I knew I said I was going to take a weekend off due to today being my birthday (yea for making it to another one), but I decided to update everyone regarding where I’ll be appearing at some local book events over the next several months. This will likely change and hopefully grow over time as I continue to promote my current works, The Yank Strikerand The Holy Fool, when I’m not at work writing my new projects.
That said, let’s get to the appearances.
Current Schedule for 2024:
I am now confirmed to be at the Ankeny Book Fair at the Ankeny public library from 1-4 p.m. April 20. Several of my writer friends in Iowa have appeared at the event in years past, but this will be my first time appearing here. I’m really looking forward to it.
Pella Books is going to be part of the Pella Tulip Festival, and I’m looking forward to being part of its 4th Local Author/Illustrator Book Tent event. I’ll be at Pella Books, 824 Franklin St., Pella, at the following dates and times:
12-2 p.m., April 27 (Saturday)
6-8 p.m., May 2-3
12-2 p.m., May 4
It will be my second time attending the Authors on the Riverwalk event, which will be from 12-4 p.m. May 25 at the Des Moines Marriot Downtown, 700 Grand Ave., Des Moines. It was a fantastic event last year, and I’m hoping for an even better experience this year.
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.
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 am very interested in appearing at other events and venues between now and Fall 2024. If you know of some events or are organizing one of those events, I would love to hear about them and show up. You can email me at jasonliegois@liegois.media or mention something in the comments.
Also, if you can’t make it out to one of my events, you can get my books at the links on the sidebar of this page or the “My Work” page. If you want to get some copies of my books in person, you can check out the following independent book stores in Iowa:
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 (especially now in eastern Iowa), so feel free to hit me up in the comments if anyone has a suggestion.
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.
What would an American soccer superstar look like? Not just someone who was a good player, but an actual legendary, world-class player, someone on the level of a Lionel Messi, a Diego Maradona, a Pele? Where would he come from? What would he be like as a person? And what would his path to soccer superstardom look like?
Those were the questions I started to ask myself about a decade or so ago, as my obsession with the sport grew (which I’ve documented before on this site here and here, for example). As much as I loved the American players I’ve cheered on as they played for the US Men’s National Team, or representing there clubs here or abroad, we’ve never had a world-class player, someone who could be considered among the top 10 players in the world. The more I considered the situation, the more the storytelling possibilities of the situation intrigued me.
I might have mentioned this previously on the page, but for me, my own creative process is a perpetual stew, constantly simmering in my head. For those unaware, the stew, which is also called a hunter’s pot, hunter’s stew, or forever soup, is a concoction you constantly keep cooking in a pot. Ingredients and liquids keep going in to keep the thing going as you continue to serve people from the pot. That’s my creative process – new items keep coming in, I like a mix, and then I ladle it out to serve, so to speak.
In this manner, then, I started to cook up the idea, the concept of this main character. This process would be something entirely differnt to me in this instance. In the fiction I had written before, both published and unpublished, my main characters had shared more than a little resemblance to myself.
However, I knew this main character would be someone very different from myself. Obviously, even though I am a fan of the game, I only played it as a kid and nowhere near at the semi-professional levels, never mind pro levels. The further I went through the process, the further this character drifted away from who I was and toward something unique. And it excited me. First he became a Texas native because it seemed right for a soccer player to be from somwhere that produced so many good players like the legendary Clint Dempsey. Then it made sense for him to have a connection with the college gridiron through his father. And before I knew it, I had the first ever LGBTQ main character I’d ever written.
I stirred all this up with almost a decade’s worth of research into the world of professional soccer (and more since then), and what resulted was The Yank Striker: A Footballer’s Beginning – what will be the first in The Yank Striker book series. I feel more assured that the title of this book is a bit more straightforward than my debut novel, at least. I think it’s a great start to my first, very unique, series.
