My Nerd Blog

STRANGE/STRANGE TOO DVD/Blu-Ray Review

Anton Corbijn, long-time Depeche Mode collaborator and artistic visionary for the band, let it “slip” earlier this year during a Momento Mori promotional interview that he was overseeing the transfer of the original Super 8 footage for the short film Strange. I assumed at the time we would be getting Strange Too, too, and was equally excited and surprised to hear of the rerelease of the beloved additions to the band’s videography during this crucial era of their career.

Being blessed to live in Southern California until after the end of the Exciter tour, I can tell you that the years surrounding the release of both short films were extraordinary as a Depeche Mode fan. Richard Blade, a DJ for World Famous KROQ radio in Los Angeles at the time, was filmed for the VH1 Behind the Music: Depeche Mode, saying he believed that the band could have found further fame had they produced more mainstream videos than those of Anton Corbijn. While we’ll never know the accuracy of Blade’s opinion, I can say that I absolutely disagree. Anton’s visual representation of Depeche Mode, strangely (as the titles allude), was a perfect fit for the abundantly relatable yet still wholly ambiguous lyrical stylings of Martin Gore. This combination of music and visuals is captured heartwarmingly in the Blu-Ray and DVD release of Strange/Strange Too. I would have said it was “perfectly” captured, but time has taken its toll on the film of Anton Corbijn’s already somewhat gritty and grainy style.

The Packaging

I’ve never been much of a fan of the modern era of Depeche Mode physical releases. Call me old school, but I prefer the CD/DVD jewel cases of the past and am less of a fan of the paper/cardboard digipaks accompanying the physical versions. As a digipak version, after seeing the promotional images, I already wished we were getting two separate releases of the original films and videos. But, after getting my Amazon delivery (I miss going to the local record and import shops on the day of a DM release), I was pleasantly surprised at how a simple yet effective double release was packaged together.

The two covers adorning front and back, a technique mirrored in the removable liner notes after opening the gatefold, was clever in keeping the set simple yet still inclusive of interesting content before you place the single disc into your DVD/Blu-Ray player. It’s always a joy to see Anton Corbijn’s notes attached to his handy work, and it’s no less enjoyable here in the folded reversible pull-out. Of course, seeing Anton’s classic photos of the band is never a disappointment. But, we are also treated to some, albeit very minimal (as is typical for Anton), new artwork included in the notes and carried over to the disc menu, with Anton’s unmistakable artistic “doodles” of hand-drawn rectangles around the clickable menu items. The inner gatefold also features broad brushes of greys and black, with a smattering of white. While ultimately unremarkable, it still is one hundred percent Anton Corbijn. It rounds out the release’s visuals that keep in theme with all of Depeche Mode’s releases with Anton at the creative helm. Personally, at a time when we are no longer treated to an abundance of Anton Corbijn artwork for the various releases attached to Memento Mori, it was a nice treat to have Strange/Strange Too created with such detail and added attention.

The Visuals

Seeing the MUTE logo always gives me a nostalgic hit of dopamine. And, as I mentioned, I would have liked initially to have seen these films/video collections released separately. But as soon as the menu screen came up, seeing Anton’s artwork and an easy-to-navigate menu between the two artistic works, it made all the sense to package them as they have. I also found the background soundtrack on the menu to be a welcome surprise.

I appreciated the added text inside the gatefold explaining the difficulty of the conversion process and its impact on this release. The only time I saw a noticeable difference was during the Strangelove portion of Strange, where there was abundant graining within some of the shots. It wasn’t enough to ruin the experience for me, but enough to at least notice. Otherwise, both Strange and Strange Too were just as enjoyable as the last time I had watched them decades ago on my worn-out VHS tapes, and even more enjoyable from a format standpoint having them on Blu-Ray.

Apart from the limited availability of Clean and Halo on past releases and now having them persevered in this release, it’s the films Strange and Strange, too, as the main attraction that matters most with this release.
Drawing back upon that quote and the not-so-subtle jab at Anton’s artistic style, it’s precisely Corbin’s style that continued to fuel my passion for this band between major releases. The genius of what Anton Corbijn created in both these films rests in his less is more approach. Anton didn’t get overindulgent in his art; he kept the content between the videos short. Long enough to get an impression of his artistry yet short enough to understand that the viewer wants to get to the good stuff, the music. Was the video for A Question of Time weird to me as a sixteen-year-old? Sure, but I had an open mind because I already loved this band so dearly. Were the Strange interviews between the music videos of European models and old men bizarre? Absolutely, but again, I kept an open mind because this was something the band approved of and, therefore, I approved of. For Strange Too, abandoning the black and white aesthetic for color on Strange Too as a fan, I was already sold when I first saw the promotional ads for the pending release. Along those lines, I appreciate the noted difference in the titles of these releases, such as Black and White Mode and Colour Mode by Anton Corbijn, on the packaging. Also, on a personal note, it’s fun to see the visuals from Strange Too, many of which were ultimately used for the live visuals on the World Violation Tour, especially in the clean promo clip in the film. World In My Eyes is a personal favorite of mine, being filmed entirely on that tour. A part of me thinks if the band cares enough to release these gems from so many years ago, then maybe we’ll get that proper World Violation Tour physical release. Dare to Dream On.

Ultimately, this lifelong Depeche Mode fan is more than happy with the Strange/Strange Too release. The fact that as much attention to detail and care was given to create this release shows how much Dave, Martin, and the current iteration of their promotional team understand the love that fans like you and me have for this band. Now, how about that The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg Blu-ray release?

You can listen to DEPECHE MODE: the podcast on all podcast platforms, and on YouTube

FREE EMBARK: AUDIOBOOK CODES

United States EMBARK: (Book 1 ) Audio codes
Please enjoy one free audio review copy of Embark, now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time UK use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo If a code is taken, try another.

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Top Gun: Maverick is this generations Star Wars

I had little expectation of Top Gun Maverick when I saw its trailer pre-pandemic. Sure, I grew up with a love of the 1986 blockbuster, and I still could recite the movie verbatim to this day. But I assumed, like most I imagine, that it wouldn’t amount to anything other than a fun nostalgic trip down memory lane all these years later, a high-tech knockoff of what could have been if Top Gun were made today. Then the people who got to see it early started talking. It was then that I said something similar to this article by politico about the potential for Top Gun: Maverick based on that early buzz for the film. I’ll take it a step further and say that Top Gun: Maverick (TGM) is this generation’s Star Wars. Now, I don’t believe TGM will spawn a slate of sequels, although that is certainly possible. However, much like the original Star Wars, TGM was released at precisely the right time to capture the attention of America (and other parts of the world that don’t get put off seeing Americans doing and accomplishing amazing things.) When Star Wars was released in 1977, it came out just as the country was emerging from the Vietnam war. As a result, the box office was filled with downbeat depressing stories. However, Star Wars took its audience to places it had never been. It was a thrilling adventure, a hero’s journey portrayed in a way we’d never seen on the big screen. Most importantly, you walked out feeling good.

If TGM were released when it was intended back in 2020, right as we were dealing with COVID, I think it’s safe to say no one would have appreciated it the way we do now or simply wouldn’t have gone to see it. But instead, we get this fantastic film at a time when we are now emerging from the pandemic going back to the movies, and things should be getting better. But things aren’t better. There is a war being waged overseas. Tensions in the US have never in my lifetime been as bad as they are right now. The price of everything is skyrocketing with no end in sight. And here we have this two-hour blockbuster, an apolitical, totally lacking in social commentary, MACH 10 thrill ride of great looking people doing extraordinary things, led by an actor who is as familiar to us as our spouses, children, parents, and friends. A movie so void of agenda that it’s so far criticism proof regardless of which side of the political spectrum you fall on. Not to mention, it’s straightforward storytelling that is completely lacking from most every other blockbuster released in the past ten years, including the films I love. Oh, and let’s also not forget that this is a film that only minimally leans into the nostalgia of its thirty-six-year-old predecessor. And most importantly, you leave the film, feel good. Actually, no, not just good, but great! You leave forgetting all about the world we live in and thinking maybe things will actually get better. Because, things can’t really be that bad, if only only because this movie actually exists.

Will we get a “Top Gun Universe” of spin-offs? Who knows, and honestly, I don’t care. I just know that Top Gun: Maverick reminded me at age 49 why I love going to movies, just as Star Wars made me fall in love with movies when I was 5. Thank you, Dad!

March 25th (updated April 24th)

EMBARK gets an impromptu theme song.

I wrote EMBARK Book 1 as an homage to many things that I love. From Star Wars to NASCAR (it’s in there if you know where to look) to movies and music. Almost every ID designation is an Easter egg of some sort, as are many ship names. I also had the characters be fans of the music I love. Taft and Depeche Mode are the most obvious, while Kaytha loves Chvrches, as do I. At the time I wrote the book Chvrches had just released the Love is Dead album, of which there are a few mentions as well. What I am sure was a coincidence a few years after the release of EMBARK book 1, Chvrches released a single for the video game Death Stranding. What’s odd is that the song could easily be a closing anthem for an eventual EMBARK the Motion Picture. But, again, I am sure it’s only a coincidence that the lyrics fit so nicely with the plot and themes of the book. Below are the key lyrics and also a video for the song itself. Remember to scroll down and look at the older blogs if you haven’t in a while, and grab a free audiobook code if they are still available. EMBARK Battle Planet (Book 7) is coming May 19th!

You can take my heart
Hold it together as we fall apart
Maybe together we can make our mark in the stars we embark
And keep us together as the lights go dark

Let’s open up to the sky
Askin’ it for closure
‘Least we can say that we tried
But it’s never really over
What will become of us all, at the end of the line?
Will we live?
Will we die?

Thurs Nov 25th

It’s been some time since I have just blogged about the world we live in and life in general. Without getting into the past several months, it’s been a tumultuous second half of the year. This Thanksgiving, I am thankful that it appears I can put most of what has transpired behind me and close out the year on a positive note. Thank you for taking the time to check out my website and if you decide to give my books a read or my podcasts a listen. With so much available entertainment, I genuinely appreciate that you would take the time to fit in some of the content I have produced.

With vacations coming up for many, I wanted to offer a few recommendations beyond the EMBARK series 🙂 If you haven’t watched Foundation on Apple TV, in my opinion, it’s one of the best sci-fi series, beyond Star Wars, that I have ever watched on TV. I would recommend subtitles, only because it’s pretty heady. But both my wife (who isn’t nearly as big a sci-fi fan) and I can’t say enough good things about the show. Also, on Apple TV, the Tom Hanks movie FINCH was very enjoyable. Lastly, while it’s still in theaters, I really liked Ghostbusters Afterlife. It had a “Force Awakens” vibe in how the characters related to the past events, and I find myself on this Thanksgiving wanting to head to the theaters again to see it.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family, and your loved ones. May you have a joyous holiday season.
Jon “Justice” LoGiudice

Sunday Oct 31st

Happy Halloween! I just wanted to provide a quick book release update. My writing stalled for about a month on Book 7. However, I am happy to say that I have begin writing again and hope to get the next EMBARK release out by either late Dec or early January. Also, I’ve added a ton of art to the concept and art page, like the piece above. I hope you have a fantastic Halloween and great holiday season. For a reason! Jon Justice.

Monday Sept 13th EMBARK: Book 11 ebook Box Set

Now available, EMBARK: Books 1 -3 in an ebook box set for just .99c. Hit the link to start reading Book 1, Treasure in Darkness: Book 2 and The Vanishing War: Book 3 today. Once you’re finished be sure to pick up Book’s 1-6 ahead of Book 7’s release later this year!

Tues August 24th 2021 FREE US/UK AUDIOBOOKS & BOOK 6 Pre-Order!

In honor of the latest book in the EMBARK Saga, Fear The Dangerous Night (6), I am offering free audiobook codes for books 1 & 2. Grab your US or UK codes below THE EMBARK BANNERS and begin your sci-fi space opera adventure. Get caught up on the story before the release of book 6 on August 26th in ebook and paperback. (Audiobook coming soon)

To Pre-Order EMBARK: Fear The Dangerous Night (Book 6) Click Here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CMZ2S3K

Get started on the series here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K7LLFZY (Book 1 available in ebook for only .99c)

BE SURE TO SELECT YOUR REGION UK or US

United Kingdom CODES Below: Please enjoy one free audio review copy of Embark Book 1, now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.co.uk/acx-promo

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United States CODES Below: Please enjoy a free audio review copy of Embark Book 1, now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo (If a code a taken, try another!)

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BE SURE TO SELECT YOUR REGION UK or US

United Kingdom CODES Below: Please enjoy one free audio review copy of EMBARK Treasure In Darkness: (Book 2), now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.co.uk/acx-promo

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United States: CODES below: Please enjoy a free audio review copy of EMBARK Treasure In Darkness: (Book 2), now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo (If a code a taken, try another!)

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Sat July 24th 2021

We won! Thank you to everyone who voted in this contest. I’m really proud of this conclusion to the opening trilogy of the EMBARK series. I pray that the exposure will lead to Book 1 being optioned for a live action production. Whether it’s a movie/movies, or a live action series, I write all my stories with intent that they would be developed beyond the books.

EMBARK: Fear the Dangerous Night (Book 6) is coming in August, with Book 7 slated for release before the end of the year. Pick up the entire series today, great for all ages!

Tues May 11th 2021

Thanks for swinging by the website. If you poke around, you’ll find videos and links to my weekly Star Wars Podcast, and details about the entire EMBARK series.
Because many people ask, all of the EMBARK books are age-appropriate for 11yrs old and up. I write these sci-fi adventures for adults, but just like Star Wars, by comparison, the adult themes and violence are on par with what you would expect for typical Star Wars film to book adaptations.
As a bonus for checking out my website, enjoy free audio review codes for Book 4 in the series Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune. If you’re new to EMBARK, this standalone adventure can serve as your entry point. Check out the entire EMBARK series here. Book 1 is currently available for only 2.99 in ebook.

Please enjoy one free audio review copy of Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune (Embark Book 4), now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo (If a code is taken, try another)

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Mon May 10th 2021

The place where Luna thought dreams came true is about to become her worst nightmare.

THE ROCKET QUEEN EMBARK 5 in my Science Fiction series is available in ebook and paperback today! Set over one hundred years in the future, where air and space flight has replaced car culture, Book one follows a group of friends who unwittingly find themselves fighting for survival in the middle of an industrial accident apocalypse and Earth’s evacuation. In books two-three, humanity in deep space on newly colonized worlds fights against a tyrannical galactic regime. Book four is a spin-off adventure that sets the stage for the next events to unfold.

All four books are available in ebook, Paperback, and audiobook here.

EMBARK The Rocket Queen: Book 5 continues the space opera saga, kicking off an all-new trilogy

Two decades have passed since the apocalyptic chain of events forced humanity to abandon Earth. A military reconnaissance team is sent back to the evacuee’s homeworld to investigate an unprovoked attack on the colonized worlds.

Upon arrival, mission leader Luna Gaurdia uncovers a nefarious plot when she’s taken hostage by the mysterious and dangerous leader of survivors living in isolation within a theme park.

Who is the Rocket Queen, and what is she after? Luna must find out before it’s too late.

Never read EMBARK? Let The Rocket Queen be your first entry into the series, with books one-five serving as the prequels. Buy EMBARK The Rocket Queen in ebook and Paperback here today!

Thurs March 11th The Rocket Queen Pre-Order

You can now Pre-Order EMBARK The Rocket Queen: Book 5 in ebook here! Pre-Ordering the ebook ensures the $2.99 sale price and helps with my rankings on release day. The Paperback will be available on release day Tues March 16th.

As a preview, enjoy the back of the book blurb below.

Luna thought she was traveling to the happiest place on Earth. But it might be her worst nightmare.

It’s been two decades since the apocalyptic chain of events forced humanity to abandon Earth. An unprovoked attack on the United Galaxy Coalition leads back to the evacuees’ homeworld. With the colonized worlds in danger, a reconnaissance team onboard an advanced starship is sent to investigate.

During the journey, mission leader, starfighter pilot Luna Gaurdia finds herself stuck in the middle of a mysterious and nefarious plot that only she can unravel.

Who is the Rocket Queen, and what is she after? Luna must find out before it’s too late.

The Rocket Queen is the beginning of a new trilogy and book 5 in the ongoing EMBARK series by Jon “Justice” LoGiudice.

Catch up on the EMBARK stories here!

Wed Feb 17th

Keep an eye on your podcasting apps. This week I’ll be doing two Star Wars podcasts. First, with so many responses to last weekend’s, show there will be a special release just for listener feedback, either Wed or Thurs. Then, this weekend, the regular edition of A Star Wars Podcast will include commentary on the Obi-Wan Kenobi live-action show and these two tweets below.

If anybody questions whether or not Reylo were meant to be romantic, you can stop speculating. Rian absolutely saw them as a romance. 😍
— Sariah Wilson (@sariahwilson) February 16, 2021

I'm just going to post this now because I can see that I'm going to get a lot of requests –

Yes, Rian's SW trilogy is still on. No dates or timelines because he has other projects going on, but it is happening.

