Calls for Cthulhu » General

A very Cthulhu Christmas!

Brand — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 15:08:15 +0000

This pic was sent to me by two military friends, so Cthulhu’s influence is clearly growing.

WriterOS

Brand — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:16:48 +0000

If you like C4C, you probably love Lovecraft… which means you’re probably of a literary bent. With that in mind, let me tell you about a project I’ve been working on for a while.

In addition to Calls For Cthulhu, I’m also a self-publishing author, which means that I take stories from the germ of inspiration all the way to the ebooks of Amazon and the permanence of paper. Over the years, I’ve noticed that there were certain tools that I consistently use to shepherd a story from one point to the other. Write Or Die, Scrivener, TrueCrypt (for protecting works-in-progress), Dropbox (for portability and backup), OpenOffice, Calibre, etc.

I found myself thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great if I had a thumb drive with all the tools installed already? When on vacation, I could use whatever system was nearby and plug it in, then continue my writing right where I’d left off.”

Luckily, I’m a computer programmer by day, so I was fairly conversant with virtual machines. I used Ubuntu 11.04 and added all the tools that I normally use. Everything I included is either open-source or freely distributable (actually, Scrivener is a temporary beta while they evaluate the Linux version. Enjoy it while you can!). Now, when I start up my VM, I have my entire environment saved exactly where I left it, ready to run. I call it WriterOS.

Lots of people ask me how to self-publish, so I decided to make my VM public. I wrote a ReadMe that tells what each program does, and how I use them together to go from a basic idea all the way to custom-made, ready-to-ship, ePub files.

As an added bonus, I put in ePub versions of my first three novels. So, not only would people see what tools were available and how to use them, they would also be able to see the results of such tools.

I’m hoping people download the VM and enjoy it. More than that, I’d like for this to become a vibrant and useful tool that people contribute to. If you have questions about how to use things, I’d like to hear from you. If you have suggestions of tools that you think work better, I’d like to hear that too. Let’s make this a real valuable tool for as many people as possible.

Grab the VM now and see what you think!

Click Here for the Torrent File

Episode 11 is now live!

Brand — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:35:30 +0000

It has been so long since the last episode, I wasn’t even sure I remembered how everything worked. But after the success of the Kickstarter fund, I was determined to make the best C4C episode I could, and the longest one to date.

Thanks to everyone who donated to bring the series back, and I hope you enjoy the fruits of this effort.

Episode 9 – The Lost Episode

Brand — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:56:08 +0000

Originally, Calls For Cthulhu Episode 9 was posted to Far Point Media exclusively, which caused some problems for some people, due to video player issues. Well, the episodes are no longer exclusive, and so I am posting this lost episode to YouTube.

Note: This has nothing to do with the Kickstarter fund, which just reached it’s $500 goal. That episode is in full development right now. Look for more info on that this month.

A very Cthulhu Christmas

Brand — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:03:36 +0000

Our favorite fan from distant lands sends us this picture of the part Cthulhu plays in his Christmas:

Thanks to Jarvisonic!

Old Ones Old Spice

Brand — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:16:45 +0000

Via Mike Moss, there’s an excellent parody of the Old Spice commercials which features our great old one himself.

Hilarious stuff. “Unspeakable Horror!”

Kid Kthulu

Brand — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:38:46 +0000

Yeah, I know it’s fake, but it would be pretty cool to see.

Via Rich Sigfrit, here’s Kid Kthulu:

Click the image to enlarge.

Calls For Cthulhu wins this year’s Susan Lucci Parsec Prize!

Brand — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:11:39 +0000

Susan Lucci was famous for, among other things, being nominated for 18 emmys without winning. Until recently, Nathan Lowell held the award for receiving 4 parsec nominations, but never winning.

Yesterday, Nathan Lowell broke that streak by winning a Parsec award for his book “Captain’s Share”. At the same time, “Calls for Cthulhu” lost for the third time as a finalist. Brand Gamblin, the creator of C4C, has now personally been nominated for four Parsec Awards, which means that he is now the reigning “Susan Lucci” Parsec nominee.

Let’s see if he can keep up the streak next year.

Happy Birthday H.P. Lovecraft!

Brand — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:31:13 +0000

In honor of Lovecraft’s 120th birthday, we have a special episode of Calls For Cthulhu. You can view it on YouTube here. Hope you like it!

Special Episode Coming Soon!

Brand — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:44:47 +0000

In eight days, we will be upon the 120th anniversary of HP Lovecraft’s birth. Because of the magnitude of this anniversary, Cthulhu will be coming out of his semi-retirement to say a few words, and answer more questions. If you have a question you’d like to ask, Cthulhu artwork you’d like to have on the show, or just want to make a shout out to his loathsomeness, this is your chance! Leave a comment here, or write to bigc@callsForCthulhu.com, and we may feature it in the episode. Hope to see you there!

Cthulhu swallowing souls in Iraq

Brand — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:46:53 +0000

Sent to us by C4C fan Jarvisonic, here’s Cthulhu at work in Iraq. “Sir, Cthulhu killed me.”

Free book Monday!

