J. Timothy King’s Blog

Blog-to Show Visitors, Welcome!

(This post is especially for visitors coming from Liz Strauss’s “Successful and Outstanding Bloggers” blog… (Whew!) … at which I am participating in her “Blog-to Show.” But regular readers of this blog may also find this post interesting.)

A long time ago, this was a different blog than it is today. Back when I still had a 9-to-5 software-development job, I started this blog to talk about software development, management, and my dream of running my own software business. Back in those days, it was fairly easy to get hits from sites like reddit’s programming communities. The most-widely-read-of-all-time post on this site is from those days: “You Know You’re an Old Fogey Software Engineer When…”

My second-most-read post is also from that time, but for a different reason. (Read more…)

Presenting Abe’s Turn, the Novel

Below is a digital mock-up of the first, 4-episode set of The Conscience of Abe’s Turn, which I’m putting together as a 6×9-inch trade paperback for release in April. This first volume spans about 250 pages, including 4 novelette-length episodes plus bonus extras.

I’ve been ad-testing graphics and text, and this design represents one of the winning results. But I am continuing to ad-test it, until the final release.

This book is mostly a promotional vehicle, because there’s so much more I have in mind for this project. So expect to be able to get a copy on the cheap.

The Conscience of Abe’s Turn joins a list of 21’st-century fiction works that are available online via free download or audiobook podcast and are marketed using guerrilla marketing techniques, works like Mur Lafferty’s Playing for Keeps, Scott Sigler’s Infected, and Bicycle Shop Murder, by Robert Burton Robinson.

Stay tuned!
-TimK

P.S. The Conscience of Abe’s Turn is a libertarian crime-romance drama about a group of Gen-X civil-rights activists from the fictional town of Abe’s Turn. These 4 friends refuse to accept the injustice they see and experience. They come up with a dangerous solution that ultimately pits them against corrupt government officials in a precarious balance of power.

My Worst Review Ever

I’ve received negative reviews before. (What writer hasn’t?) But yesterday (March 5), was a new milestone for me. I received my new worst review ever, a review for my ebook 1001 Character Quirks.

-TimK

I’ll Send You a Postcard from my Vacation

I just got back from a holiday vacation to see family in southern New Jersey. During the trip, we visited Longwood Gardens, across the border in Pennsylvania. I’ve only visited the gardens in summer, when the flowers are in bloom and the sun beats down upon your head as you stroll down the garden path. I’ve always assumed that nothing much happened when the weather got cold. Not so! The place is open year-round. In fact, Christmas is one of their busiest times.

So I picked up a bunch of postcards at Longwood Gardens. If you want one, just email me. First come, first served.

-TimK

The Christmas Meme

I usually don’t do memes, because (a) they don’t interest me or (b) they’re too long or (c) they require too much research. (Seriously.) But I saw this one over on Alison Kent’s blog and thought it was just interesting enough, and just the right length, and required just the right amount of research. 10 questions about me and Christmas.

1. What is your favorite Christmas romance to re-read each year? Ah, that’s a trick question. I don’t have a favorite Christmas romance. In fact, I’ve never even read a “Christmas” romance (as far as I remember). And that’s really ironic, because my very first story idea, the one that inspired me to learn to write fiction, that story idea was a Christmas romance. Fortunately, I was aware enough to figure out that I had no idea what the heck I was doing, and I put the project on the shelf until I learned a little more. That was a long time ago, and I never got back to that project. And good thing, too, because the project as it stands now is completely unworkable (which I didn’t know back then). I do know what needs to be done to make it workable, and maybe some day I’ll get back to it. Even though the original story idea itself will probably never see the light of day, some of the characters, though largely undeveloped, still occupy a special place in my heart. I’d like to think that someday I’ll tell their story.

2. What is your favorite Christmas movie or show? (Read more…)

Happy Thanksgiving Wishes

I want to wish everyone in the U.S. a happy Thanksgiving. I myself will be spending the day with family. And I hope that wherever you are, you’ll find love and happiness there.

You’ve probably noticed I’m posting much more on this blog of late. That’s because I’m actually writing again… seriously writing. That is, I’m pursuing it professionally. That’s why BeTheStory.com has a new graphical theme, because I’ve made that site and this parts of a larger group of sites. I talked about this earlier, “Changes: Fading Out of the Software Business.”

I’ve linked 4 sites together as part of this strategy:

• www.JTimothyKing.com - The central hub. It contains links to all my sites, contact information, a selection of stories and articles I’ve written, and links to featured online offers.

• blog.JTimothyKing.com - This site, my personal blog, previously at www.JTSE.com/blog. Here, I used to talk about business, professionalism, and software development. I’ still talk about these things, but I also talk about writing, personal experiences, stories I’ve written, and religion and politics.

• BeTheStory.com - My writing site. All about how to write a story, and how to become a better writer. And since becoming a better writer involves analyzing others’ stories, I’ll continue to post reviews and analysis of books, film, and TV. And video games, if I get around to it. Expect my future reviews to be less general and more about the properties of the storytelling. Be the Story uses the same software as this blog, and you can subscribe to new posts via RSS or email.

• shop.JTimothyKing.com - My online store, not yet active. Right now, it redirects to 1001 Character Quirks, which is being distributed through ClickBank. But I have plans to make it a full online store, directly distributing both electronic and physical products. That is, as soon as I work the kinks out of the e-commerce software.

Most of my time of late has been spent paying the bills (i.e., doing work for paying clients) and writing The Conscience of Abe’s Turn and other fiction. But this shift in focus, or rather a clarification in focus, also means I’m writing more for Be the Story and for my blog. So expect much more content.

-TimK

Here’s Talking about Religion and Politics

Here’s something I rarely do on this blog, but since this blog has become more about what makes me unique, and less exclusively about software development and entrepreneurship… Here’s a topic I’m very passionate about, but I rarely have time to write about anymore. Two topics, actually: Religion and politics.

If you might become offended, tune out now. Don’t say you weren’t warned. (Read more…)

Yesterday I Went Swimming in the Jury Pool

I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to. I got pushed in, as it were. That’s one of the things I hate about swimming in the jury pool; no one ever does so by choice. The other thing I hate is that it’s filled with shark-infested water. In this age of big-brother paranoia, there are two places I avoid if I can: government facilities and airports. But today’s jury pool experience was different than others I’ve experienced before. It seems, the Massachusetts court system has discovered the value of a good story. (Read more…)

What It’s Like to Finally Finish My First eBook

It sounds like such a simple thing. A list of 1001 character quirks for writing fiction. This is a tool I use as part of my own character-building process, because having a list of raw ideas makes it much easier to come up with the right idea at the right time.

You might think that coming up with a large list of character ideas might be the challenge in a work like this. But compiling a list of 1001 of my best character quirks was by far the easiest part of the project. Actually, the concept started as a printed booklet, and that sounded simple, too. But there were innumerable little details.

• Since a book like this is far and away most often purchased by beginning writers, it must contain concrete examples and simple advice that the user can take to the bank immediately. My initial draft skimped on the advice, because I was afraid of having too many pages, because I was trying to keep production costs down. Holly Lisle generously advised me to flesh out this part of the book, which I did, adding a complete soup-to-nuts character and numerous concrete examples.

(Read more…)

Maybe This Explains My Family Connections

Ran across this cute little item, thanks to Technorati. A fictional, Hogwarts roleplaying character named Lucy King:

FATHER: Rupert Timothy King (Gryff)- Rupert is a Healer at St. Mungo’s, and is very well regarded for his work in reversing accidental charms…

(Read more…)