2022
The 2021-22 school year was horrible for me. I got switched without my consent to a new classroom, a new grade, and a new subject. I had very little time for writing. By summer 2022, I had only some outlines and a few bits. What I did have though, was a lot of pent-up creative energy. I did most of the writing in this year during those two months.
His Robot Wife: Extreme Patience
I felt a great deal of pressure to complete Extreme Patience. I was getting a letter almost every day from fans of the series. I had my outline written back in 2017, but I had changed a lot of things in the previous book that had originally been planned to exend into this one. Consequently, there was less plot left for this book. I pushed through and finished a smaller book than originally intended. Sometime in the future, I plan to combine the three books together and do a second edition.
The Destroyer Returns
I had been approached a number of times to write serialized fiction for distribution groups in Asia. I had always been wary about it because of their payment system and terms. Then Amazon created Kindle Vella, that worked very much the same way. I came up with two stories, one of which was The Destroyer Returns and started writing and posting them in mini-chapters (about 1000 words). Because of the way payments were structured, I earned about $50, even though nobody had read my stories. Nobody. For a writer, or at least for this one, a reader is more important than a sale, so I decided to put the story into book form instead.
The setting for The Destroyer Returns is very loosely based on the game of Minecraft. My daughter introduced the game to me and it has since replaced all the other games that I played. I toyed with the idea of writing a Minecraft book, but in the end, I decided to try to recreate the feel but with my own creations. In addition, I took some inspiration from Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, particularly as he was portrayed in the old Marvel black and white magazine.
Astrid Maxxim and the Great Water Project
The Astrid Maxxim series was becoming more popular and it was time to write the next one. I had actually finished this one before both The Destroyer Returns and Extreme Patience, but I set it aside. It was way too dark for an Astrid Maxxim story. After I had finished the other two, I returned to it and rewrote quite a bit, especially the middle. I’m happy with it overall, but plan to return to more of the formula of the first two books in the future.
City of Amathar 
Mr. Allison; I was just browsing at Smashwords and came across your book “His Robot Wife.” I got a copy and really enjoyed it a great deal! I have 11 books at Smashwords. What I need is a website. What does yours cost and where should I go to get one? I have been depressed about my writing career at Smashwords because it seems that my 11 books are just completely lost amongst the many thousands of other books there. Though I am very grateful for Smashwords indeed. I just need exposure I think. If people showed interest I’d get on the stick and write more. But its been somewhat depressing since I wrote my last and biggest book “The First Civilization of Earth.” I put my heart and sole in that book and without sufficient advertising it has gone nowhere.
Anyway it’s Great to connect with a Very accomplished fellow writer such as yourself!! I like Robots and the story was a pleasant adventure to read. I had two other books that had robots in them but I was discouraged to leave them published because they are on the Erotic side and my current wife and others here in Utah, ‘The Scam Capitol of the World,’ said they were “Dirty books” and I felt maybe they were right, maybe people would buy my other books if they weren’t published. I am currently rethinking that assumption and maybe I’ll republish them sometime in the future after I do some corrections and such. Those two books were titled: Tomorrows Humans 1 & 2. Maybe even I’ll do a third book in that series. My current wife is encouraging me to do a third “Nibly the Bear” children’s book. Maybe I’ll do both? I know, I’m Blathering on and on… So let me just say, its great to connect with a fellow accomplished writer such as you!
Thank You, Steve Nelson
Hey Steve,
It’s great to hear from you and thanks for your support. Believe me, I know what it’s like to put everything you have into a book and then to have it be passed over. Just be aware that this happens to most books out there. There are more books being written every day and now that anyone can publish their own book, the market is really flooded. I am happy to say that a couple of my books have had some moderate success, but there are others I’ve written that have been available for ten years and have yet to find more than a couple of hundred readers.
Here’s my advice. Get all your books out there. I’ve written some books for teens and others that are on the quite adult side. If you think that will confuse your readers, use a pseudonym (or a different one) for your more adult books. Make sure that all of the books get into the premium catalog on Smashwords, so that they are distributed to Apple, Barnes & Noble, etc. Publish them separately on Amazon. Write more books. Write the ones that you feel the urge to write. If that makes other people happy, then great. If not, at least you’ve told a story you want to tell.
As for the websites, I’m not an expert. I use WordPress. To make a basic blog/site, it’s free. I pay about $28 a year for the name (wesleyallison.com). You can get much the same deal at Squarespace or GoDaddy. I have’t used them, but I hear they are good. Don’t expect it to be a magic pill for bookselling. It can help you build your brand, but it’s a long, slow process. I try to stay in the mindset that my writing (and publishing, promoting, and everything else) is my hobby. If I make a few bucks and get some notice, that’s great. If not, it’s my hobby– something I do for me.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your writing.
Wes.