Windswept Nights

Prior to my surgery last fall, I had continued writing but felt as though creatively, I had run dry.  I entered a publishing contest with mixed results, but the result was when all was said and done, I had fairly successfully self-publishing yet again.  Unfortunately when it came to fresh ideas, I was fresh out--but I had been playing around with the idea of one final novel in the Windswept Saga, to serve as both sequel and prequel, taking us back to the beginning of Sam and Susan's romance while playing out stories I had hinted at in The Art of Love.  This is book six, which means book five (which I have had a story for, for a while now, but need to do further research before I put pen to paper).  Additionally I have two further novels in the works, including one that is past the 30,000 word mark, which I hope bodes well for future creative endeavors.  Purchasing information for Windswept Nights appears below.








Windswept Hearts

Cowboys Like Us

My love for the series “Castle” is well-known, and I’m not shy about promoting the show to other prospective viewers.  Over the years I have also seen Nathan Fillion in “Desperate Housewives,” “Pasadena,” and “Waitress”, so wasn’t it inevitable I’d eventually get around to watching “Firefly”?  Thanks to a friend who sent me the DVD set for my birthday, I was able to view it.  The foremost question, of course, was would I enjoy it?  I love “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” and “Lost in Space” and “The Twilight Zone”, and the fifteen or so episodes I was able to see of “The X-Files” were great, but I don’t, as a rule, seek out science fiction.  Call me a lazy viewer: sometimes I just can’t commit to something with that much mythology.  My impression after viewing “Firefly” is that you either get it or you don’t—thankfully, I got it.  I was fascinated by the idea of a space western:  cows and horses and taverns and spaceships and futuristic weapons.  Fillion’s Captain Malcolm Reynolds was a layered character who didn’t take crap from anyone, and the show was imbued with a lot of heart, humor, and even pathos.  There were plenty of unexpected twists and turns, and I find myself wondering, with every short-lived show, how a second season might have looked. I still need to see the follow-up movie, “Serenity.”

Back to my point about “getting it”.  It reminds me of a show that I loved as a kid, “Eerie, Indiana”, in which the lead character and his best friend seemed to exist in an alternate universe in which they were the only keen observers.  So much of life is subjective, including television shows, because we reflect our own set of feelings onto the characters and their plights.  If I didn’t already have a fascination with westerns and the cowboy lifestyle, or an appreciation of Nathan Fillion, my enjoyment of “Firefly” may have been much less.  Thanks for the laughs, Serenity gang—I needed them.

Yes, I know this capture is from "Desperate Housewives".  It's what was in my DVD player at the time.

 

Inspiration on the Small Screen

When I was a kid I didn’t really understand Westerns, but I watched plenty of them—John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Gary Cooper, Audie Murphy, Robert Mitchum—the list is endless.  And then there were the TV ones—Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Virginian.  I even categorize the original Dallas as a kind of Western; the ranch played an important role in the mythology of the show, and Ray & Donna, the cowboy and the lady, had the love story that most captured my attention. Little wonder, then, that as a grown-up I’d write a bunch of novels featuring cowboys and not think twice about it.

If you can name a soap opera that aired in the past thirty years, I probably watched it.  My favorites were The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of our Lives—and I hold a soft spot for Guiding Light and As the World Turns, which I watched alongside my beloved Mamaw Bell.  Anyway, those things, which I still watch, gave me a good background in story structure, romance, and continuing dramas.  And I’m also pretty sure they made me more empathetic and understanding of problems and circumstances I have (thankfully) never encountered.  Empathy, more than anything else, may be the writer’s greatest tool.  You have to walk in your characters’ shoes, endure their pain, and experience their joy.  Entertainment value can only carry you so far.  If you don’t “feel” anything for the characters in a book, TV show, or movie, what’s the point? 

Books for Sale

The good news is I finally completed my third book, Windswept Hearts.  The sequel to my first book, Windswept, is quite different from the others I’ve written—the story comes together in a roundabout rather than straightforward way.  Of course, I still believe in happy endings.  I had to read-through it at least three times so any remaining errors are there for the duration, I suppose.  As always, if anyone wants to provide feedback, I’m here to listen.  I’m nearly finished with my fourth novel, which likely will be the final one for this year.  I really am worn out from writing, but it’s been a great experience bringing my ideas to life.

http://www.amazon.com/Windswept-Hearts-ebook/dp/B009AV0MXU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1349187774&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Windswept-Hearts-Mr-Tommie-Conrad/dp/1479254479/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349187814&sr=1-1

Advertising

Now that my book is completed and published to Amazon’s eKindle Publisher, I have to figure out an effective method of advertising.  I like to think this blog is one of those avenues.  I suppose my ultimate fear is apathy and dislike for my work, although at least dislike means someone read it.  There are truly works written for every taste, which is why the book aisle in any store is so full of novels and non-fiction titles.  I’m still not entirely comfortable with my self-drawn cover but since it was done on a limited budget I guess it’s better than the placeholder cover Amazon provides.  Later I’ll try to create something better.  Ultimately I’m not sure how long it takes to read the book, but I do know it took me close to six hours to finish each time I edited it.  If anyone has any comments, hopefully positive, feel free to share them with me.  I look forward to hearing from fans, no matter where they may be.

http://www.amazon.com/Windswept-ebook/dp/B0082BQLQQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336857034&sr=8-1