I want to share with you one of my fondest memories from the eight years I played.  It was my junior year of high school, and I was 15.  From a couple of years of intense weight-lifting, I was strong beyond my years and had earned a starting spot as the right defensive tackle.  We were playing Cocke County, at the time one of our biggest rivals because our head coach was originally from there and couldn’t stand losing to them.  The left guard who blocked me that night was 5-6 inches taller than me and was pretty athletic.  Play after play, we battled like we were in a street fight.  One play he would beat me, the next I him, and the next, we’d stalemate.  It was without a doubt the most intense one-on-one matchup of my football life.  I left everything I had on the field and played an extremely sound game, giving up hardly any rushing yards to my side.

In the end, we lost the game, but as the teams were shaking hands, he pulled me out of line and hugged me like an old friend.  ”That was the most fun I ever had,” he said.  ”You’re a warrior, man.”  I thanked him and told him he had played a great game, but in the moment, the sting of the loss hurt too much.  I walked back to our dressing room and sat down outside against the brick wall.  Then, I just started crying.  And I cried pretty hard, too.  I couldn’t believe we had lost that game, and losing hurt, especially after I had played one of the best games of my life.  Several of the Cocke County fans had gathered outside our dressing room to taunt us, and when they saw me crying, they really let me have it.  Some of my own teammates gave me a hard time, too, yelling at me to stop, but I didn’t care.  To this day, I’m not ashamed of crying after that loss because when I really care about something, I give it my all, and when you give your all and still come up short, it’s painful.

I sometimes think about that left guard and wonder if he remembers that game as well as I do.  I wonder if he remembers how hard we battled play after play after play, neither one willing to quit, neither one willing to back down.  I wonder if he ever looks back on that game and feels the way I felt out there on the field, like I’d never been so alive.  I hope he does, and I hope that you both one day will get to experience something like that, even if you have to suffer the same sting of defeat, because that memory is one of the most fulfilling of my life.  As old age takes me and my brain begins to fade, I hope the memory of that game on that night against that guy will stay with me until the end because the memory of feeling that alive and that present in the moment isn’t experienced very often, and it’s a pretty amazing feeling.

http://www.ufreviews.com/2012/01/da-adams-guest-post.html

Too often, people fall into the delusion that success is a given.  Too often, people believe that all they have to do is show up, and the world will be so enamored with their charm or genius that riches and fame will be theirs for the taking.  In my youth, I suffered from this delusion.  I believed at 18 that my writing ability would be so astounding, so original, so authentic, I would be granted the keys to the walled city and live on easy street for the rest of my days.  By 22, I had learned my folly.  I had to hone my craft, had to get knocked down multiple times, had to get back up, and had to earn every iota of success I’ve achieved.  The world taught me quickly and succinctly that it owed me nothing.

I’m sharing this lesson not to dampen your spirits or dash your dreams, but rather to prepare you for the reality of just how difficult life can be.  I want you to be ready for those times when you do get knocked down to get up, brush yourself off, and brace yourself to fight again.  Just as I tell you whenever you lose at a video game to practice more and try harder, in life, you must do the same because it has a way of being relentless, especially when you’re down.

You both have unlimited potential.  You both have intelligence, creativity, and personality.  You will have opportunities to achieve great things with your lives, but you will have to earn that greatness.  You cannot wish for it; you cannot hope for it; you cannot dream it into reality.  You must earn it, and it can be a long, hard road.  I will be there for you as much as possible, but in the end, you will have to do it for yourselves.

Sons, the most important lesson I want to teach you, if you learn nothing else from me, is that there is no substitute for hard work.  Regardless of what path you choose in life — artist, musician, director, doctor, plumber, or carpenter — there are no shortcuts for success.  You will have to dedicate yourself to learning your craft, and you will have to spend countless hours practicing to hone your skills.  If you want to be great at what you do, and my hope is that you’ll strive for greatness, you cannot get around that simple fact.  Be prepared to study and struggle and fail and relearn and try again.

This world is a competitive place, and whatever path you choose, there are thousands out there who want to achieve success in that field.  If you want to stand out from the crowd, work harder than they do.  Set your will to achieving your aspirations and let nothing hold you back or slow you down.  You will learn that if you give your all and fight with everything inside you to reach those goals, even if you fail, you will feel pride in knowing you gave it your best.  I’ve learned this one firsthand because I’ve had more than my share of failures, but when I lay my head down at night, I know in my heart that those failures were not from lack of effort.  When life has you down, and it will knock you down at some point, having that sense of pride to hold onto is important.  It will give you the strength to get back on your feet and try again.

So please, guys, don’t go through your lives searching for shortcuts or hoping for windfalls.  Good luck and fast bucks are too far and too few between, as the Outlaw once sang, and if you wait for life to give you anything, you will find yourselves bitter and disappointed.  Work hard at whatever you do; commit yourself to pursuing excellence; and never quit.  I learned that from your grandfather and great-grandfather, and I hope you can learn it from me, too.

So I’ll post my thoughts on the subject in mine.

