A Writer's Week #27: Sticking to the Goal

The writing of the new book continued this week. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up the pace. I had set a goal of 2,000 words a week on The Deliverers 2, and for a while there I thought that I wasn't going to make it. Thankfully, I was able to write just under 2,100 words, thanks to some inspiration on Thursday evening.

All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with the new book, so far. I'm still not sure how I'm going to get there, although I'm pretty sure about where I'll eventually wind up. I've reached 32,000 words, in 37 chapters and 148 pages.

So I'm still chugging along. Each week brings a new challenge to overcome in the struggle to write. When I do write, I can write a lot fairly quickly. Unless I get stuck.

Right now, I'm in a fertile period, which makes me wish I had a whole week off in a mountain cabin. I'd get the rest of the first draft finished and be into rewrites. But, that's not going to happen. Oh well, it's nice to know that I'm close enough to finishing that it's at least conceivable. 


There's nothing much to report on the marketing front. Sales of The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel have hit a summer skid, but I'm really not that concerned. I'm too busy working on the next one. Oh yes, and I had a flash of inspiration for the third book. I have no real plot idea yet, but I think this is going to be a great theme. We'll see. 


The other bit of news concerns this blog. I'm on a crusade to reach at least 100 followers by the end of July. Right now, I'm at 93. If you're a follower, thank you. If you're not, there's a Join This Site button to the left of this post. If you've got a Google account, please follow. Oh, and don't forget to tell your friends! 


The goal for next week is the same--write at least 2,000 words and come up with interesting things to write about on the blog. Once again I'll let you know how I did next week.

A Writer's Week #25: Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

Well, nothing earth shattering to report on the writing front this week, I'm afraid. Unlike last week, where I did a lot of work on the blog, I didn't do a whole lot other than write.

I did manage to introduce a new series of posts, though. Cal Endria's Journal should be pretty interesting. Each week I'll be featuring an entry in the journal, which was written by Calvin Endria, Kate's great-great-great-etc. grandfather and founder of Calendria. It should be fun to see things from old Cal's perspective, and maybe clear up some things that were not explained in The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel.

Yesterday, I leaked out a little snippet of The Deliverers 2, just because I thought folks would enjoy it. Please take a look and let me know what you think. 

Writing is a solitary type of activity. I've been working on the sequel since December, and--aside from my wife--haven't shared anything with anyone. So, I'm just guessing that I'm on the right track. I'm pretty sure I am, since I've rewritten a few spots. Please check out the preview and let me know if I am or not.

This week, I was able to write about 1,000 words, but the going is slow. Summer's here and there's less time to write. The lawn needs to be mowed, the kids are staying up later. It's tough. However, the book is now about 28,500 words and the story is moving along.

There are still one or two plot points that will have me scratching my head when I get to them. I am trying to anticipate that and ideas are simmering in the back of my brain, but I still think I'll hit a roadblock or two before all is said and done. 

My completion goal has changed to Labor Day, with rewrites to follow that. I think it's aggressive, but we'll see. If I can up my weekly total to 2,000 words, then I've got a shot. I'll let you know how I'm doing again next week.

Sneak Peek: The Deliverers Book 2

I've been working on the sequel to The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel for about six months now, and I'm a little over halfway through. If you've been following along in my A Writer's Week posts, you've got a good sense of my trials and tribulations. 

I thought now would be a good time to give you a little taste of the new book. This is an excerpt from Chapter 27. Let me know what you think.

Hallo handed the torches out to everyone, and Eric was able to get a good look at the sewers. They were much like Cy had described. There was a channel running down the middle of the tunnel in which brackish water flowed. Garbage floated in the water. On either side of the channel was a concrete walkway. The tunnel was dark, although Eric found he could see a little bit as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

“Not the most cheery place in the world,” Eric said.

“Not even close,” Kate agreed.

“Now, now,” Hallo said cheerfully. “What kind o’ talk is that? M’ folk have a sayin’, ‘It’s better underground.’ Aint no truer words ‘n that I’m a thinkin’.”

Eric and Kate looked at each other, and then laughed. “Whatever, Hallo,” Eric said. “Which way do we go, Cy?”

Cy pointed off down the channel. “That’s the way to Pig Town. We better get movin’.We gotta catch up t’ Ari, an’ it don’t pay to stay in one place for long down here.”

Cy and Chunk started off at a brisk pace down the walkway, followed by Eric, Kate and Hallo. It was funny, but after a little bit, Eric found that he couldn’t notice the smell so much anymore. He did notice other things, though.

For one thing, he thought he heard a scrabbling and scraping as they walked. He couldn’t be sure if it was just the echoes of the group’s footsteps, or if it was the sound of unseen creatures in the darkness beyond the reach of their torchlight.

“Hey, does anyone else hear anything?” he asked.

