Happiness

I want to share something with everyone today that I think we’ve missed out on in our society. In this country, and most places I’m sure, we tell our children they can be anything they want. They believe it, too. It’s amazing to watch them dream in ways that we can barely even remember dreaming. They’re hopeful for a future where they can be like their heroes. There’s just one problem with our statement. It’s a lie. They can’t be anything they want. I know. It’s a hard concept for some people to grasp, but if your kid grows up to be 5’6”, odds are they will never be an NBA player, and without an education from a top tier school and a lot of money, they’ll never be president either. To make a long story short, we are predisposed to a certain kind of life based on biology and the situation we’re born into. Now, I’m not saying we don’t have control of some things because we certainly do, but you can’t be just anything.

Let me share my personal experience with you. When I was 2, for some reason, I wanted to be the garbage man. It turns out where I live you have to be a prisoner to pick up garbage, so that’s not happening. When I was 9, I decided I wanted to be an NFL quarterback like my hero Brett Favre. I wanted to make millions and be someone else’s hero. Then when I was 12, I wanted to be a doctor. I didn’t know how much med school cost at the time. In my 20s, I decided to write books. I wanted to sale millions. Do you see a trend here? Almost all of it involves a career where I make a lot of money, and none of it is really me. That’s not to say I don’t like many of the things on the list, but who I am doesn’t lie in those dreams. I could never commit a crime big enough to land me in prison. I wouldn’t last two seconds in the joint. ;) While I can read a defense pretty well, I don’t have the monstrously large hands of most NFL quarterbacks, so that dream was never realistic. I didn’t want to spend my life paying off student loans, and honestly, being a surgeon would have been a horrible career choice. I’ve never had steady hands. Finally, there are the millions I want to sale in books. Don’t get me wrong. I still want those millions, and if you want to make me a millionaire, I’m on board with that, but I don’t really write books for the masses. I write things I enjoy and think only of that. I think most writers who are extremely successful write to their audience’s taste, and I’m not saying I don’t think of my readers, but I like to write things that keep me on the edge of my seat. It’s about enjoyment in my alone time as a writer more than it’s about the check at the end of it all. I’ll probably never be a millionaire. To most people that might sound like I’m giving up on a dream, but I’m really not because it was never my dream. I thought as a kid, I could be that doctor, Brett Favre, or for some reason my local garbage man in Sledge. As an adult, people said “you could be John Grisham. He was from here.” I failed miserably at trying to be anything other than me, however.

There’s a silver lining to all of this. Lately, I’ve been figuring out who I am. I’ve been embracing the nerdy side of myself and reading books that I can nerd out over. I’ve been playing the games I love instead of the ones my friends do, and I’ve been watching television shows that aren’t as popular as the ones everyone says I should be watching. I’ve also been writing two new series that won’t be ready until 2017, which are exactly what I want to write. They’re complicated and out there at times. I don’t know if they will be everyone’s cup of tea or not, but I know I’m enjoying the journey of these new books more than I’ve enjoyed anything in a long time. I’m becoming myself. I’m not watching the shows my family and friends are, and I’m not worried about if what I’m reading or playing is considered “nerdy.” I’m certainly not trying to be someone else either. I don’t want to be a professional football player who gets pounded daily, and I don’t want to be a doctor. I certainly don’t want to be John Grisham, no offense to him. He does a good job of being him, but I’ve got different stories to tell, and I write and live each day for so much more than money. For me, none of this is about business or fame. It’s about enjoying every moment of life. It’s about embracing who I am and proudly showing anyone who wants to see, no matter what the results are.

So what do I think we should tell our children? I think instead of telling them you can be anything you want and then introducing them to heroes who play sports and write stories, we should tell them you don’t have to decide what you want to be when you grow up. You just have to keep being you. That will lead to a career, happiness, and a certain pride that none of us seem to have in ourselves. We measure our worth in money, cars, and how big our houses are. The stuff defines us. We value ourselves based on what we have. We never think is this who I am. Is that what I was born to do? Is this where I want to be? Am I even reading the books and watching the movies that I want to? Am I just a reflection of what I think I ought to be because someone convinced me I should be like someone else? Life comes down to one simple word at the end - memories. What do yours say about you, and what do you want your children’s to be? Do you want the memories to be filled with jobs they didn’t care about, a need to always impress, and a never-ending need to be like someone else? I don’t want that, and I’m finding that happiness is the simplest thing in the world. It isn’t about having more money, a nicer car, or even the perfect girl. It’s about not wasting your days on chasing someone else’s dream. What makes you happy? Identify it, and then chase it. You can’t be just anything, and most of us will never be rich or famous. Accepting who you are is the key to happiness because once you’re okay with it, you start to become the hero in your story as you identify your strengths and turn them into a life full of open doors instead of closed ones.

