Originally posted 11:58 AM UTC, May 3, 2010. Moved to Blogger.com Feb 11, 2011
Dear Reader,
As most readers know, my 100th book was published in 2009, and it marked an important milestone in my writing career. If you asked me in 2002 after Keeper Martin's Tale was on the Amazon SciFi Top 50 bestseller list for 26 consecutive weeks or in 2005 after Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches dominated Audible's Top 10 Fiction list for most of the year whether I'd still be writing after 100 books, I might not have said yes. But today, I cannot imagine doing anything else.
I've been writing stories most of my life, had my first book published in 1995, and writing is my life. It's what I do as both a job and as a hobby. Most people know I also write nonfiction as William Stanek. The William Stanek books are my job, and I love writing them. The Robert Stanek books are my hobby and I love writing them too. It's a strange marriage of two passions.
Although writing the William Stanek books requires my days, my nights, my weekends, and my holidays, I've always kept writing the Robert Stanek books. I steal quiet moments to write a few sentences at a time, work in the wee hours of the night or morning. Whether I'm sitting in my easy chair or out and about, I'm always writing, always scratching out new ideas. The creative process renews me. It helps me think in new ways; it helps me stay fresh; it helps me keep focused--and creative thinking, staying fresh, and keeping focused are important for all writing.
Big news for Ruin Mist readers.
Battle for Ruin Mist: The Role-playing Game was released in November 2009 and it has exceeded expectations, selling out two short runs. I'm looking forward to feedback from players on the first edition rule set.
Rise of the Fallen is being released/was released in May 2010. This is the first book in the new Ruin Mist series called Dawn of the Ages.
Betrayal also is being released/was released in May 2010. This is the first official Ruin Mist comic book. The four comic books in this new series will be collected in the "A Daughter of Kings" graphic novel.
You can read an 8-page mini-ebook and special preview for **free** at Meet the Dragons or explore the creative process and the Graphic Novels with me at Explore Ruin Mist Graphic Novels.
Lots of Bugville news also. Reagent Press has released all 16 of my original Bugville Critters books now in print, e, and audio. The latest releases are small format starting at $5.99. These small-sized editions don't have the bold, beautiful paper of the large, premiums starting at $9.99, but they have the same stories and illustrations. Continuing with the tradition started with the original Bugville Critters books, the newest Bugville books were released first in audio. The twelve new adventures for Buster and his pals are:
1. Every Letter Has Its Day
2. Every Day Is Different
3. Catching A Cup Of Sunshine
4. Every Letter Has A Sound
5. Every Number Counts
6. The BIG Number Count Down
7. Explore the Solar System
8. Remember Their Manners
9. Go to Camp
10. Save Their Allowance
11. Start Summer Vacation
12. Visit the Library
These books were released in audio in 2009. They're fully illustrated and typeset now and will be coming out in print in 2010 and 2011. The 12 new books make a total of 28 fun-filled adventures starring Buster, Lass, Cat, Dag, and all the other loveable critters of Bugville.
Some cool facts about Bugville:
- I developed the idea for the Bugville Critters in the 1990s and wrote the first book in 1996. When that book was published in 2007, nearly a decade later, I had already completed 28 Bugville Critters books. With the final typesetting of "Visit the Library" recently, my 15-year journey in Bugville is complete (but I fervently hope, not at an end).
- My children are the ones who urged me to get the Bugville Critters books published and that is what I set out to do in 2004. It took nearly four years to get the first set of books into print.
- To bring the books to audio, I began working with voice artists in 2005. It took four years of work with multiple voice artists to get to the release of all 28 Bugville Critters audio books.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for your support.
Take care,
Robert Stanek
