Tuesday, July 15, 2014

This is the End...


Well, here we are…release day of my latest (last?) book, Blood in Snow.



I have to say, I'm a bit bummed. Not because the book is being released. To tell you the truth, I actually LIKE this one--and believe me, that's difficult for me to say!! Up until this point, I've always hated my writing. But I'm rather proud of Blood in Snow. It makes me, well, smile inside ... kind of a sad, bitter-sweet, smile.



You see, Blood in Snow is the last installment in my Riddle in Stone series ... which means I'll be saying goodbye to a lot of wonderful characters I'm met over the past five years. Edmund, Pond Scum, Abby, Becky--even the goblins, Kravel and Gurding--I've really grown to love them all. We've been through a great deal together. And now, it's the end.



I suppose to most of you, none of this really makes any sense. After all, they aren't real and I can go see them any time I want just by closing my eyes, right?



I don't know. They seem pretty real to me. Okay, I know they aren't "real" real. Still, they have a life of their own. When I sat in front of my computer, I didn't intend on having Edmund be as neurotic as he is. I didn't put sarcastic comments in Abby's mouth. All of that just kind of happened. They developed themselves.



In fact, when I first typed "Pond Scum", I didn't think he'd become a main character. That was the farthest thing from my mind. He was just one of the pitdwellers--a random person Edmund stumbled across in the second act of the first story. But as the computer keys rattled, he began to take over and carve out a reality for himself. It was rather fascinating to watch (and hopefully read!).



It's difficult for me to say good-bye to my characters. I keep hoping the books will take off and sell MILLIONS of copies; not because of the money or fame or anything, but because then I'd be able to keep the series going or maybe write a side series.



But, for now, it's the end. Like a well-worn sweatshirt, I have to fold my characters up and tuck them away in a dusty drawer. I might take them out every once in a while and reminisce with them. But I know it'll never be the same. It'd be like a high school reunion. The idea of it sounds good, but the people you have dinner with aren't the people you remembered from all those years ago.



I hope you all have enjoyed reading the Riddle in Stone series as much as I enjoyed writing it. I want to thank you for your support and encouragement and feedback. I particularly want to thank everybody who has helped promote my books. Believe me, when you're an unknown author, every rating, every Facebook post, every recommendation to a friend counts! It only takes a handful of reviews to really start the ball rolling. So thanks to all of you who have made Riddle in Stone a success!!



Since my series is about a riddle, I have a riddle for all you readers:




Forever it goes,
and fast does it fly.
When it is up, 
All will die.


Pretty easy, eh? Well, if you know the answer and would like a free eBook bundle of the Riddle in Stone series, e-mail me your answer (robert.evert.author@gmail.com) and you may just win!!  I'll give away five bundles to people who answer the riddle correctly and are willing to review the books on Amazon and/or Goodreads!



That's it for now. Thanks again for everything! Talk with you soon.



--Rob

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Four Questions and a Commercial

Well, crap!!  I really have to apologize.  You see, I was asked to participate in a blog tour by the wonderful S.E. Dee (see her kick ass blog here) and I forgot.  It’s completely inexcusable.  It was horrible of me.  My apologies to everybody. 

Now that my work and family life has calmed down… here I am.  I’m supposed to answer four questions.  So here I go…


What am I currently working on?

Unfortunately, emergencies at work and home have prevented me from working on anything (fiction-wise) for a good month.  However, I was…and hope to resume…working on a story called KRAVEL. 

It’s about an evil (although he’d argue this point) goblin who has been terrorizing everybody in the goblin kingdom for centuries.  Then his protector, the powerful Undead King, disappears.  Suddenly, Kravel has to save his own skin before anybody realizes the King is gone.  Like they say, payback is going to be a bitch!

I’m still in the development phase and have only written about 30,000 words.  Hopefully it’ll work its way into becoming a novel-length manuscript.  We’ll see what happens.


How does my work differ from others in its genre?

Boy… I hate this question!  Every time you approach an agent or publisher, they always ask it and I never have a good answer.

Part of my difficulty is that I’m not sure any of the work in our genre is completely unique.  We all have various influences and so forth.

I also don’t want to sound like a pompous ass by saying “My work is SOOOOO original!”

How about if I will say this:  There are very few fantasies where the main character is the bad guy. Perhaps that little twist will help me sell it to a publisher.  


Why do I write what I write?

One word…Tolkien.  He’s why I love the genre.  I suppose I’ve been writing fantasy in a vain attempt to re-gain the feeling I had when I first entered Middle Earth. 

I’ve written other stuff (I once wrote a romance novel called Thunderstorms and Undying Love. But nobody liked it because all the characters died.); however, fantasy is what comes easiest to me.  I like the idea of roaming around and exploring a completely unmapped world.  You never know what you’ll find!


How does my writing process work?

I basically fling words on a page and see what sticks.

Seriously.

I have no idea what I’m doing when I write. Some people have outlines or character bios.  I just sit and type.  I don’t know the plot. I don’t know the characters or what they want from life. I just type.

Sometimes interesting characters pop their heads in and take over the story.  That’s when the magic happens. 

I see my role as just a recorder.  I watch what happens and write it down.  Nothing more than that.  Does that sound odd? 

My characters are their own people.  I let them do what they want and, eventually, a story develops.  In fact, my first book, RIDDLE IN STONE, was nothing more than a writing exercise.  I had no desire to write a novel. I just wanted to practice my dialogue.  But something happened and a story developed. Like I said, MAGIC!!



Well, that’s it for now.  Again, I’m very sorry for being so late posting this.

I also want to remind everybody that BLOOD IN SNOW (my third and final Riddle in Stone book) will be coming out on July 15th.  It's currently available for pre-order. I hope you all enjoy it.  I have to say, it's my favorite so far.

I’ll write more later.  Right now I have to run and get my car’s oil changed.  I'm late!!!  (Someday, I hope life stops getting in the way of my writing! :)

Cheers!


Rob