Jason Halstead's Blog, page 19

He’s Writing Again

The topic of this post makes me smile because it’s a spin off of a song by comedian Henry Phillips (“She’s Talking Again”). No, that theme doesn’t persist into the rest of this post but it still brought back some pleasant memories of the song and the time we played it on a camping trip for a friend of ours who was oblivious that the song was about her. Good times…

Now I’m switching gears and talking about writing. And writing. And writing some more. That’s what I do. I keep writing book after book. For other people that means a different thing. It means they write something and then they rewrite it. Then they rewrite it again and again. There’s a writer by the name of Jessica McHugh that I stumbled across a little while ago on Facebook who does this sort of thing. She’s quite driven, very creative, and intentionally offensive at times – but that’s part of her charm. Nonetheless every time I see her posting about rewriting something she wrote for the third, fourth, fifth, or more times I shake my head and wonder what the heck is going on in her noggin.

I’m not singling Mrs. McHugh out by any means. In fact I think her finished product is quite entertaining, if a bit unusual. She’s one of many writers that I see doing this or at least talking about doing it. Writers blog about it and quote famous and successful writers, screenwriters, producers, and editors that believe in this process. Then there’s people like me who just don’t get it.

I have a few writer friends that operate the same way I do, more or less. They don’t write as fast necessarily but the only rewriting they do is when a beta reader or an editor calls raises issues with a part. I can’t speak for them, but I write my stories the way I want them to be written. If a scene or transition isn’t working I write it the way it needs to work rather than skipping it and coming back. To me skipping something in the hopes of fixing it later is begging for a problem. Besides, if something isn’t working it might be an indicator that there’s a deeper issue at hand that needs to be resolved.

Having said that, there are times where I come up with a new twist that requires a little backtracking. I don’t consider that rewriting though – the changes are minimal and before I finish the rough draft it’s still just that, a rough draft. It’s my clay to twist and shape any way I like. Generally speaking when it comes to content editing my stories change very little from the finished rough draft to the final product. I think that’s based on how I perform the writing process from creation to completion. It doesn’t make my way better than anyone else’s though, it just makes it mine.

There are as many ways to write as there are writers. What works for me may not work for anyone else. That’s okay. If you’re a fledgling writer looking for guidance or inspiration all I can say is to try different things and use what works best for you. If you like writing your first draft on paper (shudder) and typing it up later go ahead. If you don’t, that’s fine too. My process is all about trimming off the extra time and waste when it comes to writing so I can get the product in the hands of my readers almost as fast as they want me to.

Or if you’re the type that thinks only amateurs work the way I do then I’ll smile for your benefit and move on to somebody with an open mind and a desire to succeed. I want new writers coming into the profession to be able to see posts from successful writers that don’t do it that way too. I’ve seen so many “you must rewrite” articles lately I wanted the world to know there are other ways to do things. I give props to the people with the patience and love of prose to rewrite time and again, but it’s not the only way as long as your first run doesn’t suck. Personally I think that if something doesn’t work the first time no amount of rewriting is going to make it work for me. Other people can apparently fix the problems they have, but that’s just more proof that everybody’s got their own way of doing things and none of them are right or wrong.

The one thing we all have in common, whether we write or rewrite, is the key five letters: w-r-i-t-e. So get out there and slap some words on paper, digital or otherwise. Without doing that much it doesn’t matter what kind of writer you think you are – if you’re not writing you’re not a writer.

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .

Celebrating Independence, Writer Style

In the interest of appreciating one of the many things that makes America a great country, I figured I’d do my best to capitalize on the 4th of July holiday. Capitalize – capitalism…get it? Right, moving on.

So anyhow, I thought I’d use this opportunity to talk about the book I’m writing right now. It’s called The Broken Slipper and it’s got a lot of things going on it. Terrorism, romance, idol worship, heroism, and some smut. What can I say, the main characters work hard and play hard. The story picks up a year after Forbidden Love ended. For those that read that book there may be questions about what happened afterwards. Well, this book doesn’t really answer them. It touches on the events in Forbidden Love a little, but mostly how they affected the main character of TBS (The Broken Slipper). As a mini-spoiler, the main character is really messed up.

