A year and three months, nearly to the day. Woof. Alright, let’s get down to it.
Where the hell have you been?
Well, home. I’ve been reading, writing, playing video games. I didn’t go out much before coronavirus, so in a practical sense I didn’t see my life change much. Got the vaccine this summer, still don’t go out often. Did see Shang Chi, liked that movie.
I’ve been home even more than usual, though. The day job I’d held in 2020 went back to working full-time at the office late that same year, but I left that job a few months ago. Spent some solid hours writing since, got some query letters sent out for my unannounced project, put some more time into Red Watch 3, flitted around outlining some other project ideas as they came. Have a couple I might play with in the future.
My reading tapered off at the start of summer but I picked it back up in force toward the end. Just finished Abercrombie’s The Wisdom of Crowds last week, scarcely set it down. Huge fan of his work, and I wasn’t disappointed with the last installment of the Age of Madness. I caught up on the Gentlemen Bastards from Scott Lynch, having only just picked up the Lies of Locke Lamora last year. Excellent series, looking forward to the Thorn of Emberlain when it comes.
This is all going somewhere, I promise. Between the two above and a few other authors, I found myself checking blogs and websites, looking for information on further works, engaging beyond them; I enjoyed learning about the people behind them. That wasn’t something I’d done growing up – I never read acknowledgements, didn’t read the meet the author sections. My lack of interest informed a lot of my own resistance to blogging or putting information on myself out there, but, doing it myself now …
Well, I think I’ll try a different approach, going forward. I won’t guarantee any regular updates. I won’t even guarantee they’ll all be about books or writing. Might just talk D&D or video games – my own interests. A blog for me to just bullshit I guess. Ben Stovall’s BS Blog. That’s a pretty unhelpfully repetitive abbreviation, isn’t it?
Consider this entry 1.
What’s the latest on your writing?
As my now ancient last update mentioned, I looked at pursuing traditional publishing for a bit, the strongest push during spring this year. Had some encouraging potential agents very politely turn me down. I’d expected it, prepared for it, but I’ve always been bad with rejection – it was the main reason I never looked at traditional publishing for A Tide of Bones.
Between that and a recent video from Lindsay Ellis, I managed to come out of it with something, though. Pursuing traditional publishing was a way for me to seek validation, ultimately. I wanted to feel like I was good enough for it, that my work was worth it. And that would make me a real author!
But that’s a bunch of garbage, ain’t it? I’m already an author. That even a handful of people – one person – found something meaningful in my work, that’s enough for me. Always would be. When a couple of my friends volunteered as beta readers for my unannounced project, and one found himself so hooked he read it overnight in one sitting? Yeah, alright, I’m doing something right, and even if the market at large wouldn’t be receptive to my work, if a handful of people are, isn’t that what self-publishing is for?
Not to mention the control. I like a certain kind of cover, I like being the final arbiter on that decision. I like being the one who makes the call on what should or shouldn’t be cut. I enjoy the independence of it.
All this to say that I’m going to be going forward with my unannounced project and self-publishing again. So, allow me to announce Ebonskar, which is going to be a bit different from Red Watch from the first page. Different world, no recurring characters. Something else entirely. It’s in first-person and my protagonist isn’t human. It’s not in line with the vastly human-centric fantasy market, but I am proud of how it’s turned out and I think it deserves to be available to the people it might inspire or resonate with.
The caveat – no release date yet. When I was shopping around for agents, I halted work on a smaller scale project set immediately after the book’s events. Now that I’m going to self-publish again, I think the best place for that smaller project is right alongside Ebonskar, in the same binding. I’ve been tapping away at my keys to get that done, then I’ll be pestering my friends again to get some eyes on it. I’m hopeful for this winter. Think of it as a bonus novella included in the back of the Ebonskar book.
That’s the plan for the immediate future.
Is that all I wanted to say here? I think so.
Thank you for reading this inaugural entry to my blog. Further updates will be here on my website, along with whatever else I decide to click my keys to say. I very much appreciate your continued support, and I hope you’ll find a story to love in Ebonskar.
See you soon.
Ben Stovall Blog 