It's not easy

I've learned the hard way that it's not easy going the self-published route. Sure, you get your books out there quicker, but competition is thicker, and you have to work 1000x harder.

Once self-published, you become more than "writer" you are now writer, publisher, cover designer, marketer, editor, artist, trailer creator, manager, and more.

submitting your book to publisher after publisher and being rejected over and over again, VS. struggling to excel. My though is this: us writers have a choice to make when we first start our adventure, almost like playing the "Game of Life" we can wait for someone to believe in us and hire us, or we can believe in ourselves so much that we sacrifice ourselves for the cause.

both choices have their ups and downs.

You can get around the hardships of having to do EVERYTHING when going the self-published route, but that costs money, not much if you do a little research, but I haven't spent a dime after the 300 for my first book, so that's another option, but reality is, i'm not a jack of all trades; I need to start hiring people to do what I can't... or learn how to do what I can't.

I guess we will always have options, but whatever road you take, I hope you make every step count.


Love,
Luke-Dakota

Leaves of Autumn Release

Amazon.com

There are a few subjects that science should not meddle with too much: religion, time, cloning, and love, but the company, Harmonyschoice.com, has no desire to simply respect and accept nature, and because of their inability to just let some things be, human hearts and minds will forever be damaged.
Adriana Elizabeth Sanders and Wesley Neil White are two test subjects of this experiment of romances.

Adriana is looking for an extra pay check to pay off her medical bills, and Wesley just wants to build up his acting resume; neither party is looking for anything else when they decide to become test rats for Harmonyschoice.com.

Wesley is being paid to be an actor and become the complete opposite of Adriana, and Adriana is being paid to put her heart up for sacrifice in order for others to have a more accurately compatible match-up from Harmonyschoice.com.

Inevitably, Wesley and Adriana aren’t just thinking about the money; they have quickly fallen into a strong love, but what happens when the truth is revealed and a year of lies sits out on the table between them?

Was their time together just like autumn; beautiful and breath-taking but only leading to the death of winter?

This is a love story as beautiful and as ominous as the Leaves of Autumn with an ending that will certainly pull your heart-strings and leave you broken down in tears.


100% of the author's percentage of royalties obtained from this publication will be donated to the Good Samaritan Society. With that said, any content of this publication is not an opinion or view of the Good Samaritan Society.

Leaves of Autumn

Coming in June is a story of love as a toy and the people it so strongly affects.

Adriana is looking for an extra pay check to pay off her medical bills, and Wesley just wants to build up his acting resume; neither subject is looking for anything else when they decide to become test rats for Harmonyschoice.com

                Wesley is being paid to be an actor and become the complete opposite of Adriana, and Adriana is being paid to put her heart up for sacrifice in order for others to have a more accurately compatible match-up from Harmonyschoice.com

                Eventually, Wesley and Adriana aren’t just thinking about the money; they have quickly fallen into a strong love, but what happens when the truth is revealed and a year of lies sits out on the table between them?

Was their time together just like autumn; beautiful and breath-taking but only leading to the death of winter?

In June of 2013 comes a love story as beautiful and as ominous as the Leaves of Autumn with an ending that will certainly pull your heart strings and leave you broken down in tears.

 

 

 

The Book's cover will more than likely change, but this will give you all an idea of what Leaves of Autumn is all about. I will post the next cover when i get it sent to me, but for now, this is the cover:

Here is an exerpt from the book:

Wesley’s eyes search the room and notice a brunet who’s admiring a statue of an angel from back in the days of kingdoms. He makes his move. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Wesley touches the statue’s arm.

            “Heavenly.” The brunet jokingly agrees, “I’ve never been too fond of old-fashioned things, but something about her catches my eye.”

            Wesley meets the woman’s eyes. “Eye catching.”

            The woman seems to have lost her breath, and Wesley laughs to himself inside. This is why acting gives him joy; provoking emotions with emotionless lies is an innocently sinful rush. “My name’s Wesley, and yours is…”

            “April.” She accepts the hand-shake and a relationship is ignited. Little does she know, it is a relationship with every intent to expire by the end of the night, but it has her hooked with hopes of more.

            They talk and flirt with each other for a while, and he leaves her to “get them some drinks,” but like the pig he pretends to be, he never returns.

