By Nathan Marchand
May 20, 2016
For the last few weeks, my fellow Children of the Wells creators have been sharing from their hearts in some very personal blogs. That makes my blog this week a…
Which leads me to my actual topic. No, it’s not Killer Instinct or fighting games (though I could easily rant about them). I’m talking about this new “role” I’ve taken upon myself with the CotW staff: meme generator. (more…)
by Timothy Deal
May 13, 2016
We’ve had some wonderfully introspective blogs from our courageous CotW writers/editors lately. I’m going to attempt to continue that series – if only because certain anniversaries came up recently – but in case my insights come out like a rehash of previous blogs, I’ll try to keep it concise.
geralt / Pixabay
Generally, I’m not one to fixate on anniversaries of life events (which I can get away with as a bachelor), but this year the arrival of May prompted mixed feelings. You see, this May marks five years since I finished graduate school and ten years since I finished college. And truth be told, my life today doesn’t really match what I envisioned for myself back when I graduated either time. I’m still unmarried, unsettled in my career, and not nearly as financially stable as I would prefer. At times, it’s hard not to look at where I’m at this far after graduation and not consider myself a failure. (more…)
By Gregory Meyer
May 6, 2016
I have a confession to make, when Tim asked me to join the Children of the Wells project, I almost told him no. When I read his texts, I mentally fought with myself from declining the offer. I was in a bad place mentally at the time, and I didn’t know if I had it in me to try writing for someone again.
Back in 2010, before all of this, I had just come home from a trip to my University for my wife’s graduation. I was an inexperienced writer at the time, and I was in high spirits, having finished a cartoon script for a class that my tough to impress professor genuinely found funny. While in Virginia Beach, a filmmaking couple my wife and I were friends with asked if I’d be interested in writing a screenplay for them about zombies. I worked with the couple previously on a short story script that had been received well, and I jumped at the chance to write a script that had the potential to be made into a feature length film. My eyes had stars in them, and I thought I was on my way to success. After all, when you’re presented with a grand opportunity on a silver platter like this, how can you say no?
There was just one catch, though. While I enjoy creepy stories, I don’t like zombies. Never have, never will. Just ask my wife how I am when she watches The Walking Dead on TV, I’m out of the room faster than you can say “Brains” or “S.T.A.R.S.” for you Resident Evil fans. But this was going to be an MST3K-style movie, so I thought. I could write a silly movie with zombies getting hacked to death by a guitar wielding drifter with a heart of gold.
I struggled in front of my Word document, writing, erasing, and trying again. I even watched Shaun of the Dead as inspiration, trying to jumpstart my creativity. Eventually, after weeks of creative agony, I had a treatment for a story I felt I could get behind. I sent the story to the couple and waited for a response. The one I got back wasn’t good. The movie was too silly, and the project needed to be something that would end up on MST3K, rather than the comedy I wrote. I felt absolutely deflated, and the thought of starting over crushed me. I crawled away from the project like a coward, not even bothering to contact them again for the project, something that I’m still ashamed of to this day. (more…)
By Natasha Hayden
April 29, 2016
I’m back! After months of silence and a lot of change (Baby #3 is three months old already!), I’m venturing to contribute more than just baby pics to the web world. In thinking about what I might say on this very unnoteworthy occasion, I’ve been reflecting on what is meaningful to me of late. Clearly, family would be near the top of that list, and Children of the Wells…perhaps not so near.
In preparation for Easter this year, during the time of Lent, rather than sacrifice something, I spent some time in a devotional book written by my favorite fiction author, Ted Dekker. His message in The Forgotten Way is simple but profound and profoundly different from society’s way of thinking. Essentially, it’s this: my identity is not based on what I do or the costumes, as he puts it, that I wear in life. My identity is not writer, mother, wife, daughter, or any other role that I play. Those are just that: roles. My identity goes much deeper. Who I really am is not how I or anyone else sees me; it is how God sees me. And because I am His, bought with the blood of his son, Jesus, I am His perfect creation, made in His likeness, complete and completely loved, not condemned. Even my body, though special and made by God, is not who I am but just the vessel for the real me, which is spirit. (more…)
As I mentioned in a previous blog, I have a number of book shelves filled with books. (Everyone does, right?) While either my wife or I have read the majority of them, there are those lonely volumes that wait for the day for someone to pick them up and read them.
