It’s hard to believe I’ve reached this point, but the formatting of my first book is nearing completion. Soon, with the final text and image files in hand, there will be no impediment to launching The Thief and The Demon, only hesitation and the desire for everything to be “just so” before I hit that …
Author: rodericktmacdonald
The Writing Life: Why Now?
While I’ve always wanted to be a writer, for far too much of my life I wanted to write a first draft, be praised for my creativity, and have that draft magically transformed into a bestseller by some random alchemy that had nothing to do with me working on it myself. I wanted all the …
Countdown Part 2: Systems Check
In the previous countdown blog, I felt like I was strapped into the capsule, no turning back. However, it is not enough to simply strap yourself to the top of a rocket and declare the job done, you need to control the engines, and maybe even be able to steer the thing if you want …
The Writing Life: Why me?
I’m not sure if I ever actually chose to be a writer. It seems to have always been with me, as natural as breath. If I had to point to one event that set me on the road, it would be my mother reading me The Hobbit when I was five years old. I was …
Countdown Part 1: Strapped In
Well, I’ve gone and done it. The Thief and The Demon, my debut novel, is scheduled to be formatted. The cover has been designed, so now all I have to do is wait until the formatted text and the cover are united, and it will be time to upload. I feel like I’m in the …
Welcome to My Writing Journey
I’ve blogged sporadically for a few years now, but with the publication of my first novel fast approaching, I thought it appropriate to reintroduce myself. My name is Roderick T. Macdonald. I am 46. The age surprises me often. Time kept slippin’ away, and here I am, in the future. I am a writer. I …
The Strange Highway of Novel Creation
For me, a line from this song really captures the amount of work involved in writing a novel. "Every time I climbed the mountain, and it turned into a hill..." So often have I thought I was nearly done, that surely it would all be over soon, only to discover a new mountain of work …
The Wheel Rolls On
***This post contains spoilers about Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, stop here if you have not completed it!*** So I finally finished reading the Wheel of Time, twenty two or three years after starting it. I am so glad I did. The ending is worth the wait, or it was for me. I read …
The Big Wheel of Time
Keeps on Turning. And Turning. And Turning. This blogpost will be long, as befits its subject. And meandering. Ditto. Just me blethering in circles around a great series in fantasy. You have been warned! Now for some tea and chocolate, and let's be on with it! In the spirit of booktube - what have I …
Days Go By…
And still I think of you. I'm going to continue opening with a song. And then listen to what follows as I write this entry. I've been thinking about new blog posts, but they did not manifest. I'm not sure why. At first I didn't want to do that thing where you start with a …