Be Right Back

My blogs have been lacking in the last couple weeks. I haven't done much work on formatting an ebook version of Black Earth: End of the Innocence. I haven't really even bothered with updating my website to the new theme I have on the back burner. All my time, it seems, has been siphoned by one thing: writing.

I am so close right now to finishing up my current draft of Black Earth: The Broken Daisy, the second book in my series, that I've put all other projects on the sidelines temporarily. I finished my preliminary draft at 140,000 words. It's climbed to 170,000 now during this current revision. This thing is a beast compared to everything else I have ever written and it's going to take all of my effort to get it done. Once it is, I can return to the land of the living, blogging my little heart out about writing processes and self-publishing, toiling with ebook formatting, and freshening up the website.

See you all on the other side.

Odd Thomas - (Book Review)

Lately I have been trying to read work from authors I have either not read from yet or haven’t read from in a while. Odd Thomas is actually the first book I have read of Dean Koontz’s and I’ll admit, this book made me a fan of his practically overnight.

Odd Thomas is the story of a young man, Odd Thomas, who can see dead people. Some come to him and request him to help them pass from this world to the next and some just can’t let go, like Elvis who befriends Odd and rides with him around town. But there’s more than just the dead walking around Pico Mundo, the California town where Odd resides and works as a short-order cook at the Pico Mundo Grille. There are creatures called bodachs (a name that Odd chooses to call them by) that resemble black mass silhouettes whose presence usually foretells of some impending chaos or disaster.

The book opens with Odd being called to bring to justice a man who raped and murdered a young girl. After that, Odd goes to his job at the Pico Mundo Grille and notices bodachs hanging around a man with a creepy smiling disorder. Following the man brings Odd into a tumultuous supernatural storm that forever changes his life and the lives of those close to him.

The book is written from Odd’s point of view in first person narrative and is told as a memoir of sorts of Odd’s adventures during a span of a couple of days. There is humor in the book and yet it has a dark, moody sort of feel to it that really lends itself to the atmosphere surrounding the dead and possibly dying that Odd encounters. I loved Odd’s inner thoughts and his dialogue. Both were very well written and I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion.

Odd Thomas is a rich story made richer with the character of Stormy Llewellyn, Odd’s love interest. According to a fortune that was given to them both by a gypsy mummy at a carnival, they are destined to be together forever. She is the perfect counterbalance to Odd’s unpredictable and somewhat questionable behavior and lends some sunshine to the bits of gloominess that surround Odd’s destined career.

I think this book can act as a wonderful catalyst to stir up questions about religion and the afterlife. There is brief mention of reincarnation and the majority of the book hinges on the belief that the dead have the choice whether to move on from our life to the afterlife. The book doesn’t shove any of these beliefs down your throat, simply presents them as character traits and leaves the subjects open for discussion or deeper thought.

After reading this book, which I did at the referral of my brother, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there are at least three others that were written with Odd Thomas: Forever Odd, Brother Odd and Odd Hours. These will indeed be read and reviewed as well. Odd Thomas was a pleasant surprise to read in the midst of the heavy Stephen King novels I am venturing through: Wizard and Glass and The Stand.

Wizard and Glass - The Dark Tower 4 (Book Review)

When I first picked up this installment in Stephen King’s wildly popular Dark Tower series, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had read a few brief reviews on it and was dismayed to find that a decent number of people found this book completely pointless to the series as a whole. Some said the book could be skipped altogether if not for some key elements of plot that take place in the beginning and in the end of it. The main reason for this is because the book is essentially a giant flashback, a telling of Roland of Gilead’s days of youth and how he came to his decision to pursue the Dark Tower.

As Roland and his current group of friends, or ka-tet, spend the night on an abandoned turnpike in Kansas, he tells them the story of his one and only love, Susan Delgado, of his old enemies, the Big Coffin Hunters, and his escapades in Mejis, the barony that he and his friends were sent away to in an attempt to keep them out of trouble after Roland witnessed his mother being seduced by Roland’s arch nemesis, Marten the sorcerer. The tale fills in much of Roland’s past from the time he is announced a true gunslinger to the point where he decides to pursue the Dark Tower over everything else.

This story is as much a romance as it is an adventure. As much a horror as it is a character driven masterpiece. I have never become so absorbed in a novel as I did when reading Wizard and Glass. In the three books leading up to Wizard and Glass, I got to know Roland of Gilead – a little – but I knew there was more to Roland’s past than what was being revealed. His one true love, Susan Delgado, for example is mentioned in the tales leading up to Wizard and Glass, but nothing could have prepared me for the fate that actually encompassed her character.

