Comic-Con: A Panel Success

So last night I made it out into the world - I was on a very enthusiastic panel at Comic-Con. The topic: "Once Upon a Time", Disney's premier grab bag of "how many Disney characters can we toss in and twist for fun" show.

I mean seriously, how many times can you block Mulan from having a happy ending? Give the woman a break already!

Anyways, here is the crowd we had, 20 minutes before we were scheduled to begin.

If you see yourself, feel free to tag the picture. Those people up front were even posing. (And I see you turning away Deadpool/ ChimiChanga shirt guy).

Why am I posting this? Because it was great to be among fellow geeks and nerds discussing something we were passionate about. It was a great opportunity to hear the thoughts of others and discuss something that politically related.
While I enjoy politics, sometimes it is nice to step back and work on another passion, that for the culture and impressive hold that geek culture is now having in our society.

I was very impressed with the turnout. The picture doesn't do justice to the nearly filled room that we had for our discussion. People left, and others came to take their places. People even left then came back - I say because the other panelists were that awesome. I think I was decent.

Over the next couple months I am going to try to get back in the habit of working on this blog, and get my writing back on track. I am preparing a second edition of my first book, and will hopefully get my second book, Currents of Fate ready for printing. Maybe even lucky enough to make it in time for Christmas! Who knows!?

I am going to post this and send it to the wonderful ladies I participated with on this panel. They all deserve kudos for the idea and the great time that was had by all. My hat's off to you all. 

Prelude Post

This is the day I give a magical preview into the sequel to Empires Awakening. The title is still in works - but soon to be decided upon. A caveat to be included here, this is not the final publisher ready version. Some of the details and parts of this preview are open to change.

Without further delay....

Prelude: The Kingdom of Sanctum

                The plains were empty of life, all the birds and deer and the smallest of insect had fled before his force. Cenephon stood on a hill before the long flat plain lying between himself and the mammoth stone walls of the city of Sanctum. Wild flowers usually grew here, but they had died to a sad brown in the unseasonable cold that flooded the area around his orc hordes. The stone lane he stood in was a quiet line, wandering through the dead field. The barren stalks of the dead plants were waving in a stiff evening breeze. He closed his eyes, breathing deep as he let the feelings of the stone and dirt beneath his feet tell him their story.

                As master of the Stone of Earth, the very ground of Theron was his ally and his symphony. He could mold and shape the stone and clay into whatever form he wished. He could bring flowers to bloom in the harshest of soils, or poison the richest fields to a barren silty mass. With his gift of stone-sight he reached out to get a sense of the city and all that occurred within. He had crafted a ring that focused enhanced this gift, and with it he could see and sense many times greater than he could unaided. He could even take a simple map and use it to see friend and foe across Theron.

                This day the dirt spoke to him of fear, of people crying and hoping for mercy to come before the dark onslaught he had with him. This black iccor of fear and terror was a mark upon the soil, polluting it in a way only he could sense. Gilden, the leader of their war against the cities aligned with Kal had told him to ignore the feelings coming from the world around him.

               

                “The feelings you have are those of the weak. They have no place in our world that we are making.” He could picture him saying a few weeks previous.

                “Gilden, the planet cries out against what we are doing. The blood of innocent is seeping into the ground.” Cenephon said to him. He could still remember the smell of burning flesh and timber as they stood in the wreckage of one of the many cities he had helped put to the torch.

                “Cenephon, if you wish to defend these whelps feel free to do so.” Gilden said menacingly, his black sword of ice steamed in the heat of the day. “To defend these weaklings is to be weak yourself, and I have no need of that.”

                Cenephon sighed and rubbed his temples, his short auburn hair gently rustled by the evening breeze. The deep ruddy clay color of his cloak held the cold at bay from his skin. There was a thought in his mind, a nagging feeling that he felt he should answer. He recalled the stench of the dead and the cries of the innocent felled by his hand these past few months. He felt the dark pall of the fear seeping into the ground and his knees grew weak. Staggering, his hand reached out to the stone arm of his golem lieutenant, Parsethon.

                The stone golem had remained silent, but now quickly reached out and caught his master as he lost his footing, his other hand clenched to his mouth stifling a sob.

                “Cenephon, what is wrong?” His deep gravelly voice said. The stone of his jaw gently slid across his hard rocky features.

                “Parsethon, what have I done? Look at us! I have allied myself with the orcs for what? For the world Gilden has envisioned ruled under his guiding hand?”

