The title really says it all. Hoping to get the book out around June 1st. It’s on a Wednesday, which might be a tough debut day. Feel free to volunteer for the ‘Book is Live’ post. Also give an opinion on the best day of the week to put out a new book because I’m scratching my head while leaning toward a Friday.
Anyway, here’s the teaser, which is more of a progress report:
If you read the cool comments under my posts, you may remember a dialogue I had with author M T McGuire, where I offered her a guest post spot if she’d share her experience making her book, F…
Source: My Permafree Experience: a Guest Post by M T McGuire
Scooby and Shaggy
In Tribe of the Snow Tiger, the champions are divided into two groups. One goes with Timoran to his homeland and a smaller one goes to the southern jungle. Anyone who finished reading The Mercenary Prince knows the situation. Needless to say, it’s a bit of a mess and headache . . . for the author.
I’ve had to do balancing acts between characters before, but this one was a bit different. The smaller adventure will lead into events for Book 11 instead of closing up with the main story. Not the nicest thing to do to readers, but it was the only way to get both stories told without squishing and rushing. There was always a question about if I should hamper one tale to salvage the other or injure both. A ridiculous question that I thankfully answered with none of the above. I had to develop a few tricks that might come in handy for other authors that find themselves in a similar situation.
Now, I know this is a dangerous thing to do because there is a current hatred toward cliffhangers. Seems a lot of people don’t want to be left in suspense when it comes to stories. At least a vocal minority. That’s the risk an author has to take in a series when facing a situation like this. The alternative is to cripple one tale and clog the other or simply leave out the smaller story entirely. Personally, I’d find that second option to be awkward when you reach the events the smaller one was aiming for. You have to explain everything that happened off-camera, which can result in info dumps. In the end, a risk will be taken no matter what. Guess all I can really do is brace myself and hope the adventures are gripping.
I did really enjoy creating the Judges.
Yesterday was a big family day in that I had to go to New Jersey for a birthday party and then it was back to New York for more family time. Needless to say, I’m exhausted, which seems to work since this was the last big family event for a while. April and May are peppered with birthdays, so getting a new project done is rarely possible. I didn’t even try, which isn’t entirely true. I was going to start Book 14 in May and that never happened because of the Tribe of the Snow Tiger stuff. Should be finishing the final edits this weekend and then just need the cover art.
Life is going to be getting even odder around here. Both parents have retired, which means they’re going to be home all day. Unless they do a spontaneous trip and I have to scramble for a dinner idea. Might stock up on ‘dinner for 2’ stuff in case of emergencies like they head out and I get lazy. Good to hear that they are going to be remaining active though. Always a worry for the retiree and those around them in that regards. Need to stay physically and mentally engaged to stay healthy.
That brings us to my health and I’ve only got one doctor left to go. That cardiologist visit keeps running into roadblocks. I should have it done by this week along with a haircut. Not at the same time unless that’s a service I stumble into. The heart is okay aside from a tiny thing, but better safe than sorry. Another organ is going to need some TLC, but no diabetes, obscene cholesterol levels, or growths. Exercise and making the diet healthier are already underway. I sense that I’ve opened myself to suggestions. Excuse me while I grab a wiffle bat in preparation. Waffle bat, autocorrect?
One of the things I have to do is start looking for a new Legends of Windemere cover artist to see if I can still release Book 11 in late August/early September. The cardiologist thing might alter my timing on that because that takes precedence and my Tuesday has already been consumed. Aiming to do a phone call or email on Wednesday to the first suggestion. To say I’m nervous is an understatement. I think it’s more that I know people are going to pounce when the change happens. Something that gets forgotten is that it isn’t easy changing a cover. That takes time and means the release is delayed, especially if the person helping has a main job and the art is a side one. So the nerves are a little twitchy on this one. I’d like for the new ones not to be compared to the old, but that might be unavoidable. Big thing is for me to happy with it though. Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly.
I’m really hoping to start a simple project instead of a novel while the family transitions into the new norm. Probably means Book 14 is pushed back to June. That or I’ll tackle the next Bedlam book around that time. Depends on my mood because Legends of Windemere has gotten heavy as it nears the end, but Bedlam will always have a level of humor that makes me smile. Like Lloyd asking a bald guy if the carpet matches the drapes or Cassidy developing her own sense of humor to counter Lloyd. She’s going to be more of a reactionary quipster than a crazy joke/reference flinger.
