Knight-Hood Book

[Omen]

I am LOVING the Knight-Hood book!!!

What's the word on this one?!? It threw me off when I first started going through it because I couldn't decide on the tone that the author (John Reid) was trying to establish. I thought that he was going to approach the character as one of the guys who wears a costume, walks around, and break up bar fights.

I WAS WRONG!!!

This was a COMPLETE adventure!! This character stayed true to his core-traits of wits and intelligence. It was a game of chess being played in a world of checkers!

The author took a very complex approach to the storytelling that was SO smooth and simple, you didn't know it was happening. He used the old-styled 'Pulp' feel along with the magic of youthful comic book dreams... then he added real world challenges that a reader could relate to.

Forgive me if I slip up, but I am struggling NOT to give any Spoilers!

His Worldbuilding gave a local feel to the overall story while stretching it arms by playing news stories and showing the reactions of the city to give it reach. Nice work.

The Storytelling is the true piece that blew my mind. Above all, the hidden gem of this story was how well John Reid handled the aspect of DRAMA!!

Remember, DRAMA is made up of Discovery, Passion, and Conflict...each one of these became actual tools in this story that made it work on the reader's mind. It was HARD to get ahead of the tale because of the cliffhangers and revelations. DRAMA was the centerpiece to this entire piece of work, it kept me reading the next chapter and satisfied.

It also opened the door to quality character development. I felt that Alex (the main character) was originally a flat character and he was simply a merger of Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, and The Green Hornet. I looked beyond him... until I saw his true purpose through his actions.

He had his reasons and he remained true to his morals and approach. When challenged in the most extreme situations, he maintained his integrity and this is something lost in many of the modern hero stories told.

Overall... The Adventures of Knight-Hood is an incredible and fun read!! If you have a Sunday off, a blue sky, a big tree with shade, and a little free time... this is one that you CAN'T miss!!

I promise you, when you start reading, your mind will go through all the different ages of hero storytelling and allow you to feel that old-school magic of heroism that has been lost for so long!!!

-Omen ;D

[werewolf]

l remember reading bits and peices of the story as it developed. lt's a good update of the pulp style men of mystery type heroes of the 30's done as realisticly as possible yet not made boring by the adherence to 'real world rules'.lt's a tricky feat to accomplish. As for plot twists l know the author's skill with them from his other stories. He's great at creating the "how will the hero get out of this" predicaments.

[The Muse]

*Looks smug*

I knew it all along.

[John Reid]

Thanks to one and all for the compliments. So glad you enjoyed it. Here is some back ground trivia you might find interesting.

When I was in the 3rd grade I had my mother make me a Daredevil costume for Halloween. What she did not know was that I secretly began to wear it beneath my clothes when going to school. I planned to break up school fights in costume. Lol. The things kids think? I did make a major discover though. I discovered that by the time you find a place to change clothes the action is long over.

So at age 12 when I attempted to write and draw my own comics for fun I created Night-Rider aka Alex Breydon (initially spelled Braydon until the age of the internet when I googled it only to find a singer by that very name so I changed the spelling)

The name Night-Rider came from an old Elvis Presley song my older brother played a lot. So I decided to make Night-Rider's whole costume just the mask that he could put on or take off quickly to make it more realistic than the comic heroes who would run into an alley and a split second later emerge in these elaborate costumes.

Alex went through a lot of changes down through the years. Originally he was a policeman's son whose father was killed in the line of duty. I used that theme in in the published version as the background of the rookie policeman Joshua Richards. Alex too was originally a rookie policeman, but as I later learned this was already used by the radio version of the Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett (Bet you didn't know the Blue Beetle started on radio did you?)

When the Sept 11 disaster took place I saw that as a way to get Alex to join the military because the story required him to have both fighting skills and to be an expert at explosives and as a comic book artist I wanted that to make sense.

I named him Alex after Alexander the Great and wanted his protagonist the be named Ceaser or a version of that to name them both after powerful historical characters.

