Episodes
Episodes
Friday Aug 25, 2023
Friday Aug 25, 2023
It's been a long week and I'm exhausted after training jiu jitsu with my wife.
My new jiu jitsu project is coming together and I'm excited about even being able to train when we go to Germany. It's such a great way to meet new people and try not to let them murder you.
Derek the Demon just started his first novel: 500 Years of Burning in Hell: My Life as a Demon. I'm not sure how committed he is to it but he said it sounds fun.
(8:12) Dawna Gonzales, a black belt under Eddie Bravo, narrates the short story "Mutual Understanding"
Friday Aug 18, 2023
Friday Aug 18, 2023
Another week where I'm super excited about the direction everything's headed.
The Books of Horror group has been very supportive of TNTD and incredibly helpful filling the anthology for Dethfest Confession. Special thanks to Tiffany Koplin for the awesome merch and promo ideas, Shannon Marie for the fun TNTD: At Ghostland reading group, and Makayla Darnall for the great review and fun conversations.
Dethfest Confession is going to be sick. The line-up is pretty insane with 13 of the 15 slots filled and the editor. The first 3 stories are planned to release around Oct 15 and Dethfest is now releasing Sept 6.
I'm beginning to put together a little eBook called Our Jiu Jitsu Journey and Karl's photos are going to be perfect for it.
(12:15) I narrate a death scene from Try Not to Die: At Ghostland followed by my daughter narrating Chapter 7.
Friday Aug 11, 2023
Friday Aug 11, 2023
My good friend, Karl Dominey, a photographer from Rhode Island, and his son, Luka, are staying with my family for a week. It's been wonderful catching up, relaxing, and talking projects.
On this episode, we discuss his book in development which showcasing men being good fathers.
Going outside our comfort zone for our kids. Even though Karl hates playing video games, he agreed to learn how to play Fortnite. And neither Karl or I were looking forward to riding rollercoasters at Knotts but the four of us had a great time hitting nearly every ride in the park.
It wasn't easy to turn off my desire to be productive, but it feels good enjoying the last days of summer.
Karl goes over his experience reading Try Not to Die: At Dethfest.
(30:50) I narrate a death scene from Try Not to Die: At Ghostland and then my daughter narrates Chapter 6.
Friday Aug 04, 2023
Friday Aug 04, 2023
I had a fantastic time meeting Brian Ochoa who has created a ton of work for me, including the image for the Dethfest tattoo and the concert poster. He's currently working on the album cover and finalizing T-shirt designs. The shirts will be up for order soon.
Here's his site - https://brianochoadesign.com/gallery
I mailed off Dethfest paperback to some early readers in the UK, CA, AUS, and the US. I can't wait to hear what they say.
I was excited to get a copy of P.W. Feutz's novella The Sun is a Circle Meant for Serving. P.W. and I are collaborating on quite a few things and I think you'll appreciate his writing. The book is currently free on Amazon KU. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCZWRYDC
Another author who is contributing to both TNTD and Dethfest Confessions is author Jon Cohn. He did a fantastic job with his Confessions story and the TNTD based off his novel Slashtag is going to be brutal.
This week I've been reading Winter's Myths by Gage Greenwood. I'm loving the book and excited to announce that although it's not official-official, Gage and I are planning on collaborating on a TNTD.
And all of this is just a small reason why I am confident in this series.
This week Try Not to Die: In the Wild West is free on Amazon Kindle Unlimited - https://geni.us/WildWest
(15:00) I read another death scene from Try Not to Die: At Ghostland.
My daughter narrates the next chapter.
Friday Jul 28, 2023
Friday Jul 28, 2023
I had a positive talk with an agent regarding my approach to the Frankfurter Buchmesse. We also discussed what I should write next. It's a lot to consider but I love having options.
Last week I registered for the ADCC Open, a jiu jitsu tournament in Scottsdale. This week I'm dropping out along with the rest of the team. I'm feeling good but 2 or 3 of my teammates are injured and can no longer compete. I'm sure another opportunity will come soon enough.
