100th post.

I have been away from blogging for bit now. I knew I had my 100th post coming up and I was thinking on things to write for it. While I find it amazing I have put up a hundred of these so far, I have had some things going on in my life that took up my attention. 

My sister is in school to become a Dental Hygienist. She has had members of our family and friends come in as patients throughout her time there. Over Christmas she asked if I would mind coming in, I agreed and we set a date. 

Time went on and I went for the exam to see what she might be able to do for me. While in the chair she had to inspect my mouth, which is kind of awkward having your sister putting her fingers in your mouth. I was worried she might take the moment to enact some revenge from earlier childhood shenanigans. Everything went smooth until she found something on my tongue. 

As she is in training an instructor is required to come behind her to check her work and in doing so she inspected the spot. There was a moment of, "Hmm." And a, "Yeah." She then asked me if I had an oral surgeon. I replied no, as I have not been to a dentist since I was a child. I was given a referral and left with a hug from my sister and the look of worry clearly stamped on her face. 

Now I have to say that I am generally healthy. I have a few extra pounds hanging on and have issues with my sugar, but I workout and have never had surgery or been hospitalized for anything so far in my life. This thought of something being seriously wrong sort of took over. Fear was a clear and present thing. I set up my appointment and had to wait a week before I could be seen. 

The first session was to see if I still had the spot and what she thought it might be. After some inspection she saw some things that worried her and gave me my options. Now the do nothing option, while seeming less painful, was not something I could do. I had to know. So, the biopsy was set up and I had to go home to stew in my thoughts for a few more days.  

In these moments of the unknown I think it is natural for people to start looking at their lives. With a wife, two children and another on the way, I have a lot ahead of me. I want to be here for graduations and weddings and grandchildren. I began thinking about legacy and what I would be leaving if I left sooner than later. Trust me it was some heavy thoughts and while making for good fodder for further writing, in the moment I just felt down. 

Still, I have amazing people around me and positive thinking was always pushed upon when I needed it. I am happy to say that I got a call and the results did not include the word cancer. I have a few stitches and am craving anything solid to eat, but small prices to pay for some peace of mind.

I hope to be around for quite a while, talking with you amazing people, growing as an author and getting to see my family grow and expand and enrich. I know it is cliche to realize how important life is after something scary happens, but some of the best things are cliche. 

Anyway, hope all of you are well. Thanks for reading my post and being here for the 100th. Can't wait for the 1000th. As always, have fun and keep writing. 

Weaver!

Hey guys wanted to take a moment to share JA Ellis's new release, Weaver.

Here is a Blurb for the book:

As a Weaver, Myra Castor has always depended on her ability to read the lines of the universe, and create new possibilities in the fabric of reality to keep her footing in a world that most people have no control over. But when she hears that her mentor, Susan, has died of a heart attack, Myra's world begins to fall apart.

Before Myra can process the news, Jack, another of Susan's students - and Myra's former lover - appears on her doorstep. He tells her Susan's death wasn't a heart attack, and when he shows Myra an anomaly - a hole in the universe - that leads to a dead world full of ghosts, Myra begins to question her perception of reality. She knows that without intervention, the lines holding the universe together will unbind, and slip away into oblivion, and their world will cease to exist.

Together, Myra and Jack work their way through the anomalies riddling their part of the universe, searching for a portal that will bring them closer to the source of the chaos. But an ambush ending in tragedy sends Myra across the universe in a desperate bid to save her world.

Go say hey to the author at her blog:

www.jaelliswriting.com

Here are some places you can find it:

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IAA3YSM

Smashwords

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/406027

Barnes & Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/weaver-ja-ellis/1118358418?ean=9781495227035

My Robo-plea.

So I don't do a lot of recommendations as far as movies, or even books. I tend to leave it up to you to decide what to watch and spend your money on. I went to the movies yesterday and saw RoboCop. I felt the need to write this post today as a result. 

So, I was apprehensive going into see this. Especially so after the whole Total Recall debacle. I was a big fan of the satire filled early movies, even as they got progressively worse. I, like many children of the 80s, walked around using robotic sounds and spouting robotic phrases from the film. So I, like many, worried this movie would not grasp what we loved about the early movies.

