R.T. Kaelin's Blog, page 6
January 31, 2011
5 star review from Clover Hill Book Reviews
Progeny got a new review today that was rather exciting to read.
Here's a few snippets:
The whole thing is at http://cloverhillbookreviews.blogspot...
Here's a few snippets:
"Anyone who enjoys adventure stories or magical and paranormal I would suggest you give this a try. For me, Progeny is in league with both The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) and Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien) and far better than Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling) - Progeny has a wealth of depth to it that I haven't seen in many books.
From the first chapter I was completely hooked. Progeny has many layers of stories within its pages, and I found it totally awe inspiring as a read, with each character that is developed really coming to life and adding weight to the story telling.
For all of its 650+ pages, Progeny is the biggest book I've read for a while - however it is also substantial in content and storyline. I've enjoyed it immensely from start to finish and am really looking forward to whatever happens next - it's sure to be good after the high bar R.T. Kaelin has made with Progeny. "
The whole thing is at http://cloverhillbookreviews.blogspot...
January 19, 2011
More from author chat...
Since there were a bunch of good questions at the author chat going on right now at LibraryThing.com, here's one more.
It's going on until January 24th... stop by, ask a question.
This one is courtesy of reading_fox
Since I started writing, my actual reading has decreased – ironic, no?
Other authors I’ve really enjoyed: Christopher Paolini, Ken Follet, Stephen King, and some Robert Jordan. Speaking as an author – I must say the detail Jordan goes into is astounding. I would love to see his notes surrounding WOT. I know mine that I use to keep things straight are extensive; his must be a number of volumes by themself.
Regarding if I plan writing more books: Absolutely. Although, that was not the original plan. A little explanation is in order:
First, the ‘official’ title of the book is Progeny; subtitled The Children of the White Lions. That is how it is registered with Bowker (the ISBN people). Progeny is meant to be Volume 1 in a series - ask readafew about the ending...it sets up book #2 perfectly. I had thought the series would be four books when I started, but throughout revisions to the overarching plot, I am thinking it is more like five.
Progeny is a small-press book. And by small-press, I mean Terrene Press is my publishing company - I am the owner. I went through the traditional query letter process but most literary agencies were scared off at the length of the book. So, after some great advice and a lucky contact with an awesome copyeditor (great story – check my blog, I share it there), I decided to prove that Progeny was a great book that could build a fanbase. And I am glad to see the reviews that are coming in are supporting my personal belief in the story.
I had promised myself I would not write more until I saw what happened with Progeny. I essentially have been working two jobs for over a year – my ‘regular’ job as well a writing, editing, and publishing the book. However, as soon as I was done writing the Epilogue for Progeny, I just KNEW how the second book in the series was going to start. So, I started writing it. I needed to see the story continue. I had created characters that I felt deserved to see how everything played out. Oh, and I love writing. Love it.
So, here’s to hoping that Progeny is successful enough that #2 Working Title Withheld in The Children of the White Lions series can be shared with everyone. If you like the book, tell someone about it. I am keeping my fingers crossed that a national publishing house might take notice. I am doing what I can to promote it, but I am not EOS, TOR, or Knopf.
It's going on until January 24th... stop by, ask a question.
This one is courtesy of reading_fox
Other than Feist who else do you enjoy reading?
Have you got plans to write more books? Is Progeny the start of a series or does it stand alone?
Since I started writing, my actual reading has decreased – ironic, no?
Other authors I’ve really enjoyed: Christopher Paolini, Ken Follet, Stephen King, and some Robert Jordan. Speaking as an author – I must say the detail Jordan goes into is astounding. I would love to see his notes surrounding WOT. I know mine that I use to keep things straight are extensive; his must be a number of volumes by themself.
Regarding if I plan writing more books: Absolutely. Although, that was not the original plan. A little explanation is in order:
First, the ‘official’ title of the book is Progeny; subtitled The Children of the White Lions. That is how it is registered with Bowker (the ISBN people). Progeny is meant to be Volume 1 in a series - ask readafew about the ending...it sets up book #2 perfectly. I had thought the series would be four books when I started, but throughout revisions to the overarching plot, I am thinking it is more like five.
Progeny is a small-press book. And by small-press, I mean Terrene Press is my publishing company - I am the owner. I went through the traditional query letter process but most literary agencies were scared off at the length of the book. So, after some great advice and a lucky contact with an awesome copyeditor (great story – check my blog, I share it there), I decided to prove that Progeny was a great book that could build a fanbase. And I am glad to see the reviews that are coming in are supporting my personal belief in the story.
I had promised myself I would not write more until I saw what happened with Progeny. I essentially have been working two jobs for over a year – my ‘regular’ job as well a writing, editing, and publishing the book. However, as soon as I was done writing the Epilogue for Progeny, I just KNEW how the second book in the series was going to start. So, I started writing it. I needed to see the story continue. I had created characters that I felt deserved to see how everything played out. Oh, and I love writing. Love it.
So, here’s to hoping that Progeny is successful enough that #2 Working Title Withheld in The Children of the White Lions series can be shared with everyone. If you like the book, tell someone about it. I am keeping my fingers crossed that a national publishing house might take notice. I am doing what I can to promote it, but I am not EOS, TOR, or Knopf.
January 18, 2011
Author Chat at LibraryThing.com
I thought I'd share another question to the author chat going on right now at LibraryThing.com
It's going on until January 24th... stop by, ask a question.
Excellent question.
Honestly, the first idea for the Strands came to me in a dream. No joke.
I had spent a couple of months building the world, fleshing out the people, cultures, history, landscapes, etc. The one thing I kept putting off was how I wanted magic to work; I could not come up with anything I liked that did not feel hokey. I figured I would settle on something eventually, so I immersed myself in everything else about the world. Terrene took over every spare, waking thought I had. Apparently, it also wormed its way into my subconscious.
One night, I had a dream. I could not tell you what it was about, but to this day, I can still see this weave of glowing, gold strings floating together, hovering in the air while slowly shifting as if alive. I woke up and immediately wrote down “The Strands.” In thirty seconds, I had the idea of the nine types of Strands and their unique colors. Another thirty seconds later, I knew exactly how they would work together. Weaving Will with Fire in a certain pattern could create a bundled, burst of fire for the mage to control. The right Weave of Soul and Water together could craft a near-sentient being of water. Mixing the Strands together in different patterns and strengths could produce a number of incredible possibilities.
Now, I prefer low-magic worlds, so I did not want to give so much power to everyone in Terrene. Therefore, nearly everyone who could sense the Strands (a low number already) is only able to touch a handful of the types. In addition, how adept they are with one type might vary greatly from another. For example, a mage might be a natural when it comes to the crackling orange of Fire, but barely be able to see or grasp the wispy white of Air. What Weaves they can do would be very, very different from another mage that is adept with only Life and Stone.
