Today I am a little itchy and a nice shade of red. I will do my best to avoid the sun but I’m confident that I will darken a little more.

The wife is getting some spray sun screen and I will do my best to spray and slather as often as possible as we will be spending a good amount of time at the beach.

I had a crazy dream last night that had me as the star as my dreams often do. I was in an insane asylum. They thought I was insane as they do at these places. My neighbor had his wife living with him but ninjas came and killed his wife. I tried to explain this to the attendants but they threatened to lock me away.

Before I could escape, three ladies that looked as much like old hags as any old hags have looked gave me a test with some tiny sculptures that they claimed I made as a kid. I knew the work was far too good for my uncoordinated hands and before I had arranged them all in the box I smashed them all and escaped.

I found musket upon stairs trying to tell the person in charge that ninjas were trying to kill me. He didn’t believe me and they killed him. I was back on the run.

I found a white.backhoe and started digging a hole next to a white, picket fence when the white ninja found me. I smashed and hurried him. The person with me said “I’m glad that’s over.” But I had to explain that just because they appear dead doesn’t mean they are dead.

Once again I was o. The run.

Then the Millikan’s son got up, stumbled around the tent and nearly fell on me. I was face down in my pillow so I misses the entertaining fall, but still got a good laugh out of it.

Today will see more camping fun. I am off to go take more pictures of ducks.

Until Tomorrow!

Woo Woo!

Until Tomorrow!

Woo Woo”

I love you baby!

So as the title of this one suggests, I’m not the fastest writer. Yesterday was filled with challenges. Before I started work I wrote my daily update, a movie review, An Unorthodox Writing Tip, and a book review. I posted those throughout the day. My favorite daughter had a volleyball practice right after school. She has all week. I haven’t attended those because I’m usually finishing up work.

Work yesterday drove me mad trying to get everything ready for a major release. I had to make sure I had some database work done and ready. I had to bring my favorite daughter her bag for volleyball. I bought the wife a card and 15 roses (one for each year don’tchaknow). I had offered to interview Mr. Plested for his Get Published podcast because he’s got a book (Mik Murdoch) coming out in August. I had my major release of a large project I’d been working on that ran into trouble and went later that it should have (due to client issues not anything with my code).

Even with all that going on and working until 10:30PM last night I still found 45 minutes so squeeze out 1900 words in Of Gnomes and Dwarves. Yesterday’s total word count was 4694. I was stunned when I realized how busy my day was.

And to top it all off. I’m sick. I won’t bore you with the details, but it’s painful, my head is throbbing, the weather is messing with me big time. I’m not a happy camper physically, but nothing can take away the joy I feel about having gotten so many words written. I know all this will need some good editing, but the story is moving along nicely. I’ve gotten the pacing down so that it’s not break-neck speed right out of the gate and I feel that I’m keep the original intent of the story with its elements of humor, drama, and character interaction.

One of my biggest peeves about D&D related stories is that you either started with a party and off they went on grand adventures, or they met at a tavern, started drinking, and went on an adventure, or they needed to save the world. My story doesn’t do that. At least not at first.

As I’ve said I’ve got a plan for these books. The first is just the beginning and you’ll be able to see a lot of threads that I intend to clean up as I go along in the series. As fast as I’m getting through the words in book 1, the story is just starting to get moving. There’s so much more that I need to pack in there that this will be a good book. Not too long, not too short. I’m shooting for 70,000, but I think it’ll go beyond that. I might bump my goal up to 90,000 and see where it lands.

There’s a lot to get done today. There will be camping this weekend. With all the words I’ve put out in the last couple of days I’m currently 30 days ahead of my annual goal. You don’t know how good that feels. Words are coming easier and easier the further along this year goes. If you’re a writer and not writing daily, I ask you one thing: Why?

I’ve got packing to do for camping, food to buy, words to write, pictures of ducks to download (I should be able to see some while I’m camping) so…

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

I’ve read some stinkers in my years. With the glut of ebooks out there and so many people forcing free ebooks and eshorts into my hands these days, it’s easy for one to get lost in the shuffle.

But every once in a while…

As a Reader: I was in the mood to read a novella. I had seen this one out there for free and grabbed it up about a month or so ago. I was in the mood for some short steampunk and decided to give this one a shot. I had just gotten done with two other free ebooks and when I say done I mean I wasn’t even halfway through when I decided they weren’t worth the effort.

Then I started Flash Gold. Right of bat I was sucked in. Our hero was in trouble and needed to find a way out of it. People were out to get her. Yes, her. Been a while since I’d read a female protagonist done well so I kept going. My intention was to just read a little bit and go to sleep. I’m glad this was a read because I didn’t get back to sleep.

Unlike some stories I’ve read where the steampunk is window dressing, Flash Gold keeps it right there in the forefront. The technology of the Yukon is just as much a character as anyone in the story. From automotons to airships to steam powered dog sleds (minus the dogs). Even the mystery of what exactly is Flash Gold.

I got done with this one and immediately went out and bought the sequel. I know it’ll be as much fun as the first and I’m curious to see where Lindsay is going with this one. Check her out over at (http://www.lindsayburoker.com/).

As a writer: I hate it when I’m reading a book and I see the ending coming after page 1. That did NOT happen with this book. I really enjoyed not only Lindsay’s writing style, but her pacing and build up as well. We’re thrust into her world and kept there following our main protagonist all the way.

I liked the strong female protagonist. Her father is gone and she’s left to her own devices protecting the secret of Flash Gold. This made for great confrontations with villains and a race that she needed to win. My only complaint is there is so much story to tell here that I was sad once I got to the end. But it was a free ebook and I’ve already got the sequel lined up in my queue to read.

Recommendation: This is a free ebook and not just any free ebook. This one will be a gateway that will lead you into more of Lindsays work with no financial investment. It’s a fun, light read that you will get through quickly because so much happens in such a short period of time. Do yourself a favor and grab this one. You won’t be sad that you did.

A lot of good and bad things have been said about this movie. What did I think? I think it all started with a chicken burrito. *Warning: Potential Spoilers.

As a viewer: I went into this movie with very low expectations based on reviews. I wanted to see the movie because it looked like fun, not because it looked like I might learn something. I knew it was going to be a generic alien invasion story and little else. It didn’t have all the build up that the Avengers had as it was based on a board game I used to play as a kid. The only part I was disappointed in was that the tag line from the old commercials wasn’t included. You remember the line. “You sank my battleship!”

The movie starts us out with our main character getting into trouble trying to get a chicken burrito for a girl he’s trying to impress. Hijinx occurs and the bad brother is in trouble once again. His brother forces him to join the Navy or move out of the apartment they share. You can guess what happens.

We also get to see some satellite dishes pointed to the stars and sending out a “Hello” to the nearest neighbors on a habitable planet. Ok. I’m fine with that. Obviously, because of the previews, they come down to say hello. There are a lot of fun scenes where the alien fires weapons that look like the battleship pegs and the stick into the ships and then ‘push’ down and explode. I got a good laugh out of them including that. I also got a good laugh out of them using the tsunami buoys to track where the aliens were. They didn’t show up on radar so this grid of buoys allowed them to ‘see’ where they were at. So they called out letter and number coordinates to track where they would fire. I also liked this clever inclusion that tied back to the game.

No surprises in this movie. Just a fun, alien invasion movie like in the good old days. I enjoyed the nod to the retired Navy personnel as well as their being used to help fire up the old battleship and head out to fight the aliens. If you’ve never been on a battleship, they’re HUGE! Big old gun. Heavy plating. Everything is analog on those suckers. They’re fun ships.

