The new office and the pains of moving books

I moved in with Jen a couple of months ago, but the move has been a staggered move. At first it was clothes and things I would use on an every day basis: toothbrush, shampoo, toothpaste, an alarm clock, pictures, my coin cups, my Kindle, etc. It wasn't until this past Saturday that Jen and I went to my mother's house--my old house--in Fitchburg to gather two important items: my books and my DVDs.

The main reason we waited is because I didn't really have a place to put them all. I do have quite a number of books and DVDs that were sequestered in a small corner of my old office. In addition, I was deep in the first draft of Federal Agent and didn't want trivial things like moving books in the way of finishing that book. I had a couple of books and my Kindle handy. I was good.

I wrote the second half of FA at a small desk that Jen had in the living room. We also had a spare room across from our bedroom on the second floor that was pretty much unoccupied. We had discussed a potential writing area for me in that room, but we really never had the chance to put the plans into action until this past weekend.

We've turned that room into an office and quiet area, and I've commandeered half of the walk-in closet area as a library. Jen packed the books into bags, boxes and travel suitcases, while I did the heavy lifting. I unpacked and sorted the books yesterday.

Here are some pictures:

A shot from the doorway of the office half. Note the stacks of three-hole punch paper ready for use; I use three-hole punch paper to print out my books for editing. This is where I'm planning on doing a majority of my writing from now on.

The comfy half of the office. Jen and I moved that recliner upstairs from the basement and that desk across the hall. The bookcase contains Harry Potter, RA Salvatore, Vince Flynn and Robert B. Parker.

A look at my desk from the recliner. All of my trade paperbacks are on the top shelf, while my reference material is on the second shelf. Plenty of natural light streaming in through those windows!

Here's my library.

These two photos contain my entire Star Wars Expanded Universe collection. I've always dreamed of writing a Star Wars novel, and I figured that if that were to ever happen, God willing, I should have a strong background in and knowledge of the EU. I own all but one physical Star Wars book; the library is short three, as the second Thrawn Trilogy book is at mom's, and the Episode 3 novelization has water damage, so I need to buy another copy. I need to buy Revan, too, and thankfully the paperback comes out on September 25. Who needs Wookieepedia when I am a walking Star Wars encyclopedia? Right, Del Rey Spectra?

Oh yeah, I completely made this part of the library chronological. That took about an hour to accomplish.

A portion of my library dedicated to several individuals who have been in my corner in more ways than anyone can fathom: Steven Savile, Jim C. Hines (that's his new one, Libriomancer), and David Forbes.

My collection of Dune novels.

My shelf of Tolkien. Yep, that's two box sets of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Why would anyone need more than one? The older set was dad's. I even have LOTR in audiobook.

And that's Ziggy Puff on his own shelf. He takes over the recliner, too. He resembles The Wonder Cat so much.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com

The Cape, A Game of Thrones, Crossword Puzzles and Paradise Trees: Vacation Rehashed

Last Monday, August 6, my girlfriend Jen and I packed up the Silverado and headed to Cape Cod for a week-long vacation. As I mentioned in my last post, I hadn't been on a real vacation in nearly five years, and I hadn't been on a beach in a little over nine years, after my father passed away. And I had never been to Cape Cod, which is something of a rare thing for a lifelong Massachusetts resident. When Jen and I started seeing each other in May, we talked about going away after I finished the first draft of Federal Agent, and we finally did that.

We left a little before 10 a.m., a few hours after I realized I had doubled my book sales from the end of 2011 to now. Jen drove, since I would have been lost after getting over the Bourne Bridge.

We managed to get to the Bourne rather rapidly, with limited traffic on 495 South; it was Monday, after all. As you can see in the above picture, we had no trouble getting over the Bourne, and the famed Bourne Rotary was easy to traverse, too. We slid onto Route 6 -- the Mid-Cape Highway -- and headed toward the Outer Cape.

After stopping for lunch at the Barnstable rest stop, we got back on Route 6 and finally hit a bit of traffic where the highway goes from two lanes to one in South Dennis. We withstood the traffic -- of course we did, it's the Cape and its in-season -- and managed to get going again. We slid through the Orleans Rotary and headed toward Eastham, only a few towns away from our destination, Truro.

