Manuscript, Book, Novel. Once Published, the Only Difference is in the Marketing.

Around a year ago, I was busy penning the fourth book in a sequence of sci-fi/fantasy novels known as The Rising Tide Series. A third of the way into the book, I felt I needed a break from the fantasy world I had created. Putting the brakes on the fourth novel, I embarked on a standalone sci-fi novel that would eventually send me down a trail I had never traversed before — time travel.

I will have to admit that making such a drastic change in the middle of a new manuscript was a bit unnerving; nonetheless the right way to proceed. The title of my newest novel came easily. I chose a character from one of my earlier novels (Eden’s Wake) named Dalon Con with a possibility of the subtitle Essence of Time.

The first obstacle I found myself having to overcome was an immediate about face from one novel to the next. I then discovered the challenge of creating a new world and the characters to fill it in short order, save for Dalon Con, who had occupied no more than a few pages and no background on the character in Eden’s Wake. It took a little longer than normal but I eventually found a cruising speed and settled into writing in this new world, Burrus Plax.

I’ll have to admit, for whatever reason, this manuscript wrote at a slower pace; possibly it was the new adventures I had poured into myself and the new experience I had under taken.

Most certainly a good bit of the problem was a fall I took prior to the halfway point of the novel. I fell approximately five feet and landed on my head. I had three brain bleeds which slowed the progress on Dalon Con significantly and for a while sent me into uncharacteristic thought patterns making it impossible to trust my writing especially any rewrites or edits. This fact was more than once brought to my attention by my wife and my caregiver/assistant.

It took a bit to complete, but Dalon Con is at that point and in the hands of my editor. As for the fourth book in The Rising Tide Series, it once again graces the virtual paper on my computer screen and works its way a bit closer each day to completion.

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Stake your Stake in a Steak with a Stake. . .Then Enjoy

When I think of cooking, my mind naturally drifts to fire. To my wife’s delight, I would gladly take on all of the cooking duties that arose from an everyday dinner to the most elegant of holiday fare. Even the characters in the novels I write need a meal now and then to stave off the clutches of virtual page starvation.

You’ve heard the saying, The more things change; the more they stay the same. This indeed rings true, although we miss the notion that the more things change; the more they revert to yesteryear–case in point, cooking fuel.

Through the years, the human race has used everything from animal waste and wood to flammable fluid to cook food. This use of less than wholesome means to heat what we eat was the norm for some time. Eventually, electric coils were employed into the construction of modern day oven and cook tops, bringing the ease and a clean way to accomplish our much needed cooking duties inside safely.

So, after these kitchen innovations, why would we grab a bag of charcoal and step back outside to cook meat the primitive way, especially when it took us so long to make it indoors without burning the dwelling down by fire?

Why? I’ll tell you why. One word – –  flavor. Cook a meal on the stove top of a modern oven. You will find yourself dealing with anything from metal coils to flat European burners, glass cooking surfaces to the exotic ceramic. The next meal you endeavor to prepare, start with walking outside and loading the grill with charcoal or if plain wood is your thing fill the grill with dry hickory. Once, whichever you have chosen is ashed over, slap a slab of cow on the searing hot surface. When done to your liking, attack, and you will see why, sometimes, retro, is the only way to go.

What Happened to the Good Ole Days, When We’d Hand Crank the Ice Cream Maker

I look back through time to the many implements that run on power, from weed eaters to toothbrushes and everything in between. In fact, there are very few devices that do not use some sort of energy to drive their core, making them easier to operate than their manual counterparts.

Electric power in the form of batteries seems to be the fuel to which we are migrating. What used to be driven by AC (plug in) power were the first to go portable. Drills took the plunge from AC to DC with outstanding results. Soon to follow was gasoline substituted with an alternate fuel, the battery cell. As I recall, weed eaters, hedge trimmers, leaf blowers and now, lawn mowers have all succumbed to portable power. Even our most common mode of transportation, the automobile, has finally developed a practical electric car.

In our day-to-day lives, batteries have grown to play a pivotal role. Batteries run everything from watches, to smart phones, heart monitors, pedometers, IPod & MP3, portable DVDs and the list goes on.

