COVER REVEAL: "My Epic Life"

Here it is! The cover of the third book in my Alexander series, about one boy's bumpy transition from kid to teenager.



I wanted to reveal the cover for "My Epic Life" side by side with my first two books - I LOVE how they tell Alexander's story. In "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain," Alexander was scared of the world around him. In "Own the Scrawny," he was searching for an identity. In "My Epic Life," our quirky hero discovers that his greatest strength is in being himself.

"My Epic Life" is the first story in the series told in Alexander's own words—because only he can tell this story. His entire world is shifting.  Suddenly, friendships old and new have become complicated, something very puzzling is going on in his relationship with Ellen, and he's forced to accept that his clothes aren't randomly shrinking—he's the one that's changing...

...and if you've read the first two books, you know one thing: Alexander doesn't deal well with change!

I'll be announcing the early 2016 release date soon. Like the first two books, it will be available in ebook and paperback - and later as an audiobook.

Special thanks to cover designer Steven Novak, photographer FUR and Alexander himself, Drew Dudetv .

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Interviewed by a Pro: What Did I Learn?

Recently I had the opportunity to be interviewed about my Young Adult novel, Own the Scrawny, on “Connie Martinson Talks Books,” a small but influential author interview program airing on various local stations across (and beyond) California, and on PBS in New York. This is my second appearance on the program. (You can watch it here)

A selfie with Connie

According to her Wikipedia entry, Connie’s program has been on the air since 1979. She’s almost a required stop on most book tours; her program has featured fiction and non-fiction authors including Maya Angelou, Ray Bradbury, Al Gore, Rosa Parks, Gore Vidal, Studs Terkel, and Joyce Carol Oates. A then-unknown Barack Obama appeared on the show in 1995.

Connie also features relatively unknown authors, too—that’s where I come in. I happened to be working at a studio where she taped some of her shows a couple of years ago, and took the opportunity to ask her if she ever featured indie authors. I told her about my first book, My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain, and she asked me to send her a review copy. Naturally, I had one on hand and gave it to her right away. A couple of weeks later, she told me she loved the book and invited me on her program. I was ecstatic.

Panel Discussion at the Santa Clarita Public Library

I’ve had the opportunity to make other media appearances since publishing my first book, but “Connie Martinson Talks Books” featured my most in-depth interviews, and a great opportunities to build my audience.

What have I learned from the experience? 

Connie’s interviews aren’t typical media appearances; she reads the book. She knows the book. She knows character names; she knows plot lines. In fact, she even stumped me on a question or two. Connie’s not the sort of person that simply invites authors on her program to fill time—she’s interested and enthusiastic. Though I was much more relaxed the second time around, both interviews left me with one important lesson: prepare. 

Having written the book isn’t always enough. My mind is already working on my next book; I’m not necessarily as familiar with one currently in release. Reviewing the book before an interview; perhaps even creating a cheat sheet with names, events and quotes would be helpful. It's worth considering some behind-the-scenes insights into how the book was conceived, and the sources of inspiration for characters, locations and themes.

Helping interviewers share their enthusiasm is my prime mission during any public or media appearance. Finding champions—people who "get" my books, as Connie does— is both key to building awareness of my work as an indie author, and building my skills as an author-entrepreneur. 

How NOT to Handle Trolls

Part of the fun of writing—and I hope, reading— Own the Scrawny and My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain is delving deep into the mind of Alexander. His predicaments aren't so much a result of what happens to him, but his skewed perception of reality.

In Food Chain, he's convinced that he's prey in a sea of predators, living his life in constant fear until he decides to confront an innocent boy he imagines is the greatest bully of all.


In Own the Scrawny, Alexander's the unwilling star of an embarrassing viral video. Worse yet, he discovers that he's the target of online trolls, whose incessant ridicule in the video's comments section fills him with self-doubt. Instead of ignoring them, he decides that he needs to prove them wrong, and sets in motion a series of events that makes things much worse. He tries acting differently (fail); he tries dressing differently (fail); and even tries avoiding everyone and everything (fail again!).

