Night Writer in Seattle

Being a night writer, while working a full-time job, volunteering for local community services, and making sure that I don't alienate my better half, is - needless to say - a major challenge. However, it's not impossible to make progress. And thus, I'm proud to announce the release of my new book, "Zegin's Abduction" onto Amazon. Proof again, that it can be done.

It was a little frustrating. Originally, I wanted to release it last February. Then my editor got it. There was the first pass - plot issues. Then the second pass - just didn't flow well. Third pass - terminology, phrasing, and punctuation. Fourth pass - in-line edits. Whew! Now it's October and it's finally out. All this for a story that barely fits into the 'Novella' category.

Worth it? Yes, totally! Just the initial reviews and comments I've received so far have been that it's a solid piece of work compared to the first story. Not only is it more polished, but I have learned so much from my editor. Especially - trust!

And I have found that my taste in quality has gone through changes as well. I've actually tossed around a half dozen books off my Kindle device due to poor writing. I get through one or two chapters and I realize how sloppy the story, plot lines, and writing is. While it's a blessing for writers, because it's so easy to publish work as an eBook, it's also a curse. The reading audience will not tolerate a sloppy book and if a writer releases poor work, it's going to be difficult to re-gain the trust of the readers when the next release is posted.

Did I pay for the editing? Yes. Did I pay for the cover art? Yes. Am I in the hole financially on this one? Yes. But, I AM a writer. I have to write. I want to be good at it, I want the readers to enjoy what I write, and I want to be known as a writer. It might take two stories or it might take nine. Regardless, it is my goal, and I know I'll eventually get to a point where my primary source of income is from writing. Although, that might be when I'm on SSI, and too old to be employable. ;)

Statistics
I'm going to back off on the stats for now, except for saying that my twitter audience has really taken off. I'm currently at 3475 followers. I'm amazed that so many are interested in seeing what I have to say while I live this life of a night writer. No where near as many as our local, indie writer Ksenia Anske, and her 59K followers - Wow! But then, I'm a geek, and she dances around in a tutu. ;)

Up and Coming?
I'm combining Zegin's Infection and Zegin's Abduction into a print-on-demand book via Amazon's Create Space service. I'm hoping to release within the next few weeks. This will allow me to have something physical to hand out to folks, and to do local book readings.

What I'm really excited about is the Young Adult Urban Fantasy novel that I'm working on. I'm through the first eight of eighteen chapters. I have around a dozen beta readers and they're all giving me good feedback. Now that Zegin is out, I'll have more time for Air Born. (And maybe a few more blog postings.)

Thanks for reading.