Adventures in Formatting

Even if it’s only temporarily the end.

Over the past two weekends, I’ve been editing and formatting the season 2 episodes of The Adventures of Pigg & Woolfe. This is to avoid the situation I ran into earlier this month with episode 13, where I had to postpone the release a week to properly format it. Doing them in one block also makes it easier, since I can make sure they are formatted consistently. This will also help when I stitch the individual episodes into a single annual omnibus for print.

I have a rough draft of the cover illustration for episode 14, Under the Mountain. I should have it finished by this weekend. I only have one episode left to format for season 2. I may go ahead and edit and format the season 3 episodes for next year’s run.

Season 4 is coming along, also. I’m currently writing on episode 39. I need to update the landing page for the serial. It still lists a few season 3 episodes as unwritten.

I plan to start the final editing pass on Demon Bayou so I can get started putting it in the various formats and file types needed for publication. I will probably contact my cover artist for the series after ConNooga and get her started on it.

I also need to do new character pictures for both series and make myself start filming and editing the Meet the Characters series of videos for my YouTube channel. I have to up my marketing game, if I want these books to be successful.

To that end, I will be conducting a contest in April to win an e-ARC of Demon Bayou, one winner per social media platform I use, winner’s choice of Epub or. pdf. (Misha, you can’t enter. You’re already going to get a copy as my alpha reader.) There will be more details closer to contest time, but it will involve having read a copy of the new version of Blood Curse to stand a chance of winning.

Captain’s Log: Chattacon 47

“Captain ConSuite”
I made sure to let him know this is the closest thing I’ve seen to a Cosplay of my characters.

First, I apologize for taking a whole week to getting around to writing this post. I hope my job as ship’s scribe is not in peril.

Chattacon 47 was my first live convention since February 2020. It was sparsely attended, but that was expected. Attendance was actually better than I had hoped for. The weather also played a factor, with several con goers and a few vendors bugging out Saturday to avoid the poor driving conditions expected that Sunday.

While I didn’t make any sales that weekend, I still had a great time getting to reconnect with my “family.” I even managed to get some free publicity for my books courtesy of Back of the Cereal Box, a podcast out of Nashville with at least 3K followers! They made a round of the Dealers Room Saturday morning interviewing the vendors.

I was not very good at keeping up with the time, however. Saturday, I was a little late for one of my panels. I missed my Sunday panel entirely, for which I humbly apologize. In my defense, it was slated for the same time the Dealers Room opened, and I was caught up in conversation well into the hour.

I have already secured a table for next year, and am looking forward to attending again.

I also added a few entries to my virtual dealer room here on the site: Smugglers Cove and Hucksters Haven. Go check it out!

Update on Publication Delay

I am having to reschedule the release of Airborne Alliance to next Tuesday, January 25th. My job is requiring very long days for my team this week, and I simply haven’t had time to get the manuscript to the formatting quality I want it at.

I apologize for the delay.

Publication Delay

I truly apologize for not getting Airborne Alliance, episode 13 and the start of season 2 of The Adventures of Pigg & Woolfe out when promised. I had planned to upload it to KDP this past Monday, but was kind of wiped out after Chattacon 47 this past weekend.

Then I spotted a major oversight yesterday evening. Formatting. I forgot I typed it up on the Word app on my phone. While this is convenient to use, I haven’t figured out how to do proper formatting on the app.

So, as soon as I finish fixing the craptastic look of the manuscript on my desktop, I will get it uploaded. Hopefully this evening, but definitely by the weekend.

Thanks for your patience. A Captain’s Log post about the convention is coming soon.

Cover Reveal

I wish the brown of the lettering was a bit darker. I may go with black next episode. Other than that, I’m happy with it.

Airborne Alliance will go live on KDP Tuesday, January 18.

Chattacon 47 Schedule Update

Lani added another panel to my Saturday schedule.

I’ll be on the Character Development panel at 4pm in Vision Ballroom C. My fellow panelists are Jerry Harwood and “Cooper.” Sorry, but the first name and profile for our moderator seems to be missing from the Chattacon website.

