To ABNA or not to ABNA?

It's that time of the year again! The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest will be open for submissions on January 23rd.

In my opinion as a self-published author, getting into ABNA is the next step after NaNoEdMo, which of course follows NaNoWriMo. I'm not sure if I will enter the contest this year, because I don't have a novel anywhere near finished for January 23rd. Last year, I didn't get past round one, which is solely based on the pitch.

However, that's not to say I don't have the tools to get in the contest. I think over the last year I have received some good advice on writing book descriptions (i.e. focusing on the main character). Also, I am home until January 22nd, which gives me plenty of time to crank out the words I need. Quite frankly, I am thinking about working on The Book of Earth when I finish this post.

My fellow writers: Are you thinking about entering ABNA? If so, how do you feel about your pitch-writing skills?

Happy Writing!

A Change of Plans

As I write this post, I am sitting in my room/office in Springfield. I should be on my way to Florida right now, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the trip was cancelled.

Despite the circumstances, I had  an excellent Christmas. Santa was very generous to me, even giving me a camcorder for my new YouTube project. Since it won't have anything to do with Realms Quintessential, I set it up as a separate channel.

Speaking of Realms, I am getting back to The Book of Earth starting in January. I was working on Epic Sofa D this month, but between holidays and the story's complexity, I decided it was best to put it on the back burner for now.

Today's Question: How do you plan on getting back on track after the holidays? Leave your responses below.

Happy Reading!

Reading Day

Hello everybody,

Things are finally quieting down as far as schoolwork goes. It's finals week and I have two exams this week on Thursday and Friday. I also have a paper I need to finish today, for which I only need 400 more words. That shouldn't be too big of a task for a two-time NaNoWriMo winner.

I am excited to be going home soon. Originally, I thought I wouldn't be going back to Springfield until Monday, but one of my professors opened up the option to take the exam on Friday. I'm exercising that option so I can be home on Saturday morning, giving me ample time to wrap gifts.

I am perhaps even more excited about my plans for winter break. I am going to Florida with my family. We are taking a road trip like we did a few years ago, so I'll have to bring a few things with me to keep myself entertained. I know I'm bringing The Book of Earth with me to write, and probably Doctor Sax by Jack Kerouac to read. I'll probably bring my DSi along for the ride and work on my pokedex.

My question for my readers is: what are your plans for the holidays? Leave your responses in the comments below.

Happy Reading! 

Thank Goodness It's Over!

Hello everybody!

I am back after winning NaNoWriMo! Epic Sofa D crossed the finish line on the morning of the 30th, making for my second NaNoWin in a row!

As for NaNoEdMo (Ed short for Editing), I am continuing to work with Epic Sofa D. After December, I pass things off to my cover artist (open), my content editor (closed), and my technical editor (open). I am not putting a definite date on the novel yet, but it should be out sometime in 2012.

As for Realms Quintessential, I will get back to The Book of Earth in January. I only have 16K so far for word count, so I plan on wrapping it up NaNo-Style, then doing a similar thing where I edit during the following month.

If you are interested in sharing in the royalties for Epic Sofa D,  and you are interested in one of the open positions, email me at RealmsQE@gmail.com for details.

Happy Reading!

Bringing It In

Hello everybody,

We're halfway through November and also halfway through another NaNoWriMo! As mentioned before, I am working on a story separate from Realms QE, and it is titled Epic Sofa D.


Originally, I had intended for the story to be a story about a family lost in space. However, I got caught up in the whole superhero element of my story and the creative wheels kept spinning. I am over 26K now, which is great, but I drifted away from my original idea.

Things have also been very busy. Schoolwork is beginning to rise again as I head into another exam season, with a presentation and an exam at the end of this week. I also haven't been to the gym in a while and I'm starting to feel it. Perhaps I should make like my character and do some Karate? Ah, I'm sure a brisk walk will make me shake the feeling.

My point is that I need to start bringing things in, both with my novels and myself. I'm sure I'll find the energy and motivation to get this work done.

To those doing NaNo, good luck, and to everyone, Happy Reading!

