I had thought about writing a novel for a long time, the problem was, me.

I enjoyed writing, and I did it quite often, but when it came down to sharing it with others, the anxiety kicked in, along with the self doubt.

What do I know about novels?

What if no one likes it?

What if it doesn’t sell?

What if it does sell?

What if?

Writing is what I enjoy doing. I truly enjoy it. I have worked many different jobs over the years, some very satisfying, others, not so much. There were a great many things in my life that I did enjoy, and some things I took a chance on, but I came to understand something…

I realized, that I had never taken a chance on myself.

Yes, I have taken risks, many of them, but nothing in this regard. I don’t mean taking a chance in something dangerous, I’ll do that whenever unfortunately. I mean, taking a chance on myself, for no other reason, except that, it is something that will also make me happy. I mean this as in, having no other motive towards something else. No one else, only me.

So when two friends, both made the comment that they wanted me to write a book, I told them to shut up about it, and I would. They did, so I did.

The first rough draft of The Pass, was knocked out in about four weeks. 52,000 words of a world called So’Var, a continent named Duri’pen, and a kingdom called Rose Bed. That’s when it happened.

What if?

This time, it was the, what if, I needed. What if, someone else enjoys my writing? My friends do, and they would tell me if it was crap. So I did something I really never thought about. I let someone else read it. Rough draft and all, and they liked it. What? How’s that possible? I need to let someone else read it…

What?

How’s that possible?

I asked those same questions for a while, repeatedly, after each person that read it. I scratched my head over the whole thing, and something else happened…

I pushed the chips in, pinched an ass for good luck, and threw the dice…

And decided immediately that if I was going to try this, try and write, not only a novel, but for a living, then I had some work to do. I tore into The Pass.

Now, when I say I tore into The Pass, there is a lot more meaning behind that, then just a reference to the book.

I decided that, if I was going to write for a living, I wanted to do it in a fashion that seemed right to me. I wanted to put things in places, so that someone that read through all of the stories might pick up things that had been mentioned before, in another book, and I wanted the books to be more than just a single, stop place. I also wanted to write so that hopefully, three things would happen. The reader enjoyed the elements of the world and the people. I want to create an emotional reaction in the reader, be it good or bad, because of the story. And I want to do this for a living, because I enjoy what I am doing.

I have enjoyed writing The Pass, and let me tell you, it has grown into something much more, involved, than I had originally intended. Along with that enjoyment has come a lot of frustration, in a educational way. When writing, I have done so for my own enjoyment, but transferring that over to a form of writing for the general reader, has been interesting. I know what Shiv Ball is, but you don’t. (No, I am not telling you yet, or about Tiles). I know, and now, I have to get that across to you, the reader.

Drive and determination has taken care of that, and I am much closer to sharing the world of So’Var with you.

And I have to admit, I’m excited. Not only for The Pass, or the other two books in the series, (being worked on). I am excited about what comes afterward, (EWT).

I am also not a complete fool. I know how hard this business is, and I know that you, the reader, have your choice of books to read. I know what I have to accomplish to be able to do this for a living, and I will not lie to you, it scares the hell out of me. I know what I have to accomplish to even consider this as a possibility, the numbers are intimidating to say the least.

Screw it! I enjoy what I do. And that fact right there, is what I hope to accomplish with any of you out there as a reader. I want you to enjoy the writing. That is my goal. For you to enjoy it. My first post was a promise that I intend to stick to, and I may be blindfolded and in a free-fall from the top of that building, but you know what?

I am taking a chance on me. Because I deserve it, and I hope you enjoy it.

Take the chance. Enjoy what you do.