My brain is full of words.
And I took a picture of a bird that I’m pretty sure is a Yellow-backed Oriole. He didn’t stay long in the tree and I tried to get a better picture but rather than move to another branch, it flew away.
Spent some of the day relaxing, but I spent a great chunk cleaning up words. I got through Billy Barbarian, Astel and Paradise Palms. That means I’m down to Almost-Super Heroes 1 & 2, and GRPC 1 & 2. Only 4 to go and I can start working on ebook interiors, blurbs, and print editions.
In some ways, I feel like I’m putting off getting new work out into the world. On the other hand, it feels like I’m taking responsibility for the words I’ve already put into the wild.
Now, to be clear, when I’m saying editing, I mean line edits. Spelling and grammar. I’m not changing dialogue, descriptions, plot points or anything like that. I’m simply cleaning the books to the point where they’re readable. Wow, I’m surprised more people haven’t complained.
At any rate, it’s late, my brain is mush, and I’m tired.
Until Next Time!
Stay Awesome!
How many iron in the fire can I have at once?
Let’s get the business part of this out of the way first, eh?
- V&A 1, 2, 3 – edits done and applied
- Golden West 1,2,3 – edits done and applied
- Supernatural Learning 1,2,3 – edits done and applied
- Murdockian Tales 1,2,3,4 – edits done and applied
- Almost-Super Heroes 1,2 – need edits
- GRPC 1,2 – need edits
- Astel – needs edits
- Paradise Palms – needs edits
- Billy Barbarian – needs edits
All these books have covers.
All these books need to have the ebooks formatted or reformatted.
All these books need to have the print version formatted or reformatted.
All these books need to have blurbs written.
All short stories need a blurb written
I’m thinking about doing a short ‘intro’ for each short story either explaining the inspiration and/or history of the story. Where it was submitted and possibly published. How they were received. etc. I think that’d be a fun addition to the short stories. Thoughts?
Needless to say, I’ve still got a LOT of work ahead of me.
On top of that, as I discuss in the video, I have other books I still want to write beyond the current 15 (or 16) book arc I’m working on that. Let’s see…
- Rod Lance – Space Dick. A series about a planet hopping private detective (not for the younger audiences)
- The Bassist – Possibly set in the same universe as Rod Lance
Those two will be under a pen name of Jay Bob to keep them separate from my “mini-van” safe books.
- More Supernatural Learning books
- More Billy Barbarian Books
- Finish off the Astel trilogy (or however many books it ends up being)
- The epic saga in the Of Gnomes and Dwarves series that will span many books.
One thing I do NOT have a shortage of is ideas. What I do have a shortage of is time to get these done. So, I’m making the best use of my time and writing the books I want to write. I mean, I’d LOVE to write them all at once, but that’s not possible. All I can do it knock out one book at a time, get it out to readers, and move on to the next one.
Combined with all that, I want to write more short stories. Yeah, no end of ideas for shorts.
Then I’m keeping up the YouTube channel and I want to add something else instead of me spending time talking to myself. I’m going to see if my co-author for the Jack Kane books, Mike Plested, is ready to write book 3 AND start a weekly video show we can host on YouTube.
As the title says, many irons in the fire. Now is the time for me to buckle down, focus, and start getting things done without allowing myself to get overwhelmed, throwing my hands up, and walking away again.
I’ve had the dream of being an author for a long time. I’ve always been the one to sabotage myself. It’s time to get serious and get producing.
Until Next Time!
Stay Awesome!
Audio Only: https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/etk7vo
A little slower than intended…
Hey Howdy Hey gang!
I didn’t do as much this evening as I intended to do. These things happen.
You want to know how the sausage is made? This is going to be that kind of post. If you’re not interested, feel free to skip this post. It’ll be dry. Probably short, but not very interesting.
Still here?