THAT IS ALL I KNOW ABOUT IT. 😁😁😁
— Sariah Wilson (@sariahwilson) February 16, 2021

Friday, Feb 12 2021

Once again, my beloved Star Wars has crashed into the politics of the day. I’m not going to lie; I hate it. But, this is the world we live in, right, and hopefully, when we get through whatever garbage this cancel culture is, we’ll be better as a society. I’m cautiously (understatement) optimistic about that happening. But we don’t have a choice right now.

It was this article that inspired me to write this blog today.

Instead Of Just Boycotting Disney, Conservatives Should Demand Their Right To Exist

I don’t do boycotts for the most part. I, too often see them promoting the very thing those involved hope to send a message to. However, I do agree with the Daily Wire article. Being “diverse,” those “coexist” bumper stickers you used to see, “inclusivity,” “tolerance,” means EVERYONE. All those things mean you have to willing to be intellectually honest and thought-full. None of what Gina Carano has posted that caused so much controversy was a fireable offense. The Mando actor himself tweeted a photo comparing children in Nazi Germany children in cages next to kids in cages at the border, which is an absurd comparison. Those kids at the border are separated in the facilities for their own personal safety and taken care of. The parents have to be processed to make sure the children are not being trafficked. Those border kids were put there by the Obama Administration and given three full meals a day, clothing, and medical care. Pedro Pascal, like Gina Carano, has a right to post that stupid tweet. But there is the double standard.

When I set out to write my science fiction stories, I was inspired by George Lucas and what he did in creating Star Wars. Beyond the action, spaceships, lasers, and aliens, I was intrigued by “The Force.” As a five-year-old child and then a young boy in a staunch Christian household, the Star Wars movies, books, and toys, centered the religious beliefs I was being taught. “The Force” in Star Wars helped me understand the power of the Lord God Almighty and forever changed me for the better and eternity.

When I wrote EMBARK: Book 1, I wanted to create a story set in the future, with fantastical tech, spaceships, epic battles, light-romance, with defined heroes and villains. But, because of my beliefs, my tales are filled with strong conservative principles and family values. That wasn’t my intention when I started writing, but it was part of the outcome.

I write my stories because I love science fiction, especially the space opera genre. I work hard on new books as part of a long-term retirement plan. But I also genuinely hope that my stories can inspire others, young and old, to the themes of personal responsibility, freedom, and liberty vs. tyranny and oppression, strong family values, and respect for one another.

There are very few conservative Christian authors that write in my genre of science-fiction-fantasy space opera. Most books, shows, and films in this genre are filled with agenda. I suppose one could say that if they wanted about my stories. But, honestly, that’s only if you consider what I believe to be promoting “common sense” as an “agenda.”

I pray one day that the EMBARK series could be the science-fiction equivalent to the recent Daily Wire production Run, Hide Fight. RHF could have been a major release, and I don’t think most people would have realized they were watching a movie that intended to, and very successfully, deliver a message of personal responsibility and staunch self-defense. My understanding is that it was supposed to be a major film release and not tied to Daily Wire. But, when the pandemic hit, the Daily Wire producers needed to shift promotion tactics and used their platform to release the film.

I hope more conservatives create good quality conservative mainstream content while also speaking out against the silencing of different views. Cancel culture is real, and it needs to end. As always, I do believe that God has a plan, and everything happens for a reason. I’ll miss Gina on the Mandalorian, but I am sure she will bounce back. In the meantime, I’ll continue to watch Disney content because it brings me joy, and I would never want someone not reading my stories because of my beliefs.

Since you took the time to read this, I have some freebies for you. Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune Audiobook promo codes! If a code is taken, try the next one. CODES AVAILABLE AT THE END OF THE POST.

Lastly, many people have asked if there is a way to purchase the EMBARK books outside of Amazon. There is. You can buy paperbacks directly from me. Plus, I’ll sign them if you like. It will typically take about four weeks for them to be sent.

To purchase from AMAZON GO HERE: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K7LLFZY

To buy Paperbacks directly from me, below are the details.

You have two options: buy individually or the entire set at a reduced rate.

Individual price: +$5.00 per book for shipping

EMBARK (1) $10.00

Treasure in Darkness (2) $8.00

The Vanishing War (3) $10.00

Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune (4) $5.00

For the complete set, signed and shipping included: $45.00 (which gives you a $13.00 discount vs the individual rate)

All you need to do is pay me through PayPal talkshownerd@gmail.com

Let me know what books you want and be sure leave the name you want them signed and your address in the notes on PayPal.

GAHAN CORBIJN AUDIOBOOK CODES

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Tue, Feb 9th 2021

The latest release in my EMBARK SciFi space opera series, Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune, is now available in ebook, paperback on audiobook. This Book can be read as a stand-alone story and Book 4 in my ongoing series.

In honor of its release, I am offering up free review codes for the Vanishing War audiobook (EMBARK Book 4). This story is the conclusion of the opening trilogy that provides the set up to book 4.

To grab your free audiobook, click here and grab your free audible code while they last. I hope you enjoy the story and consider picking up Books 1, 2, and 4 in the future. Thanks!

Please enjoy one free audio review copy of EMBARK The Vanishing War: (Book 3), now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

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Sunday Feb 7th

In honor of the release of Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune (EMBARK 4) Audiobook I am offering up free Audiobook download codes for EMBARK Book 1 and 2.

EMBARK BOOK 1 EBOOK ONLY .99 cents! (audiobook codes below)

IF A CODE IS ALREADY REDEEMED, TRY ANOTHER (new codes added Sunday 2/7)

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Sunday, Jan 17th, 2021

Gahan Corbijn CONCEPT ART Tom Edwards DESIGN

Coming soon, Free EMBARK audiobooks!
I hope where ever you are, and whenever you are reading this, you are happy and healthy. I wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who has picked up my latest book Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune. The Audiobook should be available any day now. As soon as Audible posts the audio version as a special release bonus, I will be giving away free review audio codes for the previous audiobooks. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter here and keep an eye on this blog.

Mon Jan 12

Gahan Corbijn crash lands today!

I was excited about today. In a way, I still am, but I can’t deny the dark cloud that hangs overhead in our society right now. Back around late 2015, 16, I decided to challenge myself. I’ve always been better at talking than writing. So during a difficult time working for the radio station in Tucson, I set out to write a sci-fi novel, having no idea of what would come of it. Today I am releasing book 4 in my EMBARK sci-fi space opera series.
Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune is a fun, somewhat silly addition to my ongoing series. It’s funnier than my previous books and the shortest of them so far by design. I had a blast writing the story, and I genuinely hope people have a good time reading it.
However, I wish it wasn’t coming out now, today, in the middle of one of the darkest periods in American history, I can remember. I considered not making a big deal about its release. I thought of just making it available, not focusing on any promotion, and moving on to editing the completed draft of book five and a movie treatment I am also working on for EMBARK book 1. I will not do that because that’s what those that oppose any dissenting voices in America want. They want people fearful and scared to speak out. My sales probably won’t be as good as I hoped, and that’s okay. But I pray that for people who need a distraction, my adventure story, a tale of problem-solving, friendship, love, and yes, good vs. evil, will bring joy to all who read it. I’ll continue to speak the truth every day in my full-time job, and I’ll continue to write my stories, regardless of what happens in the news of the day.
Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune is available now in ebook and paperback, with the audiobook releasing any day now. You can pick up all four of my novels here.
Be safe, trust in God in all things, for everything happens, good and bad, as Gahan Corbijn finds out, for a reason.

Jon

Mon Jan 11th: Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune officially lands tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the day that former rock star turned space mailman Gahan Corbijn gets stuck on an asteroid worth over a quadrillion dollars (16 Psyche is an actual asteroid, and yes, it values at over a quadrillion)

I know a lot is going on right now, but I hope you’ll take the opportunity to pick up this adventure and take your mind off everything negative around you. I’m glad to be releasing this book at this moment in time. While it is a somewhat comedic sci-fi story about a man and his sarcastic AI companion, it’s also more. It’s a tale of how to overcome adversity, one challenge at a time. It’s a story of how, even with technology, that might be a friendly comfort, it’s no substitution for human interaction.

Even if you have not read any EMBARK stories, this action-adventure can be read as a stand-alone story or book 4 in the EMBARK series. Below is the back of the book blurb.

Gahan Corbijn, former musician turned intergalactic messenger, used to tour the world in his beloved ship, the ZERONINE. That was before the Great Evacuation of Earth sent countless humans into deep space to find a new home.

With nowhere left to rock, Gahan traveled between the populated planets with his sarcastic AI companion “Alex,” sending out communication drones for a price.

During the Vanishing War, Gahan and Alex, onboard the ZERONINE, are struck by the enemy, sending them hurtling uncontrollably through space.

Now, marooned on an asteroid, running low on fuel and oxygen are the least of their problems.

Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune

A stand-alone adventure, and Book 4 in the EMBARK series.

written by Jon “Justice” LoGiudice

Buy it now here!

Friday Jan 1st 2021 Happy New Year!

Artemis is ready for New Year:

If you’re like me, you’re probably keeping your expectations low as we head into 2021. That’s isn’t to say I am not optimistic, but that is to say that I can only control what I can control, and it makes no sense to worry about the future. I believe that everything, good and bad, happens for a reason. The one thing I am going to focus on in the new year is doing everything I can to ensure that 2021 is as best as I can make it, for me and more importantly my family. This is includes working as hard as always on the Justice and Drew Show (This vacation has been a needed break) and working hard to complete the next set of stories in my Sci-Fi series.

I am pleased to announce the next installment in the EMBARK saga, Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune, is now available for ebook pre-order!

With an on-sale date of January 12th, I hope you will take advantage of the pre-order. If you plan on buying the paperback, set a reminder to grab your copy on Tues, January 12th! (The audiobook will be available pending approval around or shortly after the on-sale date.)

This action, adventure can be read as a stand-alone story or book 4 in the EMBARK series. Below is the back of the book blurb.

With nowhere left to rock, Gahan traveled between the populated planets with his sarcastic AI companion “Alex,” sending out communication drones for a price.

During the Vanishing War, Gahan and Alex, onboard the ZERONINE, are struck by the enemy, sending them hurtling uncontrollably through space.

Now, marooned on an asteroid, running low on fuel and oxygen are the least of their problems.

Get caught up on the EMBARK saga and pick up Books 1-3 today in Ebook, Paperback, and Audiobook.

Friday Dec 25th 2020

Merry Christmas

Getting older, we watch our boys and see the joy in their eyes as they open their gifts. I listen to music, watch movies and old shows like Charlie Brown Christmas and Santa and the Three Bears to bring out the feelings of Christmas and it’s spirit. I also love looking at the old ads for Star Wars toys. Seeing the retro toy boxes and advertisements instantly gives me welcome feelings of nostalgia.

I hope you’re having a wonderful Holiday! Thank you so much for all the support this year, reading my stories, coming to the website, listening to my podcasts and radio show. Like you, I am glad 2020 is over and much anticipating 2021.
If things go as planned, four new EMBARK stories will be released, and I couldn’t be more excited. The next part of the saga will begin in a few weeks with the side adventure and link to the next full trilogy, Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and may God Bless you and your family!
JJ

Friday Dec 11th 2020

SO MUCH Star Wars!

Disney and Lucasfilm dropped the motherload of announcements on Thursday, and I couldn’t be more excited! Check out the link here for all the official information. I’ll reserve my commentary for this week’s My Nerd World A Star Wars podcast, which should be available either Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. (Search My Nerd World in the podcast platform you typically use) Needless to say, there is a lot to talk about.
For now, I’ll make this comment specifically about the movie announcements. The Taika Watiti movie is so far off, probably 2025, MAYBE 2024, but I doubt it, so for now, there isn’t much to discuss apart from the weird logo?

And, while I would have liked a “saga” type film, I am still incredibly excited for Rogue Squadron. I had a dream Star Wars project in my head that I fantasized about if I ever got to create a Star Wars story. That idea is pretty darn close to what it looks like Rogue Squadron will be.

The future looks bright for Star Wars in ways I never imagined. Fantastic news to close a horrible year!

Support My Nerd World and pick up a gift for your favorite Sci-Fi fan!

Grab the EMBARK series today! FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED! Available in ebook, paperback and Audiobook. Journey to the future and the fight to forge a new life on far off worlds! Click now > Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.

Mon Dec 7th 2020

Spoiler Free Review of Ready Player Two

Pizza, broadly speaking, is still Pizza. Star Wars, even at its perceived worst, is still Star Wars. These are my own personal standards when it comes to both this food and entertainment. Even at its worst, there is still a level of enjoyment and pleasure I receive from both. I would typically take even “bad pizza” over most other food and “bad Star Wars” over most other sci-fi. This is the case for me with Ready Player Two.
Ready Player Two is perhaps the perfect example of high expectations yielding an almost impossible positive review, if only because the first book was just that good. Before I get into my (Spoiler free) issues, I’ll add that this book is still highly entertaining and, in the absence of Ready Player One, would most likely have been better received. However, Ready Player One does exist, and because of that fact, Ready Player Two feels like the author Ernest Cline used up his love for 90’s pop culture and adventure, tried to take it to the next level, and just didn’t quite make it.
What did I like about the book? Artemis is a highlight for me. Whenever she shows up, which I wish were more often, she raises the storytelling. Unfortunately, because the book is written from Wade’s POV when she’s not around, she’s not around. I also enjoyed being outside of the OASIS, in the real world more than I did in Ready Player One. Lastly, once the story’s plot is revealed, I was 100% on board, but this exposes one of my first and most significant issues with the book.
What didn’t l like about the book? It took almost 118 pages for the plot to reveal itself. The biggest complaint I received on EMBARK: Book 1 is that it took too long to get going. So much so that I completely re-edited and trimmed back the first 3rd of the story. I’m not sure why the author felt the reader needed so much exposition, but IMO it wasn’t needed and slowed my enjoyment of the story.
Also, the nostalgia of pop culture did land for me. I don’t know if the author was trying to hard or if my expectations were again just too high, but many references I didn’t know. The author made weird deep cut choices with major IP’s he included, and some of the best 80’s callbacks just went on too long. Then there are some just downright strange plot deviations that make you wonder, not in a good way, whether they are set up for something later or just weird elements that didn’t quite work.
Ultimately I believe that Ready Player Two will make for a fantastic film, assuming they make one. Some of the action sequences are simply incredible, and as a movie, I believe it could live up to the high expectations. As a book, while a fun follow up, the magic of Ready Player One was missing in Two.

Tues Dec 1st 2020

Let’s talk about Ahsoka Tano.
I, like so many, am a massive Ahsoka fan. Lucasfilm, Disney, George Lucas, and Dave Filoni (Clone Wars, Rebels, Mandalorian writer, and Director) have done a masterful job cultivating this character from a spunky teen to full-fledged Jedi. Her live-action debut in The Mandalorian, played by Rosario Dawson, was highly anticipated and IMO did not disappoint. The question is, where does she go from here? I believe that Chapter 13 was a pilot episode for a live-action Ahsoka show. I assumed that the live-action show would be about her searching for Thrawn, specifically Ezra Bridger, with Sabine Wren. This would be the continuation of the animated Rebels finale wherein we saw Ahsoka arrive on a planet to meet Sabine and begin their search. (at the end of Rebels, there is a pivotal event that sets these two female characters on a path).

Since it’s Friday’s debut, we now know that Dave Filoni is hinting that the timeline is not as linear as we believe. In this post it seems highly likely that the final shot of Rebels with Ahsoka and Sabine takes place after Mando Chapter 13. New information from credible pop culture sources now indicates that indeed Disney + is getting ready for a live-action Ahsoka series with Sabine Wren.
This is the first Star Wars live action-series that I am genuinely excited for, in the same way I would get excited about a Star Wars theatrical release. I’m looking forward to more Mando, the Obi-Wan series, and Cassian Andor show. But a live-action Ahsoka and Sabine, for me personally, is the most exciting. These are dynamic characters and, in Ahsoka’s case, with a rich history that could lead to some fantastic storytelling.

Thurs Nov 26th

Happy Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving has never been my favorite holiday. There could be a lot of reasons for that. The lamest excuse is that I find it bland, which I fully admit is a petty complaint. This year though, I am thankful, and the holiday has more weight than it’s had in the past. I am very thankful to have a few days off ahead of the long end of the year Christmas vacation. Mostly though, I am just thankful for life. It’s been an awful year, the worst ever, really, but I am surrounded by a supportive, loving wife and two amazing young men. We all have our health, I have my job, my friends, I am surrounded by enough entertainment to keep me occupied for the rest of my life, and I have my faith. In an uncertain world, I am trying my hardest to focus on that which I can control and not worry about that which I can’t. I am also thankful for all the wonderful people I have met in person or online. I’m so thankful for the support I get from you, whether listening to my radio show, podcasts, or buying and reading my books; I really can’t say thank you enough.