And after we got into Eastham, we came to a full stop, and then began to crawl. (Author's note: Depending on which of us you talk to, we have different opinions as to where the crawl began. Jen said the crawl began at the rotary. I said the crawl began at Eastham Town Hall.) We crawled for several miles as the traffic built. Jen and I had wondered just exactly the reason for the traffic, as it was nearly 1 o'clock in the afternoon; Jen believed that tourists wouldn't head to Provincetown this late in the day (please keep this in mind for later in the post). Several of the eateries were empty, their parking lots at the very least. I later found out that the traffic in Eastham has been rather heavy this season, and we also found out that the town may look into the timing of the traffic lights to allow more of Route 6 traffic to flow in an orderly fashion. Anyway, the traffic jam lasted well into Wellfleet, and it wasn't until the traffic light just before Long Pond Road that we were finally able to get back up to speed.

Within ten minutes, we arrived in Truro, and a couple minutes later, we pulled into the long driveway of Jen's grandmother's house. After telling Gram about our traffic woes, we unpacked the truck, found a list of chores waiting for us, and after a visit from Jen's cousin Larkin, settled in for our week's vacation.

This house is a rather old house. It was built in the 1830's and is every bit the prototypical Cape home. It's two stories high and some 50 feet above sea level. We were about three-quarters of a mile away from Ballston Beach, which is where a shark bit the the boogey boardist a week prior. Jen had said a few months ago that when I met her grandmother for the first time, she would give me a hug and ask me if I could help fix a light switch. The house, thanks to Jen's father and her uncles, is in great shape for being over 170 years old. There are a few spots that need work/renovation, but in all, the house feels lived in, something I appreciate. The stairs are steep, and the floors slant toward the front. The room Jen and I stayed in as a low doorway. Quite a bit of the equipment, though, dates back to the Kennedy Administration. The house lies on the slopes of a hillside leading down to the Pamet River, and the topography is incredible. The flora is also breathtaking, with oak and scrub pine trees dotting the area, along with dune grass and trumpet roses. Green moss and aquamarine lichen dazzle along the roadside.

After a few hours, Jen's aunt and her sons came over and we all headed to Corn Hill Beach, which is on the Cape Cod Bay side of town. Jen took me through Downtown Truro -- "Don't blink, you'll miss it," she had said, and she was right -- which consisted of the post office and a small grocery store. We stayed a couple of hours at the beach, and this is when I really started to relax. The water was like bath water, and I managed to forget about books and work for a little while. From the beach, we could see the Pilgrim Tower Memorial in Provincetown. Afterward, we had dinner -- Gram made American Chop Suey, and I cooked four of the other five days that we were there -- and I continued reading my friend Paul S. Kemp's THE HAMMER AND THE BLADE.

Jen and I attacked the chores list on Tuesday morning. Gram gave me a little bit of a tour of the property and what she wanted done: she wanted a tall burning bush removed, as well as the ivy trimmed back from a walkway as well as the nearby bath house. Jen also introduced me to my new nemesis, paradise trees. I had the bush out in about five minutes, even though I strained my left elbow using hedge clippers on the trunk of the bush. We then trimmed the ivy together -- one of the slats on the bath house broke, the only casualty -- before we found a saw and took out several paradise trees. We then broke for lunch, even though I wanted to get the lawn mowed before I took a break. I managed to read some more of Paul's book before we made dinner, a pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. I ended up finishing Paul's book before going to sleep for the night.

On Wednesday, I started reading a book I've wanted to read for quite a while, George R.R. Martin's A GAME OF THRONES. I read about 10 percent the first day. I tried to get the lawn mowed, but as we found out, the mower wouldn't turn on (it turns out that the mower blade handle needed to be pulled back further, even though it was in the neutral position). We tried to jump it, thinking that it was the battery, but nothing. We then decided to get changed and take a drive up to the Truro Public Library, where we found some bargains for sale. I picked up two Tom Clancy books, PATRIOT GAMES and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. I also picked up a first edition trade paperback of Frank Herbert's GOD EMPEROR OF DUNE.

