CHAPTER ONE: So you think you can drive!

My wife says I should teach a class on driving, and the subject of the hour would be how to merge on the freeway. I don't think this is a hard thing to grasp, however, the other people on the roads in this town must think it is the hardest thing in the world! I mean come on!

Step one: Click your blinker on.
Step two: Speed up to 55-65 MPH
Step three: Enter the flow of traffic. Do not stop, slow down, speed up, just merge. If there is a line of semi trucks you may want to think about this proven method, but outside of that, go in no matter what the idiot in the other lane is doing. Funny things happens, people move for you. Most the time I don't even have to look, I just go in like I own the road, and this makes others think you own the road too and they get out of the way.

Now from the freeway driver.

If you see someone coming on the ramp you should if you have a brain and if you plan to have children, MOVE TO THE LEFT LANE!!! You do it for a cop... you do it for me!

Step two: If you can't change lanes which is not true, you can always change lanes unless as stated above you see a semi truck and he wont move for you. *Rule of thumb, if you signal and go, most people will move, don't signal and stay in the lane looking like a driver's ed student. Drive already! You look at the car on the ramp, judge their speed and pace them giving them room in front or behind you so they can enter without the finger, cursing, spitting, wrecking, and all the blood and gore that come along with you being an idiot.

Step three: Drive by the oncoming car, or give the said car in front of you. Everyone is happy.

If you are the driver who will not move over or will not pace the other car I think you should be shipped back to California and beaten with a banana, and forced to wear a dog collar, the one that looks like a white funnel.

What does this have to do with writing?

Nothing.

CHAPTER ONE: Write or Die!

Would you die if you could not write?

This question came up a week or so ago and I think it is a good one. Is writing about money... HAA HAA HAA HAA!!! Right! Or is it a passion? Is it a obsession? Why do you write and if you couldn't do it, would you die?

Your answer may tell you a lot about where you will be in five years as a author. Think about it!

CHAPTER ONE: My life is so much better with technology, really it is!

I love when people who are supposed to know how to run a business do the same stupid things over and over as they kill their business and everyone tells them what to do and how to change but in their infinite wisdom keep trucking alone as if no one else in the world exist in blind stupidity.

It a simple phone call so hard?
Does it take a brain to pick up a phone and communicate?

I guess the answer is yes.

I know you have no idea what I am talking about, this may be a good thing, if you did someone might get hurt. Anyway, I learn or try to learn something from everyone I knew or meet. Someone once said, "Every man is my teacher." I like this motto and even a dumb person can offer something, may hap I can learn how not to do something. I pray for wisdom, understanding and the clincher... to understand people. This last one gets me into trouble. I start seeing things I don't want to and understand more which like the verse says, with wisdom comes sorrow.

Today I can take away that I am capable of anything, I am able to fall farther then anyone eve myself thought possible, and I am not anything without the ones who love me. If this is not true feeling and a open heart then what is? In order to write the way I want to and the way you all deserve I need to tap into this idea and feel through the words on the page. Can I do it?

We shall see...

AMAZON KINDLE PUSH TODAY!!!

I am so close to the top 100 on Amazon Kindle, if you have a Kindle or know someone who does and can help me hit the top 100 then I need you to download it today. They update rankings every hour. Here is the link and it is only .99.

http://www.amazon.com/SWEET-DREAMS-Justice-Revenge-ebook/dp/B001N0LLP4/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_2

CHAPTER ONE: I'm Sick of being sick!

Snot...
Aches...
Chest congestion...
And I blame you!

You gave it to me and now my kids have it and all they did today was cry, scream, snot, spit up medication, poop, and that was just when I was home from 5-9! I want to thank, all you out there that like to think because you have a cold or your kid has it, that you must share it with everyone. May I remind you, some things you don't share...

Like:
Boogers, toe jam, your money... now this one you should share, but you don't do you? All I am saying is if you are sick or you have a sick kid no one will think you are a heathen if you stay home from church one time this year! It does not make you a super Christian if you drag your runny nose kid to church and cough it up in the second row SHARING your blessed cold with the rest of us. I think God will understand and the rest of of us will thank you for staying home so we won't have too, and miss out.

So, Like I said, I blame you.

You should be ashamed...

