Announcements

Writing Update

/ J.R. Roper

We are experiencing a false fall here in Michigan and I am loving it. It will be back to summer weather next weekend, but this cool weather has provided a nice reprieve after a scorching summer. I absolutely love fall in Michigan. Warm flannel, changing leaves, and crockpots full of chili all speak my love language. Getting settled into another school year also provides the structure and scheduled focus for me to plan and look forward to my writing time. 

If you know me personally or have become a fan of my work, you know that I have not had a new novel published in years. As time has gone on, I’ve wondered if there is something wrong with me. Why can’t I get another book across the finish line? It felt like I’d release a novel a year for the rest of my life when I was writing the Morus Chronicles. But since the series finished, I have written three full manuscripts that all felt off in some way. Until now.

FINALLY I am working on a rewrite and the story has some real potential. For better or worse, I believe that you are only as good as your next one, and as a result I have a standard for my work that has kept me in a writing limbo. I can’t make any promises or timelines, but it feels good to be excited about a project again. I look forward to sharing progress updates and I hope you are all well. I am grateful for you. Thank you for reading this blog and my work. 

Does this make me a wizard?

/ J.R. Roper

My favorite illustrator, Luke Spooner, has rendered me a wizard. New actual headshots are not an option at the moment, so I asked Luke to make me one. And I LOVE it. Luke illustrated all of my book covers and I have long been one of his biggest fans. You can check out more of his work at Carrion House and order his art at Artwork 500. You can also follow him for updates on his work. It is hard to believe we are a few days from February. The year is off to a fast start and I have been hard at work on Magic of the Five. It has some editing to go, but this will be the year it joins the bookshelf. Cheers and best wishes to all of you.

2023 Recap and Happy New Year!

/ J.R. Roper / Leave a comment

I’m not sure what to make of my writing in 2023. I had many days and weeks with no progress and then others with unusually productive hours. I woke at 5 AM for three weeks straight during the early fall (I have never been a morning writer but I aspire to be) and hand wrote thousands of words. And then I just couldn’t. I firmly believe in the power of writing every day, but it has been many years since I came close to that ideal and 2023 was no exception. But, it is dangerous driving forward while looking in the rearview mirror. It is a great way to crash and destroy the future. So, let’s get on with it. After a few highlights of course.

I got to spend a lot of time with my favorite person on the planet this year (my wonderful wife), so I can’t be anything but grateful. I also had the privilege of watching my kids try and succeed at old and new endeavors and grow in many ways. They are growing too fast!

I had two short stories published this year, which provided a great boost for me as a writer. The first story, Communal Fire, was published by Every Day Fiction and is a short ghost story. The second story, The Wicker Demon, was published by Eastern Iowa Review and was my first fantasy story published for the adult market. 

My current project continues to progress and I am hopeful to share it with you sometime in 2024. I had hoped to have the final edit done before writing this post, but I am not quite there yet. Cheers to a new year and I hope we can all block out the noise 2024 is sure to bring and focus on the things we can control and the people we are blessed to have in our lives.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and 2022 Recap

/ J.R. Roper

It’s difficult to believe that 2022 is coming to a close. This was the year of many activities and full schedules, a product of my kids growing older and the post-pandemic reopening of the world–a new season of life as a parent. I didn’t cross off many of my goals for 2022, but I did fully enjoy my time watching others grow and flourish. Here’s to another year of wonderful life in 2023 and hopefully a few more goals met during the next 365 days.

A few highlights from 2022:

Writing and Publishing: My story, The Wicker Demon, was accepted by Eastern Iowa Review for Issue 14: The Elven Collection (I will post when it goes live). I also finished the first draft of a whimsical middle grade novel and submitted a finished project throughout the year.

Mushroom Hunting: My wife and I took a foraging and mushroom identification class and it was one of my favorite activities of the year. We will continue to learn and pursue this passion as a couple.

Books: My favorite book this year was Stop Fixing Yourself by Anthony De Mello. There is a lot of wisdom in this man’s writings. I also loved Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty.

Podcasts: I continue to get the most value out of The Minimalist podcast. I subscribed to the private podcast and they added TK Coleman as a regular, both of which have enhanced my experience.

Movies and TV: My wife a I finally sat down and watched Stranger Things. We absolutely loved it (oh the 80s nostalgia) and binged all four seasons during the months of October and November.

On to 2023! This year I will let go of the things that get in the way of time spent loving my family and working on projects that bring me joy. When there is space, creativity can flourish. Clearing away the physical clutter, emotional clutter, digital clutter, etc. can create a calming environment where I will either be more productive, or even better, at peace.

Thank you for reading. May you be in a calm place in 2023, full of possibility and creativity. Best wishes and big hugs.

Happy New Year and 2021 Recap

/ J.R. Roper

Another year in the books. Despite the ongoing pandemic and a lot of added stressors placed on myself and my fellow educators over the past two years, I definitely had a more productive writing year compared to 2020.

I had a story published in Coffin Bell Journal in 2021, released the kindle boxset of the Morus Chronicles, and finished a new novel titled Magic of the Five. Yay! Productivity!

Here are some of my favorites from 2021.

Favorite books I read: Atomic Habits by James Clear, Love People Use Things by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus, and The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Podcast of the greatest value: The Minimalists

Songs released this year that I love: Never Gonna Learn – Asking Alexandria, Spectrum – Andrew Belle, Dagen For – Volbeat, Into the Dark – Jesse Denver, Ritchie Sacramento – Mogwai

My favorite TV/Movies/Streaming of 2021: The Witcher Season 2, The Wheel of Time, All Creatures Great and Small

I hope you are finding time for your interests and still getting enough sleep. I’m finding that the more I add to my plate, the more discontent I feel. Getting rid of things and addons has made 2021 a better year. We donated a ton of items to our local Goodwill. I minimized my digital clutter and spent significantly less time on social media. And we payed down as much debt as we could. I’ve been actively removing the things that don’t add value to my life and focusing on the people I love and my creative endeavors. Maybe that’s why 2021 felt more productive.

I wish you health and happiness in the new year. Here we go, 2022!