Sarah, the main character, is a young professional trying to balance her life with her job. Not so different from most of us at one time or another. What is different is that she’s a federal agent (Homeland Defense) assigned to go undercover and investigate possible threats to the American way of life. In TBS she’s having a rough time separating who she is from who she’s pretending to be, as well as wondering what her life and her future hold for her. Is her patriotism strong enough to push aside her personal wants and needs? Your guess is as good as mine – but I promise if you read the books we’ll find out together.

She has a partner this time, but her partner’s still wet behind the ears. They’re all alone and stranded in suburbia while special agent Sarah Ford, aka down on her her luck make up artist Misty West, has to infiltrate a company with suspicious finances and some questionable ties to foreign entities. The company is Digital Treasures, run by Rodney and Christine “Cindy” Drake. Long time readers might recognize those names from another stand alone book I wrote many years ago, Sex Sells. I’ve had many requests to bring them back and it just so happened this was a perfect opportunity. So, I did!

Rod and Cindy run Digital Treasures, an adult entertainment company that specializes in exhibitionism and voyeurism – and they insist they are the most ethical company of their kind in existence.  But how could I turn Rodney and Cindy into terrorists or traitors? Well who said I did? Or didn’t, for that matter. You’ll have to read the book when it’s finished to find out. I will say that it’s been a lot of fun writing it and following Sarah from one misadventure and confusing emotional crisis to the next. And I promise there will be fireworks at the end to.

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .

Chasing the Dragon

Long time fans might wonder what’s the matter with me. June has come and nearly gone and I didn’t release a book! Oh sure, I put two out a month or two back, but this just isn’t like me. Is something wrong? Have I been caught up in a freak incident with a turnstyle trying get into a zoo that’s left me broken and hospitalized?

Well rest assured, everything is working perfectly fine over here. That’s a blessing in itself since I’m still waiting for health insurance to kick in at my new day job! And since you’re curious, the new job is going extremely well, although it has kept me quite busy. And that, as well as it being summer, is the best explanation I can give as to why there’s been no new release in June. Until now.

That’s right, Chasing the Dragon, book 2 in my Order of the Dragon trilogy, is out and available! It picks up immediately where Isle of the Ape left off and continues to share the exploits and troubles of Alto, Patrina, Garrick, Mordrim, and the others. This time they’ve got to head back south to investigate the danger that Alto unwittingly led his sister into. And trust me, it’s nothing but bad news all around. There’s subterfuge, betrayal, poison, swamps filled with ravenous monsters, and enough bad luck to go around several times over. In other words, it’s a lot of fun!

Since it’s early and I haven’t woken up yet, I’ll leave you with the blurb, cover, and the ability to go and find out more about it on your own. If you haven’t picked up Isle of the Ape yet, I recommend reading that first for the back story. Then again, it might be best to start with my Blades of Leander trilogy since that started the epic series starring Alto and friends off. And why not, Child of Fate, book 1 in the Blades of Leander trilogy, is free on Amazon in the US these days!

Defeating the dragon scattered her armies to the holes of the earth. There the evil forces waited, seeking the fall of the champion that had taken their deity from them. Alto had proven himself too strong a foe to confront full on, but he had also proven to be a man with weaknesses.

Alto must put aside his desire for peace when he learns that he himself has delivered his sister into the hands of his enemy. With the help of friends to stubborn to abandon him he will venture into the heart of a strange land filled with people who care little for his deeds. To save the lives of thousands he must put aside his desire for peace and seek out the stronghold of his enemy.

Yet the ghosts of the past have little regard for the trials and tribulations of the victors. Out of chaos and disorder a new power seeks to rise up while an old foe has become more bitter. To what lengths will the Order of the Dragon go to slake their thirst for revenge?

