Weapons of the 21st Century

With a title like that, this blog has to be pretty cool, right? Well, I leave that to the reader to decide, but here’s a spoiler: the weapons I’m referring to are words.

I just did something I try not to do very often. I read my reviews. Not the reviews I’ve written, but rather the reviews people have written on my books. The last 4 were 5 stars, then a 3 star, then numerous other 4 and 5 star reviews. Pretty darn cool, I have to say!

But that’s dangerous too. I’ve figured out a lot of things as a writer with over 20 books published. I’ve learned how to write through adversity and slumps. I’ve figured out what makes the books interesting for me and the readers. I’ve learned the value of good editing. And according to a lot of my reviews, I’ve written some great books and have made some lifelong fans. It would be easy for me to think I’ve peaked and I don’t need to learn anymore. FAR FROM IT!

There’s so many things I want to try and learn that the list is limitless – and that’s just with writing! I haven’t even touched on hang gliding or scuba diving. Reading reviews that praise books like Bound, Bounty, and The Lost Girls leaves me a very warm and fuzzy feeling. Yet it doesn’t teach me anything. Oh sure, it tells me I made some people happy and that’s a great thing. I’m here to entertain, after all, but I want to know what I can do better. The writer that can’t improve his craft has not yet been invented. I certainly appreciate the reviews though, and I hope to earn many more yet to come.

So this blog post is to share some great reviews on the books linked above. It’s also to remind myself and any of my peers paying attention that no matter how good it gets or how great we may feel, we should never take success for granted. Reviews, for example, don’t put food on the table. Working hard and always striving to write the next book a little better than the last one, on the other hand, can help pay the rent.

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.