I fought a little with the system’s development throughout writing Progeny, but only in the sense that I had created boundaries that my characters were forced to operate within. Rather than change the system, though, I let the story and plot reflect the challenges they faced. I think the book ‘feels’ more authentic because of this. Ingenuity and cleverness is as important as magic for the characters that can touch the Strands.
In all honesty, I do not think I borrowed from other authors. If so, it was unintentional. About the only thing I can think of is that Robert Jordan used the word ‘weave’ at times when referring to magic.
One last thing about the Strands: I was intentional about leaving the descriptions of the patterns of combined Strands vague, focusing on the colors and interactions instead. Since only people in Terrene that can touch the Strands will ever see the patterns, I wanted the reader to feel special; I wanted them to use their own idea of what these colorful (or sometimes not) Weaves looked like.
It's going on until January 24th... stop by, ask a question.
Ok, I've been waiting to ask this. The Magic system. How did you come up with it? It's unique (at least as far as I've read) though it holds some similarities to other systems. Did it come whole cloth? Did you fight with it's development? Did you consciously or unconsciously 'borrow' from other authors?
Excellent question.
Honestly, the first idea for the Strands came to me in a dream. No joke.
I had spent a couple of months building the world, fleshing out the people, cultures, history, landscapes, etc. The one thing I kept putting off was how I wanted magic to work; I could not come up with anything I liked that did not feel hokey. I figured I would settle on something eventually, so I immersed myself in everything else about the world. Terrene took over every spare, waking thought I had. Apparently, it also wormed its way into my subconscious.
One night, I had a dream. I could not tell you what it was about, but to this day, I can still see this weave of glowing, gold strings floating together, hovering in the air while slowly shifting as if alive. I woke up and immediately wrote down “The Strands.” In thirty seconds, I had the idea of the nine types of Strands and their unique colors. Another thirty seconds later, I knew exactly how they would work together. Weaving Will with Fire in a certain pattern could create a bundled, burst of fire for the mage to control. The right Weave of Soul and Water together could craft a near-sentient being of water. Mixing the Strands together in different patterns and strengths could produce a number of incredible possibilities.
Now, I prefer low-magic worlds, so I did not want to give so much power to everyone in Terrene. Therefore, nearly everyone who could sense the Strands (a low number already) is only able to touch a handful of the types. In addition, how adept they are with one type might vary greatly from another. For example, a mage might be a natural when it comes to the crackling orange of Fire, but barely be able to see or grasp the wispy white of Air. What Weaves they can do would be very, very different from another mage that is adept with only Life and Stone.
I fought a little with the system’s development throughout writing Progeny, but only in the sense that I had created boundaries that my characters were forced to operate within. Rather than change the system, though, I let the story and plot reflect the challenges they faced. I think the book ‘feels’ more authentic because of this. Ingenuity and cleverness is as important as magic for the characters that can touch the Strands.
In all honesty, I do not think I borrowed from other authors. If so, it was unintentional. About the only thing I can think of is that Robert Jordan used the word ‘weave’ at times when referring to magic.
One last thing about the Strands: I was intentional about leaving the descriptions of the patterns of combined Strands vague, focusing on the colors and interactions instead. Since only people in Terrene that can touch the Strands will ever see the patterns, I wanted the reader to feel special; I wanted them to use their own idea of what these colorful (or sometimes not) Weaves looked like.
January 12, 2011
Interview ongoing @LibraryThing.com
From 1/12 - 1/24, I'll be taking and answering questions at LibraryThing.com here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/107285
Stop by and lurk or ask your own question about me or Progeny:
To start things off, here's the first question and answer:
A little about me?
I was born and raised in Ohio and continue to live here. Although, the snow on the ground right now reminds me that I would really like to move to Phoenix. I’m married with two kids (who are partially the reason I started writing…more on that later). I’m a Reds fan and a long-suffering Bengals fan. I like to cook and would love have a tiny apartment in Firenze where I could write. My Italian is awful, though (as in I speak none), so that will need to be a long-term goal.
What inspired me to write Progeny?
The short answer is (in order) good books, a game, bad books, and some kids.
The long answer…
When I was younger, I used to read all of the time (and write, too). I chewed through books like a…large, ferocious, book-chewing animal would. When I went to college, I discovered I had less free time than before and my leisure reading suffered. After I graduated and got a job, I had even less free time. Then I got married, had kids and had almost no free time; I nearly stopped reading books for fun. I would still get through a few books a year, but nothing like I used to.
Two years ago, I made the conscious decision to start reading more, making time in my life to read again. Coninciding with a family vacation, I made a trip to the bookstore to pick up a few books to read by the pool and stood in front of the shelves, wondering what I would like. Not sure where to start, I deicded to buy a book that I had read in high school that I had loved: Magician by Raymond E. Feist. It was fun, sort-of-remembering the story, but experiencing it for the first time in mumble-mumble years. To my happy surprise, I discovered that Feist had written a lot more books in his world that I had never known existed. So…I dove into them. As soon as I finished one, I bought the next. Eventually, after a few hundred years exploring Midkemian history, I ran out. However, the fire had been reignited.
During that period of marathon reading, I had also joined a local gaming group. I had never played any sort of paper and pen game before, but it sounded fun, so I decided to give it a shot. After a few months as a player, I offered to run a campaign for my group. For those of you that have ever played anything like D&D, you might understand that this can be a large undertaking. It absolutely was, but I thouroughly enjoyed it. In between sessions, I wrote short stories for the group about what was happening to their characters and the feedback from them was incredibly positive. The writing bug in me was awakened.
So, I was running a game campaign and I had just finished all of Feist’s novels. I began to search around for something else to sink my teeth into.
I happened to pick up three books in a row that did could not hold my interest. The characters felt one-dimensional, the story was contrived (especially bad for a fantasy novel), and I would laugh aloud at all the wrong places. Fatefully, I then made the audacious comment, “I could write something better than this.”
So, I challenged myself to try.
That was the impetus behind me deciding to write. “All” I had to do then was figure out how and what.
Yes, Progeny is a fantasy novel that takes place in the Oaken Duchies, a country in the fantasy world of Terrene. But my favorite fantasy stories were always the ones where the characters felt 'real.' I wondered how was I going to accomplish that. Write what you know, right? I chose to write about two of my favorite ‘characters’ in my real world.
The personalities, attitudes, and mannerisms of Nikalys and Kenders, the two main characters in Progeny, are modeled after my own children, Nikalys and Kennedy. Crafting the world and writing the story became a labor of love. I wanted to write a great story that was not only loosely-based around them, but I wanted it to be something for them to enjoy as they get older and learn to read. Nik and Kennedy are much younger (6 and 3) than the characters (17 and 16) in the book, so I had to imagine my kids down the road a decade or so. Still, their personalities and relationship with each other shaped everything about how the characters reacted to the challenges facing them.
To sum it up, what inspired me to write Progeny were good books, a game, bad books, and some kids.
Good opening question. I look forward to more – fire away.
Oh, one last thing about me: I like pie. Pecan and grape. Not together, though, that would be strange…
Stop by and lurk or ask your own question about me or Progeny:
To start things off, here's the first question and answer:
I'm happy to interview R T since I enjoyed his book so much!
