Tag: Book Fairs

The Writing Life, 5 October 2024: Still hoping for fall

We are officially into the start of autumn since the equinox happened, but despite a cruel tease of such weather, we here in eastern Iowa have not been getting consistent fall weather. I am going to insist on decorating my blogs with autumn imagery until it actually looks and feels like these pictures in the outside. That’s just the way it has to be for a while, folks.

But we’ve got writing and new events to talk about, so let’s get into it.

The Home Front

The transition between old residence and new residence for Laura (my wife) and myself continues.

Painting in our home had been completed, and the removal of our carpet is all but done. We also did some trimming up on the tree in our front yard that was a bit overdue. Now will come the process of treating the hardwood floors, moving all the items now in storage into the storage of our new house, installing new lighting and ceiling fans, and carting away some of the resulting detritus. Soon enough, our modest apartment will have to be packed up and ready for shipping, either by us or the movers.

Thankfully, unlike our last move, this is a move within our current city and will not need to be finished immediately. I am somewhat selfishly looking forward to my new writing space and how I will eventually get it set up.

Of course, not even this move will be the end of moving and changes for us. My son is moving closer to buying his own home, and we will be happy to provide any assistance for his own move in Des Moines. Thankfully, he does not have as much possessions as we do and his is also a move within a city.

What I’m Writing

I’ve been quite busy this week and last with my ongoing projects.

  • The Yank Striker 2, the sequel for The Yank Striker: I am now at 52,000 words for the first draft of the book. I am currently shooting for 75,000 words as a new target for the end of the year. If I average about 250 words on it for the remainder of the year, I should be able to get to 75,000 by 31 December 2024.
    At this point, I think it is doable. I will concentrate on this for my short-term goal, and then work toward getting it publication-ready for summer 2025.
  • The Untitled Pro Wrestling Family Drama project: Made a big jump in progress on this project. As of this writing, I’m beginning to wrap up the critical scene where my main character makes the fateful decision to look into his family’s history of professional wrestling although he has been at least on a surface level avoiding this world for all his life. I’m going to write just what I consider to be the essential scenes until I get to something approaching a full rough draft. This will be interesting because the story will eventually bounce between the late 2010’s and 1954-1974. It’s the first time I’ve dealt with different time periods in one of my stories, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
  • The Untitled Liegois Poetry Chapbook: I have actually made more progress on this project this week. I’ve finished revisions on the poems, and finished arranging them in order in the chapbook. Again, I think my revisions have significantly tightened up those poems and given them more impact.I am not sure when I will have this ready for sale when I’m out and about, so to speak. I have to add in some author’s notes and acknowledgements, consider whether some more photos might be called for, and some other design issues. Plus, I have to start figuring out how to print the thing. However, I’m inching closer to being a self-published poet.

What I’m Doing Having to Do With Writing

(AKA personal appearances)

I (also sometimes known as The Dude In Purple) still have a few events coming up for this fall and some others I’m tentatively adding to the schedule. All these events will be me appearing live and with my books, The Holy Fool and The Yank Striker.

Here are my current events1:

  • I’m headed back to the Des Moines area from 12-6 p.m. Sunday, 6 October [THAT’S TOMORROW], for the Windsor Heights Book Fair. This will take place at the Agora Events Center, 7692 Hickman Road, Des Moines. This will be the second year I’ll have participated in this event, and I’m eager to return.
  • I’ll be participating in the Local Writers’ Book Fair, which will be part of the 2024 Iowa City Book Festival. It will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, at MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City. This is again my second year of participating, and I am looking forward to being back in Iowa City.
  • I’m planning to attend the Fort Madison Area Art Association’s Meet the Author Book Signing event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, November 30, at the FMAAA’s center at 825 Avenue G, Fort Madison. This would be my first author’s event in my new home of Fort Madison, and I am overjoyed to be part of this gathering.
  • I’m hoping to be part of the DSM Book Festival at the at Franklin Junior High Event Center, 4801 Franklin Ave., Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, 22 March 2025. This is being sponsored by one of my favorite independent book stores in Des Moines, Beaverdale Books. I’ll provide more information, hopefully, as the event approaches.

    I’ll be looking to add some more dates on the appearance calendar as time goes on. Hope to see you at one of those places.

Writing Quote of the Week:

I agree with Eudora’s words here, although I’m more certain of the sentiments.

Indeed, learning to write may be part of learning to read. For all I know, writing comes out of a superior devotion to reading.

  • Eudora Welty, On Writing

A Few Links About My Books and Where to Find Them

(Feel free to ignore this bit if you’ve read it before)

Currently, I have the mighty total of TWO novels which make up my official backlist2.

My first book is a journalism thriller set in Chicago during the turbulent days of the 2008 election and the start of the Great Recession. Check out more about it here.

You can get the paperback version of this book on Amazon here and the ebook version of it here.

A fellow Iowa writer and organizer of the Windsor Heights Book Fair, Tyler Granger, recently did a review of my book: you can find it here3.

My second book, the first in the The Yank Striker series, is a soccer drama telling the story of the beginning of a young American’s career as a player. There’s more about it here.

The paperback version of this book can be found on Amazon and the site of my publisher, Biblio Publishing. It is also available in ebook format on Amazon here.

John Buzbee of The Culture Buzz radio show in Des Moines (KFMG FM) interviewed me about the Yank Striker: You can catch it here.

For full links to these and other helpful places having to do with me and my writing, you can go to this page on my WordPress site, Liegois Media.

You can also get my books in person at these fine Iowa bookstores:

  • NEW: Burlington By The Book, 301 Jefferson St, Burlington.
  • Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave. # S1, Des Moines
  • Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
  • The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.

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.