                Parsethon continue to hold Cenephon up as he spoke. “You have a choice in this war master.” They both let their eyes fall back on the mass of rowdy orc warriors behind the hill they stood on. Their cries echoed across the low valley they camped in.

                “A choice.” Cenephon’s sobbing had stopped, but he still felt the wet tears rolling down his face as an idea grew in his mind, and the stone wall he felt slowly began to fall away from his heart. “You are right; I must undo what we have done.”

                “Both our hands are bloodied in this-“ Parsethon began to answer.

                “No! I brought this on us.” Cenephon spoke in low tones through clenched teeth. “I have a plan for us. I want all the golems to surround the city. I am going to speak to their council.”

                “I will make it so master. I must ask, why do you go to the council of the city?”

                Cenephon stepped away from Parsethon, finding that his resolve was growing with each minute the strength returned to him. It felt right to be protecting Theron again. He had spent many days wondering why he was fighting against his people and had not been entirely convinced that Gilden and Prios had decided on the right path for the towers.

                “I must plead for mercy from them, and maybe forgiveness. In either case, do not tell the orcs anything. Have the golems melt away and reform around the city. None of the horde are to reach the walls.”

                Parsethon nodded to his master, acknowledging his orders. Cenephon knew his construct had been waiting for him to come to his senses for some time. He was unsure of why tonight, in the fading light, he had found the strength to do what he had been afraid to do. As he let himself melt into the soil beneath his feet he began to travel along through the earth towards the city, travelling deep to hide his approach from those defending the walls.

                He flowed through stone, around the now dead creatures of the dirt and soil as he became one with the surface of the world. Coming to the stone walls surrounding the city he follow the stone lane leading through the city, heading towards the hall that held the council in its heart. He could sense the souls of the people inside their homes. Their sense of fear made his stomach turn; he traveled faster still to reach his goal.

                As he neared their gate he made a point to come out of the soil and reform on the steps in front of the guards. His presence was known to all by his yellow eyes, nearly glowing in the fading light. The guards cries called the building to arms, and he made no move other than to lift his hands on either side of his head.

                The steel of the heavily armored guard carried the dull glow of the torch light. They were dressed in plate crafted by the forges of Prion from before this war had started. The craftsmanship bore the engraving of the section of wall depicted with arrow and sword being deflected. Sanctum had the reputation of a sanctuary against all onslaughts. Their high stone walls and heavily armed and well trained troops had bested any attacking army for the entire thousand years Cenephon had lived, it was why he was sent here. If anyone could break the city, it would be he and his mastery over the basis of their defenses.

                “My god, he comes himself!” Cenephon turned to the figures standing at the top of the long flowing steps. The light of the chamber doors hid their faces but he knew them to be the rulers here. They wore the close fitting tunics of purple. The shirts were held by black sashes bearing the patchwork showing the years of service and tours of defense they had complete in their time of youth. Their black pants bore a single matching strip of purple down the outside of their left leg.

                “Councilmen and councilwomen, I have come to ask for you to accept my surrender, and to accept the offer of aid from my golems.”

                “Hardly! I say we kill him why we have the chance!” One of the shadowed faces said immediately.

                “We don’t have any weapon that will work to kill him, and we cannot keep him prisoner.” Another shouted back.

                Behind them all Cenephon noticed a woman in a flowing gown. The gown was white and though shadow still covered her face she seemed to glow with an inner light while the others were lost to him in their bickering. She stepped forward and as she did the council grew quiet, stepping aside to let her pass.

                As she came closer Cenephon was held in thrall by her beauty in a way that caught him off guard. He could not look away from the vague suggestions of her form beneath, and the golden hair flowing down her head, a rippling wave coming down each side gently lying on her exposed neckline. He gasped when the torchlight finally revealed her face once she was within arm’s reach.

                Standing before him was the wife of the Dragon King, Alexia of Goronwy. He bowed his head and kneeled, knowing her place his attempt to seek pardon would go farther if he showed her the respect she deserved as consort to a demigod.

                “My lady. I did not know you were here. I am blind to your presence in my earth sight.” Cenephon stated calmly.

                She did not speak, only stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder, gently and with a feathered lightness to it. He could feel her searching his soul, pressing her will against his, and in a flash it was gone.

                “Accept his offer. The city will stand.” She said.