            Wesley moves from April, to Friil, and then to Victoria. With each new victim he gets closer and closer to crossing the line, but he always leaves them waiting for more. He dances around the room like an angel of heartbreak and he loves every minute of it.

            Then, he sees her: Miss. Adriana Elizabeth Sanders, and a new kind of game begins.

Leaves of Autumn (preview)

Official Release Date:     June 10, 2013



Read a Preview Here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKdofAQfQKs




Thank you.

<3

Love,
Luke-Dakota Massey

April Update

I finally got an author website up and going, it's a free one, but hey, it gets the job done. if you all want to check it out, here's the link: themissingpoet.wix.com

Also, my new book trailer with my new book cover for Leaves of Autumn is now up and running: click here for the video

One last thing:

Thank you guys for supporting me, and as always,

 

Love,

Luke-Dakota Massey

 

 

New Links and an Update

It's completed, my facebook page has changed. i will put a link to my new one at the end of this post.

Next order of business, Leaves of Autumn is scheduled to release in June of 2013, this year, so i am excited about that. It's my first Novel to be published.

I will tell more in another post =] so be on the look-out.

I am now a member of Bookblogs.com, and i will be sharing that link as well. I find it a lot more convienent, so i post on that site more often, but i will still continue to post on here periodically and keep you updated on the big events.

Well, I must get back to writing, as always,

With much love,
Luke-Dakota Massey



Here are the Links:

Facebook Page - Luke-Dakota Massey

BookBlogs - Blog

Deleting

Just a heads-up: i am in the process of deleting the facebook pages for my books, and instead am just going to create an author facebook page.

My Post on BookBlogs:

I apologies, I always start blogs and then never do anything with them.

I want to thank you all for checking out my page and I will look into all of your links. I love supporting fellow authors and book lovers.

To George D. Melvin is out for soft sale. It’s available only on Amazon.com. I’m not happy with the cover, but I don’t have any better ideas at the moment, so it will stay until I am ready to change it, which could be a while.

But I am happy with the content. I think it’s a much better collection than my first, To Allison F. Frasier.

I’m taking a break from these collections of short reads, but certainly not from writing. I’m currently working on a book called, Leaves of Autumn.

It’s a story about a guy, Wesley, and a girl, Adriana, who decide, for their own reasons, to help a dating website with an experiment for researching opposite personalities. The guy and girl are paired up together for the experiment; the twist is, Wesley knows, Adriana doesn’t. Guilt haunts the mind of Wesley and doubt lingers in Adriana’s. They quickly fall in love, but when the truth comes out, will the love still be there?

I got the title from Wesley’s way of thinking at the beginning of meeting Adriana for the first time: Like the Leaves of Autumn, our death is coming, but the beauty of our romance will be worth the winter.

The cover isn’t set-in-stone quite yet, but I’m really fond of the innocence and simplicity. My only concern is how others will portray the cover (maybe childish) We will see what I decide.
Thank you all for reading, and I promise not to be so distant.

Love,

Luke-Dakota Massey

P.S.
I read from somewhere on the internet, (because I’m so conceded I google myself on a daily basis) that someone really liked my ‘Wishing Well’ poems, and wanted to know if there were anymore. The answer is No, but I do plan of writing two more in upcoming collections of Short Reads, To Victoria D. Bloom, and To Michael K. Peters. So keep an eye open for those two books and thank you so much for reading my books and enjoying them. I consider you my first fan. =] I hope you stumble across this post in your search for answers.

My newest book is here!

To George D. Melvin is finally out. You can buy it on Amazon by clicking the link below.

 

Buy it on Amazon.com

 

Also, Don't forget to "Like" it on Facebook.

 

Facebook Page

 

 

 

Thank you all so much for believing in me!

 

To George D. Melvin

Get ready for "To George D. Melvin" =] it's completely ready for publishing.

Dear George D. Melvin,

I am sorry to inform you that your wife is dead. She died from nothing other than old age, but do not worry, she is safe. God saved her heart many years ago along with your own so you will see her again. You now live in a nursing home. Despite common thought, the people here treat you extraordinarily. They are all very nice and have the patience of a mother of a million. You are a handful. Your mind comes and goes as it pleases. I know it’s frustrating, trust me, I know. I know it’s terrifying, but just hang in there. You’re in the waiting line to heaven. Be happy that it’s such a long wait because that means many people are saved.

