Being Optimistic in a Pessimistic World

Keeping a positive attitude in life is sometimes difficult, but through it all, I try to look for the good in life.  Ignoring the naysayers isn't easy, but when you find what you want to do in life, enjoy doing it.  Keep going.  Don't quit.  Giving up is often easier than trudging forward into the battle, but the reward is more satisfactory if you fight on.  You might be scarred and bruised, but at least you can hold your head up with pride and know that you gave it your all, in spite of those who hoped you'd stop and fail.

With the Internet, people can assume an alias and go onto Youtube, Amazon, and other sites to write ruthless things about artists that they would never otherwise have the courage to say face-to-face.  Of course, hiding behind an alias isn't courageous.  To "like" or "dislike" a video, song, or book isn't the problem.  Everyone is entitled to their honest opinion.  But only if it stopped there.  Sadly, I've come across ruthless remarks toward musicians and authors that have no merit.  They simply want to verbally assault others, and somehow this gives them satisfaction to debase others.  In some instances, I truly see jealousy as the motive.

Has our world become so bitter that this is how people cope by bashing others?  I often read the comments under Yahoo news articles, and I discovered something.  Even with the most positive comment, you'll see about 10% of the people give the comment a thumbs down.  Why?  Do they view the world so negatively?  Have they lost their hope?  Perhaps they have.

Understandably, not everyone will have the same likes in music or books.  That's a given.  We're all different, and that's a good thing.  Each good musician or author will gather an audience.  And not one will receive all "Likes" or "5 Stars."  King, Koontz, and Asimov have all received 1 star reviews, lots of them, so no one is immune.

So what's an artist to do?  Keep doing what you're doing.  Make music or write novels.  Whatever your gift is, you express it to the best of your ability.  Always strive to produce the best work possible.  Don't settle for second best.  And don't release a product that's simply not ready for the public's consumption.  That's not fair to you or your audience.

Don't let others rule your art.  If you're fearful of the negative reviews, stop reading them.  If the reviews are honest and point out something that you can correct, do so.  But if they are geared as an attack toward you, the artist, ignore them and go on.  Keep writing.  Keep moving forward.  You are the ruler of your art.  Shape it how you see it.  And above all, keep your chin up and smile even if it hurts.

Devils' Den FREE Digital Copies

This weekend and Monday (January 23rd), Devils' Den is FREE in digital formats at Amazon.com.  Happy reading!

Free Digital Copy of Predators of Darkness: Aftermath

As an early Christmas present, I'm gifting free eCopies of Predators of Darkness: Aftermath via Smashwords.com  Use code: ND63W

 If you're gifting a Kindle/Nook to someone, please give them this code for their free copy.


Happy Holidays!!!

Haunted by Santa

The first Christmas I remember clearly was when I was two years old.  We lived in Alabama where Decembers were usually too warm for snow.  A knock came upon our front door.  My mother told me to look outside as she opened the door.  On the front porch was a small racecar track set on a piece of plywood.  She told me that Santa Claus had left it for me. 

While I stared at it, not understanding whom Santa Claus was, my father snuck back through the house and showed up behind us.  He carefully picked up the board and car set and brought it into the house for us to play.  I didn’t know Santa, but it was neat that he dropped off the gift.  But, why didn’t he stick around?  What was the rush?

My mother explained that Santa had to deliver toys to all the kids in the world and just didn’t have time to meet everyone.

The mystery of Santa Claus worried me the following Christmas.  Songs of Christmas and Santa played on our record player.  Who was this Santa Claus and how did he always know what I was doing and whether I was naughty or nice?  This troubled me.  I thought only God had such power.

At a department store, my mother took me to see Santa.  He gave me a piece of candy that I didn’t like, so I tucked it inside my coat pocket.  When I got home, I took the plastic wrapper off the candy and tossed it in the toilet.  The second I did this; I suddenly remember that Santa had probably watched me do this.  I quickly tried to flush the candy, but it didn’t go down.  I lowered the lid and hurried to the living room.  Now I feared Santa wouldn’t give me any presents.  Why should he?  After all, I had thrown his candy away.

Christmas came and I got nice presents.  Had Santa missed me throwing away the candy?  Or, was it candy that he didn’t like, either?  It no longer mattered.  I had toys to occupy my time.

I don’t recall how young I was when I discovered that Santa didn’t really exist and that presents were placed under the tree by my parents.  Maybe when I entered preschool someone had told me.  But the leverage that you had to be good or you didn’t get presents from Santa no longer held validity.  So, my parents played another song a LOT before Christmas.  “I’m Gettin’ Nuttin’ for Christmas.”  Not that I was a bad kid, but they still let me know that goodness earned presents and being bad had severe consequences.

