The Magic...It's Happening...Again!

Hello, Void. It's me again. This writer who won't give up. Won't stop quacking into the vast nothingness in this nook of the internet. After my one past last year, I decided to drop another update for 2018. Will this be like last year and be a single post for the year? Probably. But I hope not, because I come bearing some news!

First, let me say that I'm now a New Yorker. I spent forty-six years living in the south. Georgia to be specific. I mentioned in my last post that my wife had accepted a position out of state and we would be moving. Our new home became Cohoes, New York on June 5 last year.

Second, last time I posted, I was unemployed (Fuck you, Mark W!), but now I can report that I'm gainfully employed and have been for nearly a year--it'll be officially a year next week.

I survived my first winter in the northeast. Yay. Hopefully, this coming winter won't be as bad as the last. At least, I've been told by others that last year's was bad. What do I know? It was my first up here!

I haven't made any close friends like I had in Georgia, but that understandable if you know me. I'm a pretty solitary individual. My wife is my closest friend. As long as I have her, I'm happy. Other friendships will develop organically and over time, so I'm not worried about that. (Although my wife seems very concerned for me that I don't have any pals to hang out with.)

Now for the news I came here to announce: I've recently been editing a story that's been lingering for a long time. It's called The Consuming Darkness. Originally, it was called The Shadow People and I've posted about it before. I'm not going to bother linking to those posts since they're peppered throughout my blog. After all, this was the first book I'd ever written; I think it was back in 2005. That's the date on the first draft I still have lying around anyway.

It was horrible. I was stoned most of the days I wrote it, so that says something there about how bad it was. I'd edited it and rewrote it before letting my wife read it. She suggested major changes, which sent me back to the drawing board yet again. Since I've made my feelings known about how much I hate the editing process, you can probably imagine why it was so easy for me to walk away from this project.

Well, after my lengthy hiatus, I've decided to buckle down and edit this damn thing into publishable shape. Or maybe I'm just masochistic; a glutton for punishment. I don't know. Anyway, I've currently edited 60 pages of the 350 page manuscript and I'm determined to try to finish it before Halloween. That's the plan anyway. Whether I accomplish my goal by that time will remain to be seen. Regardless, I'm determined to focus on completing this one book before being distracted by another.

I've also tweaked the cover to renew my enthusiasm for accomplishing the goal I've laid out and I want to share it with you now. So, without further ado, here's the cover.

I hope you (yeah you! the only person who's visited in...ages) will come back for my announcement that it's been published and maybe grab a copy. In the meantime, please, check out some of my other works. And, thanks for stopping by.

On Vacation in Colorado (with pictures)

I want to apologize to my couple of readers for not posting as frequently as I should. The reason: I'm on vacation at my in-laws' house in Colorado. I've never been to Colorado, so I'm trying to soak it all in. My in-laws have been very hospitable in this area by taking me on hikes to various mountains, buttes, streams, lakes, etc.

While here, I planned to make some progress editing one of my trunk novels, formerly titled The Shadow People, but unfortunately, that has kind of fallen by the wayside. Instead, I've been snapping pictures like crazy. If you could see the scenery here, you would probably understand. I did manage to sit down for about two hours and work on the story though. I've since renamed it Consuming Darkness since I discovered my original title was not at all unique.

Hopefully, I'll carve out some more time to work on the next book. After all, it's been hibernating in a desk drawer for about seven years! Also, it was the first novel I ever wrote. I think it will be worthy of publication after plenty of editing. Look for later posts where I will tell more about it.

Today, we are planning to visit a brewery. I can't wait! In the meantime, let me leave you with some pictures I managed to upload to the interwebs. Thanks for stopping by.

Why I Write

Because, I can!

Seriously, that's not the only reason I write. And, while there are many different reasons I write, some of them are for deep and philosophical reasons. I have a creative mind and I have to let it stretch its legs and run once in a while.

I wrote my first novel, The Shadow People, back in the early 2000s. It still hasn't seen the light of day, but I promise, I will publish it in the near future. I had such a wonderful time writing that story. It was during a time after I had just started work at a new company. I spent my lunch hour reading in a nearby Barnes & Noble. One day, I forgot to bring the book I had been reading, so I decided to pick one up off the shelf. At the time, I was a big fan of Stephen King. I found his book, On Writing, and sat down with it. I ended up buying the book before leaving the store. Stephen King made the process of writing sound like a wondrous escape from reality. Getting lost in the worlds of your imagination appealed to me at that time for reasons I can't explain. Although, if I had to guess, I would say that deep down, my subconscious knew something was amiss in my marital life before I did; my ex-wife and I were still married at the time.

As I read On Writing, a story idea began to develop in my mind. I ran with it, thinking about it as I commuted between my job and home. Shortly after finishing reading the book, I decided to sit down and write the story using King's advice. I tried committing myself to a thousand words a day, which is easier said than done, especially for a beginning writer who hasn't the discipline to follow through. There were days where I didn't write anything. But, I vowed to make them up the next time I sat down to write. And, for the most part, I did! There was one day in particular where I had five days to account for. I managed to write just over five thousand words.

Sometimes, those days of writing were a painful, grueling slog when the ideas were hard to come by. Other days, were sheer delight as the story played out in my mind like a movie and the words flowed easily. I managed to write the story. I believe it was somewhere in the neighborhood of ninety-thousand words. Then, my marital life ran aground. I put the story aside. I didn't revisit it until a year later. I found it to be atrocious when I first re-read it. So, I rewrote it. And, I rewrote it a third time.

Like I said, it hasn't seen the light of day. But, it will. Since then, I've written numerous short stories and a couple of books, some of them still in various stages of the writing/editing process. I enjoy the sensation of escaping reality to spend time in worlds I create. I enjoy the experience of walking in my characters' shoes. In addition to writing the story, I have discovered that I love the whole process of creating a book from cover to cover. Having complete creative control is invigorating. But, there's nothing like hearing the readers' reactions!

Not many writers, especially independent writers, get to enjoy this. I feel lucky, though. Most of my colleagues are also readers who have read my books. When they discuss the story with me, I'm on cloud nine. I love hearing their reactions to what I've written. Even if they don't quite like some aspect of a story, it's great to hear their feedback. Most of all, I like their differing opinions about my stories. I would say that this is the main reason I write! As long as I can keep conjuring new worlds with characters to fill them and spin an entertaining yarn, I'll continue to write. I write for the readers. The readers are my friends. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into why I write. Thanks for stopping by.