Category: Independent Author

As a writer, I often dream about being a writer … don’t you?

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6a00e0099410db8833013488f97c04970c-800wiNeil Gaiman said, “As far as I’m concerned, the entire reason for becoming a writer is not having to get up in the morning.” That is what I aspire too.

Writing as a passion or writing as a business … That question has hounded me since I began my life as a self-published author. It may seem to some as an easy one to answer, but it’s definitely not. For many authors, we love to write because we have a story to tell. Your mind is filled with images, as if you can hear the whirring sound of a movie projector in your head as they fly by. You can’t write fast enough to keep up with it.

Many of us dream about being the next Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. We all think that once our story grabs onto an audience once, we’ll have it made. It’s a nice idea, but unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen that way.

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette suggests, “Put down everything that comes into your head and then you’re a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff’s worth, without pity, and destroy most of it.”

I’ve invested time and money into my two books, Forever Avalon and The Dark Tides, and no matter what the cost, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Writing every word has brought me the full range of emotions, from sadness and grief at the death of a character to sheer joy when an idea came together.

This is the point where writing as a passion or a business diverges. It is so easy to self-publish today, anyone can put out a book for very little money. The time it takes away from work and family for writing, editing, engaging on social media makes it hard work.

The dedication it takes is well-known by any author. If you believe In your story, in yourself, then you’re willing to put the time and effort into it. “Writers are desperate people and when they stop being desperate they stop being writers,” said Charles Bukowski.

I want nothing more than to spend my days getting up in the morning, pouring a nice cup of coffee and sitting down at my desk to spend my day writing the next chapter of my next novel. It is what we all strive for. Not the glamour, but the freedom to be a writer.

Roald Dahl said, “A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it.”

Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is now available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.

What I learned at Pitchfest “book-to-movie” 2015 in New York City

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I had the honor of attending Pitchfest this past weekend in New York City. Pitchfest was a book-to-screen seminar where independent, self-published authors like myself were taught how to turn our novels into a two minute pitch and then pitch that idea to studio/production representatives from movies and television.

The event was hosted by Author Solutions, a company that provides services to self-published authors. They saw a need in Hollywood for the myriad of ideas from independent authors that was virtually unknown to them. That’s why they put together their first Pitchfest. Since then, they’ve done these bi-annually to get authors that two minute chance to sell their book idea to the silver screen.

With the expanding television audiences emerging from small, online production companies associated with Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, the need for new ideas is paramount. The guest speaker, Bob Kosberg, is known as the “King of the Pitch” and he was an honor to learn the business from him.

One of the most influential quotes he told us was by former Disney CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg. “I the dizzying world of movie making, there is one fundamental concept … The idea is King!” That said, everyone has an idea or concept, but making it into a compelling story is what makes the pitch.

You start off with the set-up, putting your ideas to a particular genre, comparing it to other stories out there, like “this is Alice in Wonderland but set on Mars.” Then you go into the inciting action, what gets the ball rolling in your story, followed by an introduction of your main character. Here is where you being to really sell the idea.

Lastly, you have to lay out what’s at stake and then resolve the plot. All of this I two minutes, and they do mean two minutes.

We were put in what can only be described as “speed dating” as we walked into a room with several tables with one-to-two reps per table. One we sat down, the two minutes began and you started your pitch. At two minutes, the buzzer sounded and you shifted to the next table on the right. You had maybe a couple of seconds to finish your last few words, but then it was on to the next. You got up and shifted to the right, starting your pitch all over again to another pair of reps. This process continued until you end right back where you started from.

By the fourth pitch, my mouth was so dry I could barely speak, but I pushed on until I was done. It took less that 15 minutes but I made all my pitches. I’ll find out in a few weeks whether or not any of the reps want a copy of my book, then it’s really a waiting game from there.

As Keith Ogorek, Author Solutions Senior VP for Marketing, explained that the process was not a quick one. If a production company wants to option a story, they’ll pay an author between $500-$1500 to reserve the rights for a year to 18 months while they start developing the concept. Authors can offer to help by writing the screenplay or just wait until the project fully develops. It can take anywhere from 3-5 years or more for a project to culminate in a finished movie or television show.

