Guest Blogger: Author Lee Thompson

It is with tremendous pleasure I present to you the first-ever guest blogger here at Bookhound's Den: author Lee Thompson. Lee started selling his work last year and recently his novelette, As I Embrace My Jagged Edges, was published as an e-book and should be available as a deluxe hardcover in February. I recently reviewed this startlingly powerful work and wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who wants to read a well-told story. Make sure you watch out for Lee's work in the future because I expect a lot of good things from him.

And now, here's Lee:

Big thanks to Neal for allowing me to spray dribble on his blog. I’ll try to avoid being tedious.
I’m happier than I can express that readers are enjoying the hell out of AS I EMBRACE MY JAGGED EDGES. (http://sideshowpressonline.com/?page_id=4&category=7&product_id=26)

That story has been through a number of frustrating drafts. When I’d first written it, the timing wasn’t right. I wasn’t right, or ready. I’m a firm believer that authors can try to tell stories too soon and the consequences are cruel. It’s hard not to rush, hell, with anything. We want people to read our latest work Right Now.

Finding others who love a well-crafted tale always thrills me—whether they’re in it solely for entertainment/as an escape from the sad monotony of everyday life, or if they want fiction to enlighten them and make them think, or both. When something moves us and our brains taste some small amount of magic, we end up wanting to share it with others in hope that they’ll experience that feeling as well. It’s a wonderful thing to see—one of my favorite parts of human nature and an example of really connecting with others.

I think I write weird. I’m definitely NOT big on being linear, or easy to understand. But looking at the WHY, I see it. I’ve been walking into writing from a different direction; a realization I’ve had recently and one I’ve come to appreciate.

Life Experience bleeds into The Work. A hell of a lot of it. Over the past year, as I’ve started finding my voice, I see how many things that are separate from writing, which came long before it for me, influence how I approach stories.

I’ve played guitar for a number of years (classical, blues, rock, rockabilly, folk, progressive) and when I sit down to create a story my brain automatically jumps to rhythm, harmony, phrasing, hooks, structure, and progressions. It’s been a revelation. And with martial arts (Jeet Kune Do) I embrace Bruce Lee’s philosophy to take from everything: the boxing arts, the kicking arts, the grappling arts, to be better-rounded and one step ahead of the opponent; to use rudiments until they’re second nature, to parry and attack simultaneously, to condition, feint, stop-hit, misdirect, use combinations, and sidestep.

This is how I write. I take from what I know, what I’ve been passionate about, and find ways to use the ideas in composing something new. On the surface I really have no idea what I’m doing when I approach a story. A lot of it is pure subconscious and training in music and martial arts that has wired my brain a certain way. What a revelation.

I imagine a lot of ‘creative types’ will read this. Find out what influences you, and your creations—what came long before the latest project. Hell, before the first project.

Even if you’re not creative, you can look back over your life, and learn what you’re good at.

Once you’re aware of them, use those strengths.


Blog: http://alongthispathsodarkly.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lee-Thompsons-Scary-and-Slightly-Sad-Stories/113352152049331

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/LeeThompson

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Please leave a comment by 12:00 p.m. January 20th to be entered for a chance to win an e-book copy of Lee's As I Embrace My Jagged Edges. I'll draw one lucky winner from those who leave a comment. Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you.