Updates for the Month

My apologies for the lack of updates in the past few weeks. I have been trying to make progress on a few different fronts when it comes to the world of Theron - so I apologize but do not excuse my absence. That being said....

I am trying to make more happen with the books. My last post focused on Merchandising and how others have been successful with it. Some people that is all they had to do because their work stood on its own. I am in a bit of a catch-22 scenario for myself when it comes to this sort of thing. I want to make things happen that would be cool and help make the world my book takes place in more exciting - but I lack the funds to do it. I want the books to support this creativity habit of mine and at this early stage it's going to be hard. This is the struggle for all new artists - at first you are jut trying to get any notice and then have your habit support itself.

Will I get there? Sure - after a time. I am sure I will get somewhere with things. Following are a few of my goals for this year with my books.

Goal #1:
Finish the second book. Its getting closer - and I am very nearly at the tipping point so this is totally possible. However it will just be the first draft and will need to be edited and read through by Beta readers. Beta readers I still do not have a list of. (Applications please?) Editing will need to be completed by an editor.

Goal #2:
Line up a publisher. This will help with both distribution (getting in front of readers) and helping with the editing and drafting process. This will also help grease the gears to get the third book started and get the Zombie book written.

Goal #3:
Art Tablet. I want a tablet designed for graphic art work. Something I can electronically paint/sketch with to get some new products to go with the book. This will allow posters, t-shirts, pins, book marks and other fun stuff to get made.

Goal #4:
Do a convention out of state. Hell, just get to a few local conventions that are not scheduled on important family dates would be great. It would be awesome and terribly exciting to travel across state lines to bring the book to the masses.

Goal #5:
Finish composing my song. I have had this thing in my head for years, and it is about time I get it out of my skull and into some other heads.

I think all of these goals could be possible, and I will look into ways of making these more financially viable in the coming weeks. I will be recording videos for a Patreon campaign later this week and will launch it to get a little bit of additional fun stuff going. I will keep everyone posted and send out a link once everything is ready to go. 

Something New for Authors: Merchandizing

In the past I have written about how amazing the internet now is for the creative class. I have followed many different individuals over the last decade and a half on the internet, and some have risen to insane levels of stardom. And they all started with a small following to some videos posted online. My personal favorites are Lindsey Stirling, Scott Kurtz, and Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins.

That is not a ranking in any sort of way of how I feel about them. My love of each comes from a different part of the creative persona that is me. As hilarious as it sounds - I possibly found all of them within mere minutes of each other. I can't confirm that but I came across them all during a distinct period of my college life.

I had purchased the MMO Heroes Online - and inside was a comic that Scott Kurtz had done. I enjoyed it more than game and began following him online. Shortly after I probably came across Penny-Arcade - the creative child of Jerry and Mike. I tend to binge-read a new comic that I find so chances are I stayed up all night reading both online comics.

Lindsey I found perusing the precursor of YouTube. It was a video of her dancing about playing a song of her own on an electric violin. It was love at first site. Stringed instruments are my favorite type of instrument to be played as their sound is, well, exquisite to my ears. If your song has them in it I am already a fan. Lindsey is a talented woman and I am very glad to see she has gone from that living room and moved on to things like, I don't know, National Television appearances and World Tours. Both pretty epic. I would settle for just one, but both? Goddamn!

What does this have to do with authors? Well it matters because there are a lot more ways for artists to get themselves in front of audiences. That is competition. These artists are all creating more than just a single item for visual consumption, they are branding themselves and getting other ways of engaging audiences. This means that if writers are going to maintain the same involvement they are going to have to adapt and do the same thing.

Authors need to find ways of getting in front of more than just an audience of individuals who read books. They need to find ways of getting people to come back again and again when they show up at conventions. This means that instead of just writing a story - we have to create other items to go with our world.

I am already preparing to do this myself. Once I get a bit more money in - I will be ordering the first in a series of collectors pins that compliment my book series. I am toying with the idea of creating my own audio book so that I can offer my story in another format. Eventually I will digitally paint a full world map for my book - I already did so on paper with colored pencils to great success. Hell - I am even planning on ideas for t-shirts and small posters for my fans to purchase. I will hopefully help use this as a way to re-engage my readers between books, and help draw people in to the books as the audience builds.

I am not a marketing genius - if I was I would have been on The Colbert Show before it ended. What I do know is that the creative class includes Authors - and if we don't keep up with those who are doing more and more to engage the audience we all vie for, we will be left behind. Get out there, make some doodles for symbols or images from your stories. Create a map of your fantasy world. Your future success may just depend on it. 

