Ep 8: 4/26/18 Progress Report

by Michael La Ronn | Apr 26, 2018 | Writer's Journey, Writer's Journey: Writing Updates

[TheChamp-Sharing]

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This week's episode is sponsored by Indie Poet Formatting! National Poetry Month concludes with an essential book for poets who want to take their career into their own hands.

The poet's guide to formatting poetry for ebooks and paperbacks. A step-by-step manual on creating beautiful digital poetry collections.

Buy it today: http://www.michaellaronn.com/indiepoetformatting

SHOW NOTES

Quick overview of this week's show:

Update on progress for my Sound Mage Sonata urban fantasy series
Two new podcast interviews, a new patron, and listener questions
Special surprise!

Sound/Music Credits for this week's episode

Intro/Outro Music: “Kick. Push” by Ryan Little.

Sound Effects/Miscellaneous Credits:

In the Country by High Arches: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Armistead/Home_recordings_Vol2/Josh_Armistead_-_Home_Recordings_Vol_2_-_03_In_The_Country

Needle Skip by ZE Sound Research Inc: https://freesound.org/people/ZeSoundResearchInc./sounds/117512/

Keyboard Sounds 2 by philip1789: https://freesound.org/people/philip1789/sounds/260005/

Censor Beep by Mattskydoodle: https://freesound.org/people/mattskydoodle/sounds/195116/

Vomiting by Vikuserro: https://freesound.org/people/vikuserro/sounds/246308/

Awe Whistle by Inspector J: https://freesound.org/people/InspectorJ/sounds/411924/

Applause 2 by Sandermotions: https://freesound.org/people/Sandermotions/sounds/277021/

Drum Roll, Please! By HoBo Trails: https://freesound.org/people/HoBoTrails/sounds/424927/

Sound effects courtesy of Freesound.org.

TRANSCRIPT

Hello, and welcome to episode 8 of the podcast.

Writing News

I’m still making progress on The Sound Mage Sonata series, so no major updates to report right now, other than that it’s coming along nicely and I’ll have some material to share with you very soon. For some more background on the research I’m doing on the series, be sure to check out episode 3 at www.michaellaronn.com/episode3.

Also, my dark fantasy series The Last Dragon Lord will be coming to audio.
I signed a deal with narrator Miles Meili. We just wrapped production on Book 1 and Book 2 will go into production around the middle of May. I can't wait to share it with you guys.

CLICK HERE TO START LISTENING.

Marketing News

I recently appeared on the Anchor Coming Soon Podcast. Anchor is a social media platform for podcasting that is doing some really cool stuff things in the audio space. I sat down with Brendon Bigley at Anchor and we chatted about The Writer’s Journey Podcast. I'll drop a link in the show notes. I was featured on the front page of the app and I got some incredible exposure for the show.

How I did it: Anchor put out a request for people to create Coming Soon podcast trailers and they invited people to email them with their show ideas. I did exactly what they asked: made a quick pitch trailer, and I got their attention! It really was that simple. Shout out to Brendon, John, and Bryan at Anchor for providing me with this great opportunity.

I also did an interview with Russell Anderson-Williams of the Creative Action Takers podcast. That was a fun interview, too. We don’t talk just about writing—we talk about the overall act of creativity.

New Patrons on Patreon!

That’s it for news this week. I want to give a shout out to my new patron: Cariad Eccleston. Cariad has been following me for a while since back in my YouTube days, and I appreciate her support. She’s a fellow author working on her first novel and she’s got a really cool blog, so I’ll drop a link to her website in the show notes. Thank you, Cariad!

Listener Questions

And as luck would have it, our new patron also happened to ask two questions!

What outlining method do you use?

Cariad Eccleston

Great question, Cariad! I’ve used every outlining method you can think of: Hero’s Journey, Plot Point Theory, Snowflake Method, etc. These days I use the Writing into the Dark method by Dean Wesley Smith.

Essentially, you write without an outline and make up the story as you go. Not something I’d recommend for someone on their first book or two, but it’s an advanced storytelling method authors can aspire to.

On my YouTube channel, Author Level Up, I did a video called “How to Outline a Novel in 10 Different Ways.” I recorded this back in 2015, but it’s a good resource. In the video, I go through every major method of outlining and talk about the pros and cons of each. I’ll drop a link in the show notes.