You might want to send me a I'm sorry card...

With some money in it...

No boogers please.

CHAPTER ONE: Dog Day's

A day like today where the sun just won't shine, and if it can go wrong it just might... no, no it will and did go wrong! Not everything, I might be over doing it a little, but it felt like I was swimming up a river of tar in a boat made of superglue!

Not feeling great, kids are grumpy and Klayton it cutting some teeth in. This all makes it hard to get anything done and poor Karissa is under the weather as well. I must say here at the coffee shop I did get some work done but it is not enough time in the day to finish all i really need to do and I need to go home to tend to the madness!

So, how does this help you in your writing? Not sure, and at this point I don't care if you write another word! Ha, how is that for honesty and in your face love? I did manage to write in this here blog, so... I did something yes?

I am excited for my book and have been rolling ideas around in my mind about it all week. I think when I get a chance to sit down I might just have another 20000 word count day!

CHAPTER ONE: Nothing new to report

It is Sunday and on this day I go to a coffee shop to write, stare at the teenagers yapping about their ever so complicated lives and I know this is a run on sentence but as you should know by now, I don't care much about the rules of the English savvy and the literature snobs as we know them. Any-who... I ditched this fun outing and decided to take a nap instead and watch a boring movie. I didn't know the movie was going to be boring at the time but what do you do?

I was thinking about people, and yes the study of them is one job a writer must have. They come in all sizes, shapes, and yes colors. I saw one the other day that was wearing snakeskin boots and jeans with a huge rip where his butt and upper leg met. This would have been fine but it was apparent he was not wearing any underwear. I know, I threw up a little in my mouth too... He was not the best dressed person and I wondered if he did this as a fashion statement or because he was hot and having something to block the breeze might be uncomfortable.

So remember the next time you look in the mirror before you go out to the mall, someone like me might be watching and you might just end up in a blog or worse yet... A book!

CHAPTER ONE: Trying new things...

My wife goes to this site called GymboRebel ,this site is for lovers of kids clothing and I think it is a sickness myself. Any who... there are a bunch of women in off topic lines that like to read or make up their own Fanfic as they call it, so I got the idea to try and use this illness to my advantage. If they like to read, and I have a new Teen Thriller I am working on, perfect!

I signed up and posted the first 2 chapters, I am going to see what kind of feedback I can get and I will post a few chapters a week and watch... You never know.

CHAPTER ONE: And the rain came...

Day of rain, sleet, and with it all I did manage to get something done.

I was thinking about the book meeting last night and thinking more about making a plan. You know a plan can be a good thing, maybe even a outline so you know where the book is going. However, if you cram your book and the plot into this so called plan then it will end up reading like a high school football playbook instead of a novel with real life in it.

Just a thought...

CHAPTER ONE: ...here comes the rain!

Ah...
Oh... ah...

Yes that is me breathing in deep, cracking my neck and stretching out in the warm sunlight and oh how it feels so very good. Have you ever just had a good stretch or want to crawl in bed and it feels so good under the sheets that you want to giggle like a little girl?

No?

Well my friend, you need to throw off your sad old ways and live man! Come on and join us in the bed sleeping happy fools!

So, you must know by now that I am having a much better day then yesterday. I got something done today and the feeling is I must say... wonderful. Got half of my book done and now the other half is on the way, I even had to read the last line to Karissa because I think it is good. Lol Funny how something written is good no matter who wrote it. I think that stuff I write is okay, maybe good at times, but when something just hits home, well it makes it all worth it.

We had a great time tonight at North Star Books in our little writing/publishing group. Talked about making a plan to write everyday and how to stick with it. I also met some way cool people and I am excited to work with such talented people.

I also wanted to say something to someone... you will know if I am talking to you if the ever so tight shoe fits... That I am so very happy to be working with you. I think you have a great future as a writer and don't worry, the title will come and soon you will have a masterpiece to be proud of. Keep up the good work.

Well I am off... my bed and a good book are calling...

CHAPTER ONE: A GOOD BAD DAY...

I had a great start to my day and went to Jelly in a brand new building in Meridian. It is called the Ground Floor, you should check them out. Anyway, got some work done and met with a potential new author but got some bad news.

