Jeff Wheeler's Blog, page 12

Welcome to my imagination

 

My dream of becoming a published author will be fulfilled with 47North’s re-launch of the Muirwood Trilogy tomorrow, January 15th, and their subsequent launch of my newest book Fireblood on Feb 5th. Some of you have been with me from the beginning. Some will start to learn this week about all the worlds I’ve created. Here are some quick ways to catch up:

 

Why I write: read “A Manifesto on Virtue” (http://www.jeff-wheeler.com/?p=283). This one was published January 7, 2012 just ten days before my books started going viral through Kindle. Coincidence? Most likely…yes. I had also just joined the Kindle Direct Program and gave away Wretched of Muirwood as a freebie and had over 10,000 downloads in two days.
How I became an author: read my Bio page here (http://www.jeff-wheeler.com/?page_id=358). It’s quite a story. It’s even a true story.
Why do I tweet #Quotes from #Vizzini? I collect wisdom quotes and have for years. I’m always looking for new pearls which I can incorporate into my writing and, more importantly, improve myself. When I started my Twitter account (@muirwoodwheeler), I decided early on that I’d pass on the quotes from the ancients instead of tweeting about current events (except for a few topics like Star Wars). Why Vizzini? See this posting: http://www.jeff-wheeler.com/?p=340
Do I really write one night a week? Yes. Sometimes the day of the week changes, but it’s consistently one night a week. I can write a complete chapter in about 2.5 hours. Does that mean I could write four chapters in a day if I wanted to? Not likely. With a full-time job, a wife and five kids, and a pretty demanding church responsibility, I have very little free time. I don’t watch TV (well, except for Phineas and Ferb re-runs). I only watch movies occasionally in the theater and only at home when doing laundry. When I write, I’m pretty much an example of what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes as ‘flow’ (http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html ). The chapters come out pretty good the first time and I do tweak them, but not a lot of re-writing. I’m always world-building in my head, especially during my commute, and crafting the next chapters in advance so that when it’s writing time, I get ‘write’ to business (did I mention yet that I like puns?).
Where did I learn to write? Though I’ve been writing since high school and took creative writing classes at San Jose State University, I feel I really learned the craft though publishing Deep Magic for four years. My friends and I created Deep Magic to help aspiring authors get published and were joined by many faithful and talented volunteers. I was tutored by some of the best in the genre and by my mentor, Sharon Kay Penman. I even interviewed George R.R. Martin before he was uber-famous (see October 2005 issue). http://www.scribd.com/deep_magic
When did I go from being self-published to finding a publisher? I was discovered by 47North’s David Pomerico in April 2012. His e-mail changed everything. I talk about the transition in my blog posting: Why the publishing industry is like Downton Abbey (http://www.jeff-wheeler.com/?p=319)

 

What I love about Amazon Publishing is the vision they have of the future. Let me try and explain it this way. Like you, I love reading. I have a Kindle in my backpack, books on CD in my Honda Pilot, and several books on my nightstand. When I get really hooked on a series though, I want to bring it everywhere but I can’t. I got my Kindle Fire a year ago. After buying the Kindle version of a book, I can also buy the Audible version for just a few dollars more (much cheaper than buying the CDs). Then I can listen to the book and read it, and it will keep track of where I am as I go back and forth, reading or listening. That’s the magic of Whispersync. And it’s not just about the device. I have the Kindle and Audible apps on my smartphone so I can keep reading or listening when I get snatches of free time. Is any other company shaping the future this way? It’s brilliant.

 

So here we are — the arrival of launch day.

 

When I was a teenager, there was a scene from the movie Back to the Future where George McFly gets copies of his first book and exclaims to his son, “Like I’ve always told you, you put your mind to it, you can accomplish *anything*.” I think George McFly had it right. Holding the new copies in my hand tonight, I can hardly describe how it feels. It’s a dream come true.

 

Just want to welcome all to my imagination! I have plenty more books to write where these came from.