My reading since Baby Hayden #3 arrived on the scene has consisted of 1.5 Star Wars novels, a SAO light novel, and a Brandon Sanderson YA novel. As I adjust to the new life-as-I-know-it, I began to hanker for something a bit denser. I know, I’m weird like that. I nearly started a Russian novel but I ended up pulling an old Harvard Classics collection off the shelf, which I’d received from somewhere but never read. It contains some works by Plato as well as other classic writers.
I’ve never read any Plato–or, in this case, any Socrates as recorded by Plato. But after finishing Apology of Socrates (Socrates’ defense before the Athenians who were accusing him), I plan on reading more. Certainly, the language and rhetoric is enjoyable, but what hooked me was the focus and discussion of virtue.
I won’t pretend to be a philosophy buff or an expert on anything Greek, but it seems to me that part of Socrates’ appeal is that he places such an unrelenting emphasis on the development of the soul. (more…)
by Nathan Marchand
April 1, 2016
After months of secrecy, I’m proud to announce on behalf of all of us here at LocoNotion Media that Children of the Wells will be adapted into an epic TV series—once we choose one of the three offers we’ve received.
How’d this come about, you ask? Well, I get to rub shoulders with lots of people in showbiz whenever I go to Gen-Con and other conventions (did you think I just sold books and cosplayed at these events? Pshaw!), and since my networking skills border on being superpowers, I managed to get word around about our premiere contemporary post-apocalyptic fantasy series. Interestingly, I’ve been approached by three producers, who all came to me because they love our books. (It might also be because Nick is awesome). The only problem is…they all have some crazy ideas about how to adapt them to screen. (more…)
By Gregory Meyer
March 24, 2016
I originally planned to spend this blog post as a launching point for a multi-blog series on the creation and process behind The Seekers and the Hidden, my soon-to-be-released contribution to the Bron/Calea side of our novel series. Yet given what’s gone on in my life as of late, I decided to postpone it and talk about life.
See, my grandmother passed away this month after battling cancer. She was a strong and beautiful woman, and watching cancer rapidly deteriorate her health was difficult to watch. Yet through it all she stayed positive and feisty to the very end, and I’m proud of her for not allowing her condition to rule her spirit.
During the funeral, I got to see my extended family and all of the lives that she touched. We celebrated her life together in a beautiful ceremony, and I know she would’ve been happy with how everything was done. Afterwards, we shared stories about her, the things she would say, and laugh at her little quirks.
I know one day I will see her again, rejoicing, healthy, and cancer-free. This is the hope that we have as believers in Jesus Christ. Death is the end of this life, but not of the next. (more…)
By Timothy Deal
March 11, 2016
First off, yes, this is a commentary on the current political races. At least, in general terms. While the staff at Children of the Wells shares similar political viewpoints, this website is not the place to engage in debates or campaigning. (That’s what Facebook is for! …I’m kidding.) But what is worth talking about here is the high stress levels politics inflicts on all of us.
Both politicians and 24/7 news media are keen to remind us of the high stakes involved with election season, wherein every outcome bears heavy consequences for the good or bad of our country and very way of life. Politicians use the threat of impending doom to galvanize their followers into action. News media hype up the drama as if it was a sporting event in the world’s largest arena, filling up their air time with endless commentaries and soundbite replays. As an audience of voters, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the inundation of speeches, inane comments, angry rhetoric, and angrier responses, and sense an increasing loss of civilized discourse or even the erosion of what we feel are America’s best values. After all, even though we know politicians and media have their own agendas for pumping up the election drama, the consequences of an election are not all exaggerated. (more…)
By Nick Hayden
March 4, 2016
First–no, this is not a commentary on the current political races.
This is, instead, a much more personal reminiscence.
Back when Natasha and I were preparing for the birth of our first child, our calendar was filled with the usual appointments, get-togethers, and reminders, at least until THAT DAY. After the expected birth date of our child, there were no events planned. We couldn’t even conceive (pun intended) what life would be life after THAT DAY. We scheduled nothing after THAT DAY. It was a wall, and beyond it was a void shrouded in deep fog. (more…)
by Greg Meyer
January 29, 2016
I hate running. I always have, ever since my gym teacher first told my class to take a few laps around the gym. Running, especially in gym class, is frustrating. My feet hit the painful hardwood floor repeatedly as I pass the same boring scenery again and again like I’m in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. There’s no talking to my friends, or my gym teacher goes into Drill Sargent mode and orders more laps for his own amusement. Plus, he adds verbal jabs here and there, telling me he could “walk faster than I could run.” Did I mention I don’t like gym teachers? Well, he was the reason. Thanks, buddy. (more…)
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