Happy Thanksgiving and my God bless you, your family, and your friends this holiday season.
Jon

I’ve received a lot of requests for signed EMBARK books. With Book 4 almost here, now is the perfect time to pick up the trilogy and get it personally signed. If you already have the books and want them signed, I have a way to do that too. Just follow the instructions below.

For signed EMBARK Books, follow the instructions below.

When you order, have them shipped to me (Jon Justice) from Amazon. Follow the same instructions; if you already have a copy, mail the copy you have to me instead.

If you haven’t purchased a copy yet, click here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K7LLFZY

Have it shipped to me here:

Jon Justice
1600 Utica Avenue South, Ste. 500
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 55416

Send $5 thru PayPal for return shipping, include your address in the notes and who you want them signed to Talkshownerd@gmail.com
As soon as I receive them, I’ll sign and mail them to you the next day.

Sunday Nov 22nd

Mando, musings and more!

I hope you’re finding happiness and that this blog post might provide a bit of a break from everything 2020. Everything happens for a reason, even the bad stuff, I believe that.
Now let’s talk about some fun stuff. First off, I am absolutely loving this second season of the Mandalorian. The pacing is better, the action sequences are phenomenal, and with the latest episode, between the genetic experiment and the dark troopers at the end, we are getting some meat on the bones of the storytelling. With the scientist talking about
“M-Counts” and the failed tests this could very well be the back story on how we got Snoke. Some even say his theme was playing when they walked up to the tank. I hope that’s the case; I would love some direct ties into the sequel trilogy. Also, for those that don’t know, the machine warriors at the end are Dark Troopers. Either cyborg or post Empire equivalents to super battle droids. They appeared before in the Expanded Universe. For my further thoughts on the Mando, check out this week’s My Nerd World A Star Wars Podcast.
The advance cover art sessions for EMBARK books 5, 6, and 7 are almost finished, and they are spectacular. Book 5’s cover is INCREDIBLE! I just finished the first draft, and it will be available shortly after the Gahan Corbijn book 4 release early in the New Year.
I’ve also started outlining the stories for books 6 and 7, which I plan to release in 2021. Our current global turmoil and US political, pop culture climate will be weighing heavy on the storylines for both books.
As I continue to expose as many people as possible to my series, if you are reading this on Sunday, I hope you will take advantage of the promotion I have right now. Sunday is the last day to get EMBARK Book 1 for FREE and books 2 and 3 for just 2.99. Audiobooks and paperbacks are also available. Hit the links below.
EMBARK is the Future of Adventure.

Journey to the future and the fight to forge a new life on far off worlds! Click now > Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.
Grab the EMBARK series today! FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED! ebook, paperback and Audiobook.

Friday Nov 13th

The Mando continues to impress!

Every episode in Season 2 of the Mandalorian has me clamoring to watch them again immediately. I did this with season 1 because…Star Wars. While I enjoyed season one, I am absolutely loving season 2. Like I said in my previous blog post last week, the same rings true. Chapter 11 is doing everything I want from the Disney era. Action, fast-paced, expanding the mythology, and making me what to discuss the ramifications of what has happened and what’s to come.
The most significant aspect of what is being done in season 2 is the connections to existing material. I will talk at length about the different connections and what it means for the rest of this season, so be sure to download the My Nerd World A Star Wars Podcast this weekend. Until then, this is the live-action Star Wars I dreamed of. If we continue to get this quality from the rest of the live-action Star Wars series, I am perfectly fine waiting for the next saga movie.

Wed Nov 11th (Mandalorian Chapter 10 spoilers!)

I’ll comment on this at length during this weeks podcast. That said, people are being totally irrational with regard to The Child eating a fictional space “frog” eggs. I have no idea what is happening to the world right now, but this is a perfect example of how crazy things have gotten. I love SciFi and Star Wars more than most, but even I can say, it’s not real folks! Lighten up!

‘The Mandalorian’ Season 2: Baby Yoda Devoured a Woman’s Children and We Need to Talk About It

Tues Nov 10th

I can’t keep secrets. I am horrible at it. Especially when it’s something I am excited about.
My cover artist Tom Edwards offers discounts if you do three covers at a time. Since the plan is for EMBARK to be at least be seven books, and I have four completed, it made perfect sense to take advantage of his offer.
Today I received the full painted concept art for EMBARK Book 5. Since Book 5 will not be available until next year, I can’t share the entire art piece. That would ruin the surprise. What I will share, however, are the updated vehicles. I’ll save the descriptions, factions names, and such for when the book comes out, but I was so excited that I just had to show you these new ship designs. I will note that the smaller ship is a fighter, while the large vehicle is a T-Corvette class, and it’s BIG!
BTW The full cover is incredible! I seriously can’t wait for everyone to see it!

Friday Nov 6th

Let’s all agree on one thing; the Mandalorian Season 2 is pretty rad. I’ll keep this spoiler-free, but as always, if you don’t want even a hint of what will happen, go watch the show and then come back.
Chapter 10 did not disappoint in the slightest. So far, I am already enjoying season 2 on the first watch more than season 1. This could be because I have better expectations, but honestly, I think it’s because the first two episodes are just that good. IMO season 1, like most new series, takes a little time to pick up speed. The first half of the episodes are good. Still, it seems pretty clear that the showrunners and directors are getting used to working with the new way of filmmaking inside the “Volume,” which eliminates the green screen, and on a single-stage, everything gets filmed in camera.
Now that we are into season 2, it’s clear to me that they all know how to use the technology best, and it shows.
Chapter 10 is another fun adventure and offers plenty of action, comedy, and in a way, heart. The storytelling is superb, and just like Chapter 9, it tells its own story while still advancing the larger plot.
Now, I have never been a Star Wars fan that complained about a piece of Star Wars content, not feeling like Star Wars. (Holiday Special excluded, but even it has its charms.) I watched Attack of The Clones this week, and I had a great time. Chapter 10 absolutely feels like Star Wars, while in and of itself, fresh and new.
I’ll reserve my spoiler commentary for this weekend’s Podcast, which I hope you’ll listen to once it’s released on Saturday. But Chapter 10 was excellent, and I think it’ll be an episode that I will be clamoring to watch repeatedly.
Before I wrap up, I want to mention that I just uploaded the 3rd edition of EMBARK Book 1. This will be the final version. I sent the book out for a completely new copy edit to fix some of the original edit issues. I also made some minor changes based on some of the critiques from previous readers. An author’s first book will need tweaking, and I’m proud to say that this version is the best so far. If you haven’t read EMBARK book 1 or you gave a try but didn’t finish it, I would encourage you to give it another chance or pick up the book with the info below.

Wed Nov 4Th

I was right, from a certain point of view.
Okay, that’s a bit of a stretch based on my prediction yesterday as we don’t have a winner for the President yet. My rationale as to why I believed Trump was going to win in a landslide is, in part, why we don’t have a winner. But the turn out was incredible for all the reasons I mentioned in yesterdays blog.
Hopefully, there is a lot of discussion of poll manipulation as all the major pollsters were wrong again. I’m not holding my breath.
I could easily get into the weeds about why I still believe Trump will win. Unfortunately, there are more extraordinary powers at play now. We have played our role in this election. Now we have to finish counting votes. I pray that they are counted fairly, and the man who was supposed to win will win.
If Trump had won outright, it was an excellent night for the right. The GOP will hold power in the Senate and picked up a few seats in the house (for the record, based on the data I see, Trump has won, but I’m not in charge)
I always intended this blog to be politics-free, but since that didn’t happen, I can at least try and be rational about the commentary I provide here.
I’ll end on this. I’ll accept this election’s outcome, even if I don’t like the results or even question the result’s validity. I cannot control what I cannot control. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that ultimately all things work together for good. I believe God has a plan, and that provides me all the comfort I need. My happiness and that of my family will not be determined by what yahoo is sitting in the Oval Office. Maybe we should stop putting so much importance on who the President is.
I’ll wait like everyone for the results, catch up on some sleep, and watch some Star Wars.
Regardless of the outcome, we have a new Mandalorian episode Friday!

With the election over, journey to the future and the fight to forge a new life on far off worlds! Click now > Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.
Grab the EMBARK series today! FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED! ebook, paperback and Audiobook.

Tuesday Nov 3rd

Trump in a landslide.
Why?
The biggest poll misses occur when the country is most divided. Unless you haven’t been paying attention, we are perceived or, in reality, the most divided I have ever witnessed in the United States in my entire life.
So, if the polls are going to be wrong, who benefits? The answer is clear. Trump wins in a landslide.
Since the polls are wrong, we must now look to other indicators.
Incumbent presidents with good approval numbers and an economy almost always win. Trump, even with Covid, has both.
The tangible shows a cavernous divide in enthusiasm between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Trump’s rallies, even the ones where Trump isn’t holding a rally, are unlike anything we have seen in modern politics, even Obama.
The democrat’s strategy of running off covid didn’t work. Their normal get out the vote effort in the metro, suburban areas, and college campuses never materialized.
The democrats could never make any criticism stick, impeachment, and legal challenges all failed against Trump.
The world didn’t end in four years, as the left predicted. Trump didn’t even do what Republicans always do, and that is, he didn’t get us involved in any foreign conflicts.
The Hunter Biden laptop, Tony Bobulinski claims, reached the masses, as data shows, and the recent polls which are lagging indicators, reflect that. Biden’s numbers have collapsed over the past four days, and if the polls are wrong in Trump’s favor, which I believe they are, then Trump wins in a landslide.
As for the potential unrest, there probably will be, but it will fade. I believe that even for all the democrat talk of delaying the count will also fade once it’s clear that Trump is ahead. An example is what happened with Amy Coney Barrett; once the left saw no way to stop her, she sailed thru to be seated in on the SCOTUS.
There is very little interest in a 3rd party candidate. Historically that means that the country is generally satisfied with the sitting president.
There are more points I could present, but I think this paints a clear picture. But I’ll end with this. I believe that fear motivates more than anger. People are fearful of what the Democrats will do to the country if they gain power. People are voting for Trump out of anger, and anger doesn’t motivate as fear does.
Whatever the outcome, it’s what is supposed to happen.

Sun Nov 1st

SEE BELOW FOR FREE EMBARK BOOK 1 AUDIO BOOK CODES!

The last thing I want to do on My Nerd World is to have anyone feel disenfranchised. We are all entitled to our views and opinions. I encourage you to check out Saturdays blog if you haven’t already. In it, I talk about the parallels between my EMBARK series and the current state of our election cycle. This is certainly open to interpretation, wherein I might see the perceived connections; others will see something totally different. Like I said in that post, I did not set out to push some grand message. All I want to do is give people, regardless of their background, an entertaining read.

I love the fact that art imitates life. I believe it helps us deal with the reality of life and understand issues better. At least it does for me. After this first episode of the Mandalorian season 2, I was compelled to watch the prequels. I love those films, even with their hooky wooden dialog at times. In my opinion, the prequels are probably one of the most interesting pieces of pop-culture content when it comes to art imitating life. Now, I’ll let you do your own deep dive if you want on exactly how The Phantom Menace, Attack of Clones, and Revenge of Sith mirror the past year’s worth of this election. But, to help point you in the right direction, I’ll offer a few clues.

First, strip away the A-plot story of Anakin and focus on Sen Palpatine. He is playing in the shadows while working politics in the spotlight. A conflict that on the surface looks legit and yet was manufactured to create division. Palpatine positions himself as the one to fix it, even though he was secretly playing both sides of the conflict and even created his army to perpetuate the conflict. Feel free to piece together the rest on your own. I believe that Tuesday night’s outcome will be drastically better than that at the conclusion of Revenge of the Sith.

For the first time, all three books, in ebook and paperback, are priced as low as I am allowed to price them from now until election day. All ebooks are .99, and the paperbacks are available for their lowest price ever of 10.99. With the purchase of an ebook, you can receive a deep discount on the audiobook version. Below are more free EMBARK Book 1 Audiobook codes. Grab a free Book 1, and then spend $2 for the Books 2 and 3 ebooks and pick up their audiobooks at a fraction of the price.

FREE AUDIOBOOKS!

Please enjoy one free audio review copy of Embark, now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

If a code is taken, try another!

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Click now > Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.
Grab the EMBARK series today! FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!

Sat Oct 31st

I didn’t intend to have my EMBARK series be an allegory for modern society’s recent turmoils and division, but I’ll be damned if that isn’t exactly what happened.
I have written extensively in previous posts about my motivations and inspirations for writing my science fiction series. The themes were always going to reflect on my personal beliefs and values. What didn’t expect was that Book 3, The Vanishing War, would mirror, loosely, yet eerily similar to the events of the last two weeks leading up to election day.
If you’re anything like me, I like to watch and read material related to the world as I am currently experiencing it. For you Seinfeld fans, it’s the equivalent of George Constanza dressing for “Mood.” “What is today’s outfit?” asked Jerry. “This is, morning mist,” replied George.
So here is the deal, yes, I am pitching my books again, however; I have something to offer.
For the first time, all three books, in ebook and paperback, are priced as low as I am allowed to price them from now until election day. All ebooks are .99, and the paperbacks are available for their lowest price ever of 10.99.
So, if you want a glimpse into a possible outcome of the next few days, but with tons of actions, future tech, and cool space ships, get your copies today at their discounted prices.
(special shoutout to everyone who has already purchased the books and supported my part-time writing career. Thank you so much!)

Click now > Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.
Grab the EMBARK series today! FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!

Friday Oct 30th

BRAVO! A spoiler free take on Mandalorian Season 2
I promise to keep my commentary about The Mandalorian Season 2 EP1 Chapter 9 as spoiler-free as possible. I intend to paint my enthusiasm for what I watched this morning at 3a with a broad brush. If you want to remain void of any potential expectation speculation, then watch the show and comeback. With that out of the way, WOW! That was an incredible episode. I’m hesitant to say it’s my favorite chapter so far, only because Redemption, the final episode of Season 1, still holds a high watermark for me.
What I will say is that this newest episode does the best job I have ever seen in the Disney era of bridging any divide, perceived or otherwise, between the Prequels and the Original trilogy. I am not a fan who believes in “fan service” as being negative. Star Wars should make fans happy and pull from other sources of Star Wars content. I get frustrated when I see opportunities wasted to make obvious connections to the previous content. Even before the Mandalorian season 1 was released, I was perplexed about why we needed avatars for IG-88 and Boba Fett, with the Mando and IG-11. Now, I understand precisely why they did that, and it was one-hundred percent the right call. This first EP in season 2 made the connections ous hardcore fans and prequel apologists always knew were out there. This first episode immediately made me want to watch The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
I haven’t even mentioned the callback and references to the original trilogy. Keeping with maintaining a spoiler-free post allow me to navigate my commentary carefully. There is a delicate genius to the storytelling in the episode that should both totally satisfy fans’ desires to see on the screen that which they have only dreamed of, yet in a way that they never knew they wanted. Maybe this is my favorite episode of Mando so far; time will tell. But if this episode is any indication of what is to come for these next eight weeks, then I am thrilled to say that Star Wars is alive and thriving, Bravo Disney and Lucasfilm BRAVO!

Click now > Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.
Grab the EMBARK series today! FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED! 99c ebook 1
Book 4 Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune is due to be released in late Nov, with Book 5 in the EMBARK saga coming in early 2021!
EMBARK 1/2/3 available now in ebook, paperback, and audiobook.

MON Oct 26th

For anyone that hasn’t checked out my EMBARK Sci-Fi series yet, below is the opening prologue to Book 1. This was my dedication to one of the best Talk Show Hosts I’ve ever met and friend, the late Jerry Doyle, enjoy! (BTW There are still some free Audiobook codes available in the Oct 17th Nerd Blog Post.)

Prologue

Las Vegas, Nevada

After closing the door to the small personal studio in his modest two-story gated community home, with his headphones in hand, famed talk show host and podcaster Jerrod Doyle sat down behind the microphone. He eagerly waited for the heavily produced intro to his show to end, so that he could begin.

Obsessed with aviation since he was a child, this recent series of shows focused on the history and impact of flight culture on the global society. The live-streamed recordings would be posted on Blaster, the social media app that most everyone used for all audio-related content.

“Last time on the show I was discussing the importance of the planet’s two biggest corporations. After the split with EnerCon, DeCorp research and development experienced a major breakthrough, creating the anti-gravity lift system able to carry several tons off the ground with little to no effect on the areas surrounding where these manifolds were attached. By combining several of these “lift manifolds,” massive interstellar vehicles could now leave Earth’s gravity with ease. While there is no denying the importance and safety of the new advancement in technology, I still miss the thunderous explosions of an old school space vehicle launch.

“With smaller vehicles and just a handful of lift manifolds, combined with powerful propulsion pods and nuclear fusion drives, DeCorp and EnerCon put manned air and space flight within everyone’s grasp. DeCorp, impressively provided the opportunity for anyone with means to purchase, build, or retrofit vehicles for flight. EnerCon’s fuel cells and recharge capabilities made global flight as easy and as accessible as it used to be to travel state to state by car.”

