I know. I know. I know. I know many of you expected Psion Omega over a month ago. And all I can say about why you don't have it is because I refuse to publish a book until its quality is good enough for the money I charge for it. Also, I hadn't written the first draft until just a few months ago. :)

Unbeknownst to you, I've been writing the 2nd draft of the book, and it's going well. I'm over halfway through, and expect to finish it in February. Then I will run through it again to make sure everything makes sense. And then it will go to my beta readers. (And yes, I already have beta readers.)

They will get a month to read it (April?), criticize it, praise it, whatever, and then I'll rewrite it in May and June. Then I will format it so it looks nice for your Kindle/paperback/Nook. And by SEPTEMBER! I hope to release it.

So there you go. September.

Long live Sammy!

First of all, to all my readers, happy holidays. I apologize for the lack of updates recently, but I've been busy with work and moving into a new house, which includes painting, hauling, shopping, cleaning, and sorting.

I've had some people recently ask me for some advice on self-publishing, so I'm going to give whoever wants it some advice if they decide to go this route. I am still very happy that I self-published, and would do it again in a heartbeat. I've done well, better than most probably, but I think anyone can do well in this regard if the writing and presentation is good. So, without further delay, here's my advice:

1. Put out a polished, great product. When I first published Psion Beta, I was shocked that it had so many errors, and I vowed to never let that happen again. So I paid people to edit the book after that. Since then, I think I've cut down dramatically on internal grammar and punctuation errors. 2-3 errors in a book is understandable and forgivable, but more than that becomes a distraction. I highly recommend paying for this service if you can afford it.

2. Have a plan to put out books regularly. I have tried to self-publish a book a year. Psion Omega is the exception, mostly because of the Tale series that popped up unexpectedly. However, the book will be out next year, finishing the series. If you can't put out at least a book a year, you may find yourself losing your audience. Consider pre-writing the entire series, and then releasing them every 6-12 months.

3. Rely on word of mouth to advertise. People talk about books they read. They post about them in social media. Don't be afraid to ask your readers for reviews. A new authors NEEDS them. Be bold, but not annoying. I have seen little success in paid advertising for self-published books. Weigh the cost vs benefits of giving your book away from time to time in order to spread the word. Consider discounting it to attract readers.

4. Cover. Cover. Cover. I think my covers have improved as I've self-published more Psion books. Britta Peterson and I work together on them, and I know she's improved as well. I'm proud of the covers I have, and I know that a cover can make or break whether someone buys a book. Pay the price to get a solid cover.

5. Don't lose hope. My first month, I sold around 4 books. Then 11. Steadily it grew. It takes time. Believe in what you've written and continue to write. Series will sell better than stand alone books. People like series. I don't know why. They just do.

6. Consider your publications options carefully. I choose to distribute the Psion books through all ebook channels at first, then pull them exclusively under the Amazon umbrella because that's where I seem to make most of the money. However, Nook, Smashwords, iBooks, etc all offer different experiences. Try them all before deciding on one.

 I hope this helps those of you who are considering this route. If I've missed anything or you have more questions, please sound off in the comments. In the meantime, Happy Reading and Long Live Sammy!

For those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you know I recently finished writing the first draft of Psion Omega. I'm sure that this gets a lot of you pumped up and excited to read it, and I'm glad, but it also means that all I have is a terrible book that needs to be rewritten. Psion Omega has some solid structure, but it is bad. Don't fret! That's normal.

Currently the draft is about 90,000 words. If it were published at that length, it would be the shortest book in the series. However, I am confident that the second draft will add 10-20K words in length. Lots of stuff to add in that I noted during the writing of the first draft. That will make it about the same length of Psion Gamma.

Why is it so short? Well, because that's the way it was. I know some readers want the longest book possible, but I can't add on length for the sake of adding on length.

So what am I doing now? Going back to finish Tale 3. After I make significant progress (hopefully finishing it), I'll start rewriting Omega. I don't want to put Omega off too long, but I also need to take a break from it. My most ambitious timetable for publishing Omega puts me at Late Summer. If delays happen, we're probably looking at late 2015, like Nov or Dec. As always, I'll keep you posted.

