It is time once again to get solar powered. We welcome you back to another episode, episode 101 of the solar powered podcast. I'm Ryan Hall from Royal Hearts Media, And I think we've got a really fascinating guest here today. His name is Jeremy Eads. Now I have spoken about Jeremy and maybe some some live videos that I've done in previous, in previous incarnations as somebody who has just a prodigious writing output.
We'll certainly get into that here in a bit, but he's the author of a brand new book that is releasing today. We're releasing this podcast on, Friday, July 28th. He's got a brand new book called The Lodge, and we're gonna talk about that, talk about some talk about his background, his story, and just, how we both wound up to be storytellers. And it's truly a privilege to welcome my good friend, Jeremy Eads, to the solar power podcast. Welcome to the program, brother. Thank you. Thank you.
Good to be here. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, first, I guess, just kinda share a little bit about just, just your background. You've got a you've got quite the fascinating resume, my friend. Well, it's a lifetime of falling on my face, really. You know? Thank you. Thank you. Take your heart, then. Yeah. You know what I mean? It it just you know, one thing doesn't work out, you try something else. You know, you you get back up, you keep going.
You know, with the the military, I I did that for, several years and eventually decided that it it wasn't really for me. You know? I just, Yeah. I'm I'm proud of my service and I'm, you know, I'm I'm certainly proud of the people I served with. But it's, you know, it's it's a life that demands a lot from me. And, I I wanted a little bit more, than than what the army could give me. Sure. But they they held me tremendously. They really did. You know? They, got me on my feet.
Because of the army, I got my education. You know, I got my my bachelor's in software engineering. I took it seriously. You know, the army did a lot of good for me. A lot of focus, a lot of discipline, and and I think that, they're good for that. You know, if maybe you're kinda floating around and you're not sure what you're gonna do with your life, which is where I was. You know, I was I was living in Oregon at the time, washing windows in in the Oregon rain.
You know, talk about exercise and futility, my friend. You know, washing windows in the rain is is about as bad as it gets. I can only imagine. You know what? I looked up and saw the recruiter and thought, There we go. You know? The the light shone down, and and they got me moving. You know? And I and I'm grateful for them. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Yeah. I can I'm just trying to imagine a younger you washing windows in a driving rainstorm and just being about ready to ride your fist through one of those windows. Oh, it was well, what was a lot of fun was being, up on top of a 18 foot ladder with a 30 foot pole trying to clean the 17 inch transom. You know, that oh, yeah. Oh, man. You know? Or or you might get up there and find, you know, a a good size wasp nest that you gotta grab and crush and throw away before the bees get on to you.
Oh, nice. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of contrary to popular belief, they're not just in the south, y'all. No. No. They're all over the place. They got bad attitudes no matter where they're at. Yeah. They're pissed off no matter how you look at them. You know, I mean, in in in Virginia where I'm at now, we've we've got the ball face. We've got the yellow jackets, and we've got, have these gigantic I call them bill hornets. I've heard them called bill hornets. They you find them, like, down by the lakes.
They're enormous. You know, I yeah. I I Interesting. I wish I had a picture of 1. I'd I'd show it to you. But they're, you know, a good 4 or 5 inches long. All this talk about bugs, no wonder you became a horror writer. My gosh. Yeah. Well, I I write about things that make me uncomfortable, and lust absolutely make me uncomfortable. Yeah. I can yeah. I can always I think if I figure if it bothers me, it's probably gonna bother somebody else out there, and and, you know, we just have fun with it.
There you go. There you go. We'll certainly get more into your, into your writing background here, as we go on with this conversation. You know, do you have any favorite stories from your, from your military days? You know, stuff that you can that you can share, obviously. But do you have any stories, some anecdotes that you can share that maybe that that maybe, you know, sort of sets you up for the, you know, for the storyteller, for the writer that you have become?
