Christopher Louis's Blog, page 20

While shopping for souvenirs at Downtown Disney, we went into...

While shopping for souvenirs at Downtown Disney, we went into the Lego store and purchased a few things. While there I purchased one of their mini-figure mystery packs - thinking why not. I didn’t open it until we got home and discovered that this series has a librarian figure in it. (No, I didn’t not get that figure - darn it!). Even though I am not a librarian, I do work in a library, many of my friends are librarians, and I love the profession - I totally want this figure now. Sadly, you can’t purchase the figure out right, you have to buy the mystery packs and hope for the best. I think a trip to our much smaller Lego store in town might be necessary soon.

It comes out of the blue

So last week I was enjoying a much needed vacation in the happiest place on earth - Walt Disney World. Had an absolutely amazing time with my wonderful hubby, our dear friends, and our adorable niece and nephew. While we were there however, I found myself having lots of time to just let me mind drift as we rode our transit bus each day. Not sure what made me think of it, but an idea started forming about the possible sequel to Half A Life. I had already played around with a few ideas and even managed to get some thoughts onto the computer, when a title came to me - Dear Ben - in which the entire story is told through David’s letters. I have never attempted to tell a story just from one person’s perspective before, but the idea of giving it a shot has gotten me excited about giving it a try. I’ll just have to give it a try and see how it goes.

Photo

My newest accessory - a carpal tunnel wrist guard. I guess...

My newest accessory - a carpal tunnel wrist guard. I guess it’s true that artists suffer for their craft. :-)

Goodreads

I have been very lazy about keeping up with my GoodReads account recently. It is one of those site that I normally love to visit on a weekly basis as I almost always find something of interest - either a title/series that interests me, or a new author to try. Sadly, I’ve let it slip away from me and I need to get back into the habit of checking it at least once a week.

I love being able to track and rate all the books I have read, plus keep a list of books that I want to someday read. My second favorite thing is their Listopia feature. This is an amazing feature that allows you to search lists of titles based on just about any topic / description you could think of. Want a list of books with covers that have people’s heads not fully shown, or covers with people looking over their shoulder? Just type the words and moments later a list appears.

If you have checked it out yet - I highly recommend it. www.goodreads.com

Manuscript

I have learned so much since I published Half A Life last August and most of it came from the amazing people who read my novel and provided me with feedback. I first learned that my story touched people in ways that I hoped it would. The second was that I need to take a few extra steps in preparing my second novel as I simply can not do it all myself - I need to have someone else proofread it. That was an amazing gift to receive and I took it to heart; I had it proofread and I should be getting it back tomorrow. I am excited to talk with the person (as they are someone I trust and think very highly of) to see what they thought and what they might have taken away from the story. it will also be interesting to see how much I truly missed during my last pass of the manuscript. I can’t wait to see how things move forward.

nypl:Our thanks to fellow book lovers at Feiwel & Friends...

nypl:

Our thanks to fellow book lovers at Feiwel & Friends for sharing such a great quote. Bonus points that the great quote is from Nathan Fillion!

Awesome post!

While talking with two of my staff today I was asked a really intriguing question - Have I ever...

While talking with two of my staff today I was asked a really intriguing question - Have I ever cried because of something I wrote? My answer was no - but that isn’t to say that I haven’t had an emotional reaction (or that I haven’t come close before). I have actually been moved many times by things I have written. When I wrote the final chapters of Half A Life I was mentally drained afterwards. Even though I knew what I wanted to happen and knew that it was happening; actually putting on the page made it real. 

Just recently in my most recent writings I wrote a very disturbing scene that involved one of my characters being kidnapped and tortured. I am extremely proud of how I presented it because it brought out some very heavy emotions in me. It actually disturbed me - which is what I want the reader to feel when they read it. I’ve found that I still think about it as the days have passed. 

So while I haven’t cried, I certainly become attached to my characters and as things happen to them - the empathy and compassion is right there. Who knows - maybe someday tears will indeed fall; but for now that hasn’t happened.

Draft copies of my second novel are in the hands of a proofreader and a graphic designer while works...

Draft copies of my second novel are in the hands of a proofreader and a graphic designer while works continues to move at a good pace on my third novel. I am very excited to see what types of comments and suggestions the proofreader provides. I have taken the wonderful gift some reviewers provided to me on my first book and am wanting to make the experience even better this time not only for me but for my readers. It is an amazing time and I am loving every minute of it.

Had some new author photos taken today so that I can update my...

Had some new author photos taken today so that I can update my website.

My awesome brother in law took them: timsebringphotography.com