Origins of “The Wishing Lantern”

My first story that was ever published was “The Wishing Lantern.” It was a project from my creative writing class at San Jose State. Jerry Hannah was our instructor. I remember getting the idea over a weekend and spending a few hours on a Saturday pulling the whole thing together, writing it in one sitting. I loved how the moment just flowed, bringing the different ideas and characters together. There’s a wise and patient Ferzohg (eliminate every other letter and it spells f-r-o-g) named Hickem Tod and an ill-tempered Shimmer Faerie with a mouth full of insults called Estellionata (the name derived from Estella in Dickens’ Great Expectations, a favorite of mine). The characters practically wrote themselves. Add to that a riddle that no one could solve (not even Bilbo). After turning in the story to Mr Hannah, I remember getting it back, anxious to see his reaction. On top of the paper he wrote: “A+ you should publish this as a children’s story”

 During that semester, I was writing the first drafts of my novel Landmoor and set Wishing Lantern in that world. The Valg Mordain is a swamp in a region far away that I haven’t revealed yet. Of course, there are mention of the “Sorian” Mages and other nods as well. Back then, I used Elves. In fact, the original title of Landmoor was Elven Pride. I didn’t like it either.

I submitted Wishing Lantern to several publishers and magazines and received a host of rejection letters. But I still remember the delight when it was accepted for publishing by a regional literary newspaper in New York called The Advocate. They published it first. What a milestone.

After getting more rejections from publishers, I still desired to see it published as a children’s story and decided to try it myself. I was working night shift at Intel’s factory in Santa Clara at the time. One of my co-workers had a brother who was a fantasy artist, Randy Gallegos. One of my best friends, Jeremy, was the editor and layout guy. My other friend Brendon was our attorney. Together, we created our own publishing company, Amberlin Books. What a learning experience! We hired Randy as the artist, contracted with a printer on the east coast, and came out with our first hardcover book: The Wishing Lantern. Because of the glue they used for the cover, each copy warped visibly after they came out of the box. We had to ship it back, have the covers re-done, and then delivered back to us. What an ordeal!

The Wishing Lantern has only been available in that original hardcover since it was published in 1999.

Until now.

I’m pleased to announce, finally, a Kindle version. I still have all the original artwork on my computer and put together the layout myself. I did write a sequel to the story, many years ago, called The Ogre Tyrant. Perhaps if enough copies of the Kindle version sells, I can hire Randy Gallegos back to illustrate the sequel. We’ll see.

Enjoy! (Over the years, I have read it to many classrooms and no one has ever figured out the riddle. See if you can.)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Wishing-Lantern-ebook/dp/B00AQQSV5Y/

Entering the Hetaera’s Lair

I recently had a business trip to Malaysia. A friend of mine from work suggested that I visit the famous Snake Temple (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_Temple) in Penang. According to tradition, vipers and humans co-exist in the temple and do not harm each other. I’m terrified of snakes personally, but I thought it would be fun to visit, especially considering the chapters in Scourge of Muirwood where Lia visited the Hetaera’s Lair. As with most things, the Snake Temple did not live up to its cool reputation. With all the construction in Penang over the decades, fewer and fewer snakes have come out of the jungle to live in the temple. There were a few there, including one hanging in a tree overhead while I sipped some fresh coconut water. Most of the snakes I saw were captive, although I did get a pet an enormous yellow python and watch a worker face off with a deadly king cobra.

  

One of the interesting things about Malaysia is the mingling of religions there. Our team did a walk through the historic Khoo Kongsi temple, showing the vast Chinese heritage in Penang. We also walked from there to Little India and ate some spicy samosa from a street vendor and then visited a Hindu temple. Further on, we entered the Moslem district and I was surprised to find this design in the middle of street throughout the district.

 

 

It’s the maston square from Muirwood and it was everywhere. I didn’t invent it, though I’ve used it in my books. It’s also referred to as the “Seal of Melchizedek” and you’ll find it throughout the world and in ancient mosaics.