I’ve cleaned up and prepared V&A1, 2, and 3. Also Golden West 1,2 and I’m almost done with 3. I had wanted to do another 3 books tonight, but with the weather pounding on my brain, I didn’t get to it.
I still have Almost-Super Heroes 1 and 2 to clean up as well as GRPC 1 and 2. Then I need to get to Astel, Paradise Palms, and Super Natural Learning, 1, 2, and 3.
When I get the clean up/edits done and back into the manuscript, that’s when I can prepare the ebooks. And then I can work on getting the print versions ready to do. Finally, I can upload everything and start scheduling.
There’s a lot to do and I’m putting pressure on myself to do things quickly. Today I needed to take a step back, take a deep breath, and realize all I really need to get accomplished is to have the books and short stories ready for May. Yes, it’d be nice to have EVERYTHING done, but this isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon. I will have time to get it all done.
I’m off to get some sleep and get my head back. Tomorrow it’s not supposed to rain again, is it?
Until Next Time!
Stay Awesome!
Audio Only: https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/etheig
The first Sci-Fi book I ever read!
Growing up in a small town with only the school library as a source of entertainment, finding content wasn’t always easy. In elementary school, I read lots of books about dinosaurs. Like, EVERY book the library had about dinosaurs. Maybe this is why I associate with Calvin so well. Hmmm.
At any rate, when I got to 7th grade, I was permitted access to the rest of the school library. Yes, McGregor had one school with K-12 all in one school.
Over there, I discovered so many books I couldn’t read. I had severe dyslexia and that made reading difficult for me. Longer works I could never get through because I believe I had ADD as well (Jay! Have you got ants in your pants? Sit down!). That meant I was on the hunt for shorter books all the time.
The book I discovered and read multiple times was Mirror Friend Mirror Foe.
Now, for the record, I don’t remember the plot of this book at all. All I remember is a sword fighting robot. And that it was written by George Takei. At the time, I hadn’t seen Star Trek so I had no idea who he was. It was co-written by Robert Asprin. I had no idea who he was at the time, but Robert would be in my library with so many books.
Being that this was the first book I remember reading that was sci-fi, I’ve been on a LONG journey to track down a copy. Like many books from that era, unless you remember the title and/or author, it’s probably forgotten to the sands of time. Thankfully, I did remember. I’ve wanted this on ebook forever, but it’s been long out of print. Copies that showed up on Amazon would disappear quickly.
So, I decided to look again a couple of weeks ago because, that’s what the internet is for.
And I found a copy for $5.
Purchase made!
I now have a copy of the book and I’m itching to read it. I really am. But I can’t bring myself to crack the book open. You know, like what happens with new books? Yeah. This books spine hasn’t been “cracked” yet. Printed in 1979, this book is in mint condition. No creases. No dog ears. Yes, yellowed with age, but it’s still got the gloss on the cover. Whoever has owned this book over the years either never read it, or did so very carefully.
That’s my intent, to read this book carefully and take great care of it. I’m going to keep this one in my library for a long time. Who knows. I might one day track down George and have him sign it. 🙂
Until Next Time!
Stay Awesome!
Audio Only: https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/etequ2
Getting some editing done.
Tonight I got V&A 1, 2, and 3 edited and the ebooks ready to go. My hope is to do three books a night. Tomorrow I will get to GRPC 1 and 2 and Almost-Super Heroes 1 (maybe 2). Thursday I’ll work on ASH 2 and maybe get to the 3 Golden West Books. Finally I’ll do Paradise Palms and the Super Natural Learning series.
Yes, I know, I’m working on books that are already out there. I’ve done some editing and cleanup on those books, but I want to give them all another pass and put out cleaner copies.
Next week I’ll work on getting the print versions of everything updated or created. Then I can work on getting everything scheduled and ready for my May 5th launch date.
I won’t lie. I’m nervous, excited, anxious, and a slew of other emotions. Most of them positive, but many of them a feeling of imposter syndrome that I’m beating back with every fiber of my being.