Final Thoughts

All the writers keep writing and everyone keep safe, especially those who are continuing to deal with the effects of Hurricane Helene passing through the southeastern US over the past week. Best wishes.

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  1. All promotional images courtesy of their respective organizations. ↩︎
  2. Don’t worry, I won’t include this bit in the next regular newsletter in two weeks to give you a break, lol 👍🏻. ↩︎
  3. If anyone does any reviews of my work, I’d love to post some links to them. Send it to me in the DM’s or comments. ↩︎

The Writing Life, 21 September 2024: Hoping for fall

We are getting deeper into fall in Iowa, but sadly not yet not deep into proper autumn weather. It is more like the weather at the beginning of a school year where you walk to school wearing a proper fall coat in the morning and yet it gets so hot by mid-afternoon you’re forced to walk home with the coat tied around your waist. Such is life in Iowa, but at least it’s not Kansas, which is flatter, doesn’t have as many good rivers as Iowa, and is at least ten degrees hotter1.

The Home Front

Not much here in recent weeks.

It’s part of a slow process, but we are starting to get things sorted out with our new home in Fort Madison. Most of it involves removing carpet, which both my wife and I always thought seemed strange to put over perfectly good hardwood floors, and cleaning things up.

Once the move gets done, we’ll be hopeful not to move again anytime soon. Seems like the past few years has been a constant move for both my wife and I and now our kids, who are in their own apartments or in the process of hunting for their own homes. Besides, Fort Madison is a nice little river town to get settled in.

I am hoping beyond hope this Friday will be the very last 80-degree-plus day in the state of Iowa for 2024. The stinking heat we have to deal with every afternoon after I get out of work can’t go away soon enough. Bring on actual fall weather and even winter at this point.

What I’m Writing

Time for an update on what I’m writing.

  • The Yank Striker 22, the sequel for The Yank Striker: I am now at the 50,000-word mark for the first draft of the book, which is a bit amazing thinking back to how blocked I was on the project in late spring and early summer of this year. I’ve got around nine chapters I’m thinking about adding onto the story, but not all of those are going to be of any considerable length. There’s at least 5,000 of the words in my first draft I know are going onto the discard pile whenever I start revisions. 80,000 words is going to be my absolute limit on the word count for the first draft, and I would prefer to have a final draft of somewhere around 70,000 words, especially since this will be a series and I’ve got a lot more story to tell down the road.
    With the regular progress I’ve been making on the first draft over the course of last month, I’m now feeling quietly confident I might have the first draft wrapped up by the end of the year. That’s going to require considerable focus on my part. From some back of the envelope calculations I just made this week, if I manage to get maybe 300 words on the project written every day, I should have my first draft done and ready to revise by the end of 2024.
    I would love to try and produce a book every year if possible. Getting a book done in two years (as The Yank Striker 2 looks to be at this point) is still the fastest I’ve ever written anything up to this point. If I’m writing this much, I want to be producing books and releasing them. The larger backlist I have, the better in my opinion, and I want to have whatever time I have left to write and produce as much as I can. Also since I am actively working on one series (and have a second in mind), I don’t have the feeling I am going to run out of things to write anytime soon.
  • The Untitled Pro Wrestling Family Drama project: I’ve had some time to work on this project last week, not so much this week. I’m getting close to the point in a typical story, if you are using a Hero’s Journey or a Steal the Cat-type outline, where the main character gets a challenge to go on a quest or a challenge.

[MINOR SPOILER ALERT:3]

I decided the impetus for such a call to action was a mini-family reunion in the scenic location of northeastern Minnesota, and it involves a glance into a family past my main character has avoided for years. But when he gets a glimpse of his past from an entirely unexpected source, that past comes rushing back, prompting him to find out the truth about it.
Pro wrestling is also involved.

[END OF SPOILERS]

The Untitled Liegois Poetry Chapbook: Not much work on this one this week. I think I’ve sorted out which poems I want in the book and have taken a shot at revising them. I’m quite satisfied with the results of the revisions, making what I’ve created more compact, more impactful.
Whether I get them done or not in time for some of my more recent outings is a totally different story, but it still seems closer to being done than it was when I was just talking about the idea a year or so ago.

What I’m Doing Having to Do With Writing

(AKA where I might be appearing soon, among other things)

I (also sometimes known as The Dude In Purple) still have a few events coming up for this fall and some others I’m tentatively adding to the schedule. All these events will be me appearing live and with my books, The Holy Fool and The Yank Striker.

Here are my current events4:

  • I’m headed back to the Des Moines area from 12-6 p.m. Sunday, 6 October, for the Windsor Heights Book Fair. This will take place at the Agora Events Center, 7692 Hickman Road, Des Moines. This will be the second year I’ll have participated in this event, and I’m eager to return.
  • I’ll be participating in the Local Writers’ Book Fair, which will be part of the 2024 Iowa City Book Festival. It will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, at MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City. This is again my second year of participating, and I am looking forward to being back in Iowa City.
  • I’m tentatively planning to attend the Fort Madison Area Art Association’s Meet the Author Book Signing event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, November 30, at the FMAAA’s center at 825 Avenue G, Fort Madison. This would be my first author’s event in my new home of Fort Madison, and I am overjoyed to be part of this gathering.
  • I’m hoping to be part of the DSM Book Festival at the at Franklin Junior High Event Center, 4801 Franklin Ave., Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, 22 March 2025. This is being sponsored by one of my favorite independent book stores in Des Moines, Beaverdale Books. I’ll provide more information, hopefully, as the event approaches.

    I’ll be looking to add some more dates on the appearance calendar as time goes on. Hope to see you at one of those places.

Writing Quote of the Week:

Good words from the King about one important requirement for a writer.

You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.

  • Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

A Few Links About My Books and Where to Find Them

(Feel free to ignore this bit if you’ve read it before)

Currently, I have the mighty total of TWO novels which make up my official backlist.

My first book is a journalism thriller set in Chicago during the turbulent days of the 2008 election and the start of the Great Recession. Check out more about it here.

You can get the paperback version of this book on Amazon here and the ebook version of it here.

A fellow Iowa writer and organizer of the Windsor Heights Book Fair, Tyler Granger, recently did a review of my book: you can find it here5.

My second book, the first in the The Yank Striker series, is a soccer drama telling the story of the beginning of a young American’s career as a player. There’s more about it here.

The paperback version of this book can be found on Amazon and the site of my publisher, Biblio Publishing. It is also available in ebook format on Amazon here.

John Buzbee of The Culture Buzz radio show in Des Moines (KFMG FM) interviewed me about the Yank Striker: You can catch it here.

For full links to these and other helpful places having to do with me and my writing, you can go to this page on my WordPress site, Liegois Media.

You can also get my books in person at these fine Iowa bookstores:

  • NEW: Burlington By The Book, 301 Jefferson St, Burlington.
  • Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave. # S1, Des Moines
  • Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
  • The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.

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.

Final Thoughts

That’s about it for now. All the writers keep writing and everyone keep safe.

-30-

  1. I do not mean to insult any Kansas residents or those who like living there. It’s just my taste to live somewhere near a big river and have it be relatively cool for most of the year if I can help it. ↩︎
  2. All of the following titles are working titles. I’m going to wait to release what I think should be the real titles when these projects are closer to publication. ↩︎
  3. Then again, isn’t this the point of this whole newsletter in part, to let you know what I’m working on? ↩︎
  4. All promotional images courtesy of their respective organizations. ↩︎
  5. If anyone does any reviews of my work, I’d love to post some links to them. Send it to me in the DM’s or comments. ↩︎

The Writing Life, 20 April 2024:

Winston “Winnie” Liegois, 2008-2024.

Well, there’s a passing in my life this week as I return to the Pella area temporarily as the end of my time in south central Iowa comes closer to an end. Let’s talk a little about the writing I’m doing (or not doing) right now, as well as a few other things.

The Home Front

Winnie at home in Fort Madison, April 2024, courtesy of my wife Laura.

I never grew up with pets, but my wife Laura did. By the time our kids were in elementary school, we had Samantha, a calico kitty and former resident of the Clinton County landfill; Snickers, a white Shih Tzu pup rescued from the Muscatine Humane Society; and Winston, an adoption from one of our friends in Muscatine. For a short while, we had a nice little menagerie at our home.

I enjoyed all of them, but Winnie was the one I had the longest relationship with. In his younger days, he’d clamber up on my chair and we’d catch the soccer games on the weekends. He was more of a chilling dog rather than an excitable, toy-playing dog, but that was all right with me. Of course, he worshiped his mom who would always hook him up with his special dog food.

Time passes and pets cross the rainbow bridge, of course. Samantha joined us in Clinton and left us in Muscatine. Snickers joined us in Muscatine, followed us to Chariton, and there was where he left us. Winnie was the hardiest of them, joining us in Muscatine, then in Chariton, and then finally leaving us in Fort Madison.

I’m down, but Laura’s gutted. She lost many pets as a kid, but she wasn’t there when they had to pass over. Seeing it happen with Snickers was shattering for both of us, and I’ll always be sorry I wasn’t there when Winnie left. Then again, what happened was because of Winnie’s schedule, which in the end is for the best.

This might be it for us and pets, sadly. It is a considerable time commitment for a pet, and you just can’t leave a dog for days on end while trying to travel somewhere. I’m also not sure we’re up for adopting another pet only to go through this process one more time at the end.

He’ll always be part of us, though. This I know. As Sir Terry Pratchett might have written, GNU for him1.

When not missing my dog, I am living the hotel life somewhere in Marion County, Iowa, after a week spent as my son’s roommate in downtown Des Moines. The price was right and living in the biggest city in Iowa was exciting, but it is nice to have a 55-minute round trip commute rather than a two-hour round trip commute every day. And I actually enjoyed having my son as a roommate and hanging out with him on a regular basis, even though it meant sharing a one-bedroom apartment and tucking into a couch every night. You tend to treasure spending time with your kids after they turn 18 and you don’t see them around every day.

Jake trying to look serious after a workout, April 2024.
A more relaxed Jake visiting us in Fort Madison, April 2024.

The kid is doing much better and is able to get along and take care of himself, even though I can be over there if he needs something. He is eager to get back to work as a heating and air conditioning (HVAC) tech and continue to work toward his journeyman license. I’m glad his accident in the end has only delayed this process slightly and not altered it.

My daughter. 💛

Speaking of kids, my daughter Madeline is approaching her final weeks of study at the University of Iowa. She is looking forward to beginning her career as a chemical engineer at the hometown firm my father worked at for so many years. I’m super excited as she prepares to begin her professional career and all of the adventures ahead for her.

One of the things I am very happy with is I never attempted to try and persuade them to go toward a particular career or path. I never expected them to do anything like what I have done as a career or passion or like their mother. I was just happy both of them found their passions and have pursued them. I’m absolutely proud of both my kids and looking forward to their future adventures.

As I mentioned before, I am back to hotel living for about another month’s time. It’s been difficult, as it was five years ago, when I went into a school year knowing I would leave for someplace new a year later. I haven’t had to go through an entire year as a lame duck teacher, although I certainly was one for at least half the amount of time and perhaps slightly longer in practical terms. Financially, I’m glad I made the decision I did to stay, but in all honesty I’m not sure I will wish to repeat the process again. After a while, the knowledge you are leaving and it’s only a matter of time before you go begins to wear on you. I have truly enjoyed my time at Twin Cedars, but I can sense my time and purpose there is almost done. A poem I wrote around five years ago, when I was last a lame duck teacher, “Rest Holds,” seems just as pertinent now as it did then.

