New Novel Update: THE CHOSEN

Writing THE CHOSEN - Book II of the Rooms' Series

Cover Art By Greg Opalinski

Writing! Writing! Writing!

Wow! What a different experience this is. As I am working on THE CHOSEN, I'm remembering and thinking about Rooms and what I should include and expand on in this new book. It's a new and interesting puzzle.

One thing I do see happening is that I seem to be able to understand more clearly what types of details to include and which to leave out. I think I'm getting better at that. The reason this is so important is that by only including the details that are the most important, I can say more about them and not lose the excitement of the story or the interest of the reader.

Also, the chapters are taking me more time to write. I'm trying to make each one special and very focused on adding to the story. I'm learning. I rewrote chapter 3 four times. I was having trouble finding an angle to present what was happening in as interesting a way for the reader as possible. Finally, I had a dream and came up with the approach that I wanted to use. I like it...

In addition, I think I'm doing a better job of choosing the words that say exactly what I want to say, and I'm cutting out extraneous phrasing that doesn't add to the prose or to the story.

I just finished chapter 3 today, so the titles of the first three chapters are:

• The Tower
• The Reboot Ceremony
• The Ship

I'm very pleased with the first three chapters, and I've already written over 9000 words. I believe the reason for that is that I'm putting in more detail. So far, as I mentioned in my last post, I believe this is going to be my longest novel to date.

So... stay tuned, I'll share more as I progress. I'm excited about THE CHOSEN and the direction that it's headed.

Hello To My Readers Around the World & Progress On My New Book

Readers Around the World

I first of all wanted to just say hi to the many people from all over the world that have been reading my blog. Below are some of the countries where you're located. I really appreciate your interest and support! If you don't see your country listed and it should be, please let me know; and if you need to translate the blog into your native language, you can do so by using the drop down menu at the bottom of the right side of the page.

• United States
• Poland
• Ukraine
• France
• Turkey
• Germany
• Denmark
• China
• Russia
• United Kingdom
• Spain
• Netherlands
• Belgium
• Romania
• Taiwan
• Saudi Arabia
• Italy
• Canada
• Brazil
• Indonesia
• Mexico
• Vietnam
• Thailand
• Colombia
• Austria
• Macau
• Ireland
• India
• Singapore

I would also like to draw your attention to the right side of my blog where the Popular Posts section is located. That's where you can discover which posts have been viewed the most by you during the last thirty days. And something that I've found extremely interesting is that the post with my poem The Tent has been at the top of this list every month. If you haven't read it yet, click on it and take a look. It's a very sensual poem about being outside in the desert in a tent. It's definitely one of my favorites!



New novel: THE CHOSEN - Book II of the Rooms' Series

Cover Art By Greg Opalinski

I have actually completed the first two chapters of THE CHOSEN and am continuing to add details to the plan for the book. The first chapter's title is The Tower and the second chapter is called The Reboot Ceremony. I can tell that this book is probably going to be my longest so far, and I'm learning and understanding more and more about what types of scenes create interest and excitement for the reader.

I don't know about other authors, but for me, I think my strength lies in the last 2/3 of my books. For some reason, I'm especially proud of the the way I've ended them. My readers have talked about this, and I've felt the same way. It just seems that the further I get into a book the more creative and dynamic the plot becomes and the better I understand the characters and where I want to go with the story. Because of this, one of my most important writing goals is to do more to add these same elements to the first third of the book, especially the first 2-3 chapters.

In THE CHOSEN, I believe I've achieved that goal, for the first two chapters at least. It could be because I already have a good understanding of the characters and plot because of the first book in the series, which in this case was Rooms; but I also think that achieving this is something that comes from experience and from continuing to write a lot. I just seem to understand how to do this in a more concrete way now. I'll let you know how it goes with the rest of the book.

New Book - Continuing the Rooms Series & Agent Search

New Book

Greg Opalinski

I've finished my agent emails for now and have decided to continue the Rooms' Adult Science Fiction Series with Book II, titled THE CHOSEN. The cover above may not be what I will use as the final cover, but it's part of what Greg Opalinski  did for the first book of the series, Rooms. I really liked Greg's work, so I'm using this for now.

I just started the new book yesterday and have the general plan mapped out. It will continue the story from Rooms and have many of the same characters, but will have more action, more about Loon, the Earth, the lifeglobes around the galaxy, and an epic struggle for the future of humankind.

Writing this new book will be my first sequel and will be a challenge that I welcome and am very excited about.

Agent Search

I have more that I can do to search for agents, but I will stop for now and work on THE CHOSEN. I've submitted about forty email queries for both Rooms and Beatrice, and at this point, I just need to wait and see what happens. I'm crossing my fingers, but I also know that these things take time and that I will receive many rejection letters. It's just the way it is.

