Chase Brooks's Blog: The Real Thing

Commentating on pop culture is definately one of my fortes. It's a gift, what can I say? Poking fun at any highly publicized celebrity event, mishap, or scandal is very self-fulfilling. Some people say that people who do this are low on self-esteem. I think those people are the ones who need the Prozac. I'm perfectly satisfied with my level of self-esteem.

One story that has caught my eye lately (more like been FORCED into my face), has been the scandal of Jon and Kate whats-their-faces. Supposedly this Jon guy was caught by the paparazzi cheating on his wife with some college girl. I just have to put in my two cents on this piece...

What was he thinking? I know he probably had good means behind his decision. If you have ever watched the show you can see just how badly this woman treats him. She's awful. If Godzilla had a human manifestation it would be Kate, for sure. She practically breathes fire and has countless spawn. I know, I know, the show title is "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" but I have a personal hunch that these kids have understudies. Anyways, back to Jon. The paparazzi catches him macking down in a stairwell at a dorm. Classic.

I know that, really, Jon is in the wrong. Jon should be the one that everyone dislikes. He was the cheater. But I'm sure about 94.1% of America (or at least the ones who care) have it out for Kate. If she didn't hit him in the face or tell him to shut up or talk to him like one of their countless children maybe - just maybe - things wouldn't be like this. In fact, I even heard on the radio this morning that she gives him a $5 allowance for his daily spending needs. Is that not the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard? What is he going to do? Go to Subway for the $5 foot long? He can't even get that because that money won't even cover the tax.

For some reason they decided to proceed with a new season of the show. I'm sure that was more Kate's decision. She loves being on TV. She thrives on it. Personally, I think she is trying to pave the way for her own show whenever they get a divorce.

You know, she and that Octo-Mom should get a reality show together. She wants a reality show too. We've already seen the eight children. Let's try sixteen plus two moms. That has got to be a real hoot. I would watch it at least once, I know that. But then I'd probably get tired of watching them cat-fighting and pulling each other's hair, trying to argue about who gets to lead the interviews...

I have a lot of hot steam built up from this story, as you can probably tell. They aren't even real celebrities. I can't wait for next season - "Jon and Kate Plus Eight Minus One."

I have always thought that both writing and the publishing process becomes more easy each time around. This, of course, was a rather assumptive thought. This thought had about as much truth to it as Paula Abdul's alcoholism. Though it is claimed to be nonexistent, the proof shines through and through and it is seen as one big fat lie.

After your first novel, you feel like you can do anything, like you are unstoppable. In some sense you are. Look at what you have just accomplished. You have poured out your heart and soul and spent countless hours writing, countless hours editing and re-editing. With all the time spent on it, it really is a shame we aren't paid by the hour, as well! After my first book that is exactly how I felt - invicible. I wrote my second, "Hello, My Love" soon after and once I wrapped it up I was hungry for more. So I did a third.

Then, oddly enough, I took a break from writing for close to a year. I had the ultimate case of writer's block. What should I write? I've already covered the story about the partying teenager, the romantic comedy, and the thriller about internet predators. What's next from there? And more importantly, why should there be a next thing? It all just sat in a plastic three-ring binder on a shelf when I was done anyways. Was my self-pride and feeling of being invincible mislead? Sure, I wrote three novels but, then again, what did I have to show for it? They weren't published. No one had read them. All they were were three sad manuscripts.

One day I woke up with a start. Out of nowhere I decided one thing: I'm going to make this happen. I deserved to make this happen. Not stopping there, it wasn't GOING to happen unless I did something about it! If I had to wait around for a fantastic agent that wasn't in it for the money or to take advantage of a seventeen-year-old, chances were, I'd be waiting for a very, very long time. I did some research. I found a self-publisher. I signed a contract that night.

Two months later and what do I know? My book, my baby, my hardwork, my pride and joy, "Hello, My Love" was sitting in my hands neatly bound with my author photo on the back. That had to have been the proudest moment of my life. Now I understand the overwhelming feeling of love that comes forth when a mother first sees her child. Sure, that may be a horrible comparison as I'm not going to physically have kids myself (or as far as I know) and I didn't go through sixteen hours of labor.

I started writing the sequel. Of course, I had the inspiration to write - I knew I was going to get published. I knew that whatever I would be writing from this point out, people would read. I had the stamina and the self-motivation to whip out a novel in six months. Now, here I am again. Back in the saddle. Back at bat. I'm going through the publishing process all over again.

Let me just say, it isn't easy. Just because it has been done once before does not, by any means, imply that the second, third, or even fifth time around is going to be a walk in the park.

So I am formally announcing, in this blog, that "Hello, My Love 2: First Love Deserves a Second Chance" is now in production and is due out next month, June 2009. Trust me, it wasn't easy but it sure as hell feels good.

This is a little intimidating, I have to admit. A blog... I can honestly say that minus MySpace that I have never done one of these before.

It kind of reminds me of starting to write a new book. There's no one telling you what to write, what sort of prompt to follow, or anything. You are on your own or "independent," you could even say.

That brings me to the sudden decision of what the subject should be for my first offical GoodReads blog - writing books.

It is almost a spiritual experience. I'm not by any means a religious person but there is just something about pouring out your words and soul onto paper that is so enlightening. You have an idea of what you want to write, what to happen in the story, and even what the characters should be like but when you first start you are completely blank. Then before you know it, all these words just start pouring out of you and you have no idea where they are coming from.

Then one sentence turns into one paragraph. One paragraph turns into one page. One page turns into several and before you know it, there is a pile of papers forming before you that ultimately make a story.

I've always heard the saying that "All writers write because they like it. Poets write because they have to." I believe that all writers write because they have to. I know I do, at least. Writing is an escape. For a few hours, or even a few minutes, you can completely forget your problems and become saturated into a world that you have created. Writers write because they have to express their creativity. We see the world in a different way than other people do. What most people see for what it is, we over-analyze. In a way, it can be described as a flaw. But, to us, it is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because we feed off of it. We take a look or a sentence and look deeper into it, look for its origin, its cause, its effect, the reaction is spurts onto others. We analyze. Its a curse because sometimes it is quite hard to deal with.

Writers write because it is what keeps us from going insane. We love it.