As a writer: Let’s get this out of the way first. Bad boy turns his life around to save the world. Very tired trope. Been done a million times. I’m just glad they didn’t go on and on about his past and what he needed to do to redeem himself. It wasn’t needed, but added a little humor to the film. If it weren’t for that, none of the characters in the movie would have any dimension at all. They’re all pretty much interchangeable with any of a thousand other characters. Many are there for cannon fodder and when you’re talking about an alien invasion movie, that’s to be expected.

The plot, what there was of it, was pretty tight. No real loose ends. The character development isn’t so much that our main hero needs to change as much as he doesn’t really have a choice. He’s forced into a situation, saves the world, and is right back to being himself. At least as best as we can tell at the end of the movie.

Nothing special to see here. It’ a movie to entertain. Little else.

Recommendation: This isn’t a movie that will change your life. It’s going to give you a couple of laughs, some good eye candy with great special effects, and a half-way decent story. Unlike many movies I’ve seen that have no real plot at all, this one does a pretty good job. If’ you’ve got $10 burning a hole in your pocket and are tired of seeing the Avengers for the 37th time this week, take a break and check out Battleship. Go in with the expectation that it’s not going to blow your socks off, and you’ll enjoy it.

My favorite daughter had volley ball practice (two 2 hour sessions).

I’ll be doing an interview.

I have a major release for work tonight.

I need to get things ready for camping this weekend.

If I can squeeze in a little writing time, I’ll be happy. Maybe I’ll get lucky. Who knows. I do need to get a new Unorthodox Writing Tips written and up. I had written five weeks worth some time back and those have run out. I need to take a fiction break and write a few more so I don’t have to stress about those. I need to get a couple book reviews out. Speaking of reviews…

Recently I had listened to Rendezvous with Rama. It’s a great concept, but he story is told with large data dumps and paper cut-outs of characters. The only real substance is the actual concept. So I’m onto Rama II. I remember reading this book when I was younger (I think 15 or 16) and I had liked it at the time. I’m listening to it on audio now. I’m a couple hours in an… nothing has happened yet. When I say nothing I mean there was a nearly 45 minute data dump on the Earth’s history to get us to that point in the story. Based on my experience this is most likely what Clarke added to the story. He’s great at data dumps and huge amounts of ‘telling’ a story. So far I don’t like any of the characters. There seems to be a great attempt to make them more than what they are. I’m bored with it. Seriously bored. To the point where I most likely won’t finish the story and I doubt I’ll continue on into books 3 and 4.

If you’ve made it through Rama II and the subsequent books, am I giving up too soon? Should I skip ahead? Will the books get any better? I hate books that dump information and drag the story on. So far 100% of what I’ve gotten through so far has added nothing to the story so I feel I’ve wasted my time. This book is suffering from bloat.

Sorry, just had to rant there for a moment. I think I’ll move on to another book before this one lulls my brain to sleep and starts to affect my writing.

Little tangent there. Sorry about that.

Oh, some curious news. I saw I had gotten a couple of hits when I mentioned Jay Lake in a post. My post about censorship. To his post today over at (http://www.jlake.com/blog/) he mentions a post he might not put up or will be censoring. This after I noticed someone came to my page after searching on Jay Lake. Curiouser and curiouser. Did Mr. Lake find my post? The world may never know.

HEY! Quick maintenance question. I have everything set up so if you are subscribed to the blog via email and reply to the email you get it should be adding a comment to the blog. That doesn’t not seem to be happening. If you’re getting these posts via email and have replied, I’ve never seen it and it didn’t post a comment to the blog. If you know how to fix this, please get a hold of me and let me know. I’ve already looked online and everything suggested to have checked in the options I’ve done. So color me confused.

I’ve got work to do and duck pictures to download.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

I’ll be interviewing Mr. Plested tomorrow for his own podcast. I’ll be recording Golden West this week. I’ll be recording lines (audition lines) for J. Daniel Sawyer. I’ll be recording an episode of Unorthodox Writing Tips. I’ll be busy as I can be and loving it.

The way Of Gnomes and Dwarves is falling into place makes me very happy. Everything about the new plot lines, the character development, making it fresh and easy to read, I’m just enjoying it all. The original was roughly 60,000 words and it lacked in so many ways. The new version will likely be 90,000 or better, but it’s not feeling bloated as I’m writing it. It’s feeling like a real book. Like an actual epic fantasy story should feel. It’s difficult to describe, but I’m just so happy with the words and I can’t wait to share them with the world.

What are my plans for this story?

Glad you axed. (little plun there, Willie has a big axe and he isn’t afraid to use it).

I’ll most likely be self-pubbing this one. I’ll get a professional cover done. I’ll look at getting the insides professionally laid out. I’ll get great editing for it. I’m going to do this one right. I’ll be reworking Astel sometime this year also. Mostly just getting the editing done better and leaving it out there.

Why am I going to do this one on my own? Because I have so many plans for this one. I plan on writing a lot of books in this universe. Short stories. Character descriptions. I’ll be getting art work done. I’m going to have a lot of fun with this one. I’m going to do this one better than I did Astel (which I kind of let fall flat, sadly). I’ll also look at doing the audio and getting that up on podiobooks once the ebook is out and ready for consumption. This way as people listen they’ll be able to find the book.

I’ll tell you this now, once you get into the story, you’re not going to want to wait and see what happens next. No, really. It’s a fun and fast story. Just you wait and see.

I’ve got some other regular world things to go and do. We’re going camping this weekend. I need to pick up a surfboard and mount it for my favorite daughter’s old middle school. I need to order a new mouse.

OH! New Mouse! I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to get the M.M.O. 7. This was the one I thought might be too pricey, but I figure I spend all day sitting at the computer, why shouldn’t I have a really good mouse? Yeah. Why not? It’ll help me download pictures of ducks faster so I can finally write that duck post and people can stop asking me what this obsession I have with ducks is all about.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

But when I slip on a brand new pair of socks and an old, broken in pair of shoes, my feet feel happy. It’s one of the only times when they’re confined that they have that level of comfort. Any other time, if you see shoes on my feet, I’m unhappy. My feet have this need to be free.

So what’s all this about socks and shoes?

I’ve put on a new pair of socks. My writing have changed/evolved/grown over the past 25 years of putting words down on paper. I’ve learned how to tell a story. I have a fairly good idea what works and what’s on shaky ground. I need help from time to time, but my stories and characterization have gotten stronger. When I put down words it’s like slipping on a new pair of socks in that I’m comfortable in what I’m doing.

What about the old pair of shoes? Well, Of Gnomes and Dwarves was the first book I wrote. It’s gone through many iterations, multiple false starts, and more pain ans suffering learning how to write than I care to talk about. But it’s my pain and the characters in the stories haven’t really changed much over the years. They still run around inside my head killing ogres, trolls, goblins and orcs. That’s what they do. It’s what they did. They’re my old pair of shoes that I can throw on any time no matter how ratty they look and be happy with them on my feet. They’re so comfortable that I can walk for miles.

I’ve been writing new words in Of Gnomes and Dwarves. Not only that, I’m adding new scenes. I’m cranking out words like I used to. I’m 5 days in and I’ve written 9500 words thus far. The best part, I’ve cut out a lot and put in so much that those 9500 words don’t even have me getting the first two main characters to meet (that’ll happen in the scene I’m working on and I’m excited about it.)

