Thursday, January 26, 2012

Echo Rising and some decisions regarding Estelan.

After much deliberation, I have decided to name keep Echo Rising as the sequel to Estelan.  I considered going another direction and bumping Echo Rising to the third book in the series but I am finding myself in such a groove it would be a shame to disrupt it. 

Of course, I realize that only a few people have actually read Estelan (my beta readers) and that they will liekly be disappointed at my decision to make the series a YA fantasy series.  Hopefully others will be pleased with the decision. 

It feels difficult lately to post much on here about Creating Estelan since Estelan is pretty much on hold for the Amazon Breakthrough Contest and talking about Echo Rising could be pointless given that it is a sequel to a book few have read thus far.  At the same time, I do not want to give up on this blog because the process has been a huge help to me as a writer.  Hm.  Decisions, Decisions.  I must ponder such thoughts!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Estelan Update

I took a big leap.  Well, for me anyway.  I completed the edits for a 4th draft of Estelan (formerly known as Fall of Ia) and entered into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel competition.  I have opted to put Estelan out as a YA Fantasy because I think a good portion of the characters lend themselves to the YA genre moreso than the adult fantasy fiction.  It will still round out into an epic fantasy series of 4-5 books.  I am truly pleased with the outcome of Estelan and am hopeful it will be well received.  Unfortunately, the first round is judged on a 300 word or less pitch and that tends to be my downfall.  It is the main reason I opted to self publish my first two books (of the Emerald Seer Series - http://emeraldseer.blogspot.com).  I fail to see how a 300 word or less pitch can encapsulate the depth of an 80,000+ word novel told from multiple points of view.  The feedback I continue to receive is "focus on one character that links them all."  Easier said than done.  Some of the characters never meet each other (i.e. die before interacting with more than sub-characters).  In then end, I opted to go with something more general that I believe conveys the main plotline without giving away any of the plot twists.  I will know if I make the cut on February 24th, if I do not then I will be releasing Estelan as a self-pubbed work.  Until then, I will continue working on Echo Rising (sequel to Estelan) and End of the Night (third in the Emerald Seer Series).

Fingers crossed - Check
Writing cap on - Check
Hopefull - Check

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Light My Fire - Emerald Seer II is a free ebook this weekend

Hey all!  In honor of the FABULOUS HOUSTON TEXANS making their first playoff appearance, I am offering Light My Fire (Emerald Seer II) as a freebie ebook on Amazon this weekend (SUNDAY and MONDAY - January 8th and 9th).  Enjoy!

GO TEXANS!