Annual Thankful Report

Another year has gone by and suddenly it is time for the annual Thankful Report. I started the practice three years ago, as a way to celebrate the publishing of my first novel, eHuman Dawn, released on 11/26/13. So much has happened since then and it's always interesting to re-read the previous year's report and see what happened and take stock of where I'm going.

2017 was a big year for me as a writer. I decided to leave my agent and publisher behind, taking back the rights to the eHuman series. The reasons for this were many, and some day maybe I'll share them, but essentially I knew it was time to set out on my own and seek new representation, as well as a new publisher. And since I had a new project, I went for it.

As a result, I didn't finish the eHuman trilogy. Instead, I rewrote the first book and will spend the next year doing the same to the second one. I want to give the entire series a reboot with my signature on it. In addition, there are many new developments in technology and the story will benefit from incorporating what has been discovered.

I spent most of the year querying agents for my Egyptian trilogy and man, that was excruciating. The process took hours and hours and hours. In exchange for my efforts, I received 56 rejections. Well, 57 actually, since one more came in yesterday that I'd sent out four months ago and completely forgotten about. There is nothing worse than this phase of writing and to all of you going through it, my heart is with you. We suffer together as fools, but don't give up. I know everyone says that, but after my 56th rejection in August, I was ready to quit, never to pitch again. But for some reason I got the notion to get on Twitter and look at what agents were asking for. It was #MSWL time and I thought maybe, just maybe?

Turns it wasn't #MSWL that would be the ticket to publication, but #pitmad, short for Pitch Madness. To participate, I had to come up with two, 140 character pitches for the story about the last native Pharaoh of Egypt. On 9/5/17 and editor from a small publisher asked to see the first three chapters. I checked out her company and decided to share. A week later, she asked for the whole manuscript. I was elated, only two agents in 56 had even asked for partials, so to share the entire story was a thrill.

Then, on October 1, 2017, I got an offer for my book. I sent them the rest of the trilogy and by the end of the month the entire trilogy was under contract.

Somehow, even without an agent, I still get to begin the great work of creating a beautiful story with an editor by my side. We've just begun round one and while she had a ton of suggestions, I couldn't be happier. This is what I wanted--an editor who loves my story and has an eye for creating beautiful literature. It won't be easy, but I'm grateful that 2018 will be the year of polishing, beautifying, and improving evermore as a writer.

As I edit the novels for publication, I'll be taking a break from social media for the world of Facebook and Twitter have fallen into a place of discord and it distracts me from the beauty and awe of the world. I do not think artists can create truth and goodness unless we're open and vulnerable. To be in that space requires trust and social media at the moment only serves to divide. Besides, I need to use that time to write.

There will be posts from time to time, mostly pictures of my family and the beauty of life on Earth, or articles about cool technology, and I'll still write for Medium.

I hope to have a new novel for you next summer...and for that I am incredibly grateful.

My Latest Project: An eHuman Reboot!

Spring has sprung and since the equinox, I’ve made a few big decisions. Can we call it an author spring cleaning? First I've decided to seek new representation as I attempt to traditionally publish my latest trilogy, which isn’t about a future rebellion, but one that took place in 200 B.C. in Egypt. The Song of the King’s Heart is the story of the last native Egyptian Pharaoh, Ankhmakis the Rebel King, and his attempt to reclaim Egypt from the Macedonian Ptolemaic Empire. After twenty years of ruling 80% of Egypt, his rebellion came to a brutal end, but the story is one that has captivated me for years and I can’t wait to share it with readers. However, before I can do that, I must find that agent who loves Ankhmakis as much as I do. The process of agent and writer coming together is mind-boggling, but a topic for a later blog, as I’ve just begun and honestly have no idea how this adventure will turn out. Hopefully, it will end with a publishing contract, but in the meantime, there’s an eHuman Trilogy in need of completion.

Which leads me to the second major decision I made—to pull eHuman Dawn and eHuman Deception from publication. As soon as I announced this decision on my author FB page, I received more than a few emails from readers, mostly questions about when the last book will be done, and how they can read it if the eHumans are no longer online.

After a dozen or so inquiries, I decided to share via blog why I made this rather strange decision and what it means for me as a writer, as well as for those readers waiting to get that final story.

Why did I pull the eHumans offline for a reboot?

1.       I can do better

Since eHuman Dawn was published in 2013, I’ve written five other novels, as well as kept my blog and Medium accounts rather active. Writing is a wonderful craft because the more you do it, the more you improve. After I finished the Egyptian Trilogy, I started working on the final eHuman novel. In order to get back into the eHuman world, I re-read both eHuman Dawn and eHuman Deception, and as I read them, I realized, “Wow, I am not the same writer I was four years ago. I can do better.” This realization began to haunt me and I began to think, “…if only I could pull it and rewrite it…”

2.       Now that I know how the story ends, I want to change the beginning

Again, as I began to develop the final eHuman story, the ending finally became clear. Edgar Prince’s motivations are also finally understood, and I began to ask more questions of the characters. Is this really a great rebellion, or a family feud? What is it like when the elites of the world get carried away with their power? How do they co-opt the system to work for them? Is a militarized rebellion the only path towards taking over Neuro, especially in the light of cyber warfare and malware? The rebellion rising up is an overused trope, I think there’s a more elegant way for Adam, Dawn and Origin to wrest Neuro from Edgar’s hands. Is the timeline correct? Has is really been two hundred years since the Great Shift, or only 50? In light of the recent election and the state of the world, Edgar makes more sense, and I realized that there are plot points missing in the earlier novels that need to be there if the ending is to be true. Again, I was haunted with the idea, “…if only I could pull them and rewrite…”

3.       I want to hear more from Dawn

She’s got a lot to say, and I want her to say it. What if I tell the story more from her view? It changes, but in a good way, like how Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow tell the same story, but from different viewpoints. Dawn knows more than Adam, so what if she tells the story until he wakes up and understands more? There are POV issues in general I wish to clean up and as Dawn demanded more face time I really wished, “…if only I could pull them and rewrite…”

4.       I can pull them and rewrite them

I published eHuman Dawn and eHuman Deception with Story Merchant Books and per our contract, all rights belong to me. This is my work and with this unique publishing deal, I’m able to put a story out there, get feedback, and pull it to make it better. And so I did just that. The story can be improved upon, and I have the time and ability to do so.

While I write the last book, currently titled, eHuman Deliverance, I will also be rewriting the other two, taking all three stories into my hands as one story, split up over three books. When will I be done? I will be done when the story is done. When will they be available? Again, that all depends on my future. If all goes well, an agent is going to swipe up Ankhmakis this year and then be super happy to discover that I also have a science fiction trilogy to fall in love with. Imagine it, you read one novel and get six when you sign me! For my eHuman readers, that means you might have to wait a while. Traditional publishing doesn’t move at the speed of ePublishing. Of course, maybe I will self-publish all six of these novels in time, but the pros and cons of self-publishing online vs. working with a traditional publisher is also the topic of another blog.

So dear readers, I know this is a strange move, but trust me, it’s the right one. I ask for your patience as I attempt to make eHumanity worth your time. I love the story, but the one thing I’ve learned these past three years is that the best story isn’t the one I want to tell you, it’s the story that wants to be told that is the most powerful. As an author, the trick is to open myself and catch that story, so that I can share it with you.

Thanks for understanding and please comment, pm or tweet me with any questions. I’ll be blogging most weeks and posting more on Medium as the eHumans reboot, and I will keep you informed every step of the way.