Scorpius was an after thought. I originally wanted him to be black, but like most white writers I have a terrible time keeping up with the latest slang and did not want him to sound like some 70's stereo-type character, so I switched him to be Russian and ex KGB.

In very beginning of the story Alex is trying to sell his boss Rowland Stryker (very obviously based on Stan Lee of course) on the Knight-Hood character and he describes him as a throwback to the pulp fiction masked mystery men like the Green Hornet and the Shadow and Mr. Stryker replies "You want to sell the Green Hornet to today's Mortal Kombat kids? Forget it Alex they'll never go for it."

That was really me expressing my own fears about what audience would want to read an updated Green Hornet tale? Could it be done today?

My original theme was "What would happen in the real world if someone really did don a mask and try and fight crime? How would the police react? How would the criminals react? How would the public and press react? I wanted to start with that and just let the story tell itself like a game of dominoes, each action leading to reactions from all of the above.

This was long before the modern age of real life superheroes which I only discovered existed in 2010. It also pre-dated the movie "Kick Ass" and the comic it sprange from. My worry when I heard of it was that my original idea would not be so original anymore, but once I saw the film and realized it was an over the top comedy my fears were relieved.

The name Knight-Hood is fairly new in his evolution. He began as Night-Rider and was so for years. In my teens in the 70's when I decided to try and make a novel out of it he became Knight-Rider so I could use the white knight chess piece symbol.

But in the 80's of course the TV series of the same name spoiled that. In 1989 when I was living in my van after my wife died and my house burned down and the movie Batman came out, I decided that I would try and do this because I had nothing left to lose. I felt it would be a good way to die. But once I started helping the homeless my suicide mission became my reason to live.

I went out in disguise as a homeless man then as I do today and carried the mask with me. At first it was only a lone ranger style mask as he was my main inspiration. He too went into town disguised as an old prospector and only donned the mask when there was trouble.

I went through a million name changes but couldn't decide on one and really did not need one to help people.

In 93 when I married and decided to "retire" my secret career I picked up my novel again and tried to write on it once again. I was never happy with it. I also found I was not able to stop helping others by that time it was too much a part of me by then.

When I met werewolf on line 8 years ago I was still toying with the novel but couldn't find a new name for the character. I made him The Mask, but that was used by the Jim Carry movie, then I thought about the Black Mask but there was a Batman villain by that name. I changed it too the Masque and almost settled on that until I found out Marvel had an X-Men villain by that name.

I was in the shower and still thinking about it and went back to my original idea of Knight-Rider because I wanted him to be a white knight, a hero, not an anti-hero as is so popular today. I thought about the Black Hood but there was an old Red Circle comic character by that name so I tried combining the names. First I thought Knight-Mask but that sounds like a sleep aid and then it hit me, Knight-Hood.

In 2010 I discovered the rlsh movement and the website rlsh.org. As I began to read the ever growing list of members it became obvious to me that they were dancing all around my name. Knight-Vigil, Green Hood, Knight-Warrior, Grey Hood, etc. I decided I better come out of the closet and introduce myself to them or my Knight-Hood name was going to get taken.

So now at last after a journey that began when I was 12 my novel has finally been released and it is a strange surreal feeling.

Thanks for all of the support you have continually shown me. Just seeing it on line on Amazon.com is a dream come true and I feel as though I have come full circle.

Finally I'd like to discuss the strange parallels my fictional story took to my real life.
1. Alex began creating Knight-Hood as a fictional character and only after his life went south did he decide to become the character. This happened on paper before it happened to me.

2.Alex moved into his van and kept his stuff in a storage shed also before it happened to me.

It's good that I wrote the story before I tried to live it because I learned what not to do from Alex's mistakes.

1. Alex announced his presence to the public via letters sent to the newpaper. Big mistake. If no one knows you exist, no one will be looking for you. So I kept my activities completely secret even from my wife.

2. Alex works his way up from junkie to pusher to supplier to the head honcho. In real life I began with the junkies but learned they were people and my heart went out to them. I stayed focused on helping people and not fighting crime. In real life my victories were small not grandiose but far more satisfying. By helping others I ended up helping myself. Helping a homeless person by giving him food or just dry socks meant more than bringing down a major drug lord from his ivory tower.