Trolls insult, demean, destruct and degrade others through their comments, often hiding behind anonymous profiles. They don't often know their targets, and in fact may simply be reposting the same words over and over again. Instead of ignoring them (usually a good first step), Alexander cares about what they say.

The internet is filled with anti-troll strategies - I've collected some of them here on Pinterest. They generally suggest a few basic points:

1. The first line of defense is simply to ignore the troll. Don’t argue with them, or respond in any way.
2. If it’s in your power, delete their offending comment.
3. If you must respond, logic and friendliness in the face of viciousness is a great tactic.
4. Forget about them. Focus on those who support you; forget those who don’t.
5. Simply respond, “Haters gotta hate!”

Alexander takes a few detours before getting there, but eventually learns, as we all do, to keep the troll where he belongs, hidden and forgotten under the bridge.

Alexander's Adventures Continue!

It's been almost two months since I posted a blog - which is somewhat surprising to me, since I have a wide range of topics I've been wanting to share with you. "Own the Scrawny" is moving closer to completion, of course, but I also have a range of overdue news and views I'll bring to you over the next few days. It's been both a busy and harrowing time (if you work freelance, as I do, you know what I mean - more on that, too).

Today, I'll bring you up to date on both "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain" and "Own the Scrawny."

"Own the Scrawny," if everything goes well, should be out on or about January 1st. 

I'm recording audiobooks for both "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain" and "Own the Scrawny," narrated by the author. I've just finished recording "Food Chain," and I have some independent ears giving it a first listen before I send it off for distribution.  The recording experience was both great fun and infuriating. It also pointed out to me how the story and the characters have evolved in "Own the Scrawny."  As soon as I have the final manuscript for that book, I'll start recording. I'm hoping release of the audiobook can be simultaneous with the paperback and e-book. 

I'm in the process of switching over the artwork on the original book so that it matches the second book. The first book featured a boy that I essentially found out of an online catalog. The boy that appears in "Own the Scrawny" (known on YouTube as DrewDudeTV) and shortly on the first book, is someone who participated in a photo session specifically for my "Alexander Adventures." The photos, by the way, were taken by DrewDudeTV's brother, known on YouTube as Fur. If you're on YouTube, show your appreciation for their fine work by subscribing to their channels!

To tie the books together, editions going forward will include an icon of Alexander, along with An Alexander Adventure. I decided not to simply indicate "Parts," since I think each book can stand alone (though "Own the Scrawny" does immediately follow "Food Chain").

In a future blog, I'll share a bit of how I'm hoping to market the new book. Alexander's reaction to online trolls is a key element of this story - a topic which is particularly timely. 

I'll have more in the coming days–thanks for your continued support!

"Own the Scrawny!"

In "Own the Scrawny," my follow up novel to "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain," Alexander discovers that while the humiliation of being the unwilling star of a viral video is bad, the comments on the video from compete strangers are much worse. Criticized and ridiculed on everything from his behavior, to his size and his clothes, Alexander begins to wonder if he's as weird as they say, and begins a desperate, often misguided quest to prove everyone wrong.

"Own the Scrawny!" is about Alexander's struggle to believe more in himself, rather than what other people think of him. The paperback and ebook launch this fall.

Meanwhile, here's an interview I recently recorded with YouTuber OhCurt about the first book, the second book, and living in Los Angeles. We even visit my old junior high school, a primary inspiration as I wrote both books.

You can follow me on Twitter @rickflix
Please join the "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain" Facebook Page.
Visit my author page at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rich-Samuels

Book Two Title Reveal (But You've Gotta Work at it!)

There are still a few months before the follow up to My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain will have an official launch, but the time has come to reveal the title...and a few details!

First, the details: here's a short teaser:

It’s bad enough to embarrass yourself in front of your friends.