What I’m Writing

I just finished up a story that will be part of a dark romance short story collection, I think. As soon as it gets published, I’ll get people a link.

Inspired by my recent connection with the Society of Great River Poets out in Burlington, I’m going to uncork a brand new poem for Poetry Night at the Writing Life next week. The subject is going to be a body of water I’ve been running across repeatedly in recent weeks and months, the Des Moines River. It certainly is a different creature than the Mississippi River I used to live next to (I still do, but I used to, as well2).

I feel bad I’m going to miss their next couple of meetings due to book fair commitments, but I definitely want to go back there the next chance I get.

As for my other projects, both announced and unannounced (not counting what I post on this blog), I think it would be best to talk about them whenever I actually get some work done on them. As I have sometimes said around here, you’ll see it when you see it.

What I’m Doing Having to do With Writing

There’s actually a lot going on along these lines. Some of those things are a bit more of a promotional nature, so I’ll hold off on talking about those until a little later below.

I have been updating the site, setting some posts for all subscribers and others for paid subscribers. In short, you get some of my pieces (the regular newsletter, as well as some other random pieces and promotional pieces) for free, while some of the other exclusive items are available only to paid subscribers. As you might see once you check out my site, my paid subscription plan is pretty cheap compared to others, especially if you pay on a yearly basis. I say check it out if you want.

What I also need to do is to go through my list of subscribers and those I subscribe to and do more to recommend them. As with moderating and administrating my site, its something which will take some time, time away from time writing. But it is something necessary. If I want people to take a glance at my own work, I need to do what I can to look at their work and promote their work. There are so many great writers on this platform and I want more people to know about them.

Writing Quote for the Week

A good quote this week about doing your own thing as a writer.

Concentrate on what you want to say to yourself and your friends. Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness. You say what you want to say when you don’t care who’s listening.

  • Allen Ginsberg

A Few Links About My Books and Appearances

This is a link to my upcoming appearances, which just got updated. The most recent one will be TODAY beginning at 1 p.m. at the Ankeny public library.

My first book is a journalism thriller set in Chicago during the turbulent days of the 2008 election and the start of the Great Recession. Check out more about it here.

My second book, the first in the projected The Yank Striker series, is a soccer drama telling the story of the beginning of a young American’s career as a player. There’s more about it here.

Shameless Plugs and Notices (please forgive)

For direct links to purchase my books in paperback and ebook form, including The Yank Striker: A Footballer’s Beginning and The Holy Fool, click on the links in the Substack sidebar or the links on my Substack author page. Or, you can go to this page on my WordPress site, Liegois Media.

You can also get them in person at these fine Iowa bookstores:

  • Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave # S1, Des Moines
  • Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
  • The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.

All these are great independent bookstores, but I’m always looking for some new places to place my books (especially now in eastern Iowa), so feel free to hit me up in the comments if anyone has a suggestion.

While you’re here, I wanted to add just a quick description of how The Writing Life works. With a free subscription, you always will have access to my newsletters on the first and third weekends of the month, as well as selected articles up to a month after they’ve been published. However, If you have a paid subscription with me (which is pretty inexpensive), you will have access to all of my articles here, all of my archives, and my eternal gratitude. Plus, probably some first-dibs on possible future offers.

Final Thoughts

It’s been a roller-coaster week. I’m looking forward to later today when I get back home to my wife.. Many times, life is about the things you lose over time than what you accumulate over a lifetime. But, you also value what you have when you have it.

Love to everyone. Writers keep writing and everyone keep safe.

-30-

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.

Subscribe to my Substack here.
  1. You can head here for an explanation of the acronym GNU. ↩︎
  2. I’m sorry, but that’s a great joke from Mitch Hedberg, so I’m going to keep using it. So there. ↩︎

The Writing Life, 6 April 2024: Hanging out in Des Moines

801 Grand Building, Des Moines, Iowa, 27 March 2024. It happens to be the tallest building in Iowa, and I can just walk to it on the Skywalk from my kid’s place. Like the design? It apparently allows the building to have a lot more corner offices than a typical skyscraper design.

Things have been hopping for a bit as I now sit in “voluntary exile” in Des Moines, apartment-sitting for my son as he continues with his recovery. It is a strange situation when I don’t know necessarily where I might be laying my head come next weekend, much less next month. Yet, life and writing goes on. Let’s talk about it.

The Home Front

I’ve gone from being alone in a house in imminent anticipation of being sold, to having that home sold, living in a hotel by myself, and visiting my new home in Fort Madison on the weekends, to living in my kid’s apartment in Des Moines, commuting to south central Iowa for work, and making it back to Fort Madison on the weekends. All of these arrangements, for various reasons, lasted only two to three weeks at most. And now, it appears I’ll be roommates with my son in Des Moines now that he’s back from his rehabilitation facility where he was getting therapy after his fall and concussion on the job way back at the end of February. And I’m only starting my third month of this stuff. To be honest, I’m barely getting my head around everything.

But I am glad about this new development. It means Jake (my son) has made a lot of progress toward getting back on his feet and reaching his goals of getting his heating and air conditioning journeyman’s certification, and I’m delighted at the idea.

What I’ve Been Writing

Short answer, lots of odds and ends, but not a massive amount of progress toward completing something. I don’t want to get into details here, but my word count for last month was lower than the last one, but not as terrible as January.

