The Writing Life, 15 February 2025
Getting going on The Yank Striker 2 revisions... and you might be able to help.
To both regular readers and any random online wanderers coming upon this page, welcome.
It’s honestly wild that we are now in the middle of February. Time is moving fast and I’m all right with that for the moment. Many people I’m around in Iowa are getting tired of the cold (but not much snow), but I’m happy not dealing with 98 degree weather we had to deal with from July to almost October last year.
I’m not going to be happy with 1.5 Celsius temperature rise myself. At this point I might ask my wife if we could retire on the shores of Hudson Bay or Svalbard.
Been working on at least a couple projects in various stages of production. I’ll talk about those things and some updated information about where I’ll be during the next few months. I’ll either keep it interesting or to the point - whichever one works lol.
The Home Front
Since today is my mother’s birthday, I’ll take a moment to wish her happy birthday. We’re not in the same town, but we’re planning on getting together to celebrate sometime in the next couple weeks or so.
My son just passed his certification test to get his heating and air conditioning (HVAC) journeyman’s certification. It’s been a long road for him, especially after recovering from the head injury he got on the job about a year ago in Des Moines. But this is a big step in his career. I’m very proud of the progress he’s made.
And I’m looking forward to the long weekend this weekend. Happy President’s Day and all that.
What I’ve Been Writing
The Yank Striker 2: the sequel to my book The Yank Striker: A Footballer’s Beginning. The Yank Striker series follows the exploits of a prospective American soccer player who leaves his family behind to try his fortune with an English Premier League team in the East End of London. Book two focuses on what my main character, Daniel John “DJ” Ryan has to face now he is trying to establish himself as a footballer in England, both as an American in a strange land and someone who identifies as bisexual and the scrutiny it brings.
As of this moment, this will be the schedule for The Yank Striker 2:
Second draft - begun on 8 February and completed by the end of the month at the latest.
Beta reads - these hopefully will begin at the start of March and completed by the end of March.
Two more rounds of revisions in April.
Final editing and proofreading in May and concluding by the end of May.
Speaking of Those Beta Readers…
Even though I will be reaching out to friends and family, I am sincerely looking for beta readers for The Yank Striker 2. If anyone out there on the Internets or on Substack is interested in becoming beta readers for this project and completing your work in a timely fashion, I would be willing to reward you for your hard work.
Anyone interested in serving as beta readers for the project will get a complimentary paid subscription for this site lasting at least one year. I will sort it out for you. Depending on your services, I might also throw in another freebee or two.
If you are interested, chirp back to me in the comments of this post or in DMs. Thank you for your service ahead of time.
Now, on with the other projects.
The Untitled Pro Wrestling Fiction Project: While waiting for my plans on The Yank Striker 2, this has been dominating my thoughts more and more. Over the past year and a half, this story about a family of pro wrestlers from Texas and a young man’s determination to understand what it all means has been at the head of my creative interests for a while, with the exception of The Yank Striker 2.
I’ve continued to make progress on the rough draft of this story. I’m within reach of 30,000 words so far, and I think I should add around 50,000 words to make it about right as far as size. I don’t think I’d want to go further than this, because the project will be part of an eventual trilogy I have in mind. The trilogy also has different timelines to deal with, with a “modern” timeline of fall 2017 to spring 2019, and a flashback timeline spanning from 1953 to roughly 2009, I think.Poetry: I managed to self-publish my own chapbook of poetry at the end of 2024. A second one is not a massive priority now, but I’d 100 percent be open to doing another one in the near future. I am continuing to produce more poetry, some of which shows up here on the fourth weekend (usually Saturday) of every month. Now, I want to try and save some poems up, in the event I want to submit them to places that insist they want to have the right of first publication. Apparently, if I publish them in Substack that means they’re published. Good to know.
Then there’s this third idea I have for a book. It’s one slightly based on the current situation in America but I’m going to play with the setting slightly.
I’m also a bit nervous about releasing a title for the book when it is this early in the writing process. At this point there’s just been notes and speculation in my head, nothing more. To be slightly close to the spirit of the novel I want to create and yet be a bit obscure and non-spoilerish, I’m going to call it the Heart project at the moment.