Brand — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:59:50 +0000

As you probably know, Brand Gamblin (creator of C4C) has written a novel which is now available on Amazon. It’s a sci-fi story about the adventures and challenges of mining the asteroid field. You can listen to the audiobook for free here.

If you’d like to win a free copy of Tumbler, just tweet something about the book, with the hashtag #TumblerGiveaway. This contest is only running today, so you should jump on this fast. Tomorrow morning, a winner will be randomly chosen from those on the list, and that winner will receive a free copy of the book.

Good luck!

Update: The free copy of Tumbler went to Jeffrey Hite, of the “Great Hites” website, and assistant editor for Flying Island Press. Congratulations, Jeffrey!

We’ll have another giveaway next week. keep watching for it. And if you can’t wait, you can read the first few chapters, or even buy the book here.

Cthulhu Cameo in “I kissed a nerd”

Brand — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:51:10 +0000

Brought to our attention by us by “Cthulhu Cultist” and Rich Sigfrit here is a video by the Damsels of Dorkington called “I kissed a nerd.” A little ways in, you can see our dark overlord getting frisky with the singer. Enjoy.

Brand’s Short Story “Snake Skin” published

Brand — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:54:08 +0000

Flying Island Press chose my short story “Snake Skin” for publishing in their premiere issue. Come check it out!

Flying Island Press
Press Contact – Scott Roche
sroche@flyingislandpress.com
(336) 462-9676

Enjoy Your Sci-fi and Fantasy How and Where You Want

Beginning July 4th, science fiction and fantasy fans will be given a
new place where they can discover authors and stories they’ll be able
to enjoy wherever they go. Flagship, the new e-zine by publisher
Flying Island Press, will soon be releasing short stories every other
month in formats for the Kindle, the iPad and iPhone, and other
electronic readers.

Flying Island Press also recognizes the increasing popularity of
podcasts and other forms of audio fiction. So, in addition to the
e-zine, an audio version will be available to listen to on any MP3
player. Stories they release will be available both in text and in
audio, allowing the consumer to choose their preferred version.

Zach Ricks, managing editor for Flagship, had this to say. “I wanted
to hearken back to what some have called the Golden Age of Science
Fiction.” It’s his hope that “FlagShip will be a place for
optimistic, entertaining fiction.”

Each issue will cost $1.99 for the text version or the audio version
or get both for just $2.99.

Issues will be available starting July 4th, 2010 at
http://flyingislandpress.com/flagship

Cthulhu Kisses!

Brand — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:00:04 +0000

IO9 has a clip from the Man’s Guide to Love, wherein a man tells the story of how Cthulhu kisses helped him woo his wife. Enjoy.

The Man’s Guide To Love #120 from themansguidetolove on Vimeo.

Cthulhu Chick – knitted madness on Etsy!

Brand — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:22:18 +0000

We recently had a comment from Cthulhu Chick, whose knitted Cthulhus are available for sale on Etsy. If you’re into cute, plushy madness, you could do worse.

The 2010 BrandStuff Contest

Brand — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:42:26 +0000

Here’s your chance to win some really great stuff from the BrandG library. All it takes is a few minutes, and you could win real big C4C and Tumbler prizes!

This is what you do:

Write a review of Tumbler (60 words or more). If you have already done so, you may submit that review.
Post the review somewhere (Amazon, iTunes, GoodReads, podiobooks.com, B&N ).
Get a link to your review (or instructions on how one can call it up).
Post the link on Twitter, with the hashtag #BrandStuff
E-mail me the link at BrandG@GMail.com with the title “BrandStuff”. Include the best way of contacting you.

On June 18th, 2010, I will collect all of the responses, assign each a number, and then use a random number generator to select the winners. The first number selected gets the first prize, the second number selected gets second prize, and so on.

This is what you can win:

First Prize: An invite to the micropayments system Flattr and a signed Calls For Cthulhu puppet.

Second Prize: An invite to the micropayments system Flattr and a signed Calls For Cthulhu DVD.

Third Prize: A signed copy of my new novel Tumbler.

Fourth Prize: A “peeping Cthulhu” doll and an e-book version of Tumbler.

Fifth Prize: An e-book version of my unpublished zombie short story “Worse than the Disease”, featured in my reading at Balticon 44

The contest will run until June 18th. Multiple submissions are encouraged (if you leave reviews in multiple places).

Alan Moore’s Necronomicon

Brand — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:22:00 +0000

Alan Moore, creator of Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, is apparently looking at doing a comic about our favorite cephelopod. If you remember how he destroyed the world in “Watchmen” you should know that Alan has an affinity for our dark lord. This could be amazing, or it could just make your brain melt. (link via io9)

NYT Bestseller Gail Carriger comments on C4C

Brand — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:27:07 +0000

It’s not often that I cross the radar of a NYT bestselling author. But at Balticon last week, I had a chance to meet the new steampunk star, Gail Carriger, and sit on a panel about YA books with her. Later, she blogged about it, calling C4C “genius”, and embedded C4C Episode 1 on her post. How cool is that?

Cthulhu Family Portrait

Brand — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:03:01 +0000

Lovely painting on My Confined Space of Cthulhu and his little brood. Click on the pic to see it full size.