Just an Update Today

The Character Overview Series

If you hadn't noticed, I've taken a bit of a break from the character overviews; not out of a lack of interest, but more because I'm trying to figure out who I want to feature next! If you've already read Laeryk's Proving, you're probably saying, "Torren, duh!" After all, I've done the other three major characters already, why not Laeryk's last (human) companion?

Mainly, it's because Torren's background is something that gets explored more in the second and third books in the series, and I'd hate to put up an overview that read something like:

YOU DON'T GET TO KNOW HIS BACKGROUND YET. NYEH!

That just isn't much fun.

I'm leaning right now toward another Valdaran, but I'm certain that most people are kind of bored with Valdarans by now; you've had two already, why more? That's one unfortunate side-effect of so much of the book taking place in Valdaran: Many of the characters are Wyvern Knights, and you already have seen two Wyvern Knight overviews. I might also do Elsebet du Lemaigne, or Enonna Whiterose, both of whom would give a taste of some different backgrounds.

As soon as I choose the next character, I'll resume the character overviews and chapter previews.

Gavain's Proving

I know, I know... this was supposed to be out already! What can I say, other than the transition from short story to novella has lengthened the process a bit? There's a lot more to revise than I was expecting, and I need to give myself breaks so I come back to the revisions with fresh eyes.

That said, work is progressing at a pace I'm quite pleased with. My lovely wife Lisa and I have been discussing a symbol for House Whiterose. If you didn't know already, Lisa drew the original symbol for House Thorn which graces the cover of Laeryk's Proving. I want a similar image on the cover for Gavain's Proving, but the more we talked about it, the more I realized that I never took a step back to design a heraldry for House Whiterose!

Oops.

Once the symbol is done (and I've touched it up on the computer), I have a cover designer I want to work with to produce a cover image for me. As pleased as I am with the cover for Laeryk's Proving, I can't seem to get a design I like for the novella... so I'm going to turn it over to a professional! I'd like the cover up at least a week or two prior to release, that way I can start some marketing promotions for the novella, which will debut exclusively on Amazon for three months as part of their KDP-Select program, and then move on to being published at Smashwords for distribution to other retailers after that.

Children of Llothora

One of my Lovecraftian homage short stories, Children of Llothora is also almost ready for release. I'm doing some touch-ups to it right now, and will then be seeking a cover for it's e-release. This one is going to both Amazon and Smashwords at the same time. Depending on how things go, it might actually be ready for release before Gavain's Proving (considering it's much shorter, the edits go much faster).

Laeryk's Proving... In Print?

I've spent the last week working with CreateSpace.com to set up a Print On Demand version of Laeryk's Proving. It's amazing how much of a pain getting an e-book formatted into a print version can be. I've designed a new physical book cover based on the original e-book cover which is nearly complete; I'm just looking it over to see if there are any minor changes I want to make before calling it the final version. Once that is complete, CreateSpace.com will be providing the book an ISBN number, and Amazon will list the print version alongside the Kindle version available for sale on their website.

The best thing about having a Print on Demand version, other than getting to have a physical copy of my book on my shelves and offering another medium for people to read my story? Giveaways. That's right, I plan on doing some giveaways through Goodreads.com. If you've never been to Goodreads.com, and you enjoy any form of social networking whatsoever, I highly recommend you check it out! Feel free to friend me there, and publish a review of Laeryk's Proving if you'd like.

Reviews

Reviews are the lifeblood of a book on online - or at least that's how it seems sometimes! Reviews let prospective readers know that other people have taken a chance on a book, what they thought of it, and what to expect. Sure, they're not perfect, but sometimes a review can point you toward a title you would have never otherwise read.

Laeryk's Proving is still in need of reviews; I realize that it isn't a short book (and having worked on the print layout for over a week, I'm very aware of just how long it really is), but I'm looking to get some reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, Smashwords, and all the rest of the retailers I distribute through. If you've finished Laeryk's Proving, please, please, please: post a review. Let me know what you thought of my story, and what you'd like to see in the future.

Conclusion

This was a longer update than I'd originally intended; I guess I had a bit more on my plate than I'd anticipated. Keep an eye out for the character overviews and chapter previews to resume soon!