OP-GHO: Operation Ghost Archives - Page 2 of 7

Dear Reader(s) – Open Book Blog Hop #465

February 24, 2025 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #465

Write a letter to your reader(s).

Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop! The authors included in this ongoing learning series wish to thank you for your reading. Even more so, we appreciate that you share our writing with friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Prepare to become a regular reader.

Dear Reader,

Do you know that we have been on this journey together for nearly two decades? It’s been a lot longer for me. I started this thing in high school. While some of my friends were curious as to what I was scribbling away in my binder and notebooks, they have passed on or disappeared from my life. I don’t always expect you to be there when I turn around, but sometimes, paths diverge, and you won’t be continuing this journey with me. But for those who will…

neon sign that reads: All we have is words. All we have is worlds.
Words need a reader. A writer creates worlds. — Photo by Alexandra on Unsplash

I want to thank you, reader. You’re the fire that keeps me going. I may be on a bit of a break while I raise my daughter, but know that I am always growing and honing my craft. For one, I write this blog, weekly to make sure I can still put words on paper. I make videos every month and post them to YouTube (I’ve been going over the oldest posts on my site to review where we’ve been and where I am at now). In addition, I also make short videos of my life, sometimes serious, often not on TikTok.

There’s a lot going on!

Many of you already know this, some of you are possibly new to my work. But, it’s you that makes it all worthwhile, regardless of when you entered into this journey. Writing is meant to be read. Without a reader, the words remain unknown on a page in the ether of possibility. Folks can say all day that they do it for themselves, which is kind of weird in my opinion–why would you torture yourself like this? I do it because there is a reader looking for a story. I have stories to tell.

Five books in may not sound like much for the number of years I have been working, but I take my time. I craft them carefully and thoughtfully. The topics require painstaking research. It matters to get it right, especially in historical pieces. And then, I go over them again and again and again to be sure the continuity is solid, and that holes are filled. The words matter. The flow has to be comfortable to the ear, read inwardly our out loud.

That’s why you matter. That whole time it is you that I have in mind. Wondering, what they will think when they read this and that passage fills me with giddy excitement. When you come back to me with your words of encouragement, that you liked what you read, I am often speechless. The thing I don’t think about is how I will respond to you. What can I say, other than, I don’t expect to hear back?

Hearing back from you is amazing. That said, I really mean it when I don’t expect it. The return on reviews or interactions online are gauged at about 10% of the following. And, that’s about right. I have, for instance, about 2,000 followers on TikTok. Only 10% respond to my posts. The sad fact is, even on BlueSky, where I have nearly 22,000, the return is worse. It’s always been like this.

a man's hands rest on the keys of a vintage typewriter as he pauses to read the page. A full coffee cup sits to his left with some green ivy leaves. The typewriter is set on white horizontal boards. The scene is classical in nature, especially with the ivy, recalling the ideas of traditional learning and the Ivy leagues. A writer creates for a reader.

The amount that I hear, I had no idea that you write, what do you write is in steep contrast to the amount I post about it. I’ll never be able to answer the question of why that is. Reaching a reader is just very difficult, and I think that difficulty is intentional. After all, social media sites and video posting sites all get their money from ads. So, if you’re not paying them to post you up, you’re not going to be seen much. And, the cost is too high for the average writer. That creates a position of, the reader has to seek you out. How can they, if they have no idea I write?

But, to the ones who have found me, I am touched by your encouragement and standing by me as proud as my parents that I do this thing. You’re in the minority, but you give me hope every single day that what I am doing is not a waste of my time. My stories have been read. They have not gone into the ether unknown. Although, I am deeply concerned as our government is carved to shreds in the United States, that the Library of Congress and other repositories will suffer similar catastrophes as the home of our nation’s documents, I know that my book is out there–in print, even. It will survive.

My hope is that more readers will find me because of the reader who already has. The way you talk about my books gives me reason to believe that will be the case. I only hope that my work matters enough that it will not pass away with me. Although, I have not worked out what my daughter will be able to do about it when the time comes. Will she care to keep it going, and if she does will she be able to make that happen?

The Blue Honor Vlog title card featuring a Head shot of K. Williams, her office with Xmen Poster and Captain America Shield, and a YouTube Icon. An avid reader that became a highly educated writer. Join K on YouTube to talk about all things writing and writing life, including politics. Art is political, regardless of what some want to believe! K's books are no different.