Off to Space!

November is coming at full throttle, and NaNoWriMo is right around the corner.

 As I mentioned in my last post about the contest, I will be writing a novel separate from the Realms Quintessential series. It's tentatively titled Epic Sofa D and is a Sci-Fi comedy.

My strategy for day 1 (Tuesday) is to fill out my "Theme" booklet for Epic Sofa D. I recently attended a lecture by Lynda Barry  where she taught methods to increase creativity. Based on her methods, I made a small booklet out of a sheet of paper. On page 1, I made space for five themes. On the next five pages, I made spaces for ten images based on each of those themes. On November 1st, I will fill out the themes and images, and be well on my way to 50K!

If I'm successful in doing this, the prize this year from CreateSpace is five free paperback copies of a book. I will save this for The Book of Earth. The question is: do I save those for pre-orders, or do I make them contest copies? ;)

Happy Reading!

Look Here!

Yes! The Book Of Fire is back for Kindle!

I just uploaded it tonight, so it should be live again within the next day or two. The sample is still up on the "Books" page if you would like to try before you buy.

I am very excited to have this opportunity to entertain you. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

Happy Reading!

Prepping for NaNoWriMo

As October draws to a close, I am frequently reminded that it is almost time for NaNoWriMo once again. Last year, I used the contest to write The Book of Fire.

This year, I plan to use NaNoWriMo to take a break from the series, seeing as The Book of Earth is roughly halfway done. My idea for this year's contest is a space-themed action comedy based on a doodle I drew on a notebook last school year. Should I be successful in writing this novel in a month, I will use the free proof copy to print The Book of Earth,  as I plan for this novel to be exclusively for digital format.

Speaking of digital formats, The Book of Fire is undergoing a reformatting. The new edition will have an interactive table of contents. When this is done, you'll see a picture of what it looks like in my Kindle library! Very exciting times.

Happy Reading!

Four Dashes

Today, I want to talk about pauses.

The Book of Earth is still in progress. I am taking an approach where, during creative down times, I am typing my story into a document. In my notebook, I transition from chapter to chapter by using four dashes. As I type my story into the document, I use ----(This Format)----, where the thing in parentheses is what I want to build on.

This is also helpful because I've decided to join some chapters together. This will help vary the length of the chapters. So far, I've added another scene to the back story, some background, and a conference between my main party of characters. This will help boost word count and make for a more coherent story.

My question to my fellow writers today is: what do you do to expand on your works or to make them flow better? Please leave your answers in the comments below.

Happy Reading!

Frequency

I really need to post more frequently.

Anyways, I went home for Columbus Day weekend. Lately I've been in a creative slump, which means more of The Book of Earth has been typed than handwritten. While typing, I am trying to find a "jump-in point", somewhere I can put in new content and move the story along.

As for The Book of Fire, it has yet to get traction under its wheels. I did order some prints of my cover to hand out, and I also ordered a poster to replace the flier on my dorm room door.

My questions for my readers today are: Do you have a blog? What do you write about, and how often do you post? Do you think you post enough?

Leave your answers in the comments, and stay tuned for the next post.

Happy Reading!

Samples!

So you're at the grocery store, and a company has just come out with a new food product. One of either two things will happen: the store will have a booth for free samples, or you will have a coupon and you'll try it yourself.

This is the logic behind posting book samples on my "Books" page. If my readers like the free sample of The Book of Fire, they will want more of the story. From there they can go to Amazon or CreateSpace and pick up a copy of the first novel.

Also, a quick update on The Book of Earth. I took some advice from a friend of mine and began typing up my handwritten copy. The typed copy holds about 3,000 of the 15,000 written words. I also changed the expected release date on the books page from "TBA" to August 2012. If there are changes to that date, or if I zero in on a more exact date, you'll find out about it here.

Happy Reading!

Finding Time

Hey everyone! I think I have a solution to my scheduling thing from the last post.

I punched my schedule into Google calendar, all of my classes and forecasting time. Then I followed my school days with "Writing Hours" so give myself some time each day to work on my novels. This way, I'll have time to work on both my homework and my creative needs.