It’s worse to embarrass yourself in front of the entire school

It’s horrible if someone records your humiliation on video and posts it online.

It’s a disaster if that video goes viral...

But it’s the comments on the video that can really send you over the edge...

As for the title, I've created a word scramble (remember those?) to offer my readers an opportunity to take part in the reveal (thanks to Greg's Gourmet for the idea).

As we reveal more about the book (including the cover) in the coming months, there will be more opportunities to take part—and even win some cool book-related gear!

Complete the word scramble above (don't worry, there are instructions if you'd like to cheat!) 

 If you would like to work from a PDF, there's one here. 

For more news, follow me @rickflix

Returning to the Scene of the Crime

Today, I had the opportunity to visit a location which features prominently in my book, My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain. As part of an interview (premiering soon) I did with longtime YouTuber Curt Phillips - we'll talk about the challenges of living in Los Angeles—and about the book itself.

One of the conscious decisions I made when writing the book was to avoid too-specific descriptions of Alexander's school. My hope was that the reader would visualize the school based on their own experiences, and so make the story more personal.

Naturally, the book was inspired by my own experiences, and I did have Portola Middle School (then, it was called a junior high school) in mind. We stopped by the front gate this Sunday, a location that features prominently in the novel. It's a place of perceived danger by Alexander, and the site of a climactic confrontation.

Of course, since I walked daily through those gates, generations of kids have come and gone—and I'm sure that Alexander has been among them in an entire series of variations. Some things, including unfounded fears, are universal to kids of a certain age.

Still, as I stood there, I felt that I not only shared those experiences with all of my predecessor and successor students, but with Alexander as well. I could, if pressed, take you on a walking tour throughout the grounds of the school, and map out precisely where every action in this fictional book took place.

If you've written fiction of this sort, you'll understand: Now, this is very much Alexander's school, too!

"My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain," and a short story featuring Alexander, "Why Do You Think They Call It a Ghost Town" are available from most online retailers. I'm currently working on a follow-up novel. Thanks for you support.

Follow me on Twitter @rickflix

Teasers, Trailers and My Books...

I recently created a book trailer for Ours, a book I haven't written as yet. It's been in the back of my mind for a very long time, but it's still at least a year away from publication, at best. In fact, I'm in the midst of rewriting my second book (the follow-up to My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain), the title and plot of which I haven't revealed.



So, why do it?

I work as a video producer/editor, and I'm in the midst of transitioning from Final Cut Pro editing software to Avid Media Composer. I created the Ours trailer as a goal-oriented exercise in becoming more familiar with Avid. Simply following exercises in a manual or video isn't very useful, as far as I'm concerned. Creating real-world content is much more productive and motivating.

At the moment, I don't have the time or resources to actually shoot content for a trailer, so I started to browse for ideas on Videoblocks.com, an affordable subscription-based stock video/audio site I use frequently. A month before, I had used the site in much the same way to create a new trailer for My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain. Since I'm not ready yet for the reveal of Food Chain's follow-up novel, I searched for content that could serve me in other ways.

The trailer for My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain

I found stock footage of an abandoned school (and/or office building - it's hard to tell), and thought immediately about Ours. Since this is a teaser, rather than a full trailer, I could afford to be somewhat mysterious with my imagery and effects. A teaser generally provides less information, and is intended to keep the plot line an intriguing mystery, rather than provide the more in-depth expository of a full trailer.

As I continue to ponder and struggle with the question of proper marketing, I'm hoping that his teaser of my third book will help me develop legitimacy and a long-term readership as I more toward completion of my second book. Creating an audience and raising awareness demands a long term plan, and trailers, teasers and other videos, I believe, will be useful building blocks.

Ours, incidentally, is a thriller aimed at an older readership than the middle grade audience I imagined for My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain.  Text in the trailer, interspersed with all-American images of kids and teens in idealistic settings and a long-abandoned building, reads, "For three years, they lived their lives as if they had nothing to hide...but they did." Down a hallway in the abandoned building, we hear a light knock, and an attempt to open a locked door....

