R.A. Wilson's Blog, page 2
December 24, 2012
To my Parents,
Gene and Janice, you may be wondering why when you start up your web browser it goes directly to this website. Well, as your tech junkie son, I may have had something to do with it. No, there is not some weird Ravin Saga virus that has hijacked your computer. It could be just maybe I wished for you to take a gander at the new design of my website and see everything that I am ready to tell the world about. Or it could be because we don't get a lot of time to talk as we are all very busy adults, this is an easy way to get some steady information about what I am doing in my life outside of the day job.
But either way I just wanted to wish you a Merry Yule and remind you to mention my books on occasion. Remember, the more books I sell, the Merrier next year Yule may become. Can you imagine the day when I don't have to trek to that day job anymore and spend my time doing what I love to do? Why I am at it, I would also like to thank my current and future readers for empowering me to create this fiction I so love to write.
Love ya both mom and dad.
Your son,
Roger
p.s. TO EVERYONE, as a present for whatever holiday it is you celebrate this time of year, the TRAGEDY OF MACBETH: A NOVEL will be free for download on Amazon.com from December 25th through December 29th. Please download it for your own enjoyment, and tell everyone else about it. And yes, it will remain yours even after the 29th. Once you download it, it is yours!
But either way I just wanted to wish you a Merry Yule and remind you to mention my books on occasion. Remember, the more books I sell, the Merrier next year Yule may become. Can you imagine the day when I don't have to trek to that day job anymore and spend my time doing what I love to do? Why I am at it, I would also like to thank my current and future readers for empowering me to create this fiction I so love to write.
Love ya both mom and dad.
Your son,
Roger
p.s. TO EVERYONE, as a present for whatever holiday it is you celebrate this time of year, the TRAGEDY OF MACBETH: A NOVEL will be free for download on Amazon.com from December 25th through December 29th. Please download it for your own enjoyment, and tell everyone else about it. And yes, it will remain yours even after the 29th. Once you download it, it is yours!
December 16, 2012
It's Hobbitting Time!
So, many of you probably didn't hear about it as it's such a small movie, but this little production known as The Hobbit was released on this last Friday. I had the good fortune that this little known movie happened to come my way to the big city of Yankton SD. My impression of the movie is this: Perfectly what it should be. I've heard critics complain that it does not have the epic scope of the Lord of the Rings, but lets be honest here. The Hobbit is NOT the Lord of the Rings, nor should it be made so. It is a lighthearted book full that carries its sense of humor well. And the movie followed that admirably. I would recommend this movie to anyone who did enjoy the Lord of the Rings, just like I would recommend it to anyone who likes movies... or anyone who breaths, really.
Welcome Back RavinSaga.com
And here we are! Ravinsaga.com is back up and running as of today. It has been redesigned with more information posted about different projects that are being worked on right now. The current novel being written is called Ouroboros. For information about that, look under the Library tab for The World of Parquis.
So what happened to make the website go down? We have been needing to redesign the website and clean up old information that was no longer accurate, to refocus on what we are working on while showing a little of what will be coming in the years ahead. So please check it out and let me know what you think. I am always looking forward to hear comments from my readers.
Happy Reading
--R.A. Wilson
So what happened to make the website go down? We have been needing to redesign the website and clean up old information that was no longer accurate, to refocus on what we are working on while showing a little of what will be coming in the years ahead. So please check it out and let me know what you think. I am always looking forward to hear comments from my readers.
Happy Reading
--R.A. Wilson
October 9, 2012
A quick update for you. Yes you! Not the other people reading this. Just you.
Sorry the updates have slowed down a lot. Most of my time has been stolen greedily by the acoursed day job! Dun, dun, dun. I'm working so much that I must be insane on a technical level, especially considering I'm salery and get no extra pay for the hours upon hours of extra work. That's the way it goes though.
HOWEVER, this does not mean I am not writing (it does mean it is going slower than I like). I am working on two different projects right now. One is a collaboration effort between me and a dozen other people. It will be a sort of prelude to ENDOSPORE. It will not be a novel though, so by definition it will be something else. More on that later as the project develops.
The other project I'm working on is my next novel. It will not be a children's book, and it will not be the next Shakespeare adaptation (but give me any suggestions of which one you want done next). It is actually my flagship fantasy series. I know what you are saying out there, you yearning and eager masses! "I thought ENDOSPORE was the flagship series!"
Well, not really.
That would be RAVIN WORLD, the namesake of Ravin Saga itself. But how can it be the flagship without any books written in it? There are book. Three and a half to be exact. But those were the first books I ever wrote and are not worthy to see the light of the Kindle (you know, depending on your model). I have completely replotted this story (yes I am penning the word "replotted" right now. Go ahead an use it. You have my permission). And by story, I mean 10-20 book epic. I'm still working it out, the details of the individual stories, but it is coming along, and it will be glorious!