 

I loved how the blending of religions was demonstrated in Penang. I also loved the food! Being half-way around the world, it was neat seeing how places exist with such rich traditions and legacies which have survived for centuries. Something I learned from the snake handler is definitely going into the book I’m writing now.  I’ve made some good progress on the sequel to FIREBLOOD, which I’m half-way through now, and was able to use the long flights to write a few more chapters. Traditions, mysteries, and symbolism—great stuff for a writer to dream about!

 

Last comment—regarding works that influence us. I learned this week, quite accidentally, that an author who I admire fell from grace this year after it was revealed he made up quotes from Bob Dylan. This is Jonah Lehrer, author of a favorite of mine (HOW WE DECIDE) and how his latest book INSPIRE was pulled from the shelves because of the doctored Dylan quotes. I admitted quite openly in my author’s notes for WRETCHED OF MUIRWOOD that I’m a collector of wisdom quotes throughout history and have used them liberally through all my books. I continue to do that in my writing and most of the quotes are hundreds of years old. I do keep track of which I use and where I got them from and have even challenged readers to figure them out. I’ve also been tweeting them, one by one, through my Twitter account (@muirwoodwheeler). It’s sad to see a writer fall victim to his own success and let down so many. I wish him well and hope he works his way back because the concepts in his book are really very insightful. On the off-chance that anyone thinks I’m trying to take credit for all the inter-chapter quotes in my books…I’m not. Much wiser people than me came up with the ideas first and I try and weave them together because they meant something to me and have hopefully made me a better person. I’m happy to pass them along to others.

About the Author

While working on some content to include in my Amazon author page, I decided to write the story about how I became an author. It may be a little long, but I tried my best to tell just the important parts. I left out some fun things, like driving to San Francisco with Jeremy looking for first edition copies of Shannara books at used bookstores. You have to leave some stuff out, unfortunately. I’ll be including content from it on my Amazon page, but thought I would share the whole story here on my blog:

http://www.jeff-wheeler.com/?page_id=358

Enjoy!

I’m feeling very thoughtful and yes, giddy, as we’re three months away from the re-launch of the Muirwood Trilogy. According to Brilliance Audio, the actor for the audio book for the trilogy has been selected (Kate Rudd). I’m also expecting to see cover art for Wretched ”soon”. I’ve been hearing that word for several weeks. Soon. To quote Inigo Montoya: “You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.”

Also, hit 99 reviews on Amazon for Wretched this week! Woo hoo!

100,000 copies downloaded

August was just a busy month, but it also marks a major milestone. Near the end of the month, the 100,000th copy of Muirwood was downloaded to someone’s Kindle. Not sure who that person was or exactly when it happened, but 100,000 is a big number considering last December it was less than one thousand. When starting down the trail of self-publishing, I figured that once I had a few thousand readers, a publishing company would find me. They did, and they’ve kept me busy this last month.

 

Basically, I have four books going through the production process of publishing simultaneously. Each book in the Muirwood Trilogy has been edited, removing all those pesky typos and dyslexic moments which have eluded me over the years. My favorite typo was “gravepine” (should have been ‘grapevine’). Not sure why I couldn’t see that after reading the manuscript so many times, but I am certainly grateful for the many editors who have been poring over the books and fixing those little flaws which drive me crazy and which I cannot, for some reason, spot on my own. For others looking to self-publish, I would highly recommend paying for professional editing services. That is my biggest regret.

 

I’ve also been working with a great editor (tip of the hat to Master Chris Cerasi) who has been the development editor for my new series, Whispers of Mirrowen. Book one, Fireblood, will launch in February. Working with a dev-editor was so helpful and interesting. Through all my creative writing classes, I was told to always trim-trim-trim. What surprised me about the feedback was the need to expand in certain places to develop some characters further and expand certain critical scenes. So it required some additional writing, but I am so pleased with Chris’ advice and input. Also, I’ve seen the initial cover designs for Fireblood which made me smile for about 36 hours straight. I’ll share the cover art for all the books as soon as I am able. 47North will be sending me some copies of the book and I would like to be able to hand some out to early readers. Stay tuned.

