Writing Week

Quote of the Day - An author knows his landscape best; he can stand around, smell the wind, get a feel for his place. Tony Hillerman

Dinner Time

Writing & Sleeping (My Life) – Writing has been a bit of a tough go for me the past five or six days. At my age, writing when I do not feel good is not easy. Seems like I am trying to set a record with a bad December cold now three years in a row. The bad cold keeps me asleep for more hours each day than I am awake. But, at last, today I may have turned the corner, at least long enough to write this post. Hopefully, later today I will get in some work on my final run through edit, of my kid's chapter book. I have been stalled, for two weeks and really need to finish. Good luck to me on this! (-:

How to Sell More Books – Know who reads your stuff, and publish a couple of books each year. Those are the two things I try to follow with my writing. Most of my writing is geared to older readers, and I keep that in mind as I write. I also need to work on my author page on Facebook and maybe upgrade this site. Actually, I definitely need to upgrade this site. I do about one-hundred dollars worth of Amazon adds each month, it helps but does not make me a best seller.

From the Old West – Outlaws and martyrs are greatly improved by death.

Photo of the Week - 

My Christmas Books – One more mention of my two volumes of Christmas stories. Each book, of 14 stories - Under Western Skies and Under Christmas Skies, are available as eBooks or as fine looking books to place on your coffee table.

As always, you can find all my books here on Amazon

 Or

Follow me here on twitter at @wyohistoryguy

Keep on Reading and Keep on Writing

&

Enjoy the weekend along with the shopping we all need to finish.

 

                                                                                           

Christmas Short Stories - New Book

My second book of Christmas short stories is out. I expected to have this out over a year ago, but other things got in the way. 

This one - Under Christmas Skies - differs a bit from the first with more of the stories set in modern times. 

Take a look and use the - Look Inside - feature to read the first story and a bit more for free.

Enjoy!

I Write What I Feel

I Write What I Feel

So many times writers are told to pick a genre and stick with it. Pretty good advice, but I never follow it. Why, because I write what I feel, as my mood or life changes, my writing seems to change with it. Not a great way to get rich writing, but a nice way to keep my sanity, or what I have left of it.

I have published three non-fiction books, one a serious look at the Civilian Conservation Corps and the building of Wyoming’s beautiful Guernsey State Park, the other two are more of what I call, just for fun.  I am in the process – likely before Thanksgiving, of publishing my fourth in the - Mike and Moose and Me, series of kids chapter books.

When I am in the mood to write something longer, or more serious I write western mysteries, I have two Blade Holmes books, my best selling books, and a stand-alone novel set in central Wyoming that revolves around an ancient people’s mystery, and a modern-day murder. I also just published, only the eBook is available so far, the second of two collections of Christmas short stories.

There you have it – my eclectic writing collection.

From the Old West – Lonesome creates diseases that friendship cures.

What Am I Working On? – Nothing the next eight or nine days – we are heading on our annual trek to Branson, Missouri. That means I may miss a post or two, but I will be back, rested and ready.

 Photo of the Week –

Nice looking young couple

As always, you can find all my books here on Amazon

 Or

Follow me here on twitter at @wyohistoryguy

 

What a history and story this place must have

Keep on Reading and keep on Writing

Don’t forget - next weekend we get an hour back as Daylight Savings fades away for another year.

A New Book and Finding Steampunk

With the weather here wet and cool, I have plenty of time to write. If it were sunshine and warm, I would be out finishing the painting of our garage. I am always happy to have an excuse to skip painting.

What Am I Working On? – At last, I have finished my second volume of Christmas stories. I enjoy writing them, but it might be a few years before I am able to come up with enough for a third book of Christmas tales.  This book titled – Under Christmas Skies, is already available as an eBook. The soft cover should be ready in the next two weeks.

What Am I Reading? – My first ever steampunk story. (Artificers Apprentice by D.H. Edwardson) It is a short story of 25 pages, I read the first half or a bit more before, I became distracted and started writing this post. I do not have much of an idea what steampunk is, that is why I decided to try one. The story, so far, is excellent and well written. By the way, I found this one free on Amazon. If you, like me, want to learn a bit about a genre called steampunk, I linked above to this free story.

My Photo of the Week –

North Platte River in Guernsey State Park

As always, you can find all my books here on Amazon - 

https://amazon.com/Neil-Waring/e/B00XV26KLC

Look me up on twitter at @wyohistoryguy

Keep on reading and keep on writing – have a sensational rest of the week.

Photo 2 -

Young Big Horn Sheep

Writing In a New Year

Christmas is over, and now we are counting down to the New Year. Each year I make a few resolutions, and each year they seem to go quickly by the wayside. Last year I decided, for the first time, to keep track of how many words I wrote and published. I did it, but am not sure I will keep track this year, seemed to put too much pressure on me, and I started worrying about the days I didn’t write. Sometimes that causes a bit, or a whole bunch of bad writing, not worth saving. (Oh, for the record, I wrote a tad less than a quarter of a million words this year. Quite a bit for me but partly because I wrote a lot recently, trying to finish up last year's goals)

Geese on the ice

This year my goals are simple - 2017

1.     Publish the third of my kid's books – This book is finished but is yet to have a cover. I am sure to get this one out. The first two of the Mike, Moose, and Me series were fun and sold a good number of copies, I hope this one does as well.  

2.     Publish the second, in what I hope will be a series of five, western mysteries, with Marshall Blade Holmes as the protagonist.  This one is 90% written, but has some things I need to clean up. Then editing.

3.     Finish my modern day mystery, set in a Wyoming small town with murder on a golf course. This is to be a novella, and I am about the halfway point. Fun, especially for golfers and mystery lovers. (still in the western genre)

4.     Publish a book for gardeners, yep gardeners. This one started on a whim and now is about 2/3 complete. Gardening tips in the western high country with every fourth chapter a murder mystery.

5.     Continue research and writing of my second nonfiction book. I hope to add another 20,000 words to this one before the years is out.

6.     Keep on blogging, for the past few years I have written more than 100 blog posts each year, twice over 200, this year about 10-12 each month on my various blogs should do.

A few minutes before sunset

2016 - This year I published one book and one short story. I also ran a five-day reduced price, promotion on my Christmas book, which was well received. I also did a giveaway of a short story, that story is still doing well, selling for .99 cents. My newest book, Ghost of the Fawn, has enjoyed a good run on Amazon, staying in the top 200, where it still is, for several weeks.

We hiked this trail a few days ago - wonderful

Will I Make This Year’s Goals? - Maybe I will do more than my stated resolutions in the New Year, I hope not to do less, it often depends on our travel and my love of photography and golf. Several things I am sure of. I will run a couple more promotions for my books, I will take lots of photos, I will write and edit, and put some time in at far away, but not too far, destinations.  

 See all my books on Amazon here.

Winter ski from the trail

Christmas in the West

My new book of Christmas stories in the west is finished.  

Find it here

Out west, Cowboys and Christmas have always been a near perfect match. I’m not sure that there has ever been a Cowboy that didn’t love Christmas. 

When it’s Christmas in the west magical things happen. Tales set in both the old west and the modern west, a few serious and some humorous but western stories through and through.

Give it a try today – makes a great gift.