Speaking of writing hours, I am taking a page of advice from one of my friends. He suggested that if I can't think of an idea for my story, then I should start typing what I already have written (The Book of Earth is handwritten, compared to The Book of Fire, which was typed straight out). So far, I have the first chapter typed up and I came up with another idea for a scene in the chapter. I might plug in chapter two during writing time today.

Also, some good news on the social media front! The Twitter for Realms Quintessential now has over 100 followers. To celebrate, I made a "Thank You" card over on the Facebook page, and I also started distributing Createspace discount codes. To get $2.00 a copy of The Book of Fire, use the site and code below.

Site: http://bit.ly/rqe1

Code: CMTS6E3Z

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

ComicGate

Here is my no-confidence letter against my school's newspaper.

TL;DR: I wanted to be comics editor, I made comics strips, they say "No, the dead hamster has it."

Making comic strips with a hard science workload is difficult to do given my limited skill with graphics software, let alone do that and work on my novels. I am trying to keep organized, but I can only work on one thing at a time. Schoolwork first, novels second, comic strips after that.

My goal for this week is to figure where I can fit in writing time. If I can do at least an hour a day, that would be fine by me. Thank goodness for my trusty planner (scribbles notes)!

Anyways, I need to put creative works on the back burner for now so I can get situated with my course load. Once there, I can cruise along with The Book of Earth, which I still plan on releasing in August.

Question for Readers: Are you a writer? If so, how do you find time to write?

Happy Reading!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Hey everybody! It's another Friday here in Lowell.

The school year is back in full swing, homework is starting to come in, and club meetings are in effect. This means less time to work on the Book of Earth. No fear though! I have much confidence that I can still hold to an August 2012 release date.

Meanwhile, my follower count on Twitter has been on the rise. On last check, I have 91 followers, which is a great gain over the 64 I had at the beginning of last summer. I still plan on doing a special drawing once that number passes 100. This will be posted to the Facebook page, which feeds updates to Twitter.

I hope to bring more quotes from the current work in progress soon, as well as more details coming up in the near future.

Happy Reading!

Back to the Books!

Hello everyone! I'm back in Lowell now, ready to take on my senior year classes. Tropical Storm Irene kept me in Springfield for a couple more days, so I just moved back yesterday. The Book of Earth now has over 13,000 words. I've posted a couple quotes on the Facebook page. My motivation for writing right now is a science exposition, using the late 1940's as a reference, eventually reaching over into nuclear science. I have a small comic strip at home that I'm trying to integrate into the novel that will help boost my word count. The Book of Fire is undergoing some transformations as well. I'm working on cleaning up the Kindle edition, giving it an interactive table of contents and better formatting. My goal is to have this new edition out within the next couple months or as my school schedule will allow. I hope to bring more material to you soon, including more teasers for The Book of Earth. Happy Reading!

The Mean Irene

Hello everybody!

Progress has been slow as far as The Book of Earth goes. I am approaching 12,000 words, and I plan to cross that mark right after I finish this post. There will be a new quote on the Facebook page tonight (and in turn on Twitter).

I do have to say that this summer has been long enough. I've had times where I felt it was too long, and times where it felt too short, so it balances out. But my summer just got a couple days longer.

I don't like using the phrase "living under a rock," but in case you have, Hurricane Irene is making its way up the US East Coast, and with what timing too! I am supposed to move back to school on Sunday, when this storm is forecast to be right over Massachusetts. To avoid putting my family out in the elements, I have to push my move-in day two days up.

Normally I would end a blog with Happy Reading, but the conditions warrant a warning. Take all warnings seriously and be prepared. Good luck and be safe.

Social Media Update!

Hello everyone! Today I want to talk to you about changes to social media for my series.

With The Book of Earth now over 11,000 words, I am starting to post teaser quotes to the Facebook page. The first one was posted yesterday, featuring the rebel General Amon Alucard. Since I'm moving back to school in less than a week, I will be posting a couple more quotes to keep you updated as a settle back into my routine.