Nowadays, it’s difficult to find kids that believe in Santa.  The hustle and bustle of Christmas and its commercialization has soured many people and children.  At family gatherings I have seen kids open presents and snub their noses at their gifts.  Parents run up huge Christmas tabs on their credit cards and have lost sight of what Christmas is truly about.  What happened to the days when gifts had more meaning than the cost?

Santa once haunted my youth, but seeing a traditional holiday mired by Black Friday and fist fights over gifts haunts me even more.  Give the greatest gifts ever—love, respect, and time.  Life is too short not to share these.

The Curse of Devils' Den

Never in my life has something plagued me like writing Devils' Den.  This book nearly did me in physically.  Over eleven years ago, when I first started the draft of this novel, my left calf was suddenly covered with sores that didn't go away until a medical doctor did a series of spot injections around the area.

Not satisfied with the first draft and with Predators of Darkness begging me to finish it, I placed Devils' Den in a box where it stayed eleven years.  During this time, I finished the first three books in the Darkness series and never thought about Devils' Den.  Then, earlier this summer, I dusted off the manuscript and began the rewriting process.  The following week, the sores returned on my left calf.  I've taken antibiotics, used all kinds of antibacterial/antifungal creams, and other meds.  The sores faded for a few days, and once I returned to writing, they itched and returned.

After a relentless spring of promoting the re-releases of my Darkness series in Kindle/Nook/Paperback to online book bloggers, I bought a nice laptop so I could sit in my recliner and write.  This was great until a few weeks ago.  While writing the finishing touches on Devils' Den, I suddenly found myself in complete vertigo.  The room spun endlessly even though I was seated.  Sudden nausea hit me and I staggered to the bathroom, tried to vomit, but nothing came up.  I was so dizzy that I had to crawl out of the bathroom and back to my chair.  I broke out in a drenching sweat.

Needless to say, I was terrified, as were my cats and dog.  They knew something wasn't right.  An hour later the dizziness faded, so I researched the symptoms online.  It turns out that the dizziness is common with people who spend excessive hours typing at a laptop or even a regular computer monitor.  So now I have to divide time from the recliner to the desk to put more distance between my eyes and the screen, which has worked because I've not experienced that again.  Thankfully.

After the dizziness, I honestly believed I would have to stop writing, if this vertigo became a common occurrence.  So far, so good.  I'm still writing, not dizzy, the sores have vanished, and I am obeying the muse's commands for book four in the Darkness series.

Curse or not?  You read and decide.

For blurb of Devils' Den, simply read the preceding blog.

Cheers!

Devils' Den

I'm happy to announce that Devils' Den (Justin McKnight Adventures) is now available for $2.99 in all digital formats.  Here's the blurb:

"Evil has resurrected in the quaint, rural community of Cider Knoll, Kentucky.  The day after a country pastor is ritualistically murdered, a teenage boy vanishes inside an enchanted cave—Devil’s Den—that has long been rumored to be haunted.  The local sheriff is baffled on how to continue the search and rescue when the only clues end at a mysterious wall inside the cave.  Then an unexpected man shows up with an age-worn book that has disturbing revelations about identical phenomena that have occurred every twenty years for the past one hundred forty years.  And according to the predictions set inside the book, they have little time to find the boy before he becomes the next victim."

www.amazon.com/Devils-Adventures-Justin-McKnight-ebook/dp/B005UCWEY8



Need a spooky read for Halloween?
 Check this out.

Tying Up Loose Ends

I have two or three chapters left to write in Devils' Den.  This past week I started reading and revising from the beginning of the novel to where I had stopped.  While I do this, I keep a notepad beside me and jot down tidbits throughout the novel to make certain all the loose ends get tied up at the end.  Once these final chapters are set into place, I will reread the entire novel two more times.  My wife will read this once, and my editing friend will also do a read through.

Devils' Den is a novel that has set in a box for over 10 years.  So it's not a surprise to me that the novel is now completely different than what it originally would have been.  I believe my writing and insight has matured during this length of time.  In fact, after rewriting the first 50 pages of the original, I stopped reading the old manuscript and let these characters produce their amazing adventure without the pressure of the former outline dictating what they wanted and needed to do.

I'm excited to see Devils' Den almost completed.  This is the first book of a dark fantasy series, so this is completely different than my Darkness series.  I hope you enjoy the characters and their journey as well as I have.