Time for Change

I haven’t blogged in a while. I’ve been too busy, really, and using what writing time I have to focus on…well, writing. It’s been a struggle this year. Lackluster book sales and a busy schedule have combined to reduce my output and put a bit of a heavy weight on my shoulders. Add in a sinus infection and crappy Michigan weather and I’ve got lots of excuses, but no real justification.

Meanwhile, I’ve stumbled across a new idea. Not for a story, but for a character. The last time this happened I struggled and finally ended up finding a home for the new character. She ended up starting up a series in my Dark Earth setting and, over the span of the last five years, has been responsible for bringing in a little of sales and happy readers. Here’s the funny part – those books would have done a lot better if they had a woman’s name on them instead of mine.

Waving my finger at the way in which we pick books to read aside, I’m still pretty darn happy with how Katalina Wimple and The Lost Girls turned out. I still love the character and what she’s been through and accomplished. It’s because of her that my new idea is gaining more and more traction in my head.

So who is this character? I don’t know yet. I do know it’s a she. I also know she’s in a sci-fi setting because she’s been in some pretty rough stuff and only survived because of very advanced medicine. Probably injuries comparable to something Darth Vader-esque. Except she’s not nearly as whiny and obnoxious as the shmuck that was Annakin Skywalker.

So where does she go? Vitalis? Dark Universe? Something new? I’m not entirely sure, to be honest, but I’m leaning towards Dark Universe. Not what I had intended for book three in that series, but I might introduce her there. Set the stage, so to speak, so that she can start things up after book three is over and I’ve told the major story arc I had planned for Aden and the crew of the Uma.

Or maybe another idea will come along and I’ll do something else with her. It’s hard to know, honestly, but I do know I really like her and she’s here to stay. My wife’s books aren’t doing as well as they did last year and she’d disappointed by that enough that she’s slowing down. That means, hopefully, I can focus more on my stuff. For lovers of Dawn Michelle don’t worry, she’s not giving up and going away, just slowing down and thinking things through.

On that note, book three of The Lost Pack is due out soon, perhaps by Monday. Book 4 is close behind, maybe another week or two. Books five and beyond are coming too, she hasn’t gotten to them yet though. I’m pushing to help her get them out, the sooner we do the sooner I can turn back to Dark Universe and Voidhawk, in particular. I really want to start my next Voidhawk book, but I’m also dying to continue the Dark Universe setting. Decisions, decisions…

To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

Pixie Sex

I’ve read that Hemingway was a drunk. I wasn’t there so I don’t know. I’ve heard that many great novelists helped themselves to various chemicals, substances, and elixirs that had mood or mind altering affects. I think I understand why.

I’ve got a cold. It’s not a particularly vicious one I don’t think, but it’s enough to make me miserable. My process for dealing with colds is aggressive. I go on the attack with every weapon I have at my disposal. For example, I found some Tylenol cold pills with antihistamine, I found some generic Mucinex (or however it’s spelled, check out the graphic of me discussing it via text message with my wife below), I stocked up on cough drops, popped a generic caffeine pill, and I even have a tiny little 8mg super-secret weapon.

Last night my wife had a board meeting to attend and my kids were begging and pleading to go to a skate party put on their elementary school at a nearby roller rink. That meant I had to put on my big boy panties and deal with it. I picked up more cough drops on the way there and dutifully strapped my hockey skates on (roller blades, not ice skates – although I have those too). I then spent the next two hours feeling almost human while skating around in circles and alternately terrorizing and embarrassing my children in front of their peers. If only I could have brought my hockey stick too…

I doped up on fresh pills when I got home and passed out around 11. When I woke up I realized that not only was I still sick and congested (seems to be moving down in my chest now), but I also felt dehydrated. Oh yeah, all that skating and sweating – I probably should have drank some water. Oops.

Pounded about twenty ounces of water this morning with a fresh batch of pills and then I was off to work and, surprisingly, I was very productive both yesterday and today in spite of being sick. What gives? It’s that super-secret thing I mentioned.

When I get a cold the cocktail of anti-cold meds I abuse my liver and kidneys with probably adds some short term stress. It puts me in a fog though. A zone where I can work on a task and pound it out. Of course when I add in my special miracle pill my output nearly doubles.

Years ago before the FDA decided to bow to pressure from lobbyists there was a a substance commonly available called Ephedrine. I still have a tiny, and dwindling, stockpile. Not really a stockpile anymore, more like dust shavings in the bottom of a lonely bottle. Still, that tiny little 8mg pill does wonderful things, especially when I catch a cold. Why do you think so many anti-cold / sinus meds have pseudoephedrine or some derivative in them? Because that stuff rocks!

A pox on the idiots that misused and abused the substance for dieting purposes. Even most of those people were fine, but the few that had pre-existing heart conditions combined with pre-existing ignorance and / or stupidity got themselves in trouble with it. That and, for the conspiracy theorists out there, the fact that a generic and cheap drug was an effective weight loss solution wasn’t doing pharmaceutical companies any good, caused the FDA to ban it.

The fact that I think it may be a crucial ingredient in making crystal meth may have played a factor too, but I’m honestly not sure if it’s in meth or not since I’ve never tried to make any.

So that mix of random cold medicine may or may not make the cold go away quicker, but it does allow me to perform in spite of the illness. And, in the case of the fun and downright creepy chapter I wrote for Vitalis: Genesis last night, it makes me downright productive.

Sadly, writing after a half dozen beers doesn’t do the same thing. I guess I’ll just have to keep experimenting!

To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

Another Reason it’s Good to be a Writer

Sometimes events in our lives make us introspective. We reflect on our lives and our beliefs, seeking comfort in the familiar and understanding for things that happen beyond our control. This can lead to contentment at times and anger at others. Psychologists call it stages of grieving. Philosophers call it meditation and understanding one’s self. I call it that thing we all do, no matter how much money we have or what our skin color or internal plumbing looks like. Being human binds us, for better or worse. I guess that makes it easier for the aliens bent on taking control of our world someday easier to stereotype us.

But until that day I can spend time fantasizing all sorts of thoughts about a variety of very touchy topics. Religion, politics, sexism, and Paula Dean trying to make a buck off her unhealthy lifestyle by endorsing a drug for diabetics. The thing is that I’m a writer, so I like to get my thoughts out there and to be heard. While spewing opinion laden sensitive topics may be cathartic, it can also piss off a lot of people. I greatly respect individuality and everybody’s right to believe what they want, so I don’t want to do that. Not to mention having people angry at me is going to stunt my writing career from a sales point of view!

So here’s where writing is cool. Rather than go on and on about a topic I can invest my thoughts and feelings into my characters in my books. As long as I don’t make the book in general preachy, it becomes a character trait (or quirk). I get it off my chest and my character becomes deeper and more interesting. Win-win.

And the situation that prompts such thoughts? Well, those will develop and unfold however they do. It’s been a long week but things are looking unexpectedly optimistic. Still, gor people like me who feel the need to try and take charge of their lives and be in control of what happens it’s difficult to watch things happen beyond our control. Recognizing that quirk is, I hope, the first step in dealing with it, but I still don’t have to like it. 🙂

As for me, it’s still my every intention to be the exception to the rule that nobody gets out of life alive. For the rest of us, never settle for anything less than a happy life and be sure to share that with the people that matter – and even the people you don’t know. Maybe those people will make a difference someday too.

In hindsight I almost renamed this post, “It’s not a tumor!” I couldn’t think of a good way to convey it with an Austrian accent though. 🙂

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.