M.R. Merrick's Blog, page 4

Random Jibber-Jabber & an Update

It’s been a while since I was in the first draft of an entirely new series. I’ve started the first book in several, but with difficulties over the last year, they all got left in the dusty drawers of my computer. Now that I’m back in the full swing of things, I’m having mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I get to start all over creating new characters, demons, magic, worlds, and stories. There was nothing, and then there was something. It’s all happening from the ground up. On the other hand, I have to start all over creating new characters, demons, magic, worlds, and stories. The first book in a series, in my opinion, is the most work, and even if you’re writing a stand-alone novel, the same principle applies. Either way you need to build the entire world in this novel, lay out the rules, and develop everything. With a series, you need to make sure this is a solid foundation for all the future installments, and as a standalone, you need to make sure you don’t have any loose ties at the end because there are no other books for you to deal with them. All around, it’s a lot more work that adding on to an existing world, and for authors who don’t write series and only write stand-alone novels, I applaud you.

The last week or so has been one full of progress for Sacred Cities. Just yesterday I added over 9k words, putting me close to the 70k mark. When I set out to start this book, I hoped to finish up my first draft around 85k-90k, but now that I’m here, I realize it’s going to be more like 110k-120k. Now, that’s okay for a few reasons. The first being that it’s a first draft. There is plenty of time to add, subtract, or completely obliterate. The second reason is that there is a lot of world to build. Looking back, and having learned all that I have over the past few years, I see so much potential and depth I could’ve added to Exiled. But I let myself be owned and restricted by the submission guidelines at that time. That was my mistake, and not one I’ll make again. This first book is a different beast, and as such requires different methods to train it. The fact of the matter remains however, that at times it can feel overwhelming. Mostly because I put so much pressure on myself to get this thing done, while at the same time refusing to sacrifice any level of quality or depth to the story. When I published Exiled, I had nothing. No readers, no fans, nobody but me looking forward to the story. That’s not the case this time around. Now I have incredible fans, and a lot of readers anticipating this book. As The Protector series evolved, I felt more and more pressure to deliver, albeit mostly from myself, but still. Now this is a new series, and although it’s fresh, there is an existing bar that previous readers have, and so there is a different type of nervousness within me. Will I meet that bar? Exceed it? Let everyone down entirely? Of course these are natural concerns, and with all things in life, I over think things and give them much more power than they deserve, but they’re real concerns nonetheless. And as such, this has left me spinning a little, but nothing I can’t manage.

I’ve experienced a better writing flow the last two weeks than I’ve seen since I worked on Endure. It’s an incredible feeling when I look forward to diving back into this world and discovering  where the characters are taking me. I have a general outline in my mind, but as the story unfolds things change, characters make decisions I never expected, and then I’m back to square one with no clue how I’m getting from A to B. This has resulted in having to go back to the beginning and add/remove things as the story changes, and I imagine the first level of revisions for this novel are going to be intense. Alas, I am enjoying every minute of being back in the saddle. With the feedback from fans based on the teasers I’ve released, and some running thoughts that are coming from my progress readers (those who read chapters as I write them), I can’t move fast enough. As you can tell, I’m waffling back and forth about getting this done and taking my time. I have to take my time to give you what you deserve, but I’m excited enough I just want to throw at all of you already.

All this is to say, progress is going great and I’m so excited about this story I’m living it every second (between my newly found addiction for The Walking Dead. I’m almost caught up!) I constantly day dream, I rush to get the computer so I can write, and I am bombarded by ideas and new additions to include in the overall story. For anyone who hasn’t noticed, the last ten months or so I’ve been lacking in the excitement department in a big way, and now that it’s back, I’m overwhelmed (in a good way). On some level it feels like the first time all over again. I’m here, then I’m there, then I don’t know what I’m doing or where I am. Don’t worry, I’ll get it back under control, but until then, I’m letting random things happen and unleashing this story however it wants to fall on the page. If that’s a half-garbled slew of incoherent sentences, so be it. I do feel bad for my progress readers as they try to figure out just what the hell I was trying to type though. Sometimes my imagination and my brain don’t translate properly.

So there you have it: Randomness, Jibber-Jabber, and an update. Just what you were looking for on a Monday, right? Right!

Happy Monday!

Sacred Cities – Your First Look

The time has come to share with you a little more than the first page. No more tiny teasers. Today the first chapter is making it’s debut over at Little Read Riding Hood’s Favorite Authors February. If you’re interested in a sneak peak of what’s to come, now’s your chance! If you like what you read, make sure to leave a comment over there and if you have time, maybe even check out some of the other participating authors! Special thanks to Laura at Little Read for inviting me to partake in such a spectacular event! Click the link below and enter the New World of Sacred Cities.

 

Valentine’s Teaser

With today being Valentine’s Day, I thought I should tell you how very much you mean to me. You, as my readers, fans, and friends, make my literary world go round. You support my novels, take part in some great discussion topics, and you take time out of your lives for me. Every time you visit my website, Tweet or Facebook me, read my novels, or recommend them to a friend, you support me and contribute to a young man’s dream to be his own boss and create something special for the world. Since I can’t give you candy, chocolate, or any kind of flowers through the internet (yet), I thought I’d give you a little snippet of what I’m working on.

Sacred Cities is a Dystopian novel. In other words, it’s a post-apocalyptic Urban Fantasy, taking place in the not-too-distant future. Alex is the main character trying to survive a broken world, and keep himself and his brother alive for just one more day. That’s his task everyday–just make it to tomorrow. In a world that’s been nearly destroyed by demons, what else is a boy to do?

Happy Valentine’s day, everyone. May your day be filled with kindness, sweets, love, and friendship. I give you the first page of my work-in-progress: Sacred Cities, due to rock the world, summer 2014.

 

******

I pulled what remained of the tattered blanket to my chin, shivering against the cold air. The singed edges of fabric were curled and hard, scratching along my neck. One too many nights had been spent lying next to the fire. I didn’t know how far we were from the next Sacred City, but I’d need to find something to trade by then. It was only going to get colder and this blanket wouldn’t be enough once our free nights were spent.

Weathered boots scraped along the dirt; my ten-year old brother, Joshua, turned in his sleep. He coughed twice and I cringed, as though that could muffle the sound.

“Alex?” he asked, his voice was hoarse and dry.

“What’s up, buddy?” I crawled over and crouched beside him. I unscrewed the canteen’s lid and it clanked against the side as I tilted it to his lips.

“Can you light the fire again?” he asked. Sweat had forced his brown hair to stick to his forehead. He’d had the cold sweats for two days and now the coughing  had come.

“You know I can’t.”

“It’s so cold. Please, just for a little while.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“But there’s no monsters out tonight. It’s quiet.”

I looked back over the still glowing embers in the ashy pit, then out at the darkness around us. I strained to hear something, anything, but there was only silence. I shook my head. “There are monsters out every night. The quieter it is, the more dangerous. Here.” I draped what was left of my blanket over him, followed by my jacket.

“Thanks,” he whispered, and his eyelids dropped. I watched him for a moment but he was gone, off to another world. I hoped it was one that wasn’t like ours: one where he had food and water and a warm place to sleep. Maybe it was a world where he didn’t have to be scared all the time, one where he had friends too.

I settled back onto the dirt and stared into the shadows. I wished for a sound, something that represented the world I remembered: a frog’s croak, the song of crickets moving unseen in the grass, or even better, a car driving by, but there was nothing. The sky should’ve been dark, but instead it held a deep navy hue. The stars flickered like a Light Bright filled with white pegs, the moon casting a pale glow over the landscape. The thought of a Light Bright made me smile—a brief memory of a childhood almost forgotten. I tried to reach for more of that past, and although it seemed to be just at the edge of my mind, I couldn’t quite grab it.