That's right: glorious. You can take my word for it. I'm a writer. It's okay. It will be a little bit of time before these two projects will be see. Until then, the audiobook for ENDOSPORE is in post production right now and will begin releasing in November or December. Howard has said so, and so it shall be!
Until next time,
Happy Reading
--R. A. Wilson
HOWEVER, this does not mean I am not writing (it does mean it is going slower than I like). I am working on two different projects right now. One is a collaboration effort between me and a dozen other people. It will be a sort of prelude to ENDOSPORE. It will not be a novel though, so by definition it will be something else. More on that later as the project develops.
The other project I'm working on is my next novel. It will not be a children's book, and it will not be the next Shakespeare adaptation (but give me any suggestions of which one you want done next). It is actually my flagship fantasy series. I know what you are saying out there, you yearning and eager masses! "I thought ENDOSPORE was the flagship series!"
Well, not really.
That would be RAVIN WORLD, the namesake of Ravin Saga itself. But how can it be the flagship without any books written in it? There are book. Three and a half to be exact. But those were the first books I ever wrote and are not worthy to see the light of the Kindle (you know, depending on your model). I have completely replotted this story (yes I am penning the word "replotted" right now. Go ahead an use it. You have my permission). And by story, I mean 10-20 book epic. I'm still working it out, the details of the individual stories, but it is coming along, and it will be glorious!
That's right: glorious. You can take my word for it. I'm a writer. It's okay. It will be a little bit of time before these two projects will be see. Until then, the audiobook for ENDOSPORE is in post production right now and will begin releasing in November or December. Howard has said so, and so it shall be!
Until next time,
Happy Reading
--R. A. Wilson
September 3, 2012
Have You Seen My Meow?
And the book is out 2 weeks early!!!! A perfectly charming little bedtime story for you children, nieces and nephews, or just a random child who loves a colorful book! It's only 2.99. Its found easily at Smashwords, and it will be out on Amazon on 9/4/12. iTunes, Nook, Kobo, Reader, Blio, Diesel will follow.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/227655
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/227655
August 25, 2012
Macbeth Rises!
Macbeth as never before seen, translated and transformed into an easy to read novel. Macbeth is very ambitious, but he unfortunately lacks the killer instinct necessary to accomplish his goals. Thankfully for him, his wife does not have a deficiency in that regards, and she knows how to get him to perform. She pushes him to take the crown for himself, but can she handle the monster she creates.
The Tragedy of Macbeth: A Novel is released! Buy it. Read it. Or the witches will find you.
For the Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0091YU9PW
On Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/219625
The Tragedy of Macbeth: A Novel is released! Buy it. Read it. Or the witches will find you.
For the Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0091YU9PW
On Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/219625
August 19, 2012
And the SUPER SECRET TOTALLY AWESOME BOOK IS:
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH: A NOVEL based on the works of William Shakespeare.
This book was written to solve two basic problems stopping the average person from enjoying the works of Shakespeare. The first part is the language is just so hard to understand. There are many different annotated versions of his plays you can read to help with this. But the second problem has not been solved yet, until now.
The problem is this, Shakespeare wrote plays. This is a format intended to be viewed, not read. The novel not only has made the language easy to understand, but also made it actually enjoyable to just sit down and read. It is a book, with dialogue and descriptions both. It is easily understood, and so easily enjoyable.
For your reading pleasure, I would like to give you a gift. The first chapter of THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH: A NOVEL.
Chapter 1
Though dawn cracks the night, the sun’s warming rays cannot reach the cold shadow upon the ground. Occasional flashes of lightening reveal a frozen moment burned fleetingly into one’s eyes, dragging on blindness in the intervening time. Looking up during these moments of sight show thick clouds like dark smoke billowing to overcast the land. They carry the promise of a deluge that will soak anyone and everything caught outside when the heavens begin to cry. A precursor to the terrible downpour only moments away, the storm flashes brightly once again.
The booming thunder that follows shakes the ground, heralding in the rain, which begins to falls in a drumming of large, cold, raindrops. The darkness deepens even more, swallowing all but the flashes of light the storm itself brings. The hilltop beneath the sky is illuminated in another blinding flash. It has been made barren under the marching feet of an army that passed by merely the day before. And now the rain quickly turns the hill’s exposed dirt into viscous mud.