“No, no I don’t,” Hallo said. “Unless by hearin’ anythin’, ya mean do I hear the sounds o’ some creatures followin’ us out in the darkness, then yes, yes I do, laddie.”

“I was afraid of that,” Eric said, and tightened the grip on his immobilizer as they continued down the channel.

Suddenly, the quiet of the sewer was rent by a horrible screech. Eric thought it sounded like part howl and part squeak.

“We’re bein’ tracked,” Cy said over his shoulder to them. “We gotta pick up the pace!”

They started jogging down the walkway, which was a difficult thing, because the stones were broken and slimy in places. The scrabbling picked up speed also. Eric thought it sounded like mice scurrying behind a wall, only much louder. Whatever creatures were out there were much larger than mice, and there were a lot of them.

Suddenly, a host of gray forms darted out from the shadows straight toward them. Kate screamed, and Hallo shouted. Cy and Chunk both gave a quick twist, and hurled two immobilizers at them. Instantly, two of the creatures froze, each suspended in a green haze.

The rest were still coming on. Kate threw an immobilizer, and another creature was frozen. One leapt on Hallo, its jaws snapping inches from the dwarf’s throat. Eric, not wanting to immobilize Hallo, fired at the creature with his laser rifle, and the beast fell lifeless to the stones.

“Thanks lad!” Hallo grunted. “Look out behind ya!”

Eric spun around just as one of the creatures bounding toward him leaped.

A Writer's Week #24: Chhhhanges

Okay, so as you may or may not remember, I made my final school visit of the year last week. It was a great visit--the kids were great and very enthusiastic. During the visit, the teacher, Mrs. Brenning suggested to her class that they could visit my blog and leave comments for me and I could write back. That's true. I always welcome comments and would love to have a bunch of conversations going on.

But it got me to thinking. Why would kids want to visit my blog? Well, I've got some good character interviews, little known facts, and my kids do book reviews. That's a good start. But what else could I do to make it a little more kid friendly? I also thought that maybe I should weave in a little more information about The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel. After all, the land of Calendria and the people who live there have a lot to offer, and they're pretty interesting.

So I've made some changes to the blog. You may have noticed them if you've been stopping by regularly.  First of all, I changed the typeface of the headings to a fancier, more colonial Calendrian-like script. Ooooh, fancy. Then, I collected some pictures--many of them my own--to form a video tour of Calendria & the Lands Beyond to give visitors a little feel for the book (and besides that, it's fun!). I changed the name of a few pages to reflect this new Calendrian feel as well.

But I didn't stop there, I added a page about Sharky and the pirates of Calendria (Here Be Pirates). In there, kids can find out a little bit about what makes pirates tick, as well as a few links to kid friendly sites about pirates.

Another new page, Dwarf Kingdom History, is just that. It includes a brief history of their underground world as well as a few pictures. There are also a few links to kid friendly sites about geology and minerals for those who, like the dwarves, are interested in rocks and jewels.

Not to be outdone, Kate insisted that I set aside a page to highlight Calendria. So, in the Calendrian History page, I review that village's history. Kate wrote the introduction. I also have some links to a few places that are decidedly Calendrian.

I think these changes make the blog a lot more fun and interesting I'd like to know what you think, please take a look around and post a comment or two.

Now for this week's rundown on the Deliverers sequel. I had unraveled a bunch of problems, but as soon as I started moving forward last week, I hit another roadblock. I think I panicked a bit to be honest, because this week I came up with an answer that was laughably simple.

In the problem section, Eric, Kate and Hallo are helping some other characters evacuate some families through the sewer (stinky, I know). I had them in the middle of the party. When the whole party is attacked, I could not figure out how the three of them could be captured from out of a group of about 200 people. I thought about it for a week, off and on, and could not figure it out.

Then, it hit me. Instead of placing them in the center of the group, why not put them at the end? They allow the rest to escape and get captured along with one or two other people. Problem solved. With that, I was able to write over 1,000 words and move things along. It's easy when you can think straight. Unfortunately, thinking straight is not always an easy thing to do.

Oh my, this post has turned out longer than I thought it would. Oh well. If you made it this far, perhaps you'd enjoy this little snippet of the 70's. I'll update you again next week!

A Writer's Week #23: School's Out (Almost)

This was another terrific week. First of all, I was privileged to be interviewed by the gang at Lollipops and Books. They asked some great questions. You can check it out here. Once again, thanks a lot for letting me chat with you!

Today, I visited Mrs. Brenning's 5th grade class. It was a lot of fun. The kids were great, and had a lot of questions. This was the first class that read the whole book before I visited them. That was really cool. I was able to talk to them about what they were writing.

They had been writing in journals. One of the things they did was write a description of their favorite scene in The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel, and draw a picture of it. It was great to see what they drew--they were all very good! Since they'd read the whole book, I was able to ask them about their favorite scenes. It was a great perspective that I hadn't had before.

Hey, we all match!