I remember when I sent out the songs that I wrote to publishers. The same thing happened, and then through some connections, I was able to get my second album published through a publisher in New York. That took a lot of patience and time as well.

Looking For An Agent

Before I discuss my search for an agent, I just want to remind you that 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.

AGENT SEARCH

First of all, before I submitted anything to an agent, I did quite a bit of research on how to write a query letter. I referenced several sources for this. One of the websites that I used was this one. 

Then in order to find agents that deal with the types of books that I write, I've been using the Association of Authors' Representatives, INC. to locate them, and before I send them anything, I read their submission guidelines carefully. I know from all the reading that I've done that it's important to follow those, as they are often a little different for each agent. Also, it seems that most agents now prefer that you send them your materials in the body of an email.

The last two days I've sent out probably thirty emails to agents. I'll continue this for a few more days, and then I plan to get back to work on my writing.

I am very new to this, so it will be interesting to see what types of responses that I get. I know that it's going to be a learning process.

If you have any suggestions or websites that you've used, or if you have an agent that you know of that looks at science fiction or fantasy, please let me know.

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.

Updated Beatrice and Rooms Review

I've just updated my new Fantasy/Mystery/Thriller Beatrice on Amazon. I've changed the cover slightly and made some small changes in the text. I've also included a short description and a quote below.

Description of Beatrice

Magic, mystery and historical events combine in this unique, modern day fantasy written about a family in Scotland. Ewan Bauman was about to have his eighteenth birthday party on his family’s old and venerable estate outside of Edinburgh. On the night of the party, however, a traumatic event occurred that caused his mother, sister and he to lose fragments of their memories, including everything that had happened that night. It haunted them and pushed them apart, but after twenty years, the tug and pull of that night could no longer be ignored. They had to find out what happened. Their search brought them closer together, but it also took them to a very dark and sinister place - one that they could never have imagined - a place from which they might never return.

“I attempted to reach out and touch something solid that I could push against. I had no sense of up or down or movement. I couldn’t feel or hear or smell, but I could see, not in the usual way, but in insignificant bursts that came sporadically as my eyelids opened and closed and opened and closed.  Within those small, fractured moments, I could see that I was surrounded and trapped in a dense, cinnamon-stained vapor that swirled into oblivion. I couldn’t remember how I’d entered that hell, and I had no memory of it ending.”

I've just received a new review of ROOMS that I've placed below.

Beautiful Story With A Timely Message

This book offers a timely view into a future brought on by the consequences of corporate greed and war. As I journeyed with Rad through the Old One's Room, I was not only entertained. I felt Rad's joy and reverence for the Earth and it's people. I felt his growing desolation as he witnessed the slow destruction of the Earth within each successive level of the Room. I struggled with him as he worked with Sparks and Zeer to bring health and hope to the demoralized Terran population.

Since the author left this story open to a sequel, I will be excited to see how his writing style evolves and how he ties the planet Loon (where The Old One and Zeer reside) to Earth and the other human outposts scattered throughout the universe.

New Rooms Review & New BEATRICE Description

Before I talk about Beatrice, I've included below a recent new review of Rooms from Amazon.

Beautiful Story With A Timely Message

This book offers a timely view into a future brought on by the consequences of corporate greed and war. As I journeyed with Rad through the Old One's Room, I was not only entertained. I felt Rad's joy and reverence for the Earth and it's people. I felt his growing desolation as he witnessed the slow destruction of the Earth within each successive level of the Room. I struggled with him as he worked with Sparks and Zeer to bring health and hope to the demoralized Terran population.

Since the author left this story open to a sequel, I will be excited to see how his writing style evolves and how he ties the planet Loon (where The Old One and Zeer reside) to Earth and the other human outposts scattered throughout the universe.

I've included a short new description and a quote from my new Fantasy/Mystery/Thriller Beatrice below. I've just recently published it on Amazon.

Description of Beatrice

Magic, mystery and historical events combine in this unique, modern day fantasy written about a family in Scotland. Ewan Bauman was about to have his eighteenth birthday party on his family’s old and venerable estate outside of Edinburgh. On the night of the party, however, a traumatic event occurred that caused his mother, sister and he to lose fragments of their memories, including everything that had happened that night. It haunted them and pushed them apart, but after twenty years, the tug and pull of that night could no longer be ignored. They had to find out what happened. Their search brought them closer together, but it also took them to a very dark and sinister place - one that they could never have imagined - a place from which they might never return.

“I attempted to reach out and touch something solid that I could push against. I had no sense of up or down or movement. I couldn’t feel or hear or smell, but I could see, not in the usual way, but in insignificant bursts that came sporadically as my eyelids opened and closed and opened and closed.  Within those small, fractured moments, I could see that I was surrounded and trapped in a dense, cinnamon-stained vapor that swirled into oblivion. I couldn’t remember how I’d entered that hell, and I had no memory of it ending.”