Managed Back to Editing - Finally

I don't know what it is nor do I understand it - this demon of self-doubt. I was cruising along, making a great deal of production, research - managed to get out a novella in record time - and then I hit it, like a car wreck. Suddenly I can't write any more because I have no stories that are ready (have a finished outline for). Suddenly I find myself wasting my time away each day watching tv shows or listening to an audiobook on how to study better "for research." Then comes along this tiny morsel of doubt, crawling into a minute crevasse in the armor I attempted to built up, like acid eating away at the marrow of my writing. 

Then, just when I think, "here we go again" (I think it's terribly disappointing that I can recognize the feeling now, but still can't do anything about it when it comes), in walks another story idea, propping up my ego, just hinting (indirectly) at the possibility that I might have an inkling of talent, that I might still be able to do this thing. 

I get out my trusty calculator and do some quick math - again. $150k. That's my golden ticket; that's my chocolate bar. It's all I need to retire and live the life of my dreams. I DON'T EVEN NEED TO MAKE ANY MONEY AT WRITING!!!! EVER!!!! But that does not sit well with my psyche for some reason. No, it keeps telling me, trying to convince me: you are not a success unless you have made money; you need to make Stephen King money, or Koontz money, or Grisham money. Hell, you need to at least make Hocking money, right? 

At this point, I don't know who will win this war. I guess we will see if my books ever actually make it onto Amazon. We will see where I'm at in 9.1 years, when I'm scheduled to retire. I know I won't stop learning. And I still can't figure out why that's a bad thing - retire when I'm 45, live in a pickup truck in the woods, spend my days taking long walks, reading books, listening to lectures and studying the bible. How could that be a bad life? Yet, it's there - nagging. Telling me that my choices in life are simply illegitimate. I don't have a wife and kids, I don't have a mortgage payment, car payments, a career, etc. But, what a minute. Isn't that the freaking point? Isn't that the reason to adopt my desired lifestyle in the first place? I had all that other crap and it's just that - worthless crap. It's a bucket of crabs. Who wants that? I know, lots of people do, apparently. But why should I be criticized for breaking free from that bucket if I can? Deep down I know what my problem is; I'm listening to the crabs. I've made the break, or at least I'm at the rim of the bucket, looking out over the side, and yet here I am listening to the crabs under me. She's telling me that life outside the bucket is no good, not legitimate, no a worthy life. 

A better question should be: why doesn't she want me to leave?

Maybe she's a true believer. She knows life in the bucket is nothing but misery, but who's to say that life outside the bucket is a bed of roses? Maybe she has scummed to the notion that misery loves company. She has wasted her life in the bucket (kids, family, husband, all for what) and can't fathom anyone else, especially one of the crabs in her bucket finding genuine happiness in anything else besides what she agrees with. Maybe this crab simply can't live without misery, without controversy, without drama. I really think it becomes a drug for those who are perpetually miserable. They seem to have lived with and in misery for so long they know nothing else. I simply don't know. 

My problem is: I'm still listening to the crabs.

My solution: Listen to something (or someone) else.

Started Outline for a New Book

I started the initial outline work today on a new story. It does not have a title, but I can tell you a little bit about it. The story centers around a new patient of a young female psychologist who lives and works in a city [not sure which]. He was referred to her by a local area hospital for treatment of possible dissociative disorder [or depersonalization disorder, not sure which yet]. They meet for the first time and the psychologist is shocked to hear the man's story and personal beliefs. From that point forward her life begins to unravel as she explores the depths of her patient's psychosis; in the end, she discovers not all is as it appears.

Felt good to do something creative today; I've been missing it. I hope to keep a daily schedule going, where I work on all aspects of story-telling each day (not necessarily on one project, though). I will do this by writing my minimum number of words each morning. Then I will do my edits (did two chapters of the Preparation today). Then I will work on an outline, so I have several to pick from when I need a new project. I will also be doing research, for those outlines that are stuck for lack of background. I find it very rewarding to set it down and spend some time researching out background material. Today I wrote a whopping paragraph on this newest story before putting it aside, knowing full well I needed to do more research on psychology. It wasn't until then that I discovered DPD and DID and what their symptoms are. It has really broadened my approach to the story, allowing the characters to become much more real. Lastly, I will devote time each day to the marketing side of writing - doing tasks to build on the social platform, so I'm ready if ever I have a break out. If not, no biggy. I'm already living a dream now. But I still would love it if it ever happened. Lotto style. Publisher's Clearing House is coming up on the 30th. Maybe I'll get really lucky and spend Christmas on a tropical island!

X Factor UK - No One Left to Cheer For...

It's a sad day when you have four or five people left in a competition yet there is no one you want to cheer for. Kitty's gone. Craig's gone. I've pretty much lost all interest in this show this season. I guess it's time to move on.

Languishing...

I managed to edit a chapter and a half today on The Preparation. I so hate it, though - very much. It feels like I'll never be able to get it right, never get to the point where I can say, "Hey, this manuscript is in good shape. This story is tight and readable." I like the story; I have liked it since I first wrote it. God, I think it's been two years now, and here I am still working on editing it. Feels absolutely hopeless. 

This is just how I feel, though. Rationally, I know I need to just press on. Every day is a new opportunity for me to BE a writer. Every day is another opportunity to live in that creative haze - that world where I am a god and control the fate of countless lives, everything resting on the sheer will of my imagination. I like this world. I love my characters. I like that I'm now exploring freely - experimenting - or, at least, wanting to. I know grammar is finite, albeit often grossly subjective. There is, though, a right and a wrong way for the most part in writing - in constructing sentences, in tightening up prose. But these are simply tools writers use. Mechanics, apparati [latin ;-)] - it is not the story, though. The story is what unfolds in the writer's mind, what takes shape as he/she sits quietly in the coffee house early in the morning in Paris, watching the sunlight stretch its narrow fingers along the narrow brickwork of the surrounding buildings. It is the characters' actions and behavior - their personalities - that slowly percolate in the author's mind as they stroll along amidst their daily affairs. 

I edited a chapter and a half today. Thank God. I also did more research into Gnosticism, though it is going way too slow for me. I'm starting to feel the itch - or at least the obligation - to be writing every day again. I guess I'm missing the creating. I'm so impatient, but maybe that is a good thing.

Cover Release - The Preparation - How Does it Look?

I finished the cover for The Preparation today. I was a little skeptical about getting the concept idea I had in my head out and on the computer, but I actually like the results. I think it looks pretty good, especially since I didn't pay someone $400+ to do it, nor did I have to deal with the endless flakes out there who claim to be professionals. Anyway, without further adieu - the pre-official cover for my first, upcoming novel: The Preparation. Please tell me what you think.

 

I don't know the exact date of official release for THE PREPARATION just yet. I know it will be after Christmas, but hopefully before the summer. I really would like to get it finished and out on Amazon so I can start getting feedback - and so I can start editing IN THE MEADOW. That is one aspect of being a writer that I do not like at all: bringing a book together takes so freaking long! Even with a traditional house, you're often looking at a year or more before your book is available. When you are self-publishing [doing it all yourself], you have complete control over every aspect of your book, but you're working alone and so it still takes FOREVER. But, I just have to be the turtle; slow and steady wins the race, right?