How long do you outline for before starting a draft? (I’m working on my first novel, and been outlining/plotting for *months*. Oh boy, I have to believe it gets faster than this.)

Cariad Eccleston

I don’t outline anymore, but when I did, I was outlining in about 2-3 days prior to writing my novel. My very first novel took me four to five months to outline. It gets faster. Eventually, you don’t even need to outline. When you write your next novel, apply the lessons you learned from outlining the first time around and you’ll be surprised how much less time it takes. It should get exponentially faster with every novel you write. Great question!

The Podcast Now Has a Sponsor

And I have one final thing to talk to you guys about.

I also got…drum roll, please, a first sponsor for the show!

I’m only 8 episodes in, and I’m already making it rain.

That Anchor interview I did really opened some doors for me. A listener of the show reached out to me via email, and he offered to pay me two thousand dollars if I would advertise his business. I couldn’t turn this away. I have bills to pay!

Plus, this guy owns a really ritzy restaurant. I think it’s in Colorado or Wyoming or somewhere. I don’t even think two thousand dollars would buy me a napkin at this place. Seriously, it’s that lavish.

He sent me the script this morning and I haven’t had a chance to read it, but I know it’s going to be good, so I’m going to wing it. Here we go.

[CUE COUNTRY MUSIC]

This week’s episode is sponsored by Chesapeake of the West.

Say it with us: decadence. Decadence. After a hard day at work, you deserve the finer things in life. Stop by Chesapeake of the West, where we offer the finest selection of the best oysters the Rocky Mountains have to offer. These spring water oysters are raised under the big sky, and they’re GMO and gluten free!

Gulf of Mexico? Step aside.

The REAL Chesapeake Bay? Get outta here!

Don’t let the naysayers fool you—our pearls are the finest bull testicles money can buy…?

[Needle skip] [End commercial]

Rocky mountain oysters? Let me Google these [CUE KEYBOARD SOUNDS]…what the [expletive]? [Expletive], [Expletive], [Expletive]!!!!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” Pele

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS WEEK'S SHOW

New Patrons: Cariad Eccleston – thank you so much!

Visit me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/michaellaronn

Anchor Coming Soon Interview: https://anchor.fm/comingsoon/episodes/The-Writers-Journey-e19duj

Creative Action Takers Interview: https://anchor.fm/creativeactiontakers/episodes/EP5-Michael-La-Ronn-and-the-cracks-in-life-e1b16n/a-a31ulv

Writing into the Dark by Dean Wesley Smith [AFFILIATE LINK]: https://amzn.to/2EVbVHP

How to Outline a Novel in 10 Different Ways [VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhjRZ18JwpY

Show's over, but it doesn't have to stop here.

If you liked this episode, you and me are probably kindred spirits.

Join my fan club

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS WEEK'S EPISODE?

Let me know!

WJ Ep 7: The Five Senses and Why I Use Them in My Writing

by Michael La Ronn | Apr 19, 2018 | Writer's Journey, Writer's Journey: Behind the Scenes

[TheChamp-Sharing]

Subscribe: Android | RSS

This week's episode is sponsored by Indie Poet Rock Star! National Poetry Month continues, this time with a groundbreaking book for poets!

The poet's guide to ebooks, marketing, and the self-publishing revolution. Take charge of your career and learn how to make money from your poetry.

Available in ebook, paperback, and audio!

Link: http://www.michaellaronn.com/indiepoetrockstar

SHOW NOTES

Quick overview of this week's show:

Why the five senses are one of my secrets to effective writing that engages the hearts and minds of readers
Examples from my work
A new way to think about this using two unique analogies

TRANSCRIPT

The older I get, the more appreciation I have for the five senses.

There's something to love about paying attention to all of life's cues in a five dimensional way…

There’s this memory that I will never forget.

I was sitting in my great grandmother’s kitchen as a boy as she cooked lunch on a sunny afternoon.

I remember relishing the sweet smell of fresh corn bread when she pulled it out of the oven.

Collard greens simmering on the stove with a ham hock bobbing on the surface. The ceiling fan whirring wildly.

Judge Judy blaring on the TV. People screaming at each other.

Sugar exploding on my lips as I drink a cold can of grape soda. Beads of sweat on the shiny can like translucent pearls.

