Fearless Book Club

Howdy 👋

As I write this, it's Wednesday night where I am, 19 April 2023.

It's the first night of a new moon, and I launched this site about 3 minutes ago.

I have only a vague idea WTF I'm doing here. But if you've found this page, maybe you're the type of person who's willing to go along for the ride, at least for a while, even if you don't know the ultimate destination.

If so, welcome = )

So what are we actually doing here? I think we're here to read a book together. It's a book that I wrote but have never read. Honestly.

I wrote it in November 2019, start to finish, as one does for NANOWRIMO:

It's actually the third book I've written. The first one was a dumpster fire, and after soooo many edits, still is. The second book, I wrote in 2016, also in a one-month NANOWRIMO flurry. I actually liked it from the start. And I've been editing it. To death. Ever since o_O

But what does any of that have to do with this site? With this project? I'm glad you asked.

I think – no, I'm pretty sure – I have a fear of sharing my work. Which is odd, because I actually write for a living. That is, writing is a big part of how I make my living. But these books... I've kept them under wraps for years, and frankly, that's holding me back. I'm holding me back. It's time for that to change.

Digression: This fear I'm yammering on about is likely a legacy effect of a poor choice. When I wrote my first book (dumpster fire), I shared it with a friend, never having gone back to read it, myself.

I should have known better. I wrote it in the most haphazard way. And when I did read it, I saw that it was cringe AF. No, really.

So if you haven't seen this episode of Schitt's Creek, watch it immediately. Then know that I'm talking a level of awkward exponentially more horrifying than Moira's commercial for the Herb Ertlinger Winery because the book went on not for 60 seconds but for nearly 100,000 words.

Enter Fearless Book Club

I don't mean literally. You're already here, and it's not like there's a sign-up form or some kind of intiation rite to go through.

I mean "enter Fearless Book Club" as in "Oh look, here's a brilliant (or disastrous, or something in between – time will tell) way to finally tackle this psychological block!" I mean "enter Fearless Book Club" as in over the next few months, here's the 3-point plan:

I'm going to share my third book, The Girl at the Edge of the Woods, here online, one chapter at a time
After I post each one, I'll read that chapter myself – for the first time!
I'll document the journey as it unfolds on TikTok (another first for me)

I'm hoping some people will join me there and here, reading along and offering any thoughts they want to share along the way. I'll also share my own thoughts – as a writer, as a reader, and as the guy living out this odd little adventure 🤓

BTW: I also plan to post each chapter as an audio file for those who prefer or need the audiobook experience. I'm not a voice actor, but as an audiobook lover myself, I think even just reading it myself will be, for some, a good alternative to the written word.

So Basically You're Looking for Beta Readers?

If you write books yourself, you probably know the term "beta readers" – people who read early drafts and give feedback. Usually they're people that writers know and love.

But hey, go big or go home, no?

So yes, I'm hoping that Fearless Book Club will pick up some total-stranger beta readers: People totally honest in their feedback, unrestrained by such triflings as friendship or kinship who will just tell it like it is, good or bad, come what may.

That might mean trial by fire, but I'd rather learn to take the heat now than hide in a cool, dark place ❤️‍🔥

Is That All?

Maybe?

TBH, I'm already starting to think about how Fearless Book Club might evolve. With books being banned left and right, maybe it becomes a place for book defenders to take a stand. Maybe it becomes a platform for other writers with their own hangups to overcome.

Maybe it could be both those things and more.

So to answer the question you didn't ask, I don't know where this will go or end up. Because beyond the plan above, I want Fearless Book Club to be organic. It might utterly fail. But it might also grow into something nourishing and delicious. Like those things in that photo above, whatever they are.

Either way, I'm about to find out. And if you join me, you are, too 💚

Follow the adventure on TikTok! I'm a noob there, too! Yay learning curves!