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m always excited to sit and write. I love putting words down. I have a passion for writing or I wouldn’t have committed to making it a part time job. I would have instead done something else. But Maus, Willie, Reeg, and Dorg are fun characters. Being that I’ve written the first four books (which will serve as nothing more than plot outlines at this point) I know what’s coming up next in vivid detail. I can make references to characters that won’t be introduced until books 2 or 3. I’m adding a level of detail that the world never had before. Sure the characters were fun, the story was a good one, but the writing overall was weak and needed to be greatly improved.

I’m making those improvements. I’m having so much fun being back in that world. I can’t wait to get into chapters where Maus and Willie… well, you’ll just have to wait. Just be happy in the fact that this is a fun story and will be a blast to read.

One of the things I’ve done that I didn’t think I was going to do. My stories were so short in the early days, that I had a story teller. His story had a prologue, interlude, and epilogue. So he would have three chapters per book that would follow his story and my plan was to complete his entire story arc over the entire run of the books. I’m not sure I’m going to include him at all for several reasons. The main reason being that my writing has changed so much that I can now take the same storyline and tell a much richer (i.e. Longer) story with the same story line without adding a lot of bulk that will make the story feel bloated.

For now, my brain is tired. My Favorite Daughter is having two volleyball sessions on Tuesday (today) and Thursday. I’ve got a major code release Thursday night. I lost one of my best programming helpers (Kiran, if you’re reading this, I miss you) and I’ve got so much work on my plate. I need to go to bed, read for a little bit, and then tackle tomorrow.

I didn’t have a chance to get more duck pictures downloaded so I haven’t written that duck post just yet. Soon. Very Very soon.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

You’re here for the ducks and I know it. (soon enough)

When I write, there are certain topics I won’t touch just because I’m not comfortable writing about those topics. That’s just how I’m wired. I might talk about these things with my friends, I might read about them, I might watch youtube videos about comedians talking about those topics, but it’s like roller coasters. Just because I enjoy them doesn’t mean I’m going to go and build one. I enjoy a lot of the media I take in, but when it comes to the work I produce I have an internal censor that won’t let me write certain things.

Why?

Am I afraid my mom would be embarrassed if her son wrote erotica? If you read my mother’s day post you know my mom can make sailors blush so no, that’s not a reason.

Am I shy? No, not really. If you’ve ever met me you know I’m not shy about going up and talking to almost anyone. That certainly isn’t my problem.

Am I a prude? Oh, if you saw my reading shelf you’d find Rigor Amortis on there. No, I’m not a prude. (I will review this book one day soon)

Am I just too weak to write about those topics? Heavens no. I don’t look at avoidance of a topic as being weak.

I think it boils down to having a different vision for my work as a whole and though some topics might entertain some people, I just have no desire to write them. When I’m done with a story I look at where it went and it tells the story I want to tell. It doesn’t plumb the depths of what I choose to avoid. My mind censors itself and only the story comes out. It’s nothing that I consciously avoid, it just doesn’t happen in my stories. I don’t have sex, I don’t have swearing. Those things, for me, just have no place in the stories I’m telling. If ever I felt a story I was working on needed something like that, I don’t know if I’d tell that story at all. Like I said, I do see a place for that, but not in my work.

When I write a story I like to think that anyone could read it and get something different from it. I try to add layers in there and when you read there’s more than just what you’re looking at on the top of it all. So if you’re a younger reader, you can enjoy the tale as told. If you’re an older reader and follow along with the many plot lines you’ll see certain threads that will lead you down a path and make you wonder where I’m going with all of this.

When it comes to what you read on these pages or in one of my short stories or even in my novels, my internal censor is busy at work making sure that I don’t produce something that can’t be consumed by anyone. V&A Shipping is about an inter-galactic beer run, yet has been calling “mini-van safe”. That’s just how I roll. I want you to be able to come here and be confident that I’m not going to suddenly have this rant that will make you wonder why you came here in the first place.

I had a point to all of this (and not just the on the top of my head). I guess I’ve been reading a lot of blog posts lately and some of them delve into topics I just wouldn’t delve into and others take on topics of controversy that I don’t feel I need on this site. John Skalzi did this with a post and eventually had to turn off the comments to his blog post because of all the internet trolls posting comments that he got tired of removing. Sure this brought in a lot of traffic to his site, but at what cost? Did he gain a new reader from all of that? To that end, had Jay Lake gained new readers with his in depth chronicling of his cancer?

I don’t know.

Will I gain new readers and followers when I don’t post topics that are overly personal or extreme in the controversy they could cause?

I don’t know.

Time will tell.

That is not to say that I won’t have a thought provoking post from time to time. I mean, ducks can really get the wheels turning.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

We didn’t get home until after 9PM, but I still managed to sit down and knock out 2000 words on Of Gnomes and Dwarves. It feel so right to be back in this universe. I had a couple pauses as I renamed a couple locations, but it’s definitely time to write this story.

Today I was awake at 7AM. I’ve been waking up early lately. It’s weird. But I decided to use the time wisely and cranked out 1300 words before I hopped in the shower, rubbed my achy muscles (some I haven’t used since the last time we played softball three years ago) and took my favorite daughter to volleyball practice. Her ankle hurt a little but she’s doing much better now. It’s great to see her playing instead of just helping.

We relaxed for a bit and headed back to the Millicans’ house and the boys went to go see Battleship. A fun movie that I will review tomorrow.

I’m glad I got my words done this morning so I don’t have to worry about getting them done. It felt good and I’m already adding new scenes that the original didn’t have. Scenes that will make the story feel more complete. I always knew the book lacked something and as I said before, I now know what it was lacking.

I’m now coming up on the 4000 word mark with that story already. It’s just flowing off my finger tips and it feels great. I don’t need to think too hard when it comes to these characters. They’ve been in my head for so long it’s like catching up with old friends.

My brain is tired. Lots of food has been eaten this weekend and my brain just wants to go to bed. That’ll happen soon enough.

I’m sad I missed the eclipse, but I will see many pictures all week long I’m sure.

Speaking of pictures, I need to find more pictures of ducks and I’ll get that long awaited duck post written.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

Of Gnomes and Dwarves was the first book I had ever written. I started it in 1988 and had many false starts with it until 1997 when I actually got it done. Then I spent a couple years revising that story. It was a painfully long time to write a book, but I didn’t have the level of commitment that I have now. I also didn’t have the writing skill that I have now. I’ve written so many more words and I feel that I can now write the story that I always intended to write.

Maus, Willie, and Slick will finally see life. Reeg, Dorg, Hermin, and the entire cast of characters are just waiting for me to put pen to paper and write once more. When I had written these books (yes books) before I had written them at break-neck speed. I didn’t get them out they way I wanted. The characters took shape, yes. The story took shape, yes. But my voice wasn’t there. My storytelling wasn’t at the level I needed it to be to tell the story in the way that I wanted to tell it.

I feel I’m there now.

It’s not that I’ve run out of ideas. It’s not that I think Of Gnomes and Dwarves will be a multi-billion dollar best seller. It’s that this story is a very personal journey. I know I’ve got a great concept for the story. I’ve got fun characters. The pacing will be appropriate. I’m better at showing vs telling (something I still see in novels that will drive me nuts). I know now how to avoid the data dumps and tell the story that will provide the background of the characters. I’ll be able to get inside their heads as much as they’ve been inside my head over the years.

For 25 years I’ve had them all running around inside my head screaming, yelling, fighting, and waiting for their story to be told. I have a good idea how many books it will span. I have a majority of the storyline already plotted out for the books. I’ve got backgrounds for each character. Each event will build on a past that I’ve already laid out in my notes and build on the future of the characters. It’s all primed and ready for me to go.

So what’s been the hold up?

