Andrew Gates's Blog, page 2

Cassan Astor: Book 4 Fully Written

The fourth Cassan Astor book, Cassan Astor and the Harbinger’s War, is fully written.

At 393 pages and 30 chapters, this draft comes in as the second-longest in the series. Part of that length also comes from a unique “The Story so Far” section I’ve included at the beginning, which provides a re-cap of the events in books 1-3.

Cassan Astor and the Desert Empress – 347 pages
Cassan Astor and the Sea of Krakens – 383 pages
Cassan Astor and the Immortal King – 417 pages
Cassan Astor and the Harbinger’s War – 393 pages

Of course, this is all still possible to change. This is just an early draft. Therefore, it could be longer. It could be shorter. With the Sea of Krakens only 10 pages behind in length, it’s still in the air where this might stack up in the series.

Currently, my “The Story so Far” section is being re-worked and edited by editor Natasja Smith with the goal of cutting that section down by at least two pages. So, if we can do that, it would naturally bring the page count down even more.

But, of course, editing is always an unknown process. I am curious to see ultimately how the book will look when it is done.

After editing, I expect this book to be out sometime in the summer! It will have to go through a heavy Word document review, followed by a review of physical copies of the book. Fortunately, I already have cover art designed and ready to go. I will wait to add text to the cover until after I have the page-count nailed down so that I know the spine length, so forth.

You can expect Cassan Astor and the Harbinger’s War available this summer. In the meantime, check out the cover art here:

“The Immortal King” Now Available for Pre-Order

Cassan Astor and the Immortal King, the third part of the Cassan Astor series, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

The price for the Kindle book is $2.99 in America (with comparable prices in other markets). The paperback book is forthcoming. Ideally, I would have liked to have had that link available on the same day as the Kindle link, but it is going through approval issues with KDP, which I am trying to resolve. Hopefully the paperback version will be available for sale soon, although with demand for paperback being FAR less than Kindle, I don’t anticipate a delay in the paperback version being all that problematic.

As the third entry to the Cassan Astor series, this book ramps up the stakes for everyone involved. We finally meet the Immortal King, who we have only heard about so far, but have not met yet. Globally, the world comes to a dramatic tipping point, spiraling the state of affairs for kings and queens into a wholly different place. Here is the official description:

Separated from his mother at birth, it’s been two years since Cassan Astor embarked on his quest to reunite with his mother. In his heart, he knows he must find her.

Guided by enigmatic companions, the final leg of his journey takes Cassan through perilous centaur-filled forests, bustling cities, and ancient castles harboring dark secrets… including the Immortal King.

The Immortal King is divine, ageless, and destined to rule the Kingdom of Covington forever. For now, all acknowledge his sovereignty… but the tides of fate are shifting.

Behind Cassan, the dangerous General Aharon is in fast pursuit, intent on capturing him and installing him as an unwitting puppet ruler.

As the chase unfolds across Covington, and within the hallowed halls of the Immortal King’s domain, winds of change stir the air.

The history of Covington is about to change, brought forth by this little-known foreigner named Cassan.

Thank you to Justin Davis, Fred Kroner, Claire Cronshaw, Brian McElhaney, and Kelly Gates for assisting with this book. I could certainly not do it on my own!

Click here to pre-order your Kindle copy today! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CW1JWGNH?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_2&storeType=ebooks&qid=1709134309&sr=8-2

I hope you enjoy!

Beta Reading of “The Immortal King”

Beta reading is underway for Cassan Astor and the Immortal King. As I’m going through physical copies of the book and reading through with a keen eye, I’m happy to say this seems – at least in my opinion – to be the book with the least markup required at this stage.

Re-reading this book now for what might be the fifth or sixth time has its ups and downs. There are times when I lose interest, having read it multiple times already, but there are also times when the book is quite exciting and it keeps my interest! It is fun to read this book again and try to imagine what a reader would think for the first time.

Progress on Cassan Astor and the Immortal King is coming along quickly and I anticipate the release of the book will be soon. I anticipate sometime before March, it will be out.

The third book in the Cassan Astor series seamlessly weaves together a vast political landscape, enigmatic mysteries, and unexpected twists. In particular, the “mystery” component of it is something I am excited about. I am not much of a mystery writer, but I do think this stands out as a strong point of the book.

