It's important to believe in yourself. I know I don't, most of the time.

I'm sure some of you don't either. It's a battle we fight daily. We look at the task before us, be it writing a book or signing up for classes or talking to a cute guy, and we say "I'm not pretty/smart/funny/strong/good enough." But you know what? We're wrong. We are all of those things, or at least we should be. If to nobody else but ourselves. You have to believe in you and chase after your dreams, because if you don't you're going to end up stuffing that dream into an envelope and then ripping it up year after year, like this guy...

Keeping talent hidden away all those years for fear of failure? It's a god damn travesty.

Okay, so we can't all sing like that...but that's not the point. The point is this man listened to the voices telling him that he couldn't do it, be it from friends or family or the ones inside his own head. He allowed that fear of failure to keep him from even trying.

Don't let that be you. Try to do the things you've been afraid of doing because you were worried that you would fail. Go back to school. Talk to that girl you've been crushing on for months. Start a business. Write that damn book. Put yourself out there, whatever. Just do it.

Maybe it won't work out. Maybe you'll make a fool of yourself in the process. But you know what? The world will move on, as will you. Should you succeed, however, the world will stop, if only for a moment, and take notice. And that's something that can never be taken away from you. More importantly, you won't waste five years of your life wondering what could have been.

"Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can pick ourselves back up." -- Thomas Wayne

In case you didn't know, it's October 22nd. As in, almost November. What the hell! I swear yesterday was July and then I blinked and now it's friggin October!! How does that happen? (TIME TRAVEL, DUH!!)

So what have I been up to, aside from NOT finishing I, Dark Lord and putting it out there for what I can only assume to be your rabid consumption. Well, for starters, I updated my website. See? I copied over my old blog posts (all eleven of them...) but lost the comments in the process. Sorry about that! Also, you're welcome!

What else? Let's see...oh, here's something that's kind of a big deal. I quit my job. After working for seven years as a member of the fun police I just felt like it was time to do something else. And so, with the support of my loving wife I threw away a lot of money and amazing benefits and a badass retirement so that I could become a broke college student and stay-at-home dad. Dumb, I know. But also incredibly awesome, because life is far too short to spend 40+ hours a week someplace you don't want to be.

"Great!" you're saying. "You should have more time to write now, yes? So why isn't Dark Lord finished?"  Funny you should ask! Surprisingly, I find myself with even LESS free time than I did when I was away from home for ten+ hours a day. How is that even possible? (TIME TRAVEL, DUH!!!) I'm not really sure, but there it is. Throw in the fact that we're now responsible for two more (great) kids and the recent sudden death of my dog and let's just say that my head has not been in the game.

BUT GUESS WHAT!?! NOW IT IS!!! YAAAAAYAYAAYA!! COMMENCE WITH THE LIBATIONS!!

I was actually up until 1:30AM last night writing a kick-ass chapter for I, Dark Lord that was definitely missing from the beginning of the story. I plan on writing my ass off for the next eight days and finally finishing this book before the end of the month. I owe that not only to you guys but to myself. After that, it's NaNoWriMo, during which I intend to finish I, Champion in 30 days or less, alongside continuing to ace all my classes and clean the house and take care of four children and...and..and...and...

That's all for now. Later, minions!! 

The month of June has been very kind to me.

So it wasn’t my best sales month ever.
No, I didn’t finish I, DARK LORD on time.
I did have to work 16 days with only 3 days off scattered in between there (6/1/6/1/4).
Yes, my home air conditioner broke just as a record-setting heatwave came rolling through.

But none of that is June’s fault. I don’t blame her for my misfortunes and failings.

You see, I’m a glass half-full kind of guy. Always have been. It’s both my gift and my curse. And when I look back on the month of June, I see the effort my wife, friends, and family put into making Father’s Day special. I see the stress-fest my wife (again…she’s an angel people!) went through in order to throw me an amazing surprise gathering for my birthday. I remember how much fun my boys had at my (now) 7 year old’s birthday party.

Not to mention getting featured on Kindle Books and Tips, which increased I, MINION‘s sales (by A LOT) and helped it to break back into the Top 100 of Dark Fantasy for the first time since it’s release back in April.

















Throw in the fact that we were reviewed at 4 different blogs.
AND that I had my first ever author interview.
AND 15 reviews at Goodreads with a 4.20 average.
AND 13 reviews at the ‘Zon with a 4.7 average rating.

