The follow-up
to the critically acclaimed Phoenix Island, which reads like
"Lord of the Flies meets Wolverine and Cool Hand Luke"
(F. Paul Wilson, creator of Repairman Jack) and inspired the CBS TV show Intelligence.
With a chip in his head and hundreds more throughout his body, sixteen-year-old Carl Freeman was turned from an orphan with impulse control issues into a super-soldier. Forced into the mercenary Phoenix Force group, he begins to fear he'll never escape. Sent to a volcanic island to fight for them, he'll compete in a combat tournament that awards teens with survival for merciless brutality. But just when all looks lost, he spies a friendly face...and possibly a way out.
With a chip in his head and hundreds more throughout his body, sixteen-year-old Carl Freeman was turned from an orphan with impulse control issues into a super-soldier. Forced into the mercenary Phoenix Force group, he begins to fear he'll never escape. Sent to a volcanic island to fight for them, he'll compete in a combat tournament that awards teens with survival for merciless brutality. But just when all looks lost, he spies a friendly face...and possibly a way out.
BOOK LINKS
PRAISE
“Dixon, using his
experience in boxing, creates a fascinating young character in sixteen-year-old
Carl Freeman. Phoenix Island is an excellent book that shows Dixon is
well on his way in becoming a great storyteller.”–Suspense
Magazine on Phoenix Island
“Fantastic… superbly
suspenseful… unpredictable and frightening. Phoenix Island will blow you
away.” – Mark Sullivan, New York Times
bestselling author of Rogue and co-author of Private Games (with
James Patterson)
"Lord of the
Flies meets Wolverine and Cool Hand Luke. A tribute to
the indomitable human spirit that challenges the mob and chooses values
over expediency." -- F. Paul Wilson, creator of
Repairman Jack.
"Crisply written
and imaginative... Dixon's page-turner will keep readers of all ages enthralled."
-- Kirkus Reviews
Guest Post with Author John Dixon...
How do you stay on schedule and
focused during writing?
Disclaimer: if you’re an aspiring
writer, you should probably file what I’m about to say under “confession,” not
“instruction.” While I’ve always respected
the machine-like efficiency of prolific, regimented writers like Stephen King
and Jonathan Maberry, my own efficiency resembles not a sturdy diesel engine
but rather some kind of sloth / otter hybrid, with sleepy, unfocused periods
followed by frantic dashes.
I am, however, a blue-collar
writer by nature. I believe in word counts before wonder, ass-in-chair before
muse-on-shoulder. In fact, if I even have a muse, he definitely wears combat
boots.
When I was a teacher, I got up at
four in the morning to write before work. I’d hustle around, drive the empty
roads to school, and score an hour or two of writing before the kids arrived
and ate my brains.
Some days, it went well. Others
were brutal. I frequently slept only four or five hours a night, and sometimes,
I ended up falling asleep on my keyboard. Other sessions generated absolute
gibberish. I must’ve been sleeping while typing, because these “sentences”
literally made no sense. Crazy, crazy, crazy… and at times, it was really
discouraging. How could I ever break through when I couldn’t even stay awake at
the keyboard?
Over time, though, it worked.
That’s been my way. Go in with the best of intentions. Write as frequently as
possible. Generally feel disappointed and frustrated with myself. Then win out
over time simply because I spend a lot of time writing.
That’s the way it worked when I
was working full-time.
Then I wrote
PHOENIX ISLAND, and suddenly, I didn’t have to teach anymore. It was awesome…
my lifelong dream of becoming a full-time writer had come true. After all those
years of struggle, surely I would be able to triple or quadruple my output if
writing was my full-time job!
It didn’t work
out that way.
Before writing
full-time, I had avoided all social media. No Facebook, no website, no blog, no
Twitter… you get the idea. It was great. But then my agent and my publisher
explained the importance of social media – Do
it or die, fledgling, do it or die! – so I got on board.
Unfortunately, I
was not a quick study. I spent a lot of time figure it all out and trying to do
it right. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it – especially Facebook. I enabled
notifications on my phone, which dinged constantly with comments, tweets,
texts, and messages.
At this point,
emails were pouring in all day every day. PHOENIX ISLAND launched January 7th,
2014, the same day that INTELLIGENCE, the CBS TV show based on it, premiered.
The two months leading up to that date and the two months following it are
pretty much a blur. Interviews, phone calls, non-stop emails, and social media
consumed me. I couldn’t keep up… and meanwhile, I was supposed to be writing
the sequel. Where had the time gone?
