Where things are

I'm not one much for New Year's resolutions. I think if we really want to make a change in our lives, we need to just commit to it and do it no matter what time of year it is. That said, I have set a goal for 2012 to submit four books for publication. Now, it doesn't mean they will be accepted, but hopefully at least one of them will.

Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Well, I've been busy this last year. One thing I've learned as a writer is that it takes a while for a book to go from concept to print. About one year or so to write and edit and another year once it is accepted by the publisher. So, while Time Gangsters went through the works of getting published, I didn't wait. I wrote three books in 2011 and those are three of the ones I plan to submit.

In January, I plan to put out a spin off story set in the same universe as Dragon War Relic. It has different main characters, though, and takes place in Alaska. Of course, it won't be complete without a few cameos from Doug, Gar, and the three Elves (Kerk, Sprock, and Bob).

Then in May, I'll be meeting with at least one agent to pitch the other two stories I've written this year. One is a kind of dystopian/fantasy/steampunk story called (for now) Slave of the Sphere. This story has been a struggle because it is not comedy. It is catering to my life-long desire to write epic fantasy. I foresee this book becoming a trilogy at least (I hope). It is about a world where they have figured out how to capture the magic of magicians (called Arcanians) and have turned them into slaves to use their power to create energy for their cities and machines.

The other book I'll pitch is one I just finished draft 1 last month. It has he working title of Memoir of a Teenage Sidekick. It is a first person story from the perspective of Seal Boy, the side kick to a superhero named Walrus. But Walrus is captured by a league of super villains and Seal Boy must find a way, without powers, to rescue him.

And then for my fourth book, I want to dust off my 2010 manuscript of Scepter of the Ancients, which is the sequel to Dragon War Relic. I'm hoping by then that I'll start to have enough of a following that it will warrant the publication of the sequel.

So, that's my plan. Why am I telling you this? Because I've found when goals are shared, they have more power. This will help me work at it a little harder to make sure it happens. It means I'll have a busy year, though. Of course, on top of that, I need to try and come up with a couple more first drafts to stories so that I'll have something to submit in 2013. A writer's work is never done.

A little vacation

I hope my faithful readers aren't too disappointed in my lack of blogging, but I needed a break. And it felt good, too. Of course, I did work some more on The Galactic Adventures of Doug in 3D and will do a third draft this next week. Then, if things are going right with it, I'll try to put episode one up on Saturday. It's a different approach for me, since it has Doug as the point-of-view character and it's in first person. It's fun to write in his voice, though, so I hope it will be fun for the readers, too.

Our family news of the week was that we took our oldest son to the Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday, December 30th. That's part of the reason for my little break, since we wanted to spend some time with him before he left for two years. He'll be going to Dallas Texas, Spanish speaking so he'll have to develop some Spanish chops while at the MTC. We're very proud of him, though, and know that this will be a big growing experience for him.

Starting tomorrow, I need to figure out how to balance my life. I still need to keep marketing my book, but I need to spend less time on that now. I have to put some attention to my music business, since I'm starting to pick up more students. I also want to get back to working on the sequel to The Dragon War Relic. My goal is to have another draft done by February.

Speaking of goals, I thought I would philosophize about New Year's resolutions. My take is: don't do them. Not that we shouldn't be trying to improve ourselves, but why wait until New Years? I believe that if you find something in your life that you want to improve, just do it, don't wait for some magic date. The best time to pursue a goal is when you are motivated.