Helen Garraway's Blog, page 63
August 29, 2020
Sentinals Awaken- Book One Cover Reveal!
I am so excited! My cover is finished!
So here is the big reveal! Would you stop and take a look inside? I hope so, let me know what you think via the contact page.
[image error]Cover by Jeff Brown of jeffbrowngraphics.com
[image error]
From a rough sketch, which my cover designer, Jeff mocked up in front of my eyes as we chatted on a video conference call, (see left), to more formalised 80% done (see below right) to the finished article (above!)
Jeff has created a beautiful work of art as well as a book cover, and I can’t wait to see it as a poster.
So a big thank you to Jeff from Jeff Brown Graphics (www.jeffbrowngraphics.com) for designing such a beautiful cover; from the Lady and the Moon symbol to the grand panoramic scene (see at bottom of post) as Jerrol and his Sentinals ride through an encroaching storm to attempt to rescue the King of Vespiri.
[image error]
With the advent of online bookstores and eReaders, the cover must be eye-catching as a thumbnail image, which means the main image must be more prominent, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be artistic.
The cover is one of the most important aspects of a novel, it is what catches the readers eye in the first place, to take note and stop and browse, and hopefully, to pick up out of the choice of many, and then the first few lines of the book catch your attention and draw you in.
Want to know what’s inside Sentinals Awaken? – Sneak peek!
Chapter 1
Lady’s Temple Gardens, Old Vespers
The sword missed his nose by an inch, if that. A momentary relief as solid steel thunked into the ground and Jerrol jerked back like a snake about to strike and then slithered away, inhaling the scent of soggy grass, dirt and roses. Roses?
His brow wrinkled in confusion as he scuttled away and regained his feet. Backing towards the tall Sentinal tree arching over the Lady’s temple, he strained to see his assailants. He leaned against the trunk as he scanned the gardens. He would have to apologise later; staying alive was more important than the sanctity of the temple gardens.
There were three guards, large and brutal: Chancellor’s men eager to deliver him up more dead than alive. The complaint of him snooping around the Chancellor’s business would be enough to get him placed on report, if not demoted. He wasn’t supposed to be near Chancellor Isseran, let alone following him.
Gritting his teeth, Jerrol considered his options. He couldn’t kill them, not on the Lady’s soil, yet he couldn’t let them report back, either. The satin-smooth bark of the tree beneath his fingers warmed for a moment as he hesitated. The image of a tall, black-haired man stood before him. This apparition wore a silvery green high-necked uniform that glimmered in the swirling mist. He was striking to look at, unnaturally pale, with distinctive features and straight, black eyebrows over silver eyes that gleamed in the dim light.
Jerrol gaped at him, unable to stop staring. It wasn’t possible. Lady help him, it wasn’t possible, was it? He recoiled as the man spoke, taking a step back.
“Captain? Is it time?” the man asked, his silver eyes burning bright.
He was young – younger than he was, Jerrol thought. Yet his expression was grave. There was a sense of a burden understood and accepted; of experience over youth. He had a sword strapped to his hip and a bow across his back, and he looked like he knew how to use them.
Jerrol frowned. “Time?” he asked, and the image faded.
Sentinals Awaken, is set in the word of Remargaren, a world where magic was banished by the deity Leyandrii over three thousand years ago along with the malevolent Ascendants. Jerrol Haven, a Captain of the King’s Rangers discovers treason at the highest level and although the ailing King tries to help him, the Crown Prince sentences Jerrol to death. Jerrol must escape, discover why magic is returning to his world and discover the source of an insidious disease spreading through the Watches. After accidentally awakening a Lady’s Sentinal he needs to discover how to awaken more Sentinals and rescue the King – but even then, his troubles are only just beginning.
I hope the cover and opening excerpt tempt you to order Sentinals Awaken when it launches in the autumn and you enjoy reading the book. Please ensure you leave a review when you do, reviews drive visibility and keep an independent author like me writing!
If you’re interested in delving into the world of Remargaren and would like to visualise the Kingdom of Vespiri, I have been collecting some images on a Pinterest board at https://www.pinterest.co.uk/helengarraway/vespiri-world-of-remargaren/
Sign up to my newsletter below, to find out first when Sentinals Awaken will be available for order! And to gain access to the bonus content on the members only corner when it goes live.
Sign up to my Newsletter
By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Herefordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.
Processing…
Success! You’re on the list.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn’t process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.
[image error]
Just look at that scenery, gorgeous!
August 18, 2020
Letters to our Legacy
Have you paid forward yet? There are lots of opportunities to do so and to make us feel better about the year 2020, here are a couple.
I am fortunate to be a Product Manager in my spare time, uh no, that’s an author in my spare time and a Product Manager by day! But anyway, I work for a video conferencing company where I create new services to sell with our products. At my company, we have an active diversity and inclusion movement. Part of that is a Women’s leadership group, and you find out all sort of interesting things.