Well, I mean, it it that actually goes back a lot further than the army. I was I was first published at 6 years old. I I wrote a story for a friend of mine and god. It must have been 1st or second grade. But I I I wrote a story for him, and I illustrated it. Super Teddy and the Demon Devil. And my mother, was the editor of a local magazine, and she wouldn't let me give the book to him, which completely, you know, made me mad.
But she she took the book and kept it, and then she printed it in the magazine that that she was an editor at. And she'll tell you that she knew then that I was gonna be a writer. But I've been writing stories all my life. Yeah. I mean, that's that's something I I have always done. Not until, really, when when you and I met back in in 2018. That's about when I started getting serious about selling the stories. You know? And and and and so I I got to thinking, like, wow.
I can really do something with this. You know? I mean, I got a a really positive response from from, the Riders Hotel, if you remember. I remember them well. Yes. And, oh, Scott and Shan are fabulous. They're they're just fabulous. Love them so much. But, you know, with their encouragement and and, you know, tough love, figured out, hey. You know, I could I could make something happen here if I if I knuckle down and work on it. And that's what I've been doing.
You know, trying to trying to, get this thing off the ground. Absolutely. Yeah. No. Talk talking about, talking about the writers' Hotel, Scott Wogan and Janna McNair. Really, 2 of my favorite human beings that I've met in the past few years. They're they were incredibly supportive to me even when I walked into that room absolutely scared to death. That they were incredibly supportive, of me.
And I've ended up meeting, you know, meeting yourself as well as, you know, several very dear friends of mine and incredibly gifted writers and storytellers to this day. So I'm definitely grateful that that was put into my life at that time, again, even though I was scared to death. I I am right, Terry. That was my first time ever being in New York. So That's right. Yeah. I I'm a southern boy, and and New York is just a whole another animal. Well, you're tell you're telling me.
But I gotta I gotta I gotta say this, though. I I gotta put this out there. There's there's folks out there that that have the stereotype about New Yorkers, about they're mean, they're nasty. You know, they're cold. They're. I never once ran into anything like that with any of the New Yorkers I came in contact with. They were kind. When I was wandering around lost, they gave me directions. They were good to me. I I don't have enough good things to say about folks in New York City.
I mean, they were they were just fantastic. Nothing like the stereotype I was expecting. Nothing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I toe I totally feel you on that. I remember the first time I ever went to New York City. This would have been in the summer of 2015, I think it was, that I just came, on a visit. And I was I was in Brooklyn and was just hopelessly lost. My phone was dead. Could not find this one subway station to save my life.
I stopped this one this one young man who I think was a host at a, at one of the restaurants in Brooklyn, asked him where to find it. He pointed me right there. Never had any kinda issues. Never had any kinda stuff like that. It's definitely you're right on point with that. You know, I I I was not prepared for how fast everybody moves in New York, how fast the walking speed is, because I don't move that quick. You know?
Yeah. And and they were just as so I was, you know, doing my best trying to keep up with the flow of traffic and not, you know, being too much of an obstruction. And I I I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. I went staggering into this restaurant just to just to get out of the the flow of traffic. And the host there looked at me, and she was like, oh my god. Let me get you a glass of water. And she sat me down, and she gave me glass of water.
And I told her, I promise I'm not gonna have a heart attack. I'm just I'm I'm not used to it here. You know? The people move so fast. And I I mean, she was so kind. She was so sweet to me. You know? And that that's just one of many, many examples of, you know, how how how good they were. You know? And now the stereotype is just is just wrong. Yeah. Well, that was my experience anyway. Yeah. Indeed. Indeed. It's just wrong. And honestly, I think it always has been wrong.
Yeah. It it's probably like anywhere else. You know? You get what you get. You know? And if you're if you're respectful of folks and and you try to be good to them, 9 times out of 10, you're gonna get that back, I think. Yep. You know, I I I believe that that most people are are basically good at heart and trying to do the right thing, you know, as as they see. Yeah. Yeah. And, of course, that's all that's all subjective anyway.
