Treasure One Another

It seems like I've been writing a lot of entries lately about the sadness of losing people. This week I was stunned to hear of the passing of a good man who died too young. Mike Winters was only 58 years old. He leaves behind a grieving family, though one that will carry on in his absence because he bequeathed them a legacy of love, hard work, and strength of character.

I had the privilege of performing the wedding of his daughter, Cassie, a young lady I love very much. She was once my student, but now she is my friend. Cas was truly her daddy's girl. Her face lit up every time she spoke of him. I'm sure it still does, though, for now, that light is dimmed by devastating sadness.

This event reminds me once more of those things that should be self-evident every day of the year, but I tend to push to the back of my mind. Things that some people always remember, but, being totally honest, I forget way too easily.


First, I forget to be thankful for all the blessings in my life. It's not that I dwell on the negatives. Sometimes I do, but mostly, I am simply not conscious of anything either way. I just kind of drift through life without giving it nearly enough thought. Any of my students who read my blog will find this ironic because I'm constantly preaching at them to live intentionally, to make and keep memories, to think about all the good things they have in their lives. I guess I need to take my own lesson a little better.

And it's not just having a feeling of thankfulness that I need. I don't say thank you nearly enough. There are so many people who have done more for me than they can possibly know and I don't express my gratitude nearly enough. In fact, I take their role in my life for granted. This event has made me remember that no one's presence and help is guaranteed. People move, people pass away, people sometimes are just meant to be a part of our lives for a season. So we need to treasure every loved one for every second we have him or her. Beyond that, we must make sure they know we treasure them and are thankful, both for them and to them.

So rather than list all those folks here, my goal for this week is to let everyone in my life know just how much they mean to me and how thankful for everything they do for me just by loving me and being in my life.

Why Being a Writer is Fun

This week is a reminder of all the reasons I'm glad to be a writer and hope to do it for a living someday. And none of them are that I hate my day job!

First of all, I got the opportunity to be interviewed by a terrific guy named Eric Douglas, who has a show called "Writer's Block" on a web radio station named Voices of Appalachia. Last week he posted that he had some slots open for interviews and anyone who was interested should message him. I almost didn't do it because, after all, I'm just a tiny little nobody writer who's probably spent more money on this job than he's actually made through sales. Last week's interview was with our state's poet laureate. Why in the world would he take me? Well, take me he did, and I had a blast. Eric is a great interviewer who immediately set me at ease. He also taught me some things. I hope I didn't sound like a complete moron. We'll find out Monday evening at 7pm. If you're interested in hearing it, go to this link: http://voicesofappalachia.com. If you miss it Monday, it will be available as a podcast by going to the Writer's Block page of the site.

Next, and directly related to something Eric Douglas told me, I now have a new domain name for my website. I am made happy by such silly little things. One of them is that my name is a website domain now. The site itself hasn't changed, but you can now access it by going to joestephenswrites.com. The choosing of the name was an epic unto itself. Some of my AP English students helped me. I went through several possibilities: joestephensauthor.com, authorjoestephens.com, joestephenswriter.com, josephusbohunkus.com, and josephdstephens.com. The only one I tried that wasn't available was just plain joestephens.com. We all went back and forth on the merits of my given name versus the less formal yet more informative joestephens along with my job. And when we decided I should be Joe and not Joseph, what to go with it? Author? Writer? Writes? We all finally agreed that writes sounded the most comfortable. I sat with my finger on the mouse button for a full two minutes before I could bring myself to click the button, though. This was a big decision. Hopefully, this was going to be the link to my site for a long time, so I needed to choose wisely. I finally bought the domain and felt not an iota of buyer's remorse.

And finally, today I get to meet some people and tell them about my books. I enjoy book signings because it gives me a chance to do something I do well--talk. I like it when people I know come out to support me, but I really hope to meet several new folks and let them know who I am and what I do. I hope I can convince them to give my writing a try. Who knows--maybe they'll become fans. Even better, maybe they'll become friends.

So you have lots of ways to be in touch with me this week. You can listen to my interview, you can go to my website with its shiny new domain name, and you can come see me at the Vienna Public Library today (March 21) from 2pm to 3pm. While you're at my website, by the way, don't forget to sign up to be on my mailing list! Everyone on my list will soon receive a free preview of the first four chapters of my upcoming new title, Kisses and Lies. And other freebies will appear in your inbox from time to time, such as short stories and maybe even a discount or two.

Shameless Self-Promotion: Book Signing and Mailing List News

This post is a day later than normal for me. Saturday morning is usually my drink-gallons-of-coffee-while-writing-and-catching-up-on-all-thing-author time, but I was off judging at a speech and debate tournament this weekend, so I'm getting this written before church on Sunday morning. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Not sure how my blog being a day late could, in fact, cause inconvenience, but if it did, I'm truly sorry. 

So, on to the business at hand. The next big event on my promotion calendar is a book signing at the Vienna Public Library. It will be Saturday, March 21 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm right inside the front doors. This is my second signing opportunity through the cooperation of the Wood County Public Library system and I want to thank the good folks there, especially Brian Raitz, for their help.