Amazon

Amazon UK

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

iTunes and Sony will be a couple of weeks away

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .

One Down, Eleven to Go

I’m talking about months of the year. My friend and business partner, J.E. Taylor, was kind enough to send along a link to me yesterday that left me with some questions and a general warm and fuzzy feeling. No, it didn’t show any pictures of puppies or strippers (or strippers holding puppies – but that’s another blog post altogether). It showed a list of the top 100 Indie writers for the month of May, 2013 (Year of the Indie, May 2013). Yep, you guessed it, I made the list at a resounding #77.

77 out of 100. Whoopee, right? Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know a lot of things about the list, in fact. Is it based on volume sold (not given away), revenue made, or some other criteria I’m unaware of. And for that matter, where’d the numbers come from (meaning – how’d they get them)? For a sample of my work the post has Ice Princess listed, which is the second book in my Wanted series. Currently Ice Princess and Wanted sales in general are down compared to some of my other books (my Voidhawk series and Blades of Leander series, in particular). But that’s not the point, is it?

I believe she has listed around 3,111 books sold, which seems to indicate that’s how the list is populated. That’s my Amazon number (amongst the various US, UK, CA, DE, etc. locations) and doesn’t include other sources. To get inside the top 50 it looks like sales have to exceed 10k. To get near the top? Well over 100k. Although they’re only making $.35 / book (off a $.99 price), so nyah. Okay, .35 * 100,000 = $35,000. According to the chart I’m averaging out at $2.5 (off a $3.99 price) * 3,111 = $7.777.00. Well, I’m here to say that just ain’t true. There are discounts and the fact that most of my books don’t sell for $3.99 even at full price.

So the next question is top 100 out of how many? I have no freaking clue. Conservatively I’d estimate there are probably well over 10,000 independent writers on Amazon. Truthfully, I suspect there are at least 2x – 5x that many, but I have no way of knowing (if anybody else does, please share!). So that strokes my ego a bit.

But in spite of all of those groovy guesstimated stats my sales are still slumping. Ever since March every month is a little lower. My answer is to keep my stick on the ice and skate harder. That means work harder for anyone not from Canada, Michigan, or a place that appreciates hockey. To that end I’ve got Chasing the Dragon coming out in a matter of days and I’m hard at work on The Broken Slipper for a release hopefully in mid to late July.

Chasing the Dragon, for the young and impressionable readers just coming to my blog, is the second book in my Order of the Dragon fantasy trilogy. The Order of the Dragon is a sequel in itself to the Blades of Leander fantasy trilogy. They are books set for any young adult to adult and take on the sword and sorcery fantasy genre full force. Wizards, princesses, dragons, goblins, trolls, giants— you name it, these books embrace it. Although I throw some quirks into the genre as well, including a bazaar troll shaman of mysterious origin and personality that seems to have befriended the main characters. Or at least he tries to keep them from getting bashed too often.

The Broken Slipper, for the young and impressionable, is not for the young and impressionable. It’s book two in my Homeland series and it’s very much an adult oriented book. We’re talking adult themes, adult content, and adult imagery. Heck, it even centers around the adult film / media industry this time around! If that isn’t enough of a clue, it also reintroduces the main characters from my standalone book, Sex Sells. So yeah, read this one when you’ve got some alone time away from the kids – or when you’re looking for a little inspiration to liven up an otherwise dull evening with the significant other.

The Broken Slipper isn’t all about sex. Far from it! It’s about the main character, Special Agent Sarah Ford, and the personal challenges she’s facing trying to recover from her last case (book one in the Homeland series, Forbidden Love) and to figure out what she really wants out of her life. In the meantime she’s also trying to help figure out what sort of illegal activity is being planned and what she can do to stop it. It’s a busy book with a lot going on and I’m having an absolute thrill writing it. Not that kind of thrill either…or at least not much.

Anyhow, my new goal is to try and hit 11 more months of making the top 100. It’s ambitious and probably not going to go well for me given my dipping sales, but I love a challenge!