A New Project

I’m working on a new project currently that gets closer to completion every day. It’s called Hollow, and it’s far different from my previous works. This is a disaster book and not in the same way as The Divide was. This book is about a city gone mad in an epidemic that’s as big a mystery as it is deadly. Let me tell you about this new set of books I have planned for everyone.

Let’s start with the first one, which is simply titled Hollow. I wanted to make characters who were young and inexperienced in bad situations for the first book. The purpose behind it was so the characters would be experiencing the same fear, shock, and confusion that the reader would be as the pages turn in what’s a mysterious event all the way to the final few chapters. This is a disaster book that pulls inspiration from The Walking Dead while making itself a unique story that is different from the zombie genre. I can’t say much more about the disaster without spoiling the whole book, but Hollow is about the bond two people form through loss and what they will do just to survive. It’s about finding truth in the darkest corners and wishing you hadn’t. It’s a dark book in places, but it’s also full of so much life and humor. When I set out to write this one, I thought what do I like to read and watch? I didn’t want to write for anyone else, which is the number one thing you're supposed to do. Writing 101 is to write to your market, but let’s be honest here. Do you really think the creators of The Walking Dead ever thought their story would be mainstream? Sometimes you just have to let a story lead you where it will and write what you love and just hope it becomes a trend. That’s what I did on this one, and it was an entertaining journey that came with ease. I think people who like action above romance with a mix of mystery and sci-fi will love this first book.

The second one is named Hollow: Revelations, and I can’t exactly tell you what it’s about because it would spoil the first story. All I can say is it’s about characters a bit older, and while it keeps many of the same elements as Hollow, this one is about tying up loose ends and giving the story the closure it deserves. I didn’t always know if I would release Revelations because I loved how the first one ended, but there was an opportunity for a bigger story with more characters in a whole new background. I took it and made a few alterations to the feel of this series in general. The original Hollow can feel a bit hopeless at times because of the epidemic, and so can Revelations, but I wanted to provide some kind of hope for the characters in this story and give the reader an indication that maybe Hollow’s story might end happily. I can’t say if it did or not, and in fact, I’m not quite sure even now if I would qualify it as good or bad, but I can say for sure that Revelations provides answers that anyone who loved the original will want. The first was all about a journey, and the second is about finding the end to that in a manner that stays true to Hollow while also adding some elements that makes it feel new instead of like a repeat of the first.

So this is what I’m working on now. It’s a two book series that I hope to release soon. I also think that I can release them within a month of each other, which has always been the goal. I don’t want my readers to have to wait too long to finish this story. It was such a joy to write, and the feedback I’ve gotten so far has been very good. I hope you’ll love it, but more than that, I have to say I’m glad I took a journey into Owen and Piper’s world. It had all the elements I love in a great story. I’ve often written stories that were full of action, romance, or mystery. This provides a lot of action and a healthy dose of the others, which is just my comfort level. I’ve been challenging myself a lot to write outside of where I’m comfortable, but I have to say that if ever I were going to settle down into one genre, I think it might just be into this one. Disaster stories mixed with sci-fi have so much potential because nothing is truly off the table in them. They require creativity, whereas in other genres, you’re required to color inside the lines so often. I’ve never quite been good at staying in those lines, so I ditched the whole coloring book for this one and drew my own picture made up of all the things I love about books, television, games, and even comics. I can’t wait to share this side of myself with everyone because it’s the truest side I’ve shown to people yet.

A Magnolia Romance Announcement

I’m pleased to announce that my newest book, A Magnolia Romance, is complete. It’s available for preorder now, and I’ll include a link at the end of this. For now, I want to tell you a little about it, though. It has many themes, but I’ll start with the most important one.

