Just a bit of an update

I just recently heard from my agent. She tells me that there's nothing happening right now in terms of publishers salivating over my manuscript. True, it is a slow time of year as far as the publishing industry is concerned, but there's still hope.

I've been told that the plan now is to step things up for the new year. The Aggressive Agent plan is now in place and query letters are going to be sent out. Apparently this is a very time consuming and thankless process as far as agents go. I've requested that my agent focus on at least two publishers who seem to put out a lot of books that are in the same league as mine. We'll see what happens.

As far as Zeke Proper and the Serpent's Ship is concerned, it's going slow. I have some ideas, but the motivation isn't where it should be. I managed to put down a few paragraphs tonight, and I'm hoping that this Christmas break will give me a chance to sit down during the day and put some time into it. I'm really not using this as an excuse (well maybe I am), but writing a sequel to a book that hasn't even been published is hard.

So, send me your thoughts. I need more positive energy.

Yes, I still write, I still exist, I still wait.

Greetings loyal readers.

I suppose a bit of an apology is order, considering that I've made some promises to myself, published them on my blog, and therefore have made some promises to you as well. Let me say first that motivation is a real bugger. I cannot express to you how difficult it is at times to actually make the effort to sit down and write, especially when I'm writing the sequel to a novel that hasn't even been published yet. But is that a realistic excuse? Probably not. Therefore, I push on. Right? Right.

Currently I have 12,000 words in the Sequel to Zeke Proper and the Sacrifice at Alder Cove. The story is moving along, taking on its own twists and turns. It's actually quite exciting to anticipate where it's going to go next. It almost feels, at times, like the story is a living entity. Zeke is experiencing some real difficulties. In fact, he's downright hurt, physically and emotionally. And, there's more to come. Almar Loden is a creep (he's a new character), and Teddy Walford, Jr. is caught somewhere in the middle. It's really getting good. Even I'm having fun.

So, stick with me. I can do better.

Peace, Brad

Happy Thanksgiving

My best to all of my followers, so far. I wish a happy Thanksgiving day to you all. Spread the word about the blog. I'll need all the positive energy I can get to see my book get published.

More updates to come soon. I'm still writing. The work goes on.

Cheers.

Please Meet Teddy Walford, Jr.

I've been writing tonight. The commitment to put together 1000 words a day has a particularly edifying effect. Not only does it push me to produce, but I truly believe it has opened up the lines of communication between myself and the muses. I have completed the next 1000 words, so now I'm up to 8065. However, with that being said, I would like to introduce you to the latest character in the Zeke Proper saga. Please meet Teddy Walford, Jr. -

Teddy Walford, Jr. sat in the back row of his 5th period Algebra 1 class. The math teacher stood at the front of the room moving lithely between her desk and the white board. She spoke enthusiastically about slopes, x’s and y’s, and intersecting lines, but seemed to be failing in her attempt to engage the thirty or so students who stared up at her, some of their minds blank, while others thought about anything other than arithmetic. Teddy, however, just stared, his eyes narrowed into tiny slits of malice, his mouth curved in a snarl, like an angry junk-yard dog anticipating an attack upon it’s trespassing victim.

Teddy hated math. Teddy hated his teachers, his school, the students who surrounded him asking stupid questions. He hated the ones who talked incessantly about boyfriends and girlfriends, about this TV show and that TV show. He hated the girls who constantly looked at themselves in the mirror, and the boys who flexed their muscles in an attempt to attract the opposite sex. He hated the ones who listened to their Ipods, or talked on their cell phones constantly when they were sitting in the same room with someone else. He hated the town, the lousy weather, and he hated the smell of fish. He even hated his own reflection in the mirror. In short, Teddy Walford, Jr. hated everything and everybody.

Teddy was only fifteen years old, but compared to the others boys his age, he was a giant. Sitting in the desks that were designed for the “normal sized student” was a challenge. Teddy had to literally squeeze himself into place. His knees pushed up against the bars that held the desk together, and the table’s frame howled in protest every time he shifted his weight. His arms were thick and muscular. His belly, though large, was firm, a solid mass of strength. His feet were size sixteen, a common argument with his mother who dreaded the continual search for new sneakers. Instead, she found that her best option was to order online, since no local shoe stores carried footwear that large. Teddy also had a broad, muscular chest, shoulders that exceeded any normal girth that a clothing store would carry, and a head that simply denied every hat that tried to fit its dimensions.

This is the latest excerpt from the newest book Zeke Proper and the Serpent's Ship

This is going to be good stuff people. Stay with me. It's going to get even better.

