Rod Raglin's Blog, page 12

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BACKLIST BLOWOUT – Summer 2023

Select titles free for a limited time only at

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

Abandoned Dreams – Have you ever wondered what dreams you might have fulfilled if life hadn’t got in the way?  What if you had an opportunity to try again?

The Big Picture – A young woman with a camera and an uncompromising ethic takes on the art establishment, corrupt politicians and the insidious influence of narco dollars.

Mad Maggie – A love story that explores the mystery, secrets and power that abounds in nature and within ourselves.

Watch the video at https://animoto.com/play/noj5gui1xDMDf3emRw56ZQ

Endgame a explosive blend of dystopian themes

5 STARS ON GOODREADS

It’s the twenty-third century and a guerrilla war is being waged between Faithcorp, a corporation offering spiritual simulation technology which claims to show its users the ultimate truth and the meaning of their lives, and the combined forces of the traditional religions, the Godly Resistance Army.

Cynthia Hemlock is a Licensed Operative for Centcom, a job that entails processing warrants for criminals by finding and killing them – for a commission.

Her current assignment has dropped her into the middle of this conflict just as the guerrilla war threatens to turn into an apocalyptic battle with civilization at stake. With time running out, Cyn finds she is unclear about the motives, hers and the combatants.

Like all good dystopian fiction, the seeds of the plot of Steve Shahbazian’s Endgame, have their roots in today’s society. The concept of Faithcorp could arguably be the outcome of the advancement of artificial intelligence and humankind’s growing dependence on this type of technology.
The story also resonates with the emergence of authoritarianism in the form of government, corporations, and religions and the relinquishing of our freedom, including freedom of thought, for the false security they offer.
Centcom is the future of policing–shoot first, don’t bother asking questions and retire with a full pension.
The Trads are today’s Christian religious right, the Muslim Jihadists and any other intolerant, fanatical orthodox religious movement.

This explosive blend of themes and the concept of connecting them through a futuristic criminal investigation carried out by a cynical, world-weary detective/operative is brilliantly conceived, well-written and immensely entertaining.

The East Van Chip

A chip on your shoulder is defined as “a deeply ingrained grievance or feeling of resentment, often deriving from a sense of inferiority and marked by aggressive behavior.” Wow! That sums up the first 35 years of my life!
I just assumed everyone who grew up in East Van felt the same way I did; resentful of anyone who had more than me and suspicious of how they got it. Back then, being disadvantaged wasn’t socially and economically something that entitled me to special services or program funding, I had to figure it out myself and it was bloody hard and frustrating. And the neighbourhood I lived in had no influence and was neglected and ignored by every level of government. I had a right to be pissed off, I was getting screwed. Right?
“The East Van Chip” defined my early life, and it probably did (still does?) for many of you as well, as indicated in some of the posts on this site. I took it to the extreme, even used it as a rallying cry (Better Representation for East Van!) for a number of (failed) political campaigns. It was justification for just about everything that didn’t work out and resulted in a lot of destructive behaviour.
Then I grew up, not over night, but eventually, and realised everybody has issues – rich, poor, east side, west side, white, BIPOC –it doesn’t matter. And despite what I thought, mine weren’t any more significant, at least not to anyone else.
Knocking that East Van Chip off my shoulder changed my life, though at times I regress and the “f-you attitude” that most East Van-ers inherited from our shared environment still emerges. There were times I thought it served me well, but now I realize I was being defensive (insecure?). All it did was signal I’d quit listening and ended any opportunity for compromise – or even emotional growth.
Growing up in East Van and all it entailed certainly made us who we are today – for better or worse.
Did you have an East Van Chip? What did you do about it, or is it a good thing?

