Tag: e4-mafia

Everything I Wish I’d Known When I Published My First Book

This is so accurate.

I’ll be hosting a panel on June 1st at Des Moines Con with this title. But I thought I’d sit down and share with you all some of the lessons I’ve learned and things I’m still working through as I develop as a writer, author, editor and understand the fiction business better.

First things first, I published my first story, Easy Jobs, on 13 December 2016. Since then, I’ve published three additional stories, contributed to four anthologies, and edited a military science fiction anthology (Tales of the E4 Mafia) with Henchman Press.

To say the least, I’ve learned a lot.

First, I have to sit my butt in a chair and put works in a document every day. Let me say that again: Work on new stories every day. I have a day job, a house, my wife, my daughter and her kids, and my fitness that all need my attention, but if I want to succeed as an author and writer, I have to create new stories every day.

Second, editors are your friend, even when they say things you don’t like. I’m an adult, and I know my writing isn’t perfect. But sometimes when Krystal, my editor, says somethings wrong, or a character doesn’t have a consistent voice, or I’ve got two characters who sound like the same person, it hurts a bit. What I remind myself of is that Krystal is helping me make the story the best it can be. That’s what we want, as writers. To provide our readers with the best story we can at the point we publish it.

Third, productivity is good, and publishing more is good. I’ve got a series of short stories and novellas on my storage that hasn’t been published anywhere. Some of it helps develop Burn and Bad Karma. Other parts develop the world Burn and Bad Karma live and operate in. One story was a response to a challenge from a romance writer to write a romance story.

Yes, I wrote a romance story. Two people, other than me, have seen Date Night.

What I’m going to do is combine those short stories into anthologies so I can get them in front of people who already like my stories. Because they deserve more stories they like, and I want to write more.

Fourth, marketing my stories is a critical piece of all this. If I can get my stories in front of people who want to read stories like mine, we all win. If the stories are good enough, those readers do two things. First, they become fans, and second, they share my stories with their friends. More people get to read more stories they like, I get to write more stories. Last, those fans might become friends of mine. And who doesn’t need more friends?

Alright, I hope that helps clarify where I’m at, what I’ve learned, and what I’m trying to do as I get better at writing, being an author and learning the fiction business.

Leave a comment about what questions you have for me, and what you want to see more of from me!

Updates and Upcoming Events

So many things happening

Life, family and writing have all gotten busy lately. I’ll update you as best I can!

The signing event at Pella Books during Tulip Time was successful. I sold a couple of books, met some really great local authors, and ate too much ‘fair food’ while I was up town. This annual event is always enjoyable, and it’s a great chance for me to get to know more local creatives, and meet people in the local community.

I finally got a box of author copies of Moving Target with the new cover by Tiffanie Gray. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to unbox the new books yet due to other issues going on.

We received sad news that The Curiosity Shop is closing at the end of the month. They’ve been great to work with, and their shop will be missed by many of us!

I’ve gotten started on story selection for Tales of the E4 Mafia 2 and Butter Bars! Large and (Not So) In Charge, but it’s been slow going between work and other issues.

Unfortunately, a family member has had a significant health issue, so the last few days have involved a lot of time in a hospital and tracking what’s going on.

Last, I have dates for my panels at Des Moines Con!

May 31st, 11 AM in Rooms 313-314 : Fitness for Time Crunched Creatives, where I’ll give tips and advise for writers, creators, fans and anyone else who’s overworked and still trying to improve their health and fitness!

June 1st, 3:45 PM in Room 315-316: Everything I Wish I’d Known When I Started Writing – this is a panel for people getting started on their writing journey, looking for ways to progress, what marketing is, why editing your work is far more important than you think, and why you should not take Mom’s word that your story is brilliant, among many other lessons I’ve learned (far too often the hard way!). I’m even developing a presentation for this one!

So, there you have it and thanks for reading this far! I hope you’re all doing well. Reach out or comment if you’re having a busy time, and how you handle it when things feel like they’re all happening at once!

Upcoming Events

So, I’ve got a few upcoming events:

First I’ll be signing books at Pella Books from 4 – 6 PM CST on the 1st – 3rd of May during Tulip Time in Pella, Iowa. If you want to meet up, come see me there. I’ll probably be around for some other time slots, so I’ll keep you posted! Also, if you like gardening, tulips, Dutch foods and events, or Pella, Iowa in general, come out and check the place out!

Next I’ll be presenting a couple of panels at Des Moines Con. As soon as the event schedule is posted, I’ll provide dates and times, but I’m presenting “All The Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started Writing” and “Fitness for Creatives”. More information when I have dates, times, and data. Des Moines Con is a great event, so check it out!