First question I'll throw out there to let him introduce himself.
So R T tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to write Progeny?
-by readafew @LibraryThing.com
A little about me?
I was born and raised in Ohio and continue to live here. Although, the snow on the ground right now reminds me that I would really like to move to Phoenix. I’m married with two kids (who are partially the reason I started writing…more on that later). I’m a Reds fan and a long-suffering Bengals fan. I like to cook and would love have a tiny apartment in Firenze where I could write. My Italian is awful, though (as in I speak none), so that will need to be a long-term goal.
What inspired me to write Progeny?
The short answer is (in order) good books, a game, bad books, and some kids.
The long answer…
When I was younger, I used to read all of the time (and write, too). I chewed through books like a…large, ferocious, book-chewing animal would. When I went to college, I discovered I had less free time than before and my leisure reading suffered. After I graduated and got a job, I had even less free time. Then I got married, had kids and had almost no free time; I nearly stopped reading books for fun. I would still get through a few books a year, but nothing like I used to.
Two years ago, I made the conscious decision to start reading more, making time in my life to read again. Coninciding with a family vacation, I made a trip to the bookstore to pick up a few books to read by the pool and stood in front of the shelves, wondering what I would like. Not sure where to start, I deicded to buy a book that I had read in high school that I had loved: Magician by Raymond E. Feist. It was fun, sort-of-remembering the story, but experiencing it for the first time in mumble-mumble years. To my happy surprise, I discovered that Feist had written a lot more books in his world that I had never known existed. So…I dove into them. As soon as I finished one, I bought the next. Eventually, after a few hundred years exploring Midkemian history, I ran out. However, the fire had been reignited.
During that period of marathon reading, I had also joined a local gaming group. I had never played any sort of paper and pen game before, but it sounded fun, so I decided to give it a shot. After a few months as a player, I offered to run a campaign for my group. For those of you that have ever played anything like D&D, you might understand that this can be a large undertaking. It absolutely was, but I thouroughly enjoyed it. In between sessions, I wrote short stories for the group about what was happening to their characters and the feedback from them was incredibly positive. The writing bug in me was awakened.
So, I was running a game campaign and I had just finished all of Feist’s novels. I began to search around for something else to sink my teeth into.
I happened to pick up three books in a row that did could not hold my interest. The characters felt one-dimensional, the story was contrived (especially bad for a fantasy novel), and I would laugh aloud at all the wrong places. Fatefully, I then made the audacious comment, “I could write something better than this.”
So, I challenged myself to try.
That was the impetus behind me deciding to write. “All” I had to do then was figure out how and what.
Yes, Progeny is a fantasy novel that takes place in the Oaken Duchies, a country in the fantasy world of Terrene. But my favorite fantasy stories were always the ones where the characters felt 'real.' I wondered how was I going to accomplish that. Write what you know, right? I chose to write about two of my favorite ‘characters’ in my real world.
The personalities, attitudes, and mannerisms of Nikalys and Kenders, the two main characters in Progeny, are modeled after my own children, Nikalys and Kennedy. Crafting the world and writing the story became a labor of love. I wanted to write a great story that was not only loosely-based around them, but I wanted it to be something for them to enjoy as they get older and learn to read. Nik and Kennedy are much younger (6 and 3) than the characters (17 and 16) in the book, so I had to imagine my kids down the road a decade or so. Still, their personalities and relationship with each other shaped everything about how the characters reacted to the challenges facing them.
To sum it up, what inspired me to write Progeny were good books, a game, bad books, and some kids.
Good opening question. I look forward to more – fire away.
Oh, one last thing about me: I like pie. Pecan and grape. Not together, though, that would be strange…
January 6, 2011
Character, Setting, Plot... Go!
Since Progeny’s release, I have been speaking at local Columbus, Ohio high schools to talk about creative writing and hopefully encourage some kids to read/write more.
I kick off the speech by listing a host of movies – all of which were books first – and then challenge the students to come up reasons why the phrase “The book was better than the movie” holds true the vast majority of the time.
Then I take them through the basics of what it takes to write. And idea first – right? Then what? I tell them I’m looking for five things that make up a story. Most groups of kids get Setting, Plot, and Characters. Others get Theme. Occasionally, a few get Style.
After I explain each (mostly Theme and Style), I go through a short exercise with them. To prove that it’s not difficult to come up with an idea, I challenge the group to come up with an interesting character, choose a setting for the character, and come up with a challenge for the character that could be used to form the basis of a plot.
This effort can be a lot of fun.
Once done, I point out that just about everyone could write a couple pages now about the idea they came up with for their story. Nearly all of them nod their heads in agreement (not everyone, this is high school after all).
I visited another school on Monday and gave the talk seven times to between two to three English classes. Each time I tried to recall the story that the previous students came up with. By the end of the day, I had seven stories. Just for fun, I thought I’d share them.
Period 1: Robert the Armadillo was caught in a sandstorm in Iceland on his way to Ohio to meet one of the students. Now, why Robert was in Iceland, how a sandstorm happened there, or why anyone would want to go TO Ohio is anyone’s guess. (FYI – I live in Ohio. I can poo-poo my state. It’s allowed)
Period 2: Carlos, the naked mole-rat (aren’t they all), lived in Mexico but really wanted to go to Spain and run with the bulls in Pamplona. I can see the last word of the story now: squish.
Period 3: Dorothy, the polar bear, was on vacation in Australia when her husband left her and she had to go find the kids. Man… that sounds like a really depressing children’s book. It could be called “Where’s Daddy? Oh, and I’m really hot. I’m a polar bear in Australia.”
Period 4: I was tired of animals, so I instituted a no-animal rule for characters. We ended up with Phil the talk show host living in Nebraska but he really wanted to move to Europe. He had to sell his car to get money to enter a contest where the prize was a trip to Europe. Doesn’t sound like Phil is a very successful talk show host to me…
Period 5: King Perfecto (the fifth) was king of France and Cuba. Not sure what happened there, but sure – go with it. King Perfecto gets food poisoning and has to go to Amsterdam to get cured. Sounds like a lot of travel scenes in the story to me.
Period 6: Weezy the dog (back to animals) lives in Compton and wants a job. He ends up working at McDonalds. Sounds like a book that McDonalds would include in its Happy Meals. “Mommy, Weezy got a job here! I want to, too! Yaaaaaay!”
Period 7: Umm...Oh-oh. Right...well…To the three classes of 7th period, I apologize that I cannot seem to remember your story. My bad. I was tired. I got up at 6:10 in the morning to come speak at your school. Speaking of which – seriously? School starting at 7:15? That’s rough. I’m sure I did it back in high school, although I can’t remember. Perhaps that’s because I was sleepwalking through the first few hours.
So… thanks everyone! It was a lot of fun. I hope some of you get something out of it. To the young lady that won the signed copy of Progeny – I hope you enjoy it.
