Stephen King believes in being habitual. In his book, On Writing, he describes how there are few days that go by without him sitting down and writing 2,000 words - unless he's run over by a truck of course! But what may work for him, may not work for everyone. Sure, he's probably the most famous writer this side of the planet Neptune, and he has sold a gazillion books, so I guess copying him might be a good idea. But I've tried it, and it didn't work for me. Stephen King is now in a place where he has the luxury of blotting out the world and cranking out 2,000 words a day. But for the rest of us mere mortals, this is not always possible. 

Since January 1st 2012, I have averaged a little over 1,200 words a day. And now, while my 2nd Scott Adler book is in the process of being edited, I've decided to take a break from writing for a while. Some days during these past few months, I didn't write a word, but others, I was able to crank out 3-4,000 words in a single day. Sickness, looking after the girls, rugby, and a dozen other things prevented me from sticking to the King routine. 

It would appear then, that while Stephen King is habitual by nature, consuming a set amount of words a day, I'm more of a binge writer. And this two month break, trying to catch up on projects around the house, is more akin to drying out and staying sober for a while.

But alas, like most people who do something on a regular basis, good or bad, it is habit forming. And like any addict I find myself drawn to the keyboard like an alcoholic to the bottle. So here I find myself, hands covered in paint and putty, feeling the need to crank out a few hundred words, just to take the edge off. My thirst quenched, I now head back to the honey-do list and sobriety. 
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Work continues on my second Scott Adler novel, Imperial Blood.

This is a very interesting article about Russian politics, presidential elections and Vladimir Putin. All three are at the heart of the book, which I'm hoping will be released as an ebook with Amazon by 1st May.


http://www.economist.com/node/21548941


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http://www.dadzclub.com/articles/features/the-devils-wave.ashx
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New book cover 01/24/2012
 
The second book in the Scott Adler series, Imperial Blood, is coming along nicely and I hope to release it before 1st May 2012. In the meantime, my friend, Brian Wagner has designed a book cover for it.

As soon as the book is ready, it will available on the Amazon Kindle App.
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The term 'Greatest Generation' has been used to describe the generation that grew up during the depression and fought through the Second World War. Tom Brokaw's book gives credit to a generation that saw huge changes and overcame adversity.

I would never question that the GI generation, born between the turn of the 20th Century and 1925, do not deserve the title. But In a decade or two, I think, the generation who have had to deal with everything that has happen since 9/11, especially those who have served their country, might be be considered the 'Greatest Generation 2.0.'

I am reading a book written by an Army buddy of mine, Mick Flynn. In Trigger Time, Mick's second book, he details the life of soldiers in Afghanistan during two tours in 2005 and 2007. Mentioned in the book, are several soldiers that I had the pleasure of serving with. When I knew them, they were young guys, just starting their Army careers.

After 9/11, the world changed for them. The fight against terrorism meant that they were committed to fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Politics aside - they went and did their job under the most exacting conditions, under the most rigorous scrutiny in this high tech, 24-hour news cycle world. Those guys, that I knew as young soldiers, in Afghanistan and Iraq were hardened war vets and leaders.

Not only has this generation had to fight the Iraq and Afghan wars, for a decade now. But most of them were involved in the Balkan wars, which lasted a decade as well. Although I didn't leave the Army until 2002, I wasn't involved in an operational tour since the first Gulf War. Unlike me, the guys mentioned in Mick's book, were on constant tours throughout the nineties to Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia.

There are men serving in my regiment that have known nothing but war - their entire military careers have been one long conflict. In years to come,when the history books are being written, I honestly believe that they will say that this generation was truly great.
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For the past 18 months I had written to over 150 agents to try to get them to take me on as a client - the rejection letters are stacked up behind me. And after listening to an agent at a writers conference last year, who said that getting an agent is like winning the lottery, I decided it was time to try something different.

There is a revolution going on in the publishing industry. Self-publishing used to be ugly words that had a huge stigma attached to them. But no more - authors like Amanda Hocking, Joe Konrath and John Locke - have all made a living selling their ebooks to readers on line. They didn't need an agent or a publisher; they just needed to edit their work, upload it in the relevant format and market themselves.

I'm 50 this year, and decided that I couldn't wait for that phone call to come. I'm enjoying writing and hope to have two new books out as ebooks this year.

Thanks to everyone that has downloaded The Devil's Wave - the response to it has been amazing. If you liked it, then please feel free to help me spread the word by leaving a customer comment on the books page at Amazon.
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Granted, most people on this planet are more technologically savvy than me, but the number one question I have been asked since we published The Devil's Wave with Amazon is, 'How can I get the book if I don't have a kindle?'

Well, the answer is simple, have a look at this link and you should find the device you have.

Also, if you are interested in the main character, Scott Adler, in the The Devil's Wave, then this website might be for you.

The sequel, Imperial Blood, starring Scott Adler, will be ready for sale in June 2012.


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So it is finally finished -- my first book, The Devil's Wave is now available as an ebook through Amazon. It has been a long time coming but it has taken many of my friends by surprise. One of those friends emailed me today and asked how I came up with the idea of a giant wave potentially destroying most of the Atlantic coastline. So I thought I'd use this first blog on my new author's website to tell the facts behind the fiction.

As with most of my writing and many of my favorite books, The Devil's Wave is based around factual events. The book is fiction, but the theory is real. About 10 years ago I saw a documentary and read a few articles online about a scientific theory that claimed, if this disaster were to happen, then it would be the worst disaster in recorded history. The documentary (excerpt posted below) has since been re-filmed and was broadcast earlier this year. One of the scientists, Dr. Simon Day, makes a cameo appearance in the book as Dr. Simon May.

The theory is disputed, especially the resulting tsunami size, but it it did lead to my initial idea for The Devil's Wave. What is not disputed is the fact this flank collapse on La Palma, like many others in the past will happen again. I have just sped up the process, introducing an eco-terrorist called Said Ali Bin Suk.
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