For the longest time, my biggest challenge regarding my books was finding the time to work on them. Typically, I spend an hour or so a day on my work, every day. This is the biggest drawback to working full time. I would rather not be so stingy with my time on the Tellest series.
Assuming my readers don't grow tired with me, the pace that I'm working with doesn't bother me too much. It's something that I've grown to accept. As time goes on, I learn better ways to keep my appetite sated, while still giving the supporters what they need as well.
What I'm learning more recently, however, is that once you decide to move to paperback, a whole new slew of challenges show up.
Last month, I began setting up The Bindings of Fate through CreateSpace, one of Amazon's partners. Most of the work is done, since I've already written, editted and formatted the book for Kindle. The drawbacks are resizing cover art, and adding back cover and spine matter. Those tasks are easy enough to handle, especially considering how exciting of a prospect publishing your book in paperback for the first time can be.
The wall that I've suddenly hit is having all of these physical manifestations of my book available. It is such an awesome concept, and I'm selling the copies I have on hand faster than I would have thought possible. But, being that they are coming from me, I am in immediate proximity to write an autograph. I've only autographed one other thing in my life, and that was a cooking tray that I used in a hardcore wrestling match in my childhood. Somehow, I don't think anybody really cared much for what I had to say back then.
No, the autograph in an intellectual property of this type is so much different than a dented piece of metal. What am I supposed to do with these autographs? It feels so impersonal at times, especially when I don't know some of the readers as much as I like. Is there a special kind of salutation that I'm supposed to employ? Do I write everything in cursive? What kind of pen do I use? What about the cases when I can't ask the recipient what they want written?
These are all such petty questions, I realize, but it's a challenge nonetheless.
This is the epitome of a first-world problem.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Deleted Scenes
Derrick Hibbard (at derrickhibbard.com) just recently related that one of his favorite things about DVDs are the extras that come with them. You'll get to see behind the scenes featurettes, watch outtakes and sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll get to see certain deleted or altered scenes.
Almost every writer knows the feeling. You start with something you feel fully engaged with, but along the way, you realize that what you're writing is either poorly implemented, or needless for the story to progress. You want your readers to feel like they don't have to trudge through the muddled parts of your tale - often, you want to get them right into the thick of the action. Every intricate detail is important, and if you have a chapter or a section that doesn't flow just right, it ends up on the chopping block.
Hibbard knows the feeling all too well. His editors gave the first chapter of his novel, This Side of Eden, the axe. It wasn't a bad chapter, as you can see if you visit his blog. It just didn't fit with everything else that he was working with at the time.
In some ways, it's a blessing when you can take a few pages that you've written and move them into the recycling bin.
There are some times when you write yourself into a corner that you can't write your way out of. As an author, you're always looking at yourself and critiquing. Two of my novels in the Tellest series are already out, and a third is on the way. The first book, The Bindings of Fate, has a particularly muddled section that, over time, I've become a little disappointed in. It's not exactly necessary. I wrote the scenes just so that the protagonist could get a little more face time - a little more time in front of the reader. The biggest hurdle that it's become, if you can call it that, is that I now have to write around it.
I'm happy with where that little sidestep led me. Not only did it stitch a nice little path for my story to take, but it somehow keeps sneaking its way into the ongoing story. The inclusion of, what I thought at the time, was a fluff piece had proven to be just as important as anything else I've written. It's a strange sensation.
On the hind end of working on the conclusion to the first trilogy in the Tellest series, I'm noticing that there are some new muddy parts in this novel. Inevitably, I'm going to have to go back and change these ones, or cut them out entirely. It's just an endless cycle, and one that I've learned to embrace fully.
Maybe some day I'll let readers see the scraps that have fallen on the cutting room floor. I commend Mr. Hibbard for doing so. For me, I'm not quite there yet.
Almost every writer knows the feeling. You start with something you feel fully engaged with, but along the way, you realize that what you're writing is either poorly implemented, or needless for the story to progress. You want your readers to feel like they don't have to trudge through the muddled parts of your tale - often, you want to get them right into the thick of the action. Every intricate detail is important, and if you have a chapter or a section that doesn't flow just right, it ends up on the chopping block.
Hibbard knows the feeling all too well. His editors gave the first chapter of his novel, This Side of Eden, the axe. It wasn't a bad chapter, as you can see if you visit his blog. It just didn't fit with everything else that he was working with at the time.
