Rick Soper's Blog

Today I released the Environmentalist. Today also happens to be Earth Day. I'd like to say that I'd planned it that way, but it just a happy coincidence. Some people might read the Environmentalist and assume that I'm against the environment or something like that. I'm not. I moved to Washington from California to be out in the peace and quiet of the forest. I grew up out in the country hunting, fishing, and building forts up the trees. I couldn't be happier in a forest, next to a lake, or by a stream. But that doesn't mean that some things out in the country don't scare the crap out of me. This book is a reflection of my fears , my experiences, and what lives in my nightmares. Since moving to my house out in the forests of Washington I've seen owls with seven foot wingspans flying over my head, I've seen and heard coyote's near my house, I've been dive bombed by bats in my back yard, I've had snakes crawl over my feet at the park, and I've seen more rain in the few months I've been here than I did in the last seven years in California. You add to my personal experiences the fact that I read in the local paper about a cougar eating a horse just miles from my house and a man surviving his second bear attack in the Seattle area, and the framework for my story is firmly based in a scary realty.

Now what could throw people off is Cindy Allen, the main character in the story. I like the environment, but I do have a problem with extremists who think the world would be a better place if people weren't in it. Living the great majority of my life in California there was just too much of that. At the center of most of it was the battle over water. California is currently in one of the worst droughts it's ever experienced. The economic devastation of farms not being able to plant crops, hire people, or grow food is going to be catastrophic. But even in this emergency situation they couldn't build a dam for at least another ten years if they wanted to. Why? Because the environmentalists would sue to stop them. Because the environmental impact reports would take years to do. Because the environmental groups would protest. California's Central Valley grows a quarter of the food that feeds the United States, but they've had their water allocations cut to zero. The population in California has grown from three million to nearly forty million in the last fifty years, but they haven't built any new dams to help accommodate all those people in that span of time.

And that's just crazy to me.

I truly believe that the environmental laws that were put into place to stop corporations, factories, farmers, and everyone else from dumping sewage and chemicals into the streams and oceans were completely necessary. I also believe that putting laws into place to protect endangered species from extinction were necessary. But there was a point at which those laws were perverted for political purposes and have led to an environmental extremism that is harmful to the general public. Now before you jump all over me with Salmon runs being blocked by dams have a reverberatory effect on Earths entire ecosphere, I know, I've heard it for years. But I've also heard that hydroelectric energy is the cleanest, most reliable energy we can produce. And I've also heard that people and farms need reliable reservoirs to help them get through drought years. And I've also heard that putting dams in place can create a whole new ecosystem of fish and wildlife.

So somewhere in there is a happy medium where everyone gets along in a reasonable, non-extreme type way.

But until then people like Cindy can actually exist, and until they come face to face with the reality of the world they are trying to create, they are going to continue along what can be an economically devastating pathway .

All good fiction is based somewhere in reality, but in the end it is just that, fiction, and I hope you're able to find a little escape and enjoyment in my story.

Rick

In the buildup to my release of The Environmentalist I'm doing a number of promotions including free days and giveaways here at Goodreads. Today is the free day for The Singer and at this point it's climbed all the way up to #2 in horror just ahead of Bram Stokers Dracula. I can't even begin to describe how cool being anywhere in the near vicinity of Dracula is, let alone sliding in front of one of my all time favorite books. I haven't done free days for over a year and I didn't do any publicity in advance of this one so I'm really surprised The Singer is doing so well. It might be the fact that I recently reclassified The Singer as a horror book, which I did because so many people had mentioned in reviewing the book that it had such deeply horrific elements that it was giving them nightmares. Originally it was listed as a Thriller, but I've always had a deep love of Horror, so it makes sense that I crept a lot of those aspects into my books. The Environmentalist is straight up Horror, and that was done intentionally so, because I really wanted to do a straight Horror story. I think it turned out great and I'm excited about releasing it. Having The Singer shoot up into #2 in the charts is unexpected and really awesome. I hope you get to pick up a copy of both books and enjoy reading them.

On April 22 I plan on releasing my newest book The Environmentalist. In conjunction with that release I plan on doing specials for all of my other books. Starting with the Rock Star which is always free on Amazon. I will be giving The Singer away for free on 4/19, The King on 4/20, The Bainbridge Killings on 4/21. I’m also doing signed book giveaways here at Goodreads for the Rock Star on 4/23, The Singer 4/24, and the Stage on 4/25. I haven’t done any promotion since last year, so I’m loading up and doing quite a lot around the release of The Environmentalist to generate interest in the book and hopefully drive some sales.

It’s my first book release in over a year so I have high hopes. My goal is to greatly increase my output from this point forward. I’m finally feeling settled in my new Washington home. I’ve made great connections in the local writing community here. I’m part of a kick-butt critique group. So now all I have to do is start getting my books finished. Included in The Environmentalist is an excerpt from my next book called The Casual Critic which I am really enjoying writing. After that I plan on a short story called The Blocks, then I’m going to finish the story A Deviation in Direction, before I finally move back to the follow up to the Rock Series that I promised in the end of the Stage called The Hunt.

