Good news! All the reading and research for my next relationship guide are done. As you can see from the photo below, I immersed myself in books about famous couples and their relationships. It was fascinating to learn from their successes and failures. Now, the fun part of writing begins. I’m looking forward to sharing the knowledge with you.
What kind of books to kids like to read?
Cleaned up the kids’ bookshelves today, deciding what books to keep/not keep. Most interesting was the fact that the older kids (16, 15, 14, and 12) more or less universally agreed what books to keep for our younger kids (10, 8, and 5).
About one-third of the books on the shelves were deemed “boring” or “preachy” and therefore are headed to a new home. Kept the ones that were “exciting” or “fun to read” for the younger ones to enjoy. This is from four different kids with four different sets of interests, opinions, and tastes and yet they could all agree on what made a good young adult, middle grade, or young reader books.
Moral of the story: If you want kids to read, give them stories that excite their imaginations and sense of wonder and draw them in quickly. Avoid the preachy nonsense because they can smell it a mile away and won’t bother finishing it. (And if you force them to read it as part of an English class, not only will you kill their love of reading, they will tear the book and teacher to pieces as they put it in never-read-again pile.)
(Photo is of pile books headed to a new home.)
An Overdue Update
Since it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, several readers have emailed me over the last week or two asking if everything is okay. I appreciate the concern and am happy to report that, yes, everything is fine. Great actually. Life is just really, really busy. So busy, in fact, that blogging is one of many things that have fallen to the side. That being said, I find myself with a few minutes to provide a brief update on book, life, and a few other things.
- Chronos update: The book as gone through its first editor. It was a bruising edit but it came back with a lot of good suggestions and feedback. I’m currently one third of the way through the revision process before the book will be handed over to a second editor. I wish I had all day to write so I could make faster progress but I do my best to make the most out of the 60-90 minutes of writing time I get each day. I don’t know when the book will be done but I’m doing my best to have it available this year.
- Until I get this book out the door, I’m putting the Widower Wednesday columns on hold. I am still answering emails. So if you have a widower-related issue, feel free to email me or join the Dating a Widower group on Facebook (for girlfriends and wives of widowers) or the Widowers Dating Again group (for widowers who are dating again, remarried, etc.).
- Marathon Girl and I are expecting our seventh, and final, child in November. A girl. And for the first time we’re actually close to agreeing on a name before the child is born. The kids are excited to have a little sister. Marathon Girl is exhausted. I’m just trying to fill in and help out the best I can until the baby comes.
- I’ll be speaking at the 2015 Wyoming Suicide Prevention Conference next month as well as holding a workshop. Details of the speech and workshop can be found in the link.
- I started a new marketing job at the beginning of the year. I love it. The work is challenging and it keeps my mind engaged and it doesn’t come with all the craziness and long hours of the old job. Marathon Girl likes the fact I usually come home in a good mood.
- I’ve been running more than I have in a long time. If I keep to my schedule I should pass the 1,000 mile mark on Saturday. If I keep up the pace, I should hit around 1,300 miles by year’s end. And, no, I’m not running or training for any races. I’m simply running that much because I love it and it’s good for my mental health.
- And though I don’t have time to blog on a regular basis right now, you can always follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Until I get back to blogging, it’s the easiest way to get a quick snippet of what’s going on.
That’s all for now. More later.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes: A Writing Update
It's been awhile since I posted anything on my writing projects so I thought I'd give a quick update.
As many of you know, I've been working on a novel, code named Chronos, that I was hoping to have done and off to the editor before the end of the year.
That didn't happen.
The main reason was that my day job had become unbearably stressful. I was so busy and caught up in the pressure surrounding my job that I couldn't write, be a halfway decent father to my kids, or the kind of husband that Marathon Girl deserves. As a result, I made a decision to start looking for a new job and put all of my free time into that endeavor. The good news is that about six weeks or so into my search I ended up with several job offers and was able to start a new one right after Christmas.
Once the stress of the old job was gone, I tried to get back into writing Chronos and found that I had been away from writing so long that I had a hard time getting back into it. So for kicks and giggles, I decided to start a small project to help me get back in the writing groove.
It worked.
Over the holidays I ended up writing the first draft of a Christmas-themed novella. My goal is to finish that book by the end of January and then return to writing Chronos. Though I don't have a date when Chronos will be done, I think it won't take long to get it back to the editor.
As for the Christmas-themed novella, it will be available in time for the holidays later this year. I never thought I'd write a Christmas book before but am happy with the way the story evolved. I hope that those who read it will find it do be unlike any other Christmas book they've read before.
Stay tuned for more details.
Where's Abel?
I'll be participating in the first annual Indie Author Hub Writing & Publishing Conference tomorrow (June 7) a the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Provo Utah. About the conference:
That's right, it's conference time! Not just any conference, but a conference targeted toward all aspects of indie publishing. This year, our self-published keynote speaker is NYT bestselling author of A Different Blue, Amy Harmon. We will also have 21 breakout classes in three tracks: writing, book creation, and marketing/business. We are so excited to have many experienced and successful self-published authors and other professionals who have agreed to share their time with us.
You can find more information about the conference here.
Mormon Writers Ask for Manuscripts to be Treated on Quality of Work not Content of Biography
For the record, happily I signed the following statement:
Mormon Writers Ask for Manuscripts to be Treated on Quality of Work not Content of Biography
In response to recent events and attention in local and national media, we authors, who are also members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, feel the need to express our disagreement and disappointment with Cedar Fort in their dealings with David Powers King and Michael Jensen in regards to the manuscript, Woven. We appreciate that Cedar Fort has returned the rights to the work in question and want to note that there are many wonderful people working at Cedar Fort–staff members and authors–who strive to carry out their duties with professionalism and courtesy. Nevertheless we wish to offer our support to our fellow authors and feel compelled to speak out.