Goosebumps spiraled down my arms in response to the oncoming breeze. I held my hands over the fading embers, absorbing what warmth I could and rubbing it back along my arms. Then the nostalgia of my childhood memory vanished as a sound came from the darkness. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but I crawled onto my feet. I closed my eyes, straining to hear it again, but nothing came. We had made a camp next to the woods so maybe it was an animal. No…I knew better than that. I waited a moment longer, but when nothing came, I settled back down onto the ground. Now that I’d been spooked, there wouldn’t be any sleep tonight. My eyes panned the shadows back and forth, searching for something that might be out there, and then it came again. The sound moved across the dirt somewhere in front of us. It was clear as day now—feet shuffling across the ground, and this time it wasn’t Joshua.

 

******

Holiday Update

As promised, I got down to business on my holidays. It was later than I had hoped, but word count is word count, right? After what I can only describe as an amazing trip to Canmore, I felt very refreshed. My wife and I ended up staying an extra night, and it was beautiful there. This was the view from our hotel balcony.

I can promise you that this picture doesn’t do it justice. It’s a small town, but man, it was beautiful up there. Surprisingly, it was warmer and there was less snow than here in Red Deer. Huh.

After we came home I had to spend a few days getting some things in order, but then I got down to work. I had two decent days, putting down 14,000 words in my new novel, which in case you missed my Facebook post, is tentatively titled Sacred Cities. This a Post-Apocalyptic Urban Fantasy, and I think you’re going to love it. At least I hope you do. No, I mean I know you will. Ah, yes, such is the flippity-floppity of a writer.

I’ve added two new events to my upcoming Events page. I’m going to be in my locals Chapters on March 29th to do a book signing. I’ll be there from 12pm-4pm, and if you’re anywhere in the local area, I’d love for you to come down and say “hello!” If that’s a bit of a trek, I’ll also be in Seattle, at the Red Lion hotel on 5th Avenue on June 14th. If you’re anywhere in the area then and you want to meet up, check out the website and get tickets. It’s a multi-author signing and there are going to be a ton of great people there. It’s something I definitely do not want you to miss if at all possible. And I think I’m going to spend a few days just checking out the area afterwards, because Seattle is a city I’ve always wanted to visit, so going there for the first time will be a blast.

I’ve had a Newsletter sign-up sheet in the top right corner of my blog for quite some time now, but I haven’t actually been using it. I was having some trouble with the provider and whatnot, all of which has now been ironed out. My first News Letter will be coming out at the end of February, so sign up if you’re interested in some special news and exclusive content. I’m not going to be posting many novel sneak peeks on the website, so if you want to see them all, be sure to sign up.

Speaking of sneak peaks. Laura at Little Read Riding Hood has the first chapter of my current work-in-progress, Sacred Cities going up on her blog on February 21st. This is the world’s first look at my new project, and I really hope you’ll check it out. She’s hosting an entire month dedicated to authors on her site, so if you’re looking for a new read, it’s something you should peruse when you have some time.

Other than that, I am BUSY and I have a deadline to meet. Which means I must bid you farewell for now. Happy Sunday, folks. I’m back at the day job tomorrow, so somebody needs to drink some extra coffee for me!

Writing Getaway

I’m on a ten-day hiatus from my day job, which means I get to spend some much desired time with my family. Since going back to work I’ve  missed the days with my daughters so much, but sadly it’s a necessary evil. It also means I get to sit down at the computer and get some major work done. If things go my way, I’ll be putting down a huge word count in my WIP over this time. On top of that, I have a three day getaway planned to the mountains with my wife. This will involve my first ever professional massage, checking out some of the cool shops these small tourist towns have to offer, and some serenity that will spur my muse into hyper drive. I’ve been looking forward to this getaway for a while, and now that it’s here, I’m almost overwhelmed with all the things I want to accomplish.

