Change in Focus

I've spent a long time trying to decide what my plans are for my Earth Defense Force series of books.  After thinking long and hard about it I've decided to shelve the series and focus on my Demon Hunter storyline.

Does this mean there won't be anymore Earth Defense Force books? No, it doesn't mean I won't be writing any more books in the series to finish it up.  It just means that I will be dedicating my writing time to the Demon Hunter series.  I will work to get the second book of the Earth Defense Force series edited and published once I get the rest of my beta readers to return their feedback.  

The main reason for this is because I've noticed that my writing is so much better and I've been enjoying the writing, as well as all the research that I have to do for the stories.  As I polish up my stories I hope that my readers will see that as well when they pick up the book or story and read it.  

For now it's back to writing.

Been A While

It's hard to believe I let this lapse for almost two months.  Part of that reason has been that I've had lots of other things on my mind. Between work, writing, Shinkendo and trying to fit in some semblance of a social life I just didn't have much time to post on here.

Edits are progressing on my manuscript for The Demon Hunter.  I am already mapping out my next book as well as working on another short story.  Having published "The Sword and the Stone" at the beginning of May, and the completion of the Demon Hunter manuscript, this series has really taken hold for me.  I've got so much i want to do with it, and several wonderful ideas to run with as well.  Most of all, I'm thrilled with how much this idea has really grown over the years.

I hear lots of people say that they got their ideas from a dream, but for me, my idea started out with a simple statement.  That statement planted a seed and over time it grew into an idea.  I fleshed it out with the plan of a couple books and then one day a couple years after the idea first blossomed it exploded into a garden of ideas.  What started out as a couple of book ideas turned into a series far bigger than I ever anticipated. Of course with all the plot ideas meant I needed villain's and that meant researching lore to figure out who/what my villain for each story idea would be.  I have figured out some of them, but others still remain to be chosen.  For now though, the important ones have been chosen and are seeing their share of action as I write about them in my current stories.

More on them later though....

Delicate balance

These next few months are going to be a delicate balance between writing, work, and Shinkendo.  While waiting for feedback on my main manuscript, The Demon Hunter, from my beta readers I will be working on another short story, begin plotting out book 2 in the Demon Hunter series.  At the same time I still have my full time job and I learned that later this year I will be testing for my next rank in Shinkendo.

My next rank is one of the most important ranks as I will be testing on just about everything I have learned thus far in my five years of training.  Stress levels are certainly going to elevated and I will have to make sure I dedicate some time to reviewing everything I know and writing down notes for stuff too.  Most likely this means reorganizing my notes and rewriting many of them as well.

As for my short story and second book, well, my short story is set back in the time of Atlantis and follows the King's Champion, Orion, on his final quest in an effort to save the great nation from destruction.  Book 2 of the Demon Hunter series continues the adventure of Roland as he learns about his magical abilities and the need to draw attention away from Anastasia.  At the same time he draws ever closer to finding the demon that slayed his family which was his goal from the first day he started hunting ghosts and demons.

Oh yeah, and among all of that I still need to enjoy life right?  Going out and hanging with friends and such.  Like they say, "All work and no play makes jack a dull boy."

Now Available: The Sword and the Stone - A Demon Hunter Tale

I am thrilled to announce that my short story "The Sword and the Stone - A Demon Hunter Tale" is now available on Amazon.com. This short story is a lead in to my first book "The Demon Hunter" which I hope to have released within the next year.  Feel free to check it out and I hope you enjoy reading it.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K0OKZ06

C2E2

This past weekend was C2E2 and I will start off by saying it was awesome.  Three days of many great guests, artists, panels and costumes.  I had the chance to attend the convention all three days, and I had a great time.  I met some awesome new people, got to see some of my favorite authors and actors, and just enjoy the time.  I let my geeky side show, opting to cosplay all weekend as Harry Dresden.

I got many compliments on my costume as well as many requests to take my picture.  I met many great authors and actors, got some signatures and had a blast all around.  As much as I hoped to learn some things about writing, the few writing related panels I was able to attend were relatively a bust with one exception.  The panel "All Things Fantastic" was really fun and informative and had me thinking about my own work and the themes that they had in common with those involved in the panel.

I think the highlights of my weekend were making new friends, meeting Molly Quinn, Patrick Rothfuss, Eve Myles and Natalia Tena, and being complimented on my Dresden cosplay.  I am hoping to be able to attend next year, but we shall see.

Overall, this weekend was a nice relaxing end to a week of great writing.  I finished the first draft of my Demon Hunter manuscript last week and took a few days off from writing.  This week I return to writing, working a few short stories I have in development at the moment.

Story Ideas Abound

So many short stories clamoring for attention.  Some are ones that I started working on a while back and put on hold due to development reasons and figuring out where it fell in the time line.  Others are new and in the development stage before I start writing them.  At the moment I have roughly seven short story ideas in the works some of which I will be tackling once I finish up the first Demon Hunter book.

Speaking of which, I started writing chapter 18 this past weekend.  It's one more step closer to completing my manuscript.  I am aiming to have the first draft completed by the end of the month, which means I have 15 days to finish it.  Subtracting 3 days due to C2E2 and Easter later this month that gives me about 10 days.

I think I can, I think I can....

Jeff Dunham

Last night I had the chance to see Jeff Dunham perform his show live at the Chicago Theater.  After watching several of his comedy central shows and DVDs I have to admit his live show is the best way to see him.  Seeing his show live you get to experience all the subtle nuances that make Jeff and his cast of characters so fun to watch.

Last nights show was full of laughs, fun times and wonderful memories.  Not only did we get to see the favorites, Peanut (AKA Batnut when in costume), Jose (AKA Reuben, Batnut's sidekick), Walter and Achmed, we also got to see Little Jeff and the newest addition to the group, the hyper caffeinated coffee addict, Coffee.  It was also the first time he did a "Dear Achmed" segment and there were a few slips-ups that left Achmed glaring at Jeff as though he had a death wish.  Needless to say Achmed's reaction and answers to last night's questions were funny and resulted in many laughs.

Little Jeff got himself into so much trouble Jeff had to chase him around the stage, Walter got to pick on some members of the audience, but perhaps the best unscripted moment of the night was Batnut being flipped sideways from his platform.  The hilarity that ensued was priceless and worthy of becoming a youtube clip. Jeff even wound up track of where he was in a conversation or bit because he would go so off tangent.  But that's what makes live shows fun.  You never know what will happen.

I highly recommend that anyone who enjoys watching Jeff Dunham's shows on TV or DVD should go see him live.  The show is well worth the money.  I laughed so much I was a hurting.  Coffee makes a great addition to the group and I look forward to seeing what happens next.  

First posting

I've tried to start a blog several times, but this time I plan to stick to it.  It's been four years roughly since I first started developing a new book series and now here I am almost finished with the first manuscript, several short stories written and a lot of plot ideas put down on paper for use.

"The Sword and the Stone", while it is the first soon to be published story and leads into the first book, it wasn't the first short story I wrote for the Demon Hunter series.  It was the fifth short story I wrote, but I knew that the first four weren't meant to be published just yet.  Don't want to confuse readers and leak too many spoilers right away.  They certainly helped me though by giving me direction for where my main characters are going, and also in developing a timeline of events so that my stories fit together.

I'm excited about the fact that I am finally taking the first steps in sharing something new.  This new series is going to be fun.  There are times where I spend more time researching lore than I do writing, but the research is necessary if I want to incorporate various creatures, beings and yes even the lore itself into my books.  So, as I write, publish and research, this will be where the more thorough updates will be presented. 

Without further ado, it's time to write....