BLACK GROTTO: Book Cover

Published Soon On Amazon Around The World!

If you'd like to read the first chapter, just click on the link below.

Chapter 1

WOW! THE CHOSEN COVER IS DONE!

THE CHOSEN cover is finished. I'm very pleased. Greg Opalinski did a fantastic job, as always.

If you click on the image above, you can see a larger version of the cover. 

I still have a bit of editing that I have to do, but the book should be published on Amazon in America, all over Europe and parts of Asia soon.

To see the chapter titles, a description of the book, and be able to read an excerpt of chapter's 1-2 click on the BOB'S BOOKS tab at the top of my blog.

THE CHOSEN: First Cover Sketches & Two Chapter Quotes

THE CHOSEN

I've almost completed the fourth and final draft of my new adult science fiction novel, The Chosen, and Greg Opalinski has started sending me the first sketches of the cover. I'm really pleased. As usual, Greg is doing a wonderful job. It will be fun to see the cover develop as the process moves along.

On October 21, 2014, I gave a preview of the first paragraph of each the first five chapters of The Chosen. If you'd like to read that entry, Click Here. In this entry, I'm going to give you the first two paragraphs of Chapter 23, which I've provided below. There are 26 chapters in the book.

You can also read a complete excerpt of the first two chapters by clicking on the the Bob's Books' tab above.


THE CHOSEN: First Two Paragraphs of Chapter 23

    "Bodo’s living space was warm with the lights dimly lit but comfortable. The early morning sun on M-78 had just touched the horizon, setting off a golden glow in the distance and casting the soft light of morning onto the lifeglobe surrounding The City.
   Bodo had been the first to open his eyes and sit up on one elbow. He blinked away the sleepiness, yawned, slowly inched his body out from under his soft blanket, and gazed at his three compatriots. Each of them was still asleep, curled up and breathing quietly. He thought about how vitally important today was, yet there was a part of him that didn’t want to alter this calm, serene moment – a part of him that wanted to go back to sleep."

ROOMS Published & My New Book BEATRICE & Thoughts on Self-Publishing

Cover Illustration and Design by Greg Opalinski

It's exciting to have Rooms published on Amazon in both the Kindle and paperback versions. It's selling, now I have to wait for the first reviews to begin to come in. I know it will take a while, as people need time for the book to arrive and time to read it. Honestly, though, it's not easy waiting, but I'll summon the patience!

To find it on Amazon, you can click the links below.

Paperback on Amazon
Kindle eBook on Amazon

New Book

I think I have about three chapters of Beatrice left to write. I'm writing the climax now, which will take about two chapters to complete. It's a challenge to do justice to this part of the book, but it's also a lot of fun. So many plot elements are coming together at this point; it's like weaving a tapestry and finally seeing the threads and patterns take form and shape.

Self-Publishing

Today I read an article in Forbes Magazine about self-publishing, and I like what it says. I'm not an expert by any means, but I think it makes sense.

I've thought for a long time that promotion is important but that getting reviews from people and publishing more than one quality work would do the most to help build interest in my writing. I've focused on writing more than promotion since I've started, and that's what this article is about - write, write, write... Take a look and see what you think.

Click here to go to the article.

Rooms Book Cover & Publishing Update / New Book / Next Book / Poem: "60 Years"

ROOMS Book Cover

Well, here is the cover of Rooms! If you click on the image of the cover above, you can see a larger version of it. 

Greg Opalinski did an outstanding job and truly captured the feeling of Rooms for the reader. He was wonderful to work with and is obviously a real talent. The book will be sold on Amazon in both the U. S. and many other parts of the world. You will be able to purchase it in both paperback and the Kindle eBook version. I'll let you know as soon as it's available. It may be a week or so yet, but it will be out soon!

New Book: "Beatrice"

(Forest)

My new book, Beatrice, is now over 51,000 words, and I just completed chapter 20. Each chapter now gets more and more fun to write as I near the end of the book. It looks like the final chapter will be chapter 23 or 24.