I crush the cold aluminum in my palms. Time for another one.

[END MEMORY]

Was that vivid? Did I take you there? Could you see, smell, and hear the memory? If so, keep listening to find out how I did it, because I'm going to talk about one of the key secrets in my writing craft.

***

Hello there, and welcome to episode 7. I want to talk today about a technique that I have been using in my writing for the last ten years that has made a big difference with readers.

It's the reason why in reviews, readers say that my work is imaginative, visual, and it's almost like they can “see” my story unfolding.

That technique is using the five senses in my work. When I say use, I mean repeatedly, and over and over again.

This is fairly common advice, but I wanted to talk today about how I apply it practically.

In order to use the five senses effectively in your work, you've got to do it in such a way that it doesn't impede the flow of your story and the readers don't notice you're doing it.

When I was writing poetry, one of the first things I learned to do was to use the five senses. Poetry forced me to economize, so I often got creative and used single words to describe something in two senses. Sometimes I made words and phrases up to achieve the image I was going for.

[CUE LOVE MUSIC]

May I say that you look razzledazzly today?

[NEEDLE SKIPS, ENDING SONG]

When I made the jump to short stories and novels, this was something I was already pretty good at so it made the transition smoother. I'm to the point now where I do this on autopilot. I don't even have to think about it. In fact, when I'm in public and called upon to speak, I often speak in stories, and I find myself using the five senses orally, too.

I took several courses with Dean Wesley Smith, a prolific author who I consider to be a virtual mentor, and he talks about how the five senses ground the reader in your story. It makes the story real for them because they can see it and feel it.

In the clip I opened the show with, I used all five sensory details to tell the story of sitting in my great grandmother’s kitchen. If I did my job right, it was engaging and kept you listening.

***

Here's how I've learned to take writing with the five senses to the next level.

I like to pair the senses with my content.

Example #1: in my Last Dragon Lord Series, my Main character is a dragon. A dragon is going to experience sensory details differently than a human, so when writing the book I focused on taste and smell more often, about 60-70% of the time whenever I needed a sensory detail. That made my hero’s observations more realistic, and readers called it out in the book reviews.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE LAST DRAGON LORD

Example #2: When choosing imagery, I don't just pick the best thought to describe something; I use imagery that matches the emotion of the scene. In a poem, I once described tumbleweed rolling through a building. I used the line “rolls through the bowels of broken buildings.” I could have said “insides of broken buildings,” “rubble-crusted broken buildings,” or some sensory phrase. But with that poem, I was trying to describe a desolate, post-apocalyptic atmosphere. Bowels has a negative smell connotation and reminds one of ruin and decay, so that image made the most sense.

Example #3: I use sensory detail to help the reader see out of the character’s eyes. When the reader is along for the ride, they live alongside the character and they see what the character sees. They also cannot see what the character cannot see, which is sometimes helpful because you can hide certain things in plain sight that will be important later.

To illustrate this in real life, I can't tell you how many times I have an encounter with someone, and I recall it like it was yesterday…but my wife, who was right there with me, recalls it differently. She focuses on different details than me, picks up clues in people’s body behavior that I completely missed. But here's the thing: the clues were still there.

If there's anything I've learned, it's to imagine writing as painting.

Think about the last painting you saw. Artists have an uncanny way of focusing your eye. Certain elements of a painting have amazing detail: others have basic detail. The artist is attracting your attention to what he wants you to see.

When you're writing, you're drawing with mental paint. You want the reader to see what you want them to see; all else is noise. You can use sensory detail as a way to ground readers in the story, hold and direct their attention, and distract them from something that might be important later on.

Very powerful.

***

Quote of the week: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt

CREDITS

Intro/Outro Music: “Kick. Push” by Ryan Little.

Sound Effects/Miscellaneous Credits:

Cooking in the Kitchen by KenzieVaness: https://freesound.org/people/KenzieVaness/sounds/352050/

Opening a can of soda by michorvath: https://freesound.org/people/michorvath/sounds/386887/

Pop tab break by SunnySideSound: https://freesound.org/people/SunnySideSound/sounds/67806/

Ceiling fan by zmadyun: https://freesound.org/people/zmadyun/sounds/343793/

egg timer by xyzr_kx: https://freesound.org/people/xyzr_kx/sounds/14263/

Needle Skip ZE Sound Research Inc: https://freesound.org/people/ZeSoundResearchInc./sounds/117512/

Archetypal (Star-Crossed Lovers) by Drake Stafford: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Drake_Stafford/~/Archetypal_Star-Crossed_Lovers

Sound effects courtesy of Freesound.org.

