I took a few months break after publishing the two books last year but I'm back to writing the second book in the Legacy of Atlantis trilogy -- the book that I have been excited about writing for a long time. I have had this planned for a while and love how the story is developing. I always had the story line all mapped out. It was just filling in the pieces. This series has always been a planned trilogy and I don't see that changing.
Can't wait to share it with you!
Just a quick picture of a recent travel while I am writing book 2 of the Legacy of Atlantis series. My family traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii. One of the coolest (hottest) experiences ever!
Took a month off to travel with the family, but now I'm back. I started this blog to share my experiences with writing, so I will share what I can.
Many people want to write a book, but it requires sweat and persistence, more than most people are willing to give. For my part, this has been a project ten years in the making. I gave up watching television, movies, and sometimes sleep. I started by learning the basics: I read self-help books on how to establish setting, point of view, write dialogue, develop characters, and create a plot.
I learned early on that writing requires being able to take criticism. Completing my first draft took years and then I had to endure endless rewrites – first imposed by myself and then by professionals who were never satisfied. Even my brother critiqued me. He didn’t like my plot structure. He said that I arrived at the destination too quickly, that it was more about the journey than the destination. I didn’t like what he said since the most exciting part for me at the time was the destination - the location of Atlantis. In the end I realized that he was correct, the large majority of the story is about the journey – much like life.
While an author can do much of the work, it takes other contributors to create a marketable product. I was strongly admonished to never skimp on editing or creating a book cover, which meant money out of my pocket. Being able to write a good story is not enough. A successful author must make many business decisions. A major decision for me was whether to self-publish or submit the book to a publisher or book agent who would handle the business side of publishing in return for a percentage of the profits. I dabbled with major publishing houses and queried agents but I didn’t generate much interest. In this day and age, I received the strong impression that they were looking for authors with established reputations. So in the end I decided to self-publish, establish a sales record, and then try the professionals again at a later time. Doing things myself, I had to make a myriad of business decisions. I had to obtain editing, an ebook cover, a paperbook cover, marketing banners for social media, and a website. Added to that was formatting both versions, marketing to get the product into the hands of the consumer, and many other issues involved with self-publishing.
I am grateful for the experience. It has taught me a tremendous amount about myself and that a lot of our experience is as much about the journey as it is the final destination – whether writing, reading, or life. If you are thinking about writing – do it – It’s all worth it.
I have had a lot of inquiries in regards to when will Book 2 in the Legacy of Atlantis series be available. I had a rough draft many years ago and I am rewriting it now. This has always been a planned trilogy but I labeled it a series just in case. As of today, it still is a planned trilogy. The anticipation of this second book has been higher for me than any other. I am excited to share with you what has happened to Reed, Kate, Danielle, David, and the rest. The goal is to release it near the end of 2018.
What I hope to accomplish with this blog is share what I have learned along the way to help others as they struggle to write. Also to keep you updated with what is happening and upcoming events.
Lost is a novel that I had never planned on publishing. Over the past 10 years, it was a practice book as I learned how to write. I enjoyed writing it so much that I had to publish it. I know that Stephanie is a figment of my imagination and is not real but I am so in love with her. I hope that you enjoy reading this novel as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I look forward to many years to come with you :)
