tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70556017532379201002024-03-13T20:21:17.321-05:00J.J. WestendarpAn author's first steps into the crazy world of eBooks and self-publishingJL Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501310520154344536noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-52534095084228578052012-07-08T10:58:00.003-05:002012-07-08T10:58:40.469-05:00Welcome New Readers!So from June 29th until July 3rd, I ran a freebie sale for White Rock over at Amazon. During that time I was picked up by <a href="http://ereadernewstoday.com/">E-reader News Today</a> and <a href="http://www.pixelofink.com/">Pixel of Ink</a>, and sales, for me at least, skyrocketed. Looking at the numbers, it seems I may have something close to 7,000 new readers. Well, eventually. Far be it of me to assume every download would turn into an immediate read. Still, I'd like to think that the conscious decision to download White Rock will ultimately end up with a fan. So I'm taking the time to post this, because my previous post might seem a bit off putting and I want the first thing new people see to be this here welcome message.<br />
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A little bit about myself at this point in time. I'm 34-years-old, married, with two wonderful children, ages 6 and 5 (about a year and a half apart). Currently I lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex but that is changing thanks to a job offer given to my wife. Soon enough we will be based out of Western New York. Which is great because that's where the majority of our friends and family live. It's a huge change for us after having lived in DFW for going on 12 years, but it's a welcome one to be sure. When I'm not preparing for a move, I work in the IT industry, largely as technical support. However, I am currently enrolled at Kaplan University Online and working toward a Bachelor's Degree in Mobile Application Development. I hope, soon enough, to be writing apps for people to use.<br />
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For the time being, and this is something I cannot stress enough, the writing thing is a hobby. It comes after just about everything else. Some days, I can't find the time to write. Other days, even when I have the time, the desire may not be there. It is something I constantly work on, however, but there may be large gaps between updates and new things for you all to read. I have a lot of ideas and fun stories to tell, and I cannot wait for you all to read them.<br />
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Now, about The Eternal War. This is a planned 10 book series with a trilogy to cap it off. In between I have 3 side novels I want to write concerning the setting, and the intention is to bridge the gap between novels with short stories and novelettes to tell other stories that add to the overall setting. This is going to be a rich universe filled with many layers, a few of which have just begun to be revealed. I hope you all will join me as I complete this journey.<br />
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I think that's about it. If you are a new reader, I encourage you all to leave your honest reviews at Amazon and Goodreads. Oh, and tell your friends. I am an independent author with an advertising budget of zero dollars. I must rely on word of mouth for people to find me. If you like my stories, and wish to see more, then the best thing you can do is help me get sales. The more sales I get, the better chance I have at eventually turning this into my full time job. So yes, leave your reviews and tell your friends. I really want more time to write for you all.<br />
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Have a good day!J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-49542737034775636782012-05-05T08:58:00.000-05:002012-05-05T08:58:29.021-05:00Do Blog Reviews Matter?Let me preface this post by saying that I truly do appreciate every blog reviewer that has taken the time to read my works and give their unbiased opinions of what they contain. While I write primarily for myself so that I can see the stories I wish to read, there really is no greater feeling than to have someone come along and say that they liked, or even loved reading it themselves. However, my experience over the past year and a half of being on the market is that blog reviewers have very little actual influence in direct sales. I'll explain after the jump.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>During the early months of Spiral X being available, my wife and I kept a spreadsheet of review blogs that we had targeted as potential reviewers. In all, over a hundred requests for review were sent. About a quarter of them actually completed reviews, the same number were sent a copy but never posted a review, and the rest either never responded or did respond and said they couldn't do it (for a variety of reasons). Right off the bat, the odds really do not favor the sales. A 25% success rate might be good enough in Baseball, but elsewhere it doesn't really sit well.<br />
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Now, out of the reviews that did come in, the overwhelming majority were favorable or better. A couple were not quite as favorable but only in terms of not liking the material, or even not understanding it to a degree. Still, those are much better overall percentages, and one wonders if that spread would have remained if I had gotten reviews from everyone that had been sent a copy.<br />
<br />Back to the topic at hand though. Direct sales, to me, means any sale that appears within forty-eight hours of a review being posted on a blog. I limit it to just two days because that seems to be the period in which people spread out their blog reading, i.e. if they don't hit them every day, they hit them every other day. In some cases, bloggers take part in weekly efforts such as Follow Friday and whatnot so actual reviews might quickly find themselves buried after two days. So it feels like a good number to hit on.<br />
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My records show that between November of 2010 and March of 2011 I had twenty-one Blog Reviews. Now, during this time I saw the most amount of overall sales but in terms of direct sales, there was little to make me believe the reviews were making a difference. I had more success directly talking about my work within the various online communities that I had been a part of for several years prior to this endeavor.<br />
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The biggest indicator of this observation is evident in February of 2011. During this month I had eight reviews of Spiral X. One of those was from a blog that had over a thousand followers. Should have had a good month, right? The book sold four copies. Keep in mind that these were good reviews. Only one was less than 4-stars and more than a couple were 5-stars. By all appearances though, this did not matter.<br />
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So what can ultimately be gleaned from this? For one, I think I didn't hit my target market with the blogs we got reviews on. As I said, I had better sales when directly engaging with the communities I had long been a part of, which runs heavily into online gaming and geek culture. Ultimately I feel as if the comic book and gaming crowd is my best bet overall to help generate interest and sales.<br />
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So what does this mean? Well, it means outside of a few bloggers who were extremely receptive of Spiral X and were quick to get reviews back, I won't be going out of my way to relive the experience with White Rock. My time is limited as it is, and spending hours out of the day walking down a dead end road doesn't really appeal to the logical side of my brain. And again, while I am appreciative of the reviews I did receive for Spiral X, the end result doesn't really match up with the expected outcome.<br />
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So the answer to the question, "Do Blog Reviews Matter?", is, for J. J. Westendarp, a "No."J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-35600172407271009552012-04-30T13:24:00.004-05:002012-04-30T13:24:30.046-05:00Looking to the Future<br />
So where does The Eternal War go from here? I've mentioned it before in several places but not here so I thought I would elaborate on my overall plans.<br />
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One of my pet peeves in regards to a series is if it seems to have no place to go. One of the things that has to happen on a book-to-book basis is that the characters must grow, and the challenges they face have to not only be new, but there has to be a little bit more at stake. I feel as if I accomplished this with the conflict in Spiral X versus the conflict in White Rock. With the former, the conflict was small, limited, and the fallout is contained fairly well. With the latter, it is much larger, and the fallout from the events is similarly large and a bit messier as a result. However, there has to be a point where you really can't top yourself. Otherwise you start to lose focus and it really becomes kind of comical, almost in a morbid sense, to try to work out of the corner you've backed yourself into.<br />
