The Wheel Spins. Chaos is Unleashed.
DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN… 72 HOURS AND COUNTING.
The race is on to stop a madman bent on unleashing the ancient plagues of Egypt against the modern world. Tel-Al-Balamum, Egypt. The dig of an ancient temple is decimated by fiery hail from the heavens. And that’s only the beginning.
Buenos Aires. Paris. West Point.
The countdown has begun. Only Army Chaplain Jaime Richards, along with rock star Mark Shepard, can stop the catastrophe and save the mysterious Sword 23 from the clutches of a psychopath… if they can find the true mastermind in time.
Buy on Kindle / Paperback / Arundel Publishing
Dear
Up-and-Coming Author,
If
you take your craft seriously (and I’m sure you do), you know the
rules of grammar and the three acts of storytelling. You know how to
craft a character and heighten tension. You likely also know how to
add “hooks” so that societies full of nurses and Weimaraner
owners will find your opus through search engines.
As
a public service, I hereby list the also crucial, but often
unwritten, rules of fiction writing.
1)
Don’t kill the dog. You can kill the grandmother by inches or
boil the baby, but if you kill the dog, readers will fling your book
across the room (or their e-reader, which will break, causing them to
blame you even more) and never buy or borrow another thing you’ve
written. They will also badmouth you on all social media sites.
2)
Don’t kill Ned Stark or any other main protagonist who does
the ethical heavy-lifting (at least, not until the end of the
book).
George R.R. Martin can get away with it. You can’t.
3)
If your fan fiction begins to seriously go viral, hire a copy editor
at once.
4)
Hope that your first novel won’t become a bestseller. (You’ll
thank me later.)
5)
Have a room of your own where you can go to write, and where
you really DO write. This room can be a coffee shop or library or a
poorly lit basement. It will likely have to be somewhere out of the
trajectory of your normal life, and hopefully will not have wifi.
6)
Play well with others. In this profession, as in all others,
what goes around, comes around.
7)
Do not sleep with crazy people “for research.” In
fact, the list of things not to do for research is pretty long.
8)
Do not use the proper name of a beloved deity as a curse. You
can justify it in many artistic and character ways, but it will hurt
readers in ways you do not intend and will pull them out of the
story. Even if you are profane with glee in real life, try to be more
creative in type.
9)
Never underestimate the value of a cat or dog at your feet
while you are writing. They make the best company and never make an
inappropriate comment.
10)
Do not blame your family for being hungry/wanting to see you. You’ll
eventually have to build this in.
11)
Never dis another writer in print or on social media. You may
think of it as momentary amusing snark, but it NEVER GOES AWAY.*
*
This does not apply if you are Lee Child talking to PLAYBOY, in which
case you may say anything you damn well please and every writer on
the planet will look at you with awe.
12)
Realize you are writing because you love it and not because it will
make you rich. Do not pre-order furniture.
13)
Come up with a great “I finished a book!” celebratory
ritual. I finished my first book in 7th grade, at which time a banana
split was the world’s greatest extravagance. Diana Gabaldon buys a
new set of towels. That is probably more sustainable.
14)
Most important: keep a sense of humor. It is your
lifeline.
15)
Do not spend your time and creative energy writing or reading
blogs when you should be writing your novel.
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