As for the Twitter stream, there has been a recent influx of new followers. I follow for follow, and with each new follower (or batch of followers) I send out a "Special Thanks" tweet. With this influx, I think it's highly likely the stream will have over 100 followers within the next month! I will make a special drawing for my followers when that 100 is crossed.

Finally, there is the YouTube channel. I plan on making a new trailer for The Book of Fire soon. I also plan on doing a YT Orbit, as to show my readers more about me.

Plenty of changes are on the way, and I hope you will join me!

Happy Reading!

Signed Books Available!

Hello, Readers!

I'd like to announce that signed books are now available via the "Books" page! As part of an effort to sell 1,000 copies before the release of the second book (around this time next year), I have opened up the option to get signed copies of my book via Paypal!

I'm sure you will enjoy The Book of Fire, and that you want to read The Book of Earth when it's released in 2012!

I'm going rollerskating tomorrow, so keep to the twitter stream for up-to-the-minute news on my books.

Happy Reading!

Dusting Off for Progress

*Walks through creepy attic* *Finds laptop on bureau* What is this? *Opens laptop* Oh! It's a blog!

For The Book of Fire, I've been trying to retool my marketing campaign. Getting reviews from actual media outlets and influential people has proven difficult and fruitless so far.

Right now I am using a checklist from The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing to keep myself on the path. My goal is to sell 100 copies of my book this month, so my twitter stream will include some countdowns from time to time. Getting good sales will help me to expand my marketing campaign (and maybe get some posters :D).

Meanwhile, my summer project, The Book of Earth, is over 9000 words! Still have quite a way to go, but I am using many interesting characters and situations to get me there.

Stay tuned to this blog, as I will be posting more often over the next week. I hope to have good news and some more details to share with you about my books.

Happy Reading!

The Push Continues

It's time for an update! I've been busy with my internship lately, so I haven't been able to update the blog as frequently as I'd like. However, I did seem to come across a new way to market my book.

At my internship, I have been leaving the proof copy of The Book of Fire on my desk, in hopes that one of the people there (i.e. news reporters, producers) would pick it up. And it happened yesterday! The proof copy made it to several people's hands and it seemed to generate some interest. The producer suggested I try selling my book to comic book stores, since the novel contains many fantasy elements. So following her advice, I sent out e-mails to two comic book stores.

This morning, I received a reply from one store in Northampton, MA. They mentioned that selling a novel wouldn't be part of their regular offering. They also couldn't profitably carry my book with the 30% discount I was offering. Off to the spreadsheet!

In the process of trying to find a larger discount to sell books, I realized that I could not honor a 30% discount or any larger ones for that matter. So I sent an apology letter to both businesses and removed the discount code.

So over the next week, I'll be trying to generate more ground swell for my first book as I continue writing book two. The public discount code (good for $2.00 off at CreateSpace) is available on the "Books" page, and will be there through the end of August.

Happy Reading!

Virtual Tour Wrap-Up

Today, I am closing up shop on the virtual tour. I want to thank the people who stopped by the kick-off show and downloaded free copies of The Book of Fire.

What? You gave away free copies?

Yes, over the past week, several people have downloaded copies of the book. If you missed out, there's no need to worry! You can still get Paperback and Kindle editions from the "Books" page. There is also a $2.00 discount code available for paperback editions until the end of July.

Stay tuned for more updates on The Book of Earth as more details become available!

Happy Reading!

"Book of Earth" Chapter List!

Hello everyone!

As the Virtual Tour continues, I am happy to share with you the list of tentative chapters for The Book of Earth! Keep in mind that these may not be the final names that make it to the book. Regardless of the chapter names, I'm sure you will enjoy the book!

Once again, be sure to get your free download of The Book of Fire before July 24th. Both Paperback and Kindle copies are available to buy on the "Books" page.

Happy Reading!

