Tag: my books

Comment Contest: Less Than 100 to Go

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

I’d better throttle back on my own comments a little, so that I don’t wind up winning my own contest.

With fewer than 100 comments to go, whoever posts Comment No. 7,000 on this blog will win an autographed copy of one of my books. Anyone can play! Just scroll to the bottom of any post and “Leave a Comment.” (Note: if you’ve already won, don’t be mad if I pass you over and award the prize to the next closest reader who hasn’t won yet. My personal supply of books is limited, so I have to do that.)

Just about any kind of comment is eligible, with the following exceptions: abusive remarks directed at me or any other reader; comments employing the f-bomb or other cuss words, comments that are really thinly-disguised commercials (stealing space on my blog in an effort to sell something), or comments that are just too inane to bother with.

Comment as often as you like: no restrictions here. Well, not that kind of restriction, at any rate.

Progress Report: ‘The Silver Trumpet’

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Well, I’ve hand-written four chapters of my new book and today begun to type them. I send them to my editor in bunches as the book comes along, three or four at a time.

Believe it or not, although this will be Book No. 10 in the Bell Mountain series, and I ought to be used to it by now, I do have a little bit of, well, stage fright. This is my baby. I’ll be carrying it for six to nine months, and won’t know until I’m finished whether it’s a worthy sequel to the others. I ask the Lord to give me the story, and do my best to write it. Instead of mapping it out beforehand, I write it piece by piece as I receive it. This is fun, but it’s also something of a dare. I’m still not used to this kind of writing.

Anyhow, they’re all on board and the train has left the siding–for an unknown destination. Heroes, villains, and innocent bystanders alike–none of them know where the train is going, and neither do I.

Please pray for me to do my very best.

5,000 Hits in a Month?

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The famous “surgeon’s photograph” of the Loch Ness monster: posted here solely for your enjoyment.

No, not this month. Ran out of gas today, and won’t quite reach 4,800–although that does set a new monthly high for this blog.

Six months ago I would’ve thought 4,000 hits a month just about impossible. So the next plateau is 5,000, and I’ve come close.

This blog is just about the only advertising I’ve got for my books.

Please, if you haven’t heard about my books, take a moment to click “Books” at the top of the page and have a look. No harm in looking!

Should I Post My Columns Here?

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Actually, I’ve been doing that all along. Every Thursday my NWV column is here in “Lee’s Twitter,” off on the right-hand side of the page. But it seems not many readers ever noticed it.

I am told my Newswithviews columns get thousands of readers every week, a total which I can’t even dream about getting here.

And today I received the usual anemic sales figures for my books, largely due (I suppose) to lack of advertising. So I need all the exposure I can get, and it would be hard on me to have to do without NWV. But if somebody really is out there damaging and trying to suppress such websites–well, I just don’t know.

But enough of this. Let’s try to find a nice cat video.

Makin’ It Real

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The thing about writing a fantasy story is, you’re trying to get the reader to believe in people, places, and things that aren’t real. And not just to believe in them, but also to see and hear and have certain feelings about them.

I have been told that reading one of my books is kind of like watching a movie, which I consider high praise. It only took me almost 50 years to learn how to do that kind of writing.

Knowing that some of you have already tried to write a fantasy, or would someday like to try it, is there anything I can share with you to help you on your way?

Only this: before your reader can believe in it, you have to believe in it. If you can’t see it, they won’t be able to see it. If the story doesn’t stir up your emotions, it won’t arouse any feeling in your reader.

And the tricky part is, if you try to tell the reader too much, if you give him too much information, you might as well not tell him anything at all. This is where the writer’s art comes in–knowing when you’ve said enough, and knowing when to say no more.

Believe in your characters as if they were real people whom you’ve seen and talked to. Even the villains. Believe in their places and settings as if you’ve visited them yourself.

In The Glass Bridge, for instance, when God works through Gurun–without her expecting anything remotely like it–to perform a miraculous healing, she, who so far has been brave and uncomplaining, bursts into tears and gives way to a spasm of homesickness. I wish I could tell you why I wrote it that way, but it’s not something I can intellectualize about. It was just Gurun being herself. Being real. Because by then I knew her so well, all I had to do was step aside and let her respond to the experience as she was bound by her character to respond. Because by then she had become real to me.

Confusing, isn’t it? Well, if it was easy, it wouldn’t have taken me so blamed long to learn how to do it. Maybe in another 50 years I’ll be able to explain it better.

Reading My Own Books

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Come spring, and nice weather, I hope to be sitting outside again, writing a new book. I have to wait until God gives me the germ of something to work with–a scene, a new character, a piece of story-line–but in the meantime, I want to make ready for it when it comes.

So I re-read, in order, all the earlier books in my Bell Mountain series. There being eight of them in print so far, it’s going to take me a while. I’m about halfway through No. 3, The Thunder King.

Now, what kind of nut sits there reading his own books? The kind who has a series to write and doesn’t want to contradict anything he said in the previous books. And really, at least for me, it’s just so easy to forget!

This blog was created to drum up interest in my books, and hopefully inspire folks to read them. That’s another thing that’s easy for me to forget. And, with a shock, I remember it and then I have to do something about it.