I got some random fan fiction completed over the course of the past several days, but I am getting way behind on some of my other projects. I could say part of the reason is I’m not sure where I’ll be sleeping on a consistent basis four days or so out, but that would be a cop-out. I just need to stop procrastinating and get done what is overdue to be done, including this newsletter lol.

One idea for a poem I’ve gotten recently is about a river I seem to be encountering a lot in my frequent travels across the state – the Des Moines river. It seems like I cross the thing at least two, three times every time I commute between Polk and Marion counties and even more traveling between Marion and Lee counties. From a distance on a basic Iowa map, it looks like it runs straight southeast from north of Des Moines to the combined Iowa/Missouri/Illinois border straight into the thick Mississippi channel. But if you take a closer look at its path on Google Earth, for example, it’s a skinny sidewinder all throughout Iowa. I’m looking forward to the challenge.

What I’ve Been Doing Having to do With Writing

I’ve been busy with “side activities” quite a bit over this past week. I have been busy with getting some appearances in the area set up (check out the links further down in this post for details.

I’ve made plans to become a member of some writing groups I’m familiar with. First, I’m planning on rejoining the Midwest Writing Center from the Quad Cities, which was a good organization that I needed to make more use of. Now that I live closer to the area, now’s as good a time as any.

For the first time, I’m planning to join the Iowa Poetry Association. I’ve been increasingly trying to develop my poetry and poetry production in recent years, and I want to hear from more experienced hands what I need to do to develop both my poetry skills and how I should present it to the reading public.

Some Writing Advice

For this week, as I typically do, I review some well-known writing advice and analyze whether it appears valid or not. Behold:

Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.

– Isabel Allende

Allende is a famed Chilean-American writer, known for House of the Spirits and City of the Beasts1.

Scale of 1-10 as far as the relevance/usefulness of this advice: 7.

At a certain point, you can’t just call yourself a writer and not put in the work. You have to be consistent with attempting to write and produce something, and if you make a conscientious effort to be productive, the product will come. Now, I think what is left unsaid it you really need to be compelled to tell stories in the first place, and the statement seems to imply you’ll figure out how to write later. However, I think what she means (it’s the implication I get) is that you can have an idea for a story, but not realize exactly how to tell it at first. That’s where brainstorming, and then revising after writing, comes in.

Writing Quote of the Week:

This week’s quote comes from one of the few writers I’m willing to read who were dodgy people in person, from one of his most dodgy novels 😅.

A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.

  • Graham Greene, The End of the Affair

Here’s What to Expect on This Page

My current plans for what I write here are the following:

  1. I produce my newsletter (The Writing Life) every first and third weekend of the month, in a similar format to what you are reading here. It’s basically an update on me and my writing experiences. I will always leave these posts free.
  2. Every second weekend, I put out Prose Night. This will be original writing, whether fiction, which can be self-contained stories, excerpts from works in progress, essays, or other types of nonfiction. I’ll keep these free for about a couple weeks or so, and then they go behind the paywall.
  3. Every fourth weekend, I put out Poetry Night, where I post original poetry. Again, I’ll keep those free for about a couple of weeks before putting them in the archives, so to speak.
  4. Certain other pieces, especially promotional stuff or info about my writing, will also be free for all.

if you have a paid subscription with me (which is pretty inexpensive), you will have access to all of my articles here, all of my archives, and my eternal gratitude. Plus, probably some first-dibs on possible future offers.

A Few Articles About What I’ve Written and Where I’ll Be

So far, I’ve put out two novels over the past couple of years, The Holy Fool and The Yank Striker. Here and here are some recent articles I’ve written about them. If you’re interested in thrillers and/or sports drama, they might be for you.

Here’s where you can run into me during the next several months.

Where You Can Find My Books

For direct links to purchase my books in paperback and ebook form, including The Yank Striker: A Footballer’s Beginning and The Holy Fool, click on the links in the Substack sidebar or the links on my Substack author page. Or, you can go to this page on my WordPress site, Liegois Media.

You can also get them in person at these fine Iowa bookstores:

  • Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave # S1, Des Moines
  • Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
  • The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.

All these are great independent bookstores, but I’m always looking for some new places to place my books (especially now in eastern Iowa), so feel free to hit me up in the comments if anyone has a suggestion.

Final Thoughts

That’s caught you up on everything so far. I appreciate more people signing on to read what I have to say, and reaching out to me online. I appreciate all of you.

-30-

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.

Subscribe to my Substack here.
  1. No, I haven’t read them. ↩︎

The Writing Life, 2 March 2024: Real life intruded this week

Hello everyone. Welcome to the new subscribers – it appears I have a few new ones over the past week or so. Appreciate you signing on to read my ramblings.

And Since We Have New Guests at This Party…

For the benefit of those just joining me here, you are now reading my regular newsletter, which I entitle The Writing Life. I put this out every first and third weekends of the month. The fact I’ve been writing anything regularly (much less on a weekly basis) has been a triumph over a long-standing battle against procrastination and delay.

In these newsletters, I discuss what I’ve been writing, what my progress has been regarding this writing, and any insights I might have gained from the process which might be relevant to readers interested in the craft of writing. At times, I might actually try and present this as explicit writing advice, but not always.

I’ll also talk about what I’ve been doing having to do with writing as well. What this usually involves items like meeting with writing groups, technical stuff with this and other online sites, and some related technology and sundry items.

This also can include where I might be making appearances and events I’ll be at, although I often might list those separately. Usually, a lot of those events will run from roughly spring to fall of each year, and I’ve started filling in my calendar.

Among other things in the regular newsletter, I usually throw in a writing quote of the week from one or two famous writers. I’ve sometimes posted some reading recommendations here for writers on Substack and other sites, although I find myself posting those recommendations or links on Substack Notes nowadays. (On Notes, I’ll also post links to my own Substack posts and the rare pithy comment or two.) Then there’ll be some Final Thoughts, which will always be profound, and the newsletter wraps to a close.

