Summer Over - Back to Work

Well, summer vacation is over, and it's time to get ready for work. But for me, work is great. I love my job. The classroom is my second home. I've considered writing a book on how to be a successful teacher. One of my secrets, of course, is just that. Making your classroom like your second home. A teacher has to love being in his/her classroom to be a successful teacher.

It's the same as being an author. A successful author has to love writing to be a successful writer. That doesn't mean all writers who love writing will be successful. I might venture to say all teachers who love teaching will be successful. Not necessarily, I know, but it's a good bet.

So back to the classroom, get it ready, prepare for those teacher meetings, which sometimes are fun, too, and then, get ready for the kids. Lucky for me I'm an art teacher. That means not only do I get to teach art, I get to make art at the same time. Which is great. You get to create. Which is what I'm all about. Creating. I create things. Books. Music. Art. Statues. Whatever.

I still find time to write. I do want to create that third book in the Killer series. Most likely it will be the last Killer book. Most likely. As for the MG/YA book -- Inside the Outhouse? Yeah...will probably finish that one day. And most likely that will be the last book I write. Not because I don't like writing anymore. I don't have time anymore. I'm finding that I have to dedicate the time to the wife and two sons.

Strangely, the older they get, the more they need me. You'd think the opposite would be true. I'm finding that it's not. High school and college is when they need me more than ever. As youngers I've been there for them. As young adults I'm needed even more. That means I'd better stay healthy and be available to them for advice and for support. I'd better be up to the task. Now more than ever.

Books are great. Being a father is greater. That's the real world. Sheesh, I've talked about John Dunn a lot. How in the heck did he manage being a father with over a hundred children of his own? I've only got two!

Hawaii Vacation Over

Today is my first day back from Hawaii. My brother lives there, and I took my wife and youngest son there this past week. Hawaii is famous, of course, for its beaches. And they are very nice. Spent a lot of time there. My brother is a lawyer, but he also wrote a book. A high fantasy novel. Kind of like the LORs story, but still quite different. In other words, fans who loved LOR will love his book.



So I was an A-reader or a Beta reader as some would say. And the writing was quite good. He's a talented writer and story-teller, and his story is one that I would say deserves to be published by the infamous Big Five. But that means an agent is required. Yes, the ever elusive literary agent. I'm considering going that route again for my novel The Vase. It deserves the Big Five as well.

But we all know how that goes. Fingers crossed. My brother lives close to a lot of beaches, and I guess when you live in Hawaii, who doesn't? I particularly liked Waikiki. It's one of the most famous beaches in the world. For a lot of reasons. There's a lot of people there. A lot of action, too. My son took surfing lessons, and he was a natural.



I was never a skate boarder when I was a kid, so I never had an interest in surfing. I mean, I liked the Beach Boys music, but surfing was never my thing. But my youngest son is good at skate boarding, and he was good at surfing too, on his first attempts. He looked like those dudes in the movies. I was proud of him. He wants to go back to Hawaii and get his own surfboard, too.

As for me? I'm good right here in California. Still, since my brother lives there, and in a really big house in an upscale part of Oahu, I have no reason not to go back. Hawaii is famous for other things too, not just the beaches. So yeah, it was all good. Right now, I'm back to work in perfecting The Vase. That's a real good story too.

Back to Work

Summer vacation is over. I'm back on the job. Being a teacher is fun and rewarding, and you get a lot done. Setting up the classroom, and preparing lesson plans, making the classrooms ready for hundreds of kids, who will be returning next week.

So what did I get done over the summer break? After all, my John Dunn book had already been revised and signed with a new publisher before the summer even began. I did find three reviewers for it at the start of the summer. Haven't received the reviews yet.

I did get through the second draft of Second Chance over the summer, and I have already started the third draft. I did get the edits done to Killer Eyes, and the first proof, too. I'm waiting on the next PDF of Killer Eyes, to be sure those twelve "errors" have been corrected, and then I expect Killer Eyes to be released. Strangely there's been no word since I sent the file back. It's been a somewhat bumpy road for Killer Eyes. Gives me pause to wonder about that.

I also started my latest WIP, which is book three in the Killer  Series. It's not a smooth thing either. I'm not sticking too closely to he outline, which I decided had some problems. I'm not sure how to tie in all the characters I want in the story. I might have to rethink that. And rethink the subplots, too. But at least I did get started. Got the prologue done and the first two chapters.

So now that I'm back in the classroom, I might start another book. Finally, my YA book called Inside the Outhouse. That should be fun.

