Return from Sabbatical

It's been a year since my last post. I won't offer any apologies because I just didn't feel the need to post anything. For me, blogging is not organic, it feels forced most of the time. I don't like to be forced to do anything. My job is something I'm forced to do, but that's different. Everyone needs money to pay bills and survive. My writing, however, is something I do out of passion. Even then, I only write when I feel the need to write. I don't force myself, which is a reason there is no book to publish this year (more on that a little later).

I've mentioned before that I have several hobbies. Mask-making, drawing, writing, etc. When I have news on any of these fronts, I like to share it. Well, I experimented with making a paper mache mask this year and it was quasi-successful. Enough so that I will take another stab at it now that I know what pitfalls to be aware of. That's not really why I'm writing this post though. During my break I found another interest. Something I was never passionate about before and, looking back, I kind of regret that. I discovered the world of Financial Independence and Early Retirement.

There's a lot of forums out there where people on the path to FI/RE discuss this subject and, as I read some of this stuff, I found myself intrigued. It's always been a dream of mine to be my own boss, not have to wake early to commute to a job where I sit in a cubicle and perform a task for someone else in exchange for money to get by on. This is one of the reasons I started writing years ago. However, I learned that supporting myself through writing was extremely competitive and a big gamble. For every one hundred writers, probably only a small group (enough to count on one--maybe two hands) will go on to make it a sustainable career. And by "sustainable career" I don't mean they're rolling in dough, living a life of luxury. They will, most likely, be writing day in, day out trying to hit multiple deadlines with several publishers in order to cobble together an annual income somewhere in the range of $30-$60k. I make way more than that now doing IT work and I have evenings and weekends free (time I use to pursue and indulge in my hobbies that bring me happiness). Not to mention, I'm fortunate enough to work for an employer who allows me to work from home three days a week, so I only commute twice a week. Win!

Still, I have to wake up early in order to join conference calls and do work I don't feel like doing. That may sound like a privileged person whining. I realize things could be worse for me. After all, I had worse jobs in my youth, so I am thankful for where I'm at. Yet I'm at a place in my life where I need to start planning for the future. Something I should've done when I was much younger. I don't want to do what I'm doing for the rest of my life. I'd like to have whole days free to indulge in activities I want to do. Not doing things dictated by others.

Enter FI/RE. I read many accounts of people who have managed to work hard for ten years or a slightly longer, socking away half or more of their net incomes in investment accounts, who were able to finally walk away from their jobs to enjoy early retirement. It was very much like reading the success stories of people who've managed to win the lottery but not fritter it away. For someone who hasn't been putting money away for retirement, this came as a revelation; a breath of refreshing air. So, I opened an investment account, started socking away money, changing my spending habits so I transition from consumer to saver. I've been watching my net worth rise and that builds momentum, much like the snowball effect, that keeps me on track to retire early.

So, that's what has consumed much of my year. And, since this blog is where I discuss things that interest me, I decided to write about it. Finances may or may not interest you. That's okay. I will warn you now, though: I will be writing more about my travels along the path to financial freedom in addition to my other interests: making masks, writing, etc.

As for my writing; I'm still very much plugging away at it. As a matter of fact, I've written numerous short stories this year as well as moved the progress needle on some novels I'm working on. I don't like to let a year pass without publishing something, but as I've stated many times before, I won't publish anything not up to my standards. I was hoping to publish my novel What Goes Around. Unfortunately, it hasn't met my standards, so I will need additional time to edit/rewrite it. With that being said, I decided to gather some of my shorts to produce a second anthology. I'm getting close to finishing, but I doubt I will be done before the end of the year like I'd hoped. So, it may not get published until January 2016. I already have the cover finished. It's called Negative Spaces. It contains 13 stories ranging from the bizarre to horrific. I hope you'll enjoy it when it hits virtual shelves soon. Here's a sneak peek of the cover. Also, I hope you'll return to see how I'm doing on the road to FI/RE and, most of all, I hope you get a lot of knowledge from my progress that will help you too.

Just in time for Halloween!

Halloween is nearly hear, so I decided to publish some of the short stories from my anthology. I didn't want to publish all of them in the collection. If I did that, what would be the point of buying the anthology? Since there are eight shorts in the collection, I said I would publish four of them...well, kind of.

One of those short stories has been available for some time, long before the anthology. Anyone who has been following my track record knows that tale is Hush, Hush, My Love, which is one of my favorites for several reasons. The other three that I've selected are: Footprints in the Snow, Jason's Last Wish, and Sweet Charlotte.

The reason for this is simple. I wanted to offer readers, who hadn't heard of me, a chance to sample some of my work. What better than to offer up some of my strange and disturbing short stories in time for Halloween? Of course, chances are, if you're reading this blog, you've already heard of me and probably read some of my work. If that's the case, perhaps you'll do me a solid and introduce someone new to my work. Start with baby steps. Tell them they can purchase the short stories as a trial to see if they like my writing. I'd appreciate it. Below are links to the various distributors where my stories are for sale. Thanks for stopping by!

Footprints in the Snow at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Jason's Last Wish at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Sweet Charlotte at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Resurrecting Dead Stories

I've written a lot of short stories over the years. I think some of them are exceptional and I published a few of those in An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories. As for the rest...well, some are fair and some are not very good at all. Even the bad stories, though, are still special. I spent the time to write them, after all, and burying them in a desk drawer forever just doesn't feel right to me.

You may already know that I am very close to releasing a book called The Old Royal (if not, you can find more info about it here and here). This is the story of a man who wants more than anything to become a famous writer like his idol, Roger Kurrey. In the story, I wanted to embed snippets of shorter stories to add verisimilitude to the tale of a struggling writer. To do this, I wanted to resurrect some of my older stories; those considered dead.