A great example he gave was the novel Still Alice by Lisa Genova. It was self-published in 2006 through iUniverse. It was opted for the screen and was finally released in 2014 starring Julianne Moore (Hunger Games movies, Hannibal, Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World) for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

I had a blast learning so much about the movie business, but more importantly, how to condense my novels in the Forever Avalon series into a two minute pitch. Why two minutes? It’s the average time spent in an elevator. So if you walk in an elevator with Steven Spielberg, you have your pitch ready to go. After all, it only takes one idea to make movie magic.

Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is now available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.

Is special effects making or breaking the fantasy genre?

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tumblr_nagzsvgqUx1t3g0gjo1_1280Is the fantasy genre being overdone and is that the fault of today’s special effects? I ask myself this question because of the rash of TV programs being thrust at us this year. You have a myriad of television fantasy choices from Once Upon a Time, Atlantis and Grimm to almost every other show on the CW Network. Add to that the shows that try for historical accuracy like Vikings, The Bastard Executioner, and The Last Kingdom.

Add to that the surge of superhero movies and television, fantasy is at its prime. CGI and motion capture has made it easier for production companies to do fantasy epics. When you look at the sprawling scenery in the upcoming Shannara Chronicles, you realize how far we’ve come in special effects. You couldn’t get images like that over 30 years ago.

But at the same time, computer software has made it easy to make a halfway decent movie. The Internet is loaded with low-budget movies and shorts by freelance, home-taught movie makers using their iPhone or Galaxy cellphones that put some of these multi-million blockbusters to shame.

In some cases, the story lacks for the sake of the effects. The one thing you never, ever forsake is the story. They need to be grounded on a well-written script to carry it from beginning to end.
The one positive thing I have to say about special effects is how it’s bringing stories you never thought you’d see to life on the big screen. Could they have done Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit movies 30 to 40 years ago! Doubtful.

In a recent interview, Academy award-winning producer and director Steven Spielberg said that “the superhero movie goes the way of the western.” As much as I hate to disagree with a personal inspiration of mine, I must.

For the first time, comic book fans can finally see an accurate portrayal of their favorite characters. No spandex or rubber costumes, bad blue screen effects, but actually stepping into these fantastic worlds.

Like I said earlier, don’t make a movie for the sake of the special effects. It needs that great story to back them up.

When I began writing Forever Avalon, I was inspired for the magical flying galleons in my story by the animated movie Peter Pan. This week, the movie Pan hits theaters and flying ships are an essential part of the story. The effects are spectacular and I can’t wait to see it.

This scares me a little bit, though, because I don’t want people thinking I copied the movie or think it’s overdone. This may be another detriment to the fantasy issue. We’re all experiencing “group think,” having the same ideas and using them in our stories. Because special effects today means “anything is possible” so we let it all hang out in our stories.

I know I’m “heating a dead horse” but I think I need to really press this point. We need great stories with great effects, not vice versa.

Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Dreamers are the writers of tomorrow

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703.-More-Than-One-DreamIt’s funny how writing correlates to dreaming. Most people forget what they’re dreaming about when they wake up the next morning. As a writer, I find inspiration in my dreams.

Dreaming is the television of the mind, as I like to call it. It’s where our fantasies become realities. Daydreams are especially poignant. Edgar Allen Poe said, “Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only at night.”

I truly believe that day dreamers are the most creative people alive today. It takes that level of imagination to inspire one in art, writing, and other creative endeavors.

Daydreams are the most prevalent dreams we have. They have been the subject of everything from Saturday Morning Cartoons to an episode of “Happy Days” (the episode that introduced us to “Mork from Ork” played by the incomparable Robin Williams). I remember a “Looney Tunes” cartoon with little Ralph, who daydreamed his way through school, being a deep-sea diver after gazing at the classroom fish tank one moment to being General MacArthur when he leaves school promising “I will return,”

Dreams are the playgrounds of our minds, as the song says. As writers, we use it to cultivate the stories for our next chapter. The hard part for me is that, at times, my mind is racing through thoughts and ideas so fast that I can’t get to sleep. It’s especially difficult if I was writing just before I went to bed.

That’s the difficulty of being and independent author. You have to work at another job so that, at night, you can focus on your passion for writing. Unfortunately, it can lead to a few restless nights.

Dreams is your subconscious talking to you, in one way or another. It’s the creative side of your brain reaching out to tell you something. That’s how I originally came to write Forever Avalon.

When I was on active duty in the Navy, I had this recurring dream whenever I deployed. It was my subconscious trying to help me cope with the long separation from my family. It put me in a place where they relied on me, needed me, on a magical island out of time and space. In my dream, I felt closer to my family than any time before.

