Alpha Away!

The last two chapters of Hunting the Dragon are finally typed up and will be sent to my alpha reader by this evening. I also have feedback from her on several previous chapters waiting in my inbox.

Progress on what I hope is the last revision/proofread round on Blood Curse 2nd edition (which will be a sort of 10th anniversary edition if I can get it out this year) is slow, but well worth it.

I went into this one originally just to fix my punctuation snafu mentioned in my previous post, as well as insert accented letters; something the free Word app either doesn’t do, or I haven’t figured out how to do with it. It’s turned into line editing and seriously tweaking the prose one more time. I’m really enjoying it, even though I’m only 15 pages in.

My biggest problem is fighting off the impatience and wanting to do ALL the book things at once. I blame my newest addiction for this enthusiasm which must be bridled: booktube channels. For those yet to discover them, YouTube has a couple of genres which truly feed an author’s needs: booktube and authortube.

Booktube channels are primarily collections of videos about book reviews and sometimes book clubs/fans. Many of these channels can give books a wider audience than just promoting on social media and at conventions.

Authortube seems to consist of authors’ channels or videos with publishing and writing tips. For me, especially last year after so many conventions were canceled, these filled my need/desire for writing and book promoting panels. Plus, it gave me fresh perspectives beyond the familiar ones from the conventions I’ve been haunting for years.

I do have plans to revive and bulk up my own channel eventually.

Some day.

Oh! Before I forget, I recently took part in the recording of a panel for the upcoming virtual LibertyCon. The title of the panel is Very Vocal Vampire Voices. Look for it when LibertyCon goes live the last weekend of June. Since it’s virtual, it’s FREE and without an attendance cap.

Book News (and stuff)

I must agree with Viktor on it this time.

The rough draft of Hunting the Dragon (Waves of Darkness book 8) is in the bag. The first 10 chapters are with my alpha reader, and she’s promised feedback notes, hopefully by next week.

The remaining chapters are still in handwritten form and need to be typed up. I will start on that soon. I have to admit that the back half of the rough draft is a hot mess and in need of some scene rearranging and serious polishing.

Meanwhile, I’ve completed inking all the Dragon Poker portraits. I will be doing a color accent version of them for special edition sets of the cards. I’m told those will be offered in a wooden case.

Next on my agenda is the reformatting and revision of Blood Curse (Waves of Darkness book 1). The new edition will be in the 5×8-ish (not sure of the exact measurements right now) size rather than the 6×9 trade paperback version it was previously published in. I plan to snazzy up the interior as well. All this is necessary before I can order a new cover design, since I need a page count to determine the width of the spine. The size change will change the original page count, of course.

Finally, happy news: someone bought one of the 6-episode mini-omnibus ebooks in my The Adventures of Pigg & Woolfe steampunk serial. This is the first sale of the year and the first sale in months!

That is all for now. Thanks for reading!

New Waves of Darkness Logo

I hope you all like it.

I created this using Adobe Photoshop Sketch on my Galaxy Tab A. I could have done it on my phone, but I prefer the control of the S-pen over a regular stylus.

Covers Revealed

Double Jeopardy has been added to the The Adventures of Pigg & Woolfe page under the menu heading for Books and Short Stories.

Season 1: Episodes 1-6 has been uploaded to Kindle and should go live no later than Friday.

I finally have a working title for Waves of Darkness book 8. Hunting the Dragon. I’m already three handwritten pages into it, which isn’t bad considering that was written during 10-minute breaks at work.

Last but not least, fellow author, D.A. Adams has finally released his fifth and final installment in his Brotherhood of Dwarves series, The King of Dwarves. I’ve been waiting for this book for a few years now. Although it is currently only available as an ebook, I hope some day it is made available in print. I’d dearly like to complete the set on my bookshelf. I’m looking at YOU, D.A. !

 

Viktor and Crew Are At Sea for Now

As of April 2018 the Waves of Darkness series of books are unavailable for sale (with the exception of a few copies of each title I still have for conventions). I have ended my contract with Gypsy Shadow Publishing.

I will be re-releasing the books at a future date, as yet undetermined, as self-published works. They will have new covers, and I plan to do some minor revisions/re-edits prior to that time.

This comes at about the same time I plan to launch the first episode of The Adventures of Pigg & Woolfe, also to be self-published. Plus, I’m about to enter a period of extensive overtime with my job. So I ask for your patience. I want to do this as quickly as possible; but I want to do it right and give readers the best quality.

Thank you for reading. Viktor Brandewyne WILL be back.

Preditors & Editors Readers Poll Final Standings for 2017

 Maelstrom of Fate tied for 9th place in the Horror Novel category and tied for 14th place in the Science Fiction/Fantasy Novel category!

THANK YOU FOR MAKING SURE EVERY BOOK IN THE WAVES OF DARKNESS SERIES PLACED IN THE TOP TEN IN THEIR RESPECTIVE RELEASE YEARS!

YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!!!!

New Year New Beginnings

I hope 2018 will bring good things to all of my fans and followers as well as to myself, family, friends, and coworkers. Happy New Year!

I’ve just completed my first month in my forever home. (The lawn furniture left with the previous owner, but that’s okay.) All my adult life I’ve been a renter. Finally, I have a place of my own.

The new (to me; the place is 40 years old) house is not the only new beginning I’ll face this year. At work, I’ll be going on permanent night shift. I volunteered for it when we voted to have non-rotating shifts.

Around February or March, I will be releasing the first episode of The Adventures of Pigg & Woolfe under the aegis of Steele Rose Press.