Are you starting to see June like I do? Is your glass half-full yet? Because in case you missed it, let me spell it out for you: IT ROCKED! LIKE FOR REALZ! I CAN’T EVEN FIND MY SOCKS!! THAT’S HOW BADLY (GOODLY?) IT ROCKED!! 

That being said, it’s time for me to dive back into the mind of the Dark Lord. Only he’s not the Dark Lord, not yet. He’s still just Sakroth. But things are collapsing around him, and he’s starting to slip.

Later, minions!

It is with a sick child in my arms and a heavy heart that I come before you today. Well, more like a busted ego than a heavy heart. You see, this morning I realized that I, Dark Lord simply isn’t ready to be released on June 30th as I’d originally planned. I chose that date because it coincided with the birthday of my oldest child, and I’d already released I, Minion on my (now) 3 year old’s name-day. Figured it wouldn’t be fair of me to put a book out there on one kid’s birthday and not the others, right? Right! It would be even more unfair, however, to both you and me, if I were to release my second book without being absolutely confident in it’s erm…completeness.

I, Dark Lord is a bigger book in many ways. Not only in word count, (over twice as long as the first) but in ambition and scope. Here we have a character who has changed in so many ways, struggling with his feelings and with his guilt while simultaneously counting his lucky stars. We also have the titular Dark Lord — Sakroth, before he was in fact the Dark Lord. After all, nobody starts off bent on becoming a tyrannical overlord. Something has to happen along the way to transform them. What is it they say? The road to hell is paved with good intentions…

Now, I’m sure many writers struggle with the “second book blues.” I know I do. Worried that it’s not going to be as good as the first. That it won’t sell as well. Will anybody even want to read it? Are my characters evolving? Or is it just more of the same? These fears plague me constantly. But it wasn’t to their incessant whisperings that I finally succumbed. It was to my own. It’s not ready, plain and simple. Nor would it be by the 30th.

Does that mean I don’t believe in my book? Absolutely not! It’s precisely because I do believe that I know this is the right decision. Okay okay okay. So what’s the new release date? To be honest? I’m not sure. But right now I’m aiming for the 11th of July. Both ebook and print format. And I’ll be starting right away on I, Champion, because I’m sure you’ll be chomping at the bit to see how it all unfolds. I know I will be!

And since I feel bad, I’m going to leave you with a little teaser. This was the sketch my cover artist sent to me when we were first discussing how I wanted the cover for I, Dark Lord to look. It’s come a long way since…but still, it’s something.

I normally don’t do “Sorry.” Just ask my wife. Hi, honey! But in this instance, I do feel as though I owe you (all five or six of you) an apology. Why? Because it’s been twenty-eight days since I last posted here. TWENTY EIGHT!! Do you know how long that is? No? Let me put it this way.

28 days.
4 weeks.
672 hours.
40,320 minutes.
2,419,200 seconds.

As a brand spanking new author, particularly a self-published one, I should be posting once or twice a week minimum. I’ve got to establish an identity. Build a brand. Keep my readers engaged and exited. Etc blah blah. Know what I’ve been doing instead? Reading books, playing video games, annoying my wife, working on the sequel, and endlessly refreshing my Amazon sales data. (IS THAT A NEW SALE? IS IT? YAAAAAAAYA….AH NO. DERP DERP)

But better late than never, right? RIGHT!!!!!!

So how are things going with I, Minion, you ask? Things are going quite well! We’ve sold over a hundred copies to date, and a couple of fantasy book review blogs have been generous enough to add it to their lineup! The first scheduled feature that I know of is June 12th. When that happens, or if another one comes sooner, I’ll definitely let you know here.

On top of that, the giant box of paperback copies that I ordered arrived today! Which means that I’ll be sending out the signed copies to our contest winners here very soon (tomorrow, most like). It also means that if you’re so inclined, you can order a signed copy right here from my website (under the My Books tab) via PayPal, and as soon as the payment clears I’ll get it out the door and into your hands! Exciting times, people!

And just because I’m in a information-sharing mood: Know that I’m planning to release I, Dark Lord on June 30th (my oldest son’s birthday), and close out the trilogy on September 4th (the day my sister pushed her way into this world…literally! Ha!) with I, Savior. But don’t worry, I won’t wait until then to make another blog post.

It’s well after midnight. Ive got a 6 hour drive ahead of me tomorrow (today, technically!) and I believe The Wife AKA Facebook Publicist Machine AKA The Boss is rousing us sometime in the god-forsaken hours between 3AM and 4AM. I should be cuddled up next to her in bed! Instead, I’m sitting here in the dark, peering into my glowing computer monitor and drinking a Samuel Adams Summer Ale. Why, you ask? I’ll tell you!

