Bravest Thing (He Ever Did)

  Some insecure childishness... Background information: Little Women has been my nemesis. I HATE Little Women. Why? A while back, Amazon tightened up the book categories. This has made becoming a bestseller very difficult. I entered most of my books in a Canadian Literature category. Makes sense, no? Just one problem… Little *@%## Women did too! What they have to do with Canadian Literature, you tell me... (Cause I refuse to read that book). Long story short, Little Women is a perennial bestseller. I haven't been able to compete. My wife also tells me there was a Little Women movie released not too long ago. That doesn't help. Sigh. I guess Alcott speaks truth: “Some people seemed to get all sunshine, and some all shadow…” I live in the shadows of Little Women. But thanks to ALL OF YOU, at least for a short while, Little Women can brood about relationships and such from the outside. Long live the misfit!   I can’t compete against a classic long-term. Not without Divine interve...

  "I live on an acreage near Saskariver, Saskatchewan, where the prairie meets the northern forest. We have a horse named Horse, a dog named Doggy, two dozen chickens named Breakfast, Dinner, Supper, and so forth, and an unknown number of cats called everything from Cat to Catsputin, from Kitty to Kitty-Cat, from Poopsy-Diaper to Terrence Pickles. Creativity is a must when you name so many cats over the years. We used to name our cats after politicians, but Mom said it was inappropriate for us to be so happy whenever a cat died." Joey Storthoaks Age 11

(danieljmillette@gmail.com) The time has come where I must ask, beg, plead, threaten…whatever…for something absolutely crucial to the release of my upcoming series: Adventures of a Misfit . That is, I need kind volunteers to join my launch team for the first book, titled My Blasted Town. The series will follow 11-year-old Joey Storthoaks and his large family (and larger brood of cats) as they live out hilarious adventures in the quirky small town of Saskariver, Saskatchewan. In My Blasted Town , a chunk of the main street blows up in a horrible construction accident. Thanks to the devious mayor, the town soon starts dying out. Enter Joey Storthoaks. He will save the day! Or he will die trying! Or he will hide away for fear of attention. For ages 9 and up, you will love this entertaining new series. Now, back to business. Amazon, with their 4000 or so new books released each day , will not take my work seriously unless reviews come in early and often. As sure as Jeff Bezos is bald...

Here is an evergreen list of a few things I’ve learned about self-publishing. By the way…there’ll be more books coming out later this fall! -         When plotting a story, really nail down the 5 milestones.       -           The M.C. must be active. Readers hate passivity. -           The M.C. should have some personal issues/struggles to deal with. -           Always have a punchable villain. Even if the villain is a concept or a horrible disaster. -           Write it all out. As quickly as possible. Your brain’s storytelling, when let loose, is far superior if allowed to go with the flow. Only edit after you are finished. The first time I started a novel I made the mistake of editing all my previous day’s work the next morning. Disaster! I essentially had to go ba...

I need to clear the air on something, as well as issue an official apology.  In March of 2022, I released my first book, Disconnected: The Broken Path . The launch went well, and I even released a sequel later in the year, Escape to the Wild . Unfortunately, I got more than a little ahead of myself. At the time, in my new-author enthusiasm, I started calling out author J.K. Rowling. On a since-deleted post on Facebook I stated: "Who is this J.K. Rowling guy? You think you're pretty good? I'm taking you down!" I then added a picture of the current book rankings of the day (where, admittedly, my book was outselling J.K. Rowling's books). I thought nothing of it until I was served notice of potential legal action earlier this year. It turns out that:           A) J.K. Rowling is not a male, but a female.          B) J.K. Rowling is not amused when women claim to be men, and vice versa.         ...