PS – Mini challenge to anyone reading this. Come up with your own setting, character, and short plot. Try it – it’s fun. Post it here if you’d like. When I need a break from writing #2 in the Children of the White Lions series, maybe I’ll snag one and write a short story using an idea.
PPS – I’ll be having an author’s chat for two weeks at LibraryThing.com starting on January 12th. A reviewer will be asking questions, I will be answering them, and you can jump in at any point as well.
I kick off the speech by listing a host of movies – all of which were books first – and then challenge the students to come up reasons why the phrase “The book was better than the movie” holds true the vast majority of the time.
Then I take them through the basics of what it takes to write. And idea first – right? Then what? I tell them I’m looking for five things that make up a story. Most groups of kids get Setting, Plot, and Characters. Others get Theme. Occasionally, a few get Style.
After I explain each (mostly Theme and Style), I go through a short exercise with them. To prove that it’s not difficult to come up with an idea, I challenge the group to come up with an interesting character, choose a setting for the character, and come up with a challenge for the character that could be used to form the basis of a plot.
This effort can be a lot of fun.
Once done, I point out that just about everyone could write a couple pages now about the idea they came up with for their story. Nearly all of them nod their heads in agreement (not everyone, this is high school after all).
I visited another school on Monday and gave the talk seven times to between two to three English classes. Each time I tried to recall the story that the previous students came up with. By the end of the day, I had seven stories. Just for fun, I thought I’d share them.
Period 1: Robert the Armadillo was caught in a sandstorm in Iceland on his way to Ohio to meet one of the students. Now, why Robert was in Iceland, how a sandstorm happened there, or why anyone would want to go TO Ohio is anyone’s guess. (FYI – I live in Ohio. I can poo-poo my state. It’s allowed)
Period 2: Carlos, the naked mole-rat (aren’t they all), lived in Mexico but really wanted to go to Spain and run with the bulls in Pamplona. I can see the last word of the story now: squish.
Period 3: Dorothy, the polar bear, was on vacation in Australia when her husband left her and she had to go find the kids. Man… that sounds like a really depressing children’s book. It could be called “Where’s Daddy? Oh, and I’m really hot. I’m a polar bear in Australia.”
Period 4: I was tired of animals, so I instituted a no-animal rule for characters. We ended up with Phil the talk show host living in Nebraska but he really wanted to move to Europe. He had to sell his car to get money to enter a contest where the prize was a trip to Europe. Doesn’t sound like Phil is a very successful talk show host to me…
Period 5: King Perfecto (the fifth) was king of France and Cuba. Not sure what happened there, but sure – go with it. King Perfecto gets food poisoning and has to go to Amsterdam to get cured. Sounds like a lot of travel scenes in the story to me.
Period 6: Weezy the dog (back to animals) lives in Compton and wants a job. He ends up working at McDonalds. Sounds like a book that McDonalds would include in its Happy Meals. “Mommy, Weezy got a job here! I want to, too! Yaaaaaay!”
Period 7: Umm...Oh-oh. Right...well…To the three classes of 7th period, I apologize that I cannot seem to remember your story. My bad. I was tired. I got up at 6:10 in the morning to come speak at your school. Speaking of which – seriously? School starting at 7:15? That’s rough. I’m sure I did it back in high school, although I can’t remember. Perhaps that’s because I was sleepwalking through the first few hours.
So… thanks everyone! It was a lot of fun. I hope some of you get something out of it. To the young lady that won the signed copy of Progeny – I hope you enjoy it.
PS – Mini challenge to anyone reading this. Come up with your own setting, character, and short plot. Try it – it’s fun. Post it here if you’d like. When I need a break from writing #2 in the Children of the White Lions series, maybe I’ll snag one and write a short story using an idea.
PPS – I’ll be having an author’s chat for two weeks at LibraryThing.com starting on January 12th. A reviewer will be asking questions, I will be answering them, and you can jump in at any point as well.
December 30, 2010
Reviews are rolling in...
Some reviews are starting to come in on Progeny.
So far, they're all really, really positive.
I'm going to share one that I got at LibraryThing.com (where I'll be doing an author chat in early January):
Needless to say, I was a bit humbled to see the author comparisons. But I'll take it.
More will be coming soon from FantasyBooksReview.com and Clover Hill Book Reviews.
So far, they're all really, really positive.
I'm going to share one that I got at LibraryThing.com (where I'll be doing an author chat in early January):
Progeny is the debut novel of R.T. Kaelin and I have to say I was really impressed. This tome is a promising beginning of a great epic. Kaelin has done an excellent job in telling his story. The first 2 chapters were a little rough, but once past those the storytelling smooths out and it really gets its legs. The story moves right along, but Kaelin takes the time to flesh it out and give the world and the characters depth. I got caught up and wanted to know what happens next. Not to mention wanting to know more and more about the world I was immersed into.
The story starts with Nikalys and Kenders, a brother and sister, racing to the lake on a hot day to cool off. On the way, Kenders ‘senses’ something ‘blue’ so they approach the beach slowly only to witness Mages creating an incredible water monster, just before it is unleashed to drown and wash away their village. This starts them on a journey of justice and self discovery. Along the way they meet and collect individuals who need or want or can give help, and all of them are being pursued by an evil hell bent on destroying them all.
Overall, I would favorably compare his writing with Brandon Sanderson, Scott Lynch, (early) Robert Jordan and even a bit of David Eddings flavor mixed in. This is a large book at just shy of 700 pages. Kaelin expects he needs to cut it down some to get a national publisher to pick it up, but I think cutting more than 50 pages would cause the story to lose some of its depth. I really enjoyed this book and my biggest disappointment is going to be waiting for the next installment.
Needless to say, I was a bit humbled to see the author comparisons. But I'll take it.
More will be coming soon from FantasyBooksReview.com and Clover Hill Book Reviews.
December 20, 2010
Back to high school for a day...
I went to high school today for the first time in mumble-mumble years.
It was an interesting experience. First thought as I walked into the building:
When did I get so old?
After getting asked by someone in the main office if I was there to substitute (my goodness, no... no, no, no), I waited patiently for the teacher to whose classes I would be speaking to come and fetch me.
Watching all of the kids wander by the main office, I could not help feel a minor tug of sympathy for those few that were sure to be hit with a pop quiz today. I hated pop quizzes in high school.
The teacher found me and escorted me to her room and I followed, the excitement of getting ready to speak about Progeny and writing combating the zombie-ness I was experiencing due to the fact that I had only had one measly cup of coffee and the clock had yet to reach 7:00 AM.
Upon entering the teacher's room, I had yet another quick flashback. Posters about Persuasive Writing vs. Narrative Writing vs. Descriptive Writing adorned the walls along with student's projects about Romeo and Juliet.
(Side note: In my high school English class, when we studied Shakespeare's tragic love story, we actually were required to act out scenes. Ugh.)
The beginning of first period approached, and I was ready. Strangely, there was no nervousness - years of giving talks had apparently beaten that out of me, even when standing in front of a classroom full of some of the toughest critics you'll ever meet: high-school freshmen.