All these years I’ve listened to the saying “Don’t write about your D&D characters and adventures.” I’m breaking that rule now only in the fact that I’m putting my D&D Characters into a story. Not just a story, but a fantasy novel. The novel could happen with any group of characters. The fact that I already have personalities for my characters will just give the story that little bit of life that it has been lacking. Knowing how to get inside the characters heads and tell third person focused narrative will allow me to let the characters tell the story instead of me telling the story with the characters. I want to become invisible and let the story come through.

To say I’m a little bit excited about this project is an understatement. I’m convinced that I will finally be able to get this story out of my head. After all these years and all this time I’ve spent writing I will be revisiting a world that I left behind and haven’t visited in nearly fifteen years. I wrote four books and trunked them all. They’re now out of the trunk and will serve as notes, a plot outline, a guide. Little else. The writing isn’t terrible, but it’s not the voice I want to use to tell these stories. I can do better. I will be better. And the stories will be better for it.

I’m off to play softball today. I did start collecting duck pictures. I’ll get to posting those as soon as I write my duck post.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

11.22.63: A Novel by Stephen King

I listened to this book on audio. I’ve got a lot of things to say about this book so get ready. There may be spoilers. You have been warned.

As a Reader: Stephen King hit the mark with this one. I was disappointed with the ending of his last couple of books so as this one neared the end of what I thought was the end of the story. I was quite wrong where the story was going to end. It kept going, and going, and going sort of like the Lord of the Rings. I loved that it didn’t just drop me and leave me wondering or have some weird/corny ending that left me miffed that I’d wasted my time.

King takes us from 2011 back to 1958 several times. Each time things are reset. When George Amberson (the character’s assumed name in the past) stays longer to prevent the assassination of JFK things get weird. There’s a long time for our main character to wait. I had a little struggle with how easily he accepted this task from a person eh didn’t know very well. This part seemed to be glossed over in favor of the person going back to a past he had never lived in. It bothered me, but only slightly.

There’s a lot of fun King had in the past. It almost felt like he was reminiscing about his boyhood. Perhaps longing for a simpler time. I’m not really sure. There are a lot of side trails along the way to stop the assassination and I really didn’t mind them. This is what King does best is to draw you into the characters life. It’s like the end of the Dark Tower. It’s not about the Dark Tower, it’s about the journey. He layers detail upon detail in a way that builds a tapestry you can believe in and learn to love. Then he yanks the rug out from under you, stand you back up, dusts you off, and does it again. Each time you curse what the characters are doing to each other and the lives they’re ruining even though this is only a book.

The end had me tear up a little I’m not ashamed to say. King has a way to get you to really care for the characters. He’s always done that, I’m sure he always will. But the ending of this book (as he mentioned in the afterward) was inspired by his son, Joe Hill, who recommended a different ending. It was a drawn out ending, but satisfying. A very enjoyable ending indeed.

As a writer: Mr. King, please stop feeling like you need to intermingle your works. Yes, you had nods to IT, Christine, and other works I’m sure I missed. Let a work stand on its own. This bothered me to no end as it only provided lines of thinking that lead no where and annoyed me to no end. As did the pie throwing scene. I read Mark Evanier’s blog and he went on and on about this. I wish Stephen King would have as it does relate to the era. One pie = funny, many pies does not equal funnier. Also, they’re not real pies. I refer you to http://www.newsfromme.com/2011/12/13/recipe-corner/ .

I really enjoy how Mr. King doesn’t just have someone go and buy a jacket or a hat, or a gun, but will take a small bit of time to explain what it is, why the character is buying it, introduce you to the person doing the selling, and spend a little time doing some things that might otherwise be considered mundane. He makes them interesting and fleshes out a story in a way that makes the world feel real. He doesn’t skimp. He doesn’t take shortcuts. He loves to drag you along before he slaps you with the reality he’s built in a real and brutal way.

Recommendations: Other than that, I’ve got nothing to complain about. Not that I was looking for things to complain about, mind you. This book was wonderful. If you read it, or listen to it as I did, you will enjoy it. Stephen King is a master at what he does. He doesn’t write horror or sci fi. Those are only trappings attached to his name. He writes stories about people. People you will like, some you will hate, some you will come to think of as real people. I’ve always liked that about his work and 11.22.63 did not disappoint. Well worthy of your time. Do pick up this book. I can’t wait to see what Mr. King has in store for us next.

Until Next Time!

WOO WOO!

The varsity coach has talked to the girls about this for the upcoming tryouts for varsity and junior varsity. He doesn’t want girls who just go for it. Aggression isn’t as important as correct form. Sure, the aggressive girl who swings at the ball might get seven or eight hits out of ten, but the girl with the correct platform and doing the drill correctly can be trained to his ten out of ten.

I did some body building for a time oh so many years ago. I’d see these ripped guys in the gym and they moved very slowly when it came to lifting weights. I asked my workout partner why they did the movements so slowly when it was easier to just pull hard and snap the weight up. He laughed. “Because you’ll hurt yourself that way.”

What I learned doing my workout the wrong way and the correct way was snapping up a heavy weight puts a lot of stress on your body, mainly your lower back, and joints. Whereas lifting the weight with slow, controlled movements meant it would take longer to do those ten repetitions, but I was getting a lot more from the workout by controlling the weight. You lift the weight slowly and count as your bring it up, and you lower the weight slowly taking just as much time to lower the weight. This control works the muscle harder, giving a more localized workout and not putting undue stress on your joints or lower back.

When it comes to your writing you need to take similar approaches. Yes, it’s easy to write by the seat of your pants. I’ve done that many times when I had just an idea to start with and just began with the banging on the keyboard and waited to see what came out on the other end. Normally I’d have an ending in mind and I’d work toward that ending. On other occasions I’d actually go through the trouble of plotting out a story and working my way through each chapter and then going in and writing. Both styles work for me and I can use which ever suits my needs at the time.

The point is, I have a method. I now follow that method when it comes to story creation and my writing periods. I don’t just ‘hope for the best’. I plan my time, I make better use of that time, and I’m a more efficient writer for it. It hasn’t been easy. I didn’t have a coach along the way to explain each misstep and tell me how to do it better or even where I was making mistakes. Those I had to learn on my own. I had to build my own base of knowledge to work from. Using that base means when I sit and write I’m comfortable with my style and I enjoy re-reading what I’ve written as much as when I wrote it.

Beyond that, I’m getting a lot more practice because I’m taking the time each and every day to write something or edit something and usually to read something. I know what works for me and what doesn’t and why. I can sit and start typing and come out with a great work count when I choose to. I’ve developed my writing muscles, I’ve established my writing platform, and I can bump/set/spike with less effort than when I started.

You need to establish your own level of control. It’s easy to sit and just start typing and want your writing to be good. It’s another to sit and make your writing good. Sure, firsts drafts will always be first drafts and require edits and rewrites. Even a second or third draft will require more editing and beta readers will point out plot holes and story issues that you’ve overlooked. You job as a writer is to write the best story you can. To do that, you need to practice. But don’t just practice, practice control over what you’re doing. Don’t just let the words tell a story, make them tell the story you want to tell in the way you want to tell it. The story may be very different in your head. Your job as a writer is to control the words you put on the page to convey the images you see in your head.

Until Next Time!

WOO WOO!

But not when it comes to my work files. I’m almost annoyingly organized. I have two hundred emails in my inbox, but only because I haven’t gone through them in a couple months. I could easily reduce this down to 50 in a matter of minutes, I just need to move emails into the proper folders for the given project. All of my programming files are organized into folders for different file types, related sites, and on and on.

