The Story Behind the Story

Someone once said, “Every book has a story behind it,” and I believe it. I recently started a discussion thread on Amazon, asking other writers to share their story behind their book. I got a ton of responses ranging from alien abduction, and abuse to a longing to come home. They were all interesting narratives about the inspirational moment when they decided to write their book.

I’ve had many of those moments, but honestly, most of them were ideas that simply popped into my head for no good reason. However, some of my book ideas were inspired by meaningful moments in my life…and one of them was a scary moment. That’s right. It was, dare I say, a Stephen King moment that inspired me to write a grizzly short story that I published in the Kindle store.

What happened you ask? Well, I took my family camping this summer fully expecting a weekend of nice weather. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for us. After setting up camp and roasting some hotdogs, the sunny weather took a dark and windy turn. A storm blew in and we were ushered into a camp store cellar (compliments of the Park Ranger) with the other vacationers. It was cramped and cold and my kids began asking about the other campers, wondering if they were safe, which was ironic because I was wondering the same thing. At that point, I couldn't resist, the storyteller in me weaved the terrifying tale of  The Rumblin' by spontaneously creating fictional characters out of the other campers. It was a priceless moment seeing the frightened looks on my kids faces after learning that the little old lady with the poodle was packin’ heat! 

The point is, stories always come from somewhere: dreams, nightmares, experiences, questions, etc. But the real test of a writer’s gumption is his or her ability to plot and draft and organize those ideas into characters and a setting that has meaning, and an emotional impact on the reader. And that’s where creativity and a personal attachment to the book come into play. I find that the more meaningful the idea is to me, the more interested I am in taking the idea all the way to completion. For example, Killing the Giants, was inspired after hours of shop talk and debate over who is really running our country, and 20th (not yet published), was birthed because I wondered what would become of children effected by school shootings such as the Columbine massacre. And I have others – a black book full of ideas actually.

So if you ever have a good idea for a book, just send out a telepathic message and I’ll let you know what I think. Or, you could jot it down and start your own black book – a black book of dreams and nightmares and questions and… those precious moments in your life that you don’t ever want to forget. BOOM!

Producing my Platform?

Imagine writing your memoirs or teaching the world everything you know about your profession or trade in a best-selling non-fiction. Or perhaps you'd like to write an acclaimed murder mystery series. Sound good? Sure it does. I talk to lots of people who tell me that they've always wanted to write a book, and I always encourage them to go for it. But what I don't talk about is publishing's dirty little secret - the elusive author platform. So if you're going to write a book, don't leave home without it. 

What's an author platform, you ask? An author platform is the missing link that most aspiring writers lack. Joanna Penn writes in her blog, The Creative Penn, "The author platform is how you are currently reaching an audience of book-buying people, or how you plan to do so. It is your influence, your ability to sell to your market. It is your multi-faceted book marketing machine!"

Most new and aspiring authors do not have a significant platform (present company included), which is a shame because it may be the one thing that keeps most writers from getting an agented publishing deal, regardless of writing quality and creativity. It hasn't always been that way, but the publishing business is in an economical funk and isn't investing much $ in new authors right now. But as they say, it's just business.

The interesting thing is, I just recently received a letter of acceptance for my book, 20th, from a publisher  who really liked the idea and my writing style. At the same time, they declined to publish, because I do not have an author platform; zero speaking engagements, no 100,000+ twitter fans, and I don't have thousands of pre-established readers, or viral video. Ugh! What a conundrum! 

So what do I do? Well, I'm not going to spend thousands of dollars on a publicist (not yet anyway), but I have decided to work my platform and show the folks in New York City how an Indy author can rise to the occasion, even when the economy is in the tank. That's right. Starting now, I am officially on a mission; a mission to divide and conquer the far reaching expanse of the planetary platforms for self-publicized-published-authors. So watch for me in the latest headlines and seven o'clock news, because I need a platform damn it, and I'm going to get one!

Oh, and by the way (sheepishly humble), would you mind sharing this link with all of your friends and family who happen to enjoy reading and getting to know the authors they love? Be sure they know that I'm the author of  the political thriller, Killing the Giants, and two other thrillers I hope to publish soon. And if you think about it, stop by your local library and ask them to purchase my book and invite me to speak! I mean really, it's the least you can do to help the author of The Writing Bomb get that elusive publishing contract! Boom!

                                                                

By the way, Killing the Giants is available on Kindle for ONLY .99 for a short time.

A Twisty Turning Tale of the Dedicated Paperboy!

Everyone has a story, and every story has a side story. One of the side stories of my life is how I found my way into the world of writing. It’s filled with twists and turns and bike wrecks and skinned knees. Now I won’t bore you with all the gory details, but I will give you a few.

Although it’s no front-page headline by any means, my life as a writer began when I started delivering the Aurora Advocate in the Geauga Lake area of Aurora, Ohio when I was 9 or 10. I remember how much I loved wrapping the papers with rubber bands and plastic bags. It felt so official, like I had a real job. I used to zip from house to house, tossing papers on front porches, and stuffing them in those illustrious plastic newspaper boxes, and then racing away from their bloodsucking, fang-growling, killer dogs. Seriously! That was especially scary in the early morning hours of October – trust me!

Delivering papers was spine-chilling and blister-busting work, but I was so proud that I made my own money, regardless of the fact that I usually spent most of my profits long before my “bill” was due. My poor parents had to front the cash at times, like when I bought too many Now & Laters or bottles of Orange Crush and bags of Doritos. But that’s how you learn, right? Right!

