Roger Hyttinen | Author

YA & Paranormal Author

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Goodbye Field Notes (for now)

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Field notes notbooks on desk

Even though I’ve been a fan of the Field Notes Brand of notebooks for many years now, and I love writing in them, the time has come for us to part ways. I recently went to renew my yearly subscription and I was more than a bit stunned to see that the subscription was now $120 per year — for a few pocket notebooks every three months.

If I used every notebook I received, it might be a different story. But I have stacks upon stacks of the notebooks on my shelf, most of them yet unopened. With the subscription, the company typically sends you two packs of three notebooks each quarter, which comes to about 24 notebooks a year, which is much more than I go through. Usually, it takes me about two months to work my way through a notebook, sometimes less. I also maintain a bullet journal, so a lot of my daily writing ends up in there. I’ve been considering moving my bullet journal to the Field Notes notebooks, given that I have so many of them that are not being used.

Field Notes

So basically, this is a case of me buying way more notebooks than I need, leading to kind of a hoarding situation.

But it was really the cost of the subscription that gave me pause. When I first started subscribing, I think the price was around $80, maybe even less. Even then, I thought the subscription was a tad expensive for paper products, but I liked them, so I figured ‘what the hell.’ When the cost jumped to $99, I hesitated again, trying to decide if they were worth the price. But this time, at $120, I decided to pull the plug. It’s an awful lot of money for something that mostly sits on my shelves, unused. Plus, the ever-growing stack of notebooks is a bit silly. Thus, I made the decision to work my way through the ones I’ve already purchased before bringing any new ones into the house.

Now, am I saying I’ll never again purchase a Fields Notes notebook? Not at all. In fact, if they release an especially compelling edition, I may log onto their site and purchase just that specific notebook pack. I especially like the oversized editions they come out with occasionally. But my main goal is to work through the ones I have first. Once I do, I might even consider subscribing again.

I have to admit that I will miss seeing that package arrive every quarter with exciting new notebooks for me to discover. But, on the bright side, I now get to enjoy all those unused notebooks that came to my house in past subscriptions!

Ghost at the Prom cover

I wrote a werewolf book!

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A few years ago, I did NaNoWriMo. For those of you who aren’t aware of what this is, it stands for National Novel Writing Month and takes place in November. During this time, people (anyone can join) try to write an entire novel of at least 50,000 words in 30 days. I participated in this a few years back, during which I wrote a gay-themed fantasy novel that follows a group of werewolves.

I set it aside for close to a year, and I finally got around to starting the editing process. I made an entire first pass through it and was quite pleased with the way it was coming along. Well, as luck would have it, I became ill for a bit shortly after that, which was followed by a flurry of doctor visits, hospital visits, medical tests, x-rays, and drastic lifestyle changes. I got so wrapped up in all this that I completely forgot about the novel.

I mean, who forgets that they wrote a book? Apparently, I do.

So there I was, combing through my hard drive in an attempt to do a bit of digital spring cleaning when I came across a Scrivener file entitled, “Werewolf.” I then gave myself a good old-fashioned palm slap to the forehead once I realized what it was. How could I have forgotten? I’d wanted to write a gay werewolf novel for ages, and I was so excited when I finally did it. And then…..it gathered dust in a forgotten computer folder.

Anyway, I read through it last week and really liked what I’d done so far. I was surprised at how far I’d gotten in the editing process. So I resurrected the book and am now once again editing my heart away. I decided to put my Ghost Oracle series (Book 5) aside for a brief moment and instead focus on my werewolves. So hopefully, you should see a new werewolf novel in the coming months, followed shortly thereafter with another Nick Michelson ghost story.

New Morning Routine

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latino person with beard grooming in bathroom at home for morning routine and body care white metrosexual man trimming eyebrows with tweezers SIcgb9L 7

In the past, my morning routine involved getting up, having coffee, spending an hour (or two!) browsing through my newsfeeds, and then buckling down and getting to work. But what I found was that often, work was really a chore. I struggled to get the words down on paper, and some days I didn’t do a very good job of it. I’ve tried writing in the middle of the afternoon, but that was even worse.

Then one day, after I poured my morning coffee, I decided to skip browsing the news and instead dive directly into working on my latest novel. Before I barely finished my second cup of coffee, I had already written 2,200 words. I was amazed — stunned, actually — at how smoothly and quickly the words came.