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To that end, The Eternal War has an ending planned. The "Cheryl" portion of the series will encompass ten overall books. The conclusion of the tenth book will lead into a trilogy to wrap everything up. In between I plan on writing at least three other books which focus on two of the more interesting supporting characters, plus a book that will focus on what will likely be the most controversial aspect of The Eternal War mythos. Like with Split, I plan to write a bunch of short stories and novelettes that bring to light various aspects of The Eternal War that don't necessarily have anything to do with the characters you already know, though I do plan on touching a few of them as well.<br />
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Overall that is a lot of material to get through, but once I have done so I do not intend to revisit this setting. There has to be a point where enough is enough and if sixteen books and numerous short stories don't fit the bill, then I'm not sure what else to say. One of my favorite authors, David Eddings, once was asked if he intended to revisit the world he created with his Belgariad and Mallorean series. His reply was that he had created thirteen books overall with the world, taking into account the Begerath and Polgara books, plus the Riven Codex, which is the same number of books Homer had with the Odyssey. He figured if thirteen books was good enough for Homer, it was good enough for him. I completely see where he came from on this and while I will be doing more than thirteen books, there is a point where what I have out there will be good enough.<br />
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That said, such a point is a long way off. In the meantime, I have started brainstorming how to put Book Three together. I know the overall theme and focus, it's just a matter of lining the contents up. There's also a lot going on in my life at the moment, so I must continue to reiterate how my writing is merely a hobby at this stage. It barely makes the top five in my list of priorities, and some days it doesn't even reach that far. While I anticipate a rough outline for Book Three to be done before the Summer is out, anything beyond that would be premature to speculate on. I will do what I can to keep you all informed of what I am up to, and hope you'll continue to stick with me as I continue my indie author journey.<br />J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-45399656448336499322012-04-27T12:33:00.006-05:002012-04-27T12:33:55.096-05:00White Rock Now Available!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-INz7U5QIXkT7FakjJKl0JbRTWawj9rnmyWKMofVBVt-2a3aY1Y_ak58QLSkSRyppHZwD4HPPfAQuHGRffOo2kCa_8kiOl1L1Q5RTsF0Fn_yRmv4HsWomEo3PePyAfD1s8_zWDciOR4k/s1600/westendarp+white+rock+300dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-INz7U5QIXkT7FakjJKl0JbRTWawj9rnmyWKMofVBVt-2a3aY1Y_ak58QLSkSRyppHZwD4HPPfAQuHGRffOo2kCa_8kiOl1L1Q5RTsF0Fn_yRmv4HsWomEo3PePyAfD1s8_zWDciOR4k/s1600/westendarp+white+rock+300dpi.jpg" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>"Before the end is to come, one shall be infused with the light as a measure against the darkness."</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cheryl Erikson's problems never seem to end. After saving a group of Dallas' social elite from an unusually brazen attempt at robbery by a group of vampires, she discovers it's not an isolated incident. The normally hidden and secretive vampires are in the midst of an extended crime spree, and working toward something big. Exactly what is anyone's guess.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>“The one who is infused with the light of others will stand before darkness, and the darkness shall melt away before their presence and writhe at their touch.”</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When the vampires finally enact their plan, no one is ready for the lengths they have gone to in order to ensure success. Cheryl and her allies must rally and find a way to prevent the ultimate evil from gaining a foothold in our world. If they can't put a stop to it, then Armageddon will be that much closer to becoming a reality.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>"They will be called upon to face the darkness and push it back, lest time end and the balance be toppled for eternity.”</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On the shores of White Rock Lake, Heaven’s earthly soldiers will sacrifice everything to combat the darkness before them. But even Cheryl is unprepared for exactly what that entails as she discovers just how important her role in the Eternal War is.</span></blockquote>
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Creating this book has been a bit of a journey. It was the first time I've taken an idea from start to finish in one go. Usually I let things simmer a bit, work on other projects, but throughout this process the only thing I did when I was writing was work on White Rock. I am confident that the results will keep readers coming back for more for many years to come. Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007WRUHGQ">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007WRUHGQ</a>J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-52207651984071325552012-04-19T09:34:00.003-05:002012-04-19T09:35:12.408-05:00Does it Pass the Ear Test?One of the best editing techniques available to any writer is the Ear Test. What is the Ear Test? Well, the Ear Test is when you read the words you have written out loud and determine if what you're hearing is right. As readers, we tend to do a lot of skimming. It inevitable, and is part of the mental process from which a person can "read" a word that is misspelled and infer what the word was actually supposed to say. As well, people who speed read don't read every single word in a book. No, they have trained their minds to skim through the book and infer what each sentence or paragraph is trying to convey. However, the Ear Test is the exact opposite of speed reading.<br />
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Every word must be said aloud. It is only through this method that you can find things that might otherwise be missed, such as dropped words or the presence of a run-on sentence. It's tiring work, and any author who does this needs to keep a glass of water nearby so they can keep things going. Lucky for Kindle users (I'm not sure if the other platforms offer this, so don't feel like I'm leaving you out intentionally), the device has a rudimentary feature that allows it to read the words back to you, albeit in a "computer voice". I can't stress how helpful this is. When we read something we're familiar with, our mind tends to "fill in the blanks", and it's very easy to miss something. With the Kindle reading it to you, it's easier to catch where these blanks exist.<br />
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Case in point, I'm currently going through the Ear Test with White Rock. It's the last bit that needs to be done before I upload it to Amazon next week. So far, I have found nearly two dozen instances of "dropped words" that I had missed through at least two rounds of "read editing". As well, it has allowed me to catch a small handful of SCUDs (Spell Check Ugly Ducklings), words that are technically written correctly, but which are the wrong words for the moment. For instance, I had a "string quarter" instead of a "string quartet".<br />
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The Ear Test is a vital part of an author's self-publishing repertoire. If you have a Kindle, there is no reason you can't use a program like Calibre to convert a PDF of your manuscript into a Kindle book, upload it to the Kindle, then have it read the manuscript back to you. Beyond that, a couple of days reading it to yourself out loud, with plenty of water on hand, can go a long way to resolving a lot of minor problems to the manuscript before you let it out into the world at large.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-32924324083624012692012-04-12T10:32:00.001-05:002012-04-12T10:32:47.692-05:00On the Importance of Self-AnalysisI recently did a Google search on "J. J. Westendarp", just to see what the results would be. I purposely limited the search to things presented within the last three months, since I've seen most everything that has popped out with the words "J. J. Westendarp" and "Spiral X" in the same setting. Google Alerts is good about that. However, it missed one because a blog poster mistakenly kept naming the book "Spiral" instead of its actual name. The post? A <a href="http://critiquet.com/2012/03/double-bind-theory-frustated-readers/">psychological evaluation</a> on a "double-bind", which according to Wikipedia* means:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">...an emotionally distressing dilemma in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" title="Communication">communication</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> in which an individual (or group) receives two or more conflicting messages, in which one message negates the other. This creates a situation in which a successful response to one message results in a failed response to the other (and vice versa), so that the person will be automatically wrong regardless of response.</span></blockquote>
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The context in which the poster presented the observation resulted from reading the sample for Spiral X, and dealt with what is arguably my biggest failing in my debut novel, that of stamping out rampant passive voice. See, it tended to mix in with bits of active voice, and the blogger felt this created a double bind within themselves. They had conflicting thoughts about the sample, and hence could not see themselves going all in on buying the product. Please note that the sample was merely the catalyst for the post, and that the presence of double bind writing was something they had seen in a lot of indie publications, so it wasn't specific to the sample, just the last example of what they were talking about.<br />
