Moving Forward One Step Back

Greetings Friends, Colleagues, and Readers,

This may sound odd but, I am thrilled to announce that my book is off the market!

I’ve written 4 books in my genre-bending vampire epic and came to realize my one published book, the foundation work for ‘The Rising’ series, was written in a different voice than any of my other writings. I love horror, among other genres, but when that twisted distorted thing I called my first published book finally disclosed its thorn in my side it freaked me out and gave me nightmares! That’s the wrong kind of horror! Scary boys & girls!

I’ve talked too many of you about my dilemma and have been encouraged to either get past it or do something about it. I had to choose the latter and it had been the hardest and best decision I’ve made in a great many years. Thank you for supporting me, loving me, and helping me reach this wonderful place!

The rewrite is going very well, excellent actually! It takes time, oh that 4^th dimension is such a pain but we all have to work with it. When ‘The Rising of Julian Adams’ comes back I’m going to be so thrilled to share it with you all.

In the meantime I will still be here for you guys. We can still share our lives, laugh together, and I will still offer my encouragement, writing help to get out those pesky writer’s knots, beta read, edit, coach, and celebrate you and your successes. My love for you isn’t changing I’m just unpublished! Woowoo!

Wish me luck, Godspeed, and pray this will go smooth and quick. Meanwhile, Hooray for ME!!! ~:^D>

Where Does the Time Go?

Greetings Friends,

Four months have passed since my last blog because I was caught up in a tornado, as my previous world was undone my new world was spun. Part of me looked at this blog and interpreted the lack of comments as talking to myself and I have plenty of opportunity for that without posting it. The metaphor tells the quick story about everything changing and that has at least been a whirlwind.

I was redirected by the opportunity to write a few short stories while working on the novella. I’m sorry that it has at least contributed to the delay of my primary focus on The Rising series. It also so happened that in working with my first beta readers (oh how I wish I had them on “The Rising of Julian Adams”) they gave me so much more than my editor(s) ever did, and with full transparency of their thoughts, opinions, and editing I have been edged towards a new course in my writing.

What is this new course? The novella, Empire 13, has turned into book 2 as I added new threads of continuity to it so it’s a much better stand-alone piece. It is on its way to becoming book 2, or better said, it is book 2 with a bit of editing to do between myself and my wonderful betas. This also means the other two installments to the series that I’ve already written but not edited are books 3 & 4, oh my!

There’s a catch, short stories excluded. Since I have returned to my pre-first-book writing style I have seen the drastic need to edit my first book with my faithful betas and put out a 2^nd Edition! It might not excite you who have been patiently waiting to find out what happens next, but I’m excited! I realize it’s another delay but I have to build on a good strong foundation considering this project is at least a 6 book series and the foundation I have now will not do. It’s my story but it is my creative writing professor’s style, not mine. That must be remedied and my whole team is behind this choice. I don’t want to sound boastful when I tell you I am a much better writer than that version demonstrates. I still stand behind the story but it’s going to be broken down into shorter paragraphs and chapters, and while taking this journey the few mistakes that got past my editors will also be fixed; to perfection… are we not human? Of course it won’t be perfect and the thought of that term applied to creative writing seems facetious and dare I say, irrelevant. Suffice it to be the new improved version.

If you come across my short stories to appear in various anthologies and to be published independently on kindle you will see the vast difference right away. I’m the same storyteller but with a very different style. Most of the anthologies won’t come out until around Christmas or after in 2014 and I am awaiting word from the various publishers whether or not I passed their gauntlet, so here’s to hope.

Bless You my Friends, Followers, and Fellow Writers,

Richard Alan

Busy, Well & Sparkling Reviews

Greetings Friends,

I’ve been very busy writing, editing, searching out publishing options, and keeping up my friendships found while expanding my internet presence. My Printmaster program also came today which is a familiar graphics design program I haven’t had since I moved up to Windows 7. Their graphics are copyrighted so I have searched online for suitable graphics for the cover of my upcoming novella, “Empire 13.”  I have a wonderful new beta reader who has also read my first book and had offered to help me do more editing on it for a second edition release. I would still like 2-3 more beta readers, so if you’re interested let me know. My public email is Rixbusiness86@gmail.com.

