New Year - 2015

I am very excited to be bringing in the new year with my new book. The sketch is finished. The color is being added. The book is being formatted for the print version. The artwork will be added soon. The book will be printed as a proof for one final check for errors. Then the book will be available to the public.

I am hoping it will be no later than January 31, 2015. This is much later than I had hoped, and I apologize to those who have been waiting, but I believe the cover art was worth the wait.

2016 Writing Topics:
1. Finish the Turik Saga. This is both sad and exciting for me. I have been working on a few other book ideas and am excited to give them a try. I will miss Turik and his world, and may come back to it in a few years. Possible topics are, Rein's years as an assassin, the rise of Kal'Thazar, and the time when Athtarn ruled Malilorn.
2. Hopefully in 2015 or 2016, I will be releasing an adult dark fantasy book. This is much different as the main character is a woman who searches for dark magic to seek revenge.
3. Continue work on my horror novel. Maybe publish by or during 2016.
4. I am also writing a young adult mystery series. The first book is being outlined.

So my New Year's Resolution is to WRITE!

Happy New Year! I hope 2015 is a great year for you!

Dramala

 
Dramala, the Blood Queen!

My FIRST book signing

My first book signing happened a few years ago. I was so excited. I called the book store several times to make sure things were on track and ask if they needed anything from me. I dropped off posters for them to hand that said when I would be there. I was nervous and excited.

I showed up.

The book store had decided to not order my books. They had them for sale at the counter to order. The lady in charge didn't know the manager had me scheduled for the day. They had no table for me. I stood at a podium in the romance section. If you haven't figured it out, I am a fantasy writer. To be placed in the romance section was confusing. I had 8 chairs in front of me as if I were giving a speech. The posters that advertised my arrival was behind next to a pillar in the side of the store. The only time you would walk near the pillar is to use the bathroom. Even then, you would have to turn away from the entrance to the bathrooms to even see the posters.

It was awful. I was the guy you avoid eye contact with so you don't feel obligated to talk to him. A few nice people stopped to ask what was going on. Luckily, I had a few good people who had showed up to support me. They took the bookmarks around and passed them out for free. One even offered to remove all the books from a table for me to use.

I was embarrassed. I felt like a failure. I sold ZERO books. Even worse, it was my birthday. When I finished cleaning up my... podium... I was supposed to go to dinner with friends and family. It was hard. I was upset. I was upset with the bookstore. I was upset with myself. I thought I would be like Ray Kinsella. I thought if I wrote it they would come. I even considered quitting writing. I had several more scheduled signings that I wanted to cancel.

I went to all my scheduled engagements. Some did ok. Some didn't

I learned. I didn't quit. I tried new things, different approaches.

I will be writing in a few weeks to explain what has worked for me.

 

The new cover for my first book! I am hoping this is published before the end of Thanksgiving vacation!

Turik and the Elven Queen

Here is the new cover for Book II, Turik and the Elven Queen. The new cover will be on the book around Thanksgiving.  Turik and the Lost Woman will have a new cover soon as well. The artwork is being completed as you read this.

Good News!

The artwork is well under way. The sketches are being completed. In a few short weeks, the Turik Saga will have a new look and new titles. I hope this doesn't confuse to many people. As I understand it, if you already have a copy of the ebook, it will update and will still register that you have the book. Michael Gauss is doing the new covers! You can check out his work on his blog. It is awesome!

I will be republishing all the books again as the covers are finished. I will be trying www.booksends.com again, as my sales went way up when I used them the first time. I am hoping to get enough reviews then to submit my book to www.bookbub.com .

Advertising Ebooks

I am trying a new ebook advertising company www.booksends.com They are advertising my book, Solerra the Lost Woman, discounted price of $0.99 on September 28. I will let you know how it goes and if it is something worth trying.


The next company I will be trying is www.booksbutterfly.com . This is for free or paid books, but the paid books have to be offered at a discount or the fee is doubled. They have several advertising options. I am going to start with one of the cheapest and if it works well, I will try one that is a little more expensive. This one will be done in October. Come back to see how it works.


Let me know if there is another company that you use to advertise and if it is working or not working.