Amanda Fleet's Blog, page 4

Almost here!!

 

It's almost here! You can pre-order it here...
OR...
You could WIN A SIGNED COPY by signing up below.

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; width:600px;} /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Subscribe* indicates required Email Address * First Name Last Name

[image error]

(function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true);

All subscribers will get a free copy of the novella "Aeron's Fall"

Competition is open worldwide

Draw will be made on 7th May and winner contacted by 9th May.

Giveaway!

I have one signed copy of Chaos to give away to one of my newsletter subscribers.

If you're already a subscriber, rest assured. You're already in the draw.

If you're NOT a subscriber, what are you waiting for?

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; width:600px;} /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Subscribe* indicates required Email Address * First Name Last Name

[image error]

(function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true);

All subscribers will get a free copy of the novella "Aeron's Fall"

Competition is open worldwide

Draw will be made on 7th May and winner contacted by 9th May.

Pre-order Chaos!

It's here soon... SOON!!! It goes live on the 29th April, but you can pre-order Chaos here.

Countdown(function(d, s, id) { var js, pjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//www.tickcounter.com/static/js/loader.... pjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, pjs); }(document, "script", "tickcounter-sdk"));

Flaky builders and ice-cream...

The builder is not replacing the roof this week. Which means I get to stand in the corner all day, in my recording tent, reading "Chaos" out loud (and recording it, ready for the audiobook).

I always read my books out loud as a final edit/proofread. Since I'm doing it anyway, I might as well record it, and then I'll have the files ready for when I can get time to edit/process them for the audiobook.

Despite it only being a few weeks since I was last standing in the corner in a tent all day, I'm out of practice and after just one day, my throat's a bit raspy. I'm 100% sure that ice-cream will fix that. Can't hurt, anyway! There's also been a lot of sighing and there may even have been a bit of efferty jefferty with myself for being unable to read properly.

But it's all coming together. The advance readers will have their copies very soon, and the launch date is set for 29th April. I have some author interviews lined up, and a gig in Edinburgh on the 28th (more on that next week).

I'm also going to be doing a giveaway for newsletter readers, so if you've not signed up before now, make sure you do. There's a sign-up box right below.

Right. Time for ice-cream!

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Sign up for my newsletter and not only will you be entered into the giveaway, you'll also get a free novella.
My newsletter comes out once a month and subscribers get a free copy of “Aeron’s Fall” and all my special offers.
No spam, I promise.

Audiobook progress...

Well, I've almost finished editing the files. I need to record opening and closing credits and select a sample, and upload it all, but the hope is to have completed that by the end of the week. ACX then check the files, but I'm hoping that the audiobook will be available sometime in April. It will be done as far as my side is concerned...

The covers are almost all done (MiblArt are based in Ukraine, so there have been a couple of understandable delays!). All of the books are done; I'm just waiting on the audiobook cover for the box-set (as I'll be adding that, too, ultimately).

All very exciting (and a little scary!).

In other news, the final edits for "Chaos" are back, so as soon as I have finished all the work for the audiobook of "Aegyir Rises" I will be finalising the edits on "Chaos". All go!

I might need to have another look at my schedule for the next few weeks as we're getting the roof above where I record the audiobooks replaced... it might not be the quietest place in the house while that's happening!

Audiobooks...

I've finally managed to make a start on them. I know... I was supposed to have started on them last year, but then... life happened. And death.

But, I've done all the recordings for "Aegyir Rises" and I'm currently going through them, doing the edits. That's both time-consuming and mind-numbingly dull, which means my head has far too much time and so is free-wheeling, and the two new characters who've been nipping my head for a few weeks are now in full-blown fog-horn bellowing mode.

Thanks for that.

The great news is, that I'll have plenty to write about once I finish doing all the audiobooks.

The bad news is, I shall be recording/editing audiobooks until the end of October, I think! Unless I speed up significantly!

I'm not actually exaggerating. If it's taking me 4 weeks to do "Aegyir Rises", it will take me about the same for "Aeron Returns", maybe a smidgen longer. Probably at least a week longer for "War" (it's a much longer book) - so maybe 5 weeks; possibly even 6. 4-5 weeks to do "Invasion". 5 weeks to do "Chaos" (unless my editor has managed to lose about 5K words from it for me). Plus I'm away on holiday for a couple of weeks, and I'll need 2-3 weeks on finalising "Chaos" and getting the paperback interior sorted, and the Kindle version etc. etc. So, hmm... yeah... Maybe by the end of October I can actually get back to writing. Unless I go insane first with the audiobooks!

The voices have started again...

Whisper, whisper, whisper. Well, that's how they started. Right now, they've moved on to full-on bellowing at me.

Yes. Two new characters. Who don't care that I have "Chaos" to finalise, then "A Promise Through Time" to edit, never mind "Shiny New Thing" to write. Oh, no. They want to be heard.

Now.

NOW!

Hmm. They need to wait their turn.

Except they won't. They'll just get louder and louder until I cave in and make some notes about them. I have no plot associated with these characters. Not yet. Although that will come as soon as I start making notes on them.

You know, sometimes, writer's block looks awfully inviting.

Book offers!

 I've teamed up with some other authors to bring you a couple of book bundles. All of the books are free to read on Kindle Unlimited, and there are over a hundred to choose from!

Don't have Kindle Unlimited? Well, in the first bundle there's an offer for a free month's trial. There's also  a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card. Don't miss out!

https://books.bookfunnel.com/fiercefantasy-march/3ytkon7s9x
https://books.bookfunnel.com/urbanfantasystartaseries/cbp8qz4v2z

What caught your eye? Which books did you choose to read? Drop me a note in the comments?

Price drop...

I've no idea why (I didn't instigate it!) but Amazon.com has dropped the price of Aegyir Rises from $12.99 to $8.70. I don't know how long it will last, but if you want to snap up a bargain, click below!
Aegyir Rises

Update...

This round of edits is DONE! The book is now away back to Fiona for the copy edit round. As ever, between the draft that went to Fiona for the structural/initial edit, and now, the book has grown. It's currently clocking in at just shy of 110K words (😮), which isn't quite as long as "War" was, but is longer than "Invasion". It's (currently) pretty similar in length to "Aeron Returns" which would make it ~400 pages in paperback form.

It's really odd to think that in a few weeks, that will be it. No more Guardians of The Realm books to write. The series is finished. Aeron and Faran are probably quite glad of that, after what I've put them through, but it will feel strange not to be in their world. I've been living in it on and off since 2014! Quite a lot of me is looking forward to writing something new and discovering new characters, but there is still a sizeable chunk of me that will be sad to see them go. These have been my favourite characters by a country mile. Of course, I am still writing about them, because they don't shut up and they fill my dreams, but these are just stories for me. I write them to get them out of my head. Well, I always write to get stuff out of my head and get a bit of peace from all the yabbering, but these genuinely will be just for me. I've no intention of ending up writing the equivalent of The Forsyte Saga only set in The Realm!

Before any new writing, I'm going to tackle the audiobooks. But before that I'm taking a bit of a break. With Dad's death, and the feeling of loss I always get when I finish a book, I need a bit of me-time.