“All our knowledge has its origin in our perceptions.” (Leonardo da Vinci)

The sequel Deception has the same story.

“The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.” (Leonardo da Vinci)

And then it was a pattern. Insurrection sounded good to me. (Not just good, perfect.) Then Icame up with the prequel, Resurrection. As all artists do with their masterpieces, I decided it was genius.

Just because I think it’s great doesn’t mean it is. Perhaps the world will pass it by. Perhaps what people are really interested in is the words inside and word of mouth will work its turtle-paced magic. Whatever the case, I am glad it’s my title. And in the grand scheme of things, that’s all that matters to me. Some of the most unappreciated artists became famous because they didn’t deviate from what they believed in.

Robert McCrum of the Observer said this:

“Opinions vary and there’s no doubt that titles absorb a lot of pre-publication anxiety. Still, we are bound to ask: would The Great Gatsby be the 20th-century American classic if, as Fitzgerald suggested, it had been titled “Trimalchio in West Egg” or “The High-Bouncing Lover”? There have certainly been some narrow escapes. Gone With the Wind began as “Baa Baa Black Sheep”. One word titles (Shame; Money; Disgrace; Ulysses) often do well. But lesser writers, such as historians, should tread carefully. MK Lawson is about to publish a biography of a famous Angblo‑Danish monarch that might benefit from a rethink. His title? Cnut: England’s Viking King. Somehow, I don’t see WH Smith putting that one in the front window.”

When choosing a good title, there are a lot of things to consider.  Is it catchy? What are your major themes? Will people remember it? Is it common? Too common is bad, familiar is good. If you’re publishing with an agent and major publishing house, perhaps you should forget coming up with a title since they usually change it anyway. If you’re self-publishing, here’s a great article that might help.

Hope to see you there!

I want to go there. I don’t want one. But it would be amazing to visit. I’m overwhelmed at all the books. It makes my one book more special to me because it is mine.

Increase your word power. Words are the raw material of our craft. The greater your vocabulary the more effective your writing. We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.

P.D. JAMES

I believe respecting a language means it should be protected. It should be upheld. Language, like any great building, has a foundation. That foundation can shift, can settle. The foundation might have a small crack. With language, there are those who would take a chisel to that crack–the chisel of malediction. (malediction: a curse; imprecation)

I know this may sound pious. Perhaps it is old-fashioned. But English is beautiful. It has variety. The possibilities are endless. As a writer, I often find the biggest struggle in finding the exact right word from so many good ones.

Lest anyone think I never swear or condemn those who do, here’s my confession: the occasional word flies out (especially if I am about to hit something with my car). But for the most part, I would hope that we as a society would use the vast and varied language to our greatest advantage and not allow it to degrade into a run-down building that has only the remnants of greatness.

Some people even use the written word to create a different kind of art: that of typography. It is an honor to the words themselves that add description, have form, and symbolize all that we are as a people, and as a person. Tell me what you think!

Thom Yorke Typography

This physical book with its own spirit and story becomes its own soul. It’s like a living, breathing thing that deserves some attention. You want to show everyone how wonderful it is. You want to tell the world all the amazing things it is capable of. And while I will let my children and my book be a part of the world, I will always hold on to that first moment they each came into the world. That will always be mine. (Sniff, sniff.)

I know that reading influences me. What I read shapes what I think. It gives me insights I might never have had. It plants ideas. Superb writing often causes me to question my own beliefs. What seeds of thought are these books sewing?

I invite all to read her defense and tell me–what do you think?

This year I am going to sell 10,000 copies of my first novel. What do you think they’ll say then?

I know this is a huge goal, but with a lot of help, perseverance, bloody fingertips, tears already shed, and a positive attitude, it may just happen.

I can’t believe I am putting this in print, or pixels, but here it is. Tell me what you think.

This is a great article that gives solid evidence for why I decided to self-publish. Not only does this article make me feel like I did the right thing, it gives me hope that the entire way independent authors are viewed will change. There is a shift in the publishing world. Authors are required to prove themselves on their own before agents or publishers will even look at them, unless they happen to be agents themselves or friends of already agented authors.

And why do we have to prove ourselves? Because eBooks are selling three times as many copies as print books, and at one third the cost. Publishers can’t afford to take risks anymore. Some agents have stopped taking new clients, and most only take on one or two new projects a year. One out of eight or ten thousand. I can’t blame them. I wouldn’t be able to afford it either. But it is what it is.

A new company is now offering to agent self-published works. In this post by DGLM, they are proposing a new kind of deal. I’m curious to watch it unfold and wonder if it will allow them to take on more clients or just use these services for the clients they already have.

Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill of Canada. (Published in the US as Someone Knows my Name.) You can read more about it here.

There are two sides to this coin. People should have the freedom to burn a book if they want to, in order to show their views and beliefs. It is no different than me throwing away a dollar book I had purchased for the interesting cover which, upon opening the front page, contained any combination of gratuitous sex, violence, and swearing on every page.

On the other hand, burning books to control the flow of information will never be acceptable. This is a major theme in my Tigers’ Eye Trilogy as the books unfold.

In any civilization that is searching for progression, knowledge will eventually win. People are driven to find it, be individually empowered by it, and use it to better their world. Depravity is the lack of a thirst for knowledge. I believe Eve would agree with me.

The trail one might construe as a cometary tail is the atmosphere burning off. Just the picture makes me want to write a story.

Like if we went there would we still find heat-resistant bacteria that would infect the astronauts and threaten the world–a bit too Green Lantern?

Or maybe that rock at the bottom of the picture is the real story. What idea does this picture give you?