Coming soon

As we move through the Corona virus here in Ohio and the rest of the world, I’ve found myself returning to one of my loves. I have a few passions in life. My family, friends, and work come first. But I also love choking my friends unconscious in jiujitsu. Wow, that sounded weird, huh? I might have issues. But anyway, what this blog is about is rediscovering my love of writing. I’ve decided to rededicate my efforts to reviving my dead career, not for money but for the love of creating.

Writing for success is a losing battle for most of us if success is measured by book sells. While I started writing a long time ago because I loved it, selling books became more of my focus than writing them. Losing my publisher and most of the momentum I had built discouraged me greatly. I realized I was measuring my success by how many books I was selling and my sells fell into the crapper. But being locked in my house 75% or the time (I still go to work as a firefighter) encouraged me to delve back into writing as a hobby with one subtle difference. I am no longer concerned about selling thousands of copies of whatever I write. Or even one. Of course, I hope I sell some, but that’s not my goal. It wasn’t at the start of my career and it’s not once again. I want to write to write.

Part of the creative process that I’ve enjoyed includes the presentation of my work in a professional manner. Years ago that meant one needed a publisher. But now, with the internet and freelancing, I can achieve that goal on my own. Reaching people will still be the challenge, but I’m not going to worry about that anymore. So, my big announcement is that I am self-publishing from here on out. Ahhh. That feels good. No more agent searching or publisher querying. Just putting out what I want and seeing what happens. Self-publishing used to mean to some people that an author’s work just wasn’t worthy to be read. Well, that may still be the case. But I don't give a shit. I think my stuff is good and I have plenty of reviews to know others like it as well. Maybe my future stories will suck and someone who buys them will feel ripped off. I truly hope not. All I can do is promise that I will always put my entire heart into presenting you the absolute best story I can.

Here’s my loose schedule. I have begun completely revising my Epertase trilogy. As I said, I want what I present to be the best I can make it. Part of that is fixing flaws that I have since determined I had early on with my writing. When I wrote Epertase Book One, Legends Reborn, I was an amateur in every sense of the word. My writing has improved greatly since. I might still suck, but not as bad as I did.

My current manuscript is titled Death of the Grinderfish. It is a stand-alone, dystopian fantasy loosely using the Robin Hood theme of stealing from the rich to give to the poor. I will spend a chunk of money on this venture, which is different than when I was with Rhemalda, but it’s worth it to me. I likely won’t sell enough copies to recoup those expenditures since I'm selling them on my own, but that’s fine. The one thing I can guarantee is that I’ll only release something I am 100% excited about. Maybe you’ll buy it. And maybe you won’t. We’ll still be friends either way. In the coming months I will reveal the cover here as well as updates to the May, 2021 release. I hope you’ll join me for this next adventure.

Tamed on Audiobook- A Completely New Way to get your Favorite Werepets

A few months ago my publisher, Rhemalda Publishing, revealed that they were putting all of their books into the audiobook format. Over the years people have asked me about audiobooks and, until this announcement by Rhemalda, I'd tell them not to get their hopes up. If you wanted to read Tamed, you had to do just that--read it. I didn't realize there was such a large community of people who preferred hearing stories than reading them. Who knew? Personally, I've always liked audiobooks, but usually just for long vacation drives and those sorts of monotonous things. Anyway, Rhemalda had enlisted various professional freelance narrators for their catalog of books and one was assigned to Tamed. His name is Michael Roger Lane and he does a fantastic job.

Due sometime around Christmas, 2012, that sometime came yesterday and I couldn't be more thrilled. This may sound strange since the audiobook is basically just another format of the same story, but I rank the feeling I'm getting as I listen to my own words being professionally read as one of the top moments in my publishing career. I can't sit here and tell you that this feeling is better than getting my first contract, or seeing my debut book finished for the first time, but I can tell you that this ranks highly with those achievements.