This was the dream that inspired me and led me to write the Forever Avalon series. Funny thing is that after I wrote my first story, the dream stopped. Like I said, it was my subconscious talking to me and I got the message, loud and clear.

edgar_allan_poe__by_ohparapraxiaEdgar Allen Poe said, “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” These are words to live by when you’re delving into your creativity and inspiration to create a world of fantasy.

Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is now available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.

Editing your novel can lead to harsh cuts – A deleted excerpt from “The Dark Tides”

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SKU-000941753I hate to admit it but it took me almost six months to edit The Dark Tides. I was hard because, I got a little out-of-hand as I was writing it and it reached almost 228,000 words. I had to get it down to a little more manageable size, and that called for extreme editing. I found some places where I repeated myself and, in other places, I found sections of my novel that really didn’t add to the overall story.

This is one of those parts as I give you a glimpse into part of the story that would’ve been in this deleted excerpt from The Dark Tides. I like to call it “Ambush at Merlin’s Pinnacle” so, here you go!

***

The Avenger glided through the air around Merlin’s Pinnacle. The crew was on their toes during this part of the passage, as the air currents around the peak could be quite treacherous. The Gil-Gamesh watched his crew move like a well-oiled machine during the flight. Even Hunter and Andrew were pitching in, to not only be helpful but to learn more about the operation of the airships of Avalon.

From the bridge, Bryan looked down at the fog covered Arkengarth Vale and reflected back on that epic battle, his torture and recovery afterwards in Alfheimer. It’s moments like this that the Gil-Gamesh couldn’t help but feel his age. Though 60 was considered middle-aged for someone from Avalon, in Bryan’s “Outlander-way” of thinking, it’s near retirement age for most people. And with everything that happened over the past month, he was beginning to wonder how much longer he could keep doing this.

His 20 years on Avalon had been nothing but non-stop since he arrived. It wasn’t like it was unfamiliar territory to him. Working on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier was no different — fast paced, focused attention-to-detail, non-stop action-packed work for days on end. But the question remained, when this is all over, could he finally take a break from the fast-paced life he led as the Gil-Gamesh? Only time would tell.

Suddenly Bryan noticed a shadow falling across the ship’s deck. He turned to look skyward to see what could be casting it. High in the sky behind them, flying right in the sun, another airship closed in on the Avenger. Because of its position, Bryan couldn’t see who it was or why Captain O’Brien hadn’t acknowledged its presence.

“Captain, what’s that ship following us?” the Gil-Gamesh asked.

“It’s the Intrepid milord. Our lookouts spotted her about an hour ago, just before you came on deck. She appears to be following us into Idlehorn.”

“Has Captain Oldman signaled his course and intentions per protocol?”

Edan thought for a moment before answering. “No milord, he hasn’t. I assumed with the beatings our ships have taken over the past few weeks, it might have slipped his mind.”

“Never assumed anything Edan,” Bryan said as he reaches into his cloak and pulled out his spyglass lens. “Video Visum!” he chanted as the lens zoomed in on the airship. The decks were empty, even in the rigging. This was very disturbing to the Gil-Gamesh, especially for running this close to Merlin’s Pinnacle.

“Have the crow’s nest attempt to signal them,” Bryan ordered. Captain O’Brien relayed the command and the sailor manning the crow’s nest pulled out a pair of flags and started to signal the airship through a series of motions and signals. No response ever came from the Intrepid.

Bryan contemplated his next move. “Shall we fly up alongside her Gil-Gamesh?” Edan inquired.

“No, we’d be too exposed to an attack as we maneuvered into position. He’s got the wind in his favor. I have a better idea.” Lord MoonDrake raised his fingers to his mouth and whistled. “Maverick!” he shouted. From below decks, a tiny dragon whizzed past all the sailors until he reached the Gil-Gamesh. Faerie Dragons were quite small, less than two feet in length, but they’re also the fastest creatures on Avalon. Their wings resembled dragonfly wings, beating as fast as a hummingbird.

Bryan held up his hand and the little dragon landed on it like a falconer would. He stroked it under the chin, causing the beast to purr like a kitten. Bryan spoke to Maverick in the ancient tongue of the dragons. The Faerie Dragon growled and took off toward the Intrepid. It didn’t take long for it to come back and land on Bryan’s shoulder. The little creature grunted and growled to the Gil-Gamesh, garbled to everyone else but Bryan understood it perfectly.

