Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How in the world are you? It's been a while, hasn't it?
I titled this post the way I did because on the 22nd of this month I will be turning 45. That number seems outrageous to me, mostly because five years from now seems like something that should really be happening to someone else. The good news is I don't feel 44, about to be 45 or eventually 50. That really is all that matters, isn't it? I hope you feel that way, too.
The other reason for discussing birthdays is because that has been what has driven me these past seven years: the feeling that I wasted a lot of time. I didn't, not really. My wife and I started our family, had careers, raised our sons. If you're a church-going person, then you will also understand God's perfect timing. Yet, there still is that feeling that I didn't start writing again until I turned 38, and that means I can't really waste too much more time. Do you understand where I'm coming from?
So, here's where I am with regard to my writing. I'm still climbing out from beneath the loss of my small publisher last summer. I have three e-books that are available on Amazon: Dance on Fire; Dance on Fire, Flash Point; and Seeing Ghosts. "Dance" is my crossover vampire series. "Ghosts" is my stand alone paranormal romance. Late last year I turned my attention to producing paperbacks and decided upon getting "Ghosts" printed first. I was extremely proud of the way the story came out, and I thought it would do really well with the female and paranormal demographics. I did that. It is also available on Amazon, as well as a local store in my hometown called Trinkets and Treasures.
In November 2013 I began writing the third book in my vampire series (and fourth novel overall). I just finished the first draft. It is just short of 143 thousand words which makes it the longest novel I have written to date. It does have a title,but I am keeping that news close to the vest for the time being. I will now give myself a break before I begin working on the second draft, and begin working on producing paperbacks of my other novels. I hope to have this done in the next two months. I'm very anxious to have the paperbacks done because they have since been given new covers. My first novel was a paperback several years ago, but it has also been given a new edit as well as the cover. Can't wait to hold that in my hands.
With any luck "Dance 3" will be completed before the end of the year, but there's no rush. This one is a much larger book, with a much larger scope. It also charts the course for a future book, so I want to make sure everything is not just a good story, but epic in many ways.
Now, although I promised I wouldn't say much about my day job anymore, I have had people ask, so I will quickly address what has been going on there. Just when you thought my hours couldn't get any longer, they did exactly that. I now work 11 hours minimum, and quite often 12 plus. Somehow I managed to find the time to write that first draft. How? I have no idea. Actually that's not true. I do know. I did it by ignoring social media and blogging.
But I really want that to change.
My hope is as I take that break and allow my brain to begin preparations for draft 2 - make mental notes, consider new possibilities and mentally double-check that I haven't neglected anything - and during this time reach out to all of you and drop by for visits. Drop me a line and I'll come say hello.
You might begin to see some promotions out of me. That was another thing that had to go as I devoted the little time I had to writing. Here locally I have already reached out to a local ladies' group that has a book club, I visited them once before and it was a fun evening. I also reached out to the friends of the library in my town, and hopefully will schedule another visit with them, too. Next month we have a car show in our little town and in May we have the annual Swedish Festival, an event that I featured in my first book. I plan to be manning a table outside the store for both of those events, selling books and meeting people.
Well, that's what's been going on with me. As the year progresses I will begin sharing about the new book. If you have yet to read it, you can find the e-book on Amazon for 99 cents. The links are all there to your right on this site. The reviews have been good. All of my reviews have been good. The trouble is getting the word out in a virtual sea of books. Am I right?
Best of luck to all of you writers out there and much success. It isn't easy, is it? Then again, nothing good or noteworthy ever is.
We'll talk soon.
