eBook Thoughts - #1 - Writing What You Love

Self Publishing eBooks.  Yeesh. I have so much to say about this, yet I find myself struggling to decide where to begin... I guess with my books. That would be a pretty cool place. I read a lot of blogs about writing and post regularly on a few forums, but I also know a few people read this blog that have no toes dipped into that pool, so I'm going to start with pretty beginner stuff here. After all, I'm a beginner.

I've always wanted to write, I filled long notebooks of rambling fantasy stuff back in junior high, longing for a computer or typewriter at home I could use to make them official. For a long time though, the urge faded. I'm not sure why, I was certainly as interested in reading as ever, but the writing side of me lay dormant.

Then my wife started writing a novel and it lit that fire again, seeing how much enjoyment she got from writing made me want to try too. So I started two very different books. A childrens novel and a book about a zombie attack. I also came up with about a dozen other ideas that I've since started to plot out.

I'm not a conventional typist, I hunt and peck with the best of 'em, however, usually just using my index fingers with an occasional tap or two from my other fingers, and writing a long book was a challenge. (Still is) But I kept at it, surprised at how the creation of the story in my head, even if no one else would read it was so therapeutic and exciting.

But a lot of my ideas are kind of unconventional. Sure, zombie books are hot right now (though I've been a fan for decades) but mine is a small scale novel, taking place in one location over the course of one eight-hour shift at a drug store. And it's told in short chapters from different points of view. My kid's book? Old school all the way. A little slow moving and good-hearted, with humor but not the scathing sarcasm that passes for humor nowadays. Mr. Pale Steps Out is a classic revenge novel that happens to take place in an alternate timeline 1960's where a biological weapon explosion has killed 85% of the population and left the rest infected or struggling to survive. And it's a short novel, pulp sized.

So I decided to write novels and promptly set about writing a bunch of books that I will never be able to sell conventionally to "Legacy" publishers. Then eBooks reared their digital heads... That's more like it!

The Crab

This Piece is by an illustrator named Rodney Matthews. I don't know much about him, but he's created unique visions of fantasy for over 35 years, including Thin Lizzy covers, fantasy and sci-fi novels and some truly sweet heavy metal logos. You can see more of his work HERE.

On April 26th, I released my first self-published eBook. It's a fun little throwback to the adventure novels I loved as a kid, called The Whispering Ferns. It's written by my alter-ego, the good twin, Kristopher McClanahan and is the first in a planned series of kids novels about a fictional fishing village on the coast of Washington called Moonstone Bay.

I love the setting and the characters, and I adore writing the books, and I had some pretty positive responses from legit agents when I was sending it around, looking for conventional publishing, but the simple fact is that the novel doesn't have enough of a hook. It's a quiet novel about ghosts, friendship and bravery, inspired by stuff I love like John Bellairs, Encyclopedia Brown and the Hardy Boys.

If that sounds intriguing, check it out! It's available on Smashwords in multiple formats, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and will soon be available for iBooks, Kobo and more. Even better, it's only three bucks. Check it out and if you like it, please help out and review it wherever you can.

The simple fact is that this is an experiment. In the next few months I'll also be releasing a post-apocalyptic 60's revenge novel on eBook and The Whispering Ferns is kind of my dry run, letting me hit my growing pains before I get to Mr Pale.

Additionally, I'll be updating everything here on my blog - from the efforts and tricks needed to format your book, to choosing a cover, to how many pennies I make.

This is coming from a guy with no free time, no pre-built customer base and no money to spend promoting this, so think of it as the anti-Konrath. I used to love reading his blog, but nowdays, it's so full of self-promoting and aggrandizing fools that the thing I loved about it, Joe's humor and real advice about writing and publishing seems to have slipped to the wayside. That said, I love the cover to Flee, and can't wait to read it.

So come along for the ride, and if you have any questions or advice, chime in.

I cannot possibly add anything to this photo to make it more awesome.

Wow....

A month since I've posted anything....

I'd like to say that it's because I've been too busy writing, but that would be untrue... I did get a new desk and in my defense, I've been studying for a work-related test that I finally passed....

Huh.... looks like I'd better get out there and find something interesting to post about!

Growing up, if I was reading a book, you can bet the cover either featured a dude in armor, a dragon, a wizard or some combination of the three.

I lived for fantasy! I was in second or third grade when the local librarian recommended A Spell For Chameleon, by Piers Anthony. Before that, I'd read any kids books I could find, especially loving books like Half Magic and Castle In The Attic, but once I realized the breadth of books available in the "grown up" section of the library, I went crazy.

I read everything I could, important books, long books, short books, elaborate series and collections of short stories. I loved it all, but I eventually found myself drawn towards light fantasy. Tolkien was great and all, but it all seemed so important. I wanted to have a good time reading and it didn't take long to hone in on a few faves.

Lawrence Watt-Evans is my favorite author, bar none. His books are fun and good hearted and always clever. I started with The Misenchanted Sword and enjoyed it so much that I stole the book from the library (I later donated a new copy, wracked by the guilty thoughts that I was depriving others from reading it) and I own every book he's written since. I buy any copy of his I can find and give them away to people because I don't think enough people read him.

Some other faves from that time  - C. Dale Brittain (Funny, fresh takes on wizardry) Piers Anthony (Who I don't really dig anymore) Terry Brooks (Which I haven't read in a long time) the Dragonlance Series (This either) and Terry Pratchett (Who took me a while to warm up to, but is at the top of my list now, naturally)

And I stayed pretty faithful to the sword and sorcery set for a very long time. Every once in a while, I'd pick up some sci-fi and even rarer, a horror of some sort, but it was usually all shining armor, all the time.

In recent years, I found a new appreciation for thrillers and crime novels, eagerly devouring old 60's pulp and recent authors like Marshall Karp and Victor Gischler, and for the most part, my fantasy addiction retreated to it's underground lair, to languish on the paperbacks of yore. But every once in a while, I feel the urge to dive back in. I've read three Watt-Evans novels in the last week and just downloaded Brittain's catalog (Or what's available... She's devilishly hard to find!) It's been a lot of fun and kind of a palette cleanser.

Is this normal? Have you always read the same genre of books, or do you bounce around a lot? What were/are some of your favorites?

Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. It happens every winter to some. Its a general sense of depression and discomfort that comes on with the short winter days, the closed up houses, the decreased activity and added stress.

I've never really been affected before but this year I think I'm getting a bit of the SAD action. In our old house, we used to be able to walk a block to get to a shoveled walking path we could take our dogs on and we had a nicely fenced yard. We have a nice yard here... somewhere under the three feet of snow out there. So I guess I could get some outside experience if I wanted to play Donner Expedition...

I've been having a hard time concentrating on my revisions and I think part of it is a lack of energy. So spring needs to get here soon so I can shed my hibernation weight, get some exercise and get my book finished!