I mean, obviously, you gotta stay you you gotta stay within the law, but it's all subjective anyway. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Let's get back to the Writers Hotel a little bit. Just to kinda just to kinda fill our listeners in. The Writers Hotel was it's a, it's a multiday conference, and and this was just my experience. I'd love to hear your experience.
But it it's a multiday conference where you get some pretty intense workshopping, where people will read your piece, which is how I was first exposed to your book, by the way. But people will read your piece. People will, you know, give you feedback. And it's a pretty intense process. But I believe that that that that week, back in 2018, did more to help me go from being just a writer to an author than pretty much anything that I've ever experienced. I I would 100% agree with that.
I've told them both, that I really feel like my career started. You know, my career as a writer, as an author, as a novelist, started with them at the at the Writers Hotel. I didn't have I I I've been maybe 50 pages, I think, of the lodge written at the time. -Mhmm. -And and I sent that to to Scott. And, I was a late acceptance. I was if not the last, one of the last people admitted.
And and Scott just enjoyed the story and he he was like, yeah, I'd like to offer you a spot if you wanna if you wanna come. I was like, oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. You know? And I told him, I was like, but I don't I don't have the book finished. He said, don't tell anybody. Anybody asks, the book is done. They could have fooled me. And I was like, okay. The book is done. Fine. Whatever you say. Which it was done, shortly after coming back from the conference.
Because, you know, as you as you remember, you know, we met all those agents and, you know, you're on such a high. You know, I I was just like, I've gotta get this done. I've gotta get this, you know, out to these agents. I've gotta, you know, I've gotta get it going. They're waiting on. And Yeah. Yeah. Oh, been there, done that. Been there, done that. That's how we that's how I ended up doing a lot of self publishing. Yeah. How you end up doing? Excuse me? Self publishing. Oh, self publishing.
I don't see that there's anything wrong with that. Yeah. You know, I mean, if you if you have something that you you you wanna share and you wanna get it out there, you know, there are ways around the gatekeepers. You know? And and, unfortunately, most of us don't have last names of King or Rowling or Koons or what have you. And and, You really had to bring him up, didn't you? Oh, boy. You know? So so, you know, we have to we have to do, we have to find other paths. We have to find other ways.
Yeah. You know? I mean, you you get enough sales on your own, I'm sure you can get, you know, a big five publisher to talk to you. But if you're getting enough sales on your own, why why would you worry about it? Yeah. Yeah. You know, the way I the way I see it, books need to be read, period. Books need to be read.
And the way that it is in 2023, yes, a lot of a lot of authors will still send out dozens and dozens and dozens of of, of query letters and get absolutely nowhere, and their and their and their dreams just kinda die on the vine. But you still got people who, oh, what's her name? I haven't read any but Colleen Hoover kinda started it kinda started with the she started with self publishing and has become a just a megastar in that particular market.
You know, one of my heroes, David Goggins, self published his book, and his book was number 2, I think, number 2 on the New York bestseller list behind Michelle Obama. So if you've got if you've got the right if you've got the if you've got a compelling enough story and if you've got a compelling enough book, There's a market for your book. And, you know, I'm I'm starting to build a business around that myself, but there is a market there's a market for, you know, for that kind of book.
These books need to be read. Yeah. How many billions of people are on the planet? You know? Some of them are gonna like your stuff. You know? Absolutely. You know? And and as far as that goes, if if you're a writer or not just a writer, but, you know, a musician, artist, whatever, and you've got that desire in you to produce, one of 2 things is gonna happen. You know? You're either gonna be consumed by what you're trying to do, and it'll be all you think about and all you're working on.
And you won't take no for an answer, or it's gonna chase you off. You know what I mean? One of one of those two things will happen. You know, if you're where you're supposed to be, you know it. You know? And you and you won't feel right doing anything else. You know, I got a whole line of, careers that that didn't work because that's not what I was supposed to be doing. Yes. Yep. You know? And if you've got that if you've got that voice in you and, you know, it needs to get out, it will get out.