Where are my Characters at?

Today I am going to do a rundown of the map of the World of Theron. I sent this image to a friend reading the book and they said it was pretty damn helpful in keeping track of where things are occurring at. To be honest I liked having it myself while writing. Without further adieu - I give you Theron (in color pencil glory).

This version of Theron is not the original - there was a much different one when this idea came into being a decade ago. However, this one grew as the story did. Additionally, I incorporated greater details based on an increasing understanding of how our world was made. I have a personal love of geology, paleontology, meteorology among other things science.
Yes, I actually have ideas for how weather patterns have shifted because of Epic events that occur in my story. In fact - I fully plan on weather having an impact on the outcome of what this world will look like by the end of the story.
Also, I am a HUGE fan of Jared Diamond and his books. His ideas on specific triggers causing the collapse of societies is, I feel, reasonably useful in explaining how some societies meet their end. I don't think any writer should go without reading his books if they want a realistic story about societies.
However - a breakdown of the nations of Theron, starting with the northeast continent and moving clockwise...

North East Continent
Ledun, Dalerad, Kalnor, Dwarven Holds, Barbarian Holds, Eastern Coalition, Pentath, Yulan.

Eastern Continent
Brodesia, Sythian

Central Islands
Iliana, Adavad, Narkissos, Zenon

Western Continent and Islands
Lopaka, Palila, Elnar, Goran, Western Coalition, Goronwy, Zsalt, Haidar, Noam, Phelan, Castell, Sanctum, Ergheith

Northern Lands
Priscus, Tyrnor

There are lots of lands for me to write about, and I have lot I will share as this world grows. I really want to get to a point where I write multiple books - taking place in different epochs of this world. I have ideas to write the pre-history and another for a story to take place in a modern or future technology era as well. That is for the future - for now I am making this trilogy go places.

If anyone wants more details on a country, let me know and I will make a post about a specific country and its culture, history, etc.

Royal Commanders, Vandahar Gates and Denzel Washington

I like the idea of a person devoting themselves to an ideal, and showing humble loyalty to that singular thing they devote their lives to. Perhaps I am, at times, jealous of the focus individuals can have as they doggedly pursue the cause they have set themselves to. It is even more of a love when done in the thread of a fantasy story – because they can become not just devoted but empowered. Nothing can compare to the giddy feeling I had inside when I read the battles of Garet Jax in “The Wishsong of Shannara”.

This singular devotion also comes from my own personal faith – Confucianism.  I studied many different
religions and their place in a cultural context. For a time I can even say I was a Christian Fundamentalist – a prospect that undoubtedly would frighten some of those who know me now. Once I found Confucianism, its basic ideas seemed to grow on me. I liked what it had to say about what a person should say and do and how they should behave. Most importantly it helped me deal with quirks I had developed from my own life. When you have a colorful past as I do, everyday things disturb you that others do not struggle with. This gave me a way of acting that helped me to feel I had a guideline to follow – something I need more than people know.

Why am I discussing Garet Jax and Confucianism? Because they helped me create the concept of a “Royal Commander”, the first of these seen is Vandahar Gates in Empires Awakening. While they will not all be warriors like Vandahar, they are all individuals who have submitted themselves to a higher calling, and they have become “Tian” (insert character) and are princes of virtue among humanity. The Chinese consider this to be “Heaven” or “Sky” but mean “Great Whole” – these are those individuals that are truly following the teachings that will make them great. In my concept they have sworn themselves to serve the people of a nation, but that doesn’t mean they “serve” them in the traditional sense of following every command. These are individuals who work to ensure a people are safe and allowed the chance to prosper. Vandahar is devoted to fighting the dangerous elements in Brodesia making sure the innocent and the meek can live to prosper. You can fully expect a multitude of other Royal Commanders to make an appearance with entirely different sets of skills and paths to meet these goals.

Lastly, if anyone was curious what I imagined Vandahar Gates to look like and how he spoke – You can look no further than Denzel Washington. While I make it no secret I hope my books are received awesomely enough that I could get a movie deal for them (who wouldn’t want that?!?) I don’t know if I will get to be big enough fast enough that Denzel could still be asked to fill the part. Only time will tell.

It could happen.

The World of a Fantasy Writer - Early Onset Insanity

This is being posted at  MarcieBrockBookMarketingMaven.com in addition to its home here (edited of course), so some of this might seem redundant to my regular readers. However anything new is still to be enjoyed by all who usually partake in my blog posts. Once I get the "live" link I will update that URL with it.