I tried it again the following day, and sure enough, the words poured from me like a faucet. I began to suspect I was on to something here. I’ve always believed that I could never delve into the day’s work before I’ve had my morning coffee, perused the news and answered my emails. After all, it’s what I’ve always done. Yet this was different, and it worked. I tried it again and again on subsequent mornings, each time receiving the same result — increased and more effortless productivity.

Now, I’ve never been a morning person (more on that in another post), so I certainly never figured I’d be one to hop out of bed and begin tapping away on my keyboard… and yet, here we are.

I wanted to test this new theory of mine further, so the following morning, I reverted to my old habit of reading my email and scrolling through my newsfeed. When it came time to write, that familiar struggle was there, in which producing words was like pulling teeth. So I could only assume that….what, I’m a morning person?

Nah. What I do think is going on is that for me, creativity comes much more easily when I don’t have a brain cluttered with daily news, spam, obligations, and email messages that I need to address. I never realized how much that stuff affected my productivity and weighed me down. I appear to be more productive when I tackle my cognitive work right after I get up.

So that’s what I’m going to do from here on out because it appears to be working.

Up To Speed Guides – Did you know?

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In addition to fiction, I also write computer training manuals and software manuals to help users get up to speed quickly with whatever software they’re using.  My “Up To Speed” guides are available in ebook format from Amazon, Apple iBooks, Kobo and Barnes and Noble.  If you’re a PDF type of person, the PCM Courseware site carries them in PDF format.

Project 2016: Up to SpeedLightroom 6/CC Up to Speed CoverMicrosoft Access 2016 Up To Speed coverMicrosoft Visio 2016 Up to Speed coverOutlook 2016: Up to Speed CoverLightroom Classic CC: Up to Speed CoverWindows 10: Up to Speed guide covermacOS High Sierra: Up to Speed guide cover

New Book in Ghost Oracle Series

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I have just released Book 3 of the ghost oracle series entitled of “The Magician’s Secret”. The book is available on Amazon, Kobo, Apple iBooks and other online retailers. The book is also available in paperback from Amazon.

Magicians secret cover small

The blurb is as follows:

At a stage magic show, sixteen-year-old psychic medium Nick Michelson notices a frightening knife-wielding female ghost standing on stage watching the magician perform his act. Later, she disappears and Nick thinks he’s seen the last of her.

At the beach the next day, a strange girl runs up to Nick and asks him to help her before she is brusquely escorted away by her group leader. After she leaves, the same ghost from the previous night appears before Nick, claims her daughter is innocent and begs Nick to help her. She then vanishes.

Nick later discovers that the ghost’s daughter is accused of her mother’s brutal murder and is locked up at a psychiatric facility awaiting to be tried as an adult. After visiting the young girl at the facility, he reluctantly decides to help prove her innocence.

But why was the ghost at the magic show? And how is the magician tied to the murder of an innocent woman?

As Nick becomes more involved with the girl and her ghostly mother, things only get stranger in the coming days — and more dangerous for him, the magician and the magician’s son. When an attempt is made on Nick’s life, he vows to step away from the situation. But the ghost – and the murderer – aren’t so quick to let Nick get away.

Note: Though this book is part of the Ghost Oracle series, it can be read as a stand-alone novel.

Cover Reveal for Upcoming Book

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Below is the cover for my upcoming book “The Magician’s Secret”, the third book in my Ghost Oracle series. The book will be released in ebook and in print format the beginning of January.

Magicians secret cover 1The story:

At a stage magic show, sixteen-year-old psychic medium Nick Michelson notices a frightening knife-wielding female ghost standing on stage watching the magician perform his act.  Later, she disappears and Nick thinks he’s seen the last of her.

At the beach the next day, a strange girl runs up to Nick and asks him to help her before she is brusquely escorted away by her group leader.  After she leaves, the same ghost from the previous night appears before Nick, claims her daughter is innocent and begs Nick to help her.  She then vanishes.

Nick later discovers that the ghost’s daughter is accused of her mother’s brutal murder and is locked up at a psychiatric facility awaiting to be tried as an adult. After visiting the young girl at the facility, he reluctantly decides to help her.

But why was the ghost at the magic show? And how is the magician tied to the murder of an innocent woman?

As Nick becomes more involved, things only get stranger in the coming days — and more dangerous for him, the magician and the magician’s son. After an attempt is made on Nick’s life, he vows to step away from the situation. But the ghost – and the murderer – aren’t so quick to let Nick get away.