The World of James

So, it occurs to me that I've said a lot about being a writer, having written two books, etc., but I've never actually said anything about my books. I've never given any background information, or fun facts, or coordinates for the location where I pick up the manuscripts from the aliens I work for. (Don't tell anyone about that last one. It's a SECRET.)

So, if we really  want to talk about all this stuff, we have to go wayyyy back - back to my first project. I'm not willing to call it a book, though technically it fits the qualifications for a story (characters interact in a storyline). I started writing The Chronicles of Azarath when I was about 8. I wrote about 12 chapters... each of which was about a page long. It was about four people (Mia - no, no relation to the Mia -, Jared, Nile, and Gerick) who had to go on some super-quest in their magical world to stop the evil skeleton king. (It is also worth noting that the world in World of Warcraft is called Azeroth. I'm pretty sure I came up with Azarath first. I think I should sue them for stealing my intellectual property.)

I essentially stole the story directly from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. The characters don't have enough depth even to be called stereotypes, the plot line... well, the plot line just didn't make much sense, and it was altogether horrid. But it was useful. How, you ask? Was it because it was my first experience writing and I discovered I liked it? Was it because it gave me something productive to do? Was it because it made me feel like I'd found my place in the world?

Well... no. It was because I came up with the name Geric, who would eventually become the most legendary vampire ever to exist. Sadly, his story may never see the light of day due to the existence of Twilight... or maybe he'll just have to wait 'till after Sam has had his time in the light to make an appearance.

Nightbane was completely different from the Chronicles. Not only did I have enough ideas to actually write though a complete book, I had the time and - far more important - the willpower to do so. That's the most important thing to have whenever you start out on a big project - the will to see it through to the end.

Of course, it took me three years to finish - namely because I wrote it, then re-wrote it because the first version made NO sense whatsoever and seemed more like an Anime series than a novel, then re-wrote it AGAIN when I finally typed it up on the computer. Now, looking back at it, I get the feeling that if I ever want it to hit the markets I'm going to have to re-write it some more... there are just too many characters, and my word-craft is simply poor compared to what it is now.

To date, Samuel Faar is my crowning work. It's witty. It's clever. It hooks people in. I took everything I learned about cliff hangers from 24 and incorporated them in. It's (mostly) original. The plot line makes sense. The characters are real people. There aren't 20,000 characters, either. And the best part - I invented it with no forethought whatsoever. It was originally going to be a short story about a magician who lived in our day and age - I had just gotten finished reading a couple Urban Fantasy books - but it completely evolved even while I was writing it.

To my surprise, I'm even happy with the overall storyline. Except for chapter 4 (which got cut immediately after I wrote it) it's all progressed surprisingly smoothly. I mean, there might be a few plot holes I'll have to fix in the future, but there isn't anything MASSIVE that I have to re-create like there was in Nightbane. It's a nice change of pace...

My hope is to have Sam Faar done by the end of the summer (at the latest). After that, I'll start sending out query letters to publishing agents. I'm already mentally steeling myself... apparently EVERYBODY gets rejected. A lot. I'm preparing to take up to 5 years to get it through. Yep. I'm determined! And, you know, if I can't get it published, my entire future basically goes down the drain...

But hey, y'all know me. I live for the gamble.

Oh, and one last thing before we go - I, being a generally selfish person, like to see my follower-base grow. It's not that you people aren't good enough for me, I swear. I love you all. I would just love you all more if there were more of you. So I'm announcing the first-ever Everybody-Tell-A-Friend-About-James'-Blog-And-Get-Them-To-Be-A-Follower (yes, we're still working on the name... for now we'll just shorten it to ETAFAJBAGTTBAF. Y'all can say that, right?). So go, kidnap your friends, and torture them 'till they comply. I mean, you know, if that's your kind of thing...

Happy hunting,
James
Generally Awesome Person, Creator and Ruler of the Great Compass, Koolest Blogger Evah, etc., etc.