Thanks, stranger!

I love books, whatever form they happen to take.  I have read paperbacks and hardbacks, ebooks and online books, audio books, illustrated novels, and I would probably try any other format a book can come in.  I say this because I haven't been the best in the past about keeping print editions of my books available.  However, this month especially, I'm realizing that other prefer print to digital (or any other format).  Because someone out there has purchased copies of my print editions books.

The fact that I noticed should tell you exactly how many I sell.  A special thanks to the print lover out there--you are a rare and much appreciated gem, stranger.  :)

And because I noticed, I realized that even though I am currently writing book 6 in the Redemption series, I only have book 1 available in print.

So to anyone out there waiting for it, formatting the rest of Redemption for print editions has just been bumped up my priority list.  Stay tuned for further announcements on that front.

Happy Reading,
Al

Storyteller Alley & draft cover art

First, a big thanks to Storyteller Alley for accepting my book for a feature on their site, and for making Waldgrave a part of their daily giveaway!  If you're a person who signs up for book blogs or sites that offer free books (I'm a member of several), you may want to check them out.  Their email list is an automatic signup to win free books that they feature.

It's still raining at my house, but I'm hoping to take my kiddo and get out of the house tomorrow, and maybe head in to Denver.  I don't know--the laundry also beckons, and I have a few other indoor chores if the cabin fever doesn't take hold.  At least the garden is shaping up nicely this year.

Also, here is some new cover art I am working on for book 6 of the Redemption series (in no way final--I may still make changes).  I'm playing with the idea of moving up the release dates, but haven't made a final determination.  It all depends how fast I can finish the draft for Shattered Minotaur.

Happy reading,
Al

Cold and Wet

The covers for Waldgrave have been updated...everywhere but on this blog, seemingly, so I'm going to get on that today.  I am officially 1/3 the way through writing the 6th book in the Redemption series, and it won't stop raining outside.  I usually like to get out and take my kiddo to the zoo, or the gardens, or anywhere, but it's been too cold and wet lately.  To cold and wet to go out and pull weeds, in fact, so a nasty situation awaits me in the back when the mud finally lets up--all the rain has those things thriving.

 


I think I've lost an apple tree to fire blight because the symptoms were atypical and I didn't know what to do.  I'll be sterilizing all of my gardening equipment to be sure, and then picking out a new tree for the back yard.  I'm actually grieving it a little, because those apples were delicious, and the tree was here when we bought the house so I don't actually know what kind it was.

Al

Updating the covers for Waldgrave

Earlier this week I made the decision to update the covers for Waldgrave.  This is partly because I'll soon be adding books to that world, and partly because I just felt it was time for a change.  So I spent a few evenings and nap times this week picking out stock images and putting things together, and here they are.

I'm hoping to do a quick update on the internal files for these books, and have the new covers up everywhere by the end of next week.

Al

Trying to put up the Smashwords/Nook pre-order for Lion's Shadow

I just finished doing my rough edits, and I was going to put up the SW/Nook preorder for Book 5, but sadly the system thinks the file is password protected (it's not, and never has been).  I'm using the exact same procedure as I usually do when uploading to Smashwords, but for some reason, they have chosen to hate on this book in particular.  Oh, the frustration...

I'm waiting on a return email from support now, and they always do a wonderful job, so hopefully the problem will be resolved before tomorrow.

I'm off to get out from under the rock...erm, I mean, leave the house, to run some errands.  Wish me luck.

Happy reading,
Al

EDIT:  The pre-order is now up.  We never really figured out why the file was getting rejected by the system, but I saved it to a .docx and then back to a .doc and for some reason that fixed the problem (just in case anyone out there is in the same situation and willing to try anything).

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease

...has come to my house.  My kiddo is sick again, but after fearing that it might have been something far worse, I was glad for this diagnosis.  I'm a little relieved that he decided to go on a noodles cooked in bouillon binge the day before the sore throat set in, because I think it helped him retain water.  The name of the game is yogurt and homemade applesauce now, which suits me fine as long as it keeps him strong and hydrated.

In writing land, I am still plugging away at edits on Redemption Book 5, and the launch for Book 4 went off without a hitch!  I came downstairs last night, just after midnight when I had to give my kiddo a dose of ibuprofen, and uploaded the new file with the link to the pre-order for Book 5 at the back.  If anyone got an email about a new version being available, that's what that was about.  :)

I'm gearing up for finishing Books 6 and 7 now, which I believe will close out the series.  I make no guarantees on that, but I think that's where this story line will close out.

Happy reading,
Al

Getting ready for the release of Pale Hound

The "final" draft has been uploaded, but I caught two more little errors.  I'm going to upload a new draft first thing release day, so only the folks that download Pale Hound before I get to it will ever know.  (ETA: Pale Hound, Redemption Book 4 is coming out this Thursday, April 30th!)

The new upload will also include a link at the back to the next book in the series, because I just created the pre-order for Lion's Shadow last night.

My camp NaNoWriMo was a little bit of  a disappointment, because I spent most of it editing Lion's Shadow to get that pre-order file ready.  I'm only about 20,000 words into writing Redemption book 6 now, but hoping to kick it into high gear after my final pass of Lion's Shadow, which has a tentative release date of July 25th.  Book 6 will be out in either September or October, depending on how writing goes the rest of this year.

Spring has finally arrived in my backyard, and I *think* that we've already had our last hard freeze for the year, but in Colorado one never really knows.  I've already got half of my vegetable garden planted, and I just put out some annuals on Saturday...followed by an epic 2 hour weed pulling session.  My daffodils have come and gone, but I've still got some tulips in bloom, and waiting to see if I get any irises this year.  The hibiscus have just started to come out of hibernation, and it looks like the tiny hydrangea I planted last year, which I was sure had died, is now making a come back.

Happy reading,
Al