Truth. Yes, I know it’s simple, but it’s also very complicated. When we’re young, we make mistakes. We love too strong, hold onto grudges too long, and experiment in ways that might make our parents cringe. This is where truth gets complicated when you’re telling the stories of two teenagers in love. On its surface, A Magnolia Romance looks like a teen romance that anyone between the ages of 13 and 17 would love, but it’s more than that. It’s familiar to people of any age, or at least it was to me. It shows many of the ways we felt in our younger years, and it will probably remind you of a lot of stupid things you did when you were a teenager. Some of those things might not be what you would want your children to repeat, however, and that’s where truth can be uncomfortable for some people. This book follows the theme of characters who act and feel like we do at that age, and I think that’s its strongest point. Some might not agree because of the positions I show teenagers in during the book, but it’s these moments of love, play, and exploration that makes Logan and Madison human more than any others. I believe because of this A Magnolia Romance is a great book for any teen whose parents realize they’re growing up and all adults who are feeling a bit nostalgic or who just want to remember what it was like to love when you were seventeen.

The second theme is tragedy. It’s used to bring the characters together, but the tragedy in this story is even more than that. Something will change Logan and Madison’s lives forever in this story, and I used that as a tool to make them grow up a little faster, love a little longer, and see the world in a totally different way. In some ways, it’s a simple thing that is used in many books to set up a story, but in this one it’s complicated. It doesn’t set up the story because Logan and Madison’s romantic lives are the basis of the book, but it shapes who they are as people. It adds to their identity and gives them a reason to never let go of the only people who could ever understand them.

Finally, the theme of this one is love. Yes, I know it should have been obvious, but it’s a different kind of love than what’s portrayed in most stories today. This isn’t lust, and it isn’t just friendship. It’s a deep yearning to be with the only person who can understand you. The bond that Logan and Madison share is like nothing I’ve ever experienced, but it’s everything that I’ve always dreamed of. It’s simple, yet complicated. Completely pure, but yet destructive. It’s that brand of imperfect perfection that’s hard to put into words, but there’s no doubt that it’s true love in its best form.

Now, there’s one more thing I have to sneak in before I give you the link to preorder. A Magnolia Romance is set in the area where I grew up, and I use quite a few real life locations in it. I also use some life experiences of my own to shape the story. I don’t always do this, but I have to say it was satisfying. It took me down memory lane and reminded me of what I loved about this place. There are plenty of good and bad things about where I grew up, but A Magnolia Romance aloud me to take the good ones, lay them out in a story, and see the glass as half full. Actually, half full might be an understatement. It aloud me to appreciate who I was as a younger man and many of the people in my life more than I think I had before. For that, I’ll always be grateful for this story.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CN9CGYI

The Challenge Of Writing

Today I want to tell everyone about the absolute hardest part of making characters. You might think it’s easy. After all, you could just take all the best traits you like in people and make a main character, right? I’ve learned from experience that it’s a lot more complicated. Here’s the first challenge.

First off, you have to figure out what gender you want your main character to be. Let’s just say I made my main character female, and I wanted to make a strong woman who didn’t need the stereotypical male hero. So I detail every part of her down to what she looks like, some quick one liners she might say, and her interests. It all seems so good on paper, so I write my story. When I get feedback, however, I get asked why she seems to fall more into a man’s role, and even worse, why her love interest is such a wimp. Now, the male wimp comment is usually just because he doesn’t seem like the dominant one in the relationship. I usually think the feedback is a little ridiculous, but then I think about it. I write for an audience, so if they value tradition over difference, then who am I to say that’s how it shouldn’t be. I change her character. She’s still strong, but she needs a little saving every now and then. The feedback I then get is that she’s a little too much of the stereotypical woman in stories, and then I might get asked why she goes brain neutral at times and has to be saved when at others, she’s so capable. I’m now stuck. Is she strong, weak, or a bipolar woman who doesn’t know who she is from one second to the next?

Now, for the second challenge . . . her personality. Is she withdrawn and full of morals, or is she outgoing and open to everything? This is a major problem because if you make your character a good person people usually can’t relate. I know most of us aren’t bad people, but for whatever reason, we don’t like characters that seem too perfect, so that’s out. I have to give the character flaws and weaknesses. She can’t be the cookie cutter good girl. Here lies another problem, however. When I show the character kill someone, have sex, or in general engage in a fit of rage, I’ve gone too far. Don’t I know that kids might read this!!! I then feel trapped. She must be good, but not too good. She can’t be described as being too pretty or ugly, and maybe hardest of all to accomplish, my main character must remain the perfect balance of strong and weak to satisfy everyone.

