Thursday, August 9, 2007

Drawing parallels

In my backyard is a half-acre of woods filled with vines, brambles, poison oak and poison ivy. It has become my goal to eradicate these nuisances, so for the past several months I have been dousing them with weed-killer. This morning I spent two hours in 100-plus-degree heat spraying the nocuous liquid all over the place. By dusk, the leaves already were sagging. It's brutal work, but the end result will be a worth it.

Also for the past several months, I've been knee-deep in the revision process of the last four books of my series. I'm improving phrasing, weeding out extraneous words, polishing and beautifying sentence after sentence. It's brutal work, but the end result will be worth it.

See how a writer's mind operates?

1 comment:

Jeanne Malmgren said...

Jim,

You're quite the weed killer and sentence polisher!

By this autumn, we'll see the end results, both in the woods and on your book tour. I can't wait!

Jeanne

Synopsis

The Death Wizard Chronicles is a sexy, action-packed six-book epic fantasy series: Book One (Forged by Death), Book Two (Chained by Fear), Book Three (Eve of War), Book Four (World on Fire), Book Five (Sun God), Book Six (Death-Know).

The DW Chronicles is not for children and teenagers -- or the faint of heart. But if you like graphic fantasy that is bursting with excitement yet still has a lot going on between the lines, I think you'll love my series.

In a groundbreaking paradox, the Death Wizard, a champion of good, derives his power from a source traditionally seen as negative -- death. His nemesis, an evil sorcerer, derives his power from the sun, the benevolent source of all life. Their struggle to control the fate of the planet Triken will take your breath away.

In an original twist never before seen in this genre, the Death Wizard is able to enter the realm of death during a "temporary suicide." Through intense concentration, he stops his heartbeat and feeds on death energy, which provides him with an array of magical powers.

The series also is a love triangle involving two desperate characters attempting to come together despite the machinations of an all-powerful psychopath with incestuous cravings.

Graphic and action-packed, spanning a millennium of turmoil, The DW Chronicles carries readers on a journey they will never forget.

Do you fear death? The Death Wizard does not. Find out why.

-- Please go to www.jim-melvin.com for more details.

About Me

My photo
Clemson, SC, United States
I was born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., but grew up in St. Petersburg, Fla. I graduated from the University of South Florida (Tampa) in 1979 with a B.A. in Journalism. I now live in South Carolina near the Blue Ridge Mountains, a pleasant setting for writing, to say the least. I was an award-winning journalist at the St. Petersburg Times for twenty-five years and I currently work at the Charlotte Observer. I am married with five daughters.

The author

The author
Jim Melvin, a veteran journalist, debuts as novelist.