I’ve taken some of this organization to my writing files as well and Scrivener has done wonders to help be be even more organized. Rather than have a folder with all my short stories, I have one scrivener file. Rather than have multiple books in a series in a folder. I have one Scrivener file. Rather than have one huge file with all my chapters in it, a separate file for notes, research, character sketches…Yes, I have one Scrivener file.

I’ve said before that Scrivener has changed how I write. I still type like a madman and let the story drag me along for the ride, but I know have an easier way to keep track of characters, places, events, personal items. I can set a word target for a chapter or scene and see if I get there. I’ve had a blast keeping track of all sorts of different things.

I’ve also got my spread sheet that I just love. I’ve organized my daily word counts broken down by blog posts and fiction. I can see at a glance how I’m doing. Where I’m at with my goal. How many days ahead or behind am I. How many words ahead or behind am I (for the record, I’m 20 days ahead of schedule for 2012). I’ve plotted out fiction word counts for JuNoWriMo and NaNoWriMo. I’ve plotted out how many words I need to write a day to hit my annual goal.

I had decided that at the beginning of the year I needed to treat my writing more as a part time job rather than just a “Hey, I think I should write something” and I’ve written nearly 200,000 words so far. I’ve done that by organizing my writing life rather than letting it just be like the clothes on my closet floor; something I’ll get to later. I’ve made myself accountable to more people than just myself. There are a lot more words to come out of me. Not because I want to be a writer or even want to be a published author. That’ll happen in its own time. But because I feel the need to create. And not just create stories. That’s the easy part. But to create stories that people want to read. Stories that keep people coming back. Told in a manner that people can appreciate.

Getting organized has helped me in getting a lot of words written not because I created a spreadsheet or started using scrivener. Rather because I could now see where I wanted to take my writing beyond the story.It’s made me open my eyes and see that I can write a lot more than I ever thought I could if I just got myself organized, sat down, and wrote.

Sure I get distracted by shiny things (like yesterday’s post about a new mouse I’ll be purchasing soon). That’s going to happen. The trick is to try and free yourself of the guilt and know that you have a job to do and you need to get yourself to sit down and actually do it. I also have a job, a kid in volleyball, a wife, friends. I do a lot of other things besides writing, but I make time to get the words out.

I’ve organized myself so that when I sit down to write, it’s as simple as opening scrivener and BAM! Start typing. I’ve got my notes, my character specs, my plot outline all in one, easy-to-reach place. No more looking through notebooks, folders, files, or even scrolling through the WIP trying to find that name, the color of the dress, or anything like that. I know where it all is and it’s drastically sped up the process.

Sure it took some getting used to. Everything does. But now that I’m five months into 2012, I’ve done a little house cleaning every day to get to where I am and now writing isn’t a chore that I do once in a while. It’s a joy I do every day. Yes, I said a joy not a job. I still treat it like a part-time job insofar as I need to sit every day possible ans write something, but it’s not a labor it once was.

Take a little time to get organized. I’ll go find some pictures of ducks to start posting. Then I’ll write about ducks.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

This will be my initial thoughts on a new mouse I will be purchasing. If you have feedback on any of these mice, I’d be glad to hear them. If you’re not interested in mice at all, you may want to skip this post. There will be more tomorrow on me, my writing, and ducks.

Onto the Mice:

My current mouse is the iHome Five-Button Cordless Laser Mouse. This is a great mouse. I’ve had no complains. The battery life is incredible. It has an on/off switch. It’s got the (now standard) five button cifiguration (actually 6, but one is hard to press on the fly) plus a DPI switch from lots of DPI to little DPI. It also has some nice software to configure all the buttons except for the wheel tilt. I’ve reprogrammed two of the buttons but would like more flexibility with my mouse. http://www.amazon.com/iHome-Five-Button-Cordless-Laser-IH-M827ZB/dp/B0046XVW7C/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337271201&sr=1-1

Fist up (and probably my favorite choice) is the SteelSeries WoW Cataclysm. This thing has a whole lot of programmable buttons. It’s got five thumb buttons, three index finger buttons, three middle finger buttons, one ring finger button, DPI button, and the mouse wheel plus click. I’m not sure if it has tilt click or not. It also allows you to take multiple configurations as well as onboard memory to save the current configuration. That means I could drag this thing from one computer to another and not have to have a profile on each computer. I really like that. Only complaint I’ve seen about this one is the size and looking at the videos I don’t really think that’ll be an issue. http://www.amazon.com/SteelSeries-World-Warcraft-Cataclysm-Gaming/dp/B004GZ2RCY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337271538&sr=1-1

Next is the SteelSeries World of Warcraft Legendary. This is considered the smaller brother to the Cataclysm. It has a couple fewer buttons, but to be honest, I’m not a fan of the look of the mouse. I’m sure it works great, but the big old WoW logo on it is a turn off for me. I don’t think I’d want to look at that all day while I’m working (like I said, I want this mouse for work AND play). It’s got a similar layout to the Cataclysm and is slightly cheaper. http://www.amazon.com/SteelSeries-World-Warcraft-Legendary-Gaming/dp/B005L38QHA/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337271538&sr=1-3

The Cyborg R.A.T. 7 (or 9 if you want wireless). This one looks to be a highly configurable mouse with so many options, styles, adjustments. I could probably spend a week just getting used to all the different ways to attach all the pieces and weights. The software to program it looks easy to use. It’s got a scroll wheel and a thumb wheel as well. This one looks weird and I love that about it. This thing looks CRAZY! It’s also highly customizable, but with fewer buttons. http://www.amazon.com/Cyborg-T-7-Gaming-Mouse-MAC/dp/B003CP0BHM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337271735&sr=1-1

The Cyborg M.M.O. 7. This thing is intended for MMO players. It’s got a LOT of buttons just like the Cataclysm. It’s also higlhy modifiable just like the R.A.T 7. The biggest difference? The price. It’s nearly twice the price as the Cataclysm. Other than the price, I love everything about this one. If it were a tad cheaper it’d be a top contender. Heck, it still might be. We’ll just have to wait and see. http://www.amazon.com/Cyborg-M-M-O-7-Gaming-CCB437130002-04/dp/B006LVZEN0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337271921&sr=1-1

The Corsair Vengeance M90 looks to be good competition for the Cataclysm based on stats alone. The biggest downside I see is that a majority of the buttons are thumb buttons. The layout looks better than other mice with multiple thumb buttons, but I’m a ‘claw’ mouser so I don’t want to have to rely on my thumb agility for every mouse click. It does look like a great mouse though. http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Performance-Gaming-CH-9000002-NA/dp/B005QUQP8A/ref=sr_1_23?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337272045&sr=1-23

The Logitech G500 looks like it could be a good, solid mouse. I’m sure it is. It doesn’t have as many buttons as I’m looking fro though. That’s the only draw back I see. http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-G500-Programmable-Gaming-Mouse/dp/B002J9GDXI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337272188&sr=1-1

The Logitech G700, on the other hand, has more buttons and is wireless. Both pluses. I’m sure I could get used to the button placement. It’s also a very nice looking mouse. It has five more buttons than my current mouse (possibly six more). I’ll need to read more about this one before I make a final decision. http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Gaming-Mouse-G700/dp/B003VAM32E/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337272188&sr=1-3

On first glance the Razer Naga looks like it’s be perfect for me. It has a 12 key keypad on the thumb. That should be great, right? Like I said about the M90, I’m a claw mouser and I don’t think that many thumb buttons will work for me. I love the grid, it’s be great to program it, but in real world use, I don’t think this would work out for me. I like the G700 and the Cataclysm where the buttons are more spread out. http://www.amazon.com/Razer-Naga-Special-Molten-RZ01-00280500-R3/dp/B004AM5RAW/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337272376&sr=1-2