For anyone new to reading my blog, Beatrice is a very different book from Rooms. It's a Fantasy/Mystery/Thriller with lots of twists and turns and questions that will make you wonder as you move deeper into the plot. It's interesting because even though the general direction of the story can be seen early on, those questions will keep you wondering until their finally answered.

I have a lot of rewriting and editing ahead, but I am enjoying seeing the story come together. This book is really fun to write!

Next Book: Sequel to Rooms
I've begun planning my next novel. I've known for a while that I'd like to work on a sequel to Rooms, and I have a plan  started and will begin work on it when I've finished Beatrice. It will be a while, but I thought I'd let you know. I even think I have the title for it, but I won't let that out for a while.

Poem
As I near the publishing of my first adult novel, my mind goes to my mom and dad. They have traveled on to brighter lights and a place of harmony and balance that goes beyond earthly understanding, but I still feel them most days and hear them as they talk to me and help me along my path. I know they're proud of what I've accomplished, so I wanted to share a poem that I wrote for them on their 60th wedding anniversary.

60 Years

Seasons play our lives
Like a fine ballad

Weaving melody and harmony

Between laughter and thought

The first note came forth

Played in glorious celebration

As a birthday begun

With song and love

Motherhood

Protects, provides, nourishes

Fatherhood

Protects, provides, nourishes

I, a note in life’s pop-ballad

Mother, coaxing the song from my lungs

Father, showing me honesty, laughter, and work

Family, singing of home

60 years of laughter, worry, and music

60 years together

60 years as one

60 years bringing each other love

My Mom

My Dad

No one knows me better

No one loves me more

Mom and Dad

I love you!

Copyright © Bob Stegner 2006

Tree/Moon Image from: 
Forest Blue Moonlight Wallpapers.. Digital image. Travelization. N.p., 30 June 2012, Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <www.travelization.net>.

Novel Update & Poem: "The Lake"

ROOMS

by Bob Stegner

(Trish Steele)

Wow! I just received the latest update of the cover of Rooms from Greg Opalinski. It's really going to be good! He is a real talent, and the cover will create an image for the reader that will also set the right mood for reading the book. I'm excited!

New Book: "Beatrice"

(Forest)

My new book, Beatrice, is now about 42,000 words long. I don't think it will be as long as Rooms, but it should be between 60,000 and 70,000 words. I'm into the heart of the plot now where more and more is being divulged as it moves towards the climax. It is a blast to write it!

Poem
I like this poem. I wrote it after walking around Green Lake in Seattle, Washington on a brilliant day of sun and color. It made me think of Monet's works.

(Monet)

The Lake

A malleable portrait of dots and scraps of color

On a canvas shifting the world from focus

Step back

Those same brush strokes become lucid

We see

A tree, a running creek, a bridge

A world recognizable, yet nonetheless new

Monet dared us to see

The painter of impression’s journey

From mind to canvas to eye

Giving form,

As the canvas took shape

Around lives, beliefs and memories

Monet taught us to look

Even so,

We recognized these things
From the beginning

As a child turning its head

Staring in that strange way,

Until a slight smile revealed

Awareness

And as we go through time

The earth brings us wonders

Pushing us beyond plain sight

We gaze at sunsets, storms and evenings of light

Mornings of bright, brisk awakenings

We focus

And reach deep

To catch a glimpse
Of it all

Monet remembers

One day, I saw a lake

It embraced me in vegetative abundance

And shades of color beyond knowing

It lay surrounded by mounds of earth and trees

Wild fowl traveled its surface
And set upon it as dots on a dream of light

People gathered
Paid homage

And dared not leave its magnificent shore

For fear of losing
The moment

The vision
Was as if we could perceive

Monet’s painting
Of a perfect Lake

We stepped back and viewed its splendor

Becoming part of it

The people, the plants, the animals, the ground, the sky,

The liquid shimmering ripples of radiance

I sat on a bench, mesmerized

Partially closing my eyes
And caught sight of

The light from the evening
Sparkling and changing shape

Transforming perception

The jewel in my eye

Taught me

How to live

How to love

How to see beauty

Monet smiled

Copyright © Bob Stegner 2006

Image of Door:

