A Beautiful and Just-Plain-Full Day

That rainless day I've been hoping for finally arrived so I started off my day with coffee and window sealing. A test of how well I did will come when it rains again, but just checking it off the list feels good all by itself...

After that, I was treated to one of my writer friend's screenplays that I've been anticipating reading since he started it. I intended to break up the 160+ pages over the week but I couldn't put it down once I got going. He has a way of blending both familiar and alien concepts in such a way that I'm never disappointed. I had plenty to say, as I always do once I get hooked.

Of course, I couldn't squander such a cool and sunny day so I stepped outside quite a bit to enjoy it. Probably pulled a lot of interesting faces while I daydreamed but my street was pretty quiet today so I didn't have a big audience for that.

Then onto the task of test printing and affixing borders to business cards. Since this isn't the first or even second time I've brought that up, I'll snap a quick pic in this low-light room of mine. It'll be a bit grainy but easier to show than explain.

The backside has a simple header as well as my website, email and phone info; very simple and functional. I used one of those handy roll on tape dispensers to put the borders on the top. I still plan on getting some higher quality cards--thicker card stock with better ink quality, but I'm happy with this design. The muted brown and purple also doesn't drain my ink supply so even after printing 100 of them, I'm well away from needing to replace the ink. One of the reasons I chose this printer to begin with was its ink conservation and it doesn't disappoint, even when setting it to best quality.

Admittedly, these tasks carried me well into evening, so I feel a well-deserved rest is in order before I tackle another couple chapters of another writer's work tomorrow. Hopefully it gets me revved up to do some more work on Totem or a writing project of my own. One or the other; drawing or writing, I'm not picky. As long as inspiration is on point, I'll go for it.

Oh, and picking a layout for my site. I have most of the pictures together for it, but still haven't gotten to that. Put that on my list. Probably working both Wednesday and Thursday so best to get as much of that in as I can. 

So, that's that. Ready for bed and open to dreaming. Well... As long as it's not one of those awkward dreams that makes me glad no one is privy to some of the dumb shit my brain dumps from time to time.

Seriously. Not even useful. For any genre, muse or pursuit. Just plain garbage. Better out than in, though. Either way, I'd rather it not be the stuff I remember on waking. It just makes me want to punch my skull.

Am Reading Or Some Shit

While I don't write much about what I'm actually reading about, it's about time I do that. 

I'm holding my breath, waiting for The Witcher to come out on Netflix this year.

For those who don't know anything, this was originally a book series written by Andrzej Sapkowski, a Polish author in the early 90s. Despite this author's disdain for video games, it's the Witcher games that skyrocketed his recognition at all. I've mentioned in the past that he took a lump sum agreement rather than contract any royalties. So he made a whole lot less in selling permission than he could have if he had any foresight of how amazing the games would be. Honestly, serves him right, but nonetheless, I'm enjoying currently reading the translations of his books.

I didn't know shit about Witcher until I bought the third game for PS4. GOTY (game of the year) edition too, all beefy with the expansions (which are even better than the core game, but I've already written that review so I won't rehash it). It's dark, it's emotional, it's everything that made me burn to write fantasy myself. It takes old themes and breathes new life into them. Mythical monsters, the gritty realities of human life, the tortured main character who feels like an impostor of humanity meanwhile displaying it more often than most, through his grey veil of morality. He lives by a code, which he claims is the code of all witchers but is more a personal set of rules that we see both the wisdom and folly in.

But the stars that shine brightest in this loner's path are the women who pass through his life. Not the endless stream of prostitutes he patronizes (though these are never insignificant women either) but the little girl he is destined to protect and the terrifying sorceresses who reveal his heart. How efficiently they puncture and expose it yet never make that heart seem weak or unguarded. I am drawn most to this series because it appeals to what I aim for; an unbiased and unforced look at what moves living being and the world around them. It is not just sentient beings that shape a world. From the sudden burst of kingdoms at war to the last twitch of a dying insect, each detail is not insignificant or wasted. This isn't idle, self-congratulating prose. It's an organism in and of itself.

