Sunday 27 September 2015

SIGNED BOOKS FOR SALE!

For a limited time, I'm once more taking orders for SIGNED books. You can choose from any of my 16 published YA paperbacks, or my 6 published children's books. Unfortunately, they are available for the U.S. only due to the high cost of shipping internationally. The cost is $15 per novel, or $10 per Children's book. These costs include shipping.

If interested, please send me a Facebook message, or an e-mail to davidestesbooks@gmail.com with the following information (Note: All orders must be in and paid for by October 10th):

1. Book(s) you'd like to order.
2. Your mailing name and address
3. Whether you'd like your book(s) personalized, and if so, what name I should use.

I will reply to confirm your order and to provide the total cost, which can then be paid via Paypal or directly with a credit card. Thanks for your support and let me know if you have any questions!

Saturday 5 September 2015

My Books Suck, My Writing Sucks, I Suck

This post is not some silly vampire-related play on words. The title of this post encompasses REAL thoughts that I've had at one point or another in my career, and I'm not afraid to say it. I think many writers go through periods of self-doubt, especially when things aren't going as well as they'd hoped. If I were to ONLY read my negative reviews (1 and 2 star reviews), I would likely be having these awful thoughts all the time. Likewise, if I were only to read my many glowing 5-star reviews, I would think I was the best writer in the world--which I'm not by a longshot. The true quality of my books and writing, however, is somewhere in the middle. That is reality. That is truth. That is what I need to focus on.

I've written A LOT of books. 25, to be exact, 23 published and 2 seeking to be published. Some are clearly better than others, but I should be proud of ALL of them, because I worked hard, focused on improving with each one, and gave a lot of readers a great reading experience.

Does that mean I've reached the pinnacle of my writing ability? NO! I've got a long way to go before I can even hope to emulate my writing idols, like Patrick Ness, Neal Shusterman, Libba Bray, and Dean Koontz. But I'm going to keep going, keep working, keep improving. That's a promise.

So if you're a writer having self-doubts...stop...breathe...remember:

YOU are the master of your own destiny. YOU have the capability inside of you. YOU have something to say.

No, my books DON'T suck, my writing DOESN'T suck, and I DON'T suck. I'm simply a work in progress, as a writer, as a husband, and as a person. And that's okay.

Saturday 29 August 2015

Indie Book Stars

Lately I've been reading a ton of Indie/small press books, and I've been incredibly impressed with the quality of the writing and stories. Here are a few you should check out: