Julio Vazquez's Blog

• I've been interviewed!!

  2008 Jan 20

  Over the holidays, I was asked by a friend to talk a little bit about publishing. He recorded the conversation and posted the podcast at Info Online. It was a fun talk and I'm hoping that everyone will gain some insight into what the publishing world is like and at least understand why I came to Lulu.
  
  On a different note, I just wanted to share a little something. I went to Amazon.com today just to sniff around my books a little to see if anybody took time to review my work. It turns out someone did but it wasn't quite a pleasant experience. The person was pretty negative about the book but the reality is that real art inspires either love or hate; there's no in between. When I read the review closely, I realized that the writer probably missed the point of the subtext of the novel and that their literary knowledge was probably slight because some of the themes in Death at Disney are similar to those in Lolita. That said I resisted the urge to respond to the review and left it there for those who read it to make up their own minds.
  
  That's the basic lesson. Take the reviews and don't respond. The only thing a response would do is paint a picture of you that may sway your readers from a purchase.
  
  Take care.
  

• A birth week

  2007 Dec 10

  Two weeks ago I became an adopted uncle. That is a close friend's daughter had a child and I am part of that inner circle. I feel blessed. It was amazing to hold this new little human being in my arms and know that, for now, the human race has some hope ahead of it.
  
  That same week brought two other births into my sphere: one from a colleague at work; the other from a fellow writer. It is quite interesting to be there at the beginning. It also reminds you of the responsibilities we have to those who are entering this planet at this point of time.
  
  We must make sure that they have every chance at survival we can give them. I surely hope we don't screw it up.
  
  Interestingly enough, other people returned to my sphere recently. Good people who I've been missing but couldn't get in touch with. I definitely had a great week and am pleased to have so much goodness back in my life.
  
  Funny how that works out sometimes.
  

• US Judo Open

  2007 Nov 02

  Two weeks ago I went to the US Judo Open in Gwinnett, GA. This is the first international-level competition I've attended. It was simply amazing.
  
  There were 23 countries represented and I learned quite a bit. I had taken a small sabbatical from Judo while to focus on Karate for a while so I saw a number of changes in refereeing over the past year. It was also interesting to see how people compete at this level and it opened my eyes to the sport aspects a little more as I don't actively compete myself.
  
  There was a lot of talent on the mats and I definitely will try to make other internationally-ranked competitions in the future.
  
  Now if I can only get my writing done.
  

• Charleston, SC

  2007 Aug 26

  Last weekend I took a short trip down to Charleston. What a great city to visit. Lots of history there in a very small area. Basically, I parked the car at the hotel and got to see a lot in a couple of days and even walked a lot. Problem is that even when you do a lot of walking, it may not help much because there are lots of great restaurants.
  
  Suffice it to say that I gained 2 pounds, even though it seemed like I was walking forever.
  
  Took the tour of Fort Sumter and I was duly impressed. It's awe-inspiring to be standing in a place where folks fought and died for what they believed in, regardless of whether you agreed with those beliefs. Seeing the actual shells embedded in the walls just made it far more real than reading about it in the history books.
  
  I intend to take another trip there sometime in the near future. I recommend it to all. (It also gave me a few thoughts that I'm noting for a future piece.)
  
  Enjoy!
  

• Ever lose a friend?

  2007 Aug 07

  Interesting.
  
  I've had people come in and out of my life. Normally it's the sort of thing that you just grow apart with time and distance. Sometimes, it's because their time has come and they have left us for what we hope are greener pastures.
  
  I've never had someone decide to no longer be in my life and ask that I never contact them again. I find that it's a difficult thing to handle. I had thought that we would be sharing thoughts, ideas, and news for a long time to come.
  
  To have that torn away is distressing. I hope you never experience it.
  

• It's been an interesting month

  2007 Jul 29

  Well, I've already told you about my trip to Manteo. One thing I didn't mention is that a few days afterwards, I went in to get some surgery done on my knee. It was really minor repair work, but it was amazing to me to see how quickly I was able to recover. The same day as the procedure, I actually went upstairs with relatively little pain. I was driving by the end of the week and am now working on getting back to my training. I'm enjoying the short break but can't wait to get back to sweating off a few pounds.
  
  This month also marks publication of an article I wrote for an online website. Survivor's Review. I'll let you read it for yourself to find out what it's about, but I'm happy that they accepted the piece. I'm also reworking an old story that I'm considering sending to a publication. I hope to get that done in a week or so and I'll let you know in a few months whether it gets accepted.
  
  Still working on a novel, but life and work keep getting in the way. I expect that I won't be able to finish this year, but am hoping to at least get through the first draft before Christmas.
  
