← Living The Next Chapter: Candid Conversations with Authors and Writers for Readers Searching for a New Read
Living The Next Chapter: Candid Conversations with Authors and Writers for Readers Searching for a New Read
E525 - Richard DeVeau - Light's Out - We Paint a Picture of a special forces veteran, CIA officer, and leader of Boston's Homeland Security team
00:46:36
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- [00:01]
A
If you like Tom Clancy thrillers, if you like. Oh, Follett, I even, I'm a big fan of Louise Penny who writes the Gamache mysteries. She, I love the way she, she paints characters and gives internal, the interior lives of folks. She's just wonderful use of, of the English language. If you like thrillers with political thrillers with lots of action. I had a friend of mine read it who in his review said I, I couldn't put it down. I tend to not really like violence, but in spite of that I couldn't put it down anyway and had to and, and just, and had to read it anyhow, you know, so there, you know, there's, if you're, if you just, if you like a good thriller, this, this I think feeds the need and based on some of the reviews I'm getting, I, I'm actually blown away that, that what people are saying. Some people compared it to Tom Clancy said it's very, very, very much like Tom Clancy. Some, someone compared it to another novel, but the writers just escapes my mind right now. Another well known author has that same kind of intrigue and somebody said it gave him nightmares.
- [01:43]
B
Everybody, welcome back to Living the Next Chapter. I have a book in my hand, which I love. Lights Out. It's a gorgeous book and you can, for those listening, that's it right there. Richard is on the podcast. Richard has written an amazing book. My wife and I are battling for control of the book because we're both enjoying it at the same time. So that's causing some interesting conversations in the house. But Richard's here on the podcast. He is going to paint with a broad stroke and lots of colors and bring light to our podcast today as an artist and an author. And I'm excited to have Richard here on the podcast. You're going to love this guy and you're going to love Lights out, the new book from Richard and more books coming in the future. Richard, welcome to Living the Next Chapter.
- [02:24]
A
Well, thank you so much, Dave. It's delightful to be here. I really am looking forward to the next chunk of time to talk about whatever you want to talk about.
- [02:34]
B
All right. Okay. Well, you've signed up, you're here. We're going to get the most out of you in our time together. I'm excited to have you here. Richard, tell everybody where you are in this big world of ours.
- [02:44]
A
I currently live in Chicago, or actually west of Chicago in a suburb called the Fox River Valley. And I'm originally though from Boston, born and raised in Boston and moved out here actually 20 years ago now. I'll eventually be going back to New England. I'm unwilling to do it hard. Probably in the next, probably two, three years or so.
- [03:12]
B
Awesome. Your journey as an author. I know we, we talked about that. You, you do painting, you do a lot of different stuff. You're really good with all things to do with advertising and marketing. That's kind of part of your big chunk of your background. The idea of writing a book though, like, did somebody come up to you one day, tap you on the shoulder and say, hey Richard, you should be an author? Like, how did this all start for you?
- [03:36]
A
Well, it started. I've had a number of ideas for stories kind of rattling around in my head for a while. I had a list. I think there's maybe eight or ten ideas. I have written a couple of screenplays and, and thought that the story ideas could be screenplays. Some of them I thought, well, you know, to do this justice, it would have to be a novel. But honestly, the idea of writing a novel seems so overwhelming to me. Even though I have spent the last now four decades writing for a living, you know, writing advertising copy and blog posts and radio and video, you know, scripts and all of that. The novel just seemed very overwhelming. So about a year and a half ago I was between jobs and said, you know what, I have some time. Let's, let's give it a go. And I was hooked. It really poured out of me. In four months, I think I got 80% of it written. So it was just the book, as you'll see, it moves quickly. It came out the same way. One of the things that I'm really grateful for is that four decades of writing experience because that sort of informed. I didn't have to think about mechanics, I didn't have to think about structure. You know, I didn't have to think about, you know, grammar and, and the things that can hang up a lot of, you know, perhaps newer writers. And I think I had discovered my own voice some time ago. So there was this comfort in, in writing it and then I had to put it down for actually two years because I took on two full time jobs that really owned me. And then about year, about a year and a half or so ago, I, I picked it up again and, and then finished it. And it took me another probably three or four months to finish it, polish it, get it to, you know, to where I felt it was, it was done. And then was very fortunate to have submitted the manuscript to Double Dagger Books. And they said, let's go. Yeah, I mean, I, I spent probably four or five, six months trying to get an agent there and, and also applying, you know, or sending, submitting to, to. There are a number of publishers who like double dagger will, will look at authors directly without an agent. And the process is a lot like looking for a job. You know, you, you put all this material together. You, you, you write a cover letter. You, you send them a synopsis, you send them, sometimes they want the first 50 pages, the first three chapters, and, and, and then every single one of them, particularly the Asians, will tell you if you don't hear from us within three or four months, it means no. So you, you don't even get the courtesy of any kind of reply response, and usually you hear nothing. You know, so you're, you know, and I'm, and I'm sure that there are a lot of authors out there who will basically telling you the same story.
