Please welcome this week’s guest to the Showcase.
Randy L Scott, author, narrator, and word slinger of the Dream Messiah Series
Freedom – Just Another Word…
Into the Fire – Where it gets real…
Awakening – Will the Circle be…
Blurb for the series:
In wilds of Alaska, the land of misfits, would you believe the crazy stories of a survivalist derelict? What if those stories led you into another world, doubting your own mental stability?
This character-driven, adventure series is the account of Jake Barnes finding his purpose in life after stepping into the world of lucid dreaming. The Dream Messiah takes you on a wild journey from the forests of Alaska to the jungle of Borneo.
Jake Barnes is living his dream, building a cabin in remote Alaska when he becomes an unintended father with his fiancé Kat and his whole world changes. Jake’s interest in lucid dreaming sends him into a world he is unprepared for and fearing the mental afflictions that plague his family. Kat has her own demands and agenda. As the line between dreams and reality blur, Jake’s decisions may cost him everything he cares about, including his infant son, Luke.
Halfway around the globe, the Punan Dyaks, a tribe deep in the mountains of Borneo are manifesting their Dream Messiah. While the forest of Borneo burns from corrupt companies clearing the land, more than one person wants Jake Barnes to burn in hell, while another hand is guiding him to a baptism by fire as these two worlds converge. Once he crosses that line, there is no turning back.
How will you judge Jake Barnes?
Author Bio:
Library was my favorite class in early grade school. Our teacher read to us such classics as: Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, Robinson Carouse, Five on a Treasure Island, and The Mad Scientist Club. I was fascinated with adventure, camping, backpacking and woodsmanship. Long after I was put to bed and should have been sleeping, I was under the covers with a flashlight reading Boy’s Life magazine, the official rag of the Boy Scouts. I became a Scout at twelve years old and fell in love with the outdoor experience. Soon I was reading PT-109, Sea Wolf, Call of the Wild, and Last of the Mohicans.
In my teens and early twenties, I immersed myself in authors Hermann Hesse, Kurt Vonnegut, Saul Bellow, Tom Robbins, Frank Herbert, Ray Bradbury and Robert E Howard of the Conan the Barbarian series of adventures. I was amazed how writers created places, characters, and made up their stories. I dreamed of writing my own stories but didn’t know what the heck to write about until this story about the Dream Messiah popped into my head and said ‘hello.’ Turning back was not an option.
The genesis for this saga came while hiking across the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. I took a break from the one hundred and ten-degree heat and lay in the shade of a cactus, watching the clouds hang in the sky and began daydreaming. I had recently seen the video series from PBS Nature – The Ring of Fire. The stories by the Blair brothers of their quest to find the Punan Dyaks of Kalimantan (Borneo) blew me away. While daydreaming that afternoon in the desert, I saw the story of a young man in Alaska, his struggles and journey into the Dreamtime of another culture to find his destiny.
It took thirty years to chisel away and expose the story, hone the details and polish it into something presentable. I always knew where I wanted the story to go. By the time I finally wrote ‘the end,’ I had a tome of almost 300,000 words! Thankfully, I was convinced to break it into a series of three novels. Much of the minutia was edited out on advice from my developmental editor. Each of the books had to have its own arc and not stop simply where it was convenient. Now they total about 266,000 words for all three books in the series.
Many of the Alaska scenes are based on experiences I’ve had building cabins, commercial fishing and avoiding bears. I spent the better part of sixteen years of my adult life in Alaska before bouncing between Hawaii and Arizona and settling in California. I’ve been to Indonesia and the island of Borneo for research.
My most valuable lesson in self-publishing is to use as many proofreaders as you can find. After finishing my developmental and line edits, I hired a professional proofreader. Nonetheless, it feels like a ton of grammar issues and misspellings got through. I didn’t get any feedback about the mistakes when the ebook was published. However, when the paperback came out, the errors were far more apparent on the printed page.
Fortunately, it’s easy to fix the manuscript and resubmit the cleaned-up version to all my distributors. I just wish I gotten right the first time. My solution is to print up a dozen ‘author copies,’ a cheap version, to give my volunteer proofreaders after the professional proofreader is done. They can mark up the books and dog-ear the pages before giving me back the copy so I can fix the mistakes before the final release.