In some ways, it's a blessing when you can take a few pages that you've written and move them into the recycling bin.
There are some times when you write yourself into a corner that you can't write your way out of. As an author, you're always looking at yourself and critiquing. Two of my novels in the Tellest series are already out, and a third is on the way. The first book, The Bindings of Fate, has a particularly muddled section that, over time, I've become a little disappointed in. It's not exactly necessary. I wrote the scenes just so that the protagonist could get a little more face time - a little more time in front of the reader. The biggest hurdle that it's become, if you can call it that, is that I now have to write around it.
I'm happy with where that little sidestep led me. Not only did it stitch a nice little path for my story to take, but it somehow keeps sneaking its way into the ongoing story. The inclusion of, what I thought at the time, was a fluff piece had proven to be just as important as anything else I've written. It's a strange sensation.
On the hind end of working on the conclusion to the first trilogy in the Tellest series, I'm noticing that there are some new muddy parts in this novel. Inevitably, I'm going to have to go back and change these ones, or cut them out entirely. It's just an endless cycle, and one that I've learned to embrace fully.
Maybe some day I'll let readers see the scraps that have fallen on the cutting room floor. I commend Mr. Hibbard for doing so. For me, I'm not quite there yet.
Monday, August 13, 2012
My Own Worst Enemy
The title of my third book in the Tellest series is "The Enemy Within" - it's effective because I think everyone is their own worst enemy at certain points in time. Whether you attribute the lulls in your life to laziness, or social anxiety, there probably isn't a person in this world that doesn't step in their own way at some point.
For me, my biggest hurdle is depression. The form I have isn't crippling. I'm not manic-depressive. I'm not chronically depressed. Sometimes, I just get a little down. Often, it's only for a day or two, perhaps a week at most. But that one brief moment can make or break you in certain regards.
Every time I get hit by my depression, I feel this intense self-loathing in all of my creative outlets. I start wondering if I should give up on everything I'm doing: my books, the games, any other ideas that I might be ruminating on. They all suffer.
But here's the thing. With the exception of that little slip here and there, I'm one of the most optomistic people you'll ever see. I have seen the darker sides of things. Every day that passes feels like it's brighter than the one before. It's with that in mind that I'm able to push through that minor contrivance. I know that something better waits for me the next day, and that makes even the toughest days easier to deal with.
In some ways, I suppose it lends itself wonderfully to that old adage about keeping your enemy closest. There's also that other one about knowing yourself. Coincidence?
For me, my biggest hurdle is depression. The form I have isn't crippling. I'm not manic-depressive. I'm not chronically depressed. Sometimes, I just get a little down. Often, it's only for a day or two, perhaps a week at most. But that one brief moment can make or break you in certain regards.
Every time I get hit by my depression, I feel this intense self-loathing in all of my creative outlets. I start wondering if I should give up on everything I'm doing: my books, the games, any other ideas that I might be ruminating on. They all suffer.
But here's the thing. With the exception of that little slip here and there, I'm one of the most optomistic people you'll ever see. I have seen the darker sides of things. Every day that passes feels like it's brighter than the one before. It's with that in mind that I'm able to push through that minor contrivance. I know that something better waits for me the next day, and that makes even the toughest days easier to deal with.
In some ways, I suppose it lends itself wonderfully to that old adage about keeping your enemy closest. There's also that other one about knowing yourself. Coincidence?
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Creativity
By now, if you've read any of my prior blogs, or read my "About" page on Tumblr, you know that I've been hit with a touch of the creative type. The books probably solidify this idea, but there's plenty of other stuff in the background in my head that I would love to get out into the real world.
One of my coworkers and I have been talking for some time about any new big idea. And you know what? A lot of them have been done. A few years back, I really wanted to pioneer the idea of the chocolate chip cookie cup - that is, a little shotglass sized and shaped cookie that had the capability to retain milk without becoming so soggy that it leaks. All that time ago, the idea didn't exist, except in the mind of maybe a few people, and I was one of them. If you look around hard enough these days, they are already among us. I, for one, welcome our cup-shaped cookie overlords.
