Who Wants to Read "The Untying" for Free?

I'm about ready to pull the trigger and release the last book in the Drunkard's Journey.

However, I still don't think that it is as clean as it can be. I know, I know, take a look at The Spaces Between. Boy, does that first installment need some work! I've learned so much through this process of writing, and have had the help of so many folks along the way.

So... who would like to have a free copy of this to give it one last go-through? All I'd ask is that you provide feedback on the story, point out any errors, or tell me to just quit now and never write again.

Send an e-mail to glyndwr99 (at) gmail (dot) com... if you are interested.

Description:

"We shall cease our fight with the Dark when the very underworld lies frozen."

The final chapter of A Drunkard's Journey races to its conclusion. Zhy, Fanlas, Wrenflang, and a host of strangely-named characters speed westward. Their goal: To find and blow up the very viaduct to the demonic underworld. But can it be destroyed?

Meanwhile, Bimb finds himself dead-but-not-quite-dead. Since it helps the plot, he can't be gone forever. Plus, he still has a hell of a big mess to clean up, since he started all of this. Dead, but able to control certain forces of nature, Ar'Zoth's usurper can either make things right or destroy the world himself.

A few Beldeners have decided to strike out at the demons. Some will have success, but others will die horribly.

The Untying is a fast, action-packed conclusion to the trilogy. Questions are answered, knots are sewn up, and men become heroes. Except... in bringing about the conclusion, there is one knot that needs to be untied.

Who Likes a Good Western?

I have a stack of Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour books, and once in awhile the urge hits me to read these old stories. Now, a few folks have lambasted L'Amour (and others) over a few things. I quote a Goodreads review:

He uses Indians simultaneously as "noble warriors" and "bloodthirsty savages" and justifies the take over of their land with the old "their time was passing..." illogical--as if there wasn't an agent behind their passing.
Reading one of his novels, one gets the feeling he never did any research required of historical novels. Details are always vague. Little reference is made to historical events, ways of doing things, or period details that would lend credence to his imaginings. His stories could just as easily been set on Mars for all the research that shows through his writing. But Americans are already disposed to believing all this romantic Old West bullshit, so you don't have to try very hard.
When a writer taps into our national myths, they don't have to be accurate or true, because most of our national myths are lies already believed

-- Ryan Mishap
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1123600.The_Empty_Land#other_reviews

Some strong words, there, and it really makes me think when I puck up a Grey or L'Amour book.

However, there is still something about westerns that captures me. It's the wide open spaces, the tiny little towns that somehow cling to life in the rugged country, and men who stand up for the little guy. Granted, there are many stereotypes and cliches that fill these stories, but the old west still has its appeal.

Who else likes to read westerns?

Why Do I Write?

Why do I write?

I have asked myself this question a lot in the past twelve months. There have been numerous times where the craft of writing has been almost squashed by drives that were off-target and wrong.

Writing has been a passion for me since I can remember. I had a very inspirational freshman English teacher who motivated me to write and seek publication. My first poem was published in 1991 in a small kids’ magazine. And in the subsequent years, I kept writing, keeping his words of wisdom in mind:

1)      Expect rejection

2)      Don’t quite your day job

3)      You will write a million words before anyone notices you. And they still probably won’t

4)      Do not give up.

5)      Keep writing

Those are still sound words of advice. However, the world changed in a hurry with the advent of self-publishing and the decline of the major publishers. A few people had unbelievable success, and a million writers tried to follow that path. Sadly, I was one of them. Thinking that my work had value, and would appeal to readers, I threw my hat (and a lot of $$$ for editors, graphics, advertising, etc) into the fray. And, apart from a rising credit card bill, I did learn a few good lessons from this:

1)      Anybody can publish whatever they want, whenever

2)      The gatekeepers have changed. They are now book review bloggers (I tried my hand at that, too), and Amazon's ranking algorithms

3)      All five-star reviews are fakes, one-star reviews are from other authors trying to sabotage you

4)      Market, market, market.

5)      Keep writing

Of course, my “lessons” are a little tongue-in-cheek, but one gets the idea. We’ve gone from an ideology of creative work, and little monetary reward (but great personal satisfaction), to a very cut-throat world. Sometimes I find myself looking at successful authors with disdain and jealousy, instead of seeing them peers in the art. This is art, isn’t it?

I was frustrated, low, depressed, and almost ready to give up. And then a reader of one of my books (a book I had not even mentioned in any medium) left an honest, review. Yes it was five stars. But I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t expect it, since I’d not done any marketing at all. I read the review shortly after I finished A Memory of Light, and suddenly my entire perspective shifted back to 1991.