The Story
As he prepares to graduate from high school, Texas native Daniel John (DJ) Ryan thinks he has his life plans in order. A star wide receiver for the Liberty Rock Park High School football team, he won the state title with his older brother and quarterback Trey Ryan. It makes sense for him to commit to attending Hamilton State University (HSU) just outside Dallas, where he’ll join Trey and their father, championship-winning coach Junior Ryan, for college football glory and a shot at the NFL, with a pro career which could help support him as he pursues the life of an artist later.
Yet, the gridiron is not the only part of DJ’s life. He also plays the other sport known as football – soccer. A talented striker for his high school and a local semi-pro team, DJ finds an artistic creativity and freedom in the sport he doesn’t have anywhere else. And he will have to set the sport aside if he plays for his father.
There’s also the secret he is keeping from all but a few of his closest family and friends. DJ is pansexual, sexually attracted to people regardless of their genders. He also is romatically attracted to more than one person at a time, and unlike his serial philanderer of a father, he is open and honest with all involved.
As he joins the HSU Copperheads, however, two circumstances threaten these plans. First, a chance encounter at a soccer tournament with a English scout turns into an offer for a tryout with Donford FC, a mid-level Premier League club from the East End of London. And then, the possibility of DJ’s personal secrets being revealed threaten his football dreams.
Will DJ decide to stay close to home and family, as well as the familiarity of the gridiron? Or, will he attempt to follow his creative heart across the Atlantic Ocean and into the unknown world of professional soccer?
If You’re Interested…
…in the sport of soccer, family intrigue, and/or LGBTQ fiction, The Yank Striker is absolutely for you.
Essentially, you can probably find it just by Googling “Jason Liegois The Yank Striker,” but if you want faster links, you can check out either the links on the sidebar of my desktop version of this site, or go to my profile page on Substack and click on the “Links” section. If you’re interested, you can pick up the paperback version for $14.95 or the Kindle version for $4.99.
Or, if you happen to visit a book fair or author’s event in Iowa, western Illinois or maybe even Northeast Missouri, you might see me there and ask me if I’ve got a copy to sell and autograph. I’ll be the relatively big guy with a gray beard and I’ll almost certainly be wearing something in purple. You won’t miss me.
Debut novels are tricky things. While I’ve not asked this question specifically of some of my fellow writers, the general impression I get is most writers consider their debut novels both with pride at their accomplishment and ruefulness at missed opportunities for improvement. And I’m no different.
Looking back at my own novel, I am absolutely amazed that after years of considering and planning for a novel, I finally got a finished book in my hand. Are there things I wished I might have done differently? Sure, but I don’t think it takes away from the book itself. I set out to tell an intriguing story set in a world (journalism) which was such a part of my life for many years, and I believe I ended up with a good read.
Origins
I first started thinking of the story which would eventually become The Holy Fool in the early 2010’s. Back then, I was making a transition away from the field of journalism (with an 18-month or so return to work for my hometown newspaper, The Muscatine Journal), and pondering what I’d experienced. My service as a (primarily print) journalist convinced me of the importance of the profession, especially its role in keeping local communities accurately informed about the important events and issues affecting them.
It also convinced me of the dangers American journalism faced, which was leading to decline which has only accelerated in recent years. There are a wide variety of factors leading to this – short-sighted media companies addicted to unrealistic and unsustainable profit margins, the presence of the Internet and how it disrupted the traditional media delivery model, and politicians who never liked being held accountable for their actions.
I was observing all this as well as the economic and cultural turmoil stemming from the George W. Bush years which extended into the Obama years and beyond. It all dropped into the creative stewpot in my head, simmering, cooking, and transforming.
Into the pot dropped a story I’d read about in one of the books we used when I’d attended the journalism and mass communication program at the University of Iowa in the mid 1990’s. Back in 1993, the New York Post was owned for two weeks by a parking garage tycoon named Abe Hirshfeld. The staff of the Post so despised their new owner they ran an entire issue about how he was unfit to own and operate a newspapers in New York. They got rid of Abe, but Rupert Murdoch ended up buying the paper. 🤷🏻
Just as an insurance salesman named Tom Clancy once transformed an unsuccessful mutiny aboard a Soviet destroyer into a more successful one on a Soviet missile sub for The Hunt for Red October, I decided to see what an even more successful journalistic revolt set in the city of Chicago (which, as a Midwest kid actually born in its outer suburbs, I was more familiar with than New York). I was off to sort out the story.
