NaNoWriMo Completed!

Due to family issues I figured out I only actually wrote 16 days this month – so I am pretty pleased with the result.  The official “winner” manuscript generated 50,639 words – a modest average of 3,165 per day for the 16 days that I did write.  Mind you, the novel itself isn’t done.  I figure I have another 10-15,000 words to get it to complete status and then a hell of a rewrite to get the style and voice that I really want for it cemented it.  So, don’t expect to be reading “The Shifting Sands” any time soon – months from now, maybe.

In the meantime, of course, you can still read “Firedancer” which, in celebration of the completion of NaNoWriMo, will be free on Kindle over the weekend.

Still, I’m quite pleased with what I wrote.  This story is a very honest story, brutally honest in that there is way more of me in this than anything I have ever written.  It will be interesting to put it out for the world to read.

Those of You Reading Firedancer Please Read This

Kindle version or paperback – I would love to know your thoughts on the book.  I would also be very thankful if you shared the following link with your friends and family who do not have the book and let them know that it is currently at a sale price for the holidays.

So a little feedback on the Facebook page or here on my blog as to what you think of the book would be great – and word of mouth advertising to your friends and family on your social media site helps me as well.  The link to the book is:

http://bitly.com/YxNHJv

1:30 AM, Have To Be Up in 6 Hours, And In The Zone

Sleep shall not be my bedfellow tonight, methinks.  I am catching up on NaNoWriMo work missed during the 10 days or so of my father’s initial sickness and I’m in the zone and not wanting to stop.

Guess it will be caffeine for me.

Consider Buying Indie This Year For Christmas Presents!

Tomorrow starts “Cyber Monday” – when retailers like Amazon.com offer their version of Black Friday deals.  Amazon has actually already started, you can see some of the deals here.

I would like to call attention to a few indie authors out there, myself included, that you might want to look into for gifts for Christmas.  Most of these authors are published in both traditional and Kindle formats.  Also, before we get into that, I would highly recommend the Kindle Fire as a great mid-level gift for those new to eReaders and Tablet PCs.  The Fire is especially a good idea for young adults as it is a combination Tablet PC and eReader, but right now is retailing for $160.  It isn’t as powerful as an iPad 2 or as versatile as a Kindle Fire HD, but at $160 you can’t beat it.

Now, onto some books (note: if you have a family member who owns a Kindle you can also “gift” Kindle purchases to them as well.

Wow, Sudden Jump in Orders of Firedancer:

While I was out for the last week, not promoting the book at all except for the signing, there was a sudden jump in orders for the physical, print edition of “Firedancer” – six were ordered alone in the last 24 hours.

I want to thank everyone who is telling friends and family about the book and I look forward to your reviews.  I have already heard several people say that, from the moment they opened it, it was a page-turner.  I strive to strike a balance between action and story that flows smoothly.  My belief in that short, clipped, writing style popularized by the expatriates has not failed me so far.

For those of you who haven’t purchased it yet, “Firedancer” is available in Kindle and Print form on Amazon.com here:

Firedancer (Paperback Edition)

Real Life Interferes With Fiction:

The lack of updates since Friday is due to my father being very sick (as in “Critical Care Unit at the VA Hospital” sick) – he has stabilized as much as can be expected for someone in his condition but it will very much be touch-and-go over the next few days, weeks, and even months.

Initially I was considering cancelling much of Real Life – but as time has gone on and the hospital has wore me down I have realized that I cannot simply put everything on hold.

My time at the VA Hospital and Centralia Providence Hospital has given me some insight for future writing to include a new addition to “The Shifting Sands” which I will be writing shortly after this post.

Another insight I gained, in relation to “Firedancer” – I knew that Duseg, Emyni’s father, gained much of his personality from my own father but it wasn’t until I spent hours staring at him at the hospital that I realized that Duseg, for all intents and purposes, IS my father even physically.  My father has a bit more hair than Duseg but otherwise they are one and the same.  Which gave me hope: in “Firedancer” Duseg faces challenges that would break weaker men but he powers on through sheer force of will.  I had subconsciously written into Duseg an aspect of my father’s own personality and strength – the same strength that is fighting his sickness right now.

As of today there have been no changes in plans for the event on Saturday.  I will be there to sign the books and meet people.  If I seem a little tired or haggard you know why; but my father would not want me to stop everything because he is ill.  There is nothing I can do at the hospital but sit and stare – at the expense of the rest of my family.

[Adult Language] Another NaNoWriMo Update:

I am at 13,257 – ahead of the curve still, and still writing tonight.  But I thought I’d share some of my recent work on the project (again unedited):

I had just crawled into my bunk when the sirens began to scream – again.

The shout of “Bunkers!” went through the tent – seconds before the call came over the loudspeaker.

Wagner and I both fell out of our racks and put our gas masks on. What had started out, weeks before, as something that was done lightning-fast and with military precision had become such a tedious chore that we both fumbled and stumbled our way through getting the annoying rubber contraptions over our heads. Over them went our helmets, ill-fitting and thus ill-suited to provide adequate protection when placed atop the masks. We already had our IBAs – flak vests – on our torsos, over the top of the thick and heavy JLIST gear. The JLIST was the “latest and greatest” version of the chemical protective suits worn by military personnel in theater. It was technically lighter than what had been worn before – the BDO – but that didn’t mean that it was pleasant to wear. It looked and felt like a desert camouflaged version of a firefighter’s gear.

Finally! “Firedancer” arrives!

Got a pic of the books in the box on my Facebook page – so very excited to hold it in my hands!

And remember – you can get your own copy by following the “Firedancer” link on the side bar of this blog.

Update on “Firedancer”

Thanks to all the help of my friends and fans I have successfully broke the Top 1000 in the Fantasy Genre on Amazon – it was a brief, but torrid, affair with the sub-four digit crowd before I went back up into the thousands.

For those of you who have purchased a book, I thank you!  For those who have not yet – I urge you to do so and to write reviews of it 🙂

And remember: November 17, 2-4pm at The Matrix in Chehalis is the book signing!

(Mature Language/Content) More NaNoWriMo Updates (and some Firedancer Stuff)

Well, as the clock fell backwards one hour I hit 11,055 words – words that I am happy with and not just pounding out for count – which means I am over 20% done and only 12% into the time allotted.

Sales for “Firedancer” have been moving along as well – not as great as I want, of course – because I’ve yet to be featured in magazines the world over – but doing nicely.  Of course you can get it by clicking the “Firedancer” link on the left side – in Kindle or Paperback.