Brendan Carroll's Blog: Working my way back, page 8

Guest Blog for Bluebells of Scotland Trilogy

Here is the link to a guest blog I did for the Bluebells of Scotland Trilogy blog.
Thank you, Miss Vosika!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Red...

The Frugal eReader

The Red Cross of Gold I:. The Knight of Death is being featured today at: http://www.thefrugalereader.com/

A good friend of mine is opening a new website on November 15 and will offer reviews, interviews, blogs and a place to post book trailers for Indie Authors. She will be doing some advertising on Google, Facebook and Yahoo and will sell ads to Indie authors for 'cheap prices'. Ha! She knows a few indie authors.

I have had a sneak preview and it looks pretty good. She will make the ads if you like, help with beta-reading, editing for spelling and grammar and book covers.

Worth checking into in my humble opinion. Indie Authors need all the help they can get to put their names out there.

O, Woe is Me!!

I love Kindleboards.com. There is no doubt about it. I spend anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours a day there posting and reading and I am a loyal supporter of the board... to the death! But there are some posters there that I simply do not understand. If we put ourselves out there (in the public domain) as writers, as reviewers, as bloggers, as anything that the public will scrutinize, then we must expect, at some time or another, to receive everything from fan mail to hate mail and everything in between. These posters who go on and on complaining and whining because they stepped on someone's toes and got smashed on is annoying. What is even worse it that the rest of us, those who simply try to roll with the flow and keep on stroking our keypads, have to listen to these impromptu lectures (we don't really HAVE to listen, but I find myself reading them out of sheer astonishment at the amount of venom such a biting post can inject into my ears).
If we are in the public eye (I am not famous... yet, but I'm out there), we must grow thicker skins or, if we are unable to do that, we must hide our sorrow, anquish and anger in a beer in the privacy of our own homes, cars, caves, treehouses, etc. Otherwise, we simply exacerbate the situation and give our antagonists more fodder to feed on.
Just my opinion. And, oh, the photo? Yes, well, a good friend of mine said that I remind her of this fellow. Ha!

Wow, Retirement is Busy!

Just before I retired, a number of people I worked with told me that I'd soon be back at work because I would be bored. I always objected to their reasoning and told them I would stay busy writing and promoting my books. Even though I said this with conviction, I was truly afraid that I would actually miss working and become bored.
What a joke! I haven't looked back once with remorse since April and I hardly see a time coming down the road when I might grow tired of being my own boss, doing what I love to do, when I want to do it, without dreading Monday morning.
I am currently working on Book 20 of the Assassin Chronicles, editing and formatting, proofreading and tweaking it for publication. I had hoped for a November publication for it, but that might not be possible. It may be more reasonable to expect it out in December.
At present, I am also thinking of writing a short horror story for a proposed anthology for "Kindle Authors". I have a few ideas for storyline and character, but I really don't know if I'll have time to meet the December 15 deadline.
It has been very hard for me to believe that I've become so very busy blogging and posting and reading and writing and promoting and trying to help out fellow authors where possible that I've got to squeeze in time for baths, dogs, family, doctors and all those other 'necessary things' thrust upon us by everyday life. I have to kick myself and mentally pinch myself whenever I feel the old resentment that I used to have for my day job whenever I have to stop what I'm doing to pay attention to family needs and friends. I don't want to be seen as having tunnel vision or as selfish, but I am accused of it quite often when I hear "that's all you ever think of... book, book, book!" or even worse "now that you've retired, you have plenty of time to do this or do that or the other". Surprisingly enough, I find that I need days with much more than 24 hours in order to get things done and when I have to sleep, I really feel like I'm wasting time. Now I need to make enough money to hire a housekeeper, a yardman, a cook and a chauffeur so that I can devote all my energy to writing. Well, wish me luck! :)

An Epiphany

Lately, there has been a lot of worry and wonder about the reception that Indie Authors receive whenever they attempt to join in on the various forums around the web. To say that Indies are met with a less than friendly attitude by fellow posters, would be a gross understatement. I have personally watched some of the forums for these vicious attacks and have witnessed some that weren't totally IMHO unprovoked on the part of the author. In these instances, the author had made no attempt to ...