After several years of work-shopping, advice, and major revisions, I published The Holy Fool through Biblio Publishing in 2019.
The Story
It’s mid-August 2008. Samuel “Sonny” Turner is the Iowa-born star columnist for the Chicago Journal, which has served the Windy City for the past 140 or so years. He’s approached by his mentor, City/Metro desk editor Arthur “Gus” Pulaski, with a confidential task: investigate John Michael Edson, the CEO of Journal owner Edson Media, to find out if the paper is in danger of being sold and perhaps even closed for good.
Over the course of five weeks, against the backdrop of the Obama-McCain presidential races and the beginnings of the Great Recession, Turner, Pulaski, and a handful of trusted colleagues investigate their own owner and his plans. Once they realize their journalistic home and their livelihoods are at risk, Turner, Pulaski, and the others prepare to take drastic action in a last ditch effort to keep the Journal’s presses running.
At the same time, Turner has in his possession a mountain of classified and top secret information about the conduct of the wars now raging in Iraq in Afghanistan. He wants to report on the information, but even Pulaski is hesitant about the ethics and feasibility of doing so. With pressure coming from his own bosses and the federal government, Turner starts to consider whether a new approach to journalism might be what’s needed.
The Holy Fool is a reference to a a Russian archtype of someone who seems foolish but is actually intelligent, and the court jesters who were able to tell the truth to kings without losing their heads1.
If You’re Interested…
…in thrillers with a journalistic slant, with a dash of a heist story and political intrigue, The Holy Fool is absolutely for you.
Essentially, you can probably find it just by Googling “Jason Liegois The Holy Fool,” but if you want faster links, you can check out either the links on the sidebar of my desktop version of this site, or go to my profile page on Substack and click on the “Links” section. If you’re interested, you can pick up the paperback version for $14.95 or the Kindle version for $4.99.
Or, if you happen to visit a book fair or author’s event in Iowa, western Illinois or maybe even Northeast Missouri, you might see me there and ask me if I’ve got a copy to sell and autograph. I’ll be the relatively big guy with a gray beard and I’ll almost certainly be wearing something in purple. You won’t miss me.
Next Sunday, I’ll reintroduce my second novel to all of you – The Yank Striker.
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.
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.
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.
Well, this might be a bit of a rush to get out my newsletter, but I have been very busy during the past week. And there has been plenty of new ideas popping into my head over the past couple of weeks.
[EDIT: And of course this takes a lot longer than I expected, so it’s coming out in the afternoon rather than right at noon. Not that this is a hard deadline, but I would like to have a consistent posting schedule. I will say I’ve been much better about consistently posting than I have been for years past.]
Home Front Stuff
There’s not too much to report on here. I’ve been basically chilling out at home most of the week and enjoying some much needed rain. Laura and I had a nice quiet Fourth of July at home, and I joined her in one of her favorite traditions – watching the Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, D.C. It was a good time for us.
I will say today we have the windows open in our house for the first time in several weeks. It finally got cool enough and a good enough breeze to make that tolerable, which is a rare occasion in Iowa during the summer months. We’ll likely have to close up the house by tomorrow, but I’ll enjoy things while I can.
All kidding aside, I’ve also been doing a bit of creating as well. “Wait, isn’t any sort of writing creative?” Yes, this is true, but I’ve been creating some new stuff.
First, let’s get onto the (slightly) older stuff. The rough draft of The Yank Striker 2 remains under construction, and some of the workers were on the job site this week. On this subject, I have to say undertaking a side quest has had some benefits toward the project moving forward. A few weeks ago, I went slightly insane and decided to write a whole history of the English soccer club at the heart of The Yank Striker series.