Funny how a single phone call can ruin a great day! I was not to bummed out until I started thinking about it, you ever do that? I will make it, no worries and I know that in the end it will all work out.

Back to the task at hand... I am getting the end of the road blues. What I mean is that my book is getting to the point that I need to get it into editing and I am not willing to let it go. I am not sure I have said all I want to say and I feel something is missing but for the life of me I can't figure out what it is.

So, it is what it is... I stole that from a friend.

CHAPTER ONE: Read it out LOUD!

I am reading my teen thriller to my wife before bed and it seems to help. I think there is something to be said about how something sounds compared to how we think it should look on a page.

So, here in the world of my own making I think it would be fun to do things that will help and lead to better writing, and maybe I just tick you off, that will do fine as well. I like to make people mad every now and then, it is good for you to have a good old finger pointed at you!

Have you ever written a letter to someone when you were mad and never send it? I have, in fact I got one sitting on my desktop now and the person will never see it due to the lack of care to their feelings laced throughout the darn thing. But I guess it is better to get it out and not go off on the person in question, or should I send it? Hmmmmm Thinking... thinking...

Nah, but it is a good way to get some things off your chest, try it, you might find that your writing will improve what you have to put together thoughts when you are good and mad. Oh, then you can read it out loud to your wife or husband... HaHa. Now we are cooking with gas!

CHAPTER ONE: Fun reading, and trying new things!

So I had to write a poem for the first time in my life the other day for a activity at our church. I am not a poem guy and so I was not sure even how to begin to do this task.

I will post it at the end of this note to see what your feedback is, be nice unless is sucks. I also got a chance to go to a writing group on Saturday and it was a lot of fun. Met some new people and wow, we have some talent here in the Boise area. I can't wait to see what comes out next!


My poem... hope you like.

The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
Oppressing sun made the gunslinger squint and sweat,
His journey would be long, much too long for even him to endure,
Old cracked boots dragged on the ground, worn smooth almost gone,

Wind blew old dust into his dry leather skin,
Yet he shuffled on across the hard packed earth, head down, heart heavy,
The calling pulled him along, he was dead already, filled with sin,
Sandalwood grips donned the six-shooters like old bones,

So long, too long, there was nothing left but the shell of a man,
Tattered brown duster covered an empty frame, and the gunslinger walked on,
The man in black was over the rise, always over the next rise,
Gaining, moving, closing, and yet no closer,

Deep blue eyes hung in hollow sockets, like distant stars,
Had he found him? Why was this so old, the life he knew?
Dreams of the place filled his nights with terror and wonder,
Choices had been made and the end would come, he knew,

Time was different here, slower somehow,
Here he aged and the sweet touch of death never came,
Stuck, yet with unrelenting guts he walked on,
The man in black would falter, would fall,

Victory and revenge for pain beyond explanation,
The goal was here and with it, a new chapter,
Than everything changed and all was lost, if only he could start again,
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.

CHAPTER ONE: What is the hardest part of writing?

So, on this weekend I urge my four followers to leave a comment on what they find to be the hardest part of writing? Is it the story line, the flow? Let it out and maybe we can help each other!

Oh, and I dressed up as a cowboy last night and wrote a poem... my first! It was okay.

CHAPTER ONE: Almost halfway there!

Went to Craig Zubers book launch party last night and had a great time. Met some great people as well as some I was glad to walk away from. It is funny how the very people who call themselves "Christians" and I use the term loosely, love nothing more then to stab others in the back laughing all the way. I have run in with this tolerant, kind, understanding crowd before and now their upfront boldness is downright rude. But I will pray for them anyway and hope they see that just because someone has strong convictions does not mean you shun them or put them down, I don't think Jesus Christ would, so therefore we shouldn't either.

Ahhh, so much better now, my rant is over and on to some tid-bits of blah, blah, blah.

Research.

Through trial and error I have learned that it is always better to do good research for the content of your story. In my case where it is fiction I have some leeway but if I am talking about a real place like New York I need to have streets, roads, buildings match what is there in real life. Example in my first book Sweet Dreams I had hills in New York and found out that the place is flat as in crazy flat no hills at all. So I changed it.

Have Google up in another window as you write or do the research before you do a scene, however you want to do it is great, just make sure you do so your reader will get a great read with fact to back it up.

Note:

This is not the case in some Sci-Fi or fantasy, you are talking about things that don't exist but still I would recommend basing some things on reality in order to make the story more believable.

Happy Writing!

CHAPTER ONE: DAY... TODAY!

Little things matter, like when you give one person a book because you can see they need it more then you need the 15 dollars. Like when you think taking someone out for coffee is not a big deal, or if you think about someone else before yourself. I want to this year to be more giving, in times like these I believe by sticking together and having a little faith we will see big things in the year 2010.

I have been stuck on the writing. I could give you all sorts of made up stories about being busy or what have you, I wont. The story rolls around in my brain and when it starts to boil over I will have to finish it. Sometimes a day or two off makes me see things with new eyes.

I set up a plan and will stick to it but I am not so stuck to it that I can't breathe or make on the fly adjustments. I can't wait to see what the day brings!

CHAPTER ONE: DAY BLAH, Blah...

I learned something today that will make your life so much easier as a writer. I have this tid-bit of news that will unlock your heart and place a shield around it... Here in my hand I hold the future of your sanity and your entire future!!!

Want to know what it is?

Be a duck.

Yeah, I know, so simple and so hard to do. There are some people that no matter what you do or how nice you are to them or how much you help them, they will still hate you. Will still stab you in the back and you just have to let is roll off your back like the old duck. This is one thing that as a writer or even in life is so important. You cannot find your value in what others think about you but in something deeper. I am not important because of what I do or who I am but because God loves me and in this no one can take that away. I cannot be moved by the ones who want to twist every word and by the dream suckers. No, I am not a power unto myself for that is not the end of the story.

Some will love your work, some will hate it. Somewhere3 in the middle is where the truth lies, you are not as good as your biggest fan and you don't stink as much as your worst critic. Keep it up, learn, grow, work hard and in the end you will stand when others fall, and enjoy every step along the way.

*Snif... *Snif... Enough of that dribble, had a fun time at the flee market and I believe I will do it again. Sold some books, meet some cool people and the others... well... lets just say I have many new characters and boy are they colorful!

CHAPTER ONE: DAY... UH, SEVEN... EIGHT?

Ha, So I am all screwed up and lost now. No matter, I have been busy and there is no use figuring out what day it is when only five of you really care. I spent the day at the Boise Flee Market with a table of books and my bright smiling face behind it hoping it wouldn't be a blow out.

The day started and by the looks of the other booths I was a bit worried. Some were fine and some looked like the salvation army and the Idaho Youth Ranch had a fight and no one won! I must admit that I have never been to a flee market before and did not know that it is just a indoor garage sale. This is not bad just unexpected. I did end up selling enough to break even with the cost of the space which means tomorrow will be profit.

So, with watching people all day I am convinced that there is a lot of people that don't own mirrors or know what a comb is, I mean really! I did in face find some readers and met some cool people in the process, it goes to show you that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover... even though we all do!

CHAPTER ONE: DAY SIX

I had a weird dream that I missed posting on my blog, I woke up and found out that it was all true. Lol, So I am a day late which means I will be pulling double duty today. I was in meetings all day yesterday and they were all great! Meet with a author, doctor, and another author.

Book is coming along but I fear I will be putting some overtime in on it this weekend at the flee market. I will have a booth or a table, I hope to see you there if you happen to be in the area.

Question of the day, do you outline as you write or shoot from the hip?

CHAPTER ONE: DAY FIVE

Is it over yet?

I didn't get much of anything done today in the writing department. I had a meeting with an author who is writing a children's book and then did some work not book related. I was thinking about how is the best way to keep on track with writing every day.

One: Well, this blog does that in a way. I have to write something, even if it is dumb and meaningless, but it gets me thinking and writing.

Two: Pick a time every day when you will get up and write something on your project; it could be in the morning before everyone is up, or late at night when everyone is in bed. I have a busy life with three kids, a wife and work blah, blah, blah. We all have them, take yours and throw it out along with the one you just thought of as you read this.

Three: Do it! The only person standing in your way is you! No one will ever be moved by your book if you don't write it, no one will ever read your book if you never make a plan and follow it, no one will ever know who you are if you do the same thing everyday and expect different results. So, let us this New Year forget about the past and do something mind blowing! Let's go for the imposable! Let's do what we say we are going to do.


