This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Khaled Talib will be awarding an Amazon Fire 7 8GB tablet to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. The prize is limited to U.S. and Canada only. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
A day in the life of an author is the same as a day in the life of an office worker. It’s work. There’s nothing glamorous about it. I’m presently rewriting my fourth manuscript. A lot of my time is also spent on social media promoting my other books. I also manage a newsletter and cooperate with other authors to beef it up. Everything takes time, so certain things become a priority. I also spend a lot of time doing research for my book. I’ll call someone or send an email to fact check certain things. I jog because it’s not healthy to sit all day. I need my blood to circulate, so that I can think properly. My Walkman keeps me company when I go. I prioritize my time by identifying what’s important and what I need to discard. I can’t afford to meet everyone. By the time I’m done with the day, I’m physically and mentally exhausted.
I relax by watching some television, but that’s about it these days. Writing is a solitary affair. If I’m not writing, I’m thinking about it. I spoil myself with desserts to boost my energy so that when I’m writing an action, I’m feel fully charged. Writing is a daily grind. I’ve had to make many sacrifices. Nobody sees the hell you go through every single day. Sometimes, I’m impatient taking a shower or eating because I want everything done fast so that I can go back to my desk. Kazuo Ishiguro locked himself away from society for four weeks to write Remains of the Day. From 9.00 am to 10.30 pm, he ignored emails, the phone, visitors, and his wife. This is a person who won a Nobel prize for literature. Imagine what I, a humble author, have to go through to finish a page.
,br> Some days are easy, some days are tough. You sit there thinking and wondering how do you move from here? It takes hours. Sometimes, you must leave it and do something else. Maybe do a Ferris Bueller; play truant and do whatever you want to do. I get up early, have breakfast and then it’s full speed ahead until lunch. I’ll try to write again, but most of the time, I’ll feel sleepy. I won’t force myself to write, so I’ll take a nap. I’ll promise myself to write some more at night, but I never do because I can’t focus. So, I start again the next morning—fresh.
Life is routine unless there is a major disruption. Everything else that you do is a chore: going to the bank, the post office, the barbershop, and the supermarket—you don’t want to do it because you don’t want to leave your desk, but it gets done as much as you hate it.
At night when I’m watching television or trying to sleep, there’s always a pen and a notebook beside me…in case an idea pops up. The day never ends for a writer. The mind is always working. Basically, everything revolves around your manuscript. As Max Beerbohm said, “No fine work can be done without concentration and self-sacrifice and toil and doubt.”
When the book is done, you take a break, meet people, catch up, maybe go for a holiday, which might inspire me to write another. Then you start all over again.
It’s a completely different from what I used to be a few years ago. I was meeting people, attending parties. But if you want to write a novel there is no other way to do it. It would be nice if you could have a robot who can think for you but that’s not going to happen for a long time. Even so, I’m not sure if I’ll let the robot take over completely. I enjoy creating stories. It’s not glamorous, but if my readers are happy with my work, I’m happy.
The United States media is abuzz with news of the mysterious disappearance of Hollywood movie star, Goldie St. Helen.
Ex-Delta Force Blake Deco receives a tip from a Mexican friend that a drug lord, obsessed with the beautiful actress, is holding her captive in Tijuana.
With the help of a reluctant army friend, Blake mounts a daring rescue.
What he doesn’t expect is to have feelings for Goldie—or that a killer is hunting them.
Enjoy an Excerpt
Clad in tactical black, Blake rested on his chest in the dark chaparral. He watched his curly-haired friend beside him maneuver the tiny dragonfly drone with his phone. The luminous screen showed its flight path toward Dai Lo’s hacienda in the northeastern outskirts of Tijuana, nothing around it for miles.
The drone sent back images of the 375,000 square feet compound, including some of Dai Lo's men patrolling. It hovered in front of the three-floor mansion built with stacked balconies and double-hung windows. It then swooped down to a porch with three tall columns under a pediment. Finding no entry point, Jack raised it up again.
“I’m going to circle behind,” Jack said.
“Do that,” Blake responded.
“You going to kill Dai Lo?” Jack asked.
“Not unless I have to. I’m not an assassin,” Blake said.
“So why did you give Chavez the impression you will?”
“If Chavez knew what I was thinking, he wouldn’t give me the weapons. Then how are we going to save the actress?”
“You better know what you’re doing, Blake.”
“If you still want to go on that European tour, start thinking positive.”
The tiny drone went around the mansion and flew past a lit pool, buffeting over a garden and an annex connected by a sheltered catwalk. It moved sideways until it came to a lit corner window on the third level. The visual zoomed closer to the windowsill and sent back an image that left both men recoiling with gasps.
About the Author:
The author's works have been praised by NY Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, NY Times bestselling author Ruth Harris, USA Today bestselling author Jon Land, NY Times bestselling author Keith Thomson, K.J. Howe, and Jon McGoran.
His debut thriller, Smokescreen, was listed as one of the six "boundary-breaking indies" in 2016 by the IndieReader. His second novel, Incognito, won the Silver Award for the AuthorsDB Book Cover Contest 2017. Gun Kiss is his third novel.
Khaled, who is also a member of the International Thriller Writers, resides in Singapore.
Buy the book for only $0.99 at the author's website, Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, or iBooks.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you
ReplyDeleteGreat post - I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDelete