Zachary Rawlins's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-academy"
Introduction and How I Got Here
Hello! Apologies for the late introduction - between my day job, and the writing thing, I haven't had much time to do anything else. I have the next two books slated for publication written already, though, so all I have to do is editing, and have a little more free time.
A bit about me as a writer - I've been writing since I won a creative writing contest in the fifth grade, for an apocalyptic fantasy story that I wrote. Unfortunately, since all the good guys died horribly and the bad guys won, I ended up having to talk to the school shrink a bit, too. Hints of things to come, I suppose.
I studied Lit and Creative Writing at UCSC, where I primarily wrote very technical, grim, violent poetry. While it got a fair amount of respect and attention, it wasn't the kind of stuff that most people like to read, and frankly, I didn't enjoy writing it that much. I got positive responses to my poetry, so I just stuck with it, and the more good feedback I got, the more I felt compelled to produce it.
The funny thing is, I've never been much of a reader of poetry. I read a mix of science-fiction, non-fiction, noir detective/crime, communist-era Russian lit, South American magical realism, William Burroughs, and comic books/manga. I would be the only kid in advanced composition class reading Zelazny, Gibson and Lia Block.
Fast forward another eight years, and after reading a very unsatisfying paperback, I wondered why I didn't just write a book that was like the books I enjoyed reading. The idea captivated me, and I started to spend hours everyday writing. My first two novels failed, part of the process of figuring out how to write one. My third, The Academy, languished on various publishers desks for a year or so, always getting good responses, but never actually moving to print. In the meantime, I wrote a couple more books, waiting around for a publishers phone call.
Eventually, I decided that I was tired of waiting, and that an e-book was the way to go. Thus, you have The Academy, and my forthcoming projects, which I sincerely hope you enjoy.
If you ever wish to, for whatever reason, I can be reached at [email protected]. Thanks!
A bit about me as a writer - I've been writing since I won a creative writing contest in the fifth grade, for an apocalyptic fantasy story that I wrote. Unfortunately, since all the good guys died horribly and the bad guys won, I ended up having to talk to the school shrink a bit, too. Hints of things to come, I suppose.
I studied Lit and Creative Writing at UCSC, where I primarily wrote very technical, grim, violent poetry. While it got a fair amount of respect and attention, it wasn't the kind of stuff that most people like to read, and frankly, I didn't enjoy writing it that much. I got positive responses to my poetry, so I just stuck with it, and the more good feedback I got, the more I felt compelled to produce it.
The funny thing is, I've never been much of a reader of poetry. I read a mix of science-fiction, non-fiction, noir detective/crime, communist-era Russian lit, South American magical realism, William Burroughs, and comic books/manga. I would be the only kid in advanced composition class reading Zelazny, Gibson and Lia Block.
Fast forward another eight years, and after reading a very unsatisfying paperback, I wondered why I didn't just write a book that was like the books I enjoyed reading. The idea captivated me, and I started to spend hours everyday writing. My first two novels failed, part of the process of figuring out how to write one. My third, The Academy, languished on various publishers desks for a year or so, always getting good responses, but never actually moving to print. In the meantime, I wrote a couple more books, waiting around for a publishers phone call.
Eventually, I decided that I was tired of waiting, and that an e-book was the way to go. Thus, you have The Academy, and my forthcoming projects, which I sincerely hope you enjoy.
If you ever wish to, for whatever reason, I can be reached at [email protected]. Thanks!
The Noctural Library
I had the opportunity to write a guest post for the Urban Fantasy/YA oriented literature blog, The Nocturnal Library. I choose to share the story of how and why I became a self-published author. You can check it out here:
I'm a regular reader of the site myself, and have discovered (and been forewarned to avoid) several interesting books there, and both the people who run the blog and the readers are both nice and passionate bibliophiles of the best kind. I recommend paying The Nocturnal Library a visit. Cheers!
I'm a regular reader of the site myself, and have discovered (and been forewarned to avoid) several interesting books there, and both the people who run the blog and the readers are both nice and passionate bibliophiles of the best kind. I recommend paying The Nocturnal Library a visit. Cheers!
The Academy - Second Edition
Hello! Sorry I haven't updated in a while - I tore my rotator cuff, and had to limit my keyboard time for several months. While I am still recovering, I'm back to writing every day.
I wasn't idle during my injury downtime, however. I rewrote my first novel, The Academy, improving voice, dialog and flow, and then paid for a professional edit and proofing. The results are currently available - if you haven't bought it yet due to complaints about typos, then I urge you to give it another shot - that problem is fixed! If you already purchased it (thank you!), then all you need to do is download the new version - or if you have enabled automatic updates on your Kindle, then it should have updated automatically.
I have similarly rewritten The Anathema, and the new text is off with the editor being proofed at the moment. I would expect that to become available as well in the coming weeks.
Enjoy!
I wasn't idle during my injury downtime, however. I rewrote my first novel, The Academy, improving voice, dialog and flow, and then paid for a professional edit and proofing. The results are currently available - if you haven't bought it yet due to complaints about typos, then I urge you to give it another shot - that problem is fixed! If you already purchased it (thank you!), then all you need to do is download the new version - or if you have enabled automatic updates on your Kindle, then it should have updated automatically.
I have similarly rewritten The Anathema, and the new text is off with the editor being proofed at the moment. I would expect that to become available as well in the coming weeks.
Enjoy!
Sale Weekend
Starting today, and running through Sunday, all of my books are on sale at Amazon.
The first two Central Series novels, The Academy and The Anathema are both free!
My light novels, The Night Market and Paranoid Magical Thinking are both only 99 cents.
Please take advantage while they are free/cheap. Cheers!
The first two Central Series novels, The Academy and The Anathema are both free!
My light novels, The Night Market and Paranoid Magical Thinking are both only 99 cents.
Please take advantage while they are free/cheap. Cheers!