People look at me with an odd expression when they find out I wrote a book, some of them can't believe it, (The people who know me) and some give me that "you must be smart" look. I am not that smart, as you can see by this blog, and I am not full of talent or the coolest ideas, but one thing that I try very hard to do is finish. I started a book and then finished it, and like my dad always said, "If you show up to work every day then soon you will own the place." If you write a book and finish then you stand with the few that did and didn't just say they are going too, or want too... you make the call!

CHAPTER ONE: DAY FOUR

NO!

That's right, No, and to any other questions you may have the answer is the same! I find myself in a mood today, not a great one and the bummer of it all is I have no reason to be this way.

I am tired, grumpy, old, fat, and it is cold and raining out. Oh, and I don't want to write but know I need to keep it up in order to make the required headway. I did have a good start to my blue day, we watched BSU win last night and it was fun to watch them kick some frog butt! I went to a book club meeting this morning at 7am, I know who wants to think at 7am!

We had a great time and I meet some cool people. The mayor of Meridian was there as well as a bestselling author and the winner of season 2 of the Biggest loser! I think the high of a good start made the work and lag I am now in to seem that much deeper.

Well, enough griping, on to some help to others who might be feeling this same way after the holiday's. You get that credit card bill and pass out. If you are sleepy or just don't want to do anything but take a bath and fall asleep under a good book, well buck-up! Get out of your own head and get something done. Take the next hour and finish something even if it is small, in the end you will feel better and will be able to look back and pull yourself out of whatever you, me, and the dog fell into this fine day.

CHAPTER ONE: DAY THREE

If I have learned anything in this writing experience is that one of the most important thing is Editing. I did it the wrong way on my first book and it is still going final edits. I am looking forward to hearing Great book, and not the by the way... thing.

I have one goal, that is to be real. I am not the best writer in the world and I am a work in progress. I know it is something that most people never master, the art of writing. I only hope to reach others and write something that will move and compel.

Halfway done with the Airel book on the second draft and the story is coming along. Happy writing, and keep it up!

CHAPTER ONE: DAY TWO...

I sit here in Starbucks, the devil of coffee, over roasted beans and never comfortable chairs, but on a Sunday afternoon not much else is open. I am working on Airel and am trying to go through it before I send it off to the creative editors. Sometimes as I look at what is here on the screen I wonder who wrote this dribble and if I can turn it around. Some of it is good and I can see potential but it needs some work.

I thought back to the beginning of this process and all that I wanted to do and where I wanted to see this book end up. I think the teen market is a good one because us adults read a good book and it seems we like it and will tell maybe one other person about it. Teens however find something they like and hold on to your hats! It becomes a part of their identity and everyone must know what they thought and if it is good you might be looking at a great run.

I did a book signing at Borders in the Mall on a friday night and when I got there they had a table all set up with some of my books on it, and sitting behind this table was a man with his stack of books and he was reading some other book and seemed very comfortable. The store manager and I talked and I set up more books and this man acted as if we were ghosts and were of no use to him whatsoever! We talked not two feet from him and pointed at the books, picked them up, bumped the table, and this guy did not get the hint. So I went to get a coffee and as I thought about my next move I wondered if I was going to have to get in a fight to get this intruder out om my seat.

I looked at his long coat and his baggage that cluttered up the book table and wondered what he was thinking... Could he possibly think he was there first, so it was his chair? I thought about asking for his autograph and see if he would sign my book for me... I took a sip from my coffee... not a Starbucks thank God, and as I walked over the man looked up and as if falling from a dream world looked around and shook his head. Weird, how did I get here? Was I sleeping? Drunk? Drugged? NO I am just a Borders reader and I can sit wherever I want to thank you very much!

He then walked away after messing up the display as he dragged his bags over all the copies, he sauntered off into the sunset. I think they all leave into the sunset, because in reality they do not exist. Do they?

CHAPTER ONE

KICKING IT OLD SCHOOL... AND THROWING ALL YOU HAVE LEARNED TO THE CURB!