- [07:19]
B
Interesting. So, okay, so, Richard, for a new author that's listening, they're on the beginning of their journey. You're. I, I have your book. I have proof you did it. Like, it's, it's here in my hands. So you've, you know stuff about writing now that you didn't know before you started this project. And there's people listening here today that are anxious and eager to be where you are, to have their hands on their book like you can. What have you learned about yourself in the process of writing this that could help another author and encourage them on their journey?
- [07:53]
A
I, what I do, basically because of what I've done for a living in advertising, marketing and fundraising, writing, I have a tendency to really lean into research. So I really didn't know much at all about the publishing industry. So I started really digging in, looking at people in the industry. Jane Friedman is a woman who has a wonderful blog post. Lots of great information about the industry. There's a lot of great stuff out there that talks about the business of publishing, what publishers are looking for, what agents are looking for, and so that can help inform you. Otherwise, there really is no getting around the fact that you have to do the writing. And writing to me is a skill set that's like a muscle. The more you do it, the stronger it gets. I found that to be the case with painting too. I didn't go to college for, for painting or for writing. It's something that, that I have, I've just done on my own. And that really is the bottom line for anybody who will, even, even those who are educated will tell you or educated in the, in the, in the arena of the topic or the, the venue that you want to, want to work and they'll tell you that you work every day. I remember back in Boston, I was talking to a very well known painter. I, he just, you know, had a great reputation. And I said, I told him, he came to one of my gallery shows and said, I love to work. I said, well, I'm self taught and I know, you know, he had an advanced degree. And he says, actually we're all self taught, but it comes right down to it because you, you have to do the work. So any new author, it's, it's that simple. You just, you just have to write, keep writing. It doesn't, sometimes it doesn't matter what you write. If, if you can. I know that, you know, there are a lot of venues for folks. You can write blog posts. You can, you can put stuff on. You just put stuff out there and get feedback. There are a lot of writing groups. I haven't joined one, but I understand from a lot of folks it can be very helpful to get together with some other writers, submit stuff. Working to a deadline I find very helpful and I think a writer would help you do that. I spent, as I said, four decades writing to a deadline. I had to get done what I had to get done because it needed to go out. It was the ad need to be placed, the direct mail letter needed to go in the mail. And so that discipline for me has really helped. Creativity is something that you can never just wait for inspiration. You show up, start doing the work, and the inspiration will come. It's the other way around. I know too many folks just like, oh, I just, I'm not feeling it. I don't, I'm not feeling creative. Well, you'll be surprised. You start to put your pen to paper or your fingers to the keyboard. And even if you start to write gobbledygook, you'll find that the more you do it, the more your brain will kick in and the creativity will kick in. It's kind of the same way with painting. You start with canvas, you do something and then it says, now I want this. So you do that and so you begin to have a dialogue with the work. I find the same thing is true with writing. I tend to, I know a lot of writers really enjoy flushing everything out, having a complete outline. I tend to have, I know where I want it to go. I kind of know where I wanted it to end. And, and I knew some of what I wanted to happen in the middle or throughout, but I was discovering what was happening next as I was writing. And that, to me, is the joy of the process. I think any creative endeavor, the finished work is kind of nice, but it really is about the process. That's what excites any creative person to. In any medium. It's, it's about engaging with the work, solving these problems and, and, and having this thing when you're done, you're like, wow, it's, you know, let's do it again.