Last Day of School Today

You may or may not know I am a teacher. And today is the last day of school. Summer break starts today at 1:48, and I will have more time to write. But what should I write? Well, I can go with revisions for my fifth novel, Second Chance. I will continue with the editing of Killer Eyes. Maybe I'll begin a new book entirely, like the third book in my Killer Series or the MG/YA novel I've been thinking about for a few years. Perhaps the editing will begin with the John Dunn story, but I haven't signed any contract yet for that book.

Funny thing is, after Knox Robinson said they wanted to offer me a contract, they still haven't sent it. That doesn't mean I'm going to blindly sign it if and/or when it does come. I am going to read it very carefully. Now that I'm a somewhat experienced novelist, I know the difference between a good contract and a bad one.

It's strange to me that publishers will offer bad contracts. I mean who do they think they're kidding? Apparently it works for them, after all I did sign the Cogito one. But that was when I was relatively new to the publishing world. I'm no longer that.

But there is the case of compromise. And because there are some things I want from a publisher this time around, I may end up compromising. That remains to be seen, however, because I've yet to see the contract. When I do, then I'll decide.

Summer Vacation--What to Write?

Summer Vacation is here, and that means more writing. For me, anyway. I got a head start on my newest book, tentatively called Second Chance, and I've been full speed ahead with the revisions to Killer Eyes, the sequel to Killer of Killers. And this is the year that I'm supposed to write The Killers Guild, which is the third and possibly last installment of my Trent Smith saga.

So far I have a good start on Second Chance, mostly due to the inspiration I received from that dream I mentioned on the blog back when I had it. It was in May I think. I dreamed of a new story, and then the following day I wrote the synopsis/outline, which I based on that dream, and for the rest of the week I tweaked that synopsis. But since I was so motivated or inspired by that story, I went ahead and started writing it. I wrote most of what will probably be chapter one, about 3500 words or so, and I really like the way it turned out.

But I'm now back to finishing the revisions to Killer Eyes, and I've put Second Chance aside to do it. And I think I should. Killer Eyes, in its current state, was filled with too many holes, too many inconsistencies, too many loose strings. I had written it over the course of about two and a half months during one of my summer vacations a couple years ago, before Killer of Killers was even published. And I wrapped up the first draft not even knowing if Killer of Killers would ever get published. But now that it is, and Killer Eyes will follow, I'm making sure that it is just as good, just as well written, and just as consistent.

In fact, in many ways, Killer Eyes is proving to be better, which it should be. I'm not saying it IS better, just in many ways it could be considered better. Why? Well, there's more action, more killing, and more blood. In fact it's a much more violent and intense story than the first one, and it's not that way because I wanted it to be. It just turned out that way.

You see, for my Killer books, I just let the stories go where they went, like I was just the observer, like if I was watching a movie in a theater. I didn't even write an outline for the first one. And even though I did for the second one, it still went where it wanted to go. Like I've said before, it's not as violent or as gory as a Quentin Tarrantino movie, or like the STARZ show Spartacus, but it is violent, and it is bloody. At least some parts of it are. And again, I didn't exactly want that. It just happened.

When it's released, and you read it, you'll see what I mean. It should be out by the end of the year. Cant wait. As for what I'm going to write this summer after the revisions to Killer Eyes are done? What I'm hoping is that I'll stay in the Trent Smith mindset and proceed with The Killers Guild. That's the plan, although every writer knows that the best laid plans do go awry. We'll see.

Author Page Up on Amazon.com

I've finally managed to make an author page on Amazon, and it wasn't even difficult. All you had to do was click on the Author page link, which I happened to see for the first time a couple days ago. Initially, I put up a photo, but then I remembered that other authors don't typically put in their photos on the Amazon Authors Page, so, in order to be more like them, I took the photo out.

Speaking of photos, I use four different photos for my social media. The one you see on this blog was cropped from a family outing at a beach some years ago. The photo on my Teacher's Website, which is the same one on the Melange-Books Author's Page, is another cropped photo from a day or weekend at some beach, and it's why I'm wearing sunglasses in both of those photos.

My Facebook photo is cropped from a photo that was taken while I was on a boat, or ferry, on the way to, (or maybe on the way back from) visiting the Alcatraz Island a couple years ago. So, again, it's why I"m wearing sunglasses.