Prepping for Chattacon 47

Consuite at Chattacon 45, January 2020, the last live event Chattacon held. They were virtual for Chattacon 46 in 2021.

I’m still waiting for the copies of Blood Curse I ordered for the convention to arrive. Since I went with economy shipping, I can’t track them. Don’t think I’ll make that mistake again.

I am updating my panel schedule. Got the email with the tentative programming schedule from Lani Sessoms, the programming director, yesterday. It’s more complete than what was on the website this past weekend. I am also going to update my Appearances page after I post this.

Chattacon is January 14 – 16, 2022 at the Doubletree Hilton in Chattanooga, TN. I have one panel on Friday from 5 – 5:50 in the Wisdom Boardroom: When to Argue with an Editor. My fellow panelists are Thomas Green, Louise Herring-Jones, Stephen L. Antczak, and Rob Howell. I have one panel and a signing on Saturday. The signing is in the Dealers Room from 2 – 2:50. The panel is from 6 – 6:50 in Vision Ballroom C: The Art and Craft of Anthology Curation. My fellow panelists are Gregory Nicoll, Wendy Webb, Rob Howell, and Stephen L. Antczak. Finally, I have one panel on Sunday from 11 – 11:50 in the Wisdom Boardroom: Publishing? Self, Small Press, or Agent? My fellow panelists are Jerry Harwood, Wendy Webb, and Rob Howell.

Once again, if you are in the Chattanooga area that weekend, come by, enjoy the con, and take a pirate-turned-vampire home with you.

Welcome 2022!

These past few weeks have been rather busy, and I apologize for not posting more often. January promises to be quite hectic, as well.

First, I hope that everyone had a healthy and safe holiday season.

Second, a dear author and convention friend of mine recently experienced a devastating loss. Those of you who follow this blog regularly know I am referring to author Stephanie Osborn’s loss of her husband. Please show her your support and buy her books. You can learn more about her series and titles and where to buy them on her site. She has been posting regular updates on her status as she struggles through this difficult time on her Facebook account.

Third, I have created a cover template for season 2 (and beyond) of The Adventures of Pigg & Woolfe. This is a variation of the cover design I did for The Girl Who Fell from the Sky: The Adventures of Pigg & Woolfe season 1. I used PENUP to create the parchment effect background and color the framework. Future episode covers will feature a line art illustration, a colored outer frame, and a new font (as yet to be determined, downloaded and installed). The annual omnibus will have a colored illustration.

Expect episode 13, Airborne Alliance, which will start off season 2, to be released on KDP Tuesday, January 18.

I haven’t forgotten about Demon Bayou, due for release in May. I will be starting another round of edits soon, then move on to getting it into the various formats. I will also contact my cover artist for the Waves of Darkness series about the cover probably in late February/early March.

Fourth, ChattaCon is coming up this Martin Luther King Day weekend at the Doubletree Hilton, Chattanooga, TN. They will be holding a live convention this year, with COVID protocols in place, of course. I have a table in the dealer room and will have copies of most of my titles (I think I’m sold out of the Gypsy Shadow Publishing edition of Demon Bayou and close to sold out of Maelstrom of Fate). I have a book signing session at 1 PM that Saturday in the Dealers’ Room and will be on a panel about The Art and Craft of Anthology Curation with authors Wendy Webb, Gregory Nicoll, Rob Howell, and Stephen L. Antczak in the Vision Ballroom C.

I hope to see as many as possible of you there!

Fifth, referring to the above announcement, I’ve ordered copies of Blood Curse to have on hand. I still have several copies of The Girl who Fell from the Sky left over from the last convention I attended back in early 202 (before things went insane).

Lastly, I finally got around to ordering the last 4 books in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. I’m nearing completion of reading Wizard and Glass. (It’s not so much that I read slowly as that I only get to read in little snippets of time.) It’s been like reading it for the first time, it’s been well over a decade since I first read it.

Okay, here’s a little treat for sticking it out to the end of this blog post: a video tour of my 2021 Christmas tree. This is the first video I’ve put together using the video editor on Win 10. Still not sure if I like as much, better, or less than MS Moviemaker on Win 7.