- [13:04]
B
There's, there's some parallels between your artwork and author and writing as an author. You talked a little bit in our pre chat a while back about just your interaction with the canvas and what's happening during the painting. Can you, can you unpack that again and kind of expand on that for people who didn't hear that part of our conversation? Because I thought it was really unique
- [13:24]
A
when, when you paint, you know, you do something to the canvas and it sort of says, now I want this. And so you do that and you actually begin to have a dialogue with the work. And it, to me, was a bit of a surprise when I found as I'm writing this novel, that same process was happening. I do this, I would write this, and it was like, now this, you know, this needs to happen next, or this person needs to say this. And it was this. I found an incredible likeness. It wasn't almost identical in the process to painting for me. And then I, I just, I was enamored, you know, with, with that. And, and once I really discovered that, I kind of. It was easy for me to get in the zone, to just trust that I'm going to start to write and something's going to happen and I'll know what needs to happen next. Same thing when I. Because I've been painting for about 35 years, when I get to a canvas, the blank canvas doesn't frighten me. It excites me, actually. And so I know that if I'm going to do something, there's enough experience to know that even if I screw it up, what's the worst that can happen? I can cover it with gesso or I can get another sheet of paper, right? Knowing that there is nothing really to fear. Because fear does stop a lot of people from any creative effort. And to, to just let go of that and just to trust that your instincts, your experience. And I will say that, you know, for any creative endeavor, you know, they talk about the 10,000 hours of practice to get to anything there, There is There is no substitute for acquiring the skills that are required to do it. You got to put the time in. If you want to paint, paint every day. You want to write, write every day. You know, if. If you want to. If you want to sculpt, you sculpt every day. There's. There's just no substitute for, you know, learning your craft, building that skill set. And then once you've got the tools, you can then unleash the tools to kind of do what you feel led to do.
- [16:13]
B
I like that, and I like the layers when you paint, and I like the depth and all the things that are happening in painting as well, which all kind of adds to the. To the story that you're painting. And there's all that layers and depth as a writer.
- [16:28]
A
Exactly. And also what I've found, because what I do in I. Because I paint abstract, texture is a big part of what I do. I've also found that removing layers of paint can create a textural effect. If I've got a number of blue layers, I can go in and I do this with steel wool and remove some layers, and it reveals something underneath. And it's because I've built textures. It's. It's kind of an uneven process. So I would say then in the writing process, sometimes you'll do the same. You'll remove things and leave things to the. To the reader's imagination. You don't have to spell everything out explicitly. You can leave some things. So adding paint, removing paint, adding words.
- [17:19]
B
You know, it's a nice parallel here. I like this. We're having two conversations at the same time. It's the Art Painting podcast and it's the author podcast. All in one, everyone. So there you go. Okay, so take us into the story, Richard, because I want. I want to switch over to the readers who may or may not be authors in the future, but they're looking to fall in love with their next favorite author, which would be you, and they're going to fall in love with. Lights out. Give us an overview of what are we going to find in this story? I'm holding the book. I'm ready to read it for the first time. As a listener, what's your love letter to me as a reader, what do I need to know about this amazing book?
- [18:00]
A
Well, the idea for it started as an idea about a decade ago. One of my younger brothers lives in Massachusetts who lives on Cape Cod, and he was volunteering to restore a lighthouse there. And he called me up, he said, you know, I know you're good at research. We need to have the light that's at the top. It currently only goes out three miles. When it was originally built, the light went out 13 miles. We'd like to restore it to its original 13 mile distance. Are there companies out there that still make these things? And I like. I'll check. And so I did. I started researching to find actually that there are more lighthouses here on the Great Lakes than on either coast. And companies here in the Midwest that actually do, you know, build lights. All of them are solar powered now. So in the name of a couple of companies, that's what kind of started the idea. The way my mind works anyway is, oh, you know, lighthouses, they, they are these wonderful things. They're guides for, for sailors. The foghorn, you know, kind of as a voice in, in, in the, in the, in the mist and the darkness. Gee, what would happen? How could somebody do something bad with the lighthouse? So that's kind of. Where's the impetus? So my antagonist uses lighthouses for destructive purposes. He shoots missiles from them and causes some destruction with them. My protagonist is a woman. Initially, you know, when I got this idea, I was gonna. I was gonna make my protagonist a man. And you know, I have special forces guy and, and, you know, you know, in this TIA and, and all of this. And I said, you know what? I actually think I could have more fun if this was a woman. Now I'm a father of three adult daughters, and I've been married for over 50 years, so I. I think I have a pretty good idea of how women think and how they might react in a situation. And in many cases, I've discovered that women are actually tougher than men. So I made my protagonist a woman. Eve. Eve tion, who was from Quebec, which is actually where my roots are from. My great grandparents came from Quebec. And actually I can trace my roots to Quebec back to 1634. And so that place, as a place for her origins, was a natural fit. She lives on the Isle of Orleans, or Isle of. And I probably screwed that up. Anybody who speaks French, I'm high.
