Shards of S'Darin update

I will let you guys in on a little secret... It is very difficult not to just blurt out the things that you are writing. The events and new characters of my book are just begging to be experienced and I really want to share it with you, however....I will wait, of course. I will tell you that I am very happy with the way things are progressing in Shards of S'Darin. I have just begun Chapter Five and the story is really taking shape. I cannot wait for the world to read it. If you loved the characters from Book One, just wait.

Also, let me restate that I have met many great people online since publishing my first book, A Dream of Storms. Readers, writers, artists, etc. So many supportive people and it really helps to keep me inspired. I know a lot of writers have a hard time keeping it going. Writing is a very lonely experience. It has to be. For me, I need silence for the most part, so I write late at night after everyone is asleep. It is the only time that I can be uninterrupted. Anyone else out there want to talk about their writing routine? Anyone out there listen to music while writing? I find that I become distracted by the music (I think that's because I am a musician and my mind picks apart the different tracks).

Alright, that's enough for now. I have to finish 1,000 words tonight. That's the personal goal that I have set for myself and I've been able to meet it so far.

Good night. (Check local listings, it may be morning where you are.)

William

Characters from A Dream of Storms: The Inquitis

World map for A Dream of Storms

Characters from A Dream of Storms: Shindire

On writing...

Since embarking on this self-publishing venture, I have noticed a few things. Firstly, there are a lot of very supportive writers and readers out there. I appreciate that a great deal. Secondly, while there are a lot of great indie books being created, there are also a lot of really bad ones. After reading several samples and free-to-download ebooks, all I can say is "yikes". The difficult part is trying to get noticed among all of the lackluster stuff. Now, I'm not saying that my book is the be-all and end-all of literature, but if you had seen some of the stuff I have seen (I won't name any names), you would understand.
Also, there are a lot of authors that are going out of their way to overwrite everything. I imagine them looking up unheard of and obtuse words just so they sound fancy. I read an excerpt from someone's novel and I think I counted around 8 pages without a quote. Look, description is nice, but I think that might be overkill.
Just some thoughts for the day.

William

Labor Day reading!

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The Battle of the Black Sun

Book Two of the In the Shadow of the Black Sun series is coming along nicely. I've gotten a decent amount of work done on it. I am into Chapter 3 now and am excited by the new directions that things are going in. Can't give away too much although I would love to discuss it here. Have you read Book One? Do you have any questions or comments about the story? Ask away. I will respond to every one of them.

Many people have suggested writing about the actual Battle of the Black Sun. I refer to the battle many times in Book One and it had a deep effect on the main character, Hagan. I have considered it in the past, possibly putting together The Journal of Hagan Marindel. This would be his personal account of what happened from the moment he enlisted until the final day of the battle. Any comments about doing such a book? I would be interested in hearing your opinion.

Well, I'm off. Book Two will not write itself.... or will it?

William