“No one is on deck save for a single Brood manning the helm,” Bryan relayed. “He’s got to be planning a kamikaze run on us. He’s probably waiting until we get closer to Idlehorn.”

“A ‘kamikaze’ milord?” Edan asked.

“In the outside world, there was a world war,” Bryan explained. “When the enemy realized they were losing the war, they decided to take out as many of our ships as they could by flying into them, sacrificing themselves to severely damage us. They were called Kamikazes. It means ‘divine wind’ hoping their sacrifice would earn them a place of honor in Heaven.”

“Shall we beat to quarters?” Edan asked.

Bryan thought for a minute then decided against it. “No, if he sees any real change on deck, he may dive at us sooner than expected. He would cut us in half before we could change course or fire any shot off at him. This calls for something with a little more subtlety.”

The Gil-Gamesh got an idea and walked over to the rail. “Hunter, Andrew … Get your Lancers and get up here!” he ordered. The two young men stopped what they’re doing and headed below decks. Within minutes, they returned to the bridge with their Lancers in hand.

“Alright, time for a battle test of your new weapon,” Bryan began. “Behind us is the Intrepid, but its crew is missing and it’s being piloted by a single Brood. From the position they’re in, if we do anything to show aggression, she’ll dive right at us and we won’t be able to respond.”

“You think they’re going to ram us?” Hunter asked.

“More than likely, which is where you and your Lancers come in,” the Gil-Gamesh explained. “I need you to shoot some explosive dragonfire rounds into that ship, preferably up forward where the ammunition is stored. That should be able to blow it right out of the sky.”

“Just out of curiosity sir, why don’t you cast a spell to do the same thing? I mean, your spells seem to be more powerful than these spell shots could ever be.”

“That’s true Andrew, they are, but to cast a spell to travel that distance and be effective, it takes some time in conjuring. If he sees me performing any kind of enchantment, he would more than likely dive right at us. That’s why you built these Lancers, remember … Stealth with precision. To him, it’ll probably look like you’re looking at them through a spyglass. Now, get to it!”

Hunter and Andrew loaded the spell shots into their Lancers. They took position on the aft end of the bridge. “You want to aim about ten feet back from the bow ornament Andy, about halfway down the hull,” Hunter told him.

“Got it …” Andy retorted.

“Remember to adjust your second shot if and when he starts to react,” Bryan reminded them. The two men just nodded their head.

“On three …” Hunter said as he counted down, “One, two, three …” The two men fired simultaneously as the Lancers exploded with a loud “whoosh”, almost like a musket firing, as the dragonfire spat out, launching fireballs that grew incrementally as they travelled through the air. Almost immediately, the two men fired a second volley at the airship. The first two fireballs impacted right on target on the bow, causing a massive explosion as the Intrepid started to dive. Then the second fireballs hit, causing the ammunition to detonate, and the airship was reduced to burning embers.

Bryan steps up and patted his son and son-in-law on the shoulders. “Well done gentlemen, well done. I hate losing another ship but we can’t let them take any advantage over us.”

“The Lancers are more powerful than we ever hoped,” Hunter added. “Great job Andy.”

“Thanks … I just hope it will help in the coming battle,” Andrew said with due humility.

“Well, we may be losing battles like this, but in the end, we’re going to win the war. Morgana won’t know what hit her,” Bryan replied. “In the meantime, I suggest you start planning a training regime to teach our forces how to use them. You won’t have a lot of time to get them up to speed on the Lancers.”

“Don’t worry father. I’m putting together the best shooters from the Knights of the Round Table. These men are already quite skilled with the GunStars, so teaching them how to use the Lancers should be child’s play.”

“You might want to include Captain McLoughlin in your training,” the Gil-Gamesh added. “The Shield Maidens paired with those knights will have to be ready to adjust their tactics.”

“How much time will we have?” Andrew asked.

“Less than a week, a few days at most … I don’t expect Morgana to attack before the new moon, but I need her too. So, I’ll just have to give her a little nudge.”

“Is that a smart thing to do Dad?” Hunter inquired. “We should take all the time we need to get ready for this fight.”

“The problem is that if I give Morgana more time, it brings us closer and closer to the new moon, when the Dark Tides will be at its peak. That’s one advantage I don’t want her to have.”

Before he departed the bridge, Captain O’Brien stopped the Gil-Gamesh. “My apologies Gil-Gamesh, it won’t happen again.”