The good news is, as I work on this book over the next two weeks, I’m putting together a teaser that I truly hope you’ll enjoy. Or if things go really well, I’ll be putting together a series of teasers that I’ll release over the week. I have my first editor booked for this job as of April, which means I have a ton of work to do, but I work much better under pressure anyway, and now that I have a deadline, my focus is starting to narrow in on the story at hand. It’s nice to be back in the hot seat, brainstorming characters and magic, but I’m most looking forward to getting to connect with my readers again with a new story.

I was going to provide you some details on the story today, but instead I’m holding out until I get some more work done. Then I’ll give some info about it with the release of the teasers that are to come. And of course, I’ll try to take some pictures of the beautiful place we’re going. If you’re not from here, I’d love to share with you some of the beauty that is Canada!

Happy Hump Day everyone! I hope you’re all having a good week!

 

Out With the Old, In With a Bang!

We’re jumping into the new year a day early. Screw last year!

The past year has been rough, full of ups and downs and piles of steaming crap that resemble dead famous people. But this coming year, the year of 2014? It’s going to be good, and I’m jumping in with both feet. To start off that wonderful year, I just wanted to take a moment to say a few things to all of you incredible people.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for all the support you’ve given me, and all the strength you’ve donated. You’ve made the hard times a little easier, and that’s no small feat. In the past few years I’ve published four books and brought a close the main story line in The Protector. This series has reached an audience like I cannot believe, all because of the great reviews and all the help in spreading the word that you’ve offered me. You’ve made a dream come true for me, and there are no words of thanks or appreciation to tell you what that means to me. And the story is still growing! I’m reaching new readers every day, and there is a core audience of amazing fans that are responsible for that. You.

I’m extremely thankful for the all the opportunities I’ve been granted over the years, most recently the chance to be featured in my local Chapters book store. The books have been flying off the shelves, and my mind has officiously been blown…again. This year I want to get out there and approach more bookstores. Seeing my books on the shelves in a real book store was pretty awesome, and I want to expand there and see what I can do on my own!

Some of you have reached out to me with kind words of support, and some with ideas for future growth in The Protector. I’ve had a lot of ideas for The Protector and the characters inside it, and the fact that people are asking for more books means I’m on to something, and because of that, in 2014 I’ll be working on something special regarding  a specific character or two, but I won’t tell you who just yet. You have to stay tuned for that

2014 is going to be an amazing year. I want to work hard to grow the audience I’ve already found, because you all have been so amazing, and it’s a surreal thing to have people tell you how much they love something you’ve created. I want more people to feel that way about my books, especially teens, the audience I originally wrote it for. I want to find a way to get more young people reading this year, because I wrote Exiled originally to be the book I never had growing up. That book I could have related too, the characters I could have understood, and the magic and adventure that would’ve got me hooked on reading at a much younger age. I want Exiled to be that book for others, and now that the series is done, I really want to work on getting it out there in the world. I want to give more people the escape I tried to create.

This coming year, this is what you can expect from me:

Two new books in a new series which will be announced early in 2014, where I’ll give you details and a taste of what it’s all about. Perhaps a sample? I want to finish Book 1 in The Nova Chronicles, and get started on book two. And I want to put together a true boxed set of The Protector, and perhaps have a few really amazing giveaways. And if I can really kick it into high gear, I want to publish one other novel that I hinted about above.

Why am I posting this publicly? Because I need to be accountable for what I want to accomplish, and by telling you, I feel as though I’m signing a contract of what I can deliver. I want to be as committed to my readers as they have been to me, and I’m a man of my word dammit, so lets create something special!

This journey is a roller coaster and an honor to be on, but having connected with readers like you has elevated this adventure to another level. It made it real, yet at the same time, more of a dream than I could’ve ever imagined on my own. This year is going to be the first of many where I get the opportunity to say “Thank you” with new books, awesome magic, fantastical monsters, insane adventures, and quests of epic proportions. There will be stories, book tours, cover reveals, massive amounts of swag, badass giveaways, ridiculous and outrageous Story Time posts, and a little bit of randomness thrown in the middle. We’ll have discussion posts, we will have a few book reviews, and we will connect around the common love of books and the written word. 2014 is a new year for all of us, and I hope above all else, that it’s an exciting journey for you.