I was thinking that each month will be a chapter and this is not going to be the end result of the book but I will pull out parts to make it all fit after the year is up. This is what I like to call THROW-UP! Yes, just get it all out no matter the grammar, spelling, plot line, subject matter, or even the order of everything. In order to get your mind clear of all the built up ideas and thoughts and allow new one in we must put the old finger to the back of our writers throat and "heave ho!"

I am working on my third book called "Airel" It is a teen thriller and I am past the Throw-up stage and have a grand total of 107,000 words. Sweet, my goal of 100,000 has been met and now I go to stage two, the creative editor and re-write!

I figure there is no use going over it 100 times when after it is all said and done, I will HATE the darn book. First I throw-up, then a creative editor or creative friend tears it apart so I can do it all over again, then it is looked at again and yes, one more time going over it fixing plot lines ect...

If this is not on your things you hate to look at by now it will be in short order. Then for fun the technical editor goes through it and in my case had her work cut out for her, and then I go through it yet again! Then one more time for good measure and then it is ready for the oh so adoring public. Proof readers, the people who will be reading my books and future fans or book reviewers. And yes you guessed it, I go through it again, and then we can start the next stage.

Wow, I am tired and the book I loved and thought was going to be the next NYT bestseller is the last thing I want to look at or even touch. However, I feel better because I have gone through some of the hard part, in the writing that is...

I will begin with the idea, it is a good one, let me tell ya. But all I have is a idea, no story line, no plot, only this rough idea. Now I write... let it come and as I do so, the story flows and I begin to build an outline.

In the meantime I go to the Boise Christmas show with my other two books. I want to sell 100 of each, I know a bit ambitious, but I set the bar high! As I sit there watching people walk by and I feel the confidence in my second book because I did have a good editor, I think about the first and wonder at what point in the life of my book do I keep going. It needs some work, yet it is out there and there is no going back now. I have it being worked on but I risk more bad reviews, or I can cross my fingers and hope people have some grace knowing it is in fact my first book.

I say hi to a man walking by as he glances at the books on the table. "What do you like to read?" I ask in my charming way.

"Oh, Mystery/Thriller, murder stories..." My eyes light up for this my fine friend is what I write!

"Well, these are right up your alley, they are Mystery/Thriller and I am here to sign them today." I go on the enplane that Sweet Dreams is the first one and Dream On is the second in the series and he looks up at me and nods, yes he nods and turns without a word and walks away.

I look around and think, I wonder if he is a closet romance reader.

So in the spirit of adventure... Let's write a book?

Want to write a book? Well here is your chance to see what it is like.

So, this idea came to me as I am the father of three small children and work full time, and try to not bug my wife all the time! I am a published author and coming from nothing and still in the scheme of things I am still a nobody, I got my first bad book review!

I was not that shocked but it did give me time to think of all the crap and hardship I went through in writing, trying to get published, starting a small publishing house, and with my oh-so-calm-life this person seems to think that saying my book was... wait for it... THE WORST BOOK EVER! would break my heart. I look at this like a football player looks at a disapproving fan. If you can do it better, then by all means.

I will give her the grammar thing, but that is all, we all know, well maybe you don't. I suck at spelling and grammar, so if this blog offends your perfect English, well I do not care. I found a great editor and therefore she will fix anything in my books I need done, or so I hope.

In the light of new ideas I thought it would be fun to write a book on this here blog with all of you my 5 readers to look on and laugh at me and see just what it takes to do this thing we call writing!

The name of the book, believe it or not is: THE WORST BOOK EVER! ...as seen on Amazon.com

I hope you like it, never mind, I hope you hate it and never read the book or buy it, Ha! Did I trick you?

To start this thing off I am sitting here with my back about to go out AGAIN! Don't know why, but I am in pain and am whining all about it, anyway... The first thing is to have a good subject.

Sweet, we got a dandy of a great subject! The life in the crazy life of a wanna be writer. Then I sit down and think of how I am going to layout this book, Chapters, yes, maybe section breaks like book one and book two, not sure on this one. I guess this can be part of the introduction, and each blog will be part of a chapter and off we go!

I hope this helps someone out there, or maybe I am only doing this in order to help myself, I think it will be a great outlet to rant about stupid people and the masses of readers that only want the next NYT bestsellers, TRY SOMETHING NEW! You might like it...