X Factor US S01 E15 & 16 - So Long Stacey!

 I finally found the results show for the X Factor US tonight. Not sure why no one else has it. Sadly, Astro put on a terrible performance and an even worse attitude on top of it. I'll be surprised if he isn't in the bottom two again next week. But, what do you expect from a young kid like that. I guess we don't expect all that much these days.

I also got another practiced Book Cover done. I really like it. Here you go:

Everything in this cover is taken from somewhere else. I started with the background scene of the sky, which was actually a scene of the ocean. Then I grabbed a picture of the church and cut it out using the magnetic lasso; I love that thing! Then I did some shading using the gradient tool. At first this did not work out well at all, and I ended up deleting all the shading and starting over. The second time I started shading the tower, then the edges. I also noticed the bottom of the original cover is much darker, so I added that, and I really liked the outcome. Then I lightened up the shading to a gray and shaded the clouds and parts of the church. I then found the CRIME SCENE tape [didn't use the original POLICE] and figured out how to rotate it [though I doubt if I could do it again without some hunting and pecking] as it was tilted the opposite way. Oh, yeah - and the church was opposite, too. I flipped it when I first started. The words went on beautifully, now that I know how to use the stretcher thing. It makes the words any size I want - I love it. Lastly, I took [accidentally the color I was using for the lettering] the white and splashed a gradient horizontally from left to right. It was perfect! Maybe I'll start dong free book covers for writers to get the practice in. Then again, I'm getting way ahead of myself. So far I've been copying other covers, so I have the ideas ahead of time of what I'm looking for and what I can compare it to. We will see how well I do when I'm working just from a blank canvas.

Anyway, I managed to get a chapter and a half read through on THE PREPARATION today. I'm also slowly incorporating/transferring all my notes, etc into My Notes Keeper. So far this program has been running great with no glitches; I hate glitches. Also did some research on OUR DAUGHTER, studying up on Gnosticism, etc. It's pretty fascinating. I'm currently reading the Gnostic Handbook and taking notes wildly [you got it, in My Notes Keeper].

Astro, my boy - it is your contest to lose. Of course, you have to beat Drew for the top seat. Keep your attitude in check and you have a fighting chance. But, please, oh please, pick some better songs. The last few have been terrible!

Drew, keep it coming. And I agree with the judges: up tempo. Let's see you do some real rock. Try Avril next week!

New Schedule - New Book Cover Design - Transform Tool

I have been in the zone today. Using the My Notes Keeper program and putting together yet another daily schedule, I think I've gotten more work done today than all of last week combined! I even got an algebra video watched! What?!  Also did a chapter in The Preparation edits; the new approach is working great.

First I want to show everyone my newest book cover. This is for T.R. Ragan's book Abducted. I have not read it, but I guess I should, huh? I'll look for it; I might already have it. The rain has been coming down almost non-stop today. Non-the-less, on with the cover.

I think this cover is MUCH better than my previous ones, and isn't that the point? I'm sure those who are actually graphic artists can tell the girl has been lifted from another picture and put into this one. Hey, I never claimed to be an artist, I just play one on the internet. ;-)  One victory I had in this cover was discovering the Transform Tool in Edit. I kept struggling with my fonts, setting it to 72 and most being about half the size I needed. So I looked it up and some smart ass on a yahoo answers page told someone a year ago how to use the tool to make the text as big as they wanted. I so love the internet. I get to be a part of virtually every conversation that has ever existed - barring chatrooms (and who really wants to be a part of those conversations anyway).  I was also able to get the fade tool to work a little better (that is read: I didn't know what I was doing), allowing me more control over shading, etc. It's so much better than those MS Paint days!

Well, I better get back to it. I took an extra hour on the cover, so I'm behind. Also did some work on the Summary Outline for Our Daughter. It's amazing how just a little research can open so many doors when you're stuck in the middle of a story. I would have to disagree with Tim Ferriss. I don't think research for its own sake is a waste of time, at least, not for me. I guess most of my research now is directed by my current or upcoming story, so maybe he is right after all. Go Tim!

Background Research for Our Daughter...

I spent most of today working on a knowledge base program called My Notes Keeper. So far it is working extremely well, and it might - almost - replace my word processor entirely. I now have tabs for all the major areas of my research: Writing [where I have outlines, manuscripts, character profiles, and all related research for story ideas], History, Science, Mathematics, Retirement, and Bible.

What I was really looking for [and what finally sold me on My Notes Keeper] was a central location/system/program to store all of my research notes that remains accessible (i.e. can print, export, save), has a relational linking ability (think wiki - but without the markup language - I want WYSIWYG), and has a universal search function that actually works. I've tried several programs in the past and none of them have ever worked. So far, My Notes Keeper is working great.

I didn't get much actual work done on the summary outline for Our Daughter, other than transferring it from the word processor doc to the MNK. I did, however, get some research put together. I found several books on PTSD in children who have been in auto accidents with a parental fatality, EMDR - supposedly the most effective therapy for PTSD - and how to implement it in your counseling practice. Needless to say, Larry has some reading to do.

How great is it that writing novels fits my lifestyle and interests so well? I would like nothing better than to spend the rest of my life in "school," learning about whatever interests me. But, only two semesters of graduate school, and I KNEW I had no desire to be an academic. I did not want to be around people all the time; I did not want to be told what I could and could not research, say, write, etc. And I HATED all the ridiculous drama that comes with academic writing - having to cite your sources and come up with something original, etc.

But, with fiction writing, I can weave fact and fantasy, reality and imagination, all together into one big boiling pot. My originality comes through in the story, in the characters. The research melds together, swirling in the background, no citation required. I get to spend my day reading up on Gnosticism without become a heretic (oh, wait, I'm already a heretic). I spent today reading up on psychology and how to treat Post Tramatic Stress Disorder in children. Tomorrow I might be studying about wormholes, or fallen angels, or who knows what else. Just with one day's reading my story line for Our Daughter has grown richer and fuller.

I also managed to edit the second chapter of The Preparation. I'm going to try and get four chapters done tomorrow. If I can do that consistently for the next 10 days, I'll finish this read through and be able to make changes. I'm hoping to get a set schedule down soon, have my routine processes established, so I can just enter a zone and start producing at break-neck speed. I would love to look up a few years from now and have 20 novels/novellas on Amazon. I definitely don't have a shortage of story ideas.

Now it's off to enjoy an evening with the crew from CSI. I miss Gil Grissom. But the serial killer doctor will do. ;-)

Still Reading, Reading, Reading...

I spent most of the day today reading, or listening to audio books while playing mind numbing video games like Atomica or Pipes or B-Jeweled or Tetris (though I don't think I ever actually played Tetris today). Topic of said books: fiction and writing fiction.

I polished off Amanda Hockings MY BLOOD APPROVES today. I think I finished the last five chapters in one setting. I love copying text over to Katie (my text to speech reader). If I tried to read that many pages with my eyes I would go batty (slow reader). Using Txt2Speech, I can burn through chapters without any trouble at all. I also finished IN STYLE, a punctuation manual - and learned very little. I also started 38 MOST COMMON FICTION WRITING MISTAKES. I would like to say I'm learning a lot, but I'm not. The closest I've come is from Stephen King's ON WRITING and I think it's more hilarious (and a nice break) than anything else. It does provide a pit of perspective, though; like I'm not trapped in a bubble all by myself with this thing called a writing career.