Picking up this book made the trip for me. Look at that cover art! I posted the photo on Facebook and tagged Kevin J. Anderson in it; KJA and Herbert's son Brian have resurrected the series, and I wanted to show him what I had found. Jen and I then went down to the Truro Vineyards and picked up some wine; I picked up some cranberry wine for my mother as well as a Merlot 2009 for myself. Jen got a 2011 Chardonnay. We then stopped at the Atlantic Spice Company. I picked up some steak seasoning while Jen picked up some pickling seasonings. Then, after returning home, we walked to Ballston Beach for a little bit. I didn't bring my Kindle. The water, being the North Atlantic, was COLD. There was also a sharp undertow, and even standing on the beach as the waves rolled in, the water pulled back with incredible force, sinking me into the scree and mud to my ankles. Jen and I decided it was too cold to swim, and instead we laid on the beach for a little while. We got a little bit of color. After a nap, we had grilled chicken marinated with balsamic vinagrette along with brown rice and grilled summer squash and zucchini on the charcoal grill that Jen's dad uses. While I fussed over the grill, Jen's grandmother told Jen that she thought I was cute (Jen confided that to me later). I read a little more of GAME OF THRONES before bed.


Thursday, we took a drive up to Provincetown via Route 6A, making a stop at the Highland Light Tower in North Truro.

The lighthouse may be somewhat familiar, as the lighthouse looks somewhat similar to the post office scene in Men In Black 2. However, the post office is a few miles away, and is tiny. We walked around the lighthouse to the rear, where there is a golf course as well as a viewing platform near where the lighthouse had originally stood. In 1996, the lighthouse had been moved 450 feet from the cliffs to its new location.

The "wife" and I, with the Atlantic behind us.

As we were walking back to the truck and watching some folks tee off on a par three, Jen mentioned that she would be interested in taking up golf as an activity that she and I could do together. So it looks like my clubs will get some use after all! We left soon after and headed to Provincetown.

On 6A, there are many cottages overlooking the Bay. I took a look at some of them and told Jen that claustrophobia would strike me the minute I stepped into one of them. A few minutes later, after skirting a Truro police cruiser that had trailed a disabled motorcycle as its owner pushed it up 6A, we arrived at Provincetown. All along 61, we saw the Pilgrim Memorial grow larger as we drew closer.

After parking near the memorial, we walked to the Lobster Pot for lunch. It was around 1 p.m. Jen and I sat at the bar overlooking the marina. She had fish and chips, while I had steamers.

I hadn't had steamers since before dad had died, so I had broken several streaks with this trip! After lunch, we walked around Commercial Street, stopping at several shops, including two used book stores. The smells in the used book stores were incredible, assaulting our nasal cavities as soon as we walked into the building. Jen picked up a book in one, while I considered starting THE WHEEL OF TIME. At some point, I'll start it. I even picked up some shirts for my nephews at Cuffy's, as well as some for me, my sister, mother and brother-in-law. After we returned home, we had steaks with boiled corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. Jen's uncle also came over and told us what was wrong with the mower and told me to enjoy my vacation; he then mowed the lawn in the twilight. I dove further into A GAME OF THRONES, avoiding the Olympics. By the time I fell asleep, I was at 33 percent into the story.

On Friday, it was a relaxing day as I read, read and read. Jen and I then took a walk to Dyer's Hollow via the paths through the dunes. We went to a restaurant in Wellfleet for dinner, before I continued reading. I managed to finish it Saturday afternoon, hours after having difficulty sleeping since I had a potential plotline in my next project in my head. We helped Gram with a puzzle on Saturday afternoon, and we had my famous homemade marinara over pasta. We cleared out a few more  paradise trees before we settled in for our last night on the Cape. I then bought A CLASH OF KINGS and read a little of it before bed.

It rained early Sunday morning, and so the start of our return trip was in dampness. But there was hardly any traffic to speak of as we made it to the Bourne Bridge and headed home.


