by krj | Jun 3, 2012 | Books
That’s a fine question, and unfortunately, the answer is: delayed. I could go into a details about why it has taken me so long to get everything finalized, but I’ll save you the boring part and answer instead with: things have taken (and are taking) longer than I anticipated. It’s been a learning experience. I ought to have a better idea what to expect next time, but for now, my goal is to get Reborn out as quickly as possible (ideally any day now). Though the final text is all but completed (I have a couple of typos to squash), a few little details remain to be finalized, so as soon as it all comes together, I’ll definitely post something here. And maybe twitter. And Google+. Possibly Facebook. Sorry for the...
by krj | Apr 5, 2012 | Books
Reborn, my next book and the beginning of a new trilogy, is almost finished and will be available in May 2012! Woo! Reborn is an epic fantasy, though it may be a little more accurate to call it a dark fantasy. Omni, while a fantasy, is much more contemporary, Reborn harkens back to the days of swords and sorcery, with a touch of horror to keep things interesting. For Justin Detrier, he has always lived in the shadow of his brother Morgan, the bigger, stronger brother. Morgan was the chosen one, destined to face the Scourge of Kallandin, an evil wizard who has threatened the land for years. Justin has accepted his fate with grace and humility, but when cryptic rumors become reality and Morgan is no longer capable of facing down the kingdom’s oldest foe, it’s up to Justin to save the kingdom, only he can’t: the Scourge has cursed him. Dejected, forlorn, and without hope, Justin must find strength he doesn’t know he has and find a way to save the kingdom when no one else believes the threat that hangs over them. A story of courage, family, pain, and vicious action, Reborn is an uncompromising beginning in this dark fantasy trilogy. Reborn has been a blast to write, and it’s also been instructive. Whether it’s in writing or just life in general, it’s important to try new things, and with this story, I’ve definitely done that. I’m not used to using elements of horror in my writing, and it’s been a bit of a challenge to work it into a story that I never originally viewed...
by krj | Feb 7, 2012 | misc
I have a broad range of interests–whether it comes with being a writer or not I don’t know–and I’m not afraid to admit to some of my nerdier ones. Do you remember the weird kids in high school who’d sit in a little circle, or maybe at a table at lunch, holding a sheet of paper and rolling dice? No, they weren’t the local bookie and craps dealer at your school, rather they were the ones playing some sort of RPG (role-playing game). Heck, maybe you were one of them–I know I was. I had two games of choice back then: Advanced Dungeon & Dragons (2nd edition), and Heroes Unlimited. Everyone has heard of D&D, be it good, bad, or otherwise, but I’m willing to bet most people haven’t heard of Heroes Unlimited. It’s a shame, really, because Palladium makes some pretty cool games. While I had a group of buddies I’d play AD&D with, I only had one other friend who would play HU. It was a fun change of pace because it’s all about being an over-the-top comic book hero and doing heroic things. What kid, teen, or adult wouldn’t love to do that? By that logic, I must be a big comics fan, right? Not at all. Never have been. I have nothing against them, and do find myself reading a graphic novel here and there, but I don’t think I ever read a single one before I was 27 or 28. I’ve always enjoyed words and never found myself wanting pictures in the story itself. I’m weird that way. This, of course, leads us to...
by krj | Dec 30, 2011 | Projects
I realize there’s still another day remaining in this year, but the likelihood of me actually writing something here tomorrow is so slim that I figured I’d just go ahead and do it today. It’s not that I can’t wait to do it, but I thought I should post a little update just in case anyone is wondering what the status of various projects are. To recap 2011, I went from being somebody that almost everyone had never heard of, to someone slightly-less-than-almost everyone had never heard of. It’s not so bad, really. This is what I figured would happen based upon what I’m comfortable with doing. Quite simply, I don’t want to promote, promote, promote for the next several months, so instead I’m just writing. That, of course, means that I’m usually too busy to do the things that would get me name recognition now, but all in good time. I’m a patient Padawan. Anyhow, 2011 saw Omni‘s release, the first book in the Debate Team series. I’d be lying if I told you the Debate Team has more than three books planned, but I think more is possible. However, the story arc is a relatively small one, and three feels right, so that’s what I’ll be writing. (I reserve the right to change this somewhere down the road, likely around the time of writing book three.) Book two in the Debate Team series is moving along quite well. The focus on the first book was fairly narrow, and for specific reasons. There’s a lot of information that’s left to the reader to inuit, and more that’s simply not...
by krj | Dec 9, 2011 | Self-publishing
Forgive me if you’re not a writer because this will only be partially interesting to you (if at all). If you haven’t heard, it’s all the rage in the last couple of days. Amazon, well-known and loved (I suppose) for its ease of allowing folks to publish, is endeavoring to make it easier for books to reach a broader market. How? By allowing authors to enroll their works in the KDP Select program that allows Kindle owners to “borrow” books from Amazon’s library. (We’re going to ignore the inanity of attaching physical world ideas to a digital world.) There’s a few problems with this, but for those who don’t know or for people who would wonder what Amazon is offering authors to entice them, here it is: money. $500k to start, with a $6m allocated for next year. Yes, that “m” means million, as in, $6000000. That’s a lot of money, right? Here’s the catch: you only get a percentage of the pie. Well of course you didn’t think Amazon would give all of it to one person, right? But to earn anything beyond a few pennies (admittedly, the numbers remain to be seen), you have to have your book “borrowed” more than pretty much everyone else. Here’s where we begin to discover why I won’t be participating in this, and why you will still have to buy my books (Kindle loaning and piracy aside): I’m never going to have more books borrowed than Stephen King. Or Dean Koontz. Or Stephanie Meyer. Or James Patterson. Or… and so it goes. I’m fine with that, but if that’s the case,...