But it doesn't make very interesting reading, so Alex's adventures stayed in the world of drama.

Ok I bent your ear long enough. Thanks again for helping me achieve another of my long time goals.

Knight-Hood

[John Reid]

PS- Oh and stay tuned for volume 2 it is nearly done.
KH

[The Muse]

*looks smug again*
;D

[John Reid]

Oh I just thought about some other trivia about the story that I hadn't shared. As you know Alex believes he is dying of HIV and that starts him on his rode to become Knight-Hood. Now originally I really was going to kill him off and pass the baton to Sergei and eventually kill him off and pass it on to another Knight-Hood and so on.

But once I thought about it, that really has been done already with the Blue Beetle, so instead I teamed Alex and Sergei together and to keep that from mimicing the Green Hornet and Kato I had them both be Knight-Hood at the same time.

Since Lex Luthor began as Superman's best friend and eventually became his worst enemy I thought it might be interesting to reverse that idea and more inspiring if the most heinous of villain changed his spots and became a hero, for I believe in the concept of redemption. That it's not what you were that counts but what you are?

One more thing, if I do keep the story going, since it is done in real time, the characters will age and I may kill them off, Knight-Hood will go on though as others follow in his footsteps. Not sure if Alex will die or if it would be better for him to have a son and 20 years later have the son become Knight-Hood.

The real trick to keep this story going in the real world is to keep coming up with villains from the real world to oppose him that are not repetitious.

Ok bent your ear long enough on the subject. Glad you enjoyed the 1st volume.
Knight-Hood

[The Muse]

SO looking forward to the new book!!!

[John Reid]

I'm still trying to write the last story "Knight-Hood vs the KKK". But of course it touches on bigotry and that is always a touchy subject. Someone wiser than me once said, "There is nothing a white man can say to a black man on the subject of racism without sounding either ignorant or offensive." So not wishing to sound either (not that it would be the first time) it's a hard story to write, but I think an important one if I can get it right.

What I'll probably do is send a copy to Blackmage and Redmage and get their opinions. I trust their judgement. Also since the story revolves around Alex visiting his old Sargeant in Mississippi I could use a little help I think with the Army terms. Blackmage can help me with that as well.

Knight-Hood

[The Muse]

great idea.

[John Reid]

Update; I saw someone at work this morning with a Kindle so I showed them my book and they ordered one.

This week I had a crazy idea to promote my book. I wrote to the head writer of General Hospital and proposed a story idea for them. I suggested that a masked hero named Knight-Hood show up in Port Charles and they hook is the audience doesn't know who he is? They could drop clues and red herrings and eventually have him turn out to be either a regular cast member or some new faces brought in for the story. I then informed them about my book and how such a plot line would be great advertising for my story and a ratings boom for them. A win/win situation. I sent them my profile photo as an example of what Knight-Hood should look like. Of course I did not mention that there was a real Knight-Hood and they were talking to him. This is of course a long shot and will probably end up in the can but I felt it was worth a shot.
Knight-Hood

[John Reid]

6/15/13; Update; Never heard from General Hospital. I wrote to DC comics and offered them Knight-Hood. No replies.

Last week I emailed Dynamite comics and made the same offer. They are a new firm who specializes in reviving the old pulp fiction heroes like the Green Hornet, The Shadow and The Spider. I thought perhaps they might be interested in an original character, but once again, no reply so far.

I am considering making a You Tube video to promote the book, but first I have to buy a video camera so that might be awhile.. I would shoot it myself and play Alex as narrator. I'll shoot it from the cameras point of view so Alex's face is never shown without the mask. I wrote a script outline already. The idea will be him contemplating how to go about being a superhero in real life? At the end of the film I'll show the cover of the book and title and where to buy it?
KH

[Omen]

The printed edition is GORGEOUS!!! We are selling it in Miami this weekend!! This is SO exciting!! Tate's Comics (the World's most 'AWESOMEST' comic shop) is interested in having some copies to sell!