Literally Racing Along

There's been a great deal going on lately in the My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain world lately.

I was interviewed on the Layered Pages blog, as part of my B.R.A.G. Medallion recognition. I think it came out fairly well - I'm hoping to book more of these interviews in the coming months leading to the debut of the second book in the series.

I released a new book trailer. I'm much happier with this than the original version. It's a very simple tease that I think catches the spirit of the story.

The book trailer (and the landing page linked above) was the center of a Facebook Ad campaign I recently concluded. My primary gain in the campaign was a higher profile, rather than outright sales. The ad itself received numerous likes (which I hadn't expected), and I added more followers to the Facebook Page. To be perfectly honest, the trailer and the campaign didn't translate to sales, at least as far as I can see at the moment (for some markets, sales reports might take up to a month or two to appear). I still haven't quite worked out right approach to turn interest into results.  There are so many factors at play(subject matter, audience reach, ad timing, advertising materials, for example), and it's going to take time to understand exactly how to make this work more effectively. Independent reaction to the book has been positive—but I'm still working on the marketing learning curve...

In the meantime, I'm moving on with the second book in the Food Chain series, and have now delivered a draft to my editor (The Book Scrubber). If my last experience was any indication, we'll be working on this for the next couple of months to further develop and finalize the book for publication. I'm hoping to launch it this fall. I think it captures the spirit of the original, while it moves Alexander's story forward in a fun new direction.

In the next few days, I'll be sharing the title of the new book, and a few plot details. Check here, the Facebook page, or Twitter @rickflix for the latest. Reviewers interested in an advance copy should let me know as soon as possible.

"I Got a Golden Sticker"

Having a digital image of an award is one thing, but getting non-digital proof is a whole different ball game.  It's also a nice, in-my-face motivation to finish the second book in the series!

If you're new here, please check out more about the book at http://richsamuelsauthor.com

Good Timing: My Book Wins an Award!

"My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain" has been awarded a "B.R.A.G. Medallion," a reader-curated recognition for independently-published novels in numerous genres.

Reviews, recognition and acceptance, of course, is always appreciated, particularly by a first-time novelist like myself. Recognition from B.R.A.G., the Book Readers Appreciation Group, is particularly meaningful. It represents a direct connection with readers at large, which is one of the greatest joys I've found in this experience.

This recognition comes along at a great time, too. I'm in the latter stages of writing the (as yet unnamed) follow-up to "Food Chain" (with a launch date, hopefully, sometime this fall).  This is naturally a great marketing tool as I work on the next volume in Alexander's tale.

B.R.A.G. is a great resource. It comes with a number of advantages, including a social media campaign, an active website, interview opportunities, and more - if you're an author, or a reader that would like to contribute your services, it's worth checking out. They also have a Facebook page.  I intend to take full advantage of the program.

Marketing has been the greatest challenge in bringing "Food Chain" to an audience. I've been experimenting with a variety of approaches over the past year. I've had good reaction to the book, but I haven't found the "breakthrough" approach to push it to a larger audience.

I keep in mind my friend Lynette Privatsky's suggestion that marketing "Food Chain" will be a slow burn.

Onward!

Short Story Eyeballs

I'm still waiting for Why Do You Thing They Call it a Ghost Town? to turn up on Amazon - though BookBaby's stats show that it should be showing up any moment now. In the meantime, I remain puzzled as to how to effectively promote a short story. While there are extensive resources online to help an author promote a novel or  non-fiction book (resources I haven't yet learned how to use too effectively, by the way), I haven't yet discovered a strategy to raise awareness of my short story.

