FEBRUARY 2021 – To hibernate or to be creative? That is the question! And the daily struggle, haha. Been a pretty relaxed stretch of late (outside of work, the new semester has brought with it a flurry of objectives), and I find myself spending more time reading than writing, sleeping than adventuring, and thinking than doing. But it is full on winter at the moment, so allowances can be made, and wistfulness embraced during careless afternoons. Despite the cold I have been going for a lot of long walks, we’ve had plenty of snow lately and it has created a vibrant sense of the season. Been trying to get some photos of the falling snow that due it justice, but it never quite seems to capture the magic of it.
Very much appreciate everyone who has checked out ‘Defending the Kingdom’ and lent their support to my writing. Response has been awesome and I want to thank each of you, really gives me so much encouragement to continue putting pen to paper and dreaming up new stories to tell. Was asked this past weekend if I’ve started writing a new project yet or if I was enjoying having a bit of a break from writing.
I haven’t yet started a new project, still have a few ideas kicking around (that in truth I probably should jot down now that I think of it, haha), but had intended to work on the marketing efforts for my new current book before switching back to the drawing board so to speak. And I am definitely recharging and feeling less wound up with a creative fervor than I was while going through the editing process. As I had such high expectations for ‘Defending the Kingdom’ and didn’t want to fail to deliver. Now I am happily riding the wave of accomplishment of finishing ‘something’, haha.
Have read online and heard interviews with independent authors where they say things like, 90% of being an (indie?) author is marketing and 10% is writing. Have to say that is a rather depressing statistic for someone who likes the creating part of the process vastly more than the sales end of it. But one sort of fuels the other and creates a symbiotic circle of sorts. With everything in life requiring certain amounts of energy and momentum and interest can be the lifeblood of a young creative. I haven’t done much in the way of campaigning for this book.
Will try and think up some fun and interesting ways to market the book and share it with readers. In-person events seem to be not optimized at present for obvious reasons. But I’ll give alternatives some thought. Also sort of waiting to get some reviews of it on Goodreads and Amazon before I market it too much, as it is still an unknown, even within its own small circle. I also don’t want to bombard my social media friends with endless product placement posts and mentions, haha. Not my scene. But we’ll see what other avenues there are out there. From blogs I’ve read they say podcasts are the answer. Now how to get invited on a podcast, hmmm….. haha.
Read ‘The Running Man’ by Richard Bachman, aka Stephen King, this month. Quick backstory, I had seen the film adaptation starring Arnold Schwarzenegger years ago, so that was in the back of my mind when sitting down for this one. Had been looking for a Stephen King book to read, as I haven’t delved that deeply into his collected works. And my editor has frequently sung the praises of his work (and with good reason!) and the active voice with which he writes.
Now the film version and book are dramatically different, sharing only the loosest elements of the plot and character names. After reading the book, I can see why they did change it, at least for budget and accessibility reasons. Still, the lasting message of the book was completely lost in the film version (from what I recall at least, I think I saw it as a kid, so maybe I wasn’t paying that close attention to any subtext) and I think it is unfortunate, as there is an important takeaway to be gleamed from this story. The book came out in 1982 and predicts a very dystopian future for humanity. Will leave the details out, but for mature audiences who enjoy dystopian novels I think this could be for you. Going to be reading a classic novel next, so check back next time for that and I welcome any recommendations for books to read.
Keep at it everyone, enjoy this prime hibernation weather, and start planning adventures for the coming months, as I know I will be!
Take care, stay well, and I’ll catch you in the future!
~ CS
