Peering Through the Mist

So the last couple of evenings I've been working on the background information for the next book. I've made some great progress. I've got the motivations down and most of the major people within that world identified. The world is definately taking shape. Things are still hazy, but I'm breaking through the mist.



It's funny how things just sort of maturally open up whenever I go through this process. Now when I envision this world in my mind's eye, I at least have an idea of what it looks like, who the people are, and what problems they face.

I still don't have much of an idea of exactly how events will play out, but I'm much closer. I can even envision that there will be some twists and turns along the way. I can see the plot moving in a few different directions. That's part of the journey, part of the fun. This book is shaping up to be pretty good. I can't wait to see how things turn out.

I know that there will be some more (perhaps many more) roadblocks and details along the way, but things are moving forward. As long as I'm making progress, I'll be happy, and you'll be closer to having the second book in your hands.

Getting the Publicity Machine Rolling

Today, The Citizen News, my town's local weekly paper, arrived in my mailbox. I'd been interviewed by Pamela Brown, one of their reporters, last week. She'd told me that her article would be appearing in this week's paper. What I didn't realize was that the article was appearing on the FRONT PAGE!!!

The picture above is the page all folded so I could get the newspaper's name in there. Now granted, it's my local paper, not the New York Times, but the paper goes to everyone in my town and the next one over and everyone around here reads it, so it's fantastic publicity, and I'm very grateful.

Thank you so much to publisher and editor Ellen Burnett and reporter Pamela Brown for the great placement and the great article, which made me sound articulate and thoughtful (I know, a great writing feat)! Thanks to you, my first interview was a great experience.

This is the first step. The book is due to be featured in another paper this Sunday. So, slowly but surely the word is getting out. If any of you have any suggestions as to where else to send a press release, or if you know someone who works at a newspaper, please let me know!

Now, it's back to writing some background for the new world. I'll give you an update on how that's working out tomorrow.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Chapter 4

A week or so ago, around Thanksgiving, I wrote that I had started writing my second book. I was really excited. In two days, I wrote two chapters and had started on chapter three. Everything was humming along. The words were flowing, and they were good!

I got Eric out of this world and into the Hallway of Worlds. He met up with the Gatekeeper and a few old friends. He was given an Assignment and sent on his way. The book was on the runway ready for takeoff. Nothing was going to stop me! The book would be finished before the end of winter! Then it happened.

I took a detour. Eric went into the new world. Although I knew what his Assignment would be, and what he needed to do to accomplish it, I realized that I knew nothing about this new world. Trying to write about that new world was like trying to drive to Peoria without a roadmap, or Mapquest, or a GPS. I knew where I was going, but I had no idea about how to get there.

So, I stopped. It was late in the day on Sunday, and I had to post Kate Endria's interview on the blog. I did that and told myself that I'd get back to writing a history of the new world tomorrow. I mean, what the heck. It was going real well, nothing to it. I'd have it done in no time. That was over a week ago, and since then, I haven't done a thing.

Now, I do have excuses. I'm working on a lot of stuff at work (a lot). I've had a couple of Lions Club meetings (okay, one was a club Christmas party). I even (this is exciting) was interviewed twice for a couple of articles in the two local papers.

It was easy to get distracted, but the fact of the matter is that I have to stick my rear in a chair, buckle down, and write that background information. Without it, the book won't seem as real. I took the time and did that for Calendria, and now it seems as real to me as if I'd lived there for ten years. I know the people, what they think, and why they think it. I have to do that with this new place.



So, tonight I'm turning off my computer for a while, taking out a pencil and some paper, and writing out a history and a map. If I don't know where the heck everything is, then it's a pretty good bet that The Deliverers won't, either. I'll see you when the road is clear.

An Interview With Eric Scott

This week it's Eric's turn to be interviewed on our Sunday interview series. Eric is, of course, the center of the story, and although he has help, it's really all about him (although he doesn't think so). So let's see what Eric had to say during his visit to The Deliverers Publishing Headquarters.

Editor:  Eric, welcome to The Deliverers Publications Headquarters. We’re really happy to have you here.

Eric:  Thank you sir. It’s really great to be here. This place is sweet. Nobody told me you, like, had a mansion for a headquarters. This place is so sick.

Ed.:  Um..okay. I’ll take that as a good thing. So, what was it like to go on an Assignment?

Eric:  It was, like, real strange, but also exciting. I was a little freaked out by Stig at first, but the Gatekeeper was smart to send him, he got my attention. I gotta admit it was scary, but after a while I kind of got used to it. Stig was a big help, too. I kind of felt like I almost grew into the Assignment as I went along.

Ed.:  What was Calendria really like?

Eric:  Well, at first, I thought it was kind of this dumpy little village. I mean, it seemed kind of backward. And the people were all kind of wimpy. They never really tried to fight Sharky. But, you know, I guess they had a good reason. I mean, Sharky was, like, more than 300 years old, so what kind of a chance did they have? But after I got to know everybody there, I think they almost became like family.

Calendria is a great place. I kind of think of it as my second home, now. Life moves a little slower than it does in most of our world. People all know each other. It’s just different.

Ed.:  How were you able to come up with a plan to fight Sharky and his pirates?

Oh, What A Feeling

Hello everybody! Today, something very strange happened. I was recognized. My daughter and I were at my local library, where the book will soon be available, to drop off some The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel bookmarks. There was a Girl Scout meeting going on in the community room.

Suddenly, one of the mothers comes up to me and tells me she bought my book for her daughter for Christmas. She knows a friend of mine whose daughter loves the book. Then, she went back into the meeting. A little while later, three Girl Scouts came down to the children's library with another mother.

The girls were kind of excited. One said that she was getting the book. I gave them some bookmarks and had a nice chat with them. The mother said that when she told her daughter I was there, she couldn't believe it and wanted to come down.

That was really cool. Not so much the recognition. That was a little surreal. What was actually cool was the fact that here were the people I was writing for, kids 9-13, who were actually looking forward to reading the book. One of their friends had read it and must have talked it up to them. I know her mother had talked it up to the other mothers (thanks, Christine!).

To me, that was the greatest feeling. It means that maybe I did it right. I wrote a book that kids will like. It's stuff like that, that makes everything--all the time and effort and doubt--worth it. I shouldn't worry about how many books I sell. Seeing the excitement on that girl's face when I handed her a bookmark and she told me she's getting the book, I know I've already succeeded.