That’s why you, dear reader, matter so much. All those books you see on the shelves in stores and libraries are the remains of authors. Voices calling out from times long gone. Paper cemeteries. Repositories of minds. It’s you all that keep us going. For, once we are gone, we cannot control or contribute to the conversation around our works any further. Students, Instructors, would be authors, their families, and the greater public matter in this journey. I hope you’ll carry my five little contributions to our literary world forward for me when I cannot do so any longer. My kid is going to need that help!

You matter so much. I can’t emphasize this enough. Without a reader, written pages are worthless. You breath life into them. So, keep reading. Keep breathing life into the words on a page. Doing this has brought me so much joy. As a reader, I dreamt of being able to bring that joy to someone else. Knowing that I have has made this journey worthwhile, despite the heartache and struggle.

Breath life into those pages. Writing needs a reader.

Signed,

K. Williams

Author of Blue Honor, OP-DEC: Operation Deceit, and The Trailokya Trilogy

Musical Books – Open Book Blog Hop #455

December 16, 2024 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #455

If your book had a soundtrack, what would be on it?

Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop! The authors included in this ongoing series wish to thank you for your reads. Even more so, we appreciate that you share our writings with friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Prepare to become a regular reader.

I’m more music oriented than I give myself credit. From growing up on some great 1970s and 1980s tunes to being raised by a family who loved rock and roll of the 1960s, of course I am! For just under a decade I worked at a record store, as well. Of course, I was leaning more film, but my music collection grew alongside my DVDs.

Absolutely my books have a soundtrack. If you follow this link, you’ll find all the times I’ve talked about music on my blog. I guess that sort of proves my point above again! But, yes, I really want you to go back and check that out. There are details I won’t cover here about the topic. If you like music, like I do, you’ll be interested!

Returning to the book soundtracks (links may or may not still work as these are older posts):

The Soundtrack For The Trailokya Trilogy — ^{Click to enlarge…}

Music inspires me deeply. I can listen to a song and a whole scene will play out in my head. The next time I hear that song, it will reignite that imagery. Thus, it becomes part of the writing process for me. A song may even spur me onto starting a new project. These day, however, I focus mainly on Trailokya. I’d like to do more in this universe and I have some prototypes to start reworking for the next leg of the journey. These playlists help me keep the energy up and also keep the memory sharp for continuity. Yes, a song can help me remember how I wrote a scene, because the song tells the tale back to me.

Mood setting is a great way to get me to sit down and do the thing. If you’re struggling with ways to get you to sit and write, this might be a help to you. Another thing I do is put cartoons on, or something that doesn’t require my attention, but keeps exercising that portion of my brain that is easily distracted.

Did I help inspire you? Don’t forget to subscribe by dropping your email in the box at the top of the right margin. You’ll received this hop in your inbox every Friday. Now, go click the links below to see what the other authors have to say on this topic.

Congested Queue – Open Book Blog Hop #422

April 22, 2024 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #422

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Oh, that writing queue of mine… At least I am aware that other writers are going through the same! I have notebooks with ideas, half-started idea notebooks, files on the computer instead of paper, finished work that needs rework, and nearly-finished drafting work. It’s a mishmash of various stages. When you first start out in writing, there is a flood of ideas and discerning what will work and what won’t isn’t the easiest task. Afterall, the state of overwhelm the flood creates leaves us vulnerable to our blind spots.

Introducing Our New Cast Member, shagbottom theater

Yes, I keep old ideas I haven’t done much with since I scribbled a note about them decades ago. Why not? They might be relevant at some point. You never know what will strike you as worth penning again. Not to mention that with years more experience, bringing it to draft is a far better attempt than taking it on earlier in one’s career.

If you look behind me in the more recent videos on my YouTube series, you’ll see binders and notebooks. While one of those is an album from my trip to Ireland, the others are paper and pen books. The green and blue binders, specifically, are full stories I penned in the genre of high fantasy. After years of working, the decision to rewrite these stories as Trailokya Tales became more viable. It just makes sense. If I took on writing high fantasy, I would be drown in the sea of voices (good or bad), and I’d be leaving a property that is uniquely my own.

How many books are in that series? I am not quite certain yet. You see, I am looking at finishing up the sequel to OP-DEC (OP-GHO: Operation Ghost). Now that that one has sat, it is time for a couple revisions, and finding an editor to make it pop. Once I figure out all of that, I will spend the time on the Aghart Chronicles, as I have come to call them. There’s a lot to work out in this transition, and much to expand with Trailokya. I’m still thinking about who would carry over from Maiel’s trilogy, if anyone.