“Edan, I don’t expect you to be perfect. People make mistakes,” Bryan explained. “Just learn from those mistakes and don’t make the same one again. You get one chance from me, but do it again and you’ll be sacked so fast, I might not land the ship before kicking you overboard.”

Bryan walked right by Edan as he got a lump in his throat from the very ominous threat by the Gil-Gamesh. Hunter tried to reassure the young Captain about his father’s overzealous attack.

“Don’t worry Edan. Jupiter Antilles once told me my father threatened him on more than one occasion to toss him overboard. I’d say you were in good company.”

“I hope so Hunter. It’s just … I’d hate to be the first.”

***

The Dark Tides is now available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.

Writers are some of the worst serial killers (in literature)

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evil-personifiedWhat does evil look like? That’s a question that has dogged people for centuries. When you look back through history, images of Vlad the Impaler, Adolph Hitler, Charles Manson and Osama bin Laden come to mind. Then again, so does Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahlmer and Jim Jones.

I’m in no way saying I’m an expert on evil, but as a writer, you have to be able to dip into the darkness once in a while. How can you create a villain for your story without knowing the evil that lurks inside?

For most of us, evil falls back to the representation of the incarnation of evil … the Devil, Satan, Lucifer, Prince of Darkness, etc. Some writers try to make him sexy, human-like, attractive and appealing. I could never think of the devil that way.

I was raised a Southern Baptist, so I was taught that evil began with Satan; from his rebellion against God, to the temptation in the Garden of Eden and the first murder by Cain.

Evil, to me, is the absence of morals; a complete incapacity to see the difference between right and wrong with a total lack of remorse. When I watch news reports of James Holmes, the man who killed 12 people in the movie theater, I see the face of evil. They’re trying to call him insane, but I believe insanity is just the mind of a killer justifying their actions. It’s evil, pure and simple.

I can admit how uneasy I feel when I’m writing scenes that involve such acts of evil. In the wedding scene of my latest book The Dark Tides (caution, spoilers!) when Morgana Le Fay returns to Avalon, she and her compatriots kill many friends of the Gil-Gamesh. I cried as I wrote this chapter of my book. It was hard to write but a necessary part of the story.

I could never imagine doing something like that and here I was, writing about it as if I caused it to happen. To have that kind of emotional impact on me demonstrates just how writers are capable of tapping into the heart of evil.

Authors can be, at times, the worst serial killers in history. I’m sure Game of Thrones fans feel that way about George R.R. Martin. We must tap into that evil without succumbing to it ourselves.
I always thought the best portrayal of evil was done by Al Pacino in three very different roles. As Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Tony Montana in Scarface and as the Devil himself in The Devil’s Advocate. You looked in his eyes and knew there was a man in there but it terrified you none the less.

We can demonstrate the evil in man, in society, in what we write; but when you do that, there always has to be hope. Hope is the saving grace for the writer. Hope means that evil can be overcome, it can be conquered. Evil may win the battle, but hope means they will lose the war.

The Dark Tides is now available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.

When part of a story just doesn’t work – A deleted excerpt from “The Dark Tides”

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goblins_by_daroz-d5bww72When your writing a story, sometimes it can just get away from you. That’s what happened to me when I wrote my first draft of The Dark Tides. It really got away from me to the tune of 228,000 words. It was way too long and it took me months to edit it down to the still unimaginable 190,000 words.

As a writer, you sometimes state the obvious and sometimes you take really long stating the obvious. Here is a deleted excerpt from The Dark Tides to shed some light on how hard it is to edit what some writers consider their “baby” and don’t want to make another cut.

***

“Has any human ever been to see the Goblin King?” Bryan asked Eonis.

“No, never; not unless they were dinner,” Dinius quipped. “And I mean the meal, not as guests.”

Bryan gulped and wondered if he’d bitten off more than he can chew. He moved in close behind Ragnar as the other goblins closed ranks around him. They started their march through the dark, dank woods towards Idlehorn Mountain. They walked in silence, not a sound from the goblins or Bryan except for the rustling of the leaves beneath their feet.

After nearly an hour of forced march, they reached the base of Idlehorn Mountain. Bryan looked up at the jagged peak. It was an ominous and imposing sight. No trails or paths could be seen leading up the mountain anywhere. The only thing he could make out was the shape of a castle jutting out of the cliff … Lord Kraven Darkholm’s castle. Eonis said Lord Darkholm lived there to keep the goblins and other dark creatures under foot, or so he told King Gregor as to why he stayed in this God-awful place.

