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.



Thoughts on Smashwords and Amazon

I have recently come upon some great information about avoiding exclusivity in the distribution of self-published books. 
When I initially published TOTB, I was super excited to be distributed through Amazon, and to take advantage of its Kindle lending program through Kindle Select.  So much in fact that I took for granted other great distributors such as Smashwords, who from what I can tell so far, is really geared toward working for the little guy (Why only publish on Kindle?  Because it took me a minute to realize that a ton of people don't have/use Kindle, and there are plenty of folks who don't like dealing with Amazon). 
At first, I had already made up my mind to re-enroll in Kindle Select when the first 90-day period was over, mostly so I could do more free promotions of the book in Kindle format.  Unfortunately, when you enroll in Kindle Select, you must promise Amazon that they are the sole distributors of your book for that entire time.  My initial post-publishing ecstasy is beginning to wane just enough for my better brain functioning to return, and now I believe that this is definitely not the way to go. 
Smashwords is (according to their FAQ's page) about one two-thousandth the size of Amazon right now, and this is one of several reasons that I want to support them with my business.  It would be a dark future for indie authors indeed if Amazon ended up being the sole distributor for self-published ebooks, wouldn't it?  Self-published authors would then be dependent on Amazon, and then we wouldn't be so indie anymore.  We would be at the mercy of their policy-changing whims.  I'm not too worried about that happening any time soon, but it is possible. 
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I'm very much looking forward to making my book available to people with all kinds of e-reading devices (and not just Kindles), and I'm excited to soon be part of the Smashwords community.  Now all I have to do is wait for this pesky 90 day period to end...

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!