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Which leads me to the topic of this blog post. Every writer starts somewhere. A lot of writers have good natural instincts and can write a solid story without much effort. Many writers struggle with the intricacies of the process, of dealing with the idea of having something so large broken down into little things that all must line up correctly in order to make sense. Writing is hard, no matter the skill level, which is why a writer cannot operate in a vacuum. They need people who are willing to take on the burden of reading unfinished manuscripts and providing valuable feedback. They need people they can turn to for advice on what might be wrong with a scene or a character or a plot device. Most importantly, they need people who do none of these things yet still support them in their efforts to become a writer. Even with all of that though, the author still needs the ability to self-evaluate and realize where they need to get better.<br />
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Last year I talked with an aspiring author who was looking to self-publish a novel that she had been working hard on for a few years. Like, taking classes and such in order to get better at the art of writing, kind of hard. Given that I had gone through the process of self-publishing, and knew of the pratfalls that came with such a decision, I offered to look over her novel just as one last set of eyes before she took the plunge. Given that she was set to release the novel in a little over a week, I figured it was in as polished a shape as she could get it. She accepted and I got the file and converted it over to my Kindle.<br />
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In short, the novel was the exact opposite of ready for release. Numerous mechanical and logical mistakes existed just on the first page and continued to pile up as I kept reading. Even in the context that certain things "would make sense later", many of the things occurring wouldn't have lined up even in the best of situations. I made it less than 10% of the way into the novel before I had to stop. For a novel close to 150,000 words, that's pretty bad. I sent back a note to the aspiring author with as much constructive criticism as I could with the final note of suggesting she put the novel aside for a few years and work on new projects to get better as a writer, then come back to it with her new knowledge in tow. I also took the first page of the book and did an editing pass, offering comments and pointing out the mechanical and logical errors I found. Her response? To find someone else to get a second opinion. She didn't want to believe the things I told her, and went the route of hoping someone else would tell her what she wanted to hear.<br />
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Which brings me to the original point of self-evaluation. An author must possess this ability or they will get exactly nowhere with their writing. This is especially true if you ask for and receive feedback. It's okay to take a stance on a plot device or the way a character behaves, I have done so on this very blog in regards to Cheryl's hypocrisy, but when people start pointing out inconsistencies, and logical or mechanical errors, it's time to step back and listen to what they're saying. Then once they are finished look into exactly what they're talking about and work to understand what the error is and correct it. Through this process, you get a bit of knowledge going forward on how to avoid that particular error.<br />
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Each new writing experience is just that, experience. My first novel was a wreck. My second, a bit better. My third was a fan fiction piece that was good enough to publish as an episodic novel that was very well received. My fourth, Spiral X, is good enough for people to pay money to read. My ratings on Goodreads and Amazon are proof enough for that. I think White Rock will follow the trend of me getting better, simply based on an ability to self-analyze and make use of the constructive criticism I have received so far.<br />
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So writers, never be afraid to self-analyze. Certainly never be afraid to put something to the side and come back to it later. You owe it to yourself and your readers to produce quality products.<br />
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* Academically speaking I don't condone the use of Wikipedia for information, but it's a good place to start.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-81420334752763647152012-03-30T12:18:00.000-05:002012-03-30T12:18:46.923-05:00The Blurb for White Rock is...I went through several overall iterations of the blurb for White Rock. I hate doing blurbs. Trying to distill 96,000 words into less than 250 while still getting across the key aspects of the novel is, quite possibly, the literary form of corporal punishment. I feel the same way about writing a synopsis. That said, after numerous drafts and some tinkering, I think I've settled on the best possible way to express White Rock.<br />
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Hit the break to read it...<br />
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<a name='more'></a><div class="MsoNormal">
<i>"Before the end is to come, one shall be infused with the light as
a measure against the darkness."<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cheryl Erikson's problems never
seem to end. After saving a group of Dallas' social elite from an unusually
brazen attempt at robbery by a group of vampires, she discovers it's not an
isolated incident. The normally hidden and secretive vampires are in the midst
of an extended crime spree, and working toward something big. Exactly what is
anyone's guess.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“The one who is infused with the light of others will stand before
darkness, and the darkness shall melt away before their presence and writhe at
their touch.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the vampires finally enact
their plan, no one is ready for the lengths they have gone to in order to
ensure success. Cheryl and her allies must rally and find a way to prevent the
ultimate evil from gaining a foothold in our world. If they can't put a stop to
it, then Armageddon will be that much closer to becoming a reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>"They will be called upon to face the darkness and push it back,
lest time end and the balance be toppled for eternity.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the shores of White Rock Lake,
Heaven’s earthly soldiers will sacrifice everything to combat the darkness
before them. But even Cheryl is unprepared for exactly what that entails as she
discovers just how important her role in the Eternal War is.<o:p></o:p></div>J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-61485865722612011572012-03-25T07:44:00.000-05:002012-03-25T07:44:00.754-05:00The Cover for White Rock will look like...This past Monday I started working with Christine from Flip City Books on creating the cover for White Rock. While this isn't the artist I used for Spiral X, she totally "got" the overall concept and came up with a beautiful cover. Without even realizing it, she also added an element which speaks of something Cheryl goes through during the course of the book. Overall I am very happy.<br />
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Hit the break to take a look.<br />
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Next up is the blurb and a release date. See you guys soon.</div>
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<br />J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-62598117988669047462012-03-09T10:33:00.001-06:002012-03-09T10:33:53.805-06:00And the Name of Book 2 is...As part of the lead up to April, which is when I will be releasing the second book of The Eternal War series out into the world, I will be giving you all small tidbits about it through the course of this month. The first of this is the title of the book. Later this month will come the cover, the blurb, and ultimately the release date. Some things in between will appear as I think of them.<br />
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So, without further ado, the name of The Eternal War: Book Two is...<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b>White Rock</b><br />
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As Spiral X conveyed a place within the universe, so too does White Rock. In this case, it's White Rock Lake here in Dallas. Some information, off the Wikepedia page:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
White Rock Lake is a reservoir located in east Dallas, Texas (United States). The lake was formed by damming White Rock Creek, which today widens into the lake before continuing south out of the spillway and emptying into the Trinity River. The lake covers 1,254 acres (5.1 km²) in the east Dallas community. It is currently used solely for recreational purposes after its initial purpose as a reservoir was supplanted, and a local parks and recreation area, including the Dallas Arboretum, are located around it.</blockquote>
