01/11/2013 Fantastic Friday!

Hello everyone and welcome back! Getting back into the swing of things has been tough, but I won't let anyone down. It took me some looking to pick the right story, but I think I have a good one for all of you, so let's get right to business!

Today I bring you 'Disease' by Curtis Berry. A short story about a man that has been crippled by illness and must work to stay alive while at the same time fight against the screaming in his body begging him to accept the release that death brings.


The main character doesn't have a name, which is fine because frankly it works out in this case just perfectly. You know all of the pain the man is in, physically, and you know what kinds of weakness the disease has wracked his body with. You see the world from his point of view, a dark dreary place that has caused him to experience something terrible that refuses to help him. When he finally decides to self-medicate he goes out into the city on a terrible night and you get to see exactly what he thinks of the world and some of the highest establishments.



'Disease' is available for free on Smashwords and is a rather entertaining read during a break or lunch. I do recommend picking it up because once you finish it you truly do appreciate what the author was trying to do with the story. Since it's short, I won't give any sort of spoilers so you'll just have to trust me on this one and pick it up for yourself.

Thanks everyone for coming back and visiting me this week to welcome me back. It's all greatly appreciated and I hope I was able to make it at least a little entertaining for you all. Next week will be more of the old routine as I try to get the rest of my habits back in order! For now, please still enjoy the coupon WC65W for 'The Light Rises' so you can get it 50% off as my token of thanks. Also, everyone have a great weekend!

01/09/2013 Writing Wednesday!

Hello everyone and welcome back! I hope the start of your week has seen you all well. There is some kind of awful plague thing going around work so I am using all of my willpower to not be caught in it's terrible grasp. Hopefully it will continue working as it has. Currently I am sitting on the couch covered in nice blankets and one of my cats, who is letting me know it's time to clip his surprisingly sharp claws by kneading my arm.

Anyway, onto more important things. Coming back from a hiatus, no matter how long, has its challenges, and I find I'm running into them at all corners. Probably the biggest one is getting back into the habit of what I was doing before. For example: I want to work on everything, but I also want to play my Vita at work during lunch, and X-Com when I come home (kind of obsessing right now), and I like being able to lay in bed in the morning and read articles and news on my phone before having to get up. That's the problem everything is so comforting that forcing it to the back-burner again and filling my time with work takes willpower and effort. One way I have started the process of combating this is by starting to read what I had done during NaNoWriMo. It gets my head back in the game and the creative thoughts spinning again. I also liked not having to drag my laptop everywhere, that bag gets heavy.

Right now it's about getting back into the swing of things, and another way to help that along is to devise a plan of attack of sorts. It's all about re-devloping the habit that you had before, and luckily once you're back in the stride it'll feel great! I know I need to take it kind of slow though, which is good and fine since the last thing I want to do is jump into it full-force and put myself right back where I started in December. So far the plan I have is that once I have finished reading what I have so far of 'Through the Broken Mirror' that I will of course, start writing it again and get to the point where I finish it. Most of the writing will likely take place in the morning, which a majority of it getting done during the week I work later due to more time. I will also get back in the habit of bringing the laptop to work so that the transposition work of 'Daughter of the Shackled King' can start up again. Luckily that is a slow process so I shouldn't have to worry about over doing it.

Something else you should also take into account is that eventually you will feel like it is never going to get done. There will be this little voice in your head that will tell you the day you started working, and then it will remind of you what day it is now. There will be frustration, disappointment, and anger that follows, but you need to also remember to stop yourself in the middle of all that and subtract the time you took your break. This will close the gap a little, and depending on what you're doing that should help you feel at least somewhat better. Never feel guilty about taking a break, no matter how long, especially if it was for medical reasons. I can't stress that enough. I know there are people who feel like they should be working on something 24/7 and feel just 100% awful if they needed to stop for any reason, but please understand that if your health was coming at risk the break was necessary. Sure I feel bad that I haven't been able to work on either story I'm currently in the middle of, but that's more because I like the stories and I always remember how much I like them when I'm working on them, and less because I don't think I needed the break. Like I said before the start of NaNoWriMo; if there is pain, EVER, no matter how small, stop what you're doing and take a break. Pain is your body telling you that you've gone too far and you need to stop for a bit. Never feel bad about that.

I appreciate everyone stopping by again, and as a reminder of my appreciation if you go to Smashwords and use the coupon code WC65W you can get 'The Light Rises' for 50% off! Don't forget about 'Uncrossed Paths' either as a free introduction to the four main characters too! Did I mention that one's free? I'll be back on Friday though, so please enjoy the rest of your week and stay away from any plagues out there!

01/07/2012 Magnificent Monday!

Hello everyone! I have decided to try and make a comeback starting today! I apologize for the long hiatus and also appreciate your patience and the many kind words that I have received since the end of November. As far as I can tell things have healed up (as much as they can be) which means that I can start focusing on what's important again!

I really didn't want to have to take the time off, but after NaNoWriMo this year I really needed it. It was a big wake-up call for me too, since I basically learned that if a game I want to obsess over comes out in November, I need to decide which one I love more because I obviously can't handle both it and writing like the wind. Things got pretty bad, but I decided that since I type a lot at work any excess typing wasn't going to do me any help so I decided to cut that out as much as I could. Thankfully lots of Alieve and some rest later things have calmed down to a more manageable level. I would have come back last week, in order to start off the new year right, but work decided they needed to change which Saturdays I worked, and having to do too weeks of early shifts in a row were absolutely murder.

In order to get myself back into the proper swing of things I have also started reading what I have done so far of 'Through the Broken Mirror' and it's helping me get back into the mindset of what I was trying to accomplish with that story. I have to keep telling myself that while it may not be on the same global-disaster-sized scale as 'The Light Rises' or even 'Rending the Seal' that doesn't mean that to the central characters that isn't happening. It's a delightful challenge and I am enjoying every step of it.

The next step to getting myself back into my old game will be to start bringing my laptop to work again. Right now I am going to take it slow, so it probably won't come with me right away, but that will start up again. I do feel kind of bad that I don't end up having lunch with people, since in general I'm doing something on either my Vita or my laptop with headphones on, but I enjoy the focus I can put into something else that isn't work.

I do, again, appreciate everyone's patience and encouraging words while I was off. I had more messages than I was expecting from authors telling me to get better soon and all of them brightened my day. As a token of my gratitude, I have created a coupon for 'The Light Rises' to be used on Smashwords so you can get it for 50% off! WC65W is all you need to type in to get it for the discounted price!

For now though! Thanks again everyone and I will be back on Wednesday so we can get everything back on a somewhat normal schedule again. It's good to be back.

11/30/2012 Fantastic Friday!

Hello everyone and welcome back. I apologize for the lack of anything on Wednesday, but I seriously just needed a day off from everything. Still do wish I had some time off, but I suppose I'll take what I can get. For now though let's get to work.

Today I bring you 'Fatal Melody' by Aubrey Campbell. It's told from a first-person perspective, which I always find impressive, and is a story about a siren named Liana who has decided she's had enough with killing sailors that come by her island. Each death has weighed on her and she has finally decided that she is finished.

Liana and her sister Callista are bound to the island they live on, and after Liana destroys yet another ship she discovers a survivor and vows to keep him safe. The deaths had always brought a heavy weight to her soul, and now with a man who survived she sees it as fate intervening. She vows to change her ways, who she is, and all that stands in her way is her sister.

I picked this story because the tales of the sirens are a piece of mythology that has lasted for so long, and yet I don't recall hearing how the stories ended. Obviously modern society has moved on from thinking mythical creatures caused storms and shipwrecks, but that's kind of sad if the end to the sirens' story is that we all just out-grew them.

'Fatal Melody' is available on Smashwords for absolutely free and I hope you all get a chance to check it out. I think everyone would enjoy it very much, so please tell your friends and help out the author a little bit.

Thanks everyone for stopping by. I have been working on this blog for, it seems like ever, and it has been a great amount of success for me. After this year's NaNoWriMo however I am beginning to see the limits in what I am able to do. I have already come to the conclusion that next year if a gave I want is coming out at the same time, I can't participate in the contest unless it's something I can wait for. It is with a heavy heart that this blog is also coming up on the list of things I probably shouldn't do as much. I'm not saying I'm done forever, however what I am saying is that I severely need a break for at least a little bit while I heal up. I pushed myself a little too far and while during the writing I thought everything was fine, it was when the muscles came to rest that I discovered otherwise. I will be out for at least the next couple weeks while things calm down. I'll still be available on Twitter @explodingrunes and the facebook pages for 'The Light Rises' and 'Uncrossed Paths'. Thanks so much for all the support, loves and hugs, and I hope you have a nice weekend.

11/26/2012 Magnificent Monday!

Hello everyone and welcome back! I hope the weekend treated you well. Mine was spent with friends while family was with family I wasn't able to visit. It was also spent obsessing over Persona 4: the Golden on my Vita, but let's just be honest and say that we all knew that was going to happen regardless of what happened over the weekend.

NaNoWriMo may be over for me, but there are many of you that are doing the last big push to get in those 50,000 words in by this Thursday. To those of you who are doing that, I bid you the best of luck and happy thoughts. I know it's a tough thing to do and sometimes our bodies give out before our minds do in that regard, but I wanted to let you all know that I'm still cheering you on. It's a momentous undertaking and the fact that anyone is able to focus on something for that long and put that must thought and creativity into it is fantastic. You're all winners to me!

I'm hoping that if nothing else this week will be a little less hectic than the last one. Whenever there is a holiday during the week work gets super crazy because people are trying to get all their things done before the days off. Though now that I think about it, I doubt that will happen at least today because of all the people who are going to be playing catch up, but there's hope, right?

I'm alright trying to determine how long my break is going to be before I jump back into 'Through the Broken Mirror'. I know I want to spend sometime not bringing the laptop to work, mostly because I don't like always dragging my bag around, I just need to figure out how much time that's actually going to be. I think once I got to the 50,000 words mark that I am just under halfway through the story (yeah right, I know it'll end up longer, but I can dream) and while I'm able to work on it at my own, more reasonable pace, I just need to figure out what that pace is going to be. My original plan was to get some of it done before work, however my schedule changes weekly so that may be a bit more difficult.

Also I am still trying to figure out which retailer actually has the new edition up of 'The Light Rises' and which ones don't. I checked on Thursday and Apple DOES have the new edition, however, Sony and Barnes & Noble do not. Smashwords has said all they can really do is keep resending the file, so I have taken it upon myself to contact Barnes and Noble and as them about it. We'll see what they say, or if they say anything, so this is bound to be interesting. I'll keep everyone posted though, because frankly I would like people to be able to see the new edition and not keep getting the old one even if it says it's new. The best way to tell is that on the title page, there will be a list of actual other titles, and not just something that says more will be coming soon. If it has the list of titles it is the new edition, and please tell everyone you know and love. That would be appreciated.

For now though I must be off. I appreciate everyone for stopping by on this Cyber Monday. I've already gotten some good deals and I hope you all have too. I'll be back on Wednesday though, until then I hope you all have a great start to your week!

11/23/2012 Fantastic Friday!

Hello everyone and welcome back on this Friday! If you had the Thanksgiving experience yesterday I hope it was great for everyone and that you had the best of food. If you are among those out Black Friday shopping, I firmly believe you are a crazy person, so that if something I have only done once, will never do again, and also don't have the day off for.

Today I bring you 'Z' by Manuel Alves. It's about a boy who is the last of his kind that is kept in a room by himself and monitors his own security. He wants to know what he is and why he is the way he is, but the only answer he ever gets is 'Z'. He knows he is smarter than everyone else there, but what the scientists don't know is that he has figured out a way to escape his prison.

The reason why I picked this story today is that I am always a fan of stories where the protagonist is seeking freedom. They always have their reasons, and I always find it interesting how they handle the situation they're in. Z is the last of a whole list of children that were created artificially and he is smarter and more skilled than some of the smartest scientists and professors in the facility. He knows he's the last one, and the real worry is why that's the case. So he does what the others before him never did; he figure out how to escape his confined world to freedom.

Z is available on Smashwords for free, so I encourage everyone to check it out. It's relatively short, so maybe you can look it over between Black Fridays stops (though please don't do that while driving to and from those locations) or maybe, because it's free, you can give it to someone as a gift!

Thanks everyone for stopping by today! It looks like some of the links at other retailers are starting to actually work for 'The Light Rises'. I haven't checked Barnes and Noble yet, but I was able to look it up on Apple yesterday, and they DO have the new edition. The way you can tell is that on the title page it will actually have a list of other titles to come. If you see that please spread the links around for me! Until then I'll see everyone on Monday!

11/21/2012 Writing Wednesday!

Hello everyone and welcome back! I hope the week is seeing you all well so far. Mine has been kind of rough, but also productive. I'm hoping that today (and the fact that I have tomorrow off) will make the rest a bit better. We'll see though, at least I have video games to keep me occupied and distracted.

As you may or may not have seen, I got to the 50,000 word total yesterday. Now this is fantastic and I'm super excited to have gotten it completed before my goal, even after the discovery of their math not working right on the NaNoWriMo site. For those who are also participating in NaNoWriMo, the question once you are finished usually is one of wondering where to go from here. This can take a few different directions depending on what your goals are, naturally, so I will bring up the few I can think of off the top of my head here.

The first is to get your work published. Well, start the process of doing so anyway. If you went the short-story route for the month, then there is a strong possibility that your work is done for the initial writing portion of your story. If that is the case then it's time to get editing (after your 'I just got to 50,000 words, I'm going to do whatever I want for a little bit' break that you rightfully deserve) because that is going to take some time. In some cases editing can take just as long, if not longer than the initial writing process simply because of the number of times you have to go over everything and make sure it is 100% perfect. Once that's completed you have to decide if you're going to self publish or go through an agent, which is another ordeal in itself. However you decide to take your story that is up to you and I wish you the best.

The other path you can take is just to finish your work. This is the step I am on, seeing as I used NaNoWriMo this year to start the third book in the trilogy for 'The Light Rises'. Currently the book is (I think) just under halfway completed, and I plan on finishing up the writing portion as soon as I am able. As much as I want to plow through the next 50,000 words, I know that logically I should take a break or at the very least slow down. This is fine because while I am still happy I can pace myself and NaNoWriMo done without absolutely destroying my wrists, I'd rather not push it anymore than I already have. Once you finish your book then it's off to that editing process I mentioned before and then pretty much everything follows the same path from there.

The other option I can think of is to sit on the file and stare at it lovingly with affection and pride because you managed to accomplish a great feat of progress. Not that the people that are doing the other two options aren't going to do the exact same thing, but I also understand that sometimes people participate in the month not because they want to get something published, but so that they can feel the sense of accomplishment that comes along with it. I know and completely understand that there are people who a lack of time to actually get a lot of things done that aren't just associated with the stresses of life, and sometimes just being able to put your focus and attention on something that isn't life is a fantastic achievement. I salute and say congrats to you for being able to grasp onto something and have it mean that much to you. I am a firm advocate in work/life balance and I am incredibly happy for you.

No matter what route you're taking for your work this year, I am happy for everyone that finishes, and even for those that get closer or don't finish. This is a momentous project and sometimes it becomes a little more daunting once you actually start it. The important thing is that you got progress done and that you are proud of your work. Good job everyone, hold that sense of accomplishment up high for the world to see because you have earned every ounce of it.

Thanks so much everyone for stopping by. I will be back Friday for my normal review. I wish I had the day off the avoid everything like the plague it is the day after Thanksgiving, but that is not the case. I will however will bring you a wonderful story to look at! I hope everyone has a great rest of their week and if you celebrate it, a fantastic Thanksgiving!