Steele Rose will be my personal, self-published imprint, which I plan to run as professionally as I can. Friends from my AB:VH fanfic days will know the story behind the name for the publishing venture. This is a new venue for me, so I ask for your patience as I learn the ropes. (There will be MUCH brain-picking of other indie and self-pubbed author-friends at conventions this year.) As I get things in place, I will set up shop on this site or possibly build a separate WordPress site just for the publishing.

I have the first couple of episodes of TAoPaW out to an editor-friend who was soliciting free editing in exchange for permission to use samples in their portfolio (she has since received more than enough manuscripts to keep her occupied for some time, so the offer has been closed). Lori Alden Holuta is also the author of a series of Steampunk YA stories set in Industralia; specifically, the city of Brassbright.

Another change to this site I plan on is going through the con swag I’ve picked up over the years and highlighting the authors, publishers, artists, musicians, and others whose cards, bookmarks, postcards, and such which are in my collection. After all, isn’t advertising/marketing the purpose of such items? I haven’t made up my mind yet what frequency these types of posts will have.

There are a few more new beginnings I will announce later in the year. I still have some serious prep to do before I can reveal what I’m up to.

Next week, I will post pictures of my new library (formerly a dining room; but I don’t USE a dining room, and haven’t for decades). Here’s what it looked like before we bought the place.

(Yeah, I saved the pictures from the real estate listing for comparison purposes.)

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE FOR MAELSTROM OF FATE FOR BEST HORROR NOVEL IN THE PREDITORS AND EDITORS READERS POLL! Voting closes on January 14th. Current standings have the book tied for 9th place. I think we can do better than that, and I heartily thank you for your support.

Also, don’t forget I will be in the Dealers Room at Chattacon, January 19-21. I will have multiple copies of all seven titles in the Waves of Darkness series available, and will be more than happy to sign them. Chattacon has a new home this year, BTW. They are now housed at The Chattanoogan hotel.

 

Merry Christmas and an Update

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Had my picture taken with the Salvation Army Santa bell ringer outside the grocer just 5 minutes from my “new” (40-year-old) home a couple of weeks ago.

My office/studio is getting in shape. I was a bit irritated to have to order a new power cord for my printer (which will not arrive until next week/year). Guess I should have unplugged it from the device before I boxed it up to move. The plug prongs broke off. Thanks to a pair of tweezers, I was able to extricate them from the printer’s receptacle. I still have a lot of organizing to do in here; but most of the stuff is unpacked, at least.

I’ll soon have a proper library! There was room in the den for the eating table and chairs, so bookcases will be going into the dining room. No more books piled on the floor (for now, at least).

Speaking of books… Maelstrom of Fate is in the running in the Horror Novel category for this year’s Preditors and Editors Readers Poll! Be sure to place your vote! The six previous titles in the Waves of Darkness series have placed in the top ten during their respective years. I would dearly love to see the series sweep as a set.

Also, if you’re looking for a way to spend that money Grandma sent or the cash you plan to get back from returning unwanted gifts, you could do much worse than buy a copy of one of my books (be it digital or print). Remember, I’ve posted purchase links on each book’s landing page on this site. (Hey, I’ve got a mortgage to pay, after all.)

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday.

HallowCon Approacheth!

That’s right boys and ghouls! This will be my last convention of the year as well as my first time attending HallowCon. This con has been going for a long time, and is now under new management (JoeDog McKeel) and in a new location (Quality Inn & Suites).

As you may guess from their graphic, the Rocky Horror Picture Show is this year’s theme. You have been warned.

I will have a table in the vending area as well as being a panelist. By the time you see this, I should have my Appearances page updated with my schedule.

As I’ve stated in previous posts, I will have 10 copies each of each of my Waves of Darkness titles available for purchase. That is 70 books. I really don’t want to have to cart them back home. This will also be your last chance to get them at the old price. Because of a rate hike at the printer’s, my publisher has raised the retail price (on print copies), as well.

Get ’em while they’re cheap!

State of the Book

Maelstrom of Fate is now available in print format on Amazon, at least. It may take a few days to show up on Books-A-Million or Barnes and Noble. The only reason I can come up for why it or last year’s The Daedalus Enigma haven’t shown up on Kobo is the erotica tag both books received on Smashwords. Just a theory, though.

Make no mistake; the books are NOT erotica, but they both have at least one scene which falls in that category. I am the first to admit I did not write this series for children or the overly sensitive/easily offended.

Meanwhile, I’m considering adding a character profile for Hell’s Breath Island. The island is sentient, and it’s personality does make itself known in these last two books. I found a great photo to use for it on one of the pirate groups I’m a member of on Facebook. Photo courtesy of Patrick Yanaton; used with permission.

Don’t forget to come by Hallowcon October 27-29 if you’re in the Chattanooga area then. I will be offering signed copies of all my books for less than the current retail. Some of the prices are just the original retail rates and/or convention bundle discounts. The printer my publisher uses raised their rates back in September. Maelstrom of Fate will retail at $18.99, but I will be selling copies for $15+tax at Hallowcon ONLY. Starting next year at Chattacon (which has moved from the Chattanooga Choo Choo to The Chattanoogan) all single copy prices and bundle discount prices will reflect the new retail rates.

I will produce and post three new excerpt readings videos in the coming month or so (as free time allows) for Maelstrom. I also plan to add it to my Take a Pirate Home for Christmas ad campaign and will probably do a video for that, as well.