Konn Lavery's Blog: Posts from konnlavery.com, page 7

I Know Who I Am

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The Write Words Podcast

I am pleased to share that I was on The Write Words Podcast with the Podcast Take Over – Horror and Dark Fantasy hosted by Australian author Darren Kasenkow. We dive into the darker side of human existence, our place in the universe, and how all this ties into writing along with transmedia storytelling. Listen to the episode here:

A big thank you to Hayley and Darren for having me on the show and do check out The Write Words Podcast for all things writing.

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Routines Keep You Grounded

It’s official, I’ve now been in Vancouver for a month. I’m still trying to figure out where the time went because it only feels like a week. Perhaps that’s why routines keep you grounded, considering 4 weeks were compressed into 1 week within my internal timeline. Even with building furniture, unpacking, and juggling design work and writing, I stayed as accurate as possible to my old routine.

Welcome to Another Edition of Unprocessed Thoughts

Some people think routines are bland, dry, and uninteresting. Yes, the lack of spontaneousness can seem dull. It also creates stability, which is vital if you want to be a writer. Those words don’t get down on the page unless you put in the time.

Make Time

People frequently say they “don’t have time.” It’s an easy trap to fall into despite everyone having twenty-four hours a day. That’s why you must “make time” instead of presuming the universe owes you more hours in the day. Make the time by shifting your priorities which we looked at last month with orbiting tasks. Prioritizing what’s important will help you make time.

In addition, keeping a routine gives you a better sense of your day. Constantly doing the same ritual at the same time of day will help calm your mind and body because you won’t be flustered trying to juggle randomness. It’s certainly fun to be impulsive. It’s also a great way to lose track of yourself. We want the opposite when trying to create equilibrium.

The Ritual

Don’t worry; we’re not getting into any strange cult practices. A ritual doesn’t have to be a spiritual thing. It’s your method of doing something every day. Writing is a ritual. Drawing can be one, exercise is another or anything you prefer.

Staying true to your ritual puts everything else in order. Some people add multiple things to their rituals or have several daily rituals to best fit their life. I have a strict morning ritual, and the day progressively becomes less predictable. It’s part of the nature of freelance gigs.

Protect that Routine

What’s remembered is how your pick yourself up and continue in longevity. It takes around three months on average to truly set in a new habit. Since routines keep you grounded, you’ll have to be pretty disciplined to introduce a new ritual into your life. Also, don’t beat yourself up if you fall off the bandwagon. It happens to everyone and nothing to be ashamed of.

You also won’t want to perform your routine every day. Some days it will be a slug, but do keep at it. Your future self will thank you.

Short and Sweet. Remember, Routines Keep You Grounded

This Unprocessed Thoughts is short and to the point. As I mentioned, my internal timeline thinks I’ve been here for a week, and I feel like I just wrote August’s Unprocessed Thoughts. In reality, I didn’t. I’ve got lots of writing to get to as I’ve fallen behind on the Crystal Moths: Ash Book 1 novel and need to dedicate myself to it to be ready for next year.

That means it is my turn to make some time.

Beer Note: Slow Hand Beer Company Pilsner

As my tastes evolve, I keep moving towards lighter beers to suit the pallet, and this fits nicely. For this month I tried the Slow Hand Beer Company Pilsner. They are located in Vancouver and make a good beer if you’re in the mood for a dry one.

Amusingly enough, I’m getting into whiskeys which are far stronger than IPAs. Perhaps it’s time to shake things up.

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Building a MULTIVERSE and INTERACTIVE NOVELS! Diabolic Shrimp #3.1

I’m pleased to be back on Diabolic Shrimp, episode one of season three. I was on Diabolic shrimp earlier this year as part of a panel and last year for Into the Macrocosm.

This episode we chat about world building your books under a single universe, interactive novels, and Joshua Grant reads an excerpt from the interactive short story collection.

Check it out!

Diabolical Shrimp

YouTube Channel

Website

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The Spot

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Three eBooks to dive into The Macrocosm
Monthly Short Stories in Written and Audiobook Format
Access to drafts, works-in-progress, and writing updates
High Rez Short Story Artwork for Phone Backgrounds
Your name in the thank you section of the next Macrocosm short story collection
Access to The Macrocosm Wiki

You're basically buying me a drink every month, fueling me to craft more stories!

