Shawn D. Robertson's Blog, page 2

Shawn, why is it so small?

“Why so small,” I hear all the time. My stories … I’m talking about my stories!

Seriously, it has been asked (on more than one occasion), why I’ve chosen to release a series of short stories, as opposed to full novel, as my debut effort.

Well, it’s no secret that I’ve chosen to go self-published. And I have a day job. I also have an amazing woman in my life, whom I put before all things–yes, even before my writing. Jenn keeps me focused, though. She’s the place of peace from which I write dark shit.

Anyway, with a day job and a wonderful home life, writing doesn’t come quickly. As many of you do/did, I felt daunted by the task of writing a full-length novel while maintaining the rest of my life.

Then it hit me. Who says I have to put it out all in one piece? No-one, that’s who! So I decided to break it up.

The Soul of the Blade was conceived as a single volume, one large arc that would lead to the events of The Elrathir Cycle. But, if I did it right, I could write the story in smaller, more manageable chunks. Grimlets, if you will. (Can I copyright that?) Yes, it does have its drawbacks, which I’ll get into in a sec, but first the good parts.

From the get-go, I didn’t feel as overwhelmed anymore. I could write more freely. And when it came time for editing and revisions, holy shit was it easier than it would have been! And when I published Beware the Thorns, I felt victorious. Yeah, so it was a small victory, but it was a victory! Those of you who’ve been through the entire writing process as a self-published author, you know how important this is. It was huge, and it gave me even more motivation to keep at my craft.

And then the first reviews came, and my confidence grew. Yep, another huge thing for any author.

Okay, now for the drawbacks I mentioned. Really it’s just one big drawback. Most people want big-ass books. At least full-length stuff. Short stories have a much smaller market unless you’re an established author with a sizable base of hungry fans. I’ll be one of those someday! But I’m not yet. And so it’s hard to get reads and reviews. Still, I wouldn’t change the way I went about this even if I could.

That being said, once The Soul of the Blade is complete (and repackaged as a single volume), The Elrathir Cycle will be written as a series of several full-length novels–those stories will absolutely gain a part of their epic feel from their size! I’m just doing Soul of the Blade as a series of shorts so I can get my feet wet, begin building a fan base, and build my creative momentum.

THAT is why so small.

Who the hell is Shawn D. Robertson?

Well, that would be me. But, who am I?

I’m a writer of dark fantasy with aspirations to the realms of the grimdark. I’m also a good-hearted asshole. Yep, that’s a thing. You’ll see what I mean if you stick around.

What should you expect from me? Writing. Honesty. Yeah, that’s about it. I’m a pretty simple dude.

What should you expect from my writing? Grit and swearing? Check. Moral ambiguity? Check. A magic system that doesn’t simply operate on the “because I said so” premise? Absolutely. A world that contains a deep, layered history that actually stands as a foundation for the entire story told within it? Ohh yeah. How about a story that breeds new stories? Hell yes–I’ve got plans for several more series already percolating deep in my devious grey matter.

Seriously, I’ve worked long and hard on this world–“Ahldir” is its name–and I’ve become very proud and protective of it. And I’m not done, not by a long shot. Still, my pride doesn’t mean I can’t take criticism and take it well. I crave for people to dig into this beast and tell me, good or bad, what they think.

But if you do like what you read, expect the stories to continue on for many years to come.

Oh, and also expect me to remain an independent writer. Would I be happy if a producer offered a TV/movie adaptation of my work, or a publisher offered to distribute my work worldwide? Sure would! And I’d jump on that shit–if I retained all rights and complete creative control. If not, too bad for ’em. I’m in this to tell my tales to those who want to read them. Whatever money I make from it is all just a bonus.

This is my dream. I’m about to live it. Wanna join me?