Chapter	Title
I	The Greater Question
II	The Armored Crisis
III	A New Realm Order
IV	The Crumbling Boulder
V	Generally Speaking
VI	Chasm Crossing
VII	Crater Calling
VIII	Taken to the Leader
IX	Shell Shock
X	A Court Conspiracy
XI	Rock Librarian
XII	A Rough Return
XIII	A Senate Sendoff
XIV	Over and Under
XV	Building Blocked
XVI	Run the Earth
XVII	A fitting return
XVIII	Join the Party
XIX	River Reverie
XX	The Shore Shelter
XXI	One Last Good Night
XXII	Burning Midnight Oil
XXIII	The Verical Perspective
XXIV	Of Feasible Fabrics
XXV	The Jaws of the Beast
XXVI	Missing Minds
XXVII	The Fraying Threads
XXVIII	The Battle in the Cove
XXIX	The Proper War
XXX	Onto the Sea

Covering the Future!

Hello everybody!

Today, You will be able to see the cover for the next installment of the series: The Book of Earth.

There are about 5000 words to the book so far with my goal being 50k (about the same length as The Book of Fire). I have a tentative chapter list that I will share with you later this week, and an excerpt that I will share with you over the weekend.

As far as the Virtual Tour goes, I plan on doing another webcam show on Saturday night. The Book of Fire will also be available for free download until Sunday, July 24th. If you have downloaded the book and enjoyed it, I encourage you to get a bound copy of it.

Happy Reading!

Free Book? You Don't Say!

Hello everybody, and welcome to the 2011 Virtual Tour!

I kicked of the tour on Saturday night with a live show on BlogTV. I spent about 3 hours talking to chatters and viewers about The Book Of Fire. At one point, while reading the first three chapters of the book, the show reached over 800 viewers! Hopefully some of them will take advantage of the discount code that was posted during the show. In case you didn't get the code, I will post it on the "Books" page next to the Book of Fire.

Also, I am letting my readers try before they buy! For the next week (up to July 24th) I am allowing free downloads of the first book! If you enjoy the book, I encourage you to buy a print or Kindle copy.

Finally, I will be releasing some details about The Book Of Earth. This includes the front cover, a tentative chapter list and an excerpt from what's been written so far. If you want any more than that, you'll just have to wait for the book to come out ;)

Enjoy the tour, and Happy Reading!

Virtual Tour and Say What?

Today is a great day so far (even though I woke up to the sound of construction outside my door)! I had a good breakfast of a berry smoothie and toast with peanut butter, did my Wii Fit Plus Body Test, and logged on to my computer to check my e-mail. Hey! While I'm on, let's check to see how my book is doing...

SAY WHAT?

I sold more books today than I did in all of last month! Very exciting news! I want to thank all of my readers who have bought my book. I hope you will enjoy reading it and share it with your friends.

In other Book of Fire news, I am creating a virtual tour for the book. It kicks off with a webcam event on July 16th. Over the course of the following week, I'll be looking to write guest posts on blogs by others. I will also be teasing details from my current work, The Book Of Earth. You can expect a chapter list and some teases form the new work during the virtual tour!

Hope to see you there! Happy Reading!

Media Frenzy!

Hello everyone! July has been a busy month so far with regards to marketing. As I wait for the new proof to come in, I have made fliers, press releases, and sales letters to send out to potential customers. There will also be discount codes for those who are interested. For now, the book is available on Kindle under the "Books" tab, no shipping, no wait.

You see what I did there... :D

The Book of Earth is slowly making progress. I have a few thousand words down, but I'm nowhere near a finished rough draft. I'm also working on a chapter list to help guide my ideas. I'll be sure to share the list with you when the time comes.

Kindle-ing Adventure!

The last week has been pretty busy. Between an internship and preparing a book review for a fellow author, I haven't had much time to work on The Book Of Earth. However I did find some time to work on it today, and some more progress was made.

Writing the rough draft of a novel has to be my favorite part of the writing process. The rough draft doesn't necessarily have to flow. That's a job for editing. Here I can just write something if it sounds good at some point in the story. For example, I am still early in the story, but I had a good idea for the middle of it, so I focused on writing that. It helps me write by letting creativity flow.