What captivated me most about the games is that you were given moral choices. There are hard consequences for making an essentially good or bad decision... And consequences for walking away. In one of my favorite storylines, you are given the choice to release a demon who tugs at your heartstrings with its take of being trapped inside a tree pulsing with pain for centuries. The reward seems satisfying... But if you choose this, the demon possesses a horse, which sets off a startling chain of events that leads to a prominent man losing his wife to their dead demonic stillborn child and hanging himself. Meanwhile, if you coldly destroy the demon, this man lives, as does his wife. His living child, him and his wife all surviving means a chain of far more rewarding events. You start to learn that Geralt's apparent coldness, playing him more as the code-bound monster from the books, actually exhibits his wisdom and greater good far more in the long run. While it doesn't endear him to most people, you start to see that the few who do trust his judgement tend to live longer and be more beneficial.

Like the Mary Shelley Frankenstein book, the lines between monster and man cannot be assumed. No one sees Geralt as more of a monster than himself, a fact which annoys those who know him. While his plans and actions aren't without flaw, they do not trust him lightly. Despite his refusal to see himself as more than a mutant, he doesn't distrust or reject his inner circle in any other way. He instantly passes off the reins to someone better suited to solve a problem, ready to step in when it is time.

What appeals most is how much he reminds me of one of my own characters. Oddly, a white haired assassin that looks younger than his years. He is unafraid of death, even seems keenly aware of it snapping at his heels. He doesn't stare death in the face or turn to catch a glimpse because he knows the hesitation means he meets death. There is simply a resignation and acceptance that death will walk with him one day. He will hasten it nor avoid it. He is no stranger to fear, but death, next to all of the evils in life, is just a last breath in the wind.

It's not exactly original. It's something many of us ponder and it's a resolution that many fantasy writers come to. Yet, well done, it has quite the impact on our most visceral fears and hopes.

If you've made it this far, then I hope I've inspired you to look more closely at this series too.

The details I know so far is that the Netflix series is coming sometime this year. It launches eight episodes for the first season and will see more if it's as popular as it's projected to be. I hope to all hell it is that and more. I was pretty psyched to hear Henry Cavill is playing Geralt. I've seen him act in many things and he's certainly got the unwavering eyes and strong masculine features Geralt is always accused of. The series is very adult and sexually charged and Cavill isn't afraid to get naked. I hope that we can see more series that steer away the prudish taboos that oddly plague fantasy purists. Deep and sexy aren't mutually exclusive.

So I'm more than ready to see it in live action. The books are entertaining, the games are absolutely stunning (the facial animation in Witcher 3 is some of the most expressive and engaging) but I can't wait to see where The Witcher show will meet between the books and games.

And fuck, Andrzej; hopefully, you bargained more wisely this time around. That writer's ego will take the piss out of you if you get too cocksure.

Land of Babble

I thought of a couple of points worth exploring so I'm gonna roll with it...

One thing is certain-- advice is everywhere and it's conflicting. For every writer that insists on a way of doing things, another will tear it apart. That's really the beauty of it. To be challenged, to defend your points, to be open to considering a new way of making your stories work. So what else is interesting to the writer's struggle to improve?

You Don't Have to Publish Everything You Write

This one stunned me a bit of only because I had tons of diaries and sketchbooks and notebooks full of things never shared. Some burned so no one could ever suffer it's mediocrity. I suppose the idea that all of it is worth sharing probably comes to younger people who grew up posting every garbage thought on social media. I wouldn't say discretion is simply for sake of your brand since variation and dedication isn't a bad thing. However, if you're a new writer and you're publishing everything to market without being edited and considered many times over, you could end up infamous for low-quality hurried work.

