ALL 5 OF MY BOOKS HAVE BEEN UPDATED!

Wheatgrass is a novella and is an Irish fantasy for young adults (aged 11-13). My other four books are longer novels for adults. Beatrice is the prequel to Black Grotto. They both take place in current day Scotland and are both fantasies. Rooms and The Chosen are the two books of the Rooms' Series and are science fiction novels.

To learn more about them, click on the Bob's Books tab at the top of my blog page.

FREE KINDLE eBOOK OFFER for WHEATGRASS: An Irish Fantasy

                                                

The giveaway will begin on July 26 at 12:01 AM Pacific Standard Time (U.S.) and end at midnight PST on July 30.

You can get the Kindle version of my young adult short novelette FREE anywhere in the U.S., Canada, or Europe by going to Amazon and downloading it to your Kindle Reader or Kindle App on your smartphone or computer.

Wheatgrass is a short fantasy for young adults, ages 12-14, or for anyone who enjoys fantasy with an Irish twist. 

To learn more about Wheatgrass or any of my books, go to the BOB'S BOOKS link at the top of this blog, and after if you read one of my books, if you could write a review on Amazon, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks to Everyone that Participated in the WHEATGRASS eKindle Book Giveaway!

Kindle eBook Giveaway on Amazon for Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy is OVER!

                                                

I wanted to thank everyone who downloaded a free copy of my eBook Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy. I hope you enjoy it and please write a review on Amazon if you can after you've read it.

FREE KINDLE eBOOK OFFER for WHEATGRASS: An Irish Fantasy Has EXPIRED

Kindle eBook Giveaway on Amazon for shorter young adult novelette - Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy is OVER!

                                                

The giveaway will begin on April 28 and end on May 2. You can get the Kindle version of my young adult short novelette FREE by going to Amazon.com and downloading it to your Kindle Reader.

Wheatgrass is a young adult fantasy for grades 6-8 or for anyone who enjoys fantasy. 

To learn more about Wheatgrass or any of my books, go to the BOB'S BOOKS link at the top of this blog, and after if you read one of my books, if you could write a review on Amazon, I would really appreciate it.

Thoughts on Self-Publishing, Writing and Future Projects

I've now published one short young adult novelette and two longer novels on Amazon. They have all sold to family and friends and to people that I have never met who have found them on Amazon. I'm now officially part of the self-publishing world.

It's not an easy or quick road to have people read and recognize your work, but I have subscribed to a theory about self-publishing that I read recently. It presented the idea that the best way to establish yourself as a self-published writer is to first of all write a lot, which I'm doing. I'm spending about 4-10 hours per day on it. I have worked extremely hard over the past year and a half and have learned a great deal.

The people who have read my books have liked them and have been able to see both my growth as a writer over the course of reading them and have enjoyed them. Also, in the article that I read, it spoke of publishing and creating a body of work that would give people the chance to find something that they can relate to and enjoy out of what I write, which in turn would encourage them to look at my other works. It's also important to continue to get training and improve as a writer and enter contests and seek out an agent. Above all else, it's critical not to get discouraged or think that becoming an author will happen overnight.

For the future, I would like to write more poetry and possibly put together a book during the next few months. I'm thinking about a title for that and a theme. Also, I have three books planned. Two of them are sequels to Rooms and Beatrice, which will be great fun to write. The third is a brand new book, which I'm very excited about. It will entail a lot of research and will be another modern adult fantasy that will be a take off from an older, famous historical fantasy character.

I also want to share with you how I'm doing and feeling through this process. I've had great highs and have also felt down at times. It's an exciting and very difficult process. I know the stories that I'm telling are good stories, and I know that my writing is getting better each day. The encouragement that I've had is from people who I respect as readers who have seen my progress and have really enjoyed the stories and what I've attempted to communicate with each of the books that I've written. Also, it has been wonderful to see how my blog has been so well read throughout the world. I have a lot of hits each month from people who have visited from many different countries and continents.