I had a really great time, and I'd like to thank Mrs. Brenning and her entire class for making me feel so welcome. The muffins and juice at the end were great, too! This visit was a great way to end the school year. All in all, I visited seven schools and spoke with ten classes, and I enjoyed every visit! I'm looking forward to visiting more classes next year.

On the writing front, I've hit a little snag. I know what I want to write next, but I'm not quite sure of how I'm going to get there. So, I've been wrestling with that this week. Oh well, no one said it would be easy. I know when I figure it out, the solution will be great, and it will set the stage for the resolution of the whole book. I guess that's why I'm struggling so much with it.

Hopefully, I'll get it right this week. Whatever happens, I'll let you know all about it next week!

A Writer's Week #22: Another Productive Week

This was a fantastic writing week. While work remains busy and will be for the foreseeable future, I was still able to buckle down and get some serious writing and editing done on the new book. In addition, I resumed my school visits this week. On top of that, I received a great review a couple weekends ago in A Book A Day. So things are moving along pretty well in Writer's Land.

As far as the new book goes, the sequel to The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel is back on track. After the massive rewriting/editing job I was working on last week, I still had another, smaller section that needed some work. So, I finished that up early this week. I turned a journey through a sewer where there was one small problem into a flight through the sewer where Eric and company were pursued by a horde of beasts and attacked by some nasty creatures. The whole Chapter is muuch more tense and scary now. That's become my writing mantra lately--instill a sense of urgency. I'm not all the way there yet, but I'm getting there!

With that finished, I was able to start moving the story forward again. In addition to adding about 500 words in the rewrite, I wrote about 1,000 words of totally new stuff. So, my word count now stands at 26,500, and I've just started chapter 32. My first book was only 27 chapters and it was 200 pages and 53,000 words long. Obviously the chapters in the new book are shorter, mainly because I'm cutting back and forth between two sets of characters. Eventually, they'll meet up again, but they seem to be doing everything in their power to keep that from happening.

Today, I was privileged to spend some time with Mrs. Baird's 7th grade classes. I sat in on three classes, and really had a blast. These were the oldest students that I've met with so far, and I was a little nervous. I wasn't sure how into it they would be.

Thankfully, I didn't have to worry. For the most part they were enthusiastic, and asked great questions. I also enjoyed hearing about their writing projects. Mrs. Baird let me read a few of them, and they really had some great ideas--things that I never would have thought of, but which were extremely creative.

I am always amazed at the ideas and insights that students of all ages provide when I visit. I remember the affect that authors who visited my classes had on me when I was in school. I can only hope that my visits have a similar affect for at least one or two students. That alone would make this whole writer thing worthwhile.

I was talking to Mrs. Baird and Mrs. Riter, another teacher at the school who is a friend of mine and a big supporter, between periods. We were talking about how this generation's texting and emailing has become more important to them than actually talking. It's true things are changing, but being able to speak to people directly is a skill that we as a society cannot afford to let die.

Thankfully, one thing that seems to be going strong is our students' love of reading and literature. When it comes right down to it, kids can't pass up a good story. But they have to be introduced to those stories and the main source is our teachers. So to all the teachers out there who are so passionate about reading and writing and are dedicated to passing that on to your students, thank you!

A Writer's Week #21: Moving Forward

This was a good week. Everything at work went smoothly. I was able to catch up on onne or two things, while at the same time holding some training sessions for our big project, and also getting in some one on one training with some folks who had just joined the bank.

I was also reasonably successful on the writing front. While I did not move the new book from where it's stood for over a month now, I was able to enhance what I've written so far. I added some tension by following Stig on his mission, showing what happened to him rather than having him recount it later.

I cut back and forth between him and what the others were doing to heighten the tension even more. It turned out to be a nifty little sequence that yielded two new one or two page chapters. What's more important, it makes the whole book better. I still have to tidy up a few loose ends and inconsistencies, but I can do that at my leisure.

While I was working on that, another idea occurred to me that will add a sense of urgency to another scene. This one involves Eric, Kate & Hallo. I'm going to try and work on that tonight. I may be able to get through it by the end of the night, but even if I don't, I'll be moving the story forward this week--finally.

I'm finally satisfied with the book as it stands now. I think it's better, more plausible, and I'm feeling more connected to this world as a result. Are there still things that I have to refine? Sure. Will some elements of the story need to change after I've finished it? Probably. But now I'm sure that I'm on the right track, and that this book will be a fitting sequel to The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel, and that's very empowering.

So, in the next week or so, the book will start moving forward once more. I'd love to have it all written, rewritten, and edited by the end of the year. Will it be? Keep checking in, and find out along with me!

A Writer's Week: Making a Breakthrough

After last week's challenges, I was worried that this week would be more of the same. Happily, that wasn't the case. I had a great week. On Saturday, I came up with a solution to the sticking point that I'd run into on the new book. I was able to map out a solution, which led to an improvement in another area. That gave me a great outlook for the rest of the week.