But of course, the ideas don't stop there. The coworker is a bit of a partier, and while I don't share in his zeal, I completely understand the interest and the appeal. He wanted to make an iPhone app that would randomly set you up with a drink you could order. I told him it's been done. Alright, let's tweak the idea then. Why not set it up so that you can look for a bar, based on preferences and find it on a -- Sorry pal, it's been done before, I would say. This went on for a few hours. I commend him for his persistence, and I know for a fact that some day, this guy is going to be filthy rich. Not because he wants to be rich (though what sane person doesn't?), but rather because he's got that itch to do something with his brain. There are gears that are in his head, and they're spinning, and they are making something. Whatever his mindfactory is producing, it might be in production for a while, but eventually, it's going to get out, and if he treats it with respect and care and caution, it's going to reward him for the time he put into it.
When Rhianna and I were biking back from the park the other day, I casually asked, "What do you think about a game where "THIS" happens?" She loved the idea, and for the duration of our ride back to the house, we went back and forth, back and forth. What was the littlest snowball became a fully fledged snowman family. Of course, it wasn't until the next day that I did a little research and found a game that had already utilized a lot of our concepts, but I feel like I could tweak it enough to make it work.
To save this post from being nothing more than a ramble, I will expressedly get to my point. I am incredibly happy to be writing. I'm ecstatic that anybody would like my books. And while I'm not stopping, or even slowing down, a few other dreams of mine are beginning to take hold, and I'd love to see them through to their end. While I can't promise anything, I'd like to tell you to be on the lookout for other potentially interesting releases from me in the future.
Check out my eBooks on amazon. This is the link to the first one, "The Bindings of Fate": http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052TSJQ6
One of my coworkers and I have been talking for some time about any new big idea. And you know what? A lot of them have been done. A few years back, I really wanted to pioneer the idea of the chocolate chip cookie cup - that is, a little shotglass sized and shaped cookie that had the capability to retain milk without becoming so soggy that it leaks. All that time ago, the idea didn't exist, except in the mind of maybe a few people, and I was one of them. If you look around hard enough these days, they are already among us. I, for one, welcome our cup-shaped cookie overlords.
But of course, the ideas don't stop there. The coworker is a bit of a partier, and while I don't share in his zeal, I completely understand the interest and the appeal. He wanted to make an iPhone app that would randomly set you up with a drink you could order. I told him it's been done. Alright, let's tweak the idea then. Why not set it up so that you can look for a bar, based on preferences and find it on a -- Sorry pal, it's been done before, I would say. This went on for a few hours. I commend him for his persistence, and I know for a fact that some day, this guy is going to be filthy rich. Not because he wants to be rich (though what sane person doesn't?), but rather because he's got that itch to do something with his brain. There are gears that are in his head, and they're spinning, and they are making something. Whatever his mindfactory is producing, it might be in production for a while, but eventually, it's going to get out, and if he treats it with respect and care and caution, it's going to reward him for the time he put into it.
When Rhianna and I were biking back from the park the other day, I casually asked, "What do you think about a game where "THIS" happens?" She loved the idea, and for the duration of our ride back to the house, we went back and forth, back and forth. What was the littlest snowball became a fully fledged snowman family. Of course, it wasn't until the next day that I did a little research and found a game that had already utilized a lot of our concepts, but I feel like I could tweak it enough to make it work.
To save this post from being nothing more than a ramble, I will expressedly get to my point. I am incredibly happy to be writing. I'm ecstatic that anybody would like my books. And while I'm not stopping, or even slowing down, a few other dreams of mine are beginning to take hold, and I'd love to see them through to their end. While I can't promise anything, I'd like to tell you to be on the lookout for other potentially interesting releases from me in the future.
Check out my eBooks on amazon. This is the link to the first one, "The Bindings of Fate": http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052TSJQ6
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Been a while!
It was never really my intention to dissapear from the internet. It really wasn't. At the same time, though, I never had a huge internet presence to begin with.
I have a lot of things coming up however, and I'm going to try to remedy that miniscule showing that I do have.
First thing is first: The third book is coming along nicely. It's taking longer than I would have liked, but that's because the quality and quantity of the book is expansive, and true to the story that the characters and situations need told. I'm sure that some of the scenes can afford to be cut, and I've already laid out some of what will most likely be on the chopping block later. Meanwhile, what I do have is already longer than either of the first two books, and that's before I even started writing the final part.
