his one-shot inside of it, and it was pretty fun! Might write more about the book later. OH, Honor Amongst Thieves looks surprisingly good, despite Chris Pine creeping me out with those white walker eyes of his. I've been getting more into the game recently. Finally got around to watching The Legend of Vox Machina. 

I deleted Twitter. Doesn't mean I won't still post stuff, but that bird app is soul-sucking. Sorry to my mutuals on there, but at a certain point seeing: "I wrote one hundred pages today!" and "I got a full manuscript request!!" is too much to bear. You guys are great, but I've gotta take a break for my own sanity. Moral of the story is follow me. Follow me now. 

I think that's all for now. I'll aim for a monthly blog post. DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, cuz I might forget or simply be too lazy. Anyways, I digress. Until next time.