I have a dozen or so books I would really like to read, but I'm getting antsy because I'm neither writing nor am I editing. I have decided that when I do actually start my edits again, I definitely need to set a measurable daily goal - preferably a certain number of words edited. This is really the only way I can keep myself honest and can project with at least some level of accuracy where I'll be in said about of time on each project.

I would really like to edit 1000 words a day. I would REALLY like to get up to writing 4000 words a day, but I don't know if it's in the cards. I have several story ideas that are taking shape. But I do have some breathing time, since only one so far has been put to paper in any kind of legitimate outline form. I haven't done more because I don't yet have a dependable or effective schedule. It seems as if something always gives. If I write I dn't edit. If I write and edit, I don't work on story development. If I work on story development, then I forget to read up on marketing. It's not like I don't have the time here. I've got nothing but time. So, I know my boat is leaking, I just have to find the hole and put a freaking plug in it. 

Despite my uncomfortableness, I'm trying to give myself enough down time to get my head on straight when it comes to editing, since it is my Achilles Heel. I want to do as little work as possible for the greatest ROI, which means I have to be organized, strategic and systematic in my editing process. I can't wait until the body of work I've churned out recently is more than what I produced a year ago in my first two manuscripts. I also can't wait to have them put to bed once and for all. So far all I have to show for my new found efforts is a 100 page novella. it originally was supposed to be a 300 page novel. Yikes!

I need to get cracking. Thus explains my concern about taking time off. But, I want to do it right the first time so I don't have to go back and reinvent the wheel a third time. I'm already playing catchup to myself.

X Factor UK - Say Goodbye to Kitty

Well, my worst fears have come true. Kitty was sent home tonight. I guess those cousins of ours didn't care for her as much as I did. But, Craig is my new front runner and hopefully he will be able to perform next week like he did this week.

Kitty with Lady Gaga

I was surprised to see Misha B in the bottom two - especially being beat out by the all girl group; they are terrible. Between the two [Misha and Kitti] I really think Misha delivered a better performance vocally. Kitty is quite a performer but there is something - not sure what it is - but something missing there. It doesn't matter now, whatever it is. She's done.

On another note, I'm a die hard, rabid fan of The Walking Dead now. Just finished the newest episode. I keep expecting them to find that little girl, but who knows if they ever will. Next week should be the season finally, unless they had more episodes for season 2. There is something so unnerving about that show. Makes me want to jump out of my skin. I definitely lock my doors at night now so zombies can't eat me when I'm sleeping!

UPDATE: Did some wikipedia surfing. The Walking Dead Season 2 has 13 episodes and we just finished # 11; two more to go. 

Boning Up on Writing Manuals

I spent today - my second day off from actively writing in between projects - pouring through fiction writing manuals, specifically, grammar, punctuation and self-editing books. I remember when I had finished writing IN THE MEADOW and was working on the edits for my first novel, I felt like I was drowning in sand. I felt completely overwhelmed with the editing and revising process. None of my work seemed up-to-par, I felt horribly self-conscious, and I never thought in a million years I would every get even a single positive response from agents, let alone a book deal. 

I feel better now. I may not be up yet on my board, but I don't feel like I'm going to fall off either when I get ready to stand. There's more confidence in what I'm writing - but more importantly - there's more confidence in what I'm learning. Hacking away slowly at the bad habits, at the awkwardness, no longer feeling that cold, clammy hand of self-doubt pushing my head under the sand quite as hard as it used to. It feels like all my jobs in the past have felt when I first started working. Those first few days are miserable. By the second week you're feeling better, but God you just want to figure everything out and stop making stupid mistakes. After the first month, you're pretty confident, but it doesn't mean you've seen everything and you could do your job in your sleep. No. That kind of intimate knowledge and confidence doesn't develop for a long time. Maybe a year. Maybe more. But it does eventually come - when you have mastered your job, when you have reached a superior level of proficiency. This is what I'm shooting for.

I see the physical writing process, the actual words on the page, as a kind of mechanism, a communications apparatus that I can use to expel my stories. Maybe once they are all gone, in print, I won't need to write anymore. Maybe there will never be an end. At this point I have another 13 books in mind, not counting sequels or multiple books in series - and most if not all of my books I can see having multiples.

Needless to say, it will be very interesting to see how this all shapes up. I don't really see myself developing a career, as if I'm making the conscious decision to do it. As the author said in the latest book I'm reading, "Writers write. Everyone else just makes excuses." That's what I'm finally doing; I'm writing. It doesn't matter if I make any money. It doesn't matter if I'm famous and get booked for the Letterman show. It doesn't matter if even my harshest critics (my family) finally see that I am successful. All that matters is that I write. To me, my stories are alive. I breathe them every day, whether I put them down on paper or not. At least, when I write them down, get them out of me, they don't haunt me in those sleepy-eyed moments before I go to sleep at night. Sometimes I think writing is a lot like breathing. Other times it's just pure hell.

Whatever it is - at least I'm no longer fighting it.   

Writing Hiatus - X Factor UK - Abduction

Today was my first official day off from writing since finishing the rough draft of my first novella: SEEKING LIGHT AURORA. I spent the morning working on a friend's computer - they had viruses - and then doing some odds and ends stuff. I will say, I have really reconsidered getting a full sized computer when this netbook goes bad. My friend's laptop is huge, but what a relief it was to get back to my little machine. I think I much prefer it. 

I also tried to watch the movie Abduction today - you know the vampire guy's new "blockbuster" that came out a bit ago and still hasn't broke even yet. It's only made around $27 million and it cost $35 to make. Ouch. But, hey, don't they get paid ahead of time? So why would he care, right? Now, apparently, he is moving in a different direction since his action film career "tanked out of the gate" and is working on an Indie Drama with some other guy I've never even heard of. I imagine, if you were not a legitimate star before you played a vampire, you will not be one after all the rabid fans get bored and jump on the next big craze. Hey, Lautner, it's called Lifetime; you better start rehearsing for your next big straight-to-tv rehash of your vampire garbage when all those 14 year olds become 20 and 30 somethings. Needless to say, I didn't get through even half of the movie. It's definitely not going on my external drive. Though I will say, it probably could have been a decent movie if Mr. Werewolf had not been involved. It had Maria Bello - and who doesn't love that. Also, they pulled out all the stops in an attempt to make this kid the next Matt Damon [which he most certainly is not] by recruiting the legend alien fighter - none other than Sigourney Weaver. These real actresses being associated with this flop of a film did not bring their credibility down, it just highlighted Lautner's laughable acting abilities. And then it hit me. The reason he doesn't seem as bad in the vampire movies: he doesn't talk in them! All he does is just prance around, acting all moody because the vampire gets the girl, and grunts here, growls there, then lets special effects do all the heavy lifting. No wonder why his initial departure was met with such score and ridicule. Like I said before, he'll probably have a great career on made for tv lifetime special events. 