I was concerned that I would not have enough time to put my solution down on paper. I had an evening meeting on Monday, and a school visit after work on Wednesday, so my time was at a premium. I had to scramble just to get some blog posts written. In spite of this, I was able to carve out a little bit of time to make a start. I was able to rewrite and edit one thread in the story. The really big change remains to be made, but I've got the road map, so that shouldn't be a problem as long as I have the time. Stay tuned.

The other great writing-related event that I was able to participate in this week happened on Wednesday night. Yes, you guessed it--another school visit. However, this visit was a little different from the others that I've made. Before I go any further, I'd like to thank Mrs. Pote, Mrs. Russell, Mrs. Magliaro, and everyone at Morris Street School for allowing me to come and be a part of such a great event.

I was able to participate in an after school event for students and parents where I was able to share what inspired me as a writer. I also got a chance to ask the kids what kind of writing they did, and what inspired them.

This was a new experience for me because the grades ranged from kindergarten to fifth grade. In addition, their parents were there, too. The kids were one thing, but would I be able to interest the parents? Well, I have to say that it was a challenge to engage such a wide age range, but I have to say that I think I managed to pull it off.

Most of the children were pretty excited, and they asked great questions, and had some great insights. The parents seemed to enjoy it, too. I even managed to give them a chuckle a time or two. I spoke to two groups for a little over 20 minutes each. Afterwards, I was able to sell a few books, which was the icing on the cake.

The school year is starting to wind down, but I have one more visit scheduled in June, and I'm looking forward to it. As I've said before, school visits are the best part of writing a book. I still remember the affect that having Christopher Collier visit our class when I was young to talk about writing My Brother Son is Dead and autographing my copy. It is humbling to think that I might be able to have the same affect, I some small way at least, to have the same sort of affect on the classes that I visit. Who knows, maybe I've already spoken with the next Rick Riordan. 

This young man had a couple of very interesting questions. He's definitely one of the youngest readers I've spoken with. It was pajama day, by the way. Wish I'd worn mine!

Anyway, I feel like I'm back on the right road with my writing, and getting some good feedback on The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel, so I'm expecting to make some good progress next week. Check back on Friday to learn how I made out.

A Writer's Week: Giving It All Away

First things first. I made another school visit this week. A big thank you to Ms. Gaipa's 4th grade class! I loved your questions and hearing all about your different writing projects! The kids had some great observations about the book and writing in general. Thank you very much, I had a great time. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera, so I didn't get any pictures of the visit.

It's always great to visit classes and connect with the kids. They also come up with some interesting questions. I always seem to meet at least one that's writing a book. They all have great ideas.School visits are a great way to get the word out about The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel. Lately, though, I've been trying to figure out a good way to drum up some interest beyond my rather limited sphere of influence.

Then, I hit upon an idea. Actually, the opportunity had been staring me in the face, I just hadn't been alert enough to see it. Amazon has a program where you can offer the Kindle version of your book for free for up to five days within a 90 day period. So, that's what I decided to do. I figured everybody likes free stuff, right? It might be a good opportunity to get the book into the hands of people I don't know. The more people that read it, the more chance they'll like it and spread the word, right?

I made the book available for free for three days this week. I have to say that it was a success. Overall, I gave away 1,343 copies of the book in the U.S., 16 in England, seven in Germany, and one in Spain. For a couple of hours, I was giving away a book a minute! In Kindle's ranking of bestselling free books, I made it as high as #204. I was #5 in children's action & adventure, and #5 in children's science fiction & fantasy.

So, I got the book into the hands of a lot of people that would not have even known it existed. That's great. Now I'll have to wait and see if this results in increased sales and some more reviews on my Amazon page. My hope is that at least half the people who got the book will actually read it, and some of those will like it and spread the word.  If it works out, I might try it again for a day or two every few months.

That was my big marketing push this week. On the writing side, I've got to rewrite part of the new book. Stig does something that works the first couple of times he does it. I mean that he does it for two valid reasons. The third time he does it, it's not convincing, so I'm trying to think of something he can do instead that would work. I'll come up with a good alternative. Hopefully I can fill you in on some progress next week!

A Writer's Week: School Days

This week, I was fortunate to visit another school. Thank you very much to Mrs. Woodard and her 2nd grade class! I really enjoyed myself. The kids were great, and asked a lot of fantastic questions.

This was the youngest class that I've visited so far. I was a little worried about how to approach them. Their teacher had not started reading the book to them yet. She's waiting until June to start it, since they're just a hair young for it. I decided that I'd just talk to them in general about writing.

So that's what I did. I gave them a little information about The Deliverers and then asked if any of them liked to write. About 80% of the class raised their hands. So I asked them to tell me what types of things they liked to write. From there, it was off into how they get ideas for their stories and what kinds of characters they wrote about.

