When I was in college at San Jose State, I took Latin classes from Marianina Olcott. That is where I learned about the Roman concept of Virtus (pronounced “where-tuus”). It was a trait that the Romans respected, but it did not mean just virtue. It included other qualities too: prudentia (prudence), iustitia (justice), temperantia (self-control), and fortitudo (courage).

As I look around in the world today, I see that these traits are no longer honored and respected as they were in the past. Maybe that is why I love reading and why I have certain favorite movies I watch over and over again. You see, in my favorite books and films, the stories that grab me are about Virtus. All right, they can be cheesy sometimes. But I love that moment in Return of the Jedi when Luke throws down his light saber and tells the Emperor he failed to turn him to the Dark Side. That despite everything that will happen to his friends and (gulp) his “sister”, he surrenders and takes the blast of Force lightning full in the chest. That is Virtus.

I’m also a huge fan of the classics for the same reason. Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables grips me because Jean Valjean gives up a comfortable career, a position of respect as a mayor after struggling for years to escape his criminal past. And he gives it up because another man was accused in his place. The rest of his life is devoted to safeguarding a child he does not truly bear any responsibility for. That is Virtus.

Virtus may have been seen as a manly quality in ancient Rome, but it isn’t limited in my mind. All of my favorite characters demonstrate it. Jane Eyre leaves Edward Rochester after learning he has a wife, despite his urgent pleas for her to forsake her morals and pretend to be his. “Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?”

It is Samwise Gamgee bearing Frodo up the mountain on his back, refusing to abandon his friend. It is the Elven girl Amberle willing to give her life to save a people who hate her and the humble healer Wil Ohmsford who protects her along the journey at great personal cost.

As I have studied biographies of some of the great ones in history, I have found many examples of Virtus echoed through the ages. They are not perfect people. They are always rare.

The problem is, they are becoming even more rare. As I read many of the popular books in the genre I love, I can hardly find any trace of Virtus left. Sure, there is a spattering appearance of it now and again, but the core of the story and the general plots are thick with meaningless violence, no self-control to speak of, and heroes so flawed I am not sure I even want them to succeed.

In the world I live in, there is plenty of harsh realities. But when I want to enjoy a movie or delve into a book, I want to be inspired. I want to see someone rise to the challenges instead of submit to them. I want to see more Virtus. I want to cheer for Eliza Bennett when she realizes the man she despises the most is the one just right for her. I want Taran the Pigkeeper and Eilonwy to stay behind and heal the world of Prydain instead of sailing off to a fair country. I want to cry when Harry goes into the Forbidden Forest alone with his ghosts.

Virtus isn’t about being a super cool vampire with too much time and money on his hands. It is about trying to be someone bigger than yourself, despite the odds, falling down, getting scuffed up, and still going. Even when the one you love goes another way. Even when you fail sometimes.

That is what I like to read and watch.

And that is why I write.

Jeff Wheeler

www.jeff-wheeler.com

While we were celebrating out of town this weekend in Nevada City, we were window shopping on Broad Street and came across something that made me stop and stare. I had to buy it and told the proprietor of the store about “The Wishing Lantern” and she said she couldn’t wait to look it up on Amazon and get a copy. The walking frog, the stick, the lantern…coincidence?

We had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. Layered bacon on the turkey on the grill this year and it turned out fabulous – probably the best yet. Great time with family and lots of Phineas and Ferb. Somehow that show gets even funnier the later the hour. Go figure.

Just a reminder that the 20% discount on my books ends next week on Nov 30th. My thanks to all the readers who took the time to write a Facebook note, a review on Amazon or Goodreads, or just sent an e-mail telling me how much they enjoyed the trilogy. Here is the link again with the details. Happy Black Friday shopping folks. Keep the pepper spray at home please:

http://www.jeff-wheeler.com/?p=255

http://bookmarketingbuzz.com/2011/08/05/and-yet-another-self-publishing-ebook-success-story/

I saw this article on the internet showing how the e-book industry, led by self-published authors like myself, have really begun to shift the sands of the traditional bestseller lists. When I look at the monthly sales of e-books, it makes my jaw drop. Some of the names I have heard about (like fellow fantasy author Michael Sullivan and the uber-famous Amanda Hocking).

What the internet is doing is creating links between readers who can share their love of books with friends and total strangers. Blog sites have become the connection that helps books go viral and passing on the books that work from those that don’t.

So, in the spirit of this, I have to say that I am really enjoying Brandon Mull’s latest – Beyonders#1 “A World Without Heroes”. His Fablehaven series is one of my all-time favorites because he can pull off not only character-driven stories but plot-driven ones too. He knows how to describe things in the darkness that make your skin start to shudder in just the right way. And his sense of humor is awesome. There is great suspense and great characters in his worlds. Hence the title of my blog this week “Mulling…” (pun intended).

Whatever it is you are enjoying reading or have enjoyed reading recently, shout it out in your blog, your Facebook page, or text to a friend. Happy 11/11/11 everyone!

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8306745-a-world-without-heroes

I’ve recently created some book trailers for the Muirwood series and posted them on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjWK_CyP_TQ  (book trailer: no faces – some readers want to use their own imagination for what characters looks like)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwWoSANkgcs  (book trailer: with faces – for the readers who want to know how I envision them)

 Also, I have had questions about whether there are discounts for purchasing multiple copies of my books (as gifts for friends and family or for schools to purchase). I cannot control Amazon’s pricing or discounting. However, I can now offer readers a 20% discount if they order directly from the publisher’s website (CreateSpace). I’ve tried this process myself and it works well – it can be a little confusing if you want to purchase the entire series because you have to add each book to your cart separately. This discount code will be available until November 30th.

