1. I’m a writer of speculative fiction, nonfiction, poetry and a book reviewer. I primarily write science fiction and fantasy, poetry and review military history books. I sell a high percentage of my nonfiction. My bibliography is listed here.
2. I live with my wife in the Dallas – Fort Worth Area, but I’ve also lived in other places. I grew up a cold war era military brat. I did my bachelor and master’s degrees in Texas and my doctorate in California. Growing up I lived in Texas, Ohio, Texas, South Carolina, Illinois, South Carolina, Arizona, Texas, New Hampshire, and Texas. I have worked in Texas, Kansas, Georgia, Washington State, California, Idaho, and Louisiana.
3. A partial list of my hobbies: reading, computers, history, walking/hiking, guitar, customer care and caring for my wife and aging-parents. I have a strong commitment to lifelong learning.
4. I know a secret about the Texans. As a fifth generation Texan and member of Texas First Families I know a lot about Texans. Texans think they are smarter than you, know more than you, and come from the best place on earth. Texans are born with a bad infection of Hubris – self-confidence is abundant. Garrison Keillor adequately explained a Texan’s view of gun control. They view control as holding the weapon steady as they squeeze off the next round.
5. Yes, Jimmie A. Kepler is my real name. It is Jimmie with an ie, not James. Why? That’s is my father’s first name. The A is for Aaron. I was named after my paternal grandfather whose middle name was Aaron. He passed away eighteen years before I was born. Kepler is my last name. Yes it is the same as the famous mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler. Am I related to him? Heck if I know, but I’ll claim him.
6. I graduated from The University of Texas at Arlington with a BA degree in History and minors in military science and English (creative writing and grammar). I have a MA degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I hold a EdD degree in educational administration.
7. In ancient history I was a commissioned officer in the US Army. I won the military draft with a lottery number of 25 back in the day. I even went to airborne school and jumped out of airplanes. I’m honorably discharged at the rank of Captain.
8. Some people tell me I’m driven with lazor focus. I like to say I set and achieve goals.
9. I’ve been blogging and on the Internet since the 1990s. I used Compuserve all the way back to the mid 1970s. I used email as early as 1976 in the US Army and 1979 with CompuServe. I first used Chat in 1980. I’m an old dude. I’m older than Bill Gates or the late Steve Jobs.
10. I am a Christian. My faith impacts all areas of my life. I am not perfect, but forgiven. I won’t preach at you.
Have you ever had a muse, or a muse-like experience where you felt so passionate, or “taken over” by a creative spirit or compulsion to express and create? This is more than just “in the zone” … it’s almost as if someone or something takes over and writes for you.
Four examples of a muse in my life are shared below.
Example One – I was taking a senior level English course with the ominous title “Transformational Grammar and Advanced Creative Writing”. The program was exactly as the title … a writing course that made sure you dissected the grammar. Remember diagraming sentences? This was far more interesting as it dismembered each sentence to parts of speech, syllables, suffixes/prefixes and even lower in the structure. You could get credit for the course as a senior level English or Linguistics class. The professor was my first muse. She believed in and encouraged my writing. She was , the first to point out the value of reading regularly, journaling, and submitting what you wrote. She helped get me published the first time in a university publication and then a historical study in a military magazine. She told me I should embrace a bohemian lifestyle and write full-time. She turned me on to Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Sylvia Plath, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac.
Example Two – I was motivated to the point of being driven, to have a laser-focus. Me driven, can you believe? Anyway, I wanted to get into a doctoral program and needed to start getting published in my then chosen discipline – religious education. I went to the best conferences, met the right people, and paid the price. This wasn’t a once and done thing. It was getting one then two then three then four then five then six a year published. Sheer vanity … I wrote some very good articles like “What I Learned when a Church Member Died”, an article about preaching my first funeral and the shortcomings of the religious education curriculum to prepare the associate minister in this critical area is an example.
Example Three – Nancy Karen Vandiver Garrison … I know her from high school. We also went to the same university. We did prose interpretation and literary criticism together in University Interscholastic League competition way back 45 years ago. Thanks to social media and email we talk nearly every day for years and still do, as recently as in the last few seconds. She holds me accountable to keep on writing and never give up. More than anything, she encourages me to ignore the rejections. She also says what’s next when I get an acceptance. She is a darn good poet and supporter of the arts. Plus, we both love The Monkees!