Of course, this short story doesn't have the same "heft" as "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain." The novel is about Alexander's wildly outlandish fears of bullying, while Ghost Town is, really, a simple tall tale about Alexander's experience in a wild west ghost town.  While I think it's fun, (though I'm still waiting for reviews - insert serious-face emoticon here), I'm really not sure how to encourage readers to purchase a short story. To be perfectly honest, I've rarely purchased a short story online.

Actually, selling the short story was never the primary objective. Since the follow up to "Food Chain" has taken longer than anticipated, I wanted to make certain I maintained some level of creative output as I build my presence as an author. I also saw the idea of creating a series of "Alexander's Shorts" as a good way of cross promoting the "franchise." Ideally, I'd like to be publishing a new story every couple of months, and a new book every year.  To reach that goal, I need to find a way to build awareness and readership.

Alexander needs eyeballs.

Remember, you can follow me @rickflix

New Ebook Short: Why Do You Think They Call it a Ghost Town?

I've just started the process of releasing Why Do You Think They Call it a Ghost Town?, a standalone short story featuring Alexander, the protagonist in "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain." In this story, Alexander visits the real-life ghost town of Bodie, California. At first, he thinks the trip is going to be one big bore - after all, who wants to look at a bunch of old buildings? Then, he makes some unusual new friends.

It will be launching shortly on all the usual sites for just $.99 [until then, I'm making a copy of the story available free to those who join the "Food Chain" Facebook Page and request it. If you see this notice on my blog, it's still available!].

I'm very curious to see if or how this sells - short stories do well on Amazon, but this story in particular is designed primarily for middle grade readers - and I'm not certain if that age group accesses electronic short stories. It's a fun experiment. I'll be looking forward to seeing how it goes - and what you think!


I'm still working on the second book in the "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain," and plan to offer several other stories in the "Alexander's Short" series. As always, I'm interested in your thoughts, feedback (and reviews!).

Why Did I Write a Novel about Bullying?

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' website StopBullying.gov defines bullying as "unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance." Bullying has been linked to a long list of suicides and school shootings, and can be responsible for failing grades, drug abuse and criminal activity. The potential negative impact is widely understood, and there's been a growing campaign to fight bullying both in America and worldwide.

With all of that coverage, and countless previous novels on the subject, why should I tackle bullying in "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain"? The answer relates to the fact that no kid would wish to simply define themselves as a bullying victim.

Down in the trenches, in the everyday life of most students, definitions, worst-case scenarios and dire consequences aren't on the mind of most kids enduring bullying.

As a boy, I remember seeing countless educational films in junior high school about life as a teenager, telling me about all the things that were happening/about to my emotions and my relationships to the people and world around me. I kept waiting for the stars to align and some sort of puberty checklist to appear.

It never did, and I kept wondering why I wasn't suffering all of the emotional turmoil I was promised. Did I somehow miss it? Was it still to come? I was mystified.

I was aware of the word "bully," but I never connected it with any situation in middle school. It seemed to be something that belonged to younger kids. In my mind, admitting to bullying meant admitting that I couldn't handle a particular situation. Conflicts with other kids didn't call for a special title that would make one person a victim, and the other a victimizer - or a bully and a bullied kid.

Like Alexander, I imagined everyday conflicts to be the firing rounds in an all-out war. Some kids became enemies and threats to my very existence on the basis of a simple argument.

"My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain" is, in fact, an attempt to capture that unique moment in time - fairly common, I think - when a thirteen year old thinks he's got the world figured out - and then discovers that he's totally wrong. Thankfully, I wasn't quite as overwhelmed as Alexander, a boy who lives in a constant state of fear and readiness for disaster.

Fear rules his entire world, and he sees others simply as friends and allies, or enemies to be resisted or even fought. He thinks he's being bullied, but soon discovers that he's the bully.

"My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain" isn't about simply about a boy being dominated by a bully; it's about a boy being ruled by fear.

Finding Patterns

Currently, I'm writing the second book in the series that began with "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain." I've been working on it for quite a while now, and I'm at the point where I'm very happy with many of the elements in the story - characters, incidents, and even sub-plots and the general theme. 