On the hilltop, three old hags approach one another, seemingly not harried by the storm but instead reveling in it. Each are dressed alike, wearing clothes that have long since decayed into old and moldy rags that hang from their thin and seemingly weak frames. The rags have been added on to cover the previous soiled cloth, leaving the old women to appear bulky in the layers. Their faces are old and dark, their thin hair hoary, and their shoulders slumped from long lives spent on hard paths. Their aged faces are covered by thin, wispy beards of hair that would look at home on a long dead corpse.
The first raises her arms up in greeting and speaks in a creaking voice. “Well met, under the thunder on the hilltop.”
The second and third grin in reply, showing rotten and missing teeth.
The second says, “It shall be as we foresaw at our last meeting. The events have come to pass.”
The third adds, “Then we shall need to meet once more to speak the prophesy to Macbeth. He is the one who must listen.”
“When shall that be? Under the thunder, the lightening, or shall it be in the rain?” the first asks.
The second answers, “After the battle the army marches to, when the victor emerges. We shall meet then.”
The third looks across the horizon, her eyes growing unfocused, seeing that which is hidden in the dark. “That will come before the sun sets on this day. They lock in battle as we speak.”
The second declares, “Then let the meeting be on the field, among the corpses, two days after the battle. It is a fitting setting for such deeds as any would be.”
The third cackles in joy. “And it will be there that Macbeth comes to us.”
The first hag looks behind her, into the darkness, her attention drawn by some sound only she can hear. The second and third also are distracted away momentarily before the three return their attentions to one another.
The shadowy outline of a cat emerges from the rain. Darker than even the night sky, the cat’s form is visible only as a shadow in the downpour. It comes from behind the first hag and sits, licking its front paw as it waits, unconcerned with the falling rain. A toad emerges from behind the second witch, looking much larger than a toad should naturally grow. Nothing comes from behind the third, but still she hears her familiar’s call.
“I am coming, Graymalkin,” the first says to the cat, waving a hand dismissively.
“Paddock also calls,” the second says to the first.
The third exclaims, calling to her familiar, who has yet to arrive, “I am here!”
Pulling their attention back to one another, the witches say in unison, “That which is fair is now foul, and that which is foul is now fair. Fly! Take to the fog and filthy air. After the battle we shall meet Macbeth to bear witness and ensnare.” The three fade from sight as if by some otherworldly sorcery, and their familiars vanish with them.
This book was written to solve two basic problems stopping the average person from enjoying the works of Shakespeare. The first part is the language is just so hard to understand. There are many different annotated versions of his plays you can read to help with this. But the second problem has not been solved yet, until now.
The problem is this, Shakespeare wrote plays. This is a format intended to be viewed, not read. The novel not only has made the language easy to understand, but also made it actually enjoyable to just sit down and read. It is a book, with dialogue and descriptions both. It is easily understood, and so easily enjoyable.
For your reading pleasure, I would like to give you a gift. The first chapter of THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH: A NOVEL.
Chapter 1
Though dawn cracks the night, the sun’s warming rays cannot reach the cold shadow upon the ground. Occasional flashes of lightening reveal a frozen moment burned fleetingly into one’s eyes, dragging on blindness in the intervening time. Looking up during these moments of sight show thick clouds like dark smoke billowing to overcast the land. They carry the promise of a deluge that will soak anyone and everything caught outside when the heavens begin to cry. A precursor to the terrible downpour only moments away, the storm flashes brightly once again.
The booming thunder that follows shakes the ground, heralding in the rain, which begins to falls in a drumming of large, cold, raindrops. The darkness deepens even more, swallowing all but the flashes of light the storm itself brings. The hilltop beneath the sky is illuminated in another blinding flash. It has been made barren under the marching feet of an army that passed by merely the day before. And now the rain quickly turns the hill’s exposed dirt into viscous mud.
On the hilltop, three old hags approach one another, seemingly not harried by the storm but instead reveling in it. Each are dressed alike, wearing clothes that have long since decayed into old and moldy rags that hang from their thin and seemingly weak frames. The rags have been added on to cover the previous soiled cloth, leaving the old women to appear bulky in the layers. Their faces are old and dark, their thin hair hoary, and their shoulders slumped from long lives spent on hard paths. Their aged faces are covered by thin, wispy beards of hair that would look at home on a long dead corpse.
The first raises her arms up in greeting and speaks in a creaking voice. “Well met, under the thunder on the hilltop.”
The second and third grin in reply, showing rotten and missing teeth.
The second says, “It shall be as we foresaw at our last meeting. The events have come to pass.”
The third adds, “Then we shall need to meet once more to speak the prophesy to Macbeth. He is the one who must listen.”
“When shall that be? Under the thunder, the lightening, or shall it be in the rain?” the first asks.