- [21:22]
B
Sounded great to me.
- [21:23]
A
I'm 98% French and 2% Native American, but I'm terrible at the language, much to my grandmother's chagrin, in any event. So she, I have her. She was one of the only women to make it into Canada's Special Forces joint task force 2. She served in Afghanistan. And because of her leadership and what she did in Afghanistan, she got the CIA's attention. They recruited her, offered her Dual citizenship so that she could now have access to top secret information. And I happen to make her an artist as well. The idea of. Of the warrior artist kind of goes back to ancient Japan. You know samurai were skilled warriors but they also wrote poetry and they also painted. You know there's, there's this wonderful balance in I think in a warrior who isn't just all savage. Right. So in her case she's, she's the painter. I put her in Boston. I put her in an area where my studio for 12 years was with that setting. And the storyline follows that they catch wind of a domestic terrorist group. There's something in the air about Boston being a target. So the. She and her team, she. She actually leads or is a co leader of the home Boston's homeland security folks. There's, there's a team set up in Boston and, and she's a co leader of that. And so basically the book, the narrative is. Is kind of following. You know I'll let you. You have to unpack. Does start with a practice run for shooting a missile and destroying an oil tanker in Wisconsin, off the coast of Wisconsin. And that was again practiced for. For what is a second and then third phase of destruction. And there's a political reason for that. There's. There's. There's a senator with, with an agenda that requires another kind of 911 event to place in order for what he's proposing and what he's. The bill that he is developing and is moving through Congress with. It also has sort of a secret agenda in it that, that gives him in particular specific power. So.
- [24:36]
B
So Richard, who would you say this book is for Maybe age wise and also audience wise. Who are you kind of focused on
- [24:44]
A
as if you like Tom Clancy thrillers. If you like. Oh Follet. I even I'm a big fan of. Of Louise Penny who. Who writes the Gamache mysteries. She. I love the way she. She paints characters and gives internal. The interior lives of folks and she's just wonderful use of the English language. If you like thrillers with political thrillers with lots of action. I had a friend of mine read it who in his review said I couldn't put it down. I tend to not really like violence but in spite of that I couldn't put it down anyway and just. And had to read it anyhow. You know. So there, you know there's. If. If you're. If you just. If you like a good thriller, this, this I think feeds the need and based on some of the reviews I'm getting I, I'm actually blown away that, that what people are saying. Some people compared it to Tom Clancy said it's very, very much like Tom Clancy. Some. Someone compared it to, to another novel. The writers just escapes my mind right now. Another well known author has that same kind of intrigue and somebody said it gave him nightmares.
- [26:25]
B
So while you're talking Richard, I have your reviews up here and I'm kind of scrolling through here some amazing comments from your, from your readers. I want to just kind of just what I like to do this once in a while with my guests. You just call out some of these reviews and have you respond to the reviewer from the author back to kind of the conversation starts, right. They left a review and now they hear you address their review. It's kind of like a full circle moment for them. Right. So I wanted to read a couple to you just to get your thoughts and maybe a response back to the person who's left you the review. Review.
- [26:59]
A
Absolutely.
- [27:01]
B
All right. Okay. So John K. Intriguing terrorist thriller. Lights out is a well written thriller that will keep you engaged as the hunt is on to catch the terrorists. The personalities of the main characters are complex, which complicates the relationships. The narrative is organized to keep the action moving and the reader wondering what is next. Looking forward to Richard's next book. That's John Kay. What? Do you have any words for John
- [27:35]
A
K. Well, first of all, thank you, John. I actually, interestingly enough, you know, I, I know John and, and we had a conversation on the side and he actually said because he works and lives and works in Boston. And he sent me a picture outside of his office window of the harbor right where some of this action takes place. And he says, I'm afraid I'm going to be one of the folks who is. Is harmed. And, and I assured him no.