Today one of the wonderful readers of my book sent me a link to a picture on Facebook with a unique

quote (look to the right), that after a bit I realized had some truth to it.  In some ways being the writer of fantasy can very easily turn into a very dangerous form of balanced insanity. If some random person was walking around your town describing dragons, unicorns and creatures of a magical nature - they would undoubtedly be committed before they hurt themselves or others.

However as an author of fantasy - I am called upon to create a fantastic world that will actually lure people in with its beauty and enticing story. I must create an experience that would be so immersive and engaging to the reader that they will want to leave reality behind for a time. I must create an experience that a reader will love and appreciate as much if not more than they do reality. I must also keep a firm grip on which world is real. That balancing act is exciting, and not entirely without its dangers.

I began writing when I was very young, though I am not sure when I began to compose entire stories. I know for certain I was reading as many books as I could get my hands on from an early age. I was a very early reader - before I turned four I could already read, driven to it by the book pictured to the right. As you can imagine, I had a thing for trains and rail roads. Okay, I will be honest, I STILL have a thing for trains and rail roads. If I ever become as well off as JK Rowling I fully intend to buy my own steam engine - working of course. It will be a Norfolk and Western Class J for those wondering.

However much of my reading was an escape - for much of the first 18 years of my life things were going on that were creating a need and a wish to get away. When I had opportunities - which were few and far between since I moved a great number of times - I would take writing workshops and courses geared to get the insanity inside my mind out onto the page. I even for a time participated in an email RPG. What that is is a creative writing exercise, where you tag multiple people in a story thread and try to push the story ahead while at the same time give them a chance to fill in the gaps, and then they continue to push the story ahead while you then go back and fill in your gaps and tags.

I think during that time, my greatest lessons were both practical and social. I learned great value in working with other creative individuals. Learning to let go is what I think is a very difficult process for some authors. This is no less sacred to them than anything else. My stories are my creations, my work put into the world - having someone change that in a way I can't predict can be frightening! You don't realize how attached you are until you hand something over to another and have no clue what they will make of it, its very hard to get used to that.

The even more important lesson I learned was how powerful words can be for us. Language is our way of bonding with others - friends, family and love is created through language. That person you see every day on the subway or the bus may not mean as much to you as someone you have written with or talked with. Those words and the emotions behind them mean something. One of the writers that I found to be an incredible blast to work with, who I spent probably four years working with, let me and a few close others know they had a terminal illness. Granted, I have never met the man in person, I had emailed and written with them for just a few years - but their presence and their words being gone really struck a chord with me.

"Empires Awakening" is the grandest story I have created yet. This is the largest world, with the most characters, and is a culmination of many different creative threads I have had dancing around inside my head for a decade. Probably the biggest thing I want everyone to know is that I want to bring them a glimpse of something wonderful. I will always take my time and craft a world or a place that will strike a reader with its beauty, its presence and even its emotional toll. Anyone who comes to my table at the Summer Author Event will be guaranteed an exciting and open spoiler-free conversation. I am very friendly and want every reader to have the chance to be given a way out of reality for a short time. Hopefully for not the same reasons I needed to. A few minutes witnessing beauty through the words put to page is something everyone could benefit from each day. 

Would you like to be in a Book?

Good evening folks - I hope your days have been fun. I have been hard at work writing this week and am glad to say I should have another chapter of the sequel to Empires Awakening complete very soon.

I have also recently been given a list of local media contacts I need to work through. Hopefully with all of this, I can soon get myself promoted to a point where I can begin to do Wizard World Conventions - and really make this book thing take off. Taking my book out there to the audience has always been the goal.

Something you should be aware of that I have coming up.

July 28th - Barnes and Noble has this as the date of availability for Empires Awakening. I will be checking out my local store to see what copies they will have on hand. Expect to see me photo-bombing my own book in public. If anyone else can check their local bookstores and do the same - I will post the picture on this blog and on the Facebook page.

August 16th - I will be attending the Summer Author Event at the Phoenix Art Museum. I am going to be on hand to sign and sell copies of my book. If you bring one you get elsewhere - I will sign it to you. There may also be a chance I will discuss what I have planned for some characters in the next two books.

Lastly - I am going to hold a contest. I am going to offer a chance for a few people to become characters in the story I am sharing with everyone in these books. This is what it will take - to enter. Go to the Empires Awakening Facebook Page and invite your friends to like the book page.  Take a screen shot and send the pictures to MasterOfTheron@gmail.com and I will enter you into the contest. Get someone to buy a copy and post a picture with it - and that character will be given a major role in the story.

Depending on the response I get I will up the number of character spots I will be seeking to fill. So please - get those requests sent. You could soon become one of the heroes of Theron! Please remember to include your information for me to contact you later.

I will update more later, have fun everyone!

First Signing Success

Salutations my devoted readers!

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to have my first book signing – and it was a success. It actually helped out the owner of the coffee shop I was holding the event at.

Other than new faces to enjoy the shop, there was a breakdown in the espresso machine used to make all of the coffee’s. This resulted in a two hour closure that morning that I did my best to push people to the counter (after getting my book) to make sure they bought a drink or a snack to make up for that time they were closed.

Again, Thank you Sam for hosting my event at your shop. I will have to do it again down the line. Lo Fi Coffee was a nice place to have friends come out and show their support and get my book.

Now, I just need to figure out where my next signing event will be. I have something in mind for August – so please watch out for another event that could be coming. Once I get the details locked in I will tell everyone and send out invitations to everyone and write about it here.

Also, I am going to try and get my website set up soon so I can get books sent out to people online. This will hopefully be a page that can hold my blog and include information for each of the books as they progress towards completion. I know I will now have more people clamoring for the books to be finished more quickly – and I will do my best to make that happen.

Just as an FYI – book two first draft is 30% complete.

Book Signing #1 - The Adventure Begins with Coffee

Today I get to make the very exciting announcement: My first book signing has been scheduled! Saturday June 28th between 1 and 3 at Lo-Fi Coffee in Downtown Mesa. The exact address is 105 W. Main St., Mesa AZ 85201

Since I am new to this gig, I have a feeling that this event could be a pretty funny moment in time. However, I think my publisher, Tate Publishing, picked a wonderful first spot for me. Thank you Jim! (He would be my marketing contact and guy I order my books through)

This is a picture from the front the coffee shop, Lo-Fi Coffee, that will house my first book signing. I admit, I was leery since I had never heard of the place - and my publisher is based in Oklahoma. There is a bit of distance there so I doubt my marketer Jim stopped by on his way home from work.

I did a little bit of Internet searching and felt better - and being that this is my first signing - I decided I had better scope the place out. I wanted this to be good for the cafe and myself. I was NOT disappointed.

I met the owner Sam out front - quite unintentionally. I walked up and he was stepping out. He turned right around and opened the door for me as I went in and immediately went behind the counter and asked if he could help me. Sam and I had talked via a couple of emails the day before and was very personable as I said who I was and what I was there for.

I had learned from the reviews online that this was a pretty artist friendly joint. Pictures of concerts and artists working at different events was a pretty common thing for me to find online. This place felt like I had stepped back in time to the coffee shop I spent my college years almost living in. To be frank, I like the place already. They had books and board games available on the shelf in back and I am pretty sure the TV had an old school gaming system attached.

The picture to the left of this text is a picture I took after talking to Sam about his cafe, what other events went on, and him giving me a few ideas for setting things up. I am thinking I may besetting up by those red chairs - but I guess I will see what happens. Once my books come in I will have to see what sort of space requirements it will take. I have only seen one copy of my book at a time. I don't think I can comprehend what dozens of copies look like and the space they will take up in a given area, but I am excited to find out.

Speaking of books, though I didn't take a picture of them, there were other fantasy books by authors right there next to the display case with the food that is available for purchase. Sam has a friend who also work in printing and he is no stranger to the genre. At this point, I felt even better about the arrangement. In fact, I am going to try and reach out to those other authors through Sam's friend. Might as well start making writer friends that may want to go to Conventions with me.

Now I finally get to the part of this blog that I am sure many of you are thinking about: how is the coffee? I liked that I didn't really order off the menu and Sam still made a delicious drink for me. I wasn't trying to be a prima donna I just don't know what I like from a coffee menu. I did not have a traditional introduction to coffee and neither did I get some snobby 'triple machiatto fancy Italian name for a small' training. I started drinking coffee as a way of dealing with head aches and as a drink option that was not soda. I like the taste of caffeine, but do not get a buzz from it. My fiance and I will drink coffee in bed before passing out - we just like coffee.

