FEATURED PHOTO NOTE: My hometown of Muscatine, Iowa is known for its melons. The city leaders are leaning into this history it appears. 🙂
Hi, everyone. It is officially the start of August, which means people who have summer vacation are now thinking about returning to work in the next few weeks, myself included. However, I’ve gotten quite a bit of activity done in the time I’ve had off. I’ve gotten a new book published, gotten started on more than a few other projects, and met a lot of other people as well.
So, let’s talk writing and a couple other things.
What I’ve Been Writing
It’s nice getting some books written at a faster pace than I ever had to date. So, the fact The Yank Striker’s Journey is now officially released is no excuse for me not to get going on other projects. Such has been the case for me, thankfully, this past month.
- The Yank Striker 3 (AKA YS3, AKA Working Title)1: For those just joining us here, The Yank Striker series follows the exploits of Daniel John “DJ” Ryan, a prospective American soccer player who leaves his family behind to try his fortune with an English Premier League team in the East End of London. I decided to ask myself years back, “What would the first American soccer superstar look like?” and it snowballed from there. Check this out if you want more information about the first book in the series, and the Journey link above if you want to know more about Book 2.
YS3 continues DJ’s story as he attempts to progress as a footballer, despite new challenges and an unexpected event that could either be a setback or opportunity, depending on how he faces it.
I’ve finished preliminary notes on the project and have already gotten more than 3,000 words into the rough draft. I have an ambitious goal of getting it published by next year, but I’m feeling good about trying to reach for it. - Also on my list is the sequel to my debut novel, The Holy Fool. That was my journalism novel featuring Samuel “Sonny” Turner, a Chicago-based newspaper columnist who was tasked with helping his newspaper, the Chicago Journal from sale by its unscrupulous owner and breaking a major story on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars during the 2008 presidential election and the beginning of the Great Recession.
The sequel, which will be set in around 2024-2026, is now over 7,000 words for the first draft. At most, I only want the story to be 70,000 words2 – a quick, lean bit of storytelling. I will get most of the writing done this year (I hope I hope I hope) but I want to see how a certain event next year plays out before I finalize the last scene.
Also, no progress on:
- Kayfabe Stories (Previously The Untitled Pro Wrestling Fiction Project): This is a story about a family of pro wrestlers from Texas and a young man’s determination to understand what it all means;
- The Heart Project: The speculative/fantasy/soft sci-fi story I have in mind informed by our troubled times involving four one-time friends, a high school reunion, and a microcosm of a larger sense of chaos.
- From a recently completed short story, I think I have the germ of an idea about a fantasy/horror novel set in Iowa, leaning on the environmental damage being done to my home state. Let’s give it the working title The Land, The River, and The Waste.
What I’m Doing Having to do With Writing (Which in This Case Means Where I’m Making Appearances)
I’ve got several events coming up, some that I have confirmed, some I have mostly confirmed, and others I’m hoping will happen. I’ll list them here however I have them.
- At 6:30 p.m. 14 August (a Thursday), I’ll be over at the Fort Madison Public Library. I’ll be talking about the writing process, creating fiction, and my books, in particular The Yank Striker’s Journey. Any friends of mine in the eastern Iowa area, I would love to have you out here to celebrate the evening.\
- At 4 p.m. (thereabouts) Thursday, Aug. 25, I am going to be back at Burlington By The Book, 301 Jefferson St., Burlington, for a Farmer’s Market appearance. Chris (the store’s owner) has been a massive support for me, so when he calls, I answer. It’s as simple as that.
- I am going to be making an appearance at the Atlas Collective, 1801 5th Ave, Moline, Illinois, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, 27 August. This is this first book store event I’ve participated in outside Iowa, and I am hyped for it. Atlas is a fantastic bookstore, one I would recommend to anyone.
Also hopefully on the schedule will be the Windsor Heights Book Fair on SUnday, October 5, in Windsor Heights, Iowa (outside Des Moines), and an appearance at the Iowa City Book Festival, from October 5-12.
With The Yank Striker’s Journey having officially dropped, I am hoping for quite a few more appearances this year. Watch this space for new events. 🙂
If any podcasters or bloggers are interested in new fiction, if you are interested in stories based in the world of soccer, or if you are interested in featuring writers from Iowa or the Midwest, I would absolutely be open for a feature or interview. Get in touch here or at jasonliegois@liegois.media.
Writing Quote(s) of the Week:
A lot of stuff I’m seeing on the interwebs seems to relate to me this month.
With this first quote, replace “diary” with “manuscripts and notes” and it absolutely fits me.
“This diary is my kief, hashish and opium pipe. This is my drug and my vice.”
― Anais Nin
One from The King.
Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.
― Stephen King
On the good days it absolutely feels like this.
Every few weeks she would shut herself up in her room, put on her scribbling suit, and fall into a vortex, as she expressed it, writing away at her novel with all her heart and soul, for till that was finished she could find no peace.
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
When I Post
Check out this post for when and what I post on a regular basis.
How to support me😊.
As always, go to the links on the side if you are reading this on a desktop/laptop or the links on my profile on mobile. If you go follow the links above, you will be able to buy both the paperback and ebook versions of my books on Amazon. If you just put “Jason Liegois” in Google you’ll find them on the first page of search results.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have quite a few places that now carry at least some of my books. Until the Iowa Indie Bookshop Tour got started a few years back, I wasn’t aware of many of these great and fantastic independent bookstores in Iowa and the Midwest. They’re still doing the tour through the end of September.
These are the bookstores you’ll find at least some of my books2:
- Bent Oak Books, 619 7th St. Fort Madison.
- Burlington By The Book, 301 Jefferson St, Burlington.
- [NEW] The Corner and More, 703 Main St., Mediapolis.
- Green Point Mercantile, 217 E. 2nd St., Muscatine.
- [NEW] The Brewed Book, 1524 Harrison St., Davenport.
- [NEW] The Black Rose, 116 W. Main St., West Branch
- Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave. # S1, Des Moines.
- Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
- [NEW] The Atlas Collective, 1801 5th Ave, Moline, Illinois – my first out of Iowa bookstore, very proud of this.
I’m always looking for some new places to place my books, so feel free to hit me up in the comments if you have a suggestion.
For those who are budget conscious among all of you, my books are part of the collections of the Fort Madison, Burlington, and Musser (Muscatine) public libraries.
My poetry book The Flow and the Journey is available at Bent Oak, Green Point, Burlington By the Book, and The Corner and More, but it is also available online but not on Amazon. I’ve set up a new online store for copies of my chapbook on my WordPress site, Liegois Media. If you want to get a physical copy, go ahead and click on the button below.
The Flow and the Journey
The first collection of poetry from author Jason Liegois.
If you don’t have the budget for a paid subscription, feel free to just send me a one-time payment of whatever you have the budget for.
Final Thoughts
Again, sorry this is slightly late, but better late than never and it’s still on the weekend. Take care, everyone.
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While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.
- Anyone want to guess the actual working title? I’m liking the one I came up with. ↩︎
- All Iowa locations unless otherwise noted. ↩︎