I Just LOOK Like an Idiot !!

Now, on to more important matters. X Factor UK. Sadly, though, it was quite uneventful this evening. First, Frankie was kicked off the show, apparently for bragging to staff about his cocaine habit. Can anyone say "STUPID?" And then Kitty was introduced with this rambling, incoherent discourse about how she only wanted to do a Lady Gaga song but was being forced to cover a Queen song. Her performance was the worst I have seen thus far from her. Makes me want to just scream! The rest of the contestants might as well have just stayed home this week. No one did any good. Except. And I can't believe I'm going to even say this. Except for Craig Colton.

Craig walked out on stage tonight, took a deep breath, and literally blew me away! He was hands down fantastic. And me made everyone else look lousy. They also voted back in someone who had been eliminated at the first live show. Amelia was the first voted out of the live shows, and what do they think? Suddenly she is good enough to take on everyone else? Not likely. But watch, now she will go on and end up winning the whole bloody thing. 

I think the tide is turning on Kitty for me. I think I'm now going to start rooting for Craig. Janet - I don't know what it is about her. I think what I liked about her at first is now what I despise. Who knows. I do think she would be much better being the lead singer of Cranberries instead of trying to fit in on a show like this. Her sound is just so moody and depressing [I actually like that] but she is trying to sing all these terrible songs. Last week, forgetting the words. Come on, Janet. Get your act together!

PREDICTION FOR TOMORROW: I think Kitty and [Little Mix, Janet or Marcus] will be in the bottom two. I think, sadly, Kitty will be going home.

Finished Manuscript of Seeking Light Aurora !!!

I finished! I think it was over a year ago when I first thought about the idea of this story. It originally started out as a short story, intended to be entry into a writing contest. After I sketched it out, and wrote the first paragraph, I scrapped it and quit writing for several months. I didn't think I had what it takes to be a writer. 

Flash forward to last month and I read a book called I Could do Anything if I Only Knew What it Was. This book was phenomenal. It helped me deal with some of the many issues related to writing, building a writing career and life in general - especially dealing with my past.

Once I got my mentality properly adjusted, and realized [decided] that I really did want to write as a vocation - and hopefully my career [professionally, i.e. get paid to do it] - I set to work and completed the summary outline for Our Daughter. Then I shelved it to get some space and worked up the summary for Seeking Light Aurora. I became so enamored with the characters in this story that I decided to write it before Our Daughter. 

It wasn't until I was about forty pages into it that I realized it was not a very long story - definitely not typical novel length. I, of course, started to worry, running that tape in my head, "You're not good enough. You can't even write a full length book. You'll never make it work. You might as well give up."

I didn't give up, though. I did a little research on novellas and discovered they work in perfectly with writing larger books. It can be used as a free give-away, it can be sold alongside other, novel length titles, etc. It can even be incorporated with several other novellas and published as a collection. It's perfect, because I really didn't want to try and add more scenes [padding] to the story line. I really like it the way it is. 

I also found out that it is best to wait on running any big marketing campaigns until I have at last four books in print and ready for public consumption. This way there are several available titles for readers to buy and read while I have new titles in the works. 

But, as for Seeking Light Aurora, she is going to bed. I have set a tentative date to pull the manuscript back out in two weeks and start editing. In the mean time, I'm going to take a few days off from active writing and try to catch up on some items on my task list. I'm also going to focus my efforts on editing The Preparation, which I think I will need to then run it though White Smoke, then another edit. I did discover [via several blog articles] how to pre-process a manuscript for editing by find/replace with formatting for trouble words, like -ly's and then and that and my dreaded ." instead of ," . I now have a whole list of words that I go through and highlight in the text before I ever begin. It really makes them stand out and it will make it much easier to tell I'm making progress. I also found a edit hack blog, though I think they have stopped updating it.  

I also want to focus some significant time on reading/working through the grammar/English/writing books I have, and also the software and exercises available online. My goal is to hack my writing process to the point that I am producing much better work exponentially rather than sequentially or worse, remain flat-lined in my growth as a writer. I'm really starting to embrace the idea of developing my craft as a writer and also I think I might actually enjoy the marketing aspects online. It's just the face to face interaction I never could stomach. 

At any rate, here's to trying.

X Factor US Season 1 Episode 14 - Results....

So the results are in. Lacoda Rayne and Stereo Hogzz were in the bottom two. I was shocked that Stacey and Amaro got more votes than Lacoda did. But the public is a strange bunch for sure.  

Drew, step it up. You have to blow us out next week or you will end up like Andrew Garcia. 

I was not surprised to see both groups up there battling it out tonight. They do seem to be the weakest of the acts.

I was certain Stereo Hogzz would be at the bottom and Lacoda just seems to keep disappointing us. In the end, Stereo Hogzz left the stage for good. I guess we'll see what happens next week and let's all hope that Drew can really take the show by storm and do it for us.

X Factor US Season 1 Episode 13

I watched the X Factor US Version Season 1 Episode 13 today. Of course, Drew [who is my favorite] did a consistently dependable job in her performance this week. Unfortunately, as LA Reed picked up on, it is becoming a little stale and she's got to do better, do more - do something that will knock our socks off. The public is fickle. You've got to not only impress, but you've got to outdo even yourself - the bar you already hit. So, come on Drew, don't disappoint.

Astro - While Astro is one of my favorites on the show, there is something about his that is incredibly provocative. He didn't do very well this week, in my opinion, but he still held his own I think. Definitely better than the groups or the other two girls. But, like Drew, he really hit the ground running with that first and second performance, so it's going to be tough to match that, especially tough to exceed it.

I HATE YOUTUBE !! No Embedding !!!

Josh Krajcik - This guy, unfortunately, I have lost interest in. He just reminds me too much of Bob Seger. His performance this week just reminded me of a poor attempt at what Danni hit out of the park on X Factor UK. Watch this and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Chris Rene - Finally, we come to Chris. This was terrible, terrible song selection for him. He should not have done this song. It was simply too forced and came across too mediocre. 

MY PREDICTION:

I think Stacy Francis and The Stereo Hogzz will be in the bottom two. If there is a third, it will be Melanie Amaro to join them. If it were my choice, the Stereo Hogzz would go home, and then I'd send Stacy home. We will see tonight!

Quick Writing Today...

Well, I was a bit surprised at how easily the words flowed out of me this morning. I almost took the day off, too. When I got up I was again late by an hour. As I opened the gate and headed into the main house to take a shower, it hit me that all I really wanted to do was go back to bed and find a good movie to watched. But, I pushed myself and tried to snap out of it.

I got to my computer about two hours later and fired up the Aurora file and away I went. On one of the last scenes and the descriptions just unfolded like they were an old, familiar book I hadn't seen in years. I love writing.

I'm really excited to be almost done. I got around 1200 words in today, but not very much in way of editing THE PREPARATION. I really hate editing. It's so boring and tedious. I just want to run it through a program that will clean it all up for me. I want an editor on call that I can just email the manuscript off to and it will come back a shiny new bestseller. Of course, the real world doesn't work like that. I don't think it even works like that for traditional authors who have a whole staff working with them to get a book out. 

