New Book Cover for RoA Now Live!

I've received the new cover from my artist, and it's now live! Check it out!

Series Updates!

Just putting an update out there about my projects. Rift of Askrah Book 2: Shatter has now entered the editing phase! I'm going to let the completed draft sit for a while, and then get started. I'm also in talks with an an artist, John Ward (http://www.50dollarcovers.com/), to have a new cover made for Rift of Askrah Book 1: Fracture. Hopefully I'll also be able to commission the cover for Book 2 shortly after.

As for Into the Devil's Eden, the draft of Book 1 is about 75% of the way completed. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it just before I begin editing RoA Book 2. I've been contemplating holding onto this series until I've written all the books, but that's just an idea at the moment.

There will be more to come, so follow for future updates!

Interview With Suddenly Books

Today I'm featured in an interview I did with Erika over at Suddenly Books, talking a bit about me and my book. You can check out the interview here.

Tomorrow I'll be making another appearance in a guest blog I wrote for her website. I hope you'll stop by, and check them both out. Thanks again to Erika for interviewing me!

Suddenly Books

A Post By The Authors At Four-Moons Press

Today I'm bringing some content from other writers. Eric Zawadzki and Mathew Schick are the joint authors of Kingmaker, a fantasy novel currently available for sale. You can find the links at the bottom of this post, or learn more about it on their blog, Four-Moons Press. Today, their blog is also featuring a post by me about the types of ruling parties found within my own fantasy novel, Rift of Askrah Book 1: Fracture. You can find that post here.

The post below is from these writers. It hits on points many writers, and even anyone really, can appreciate. Enjoy the post, and be sure to check them out.

Out of Our Heads, Out of the House

Writing is often a lonely pursuit requiring countless hours typing away in a room with no human interaction. After a few hundred hours of work, a rough draft emerges, which feels great but is only the beginning. Rough drafts are not fit for human consumption – like a bushel of mown wheat. Letting someone read a second or third draft is not much of an improvement. It is approximately equivalent of giving them five pounds of flour or a pan filled with uncooked bread dough. They’ll eventually become nourishing and delicious food, but they’re not ready for the dinner party, yet. Maybe by the fourth draft I feel comfortable letting a few select people (beta readers) look at it. Everyone else has to wait for the sixth (or higher) draft, whichever one Matt and I can reasonably consider finished – baked to a golden brown.

Why on Earth would an extrovert like me spend a thousand hours or more in a room alone?

The process of writing is a necessary step in a form of communication that demands an incredible amount of time and energy to execute. I’m not some kind of born storyteller who can improvise some kind of incredible story at a moment’s notice. Oh I do alright in face-to-face interactions, but all my dialogue is rough draft material. A nugget of awesome here and there with way too much filler and random stumbles to make me feel like I’m actually doing a good job of engaging my audience. I know people who are amazing storytellers (my wife, for example). They can retell a story I’ve heard a hundred times, and it is always fun to listen to. If anything, they refine the story with each retelling, polishing it until it fits together like a clockwork device.

The more I retell a story, the less likely I am to include the details that make it sensical. I really can’t explain it. Maybe I kind of get bored with the story and don’t put enough energy into it. Perhaps I’m afraid that I’m monopolizing the conversation because I used to have serious problems with that, so I’d rather throw in a brief few lines and yield the floor to someone else.

Put me in front of a computer, though, and all of that hesitation melts away. Sure, I may spend an hour composing an email or forum post, but it is my time to spend, and it only takes a minute or two to read. My Internet posts are probably only second draft material, but that sure beats the meandering first drafts that come out of my mouth every day. I can be so much more precise, so much more eloquent in writing. Sometimes I can even be more interesting or more amusing than I am in real life.

I love communicating in writing. Sure, the written word lacks body language and tone of voice. You can’t correct a minor misstep mid-story, either. But writing scores over the spoken word in some important ways. First, if I’m willing to spend the time to rewrite, revise, and edit, I can greatly improve upon the way I express an idea. Second, if I put in that extra work, every person who reads it will receive the best retelling of the story I can give it. Third, the potential size of the story’s audience is not limited to people I meet in the flesh; in fact, it is theoretically infinite.

A book on a shelf is like a storyteller standing at the front of the room. Given the opportunity, it will tell the reader a story lasting many hours. The tale flows from author to reader, but communication is never intended to be one-way. Each reader brings his experiences and interpretations to the text.

After so many years of this story floating around in our heads, growing like a seed, Kingmaker is on the loose. It is in the wild – like an email already sent, a forum post already read, or spoken words we can no longer take back. We have taken care to craft it into something we’re content to let out of the house, though.

As early readers finish reading Kingmaker, I’m starting to see that flow of communication reverse. People are asking us questions and starting conversations with me about what they read. Some think I should know all the answers, not realizing how much a world and its characters can take on lives of their own. Others float theories and participate (perhaps unwittingly) in the creative process of writing the sequel.

Thus beginning the cycle anew.

You can learn more about these authors or their book Kingmaker at the following websites:

Amazon

Smashwords

B&N Nook

Four-Moons Press

Status Check: Rift of Askrah Book 2: Shatter

Just wanted to post an update about the next book in the Rift of Askrah series. Book 2: Shatter is currently past the halfway mark in the initial write through. I'm still trying to figure out the cover situation though. I did the cover for Book 1: Fracture, but I'm not getting anything out of my own designs this time. Once I figure it out though, I will update with the cover.

I've also written the product description for Book 2, and you can find it here

If you haven't read book 1 yet, you can check it out here

25 Days of Twisted

Last night I confirmed with another blogger, Rachel, who runs a blog called Enchanted, that I will be participating in an event she is setting up to run through this month called "25 Days of Twisted." Each day will have an author who writes in a Halloween-friendly genre (fantasy, sci-fi, thrillers, etc.), making a post about whatever they wish.

My post will contain information about Rift of Askrah Book 1: Fracture, the first book in my fantasy series. I also talk about the writing process, and give my words of advice to other writers. My article will post on the 28th, but I encourage visitors to head over to Rachel's blog using the link above, and read the posts written by other authors throughout this month.

I'd like to thank Rachel for this opportunity, and look forward to my guest post on the 28th of October.

Rift of Askrah Book 1: Fracture - Showcased on a Few Different Sites

I noticed today that my book was featured on a few sites, and I didn't notice they had posted. Here are some links to them.

Indie Snippets - A website that features a snippet from books.

Indie Books Blog - Features interviews with indie authors

Thanks to both of these websites for featuring me!