Hi,
I'm Rory. Thanks for stopping by my humble little blog site. I
thought about going bigger with fancy designs and all that – and I
may get there – but for now, small is good.
Some
of you might be here because you've read my weekly column in the
Mountain View Telegraph, of which I'm the editor. The column, and the
newspaper has won numerous state and national newspaper awards under
my watch. Sorry about bragging, but I'm pretty proud of my
accomplishments – I'm good at what I do and I enjoy it. Here's the
situation, though. I've accomplished much of what I've wanted to in
my chosen profession. I never wanted to be writing stories or running
a newsroom at the New York Times, but ever since I can remember, all
I wanted to be is a writer. I found a good vocation as a newspaper
editor, but the dream was always to be able to make a living as a
writer. and I make a living as a writer. Living the dream, man. Living.
The. Dream.
Of
course, when I was young, it seems to me like the dream was to write
books that were on top of the bestseller charts and that I'd become
so famous that I'd get to sit on the couch next to Johnny. I learned
too late that these things don't come easy, especially to a guy who
talked more about his aspirations than did anything about it. I used
to regret the time and money I wasted when I was in my 20s, living
aimlessly from experience to experience with no goals and no
ambitions. Then I came to realize that it wasn't a waste, it was
living and learning. Much of my attitude toward life were created
during those times.
But
then, I turned 28. I'm not sure why this pre-midlife crisis decided
on 28, but that's when I had an epiphany about how I was wasting my
life. I lied, it wasn't an epiphany at all; although I have a total BS story
I've made up to explain the changes I made in my life. The truth is
long and boring and there was never an “a-ha!” moment that made
me realize I needed to quit my well-paying job, go back to school, go
into heavy debt and make the transition from heating and air
conditioning guy to influential journalist. It was a gradual
realization that occurred over several years.
I stumbled upon journalism and fell in love with it. I like journalism because it is blue-collar literature and my background is very blue collar.
Still
with me? If you are, let me just pause here to say, thanks for
continuing. For those of you who are getting impatient wondering when
I'm going to get to my point, don't worry, it's coming up soon.
If you don't learn
a trick or two about writing after more than 17 years as a journalist, then you
probably weren't ever meant to be a writer. My attitude toward
writing is that I get to tell stories. During the daytime, I write
about things that happened or are going to happen. I get to write a
column, which is quite different than you might think you'd get in a
small town newspaper. We have a strong agriculture community in our
area and I write columns that impart how much I respect what farmers
do with a couple paragraphs about how farm equipment might be good to
own in case of the zombie apocalypse.
I
write about the universal aspects of my life to illustrate humanity's
confrontation with the modern world and how we try to figure our way through
it without losing our sanity. I don't write to offend, but that
doesn't some people are mad about what I publish.
That's
not all I write, though. Early in the morning and late at night, I'm
either scribbling in a notebook or sitting at the laptop writing
stories that spring from my imagination. I've written two books and a
couple of short stories. What's most disappointing is the things I've
left unfinished – I've got a butt-load of ideas. In the past, I
always had an excuse for my poor work production – I was just
goofing around. I've never really tried to sell anything, maybe a
couple of half-hearted attempts and the same number of rejections. I
never found that rejections inspired me to keep working, they
depressed me and made me want to give up writing. I also had a
career, a wife and then kids. All of that takes a part of my day.
Sometimes watching the “Big Bang Theory” is funner than working.
Now
that's changed. I'm not concerned with bestsellers or “paying my
dues” to build a literary career. I want to write stories and throw
them out there in the world. If I can make a few bucks, that would be
even cooler. So, on the 20th anniversary of my pre-midlife crisis,
I've decided to get all that stuff done and get it out there.
This
page will feature some stuff like this your reading, some videos,
some samples and maybe a few pitches to buy some of my stuff. The
first book I wrote, “Blind Man's Bluff” has been on Amazon for a
couple of years, and has recently had an update and relaunch. After 90 days, it will be available on other platforms.
In
August, I'll release either my next book, “Time in the World,” or
a thin volume of short stories. Most people would call what I write
science fiction, but people who read hard science fiction would laugh
at that. I prefer Harlan Ellison's term, speculative fiction, which
Rod Serling ably described as “extraordinary things happening to
ordinary people.” I'll get into this more in future postings.
I
hope to have a third novel ready before Christmas – that's my goal
anyway – and I'll be working on some copyright stuff in an effort
to offer a collection of my columns.
So,
for those of you who dropped by, thank you once again and please come
back. I will be starting daily postings on March 1.