- [28:12]
B
Okay, okay, good, good. All right, so let's do another one. Let's do Bill B. Writes a great debut as a title for his review. Lights out is an amazing story of political intrigue and terrorism that will suck you in and give you nightmares. There it is. I couldn't put it down. I needed to know what happened next. Reminded me of the Pelicans.
- [28:35]
A
That's the beyond.
- [28:37]
B
There you go. Yeah. In terms of intrigue and terror. Needs to be a movie. Ah, he's like yelling at you here. A tour de force debut novel from Richard. So that's Bill B. Any comments back to Bill first of
- [28:54]
A
all, again, thank you Bill. The, the movie comment. He's not the first to, to have made that. There have been a couple of folks. And honestly, when I was writing it, it played like a movie in my head. I was seeing all of these scenes, and all of this was. Because I think for most writers, you're, you're, it's, it's, it's a visual process. You're seeing these things and you're unable to, to describe what you're seeing in words. It's certainly true for me as a painter, I think, visually, I, I kind of operate visually. So the, the idea of it being a movie, I, I'm like, yeah, let's talk to Hollywood. And, and yeah, I, I, it reads quickly. It's fast pace, and that is honestly the way I wrote. Things were moving quickly. I was, it just poured out of me. And I was delighted to. For that experience. And what I've discovered as a writer is if I'm not feeling it, the reader's not going to feel it. I got to feel it. I, I have to. Sometimes I find myself teary, right? Sometimes I find myself, you know, just blown away, excited. You know, whatever, whatever's going on, I'm feeling those emotions as I write them. And I've discovered that if I, if I'm feeling it, the reader's gonna feel it. If I'm not feeling it, if I'm, if I'm not moved by what I've written, then no one else is gonna be either. Right? That's probably not a good note for, for writers, you know, you, you, you're saying something. I think you're writing something, maybe because you think it needs to be there. But if it's flat, if it's just kind, kind of not moving the, the storyline along, or not moving the narrative along or, or the character's arc along, you might want to rethink it, because if you're not feeling it, your ear isn't gonna feel it.
- [31:09]
B
In the process of writing the book, Richard, was there ever a part for you where you, where you got stuck or you didn't know what to do next, and you were kind of like, had to take a moment to reorganize your thoughts, and you kind of mentioned a little bit about your, your character is kind of leading you a little bit in the process, but was there a part in this at all where you're just like, I don't know where
- [31:31]
A
to go next if I didn't know where to go next? Actually, you know, there were lots of sections where I wasn't. I was, it was sort of unknown, but I Could sort of by what happened prior and where I wanted it to go in the end, I was able to kind of move that through again. That's part of the process. Right. Especially for me, as, as, as I mentioned earlier, I'm not a big bullet by bullet outline writer for novels. I, I will say that sometimes what I, what I, what I wrote, and, and in that moment, I'm like, okay, now I have to go back and set this up. How would I do that? Well, somebody should say this or maybe this should happen so that now this makes sense. So that's part of the process too, is, is as you're moving a narrative along and you want this to happen next. It's like, okay, I got to drop something in earlier that kind of sort of hints at this or would make this a logical thing to happen next. So there was, there was a bit of a structural sort of, like, sometimes I view writing as sort of like building blocks. Right. And, you know, there's almost a, a structural thing that happens in my head. Right. It's like, well, I've. If I'm building this, then I've got to put this underneath it, and then, then I can put this on top of that and then this on top of that. There's, there's a, there's a sense of, of structure that's almost, it's almost three dimensional to me sometimes.
- [33:29]
B
Okay. Yeah, because I'm, I'm, I'm picturing that. And every single step in that process matters. It's like, I think back, like, you know, you have 12 steps to take you from the main level to the upstairs of your house. What steps the most important? Well, they all are. Like, without, without the first one, there wouldn't be the 12th one. So every step matters, right? So you kind of have to go through all those steps to get to the finish line.
