These past two months, we've been doing a lot of writing, preplanning, book signings, and... getting ready to relocate to a different state!
Let's start with the most significant highlight, which would be the fact that as of the 13th of this month, I will no longer be an Indiana resident! I will be a Floridian, calling Jacksonville my new home. I am excited for a variety of reasons, including what it will mean for me as an author. A bigger city in a bigger state will hopefully mean more opportunity! Although, I won't be able to call myself the only local fantasy author anymore. You can expect to see my location in my profiles and "about" pages updated when the time comes.
Next, I am thrilled that this past Friday and Saturday, I was able to host a book signing event at my library, the Melton Public Library of French Lick, Indiana. I sold many copies of my paperbacks and hardcovers, lots of them to new readers who hadn't heard of my book before! It's a dream come true in a way, and I'm even more proud of the milestone achievement considering how much work I put into not just the words on the pages, but also the work that went into making those physical copies a reality, and they look great. Besides the cover artwork, every part of it was formatted and set up by myself. I can't complain about Amazon's amazing services offered through their KDP author platform, tremendously helpful to self-publishing authors. At little cost, I was able to write a book, copyright it, format it etc., and get real copies into my hands and the hands of others. You don't need to pay another company hundreds of dollars to do all the formatting and editing for you. Self-publishers, there is a far easier route than that if you're willing to learn a few new things.
Concerning my actual ongoing writing projects, there are a few important updates on them as well. After some more pre-planning and finalizing, The Eldritch Queen has now reached a point where I've done as much as I can without in fact writing it itself. Most every significant thing is in order, the only thing left is are the things that will be done when I finally finish writing The Aveline Heiress; when my full attention will be given to writing the first book of my dark fantasy trilogy. I still have a very good feeling about it and I know the story and world is very capable. At least confidence is growing with each book I write. Fans of a 19th century aesthetic and spooky worlds with monstrous creatures... you're in for a treat.
If you've been by the projects page of my website as of late, you'll have probably noticed some changes to the descriptions of a few of the projects. Nothing major there beyond rewording, except that the title of one particular project has changed. The Seventh Seraph is now officially The Fifth Seraph. This is a part of some pretty substantial changes to the book in general, one of them being that the book is now on track to being much more sci-fi than it was before. The fantasy aspect still exists to a degree it had before, but the dominant side ought to be the sci-fi. The world I aim to build will benefit from this, as will the story become more unique, and having only five seraphs as opposed to seven will help each remaining one be more meaningful in every way. You never want more characters than you really need. I've also made some additional story changes which will help massively in the character department, particularly some relationships and interactions, and you can bet there will be plenty more revisions and refinements to the whole project in general as the time to begin writing it gets closer. Knowing I can build a truly epic story and world with it only drives me to continue working on making it as perfect as it can be, no matter how long it takes. Fortunately, it is on the right track and has come a very long way from where it began. The end of September will mark one full year since the idea of The Fifth Seraph first entered my head. With The Aveline Heiress and book one of The Eldritch Queen set to come before it, I'll have plenty more time to keep making it better and better.
Speaking of The Aveline Heiress, my next book is going quite well. It's proving to be more of a mental battle than anything, but I've got all the ducks in a row and now it's simply about writing it. Despite being in the middle of planning to move to Florida, I've completed a satisfactory amount of the revision already and it goes faster thanks for already having written lots of the same thing. Being able to take certain, great pieces of the old draft and merge them with the new one is incredibly helpful and saves a lot of time, and helps preserve the voice of the original. I admit, it's been a great struggle writing The Aveline Heiress. But I am reminded time and time again by myself and other people that most of my lack of confidence and concern about the book is all in my head. A lesson for all writers: don't be deceived by yourself. And be warned, its easier than you think. The revision must be done to improve the story, and I will see it through. But I am prepared to have to edit it once I finally complete it before I publish it. With any luck, the cover art will be revealed before the book is released so you'll be able to get your first glance at what The Aveline Heiress is about.
That's about it for now. Lots of things have happened, are happening, and will continue to happen, but I'm happy with the progress and moving to a new state is giving me a lot more energy on top of it. Expect more reviews to be posted on the site soon and stay tuned on my social media!
Comentarios