For now, I want to sketch out a better idea of the story I want to write. I have persons and concepts and angles now, not necessarily on paper, but I need to get names and plot lines moving as well. I’ll mention this again in more detail when I have more detail to give.
What I’m Doing Having to do With Writing
I have more than a few plans for book fair appearances in the coming months. Recently, I have managed to confirm these, so I will list them here.
I will be appearing from 1-4 p.m. Next Saturday, 22 February at the Johnstown Public Library, 6700 Merle Hay Rd, Johnston, IA. I had a great time at this event two years ago and I am honored to be returning there.
From 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday, 22 March, I will be attending the DSM Book Festival at the Franklin Event Center, 4801 Franklin Ave, Des Moines. This will be the first year of this festival co-sponsored by one of my favorite independent bookstores in Des Moines, Beaverdale Books. Can’t wait to be part of this.
Finally, I will be at the the Badger Public Library book fair (Time TBD) on Saturday, 17 May, at the Badger Public Library, 211 1st Ave SE, Badger, Iowa. They were one of the first places ever to participate in a book fair and I absolutely enjoyed the experience.
If there are other events coming up, I’ll let you know. I’m hoping for some more events, especially to promote what I hope will be The Yank Striker 2 this summer. I’ll keep you in the loop.
Writing Quote(s) of the Week:
This is quite relevant as I start revising The Yank Striker 2.
The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.
Sir Terry Pratchett
Never heard of Robin Hobb before running across this quote. The quote makes me curious about the speculative fiction she writes, because this is some good advice.
The second thing you have to do to be a writer is to keep on writing. Don't listen to people who tell you that very few people get published and you won't be one of them. Don't listen to your friend who says you are better that Tolkien and don't have to try any more. Keep writing, keep faith in the idea that you have unique stories to tell, and tell them. I meet far too many people who are going to be writers 'someday.' When they are out of high school, when they've finished college, after the wedding, when the kids are older, after I retire . . . That is such a trap You will never have any more free time than you do right now. So, whether you are 12 or 70, you should sit down today and start being a writer if that is what you want to do. You might have to write on a notebook while your kids are playing on the swings or write in your car on your coffee break. That's okay. I think we've all 'been there, done that.' It all starts with the writing.
Robin Hobb
How to support me😊.
As always, go to the links on the side if you are reading this on a desktop/laptop or the links on my profile. There’s where you can find out about my first book, the journalism thriller The Holy Fool: A Journalist’s Revolt, as well as the first book in my The Yank Striker series, The Yank Striker: a Footballer’s Beginning.
If you go follow the links above, you will be able to buy both the paperback and ebook versions of my books on Amazon. If you just put “Jason Liegois” in Google you’ll probably find them on the first page of search results.
If you happen to visit these fine independent book stores in Iowa, you can find my books there:
Bent Oak Books, 619 7th St. Fort Madison.
Green Point Mercantile, 214 Chestnut St., Muscatine.
Burlington By The Book, 301 Jefferson St, Burlington.
Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave. # S1, Des Moines.
Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
I’m always looking for some new places to place my books, so feel free to hit me up in the comments if you have a suggestion.
My poetry book The Flow and the Journey is available at Bent Oak, Green Point and Burlington By the Book, but it is also available online but not on Amazon. I’ve set up a new online store for copies of my chapbook on my Wordpress site, Liegois Media. If you want to get a physical copy, go ahead and click on the button below.
On the subject of Substack, it’s fantastic if you are signed up for my free subscription, but I would love it if you signed up for a paid one. The monthly rate is the lowest I can put it ($5 per month) but my yearly rate of $35 is a steal at less than three/fifths the monthly rate.
If you want to support me but can’t quite afford a full subscription, I am now on Venmo. You can just send whatever you can afford. Just click the button below; anything you can provide helps me keep things going.
Final Thoughts
That’s where I’m at for now. As I often say, all you writers keep writing and everyone keep safe.