The bonus stories in The Old Royal are:

1. Bad Bank Heist - This story is the only one not previously written, so it can't be considered resurrected. It's simply an idea that occurred to me spontaneously during the writing process (note the cliched name).
2. Suicide Suite - Originally untitled; about a traveling salesman who wants to commit suicide, only to be interrupted.
3. Rabbit on the Run - mentioned here and here; this story has languished in the writing process for a while. I hope to release it at a later date.
4. When the Clock Strikes Three - A story that had three different plot ideas. I wrote one of them, which was horrible, but decided to pursue one of the better ideas in this book.
5. The Final Chapter - I think the concept for this story is very interesting, however, my original execution was an abysmal failure. I think I did it justice in this context.
6. The Black Talon - Originally titled As the Crow Flies, this story never got off the ground. One day, I may write the whole thing. I came up with the concept and wanted it to be a book. I think its better as a short story, though.

So, there you have it; a list of some short stories and ideas that I had originally mined earlier in my writing career only to turn out a bust. Some of them were complete failures on my part. Some were ideas that I felt passionate about writing, but never fully materialized. I think that in the context of a larger story, these will help give the reader some pleasant bonus material to read and help add to the richness of the larger story as a whole.

And, for those of you wondering about the status of The Old Royal: never fear, it's inching closer and closer to publication. I'm simply waiting on beta readers to help ferret out my mistakes. I won't release a book until I feel it's ready and by ready, I mean that I want it to be the best that it can possibly be. So, I hope you keep checking back for the big release which should be coming very soon. I also hope you'll pick up a copy and let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping by!

My anthology: now available in paperback

For anyone interested in getting a paperback edition of my anthology, An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories, you are in luck! I recently published it through CreateSpace as a paperback. It's available right here.

Below are some of the details to whet your appetite:

Page Count: 152
Category: Fiction / Short Stories
Trim Size: 5" x 8"
Synopsis:

From the mind of J.R. McLemore come eight strange and disturbing short stories:
When the Dead Whisper - If the dead had a secret, would you want to hear it?
Jason's Last Wish - Can a cancer-stricken boy get a second chance at life?
Western Justice - Do the sins of our fathers come back to haunt us?
Hush, Hush, My Love - When a relationship sours, is it wise to look for love elsewhere?
Paranoia - Is a retired cop suffering from severe paranoia, or something else?
Sweet Charlotte - Can someone save Charlotte from her abductor before it's too late?
The Show Must Go On - Can a death-row inmate's nightmares give us a glimpse into the hereafter?
Footprints in the Snow - Can a young man learn a life-altering lesson on a rural stretch of road?

Majoring in Murder will be available in paperback soon. Watch for it!

Another title released!

I released a collection of short stories today that I've been working on polishing for quite some time. Well, I finally finished. This new book is called An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories, which you can see in the sidebar to the right. It contains 8 short stories that I hope will stir your imagination and emotions. Here is the jacket description:

"From the mind of J.R. McLemore come eight strange and disturbing short stories:
When the Dead Whisper - If the dead had a secret, would you want to hear it?
Jason's Last Wish - Can a cancer-stricken boy get a second chance at life?
Western Justice - Do the sins of our fathers come back to haunt us?
Hush, Hush, My Love - When a relationship sours, is it wise to look for love elsewhere?
Paranoia - Is a retired cop suffering from severe paranoia, or something else?
Sweet Charlotte - Can someone save Charlotte from her abductor before it's too late?
The Show Must Go On - Can a death-row inmate's nightmares give us a glimpse into the hereafter?
Footprints in the Snow - Can a young man learn a life-altering lesson on a rural stretch of road?"

At the time of this blog post, it is available on Smashwords here. I've uploaded it to Amazon and B&N, but it is still in the approval process by those distributors. When it is available there, I will update the links in the sidebar, on my website, and everywhere else I can think of.

So, if you've come by, stopped and read this blog, I do hope you'll get a copy of my book. I doubt you'll be sorry you did. Also, for $2.99, it's less than a single copy of most popular magazines.

Oh, one more thing, if you do happen to get a copy, please rate and/or write a review for it. It doesn't matter if you hate it, leaving a review makes my day. Thanks for stopping by.

Coming soon!

I've been busy assembling an anthology of my best short stories which I will self-publish very soon. I handed the stories over to my wife last week to proof for me (did I mention she's an English professor? No? Well, she is and the best editor and all-around-everything I know of). Well, she handed them back to me yesterday and I sat down to have a look at what she found. Wow! There was quite a bit of editorial marks on most of the pages. Keep in mind, many of these stories had already been through a rigorous editorial process (some of them went through nine iterations of extensive editing with feedback from several beta readers), yet she still made corrections.

This proves a couple of points:

1. You can't please all of the people all of the time. No matter how awesome you think your work is, there will always be someone who thinks it stinks or could be a little better. In addition to this, just know that reading/writing is very subjective. What appeals to one person isn't necessarily going to appeal to another.

2. If you want, you can practically edit a story forever in hopes that one day it will be perfect. While editing is extremely important, falling into the never-ending cycle of editing to perfection is something every writer should avoid like the plague. Falling into this trap will stop your productivity and most likely drive you mad. Besides, even the famous writers can read one of their own books after publication and find areas that they feel could be improved.

So, with that said, I am in the process of going through the story lineup and addressing the editorial remarks my wife made. It shouldn't take me long and I will, of course, post another blog when I am ready to release the book on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. By the way, in case I haven't told you what the name of the book is (my memory is getting worse in my later years), this is it: An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories.

I hope you'll buy a copy, but more importantly, I hope you'll enjoy it!