There are plenty of unofficial outlets for writing. Flirt with fanfic, do Twitter writing prompts, keep a notebook or journal handy. Writers are taken more seriously if they show value in the output. Even if you do officially publish most of what you write, tuck some quality practice sprints in there, something that aims for trying something new or improving a weakness. At least in the beginning, you might have an ego that vastly outweighs the quality. You will get a better sense of what really shows off your best work over time.

Reading Vs. Studying

Not the first time I've mentioned this but I've never really taken to the idea that writers should be voracious readers. I've said before that I was a voracious reader as a kid but this was difficult to keep up into adulthood. I was raising two young boys with social and trust issues (and though they still exist, I'm very proud of how they've blossomed over the years). Free time was when I got to sleep for many years there. When I was finally able to return to writing and drawing, I was stunned by how much I seemed to grow as a non-practicing artist and writer. 

Another article I stumbled on pointed to something that may be much more important: the studious creative. Rather than just reading novels, I had stolen moments where I researched something I was curious about, played a great video game for a little while or watched a YouTube video. I found that those bursts of concentration and even the inevitable interruptions were a crash course in discipline when it came to focusing in a flash. While I'd too often have to drop novels I lost my place on eventually, I found there were niches where I was developing without actual practice.

Keep in mind, I've also had a lifelong fascination with grammar and spelling and a natural talent for drawing (even with an unsteady hand) and color differentiation. It wasn't like I was just okay and suddenly I was brilliant. What it does mean is that those things, to me, fall under the category of remembering how to ride a bike in the actual way that relearning to ride a bike actually isn't. 

Getting on a bike after never having done it for 5+ years proves that is a lie. I had zero muscle memory left. Same with roller skating. Total Bambi moment there...

I know I'll say again and again that, if you don't know it well now, you will eventually realize that too many people will use deceptive wording to convince you that you can be successful if you just do this or that. Yet I've seen many new writers come from a place of arrogance then disappear when their debut was a bust. If you survive the letdown again and again, what happens is your stories tend to mature. Not necessarily in subject matter-- you just start to exercise more consideration and caution. If it didn't defeat you, you might become more critical of the work and dig deeper.

It's a bumpy road and all that. Lotta writers that gave up, making for some pretty gruesome speed bumps. For me, it's a cue to slow down and reevaluate. Hopefully, you're one of the enduring ones too.

Weekend Reading

I don't normally publish three posts in one day, but I just finished reading the anthology and I wanted this post up ASAP rather than scheduling it.

After finally getting my copy of The Magical Book of Wands, I got to start my weekend off with a magical bout of reading and I'm eager to share my thoughts.

What I love most about this mix is we somehow managed to cover a lot of ground without consulting on things such as sub-themes or age group. I can't say I'd recommend the whole book for all ages, but it's certainly subgenre diverse. My own entry blends dark fantasy and sizzling romance. Yet, it does show a vast array of styles and unique voices.

You don't have to take my word for it. I have a horse in the race here, but once it's pulled from the anthology's limited time run (one year), I'm going to repackage it in my own short story collection that branches off from this entry. I really enjoyed this short trip and I'd like to write some new characters and new adventures with the dark Fae theme linking them. Short stories are nice project dividers and a different challenge altogether.

Indie authors are a hard-working lot, so we really rely on people giving us a chance to grow. Readers are in the unique position to critique and encourage and support the authors they choose. They are given agency to consume stories that may not have been out there otherwise, to not settle for what agents and publishers whittle down for the masses. That's not to say indie authors can't grow bigger, be involved in movies or TV shows. I've said it before but those who think the market was airtight before are deluded. Not to mention, an open market makes it more possible for non-readers to find some guilty pleasure and change that.

I can't say enough how proud I am to be an author. Someday I'll wrap my head around marketing, but really, these years of writing and growing have been too amazing to fret about that. I try to read my stories dispassionately but I get sucked in again and again. Not because I wrote them even. I don't always like myself very much. Even when I try to hate myself, I look at what I've done and say 'damn, chick, you're the shit.' These stories consistently resonate with themes I love, games and books and movies and dreams that have had an impact on me. Stories written by me that I can still be surprised by.