It turned out all right as a piece of writing, but the short story (for lack of a better word) wound up being a valuable resource for putting together the new book. As I mentioned earlier, I now have a fuller understanding of the setting of my series even after writing a book set in that world. It made me aware of characters and situations I was not even aware of, and they added so much texture to the story. I’ve been busy this last week on adding new scenes or revising old scenes using some of the information and characters I discovered throughout creating the history. It’s been exciting.
I still have an idea for a fantasy series I’ve been toying with for at least the past couple of years, and it’s still something I want to do. However, over the weekend I was back around my hometown in Muscatine where I did a couple of quick appearances, including one at the book fair at the David R. Collins Writers’ Conference.
It involves not exactly a sport, but something that could be considered an art form and a storytelling medium, involving physical activity and movement. That art form? Professional wrestling.
I want to discuss how this series came about in a separate post, but what I will say is the idea for this story, a multi-generational tale set in the world of professional wrestling, has grown faster than the xenomorphs in the Alien series, it appears. I’m already hearing full conversations in my head, ideas of greater themes and surprising connections to writing. And there’s an actual Iowa component to this series, which is a bit amazing considering I’m writing it2.
I had to chuckle a bit as I continued to consider this subject matter. I started paying attention to wrestling as a fan in the mid-1980’s, just as the WWE hosted its first Wrestlemania shows and the NWA was still active in some of the (slowly dying) territories. My parents were by no means fans of my fandom, and I remember several conversations with my father about the whole silliness of the situation and my obsession tough men and their psychodramas. I was pleasantly surprised when my father did not immediately discount my idea, but you need to realize this is a man willing to drive halfway across Iowa to meet with me at a book fair and have lunch one day, so I’ve always considered him to be a very supportive parent.
I’m not sure they will read this new series, but then again, my mother, bless her, is nervous about reading my fiction because she doesn’t want to be critical of it. On the other hand, my daughter Madeline is fearful of few things and certainly not of taking the piss out of her pops, so she might read some of it. My son Jacob, who also follows wrestling off and on, might give it a look, as well.
Don’t worry, there will be more on this soon.
What I’ve Been Doing Having to do With Writing
I’ve got two events coming up, so I’ll just mention them quickly.
Tomorrow, the Highland Park Historic Business District in Des Moines is hosting the Northside Market from 12-6 p.m. There’s going to be a whole bunch of great local vendors out there and Sixth Street from Euclid to Douglas will be shut down for the event. I’ll be there at the Slowdown Coffee Co., 3613 Sixth Ave., Des Moines, with my books, including The Yank Striker. We can talk writing, soccer, or just about anything, to be honest. I’ll be there for most of the afternoon.
On the last week of this month, I’m truly honored to have my first “Meet the Author” event at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 26, at Beaverdale Books (which happens to be celebrating its 17th anniversary today). Beaverdale is also one of three Iowa bookstores where you can find The Yank Striker in stock. I’m really excited for the event and to talk about this book and the series.
If there is any chance you can come out here and join me at this event, I would absolutely appreciate it. Anyone who wants a copy of my books will be able to get them, autographed, at $10 each – about a 30 percent discount.
Also, that same day, it appears I’ll be having my first ever radio interview with John Busbee and his show The Culture Buzz on KMFG 98.9. If all goes according to plan, the interview should air the day of the event during his regular slot (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.). I’m truly looking forward to it.
What I’ve Been Reading/General Recommendations
I’ve been finding a lot of good articles on Substack Notes and “restacking” them, so to speak, so keep checking out my feed for some cool reads.
What I’ll briefly mention here is this great article by Write More with Simon K Jones covering different classifications of serialized fiction in the Western World from approximately the 19th century onward. It’s a great read. Made me think about which of these formats best meets my interests at the moment.
Writing Quote of the Week
This was actually one of the better analogies I’ve ever heard on the subject.
A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.
Lorrie Moore
Final Thoughts
Okay, that’s it for now3. Hey, if you’re interested in purchasing any of my books, all you need to do is click on the links on the sidebar, or you’ll also find those links on my bio page as well. See you here next week.
