Michael Eves Shaffer's Blog
September 11, 2016
Spanish Edition
Usually only big authors with big publishing houses get to translate their works into other languages. Mostly because translators charge $.25 per word. In other words, quite a bit more than an editor does. And all they have to do is basically retype the book into a different language.
So I used some online translators. Yes, it's not perfect. But readers should be able to read it fairly well and get the point of the narrative. I hope. If anyone reads the Spanish version and wants to give me their feedback, I would definitely be interested in speaking with them!
--Michael
So I used some online translators. Yes, it's not perfect. But readers should be able to read it fairly well and get the point of the narrative. I hope. If anyone reads the Spanish version and wants to give me their feedback, I would definitely be interested in speaking with them!
--Michael
September 7, 2016
Patreon
I know. Everyone has one now. So I decided I should get one: https://www.patreon.com/pelentan ;-) If you would like to help me find time to keep writing and doing my art, I would very much appreciate your patronage. If you look at my Patreon page think the rewards are not so good, do please let me know and what you think would be appropriate. In case it wasn't painfully obvious, I suck at promoting myself!
Thank you!
Michael
Thank you!
Michael
September 6, 2016
I'm a slacker
I've not been on Goodreads for a while unfortunately. When I first published my first book, there didn't seem to be a lot of interest. That has changed. I'm sorry I wasn't here when it did! But I'm working on being around more.
Current status of books:
The third book of the Phoenix Empire series is written and going through final edits. It stands at a little over 230 thousand words.
The fourth book is in the process of being written. It's about 1/5 finished.
Jumping into the third Attila novella.
So I am writing as fast as I can. The writing part is actually the easy part. It's the editing that eats up a lot of time.
Oh yes! And the illustrations. I'm doing all my own illustrations now. I had wanted to work with a local artist of those, but they kept flaking. Not really counting the one who did the first few of the first Episode of Attila. He and his wife were having a child and he needed to pick up a second job to make ends meet. One of my hopes is to start bringing in enough money with those to where he could quit his second job and work on his art. To give you an idea of what he's really capable of, the art in the Attila were just quick pen and ink drawings he scratched out to give me an idea of what he was thinking. And I loved them just the way they were as they captured what I was going for in that series.
That's it for now. Need to get back to writing! ;-)
--MES
Current status of books:
The third book of the Phoenix Empire series is written and going through final edits. It stands at a little over 230 thousand words.
The fourth book is in the process of being written. It's about 1/5 finished.
Jumping into the third Attila novella.
So I am writing as fast as I can. The writing part is actually the easy part. It's the editing that eats up a lot of time.
Oh yes! And the illustrations. I'm doing all my own illustrations now. I had wanted to work with a local artist of those, but they kept flaking. Not really counting the one who did the first few of the first Episode of Attila. He and his wife were having a child and he needed to pick up a second job to make ends meet. One of my hopes is to start bringing in enough money with those to where he could quit his second job and work on his art. To give you an idea of what he's really capable of, the art in the Attila were just quick pen and ink drawings he scratched out to give me an idea of what he was thinking. And I loved them just the way they were as they captured what I was going for in that series.
That's it for now. Need to get back to writing! ;-)
--MES
April 10, 2015
6 Blind Men and the Elephant
Six blind men were led to an elephant. Each was placed in front of a different part of the creature and told to describe what they felt.
The first felt the front leg. "A tree!" he said. "This is surely a tree!"
The second the tail. "Surely you jest. It is a vine!"
The third ran his hands along the tusk. "This is neither. It is a branch!"
The fourth was given the ear to feel. "You all are daft. It is plainly a hand fan!"
The fifth moved his hands along the side of the elephant. "Obviously it the mortared wall of some great building!"
The final one felt the trunk as it moved and twisted. "You are all blind," he said without irony. "Most clearly it is a snake!"
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The above story is actually at the core of the series I'm writing. What almost every single myth or religion got some aspect of the Truth correct? What if we were all blind man trying to describe the elephant?
The first felt the front leg. "A tree!" he said. "This is surely a tree!"
The second the tail. "Surely you jest. It is a vine!"
The third ran his hands along the tusk. "This is neither. It is a branch!"
The fourth was given the ear to feel. "You all are daft. It is plainly a hand fan!"
The fifth moved his hands along the side of the elephant. "Obviously it the mortared wall of some great building!"
The final one felt the trunk as it moved and twisted. "You are all blind," he said without irony. "Most clearly it is a snake!"
---------------------
The above story is actually at the core of the series I'm writing. What almost every single myth or religion got some aspect of the Truth correct? What if we were all blind man trying to describe the elephant?
The Start
Hello all. I'm an older gentleman new to writing. At least at the novel level. I've had bits and pieces of stories running through my head since I was a kid and recently reached the point where I was ready to put them all together. This is the first book in what is going to be an epic series. Currently I'm contemplating 15 books broken into 3 different volumes. And that's just for the main story arc. There are likely going to be other story arcs that take place in tandem in the same universe.
Anyway, I foresee my using this blog to talk about my thoughts and whys of what I'm writing. Feel free to drop me any questions you might have. Even suggestions. I hope you all will join be fore what is going to be an interesting ride!
--Michael
Anyway, I foresee my using this blog to talk about my thoughts and whys of what I'm writing. Feel free to drop me any questions you might have. Even suggestions. I hope you all will join be fore what is going to be an interesting ride!
--Michael