  Enjoy! This is the only chance you've got.
  

• If you get a chance, visit Manteo

  2007 Jul 09

  Let me start by saying, I'm not on any travel bureau or visitor's bureau or responsible for drumming up business for any town. That said, I'll tell you that I spent the weekend in Manteo and had a good time. If it wasn't for the set of activities that were pre-arranged, I probably would have had more time to explore the town, but it's definitely a quaint little seaside town that probably hasn't changed much in the last 100 years or so.
  
  It was a great trip and I spent some time in their "downtown" area, (which from an old NYC boy was amusing) just walking around the various shops and then traversing the wharf. I also got to see this year's production of The Lost Colony which is the oldest outside theatrical production in the U.S. It talks about the first English settlement in this country, which was placed in Roanoke Island and how the settlers just seemed to vanish from the area. It was a good production and anybody coming to NC, should schedule some time to get to Manteo to see the show and the town.
  
  That's it for now. I should be updating this blog soon with some information about some other things, including projects I completed over the last few months.
  
  Enjoy!
  

• Hi there, it's been a while

  2007 May 13

  I know, I know. I've been remiss.
  
  For those of you who come here from time to time to see what I'm up to, I apologize. For those visiting for the first time, welcome. I have to admit that more has happened since the new year than my inactivity has shown, but I guess that not writing here is an indication that I've been pretty busy.
  
  First off, I did spend a lot of the first few months working on obtaining my 4th degree black belt in Karate. I achieved that goal at the end of March and it took up a lot of my spare time and then some. It was difficult, but it felt good to get there and I'm happy to both have achieved that milestone and to have it behind me.
  
  Over the last month or so, I helped my friend, Sharon Hill publish 2 more books here on Lulu. They are pretty interesting pieces and for those in college or just graduating, they provide some good information and I recommend them. (No, I don't get any royalties on them; I just got a flat fee for my work.)
  
  Also, I was appointed as a Lulu Master. I will, from time to time, jump on the forums and try to help folks, but I do want to keep my priorities on finishing the novel I've been working on since the last year. I truly hope that I can finish this one off by the end of the year, but I do get other projects to work on and ideas for short stories and essays that do take me off track. In fact, I am planning on collecting some of the short works I have written in the last couple of years and publishing them on Lulu, hopefully sometime next year.
  
  Hope to drop by again sometime soon, but things are busy.
  
  Enjoy!!
  

• Good news in the New Year

  2007 Jan 06

  Hi all,
  
  Seems like I don't get on here very often, but life has been pretty busy. It's been a bit of a ride over the past few months and I haven't made much progress on the new book, but after I get a couple of other projects out of the way, I intend to put aside some time every week to work on it.
  
  I'll be helping Sharon Hill on a couple of books she's got in the pipe and I have a ghost writing project that sounds really interesting. A local rock musician has also approached me to work on a book with him, so there's the possibility that 2007 will be a very busy year.
  
  The best news is that I got the results of the Writer's Digest Self Published Awards. While I didn't win (and honestly didn't expect to), The critique I got on Where is Love? was extremely positive. I got excellent on grammar, plot, and character development. The only thing that brought it down was the cover (which I suspected would be the case). While that doesn't help me generate any sales, it's very satisfying from an author's standpoint to know that the quality was that high.
  
  Maybe the next book, I'll get it all together and also have sales.
  
  I do want to thank all of you who have made Death at Disney a success, though. I see that once again, I've had sales this quarter. Makes me feel good.
  
  Enjoy the year and catch up with you all soon!
  

• The name is Bond, James Bond

  2006 Nov 27

  Hi all,
  
  Hope that you U.S. Lulus have overcome the Thanksgiving bloat. It's also interesting to note that folks are crazy enough to stand in line for hours to give their money away to the large corporations, but cannot take time to help the needy. Black Friday is sort of a disgraceful and highly visible indicator of how "thing-oriented" the people of this nation have become. If only a small portion of the money spent that day went to feed the homeless, there would be a little less hunger in the world. I guess I'm getting cranky in my old age, but the holiday season in this country appears to be less about people and more about gadgets.
  
  Enough of the rant and on to the topic I titled this entry about and that's Bond.
  
  Over the weekend, I saw Casino Royale and I was quite impressed. The movie has the feel of the original book (and I have read the Bond books numerous times - Fleming is one of my influences). The story was updated only slightly, but the overall feel is more of a traditional spy film than the gadget-fest the series became. There are a few departures from the traditions established by the franchise, like refraining from playing the Bond theme at the beginning of the movie, but overall it was quite an enjoyable ride. I recommend it highly.
  
  Have fun and catch you folks around soon.