“Atmospheric travel only required rudimentary pilot training. Spaceflight, being feasible yet substantially more dangerous, required special permits, though they are often ignored. Countries maintain orbital stations to monitor activity over their air and outer space.”

“With interstellar ‘Speed Jumps,’ and why they didn’t just use the standard, ‘faster than light’ description I still don’t get, but either way, a single vehicle or a combination of vehicles could visit parts of the solar system and beyond, in a fraction of the time it used to take.”

“As T-Crafts became the dominant form of transportation, and after much debate, it was decided that the public would be allowed to arm their vehicles with various weaponry. If you were over eighteen years of age as an extension of the United States Constitution, you had the right to keep and bear arms, that right extended, with some limitations to vehicles using the lift manifold tech. Most notable was in the case of orbital space flight. Guns on T-Crafts were essential to destroy any number of non-functional floating debris that, for centuries, collected over Earth. Plus the issue of Roamers raiding parties, and attacks on interstellar travelers made the weapons essential for defense.”

Further into his recording session, Doyle started to explain how rapidly flight culture grabbed the imagination of the world.

“Because of the rapid expansion of travel, some of DeCorp’s factories began to consolidate in order to better serve the demands of the public. It should be noted that using both DeCorp and EnerCon resources also resulted in an energized NASA program.”

“Both companies kept most of their supplies in colossal space vehicles, which were, in simplest terms, large space going Massive Mobile Warehouses, which I always thought was a little wonky considering they’re shaped like gigantic boxes. Each vessel was loaded with enough gear to potentially colonize a planet or moon, albeit with a small population. This was a safety precaution in the event that one of the these massive vessels were to become incapacitated on a distant planet. Now, I’ve also heard when the world leaders would gather in Italy, even before the companies split, the final choice to make everything mobile also came down to safety and survival. The leadership knew that if there were ever any kind of global disaster, they needed to be prepared to get their assets off-planet as soon as possible. Most never imagined such an extinction level event could ever occur. It’s not like the hubris of man ever tripped up man kind before, right?” Jerry said with his renowned sarcasm a dry wit.

Prior to his career as a talk host and being an avid science fiction fan, Jerrod Doyle spent time acting in several successful sci-fi series. His enthusiasm for space travel and the unknown would often influence his speculation and commentary. What Jerrod Doyle didn’t know was how relevant and almost prophetic this show would be in the years to come.

“Because of the massive production efforts, especially the enormous facilities DeCorp needed to fill the demand for flying vehicles and thus for EnerCon to create the power plants for them, a disaster at any one of the hundreds of locations would be a massive catastrophe.”

The Doyle BlasterCast was incredibly popular with gear-heads and flight enthusiasts alike. Especially when he would geek out during one of his numerous tech rants.

“The genius behind what DeCorp had created was the ease at which you could change and customize any vehicle. This didn’t just apply to style, luxury, and power, but also to weaponizing. Everything from the largest MMW, down to the smallest weapon, was seemingly interchangeable and customizable.

“Driver’s education in schools was replaced with fundamental flight training and most of the standards needed to work with DeCorp and EnerCon equipment was included with that education.

“The anti-gravity systems had been developed back when DeCorp and EnerCon were still a single company. The breakthrough happened when the lift manifolds were created and used much of the same technology, but scaled down in size. The lift manifolds simplified the technology, making it cost efficient and therefore accessible for the masses.”

“EnerCon had their own versions of MMWs and military assets; however, it was almost all focused on expansion and therefore not nearly as robust as DeCorp. Most of the top leaders inside EnerCon never felt the need to bolster defenses. Who would they have to be fighting? After all, no one was at war, currently. The biggest difference between DeCorp’s MMWs versus EnerCon’s was what DeCorp called Massive Mobile Station-Adaptation or MMSA. DeCorp had designed every single MMW with the ability to attach to each other once they reached outer space. Any number of MMWs could be attached together in formation to create one massive space station.”

Jerrod’s first love of the new space going technology was the Traverse Craft. The T-Craft was the flight equivalent of the former automobile, with just as many variations as their wheeled predecessors.

“All T-Craft had a main digital touch screen on the cockpit console. Most often these were referred to as a HIREZ. HIREZ screens were dominant, but also breakable, scratched easy, and just not built to withstand the decade’s worth of using the technology they were created for. DeCorp and EnerCon both decided to incorporate many analog style controls in all their creations to supplement the HIREZ touch screens. It was an old school, new school technology that was widely accepted, especially in the youth flight culture.”

“Next week on Doyle-Cast I’ll be continuing the commentary on the history of DeCorp. Until then, thanks for listening to Mr Know It All.”

Jerrod Doyle, like millions of others living in the United States, believed that everything happens for a reason. Years after Doyle’s untimely passing, these shows would posthumously serve as the example of right he was.

Click now > Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.
Grab the EMBARK series today! FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!
Book 4 Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune is due to be released in late Nov, with Book 5 in the EMBARK saga coming in early 2021!
EMBARK 1/2/3 available now in ebook, paperback, and audiobook.

Sat Oct 17th FREE EMBARK AUDIOBOOKS!

There is a lot of EMBARK content on the horizon. In early 2015, when I set out to write Book 1, in the back of my mind, I hoped that the future I was crafting would turn out to be the start of a series of adventures and various story arcs. As we reach the end of this already infamous 2020, three books are complete in the opening trilogy. A fourth adventure is currently in the editing phase, with the first draft of Book 5 in an all-new trilogy that continues the main saga is almost finished.
While these new stories are being prepared for release, I would like to invite you to get caught up on my Sci-Fi series. At the end of this post are the details to pick up the EMBARK stories’ in ebook and paperback.
Below I am offering up free Audiobooks of EMBARK Book 1. The ebook and paperback versions have gone through several edits. What you will receive below is the original, almost twelve hours of the EMBARK story as narrated by me, the author, Jon Justice. I hope you enjoy the story and will continue listening to the saga in Book 2 Treasure in Darkness and Book 3 The Vanishing War.
Air and space flight has replaced car culture. Earth is facing the apocalypse. Taft Gaurdia fights to save humanity and the girl he loves.
Please enjoy a free audio review copy of Embark, now available on Audible. If a code has been redeemed, please try the next code.

Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

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Click now > Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.
Grab the EMBARK series today! FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!
Book 4 Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune is due to be released in late Nov, with Book 5 in the EMBARK saga coming in early 2021!
EMBARK 1/2/3 available now in ebook, paperback, and audiobook.

Mon Oct 12th

George Lucas wasn’t the first to set a story in a distant galaxy far from Earth or essentially a galaxy in which Earth didn’t exist. Actually, as I type that, I realize that it opens up an interesting angle. Does A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away assume that Earth doesn’t exist.? This drives at the heart of what Lucas created. Star Wars is science fantasy that feels relatable, even with it being fantastical. While I do love the prequels, I feel drawn more to the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy, partly because both of them are, in my opinion, a little more relatable than the prequels. The prequels show a galaxy much less aligned with the one we live in. Things are glossy and newer than the lived in the universe of the OT and ST. This is probably why I am not all that excited about the massive Lucasfilm Publishing endeavor of the High Republic. I prefer the gritty lived in SW, which brings me to what I had intended to write about today.
When I set out to write EMBARK: Book 1, I wanted to create a space opera, based in reality, as best I could, that originated on Earth. There have been a lot of series that have done this already. Most of them lack the simplicity of what that original Star Wars created. I understand why. Even I have had to make several editorial changes to Book 1 because I included way too much exposition upfront to establish Earth’s geopolitics before setting humanity on a pathway to leave it. I’ve said many times that George Lucas was so successful that he ruined it for everyone. Most Sci-fi that tries to do the alternate-universe ends up feeling like SW. So I attempted to avoid that. Create a relatable series of stories originating from Earth that would grow into a large epic space opera with galactic consequences. When the entire first set of seven novels is complete, I’ll let the readers decide if I was successful. In the meantime, check out this cool article about habitable planets just outside our solar system.

Click now > Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.
Grab the EMBARK series today!
Book 4 Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune is due to be released in late Nov, with Book 5 in the EMBARK saga coming in early 2021!
EMBARK 1/2/3 available now in ebook, paperback, and audiobook.

Friday Oct 9th

Movies, sports, concerts are all escapism. It’s needed escapism. We gather together away from our homes, and we laugh, cry, cheer, boo, dance, and sing. They all remind us that we do share common ground in sports teams, movies, and musical tastes despite our differences, regardless of our views on politics or religion. What happens when you can’t do those things. When you can’t even look at your fellow man or woman because you have been forced by the government to wear a mask, that has psychological implications that we will be dealing with for decades. You’re isolated, alone, and divided from every means of a reminder of the common bonds that make us Americans. It gets worse when the faith-filled are not allowed to even gather in Church, further forcing that isolation. This why movies are so important. This is why things are the way they are right now. This is why we feel so divided as a nation.
Americans have been forced to isolate, and in doing so, we can’t even gather at work. We are left with what we see on TV; it makes everyone feel alone and perpetuates the division a thousandfold. I wish I had the answer; I wish I knew when it would end. Maybe Nov 4th? We’ll see. But as is often said, knowing is half the battle. Being aware of the unexpected consequences of a life without society being able to gather together to watch movies, sports, concerts, go to conventions and theme parks is the only way we can learn. Recognizing that IMO the reaction/cure to fighting COVID other than a vaccine has been detrimentally worse than the disease is the only way to avoid repeating history when it happens again.

(shameless self-promotion time)
You may not have movies to go see, but you can read exciting Science Fiction now, with more books on the way!
Click now > Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.
Grab the EMBARK series today!
Book 4 Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune is due to be released in late Nov, with Book 5 in the EMBARK saga coming in early 2021!
EMBARK 1/2/3 available now in ebook, paperback, and audiobook.

Thurs Oct 8th

Will people return to the movie theaters once…
Honestly, I am not even sure how to proceed with that opening sentence?
Once we have a vaccine? Once the fear subsides, and people are confident to gather again? IMO and I want to be firm in stating that, IN MY OPINION, the pandemic, in the beginning, was like walking into the forest on a cold winter night. But now, we know how to protect ourselves, but that doesn’t matter to many people.
So, back to the start. Let’s assume people are confident to go to the movies, and we have theaters showing films. (there is another discussion to be had about the future of theaters themselves. I’ll get to that in a different blog.)
If we have theaters and we have movies set to be released, will people go? I believe that depends on what happens to entertainment between now then. Christian Toto, whom I respect, wrote that he thinks a political angle will keep people from returning.
I think it comes down to a few things that might keep people from heading to the theater.
There could be a political angle, but not every movie carries that stigma.
Will a movie studio crack the code of debuting a film from home at a price point and promotional value that it can closely replicate the box office revenue?
Will people simply get accustomed to not going to the movies? We have seen habits change in the absence of being able to do that thing they used to do. The world will be forever changed in thousands of ways as new habits have formed because of this stupid virus. Just one example is mass transit. Fewer and fewer people are using mass transit, and many will never return.
Ultimately I think that the return to the theaters will occur. My only question is, how long will that take? Will Black Widow be enough to fill the theaters again? Will it take a significant film with a ton of spectacle attached to it. I’m sure many of you will laugh, but we have a few new Avatar movies being filmed right now. And while you don’t see people dressed up like ten-foot-tall blue cats at conventions (back when we had them), Avatar still is the highest-grossing film of all time, and James Cameron, even more so that Christopher Nolan, makes movies that the masses will turn out and do turn out to see on the big screen.
I believe those theaters we were all going to will be gone in short order. In their place, new theaters with bigger, and fewer screens will be built. This is how it was for the most part before the multiplex, strip mall, and mall theaters. If that happens, I won’t be disappointed. I also believe we were trending that way anyhow. COVID 19 just sped up the demise of the multiplex.
After all, sometimes you destroy to build a new. When could all that happen? We’ll have to wait and find out.
(shameless self-promotion time)
You may not have movies to go see, but you can read exciting Science Fiction now, with more books on the way!
Click now > Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.
Grab the EMBARK series today!
Book 4 Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune is due to be released in late Nov, with Book 5 in the EMBARK saga coming in early 2020!
EMBARK 1/2/3 available now in ebook, paperback, and audiobook.

Wed Oct 7th

There isn’t enough open discussion about the unintended and unexpected consequences of all the major motion pictures being pushed until next year.
I’ll reserve my commentary about why this is happening. We all know that it’s because of the pandemic, but I believe that it’s deeper than that, and it didn’t have to be this way. Needless to say, here we are. Every major film, Black Widow, new James Bond, Dune, etc. are all getting new release dates. At the same time, other films are being pushed further into the years 2022.
This will be an ongoing series on my blog. As such, I will bullet point the current negative ramifications of the full stop of theatrical releases.
As a global society, we have been going to the movies, to see films in color since the 1930s. There were b/w films prior and silent films before that, but the 30s reference is an excellent way to underscore the length of time we have gone to the cinema together. This included during the major military conflicts, which brings me to my first point.
-Movies help us deal with issues in society.
We have discussions with our friends, family, and strangers online. We go together to films as talk about them on the drive home. The theatrical experience provides us with a reprieve from daily life, sitting in a darkened theater. What happens to people when they don’t have that? What replaces that? It’s not gathering in homes to watch movies. If we could do that, we would have open theaters.
-What happens to theaters, the physical theaters, between now and when movies are supposed to be released? As stated in the above article, theater chains are going under. AMC, ICON theaters, small and large theaters will not be able to get by showing reruns of Jaws, Ghostbusters, Alita, Inception and the Empire Strikes Back. How do you continue to pay rent on space as large as a multiplex? Do you shutter, put the lot up for sale and pray that no one buys it before you reopen?
-What happens to the movie marketing firms over the next year?
-What happens to the food vendors over the next year?
-What happens to the merchandising tie-ins?
-What happens to the businesses that capitalize on the advertising of films?
-What happens to the streaming platforms forced to continue with original programming with no new films to add?
-So far, the “premium” movie debut from home doesn’t seem to be catching on. Did you pay to see Mulan? I know I didn’t.
This is just a start. No movies in the theaters is terrible, and I believe it’s going to be worse than even I expect.
(shameless self-promotion time)
You may not have movies to go see, but you can read exciting Science Fiction now, with more books on the way!
Find out why humanity had to evacuate Earth to populate distant planets, and the five friends unwittingly made it happen.
Grab the EMBARK series today!
Book 4 Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune is due to be released in late Nov, with Book 5 in the EMBARK saga coming in early 2020!
EMBARK 1/2/3 available now in ebook, paperback, and audiobook.

Tuesday Oct 6th

Our newest family member is a sweet tiny three and half-month-old black mouth cur that we have appropriately named Artemis.
(goddess of the hunt and a favorite character of both me and my wife Melinda from the book and movie Ready Player One.)
She has some big paws to fill, but so far, she’s doing great. Our whole family has already fallen in love with her. She’s definitely a puppy and as such a handful, but we’re enjoying her and know she’s going to grow up fast!
On tomorrow’s blog, I will start to examine the negative ramifications of all this year’s theatrical releases being delayed until well into 2021. Our society has been going to the movies now consistently since the 1930s. It’s terrible that we won’t be allowed to enjoy movies for almost another year collectively.

Monday Oct 5th 2020

This sweet little girl will be coming home to us today. There is a much longer and adventure-filled story about the day we met her, but I’m going to save that story in full and reveal her name once she is home with us.
Since we had to say goodbye to our Bella in early August, all of us have been missing her around the house. While we certainly adjusted to her absence over the past few weeks, it seemed pretty clear that Melinda and I were wanting to invite a new member into our home.
I’m so excited to bring her home today. She’s only a few months old and already well trained. More importantly, from what little we know and have witnessed of her personality, she will fit in perfectly with our family. It’s going to be a change, having a puppy around, but we are all up for it.
I can’t wait to share more details and personal photos of our new addition to the Justice household soon!