Reading their comments took me back to graduate school and reminded me of why I had such a terrible experience there.  In the name of defending the gates of the literary world, these so-called professionals publicly and truculently assaulted not just his writing but his very character, all without knowing anything about his works or him as a human being.  That was what I witnessed and experienced throughout graduate school, a level of pettiness and vindictiveness that is truly sickening.  Anyone who claims to know “the right way to write” is completely full of shit.  In literature, the only right way to write is what appeals to your audience.  If enough people enjoy your writing style, you get to keep doing it.  If enough don’t, you fade into oblivion.

And here’s my biggest problem with those particular literary snobs.  Yes, on a technical sense, they may be talented writers, but most of the writing they produce is geared to impress other writers with their skill and style, not to reach a broad cross-section of society.  Then, those writers complain about how dumb the masses are for not “getting” their work.  Whenever someone comes along who does appeal to the masses, those same jackasses rip into the populist writers for not being as technically skilled as they are.  I’ll admit that to some degree I’ve had that reaction to a work like Twilight because I see it as superficial, but guess what?  I’m not the target audience for that series, and Stephanie Meyer has tapped into her audience in a way that engages them on a deeply emotional level.  While I may disagree with her themes, I recognize and respect that she knows how to reach them.

The literary snobs would have you believe that they and they alone know what “good” writing really is, and that the masses are just mindless hordes feeding on bubble gum.  Well, I say that when a writer such as John Grisham or Stephen King can engage millions of readers and keep them riveted through several hundred pages of a book in a time when TV and movies are a much easier and convenient option, maybe, just maybe, populist writers know something about writing the snobs don’t.  And that something is first and foremost, fiction writing always has been and always will be about entertainment, and there is a vast audience out there starved for good literary entertainment.  A good story isn’t always about having perfect POV or a perfectly stylized narrative voice.  A good story is about touching people’s lives in a real and tangible way that makes them want to read more, about giving them either an escape from the drudgery of their daily lives or hope that maybe one day good will triumph over evil.

And one more point about this contest and the backlash against the independents.  It’s called Readers’ Choice not Writers’ Choice for a reason, so to anyone and everyone out there who believes that an independent writer doesn’t deserve consideration, maybe you should take a long, hard look at your own career and ask yourselves why you don’t have an energized and enthusiastic fanbase that will take the time to vote for your literary masterpieces.  When the Writers’ Choice Awards are being voted on, then you can have your say, but until then, shut the fuck up and listen to what real readers in the real world are saying.  If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll learn something.

http://www.seventhstarpress.com/documents/books.html

http://seventhstarpress.com/documents/books.html

For Immediate Release:

January 17, 2012

Cover Art Revealed and Special Print-eBook Bundle Announced for Reissue of First Two Titles in The Brotherhood of Dwarves Series

Seventh Star Press proudly announces the reissues of the first two books in The Brotherhood of Dwarves series, The Brotherhood of Dwarves,and Red Sky at Dawn.

To commemorate the Seventh Star Press editions of these two titles, the publisher is offering special bundles that combine both the print and eBook versions of the books.  Readers can get the first two books in this fashion, or a bundle of all three books in the series including the recently-released third title, The Fall of Dorkhun.

The Brotherhood of Dwarves and Red Sky at Dawn feature covers and illustrations from fantasy artist Bonnie Wasson.  The latest artist to work with Seventh Star Press, Bonnie created and designed a new look for the first two titles that is consistent with the brand new third release.

The first two books were originally self-published by D.A. Adams and edited by Sherrie Shuler.  They became strong sellers on the convention circuit and received a wave of positive reviews.  The reissues were planned when D.A. came aboard Seventh Star Press for the release of his latest installment, The Fall of Dorkhun.

( interior illustrations by Bonnie Wasson for The Brotherhood of Dwarves and Red Sky at Dawn)

Living and working in East Tennessee, D. A. Adams is an established novelist, a farmer, and professor of English.  He has contributed writing to literary and fine art publications, and maintains an active blog, entitled “The Ramblings of D. A. Adams”.

Softcover and eBook formats will be available by mid-February, with a collectors’ hardcover limited editions planned for mid-summer of 2012.

(all three covers side by side)

Those wanting to pre-order one of the special softcover-eBook bundles should visit: http://www.seventhstarpress.com/documents/books.html

Updates and additional information can be obtained at the official site for Seventh Star Press, at www.seventhstarpress.com , or at the author’s site at www.brotherhoodofdwarves.com

Contact:  C.C. James

Public Relations, Seventh Star Press

email: ccjames at seventhstarpress.com

Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky.

So far, the response to book three has been positive, and if you’re one of the people who has read it and sent me direct feedback, please take the time to post reviews on Amazon, B & N, and Goodreads.  The more positive reviews we can get, the more people will be willing to try the series.  Seventh Star will be sending out copies to many review sites, so hopefully the responses from them will be as positive as the ones I’ve gotten from readers.

Also, please remember that voting for the Tor Readers’ Choice Awards is open until the 20th.  If you feel Dorkhun is worthy, please vote for it as either best novel or best cover art.  Even though I won’t win, the more votes the book gets, the more exposure for the series.  Even just a handful of votes could spur a huge boost in sales.  Even if you read the book yet, you can vote for best cover, and I definitely feel as if that cover is as good as any other.

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/01/vote-in-the-torcom-2011-readers-choice-awards

That’s all for now.  Be on the lookout for the official press release very soon!