July updates

My goal is to have released my book on July 28th but that isn't garunteed. I think I have everything in place and am just waiting on a few details to settle. In the meantime, I have gone back to writing book two. I just reread what I have already written, and it's fantastic. 

I have also started writing a web novel. It is a portal fantasy survival story about a girl who gets cast onto a barren floating island in the middle of a tempest. It is a little on the darker side from what I have written so far. 

I have reasons for working on two projects at once. Maybe someday I'll go into them, but not right now. The important thing is that I am doing them both. They are both fantastic and you should read them. 

Anyway, spread the word. Buy my books, consume, enjoy!

Have you ever tried to eat a clock, It's very time consuming.

 Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday I wrote my last post. I have been super busy buying tractors, building shops and working obscene amounts of overtime. Don't you worry though, I have written a fair amount, gone through edits and even designed a few versions of book covers.  

Trying to decide which one I should pick is difficult. I like them all. Each one probably needs a little more tweaking to get it ready but as with writing, graphic design is a skill I am still developing. Let me know what you think via the contact me page. No email required. 

Progress

Currently, the manuscript is with the editor and the timeframe to get it back is a little over a month. Being new to this who writing thing, I am still working on ironing out wrinkles in my process. This causes unnecessary delays, but it is all part of the process. 

I decided I enjoy writing enough that I could do it full time. It isn't that hard to imagine. However, it doesn't promise to pay bills, and I still love my current job as well. That being said, Ill continue to write part time for kicks and giggles. But who knows, maybe one day I can retire to a nice sunny beach and write amazing adventure stories. I have a long way to go to improve my writing skills before that happens. 

On another note, the creative juices are still flowing. I have had yet another story I am super excited about. It initially started out as a tickle in the back of my mind. My excitement grew when my brother offered a similar idea. Then, in the deep dark places in my mind, while I was exploring the furthest reaches of my hippocampus. I found myself in a rather unpleasant place. Despite years of Boy Scouts, and seeing some of the worst things as a paramedic. I am woefully unprepared to live in the worlds I create. As I was screaming in my sleep, scaring my wife while getting the living daylights beat out of me, the details of the world and story solidified into something pretty amazing. 

Some people ask me if I model the main characters after myself or envision them as versions of me. The answer is no. I don't envy the lives I create for them, or want the problems they create for themselves. I'm quite happy where I am at. In my stories, I would be the peasant that is hiding in the alley waiting for the danger to pass, hoping to go unnoticed. Watching, to one day pass on the story to my grandchildren about the time I saw the hero pass by. 

Hopefully next time you hear from me I'll have a launch date and more details. 

Another Draft down!

I finished the first draft of Emergency Magical Services today. I can honestly say that I feel like it is significantly better than my first book, but I still have a lot to learn. 

That being said, I have been thinking about why I write. My answer is because I want to. I enjoy it. I enjoy telling the stories because for me it's like going on an adventure. Each character is genuine in a way. I make plans and want the story to go one way, only to realize that isn't at all what the character would do. 

When I started the story, I meant it to be a diversion, a place to explore the way I felt about working as a paramedic. Visualizing the world differently, but as I wrote I quickly realized the possibilities. 

Paraphrasing my wife, she said something to the effect of, "It helps me understand what you go through in an entertaining way."

I'm still working on my blurb, admittedly I'm still learning to write one well, but here it is.

Jerry is a Medic in his prime. Everything goes smoothly until he sustains a head injury that changes his perspective of the world around him. As the truth unfolds around him, it sets him on a dangerous path as he faces off against the Illuminati.

Also, my cover, I think. 

Still here? You see them too? Fantastic, for a moment I thought I was crazy.

Want to Beta read? 

Send me an Email 

Beta Readers Wanted.

Over the past few months, I have taken it upon myself to improve my craft. I have been trying things to give my characters depth. Improve the cadence and arc of my stories and make things easier to read. 

The result is that writing is moving much slower. However, my first draft is leaps and bounds ahead of what the finished product of Souldbound Alliance ended up. I suspect that someday I will come back to that and completely rewrite it. But for now, I need some space with that project. 

Following Jerry and Caitlyn (you havn't met them yet) has been a blast. It feels like they are actual people. Which is weird because they came from my imagination. 

The other part that has been fun is trying to make real life make sense using fantasy and Magic. Or meshing old fiction and legends into reality in a way that is believable. 

So far the story is a little over half done and already longer than my first book. I can't wait to get to polishing it and sharing it with everyone else. 

If you're interested in Beta reading, send me a message on Facebook.  It is the story about a Paramedic that wakes up after a head injury to discover that Magic is real and that secret organizations have kept him from seeing it. 

Update

This month there wasn't much to report. I avoided sending out a newsletter and mostly kept to myself. My personal life got a little bit...exciting, stressful, hairy? I'm not sure yet. Soulbound stories has suffered. I havn’t been improving the website. Posting on social media or much of anything for that manner. Instead, I have been playing plumber, electrician, and general contractor. 

I sold the home I have poured my blood, sweat and tears into and moved into a small home on a lake. It has been a stressful adventure, but now that we finally feel like we can take a breath; I have gotten back into writing. 

Soulbound War is currently on hold. I got a fantastic idea that was begging to come out, and I found myself swept away in the fantasy. I would describe it as urban high fantasy. By nature of the subject, it is a little more dark but still family friendly. 

Talk about difficult. Try to portray a world that is dark, fun, and safe for adolescent. But still paint the picture you want to convey. The challenge has slowed my writing speed but added to the fun.  I have also changed up my writing process and included beta readers during the drafting process to identify weak or confusing parts. The goal has been to stretch my abilities and improve my skill. I think it’s working. 

I expect to release a 2nd edition of Soulbound Allies soonish. Maybe get some real cover art and do some serious advertising. 

Hope you all are staying positive and testing negative

A.N. James

See The Wonder

Things have been busy for me. I am finishing a new home and trying to get ready to move. Unfortunately, I could not write as much as I wanted to this last month. Stories and ideas have been thrashing against the sides of my head, begging for me to release them. Subsequently, I wrote about 4000 words in the past two days, in between catching up with emails and trainings for my job. 

What I have been working on is a little different of a story. Revisions for my first book, Soulbound war and an urban fantasy surprise idea that has been urging me to bring it to life. 

The world is an enchanted place full of wonder. Let me explain. Speeding home from work, I came across a small lake that was so still it had a mirror finish. Trees sitting on the side appeared to be rising from the center of the reservoir and descend into the depth of a magical realm. I am still regretting not pulling over and taking a photo. 

Or another day I was driving along the side of a sunflower field. It was evening time. All the heads of the flowers turned down, the petals droopy. They appeared to be an audience of sad blossoms, having heard the terrible news about so many of their friends burning in the forests.

The point is, there is magic in imagination and wonder spread through the world. Sometimes in life a new perspective can turn the boring task of brick laying into the urgent need to build a wall to keep out invaders.