The Hook for WARLOCK

Here is the hook that I have in mind to draw readers in. The picture is just something I stumbled across while researching dragons.

Keiron Nathron. Warlock. Gifted with vast power he can barely control. Brash. Helplessly in love with Nysana.

Nysana Merethyl. Maja. Peerless with the blade. An opportunity for her freedom might spell trouble for Keiron—the fatal kind.

Surogeth. King of the dragons. Child of the Titans. Powerless to stop his race from succumbing to the madness that is rapidly devouring their minds.

Writing VS Procrastination. FIGHT!

A week with no work before I start my new job. So much time to write. I mustn't get distracted by things like the internet. Ah crap.

10 Things About Me

Taking a break from writing and cleaning for a few minutes. I thought I should probably make a post on here even if no one sees it. Eventually someone will and this might be insightful (I hope). I haven't really said anything about me so here's 10 things:

1. My first love is Star Wars (can't wait for Episode VII). I can't seem to get enough of it, and I don't care what anyone says, I still loved The Phantom Menace. As long as there is a lightsaber scene in the movie, I'll probably love it (Even if Hayden Christensen is in it). One of my favorite movies of all time is the Empire Strikes Back.
2. My favorite movie: V For Vendetta. Where else are you going to have Hugo Weaving giving a soliloquy as only he can while incorporating quotes from Shakespeare and Faust? Uniqueness and the creativity of ideas are at the core of this movie. It may seem like this is just a movie that centers on justified revenge, but the idea is still sound if a bit dark. Plus, as V says in the movie, ideas are bulletproof. The movie itself is very thought-provoking about how we as a society view things that we consider 'abnormal' and how it can be taken to extremes i.e. extermination. 
3. I don't have a favorite book. I have about 100 which someday I will get around to writing in a list. Then maybe another 100 on an honorable mention list. Then another 100 that . . . (you get the picture)
4. My favorite food is pizza. I will eat anything on it except onions and anchovies.
5. I lived in Mexico for 2 trips of 4 1/2 months each the year after I was out of high school. It is an amazing country and I've been saying for the last 10 years that I'm going to go back and visit. Maybe next year . . .
6. I am an avid lover of cilantro, bacon and butter. These 3 things make everything taste better.
7. I have a dog named Ruby and a cat named Draco. Ruby is a lovable black ball of curly fur who loves to snuggle in the middle of the night. Draco is a Garfield-sized white fluff ball who will take any attention at any time. He will cuddle you whether you like it or not. And you will like it. He is also capable of crying for food while stuffing his mouth with cat food.
8. I love petrichor especially on concrete. There's just something wonderfully nostalgic and comforting about the smell.
9. My favorite drink is Mountain Dew, but sometimes a Monster is needed to keep writing.
10. I wrote my first story when I was 8 years old. It was about about a white blood cell named Nick who with the aid of antibiotic reinforcements was able to fight back the hordes of bacteria. (Yes, I was that big of a nerd at age 8). I loaned it to a friend to read and never got it back, but the old lady named Pearl who I lent it to before that told me it was good. The jury's still out on whether she actually thought it was good or was just being kind to a dorky 8 year old.

Novellas and Short Stories

After a bit of cleaning, I read some articles about Kindle Singles, and they honestly blew. My. Mind.

Imagine for a moment that you can make a short story or a novella, and it will cost 99 cents or 1.99. Thousands of people are buying up these Singles and the market has be growing greater and greater since it first started in 2011.

I'm still going to focus on my book, but unless something changes, I'm going to be writing some Singles that will hopefully get approved to be published. This is a very great look at the future for myself and writers who will feel the pressure to churn out 100,000 word ebooks just melt away. The competition will get fiercer as time goes by, but the rewards are still there too.

(Sigh of relief)

Beautiful Words

At my work today, I heard someone say the word 'opulence,' and it got me thinking about dozens of words that are so beautiful that they flow off the tongue like a symphony of syllabic magic! Too far? Yea I figured. The point is, there are tons of words equally as potent and precise that people never use.

Opulence: great wealth or luxuriousness

A few others I thought of were these:

Vestigial: with small or trace elements

Iridescent: showing luminous colors that change from different angles

Effervescent: bubbly, vivacious or enthusiastic

Quintessential: most essential

I'm still amazed that after 28 years the English language can reach out and show me how beautiful she is once again. Ah well. Enough ranting. If anyone ever sees this hopefully they will love all the loveable parts of English and love to hate all the loathsome parts of English (will vary from person to person, but the semicolon comes to mind.)

Titles

Well the book is coming along very well. I've stopped with a word count just over 29,000. I've changed the name half a dozen times before settling on WARLOCK. I think our hero will be the Warlock and not the villain as I had originally intended. Maybe just a stupid changing of titles but it might become important before it all comes together by the end of the book.

I'm still doing research in what to do to start the marketing and/or promoting process. I want to make sure that I not only write a great book but make sure that thousands (dare I say millions?) of people get the opportunity to read it. They can't do that without knowing that it exists.

If anyone is reading this has any ideas, let me know.

Sea of Shadows becomes The Warlock King

Alright, I figured that I should start blogging again. If nothing else it will give me motivation to keep writing. 

It's been so long since I finished Sea of Shadows. I tried (quite unsuccessfully) to get an agent, but after 8 or 9 rejection letters, I gave up. I never tried going through a publishing house because my manuscript would have just been one more on the slush pile.

So, here I am at the start of 2015 with Sea of Shadows and I see so many problems (mainly the ending). So I've decided to rewrite it completely although I will be using some scenes of the original. I've changed it so much that I'm changing the title to The Warlock King.

Wish me luck!