Being part of this group inspired me to join the student mentoring group at Southampton University, where I graduated from many years ago with a Degree in Politics and International Relations.
[image error]
It was a fun time, and I’m glad I had the experience, and I wanted to pay forward to our next generation, and so I joined the university mentoring program. Since then I have mentored four students, both on undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Of course, this year’s mentees suffered much disruption, having to relocate, return home and set up remotely. But the offer of mentoring is still there, and in the age of video conferencing makes it possible to pursue.
Another initiative I came across was Letters to our Legacy, which I thought was another excellent idea. Two women set up a website where you can submit a letter, a letter where you can write to your daughter, grand-daughter, godchild, whomever, but an opportunity to pass on advice from the year 2020 to future generations—a modern version of the time capsule.
[image error]
Doesn’t everyone love finding old letters or journals from your ancestors? I have letters from a great-great-uncle sent to his sister whilst he was at the front during the second world war. It is amazing to hold such history in my hand; to get a feel for who he was, especially as the gift of writing letters seems to be passing with the new technology we have today. I suppose blogs are the new letters.
I wish my mum had written me a letter full of advice before she passed, it would have been one of my most precious treasures, but instead, I have wonderful memories and the gifts she passed on, and I think of her every day. My writing novels is a tribute to her memory. Without her love of books, I would never have been such a bookworm, and I would never have picked up that pen and jotted down those first ideas for a novel.
If you’re interested in paying forward, get involved. You can find the Letters to our Legacy website here. There’s no time like the present to get writing‒and it doesn’t have to be a novel!
July 29, 2020
What are books made of?
[image error]
… creativity, dedication and perseverance.
But what if there was no wood, or wood pulp, or grasses and other natural vegetation? Our lives would be very different without paper; and by extension, without the creation of books, we would lose that wonderful feeling of holding knowledge or experiencing escapism into every subject under the sun.
I recently responded to a Defra Tree consultation on the English Tree Strategy, and I was shocked to realise that fewer than 10% of our English native woodland is considered to be in good condition for nature. That means it can’t support the creatures that live in it. Not only are we not investing in planting more trees, but we’re also not even looking after what is left.
How sad is that?
Isn’t it funny how we all take everything for granted? Even though we know trees are vital to sustaining our environment, to help clean the air we breathe, to synthesise the colour into our world, we still don’t protect them. We don’t plant enough new trees. No one takes responsibility.
When I was a child, our garden had a rowan tree, lilac tree, oak and beech and a massive horse chestnut. I would stand beneath and look up into the branches, much as I imagine a Sentinal tree would hover protectively over us. I wonder how many of those survive today? Not many, I’m sure. And how many children today would know the difference between all of them? It is our responsibility to ensure these trees are accessible for all, in natural spaces, of which many could easily sustain trees.
[image error]
DEFRA Tree Strategy consultation for England
Have your say and respond to the Defra Tree Strategy Consultation for England.
Protect our woods, invest in regeneration and plant more trees. Help sustain the tree nurseries. Ensure we can continue to hold a book in our hands in the future, in a world full of magical creatures breathing clean air.
You can respond here, make sure you do by September 11th 2020: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/protecting-trees-and-woods/campaign-with-us/england-tree-strategy/
Image credits: Top – Annie Pratt, Unsplash. Bottom – Dave Hoefler, Unsplash
July 16, 2020
I’m Unstoppable
Here we are halfway through July, wondering where summer has gone, and I’m listening to Sia’s album, This is Acting, as I edit Book three: Sentinals Justice. I’ve mowed the lawn, procrastinated on twitter and am now knuckling down to work, by writing this blog!
As Sia sings, I’m alive, I think I feel most alive as I delve into the world of Remargaren and embrace my characters, who are no doubt thankful to still be alive, or maybe not. I can see Birlerion’s indignant face as I write, he is not happy with me and nor is Jerrol. Authors do put their favourite characters through the wringer at times, all in the name of tension and conflict.
As I edit, I can’t help but get drawn back into the story. I can see why we need independent editors to keep us on the straight and narrow because I write the type of fantasy I enjoy reading. I must admit, when I return to a piece of work, I’ve forgotten elements of what I wrote, and I get lost in the story again and forget I’m supposed to be editing.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
Book One, Sentinals Awaken, is progressing. It’s gone back to the copy editor for final review. The map of Vespiri is in progress, the book cover should come in any day soon. I keep checking my email, but it hasn’t arrived yet! Then its formatting and ISBN numbers and working my way through the publishing process. It’s surprising how long everything takes, but fingers crossed I’ll be launching in October 2020.
I’ve also found time to read. I have started to post book reviews, predominantly fantasy as that is my favourite genre, if you’re interested in finding other books to read, check out my first Book review on Cully Mack’s Voice of Thunder. You can find it here.
Thanks again for joining me on my journey, and I look forward to sharing my debut novel soon!
June 28, 2020
How are your balancing skills?
