The Beer Guy

I have been beating my head against a wall trying to come up with a reasonable goal for my antagonist in the sequel to "Assassin Marked." So much so that I've taken to Google and started researching lawyers, the mafia, etc.

"The power of the lawyer is in the uncertainty of the law."
- Jeremy Bentham

Back during the prime of my adolescence in New Mexico, I spent a lot of time climbing the cliffs and hills. For me, navigating the dangerous rocky cliffs up high offered the most fun during these excursions. Consequently, shuffling up the slopes of scree that hemmed the base of the cliffs deceptively seemed like they would be the easiest part of the excursion; however, the climb, although more frightening, proved much easier once I gained the courage to ascend. The scree, like the walls of an antlion's den, would send you sliding back down as far, or further than where you had started, until you got a handle on how to step up it. For the more cowardly, it was great fun to just struggle up scree and then go sliding down to the bottom, ignoring the great unreachable cliffs above.

Scree

These adventures in the mountains of New Mexico are much like a lawyer's career. A good lawyer reaches the top of the mountain of integrity and justice, but they all start at the bottom, attached to a stereotype reserved to the most slimy and scuzzy of their ilk. We all think of lawyers as nasty, lying, cheating, money-grabbing individuals ready to make a buck by taking advantage of some poor schmuck, and the lawyers starting out in the career have a responsibility to break out of that mold, or to reach a peak, so to speak.

Some do not. Rather, they spend their entire career at the bottom, and I'm not saying they aren't successful, but perhaps they are scared. Those who make it further up the mountain have further to fall, so rather than risk their livelihood on the constraints of morality, the majority stay at the bottom, enjoying the slide of deception and reaping all the benefits of a necessary profession.

But how can you tell the difference? Well, you can't. Just like I can't prove that I've climbed to the summit of most of those mountains.

Kirin Ichiban

 *Spoiler* Kirin Ichiban fits right in with these deceivers, and perhaps may be the best of his kind. He has one of the most successful law firms on Penelope. As we all know (or should know, if you've read Assassin Marked), he also has strong ties to the crime syndicate. It's clear that he is motivated to amass power, but what is his ultimate goal?
If you were a power-hungry lawyer with the ability to read minds, what would your goal be in the United States? Any thoughts?

~ Michael C. Sahd

It's A Kindle Kind Of Christmas!

Dear Readers,

Today through Christmas, the Kindle edition of "Assassin Marked" is free on Amazon. My wife started the Amazon promotion this morning and by lunch, 11 copies had been purchased. Add it to your to-read list for some fun reading material to entertain you during your time off this Christmas. Feel free to leave a review, and be sure to let me know what you think!

Assassin Marked

Happy Holidays!

~ Michael C. Sahd

Book Signing At The Library

Not all of you may know this, but I have a manager. My wife not only edits my work, but she has also been marketing for me like a beast. Hence, we have scheduled a book signing at our public library -- the Brownwood Public Library, located at 600 Carnegie St. in Brownwood, TX to be precise. I plan to be there from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the 18th of November, and you can bring a book to be signed. If you don't have a book yet, there will be plenty there for sale that I will also sign.

When I first discussed the book signing with the library, we had planned for the 11th of November; but alas, today we received an email stating that the library director had just learned that the library will be closed that day due to Veteran's Day. Of course, my wife had already advertised for the 11th on several websites. Rather humorous.

Amazon Hot New Releases

At this time, "Assassin Marked" is #10 on the Amazon Hot New Releases list in the 45-Minute Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Short Reads category.

Future book signing events are planned, and, if you are unable to make it to these book signing, you can also purchase a signed book from the Signed Bookstore on Authors Den.

If you haven't read "Assassin Marked" yet, you're missing out. Check it out on Amazon. There, you can buy the paperback or ebook version. If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read it for free.

~ Michael C. Sahd

Assassin Marked Amazon Giveaway (Ends by 10/27/17)

Assassin Marked

I have decided to host a one-day only Amazon giveaway for one ebook copy of "Assassin Marked." This book will be given to the 250th entry, so hurry!

Enter now!

~ Michael C. Sahd

Some Little Tidbits of Knowledge

Today, 24 copies of "Assassin Marked" arrived in the mail. The paper copy turned out very nice. Looking the book over, my wife and I discussed the idea of turning the story into a graphic novel. I think it would be a very cool graphic novel; unfortunately, I am definitely not capable of illustrating anything. Finding someone to do the cover was well-nigh impossible. So maybe someday.

In "Assassin Marked" the locations are backdrops and not fully elaborated on in the story; however, Arbona and Penelope are advanced O'Neill Cylinders. Gerard K. O'Neill, an American physicist, proposed the design of these Cylinders, as conceptualized below.

NASA Ames Research Center

By Rick Guidice NASA Ames Research Center - http://lifesci3.arc.nasa.gov/SpaceSettlement/70sArt/art.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=617874

If you've read "Assassin Marked," would you be interested in seeing it in a graphic novel form? If so, let me know in the comments below. As always, your input is appreciated!

~ Michael C. Sahd

Tennis Tuesday / Teaser Tuesday

Today is Tennis Tuesday, so we went to the park to play some tennis. Today also seemed to be a productive day on the writing front. Because I'm in a good mood, I've decided to share a preview of what I'm writing for the sequel to "Assassin Marked," which I may or may not use.