I explained how I wrote the book and how I got my ideas and where my characters came from. They were asking questions all the time, and were really engaged. Then, I pulled out a little stone owl. I passed it around to the class, and told them that when I went to China, I found "Stig" sitting on a shelf. I decided to bring him home, and he sat nearby as I wrote the rest of The Deliverers. 

Then, they asked me to read some of the book. At that point, we were pressed for time, so I read the first five or six pages, which touched off another round of questions. All in all, a great session. I've got another school visit scheduled for next week, and I'll fill you in on how that goes.

As for my writing...The new book hasn't progressed, word-wise, since last week. However, I have reread the 112 pages of the manuscript that I've written so far, and have identified a few inconsistencies. I'm also trying to figure out what, if anything, about the plot has to be reworked. I don't know that anything does right now, but that just may be due to a lack of objectivity on my part--it's hard to say.

I was looking to instill a greater sense of urgency into the book. Right now there's no deadline they have to meet. I am running dual story lines, and they cut over every couple of chapters or so, so that keeps the plot moving along, in my opinion. I think that I'll be able to start moving the story forward again in the coming week. I'll check in with an update again next week!

A Writer's Week: What's Your Story?

Hello. It's been a lean couple of weeks, writing wise. Things have just been so busy in all the other facets of my life that I haven't been able to concentrate on writing at all. Last week, was filled with long days at work, and preparation for my Lions Club's annual dance on Friday.That went off extremely well, but there was no time to even look at the book.

This week has been a little bit better. Still long days at work, but that's it. So, I was able to begin to do some editing. I have about half the book written, but now I'm going back over what I've written so far with an eye to add some depth to this new world and to flesh out and revise the plot line. I may have to rewrite the beginning to fit in with the true theme of the book, which I stumbled upon later on in the story.

I learned something very important this week--everyone has a story to tell. I visited Mr. Regan's fourth grade class. It was great. The kids had a lot of questions, and I learned that there were quite a few writers in the class. One girl was even working on a full length book. Here are some pictures:

It was interesting to discover that their characters also seemed to have a mind of their own. They were excited to learn that other writers also have this experience of the characters sort of leading the way through a story.

I also had a great conversation this week with a legally blind octogenarian who has written a book of his own quips and quotes. This guy, Rudy, is a real character, and it was fun spending the morning with him at a Lions fishing tournament for the visually impaired. He gave me a copy of the manuscript to look over. It's really funny, and most of his observations really hit home.

Then, there was someone who I see every time I go to the Y. I told him that I'd written a book. He said that he loves to tell stories about his family history, and that his family is always after him to write them down. I told him that, if nothing else, he should record them.

So, not a lot of writing, and a little bit of editing this week. But I really enjoyed talking with these folks about their writing and their aspirations. We're all kindred spirits as my friend Anne Shirley of Green Gables fame likes to say. This week, I'm going to finish my preliminary edit and then the way will be clear to keep writing. I'll let you know how it how it went next week.

A Writer's Week #15: A Sense of Urgency

So this week was a little below average from a writing standpoint. I wrote a little over 1,000 words, which means the book is now over 25,000 words. That means I'm about halfway through the book, or maybe a little more.

More importantly, however, I received a lesson from my old mentor, children's author and book editor Louise Ladd. Back in the day, when I was taking her class, she impressed on me the need to introduce and maintain a sense of urgency when writing children's adventure books.

Last week, I sent her a copy of The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel  to see what she thought of it. When I took part in her writing group eight years ago, the members of the group read and critiqued each other's writing. Over two years, I submitted the first six chapters of the book. I learned a lot about creating a sense of urgency, and my writing improved as a result.

Somewhere along the line, though, it appears I lost sight of that a little. Louise thought that while the book was imaginative, fun and a good read, the urgency was lacking in the middle of the book. Ouch.

So, how did her honest opinion make me feel? It made me think, that's for sure. Is my book perfect? No. But in spite of that, it's a good book. There's no such thing as a perfect book, and I can always do better--I'm always learning.

So I'm grateful to Louise for the reminder. It will help me keep improving my writing, and it will help me to make the new book as good as it can be. Louise is a great editor and teacher, and I'm glad I was able to reconnect with her.

Do you have a writing mentor, or someone whose advice has been instrumental in shaping who you are as a writer? If so, let us know who they are and a little bit about them.

A Writer's Week #14: What's In A Name?

I've been chugging along this week. As I noted last week, I'm at the point in the new book where I'm just plugging away, putting down one word after another, much the same way as a marathon runner picks one foot up and puts one foot down to keep moving forward.

This week, I managed to write 1,400 words or so, which is not a thrilling total. But at least it's progress. So now, I'm up to chapter 27 and over 24,000 words. Just for comparison's sake, my first book, The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel, has a total of 27 chapters, but is 53,000 words long. Quite a difference.

