Grace Draven's Blog: A Small Drop of Ink
November 9, 2020
A MEMORY OF SUMMER
So, some back story. In September I had to tell fellow author Jeffe Kennedy that I couldn't be in the anthology UNDER A WINTER SKY that she was heading up with L. Penelope and Melissa Marr. I was very disappointed, but there was no way I'd have my novella finished in time. Author Kelley Armstrong stepped into my slot (thank you, Kelley!)
However...
Jeffe and I were chatting one Saturday afternoon, and she said "How about a short story?"
This is why I'm a proponent of never say "never." ;)
UNDER A WINTER SKY is an anthology of winter holiday novellas by award-winning, USA Today and New York Times Bestselling authors Jeffe Kennedy, L. Penelope, Melissa Marr, and Kelley Armstrong.
And a novelette by me. :D
I came in under the wire with that tale (as I do with everything I write).
Anyhoo, my story A MEMORY OF SUMMER is now part of the UNDER A WINTER SKY anthology.
UNDER A WINTER SKY is currently available for preorder at all retailers with a release date of November 19, 2020 and will be available in both digital and print format.
Below is a description of my story.
-------------------------------------------
A MEMORY OF SUMMER (a Wraith Kings tale)
by Grace Draven
Copyright 2020 by Grace Draven
All rights reserved
Spinsterhood has never bothered or embarrassed the independent Emerence Ipsan, and the winter festival of Delyalda keeps her far too busy managing her father's shops to worry about matters as trivial as marriage.
Until the arrival of a young Quereci warrior with old eyes and an admiring gaze makes her question that notion.
A MEMORY OF SUMMER is a short novella that takes place in the world of the Wraith Kings series. For those who've read the first three books in the series (RADIANCE, EIDOLON, THE IPPOS KING), this storyline takes place after EIDOLON and before THE IPPOS KING. It runs concurrently with events in the novella IN THE DARKEST MIDNIGHT and reintroduces the Wraith king Gaeres.
Best - Grace
However...
Jeffe and I were chatting one Saturday afternoon, and she said "How about a short story?"
This is why I'm a proponent of never say "never." ;)
UNDER A WINTER SKY is an anthology of winter holiday novellas by award-winning, USA Today and New York Times Bestselling authors Jeffe Kennedy, L. Penelope, Melissa Marr, and Kelley Armstrong.
And a novelette by me. :D
I came in under the wire with that tale (as I do with everything I write).
Anyhoo, my story A MEMORY OF SUMMER is now part of the UNDER A WINTER SKY anthology.
UNDER A WINTER SKY is currently available for preorder at all retailers with a release date of November 19, 2020 and will be available in both digital and print format.
Below is a description of my story.
-------------------------------------------
A MEMORY OF SUMMER (a Wraith Kings tale)
by Grace Draven
Copyright 2020 by Grace Draven
All rights reserved
Spinsterhood has never bothered or embarrassed the independent Emerence Ipsan, and the winter festival of Delyalda keeps her far too busy managing her father's shops to worry about matters as trivial as marriage.
Until the arrival of a young Quereci warrior with old eyes and an admiring gaze makes her question that notion.
A MEMORY OF SUMMER is a short novella that takes place in the world of the Wraith Kings series. For those who've read the first three books in the series (RADIANCE, EIDOLON, THE IPPOS KING), this storyline takes place after EIDOLON and before THE IPPOS KING. It runs concurrently with events in the novella IN THE DARKEST MIDNIGHT and reintroduces the Wraith king Gaeres.
Best - Grace
October 6, 2020
The Ippos King release day and other information
Edited to add to the below post: Amazon has finally added an Update Availabe for The Ippos King. So, if you'd like to update your device with the most current version and don't want to go through the complicated mess noted below, just go to Manage Your Devices, hunt for my book, and click on the Update Available button there to download the latest version.
--------------------
After a long delay, TIK went live today. Many thanks to those of you who ordered the book! And thank you for waiting out the delay. I wish I could say I spent every waking hour of those 3.5 years working on this book, but that isn’t the case. Real life has a way of intruding. Between the death of one of my editors, my father diagnosed with a brain tumor, rotator cuff surgery, contract restrictions with my traditional publisher which prevented me from releasing books during certain time frames, as well as contractual obligations to complete books for that traditional publisher, homeschooling my kids and moving from one city to another, TIK was put to the backburner more than once. Life happens.
That being said, the time it sat also gave me the chance to really flesh it out so that it ended up being a book that is more than 50k words longer than RADIANCE, and more than 40k words longer than EIDOLON. Words that I think were needed to tell Serovek’s and Anhuset’s story.
I’m working on the third and final book in the Fallen Empire trilogy for my traditional publisher. After that, I’m contractually done with that series. My goal is to have Book #4 of the Wraith Kings series out in late 2021 or early 2022, but as we’ve seen with book #3, the best laid plans are often derailed by things we can’t foresee, can’t control, and don’t expect.
