The Warbler Books

Coheed and Cambria – The Afterman: Ascension / Descension

February 7, 2013 No Comments

Concept-Rock outfit Coheed and Cambria is one of my many obsessions. I’ve been listening to them and following the sci-fi opus that is the subject of their music since 2005, when a friend in college introduced me to their second album: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. The title tune from the album (from which the album derives its name) completely blew me away. I wasn’t aware that there was a group taking metal, prog-rock, unique (and exquisite) vocals, and combining them in an epic and (to me) incredibly enjoyable way. You can listen to In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 here. In the years that have passed since I first heard of Coheed and Cambria, they’ve released four albums. About each I’ve grown progressively more excited, and the dual release of double-album The Afterman was no exception. I preordered the deluxe collector’s edition, complete with all the bells, whistles, and doohickeys;

I’ve been working hard

January 31, 2013 4 Comments

Your browser does not support the video tag Though I’ve been neglecting my blog–a thing I no longer intend to do–I thought to provide evidence of what I have been working on over the last several months. I won’t publish any of the actual drafts in the blog anymore, but I have been working diligently (if slowly) on putting together a novel. Note: so is the whole world, apparently. I’m really enjoying the work, and I’m still in communication with the writing group I joined last year (through WriteAboutDragons,) which has taught me innumerable things about my own writing, audience, and the general issues one faces when making stuff up on a large scale. I’ve got (somewhere around) 12,000 words of actual chapter draft written, I believe, and as I’m not yet finished with chapter 5, so this should be a long–and totally awesome—process. The video above is a Vine I posted a

A Memory Of Light – Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

January 29, 2013 2 Comments

I was first introduced to the Wheel of Time Series by my old boss, Brian, when I worked at Berkeley Tuolumne Camp. I was stubborn in my assertions that I “knew” fantasy because I had read Tolkien, which was woefully ignorant. I had almost no relationship to the wider world of fantasy literature and was, as a result, completely unprepared for the experience of reading “The Eye of the World,” the first book in the series called The Wheel of Time. Fourteen (that’s right, 14) books make up the series. Each is roughly one thousand pages long, and they are (for the most part) jam-packed with action and intrigue, magic and mystery, light and shadow, and love and hate. They are compelling, addictive, and without a doubt my favorite fantasy books. Ever. I read the first four that summer, and now have an

Going Out on a Limb

January 15, 2013 1 Comment

It is no secret to many of you that I have been (as many are) looking to move; to do something new. In a perfect world, I could live where I want (at the moment, that place is Seattle,) do what I want (write stuff,) and visit my parents often enough that I could once again get tired of eating my food in a tortilla. (That last bit is a joke. I don’t think it’s possible to get tired of eating tasty snacks in a tortilla.) That being said, I’ve been cruising the listings just to see if anything resembling a writing gig has popped up in the cold Pacific Northwest. I found a hilarious listing for a technical writing position at [REDACTED] and decided that I just had to send in an application. [REDACTED] is a tech company in downtown Seattle, mere blocks from Pike Place market. Sounds up my

Haircuts: A Necessary Evil

September 2, 2012 2 Comments

In honor of my Mother’s birthday, I decided to try to write something that would make her laugh (I hope.) I got a haircut yesterday, and often joke about how uncomfortable the experience is for me, so I decided to take some creative liberties with the whole process and embellish it. Hopefully you’ll find this funny, as I do, Mom. I’m so deeply grateful to have your support in my creative, academic, emotional, and spiritual endeavors. You’re the best, Mom. You inspire me. Happy birthday Mom. I love you.

Elantris – Brandon Sanderson

May 22, 2012 No Comments

The first question a person might ask of me when seeing the title of this book is: “Hey, Elan? Did you only read this book because your name is in the title?” Partially, yes. There’s more to it than that, though. Brandon Sanderson is a pretty well-thought-of fantasy author who is currently finishing a series I am particularly passionate about: The Wheel of Time. Book 14 is scheduled for release 1/8/13, and I’m somewhat eager to get my hands on it. Since Robert Jordan–the author of the series–passed away in 2007, Brandon Sanderson has been working toward finishing the series using Jordan’s notes and the editing help of Jordan’s wife, Harriet. It’s incredible that, after releasing his first novel (this one) in 2005, by 2007 he had enough notoriety within the fantasy community to be tasked with this demanding responsibility. He is, in my opinion, doing the series justice. He’s able to

The Next Thousand

May 16, 2012 2 Comments

Hello, friends. I thought it might be nice to share with you the next thousand-word submission for the online group. I won’t bury the blog under weekly submissions for the writing project, but I have a feeling it will crop up occasionally. Enjoy!

Untitled / Something I Wrote

May 6, 2012 1 Comment

Hello, friends! I just finished a book by an author who is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers, Mr. Brandon Sanderson. I’m just about done with a review of his book Elantris, which was a pleasure to read. This post, however, doesn’t have to do with that book. Apparently, Mr. Sanderson is teaching a class in creative writing this semester, videos of which are being posted online. The site that is posting these videos also started an online writing group, which I requested to join and was subsequently invited to. This group plans to shadow the class as best it can, working on the semester’s assignment: 50,000 words. (That’s about 200 standard pages, if I’m not mistaken.) The people in the group are all wonderfully creative and eager to give feedback, and I’m looking forward to seeing where this all goes. Even if I don’t get to 50,000 words,

Dear Lumia 900

April 28, 2012 2 Comments

Per my last entry, I scoped out the scene and after much effort, managed to acquire myself a Nokia Lumia 900. It was difficult to come by, and I ended up using it for about a week. While I enjoyed it immensely, some things didn’t work out and I ended up returning it. What follows is a letter to the Lumia.

Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson / That Bad Taste in My Mouth

April 7, 2012 2 Comments

I just finished reading Steve Jobs. My feelings on the story of his life were unexpected, and where I stand now on the philosophy of Apple’s products is most assuredly not where I was expecting to be after finishing the biography. As a book, the story reads quickly, remains exciting throughout and is, honestly, pretty riveting. I hadn’t known much about him (aside from the basics everyone knew,) and reading about him was fascinating, inspiring and educational for many reasons. “How novel,” I thought to myself at first, “that I’m reading the Steve Jobs biography on an iPad.” It seemed an appropriate way to achieve total immersion with the story. I found myself immersed indeed. Steve Jobs’ life is a fascinating tale of an adoptee caught in between the world of silicon valley in bloom and the hippie idealism that many believe ultimately resulted in his death. I wasn’t surprised by

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