Let's not forget you will get a copy of the Into the Macrocosm eBook to jump-start you into this strange world of fantasy, horror, thrillers, scifi, and bizarre.To view this content, you must be a member of Konn's Patreon at $5 or more - Click "Read more" to unlock this content at the source

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Just Joshing Episode 843

I’m pleased to be back on Just Joshing and dive into the creative writing process, convention live, and where we both want to go next year. Listen to the episode below:

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Orbiting Your Tasks

Disrupting your routine creates a chain reaction of events, dismantling everything you���ve built. If the inconsistencies last too long, you���ve created another routine born of an inconsistent nature. Then introducing your old habits becomes a grind for your body and mind because it views them as something new. Orbiting your tasks will give you better means of handling wild cards and adapting to an ever-changing world. The scenario described is what I���ve been experiencing over the past seven weeks while migrating to Vancouver.

Welcome to Another Edition of Unprocessed Thoughts

Some people thrive in inconsistencies, while others deem it their worst nightmare. Despite living a ridged existence, I like a bit of randomness in my life. The constant in my world is bound to waking up earlier than others, thus giving myself time to write. As the day plays out, time becomes less predictable with contract work urgencies, meetings, and evenings where I still attempt to have a life. Then the next day, it repeats with the morning writing ritual.

Throughout August, I���ve been packing and prepping for the great migration west. There was also a strange health scenario for a couple weeks that is TMI (Too Much Information) for me to get into. In short, this infection made it nearly impossible for me to walk due to the chronic pain. My girlfriend and I were wondering if we���d have to adjust our plans because two doctors had mentioned potential surgery if the scenario didn���t improve. Thankfully healed with hardcore antibiotics in the end. All is well and timely for the move.

Needless to say, there hasn���t been a lot of writing happening over August; hence the Unprocessed Thoughts is late, just like July���s. Thankfully the move has been made, and the new apartment is functional (and aesthetically a mess), so we can get back to the regular writing programming.

Set Up Orbiting Your Tasks

I���ve talked about being flexible on the blog plenty of times. I have elaborated on consistency, planning, and being flexible. Basically, I���m implying you have to be everything to be a persistent writer. The regularity of writing is a must if you want a steady production line of new releases and to improve your craft. This doesn���t necessarily mean you must write at the same time for the same amount every day. Your writing needs to be the core of your day while everything else operates around it. This is the primary concept of orbiting your tasks.

Gravity is Flexibility

How can gravity mean flexibility? Well, think about how planets work in open space. In the cosmos, objects are attracted to each due to the gravity they create, constantly pulling on each other, creating an orbit. Your tasks are things throughout your day that can be pulled into your writing and circle around it. Your goal is getting those next words onto the page.

Asteroids, or moons, will orbit a planet. The planet orbits a sun which creates a solar system. That solar system is in a star cluster that rotates as a group around the galaxy, basically creating a fractal of endless orbiting. There are even odd scenarios where two equally sized objects rotate from the tension their gravities create against each other. This is the visualization of orbiting your tasks.

The space model helps abstractly visualize your days, weeks, months, and even years while writing your book and building to the business of writing. Maybe you also have another core thing to do daily ��� like taking care of a kid ��� and your writing orbits that task. Something like cleaning may be a lesser object that can orbit around your writing.

Shifting Pieces

The idea behind this space orbit view is to think in flexible terms. Rather than being ridged, sticking to your guns, and trying to push your way through tasks, you can move them around. The task may be able to be done later, so you let it complete another orbit. You can come back to it later in the day or maybe later in the week.

Another way of thinking about it is a hot potato. When you have too many things to juggle, just toss one in the air for a bit to buy yourself some time. You can finish an easy task before the other one falls back down. This is the same visual as orbiting your tasks.

In short, we���re talking about project management. A book is a massive goal with many moving parts. Trying to wedge it into your daily routine is a challenge on its own. These mental models aid your efforts in being more efficient in the long run.

A Small Example of Orbiting Your Tasks

Everything I did up to this point in 2022 has been dedicated to the move. I looked at what I could write, what I could publish, what kind of contract work I could take on, and what my physical limitations were before September. I figured a buffer was also needed throughout the months because things generally go south in some form. An example of that would be the extended time I spent in Vancouver looking for a place or losing half of August due to unexpected health issues.

Bound to Unpredictability

We have been locked into a world of inconsistency, whether we like it or not. The laws of nature and the fundamentals of our universe are so bizarre and unstable that its extraordinary humanity has made it this far. Maybe it was an inevitable process of illumination due to the number of atoms, stars, and planets in the universe. It���s still impressive; never the less.