My plan is to finish this edit [I'm currently on chapter 7 and there are 42 chapters in the book] and then run each scene through White Smoke. Then I plan to put it away for about a week, coming back to do a final read through/edit (but hopefully only light). Then once more through White Smoke and then format, covert to .mobi format (or whatever Kindle needs) and plan a release date. Then I have to look at setting up a blog tour and whatever other promotional avenues I plan to take. I think at that point (before) the actual release, I'll need to write up a business/marketing plan for the individual book in particular: define what my short, mid, long range goals are, what kind of profit I'm hoping to generate, what my benchmarks will look like and how I will measure my progress, etc. Should be fun. What is nice is that it all can be done online. This is what really attracted me back to publishing and writing. I don't work well face to face. I really just don't like the idea of sitting in a physical book store 8-16 hours a day on a signing tour trying to pump people to buy, shaking hands, doing small talk. I much prefer doing my reader interaction over the internet, asynchronous. It's so intuitive for me, I doubt that I would consider it work at all. Ever. 

Editing, on the other hand, I consider grueling, tedious, laborious, gut-wrenching, eye gouging WORK!!!! 

Over 1200 and a New Practice Book Cover

So, I got off on a TERRIBLE start today! Well, it wasn't terrible as much as it was just late, late, late. Got up an hour later than I was supposed to. Then dinked around in the office too long [watching Las Vegas] and so I didn't get back out to my laptop until at least 7am. Then a client came. 7:30am. Then an unscheduled one came. 8am. By that point I had to address all the issues with our current stays. 9am [slap forehead now, please].

I didn't really get started writing until 11am, but - thankfully - I was raring to go. I thought I would finish SEEKING LIGHT AURORA today, but the story had some additional scenes that I was unaware of until I started writing today. I love it when that happens. So, I pretty certain I'll finish it within the next day or two. I think it will come in around 20K for a word count. But, last night I went on a quest to find out how novellas were formatted and what kind of length we're looking at. They have chapters, but there tends to be just one scene per chapter rather than multiple. I found several for sale on Amazon that were between 60 and 150 pages. I found several Stephen King novellas that only came in at 50 pages. So, needless to say, I think that is great. At this point, I will probably just release it as an e-book novella, but I might use it to test out the new POD printer I'm considering. Though I think I will probably go with CreateSpace, simply because it is the easiest and most cost effective way to get listed on Amazon for print books. We will see.

I also did a new practice book cover and I do not necessarily like it. It is for Koontz's Odd Hours, and I think it looks really good as a thumbnail, but when it's bigger, I can really pick out what's wrong with it. I definitely didn't take my time on this one. But, nonetheless, here it is.

New Practice Book Cover...Odd Thomas

So I'm trying to hack book cover design because of the negative experiences I've had thus far with graphic artists and because I'm SO VERY CHEAP there is no way I'm paying $600 or more for a picture for a book. This goes double since an indie author like Hocking can sell a million dollars worth of her books with the terribly simple covers she has.

I have downloaded covers for a bunch of thriller, horror books and I'm trying to reproduce them from scratch in Photoshop. It's not the point to produce them exactly - I have neither the skill not the natural talent as an artist - but it will serve me well enough when I start designing my own covers for ebook and print distribution.

So, here is my latest Practice Book Cover for Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think.

Believe it or Not - Exactly 1234 Words Today !!

I am having a pretty good day so far. It's not even 9am yet and I've written over a thousand words [almost finished with SEEKING LIGHT AURORA], already finished with my only two clients I had scheduled today and also got some cleaning in on the facility. It feels good to have a sense of accomplishment. Much better than feeling like your behind all the time or things are falling through the cracks. I credit my sense of stability to David Allen's Getting Things Done system. It is wonderful. I will do a review on it in the near future. 

Also News Update: I now have a TLD for my website as an author. It is www.stevenveach.com . I finally pulled the trigger last night while I was watching tv. I was originally going to go with one registrar because they were offering a new domain for $4.99, first year, $10 after that. But, they say the devil is in the details, so on closer inspection, it looks as if they do not provide domain masking except for those people who have hosting plans with them. That's defeats the purpose of having a domain forward to an out-of-box service like blogger. I want to keep costs down [translated: non-existent] until I gain an actual paying audience. So hosting my own blog/website is out of the picture for the foreseeable future. With the mydomains.com I know they offer masking, so it works great. I also found a coupon online and got almost $2 off my first year! Yah!

My 2.0 website [hosted, possibly contracting a web designer] will have a static website + an updated blog design integrated. At least, this is the plan. Have to rustle up a readership though first. 

I am two scenes away from finishing the first draft of SEEKING LIGHT AURORA. I'm quite pleased with what I have produced here, though I'm debating on whether I should release it as a novella or beef it up with additional scenes to make it into a novel. It's probably going to be at 100 pages when I'm done [currently it's 19556 words] and I really don't see where I could add anything worthwhile to the story. I think I will leave it as it is and just release it on Amazon as an ebook, see what kind of traction it can get. Thoughts like that remind me of the dancing frog. That's what I see my books as. Very exciting - I have found in my stories this energetic, dancing frog; it is literally a miracle to see. But every time I put the frog out in front of an audience, all I hear is crickets chirping. The enthralling sound of perpetual obscurity. Every author's death nail.

Nothing I can do about that, though. I just have to keep writing, keep adding to my communication platform, to my author brand and maybe - as J.A. Konrath puts it - maybe I'll get lucky. ;-) Here's to getting lucky as an author.

10 Best Movies [Or Movie Series] of my Lifetime - Movie 1

Here is the first installment of a new blog series called: THE 10 BEST MOVIES [OR MOVIE SERIES] OF MY LIFETIME !!!! Movies are a personal passion of mine; I simply love watching good movies. Let me reiterate that: I love watching GooD movies. Not just "okay" movies. Not, "Oh my God, what kind of crap was that?" movies. And not movies like the latest "Abduction" movie that served simply to mark the end of a career of one of Hollywood's LESS talented "vampire" stars. So, with that out of the way, let's see what the ten best movies [or movie series] of my lifetime are - not listed in any particular order.

---

MOVIE # 1

Armageddon & Deep Impact

That's right! One of the 10 best movies is Armageddon with Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thorton and Liv Tyler. I would also like to include Armageddon's unofficial prequel: Deep Impact [which was released two months earlier than Armageddon was]. I think I watched these two movies in reverse order, though. ;-)

Here is the trailer for Deep Impact.






These two movies are, as far as I'm concerned, CLASSICS. Deep Impact starred Morgan Freedman, Tea Leoni, Elijah Wood and Leelee Sobieski [who I loved in Joan of Arc].

Both movies are, of course, about an asteroid hitting the earth. Deep Impact focuses on two split plots: a crew flying into space to defeat the evil comet while a family, particularly a young boy finds love, his world almost destroyed and a third sub-story about a reporter who - well - dies. Armageddon spends little time with the people on earth, but focuses on the heroic adventures of the crew as they try to battle the comet, eventually losing the star of the show so he could secure the "next generation" on earth [i.e. his daughter and co-hero played by Affleck].

