Good news. Barring some sort of terrible woe, Kingdom Asunder will be out before the year's end. Praise be to Apollo and Saint Lucy.
It's the first story since Journey to Altmortis to be set in the Bane of Souls world. That's more than three years, so it's glad to be going back. Unlike Sir Edric, my fantasy in that world is generally serious, although I do include some humour (a world lacking jests and mockery is as weird as a world where nobody's scared of spiders).
In The Bloody Crown Trilogy there will be some old faces from the first two books, but in Kingdom Asunder it's a 100% new cast of characters, some of whom have been referred to before or who are related to old characters.
I'm still working on things like banners and blurbs (more on that below), and little descriptions for when I go asking for reviews (incidentally, any reviewer interested in a free e-book ARC in return for an honest review can get in touch with me here or via Twitter @MorrisF1). The cover and some extra artwork fits really well for banners, so I'm hoping they'll come off nicely.
As for the plot [no spoiler, this happens literally in the first chapter], there's a failed attempt to kill King William. He's gravely wounded, though, and only his sister, Princess Karena, stands between the House of Penmere and ruin.
There's lashings of treachery, murder, blood and betrayal.
I've always said I was aiming for a December release, and that's been my intention, but it's possible I'll release it in November instead. Not sure. If I can (apparently this is possible, but wasn't back when I last self-published) I'll have a pre-order period to try and stack up sales for week one, and so advanced reviewers can include a link in their reviews. I've been using Open Office rather than Word, so the adventure of formatting awaits.
Currently, my plan is to have an initial e-book release then, probably a few weeks/a month or two later release a paperback. No plans yet for audiobooks or hardbacks.
The second book, Traitor's Prize, is undergoing redrafting right now, and I'm perhaps halfway into the first draft of the final book. So, I'm confident of releasing the second book roughly a year after the first. When I have more firm information on Kingdom Asunder, I'll post it here (and probably everywhere else on the internet too).
But if you're itching, aching, straining on your tiptoes with uncontrollable desire to read my stories now then there's even more good news.
The Haunting of Lake Manor Hotel has been reduced in price for the whole of October (both e-book and paperback have been discounted).
To help with marketing [yeah, I know, it's not why I became a writer] I did a Twitter poll on what people would be most enticed by in banners/ads for books. The options I offered were Snazzy Title (4%), Alluring Artwork (17%), Intriguing One-Liner (71%) and Pleasing Price (8%). That's a pretty clear result and something I'll try to make use of when fiddling with banners and the like.
One-liners can be tricky, though, because you've got to avoid spoilers and sometimes a line needs context to work. "Launder it" is not very interesting. But when Sanchez says it in Licence to Kill after he explodes Milton Crest in a diving chamber full of money and his minions ask what to do with the bloody cash, it takes on a macabre wit.
Bit of a large post today, but Kingdom Asunder looming on the horizon is significant news.
Thaddeus
It's the first story since Journey to Altmortis to be set in the Bane of Souls world. That's more than three years, so it's glad to be going back. Unlike Sir Edric, my fantasy in that world is generally serious, although I do include some humour (a world lacking jests and mockery is as weird as a world where nobody's scared of spiders).
In The Bloody Crown Trilogy there will be some old faces from the first two books, but in Kingdom Asunder it's a 100% new cast of characters, some of whom have been referred to before or who are related to old characters.
I'm still working on things like banners and blurbs (more on that below), and little descriptions for when I go asking for reviews (incidentally, any reviewer interested in a free e-book ARC in return for an honest review can get in touch with me here or via Twitter @MorrisF1). The cover and some extra artwork fits really well for banners, so I'm hoping they'll come off nicely.
As for the plot [no spoiler, this happens literally in the first chapter], there's a failed attempt to kill King William. He's gravely wounded, though, and only his sister, Princess Karena, stands between the House of Penmere and ruin.
There's lashings of treachery, murder, blood and betrayal.
I've always said I was aiming for a December release, and that's been my intention, but it's possible I'll release it in November instead. Not sure. If I can (apparently this is possible, but wasn't back when I last self-published) I'll have a pre-order period to try and stack up sales for week one, and so advanced reviewers can include a link in their reviews. I've been using Open Office rather than Word, so the adventure of formatting awaits.
Currently, my plan is to have an initial e-book release then, probably a few weeks/a month or two later release a paperback. No plans yet for audiobooks or hardbacks.
The second book, Traitor's Prize, is undergoing redrafting right now, and I'm perhaps halfway into the first draft of the final book. So, I'm confident of releasing the second book roughly a year after the first. When I have more firm information on Kingdom Asunder, I'll post it here (and probably everywhere else on the internet too).
But if you're itching, aching, straining on your tiptoes with uncontrollable desire to read my stories now then there's even more good news.
The Haunting of Lake Manor Hotel has been reduced in price for the whole of October (both e-book and paperback have been discounted).
To help with marketing [yeah, I know, it's not why I became a writer] I did a Twitter poll on what people would be most enticed by in banners/ads for books. The options I offered were Snazzy Title (4%), Alluring Artwork (17%), Intriguing One-Liner (71%) and Pleasing Price (8%). That's a pretty clear result and something I'll try to make use of when fiddling with banners and the like.
One-liners can be tricky, though, because you've got to avoid spoilers and sometimes a line needs context to work. "Launder it" is not very interesting. But when Sanchez says it in Licence to Kill after he explodes Milton Crest in a diving chamber full of money and his minions ask what to do with the bloody cash, it takes on a macabre wit.
Bit of a large post today, but Kingdom Asunder looming on the horizon is significant news.
Thaddeus
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