Nils Ödlund's Blog, page 6

Last Fight of the Old Hound

[image error]The first book in the Lost Dogs series is now available for pre-order. It’s called Last Fight of the Old Hound, and you can pre-order it here (US) or here (UK). The cover image is a temporary one, and the real cover will be revealed once it’s done – in about two weeks.

Also, if you’re interested in checking out a sample of the story, you can download the first four chapters for free, here.

I’m going to try and not rant too much about this release, but rather focus my energy on making sure the...

Free Book Weekend

This weekend the e-book version of Emma’s Story will be available for free on Amazon.

[image error]The book will be free on the 2nd and 3rd of June, Pacific Time. Over here in Europe that’s from 8am in Ireland and the UK, and from 9am in Western Europe. Similarly, the promotion will end at 8/9am on Monday morning over here.

This is one of the promotional options that Amazon provides, and after a friend of mine tried it out I decided to give it a go as well. The theory is that if you’re releasing a new par...

Getting Closer

It’s not quite time yet, but it’s also not far off. The deadline I set myself for my next book is June first. By then I want it to be ready enough that I can start the publishing process.

I’m pretty sure I’ll make it.

I have a few test readers still reading the story and they’ve promised to have it done by June 1. If they’re not done, it’s not the end of the world. I’m confident the story is in a good enough shape I can publish it without making any major changes, and I should be able to iron...

Canned Wisdom #8

Good morning, it’s Monday once more. Time for some questionable writing advice:

[image error]For last week’s Canned Wisdom, click here.

A story, or a book, is a promise. The book promises to tell an entertaining story, and the reader promises to stick with it until the end.

If the book breaks its promise, the reader is okay to do the same. If the book isn’t what it promised to be, why continue reading it – and why read anything else by the writer? Time is, by and far, the most valuable thing we have, so w...

Canned Wisdom #7

Monday again. Time for another little commentary on writing:

[image error]For last week’s Canned Wisdom, click here.

This is about expectations and about how they affect our impressions.

The picture above is of a cup of coffee. Except, it’s in a mug made of glass, and there’s a candle behind the mug, so the light plays around in the shapes in the bottom of the mug.

It’s a black coffee, because there’s no milk and no sugar in it. But it’s also not super strong, so the light from the candle comes through on...

New Releases – A Pleasant Surprise

TLDR: My book Emma’s Story is included in P.D. Workman’s list of new releases – here. Please check it out. :)

Up until about an hour ago I’d had a pretty bad day.

[image error]The sky this morning was a lot nicer than most of the rest of the day would turn out to be – most…

I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather lately, and this morning was no different – gloomy and miserable. Not a good start, but I was well enough to work so off I went.

Then, once I got to the office, the left side of my neck and th...

Canned Wisdom #6

Happy Monday everyone. It’s really Saturday on my planet, so it’s time to have a coffee and a snack and write about writing:

[image error]Last week’s Canned Wisdom here (painting by my father)

This ties back to the advice about how strong characters carry their own stories. You don’t have to be a hero to have an adventure or go on a big journey. Sure, big powerful heroes may go on longer, more dangerous, and more impressive journeys. They face greater challenges and higher stakes, but that’s not the point...

How I Published My Book

My latest article for Mythic Scribes is now live. It’s about what I did to launch and promote my book Emma’s Story, and you can read it here.

[image error]It’s a fairly long piece that touches upon most of the various aspects of launching the book: selecting a date and setting up preorders, advertising and promotion, formatting for ebook and paperback. The article doesn’t go into great detail on any of it, but rather tries to give an overview of all the different things involved in self-publishing a book...

Canned Wisdom #5

It’s Monday again, time for a little bit of writing advice:

[image error]Last week’s Canned Wisdom to be found here.

This ties back to the first post in this series (here), and it’s about how our minds and our imaginations are really quick about creating our own impressions – even if all we have is incomplete data.

When reading a story, did it ever happen to you that the text described something in a way that didn’t match the image in your head? That’s what this is about.

If I picture something in my mind...

Snow in Ireland

It snows here, a lot.

It never snows in Ireland. Well, sometimes it snows, and now, but under normal conditions it does not snow in Ireland. I’ve lived here for over a decade. I’ve seen snow fall a few times, and I’ve seen it stay on the ground once.

[image error]

Sure, it probably snows more often in other parts of Ireland, further up north, or at higher altitudes, but it does not snow where I live, in Cork, on the south coast.

Except now.

It’s coming down in sheets and droves.

The schools are closed for...