We have electric powered railway engines, battery powered submarines,and other industrial forms of transportation that utilize the all might battery. I wonder what they’ll come up with next, cause I ain’t ready to step aboard a battery powered airliner?

If I continue to write long enough, will they come out with a battery powered desktop computers, and if so, will I still require a battery backup ?  Only time will tell.

“Slo-Mo-Syndro,” Nothing But a Thing, A Significant Thing, But Just a Thing, None the Less

In the years I’ve been writing, I cannot say I have experienced a full blown case of writer’s block, although what has not skipped my sci-fi encrusted brain is what I  call the “slow motion syndrome.”

With “slow motion syndrome,” writing a paragraph will go something like this. In the first sentence there are no problems and you breeze right through.

With the second sentence, there is a definite pause and you must think before adding the last few words.

In the third sentence, you complete half and slowly finish the sentence one-word-at-a-time.

By-the-time-you-complete-said-paragraph, it-has-been-a-slow-arduous-task-to-say-the-least.

I guess one is just about as bad as the other, of course with S.M.S. you can see some progress, even if it is minuscule.

Simple Can Take Many Complicated Shapes

I just completed my fifth novel, “Dalon Con.” (The Essence of Time). This was a spin off of a character that appeared for a page or two in an earlier novel, “Eden’s Wake.” It is, also, my first adventure into the world of time travel. Now that “Dalon Con” has been sent to the editor, until the first round of editing is complete, I feel it is my job to begin the next novel that will join the ranks of my arsenal. My first problem with this plan of attack is finding sustainable subject matter so that readers maintain an interest from the first page to the last.

In actuality, this is easier than it sounds. It can be a simple process if you will not over complicate your search and just pay attention to your natural surroundings. For instance, how about a duck-billed platypus? If you take a platypus, reshape his bill, add fangs,and lengthen his legs, you can make this new creation take to the air by adding a pair of wings. A few more exotic changes like this along with well-known creatures or humans and you’ll have an excellent start to your sci-fi, fantasy, or action adventure manuscript. Don’t discount the simplicity that resides around you, it may become the fodder for your next tale, be it a short story or a series of full length novels.

‘Bout Time to Let it Go, Don’t Ya Think?

I really enjoy writing in my favorite genres,  science fiction, fantasy and action adventure. Part of the fun is inventing different creatures that are only limited to my imagination. This notion easily carries over to real life adventures. Although with me, sometimes I believe we need to determine the difference between actual life and make believe-case in point: Bigfoot.

 I used to enjoy watching the exploits of Bigfoot hunters normally found over the west and pacific North West. Similarly were stories like this furry creature in other cultural lore but about tales of the Yeti and the Abominable Snowman.

These adventurous sightings start dating back decades, over an area that seems to house, what one would believe to be a sizeable population of the creatures, but by the end of this hour-long show, we just miss seeing one of the elusive giant bipeds.

No worries for in the next few days another program that mimics the last Bigfoot search will drag us along on another chase just missing the next fur ball, except on this search we come away with a half dozen, dark, unintelligible pictures that no one but the photographer can figure out what they are seeing.

Once again, not to worry, for they never stop making these programs that always end the same way.

Then, we have the Loch Ness Monster . . . Nuff said.

Freedom

Once again, it’s the time of year we celebrate the birth of our nation with a holiday we simply refer to as July 4. If you were to track down exact dates, you could start with the American Revolution, which began in April 1775, Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration of Independence in June 1776, the actual Declaration of Independence, July 2, 1776, or the signing of the document, August 2, 1776.

July 4, was a day for hanging around and putting the final touches on the historical text. The paper, essentially telling England to “back off,” was delivered to Great Britain in November 1776.

Independence is more than just a word; it is a vast concept that we all wish to attain. If we live independent lives, in most cases, we will risk that life to maintain our freedom.

This year, set aside time to realize the many reasons you enjoy the liberties you do and give thanks to those who make/made it possibe.

• The service men and women who gave their all, including their families who begrudgingly let them go.
• Police officers, fire fighters and other civil service employees who sacrifice their lives, protecting us from anarchy, as our first responders.

Everyday faces in the crowd who step out to take on injustice. These are the faces of independence which we salute this July 4, 2019, and praise the God that gives us these and innumerable blessings each day!

 

Source: https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/fourth-of-july/