G. David Walker's Blog, page 9

Sleeping in Luggage Racks

A.K.A. The Best Summer of My Life

[image error]In the summer of 1982, one of my best friends and I toured with the Sky Ryders Drum & Bugle Corps out of Hutchinson, Kansas. Over the course of seven weeks, we traveled over 10,000 miles and did 33 performances, from Boston to San Diego, and Atlanta to Montreal, more than any other corps had ever done before. When we weren’t on the buses or sleeping —although those two often coincided—we were practicing, usually anywhere from six to twelve hours a day, someti...

You Might Be Closer Than You Think

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.    Thomas Edison

[image error]If you knew you would succeed, knew you would catch that dream you’ve been chasing, if you just kept trying for one more day…would you keep trying?

Of course you would.

What about one more week? A month? A year? If you knew you’d reach your dream? How long would you keep persevering if you knew, without a doubt, that success waited for you at the end of your road?

It’s a s...

Oh Words, Where Art Thou?

[image error]Back in the late 80s, I played keyboards and sang in a rock band in Las Vegas. We called ourselves “First Affair.” At our highest point, we were being billed as “The Hottest New Rock Band in Vegas!” Well, the fact that I am now a programmer working on a writing career should tell you how that ended up. Still, it was a lot of good times. We played at places like The Main Gate out by Nellis Air Force Base, and the legendary Moby Grape on Tropicana, neither of which is around anymore. This old s...

They Said WHAT About My Book?

[image error]I once came across an author/reviewer “disagreement” over the reviewer’s assessment of the author’s book. It appeared the author did not agree with the reviewer’s comments about the book, and decided to post on the reviewer’s website her opinion of his review. What followed was an epic thread that quickly went viral (in reading and writing circles), as people posted and reposted the link, and more people added their own two-cents worth regarding the author’s attitude. Seeing the piling on tha...

What’s a Razor?

[image error]Once, I was working on a scene in Soul of Power, and I was thinking of how to describe a certain creature’s claws. Although a bit clichéd, I briefly considered using the phrase “razor sharp.” Then it occurred to me: the Jaben’s Rift trilogy is set in a completely different world. Although certain words and phrases are almost required in fantasy (e.g. swords, blade, staff, etc…), I started wondering about whether or not my character would even know what a razor was. If not, and if I was in tha...