Update Feb 2023

Hi everyone, I hope everyone is having a good new year. Thank you for all your support. I’ve been busy writing my fantasy novel, but I wanted to take some time to answer some questions my readers had about where I got my inspiration for my ideas in my first book.

Update Feb 2023

Hi everyone, I hope everyone is having a good new year. Thank you for all your support. I’ve been busy writing my fantasy novel, but I wanted to take some time to answer some questions my readers had about where I got my inspiration for my ideas in my first book.

The end of 2022

Happy Holidays everyone! I want to take this opportunity to thank all the people who supported my first book. I still cannot believe that I was able to publish my first book. What have I been up to? Since the release of Message to Arecibo-The Enemy, I finished a rough draft of a fantasy series about a half orc.

Book Available

Since my last post, I finished my first book, which is now available for purchase on Amazon and through IngramSpark. I found the last steps of self-publishing hectic and time consuming. After the first round of edits, my editor and I went through a second round of full edits.

Finished!

I have finally completed the first draft! When I finished, I ran through a bunch of emotions. At first, I felt a sense of accomplishment, but moments later, came worry. After I saved the file several times, I celebrated the last chapter by making another cup of coffee.

Worldview and Therapy

Our worldview colors everything we do, and as writers we find ways to express these beliefs in our works. For example, do we believe in God? Are people generally good or evil?

Am I in My Book?

I have two chapters left in the first draft! As I near the end, I have had to face many questions about myself as an author and my relationship to my book. Like how much of me is in my book?

Am I An Imposter?

As I’m nearing the end of my first draft, I’m feeling like an imposter. I think over last few weeks I have been doubting my abilities and feeling somewhat like a fraud despite my past accomplishments. One day, I sat there and questioned my reasons for writing.

Traditional vs. Self-Publishing (Part 2)

Currently, as I work on Chapter 18, I feel like I can end the book in a satisfying way. From my research, self-publishing has matured and come a long way since its early days.

Traditional vs. Self-Publishing (Part 1)

Now that I am on chapter 16, I can see the end. I have all of the main characters in the book and I’m trying to keep the reader interested by giving the main characters challenges to overcome without getting bogged down. However, as I move forward, I am struggling with what to do after I finish my first draft.

Why write Fantasy?

Fantasy as a genre appeals to me as a way to look at contemporary issues without confronting my own biases. Contrasted to science fiction as a genre, fantasy uses supernatural elements and creatures in a story that have nothing to do with our contemporary world. Where science fiction deals with the plausible, fantasy does not.

Why write science fiction?

I like writing science fiction because it’s a very broad genre that includes many different styles and sub-genres. Some of the sub-genres include fantasy fiction, supernatural fiction, utopian fiction, dystopian fiction, space opera, space western, cyberpunk, and steam punk.

Currently, I am on Chapter 14 of my novel with just above 50,000 words. When I first started, I just wrote on my laptop anywhere and whenever I could make time. However, some of the articles I read on how to write a book, suggested that I create a daily routine for writing. Now as I have gotten older, I’ve become a morning person.

Picking and writing from a single point of view was difficult for me. I found myself head-hopping and I had to really focus and stick with one point of view. I chose to write in the third person limited. Examining the world from that one view point was one of the most difficult things I had to work through in my first draft.