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .

 

Listen! Did you See What’s New?

Ever have that book that you just can’t put down? Even though you’re running late for work, an appointment, a trip to the bar with friends, a movie, or maybe even a date with a stripper? Well I’ve got great news for you – I found a solution!

Audiobooks. Duh duh dun!

You just hop in the car and load up the audiobook in question to start up where you left off so you don’t miss out. Or maybe you have trouble reading for a variety of reasons (but somehow still follow my blog… I admire your dedication). Audiobooks are the answer for that as well. And, if just so happens, I have an audiobook available for your aural pleasure. Wanted, my first major hit on Amazon, is now available as an audiobook. On Amazon, of course, but also at audible.com, iTunes, and other audiobook vendors as their systems update. And it goes without saying that when you pick up your data (whether she’s a stripper or otherwise), wow is she going to impressed with your choice of listening material!

Wanted was narrated by a man by the name of James Kilavey, a veteran of many audiobooks and acting efforts over the years. Mr. Kilavey brought his talent and a wealth of experience to the project that I, as a first time audiobook creator, really appreciated. He sounds pretty darn good too, so check it out. We’re already hard at work on book two in the Wanted series as well (Ice Princess). It takes a few months to get everything worked out right, but keep checking back for updates.

Next up for our mutual aural pleasure will be The Lost Girls, narrated by Kate Udall. That one’s a few weeks out yet, but Kate blew me away with her performance. She’s had training and experience as actress on television and film as well, so it’s guaranteed to be a success with professionals like these guys working with me.

Sadly, I can’t come up with a reason to use the phrase “aural pleasures” again. Some wordsmith I am! Ah well, go ahead and check out Wanted, you can get it on disc or via download to your favorite listening device. And thanks for listening, reading, and supporting me!

 

Wanted, post-apocalyptic science fiction by Jason Halstead

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .

 

 

I Wasn’t Finished With That!

Normally I’m begging the waiter to take the plate away so I don’t keep munching on the side dishes I didn’t want or need in the first place. It’s hard work trying to maintain my 6′ 1″ 230lb body for bikini season. I look terrible (and hairy) in a skirt too.

We’ll all breathe a sigh of relief to know this blog post has nothing to do with going to the beach, eating, or wondering if I can fit into my wife’s heels (I’m positive I can’t even though I’ve never tried). Instead I’m here to share an idea that came out of the blue and hit me so hard in the side of the head I knew she was back.

I thought I was done with her. She’d tormented me for a couple of years and demanded I write book after book about her. She’d abuse me verbally (mentally?) and make me glad that I couldn’t run into her in a dark alley. I still avoided the dark alleys just in case, she was that dangerous. And now it looks like she’s back for a fifth round.

Yes, my loyal fans, friends, readers, and people who feel strangely obligated to read my blog, The Lost Girls looks like it’s going to be expanded from four books to five. I haven’t even started it yet but I know one thing, somebody’s going to die. Not just a random person in a red shirt either, I mean somebody important. Heck, in book 4, Black Widow, is was only at the last moment that I managed to save Katalina from an untimely end. Considering all the luck she’s had over the years maybe this time her luck’s run out? If nothing else it would spare me these unexpected visits from her demanding I write about her next impossible adventure

But what is this one about? Well I can’t let the Kat out of the bag yet, but it’s going to be another example of good intentions gone bad. I’ve heard about a killer that is so brutal with the victims that collecting the shredded remains still leaves parts missing.

Lieutenant Katalina Wimple has moved on from active work as a Phoenix detective. She works out of the police departments PR office trying to empower women and children. It’s rewarding and doesn’t require people trying to kill her or expensive hospital bills. Life is quiet and peaceful until the killer finds someone very special to Katalina. From there he starts stalking her, moving from one innocent person to the next until he corners her.