The bell rang. And by bell, I of course mean "soft tone over the school's speaker system."
Oh - that reminds me - I almost made a "Saved by the Bell" joke today. But then I realized that my audience would have no idea who Zack or Screech were. "Mario Lopez? That guy on Entertainment Tonight, right?" I just dated myself, didn't I?
After a nice introduction by the teacher, I launched into my speech, following my outline. Much like any outline I have prepared before I write, I was soon straying, adding things that I had not ever considered including. No matter. I plunged ahead.
Overall, the talk went well. At least, I think it did. The soft snoring I detected I 100% attribute to the fact that these kids are expected to be awake and aware at 7:00 AM. Did I really used to get up that early for high school? I think so... if so, kudos to me.
Like any writing I do, I learned from the experience. Some things worked well. Others could use some refinement. But I can say without a doubt, that I enjoyed myself. And I hope at least some of the kids I spoke to did as well. If I can encourage at least a few of them to read more - or perhaps write - then it was worth every moment.
So - thanks to Ms. [Name withheld to protect the innocent] and all of the kids I met.
Good days ahead.
Progeny
It was an interesting experience. First thought as I walked into the building:
When did I get so old?
After getting asked by someone in the main office if I was there to substitute (my goodness, no... no, no, no), I waited patiently for the teacher to whose classes I would be speaking to come and fetch me.
Watching all of the kids wander by the main office, I could not help feel a minor tug of sympathy for those few that were sure to be hit with a pop quiz today. I hated pop quizzes in high school.
The teacher found me and escorted me to her room and I followed, the excitement of getting ready to speak about Progeny and writing combating the zombie-ness I was experiencing due to the fact that I had only had one measly cup of coffee and the clock had yet to reach 7:00 AM.
Upon entering the teacher's room, I had yet another quick flashback. Posters about Persuasive Writing vs. Narrative Writing vs. Descriptive Writing adorned the walls along with student's projects about Romeo and Juliet.
(Side note: In my high school English class, when we studied Shakespeare's tragic love story, we actually were required to act out scenes. Ugh.)
The beginning of first period approached, and I was ready. Strangely, there was no nervousness - years of giving talks had apparently beaten that out of me, even when standing in front of a classroom full of some of the toughest critics you'll ever meet: high-school freshmen.
The bell rang. And by bell, I of course mean "soft tone over the school's speaker system."
Oh - that reminds me - I almost made a "Saved by the Bell" joke today. But then I realized that my audience would have no idea who Zack or Screech were. "Mario Lopez? That guy on Entertainment Tonight, right?" I just dated myself, didn't I?
After a nice introduction by the teacher, I launched into my speech, following my outline. Much like any outline I have prepared before I write, I was soon straying, adding things that I had not ever considered including. No matter. I plunged ahead.
Overall, the talk went well. At least, I think it did. The soft snoring I detected I 100% attribute to the fact that these kids are expected to be awake and aware at 7:00 AM. Did I really used to get up that early for high school? I think so... if so, kudos to me.
Like any writing I do, I learned from the experience. Some things worked well. Others could use some refinement. But I can say without a doubt, that I enjoyed myself. And I hope at least some of the kids I spoke to did as well. If I can encourage at least a few of them to read more - or perhaps write - then it was worth every moment.
So - thanks to Ms. [Name withheld to protect the innocent] and all of the kids I met.
Good days ahead.
Progeny
December 13, 2010
Two weeks since Progeny's release...
As the initial giveaway celebrating the December 1st release of Progeny wraps up, I am going to offer a deal to fellow ‘goodreaders.’ In less than two weeks, 500 people have signed up for a chance to get one of two copies. Since the interest is high, but the copies available sit at two, I thought I would give others a chance to get their own copy of Progeny at a discount.
From 12/15 through New Year’s Eve, I if you purchase Progeny via www.ProgenyTheBook.com, you can receive a 25% discount if you use the code 9XWWCJPZ during checkout. Note that this only works via the site’s storefront, not via Amazon. However, the book at Amazon.com is offering free shipping on the book now – which for a 672 page book, is a nice deal.
In order to keep busy and prevent myself from checking sales figures non-stop, I have been working on trying to arrange talks with a few high schools in the Columbus, Ohio area to speak about creative writing as well as what goes into writing a novel. So far, three schools have scheduled some time for me to come and visit. It should be both fun and mildly terrifying to walk back into a high school after fifteen years. As if the understanding of my own mortality was not already rudely intruding upon my psyche, now I get to wade amongst a sea of teens and be reminded just how much getting old(er) stinks.
Feedback on the book is starting to roll in from people who secured an advance copy or ordered it right when it was released, and I am excited that it all seems to be extremely positive. I am glad readers are enjoying the tale, especially since I have already started the second book in the Children of the White Lions series. The story was demanding to get out of my head, so I started to write.
So, take advantage of the discount if you’d like. Or the free shipping from Amazon.com. If you order soon, you will have it available to read over the holidays.
From 12/15 through New Year’s Eve, I if you purchase Progeny via www.ProgenyTheBook.com, you can receive a 25% discount if you use the code 9XWWCJPZ during checkout. Note that this only works via the site’s storefront, not via Amazon. However, the book at Amazon.com is offering free shipping on the book now – which for a 672 page book, is a nice deal.
In order to keep busy and prevent myself from checking sales figures non-stop, I have been working on trying to arrange talks with a few high schools in the Columbus, Ohio area to speak about creative writing as well as what goes into writing a novel. So far, three schools have scheduled some time for me to come and visit. It should be both fun and mildly terrifying to walk back into a high school after fifteen years. As if the understanding of my own mortality was not already rudely intruding upon my psyche, now I get to wade amongst a sea of teens and be reminded just how much getting old(er) stinks.
Feedback on the book is starting to roll in from people who secured an advance copy or ordered it right when it was released, and I am excited that it all seems to be extremely positive. I am glad readers are enjoying the tale, especially since I have already started the second book in the Children of the White Lions series. The story was demanding to get out of my head, so I started to write.
So, take advantage of the discount if you’d like. Or the free shipping from Amazon.com. If you order soon, you will have it available to read over the holidays.
December 7, 2010
How I wrote Progeny…
In a way, a game is responsible for my debut novel, Progeny.
Close to two years ago, I decided to look finding a local gaming group. “Why would a person who had never played a traditional paper and pen game do that?” you might ask. Trust me, I asked it. I had never tried something like that before, but after picking up a book at a local bookstore and perusing through it, I decided to give it a shot. It sounded like it could be fun.
Something must have possessed me to look for a new hobby, and I am glad I did. I quickly found a group of guys that lived nearby and for well over a year, we met every Friday night to play. It was more fun that I had expected. I loved the imagination each session required me to bring to the table. You had to think on your feet – come up with your own story. The creative juices began to bubble.