I’ll release my next novel, a psychological thriller, on Kindle Unlimited for at least 90 days to build up page reads and reviews before going wide with the ebook and into releasing the print version. My goal is to have it published early 2021. Join my email newsletter and visit my website for updates on progress.
I also have experience as a professional on-stage storyteller. I’ve had my own home recording studio for about ten years, that I’ve used to record and mix music. Combining my speaking, recording and editing experience with the pro-grade gear I have, I’m also narrating the audiobook versions of this series. My goal is to have the first book in the series recorded, mastered and released by May of this year, 2020, and the 2nd and 3rd books of the series released before the end of the year.
In February, I’ll put up audio samples on my website.
Blub for Freedom – Just Another Word …
Jake Barnes didn’t often wear a gun, but he would be now. He fears his freedom is in danger when psychological afflictions come knocking on his door. He never planned on marriage or fatherhood – but the best-laid plans…
Jake is building a homestead in Alaska when he opens the door to lucid dreaming. He wanted the thrill of flying, instead he’s grounded when his fiancé, Kat, announces her pregnancy. Everyone has advice for Jake as he teeters on the brink of psychosis. The line between dreams and reality blur and Jake’s decisions may cost him everything he cares about, including his infant son.
Halfway around the globe, the Punan Dyaks, a tribe deep in the mountains of Borneo are manifesting their Dream Messiah when a plane crash in the jungle heralds the end of their world. While more than one person wants Jake Barnes to burn in hell, another hand is guiding him to a baptism by fire as these two worlds converge.
How far into the shadow-world will Jake go in this first book of the Dream Messiah Series? Adventure and magical realism with flavors of Jack London and Carlos Castaneda make this a tale to keep you turning the pages. How will you judge Jake Barns?
This dark adventure story destined to be a classic, will change your life forever. Get it today!
Excerpts from Freedom – Just Another Word…
He felt that his soul had been yanked right out from his body. The intangible presence of another entity was there with him again. He felt a rush of paranoia as he came back to the reality that he had not been paying attention to the danger of the chainsaw in his hands.
Oh my God, I’m hallucinating. Shit, don’t let this happen to me!
But he absolutely knew something was behind him, watching and ready to pounce. He spun around in panic, swinging the blaring saw, expecting to see a brownie charging. It took him a few more seconds to catch his breath and calm down.
His finger released the trigger of the throttle, hit the kill switch, and he set the saw down. The hot blade fell forward into the damp moss and sizzled as Jake let out his own steamy sigh. He shook his head and smiled, relieved that he hadn’t gone crazy and crossed the line into–
Dave was smiling mischievously like a kid caught in a prank. He was leaning against a spruce tree twenty feet away. “A little jumpy today, are we?”
“Say what?” Jake pulled off a glove and took the foam plugs from his ears.
“We came over to take you up on your offer for help. We could use a little extra muscle. Can you come give us a hand for a while?
“Yeah, sure,” Jake agreed. “Whadda ya got?”
“Come and see, my lad. Come and see.” Dave turned to grab the rope and begin lowering himself down the cliff to the beach. His pants and boots were streaked with blood.
“Hey, what happened to your leg?” Jake asked.
“Oh that…” Dave stopped and pulled an old blue bandanna from his pocket, wiped his face and spoke in a tone of complete seriousness. “Jake, they say that a friend will help you move. And a good friend, will help you move…” he paused for effect, “a body.”
Dave panned a perfectly sober face. “What kind of a friend are you going to be, Jake?”
Jake stood with his mouth open. Of course, he’s kidding. He’s gotta be…
For readers of the Indie Showcase, for the next month, until March 31, 2020 I’ll give away a free ebook copy of the first novel in my Dream Messiah series; Freedom – Just Another Word… when you sign up to my newsletter email list. Here is the link to Bookfunnel who will distribute it to the e-reader of your choice.
Links to my blog and social media
Randy L Scott Website: https://randco.me
Book Giveaway page: https://BookHip.com/NQSPKT
Amazon Author Page: https://amazon.com/author/randylscott
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18482245.Randy_L_Scott
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Redwoodvoices/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/randylscott2/
My thanks to this weeks guest for a great post. I hope you all enjoyed it.
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Have a good week,
Richard.