Happy New Year, my friends. Have fun, stay safe, and shoot for the stars.

Not So Secret Santa – Author Exchange

Matty says go check it out!

Today I’ve been fortunate enough to be invited into a pretty cool event. The Not So Secret Santa Author Exchange is where some book bloggers have come together and exchanged favorite authors, in an attempt to help spread the word about authors and books that others might not know about. I was very luck and came to be paired up with Book Groupies, so if you want to check out a new interview and some of the other great authors involved, go check it out!

When You Don’t Know You’re Lost

Since going back to work full-time and trying to adjust to a new routine, surprise, surprise, my writing has suffered even more. However, even though I don’t have the kind of time to write that I used to, I’m doing my best to make it happen with what time I do have. That being said, after such a long hiatus from social media, blogging, and writing, and the general ass-kicking I received from real-life that I let take me away from all of that, my confidence really took a nosedive. That’s something I haven’t experience in a long time, and I wasn’t prepared to handle it.

As I jumped from one project to another, abandoning one story for something new and exciting that might keep me interested, I really didn’t care for anything I would write. And over time as I came back to it, reading it over I thought “It’s okay,” but it’s not a good enough story idea. Once again, I’d find myself starting one of the many other ideas I had saved up in the memory bank, for a short while anyway, until I’d abandon it. Then, rather than starting a new story, I’d go back and try to fix what I didn’t like with the old stories, but I only had a few chapters written in each and couldn’t figure out what the problem was.

After messing around for long enough, I realized the problem was me and my confidence, or lack there of. It wasn’t that what I was writing was bad, or that the ideas didn’t work, I just didn’t think I had it in me anymore. I thought maybe I had written the best I had to offer and there was no point continuing. Yes, you read that right, I actually have considered just letting it all go. This year has been so full of struggle and broken promises I’d made to myself, that I just wasn’t sure I wanted to keep going. At best I figured I’d write here and there just for me, and give up on the entire idea of having a career as an author. Since I hadn’t been online promoting myself, finding new opportunities, and writing new books, my sales  and books rankings tanked. My book’s visibility dropped off the map, I wasn’t generating any new traffic, and naturally everything seemed to be falling apart. What was the point? I thought. I had been doing what I considered to be well. I wrote full-time, response on my stories was for the most part, decent, and I was happy doing what I was doing, so after taking a few months off, it all just disappeared? Really, what is the point of trying then? Pessimist much? Such is life sometimes. If this all sounds kind of wishy-washy or depressing, it’s because that’s exactly how I had been feeling. Everything seemed to be going downhill, and my attitude and outlook went right with it. Any time I thought I’d try to get back to it, I’d write a blog post or a chapter of my new book(s), and then disappear for another few weeks. I couldn’t gain momentum, and part of me didn’t want to. I was done with it.

As I started my new job, I found myself—naturally—getting out of the house more. I was driving every day (a major thought generator for my stories), associating with the likes of adults, versus my constant barrage of diapers and house cleaning,  and as time went on, the real life blockades that had stalled me out, began to break down a little bit at a time. That’s not to say everything is back to normal, but there seems to be a break in the storm, and the little bit of sunshine that peaked through gave me the vitamin D I needed. It showed me the way when I didn’t even realize I had been so lost.

I decided the first problem was that I was jumping back and forth between so many projects. Nothing was really getting any of my attention. So first things first, I nailed down the story I would write and I wouldn’t touch another project until I was finished it. That focus alone allowed me to develop more thoughts, ideas, and plot points for one story than I’d managed in months. With all that came a new kind of excitement for a new story, new problems, and new characters. After that, I reworked the chapters I’d written and decided since my confidence wasn’t where it needed to be, I needed to know I was on the right track. I sent those chapters to a few trusted associates. People I knew would give it to me straight, and their feedback was enlightening. It had me excited for the story again, and not just this story, but writing in general. Although I’m not working on it as much as I would like to be, or even as much as I should be, I am working on it more often than I was. And as it comes along, I find myself wanting to work on it more.