During this
period, I had planned to chip away at DEVIL’S POCKET, but somehow I’d lost my
blue-collar consistency and focus. After several months of worktime, I had very
little to show. I couldn’t get traction, and when I did sit down to write, I
was distracted by my dinging phone and echoes of the day’s responsibilities and
communications. My focus felt like a battered piñata.
Finally, my
deadline acted like a grandmother of the tough-love variety and scheduled an
intervention. With five weeks left till my delivery date, I took a hard look at
my life. In the previous ten months, I had written only 100 pages. I had to
write another 250 pages in just over a month. This was it. Crunch time.
For those five
weeks, I silenced my phone, listened to Metallica’s RIDE THE LIGHTNING, and
ignored everything other than writing.
And suddenly, I was writing. I pounded away ten or twelve hours a day,
seven days a week. I grew superstitious and refused to change the music and so
listened to RIDE THE LIGHTNING hundreds of times as I finished the book. And I did finish it – on the very last day.
So it worked,
and based on the praise DEVIL’S POCKET is receiving, it apparently worked well…
but it just about frigging killed me.
Since then, I’ve
made a conscious effort to enhance focus, maintain consistency, and improve
productivity. I still don’t have my act together, but I’m trending in the right
direction.
Five things have
helped me.
1.
I write every day. I’m best when I write
at least 1000 words a day. I kill myself by overthinking and overwriting, so
the rough draft of any project ends up needing two or three times as many words
as the revised manuscript.
2.
I say “no” a lot. I hate this part, but
it’s been completely necessary. I skip social events, decline invitations, and
limit conventions and guest appearances. When people very kindly ask me to
blurb their books, I almost always apologize and tell them the hard truth: I
just don’t have time. This has been the hardest part of becoming a fulltime
writer.
3.
I killed my notifications and now keep
my phone on mute. It’s great. At first, it caused some anxiety, but once I
settled in, I realized that suddenly I was once again managing incoming
communications… rather than allowing incoming communications to manage me.
4.
I cut way back on social media, email,
and marketing efforts. I rarely Tweet and almost never blog. I’ve cut my
Facebook time in half. I’m horrible about responding to emails. I know that I
still need to market my books, but I also know that if I try to do too much, I
won’t have time to write new stories.
5.
I keep a schedule. I use Google
calendar. I used to get up whenever I got up and trust myself to sort it all
out on the fly. Now my weekdays begin at 4:30 AM and end when my wife comes
home from work, usually somewhere around 6. At any given point in time, I know
what I am supposed to be doing, whether it’s writing, eating lunch, or getting
in a little exercise. This simple step has been incredible helpful. Ironically,
it has given my life a regimented quality reminiscent of my teaching days, but
I don’t mind. I’m more focused, more productive, and better rested… after all,
I’m sleeping in half an hour later than I did as a teacher!
If you’re a
writer, I hope that your own approach is more efficient and pleasant than mine.
If, on the other hand, my struggles sound all too familiar to you, I would
highly recommend examining your life and making necessary changes. If you don’t
know where to start, try muting your phone, using a schedule to maximize daily
writing, and learning to say “no” to both social media and social events. Ultimately,
though, every writer must find his or her own path to productivity.
Good luck, and
hey – if all else fails, give Metallica a try!
Tams: Okay, I have to say my favorite lines out of all that was the "Ass-In-Chair" and "My muse wears combat boots!" And who doesn't love Metallica??
John
Dixon’s debut novel, Phoenix Island, won the Bram Stoker Award and inspired
the CBS TV series Intelligence. A former boxer, teacher, and stone
mason, John lives in West Chester, PA, with his wife, Christina, and their
freeloading pets.
One winner will get a signed
copy of PHOENIX ISLAND and DEVIL’S POCKET
(Open To US Only | Must be 13+ To Enter)
You can also leave a comment for the author below. Thank you Mr. Dixon for stopping by today, hope to host you again soon!
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You can also leave a comment for the author below. Thank you Mr. Dixon for stopping by today, hope to host you again soon!
July 29th A
Dream Within A Dream REVIEW
July 30th Me, My Shelf and I QUOTE STOP
July 31st Fictitious Delicious QUOTE STOP
August 1st TMBA Tries To Write REVIEW
August 2nd Book Hounds YA 10 RANDOM THINGS
August 3rd TTC Books And More GUEST POST
August 4th Mary's Cup of Tea REVIEW
July 30th Me, My Shelf and I QUOTE STOP
July 31st Fictitious Delicious QUOTE STOP
August 1st TMBA Tries To Write REVIEW
August 2nd Book Hounds YA 10 RANDOM THINGS
August 3rd TTC Books And More GUEST POST
August 4th Mary's Cup of Tea REVIEW
congrats john on the release
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