For those of you who don't follow comic book movie news as closely as I do, Warner Brothers (who owns DC Comics and all its characters) recently announced at New York Comic Con its slate of films for the next several years. Here it is:

• “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” directed by Zack Snyder (2016)
• “Suicide Squad,” directed by David Ayer (2016)
• “Wonder Woman,” starring Gal Gadot (2017)
• “Justice League Part One,” directed by Zack Snyder, with Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, and Amy Adams (2017)
• “The Flash,” starring Ezra Miller (2018)
• “Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa (2018)
• “Shazam” (2019)
• “Justice League Part Two,” directed by Zack Snyder (2019)
• “Cyborg,” starring Ray Fisher (2020)
• “Green Lantern” (2020)

I see ALL kinds of problems with this announcement. Let's go through them one by one and see if I'm correct in guessing that DC/WB is going to have an EPIC FAILURE on its hands in two years:

1.  DC, you aren't MARVEL. Marvel is owned by Disney, including Marvel Studios, which is in charge of all the Marvel heroes [except for Spider-Man, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four]. Marvel recently announced its film plans for the next several years, but only AFTER (count them) 10 successful films: Iron Man 1, 2, 3, Thor 1 and 2, Captain America 1 and 2, Hulk, Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Up until then, they were announcing 2-3 upcoming films at a time. DC hasn't proven anything yet. They have Man of Steel and a Green Lantern FLOP (which is why they're rebooting his film in 6 years!) Why are they so intent on jumping the gun and copying Marvel? But that's not all you're copying, is it, DC/WB?

2. DC, you haven't learned from Sony, have you? Sony owns the film rights to Spider-Man (which is why Spidey hasn't appeared in an "Avengers" film ... yet. But Sony has completely effed up Spider-Man. Describing this would take a whole post, but suffice it to say, the reboot of Spidey hasn't gone well. So poorly, in fact, that they don't plan to release Spidey 3 until at least 2018! In the meantime, what does Sony want to do with its Spider-Man properties? Make VILLAIN movies! Movies no one wants to see: Sinister Six and Venom/Carnage? WITHOUT SPIDER-MAN? No one cares about that, yet here is WB wanting to roll out a Suicide Squad film, when no one except comic book nerds even know what the crap the Suicide Squad is!

3. Why, oh why, won't you at least copy Marvel's TV/Film marriage, Warner Brothers? The only thing that kept Agents of SHIELD afloat last season before Captain America 2 was released was the fact that it was tied to the Avengers films. Now, however, season 2 is doing very well. People love the fact that Nick Fury, Sif, or other big Marvel characters could appear at any time. But guess what? DC already has one hit show on its hands (The Arrow) and a very high potential for a second (The Flash). Yet rather than capitalize on this, they want to introduce ANOTHER Flash instead of doing much bigger, cooler crossovers with their current properties. Which brings us to the last problem ...

4. Casting choices? WTF!?!?! Ezra Miller as Barry Allen [The Flash]? Not only is he the creepiest actor alive, but he looks EXACTLY like Legend of Korra's Tahno, leader of the Wolfbats. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman was a headscratcher. Ben Affleck as Batman is a wait-and-see pick. But this...? I think DC/WB is setting itself up for total failure.

I hope I'm wrong because seeing so many superhero films has been a lot of fun.

I can't speak for all authors, but I read reviews. I enjoy them. Even the bad ones. During my four years as a self-published author, I've been fortunate to read over a thousand reviews of my books. Some have been scathing, some mediocre, and some glowing. It took some time to build up a thick skin, and I admit that even now some still get under that skin, but I think that's part of the process and cost of putting your work out there.

What's interesting is how diverse they can be. Take these two for example, both written about Psion Beta, and both less than a month ago:

"....I have ever read anything that was so powerful in action and character development.
It was beautifully written with few flaws.
But all together brilliant."

"... The characters had no real depth to them. By the end, I couldn't really tell you much about them...aside from the fact that Sammy's love interest is not a likeable character."

Crazy, huh? Part of the process of being a writer is learning that once your work is available for consumption, you lose some ownership over it. Whoever buys it owns their own interpretation of it. They become a part of the artistic process in that they are the end receiver. And ultimately, their opinion matters. That doesn't mean it's the authors fault, necessarily, what they think of it, but that it matters nonetheless.

I have learned that reviews should be discarded and forgotten individually. Some people will love it too much, some people will hate it too much. But through them collectively an author can learn. Here's some things I learned from Psion Beta reviews:

1. I was not successful in conveying the Jeffie I saw in my mind. I like her as a character. I like her flaws and her strengths. Many readers did not. That is on me.

2. People's political and religious opinions will impose themselves upon the material that they read. Some people think Psion Beta is anti-American. Others think it is pro-American.