Here’s the third and worst problem. Once I make this character that is totally balanced to please everyone’s point of view, I realize something. She’s boring. She doesn’t ever fall too deeply in love, and at the same time, she’s never cold to anybody. She doesn’t murder or commit any kind of crime, but she’s not exactly a warrior for justice either. Most confusing, she is strong and independent . . . except for with some random guy who must complete her. It’s like creating the most bipolar person in the world.

All right, so as you can see it’s very hard to create a character that pleases everyone. I might even argue that it’s downright impossible, especially when trying to create a character that goes a little against the norm. Here’s some advice for anyone writing. However you picture your character fitting into your story is right. I know it sounds simple, and you think you should consider your audience, which I suppose you should to a certain extent, but engineering a character or story comes off as just that - engineered. Make characters that people will love, hate, and talk about because they’re different. Some might not like them because they’re not cookie cutter or because they think they’re too typical, but only you know the world you want to create. When you give up that vision you lose the passion for your project, and then your story loses the life you were giving it very quickly. The words just become words, and you create reflections of what people have told you is good instead of something that might just help you leave your mark on the writing world. The lesson here is to create without censors or worry. Your audience will find you, and who knows if it’ll be a big one or a small one, but at the end of the day, if you do what you want with your story you’ll be able to look back at it with pride. Those were your characters, worlds, and ideas. No one gave them to you, and if you’ll stick to your guns, you’ll find something so amazing - a passion for creativity and life that goes beyond all the noise of this world.

A Magnolia Romance

I want to tell everyone about my next project. It’s called A Magnolia Romance, and it’s a young adult romance set in the area I grew up. This is the first time I’ve used a real place in my books, and I did it for a reason. I wanted this book to come off as authentic. That meant including places I knew a lot about and letting real life experiences and feelings guide how my characters acted. After all, these characters are young, so emotion still guides a lot of their actions. Logan and Madison are two of my favorite characters I’ve ever had the honor of writing about. I’m not sure if everyone will perceive them like I do or if people will love the world they live in, but I do know this. No one will be able to say that place doesn’t exist or people really don’t act that way because I know they do. I grew up here with people exactly like them.

At its heart, A Magnolia Romance is a love story that doesn’t pretend to be much else. It’s in the same vein as Destiny only simpler. It’s a small town story with a hint of tragedy to bring the characters together. You see, when I started writing this story I wanted to make a book about younger characters who had to grow up fast. They had to have a backstory that made them into somewhat of outcasts, but it was that experience that would bring them together. While that was the backbone of the story, I never knew how much more Logan and Madison would be. These characters jump off the page and bring a familiarity that’s so much like real life. They’re not perfect, but sometimes that’s what makes us who we are. While editing this, someone asked if I thought the characters could be a little inappropriate sometimes for teenagers. I really asked myself were they, and the answer was yes. Logan and Madison do things they shouldn’t, make mistakes, and joke about things that parents don’t want to know their kids talk about, but it was my experience as a teenager that made me know that there’s no such thing as a cookie cutter person, no matter how much our parents might wish we were perfect. It’s those imperfections and inappropriate thoughts that we let slip off our tongues that makes us who we are, though. In the end, I kept the things that made Logan a teenage boy with inappropriate thoughts and the little things that made Madison what we don’t want to picture our daughters as. Don’t get me wrong. They’re good people, but they’re exactly like us. It’s in our flaws that we find relation, not our fake perfections. In that way, I hope you will all give Logan and Madison a chance to show you how real and well rounded they are as characters.

I can’t guarantee that everyone will love A Magnolia Romance, but I can promise you that I’m proud of this one. It’s the opposite of what Nora Roberts or John Grisham would write, but I think that’s the point. You can get so lost in dreams of success that you try to emulate what you think people want to see, but that’s never been me. Success comes in different forms, and whether this sells millions or hundreds, I feel successful. This is a book for people who love deeper, aren’t scared to go outside of norms, and who want something different. I also think some of my local people will enjoy the scenery and recognize many of the places in the book from the early 2000s. For everyone else, welcome to my world. This is where I grew up, and these are the types of characters I love to write about. It’s almost ready. I feel confident that I can have this in everyone’s hands by at least the middle of March. I can’t wait for you to read it. I want this one to be very successful, but my main goal is to share something real and show the passion I still have for writing. In that regard, I know for sure A Magnolia Romance will be everything I could have ever dreamed of.