The restaurant had alternating yellow, blue, and green tablecloths, except for the booths that lined the walls of the diner. These booths had no tablecloths, but what they did have was occupants. It was as if the gaudy tablecloths repelled customers, except for two unfortunate families who could not find an available booth.

Noise from the chattering patrons and the clattering kitchen, created an incoherent babbling with the occasional shout of a child carried above the rest.

The walls were decorated with paintings of flamenco dancers, mariachi players, and old Mexico streets from the 20th century on earth. Ponchos and garish sombreros also squeezed into this decor, between the paintings.

The smells of tacos and chili made Lavender's mouth water. She and Damian sat across from each other in a corner and at one of the booths. They had been waiting for awhile, and in a low intestinal groan, Lavender felt her stomach begging for food.

Damian leaned forward, "I don't like this place. If there's trouble, then we're boxed in... ."

That's all you get, for now! What do you think?

It's That Day Again....

I hear that today is supposed to be Motivation Monday. Bleh! Mondays are rarely motivational. However, my Monday has D&D evenings, so I am psyched about that.

Promoting my book is going exceptionally well. I have gained, from the day of publishing, 650+ Twitter followers.

My wonderful wife, aside from squeezing my stuff into her piles of things to be edited, has also been acting as an agent for me -- advertising, signing me up for interviews, and getting my book highlighted on big name blogs.

This week looks to be another busy one.

I had two coworkers read my book this past weekend, and they really want me to write more. One of them sent me a text with a string of links connecting to some books she thought I would like based on my writing. I hope to look into them at some point.

I have also won a huge number of books to read and review on LibraryThing. I'm currently reading one called The Everett Exorcism. So far, it is turning out to be a promising read. I'll let you know how it goes.

What is your Monday motivation? Read any good books lately?

TGIF And A Story Teaser

My wife suggested I write about my post-publishing nervousness. Between Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, LibraryThing, and this bloody blog (heh, I like the way that sounds), I've been working very hard to get the word out about "Assassin Marked."

To be honest, I have no idea how to explain my nervousness. It could be the persistent itch to get more of my stories out there. Then again, it could be the fear of not doing well; the nagging question, "Will people like it?" One of my biggest fears at the moment is receiving a terrible review on Amazon.

But enough about that. I really don't want to write about my nervousness. Rather, I would like to write about my progress. I spent a bit of time today revising some of the fiction piece I'm working on. It's requiring that I studying the effects of post traumatic stress disorder in children, and the psychological effects of a parent losing his family. A little teaser there.

I've also been hard at work composing a more thorough historical time line for Damian's world in "Assassin Marked." Not for publication really, just notes for myself to help me remain consistent in my story. But I have many little stories springing up revolving around Damian, or the world Damian lives in.

My six-year-old daughter, on the other hand, decided that her pony needed a haircut for the weekend.

TGIF

Assassin Marked Completed

After a late night of last minute editing and fussing with Amazon Direct Publishing, my first short story is published.



Assassin Marked
by Michael C. Sahd et al.
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Assassin Marked tells a story of a man and his lover who work for the mafia in a futuristic setting. I believe it is an interesting read.

Although I have overcome a great hurdle, my nerves are twisting into a ghastly knot, much like a pile of unraveled yarn. The pressure to provide more stories to the public weighs heavy on my mind. The last thing I want to do is provide this one story and then not release anything again till years later.

Assassin Marked, written almost ten years ago, sat edited and for almost a year now (maybe more). I'm really hoping that future stories will come more quickly.

Yet I'm not done with Damian. Already, work has begun on a larger story involving the assassin, and the addition of some new individuals.

Balanced Tipped faces a serious revision, but I'm confident that I will turn it in to my editor, Laura Pruett, very soon. Incidentally, if any of you reading this article are in need of an editor, click on the link I provided. I know of no better editor than she.

Keep checking back here for more information on published works.

Perfectionism and the Fear of Rejection.

I've heard the first step to recovery is admitting that there is a problem.

For many years, I've aspired to join the ranks of the multitude of writers sitting on the shelves of local book stores and libraries. Unfortunately, I am one of those who has difficulties writing continuously, I constantly find myself fixing spelling and grammatical errors as I write. Worse than that, I sometimes revise what I write while I'm still in the process of creation.

"Assassin Marked," sadly, took me over a year to get to the stage it's in now, and all I needed was a cover.

Still, I find myself nervous. What if it doesn't do well? What if nobody is interested?

Well, this week I am going to take the plunge and publish on Amazon. If it doesn't do well, then at least I'll have my name out there.

Artwork: A Writer's Obstacle.

In the past, I always felt that writer's block was my biggest problem. After finally finishing a piece and having it ready for publication, I find that finding an artist poses a much more harrowing problem, especially when low on funds.

At least with writer's block, my issues stem from self-induced obstacles, but finding an artist is beyond my control.

Over on Goblin Savant I had my friend Ian illustrate Gerald der Zeichner, the Goblin Savant. However, finding suitable art to portray my protagonist in Assassin Marked proved near impossible, and after months of searching, and waiting on the good graces of others, I decided to dust up my own photoshop skills. I created a very plain cover, but I like it.