I Will Find the Time to Write, Whilst Rocking Extra Hard in My Studies

I just can't not write.  I really can't. 

This has been a dilemma for me since nursing school began, as I was not willing to take any time whatsoever away from my studies, which were every spare minute that I could find.  While that hasn't changed, I've had a bright idea.  I've still been reading recreationally for 30-60 minutes before bed to ease my mind and dampen the nightly anxiety dreams about school (no joke), and this has proven to provide me with much needed relaxation at the very end of my day.  So, why not use some of that time to write?  I'm not taking any time away from my studies that way, and it's fulfilling a huge creative outlet for me that I feel as though I can't do without.  Not being able to write feels worse to me than not being able to read books would, which would be awful!

That said, I would like to announce that the second volume of Tales of the Bodhisattva is in the works. 

Here are some tidbits:
Leaf and Ankara have a son!  This is quite possibly mirroring my own life, as my beautiful wife and I are about to become parents.  There is continued turmoil between the gods, and the conflict is rising to much more epic proportions (possibly a war).  Many characters from the first book will return, and some new ones will be introduced who were only mentioned previously.  Leaf will be torn in many different directions as he is trying to protect his new family, searching the world for the reincarnations of the bodhisattvas, attempting to soothe the minds of many to avoid an all-out war, and dealing with a brand-new adversary. 

Here is a needle-felted Khurran that my wife made!

And here's my beautiful baby-momma! (don't worry, it's just O'Douls)

She's actually at 32 weeks now, and her baby-bump is much bigger.  I'll update soon with a more recent picture.



Free, Free, and also Free. Oh yeah, did I mention Giveaway and Free? Giveaway.

As much as I know how most people detest getting things for free, I'm doing yet another book giveaway on Goodreads.com.  One autographed paperback of "Tales of the Bodhisattva: the Khurran" will go to one lucky individual who will be forced to begrudgingly accept the darn thing for free!
 
This time the giveaway is open to a much broader audience, available to those in the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, and Australia.  And the moon.  Not that I'm expecting many people from the moon to enter, though I know old Moon Bob will!  (We go way back.)

And though I can't control the outcome of the giveaway, I hope you win.  No, not you, you already have a copy.  I meant them over there. 

As a final note, I'm sure that all of you are aware of the importance of reviews to authors, including this guy (thumbs pointing inwardly).  If you so happen to come across a copy of my book (via giveaway or otherwise) and read it, would you please give me the honor of an honest review?  I would be eternally grateful. 

This whole nursing school thing is really cramping my writing style ;)

My thoughts two weeks ago:
If I study like a mad scientist, I'll be able to squeeze in an hour or two every once in a while to work on volume 2 of TOTB.  What a clever idea that is!  I am indeed a clever man. 

Reality:
No time to do anything but study!  I think I remember having family and friends, but that seems like a long time ago.  I hope they remember me fondly.

The good part is that nursing school is awesome and super challenging, and I need to be challenged in order to really enjoy school.  I'm heading towards a career in which I can help others, comfortably support my family,  and have lots of time to spend with my wife and new son (4/10/14, tentatively), whilst writing my ass off in our future mountain home in Montana. 

So, while volume 2 of TOTB might be a ways off, it's definitely going to happen, eventually.  I do have to say that when I'm spacing out at work and going into Massage Therapist Autopilot, I'm having a blast with cooking up the outline, new characters, and new places in my mind's eye. 

The world of Kaliya is out there somewhere, and it is my mission to perceive it from the very ether and document her dramas and plights!