Overall, it was a great vacation; Jen and I had morning coffee with her grandmother, and we all took turns with the Cape Cod Times crossword puzzles every afternoon. Cape Cod, I'll be back. You won't get rid of me that easily.

I just hope you're ready for me when I return.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com

It's Vacation Time!

A vacation is supposed to be a relaxing time, in theory. For me, the word vacation hasn't really existed in the personal Sean Sweeney Dictionary. The last time I got away from it all was about 4 1/2 years ago when I was the Sports Editor at the Southbridge Evening News; I spent some time in Florida with the woman I was seeing at the time, and we took a drive up to Valrico to see my sister and my two nephews. Since then, funds have been short for any real extended trip away from home; last year, I did take my cousin Christian to Boston for a historical day trip and a Red Sox game. Other than that, I've done staycations to pass the time, even though I'm usually working on a book. When I'm normally done with a book, I still have sportswriting to do. The stars haven't truly aligned for me to have a real vacation.

That will all change tomorrow, as Jen and I are headed to Cape Cod for the next week. Jen's grandmother lives there, and we'll be spending the time on Ballston Beach, taking a drive up to Provincetown, taking in some Cape Cod League Baseball on Monday, the Wellfleet Drive-Ins on Friday, and taking a little walk up to the Truro Lighthouse. No laptops, no desktops, no Internet save on my phone, and no worrying about writing a book or finishing a book or how many sales I have had during the week. I will have my Kindle, though: I'm planning on finishing Paul S. Kemp's THE HAMMER AND THE BLADE before I dive into A GAME OF THRONES. Relaxation is on the bill, for the most part.

I am, however, bringing along a notepad and a pen, just in case I have the sudden urge to jot down a note. I am a writer, after all. Sudden bursts of inspiration can hit, especially when on the beach: the last time I was on a beach was a little over nine years ago, after dad passed away. I brainstormed Chapter 5 in THE QUEST FOR THE CHALICE on Wells Beach in Maine. I just sat on the beach, looked out toward the ocean, and the ideas came to me.

Something about the sea air is helpful in the writing process, something that I haven't experienced in so long.

That'll happen at least once a year from now on. See you in a week.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com

Author Interviews: Terry C. Simpson

I haven't done this in a while, but every so often I will interview a peer of mine to talk about their books and their journey. Today, I welcome Terry C. Simpson to the hotseat. Terry is a fantasy author living near New York City and is someone you really need to read.

And without further ado--and I don't mind if I do--here's Terry.

SS: Over the past few years, you’ve put together a rather well-developed—and shall I say original—fantasy series. And as I read the first book, ETCHINGS OF POWER, I noticed five distinct storylines. How did you first conceive this tale, and second, what do you believe was the hardest part in keeping the storylines straight?

TCS: Thanks, Sean. That means a lot to me. I would have to say it was a combination of reading so much fantasy, playing MMORPGS and simply having these dreams of worlds. They kept coming and coming, and many a night or day, they all felt so real. For years, fantasy and gaming were a part of my life, so much so that you could say I practically lived it in my waking hours. I jotted down my ideas into notebook after notebook. I have about 30 notebooks in all.

The hardest part of keeping the storylines straight was trying to make sure everything made sense, at least to me. What ended up happening was that without realizing it, I developed continuity between the characters, which was my biggest worry. The most complicated part and one I struggle with to this day is that initially all my characters know the basics of the world’s magic. Being able to relay that and the world’s history without infodumping has been incredibly hard.

SS: Your books have mythical-yet-realistic characters. Of the characters in ETCHINGS, Ryne Waldron is by far my favorite. Can you tell me what inspired him to come onto the page, and what is it about him that readers find so dynamic?

TCS: Originally, the book was about Ancel. It was the typical farm boy story. After several critiques from my group, they all liked Ryne’s character. So I rewrote the book and made it more about Ryne as the main protagonist. Ryne is inspired by a bit of my father, Lan and Rand from Wheel of Time, the character I played in World of Warcraft as guild leader, and a touch of myself.