After a few months as a player, I threw my hat into the ring to run a game, and for the next ten months, I did. Each week, I had to think up interesting people and places for the players to interact with and new challenges for them to conquer. In between sessions, I would send out short stories either recapping what had happened, or giving the players a glimpse into another part of the narrative they were playing.
At some point – after significant and persistent encouragement – I got it into my head to turn my short stories into something larger. A 312,000-word novel, the first part in a ?-book series effort was not what I envisioned at the time, however. Truthfully, I do not know what I was thinking I would produce. Regardless, I decided to give it a go.
For three months, I did nothing but brainstorm, getting ideas down on scraps of paper whenever they struck, keeping a running log on my computer of everything that I thought might have a place in the world I was creating in my mind. I came up with nations, cultures, customs, histories, conflicts, fashion, mores, environment – everything that a real world has.
I did all of that before I thought up the story I would tell. If I worked with pastels instead of words, one could say I painted the background of a portrait first. I wanted Terrene to feel ‘full.’ A story with no weight behind it is… well, not a very good story. I have read a few. Bleh.
So, I had my canvas – what next?
Oh, yea… I was writing a book. I needed a plot. Well, the tale behind the inspiration of Nikalys and Kenders and their physical and personal journey has two parts to it.
The Goddess Indrida’s prophecy (or at least an early version of it) was one of the first things I wrote for the book. It was based on the history of the location where I had decided Progeny (not the original name, by the way) would take place. The prophecy drew back the curtain of the story and the closing act was solid (in my head).
Now, I knew the beginning of the story and I knew the ultimate end. The high-level plot was set. But who were going to be the actors?
“Write what you know.”
I have seen that guidance in countless places, heard it from numerous people – and most of the time, I think it is very good advice (although, it does not hurt to stretch yourself either – challenge your writing instinct). Other than knowing the exact type of books that I enjoyed reading and a bunch of stuff about IT – what else did I know well? Well, as it turns out, there are two little people in my life who are very important to me. They are the inspiration behind the main characters. I hope they enjoy this story when they are old enough to read.
Setting? Check.
Plot? Check.
Characters? Check.
Next, I outlined the whole book (as well as high level outlines for subsequent books). Eventually, months after this was just a ‘hey, I think I might write a book’ thought in my head, I wrote chapter one.
Nine Hells, it was bad. I have a copy of it around here somewhere that I keep to remind me of where this story started. Yet, it was a beginning. From there, I outlined the next five chapters to a fine detail. Too fine, if I recall. I learned quickly that – for me – an outline is a rough guide, not a map.
I would write a chapter, outline another… trying to keep an idea of where I was going at all times, but never afraid to veer if the story took me in an unexpected direction. Which it did countless times. Sometimes I wrestled it back on track, other times, the path it went down was too good to ignore. Instead, I went along with it, curious where we were going.
Some of those surprising turns resulted in some rather significant revisions of my original ideas, but the book is the better for it. Two of the most important characters in the books were ‘accidents.’ Am I ever glad that those characters inserted themselves into my tale. Progeny would be much different without them.
About ten chapters into the first draft, I began to alternate between writing new chapters and editing old. I found this forced me to think clearly about telling a consistent story. Ultimately, it made some of the later editing passes much easier. Well… easier, anyway. Editing is never ‘easy.’
As I wrote, I kept the outline thing going for a while – probably about two-thirds of the way into the book. At that point, it was so clear in my head where the story was going, I did not need to write it down anywhere any more. Words just poured out.
The first draft of Progeny was about 25,000 words lighter than what is in the book. Over the course of a few months, I read the novel numerous times; sometimes on the computer screen, other times printed out double-spaced, still other times printed but spaced as if in a paperback novel. I changed many little things over those months: adding descriptions, some – okay, a lot – of detail to some character’s stories, rephrasing. I killed semicolons left and right, realizing that it is okay to have paragraphs that are more than a single sentence.
When I thought I was “done” (HAH!), I had something of which I was proud. Then my copyeditor got ahold of it. I found my understanding of the words ‘may’ vs. ‘might’ was lacking. Did you know ‘blonde’ refers to feminine people/objects, but ‘blond’ refers to male? I did not.
After a fantastic job by her and yet another editing pass, I was done.
Progeny is a big book. Is it an ambitious effort for a new author? Of course it is. But I love the story and the characters – and I cannot wait to see where it goes next.
Come with me to find out.
http://www.progenythebook.com
Close to two years ago, I decided to look finding a local gaming group. “Why would a person who had never played a traditional paper and pen game do that?” you might ask. Trust me, I asked it. I had never tried something like that before, but after picking up a book at a local bookstore and perusing through it, I decided to give it a shot. It sounded like it could be fun.
Something must have possessed me to look for a new hobby, and I am glad I did. I quickly found a group of guys that lived nearby and for well over a year, we met every Friday night to play. It was more fun that I had expected. I loved the imagination each session required me to bring to the table. You had to think on your feet – come up with your own story. The creative juices began to bubble.
After a few months as a player, I threw my hat into the ring to run a game, and for the next ten months, I did. Each week, I had to think up interesting people and places for the players to interact with and new challenges for them to conquer. In between sessions, I would send out short stories either recapping what had happened, or giving the players a glimpse into another part of the narrative they were playing.
At some point – after significant and persistent encouragement – I got it into my head to turn my short stories into something larger. A 312,000-word novel, the first part in a ?-book series effort was not what I envisioned at the time, however. Truthfully, I do not know what I was thinking I would produce. Regardless, I decided to give it a go.
For three months, I did nothing but brainstorm, getting ideas down on scraps of paper whenever they struck, keeping a running log on my computer of everything that I thought might have a place in the world I was creating in my mind. I came up with nations, cultures, customs, histories, conflicts, fashion, mores, environment – everything that a real world has.
I did all of that before I thought up the story I would tell. If I worked with pastels instead of words, one could say I painted the background of a portrait first. I wanted Terrene to feel ‘full.’ A story with no weight behind it is… well, not a very good story. I have read a few. Bleh.
So, I had my canvas – what next?
Oh, yea… I was writing a book. I needed a plot. Well, the tale behind the inspiration of Nikalys and Kenders and their physical and personal journey has two parts to it.
The Goddess Indrida’s prophecy (or at least an early version of it) was one of the first things I wrote for the book. It was based on the history of the location where I had decided Progeny (not the original name, by the way) would take place. The prophecy drew back the curtain of the story and the closing act was solid (in my head).
Now, I knew the beginning of the story and I knew the ultimate end. The high-level plot was set. But who were going to be the actors?
“Write what you know.”
I have seen that guidance in countless places, heard it from numerous people – and most of the time, I think it is very good advice (although, it does not hurt to stretch yourself either – challenge your writing instinct). Other than knowing the exact type of books that I enjoyed reading and a bunch of stuff about IT – what else did I know well? Well, as it turns out, there are two little people in my life who are very important to me. They are the inspiration behind the main characters. I hope they enjoy this story when they are old enough to read.
Setting? Check.