But there is one where I'm not wearing sunglasses. It's the Goodreads author photo, (which I also use on Authors Den.) I'm not wearing sunglasses in that photo because the photo was taken at nighttime.  But it's still a photo taken at some beach somewhere. The reason they're all photos taken at beaches is not because I'm a beach bum, it's just that over here in California, there's a lot of coastline, and beaches are everywhere, as we travel up and down the California coast.

So who cares about photos anyway? Not me, personally, but I guess some readers might be curious as to what the author looks like. What really counts is the writing. The story. And the characters. And what happens with those characters. The premise of the story and the plot. And again, the writing. A great story can be ruined by lousy writing, and great writing doesn't guarantee a great story.

That's the bottom line when it comes to books. Hopefully you will find my stories, (and my writing,) agreeable to you and your tastes in books. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

Summer Flying By

Summer's half over now. As always, time is flying by. I didn't expect to write a new book this summer, but I did expect to have The Vase and Killer of Killers completely finished with all revisions, editing, and POV corrections. And Killer Eyes, too, btw. The Vase is done. Killer of Killers is almost done, and Killer Eyes, I expect will be finished by the end of the summer. Really, I hoped to get John Dunn done, too. Because when Killer Eyes and John Dunn have been edited for POV issues, then I'll begin The Killers Guild, which is the third installment of the Trent Smith story. And after that? My YA book. I never figured to write one of those, but I have a pretty good idea for one, and I'm itching to see how it pans out. So I think I will go for it. We'll see.

Football Camp Coming Up

My oldest son is a football player. He's a great one, too. Takes after his dad. you know. He'll be a senior this coming up year, and I'm taking him to a college football camp. It's for high school aged players, and since he's been doing very well, I thought we might take advantage of his athletic skills, and maximize them for his senior year. He's already been to one football camp and one combine.

It's a good father and son thing. Especially since we both love football so much. So we're leaving tomorrow and we'll be back late Sunday night. Might take the whole family. My wife likes going places, so might as well take her too, and the little brother.

Football has always been one of my favorite things. I even like football stories. I liked Remember the Titans with Denzel Washington, and I liked North Dallas Forty with Nick Nolte, and I even liked The Longest Yard with Burt Reynolds. The first one, that is. The second one, well, even though it had Burt Reynolds in it, Adam Sandler just didn't make for a convincing football player. Maybe it's because he's not. And he couldn't pull it off.

As for me writing a football story? I've thought about it. But no. My next book will be the third book in the Killer series. I was hoping to get started this summer, but that won't happen. I'm still rewriting the first one, and then I'll have to rewrite the second one. Maybe next year. We'll see.

Last Day of School Today

And the melancholy settles in. But I will have more time to write. Maybe even some time to read. I've lamented about not having time to read. That it's probably one of the reasons I haven't read any other author's book in some time. That could change. But it probably won't. Not only do I want to start a new book this summer, I want to go over the ones I've already written and bring them up to par with everything I've learned from Penumbra in regards to 3rd person POV, and the many other things that make writing good. And that means Killer of Killers, too. But it also means Killer Eyes and John Dunn. And with those books, it will probably take the whole summer to get them to the point where I will be satisfied. As for new books? I've talked a little about The Killers Guild. And there is that YA book I started a couple years ago. I revisited it  a week ago or so, and guess what? I liked it! Maybe I'll pursue that one some day. We'll  see. Bye for now.

Monday Blues

It's Monday, but that's not why I'm feeling blue today. It's because this is the last week of school, and I always feel blue the last week of the school year. Most teachers seem to welcome the summer vacation as much as the students do. But not me. And I don't really know why. I sometimes think it's because I enjoy my job, and I love being here. Particularly at my current school. I've worked at schools before that I hated. Maybe most of them. But for the last thirteen years, I've loved the school where I work. And I thought that that was why I wasn't so ecstatic when the school year ended.

And all of that is probably true, but there could be another reason. Time just goes by so fast, and when the school year closes out, that is just another way of life letting me know that another year has passed by. Like your birthday. On your birthday, it's the most obvious event that drills it into your head that another year has passed. You're a year older. No getting around it. But just as eventful, I think, is the passing of the school year. At least for a teacher. At least for me. The crop of students you had will turn into another crop of students when you come back in the fall.

And then it starts all over again. And sure enough, the time will fly by and it will be summer vacation again. And in the meantime, you had another birthday, and you're a year older. And the years seem to be moving faster all the time. Especially when I see my kids growing up. My oldest son is 17. Ouch. Next school year is his last year of high school. I've seen my friends kids grow up, and both of my sisters' kids grow up. Now it's happening to me. But not  yet. I've still got some time. And I'm living it to the fullest, you can believe that.

