Author Allen M Werner

Turstin knew it was true. They were prisoners after all and oftentimes the supplies they received were the cheapest, lacking in quality. Things might be used, bent and discolored. In the case of foodstuffs, some was bruised. rotted or spoiled. But there were no courts to air their grievances before. They were lucky to be alive. Turstin had been tried and convicted. It was what it was, and they had to adapt. And they had become extremely resourceful. They learned how repair and salvage what others simply discarded because of its age, appearance and sometimes smell. They also learned to garden. Herbs. Vegetables. Fruit.
Excerpt from The Crystal Crux: Shimmer

I don’t think I can possibly calculate the number of hours I spend reading, researching, writing and editing a book. It’s a lot.

But I’ve never been one of those people who believes time is money.

Time is life. And I prefer to spend the majority of it doing what I want to do, what I enjoy doing, and making money doesn’t necessarily fit into that equation. It’s not that I don’t need money or would like to have more money – but it’s not what motivates me. Never has been. Never will be.

Pero opened his right hand. The gold clasp was there glistening in the candlelight.
“You followed your instincts that night, Pero,” Ven said, sitting tall on his knees where Pero would have been on the other side of the altar. Anthea was now gone. “You had no idea who she was,” Ven continued. “You had no idea if such a relationship would work out. But it was time and there was another life inside of you. Its familiar voice spoke to you. told you that Anthea Manikos was the one. You heard her name, her spirit echoing in your soul and that is the concert. The praiseworthy song. The beautiful melody of the universe. You are One in Me as I am One in you. The truth. One. You. Me. Anthea. Us. Everyone.”
“How do you know me?” Pero demanded.
Ven lowered his head. “We have always known you.”
Excerpt from The Crystal Crux: Shimmer

Anyone who knows me, knows my family comes before everything. If you see me, I’m probably with my wife, or kids, or grandkids, or some combination of those.

I had two brothers with Muscular Dystrophy (See my writing, The Grand Transition, to learn more about that). If you saw me back then, you saw one or both of them. It’s how I was raised. And it’s what I learned to value above all else. Money was not the answer to our problems. We had plenty of other issues, life and death issues, that were far more important to us.

Psalms 118:24 ‘Today is the day Yahweh has made. Rejoice and be glad in it.’

And that’s how we lived. It didn’t mean we didn’t get worried or have concerns and anxieties about things we might be facing in the future. But when those things became overwhelming, we turned our eyes and focus back to the truth of the day, today – and no other.

It doesn’t matter what might happen tomorrow. Today we have each other. Today we have food and shelter. Today is a good day. Rejoice and stop worrying about tomorrow.

“Then I will keep hurting you until He does reveal Himself.”
“Hurting me is hurting you but your soul is too dark to understand such logic. The darkest soul I have ever seen. Look at you. You cannot withstand the light of an illusion. How would you survive in His effervescent glory?”
“I don’t care anymore. I am sick and I am dying. I cannot wait any longer. I must see Him. I must speak with Him. Summon Him forth.”
“Blessed are they that have not seen and yet believe.”
“Don’t try to curse me with your weak spells, girl. Thousands of fanatics have flung their poetic verse at me, reciting by rote Latin and Arabic while I tortured them, waiting for some fictious deity to save them. In the end, none were spared. None of them. They all renounced their faiths and fell before me.”
“And what have they to do with me?”
“You shall do likewise unless your protector reveals Himself.”
Excerpt from The Crystal Crux: Shimmer

Sure, I would love to sell hundreds, thousands of my books and see them made into graphic novels and film, but that may not be possible.

I received my latest royalties for January, and I made a little over $26. That’s it, and that was a good month.

All those hours of reading, researching, writing and editing, and that’s it. I’ve had better months, especially when a new book releases or I attend a book faire, but most months are less than $26.

Does that deter me? No.

I didn’t start writing to make money.

And truth is, I didn’t start writing because I love writing. I know that is what you will hear from most authors. They just love to write. They can’t go a day without writing. They don’t believe you are a real writer if you don’t write every day.

I don’t see it that way.

I see myself as a storyteller who puts his stories in written form.

I have no creative writing degrees, but I read a lot, and learn quickly. I can research and pick up on things quickly. I can organize my thoughts and correlate information.

And I have a mind for the fantast. I can imagine a lot of things. And there are a lot of stories rummaging around in my head. For me it is just a question of how best to get these stories out of my head.

A shimmer of gold light tore across the ground to her right before disappearing. “There!” Gisele shouted, excited. “I saw something!”
Drench, exhausted, Tomas stopped and stared. He saw nothing in that direction. “Are you sure?”
“Yes! I am sure!”
Tomas hesitated only a moment before nodding. “Good. Then lead the way.”
Gisele froze. She couldn’t believe her ears. Being shorter, she stared up at Tomas for a considerable moment. She studied his young face, the delicate lines, the manly cheekbones, his tired hazel eyes. For a few seconds she got lost in them and forgot all her worries. ‘He trusts me.’ She squeezed his hand and smiled reassuringly before setting her course, chasing after the gold light. Faithfully, it continued to reappear, snaking quickly across the ground and vanishing.
Excerpt from The Crystal Crux: Shimmer

I would say that the original Star Wars film released in 1977 was a pivotal moment in my understanding of creative arts. I remember the first time seeing it, and thinking, I want to make movies. I want to write stories like that. And that’s when I really started writing. And later in life, hearing how difficult it was for George Lucas to sell his idea of Star Wars to others, helped me develop patience with this craft.

I didn’t know if I would ever get published but I wrote a lot of stories in the late 70s and early 80s. Many of them are gone but I still have a few tucked away in storage.

The Crystal Crux was the one I personally valued the most. It was the one I really wanted to write and finish. And it is one I would love to see made into film one day.

I have already been researching how to write manuscripts and while I’m writing new books, I will work on writing my first manuscript.

And like I said, this has nothing to do with money.

This is something I want to do. It’s a story I want to tell – and I told it the way I want to read it.

It’s like that old Carpenter’s song, ‘Sing.’

“Sing, Sing a song. Make it simple to last your whole life long. Don’t worry if it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear. Just sing, sing a song.”

Well, I wrote a story, and I don’t care if anyone else thinks it is good or not.

I wrote a story, and I am happy with it. That is all that matters.

I re-edited and am releasing the 2nd edition of Book 3 – Cold Knight. It will be available as Kindle, Paperback and Hardcover on February 9, 2024.

I am currently preparing a hardcover version of Shimmer so that all 5 books in The Crystal Crux Series will be available as hardcovers.

Keep Reading And Stay Inspired!