Spring is back, birds are chirping, and cherry blossoms are peeking into view. Father King, the third book in The Ballad of Shannon Dumas series has taken its sweet time but is in final edits.
If you want something in life, it’s easier if you surround yourself with like minded folks. The recent 20Books Holland Conference was an inspirational eye-opening experience.
Amsterdam’s nice enough but was surprisingly chilly in April, though my hotel room had a wonderful full poem in the shower.
All of this started as a hobby for me, hoping to write a book my young son reads someday. I’d never been around professional authors and it was like meeting old friends. That group is fantastic and humbling. Their warmth and generosity made up for the cold rain. The spectrum ranged from folks who hoped to publish a book someday to others who quit their day jobs and make six or seven figures from their books. They shared insights about everything from writing better action scenes, the future of AI and books, and how to actually market books if this is what you want.
My gentle readers have been reminding me I need to get to work writing! After Father King is published, Dawn’s Roar the next Eagle Feather book is overdue. I’m also very excited about a historical fiction series set in the Mediterranean as my next project.
Finally, I visited London for a few days and was reminded why it’s one of the world’s great cities. It has to be the most kid friendly city in the world. The museums are world class and free, the zoo is top notch, and they go bonkers over all things Harry Potter. We tried a traditional English tea service, and of course the Indian food is second to none. I discovered a tranquil little duck pond which is naturally the best place to write wild west action scenes...
Happy Spring and if my goal is 20 books, I need to get back to writing!
Sincerely Yours,
Aashish