And that is the strong point of King’s masterpiece – character. Personally, I love character driven stories over plot driven stories. This is both. Roland’s character comes off the page in vibrant colors. His bright blue bombardier eyes stare out at you in every page that is turned and you know that tragedy will befall him but you hold onto a strand of hope that perhaps things really will work out for him in some small way. I found myself skipping ahead to different chapters to catch of glimpse of what was going to happen because the book had me on pins and needles with the tension it delivered. I wanted to know if Roland would best the Big Coffin Hunters, if he would solve the mystery of the Drop and the Wizard’s Glass, if he and his friends would manage to thwart The Good Man’s sinister plans. Most importantly I wanted to know what was to happen to Susan Delgado. She was a character that I easily fell in love with and it was difficult to put the book down at times unless I knew she was in a safe spot out of harms way.

King is a master of his craft. There is no doubt about that. The only complaint I think I have of Wizard and Glass is that some of the earlier flashback scenes are a bit slow and I found I had to trudge through them to get to the meat and potatoes of the book. I felt the book could have been cut a little bit shorter than it was, but at the same time these scenes are few.

I highly recommend Wizard and Glass to anyone that has read the first three books of the Dark Tower series. As much as it is a flashback, I would suggest readers pick up the first three books to acquaint themselves with the main characters that are presented before and after the flashback, and so readers will understand why Roland and his group are riding a demonic train in the beginning of the novel, one they are struggling to tell riddles to in order to be let off the cursed thing.

The book in all its strangeness, in all its romance, in all its horror and science fiction/fantasy, is on my list of all time favorites, as is the Dark Tower series as a whole. After reading the first three books about a year ago, this one only renewed my desire to read the complete series and any of King’s other works which tie into it, which are surprising and many.

Wrapping Up A Month Of Book Signings

Well, last weekend I did the last of four Bookmans book signings that took place across February. This one was in Phoenix and I ended up selling 5 books in the two hours I was there.

Yvette, the event coordinator, was more than helpful and even gave me, my brother and my wife all a $5 store credit for coming and doing the signing. She even asked to get a picture with me...

There wasn't anything too strange that occurred. I actually had a lot of positive responses from people when I described my book and handed them an excerpt. Whether or not those turn into future sales remains to be seen, but I was happy just to get my name and my story out there.

All in all, I ended up selling 24 books at the four signings. I don't think that's too shabby. It is awesome to think that all 24 of those books went to complete strangers new to my work. At each signing I made sure to leave a free copy with the event coordinator. This was to thank them for helping me set up the signing (because in all honesty, I really couldn't have done it without them) and also in hopes that they would possibly read the book and then maybe pass it along through the store for the other employees to read. 

A Taste Of The Bizarre

Last weekend I had a signing at Bookmans in Mesa. It went well. Sold 8 books in three hours. This signing felt much easier as far as my nerves were concerned. I'm getting used to approaching people, talking comfortably about my book, and promoting myself as an author. It's taken a bit to get me out of my shy, introverted ways, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of things.

I've noticed, no matter where I have my book signings at, I always meet some interesting people. Or should I use the word diverse. Either way, I am always entertained and full of stories when I get out of my signings to tell friends and family. My brother told me just the other day that I should write a book about the interesting people I've met at my signings. We'll see.

This time was no different. One of the interesting people I met I already mentioned in my last post. She was a doozy. I met a girl with a pet rat she kept on her neck, and had one guy tell me his bizarre story idea that had something to do with a dinosaur, hover boards, and the moon and, after he was all done telling it to me, said I would probably end up stealing his idea and using it as my own. The Cat in the Hat was roaming around the store and a Greyhound adoption was taking place. Girl Scout cookies were being sold outside (as they are at almost all of my signings) and then you can top all that off with my family visiting me. Never a dull moment. I love it!

My highlight at the last signing I had a couple weeks ago was having the store put my book on their shelf. The highlight for me this time was having someone who purchased my book ask to have their picture with me. Yes, I 'm sure I blushed. It was an honor and it was, frankly, the first time I've had someone that I didn't know ask me for that. Her name was Beverly. She was awesome.

This coming Saturday I have my last book signing of February at Bookmans in Phoenix. I wonder what interesting things are going to happen there...

Garbage In, Garbage Out?