Summer Coming Soon

As does every school year, this school year went by fast, and the summer vacation is coming soon. For four consecutive summers I wrote a new book. Last summer I didn't because I was revising Killer of Killers and The Vase so much that those projects took up my time. This summer, I'd like to write a new book, but I'm not sure I will. I will try to get started on the third installment of the Killer franchise, but I'm always thinking of a new story to try. Like I did with The Vase and John Dunn. Speaking of John Dunn, I might go back to that one and revise it to the standards I have learned with Penumbra. Or not. Again, I'm overdue to write my fifth novel, and now that the summer vacation is upon me, it's time to start giving that some serious thought. Hhmmnnn...

So time for a vacation, then

I'll be waiting at least until the end of today or even tomorrow to find out if my files can be recovered, so in the meantime, I'll be taking my family on an overnight vacation down the West Coast. Gotta keep the wife happy, after all. I figure if I go ahead and get started again on going over those edits for The Vase, and then Fry's people do recover my files, then that time was wasted. It would have been extra work for me that didn't have to be done.

And if the files cannot be recovered, then I'll get started on redoing the edits from the last two weeks. So for now, it's vacation time. Until tomorrow anyway.

This Week Off

So, yeah, it's great being a teacher. Spring break is here, and it's not just for kids. Teachers get the break, too, and it's perfect for working on your book. Unfortunately, I had some dental work done yesterday, and didn't get a lot done, but in the evening I managed to get back in front of the computer, and do something. Made some progress. And the same thing today. Really, I can't wait to send this version back, because Penumbra said that's when they'll publish it. So here's to making more progress. Tally Ho!

Final Week of Sumer Vacation

This is it. The last week of Summer vacation. After this week, teachers must report. But I usually go back to work the week before that, which means that I'll be returning to work this week. I have two classrooms to prepare. One for sculpture and one for drawing.

I have two rooms because any ceramics teacher can tell you that you don't want to "live" in a ceramics classroom. It gets mighty dirty in there. And dusty. And I'm a clean-type person. I clean, clean, clean, get the kids to clean, too, and then clean some more. The custodians at my school love me. I do most of their job for them. My rooms are typically cleaner, (and by that I mean much cleaner) than the average classroom.

But setting up at the beginning of the year is another thing altogether. I spend a good bit of time putting everything away at the end of the year, and now I have to get it all back out. So maybe I'll go back tomorrow. No. Maybe Tuesday. Yeah. Tuesday.

Second Day Great, too

Just a quick post to say that yesterday, (Wednesday) was terrific here at Disneyland, too. We'll be checking out of the hotel real soon, and spend a third day at Disneyland (today) for the kids, and then hit the road by tonight.

And through it all, what I have to look forward to is the second round of edits for KILLER OF KILLERS. As exciting as Disneyland has been, it's the imminent publication of my debut novel, KILLER OF KILLERS that's got me charged.

And I suppose I'll be able to get back to the edits when I get home. It's not that I look forward to the vacation ending, it's just that I have so much to look forward to when it does. That's all.

Disneyland First Day

So I said I wouldn't post anymore this week, but I have a moment right now so I think I will. It's after midnight, so this will be a Wednesday post, which is okay. The first day at Disneyland was great, and right now we're all back in the Disneyland Hotel winding down. My two sons are busy playing their video games or whatever kids do on iPods these days. No, I don't have an iPod, so I really don't know much about them. Heck, I'm still getting used to this laptop that I rarely use.

You see, I'm a desktop computer type person. But I brought this laptop down to LA just in case I had a moment to turn it on, and here I am. And even though it was all about the family and Disneyland today, I could't help but wonder how I might write a Trent Smith story that takes place in Disneyland. I think that would not be wise. And that's because Disneyland is a kid's place. And KILLER OF KILLERS is NOT a kid's book. It's not a kid's story. Not by a long shot.

So I concluded that the two cannot be mixed. But the fact remains that I am still in the process of thinking about the third installment of the Trent Smith adventure. I think trilogies are the in thing, what with LOR and HG and the two Star Wars trilogies and the list goes on.