Here is how to do it:

1.) Copy one of the links below into a new browser window – it will take you to the CreateSpace website

• Wretched of Muirwood https://www.createspace.com/3508370
• Blight of Muirwood https://www.createspace.com/3508371
• Scourge of Muirwood https://www.createspace.com/3508373
• Landmoor https://www.createspace.com/3494708
• Silverkin https://www.createspace.com/3498968

2.) Click ‘Add to Cart’

3.) Come back to this website and copy another link

4.) Click ‘Add to Cart’

5.) Repeat until you have all the titles you want and as many copies as you want

6.) On the bottom of the page there is a place that says: “If you have a discount code, enter it here”

7.) Enter the discount code: KS3MU9NL

8.) Click ‘Check Out’ and follow the instructions. It will give you the total amount at the end.

I hope this is helpful to those who want to get started early on their Xmas shopping. I still get the same royalties with this discount – it is Amazon that doesn’t get theirs.

If you know someone who might be interested in checking out my books, send these links to them where they can read some of the reviews:

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Wheeler/e/B004SBCEK6/

GoodReads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1549088.Jeff_Wheeler

Foreward Reviews: http://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/the-wretched-of-muirwood/

My home office smells like Muirwood apples right now. One of the great things about living in California is all of the orchards nearby. and a few weeks ago we got a huge box of pears, which the kids promptly devoured. Last week it was Fuji apples which we’ve also been enjoying. Many readers have wondered what Muirwood apples look like or taste like, so now you know. The splotchy ones are best:

 I was reading yesterday on Patrick Rothfuss’ blog about the legions of editors and proofreaders that combed through his second book (Wise Man’s Fear) and kept finding and fixing errors before being published. This is the one part of publishing my own novels that I wish I had – legions of proof-readers! Fortunately, I have several very kind and supportive readers who have offered a hand and pointed out typos and mistakes for me. I’m so grateful for the help and even the offers of help.

This month I finished another round of editing the Muirwood Trilogy (both the print books and e-book versions). If you have one of the original 50 copies – you might want to hold onto them as a collector’s item. If you’ve bought an e-book version and would like a free update with the typos fixed, just let me know and I’ll send it to you. Fixing the e-book versions is by far the easiest to do thanks to Smashwords. One site, upload the edits, and it takes about 2-5 days to propagate to all the channels. Fixing the physical books is another story. Thankfully, Createspace didn’t charge me for the edits this time. It took longer than I thought it would take and the books went off-line for a few weeks, but they are all back on Amazon again with the corrections. Of course, there will be more errors not caught – and I welcome it if you let me know where you found one so I can fix it for the next rev. That is one advantage of the digital age.

Last but not least, I was notified on August 25th that all three books in the Muirwood Trilogy received enough nominations to be considered for the 2011 Whitney Awards. Thank you for voting! There is a panel of judges who will read the nominees and then cull the list down before the final votes are cast. I’m excited just to be nominated.

Oh, and one more thing – I’m working on another Youtube video – a book trailer for Wretched. Seems like book trailers are all the rage these days. I’ll post the link when I finish it.

The Whitney Awards are for LDS authors for books published within the calendar year. Nominations are being accepted on-line. If any readers of the Muirwood Trilogy would be interested, please consider nominating it for a Whitney. The link is here:

http://whitneyawards.com/wordpress/nominate/

Thanks in advance!

I’ll admit, this one has me stumped right now. Normally, a book’s title is one of the first things I am able to come up with when starting on a project. I announced on this blog previously that my new project is called Kenatos and so that has been the working title draft of the book. However, it dawned on me recently that there are probably fifty different ways you can pronounce a title like this. As a friend has told me, “when you have to explain it, you lose.” The last thing I want to do is confuse my readers, and so I’ve decided to change the title. But to what?

That’s the interesting thing about writing. We connect so much to a story’s title (Pride & Prejudice, The Hunger Games, Twilight, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harry Potter). Creating a title to a book is creating a relationship with a reader. There is magic when it is done right. I guess I am still working on the spell. While I do *not* have a current working title for my new series, I can say that it is underway, at about 100 pages so far. I’m taking this one a little slower than normal and not giving away the major plot early on in the book. But I like the characters and the world and I’m relishing the thought of writing some of the future chapters. It is going to be a wild ride.

An update on the Muirwood Trilogy. I cannot be more pleased with the feedback that has been steadily coming in. I’ve heard from readers as far away as Australia and saw that someone in the UK downloaded the Kindle version this month. Sales of the trilogy are in the hundreds, with more e-book versions being sold than physical books. And I love reading the reviews on Amazon, Good Reads, or notes from Facebook or e-mail that come in from readers. Thanks to all who has spread the word about Muirwood to friends and family. Once we go from hundreds to thousands, that is when things will start to get interesting and maybe a larger publisher will get interested. Keep it up!

Where I work, there is a daily poll of employees that asks all sorts of random questions. One came up recently that caught my eye – it was asking what made us buy a book. I voted, of course, and was able to see the total results shortly after. I watched the tallies during the day and took a snapshot at the end of the day (below).

If you exclude the last comment, the order seems to be:

1. Favorite author

2. Friend recommendation

3. On-Line reviews

4. Media buzz

5. Cover

So what about you? How do you find the next book you want to read?

A very positive review just came in from ForeWard reviews on Wretched of Muirwood:

http://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/the-wretched-of-muirwood/