Show's over, but it doesn't have to stop here.

If you liked this episode, you and me are probably kindred spirits.

Join my fan club

WJ Ep 6: Car Trouble in the Middle of Iowa [from the Sketchbook]

by Michael La Ronn | Apr 12, 2018 | Writer's Journey, Writer's Journey: Sketchbook

[TheChamp-Sharing]

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This week's episode is sponsored by Android Poems by Elliott Parker (my poetry pen name!) National Poetry Month continues.

An innovative poetry collection set in the 24th century, filled with androids, technology, and what it means to be human. Explore a rich futuristic world that could one day be our own.

Link: http://www.books2read.com/androidpoems

SHOW NOTES

Quick overview of this week's show:

How I had some car trouble in the middle of Iowa
A kind act from a stranger that I will never forget

TRANSCRIPT

[Cue Car trouble sounds] Have you ever had car trouble? Imagine that you're stuck on the side of the road with your hood up. It's a blazing hot summer day and you're dripping in sweat as you listen to your engine sputter. You smell like exhaust and oil, and you're frustrated at how much money this is all going to cost.

You feel despair as you glance at the street, watching car after car after car go by, wishing you could get some help. If only your car was one of those cars, if only you weren't the one sitting on the hot asphalt!

This happened to me and a friend back in 2011 when we had some car trouble. Fortunately, we weren't stuck on the road forever. Fortunately, someone did stop.

The gentleman who helped us out is the subject of my sketchbook today.

***

Hello, and welcome to episode 6 of the podcast.

As I mentioned in the intro, this week’s sketch is from all the way back in 2011.

It's funny how time blurs out little details, because I don't remember the specifics of this day other than that we had some car trouble.

Here's what I remember: a friend of mine and I were on the way to a place called Wesley Woods, which is a camp where a lot of college students work summer jobs. My friend worked there.

We stopped for snacks at a gas station on a county road, and when we turned the car back on, it didn't start.

We were stuck in the parking lot of this random gas station in the middle of rural Iowa with no idea what to do.

We were in our twenties, so in other words, pretty naive. We never thought to call roadside assistance or the insurance company, and we didn't have smartphones back then.

So we called a tow, and waited.

We watched a lot of cars pass by. In fact, there must have been hundreds, and the drivers all stared at us.

We were already late and off schedule. This didn't help. And, I should add that there we were of color. Imagine a black guy, a Filipina, and a Latina standing around in a gas station parking lot in the middle of nowhere. Not something you see in Iowa very much.

Just when all was lost, a red car pulled into the parking lot and saved the day.

***

We’re standing around, trying to figure out how we’re going to fix my friend’s car trouble when we hear tires crunch over a pothole.

A 90s red Lincoln Continental slides into the parking lot and curves around the pumps real smooth. The way it moves reminds me of a pimp rounding a corner in the hood. The car stops, then reverses into the parking spot next to us. The trunk pops open.

Red 1993 Lincoln Continental

Out of the driver’s door comes a skinny black guy with a goatee. He's wearing a long white tank top and blue basketball shorts.

“Y’all need some help?” he asks.

We nod desperately.

He pulls a jumper cable from the trunk and goes to work. Within minutes the car is running.

“Could be the alternator,” he says. “But your real problem is your battery fluid. It's too low.”

We make small talk, try to pay him, buy him a bottle of soda, but he refuses.

He tells us he's a mechanic at a shop nearby. Only black guy in a county full of white people. He said he saw us and knew he had to stop. It's not every day that you see some pigment around here. He had just gotten some gas and was on the way to a Corvette show in the next county.

His name was Wesley.

And funny coincidence, we were going to Wesley Woods that day.

What I remember the most is just how many cars passed us by that day, and how he was the only one who stopped.

***

Quote of the week: “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

Melody Beattie

CREDITS

Intro/Outro Music: “Kick. Push” by Ryan Little.

Sound Effects/Miscellaneous Credits:

Sound/Music Credits:Sound/Music Credits:Intro/Outro Music: “Kick. Push” by Ryan Little: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ryan_Little/~/kick_push

Hold My Hand (Ambient Mix) by Ars Sonor: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ars_Sonor/In_Search_of_Balance_Among_the_Shadows/07-Hold_My_Hand_Ambient_Mix_1984

RFX_Car Engine by willybilly1984 https://freesound.org/people/willybilly1984/sounds/345335/

Car Honk by sethlind https://freesound.org/people/sethlind/sounds/264993/

Cars passing in the night by snapalicious32 https://freesound.org/people/Snapalicious32/sounds/143925/

Pulls up and parks car by benwer https://freesound.org/people/benwer/sounds/260828/

Sound effects courtesy of Freesound.org.

Show's over, but it doesn't have to stop here.

If you liked this episode, you and me are probably kindred spirits.

Join my fan club

WJ Ep 5: Searching for My Biological Father

by Michael La Ronn | Apr 5, 2018 | Writer's Journey, Writer's Journey: Writing Life

[TheChamp-Sharing]

Subscribe: Android | RSS

This week's episode is sponsored by Be a Writing Machine! It is featured in this week's episode—keep listening to find out how.

A practical guide to writing faster and smarter, beating writer's block, and being a prolific author. This must-have productivity book for writers will unlock doors to their careers that they never knew were closed.

Link: http://www.michaellaronn.com/beawritingmachine

SHOW NOTES

Quick overview of this week's show:

How a recent search for my biological father didn't end the way I expected it to
How I've learned to cope with the mess of feelings associated with being abandoned
The incredible bright spot that came out of all of this (a book)

TRANSCRIPT

In this episode, I'm going to be talking about some personal struggles I had this year, and how they ultimately led to the most important book I’ve ever written.

***

Hello there, and welcome to episode 5 of the podcast.

This time I want to talk about a life-changing experience that shaped me as a writer. It’s April 2018 as I record this and it happened earlier in the year.

This experience is about my biological father.

My parents divorced when I was young. I never knew my father, and from what I've learned, he never wanted to know me.

In early 2018, I decided to try to find him. I had a lot of questions, and to be honest with you, I wasn't brave enough to search him out until then.

Growing up, I was angry that he didn’t want to be around. Really angry.

But now was different. I had a three year old and I knew what it meant to be a good father. I'd learned some important life lessons. I mellowed out. I just wanted to understand.

On a complete whim, I found him on Facebook. I spent hours on his profile looking at his posts and profile. He’d aged quite a bit, had remarried, and he was living in Florida. He looked happy.

It took me two days to muster up the courage to send him a friend request, with a short message that I was his son and that I wanted to connect.

He ignored my request.

I knew deep down that there was always a possibility of rejection, but I wasn't actually prepared for it.

It shook me to my core. I wasn't myself for days.

I had to come to the fact that my father had abandoned me. I had never actually accepted it before. I just compartmentalized it, pushed these feelings deeper inside myself with the hopes that one day they might disappear. I had suppressed these feelings for my entire life—loneliness, inadequacy, anger—but I never knew that abandonment issues were what they were called. Not once did it ever occur to me that these feelings weren’t normal.

Forgiveness came unnaturally to me, and I had to back into it. But I did forgive my father.

***

But let me tell you about something that I’m still struggling with.

I learned that my father’s sister lived only a few miles away from my childhood neighborhood. She even taught in my school district. I probably saw her many times and never knew who she was. But she probably would have known who I was.

Growing up, I had always thought that my father’s mother—my grandmother—died when I was young.

It turned out that she died only a few months prior to me reaching out to my father.

I was blessed with two amazing grandmothers growing up—both were like mothers to me. So to realize that I had a grandmother who didn't want a connection with me, was really hard. It went against everything I knew to be true of what a grandmother should be.

I could take my father. I could even take my aunt. But I couldn't take my grandmother.

I remember reading her obituary and thinking to myself that it’s irrational that I would be more upset over the passing of a grandmother I never knew than the fact that own father abandoned me.

I couldn’t shake the emotions. There’s this heavy energy I feel every time I think of her—it’s so powerful it usually takes my breath away. I don’t know what it means, but I don’t feel this energy when I think of my father. That’s why it bothers me.

I keep thinking if only I had reached out sooner, maybe things would have been different. But at the same time, I’m grateful that my life turned out the way it did—I’ve been blessed with an amazing mother and maternal grandparents, and an incredible stepdad who filled the void that my father left behind.

But I can’t ignore the emotions I feel, and I’ve learned to cope with them.

***

There's a silver lining to this story, I promise.

I've always had this notion that I'm going to do really well in life, and I'm going to be wildly successful in spite of my father. Just to show him that I didn’t need him. I used that to overcompensate for the fact that I had abandonment issues.

This experience taught me that I am who I am, and that, in and of itself is enough. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. Not even to myself.

But spiritually, I had to heal.

And that's when I rediscovered something that I have known all my life but had somehow forgotten: Writing is how I heal. It's how I deal with life’s problems. It's me figuring out how to deal with the world through my stories.

When my father rejected me for the second time, writing was the religion I turned to to heal.

My wife and I had a long spiritual talk about this—about my father, my writing. We talked about my creative well and how it’s always full. She said something that I’ll never forget. She said, it’s not enough to fill your well—if you don’t use it to help other people.

I started thinking about that.

After all, at this point in my career, I was publishing 10-12 books per year, which is something that most writers only dream of. I was doing this with a full-time job, no doubt.

How could I share what I learned about writing with other people so that they could improve their careers?

That’s why I wrote my book, Be a Writing Machine. It was the exact book I needed to write at that point in my life.

In Be a Writing Machine, I talk about my father and my life, so one hand it’s therapy. One the other hand, I talk about how I’ve learned to be a prolific writer over the years in spite of difficulties.

It felt really good to write the book, and I did it purely to help other people. I don’t care if I never make any money for it. If it helps just one person or a couple of people, then it did its job. That book was my way of sending out some positive energy into the universe to compensate the negative energy I felt from the experience with my father.

As we come to the end of this week’s show, I’d like to share the book with you. Here’s a clip from the audiobook version of Be a Writing Machine, narrated by John Freyer.

Clip from Be a Writing Machine Audiobook

by John Freyer

CLICK HERE TO BUY BE A WRITING MACHINE

***

Quote of the week: “Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.”

Marianne Williamson

CREDITS

Intro/Outro Music: “Kick. Push” by Ryan Little.

Show's over, but it doesn't have to stop here.

If you liked this episode, you and me are probably kindred spirits.

Join my fan club

WJ Ep 4: 3/29/18 Progress Report + Listener Questions

by Michael La Ronn | Apr 4, 2018 | Writer's Journey, Writer's Journey: Writing Updates

[TheChamp-Sharing]

Subscribe: Android | RSS

This week's episode is sponsored by the Moderation Online series!

Welcome to New Eaton, a video game metropolis where human-like vegetables and processed foods are at war, and humans are caught in the middle. This quirky Gamelit series has to be read to be believed. Start reading with Food City, the first novel in the series. For fans of Ready Player One and Final Fantasy.

Series Link: http://www.michaellaronn.com/moderationonline

Book 1 Link: http://www.michaellaronn.com/foodcity

SHOW NOTES

Quick overview of this week's show:

How my Sound Mage Sonata urban fantasy series is progressing
My marketing plans for the show and a recent promotion campaign that I participated in that had a noble cause
Listener questions from a true fan

Sound/Music Credits for this week's episode

Intro/Outro Music: “Kick. Push” by Ryan Little.

Sound Effects/Miscellaneous Credits:

Coconut Robot2 by James Pants: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/James_Pants/Bonus_Beat_Blast_2011/35_james_pants-coconut_robot_2

Off to Osaka by Kevin Mcleod: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/Jazz_Sampler/Off_to_Osaka_1502

In_Cafe_2 by martats: https://freesound.org/people/martats/sounds/156981/

Boo You Suck by RoivasUGO: https://freesound.org/people/RoivasUGO/sounds/233579/

Sound effects courtesy of Freesound.org.

TRANSCRIPT

Hello, and welcome to episode 4 of the podcast. I thought I would spend some time talking about what I’m working on writing-wise, marketing-wise, and then answer a few questions.

WRITING NEWS

In writing news, I’m working on my new series. It’s an urban fantasy with a male hero called The Sound Mage Sonata. Think urban fantasy meets the Arabian Nights and Prince of Persia. It takes place in a modern city inspired by Dubai. Listen to episode 3 for a run-down of what the series is about and what kind of research I am doing for it. That episode is called “Sound Mage Sonata Series and Middle East Research.”

Book 1 is called Prince of Nocturnes. I’m writing around 2000-3000 words a day, which is pretty good for a Book 1. My Book 1s tend to move slower because I’m still trying to figure out the world, but this one is going to be fun.

My hope is to be done with Book 1 by the middle or end of May.

MARKETING NEWS

In marketing news, this podcast is my big project right now. I’m spending a lot of time working on it and making sure that the quality is professional and the content is entertaining. I welcome your feedback, so please drop me a voice message and let me know how I’m doing.

I also participated in a promotion for GiveGrow.Net. They are a company whose sole focus is to help others grow and develop. This past month they are focused on authors.

This promotion was called the “Indie Author Superbundle” and 25% of their gross sales went to Pencils of Promise, which is a very noble cause. The audiobook version for Be a Writing Machine is in the bundle. There were some AMAZING books, courses and services, so I was honored to be invited to it. The value of all the services was around $5,000, and you could purchase them on a pay-what-you-want model. It was some good exposure for Be a Writing Machine, and I made some affiliate income from it, so that’s always a good thing.

***

LISTENER QUESTIONS

Let’s move on to some listener questions.

Confession: This is the first month of the show so as I record this, I haven’t actually published the show yet.

However, I have a true fan who sent in a ton of questions, and he couldn’t wait until the show was live. Seriously guys, he sent me a lot of questions, so many I can’t answer them all, so I’ll play his questions and answer a few.

[Cue weird robotic music]

I was once beaten up by a stranger in an alley one time because I smiled at him. Tell me, Michael: Have you ever smiled at a stranger and then wished you hadn’t? Why or why not?”

Oswald McChipperson

Artifically Intelligent Reader

Thanks, Oswald, and I appreciate your question! Actually, yes, I have a habit of saying hello and smiling to strangers all the time. Once, I was in a gas station parking lot pumping gas, and I nodded to a gentleman at the car ahead of me. The guy then approached me and tried to get me involved in a pyramid scheme. True story.

And if you REALLY want to hear a funny story sometime, I’ll tell you about an experience I had first-hand with a pyramid scheme company. It’s really creepy, really hilarious, and really sad.

[Cue robotic music] Oswald has another question.

As a young robot, I was often afraid of socket wrenches. They scare me to this day. Tell me, Michael: What was your most irrational fear as a child?

Oswald McChipperson

Artifically Intelligent Reader

Wow, you’re getting deep, Oswald. OK, so I was scared of some weird stuff as a kid. Sewer grates, for example. One time, when I was six or seven, I was at a house party—my aunt and some relatives were sitting on the front porch and I was playing my Gameboy in the grass. Every time my family laughed, I thought a monster would come out of the sewer grate to eat us. No idea why. Maybe because the sewer grate looked like teeth. Completely irrational.

One more question.

[Cue robotic music]

You have a lot of creative premises and ideas. Tell me Michael: have you ever come up with a book idea that didn't work out? If so, just how badly did it end for you?

Oswald McChipperson

Artifically Intelligent Reader

Oh, Oswald. If you only knew. Anyone who knows me knows that I occasionally come up with some strange ideas, yet I always find a way to make them work. For example, my book Moderation Online is about a group of terrorist vegetables attempting to take down an empire of processed foods. I know, it sounds utterly ridiculous, but trust me…it works.

I had to browse through my sketchbook for some of my worst ideas. I happened to find some audio from a reader survey I did at a book reading once. I’ve never played this before, folks. Here we go.

[Cue jazz music, audience sounds]

“I have this idea for an urban fantasy…imagine Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meets Little Shop of Horrors…”

[Crowd boos]

“Oh, come on. How about this one—it’s an idea for a post-apocalyptic novel. Imagine a blender and a gang of household appliances trying to make their way in a post-nuclear world. It’s like The Brave Little Toaster meets The Last of Us. Huh? Huh?

[Crowd boos]

“What the hell is the matter with you people?? Haven’t you read quality fiction lately? Hey, what are you—get your hands off me…stop, please stop—”

[Screams]

That one brings back painful memories. Thanks Oswald, for your questions. Very much appreciated.

[Oswald] “You're welcome.”

***

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

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