Do You Have a Story in You? Yes is the answer.

Last week was a sweet week for a couple of reasons. I just released two new books on the creative process — 

Hey, Writer. 

And Hey, Songwriter. 

They're creative guides for anyone (experienced or inexperienced) who has a story, a song, or an idea living inside them that hasn't been birthed into the world yet. Who doesn't? Not because the talent or the idea wasn't there — but because nobody told you it can be done. 

It can be done. 

Or maybe life got in the way, as it does. Or fear. Or you're experienced as a writer, but lost the spark and joy somewhere along the way (asking for a friend).

How do I know your idea can come to life? That’s the crux of this post.

Last week when I  launched the books, Understanding Ken — a novel I wrote sometime in the Jurassic period — hit #1 Amazon Bestseller in Hockey. 

I didn't plan that at all. I wish I could.

But it turns out to be perfect. Understanding Ken is the proof of concept behind everything I wrote in the Hey books. In my early twenties, I had no idea there was a novel in me. Or music. Or screenplays. Or films. I was bumbling my way through life (still am). 

Then one day I just... started.

And that's the whole point. In Hey Writer, Anthony Hopkins says this about the artistic process: “Acting to me is a kind of confidence trick. Art and writing are the same. You have to con yourself into doing it and it transmits over the resistance of thought and worry and anxiety. Just do it. And your brain says: good.”

I met Anthony and he told me he loved Facing Ali, a documentary I wrote and directed. So I have to believe him. Of course, what he says is true. Nothing gets a person over the fear of doing more than doing.

If you or you know someone who has a desire to create more, one or both of these books will help a lot.

If you do pick up a copy, a review on Amazon means everything for an independent book — it's how the words find their way to new readers.

Check them out… 

Hey, Writer — https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0H29C9QRV

Hey, Songwriter — https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0H2FCCCY1

Some of you I know well. And I want you to know — if you feel that creative tug, it's real. Your story is worth telling.

Hope to see you down the creative road.

Pete

SHARK! Where? BC! What...?

A 16-foot female Great White shark named ‘Kara’ has been tracked winding its way through British Columbia waters (cue JAWS theme). Cover the pool! Drain the bathtub! Call the kids in!

In honour and awe of her large arrival, I offer a video I recorded for writers and non-writers about the magic of JAWS and the miracle of resilience.

Full disclosure, I was a shark fanatic in the '70s. Childhood fanaticism is a pure joy, hard to find in adulthood. Anyone else fanatical about stuff when you were a kid?

Click on the photo:

A Marketing Whiz I am not... but...

I’ve never self-marketed a book before, or anything else. I’ve never launched a book in 2026 before, either. I’m more adept at watching the world with concern, second-guessing myself, and throwing ideas to the wind.

But amid all the weird sales graphs, ads, algorithm noise, and small mysteries of a book launch, something lovely and unexpected happened. As sales for My Last Friends on Earth picked up, readers have been finding my earlier novel Understanding Ken again—and picking it up.

Bonus! (another bonus - this is an update (April 209) - My Last Friends On Earth went #1 Bestseller in eBooks on Amazon. That was a surprise.

If you came for three kids fighting an empire in the future—and enjoyed the ride—there’s another kid, about 150 years earlier, dealing with divorce, confusion, and growing up in the 1970s.

Two different stories. Same real questions.

How do you fight for what’s right—without becoming the hate you're fighting?

How do you forgive yourself for mistakes?

How do you keep joy while figuring things out?

Those questions feel very real for me these days.

If you’ve read either of these books, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

More to come, god-willing

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