Ain't No Messiah is free on Kindle Unlimited July 27-31. Here's a link.
I read a few 2-star and 5-star reviews to give you a fair look at the reader response.
I answer reader questions from Emily, Don, and Alvin.
(15:00) I narrate a death scene from Try Not to Die: At Ghostland.
(19:00) Liv Tullius narrates Chapter 4 of Try Not to Die: At Ghostland.
Friday Jul 21, 2023
Friday Jul 21, 2023
A lot of awesome stuff happening this week. My kids are at Disney World with their grandma, aunt, and cousin, while my wife and I stayed home to train jiu jitsu (and not go anywhere near Disney World)
I finally took the time to schedule all my free and discounted books for the next three months. This week's free book on Kindle unlimited is Twisted Reunion. Here's that link
The Goodreads TNTD: At Ghostland giveaway is over. I'll mail books off to the 10 lucky winners. There's also a cool Group Read for the book going on over on Facebook. I'll put details in newsletter.
I pick the winners for the 6 Ain't no Messiah paperback winners.
I've been working some more coauthor deals and dreaming big with the series. This week, a lot of time went into developing the TNTD mobile escape room. It's an old idea we're bringing back.
I got the MRI results back for my knee. The ACL is torn and there's other damage, but I've also been feeling better with jiu jitsu. This, and an excessive amount of cannabis, made me commit to competing in the ADCC Open in Scottsdale, AZ August 5th.
I was pretty excited about the move until Coach Art rolled with me and broke my will in under three minutes. Now I'm motivated to train harder and smarter so I can last four minutes next time.
Friday Jul 14, 2023
Friday Jul 14, 2023
I'm in a fantastic mood for several reasons.
A big one is getting back into jiu jitsu at 10th Planet Whittier. I hit open mat Sunday and attended 3 nights this week with my wife who's a great training partner (I swear she didn't make me say that)
I'm excited to hit open mat on Saturday and then watch Ashlee Evans-Smith fight at 4pm PST in the UFC. She'll be repping the gym and I've been a fan since I interviewed her back in 2012: https://youtu.be/qwRvlxfln4g
Today I posted A Very Ghostly Giveaway. If you're over 18 and Live in the US or Canada you can enter for free. Check it out: https://geni.us/GhostlyGiveaway
Yesterday I had an awesome talk with an author who also designs board games. It's not official yet but I offered him a TNTD and he's excited about it. He'll also be helping me figure out the board game.
I also finally sent out contracts and some invites for authors to contribute to the Dethfest Confessions. Those short stories will probably start releasing around November.
I read some reviews for TNTD: At Ghostland and a special one from Lisa A. for Ain't No Messiah.
I read the death scene from TNTD: At Ghostland Chapter 1 and right after that my daughter narrates Chapter 2.
Friday Jul 07, 2023
Friday Jul 07, 2023
I'm excited that my daughter agreed to narrate Try Not to Die: At Ghostland to share on the podcast. Duncan and I are hiring a professional for the real version, but I thought this would be fun to have Liv run us through the book.
I made a bad decision regarding my knee on vacation but fortunately it didn't hurt me. Overall, vacation was awesome, relaxing, and resulted in two more TNTD projects. The best part though was the new friendships.
I didn't make as much progress as I would have liked on TNTD: Back at Grandma's House, but I'm still confident I can hit a Halloween release for it.
(11:10) Liv Tullius narrates Chapter 1 of Try Not to Die: At Ghostland
The Twisted Mind of Mark Tullius
Mark Tullius is an author of dark fiction, nonfiction regarding MMA and traumatic brain injuries, the creator of the Try Not to Die book series, and a man trying to make the world a better place.
Listen as Mark finds his way through life, interviewing others and self-reflecting. At the end of each episode he shares a short story or chapter from his books.