Here is some news on The Book Of Fire. During the first week of July, the paperback edition of the book will be unavailable. I have fixed mistakes in the current edition and changed the line spacing for a more correct and robust book. After I approve this copy, the book will be available again.

However... If you want to start the adventure during downtime, The Book Of Fire is now available on Kindle. You can find the link underneath the "Books" tab.

Happy Reading!

"Katrina's Secrets" and Katrina's Book

On last night's episode of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, former New Orleans mayor C. Ray Nagin was on promoting his self-published novel, "Katrina's Secrets: Storms After The Storm." I found this interview interesting for several reasons. For one, as an Atmospheric Sciences major, I find hurricanes and their aftermaths to be interesting, also having done a presentation on Hurricane Katrina for one of my classes. Two, CreateSpace was mentioned, which is the Print-On-Demand service I use for my novel. Third, and most importantly, it highlighted the issues involved with using a major publisher.

During the submission process, whether or not your book makes it to print is decided by the publishing company executive. They can decide if your words are too strong or too harsh for the public. Nagin himself said agents didn't "get comfortable with [his] voice coming through" about certain politicians during the days of Katrina. Ultimately, publishing comes down to accountability. Though self-publishing gives you complete control over a piece, you are responsible for the words in the book.

Speaking of Katrina and books, my sister, Katrina Johnson, has a self-published horror novel out called "The Deadly Game: Electronic Massacre" available through CreateSpace. I am in the process of reading the book now and I should have a review of it coming out soon. As always, my novel is available on CreateSpace through the link under the "Books" tab.

Happy Reading!

Book Two and Subscriptions!

Hello readers! Welcome to the weekend update!

First off, here's and update on The Book of Earth. Originally, it was my goal to do the book as a NaNoWriMo-style challenge, but with my internship at a local news station this Summer, it's difficult to fit 50,000 words in the month of June. None the less, the book is being written and Amon Alucard (the charcter contest winner) has been mentioned, though he has not made an appearance yet. I tend to make good use of his backwards last name, without explicitly saying "Dracula."

I have also added a new feature to the site. These are called "Subscriptions." For $25, $50, or $100, you can get the Realms Quintessential books as they are released (up to the first four in the series). You will also be entered to win other prizes based on your subscription level. Once some subscriptions come in, I might be able to get some posters for you!

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Character Contest Winners!

Hey readers:

The "Name Character, Win Book!" contest is now closed. Due to a lack of responses, and the quality of the two responses received, there will be no poll.

I am happy to announce that there will be two first prize winners. The winning name is "Amon Alucard," which is a combination of a first name suggested by nothingofimportance and a last name suggested by icecreamboy. I really feel that this name will help in the creative process as my story goes into his introduction.

Each winner will recieve a signed copy of The Book of Fire and a place on the "Special Thanks" page in The Book of Earth.

If you would like a copy of The Book of Fire, it is now available on Amazon as well as CreateSpace.

Congrats to the winners, and Happy Reading!

Name Character, Win Book! [CLOSED]

Hello Readers,
I recently started a rough draft for the Book of Earth, the next installment in the Realms Quintessential series. In this part of the story, a civil war is dividing a nation. My challenge for you is to come up with a name for the leader of the "People's Army." Here is a brief description of the character:

• White head hair, bushy facial hair, no longer than shoulder length.
• Large build, average weight (not completely muscle, not necessarily obese)
• Has a penchant for government conspiracies.

Suggest a name below in the comments. On Monday, the entered names will be put into a poll and on Friday (6/10), a winner will be chosen. Top prize will be an autographed copy of The Book of Fire and a place on the Special Thanks page in The Book of Earth. Second and Third prizes will receive autographed copies of the Book of Fire.

If you want to get a copy of The Book of Fire either way, a link to the CreateSpace listing is available on the "Books" page.

Good Luck and Happy Reading!

[This contest is now closed, please read the update for the winners.]

"Book Of Fire" Now Available!

