Losing My Garmin, Not My Mind

Vacation isn’t supposed to make you think about depression, but that’s the main theme of last week. I had a great time and was mentally in a good place while we were gone, but I was reminded just how much work I have to do (as well as how far I’ve come). Outside of the routine I’ve constructed in my day to day life (run, stretch, breakfast, shower, write, read, work) I was more anxious. My routine masks some of those feelings, and of course I didn’t notice until my routine changed.

I also lost my Garmin watch to the ocean.  What I didn’t lose was my mind. It sucked. But I was able to move on fairly quickly. It may have even lessened my anxiety. I’m constantly looking at my watch, wondering what’s next. How much time? On and on. Even on vacation with nothing to do, I constantly checked my watch. Without it I could completely disconnect.

While away I took a break from running and writing, even though I’m in the middle of training for a half marathon. Not running was especially tough, but it was the classic case of taking a break to miss it. I can’t wait to get back out there this week.  My new Garmin watch will be here tomorrow. Because if you didn’t track your run it didn’t happen.

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Unholy Revelations

by Arsenio Franklin

Giveaway ends September 21, 2018.

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New Unholy Revelations Cover

I published Unholy Revelations late last year as an ebook on Amazon and several other sites. I treated it as a test run for self-publishing. It’s only 15,000 words. I could sell it cheaply. I wanted to see how things went. However, I cheated myself because I did very little to promote the book. Granted, I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on promotion, but without developing a plan and dipping my toes into marketing I missed the full experience. If I self-publish a full novel in the future, I’d like to have as much experience under my belt as possible. With that being said, I’m ready to see what kind of traction I can get. That begins with an updated cover and layout.

If you’ve already read it, great! If not, give it a try for $0.99. It’s available on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook and Kobo. If you dare make it to the end, all reviews are appreciated.

Unholy Revelations

Last year I self-published Unholy Revelations, a 15,000 word short story, on Amazon & a few other sites. I didn’t have any goals in mind, it was simply to get a feel for the basics of self-publishing.

Now I’ve added Unholy Revelations to several online reading sites for FREE! Check it out & tell me what you think on Inkitt, Wattpad, or Sweek.

Horror Palace says “Unholy Revelations definitely lives up to its title, and the debut writer, Arsenio Franklin, does not spare any punches. He goes after a war that has been brewing since before man was created, and he ends it in a way that will most likely leave you astounded.”

The Joys of Editing

I’m editing my first novel for what feels like the 1,000^th time and I’m sick of looking at it. I’m currently at the library, where I like writing because it’s a hassle to connect to their Wi-Fi so I’m less distracted. As I sat here editing I was enjoying the process. Really enjoying rereading something for the millionth time and finding things that are wrong or can at least be improved upon.

One big issue is the lack of details during dialogue. Expressions, actions, tones, etc. But this time I could see the characters the way I could when I was writing earlier drafts. Just letting the story come to me. I didn’t have to think about adding a detail just because I’d gone too many lines of dialogue without any. I was seeing the characters in my mind as I wrote.

I actually stopped writing to draft this post, so I’m probably fucked now, but that’s okay. It was nice while it lasted.