Trish Steel [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Tree/Moon Image from:

Forest Blue Moonlight Wallpapers.. Digital image. Travelization. N.p., 30 June 2012, Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <www.travelization.net>.
"Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge" by Claude Monet - In U. S. works published before 1923 are in the public domain

Novel Update & Poem: This Day

ROOMS

by Bob Stegner

(Trish Steele)

Rooms is very close to being published. I think it's about two weeks away. I've worked more with Greg Opalinski, who is doing the book's cover design and illustration, and I'm extremely excited about his work and the direction that the cover is going. When it's published, you'll see why!

New Book: "Beatrice"

(Forest)

Beatrice is coming along. It is very different from Rooms, but I'm enjoying the differences. It's not easy to write, but exciting to see it progress. I've written about 34,000 words, and I'm into chapter 14. The book is very intricate, and putting all the pieces together is challenging.

The book is a fantasy/thriller, so I'm working on building the tension as I go through. Also, the amount of fantasy will increase as the book progresses as well as the more dynamic plot elements. I'm enjoying it more and more as each chapter builds on the others.

Poem
The poem below was written in 2006 and coincided with the writing of Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy. I've traveled to Ireland a lot and have read a great deal on its history, people, and its rich legacy of writers. This is a poem that has that Irish feel, and I like the story it tells, the picture it paints and the way it ends. 

This Day

On summer planes

Of green and peat

Of wind and marsh

And bog

She swiftly stepped

Around the rock

As sunlight chased

The fog

She moved and flowed

And smiled her eyes

Upon the beauty

Green

The awesome roar

Of windward storm

Came in

From out at sea

Round drops then touched

Her cheeks again

As light still crossed

Her path

She knew this day

Would ne’er return

To bless her eyes

So soft

So by the sea

As seabirds soared

And cried

Their whistled tunes

She took it in

All sounds and sights

And imagined

Secret runes

She closed her eyes

And dreamed a man

Who touched her

Bright as spring

The time ticked by

The hours moved on

The storm kept

Rolling in

She thought

And pondered

Journeyed home

And finally at her door…

Last peek around

The wood frame square

A final look

At sea

She caught a glimpse

Of her true love

And saw the look

Of me

Copyright © Bob Stegner 2006

Image of Door:

Trish Steel [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Tree/Moon Image from:

Forest Blue Moonlight Wallpapers.. Digital image. Travelization. N.p., 30 June 2012, Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <www.travelization.net>.

Rooms Update & More On The New Book

ROOMS

by Bob Stegner

(Trish Steele)

I have finally completed all of the edits of Rooms. It was a creative and exhausting task.  I was just thinking about how thankful I am now for all of the student papers that I've read and edited over the years. It helped, and during the process, I've also learned a great deal about my writing and writing in general.

Since the editing is now completed, I can focus on working with Greg Opalinski, who is doing the book's cover design and illustration. I just chose the basic layout today from several possible choices. The cover image will come from a scene that occurs within the first few chapters of the book.

Next we'll be looking at the main character, Rad, and what he will look like and be wearing. It's a very powerful experience to see a character come to life visually through someone else's eyes. Greg is doing an awesome job, and he's been very patient with my requests and suggestions. He's wonderful to work with.

I'll let you know the exact date when Rooms will be published on Amazon. It should happen soon! Also, I wanted you to know that I've updated and changed the Teaser below as well as the Excerpt from chapter's one and two. There have been a lot of changes since I first put these on my blog, so if you haven't looked for a while, you might find it fun to see the changes. I think both chapters are much better.