What will happen at the signing? First, I hope to no one's surprise, I'll be signing copies of my debut novel, Harsh Prey. If you already own a copy, please feel free to bring it in and I'll sign it for you. If you don't already own a copy, you're in luck, as I have several copies ready to sell. 

I also hope to meet some new folks, let them know I'm here, and get them to give my work a try. As an independent author, selling books is a one-at-a-time kind of thing. Meet folks, get them interested, and hopefully build a fan base. 

Finally, I'll be having a drawing, just like last time I had a signing. Unlike last time, though, the prize will not be a gift card. Instead, I'll be giving away a signed copy of my new book, Kisses and Lies, which will be available for sale next month. Sadly, the hard copy won't be quite ready by then, so the winner will have to trust me that I'll mail it to you just as soon as I get it. The good news is that everyone who registers for the drawing and gives me their email address to add to my mailing list will receive a free preview of the book in their inbox the following week. 

So, if you live in the Mid Ohio Valley, I hope to see you Saturday, March 21 at the Vienna Public Library. The address is 2300 First Avenue, known to locals as River Road. From Grand Central, turn at the light beside Neale Elementary. Go past the school and the library is on the right. From River Road, it's on the corner of 23rd Street. You can't miss it. 

My email address is
trainguy917@gmail.com

If you can't make it to the signing for whatever reason but would like to be on my mailing list and receive the preview as well as other updates, simply contact me, either directly through email (trainguy917@gmail.com) or by filling out the "Contact Me Here" on the right side of this page, and I'll gladly add you to my list. Just a heads up about the mailing list--in coming months, you'll also get a preview of book 3 in the Shalan Adventures, In the Shadow, as well as a free e-version of a Christmas story starring our good friends, Harry and Dee Shalan. It will be free to anyone on the mailing list before it's available for sale to the public. 

What Is the Soundtrack of Your Book?

I'm ecstatically sitting in my designated corner at Panera Bread, headphones in, steaming cup of Hazelnut coffee by my side, and headphones blasting music. I'll give three guesses to anyone who really knows me exactly who is singing in my ears right now and the first two guesses don't count.

Sometimes I play instrumental music while I write, but most of the time, it's the same person crooning me through the pages. I've heard every song so many times that it's pretty much like instrumental because I don't have to give a solitary thought to the lyrics. They're part of me.

This made me think about my writing. So much of my composition has been accompanied by the same singer that I really feel like, assuming my work ever gets adapted for the screen (big or small), the entire soundtrack will absolutely have to be made up of his songs. I even consider as I'm writing a scene sometimes which song would work behind that scene. I can definitely think of a couple of the slower ones that will be playing provocatively in the background as Harry and Dee fall into bed. The one playing right now comes to mind.

I haven't taken it so far as to create an actual soundtrack yet, but rest assured that, after book three, the rough draft of which WILL BE finished today before I leave this restaurant, I'm going to take a brief break from writing and create playlists for each book. Maybe I'll even publish it so that people who want to can set up the lists and hit play at the appropriate times. Wow, I think I'm onto something here. Soundtracks for books. I like it.

If you're a writer, do you think about this? Do songs you love pop into your head as perfect to play at some particular point in the story? Surely I'm not the only person for whom this is true (not you're not and don't call me Shirley). Or as a reader, have you thought as you read that some song you know would play perfect accompaniment to what you're reading at the moment? I'd love it if you would comment and tell me if you think about this and what songs are on your soundtracks.

And by the way, the first person who comments on here with the correct guess as to who my soundtrack singer is will win a free autographed copy of my upcoming Shalan Adventure, Kisses and Lies. Please note--only guesses made directly on this blog count toward winning the book.

Back to My Other Full Time Job

My student teacher finished her placement on Friday, which means it's back to my other full time job, the one that actually pays. That's not to say that writing doesn't pay. Just not enough yet that I can do anything with it other than plow my meager profits back into promotion.

In a way, I feel like I have three full-time jobs, or, more accurately, two full-timers and a part-timer, with writing itself, sadly, being the part-timer. Teaching is obviously the first one and the other is book promoting. It feels like all my spare time is spent doing things on various social media outlets to get my brand in front of as many people as possible. And when I'm not doing that, I'm making phone calls to set up signings and such.

The big emphasis this week has been Twitter. I realized that sales had come to a complete standstill, so I started reading blogs and websites with ideas on how to increase traffic on social media, specifically on Twitter. One suggested that I start following at least 25 people a day, which I did, beginning last Sunday. Actually on Sunday, I probably followed upwards of 100. I searched for the hashtag #booklover and followed a bunch of those folks in the hopes that they'd love my book too. I also followed fellow writers and anyone that seemed in any way about or interested in books, indie authors, or publishing. And it worked well. I started Sunday with 224 followers. As of this writing, I'm at 496 followers, so I've well more than doubled my following.

Yes, there were some glitches along the way. I started out just blindly following back anyone who followed me. That led to some rather embarrassing tweets filling my feed, such as ads for erotica and even pornographic videos. I had no idea how many sweet little old ladies are writing adult fiction and trying to sell it on Twitter. So I got a little more careful about who I followed back. There was also the issue of a constant stream of private messages advertising other authors' books. One of the first things I learned in a blog about Twitter etiquette was that you should not barrage people with PMs trying to get them to buy stuff. Apparently, not all authors read that post.