So, how did it do? I have to say that casting was in rare form here. I didn't feel any character fell short in their roles. The plot was great and the internal struggle that progressed with several characters as the movie goes on seemed well thought out. Which leads me to pacing. So many movies these days think the audience is stupid and wish to just throw the movie at you in a breakneck speed. This movie was paced very well and let things develop in a way that it felt natural. 

Besides the black armor they eventually go for through most of the movie, I find it hard to see fault in this film. In action movies these days I tend to find myself rolling my eyes at least once in the movie where something outlandish transpires and I have to reach deep to suspend reality. With this movie I never found that moment. 

I truly hope America can get this right and support this film. I would love to see sequels. If you are on the fence or feel that your childhood is being destroyed, all I can say is give it a shot. I went in full on skeptic and came out a full on fan. 

Anyway that is my plea for moviedom. As always, have fun and keep writing. 

Snow Thoughts.

Well it is snowing here in SC. The kids are out of school and I am doing my best to fill my time writing. I honestly love it. The idea of it as well as the application. I love telling stories. I love being with my characters and seeing them grow and change through the course of thousands of words.

I know that I am not alone. Why else would there be so many people self publishing their works every year and why else are there those of us still sending out the thousandth query letter. It is love for our stories and pride in them that pushes us. 

The business is in a state of flux. There are many scary stories floating around that could sometimes discourage a person on this journey. The fact is, a lot of them are true and in ways it is easier to be a published, successful writer and in ways it is now harder. Things may level out soon, or it may take time. The thing we have to all keep in mind is, people will always love a good story.

Keep writing. Keep going. There is no magic timetable, no quick and easy way to achieve our goals. Much like getting in shape, the only way to do it is, get off our (metaphorical) butts and get to writing. Write thirteen books if that is what it takes. Write twenty. Your story is who you are and with time you will find people who love it as much as you do. 

Anyway, on a cold and snowy day these were my thoughts. As always, have fun and keep writing. 

***UPDATE***

Here is some pictures of our winter storm.

IWSG

This is a great group formed of people who are willing to share their insecurities and/or offer hope for people out there struggling with their own. If you'd like to join up click here.

I had a few ideas about what I should write for this month.  Ultimately, something that I have been working toward getting just right, for quite some time, seemed like the best thing to talk about.

The most important thing a writer can learn in the their journey is how to manage their time. A lot goes on in our lives and as many of us tend to be procrastinators anyway, putting off writing seems to be the first thing we do. 

What is the answer? For me the answer has always been...dun dun duuuuuuh...a scheduled routine. I know, I shudder even as I write it. Still, if we want to be the writer that gets their books done, that grows in their craft and finally gets our books(or whatever you are working on) out to people that will love it, we need to write.

So, what makes for a good schedule? It is a hard thing to get down. Life tends to be a fluid thing and changes a lot. 

The other thing we have to keep in mind is, writers tend to be two people at once. The person that wants more than anything to sit their butts in that chair and write out their thoughts. At the same time, the person that would rather do anything but sit in that chair and write.

So, the first step in a good schedule is—fluidity. If the schedule is too tight then when things get crazy the whole system falls apart. You have to have goals set out for the day, but make sure they can fit around other things that may come up. 

Second, be forgiving not failing. If you miss something in your set schedule don't beat yourself up and feel you failed. That eventually leads people to say that the "schedule thing" doesn't work. Instead forgive yourself and move to the next thing.

Third, give projects and be specific. It is perfectly fine to spend your writing time researching. In fact it is a great use of time, but be sure you are researching a particular thing. All too often a general research for writing can easily go like this. "Hmm, let's do some research. Okay the history of the Slavic people is interesting. Oh they had cats. Youtube has cat videos. I should post this awesome cat vid on Facebook. They said what on Facebook? I got to tweet that. Oh man Twitter you got some awesome pics I need to post this on Tumbler...."