I’m excited about everything I have planned and look forward to continuing to write books that I’m having fun with. I hope you get to have some fun reading.

I've read in more than one place that moving is right up there as one of the most traumatic events that one can experience in a lifetime. My move from California to Washington wasn't quite that bad, but it certainly threw a monkey wrench in doing any writing. Buying a house takes a lot of time and phone calls and a whole bunch of scanning of documents, moving a business and meeting with clients takes a massive amount of time, and then arranging the actual movement of furniture and animals is not an easy task, but when you combine it all together the only time left in a day is for the small hours of sleep you get at night. That is if you can sleep at all while you worry about everything. And none of that is conducive to writing in any way, so I was feeling completely guilty about not working on anything while I went through this process, until I was having lunch with a few fellow writers in Seattle and they mentioned times in their lives where they just couldn't get anything written because of work and other issues. And just hearing that lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. But still I'm chomping at the bit to get back into it and finish the various projects I've outlined.

I am however in the right place to make those books come to life!

For years I argued that a place was just a place and moving wouldn't change anything, but I have to admit that after I made this move, I'm realizing I was really wrong about that. I was in a small city neighborhood before, and now I'm way out at the end of a dirt road in the middle of the trees and i find that my stress levels have fallen dramatically. Removing traffic, loud people in the park, and everything else I had to deal with in a city really does make a huge difference in my perspectives on things. It's so much easier to just relax when the only sound around you is the breeze blowing through the trees. Isolation is not for everybody, but it's really making me happy right now.

It's taken a few weeks to get to the point where I finally feel settled, where I remember where the light switches are, I remember where the steps up and down are, and I've finally think I've worked out all the kinks. Now it's time to get back to the business of writing. I'm surrounding myself with other writers, I'm joining writing groups, and I'm going to writing events, all in the hope that it'll help light a fire under my recently relaxed hind end to start getting projects finished.

I'm sharing all this for a reason. Anytime there's a pause in an author's production readers will wonder what's going on, so I'm trying to be open and honest in saying this move has thrown me off a little. But, PLEASE, if you're waiting for my next book, and I really thank you if you are, be patient because I've got something really fun coming. It's completely outlined and ready to write, I've just got to do it, and I'm at the point where I can finally start barreling into it. So just give me a little time and you should really enjoy what's coming next.

I'll keep you posted!

If it seems like I've nearly disappeared on Goodreads it's because I'm in the middle of a move from heart of Central California to the green, green forests of Washington. Anyone who's read my novella The Bainbridge Killings knows from my descriptions in the book that I love the peace and quiet of Washington's forest areas. I've lived in California all of my life, so this is going to be a drastic change for me, but I'm excited about making the move. Though I have to say making the move is a monumental experience. I'm not a full time writer yet, so I'm having to meet with all of my current business clients, arrange the logistics, and am making about a hundred phone calls a day to get it all set-up. It's completely taken over my life! But the end is in sight, and I should be done with the move here in a few weeks, and I'm so looking forward to being done because I really, really want to get to writing my next book! I have a pattern when it comes to books. I usually write a longer novel within my series of books, then I write a shorter novella as a spacer for my brain, before I go back to the longer novels. To date my two spin-off novellas have been related to FBI Agent Jon Stevens who is one of the central characters in my Rock Series of books, but for the next book I'm going with a completely new set of characters that's set in and around Seattle. I've got the outline for the book done, character descriptions done, and I'm absolutely chomping at the proverbial bit to tear into writing it, but I'm stuck in the moving swamp and have no brain power left at the end of the day to do anything but pass out wherever I finally fall down. So it's going to have to wait till I get done with my move. But when I do get done I have three full books planned, The Seattle story, a collection of Horror shorts, and then I'm back to my series with The Hunt, which was teased at the end of The Stage. It's my great hope that my new place out in the forest, away from distractions, with the gentle sound of Washington rain in the background, will be the perfect place to get a lot of books written. I won't know till I get there, but I can't wait to be done with the move and get back to writing! Stay tuned, I should have a new book coming out by the end of this year, and even more books throughout next year!

A few weeks ago I finally published The Stage the third and final book in my Rock Series of Books that include The Rock Star, The Singer, and The Stage. At the same time I published the combination of the three books which I created a separate cover for and called The Rock Series, which you can see pictured above. I priced the series at $7.99 which I thought was a great deal because the individual books at 3.99 add up to 11.97, so on the Series the reader is saving 3.98, which basically means they are getting one full novel for free. I'd seen other authors do this same thing, but they usually put the three into a "boxed-set" without any special cover. I've been surprised since I released the Series that the individual books are selling much better than the full series, especially since I've been blasted in a few reviews here at Goodreads because the individual books lead into each other without a wrap-up until the end. I'm not sure if I actually packaged the series as a "box-set" if it might be more appealing to readers or if readers actually like to bite off the individual books because they are easier to consume one at a time. I don't know maybe I just need to be better about telling people that the series is there and it's a good deal. So I guess what I'm trying to communicate here is "Hey The Rock Series is available... And it's a really good deal"
And with that my job is done :-)
I hope you pick up a copy and enjoy the Series.