Friday Oct 2nd

I wrote the post below late in the day Thursday. Since then, I went to bed and woke up to the news that President Trump and the Lady have COVID-19. I pray the POTUS and FLOTUS both stay asymptomatic and recover quickly. There will be plenty to say on today’s Justice and Drew show, and as I said below, I try and keep politics off this blog, but obviously, this transcends my desire to separate politics and pop culture from my musings. For now, I’ll say that I plan on tweeting over the weekend, keeping an eye on Pres Trump and Melania’s condition while avoiding the commentary, which is sure to get insane until and thru the President and First Lady’s recovery.
Before you move on to the rest of the blog, I ask that you take a moment and sign up for my free and spam-free newsletter. I’m working on a new free eBook just for those on the Newsletter list, plus other exclusives. Just hit the link and sign up. Thanks!
Oct 1st:
These weeks are flying by, and every Friday that arrives, I am relieved. This week was no different. I will keep to my policy of not talking politics on my blog, but wow, what a week.
That being said, I am partly to blame for my exhaustion and have a few stories to tell.
First off, I’m currently a little frustrated as I Pre-Ordered Star Wars Squadrons, and it won’t open on my XBOX One. Apparently, I am not alone as I see others on Twitter experiencing the same issue. I believe the original release date was Oct 2nd. Today, in the Microsoft store, OCT 1st is the release date, but at this point, who knows. Everything happens for a reason, right? (I’m pleased to say that checking the game at 2:30a when I woke up, it works just fine now)

The real reason I am wiped out is that I realized my novels were formatted wrong. I have no clue how it happened and why not a single person pointed this out, but yes, the EMBARK Trilogy text was formatted incorrectly.
My ebooks and paperback are formatted like non-fiction books currently and not fiction books. I struggled briefly with whether I wanted to go through fixing them now, especially since, after selling a few thousand copies, not a single person mentioned it. But, if you’re going to do something, do something right. So, after seven days of deleting spaces, making the proper indents, building the ebooks, and creating new files, the books are all available in the appropriate formats. The paperbacks are significantly less thick as the spacing change means fewer pages, which isn’t a bad thing. I am still waiting on new resized covers from my cover artist, so they probably won’t be available until Saturday.
The other thing I tackled was another edit of EMBARK Book 1. This is the third edit, and I am pleased with the result. I started writing Book 1 in early 2015, and once released, one of the biggest complaints was that it took too long for the story to get going because of the exposition. This is tough because Book 1 established the entire future world/universe I’d created. But alas, the critics were correct. Last year, I made a significant edit, moving much of the exposition to the prologue, which helped pick up the pace. While I was doing the reformating this week, I took another look at the first third of the book and decided to give it one more pass. I moved even more exposition to the prologue, did some shuffling around scenes, and even added some new elements and dialogue, including a few new opening lines that I am really proud of. I feel a little like George Lucas tinkering with the Original Trilogy, and I am perfectly fine with that. Book 1 in the EMBARK series is technically the most important and deserves to be the best it can be. If you haven’t yet given the stories, a try now is the time. I am was really proud of book one already, and now with this latest edit, I believe it’s even better. You can check out all my books here in ebook, paperback, and audiobook. The audiobook btw has not and for now, will not change as it’s still the original version of the book one story. Lastly, Melinda is getting closer to finishing book four every day, which promises to be a fun, humorous SciFi romp. I can’t wait to share the story of a former rockstar, turned intergalactic mailman Gahan Corbijn and his sarcastic AI sidekick ALX-B “Alex” I hope to have it available mid to late November. Have a great weekend!

Mon Sept 18th 2020

We’ll call this, quick hit Monday!

Making the most of our AMC Theater A-List, the entire family went and watched The Empire Strikes Back on the big screen Saturday. I discussed our experience, which was memorable, in this weekends A Star Wars Podcast.

If you’re watching HBO and Ridley Scotts Raised by Wolves, I have a theory that is sure to be wrong, but it’s still a fun theory. SPOILER ALERT: The show has been up and down for me. It started strong, but several episodes got too strange for my tastes. However, the last few episodes have taken an interesting turn with the female android getting pregnant. My theory is tied to the fact that the series has a ton in common with the Alien universe.
-The timelines seem to match the Alien timeline
-The Android share a ton on commonality with Alien androids. Including white blood, programing, when they patch into “simulations,” the graphics are identical to Prometheus and Alien Covenant. The med-android looks just like the utility androids from the Alien Isolation video game.
Ridley Scott has said he wants to re-imagine the Alien universe. My quick theory: The fetus in the android “Mother” will be a new Alien. Why? Because it would be cool, lol. More specifically, “Mother,” said that the fetus was half-carbon based, which would fit to a certain degree with the original Alien design being part machine. Also, “Mother” has had to feed the fetus with real blood from multiple humans and the alien creature on the planet. Again, I am sure I am wrong, but it would still be cool.
Lastly, I am working on A TON of cool EMBARK series stuff, including:
-Reformating of the entire trilogy
-An all-new edit of EMBARK book 1
-Book 4 close to proofreading and sent to Beta readers.
Also, an exclusive Behind the Scenes Artbook that will include cover art, concept sketches, concept art, final art, BTW into the artistic choices, and exclusive altered or deleted scenes from the books!
Join the newsletter to get this exclusive release! It’s free!

Sat Sept 26rd 2020

I listen to many Star Wars podcasts, not as many as I did when we had movies being released, but still more than what is good for my health. One thing is clear; there is no shortage of opinions. When it comes to the Disney era Star Wars, the opinions seem to be.

–Most everyone likes The Force Awakens
-Some people LOVE The Last Jedi, and others HATE the Last Jedi
-Some people think The Rise of Skywalker was okay, most everyone else doesn’t hate it, but then a surprising amount say it’s their least favorite Star Wars movie, and those are mostly people who LOVE the Last Jedi.
–Most everyone likes or LOVES the Mandalorian; I don’t think I have ever heard anyone hating on Mando. –Not everyone went to the theater to see SOLO, but most everyone likes it.
–Then there is Rogue One, and most everyone likes it or says, and by a surprising amount, that Rogue One is their favorite Star Wars movie EVER!

For the record, and these opinions can change here’s my take on the Disney Era.
I like The Force Awakens a lot. I think the Last Jedi is a masterpiece of cinema and a great Star Wars movie. The Rise of Skywalker is my favorite of all the new content and current favorite Star Wars movie. Solo is a lot of fun, Mando is excellent, and so is Rogue One.

But about Rogue One, it’s interesting how many people say it’s their favorite.
In my opinion, the reason Rogue One is a favorite is that:
–It’s close to the original Star Wars timeline, so close it takes place ten minutes before the start of A New Hope
-It’s not weighted down with any preconceived notions of characters from the previous content.
-All the Vader stuff is pretty awesome.
With its popularity, Rogue One’s Disney + series is getting a new director, and production is starting soon.

The untitled show focuses on Rebel agent Andor before the events of Rogue One in the early days of the Rebellion against the Empire. The show had been described as a “spy thriller” when plans for it first were revealed last year. It was also previously announced that Luna would return as Andor, while Alan Tudyk is set to reprise his role as K-2SO, Andor’s droid sidekick.

This new director is the same one who filmed my favorite Black Mirror episode.
Haynes has been on a role as of late, which started with directing the Emmy winning Black Mirror episode U.S.S. Callister starring Jesse Plemons. The special had a Star Trek meets Twilight Zone feel and is still a fan favorite among Black Mirror fans.
I’m really excited to see what this show turns out to be. While Rogue One is great, it’s not necessarily anything I was clamoring for. However, with the recent addition of Adria Arjona, I am a little more excited, she’s pretty great.
I suppose you can file this blog under Star Wars is far from dead. And, while I’m really pleased we’ll be getting plenty of Star Wars content, what I want are more films, that’s where Star Wars always shines I.M.O. on the big screen, opening night, with family, friends, and fans!

Today is a big EMBARK promotion day, specifically ebooks! Today only Book 1 is FREE in ebook, and Treasure in Darkness 2 and The Vanishing War 3 are only .99cents. On Thurs EMBARK will return to it’s regular price while 2/3 will gradually increase in price over the next four days as part of the Amazon Countdown Deal. Support all things EMBARK and MY NERD WORLD and grab your ebooks, paperback and audiobooks today! B.T.W. Getting the ebook cheap should get you a HUGE discount on the audiobook!

Monday Sept 21st

Imitation of life in art can shed light on our dangerous times.

I wrote in a recent blog about cancel culture vs. pop culture, and now it almost seems as if that post, after the events of the past few days, is irrelevant and dated.
There simply is no escaping the mixing of politics and pop culture anymore. Yes, I am aware it’s been this way for quite some time, but never has the intersection of Hollywood and D.C. been as volatile and dangerous as it is today.
I understand wars. Nations going into deadly combat for a variety of geopolitical reasons. These armed conflicts, during my lifetime, took place in foreign lands, far from our homes. It makes the entertainment depictions of war, especially those among the Stars, relatable and, therefore, more enjoyable. The one aspect of war that I had found, before now, perplexing, was how do you convince people en masse to turn on their neighbors, or merely a group of people. Not soldiers locked in armed conflict following their leaders’ commands.
Terrorism, driven by religious ideology, I understand, even if I can’t relate to it. A group of radical Jihadists, wanting to kill the infidel. That I sadly get. There is a similarity to your “standard” warfare, Vietnam, WW1/2, from the perspective of wanting to destroy the enemy. But again, there is still that disconnect. For the most part, those wars were not about attacking the person living on your block, in your city or state. If you are a homegrown terrorist, you most likely hate the place you live. No, what I am talking about is more in line with NAZI Germany, or the horrible racism in the country going back to the 1940s and prior. I had always found it curious and honestly somewhat confusing how so many people could collectively hate another. I don’t anymore.
Now we can see, in real-time, how quickly calls for violence by politicians can lead to civil unrest, riots, armed takeovers of U.S. cities, and murder.
I understand now how Americans can turn on one another, how a group can be singled out, marginalized, deemed less human, and therefore not worthy of their freedom or, in some circumstances, their life.
Do not misunderstand; I am in no way equating the horrific deaths that were carried out by Hilter and Nazi Germany to that of the violence in our American streets. I am saying that I understand how the quick one’s value can be reduced to noting in a matter of years, just because of a difference in belief and opinion. Instead of soldiers taking orders from their superiors, we have crowds of angry mobs, online and in the streets, taking orders from their politicians (Maxine Waters, I am talking about you). The mindless rage of Antifa makes it easier to understand how groups can quickly organize against fellow citizens.
Calls for violence have erupted from all corners of the social sphere in the wake of Ginsberg’s death. I understand now, more than ever, how quickly an ideological Godless portion of society can turn on its fellow citizens.
Melinda and I watched 42, the Jackie Robinson story, over the weekend. It’s a fantastic film. It was yet another reminder of how horrible Americans can be to one another. It was also filled with hope. As a society, we can and did change. At a time when just because you support a particular politician/elected official, you can immediately be cast as a racist hate monger, not worthy to kept alive; it’s important to remember that we eventually came out the other side, and the chaos subsided. If the Emmy Awards last night were any indication, it’s going be a long time still until things calm down. But I am confident we will eventually see better days ahead. I trust and believe that God has a plan in all this, and I delight in the day when we know the outcome of that plan. Until then, do the right thing, stand up for truth, do not despair. It’s easy to blog, harder to put into practice, but there is a light at the end of this long tunnel, I believe that.

Support MY Nerd World by picking your preferred version of the EMBARK trilogy in Paperback, Ebook, and Audiobook.

Friday Sept 18th

Don’t let Cancel Culture destroy Pop Culture

It’s Friday! Or, at least it’s Friday as of my writing of this blog. To close out the week, I want to recap a bit of what I wrote about in previous blogs and attempt to make some sense of it. I won’t get political, apart from saying that, unfortunately, everything is political these days. You can’t talk about anything, even within pop culture, that might be even remotely thought-provoking, or heaven forbid, controversial without battle lines being drawn. That’s evident going back to last week’s John Boyega comments, to Daisy Ridley talking Rey’s parents, and actress Gina Carano. (more on her below). Even I fall somewhat prey to this. I also took to this very blog to push back on Boyega’s view of his role in the sequel trilogy. I like to believe I am doing it “right,” pointing out that it’s specifically my opinion. But, I’ll leave that up to you, the reader, to decide whether or not I am as divisive as anyone else. The truth is, I do not want to silence anyone’s view, even if they differ from mine. And if this post has a point, it’s just that. Let’s be passionate, let’s be vocal, but let us be respectful in the end to opposing views.
This is not happening in the case of Cara Dune, Mando actress, Gina Carano. This article lays out clearly that cancel culture and the pop-culture, politically driven online mob, wants to silence Carano just because she shares different views.

Critics calling on Disney to fire Mandalorian actress Gina Carano for ‘transphobic’ Twitter stunt

That’s at the heart of everything discussed online and in the media. Its the difference between, we disagree, and we disagree, you hurt my fee-fees, and you must be banished. In the end, I hate all of it, and I have for a long time. I’m trying to get used to it because I don’t see it changing. I just hope Gina Carano (as an example of getting online pushback) stays strong and that the powers that be at Lucasfilm don’t hold it against the actress; that’s when you know things are terrible.

On deck this weekend, and this is subject to change.
A new A Star Wars Podcast will available. I’ll be deep-diving into the Mandalorian Season 2 trailer. Also, expect a new A Space Opera Podcast where I will be examining The Rise of Skywalker as a Space Opera film and not a Star Wars saga film.

Support MY Nerd World by picking your preferred version of the EMBARK trilogy in Paperback, Ebook, and Audiobook.

Wed Sept 16th

So, you say “Star Wars is dead?” Well, you’re wrong.

As always, I’ll start by saying this is just my personal opinion and that if you disagree, I absolutely respect that. With that out of the way, like the title says, Star Wars isn’t dead, far far from it.
I’ll probably break this up into multiple posts leading up to this week’s A Star Wars Podcast, only because there is a lot to be said on the subject. The first example I will give about Star Wars being alive and well can be found by simply looking back over the previous posts below. From the controversy around John Boyega’s comments to Daisy’s reveal of her parents’ evolution in the sequel trilogy, Gina Carano and her recent kerfuffles on Twitter and the hype around the CG short for Squadrons.
And on that last one, I had an exchange on Facebook that went something like this:
Facebook Star Wars Post
FB comment, “Star Wars in a dead franchise.”
Jon Justice, “(facts about Mando and Clone Wars streaming records, facts about box office returns for the sequel trilogy only second to Marvel, etc.)”
FB comment, “That just means its a zombie.”
And so it goes…If there is that much talk around SW it ain’t dead.
You don’t have to like or watch any of the new SW Disney content, as I always say. But can we please dispense with irrational claims that SW is over. Is Star Wars changing, yes, the saga films “might” be a thing of the past, but the desire for new stories of the War and Star variety is still very much healthy and alive. Prove me wrong…. TalkShowNerd@Gmail.com
Now the fun stuff.
I really enjoyed the Mandalorian Season 1. I’ve watched each episode several times and find myself drifting to it when I need a quick SW fix. That said, my first love is always the films and specifically the saga films. That might change soon. I am over the moon hyped for Mando season 2. I’ll get into more detail tomorrow, but here is a shortlist of why I’m excited.
1) The budget is bigger, and the show is going to be too.
2) The world-building looks better, with new planets.
3) The focus on “Jedi” in the narration could bring in the mythology that IMO the series needs. I’d like a little more force in my Mando, things we can speculate on.
4) Lastly, for now, the timeline is opening up, and it’s an era post-ROTJ and Pre-TFA that is ripe for exploration.
The trailer has me way more excited for season 2 than I even was for season 1. I’ll say more tomorrow. Until then, check out the trailer below and remember; if you like what you’re reading, check my podcasts and support MY Nerd World by picking your preferred version of the EMBARK trilogy in Paperback, Ebook, and Audiobook.

Tues Sept 15th

When I started writing EMBARK: Book 1 in 2015, the idea I had was that since I couldn’t be a “director” of movies, I’ll write a story of my dream movie that wasn’t Star Wars. Essentially, if I could walk into a theater and watch any film, what would it be? That’s EMBARK 1 and 2, 3, upcoming 4, etc. It would be a dream come true for my stories to be adapted for film, or perhaps a live-action streaming show like the Mandalorian. I’ve also considered how cool it could be to see the EMBARK series turned into an animated show. While watching this video below with Melinda and Kyle, I immediately said, “I would love to see EMBARK done in this animation style!”

There is a fantastic new video game coming out in OCT called Star Wars: Squadrons. Kyle (my 13yr old son) and I are super excited for its release. This video short was created as a promotional mini-movie for the game. This is simply awesome! I hope Lucasfilm is paying attention because the fan response in the past 24hours has been overwhelmingly positive. I kind of hope they created this to see if the public would be open to a show with this style of animation.

Mon Sept 14th

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU CARA DUNE!

I think I have a new favorite Star Wars character. I’ll say up front, as always, my opinions and rationale are my own. Okay, disclaimer out of the way, I’m talking about Cara Dune, and I’m becoming a fan mostly because of Gina Carano; the world needs more public figures willing to speak out and not cave to the mob. Below are just a few examples of Gina’s tweeting regarding the current state of our societal discord. It’s a breath of fresh air, and I pray that she stays strong in the face of “cancel culture.”
As far as favorite Star Wars character, I am a little glib here. Brennen Marr asked me on his Page Turners They Were Not Star Wars show, who my favorite movie character was? I was a little stuck for an answer. My current default is Rey in TROS, as I just love her in every aspect of that movie. But honestly, I don’t have a firm favorite. Solo is cool, as is Obi-Wan, I love Ahsoka, etc. As for Cara Dune, I liked the character quite a lot. Hopefully, she’ll get more screen time in Mando season 2 as I feel like she raises the level of the fantastic show even further when she appears. But given the actresses boldness and fearless honesty that runs headlong against the current woke culture dominating the narratives, well, let’s just say, I see more purchases of her character’s likeness to adorn my toy collection in the near the future. Hat Tip to you, Cara Dune/Gina, we need more celebrities like you during these dark times.

