Funny thing happened yesterday while I was working at my conventional job. A young, attractive girl happened to stumble upon my books on the internet and came up to talk to me about them. She said how much she respected someone who could do what writers are born to do and she wished she could author a book. (What I didn’t tell her about was the years of isolation and sacrifices made). Anyway, she then said something to me that struck as both humorous and poignant. She said, and I quote “Wow, you’ve written nine books! You’re going to be famous!” I replied with a little laugh “Maybe I’ll get rich, but writers don’t really get famous.” That thought stuck in my head for the rest of the night and obviously into today. Unlike musicians and actors, writers aren’t usually in the lime light. We don’t ache for public attention (at least I don’t), and generally prefer being alone. Even if I sell a million books I don’t expect to walk into a restaurant, be recognized, and be given a special table. Or go shopping and have a crowd of admirers follow me around the store snapping photos. Writers write because they have to. They tell stories because it’s an urge that must be fulfilled. Whether getting famous or not. Rich or not. Real writers must put pen to paper (or in my case, fingers to keyboard) every day or they feel somehow disconnected from the world. Some would call it lunacy. Others, mad genius. And still others would say I waste a huge amount of time tapping away. Whatever it is that drives writers cannot be understood by those who don’t. So if you see me out and about you don’t need to come running for an autograph or pull out your phone for a picture. You can just step up and say hi, because I’m nobody famous; just a writer.

As promised, here is another example of a query that got a lot of publisher and agent requests. I’ve omitted the last paragraph of credentials since I’ve listed them in prior posts.

 

DREAM TRAVELER

In the far reaches of the galaxy, thoughts can become reality. DREAM TRAVELER is a 30,000-word young adult fantasy adventure in which a fifteen-year-old girl journeys to the future and risks her soul to understand the politics of an alien civil war and stop the destruction of the universe.

 

After centuries of conflict, ageless spirits called Phelastians, who live on a magnificent floating city, are finally making peace with Dwellers, ape creatures who live on a decimated planet Earth. Ancient formalities require that a human be present as a witness to the treaty. A Phelastian travels through the interstellar continuum back in time and recruits Jamie Richards, a geeky, everyday teenager.

 

Core, a Dweller overlord, is pro war and sabotages the link connecting Jamie to her world. Jamie vanishes from the signing, crumbling the negotiations, and sending her on a series of fantastic, alternate-reality adventures that shatter the boundaries of possibility. Stumbling into shifting prisms of both worlds, she visits war-ravaged landscapes, returns to an Earth ruled by mechanical aliens, and even meets herself as a frail, old woman. Through it all, Jamie pieces together the disjointed fragments of space and time and discovers a stable vortex. She returns to the moment of signing and stabilizes the link seconds before creation explodes with parallel dimensions.

 

DREAM TRAVELER is the second in a completed three book sci-fi/fantasy series. Readers can expect a mind-bending adventure punctuated by bizarre plot twists. Jamie faces and overcomes unimaginable obstacles. She is a strong, smart, female hero. The story will delight children, teens, and adults alike.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006F2AGUQ

 

ALWAYS WRITING