If a man comes into your room wearing a suit and gun, ignore him, ignore anything he has to say. He’s just a figment of your imagination (which I’ve learned is a crazy one.)

You do have a visitor though. Your daughter Emily comes to see you every Friday around noon. She is quite beautiful. She has brown eyes that sparkle and dark hair that you find comforting. She looks just like her mother and that makes you smile.

She will bring you some flowers (daisies), a kiss, and then she will read you some of your favorite book. It will be in your nightstand if you ever want to skip ahead, or read the whole thing. It’s okay if you read it through because you’ll forget the story by the next day, it’s because of the disease.

I am writing this for you to help calm you down and make sense of this world. I don’t know if it will work, but it’s worth a try. Well, good luck George. May God be with you.

Hang in there,

George D. Melvin

The good-ol' internet

So, being an author of an e-book only book, everything revolves even more around the internet. I recently made a facebook page for "To Allison F. Frasier" it was easier than i thought, i just never thought to try until yesterday. Also, I joined an internet club for self-published authors called bookblogs. both of the links are down below.

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/ToAllisonFFrasier

BookBlogs:

http://bookblogs.ning.com/profile/LukeDakotaMassey

please follow me on these sites to help promote me and my dream. thank you so much and wish me luck.

Luke-Dakota Massey

Short Story Contest

So, a long time ago i created a short story contest, but no body seemed interested in it, so, i soon lost interest, but today when I was googling myself to see with ebook websites were up and running, I came across a winner to the contest I created.

Congrats Dana Ramos for her shrot story. I read it and even though it was the only entry, it is a very cute story and is actually something that I deal with in my life.

Here's a link, so read on and support Dana.

http://prizes.org/Short-story-contest

What I've been up to

Hello readers,

I finally got a job at a place that i've always wanted to work since I was young. It's not a glamorous job, and i don't quite have an explanation as to why I've always wanted to work here, but I did. Circle K. Yup, you read that right. =]

Okay, so I am also back in school, but my head isn't in it as much as it should be. My mind is on writing and my relationship with my boyfriend (it's our one-year anniversary today)

I wrote another book, but i read it over for the first time and I'm not happy with it, and unlike "To Allison F Frasier" all of these stories are brand spanking new. In To AFF, a lot of the stories were written a while back and already had my stamp of approval, but this book isn't as lucky, so the editing and proofreading process will be a lot longer, but hopefully i can rid my book of minor mistakes because the ones in to AFF eat at me still, but I'm not going to pay another $300 just to get them fixed. no thank you.

My boy and I have been growing closer together since day one, and I don't see him and I seporating at all in this point of our relationship.We're struggling a little with money and time, but once his retirement pay kicks in and my income from my books is recieved, that extra money can help a little, we're almost there, it's just the time until we get that money that is killing us. And, because now he actually has to go to work, and I work graveyards 5 days out of the week, we have more distance than we've ever had. it's hard, but having school together helps.

Which reminds me, I need to write his essay so I will catch up with you'll later.

Wish me luck,
Luke-Dakota Massey

Lesson 1: Dig into your own art

Sometimes I need to break down and analyze my own poems to understand exactly what it is that I'm trying to say; I know the big picture, but it's nice to study every word and discover a greater meaning. So, this is a little exercise I did. I wrote a poem and then beneath it I broke it down into smaller and smaller sections. I can even go into deeper study of the poem, but I'm saticfied with where I am. Trust me, doing this doesn't make you conceeded, it helps create a better poem. You can look at every detail and fix anything that you feel does not fit. Remember, in poetry, every word choice should be significant. Ask yourself why and if you cannot come up with an answer, change it.
Now, here's my work:

My Fear


I own, in my soul, a fear.



It shakes me to the bone.



I own, in my bones, a fear



That none will ever know.







Time ticks, clock tocks,



But I cannot refuse it.



Time is set, it is locked,



I cannot try to confuse it.







Father Time, a stubborn man,



Is also a very honest one.