 

There is a lot to get done before the launches in January (Muirwood) and February (Mirrowen). But I am enjoying the process and excited about having my goal and dream fulfilled in 2013. To lucky reader of copy 100,000 – thank you, whoever you are! And thanks again to all the readers who post reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy reading them and how they motivate me to continue writing, one night a week, one chapter a week. I’m already on chapter 12 of the new book. One step at a time!

Quotes from Vizzini

After I got my Twitter account, I realized that it would be very difficult for me to come up with something pithy to say in 140 characters every day or so. That’s just not me, and I’m not sure anyone really cares about my opinions on celebrity self-embarassments or tragic news stories. If you do care, just ask and I’ll let you know.

As a writer, I do love a great turn of phrase and I admire other writers who craft thoughts in such a way that makes them sizzle with depth and meaning. I have been collecting quotes since 2006 and have gathered a treasure trove of wisdom (and sometimes wise-cracks) which I wouldn’t mind sharing, one tweet at a time. I’ve decided to name them Quotes from Vizzini after a favorite character from The Princess Bride.

(Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates? Morons…)

The first quote is my personal favorite, from a Roman writer named Ovid who lived during the time of Caesar Augustus. I discovered Ovid after watching a documentary on William Shakespeare and learned that he was a source of wit and wisdom for that great writer. (Tip of the hat):

“A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow.” – Ovid

#Vizzini

Brave

 

I know some of you may be thinking this will be about the new Pixar movie “Brave”. While I’ll admit to having seen it and also admit that the lead character Merida bears many haunting similarities to Lia from Muirwood, this isn’t about the movie.

 

We just returned from a 3,800 mile round trip to South Dakota. A single van with five kids. And while someone has told me I deserve a medal of courage driving that distance with so many little ones in the car and constant potty breaks, it is still not the topic of this blog. We loved seeing Mt Rushmore and roaming the gorgeous Black Hills country. But the best part of the trip was visiting my one year-old nephew Michael and his family.

 

Little Michael, you see, has brain cancer. I’ve written before (Manifesto on Virtue) that I admire the concept of Virtus. I am so proud of my brother and sister-in-law for how they have faced this enormous challenge, and I’m so awed by my little nephew who has handled it with amazing courage and bravery. Not every person gets the humbling challenge in their life of facing their worst fears. Cancer strikes old and young. It has literally stolen his smile.

 

In my years as a church leader, I’ve seen times like this happen many times and not everyone handles it very well. Sometimes in our lives, we face knee-buckling predicaments that test the very marrow of our courage and our faith. My family will always be grateful to have been in Colorado just after Michael’s 1st birthday to share a portion of the road, if but a few steps of it, with his amazing family.

 

Here is a video a family member did to celebrate his b-day. What a hero! What a smile!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-2j49mnjQw&feature=youtu.be

 

Love ya, Tim & Liz! Hang in there!

47North contract signed!

Today I signed a publishing contract with 47North. They have acquired the rights to the Muirwood trilogy, which they will re-publish in January with new covers and better editing in print, e-book, and audio formats. The current version will remain on Amazon until they publish the new, but once they do, there will no longer be any versions sold of the original. They have also taken on my new series and will be publishing the first book of that trilogy in February. I’m thrilled to be part of the 47North family. We’re at the crossroads of great changes in the publishing industry. I couldn’t be happier to be part of it.

Also newsworthy is I finished book 1 of my new series last week. Now I’m under contract to continue writing one book a year, but it is a pace I’ve been able to keep for some time. I’ve already started on book 2 and will finish up editing book 1 this month.

Thanks to all the readers and reviewers of Muirwood who have made this possible. All those positive words and reviews written have kept a steady stream of new readers coming. I love getting e-mails and tweets from those who have finished the series as well. It really means a lot – so thank you!