You know? And you'll do whatever path you need to take to to get it out and get it heard. Well, I got a great story. It'll chase you off. And Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. You know, it and you were saying that. I couldn't help but wonder how many brilliant artists, not just writers, but musicians, you know, visual artists, how many brilliant artists just got so discouraged by that process of getting their stuff out there, being able to find an audience for there that they just gave up.
And we never really saw that brilliance that, you know, that that passion that so many people have and just so many just so much undiscovered potential. I I think it's that number would be astronomical, really. Yeah. You know? I I think that's why I I support indie authors. I support indie musicians. You know, I I share music. I share books. I share, you know, I've I've I know a few indie filmmakers. I've shared, you know, their films. I've, you know, because, we need to lift each other up.
You know? I I can't stand somebody that gets a little bit of success and feels like they need to jerk the ladder up behind them. You know? Like like, I did this, and now you know you can't come with me because no. No. I No. Dude, that's just that's just karma 101 right there. You know, I've had it I've had it happen. I've had writers, that have actually chastised me for befriending them and talking to them and, you know, trying to get something going that would be mutual beneficiary.
I know you can't have free marketing. Well, that's not really what I'm looking for. But, you know, I mean, it last I checked, you're not on the best seller list and, you know, we can help each other out, so let's do that. That's what I absolutely love about my publisher and the and the writers that are that are there at Wicked House. You know, MJ, Andrew, David Blaine, or David Blair rather, Blaine David. The David's gonna add up his name up. You know, Joe, all of them. All of them.
And Nick, we all support and push each other's material. You know? And all of us are members of, you know, these various groups, and all of us are, you know, when it when you when you find somewhere, it's like, you know, hey. Put a put a link up and and and promote your link. You know, sometimes I'll point directly at myself. Sometimes I'll point toward, the publisher. Say, hey. You know, there's lots of authors here that you can look at.
And and, you know, if you enjoy our kinda thing, you know, take your pick. Go nuts. Totally. Totally. Because you don't know which of those those up and coming authors. You don't know which of those are gonna be the next, you know, Stephen King and the next JK Rowling. You don't know which one of those are you know, musician, you don't know which one of those is gonna be the next you know? I don't know, you know, BB King. You don't know until you know. You know?
Yeah. Well, and and until it it all plays out. You know? But I I I really believe that, you know, to get a little cliche here, that the rising tide lifts all boats. You know? And and what are we on this earth for if not to help each other? Yeah. You know?
I mean, I, if, if the dreams came true and I became, you know, the next king or what, what, whatever, I would hope that I would I would maintain the integrity to, you know, still help people, you know, to to still give those struggling authors, artists, whatever, the bump that might get them over, you know, whatever hump they're facing and and get them get them rolling. You know?
I mean, I I I I I would hate to turn into that guy that, you know, wants to pull the ladder up behind and say, I I worked, and I did the thing, and now nobody else can go this way. Yeah. That that does not make sense to me. That that really does not make sense to me because even the even the guy who pulls the ladder out from under somebody from under somebody else started where you are now. You know, and that's that's my point.
You know, everybody starts at the bottom, and we're all trying to work our way up. Yes. You know? 5 years ago, I was just putting this one particular story together. And now it it's being released to the world. You know? And that's that's not because of just my effort alone. You know? I mean, I I I never quit. You know? I mean, there's no backup plan here. You know what I mean? The the the plan is success. You know?
But there have been so many people that have helped and believed and lifted me up and said, stick with it. Don't stop. Keep going. You got something here. You know, so many people that I mean, they didn't have to do that. So I have to believe that, you know, they're right. You know? And I I'm trying my damnedest to justify their faith.
You know, baby, from from Scott and Shanna, to, you know, good folks at the at the Writers Hotel that I've met to, you know, all these struggling indie authors that that I've met along the way. You know? Even even down to my mother, who's, you know, without a doubt, the biggest fan, You know, the the first fan. But, you know, we're we're all still in there working together. Yeah. It's like, do you really have to write about this kind of stuff?
You're great at it, but do you really have to write about this kind of stuff? Well, we had a we had a family member, and I'm not gonna I'm not gonna go into details on it. But this person told my mother that they were very proud that I was publishing a book, but they would not allow the type of book that I was publishing in their house. But they they would not allow, that kind of material. So I took that and turned it into a promo. It'll be in the, HWA's newsletter, this upcoming month.
I like it. I like it. I like it. You you gotta have thick skin and and just don't quit. Don't listen to them. Don't stop. You know, if you believe in you, believe in you and and keep on it. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, I've got a I've got a buddy of mine who who is trying to make a career in, in, hip hop. And I remember talking to him one time about this And, you know, hip hop's not my thing, but I certainly admired his passion. And I said that to him.
Then he looked at me and said, Ryan, if I don't believe in myself, nobody's gonna believe me. Exactly. Yeah. And, you know, it's so very true that even if your, like, even if your art doesn't resonate with somebody, there's gotta be somebody out there that it resonates with wholeheartedly. No. I mean, I it's it's like I said earlier. You know? How many billions of people are on the planet? Yep. You know? I mean, there's there's enough market share for everybody. Yeah. I mean, absolutely.
Yeah. And and, you know, I've I've met some authors that they write things that, personally, I'm not real into. I'm not a huge fan of, like, splatterpunk or or, like, gore focused horror. I it's just it's just not for me, You know? But that doesn't mean that, you know, the folks that are out there writing it it it there's not an audience for them. There absolutely is.
I mean, I was really kinda surprised to discover how large an audience there was and and what a following some of these guys actually had. Yeah. Yeah. No. That's, you know, that's totally, that's totally true. Again, you don't know you don't know until you know. Well, and there I don't see a reason to snub anybody that's out there work you know, anybody that's out there on their grind, on their hustle, and, you know, they're they're sticking with it. Those people deserve support.
They they they've earned some, you know, little bit of help, little bit of attention. You know? And, those artists that that really believe in themselves, they don't quit until they get it, which that's also a beautiful thing to see. Because it's because it's because it I'm sorry. Go ahead. No. No. No. No. You go ahead. There's a a musician that I follow. I'm I'm, one of maybe 600 people that that follow this guy that the name of the group is Jane. I'm a give him a little shout out.
He's fantastic. Guy just keeps at it. Doesn't quit. You know? I yesterday, I got notifications that he opt out 3 more songs. And, you know, go go go. You know, don't stop. Don't stop. Keep keep at it. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's kind of a perfect segue to to, talk about what I what else I wanted to ask you about. One of the things just speaking of the craft of writing here. One of the things I've always admired about you is that you have said that you write upwards of 10,000 words a day.
Now that has always been just kinda mind blowing for me because I feel like I overthink and craft so much of what I write that it ends up being just kinda paralyzing me sometimes, and I'm just staring at a blinking cursor for an hour. And you what what does that practice for you? Help to open up for your stories because, Amy, obviously, all 10,000 words are not gonna be good, but what does that open up for you? Well, I I'll say that it's not all golden. You know? I mean, it's it's really not.
But and it's it's also not every day I'm I'm producing that kind of material. Lately, I've been, you know, trying to market this book, and there hasn't been, a lot of time for writing, which I'm missing. I I I wanna get back to it. I've I've got stories buzzing around that, you know, they won't leave me alone. But it might be, you know, 5,000 words here, and then 2,000 words on something else, and then, you know, 3,000 words. So, you know, it it it yeah.
I jump around, you know, from like, if I'm not feeling one story, then, you know, I'll go to something else. I write several at a time. And and I do that really just to keep myself motivated. You know, like I said, it's not it's not all golden. I could tell you. My my first my first book that I wrote, I I haven't published it. I probably never will. My first book is a sort of a memoir. But there's a lot of stuff that, you know, if I don't make up, I just outright lie about.
But as I'm as I'm rolling through the story, it was pointed out to me, I used the word that over and over and over and over and over and over. Just oh, it was terrible. It was terrible. You know? And that's that's just writing and getting it out and not reading what you're doing or paying attention to what's happening. And then, you know, my my wife my ex wife, now, she was she was reading, and and she looked up at me, and she started reading out loud. Just like that that that that that that.
Okay. Yeah. Point taken, hon. Yeah. So I'm I'm I I'm much more aware now of, my crutch words, and I try to avoid them. But, you know, there's there's times when you just need to get it out, you know. And and and that's what I do, you know. I mean, I, when I'm writing, when I'm when I'm into it, it's a it's a movie that plays in my head. And I'm watching the film and I'm trying to record what I see just as fast as I can. And I'm trying to catch all the details and it doesn't always happen.
And sometimes you need to use a bunch of that just to get through the scene so you you get everything, captured that you that you wanna get a hold of. But then you go back and you fix it. You know? I mean, I I I'm merciless when it comes to that too. When it when it comes to editing, especially my own stuff, you know, I've been known to delete 5,000 word chunks. You know, I've been known to to just like, this is awful. I'm cutting this whole bit.
I I I got a a vampire story that I rewrote the beginning of it. And when I say the beginning, I mean, the first 80 pages or so. I've rewritten that beginning 7 times now. And I'm finally happy with where it's at. You know? But I mean, it's it's like I said, it's not all bolder. You know? You you put something down and, you know, you might come back and look at it. And I find that time is also, something that helps, you know, having time between projects.
So you come back and and look at an older project and and be like, no. This is just no. You know? Or you might come back and and look and be like, this is amazing. You know? I'm brilliant. Indeed. Indeed. Indeed. You might find that you might find that, like, 1 or 2 paragraphs that are like, okay. Most of this sucks, but these two paragraphs, I can really expand. You know?
And and you might come across something like that where where, you know, from a couple paragraphs spawns a whole new something else. Indeed. Indeed. You know, as you as you were sharing that, I I flashed on one of my favorite stories from, as from, the, the memoir from, Greg Alton. When he first when he first came to the 1st Almond Brothers band rehearsal, Dwayne wanted him to bring, you know, bring some songs for them for them to work up, some original material.
And that I think he brought, like, 12 to 15 songs, something like that. Most of them were like, no. This stinks. Let's move on. No. This stinks. Let's move on. But they ended up using 2 that ended up, hey. This has got potential. And those songs ended up becoming, honestly, my 2 favorite songs off of their debut album, Whipping Post and Dreams. So there's you know, like you say, they're not all gonna be gold, but there is gonna be gold in, you know, in amongst the, you know, in amongst the dirt.
Yeah. It it it hidden in the hatch and trash, you know, you might find something worth keeping. Absolutely. You know, it it happens. Yeah. You know, the the thing is, don't be so critical of yourself. You know, when you're especially when you're behind the keyboard and you're, you know, you're putting the the the thoughts down. Don't don't overthink it. You know what I mean? I know lots of writers that that just you know, they'll write a sentence and then they'll no. No.
No. No. Let me go back and fix that. And then they'll, you know, change a few words. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Let me go back and and well, just write the scene. Just just do the scene, get it done, and then go back and and put the shine on. You know? I mean, we especially as an indie writer, you know, I don't really have deadlines right now. You know, I can I can shine up a project all I want to? You know, I can I can find my, beta readers and see what they think?
And, I know an absolutely brilliant editor in West Virginia, and she is ruthless, but she is marvelous. You know, I hey, Chelsea. What do you think about this? Yeah. I mean, you you'll have time to polish is the point. You know? I mean, don't don't be so hard on yourself. Yeah. Because you can you can overthink yourself out of gold. You can overthink yourself out of magic. And that's a total note to self as Ryan, the writer here.
