Zelmer Wilson's Blog, page 2
August 11, 2013
Review of In the Middle by Lit Amri for Reader's Favorite
In the Middle tells the story of Miller Hoffman, a shy Southern kid trying to be like his father; ambitious and no stranger to success. When his parents divorced, Alma becomes his stepmother and he has a hard time dealing with his attraction toward her. Written by Zelmer Wilson, this is a poignant story of a boy’s journey into adulthood.
The prose is simple, but there is something very honest about it that grabbed my interest instantly from the beginning. Perhaps this was because of the young age of the narrator and protagonist of the story. I sympathized and laughed at the same time as he struggled in his moments of puberty. Obviously, they get harder to handle when he is attracted to his beautiful stepmother at the same time. I did not expect his life to become more difficult and dramatic as the story progresses, which I will not mention here to avoid spoilers. Characterization is good; my only complaint is that finding out the protagonist's name after 24 pages later takes too long for me. Also, even though I’m satisfied with the readable prose, there are times when certain sentences of the narration are too juvenile for my taste.
Even so, In the Middle is a solid read and I did enjoy it enough to finish it in one sitting. Author Zelmer Wilson is a hidden gem in the writing industry and I truly believe that he will get better in his craft. I look forward to his next work.
The prose is simple, but there is something very honest about it that grabbed my interest instantly from the beginning. Perhaps this was because of the young age of the narrator and protagonist of the story. I sympathized and laughed at the same time as he struggled in his moments of puberty. Obviously, they get harder to handle when he is attracted to his beautiful stepmother at the same time. I did not expect his life to become more difficult and dramatic as the story progresses, which I will not mention here to avoid spoilers. Characterization is good; my only complaint is that finding out the protagonist's name after 24 pages later takes too long for me. Also, even though I’m satisfied with the readable prose, there are times when certain sentences of the narration are too juvenile for my taste.
Even so, In the Middle is a solid read and I did enjoy it enough to finish it in one sitting. Author Zelmer Wilson is a hidden gem in the writing industry and I truly believe that he will get better in his craft. I look forward to his next work.
July 25, 2013
Chasing A Dream
I was fifteen years old when I discovered that I wanted to be a writer. It was during the summer of 1990 and I was spending the summer in Birmingham, Alabama with my mother and two sisters. I don't know why I decided that I wanted to be a writer, but looking back now, twenty-three years later, everything that had happened to me before that summer were stepping stones to that summer.
I was six years old when my parents separated. I was attending the first grade at the time, at Cook Elementary School in Fort Smith, Arkansas. I didn't do very well at school, I guess, because I was distracted by my family drama. I had to repeat the first grade. I did much better the second time that I went through the first grade, picking up everything that I had missed the first time. I soon became bored. And so, I started reading.
At first, I read westerns, because I was interested in that period of American history. And probably, because I lived in the West. I moved to Phoenix, Arizona with my father and stepmother (he remarried two years after leaving my mother, on my birthday) in the summer of 1986.
After the summer of 1990, I stopped reading Westerns and started reading science-fiction. I made a few attempts at writing stories, but I never got past the planning stage.
I stopped reading science fiction and stopped trying to write after the summer of 1997, after I had read Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer. I realized, because of that novel, that I could use my own life as inspiration for a novel. I then spent the next few years trying to do that.
I finished writing my first novel when I was twenty-six years old, in the summer of 2001. I then the next few years editing it and trying to get it published. I lost it a few years later.
I didn't give up, though, and wrote four more novels. My debut novel, In the Middle, will be published soon, in a few weeks and I have finished the second draft of another novel. And I will be starting the first draft of another novel soon.
I've spent more than half of my life chasing my dream of being a writer and I've closer to it rea
I was six years old when my parents separated. I was attending the first grade at the time, at Cook Elementary School in Fort Smith, Arkansas. I didn't do very well at school, I guess, because I was distracted by my family drama. I had to repeat the first grade. I did much better the second time that I went through the first grade, picking up everything that I had missed the first time. I soon became bored. And so, I started reading.
At first, I read westerns, because I was interested in that period of American history. And probably, because I lived in the West. I moved to Phoenix, Arizona with my father and stepmother (he remarried two years after leaving my mother, on my birthday) in the summer of 1986.
After the summer of 1990, I stopped reading Westerns and started reading science-fiction. I made a few attempts at writing stories, but I never got past the planning stage.
I stopped reading science fiction and stopped trying to write after the summer of 1997, after I had read Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer. I realized, because of that novel, that I could use my own life as inspiration for a novel. I then spent the next few years trying to do that.
I finished writing my first novel when I was twenty-six years old, in the summer of 2001. I then the next few years editing it and trying to get it published. I lost it a few years later.
I didn't give up, though, and wrote four more novels. My debut novel, In the Middle, will be published soon, in a few weeks and I have finished the second draft of another novel. And I will be starting the first draft of another novel soon.
I've spent more than half of my life chasing my dream of being a writer and I've closer to it rea
June 23, 2013
Rolling the dice
Since I was fifteen years old, the only thing that I have wanted to be was a writer. I finished writing my first novel in August of 2001, when I was twenty-six years old, after many false starts and failed attempts. I have lost the manuscript of that novel since then, but I have kept on, writing three more novels.
A few months ago, I got tired of writing novels and not getting them published. I decided that if no publisher would take a chance on me and publish one of my novels, that I had to DIY (Do-It-Yourself). In little more than a month, in August of this year, my debut novel, In the Middle, will be published by Createspace.com (owned by Amazon.com) in both paperback and Kindle editions.
I also have another novel almost ready to be published, Honky Tonk Women and I plan on publishing it six months later, in February, 2014. And I currently writing the first draft of a novel that I hope to publish next year, in August of 2014.
In two years, I hope to have four or five novels published and will finally be able to support myself with my writing, to become a full time writer.
I'm rolling the dice, betting that I have the talent to become a successful writer.
A few months ago, I got tired of writing novels and not getting them published. I decided that if no publisher would take a chance on me and publish one of my novels, that I had to DIY (Do-It-Yourself). In little more than a month, in August of this year, my debut novel, In the Middle, will be published by Createspace.com (owned by Amazon.com) in both paperback and Kindle editions.
I also have another novel almost ready to be published, Honky Tonk Women and I plan on publishing it six months later, in February, 2014. And I currently writing the first draft of a novel that I hope to publish next year, in August of 2014.
In two years, I hope to have four or five novels published and will finally be able to support myself with my writing, to become a full time writer.
I'm rolling the dice, betting that I have the talent to become a successful writer.