A Snippet from “Corporals”

Here’s a snippet from ‘Corporals’, my current work in progress:

‘You good, babe?’
Karma shifted her sub machine gun to her shoulder. The white karat in her vision field swept along with the weapon’s point of aim as she moved down the corridor. Sounds reached her from an open office door on her left.
‘You know what they did to me.’
Shifting to the door, Karma breathed and listened. Three men talking, voices low. She moved through the door. The job was to rescue the kids and grab anyone they could for the cops and Rangers to get intel out of. That meant Burn should have been on the move, not her.
But Burn wouldn’t put paid to these bastards.
‘This is a job. Stay focused.’
Stepping in the room, the three men turned to her, their conversation stopping. Her sub machine gun coughed three rounds. Three men collapsed back in their chairs, neat holes in their heads. Karma considered her options. Working solo, she didn’t have time to check for any data or documents. Finding the other kids was her priority.
Turning, she moved out of the room and back down the hall.
‘I’m focused.’

I’m looking forward to this whole story getting out to the world.

Add a Little Adventure to Your Life

Getting out to Roberts Creek for a little fishing and fun in my new kayak.

So, I bought a kayak, and went on a little adventure. Not that I haven’t had a few adventures in my life, between serving in the Army, getting into trail running and ultra marathons, and even doing a couple of Ironman Triathlons.

There are a few reasons I keep seeking out adventure and ways to both test and enjoy myself.

One, it helps keep me in shape, healthy and happy.

Two, I get to mentally recharge for all the day job, family and real world stresses that impact my life. We all have those things, and we all need to get away to refresh.

Three, it does help my writing. My characters do crazy, dangerous things. While I can’t recommend hiring out as mercenary to do a crazy low jump and then kidnap a general, or break into an apartment to steal some high tech item and then rappel down the building to escape (both events I’ve writing in stories), getting out for some kayaking, hiking, camping, fishing or long bike rides all give me a place to test myself to adapt to conditions and to see how my characters would respond to challenges.

Fourth, it’s fun.

So get out in the world and do something adventurous. Then come back and tell your story!

What’s Going On?

Working on edits, rough drafts, and story selection while on a day job work trip.

Well, as I said last week, I’ve got stories in for two anthologies. And I had a work trip to Virginia Beach last week. Yeah, I know, of all the places I could have to go, there are many worse places. I’m familiar with quite a few of those worse places.

So, I’m working on what will be the 6th novel in the Burn and Bad Karma Series. The 5th is currently in edits, but to give you an idea, Bad Karma goes to Chicago with no adult supervision. In the 6th book, we’ll see how she handles things getting home when Burn’s in a bit of trouble. The next story involves them stealing a yacht back from some criminal.

Thus far on the anthologies, I’ve selected two stories for Tales of the E4 Mafia 2. Hopefully, I’ll get through the rest that I’ve received this and next week.

Terri’s birthday’s coming up, so we’ll take a weekend out to enjoy a new area we’ve been meaning to check out. From what the hotel says, there’s beer and whiskey, so we’ll be fine!

I hope you’re all doing well! Let me know how you’re doing!

Butterbars and Tales of the E4 Mafia 2 story selection starting this week!

Well, with the deadline for the anthologies I’m working on with Henchman Press being tomorrow, I’ll be starting in on story selection and sending out editorial notes for the stories I have. And I do have quite a few stories to work through.

On the up side, I’ll be on a work trip this week, so I’m on my own in the evenings. I should be able to get some significant progress on the story selection piece. On the down side, we don’t know how much work we’ll have to do on the day job. Hopefully, things will go well and the project will run smoothly.

So if you’ve submitted, you can expect to hear something soon. If you’re behind schedule, email me at keith@keithhedger.com and let me know what’s going on.

Wish me luck on getting these stories read. One of the coolest parts of this process is getting to see all these stories first, before anyone else does!

Hopefully, I’ll be able to post some great updates over the next few weeks!

I Finished the Rough Draft of Corporals

I finished the rough draft of ‘Corporals’ the other day, and thought you all might enjoy a snippet of the story. In this story, Burn and Bad Karma are recruited into Rangers due to some issues that come up with Karma’s past.

Enjoy!

“Training under an identity we’re building for you. Makes it more complicated for politicians. Tossing people with no numbers under tank treads is easy. Soldiers and Department team members get ugly for them fast,” the sergeant major explained.

“We haven’t been a country long enough for politicians to be voted out,” Burn faced the soldier.

“Three politicians had tragic accidents,” the general noted, “And the investigations came up to purely accidental causes. Clearly.”

“Wasn’t me,” Bad Karma said.

“It wasn’t,” the sergeant major smiled, her cheeks rising as she spoke, “We checked.”

“What, exactly, are you trying to say?” Burn’s fingers pressed against the table, turning white.

“That it appears that trying to use the Ranger Department for political advantage can be detrimental to one’s health. Many veterans of the war are outspoken about using individuals as trading chips. The Department, of course, is absolutely loyal to the elected leaders of our nation and our constitution,” the sergeant major said.