First look! ❤️ https://t.co/8qM2cavvfS
— Gina Carano 🕯 (@ginacarano) September 8, 2020

How is oppressing others a good way to take a stand against oppression? Unless this years chaos is not solely about oppression & it obviously is not solely about a pandemic or we’d all be dead.
2020 is an election year. America. Take back your freedom. Protect the free world. 🇺🇸
— Gina Carano 🕯 (@ginacarano) September 6, 2020

Open up your businesses & churches. Put whatever regulations you want to because that is your right but open them up. You’re telling me Covid-19 knows the difference between a protest or praise & worship. I haven’t even been to church in over a decade but I sure would go now.
— Gina Carano 🕯 (@ginacarano) September 6, 2020

💜 thank you. Ive held onto these positive messages. I hope social media becomes a place where people can have opposing views but speak to each other with respect. Maybe that’s asking too much but one can hope. And yes things are startin to get busy so I’ll welcome the break. 😂
— Gina Carano 🕯 (@ginacarano) September 12, 2020

. pic.twitter.com/SKwoKGH9oM
— Gina Carano 🕯 (@ginacarano) September 14, 2020

Sat Sept 12th

I received such a great response from a FB post yesterday about movies that it sparked and idea for an upcoming blog. Read my blog from yesterday below and then answer the question, When and where was the first movie you ever saw in the Theaters. Also, if you want, please share your favorite movie going experience. Email me. Thanks! Jon

Friday Sept 11th

NEVER FORGET ALL THOSE WE LOST ON THAT FATEFUL DAY

I went down a nostalgia rabbit hole yesterday. After the ridiculous nonsense of the week, highlighted in the previous day’s blog posts, I wanted to focus on something positive. I’ve recently been thinking a lot about the impact of films, the movie-going experience, and my journey of becoming a movie fan. Not shockingly, it started with Star Wars and that first time seeing the movie in theaters. According to my and my father’s recollection, my first time going to the movies was to see Star Wars in 1977 when I was five. Even if we’re wrong, it’s absolutely my only film memory from that age. I often mention that I was a fan a Star Wars before I was a fan of anything. Just like I was a Depeche Mode fan before, I was a fan of any other band and even NASCAR before I followed any other sports extensively. I need to get my Dad on the Star Wars podcast soon to talk about those first experiences. After some sharing of personal memories, I have landed on the Rosemead 4 Cinema as the location of my first viewing of Star Wars: A New Hope. Above is a picture of the theater, and based on the cars in the parking lot, that picture was probably taken sometime in the late 70’s early 80’s. My Dad thought that we watched the movie at the Temple City Theaters, but I distinctly remember the theater being smaller and in a strip mall. When I saw that picture, even being only five years old, I instantly recognized the front of the cinema. I can still recall being in the small theater, with a tiny screen by today’s standards, watching the X-Wings and Tie Fighters barreling through the Death Star trench. The fact that I remember nothing in those pre-teen years, but I remember Star Wars and watching the Empire Strikes Back promo for the first time on our tiny TV screen, pretty much sums up the impact that Star Wars has had on my life. It’s why I like to create, whether it’s being on the radio or writing my SciFi stories or Podcasts, it’s all George Lucas’s fault.
Remember, I’ll be giving away Audiobooks next weekend! Be sure and register for free at the contests link above and head on over to AMAZON and get your Ebook, Paperback (recently reduced price points for all three books), and audiobooks (massive discount if you purchase an ebook.)

Thurs Sept 10th

“Hang on back there!”- Han Solo: A New Hope

(Update: If you’d like to see a further example of the toxic fandom at work, just head on over to the comments sections on my latest A Star Wars Podcast Youtube video Be sure to sort the comments by “Newest First.”)

While you’re here, be sure to check out my Sci-Fi Space Opera series EMBARK, assuming you have not already 🙂

As a follow up to my blog post yesterday and earlier this week, here are just a few of the ridiculous examples (and there are dozens more) of what, in my opinion, is the toxicity in the Star Wars fandom. Before I go on, let me add the usual and appropriate disclaimers.
-This is my opinion; if you disagree, that’s cool. If we agree on everything, what fun would that be
-Everyone I mention below is entitled to their opinion
-Art, film, music, movies, etc. are all subjective.
With that out of the way, I present to you a small set of examples of why, again, IN MY OPINION, it’s the fandom doing damage to the Star Wars “brand” in the social sphere and NOT the films themselves.

Episode 9 is even MORE OF A MESS than we thought… (New Daisy Ridley Interview)

We Were ALL Lied To – Daisy Ridley Confirms it

John Boyega Just EXPOSED the Sequels (Warning Profanity)

Daisy Ridley FINALLY Exposes DisneyFor Having NO PLAN For Star Wars or Rey!

Content Nuke – Daisy Ridley Just DESTROYED Disney’s Star Wars

Check this last example out below, it almost needs no commentary because it’s just that ridiculous. Again, he’s entitled to his opinion, but lack of self awareness that this is a choice to feel this way is just sad.

Star Wars Theory

Daisy Ridley was asked if Palpatine was always her relative. No, it was not.

The utter lack of care and direction regarding the sequel trilogy has me beyond bothered. I found it hard to find my words in this first time reaction and realization that we’ve really truly been all lied to regarding everything.

The Mandalorian is all I have to look forward to.

With Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni behind Star Wars, there is hope. As far as the sequels go, they’re no longer in my timeline of Star Wars canon.

I don’t think the actors should ever be to blame. Neither should the writers and directors. You can’t expect them to understand Star Wars. The higher ups who sign off on such a thing, especially when appointed by George Lucas like KK was, should have put her foot down and really course corrected things.

Everything is so messed up, and the final nail is in.

I hope things continue under Favreau. He is a new hope.

All of the above mentioned and linked sites make money (okay, that’s an assumption, but I am reasonably sure it’s true; otherwise, they would be losing out big time based on their views). I’m not saying that their desire for more clicks is their only motivation for their opinions. But I speak from experience when I say that videos talking positively about Star Wars do not get nearly as many clicks.
These “hot-takes” IMO, are pure garbage. The headcanon is so strong with this part of the fandom that they simply cannot just say, “I didn’t like the movie.” Nope, there is too much to be gained by using the creative process as a crutch and excuse to justify their pain of not having a fictional story play out how THEY wanted it to. I believe that John Boyega has essentially become the very essence of what he is complaining about in the GQ article. Boyega has reduced himself to a whiny fanboy who also believes the movies he agreed to star in didn’t go the way he wanted.
As for Daisy Ridley, watch that interview; she’s laughing and joking, she should be. Daisy gets it. She’s an actor playing a character that someone else created. Mark Hammill even gets it. In the Director and the Jedi documentary on the Last Jedi, he said that while he disagreed with Rian Johnson, he didn’t own Luke’s character and was happy just to be acting in another Star Wars film. And therein lies the problem, these whiny fanboys either subconsciously or consciously believe they “own” some part of the Star Wars IP. They are the ones dividing the fandom, spreading trash takes on the creative process to justify their flimsy arguments of why they don’t like the sequel trilogy. Hopefully, when we get new movies, far away from the Skywalker storyline, this negativity will stop. Until then, I just wish the toxic fandom would stop for a moment and look in the mirror. The problem isn’t that Disney ruined Star Wars; the problem is the choice they make to be offended by something that they have ZERO control over. Grow up, and if you don’t like The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, or The Rise of Skywalker, don’t watch them. This isn’t that hard.

SHAMELESS PROMOTION: There is a new contest with a chance at free EMBARK audiobooks, and it’s free to enter. Just hit this link and send me your email!

Wed Sept 9th 2020

I’ll be getting into my further commentary on this week’s A Star Wars Podcast, but until then, check out this exchange and interview with Rey actress Daisy Ridley. Unfortunately, but not unexpected, her comments about Rey’s lineage and the creative process are already causing some heads in the fandom to spin. Cries of “They didn’t know what they were doing!” and “Why didn’t they have a plan!?” along with comments like “They should have done the other idea!” are dominating the reactions to Daisy’s revelations. This is all very unfortunate, in my opinion. People tend to want to latch on to a particular “hot take” to justify their views. Honestly, that’s precisely what I’m doing, just in a positive way. I love the fact that it was an ongoing process that led to the choices made in the Rise of Skywalker; that’s how it should be. The writers should have the freedom to find their way, and not be beholden to a particular story element, just because it was determined at the onset of the writing process. If you don’t like that Rey was a Palpatine, that’s cool, but don’t blame the decision-making process on that; this is how stories, books, movies, etc. are most often crafted.

Tues Sept 8th 2020

There is a new contest running! A chance at free EMBARK audiobooks, and it’s free to enter. Just hit this link and send me your email!

I hope, especially if you’re a fan of Star Wars. However, also if you’re concerned about the current discourse in society, politics, and, this case, pop culture, you’ll take the time to read yesterday’s lengthy post about Finn actor John Boyega. I had several comments from podcast listeners who said to expect “backlash.” I am pleased to say that while I had few comments that agreed with Boyega, most of the feedback has been positive, and none of it angry in the slightest.

Later this week and on this weekend’s next Star Wars podcast, I will dive into this fantastic article Star Wars: Why The Sequel Trilogy Is My Favourite Era I found this morning. It’s a great read that I agree with on many points.

Lastly, for today, for those first-time visitors here, I hope you’ll check out my sci-fi Space Opera series EMBARK. Details and links to the stories are available below:

Book 1 The Great Evacuation
Flight culture has replaced car culture. Taft Gaurdia fights with his friends to save humanity and the girl he loves.
It’s a science fiction adventure set in the future of about a boy who is a Star Wars and Depeche Mode fan, in love with a girl in the middle of the apocalypse.
An exciting space opera for those who love these genres, books, and movies. A mix of Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Fats and Furious, and Ready Player One in this fast-paced epic.

Book 2 Treasure in Darkness
They survived a planet-wide apocalypse on Earth. Now, on a far off world, Taft and his friends must unravel the mystery of lethal threat to their new way of life.

Book 3 The Vanishing War
The only way the Raider Alliance can stop a ruthless galactic dictator is the truth. The question is, will humanity in a far off galaxy believe them?

Mon Sept 7th 2020

JOHN BOYEGA TOSSES DISNEY/LUCASFILM WRITERS AND DIR. UNDER THE BUS AND IT’S NOT RIGHT.

First of all, there is a new contest running! A chance at free EMBARK audiobooks, and it’s free to enter. Just hit this link and send me your email!

Also, I hope you’ll check out this week’s A Star Wars podcast. I was hesitant to discuss the recent comments by actor John Boyega, but as someone who truly enjoyed his portrayal of Finn, I wanted to counter the actors claim with my opinion as a viewer and with facts,

I will not presume I know what it feels like to be John Boyega; that is not all what I want or will say. This is my perspective, opinion, and perception of his comments as a fan of this franchise.

Any expectations he had of his character is on him; he had the scripts, he chose to play the roles he did.

“he told the magazine. [But] what I would say to Disney is do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are, and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up … You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know fuck all.”
. “What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience …’” he said. “Nah, nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it’s a great experience.”-JB GQ

IMO he is doing many disservices to the franchise and to the fans that may have been inspired by him. For people claiming that the marketing made it seem like he was supposed to be a Jedi and therefore they feel bad for him that it wasn’t the case, here is what I will say. That only works if John Boyega also assumed he would have a larger role in the film as if it were a surprise for him the first time he saw TFA. But that’s not the case. He knew the story; he knew his character and what would happen ahead of time. That would be like Mark Hammill filming his role as Luke Skywalker and then getting upset after the movie came out that he didn’t get to own the Millennium Falcon. Okay, maybe that was a weak comparison, but you get the idea.

“Like, you guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver he says. “You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know fuck all. So what do you want me to say? Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything.”-JB GQ

Below are a few comments about Finn’s story in each of the films that I believe are good examples of how he wasn’t sidelined as the actor claims.

The Force Awakens:

The movie opens with him; he’s central to the story, Finn wields the lightsaber more than Rey, and it was JJ that took him out of commission by the end. That moment set up what Rian did with the character at the start of TLJ.

The Last Jedi:
Again, we get Finn on film before Rey; he continues his arc of caring for Rey, he’s given THE side story, regardless of whether people like, we cut away entirely from Rey, Luke, and Kylo to go on the adventure with Finn and Rose. It’s actually a separate story, something Finn doesn’t get in TFA or TROS. He gets to go one on one and take out one of the bad guys in Captain Phasma. He continues to get a hero moment in the end in his attempt to sacrifice himself. You could pull out everything with Finn and make it its own show.

The Rise of Skywalker :
He kind of defends TROS over TLJ, and yet while his role is with the main characters as it is, is great, he doesn’t get a story arc like in TLJ. He does get to lead the secondary story element at the end with the assault on the SD’s over Exegol; he gets a “Luke Moment” w/ Jannah in taking down the main First Order SD, and Jannah with Lando get a heroic moment when Lando rescues them all from the crashing FO SD.

As far as rose Tico, lumping in frustrations about the involvement of that character is all subjective. She had a great and extensive role in TLJ. To give her as big of one of the main characters, you’d have to replace Jannah most likely with Rose. But, Jannah played a hugely important role for Finn! That was the point.

Total runtime of the top 4 new characters from all three sequel films:
Rey 128
Finn 75
Ben/Ren 54
Poe 46

All of this is to say that while he (John Boyega) is Finn, and he is entitled to his opinion, what’s on the screen is there for all to see, and in my opinion, he’s wrong in his disparaging comments about the franchise. Daisy Ridley/Rey was always going to be the star, and he knew that. The idea that he was shoved to the side, it’s just not factually true. He’s on-screen the second-longest next to Rey. Kylo/Ben’s story is wrapped up in with Rey’s, he (John Boyega) is the co-star of the Sequel Trilogy franchise, and out of the three movies, TLJ gave him his biggest role, so to say otherwise is to say you were watching a different movie.

He undermined the value of what Finn brought to the sequel trilogy, and IMO has tainted all the positivity and example of a great heroic role model by feeding the Anti-Disney SW click baiters. Think about it, the same group that actually complained about a black Storm Trooper he has now aligned with in his negativity to the franchise, choosing to be an activist rather than an advocate.

If I were to interview John Boyega, I would ask him, “what do you say to you, the young Finn fan, who was inspired by that character? Did you do more harm than good that could have done?”

I just think it’s sad that the actor decided to go this route publically, and honestly, I was watching TROS yesterday, and it bummed me out watching Finn, whom I love in TROS, knowing that the actor wasn’t satisfied with his involvement and felt he was done wrong.

Thurs Sept 3rd

I’ve been slacking on the blog posts this week, but I have a good excuse. On the show I co-host with Drew (Justice and Drew) we’ve been switching off vacations and I’ve been flying solo with our producer Sam all week.

This doesn’t mean the book work has slowed. Melinda continues her work on Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune, while writing on Book 5 in the saga continues. I’ll also have a new contest next week for a chance at free Audiobooks.

Lastly, I found this awesome app that allows me to create animated vids and gifs from the book artwork, as shown above. So, expect to see more of those coming soon.

Mon Aug 31st

I went toy hunting on Saturday in the city of Anoka and snagged this amazing OG 1977 promotional poster for Star Wars by legendary artist John Berkey. I adore his work and this was an amazing find.

I have a special request! If you have read EMBARK, 1, 2, or 3, enjoyed them and have NOT left a review please do so ASAP at the link and then click to the left of the page under Review This Product. I need as many positive reviews as I can get to help with future promotions and sales. Thank you so much in advance!

Sat Aug 29th

Up first, check out this interview with Zenger on this Zeng This! Podcast. I listen to this show and always have a great time being a guest.

Next up, someone had asked me about the bottom bracket story below, and I honestly couldn’t tell if they were being sarcastic in their interest or legit wanted to hear more about my dumb story LOL. Either way I have an update as the bottom bracket started to loosen again slightly after two rides yesterday. I’ve ordered a proper tool set and should arrive today. YA AMAZON PRIME!

This is what I really wanted to write about today, and that is how we are so spoiled as fans of Star Wars. More specifically, those who grew up with the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy. I am in no way shape or form saying you have to like the ST , everyone is entitled to their opinion. That being said, if our younger selves, when the OG was released or later the PT, if our younger kid versions of us were given movies anywhere near close to the quality of the ST, we’d be losing our minds. I really do love the three sequels. I watched them back to back to back over two days and really had fun just taking in the spectacle of them. As kids we were so less critical, watching them as if I was 11/12/13 years old that I never really matured beyond was completely enjoyable. And I must say, going from The Last Jedi and straight into The Rise of Skywalker was really cool. For with TLJ you get this great masterpiece, with the characters get put through their paces, its darker, and emotional. Then TROS takes over and that is just an incredible, fast paced, brilliantly scored epic that never lets you out of it’s Star Wars nostalgia grasp.

I really like Star Wars in case you didn’t know 🙂

Wed Aug 19th 2020

Things are getting back to normal, or at least, that dreaded “new normal” that gets talked about so often. In this case, it’s not about COVID-19, but the new normal around the house. Things are definitely quieter without Bella, my usually friendly greeting when leaving for work in the early morning hours and coming home are both gone. While this makes me sad, I quickly am learning to live with it. As I said in an earlier post, life goes on.
So, its back to work and less moping around the house.
Melinda continues editing on the Gahan Corbijn story (Book 4 in the EMBARK series) while I am plugging away on EMBARK: Book 5. It seems as if with each new book, I get more and more excited for their release. I know I am growing as an author, and with it, the storytelling and writing are both getting better.
I will be sending out an update email to those on my mailing list. This next email will include some exclusive details about the upcoming books and possibly some giveaways. If you are not on my mailing list (I will not share or sell your information) email me at TalkShowNerd@gmail.com, and I’ll add you. The email list is strictly about My Nerd World podcasts and my book series.
Have a great one!
JJ

Tues Aug 18th 2020

I woke up with a smile this morning. It was the first time since a week ago when my Bella came slowly traversing the stairs to my office that led Melinda and me to make that fateful decision. I know that in time the grief will subside, and thankfully it already is. Continued thanks to everyone’s prayers and kind words. I know I’m not the first person to deal with grief and loss and that plenty of people are going through much more difficult circumstances than my family and me, but the pain is relative, and I’m going to miss my girl way more than I ever could have imagined.
Next week I am taking a much needed week off. My only plans are to relax, ride my bike, watch movies, and write. I want to get these next few books, Gahan Corbijn and EMBARK 5 out as soon as possible, and continue the series. Sales on books 1-3 have slowed considerably recently, which is a bummer but expected.
Thank you again for the support this past week.

Mon Aug 17th 2020

I made this website a few years ago. When I created “My Nerd World,” I needed a website to aggregate the content I was creating outside of my radio career. The idea was to slowly and gradually build up the content so that many years down the road, I should have a nice online presence when I eventually retire from radio. In it, I would create a place online for all things related to my books and podcasts.

I only recently started the blog partly because I wanted to develop a habit of providing new content every day. I didn’t ever think that it would be useful to deal with my grief of losing such a beloved pet and friend in my Bella, but here I am. Everything happens for a reason, right.

I appreciate all the comments from you who have gone through this, and many of you, multiple times. This is my first time feeling a loss on this scale. I have had other pets, but none of them compare at all to Bella.

This morning, like yesterday, it hurts a little less. I am no less sad, and as I sit here at 4:13 AM, getting ready to leave for work, I am dreading walking out of my room on the lowest, below ground level, bedroom, and office. Every morning for 11 years, my Bella would either be here in my room or at the top of the stairs when I exit. But not today or anymore.

I am considering writing a book, maybe a novella, about my Bella, as I jokingly told Melinda. It won’t be for a while, I need to get much further along than I am today before I’ll have the clarity of thought to write something worthy of people reading.

For now, this blog and Bella’s inclusion into EMBARK book five will have to do.

Thank you for coming here and reading my blog. I hope you find some value in giving up your time to read my words.

Sun Aug 16th 2020

As I sit with just the light coming in from one window, highlighting the steam rising from my large Star Wars A Force Awakens, Kylo Ren mug of freshly brewed coffee, I can happily say that I am making emotional Progress.

This is the first time since Wednesday that I haven’t cried. Okay, I may have shed a tear or two, but it wasn’t the soaked tissue outbursts that had dominated my morning routine over the past week. I actually smiled, remembering Bella when seeing some of her items strategically placed around my room and my living room, where I spend most of my time.

I say strategically because I quickly realized yesterday that placing particular possessions of hers in eyeshot of where I sit (namely the blanket and her collar you see in the photo above) wasn’t something I could emotionally handle, at least not yet.

I wrote in a post below that I was hesitant for a bit on what I wanted to post on social media. I suppose deep down I always knew I would share what happened, I seem to share everything as many of you know, but I still wasn’t sure how appropriate it was. I definitely didn’t want to come off like my loss was the most important thing ever, not with so much going on in all our lives right now. All that being said, I am happy I did. The outpouring of comments, words of encouragement, and prayers have been wonderful, and I can’t say thank you enough. I pray I can return the gestures and sentiments in some way to you who have commented on our family’s loss.

An interesting thing happened while we waited for the nurse to arrive on Friday. All five us were gathered in the upstairs living room. I was sitting on the sofa with my laptop, and Bella on the floor next to me, like she ALWAYS did. Logan has a picture of this moment. I’ll share it at some point; I’m not quite ready to look at the scene yet. I needed something to occupy my mind with at least forty-five minutes until this nurse would arrive. I decided to continue editing Book 4 in my EMBARK series. Gahan Corbijn and Asteroid of Misfortune is a first-person adventure that tells the story of what happened to this character and his AI “Robi” ALX-B or “Alex” from EMBARK book 3 The Vanishing War. The book is finished, with Melinda currently doing the editorial edit, and then I approve her changes/corrections. It was at this moment that I realized something, the situations that Gahan and Alex go through and their relationship, was unintentionally inspired by my relationship with Bella. It’s not a one to one comparison by any stretch, but the story really is an allegory about a boy and his dog. The comical exchanges these two characters have would not have been written the way they were, were it not for the conversations I had with Bella over the past 11 years.

I am going to include Bella in the upcoming saga trilogy I am writing. Still, Melinda suggested that I dedicate Gahan Corbijn to my Bella, which is precisely what I am going to do. Below is a banner of the cover for the book, which should be available in early October.

Sat Aug 15th 2020

Maybe someday in the near future I’ll share in greater detail the events of Friday. For now I’ll just say that I am so very heart broken and sad. I’m at peace with the fact that my beloved Bella is no longer in pain and in a better place. We had a nice day yesterday until end around 3:30p. It was heart wrenchingly clear that it was her time leave us. She barely got up at all since I woke up in the AM at 2:30 and we simply spent the day together while she rested and we waited. Thank you for all the prayers, I absolutely felt them yesterday. I am gutted, truly and deeply gutted right now. My girl was there every morning, and the first person I would see and talk to everyday. (Because of my odd work hours and sleeping habit, Melinda and I sleep in different rooms) My daily routine is shattered and empty now that she’s gone. I know time will heal the pain I feel, but I miss my Bella, and right now looking at world without her in it, in word, sucks. I have decided that I’m going to include her in the current Book 5 I am writing and I know of a special way that I can keep her memory alive for years to come in my stories. For now, I’ll just take it hour by hour, then eventually, day by day, until all I am left with are the wonderful memories and not the overwhelming sadness I currently feel. I love you Bella, and I always will.

Thursday Aug 13th 2020

I’ve been hesitant to talk much about this on my social media platforms, although I will mostly likely share the news after Friday. Below are a few pictures of my beloved Bella. The one of her as a puppy was taken in 2009 and probably the same day we rescued her from the shelter. The other is from Nov 2018 and is one of my favorites from before she started dealing with issues. The drive from Southern AZ to MN in 2016 was really rough on her. Then, with our home and multiple flights of stairs, it took a toll on her legs, especially her hind legs. While 2019 wasn’t too bad, over these last few months time and age have taken its toll. We opted early on to not put her through any extensive surgery. Given her age, how attached she is to me, the difficulty she would have had to recover (it would have been torture for her) we decided to simply manage her ailments. Sadly, she’s is in tremendous pain now, even with pain medication. She can barely get up the stairs, she can only move around for so long before she ends up resting wherever she can, and she’s constantly panting through her pain. It breaks by heart beyond belief that this Friday I have to say goodbye my friend. She’s much more than that though which is why I am honestly and simply put devastated right now.

In 2009 I had a heart attack at age 37. That resulted in the 1st of two open heart surgeries. The first to replace my aorta attached to my aortic heart valve and to replace the valve itself. I had a 2nd to close a hole in my aortic graft in 2012. We rescued Bella in mid 2009, and she has been my comfort pet, and best friend ever since. She waits for me everyday to get home from work. She would follow me everywhere around the house when she used to be capable of doing that, she always comes and lays down where I am in the house relaxing. She is the most amazing, loving pet I could have ever dreamed of having. My heart is broken all over again and I honestly don’t know how I am goin to deal with Friday afternoon. I know we are doing the right thing, Bella has been there for me everyday for 11 years and now, as my Mom says, I have to do this for her. I will miss her beyond measure and pray that God will eventually, and I know He will, remove my sadness and pain and that of Melinda, Logan and Kyle and replace it with just the wonderful memories of the gift she has given to me and our family. I love her so much and my life is so much richer because she was is in and for that praise God for the gift of Bella. Goodbye my dear friend.

Wed Aug 12th 2020

2020 is just the worst. But, as George Lucas wrote and Obi Wan said, “what I told you was true, from a certain point of view.” There is truth that hardship can be seen as a positive. A sentiment echoed in The Last Jedi when Yoda talks about the greatest teacher being failure. I write this because bad things can and will happen and it’s what we do with them that matters most.

This Friday I have to put to sleep my beloved dog Bella. She’s been my best friend and by my side through all the hardest times so far in my life. She’s suffering in pain and to try and fix her issues would only cause her more harm. The next few days with her will be filled with both joy and heart break. Friday will be filled devastation that I am not quite sure I am ready for. But her time has come and it’s not fair for me to allow her to continue to provide me with comfort, friendship and joy while she suffers.

I needed something yesterday to bring a smile to my face and found this clip from the show I did in Tucson. I hope you laugh along with it as much as we did.

Saturday Aug 8th 2020

I’m running some promotions as I continue to try and spread my stories to the masses. First off, for the next few days you can get the ebook for EMBARK Book 1 for free. Also,

Just a reminder that the Audiobook for EMBARK The Vanishing War (3) is now available on Amazon
I still also still have a some free codes for books (1) and (2). If you take the opportunity to grab the other audiobooks I hope you’ll leave a review if you enjoyed them and grab the audiobook for (3)
Please enjoy a free audio review copy of Embark (1) & (2), now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo
NQYZPZK6XLB28
PPJSZ4NN492J5
Treasure in Darkness Book 2 Audiobook codes
5PA6KHXGLFRMR
6H67UJZUSF2ZH
7KGS73GEZRHBJ
BNB33UFFDTDF9
CYP7Q5HXY5FKF
EZAT2SDA42DRD
GR892SS57ULNR

Friday Aug 7th 2020

This trailer below looks amazing!!!! BTW for the next few days you grab the Ebook for EMBARK Book 1 for Free!

Now check this out!

Thurs Aug 6th 2020

If you like audiobooks and have not picked up EMBARK: Book 1 and Treasure in Darkness: Book 2, you might want to take a peep at yesterdays Blog below. In the meantime enjoy this video, as I did, showcasing Space Opera films that are not Star Wars.

Wed Aug 5th 2020

I rarely find new music anymore, mostly because I don’t listen to the radio, even if I am on it, just not music radio. So now I find most of my new music via YouTube. I recently discovered Gunship a few months back and they are now my new favorite band. I also found out there is a “new” genre they fall into called Synthwave, of which I am also now a huge a fan of. Much of the their music is 80/90’s movie themed which I personally think is totally rad. Enjoy!

Mon Aug 3rd 2020

I’ve been listening to a bunch of interviews with SciFi authors and something is becoming abundantly clear…I have little in-common with most of them apart from the love of genre. But even then, my views/opinions seem to run counter of what the vast majority thinks of certain IP’s. I want to believe this provides me an opportunity since these differences will certainly stand out in my own stories. However, that also might mean that these successful authors have found their own niches and audiences and it might be difficult, yet needed, for me to find my own specific audience to market to and continue to find success.

Since its a new week I just wanted to add that I hope wherever you are you are healthy, happy, and safe in these troubling times. Now, go pickup my books and get away from reality!

Sunday Aug 2nd 2020

It’s crazy how much our recognition of the lapse of time is so relative. I’ll never forget waiting in line for the opening day release of The Force Awakens. I was living in Tucson at the time and we didn’t have any theaters with assigned seating yet. I got off the air and immediately went to the Foothills Mall and sat outside of the theater for hours before being allowed to enter the theater one hour before the movie would start. Sitting in my seat, with forty five minutes until the movie started it was the longest forty five mins of my life. These days and especially the weekly show, time just flies by. I’m not complaining, the sooner time passes the sooner we get a vaccine (which appears to be the only way we as a society are going to be allowed to go back to our normal lives. Which I do not agree with, but I’ll keep my COVID thoughts to other outlets, this is supposed to be a fun blog.)

Speaking of fun, selling books is fun. No really it is. Trying to figure out the right combination that leads to increase sales, while it can be frustrating, is obviously rewarding if you get it right. With another new month I made some ads adjustments and so far they seem to be yielding positive results.

This week I am going to start my next podcast devoted to the Space Opera genre. This podcast was going to be a self publishing podcast, and while that will still be a part of it, I decided to shift the focus. The term “Space opera” has been around for a long time now, but its not widely used, and I’d like to change that. So be sure and look up My Nerd World: A Space Opera Podcast and give it a listen.

Friday July 31st 2020 (More free stuff!)

Arguably, the worst year ever right? At least from a societal stand point, during my lifetime. From a personal perspective it hasn’t been so bad, stressful, but I’ve personally had worse years. One of the biggest, and not discussed enough IMO negative effects of COVID and the election year is the lack of entertainment to take our attention away from the news of the day. I honestly hope that people have found my EMBARK stories a nice diversion from the harsh reality we live in right now. And while I didn’t know it at the time, the trilogy really did turn out to be very analogous to the current social zeitgeist and subtextually relevant to the struggles on not just a global scale, but certainly America specifically. I know for me, writing has been a welcome diversion. I’m about 20k into Book 5 and the start of the next trilogy of EMBARK stories that will take place 11 years after the conclusion of The Vanishing War and the Gahan Corbijn Book 4 coming out in late Sept. Be sure to join the mailing list for more details TheJonJustice@Gmail.com

I’m going to giveaway some free stuff in this post below so be sure to read to the end. I am also going to talk reviews and speaking of which, I just received this review of the audio book for The Vanishing War. E.L. writes

The ending of the book: it was hard to imagine and felt it will be better as a film for me

They gave the performance and overall score of 3 out of 5 stars and 4 out of 5 stars for story. You might be asking why a post a “meh” review. It’s because I appreciate the honestly and actually like the fact that the listener felt it would work better as a film. If I could be a movie a director, trust me I would. I love films! But mostly I love story telling and if a listener or reader can actually envision my story or even believes the story would be better as a film, I’ll take it. As long people are entertained and felt they got their moneys worth, I’m happy if they’re happy.

This weekend I’m doing some price testing on my ebooks and you can buy Book 1 for just .99cts and Books 2/3 for 3.99. I really need reviews for all 3 books on Amazon so if you purchase any version of the books and enjoyed them please leave a review ASAP. Also if you haven’t picked up the audio books yet, below are more free review codes for Book 1/2.

Please enjoy one free audio review copy of Embark, now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

NQYZPZK6XLB28

PPJSZ4NN492J5

Book 2 Treasure is Darkness codes:

5PA6KHXGLFRMR

6H67UJZUSF2ZH

7KGS73GEZRHBJ

BNB33UFFDTDF9

CYP7Q5HXY5FKF

EZAT2SDA42DRD

GR892SS57ULNR

Wed July 29th 2020

I’ve been a slacker, not writing here as much as I had planned. In my defense, I did change the blog title, dropping the “daily” from the title. Things have been busy lately, all self induced. I decided to give the AMAZON descriptions a total overhaul after listening to some experts on copy editing. We’ll have to see if it makes a difference in more conversions of sales, which is currently my struggle in selling books. Using AMS ads, I can get a lot of clicks to my pages on AMAZON, just need to convert those clicks to buys. It’s an on going process and second job really. I find writing so rewarding that I don’t mind the extra work.

BTW I believe there are still free review audiobook codes available, so be sure to test out some of the codes below if you haven’t downloaded books 1/2. (also give this weeks Star Wars podcast a listen, you may find a few more that way)

Saturday July 25 2020

If you haven’t taken advantage of the free review copies of the EMBARK audiobooks be sure to scour the posts below. Some, but not all of those codes have been redeemed, so get them while they are still available. Currently I am in the middle of writing Book 5 in the EMBARK timeline while Book 4 is being edited. I love writing and it’s especially rewarding when you know the story being crafted is both fresh and familiar. I am glad I made the choice to continue the EMBARK adventures. In the near future I’ll absolutely write my new fantasy series. But for now, the EMBARK Space Opera saga still has much to be explored. Be sure to check out this weeks A Star Wars podcast out later in the day Saturday and the all new A Space Opera Podcast. I put up a short preview pod of what to expect, just look for My Nerd World where you choose to listen to podcasts.

