The Cats Journey

She lost an eye.

2011-01-20T20:34:00.000-08:00

Several years ago I was having a conversation with someone about how we don't appreciate our teeth.
I tied to explain how important they are.
I pointed out that if we woke up without them, we'd probably miss solid food.
I mentioned how we would lose the ability to pronounce certain words, and more than likely, our faces would change shape.

The person just laughed at me, and said;

"So teeths are our frineds?"
I smirked and said,
"Yeah, teeths are our friends."

I knew she didn't want to hear what I was saying.
I was probably being too heavy for the moment; and if you were to ask her now, she probably wouldn't even remember.

So why do I mention this?

Well, I think if you're going to write, you should take a moment and occasionally count your teeth. This might sound a bit crazy, but I think it's a good way to appreciate the smaller parts of yourself.
Glide you tongue across the enamel and know that one day they will rot from you skull and fall to the ground and be nothing.
Put every part of yourself into your story.

If you can appreciate the finality in punctuation, your storytelling will be good. If you can master it, your humor will be phenomenal.
(I'm still working on the second part.)

Another reason I bring this up is because it deeply ties into what I'm going through right now.
These past few months have been rough for so many reasons.
I've isolated myself from nearly everyone.

When I got back from Seattle, I found out that my cat had an eye infection.
We took her to the vets, I spent a couple weeks rubbing medication into it everyday, three times a day, but eventually it was lost.

Now when she looks at me, I'm reminded of everything mentioned above.

In a nutshell.

2010-11-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

I realize it’s been a quite while since I last updated.
A lot has happened.
There’s no way I can fit everything into just one post, so I’m keeping this short.

I’ll update in the next few weeks with some more detail.

The book is still on its way.
I appreciate the patience that everyone has shown.
Right now we are working with three different editors to polish it up.
There were a few choices that I made that inevitably delayed the whole project.
I’ll explain more later on, but for now, just know that we are working on it, and it shouldn't be much longer. (Expect a hard release date soon.)

Some of the most exciting news is that Richard Longtails was given the green light from kickstarter.com.
If you’re not familiar with kickstarter, basically, it’s a way of bringing fans and projects together.

This site is really awesome because the more people that come together and support a project, the better the project becomes.
We have some cool ideas in the works, with your help, we can make them happen.
So, if you know anyone that’s interested in reading about cats, time travel, and all that good stuff, make sure to pass the word along.

Sorry for being out of touch, sometimes life throws us a twist, but things are back on track.

Make a list or clone yourself.

2010-02-08T04:41:00.000-08:00

Let’s face it, the days are getting shorter.
Where information, entertainment, or creation, is just a few keystrokes away, it seems that twenty-four hours just isn’t enough.
Sometimes I get frustrated. Like most people, I’ll be thinking about 20 different things, but only be able to work on one specific thing at a time. Sometimes I wish I could just upgrade my body, install a few extra arms, or even better yet, clone myself.

But since these options aren’t readily available, (at least not yet) there is one thing I do that helps keep me on track. Make a list.

Every morning, the very first thing I do is make a list. This helps me prioritize my goals, schedule my day, and most importantly – get things done. If for whatever reason there‘s something that I didn’t get to yesterday, then I just move it up to the new days list. This way, if I have a goal, it’ll get done. It’s that’s simple. I keep the list handy, and add to it throughout the day.

~~It’s satisfying to scratch things off.~~

For big projects, it’s a great way to track progress.

I realize the idea of making a list is not a new one; you find thousands articles talking about how helpful they are, so I’m not going to get into the details. All I’m saying is that they’re helpful.

Photo credit goes to ex-smith

The silent voice of obsession and the creation of a world.

2009-07-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

One of the most exciting aspects to writing a story is the design of the world and characters in that world. The Idea of Richard Longtails came to me several years before I started writing The Charmer, The Snake, and The Rain Cloud. What started as an idle thought of imagination, has grown into a fixation that pulls at me constantly. This inexplicable force does nothing but add color and interest to my life.

The development of my story gives me a clearer understanding and appreciation for the people in my life. Now I see them not only though my eyes alone, but rather through the eyes my villains and heroes.

I strongly believe that every one of us creates multiple personalities on a slightly subconscious level. We do this to deal with the different situations that life throws at us. Over time (and through experience) some aspects become more dominate while others will fade away. As a writer I am able to clearly sort out the aspects that I desire in myself, others, and in different situations. This is extremely important if you want to live a rewarding life.

The main point being; let your obsessions envelope you. Get your ideas on paper and live through your characters' thoughts; your writing will become more natural, and your life will become enriched.

Documentation & Premise - About this blog...

2009-07-04T01:57:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago I was discussing the topic of self-publishing with a friend over a few beers at our local tavern. He suggested that I blog about my experiences and share them with the world.

Initially I was hesitant to the idea, simply because I felt that such transparency would degrade the allure and mystery behind the process of publishing my own work. However, after considering the idea for nearly two weeks I realized that if my content has any quality, people will be more interested in the beauty of the details, rather than a bunch of smoke and mirrors.

So that's what this blog is about; my experiences as an author, and the success, (or failure) that comes with it.

I hope to cover some of the following subjects in my posts:

The creative writing process
Reviews of different technologies, books, and processes relevant to self-publishing
Networking, and understanding the world we live in
Interesting encounters along the way

In an attempt to make this blog as informative as possible, I'll refrain pointless rhetoric. Updates may be few and far between, but they will be precise. By taking this approach I hope to add whatever enlightenment to the world that I can; whether be it a better understanding of my works, or a deeper understanding of oneself.