Last in the list is—time. No schedule is perfect the first few days(weeks, months). The thing that makes a schedule work is time. The more you do something the easier it becomes to do it. Soon your schedule is your life not something you are making yourself do. 


Something else cool going on today is Our fearless ninja leader's book CassaFire is 99c today. You can get your copy here. 






Anyway, I hope some of this helps. As always, have fun and keep writing.

Confessions of a Disney princess fan.

By the picture one can assume the object of this blog post. I must say that I was shocked to find out they were doing a movie about Maleficent. Not because she wasn't interesting, or because I didn't think that there was a story there. No, my disbelief came from the fact that I thought I was the only one who was in love with her. 

I have talked before about being a heavy movie watcher and as a kid the Disney line up was one of the first mythologies I was introduced to. Of course I crushed on Ariel(who didn't) and Belle was a beautiful bookworm, what's not to love? Mulan(probably one of my favorites) was awesome.

Still, as a kid while watching sleeping beauty and having people talk about Aurora, I was focused elsewhere. I mean Maleficent had a raven(still love that evil little Diablo) one of my favorite birds. Was she good? No. Still, she was intriguing and she had style. Throw in the green skin, a great voice, purple eye shadow and I was hooked. Besides all that she turned into a freaking dragon and almost took out the pretty boy prince, if not for those goody goody fairies. (I may have had some issues as a kid...might still. lol)

When I first found out Angelina Jolie, was going to be playing her I was stoked. The teaser had me as well, but the first trailer got me worried. It reminded me a bit too much of Jack the Giant Slayer in graphics and styling. 

Still I am not one to judge until the movie is out and I have seen it. I was relieved or at least granted some of my diminished excitement back when I watched the latest trailer. 

With Lana Del Rey singing with her haunting tones  on Once Upon a Dream and the update on the graphics I have to say it gave me chills. I truly can't wait for this movie.

Here is the trailer below. 

Anyway, who else is excited for this movie? Also, who else liked someone in a Disney movie that wasn't the hero?  As always, have fun and keep writing.

Time to get real...about Fantasy.

I figured since I just did another "sorry for my absence" post I should do an update post. I have some—maybe lofty—goals set for this year. I am very confident that I will accomplish them though.

First, I am planning to release the next Light Bringer book, actually titled, Light Bringer, in late April early May. I got my cover artist working with me again and can't wait to do a reveal soon. 

Second, is a book I have been working on while revising the Light Bringer books. Its working title is, The Andious Seed. I am hoping to finish this and have it out by August. This book has been really fun to work on and I can't wait to see what people think. I did an excerpt from it a bit back for Lucky Sevens. You can read that here.

I am extremely excited for these to come out. They have been challenging at times, but always fun. 

Next on the list is the illustrations I'm working on. They are for a chapter book about a worm named Dirt. It has really been a great experience. I really like trying to add a bit of flavor to someone else's writing. If you want to know more about DiRT, go here.

Last on my list of planned works is something close to my heart. It prompted me to draw the "serious" picture of Bax and Axie above. Anything we write should be something we treasure and be almost like a child to us. Still, for over fifteen years I have worked on building and cultivating a world for me to write epic fantasy books in.  I talked about feeling unworthy of writing the books in my first IWSG post. This past year taught me that the only way to get where you want in your writing is to write. 

This year will see the first completed MS for this world. I am super nervous, but so far writing in this world has felt like coming home. I am not ready to share any details yet, but as the year progresses I hope to add some drawings and maybe some excerpts from the story. 

Somewhere in there a baby will be born and most likely many curve balls thrown my way. Still, I can't be more excited for this year. I truly believe this will be the year I become what I have always hoped to be.

One more thing. If you love giveaways there are some cool prizes over at Easy Reader. Also a pretty fun coffee chat happening there as well. 

Now I got to go see all your wonderful blogs and say hi.

Anyway, what is the year looking like for you guys? As always have fun and keep writing. 

Cover Reveal for Reborn.

I'm honored to be able to show you guys an awesome cover. Cherie Reich's new book will have a beautiful packaging to accompany it. 

Here is a bit about the book. 