This blog documents my life as a writer, and I hope that you are enjoying it. I want you to know what this is like, and I want to share my work with you. If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, please don't hesitate to let me know.

And...if you haven't yet, please check out my three books on the right side of this blog and the links below each. You can also see and purchase them on Amazon by clicking on the cover of each of the books.

Beatrice: Started the Fifth Draft

Before I talk about Beatrice, I just wanted to remind you  to check out my adult science fiction novel, Rooms, and my young adult novelette, Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy on Amazon if you haven't yet.

New Book: "Beatrice" - Fourth Draft is Complete

(Forest)

The fourth draft of my new book, Beatrice, is finished. I started going through it again. It's getting very close, but I'm still finding small things that need changing. I'm getting tired, but I want to finish it this week if I can.

I'll say again, that I love the ending now. The book is up to almost 78,000 words and soon I will put a description of the story up on the blog.

Tree/Moon Image from:

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

Reminder about Rooms & Wheatgrass / New Book: Third Draft Completed

Before I talk about Beatrice, I just wanted to remind you  to check out my adult science fiction novel, Rooms, and my young adult novelette, Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy on Amazon if you haven't yet.

New Book: "Beatrice" - Third Draft is Complete

(Forest)

The third draft of my new book, Beatrice, is finished. I will start going through it again today. I have had a lot more changes and edits to include than I thought I would, but I think it's just the nature of this book. It's very complex, and all the small details have to fit together and work like a very huge puzzle.

I've had to adjust some character traits and physical features, and because this book is written in both first person and third person, it can be tricky. I struggled with whether or not I should do this, but it just helps the feel of the book to make Ewan, the main male character, talk in first person when he is alone.

The book should be out in a week or so. I'll let you know.

Tree/Moon Image from:

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

REVIEWS of ROOMS & Some thoughts on ROOMS and WHEATGRASS: AN IRISH FANTASY

Cover Illustration and Design by Greg Opalinski

Below are some of the first reviews that have come in from Amazon and Goodreads for my science fiction novel, Rooms, since it was published about two weeks ago.

*****
I started Rooms one evening and found the story line engaging and the characters interesting. The next day I picked it up again planning to read for a bit. A third of the way in I couldn't stop--reading all day until finished. The characters became more and more real. The diversity and fullness of the plot held me.

Stegner touches on many issues--environmental, political, social, moral & spiritual. In the process he has also created just a darn good story. It engaged me in ways I did not expect and left me wanting a sequel!

*****
The story line/plot found in this novel grabs you from the very beginning and holds your attention to the point you cannot put it down. It has twists and turns that will take a reader by surprise. The book highlights many important social and cultural concerns that really need to be addressed today as our world moves forward through time to an uncertain future. This novel is destined to become a movie - Order it now --- you are in for a very interesting ride through time and space.

*****
Beautiful, deep story that captures your imagination. As you read the book, more and more elements of the plot come into play. The unique feature of the book is that it is not only a story written to entertain a reader but is also a deep, wise and touching story that will make you think about the world that we live in, what it is and what should be really important in our lives.

*****
What a great ride and adventure! You see people give books reviews all the time where they say they couldn't put the book down, well don't start reading unless you want to stay up all night with this one. Excellent writing style, you really get to know and care about the characters. It also really makes you think about what if. Love it!!

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

Paperback on Amazon
Kindle eBook on Amazon

A Thought About Rooms: Being outside in the open, under the sun, beneath the stars - being Free!

As I wrote Rooms, I thought a great deal about the world we now live on and how people of all ages yearn for and even crave open, natural places. You see people walking in parks or along rural, city and mountain trails, families having picnics by a river or even a small pond, and others simply lying outside on the grass on a bright, sunny day watching the world pass by. It’s incredibly basic to our nature.

In my book, it is one of the themes that is woven into the plot. I thought of the human race migrating to different rocks throughout the galaxy, ingeniously figuring out ways to live and survive and all the time actually searching for another earth-like planet. How would it be to live beyond the earth, always within something? How would it affect us? How would we cope? And what would happen to us if our planet’s environment was so polluted and damaged that simply being outside could kill us?

