Read "Proud Souls" online for FREE!!!

Recently I had the esteemed privilege of corresponding with one of the greatest living authors today: Mr. Paulo Coelho of Brazil, author of "The Alchemist." As many of you may know, I have become something of an advocate for "The Alchemist" in recent years, oftentimes spending more time talking about his work more than my own novel. I sent him another email recently telling him how much his works have meant to me as a writer and also (or rather seriously looking) for some positive feedback regarding the struggle of being an "unknown" writer. While waiting for him to reply I reviewed his blogs, some of his older postings, and I had an idea. Why not try what has worked for him???

If you are not familiar with his marketing concepts and strategies then you are not aware that Paulo Coelho broke one of the major publishing rules when he opted to pirate his own work!!! Yeah, that's right. Paulo Coelho began offering FREE downloads and Internet reads of all his works online, without his publishers consent. He did this because he believes you can obtain more fans by offering them a chance to read your works, rather than being reclusive and hoping they buy your work for the sake of buying it.

That's what led me to this (should have been simple) decision. I am going to direct everyone I know to the Google Book Search page for "Proud Souls", where you can read (90%) of the novel online for FREE!!!

I actually forgot this feature was avaialble late last year, but being "sale" minded instead of "sharing" like I was told in Kindergarten, I thought, why would I tell anyone? Who would buy it after they read it? Well, I guess we will see, won't we?

So, if you are still curious to know what all the hype is about with relation to my novel, "Proud Souls" click the link above for the Google Book Search and have at it!!! If you are interested in purchasing your own copy afterwords, the link to the Amazon store front for "Proud Souls" is below.


Don't forget to follow me as I journal the entire mental process of creating my second novel, "The Other Side of Glory" via my blog: "Drawing Stories...With Words."

~Bobby Ozuna
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com

"The Other Side of Glory"--August 8th, 2008

I wrote 5 new pages last night...

Last night I finished writing the second chapter and wrote the first page of Chapter 3. It was close to 11:00PM when I stopped; I couldn't write much more and I never force a story....so I found a good stopping point and called it a done.

So far the story has taken a different path from what I originally envisioned--but again--that's the point. I may have a wild imagination, but it will never compare to the stories that present themselves to a willing and attentive soul.

In the early stages of this story I have introduced a man--Pops--who is on death-row awaiting execution for murder in a fictitious Huntsville prison system. He meets a young man by the name of Jace Harding who apparently will tell the old man's story over the course of the novel and eventually direct the audience to how he (Pops) came to commit murder.

From there the story introduces my two main characters--Joey Allario and Mikey Alaniz. Now, knowing every story MUST have a protagonist and antagonist, I have made it very clear who is who in their roles early on. Joey represents the concept of a "good" young man and Mikey, being his polar opposite, will represent the "bad." The first chapter introduces Joey as he ventures towards Jacksonville, North Carolina, home US Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune. We see him as honest, sincere and proper. The second chapter introduces Mikey Alaniz and his very good friend, Vinny Lozano. Vinny's position within the story will be mediator between Mikey and Joey. His role is crucial considering the interaction between the "hero" and "villian" will be limited but still necessary to know their thoughts towards one another as the story progresses.

The reader will meet Mikey and see him interact with a woman (who happens to be lying naked next to him in a bed...as he watches her butt-muscles react to his touch) early on. This particular introduction to his character is imperative, as his character, ego and actions are dictated by those of women. It is part of his substance as a man. The reader will also get a feel for his rage and anger as he will have words with another Marine right away, which will boil-over into a physical confrontation in Chapter 3, where he meets our hero: Joey Allario.

More to come....

~Bobby Ozuna
author of "Proud Souls"
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com

"The Other Side of Glory"--August 6th, 2008

I wrote two new pages yesterday and then nothing new...

Part of working to write the novel is finding lots of available time to formulate the story--not just on paper--but within your mind. My stories start long before I ever take the first words to paper. Actually, I rarely ever (if I ever have!!!) picked up the pen and started working on a story without FIRST writing the story in my mind.

Recently my very good friend Cathy asked me a question about the whole "time" scenario. She, like many others, wanted to know how I find time to write and market the book and do online promotional work, between having a wife and kids and job. I felt this was a good time as any to address that concern especially since my mind is running full-time with relation to "The Other Side of Glory."

My response: Well, it's not easy. The hardest part for me is finding the time to write and still somehow keep my wife from being irritated with me for "taking time away from the family" and still not give the impression that I am ignoring my children. I work part-time for a company in Southlake, Texas doing (the one thing I hate doing): computer work. I have been a network technician for 9-years and I can't stand it. It's a thank-less job where no matter how smart you are--you are either rewarded with MORE work or considered "the help." Writing is my passion and it consumes every aspect of my life, from my thoughts, my dreams while I am sleeping (and awake) and even (and especially) my attitude.

When I am working to develop a character--or getting to know a character that won't bend for my own imagination--I notice I begin to conform to their characteristics. I suppose that is part of why and how my characters seem "so real" at times. I have to try and get into THEIR minds in order to effectively transfer their persona on paper.

