Book Reviews, Thoughts, and Random Interesting Ideas

Inspiration:

Lots of people ask me how I got started with gemstones and where did I get the inspiration for The Gemstone Chronicles. Well, it all started a few years ago when my brother John and I were looking for something different to do with his two girls and my grandson. We decided to go a place called Gold ‘n’ Gems Grubbin’ where we could dig for gemstones by the creek. It turned out to be a hobby-inspiring day. We found lots of gemstones (not all of them precious), but John and I are hooked. We try to go about once per month and collect more stones. It was during one of these monthly visits that Aidan (grandson) and I talked about the “mystical” properties of gemstones and The Gemstones Chronicles series was born!

What’s next?

Once we started collecting stones, we started to find ways to enhance them. John found a man who facets stones for a hobby and he has done some amazing stones for John. I joined a local mineral society and have learned the rudiments of making cabochons (look for a post on that soon).

John and I will be heading to NC in late September or early October to do some hard core digging at Gem Mountain. We will be looking for emeralds and other gemstones, so stay tuned for those pictures!

There are many places around the country to find gems. One place I want to go is Diamond Crater State Park in Arkansas where you can actually hunt for diamonds. That is a trip for the summer, but it is on my bucket list!

What are your favorite gem hunting places? I’m always open to new places to explore! What inspiration do you have for your hobbies? If there is somewhere near where you live, have you visited it and what did you find? Leave me a comment and let me know!!

Connect with me:

Connect with me on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or email me at bill@williamlstuart.com. If you don’t want to miss a post, subscribe to the blog!

One week!

I’m excited that is has been one week since I started the publishing process for my first novel, The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian. The week has flown by and I have to say thanks for those who have visited this website, my Facebook page, and a special thanks to those who bought the book and are now, hopefully, fully involved in the story and loving it!

Please visit and leave comments on how you liked the book and about your favorite parts. In the meantime, I will be working on revising The Gemstone Chronicles Book Three: The Emerald, while my wonderful editor works on The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst.

Marketing:

Now if I can just figure out this whole marketing thing figured out, it would be fantastic!! It’s such a mystery and, since I’m working on a small budget, much more challenging. I’ll take any hints, suggestions, hacks, or other marketing ideas you want to share. I won’t keep them secret (unless you want me to), as I think all of us Indie authors are in this thing together! In addition, I’ll explore online sites to see what I can glean from them and pass along anything I find worthwhile. I’ve learned a lot in one week, but there is so much more to discover.

You can also connect with me on social media. I’m on Twitter, and Goodreads, as well as Facebook as mentioned above. I’m thinking of joining  Pinterest, too, so look for me there in the future. I look forward to meeting new friends!!

Here’s the latest on my writing! I wanted to provide an update on The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst! The manuscript for The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst is now in the hands of my editor Abby! She will no doubt be frustrated by my inability to get basic punctuation down, my occasional poor spelling, and my legendary and epic typos, but she will persevere. She made it through Book One: The Carnelian, and I picked up a few hints on how she edits from all the corrections required on The Carnelian. With all I learned from the first book, I’ve done preliminary editing to fix the obvious errors. I know she’ll find more, but  I’m confident she will have similar magical results with Book Two: The Amethyst!

Look for Book Two: The Amethyst release toward the end of this year. I am targeting December, and hope to have it completed in time for Christmas. Meanwhile, I’m working on revisions to Book Three: The Emerald, so stay tuned!! That’s the update for now, but I’ll be back with others!

Please consider leaving a review for my books as you read them. Not only do I like to hear what you thought of the books, but it helps me become a better writer!

As always, feel free to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads! You can also email me at bill@williamlstuart.com. If you don’t want to miss a post (including the latest updates on all the books of the series), you can always subscribe to the blog, too! I enjoy meeting new friends!

OK, this is the third day of this blog, I am going to stop with the day after day thing after today. Even though this is the third installment, I don’t want to overwhelm readers with blog posts everyday. First, today I wanted to thank those who have purchased my book. I hope you enjoy it and will come back and tell us what you liked (or didn’t like) or broadcast it to the world on Amazon.com or Smashwords.  Secondly, I want to thank everyone for visiting my little site here. I hope you come back often and leave comments. Lastly, here’s an update my author link to Amazon, which is: https://www.amazon.com/author/williamlstuart.

I also wanted everyone to know that I am hard at work on the rest of the series and will be sending the second book, The Amethyst, to my amazing editor Abby. She will transform the raw manuscript into a polished book. I hope reading (and reviewing) The Carnelian will encourage you to read and review the rest of The Gemstone Chronicles series! And remember, the reviews don’t have to be long or detailed. Just a few words about what you liked or didn’t like is greatly appreciated! Not only does it tell me what readers think, but also gives me valuable feedback to improve my writing skills! Thanks in advance!

Connect with me:

Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or send me an email at bill@williamlstuart.com. If you don’t want to miss a post, subscribe to the blog! Let’s start a conversation about books, submarines, gemstones, and other cool topics. I enjoy meeting new friends and discovering new things!

On the second day on my fledgling career as an author, I sold my first book!!! I don’t know who the buyer was (unfortunately) so I can’t send them a big thank you, but if you bought it and happen to read my blog, thank you!!! And, if you happen to think of it, please consider leaving a review. I would love to know what you think of the book, and I hope it leads you to read (and review) the rest of The Gemstone Chronicles series!

I am working on my Amazon.com author page and will post that link when it is available. Until then, just visit http://www.amazon.com and find The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian or go to http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ugak9s911. You can order the book there. For those who read on their iPad or Nook, you can also get the book for those platforms on iTunes or at Barnesandnoble.com!

So my second day was exciting! I will be posting updates as things progress in the series, so stayed tuned!! Never fear, the blog will be more than just my books. I’ll include reviews for books I read, and posts about things that interest me (like rock hounding and gemstones). Maybe you’ll find something new to read or a new hobby!

Connect with me:

You can also connect with me on social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, or email me at bill@williamlstuart.com! If you don’t want to miss a post, please subscribe to the blog! I look forward to meeting new friends!