- [33:53]
A
Exactly. And then I'll say that after it's done, and you think, oh, this is, this is great. You have to go back in and have to go back in. I would say I went back into the, the whole manuscript probably, I don't know, 10, 12 times from beginning to end. And each time I, I would. As I'm going through it, I'm like, oh, let's add this. It adds a little bit more color. Or this person should say this instead. Or in addition to that. Right. And in. Each time you. You're going through that's. It really is. As any writer will tell you, the writing is really the rewriting. It's. It's the Polishing, that's what. That's what really makes it shine and sparkle. And I will caution, particularly a new writer who feels that it's done, it's complete, it's finished. I'm gonna send it off. Don't go through at least one more time. And you might want to go through it, leaving some time between each edit, because if you give yourself some time, step away from the work. And I find this is actually true for painting too. If I. If I'm stuck in either the writing or the painting, I leave it alone, come back to it again with fresh eyes. You can see things you didn't see before. And this especially true for writing. So really resist that temptation to send it out because you're really excited. There is an emotional. You are just like, this is good. It's ready to go. I want. I can't wait to show it to the world, you know, Resist that temptation.
- [35:52]
B
Right, yeah. To.
- [35:55]
A
To actually get a professional editor to look at it before you actually send it anywhere. And there are a lot of great ones out there. Some of them are. Are, you know, extremely affordable. And, you know, just kind of do some digging and looking and see. Or if you've got a friend. You happen to have a friend who's an editor. It does. It helps. I got some initial notes, my very first draft, from an. From an old friend. She and I have worked together with some clients. And her first note to me was, you've fallen in love with your protagonist, haven't you? She goes, she's too perfect. You have to give her some flaws. You're right. She is too perfect. So I. I actually, you know, went back in and. And, you know, gave her some. Some emotional flaws and some actual. Some physical flaws. And. And, you know, it's. And. And I think that was probably the best note that. That I got.
- [37:06]
B
That's unique. That's very unique. I like that.
- [37:09]
A
Yes. So now, you know, I. I think as a character, she's. She's more identifiable. She's more, you know, relatable. And I think, you know, I actually, I give her credit in. In the book for. For that. In the acknowledgments, she's also the first person who said out loud, you're a novelist. I find a very welcome and. And moving gift.
- [37:40]
B
So it's almost on par with, congratulations, you're a dad. Yeah, for the first time. And you hear those words and you go, oh, you're talking to me. Yeah. Oh, yeah, I'm a dad. Yeah, you're a dad. Like Congratulations. You're the baby. Like you've created something, right? And there's life, you know, and there's something special out in the world now, which is amazing. So that's pretty cool.
- [38:02]
A
It really is. It's, it's, it's, it really is a gift. Honestly. I, I, I, you know, the, the talent, the skill. I still, I still feel that's a gift. I mean, I, I put the work in, but, but honestly, and I think any honest, grave person will tell you sometimes you just have no idea where some of this stuff comes from. And to me, that's, that's, that's the gift.
- [38:30]
B
Nice. It's amazing. So again, Richard, I'm so glad I have a copy of this and if I can keep it out of my wife's hands long enough, I'll get through it all. And I'm loving it so far. And the reviews, the reviews reinforce what I'm seeing already in this book, Richard, that I echo these words that we've been reading on, on Amazon about your book. It's, it's an amazing thing and I love, I love the fact that you have created this for us and that you have more plans for us in the future as readers to fall in love with more of your work. Tell us about your website, Richard. And then I got one more question wrapping up here, our conversation. I could talk to you all day, but I know you got painting to do and you know, writing too. Tell us about your website so we can send people there and they'll wrap up.
- [39:16]
A
Yeah, it's richarddevo.com R I C-H-A-R-D-E-V E A U.com Right now the website is all about the book and you can, you can actually, it'll link you to the Amazon page there as well. What I've done is put in some of the reviews. I have 15 one minute videos that I'm reading one minute sections of the book and it has some AI images in the background that are just kind of there to, to hold your eye. But, but I'm actually reading, you know, one minute sections. There are 15 of those and, and so you get little. For those who are. I've, I've had somebody say to me, I, I really don't read. Let me know when, when the, the audio version is out. This, this is a little bit of that. You get a little taste. And the reason it's a minute is that tends to be, you know, I think TikTok drives a lot of this one minute Videos people can, you know, hold you. You should be able to hold somebody's attention for at least a minute. And also for me, having come from the advertising background, you know, writing one minute commercials, you know, particularly radio spots, TV commercials are now dirty at the most 15, 10. No. So I'm used to kind of squeezing in a lot in a little space. In this case, it was. It was easier. I. I pick a section I usually I started right at the beginning and then skipped around a little bit because there was sections that made our better minute than others. Right. So that's where the book is currently. And at some point I will have my copywriting stuff in there and my painting stuff in that site. So it'll all be housed in one that's in progress right now.
