Give Thanks...A Favor Asked

 Recently, a friend and fellow author reached out and asked me for a favor. He asked if I'd help with an upcoming literary project--something I've done for my own stories, but never for anyone else. I said yes. It's an honor to be asked.

Because the upcoming project is a continuation of his well-established series, one thing Ben wanted to do is provide me a copy of the previous five novels he's written...

Five novels.

It's an entire world.

I snapped a picture of me holding the entire series and I though how amazing it was that this world included in the pages came from the hard work of my friend. Each volume forwards the adventures of Billy Blacksmith, a gifted child who is called upon to battle evil. I'm almost halfway through the first novel and it's wonderful.

I know what it's like to need help when it comes to literary projects. I've been sitting on two novels for a while, and by "sitting," I mean, they've remained stored digitally inside my computer. I don't know why, but I've have not been able to work on them. Maybe it's because I think they might not be very good and no one would wan to read them. It's so much easier to find faults than it is to see the good. This month, I've dug one story out of the digital mothballs and started to edit it. It's such a long, but needed process.

I'm grateful to be asked the favor and the Ben's kindness to send me all his books--hardcopies at that. He did not need to do that. I could have downloaded the Kindle editions easily enough. I'm grateful someone feels my work is good enough to ask for help. It gives me confidence...much needed confidence.

The project won't be ready for a few months, so I've got a lot of reading to do. So far, I'm loving the story so for me it's a win-win. I'm excited to see how thing whole thing works out.

Ben Ireland...An Author You Should Get To Know

"Plus he's British. And not just regular British--space British. 

Which is like three times sexier than earth British."

Ben Ireland

I heard about Ben some time before I met him (oh, and he's Australian, not British...). He and I both published stories with Xchyler Publishing. They chose several of my short stories as well as short stories and a couple of novels from Ben. I always admired the novelists--back then I hadn't written a novel and wondered if I ever would. It's like being a mountain climber, having reached several lower summits, but seeing a Denali, Kilimanjaro, or Everest and wanting so much to climb them, but being terrified to do so at the same time.

If climbing is writing, then Ben's not only climbed the big mountains, but reached the top.

What make's Ben's writing even more impressive is he's two series, one middle-grade and the other, for an older reader. One exciting thing about the Blacksmith Legacy series is it's soon to have another edition. Billy Blacksmith: The Irønsøul is due out later this summer. I'm hoping to get all three books for my son who is just beginning to understand the importance and awesomeness of reading. And I think Ben's books are an excellent way for him to continue on that literary journey.

You can access Ben's Amazon page: HERE. You can also catch him at this year's Fyrecon writing symposium going on this weekend in Layton, Utah. You can access Fyrecon's website: HERE. I attended a class Ben taught last year--definitely engaging, definitely helpful. And--this is really cool--you can get artwork from Ben's books at his Teepublic site: HERE. You can get the images put on shirts, mugs, wall art, even computer covers. Check it out--there's some great stuff there!

One of the most amazing things I've discovered by attending these conventions and writing stories is getting to know local authors--getting to know them both as individuals and as authors. If you get a chance to pick up one of his novels or short stories, I recommend you do it. I'd love to hear what you think. Plus, if you get a chance to meet the author/mountain climber, I recommend you do that, too. Support your local artists--the world's a better place when you do.