This is so VERY - VERY cool!!

Thanks, Tate!!
Thanks for the re-emergence of the Pulp hero and Pulp tales, Mr. Reid!!!

[werewolf]

As noted elsewhere l'm about a third of the way through having received my copy on Saturday. lt's fun seeing it all together on paper at last after all the excerpts and synopses l read while it was being written. lt's as good as l remember, if not better because l'm seeing in order for the first time. All the way back to 'Knighthood's Dark Shadows FAN FICTION he was great at plotting and creating multiple cliff hangers [ a major hallmark of effective 'pulp' writing and since l love that sort of thing l mean that as a compliment.]His tales are always page turners [or the digital equivalent in that format.]
l also think that he was skillfull at sticking to his intentions of 'no unreal powers'and use of actual existing tech.lt's not as easy as it might sound at first given the challenges he makes his namesake face. He made Alex intelligent and resourcefull without being so perfect that he was never in real danger.[ala' some depictions of Bruce Wayne as 'Batgod'.]Alex is good but he makes mistakes and miscalculations at times. He's pretty good at dialogue too.Knighthood's unique narrative style reminds of a few screenplays l've read. While the book is probably too full of incidents for a movie without ruinous cuts it would doubtless make a good first season for a tv show.
[or a long comicbook miniseries.]Since it would not require the elaborate costumes and special effects of a 'powered' hero it could likely be done inexpensively. [since tv has trouble living up to the visual effects of big budget films.]
Although probably coincidental the timing of the going out of buissiness by Harbour comics does mirror the contraction felt even by Marvel and DC during the early recession, They went from 100,000-250,000 for top sellers to rarely cracking 75-80,000 for the same books.]A lot of smaller companies did not make it as also occurred in the 90's when Marvel went bankrupt. That timeframe likewise allows a few years for Knighthood to pass the torch or continue his adventures .ln the meantimelhope Tates does pick it up and maybe other comic shops too.Although a new character for the public the book is inspired by the comics as well as the pulps.Companies like Dynamite have recently revived many of the pulp heroes as well as more obscure comic characters from the golden and silver ages.The time for a herolike knighthood seems ripe.

[The Muse]

Agreed.

[John Reid]

My thanks for the kind words and wonderful review. Now if only I was a successful at selling the book to the public as I have been my friends here on vis adj. I joined Facebook and posted all about it to my nearly 500 "friends" there and even though all of them are interested in or involved in the rlsh movement, as far as I know not a single book was bought by any of them. Most of them are quite poor though so I forgive them naturally. Where are these billionaire superheroes you read about in real life? Not sure where to proceed from here? My strength is in writing not selling unfortunately. I have met an amateur film maker on Facebook named Roman Daniels from Utah who is currently making a fan film about the Dynamite series "Masks". We've been communicating and I suggested my book as a fan film and he showed a lot of interest. I promised to send him a free book so I will buy that soon and mail it to him. He won't finish with his current project until December anyway so we are looking at 2015 at best, if he chooses to try it.

Now for other news. I just joined a site that advertises authors and their books for free called Author's Den. I highly recommend it for all of our authors.

John Reid

[Omen]

Keep your head up on this, Knight-Hood. What I have found, in my nutcase journey to make things happen, is that the art of choosing the correct demographic to go after is just as difficult as getting those who love you to purchase what you have created.

While RLSHs love you for what you are, there are very few that will purchase your book as a part of their own decision making process.

WHY? Because, the foundation component of being a RLSH begins with the turmoil that each of them have with 'Self'. This is not meant to be an attack or knock on the community, it is simply something that exists in many of the members. Many of the younger RLSHs are focused on filling the pit that exists within them first and foremost, by positioning themselves as what they perceive as the 'Good Guy Hero'.

Once they have committed to that path, they then direct their actions towards the service of that image. This is where the split between Humanitarian and Crime-Fighter kicks in. When this happens, their search for approval becomes the primary push on their purchases. Hence, armor, gadgets, weapons, costumes, masks, etc.

Books and Comic purchases drift from the front of their thoughts.