I remember watching Armageddon for the very first time in a cabin on the Oregon coast. It was the middle of winter, freezing cold, and I had just made it back from town before the rain had hit. The cabin was not insulated, so after popping myself some popcorn, I bundled up with blankets and a couple sleeping bags. Back then we only had VHS, and I had rented [yep, you've heard of video rental stores, right?] Armageddon at the Bait and Tackle Shop in town. It was the best movie in the world! Absolutely. Good times. Good times.

I don't really remember watching Deep Impact for the first time. I know I must have watched it at some point. It is just as good as the other. I have both movies now as .mp4 files on my computer external drive, ready to be watched at a moment's notice. After all, they are part of the 10 Best Movies [or Movie Series] of my Lifetime. Maybe you should watch them tonight....

Stay tuned for my next installment..I think you're going to love it!

500+ Words Today and I think 1000+ Yesterday, but who's really counting...

I got a late start this morning. I've found myself in the distracting habit of staying up too late at night and then resetting my alarms in the morning to sleep in an extra hour. this throws me off and puts my writing after my first few hours of work - very disheartening. And talk about self-doubt. It has really been creeping in lately, and it is very irksome.

But, I did manage to knock out 500 or so words this morning, in spite of the nocturnal rigmarole. And I forgot to post my writing for yesterday, and I took out my markers in the text, so I can only give a good guess [I'm thinking 1000, but who really knows].

I'm now debating on whether or not I should get a top level domain. You know, the .com situation. It's actually pretty fooling for me to be trying to talk myself out of it. I guess I'm just nervous that I'll quit writing tomorrow and then I'll have wasted $4.99. Come on, Steven! Buck up! Just get it done.

The big reasons to get the TLD are:

• The .com for my name is available again. I guess Steven Veach, the photographer, decided to get a day job. 
• It could serve as good motivation for me to keep going, since I spent some money on my writing platform. 
• My Blogger blog could be deleted at any time for any reason, and if I'm using there domain .blogspot.com, any readership/fan base that I develop in the future could be jeopardized. With my own TLD, if the blog is ever deleted, I just redirect to a new host, and upload my blog backups and Voila! Back in business. 

Now for the reasons not to get the TLD:

• I don't want to waste the money if I'm just going to quit tomorrow, next week, next month or even next year.
• Amanda Hocking became a millionaire on a .blogspot.com domain. 
• Google doesn't care what kind of domain you have but what content you have. 
• I've already run across the issue of putting a TLD in print material [i.e. book covers], only to quit and let the domain lapse. Now I have to go back change it all. It's easier of course now with a PDF editing program, but before it was a pain in the neck.  

I've pretty much decided to pull the trigger today. I even got my wallet out of my computer bag so it's right next to me. But, for now, it's time to find some food. Oh, refrigerator. Where are you?

First Scene Excerpt from THE PREPARATION...

“No, Sharece,” Anton said again.

He took a sip from his morning coffee and set the cup down, irritated his daughter had just brought up the trip again. He knew it was important to her - really important. But he was only trying to look out for her, trying to protect her.

“But, Dad.” Sharece said, insistent. “Kali and Bridget are going and it's only David and Jerry and Jerry's friend San. What's the problem? It's New York. Big deal.” She sighed. “Dad, it's the Plain White T's, and you just don't get luck like that. Besides, Jerry won the tickets so it's not like it's going to cost you anything.”

Anton could barely see her feet from where he sat at the kitchen table. She was on the sofa in the living room, watching one of her mindless television shows again.

At least she has the volume down, Anton thought. But, with her jabbering at him endlessly about the trip, he doubt that he would be able to finish the newspaper anyway.

“Dad, come on.”

“I'm not comfortable with it, that's all.” Anton said, dropping the paper in disgust. “Maybe if a parent was going. Or, maybe if it wasn't for overnight.”

“But..uh..” Sharece scrambled for a new slant to her argument. “...Mom's okay with it.”

Anton closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his index fingers. Why does this have to be so tough, he thought. Why can't she just drop it? And why was she bringing Emma into it again?

"Maybe your mother is okay with it," Anton said, as he folded the newspaper in half, got up from the table and tossed the paper on the island. "But I am your father, Sharece, and I have an opinion about this. The decision is final.” He walked into the living room, heading toward his study. "I just don't trust those boys, Sharece. I'm sorry."

She glared at him as he walked by and then looked back at the television.

"Why not?" Sharece said, her fuse now lit. "What you really mean is, you don't trust me!"

"No, I didn't say that, honey," Anton said from inside his study.

He came back out with his keys and briefcase in hand, and struggling to put on his jacket. He was thankful to already be dressed for work. It was a lecture day, which meant the best part of his job: a captive audience.

"All three of the guys going are from Church, dad.” Sharece said, her words pointed and aimed to cut at him. “You still don't trust them, but you say you're a Christian?"

Anton didn't acknowledge her fight and walked through the living room and back into the kitchen.

"What does that say about you, huh, dad?” Sharece said, getting up from the sofa to follow him.

"Sharece. Really, that's enough. I said no already.” He stopped midway to the back door. “Oh crap. My cell. Where's my cell?”

“When are you going to let me grow up?” She said, exasperated. She stood need the table, staring down at the floor, ready and waiting for another fight.

“You will have plenty of time to grow up, Sharece.” Anton said. “You just have to trust us to know what is best for you while you are still young." He patted his pockets but couldn't find his phone anywhere.

On the filing cabinet. You plugged it in last night to charge, remember?

"Sharece, is there any way we could continue this conversation later?” Anton asked, as he turned around and pushed passed her, heading back toward his study. “I'm running late for work this morning and I have lectures."

"Ya. Whatever.” Sharece said, storming off down the hallway toward her bedroom.

Anton could hear her mumbling something under her breath as she went, but he couldn't tell exactly what it was. Then she yelled back at him as she reached her bedroom door.

“Let me know when you want to stop controlling my life.”

Anton shook his head and flinched as he heard her bedroom door slam and her scream at the top of her lungs.

“Hypocrite! I hate you!"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he made his way back into the study. He grabbed his phone and unplugged it, slipping it into his pants pocket.

“That's everything.” He said out loud.

As he got back to the kitchen, he caught a glimpse of Emma coming out of the laundry room midway down the hall.

"What was that?" She asked, looking back at him.

"Nothing.” Anton said, shaking his head again. “Just Sharece being Sharece."

Emma didn't respond, but just turned and disappeared back into the laundry room.

Anton sighed. It's no use; life is miserable. Lectures. Oh crap. Lecture day.

“You're going to be late for class if you don't get a move on,” Anton said, dislodging himself from his self-pity long enough to make it to the back door.

He tried to juggle his brief case and keys with one hand as he struggled to look at his wrist watch. God, he hated being late for class.

He walked through the open garage door and went out around the side of the house to his parked car. He hit the security button on the key chain and opened the door after it chirped a few times at him.

He took another deep breath and let it out slowly. The car started without a hitch and Anton made quick work of throwing the Saab into reverse and backing up to get enough room to pull around and get out onto the street.