Example Four – In 1992, I wrote 175 pages in one day for a nonfiction book I was working on. I have had some 50 to 75 page experiences in writing that happen the same way. Sometimes I have poems bounce around in my head and won’t quit talking to me until I relocate them to paper. It can be very surreal. I’ve had several magazine articles that I’ve sold to publications like Children’s Leadership, Preschool Leadership, Poetry & Prose Magazine and Bewildering Stories that just flowed almost perfectly.
I find the muse magically appears when I put my behind in the chair and write.
Background on Muses: The Muses, the personification of knowledge and the arts, especially literature, dance and music, are the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (memory personified). Hesiod’s account and description of the Muses were the one generally followed by the writers of antiquity. It was not until Roman times that the following functions were assigned to them, and even then there was some variation in both their names and their attributes:
The sun will not rise for another hour. I am sitting in my favorite Starbucks in Plano, Texas. My friend Jim is sitting at the table next to me. He is 72 years old and retired from IBM. He is a Oklahoma State University graduate. He was a pitcher on their baseball team in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He pitched a no-hitter in the college world series in 1960. After college, he signed with the Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale Los Angeles Dodgers playing a couple of years before putting his engineering degree to use. He actually made more money as an engineer than as a ball player. Times have changed.
Jen and Loren are the barista’s on duty this morning. They usually are the opening crew. They sweet smile and good morning greet me five mornings a week. This morning all three asked me about the pathology report on my wife’s tumor.
My bride of thirty-nine years had surgery for a malrotated intestine just before Christmas. During the surgery, they had a surprise. They found an unexpected tumor. The doctor was unable to remove the entire tumor due to its being in one of the lymph nodes. The doctor who performed the intestinal surgery is also the director of surgical oncology.
After we got to the car, we prayed and shed a few tears as we digested the news. She is so brave. I am scared for her. We both have a strong Christian faith, which certainly helps. The reality of the news still stings.
After getting home, I call our daughter making sure she had the news. We emailed family. I also posted on Facebook the bullet points of the exam. We had over 30 replies.
I’ll write more on this adventure in life in the days ahead.
It is Monday, January 6, 2014. With a new year, we get a new beginning, a fresh start on things. I don’t know about you, but I am ready for a new start.
2013 ended in less than spectacular fashion. My household faced many challenges. The top of the list included my bride of 39 years having major intestinal surgery. We are still waiting for pathology results on a tumor they found. They told us they were not able to remove it all. I had bad bronchitis. Had two shots, two Z packs, two rounds of antibiotics and two different cough medicines. The medications included steroids which raised my blood pressure to higher levels than it normally is. Even on my blood pressure medicine, the blood pressure is high.
Last Thursday my 86 years old father fell and broke his neck. The aftermath of that event is a major challenge. It placed a good dose of fear in my mother. He is home, but in a neck brace.
Balancing work, care for aging parents, care for a sick spouse, routine work and doing household chores for both residences for several days has me worn out. My parents have my brother staying with them for a few days. There are tough decisions to face in the days ahead about both my parents and my spouse. Oh, let us not forget about the day job. One does have to work to earn money.
One thing I know, life goes on whether you are ready for what comes your way.
Have you ever sat down with a cup of hot coffee and reflected on your life? Go ahead; raise your right hand if you have done it.
If you are looking in my direct, you will see I have my hand lifted high. I admit I have had many of those melancholy moments.
No, I am not planning my eulogy, but at sixty years of age, I look back from time to time.
What is the catalyst for my latest round of self-examination? I think it is a combination of various things. First, I turned sixty years old this past November. Add to that my wife recently had major abdominal surgery. Finally, it is the New Year, which all by itself causes reflection.