Me, he rejects with a strong hand



And rebukes another one.







I own, in my soul, a fear.



It shakes me to the bone.



I own, in my bones, a fear



That none will ever know.







I do not fear time itself,



but the uncaring side effects.



Mud to dirt, falling into one’s self;



Death, which no man detects.







That, the fear is neither,



This is a chain of events



That is not a breather.



Time is full of torments.







Till death do us part,



Then what do I become?



Just a lonely, old fart



Who is left without love.







This is the fear that haunts.



Loneliness is a horror.



Live alone, I will not



Her ghost I will hoarder.







I will speak to her as always,



And like a crazed man I’ll be.



Grasping onto her until the day



That fear lets go of me.







-Luke-Dakota Massey











Poem Breakdown






Verse 1 and 4







“I own, in my soul, a fear.



It shakes me to the bone.



I own, in my bones, a fear



That none will ever know.”







Line 1 introduces the whole purpose of the poem. It tells us right away that he has a fear. Line 1 also works with lines 2 and 3 to show how this fear affects one thing after another and goes into a never-ending circle. It is consuming his life both spiritually and physically.



The verse ends with “That none will ever know” this doesn’t mean that he won’t tell anybody. Instead, it is suggesting that no one close to him knows this kind of pain and fear. He feels alone and there is nobody who can comfort him.







Verse 2







“Time ticks, clock tocks,



But I cannot refuse it.



Time is set, it is locked,



I cannot try to confuse it.”







This verse starts out by stating a fact: time will always cease. There is nothing that the man in the poem can do to stop it. Time will press forward. “I cannot try to confuse it.” which means that he can’t stop it or turn it to reverse. This man has absolutely no control.







Verse 3







“Father Time, a stubborn man,



Is also a very honest one.



Me he rejects with a strong hand



And rebukes another one.”







“Father Time, a stubborn man,” –this is used just to tie in the ideas between verse two and three. We have already learned that time is stubborn, but this line keeps the conversation on the subject.







“Is also a very honest one,” –this line switches the readers mind from thinking of time as the enemy to not saying that he’s the man’s best friend, but just another law doing it’s job. Then, line three switches it back around. “Me he rejects with a strong hand.” How does he reject the man? Well the man is frustrated. He is pleading with time, but time won’t stop. Time keeps on with his “strong hand” referring to the hands on the clock.



“And rebukes another one.” This line will confuse the reader at this point. It does mean that the man is not the only one losing a battle with time, but it doesn’t become significant until later on in the poem. The reader does not register that the man is talking about his wife’s death.







Verse 4







“I own, in my soul, a fear.



It shakes me to the bone.



I own, in my bones, a fear



That none will ever know.”







The purpose of this verse is to take a step away from the man’s fight with time. Yes, the man is angry with time, but it is not the cause of his fear, and that is what the poem is about. So, the man goes back to the beginning and retells the reader about the true reason for the poem.







Verse 5







“I do not fear time itself,



but the uncaring side effects.



Mud to dirt, falling into one’s self;



Death, which no man detects.”







“I do not fear time itself,” this does two things, it explains that the man does not fear time, just as the reader thought from verse 4, and it also tells the reader that the man is about to show why he is angry with time. “but the uncaring side effects.” That is why. The man in the poem has a fear pertaining to the effects of continuous time. “Mud to dirt, falling into one’s self.” This line is separated in the middle by a comma which tells the reader that these two things can stand alone. Knowing that is helpful in understanding the poem. Without the comma, the already puzzling line becomes more difficult. So, look at the line as two separate parts, “Mud to dirt” mud has more consistency than dirt. Mud sticks together as dirt separates from itself easily. The man is telling us that something is falling apart, or fell apart. Now, why would he use this imagery to explain this? This is where the reader’s knowledge comes into mind. The story of Adam and Eve helps explain this. God made Adam out of mud. Therefore, mud to dirt is symbolic of a human’s death. The second part of this line clarifies this a little more. “Falling into one’s self;” that shows imagery of someone caving in, it represents death more clearly, but cannot stand alone, for if it did, it could be a symbol of narcissism, but taking the rest of the poem into account, narcissism does not fit.