You made it, he thought. Another morning done, and without too much drama from his wife or daughter. Not bad. He couldn't shake Sharece's badgering accusations, though, and it gnawed at him, making him wonder why he wouldn't let her go on this trip in the first place. Why was he so against her going?

Because she was young - too young. She was smart for her age, but probably too smart for her own good. And she was only sixteen! Too damn young! There was no way he was going to let her run off to the city with a bunch of boys - no matter if they were with the Church youth group or not. He had been their age before. He knew what it was like. Not a chance in hell – even if it meant another fight with Emma. So be it.

Anton pulled onto the side street that connected his neighborhood with Parkway Avenue, two blocks away. In between the houses he could already see traffic backing up.

At least you don't have to drive across the river; what a nightmare that would be!

Too many people in Trenton. Too many.

He got to the intersection, blowing through two lights at Pennington Road and Olden Avenue, but had to stopped behind a delivery truck where Pennington intersected with Green Lane.

As he waited, Anton turned on the radio and hitting the scan button, then settled back into his leather seat, feeling the heat start to work up his lower back as the seat warmer started to kick in.

It wasn't like he wanted to keep his daughter from having a life. He knew she was going to have to grow up someday; she was growing up now. He just wanted to protect her - even if it meant protecting her from herself if necessary. But he couldn't help shake the feeling that he was smothering her.

Tyranical. Isn't that what she called you the other day? Anton chuckled.

The radio stopped at the Calvin Code Morning Roadway Show, and Anton listened to Calvin who was talking with a driver stuck on the Expressway because some idiot had jack-knifed his semi ahead of him, spilling cases of soda all over the road.

Anton smiled and anxiously tapped the steering wheel with his fingers. The light ahead turned green and the delivery truck's break lights went dark. A moment later, the truck lumbered forward and Anton turned right onto Green Lane, heading toward campus.

The baseball field in Ackerman Park came into view on the left in sporadic breaks within the trees that lined the left side of the road. A few minutes later, he turned onto campus, drove past the townhouses, past the stadium, and then pulled into the parking lot in front of the School of Business building.

Southwest corner of campus. Tucked away into his own little world. Anton's office and the lecture hall. It was his paradise; his oasis from the relentless drain of family life.

He had three lectures today. Economics, Survey of Macro-Economics, and Statistical Anomalies in Third World Development.

“Captive audience,” He said, smiling.

Anton opened the car door and felt the chilled air cut through his thin jacket. In the middle of April, it should have been warmer. But the weather report was still calling for possible rain, even maybe another week of lower than normal temperatures. He had managed to get that far in the morning paper before Sharece's ranting.

He turned around and got his brief case from the back seat, making sure he had his cell phone and his keys.

“Wallet?” He said, feeling in his back pocket. “Check.”

Anton shut the door and pressed the LOCK button on the key chain. The Saab's head lights flashed and the alarm set; double chirp. He stepped up onto the sidewalk and made his way to the front entrance of the Business Building. The lecture hall was on the first floor, near the back of the building, in the Edmire Room.

He glanced at his watch. 8:58 A.M. Two minutes before classes started.

Captive Audience.

X Factor UK S8 E21 - The Results! Kitty Saved!!

It was a harrowing afternoon here, as I watched the latest installment from X Factor UK. I couldn't believe those Brits - putting Kitty in the bottom three like that. What's the matter with you? The nerve! You should be ashamed of yourselves. ;-)

But, of course, the Risk went home as they were the bottom of the pile of acts left this week. I don't really care much for the groups, and usually just skip forward to the performers I like. I was shocked to see Franky make it, but I never did watch him sing last night, so who knows, maybe he learned how since last week.

Kitty did battle against the notorious Johnny Robbinson - the skinny guy with a soprano voice. I'm not surprised he got the final boot from the judges, even his own mentor knew he is not marketable. Maybe in Vegas or as a drag queen. But come on, people are simply not going to buy his albums or go pay to see his shows. I'm a little astounded at how he made it this far. He sounds like a screeching cat!



On their final fight to the death, I think Kitty did much better than Johnny did with their songs. She sang it right: there was a disaster [but there was nothing beautiful about it]. Oh, and why does Johnny keep trying to kiss everyone? What's the deal with that?

PREDICTION: As much as I like her, I think Kitty will go home next week. ;-(

The Mentalist 407 and X Factor UK Season 8 Episode 20

Well, it appears as if Red John is back [as if we didn't know that already]. I guess a good thing can't be killed and a dependable story-line is a good thing to hang on to - even if it has been done to death. Patrick Jane now has his work cut out for him again, looking for his nemesis [Hey, I read a book by Asimov called Nemesis]. This show has always been a little shaking and they definitely are not trying to shore it up at all. We will see what happens this season.

On the X Factor stage, the other side of the pond, Kitty Brucknell did an OKAY job tonight. She did not get the rave reviews she normally does from the judges. You can really tell they don't like her at all and, yet, they can't say anything bad about her - well, until now. Can't dance? Wow! Talk about a kick in the teeth. The crowd seemed to be on her side tonight, though. But I will have to agree, it was not the best performance of the night. Not sure if there was a stand out one out of the whole group. All quite let downs, especially Janet Devlin. I have to say, this girl has turned from shy country farm girl to raving psycho. Really. And her performances, in my opinion, have been utter rubbish since her audition. She reminds me of an American Idol Andrew Garcia, who initially wowed everyone only to be a huge let down in the show. But that's okay, because my Kitty, she's still in there ah swingin! Go Kitty!

Bones TV, Book Editing, Handbook Reading...

I struggled to get THE PREPARATION editing work done today. I just can't stand editing. It's driving me bonkers and primarily because I don't feel up to the task - I don't feel as if I am good enough to edit or that I will ever be good enough to produce something of any worth. But, such is the nature of self-doubt. I did do it and I think that's what's important. Really important. Doesn't matter so much if "today's" edits were "good" or not. It matters more that I went through the process and pressed on in spite of my doubts, in spite of my fear of failure, in spite of my desire to just pack it in and sit back and enjoy the X Factor tonight (UK - Go Kitty!).

I have been contemplating getting a top level domain, but I just haven't pulled the trigger yet. I can even get it for less than $5 for the first year. That's half off! Who knows what will be happening or where my career will be in a year. I need to just do it and set it up. Get a platform established. Like they say, "If you build it, they will come."

I also got several Social Media Marketing books today. I plan to jump up my game on my reading [I hope to] and get caught up and get way ahead. I have a lot of titles to get through, so maybe I need to cut back a little on the telli box for awhile. It's not like I'm going to miss out on anything when the internet is my own personal DVR.

So, I'm off to watch another X Factor UK extravaganza. It's double elimination this week! Yikes!

UPDATE: Hey! I almost forgot! Bones Season 7 Episode 1 was on tonight? No the other night. I had it saved on my hard drive. It was pretty good. Same old explanation drama [which drives me crazy], but at least Bones and Booth are together and having a baby! They saved the show.

729 Words [The Calories in a Totino's Pizza]

Totino's Pepperoni Pizza is my FAVORITE frozen pizza. It contains exactly 729 calories in one box. And this is how many words [exactly] that I wrote this morning. I wrote a pizza worth today. ;-)

I will say, writing today was difficult. I struggled to get the words down and the story seems to be floundering under a lot of self-doubt and negative personal criticism. Just a part of the territory, I suppose. When in doubt, I just have to keep writing. Pizza helps. Especially Totino's.