And for my next bit of information: We had three pairs of eyes on this manuscript for proofreading, but some typos and missing words got through despite our best efforts. For preorders, Amazon has a protocol in place where a final file must be uploaded no later than four days prior to release date. The file is then locked, and we can’t make any more changes until they unlock it on release date. Of course, for those folks who preordered, they get the locked file. My proofreader/formatter uploaded a file with additional corrections this morning. If you preordered and have the previous file but wish to update with the most current one, please see below for instructions. These apply to Amazon only. Other retailers simply overwrite the existing file with the newest one. Amazon’s is a little more convoluted and complex. Also, if you speak with a customer service rep there and they tell you that you have to return the book and repurchase it, ask to speak to a supervisor, because that cs representative is incorrect.
Updates with corrections to the file are in place and Amazon has put the new file on live status. So for those who want the latest version of THE IPPOS KING downloaded onto their kindle to replace the one they currently have, here’s what you do:
Method #1 – Go to Amazon’s main page, scroll down to the bottom menu and under “Let Us Help You,” select “Help.” Then click “Digital Services and Digital Support,” and scroll down to the bottom where it says “Talk to an Associate,” and click the “Contact Us” link. It will take you to a “Start Chatting Page.” Click that.
You’ll have to tell/coax it to send you to Customer Service. Once it does, tell CS “I need the latest update of Grace Draven’s THE IPPOS KING; it has typo/error corrections I would like to have.”
This is the most reliable way to get the new file.
Method #2 – Go into “Your Content and Devices” and check if there is an “Update Now” link next to THE IPPOS KING. If yes, click it. If no, then use Method #1.
There is a third way that’s a real “maybe” and I wouldn’t recommend it. It involves deleting the book from your kindle and redownloading it, but that method hasn’t been consistent for getting the updates.
Again, thank you for your patience and your patronage.
Best – Grace
--------------------
After a long delay, TIK went live today. Many thanks to those of you who ordered the book! And thank you for waiting out the delay. I wish I could say I spent every waking hour of those 3.5 years working on this book, but that isn’t the case. Real life has a way of intruding. Between the death of one of my editors, my father diagnosed with a brain tumor, rotator cuff surgery, contract restrictions with my traditional publisher which prevented me from releasing books during certain time frames, as well as contractual obligations to complete books for that traditional publisher, homeschooling my kids and moving from one city to another, TIK was put to the backburner more than once. Life happens.
That being said, the time it sat also gave me the chance to really flesh it out so that it ended up being a book that is more than 50k words longer than RADIANCE, and more than 40k words longer than EIDOLON. Words that I think were needed to tell Serovek’s and Anhuset’s story.
I’m working on the third and final book in the Fallen Empire trilogy for my traditional publisher. After that, I’m contractually done with that series. My goal is to have Book #4 of the Wraith Kings series out in late 2021 or early 2022, but as we’ve seen with book #3, the best laid plans are often derailed by things we can’t foresee, can’t control, and don’t expect.
And for my next bit of information: We had three pairs of eyes on this manuscript for proofreading, but some typos and missing words got through despite our best efforts. For preorders, Amazon has a protocol in place where a final file must be uploaded no later than four days prior to release date. The file is then locked, and we can’t make any more changes until they unlock it on release date. Of course, for those folks who preordered, they get the locked file. My proofreader/formatter uploaded a file with additional corrections this morning. If you preordered and have the previous file but wish to update with the most current one, please see below for instructions. These apply to Amazon only. Other retailers simply overwrite the existing file with the newest one. Amazon’s is a little more convoluted and complex. Also, if you speak with a customer service rep there and they tell you that you have to return the book and repurchase it, ask to speak to a supervisor, because that cs representative is incorrect.
Updates with corrections to the file are in place and Amazon has put the new file on live status. So for those who want the latest version of THE IPPOS KING downloaded onto their kindle to replace the one they currently have, here’s what you do:
Method #1 – Go to Amazon’s main page, scroll down to the bottom menu and under “Let Us Help You,” select “Help.” Then click “Digital Services and Digital Support,” and scroll down to the bottom where it says “Talk to an Associate,” and click the “Contact Us” link. It will take you to a “Start Chatting Page.” Click that.
You’ll have to tell/coax it to send you to Customer Service. Once it does, tell CS “I need the latest update of Grace Draven’s THE IPPOS KING; it has typo/error corrections I would like to have.”
This is the most reliable way to get the new file.
Method #2 – Go into “Your Content and Devices” and check if there is an “Update Now” link next to THE IPPOS KING. If yes, click it. If no, then use Method #1.
There is a third way that’s a real “maybe” and I wouldn’t recommend it. It involves deleting the book from your kindle and redownloading it, but that method hasn’t been consistent for getting the updates.
Again, thank you for your patience and your patronage.
