The harsh title of this post may give some pause, but go with me for a bit.
A few weeks ago, I felt like my entire childhood was torn into shreds. An actor, who played in prominent role in a series of movies that came out when I was young, came out very publically and trashed someone, even going so far as to call him a "loser."
I apologize ahead of time as I will be very cryptic on who the actor was and who the other person he trashed was. The point of this piece is simply: don't be a jerk.
I find it distressing when (some) people become more and more popular, they feel like they can spread their message values to everyone, despite whom it may hurt or if it aligns with the values of their fans. Now, if your entertainment platform has always been of a certain nature, I'm not speaking of them. For example, for those who like the liberal nature of Ed Schultz or the conservative nature of Rush Limbaugh, Ed and Rush will not change as their entire platform is based on their political views.
Now, some of my favorite authors and actors do hold different values than myself, which I am okay with (not everyone should think alike), but the emergence of social media has made their views more and more public. Especially the vile comments.
I honestly don't have a solution, except this: no matter how famous or public your life is, remember that not everyone thinks the way you do. In fact, others may have a different set of values, but still love the work you produce.
In other words, don't be a jerk to them. Or anyone. Period.
Okay, rant over.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Friday, January 20, 2017
Two novels written back-to-back / Happenings In The Outhouse 20-Jan-2017
As the headline states, I am writing two novels back-to-back. These would be books two and three in the Shadowkill Trilogy.
As an aside, I am also working on a nonfiction book--okay, writing three books at once, but the nonfiction book won't take that long to complete and I will work on this in the off-hours.
I am currently around the 10,000 word mark in book 2 (I have the title, but I'm holding off on sharing it for the moment in case it may change). It's going great.
To prepare myself for these final two books, I re-read book 1: Killzone. It's a fun read (and I'm not just saying that because I wrote the damn thing), and it was a great landing point to start headlong into the next two books.
Why two books back-to-back, you may ask? I had written Killzone in 2014 and it has steadily grown in sales month by month. My original plan was to write more in the Central Division thriller series, but I want to close out the trilogy first and even put together a box set of all three.
Also, there is a new form of fiction out there called LitRPG. For those who have read Ready Player One, it blends gaming into the fiction writing element. Now, the Shadowkill trilogy isn't technically LitRPG, but rather a technothriller with a flavor of LitRPG. Instead of the characters living through an online MMO world, the gamers are powering real-life robotic soldiers through virtual reality (VR) helmets.
Now, back to writing the last two novels back-to-back. How am I doing this? Well, instead of finishing one book and then editing it, when I complete book 2, I'm jumping in right with book 3. When the two books are done, then I'll start the editing process. The plan is to have them published by summer 2017, and that is a goal I'm positive to hit.
As an aside, I am also working on a nonfiction book--okay, writing three books at once, but the nonfiction book won't take that long to complete and I will work on this in the off-hours.
I am currently around the 10,000 word mark in book 2 (I have the title, but I'm holding off on sharing it for the moment in case it may change). It's going great.
To prepare myself for these final two books, I re-read book 1: Killzone. It's a fun read (and I'm not just saying that because I wrote the damn thing), and it was a great landing point to start headlong into the next two books.
Why two books back-to-back, you may ask? I had written Killzone in 2014 and it has steadily grown in sales month by month. My original plan was to write more in the Central Division thriller series, but I want to close out the trilogy first and even put together a box set of all three.
Also, there is a new form of fiction out there called LitRPG. For those who have read Ready Player One, it blends gaming into the fiction writing element. Now, the Shadowkill trilogy isn't technically LitRPG, but rather a technothriller with a flavor of LitRPG. Instead of the characters living through an online MMO world, the gamers are powering real-life robotic soldiers through virtual reality (VR) helmets.
Now, back to writing the last two novels back-to-back. How am I doing this? Well, instead of finishing one book and then editing it, when I complete book 2, I'm jumping in right with book 3. When the two books are done, then I'll start the editing process. The plan is to have them published by summer 2017, and that is a goal I'm positive to hit.
Friday, January 13, 2017
Christmas in January / Happenings In The Outhouse 13-Jan-2017
On December 30th, 2016, I finally published The Christmas Letters.
What legacy do you want to leave behind?
Meet the Wilkins. The typical busy American family.
But when Grandma Wilkins passes away, they discover her old Christmas letters in a shoebox. Molly, the youngest grandchild, soon decides to start where her grandmother’s legacy left off, writing about future events, no matter how unrealistic they may seem at the time.
The Christmas Letters can be found at the following e-retailers:
Friday, January 6, 2017
Why 2016 did NOT suck / Happenings In The Outhouse 06-Jan-2017
I've noticed a trend as 2016 wound down about how the year sucked. Whenever a celebrity, be it singer or actor or whomever famous, died, people would get enamored by how much the year sucked big time.
If you look at Wikipedia, there is a recent deaths section. Every single day, someone dies. It's natural, all part of life.
How one looks at the year, and how one treats it, is based largely on one's attitude--and I have a feeling that the majority of the noisy people who are shouting from the mountaintop that 2016 just sucked, had more to do with the results of the 2016 US election than deaths.
Get over it.
Move on with your life.
Do something to improve your life.
2016 was a spectacular year for me. I published 3 full-length novels, a short story, and a novelette. Two were books 3 and 4 in the Central Division Series:
If you look at Wikipedia, there is a recent deaths section. Every single day, someone dies. It's natural, all part of life.
How one looks at the year, and how one treats it, is based largely on one's attitude--and I have a feeling that the majority of the noisy people who are shouting from the mountaintop that 2016 just sucked, had more to do with the results of the 2016 US election than deaths.
Get over it.
Move on with your life.
Do something to improve your life.
2016 was a spectacular year for me. I published 3 full-length novels, a short story, and a novelette. Two were books 3 and 4 in the Central Division Series:
The last novel published was The Christmas Letters:
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