This is one of the word play podcast.

Because writing is one of those lucky 33rd episode of the Word Play Podcast.

Because writing is one of those lucky art forms that can be almost entirely self-taught,

I believe strongly in the importance of always increasing my knowledge about the craft.

I subscribe to the writer and Writers Digest

magazines just to make sure I always have some new information flowing into my

reading material and I'm always on the lookout for insightful books. Christmas

brought me a handful of exciting prospects including Orson Scott

Cards character and viewpoint which I'm already salivating over. If you're interested in reading

my list of recommended books on the craft, stop by my blog at wordplay-K-M-Y-L-A-N-D dot blog spot dot com, and look in the bottom of the left-hand column.

I'm constantly receiving queries about

when my books will be available in Kindle format. As of this week I'm excited to

announce that both a man called Outlaw and behold the Dawn have been released in Kindle in other e-reader formats.

If you'd like to download them, both can be found on Amazon and SmashWords.com for 699.

Meanwhile, enjoy this week's post. Are you called to be a writer?

Most of us write for simple reasons. We enjoy it. It gives us personal satisfaction and

fulfillment. Maybe it earns us a little money, or maybe even

a lot of money. For most of us, those reasons are good enough by themselves to justify our

pouring our time and thought and effort into what is largely a metaphysical pursuit.

But at one point or another in our commitment to writing,

we often can't help but wonder if this crazy passion is really worth our time. Is our talent and desire for writing a gift were meant to use? Or is it just a harmless hobby, something to pass the time that others might pass by remodeling classic cars or playing soccer. Is our writing just a fun

past time or is it a calling? Because fiction is largely seen as a venue of the

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