Let’s say that I have about 4 books to add to the chronicles and then OP-GHO. That’s a total of 5 books in the queue with a solid start and my imperative focus to finish them. Past that, I have one idea for another historical drama, and then a sea of unfinished, reedy ideas. The absolute total that I could have in my queue is approximately 20-25. Some of them may just end up scripts, but that is the estimate either way.

Looking Outside For What Needs To Be Inside

Now you know why I feel a bit overwhelmed and as if I cannot put pen to paper, so to speak. With my neurodivergence, the anxiety builds high, and here we are paralyzed. Eventually, I will clear some projects off my plate. That often feeds into a high focus period in which work gets done by the droves. So just hang in there with me. Remember that I play with the ideas in my head for a long time before I put them down, and I just need to feel I have time once the idea stage is settled. There will always be more from me!

Let’s click on the links below to see what the other authors hold in their queue. Don’t forget to add your email to the mailing list via the subscribe box (top right on desktop, scroll down on phone). See you next time!

What’s Your Order? – Open Book Blog Hop #409

January 15, 2024 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #409

Do your books have to be read in any particular order?

To quickly answer about the order of my books, I suppose not. The stories can stand alone. I wrote them to function as whole stories, even the ones that are part of a series. However, there will be a lot left out and thus a lot less understanding and enjoyment of the Trailokya Trilogy if you read them out of sequence. THere is an overarching story between the three books. There is also a serialized portion.

Apparently a lot of people care about this topic to a depth I had not really considered before. Although, I have to say, I did inquire of Neil Gaiman which was best to start with in his oeuvre. Whole sites are dedicated to the order of books. As student of intertext, I can say that this is so satisfying to think about. If you can, imagine all of the intertext that reading in order can unravel!

The order in which I have penned my current published works does not matter. You can read Blue Honor after everything else, or OP-DEC. Or, read them between. You could read those and not the Trilogy because you prefer historical drama and thrillers or war stories more than you prefer dark fantasy and paranormal stories (regardless of their time or presence of war). Vice versa, reading the trilogy and not the other books. On that note, I recommend reading the Trilogy from book one thru book three.

That said, when I release OP-GHO, then you’ll want to meet up with Claire at the outset of her story in OP-DEC. If I ever manage to sit down for a minute and do the research and writing for Blue’s sequel (yes, I have an idea I’ve been mulling about), then you’ll want to start with Emily’s story and then go to the next. However, those are not present and accounted for, so read Blue and OP whichever order you feel.

The Trailokya Trilogy builds information throughout the series. As I stated above, you would be able to get along in the story if you started with Burning Down, but you’d not entirely understand why Holly is having the trouble she is having, and the long standing feud that feeds it. You do get a taste of why she is where she’s at, and why Jet is the way he is. Lucent Continues the story sewing all the pieces up, but leaving a door open for more new adventures.

Click on the links below to see how the other authors in the hop answer this question, and you might find more new books to add to your TBR pile! Don’t forget to subscribe (drop your email in the top right box), so you receive this hop each Friday and don’t have to search for it. We will see you back next time!

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The Blue Honor Vlog #60

March 19, 2021 By Captain Maiel

Welcome back for another installment of The Blue Honor Vlog. Subscribe to my channel on YouTube. As a subscriber, you’ll get episodes of Shagbottom Theater, updates from the blog, and watch the process of making book trailers. And! You’ll be first in line to see it all. Once a video is ready, it’s uploaded, and you don’t have to wait for it to come out on the blog or even in the newsletter. Let’s get started!

I’ve been talking a lot, for months, about OP-GHO. You’re probably wondering, after teasing this back in 2014, where the heck the story has been all this time. As you know, my life doesn’t always take a direct trajectory toward publishing.

OP-GHO has been in the works for years because I was closing out graduate school. Then, I was producing and promoting Trailokya. While I focused on the trilogy, I had a daughter. I wrote the story. Yes, it’s written. But, although it is written, I feel it has to sit for a bit and then be revisited with fresh eyes. Now that Lucent is no longer in production, I can focus on redrafting OP-GHO as necessary and then hiring an editor.

Finding an editor isn’t as easy as it sounds. You have to get the right fit! For a historical work, it’s important to find someone who knows the subject matter. This helps them find language that doesn’t fit the period, and keeps you on track.

Would you like to hear some of it? Being my most popular novel, I can imagine people are excited to finally get a peek!