I received the proof copy of The Taesian Chronicles in paperback, and after reviewing it, I approved it. It should show up as available on Amazon.com within 3-5 days. I also uploaded the Kindle version of the trilogy to Amazon. I expect it to be available within 24-36 hours.
The process to release the entire Taesian Chronicles trilogy in paperback is moving forward. I am using the print-on-demand service, CreateSpace, to make the book available in a dead-tree paperback edition.
Formatting a book for print is a more tedious, exacting process than it is for e-book. That took me several days to nail down. I followed some on-line tutorials various people have posted, which helped tremendously. Fortunately, I was able to export the print-ready file directly from Scrivener and didn’t have to use a specially-formatted Word template.
Another, more complex process was creating a cover for the paperback. With e-books, you only need a single-page graphic image. With paperbacks, you need the cover, spine, and back cover represented in a single image file. The thickness of the book needs to be determined based on number of pages and book size (5″x8″, 6″x9″, etc.), which determines how wide the spine portion of the cover image will be.
I spent almost a week working with my cover designer, Steven Novak [www.novakillustration.com], going back and forth and reviewing subtle changes and tweaks, before we created a design that worked. Steven is a fantastic designer and I’ve been very happy working with him.
CreateSpace lets you view your book cover to cover in a virtual tool online. This is a key part of the process. Once I was happy with it in virtual format, I ordered a proof copy, which is on its way. I’ll review that printed copy, and if any changes need to be made, I’ll modify the digital file, upload it, and order another proof. I will repeat this process as many times as necessary until the printed edition is perfect. Once that is done, I’ll mark it as complete. The book will then be listed as available for sale via Amazon.com.
Recently the weather has been cooperative enough for me to get both bikes ridden, my 2007 Suzuki V-Strom 650 and my 2012 Suzuki GSX-R750. I try to ride each bike at least once every other week, rather than winterizing them and letting them sit. They only get non-ethanol fuel as well, and I think this keeps them in better shape.
On the V-Strom, I went up highway 224 to Ripplebrook. They are working on a hillside prone to landslides, so there are some construction delays to contend with. This is between milepost 31 to 37. At the Ripplebrook ranger station, I kept heading south on NF46 toward Detroit. We’ve had a lot of low-elevation snow this winter so I didn’t expect to get far, but I wanted to see how things were looking. The road has a few new potholes but is in otherwise good shape.
I had to turn back just past where NF42 heads east toward highway 26. Despite this, it was a fantastic ride and it felt good to stretch the V-Strom’s legs a bit.
In other news, I have published my third novel. It is titled Paragon’s Call and is the culmination of The Taesian Chronicles trilogy. It is available for Kindle on Amazon.com, and is free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
The sunset of an old hero
The dawn of a new foeParagon’s Call is the third and final book in The Taesian Chronicles trilogy. In this exciting and fast-paced conclusion, we pick up the story a year after the Battle of Eeron from book two, Ohlen’s Bane. Ohlen and his comrades, Therran and Ahmahn, discover the novaari, dangerous beasts that are half man, half animal. Ohlen is conscripted by Emperor Percy Saltos to lead a ragtag group of criminal misfits called Paragons, who are charged with seeking out these monsters and destroying them. But not everyone wants them to succeed.
Paragon’s Call is the third and final book in The Taesian Chronicles trilogy. In this exciting and fast-paced conclusion, we pick up the story a year after the Battle of Eeron from book two, Ohlen’s Bane. Ohlen and his comrades, Therran and Ahmahn, discover the novaari, dangerous beasts that are half man, half animal. Ohlen is conscripted by Emperor Percy Saltos to lead a ragtag group of criminal misfits called Paragons, who are charged with seeking out these monsters and destroying them. But not everyone wants them to succeed.
All three books are available for free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
The first book of the Taesian Chronicles trilogy is Ohlen’s Arrow, released in 2013. The second book in the series is Ohlen’s Bane, which I released in late 2014. Now that Paragon’s Call is published (as an e-book), I will start work on combining all three books of the trilogy together into a single volume called The Taesian Chronicles, and will release it as a paperback via CreateSpace on Amazon.com. It will be my first dead-tree publication.