Now, I'm creating patterns of behavior - not simply why Alexander would act or react in a certain way, but why he would at that particular moment in time. 

I recall, when I was about Alexander's age, coming back to school from a particular weekend early in seventh grade and discovering that several kids had gotten in trouble - with parents, police or even store-owners - on that same weekend (including myself, but I'll save that for a future story!). Adults would say that it's kids "going through a phase."  Even then, I was fascinated with the coincidence of so many of us going through similar drama at the same time. 

At that time, of course, I couldn't see the bigger picture: how each kid responded to the experience. For an almost infinite combination of factors, some kids might learn from their mistakes, other kids might be emboldened by the excitement and move on to other risky behavior, while others might be utterly unmoved by the minor bump in the road.

The second book, which finds Alexander reacting to the humiliation of being the unwanted star of a viral video, is all about patterns - of friendship, family and finding some sense of who we are. I'm both moving the character ahead, but keeping him consistent - and, hopefully, making it all believable and entertaining.

Alexander may grow and learn, but at the same time, his personality is already in place.  

There's a quote, ascribed to St. Francis Xavier, that summarizes it well: 

Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you the man.

You can follow me on Twitter at @rickflix

Free Short Story, Coming Soon! [Blogging Every Day #31]

[31]
On this, the final day of my self-imposed "Blogging Every Day" challenge, I'm taking the opportunity to announce "Alexander's Shorts," an occasional series of standalone short stories featuring characters from "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain." The first story will soon be available for a limited time free in ebook and PDF only.

This time, I've sent Alexander to the real-life ghost town of Bodie, California, for an unusual encounter with some new friends.

If you haven't read "Food Chain," that's okay - you can enjoy Why do you think they call it a ghost town? on its own.

I'll be announcing the short story here, on Facebook and on Twitter. You can also sign up for the mailing list, to be alerted as soon as it's available.

In the meantime, here's a video from a trip I made to Bodie with my nephew Greg:

What's Next? [Blogging Every Day #28]

[28]
With the end of this month-long blogging challenge looming just ahead, the question becomes, What's Next?

While I won't necessarily hold myself to a daily blog, I will be posting on a more frequent schedule. Readership has been excellent, and it's an important part of my commitment to develop my social media "footprint" as an author.

With that goal in mind, I'm already pursuing other initiatives as well.

Some ideas:

• I'm going to pursue the competition route for My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain - always a great marketing tool, should I be so lucky to be honored;
• I'm moving ahead as efficiently as possible with the completion of the second book in the series, an important step in the steady journey to build my reputation as a writer;
• I haven't had the chance to make many public appearances on behalf of the book and the issues it explores. I hope to have the opportunity to visit classrooms and other venues as time goes on. I haven't taken this path before, so I'm just learning how to make this happen.
• A small but important recent step was having my book put into circulation in my local public libraries. I'm hoping to develop a closer connection with the community, especially local authors. As I said, as someone who has spent his life working in visual media, I haven't taken this path before. I felt an immediate kinship with the authors at the local authors event a couple of weeks back.
• I'll be starting development on my third book, which will likely be a change of genre, and I'll also be offering some short fiction - you'll hear about that very soon.
• I'm hoping to generate media coverage - blog interviews, magazine articles, local websites and newspapers, etc. - focused on my book and its bullying-related subject matter. Coverage by third parties (other than my own website) and invaluable in helping to build word-of-mouth.
• On that same thought, I'm also hoping to generate more reviews. If you haven't already - please visit Amazon, Goodreads, or your favorite bookseller. As an indie author, I need all the help I can get!

Thanks to so many of you  - friends and readers I've never met - who have read, discussed, and reviewed My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain, I believe that we haven't come close to the book's potential. 

That challenge continues!