One of the first things I do when reflecting is thinking about where I have been. Growing up as a military brat during the Cold War and Vietnam War gives me a different perspective than many.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining about my childhood. It really was fun and different. I lived many places. My laundry list of places lived before I reached adulthood include:
San Antonio, Texas
Bowersville, Ohio
Greenville, South Carolina
East Saint Louis, Illinois
Greenville, South Carolina
Glendale, Arizona
Sequin, Texas
El Paso, Texas
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Bebe, Texas
Schertz, Texas
DeSoto, Texas
Arlington, Texas
DeSoto, Texas
Fort Riley, Kansas
DeSoto, Texas
I also attended eight schools for my twelve grades of public school. The schools were in Arizona, Texas and New Hampshire.
The advantage was getting to see and experience much of this great country called the United States of America. The disadvantages were a lifelong feeling of not having roots and not having a true hometown. I even felt an outsider at my own high school where I attended from the middle of the ninth grade through graduation. I sometimes feel that way when some of use get together for a Saturday evening meal.
Other time I think back to winning the military draft lottery when we use to have such a thing. I was a one of those pivotal moments in my life. It meant I was going into the US military. I had the choice of going immediately or going later. I could have gone immediately by enlisting or just waiting to be drafted.
The Vietnam War was winding down at that time, but they were still sending combat troops. They would do that for another eighteen months after I graduated high school.
I selected another option. It was to defer my military service. I did this by joining the United States Army Reserve Officer Training Corps is college. This lead to me being commissioned a second lieutenant in the US Army upon college graduation. It guaranteed I would graduate from college on time and serve in the military.
It also leads to three other items. First, it took me to Fort Lewis, Washington. There I attended First Baptist Church of Lakewood. I accepted Jesus Christ as Savior at Lakewood.
Second, it provided me with the G.I Bill educational benefit that I used to get my master’s degree.
Third, it provided the G.I. Bill house financing benefit I used two purchase two homes. I doubt I would have ever been able to buy a house with the 20% down payment requirements in place in the 1970s and 1980s.
I think back about choice I made like marriage and the birth of three children. I reflect on attending, graduating from seminary, and serving five church over a sixteen years period.
I look at leaving ministry and retraining for work in the information technology field. I think of how I could have been a better husband and parent.
No, I don’t have regrets. You cannot change choices, so any reexamination isn’t a good thing to do.
I also think about the future. I‘ll write about that on another day.
It’s Wednesday, December 25, 2013, Christmas Day. It’s a beautiful, sunny day in north Texas. The temperature is 52.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The time is 1:48 PM. I have a load of laundry going.
I’m sitting in my home office listening to “Carpenter’s Gold: Greatest Hits”. The current song playing is “Superstar”. I’m listening to it play on a ten-year old Hewitt-Packard Pentium III Personal Computer. The computer’s operating system is Linux Mint 16 “Petra” Cinnamon. It is a complete Open Source computer.
I feel very at peace today. My wife Benita is in her bedroom resting in the recliner. She had major surgery for an intestinal malroation on December 19. We brought her home last night late. The surgery went well. They found a tumor during the surgery. They were no able to remove all of it. We do not know the pathology yet.
It is just the two of us here. We have three grown children. Our oldest son will turn 37 years old in less than a month. He is single, never married. He lives about ten miles from us. He is at home sick with a fever and bronchitis like symptoms. Our second son is 33 years old. He lives with us. Today he has gone to my parents to celebrate Christmas. Both of my parents are living. Dad was born in 1927. Mother was born in 1933. She had a kidney transplant in 2011. Our 29 years old daughter Sara and her family have also gone to my parents to celebrate Christmas.
Sunday, December 15th, we celebrate Christmas with our daughter’s family and oldest son. This morning we exchanged gifts with our second son and each other. I got Miss Benita an upgrade on our cable television service for Christmas. She’ll be home for at least six weeks recovering from surgery. Better television options will help her pass the time.
I received wonderful gifts. First was a gift of five pairs of black socks. Second was a DVD of the six season of “The Big Bang Theory” television show. Third was a gift set of Old Spice deodorant and after shave.
This is Miss Benita and my thirty-eighth Christmas as husband and wife. We’ve celebrated every Christmas together since 1972.
Benita and her family helped make wonderful Christmas memories. Her family would have a big dinner on Christmas Eve. Her extended family would attend. The house would be full of cousins. After dining we would retire to the living room and spend hours exchanging gifts. We would go from the youngest to the oldest. I remember the joy Miss Benita had buying the gifts, wrapping the gifts and seeing the excitement on the recipients face.
Christmas 1974 was only three days before our wedding. The wedding over shadowed Christmas.
Christmas 1975 was exciting and melancholy. I had just graduated from college. Three days after Christmas we departed for active duty in the United States Army. Our little car was loaded and we headed to Fort Benning, Georgia.
Christmas 1976 found Benita 8 months pregnant. She flew from Seattle, Washington to Dallas for celebrate Christmas. I joined her a few weeks later and departed a week early returning home.
Christmas 1977 was one of my favorite and I think Benita’s least favorite. We celebrated it in Washington State. It was the first time she ever had no been with her family for Christmas. She was so sad and depressed it quenched my excitement of establishing our own traditions. It was the first with our son Kris.
Christmas 1978 had us back in Texas. I had come off US Army active duty. It was celebrated with family. 1979 and 1980 were also celebrated with family as I was in seminary with us living near our folks. I would graduate and we would move just a few weeks later to Atlanta, Georgia as we went to serve our first church congregation.
Christmas 1981 had us in Georgia. I was overwhelmed by all the Christmas parties and celebrations at church. We attended over 30 Christmas parties. During the next 16 yeas our Christmas schedule would be as full. We drove two miles north on Christmas Day to Johnson City, Tennessee to see friends from US Army days. They had snow. The trip only served to make Miss Benita miss her family.
Christmas 1982 had us on the move. We moved from Georgia to Bogalusa, Louisiana. We moved just before Christmas and came to Texas for the holidays.
Christmas 1983 had us vacationing in frigid north Texas. It was another extend family Christmas.
Christmas 1984 was the third one where we had it in our own home. Our daughter had been born 6 weeks earlier.
Christmas 1985 – 1994 were spent with Benita’s family. I often had to work, but she would pack up the kids and go to Dallas area for the holidays. Most of the time I would join them for a least Christmas Day.
Christmas 1995 was different, somber. It was my last in ministry. The Wednesday before Christmas I was told the new incoming preacher did not want me as his education minister. I was forced to make a change. It was the first Christmas after Benita’s dad had died.
Christmas 1996 was the darkest economically in our marriage. I was failing to earn enough money for expenses.
Christmas 1997 – 1998 had me working Christmas Day. Traditions changed as we still did Christmas a Benita’s mom’s, but it was different. Less of the cousins attended.
Christmas 1999 – 2003 were still with the extend family. 2003 was the last at Benita’s childhood home.
Christmas 2004 had Benita’s mother celebrating it out-of-state with her youngest daughter. Our daughter Sara and her future hubby drove her to Tennessee.
Christmas 2005 found Benita’s mom near death from a stroke. She would pass away a few weeks later. We did more and more with my parents at Christmas.
Christmas 2006 – 2012 had us doing Christmas with my parents.
Christmas 2013 is the fourth we have celebrated at our home is 39 years.
Last Year’s East Texas Christian Writer’s Conference
I haveattendedvariouswriters’ conferencesfor over thirty years. Todayandtomorrow I am attendingthe East Texas Christian Writer’s Conference. It is the fourth time I’ve attendedthisconference.
Awkward describesattending a conferenceforthefirsttime. This is especiallytrueifyouhaveneverbeen to thatparticularconferenceoranywriter‘s conferenceforthatmatter.
Youneed to acceptthattheconference is workandsacrifice. Thesacrificecomes from thetimeandmoneyyouinvest in theconference.
Youmadethechoiceusingvacationtime on yourself instead of spendingit with a spouseandlovedones. Money is spent on theconferenceregistrationfees, travel, meals, lodging, andsupplies like a newpenandnotebook.
Youlearnthatselectingtherightconferenceforyouandrunningthe gauntlet of getting your partner to agree to your attendance, gettingthetime off work, registeringforthemeeting, obtaininglodging, andselectingtheconferences to attend is work. It is workpackingforthetripandthenmorework unpacking whenit is over.
Whenyougo to a newlocationandknownooneit can be stressful andlonely. It can be scary as youmeetnewpeopleincludingwriters you are a fan of.
Itinvolveschoices. Which sessionsdo I attend? Should I skip a session I paidfor to meetandmingle? Thesessions are fun.
Youlook at not onlywhatsessionsandpanels are there, butyoulook at theguestlist. Youfocus on who is coming. Make a list of authors, publishers, andeditorsattendingtheconference. Ask which of thesedo I admire? Arethere attendees thatyou would like to meetandmake an impression upon?
Thenyoulook at whatagentsyou are interested in as well as whatpublishersyou are interested in. Onceyouknowthepublisheryou‘reinterested in find out which editorsworkfor them andwho is going to be at theconference. Thistakes a littlebit of research.
Look at the acknowledgements of your favoritebookandusuallyyou‘ll find out whoeditedthebook. Youthenlook at theguestlistfortheconventionandfind out who is present. You might have an editororagentpresentyouwant to meet.
Youneed to find out whattheagents, publishers, andeditors are doing. Do not talk to them in theescalator, in thebathroomorwhenthey are meeting with their topauthorfor a meal. Agoodtime to meet them is after a panelor after a sessiontheytaught. Youneed to havesome follow-up questionsfor them. Tell them which of their worksorauthorsyouenjoy. Ask them what is coming up next. DO NOT mention your ownwork at thispoint. You can dothat in othersettings. Forexample, in somecasesyou can makeappointments through theconvention to pitch a completedmanuscript to them.
I know a lot of writers are shyorintroverted. That will rarelysell your bookormanuscript. I am an outgoingintrovert. I am not shy, buthave a strongtendency toward beingwhollyor predominantly concerned with andinterested in my ownmentallifeinstead of focusing on obtaininggratification from what is outside theself. Youhave to get over the shy. Writing isn’t a loner craft. Ittakesthecommunity of theeditor, publisher, andevenpublicists as well as thewriter.
Themostimportantpart of theconferenceinvolvesmeetingnewpeopleandmake a goodimpression. You are there to learnand to network. The networking is critical. You can encourage one another. Youneed to focus on alwaysbeingnice, alwaysbeingfriendly, andalwaysbeingcourteous.
Attending a conference is a wonderfulexperience. I am doingittodayandtomorrow.
In October 1974, I made my first trip to the University of Texas McDonald Observatory. It was 500 miles one-way from the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington to Fort Davis, Texas. The purpose of the trip was to do the required astronomical labs for my physics class in astronomy.
The trip was a caravan from the UT Arlington campus to far west Texas. We departed about 2 PM on Friday, October 4, 1974. We headed from Arlington west on Interstate 20 (yes it was built way back then). We drove to Lake Colorado City State Park about 3 miles south of Interstate 20 just southwest of Colorado City, Texas. I pitched my tent. I shared the tent with 4 young women and one young man that were fellow cadets in the UT Arlington ROTC program. Three of them were prior service (US military veterans).
The next morning we got up early and headed west. We stopped at a Stuckey’s (remember them?) getting two scrambled eggs with toast and bacon or sausage plus coffee for under a dollar. The journey continued to Pecos, Texas. There we left Interstate 20 and headed south on Texas Highway 17. We crossed Interstate 10 at Balmorhea, Texas and head south to Fort Davis. We camped at the Davis Mountains State Park.
That weekend the park also hosted a retreat for the Odessa, Texas Jaycees. Some of them were concerned that we had males and females cohabitating the same tent. I go a strong morals lecture from a Baptist deacon. It mattered not we were all of legal age.
That Saturday, October 5, 1974 a very good top five ranked Texas A & M football team was upset by Kansas University loosing 28 to 10. We listened to the game on the radio as we explored the city of Alpine, Texas and toured the Fort Davis National Historic site. I’ve actually been there more times than any national park or historic site with the exception of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Why? My brother-in-law is a retired Great Smoky Mountain Park Ranger.
We drove to the McDonald’s Observatory in the early afternoon to check-in and get ready for the night’s observations. Returned that night for one of the most memorable evenings of my life.
I’ll use my narrator voice and tell you about the observatory. An astronomical observatory located just northwest of Fort Davis, Texas, on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas is the McDonald Observatory. It has additional facilities on the adjacent Mount Fowlkes. It is the property of the University of Texas at Austin.
The philanthropy of Texas banker William Johnson McDonald (1844–1926) created it. He left his fortune to the University of Texas to endow an astronomical observatory.
It began operation in 1939. At that time,it was the second largest telescope in the world. The University of Chicago operated the observatory until 1960s, when control was transferred to the University of Texas at Austin.
The McDonald Observatory was the first location on earth to bounce a laser off a reflector left on the moon by Apollo astronauts. I learned this as an astronomy student on my 1974 road trip.
The McDonald Observatory is equipped with a wide range of instrumentation for imaging and spectroscopy in the optical and infrared spectra and operates the first lunar laser ranging station. It works closely with the astronomy department of the University of Texas at Austin while maintaining administrative autonomy.
The high and dry peaks of the Davis Mountains make for some of the darkest and clearest night skies in the region and provide excellent conditions for astronomical research. It is one of the darkest places on earth at night.
The Otto Struve Telescope, dedicated in 1939, was the first large telescope built at the observatory. It is located on Mt. Locke at an altitude of 6,790 feet. The summit of Mt. Locke, accessed by Spur 78, is the highest point on Texas highways. The Harlan J. Smith Telescope, also on Mt. Locke, was completed in 1968.
The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET), dedicated in late 1997, is located on the summit of Mt. Fowlkes at 6,660 ft above sea level. It is operated jointly by the University of Texas at Austin, Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University, the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, and the Georg-August University of Göttingen.
As of 2012, the HET is tied with the similar Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) as the fifth largest telescope in the world. However, its cost was about 20% that of other similarly-sized telescopes in use today due to its optimization for spectrography.
Currently, the observatory operates four research telescopes at its West Texas site:
9.2 m (360 in) Hobby-Eberly Telescope on Mt. Fowlkes
2.7 m (110 in) Harlan J. Smith Telescope on Mt. Locke
2.1 m (83 in) Otto Struve Telescope on Mt. Locke
0.8 m (31 in) large format imaging telescope on Mt. Locke
The two peaks also host a number of other instruments:
The 1.2 m (47 in) Monitoring Network of Telescopes (MONET) North Telescope on Mt. Locke is a companion to one at the South African Astronomical Observatory in Sutherland, and was built by Halfmann Teleskoptechnik.
The McDonald Laser Ranging System (MLRS) operates a 0.76 m (30 in) telescope on Mt. Fowlkes to perform satellite laser ranging and lunar laser ranging.
A 0.5 m (20 in) Ritchey-Chretien reflector owned by Boston University on Mt. Locke is used for optical aeronomy.
The 0.4 m (16 in) Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE) reflector on Mt. Fowlkes is used to search for the optical signature of gamma-ray bursts.
I have been back many times since that first trip in 1974. I took my two sons there on dad-son vacation when they were 13 and 10 years old. Since then they have built an excellent visitor center. The Frank N. Bash Visitors Center, located between Mt. Locke and Mt. Fowlkes, includes a café, gift shop, and interactive exhibit hall. The Visitors Center conducts daily live solar viewings in a large theater and tours of the observatory’s largest telescopes. It also hosts evening star parties, every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday night which allow visitors to look through numerous telescopes of various sizes in the Telescope Park, and enjoy an indoor program.
Special viewing nights, during which visitors can stay on-site (not required for the programs) and view directly through eyepieces on the 0.9 m, Struve (2.1m), or Smith (2.7m) telescopes, are held on a reservation-only basis. Although not available for many years, as of June 2013, the 2.1m has returned to occasional public access.
The trip back to the University of Texas at Arlington was a long one. We drove back on US 67. It was 500 miles on a two lane highway. On the return trip I stopped and visited my parents at their ranch northwest of Brownwood, Texas.
It was on the 1974 trip I decided to ask Benita Breeding to marry me. I proposed the next week and we married on December 28, 1974.
Photo Credits: Jimmie A. Kepler took the photographs in May 2007. The photographs are available for use under the Creative Commons License listed below.