I'm seriously in danger of tooting my own horn, but what I really want to talk about is the anthology line-up. I'll give you a short run of what to expect in my own words. Some might be easier to sum up than others. Let's give it a go!

The Enchanted Sword/ Raven M. Williams: A quick twist on Cinderella. Ashby is a young boy at the mercy of his wicked stepbrothers, trying to protect his father's legacy, all while charming a princess.

The Wand of Luminance/ Rick Haynes: An old wizard spends decades of his life patiently repenting for his crime against a goddess. He is determined to return something of hers, no matter the cost.

Gretel's Gift/me: When an old man returns from his wife's funeral, the anniversary gift she never got to give him holds the key to a secret she kept.

The Dragonbone Wand/E.P. Clark: Year after year, a recruiter comes down the mountain to find the ones worthy to become dragons. Convincing a young healer to go through the test, she is drawn into the blessings and curses of what being a dragon truly entails.

The Wand Whisperer/J. Steven Young: It has always been believed there is more to magic than a wizard choosing a wand. When a bumbling wizard discovers he can hear the voices of the wands, he learns that wands have more influence than anyone thought possible.

An Ill Wind/Devorah Fox: A young woman returns to her home after a hurricane tears her city apart. When she finds a box containing a neighbor's effects, she discovers that kindness contains its own magic.

A Wand Needs a Witch/Victoria Raschke: An accomplished magician, remembering his mother's words when he first discovers the wand that had so much impact on his life, takes on three young sisters who have the potential to be great witches someday.

The Keeper of Callister Space/Shakyra Dunn: Two sisters stumble on the journal of a mysterious witch making a bold claim. Curiosity wins over practicality as they brave dangers to find out if the claim is true.

The Long Way Home/Guy Donovan: U.S. history meets spectacular fantasy as a man journals his struggle from orphaned laborer to hard-working inventor that discovers a secret... and struggles with the burden of it.

Magen/Edward Buatois: Rylen is marked as the typical goth weirdo with a hobby for witchcraft. His practical older sister, Naia, raised him but tires of his passive attitude towards being bullied and his delusion about the existence of magic. When they are violently separated, Rylen meets an elf woman who seems eager to help him find his sister even though they don't speak a common language.

Spellbinders: Judas Mirror/ Bryan Rainey: In a world parallel to our own, magic is par for the course. Yet when a dinner between a newlywed couple goes sour after an attempted murder, the aftermath is anything but usual.

The Smallest Spark/Nils Nisse Visser: It's a sci-fi dystopia where names are meaningless strings of numbers and colored marks are rewards and punishments on the spreadsheet of life. A grandmother (Jill) remembers a time when nature was green and renewable and wonders if all that waits for her granddaughter (Sally) is a brown, poisoned future. Although books are forbidden, one of the gifts she can give her daughter are the remembered fairy-tales of her youth. But perhaps there is more after all.

----------

It's a good exercise, throwing out some hooks for these stories. As you can see, it's a very eclectic mix of fantasy and written from many points of view at that. I truly enjoyed finally being able to read through these. It's been in the works over the course of a full year, everyone turning these in for publication.

A thanks is in order, of course, for Raven M. Williams, who led the charge and consulted with us via group communications concerning cover design, information gathering and ultimately, the formatting. She also runs a Mystic Realms Curio Shop and writes her own novels while creating jewelry inspired by her books, aside from running yearly anthologies. Another multi-tasker like myself, so I know the struggle and commend her for all the hard work.

Feel free to preorder The Magical Book of Wands, available October 31, and check out these 12 short stories. You'll find links to these authors and you can find these authors and more available for Virtual FantasyCon (November 4-10), an annual FaceBook event gathering where you can find great fantasy authors and interact with them.

