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.]