I don't try to purposely take time away from anyone I love, but writing isn't like working a regular job. You don't wake up and clock-in and then find a stopping point and clock-out. The story begins to come alive and you have to find the time to sit down and put those words on paper, before you lose them! If I ignore the sounds within my mind, because let's say, we have practice or a favorite show or movie on television, then what happens is the story begins to wrestle with my (un)willingness to bring it to life. My attitude gets worse because I am ignoring the one thing I am supposed to be doing. And in the end, everyone around me suffers...

You must have an open relationship with those closest to you--and teach them to understand that sitting down to write a story isn't like sitting down to play a game. There isn't an on/off switch for creativity. I have the terrible aspect of believing that since I am not outside my home, but rather in my home writing, it isn't so bad. But I forget--just like anyone else would--that just because you are home...doesn't mean you are home...

So, there is a fine line between working towards a dream and maintaining the family that you hope to provide for when that dream is fulfilled. Yes, one aspect is this: Your partner should deal with the emotional separation as long as you are home, especially considering if & when you reach your breakthrough, they surely aren't going to ignore the money. But to be fair, I have to remember, like all writers should, there is a possibility that you may never reach that milestone and looking back years later may have lost more than you acquired by pursuing a dream.

I know this does not completely answer the question...but it does address one of the harder aspects of being a writer...at least for Bobby Ozuna.

Thanks...

~Bobby Ozuna
"Drawing Stories...With Words"

"The Other Side of Glory"--August 4th, 2008

I am a bit behind with this particular post...but...

On Thursday, July 28th I reached a small milestone within the life of my next novel: "The Other Side of Glory." As many may already know, I write all my stories free-hand--FIRST. I feel you kill the creative flow when you make any first attempts at writing stories at the computer. Whenever I get to a good stopping-point or even finish what I might call a chapter at that time, I stop writing and begin typing. I type that entire completed section of the story and while doing so, I am writing the next section/chapter free-hand again. I find it helps build on teh story as I work to write (free hand) the next section/chapter.

So, on Thursday the 28th of July, after I finished typing Chapter One (and I already had the Prologue) I came to a sudden realization: I am on my way to finishing my next novel!!!! The story was becoming a reality!!!

Yes, I know I was already working on it but until you see it, hold it, feel it and breathe the papers through the pores on your hands, then to me, it isn't yet real. But after printing out those first 26 pages (some 6,000 words typed already) I could not help but remember how I felt in the early stages of Proud Souls. It's hard to believe I have learned so much from my previous works to help this process flow much more smoothly.

The words are flowing out of my mind and onto paper with little resistance now. I am working on finishing the second chapter (typed version) so I can begin writing Chapter Three. Already it's been three weeks and in that time I have two chapters just about down with the third in progress. So for those of you curious to know how fast (or slow) you can write that novel trapped within your imagination--well, here is a realistic look. Even if I wrote one chapter per week--one handwritten version and one typed in that same week--I would have in six to eight months a 24~32 chapter novel which will range in the 300+ page range.

Regardless of what I do now, this new story (like all stories in my life) will dominate my every moment, awake or sleeping, until it is done. The characters I formulated within the creativity of my mind will begin taking on a life of their own, as they introduce the little quirks and habits that make them real.

Until next time, stay tuned for more details and behind the scenes updates on the creation of my second novel--from thought to completed manuscript.

~Bobby Ozuna
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com

"The Other Side of Glory"-- July 28th, 2008

Understanding there are important "fundamental" concepts that must be applied to every story, in order to help the readers (1.) stay focused long enough to keep reading past the opening pages, (2.) identify traits with the hero of the story so that they come to a determination (quickly) that his/her story is worth following and (3.) establishing the nature of the character for a growth pattern later on as the story develops, I realized I was missing something in the opening Chapter to "The Other Side of Glory."

I opened the story with a pretty powerful (draft) Prologue, introducing the audience to an older gentleman awaiting his death sentence in prison. How and why he got there will be told over the course of the (body of the) story. I think I sparked enough intrigue to keep the reading audience moving towards the first chapter where they are immediately introduced to a young Private First Class in the US Marine Corps by the name of Joey Allario.

I was trying to convey the "nice guy" image early in the story for my character Joey Allario--being this novel will be a play on the concepts of "good" and "evil." The trick however (for me as the writer) will be to draw characters in situations that force my reading audience to decide what/who is good and what/who is evil. Yesterday however I realized I was missing something with relation to Joey's history. I could easily tell the audience great things about him, but that doesn't always work. I have learned its just as important to show the character interacting with people--close to him and people he/she doesn't know--to draw a better image of their quality. So, I went back and added a few more pages to the opening chapter as a sort of flashback scene, where you see the young Marine saying good-bye to his parents. Below is a sample of what I wrote yesterday to build on the idea that PFC Joey Allario is a good kid.