I write about other stuff, so let me take some time to talk about it all.

What DO I Write, Anyway?

I’ve written quite a bit of copy, both fiction and nonfiction, over the past nearly 30 years. For a dozen or so years, I worked as a reporter or correspondent for a few eastern Iowa and western Illinois, so I wrote many different articles about local government and feature stories – pretty much everything regular sports reporting. You might be able to fins some of those articles flying around the interwebs if you decide to go Google searching. While I really enjoy the journalists I find on Substack (and the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative is basically a who’s-who of the best journalists and writers in this state) I don’t think journalism is something I want to return to at the moment.

Increasingly, as I pivoted away from journalism and into teaching, writing fiction has become my focus. In 2019, after several starts and stops, I managed to write my first novel, The Holy Fool: A Journalist’s Revolt. Both a thriller and a celebration of journalism set in 2008 Chicago, at the fictional Chicago Journal, it was a fantastic experience, but a big learning one.

In 2023, I published my next fiction book, a sports drama called The Yank Striker: A Footballer’s Beginning, the first in The Yank Striker series. It was inspired by my longtime soccer fandom, and a question I asked myself: “What would an American Lionel Messi look like?” The answer led me to a kid from Texas and his story.

If you are interested in maybe purchasing books like this, you are in luck. They’re available in both paperback and e-book formats from Amazon and in paperback from my publisher for both books, Biblio Publishing. The links to those books are on the “My Works” page of this site, and you can also find them and my social media links on the “Link In Bio” page.

It’s been a long time since I wrote something about both books, and even though I try to stay away from blatant and excessive self-promotion on this page, I think they are due. I’ll likely try and post something (or two somethings, one for each book) sometime this weekend. I’ll do a quick write-up/plug for The Holy Fool this weekend and one for The Yank Striker next weekend, I think.

Poetry had been more of a focus in recent years, as well, even though I have yet to publish any collections or chapbooks of my work. I’ve also put out some short stories. Over the short time I’ve been on here, this has been the place to see some of that work.

On the second weekend of the month, I host Prose Night here at The Writing Life. This will be some fiction or nonfiction, perhaps a short story or an writing-themed (or life-themed) essay. In recent weeks, I’ve been running short excerpts of some longer fiction projects, such as the second book in my The Yank Striker series.

On the fourth weekend of every month, I celebrate Poetry Night here at The Writing Life. Those evenings, I post one or two selections of original poetry here on the site, and usually some explanation of how they came about. It’s had the side effect of adding to my small stash of original poetry, as well.

So, that’s a good summary of what the page is about currently. How about we dive into some of it?

The Home Front

I’m glad I’ve had a chance to actually think about something other than real life this week. Because real life’s been a bit of a roller coaster recently.

My kid’s in the hospital. I wrote about it yesterday. Our family’s just hoping for the best. That’s about all I can say for now.

What I’ve Been Writing

I’ve been writing a lot of odds and ends recently. Things have been quiet on The Yank Striker 2 front and my as yet untitled pro wrestling family drama. I am going to make a concerted effort to make progress

I talked last week about this short fiction collection I collaborated on. It ended up being Part 1 of a two-part story. Still waiting on some technical stuff to get worked out, but I might have some news regarding it in a bit.

Writing productivity has finally picked up, although I won’t bore you with the hard numbers here. Again, I’m a bit surprised I’ve managed to keep up a regular schedule on this site, but I want to apply this consistency to my “non-online” projects as well.

I decided to compete in the Midwest Writing Center’s Iron Pen contest for the second year running. I decided to use this year’s prompt as a springboard to a scene on a larger project I’ve been toying around with regarding a family of professional wrestlers. I was happy with the results, although I felt slightly restricted by the 2,000 word fiction limit. I’ll let everyone take a look at the story on here once I figure out if I earned any awards, or I might expand it slightly and share that with you.

What I’m Doing Having to do With Writing

Much of this has been dedicated to checking in with different events and book fairs to see where I might be making some personal appearances and sell some books. So far, some of the dates, times, and locations are tentative, but I want to let you know about them as soon as possible if you want to meet me out there in person. Google Calendar has been my friend in this regard.

  • I possibly might be at the Ankeny Book Fair at the Ankeny public library from 1-4 p.m. I have applied to be at the event, but the organizers of the event should let us know by March 20 if we’ve made the cut. As soon as I know, you’ll know.
  • I am confirmed to be at the Authors on the Riverwalk event from 12-4 p.m. at the Des Moines Marriot Downtown, 700 Grand Ave., Des Moines. It was a fantastic evenbt last year, and I’m hoping for an even better experience this year.
  • Things start picking up in June. I’ll be at the Valley West Mall, 1551 Valley West Drive, West Des Moines, for the 9th Annual Indie Author Book Expo. I’ll be there with many other area and regional authors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, June 7, and at the same time Saturday, June 8.
  • Two weeks later, I’ll be at another IABE event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 22 at the Peoria Civic Center, 201 SW Jefferson Ave, Peoria. This might be the first year for this event, but I do know it will be the first time I’ll be doing an event in Peoria.
  • I’m not sure I will be there both days, but I believe I am on the guest list for the Badger Book Fair at the public library in Badger, Iowa, running Saturday and Sunday, 14-15 September. I’ll add more details when I get them.
  • I’ll be there for the Windsor Heights Book Fair in Windsor Heights, Iowa, from 12-6 p.m. Sunday, 6 October. More information when I get it.
  • Finally, I’ll be part of the local author book fair sponsored by the Iowa City Book Festival. Not sure about the exact day or time, but it should occur sometime during this year’s festival, which will be 14-20 October in Iowa City.

I’ve still got a pretty open calendar. If you’d like to invite me to a book event, just hit me up in the comments, by direct message (you can find that in Substack Chat), or by emailing me at jasonliegois@liegois.media.

My newest research I’m working on is how to make a chapbook. I’m getting a bit weary of calling myself a poet and yet not having something where I can physically hand to people and say, “Oh, would you like to read some poetry?” Watch this space.

For this site, I’m going to make some of the older pieces on this page open only to paid subscribers. These will only be older pieces that I want to make part of an archive. Some other pieces I will make only visible to current subscribers. However, my writing journals and The Writing Life pieces will always be readable to everyone.

Writing Quote(s) of the Week:

Two quotes this week, both tackling the importance of writing to authors that goes beyond just trying to communicate to readers. But, it’s important, too, and both fit my own state of mind this week certainly.

If I do not write to empty my mind, I go mad.
― George Gordon Byron


nothing can save
you
except writing.
it keeps the walls
from
failing.
― Charles Bukowski

Where You Can Find My Books

For direct links to purchase my books in paperback and ebook form, including The Yank Striker: A Footballer’s Beginning and The Holy Fool, click on the links in the Substack sidebar or the links on my Substack author page. Or, you can go to this page on my WordPress site, Liegois Media.

You can also get them in person at these fine Iowa bookstores:

  • Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave # S1, Des Moines
  • Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
  • The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.

All these are great independent bookstores, but I’m always looking for some new places to place my books (especially now in eastern Iowa), so feel free to hit me up in the comments if anyone has a suggestion.

Final Thoughts

Well, there was a bit to write about today, so I’ll close it for now. Keep an eye on this space for the next Prose Night post next weekend, and some upcoming posts revisiting my existing books this Sunday and next Sunday.

-30-

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.

Subscribe to my Substack here.

A Week in the Writing Life, 14 October 2023

Well, hello. Let’s get to it.

My Plans for the Weekend and How They Almost Crashed and Burned, AKA What I’m Doing Having To Do With Writing

If you haven’t heard, until very recently I was under the mistaken impression I was scheduled to do a book fair event today, right about the time this newsletter is coming out. However, I was wrong.

To be honest, I was a bit embarrassed to have thought it was today rather than tomorrow for so long. However, I’m also keeping things in perspective. It’s not like I forgot to go into school on a day I had to work, for example. And I’ll be going to the event, so it’s not like I’m missing out.

The event will be tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque Street, in Iowa City, part of the week-long Iowa City Book Festival. Here’s a link to the event page. When you do get on there, I’d urge all of you to check out the other writers planning on being at the event, including an old classmate of mine from Muscatine, Juan Fourneau. It looks like there’s going to be a lot of great authors there1.

What I’ve Been Writing

I’ve been busy this week with some decent original fiction. For the first time in a while, pretty much all of the writing (except for here) has been focused on The Yank Striker 2. I’ve gotten past a main stumbling block in the rough draft and I’m moving forward with the next part of the story – what happens after my main character DJ’s first game and what eventually becomes an after party for him.

This is the part of the newsletter where I’m obligated to warn about SPOILERS for both The Yank Striker and The Yank Striker series. If you are allergic to such things, stop reading for a bit.

One of the things about The Yank Striker: A Footballer’s Beginning I somewhat regretted was introducing so many new characters briefly near the end of the book as DJ meets his new teammates at Donford at the first time. However, I still feel I stopped the book at the right time, right after DJ finally makes the choice to go to London and join Donford.

What I am really happy with is the opportunity the second book brings to talk more about Donford FC and it’s players and coaches. There’s Lexx, the Brazilian forward and fellow LGBTQ player, for example. One of the reasons DJ even gets a chance to play for Donford is because the club believes he could serve as support for Lexx, who they see as a potential world soccer superstar. Lexx is definitely unlike any other character in my fiction up to this point, and I’m really excited about exploring him further in this book.

There also many other great characters to talk about, like DJ’s fellow American transplant Gord and a Dutch player who insists on everyone calling him Jojo. There’s so much dramatic and comedic potential in these characters, which will only strengthen DJ’s story. I can’t wait for you to have a proper introduction to them.

All Right, Spoilers Over

Writing Advice for the Week

This week, it’s time to talk about the fourth of George Orwell’s six rules of writing. During the past few weeks, I’ve been reviewing the first couple of rules. Orwell, the author of 1984 and Animal Farm, is a longtime idol for me.

“Politics and the English Language” is one of his best essays, which explores the connection between the deterioration of the language and political thought. He thought politicians were obscuring their true intentions behind vague or meaningless language. It’s worth a read in full.

So, number four on the list is:

Never use the passive when you can use the active.

This is going to require some explanation, but I think you’ll get it by the time I’m done.

Essentially, this is referring to active verb versus passive verb sentences. Passive verb sentences are arranged so they run in this order: object, verb, subject. I’ll use an example I have often used when I am teaching this in front of students:

The body was dragged by Sam and Dean Winchester into the living room.

As you see, the sentence is focused on what is happening to the body, not who is dragging it. Essentially, the object has now taken the subject’s place.

Active verb sentences are arranged so they run in this order: subject, verb, and object. An active verb version of my passive verb sentence example would be:

Sam and Dean Winchester dragged the body into the living room.

Notice how direct and simple the active verb sentence. It also has the advantage of giving the same information in a fewer amount of words.

In most cases, you should use an active verb rather than a passive verb sentence. There are exceptions to this rule, however. In headlines or other areas, your reader interest might be in the actions the subjects of your sentences take rather than the subjects themselves. However, the more active verb sentences you can use, the better.