Plot? Check.
Characters? Check.
Next, I outlined the whole book (as well as high level outlines for subsequent books). Eventually, months after this was just a ‘hey, I think I might write a book’ thought in my head, I wrote chapter one.
Nine Hells, it was bad. I have a copy of it around here somewhere that I keep to remind me of where this story started. Yet, it was a beginning. From there, I outlined the next five chapters to a fine detail. Too fine, if I recall. I learned quickly that – for me – an outline is a rough guide, not a map.
I would write a chapter, outline another… trying to keep an idea of where I was going at all times, but never afraid to veer if the story took me in an unexpected direction. Which it did countless times. Sometimes I wrestled it back on track, other times, the path it went down was too good to ignore. Instead, I went along with it, curious where we were going.
Some of those surprising turns resulted in some rather significant revisions of my original ideas, but the book is the better for it. Two of the most important characters in the books were ‘accidents.’ Am I ever glad that those characters inserted themselves into my tale. Progeny would be much different without them.
About ten chapters into the first draft, I began to alternate between writing new chapters and editing old. I found this forced me to think clearly about telling a consistent story. Ultimately, it made some of the later editing passes much easier. Well… easier, anyway. Editing is never ‘easy.’
As I wrote, I kept the outline thing going for a while – probably about two-thirds of the way into the book. At that point, it was so clear in my head where the story was going, I did not need to write it down anywhere any more. Words just poured out.
The first draft of Progeny was about 25,000 words lighter than what is in the book. Over the course of a few months, I read the novel numerous times; sometimes on the computer screen, other times printed out double-spaced, still other times printed but spaced as if in a paperback novel. I changed many little things over those months: adding descriptions, some – okay, a lot – of detail to some character’s stories, rephrasing. I killed semicolons left and right, realizing that it is okay to have paragraphs that are more than a single sentence.
When I thought I was “done” (HAH!), I had something of which I was proud. Then my copyeditor got ahold of it. I found my understanding of the words ‘may’ vs. ‘might’ was lacking. Did you know ‘blonde’ refers to feminine people/objects, but ‘blond’ refers to male? I did not.
After a fantastic job by her and yet another editing pass, I was done.
Progeny is a big book. Is it an ambitious effort for a new author? Of course it is. But I love the story and the characters – and I cannot wait to see where it goes next.
Come with me to find out.
http://www.progenythebook.com
December 2, 2010
My journey as an author...
Nine months ago, I decided that my career as a software engineer was lacking something. Rare were the days I would wake up and say, "Oh joy, I get to write more code today."
Unsure what to do about it, I applied the age-old advice of, "Find something you enjoy doing and then figure a way to make money doing it." I had always enjoyed storytelling and creative writing, but had put off the idea of trying to write anything too ambitious. I felt I had stories inside of me that I wanted to tell, but the task of getting them out stood as a giant barrier, intimidating me into not taking action.
But as I thought about the next thirty years of my life spent in front of a computer screen, I realized I could be either writing code for applications that would have a shelf life of five years or crafting a story for people to enjoy forever.
So, I decided to write a novel.
Following another saying, "Write what you know," I focused on writing a type of book that I enjoy reading. I wanted to tell a good story, something that when the book ends, the readers say, "Damn...it's over." I have always enjoyed books that are a part of a series, so even if a portion of the saga concludes, I know that I can pick it up again when next one is published. The Eragon series by Christopher Paolini, Raymond E. Feist's journeys through his world of Midkemia, and Stephen King's The Dark Tower all drew me in, keeping me entertained for years, even decades. That sort epic tale is what I felt passionate about writing. Ambitious? Umm... just a little.
Please understand that I am not comparing myself to those men. They are all great authors and I am just me. Rather, I am saying that their work is what inspired me to try my own hand at delving into the writing process. To them, I say thank you.
My desire to do something different with my life coupled with positive feedback I received on a series of short stories I wrote for a group to which I belong was the impetus for me sitting down and starting the writing process. I picked up a few books on tips for writing, found some things that worked for me and discarded those that did not. In the end, I discovered what worked best was to just let my imagination run free.
I envisioned where my first story would live. I thought of the history and cultures spread throughout the world and built out the framework the story would hang on. I outlined a rough plot, identifying the main storyline and envisioned the main characters. I had a beginning and an end, but the middle was fuzzy. At that point, I finally started to write.
Ever hear the phrase, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray?" Or for sports fans, "A gameplan is only good until the first snap?" I will attest to their accuracy.
As I wrote, I was often surprised by where the story took me. More often than not, I was not telling the story, rather it told itself. I was just the guy hitting letters on a keyboard. Two individuals I had never counted on being more than being a minor character grew into integral parts of the tale. One of them quickly became my favorite character to write. This organic growth of the story required revisions upon revisions to make things line up appropriately, but I found myself enjoying every minute of it. I cannot say I ever experienced that while writing a single line of code.
After writing the story, having a former free-lance writer edit it (mostly for basic grammar), I reviewed the manuscript, tweaking it. Then I reviewed it again, tweaking it some more. And again. Each time, I told myself, 'Just one more time.' I will fess up; I am still doing it. However, one of the bits of advice I did follow was to eventually send the book at some point, otherwise you will edit the thing forever.
I researched the heck out of what to do next. I bought all the books about how to contact and query agents and publishers: what goes in a query letter (the one page of "Hi, I'd like to introduce me and my book"), how to write a synopsis (the two page "Here's a 300,000 word novel jammed into two pages"), and the dos and don'ts of submissions. I came up with a first list of agents to submit to as most publishers do not want un-agented submissions, looked up their submission guidelines, and put together a personalized package of what they wanted. With a lump in my throat, I sent them. I was more nervous hitting the 'Send' button than I had been in years about anything.
Then I sat...waiting...hoping that someone somewhere will take a few minutes to read the letter, maybe the synopsis, and if I am really lucky, a chapter of two if they even asked for some to be sent. I understand agents are bombarded constantly with queries, but from a new writer's point of view, it seems a daunting task to get in the front door.
While I waited, I did something else. I reached out to a blog where I knew some authors lurked and lived. And I asked for help and advice.
I knew that I could sit and wait forever for some literary agent’s intern to send me a polite ‘I thought about taking three minutes read your query, but then I thought I maybe I would go get a latte instead. Your book is not for us’ response. That was disheartening.
Diane Kistner, Production Manager and Associate Editor at FutureCycle Press, read my diary and heard my plea. She wrote a long reply delving into the options I had before me, suggesting that I consider taking things into my own hands. After getting in contact with her, she patiently answered my many, many, many questions about print-on-demand, self-publishing, and what it takes to found a small publishing company.
Replying to her post was her sister, Donna. She had been involved in the self-publishing of a rather successful novel (and one of my own favorites) a few years ago. The book did very well in its self-published version, was picked up by a major publisher, and went on to become an international bestseller.