Silence settled across the room. Burn noted the buzz of the white noise generator and that her comm systems were showing no signal.

“It appears we can trust you. So, why HALO jumping?”

“It’s the nearest start date we have for any training,” the general shrugged, “And I doubt you two would do well in Ranger School.”

“Why’s that?” Bad Karma asked.

“Ranger School lasts for three months. Freefall school is three weeks, and you don’t have to go in knowing military tactics,” the sergeant major noted, “First, you don’t want to be out of the loop in the dropped numbers world for three months. Second, you don’t need to go through the usual military training program. We just need you in a school to have your new core IDs solid. Third, the training will be useful to you and to us, as it opens some options when situations needing your skills come up.”

“New skills don’t hurt,” Karma shrugged.

Who Am I?

For those who don’t know me, or only know me from my fiction, I thought I’d introduce myself and let you know a bit more about me and my life, both in writing and outside of it.

First, I’ve been married for almost three decades to a wonderful woman named Terri, who puts up with my writing, day job, fitness and workouts and shares my love of adventure, enjoying food and finding new things. I’ve also got a daughter and three amazing grandkids who live near enough to us that we get to share a lot of fun, life and good time together.

Many years ago, after being largely sedentary after I got out of the Army, I was going through a bit of a mental mess, and that let to me getting back into fitness. At the time, it was specifically running and over time, the farther the better. It got to the point that I’ve completed 54 marathons and ultramarathons, the longest being a 100 mile race (The Long Haul 100 Miler). This led into me getting coaching and fitness training certifications which I use for my own fitness as well as helping and coaching others for their fitness. Unfortunately, I’ve got a messed up knee, so really long runs are largely off the table, but biking, swimming, lifting and other exercise forms are still in my wheel house!

As part of moving back to Iowa, I intended to get back into hunting and fishing, since I hadn’t done much of that when we lived in Georgia and didn’t make time. Now, if I’m not at a family event, a fiction event or working on a project, I’m likely to be in one of the local public hunting areas, or somewhere around Lake Red Rock hoping to catch a fish or two.

I’m also a beer and whiskey guy, which, like most things in my life has lead to me seeking out local breweries wherever I go, and learning about cocktail making techniques. I’ve now got a beer fridge with a nice variety of different beers, and I’ve put together a nice bar station to make cocktails of many varieties. Check out the recipe for the first cocktail I’ve created, the Iowa Twilight (Thanks to Green Frog Distillery for the excellent corn whiskey. I bought the glass ware from Ranger Up.)

Iowa Twilight

0.5 oz Pom juice

0.5 oz orange juice

teaspoon of simple syrup

splash of grenadine syrup

two dashes of orange bitters

2 oz of corn whiskey (4 year barrel aged Green Frog Corn Whiskey works very well)

maraschino cherry (fork and garnish)

orange peel twist for essence of orange and garis

Speculative Fiction Call: E4 Mafia & Junior Officers

I’m at it again. I’m doing edits and story selection for two anthologies with Henchman Press!

Tales of The E4 Mafia 2

We’re looking for more stories about those corporals, specials, lance corporals and petty officers!

Give us your best speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror, and urban fantasy) stories about those experience young soldiers, marines and sailors getting tough tasks handled, dodging overbearing leadership, show how and when to ignore their unit’s stodgy processes, and skirting the regulations and rules with the grace of a ballet dancer. A ballet dancer who happens to have access to a ridiculous amount of equipment and weaponry!

Please send your submissions to keith@keithhedger.com with a subject line of “Tales of the E4 Mafia 2”. Submissions are due by 31 March 2025. Please format your story in Times New Roman in 12 point font, and should be between 4000 and 12,000 words total.

Butterbars! Large and (Not So) In Charge

No one starts a job or career knowing everything. Junior officers, whether they’re 2nd Lieutenants or Ensigns, in any military bring some nuance to their position. They have education and are provided with training, taught to lead and make decisions in tough situation. What they don’t have is experience at their job, an understanding of how their unit operates, or the personalities and capabilities of their people. Combined with directives to make decisions, give orders and direct efforts, this can lead to, err, interesting results, to say the least.

What we’re looking are speculative fiction tales centered around these most junior officers and the situations they create or impact. We expect to see absurd outcomes, courses of action that are other than optimal, or humor as these leaders’ directives and orders create chaos, their troops adjust to avoid negative consequences, and somehow they still get the job done!

Please send your submissions to keith@keithhedger.com with a subject line of “Butter Bars!”. Submissions are due by 31 March 2025. Please format your story in Times New Roman in 12 point font, and should be between 4000 and 12,000 words total.

So, if you write military fiction, speculative fiction, or any brand of fantasy or science fiction, send me a story!