Two of my author friends have graciously written those elusive reviews of my first book that I wanted to share with you as bright stars in this labyrinth life of mine. I copied them right out of Amazon:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incline upwards, the vista opens wide, and you are dropped into a thrilling plunge into a world you only thought you knew! February 17, 2013

By Wren Hartwood

Format: Paperback |Amazon Verified Purchase

'The Rising of Julian Adams' A superbly written story. Like a tiny pebble dropped into an ancient raging river; a solitary, bright flame of a man dies out, barely discernible to more than a few. Within a short time the story morphs and mutates in depth, breadth, and scope, culminating in an epic showdown. Filled with many things you thought you knew, Richard shows us a very different view of the world. A richly created tapestry Richard manages to have skillfully and masterfully written in a huge plethora of both allies and adversaries. Definitely not your ordinary vampire novel! I’m looking forward to the next in anticipation.

5.0 out of 5 stars One of hubby's fave Christmas gifts December 25, 2012

By C.M. Wright

Format: Paperback

Hubby got this book today for Christmas gift from our boys. He's a vampire freak! LOL! And he is also VERY particular about his books. He has thrown books across the room when he says "It sucks!" This one, he has read more than half of already and LOVES it! Likes it a lot more because it isn't all about sex, which he hates. He likes the action most. He's even got me excited enough to read it and I'm not the biggest vampire fan. Great job, Richard! He is asking for the next and hasn't even finished this one!!!

 

If you have your own reviews, please post them so that I might rise in the ranks of public opinion and congeal from obscurity for future readers. Reviews are especially important to us independent authors, so I encourage you to be proactive with your opinions about the long and laborious affairs creating our stories for you.

I’m off now with plenty to do to prepare my novella for publishing. Sorry it’s not really book 2 yet; I cheated with the novella, but I promise, I am working on book 2 in The Rising Series, “The Great Expansion.” I will have my beta readers chewing on it soon; I’ll design its cover, and put it out in 3 or 6 months (according to my Kindle Prime contract). My children’s fantasy is also being edited so I hope it too will be coming out soon. I’ll let you all know. For those new to my blog, it’s titled is “The First Adventures of Shawn.” I will be honored to birth Lyric into the family where Wonderland, Oz, Narnia, and Middle-earth have reined brightly for so long.

I’ll try to check in sooner next time, and maybe do some much needed sprucing up of this blog page (that’s a learning curve thing.)

So, Bless You my Friends, Followers, and Fellow Book Fanatics!

Richard

A Long Bumpy Road

Traveling through the holidays was the usual journey and not entirely an unhappy one. My daughter and her family moved away where she enjoyed her first white Christmas sharing her fascination through photos. All our parents, but one, have left their terrestrial journey, and most friends have taken residence in distant places. Few are left, and that adds a bitterness to the holidays which I know we share with many. I heard of grand family gatherings and have such things tucked in my memory. My brother works at his church in a position which demands overtime through this time of year. He lives with us, but we only saw him at odd times making the best of it when we had the opportunity. My wife and I had lots of time together not that dissimilar from the joys of the royal suite at The Villa; we don’t have to be royalty to enjoy each other, and like Julian and Carolyn, we are each other’s best friend. She sooths my longing heart, and I hers.

 

My writing has produced a novella which we are proofing together, and it should come out soon for those of you desperate for another fix of The Rising series. I apologize for leaving you hanging for so long between books. I’m still editing book two with number three to follow shortly thereafter. I’m brushing off the many whispers from my Haunting books and short stories like pollen from my shoulder, but they are tempting forks in the road I force myself to veer away from. I know the way back to each of them; their trails are clearly marked to my eyes of intimate acquaintance with notes and much more than bread crumbs to lead me back when the time is ripe.

