The examples of my writing - persevere and overcome with tenacity, courage and understanding

I sometimes feel the need to explain myself, a bit, as a author. In fact, I did so, again, last night.  As in, why do I write?  Or, where did the ideas for my stories come from? Where was the inspiration for my seven books (plus more works in progress), including Playing the Baseball Card, which has the best reviews of all of my books?

Not easy questions to answer, really.  I suppose it was, initially, because I heard of some event, or tragedy, and I wished it had turned out differently.  In my mind, I wanted to change the way it turned out.  In real life, that cannot be done, of course.  But, in fiction, all things are possible.  As Paul Theroux has said, “Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us.” In my writing, I can create anything I want, and give it a happy ending, and mostly I do that.  Along the way, there may be tragedy, or hurtful events, but I try to create success and triumph in the end.  Here are some things I would be happy to achieve:

• If my stories help young people, by giving examples of kids persevering in difficult situations, then I will be very satisfied. 
• If my stories help young people overcome their own challenges, and perhaps find some inspiration, then I will be happy. 
• If my stories help young people find the tenacity and courage to succeed in their own lives, then I will be very pleased. 
• If my stories help achieve some better understanding among friends and families, then I will consider myself fulfilled.

I have found that I really enjoy writing.  When I write, I imagine that I’m in the scene, or watching the action, and I want to describe it as fully as I can.  What’s more, I can change the scene, or the dialogue, or the action, as much as I want.  Most importantly, I write for myself.  I write what I want to read.  I like Jesse Stuart's quote, “Write something to suit yourself and many people will like it; write something to suit everybody and scarcely anyone will care for it.”

I feel very honored and humbled that over 23,000 copies of my books have been sold. If even one person (young or not-so-young) finds some example in one of my books that he or she can use in their own life, then I will consider that every moment I spent writing those books was the best possible way to spend that time.

Thanks for reading,

Wil

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

Smashwords - seven of my eBooks are available here, in multiple formats including for Kindle, Nook, and regular PDF. The great thing about Smashwords is their worldwide selling, with no regional or country restrictions!

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, with some very nice reviews for Playing the Baseball Card

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

Goodreads  – where to find book ratings, including some of my books.

International Child Abduction: A child victim's story - another work in progress

The world is a difficult and scary place when children of a multi-national marriage are taken by one parent to a country where the other parent loses de facto custody, or loses the ability to visit the child, or cannot even enter the country or contact the child. If you think it's bad for the losing parent, think how bad it must be for the children.

My new work in progress, as yet unnamed, is based upon this subject. Although fiction, it is inspired by a true story and told from the child's point of view, it describes many years of separation between a father and child, where the child was removed from their home county with no warning.

Now, as strange as this may seem, there are many countries of the world where there is no legal recourse for the losing parent. None at all. (The non-blue countries, below.)

In some cases, the practices of the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction apply. And, even those countries, the return of an abducted child is not at all certain and can take countless years, often with child aging out (at age 16) of the provisions of the Hague Convention.

If I paint a dark picture, where many children never see the losing parent again, this is the reality. My work will try and humanize international child abduction, with a rarely viewed children's perception of this terrible kind of event.

In the meantime, I hope you keep reading my other books.

Wil

Persevere and overcome with tenacity, courage and understanding

I sometimes feel the need to explain myself, a bit, as a writer.  As in, why do I write?  Or, where did the ideas for my stories come from? 

Not easy questions to answer, really.  I suppose it was, initially, because I heard of some event, or tragedy, and I wished it had turned out differently.  In my mind, I wanted to change the way it turned out.  In real life, that cannot be done, of course.  But, in fiction, all things are possible.  As Paul Theroux says, “Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us.” In my writing, I can create anything I want, and give it a happy ending, and mostly I do that.  Along the way, there may be tragedy, or hurtful events, but I try to create success and triumph in the end.  Here are some things I would be happy to achieve:

• If my stories help young people, by giving examples of kids persevering in difficult situations, then I will be very satisfied. 
• If my stories help young people overcome their own challenges, and perhaps find some inspiration, then I will be happy. 
• If my stories help young people find the tenacity and courage to succeed in their own lives, then I will be very pleased. 
• If my stories help achieve some better understanding among friends and families, then I will consider myself fulfilled.

I have found that I really enjoy writing.  When I write, I imagine that I’m in the scene, or watching the action, and I want to describe it as fully as I can.  What’s more, I can change the scene, or the dialogue, or the action, as much as I want.  Most importantly, I write for myself.  I write what I want to read.  I like Jesse Stuart's quote, “Write something to suit yourself and many people will like it; write something to suit everybody and scarcely anyone will care for it.”

If even one person (young or not-so-young) finds some example in one of my books that he or she can use in their own life, then I will consider that every moment I spent writing those books was the best possible way to spend that time.

Thanks for reading,

Wil