I have updated the manuscript of Paragon’s Call with the revisions discussed between me and my editor, and have submitted it to her for editing. The amount of revisions needed were minimal and the rough draft was very tight.
The publication of Paragon’s Call is on schedule and my target date for it to be available for sale is by the end of March, 2016. I will be releasing it on Amazon.com for Kindle, Barnes & Noble for Nook, and the iTunes Bookstore for iOS devices.
I met with my editor last night to go over our first review of the rough draft of Paragon’s Call. Her analysis, in a nutshell, is it’s the best book I’ve written to-date. My impression of it matched hers, that it is my most refined book so far.
We identified some areas where I can add text to clarify some plot events, but these are minor and the book would still be a good one if I didn’t add them. Some of the other minor comments were admittedly subjective, but I trust my editor’s advice and perspective and will most likely implement her suggestions.
My goal is to make these revisions and get the manuscript back into her hands for editing within the next two weeks. I think it is a reasonable expectation that I’ll have the book completed and ready for publishing by the end of March.
After writing 12,000 words over the weekend, I finished composition of the first draft of Paragon’s Call. Unlike Ohlen’s Arrow and Ohlen’s Bane, each of which came in around 64k words, Paragon’s Call is just shy of 104k.
I’ve handed over the manuscript to my editor, and the next step is for her and I to read through it and make notes about plot-level items. What works, what doesn’t, what needs to be added, changed, or removed.
Writing the final scenes of the book was an emotional experience for me. Paragon’s Call is the third and final book in the Taesian Chronicles trilogy, and it felt a lot like I was saying goodbye to an old friend. Although I designed the third book in a way that will allow the creation of subsequent short stories and novels, I don’t have any immediate plans to write them.
I have a collaborative writing project in the conceptual phase with a good friend of mine, and I am giving strong consideration to pursuing a new contemporary fiction novel dealing with an intense and present social issue. Stay tuned on that; I don’t want to give too much away at this point.
After spending a bit of time on another writing project, I have recently returned my attention to Paragon’s Call. Part of that effort has been evaluating the plot I have mapped out and determining if it will go in the direction I need.
I got that worked out and adjusted the plot line better to my liking, then returned to composition. I’m now up to a little over 63,000 words, with a half dozen chapters remaining. For scale, both book one Ohlen’s Arrow and book two Ohlen’s Bane are about 64,000 words each.
My plot adjustments have shortened the overall length of the novel by removing three chapters that didn’t add much to the book. I learned back in my screenwriting days that if a scene can be removed without altering the pace or plot, it doesn’t belong.
More importantly, my plot adjustments have changed the role of the antagonist in the book. Specifically, I added a new antagonist that will will play a bigger part in subsequent books.
Wait, what? Did I just indicate there will be more after Paragon’s Call?
I have been making slow but relatively steady progress on Paragon’s Call, splitting my time with another writing project. I’m at about 53,000 words, which puts me at just over half-way through the overall plot. I estimate Paragon’s Call will be around 100,000 words, maybe a bit more. For perspective, Ohlen’s Arrow and Ohlen’s Bane were each about 64,000 words.
November is NaNoWriMo … National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write 50,000 words in the month, with the specific goal of writing something every day for 30 days straight. I appreciate the concept and motivation for NaNoWriMo, but use a different approach. Rather than writing every day, I write only on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and crank out anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 words in a weekend.
Although the winner of Michael J. Sullivan’s short story contest hasn’t been announced, or even decided as of this writing, I did find out that my submission, The Orphan’s Maker, did not make it into the final round.
My story made it into the top 15, from a large group of quality applications, so I consider this a win. The story itself is going to become the Prologue when I release all three books on paperback for The Taesian Chronicles, so the effort wasn’t wasted.
I appreciate the consideration Michael gave to my story, and to Robin (his wife and editor), for her courtesy. I wish the winner luck, and I wish Michael great success with The Death of Dulgath.
