Ethan Stein's Blog

My daughter graduated 5th grade this past Monday. It was one of the first times this year where a large body of people was allowed to get together. And yet, it was not your usual cap-and-gown affair. Instead, it was in the sports field next to the district office with the students entering from one side and the parents entering from the other. Attendance was limited to 4 per student, with each group being given a collection of chairs separate from the others by 6 ft. Students were placed in an orderly line, separated by classes, and staggered as they both entered the staging area as well as when they were getting ready to receive their diploma.

Once their name was called, the student came up on stage, accepted their diploma, took a picture with their teacher and then went off stage. Masks were required everywhere and only ever allowed off for the student when they took that single picture, while everyone else around them was still masked. There were some speeches given by students and a few guests, but for the most part it was very cut-and-dry. Certainly not what one would have expected for a moving-up ceremony.

That being said, it was still wonderful to have an actual ceremony instead of a cyber-conference or having it be cancelled altogether. That was unfortunately what happened for last year’s 5th graders who were completely blindsided by COVID. The students were impacted so much this year that being recognized for their dedication to their studies in spite of the unique circumstances deserves celebration.

And, of course, it wouldn’t have been possible without their amazing principal and incredible 5th grade teachers, who went above and beyond to make it as enjoyable as possible, including having a safe reception afterword at their school.

Congratulations, Alicia! May middle school be just as exciting, but far less dire.

Breaking the fourth wall here a little bit and letting you know that I'm offering up five review copies for each of my fantasy novels. Clarity and FarSight are loaded with magic, adventure, and mystery! Leave a comment below and I will contact you via DM and send you a copy.

Also let me know if you’d like to become a beta reader. I have many more of the series on the horizon including Remedy coming out next year.

One of the reasons I was so serious with my previous blog post, besides the importance of it and the hope that there are those who will find the information beneficial, is to point out why I have instead become obsessed with LitRPGs. For those who don’t know, LitRPG is the literary genre where a person/people either becomes fully immersed in a world through virtual reality gear, or they get transported inside the world permanently. They then become stronger through battling and doing quests similar to a real role-playing game. I consider it a better escape given I can’t play video games, because I don’t have to be tied to a console to listen on Audible: I can do it while in the car, exercising or doing chores, and unlike many video games I used to play, I actually complete these.

As a fantasy writer, I am also impressed by how authors like Michael Chatfield, Jonathon Brooks, and Aleron Kong weave math into fantasy. I loved RPGs — it was my go-to genre for video games — and yet I’ve never known how one would go about calculating all of those statistics into the storyline.

Some might question how many different ways there are to gain a skill, kill a monster, or run a quest, but like thousands of other video games there are many different variations to go off of. There are good and bad writers of course, just like there are good and bad video games, but by in large there is enough variation among the litrpg gnre out there that the common threads don’t feel overdone. So for those who are interested, you should definitely check out the authors I’ve mentioned before and many others as well.

I must confess that I am a video game addict. Like an alcoholic who might start with one drink and be unable to stop, I suffer from such an addiction when it comes to video games. I might be able to start with a simple half an hour with every intention of only playing for half an hour. But before I know it I’ve played for hours. Or worse yet, I sneak off to the bedroom or bathroom to play.

And when I’m with my kids I’m thinking about the time when I can next play my games. I’m short with them and my wife; I ignore my responsibilities; and worse yet, my behavior impacts my kids who see my obsession as permission to behave the same way.

Thankfully, I have the wherewithal to recognize my addiction and act against it. I love my family more than getting my next fix, but it is a slippery slope. That is why I have had to uninstall all the games on my phone and not even pick up my switch or grab a Wii remote. I simply cannot stop myself once I begin.

Those who don’t suffer from the same addiction can’t understand how powerless one can become from it. But it is real.

So, yes, my name is Ethan, and I am a video game addict. It has been two months since I last played a game.

Important Links

https://www.npr.org/2019/05/28/727585904/is-gaming-disorder-an-illness-the-who-says-yes-adding-it-to-its-list-of-diseases
https://gamequitters.com/video-game-addiction/
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/video-game-addiction#1
https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/video-game-addiction/

Here’s another important life lesson for the writer/self-publisher. If you have a newsletter of any kind, make sure your reply-to email is accurate. Thanks for my mother for pointing out she couldn’t reply to my newsletter email. It turned out I was using an invalid email address.

That also brings up the point that if you ever wonder why your subscribers are not engaging with you through your email newsletter, it could simply be because there’s a typo somewhere preventing email communication. I certainly made that mistake.

Anyway, it’s fixed now, so all you curious fans wondering why I never responded, that is why and I wholeheartedly apologize.

Thanks.