- [41:25]
B
Excellent. As we wrap up, Richard, the name of the podcast, Living the Next Chapter. So I kind of use that as one of my questions time to time. We. I. You did mention that you are working on new projects for your authorship and, and all that, which is exciting. I'm going to leave it wide open. It can be about your books in the future. It could be whatever you want. But how, Richard, are you living your next.
- [41:48]
A
I have actually finished the second novel.
- [41:52]
B
Nice.
- [41:52]
A
In the first, it's complete, but there's a little something that's left undiscovered or needing to know. I. Then I have solved that. In the second novel, you also get to know Eve a lot better. Some background, some of her experiences, some of the folks that she served in Afghanistan with, some of her Afghanistan experiences. And it too, you know, that's complete. I haven't, I've been. I'm. I really want to make Eve Tian a series. So this is the second of the series. I'm not sure where I'm going to go next, but I'm now in the process of polishing that second book. So that's. That's where I'm going next.
- [42:50]
B
And then it'll become a movie series and you'll be a famous Hollywood director and you won't have time for some little guy in Canada saying, please, Richard, come back.
- [43:00]
A
From your lips to God's ears, Dave.
- [43:04]
B
There you go. It would be a dream to come true, I think. I think it's great. I love when authors write visually kind of things saying, this could be on a screen. What would this look like? I think that shows in how you approach how you write as well. It comes through as a reader. I can see it.
- [43:19]
A
So that's wonderful. Thank you for the compliment. I'm you know, I'm still kind of bowled over, you know, I haven't let it go to my head because I've been there before, you know.
- [43:35]
B
Well, keep moving forward with it, Richard. I'm. You have a gift. I love meeting authors who are passionate about what they do and how they find their next chapter. And it's exciting to kind of land somewhere you didn't quite expect and see success. And great feedback from the people have left reviews for you. And that's my encouragement to the people listening when you buy your copy here again, in my hand of lights out, you're gonna leave an amazing review, which I'm going to do as well, Richard, because I want people to. To see more than great book, great author. That's nice. I want you to do something a little bit more for Richard when you leave your review and tell them why you love the book. Because when people see your review, that could be a purchase decision for them as they look at it and go, wow, that person really loved that book. And they gave me some really good reasons why. So not only is this a great book for me, but it's a great book for someone that I know. So I'm gonna buy two books. I'm not just gonna buy one. So that's my point is I'm encouraging everyone listening that when you. When not if, when you buy Richard's book, you leave a great review.
- [44:39]
A
Well, thank you so much, David. I am, I'm humbled. I'm delighted to be here and, and I'm honored to. To be your guest and looking forward to doing this again.
- [44:53]
B
I'm going to come back. You're going to come back. That's your motivation to keep.
- [44:56]
A
There you go.
- [44:58]
B
I love it. Awesome. Everybody, all the information is always in the show. Notes for Richard. Go there and click all the links. And you'll also soon on his website, be able to see all of his amazing artwork. It's going to be moving over to his main page, so go fall in love with some amazing art as well. Richard, again, thank you so much for being on.
- [45:15]
A
You're very welcome, David. And thank you so much for having me.
- [45:22]
B
Hey, thanks for being here for the Living the Next Chapter podcast. So glad to have you as part of our family of listeners. There's a seat for you just here on Living the Next Chapter and I'm so happy that you have listened to all the way to the End. Wow. You are now my new bestie. I want to let you know that I host seven other podcasts on top of Living the next chapter. Yep, eight total. One of them is called the how to Podcast Series. If you are thinking, thinking, you know what, Dave? This podcast thing seems like a lot of fun. Well, I'll give you a secret. It is. It's a great, amazing fun time where you can get to meet great people, get your word out there, promote your book. Promote what? Your coaching program, whatever you're doing. Podcasting is great. And if you want to learn how to do this, what you're hearing right now, head over to HowToPodcast CA and look up the How To Podcast series on YouTube. Whatever app you're listening on, you'll find me there. And I'd love for you to come listen to how to do this. And if you're interested and have questions on how to Podcast, reach out to me at howtopodcast ca. Thank you for listening. Talk soon.