Contract: Signed!

Posted on 21. Jan, 2010 by Jeremy in Publishing Suckerpunch

I just signed the contract with Medallion Press to publish Suckerpunch. My great agent Margaret worked with the Medallion staff to work everything out, and it all looks great.

I didn’t see anything in there about firstborn children or souls, but the crew at Medallion are a cheeky, clever bunch…my kind of folks!

The Publishers Lunch Post for Suckerpunch

Posted on 09. Dec, 2009 by Jeremy in Press On, Publishing Suckerpunch

Pretty cool – I used to get these updates and drool over the deals while I worked on my stuff.

“Jeremy Brown’s SUCKERPUNCH, pitched as Elmore Leonard meets Fight Club, featuring a wise-cracking, southpaw heavyweight, a modern-day cage fighter trying to shake his criminal past as he works his way toward the title, to Helen Rosburg at Medallion Press, in a nice deal, by Margaret O’Connor at Renaissance (World English).”

What is Publishers Lunch?

From their website:

Publishers Lunch is the industry’s “daily essential read,” now shared with more than 40,000 publishing people every day. Each report gathers together stories from all over the web and print of interest to the professional trade book community, along with original reporting, plus a little perspective and the occasional wisecrack added in.

Suckerpunch hits shelves in 2011!

Posted on 19. Nov, 2009 by Jeremy in Books, Press On, Publishing Suckerpunch, Writing

My fantastic agent Margaret secured a deal with the great crew at Medallion Press, and Suckerpunch and Woodshed Wallace will be published in 2011!

You have one year to prepare for the jaw-busting action and neck-torquing plot twists, so get your page turning techniques trained into muscle memory.

What the What is Going on with Suckerpunch?

Posted on 20. Apr, 2009 by Jeremy in Books, Press On, Publishing Suckerpunch, Writing

The latest revision is being reviewed by my agent, and will hopefully go out to editors soon.

Back up – what the what is Suckerpunch?

Suckerpunch is the first book in a series featuring heavyweight mixed martial artist Aaron “Woodshed” Wallace, who is stuck on no-name cards for tiny organizations. Woody is trying to put his violent (and, ahem, possibly illegal) past behind him with help from his trainer and mentor, Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Gil Hobbes.

When Banzai Eddie Takanori – president of MMA’s largest organization, Warrior Inc. – offers Woody a short-notice fight against a highly favored poster boy, Woody sees his shot at salvation.

By the time Woody figures out he’s just a pawn in a high-stakes game between psychopaths, he’s in way too deep.

Good thing he knows how to take a punch.

And give a few back…

MMA on CBS, Still on Hold for Me

Posted on 01. Jun, 2008 by Jeremy in Press On, Sharpening, Writing

The MMA training is still on hold while I figure out how it will affect everything else I like to do, like everyday workouts, trail walks and biking, typing, breathing, etc. Another aspect I need to consider is whether or not it’s fair to the other guys at the gym. If they’re training for a fight the next weekend, am I doing them any good when I’m there for research?

I watched the debut of MMA on network television last night, and it while it was exciting to see the network treatment of this great sport, I’m not sure the production represented MMA as well as it could have. The fighters were all great and the commentary was smart and informative, but the dancers and some of the clowns cornering the fighters were amateurish.

The crowd booing at the slightest lack of action was also disappointing, especially during the Lawler/Smith fight. When the guy you’re facing has one-punch KO power, a little distance and feeling-out is understandable. It’s not hesitation, it’s strategy.

And after even the limited MMA training I’ve done, I marvel at the conditioning of these athletes. During last night’s event and UFC 84 last week, I found myself doing a lot less “He should just…” speculation. I was taking deep breaths just watching them try to suck air with another person’s full weight on them, working for and against submissions while throwing and blocking strikes.

The Kimbo/Thompson fight was a great example. Both men exhausted, battered, and looking like they were one solid punch away from lights out, and they each were able to dig a little deeper to bridge into a reverse, roll the other’s weight, even go for double-leg takedowns.

Good stuff, gentlemen.

They showed that the fighters and the sport are enough to make MMA a success. I hope the networks figure that out before the next broadcast.

Suckerpunch is still being looked at by publishers; hopefully some good news on that front soon.

Day One of Understanding Woodshed Wallace

Posted on 13. May, 2008 by Jeremy in Press On, Sharpening, Writing

Today was my first day of mixed martial arts (MMA) training at the Grand Rapids Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Grand Rapids, MI.

I’ve trained a little before in Judo, Jeet Kune Do & Combat Kempo, a tiny bit of BJJ, and I warm up before every workout with some time on the heavy bag. I’ve also been doing some high-intensity workouts for the past year with lots of bodyweight exercises, interval sprints on the AirDyne, kettlebell swings, and various big-movement lifts.

I wanted to see how all of this prepared me for some serious MMA training.

It was much like microwaving mac & cheese for 15 years then trying to cook a 20-course meal underwater while someone punches you in the face. I got crushed. And I loved it.

Everyone at the gym is great; they’re serious about training and learning but don’t take themselves too seriously, and they are more than happy to teach each other how to better beat each other up. They were all very courteous and stepped around my prone form after 12 minutes of light sparring.

I’m not comfortable sparring on my feet yet, so my partners were nice enough to start on the ground. In the first two 6-minute rounds, I got submitted via armbar, can opener (yeah, I know), and exhaustion on its way to kimura. I’m probably forgetting some due to brain sweat.

During the can opener submission, I distinctly recalled a Joe Rogan UFC commentary in which he was watching a fighter in the guard crank on his opponent’s head, and he said something like, “I don’t know what he’s doing, unless he’s trying to get him with the can opener, but he won’t get caught in that unless he’s a knucklehead.”

I hope the knucklehead belt comes in my size.

I sat out the next two rounds and tried to get some water down my neck. Every time I brought the water bottle up and tried to squeeze it, my hand shook with fatigue. I’m going to have to get a softer water bottle. Do they make them out of Nerf?

I jumped into the last round and sparred with a guy who’d been going the whole time, so the kimura and Von Flue choke he tapped to must be accompanied by an asterisk.

If I had sparred every round, I would have tapped to a frown.

We’ll see how it all feels tomorrow. Right now I’m worn out and happy.

Thanks to everyone at GRBJJ & MMA!