KEEP WRITING! I don’t do this for fame or fortune. I never have. Why would I try to fall into that rut? Sure, we’d all love to quit our day jobs and write all the time, do book tours, etc. But is that really the ideal? My time is compressed, which lets me focus on a given task and give it the attention it deserves. If I had all day to just write, I’d wind up watching Days of Our Lives and eating Oreos.

So... why do I write?

It’s FUN. I have so many stories swirling in my demented mind, and they all want out! So I put them to screen and paper, and hope for the best. If you're not having fun doing something, stop it. I can't possibly make millions if I don't market the crap out of my stuff, but I don't care. I just want to tell stories.

If only one person, ONE reader likes what I have written, I have succeeded.

The Untying -- The Conclusion to A Drunkard's Journey

The last installment of The Untying is nearly done. While the entire story is completed, I'm moving a few things around and shoring up some loose threads. Many thanks go to Jodi Ralston for her awesome critique of the novel and for valuable advise for changes. I will be promoting her business here for sure!

In any case, here is the cover. Karri Klawiter, you do awesome work! (http://artbykarri.com/).

Voltaire's Adventures Before Candide

 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16151210-voltaire-s-adventures-before-candide


This frolicking, insane, half-baked novella has been published by Bizarro Press! It includes the original tale of Voltaire and his space- and time-traveling frenzy before composing Candide. Additionally, we have the novella, "Eyre currents... of fire!" in which Voltaire is tasked with the ill-fated rescue of Jane Eyre, who is burning alive. And finally, a gratuitous picture of a -- no, sorry, a prequel to the whole shebang, the story of how Voltaire got his special cleaver (which he did not have in 1484) in the first place.

Following Yonder Star

It is official! Following Yonder Star: The Untold Trials of the Three Kings, has been released on Kindle, Nook, and in paperback!

The place to follow it is here:

http://hisholylight.blogspot.com

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A2XQ9AU

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/following-yonder-star-martin-gibbs/1113751261?ean=2940015908657

Subtitle: The Untold Trials of the Three Kings

On a cold December night in Bethlehem, three mysterious foreign rulers paid homage to the newborn King of Man. They promptly vanished into history.

Who were these unequaled men? What hardships did they endure on their voyage? How much did they sacrifice of themselves?

This story details their harrowing journey across deserts, through a suffocating moor, over a towering mountain, and into the chamber of Herod. Throughout, they were tested by the devil and themselves. But at each test, they reaffirmed their strength, determination, and faith. The Three Kings persevered: So can we.

Following Yonder Star is a story that will reinforce the true meaning of Christmas.

Proust and Dumas

So I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo for the first time, and have signed up on Goodreads to read the full  À la recherche du temps perdu, (Davis translation for Swann's Way, and Moncrieff for the rest).

Intending to read only a short portion of Swann's Way, I got pulled into the world of Proust, sucked down into the meander and flow of his marvelous phrasings, and carried away by long descriptions of memories. The writing is unbelievably good. I understand the aversion to such purple prose and endless sentences, but by gosh it is gorgeous.

And it reminds me how crappy my own writing is.

Sure, the classics are part of my bizarro work, but each read of those great works has really been selfish, to be honest. I'm using well-known literature to promote my own misguided stories. It's probably OK, since nobody reads bizarro, but it's still a little icky.

So to read Proust, purely for edification and enlightenment, is a moving experience. One realizes that there have been giants that have paved a path, giants whose footprints dwarf our own, and whose quality of work we may only fumble at. I've always been a reader, true, but having gone over to the author's world had stunted my outlook somewhat. At one point, I selfishly thought that my work was on par with modern-day masters, and maybe even thought I could challenge the ancient heros of the written word.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Though halfway through Cristo, and partway through Swann's Way, this experience has been humbling to the point of paralysis (as far as writing goes). What is the point in continuing? Why bother to put pixels to screen when you will never touch such greatness?

But that is also folly.

As writers, we should always strive to be better. Practice is one avenue. I believe that reading a very powerful tool for the writer. For me, reading the masters of the craft--those who have gone hundreds of years before--is the way to go. They have laid a foundation atop which most modern literature stands, and to ignore them and bask in our own self-imposed glory is silly.

What in the Sam Hill am I talking about?

Read. Read Proust, Joyce, Tennyson, Dumas... Authors, take off your writing hat and read. I'd encourage you to take a long hard look at your own craft. There are days when I feel like pulling the plug on all that I have out there and starting fresh... I'd like to blame Proust on that, but I also had to set aside ego and the "business" of writing and examine past and future. It is both terrifying and therapeutic to look at oneself and realize that you aren't the next Robert Jordan. Can you get there? That is up to you and what you put into it.