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Stay tuned to this blog as next week I expect that I shall have the book blurb ready for viewing.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-27024301053122845202012-03-05T07:49:00.000-06:002012-03-05T07:49:40.963-06:00Insert Witty Blog Post HereMy propensity to disappear from this blog for extreme lengths of time (it's been four months since my previous post) is something that's going to happen until I can move the writing hobby into a full time gig. I know I've beat this drum before, but between work, school, family, and my own sanity, sometimes it's not possible to find the time to drum up a blog post. Especially since my thought is that blog posts should be somewhat meaningful. Not to mention, there were times when I had the interface open to post something and couldn't come up with anything at all. Not worth posting at any rate. So I stay silent.<br />
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With that said, it is time to pick this up again. I'm making an attempt at regimenting my days, insomuch as one can with such a disparate schedule as mine (seriously, I've worked the same job for ten years and my parents still don't understand it, despite numerous attempts at explaining). Plus, I'm staring at the end of the line in regards to Book 2, so it makes sense to start working the blog into my schedule as I build toward the release. This month I am hoping to have a rather set schedule of tidbits for those who read this blog to build anticipation. To that end, I will be releasing the name of the book on Thursday.<br />
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Also, this blog post is here to tell people that for the month of March I will be donating 100% of every sale of Spiral X to Child's Play Charity. While those who have read the book know that I already donate 10% toward the cause, for this month (and I'm thinking every March from here on out, we'll see) I will take nothing home from a single sale and will post a screenshot of the Amazon numbers to announce the donation amount when it's all said and done. Please spread the word and help out a great cause.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-88958731719436724982011-11-01T10:29:00.000-05:002011-11-01T10:29:30.397-05:00I Can't Help But Speak UpI want to take a moment to explain a few things, because frankly, I'm tired of people commenting on the issue of a few things that pop up in Spiral X. I don't want to accuse people of not paying attention, but it's clear that people aren't paying attention. If you haven't read Spiral X, then some of this might be spoilery so proceed with caution if you don't like that sort of thing.<br />
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Quick note before I get started though. I do appreciate any and all comments on Spiral X, Split, and The Plan (actually, skip The Plan, I know it isn't that good). However, I've received enough specific comments through reviews on one or two issues that I feel they need to be addressed.<br />
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<u>1. On the subject of Cheryl's sudden revelation of psychic powers.</u><br />
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This is why I think people aren't paying attention. It first shows up in Chapter 7, and also coincides with the <i>first time she runs into vampires</i>! Tell me, at what point before then was it supposed to come up? Read the first 6 chapters and tell me exactly where that would fit and seem like it was appropriate to bring up at the time. Go on, I'll wait. Nothing? Thought so. My guess, based upon the general comment of it "showing up halfway through the novel", is that people are missing the mention of it during the encounter in chapter 7 and are instead focusing on when it shows up again (incidentally, the second encounter with vampires) in chapter 12. So really, the point here is that it shows up a lot earlier than I think people are realizing, but they're not paying attention and are missing it.<br />
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<u>2. On the subject of Cheryl's hypocrisy.</u><br />
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It's deliberate. Very deliberate. I want to make it clear that Cheryl is a flawed person through and through. She's inconsistent. She's human. This really comes out in the second book but it's still on display in Spiral X. I do this for a few reasons. One, I don't like perfect heroes or heroes that appear to be flawed but really aren't. Anita Blake, for instance, is a fake flawed heroine. She was truly flawed at first but she hasn't felt like a real person since her vagina started being able to solve the world's problems. Harry Dresden, however, is a flawed hero. He routinely does things with seem right and jive with his morals, but which ultimately prove how human he is. I will always strive for the latter.<br />
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Let me ask you something. Have you ever had an epiphany? Like, even a minor one? Where you're sitting there trying to figure something out and all of a sudden it comes to you and makes perfect sense? Now, think about chapter 4, which deals with Cheryl's break-up with Thom. Doesn't it seem like she has something of an epiphany? I know it's not explicitely pointed out, but her actions (which follow the path of a lot of her actions, being impulsive and emotional (i.e. human)) clearly follow the lines of someone who suddenly put something together. In Cheryl's case, it was the revelation that trust is impossible for her in a relationship. It took someone else's break in trust for her to realize that this was going to be an issue with her, and ultimately forces her to push Thom away even though she might not want to.<br />
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<u>3. Subplots</u><br />
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Speaking of Thom, I read a comment on a review blog that talked about how he could have been cut out and wouldn't have been missed. Allow me to put on my writer hat here for a moment and explain a few things. Within a book there is generally one main plot and a couple of subplots that tie back directly to the main plot. Thom is a subplot and he impacts the main plot fairly significantly. He shows up and affects things in chapter 4. He shows up again about ten chapters later and again has something of an impact. The payoff, however, doesn't come until just about the three-quarters mark of the book. The events that occur in that last meeting have a significant impact on what happens in the chapters that follow. If Thom isn't in the book, those events don't happen (or at the very least I have to figure out a new way to make them happen).<br />
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So, analyzing the ripples of the Thom pebble in the pool that is Spiral X shows that, 1) He has caused Cheryl to realize that true relationships are nearly impossible for her, and 2) Is the cause of one major death plus has a psychological impact that will extend beyond Spiral X. So no, Thom wasn't just a throwaway character. His subplot is very important, both for Spiral X and going forward.<br />
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<u>4. Showing Vs. Telling.</u><br />
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I'll be the first to admit that I have work to do as a writer in this area. There is a balance to be had here though, and while I know I tilted too far into the telling direction, I figure there's enough showing to go around. In fact, in a few articles about the book that mention this I've had some hypocrisy pop up from the reviewer. They'll chide me for telling too much and then later comment on something they didn't understand because I didn't explicitely point it out for them. You can't have it both ways you know.<br />
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<u>5. The stigma of an independent writer</u><br />
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On the whole I think I'm fighting a rear-guard action by going this route with my writing. When someone picks up my book, assuming they know I'm an independent author, they go in looking for problems. Instead of simply reading the book and enjoying it for what it is (which, if the 4+ star aggregate review from GoodReads, Amazon, and B&N are to be trusted, is damn good), they're actively wanting it to fail. Plus, right now the genre Spiral X fits in happens to be overrun by romance and Skinemax level erotica, so it's a double whammy because the people most likely to independently review it might be looking for something else going in. Heck, I've had reviewers actively say it was nice to read something other than romance in this genre, but then go on to make comments in the review that clearly indicate they were hoping to read a romance novel. Can't win.<br />
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<u>Final comments.</u><br />
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As stated early, I accept any and all comments on my writing. However, I dismiss the majority of them because they focus on aspects that are intentional within the book, such as Cheryl's hypocrisy. The mechanical ones I do pay attention to, if only to know what I need to focus on the next time around. I know Spiral X has flaws, but despite those flaws it is proving to be an enjoyable read to many people. In the end, the only person I'm truly trying to please with my writing is myself. The final verdict from me is that Spiral X is good, but not great. I will strive for the latter but hitting the former isn't exactly a bad place to land, all things considered.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-84590403730601849202011-10-25T20:01:00.002-05:002011-10-25T20:01:32.247-05:00Why hello there!It's been a while since I've posted anything here. I could make all sorts of excuses as to why, most of them legitimate, but the truth of the matter is that I'm simply not consistent. It's probably my greatest failure as a person overall, and one that will always be a part of who I am. One could argue that the circumstances of my life have dictated this pattern of beavior and they would most likely be right. For instance, the current house we own is the first time I've stayed in any one place for longer than a small handful of years. It's a level of stability I am unfamiliar with but it is something I have always strived for. At any rate, the gist of this revelation is to basically state that part of the package that is J. J. Westendarp is a bit of inconsistency.<br />