I’m not sure when I’ll get started on it or when I’ll finish it, but if I know Katie, she won’t let me rest until the book is finished. She’s going to let me finish the one I’m on first (the sequel to Forbidden Love, which is going great, by the way), but there’s no telling how patient she’ll be beyond that. Sure, she’s mellowed and matured with age but when her friends and family are at stake there’s not much of anything in her world or any other that will stop her. We just have to figure out if she’s trying to save them, or avenge them.

Keep watching this space, my website, or my facebook page for updates on book 5 in The Lost Girls series, Fallen Angel.

 

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .

 

Cinderella Meets the Internet

My first official foray into writing a book that had more than a hint of eroticism in it came out in early 2011. The idea came out of nowhere for it and the words leapt from my fingers to the keyboard. When I was finished I was quite pleased with the result, but I was worried. I was a sci-fi and fantasy writer, did I dare write something risqué?

So I considered publishing it under a pen name. I came extremely close to doing that, but since I didn’t really know anything about publishing yet, I refrained. Instead I submitted it to a different publishing company than the one I’d been through with my mainstream books and I figured that would be good enough. They snatched it up and considered it good enough it didn’t even need editing. Imagine how excited I was by that! In hindsight, that was a sign of bad things I shouldn’t have ignored.

Sex Sells, the book I’m talking about, has never amounted to much in the way of sales. Maybe $20 a month on average. I’ve published it through my own publishing company since I retained full rights to it but even so it doesn’t exactly pay the bills. But the people that read it really like it and I have to agree with them, I think it’s a really fun book.

There’s more than just smut there too. Truth be told, there’s not much smut in it. Or at least not in the traditional sense. I consider it risqué. My wife read it and considered it soft porn. So I guess it’s going to depend on the reader’s interpretation of what’s what. Sex Sells isn’t a story about bumping uglies, it’s a story of a guy who’s one paycheck shy of being a deadbeat trying to make a living following the path of least resistance. It’s not working so well for him and he’s barely managed to keep himself from ending up broke, battered, or behind bars numerous times.

Then the guy, Rodney, stumbles across an amazing woman (Cindy). He’s pulled in by how she looks and acts, but that’s just a cover. Beneath all that is a person so captivating that he’s sucked in by her. She’s flawed and messed up in many ways, but at the same time she’s taking control of her life and shows him a strength to reach for the stars he’d never imagined. Sure, there’s some mighty hot scenes in the book but definitely the soft-porn variety. It has some very taboo subject lines though, exhibitionism and voyeur, as well as some domination and humiliation.

What I loved most about the story was taking this loser of a character and making him the most unlikely hero you’d ever meet. And it was completely realistic. No magic, no technology, and no artistic license involved. It could happen to anybody and I’d argue it does happen to everybody when they find that special thing inside of them that they realize is worth taking a chance on. Maybe it’s another person or maybe it’s a dream. Whatever it is, we’ve all got it in us and Rodney shows just how committed and decent he can be.

So, to me, Sex Sells is not a story about smut. It’s a story about some amazing characters that are really just everyday people like you and me. I wrote the book and I’ve had a few requests for more from those characters, but I always thought their story was told. I enjoyed them and moved on. Until now.

The new book I’m working on is very much in its infancy. I’m around 15,000 words into it and I have no idea how long it’s going to be. I’m getting worried it might turn into some of epic length, in fact, since I’m only scratching the surface of it so far. The book is untitled thus far, but I’m leaning heavily towards “The Broken Slipper.”  But what’s a slipper have to do with anything? I’ve got a vision but it’s going to take some work. Check back as I get it ironed out. Until then, rest assured that it’s not for the foot / heel fetishists out there.