To save a kingdom, a prophetess must challenge Fate.

On the day of Yssa’s death and rebirth, the god Apenth chose her as the Phoenix Prophetess.

Sea serpents and gods endanger the young prophetess’s journey and sour the omens. Yssa is cursed instead of blessed, and her duties at the Temple of Apenth prove it. She spends her days reading dusty scrolls, which does nothing to help her forget Tym, the boy back home. But the annoying yet gorgeous ferryman’s son Liam proves to be a distraction she can’t predict, even though he rarely leaves her alone for two sand grains.

Her boring temple life screeches to a halt when visions of her parents’ murders consume her. Yssa races across an ocean to stop the future. If she can’t change Fate, she’ll refuse to be the Phoenix Prophetess any longer. Fate, however, has other plans for her and the kingdom.

Yssa must either accept her destiny or fight to change Fate.

Reborn, book one of The Fate Challenges, by Cherie Reich will be released on May 23, 2014. For more information about Cherie Reich and her work, please visit her website or blog. The cover art is created by Laura Sava. To add on Goodreads, click here. If you’d like to be notified when Reborn releases, please sign up for her newsletter here.

Here’s an excerpt from the prologue of Reborn:

He couldn’t forget the council’s words or how they’d cursed his fifth Phoenix Prophetess. But visions of the Kingdom of Amora in flames flashed through his mind. He could taste the ashes, like burnt charcoal, and hear her people’s screams. The prophecy of the kingdom’s destruction leaked sour bile into his mouth. The other gods, including Kisa, the Queen of the Gods, might be willing to turn their backs on their loyal people for Fate, but he wasn’t.

There was also this infant in front of him. She reminded him of his daughter. His mortal family resided in the Underworld, but he couldn’t let this child.

“I have to save her.”

“Think of the consequences, my son.”

He had. They both knew the gods would find a way to curse him and this innocent child, but the price was worth saving the kingdom.

Ignoring his mother’s shrieks, Apenth leaned over the lifeless baby again. His lips pressed against her ashen forehead, so cold to the touch. Postera clawed at his arms, but he shoved away her hands. Nothing would stop him from completing Amora’s prophecy, protecting the city named after his love.

“You are mine, little one.” His hand pressed over her heart. Electric heat flowed from his glowing fingertips. They tingled, nearly burning his flesh, but his hand remained steady. Luminosity brightened around the child and him, further blocking out Postera’s pleas. The room filled with the blinding white light.

“Live.” He commanded, pleaded.

“No!” Postera screamed as the child’s life-thread ripped from his mother’s hand and joined the pulsing jewel on her belt. The piece sizzled, reattaching to the gemstone, and transformed to blood red.

The light imploded into the child. Her flesh glowed for a moment before the room’s shadows returned. A tiny strawberry-colored birthmark in the shape of a phoenix blossomed upon the flesh over her heart. The baby’s lungs filled with air, and a cry broke from her lips.

The Phoenix Prophetess was reborn.

Author Bio: A self-proclaimed bookworm, Cherie Reich is a speculative fiction writer, freelance editor, book blogger, and library assistant living in Virginia. Her short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies, and her ebooks include the horror series Nightmare, a space fantasy trilogy titled Gravity, and a fantasy series The Foxwick Chronicles. She is Vice President of Valley Writers and a member of the Virginia Writers Club and Untethered Realms.
 
Her debut YA Epic Fantasy novel Reborn, book one in The Fate Challenges, will be released on May 23, 2014.

Website Link: http://cheriereich.webs.com

Blog Link: http://cheriereich.blogspot.com

Newsletter Sign-ups Link: http://eepurl.com/j3D5X

Writing with the fishes!!!

The last few months of this pregnancy has been trying for us here in the Ax family. Lots of doctor visits and medicine. This being the case, I have not been able to be on here like I would like(this makes excused absence # 345, I know, I know, LIFE BE CRAZY!!! lol). Monday makes 34 weeks and so if he tries coming they won't stop him. It is now completely up to Dorian to pick his B-day.