Fantasy can be intimidating. For a lot of people, the genre can almost be too complicated to be accessible. In a genre known for its extensive world-building and complex narratives, this book distinguishes itself through its easy readability. That’s not to say the book is “thin.” The narrative seamlessly blends political intrigue, mystery, and unexpected twists. Readers can expect a multi-faceted experience that fits well within what people expect of the fantasy genre, but isn’t to “overpoweringly-complex.”

I’ll give you more details about the book’s release as we get nearer to the finish line, but I assure you, the finish line is soon.

Meanwhile, I’ve already begun writing the fourth book in the series, Cassan Astor and the Harbinger’s War. That’s exciting too!

Cassan Astor and the Immortal King First Draft Complete

Cassan Astor and the Immortal King is complete! At least, the first draft is. The fantasy adventure novel comes in at 108,607 words and 406 pages. That means, that while it is longer in pages, it is shorter in words than Cassan Astor and the Sea of Krakens, which is 110,184 words and 383 pages. This surprised me, as I expected Sea of Krakens to be the longer story. Between the two of them, Sea of Krakens is far more focused in characters and scope. But then again, this is just a draft, so this could completely change.

There are a few reasons why, despite fewer words, the new book is longer in pages. Firstly, dialog takes up more space on a page than paragraphs. With this book being more “who will sit the throne” focused on rules and positioning, it makes sense that it would be a more dialog-oriented story than a book about a boy sailing through a sea filled with monsters. Secondly, it also has more maps and graphics at the beginning, which take up pages.

Despite my surprise, I am excited and glad to see that the book comes in at this number of words. This is a manageable and digestible book size. I have seen firsthand how books which are too long can turn people away. Having at least three books in this series be around the same “golden” size and length is great!

Re-reading what I have written, Immortal King has a great middle and end, but feels a bit “drafty” to me at the beginning. I am not quite sure what makes it feel this way, but with a few edits and maybe a few other eyes, I think I should be able to fix it up.

Which is a good transition to… if anyone is interested in beta-reading the story, please email me at thecolorofwaterandsky@gmail.com. I would love to get some feedback from a third party!

Brandywine Festival of the Arts Report

This past weekend, I had a wonderful time attending the Brandywine Festival of the Arts. While unfortunately, I had to arrive slightly late (a little under an hour late) for an unexpected last-minute medical reason, I had a great time at the event!

The event, a gathering of artists from across the region for one big festival in Wilmington, DE, was supposed to go on both Saturday 9/9 and Sunday 9/10. Unfortunately, due to weather, the Sunday event was cancelled, leaving just Saturday.

Despite my late arrival, Saturday saw great sales! Customers were engaged and excited. It was great to talk to them. Many people were interested in purchasing multiple books. I had one person buy an entire three-part series outright. Some people even came back and brought their friends with them. It was also fun to talk to people who wanted me to sign the books.

I moved 35 books on the first day. At the end of Saturday, I was a mere $130 short of hitting my break-even costs. I knew I could make that up in a couple of hours on Sunday and be well in the green to end the weekend. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the Sunday portion did not happen, meaning it did result in an unexpected net loss unfortunately.

Still, that’s not all bad. Despite not ending in the green, I met and networked with a lot of people. Many of these people bought the first part of a series, meaning, if they like it, they will eventually buy part two. I am glad I went. Even if this ultimately proves to be a net loss financially, it was a worthy investment in my opinion.

I am mostly sad for all the families who showed up wanted to see and buy art and were turned away on Sunday. What a shame!

The best sellers at the event were Cassan Astor and the Sea of Krakens coming in first, Cassan Astor and the Desert Empress coming in second, and Iris coming in third. That means my two newest books and my oldest book were the most popular. It was great to see Cassan Astor and the Sea of Krakens doing so well, with many people – frankly – buying the book based on the cover. It is interesting to get a ground-level first-person view of what engages with people. That element is lost when looking at sales data on a computer.

This was my second time setting up a sales booth at an event. The first was in 2019 before COVID times. At that event, I only offered the Color of Water and Sky series and Battle Planet, as I knew the event would be small and I wanted to focus and maintain a tighter inventory. This event, by comparison, saw way more sales. I brought my entire catalog of books with me – even some of my content that doesn’t sell as well like Atlantia.

Obviously, I brought enough books for a two-day event. I brought a total of 109 books. I moved 35 in the first day and on Sunday, gave out two books to random people who helped me pack up my booth. That means I have a whopping 72 books left! Way more than I was expecting to have on hand after this. If the Sunday event had happened as planned, I surely would not be left with so many extra books.

As a result, I am looking to move some of the extra inventory I didn’t intend to have. If you or someone you know might be interested in a physical book for cheap, please reach out at thecolorofwaterandsky@gmail.com and I can send you a signed book at a discounted rate!

Can’t Keep Up With Constant Social Media Posting

If you’ve read my blog and followed my social media accounts, you know I’ve put in a concerted effort to increase my social media posting. For the last month or so, I’ve kept to a Monday, Wednesday, Friday social media posting schedule. During that time, I’ve posted a new video, screenshots of positive or interesting Amazon reviews, AI-generated character art, and others. Additionally, I have made a strong effort to write a blog post here each Wednesday. But I realize all this posting is taking a lot of effort, perhaps more effort than I am willing to maintain.

Creating social media and blog posts entails a lot of effort. Crafting the right content, adhering to formats, and ensuring clarity is work in itself. Additionally, maintaining a constant schedule, optimizing content for search engines, and incorporating visuals takes a lot of time.

If I have time to spend, I’d rather spend it writing or working on my new projects. The more time I spend posting, the less I have to work on these other things.

From here on out, I am going to abandon the M-W-F social media schedule. I will try to maintain a stronger-than-before posting amount, but don’t expect the same amount going forward, at least for the time-being.

That also goes for this blog. While the last several weeks have seen a consistent publishing schedule on Wednesdays, I do not expect to maintain that schedule going forward, also at least for the time-being.

In some fun news, Cassan Astor and the Sea of Krakens had its best sales day so far yesterday with 99 sales (just one short of 100!!). We’ll see if this momentum continues up to the upcoming Brandywine Festival of the Arts.

As a reminder, I’ll have a booth at the Brandywine Festival of the Arts. I’ll be on hand selling books at my booth. I would love to see you there!

Progress Underway on the Immortal King

Progress is underway on Cassan Astor and the Immortal King. For the past few weeks (really since getting Sea of Krakens out), I’ve been re-reading and editing my draft of the Immortal King. But what happens when I catch up to the end of my draft? It’s time to write something new!

Writing new bits to the Immortal King has been lots of fun. Because I’ve spent so much time editing content since the spring, I’ve had very little time to actually write new content. It’s been great to write stuff again.

What makes this more fun is that the part I’m writing is perhaps the most pivotal turning point for not just this book, but for the entire series as a whole. I would venture to predict it’s probably about the halfway point of both this book and the series. Everything after this is point will take the story and world in a dramatically different direction.

On the negative side, one thing I do notice about the Immortal King is how “drafty” and “disjointed” it feels. Where Sea of Krakens had a strong narrative follow-through, Immortal King cuts quickly between characters and locations, and often has jumps in time. I do wonder if this draft is going to need an extensive polish afterwards in the same way Sea of Krakens did.

As someone who likes to write “ensemble” stories, it is hard for me to write a story all revolving around a main character. I like to bounce around with characters in the vein of George RR Martin. I feel sometimes like I want to take the story away from Cassan Astor and it is hard to reel it in at times and keep him the focus. This part of the Immortal King especially deals with that issue.

When I’m done with all this, I might hire the same copy editor I used for Desert Empress. Like Immortal King, Desert Empress jumps to a lot of characters and perspectives. And while the editor only reviewed the first several chapters, not the whole book, her input was helpful in aiming the direction of the story.

Below is some art I haven’t shared yet. This is art from Justin Davis and it will become the cover for Cassan Astor and the Immortal King:

In the meantime, it’s writing time for me! I’m going to have fun and go write a bit. Talk to you later!

Push to Use Social Media + Upcoming Appearance at Brandywine Festival of the Arts

Lately, you may have noticed a large uptick in my use of social media. Previously, I would post whenever I had something I thought I wanted to share, which was infrequent. But lately, following some advice, you may have noticed that I am now posting thrice weekly with a regular schedule of posting something on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Even this blog, which was infrequent, is now being scheduled every Wednesday.

This has been happening now for a few weeks. The intention behind posting more is to keep my brand on the front of existing customers’ minds. If people are thinking about my brand, they are more likely to revisit it or share it with others.

I was initially reluctant to post so much for two reasons. Firstly, it takes time to do this stuff and I’ve considered it usually a waste of time unless I have something to say. Secondly, I did not see how posting on my own fan pages was going to attract new customers. But that’s when I learned, it’s not about attracting new customers. Rather, it’s about engaging existing ones. That shift in mentality was enough to allow me to give this “post more often” thing a shot.

So where am I posting?