I think readers find Ryne dynamic because although powerful, he’s a man with flaws, which makes him relatable. He is good, bad, righteous at times, he makes mistakes, he’s a no nonsense kind of guy, who may just be insane, and well when he finally unleashes himself, he’s a badass.

SS: THE SHADOWBEARER is the second book in this AEGIS OF THE GODS series. Tell the readers a little bit about it.

TCS: The Shadowbearer basically delves into how the world became what it is in Etchings. It’s about one man’s struggle to keep an oath, while trying to do something he himself realizes might be impossible: save the soldiers he loves, his own people, and his newfound family, knowing full well he may have to sacrifice not only himself, but his dream of being a father to his children. It’s about Ancel’s father, Stefan Dorn, in the years before the King he loves becomes the Shadowbearer, a man despised across the world for the devastation he caused. I wanted to do Stefan’s POV in Etchings but then the book would have been 200k words. I felt he was an intriguing character with some mystery and pain surrounding him, and well worth the introduction.

SS: I know you’re very close to finishing the first draft in the third book. How much further do you think you can take this series?

TCS: I would say five books total.

SS: You’re known throughout Facebook circles as being a workout-aholic (ladies, I know he’s married and all, but this dude is seriously CHISELED). Do you figure that your strict workout regimen has helped you stay focused as an author?

TCS: Yes it has. Going to gym and getting from 230 pounds down to 185 took discipline. I apply that same discipline to my writing.

SS: Tell us about your upbringing in the Carribean, and how that affected your writings.

TCS: I lived with my father most of my life in Barbados. We read constantly. He has a pretty big collection of books, ranging from Don Pendleton to Louis L’amuor to Asimov. For him the biggest thing was my education. That translated into me graduating the top of my class, and with my three favorite subjects, History, English language and English Literature. I loved to write and back home when given a project we were encouraged to write a lot, to cover every nuance. I’m talking at the age of thirteen through sixteen, I was writing projects of 50 pages or more.

SS: Man United? New York Yankees? Could you be more of a front-runner?

TCS: Haha. Actually I only root for the Yankees when they aren’t playing the Mets. I’m really a Mets fan. I know, I know, I see that look on your face. Don’t worry, Yankee fans drive me nuts too. Man United happened since Barbados.

SS: Which authors have inspired you?

TCS: There are so many. I’d have to start with the ones I read first, Don Pendleton and Louis L’amour. Then there’s the ones who really got me into fantasy that I might emulate a bit. Of the older ones, there’s Tolkien of course, Robert Jordan, George R. R. Martin, Brian Lumley, David Gemmel, Mickey Zucker Reichert, C. S Friedman, David Drake, Raymond Feist, and Glen Cook.
The newer authors of whom I’m a rabid fan, and make me want to get better whenever I read them would be Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher, Mark Lawrence, Jon Sprunk, Adrian Tchaikovsky, David Dalglish, Douglas Hulick, and believe it or not, you, Sean. Your work rate never ceases to amaze me.

SS: What are you reading at the present time?

TCS: Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, Tchaikovsky’s Shadows of the Apt, and Daniel Abraham’s The King’s Blood.

SS: Any advice for an up-and-coming author?

TCS: First, don’t give up ever. Perseverance goes a long way in this. Put out the best book that you can. Read, write, rewrite, then rewrite some more. Learn all the basics and then find your own style. Practice is your greatest ally. Finally, develop a thick skin. Not everyone will like your work, but if your writing is good enough and you keep at it, you will develop a following. Oh and one more thing, in this day and age, marketing is important.

For more information on Terry's work, check out his Facebook page.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com

Zero days happen

At any moment of the day, I'll have several web sites up on my computer: Facebook and Twitter are musts. My Yahoo! mail is up, for the most part. I'll occasionally have ESPN.com up in order to keep up to date with what's going on in the USA sports world, and the BBC Sport page for everything in British football.

But what else is up? My Amazon KDP and PubIt! uploaders, which lets me know how many sales I have during the month and, since I keep track of it so closely, how many I have during the day.