It wasn’t until all of this occurred that I realized just how much my writing is a part of me. It isn’t just something I do, it’s something I live. The stories that I work on come out of me and onto the page like living, breathing, creatures. That may make me sound like some starving artist cliche, but it’s the truth. As life affects me, it affects my stories, to the point of nearly extinguishing my passion for creating them. And unfortunately, I’m the type of person who has trouble separating my emotions. If something makes me sad, angry, or shocked, I feel those things through and through. I’m not the type of person to take my anger out on other people if I’m mad, quite the opposite actually, but when I feel those things, every aspect of me is affected. There is no ‘off’ switch that allows me to jump from one thing to the other. Should there be? Maybe. I’m not sure how other people work. I know how I work, and even sometimes that is a mystery, but acknowledging things is sometimes half the battle, right? Knowing you’re lost is the first step in getting found. After all, if you don’t know you’re lost, you’ll keep on moving, but possibly in the wrong direction.

What I can say is that I have some pretty amazing people in my life who’ve encouraged me through all the downs, and really helped me work my way back to a place where I want to write. I can’t publish a book every few months. Or rather, I won’t. I’d like to have something new for you as a reader as often as possible, but my stories are a part or me in the same way that my heart keeps the rest of me going. They’ll never be perfect, but they’ll be the best I have to offer at the time, and until I feel they’re there, very few people will see them.

It seems like every two months I’m writing a post like this, but as I discover new things or make progress with something that pertains to my writing, I like to keep you posted. So for all those wondering, I’m still alive. I may not be around as often as I’d like, but I’m  here. I’m writing, just in smaller doses than before, and there will be more books, just not as quickly as I’d like. For all of you waiting, without making any promises, I’m aiming my next release at early 2014. For those of you who’re still here reading, and still here waiting, thank you! As the story comes along, I’ll be trying to find some good teasers to share, and until then, you can find me on Twitter and Facebook trying to get back into some semblance of a regular schedule! Don’t be shy! Come on over and say “Hello!”

 

Businesses Behaving Badly

If you’re a friend with me on Facebook, or stalk my Tweets at all, you may have seen me slightly outraged by a certain furniture company whose service was so subpar, it caused me to rant publicly—something I don’t really do—and it’s really had me paying attention to things.

In the past three weeks, I’ve been on a bit of a spending and repair spree. Buying new things for the house, repairing broken things, and essentially going to a hundred different stores. The one thing I’ve noticed as of late is the customer service these stores and businesses provide, or lack there of.

In a single evening, I visited five different stores in which I had purchased items from that all were in need of repair, and out of those five stores, only one of them was accommodating. The other four were either very difficult to deal with, as I was not there to buy something so they were not interested in helping me, blatantly ignorant and rude to me, or so dismissive I actually thought perhaps my Starbucks contained some kind of invisibility potion. 80% of the businesses I dealt with in just a single evening treated me so poorly that I actually grew angrier with each store I stopped at. That just isn’t right. And all of this doesn’t even included the horrible experience I had at my local bookstores, but that’s a story for another time.

This started me on an angry letter-writing campaign where I sent legitimate complaints to the corporate offices of each business. This may seem a bit silly or archaic, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that these people were getting paid to make customers want to never return to the store, or at least that’s what it seemed like their jobs were. Out of all the letters I wrote, I received one response, and it was simply asking for information that I had already included in my original e-mail. For one business I even wrote two separate letters at different times, after two separate negative experiences, and I did not hear anything. This leaves me even more flabbergasted.