What I can say clearly is that this book pushes me from the get-go. Whereas the first book started with my main character in a solo act, and I tried to pull a fast one on readers in the second book by sneaking away important and favored characters for surprise reveals, this one starts off at full velocity. All your favorites are there from the get-go, and that makes the endeavors lengthy indeed. Not that I'm complaining. As I've said in a previous blog, my story is almost sacred. That is, I'm not really telling the story, as much as relating it to the readers, so I don't really have the permission to alter huge details to shorten what I have unless the passages and scenes have no relation to details down the road.
I can also say that some of the big questions will be revealed by the end of this third and final book of the trilogy. The reader will find out what it means to be a Child of the Stars. They will find out where the Strain comes from. They will delve deeper into the lands of Blacklehn, and further east in Draconis than they ever have. New characters with interesting powers and interesting backgrounds flesh out an already wonderful ensemble. This is, without a doubt, the next step for Tellest, and I'm sure that those who have enjoyed the first two books will absolutely love this one.
With that in mind, I feel confident to say that fans of the series can be ready to pick up The Enemy Within, the third book in the Child of the Stars trilogy next March.
The blog doesn't end there, however. As I've been working on this book, as always, there are new stories to tell. Just like my main character, I am able to see into the future (as far as Tellest is concerned anyway). While the first trilogy may be ending, there are so many more legends and tales left to appease fans. Some of these may not be what you expect. Though I can't give a solid release date, I can tell you that one of the projects will include a look into the past - an explanation of how Kaos Kreegan became the man he did. While series mainstays like Steel Tip and Christopher may not show in this prequel story, others that you know and love, like David Garus and Zachariah Caista, are ever present. Again, I can't be certain of when that novel will release, but I can promise you this: I will treat it with the same respect and patience that the rest of the series has seen.
Finally, I have one last big news item. While I have seen some success on the eBook side of things, I have maintained an almost invisible hard copy presence (mostly due to the fact that I didn't have an available hard copy). That is all about to change. Ladies and gentlemen, The Bindings of Fate is now available in paperback. Of course, this is just the first in the series, and you can expect to see the follow-up books later as well. The book sells for 12.99 plus shipping and handling on Amazon - not a bad price for an indie author. However, I can and will send out signed copies, which you will soon be able to order at http://www.tellest.com/. We will be working on updating that site to make it more functional, and more appealing in the coming days and weeks as well.
Since it has been a while, I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been so supportive of me, the Tellest series, and my creative process. I feel truly blessed. Thank you very much!
I have a lot of things coming up however, and I'm going to try to remedy that miniscule showing that I do have.
First thing is first: The third book is coming along nicely. It's taking longer than I would have liked, but that's because the quality and quantity of the book is expansive, and true to the story that the characters and situations need told. I'm sure that some of the scenes can afford to be cut, and I've already laid out some of what will most likely be on the chopping block later. Meanwhile, what I do have is already longer than either of the first two books, and that's before I even started writing the final part.
What I can say clearly is that this book pushes me from the get-go. Whereas the first book started with my main character in a solo act, and I tried to pull a fast one on readers in the second book by sneaking away important and favored characters for surprise reveals, this one starts off at full velocity. All your favorites are there from the get-go, and that makes the endeavors lengthy indeed. Not that I'm complaining. As I've said in a previous blog, my story is almost sacred. That is, I'm not really telling the story, as much as relating it to the readers, so I don't really have the permission to alter huge details to shorten what I have unless the passages and scenes have no relation to details down the road.
I can also say that some of the big questions will be revealed by the end of this third and final book of the trilogy. The reader will find out what it means to be a Child of the Stars. They will find out where the Strain comes from. They will delve deeper into the lands of Blacklehn, and further east in Draconis than they ever have. New characters with interesting powers and interesting backgrounds flesh out an already wonderful ensemble. This is, without a doubt, the next step for Tellest, and I'm sure that those who have enjoyed the first two books will absolutely love this one.
With that in mind, I feel confident to say that fans of the series can be ready to pick up The Enemy Within, the third book in the Child of the Stars trilogy next March.
The blog doesn't end there, however. As I've been working on this book, as always, there are new stories to tell. Just like my main character, I am able to see into the future (as far as Tellest is concerned anyway). While the first trilogy may be ending, there are so many more legends and tales left to appease fans. Some of these may not be what you expect. Though I can't give a solid release date, I can tell you that one of the projects will include a look into the past - an explanation of how Kaos Kreegan became the man he did. While series mainstays like Steel Tip and Christopher may not show in this prequel story, others that you know and love, like David Garus and Zachariah Caista, are ever present. Again, I can't be certain of when that novel will release, but I can promise you this: I will treat it with the same respect and patience that the rest of the series has seen.
