Lee Thompson's Blog, page 27

My Beginner Paintings for Sale

I never tried to draw or paint in my entire life until I met Kara (who I made my first two paintings for) and Susan (who I've made several more for), and both of those ladies have been helpful in me trying something new. I remember how I used to envy my little brother and sister because they were always artistic, but I think if I just put the time into it I can learn as well. I've done 13 of them now (that one up there is the 13th and is called "We Four Famished") and it's very meditative and I like the challenge of learning new things and mining any talent I have for it. I know I suck right now, but that's how it goes when I start something new. You should see my first few year's of stories. Ugly.

Plus, I'm going to paint pieces from my short stories and books, something my brother and sister can't do (yeah, sibling rivalry)!

Each piece will be 1 of 1, all original. Can't beat that. I'm just starting with water colors but think I'll experiment with different materials (and canvas) as I learn more. I think in the next few years I'll surprise myself in what I create which is always one of my favorite parts!

And some of you can own a unique piece of my history as I develop my style.

I just put some up to sell on eBay.

Here's that one above.

Get in on the ground floor, people!

NR4DC on Brian Keene's Top Ten Books of 2011…

Very cool that Brian Keene read and enjoyed Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children enough to include it on his Top Ten Books of 2011 list with so many great novels! Thanks Brian! And thanks to Susan for sending me a link and making me aware of it!

Here's a snippet of what Brian said about NR4DC (I need to see if I can use it as a blurb!):

"Thompson's voice is his own — strong, hypnotic, and unsettling. Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children is a bleak fucking book, and therein lies its danger. So beautifully-constructed is Thompson's prose, that the reader is often caught off-guard, mesmerized by a turn of phrase or a descriptive passage, until the book grabs you by the balls and rips them right off, breaking your heart and your psyche in the process."

If you haven't read Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children yet go see why it's creating so much racket!

*Buy the first Division novel*

And if you like that first Division novel you're in luck because the second novel (The Dampness of Mourning) in that series is available as a Kindle Exclusive right now! And it will be out early next year in signed/limited hardcover as well as all other digital formats!

Get ready for 2012. I have four books coming out so far!

1. The Dampness of Mourning (Novel from Darkfuse Publications)

2. Down Here in the Dark (Novella from Delirium Books)

3. Immersion (Novella from Thunderstorm Books)

4. When We Join Jesus in Hell (Novella from Delirium Books)

Will be sharing my 2011 Year in Review very soon. Thanks to everybody for all the faith and support and friendship!

Sincerely,

One lucky S.O.B.

Gaining Traction and Maintaining Momentum

As I was preparing my 2011 Year in Review thoughts on this post kept pinching me, so what the hell. Maybe it will help somebody.

This is my opinion, but gleaned from experience. Most of my life I've been a drunk or a laborer, or a drunken laborer, but I've always been a searcher and knew there were no easy answers, though the simplest and most honest route is the best for me. Over the last two years I've gained some traction and serious momentum. And I hope this post will help some writers who could use a little of both.

You ready?

#1: Know exactly what you want…

Part of this comes from paying attention to yourself and your own drives, where you've already found some success, etc. Here is a list of what I wanted two years ago, exactly what I wanted.

For short stories I bought a bunch of mags and found the ones I wanted to have stories in because I respected what they were publishing. And I sold to some of them and still need to sell to others, but I won't write just any idea that pops in my head or I'd never finish a book, so I am not a very productive short story writer.

I prefer writing novellas and novels and I should have known that a long time ago because I will pick a novel or novella to read over a short story any day of the week. If I only crank out six shorts a year I'm at peace with that because I'll sell them to markets I believe in and support, and all the while be honing my chops on the next book. This was one of those things that took me a little time to come to terms with because I want to be good at everything. Zombie Jesus told me this as he was munching on my hopes of being good at everything: "Yeah, good luck with that, Lee."

I wanted a book publisher who believed in me. And boy, oh boy, did I get one. Shane Ryan Staley at Delirium/Darkfuse has had unshakeable faith in me and it is priceless. He has more faith in me than I do. To have a person who has seen a lot of the genres best fiction believe in you and help you grow is like an uplifting drug to counter the hard times when self-doubt kicks in, when you worry that you're wasting everybody's time including your own.

I wanted to write MY stories for me first, and I still do that, because if they never sold I'd have the satisfaction of knowing I was honest with each tale and could take pride in them.

I wanted to make a living from writing, and the more I write the more I realize that making a living from it isn't as important as it once was because that takes care of itself as we learn and grow and people gather in our corner and spread the word for us.

I wanted die-hard fans (like I am a fan of Tom Piccirilli, John Connolly, Peter Straub) and I have been lucky enough from a very early point in my career to have steadfast and enthusiastic people in my corner. *Waves at all the beautiful people!*

I wanted to make a name for myself based on the quality of my work alone, which is one reason I haven't joined any groups like the HWA or anything else. Until I've proven to myself that the stories, not my people skills, are the impetus for my success, I'd rather remain invisible. This is a very big deal to me. I'm stubborn.

I wanted to grow as a person by putting a lot of my life into my work so that I could get a clearer view of my own actions and reactions and try to make some sense of it all.

I wanted to leave behind something worthwhile, to know that even if it wasn't anything groundbreaking, it was at least real and it was honest.

I wanted to let people know that they matter because I've had a lot of people open up to me for some reason and I don't think many people feel that they do matter.