Why the publishing industry is like Downton Abbey

One of my guilty pleasures lately has been Downton Abbey. I enjoy the characters, the setting, and the story. An element that strikes me is how the world of Downton changed with the onset of World War I. What was disrupted the most? The lifestyles of every character. There is a great leveling process that occurs with such turbulent transitions. A chauffeur aspires to marry the earl’s daughter. The earl’s daughter aspires to become a nurse. The world becomes topsy-turvy.

I think we are seeing such a major shift right now in the publishing industry and there are many scratching their heads trying to see where things are going. Here is an example.

To get published in the past, a writer did their best to polish a manuscript and then mail it carefully to an agent, customizing as best to that agent’s desires. Then the rejection letters start to arrive. The writer starts to send out more queries. Followed by more rejections. If the writing is good and the writer is persistent, this can go on for a long time (I’m thinking of Kathryn Stockett’s 60 rejection letters for ‘The Help’). Eventually, an agent accepts the manuscript and starts selling it to publishers. ROI analyses performed. Budgets risked. Debate and decide. Finally a decision is made and the author if offered a contract. Typically, not a good one. What other choice is there?

This almost happened to me.

Except I decided I didn’t want to do it that way. I did send out many query letters. The Muirwood Trilogy was looked at and rejected by many agents. I’ve saved them all to remind myself of the experience and how painful it was. So I started to share electronic versions of my books with family and friends. The feedback was positive and encouraging. Others wanted to read it as well. I started keeping a spreadsheet of who was asking to borrow copies. Then it happened. Not a publishing deal. An e-mail from Amazon’s Createspace with an invitation to self-publish through their services. I thought about it long and hard. Why not make the trilogy available all at once instead of having to wait a year in between? Why not? I took the bait. I published through Amazon and sent the free copies to friends and asked everyone to write reviews or tell a friend. The reviews started coming in. They were good. Progress was slow, but more people were starting to read my work. Feedback continued to arrive from total strangers who loved my writing.

Then WWI happened. Amazon launched the Kindle Direct Program. I remember getting that e-mail too, almost a year after the one I got from Createspace. Why not give away some copies to those who had Kindles? Why not allow it to be in the lending library? Why not? I gave it a try in January. It opened the floodgates. I gave away thousands of copies. I sold thousands of copies. The reviews kept coming in, connecting me with readers all over the country and all over the world. Students in Korea. Readers in Switzerland. Even the band SheDaisy loved it.

And then came the best e-mail of all. Another one by Amazon. An offer to be published by 47North, Amazon’s new fantasy and sci-fi imprint (www.amazon.com/47north). Third time’s the charm, I guess. My story is very different than other struggling writers. I did not send a query letter to 47North. I did not format the manuscript a certain way or use special paper. I didn’t attend writing conferences with speed dating sessions with agents or editors. Amazon looked at their database at what was selling by indy authors. They contacted me.

 Welcome to the future, Downton Abbey.

@muirwoodwheeler and iBookstore

Well, I’ve officially joined the Twitterverse! (thanks to @Karenof4) My twitter account is @muirwoodwheeler. I’ll be using the hashtag #muirwoodtrilogy for my tweets, so follow along and we’ll see what happens. Recently I learned that the band SHeDAISY were fans of Muirwood and even posted a blog inspired by the books.

I’m still blown away by all the nice book reviews and e-mails from fans. I have seen Muirwood mentioned by a college student from Singapore studying in Korea. I’ve been e-mailed by fans all over the country and the world. I can’t say how much it means to me.

Last but not least – the Muirwood Trilogy is back on the iBookstore for you iPad-lovers (right now). It will only be there for the rest of April. Nook as well any day now (I’ll tweet when I find it there). In May, I will probably go back to the exclusive distribution through Kindle, so get it while you can. The Kindle Direct Program is worth it! It’s a blessing to indy writers like myself. Over 80,000 copies of my books have been distributed since January. It’s still the Top Rated (#1) children’s science fiction and fantasy book on Amazon (here)