Latest news: Goodreads book giveaway, volume 2 of TOTB

Wow.  It's been quite a journey up until this point, and most of the anxiety has finally subsided.  Phew! 
"Tales of the Bodhisattva: the Khurran" is now available on Amazon as a paperback for $11.99 (minus a sweet discount that Amazon is currently offering, plus free Prime shipping) and a Kindle ebook for $2.99, complete with cover art and beautiful interior illustrations by the talented Evgeni Maloshenkov. 
http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Bodhisattva-Khurran-Volume-1/dp/1475145721/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389036456&sr=8-1&keywords=justin+dockins
I am so humbled and thankful to all of my family, friends, coworkers, and complete strangers who helped me get to this point with all of their outpourings of love and support. 
Latest news: I'm starting a week-long book giveaway through Goodreads!  I love how these giveaways are set up, and I'm very excited to send out a copy to the lucky winner.  If you don't sign up in time, don't worry; I'll be doing more giveaways periodically in the future. 
More news on free promotions: About every 90 days or so, I'll be making the Kindle version free to download for a few days, so keep an eye out for that as well. 
Before I go back to my work on volume 2 on this sub-zero snow day, I have one humble request from any of you who might find yourself hooked on my book: Please consider leaving a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.  It only takes a minute or two, and I would appreciate it immensely.  It doesn't have to be extensive, well written, or even particularly thoughtful.  I thank you in advance!
Best wishes!

Free book promotion

For a limited time, every 10th person who signs up to my email list will get a FREE copy of "Tales of the Bodhisattva: the Khurran".

Visit my website to sign on:
www.justindockins.com

Kickstarter project is launched!

I have launched my Kickstarter project for "Tales of the Bodhisattva: the Khurran"!  I am raising funds to commission Evgeni Maloshenkov, who has already created my book cover, to create at least 10 black and white pictures for the interior.  Also, I would like to put some of the funds into online promotion.  Please check it out!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/innerspacetraveler/tales-of-the-bodhisattva-the-khurran-a-fantasy-nov
And be sure to check out the sweet rewards!

Creation vs. Perception

Sometimes I'm creating the world of Kaliya, and sometimes I'm just perceiving it.

My muse...

…of course, is my beautiful wife.  She has such an eye for beauty in nature, and she brought my attention to something that I became inspired to write about in my book.  I am one lucky man!

Write every day.

My writing process is certainly subject to periods of self-doubt and potentially paralyzing fear. So what? Keep on writing every day.

Progress...

The manuscript hit 27k words today. 
I have recently found a great, sustainable rhythm to my writing.  It really just involves writing something every day, whether it's three sentences or three pages.  This not only helps me avoid the slight depression and self-loathing that comes as a result of ignoring my book for days or more, it also keeps things fresh and I feel continually immersed in the universe that I'm writing about. 

Leaf

 

A watercolor painting of mine in b&w.  This is Leaf, a Khurran whose plight I write about.

How Many Words?!

I was thinking about how being an author and being a writer are different, and I realized that one difference is that authors have finished books.  In a search for some perspective on how rapidly I should be writing, I came upon this article:
 http://www.authormagazine.org/articles/thayer_james_2009_04_09.htm

 J.R.R. Tolkien took eleven years to write “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which he wrote as one 670,000 word epic novel.  On the other hand, Stephen King cranks out one of his magnum works in no more than three months!  My quote of the day today is “The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write.”  - Jerry Pournelle

Tales of the Bodhisattva

...is the title of my upcoming fantasy/adventure novel.  Set on the planet Kaliya, which is actually somewhere in the Milky Way, happening around now-ish, the story follows a young Khurran (imagine seven-foot tall sloths with long tails) who must awaken to his bodhisattva nature in order to overcome a great evil that has arrived on his front doorstep.  The world of Kaliya is rife with drama, mostly stirred by the incarnate gods who walk among the mortals.
At the moment of this post, I have written 19,195 words of the manuscript.  Yes, it’s going to be a little while until it’s done.  I’ll continually update here and on my website:

www.justindockins.com

…where, incidentally, you can read the first three chapters of the book FOR FREE!!!  Wow.  Now that’s something.

Jesh

Jesh, the Primordial Mother, Mother of the Khurran.

I began with a watercolor painting of mine that had completely different colors, then I scanned it and modified the image in Picasa.