In the Good Ol' Summer Time...
- Jul 7, 2017
- 4 min read
So earlier this week I put a big "I've got a secret, check out Friday's blog to find out what it is!" message blast on my Facebook accounts (and therefore my Twitter account, Hi Twitter Peeps!). As it turns out, just like cousin Jordi doesn't like to be tickled (vague Buffy the Vampire Slayer reference, you're welcome!), people don't like being teased with secrets (with about the same result).
So here's the big reveal...
I'm still single...
Nobody is pregnant in any capacity that I would need to make an announcement (you're also welcome)...
Book 2 is still in progress (more on that in a bit)...
The audiobook is still in production (also more on that in a bit)...
I haven't booked any new events yet...
BUT this did just happen... July happens to be the month of my birthday. As such I'm thinking of ways to celebrate with you, the folks who make this adventure fun and exciting. One of the things I'm doing this month is activating Kindle's Matchbook feature. What does that mean, you might ask? It means that anybody who purchased the paperback edition of Ash to Ashes: Chronicles of Chalisaria: Volume One directly through Amazon can now purchase the E-book edition for just $1.99! That's right! $8 off the regular E-book price just by purchasing the paperback edition through Amazon. If you've been hesitant to crack open that beautiful cover, or just really needed an excuse to try out this new-fangled electronic book thing, now is you're chance to give it a go with a fantastic book written by this guy right here (and YES it recognizes your purchase from clear back in April}!
For those of you who bought the book directly from me or already bought both editions, I'm still trying to figure out a fun bonus or special deal for you too. I just have to figure out how to do it without breaking the bank or doing something I might regret later. I'll keep you posted.
UPDATES!
You may recall in last week's blog how I said "Holy crap, I've burned myself out, my boss sucks, I need a break!" Well, in true Independence Day fashion, I gave my boss the finger, metaphorically turned off the ringer on my phone, and walked out the door. I then walked right back in the door because I work from home, but never mind. The point is, I took four days off and forced myself to disconnect from everything work related (or at least 95% disconnected, but it's way better than 100% all-in, 24/7). The results were damn well miraculous, I must say. By day 3 I had ideas shooting out of my brain in a way they hadn't for months. But still I persisted. On day 4 I was actually eager to get back to work so I could get cranking on book 2. Wednesday I hit the ground running ,and I'll be darned if I didn't actually get things accomplished! More to the point, I actually felt like I got things accomplished, and that's been missing for a while.
Lesson learned: It really is necessary to take real days off! So I'm going to make sure to do that.
Among the things that I managed to do in the last three days back on the clock, I revisited some prior content and wrote a few more chapters of Book 2!
This may not sound as exciting as I'm portraying it to be, but I'm telling you, folks, I've been stalled out on this project for a while now. Cresting the peak of that friggin' writer's block is like planting a flag on Everest itself. There's a sense of relief knowing that I'm still intrigued by the current project, and that I still have my writing skills intact. I'm sure I'm not the only author who will admit this, but I've been living in terror of the notion that my first book was all I had in me; that somehow each writer only gets a certain amount of worthwhile material, and I somehow blew it all in one go. I'm happy to report, this does not seem to be the case. Book 2 is back in progress, and I'm excited to hit the keyboard once again.
Another gentleman who's been busting his butt producing material for the Chronicles is our very own Jack Voraces! For those of you who are just joining the blog, Jack is narrating and producing the Audiobook for Ash to Ashes. Jack has started uploading chapters of the book to our production page on ACX, and I gotta tell you, folks, I'm pretty excited about what I'm hearing. Jack brings a lot of heart and talent to the reading of Ash to Ashes, and what you're going to get with the final production is going to be fantastic.
I haven't discussed this with Jack directly yet (I apologize, Jack, if I'm out of line here) but a side note about the projected release date of the audiobook: I had originally stated that the audiobook would likely be released in mid to late July. As it turns out, I'm a bit of a long-winded s.o.b. when I write (my assessment, not his; also, I don't apologize for it), and 85 chapters worth of narration and production editing is a bit more of a process than my original projections allowed for (what can I say, it's still a learning process on my end). Rather than put undue stress on Jack (who has been working his derriere off trying to get things done and do his day job researching a cure for cancer *That's not a joke. It really is what he does, and I appreciate him all the more for it.), I'm going to simply adjust my announcement to say: "The audiobook is coming together amazingly well. Jack's work on the project is fantastic. We look forward to making an official release announcement before the end of this summer!"
Stay tuned, folks! We've got plenty going on here with the Chronicles of Chalisaria!
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