In the first chapter, the main character, Rad, finds himself thinking back to a time when he took a chance and exposed himself to the elements, even though he was living on a lunar planet with no oxygen, little warmth and hardly any water. His primeval need took over. He had to do it. Below is an excerpt from chapter one, where he is thinking back and remembering how it felt.

“He had been living on a settlement where he’d received his first assignment after leaving the lifeglobe where his parents had raised him. It was a lunar planet with no atmosphere. Rad had walked outside the lifeglobe one night in his survival suit and had dared to shut off the system and open the optical face of his headgear for less than a minute. He remembered it very clearly and could still feel the rush of air from his suit and see the unobstructed view of the horizon and stars in the distance. The experience had been extremely frightening and yet magnificent at the same time. The cold had been severe, threatening to freeze his skin. His lungs had ached from the need to inhale, and his eyes had clouded rapidly with exposure to the elements. He’d become light-headed and dizzy in seconds; his head had pounded and ached from the rapid change in pressure. But even with all of this, the experience had made him feel extraordinarily alive. It had been a rush, more exhilarating than anything he had ever known. He’d only been exposed to the elements for a few seconds before closing the face of his helmet and re-pressurizing his suit, but being out in the open, unblocked and free, had been something that he would never forget. Everywhere he had ever been, there had always been the necessity to look through something, always needing to be protected from the ‘out there.’ Everyone was always protected from the ‘out there.’” 


A Thought about Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy: The background behind the book.

I wanted to briefly give some background behind the writing of Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy. I knew someone once who was in an abusive relationship, one that they felt they simply couldn't leave. It broke my heart, so I wrote this story.

    

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/ 

Rooms Cover Illustration & Design Artist Chosen & Poem: A Moment in Time

Before reading the Poem, "A Moment in Time," you can learn more about what's happening with Rooms by reading below.

ROOMS

by Bob Stegner

(Trish Steele)

Rooms should be published within a month or so, and I'm working with Greg Opalinski who will be doing the cover design and artwork for the novel. I'm very excited to work with him and looking forward to the design that he will create. Greg is from Ridgewood, New York and is an illustrator and artist. His work is very creative and unique, and he was one of the winners in the L. Ron Hubbard International Illustrator's of the Future contest in Los Angeles in April of 2012. In that contest he was recognized as being one of science fiction's illustrators of the future.

Watch for Rooms on Amazon. 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

A Moment in Time

A moment in time

Spent

And consumed by

A remembrance

Time passes

And yet

I can’t see

As much

As sense you

I can’t know

As much

As feel your heart

Haunted by

A desire for

Consumed by

The need to

Memorize

Your laughter

Your words

Your soft, cascading hair

Forever frozen

Are your eyes

As they shine

As if we still were

You’re gone

I’m here

We’ve   evaporated

From a snapshot

An opportunity

A risk

Not taken

In that miniscule,

Miserly,

Mystifying,

Singularly significant

Moment in time

We’re gone

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

Rooms' Update & A Poem: "Lunar Magic"

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

ROOMS

by Bob Stegner

(Trish Steele)

Well, the decision is made. I will be self-publishing my first full novel, Rooms, within a month or so on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It will be published in paperback as well as a Kindle version and e-book.

During the last week or so, I have been editing it again. I looked carefully for everything that I could think of including the logic within scenes as well as across the story, character development, phrasing, grammar, punctuation, and conversation. I've worked especially hard on the first two chapters, as they were written a while ago, and I have learned a great deal about writing since then. I believe that they now both fit the writing style within the rest of the novel better, read more easily and are simply more fun. I am also working on hiring a professional illustrator to do the cover. I hope that works out.

I will let you know when it is published, but I would encourage you to read the teaser and the excerpt from chapters 1-2 below. Both of these have changed. Don't forget to check out Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy, too, if you haven't yet.