So as readers of this blog may know, KILLER OF KILLERS is the first episode and KILLER EYES is the second. The thing is, I wrote the conclusion to KILLER EYES so that it could be the final ending to Trent Smith's story. But that's not written in stone, as they say. In fact, it's not even written on paper yet. It's still just a file in a computer. I guess that would be a virtual file. But it means I can change that ending or use that ending for an ending to the third story if I write one. We'll see. And if I do write a third Trent Smith story, it will have to be a real killer of a story. Like the first two. But can that be possible? That's how good they are. But if other authors can do it, so can I.

Well, that's it for now. Maybe I post tomorrow, but if not, I'll for sure be back on Monday.

Joined Goodreads and Going to Disneyland

I just joined Goodreads. I've head about it. And I know a bunch of authors are on there. I was waiting until I actually had my first book in print before I was going to join, but a publisher to whom I had submitted advised that I join.

KILLER OF KILLERS is coming out real soon, so I figured it's about time. May as well not wait until the gun to start promoting there. Thought that getting the buzz going early could be a good idea. And the more places I promote this book, the better. I even have this blog plugged in over there. Maybe I'll get more followers. That would be cool, as long as they buy the book. And why woudn't they? If anyone likes a great adventure story, an action-packed thriller, about the world's greatest martial artist, then they won't regret buying this book.

And that's that. For now. Because today I'm going to take my family to Disneyland. We'll be in L.A. by this evening and in Disneyland by tomorrow. So this will be the only post for this entire week. I've been very consistent, posting every day, Mon - Fri, anyway. But every summer there will be a week or so I'll be on vacation, and this is the week.

So until next Monday, everyone have a great time reading!

Keep Revising Until in Print

I learned too many times that a manuscript can be improved almost indefinitely. I've learned it from first hand experience. And with four novels. Even my first one, KILLER OF KILLERS, which is due to be released by Melange Books in less than two months keeps getting better. I'm talking about the writing. The prose. The story is set, now. That's not changing. Nor did anyone ever want me to change it.

I've read from blogs that agents and editors often require a writer to change their story somehow. That they suggest a plot twist or change, or suggest a character to be enhanced or somehow worked on a little more. But that didn't happen with KILLER OF KILLERS. Or THE VASE when it was being edited a couple different times.

But that doesn't mean nothing can be changed. The writing can always get better. Because when you have a 90,000 word manuscript, there's bound to be something in there like a sentence or a paragraph that can be worded better. And over the years, I have done just that.

So until August 26th, which is the release date for KILLER OF KILLERS, I will continue to do that. And with my editor's approval. She'll be going over the second round of edits soon, and I told her that I'll be going over it again this week, since I'll be in Disneyland next week. You don't forget about your family. Other writers have done that. I won't. Besides, it'll be a well-timed vacation. From school, and yeah, even from writing.

Last Day of School Today

And that's important because now I can put more time into writing. I'll be working on at least three and maybe four different books this summer. First, I'm putting most of my writing time into revising KILLER EYES, the sequel to KILLER OF KILLERS. Second, and hopefully any day now, I'll be working with the edits on KILLER OF KILLERS preparing it for publication this August 26th. Third, I will be plotting out and beginning the third book in the KILLER series, tentatively titled THE KILLERS GUILD, and fourth, hopefully working on the edits to THE VASE which I am still hoping will be picked up by a publisher sometime soon.

So that will keep me busy over the summer vacation. But of course, my sons will keep me busy, too. I'm taking the family to Disneyland over the Fourth of July week, and my sons will be studying over the summer and my older son will also be playing football on the varsity of his high school team.

Yes, it will be a busy summer, and most likely, a fast one. But this time it's OK, because at summer's end KILLER OF KILLERS will be released. I'll be a published author, and my journey to publication will have been realized.

Planning for Summer

Being a teacher has some advantages. One of those advantages is the summer vacation. And it is imminent. I will be spending a lot of time with my two sons, like I do every summer. And for the last two summers, that includes watching my oldest son at his high school football practice. He's on the varsity team now and plays Fullback and Linebacker. Last year on the JV team he started both ways. Not sure just yet which he will be focusing on this year.

But I will be spending time bringing my youngest son up the football ropes, too. He looks like a quarterback right now. But he's only ten, so I can't say for sure. But he has a good arm. We'll see.

As for writing, I will be putting a lot of time into further revisions of KILLER EYES, editing KILLER OF KILLERS, more than likely get back to revising JOHN DUNN, and hopefully signing a contract and getting to editing THE VASE once again. And that doesn't even cover plotting out and outlining the third book in the KILLER series. Perhaps the final Trent Smith story. But who knows? In Trent Smith's case, the stories could be endless. Only time will tell.