For any of my author friends, the cut-off date for being a participating author has passed this year, but if you're interested in being on future rosters, there is no cost to join unless you choose Option 2, which just adds your discounted books to a vendor section for more exposure. Authors and readers alike can always get more details from the VFC Reader's Corner, a public group on FaceBook.

Upcoming Anthology: The Magical Book of Wands

In case you're not hip. myself and 11 other talented fantasy authors have teamed up to contribute our short stories to an anthology with the theme of 'wands'. At this point, I don't have the actual order the stories are compiled in but I do have the author and story names to share with you.

The Tiniest Spark - Nils Visser

Spellbinders: Judas Mirror - Bryan Rainey

Magen - Edward Buatois

The Long Way Home - Guy Donovan

The Keeper of Callister Space - Shakyra Dunn

A Wand Needs a Witch - Victoria Raschke

An Ill Wind - Devorah Fox

The Wand Whisperer- J Steven Tasicas-Young

The Dragonbone Wand- Ellen Pedigo Clark

Gretel's Gift - Krista Gossett

The Wand of Luminance - Rick Haynes

The Enchanted Sword - Raven M. Williams

As far as I know, this is the final roster. The anthology will be up for preorder soon, to be released October 31st. There will be both paperback and digital versions available. Remember, these anthologies are only available for one year. After that, permissions are released back to the original authors for us to choose a more permanent home. Many of these are spin-offs of the authors' series but some are standalone entries. It's a great way to get a huge bargain and decide if you'd like to see more from indie authors.

I'll be excited to post more teasers and information as they become available. I will be posting across many accounts, but if you have questions about the anthology, contact me via email, comment or PM and I'll do my best to answer it.

Mark your calendars for October 31st!

When We Look For Advice, We Aren't Looking for 'Experts'

If just looking for experts in a field was a surefire way to be like them, to have just a little taste of their success or find the perfect method. Yet pour through their blogs, videos and podcasts and even those who aren't selling pills, webinars and their time/expertise (the ones with freebies) are often dishonest, if only because they don't mention one thing at some point.

They honestly have no clue how they made it.

Each of them spout hard work, opportunities, but again-- if they don't throw luck in there, it's not quite honest.

Fans could easily tell you what they like about your work. Trolls can tell you why they dislike it. Between those extremes, you may get a more level-headed assessment but that doesn't mean you'll find the definitive answer there.

Now, I didn't go looking for the magic pill to write this. Maybe ten or fifteen years ago, I sought out this elusive magic and learned that even when something works, it may not work again or time will alter how something affects you. Adaptability and personal tolerance are factors, not just chemically, but physically, mentally, emotionally. If you have a doctor/friend/guru that truly cares about you, you'll face several adjustments to your journey or need a new mentor altogether when you feel they're just not jibing with what you need. You may need help, you may need isolation and reflection. 

I did go hunting for current videos/blogs/etc. offering advice. It wasn't so much to find something new to try. More often than not, they're echoes of each other, but if you're lucky you might find one using a unique voice or just a little tweak from what you've tried, something that might actually be the breakthrough in your doubts that keeps you going. 

When we look for advice, sometimes we're just trying to touch base with parts of ourselves buried under a muck of other priorities. We're looking for the meditation to find what we want to be doing. Some of us are fine with delving into fiction and wandering until we stumble on what we didn't know we were looking for. I have the habit of looking for non-fiction articles, a quick fix before I get into creation.

This is largely why I've never taken to the 'how many books have you read in x amount of time' fad. I don't keep track and lately, I haven't read books. If I sit down to read a book, it has to be concentrated on in one sitting or a handful of days consecutively or it gets lost when my brain discards it in favor of what it thinks it needs to work. Reading, as a writer, is important. However, the marathons aren't the only efforts that count. Look at track events in the Olympics that are done in the blink of an eye. There are years of discipline jammed into small parcels. It's a great place to learn how to condense big ideas.