If you’re a Facebook fan, find me here: https://www.facebook.com/thecolorofwaterandsky/

If you’re an Instagram fan, find me here: https://www.instagram.com/thewritingrunner/

If you’re a Twitter/X fan, find me here: https://twitter.com/TCOWAS

Lately, a number of posts have been about AI-generated character art. I have been using Leonardo.AI to craft artwork of characters from the Cassan Astor series. Doing this has actually made me enjoy posting on social media. This has been a fun project, actually! I’ve posted other things too, but the AI art has been the most fun.

Below, you can see some of the artwork I created using AI:

Cassan Astor: Son of Sir Timothy Astor, Knight of Covington, the titular teenage Cassan Astor sets out on a grand journey to find his mother. Across multiple books, Cassan’s journey takes him across a desert, bustling cities, a harrowing sea, mysterious islands, and more! Along the way, he meets strange new allies and enemies alike.

Empress Isis: Ruler of the most powerful empire in the land, Empress Isis comes to power unexpectedly. Contending with forces who seek to take her throne, she is aided by the handsome servant, Hasani, and her trusted friend, Raina.

Hasani Habboub: Hasani is no simple kitchen servant in the royal palace. Secret lover and muse to Empress Isis, Hasani struggles to support his lover while contending with his secret affair that has the potential to rock the entire empire.

Sir Timothy: Years ago, to escape his traumatic past, Sir Timothy took a long voyage across the sea to distant lands, where he put his life of combat behind him. Father and protector to the titular Cassan Astor, Sir Timothy will do anything for his adopted son. After years, he must pick up his sword again as he promises to help his son on his quest.

Lady Raina: Ever loyal to Empress Isis, Raina is the empress’s most trusted servant, but tensions mount as Isis suspects her of treasonous behavior.

Grik the Giantess: A giantess from distant lands, Grik agrees to help Cassan Astor on his quest. The strongest around, nothing can stop her. Along the way, she bonds with Cassan as his newfound mother-figure.

General Aharon: The villain! Distrustful of Empress Isis and hellbent on finding and capturing Cassan Astor, General Aharon stops at nothing to see someone new seated in the throne of Konin.

Madam Kirsi: Conniving and scheming her way through the Empress’s court, Kirsi is a master spy. Pulling strings and steering the course of power in her direction, she is the greatest asset to a powerful spy ring set to destabilize the world.

As you can see below, I’ve also found a way to put these pictures right on the Amazon product page, so when people visit the page on Amazon.com, they can see this character art. Right now, this is only showing on the .com version of the site. These pictures will not show on .uk, .de, .in and so forth. Maybe in the future, I can get these images on other versions of the site too.

And there you have my AI-generated art! As you can see, it gives vivid pictures to these characters. As I’ve been careful to point out on my social media posts, I am hesitant to release “pictures” of characters because I know it has the potential to warp someone’s own view of a character. To that I say, don’t take these images as canon. These characters can look however you imagine them.

When not posting pictures of AI-generated character art, I’ve also been showing screenshots of favorable reviews, videos, and more.

One category of posting that I have not focused on as much, which I need to get better on, is posts intended to generate email capture. I will do some research and work on that.

In totally other news, I am excitedly preparing for my upcoming booth at the Brandywine Festival of the Arts! My 10×10 booth will be there. I’ll be there. I have lots of inventory prepared and hope to make lots of sales.

This will only be my second time going to an arts fair. I would like to do more of these, but COVID got in the way for a period of time. Now that COVID is out of the way, hopefully I can do more. This will be easily the biggest event I’ve worked (out of only two), but I think it will be a good test to see how I can handle other events like this in the future.

I have a tent. I have a poster. I have business cards. I have bookmarks. And like I said, lots of inventory.

I’ve calculated it out. If I sell about 60% of my stock, I should be able to make back the costs. Anything after that will be extra $$. Even if that doesn’t happen and, let’s say I break even or go a little under that, the long-term effect will be valuable regardless. People will know my brand. People who bought book 1s will want to buy book 2s (hopefully). Therefore, I expect this to be valuable no matter what.

If you would like to see me at the arts festival, it is running on September 9th and 10th. I would love to see you there! I so rarely get to hear feedback from readers/fans. For the sake of my ego, please visit my booth and tell me what you like about my books! I’d love to see you there!

More Reviews Coming in for Desert Empress

Reviews are in! More of them, at least.

It took awhile to get some reviews for Cassan Astor and the Desert Empress. I was beginning to wonder when I might see them come in. I suppose I was just being impatient. After all, the book came out about three months ago. Pax Egyptus, which is considerably shorter, took about a month or two to see reviews come in. Obviously, I should have expected to wait a bit more.