Finally there is the Razer Naga Hex. Much like the Razer Naga, a majority of the buttons are thumb buttons, but in a much better layout. I like that. This makes it far more desirable than the Naga as I would get confused with a grid layout of buttons. A nice looking mouse as well and I’m sure it’s quite comfortable. http://www.amazon.com/Razer-RZ01-00750100-R3U1-Naga-Hex-Gaming/dp/B006W3ZXEW/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337272376&sr=1-4

So I’ve got a LOT to think about. I know that no matter which mouse I choose, I’ll be getting a batter mouse than the one I currently have. It’s a lot to think about and if you have thoughts, feel free to drop them into the comments. Help me figure out what prize I’ll get for hitting 225,000 words this year.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

It’s not that I haven’t been writing words. I’ve done a great deal of work today. I took a break intending to write this blog post and perhaps get a little written in Golden West and all I could do was stare at the screen and wait for something to fall out of my brain.

I’m pushing 200,000 words on the year. When I hit 225,000 I’m going to get myself a techy gift. I like to do this for myself and I feel the halfway point is a good time to do that. You may ask yourself what I’m thinking about getting. I’ve been asking myself the same thing.

I’m a mouse fan. I’m not a big fan of ‘hotkeys’ of key combinations. Yes, I know them. Yes, I use them. But I want a mouse with a lot of buttons. One that’ll allow me to do multiple things with my right hand instead of typing. Yes, I currently have a mouse with two regular buttons, a scroll wheel (that clicks and tilts), the back and forward buttons and even a button above the scroll wheel. There is a DPI button but I cannot modify that one. The mouse I have is the iHome (I forget the model) and it was $40. It’s a very nice mouse. Lightweight, cordless. It’s a good mouse.

I want something better. So I’ve been on the hunt for a mouse with multiple buttons. Yes, more buttons. I want a mouse I can program so rather than do all the hotkey combinations I need to do, I can just click and go. I know having a mouse with more buttons will take some getting used to, but I’m prepared for the challenge. I have a few I’m looking at, but rather than cloud your thinking with that I’m looking at, I’m curious what others who have multi-button mouses are using and why. I’m a programmer, not a gamer, but I’d like a mouse that would work for both (eventually)

If you aren’t using a standard mouse and you have one with more than your normal share of buttons, what is it and why did you chose the one you have? How do you like it? Would you suggest that mouse? Does it have multiple profiles available? It is easily programmable? Are the keys easy to get to? Is there a steep learning curve or can you just plug, program, and go? Can I easily program a macro ‘on the fly’?

Like I said, I’m at 192,000 words and when I get to 225,000 I’m going to be getting a new mouse. I’ll take pictures, leave a review, post my thoughts and opinions on it. It’ll be just like a book review. What I like and why, what I don’t like and why. This is a present to myself. I’m not shy about price if the product is a good fit for what I’m looking for.

Are you a mouse manufacturer? I’d be happy to do a review (I can also do a video review) if you send me a mouse. Again, I’m not an avid gamer, but I’d find a lot of other uses for a mouse being that I’m a programmer and speed is the key. How quickly and efficiently can it assist me with tasks I do over and over in a given day.

See, I’m now primed and ready to do more. I knew once I got started I’d be able to pound out some words. I think I’ll go pound out some more.

I didn’t post about ducks yet, did I?

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

This is something I brought up with Mike when he thought that perhaps Boyscouts of the Apocalypse might not go for a second season. We discussed that it would be find to change it out for another story. The same would work for Scott if he feels that his story doesn’t continue into a second season. Perhaps he can use the same universe with a new character. The three of us will have to have a meeting soon and talk.

Speaking of talking, Mike and I did talk last night. As I’ve done to him many times he had to delay, delay, and delay some more. I’ve done that to him more than once. I took advantage of the time and got my writing done. I managed nearly 2500 words yesterday even through multiple interruptions. I’m going to try that again today though I doubt it’ll happen. Tonight I have a lacrosse game for the Millican’s son to go to as well as my favorite daughter having volleyball practice. Both are at the same school so I’ll be bopping back and forth between the two. It’ll be a hoot.

Work might actual have a slow period. That’ll be a plus before things ramp back up next week and the week after. I’ll be installing one project, ramping up for a new project, continuing with some lease roll projects. All this project management has helped me get a better focus of my time and usually helps with planning out my day and even when interrupted, getting back on the horse where I was and continue. Be it with a piece of code, a piece of story, of just getting a thought completed.

I know for some writers interruptions can be the death of flow. Last night I had many such occasions, but I’ve gotten to the point where I can brush them off and dive back in. It’s sort of like when someone wakes me up from a dead sleep. I can wake up quickly, do something, lay back down and I’m asleep before you know it. Others get woken up at night and have difficulty getting back to sleep. The same thing seems to work with my flow. As I’m typing this post, my favorite daughter it telling me about her day. I’ll stop, look at her. Listen. Then go back to my post. Sure it’s distracting, but life won’t always give you a quiet three hours a day to sit and get your writing done.

I’m going to try and take advantage of a little of this quiet time and get some more done on Golden West before practice and the lacrosse game. Last time we went to the game ducks flew over our heads and it reminded me that I need to get that duck post written. Soon. Very Soon.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

I called my step-mom. She is also an amazing woman. Her and my father started up Murdock Laboratory twice. They moved from Minnesota, to Colorado, back to Minnesota, back to Colorado where she now resides. Since my father passed away she has taken on the running of the household and business on her own. The strength she’s had to continue I find admirable. When I used to call home I’d talk to my dad and I never really got to know her. I’m glad to say that I’ve not allowed her to unnoticed, but I have let her know that I’m sorry if she ever felt unappreciated by me. Since my father’s passing we’ve become much closer and I’m glad for that.

I also called my brother’s wife. He was in school on Mother’s day so they had celebrated the night before. She is also an amazing woman. My brother met her in Japan on one of his many tours over there. She made the difficult decision to come back to the United States to be with him leaving her family back in Japan. She’ll be taking a 10 hour flight back there for a month visit with their two children. I don’t know if I could do a 10 hour flight with a 6 year old boy and a 3 year old girl. She is a brave, brave woman.

Saturday we went with the Millicans to Old Town. We had a great time going through a little market that had one of the side streets closed off. I wanted to buy a Godzilla sculpture made from wire, gears, chains, and spark plugs. I wish I had gotten a picture of it. The artist had a number of other cool sculptures also made from similar items, but none as cool as Godzila.

We ate at the Old Town Cafe. A wonderful place to eat. I had lunch there with CJ and Debbie when they came to town last year for Comic Con. I’ve never had a bad meal there. The hand made tortillas are just incredible. A little butter and yum yum yum.

Sunday was spent with the wife’s family. It was pot luck. We brought clam chowder (and didn’t bring any leftovers back home). There was a lot of food and we only got a little left over chicken to bring back home. Everyone showed up and it was great. I had a beer for the first time in months. My mother-in-law (another incredible woman who raised 7 children) was doing great. All my wife’s sisters (and their children and grand children) all came over. Yes, great grand kids were there.So we had four generations from my wife’s family there. It’s impressive when everyone shows up.