There’s a lot of work ahead over these next couple of weeks. I’m a one-man assembly line. Will all this work be worth the effort? I guess we’ll find out. The only way to do that is to try, right?
My brain is mush. I need to get to bed so I can get up early.
Until Next Time!
Stay Awesome!
Audio Only: https://anchor.fm/jr-murdock/episodes/5-A-Day-With-Jay—0104-etc2e1
Today is today and I recorded 5 a day with Jay
Hey Gang! Make sure you read to the end of today’s post for a little surprise. Oh, who am I kidding, I’m no good at keeping surprises to the end. Well, unless it’s a cliffhanger at the end of a chapter. 🙂
I’ve been talking about the book covers I’ve been working on. I’m happy to present them to you here and now. I would love to hear your thoughts.
I’m excited to have these done. Now it’s time to get the interiors done for the books that are written. Once I have that done and scheduled, it’s time to get on the word train and pump out the books I don’t have written! It’s an exciting time. I can hardly put into words how excited I am to get these books out. I’ve had this plan in my head for SO many years and I’m finally putting it into action.
The titles shouldn’t be surprises or spoilers, but rather a natural transition. My goal was to have each series look like a series, but give the impression that they’re all in the same universe. My Favorite Daughter and the Mrs gave me much help and critique. I can’t wait to have a copy of each of these in my hands.
Speaking of books in hand, a friend of mine recently added to his collection and sent me a picture. What better present to give a writer than a copy of you with books in hand!
I don’t know what to say except, Thank you, Mike! You’re awesome and I can’t wait to get more books in your hands.
Finally, let me end this with, “Hey! I’m looking for beta readers. If you need some free Space Opera to read (Heavy on the Fiction, Light on the Science), drop me an email at Jay@OfGnomesAndDwarves.com and let me know if there’s any you’ve read or if you’d like to start from the beginning. I currently have 3 in publication, 4 ready to go, and there will be 5 more coming over the next year. If I keep up the pace I want to get going, I’ll have a total of 15 or 16 books in this series in the next year and a half.
Yes, a LOT of books. I want to make sure they’re the best they can be. If you’re interested, drop me a line.
I’ve a lot more than I said in the video below, if you’re interested.
Until Next Time!
Stay Awesome!
Audio Only: https://anchor.fm/jr-murdock/episodes/5-a-Day-With-Jay—0103-et9e7g
Today is tomorrow and tomorrow is today…
I forget what day it is. Normal posting will resume on Monday! Here’s a picture of the Mrs and I with a Giraffe. I’m the one with the mask.
No post today…
No long post today. The Mrs and I went hiking in Joshua Tree and came across an old car. Well, several old cars. Lots of fun.
Regular posting will resume tomorrow.
Unpublished 3 books this morning.
I know, I know. I’m not supposed to be here and I’m posting more now than normal. I felt this post was something important to get out there, so, I’m posting it.
First, I know the rule. Don’t read you reviews. Normally, I don’t. Second, I know the rule. Keep your work out there. Someone will love it.
That said, I unpublished 3 books today for various reasons and I’ve been meaning to do so for a while now. The main reason, I know they’re flawed books that they need to be revisited. I mean, seriously flawed. They were published long before they were ready and it shows in nearly all the reviews those books were getting.
Secondly, the books aren’t what I normally publish. They were intended to be in a far longer series and one day I will return to that series and write more of those book because the characters are fun and I feel the stories are fun.
Thirdly, I feel those books being out there hurt my author brand. Because they’re not up to par, in need of serious repair, and aren’t what I typically publish, I think it best they not be out there until such I time I can give the series the attention it needs.
One day they will return, once I’m actively working on that series. They’re short and I may end up starting over with that series altogether. Who knows. We shall find out when I get there. For now, they’ve been pulled.
Now, I’m off to go relax.
Until Next Time!
Stay Awesome!
J.R. Murdock 