3. Some readers hate cliffhangers (even going so far as to be offended by them), others don't mind them.

4. While I thought Psion Beta had a fast awesome start, many readers struggled with the beginning up until chapter 3.

These nuggets of info came from reading hundreds of reviews, something many writers aren't fortunate enough to receive. However, there is another way to receive feedback, and that is to ask people to read your work and give it to them for free. I've found measuring feedback to be a very delicate matter. A writer can't take every piece of feedback to heart, because he will give up some level of control over his work. On the other hand, when receiving the same piece of advice from multiple people, serious consideration should be given to their counsel.

Speaking of writing, Psion Omega is going well. I'm closing in on 50K words!

Greetings, fellow bookworms! Starting tomorrow is Salt Lake Comic Con. If you want to get a copy of A Tale of Light and Shadow, or have some books signed by me, this will be your chance! I will be there Thurs, Fri, and Sat, and doing three signings and doing 4 panels here is the schedule:

Thursday September 4, 7:00 pm 
Han Shot First: Character Defining Moments, Room 255E

Saturday September 6, 12:00 pm
Why the Hero's Mentor Has to Die, Room 255C

Saturday September 6, 6:00 pm
The Teen Hero Room, 150G

Saturday September 6, 7:00 pm
Dystopian Control Schemes: Discussions on Government, Freedom and Paranoia, Room 255F

I hope to see some fans there! Recently I finished the 5th draft of Tale 2 and am now doing the final draft. Then I hope to buckle down and finish the first draft of Psion Omega by the end of the year. That means 2015 will be the definitive year when the beloved Psion series comes to an end. A few people have asked about an audiobook for the Psion series. All I can say is that there are no plans right now to record an audiobook. I was talking with a friend about this, even asked him to record a demo, but I haven't heard anything back in months. I've considered doing one myself, but the time isn't something I really have to devote to it.

The launch party for A Tale of Light and Shadow will be held at the American Fork Utah Public Library on Wed. Sept. 10, at 7pm. I'll be doing a reading and signing books. If you can't make it to Comic Con please come to the launch party. I'd love to meet some fans.

The more I hear about Robin Williams, the more saddened I am by his passing. Robin Williams was an actor I "grew up" with, watching films like Jumanji, Hook, Dead Poets Society, Patch Adams, Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Good Will Hunting, great films that became larger than life to me because they shaped my worldview in some ways. Often, when a celebrity passes on, we start to hear more stories about that person, and with Robin, we hear only stories about what a kind, generous person he was: cheering up the sick, paying for peoples' education, and other types of philanthropy. So to have an image of a lonely 63 yr-old man hanging himself in his apartment, brings tears to my eyes.

No one should have to die like that. I wish this had been a story of intervention, where Robin's kindness and generosity had been repaid and someone called him to cheer him up. But that didn't happen. Robin Williams suffered from depression and years of substance abuse. Who knows what one phone call or visit from a friend might have done? I'm going to try to make more of an effort to be a friend to those who need one. Not just by being nice to them, but going out of my way to know they're loved and needed. I hope Robin Williams' death won't be in vain. Even funny people need a friend to tell them "I love you" or "Thanks for being in my life" sometimes.

First off, let me say that Arrow is a great show for what it is: a superhero TV show, and certainly the best one out there. That being said, there isn't a whole lot of competition. That will change very soon (see "Gotham," "The Flash," "Constantine," and Marvel's Daredevil project w/ Netflix), and Arrow may very well get left in the dust if these forthcoming shows can fix improve on what Arrow has started. Those who have watched the show remember that Arrow started pretty weak, very much like a stereotypical CW show. But it quickly improved by raising the stakes and toning down the relationship drama.

Season 2 had the same idea by raising the stakes even more and keeping the drama to a minimum. One of things I enjoyed most was seeing the universe get expanded with the mention and addition of several new stories and characters: Ra's & Talia Al Ghul, the Flash, Amanda Waller/ARGUS, Doctor Ivo, the Clock King, Red Arrow/Speedy, etc. However, this is also where the Arrow seemed to stumble. It failed to really develop some of these ideas. The League of Shadows felt half-baked, especially Sarah/the Canary's connection to it. It was never fully explained, and we were never given a plausible reason why Sarah decided to return to them.

Another strong point of the season was the Island flashbacks. While I'm wary of how long they can keep it going, the flashbacks did well to explain what was going on in the present. We learned more about Sarah, Ollie's Russian connection, Slade's fate, and Ollie's connection to ARGUS. My biggest and only gripe about the flashbacks was that Ollie blamed himself for Ivo's ridiculous dilemma. I got very very tired of hearing him say, "It's my fault. My choice. Blah blah blah."