I've also done some work on Goodreads and Amazon with giveaways. There are three ways to get free copies of books. First, on Goodreads, you can go here and just register. No obligation whatever. You don't have to follow me or write a review or agree to receive a bazillion emails from me (I don't send out a bazillion emails anyway). But hurry--there's just one day left! You can also go here to enter to win one of five books from Amazon. The only requirement in this case is that you have to follow me on Twitter to be entered. Finally, and this one takes a tiny bit of work on your part, you can go here and ask me a question. I'll answer your question and one person will receive a free autographed copy of Harsh Prey or my next book, Kisses and Lies when it comes out in a couple months. But again, hurry--it ends soon.

So the good news is that I do have more people following me and retweeting my tweets. The bad news is that it's resulted in exactly zero sales so far. But I'm not losing hope. I'm banking on the idea that I'm planting seeds that will pay off in sales over time as I publish more and more books. By making people aware of my name and by putting free books in the hands of as many people as possible, the plan is to build a loyal following that will become my core audience as time go by.

A Place to Write

I've been thinking a lot of writing nooks lately. Most of my time on Pinterest has been spent searching for pictures of writing spaces that people have posted. It's been a lot of fun. 

The fun is that I get to dream as I look at all the different places that folks have created. I ask myself if I want it to be light and airy or dark and cozy. Sometimes I think I want it to be tiny and secluded, but other times I feel like that would have the potential to become claustrophobic. I know for sure I want it to be full of books and places to put pictures and posters and sticky notes covered with ideas and inspiring quotations. And I also know it has to have a really comfy chair. That's where what I know ends. I don't even know whether I want a desk in the traditional sense, which would be appropriate for grading papers, but isn't necessarily a requirement for writing. I mean, I'm writing this in a recliner with a lapdesk to hold my computer. And it's quite comfy.

It's a bit overwhelming. So many things to consider. But then I realized what it is that every single picture I looked at had in common. And I mean literally every one. Each picture contained no people. Not one. The only person even associated with the place was the person taking the picture, and I assume in each case that this is the nook's resident. That's the element I love most about each and it's the element I most lack. As I write this, my ears are filled with the TV in the living room, some indeterminate sound coming from my father's computer somewhere else in the house, and the rather loud conversations that take place between my parents, who are both hard of hearing. Periodically, my mother comes in and talks to me or to my dog, Baili. So I'll be amazed if this post makes sense, let alone have any actual quality to it. 

So the key is not place so much as condition. Yes, there are things I want, but there's but one thing I actually need. It matters not a bit if my place to write contains dark woods or lots of windows or a recliner or tons of shelves lined with books I love. What matters is am I alone? Do I have time to hear myself think? Can I quietly contemplate? Is it possible to read out loud a passage I've just written without someone running in to ask what I'm saying? If not, the place could look like the picture every author has in his or her head of the ultimate writing retreat and would still be useless. 

So I guess all I'm asking for is a little peace and quiet. 

A Life Well Lived

Today we say farewell to an amazing woman. Becky Drennon will be laid to rest in a few hours, but her legacy will not die anytime soon. My friends Jennifer and Keith and I met up to pay our respects to her family last night and were surprised, though not very, by the constantly growing line of people who were there to declare just how profoundly Becky had touched their lives. And Dave, her husband, said that the same was true in the afternoon visitation as well.

But we shouldn't have been even a little surprised. If there's one thing that no one who ever met Becky would argue, it's that she was quite possibly the most loving person they ever knew. There are people in this world who have been given an extra portion of love that simply comes pouring out of them onto every person they meet and Becky was one of those people. She was kind and gentle and respectful and supportive and--well, I could go on forever, but we all know there aren't words sufficient to describe the kind of love that Becky had, because it was a Divine Love that transcends description, but is unmistakable when experienced.

I fear I'm rambling, but I, along with everyone else who knew her, am struggling to come to grips with just why she had to go so soon and so suddenly. I think we all agree we weren't ready. And we mourn, not for her, because she is whole and happy and completely pain-free now. We mourn for ourselves, who will never again get to experience that smile, that laugh, those words of encouragement. Except through pictures and video and shared stories, which are wonderful to share, but are pale copies of the genuine article.

I try to come up with metaphors that explain why she had to be taken away from us and bring some comfort. I'm a writer--isn't that what I'm supposed to do? And yet, no analogy suffices. No explanation works, except that, for reasons we'll never know in this life, God wanted to bring her home.

And the true comfort is that she is still here among us, in the persons of her amazing family. Her husband Dave, who shares her quiet strength and loving nature. Her daughters Hannah and Jenny and son Caleb, who not only resemble her physically, but also have that unmistakable something that Becky had. That thing that simply draws people close to them like a magnet. When you meet any of the Drennons, you feel valued. You feel unjudged. You feel loved. Just like you did when you met Becky. And so, in that way, she'll never leave us.

Godspeed Becky Drennon. I can't wait to see you again.