In 2013, Robert Stanek’s 150th book was published. If asked, Robert Stanek would tell you that it has been some journey. He didn’t start out knowing he would be successful, but he had a dream, a vision, and a destination in mind. Still, the road he traveled certainly wasn’t without its potholes and off ramps. He started out as a guy who loved technology and writing almost as much as breathing. And, on the rare occasions when he wasn’t working or studying, he was with my wife and kids in the great outdoors—swimming, hiking, biking, and wandering about in the real depth of it.

His trip down the road to Book #150 began very early in life. For this article though, let’s start with the genesis behind his first professionally published book. The year was 1994. At the time, he was working full-time in the United States Air Force and taking a full-time course load while trying to earn his Master’s degree. He had just earned his bachelor’s degree in May after three years of taking a full class load while also working rotating shifts for his job in the military.

After having been unsuccessful in prior attempts to break into publishing with his fiction, he was elated to be on the road to having a published book to his credit. By the time he wrote Electronic Publishing Unleashed, gathered contributions from colleagues, and the book was published in 1995, the book was about a 1000 pages long. It was his first published book, and it became the book that defined electronic and digital publishing for a generation of readers. Within days of publication, he was already writing the sequel, a book called Web Publishing Unleashed (Sams Publishing, 1996), which became one of the seminal early books on the topic of publishing on the World Wide Web. The huge success of those books lead to more book contracts with the same publisher and had a large impact on his decision to leave the military in June 1996.

In 1997, he wrote a little book about Web promotion. The book talked about silly stuff like how to get your Web page listed on Cool Site lists, how to use giveaways like free t-shirts to get visitors to your site, and how to register with search engines. That silly little book became one of the most talked about Web promotion books of its time, earning Robert Stanek radio and newspaper interviews, and eventually becoming the largest seller for its little publisher, Prima. The book was even mentioned and quoted by Donald Trump in his business books.

A year later, in 1998, he tried to move to full-time consulting in Internet and Web technology areas, but the promise of a new series that he could shape and make his own brought him back to the world of technology writing. The series was Administrator’s Pocket Consultant. His trademark style helped establish the series and was so successful that he became its sole author for a time. However, a strong desire to help shape Internet business brought him back to the tech industry for several short periods during 1999, 2000, and 2001.

This “transition period” was a difficult time for Robert Stanek and his family. He suffered a series of setbacks both personal and professional. Adding to those difficulties were my efforts to launch a career as a fiction writer. Finally, in 2002, he followed the successful publication of his first fiction book with a series of successes in technical writing and these combined successes helped to establish him as both a fiction writer and a nonfiction writer.

Fast forward to 2013, a year when his 150th book will be published, and you’ll find the same guy—the guy who loves technology and writing, his family, and the outdoors—only now he’s a little older, a little grayer, and a little more sensible (but no less determined and no less exuberant when it comes to doing what he loves).

The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches #1
Unleash the power of your imagination and enter a world you've never dreamed existed. Best-selling author Robert Stanek delivers an epic fantasy adventure that will open your mind and your heart. After the Great War that divided the peoples, the kingdoms of men plunged into a Dark Age that lasted 500 years. To heal the lands and restore the light, the great kings decreed that magic and all that is magical, be it creature, man, or device, shall be cleansed to dust. The cleansing raged for so long that no human could recall a time without it and it is in this time that the Dark Lord Sathar returned from the dark beyond. The one hope of the peoples of Ruin Mist was Queen Mother, the elf queen of old. She saw a way out of everlasting darkness, a path that required the union of the divided peoples. And so it began.

The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches #2
The epic adventure continues! Perfect for the young and the young at heart, The Kingdoms and The Elves Of The Reaches Book II is a refreshingly unique fantastic adventure where its only limits are the limits of your imagination. Inside, you'll discover the breathtaking world of Ruin Mist where the mystical and the magical abound, and you'll fall in love with three heroes: a boy who would become a mage, a princess who is fleeing a dying kingdom, and a warrior elf who undertakes an epic journey.

The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches #3
Adrina, Emel, Vilmos, Galan, and Seth face even greater challenges as their world is transformed. Vilmos, in his quest to become the first human magus in a thousand years, must control the darkness within him. Adrina must accept her place and work together with Emel to help the elves make their plea to Great Kingdom's council. What happens will amaze you.
 

The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches #4
To turn back the tides of war, Queen Mother sent her most trusted warriors on a perilous journey across the Great Sea. But the elves were betrayed by one of their own. Only a handful survived the ambush that followed, only two reached the far shores. But they did not find quick allies. They found a kingdom under siege and a shattered alliance. For their support, the elves were granted an audience with the king. Yet great deeds could not undo the past, or change the prejudice of men.

In the Service of Dragons #1
The elves returned from exile, bringing grave news. War came to the Kingdoms. Many perished in the turmoil and unrest. An attempt was made to kidnap a princess and assassinate a king. Now, from the ancient past, a dark power returns. "The Fourth Wind blows across the mountain tops", they say. And the Twelve Clans emerge from myth and memory. Bold, inventive, brilliantly imagined, In the Service of Dragons is a novel of magic and wonder, a tale of pure excitement you will not soon forget.

In the Service of Dragons #2
As prophecy becomes reality, the factions struggle for control, only to further divide the lands. Some would say that King Andrew Alder foolishly agreed to support the Elves of the Reaches, sending men to aid their cause when the causes of all men in all lands were being put to the test of steel. And in the North, men back their words with action. Against a backdrop of treachery and intrigue, murder and mayhem, the price of freedom is high. Many will pay with their lives. Many will succumb. For when alliances shatter, old hatreds rise anew and the plotting and scheming begin.

In the Service of Dragons #3
A dark shadow has been cast across the known lands. War sweeps through the divided nations of men and elves. There is great despair for the future of men, for if the greatest of all kingdoms can fail there can be no hope in tomorrow's tomorrow for any man in any land. Yet there is deeper despair amongst the elven peoples where for the first time in recorded history the elves of the West and East are at war with each other.

In the Service of Dragons #4
There can be no doubt that an enemy king has extended his reach and taken the prize he so coveted. Yet the thing he prized above all else, the thing that spurned him, has escaped his grasp. Other things have escaped his grasp as well. In those things lies the hope for a future without tyranny: a hope for the peoples of Ruin Mist; and to win freedom is to win the future for everyone and everything.