Even in our well-polished industrialized global markets and massive systematic metropolises, we have wildcards we cannot control. The pandemic is an easy recent example of how life can knock everyone off their game. All the projections and predictions made by expert futurists didn���t take a microscopic organism into consideration because it is impossible for them to know the unknown unless they had a crystal ball.

I had read a book called Future Babble: Why Expert Predictions Fail – and Why We Believe Them Anyway by Dan Gardner a few years back that went into detail about the pure randomness of experts making accurate predictions. If memory serves, the best future forecasters are only 40-60% accurate. It���s a drastically low accuracy rate, considering how high some forecasters are paid. No other profession lets you be good at your job 40-60% of the time and make six figures a year (or more).

Do What You Can with Writing

All this talk about flexibility and managing your responsibilities has led us down into a vast void of the universe, hasn���t it? Maybe we can���t predict the future, and we have a lot of instability in the world but do what you can with your writing. After all, I���m going to guess you got into writing in the first place because you enjoyed it. It���d be a strange craft to specialize in if you didn���t.

I���m currently reading Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. In the introduction, it mentioned a solid point about remembering past generations. Most people are lucky if they can look back three generations ago within their family lineage. Multiply that by billions of people worldwide, and you see how forgettable we truly are as individuals. This is, of course, if you don���t write the next big New York Times Bestseller that becomes a Hollywood pop sensation.

With most of us being a drop in the ocean, take some comfort in your writing by enjoying the process. Guaranteed life will give you new, unforeseen scenarios soon and orbiting your tasks will provide you with a new set of tools to keep at your side. If you���re struggling to get those words on the page, keep at it, don���t beat yourself up and orbit those tasks. Remember, what goes around comes around.

Beer Note: FERDINAND Vienna Lager | Strange Fellows Brewing

For this month, I did try several new beers, and it is difficult to pick one because there are so many breweries in my neighbourhood. At random, here���s the FERDINAND Vienna Lager by Strange Fellows Brewing. It���s a solid lager I���ve had many times throughout my journey to find a home in Vancouver. It���s one you can drink several times over and not get tired of. I���d say all Strange Fellows Brewing beers are worth a try, and it is becoming a favourite of mine in such a short time here.

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Everlasting Health

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Monthly Short Stories in Written and Audiobook Format
Access to drafts, works-in-progress, and writing updates
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Your name in the thank you section of the next Macrocosm short story collection
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You're basically buying me a drink every month, fueling me to craft more stories!

Let's not forget you will get a copy of the Into the Macrocosm eBook to jump-start you into this strange world of fantasy, horror, thrillers, scifi, and bizarre.To view this content, you must be a member of Konn's Patreon at $5 or more - Click "Read more" to unlock this content at the source

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Late But Not Forgotten

The blog launched in 2015 of September right at the same time as I attended the Edmonton Comic Expo showcasing the first editions of Mental Damnation Reality and Dream. Since then, I���ve consistently released Unprocessed Thoughts at the end of each month, trying a new beer and dumping my thoughts into a blog post. I have yet to miss a month in the seven years, even if it is late but not forgotten.

Welcome to July���s Edition of Unprocessed Thoughts

You may wonder why the blog post is about July when we are two weeks into August. Well, let me tell you. I���ve been apartment hunting in Vancouver. If you missed June���s Unprocessed Thoughts, Back to Old, I���m in the process of moving out of Alberta and finding a new home was real work.

The Housing Crisis

Vancouver is a highly dense city, and time and time again, I���ve been informed of how difficult it is to find a place to live. A friend of a friend of mine said it takes about two years to find a place you really like in Vancouver Proper. My girlfriend and I went apartment hunting with prepped minds for the challenge ahead. Little did we know it���d be far more demanding.

Even before the search, Alberta is no better. Edmonton and Calgary are going through similar situations. One friend of mine, back in the spring in Edmonton, couldn���t find a main-level home to rent after a good couple of months of looking and thankfully kept their current place. Another in Calgary, last year, rented their property and was getting offers from people not even in the city wanting to rent it and pay the deposit right away. Then there is Toronto, where people are experiencing historical inflation.

In short, there is a housing crisis happening in Canada. I���m not versed enough to know where else it is occurring. Still, in Vancouver, there were grassroots movements, graffiti, and protests with the common slogan ���tenant power��� across the city during our visit.