Obviously I can’t sit here reviewing my own books, “I give myself five stars for this one!”–but I think I can at least say that reading them is a pleasurable experience. I often find myself wondering, “Did I write that?”

And the answer is, To God be the glory–because I ask Him to give me these stories, and He does, along with the ability and the passion to write them. I had to work hard to acquire such skills as I have–but the whole thing is God’s gift. I am a steward of the resources which He has assigned to me–in this case, the ability to write well, and the desire to write: I find it hard to stop, and if I were prevented from doing it, it would go hard with me–and it’s my job to put them to work for Him.

It’s a little cold this morning, but at least the sun is out. Let me get myself some exercise, and then it’s back to The Thunder King.

I’ve Begun My Next Book: ‘The Throne’

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Yesterday I began writing the ninth book of my Bell Mountain series, tentatively titled The Throne.

I must confess to a little stage fright. I do know how the story starts; but where it’ll take me from there, only God knows. And having just finished reading No. 7, The Glass Bridge, and proof-reading No. 8, The Temple, I found myself wondering, “Can I do this again? Really? Is there more of this magic in me?” Only it’s not magic. It’s the gift of God. I’m not smart enough to create this stuff without Him.

I’d tell you what the book’s about, except I don’t know but the very first part of the story yet, and I wouldn’t want to throw out spoilers, and if you haven’t read any of the other books in the series, what sense would it make to you?

Meanwhile, the weather’s right, the birds are busy, the bees have arrived, and I just couldn’t stay away from the work any longer.

Tally-ho and away we go!

P.S.–Ignore the sign. I don’t write myself into the story, and I have no plans to write any of you in, either.

 

Hooray for My Books

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

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Spring is coming; and when it arrives, I want to be ready to start writing my next book, which would be Book #9 in my Bell Mountain series.

One of my ways of getting ready is to immerse myself in the world of Obann by reading, in order, the seven books already in print. Actually, this is very necessary: I find it very easy to forget certain details, and to unwittingly contradict things I said in earlier books. Between books 3 and 4, for instance, I managed to lose 18 Temple staff without a word of explanation. Eighteen of ’em–pffft! It was a job, putting it right, and I don’t want anything like that to happen again. And so I revisit the earlier books and refresh my memory.

Last night I finished reading the first book, Bell Mountain.

How do I say this without sounding like a ninny? I read my own book and said, “Wow!” I know it sounds asinine. But there are subtleties in it that I’m sure I never put there on purpose, not to mention a story whose like I was never able to write before. I mean, even my mother wound up liking this book, and she was just about impossible to impress.

Well, I’m old enough to look at this book and know right well it didn’t come from me: I only wrote down the story that God gave me. Even that, I know, sounds kind of pretentious and self-important; but it’s not meant to be. I just know that the day the Lord stops giving me the story, it dries up: there is no well of inspiration in me for it to draw upon.

Look, folks, the real purpose of this blog is to try to generate interest in my books, in hope of selling some. They’re all good, and the kindle versions are dirt cheap. The paperbacks feature gorgeous covers by Kirk DouPonce, and one of them costs generally less than a ticket to some lousy movie, even if you don’t buy popcorn.

If this blog has entertained you, or gotten you thinking, please give my books a try. You’ll probably like them. And don’t be put off by my saying so. Believe me, very often it’s not much fun for the author to read his own work. In fact, it can be kind of painful, or even embarrassing.

And if you’ve already read them: well, thank you very much, and ;please pardon this long commercial. I promise not to do another one anytime soon.

How Climate Change Causes Homophobia (Or Is It the Other Way Around?)

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Climate Change/Global Warming causes homophobia. No, homophobia causes Climate Change. And then Climate Change causes Income Inequality. Er, no, wait a minute–Income Inequality causes Climate Change. Ugh, I’m getting confused!

Come on–you didn’t really think I could untangle these Democrat fantasies, did you? Let’s move on to another kind of fantasy–certainly a much more edifying fantasy than any of this slop.

Have you noticed? Bell Mountain in paperback is selling at half-price on amazon.com. For less than half of what it costs you to sit through a really stupid movie, you can get the first book of my Bell Mountain Series. Popcorn is extra. If you already have the book, tell your friends about this insanely generous offer.

If you live in a country other than the USA, I do understand your problem with the shipping costs–way too high. You can get around that by ordering the book in the Kindle format.

I guarantee my books to be 100% free of current popular culture rubbish. And how many writers can say that?

‘The Palace’ is Out (and so is our old bed)

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The sixth book of my Bell Mountain series, The Palace, has been published and is now on sale. You can order it here (just click “Books”), or find it on amazon.com and order it there. The Palace has only been in print for a matter of hours, and is awaiting its first Customer Review.

My book launch on Tim Wildmon’s American Family Association internet TV show is still on for Monday morning, March 24, at 11:15 a.m. Eastern Time.

Note: The Palace is not yet available in Kindle format, but it will be, soon. I admit the beautifully produced, durable paperback edition will cost you slightly more than you’d have to pay to see The Great Gatsby with a hip-hop sound track. But then you can read the book again for free.

On a personal note, my wife ordered us a new mattress and box springs, which were delivered this morning. Every 37 years, like clockwork, we replace our bed.

This mattress is at least twice as high as the old one. If you fall out of this bed, you’re gonna need a parachute.