Folks, tonight at midnight, we(the wife and I) are taking a huge leap of faith. Life without the internet. Not completely, as still have one smartphone that is internet capable, but aside from that we’ll be an internet-free household. I’ll still be able to reply to folks who comment, email and tweet, though it will take a bit longer. I felt going internet-free would help with the writing, having drifted onto the internet(most authors do) when I should have been writing. Some nights, instead of putting in work on the laptop, I found myself online gaming. Unacceptable. My readers deserve the very best I have, and I plan to bring it. My wife has also pointed out my children’s growing need to use the internet/cable. Reading has taken a backseat in our house to children’s television and tablets connected to the internet. Also unacceptable. After talking it over, the wife and I both agree that we refuse to have teenagers one day that “can’t live without their smartphones”.
I’m not sure why I’m blogging this, honestly, it just seems like a huge step. Hopefully a leap into the right direction. A good friend of mine will be handling all of my online accounts(aside from Twitter), and I plan to begin video blogging at some point very soon. Just went out and grabbed a nice HD video camera, and the plan is to podcast whenever I can and then hand the camera over to James for upload. I’ll be writing(hoping for 10-15 pages a day) and when a book is finished, I’ll invade the local Barnes & Noble, hook to their Wi-Fi and upload it to every major publisher. It will give me a chance to go the bookstore more often.
In closing, I just want to say what a blessing writing has been to me thus far. I blindly jumped into the profession back in 2011 and honestly had no idea that I would still be doing it with success in 2014. Eight books, 52k followers and dozens of real friendships later, I feel proud to lay claim to three #2 books on the Amazon Kindle(scifi/steampunk). But my work is not done. I am not done. Getting onto the New York Times Bestseller List seems like a pipe dream to most, but not to me. I have a plan that includes never quitting, working my ass off each and every day and a belief that it CAN be done. A special thank you to the online friends I’ve made over the past few years(you guys and gals know who you are). Without your help, I wouldn’t be halfway to my goal. For every single author/aspiring author out there, I leave you with the single most important piece of advice in the world. The words that I live by daily and the words that have carried me when nothing else seemed to be going right.
Hard work beats talent, when talent refuses to work hard.
bookcommander.wordpress.com 
Going Internet free is tough in this day and age, especially as a writer. I applaud you sir! I used to take a week off and go camping in the mountains like a hermit just to get away from it all. My husband and I decided our future children won’t have a personal smart phone or laptop (unless school requires) until the age of 12 or 13. Just get them out of elementary school. Good luck!!