Ragnar walked up to the mountain face. He scratched across the rock with his claws in a strange pattern. Then he banged on the stone wall three times and stepped back. Bryan could feel the earth around him begin to rumble. Suddenly, an opening appeared at the base as the mountain seemed to literally fold in on itself, pulling the rock apart to reveal a cave descending downward.

“This is your last chance to back away … You sure you want to do this?” Ragnar joked.

Bryan nodded his head. “A friend of mine once said, ‘The Chief knows there is a time and place for everything; a time to act and a time to react; a time to speak and a time to be silent; and a time to unite or act alone.’ This is one of those times.”

Ragnar looked confused then decided to ignore it and press on. “As you wish Gil-Gamesh, follow me!”

As the frustrated goblin headed down into the mountain, Bryan’s cockiness faded quickly as he walked in the dark bowels of Idlehorn. Dimly lit by the embers of burnt torches, the cave continued to wind downward. Bryan felt the dank, musty air … The smell of death and decay permeated from the stone. The deeper they went, the worse the smell.

“I’ve smelled septic tanks better than this,” Bryan said, rubbing his gloved hand across his nose, hoping the oiled leather would help mask the awful stench.

The cave began to level off and widen. The stalactites became more prominent in the cave, decorated with the pierced skulls of their enemies. A bright light beckoned them ahead.

“Is it me or is it getting hotter?” Bryan asked himself as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

Bryan thought they must had an enormous fire burning up ahead. As the passage opened into an enormous cavern, the Gil-Gamesh realized that it wasn’t a fire burning … It was something else.

The cavern seemed to encompass the entire center of Idlehorn Mountain. A huge pocket, like a magma dome, underneath the mountain, as lava flowed like water from the walls. It fell and circulated in streams and pools throughout the cave interior. Not only did the lava provide light and warmth for the goblins, it made it easier for them to forge a constant supply of weapons for their massive army. Goblins had nowhere to call home except for the cave itself. They climbed along its walls like spiders in a web, able to move anywhere and everywhere in the cavern. They ate, slept and worked wherever they could find a rock to lean against or a piece of meat to gnaw on.

As Ragnar took them deeper into the voluminous cavern, Bryan got a sense of the social structure of the goblins. It was a society of “survival of the fittest.” The stronger, more powerful goblins bullied the smaller, weaker ones; an inbred form of slave labor. They were forced to carry heavy loads in the belief that it would make them stronger. The intense labor culled out the weaker goblins from the rest. Those that survived either continue their toll as slaves or they volunteered for experiments conducted by goblin warlocks and alchemists as they strived to make a goblin warrior that’s unbeatable. They were a collective, striving for the betterment of the goblins and the defeat of their enemies.

At the heart of the cavern sat a throne of iron and stone. It was a monument to the machine that was the goblin empire. The twisted metal frame and jagged rock reminded all who stood before it of the pain and suffering that is the life of a goblin.

In the throne sits a brute of a beast … The Goblin King P’tah Mnenok. His skin was black and scarred, ripped and torn by battle. His face was long and twisted, yellow eyes pierced out from dark slits. His fangs were so long that they pierced from beneath his lower lip, giving him a constant scowl, even with his mouth closed. On his head sat a crown of braided iron; a cold reminder of his black heart.

Ragnar approached King Mnenok as goblins came down from the around the cavern and surrounded the throne, trapping Bryan. For the first time since he arrived on Avalon, Bryan feared he may not live to see tomorrow.

Ragnar knelt before the King, bowing his head in submission before stepping up to the Goblin King, whispering in his ear. Bryan stepped up as goblins of all shapes and sizes moved in behind the Gil-Gamesh. King Mnenok looked at Bryan, growling under his breath.

“Does the courtesy of Avalon end at Idlehorn Mountain Gil-Gamesh?” he asked, his voice sharp and hollow.

Bryan realized his mistake and acted to rectify it by bowing slightly. “I apologize King Mnenok, but I am unfamiliar with goblin customs, as most humans are,” he explained. “I wager it is a rare sight for a human to be welcome inside Idlehorn Mountain that wasn’t a captive or a meal.”

“It is rare indeed. I must admit, what Ragnar told me of his encounter with you in Blackbriar Forest, I don’t see what all the fuss is about … About you that is, the new Gil-Gamesh.