On a brighter side of things, I added a few more things to the blog, and I think [maybe] I will be getting a top level domain soon and have a static website, along with my blog here. I know Amanda Hocking does not have a static site [yet]. I'm sure the good people at St. Martin's Press will be putting one up for her soon. So, it is probably better to say, Amanda Hocking became a successful Indie writer without a top level domain. I just can't stand the cost, even if it is only $10. And I can even get it for a few dollars the first year and I'm still struggling to get it. I think the biggest resistance is - I worry that I'm going to wake up tomorrow and quit writing again. Then I'll have wasted that money on a domain that I'll just let lapse again. I've done it before. www.stevenveach.com is available again. It used to be owned by a Steven who is an artist. Apparently he doesn't keep domains alive either.

Anyway, I figured you would like my pizza word mash this morning. It's making me hungry. And I even have Totino's Pizza in the freezer! Yum!

X Factor US - Season 1 Episode 12 Live Show Results

I am a big - BIG - fan of the X Factor Show. I started watching the UK version a few years ago and was thrilled when Simon Cowell announced he would be bringing X Factor to the United States. Strangely enough, I quickly lost interest in American Idol this year without Simon on the show - what does that tell you?

But, now we have X Factor US to keep us on the edge of our seats, biting our nails as Steve Jones tells the world who will be performing next week, until there are only two left standing. This week was no different. As I'm sure you know, two groups performed to stay in the show and the bandage group [that was pieced together at the beginning of the show] finally got the boot. At least all the good acts made it through. And, since this is my first X Factor post, let me talk a little about my favorite contestants.

DREW

I absolutely LOVE this girl! I think she has more natural signing talent in her pinky finger than any of the other contestants combined. Simon was right, he is watching a star emerge in front of him! She is the best and deserves to win. I vote Drew to win this year!

ASTRO 

I don't usually care much for rap, but I have to say, this kid [Brian Bradley] has got something special. He had me hook, line and sinker when he performed last week when he did Jump. I didn't think this week was as good with Hip-Hop-Hurray, but he's still in the running.







LAKODA RAYNE

These girls were pieced together at the beginning of the show and they have melded into a spectacular group. I didn't care for this week's performance, but hopefully next week they will hit the ground running. I also think Simon was spot on - they looked terrible in those dresses!

These are my favorites of the show thus far. And if you get a chance and have access to it, you would watch this years X Factor UK version. It is amazing also! My favorite there is Kitty Brucknell. Here is a video of a recent performance she did on the show:

Click here to watch the Youtube Video

All in all, the X Factor franchise is the best kind of entertainment you can have. Stay tuned for more posts and here are my predictions for next week!

BOTTOM TWO FOR NEXT WEEK:  Stereo Hogz and Stacy Francis [We'll See Next Week!]

Skipped a Day

I managed to knock out 1100+ words this morning and also finished editing a scene with Campbell Shaw in THE PREPARATION. Editing is, by far, the worst part of writing books. I literally hate it most of the time. Going over my writing again and again, even though I know I'm going to miss something, constantly thinking my work is never good enough, knowing full-well someone is going to find an error and use that one error as reason to give me a bad review. I just have to shrug, and throw my hands up in the air. Just keep plugging away at it. Tomorrow is another day. The more I mull it over in my mind, the more I feel my personality and disposition are perfect for a writing career. So I just have to keep editing and not worry about it.

I also have been thinking that SEEKING LIGHT AURORA will end up being a novella, simply because it will be only around 25,000-50,000 words when I'm finished. It's a short/quick story and most of it takes place in one room, or at least 90% of it does. We will see. It will definitely be a $0.99 center on Amazon. I'm pretty excited about it, though. I'm curious to find out what others think.

In other news, at the recommendation of my cousin, I started a new TV series yesterday called The Walking Dead. I saw a preview of it and thought it pretty hokey, but on his insistence, I watched the first episode and ended up downloading a bunch more. It's really good so far. I like zombie movies for the most part, if they are well done. My favorites are: 28 Days Later/28 Weeks Later and Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, 4 [not the cartoon, no thanks]. If you get a chance watch The Walking Dead on AMC. It's great!

Amazon Author Central - Great People !!!

So last night I discovered Amazon's Author Central and signed up for a page. Then I discovered they had my name listed fully [First, Middle, Last] and I don't use my middle name anymore for my writing, so I emailed them, asking to take my middle name out.

Within 24 hours my middle name was gone and the person working on my ticket even set me a personal email telling me it was done. She said she loved reading my bio and that she was "also waiting!" [It's the same bio that is on this website so look to the right] Needless to say, that was a great boost for an otherwise pretty crappy day. No typical theological ranting, no denominational slamming: just the purity and simplicity of witness and edification. Two people passing by, ever so briefly communicating with one another, surely never to cross paths again for the rest of our lives - and, yet, we managed to both impact each other with words. And that's all it takes. You don't need money or vast organizations. All you need is words - maybe a paragraph will do, maybe just a sentence, maybe all it will take is a phrase. In this case, it was the simple message at the bottom of my bio:

I await the return of Christ.....

A Writer's Book Launch 2.0

Well, I knocked out 1600+ words this morning and more edits after that. I sure would like to get up to 3-4k per day. Maybe in a perfect world after I retire. We'll see. I looked online tonight for information on blog tours and found some interesting options. I also stumbled onto this video I though you would enjoy. Check it out.






Wasn't that great? I thought it was hilarious. Anyway, once I find out some more info on blog tours, etc I will post it here the blog. It does appear as if it is possible to make a go of this writing career. I definitely don't have a shortage of story ideas. Editing is a real bear, though. But I'm finding this is pretty much the case with most writers. Editing is a pain, seemingly endless, yet never good enough no matter what you do or how many times you do it.

Anyway, I will keep you posted. ;-)

1130+ Words - Good Pizza - Truck Shopping

I was able to jump back into it this morning and knocked out 1100 + words on SEEKING LIGHT AURORA. Also did some editing on THE PREPARATION, but that was where my regular schedule pretty much ended. I got three or four tasks finished on my tasks list - just random stuff. Created a MySpace page and got it started. Need to read the article now to find out how to tweak it for authors. Also found out that I can never get back my youtube account with the stevenveach domain on it. It is permanently locked into the old email account [changed the password one day and now can't remember it]. No biggy.

Had pizza for dinner from Papa Murphy's. That place has the best pizza! And so greasy. Yum! Also talked with family today about a truck. I'm shopping for a truck that I will buy in 9.2 years - one that has the extended cab, but one that is wide enough that I can lay down in the back seat comfortably. This would serve as my home unless or until I decided to move up into a cabover camper. I wouldn't do this unless the seat turned out to not be big enough or I decided to firewatch. Several years ago I had a pickup truck and put a canopy shell on the back of it, then outfitted it to live in. Loved that truck.

Not much else to talk about - oh, I thought of a name for the new story that popped into my head the other day while I was working - I think I will call it OBLIVION ENCHAINED.