So I posted the third episode of The Reading Series here at Goodreads. People are seeming to enjoy the videos. Yeah, I'm not what you'd call a professional or anything, and I stumble here and there, but I hope I read the chapters through with the enthusiasm I intended when I wrote them. I know they're getting more views on YouTube then a lot of my previous videos, so I like that. I'm not sure if people are tuning in to hear the books or see my goofy self try and read them, but I'm just happy they're tuning in. It takes a lot of work to put these things together, so hopefully they're helping out. The videos are part of my push for promotion after finishing the third and final book in The Rock Series, The Stage. It greatly interferes with my ability to get any writing done, but I'm going to power through these videos like any mainstream author might go on a book tour to promote their works because promotion is a key component of success. And then it's back to writing! I have some awesome ideas for some books that I'm dying to get to. I teased The Hunt which is the next Jon Stevens book that follows the Stage, but before I write that I'm going to do a collection of short horror stories, and another novel which I think would be a monstrously great movie that I'm going to call The Deviation in Direction. Even as I do my videos I'm starting to outline The Deviation and I'm really excited about it! I hope you check out the videos and enjoy them and I look forward to digging into my next book.

After not posting for months, now I've posted a few times in a few days. I just released the second episode of my Reading Series which features my second book The Singer. It's kind of funny to see me doing this, but really who likes to watch themselves on camera, on the other hand the response that I'm getting on these videos has actually been pretty good, so I'm going to power through the rest of my books. I figure that the best promotional tool we have as authors is actually ourselves. I'm not a professional reader, but they're my words so I can say them with the enthusiasm and emphasis that I intended, or at least that's what I'm hoping I'm doing. I should be throwing myself into my next writing project, but I'm and independent author, and there's no one but me to promote my books, so I'm going spend some time, and put some effort into doing just that, a little promotion. I put a lot of time and effort into my books so I should put as much effort into promoting the books so potential readers can find the books. I'd rather be writing, but sometimes you have to take time out to do a little promotion. Hopefully people will enjoy The Reading Series and in turn enjoy my books.

It's been a long time since my last post. But it seems like everything in the world has gone on that has prevented me from getting back to writing blogs and things. So I'm finally feeling like I have me feet on the ground so I can get back to my miscellaneous ramblings about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happy new thoughts. Speaking of which, I'm starting a series of videos that I'm going to be posting through YouTube, with corresponding links that I'll share here, and the focus of which will be me actually reading chapters from each of my books. I'd like to run across the country and do these readings in person at bookstores and such, but I don't have the budget to be able to do that...yet. So I thought doing videos of me reading would be the next best thing. I want to try and connect with potential and current readers in any way I can, and I don't mind being on camera, so I'm going to run through the series on my books and see if people enjoy it. You never know till you try, so I'm going to give it a try and see what happens. I hope people enjoy it, and if they do, I'll be happy to do more along the same lines. If you have a comment about the videos or anything else, please send me a message, I look forward to talking to readers, potential readers, critics, and fellow authors. And hopefully I can get things to calm down enough in my life that I can start writing blogs on a more consistent basis. Till the next time, happy reading!

As we steam towards the end of this year tonight and the start of the New Year tomorrow I'd like to say Thank You to the many people who've helped me be a successful independent writer this year. I will always thank my parents first for their love, support, and raising me with the idea that I could achieve anything I wanted to if I put my mind to it. And my mom is always the last one who reads my books before they go out to print because she was the first one to call me when she found errors in my first book, so as thanks for that I make sure my books have the MOM seal of approval before they're printed. I need to thank Beverly for supporting me through all the turbulence of my chaotic existence. I'd like to thank April Heath Pastis and H & P Publications for helping me get my books formatted and published correctly. I'd like to thank Sharon Stevenson for being the first fellow author I made a connection with, I've greatly enjoyed all of her books, her advice, her reviews, and look forward to everything she'll be writing in the new year. I'd like to thank David Weeks and Independent Book Promoter who provide one of the best best advertising services than any independent author will ever find. I'd like to thank Stevens Long for his editing prowess in taking my wildly written books and refining them into the finished products that so many readers have enjoyed. I'd like to thank fellow independent author Ken Pelham, who I made a connection to through Goodreads, I've enjoyed his books, conversations with him, and his reviews, and look forward to reading more from him. I want to thank Deena Rae from E-Book Builders for doing an interview with me and highlighted me during their Rocktober celebration, I really appreciate your support and respect the support and advice that you give to all independent authors. I'd like to thank Amazon for providing an easy to access platform through which independent authors like myself can get out work out to the public. I'd like to thank Twitter and all my followers there for being able to Tweet, Re-Tweet, and find new potential reader for my book, authors for me to read, and finding a great amount of articles to read and enjoy. I'd like to thank Goodreads because it provides the perfect platform for authors to find readers, readers to find authors, and its' a great place to find people to talk to about books.

Lastly...

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY!

I'd like to thank each and every person that picked up a copy of any one of my books! Writers don't work without readers, so I appreciate each and every one of you who took the time to find my books, read them, and hopefully enjoy them. I hope that I'm writing books that you can really enjoy reading, because I really enjoy writing them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! AND THANK YOU!