I had an interesting interaction with someone this weekend at my book signing at the Mesa Bookmans. I was handing a postcard with information on my novel to a woman who was standing about ten feet from me. She took it and said nothing at first. Then her eyes turned up at me and she smirked, proceeding to ask me what my angle was, what point was I trying to get across with my writing.

I wasn't sure how to answer that so I told her that I wasn't really trying to make a point, just write compelling fiction. I described my writing as a mix between the Christian symbolism that was evident in some of C.S. Lewis' works and the edginess in Stephen King's style of writing. Apparently she didn't like that. She told me those two things contradict each other and that they can't coexist successfully. I motioned to my books and told her to buy one, read it, and find out for herself if I was successful in pulling it off.

That's when she said, "Garbage in, garbage out." Then she told me she was extremely careful with the types of books she reads. I told her I understood and once again pointed out that she could purchase my book for only $10 and tell me what she thought. She asked me if I had read any of C.S. Lewis' books like the Screwtape Letters or Mere Christianity. I said no. I tried to be more clear and explained to her that my writing held a lot of the Christian symbolism that C.S. Lewis has in his Chronicles of Narnia. Then she said she was going to challenge me to go deeper into my faith and that I really need to take a harder look at C.S. Lewis before I go comparing myself to him or his works.

I realized at this point that she was trying to start some kind of religious debate with me at my table. I wasn't going to have any of it. I figure if someone wants to discuss theology and the angles that my book presents, then we can, but if someone is going to call my writing garbage before they've even read an excerpt of my book, then they are only out to prove their own points, in this case how evil Stephen King is or how evil I am...not sure exactly which one.

I handed the woman an excerpt and told her to read it while she browsed the store, just to get a feel of my writing. She took it and walked off. A woman nearby had overheard the conversation and told me that she too was a Christian and didn't understand what the other lady was getting so upset over. I explained the story to her and she told me she enjoyed Stephen King's writing and that my novel synopsis sounded intriguing. Then she told me that I handled the other woman's attempt at debate quite well.

How strange I think it is that some Christian's can be so close minded about things. I'm not attacking Christianity - because I am a Christian - but I have started to notice those that are so closed off from the world that they isolate themselves from anyone or anything that could deepen their faith or relationship with God. I completely understand that some people are very careful with what they read, but it seemed that just because I was comparing myself to Stephen King's writing style and C.S. Lewis' Christian allegory, she took it as me comparing Jesus to Satan.

I'll admit I was raised under a somewhat sheltered roof. There's really nothing wrong with that. But even now, at 30 years old, when I tell my mother that I am reading the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, I get a whole lecture on how evil and satanic his writing is. Please people, let's be a little more mature. I understand that we as Christians are called to separate ourselves from the world, but at the same time, I think we only push everyone else away by pointing our finger and calling out everything that doesn't sound Christian as evil. Stephen King may very well not be a Christian, but it doesn't mean he isn't gifted and it doesn't mean I can't learn a few things from him as a writer and apply it to my own work.

I love the fact that I've found a style that can incorporate the lessons of faith I have learned while walking with God, and mesh them with the edgy writing style that Stephen King offers up, especially in his Dark Tower series, which is a wonderful blend of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

That woman eventually came back to me and set the excerpt down on the table. Then she said it was exactly what she thought it was. She said I was part of a cult. I told her to have a nice day and smiled as she left the store. Never a dull moment in this writer's life. Never.

The Siren's Call

The past few days I've been cooped up in my office, working on projects, telling the rest of the world to go away. Trying to catch up on a few things, I decided to become a hermit, attempting to get situated with 11 1/2 hour days to try and get something finished or at least make some progress with my writerly tasks. Cabin fever begins to settle in before too long. The same apartment, the same setting, starts to wear on the mind. Fresh air is needed.

So last night, my wife and I had to pick up a friend from the airport. We decided to get there a little early and wander around and people watch before my friend's flight came in. This would give me a chance to take a break and hopefully fall back in with society. Fall back in with the living.

As I wandered the airport with my wife, cup of Starbuck's brewed coffee in hand, I began to hear it. It was a sound I've truthfully never heard before. A sound that is unmistakable and haunting. It was my novel. My work in progress. Calling to me. Asking me to come hither. To open up the Word document, to scroll through the story, to finish piecing together what is soon to be a finished novel. It was a Siren, issuing out a sound that went straight to my core, a sound that I cannot push from my memory. Not that I'd want to.

The adrenaline kicked in. I turned to my wife and told her that I felt the need to work on my novel. I told her it was calling to me, that it wanted my attention. A strange thing, for an inanimate item to want so much of me. But is a novel, even a work in progress, all that inanimate? Lines of text to tell a story. Characters to move it along. That is all it is. Ridiculous to think it was calling to me. Right?