I had no intention of doing any writing this weekend. None at all. I did my very short blog posts and that was it. I did get some reading done and I need to do a review of Flash Gold. I picked up this novella for free. I’ve only read a few free books I’ve picked up and this one was great! Watch for the review in the coming days. I also picked up The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories(http://www.amazon.com/The-Weird-Compendium-Strange-ebook/dp/B006TXZD3G/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2). This is 750,000 words of fiction goodness that I’ll be dipping into time and again over a very long period of time. Definitely not something I’ll get through in one sitting. I also picked up a few more books. I’ll have to post what I have on my kindle app one day.

I did also get through a terrible free story that I picked up. I would review it, but it was just awful and I have no desire to admit that I’d actually read the entire thing. It was a short story, but between the bad writing, the foul language on every page, and a story that really didn’t get me to like any of the characters, I don’t think this one deserves my time to review.

So it was a great weekend. I hope you and your family had a great weekend as well. I hope you called your mom (if she’s still with us).

I need to get to some more editing and some more writing. New stories should be coming from me soon! I’ll write about ducks tomorrow if I can find the time.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

Very short post again today as I ate too much and I am crazy sleepy.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

What Mike and I created together is a fun, fast-paced book. It’s still got a couple of holes that Mike and I will likely pass back and forth and fill in, but over all it’s a fun story. A little more polish and we’ll get it sent off to beta readers, some editing friends, and then it’ll be the big agent hunt. Our intention is to find an agent or publisher for this book. We’ve already talked that one through.

We’ve both read and re-read all the talk of going Indie, contracts, royalty rates, and the like. At this point in our careers it’s a matter of gaining momentum. Once we have that momentum, there’s nothing wrong with creating another property and going Indie. It’s a matter of keeping an eye on the contracts to make sure all the clauses are in order. I also have friends that know contracts and have offered to give them the once over to make sure we’re not signing over rights that we should retain.

I was going to write a long post about “To Indie or Not to Indie” but I will write that when my brain isn’t as mushy as it currently is. I tried to read a little before I went to bed and I could barely keep my eyes open. I also slept in until nearly 9AM. That hasn’t happened in a long time and it felt great. Nearly 12 hours of sleep. After the week I had and getting through the edits of Jack Kane, I think I earned that little nap.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. I don’t know when I’ll get around to my daily update so Happy Mother’s day to all you moms out there. I hope someone special in your life makes the day extra special for you.

Today is too beautiful of a day to stay inside. Tomorrow I’ll write about Mother’s Day. And Ducks.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

I’m subscribed to a lot of blogs and have done enough reading to formulate an opinion. I’ve even given myself time to digest all of this information to be able to form a coherent thought about all of this. Being that I’ve bought books for a good majority of my adult life (and enough of my teen life) I know enough about books and how much they cost. Do you want to know what I think about all of this?

People will pay what they’re going to pay.

It really is that simple. It doesn’t matter if an ebook is $14.99 or if it’s .99. It really doesn’t matter. People will pay what they’re going to pay. Let me explain

I’ve bought a lot of books. Boxes and boxes of books. I love to read. There are some authors (like Tad Williams) that I will buy the hardcover as soon as it is out and devour it. I’ve paid as much as $29.99 for a hard cover novel. It never bothered me. Other authors, let’s just take Piers Anthony as an example, I’ll pick up his books in trade paper back. The most I’ve paid for a Piers Anthony novel is around $6.99 or $7.99. The point is, the price isn’t what got me to make the purchase. The author is what got me to make the purchase.

But that’s physical books. Perhaps I’ve put more worth on having a physical copy, right? Well, let’s look at my buying as of late.

I’ve picked up a lot of free ebooks. I’ve read a couple. They’re alright. I’ve picked up a large number of .99 books. I’ve read a few. They’re also alright. I haven’t picked up a stinker of a .99 book yet because I’m picky. I’ve picked up a few stinker free ebooks and I can see why the person is giving them away. These make up less than half of what’s on my ereader at the moment. Most of what’s on my ereader? Samples and books over $4.99.

That’s right. I only have a few books in the $2.99 – $4.99 range. Why? I really like the authors and I wanted to get their novels. I will always buy a Stephen King novel. I love his writing even if Under the Dome left me underwhelmed with the ending. I still loved the characters, the incidents, the mystery. The ending just sucked but I still got my money’s worth. I’ve picked up 11.22.63 and the Wind Through the Keyhole. It doesn’t matter what the price it. I’ve got a few Mike Stackpole novels on there as well. Again, I’ll buy whatever he produces because I really enjoy his style of writing.

But let’s look at the samples. Do I only pick big 6 books? NO! I’ve got a lot of Nightshade books (bought some of them outright), I’ve got Apex books, Edge/Tesseracts, Pyr, and I do also have some Big 6 books. The publisher isn’t what’s driven me to purchase the books. It’s the author being out there, talking about their book. It’s me getting to know the person that wrote the novel, looking at the first few chapters in the sample and I’ll buy a copy. I’ve got Skalzi’s Redshirts on my reader. Fun stuff. I’ll be buying the book when it comes out. Doesn’t matter what the price is. I know I want to read this book. I’ve done this with many authors.

Beyond that, I’ve got Chuck Wendig’s Blackbirds also. Why? I’ve read his blog. I enjoy his writing style. I will pick up the next book I know even though I haven’t read the first. It didn’t matter what the price was. I wanted the book, I bought it.

You may think, “Well you must have a lot of extra money to buy all these books.” Not really. I don’t spend as much on books as you might think. I’ve gotten some book that I was waiting on when they were suddenly free on the Kindle. I’ve won a couple in giveaways. Some were dropped to .99 and I couldn’t pass up on that deal. I’ve even gotten a couple free because I blog and every once in a while I’ll do a book review. Give me a free book, I’ll review it. It’s the least I can do.

But my point is I’ve only a few times in my life cringed at book prices. You want to charge me $21.99 for an ebook? That’s pushing the limit a little too far. Unless it’s an omnibus with three or four novels. Then I’ll pick it up. I bought the Stieg Larsson books for $29.99. Why not. That’s three books. They’re getting great reviews. They seem to be worth the price. I’ve also picked up a trilogy for $2.99 because the premise sounded interesting.

I’ve bought books from people I follow on twitter. Why? They seems like interesting people and I like to support interesting people.I’ve got a few Scott Roche books on my ereader and I do need to get through them and review them. Same with Justin Macumber and Zoe Winters.

So where do I think books should be priced? Well, I think that depends. If you’re an indie author who’s got one or two books out, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick them up for .99. If you’ve got several books out then I wouldn’t be surprised to see them at $2.99 as I would think you’ve got more books out, you’re good at this writing thing. If you’re doing this for a living and making money and you’ve got a proven track record, I’d be more than happy to pay $5.99 and up for one of your works.

My point is it’s not the price that’s important or at stake here. It’s the author. Price for me depends on how established you are. Do I like what you’re doing and I’ll be willing to pay $12.99 or more for your new novel (like the next Wheel of Time book) or are you a brand new author who I’m willing to take a chance on? It’s not a hard and fast rule. You can’t put a line in the sand and say “No one will ever pay more than this” because you’ll be wrong. Sales figures prove that. Look at the Amazon top 100 and you’ll see prices all over the map. It’s something personal and something that each author needs to figure out for themselves. Just because J.A Konrath says “$2.99 is the golden price point for a book.” Doesn’t make it true. It only makes it true for him. It makes it true for people who’ve set their price at that level and had success.

What are your thoughts on ebook pricing? Let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

Tomorrow I’ll write about ducks

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

Go to your cupboard and take a look at what you’ve got in there. Boxes, cans, bags. Everything has writing on it in there. Grab something and read it. What does it say on that cereal box? On that can of soup? On that package of noodles.