Our Trip to Vancouver

My girlfriend and I have been planning a move for a while now. Obviously, the pandemic put a pin into that for a couple of years, but we���re finally doing it. Thankfully we���ve been able to plan everything on our terms and gave ourselves 10 months to make a move.

We���ve been purging, donating, organizing work, and then bought our plane tickets to find an apartment. Believe it or not, writing fiction isn���t lucrative enough to buy a multi-million-dollar condo anywhere in the world. No concern, though; I prefer a humble life.

Eventually, the time came to fly and find our new home. We were both excited and nervous but ready for the task ahead.

The Hunt

Over seven days, my girlfriend and I scoured the city and internet looking for a place to rent. We realized we had picked the worst possible week to head to Vancouver. It was a long weekend in British Columbia ��� live and learn.

Still, we contacted approximately 180 places via phone, email, or text. We found places on common sites like rentfaster.ca, Craig���s List, Pad Mapper, Facebook Marketplace, and Kijiji. We even went to some questionable sites that clearly mined data and scammed people. We went up and down neighbourhoods calling apartment complexes, and tallied an average of 15,000 steps per day. We even contacted a real estate agent for assistance just to find a place to rent.

Through our efforts of roughly 180 places contacted, we saw 11 places (with 4 more scheduled), applied to 4, rejected twice, and approved for 2. Many landlords showing us the units said they were getting 30-50 inquiries about rentals; many were overqualified from a financial perspective. Our pickings were slim because of money talks. Understanding the seriousness of the situation, we went with the first place that approved us.

Fool���s Luck

As mentioned before, we knew that finding a place would be difficult, and it was. Our 7-day hunt showed us some places we could have rented but declined. These were places with holes and tears in the ceilings and walls that weren���t going to be fixed or overcharged for 400 square feet ���micro-unit,��� as they���re called ��� designed for yuppies. Our quest proved unfruitful, and our flights were the next day. I ended up extending my stay to find a place. Thankfully our good friend didn���t mind me sticking around a little longer, and I can work remotely with the design business.

I contacted many more places the morning my girlfriend flew home. That afternoon I got a text from one unit we applied to say we were approved ��� woohoo! Staying the extra days let me take care of all the paperwork with our new landlord, and we were set. The next day we were approved for another we liked, but we decided not to mess around.

To our advantage, calling numbers right on apartment complexes��� doors cuts through all the bullshit of hunting online. Landlords get tons of inquiries, and spam, through the usual online posting methods, and going through 30-50 inquiries is a lot of work.

It must be fool���s luck (hence the Maneki-neko cat for the cover photo) because at the place my girlfriend called, the previous tenants had just moved out mere hours ago, and we happened to be in the neighbourhood. The unit is newly furnished, top floor, and in a fantastic location within walking distance of parks, pubs, and cafes.

New Beginnings

The reality of the situation hadn���t sunk in, even after how much work we put into it. It still hasn���t felt real because we are packing back in Alberta, in our home of 7 years. We simply know that we must go through the process because the move is happening, and the new place has been signed. Chances are it���ll finally feel real when we���re driving out of Edmonton for the final time with the cat in the car.

Thankfully for us and many others, the pandemic has proven to be a significant case study for remote work life. I���ve been doing it since 2014, so nothing new, but clients are far more open to calls, email, and video calls than face-to-face.

Moving with your partner is a big deal as you leave the familiar into the unknown. There are many uncertainties on the ever-inclining rise, such as economic and environmental issues, war, political polarization, and cultural conflict, to name a few, and no one knows what the future holds. Vancouver isn���t our permanent home, but it���s a great place, and we���re excited to see what doors will open on the west coast. In this strange new world we���re living in, my girlfriend and I can continue our everyday life in a city we want to be in and do it together.

Beer Note: So many

Staying a week and a half in Vancouver gave us plenty of time to try various breweries, many of which will be in our new neighbourhood. On the last day, my buddy and I even went to a meadery. We were so busy I didn���t even think to take a photo of any of them.

With that, I tried another good old Alberta beer for this late July���s Unprocessed Thoughts. Village Brewing Co. Small Batch Season Ale Limited Edition is made in Calgary – hence the cow on the front. Fitting for the last beer I’ll have for Unprocessed Thoughts in Alberta.

