Most of you loveable rogues regrettably found me through social media.
You might have clicked one of my ads…
Watched one of my many ridiculous (and occasionally provocative) reels…
Tweets…
Or YouTube videos.
Whatever the case, social media — as much as I deplore it for reasons I won’t get into — has been an important player when it comes to recruiting fresh blood into the Legion. Alas, after a brief spell away, I’m back at it again.
I saw a post once by a photographer with the following hook:
“My photography 10 years ago vs now”
It, of course, walked us through the amateur-hour shots he took a decade ago versus now, which had come on leaps and bounds.
I thought it would be fun to do my own version, but from the perspective of a jaded writer.
So I did.
Instead of showing crap prose to begin with, I would show good writing first. Then, when the “vs now” part comes up, it would catch the viewer off guard when they read blunt and crass prose.
Here’s what I came up with:
[My writing 10 years ago…]
“The way she looked at me had my heart crashing against my ribcage. My fingers twitched. My trousers came alive with a temptation not felt in months. And it was clear by her countenance that she wanted it too.”
[My writing now…]
“We shagged.”
Even now, a chuckle escapes me.
(I’m so thrilled I find myself hilarious.)
Here’s another one…
[My writing 10 years ago…]
The battle drums sounded from across the battlefield as the dark army gathered on the horizon. Thousands marched towards our small battalion with monsters that towered over most city walls. Dangling from their gangly limbs were weapons. Weapons and… chains?
What in the world? he thought.
Had these beasts just been released from a dungeon?
[My writing now…]
We saw them come over the hill.
"That's us fucked then," said Gravier.
Whether they land or go off with a whimper is beside the point.
More important is that I had fun creating them, as I do with almost everything I do in this fiction biz. I say “almost” because not everything is rosy in the publishing garden.
Some people have this ill-informed notion that we authors sit around all day at our desks with a cup of herbal tea and a cat to stroke, typing away until our fingertips are so calloused that some might consider us cave trolls.
Oh, if only such a utopia were true.
There’s marketing to do (don’t mind that)… editing to be done (hate that)… audiobooks to produce (which can feel like running on a treadmill sometimes)… disgruntled orcs to roast (highly enjoyable)… and writing these emails (which I enjoy more than a meth addict getting their fix).
There’s more, but I wouldn’t want to bore you with such details, as boredom is…
The #1 enemy of entertainment.
And as I am firmly in the entertainment bidnizz, this is one foe I must never invite into the Legion or my Storehouse.
It’s one of the main reasons I refused to write long tomes when every fantasy author told me so.
Had I written longer, door-stopping novels, it would have decimated my motivation and led to a story that sends anyone it touches into a coma.
Anyway, some say I was foolish writing short novels, but going by the hundreds of TDR Starter Bundles sold through my Storehouse alone this year, I’d say there are many (MANY) more readers out there who share my appetite for fast-paced, bingeable epic fantasy.
Perhaps you’re one of them?
In any case, you can grab the Starter Bundle in three editions:
1. Collector’s Edition
2. E-Book Edition
3. Audiobook Edition
To learn more, hop on here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/TDR-Bundle
DJJW