An interesting discovery I had while posting comments on my virtual book tour was that when I tried to select “Google Account”, it would authenticate successfully but never go anywhere after that. And it seemed like most people were using the Google Account feature only for their blog comments. The only time it worked was when I was using Chrome. I understand the convenience for those who use Chrome often, but for people like me who use Safari or Firefox, it can be really annoying. It might even make people reluctant to leave comments, it certainly almost did for me. In any event, I have switched to using Chrome solely in the case where I need to post comments. For everything else it’s Firefox or Safari.

For those who happened to read the previous somewhat vindictive version of the post on the virtual tour, I whole-heartedly apologize for my pettiness. It was unfair of me to blame people for their comments, especially given they did take the time to leave one. They didn’t have to. And honestly the cover IS great. My team did an incredible job, both with it and all the other covers and images on this site. You should really check them out. (Forgive the Marahspand map though, that is all me :} )

The truth is I am proud of that cover, and so I shouldn’t be angry for people letting me know. Regardless of the intent, a positive comment is a positive comment. And if it happens to lead to more positive conversation or interest in my other writings, then even better!

So keep up the compliments on the cover, and if you have time, pick up a copy of the novel as well. I promise you won’t regret it!

Thanks.

P.S. For a taste of what the novel has to offer, check out its prologue here.

P.P.S. For those who are coming new to these blog posts and wondering “WTF?” trust that I was in a rotten place before and have since come out of it. These things happen for writers; we are only human after all, regardless of what our characters may have you believe.

When I first began writing I envisioned publishing my book and going on signing tours around the country. Granted this was nearly 12 years ago, when such a thing was a common occurrence. But as technology has evolved, so has the concept of publicity, and subsequently book tours. Thus my first tour is virtual.

It is a strange experience as I go from blogger site to blogger site to leave comments and replies to people’s posts as oppose to thanking them in person. Once more, the comments are mostly about how nice the cover looks. I doubt many, if any, will even bother to pick up a copy (be it physical or electronic).

I honestly don’t blame them though. There is far too many options out there for them to take the time to look at samples. I doubt even the bloggers themselves have bothered to look at the content. I am slightly peeved at those who don’t even put the excerpts of the book on their sites or use the teasers my team so diligently made (They are quite spectacular after all). I mean, come on! Could be bother to add a couple of paragraphs?

I guess my biggest complaint is the more I see the words “great cover” the less I feel people actually give a damn. Just as I feel less inclined to say “Thanks” simply because it feels less authentic to me and I care about authenticity. Perhaps the fault does lie with me and my innocent beliefs.

In any case, I will continue to travel the blog sites thanking those who I feel mean it and hoping that I might connect with some “authentic” people along the way. Without being able to look them in the eye, that is the most I can hope for.

Yet another stark realization along this road called self-publication.

For those who are interested, you can find the excerpt to Clarity here. And stick around to see what else the site has to offer. You might be impressed.

We signed our kids up for Kumon because we wanted to get them ahead in Math and Reading. It was a smart decision given my son has issues concentrating (a topic for another day), and with the pandemic turning schools virtual, he had very little in the way of actual teachings. But Kumon by its very nature is very, very, very repetitive, which has caused many struggles in our household as the kids simply do not enjoy repeating the same problems over and over again. This has resulted in many, many shouting matches as stubbornness abounds. I sought help from the Kumon instructor who suggested the use of stickers and marbles, which could be traded in for things like extra iPad time or a movie or other sorts of delayed incentives.

That worked for a while. But eventually the kids became immune to the idea as stickers, while initially fascinating, were eventually inane. It didn’t help that my busy work schedule made it difficult to reinforce. Marbles were also an interesting idea but the kids were still misbehaving. And while I could threaten to take them away, and did at times, they were still an abstract concept. Bribing iPad use or threatening the lost of the Nintendo Switch worked briefly, but again it required delayed gratification and ultimately failed.

The thing that finally helped me succeed was a game I created out of Legos. It has only been a few weeks, but I have found marked improvement in their willingness to get the Kumon done. The yelling has effectively stopped, and once more, they have found a new love for the Legos that have been sitting idly in the playroom.

For those who are interested, you can download the game instructions here:

Perhaps it’s an outside-looking-in kind of thing but I just always assumed book covers accurately depicted events that occur inside the books. And so those were my expectations going into cover design.

The truth is that people themselves have expectations of what a book might be simply by looking at the cover. And it is by this judgement that they decide whether it’s worth the read. So it is far more important that the cover draws in readers than to describe a particular scene. After all, the goal of the cover is to get them interested in reading the story. The writing inside is what will keep them engaged.

My editor and illustrator have been incredibly patient and understanding as I struggle to let go of those preconceived expectations. And for that I am grateful.