You can totally overthink yourself out of just really finding gold in something that you didn't think was possible. And and and you can you can absolutely kill that vibe too. Yes. You know, that that Absolutely. Mood, that rhythm that you need to get into as a writer. That that's, I have a mechanical keyboard. And I have a mechanical keyboard instead of a membrane because I love the rich, clackety, springy keys.
And as you're rolling along and you get those clacks rolling and it's clicking, you just get into this rhythm and oh, it's beautiful. It's it's zen like. Yeah. Zen like. I like that. Well, let's give gears and talk about the lodge a little bit. This little little thing that you've got coming out today, tell us a little bit about that. What, what's that all about? Well, it it it came about. I was taking my children to school, and, we drove by this old, dilapidated bed and breakfast.
The sign out front said Maple Lodge. You know, the the porch was rotten and sagging, and the building was just old. And, I mean, there's a carriage house. It's scary looking. You know? And I I thought to myself driving by, it was like, it looks like the devil's bedding breakfast. And poof. Story born. You know? And I I I dropped the kids off, and I I I came home. And I started to write, and it it was just it was all there waiting on me. You know?
And I I had to rush back out because I got into that zone, And the next thing I knew, it was time to go pick the kids up from school. And and I had to to hustle back out the door. So we got there. It was fine. It was fine. Oh, good. But, this this is a story, in a a fanciful version of the town that that I live in. You know, Stephen King has his Castle Rock.
I I have Summit Valley, you know, and and the people that live in this area will will absolutely, recognize some of the landmarks and some of the roads and, you know, they there's little Easter eggs in for the locals, you know, just, you know, giving down Southwest Virginia some love. Yep. So but this, this town is built around the lodge. The lodge is built around this fireplace. The fireplace is the gateway to hell.
And this demon has crawled out of the gateway and has turned the town into his larder, if you will. And for several 100 years, everything is under control, and he's the boss, and everybody knows that, you know, don't mess with Solomon. You know, bad things happen at the Maple Lodge. And then Solomon meets a, black widow on the run. Her name is is Shirley, and Shirley is a just complete psychopath, completely beyond anything he can possibly hope to control.
And being Solomon, he attempts to control her, and that's when he starts to lose his grip on the town. You know, all the things that that he kept to I don't wanna I don't wanna give too much away. Of course not. But We have people to buy it. As a he loses control, things began happening. People began rebelling. They stop listening to him, And, it's a wild ride. It's a lot of fun.
Like I said, I don't want I don't wanna get I could really, really just go on for hours and and just give the whole book away, and I try not to do that. But but the story is basically, between the dynamic between Shirley and Solomon and how that affects Solomon and the town. And I've got a light going absolutely berserk over here. I don't know if you can see the flickering. Yeah. We can we can certainly pick that up. Maybe that's what may maybe that's all of them. It could be, I guess.
Yeah. Yeah. I just tried to tighten the light bulb, and it it didn't wanna work. So it's gonna it's gonna strobe at me. I don't wanna get up and turn it off. Oh. I guess we'll suffer through. Is it bad? I can't really tell on my No. No. We're fine. We're fine. We're fine. Yeah. No. Definitely definitely, it's it's definitely a vibe. It's definitely a vibe. There's a, you know, there's it's not it's not too blood and gutsy, but it also there's also some element there that just it kinda has to be.
Well, I I I try to mix in a fair amount of humor, because if it's just intense, gore, scary, monster, bad things over, and there's there's nothing to lighten the mood, That to me, that that seems like it'd be kind of an oppressive read. Yeah. You know? I mean, I I I appreciate, you know, a little bit of humor here and there, even if it's dark hue. You know? And there's there's some dark humor in it. But I I think that that there's a nice balance between fun and scary.
You know, it, is it gonna be accepted into the great canon of literature? No. It's not. It's popcorn. It's fun. You know, a good beach read, a good, you know, break from from really the scary that we deal with every day. You know? And and and, you know, I said it's it's it's popcorn, but, you know, people like popcorn. Indeed. Indeed. Their popcorn is popcorn is fine until that stuff gets stuck in your teeth. Yeah. Well, hopefully, that doesn't happen. You know? No. Let's let's hope not.