Here it is! After months of revising and editing, the first part of the Realms Quintessential series is now on sale!
Here is the video trailer:

To get your own copy, go to the "Books" tab at the top of the page, and click the link under the cover art.

Also, stay tuned as for more news on the next installment, The Book of Earth, as writing begins this June!

Happy Reading!

Mid-May Update

It's time for another update! This blog is well over due for one.

I have a proof copy for the Book Of Fire and I have finished reading through and adding proof marks. I just need to fix the manuscript, and however the second proof comes out is how the book will be sold. My expectation is to have the book on sale in early June.

Also, I've been thinking of making a video trailer for the book. If I do make one, it will be out shortly after the book is released. This would make good use of  my YouTube channel, which doesn't have much on it right now.

Stay tuned to Twitter and this blog for more updates on the novel. Happy Reading!

Sooner Than Expected?

So this weekend is shaping up to be and exciting one for the Book of Fire! I'll have the proof copy in hand this Sunday (about a week earlier than expected), and if all goes as planned, the novel will be released April 15th!

As far as the Book of Earth, I'm holding off on writing that until June. I have an internship that's looking like a strong possibility at the moment, so writing time will have to work around my internship schedule.

Happy Reading!

April News Update

Hello everyone! Long time, no talk! Let's get right into some updates.

Book of Fire: I've ordered my proof copy and it won't be in until the middle of the month. After I review that, it will be available for purchase on CreateSpace. Links will be posted on Twitter and on this blog when the book is available. Also, keep an eye out for give-aways once the book is available.

Book of Earth: This is the title of the second volume in the series. I plan to begin writing it in June, with my intentions being to release it before NaNoWriMo 2011. I've already drawn the cover art for the book and I have a composition notebook already set aside for a hand-written rough draft.

Other News: Not much else to report here. I might be getting an internship in Broadcast Meteorology over the summer. Not sure how that will effect the writing schedule, but stay tuned for Updates!

Happy Reading!

Publishing News!

Here is an important update about "The Book of Fire"!

So (if you haven't read already from Twitter) the first volume of the series didn't make it past round one of ABNA. First, I want to congratulate all who made it through to the next round and to wish them the best of luck. Second (and more important to the series), this means that the original mid-March publishing date will hold. Keep an eye to Twitter or this blog for more news as that date gets closer.

In other news, I've made a cover for the next volume, "The Book of Earth." It's already framed and hanging up next to the volume one cover. I'll be sure to post a copy of the cover picture after "The Book of Fire" is available.

Happy Reading!

The Next Few Months

So with college back in full swing, time to work on writing/official novel business has been limited. On top of that, I have yet to hear whether or not the Book of Fire has cleared the first round of the ABNA.

I'm going to start the second book of the series soon, which is subtitled "The Book of Earth." I'll Probably have the cover art drawn within the next week, and writing will begin after the ABNA contest.

Keep an eye on the Twitter feed for more updates on the contest run and upcoming projects.

Happy Reading!

Waiting, and waiting...

Today is an exciting day in terms of the Book Of Fire. I just entered it into the ABNA, and now I'm waiting for the second round announcement. When is that anyways? *Looks at calendar* Four weeks? That's a while away.

As far as a release date goes, it depends on whether or not the book goes to round two. If not, expect a mid-March release through self-publishing. Otherwise, stay tuned for further contest news!

Good Luck and Good Reading!

Thursday Update #1

My deadline is quickly approaching for entry into the ABNA contest (see previous post). I plan on getting past 100 finished pages today. If I don't make it in time for the contest, then the release date on the "Books" page will hold.

I also realize that I'm going some time between blog updates. To remedy this, I'll be posting on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Stay tuned for more news as the release date gets closer.

Happy Reading! 

Into the Running Edit

Hello, everyone. I haven't updated in about two weeks, but today I bring good news.

Today, I moved into the running edit phase of my novel work. I'm looking at 20+ chapters of reading and editing as I go along, plus some minor rearranging. Hopefully it will be finished within 10 days so I can submit it in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. There's quite a bit of work to be done, but I look forward to getting my work out there.

Happy Reading!