– 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.
This was the idea in last week’s newsletter I promised I would have a separate story on this idea. I still want to do one, but this might have to wait for a bit. I might be able to put something together later today or on Sunday, but as of right now, it is a work in progress, as is the idea for the series in question.
I am probably one of the most hopeless Iowa writers out there because Iowa has not been a major setting in my books up to this point. My first book, The Holy Fool, was based almost entirely in Chicago. The only connection to Iowa was as the birthplace of my main character, Samuel “Sonny” Turner. The Yank Striker has no Iowa connection whatsoever. A good amount of the poetry I’ve written in recent years has been based in Iowa, especially along the Mississippi River.
I figured out how to do linkable footnotes in WordPress this week! Very cool.
[PHOTO NOTE: Back in my hometown of Muscatine, Iowa, looking at the Mississippi River. :)]
Man, I’ve been keeping busy this week – and I’ve been out of town for a bit as well. So, this newsletter might be pretty short when I get done with it.
However, there was a lot happening this week, and some of it actually has to do with writing. Let’s talk about it.
Home Front Stuff
As you can see, my wife Laura already has the house all decorated for the Fourth of July. We’ll be just hanging out in town for when the Tuesday itself happens, with no plans at the moment to travel.
I did decide to make it out to a soccer match, however. When I was just scrolling around online, I noticed there were still tickets available for the US Men’s National Team’s CONCACAF[1] Gold Cup Wednesday night match against St. Kitts & Nevis, to my shock. A visit to Seatgeek and Priceline later, I was headed for a five-hour one way trip to St. Louis to watch the USMNT in action. Although this was my second USMNT live match, it was the first one in a competitive match.
Citypark is right in downtown St. Louis and is definitely one of the nicest and well-designed stadiums I’ve visited yet. The boys managed a 6-0 victory, Jesus Ferreira got a hat trick and became the fastest American man to score double digits for the US, and my old Chicago Fire keeper Sean Johnson captained the team for the first time ever and got his seventh clean sheet for his country. It was a long drive up and down, but a fantastic two days.
What I’ve Been Writing
I ended up getting the first chapter of a new fan fiction piece done this week. I’ve talked about my relationship with fan fiction previously, but I’ve enjoyed my time just writing for the sake of writing, especially the little world I’ve build over the course of a couple years. It can also be an excellent way of breaking a writing block, since I don’t feel as much pressure to be as perfectionist with the material than “serious” writing.
I have a feeling this year fan fiction makes up a far smaller percentage of my total overall production than it has in the past couple years. I believe I have been putting out much more material for my blogs and on my original fiction than at any point during that time. Since I have made notes regarding what I wrote at various times, I could possibly work out those percentages if I really wanted to, but I’m not sure it would be an efficient use of my time.
I can’t say I spend time on the second book of The Yank Striker series, but I do have something that came up. An idea for a brand new series I’m formulating as we speak. I’ll do a separate post on the idea this weekend (this coming Saturday). I hope it will be an intriguing surprise.
It was great to see my family at Chocolaterie Stam in Des Moines, and thanks to especially to Terri Key, who is a fellow member of the Iowa Writers’ Corner, for helping set everything up.
The IWC’s president, Maggie Rivers, also stopped by to say hi and managed to win the gift basket.
There’s going to be some more events later this month. I’ll post on my Substack Notes feed a full update on events later today at least. I’ll also post announcements on my Instagram and Facebook pages. If you can make it, I’d love to see you there.
What I’ve Been Reading/General Recommendations
As with last week, I’m going to do one recommendation here and put some of the rest of the stories I’ve read on my Substack Notes.
As what I would call an educated amateur on the subject of the Substack platform, I always like to read the articles on how to better use the platform. This article is about how you can celebrate milestones in a way that can get readers’ attention.
Writing Quote of the Week
Carl Sagan here gets real about where books can take you.
What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.