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Inconsistancy is why, after four months of being "done" with the first draft of Book Two, I have just now finished the initial edit. That's the initial edit mind you, the one I do immediately after the rough draft to find major inconsistencies in the story and get them corrected before I send it off to beta readers. Which is to say that there's still a lot to do and despite my desire to have a regular release of Eternal War books every year, that won't be possible for 2011. Split is the best I can offer for this year (and is a damn good offering if you want my personal opinion) and The Plan (which is mediocre in many ways but was a good try at a genre I don't normally touch) and for that I offer a bit of an apology because I was hoping to do more. I just got in my own way.<br />
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The current plan is to work as hard as I can to get Book Two ready for a release before my birthday, which is in early February. To accomplish that I have taken on a divergence of my routine when I'm not at work, which those of you who follow my Facebook feed already know about. Basically, I remove all distractions from my presence and go to the library to write and/or edit. It has worked out wonderfully so far, and it's a shame I can't do it more often. The main reason I can right now is because the kids are in school for a couple of hours past lunch so it allows me to go there without having to bring them with me. It's truly a distraction free environment. So far it has worked out wonderfully. I was able to edit over half the novel in less than three weeks, and was able to put the changes in as well. I anticipate using this distraction-free method quite often moving forward.<br />
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Despite my inconsistencies I am still a very imaginative person so when I get an idea I write it down. To that effect, I have the basic ideas for Eternal War books 3 through 6 already set down, plus at least two shorts. As well, immediately after Book Two I will be sitting down to finish some editing touches to a revision to a fan fiction novel I wrote back in 2005. The changes will make the story my own, though astute readers will know where the inspiration came from very quickly. The reason for doing this is because the most important thing for me to do as a new independent writer is to work to get product out there. And not just any product (a lesson learned from The Plan), but quality products that highlight my two strengths: Characterization and Action. I have the story in hand with this other novel, I just need to flip it around to my own making. In the end, you all should have two novels from me in a relatively short amount of time.<br />
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I'll hold from going further than that with my plans but know that my recent foray into distraction-free writing has rejuvinated my spirit as a writer and I feel it is something I can be consistent with. That's a good thing.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-77658435064746951792011-08-03T09:04:00.000-05:002011-08-03T09:04:09.080-05:00In a Field Near the Rainbow BridgeThose of you with pets, especially dogs, probably know what I'm referencing in the title. If you don't, <a href="http://www.petloss.com/rainbowbridge.htm">go here</a> and read it and come back. My reason for referencing the Rainbow Bridge is because we had to let one of our basset hounds go yesterday.<br />
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I trekked up from Corpus Christi for Christmas with my family in '99. My wife, fiance at the time, also flew down from school in Philadelphia to join us. We were greeted upon arrival by the latest addition to the Westendarp household: A puppy by the name of Blue. She was the cutest little thing, but probably the whiniest little ball of fur I had ever met. She'd whine to get up on the couch, then whine to get off the couch, whine for attention, then whine when we gave too much. We fell in love with her though, and during the week or so that encompassed the visit she spent a majority of her time hanging around us. I'd be playing a game on the computer and she'd come in and fall asleep underneath my chair. Once or twice I'd put her in my lap and she'd fall asleep there.<br />
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We left after the holiday and I watched her grow up from a puppy. She earned the nickname of "Boo Boo" because she was always getting into trouble, but it was more mischief than anything. We also called her "Blue bird" because it was easy to get her worked up to the point where she'd start howling. After I left the Navy in 2000, I moved back home and my wife and I started figuring out how we were going to start our life together. Blue was a fixture during our tenure in my parent's house. She had continued along the touchy path of life, and had a very un-basset-like demeanor. Still fun to be around but she liked her personal space. <br />
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After we moved into our own place and got married, my parents ended up introducing the world to my baby sister. Everything was fine until she started to move around, and Blue being Blue, she didn't like this little pink thing invading her personal space. So she growled, trying to get her to move away. My parents, not knowing any better, reinforced the growling by yelling at her, and dogs being dogs, she attributed my sister as the reason she was getting yelled at, and continued to growl because she wanted her to go away so she wouldn't get yelled at. Eventually they called us and asked if we would be willing to take Blue in. They were afraid she was going to bite my sister. I thought it was preposterous, because Blue was not an aggressive dog. She growled, yes, but it was all gruff. But we took her in and from that point she was our dog.<br />
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For the last eight years she has been a part of our lives. The transition was a bit rough but it did happen. We worked on her with training and we were making some headway in that department. She continued to be a lap dog and she had an endearing way of letting us know she needed to go outside if we were sleeping: She'd get up on the bed and lay her muzzle on our face. It was nice having another presence in the apartment.<br />
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When my wife's parents moved down, we agreed to share a three-bedroom apartment for a bit to help them transition into Texas. My father-in-law took an immediate liking to Blue and spoiled her rotten. She was a slightly overweight but happy basset hound. During this time we also added another basset to the family, a puppy from another one of my parent's dogs who we named Buffy. For the first few days Blue didn't want anything to do with her, but on the third day, and I'll never forget this, we had Buffy up on the bed. Blue came up and laid down, facing Buffy, and the puppy started pawing her nose. Then Blue's tail started to wag and in her own way she started to play with our new addition. Blue was the dominant dog in the relationship, and they loved to play together though Buffy always ended up on her back.<br />
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After our stint with my in-laws, my wife graduated from culinary school and we moved to be closer to her workplace. The two bedroom apartment we moved into had a patch of grass out back of it, and Blue was an easy dog to herd, she never wanted to stray too far from home, so I would take her out to do her business in the mornings without a leash. For the most part I didn't have to worry about anyone coming through, but when someone did, Blue would start growling and rush up to the person. She'd growl but her tail would be wagging, her own unique way of saying hello to passing people. I'd tell them not to worry and move on, that she was harmless, and they would. Just Blue being Blue.<br />
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It was in the two bedroom apartment that we learned we were going to be parents and from there we decided it would be better for us to try and get into a house. We found a place we liked and moved in. My son was born a few months later and while Buffy was interested Blue was being Blue and didn't really care one way or the other. She just didn't want to be bothered. Unlike my parents though, when my son started moving around, we did our best to tell her it was okay, and as my son got older we taught him how to be nice to Blue and to move away if she was growling and didn't want to be bothered. We taught my daughter, who arrived the middle of the following year, the same thing. She was a bit bolder though, and seemed to understand Blue wasn't really serious. They didn't become best buddies or anything, but Blue seemed to appreciate the attention from time to time.<br />