I didn't expect that hearing my book would move me so much, but as it turns out it does. For the first time ever, I am hearing my story told in a different voice than the one in my head and it is an amazingly new experience. As I said before, I've always liked audiobooks because I get a different feel when hearing stories than I do when reading them and this is no different. I'm not saying I like audiobooks better all than reading, because usually I don't, but sometimes it can add to the experience. For instance, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson is creepy as a book, but I think creepier by the brilliant job that the narrator did in the audiobook. On Writing, by Stephen King is another audiobook that I absolutely love listening to and feel it is a better experience than merely the reading of it. That one's probably because Mr. King himself reads On Writing, and I think you get a sense of his passion while hearing him.

You should totally give the audiobook of Tamed a try. You'll love it.

If you want to give Tamed a try on audiobook, it is available at Audible.com, Amazon, and Itunes. Here is the Amazon link. You can even listen to a preview before you buy. Let me know what you think. 

 

How to Break Out of a Writing Slump

Since this is the end of the year, I want to tie my year-in-review to some actual writing advice. I titled this blog "How to break out of a writing slump" and I have a clear answer. Before you get too excited, I will warn you that it is the same advice you've heard again and again from other authors in the past and it is hard work, but I think it needs repeated. I'll get to that advice in a moment, but first you have to read through the rest of my drivel. (Or skip to the end, I suppose.)

This year has been a great year for me in my writing career while a tough year for my actual writing production. I saw 2012 bring me not one but two book releases from my publisher, Rhemalda Publishing.

In January, Rhemalda released my werewolf tale with a twist, Tamed. I celebrated the release of Tamed with a television interview on NBC4 in Columbus, Ohio. You can watch the interview on the left side of this blog. That was by far my most visual exposure yet.

Next, I had a successful book launch at Barnes and Noble in Pickerington, Ohio, with Tamed. Its release also led to a request from a California production company to shop Tamed around for movie rights interest, and I granted that request, of course. That process is still active, though I am not sure how it will pan out.

In May, Rhemalda and I decided to offer Tamed as a free giveaway as part of Amazon's KDP program and proceeded to give away 22,000 copies of the eBook in only five days. Coming off that giveaway, Tamed continued to sell fairly well for the next couple of months. My biggest surprise with Tamed was that I initially thought the book was a good fit for young adults and older, but I have been pleased to learn that Tamed has gained a pretty steady following from the youngest teens who are looking for something a little different from the Twilight saga.

In August, Rhemalda released the second installment of my Epertase trilogy, which I feel is my best writing yet.

With three published books under my wing, I attended the Mid Ohio Comic Con. The president and vice president of Rhemalda traveled to Ohio to support me at the show. With their help and the help of the fantastic artist of my Epertase covers, Steve Murphy, we sold and signed over 100 books. Unfortunately, I sold out of Tamed at the show and had to turn potential readers away. Here's my booth.

Despite all of my successes this year, I have struggled with the actual art of writing. I don't know if you could call it writer's block, but it definitely resulted in a lack of production. I've heard of writer's block before and have even experienced it briefly on occasion, but usually I have been able to push through it without too much pain.

However, this year has been a different story.

My first major slump came during my initial draft of Epertase 3; I struck a wall at the halfway point. I spent several months (yes, I said months) struggling with how to make a crucial transition that was imperative to the story. Every idea I came up with didn't seem to work. If this wasn't the last book in my trilogy, with everything in the first two stories tied to this finale, I could have scratched the idea altogether and changed how the story went, but I was in a bit of a box. It was killing me and putting me way behind schedule. I have deadlines, after all.

BTW, I am in love with how Epertase 3 finally turns out and I think fans of the series will be as well, but I think the fight with Epertase 3 took something out of me.

My second slump is in full gear now. Over the last two years I have been working sporadically on a new dystopian fantasy that I am really excited about finishing. But even with my breakthrough and subsequent finishing of Epertase 3, I realized I still wasn't writing with as much inspiration as usual. Heck, just look at the number of blogs I've churned out lately (none)-- my lack of production should be evident.