Anyway, I think I’ll use my current dark mood to my advantage. Dawn Addison will be returning in a new story come October. I know it’s odd to put a 31 part book on a blog, but I’m simply not confident enough in the genre to charge money. Maybe far down the road, I’ll take the Raven books off the blog and sell them as a bundle. Think the most I can do with this series is 4, but it will always feel like an experiment to me. Not the best endorsement from the author, but I have so many high pressure projects that making Dawn and Ichabod more laid back might be better for my health. Both could end up getting compilations in a few years, but that’s a bridge I haven’t built yet. Right now, Dawn can claim October and Ichabod can show up whenever I have a story for him.
So, what’s the plan for the week?
I am giving away eBook copies of my short story collection, Random Tales, on Amazon. You can pick up a copy by clicking HERE.
Crazy you say? Well maybe. I wanted to give potential readers a way to sample my writing without a huge investment. The cover for the collection is clickable and is shown below:
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00054]](https://legendsofwindemere.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/front-cover-random-tales2.jpg?w=189&h=300)
Here is a description of each of the stories:
The short story, Heal Thyself, holds a special place in my heart. It was the result of my first serious attempt at writing. It was the first short story that I completed and had published. I remember when I heard back from ‘Down In The Dirt’ magazine that they wanted to publish my…
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Skull Island from King Kong
Surprisingly, I’ve never had the champions go to the jungle region of Ralian. This biome is more common in the Cerascent region, but there is a big one on the southwestern section of Ralian. It has the desert on one border, the forest on another, and the oceans on the others. To be honest, this place will be more important in Book 11, but some heroes will be exploring in Tribe of the Snow Tiger. I’ll get more into how to write divided groups of heroes in the next post. This is all about the jungles.
Trading happens along the coast, which is difficult to penetrate due to the dense trees and the river mouths being too narrow for large ships. So there are coastal towns for this as well as locals that will take their small boats out to the traders. It’s never for money, but supplies that they can’t find in the jungle. A lot of the local economy involves fishing and tropical fruits, but there are a few tribes that barter in furs and meat. The food from the jungle is considered a delicacy and tends to be reserved for nobles.
There is no cohesive government in the southern jungle because it is divided up by several tribes. Scent markers, warning signs, and other clear markers are arranged around the borders. Some tribes have treaties and will cross over to do business or share in a holiday to solidify the peace. Others are always trying to find ways to take over the region, but they rarely take action beyond a few border raids. A big reason for this is that there are various beings that step in whenever one group gets too strong. Some people believe they are fairies while others think they are ghosts. Either way, it makes the tribes rein in their ambition and settle for a few steps here and there. Scattered temples to these guardians and neutral towns have been established to retain some level of civility.
Beyond the tribe system, there isn’t much else to tell about the southern jungle. It’s humid, filled with dangerous beasts, hides a network of rivers, and tends to be isolated from most global events. The big wars have passed it by as well as any advances in technology and magic. Only the borders have been influenced slightly by outsiders, but not enough to change the society. The locals simply have no interest in changing because of their environment. To them, a gnome-made machine will damage the trees or get stuck in the vines and heavy armor would be useless in the year-long humidity. Perhaps the only thing they indulge in are foreign foods, drinks, and jewelry. Beyond that, the tribes are content to live their simple lives.
You may have noticed that this region is simply called the southern jungle. Since the region isn’t claimed by a kingdom or single tribe, it doesn’t have a solid name. Most of the tribes will call the jungle by their name or some version of ‘home’. They are more concerned with territory than the overall region and outsiders have taken to simply calling it ‘the southern jungle’. Not an original name since it’s the only jungle region on Ralian and it’s in the south. Still, not many have bothered to change it. Those that have were conquering warlords who discovered that the local wildlife aren’t friendly to the blindly ambitious.
I am giving away eBook copies of my short story collection, Random Tales, on Amazon. You can pick up a copy by clicking HERE.
Crazy you say? Well maybe. I wanted to give potential readers a way to sample my writing without a huge investment. The cover for the collection is clickable and is shown below:
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00054]](https://legendsofwindemere.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/front-cover-random-tales1.jpg?w=189&h=300)
Here is a description of each of the stories:
The short story, Heal Thyself, holds a special place in my heart. It was the result of my first serious attempt at writing. It was the first short story that I completed and had published. I remember when I heard back from ‘Down In The Dirt’ magazine that they wanted to publish my story. I received no money…
View original post 919 more words