Sure, we’ve all been to the store, bought something and taken it home and cooked it. I’ve bought Campbell’s soup for years. I don’t think I ever read the directions because my mom showed me how to make the soup. Sometimes it you look at the label, there’s a recipe on the inside. No, really. I never knew that until I actually picked up the soup can and read the entire thing. There is so much writing out there that I never even looked at before.

Take a shampoo bottle for example. If you forget reading material when you’re sitting on your favorite seat (okay, maybe it’s just my favorite seat) and you need something to read, check out what your shampoo says. Sure, we’ve all done shampoo and conditioner before. Lather, rinse, repeat as needed. But take a moment to actually read what else is on there. Sometimes I’ve actually gotten a laugh out of it and not because it was written intentionally funny, rather it’s written in such a way that it’s corny and you have to wonder who got paid to write this stuff.

When was the last time you read instructions for an iron. You know, those things that make your clothes smooth and flat. All of them that I’ve read say “Do not iron clothes while wearing”. This always makes me laugh, but I’ve run across many items with similar instructions that make you wonder who actually did this to make them have to write that warning?

Speaking of warnings, have you read your toothpaste? It tells you not to swallow more than you would normally use and gives you instructions if you do. I knew my toothpaste had fluoride, but I didn’t know it was a poison until I read about it and figured out why it had this warning.

Even more warnings, check out the labels on any medicines or pills. There’s a plethora of warnings, reactions, emergency procedures. Some even have full pull out sleeves that you can read.

My point is, there’s writing everywhere. You just need to take a moment or two and find it. Words are all over your house and not just in books. Did you ever read that instruction manual for you phone? Neither did I. I know how to work a phone. But you know what, there are some settings I never knew about until I cracked that little book open and just started reading to see what else was in there. I’ve got loads of manuals for every appliance in my house, yard equipment, sleeping bags, places I never even though to look.

So what do I do with all this information? I’m glad you asked.

Most of the time I do nothing with it all. It’s just a lot of words to read to take up a little time. But every now and again I’ll read a label and it’ll spark an idea. BAM! I’m off to the races. It’ll be just that little kick I needed to give my story a little twist, punch, or stab that it needed. Even more, it might even give me something stupid for a character to do that they shouldn’t be doing like ironing their clothes while wearing them.

Speaking of ironing clothes, I should go take care of some different reading.

Until Next Time!

WOO WOO!

My favorite daughter had her first day back at practice. You wouldn’t know that she missed three weeks of practice. She was back swinging and jumping and doing great!

Me? yeah, I’ll talk about me more tomorrow (and ducks).

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

What this means for me is headaches. The high humidity helps my sinuses fill to the bursting point. It’d be nice if I could just blow my nose and be done with it, but that doesn’t happen. Ah well. Life goes on.

Yesterday my favorite daughter was supposed to be back at volleyball practice. She had to do a one mile run on Monday so her ankle was sore and she didn’t practice. Darn it. There’s always tomorrow.

I started this post early in the morning. It’s not 8:30PM and I’m just getting back to it. It’s been one of those days where everything happens to keep you from getting back at it. I’ll get over it.

I met with my co-author, Mike Plested, tonight and we had a great conversation. We’ve both been busy wrangling cats and find a point where our paths cross has been difficult. Somehow the stars aligned and we both looked into the face of God and saw each other looking back.

Okay, that’s just weird. But we discussed several things including: Marketing the Action Pack Podcast to reach a larger audience, Beta readers for Jack Kane and the Statue of Liberty (now that editing will be off to him shortly), our top secret project, and several other things. Our paths are intertwined at this point and that’s a big plus. Mike has gotten some great contacts out there in the writing universe, I’ve got…production value? Yeah, let’s go with that. I’ve been cranking out a large number of words and I intended to keep getting more and more written this year. I’ve only just begun.

Since the first of the year I’ve written nearly 184,000 words. I’ve completed a few new short stories, the Action Pack, gotten deep into To Fall From the Sky (to be shelved until a later time), and more. I’m 20 days (roughly) ahead of schedule and I couldn’t feel better about it.

Yes, I should be doing more to promote myself. I’ve been lacking in that department. This summer I plan on stepping that up. June will be a very VERY (did I say very?) busy month. It’s JuNoWriMo. I am taking a vacation at the end of the month. There’s more volleyball practice. I’ll be starting a new project at work. There are other personal issues that shall not be discussed here. Even with all that going on I’m still going to blog daily and I will complete JuNoWriMo (50,000 words in the month of June) before I go on vacation. I know I can do it.

This is what I mean when I say I’m in production mode. I’m producing more words than I ever have before. It feels great and the May Gray and June gloom will do nothing to stop me from writing more.

On the reading front (you may have noticed a couple of book reviews) I’m reading Stephen King’s 11.22.63 and The Wind Through the Keyhole. I’ll post reviews on those once complete. I’m loving 11.22.63, The Wind Through the Keyhole, not so much. One feels like a great King novel, the other feels like… It’s hard to say but it’s almost like he’s just trying to cash in on the Dark Tower once more. It’ll all be in the review.

I’ve got some editing to do before I get to bed. My talk with Mike distracted me away from writing about ducks. I’ll get to them tomorrow.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

I listened to the audio version as read by Alex Foster (http://alexfoster.me.uk/). This is a classic novel and the Invisible Man has appeared in other works such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The tale follows a man who has managed to turn himself invisible and made many of us wonder “What would I do if I were invisible.”

The character starts out invisible and is soon on the run before we go back to the beginning and figure out how the character became invisible in the first place before he goes back

As a Reader: This book takes an interesting look from several different viewpoints at an invisible man. He’s wrapped from head to toe causing people to think he’s disfigured in some way. He wants to be left alone with his books and bottles. His fits of anger are not appreciated by the landlady. He’s suspected of thievery and things only escalate further. There are several slow points in the book and the action rises and falls as the invisible man takes time to explain things to a friend. There’s a sudden shift in his attitude from “I need help to figure this out” to “I don’t need help until I take over the world” that caught me off guard. I understood that he was distraught, I knew how the story ended, but his sudden shift explaining how he became invisible and that he wanted to become visible again then suddenly took a nap and decided that he needed to take over the people who were inferior to him made me struggle with the end of the book

As a Writer: There are a lot of explanations in this story and even more ‘head hopping’. Even when in one person’s head there’s a sudden shift to someone else’s point of view then back into the other’s head .This causes a little confusion but the explanations really slow down the pacing of the story. Listening to this on audio (kudos to Mr. Foster on his reading) helped me get through the difficult parts. The sudden shift toward the end of the book seemed like a desperate grasp to make the story more compelling and it was at this point where the best writing in the book happens. It almost felt like someone else had written this entire section because the action is great, the descriptions flow well and there’s a limited focus on one character at a time.

There’s a lot technically wrong with this story, but overall an interesting read. If it hadn’t shifted as it did, the invisible man’s death would have been more tragic. As it was, there was no way to feel sympathy for the man. If the man had only wanted help in reversing the condition and became more anguished or even violent I could have bought into the ending. Having him suddenly want to use the condition to his advantage after so desperately spending the entire book looking for a cure just didn’t follow with the rest of the book. Almost as if an editor said “This book needs a more dramatic ending.”

Recommendation: Read this book or listen to it. There’s a lot in here that’s great information and the way he describes his experiments is fascinating. Even though it’s explanation via a character, it’s still neat to go through the process and the accusation once he completes the process. This is a classic book and a short read. Definitely worth the time.