All the best - Brad

One Down

It's 9:10 pm Monday. I've spent the evening writing and staring at my computer screen and it is with great pleasure that I announce that the word count is at 7063, one word short of the thousand I had planned to write. But, you know what? I'm okay with that. I got a lot done and the story is starting to take off. I was a bit worried that I had come to a bit of a snag in the plot, but forcing myself to write has actually let the muses speak. Book 2 is definitely on its way.

Stay with me folks. I will persevere. You can then say you followed the journey to its conclusion.

Cheers.

And So It Begins

The last time I wrote, I informed you, my devoted followers, that a challenge had been set, a challenge set by myself, to write 1000 words per day to push my second novel along, Zeke Proper and the Serpent's Ship. Granted, it's taken me a few days to get back onto the blog site to announce the departure of this adventure (I've been taking a lot of deep breaths, and I've been wiggling my fingers a lot to get them in shape to begin typing), but I now think that I'm ready to go. The current word count on the second book is 6064. I have four chapters completed. It's currently 8:23 pm on a Sunday evening. My plan is to have 7064 words or more by tomorrow evening. I'll write more tomorrow to give you an update.
Please stay with me and be apart of the adventure.
Peace. More later.

A day or Two After

I've managed to get the word out on this latest blog site and have only come up with partial success. Shoot, I've even tried offering extra credit to my students at school if they will only leave their mark, you know, let me know you were here. So far only Hector has been good enough to read and comment. Good job, Hector. This should bring your grade up to a solid D (just kidding).
But I digress. Let's get back to the real reason for this blog, and that, my friends, is to promote the hell out of my book, if and when it ever gets published. I mentioned in my last installment that the book has been edited (thank you Katherine Watkins. You are an angel - one with a really bad temper and a Long Shoreman's vocabulary, but nevertheless, an angel) and has finally been sent away to my Lit. Agent. So what now? We wait. At least that's what I'm told. In addition, to make the wait seem even more frustrating, I've been told that the holiday season is a very slow time of year when it comes to publishers looking for new talent. On the other hand, if you're a book seller, this time of year is great. However, with the off chance that things move quickly, I will attempt to set the bar high; perhaps even challenge myself a bit, something like Julie did in the "just okay movie" Julie and Julia. If you recall, the real Julie set out to cook all of Julia Childs' French recipes contained in her famous cookbook in as many days. An impressive feat, indeed. But a cook I am not. So, the next best thing is to write, something I am only marginally good at.
The first book, Zeke Proper and the Sacrifice at Alder Cove, is approximately 250 pages in length. It took me just a little over two years to complete. But there are reasons behind that, laziness and lack of motivation only being part of them. Since the book has been sent off to its fate, a second book, Zeke Proper and the Serpent's Ship, has been started and I am currently teetering on somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,000 words (25 pages; five chapters). So, for the sake of a good laugh, and hopefully another finished novel, I set for myself the challenge of writing 1000 words a day. My plan is to keep you all updated on the word count and where the plot is going (within reason;I don't want to give too much away).
So, come with me, if you will, and explore the frustrations of a writer. I guarantee there will be many. Wait for my next blog which will appear soon and where the journey will begin.

Waiting for the Sky To Clear

We've come to that point in time in Oregon where the sky is perpetually gray, the streets have that never ending glazed sheen of wetness splayed over them and the yard is nothing but one big mud hole. Cutting the lawn, even on the days when it's not raining, is as effectual as taking your life into your own hands. I have heard (true story) that one home owner was out trimming the grass, got caught in a bog hole somewhere in the middle of the lawn, and sunk to his death. His wife found him sometime during the following spring when she went out to fix a clogged sprinkler head, turns out it was her husband blocking the riser. It was a simple fix really, she just moved him out of the way and the irrigation now works just fine (thank you very much).

With that same outward vision of gloom, the inward reflection seeks for the skies to clear. For over two years now I have been writing, rewriting, editing, editing editing my first novel, Zeke Proper and the Sacrifice at Alder Cove. A young adult work of fiction, Zeke Proper is the story of a 14 year old maverick who battles the worst of the Norse gods and their spawns to rid a small fictional town of an ancient curse. It's full of sleuth, blood, gore, and yes, there's even family related themes: you know, love, forgiveness, togetherness. I entered this project knowing next to nothing about the process of bringing a work of fiction, or any writing for that matter, from the computer screen to a publisher. So far I have only gotten as far as a literary agent, but that in itself is a huge success. At this point I am waiting for word from the agent as they search for the right publisher. I'm told it could be a long wait. So until then I will continue to write and blog. Please keep up with me on this adventure. Perhaps the skies will clear and my anticipation and anxiety will be rewarded.