The Everyday Divinities Project

Updated 12/23/2011!

Okay, I've collected my data, and I've worked out the format. Now I can let you in on this project I've been working on. But first, a little backstory.

My goal as an author is, ultimately, to share my boundless imagination with the world. Not just my friends, not just my geek and gamer community, but the whole world. I want to put my creations out there for the public to read and enjoy. I want to invite them into the world I've been creating for the past 6 years now, not in the nebulous future when my trilogy is complete and published and on bookstore shelves.

Inspired in part by some of my fellow writers - most notably Jess Hartley and her Shattered Glass Project, and Ed Valentine and his Play-A-Day project - I've decided to commit to a new writing project of my own. Not just a writing exercise (although it serves as that, too), and not just an excuse to post more to my blog (although it serves as that, too), this will introduce the online world to my literary world and show them what it is I've been working on all this time. Thus, The Everyday Divinities Project (EDP) is born.

Why Everyday Divinities? Because the world around us is filled with wonders that most people don't even notice, or otherwise take for granted. The alarm clock that sits on our nightstand, the coffee maker that helps us wake up in the morning, the TV set that educates and entertains us - all of them are modern-day miracles that are a part of our daily lives and deserve to be honored. I'm showing my respect to these creations by writing about them. Also, in the fictional world I've created, all of these objects are embodied by spiritual aspects (think along the lines of gods and goddesses of classical mythology) who have their own lives in a world apart from, yet very much connected to, our own. It's these divinities who make our everyday appliances and other objects work the way they should, and they tend to show their personality quirks through these objects when they aren't accorded the respect they deserve.

What sort of writing project is this? Well, those of you who follow me on Facebook may recall a post where I asked for your favorite inanimate objects. I took those suggestions, added them to others that I received from my Wed. morning group, and put the best of those on a master list of short story ideas. From that list, I'll write a short story featuring one of those objects and post it here on my blog. Each story will be set within the world of my trilogy, showcasing the object and its secret life within that setting. By doing so, I'll also get to develop my setting and character voices that much more, which will enhance the trilogy that I'm working on.

Will these stories end up as part of the trilogy? Indirectly, but not exactly. I've already got the main characters of my trilogy lined up, and the plot of each book is already outlined if not fully written. It's highly unlikely that any of these stories will be incorporated into the trilogy as it is now. Even so, they'll share the same world, so it wouldn't be too difficult to imagine any of these characters in the background of my trilogy.

Are you going to publish them at all? Already did! You can find five of the EDP stories collected in a digital book currently available on Amazon Kindle, and soon to be available in other e-book formats. Now you can have them all in one scrollable document instead of having to search them out on my blog!

Why are your stories on Kindle and not Nook? The Nook is far superior to the Kindle in every way. Obviously you've been talking to my friend Christina. But seriously, you want it on Nook? You've got it on Nook!

What about other e-reader formats? If you have a preferred e-book format, post it in the comment section below and I'll try to make it available here on my blog. I can't promise miracles, but it's important to me that my writing gets out to the widest audience possible.

So, that's The Everyday Divinities Project... or this branch of it, at least. It's too early yet to delve into the other aspects of the project, but rest assured, I'll keep you updated as it develops!