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As it is with all pets, Blue got older. She stopped being able to get up on our bed and took to sleeping either on the floor in the bedroom or on the couch. Eventually she became unable to even get up on the couch. She played less and less and seemed less tolerant than normal. Earlier this year we had a bit of a scare when she somehow managed to get out of the back yard and we couldn't find her. Right as the sun was setting I spotted her in the front yard of a house about a quarter of a mile away. We still don't know how she made it that far, or how she lost her way home because she had never been one to wander away. Heck, back during our days living with my parents, she got out and we found her sitting at the front door whining to get back in. But we got her back in this case.<br />
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We think the downturn in her health had been going on for a while now. The vet said that dogs can be good at masking internal pain, and in this case we may have attributed signs of pain with the arthritis in her hind legs. The true clue that she wasn't doing well came after our recent weekend trip to Canyon Lake. We noticed she wasn't eating or even drinking anymore, and she was throwing up a lot. I scheduled an appointment with the vet, but we were afraid she wouldn't make it that long without being seen to so I took her to an after hours emergency clinic when I got home one day last week. The vet there gave her some shots to hold her over until we could get into our normal vet, which I did the next day. I brought her in and after hearing my explanation of her symptoms they took her in and performed a blood test.<br />
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A few hours later we got the news. Her kidneys were failing. Getting better was a long shot, but we wanted to try anyway and they kept her over the last weekend on a special diet with IV fluids to try and flush out her kidneys. She improved a little physically, and started eating again, but the second blood test done on Monday showed no signs of improvement. My wife and I talked about what we would do if that was the news we got. It was time to let her go. We brought her home and I called my parents to let them know what was going on. They came over to say their goodbyes, and I think the visit exhausted the last of Blue's strength. She could barely stand anymore, and couldn't even make it to the door to go outside. It was heartbreaking to watch. <br />
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Originally we were going to wait until today to let her go, but after Monday night, we couldn't bear to watch her in pain for another day. We took her in, and sat by her while we waited. I'm not sure how it's done, the euthanasia, at other vet offices, but the one we use gives them two shots. One to put them to sleep, another to send them on their way. They let us know that we could leave after the first shot, since she wouldn't be conscious, so we did. My last memory of Blue will be of her resting peacefully. No more pain. No more worries. <br />
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It still hasn't quite hit me, the gravity of losing her. Part of it might be the fact that the last couple of years, she's been more an object of annoyance than of love. She'd wake us up in the middle of the night to go outside. While in the kitchen she would be under foot and get in the way. She'd get in the way of the kids playing, and if we played with Buffy she'd bark at us from her doggy bed in the living room. I won't miss that Blue.<br />
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What I will miss is the Blue before that. The whiny puppy and the heaviest lap dog I'll ever own. The dog who had a unique way of waking me up, and the one that was infinitely loyal. The one who has been with me and my wife since almost the beginning. We have lost a friend and family member.<br />
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Rest in Peace Blue. One of these days I'll see you again, and we'll cross the Rainbow Bridge together.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-21482803167117777142011-07-21T16:44:00.000-05:002011-07-21T16:44:44.998-05:00Thirsty Thursday #11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGZw4Z48f7mFzCE5eOBVq6yWhpsFtNaC23iCX0Aoov-ZIUc62_AWnIfNuYF9V0dhB3jYQ0nwUrvvYxoGQ4xYTrvRcKKlJMAJ7KNPQGjS1KTy3oqdFChfr28uw_4z_h_wUZHJtT-O2TiI/s1600/beer_toast1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGZw4Z48f7mFzCE5eOBVq6yWhpsFtNaC23iCX0Aoov-ZIUc62_AWnIfNuYF9V0dhB3jYQ0nwUrvvYxoGQ4xYTrvRcKKlJMAJ7KNPQGjS1KTy3oqdFChfr28uw_4z_h_wUZHJtT-O2TiI/s320/beer_toast1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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Thirsty Thursday is my own recurring meme whereupon I lift a glass (metaphorically speaking) to celebrate the triumphs I have experienced in the last seven days. They can be big, they can be small, but there has to be something because I believe life is all about looking at the positive. It's simply too short and too unpredictable to focus on the negative. So with that in mind, here is why I'm raising a glass today:<br />
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1. This isn't necessarily news to those who subscribe to my Facebook feed, but I finished off the rough draft of Bitter Nights last week and am into the Read-through edit phase of the process. Here's how it should work from here, but don't hold me to this because the process is organic:<br />
- Read-through edit is merely trying to see early on what parts of the story need shoring up. However, since I'm close to the material, I obviously need help which means...<br />
- ... it'll go to a few Beta Readers once I have the edits in. I'm going to try and be respectful of the schedules of my readers but theoretically they would get right to it, make their comments and I would be back into the comprehensive edit/revision by the middle of August.<br />
- Comprehensive edit/Revision is just that. I start from the back of the book and work my way forward and try to objectively look at each paragraph and see how to make it better mechanically. Along the way I look at ways to take the reader suggestions and incorporate them to hopefully make the overall story better.<br />
- Once that's done, it's off to a couple of select readers who have final opinion on the product. Assuming it doesn't require any more major revisions, I will run the manuscript through Serenity editor to point out where I need to fix things mechanically. <br />
- Somewhere in that process I'll finalize the title and get a cover commissioned. <br />
- Once all these things are done, then it'll be ready for release. However, in order to make sure there's some "buzz" to go along with the release, I will get advanced review copies out to about five blogs that will be set to post a review on "release day".<br />
- No timeline for any of this. Again, it's an organic process.<br />
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2. My daughter turned four today. FOUR!! Where the heck did the time go?<br />
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3. Quick shout out to my old childhood friend Devon for the birth of her baby boy, and to an old friend of my wife, Diane, for the birth of her baby girl. It's a baby-fest! That's the third person in about a month who has had a kid, and the fifth in the past year. Love babies. Don't necessarily want another one myself, but I'm happy for others.<br />
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I think that's it for this version of Thirsty Thursday. I know it's not much but lately I've been pretty busy and haven't been keeping track of a lot of the little things that I used to. Ya'll stay happy!J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-33418350056001490812011-07-16T10:19:00.000-05:002011-07-16T10:19:41.866-05:00I have a blog?I am not a prolific blogger. It's important to note that this is merely an extension of my life as a whole. I only have enough energy to go around, and as the day wears on, depending on how everything went on said day, my capability to form more than single word thoughts starts to deteriorate. Which is why you'll see gaps in this blog and in my twitter and in my Facebook page that encompass days or even weeks. It's usually when I'm too busy to get around to it, or at least busy enough that it's not the first thing I think of when I have a free moment. Family, School, and Work come first. Writing is a distant fourth. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before but it bears repeating. Some days I can rearrange the order, except for Family because my wife and kids always come first, but at the end of the week, that's generally how it's all laid out.<br />
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Bitter Nights (working title) is currently in the first Read-through Edit phase. In this phase, I attack the manuscript as a reader and do my best to focus on the story and any glaring editing issues that need to be stamped out before moving on to the next phase: Beta Readers. I'm working on my ability to show versus tell, the overall pacing, keeping the exposition down to necessity, and doing my best to keep out major repetition of ideas or events. The more I write, the better I get at spotting these issues, which will ultimately end up making for a stronger read.<br />
