Well, the month since releasing The Last Soul has been full of activities. I was recently able to speak at LaunchPad in Bemidji. The space is in the same building as the Chamber of Commerce, and identifies as a co-working space. Utilizing the space was nice. It gave me nostalgia, because most of The Last Soul was written at the co-working space in Grand Forks. Since my last blog post, my wife and I have been in full swing with our home construction. I also celebrated my 30th birthday with some friends in Grand Forks. It was a great night filled with games and laughter.
Currently, most of my days are spent at the house site doing as much as I can with a family friend and contractor, Peter. Soon, the trusses will be on our home. From there, we will sheet the whole home and move a lot of the work inside. That will be a blessing because more than half of our days are spent working in the cold and wet weather – many working entirely in drizzle and rain. Now, it snowed this morning. Nothing stuck, but it still happened. I really wish fall lasted longer than a week or two in northern Minnesota.
Writing has been going slowly since last month. I’ve put down several chapters for book two, done some much needed organizing for the outlines of books two and three, and filled my phone to bursting with random ideas and inspirations. I wish it was more, but for now, I just take it one page at a time – writing when I can, and working when I can’t. Sometimes when I want to write, I must push myself to learn more about marketing so I can actually sell my first book. I joined an extremely helpful Facebook group and have learned loads about the marketing and selling process. Of course, it’s a slow burn.
Most of what I am doing right now is focused on the long term. As such, I continue to look forward to brighter days where writing is concerned. I am enjoying every aspect of it though. I cannot wait until I do this full time! Sometimes I feel guilty about writing and not studying the processes of marketing my book. But the authors that support my dreams are kind enough to remind me that writing is essential to the process. If I don’t get to enjoy that part and put words down for my future success, what’s the point? So, I continue to write when I should sometimes be studying.
I have also been accepted as a client for two marketing classes at Bemidji State University. Two groups, consisting of seven students between them, are working on my marketing obstacles as a semester-long project. This has been HUGE for me. Even if they don’t help me (which is highly doubtful), it’s great to have people in my corner – not to mention, these students chose me. I didn’t choose them. I’m certain they will do an excellent job and provide me with helpful information.
I continue to serve and bartend at the Chophouse in Turtle River. Things there are going well, and I love the direction that the restaurant is going since Jordan became our new General Manager. I have been putting my accounting degree to use recently by helping with some costs and pricing. That has been a nice change of pace during my Manager on Duty (MOD) shifts. The opportunity arose to create a specialty cocktail as well. I excitedly made a twist on a classic cocktail to suit our fall themed special menu. It is simply named: The Fall Whiskey Sour. What makes it fall themed? Nothing too special – to be honest. Traditionally garnished with a lemon twist or peel, instead, I opted for a burnt orange peel.
Back to my writing. I have made one huge decision that will hopefully work out for the best. I want to quickly release my third book after the second one is published. Because of that, I am writing books two and three at the same time. More specifically, I will write them in succession and treat it as one book that I split into two parts. So, my goal is to put down a minimum of 200,000 words before it is complete. I am also working to write a side story (book 2.5 or 3.5 of sorts). I also plan to have that quickly released. Realistically, I am working on three books right now. They are all based in the same universe of The Oreniah Codex and will be sequels of The Last Soul. The side story will be based on characters that readers meet on Oreniah. Some of these stories will be from before they died and were sent to Oreniah, and some will be from a time before Lathan came to Oreniah but still take place on the world.
That’s it for me ya’ll. Hope you enjoy your fall. You’ll hear from me again in a few weeks. What about your weather? Have you had any snow?
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