Before East Vancouver became a trendy place to move to, it was one you hoped to survive and escape from. In ’50s and ’60s, it was a low income, blue-collar neighbourhood where kids grew up with minimum supervision. We left home in the morning, showed up for dinner, and were gone again until “the gun” sounded at 9 p.m.
During the time away adventures were undertaken, friendships were forged, and character was created. East Van Rules was not only meant as a challenge, but also a code to live by.
If you want to read more about coming of age in East Van, you could borrow my collection of shorts stories, East Van Saturday Night, from the library, or buy it from Amazon at https:wwwamazon.com/-/B003DS6LEU
The short stories and novella include a ten-year-old playing for the elementary school (Laura Secord) softball championship, a teenage tough strutting his stuff at the local dance, and a hippie youth hitchhiking across Canada during the Summer of Love (that would be 1967 for you youngsters).
There’s also a story about paper shacks. No, not shacks made out of paper, but small buildings on vacant lots where the daily newspaper was dropped off for the “paper boys” to deliver. That’s where I learned everything I needed to know about life including how to fight, curse, light a cigarette with one hand, and which girls “went all the way” (and what all the way meant).
Watershed moments told from a perspective that explains why you can take the boy out of East Van, but you’ll never take East Van out of the boy.

#eastvancouver #Eastvan #comingofage #shortstories #growingupineastvan

Writing as a moral act

“True art is moral. We recognize true art by its’ careful, thoroughly honest search for an analysis of values. It is not didactic because, instead of teaching by authority and force, it explores, open-mindedly, to learn what it should teach. It clarifies like an experiment in a chemistry lab, and confirms.”

– John Gardner, On Moral Fiction, 1978

Okay, so this is a bit high-minded, but is this something we, as authors, should aspire to?

How then does a writer, if so inclined, build their fiction on strong, ethical and moral ground?

I subscribe to the method suggested by Carol Bly, Author of The Passionate, Accurate Story: Making Your Heart’s Truth into Literature. She suggests that even before beginning to write a story, consider composing a “Values Listing,” a written record of the things that are most important to you.

Then, throughout the writing process ensure these values continue to be identified in your work. That means these values are present in the issues and conflicts your characters confront and that they themselves are grounded in or address these same principles.

Here’s her Value’s Listing Questions though each of us would likely want to prepare their own.

VALUE’S LISTING:

1. Two goals or values which make life good or bearable or would if they were in operation.

2. Two goals or values which cause injustice and suffering or lessening of joy.

3. Two missing goals or behaviors. As a child, you thought grown-up life would have these. Now that you are an adult you don’t see them around.

4. Two injustices you see about you and should keep an eye on, even on your wedding day.

First and foremost, our stories must be entertaining, but being given the opportunity shouldn’t we at least attempt to influence our readers in a positive way about important issues, in a way that benefits everyone?

Let’s get FOREST stocked in new Sasquatch Museum

The museum will be filled with artifacts and dives into the history, science, mythology, folklore, and witness accounts of the Sasquatch. What a perfect opportunity for them to include my novel FOREST – Love, Loss, Legend, a murder mystery (with Sasquatch) set in the fictional town of Pitt Landing.

A new Sasquatch Museum is opening this summer near Vancouver

The Harrison Visitor Information Centre and Sasquatch Museum will have a new home  opening this  July. According to Tourism Harrison. The new museum will “build on the artifacts and story around the Sasquatch” but will also include a major section on the story of the Sts’ailes “Sasq’ets,” which got translated into English as the “Sasquatch.”

There will also be a new major section on “the story of the Sts’ailes people and their ancestors who have lived in this area since time immemorial.”

The design for the new museum is meant to honour Harrison’s Indigenous and historical roots while creating a functional and accessible building for all.

The museum will be filled with artifacts and dives into the history, science, mythology, folklore, and witness accounts of the Sasquatch. What a perfect opportunity for them to include my novel FOREST – Love, Loss, Legend, a murder mystery set in the fictional town of Pitt Landing.

Like my protagonist says,

For anyone who has hiked in the backcountry of BC it is, as my protagonists says “easy to imagine no human had ever set foot a hundred metres on either side of the road. Species could come to life, thrive and die without anyone except God ever knowing they existed.” This story is steeped in the myth and legend of the Pacific Northwest.