To clarify even more, the next word stands alone, “Death,” that takes all confusing out of the reader. Now, the reader can fit the pieces of the poem together more effectively. The rest of the line, “which no man detects.” Tells the reader that the man in the poem did not expect the death, but we know that old age is the reason for the death, so he must have seen it coming. Basically, it just seems so surreal to him and he hasn’t quite accepted the fact that she’s dead.







Verse 6







“That, the fear is neither,



This is a chain of events



That is not a breather.



Time is full of torments.”







“That, the fear is neither,” –even her death is not what he fears. “This is a chain of events” –there’s even greater of an outcome that is what he fears. “That is not a breather.” –it keeps the reader from coming to a conclusion, it tells of something worse than anything else in the poem. It shows the man’s thoughts and feelings about what he fears. “Time is full of torments.” –this says that effects of time are inevitable and cruel. Also, the man continues to blame time.







Verse 7







“Till death do us part,



Then what do I become?



Just a lonely, old fart



Who is left without love.”







“Till death do us part,” –this tells the reader simply that his wife died. It alludes to wedding vows, and it speaks of separation due to death. “Then what do I become?” –the man is saying that yes, the world has taught him how to love and live with his wife, but nobody ever told him how to handle himself after she dies. The man does not know how to react to this situation, he feels lost and is full of questions. He then answers his own question by saying, “Just a lonely, old fart” this shows the state-of-mind of the man. He is so distraught by this even that his emotions are all over the place, he adds humor in where it shouldn’t be, and he makes fun of himself instead of acting maturely. “Who is left without love.” He is sad and alone, it recovers the tone of the poem from its detour to humor in the line above.







Verse 8







“This is the fear that haunts.



Loneliness is a horror.



Live alone, I will not



Her ghost I will hoarder.”







“This is the fear that haunts.” He finally decides to tell us what he is scared of. It’s not time, and it’s not death, “Loneliness is a horror.” He fears being alone. “Live alone, I will not” this can mean that the man is contemplating suicide, but more importantly, the man is refusing to give in to his fear. You can see this more clearly in the next line, “Her ghost I will hoarder.” He refuses to let her go. He is going to hold on to her soul, her spirit, her ghost.







Verse 9







“I will speak to her as always,



And like a crazed man I’ll be.



Grasping onto her until the day



That fear lets go of me.”







“I will speak to her as always,” he refuses to accept his wife’s death. “And like a crazed man I’ll be.” This simply implies that the man knows that he is going insane, but he doesn’t care, he doesn’t want to face the truth. He’s going to be “Grasping on to her,” holding on the any remnant of his love. “until the day” this gives hope and a future resolution. “That fear lets go of me.” This mainly just brings the poem to a conclusion. It keeps a promise that the man will eventually rid himself of this fear either by death or other means. The answer remains unclear on purpose to let the reader decide what will happen, depending on what ending the reader craves.

Update

my book is finally on the b&n website. =] I know that this book is simple. It's only available on e-book and it's just a book of short reads, but my goal with this whole book is to get my name out there, and well, it is awesome seeing that my name is searchable on Barnes&Nobel.  It is a feeling that I've always expected. It feels great.

I know it's a small step, but with any job, we have to work our way up. The journey is not over.

I have started on three more short story books. They all have the same idea. I am writing to a different person on all of them. The next in line is an older gentalman by the name of George David Melvin, so of course, the title is "To George D. Melvin"

after him, i also have a middle aged woman who is still unamed and a teenage boy who is still unamed.

Meanwhile, I plan on polishing Doubt, Temptations, and Toxins until it sparkles. I want to publish that book with a different publisher so it will be available on hard copies too. The only problem is, that'll take over 3000 bucks. So, we'll see.

Wish me luck,

With love,
Luke-Dakota Massey

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-allison-f-frasier-luke-dakota-massey/1112022186

it's been a long time.

Yes, I haven't said much in a while, so i've built up a lot. Here it goes.

Last time you saw me, I was done with love and decided to be single. Well, that didn't work out. A guy named Travis Evans texted me and wanted to "hang out" (that's gay talk for lets hook up for the night) well i said okay to this one night stand. We went to Chile's and hung out with all of his army buddies. it was awkward. I was too young to drink and too shy to talk, so it was a fail. But travis and I continued our date anyway. We went to the carnival where he was being super nice and won me an ugly stuffed pig. Then, we went to his house where his ex was still living.