It’s because I woke up this morning (yesterday morning, technically!) and saw that my novella, I, MINION, was sitting at the #21 spot in the Top 100 Paid Dark Fantasy at Amazon. Guess where it’s sitting now? No, not #25, though it did drop down to that number sometime around midnight. Try again? No? Well, alright. #15!!!! Yes, you heard that right….FIF MOTHA EFFIN TEEN!!!


















We broke the Top 20, and when I say we, I don’t really mean we. I mean you. You did it. It’s because of you: Sharing facebook posts, and tagging pictures with I, MINION on your virtual bookshelves. It’s because of you taking the time out of your day to actually download a copy, read it, and then tell everyone you know that you loved it. This isn’t my success. It’s not even our success. It’s yours. So congratulations! I hope that I can live up to the standard you’ve set for me.

It’s been absolutely unreal these last couple of days. Each and every time someone has left a comment saying how much they loved the book it just…blows my mind. And then I go and peek at I, MINION on Amazon, and see that it’s climbing the charts. Well, it’s safe to say that I’m still not quite sure that I’m not dreaming.

It’s been a very humbling and encouraging couple of days. Thank you all, once again. I’d keep going but I finally feel sleep’s siren call, luring me in. MY BRAIN: Oh, you have to wake up at 4AM? Let’s keep you awake until the last possible second. That way you can make really good decisions and not be a grouchy prick to your wife.

Cheers, all! *downs beer*

OMG OMG OMG OMG

I finally did it. About an hour ago, I submitted I, Minion to Amazon, B&N, iTunes, and Kobo. That means in less than 12 hours, people from all over the country will be able to read something that I created. Me. Lewis Dix. That big goofy bastard that you can barely understand. Yup! That’s right!

It’s been one hell of a ride, and I know that I couldn’t have done it without the love and support from my family and friends. To everyone that’s been there for me at one point or another along this incredible journey, I just want to say thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!

Being a writer, or any kind of artist really, is quite scary, when you think about it. You spend all this time pouring yourself into something – be it a book, a painting, or a song, and then you put it out there for the world to judge. Some of them will hate it. Some of them, if you’re lucky, will love it. Most probably won’t even care. But the fact of the matter is you’re exposing yourself to people you don’t even know.

It’s like pulling your pants down in front of the entire world. At first you’re all like, “MY JUNK IS HUGE” and you whip it out like nobody’s business. But once it’s out there, you start to second guess yourself. You start to think “Oh shit…is it really?” You can only hope that the world agrees with you. Or that they, at the very least, keep it in perspective. “Well, it’s big for his height.”

My junk is out there, people. In the coming days/weeks I’ll talk about the lessons learned. And in the meantime, I’ll figure out how I can plug this blurb into my product description:

“This amateur writer guy that I hang out with on rare occasions very rare occasions and mostly says inappropriate things more than appropriate things, finally came out with a book. If you are really desperate and lonely and want to read a new book maybe you can read this one. But you’ll probably be disappointed.” - My good friend Theresa

Ladies and gentlemen, we’re a go for launch!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! APRIL 24th!

But Lewis, what are we marking?

JUST DO IT YOU HEATHENS!

Okay…..

Ahem.

Anyway, it’s finally happening. I’m pulling the trigger. My novella, which is really just a fancy word for not-quite-a-regular-length-book, is being released to the world on April 24th, 2012.

What’s that, you wrote a book?

Why yes I did. It’s called I, MINION, and it’s a fantasy story about love’s power to overcome any obstacle, even when said obstacle is the fact that you’re a walking corpse enslaved to a great big magic evil dude. Hmmm, reading over that last sentence makes it sound like it’s some kind of mushy romance story-with zombies. But I can assure you that it’s not. After all, love is at the heart of every good story. For example:

1. In Gladiator, Maximum Aurelius loved his family and Rome
2. In 300, same deal.
3. In Jurassic Park, the T-Rex loved eating people.
4. In Robocop, that adorable cyborg loved dispensing JUSTICE!!!

Without love, you got no story. And speaking of, I want to take this opportunity to thank my wife. Because without her love, I would have never been able to write it. Be sure to come back and visit often over the next 7 days, because I’ll be pimping the shiznit out of I, MINION. And talking about…stuff, and things (WALKING DEAD INSIDER’S JOKE…HIGH FIVE!!!)