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A lot happens in this book, both on a personal level and on a wider scale. My hope is that I've properly conveyed the issues Cheryl is facing and that her decisions at least make sense. They do to me, but then I'm biased. There's also an expansion of the lore of the Eternal War and you will learn a lot about Father Harold. He steps up to the role Rev occupied in Spiral X, as a side-kick to Cheryl, but at the same time it's a different dynamic than what those two experienced. All the usual characters are there along with a few more. Some you will like, some you won't. I'm looking forward to showing you all here in the next few months. No firm release date, not yet, but I'm going to do my best to make sure the wait isn't very long.<br />
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I guess that's it for now. I'll do what I can to make sure the time between blog posts isn't more than a week though. We'll see.<br />
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Have a nice day!J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-24989539493467816212011-06-30T14:25:00.000-05:002011-06-30T14:25:35.606-05:00Thirsty Thursday #10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGZw4Z48f7mFzCE5eOBVq6yWhpsFtNaC23iCX0Aoov-ZIUc62_AWnIfNuYF9V0dhB3jYQ0nwUrvvYxoGQ4xYTrvRcKKlJMAJ7KNPQGjS1KTy3oqdFChfr28uw_4z_h_wUZHJtT-O2TiI/s1600/beer_toast1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGZw4Z48f7mFzCE5eOBVq6yWhpsFtNaC23iCX0Aoov-ZIUc62_AWnIfNuYF9V0dhB3jYQ0nwUrvvYxoGQ4xYTrvRcKKlJMAJ7KNPQGjS1KTy3oqdFChfr28uw_4z_h_wUZHJtT-O2TiI/s320/beer_toast1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Thirsty Thursday is my own recurring meme whereupon I lift a glass (metaphorically speaking) to celebrate the triumphs I have experienced in the last seven days. They can be big, they can be small, but there has to be something because I believe life is all about looking at the positive. It's simply too short and too unpredictable to focus on the negative. So with that in mind, here is why I'm raising a glass today:<br />
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1. A special shout out and lead off entry to my best friend Dan. He and his wife have brought a brand new baby boy into the world and I couldn't be happier for the both of them. Congratulations you two.<br />
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2. We have pumpkins! I color this as a reason to celebrate because, despite the fact that it's several months still before Halloween, the pumpkin plant in our garden had done a lot of growing and taking over (to the point where I jokingly refer to it as the pumpkin infestation) without a whole lot of producing. That has now changed as we have two growing and a what looks like a couple of more on the way.<br />
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3. This actually took place over a length of time but it is only now that I feel like it is an actual accomplishment. My son has graduated into a full-time potty-user. If you're a parent, you understand the significance of this statement. Now we just have to work on my daughter, who has half the equation down and still goes to bed with a diaper on. However, we fully expect by this time next year, or even sooner, she will have broached this milestone as well.<br />
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4. We stayed within budget on our grocery shopping this month, but actually ended up buying much more in terms of worth. Our coupon-saving efforts have worked out and we're going to attempt to drop our monthly grocery budget down a bit since we don't need to buy as much for a bit.<br />
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5. I discovered something awesome last month that has me giddy and hopeful for my future as a writer. Over the course of about a month, in the Sony e-book store, The Plan, my failed contest short story, had been downloaded over 300 times. I have done no actual marketing on it, so people are basically coming into it on their own. It has also been downloaded a lot in the iBookstore, and while I don't have any numbers there, it has 19 "reviews" (current standing at 3-stars, which just reinforces my thought that I could have done better). I'm also interested in seeing the numbers on B&N when they come in. As an experiment, and to see if it'll help sales to Spiral X, I have permanently reduced the price of Split to FREE on Smashwords and its distribution channels. This was the plan anyway, for later this year, I'm just accelerating it a little bit. The sales were minimal at best, so doing this isn't going to hurt and might even help garner me some new fans.<br />
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That's it for now. I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-25169370129764164522011-06-16T22:14:00.000-05:002011-06-16T22:14:38.799-05:00Thirsty Thursday #9<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGZw4Z48f7mFzCE5eOBVq6yWhpsFtNaC23iCX0Aoov-ZIUc62_AWnIfNuYF9V0dhB3jYQ0nwUrvvYxoGQ4xYTrvRcKKlJMAJ7KNPQGjS1KTy3oqdFChfr28uw_4z_h_wUZHJtT-O2TiI/s1600/beer_toast1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGZw4Z48f7mFzCE5eOBVq6yWhpsFtNaC23iCX0Aoov-ZIUc62_AWnIfNuYF9V0dhB3jYQ0nwUrvvYxoGQ4xYTrvRcKKlJMAJ7KNPQGjS1KTy3oqdFChfr28uw_4z_h_wUZHJtT-O2TiI/s320/beer_toast1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Thirsty Thursday is my own recurring meme whereupon I lift a glass (metaphorically speaking) to celebrate the triumphs I have experienced in the last seven days. They can be big, they can be small, but there has to be something because I believe life is all about looking at the positive. It's simply too short and too unpredictable to focus on the negative. So with that in mind, here is why I'm raising a glass today:<br />
<br />
Thirst Thursday<br />
<br />
Today I want to highlight the following, which have happened at various points in the last few weeks.<br />
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1. As posted before, I'm a huge Dallas sports homer (except for the Stars... NO GOAL!), so consider this my fan post about the Mavericks NBA Championship. YEAH BABY! I got my sports cry on the next day watching the mini movie put out by the NBA on YouTube. The point I got choked up was when Shawn Marion and his mom were hugging and she was crying and saying, "We did it baby!" Indeed they did. The players are the ones who do the task, but it's the coaches, the trainers, and ultimately the family members who back them up. When they won, everyone won. *sniffle* Consequently, that's why I haven't been around for the past week.<br />
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2. Finished my previous classes, Small Business Management and Intro to Java Programming. I aced both classes. For my SBM class I had to submit an actual business plan, which I did for my business as an author. The professor (Dr. Fail!) said it was very well done and wished me the best of luck. That said, being able to see three years into the future and what the goal is by that point, I'm better able to put the present into perspective and realize that I have time before this become viable as a career.<br />
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3. Son finished pre-K and he's set up for Kindergarten. Looking forward to not having him around for a bit during the day. Won't be complete silence because daughter is still only going to Pre-K, but a couple of hours of childless silence might slow down some of the grey hairs creeping in (not really).<br />
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4. New Boss-Boss at work. I have a lot of confidence that he will bring about positive change to the culture around there. Which is a good thing, cause things haven't been all roses and kittens for a couple of years.<br />
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And that's it.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-5901635640241085792011-06-09T23:55:00.000-05:002011-06-09T23:55:29.014-05:00June 9th Journal<u>Starting Word Count</u>: 65,824<br />
<u>Ending Word Count</u>: 66,867<br />
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Much better day writing wise but I was seriously distracted most of the day and could have gotten more done. <br />
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<u>Line</u>: I pulled the trigger, and in a split second the back of the vampire’s head disappeared in a spray of blood, bone, and brains.<br />
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Earned one hour of playtime from writing, but I also did some schoolwork and chores so I tacked on an hour for that as well.<br />
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<u>Game</u>: NBA 2K11<br />
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<u>Summary</u>: Two tough games. Miami game was a loss, mirrored parts of the series going on now, down in the 4th but fought to come back and came up short. Then a last second loss to Orlando as well. Ah well, can't win 'em all.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-28150923882538147552011-06-08T22:23:00.000-05:002011-06-08T22:23:39.816-05:00June 8th Journal<u>Starting Word Count</u>: 65,614<br />
<u>Ending Word Count</u>: 65,824<br />
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Didn't get a lot done today because of a couple of reasons. The first of which is that today was the first day of the new term, so I had to go through the usual start of term rigamarole of introductions and syllabus and such. Plus, at work we're doing a fair about of installs for a refresh project and I didn't have a whole lot of free time. Plus, when I did have free time I found myself looking up articles about the Mavs win last night.<br />
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<u>Line</u>: Father Harold had always said the vampires, at their core, are still human, and still thought much like a human. <br />
