Back to the Grind, yet Standing Still

Follow-up: So both The Ferryman: An Opus Wright Novel and The Burden of Immortality are out for final review right now. I've also received the new cover for Ferryman and am pending the initial cover for Burden. In addition, I've commissioned the drawing I want to use for my series of 9 epic fantasy books and am getting a cover done for my A Romance Novel book. In all, things are progressing well concerning book covers and reviews.

Counter to this, however, is my writing. Edits on A Romance Novel have come to a stand-still and I've all but stopped writing my newest novel Child of Need because my motivation is at an all time low. I've even contemplated a new chapter in my series of 9 books which should make things move smoother through the beginning, but don't have the energy to even begin that project. Maybe soon I'll get some of my energy back, but right now I think all the effort I've put into self-publishing is taking its toll. And though I'm happy because of it, it's been quite the drain.

Cover Drawing for Shadow Gods, epic fantasy:

GenCon is Over

So now that's it's been a few days (days of recovery) since GenCon Indianapolis, I feel it's time for me to give a bit of a summary on the entire proceedings.

First off, it was easier to man the booth than I suspected, though it would've been nice to have some company and a little of relief at times so I couldn't done some shopping, grabbed lunch, or hit the restroom from time to time. Still, the people in the booths next to me were good enough to provide some assistance, so that helped.

Second, concerning the other authors, they were great. The authors near me were fantastic people. In fact, the author across the aisle from me lives in Yelm, WA, which is all of 30 miles from my house. Most of the other authors were either local to Indianapolis, from Chicago, or from Cincinnati. Best of all, they were all very encouraging, relating their past experiences with both GenCon and other conventions they've attended. To someone willing to listen (me), it was an eye-opening montage of information. What I learned most, however, was that not a single author makes enough in sales to actually cover their costs at these things. Though I kind of already knew this, it was the confirmation I needed to know it's not just me, but all of us, who are trying to make it in a business with is now flooded due to self-publishing being so readily available.

Third, concerning the people, they were a good crowd. Unfortunately, most of the people at the convention were only there to game. After all, GenCon labels itself as the 'Best 4 Days of Gaming' which is exactly what it is. The ENTIRE convention center is dedicated toward gaming with only a small area actually used for vendors, like myself. Because of this, maybe a quarter of the people attending make it into the vendor area and maybe only 20 percent of those made it back to were the artists and authors were. This made traffic kind of light through our section, so everyone of the authors sold less than they expected. It was a bit disparaging on the first day, but each day garnered more traffic and in turn more sales. So it wasn't all bad.

Overall, it was a great event, though I'm unlikely to do it again. We'll see though.

For some other news, I've finished edits on Ferryman and will be sending it out for another review shortly. I'm also expecting edits back shortly on Burden of Immortality. And since those are both out of my hands at the moment, I'm beginning to work on editing of my romance novel (well, rewriting it is more likely the case). Anyway, things are rolling along smoothly and hopefully both Burden and Ferryman will be out by the end of September. I'll keep you informed.

Smiles....

Progress Being Made

So I've been a little bit busy lately working on several projects: self-publishing Beginnings-A Jeremiah Stone Novel through CreateSpace, editing The Ferryman-An Opus Wright Novel which should be out shortly, and rewriting The Burden of Immortality from the correct point-of-view. Considering all this, I pleased to say Beginnings is out and the editing/rewriting is complete and both those books should be out shortly. I'm very excited.

On another note, I'm preparing for GenCon Indianapolis which will occur between Aug 15-19. I have a booth there to promote my books and have shipped three boxes full out there and will have to hand-carry the rest of the stuff. Wish me luck since I think I'm doing the convention pretty much by myself. That's 40,000 people I hope to coral to my writing, though I'll be happy with just getting two thousand to come by and take a business card. I also don't want to return with books, so I hope to sell the 80+ I shipped.

Now, for a bit of The Ferryman, here's the Prelude I wrote. It's simple, concise, and leads directly into the story:

The demon Hades wants a servant. Someone who can do his bidding, yet appear independent. Someone completely unattached to him and to the world. Someone he can mold and manipulate from afar. Someone without a sense of morality, who can kill without a second thought. Someone he can develop into an angel and demon killer. Someone who believes Hades isn't as he appears.

He believes he’s found that person in Shawn Patrick, a man who has just recently lost his sense of life. However, as the episode plays out, Hades knows he’s wrong. Shawn Patrick isn't the perfect candidate. In fact, he’s found someone better. Someone…younger.