Saturday, June 15, 2019

My "Fathers' Day" essay - - To all fathers, everywhere, Happy Fathers’ Day

A Reprise of my most-read Fathers' Day Essay - What Kind of Father?


As a person, I have observed many examples of ‘fathers’ and regrettably more bad than good.  On a positive note, a few years ago I was particularly struck by two pieces related to fatherhood, one by LZGranderson at cnn.com, and the other by Dominic Utton at the Mail Online.

As an author, I have often created characters in a father role.  In certain of my books, the father is described after his death. In Playing the Baseball Card, the protagonist describes his father as a man who ‘made sure that his children were the most important part of his life.

In Aiden’s Arrival: Honor Before Gold, a now-grown son describes a man who assumed a father’s role by marrying a women with two young children.  “None of us; my mother, my sister, my nephew, my niece; were related to our father and grandfather by blood, but that didn’t matter to him.  He showed us, by his example, that family is about loving people, and caring about people, and living together in a supportive way.  Not always in harmony, but always caring about your family more than anything else.  He lived that kind of life, and today we carry on with that legacy.

In Zac and the Reluctant Prince, Book 1 of the Prince David series, the father is described this way:  “The example of his life teaches us the lessons of responsibility, obligation, commitment, dedication, loyalty, patriotism and also compassion.  In his life, he strove to be the best son he could be, the best husband he could be, the best father he could be, the best officer he could be, and the best man he could be.

If you know your father, what do you think of him? If you knew your father, how do you remember him?

I believe a real father is one who looks into the eyes of his children, and says to them, “My life improved the day you came into my life, and my life gets better every day that you are still in my life.”  I also believe a real father is the kind of role model I’ve described in the excerpts from my books, above. 

If you have the chance to be a father, or if you are a father, how do you want to be remembered? 

To all fathers, everywhere, Happy Fathers’ Day.

... Wil ...

Monday, March 18, 2019

Reality based fiction for Young Adults... welcome to the novels of Wilson James, author

Welcome to my writing – the reality based Young Adult fiction of Wilson James

Improbable. Unlikely. But not impossible. That’s what I write. Stories such as Sons and Brothers in Seattle, the tale of an older teen trying to provide a better life for a younger sibling and his own young children. A reader told me that this story truly mirrors much of his own life. I am awestruck to hear that, and amazed by the courage of the young man who actually lived the story.

All of my stories tell of young courage, and tenacity, and support of friends and family, and love. My books are meant to be an expression of what can be, even if it often is not.

I take my inspiration from the lives and deeds of real young people. Some I’ve known personally, or have watched from a close distance, and some I simply know of. The thread that binds them all together is they’ve shown that they can achieve the unlikely in spite of the challenges they face. In spite of the resistance of many adults around them. In spite of the naysayers who doubt. 

These young people have identified a dream or at least a goal, and have worked to make it happen.

So I take my lead from all of them. I use their example to create stories, with the hope that others will read, and find some part of the story that can help them in their own lives. I hope to empower young people with the examples in my stories. I know that some readers have found inspiration in the stories I write, and I take great comfort in that.

I set out to honor those whose lives were examples to me and my writing, and I hope that I will have done them justice. I also hope to honor my readers with the best stories I can create. Thank you for reading.

Wil

____________ 

And, here's how to find my books...



Smashwords - seven of my eBooks are available here, in multiple formats including for Kindle, Nook


Barnes and Noble – seven of my eBooks are available here, for the Nook


Apple US iTunes Bookstore – seven of my eBooks are available here, for the iPad
Apple UK iTunes Bookstore – seven of my eBooks are available here, for the iPad


Kobo – six of my eBooks are available here, in ePub format



 Amazon – some of my print books are now available, with selected eBooks to be available at a future date

Friday, March 1, 2019

Free eBooks - International Sale - March 3-9, 2019

FREE International EBOOKS SALE for 
"Read an eBook Week"

Most authors read books by other authors. If fact, pretty much all writers and authors started out by reading. As much as I continue to write, I still read! So, when I see the opportunity to build up my library of eBooks at no cost, I take it.

The annual "Read an eBook Week" promotion is a great time to find Free eBooks for Young Adults (and any other eBooks, including books under the Coming of Age genre). 

Many authors - including me - have joined this sale, so there is a great selection and it's a great opportunity to fill up your reading device.  Smashwords' eBooks are available in all formats, for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Android app for Tab or smartphone; and thousands of books are on sale at Smashwords.  But, this is a limited time offer for one week only, March 3-9, 2019, (11:59 pm, 23.59 PDT (07:00 GMT March 10) so don't delay.

INTERNATIONAL - NO WORRIES ABOUT REGIONS

And one more thing... on Smashwords, there's no worry about region, or country, or location when you get these books for free.  Unlike Amazon, or Apple, or most of the others, you 'purchase' these free Smashwords books anywhere. In fact, I know from my sales reports that the readers of my seven books (all available on Smashwords) are from around the world.

If you chose to pick up some of my books for free, that's great. It's all about reading, whether my books or other authors' books. 

Happy Reading,

Wil