Today we’d like to introduce you to James Metts
Hi James, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is James Sherwood Metts and I am the author of the book Planet Storyland. I had attempted to write about different subjects a few times before, but the inspiration wasn’t strong enough, so I never finished them. However, ten years ago I decided to write my answer to a question I had for quite some time. This was the type of question that you could provide an answer to. I know this for certain because the question asked how someone would think about how we live. However, my question would originate from a distance. My question was, what would a kid from another planet think about how we live? This question was inspiring because I had felt otherworldly from a young age. I had a lot of why questions while growing up. I had a lot of naive questions too. So, I believe I was uniquely qualified to answer that question. That question was not only inspiring it was motivational. I was motivated to answer the question properly. I would make sure that the answer was easy to understand, and it was the correct and complete answer. At first, I thought the question was simple and that it wouldn’t take me long. I was mistaken. Writing the answer to my question started out exciting. As time went on writing the answer to my question because frustrating. But as the years went by writing the challenge of writing the answer became more even exciting. Why? Because I could see that the end was near. The answer took a little over seven years and it required one hundred six pages of paper.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Again, at first, I thought my question was a simple one. Writing the answer was only smooth during the visualization process. I started one night by getting out a pen and paper, of course. I placed them on my nightstand and then laid back and closed my eyes. I thought about the question and then a scene appeared. I watched and listened for around fifteen minutes. I sat up and started writing down what I remembered. The next night I read what I had written and then laid back on my bed with my eyes closed and watched the scene playout from there. Then when I felt that I had seen enough I picked up my pen and paper and wrote down what I saw. This went on every night for a little over three weeks. Writing the rough draft was the smooth part.
The challenge began once I read the draft. There was so much to organize and explain. I figured out that I not only needed to read it silently, but out loud and sometimes listen to the computer read it aloud. Eventually, I enlisted the help of an editor. I was three years into writing my answer when my writing hit a roadblock. The editor reviewed my work for two weeks and I had a break from writing for two weeks. After my editor and I talked about my writing I was inspired again. Later I enlisted a proofreader and once my answer, my writing was complete, I enlisted someone to format it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have always looked for more fun and more interesting things to do from sunup to sundown every day for as long as I can remember. I was always excited about being alive and playing outside. My experiences are numerous and varied which led to my having a vivid imagination and an impressive sense of confidence. I was fifty-five though when I decided to focus on my life seriously by answering a question I had thought about for years. I wrote my answer on paper, and in the process, I began to understand what I was passionate about. For years what I had been thinking about and what I had talked about would finally amount to something significant and special. I became an author. I wrote the book titled, Planet Storyland, where I spell out the answer to that question.
While I was writing Planet Storyland, I experienced something magical. I learned a powerful truth. The truth I am referring to is not something that I made up. No. It’s a truth that is as old as history and it’s not taught, as a whole, in schools. This amazing truth is so simple that it can be summed up in one word. Promoting the good news surrounding that one word is what my book Planet Storyland and my developing career to inspire hope for a better future is all about.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I cannot say where the literature industry is going. I can only hope that there will be more honest literature and more imaginative writings to inspire us.
Pricing:
- The Planet Storyland paperback is $13.99
- The Planet Storyland ebook is $4.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://planetstoryland.com
- Instagram: @jamessmetts
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/james.metts.5?mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Twitter: @MettsSherwood
- Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Storyland-James-Sherwood-Metts/dp/1736128426
Image Credits
Michael Vallone is the illustrator for the front and back book cover.