In order for them to purchase your book, it would have to serve their image of Self and affirm their position. It would have to be a tool that they could use. Most of them would rather stay with the comics/stories that they are already comfortable with rather than risk their money on something new.

When a RLSH loves a certain character and emulates them through their image and actions, they view the comics/stories about that character as reference material. They do not want to purchase a Captain America comic when they are busy trying to be Batman. This diminshes the support for those that are trying to introduce new stories and characters to the community.

They will say the character is cool and give you a 'Great job' but many of them will not purchase your product. As I said earlier, this is not good or bad, it is simply the way it is.

[Omen]

The best thing that I would recommend, is to look for those that are hungry for what you have created.

Here's the thing about the classic Pulp Heroes... Those that LOVE them, can't get enough of them! There are basically 2 types of Pulp tales told: The Commercialized and the Classic underground. Pulp is a famous sub-genre, because of the underground feel. It was about the cheap paper, the gritty mysteries that felt like they were in your neighborhoods, and the heroes that were rarely known in the city next door.

When someone followed the Green Hornet, they could relate to him driving a car, after-all, Superman flew, Batman grappled, and Spider-Man swung from building to building. The old-school Pulp hero had to outsmart his environment, while the new commercialized Pulp heroes allow their environment to solve their cases, as they go through the motions of butt-kicking.

What you have to do is find the corners of the internet that is still serving this niche group of individuals. They are the ones scouring the internet for those old-school detective magazines and who-dunnit writings. They are the one's that will view The Adventures of Knight-Hood as a reference manual and a gateway into wit and smarts.

In this group, you will find teachers hungry for the next creative hero to introduce to their students. You will find kids, who love heroes but can't identify with all of the butt-kicking and would rather love a character that uses his/her brain. You should look for Cosplayers who are tired of chasing what is popular and want to be the first to introduce something new.

For every one person that you are looking for to sell your book to, there are a hundred searching for the product you have, because they love it. The struggle is simply getting both parties to meet.

-Omen

[John Reid]

Good advice and thanks for the pulp fiction sites list. I joined them and posted about my book but have not yet heard any replies. We will see. I may have a lot more luck selling my upcoming vampire book as it has a much larger audience.

[werewolf]

Congratulations on the new Ebook, St. Augustine vampire. l noticed it on Amazon this afternoon.l hope it does well. [being selfish since my drawing is the cover....but l would say the same even without that.]l do like a good vampire tale. lt sounds different. The use of the Paranormal team combined with some actual history is a touch l haven't seen elsewhere.Since l read sites dealing with ancient mysteries l've seen three stories relavent to this.Archaeologists have turned up 'vampire' graves in Venice, Poland and Bugaria in the last five or so years just as you describe them.

[John Reid]

Yep, that was actually the origin of my inspiration for this. I heard on the nightly news about a vampire grave unearthed in Venice. The skull had a brick shoved deeply into its mouth and the newscasters were having a lot of fun with the story. Really yukking it up, but I couldn't help but notice that no one removed the brick. Not even the archeologists who discovered it. So I started thinking about what might happen if they did and that led to the writing of this tale. Thanks again for the cover, it looks great.
John Reid

[John Reid]

Ok the Muse informed me today that vol 2 of The Adventures of Knight-Hood will be coming out soon and I haven't really done much in the way of promoting vol 1 as yet. I have been focusing all of my time on promoting St. Augustine Vampire as I felt it had a wider audience. So starting today I will be dividing my time posting on 10 FB pages for Knight-Hood and 10 for St. Augustine Vampire each day. I don't know when I'll get around promoting The 13th Cycle just yet as I have limited internet time each day.

[Omen]

Knight-Hood Part 2 !!!
Knight-Hood Part 2 !!
Knight-Hood Part 2 !

Can't wait!!!

[werewolf]

ln our tale on the forum it's become a crossover.We've got characters from my upcoming book and from all three of Johns including Knighthood of course..

[The Muse]

I received the prologue to the book today and forwarded it to the appropriate department. Get ready everyone, its almost here!