Sometimes, the numbers tick up in out-of-control fashion. There are days where the numbers go up at an even keel. And there are days where they don't go up at all.

Let's face it: Zero sales days happen. We aren't J.K. Rowlings or Stephen Kings, where we expect to sell books every day based on name recognition or newspaper stories. Some of us have no name recognition at all. It happens.

It just means that those without name recognition have to work harder to get the name out there. Sometimes the hard work pays off. Sometimes it doesn't.

When an author learns that there are zero days and big days where you gain a reader (or more), the happier that author will be.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com

A certain philosophy on kiddie lit

Like most people, I live my life by certain personal beliefs. I'm not a church goer, nor do I care about the NFL, NBA or NHL. But that's beside the point...

I also have certain beliefs when it comes to children's books.

I've recently extended my writing reach into children's literature with my crime-fighting duo Furball and Feathers, but one thing some people always ask is, "Why are there no pictures? Children's books need pictures!"

That is an incredibly ignorant question and statement, at least in my opinion. Why? Why do books aimed at children have to have pictures? Is it because that's how it's always been done in the past? Do you think kids need pictures in order to read it?

Bollocks.

One of the things I've learned in the past few years is to never underestimate children. There are some children who want to learn how to read a book with only words, much akin to the books mommy and daddy are reading.

I make my children's books short, less than 10,000 words, which is enough for a young child to read in one sitting. Add in entertaining characters--Furball and Feathers are bipedal cat and bird crime fighters with alter egos--and you have a story that children WANT to read.

When they're done reading the picture-less book, look at their faces. Have they accomplished something? Have they read a book like mommy and daddy, or have they read something that underestimates their intelligence? More than likely, you can answer yes to the first part.

Food for thought: Do you want your child to excel, or do you want to hold them back? You may be surprised at what your child can do.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com

Feelings on nearing two sales milestones

Every time I near a sales milestone in my so-far short career, I feel the butterflies going haywire in the tum-tum. It always means a quick refresh of my sales sheets when I should be doing something productive, like writing my next story or reading up on a particular topic in order to be more informed while writing my next story. It never fails, though: the refresh button and I have an understanding. He's cool with me pressing his buttons. But seriously...

Milestones seem to come in twos in 2012. I ended 2011 at 3,010 books sold since November 1, 2009, which is when Turning Back The Clock came out. So every time I hit a sales mark, in ten additional books, I hit another. It's like the party never ends here.

The fact that people are buying--and seeming to enjoy--my books, and doing so in such quantities, means so much to me not as an author, but a person. The fact that I continue to entertain these readers--which is always my first goal with any book, to tell an entertaining story--after so long fuels my writing engine and makes me want to continue to pump the books out for the readers.

When I woke up this morning, I did a quickie count of my sales for the month of July 2012. I only have 165 books sold this month, which is a low amount when you consider how many other books I've sold this year. I do realize that it's the summer, and the world of publishing slows down and people are more focused on what beach they're going to than they are on reading. I continually tell myself that I should feel lucky to sell that many, as there are other authors having difficulty selling books at the moment. I'm pleased as punch to hit that number. That 165 has brought me ever closer to selling 3,000 books for the year, but I'm also closing in on 6,000 sales lifetime, AND getting closer to doubling my lifetime sales since New Year's Eve.

Holy schnikes, let that sink in for a little bit.

The marks are as they stand: 50 books to 3,000 sales for the year, 40 books to 6,000 sales lifetime, and 60 books to doubling my lifetime sales in seven or so months (let THAT sink in, too). I'd like to hit each of those marks before August 6, when I go on vacation for the first time in five years.

Last week, I had surfed through my old blogs, bringing myself down memory lane for my career. I came across a blog I had written when I had closed in on 100 sales. That was back in April 2010. I remember feeling that I had climbed a mountain, hitting that magical milestone just before my 33rd birthday. It's almost always slow-going at first, selling books. But soon, I developed a following, and people began to notice the books. They went to my Facebook page and became a fan. They follow me on Twitter. They keep asking me when the next book is coming out.

And that's why I've sold as many books as I have so far.

Keep the milestones coming.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com