I'm not sure if this book is going to be quite as long as the first one. I'm not sure there are 29,000 words left to write. But I do know that this one will have more chapters. The pace, I think, is going to be quicker in this book as it weaves in a couple of storylines. We'll see how long it will takee for the rest of the story to play out.

But I'm kind of getting tired of referring to this book as "the new book' or, "the new Deliverers book". I'm beginning to think that I have to try and figure out what to call it. The first book was called The Deliverers for just about the entire time I was writing it. I didn't add the Sharky and the Jewel bit until I was sure that I'd be writing another one.



So I know that this book is part of The Deliverers series, so that automatically means I've got part of a title, The Deliverers. But what comes next? I'm going to have to think about that. So far, nothing has grabbed me and shouted "here I am!" But I guess I still have some time. But the name is important. It's what give a book its identity. So I think I'll have to give this some serious thought and see what strikes me. If I come up with something this week, I'll be sure to let you know!

Oh, just a heads up. Next week is looking pretty busy, especially the early part, so I won't be posting on Monday. I'll try to do an interview on Tuesday, probably with a character from an author I've done previously so that I won't have to do a Did You Know? Anyway, we'll see. Have a great holiday!

A Writer's Week #13: The Middle of the Marathon

This was a fantastic week! It had the best of all possible things; a busy, productive work week, fun with the family, a decent amount of writing, a satisfying marketing accomplishment, and even a few book sales.

The writing came pretty easily this week. I wrote about 1,500 words, and I would have written more, but I started a project that took up some time. I'm at the point in the book where I'm just keeping at it, plugging away. I'm having fun writing, but at this point it's like a marathon where the exhileration of the start has given way to marking the miles as they go by. Sometimes I feel pretty good, like the guy on the right in the picture above. At other times, I'm feeling kind of flat, like the flapjack next to him (yes, that's a flapjack--it said so in the caption). I'm working on delivering (no pun intended) a great story, while gearing up for a strong finish. We'll see how everything turns out.

I was able to write and produce my own video book trailer this week. It turned out very nicely, and I'm like a new parent right now, full of pride and optimism. I've posted it everywhere I can think of, including at the bottom of my blog, and in yesterday's post. Here's a link to it on YouTube. Please share it everywhere you can, and let me know what you think.

This week was also great because it marked the seventh anniversary of Gotcha Day, the day we picked up Abigail in China. We celebrate it every year. I wrote a post about adopting Abby a while back. Every day, we can't believe how incredibly blessed we are for having Abby and her big brother Christian.

So, as you can see, it was a truly spectacular week, but now it's back to the marathon. I can't wait to find out what's around the next bend.

A Writer's Week #12: A Hectic Week

This was a challenging week at work. There was a lot of stuff going on. We were prepariing for the beginning of a four month training initiative for a new system that will affect a large portion of the company. Things have been getting down to the wire the last few days, with some last minute changes making for some late nights. Thank goodness I'm part of a great team that works well together. Everyone pitches in, which is a blessing.

In spite of that, I still managed to have a decent writing week. I wrote a little over 1,500 words. I was also able to map out much of the remaining plot line for the new book, tying together a lot of loose ends. I still haven't been able to weave together all the thematic threads, but I think I can see where there will be opportunities to do so. I'll have to leave the actual doing up to the characters. It will be fun to watch the story as it unfolds!

On the marketing side, my efforts to promote The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel have been somewhat successful. I launched a promotion, the Spring Has Sprung Giveaway. By the way, you still have time to enter by becoming a follower of this blog and/or liking the book's Facebook page. The prize is a $25 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of my book.

I also reconnected with a mentor, Louise Ladd. She's a children's book writer with a couple of series (The Double Diamond Dude Ranch Series and The Anywhere Ring Series)  to her credit. She also is a freelance editor, aka The Book Doctor. She had been very helpful to me when I first started The Deliverers. She encouraged me to pare down my first three original chapters into one, which really made the beginning tighter and faster paced. Anyway, I'm sending her the book and she's going to look it over and give me some quotes to use for promotion. It's the first small step for me to use testimonials to promote the book. Wish me luck.

I had a decent sales week this week, so I'm back in the saddle on that score. It's funny, but when I have a bad sales period, it makes me more aggressive trying to drum up sales. Wish I could be so outgoing all the time. But hey, I'm a writer. I'm a better observer than talker.

Anyway, I'm energized to have a really great writing week. We'll see how well that works out. I'll talk with you again next week!

A Writer's Week #11: Down in the Valley

The purpose of this column is to chronicle my journey as I write my new book, and as I market my current one, The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel. For the most part, that journey has been filled with highs.

On the writing front, the new book has been a joy to write. There hasn't been any of the wrong turns and retooling that marked the excruciatingly long process of writing the first book. Although I've only had a chance to really write on the weekends, I've been able to put the time I had to good use pretty consistently.