While I do look at novels for methods of the long game, I always feel my attention is engaged more when authors aren't aiming for high word counts with poetry and filler. It's the kind of author I aim to be now. However, I also like to write those detail-heavy stories (romance is one such place that uses this) that let you exercise your ego and penchant for observing and capturing every detail. I sometimes read what I'm not at all fond of just to assess why I don't. It's easy to write what you don't want to read when you don't make the conscious effort to avoid it. Your brain just sometimes flows with the familiar, not whether you should or shouldn't, but you can always train your brain to pick up on it later.

Yeah, I could write a blue streak about why women are drawn to 'romantic detail'. The gist of it being that many females are more biologically attuned to haptic stimulation, and any pursuit that simulates control over touch can be not just an aphrodisiac, but a high level mental stimulus. This is also connected to why women tend to be drawn to repetition (puzzle and simulation games, 'you've read one romance, you've read them all.'). I wouldn't say it's a rule, all you 'not one of those women', however, it's a fascinating read in female psychology how sex, for women, isn't always just about sex. Even being a non-traditional female, it turns out I do share and utilize feminine-dominant traits and I'm not at all ashamed of that. I'd love to go into this subject someday but this isn't the day.

'Experts' aren't the only ones with insight, is what I'm getting at. I'm no self-proclaimed sexpert or psychologist but I bet you could pick anyone's brain on something they've been intrigued about and come up some more unique takes on your theme involving it. Look for stimulus. It's amazing for writer's block too.

In the Land of Beta

I consider myself very lucky here, but I have yet to read for someone where I was devastated that it was a disaster or I didn't like it. I would say I'm careful about vetting but generally, I'll pick someone's request based on 'this is my genre, this-many words, and here's a one sentence description.' That is a huge gamble, but I also know how frustrating it is for writers when they hear crickets instead of interest, so sometimes I just go with my gut.

My latest beta read was a middle-grade science fiction novel by Jill Creech Bauer. Now, usually I stick to a critique, but when I feel a connection to the story I sometimes go ahead and play content editor and really get into scene order and overall style. In this case, I went all out and threw in a six-page assessment-- this isn't something I normally do since it's above and beyond. I would certainly charge for content, copy, and proofreading work, but sometimes I like to show off my chops and build a solid relationship with a writer instead of hedging on what falls under 'free work.'

This is a very important distinction. Artists and writers are indeed open to windows of generosity, but it has to come from our own desire to do so. It's almost never okay to ask someone to 'do them a favor'. Number one, it eliminates the ability to enjoy surprising someone with the extra effort when it's expected. Number two, we often work in our 'good Samaritan' bursts in the lulls of big projects. Our windows sometimes close at the end of this effort and only open again after another long, grueling session in our own aspirations.

I always consider it a success when I get back a reply that they loved my effort and have more that I can look at if I would like to read more. It's not a demand or a scheduled proposition, but it is an open invitation to continue the good rapport. This is a good way to get into my address book. It might take 3, 6, 9 months for me to get back to them, but they also understand this as creators themselves and often have a great memory for the experience and are genuinely grateful for the interest.

I'm juggling some concept building for my UnQuadrilogy while I'm poring over a screenplay for another established writer, but as I tell other writers all the time-- I do not expect reciprocation for helping with their work. I'm also not seeking to put other fine editors out of work by extending my availability. For me, this is a superb chance to help people past the blind spots in their work and look more keenly at the blind spots I have for my own. This isn't one-sided by any means, and it's even uplifting to do something kind without keeping count. I often see techniques that I haven't thought about using myself, so it absolutely does pay into my own work in that respect. 

Also, it's hidden treasure. This isn't a mainstream book/work that everyone is talking about (yet). I'm getting first dibs and real input and insight. I get to feel this secret hope that they DO find commercial success and that I get the bragging rights of working with talented people. Yes, I am a 'talented people' but they say it's lonely at the top. I'm not sure I could be content just getting to the top without using that fortune to help others. Who knows-- maybe they'll need a good assistant/editor/artist and think of me first. Maybe they'll forget me-- again, if I did this with any expectations, I'm doing it wrong, but it also doesn't hurt to dream of the possibilities. Right now, I love the social interactions, the boost of learning and growth, and the hope of what I am capable of.