Rooms' Teaser

Rooms' Excerpt: Chapters 1-2

Rooms' Chapter Titles

Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy published and for sale on Amazon.com

Paperback - $3.23

Kindle version - $0.99 

Wheatgrass' Teaser

Wheatgrass' Excerpt

New Book: "Beatrice"

(Forest)

Las time that I wrote a blog on this topic, I mentioned that I'd let you know the name of the new book, and as you can see above, it will be called Beatrice. I've decided to give it the same name that I gave the original short story that I wrote for my students in Alaska. The story in the book is quite different than the original, but I still like the title and think it works well, even with the story being different.

I've completed ten chapters and have the next few planned. As I've said in the past, the work that I did for Rooms has helped me a great deal in my new book, but the fact that it is a different genre absolutely presents different challenges.  If you haven't read my earlier post on the new book, this book will be a fantasy/mystery/thriller and take place in Scotland with the Bauman family being at the center of the story.

The plot is taking lots of twists and turns, and it's been a lot of fun pulling from the varied tapestry of events to gradually build the story. I've encountered an interesting conundrum while writing it. I did some research beforehand and have included some aspects of historical events. There was one situation where I used something that actually happened to someone, but I felt that the person's family might not appreciate them being used in the story. I hadn't included their name, but I decided to change that part of the book anyway. It actually worked out better with a purely fictional event, but this was my first situation of that type.  The other events are very old that I have in the story and are important to the story line, and even in that case I've changed any names in the connections to those that I've fictionalized. I think it's fine to include them in the story. So, including non-fiction in a fiction story has its problems and aspects that you have to consider.

I'll keep you updated on this book as I go along, just as I did with Rooms.

Image of Door:

Trish Steel [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Tree/Moon Image from:

Forest Blue Moonlight Wallpapers.. Digital image. Travelization. N.p., 30 June 2012, Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <www.travelization.net>.

Rooms Update / Poem: The Candle Flame

Before reading the Poem, "The Candle Flame," you can learn more about what's happening with Rooms by reading below.

ROOMS

by Bob Stegner

(Trish Steele)

I have been doing the final edit on Rooms, and Greg Opalinski, who will be doing the cover design and artwork for the novel, has been working hard on the cover. It's been fun working with him, and I'm more excited every day about seeing the finished cover.

Rooms will be published on Amazon in a few weeks. I'll let you know on this blog when it happens.

Rooms' Teaser

Rooms' Excerpt: Chapters 1-2

Rooms' Chapter Titles

Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy published and for sale on Amazon.com

Paperback - $3.23

Kindle version - $0.99 

Wheatgrass' Teaser

Wheatgrass' Excerpt

Poem

(Cain)

The Candle Flame

The calm

In a candle flame

Casting warmth on the walls

In a darkened room

The music plays

The mind wanders

The candle

Constantly confined

Yet serenely there

With me

Meditative, ancestral thoughts

Pervade and pause

In truth

Oh soft, luxurious flame

Oh round, aspiring flame

Oh small, pinpoint in the night

Take my soul

Take me

To the other side

Yet teach this side

Of existence

Reminiscent of wind

Of rain

Of dark

Of a moonlit night

In a forest

As your glow seeks out

My eyes

Reflecting back to someone

Who is speaking

Through the flame

Casting knowledge

Hope

Universal truths

While lying there

Just a fingertip away

Beyond my corporeal reach

Even closing my eyes

I see you there

With me

Surrounding me

Guiding me

Home

A candle flame

A hearth fire

Wood crackling

In a rock hewn wring

A tree with soft lights

At Christmas

The twinkling of windows

From a city

The soft glow in her eyes

As she smiles

The candle flame

 Is

That peaceful place

I will understand

Someday 

Copyright © Bob Stegner 2006

Image of Door:

Trish Steel [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Image of Candle Flame:

Cain, Ricky. Candle Flame. Digital image. Ricky Cain. Flickr, 9 Sept. 2012. Web. 13 May 2014. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/ricky1146/7975340370/>
Creative Commons License Page:  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/