Needless to say, we got drunk, there were fights, there was sex, but what was surprising was i never left his house. That was september tenth of 2011 and I'm still here with Travis. So, I guess I'm giving love another chance.

I lost myself when I first started dating travis. I quit school and work. I was a mess.

I have my life back together. and now i'm living more than I've ever lived before. Travis taught me that there is no reason to wait on life. you need to just go and get what you want out of it. So, I made a collection of literary work that i've written, I wrote a few more, and my first e-book is pending as i type.

It's not Poison (which I've renamed to Doubt, Temptations, and Toxins) I'm not ready to let go of that book yet, but it will get my name out there.

Well, that sums up the important points between there and here.

With much love,
Luke-Dakota Massey

Book Trailer

To Allison F. Frasier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACOcjvQm58g&list=UUaT2GqSDCl3Z87BQ_dmFnXg&index=1&feature=plcp

Preview

Here's a preview of "To Allison F. Frasier."

Enjoy

The Ones with Smiles

                The room is dark and the young boys are pushed into the corners by their own fear. They don’t know what is happening, why it’s happening, or what’s to come. Their fathers disappeared, their mothers were killed in front of their eyes, their sisters raped and burned, and their friends died from hunger and disease. The traumatized boys are all alone and they are scared. What evil will come to devour them?

            One of the boys accidentally moves the loose board covering up the lonely window and sunlight pours into the blackness. First tense, pre-mature muscles fill the room, and then curiosity takes over.

            Little eyes gather around the luminescence. This is when the drought of smiles ceases. The boys sprint out the door laughing and dancing. The heartfelt sun welcomes them out with hugs on their cold skin as their feet splash in the puddles of rain water left behind. Joy is their only emotion. They have completed their goal of survival.

            Survival was their only reason for living. They lost their family. They lost their innocents. They lost the clothes on their backs and the roofs over their heads, but they made it through the dimmest days. Nothing will ever be as bad as what they just overcame.

            Everything is going to be okay. It’s time to celebrate and enjoy what they are given: life. The young ones cuddle and tackle; they play and rejoice.

            Heartbeats can’t keep up with their bare feet running through the tall grass. Freedom comes to mind and they jump, try to fly up to the heavens and kiss their mothers, jump into their father’s arms, and embrace their sisters.

            The sun smiles while watching wounds heal and sicknesses fade. It flies westward across the sky then dives below the greenery.

            A lively fire is warming the sleeping children; the moonlight keeps them under protection. No one knows what will happen tomorrow, but everything will be okay.

They will find a way to rebuild their lives. They have air in their lungs and God in their hearts and that is all they need. They will be remembered as the ones with smiles who made it through the night. They will be the ones who say, “Bring on tomorrow.”

To Allison F. Frasier

yes, it's been a long time since I've posted in my blog. Well, long story short, my ebook, To Allison F. Frasier, will be available on september tenth to all ereaders. Here's the cover page.

love is retarded

I haven't been a lover in quite some time. Yes, I've had boyfriends and yes I did love them, but it's not the same love that I used to know, the love that you dive into blindly and drown yourself in. The love I feel now is more mental; my eyes are clearly open.

I am not thinking that every guy i meet will be the one, in fact, it's mostly the opposite. and when i do meet someone that I "love" i am analyzing our relationship. Can we be together forever? When I see doubt, my being just seems to push them away, give up.

I'm not sure which way to love is better. I think i need to find a medium, but I can't force myself to feel something i don't feel.

Right now, I've kinda, not given up, but put the thought of love aside. I don't want it. I don't want someone to woo me, control me. I don't want to be someone's life. I surely don't want to share a life, and that's my main problem. I like things done my way and i don't care about other people's plans.

Some say that you should look for marriage later on in life, but I’ve always been taught to grab it before your chance goes away.

Now, I just don't care. I could marry if I wanted to, and i think knowing that gives me enough satisfaction. I think I need someone with the same mentality as me. I don't want to live with my lover. I want to marry my friend.

Just thinking on paper.

goodnight.