I have concluded that writing is all about juggling. You must be an expert juggler to keep the balls, or is it plates or hoops? No, it’s novels! Up in the air at the same time. Or is balancing the better concept? I’m a Libran, so balance resonates better, juggling feels like it could spin out of control at any moment, whereas balance is calmer, less frenetic, feels right.
[image error]
Photo by Deniz Altindas on Unsplash
I am in control, right?
From the sheer excitement of having your first meeting with the cover designer and seeing his interpretation of your ideas come to life before your eyes to the grind of checking the copy editing on book one, editing book two and then aargh – A whole new series has popped into my head and is demanding to be written.
But first, cover design! 90 minutes of discussion and watching Jeff draw my ideas in front of me, and then mocking up that first cover with my name on it!
OMG! What a feeling of absolute delight and pride. It may be a raw sketch but just wait until its finished, I love it already. I debated about posting the initial concept here, but I think I’ll wait to show you the rough draft versus 85% finished!
Just a sneak peek if you’re interested. Let me know!
Copy editing is almost finished on Book One: Sentinals Awaken. Each revision I learn something new, which is great, and means each book will improve: next maps and internal formatting.
I’ve edited Book Two: Sentinal Rising, cut and consolidated chapters where needed; I suppose 135k words was a bit long. Moved some things around, then corrected my grammar. I’ve sent it to my number one fan Michael to beta read and put it aside before I return for another edit. Then this idea for a whole new world bubbled up, and I’ve been capturing the ideas and planning out the skeleton of the story, and I’ve already written 20,000 words. Holding name is the Freedom series, can’t wait to see where it goes.
How to fit it all in is the challenge. But it is fun, and I love it, and I wish I had started writing a long time ago. Sometimes, I suppose you just have to wait for the right moment, and then take that step and begin. Who knows where it will take you, but wherever it takes me, my balancing skills can only improve.
May 27, 2020
To Dither or not to Dither?
It is more difficult than expected to know when to take the next step. Development editor – check! Copy editor – check! And now what?
Then the doubts start crowding in, is it good enough? Should I self-publish or find an agent? Should I try and format myself or pay someone to do it? How much is too much to spend on a getting a book published? Especially when the full time job takes up most of your energy and there is little enough left over for writing and editing – let alone marketing and building that author platform!
[image error]Photo by Hello I’m Nik
May 8, 2020
Editing Book One : Sentinals Awaken
Sentinals Awaken is the first book in my Sentinals series set in the world of Remargaren.
I invested in a Market Editor to make sure my story was on point and made sense! And was surprised to find out that my weakness was grammar! Sentence structure and use of commas. So back to the grammar drawing board to relearn the grammar rules and how to avoid the dreaded comma splice! And hello semicolon. I’ve never used semicolons, and was interested to see that the eye does run over it more than a full stop, which if used too often I think can make sentences choppy. (Unless you want choppy of course!)
[image error]Photo by hannah grace on Unsplash
The good news was that she loved the story, found the plot original and the characters engaging. And learning grammar is probable simpler than rewriting the story or having to address plot holes or flat characters! I am sure there will many who disagree.
I addressed the issues the editor raised and relearnt my grammar (and groaned over the comma rules), and had a discussion about Point of View (POV) and how to bring out a character’s inner thoughts. I then developed one of my Sentinal characters a bit more as I had deliberately down-played him as he was threatening to take over, and he was obviously down-played too much! I have written a book just for him so he doesn’t get too downhearted and that led to me writing his backstory which became the prequel as it was such fun discovering where the Sentinals came from to begin with.
Next step is to get a few beta readers to do a final sanity check and then to find a copy editor/proofreader to check the final version, and then it will be on to formatting and cover design as dip my toe into the world of self-publishing.
March 26, 2020
Welcome
The first step is always the hardest, as is the first word on the page. But once you get going, they don’t stop.
Join me, Helen Garraway, on my journey to get published, or self-published if that ends up being the best way to go.
I’ve spent the last four years writing fantasy novels, and now it’s time to do something with them. This is because I have more ideas tumbling, and I’d like to share them. Hopefully, my future readers will enjoy my characters and world-building as much as I do.
Let’s start at the beginning.
Welcome to the world of Remargaren.
I first started writing when there was that ‘perfect storm’ of a moment when my mother passed away, and my daughter graduated from university and left the nest to travel the world. Suddenly I had an empty house and time on my hands, and ideas started bubbling, and I had to get them on paper.
I’ve always been an avid reader. I got that from my mum. We were both bookworms, and she was one who would watch the telly, read a book and knit at the same time, quite astonishing. I can’t do the knitting bit!
But I have drafted quite a few books and need to do something with them. I want to see them in print and to share my wonderful world.
Now. I’m new to creating websites and blogging, so don’t expect to get inundated with posts, you’ll probably be lucky to get one a month unless something EXCITING happens!
Thank you for joining me. I hope you subscribe and enjoy my writing when it finally gets out there.