If you don’t want to wait and see if the museum stocks my book or you’re not planning a trip to Harrsion Hot Springs this summer, you can order FOREST online at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU It continues to be one of my best sellers – though we’re not talking James Patterson numbers.

Want to help? Send Tourism Harrison an email at info@tourismharrison.com

and ask them to stock FOREST – Love, Loss, Legend by Rod Raglin

#sasquatch #bigfoot #murdermystery #paranormal #justuptheroadinharrisonhotsprings #harrisonhotsprings #harrison #wilderness #Legend #myth

Where did the idea for my novel The Thin White Line come from?

A good reporter doesn’t make assumptions. He tries to find evidence and facts to verify and substantiate claims.

The issue I was researching became an article entitled, Discrimination in Publishing – Real or Imagined? That evidence and the response, or lack of response, I received when I published my findings is where the idea for this novel came from.

What to do when people either choose to ignore the evidence or are too afraid to confront the lie? I decided to dig deeper and present what I found in a fictional story. It served two purposes:

– I enjoy doing the research whether it’s for fiction or reportage and in this case it was both.

– Perhaps if my findings were presented in an entertaining story it might be more acceptable for those who chose to deny it outright.

To read the original article/post subscribe to my Patreon account at

patreon.com/rodraglin

Support my novel – benefits and fees

Thin White Line – word count 20,432, 15 chapters to March 20, 2023

Help fund my next novel; a murder mystery that includes politics, racism, prejudice, BIPOCs (that’s right, Black and Indigenous People of Colour), the alt-right, domestic terrorism, white supremacy, action and romance (have I left anything out?) all featured prominently as my protagonist investigates what’s really going on in this country (that would be Canada)? The deeper he digs the weirder (and scarier) it gets.

The Thin White Line is almost writing itself with help from the media that supplies updated content almost daily. The latest being the Prime Minister’s statement that Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), an intelligence watchdog, will investigate China’s meddling in past elections.

In this post, I promised to layout the fee and rewards for subscribing as well as the fundraising goal and deadline. Here they are”

– First tier – $3.00 per month (until April 30, 2023). This is like an introductory offer since there’s not much content yet. However, it will still get you a FREE E-BOOK (retail cost $3.99) as well as notes on how the plot is developing and links to the all the research I’m undertaking.

– Second tier – $9.00 per month gets you the content, a FREE E-BOOK plus your name listed on the Acknowledgement Page once the novel is published.

– Third tier – $30 per month gets you the content, a FREE E-BOOK, your name listed on the Acknowledgement Page once the novel is published plus an autographed paperback first edition.

The launch date for The Thin White Line December 31, 2023. Once it’s published and launched, you can continue to subscribe and support my next writing project or unsubscribe.

Something you should know:

– I’ll be submitting this novel to traditional publishers. Because pre-publication of chapters or excerpts is an anathema to them, subscribers will not get access to them.

How I came to write my first seven novels

The LOCAL RAG – News to Die For.

This is the seventh and last of the series of personal stories about how I came to write my first seven novels and two plays and what I’ve learned along the way. I’m hoping you might pick up some marketing insights, mostly what doesn’t work, writing tips about themes and motivation, a bit of an understanding about how publishing as well as self-publishing works, and a lot of empathy from someone who is traveling the same road and has likely had less success than you.

I continue to write though with little more success. My bibliography is now up to 13 novels. Recently, I’ve branched out to short fiction and have had more success, which still isn’t much, submitting to online publications. Two more novels are in the works, one which is being crowdfunded (see previous post).

The Local Rag is part murder mystery, part political thriller that includes a culmination of all I know about the media, journalism and newspaper publishing – where it’s going and the challenges it faces, after spending over 40 years in the industry.

The manuscript has a history as well. It was my first attempt at fiction and like all new authors I was brimming with hubris at what I’d accomplished. Not many people thought the same way about it though, in fact no one did. It took me ten years and a lot of learning before I revisited it. After major revisions it was about a third shorter – bad writing tends to be long. Despite adding new information about the industry including issues of professional integrity, the improvements it didn’t attract a traditional publisher–but I’m proud of it.