About every five weeks I write a book review. Since December 2007, I have written 148 book reviews of military history books for my website Kepler’s Military History Book Reviews. Front Row Monthly noticed my love for reviewing books. Last year they published twelve of my reviews in their Front Row Lit Magazine.
I love reading, receiving review copies in the mail, having authors and publicists asking if I am interested in reading their book and interviewing the author.
In recent days, the newspapers and Internet have had negative articles about some reviews. Regarding any review I have written on Kepler’s Military History Book Reviews: I received no payment, the only compensation, was the book that was used to write the review and was sent by the publisher, author, publicists or media groups. Here is one great way to write a book review. It is my philosophy for writing a review.
Read the book. I know; it seems obvious but read the book! You might find out the author did a very good job. She or she probably invested two to four years of their life in the book project, so read the book. Don’t even think about writing a review of something you only skimmed or only partially read. Reading the book is critical to a good review.
Know what you are reading. If you don’t understand the book that you are going to write about, you cannot write a good review. If you are reading a nonfiction book on a topic you know little about, make some effort to learn something about the topic. I write military history book reviews. I have a formal background in history with a bachelor’s degree in the subject. I am widely read in history with a general background in all areas of US and English History and am a serious student of US Military History.
Make notes about what you read. You may want to make note of key phrase or sentences as you meet them. You can quote them in the review. As you read ask yourself:
Who is telling the story? Is it in first person or third person?
What genre does it belong to? Narrative history, historical fiction, memoir?
What about the style of writing? Is the author a good story-teller? Is it serious scholarship with footnote after footnote? Is the style conversational or is it full of big words that need a dictionary at your side? Does it paint a word picture in your mind? When was it written? Was there a ghost writer or co-author?
Does the book touch your heart and mind? Does it move you to an emotional or volitional climax about the topic being read?
Keep track of the storyline or chronology of the book. It will help you when reading long, complicated works.
Know the author and his or her works. When you finished gathering the information and you have enough notes, then you are ready to write the article.
Start with an introduction. The way you start will depend on your target audience. Consider beginning with a paragraph that describes your first impression of the work, or an interesting story that you had experienced through the book, or a more technical introduction where you briefly state the author, title, publisher, and any other information about the book you see pertinently. I like to ask a thought-provoking question. An example is “Have you ever wondered what it would be like being a marine in Iraq?” It gets the reader thinking.a. Give a brief history of the author with some relevant information such as earlier works, awards, etc.
Cover the structure of the book without giving away the plot or ending.
Explain your opinion of the book and give a summary of the review.
Finish by recommending the book. State who would benefit and enjoy the book, using general terms (students, veterans, etc.).
I like to tell the reader where and how they can get the book.
Include your full name in the end with the date of the review. On my book review site, I allow feedback. I have had a few authors contact and challenge me. I have had some authors point out grammar or spelling errors. An example of the most frequent comment are in the words of David Laskin of the University of Washington. He wrote, “The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War”. He thanked me for reading the book. He said from my review he had no doubt I had read the book. By the way, the book was amazing.
Downtime – I’ve never been one to take downtime very seriously. I rarely do anything for rest and relaxation. It seems like a poor use of time. Lately, I’ve been forced to reevaluate my view of downtime.
Recently, pneumonia has been the catalyst causing me to reevaluate and to take it easier. I was embracing life at my usual 90 miles an hour. Getting up early and writing the first few hours of the day seven days a week were routine. Well. the illness had me where I couldn’t do it. My brain either through exhaustion or the medications just had little in the way of creativity. It was like I had checked out and went to the ends of the earth.
I learned that if I don’t give the brain some down time, if I try to force thinking and productivity, it won’t happen. What will happen is I’ll either just sit and surf the Internet or write poor quality at best text.
While I have had paid sales in the last year, nineteen pieces I placed were nonpaying. I finished a novel. I’m shopping it with agents at present.
As I write and publish more I realize everyone looks at what I write gets looked at under a microscope. People still believe writing is no more than my hobby and a waste of my time.
When I get rejections, I allow myself a to feel sorry, but don’t let it get me down. When I allow myself to process the bad, I can usually bounce back a lot quicker than if I just try to carry on.
It matters not if accepted or rejected today. What matters is that I write. If I’m going to be a writer, I have to write.