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Royal Blood by Simon Rose ��� The Stone of the Seer Book 2

My guest today is Calgary author Simon Rose, who has published eighteen novels for children and young adults, eight guides for writers, more than a hundred nonfiction books, and many articles on a wide variety of topics. Today, we���re looking at his latest release, Royal Blood, the second novel in the Stone of the Seer series.

So remind us about the Stone of the Seer series. What���s it all about?

The Stone of the Seer is an exciting historical fantasy series for young adults, primarily set during the English Civil War in the mid-seventeenth century. The Stone of the Seer, is the first book in the series. At Habingdon House, Lady Elizabeth Usborne, Kate, and Tom discover a magical black stone, mysterious ancient manuscripts, and the tempus inpectoris, an incredible time viewing device. They are also in grave danger from Daniel Tombes, who has a fearsome reputation as a witchfinder.

And without giving too much away, what can readers look forward to in the second novel?

In Royal Blood, Lady Elizabeth, Kate, and Tom move to London in the middle of the Civil War, experiencing the great political changes taking place at the time, including the

trial and execution of Charles I. They are also still under threat from Tombes, who is also in the city. The story has many twists and turns, and I doubt if any of the readers will expect the novel���s cliffhanger ending.

And then they���ll have to wait for the third book?

Yes, they certainly will. I���m hoping that Revenge of the Witchfinder, the final novel and the conclusion of the story,will be published later this year. After that, people will be able to buy all three books in the series.

And what���s the story behind the story?

The story, main characters, and some of the settings in Royal Blood are fictional, but like in The Stone of the Seer, they���re based on real events and historical characters, such as King Charles I, appear in the story. The English Civil War broke out as a result of the struggle between Charles I and Parliament, regarding how the country should be governed. The king���s defeat in the war was followed by his trial and execution in January 1649. The monarchy was abolished and replaced first by the Commonwealth of England and then the Protectorate. However, although the monarchy was restored in 1660, in the person of Charles II, his father���s defeat confirmed that an English monarch couldn���t rule the country without the consent of Parliament. This was eventually legally established in 1688 after the Glorious Revolution.

Did you conduct extensive historical research for this book, as you did with the first one?

Although the English Civil War is a time period I���ve always been interested in, I still engaged in lots of research. I needed to study what life was like in seventeenth century London, the political and religious beliefs that were around at the time, the influence of real witchfinders such as Matthew Hopkins and others like him, and of course the trial and execution of Charles I. The trial itself was very well recorded and I was able to ensure that the words spoken by both the king and his accusers were accurate. There were also many witnesses to the execution, so I was able to include established facts about that aspect as well.

As I did in The Stone of the Seer, I���ve included a glossary at the end of Royal Blood, where readers can learn more about the events, settings, and leading characters from the era, locations that are mentioned in the text, life in the seventeenth century, and about other historical periods that are featured in the story. On my website, there���s also a page with details about the historical background behind the books, with links to online sources about the time period.

Do you have any current projects?

Right now I���m working on another historical fantasy novel series, this time set in the early years of World War II. I���m also working on another series of paranormal novels, in the same genre as my previously published series that includes Flashback, Twisted Fate, and Parallel Destiny. You can learn more about those books at www.simon-rose.com. In addition, I���m in the early stages of another couple of historical projects, and am also working on some screenplays, including adaptations of my Shadowzone series, and on several other topics.

Do you still work with other authors as well?

Yes, I offer coaching, editing, consulting, and mentoring services for writers of novels, short stories, fiction, nonfiction, biographies, inspirational books, and in many other genres, plus work with writers of scripts and screenplays. I���m also a writing instructor at the University of Calgary and served as the Writer-in-Residence with the Canadian Authors Association. You can find details of some of the projects I���ve worked on with other authors, along with references and recommendations, at www.simon-rose.com.

So where can people buy Royal Blood and The Stone of the Seer?

The novel can be purchased at most of the usual places, as follows:

Royal Blood

Ebook: Amazon Canada,��Amazon USA, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble,��Smashwords

Paperback: Amazon Canada, Amazon USA

The Stone of the Seer

Ebook:��Amazon Canada,��Amazon USA,��Kobo,��iBooks,��Barnes and Noble,��Smashwords��

Paperback:��Amazon Canada, Amazon USA

Thanks Simon, for being my guest here today and the very best of luck with Royal Blood and the Stone of the Seer series. I hope the books sell thousands and thousands of copies in the coming weeks and months.

You can learn more about Simon and his work on his website at www.simon-rose.com, where you can also link to his social media sites and other locations online.

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