I won't say it hasn't been a bit stressful. Still, I had a wonderful gift from my wife that has me super inspired and has given me a great writing tool.  I got a new 75 gallon fish tank with Koi in it.  I love them so much and the peaceful flow of the water pump is like having a fountain again.

There is nothing quite like sitting in a quiet room, the water flowing and Koi swimming around. I have already gotten a few really good writing secession done in front of them. Thankful for the small things that mean so much. 

Anyway, I hope all is well your way. As always, have fun and keep writing.

IWSG

IWSG is an awesome group that formed to allow people to express concerns or give advice or just get some things off their chest. To join in the fun go here and sign up.

This month I wanted to post something that has been on my mind lately. Failure. It is a hard word. To fail, to not succeed at something. Even, to be a failure. When going through it you feel every bit the word. Depending on what it is you are failing at can be the difference of depression or even quality of life.

What I am learning as I get older is a strange fact. Failure, is just as important as success. You heard me right. Success is amazing and I wish it for everyone trying to accomplish their dreams, but failure is its counterpart and as hard as it may seem, a very important part of life.

As you grow older you will at times look back on your life and realize that each step no matter how hard or heartbreaking changed you into who you are today. Maybe who you are today is not the person you want to be, maybe you are failing right now. Want to know an awesome secret? Time moves on. One day you will look back and see your hardships and wear them like a badge of pride. 

Does that mean everyone who fails one day goes on to better things? No. There is another secret though. If you want to have the best chance of success there is one thing you can and must do. Learn from these things. Worry, fear, anger, all of these are normal emotions, but never let them consume you. Have your moment to realize what you are going through in life, find out what is in your power to change and then let go of what you can't.

There is a saying that many people use, but my family has always said it, since I was a kid I've heard it. "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". It is a great saying, a warrior's saying, but it is missing something. On the end needs to be added, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, if you let it." We are in control of our lives, even if it doesn't feel like it sometimes, how we react to a situation is one of the most powerful gifts we have. 

Anyway, here is hoping everyone learns from their mistakes and failures and finds that success we all hope for. As always, have fun and keep writing.

A year in the making.

I am not a big "New Year resolution" kind of guy. It seems quite arbitrary to try and better yourself because a new year hits the calendar. Now, that is not to say it is wrong, just not something that works for me. I do, however, set goals for myself. Things like, where do I want to be by the end of this year, what are some things I can accomplish in the time I have?

In doing that, it is always helpful to look at the year that has gone by and reflect on what I failed at and what I was able to get done. Well, this year was actually one of the most productive I have had in quite some time. In 2013 I focused on becoming a published author. I made connections with some amazing people who are on that same journey. I learned about two very different paths to accomplishing that goal and was able to publish not one, but two books.





I have been able to get feed back from people I have never met on something that I pulled from my mind and made into a reality. I have to say, if nothing else, it was empowering. It showed me that all those years of sitting back and just hoping to one day get my ideas out there or to do something with my art, was not the kind of person I wanted to be.

This year taught me to be a doer. I was talking with someone the other day about how long I lived in the future instead of the present. Life happens now and we can let it pass us by if we are not careful. I have decided that waiting is for others, now is the time for my dreams to happen and I am the person that will make them.

It has been a lot of work and things are only picking up from there. Life takes dedication and focus, but in leaving you I don't want to forget something else that it takes to find your dreams in this world. Sometimes, you have to stop the work, take a second and have some fun. Sure, "stop and smell the roses" is a cliche, but it's a good one.

Here is some of that fun I was talking about, and don't worry I've only partially lost my mind.

(this is what working on music until 2 in the morning can get you)

LOOK!

I know I said I wasn't going to post again before the new year, but I had to share something. Being creative is something that I live for and while writing books is at the top of my list there are a few things that are very close to that for me. One of those is music and I was with a friend the other day and we had a bout of creativity that sounded like this.

"Hey let's write a song."

"Okay, I got this lyric that has been running through my head."

"Cool write it down."

Three hours later this is what we had. Enjoy. See you again soon.

Post by Wayne Mitchum.