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Hey guys! I'm happy to share my book with y'all! This week, "Travels with Charlie: A Modern Search for America" is a free download on Kindle. Rush over and get your copy and please be so kind as to review here and on Amazon. I really believe in this book and hope to get it into as many hands as possible!

Howdy all!

I'm kickstarting my new book project, a horror series for kids! The California Dreadfuls will be an initial set of four books, bringing together California history and folklore with tension and horror that kids love!

I've been reading through some Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ reviews of YA books. Most of these reviews written by teen, most of them surrounding the theme of who should be cast in the movie version.

And I would like to say,

The point of a book is not to be made into a movie.

I feel mildly better having said that to you.

As you've probably gathered by now, the Pulitzer Prize announcements have been made and for the first time in over 30 years, there was no Pulitzer Prize in the Fiction category. What's wrong with them? Were there not enough novels published last year to garnish their attentions? I think that it's a dramatic undervaluing of the genre as a whole.

The statement that seems to have been made by this move is that Fiction isn't as worthy of our attentions as non-fiction or journalism. This is a notion that has existed for centuries: that if something actually happened, it's more important than if something didn't actually happen. When Defoe published Moll Flanders in 1721, it was said to have been an actual account of a living person. The same was said--amazingly--of Gulliver's Travels. Again, the idea being that the drama and relevance was all the more palpable to a reader if the story was "true."

We see this today in movies. The tagline "Based on a True Story" is only slightly less annoying than "Inspired by a True Story" in Moviedom. What great fictional work isn't inspired by Truth?

We seem to be obsessed with the idea that even songs are autobiographical. We want to know "who" this love song is about or what event inspired that song. As if musicians must live a life and translate it for us and not simply tell stories.

Fiction can often put Truth in a more dramatic, palpable, and inspiring light than can non-fiction. Fiction has the advantage of never having to tell a lie. No matter how imaginative or absurd a story is, if it touches you and moves you, it was Truth doing so.

But, evidently, fiction is below the honor and dignity of the Pulitzer committee--at least this year. I think that we fiction readers and writers have every right to feel a little put-off.

Sight, a YA paranormal thriller, is now available for order from Amazon.com! I am immense proud of this book and I have high hopes for my relationship with Brave New Genre. I have been impressed by their quality publications in the past and am thrilled to be associated with this very excited company. I invite any and all of you out there to give my book a read!

At this point, Sight is not available in Kindle format, but must be bought the old-fashion way: by ordering it and having it come in a box with a smiley face on it.

Just read what other authors have to say!

"When Derek first walks into the shop where Tydomin White works, he steps into a chain of events that will challenge and change both their lives. Tydomin already knows him, though they have never met. She has very special powers - and soon she will have to chose between her power, and her freedom. Sol Smith’s novel, Sight, is an extraordinary novel of the paranormal, about the distance that sometimes exists between us, and how courage and love can close that gap. Sol has written a convincing, fast-paced young adult novel of the paranormal. A great read, a real page-turner!"

Jeanne Mackin, Author of The Sweet By and By

"Sol Smith is a wonderful writer, whose blend of modern pagan realism and fantasical lore makes for a haunting and character driven tale. The imagery he creates stays with you long after the book has ended."

Brandi Auset, author of The Goddess Guide

I just got word yesterday that a story of mine, "The Burrito," is going to be published in my favorite literary magazine, Prick of the Spindle. This is awesome and great. The story, technically, is written by my alter-ego, Will Stronghold. It is from the book, "Travels With Charlie" for which I am currently seeking representation. I, of course, am hoping that this publication will help my chances of representation and getting the whole book out.

You can read more writing by Will.Stronghold by heading to

Totally.unrelated, this is my first ever blog post written on a phone. It kind of sucks.

Howdy folks. I'm just getting started with my author status here at Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. I hope to keep somewhat of a writing blog here, which is something I've meant to do for quite a while. We'll start simply enough, detailing a few writing projects I have going on.

First of all, my second novel, "Sight" will be coming to press within the next couple months through Brave New Genre, Inc. It's a companion novel to "The Traveler" though either one can be read with or without the other.

Speaking of "The Traveler," I'm working on turning it into a movie script. There's a small operation in Austin that is working on their first picture and has sort-of expressed interest in my book. I'm working to adapt it to central Texas.

The most recent issue of Fictional Publications () has two stories about fitting in with society. One of them is my first graphic story. I'm about the worst artist in the world, but it felt like the only way to tell this one (without it being a musical, as it was intended).

Recently, I finished my first piece of serious academic writing. It's rather lame. "The Effects of Writing for Social Change on Student Engagement in College Composition" will be available to read on the exciting ERIC database soon.

I'm continuing to work on my first nonfiction novel through my alter-ego William Stronghold. You can read some of his rantings at .

Naturally, there are about a million half-formed ideas that I've had no time to address lately.