Writers Are a Surly Bunch

What is it about writers that we do things to sabotage ourselves? Why do we  focus on what we can't do rather than what we can?

A lot of things have been happening in the writing world lately. I've had my head down, trying to get the January release finished between getting really sick and GK coming home from the holidays. I'm still researching things, and I'll talk about the big events next week.

But my title comes from a personal level. I'm watching people I know give up on writing. Everyone has their various reasons, but they are merely excuses. Most of these people are focusing on what they don't have. They focus on what they claim they can't do.

And just because you can't do it RIGHT NOW doesn't mean you can't do something in the future.

Unfortunately, to some writers, everything is a hard "NO" instead of "I'll get to that down the line."

Don't have paperback out yet? Then make a plan to get paperbacks out.

Don't have audio books out yet? Then make a plan for that.

Don't understand online advertising? Then study it.

Not writing fast enough? Practice writing faster.

Don't have any ideas? Sorry, I can't help you with the last one. The only way I can shut off the fucking voices in my head is by writing.

Art is not just suffering. It's about the totality of human experience. Which means if you're not feeling what your characters are feeling, maybe it's time to step back and re-examine your reasons for wanting to write.

Because if you're producing stories because you think it's easy money, your attitude will show through your wring. Readers want to be entertained--not told they owe somebody a living.

No, that doesn't mean I don't think writers shouldn't be paid. But readers are paying for a particular experience when they pick up your story. If you can't supply that, then the readers will pass you by.

So do what you can. That means first you need to write a damn good story. Next, if you can only produce e-books for the next bit of time until you find a formatter or learn to format print books yourself.

But overall, you should be looking at the next step in your publishing career, not whining that you can't do the next step because of whatever flimsy reason you come up with. Life should always be "What's next?"

Planning for 2020

Back in the '80's, the year 2020 was some vague futuristic time where we'd have flying cars and robot butlers.

Instead, we have Alexa, Siri, and their strange sisterhood of electronic spies into our lives, and the only flying car is the Tesla that a crazy person launched into space to prove a point.

However, being a reasonable writer/publisher regardless of the year, I've been working on the publishing schedule for 2020. The first six books have pre-orders on Amazon. Once again, I'll update them here and on the main series pages as they go live:

January 15th - A Touch of Mother (Justice #4)

February 14th - Seasons of Magick Anthology (Entire Seasons of Magick series)

March 15th - Spells and Sleuths (Millersburg Magick Mysteries #1)

April 15th - Fae and Felonies (Millersburg Magick Mysteries #2)

May 15th - Magick and Murder (Millersburg Magick Mysteries #3)

June 15th - Hero De Jure (888-555-HERO #5)


The Millersburg Magick Mysteries will be initially exclusively on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited, as the 888-555-HERO series was. These are paranormal mysteries set in the Bloodlines World. Teen witch sleuths Kaley and Kirsten Wilson take on town happenings Scooby-Doo style. The girl's mom Rachel and great-aunt Jo should be familiar to anyone who's read Amish, Vamps & Thieves.

The 888-555-HERO has started going wide, Hero De Facto is available at most online retailers now, and each month, the next volume will be released.

My last goal is to get my ebooks on the Ohio Public Library system for those of you who rely on libraries for your reading material. If you don't live in Ohio, you can always request my books through your own library!

For those of you who prefer paperbacks or you don't live in Ohio, have your librarian contact me directly. I'm always happy to donate copies, both paper and electronic, to a public or school library. As a child in rural America, book stores were rare, Amazon didn't exist, and I depended on our county public library system for most of my reading material.

If anyone has questions or comments and doesn't want to leave them on the blog's comment section, you can always contact me through the "Contact Me" tab at the top of the page!

In Which I Join the 21st Century

Currently reading - Heaven's Spite by Lilith Saintcrow

Wednesday, I bought my first digital "album," Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster (Deluxe Version) as a reward for completing a novel synopsis.  I'd been eyeing it for a while at a certain department store when DH asked bluntly, "Don't you still have that $50 iTunes gift card from the Brenda Novak auction?"

He had a point.  So why was I reluctant to buy digital music?  I've bought e-books and digital TV episodes to take with me on business trips and vacations years before such downloads exploded in popularity.  Hell, I've written all of my novels on laptops because my typing can keep up with my thought better than my longhand.

Maybe the computer programmer still lives deep inside of me.  Over the years, I've converted everything myself.  (For my own personal use.  Get your hackles down, FBI!)  From records to magnetic tapes to CDs to MP3 files.  So even with an electronic version, I'm used to having a hard copy of everything somewhere in the house.

Maybe I'm reluctant to give up the artwork.  All those iconic images, from Paul McCartney without shoes to Madonna's BDSM Candyland, evoke moods and memories.

Or maybe I don't want to give up the liner notes.  Sometimes the songs make more sense when I actually know what the lyrics are.

And maybe all my worries are for naught.  The Fame Monster even included a .PDF or the CD's liners notes.  So yeah, I understand the folks digging in heels over the e-publishing tsunami a little better.  But I also know I can't stop the change.

Because now I've tasted the future.  "And I'm a free bitch, baby!"**

**Bad Romance - Lady Gaga