Let's hope not. Well, I know you've been working on this for really as long as I've known you. And just to really see this come to fruition like this, it you know, it must you must be really proud of just where the where this thing has come and how, and how it's been received even our you know, even in early previews. Yeah. We we're getting a fairly, positive reviews from our advanced reader copies our advanced readers rather. You know, I'm averaging 4 stars out of 5. I can live with that.
I'm proud of it. It's it's an absolute dream come true to be able to call myself, not just a writer anymore, but a novelist and an author. You know what I mean? That that's huge. You know what I mean? That's that's a a lifelong goal that's been met. It's it's incredible. And I'm so grateful to, Patrick and and all the good folks out at Wicked House Publishing. You know, my my fellow authors there that, you know, have helped given me encouragement and and, you know, we keep each other rolling.
You know? We we I mean, imposter syndrome is a real thing, And and it's good to have people around to say, you know, it's this is not imposter syndrome. You're good at what you do, and and your story should be out there. Mean, that's, as an artist, you can't hear anything better than that. You really can't. You really can't. And how can people find the find the copy of it today? Let me see. We're on Amazon. Physical copies will be available, I think, a week after. So so next week, sometime.
Let me see. Due to today's the 28th. So probably around 4th of next month, we'll have physical copies ready, and they'll be, really anywhere you wanna buy books. Beautiful. Amazon, Kindle. I I'm working to get it into the borders, or the Barnes and Noble here. You know, and and, as there's more demand for it, you know, I mean, we can we can put in more places, but, you know, I've got lots of little bookstores all across the country that are that are waiting for which is just mind blowing.
Absolutely mind blowing. Got it. This still gotta be surreal. It is. It is. And a girl in Canada asked me if I could send her a signed copy, and that's the first time anyone has asked me for an autograph. You know, like, outside of friends and family. You know? I'm just a just a stranger. And he's can I please have a signed copy? Wow. Sure. That's Yeah. Yeah. That's So one way or another, I'm I'm gonna get that lady a book. Absolutely. Absolutely.
And, you know, when it when you're, you know, when you're trying to establish yourself as an artist, as an author in this world, it's those little moments that you hold onto and never let go. So that that's gotta be fun. Well, those those are the ones you have to hold on to. Because there's, there's plenty of naysayers out there. There's plenty of folks out there that won't believe you or think you can't or you're not capable or whatever. You know, which you gotta you gotta hold in your heart.
I can do this. I'm gonna do this. This is this is what's happening. You know, I'm gonna put this song out. I'm gonna put this book out. I'm gonna get this story printed. I'm gonna do this thing that, you know, I'm gonna get this role in the play or or a part of the movie or whatever. I'm gonna do this thing they say can't be done. And and do it. Enjoy it. Love it every second. You know? And all those folks that said, no. You can't. You're not capable. They'll come around Or they won't.
And, you know, now we don't. There you go. It's like a mentor of mine once said, why not you? And and and that's the attitude you gotta keep. Why not you? You know? You can do it. I can do it. And all the rest of you folks out there that that want to. Have that voice. Have that drive. You can do it too. Well, this has been a fun conversation, my friend. Again, the lodge is out today. You can get it on Amazon or wherever you can find books. Jeremy Eads, it's been a pleasure, man.
Thank you so much for joining us. And I just gotta say, this has been my first podcast, and it has been an absolute delight. Thank you, Ryan. My pleasure. And that'll do it for this episode of the solar powered podcast, a presentation of Royal Hearts Media. More information about Royal Hearts Media, just go to my new website, royal heartsmedia.com.
Follow me on the social media machine at ryanhallrights on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or you just shoot me a good old fashioned email at royal hearts [email protected]. That'll do it for this episode. When we meet again, this is Ryan Hall saying thanks for what thanks for watching. Thanks for listening, and so long for now, and go get solar powered.