Derek Hart's Blog, page 3

It's What I Do

Got up bright an early, went outside and worked in the yard for a few hours, before the heat and humidity knocked me out.

After a shower and a few more cups of coffee, I switched to ice water and hit the keyboard running.

Oops.  Sat staring at the screen.  Gee, that's strange.

I don't ever suffer from writer's block, because if I stall on one book, I have 15 other manuscripts I can turn to to get the creative engine running.

Yet in this case, I really wanted to work on the latest dragon book.  Hmm.

Not to waste time,  I popped into the CD player a movie soundtrack (The Mummy, by Jerry Goldsmith – great mood music).

Editing previous day's writing is a great method to start, so I did so.

Presto, told ya.

Oops.  My mind is not churning out dragons, but it's solving another plot device in Biggin Hill Manor.

Now what?

Oh well.  Giving in to where I'm going, I suddenly found myself delightfully writing……..

The lights were out.

The pub looked closed.

However, as previously instructed, the officer knocked on the front door.

He listened.

Then, quite slowly, the door opened a few inches.

"Yes?" inquired a low voice, male indeed.

"Wing Commander Ramsey Brevard," the officer said quietly.

The door opened wide.

"Do come in, sir," the unidentified man said quite warmly.

Ramsey Brevard stepped inside, shaking the chill from his shoulders.  His greatcoat was removed without permission, but the officer didn't seem to mind.

"If you would be so kind as to have a seat by the fire, sir," his escort instructed, pointing towards the great stone fireplace.  "It won't be but a few minutes."

"Thank you," Brevard said quietly, quickly moving towards the warmth.  The flames looked very inviting.  Ramsey sat in the chair directly before the crackling fire, rubbing his hands vigorously.

"I have been instructed to pour you a measure as well, sir," the man added.

A glass of port was passed to the officer.

Brevard took a moment to take a careful look around, before he took a sip.

Delicious.

Ramsey couldn't help it.  He smacked his lips.

"My name's Quillsberry, sir," the man introduced himsel, while coming to attention.  "I'm afraid I'm out of uniform, but still under orders, sir."

Brevard smiled, but was entirely confused.

There were steps on the landing, clear and dramatic, as if someone had timed the arrival for maximum effect.

It worked.

Wing Commander Brevard came to his feet and Quillsberry backed up to stand beside him.

From the shadows emerged an elderly gentleman, hair snow white, with a wonderfully groomed matching beard.  He could easily have doubled as Santa Claus, except there was no pot belly.  In fact, the naval uniform was extremely well tailored and no matter how many years had passed, this officer was in excellent physical shape.

Ramsey Brevard came to attention.  "Sir."

The admiral chuckled and waved him off.  "Oh bother, don't be so bloody formal.  It's past midnight, after all, so no one but Quillsberry here even knows we're meeting.  Sit, sit, and finish your port."

"Thank you, sir," Brevard managed to respond.

"Sit!"

This time it wasn't a suggestion.

Brevard's butt hit the wood in an instant.

"That's better," the admiral commented, pulling up his own chair.  "Quillsberry, bring the bottle, eh, there's a good lad."

"Yes, sir, right away, sir."

"He's been with me for years now, don't know what I'd do without him," the admiral said kindly.  "Eh, Quills?"

"Yes, sir, admiral."

The admiral held out his hand.  "I am Vice-Admiral Donald Beesley, Current Head of Naval Intelligence and you are Wing Commander Ramsey Brevard."

"A pleasure to meet you, sir," Brevard said haltingly.

The admiral chuckled.  "Hear that, Quills?  He says it's a pleasure to meet me."

"Yes, sir, admiral."

"Not sure you'll be so keen after we've had a good long chat, but then you don't have much of a choice, now do you?" the admiral asked.

Brevard shook his head.  "No, sir?"

The admiral broke into laughter.  "Marvelous, so accommodating and polite.  I thought all the really polished officers were in the Royal Navy, but it seems one slipped through to the RAF."

Brevard refrained from commenting, polishing off his glass of port.

"Splendid," Admiral Beesley said, taking away the glass and handing it to Quillsberry.  "Leave us."

Quillsberry departed quietly.

Beesley yawned, but it was faked.

Brevard cocked his head slightly and crossed his arms.  He waited.

The admiral smiled and it was genuine.  "Good.  I like a man who can be truly patient.  This post is going to require lots of patience."

Brevard only nodded.

"Well, I imagine you're wondering what this is all about?"

"Yes, sir."

Working

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WRjgv62Ayc

Well, I haven't exactly been working in a coal mine, but Devo's song has been on my mind for a long time.  "Lord, I am so tired."

However, I have really been churning out the words.  Secret of the Dragon's Teeth – Book 5 is past 100 pages of draft and I'm enjoying what's been accomplished so far.  This book is the turning point in the plotline, where many of the dangling stories come together at last.  Of course, I'm still a long way from finishing, but it's coming together nicely.

It's really hot here in Atlanta and with no air conditioning, I don't venture very far from the fan or my glass of iced tea (unsweetened, please).  This weather makes for interesting times…. as I balance writing, online sites, housekeeping, running errands, and lots of other stuff.