 

Forward has been a direction needing great discipline in the face of a rash of migraines that demand I stop, but cannot transfix me when they drain away my resolve. The scent of The Great Expansion permeates me and cannot be lost even when it seems a great distance away. Ethereal roving has captured me in incomprehensible cloud-lands, castles, and dungeons left in the wake of the sparkling rainbow aura. Those who suffer migraines should understand how real these phantoms are when you’re forced to hang on to reality as it tips towards an unknown precipice. You ask yourself, “Did I have a stroke,” and for good reason; they are very much alike, but their residue differs.

 

…but look, there is a signpost ahead, and it says “Exit.” You ponder what that means: will it lead me out or further still from mental confines. With my gift of sight I am able to discern a sigh more distant than the first, and it says, “Come, write, least you forget that you are an author.”

 

So, I have chosen, and am back on my path. What a wild ride it has been, and like Alice returning from Wonderland, I have much to write.

 

Thank you my friends and followers for your personal encouragements and reviews of The Rising of Julian Adams. This has revealed the wizard behind the curtain, and I have backed away from the façade to join the real world again.

 

Nobody knows the troubles I've seen

I have had time to further develop my new friendships and associations, but had to do it in little spurts as best as I could manage. I’ve been reading a romance novel by one of them which is a first for me, it’s a historical romance so at least I had the historical aspect is there to tempt me into jumping in. In turn, the author, Kim Scott, is reading my novel. Her book is “Regarding Ruth,” the first in her series with four in print. I also ran a contest for “likes” on my Richard Alan – Author Facebook page which C.M. Wright won; he’s working on “The Zombie Overload Series” with two books already published.

Next I am going to reward the 100^th “Like” on my author’s page with a hardbound autographed copy of “The Rising of Julian Adams.” Consider this the official announcement which will also be posted on my Facebook page.

So, what else has been going on since November 15^th? First, I had thumb surgery to remove a benign tumor. It was immediately obvious that I wouldn’t be typing with a big ball of bandages on my thumb. That was just awkward. Worse, however, against my writing was the fact that I had to keep it held above my heart or suffer the consequences of a throbbing and stabbing pissed off thumb. One handed typing was such an untrained goofball idea that it was quickly abandoned.

Thumb surgery was bad, but I was paled by a string of migraines that are still threatening me almost daily. I’m prone to migraines, and have medication to help fight them off; during this long episode, however, nothing helped. The pain alone was intense, but even worse was the visual disturbances sometimes associated with migraines. The corona of flickering lights was compounded by blurred vision and occasionally my sight went completely black. Even if I felt like it, there was no way I could write!

Last, but hardly least, with the migraine came confusion like a perpetual senior moment. I had times when somewhat coherent thoughts could not reach my lips without being scrambled. I’ve had migraines this severe before, but they really worry my wife because the so closely resemble a stroke. Once I actually did have a stroke, but never figured out when because of my headaches. The scarring was visible in a series of scans, so the stroke happened migraine masked or not. This was the final nail in my coffin that kept me from the bright sight shattering glare of my laptop, the shear pain trying to type, and the confusion that couldn’t string a single sentence together let alone a book!

The good news is that I have survived two relatively short days of edit/writing on book two in The Rising Series. I’m not out of the woods yet, haunted by the migraine threat, but feel that I’m back on the horse again and so ready to make up for almost a month of lost time.

Again, my friends and followers, wish me Godspeed, and Bless You All!

Making Connections

I wrote the majority of this blog November 15^th, but it wasn’t posted for health reasons. I will explain that in my next blog which will be written today.

I had the fortune of being chosen for a name-your-price coaching sessions with my cyber friend, Carma Spence. We started our relationship when she did an article on me for the Orange County Register. Our one-on-one session was on speakerphone so my wife, Barbara, could take notes and also ask questions, and the notes are extensive which she will type out for us with so much great information my head was spinning after the call.