As writers, many of whom have published with Cedar Fort, we believe everyone should be treated fairly and with respect, regardless of political or religious affiliation, age, gender, or sexual orientation. We believe that degrading attacks are inappropriate in any business or personal relationship. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), we understand our church to teach respect and encourage civility–even when we have differences of opinion.
While publishers have the right to choose what they will and will not publish, we believe books should be accepted or rejected upon the merits of their content, quality, and commercial viability, not on any other factor. If a publisher isn’t comfortable with an author’s personal choices, those concerns should be discussed clearly and respectfully upon signing a contract–not hours before the book goes to press.
We believe that all publishers should be clear and professional in their submission requirements, treat others with dignity and respect, and give all authors the right to be judged on the quality of their work, not the content of their biography.
You can find a full list of authors who have signed the statement here.
There's a story about this in the Salt Lake Tribune here.
Podcast: Writing Non-Fiction and Memoirs
Some writing pals over at Authors' Think Tank interviewed me for their writing podcast. The topic? Writing non-fiction and memoirs. You can listen to the podcast here or at the link below.
Books in Progress
For those who have been asking or are curious about my upcoming books, here's the latest: Currently I have four books, two novels and two works of non-fiction, in various stages of development. You can see their progress (draft and word count) below. I'm hoping to have at least one of the non-fiction projects and possibly one of the novels done by the end of the year. As I haven't settled on titles for any of them yet, they all have code names and a summary which you can find below. I'll be adding these to the sidebar of my website soon. In addition, keep your eyes open for a call for stories for one of the non-fiction projects in the next 30-45 days! White Whale (novel) | Draft 1
A mystery about a young boy's death on a remote Wyoming mountain.
Watcher (novel) | Draft 1
A thriller about a man who's figured out the secret to eternal life.
7 Hearts (non-fiction, relationship) | Draft 2
A relationship book that focuses on the 7 things that matter most in any romantic relationship.
Widower 3 (non-fiction, relationship) | Draft 2
My final book in the Widower series. This one will touch on topics not covered in Dating a Widower or Marrying a Widower that keep coming up in the inbox or discussion boards.
The Best Obituary Ever
Val Patterson wrote his own obituary and in doing so probably wrote the best one I've ever read
I was Born in Salt Lake City, March 27th 1953. I died of Throat Cancer on July 10th 2012. I went to six different grade schools, then to Churchill, Skyline and the U of U. I loved school, Salt Lake City, the mountains, Utah. I was a true Scientist. Electronics, chemistry, physics, auto mechanic, wood worker, artist, inventor, business man, ribald comedian, husband, brother, son, cat lover, cynic. I had a lot of fun. It was an honor for me to be friends with some truly great people. I thank you. I've had great joy living and playing with my dog, my cats and my parrot. But, the one special thing that made my spirit whole, is my long love and friendship with my remarkable wife, my beloved Mary Jane. I loved her more than I have words to express. Every moment spent with my Mary Jane was time spent wisely.
***
Now that I have gone to my reward, I have confessions and things I should now say. As it turns out, I AM the guy who stole the safe from the Motor View Drive Inn back in June, 1971. I could have left that unsaid, but I wanted to get it off my chest. Also, I really am NOT a PhD. What happened was that the day I went to pay off my college student loan at the U of U, the girl working there put my receipt into the wrong stack, and two weeks later, a PhD diploma came in the mail. I didn't even graduate, I only had about 3 years of college credit. In fact, I never did even learn what the letters "PhD" even stood for. For all of the Electronic Engineers I have worked with, I'm sorry, but you have to admit my designs always worked very well, and were well engineered, and I always made you laugh at work.
***
To the gang: We grew up in the very best time to grow up in the history of America. The best music, muscle cars, cheap gas, fun kegs, buying a car for "a buck a year" - before Salt Lake got ruined by over population and Lake Powell was brand new. TV was boring back then, so we went outside and actually had lives. We always tried to have as much fun as possible without doing harm to anybody - we did a good job at that.
Read the entire obituary here.
I think everyone should write their own obituaries. They're a lot more personal, revealing, emotional, and they turn strangers into real people.
So even though I didn't know Val, I'd like to thank him for setting a new standard in obituary writing. I hope others follow suit.
Update: The Salt Lake Tribune has a great follow-up to the obituary that gives greater insight to Val and his life.
2012 Blog Changes
Happy New Year, everyone. I hope 2012 is off to a great start for all of you. I’m making changes to my blog this year in order to give readers a better idea what they can expect from this blog. My goal is to not only write more often but make the blog more predictable and interesting for readers.
Starting today the following columns will appear every week:
Monday – Column will focus on writing, publishing, industry changes, and other writing and book related topics including current writing projects.
Wednesday – Widower Wednesday columns will continue.
Friday – Will focus on current events, politics, and things of that nature.
Appearing at least once a month (maybe more depending on what’s going on in my life)
Tuesday or Thursday – Family related posts. What Marathon Girl, me, and the kids are up to.
Saturday or Sunday – Videos, pop culture, sports, and lighter topics.
Whether you’re new to this blog or have been reading for years, I hope these changes will make the blog more enjoyable.