In this digital age, there is nothing I cannot buy online, and in most cases, purchasing online saves me anywhere from a little, to a substantial amount of money. The thing is, I don’t buy most of my things online. I like to physically see the product before I purchase it, and in all honesty, I like to deal with people. I like to know when I have a problem, I can go into the store and speak with someone. I don’t like dealing with automated phone services that make me spend fifteen minutes pushing different buttons just so I can be on hold. On top of all that, I like to shop locally. I want to support local businesses and contribute to my community. But the thing is, everything is cheaper online. I don’t need to come to your store. So what this means to me is that customer service is the ONLY thing you’ve got going for you. Bookstore? Great staff and service is the only thing that’s making me pay a 40% premium just to pick a book off your shelves versus the digital library. Electronics store? Talking with your staff and asking questions to make sure I find the right product is what keeps me coming in. If I really wanted I could do all the research I need to online and make a purchase that way. And this goes for every business. I know when I come in with a problem, that you aren’t making any money. You might even think it’s a waste of your time. But here’s the thing, first, I already spent money in your store and now I want that warranty you gave me honoured, and second, when I receive GOOD customer service, or deal with an AMAZING employee at your business, not only are you the first place I think of going when I need something your business provides, it’s the direction I point anyone who might ask.

We are in a fast-paced, online world, and connecting with your customers is more important than ever. I’m an author and I don’t even see my customers face to face and I know this. In my opinion, customer service is the most important thing in any business. You make or break that customer’s experience. When you break it, we’ll let everybody know who will listen, and when you make it, you stand out so far above the rest, the competition is instantly over and we’ll send anyone we can your way.

Now, I’m just some high school dropout that makes things up and writes them down, but I already know this, so how are these companies that hire college graduates who are are trained in all aspects of business and marketing unaware of this? How are those six-figure salaries being earned? How are you letting this huge facet of your business slip through the cracks? In this day and age, customer service is all you have going for you. If you can’t do that right, how am I supposed to trust you to do anything else?

New Series

Working on a new book series is an interesting task to undertake. It’s been a few years since I’ve done that, and I forgot the amount of work that goes into that first book. The debut book in a new series is not just the book that makes or breaks it for your readers, but it’s the platform. Everything that your series will be starts there, which means there is a lot of thought that needs to go into it. And that’s not easy feat.

As a series progresses, you know where your series is going. You know who your characters are, you know their backgrounds, you know their story ARC’s and character turns, you know a great deal about everything. When you first start writing a new series however, it’s all a blank page. You’re not just writing a new story, you’re building a new world, you’re developing new people to live in that world, and you’re fabricating a reality that needs to ring true to your readers while at the same time taking them to a place they’ve never been. So that first book doesn’t start with just a blank page for a new story, it’s a blank page for a new lifetime. And it isn’t just one blank page either, there are literally dozens. There’s a new page for each character, each aspect of the story, the magic scale, the monsters, the landscape, and when you’ve gone through those and a ton of other ones, then comes the first page for the book itself. That’s not to say I do it all in that order, because generally that’s not the case at all, but it all needs to be done nonetheless.

In the past six months I’ve started three different series. The first is one I’ve spoken about before, and the only reason I’m not currently working on it is because it’s not quite ready. There are some aspects to things I haven’t worked out quite yet and I’m letting them marinate. The second is an idea that excites me, but I’m not ready to work on it. It doesn’t have the right feel for the type of story I want to tell. The final is the book I’m currently working on it. It’s fun, dark, edgy, and exciting, but it’s also a lot of work. All of the new ‘pages’ I listed above are all pages that I need to do. Some of them require a great amount of thought, others fun brainstorming sessions, and some just need time to develop, but that often happens as I write. But this book has my imagination running rampant. There’s so much going on inside my head, sometimes I can’t even write because I can’t organize my thoughts. It’s been a while since I’ve had that happen and been so excited about a new project. I’ve written the first three chapters thus far, and I’m partway into the fourth. Although they’re likely to change from time to time, in light of giving you something new to read, I’m going to try and post some teasers and samples over the next few weeks. And in addition to that, I’m brainstorming a few short stories that I hope to either publish, or put up in the Short Story tab soon. With that said, I should disappear for a little while and get some of this story done. Happy Monday!