Writing Quote(s) of the Week

Anthony Trollope seems to get my idea of working small but steady. The big gesture, when it comes to writing, never seems to work with me.

A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.

  • Anthony Trollope

I also think that Ursula K. Le Guin would vibe with Orwell concerning the importance of exact and clear language.

A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight. By using words well they strengthen their souls. Story-tellers and poets spend their lives learning that skill and art of using words well. And their words make the souls of their readers stronger, brighter, deeper.

  • Ursula K. Le Guin

Where I’ll Be and Where You Can Find my Books

After this weekend, there’s only one book event on my calendar. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, I will be at the Elwell Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds as part of the 8th Annual Indie Author Book Expo. If something else comes up, I’ll let you know.

I’ve got links to my books in paperback and ebook format in the sidebar here, but you can get them in person at these fine Iowa bookstores:

  • Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave # S1, Des Moines
  • Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella
  • The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.

All three are great independent bookstores who deserve your support.

Final Thoughts

Sorry this was out slightly later than usual. In this case, I was just a bit caught up in writing something else and the deadline crept up on me.

Take care, everyone.

– 30 –

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.

Subscribe to my Substack here.
Subscribe to my Substack here.
  1. Consider this my Reading Recommendations for the Week. ↩︎

A Week in the Writing Life, 7 October 2023: Fall finally arrives in Iowa

Hi, there.

On The Home Front

Finally, there’s some proper fall weather around southern central Iowa. I attended the homecoming game for my school district and ended up needing not only a coat but knit hat and gloves as well by the end of things. Wearing my full winter parka might have not been a poor decision either. And this weekend is sweatshirt and shorts weather. I’m hoping this past week will be the last time we see 80 degree weather in Iowa for the remainder of 2023.

Not much else is going on for me, but my son Jacob is in the final steps of earning his heating and air conditioning (HVAC) journeyman certification, and my daughter Madeline, currently in her senior year of Chemical Engineering study at University of Iowa, has begun interviewing for jobs for after graduation. I’m looking forward to their further adventures.

What I’ve Been Writing

The situation on the writing front is much the same as it was last week. I have been dabbling with a little fanfiction, but not to the extent I am not working on other items.

In fact, although I haven’t done much of a review of my writing numbers for the past year, I do get the feeling I have been dedicating my writing time more to my fully original projects like The Yank Striker 2 and this page rather than fan fiction. I do think fanfiction, as I have mentioned previously here, is a valid form of artistic expression, but I want to concentrate on getting the sequel done as soon as possible. I am doing well on the writing goals I set for myself this year, but I’ll wait until 2023 is done before talking about totals here.

This may seem counterintuitive, but next year I might consider not even setting a word count goal for the year. In some ways, I want to make sure I’m writing so much and that I’m being productive I worry I’m not dedicating enough time to getting TYS2 project done. Sometimes that doesn’t happen without thought, planning, and pondering, and it is not always a word-intensive process. In considering the situation, it’s very likely I’ll be spending a good portion of 2024, if I am serious about trying for a June 2024 release as I’ve toyed with, in revising mode.

What I’ve Been Writing

The situation on the writing front is much the same as it was last week. I have been dabbling with a little fanfiction, but not to the extent I am not working on other items.

In fact, although I haven’t done much of a review of my writing numbers for the past year, I do get the feeling I have been dedicating my writing time more to my fully original projects like The Yank Striker 2 and this page rather than fan fiction. I do think fanfiction, as I have mentioned previously here, is a valid form of artistic expression, but I want to concentrate on getting the sequel done as soon as possible. I am doing well on the writing goals I set for myself this year, but I’ll wait until 2023 is done before talking about totals here.

This may seem counterintuitive, but next year I might consider not even setting a word count goal for the year. In some ways, I want to make sure I’m writing so much and that I’m being productive I worry I’m not dedicating enough time to getting TYS2 project done. Sometimes that doesn’t happen without thought, planning, and pondering, and it is not always a word-intensive process. In considering the situation, it’s very likely I’ll be spending a good portion of 2024, if I am serious about trying for a June 2024 release as I’ve toyed with, in revising mode.

Writing Quote(s) of the Week

I’ll go with two this week that seem to speak to me.

Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.

Ray Bradbury

So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say.

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

Where I’ll Be and Where You Can Find my Books

Now that we’re deep into fall, we are getting into what I understand to be the last phases of the book fair season before it slows down in winter.

So, here we go:

  • From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, at MERGE, 136 Dubuque St., Iowa City, as part of the Iowa City Book Festival that week, a week-long festival throughout Iowa City from Oct. 8-15. I’ve always been proud of my former school, the University of Iowa, cultivating a worldwide reputation as a supporter of literature, and the community of Iowa City also plays its part.
  • And from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, I will be at the Elwell Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds as part of the 8th Annual Indie Author Book Expo. It will be the first time I’ve spent any time at the Iowa State Fairgrounds after more than 40 years of living in Iowa.

I’ve got links to my books in paperback and ebook format in the sidebar here, but you can get them in person at these fine Iowa bookstores:

  • Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave # S1, Des Moines
  • Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella
  • The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.

All three are great independent bookstores who deserve your support.

Final Thoughts

As time goes on, I’m hoping this newsletter doesn’t become too repetitive. Please feel free to email me or talk to me in the comments about what’s working and what’s not.

Since I have something of a long weekend this weekend, I’m somewhat hopeful I might be able to get started on some new paid subscriber exclusive posts. Right now, I’m leaning toward some possible excerpts from TYS2. We’ll have to see.

Take care, everyone.

– 30 –

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.

Subscribe to my Substack here.
Subscribe to my Substack here.