I had two chipmunks conducting Indianapolis time trials past me earlier this morning.  They're so cute, but silly and they collide into each other, while moving at light speed.  I had no idea that those little rodents could move that fast!

Okay, back to the keyboard (coal mine).

 

Video Book Trailer

Literally for months, or maybe it was years, but whatever, for a long time, I have wanted a book trailer to promote the Dragon's Secrets series.

I finally got my wish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df3X5ww1hBQ

I'm very pleased with the final result and can't wait to do another.  Thanks to Trailer of the Stars for their excellent work and to Misty Taggart most of all, because she understood what I was looking for from the start.

Winston Churchill

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a politician, radical, soldier, artist, author, and the twentieth century's most famous and celebrated British Prime Minister.  His evocative and stirring rhetoric, employed in many famous speeches, was seen as representing the spirit of wartime Britain, and was essential to raising national morale.

Winston Churchill would lead Great Britain for most of World War 2 and Churchill's "bulldog" spirit seemed to summarize the mood of the British people during the bad times, such as Dunkirk, or the inspirational victories, such as the Battle of Britain.

To many people in Britain, Churchill's stand against Nazism, and all it represented, was why the war was being fought.  His speeches became part of legend and are often quoted to this day.

Churchill remained in London during the Blitz and regularly visited areas bombed by the Luftwaffe.  To the people of London, the Prime Minister was one of them and a man who could have removed himself from the dangers of German bombers, but refused, instead staying in London along with those who suffered.

Churchill took an active role in conducting the war, which often caused great friction with his military commanders, as well as his staunchest ally, the United States.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the perfect moderator, however, able to satisfy Churchill's need to participate in strategic decisions, while harnessing the Prime Minister's enthusiasm to positive ends.  The two world leaders became close friends over the course of the war.

Winston Churchill was also an avid reader and had a fertile imagination, which sometimes translated into outlandish and fantastic ideas for winning the ultimate victory.  However, the Prime Minister never made apologies for his creativity and vigorously defended his actions, regardless of the outcome.  Winston Churchill should be remembered for his indominatable spirit, incredible daring, and dangerous creativity.  Of course, he made mistakes, but he did so with impeccable style.

The Vision

This is a team effort.

Sure, I create the basic content, but after that, it's all about other people chipping in.  The awesome book covers are done by David Burke.  Thaddeus Osbert's image was drawn by Eric Hammond.  The financials were put together by Tony Enlow.  Our marketing and sales plan was plotted by Jodi Roth-Braun.  The editing of our content is handled by Cindy Orwig.  The IT requirements are maintained by Alex McCarthy.  The voice of Thaddeus Osbert is provided by the multi-talented Barry Burden.  There is a score of brilliant artists who have designed our action figures, scripted our video games, illustrated our graphic novels and comic books, written screenplays for movies, composed soundtracks, designed websites, and a myriad of other media and delivery systems.

In short, I couldn't have done any of this alone.  Most of these people have done these wonderful tasks, because they believe in the vision and their mission to help it all come true.  The burden is on my shoulders to deliver a company worthy of their dedication.

Now you know why I don't get much sleep.

Writing Full Time – I Wish

I have so many books ready to go, that it's driving me nuts.  These are not just in outline stage either.  Whenever I have a free moment (ha!), I try to work on one of the manuscripts.  This assumes, however, that Thaddeus Osbert won't be nearby, tapping his talons, expecting me to work on the next volume in the dragon series.

For instance, I really want to work on:

Biggin Hill Manor, my latest WWII adventure novel, set in England during 1940-41.  This is something akin to my Motor Torpedo Boat trilogy, but this time with spies and commandos.

Or

By the Moon Darkly, an adventure for all ages, also set during WWII, with twin teenage boys sent to Scotland during the Blitz, who end up never reaching their destination and instead find themselves in Occupied France!

Or

Abandoned Places, an urban fantasy novel, with a pack of urban explorers who discover far more than they bargained for.

Or

The Wreckchasers, a novel written around aviation archaeology and the location/study of airplane crash sites and wreckage all around the world.

Okay, back to the keyboard!

The Social Network

Just for a quick refresher, I thought I'd capture in one blog all the Internet links you might want to follow?

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Derek-H...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Do-You-...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thaddeu...

http://www.facebook.com/thaddeus.osbert

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/#!/ThaddeusOsbert

Red Room:

http://www.redroom.com/member/derekhart

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Amazon.com:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

YouTube:

Welcome to Derek Hart's New Blog

Greetings:

To be honest, I have avoided getting wrapped up in writing for my blog, because I've been working diligently on the latest Thaddeus Osbert adventure.  Secret of the Dragon's Teeth – Book 5, is coming along quite nicely.

However, several readers have suggested that I use my blog as a writing journal and post the process I follow.  Pretty good idea, so here goes.

I will also being posting general thoughts, ideas, observations and interesting articles/websites on occasion.

Oh, one more item of interest that will creep into this blog – our ongoing search for venture capital or angel investment.

So, here goes.