Tag Archives: writing

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

Thursday Afternoon Ramblings

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I’m at and have been facing a crossroads in my life.  I feel it every waking moment of each day.  On the one side, I am a capable teacher with 13 years experience and a solid foundation for how to run my courses, so the job is not difficult in the sense of day-to-day class preparation.  But with that experience comes a feeling of burnout, of having been overworked and exhausted by the system well before my prime.  While I’m good at the job, it no longer fulfills me in any substantial way.

Then, there is the writer in me who feels stifled by the day-in, day-out grind of the system.  My creative side yearns to run free and create novels full-time, but the reality of our current economic conditions makes that aspiration feel like a distant dream unlikely ever to come to fruition.  Breaking through in this age, just being noticed, requires constant promotion and exposure.  Even then, the monetary reward is rarely worth the effort.  It’s a sickening, maddening feeling to have a modicum of talent for something but to feel as if there is no way to make a living off of that skill.

And then still, there is my third path, the one I feel calling with the most urgency and highest sense of importance.  I want to farm.  I want to build a self-sufficient, operational farm that at the very least can provide my family with sustenance if the whole system implodes, which every day feels more and more likely.  Right now, this is what I want to do more than anything.  This is where my heart is pushing me, and when I have the time to work at the property, even toiling at hard physical labor, I find a peace and tranquility hard to describe.  I simply feel as if I am where I belong.

I do know that no matter what, I will finish The Brotherhood of Dwarves series.  I owe it to my readers, my friends, and myself to complete books four and five.  Beyond that, who knows?  I may choose to continue writing, or I may not.  At this stage of my life, I truly cannot say.  There is another story I want to tell, but I’m not sure if it will ever be more than an idea.  Only time will tell about that.  What I do know for a fact is that I must choose a path and follow it because standing at this crossroads and pondering my proper course cannot last much longer.  I have to move forward soon.

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.

http://www.brotherhoodofdwarves.com/