There’s not a shortage of ideas, and I certainly know time is ticking in finishing the next book in this series. So what’s the problem? I didn’t have a clue until Kathilynn noticed a pattern during her editing.

“You seem to write just like you approach life, sweetheart,” she said this morning over breakfast, “…with passion and overwhelming force, giving it everything you have.”

“I didn’t realize that was a bad thing,” I answered.

“When I read your story, I look at things from the perspective of the reader, and in that respect, it’s not always good. Your ideas are incredible, but you don’t have to use them all at the same time or in the same book. You create situations with such emotional intensity, that when the smoke clears, you’ll have nowhere to go.”

Wow. I’d never noticed that, but I could see she was right. In wanting to make sure readers feel the full impact of the Waned Hero story, I wasn’t telling the story. I was creating a barrage of events without allowing  the natural development of conflicts to occur. Easy to fix, but I would have missed it were it not for my wife pointing it out to me (thank you dear).

Maybe you’re like me–that when you write, you get so involved in the stories that you lose yourself. Your mind spins personalities, situations, people, places, monsters, mayhem and in the end, you’re torn as to what gets to stay and what gets cut. It’s a hard choice sometimes, especially when you want to use it all. That’s not always possible.

What did I learn? That it’s good practice to sit your butt in the chair and barf out the first draft in all it’s chaos, complexity and insanity. Don’t judge yourself–just let it all flow and get it out. I use a general outline, but trust yourself to walk that magical line of inspiration. Then trim it. Make sure you take the time to cut the fat from your original ideas to make the events, conversations and conflicts flow. That’s where I think I was falling short. I’m back on track now, smoothing out the next draft and it’s looking better than I had hoped.

It takes several cycles of combing through a book before you can create a story worth the attention of a reader IMO. Just trust the process…and the power of your creation.

There’s been so much confusion over that cover–I have been wondering if the smiley face  has prevented people from reading the book? That could very well be the case. The reviews we have are all very good and readers love the story, but there seems to be hesitation…so after talking it over with the folks at On The Fly Publications, the cover was changed.

I’m not too disappointed, but it will be interested in seeing the reaction when the next cover comes out–whether knowing why a smiley face exists will make a difference…

For now I give in–and I apologize for confusing people. You will most likely have an “aha” moment when you read Chronicles of a Hero, but that doesn’t help the motivation to read Prelude now.

If you haven’t read Prelude to a Hero, give it a shot. It’s a fun story and at only $0.99, you’re getting a heck of a deal for an evening of laughs and adventure!

I apologize for taking so long to post, but the holidays with 10+ children is a magical time that deserves my full attention. Writing was a challenge, though wonderful progress continues on Book One of The Chronicles of a Hero. The maps being created to provide greater detail have turned out to be rather inspiring, both to myself and Kathilynn.

…which brings me to the subject of this post: the next Fieldguide.

In the midst of the holidays and getting Demoni Vankil into the library system, I had some new requests for Höbin’s works. It was exciting to have the feedback from youth on this project. It’s always nice to have kind words from the adults, but when a child comes to you and says “Your book was FREAKING AWESOME!”, you get stoked to do more. One reader approached me yesterday and said he’d read Demoni Vankil three times already and is going back for the fourth. This 18 year old said he can’t wait to read more from the gnome fishis, and I certainly can’t wait to tell Höbin to get started.

It starting to look like the Fieldguide’s were a good idea after all, and the next requests pouring in are for Höbin to create a travelers guide. Yeah, you heard that right–a guide to the lands of Elämä: what you can do there, what to see, what to avoid,…and don’t forget Höbin sharing the interesting stories he picks up along the way!

So while we go through the revisions of the next novel, it looks like Höbin has some work to do as well.

I wish I had done better.

My goals were much higher, but I learned that when you spend 16+ hours a day with Wendell and most of that time is arguing with Dax or trying to pin Chuck down on a single issue, it becomes exhausting. But here’s the clincher:

There’s no other work I would rather do than write this story and share it with you.

I know, I know–there aren’t many readers of this story yet. It hasn’t caught on. People who have read it aren’t talking and I certainly don’t have the money to advertise like the big boys. But time will tell. However long it takes, I’ll keep plugging away to get the next piece to those who are interested. There’s a need in my heart that I can’t seem to satisfy unless I’m writing this story to produce the next book. A part of me that aches when I watch Wendell struggling with circumstances he can’t always control. I just have to tell his story.

Perhaps I have too high of expectations? I’m not sure. But writing such a big story takes more effort, time and heart than I realized. I promised the second book by Thanksgiving and I’ve had to extend that goal to give myself more time. That’s not a mistake I intend to make again. I apologize.

The good news is, there is a second book, created because it was necessary for the writing of the second book in the series. Did that make sense? Hmmm.

Hobin Luckyfeller had information I required for Chronicles of a Hero: Book one (what I am currently writing). It took several formal requests, a triple sized batch of Kathilynn’s cookies and a half case of Blackseed Rum to get him to relinquish it to me (don’t tell my bishop I’m dealing in rum, BTW). But when I looked over the material, I was astounded. There was a unique and brilliant story in the research papers that had to be told! So with Hobins assistance, we created the Demoni Vankil and published it for humans to enjoy.

If you haven’t read the book, I suggest you do. It’s still a YA Fantasy, but personally I would classify it as a Fantasy Mystery Documentary. The story is a stand alone (though one of Hobins Fieldguides), but the book does greatly enhance the main storyline. Just as a side note, Kaitlyn, over at Kaitlyn in Bookland gave Demoni Vankil 5 stars…and only gave Stephanie Meyers’ “Twilight” 4 stars! BOOyah!! Even if it is a typo, I’ll take it, thank you. LOL Haven’t seen Kaitlyn’s review yet–but I’m giddy with anticipation!!

So onward and upward with Wanted Hero and just know, I’m working at least 12 hours a day on this. It’s what I do for a living, so please support me in this. If you like the story, please tell someone about it. If you really like it, please blog about it, twitter about it and tell a dozen people. It will help me greatly…and guarantee the next book to be made.

Thank you for your support!

Jaime & Kathilynn