Geof Johnson's Blog, page 3
January 12, 2017
Socress 2
I'm in the closing stages of revisions on Young Sorceress Book 2. I've cut all the fat and clutter, and hopefully, the redundancies and repetitions. There are always a few that sneak by, but I'm weeding them out as ruthlessly as I can.
Look for the new book in early February!
Look for the new book in early February!
November 29, 2016
Emails
Sometimes when I get frustrated with my writing, I reread a few emails or reviews from fans . Though short, this is one of my favorites. I left off the writer's name for privacy's sake.
"Don't normally do this, but thank you so very much for Wizard Born. I'm a disabled war vet, books are all I have, yours are among the best. Thank you again."
"Don't normally do this, but thank you so very much for Wizard Born. I'm a disabled war vet, books are all I have, yours are among the best. Thank you again."
October 18, 2016
Sorceress Book 2
I finished the rough draft today. Now it's time for revisions and hope I can sharpen this up into something focused and compelling.
I'm not panicking, though. It's always like this. Rough drafts are a mess for everybody, not just me. It's part of the process.
I'm not panicking, though. It's always like this. Rough drafts are a mess for everybody, not just me. It's part of the process.
September 3, 2016
Southern accent
I recently got some nice ratings for the Wizard Born books from a young woman in Russia. I’ve also gotten some from countries I never would’ve expected, like Sri Lanka, Denmark, Latvia, and others, and a few that I would’ve expected, like Australia and New Zealand. This makes me wonder though, what people from these places think of the strong southern dialect some of my characters use. It’s grammatically incorrect as it could be, but that’s the way some folks talk in this part of the USA.
If you’re unfamiliar with it and curious as to how it sounds, listen to the late, great Andy Griffith. He was from Mt. Airy NC, which is N.E. of Hendersonville (where most of Wizard Born takes place), but the accent is pretty much the same.
You can watch old episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show” online, or better yet, listen to one of his comedy monologues. Here’s one of my favorites. You’ll have to paste this into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xus57...
I’m about five weeks away from finishing the rough draft of the second Young Sorceress book, then it’s on to the grueling process of revisions. I’m happy with the results, so far. I hope you will be, too.
If you’re unfamiliar with it and curious as to how it sounds, listen to the late, great Andy Griffith. He was from Mt. Airy NC, which is N.E. of Hendersonville (where most of Wizard Born takes place), but the accent is pretty much the same.
You can watch old episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show” online, or better yet, listen to one of his comedy monologues. Here’s one of my favorites. You’ll have to paste this into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xus57...
I’m about five weeks away from finishing the rough draft of the second Young Sorceress book, then it’s on to the grueling process of revisions. I’m happy with the results, so far. I hope you will be, too.
July 26, 2016
Sorceress Book 2
I've been working hard on the Sorceress sequel, with a goal of finishing it as a trilogy. We'll see how that goes. Wizard Born was going to be just three books, but it ended up being five. I think this story can be told in three, though.
The biggest challenge with book two is making sure that I don't just rewrite book one (like other series I've read). The main character and her friends need a new, difficult challenge, in a new setting. That's why I'm involving the Industrials. I can get a lot of good stuff out of the culture clash, but that's not the main thrust of the story. It offers plenty of opportunities for fun scenes, though. I think you'll agree when you read it.
The biggest challenge with book two is making sure that I don't just rewrite book one (like other series I've read). The main character and her friends need a new, difficult challenge, in a new setting. That's why I'm involving the Industrials. I can get a lot of good stuff out of the culture clash, but that's not the main thrust of the story. It offers plenty of opportunities for fun scenes, though. I think you'll agree when you read it.
June 8, 2016
Finally!
My new book, Young Sorceress, is out. You can see it on Amazon or any of the other online sellers.
Now to finish the sequel, creatively titled Book 2. I think I'll call the last one of the series Book 3. I like patterns, as you can probably tell.
Now to finish the sequel, creatively titled Book 2. I think I'll call the last one of the series Book 3. I like patterns, as you can probably tell.
May 6, 2016
New Book Part 2
I got the cover art back for the new book and I'm really pleased with it. The title is Young Sorceress Book One: The Elves
I hope to have it available around June 1st. I hope that's soon enough for you.
I hope to have it available around June 1st. I hope that's soon enough for you.
March 21, 2016
Revisions
I'm already on my second pass of revisions of my new book, and once again I'm grateful nobody else reads my stuff at this stage.
It gets better over time, I think.
I've had readers email me and ask if I'd send them the parts that I cut out, but I never do.
Trust me, you don't want to see it.
It's not like making a movie, where a whole scene may end up on the cutting room floor. I cut bits and chunks, a word, sentence, or more, but rarely a whole scene.
And if I do cut one, it's for a good reason. I don't want anybody to read it because it stinks.
It gets better over time, I think.
I've had readers email me and ask if I'd send them the parts that I cut out, but I never do.
Trust me, you don't want to see it.
It's not like making a movie, where a whole scene may end up on the cutting room floor. I cut bits and chunks, a word, sentence, or more, but rarely a whole scene.
And if I do cut one, it's for a good reason. I don't want anybody to read it because it stinks.
March 4, 2016
New book
I'm almost through with the first draft a new book. Yay! It's going to be part of a trilogy, hopefully, if this one goes over well enough. If it's a dud, I'm not sure what I'll do, because I've already put a lot of thought into the rest of the set.
This is the first time I've begun a book with the intention of writing a series. Wizard Born didn't start out that way. It was a stand alone novel, and I was happy to have even managed that. But after numerous emails and reviews requesting, suggesting, or practically demanding that I make it into a series, I did.
That was really hard, too, because for a number of reasons. I didn't plan it that way, so I had to try hard to come up with something I felt would work, and I had to go back to Wizard Born and make some revisions to incorporate things that needed to be in there to make a series happen.
So, I thought that this time I would plan it from the start and see how that goes.
Wish me luck.
This is the first time I've begun a book with the intention of writing a series. Wizard Born didn't start out that way. It was a stand alone novel, and I was happy to have even managed that. But after numerous emails and reviews requesting, suggesting, or practically demanding that I make it into a series, I did.
That was really hard, too, because for a number of reasons. I didn't plan it that way, so I had to try hard to come up with something I felt would work, and I had to go back to Wizard Born and make some revisions to incorporate things that needed to be in there to make a series happen.
So, I thought that this time I would plan it from the start and see how that goes.
Wish me luck.
December 31, 2015
Review
I finally got a reader's review for my new book, "Stranger in the Woods," on Amazon.com. It was good one, fortunately. I'm always nervous about what the first will be like, but now that it's over with, I can hope for more.
I feel like this is my best work so far, but I don't have the proper distance to know for certain. I put the most work in it, that's for sure, and I like the new characters and the theme (it had one, trust me).
I feel like this is my best work so far, but I don't have the proper distance to know for certain. I put the most work in it, that's for sure, and I like the new characters and the theme (it had one, trust me).
