First Book

This week, my first book came out. It’s available on Amazon, B&N and Oak Tara. (Hint. Hint.) As all published writers can attest, to have in hand that first book is a feeling like no other. Although, it is not quite rewarding as holding your first born child, it does come in a close second. Something that you have strived, perhaps for years, is now a solid manuscript.

For me, it has taken years of learning how to write. How to put on paper just the right amount of words so that the characters seem to be living people, the places seem to really exist, and the plot seems to really unfold. Writing is a lonely task, accomplished page by page. Publishing is not lonely. There are many people who take the words written by an author and packaged in a way to be available to a reader. I am grateful to all who have helped.

Why Writers Write

It’s been awhile since I last blogged. If that sounds like a confession, it is. However, with the release of my first novel—Innocent Blood, Equinox of Reckoning--I feel I should reenter the blogosphere. Not that anything I have to say is anything more valuable than any one. However, as a writer…I write. That’s how I make sense of this insane place we call Earth.

Stories deal with the human condition whether they are about a budding romance, an old west cattle drive, a sci-fi  spaceship pilot or a half drunk PI. By telling stories, the author exposes a piece of his soul and offers it up to the potential reader. Hopefully for the reader’s enjoyment, perhaps providing some instruction or thought provoking concepts, and maybe even some criticism. Which is never fun, but if done correctly, criticism can be an inducement for growth.

Stories can teach lessons. When Jesus taught by telling the story about a prodigal son, an anxious father and a judgmental brother, He gave us a story from which we are still mining the wisdom within its words. When Margret Mitchell wrote her opus, Gone with the Wind, she exposed the triumph of the human spirit over the many battles we fight. Some literal battles are literal, others emotional or spiritual.

Writers also expose the dark under belly of society. Animal Farm by George Orwell warned about the power-hungry seeking their own gain while oppressing the others. George Martin revealed the struggle of people to gain power and control over others.

Lord willing, I hope to share many more stories.