“I must say, I’m not at all impressed but I do find it rather curious that you even asked to come to Idlehorn Mountain. This is quite a bold move on your part; courageous and yet stupid at the same time.”

The goblins all laughed at the insult the Goblin King levels at the Gil-Gamesh.

“With all due respect King Mnenock, I disagree. Is it stupid to understand your enemy? Knowledge is key to defeating any foe, something that goblins lack or so I’ve been told. Wouldn’t you agree? “

Mnenok snarled as the goblins were quieted. “Give me one good reason why I should not have you flayed alive right where you stand?”

“Gladly,” Bryan said as he reached into his shirt and pulled out the dragon stone Nihala gave him. The stone glowed bright in his hand. Mnenok and the other goblins, repulsed by its glow, cowered in fear.

“This is a dragon stone, given to me by Nihala, Queen of the Dragons. With a single word, I can cause it to explode, killing every goblin in here. A cavern of this size would contain the blast rather nicely. Your entire race would be wiped out in an instant.”

Now fear gripped Mnenok for the first time. He knew how powerful dragon stones were, but he also knew a bluff when he sees it.

“Are you impressed now?” Bryan joked, almost goading Mnenok to attack him.

Mnenok has had enough of his insults. “You would not sacrifice yourself? Avalon needs you to survive.” He raised his hand, ready to give the order to attack, as the goblins howled, raising their weapons to strike.

“You’re right they do need me,” Bryan interjected quickly. “But if I die, taking the entire goblin race with me, Avalon will be a whole lot safer. Surely that is a death worthy of the Gil-Gamesh of Avalon. They will write stories and sing songs of this day for years to come, knowing that the goblins have been wiped off the face of the Avalon forever. The only place people will ever see a goblin again is in story books. You will be remembered only as a thing of myth and legend that never really existed,” Bryan countered, stoic and determined. Mnenok slowly lowered his hand. He knew he wasn’t bluffing now.

Mnenok sat back in his throne and laughed a deep, throaty cackle. The goblins lowered their weapons and retreated away from the Gil-Gamesh. “As I said Gil-Gamesh, bold … Very bold!

***

 The Dark Tides is now available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.

Texting has ruined the English language for this and future generations

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People on phones with social media icon chalkboardIf you think about it, acronyms were the precursor for the shortened words we use in text messages today. These are, as I like to think of them, the death of the English language.

I doubt millennials could write a complete sentence without shortening a few words in it. You can’t talk about your BFF who’s SOL 2MORO without OMG ROFLMAO, LOL? But if you think about it, acronyms were just the beginning of these often used words and phrases.

The military is very bad at using acronyms for everything and, though military journalists are taught not to use them, they find their way into anything and everything. Speaking as a “DINFOS Trained Killer” I can honestly say acronyms are overused more often than not.

To give you an example:  When I was on active duty, I worked for the PAO at SACLANT, the NATO HQ in NORVA at NSA Hampton Roads, next to FFSC, SUBFOR, MARFORCOM and JFCOM. (If you can decipher every acronym in that sentence, post in the comments below. First correct answer gets a free ebook of my novel, The Dark Tides.)

Of course, writers are taught to spell it out and not use acronyms, but that still hasn’t changed the new acronyms in texting. Now that texting terms have been added to the dictionary, it makes it even worse.

Can you imagine Shakespeare using texting terminology to write his great plays? “2b? Nt2b? ???” “Romeo, Romeo _ wher4 Rt thou Romeo?”

Though many may dismiss texting terminology as cheat notes for an attention-deficit generation, John Sutherland, a University College London English professor, said “they could act as a useful memory aid.”

I understand the methodology behind that, but to me, texting is dumbing down a generation. English is slowly becoming a language where soliloquies and poems are a thing of the past. Short quips, sarcasm and verbal trolling are the new norm.

Mark Zusak, author of The Book Thief, wrote “The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them, there wouldn’t be any of this.” That speaks volumes about the importance of words in our lives, our culture, our very existence.

I remember as a boy, growing up in the 70s/80s, my parents and teachers telling me that slang was the beginning of the end of the English language. Those words were very prophetic as I look at the slang of today in text messages.

We are becoming a culture of 140 characters or less, losing the history of today’s generation to a megabit of data.

