Well...The Revenant and the Tomb is available for preorders. Finally.
The Free Promotion
The promotion is now over. The Promo menu item will remain up for another week, in the event you haven't finished the book, or haven't downloaded the PDF.
I hope you enjoyed / are enjoying the story.
The Revenant and the Tomb
Unfortunately, I released the eBook BEFORE the paperback. That was because I got a little click-happy setting up the eBook. Plus, there was some miscommunication (meaning, I didn't fully read an e-mail) with the people doing the formatting and the cover. So, it'll be a few more days before I can upload everything to the printer.
I also want to do a hardback version. But for now, I'm starting with the paperback.
The eBook stuff was straightforward. The print version is a little more muddled. I can see right now, this is going to be yet another learning experience.
The launch is scheduled for March 3rd, 2022. I'm excited and terrified all at the same time. Excited because, after years of writing, something is actually hitting the bookshelves. I'm terrified because...something is actually hitting the bookshelves. Will the reviews be good, or will they be brutal? We shall soon see...
The links to where you can find my book can be found on the main page of my website.
The "O" Book
The phrase, "I'm a couple of chapters away from being done," is getting mighty old. However...I'm a couple of chapters away from being done. I suspect that by the time The Revenant and the Tomb is released, the manuscript will be complete, and I'll be putting it on ice again for another month (see my video on the 21 steps to self-publishing) before revising.
Now that the end is near, I'm starting to have a renewed appreciation for the story, which is strange considering that I wrote it. Theoretically, I should appreciate it from the start. It's a solid story, will probably clock in at around 60,000 words, and has quite a bit of depth to it. The only problem, really, is that I need to really focus more on the main character, his thoughts, and his feelings. This is something notably missing from the earlier chapters. But now that I have a good feel for him, it'll make revising stuff much easier.
The next goal is to have the revisions done by the beginning of June. At the latest, July. My wife is off from school and has time to read through the manuscript. Hopefully, my other beta reader will be available as well. I think she'd really appreciate this story.
The main character is of Cathar extraction, meaning that he his dark-skinned, and has curly hair, though his true heritage is somewhat of a mystery. In my literary world, Cathars are a barbaric race that is totally given over to the worship of The Four (something that I will go into more detail on in an essay). They are dark skinned, and are known to paint themselves in bright colors, especially in battle.
In an era prior to when the story takes place, there was a schism among the Cathars. The source of this division was a conversion of many to the worship of a singular God (often referred to as "The Allfather" by many in the books). This cumulated in a war in which a large proportion of the population - forever known as "Oncathars" - fled their ancestral home. Many settled in foreign lands, establishing communities of their own. Another large segment fled across the Sorrowing Sea, eventually settling on the islands strewn across this large body of water. To which group the main character belongs is unknown (this is explained in the book).
The main character isn't the only individual of Cathar ancestry in my writings. I have several, the Prophet Jalamil being one. Jalamil is involved in Halsedric's backstory, and plays an important role with the downfall of a tyrant known as The Prophetess. His writings are also very influential to later generations. Likewise, Halsedric also has some Cathar heritage in his family tree, though it is not mentioned in The Revenant and the Tomb. Much of this is illustrated in the original attempt at the novella and may be something I publish at a later date.
I will undoubtedly provide more details and history of the Cathars, the Oncathars, and the legacy of their schism at a later time.
Video Content
Yes. As if my blog posts weren't enough, I've started to make videos.
YouTube has a community of authors - known as #authortube - whose content ranges from vlogs to writing advice videos. I've started developing content for this community, though I'm going about it a different way. Many videos posted in the #authortube community range anywhere from ten to thirty minutes (or longer). Most videos revolve around authors talking about themselves or their writing projects. And there are quite a few in the community creating "advice" videos, most of them regurgitating the same information as previous videos.
I've decided to take a different tack. I try to limit my videos to five minutes. I generally talk about my book, or my literary world. And my "advice" videos? Well, let's just say there's a hefty amount of tongue lodged in that cheek.
(I just read that last line again. Ew.)
Anyhow, please check out my channel if you're so inclined. I also have a "mirror" site on Rumble that (ideally) contains the same content.
I honestly enjoy making some of the videos, even though it is a time- and resource-consuming process. As you can probably tell by now, I have a singular sense of humor. Why my books tend to be pretty serious, I often indulge my inner court jester from time to time. Making these videos is an outlet for that side of my personality.
I release a new video once a week on Thursday.
Other Things
I'm commissioning some artwork that I'll use for social media banners, business cards, and bookmarks. More details on that soon.
There (supposedly) will be an art contest on the day of my book release - Drawn and Quartered Fan Edition - where contestants will be drawing characters and monsters from The Revenant and the Tomb. Perhaps I might provide some descriptions of people, places, and things for my current work in progress. Who knows...
Once the "O" book is complete, I will be focusing on providing some content for my Locals channel. This will be available for a monthly subscription. I have about 4 short stories in the works, not to mention a bunch of chapters from the book I abandoned before The Revenant and the Tomb, which provides some backstory on the origins of Halsedric and how he came to be. I have also fleshed out some essays on a few of the cultures that inhabit my world: the Cathars the Oncathars (mentioned above), the Hakan, and the Nolans.
Anyhow, that's it for now.
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