Blog Post No. 503
My first love of books came from reading Philip K. Dick short stories in high school. I loved the creative ideas and the tight prose. I had an idea that I wanted to tell stories before discovering those collections, but after reading them, I started to see the possibility of becoming a writer.
My first foray into writing was to finish some short stories over on Adventure Worlds Press. They were terrible, but full of ideas that had been brewing in the back of my mind for years. Taking the best of what I was writing at the time, Christian and I put together my first book (his second) No Light Tomorrow. It’s just a little short story collection and I’m a much better writer now, but I’m still proud of that book. Continue reading “Short Stories or How the Hell do I Write That?”
It’s retreat time again and after missing last year, I’m eager to try my hand at some intense all day work again. Also, I’m nervous. My history with the retreats has been a mix of amazing, mediocre, and terrible. Last time (in 2018) I went in with 
Because this is the 360th post. Like a circle. Get it? (I know you probably do. Ignore me. I think I’m funny). Now that 
Remember when everything even remotely related to the internet had to have a lowercase ‘e’ in front of it? Then Apple made the ‘i’ a thing and we’re still feeling the backlash from that. It’s all a moot point, though. I just wrote the title and it struck me that we’ll be stuck with eBook for the foreseeable future. 
Back when I was just getting started with writing (before 
I forgot how fun it can be to go to an event and actually sell some books. Don’t get me wrong. It’s work. It’s making sure everything is organized and packed ahead of time, getting up early and piling everything into the car, finding where you are supposed to go and where you can (or can’t) park, then carrying everything to your table, sitting there for eight or more hours, packing it all up, and heading home. Most of the day is spent sitting at the table, greeting the people who wander by, giving the same pitch over and over again. It seems like no big deal, but it can be exhausting. When you have two events in two day, in two cities (though it’s easier when one of them is in your home town) the fatigue is magnified. Those days can feel like years. Sure, it can be fun and when you go year after year, you make friends, but the one thing that helps more than anything else is getting the first sale and keeping the momentum from there. 
So, this is the blog post where I look towards the next year and pretend that all my plans and hopes are within reach and not just the fever dream of a regretful writer who not only fell off the goals he set for himself this time last year, but is constantly and consistently slipping farther behind every week (for the last six or so years). If you’ve been reading this weekly blog post since the beginning (thanks mom and dad) you’ll know that I do my recap post in January as I started weekly writing on 
Good news everyone! The first draft of The Neon Heart is done. It’s the second book in my Novella series, but it’s pushing the outer boundaries at 43 000 words. Considering 
This week’s post is basically going to be a behind the writing for 
Ben Van Dongen 