Thursday July 23rd 2020

So I guess I like giving away free stuff!
As you are (hopefully) aware the Audiobook for EMBARK The Vanishing War (3) is now available.

After a stunning defeat by the evil Supreme Commander Sint Argum, the brave resistance must prepare for the inevitable attack on their homeworld.

Below are a few more free review codes for the EMBARK Book 1 and Treasure in Darkness (2) audio books. First come first served!

I hope if you take advantage of the freebies you’ll purchase a copy of the Book 3 audiobook.

And as always you can get the ebooks and paperbacks for the entire trilogy by simply going here! https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07K9HB7F7

Thanks!

Please enjoy a free audio review copy of Embark, now available on Audible.

When Earth suddenly faces a planet-wide catastrophe, a ruthless and power-hungry enemy emerges. Unwittingly, Taft, Kaytha, and their friends are thrust into the middle of humanity’s fight for survival and future among the stars.

Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

3TQHNCKGNZBRG

5ERHSS8CTENP6

6P39HEN2FYYMP

7N7NX9QG5834D

CDQA5KAUQPUS6

EMBARK Treasure in Darkness (2)

During a search and salvage mission at the space graveyard near Saturn, an unknown threat attacks! Is this the return of the ruthless Sint Argum and DeCorp or a new enemy emerging?
Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

NXT8RWUES63JB

M93WZ7QZDWMN6

JX6ZNL5NXJXQA

H43X972CF4NQP

HGXYDWJCZFY5H

HKPMJHAZCDE9X

Tuesday July 21st 2020
I’ve decided to giveaway more Audiobooks for EMBARK Book 1. (Details below) While I hope you enjoy the book, in return, if you enjoyed the story, leave a review. Also, tell your friends and family about the series and perhaps pickup an ebook or paperback version. If not, that’s totally okay and hopefully at a minimum you’ll buy the audiobooks for Treasure in Darkness and The Vanishing War.
Becoming a successful author requires a good amount of promotion and word of mouth. Help spread the word about the EMBARK Series! Thanks as always for the support and I enjoy the adventure!

Please enjoy one free audio review copy of Embark Book 1, now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at

https://www.audible.com/acx-promo
If a code is taken try another.
KD4JPJST2AD96

NQYZPZK6XLB28

PPJSZ4NN492J5

R89AMT5AETQKZ

RPJMXPD72J5ZB

TTN54DMWUHGM5

3TQHNCKGNZBRG

5ERHSS8CTENP6

6P39HEN2FYYMP

7N7NX9QG5834D

97FBHXYHZ6TSY

CDQA5KAUQPUS6

CKT5Z82KNUS8Q

EW72EXNFNRMUQ

Monday July 20th 2020

MORE FREEBIES!

As I get ready to head to work this morning, always an adventure, I am feeling generous. If you are interested here are a few free review codes for EMBARK: The Vanishing War Audiobook 3. Which means that if you take advantage of the freebies here and in the previous post, you can download the entire EMBARK Audiobook trilogy for FREE! All I ask is that if you enjoyed them, that you leave a review. (it’s not required for the giveaway.) Happy Monday!

Please enjoy one (each) free audio review copies of EMBARK The Vanishing War: (Book 3), now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo (ALL THE CODES HAVE BEEN USED)

Saturday July 18th 2020

FINALLY!

EMBARK: The Vanishing War Audiobook 3 is now available here!

In honor of its release I am giving away Audiobooks 1 & 2 free review copies!

EMBARK Book 1

Please enjoy one free audio review copy of Embark Book 1, now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at

https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

These are one-time use codes, if doesn’t work, try another.

97FBHXYHZ6TSY

CDQA5KAUQPUS6

CKT5Z82KNUS8Q

EW72EXNFNRMUQ

H4HYPYE6UNWM9

KD4JPJST2AD96

LCKTYPD8JLUQK

NQYZPZK6XLB28

PA2SZXZZWWDJ3

PPJSZ4NN492J5

R89AMT5AETQKZ

RPJMXPD72J5ZB

TGMH4JMA7BNLN

TTN54DMWUHGM5

U8W5R8UACB4MX

WDMUEW3JW4KN5

YWUTAHYNPP3GK

Z5GB9HADJM3E2

ZAREHDCZCNNU5

EMBARK TREASURE IN DARKNESS (Audio book 2)

Please enjoy one free audio review copy of Embark Book 2, now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at

https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

2JL7X438WED98

5PA6KHXGLFRMR

6ARGWTHBDGG6A

6H67UJZUSF2ZH

7JSQM49JSYFPW

7KGS73GEZRHBJ

92J2PMZJBDMAU

BNB33UFFDTDF9

CFPHSSETC5NC3

CYP7Q5HXY5FKF

GR892SS57ULNR

H43X972CF4NQP

HGXYDWJCZFY5H

HKPMJHAZCDE9X

JX6ZNL5NXJXQA

M93WZ7QZDWMN6

NXT8RWUES63JB

PFNKUX5GH6MXA

QQ6766DNPNJW9

QXKWP4HK7BXQ9

TWTAG6XTQE777

U4SZ26Q79Y696

Wed July 15th 2020

When I wrote EMBARK book 1 I had a really good idea of in mind of where the story would go, beginning, middle, and end. For Treasure in Darkness I had beginning and end, but everything in-between was pure inspiration. At the moment Treasure in Darkness is probably my favorite book of the three, if only because I really had so much fun writing the Taft and Kaytha adventure portion of the story and how everything came together. For the Vanishing War I had a loose idea, kinda of like book 1, but the resolution came in the writing process. I’m mentioning all this because I’ve changed my mind on what the next set of stories will be.

If you read the posts below I had been teasing this new series idea. I have already put down a ton of ideas, planet details, character names etc. I even did something I never do and that is actually laid out a loose plot. I have a title and three subtitles for a trilogy and I was set to start writing the story today. But…After wrapping up Gahan Corbijn’s story I realized I am not ready set aside the world of EMBARK. I always intended, even with this new story idea, to go back and write another trilogy, for a total of seven EMBARK stories. I was, however, having a hard time coming up with a thread and arc for a new set of stories set in the Proxima Centauri system. But then this morning inspiration struck. On the drive into work I recorded into my notes audio app on my iPhone the basic plot elements for Book 5 (book 1 of the new trilogy) and bullet points for books 6 and 7. So, my other series will wait and if you liked EMBARK (and hopefully you’ll love Gahan Corbijn and the Asteroid of Misfortune) more stories are on the way and I hope to have Book 5 The Old World (working title subject to change) out by the end of the year and books 6/7 early 2021.

Monday July 13th 2020

Another week has arrived and just like every week these days I can’t help but wonder what it will bring? This week I’ll be passing off Book 4 in the EMBARK series for editing. The book is a ton of fun and I can’t wait to get it out there. This means that I can start on my new series and I’m thrilled/excited to be EMBARKING (get it LOL) on this new storyline.

Saturday July 11th 2020

I made some updates this morning to the creative content on the EMBARK Book 1 Amazon book description. It’s tough trying to find the right formula that leads to increased sales. My Amazon add teases seem to get people clicking to the sale page, but getting that click to covert to sale is tricky. I change it every month or so to see if one version of the description works better than another.

As soon I am done writing this post I’ll go back to work reading and editing book 4 in the series. As I mentioned below, after my edit and I hand off for an editorial edit, I can start work on my new series. I’m not ready to provide details yet on what I’ll be working on, but, below are some images I pulled as inspiration.

Thursday July 9th 2020

I am really close to landing a number one spot on Amazon and that all important Best Seller tag. With help of my readers, family and friends on my birthday, selling Book 1 at .99cts I came so close! Thank you! I’m pray that the overnight averages will result in my taking that number one spot still. If you can, pick up an ebook for less than a buck for you or/and a friend, enjoy the adventure and maybe push me over the top!

Wed JULY 8TH 2020

Hey look, it’s July 8th 🙂

I need to make it practice to not come up with new book ideas while still working on finishing another book. I’ve landed on story line that I cannot wait to begin writing. In the meantime its taking away from my much needed final read and line by line edit on EMBARK book 4. I think I am almost at a place where I can stick a pin, for now, in putting details down for the next series and wrap up Book 4 so I can pass it off to Melinda for the editorial edit. Needless to say I cannot wait to write these next stories!

I mentioned yesterday the Booksy promotion for the EMBARK series I was running and its going great! In fact I am really close to landing the number one best seller rank in a Space Opera category. If you want to help, pick up an ebook copy of EMBARK Book 1. A few more sales should put me over the top. Right now you can get the entire trilogy in ebook for less than $7 bucks.

Tuesday July 7th 2020

I am faced with a good problem. I have this, what I believe is an amazing idea for story, the one I mentioned yesterday. I haven’t sat down and hashed everything out completely, instead I have been continuously taking moments of the day and putting ideas down. I have a complete three story arc, which includes the finale’s of three stories. The good problem is that I still have to wrap up Book 4 in EMBARK before I can dive into this new tale. This means, the EMBARK series takes a bit of a break, which I am kind of okay with. If EMBARK were currently a runaway hit I would continue with the stories, of which I have plots ready. Since I am newer author and still need to grow an audience, I feel comfortable starting a second series. Tomorrow I’ll write a bit about the only struggle I have with the new trilogy, choosing the right genre. Do I stick with one, or do I attempt a combination of genres that might be less mass appeal?

BTW I am running a promotion with Booksy today, trying out their service. Because of that you can pick up EMBARK book 1 in ebook for .99 and Books 2 and 3 for 2.99!

Monday July 6th 2020

Sitting in the studio, just wrapped up all the prep I am going to get to before the show starts. I say “going to get to” because it’s not all the prep, it never is. I’ll always over prep for the show…always. It’s a long tradition, turned habit, ever since I started doing talk radio back in 2005. Better to have more material and not use it, then run out of material when you need it.

The 4th of July celebration was fun. My boys did their best to unnecessarily burn the house down. They failed, which is good. I intended to do a lot of reading and line by line editing of EMBARK book 4. And, while I did get some of that done, I actually started a new project. I had been detailing a few plot elements for Book 5 in the EMBARK series. Still, I had to force the creativity and story elements, which I never want to do. After watching a few movies with the family, I was struck with a story idea, something totally fresh and far from the first 4 novels. I spent time over the weekend, working out details, characters, and, more importantly, plot. I now have a loose outline for an all-new trilogy. After I release Book 4 in EMBARK, I am going to get working on this new set of stories, and I am as excited I was when I started EMBARK. Currently, the plan is to write all three books at one time and then release them over three months next year. That may change, but for now, that’s the idea.
I’m really thankful for having the inspiration for this new tale. Every day, I pray for the success of the EMBARK series and continue to learn how to best market the books. Ultimately I’ll leave in the Lord’s hands to decide how strong the winds will blow into the sales I have raised in becoming an author. In the meantime, my mind is racing about story elements, characters, and settings in this all-new world I’ll be creating.

Saturday July 4th 2020

Happy 4th of July! I finally wrapped up the Grammarly edit on book 4 so now it’s time for me to start my re-read and make any additional changes before I hand it off for editing. I’ve also started “outlining” the next trilogy. I am more of a pantser (I don’t plot so much when I write, I more write by the seat of my pants) but for the next trilogy I’m going to challenge myself a bit and try to craft an arc of stories a little less derivative than the first three. I’ve written a few thousand words for book 5 already, but I’m thinking I’ll be shifting some of that around too.

I pray you have a great and safe holiday weekend! BTW all three ebooks are discounted this weekend if you haven’t picked up your copy yet of the trilogy.

Friday July 3rd 2020

So much for this being a daily blog. I ended up going out on a “friend of the show” boat yesterday with Drew and Sam (friends and people I work with) and with Friday being a day off I pretty much checked out the rest of Thursday. Honestly, the reason I decided to write a daily blog was simply to get into the habit. This website is really important for promoting my novels and who knows, one day if I were to become the JK Rowling or Alan Dean Foster of newer sci-fi/space opera then maybe people will be interested in my daily musings.

As soon as I wrap up this entry I’m going to get back to work editing Book 4 in the EMBARK series. I’m in the process of running the entire book through Grammarly. After that I’ll be re-reading the book and making changes. I listened to an author give some fantastic advice and provide examples of “showing” not “telling” in a story during a recent podcast. I do an okay job of that, (showing vs telling) but armed with more education I’m looking forward to using the info to better this and future stories.

Have a fantastic July 4th celebration!

Wed July 1st 2020

Birthday month! July 8th to be more specific, but I am about at the point were I might stop paying attention to the day I entered the world, turning 48 and all. Plus, 2020 is certainly going to be a year worth forgetting and yet almost impossible to do so. On the book side of things, I can’t express what a blessing becoming an author has been. The story telling has become my go to outlet to get away from the daily doom and gloom. I look forward to go back long from now and re-reading the first 3 books in the EMBARK series, they will undoubtedly be telling about where my mind set was during these past few years in my life. It wasn’t until I finished the Vanishing War that I realized what I had created was part allegory to the events we have been living through from 2015-the present. EMBARK was crafted during the hype of The Force Awakens, Ready Player One and the Last Jedi. With Treasure in Darkness and Book 3 the subtext was affected more by the politics and narratives of the daily news, even if the stories are not all that political. Hopefully you have picked up your copies! 🙂

Tues June 30th 2020

I hate having to do things after work. I know things have to be done, like rotating tires, renewing drivers licenses and getting the oil changed, but when I have other things that I’d rather be doing, like editing my next book, I would rather be doing the book stuff. Anyhow, here I sit inside Tires Plus. I could be editing book 4 through Grammarly, but unfortunately my laptop can’t keep up with the programs constant updating so I have to wait until I can get on my main computer at home. All that being said, I am really excited about this next story. I am always excited about all my books, but this next one is, a little shorter, a lot funnier, and just different from the first three books. Hopefully it will be available by mid-September, at least thats the plan. Before I go, be sure to check out the home page here. I upgraded the EMBARK Book 1 cover and I love it. Head to the home page and meet the team! Lastly, have you reviewed the first three books!? If you haven’t, why not!? 🙂 It would really help me out if you have purchased Books 1/2/3 if you could drop a review for me. Thanks!

Mon June 29th 2020

Alarm was reset this morning from 2:30 to 2:45a, I’m such a rebel.

Immediately after sitting down at my desk this morning, sipping my really bad first cup of coffee (Its my own fault, I have no idea how much or little grounds I am supposed to use, my goal is to wake up, I always power thru the taste) I cautiously start looking at the most recent headlines. Ugh…I can’t wait for a time like it was pre-covid and a non-election year. I love my full-time job, but this year it’s been kinda depressing.

I’m running ahead of schedule so I’m going to try and get some editing done on BOOK 4 after I finish my notes before the show starts.

Sun June 28th 2020

I wrapped up the first draft for Book 4 yesterday like I intended. I’ll start the first read thru today, probably during the triple header NASCAR races at Pocono. This book, being essentially a spin off story, I had planned on it being around 60k words. The EMBARK trilogy was 120k 90k 10k. I really wanted this story to be more of a fun adventure. I ended up at around 53K, so I might try and punch up a few sections of the story. Alright, I need coffee and pop tarts. Have a blessed and fantastic day!

Sat June 27th 2020

Hey there,

Thanks for dropping by My Nerd World. I decided to start adding a small daily blog chronicling my journey as an author. Some days maybe short (like today) other days longer (not like today).

I just wrapped up a bunch of small updates to the site, probably nothing all that noticeable. I recently added “Join the team…Save the Future!” to the promotional tag line of the trilogy. I’m always trying to find new ways spark potential readers imaginations, you just never know what will work.

As soon as I wrap this post I’ll be finishing the first draft on book 4 in the EMBARK Timeline. If you want more details ( and don’t mind slight spoilers if you have not read Book 3) take a look at the art page on this site for a preview of the cover). This next book will be quite a departure from the first 3 books. I decided to write 4 in first person (the EMBARK trilogy is written in 3rd person omniscient) and its light hearted and funnier than the previous 3. I wanted something more along the lines of Space Opera Indiana Jones and specifically the fun of The Last Crusade. After I wrap up the first draft of book 4 I’ll be recording this weeks Star Wars Podcast.

I hope you are safe, happy and healthy in these strange times. Be sure to grab your preferred versions of the EMBARK Trilogy. They are perfect for binge reading and escaping from the realities of present day.

JJL

My Nerd Blog

The ending of the book: it was hard to imagine and felt it will be better as a film for me

Sat June 27th 2020

AVAILABLE NOW-EMBARK: The Vanishing War marks the epic conclusion to the opening trilogy in the EMBARK series, by Jon “Justice” LoGiudice

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The ending of the book: it was hard to imagine and felt it will be better as a film for me

Sat June 27th 2020

AVAILABLE NOW-EMBARK: The Vanishing War marks the epic conclusion to the opening trilogy in the EMBARK series, by Jon “Justice” LoGiudice

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