Although the money came and went, I was able to upgrade my hand-me-down banana seat clunker to a shiny new BMX bike with bright yellow “Mag” rims. After purchasing my flashy new ride I moved up in the publishing world by taking on a route with the Record-Courier. Now that was a big step, because an everyday paper was a lot more work compared to a once-a-week route. Wheeehh! I couldn’t miss a beat. People have expectations you know! Back then we delivered the paper rain or shine on our bikes and had to have them delivered before suppertime. My brothers had paper routes too. It was a big part of our young lives, and we learned a lot about responsibility, and self-discipline.

Since then, I’ve moved to Indiana, graduated from Indiana University, started a family of my own, and have re-entered into the world of publishing. I published my debut novel, Killing the Giants, in 2009 with Outskirts Press and have recently completed a second novel, David Ray’s 20th, a paranormal suspense thriller. I’m currently working on a paranormal murder mystery called Footprints that will scare the entrails out of you! You can read excerpts of all my books at my website. I’m not really into gore, but I do like suspense novels and movies, whether they’re psychological thrillers, political thrillers, and paranormal or dramatic thrillers. And that’s what I like to write about too. It takes discipline, attention to detail, persistence, a bit of creativity and very thick skin, all of which sprung from my early days as a paperboy.

The point is, if you want to hire someone, hire the kid who used to deliver papers when he or she was young. I believe that wholeheartedly! And I believe those experiences molded and shaped who I became as an adult. I didn’t make a lot of mullah, but I made myself, and that’s a hard thing to recognize. What about you? How did you find out who you are? Are you still searching? Let me know by leaving a comment below. I want to know about you and who’s reading this darn blog, because we’re all in this together...right? So write! (Get it? That’s supposed to be a funny play-on-words.) BOOM!

Questions That Make You Smile

Okay, you do the math! High school in 1988 - College in 2001. It took me a while, but I graduated from Indiana University through the school of Icantbelievethistookmethirteenyears-amIsomekindofidiot. Seriously, I did! It's a very obscure field - often overlooked by the elite intelligencia! Of course, after graduation there was the usual chasing down the American dream, the jobs, the family and all the rough spots in between that can bring you to the point of depression. Sound familiar? Well as you know, there are times that make the 80-grit moments of life worth while. Today was one of those days.

We brought the kids to my in-laws pool to enjoy one of the last sunshinny days of summer and my ten-year old decided that he didn't need to go to school. He presented a very compelling argument that he could, in the end, build forts and roof houses for a living, because he was strong and didn't need to use his brain to work. Now normally, I'd let that go. But come on, this was a life lesson gold mine!

I proceeded to remind him of the virtues of hard work and education and how much we love him and want the best for him. I also reminded him that he had helped me roof his grandpa's shop this summer, which was a misserably hot experience for all of us. When I finished, his mother asked if he still wanted to be a roofer, and he said, "No. But I can still build forts. Besides, I don't even understand most of what Daddy just said!"

I had to laugh. And then, I knew I had to write about it, so I said to my wife, "This is gonna make a great blog entry." To which my eight-year old daughter replied with frightened and fully aware eyes, "Where? Where's a blog entry?" She was swinging her arms in the water trying to shoo that darn blog entry away. I said, "It's over there, Anna! The blog entry is by your head!" She screamed and dove in the water.

Talk about good times! It was a moment that I'll cherish forever. But wait! There's more...

When Anna came out of the water, I asked if she really didn't know what a blog entry was. She said, "Of course, I do. It's one of those things you write on the computer." I was stunned and asked, "How did you know that?" She replied, "Everything I know, I've learned from the Disney Channel!" I shot a disouraging glare at my wife and immediately fell into a deep depression. However, I'm sure there will be more sunshinny days ahead. BOOM!

Sleepy Little Boogers!

I should really be in bed right now, but I'm a blogger, and bloggers never sleep! Do they? Anyway, speaking of sleep, I have to hand it to my wife; she's a real trooper. She had a girls night out last night and made a "To Do" list for a couple of the kids to take care of. And here's what she found upon her return...

1) None of the items on the list were completed.
2) Two out of four kids hadn't eaten dinner (by 10:00 pm).
3) The house was trashed.
4) The only food the 2 kids mentioned previously put in their bellies was a 2 liter of Coke!

You heard right...Coke for dinner. Needless to say it was a late night for poor wifey. She did an after-midnight clean until 1:30 a.m., made omelets and toast for the two famished coke drinkers and lovingly snuggled them all to bed around 12:00 a.m. Now I wasn't there, but I'm almost certain she did all that with a smile on her face...the whole time! Well, that may be stretching the truth just a little, but I talked to her at 1:30 a.m. from work and she seemed to be in pretty good spirits. That is if the words, slam-dunking those sleepy little boogers to bed is a term of affection. There were other four letter words that came out of her mouth, I think, but I'm not sure, she was talking pretty fast and I don't think I got it all. But what I do remember hearing after she completed her pleasant monologue was, "They're so sweet."

So here I sit, at 6:55 a.m., finally home from working the midnight shift. I'm exhausted and absolutely beaten down from my toilsome labor. I walk in the door and see a mound of adolescent flesh piled up in my living room, making a variety of noises, some that I probably shouldn't mention, and yet, as wifey said, they do look sweet and content, like little angels. It just makes me realize how quickly they grow up and helps me to remember how much trouble I was at their age. Sleepy little boogers? Yes, they are. But they're my little boogers and I do love them. And uh, before I forget - I'm taking bets that they wake up before 7:30 a.m! Any takers? BOOM!