Rod and Cindy are back, you see. Not as main characters but in supporting roles. The new book is focused on Special Agent Sarah Ford, aka Misty West. She’s battling a hard road to recovery from what happened in Forbidden Love and throwing herself into her work is the only thing she can find. Unfortunately for her, the way things turned out in Forbidden Love didn’t go over so well with her superiors so she doesn’t exactly have her pick of assignments. Instead she’s sent to Phoenix, Arizona and hooked up with a partner who’s federal badge has barely made it out of the box from the factory. Sarah’s mission is to go undercover and infiltrate Digital Treasures, Rod and Cindy’s company, and look into how it became so successful so fast. Especially since the FBI and IRS has some concerns relating to a few people associated with it and how the money is flowing. More importantly, who that money is going to and what it’s being used for.

Along the way Special Agent Ford has to play the role of a bitter yet hopeful Misty West. She’s not a porn star but a hopeful actress who’s seeing Digital Treasures as her last chance at breaking into the business, yet she doesn’t want to do porn. So she’s a stylist giving the girls the perfect look Cindy and Rod need for whatever the scene may be, and occasionally serving as an extra on the set when a body (fully clothed) is needed. Cindy promised her that her curiosity will get the best of her sooner or later and she’ll want to be more involved…

It’s going to be a rough ride for Sarah and I’m enjoying tagging along with her on it very much. She has to juggle her job, her history, the scars on her heart, and who she thinks she wants to be without losing herself in the whirlwind of Misty West and Digital Treasures. Toss in a naïve partner who’s too-excited by the assignment and Sarah’d be safer walking on a tightrope spanning the Grand Canyon on a windy day.

Stay tuned, I’ll be sure to share more as I come up with the fun ideas. Right now I’m trying to come up with ways to spice it up a little more and torture poor Miss Ford. I’m thinking a company trip to the AVN awards in Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel might be a nice touch…

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .

Who Likes Presents?

Silly question, I know! But it’s a good question to ask because I’m one of four authors that are part of the Indie Day Giveaway III. What the heck is that? It’s a giveaway geared for Independence Day. It’s also a play on words, since all four involved authors are indie authors. Simple, but cool. Or not nearly as clever as we think it is. Whatever the case, here’s the details:

Myself, M.R. Mathias, Moses Siregar III, and Brian Rathbone have all contributed books to go on a Kindle Fire HD or a Kindle Paperwhite for your reading pleasure. Personally I haven’t played with a Kindle Fire HD, but I do have a Kindle Fire and it’s pretty slick. My wife has a Paperwhite and it’s mighty nice too, so I recommend you check this out. The fact that it’s got some of my books preloaded on them (including Child of Fate) is just icing on the cake!

Rather than repeat what’s already available and slow you down, here’s the link to the contest that Michael Mathias put together. Heck of a guy on top of being a talented writer with an interesting past. Did I mention he also dropped everything and rushed to help the recent tornado victims get themselves dug out and and safe? Go check it out, you won’t be disappointed: http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-indie-day-giveaway-iii-win-kindle.html

As for me, I’m working on the sequel to Forbidden Love currently (I just finished Chasing the Dragon and it’s flying in a pattern waiting to land at the editor’s desk). Working hard and excited about the words spilling out of my fingers. Of course with a project like my Homeland series, “excited” can take on an entirely new meaning! Be on the lookout, I’ll be talking all about it soon enough.

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .

Be Creative – Or Else!

There’s a fine line between wage slave and creative genius. People on the wage slave line have steady jobs, reliable incomes, and all the excitement they can handle. The world needs wage slaves. Without them nothing would get accomplished. Children need stable and reliable parents. Bills need to be paid and food needs to be put on the table. In spite of the derogatory term I picked, “wage slaves,” people who conform to this type are good, necessary, and helpful people.

People on the creative genius side are often artists, poor, and they manage to have more fun than they can handle. Sometimes they’re even diagnosed as having ADHD, personality disorders, or just downright freaking wacky. Drug use happens here more often than not, as does variety of crimes. Scary, isn’t it? But without these people we wouldn’t have art, books, music, or even technology.

John Cleese, of Monty Python fame, has a 36 minute YouTube video where he tells a boatload of light bulb jokes. In between jokes he discusses creativity and how to get in the mood to be creative. More importantly, he then goes on to tell how to get out of that mood and do something about it. Watching that rang true to me with a lot of things I’ve discovered, but never found a way to put words to.