I wanted to be less stubborn, but so far that hasn't happened. *Smiley face*

#2: Get good enough to get what you want…

Seen plenty of people want to skip this step, seen 'em playing online and always talking about the book they've yet to finish. Hell, I've sat by and watched and waited for them to get excited about a book in general! Come on, how can somebody claim to be a writer but never get excited about a book? Jesus Christ. There are some posers out there. Some shams who won't ever get good enough to publish outside their little circle jerk parties because to them it's not about the stories or giving something special that only they can create to the world.

Being on the stage as lead actor isn't the goal.

The goal is producing and directing and connecting with your audience.

I knew a hundred musicians who treated their music the same way (as an ego booster) and ten years later they were still hanging out trying to draw the most attention in the sandbox and bitching about other people's success. What's your motivation? Really? There's nothing wrong with wanting to be popular or respected, but if that's your prime motive for writing, you're already taking steps in the wrong direction. If you want to climb you have to look at where you're standing and start by carrying yourself up the mountain. If people like the way you climb and they want to be there when you reach the summit they'll join you.

There are a million things involved in getting "good enough" but you have to really know yourself and tear down the delusions you've constructed of why you want to write in the first place.

#3: Pay attention to (and nurture) the details that matter…

A.) Your craft: It's all up to you if you improve, and if you're anything like me (human) there are probably a million areas in your craft you can work on. Take baby steps. Challenge yourself. If you're a Young Writer listen to more readers instead of your peer writers. Listen to yourself as a reader. And if you're a writer, I'll say it again, You'd better be a goddamn reader. Handcopy some of your favorite books to learn the mechanics if you suck like I do. Don't run with every idea; develop the worthwhile ones. Ask other people where you can improve even if you're afraid of what they'll say.

B.) Your honesty: If you can be honest with yourself you can be honest with your readers. And if you're not, they'll pick up on it and they're not going to trust that you can give them their money's worth, even if you're only writing for entertainment. Don't rely on kissing ass or networking to make you a better writer. Have some motherfucking integrity. The more you're honest with yourself, and other people are with you too, the quicker you can grow as a person and gain traction as a writer.

C.) Your supporters: Besides being brave enough to write only the stories you can write, this is one of a writing life's greatest gifts. These people don't have to believe in you. Really. They don't. Realize that right now. And when you get people who chose to believe in you, appreciate them, okay? They're precious. They're helping you pay your bills, they're encouraging you to write more of your stories, they're telling people who have no idea who you are that you're worth investing in. They're invested in you and showing it by example and that is a big deal!

D.) Your non-writing life: This, as hard as it is to swallow, is more important than your writing time. This is where all the real work goes on, all the stories start and end, all the textures manifest and all the colors in your palette gather to enrich the work. You live and you ponder and you ask questions and you find answers and you daydream. You pick at scabs and learn a new hobby and contribute something to someone else. You work your job and interact and see how other people view the world, you, and themselves.

You can lock yourself in a room and twiddle your thumbs, or you can go live and report back what joys you've discovered, what battles you've seen, what victories you've tasted, what loves you've felt, what secrets you've heard, what sorrows you've endured and learned from, and how all of these things have helped you grow as a person.

And you draw and observe and collect the same things from all your real life relationships because you're invested in other people's lives if you're really living.

Take time to get fresh air. Smile as it fills your lungs.

Let sunshine warm your face.

Let lives, and real life, invigorate you.

The Dampness of Mourning Hardcover Pre-orders

You'll want to get on pre-ordering the signed/limited Hardcover of The Dampness of Mourning before they sell out!

Also signed the signature sheets today and mailed them back to my publisher! Neat!

Shock Totem #4 free on Kindle for today only!

If you have a Kindle and haven't read Shock Totem #4 you can get it free today! Has my story Beneath the Weeping Willow in it (which ties into the second Division novel The Dampness of Mourning) too! So doubly neat! Go get some!

The Dampness of Mourning (Kindle Exclusive available right now!!!)

Yep. The hardcover and other formats aren't coming out until scheduled in February, but Kindle owners can go read it right effing now. Lucky you! Super proud of this novel and so grateful for everybody who has helped me grow and supported me and my silliness.

Amazon link… But wait!!!

Check out the awesome features of the hardcover too on Darkfuse's website!

Again, thanks to all of you! You make the stuff in my head breathe and grow legs.

Winners of the Hacked-up Holiday Massacre/Shock Totem 4.5 Giveaway!

Alyn Day, Becca, Jennifer, Qwee, Jassen, and R.J.

Thanks everybody for entering! Will have a lot of giveaways going on next year (hell, I have four books coming out not counting short story sales! Neat!)

I've emailed the winners!

The Dampness of Mourning (book trailer!)

My publisher showed it to me this morning. Neat as hell! Can't wait to hear what everybody thinks of this novel! I love it (of course). Thanks for all the support!

Signature sheets…

are on the way for the hardcover edition of this lovely book! Yay! They're so fun to sign.

Immersion (from Thunderstorm Books)

Been talking to Paul Goblirsch at Thunderstorm. We hashed out the details of the contract and I'm looking forward to some of you holding a copy of my crazy novella IMMERSION! And today I just turned in an unpublished story as bonus material for the hardcover edition.

We worked on a cover idea and came up with something simple that I like! The Elemental Series it will be in is pretty sweet. The novella will also be available as a friendly paperback and slim e-book. It's a real pleasure to work with Paul and I'm thankful he's taking a chance on me and my work. Immersion is a trippy book and though it might appear I was on acid when I wrote it, I promise you I wasn't (on much).

Will post the cover when available! That's always a fun thing to share and I like hearing back from you guys on the artwork and story.

I hope everybody is well!