Writing is all about sharing your inner self without knowing it
Yes, finally! Today, the first proof arrived via courier, and boy, it looks awesome. The book is big and shiny and sexy, and weighs over one kilogram. It’s also one of the thickest books I’ve ever seen, rivaling some of the 1,000+ page mass market paperbacks like The Lord of the Rings or The Song of Ice and Fire, any one of the five books. But it’s dandy and cool, and here it is. The cover is a tiny bit damaged from the shipping, still, it’s the bestest ever.
With some small, unexpected delay in the overall process, I finally approved the 800-page first version of the manuscript of the second book in the The Lost Words series, The Broken. A physical proof ought to be delivered to me via courier service any day now. Then, it’s reading everything all over again and finding the odd spelling error and glitch here and there, but I’ve had the digital proof for a while now, so it should not take too long.
Hello people. Here’s an interesting piece of information that you should read. About a week back, I got a phone call from my project team, telling me that they were forced to change the interior setup for my upcoming, second book in the series, The Broken. Namely, the book was too thick. It runs some 800 pages, and with high-quality cream paper, it is simply not possible to create a proper paperback binding. The alternative? White paper.
Even though my English is fairly awesome, I would not dare publish a book without submitting it to a rigorous, professional proofing service. Indeed, approx. three weeks ago, I got the book back from my editor, with all the little fixes, changes, suggestions, and whatnot added therein. Mostly, they were consistency fixes, to align with a certain writing style, but also some grammar and spelling touches. Yesterday evening, I uploaded the proofed manuscript to the publisher’s website, with all the little changes added. This means I ought to receive the first print draft soon. This means Book Two, named The Broken, ought to be released in the coming weeks.
Several days ago, I came up with a wicked idea. As you know, I make my living out of Linux, and I’m trying to promote Linux-based technologies that I think can benefit computer users worldwide. Then, I also want to promote my own work. So what’s the best thing? Roast two birds in one oven! Promote both at the same time.
To cut the long story short, I’ve organized a book read-review lottery contest for the readers of my other website, dedoimedo.com, and want to extend it here. Namely, read my book, The Betrayed, or the upcoming sequel, The Broken (coming soon), post an HONEST (good or bad) review on Amazon and get a chance to win an Ubuntu smartphone.
A few weeks ago, I gave you a nicely decorated Tolkien-like version of the map depicting the Realms, the fictional world setting where the action and fun in The Betrayed takes place. While aesthetically pleasing and possibly intriguing, the new map did not add any details or reveal any new places. We shall remedy that in a jiffy.
Here’s something rather neat for you. As you know, my fantasy universe of the Realms has a map. It’s in the book, right there at the beginning. In the true spirit of olden times, I kept the map rather simple and vague, depicting only the major border lines and the bigger cities, so you get the feel where you are, but not the exact coordinates. No GPS in The Lost Words, I’m afraid. Still, due to semi-popular demand, I decided to create a special version of the map. Available in HD, or at least a big size with lots of pixels, you get the map in lovely colors, antique fonts and runic symbols. Oppan Tolkien style!
All right, we have boldly marched into a new year. As a present for you reading my stuff, I gave the first book in my epic fantasy series for free, for three days, on Amazon.com, in its Kindle format. Pretty much the same thing we did to celebrate Dedoimedo’s sixth birthday. So no that we’re done with the partying, let’s take a look at the results.
This year, the holidays come early, because I have a gift for you. Starting midnight Pacific Time on December 19, which would be approx. 16 hours from now, The Betrayed, my first book in The Lost Words epic fantasy saga, will be free for download for three days. In order words, you get a free e-copy of my book.
Holy barnacle! I have finished the third book in the series. It will be a while before you see in the stores, but the entire text is there. Exactly 105 days after starting the second book, I have completed the third one, with 240,000 words written, averaging more than 2,000 words a day, although most of the writing was done on weekends. Moreover, I have successfully beaten my usual autumn-winter writers’ block, as there’s none, and I have never been more pumped about writing.