Dogs Posing With My Book [Blogging Every Day #27]

[27]

In a bid to shamelessly exploit dogs for my own selfish purposes, I offer you Bazil, my sister's dog (on the right), and Moonie, who counts Mike and Amber Lidskin as his family. Both are posing with my book, and neither seem very pleased about it.

But hey, I made you look!

Shameless.

You can follow my further shameless exploits @rickflix

The Battle of Book Two [Blogging Every Day #25]

[25]

For the past few months, I've been working on the second book in a series that began with My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain. For a while, I've been posting chapter updates on my progress as I struggled through the first draft.

Then I stopped.

I didn't stop writing - that process continues - but I stopped regular updates when I realized my progress through this second book wouldn't be as linear as the first book. I knew the general outline of "Food Chain," as it had previously existed as a screenplay. Though the story and characters would go through an extensive evolution, I knew precisely where the story should go.

More importantly, the first book was an unknown quantity to readers. I could always alter characters during the writing process.

Alexander, the main protagonist, is a fascinating character to create, and both readers and professional reviewers seem to have found him intriguing as well. Kirkus Reviews even warned that I risk "making Alexander unsympathetic by pushing his behavior from that of a risible obsessive to that of an outright psychotic." It's that edge of like-ability, however, that gives makes him feel authentic. Real individuals - especially kids - can't be neatly classified into nice, mean, gentle, cruel, aggressive or passive. Alexander's loyal friends like him for who he is, even when he's not perfectly behaved.

In the first book, Alexander lives in near terror of the threat of bullying, even if the reality might not be as perilous as he thinks. In the second book, he'll deal with the consequences of his actions near the close of the first volume.

The second book, though, has unique challenges. First, of course, the characters are well-established. Reviewers have written at length about Alexander and why he does what he does; one boy recently  presented a book report, cutting out pictures of kids that he though looked like the characters in the book. For the second book to work, Alexander and his friends need to start from familiar ground. Motivation has to make sense. My objective isn't to freeze Alexander in a single moment in time. Like all of us, he has his personality traits, but he'll learn from experience and evolve in his approach to the world around him. He can't be too brave, but he's not quite as fearful as he might have been at the beginning of the first book.

I didn't expect the second book to be quite the struggle it's become, but as it unfolds, it's an exciting process.

As those of you that have seen my updates on the book's Facebook page are aware, Alexander's strong personality has been a big help. If I veer off the path of believability, I can almost hear  him whispering in my ear, "Come on, do you really think I would do that?"

Follow my exploits, literary and otherwise, on Twitter at @rickflix

Creating Alexander - A Writer Vents (Blogging Every Day #9)

[9]   I'm just about midway through my follow-up to "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain." If this were only a game of filling up pages with words, I'm be in good shape, but I'm creating the second volume in a series, and that means both maintaining a sense of continuity with the original book and creating a story that isn't simple a rehash of the first book. As I've written in other blogs, that also means maintaining a balance in Alexander's character between his tendency toward obsession, and a vulnerability that (most) people find appealing.

Creating Alexander is walking a tightrope. On one hand, he'd secretly love to hide under his bedcovers all day and never face the world. On the other hand, he's constantly searching for a solution to all his problems. Those solutions rarely lead him down the path he expects, but he keeps trying. He's got good friends, but his quirky nature sometimes makes him a bit hard to take - and, for this author, hard to write. Keeping that precarious balance is an ongoing challenge.

The second book was well outlined, but Alexander, in a sense, took over once I began the writing process itself. He has a tendency to constantly analyze and consider his options - naturally forcing his author to do the same. Choices that seemed reasonable in outline form were the opposite once character and environment are actually put into play. Contrary to my expectations, I'm finding the second volume more difficult than the first.

Sometimes my boy Alexander seems like
a devil child...but I love him anyway.

I like to describe documentary filmmaking as putting together a jigsaw puzzle in which the shapes of the puzzle pieces are constantly changing, and the image is constantly moving...

...I think the same can be applied to writing fiction!