Here's the problem: I know what I need to do in order to break this slump, just like I had to do to break the Epertase 3 slump, but I'm having trouble doing it with any consistency.

How do you break your writing slump? It sounds easy. You have to write.

You have to write today. You have to write tomorrow. Don't feel like writing on Friday? Too bad, you have to write on Friday, too. It's just like going to the gym. If you miss a few days, it becomes easier to simply miss a few more. But, when writing becomes habit, it's harder not to do. Just like working out. I am by far not the first author to say this. In fact, I have read this very advice several times by major authors. It's easier said than done.

"Wait a minute," you might say. "That doesn't help me through my block." Well, yeah, it actually does. By making yourself sit down and write, you will write through that block. It might not turn out just how you want that section to be, but that's what revisions are for. After you plow through that part of the story, you will fall into the flow again.

When you force yourself to write every day, even if it is only for a couple hours, you are lifting the weights . . . I mean, you are writing . . . and that's the important part. Does that make sense? Every slump I have ever gotten into (big or small) has been broken by simply sitting down and writing. And as I look back, I see that the slumps that lasted the longest were because they frustrated me to the point of not writing at all.

Now, I know sometimes it seems impossible to push through that block (like it was for me in Epertase 3), so here's another way to get through it. My initial advice still stands that you have to write, but you can cheat a little. Skip that part and work on another section of your story. It will trigger your creativity again and get you moving. You will be surprised at how well this will help you to actually fix the section you were stuck on without even working on it. Yeah, it's like magic.

These two suggestions are my best advice on breaking your slump. Sure, many other more famous authors than me have recommended the same actions, but I believe the advice is worth repeating. Now, why are you sitting here reading my blog? Go write!

Happy Holidays, everyone.

Free offer for Tamed

When I began seeking publication for my first novel my number one priority was to get my work into as many hands as possible. I wasn't concerned with the money because I figured if what I wrote was well-received, then the money would come in due time. And if it didn't and people were able to get enjoyment from my work, then so be it.

Therefore, I am happy to announce that my wonderful publisher, Rhemalda, is going to give my latest novel, Tamed, away for free for 5 days on the Kindle. This is a great chance to get my werewolf tale with a twist and give it a try at no cost. If you don't have a Kindle, simply download the free Kindle app to your smart phone or tablet and give it a try. Tamed has recently been called, "the Jurassic Park of werewolf stories," and I can't wait for you to give it a read.

There are no strings attached to this deal. Simply download my story and move on. If, however, you would like to help out in return, I'd love for you to share this free offer with your fellow bloggers, Facebookers, and Tweeters so I can give this book to as many people as I can. Also, while you are on the amazon page, feel free to give Tamed a like by clicking on the like button at the top of the page.

So there it is. From now until Sunday, Tamed is yours for free with no strings attached. I am unbelievably proud of Tamed and just knowing this offer will get it into the hands of even more readers is exciting. If you are wondering why Rhemalda would do something like this, I'll give you a brief explanation. First, giving Tamed away gets my writing, along with their company, a larger reach. But also, if the Amazon ranking for Tamed gets low enough, the book will get more visibility and that will, hopefully, turn into sales after the free promotion.

And if it doesn't, well, I hope the readers who get in on this deal will enjoy what I have written.

Here's the link: Free Amazon offer.

Here is the description for Tamed.

 Werewolves are real.

And they make excellent pets.

Owning one of the legendary creatures is the latest fad. The WereHouse insists werepets are loyal, docile, and 100% safe, but what happens when these gentle giants turn on their masters?

While on a routine EMS call, paramedic Christine Alt is attacked by a rogue werepet. She escapes with her life, but the encounter leaves her with more than just scars. As her body begins to change, she discovers the WereHouse is hiding a terrible secret, and they will stop at nothing to keep her from exposing them.