This was never about fame, but fulfillment. If fortune could come without fame, I would take that too. But even in this stage where I just quietly plug away and test every pond for magical waters, there's simply no downside to doing what I'm good at. When you're in better health than you've been in a decade (mentally, physically, emotionally) and you're taking creative risks to learn your potential, it's humbling, amazing, and frightening. My grind isn't a 9-5 with insurance and a stable paycheck. As much as I miss the security, it was a dead-end misery that I failed at again and again.

And holy hells, I got my nephews interested in reading! I gave them my gaming enthusiasm but reading was a lost cause until I started writing. Being able to tell them about amazing books and the delights of tapping into their own imagination has been another great way to interact. They are very visual still so I love finding interesting science videos for us to watch together, but getting them interested in reading is no mean feat!

The Thrill of Discovery

I don't look at reviews. Well, as of now, I don't have any, but I don't look at ANY book reviews. In this day and age, they're little more than ego-strokers and, having been in writing groups and poring through pages, most reviews are useless, solicited and even paid for. Very few of them even say anything that might be helpful to decide and, quite frankly...

I don't give a fuck.

There is not a single book I've read that was ever gotten on a recommendation or a review or some mainstream ass grab. Discovery has been VERY integral in finding the gems in my life.

Garth Nix's Old Kingdom Trilogy was a book that my friend Emily tossed at me that she got from who-knows-where. We were little kleptos back then so she probably lifted it from a bookstore.

Harry Potter? No clue what it was until I saw the first movie and fell in love. Even though I enjoyed the whole series in parts, nothing really beats the first two books and movies for me. The young bright eyed Harry is still my favorite. The initial whimsy beats out all the attempt at darkening the plot.

Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Found Queen of the Damned in my dad's girlfriend's book collection when she moved in. 

Guy Gavriel Kay's The Summer Tree. In my parent's book collection although neither could say where they got it.

Rand and Robyn Miller (Myst/Riven). Yup, played the million disc PS1 version of Riven and had to find the books.

Dark Tower series? Stayed with my mom one summer and decided to rob one of the yard-sale books she used to prop up her wobbly bed frame. This one happened to contain the Sisters of Eluria short story.

I could probably go on and on, just sitting on my bed and squinting to look at my book collection on the other side of my room, but I believe you get the gist of it. Some of us discovery junkies still exist. We still troll libraries, close our eyes and play Pin the Tail on the Donkey in the bookstore, find some dusty book in a rummage sale. It's one of the main reasons I find it so hard to push the sale of my own books. I don't just want success or attention-- I truly want people to enjoy the thrill of discovery, to try my book on a whim.

All these summers where I could have played a video game or played outside and instead I found a world in a discovered book. I truly wish I could give that feeling to people. That they'd stop looking for guarantees, wander outside their damn niches from time to time, wander into uncharted territory and risk reading a bad book. Because yeah, there were some stinkers in there. It might not necessarily have been a bad book, could have even been popular or 'classic' but that's the beauty of literature-- it's a fickle moodlet, a place for introspection or boredom or demands or acceptance.  

So yeah, book reviews are something I will consistently ignore (although, I do crawl through ones of books I didn't enjoy because there's some sick pleasure in seeing those honest and creative bad reviews. People tend to be creative in their brutality sometimes). It's usually a tainted system no matter how much legitimate book reviewers still try to revive it.

Yes, please read my books. Constructive criticism, even more yes. But the less you know going in, the better. The less you can compare it to, the less guarantees, the better. I won't do that. It's a story and one I worked hard to write. I will write many more and they're not going to be like the others, sometimes even vastly different. I want to try new approaches, different perspectives, different moods. I want fill shelves with books that people love and hate, but still stay curious.