Finally, I have one last big news item. While I have seen some success on the eBook side of things, I have maintained an almost invisible hard copy presence (mostly due to the fact that I didn't have an available hard copy). That is all about to change. Ladies and gentlemen, The Bindings of Fate is now available in paperback. Of course, this is just the first in the series, and you can expect to see the follow-up books later as well. The book sells for 12.99 plus shipping and handling on Amazon - not a bad price for an indie author. However, I can and will send out signed copies, which you will soon be able to order at http://www.tellest.com/. We will be working on updating that site to make it more functional, and more appealing in the coming days and weeks as well.
Since it has been a while, I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been so supportive of me, the Tellest series, and my creative process. I feel truly blessed. Thank you very much!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Moment of Inspiration
Mary Flannery O'Connor said at one point that she didn't know the ending of her short story, "Good Country People" until about twelve lines before she wrote it. This is a learned secret from the circle of great writers, and its one that many of us embrace.
Stephen King, too, utilizes this method of telling a story, but his description is much more amusing. This is paraphrasing, I'm sure, but, imagine you are in a desert, and you come across a buried fossil of a time long ago - something amazing, it has to be! You know that it is delicate. You know that it has to be treated with great care and responsibility. If you were digging up this fossil, you wouldn't use a shovel. A cautious, passionate archaeologist would use a toothbrush to make sure even the most intimate detail was not lost. Such is the case with writing, in the mind of Stephen King. You are the archaeologist, and the fossil is whatever story you're trying to tell.
Now, this goes beyond the idea of caution and level of detail. In fact, I dare say it may reverse that idea of caution and detail. The concept of the writer is one who writes. They craft a story from scratch, in the minds of many. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Any great storyteller knows this. The story has always been there, and we are merely the translators. That fossil in the desert was always there, ready to be discovered, and we are the ones who must learn its intricate mysteries.
Me, I'm a bit beyond the archaeologist up there. I'm not saying this is better or worse - it's just an observation. You see, I'm a bit of a historian too. When I develop my stories, I tell them twice. Once to myself, and once to the reader. But here's the kicker. I'm in that "reader" bucket too. Whenever I'm writing, I'm writing as the archaeologist. Even if I have the story told to myself in my head. I write to surprise myself, and I write subconsciously more often than not. If you have managed to read either of my first two books, and you've noticed something that deliciously came full circle, I didn't do that. But my crazy mind did. I may have applied a little bit of finesse to intertwine the bits of storyline that was frayed, but something beyond what I purposely seek out helped to do that. In a way, I'm reading my story for the first time when I finally put it down to paper.
This was all a very long-winded point to make to say that I just had one of those little moments of inspiration. Best of all, it facilitates a greater storyline in the future, and one that hadn't quite found its flesh yet. Like O'Connor, I hadn't known it was there until just before I reached that pivotal moment. But it was there - it always was.
What have been some of your "aha moments"?
Check out my eBooks on amazon. This is the link to the first one, "The Bindings of Fate": http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052TSJQ6
Stephen King, too, utilizes this method of telling a story, but his description is much more amusing. This is paraphrasing, I'm sure, but, imagine you are in a desert, and you come across a buried fossil of a time long ago - something amazing, it has to be! You know that it is delicate. You know that it has to be treated with great care and responsibility. If you were digging up this fossil, you wouldn't use a shovel. A cautious, passionate archaeologist would use a toothbrush to make sure even the most intimate detail was not lost. Such is the case with writing, in the mind of Stephen King. You are the archaeologist, and the fossil is whatever story you're trying to tell.
Now, this goes beyond the idea of caution and level of detail. In fact, I dare say it may reverse that idea of caution and detail. The concept of the writer is one who writes. They craft a story from scratch, in the minds of many. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Any great storyteller knows this. The story has always been there, and we are merely the translators. That fossil in the desert was always there, ready to be discovered, and we are the ones who must learn its intricate mysteries.
