I couldn’t attend last years HEPL (that’s Hamilton East Public Library for anyone wondering) local author fair due to being on an admittedly fantastic vacation to East Asia. For this year’s, however, I have no such conflict, so I’m happy to announce that I will once again be attending! You can find a link with details below. Come check it out and meet/talk to me as well as 50+ other authors of works ranging from sci-fi, to horror, to children’s books! I’ll be signing copies and selling prints of my cover art as well!
I Guess Practice Really Does Make Perfect (or at least better)
Pouring pretty much all of my free time into editing book two, Time’s Continuum, is really paying off it seems. Editing is going way faster than I was expecting, so I’m already about 70 pages deep (17% or so since it’s longer than the first book). I’m sure things are going to slow down as I hit the sections that have some more substantial changes that came to mind since finishing the first draft, but still, it’s been really encouraging not to get bogged down. If I keep up a similar pace, hopefully I’ll have a second, finalish, draft done by the summer. Fortunately, I have friends, family, and fellow writers to help me polish things up from there.
On a different note, starting this morning I notice way more people than usual subscribing. If you don’t mind me asking, I’m curious how you guys stumbled upon my humble little blog? Feel free to leave a comment. No matter the reason, though, I’m super excited to have you!
Go Read Alextheshadowgirl’s site and review of Time’s Bridge!
Check out Alextheshadowgirl’s site and her review of Time’s Bridge! Earning a 4/5, I’m sure I can get that coveted fifth start with book two!
Indie Spotlight and Check out Bonnie Reads and Writes
Bonnie over at Bonnie Reads and Writes was nice enough to put together a indie author spotlight for me! Go check it out and click around her site for other great reads and fun blurbs while you’re at it.
Happy Appreciate a Dragon Day 2024!
Just a reminder to all of you dragon lovers out there that it’s appreciate a dragon day! Remember to celebrate! We’re getting Chinese for dinner personally 🙂
My New and Improved eBook is Free Today!
Just a really quick post to let people know that my updated and much improved ebook when it comes to reading on Kindle Paperwhite’s and the ilk is free today! Go check it out!
A New Year, a New Chance to Make It Big
Having gone through multiple revisions of the supplement I’ve been working on since finishing the first draft in September, I’m getting dangerously close to releasing it to the world. The only thing left is one last go over and to square away a few illustrations (that’s right there’s pictures) and the cover. Once that’s done in the next couple of months hopefully, I can put it up on KDP/send it out for review to family and friends as well as the more general reviewer community.
That’s not all, though. Speaking of reviews, I’ve put in quite a bit of work on giving my book a new look and making it work properly on eBooks. Using the fantastic piece I had done by Haley Moore, I updated Time’s Bridge’s cover, and I must admit, while the original was quite good, this new one certainly has more impact. That besides, to get the eBook working, and with it’s annoying limitations, I had to change Volucer’s speech to be in italics versus another font. However, the upside is definitely worth it since its now reflowable and will dynamically adjust the words on the screen like most eBooks. Weirdly this endeavor required uploading an entirely new book and so at the moment the eBook is separate from the physical copies and has no reviews or ratings, but Amazon said it should link automatically in the next couple of days. Here’s hoping.
If all goes to plan, granted things never do, I should be working on revising book two by March or April. The supplement has been a blast to do, but it will be good to get back into the main story and continue writing about Volucer’s adventures and exploits.
Done and Dusted; Supplement Draft One Complete
Over the past few months, I’ve been hard at work putting together the first draft of the supplemental piece that takes place between book one and two of the series. A much different style than the primary parts of the series, I’m planning on including numerous charts and illustrations to complement what I wrote. Unfortunately, those aren’t done yet, but like the first book’s cover, my wife will be helping bring those to life. Only a few dozen pages as compared to the hundreds of the main novels, it was a joy to write and hopefully a joy to read. I’m thinking I’ll post a snippet here soon, but I definitely need some friends and family to give it a read first. I never seem to get the grammar quite right on my first attempt.
For now, though, I’m planning to take a bit of a break before going back over the supplement to create something ready for prime time. I had originally hoped to get book two out by years end, but its looking more likely that the supplement will be taking its place. Still an achievement, but a bit disappointing notheless. In either case, it might be another while before I post, so if I forget, have a good Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!
A Boy and His Artificially Intelligent AI Dragon
Here it is! Pons and Volucer in the flesh thanks to Haley Ennis (Instagram @haleyennis_art)! I’m so happy with how it turned out! On top of this, I also got to the end of the climax and have started on the falling action and the conclusion to book two. When it comes to Time’s Bridge, it’s been a pretty great couple of weeks. Of course, there’s still the matter of finding a permanent place that’s easy to find. I guess it’s time to start a gallery!
More Writing and My First Concept Art!!
First off, I’ve finally gotten to the part of the climax I’ve had in the back of my head for probably three years! Not to spoil it, but it involves a celestial body we’re all very familiar with. I’ve been struggling to get the right feeling for the scene, and I haven’t been sure where I wanted to take things, but, as I’m writing this an idea just popped into my head. I should do this a bit more often, haha. Having sworn enemies be forced to work together because of dire circumstances is somewhat of a classic, but I think I can put a pretty entertaining spin on it.
Besides writing, though, I’ve actually been working with a local artist for several months to get a piece of artwork done. Her name is Haley Ennis (Instagram @haleyennis_art), and she’s been a joy to work with and a fount of good ideas! She still has a few finishing touches to put on the piece, and so has requested that I wait to post it, but I just love it so much, and am so stoked to have my characters brought to life that I wanted to mention it anyway. Of course, I’ll have to post it as soon as I have the final version in hand and find good permanent home for it here on my website, but I’ll worry about that later. Once I post it, I’m anxious to hear what everyone thinks!