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Only Sith Deal In Absolutes!

date posted: Jun 05, 2007 2:46 AM | updated: Jun 06, 2007 6:02 PM

Abel Vs. Star Wars A.K.A. Recent Projects Mashup

Phew! After a two-week trip to the Far East, nearly a week at Star Wars Celebration 4, and surprise and non-surprise birthday parties, things are finally winding down. Seems like a good time to bring folks up to speed with my recent writing projects.

These last few months, I've been mostly busy with non-Star Wars projects, though that should be changing soon. One very cool surprise is that my recently published short story Eloquence hit the #1 spot for bestselling new short on Amazon.com over St. Patrick's Day weekend! Maybe it was because the cover's green.

The story, which I call one helluva a front-row seat through road rage, has been well received. For fans of Star Wars lit, take a dash of Stoverian vulgarity, a pound of Allstonian absurdity, and a pinch of Saxtonian precision and you've got Eloquence. If you haven't checked out the story already, at a cost of only two quarters, your investment is pretty safe. (Incidentally, click this link for a full cross section of Amazon Shorts by Star Wars authors.)

They say Geminis have split personalities. If so, then here comes a clear-cut case of Good Abel, Bad Abel. A far cry from the macho insanity of Eloquence, you can see my softer side in "Between Naples and Memphis," my short story in the newly released travel anthology Italy From A Backpack. This story is a nonfiction piece about what the Ewoks call the most powerful force in the universe: love. Aww... yes, love in a foreign country, but not quite the kind you might expect. I've always had a thing for older women, you see...

Of course, if you're still craving a Star Wars fix, you can check out my long-delayed showdown, Star Wars Vs. Lord of the Rings, coinciding with the venerable Star Wars Fanboy Association's tenth anniversary celebration, as well as my recent interview at TeeKay-421.

I'll keep you folks posted about my future projects. Thanks for the support, and may the Fellowship be with you! ~ Abel G. Pe�a

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	DJ Maul: Got Feet? DJ Maul's Dancin' Cantina Party
date Posted: Jun 05, 2007 5:36 AM I should probably wait to comment til I have more time to delve into depth, but I enjoyed the "SW VS LOTR" read and agree with many of your points, and I think I may give "Eloquence" a read later today after work; it sounds right up my alley.

Halagad
Only Sith Deal In Absolutes!

date Posted: Jun 05, 2007 10:46 AM

I'm a big fan of the Lord of the Rings films, but I'm also a big fan of the Star Wars prequels. Often I find that whenever someone doesn't like the prequels, they use the LOTR films to point out all the deficiencies they perceive to exist and all the ways George Lucas has failed to "grow" as a filmmaker. I really don't agree with that at all, and I tihnk a lot of it has to do with biases many of us have born out of nostalgia for the "flawless" original trilogy.

I think there was a similarly unfair reaction to Terminator 3 (a fine action flick) along these lines by twenty and thirty-somethings who shed a tear at T2, but who never even saw the original Terminator movie.

Eloquence is an extremely fast read. Let me know what you think!

	Master Ki-Aaron-Mundi I was a Teenage Jedi
date Posted: Jun 05, 2007 12:32 PM Thanks for sharing all this, and glad to see you're giving your "Star Wars vs. Lord of the Rings" a little press--it's a very well-written piece. And Happy 10th, SWFA!

	Halagad Only Sith Deal In Absolutes!
date Posted: Jun 05, 2007 12:42 PM Thanks Aaron. It was your previous post that prompted me to post this blog update. May has been such a wild month. I think every year I subconsciously try to turn the entire month into one long birthday party.

	The Stooge Star Wars Joke-A-Day
date Posted: Jun 05, 2007 8:11 PM Y'know what else costs fifty cents? A Snickers bar. But it aint nearly as satisfying. Thanks for the wild read!

	Halagad Only Sith Deal In Absolutes!
date Posted: Jun 05, 2007 11:42 PM Glad you liked it! It took a while to find that zany story a home, but the Amazon arrangement has worked great because it only costs about as much as a candy bar, instead of having to buy an entire anthology or literary periodical.

	Rainbow Droideka Aren't you a little short for an egg?
date Posted: Jun 06, 2007 12:31 AM Y'know what else costs fifty cents? A Snickers bar. In Ecuador, Snickers bars were like a $1.50 (one of the only things not dirt cheap; they're imported)....and you might, you know, get a sugar rush from one of those (especially if you're eating it at 13,000 feet above sea level like I was)....but it's no "Eloquence".

jSarek
jSarek's Infonet

date Posted: Jun 06, 2007 3:31 AM

I think the problem with Teminator 3 was its invalidation of what went before. "The future is not set . . . there is no fate but what we make" turned into "The future is pretty much set . . . you can maybe postpone fate by a few years if you try really hard." Add to that the fact that future John Connor is killed, and it really tried to strip the hope from the franchise.

Maybe, in some way, that was bringing the franchise back to the roots of the original . . . "there's a storm coming," and all that. But at least in the original we knew there was a silver lining to the gathering storm clouds in the form of John Connor's victory. Also, it's one thing to limit hope from the beginning, and another to take away hope once it's been given.

Halagad
Only Sith Deal In Absolutes!

date Posted: Jun 06, 2007 11:32 AM

In Ecuador, Snickers bars were like a $1.50 (one of the only things not dirt cheap; they're imported)....

Ha! Yes, it's true. The American candy was all more expensive in Japan too, and I smuggled in THREE BAGS of Snickers for my friend living there!

and you might, you know, get a sugar rush from one of those (especially if you're eating it at 13,000 feet above sea level like I was)....but it's no "Eloquence".

Ah ... thanks for the kind words.

Halagad
Only Sith Deal In Absolutes!

date Posted: Jun 06, 2007 12:18 PM

Re: T3

See, those reversals are what I liked about Terminator 3. I didn't see them as invalidations but enriching complications. Hope is still central, IMO. And I did see T3 as harkening strongly to the original Terminator.

I guess I just didn't see T3 as an indictment of hope. Indeed, the future isn't only not set, as T2 says, but T3 says it's also unknowable...self-aware machines have the power of hope too, apparently. And regardless of whether John dies, the good guys still win--in T3 (at astronomical cost) and in the future--or at least John, and we, hope.

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