Of course, I have considered the digital self-publishing option for my fiction as well.

The real question there is whether it would be a solid option, or whether I’d be robbing myself of a print-publishing contract. And to be honest, I think it could work even better for my fiction than for my religious writing.

Why?

Well, there are TONS of mystery and suspense fans out there. The market is HUGE.

Whereas for my religious writing, the market is thin, admittedly.

The comparison is like a couple sit-ups next to full, 20-minute ab workouts.

And there are stories of authors who landed agents and book deals off the exposure afforded them by digital publishing.

Worthy of thought…

It’s all fine and well and good to have a model that inspires, but to write a good and salable mystery series, if I choose to focus on a crime-solving Messianic rabbi as the focal character of my mystery novels, I’ll have to go beyond the admirable qualities I found in the works of Harry Kemelman, and give my series its own flavor, style and uniqueness.

Now, the fact that my novels will feature a Messianic protagonist rather than a conservative rabbi is one element of uniqueness; however, it must go deeper than that.

For one thing, I would want my novels to still be a bit lighthearted. Sure, a series based on a Messianic rabbi is going to be a bit more sober than a series focusing on a crime-solving pizza delivery boy with a ghostly sidekick, but that doesn’t mean the novels have to have a strong theological tone; people read mysteries, I believe, to get enthralled with characters, not to hear a Torah commentary.

So, Messianic rather than conservative? Check. A bit funnier? Hopefully. Wrinkle treatments? Huh?

A good start?

Not yet…

I recently bought and built a new desk for my computer. It was a reasonable price and I didn’t mind putting it together. After years of writing while laying on my belly with only a body pillow between me and the carpet, this is a definite improvement, even if it’s not as big as, say, full-on entertainment centers.

Yet for complete comfort, I am still lacking one thing: I need a more comfortable chair for when I’m at my desk. The chair I’m using is OK, but isn’t comfortable for long stretches of writing. It’s a plain, wooden, straight-back chair that lacks even a cushion.

I’m hoping to save up a bit for a cushioned office chair that doesn’t cost too much. Maybe by May?

Even though I’ve had mostly legitimate setbacks on my novel project, I’m really starting to feel like I’m treading water and, to mix metaphors, in need of some roadside assistance to get going again.

I started this current novel over 18 months ago, when I first learned my mother was stage four in her cancer and we’d be losing her soon. I suppose it was a bit of an escape, as well as a way of coping with the looming loss.

Which is odd because the novel doesn’t really deal with grief directly, and its theme is actually rather light and breezy, even though death is a major part of the novel – it being, of course, a mystery novel.

I suppose in some ways, enough time has gone by that I am coping with Mom’s death better these days and the novel is less therapeutic than it started out to be. But I really do hope to get back on track soon; considering why I started it, I’d love for this project to turn into my first published novel, so I can dedicate it to my Mom.

I’d surrender all the club flyers you could shake a stick at for one thing: a PC that works smoothly and fast, and time enough to write.

It’s been rare to have either, let alone both, lately. Yet that is certainly the way I’d most like to spend my time in the evening when my wife and I go to our corners to wind down before sleep. I’m spending a lot more time lately in the evening with my father and my wife, and I love it; but in the late evening hours, I do want more time to write, and a PC that doesn’t hold me back from doing so.

Is that too much to ask?

With all my PC troubles, my writing time’s been suffering lately; I have enough time for blogging, which brings in much-needed funds, but no time for any novel writing. It’s like someone took thermogenic fat burners to my writing time and burned most of it away.

Trouble is, I’m really full of ideas for my novel right now; but with my laptop as slow as it is and my desktop constantly in for repairs, it’s just hard to find the time.

Of course, I’d have more time to write if I didn’t take time to pray; but my prayer life has to come before my writing life, or the writing I do becomes worthless to me.

While I am still working on my mystery novel, my sermon and commentary writing has taken up more time than I had anticipated this past month or two. Certainly, I don’t mind the sacrifice of novel-writing time; my ministry work is more important to me, after all.

Yet I do quite look forward to digging back into the world I’ve created for this novel. For those interested in suspense, there’s a lot of tension; for those interested in a supernatural touch, there’s a haunting; for those looking for disability appeal, they’ll be interested in Zach’s parents. There’s a lot to like about the cast of characters I’m assembling.

I just wonder if they’ll mind having the holidays off?

I’m finally making progress again on my mystery novel, thanks in no small part to having a lighter load on Torah commentaries. I’m writing new pages of copy several times a week. That’s progress, and I’m thankful for it.

I’m glad it happened before I needed to start searching for the best wrinkle cream out there; it’s been quite a year of delays, so it’s nice to get back into a rhythm with this novel.

Sometimes I daydream about living in some exotic locale, like Oahu. After Minnesota has been hit twice with early October snow, I’m thinking about it now more than ever.

Of course, warm weather has its downsides, such as the distractions of getting out on the beach and enjoying the tropical locale. But really, what could be more inspiring than spending some time in a tropical paradise?

Yeah, I daydream about it. And then I stop procrastinating and get back to writing.

Sometimes writing is a joy, sometimes it’s a task, and sometimes it’s a job. No matter which it feels like, though, the task is always the same: come up with words to describe stuff, tell a story, or relay some information. So whether its diet pill reviews or the great novel you’ve been slaving over, the blank page is something we all must face regularly.

At times like that, I do admit I prefer to write reviews or interview or whatnot, rather than my creative pursuits, simply because without that spark of creativity, the results are never the same.

Sometimes it feels like you almost have to know your characters better than you know your spouse, to be a successful writer. While I love my wife, I can’t say I know all her habits backward and forward. That isn’t essential in a marriage; but to write a novel, you have to know if your female lead uses eye cream or not before bed – something you may not want to be aware of with a spouse.

It’s odd and it feels almost like neglecting your spouse, to know your characters so well. But then, that’s just another good reason to always make sure that I take my wife out once a week on our date night. After all, you can’t snuggle up to a warm character at night… so it’s good to keep those priorities in line.

Lately I’ve been putting in a lot of long nights but not getting any creative writing done, even though the engines are turning up in the ol’ creative noggin. It’s frustrating that I’ve spent more time pondering the best acne treatment lately than I have a character’s motivation for murder despite being innocent.

So I guess the key to all this is simply making time and re-prioritizing my life. That would get most of the roadblocks out of the way.