I realized at that moment that no novel I have worked on - and I have worked on many - has ever called to me like this before. Was I not that interested in those other works of fiction? Were they not so entrancing as the one that sits before me, pulling me into its grasp, devouring whatever is left of mind and spirit? I have felt the absolute necessity to open up my laptop and feed into this mistress of literary passion. Strange. Enchanting. Haunting.

Green (Book Review)

 

 
So, when I finished White - Ted Dekker's third book in the Circle trilogy - back about a year ago, I figured Dekker was done with the circle trilogy altogether. He seemed to wrap things up nicely, not really giving any cause to start another book. Then came Green, the fourth book in the Circle series.


Referred to as Book Zero, Green is advertised as being able to be read either as an introduction for new readers of the circle trilogy or as a nice continuation for those that already read the first three books. In essence, the series is a full circle. Quite extraordinary...in concept.


Before I go any further, I would like to state that I have nothing against Green as a story. It was superbly written, as Dekker's other Circle books are, and kept me captivated to the very end. However, I strongly feel this is the wrong book to start out the Circle series with. Anybody who hasn't read Black, Red or White should go back and read them - in that order -  and then pick up a copy of Green. I assure you, it will make a whole lot more sense than if you pick up Green and try to get into Dekker's world.


Saying that, I admit there are spoilers ahead. You've been warned.



***SPOILERS***

My brief synopsis of the circle series goes like this: A deadly virus is spread in our world, threatening to kill off the world's population. Thomas Hunter, after being shot in the head one night, begins to dream/travel of another world, our world, but 2,000 years into the future. A world after the Apocalypse has already taken place. A world where God (known in the series as Elyon) has started things over so to say. But evil still resides in the form of a strange bat-like creature known as Teeleh. Teeleh poisons the minds of Elyon's followers, casting them into the desert. The series goes from there into the dynamic relationships between those that have a scabbing disease, known as the Horde, to those that have decided to drown in Elyon's waters - waters that cure the scabbing disease. These are known as albinos. There are also those that have drowned, then turned Horde and then fled into the forests, taking the name of Eramites.

The tension between those that aren't Horde and those that are mounts up in Green, setting the stage for a well-laid Christian allegorical layout. Thomas, by the time Green starts, is trapped in the future world, now the leader of those who have chosen to drown. Many are getting tired waiting - many years have passed since White - for Elyon to fulfill His promise and return to claim the albino as His bride. Bickering and complaining abound while Thomas and his wife, Chelise, once Horde herself, try to keep everyone on track to loving the Horde, avoiding bloodshed. It is Thomas' son, Samuel, who decides to stand up and move everyone to pick up arms to kill the Horde, convincing those that would listen to him that Elyon isn't ever coming back for them and that the time for hiding from the Horde is over with.

These matters escalate when Thomas finds the Books of History that allow him to go back in time, to our world again. Thomas manages to change history as a war between Horde and albino and Eramites begins, facilitated by Teeleh, the source of all evil. Another epic battle between good and evil commences, told in spectacular fashion.

What Dekker began in Black, continued in Red, and ended in White, he only made better in Green. The characters in Green are all older and some have moved on in their lives. It seems that Dekker raised the bar of emotional strife and struggle in this book and even deepened the series' portrayal of faith. The book seems a bit gorier and even a bit more sensual in some areas. Most of it adds to the story though. And I'm glad to see that a book that falls under the Christian Fiction category has taken a few liberties with worldly viewpoints. I’m not saying we have to litter a Christian fiction book with sex and violence, but too many times nowadays I see Christian authors shy away from taking things to an edgy level that might bring about the contrasts of good and evil in a much more profound way instead of sugar-coating everything so it’s easy to swallow.  Bottom line: Dekker doesn’t really pull many punches, which pays off for making a great series.

Dekker, as always, does bring about strong values through the story. Faith, friendship, sacrifice and love all play an important part. As does the worship of Elyon. The book doesn't sound preachy and really did a good job of telling a story instead of preaching a sermon. That's what I've always loved about Dekker...well, from what I've read from him, which at the moment is only the Circle series.

Another unique thing about the Circle series is that apparently characters and plot elements from the entire series leak into Dekker's other books, like the Paradise series and the Lost Books. I have yet to check those out but they will definitely be on my list in the coming months.

Now come my ponderings and issues with Green.