Along the way the cover has changed as well. It’s different than what appears here.

Visit my Amazon Author’s Page for reviews and links to all my work http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

I think this will be an important book. If nothing else, it’s going to be controversial.

I’ve never invested in paid professionals to edit my novels or design their covers. My reasons are twofold:

• When I submit a manuscript to a traditional publisher or agent it’s polished enough (thanks to several excellent beta readers many of whom are authors themselves) that I reason it’s about the best it can be with the exception of a few typos. Why pay a couple of thousand dollars to make it perfect when, if the story is good (I’m assuming) a publisher or agent will overlook the few minor errors and offer me a contract?

• When that doesn’t happen (so far), then paying maybe $4000 to a professional editor and cover designer is an expense that will never be recovered (I’m assuming) in royalties considering there is almost no way of differentiating the good from the bad when it comes to self-published books on Amazon. This assumption is more based in fact, since I’ve reviewed the work of many self-published authors who have paid thousands of dollars in editing, books covers and reviews and have had less success than me.

It has occurred to me though, both my assumptions may be wrong.

So, what if there is a third way?

For my next novel, I’ve decided to see if I can fund raise to pay the costs of a professional editor and cover designer. Why anyone would want to invest in my book, I have no idea, but then our government provides free money to many who aspire to be authors and this way at least way you have a choice – and maybe even some benefits

I’m planning to use two platforms to raise the money, Kickstarter and Patreon.

With Kickstarter, every project creator sets their project’s funding goal and deadline. If people like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen. If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers’ credit cards are charged when time expires.

Patreon is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators (that’s me) to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers.

My work in progress is a murder mystery that also delves into politics, racism, prejudice, BIPOCs (that’s right, Black and Indigenous People of Colour), the alt-right, domestic terrorism, white supremacy and, of course, action, suspense and romance (have I left anything out?) It’s my quest, through fictional characters, to try to make sense of what’s going on in this country. The deeper I dig the weirder –and scarier – it gets. If nothing else, the book’s going to be controversial.

The plan is to start with Patreon where subscribers will receive bi-weekly updates on how the story is progressing, including asides into research I’m undertaking of some very sensitive and controversial issues. Once the novel is nearing completion, I’ll launch the Kickstarter campaign and announce the funding deadline.

In my next post, I’ll layout the fee and rewards for subscribing as well as the fundraising goal and deadline.

Working title is The Thin White Line.

#crowdfundingproject #fundraising #fundmynovel #fundmywriting #amreading #readingcommunity #readers #reading #bookworm #booklover #booklove #bookaholic⁠ #read⁠ #bookaddict #bookish #booknerd #bibliophile #booknerdigans #bookblogger #bookshelf #bookcommunity #amwriting #writingcommunity #writerlift #writerslife #writerscafe #author #selfpublished #authorlife #authorshelpingauthors #thewriterscircle #newwritersandauthors #indieAuthorNews

How I came to write my first seven novels

#6 – Abandoned Dreams – Can a life abandoned be taken up again?

This is the sixth in a series of personal stories about how I came to write my first seven novels and two plays and what I’ve learned along the way. In this segment, I talk about Abandoned Dreams, a novel where I challenged myself as a writer presenting the narrative in multiple and varied voices none of which were the protagonist’s.

I’m hoping you might pick up some marketing insights, mostly what doesn’t work, writing tips about themes and motivation, a bit of an understanding about how publishing as well as self-publishing works, and a lot of empathy from someone who is traveling the same road and has likely had less success than you.

I’m interested in comments. What, if any success have you had with self-publishing?

Likes, comments and followers are welcomed and appreciated.

Visit my Amazon Author’s Page for reviews and links to all my work

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

#literary #creativity #cults #art #authors #selfpublishedauthors #selfpublishing #indieauthors #romance #intrigue #action #writing #writingcommunity #amwriting #writers #writerlift #writerslife #writerscafe #authorlife #authorshelpingauthors #thewriterscircle #newwritersandauthors #canadawrites