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Tuesday Morning Ramblings

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I’m so excited about the launch/re-launch of my series.  Bonnie, the artist working on the covers and interior sketches, is absolutely fabulous and has created some magnificent work for book three.  I can’t wait to see what she develops for the first two books.  Having action-oriented covers and a handful of sketches was my original vision for the books, but I simply didn’t have the money to pay a professional for it.  Now, I feel like there is an excellent visual representation of the prose that can draw in a wider audience base.

I’m hopeful that the writing itself will live up to the quality of the cover.  Personally, I feel pretty good about it, but I’ve never been the best judge of my own writing.  As the pivotal piece in the series, book three needs to be strong, and while I think it lives up to my ambition, there’s still lingering doubt in the back of my mind that I could’ve done a better job here and there of building tension and creating more drama.  I’m my own worst critic and need to learn to wait on reader feedback before I start critiquing myself.  Readers will tell me if I did a good job, and I need to be patient.

It will be pretty cool to see the first three books launched for the holiday season.  While I’m nervous about being scrutinized by critics, I’m also hopeful to reach a much larger audience.  The covers will get attention, and Seventh Star will get the word out to so many more people than I ever could alone.  It’s an exciting time, and I’m grateful for the opportunities before me.  Hopefully, I can get a few interviews lined up to help with the promotional efforts, and I’m going to try my very best to attend more conventions, even if just on Saturdays, to help Seventh Star market and promote.

Just a reminder, the current editions of books one and two will cease production within the next couple of weeks, so if you want to have copies of those, you have a very limited window to get them.  Once the printer halts production, those versions will be pretty rare.

General Posts

Tuesday Afternoon Ramblings

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Some exciting news to report on book three.  I’ve been working with the artist on final tweaks to the cover art, and I must say that she has done a fantastic job.  I can’t wait to share it with everyone.  That means book three is almost ready for print, and pre-orders should begin sometime in October.  Once I know all the details, I’ll share them on here.  I’m hoping for some very strong sales with the launch coming right before the holiday season.  Also, Seventh Star has put together a fantastic platform for getting the word out.  I’m thrilled and grateful to be one of their authors.

On the other side, because Seventh Star will be re-releasing books one and two, I will cease publishing Brotherhood and Red Sky in mid-October, just before pre-orders for book three.  Anyone who wants copies of those versions either to read or as collector’s items, you have about two weeks to order them.  Once I stop production, I will be unable to order any more, and I only have a couple of copies of each in my possession.  So those editions, especially Red Sky, will be fairly rare items.

I’m excited about the future for the series.  The new covers are going to be eye-catching and have some sizzle.  Seventh Star has a pretty large group of reviewers lined up to review all three books, and I’m ready to hit a few interviews to launch the releases.  It’s time to fire the big guns, baby, and let her rip!

General Posts

Wednesday Morning Ramblings

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Here are some thoughts on writing fiction.  These aren’t directed at any individual; they’re just my personal musings about the craft and profession.

First, I believe good writing is a craft that must be learned and cultivated over a lifetime.  Sure, there are distinctive personality traits that draw a person to the profession, but more important is the time and energy that person puts into honing their voice, playing with syntax, polishing dialogue, developing descriptions, bringing characters to life, and building tension.  These are the framework of a good story, and without them, a writer is much like a carpenter who can’t hammer straight or read a tape measure.

Also, there seem to be two major categories of writers: the artist and the mercenary.  I don’t mean the latter as a pejorative, simply an observation of fact.  Last weekend, I heard from several of my peers that they write whatever sells.  Please, don’t misunderstand.  I’m all for making money and don’t begrudge them pursuing it, but as an artist, I’m more interested in developing the story that’s authentic to me.  If the money never follows, so be it.  I write because I have to, not because of the potential for making money, and since I have to write, I choose to create what matters to me, not what happens to be hot at the moment.  If the day arrives when I write about sparkly, wimpy vampires other than as a satire, that’s the day I’ve crossed over from artist to mercenary.  Of course, by that point, the new hot thing will be transgender zombies with a penchant for needlepoint, or something equally absurd.

Finally for this entry, I think the artistic writer needs to be subversive to a degree.  The current trend in society is a degradation of manners, etiquette, and general decency.  As an artist, I reject that trend, and my act of subversion is to carry myself as a professional, treating others with respect and dignity, unless they happen to piss me off.  Then, it’s both barrels.  But in general, I make a conscious decision to be polite and not give in to the decline of civilized behavior.  I refuse to play the “I’m cool” game that pervades the music industry and Hollywood because that’s not my nature and not my character.  I also refuse to follow the crowd.  I’m an independent, free-thinking person who conducts himself, most of the time, as respectful and courteous, and I tip my hat to my fellow writers, both mercenary and artist, who do likewise.

Those are my thoughts for now.  I hope to write more about the craft of writing soon.

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