By the end of the book, which loops into the beginning of Black, I had a slightly confused mind as to why the book loops to begin with. At the end of Green, before Thomas is sent back to our world by Elyon, he requests Elyon to save his son, Samuel, who ends up dying at the hands of his mother's father, Qurong, the leader of the Horde army. Elyon grants his request, sending him back, but I'm not sure how that resolves how Samuel could be saved. I see how it could give Thomas another chance at saving Samuel because he is starting things - the series - all over again, but he has no memory of what happened before he was sent back, meaning he would more than likely follow the same path that he did the first time around, still resulting in his son's death.

My overall feeling on Green is that it is a great book, especially if you have already read the first three in this series. Ted Dekker's writing style in the Circle trilogy lives on in Green, however fans may find that Green is a bit more violent than the three books prior. The novel goes into great detail to chronicle the blood sacrifices that Teeleh demands and it doesn't shy away from a gore factor. The book even makes connections to vampirism, which I’ll admit threw me off a little. I understand the connections that Dekker makes to vampires, but didn’t understand why he made those connections in a book like this.

I also found that Green seems to be aspiring to a lofty goal trying to bring readers who haven’t read the three books prior up to speed on what is going on in the entire series. It does an okay job of glazing over the more dominating plots, but I fear that readers new to the series are going to be more confused than drawn in by reading Green first. This book is more of an ending that wraps into the beginning, not a starting point so to say.

I think in the coming months I am going to sit down and read Black, Red and White once again. Then I’ll pick up the Lost Books and the Paradise series and see how everything really ties together. I’m hoping Dekker comes out with another book that maybe explains how things loop, but until then, I’ll cough this up to a great series that is definitely worth reading. In order.

Official website of Ted Dekker

HootSuite

One thing that I have found since I started blogging is that the actual process of writing a blog isn't the most time consuming for me. The act of cutting and pasting it into different social network applications is. To resolve this, I did a bit of googling and found a really good - FREE - application called HootSuite.

HootSuite allows you to set your feed address (your blog) and then set up what social network avenues you would like it to be fed to whenever you post to that blog. It will create a tiny URL and send a link to your Facebook, Facebook Pages, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ping.fm and WordPress.

Another great thing about HootSuite is that I don't have to go to my Facebook, Facebook Pages or Twitter on different occasions. I can check their feeds all from HootSuite's interface.

I'm still exploring the application to see what other ways it can help me out, but so far HootSuite seems to be a good solution for helping me get the word out about new posts to the people in my social network.

Cutting Out The Fat

I've noticed something lately: I'm getting a lot more serious and determined about my writing. That's not to say that I haven't been serious about my writing this whole time, but I've noticed a change in the air in the last week. I've noticed that my determination has become a bit more rock-solid. My resolve to run this race and cross the finish line of my goals has gotten as strong as titanium. I've noticed that I am naturally starting to treat my writing as a job instead of me having to force myself into it.

Sitting at a computer for 10-11 hours a day can be overly daunting, not to mention boring. But I find myself sinking into my projects easier. I find my brain switching tracks to work mode with a smoother transition. I'm not sure what to attribute it to. Maybe that our rent was still $200 short an hour before it had to be turned in the week before last. We made rent. God came through in the eleventh hour. But the whole situation broke a vial of determination in me. Maybe that was the purpose for things to come down to the wire...to bring forth my true potential. Maybe my new passion can be attributed to God instilling in me a stronger sense of purpose. Writing is who I am. It is what I do. It is what I was created to do. Maybe I'm just tired of going in circles with what I want to get done...getting a little ahead, running out of steam, and then circling back around to the beginning again.

Whatever the reason, I found myself cutting more nonsense out of my life over the last week. I'm not getting caught up dinking around on Facebook while I'm trying to get my projects done. I am finding it easier to say no to those that want some of my time - not because I don't want to give them my time, but simply because I have rearranged a few of my priorities. Drama is creating a detestable taste in my mouth now. I realize how it can easily rob me of time and energy and leave me with nothing but regret and even some resentment toward the person or persons that caused the drama in my life - if it was a person that caused it.

I like that I am naturally evolving into this creation. A writer who takes my writing a bit more seriously. Not that I don't make time for fun or spending quality time with family and friends. But I am learning when to say no. When to cut off the fat of the day and get down to business, and when to relax and take a breather because I've gotten so much work done. Everything has a time. Everything has a season. And now is the season to till the ground, to get these projects off the ground. I can ease up a bit once things start snowballing. But until then, a little elbow grease won't hurt anyone.