So how did he magically figure it out? I told him what I drank at Dutch Bros, and he made his equivalent. For those curious I drink an ER-911 usually as a blended or iced coffee. Kind of like a slushy with enough caffeine to send normal people to the ER. (Probably how it got its name). I am glad to say Dutch Bros now has some competition for me. Given how close Lo-Fi Coffee is to the Natural History Museum that my family frequents and that it is one of the few places intelligent enough to be open on most Sundays I think the family will finally have a solid coffee choice when we go to downtown Mesa.

So I will be inviting everyone I know and many I don't to make this event successful. Lets makes the first signing a blow-out success!

~Matt

Crisis of Confidence

There are days where I have not one iota of confidence in myself. Today is one of those days. It is particularly difficult because there are many days in my line of work where lacking confidence is just not an option. Not to mentions when my confidence is shaken in my own work.

I am published, freaking published and waiting for my book to hit store shelves - and I just want to shut down and not type one more word. To not attempt to create one more scene. And this feeling in debilitating. Also, it is kind of strange for me.

I am not used to not being confident - because I never really let myself feel confident in the past. I just didn't care, but I knew I would struggle through and do what I needed to do. Apathy was my companion for so long I guess I really didn't know what it was like to have a real confidence rather than a bitter lack of compassion towards myself.

I am trying to channel this energy I feel into a scene in the second book. For those of you who are afraid of spoilers - just known that things will happen, actions will be taken, and some people won't make it out alive.

I am just not feeling that though, my mindset needs to be different to be truly inspired to write. Believe it or not, the entirety of the text of Empires Awakening was written listening to the band Muse. I don't know what it is, but their music takes me away from everything and leaves me alone in the world I created on the page. Writing the book one piece at a time I muddled through and somehow completed a book.

It is impressive, looking at the editing hard copy I ordered. I look over at it and realize that it's my book. Someone is helping me get it front of readers and very soon I will even be doing conventions. How sweet is that? The answer is - Pretty Damn.

So those of you out there trying to write, live or work and are finding yourself unsure - just know we all feel that way. Every person on Earth has a down day and once on the other side all will be well. Just keep at it.

PS: For inspiring me to write this post,I want to thank @DelilahSDawson 

Where the hell have I been?

I have been a wee-bit absent the past few months.

Okay fine, COMPLETELY absent. However that is not without reason, and not entirely because of laziness. Life gets busy. I have a child - no longer a toddler. I have a better half who I like to be involved with - that is part of why you have one. Lastly - my book is being published - and that takes time.

Yes, my book is finally getting an official publication and I am now faced with figuring out how to promote a book. I need to find locations that I can take a small number of books to and get people to buy them. That is a weird feeling - let me tell you. I have some ideas but if any of my readers have some ideas - I will take them.

However, the book has now been edited and has a professional cover - that you can't beat. I think it is pretty awesome. I mean look at that tower! The font struck me as well - I am going to have to figure out titles that look awesome in that font style.

Titles you say? Well I don't think it is really a secret but this is book one of six. Yes, six.

When I started this tale of epic proportions I was not in full comprehension of how many words it would take to create the world of Theron and to complete the story. One book became three (in outlines). After finishing the first book and the outline for the next two I came upon an incredibly horrible/awesome realization - I missed half the planet.

I decide that I would need an entirely separate story line to deal with more villains and stories that this first book cannot logically handle. Part of my writing is that I did not want to invent reasons for my characters to go places. Looking at the story as outlined - there is no logical reason for my characters to go to the other side of the planet to deal with the other parts of the story that I didn't get to. I don't want to artificially put a character somewhere they do not belong.

So how did I solve this problem? I planned a second trilogy. That is why at the very bottom of my cover you see "Saga of the East". This story deals with the events of the Eastern half of a planet and another trilogy will need to be written to handle the events of the other half.

The outline for the "Saga of the West" is very fluid at this point. I have a few characters in mind, but only one major story arc (three are probably what I need) so it is still under development. The characters in the this book however - they all have plans and things I will need them to do. Their fate is sealed *insert maniacal laughter here*. Excuse me.

At the behest of my publisher, they suggested I get back into blogging - and I figure I will use this one as it already is in place and I can use it as a place to expand the universe I have created. Using that as a base I should be able to provide some more blog topics and I can start reporting on my successes and failures as this process moves forward.

On that note I will leave you all until next time - hopefully within the next week. If you message me questions I will deal with those more quickly.