Like Pax Egyptus, all of the reviews for the Desert Empress are either four or five stars. That means my average star rating is higher for my newer books than it is for my older books, which saw some twos and threes on occasion.

Two of the reviews, interestingly, are somewhat back-handedly complimentary. What do I mean by that? It seems like two people have identified a lot of unneeded “fluff” in my book that “doesn’t add to the story.” Interestingly, in each of these cases, the reviewer then goes on to compliment that fluff. Hence the back-handed compliment.

Here are those examples:

Four Stars:
“I found the author’s description of things that had nothing to do with the flow of the story interesting. Some would call it fluff; others would find it distracting. Yet I found it giving a bit more intense angle to the story. And though this style of writing tends to bog down the flow of the story, I liken it to the days of old when people weren’t always in such a hurry–cut to the chase–mentality. Reading is a leisurely passion, and Cassan Astor and the Desert Empress brings that to the reader.”

Four Stars:
“In ‘Cassan Astor and the Desert Empress’ by Andrew Gates, readers are captivated by the author’s skillful use of intriguing and occasionally perceived as ‘fluff’ or distracting descriptions. Surprisingly, this very writing style contributes depth to the narrative, creating a leisurely reading experience that harks back to the literary past. Despite the potential to slow down the flow, it brings forth a unique and intense angle to the tale, enhancing its overall appeal. By deviating from the modern ‘cut to the chase’ mentality, the book offers a refreshing and enjoyable read within its genre.”

So… I guess people like the “fluff?”

To be clear, most reviews do not mention the “fluff,” but these two reviews in particular were interesting enough to point out. Most of the reviewers write about the characters and the rich backstory. One reviewer even said the only reason she picked up the book was because of the cover art. You can be sure I forwarded that one along to the artist!

It’s great to see this positive reception to the book. Admittedly, I was worried about the strength of the series when I decided to rework Sea of Krakens. Thankfully, the positive reception to this book has given me the confidence to keep working on it! Almost every reviewer went on to say they want to read the next book.

Looking at sales data, series definitely sell better than standalone books. It is my hope that, as I put more of these Cassan Astor books out, one book will help sell the next and the series will grow!

As for the future of the series, I am still working on book 3 now. Progress is underway. I suspect it is around about halfway written.

You Can Buy “The Sea of Krakens” Today on Kindle!

Cassan Astor and the Sea of Krakens is available now today on Kindle!

After an almost-three-month delay, the second book in the Cassan Astor series is finally here! I am very excited to have this one out! I have not re-read a book so many times as this one. Having undergone some pretty big rewrites, the book is now ready.

The new book is a little over 20,000 words longer than the first book. The first book, Desert Empress, came in at 87,494 words (not counting foreword and back matter material). The second book, Sea of Krakens, comes in at 109,693 words (again, not counting the foreword or back matter material).

A difference of 20,000 words is not a lot in the grand scheme of things and only mildly plays an impact on the total page count. Side by side, the books are not too different in thickness and size. But it is interesting to note that my current draft of the third book, Immortal King, is 66,272 words and it’s only about half-way through. That means, the upcoming third book might be substantially longer than the first and mildly longer than the second.

While I can understand the frustration at this three-month delay, I do think it was ultimately for the best. That extra time allowed another few pass throughs of the book and allowed for some rewrites that improve the flow, pacing, and characters of the story. All in all, the improvements were needed. Had I released this book around the time of Desert Empress, it would not have been the quality of product it could have been. I confidently believe that.

Desert Empress saw a nice hike in sales right at the end of July, though that hike seems to be declining now as we move into August. The total number of reviews is only at five, still far below what I’d hoped or expected, especially coming off of the extremely strong reception of Pax Egyptus, which saw high sales and a flood of positive reviews early into its release. Comparing the two, Pax Egyptus continues to be a strong book with consistent sales. It has definitely outperformed Cassan Astor and the Desert Empress, with the exception of this past week. Time will tell how this continues to play out.

Like what I saw with the Color of Water and Sky series, I noticed that, as more books came out in the series, more people were willing to buy book 1. It is my hope that this is the case for the Cassan Astor series as well.

Please, please, please, check out Cassan Astor and the Sea of Krakens today on Kindle and leave a review! The paperback will be out soon, but not just yet. Paperback is forthcoming and will be out soon.

You can find the new book here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CDMD3DWV?ref_=ast_author_dp