Thank you for all the notes ad e-mails. Contrary to popular belief, I have not gone back in time again. I am still here.
Unfortunately, my laptop passed away, taking all my notes and manuscripts with it. I am in the process of getting a new job and then, when I get paid, I will buy a new laptop and find a way to salvage the old laptop's hard drive.
Thanks for your patience and understanding. I hope it will not be much longer as I am going through serious withdrawal myself.
Phil Brown
Tonight was my last class, and I am sad that it is over. Back around Christmas, I noticed that the local university was offering a five week (ten sessions), non-credit class in ‘Creative Non-Fiction Writing’, so I signed up.
I know, you’re wondering, what in the world are you doing in a non-fiction class, Phil? You write erotic fiction, for god’s sake. That’s about as far from poetry, travel guides, and magazine articles as you can get.
The idea of attending an on-campus class (albeit, in the evenings) was part of the attraction. I can tell you that it was both exciting and just a little scary. At least until I walked into the classroom the first time. There sat those same student desks I hated in high school, several decades ago. Low and ill-fitting for my larger sized frame, it was even worse because I’ve added a considerable number of pounds since my high school days, and my joints are not as limber.
There wasn’t a lot of new information, but each session seemed to produce a gem or two. I wish there had been more discussion on how to develop a story, POV, pacing, or scene construction, though.
The most delightful surprise, was that I found my own creativity stimulated as I listened to my classmates’ works. There were so many good story ideas. Like the young woman who won the Pillsbury Bake-Off a few years ago, then found out she had cancer. Or the guy who wrote a long and entertaining, rhyming poem about a family vacation to Myrtle Beach. I learned things about gardening, bird-watching, and even thimbles.
Over all, I have to chalk it up as a successful adventure, and would encourage anyone thinking about trying their hand at writing to find a class in their area.
Hopefully, you’ll get to benefit from the results of my class as I endeavor to make my stories better for you.
As always, thanks for reading,
Phil Brown.
Finally!
Just a quick note to let you know that I just posted the first chapters of Book III.
Sorry for the delay, but I had to complete the re-edits of Books I & II (and take care of a few other matters).
A special thanks to Roger, Cassie, Jack, & LaToya for all their efforts and assistance on making it happen. I hope that you will find the first two books much more enjoyable to read now. I didn’t change the storyline; however, we cleaned up hundreds of mistakes.
To each of you who e-mailed me. I kept all your e-mails and noted the errors. Hopefully, we got them. I wanted to tell you thanks as well.
Book III takes up hours after Book II ends, so there are no gaps. But there are some surprises. I don’t know how long the story will be, but my goal is a chapter or two each week. Book II took 26 weeks and had over one hundred chapters (before I combined some chapters in the re-edit). I can’t promise four chapters a week now, but I don’t typically hold chapters. As soon as my editors can do their magic and I can get everything ready, I post it.
I look forward to hearing from you. It is the only form of compensation we get. If you ask a question, I will try to answer it.
As always, thanks for reading my story. I hope you enjoy it,
Phil
I have completed and posted the re-edits for Second Time Through - Books I & II. (Whe-e-ew!)
These are not RE-WRITES. I did not change the storyline.
I did combine several shorter chapters, and tried to eliminate as many grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes as possible.
I hoped to make the story easier to read. I know that I enjoy a story better if I don’t have to stumble over mistakes and errors as I read.
Thanks for reading,
Phil
Just thought I'd let everyone know that I finally got the new 'edited' version of 'Second Time Through-Book I' posted last night.
I did not change the story very much. Instead, I focused on making it easier to read. I combined some short chapters, taking the story from 90 chapters, down to 45 chapters, but the total word count is almost 10% higher.
My heartfelt thanks to Roger, Cassie, and Jack for their efforts in helping me with this. They are great and I estimate they corrected over a gazillion errors in my first draft.
(No, they are not available for anyone else. I need them too much to even think of sharing, so don't ask!)
Yes, I am aware it’s still not perfect, but I hope you find it a little more enjoyable to read.
Can anyone tell me how you go about getting a ‘Review’?
Phil