Me, I'm a bit beyond the archaeologist up there. I'm not saying this is better or worse - it's just an observation. You see, I'm a bit of a historian too. When I develop my stories, I tell them twice. Once to myself, and once to the reader. But here's the kicker. I'm in that "reader" bucket too. Whenever I'm writing, I'm writing as the archaeologist. Even if I have the story told to myself in my head. I write to surprise myself, and I write subconsciously more often than not. If you have managed to read either of my first two books, and you've noticed something that deliciously came full circle, I didn't do that. But my crazy mind did. I may have applied a little bit of finesse to intertwine the bits of storyline that was frayed, but something beyond what I purposely seek out helped to do that. In a way, I'm reading my story for the first time when I finally put it down to paper.
This was all a very long-winded point to make to say that I just had one of those little moments of inspiration. Best of all, it facilitates a greater storyline in the future, and one that hadn't quite found its flesh yet. Like O'Connor, I hadn't known it was there until just before I reached that pivotal moment. But it was there - it always was.
What have been some of your "aha moments"?
Check out my eBooks on amazon. This is the link to the first one, "The Bindings of Fate": http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052TSJQ6
Friday, November 25, 2011
When I was young
The holidays have always been a great time for me, and for my family. With Christmas coming up, I find myself anxiously awaiting another time like yesterday, except that maybe this time, I'll be able to control my spontaneous urge to eat myself into a food coma.
Thanksgiving itself has always been just a nice get-together with plenty of grub. Things have changed a few times over the years. We add to the family, and sometimes, the branches of the family tree grow too big to support, and they fall off, sprouting new trees to cultivate.
Christmas, on the other hand, has stayed pretty much the same. There have been some fairly big changes to the formula (my father passed away several years ago), but we try to keep everything consistent. We still have stockings as part of our presents (even though my brother and I are in our twenties now). The food is the same, if not even better. The presents, while not as plentiful now that we're grown adults, are still just as meaningful.
When I was young, these holidays seemed so much bigger. When you're a small child, things tend to look bigger by comparison, but the holiday itself - as an idea - just seemed so much grander in scale. It meant more to our family than a Black Friday sale. A crazy uncle would love to air grievances about the government, but it was funny how eloquently he put it. Going to sleep early to wake up at the crack of dawn was a given thought, and probably one of the reasons I wake up so early every day. Our dad would set up the camera, and watch us open presents - I still need to find a way to convert those old tapes into something tangible by today's standards.
Not all of these things have changed, but nothing really ever stays the same either. We grow older, we grow wiser, we grow children and families of our own. As that happens, and you start to cultivate that new beginning, I feel like that youth ultimately comes back to us.
Unrelated: My new book came out earlier this month. Check it out if you are interested. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0060O7IXW
Of course, the old book is still chugging along as well: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052TSJQ6 It's actually been in Amazon's Best Seller's for the past two weeks for its genre. Huge satisfaction seeing that!
And finally, the Tellest website is coming along nicely: http://www.tellest.com/
Everyone, have a great holiday!
Thanksgiving itself has always been just a nice get-together with plenty of grub. Things have changed a few times over the years. We add to the family, and sometimes, the branches of the family tree grow too big to support, and they fall off, sprouting new trees to cultivate.
Christmas, on the other hand, has stayed pretty much the same. There have been some fairly big changes to the formula (my father passed away several years ago), but we try to keep everything consistent. We still have stockings as part of our presents (even though my brother and I are in our twenties now). The food is the same, if not even better. The presents, while not as plentiful now that we're grown adults, are still just as meaningful.
When I was young, these holidays seemed so much bigger. When you're a small child, things tend to look bigger by comparison, but the holiday itself - as an idea - just seemed so much grander in scale. It meant more to our family than a Black Friday sale. A crazy uncle would love to air grievances about the government, but it was funny how eloquently he put it. Going to sleep early to wake up at the crack of dawn was a given thought, and probably one of the reasons I wake up so early every day. Our dad would set up the camera, and watch us open presents - I still need to find a way to convert those old tapes into something tangible by today's standards.
Not all of these things have changed, but nothing really ever stays the same either. We grow older, we grow wiser, we grow children and families of our own. As that happens, and you start to cultivate that new beginning, I feel like that youth ultimately comes back to us.
Unrelated: My new book came out earlier this month. Check it out if you are interested. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0060O7IXW
Of course, the old book is still chugging along as well: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052TSJQ6 It's actually been in Amazon's Best Seller's for the past two weeks for its genre. Huge satisfaction seeing that!
And finally, the Tellest website is coming along nicely: http://www.tellest.com/
Everyone, have a great holiday!
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