What pushes your buttons?

Whenever we eat at my wife's favorite in-town restaurant, I order the exact same thing. It never fails. It's weird for a guy who gets bored easily to get the same thing, but it's what I like. I've noticed the same thing with books and movies.

I have a handful of movies that I'll throw on if I'm ironing or doing laundry. I don't need to finish, or even start at the beginning. Some folks binge watch TV shows over and over. My 14-year-old is waiting for the next book in the He Who Fights With Monsters series to come out. While he waits he started the series over.

I wrote a while back about doing what you are familiar with, but this is a little different. Three of my favorite movies: A New Hope, Lethal Weapon, and Sleepless in Seattle. Whoa. Three very different films. But at the heart of all of them is a story of finding a family after losing one. Riggs lost Victoria, Sam lost Maggie, Luke and Leia lost their families. They all went on an adventure and emerged victorious with a new family.

I know, lots of stories are like this, but this plot runs at the heart of these stories in a specific way that appeals to me. What's my point?

What element in stories do you find yourself gravitating toward? What situations, when properly resolved, are most satisfying to you?

Let me know what book series or other media is most satisfying. Bonus points if you can figure out why. I love hearing from you. E-mail me at jack@authorjackadkins.com.

I'm Famous!

A couple of weeks ago I went on Melinda Kucsera's podcast, Fantasy, Lore, and More, and had a blast! It was supposed to be an hour, but we really had some great conversation. This podcast isn't heavy on author nuts and bolts. It's for readers. So click the link and go give it a listen: Fantasy, Lore, and More

Progress

I've had an incredibly productive two weeks, even though I was sure I wouldn't. I pressed into my TBR (to be read list) and have been crushing it. It would stand to reason that my writing would suffer, but the opposite has happened. I'm much more productive as I write with a full creativity tank.

Gharra = done! It's going for edits today or tomorrow. Secret Short Story = Done! Should be back in my hands from my editor soon. While these aren't included in Book 3 of my Dragons of Dorwine Series, they very much fit my writing style. One of them may be brought into the Dorwinian fold down the road. I printed out Book 3 (I know I'm old) so I can make some structure changes. What I'm holding is 264 pages long. We are closing in.

Books on sale from fellow authors

These are offerings (usually free) from authors I rub shoulders with. They are all fantasy and most are Noblebright. Go check em out! You might just find your next favorite read.

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