Plans for July

June was a much busier month than I had anticipated! Between continuing research for nonfiction projects, correcting previous publications, creating illustrations for future volumes, and making new submissions, there was hardly any time left for actual writing!

This month should (I hope) be a little less strenuous and a little more exciting. For starters, I will be back to making my weekly posts for the month (focusing more on nonfiction writing this time). Additionally, my next novel, Sauragia: Journey to the Red Mountain, will be going on pre-order tomorrow. And perhaps most exciting of all, from tomorrow through August 1st, all e-books are going to be half price! So, if you’re an e-reader who hasn’t collected my complete catalogue yet, this month may be as good a time as any.

On the production end, I fully intend to pick up work on my current rough draft, do some more illustrating and research for future projects, and maybe begin the process of recording my very first audiobook! Either way, I foresee another interesting month ahead. Best get started, eh?

Happy Father’s Day!

For all you hard-working dads out there, thanks for everything. Hopefully you can find some time out to do the things you love today: you’ve earned it.

And happy first of summer for everyone as well!

Plans for June

May was a fine month. It saw not only the release of my new middle grade anthology, Woodland Tales, but also the completion of one novel rough draft, the final review of another book, several drawings to accompany them both, and a few extra improvements to other works and the beginnings of my research process as well.

For June, I shall begin typing up my recently finished rough draft, continue my research, and begin on a series of drawings for another novel that’s been essentially completed for some time, and which I hope to release late next year. I will also begin preparations to put my next book, Sauragia: Journey to the Red Mountain, on pre-order beginning July 1st.

In light of this, I have decided that I will not be making any new posts on here this month. It is not that I have a shortage of posts nor of ideas, but simply that I would like a little break from it that will enable me to concentrate more on my work. Hope it’s a happy June for you all, and you can count on hearing from me again in July!

Writing Nonfiction

Needless to say, writing nonfiction is a very different experience from writing fiction. The most obvious fact, of course, is that while with fiction your only limits are those imposed by yourself, with nonfiction your job is to posit straight facts. This can lead some to believe that nonfiction is a more restrictive or boring kind of writing, and for some this may be true. However, I find nonfiction interesting precisely because of the challenges it poses to the creative mind, as well as the opportunities.Continue reading “Writing Nonfiction”

!!! Book Release: ‘Woodland Tales’ !!!

After three weeks of being on pre-order, I am pleased to announce the official release of my new short story anthology, Woodland Tales! For those of you who have pre-ordered already, my sincerest thanks. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, go check it out here.

The Dark Art of Poesy

Most folks I’ve met have a definite opinion of poetry. They either love it or hate it. As a general rule, I’ve always put myself in the latter category (excluding songs, which many of us poetry-haters like, ironically). I’ve always looked on it a bunch of overly long words used in short, choppy sentences loaded with emotional baggage. And yet, poetry has certain appeal to both writers and readers alike. This is probably primarily because of its brevity, but also because in some circles it is considered the highest form of written art.Continue reading “The Dark Art of Poesy”

The Art of Translation

One of the trickiest kinds of writing imaginable is translation. For while there is a creative element in that the translator must decide the exact wording involved, it is more restricting in that they are still someone else’s words he is working with. And then of course there’s the fact that one has to know the original language of the work in the first place! Here I shall attempt to summarize the main points of translating works, on the off chance that you end up in such a line of work.Continue reading “The Art of Translation”

Writing Dialect

Picking up on my topic of world-building from last month, dialect is one of the best (and in some cases trickiest) ways to add realism to your dialogue. After all, nothing indicates that a particular person is from elsewhere like a strange way of talking. But how does one transliterate another’s way of speaking into written form, especially when that one doesn’t talk that way himself? That is something I will attempt to answer here.Continue reading “Writing Dialect”