To sum it up, Mr. Cleese asserts that it takes about 90 minutes to have a good creative brainstorming session. Ninety minutes sounds great to me, but I’ve found I can do it in a lot less. It’s how I write, and how I keep the infamous “writer’s block” at bay.

For me writing is a relaxing process. It allows me to slip into a meditative or zen-like state. I start writing and let my mind go, channeling my thoughts through my fingers. Even if I’m not sure what to write, I can start writing something else (e.g. a blog post) and by the time I’ve finished it I’m ready to keep writing. It’s a drug, in fact, although it’s all natural.

I’ll go out on a limb here. Have you ever found yourself thinking about something and all of a sudden something wakes you up, so to speak? The daydream is over and you have to respond to someone that asked you a question, stop the car for a runaway cow that’s standing in the middle of the road, or answer the question from a police officer about why you have a bloody axe in your hand. All of a sudden your yanked out of that warm happy place you were just in and you really want to go back there, but in some cases you can’t even remember what it was you were thinking about. That’s the creative zone. The happy place. The mode where productivity goes to die but inspiration flourishes.

By using my fingers to think for me I trick my inspiration into being productive. I daydream while I’m recording it. Some days I’ve even had my eyelids flutter closed as I nearly fell asleep while writing. I’ll come back later to do a self edit and find some really wacky crap in those areas, but it’s never so wacky that I can’t use it. Heck, sometimes it’s the best part! It probably helps that I average 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night (sometimes less).

I honestly believe the most successful people in the world – the ones that made a living do what they enjoy and not by solely inheriting a trust fund – do so because they know how to be selectively creative, and selectively productive. They can straddle the line between creative genius and wage slave. Sure, there are hundreds or thousands of other variables out there involving luck, right place, right product, right time, and others but being able to dream up a thing and then find a way to do something with it is the key.

 

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .

Snatched by Aliens

No, I haven’t been abducted by little green men or interstellar Elvis impersonators. I’m also very happy to announce that I haven’t been probed. In fact, as far as I’m aware of, the only illegal aliens the United States can prove are those that sneak across the borders.

But I have been slowing down on my blog and writing lately. Not intentional, I assure you, but it’s a byproduct of a life gone crazy. Not crazy-bad, just hectic. Summer brings a lot more opportunities to get the family out to do things and that’s a priority for me. I like to mention how important whenever I can so that it serves as a [hopeful] deterrent to any individuals sending me suggestive emails of a non-family-oriented nature.

I’d hoped to finish up Chasing the Dragon, book 2 in my Order of the Dragon trilogy, this past weekend. It didn’t happen. I did get some work done on it and, by my approximately, I’m only about 4 chapters away from finishing it. The new goal is to finish it by the end of May for a mid June release. Cover art is proceeding concurrently with my writing.

After Chasing the Dragon I’m going to turn my sights back on my other new series, Homeland. I’ve got a lot of really great ideas for the character of the book – but I admit I’m not entirely certain what the overall plot is going to be. I will say that the character, Sarah (those who have read the first book will know who I’m talking about), is having a really hard time coming to terms with what happened in book 1. She’s questioning everything, even with the regular sessions with a therapist she had to agree to in order to keep her position and get a new case.

The new case? Well she’s going undercover to dig into some people with suspected affiliations with terrorist organizations. As for where she’s going, well, that’s the really fun part. This book is allowing me to link up a stand-alone novel I wrote a couple of years ago called Sex Sells. The characters from that book are going to be Sarah’s new employers… at least as far as they know. If you’re suddenly curious and in the mood for something that will raise the temperature in the room around you enough to make you consider loosening your clothing, check out Forbidden Love, book 1 in the Homeland series, and then Sex Sells. Then you can only imagine what sort of, ahem, things, I’ll be working on for the new book!

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .