Gun Laws

Considering the number of gun-related deaths in the United States (3,300 since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut,) why would anyone with a grain of reason oppose comprehensive background checks?

The strongest argument for opposing any changes whatsoever to the 2^nd Amendment comes from the NRA, gun manufacturers, and conservative politicians, who proclaim that the U.S. Constitution is an infallible document and should be preserved at all costs. Hogwash! No one wants to take away the right to bear arms. But those driven by common sense want to see some reasonable legislation that will help keep guns out of the wrong hands. I’ve heard all the clichés: “If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” “If a criminal wants a gun, he’ll find a way to get one.”

A black market does exist for guns, particularly assault weapons. But do you think for one minute that every criminal has access to these illegal weapons? So if background checks prevent just one would-be-gun-related death, then it would be the right choice to require that all gun buyers pass a background check. That one person could be your husband, daughter, or sister.

Also remember that the 2^nd Amendment was written over 200 years ago. Times have changed. Society has changed. Technology has changed. When the 2^nd Amendment was written, the only guns available were single-shot flintlocks. That’s a far cry from an automatic assault weapon with a 30 round magazine.

So, why would anyone oppose background checks?  First, politicians who represent red states know that the majority of voters in their state are hard-core, pistol-packing cowboys. Any politician from a red state that backs any change whatsoever to the 2^nd Amendment better update their résumés. But even more than politics is the stronger issue: money. Background checks will result in fewer gun sales. Fewer gun sales result in less profit. Need I say more?

So basically, we have powerful and influential lobbyists from gun and ammunition manufacturers, not to mention the NRA, who care more about the bottom line than human life. You may have a hard time admitting it to yourself. But how many times in history has the all-mighty dollar trumped reason, morals, and logic? Let’s just hope that Congress has enough integrity to do the right thing.

A Rough Couple Months

Sometimes life comes at you from all angles. The last few months have been a challenge both professionally and personally. I haven’t really felt well for a long time. Muscle aches. Lightheadedness. Overall, just feeling crappy. My doctors tell me there’s nothing wrong with me, but I know my body and something’s going on.

Trying to get an appointment with my primary care doctor is like trying to get an audience with the Pope. Whenever I try to make an appointment, his assistant puts me through the third degree. Most of the time, my doctor prefers to diagnose over the telephone, a practice that really solidifies my confidence in him. Yes, I know. The obvious is for me to find another doctor. But no matter who refers you, no matter how many reviews you read on Yelp and Angie’s list, you never really know if you’re going to connect with a doctor until you’re ill and it’s his-her job to figure out why.

I think the thing that annoys me most is the fact that doctors (yes, I’m generalizing), are great at determining what’s NOT wrong with you, but very poor at figuring out what IS wrong. Enough said.

Moving on, I finished Hypocrisy, book #4 a few weeks ago and sent it off to my agent for her evaluation. The good news: She loved the story concept. The bad news: She feels it needs some work before we submit it to my publisher. As you might imagine, after spending eight months banging away on the computer keyboard, working nearly every day, it was and is disheartening to hear that the book needs more work. I do find solace in the fact that nearly every author—including the heavy hitters—goes through this.

Instead of immediately tackling a rewrite, I thought it would be wise to walk away from the book for a while and start something fresh, hoping a new project would jumpstart my creative juices. Well, I’m about 9,000 words into book #5, titled, A Piece of You (yes, let your imagination run wild), and although I have the beginning and end pretty much figured out, the middle is posing a real challenge. Such is the life of an author. Sometimes this author-business makes a traditional 9 to 5 job quite appealing. Then again . . .

 

Return from the Abyss

For the last eight months, I’ve been working feverishly to complete Hypocrisy, my fourth novel, and am delighted to announce that the first draft is done. Whew! While writing this book, I’ve neglected my wife, pushed aside many of my domestic responsibilities, I have piles of papers that need to be filed, scanned, or shredded, and I haven’t written a new post on my web site and blog in months. Overall, I’ve pretty much been consumed by this book; completely removed from civilization. While writing the other three novels, I did feel a disconnect from the world, and I suspect that many writers experience the same phenomenon. But while writing Hypocrisy, I lived in the story with my characters every conscious minute of day and night.

My wife will verify the fact that my short term memory of late has been terrible. I watch movies and programs on TV, believing that I’ve never seen them before, until my wife reminds me that I’ve already watched them. On the plus side, forgetting what I watched makes each show something new, so when I’m clicking through the channels, I have more choices than “normal” people.

But here’s an interesting fact: In spite of my deteriorating memory, I remember every scene, every character, every plot twist, and just about every word—all 93,494 of them in this book. I’m sure that if I lay down on a leather sofa for intense therapy, a qualified shrink could figure out why when I’m writing I live in another dimension. I guess I suffer from an affliction many “artists” suffer from: Addiction to your craft.

Here’s the crazy part about this bizarre situation.  Although I told my wife that once the final edit is done, which shouldn’t require tremendous effort on my part, I would take a month or two off, clean closets, organize drawers, wash and wax our cars, cook some new, exciting dinners, and find time to just relax and let my brain regenerate. But here’s the thing. I’m already thinking about my next book. The plot is loosely organized in my head. I pretty much know how it’s going to begin and how it will end. In fact, the two main characters are reappearing from previous books so I already know them well and don’t have to spend a great deal of time developing them.

What does all this mean? Simply that somehow, I have to find balance in my life; a balance between writer and member of the human race. I have to devise a way to “turn it off” when I’m not in front of the computer writing. It’s going to be a challenge, but somehow I have to slay this demon. Lest I end up in a padded cell. Hmm. Padded cell? Oh, no! Think I just got another plot idea.

 

Lunch with Friends

As I do occasionally, I met some of my former workmates for lunch yesterday. Since retiring from my “day job” and writing full time, I still like to keep in touch with selected people I once worked with.

Over the years, I’ve worked with dozens of people facing retirement and found myself envious. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like not having to deal with the corporate rat race or an alarm clock—to do exactly what I wanted to do every day of my life.

For me, of course, it’s a bit different than it is for the average retiree because my writing career keeps me as busy—if not busier—than when I worked a traditional job. I’m not complaining. Believe me. I love writing novels, but there is a dark side to my world.

First of all, every time I meet my ex-colleagues for lunch, I always feel a little down when we part company. I feel nostalgic and disconnected, completely out of the loop. I miss the social commerce of the workplace, the camaraderie, talking about Monday Night Football the morning after, discussing politics, participating in a pot luck for a holiday. All these little things I took for granted now seem so significant. What’s the saying? “You don’t realize what you have until you lose it.”

As much as I love it, writing is a lonely job. It’s just my computer, me, and my creative thoughts. Some days the words are flowing like a waterfall; other days I can hardly write a meaningful sentence. What I can’t do, is walk away from my “office”, pop my head in a workmate’s cubicle and escape from the demands of my job. I’m a solo pilot.

Moral of the story: If you’re part of the corporate rat race, hate your job, can’t wait to retire, and want to shoot one of your annoying colleagues in the face, take a step back and look at your career from a different perspective. You just might discover that the benefits outweigh the liabilities.

UPDATE: I thought you might be interested to know that Amazon Publishing will release, I Do Solemnly Swear, my third novel, on October 16^th. And here is more exciting news: I’m about 52,000 words into my fourth novel entitled, Hypocrisy. I hope to have the first draft completed by December 1^st.

Stay tuned for updates.

 

Author Hobnobbing

I attended a local author gathering on Saturday at Mysterious Galaxy bookstore in San Diego. There were about 25 authors there along with 20 or 30 prospective buyers. It was a meet and greet event, which gave authors not only the opportunity to sell some books, but also to hobnob with other authors and share war stories.

Events like this—unless you’re John Grisham or Patricia Cornwell—do not generally yield many sales. If an author can sell 6 or7 books, he or she is doing well. Even though a bookstore sponsors an event like this primarily to sell books—why else would they host such an event?—I believe it serves the authors better than the buyers or the bookstore.

