99¢ Epicness!

Okay, this is brief tonight—as a reminder, Virtual FantasyCon is going on over on Facebook all this week; stop by to chat with sci-fi and fantasy authors, learn more about their work, win giveaways, and get exclusive offers!

http://www.facebook.com/events/670735369748702/

I was fortunate enough to participate yesterday in the epic/sword & sorcery day; today is sci-fi and time travel, and tomorrow will be fairytale/punk. Each day through next Sunday will host a different theme, and each day there will be opportunities to interact with authors and win things.

In celebration of this event, I’ve decided to lower the eBook price of all Redemption of Erâth books to just $0.99 across the board—that means you can get books one and two and the companion book History of Erâth for less than the cost of a cup of coffee!

Click to buy book one for just $0.99!

Click to buy book two for just $0.99!

These prices will be available all week, so there’s never been a better time to start an epic journey of Darkness through a land riddled with danger and fear.

Let me know what you think of the books, or the Virtual FantasyCon, in the comments—remember, interaction with authors is (for the most part) the best part of their day!

Virtual FantasyCon and Giveaway

I have some exciting news, everyone! This Sunday, I'll be taking part in an online Virtual FantasyCon—a week-long Facebook event where you can contact, interact with and ask questions of hundreds of different fantasy authors, all from the comfort of your own home (if you're not at ComicCon already)! Sunday is the 'Epic/Sword & Sorcery' day, and I'll be running a booth all day long to promote The Redemption of Erâth.

Along with being able to ask me questions and find out more about The Redemption of Erâth, both Consolation (book one) and Exile (book two) will be on sale throughout Sunday for just $0.99, so there's never been a better time to download a copy and get started on the epic adventure of Darkness! Follow the link below to register/show your interest.

http://www.facebook.com/events/518395788285240/

Additionally, I'm running a Goodreads giveaway of 10 print copies of Exile, starting October 13. Head over to Goodreads at the following link to enter the giveaway, and potentially win your very own hard copy of the second book in my series!

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/207170-the-redemption-of-er-th-exile

I'm looking forward to talking to you all on Sunday, and please let me know if there's anything else you're curious about in the comments below!

Chapter 15 Is Available Now

I haven't had much opportunity to write this week, as I've been pretty swamped at work with teaching and student evaluations. I did get some work done last Sunday, and I'm proud to say that Chapter 15 of Exile is completed, and the first draft is available to read over at www.satiswrites.com. I've made some progress on Chapter 16, but to be honest, I'm feeling a little lost.

It's a curious thing that this series, which started out portraying the life and struggles of one character (Brandyé), has suddenly started focusing much more strongly on what was initially a companion (Elven). Two of the five sections of the third book are entirely about Elven, without any mention of Brandyé at all. And oddly, I've found those sections easier to write. I've become more invested in the story and fate of the sidekick than I have of the main character. This is even getting to the point where I'm considering doing some terrible, terrible things with the main character, Brandyé—and having Elven become the true hero (Sam to Tolkien's Frodo, I suppose).

So now I'm back to a section of the book dealing with Brandyé, and I'm not quite sure where to go. I know where I need to end up, but I can't quite figure out a way to get there. I last left him captured by the enemy on the brink of a war that will engulf the entire world of Erâth, but I don't know how he's going to escape, and I can't think how he'll return. I'm confident I'll find a way, but it makes me feel like these sections are somehow weaker than those involving Elven.

Either way, the book will get written, and then edited, and then published. This will happen. And then, of course, I can focus on the fourth book. And the fifth … and so on and so forth. For now, all I can do is put my head down and concentrate on writing one word at a time. After all, a thousand mile journey begins with the first step.

New Cover Image for Exile

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The original image I found for the cover of The Redemption of Erâth: Exile.

Those of you who've been following me over at www.satiswrites.com will know that I've been struggling to find an appropriate cover image for the second book of The Redemption of Erâth series, Exile. A while ago I found the most spectacular mountain picture on the internet, but try as I might I couldn't find the original photographer, or discover anything about licensing the image. Therefore, as much as I wanted to use it for the cover, I new that I'd never be able to.

So began a very long search for a replacement. I scoured Getty Images, googled for images that were licensed for commercial use, asked friends of photographers, but alas—no luck. The biggest problem was that the picture I had in mind was a perfect representation of a pivotal moment in the book. Near the end, when Brandyé and Elven are slowly making their way through the Reinkrag Mountains, there comes a point where they emerge through the perpetual clouds, ascending to the top of a peak, and look down upon a vast sea of clouds. I simply couldn't imagine a better scene from the book to put on the cover.

After a while, I gave up the search, and began working on other things—editing the second book, continuing the writing of the third, publishing the History of Erâth, and so on. For the first book and the history, I actually used my own photos, so of course licensing issues were avoided altogether. But I simply didn't have the photo I needed for the second book in my possession.

And then, a couple days ago, I was working on updating this site, and I came across, in a search of iStockPhoto, a nearly perfect substitute for the original picture. An incredible mountain sunset, the sun hidden behind snow-capped peaks and turning the sea of clouds a gorgeous, deep violet. And best of all, I could license it for only $12!

So here I give to you my new draft for the cover of The Redemption of Erâth: Exile. Please take a moment, and let me know what you think!