New Release

The nineteenth book in the Assassin Chronicles series is now available for $2.99 at the Amazon Kindle Store. I will begin working on the paperback version ASAP. I hope that my fans will continue to read about the Knight of Death's misfortunate adventures. Thank you all! Happy Reading!

Is Writing Difficult for Authors?

I've seen a number of posts from authors complaining about writer's block, lack of inspiration, inability to get started, having trouble with character's names, descriptions, settings, etc. These I find quite puzzling. It seems to me (IMHO)that I never run out of ideas, names, descriptions, inspiration, plot possibilities, prospective settings, but what I do run short on is time.
Since retiring back in February after a lifetime of public service, I find that I am busier than ever. Writing is not difficult for me, managing my time seems to be the problem. I have so many things I want to write. Everything from blogs, to forum posts, to full-blown novels and yet, there are not enough hours in the day to get it all done.
The real problem lies in having too many irons in the fire as the old adage goes. I have family, friends, pets, trips here, there and everywhere and though these things are enjoyable much of the time and necessary the rest of the time, they are very demanding.
Then there are the usual diversions: Politics, religion, television, games, reading, Facebooking! OMG! And last, but certainly not least, house/yard work. I like a clean house/yard. I hate clutter and junk. If I can't use or at least enjoy looking at it from time to time, I don't need it. Hence, I spend time everyday cleaning and working to keep everything neat and tidy. I simply cannot function in a house piled with clutter and if there must be clutter, then it must be "orderly" clutter! Ha!
So the answer to the question may actually be Yes! Writing is difficult! But it is not the actual writing, it find the time to do it.

What is it all about?

Sometimes I get bogged down in existential questions like "why is the sky blue?" and "what is the meaning of life?". Actually, I have already learned the answers to these two questions, but this blog is not about that. This blog is about writing.
Isn't it strange that some people never pick up a book and read while some people read constantly and can never get enough? And isn't it stranger still that some people can barely write their own names, hate writing and won't even write a check while ...

The Red Cross of Gold I:. The Knight of Death

Are Politics Necessary?

It's sometimes extremely hard to write blogs and make comments at Facebook and other forums without taking a stand or making statements that reflect my personal views on the state of the world. I realize that everyone has an opinion or a view and that everyone is entitled (at least in this country) to hold those views regardless of what others may think. That is one of our dearest and most precious rights under the constitution of the United States. Freedom of Speech. But lately, I've noticed that it is increasingly dangerous to engage in what is sometimes referred to as "swapping politics" or political debate.
Open discussion with courtesy and decency and respect for one another has gone the way of the Dodo Bird.
As a semi-public figure (author), it has become increasingly important to make sure that we remain neutral in order that we do not alienate potential readers (customers). The United States is becoming less friendly when it comes to acceptance and tolerance and it is not something that can be easily attributable to terrorist threats and/or actions. We are no longer united against those factions that would see us dead simply because we are Americans or even just because we LIVE in America, but we have begun to tear each other apart, insult each other and I am afraid that the sentiments behind these developments are growing to the extent that we are beginning to hate each other based on politics and even worse, we are beginning to fall back into the old divisions along racial lines as we tumble toward future disasters that could threaten our very existence as human beings.
It is inconceivable to me that OUR RACE: HUMANITY can nickpick ourselves into oblivion. Science has shown us beyond a reasonable doubt that we will be facing planetary disasters in the future. Could be tomorrow, next week, next year or next century. And the only way we can hope to survive is to drop our petty grievances and work together as human beings toward solving these problems proactively.
Cosmically speaking, we, all of us, are nothing more than specks of dust on specks of dust in the Universe. But even so, our achievements expand into the vastness of space and make us sparkling points of wonder. Our brains are miracles of engineering and whether we believe in one god, no god or many gods, we should believe in ourselves and each other and yet... we do not. We fight. We argue. We insult and we antagonize each other and to what end? The answer is obvious: OUR OWN END.