It’s like watching a movie being written, directed and produced in my brain

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51130757_Psionic_BowmanI find writing to be very visual, from my point of view. As I’m writing the story, I see it play out like a made-for-TV movie. It helps me work through dialogue and setting the scene as if I was directing a stage play as the performance played out in my head.

I even place some of my favorite actors and actresses in these roles as the story progresses. It’s like having my own private movie theater inside my head, just no popcorn.

That being said, being a visual writer has its good sides and bad. While it helps me see the story, it also hinders me when I get stuck with writer’s block. The scene plays itself out over-and-over again. It reminds me of a scene from the movie Chaplin, where Charlie Chaplin is directing his first wife through a restaurant scene where she has to eat beans again and again through numerous takes. That’s what it feels like when I get writer’s block and it makes it hard to move on.

As writers, we have to set the scene, but in reality, we’re creating an entire world. When you write fiction, whether it’s fantasy, science fiction or another genre, you creating a world different from the one we live in. Sure, there are elements and places similar to the world we live in, but there are some unique aspects to the world created by the writer.

I think a great example of this is when you look at Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Marvel relies on the world we live in today as settings (New York in particular) with a few additional new countries like Latveria and Genosha. DC has created cities that don’t even exist, like Metropolis, Central City and Gotham City, and countries like Khandaq and Bialya.

World building is an essential part of writing. When I started writing Forever Avalon and The Dark Tides, I had to stop myself and actually draw a map of the magical island to ensure my bearings were correct when I was writing about the many different locations all around the island. I never knew that being an author also required navigation skills.

It’s quite daunting creating an entire island from scratch. You have to look at topography, placement of mountains, rivers and forests; and it all has to make sense. Add into that roads, cities, bridges and other assorted plots and you have your own little world.

I feel that I could make a religious anecdote about playing God but I don’t consider it godlike to do something like this. World building in a story is really using one’s imagination for putting together a puzzle. If the pieces don’t fit right, the puzzle is incomplete and makes no sense.

Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is now available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.

Is writing a skill that is learned or a talent hidden deep inside?

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Hand holding a pen over paper.

I read a lot of varying advice on the internet about writing, self-publishing and being an author. To be honest, I’ve been amazed and overwhelmed by the number of independent authors out there. There is an unbelievable amount of incredible writers  just waiting to be discovered.

Writing is a very diverse talent. Some people study all aspects of the English language, sentence structure, verbiage and tense and have trouble putting together a coherent thought. Others, though, never took a single creative writing class and can weave together a story that would astound Shakespeare.

Ernest Hemingway said, “Prose is architecture, not interior decoration.” Though it’s hard to argue with one of the greatest writers of our time but, to me, it’s not about the sentence structure and proper grammar but the story. Oh, don’t get me wrong, bad English will take away from any good story. You need to proofread, spell check and edit anything you write. It’s about the storyteller and what they have to say.

It’s incredible to read about J.K. Rowling and how she struggled through writing the Harry Potter series until the book finally took off. Now, she’s one of the richest and, more importantly, most influential authors of our time. That is something to aspire too.

C. J. Cherryh said, “It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly.” That is one of the problems with being a self-published author. You don’t always have the resources to edit your work before its published. I remember after Forever Avalon was published, I sent copies of my book to my family. After reading my book, my mother sent me two pages of grammar and spelling errors. It was quite a humbling experience and it made me work harder as a writer.

I love to write. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I remember back to my childhood when I was fascinated with comic books and superheroes. I drew cartoons all the time, sometimes creating my own characters. I was so focused on the art, I never realized the creative side of writing and storytelling that I was delving into.

I was an okay artist but I was narrow-minded, ignoring the creative side that was trying to burst out of me. I realize now that there was more of a writer in there and I just needed to cultivate and groom those talents.

That’s one of the reason I always give credit where credit is due. Dungeons and Dragons fueled my imagination, but it was the U.S. Navy that molded my creative writing through journalism. The education I received from my Navy training at the Defense Information School was top-notch. It gave me the tools I needed to become a self-published, independent author.

In no way am I comparing myself to J.K. Rowling. We all take different journeys to reach our destination. My novels may not become multi-million best sellers, even though that is my ultimate goal; but I am very happy with the work I’m doing. I see the improvement in my writing as I progress from one book to the next.

Somerset Maugham said, “If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write?” That’s true to all of us. We all have to find that inner writer, our own creativity, and pursue it as part of our dream of becoming a successful author.

Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is now available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.