Meanwhile, on the marketing side, book sales have been consistent (check out the book here. If you've read it, please review it.), for the most part. I've been able to have a book signing, visit some classrooms, and had a few interviews. This blog is also attracting some attention, and page views have been rising steadily (please become a follower and like the book on Facebook by clicking over to the left.).

This week, however, I've felt a little like I've stumbled into a valley. Last week, I wrote that I'd reached a point in the book where I had to step back and think through where the story was headed. I was anticipating that I wouldn't get much written this week,. Secretly, though, I hoped that I'd get things mapped out quickly and get a respectable amount of writing done, too.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. I mapped out what I need to include in the story, but I'm still not that clear on how it will all be accomplished. I decided that I'd had luck following the characters' lead, so I'd let them lead me through this patch. Well, I still believe that's the right course, but I only wrote a couple hundred words before I had to stop. I felt like I was writing a bad cartoon. So, I'm going to regroup and give it another go this weekend.

The marketing end didn't go so well this week, either. It was the first week in a while that I didn't sell a single book, either in person or through Amazon. I'm also struggling for ways to get my book reviewed and out in the public eye. I think it just comes down to asking, but I don't like to be pushy. This is something that I'll just have to get over.

To be honest, I'm going to have to look at the marketing aspect of this whole deal. I can write, but publicity aint my strong point. I'm trying to do at least one thing every month. With this in mind, stay tuned for a little promotion that I'll be announcing this weekend.

Overall, though, I've been pretty lucky. I've had a lot of support from my family, my friends, coworkers, and all of you. Thank you so much. The valleys are inevitable, but it won't be long until things are moving forward once again. I'll let you know how things are going next week.

A Writer's Week #10: A Book for All Ages

Before I get in to what happened during my writer's week, I have to mention that this is the 100th post for the blog! I don't know if this is a particularly meaningful milestone or not. It seems to be a big deal for TV shows, but then a show has to be around for four or five years to make it to that point, so that's an accomplishment.





Be that as it may, I'm still dazzled by round numbers like this, so I figured why not. The blog's been around for just under five months, so 20 posts a month is a decent average. When I started, I never thought I'd be able to write five times a week. It's been fun so far!

Okay, now that I've got that out of the way, on to what this post's really about. I received a call from a friend of ours whose daughter used to babysit for us. The daughter is grown and teaching music in a school out west (boy, how old does that make me feel?).

He heard about my book, The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel, and decided to get a few copies. He stopped by to have me sign a couple of them. He's sending one to his daughter and one to some relatives. That's great, I'm glad he took a chance and ordered some books.

When he called to ask if he could stop by to get them signed, he said that he'd read the book and could not put it down. He said it was great. He said he hadn't been so engrossed by a "children's book" since Harry Potter. That made me feel real good.

Children have loved my book, but I've also heard from their parents who had read it and said they liked it. While kids have not been able to put it down, this is the first time I've heard an adult say that. I really appreciate that. I think the goal of any fiction writer is to write good stories, period. To me, a good story is one that will be enjoyed by people of all ages. To know that I've accomplished that in some small way is very gratifying.

This week was my best writing week yet. I wrote 2,500 words, and the new book is now at just under 20,000 words. I've pretty much finished setting the stage. Now the meat of the book is coming up. This is where it gets tough, because now I've got to map out the details, weave in the themes and begin to connect the dots that the characters have laid out.

I reached that point on Sunday, but didn't have any time to follow through. The rest of this week wasn't any better. So now I've got to sit down and map things out in as much detail as I can. There will be some surprises and things that don't go according to script, I'm sure. The characters will see to that. But that's what makes a story good, and the writing of it fun.

My goal for the coming week is to get that done and not worry about word count. However, if I get it mapped out quickly enough and am truly inspired, maybe I can have my cake and eat it, too. I'll let you know how it went next Friday!

A Writer's Week #9: This is What It's All About

What an interesting week I had! It was filled with aggravation, but there were many great hidden moments. I had a great time with the family over the weekend. I wrote a bunch. I sold a bunch of books. It seemed that every time I turned around, someone wanted a copy--or two. Even the stressful work week ended well. I wrote all about that yesterday. Today, the work week ended on a high note. I finished the preparations for next week's training sessions, and I was able to pay a visit to a great class of children.

That visit was truly the shining moment of my writer's week. I spent the afternoon with Mrs. Robinson's 5th grade class. What a great experience! I have to admit that I was nervous. This was my first visit to a class as a writer. I've read to classes before, but always other people's books.

This was the perfect day to visit, because it was Read Across America Day. It's a wonderful annual event, and I was proud to be a small part of  it in my first year as a published author.

So, when I drove over today, I wasn't sure how it would be. Would the kids be interested? Would they ask questions? I was slated for a little over a half hour. How was I going to fill that time? I knew that Mrs. Robinson had read the first chapter of The Deliverers to the class yeaterday, and had asked them to think of some questions. But, really, how many questions could they ask?