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

(Skogsoy)

Lunar Magic

A speck of luminescence

Spreading rays of calm

Across the dark earth

Across our eyes

A Soft radiance

Bouncing from leaf to leaf

Pushing shadows

Into the deep of night

A song of hope

A melody in the darkness

Causing eyes to gaze up

Causing lips to curl and smile

A grand dot

Punctuating a black canvas

Splashing quiet and white

From horizon to horizon

The sky’s pupil

Oscillating with the seasons

Grabbing earth’s oceans

Moving the tides

Lunar Magic

Playing tricks on our minds

Changing and creating
An enchanted, mythical night

Copyright © Bob Stegner 2008

Image of Door:

Trish Steel [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Image of Moonlight:
Skogsoy. Moonlight and the Sea. Digital image. Commons.wikimedia.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Aapr. 2014. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:Skogsoy_moonlight.JPG>.

ROOMS UPDATE / NEW BOOK UPDATE / POEM: "Veiled"

Before reading about the New Book and the Poem, "Veiled", you can learn more about Rooms and Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy by reading below.

In this blog, I promised myself that I would share everything about becoming an author, and that includes the difficult times as well as any successes. So with that in mind, I'll tell you what happened to my entry into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest.

I entered my first novel, Rooms, and was very happy to make it through to the second round of judging. There were about 10,000 entries and my book was in the top 2,000 in that round.  However, I didn't make it to the quarter-finals. I was disappointed, of course, but that's all part of the process, and I was very happy about my first novel going as far as it did.

I'm still going to continue to look for publishers and/or an agent, but I will probably also self-publish it at some point. I believe in the book and the story that it tells, and I want to share it with all those who would like to learn about the world of Rooms.

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

UPDATE: New Book

I also want to let you know a bit more about my new book. As I mentioned in another post, it is a Fantasy/Mystery/Thriller. I think I have the name for it now, but I'll wait to share that till later.

I just finished chapter 9 and have written about 23,000 words. This book is quite different than Rooms, but many of the lessons that I learned in writing Rooms are helping me as this book develops.

Rooms was definitely more grand in scale and covered a much larger stage of events, places and times than this new book, but I'm enjoying the local focus and detail that are part of the new one. Like Rooms, more than one plot line and more than one period of time are in the story, but the scope in the new book isn't as large, and I don't travel through time at all. The time element has more to do with flash-backs or flash-forwards.

Some important parts of the setting and characters are that it takes place in Scotland, and the Bauman estate and mansion figure heavily in the story. The main character is Ewan Bauman, but other characters have significant parts to play as well. I have done a lot of research for this book all ready, and I know that there will be more before I'm done. Some of the people in the book come from historical characters, but their names have changed, and they have been fictionalized to a certain extent. In addition, some places and events are real, but I apply fiction to most of those as well.

The weaving of the elements of mystery, fantasy, and thriller are providing many challenges, and I'm enjoying writing it immensely. Rooms had its puzzles to be solved, but this book is like a thousand-piece jigsaw that I have to get just right. As I've said before, I love telling stories, and I love this new story a lot!

Poem

Veiled

A placid, opaque haze

Hinders his view

Lays amongst his dreams

Encumbers his thoughts

Shades his visions

Of her

He embraces the veil

Pushes through it

Steps within it

To see

To recognize

Her

He senses a glimpse of

Dancing

Stirring

Laughing

Amidst the cloak

Which conceals

Her

A shroud

A cloud of smoky gauze

Masked within a gaping hole of black

Suppressing

Futures

Lives

A veil of darkness

A revelation of radiance

An anticipation of life

A blanket of truth

A cataract, altered vision

Of her

She’s there

Veiled

Cloaked

Blanketed

Shrouded

From him

He hears her song

Pictures her art

Loves her smile

Embraces her gaze

Envisions her caress

His love

There

Somewhere

Veiled and

Contained

By the soft azure curtains

Of time

Copyright © Bob Stegner 2004