EIE Newsletter

November 9 2023

Life Success Through The Power of Stories

We all want to be successful at whatever we do, but too often we fail before we ever get started because we psych urselves out.  

This week I'm sharing a story about Jim Carey and the lesson he learned about failure from his father...

I'm also happy to tell you about my first original screenplay in two years...HIDE BEHINDS  

Next week I'll have an update on newest Eddie Ankin book.  The Double, book one, is now available in paperback (get your copy here). See "Industry News" below for why I might be announcing the release of the audiobooks versions of my novels sooner than I thought...

Finally, while I personally love current events, this newsletter is about the power of stories. Instead, I will be starting a separate newsletter aggregating news stories from reputable sources alongside some of my own editorials on the latest headlines. I hope you'll consider subscribing once it's ready.  

For now, on to all the news that's fit to print from Elice Island. As always, all links are clickable for the full story...

You Can Fail At What You Don't Want To Do

In a 2007 interview with the Hamilton Spectator, Jim Carey mentioned if he hadn't succeeded in show business, he would have worked at Dofasco Steel Mill in Hamilton, Ontario. Growing up, he observed workers at the mills and believed that's “where the great jobs were.” 

His dad worked as an accountant until he got let go when Jim was 12 years old and it forced their family to try anything to survive. (click here for the full article)

Carey is a believer in visualization. The Law of Attraction. Whatever you want to call it. Me too.

I recently wrote about how to visualize your goals in life by telling yourself a story.Carey was a guest on the Oprah show and shared an amazing story about his journey to success. He wrote himself a check for $10 million five years in advance and made it his goal to cash it before the deadline.

MY STORY

I just typed the three most wonderful words for a screenwriter: "Fade to Black," which is cinematic language for "The End." 

I recently finished a new horror screenplay called HIDE BEHINDS. I am a fan of all stories that send chills down your spine and make you hide your eyes. My first novel, The Strange Crimes of Beatrice Clover has elements of horror in it, and being that I just spent this past month binge-watching scary movies, it seemed fitting my first script in awhile should be a horror story.

The movie is set at the fictional Sunset Trails Camp, modeled after the sleep away camp I attended as a child - Trails End Camp in Pennsylvania. What starts off as a typical sleep away camp quickly spirals into chaos when senior campers visit an island across the lake rumored to still house patients from an abandoned mental asylum. It's just a story, of course. No reason to be afraid.  That is until the campers go missing.  Who knows if HIDE BEHINDS will ever get made, but I enjoyed writing it, and am looking forward to taking out my first script in a couple of years...stay tuned.

INDUSTRY STORIES: MOVIES, TELEVISION & PUBLISHING

60 Year Historic Hollywood Strike Ends!

It’s over!

On Wednesday, SAG-AFTRA and the studios finally achieved a tentative deal after 118 days of the actors' guild being on strike. At 12:01am PT Thursday morning, November 9th, the strike will be officially over, finally putting an end to this historic strife after a grueling seven months of labor unrest in Hollywood - the first joint strike between the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA in 60 years.

A Race To Finish
Due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, no high-profile products were released this year. The domestic box office revenue was approximately $65 million for the weekend, one of the smallest showings this year. More box office unrest is expected to follow in the first quarter 2024 because of the content slowdown, but now that the actors’ strike is over, studios will race to finish their 2024 summer tentpoles, and event pics slated for the back half of 2024 or beyond in 2025.

Hollywood screens the October 7th Massacres

On Wednesday, Nov 8, at the Museum of Tolerance in West L.A., a select group of 200—many firm supporters of Israel—gathered to screen "Bearing Witness"—a stark, 43-minute glimpse into the horror faced by Israeli citizens on Oct. 7, captured on film. The footage, stark and unflinching, documented the brutal acts attributed to Hamas against Israeli citizens. The gathering was held under tight security due to a media leak of its location, prompting an FBI investigation and a noticeable LAPD presence.

INDIE PUBLISHING: 

Amazon Tests Virtual Audio Book Narration

In an announcement today on the Kindle Direct Publishing community forum, Amazon has declared that it is conducting a trial of technology which would enable KDP authors to generate audio versions of e-books with virtual voice narration. This could potentially lead to a big rise in the amount of audiobooks produced by KDP authors, since at present only 4% of titles self-published through KDP have associated audios.

Sales of print books declined by 8%

After a spike in printed book sales due to the promotion of Britney Spears, unit sales of print books declined by 8% for the week ending November 5, 2022. All categories saw a drop in sales except young adult fiction.

What I'm Watching: Mr. Ballen

I like to say that "I love a good story" and it's true. Usually, I am referring to a movie, show, or book that made an impression on me, but the truth is I love any story. Well, there is nobody better at telling stories online right now than Mr Ballen.  As this former Navy SEAL turned YouTube influencer likes to say, "if you're a fan of the strange, dark, and mysterious delivered in story format, you've come to the right place."  If that's you, then check him out.

Share this:

Quote I'm pondering: 

"The most important thing in life is the path to perfection, and what kind of perfection can exist if a person is proud and satisfied with himself?" - Leo Tolstoy

From Tolstoy's book: "A Calendar of Wisdom" which he considered the most important thing he ever wrote. He kept it on his night table and read it every day the final five years of his life. Pick up a copy here

This is the only color photo ever taken of Leo Tostoy

Want to share this newsletter via text, social, or email? Simply copy and paste the following link: https://BookHip.com/RJRQPFM  If you were forwarded this message, sign up to receive it each week here. It’s free and you get a FREE STORY to boot. 

Oh, also, I never spam.

About this newsletter: You are receiving this email because you signed up to my weekly newsletter. Each week, I send you stories that internet me. These stories contain powerful life lessons, as well as key questions to ask yourself, and a few things to try in your life.

Disclaimer: Some of the links I share might be links to products I endorse and for which I receive a small percentage of the sales. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases when you click on links to various merchants on this channel and make a purchase, this can result in my channel earning a commission.

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