A Few Things I've Learned About Creativity

Create for yourself. Write the song you want to hear, or the book you want to read.

Strive toward excellence, but don't become obsessed with perfection. Perfection is not only impossible, but boring as well. Some of the best records or books have obvious mistakes or flaws that make them all the more endearing.

If you're stuck, try changing your surroundings.

Always be on the lookout for new sources of inspiration.

Playing with your band or working on your novel should be fun. It won't always be, but the more that it can be, the better.

Patience and persistence. Patience and persistence. Patience and persistence.

Do something - anything - every day, even if it's just playing random licks on your guitar for five minutes or writing a single paragraph.

Remember: happiness is a state of mind, worrying is a waste of time, and sometimes, you just gotta say, what the heck. And go with it.

Special Announcement!

This coming Friday, 11/22, I'll be doing a joint live interview with Jonathan Murphy on Autism Empowerment Radio! Jonathan is the very talented actor who narrated the audiobook version of Book One (to be released very soon).

The interview will take place from 11am - 12pm PST, but will be archived and available for future listening via BlogTalkRadio or iTunes.

We'll be talking about the upcoming audiobook, of course, as well as other projects that we each have going on. We may even do - drum roll - a live reading!

So be sure to tune in at this link or check back later for the archived version. If you tune in live, you can call (602) 753-1530 to listen by phone and ask questions.

Orycon, Write To Publish, SPS, Other Stuffs

Hey, so Orycon was a blast! I was able to meet some fellow NIWA authors for the first time, which is always cool. Like last year, our booth was situated close to the entrance, so we were able to corral greet potential new readers and members as they came in and out of the dealer's room.

Tomorrow night, I'll be at the 2nd Anniversary Party for SW WA/OR Write To Publish at the Brickhouse in downtown Vancouver from 6-10pm. After a workshop presentation from group organizer and published author Linda Stirling, there'll be readings, pitch practices, and general debauchery.

On the music front, Second Player Score has been working hard in the woodshed, refining our sound, preparing to record some demos, and putting together some cool merchandise for y'all to spend your hard-earned money on. More details to come.

And also coming soon: the official release of Secret of the Songshell, the audiobook version!

Art's Quotes of the Day:
"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet." -- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
"All we need is just a little patience." -- Guns 'N' Roses

Thursday News Flashes

I'll be at Orycon this coming Saturday! In case you don't remember from last year, Orycon is Oregon's premier science fiction convention, now in its 35th year. Come down, hang out all day, check out the cool stuff and interesting panels, and don't forget to swing by the NIWA booth from 11am - noon, when I'll be the featured author. And come back often to see the other awesome indie authors, who will be there all weekend!

In other news, the audio version of Book One is nearing completion, and I can say that it is sounding amazing, thanks to some stellar efforts from voice actor Jonathan Murphy and sound editor Michael Meyer. Much more on this to come soon.

See you this weekend!

Quote of the Day #1: "Don't try." - Charles Bukowski
Quote of the Day #2: "Try not." - Yoda

Hillsboro Author Speed Date

Just wanted to give a quick mahalo to NIWA, Hillsboro Public Library, and Jacobsen's Books for organizing a fun and successful event last night! Also thanks to everyone who came out and chatted with us.

Next up on the event schedule: Orycon! As always, keep watching this space for details...

Quick Hits

- I'll be at NIWA's Speed Date an Author event next week Wednesday, October 30, from 6:30-8pm at the Hillsboro Public Library. Check out this link for more details!

- Book Two is making progress. I took some time to step back and work on plots and arcs for the series as a whole, which I feel was a really good decision (after I came up with an idea for one of the future books, I thought to myself, "Boy am I glad I didn't commit to something else in Book Two already!")

- How sweet is this??

- Coming soon for Second Player Score: swag (t-shirts, etc.) and a CD! Stay tuned...

- Currently being played: Wind Waker Wii U (working on the Withered Deku Tree side quest) and Xenoblade Chronicles (just started the Entia Tomb).

A Few Childhood Faves

As I may have mentioned in an earlier blog post, I was a voracious reader of fantasy books as a child. During my current search for inspiration and ideas for The Spectraland Saga, my thoughts turned to some of my favorite series from that bygone era...and so now, I present them to you as recommended reading.*

The Deryni Novels

About a race of people with magical psychic powers, at times these books resembled historical fiction with their realistic portrayal of political and religious conflicts in a medieval setting.

The Belgariad

A five-book series with lots of good ol' fashioned swords and sorcery.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

Disclaimer: this series consists of ten books, but I only read the first six (the ones that came out before 2004). A bit darker in tone than other series with a protagonist that takes some getting used to, it nevertheless was deeply affecting and influential.

The Xanth Series

Disclaimer Part Two: I read the first, oh, maybe nine or ten books in this series and then stopped after that. I mean, c'mon, there are over thirty of these things! The ones that I did read were - in true Piers Anthony fashion - fun, playfully irreverent, and maybe just a little un-PC.

The Spellsinger Series

A series about a law student/janitor/guitarist who travels to another dimension where he can perform magic by playing rock songs on a special guitar-like instrument. Hey, that sounds kind of familiar! Not to worry, I re-read this before writing Book One and although they share that similar element, they are very different stories (and wavebows function in a more scientific manner than Jon-Tom's duar, which is like - need some kind of transportation? Play "Little Deuce Coupe" by the Beach Boys.)

So there you have it: some of my favorite books from my youth. Keep in mind that - if you're worried about this kind of thing - these books are not as kid-friendly as, say, Harry Potter/Percy Jackson/Joel Suzuki and the like. But they're good reads nonetheless.

* If you, like me, have a backlogged stack of books so large that you have to prioritize your reading, read [shameless self-promotion alert] Book One and other NIWA books first!