Carl Sagan, Cosmos
Final Thoughts
That’s it for this week. I might have what I was hinting at in this week’s newsletter ready for next weekend, or not. But I’ll try. Take care, everyone.
– 30 –
Footnotes:
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, the regional governing body of football.
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.
[PHOTO NOTE: Back in my hometown of Muscatine, Iowa, looking at the Mississippi River. :)]
I had a pretty busy week this week when I got a lot of writing done, and paid subscribers are going to be able to take a look at what I wrote.
We’ll talk about that and a little more, although not too much more. I’m on the road this weekend.
Home Front Stuff
My wife Laura and I are going to return back to our hometown of Muscatine, Iowa this weekend. She plans to attend her high school reunion and meet some family and friends she hasn’t seen in a while. I’m looking forward to seeing some of them because we went to school together and I was only two classes ahead of my wife.
As for me, I’m planning to meet with my parents once again for the weekend and do some writing tour stuff (I’ll talk about that very briefly down below). Hoping to have a good time.
The CONCACAF[1] Gold Cup is kicking off this weekend. I might need some headphones for my cellphone to listen to the radio call if nothing else. Then again, what would you expect from someone who’s decided to write a whole series about the sport (The Yank Striker).
Swimming’s been working out for me this summer, so I might check in and see what it would cost to have a membership at a pool near my work this fall. I sure as heck have more fun than going to a gym.
What I’ve Been Writing
Everyone, I think I can now clearly understand how a writer can do something like get caught up in a writing side project that takes up all of their attention, like George R.R. Martin deciding to write something like Fire and Blood but everyone’s wailing for (or despairing of receiving) the next book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series (The Winds of Winter). I have undergone something similar this week.
I promised everyone last week I would put out a paid subscriber exclusive short fiction piece (call it historical fiction) tied to my series The Yank Striker. In the first book, the title character, DJ Ryan, is tempted from playing for his college football coach father by a tryout offer from Donford FC, a Premier League soccer club in the East End of London. This is a wholly fictional club, created for this series.
Six days, multiple hours of research, and more than 7,000 words later, the short story I promised readers is finished and will be posted at midday this coming Sunday (tomorrow). In addition to be (hopefully) a good and interesting read, I think it gave me far more insight and knowledge of the world I want to write about, and it will be a good resource for me as the series continues. I hope you give it a look.
What I’ve Been Doing Having to do With Writing
The Author’s on the Riverwalk event I went to last weekend was a fantastic experience. I got to meet a lot of great authors, and it was a fine experience on the Des Moines riverfront. I always learn something new at these events, and I’m keen on making it back there next year. Did you know Canva can make business cards, display signs, and other items you design on Canva for your use? Pretty cool.
I have at least two events this weekend and the official book launch of The Yank Striker next weekend in Des Moines, but I’m not going to hash over those here. I’ll post on my Substack Notes feed a full update on events this weekend and the following two weekends. I’ll also post announcements on my Instagram and Facebook pages. If you can make it, I’d love to see you there.
By the way, my hometown newspaper (and former employer) the Muscatine Journal did a very cool article about my new book and doing an appearance in Muscatine tomorrow. You can check it out here.
What I’ve Been Reading/General Recommendations
I’m going to do one recommendation here and put some of the rest of the stories I’ve read on my Substack Notes. Trust me, you’ll find some good recommendations there.
One I will recommend here is this little article by Andy Kopsa of Noheartland regarding the governor of Iowa. What I will say here is Boss Tweed was right back in the Gilded Age of the late 19th century – to broadly paraphrase him, it’s the images that get people’s attention, and Andy does it amazingly here.
Writing Quote of the Week
I have a feeling this is going to be me during the last part of my life. Honestly, I always was faster and more productive on a deadline.
If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.
Isaac Asimov
Final Thoughts
That’s it for this week. Keep an eye open for the paid-exclusive content I mentioned for Sunday while I’m on the road back to my home stomping grounds of eastern Iowa. Take care, everyone.
– 30 –
Footnotes:
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, the regional governing body of football.
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.
Liegois Media 