Dear Reader,
As most readers know, my 100th book was
published in 2009, and it marked an
important milestone in my writing
career. If you asked me in 2002 after
Keeper
Martin's Tale was
on the Amazon SciFi Top 50 bestseller
list for 26 consecutive weeks or in 2005
after
Kingdoms
and the Elves of the Reaches dominated
Audible's Top 10 Fiction list for most
of the year whether I'd still be writing
after 100 books, I might not have said
yes. But today, I cannot imagine doing
anything else.
I've been writing stories most of my
life, had my first book published in
1995, and writing is my life. It's what
I do as both a job and as a hobby. Most
people know I also write nonfiction as
William Stanek. The William
Stanek books
are my job, and I love writing them. TheRobert
Stanek books
are my hobby and I love writing them
too. It's a strange marriage of two
passions.
Although writing the William
Stanek books
requires my days, my nights, my
weekends, and my holidays, I've always
kept writing the Robert
Stanek books.
I steal quiet moments to write a few
sentences at a time, work in the wee
hours of the night or morning. Whether
I'm sitting in my easy chair or out and
about, I'm always writing, always
scratching out new ideas. The creative
process renews me. It helps me think in
new ways; it helps me stay fresh; it
helps me keep focused--and creative
thinking, staying fresh, and keeping
focused are important for all writing.
Big news for Ruin Mist readers.
Rise of the Fallen is
being released/was released in May 2010.
This is the first book in the new Ruin
Mist series called Dawn of the Ages.
Betrayal also
is being released/was released in May
2010. This is the first official Ruin
Mist comic book. The four comic books in
this new series will be collected in the
"A Daughter of Kings" graphic novel.
Lots of Bugville news also. Reagent
Press has released all 16 of my original
Bugville Critters books now in print, e,
and audio. The latest releases are small
format starting at $5.99. These
small-sized editions don't have the
bold, beautiful paper of the large,
premiums starting at $9.99, but they
have the same stories and illustrations.
Continuing with the tradition started
with the original Bugville Critters
books, the newest Bugville books were
released first in audio. The twelve new
adventures for Buster and his pals are:
1. Every Letter Has Its Day
2. Every Day Is Different
3. Catching A Cup Of Sunshine
4. Every Letter Has A Sound
5. Every Number Counts
6. The BIG Number Count Down
7. Explore the Solar System
8. Remember Their Manners
9. Go to Camp
10. Save Their Allowance
11. Start Summer Vacation
12. Visit the Library
These books were released in audio in
2009. They're fully illustrated and
typeset now and will be coming out in
print in 2010 and 2011. The 12 new books
make a total of 28 fun-filled adventures
starring Buster, Lass, Cat, Dag, and all
the other loveable critters of Bugville.
Some cool facts about Bugville:
-
I developed the idea for the
Bugville Critters in the 1990s and
wrote the first book in 1996. When
that book was published in 2007,
nearly a decade later, I had already
completed 28 Bugville Critters
books. With the final typesetting of
"Visit the Library" recently, my
15-year journey in Bugville is
complete (but I fervently hope, not
at an end).
-
My children are the ones who urged
me to get the Bugville Critters
books published and that is what I
set out to do in 2004. It took
nearly four years to get the first
set of books into print.
-
To bring the books to audio, I began
working with voice artists in 2005.
It took four years of work with
multiple voice artists to get to the
release of all 28 Bugville Critters
audio books.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for
your support.
Take care,
Robert Stanek