Character wise, we saw some interesting things happen: the secrets kept from Thea came home to roost, Roy made his choice between Thea and Ollie, we finally got rid of Mrs. Queen (FINALLY!) and she even went out a solid note, and Ollie continues to evolve in his crime fighting. I find it interesting that he struggles to define where his line is that he won't cross: kill, don't kill, kill ... I don't want to see that struggle go on forever, but I hope the evolution of his decisions continues. Diggle came to see Deadshot as a person, and not just a mindless criminal. And of course we saw Laurel struggle with drug/alcohol abuse, a semi-interesting, semi-grating character arc. It's fun watching Ollie try to juggle all the women in his life. Some of these character choices didn't quite add up, however:

1. Why did Thea choose to go with Malcolm? I get that she felt betrayed by her family and Roy, but why go to her father? I never felt the writing/story justified that decision.
2. How on earth has Laurel's dad never figured out that Ollie is the Arrow? They did write in a scene where he says he doesn't care and doesn't want to know, so maybe he really DOES know, and that's his answer, but ... it's still odd.
3. Why did Sarah go back to the League after fighting them for so long? Again, it didn't make sense. There was no real development there to justify that choice.

Other minor quibbles:

1. There seemed to be a lack of consistency with the strength of Mirakuru victims. If they can punch through solid stone, they can snap a person's head clean off. People got tossed around and punched with no lasting damage. That stuff bugs me.
2. All the kidnappings. Can we stop with all the kidnappings? EVERY major character has now been kidnapped and saved. Can we please move onto something else? It's to the point where people aren't even really that upset anymore when it happens (see Det. Lance in the final episode where Slade takes Laurel). It's gotta stop.

Things I'm excited to see more of:

1. The HIVE
2. Robert Knepper's Clock King
3. Cyrus = Solomon Grundy?
4. The Flash/Arrow crossover in Season 3
5. Red Arrow/Arsenal
6. Thea becoming Speedy or Artemis
7. Ra's Al Ghul

Prediction for which major character will die next:

Office Lance

Yesterday I met with Chris at Shadow Mountain. Besides going over some of the manuscript for Tale 2, he also showed me the new author video that went live yesterday on Youtube. You can check that out here:

http://youtu.be/dMUl3QJmobQ

Do I enjoy watching myself on camera? No. Not really. It takes some getting used to. But I do think Shadow Mt. did a great job with it. Please share that with your friends.

While at Comic Con, a couple of guys with LOTH TV stopped by and shot a little spot about A TALE OF LIGHT AND SHADOW. You can see that bit here:

http://youtu.be/lWw9hHhPdRs

Sadly, they did get my web address wrong at the end. Oh well. Onto some more good news. Chris said that Shadow Mt is working on the next book deal. I'm not sure if that will cover the rest of the Tale series or just the next book, but hopefully it will cover the whole series. I'll post updates on that when it happens.

In two weeks I'll be in New York City for the first time ever promoting ATOLAS at the Book Expo America. We'll be focusing on getting people to sign up for the free short story prequel, THE FOOL AND THE DRAGONOX. Apparently everyone who signs up there will be entered into a contest to have me come and do a signing. That was news to me, but exciting news!

Meanwhile, I'm working on Psion Omega, Tale 3, and Super Six. Most of my focus right now is on Tale 3. I've almost hit 10,000 words there and I have the whole book plotted out. Should be a lot of fun!

For those who haven't heard, I've been invited to sit on a couple of author panels at Salt Lake Comic-Con next weekend. I'll also be doing some signings of A Tale of Light and Shadow. So if you have ANY books you'd like to get signed, bring 'em! This is the official Comic-Con website with all the entry/ticket/schedule info you need:

http://saltlakecomiccon.com/

And to save you some time, here's the info on when and where you can see and meet me. Comic-con is Thurs, Fri, and Sat. I'll be there Fri and Sat:

4/18 10:00 am: Character Creation in Sci-Fi & Fantasy for Writers
4/18 12:00-1:00 pm: Book Signing
4/19 3:00 pm: Amping up Your Novel or Screenplay with Killer Characters
4/19 6:00-7:00 pm: Book Signing

Don't forget that you can pick up a free ARC of A Tale and Light and Shadow while supplies last. I think Shadow Mt is allotting 200 copies. So the earlier you get there the better. In fact, it may even be 100 per day. I hope to meet lots of fans of both series. Let me know in the comments, on twitter, or on Facebook if you plan on attending!

Long Live Sammy!