Breaking Ground

I have learned from previous experiences never to even hint at a release date of a book until the 2nd or 3rd draft is complete, but that doesn't mean I can't talk about new beginnings. Going back through Magic Flute for its massive edit has put me back into the mood for all things TftG. If you recall the third book of the series, Spider's Web (buy it now!), was originally supposed to be a story called The Tainted Sliver, but in writing it I realized that a LOT of stuff had to happen before the pivotal events I had planned for this tale. That means I had a good deal of material originally written for the latter chapters of book 3 that went to the cutting room floor. This gives me an excellent jumping off point to begin the fourth installment of my little fantasy series. Tales from the Green Book 4: The Tainted Sliver, is officially a-go! There is little chance I'll have this done in less than a year if my previous works are any indication, so hang tight until then. TftG books are best written when they grow organically, with the characters and events driving the plot where it will despite my well planned out outlines and notes. That means that at the start of any book in the series I honestly have no idea where the story will end up, save for the fact that certain key events will take place. When I have a complete first draft there'll be some rumblings on this blog.

Magic Flute 2nd Edition now Available

Amazing how much progress can be made when one takes a few days off work. The 2nd edition of The Magic Flute is finished and now available through Amazon and Smashwords. It'll be a few weeks yet before the update filters out to Barnes and Noble, Sony, Apple, and Kobo through Smashwords, of course, but if anyone wants it now I am running a free download offer at Smashwords using coupon code UJ26V. This runs all the way through May 1st to give folks plenty of time to take advantage of the deal.

Due to the extent of the changes made, I am working with Amazon customer service to send the updated version to customers who had already purchased the book. Once the review is complete an email should be going out advising readers that a new version is available for download if they want to update. Anyone who purchased from other retailers should go straight to Smashwords and get the free download.

Magic Flute 2nd Edition on pace for April

As I mentioned in January I have embarked upon doing a complete edit of my first novel, The Magic Flute. I am happy to report that this is coming along very smoothly and I am over half finished. Those who have already read the book should not be worried about any significant changes to the plot; things tend to unfold in pretty much the same manner. What is changing is some of the more awkward dialogue and descriptive text as well as catching a few stray type-os. Ghome and New Odyssey get a bit more screen time (an extra paragraph here and there) and I've incorporated some of the elf culture that I developed while writing Spider's Web. I wanted to make the recent centuries-long war the Green just went through seem a little more immediate to the fae folk and not just an after thought, though I'm trying my best to not be heavy handed about it.

Generally I'm laying on a layer of what I have come to recognize as my maybe-a-little-too-flowery style on everything else. The overall ride will be the same, just with nicer scenery along the way. If you're thinking of reading it I leave it to you to decide whether you want to go ahead with the original or wait until the 2nd edition.

Magic Flute Redux

With Spider's Web finally complete after many months of ignoring all other potential projects I find myself with a bit of spare time in the evenings. As this simply will not do I plan to launch right into the Next Big Thing, whatever that may be, in the coming weeks. However, while I don't intend to immediately start another installment of Tales from the Green the series has been on my mind so much as of late that I can't walk away completely.

That leads me to my next long-awaited project: a complete edit of The Magic Flute. Over the next few months as time and other projects permit I will be doing a line by line rewrite of the first book of TftG. As this was my first novel and honestly my first serious completed work it is safe to say that my writing style has evolved somewhat since I finished it. Heck, when I wrote that book I was still in my old job in my old apartment with no kid underfoot! It was a veritable lifetime ago!

Consider the original edition as a sturdy skeleton in need of some fleshing out. While I don't intend to make any drastic changes to the plot I will be making changes throughout the length and breadth of the work. I look forward to going through my original world and seeing where I can take it.

Spider's Web on Amazon!

We are officially ago with the launch of Spider's Web on Amazon! Now begins the stomach churning nervous excitement that accompanies any new book release, followed by a flurry of updates, marketing, and promotion. The fun never ends when you're a one man band!

Spider's Web Released on Smashwords!

Tales from the Green Book Three: Spider's Web has just gone live on Smashwords! Once Smashwords approves it for distribution it will slowly begin filtering out to Barnes and Noble, iTunes, etc, but for now you can buy it directly from Smashwords at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/125309. As always the price is a measly $0.99.

Fair warning: Smashwords seems to have implemented some kind of automatic table of contents feature which did some minor wonky things to the first few pages. I'll be playing around with it to improve aesthetics (preferably by removing the whole ToC), but rest assured that everything looks perfect once the actual book starts. As always please let me know if you find a type-o or formatting problem and I will rush to correct it.


The Amazon edition has been submitted separate from Smashwords and will take another 24-48 hours to upload as it is in "In Review" status. I'll be posting links for it when the address is available.

Soon...

...as in sometime this week.