I spoke to about half a dozen authors one on one and asked about their journey from obscurity to publication. Although each account had unique circumstances, there were remarkable similarities in each author’s story. The one common denominator consistent with every author I spoke to was that years of rejection preceded success.

Any artist—whether a painter, writer, sculptor, vocalist, or musician—pays their dues. There are few, if any, overnight success stories. Now you might believe that a particular person made it big on the fast track, but that’s only because you never heard of them and don’t know that they’ve been at it for 15 painful, lonely years.

The moral of the story is a simple one: rejection is a prerequisite of success. So if your dream is to be the next J.K. Rowling or Pablo Picasso, prepare yourself for a long, arduous journey.

UPDATE: I’m 45,000 words into Hypocrisy, my fourth novel. And don’t forget, Amazon Publishing will release, I Do Solemnly Swear, my third novel on October 16. Check it out. http://tiny.cc/mtmfkw

Stay tuned for more updates.

 

 

 

 

 

38,000 Words and Counting

I haven’t checked my web site in quite a while, which is inexcusable for a novelist trying to build traffic and promote his books. As a dedicated writer with two published novels, a third to be released on October 16, and a fourth about half completed, I am very upset with myself.

When I check my daily traffic, I am surprised at the number of people who visit my site in spite of my neglect. People who visit web sites with a blog expect to read fresh posts on a regular basis. I feel as though I have failed to fulfill my obligation to my readers. All I can say is that I am truly sorry. I promise to be more attentive and update my blog regularly.

Switching gears, I am 38,000 words into novel #4, titled, Hypocrisy. I’m very pleased with the way it’s developing. I am happy with the flow of the story, and I really like the main characters. I still have lots of work to do, of course, but so far so good.

I do have a few nagging issues with the plot that are making me yank out my hair, so my progress has been slowed down significantly. I wracked my brain trying to resolve these issues to no avail. So I enlisted the services of a good friend who’s an excellent writer and a creative whiz. This gal reads about a book a day, she writes plays, musicals, and God knows what else.

So I met with her yesterday and gave her a hard copy of what I’ve written so far, and posed specific questions. I am completely confident she will offer several suggestions that will again jumpstart my brain. What’s that expression? “Can’t see the forest for the trees” or “Can’t see the trees for the forest.” I can never remember which is correct.

The point is that a writer is so close to his or her work that obvious flaws are invisible. I can read a particular paragraph a hundred times and conclude that it’s perfect. Then someone else will read the same paragraph and point out 5 mistakes. I guess that’s why there are editors in the world.

Well, that’s a wrap for now. I promise to return soon with more thoughts and updates.

In the “Zone”

If you regularly visit my author’s web site, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve vanished from the face of the Earth. I haven’t written a new post since the horse and buggy days. I could come up with at least a dozen valid excuses, but I won’t bore you with my whining. I will, however, plead my case with one particular defense: I’m in the “Zone”.

A few weeks ago, I started writing Hypocrisy, novel #4. I am now 37,000 words into this book and my tired fingers just can’t keep up with my brain. The number of creative thoughts are overwhelming. None of my prior books have flowed so freely. I am constantly clicking the pause button on the TV or interrupting my wife in the middle of a sentence so I can jot down some notes for a new plot twist or fresh idea before it vaporizes from my brain. It’s almost maddening. It’s like sitting in the front seat of a rollercoaster, holding on for dear life, waiting for the ride to be over, but also hoping it never ends.

I won’t make any promises (cause I know better), but I will make an earnest effort to keep you up to date on my progress—even if my post is only a couple of sentences. So stay tuned.

Oh, and one more thing: In case you’re not aware, on October 16, Amazon Publishing will release, I Do Solemnly Swear, my third novel. Although I’ve changed directions a bit with this book, there’s plenty of twists and turns, and of course murders, and the final plot twist will blow your socks off. It’s available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Okay, break time is over for me. Back to the coal mines!