A Year in Retrospect

So 2012 was a big year for me. Promotions, video games, YouTube videos... Oh, and I wrote a science fiction trilogy.

A good year, all around.

Just as a quick recap, over the last quarter of the year my book sales have raised at least $802 for Worldbuilders (since I won't see sales reports for anything other than Amazon for a little while).

So for those of you who have been with me through it all, those of you who are new to the world of the elements, and even the random people who ended up here by mistake, here's a short story for you.

Enjoy!

Child of Lightning

One year ago today, I started a little trilogy called The Will of the Elements. I figure it's about time I finished that up.

The Will of the Elements, Book 3: Child of Lightning is now available on Amazon and Smashwords.

Thanks again to everyone who has given my books a try. I know you have a lot of options when deciding what to read, and I just cannot even begin to convey how much I appreciate that you took a chance on the stuff I wrote.

Here's another little promotional video.

Well, I haven't been sufficiently discouraged from writing yet... So I guess I'll keep doing it. Stay tuned, I have more stories to tell.

Review Song: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Here's another review song for The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

I swear I'm still working on book 3!

You can also expect another update later this week. Promise!

Sundry Happenings

Some quick updates: I finished the first draft of the book. It was horrible. I'm fixing it now, and revising my time line for a mid-September release. So if you've been waiting for the book...I'm really sorry. I intend to release the book...well, not when it's DONE, but at least when it's (hopefully) good.

In other news, I was recently interviewed by the Bay Area News Group for an article on self-publishing! You should check it out, they came out and spent an hour taking pictures of me in my writing cave. Weirdest experience ever.

And now, to top it all off, here's a picture of my cats.

Book 3 Cover Art Preview!

Courtesy of my lovely wife, cover art!

Now to finish that book...

Book 3 Update

20 minutes of just passing and shooting nearly killed me... I apparently took water polo for granted. At least I can still skip a backhand shot cross pool...


In other news, 123k words, and I still have 8 chapters to write and another 5 that need a full re-write... which makes this my longest book. As a series, I think I'll be pushing 380-400k words. But I've heard the first million are a warm up... and I intend to sprint.

Book 3 Progress

I guess I should post something about my progress on book 3...or something...


Anyways, Child of Lightning is coming along nicely. It's all plotted out and broken into chapters (at the moment there are 70 of them). I am writing full time. And by full time, I mean whenever I'm not at work. Or swimming. Or playing video games. Or wasting time while I think of a reason to not write... Look, I'm sure that I'm spending some time writing. I anticipate it'll be done (i.e. edited and ready for release) at some point in August. The Kirsten O'Donnell chapters are pretty fun, if I do say so myself...

Thanks for giving my books a try, I'll post more updates as they come.

Review: Twin Rivers by Jessica Buike

Twin Rivers by Jessica L. Buike

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm Just Not That Hungry

I often find that picking up a book by an author I've never read before is like trying a new restaurant. You may not know the menu but you've read a couple reviews on Yelp, or maybe seen it on the street as you passed by. When I sat down with Twin Rivers, by Jessica Buike, I had a hankering for some steak. For those of you of an herbivore persuasion, I'm sure there's something that you like as much as I like steak (the reviewer does not actually believe this statement... he really likes steak), so think of that. You may be saying, "Hey now, that's a tall order to fill," but hear me out.

From the start of the book, I caught glimpses of steak out of the corner of my eye. The prose was solid, the main plot points laid out clearly, the mystery established. There was steak in the air. So imagine my surprise when the meal arrives, and it's the size of a quarter. Now I thought, maybe this is one of those really up-scale places, where the quality of the dish out-weighs the quantity, and took a bite. Well... at least it wasn't overcooked. But that's about all I can say. It certainly hadn't been marinaded with care or seasoned to perfection. Don't get me wrong, the best steak (real steak this time, not a metaphor) that I've ever eaten was cooked over a campfire and seasoned with nothing but pepper... but that's because I was starving. It's risky for a new, indie book author to assume that her customers are going to be starving, especially with the buffet of ebooks out there.

So let's break it down. First off, the book has the hallmarks of a decent mystery. Main character with amnesia waking from a 2 year coma after her body was found under questionable circumstances. Good, good. Now here's the problem. A good mystery has to build suspense. I felt the beginnings of suspense stir, but that was it. When you're only working with a few thousand words, there just isn't room to develop the sense of who-done-it that a story like this requires. There were literally only 4 characters with names. Granted, the main character was only named once, halfway through the book, but I was pretty sure she wasn't the culprit. Oh, and one of those characters was a cat. Didn't really have to wonder who the villain was, once the ghostly children were cleared of suspicion.

And here's the biggest problem with the book: the dialogue. Namely, there isn't any. With the exception of 66 words, the entire story is narrated in the main character's head, in the first person. For all I know, the entire town was populated strictly by mutes and mimes... or isn't populated at all. I guess that could be creepy. You need to build the intrigue. Have the main character asking questions and speaking with real characters, with names. Draw out the creepy ghost children bits. Add more of them. Have them reaching out to touch her, getting closer and closer with every attempt. Make most of the book take place in a week long rainstorm if you have to. Create daring escapes and exciting chase scenes, darn it! Don't tell me what the doctor said, have a conversation with the doctor in which the information comes out! Want to throw suspicion off the villain? Give them some scenes! Not descriptions of scenes, actual scenes, with imagery, clever word-play, give and take. Add some seasoning!

I know, we've all heard it a thousand times and it's trite and superficial, but... show, don't tell. I think what frustrated me the most was that this book could have been a fun read. Put some meat on that story and create some meaningful character interactions, and this would be a restaurant that I'd recommend to friends, co-workers, and people I met on the street. As it is, I may come back and give it another try... but I'd have to be hungry.

Review: Bad Radio by Michael Langlois

Bad Radio by  Michael Langlois
My rating:  4 of 5 stars


A solid book with strong Lovecraftian overtones (in case the cover didn't give it away). The mystery was mysterious, the horror was horrifying, the heroes were (generally) heroic. The author's explanation for why the supernatural can exist without being obvious was refreshingly clear and succinct, catching the imagination and allowing for further extrapolation. Good writing combined with unique ideas makes it a gripping read from start to finish. I would strongly recommend picking this one up if you like urban fantasy, horror, thrillers, or good books.

Happy Holidays!

I hope that this holiday season finds you surrounded by family, friends, and good food.


As my gift to you, Wind-Scarred is going to be free on the 25th and the 26th.   Because it's Christmas!


Now the Veggie Tales song is stuck in my head...