First, Carma guided me to three authors and people in the industry to start me off, and those relationships are quickly blooming past formalities and into friendships. They are all supportive, offer to be my sounding walls, and through them I have been guided to others in our special community. They are embracing this newbie and it feels great finally having this resource in my life. Why didn’t I do it long ago? I didn’t know such wonderful people were touchable by someone just starting out.

She also gave me information to further build my network and make it specific for this community. She knows of organizations in the area and in cyberspace where I can connect even more, and get genre specific mentors. Now I have a greater understanding about the publishing process from my own fumbling through it, and many ideas she knew to make the process easier next time. Her advice should also help my following books in The Rising series and my children’s fantasy to reach publication quicker!

I connected with another kindred soul on the opposite side of the country who is also disabled and in financial straits. Through her and several others in my new circle of writers and people in the business I am finding encouragement that only my wife and a few friends previously gave me. I am also receiving tips of the trade, and though we are writing different genres, it has turned into a bonus contrary to previous thoughts. We are all on the learning curve discovering different destinations on the internet that offer help, services, and places to promote our works and develop an online presence. I am so happy to have found these new friends, and find some of the things I have discovered are helping them. It feels so good to be helping others.

So, thank you all, my friends and followers, and wish me and these other artists Godspeed in our writing, editing, and in navigating the mysteries of the internet together.

In & out of “The Rising

This last week was full of distractions, and editing is still going slow with chapter one of “The Rising Book 2: The Great Expansion.” Laying the foundation some twelve years after the first book is not just continuing the story from where it left off. A lot has happened, dynamics have changed, and the Julian Empire has taken on a life of its own. The first short section introduces Julian and Empire telling of this fact in the vampire world he created.

 

I’m enjoying the time given to writing, and some is being done every day; some days some isn’t much, but I’d still say it is steady going. When I reach the new story telling sections I am making great progress weighed down by very little editing, and the following chapters are of this sort which I expect will also flow well. The descriptive sections of this first chapter are the time-takers. I’m adding details and mixing things up going from vampire culture to utopian architecture to prophecy to religions life to personal relationships; it ponders, states, engages characters, and even has the whimsical introducing my readers to some of the surprising turns I take in this series.

I have also revived the first full book I wrote taking it from typed pages into the digital world. It’s an amusing children’s fantasy along the lines of L. Frank Baum’s “Wizard of Oz”, and Charles Lutwidge Dodgson’s “Alice in Wonderland.” Mine is titled, “The First Adventures of Shawn.”  The scope of my works is primarily in the horror, fantasy, and whimsical veins as has been previewed in “The Rising of Julian Adams,” but this children’s book takes the sex, drugs, rock n roll, blood, and gore out as Shawn travels to and through a fantastic land with a great cast of memorable characters. It’s long overdue putting it back on track towards being published.

I’m still in a flux between these books on track to being publish. Of course, “The 1^st Adventures of Shawn” didn’t scan in perfectly, and there will be fix-its to be done, but the text has already gone through the first and second editing with the help of a literary agent I once had. The book was not published in the 80s because of one of my agent’s other successful but controversial authors. I was lost on the sideline, and honestly became a little gun shy being blacklisted with them. Eventually the self-publishing industry attracted me back.

 

If I go with the children’s book next, I promise you the second and third books in The Rising Series will not be far behind since both are in their first draft forms. It is only the nature of this introduction chapter I’m working on that has slowed me down as I have explained in my blogs. The following chapters will focus on the main thrust of the story, and will need much less time editing; it will be more like read n tweak rather than adding new information to work in like I’m doing now. Also, the third book picks right back up on the story without introductions, so it should be understandable why the two books in The Rising won’t be postponed that much if I do the children’s book first.  

If there are any preferences, I would like to hear from you as the choice hasn’t been made yet. Either way, wish me clarity and Godspeed so that I may bless you, my friends and followers, once, twice, three times again (and much more).