I took a chance and asked if Donna would mind looking at my novel and give me some feedback. I had wanted to know ‘Do I have what it takes?’ for months during the writing process. And here I was, presented with an opportunity to get the opinion of someone who had been involved with one of my favorite novels. Lucky, right? Try incredibly lucky. Of course, for a few days while I waited for her to read the sample chapters, I was terrified that I was going to get back a response that might be summed up as ‘meh.’ Thankfully, that did not happen.
Donna trudged and weaved her way through the manuscript, waving her magic copyeditor’s wand, fixing all of my mistakes, getting it in prime shape. Once done, she laid out the interior and kerned up a storm, kicking around every widow and orphan she could find (for non-writers, that is not as bad as it sounds). To top it off, she walked me through cover design, ultimately delivering what I have to admit is a sharp looking book.
In November, my proofs arrived in the mail. (Yeah!)
I cracked open the box, pulled out my book. (Wow... look at this!)
I opened it to page one and started to read. (Hey, this is pretty good...I wrote this?))
I got halfway down the page. (Wait... doh!)
On page 1 – page one! – I found a silly contextual error. Thank goodness for proofs. With encouragement from Donna O, I read all 655 pages in a two-and-half day period and she worked with me to eliminate all of remaining errors (we hope). Now, I have a book I am damn proud of.
On December 1, 2010, Progeny was released. Now it's yours to enjoy.
Unsure what to do about it, I applied the age-old advice of, "Find something you enjoy doing and then figure a way to make money doing it." I had always enjoyed storytelling and creative writing, but had put off the idea of trying to write anything too ambitious. I felt I had stories inside of me that I wanted to tell, but the task of getting them out stood as a giant barrier, intimidating me into not taking action.
But as I thought about the next thirty years of my life spent in front of a computer screen, I realized I could be either writing code for applications that would have a shelf life of five years or crafting a story for people to enjoy forever.
So, I decided to write a novel.
Following another saying, "Write what you know," I focused on writing a type of book that I enjoy reading. I wanted to tell a good story, something that when the book ends, the readers say, "Damn...it's over." I have always enjoyed books that are a part of a series, so even if a portion of the saga concludes, I know that I can pick it up again when next one is published. The Eragon series by Christopher Paolini, Raymond E. Feist's journeys through his world of Midkemia, and Stephen King's The Dark Tower all drew me in, keeping me entertained for years, even decades. That sort epic tale is what I felt passionate about writing. Ambitious? Umm... just a little.
Please understand that I am not comparing myself to those men. They are all great authors and I am just me. Rather, I am saying that their work is what inspired me to try my own hand at delving into the writing process. To them, I say thank you.
My desire to do something different with my life coupled with positive feedback I received on a series of short stories I wrote for a group to which I belong was the impetus for me sitting down and starting the writing process. I picked up a few books on tips for writing, found some things that worked for me and discarded those that did not. In the end, I discovered what worked best was to just let my imagination run free.
I envisioned where my first story would live. I thought of the history and cultures spread throughout the world and built out the framework the story would hang on. I outlined a rough plot, identifying the main storyline and envisioned the main characters. I had a beginning and an end, but the middle was fuzzy. At that point, I finally started to write.
Ever hear the phrase, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray?" Or for sports fans, "A gameplan is only good until the first snap?" I will attest to their accuracy.
As I wrote, I was often surprised by where the story took me. More often than not, I was not telling the story, rather it told itself. I was just the guy hitting letters on a keyboard. Two individuals I had never counted on being more than being a minor character grew into integral parts of the tale. One of them quickly became my favorite character to write. This organic growth of the story required revisions upon revisions to make things line up appropriately, but I found myself enjoying every minute of it. I cannot say I ever experienced that while writing a single line of code.
After writing the story, having a former free-lance writer edit it (mostly for basic grammar), I reviewed the manuscript, tweaking it. Then I reviewed it again, tweaking it some more. And again. Each time, I told myself, 'Just one more time.' I will fess up; I am still doing it. However, one of the bits of advice I did follow was to eventually send the book at some point, otherwise you will edit the thing forever.
I researched the heck out of what to do next. I bought all the books about how to contact and query agents and publishers: what goes in a query letter (the one page of "Hi, I'd like to introduce me and my book"), how to write a synopsis (the two page "Here's a 300,000 word novel jammed into two pages"), and the dos and don'ts of submissions. I came up with a first list of agents to submit to as most publishers do not want un-agented submissions, looked up their submission guidelines, and put together a personalized package of what they wanted. With a lump in my throat, I sent them. I was more nervous hitting the 'Send' button than I had been in years about anything.
Then I sat...waiting...hoping that someone somewhere will take a few minutes to read the letter, maybe the synopsis, and if I am really lucky, a chapter of two if they even asked for some to be sent. I understand agents are bombarded constantly with queries, but from a new writer's point of view, it seems a daunting task to get in the front door.
While I waited, I did something else. I reached out to a blog where I knew some authors lurked and lived. And I asked for help and advice.
I knew that I could sit and wait forever for some literary agent’s intern to send me a polite ‘I thought about taking three minutes read your query, but then I thought I maybe I would go get a latte instead. Your book is not for us’ response. That was disheartening.
Diane Kistner, Production Manager and Associate Editor at FutureCycle Press, read my diary and heard my plea. She wrote a long reply delving into the options I had before me, suggesting that I consider taking things into my own hands. After getting in contact with her, she patiently answered my many, many, many questions about print-on-demand, self-publishing, and what it takes to found a small publishing company.
Replying to her post was her sister, Donna. She had been involved in the self-publishing of a rather successful novel (and one of my own favorites) a few years ago. The book did very well in its self-published version, was picked up by a major publisher, and went on to become an international bestseller.
I took a chance and asked if Donna would mind looking at my novel and give me some feedback. I had wanted to know ‘Do I have what it takes?’ for months during the writing process. And here I was, presented with an opportunity to get the opinion of someone who had been involved with one of my favorite novels. Lucky, right? Try incredibly lucky. Of course, for a few days while I waited for her to read the sample chapters, I was terrified that I was going to get back a response that might be summed up as ‘meh.’ Thankfully, that did not happen.
Donna trudged and weaved her way through the manuscript, waving her magic copyeditor’s wand, fixing all of my mistakes, getting it in prime shape. Once done, she laid out the interior and kerned up a storm, kicking around every widow and orphan she could find (for non-writers, that is not as bad as it sounds). To top it off, she walked me through cover design, ultimately delivering what I have to admit is a sharp looking book.
In November, my proofs arrived in the mail. (Yeah!)
I cracked open the box, pulled out my book. (Wow... look at this!)
I opened it to page one and started to read. (Hey, this is pretty good...I wrote this?))
I got halfway down the page. (Wait... doh!)
On page 1 – page one! – I found a silly contextual error. Thank goodness for proofs. With encouragement from Donna O, I read all 655 pages in a two-and-half day period and she worked with me to eliminate all of remaining errors (we hope). Now, I have a book I am damn proud of.
On December 1, 2010, Progeny was released. Now it's yours to enjoy.