Excerpt from Chapter 1 of "The Other Side of Glory"




The terminal doors slammed together symbolizing the passing of one stage of his life into the other. Standing there Joey couldn't help but think about his family back home--his mother and father and especially his younger sister Helen. He reached into his pocket of his pants until his fingers found a small pocket-sized Holy Bible. Joey closed his eyes for a moment and held the Bible firmly in his hand as though he were holding each of them close to him and within the echoes of the very quiet airport terminal he could see their faces again--as clearly as he did just hours before.

"Sit with me," his father said. "Aqui." Here.

Joey was only hours away from leaving his home in Midland, Texas and all he had known to be normal and good. His mother was preparing breakfast--tortillas, eggs and chorizo--and his younger sister Helen was busy laying out his uniform on his bed.

"Look at my hands," his father said. "See them?"

"Yes dad," Joey said.

"They are the hands of a worker--someone who has earned his money by the sweat of his brow," his father told him referencing the family bible on a nearby table.

"I know dad, there isn't anything wrong with working hard for a living," Joey said. "You gave us a home. That's more than most people can say for themselves father."

"I understand this," his father said. "But one day you will be a father and have children of your own and of all you can give them and all you will give them--the option of having a better life than the one you lived will mean the most to you."

Joey looked around his home, at the furniture and its worn upholstery, the cracked flooring and the simple layout and then he realized something. His mother and father were right about one thing; the home they provided was good enough for them, but he was slowly outgrowing them. He was beginning to outgrow the life they offered and would require more of himself and the things he worked to provide for his life. He would do better than they did, not because he is better but because they raised him to appreciate everything he had, to work hard for what he wanted and to remember where he came from.

Joey ate his breakfast with his family at the table and together they hardly spoke to one another. Each of them in turn were busy picking up or setting plates or serving food as if they were trying to occuply their minds and slow down time. But the inevitable had come. It was time to leave home again.

Joey hugged his mother and took the money she offered into his hand. She always had a way of giving so much of herself in the money she could spare. He kissed her and said good-bye to his sister Helen. She was teary-eyed knowing the brother who stood up for her, believed in her and set the standard for what a strong young man should be--was now breaking away from the nest to find his own way in the world.

"It's a right-of-passage," his sister said. "Now do you rbest and come back home with a treasure of sacrifices and stories to tell."

The last to say good-bye was his father. Just before seeing him off outside Midland International Airport, he took his son in his arms and said only these words: "Don't forget my hands son and the years they labored to get you were you are today. I love you."


***********
...More to come later...
Stay tuned as I document the mental process for creating my second novel: "The Other Side of Glory."

~Bobby Ozuna
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com
"Drawing Stories...With Words"

"TheOtherSideofGlory"--July 22, 2008

Last night after working on the opening scenes for Chapter 1 of "The Other Side of Glory" I saw more of the storyline coming to life within my mind. Just after watching a little television with my wife Michele and my daughter Elizabeth and immediately after checking all the doors to make sure they were locked, I saw it, another scene that was already vague within my mind. So, as I have said before the story will continue just as it should, at just the right time.

So far the story opens in a (fictitious) prison setting--Huntsville's Walls Unit some forty-years from today (or actually some 40+ years from the setting of the novel). In that opening Prologue the audience is introduced to a character everyone knows as Pops. What we do know is this: He is old--older at least than the young inmate who is introduced as his new cellmate. I thought the young inmate's name was Josh Harding but just today a familiar and important "voice from my past" let me know the character's name is NOT Josh, but rather Jace. His name is Jace Harding and he my friends is the person telling this story. You can say he is the narrator despite me being the author. It doesn't make perfect sense right now, but it will in time...that I can promise.

Just before checking to make sure all the doors were locked and just after finishing a show with my wife Michele and my daughter Elizabeth, I saw more of the story within my imagination. I saw the "hero" of my story, Joe Allario, standing tall in his green Service Alpha's outside the Ellis Airport in Richlands, North Carolina. This story is going to take the reader from a prison in Texas, to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and back to Texas over the course of some 40+ years in the lives of Joey Allario and a man known as Michael "Mikey" Alaniz.

On that note I did hear Pops explaining something important to Jace Harding, but I couldn't make out his words...for some reason the sound within my mind was clouded. Does anyone know what you call the after-sound of a plane passing over your head? You know, you hear the roar of the engine and then the plane is gone, miles away but yet you still hear the sound and roar of the plane...and suddently its gone, sucked out of the sky like a vacuum?

Just curious..it's important for the storyline...

~Bobby Ozuna

www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com

"Drawing Stories...With Words"

"Proud Souls" On Location Video Documentary, Part I

Here is the first of several documentary style videos I will be posting recapping my trip to Seymour, Texas on March 14th/15th 2008.


Seymour, Texas is the "setting" to my debut literary fiction novel: Proud Souls. I thought I would offer my fans an opportunity to get to know me better by listening as I share insightful (and unscripted) information regarding the creation of Proud Souls and also (later) get a chance to see the cabin as described in the opening chapters.



Bobby Ozuna Author of Proud Souls www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com