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No earned playtime but I decided to use my 'banked' hour after my Mobile Systems seminar.<br />
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<u>Game</u>: NBA 2K11<br />
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<u>Summary</u>: Game against the Suns. We killed them and won by 20. Next game is against the Heat. Let's see if I can beat them senseless. /smileJ. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-81093249526224400142011-06-07T22:06:00.000-05:002011-06-07T22:06:54.106-05:00June 7th Journal<u>Starting Word Count</u>: 64,596<br />
<u>Ending Word Count</u>: 65,614<br />
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Close to being done with Chapter Twenty-One. Going much like I expected. Sometimes what you figure is going to happen ends up changing a little as the story is told, but there isn't too much deviation from what I had outlined. I did recognize something I need to change to sort of have things make more sense, but I'll get to that in the revision.<br />
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<u>Line</u>: For a long moment, the flash and blur of movement too fast to catch fully with the human eye was all I saw. <br />
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I did a little over 1000 words so that's one hour of playtime. <br />
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<u>Game</u>: None. Watching the Mavs in the Finals, so I'm banking this one hour for the weekend.<br />
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<u>Summary</u>: N/AJ. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-71267799989041674622011-06-06T22:08:00.001-05:002011-06-06T22:09:25.953-05:00June 6th Journal<u>Starting Word Count</u>: 63,570<br />
<u>Ending Word Count</u>: 64,596<br />
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Yeeeee-haw!<br />
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<u>Line</u>: "You and me!" I shouted to Brett. "Get in front of him so the way is blocked." <br />
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I did a little over 1000 words so that's one hour of playtime.<br />
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<u>Game</u>: NBA 2K11<br />
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<u>Summary</u>: Tough loss to the Trailblazers. Back and forth all game long, and it ended up going into overtime. Unfortunately, I had five fouls and was the only member of the team on a hot streak going into it. I fouled out a minute into the extra time, and they never scored another point. So we lost.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-10549414048117666302011-06-05T20:59:00.001-05:002011-06-05T21:07:55.850-05:00June 5th Journal<u>Starting Word Count</u>: 62014<br />
<u>Ending Word Count</u>: 63570<br />
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Finished Chapter Twenty, and things are about to get interesting.<br />
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<u>Line</u>: Everyone here, even those without a lick of psychic ability, knew where we were going.<br />
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I earned two hours for 1500 words, plus I added an hour for getting the lawn done (front and back).<br />
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<u>Game</u>: NBA 2K11<br />
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<u>Summary</u>: Actually ended up only playing two games because after the third game, it crashed and I was forced to reload a previous save. No biggy. Two wins and one player of the game. Mavs sit 4th in the West.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-35572126740590744262011-06-04T23:01:00.002-05:002011-06-04T23:03:35.860-05:00June 4th Journal<u>Starting Word Count</u>: 60514<br />
<u>Ending Word Count</u>: 62014<br />
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Started into Chapter Twenty and it's the calm before the storm.<br />
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<u>Line</u>: "I want weapons hot, but do not shoot civilians, even if you think they might be vamps. If you have to, pop a knee and move on."<br />
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I earned two hours of playing time for 1500 words.<br />
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<u>Game</u>: NBA 2K11<br />
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<u>Summary</u>: Been on a kick with the Mavs in the playoffs and now in the Finals. I also love Role-playing Games and the 2K games have something called My Player, which fits into that neatly. So I started a player a few weeks ago and have been having a blast. I'm on the Mavs (of course), and currently sit as their second best scorer behind Dirk. Right now I'm actually the #1 scorer because he's playing hurt and gets a lot of bench time, but normally he's the first option. Mavs are 4th in the West at the moment, and we're roughly 1/4 of the way through the season.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-30999759534278341872011-06-04T16:50:00.000-05:002011-06-04T16:50:42.564-05:00Something NewI'm going to try something new to keep myself motivated to write. I've always done what I could to balance out my fun with the things I consider work. And to know me is to know that if it's not fun, it's probably work. It's no real secret that work on <i>Bitter Nights</i> took a massive dive around the time of my vacation back in April. I'm at a loss to explain what happened, but I think it's best summed up as a need to take a break. I'm doing this writing thing while also being a father, working full-time, and going to school full-time. As tough as it may be to say it, the writing really does take a back seat to all of that. Family is obvious, work pays the bills, and school will eventually pay the bills. However, that's not all of the reason why I stopped playing. Because when I check out, I check out. So the rest of the truth in this is that I went on a gaming binge. When I had spare moments, I'd play games. But that, it seems has drawn to a close. At least, I've decided to do something to help me get the best of both worlds.<br />
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From now on, I can't play any games until I write at least 1,000 words for the day. Then, I get an hour. For every 500 words beyond that initial 1,000, I get an additional hour. And that's how it's going to work. When I don't have anything to write or edit, I will outline. The gist of it is that I need to put the writing ahead of the gaming. And so far it's working, as this is my 3rd day on this.<br />
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However, I think I need something else. I think I need to let you all in on what I'm doing. So at the end of the day, before I go to bed, I'll do a recap of what I've written (without spoilers) and something that happened in whatever game I'm playing. One, it'll put content on this blog, which I will admit has been woefully lacking. Two, it's a way to let you guys in on what I'm writing, a way to keep you informed of my progress. Three, I'm a gamer, so I like crowing about the things I do.<br />
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So let's give this a shot and see what happens. At the very least, you'll get a week's worth of something to look at.J. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055601753237920100.post-60917648459591184532011-05-30T10:42:00.001-05:002011-05-30T10:43:14.067-05:00Memorial Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiza6ir2LxEnccxZbzFo0Phv-d-4CQraZSXBi3z1knaoFRzVRLWKu82ULXvFcEG5uGADQo-i8bHrb8whF0ce_U3iQI_miPKMYdsk1bn9HyQ20LTb4woY1bEWa1WcHtwqI-tWtVcNHOjbcw/s1600/WW2_Iwo_Jima_flag_raising-733135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiza6ir2LxEnccxZbzFo0Phv-d-4CQraZSXBi3z1knaoFRzVRLWKu82ULXvFcEG5uGADQo-i8bHrb8whF0ce_U3iQI_miPKMYdsk1bn9HyQ20LTb4woY1bEWa1WcHtwqI-tWtVcNHOjbcw/s320/WW2_Iwo_Jima_flag_raising-733135.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Memorial Day has a special meaning for me. I'm a Navy vet, having served four years from '96 to '00 and conducting two tours in the Middle East. I did my service, left honorably, and still count it as one of the best decisions I've made in my life. In fact, I question at times how different my life would look if I had taken a deal offered by my CO to stick around for another four years. But ultimately, my heart wasn't in it anymore. I knew that when hearing the Star Spangled Banner failed to elicit any response out of me, good or bad. I think if you want to make a life out of serving your country, your heart has to be in it 100%, and mine wasn't.<br />
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Beyond that, I have two relatives who unfortunately are no longer around anymore, that I remember often, but especially on days like today. My grandfather, Doyle Johnson, served in the Army at the tail end of World War II, after the fall of Hitler but while Allie forces were still going through the process of putting things back to relative normalcy. Also, my father-in-law, Ron Tasch, who served in the Air Force during Vietnam. The work he did, I'm certain, will never be made public. All I know is that his unit worked closely with the CIA in a place in the Philippines that technically didn't exist until sometime last decade, when documents surrounding it were declassified.<br />
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I miss them both, and remember them on this day for the service they gave to this country. /saluteJ. J. Westendarphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541501253648435845noreply@blogger.com0