The second answers, “After the battle the army marches to, when the victor emerges. We shall meet then.”
The third looks across the horizon, her eyes growing unfocused, seeing that which is hidden in the dark. “That will come before the sun sets on this day. They lock in battle as we speak.”
The second declares, “Then let the meeting be on the field, among the corpses, two days after the battle. It is a fitting setting for such deeds as any would be.”
The third cackles in joy. “And it will be there that Macbeth comes to us.”
The first hag looks behind her, into the darkness, her attention drawn by some sound only she can hear. The second and third also are distracted away momentarily before the three return their attentions to one another.
The shadowy outline of a cat emerges from the rain. Darker than even the night sky, the cat’s form is visible only as a shadow in the downpour. It comes from behind the first hag and sits, licking its front paw as it waits, unconcerned with the falling rain. A toad emerges from behind the second witch, looking much larger than a toad should naturally grow. Nothing comes from behind the third, but still she hears her familiar’s call.
“I am coming, Graymalkin,” the first says to the cat, waving a hand dismissively.
“Paddock also calls,” the second says to the first.
The third exclaims, calling to her familiar, who has yet to arrive, “I am here!”
Pulling their attention back to one another, the witches say in unison, “That which is fair is now foul, and that which is foul is now fair. Fly! Take to the fog and filthy air. After the battle we shall meet Macbeth to bear witness and ensnare.” The three fade from sight as if by some otherworldly sorcery, and their familiars vanish with them.
August 14, 2012
Thank you to all of our soldiers
I just want to say thank you to all of the service men and women around the world. They have the most important job of all. It is their sacrifice and hard work that allows the rest of us to do what it is that we do. Without the armed services, there would be no point in being a baker, farmer, ceo, salesman, or writer. We have a great debt to these brave men and women. It may seem like a small thing, but I always thought a little recognition and gratitude can go a long way. So, once again, thank you for keeping us safe.
I have recently discovered something called the Operation E-Book Drop. Started by Ed Patterson to give his own books for free to our service men and women, he found there were many other writers willing to offer up their works for free. I have joined these ranks. If you are in the armed forces and would like to benefit from this program that offers thousands of books for free, follow this link for Ed's email where he can get you in the program.
http://blog.smashwords.com/2009/09/smashwords-supports-operation-ebook.html
Again, thank you for everything you do. And as always,Happy Reading--R.A. Wilson
I have recently discovered something called the Operation E-Book Drop. Started by Ed Patterson to give his own books for free to our service men and women, he found there were many other writers willing to offer up their works for free. I have joined these ranks. If you are in the armed forces and would like to benefit from this program that offers thousands of books for free, follow this link for Ed's email where he can get you in the program.
http://blog.smashwords.com/2009/09/smashwords-supports-operation-ebook.html
Again, thank you for everything you do. And as always,Happy Reading--R.A. Wilson
August 13, 2012
Poor little ragdoll
The poor man who thought to be king. Murder kills both men, one is just able to cause greater harm still.Art done by Carly Jo Wilson.
August 8, 2012
Announcing an Announcement!
Attention, attention!
I am proud to inform you that we will be announcing just what the Super Secret Totally Awesome book is... next week on 8/18. At that time, the first chapter will be released on this site for your enjoyment. So let everyone know that the book that will change their outlook on life will be coming soon. It will be sent for publishing on 8/25, the following weekend. We are hoping to have it available on that day, but depending on the distributors, it can take a little longer. Smashwords and Amazon should see it posted that day however, the others can take upward to 2 weeks.
On a side note, the Book of Ethics is now available on Nook and iTunes! So get out there and buy this book. If you don't, you will be making puppies cry. Can you think of anything sadder? I can. It would be a burlap sack full of crying puppies. You don't want to make puppies cry, do you? Cause if you do, I just may have to put them into a burlap sack. Show your support for puppies! ...And the Book of Ethics I suppose.
I am proud to inform you that we will be announcing just what the Super Secret Totally Awesome book is... next week on 8/18. At that time, the first chapter will be released on this site for your enjoyment. So let everyone know that the book that will change their outlook on life will be coming soon. It will be sent for publishing on 8/25, the following weekend. We are hoping to have it available on that day, but depending on the distributors, it can take a little longer. Smashwords and Amazon should see it posted that day however, the others can take upward to 2 weeks.
On a side note, the Book of Ethics is now available on Nook and iTunes! So get out there and buy this book. If you don't, you will be making puppies cry. Can you think of anything sadder? I can. It would be a burlap sack full of crying puppies. You don't want to make puppies cry, do you? Cause if you do, I just may have to put them into a burlap sack. Show your support for puppies! ...And the Book of Ethics I suppose.