I felt reasonably safe. I planned to read chapter 2. That should generate some interest. If nothing else, it would kill some time. Then, they'd ask a few questions, and time would be up. A respectable presentation, but nothing really spectacular. After all, it wasn't like J.K. Rowling was visiting, how into it could they get, right?

The fact is, I never got the book out of my bag. From the moment I sat down in front of them, they asked one question after another. And they were great questions! They asked where I got my ideas, who the characters were based on, how long it took me to write the book.

A half hour later, the questions were still coming. I handed out some bookmarks and pencils. Then they asked me to sign their bookmarks. What a great day! As I've said in the past, this is what writing is all about. When you can connect with the reader, and see that you've touched them in some small way, you know you're doing something right.

I want to give a big thank you to Mrs. Robinson and her entire class for making me feel so welcome, and for being so interested. I learned a lot about all of them, and I hope they learned something about me and the writing process! I'll have some pictures in a future post. Stay tuned.

What? Oh, how did the writing go this week? It started out great, but with everything that was going on, I couldn't turn in the monster writing week that I had hoped. Still, I wrote a little over 2,000 words on the new book, bringing me into chapter 20. I'm still behind my original goal, but I'm not sweating it much. I also sent the book in progress to Daniel Vogel to read so he can begin to think of ideas for a cover.

So, things are moving right along. I wonder what next week will bring...

A Writer's Week #8: The Kindness of Friends

Tonight was one of those nights that reminded me how blessed and fortunate I am. It was also a reminder of what's really important. As a writer trying to market my book, I can start fixating on how many books I've sold, how frequently they sell, and how to market the thing.

I have to say that I'm a terrible marketer because I don't like to toot my own horn. I've been trying to overcome that over the last three and a half months since The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel was published. So, like I said it's hard not to obsess about it all.

But really, that's not important. What is important, and I've written about this before, are the children that come up to me to tell me that they liked the book, and will I be writing another. It's the children, and a surprising number of adults, who tell me they've always wanted to write a book, and how much they admire the hard work and dedication it must have taken to follow my dream and actually do something they've always wanted to do.

Sometimes I lose sight of that. My wife Stephanie always reminds me of the fact, but it usually takes others saying it to really open my eyes. Like tonight. We went to a fish fry that our church was hosting. It was packed, and we knew a good portion of the people there.

We sit down, and a few people come up and congratulated me on the book. One mother introduces her son who loves to write. It all feels good. So we're sitting talking to another family, and another lady we know comes up. She's a teacher, and we had given her some bookmarks to hand out at her school. She came and asked us if we had any more bookmarks. Luckily we did. We gave them to her and she starts going to all the tables, handing them out.

Now, I would never have had the guts to do that myself. I don't want to be too pushy. That's why I'm not a salesperson. But her act of kindness and belief, and even pride, in me was really something that no amount of book sales could match. Will anyone buy the book as a result? Who knows. But knowing that friends are there to help spread the word is so uplifting.

That's just the latest example of friends who have spread the word. There have been other examples too numerous to mention. I appreciate and am flabbergasted by it all. Thanks.

Now, after all that you might be wondering how the writing went this week. Well, I managed to write 1,400 words, which was less than I had hoped. For those of you keeping score at home, that brings me into chapter 18 and up to a little more than 15,000 words. Still a long way to go, but I'll keep plugging.

The story will have to move forward now that most of The Deliverers are reunited. The going might get slower, or I could be inspired. We'll have to see what happens. I'll let you know next week.

A Writer's Week #6: Nice Week

Here we are almost halfway through February, and we've hardly seen a single snowflake this winter. I know it's hard on skiers, and folks who plow, but you won't see me crying about it. We had one big storm in late October, and a storm that dumped six and a half inches on us in January, but other than that--zip, zilch, nada!

Needless to say, the weather was beautiful here in Connecticut this past week. Since I did not have to shovel anything, I was able to use that valuable time to write. I was able to add about 1,400 words all told. That puts me at the start of chapter 13. I'd say that I'm about a quarter through the story at this point.

So far, I have characters scattered here, there and everywhere. They're off doing things on their own and meeting all sorts of characters. If they ever make a movie of this book, there will be quite a large supporting cast. All of them are adding something to the story, which is what you want, but sometimes it's hard to keep track of everyone. I don't think it will be that way for the reader, but it's something I'll have to keep my eye on.

I think that now, Eric, Stig, Kate and Hallo have met just about everyone that they're going to. I'll have to bring everyone back together now so that the story will be able to move forward, which will take some thought. It was realtively easy to split them up, but now they have to reunite plausibly.

It looks like that process will start this week. I'm also going to go back and read what I've written for the first time. I'm praying that when I do I won't say, "Oh man, why the heck did I write that?!" Well, I'll let you know how that goes next week!