Best – Grace
September 26, 2020
THE IPPOS KING - revised and finalized
Just a quick update. THE IPPOS KING is revised and completed with the final uploaded to Amazon's queue. Basically, we're locked and loaded for the ebook to go live Oct. 6th. So if there's any delay, it will be on Amazon's part. The ebook is also set to go live at other retailers as well on the same date.
Regarding the print version: I'm working on that one now. My cover artist needs to create the cover flat for it, and to do that, she needed a spine width. To give her that, I needed the book finalized so she'd have accurate spine measurement.
Regarding the audio version: the file is with my narrator now. She had a slot open for me starting in October, so she'll begin narration then. As soon as I have an idea of completed production on that format, I'll post. Gabrielle Baker, who narrated RADIANCE and EIDOLON, is narrating THE IPPOS KING.
Again, many thanks for your patience. This book has been a long time in making its entrance for various reasons, so I'm very happy to start the countdown for its go-live date.
Best - Grace
Regarding the print version: I'm working on that one now. My cover artist needs to create the cover flat for it, and to do that, she needed a spine width. To give her that, I needed the book finalized so she'd have accurate spine measurement.
Regarding the audio version: the file is with my narrator now. She had a slot open for me starting in October, so she'll begin narration then. As soon as I have an idea of completed production on that format, I'll post. Gabrielle Baker, who narrated RADIANCE and EIDOLON, is narrating THE IPPOS KING.
Again, many thanks for your patience. This book has been a long time in making its entrance for various reasons, so I'm very happy to start the countdown for its go-live date.
Best - Grace
September 9, 2020
THE IPPOS KING release date changed
If you’ve pre-ordered this title from Amazon, B&N, or Kobo, you may have received notification of change of release date from September 15 to October 6. Because there is still a significant amount of revisions I need to do and proofreading that my proofreader needs to do, the amount of time left to us before we have to upload a final file isn’t adequate enough to get those things accomplished. Adding another few weeks will allow me to put in all revisions, run those by my editor and give my proofreader and formatter time to do their job as well. This is a big book (over 100k words) and we were rushing up to this point and felt that doing so just to meet the 09/15 date was unfair to the book and to you the reader, and that having a small delay was a better choice. I apologize if this is a disappointment but stand by the idea that a little more time will make for a much more polished book, and you as the reader deserve to get a book that is the best I can make it, even if it takes a little longer than anticipated. Thank you for your patience - Grace
April 27, 2020
The Ippos King - rough draft serialized
Apologies for rare postings. I'm not often on GR. Status update on THE IPPOS KING: The publication date for this book has moved a few times and been delayed by 3 years due to life circumstances, including the unexpected death of my main editor. In addition, contractual obligations for manuscript delivery to Penguin-Random House on my Fallen Empire trilogy, as well as non-compete clauses, which have a significant impact on release dates for my self published work really pushed back my progress and delivery on THE IPPOS KING. Basically, life happens.
THE IPPOS KING is currently with my second (and now main) editor, going through corrections. Once I get it back, I'll work on revisions and turn it over to my proofreader and formatter. The book is up for preorder on the usual retailer sites with a release date of September 15 (this was the earliest release date I could give it and not be in breach of contract with Penguin under the non-compete portion of the contract). That being said, I am serializing the abridged rough draft of THE IPPOS KING on the blog portion of my website and updating every Friday. So, if you'd like to read the rough draft (with all its errors and hiccups) while waiting for the final, polished version to go live in September, head over to gracedraven.com and click on the blog tab.
Thank you for your patience - Grace
THE IPPOS KING is currently with my second (and now main) editor, going through corrections. Once I get it back, I'll work on revisions and turn it over to my proofreader and formatter. The book is up for preorder on the usual retailer sites with a release date of September 15 (this was the earliest release date I could give it and not be in breach of contract with Penguin under the non-compete portion of the contract). That being said, I am serializing the abridged rough draft of THE IPPOS KING on the blog portion of my website and updating every Friday. So, if you'd like to read the rough draft (with all its errors and hiccups) while waiting for the final, polished version to go live in September, head over to gracedraven.com and click on the blog tab.
Thank you for your patience - Grace
May 3, 2016
EIDOLON - corrected file updated
Both Amazon and Smashwords have sent me notifications that the corrected file I uploaded last night has now been updated to their system. So if you wish to update your devices to reflect the updates (proofed corrections), you can do so now.
Thank you!
Grace
Thank you!
Grace
May 2, 2016
Corrections to EIDOLON file
Quick note to folks here on GR.
After 3 delays on release date, I was too eager to release EIDOLON once I put in the revisions sent by my editors. Thanks to some weird CSS code I couldn't see in my Word document, TOC and chapter headers weren't appearing on some devices. My formatter and fellow author, RJ Blain, came to the rescue and fixed the code gremlins. I reloaded the file to Amazon, and we were good to go.
Or so I thought.
Despite 3 pairs of eyes looking at the manuscript multiple times, there were still errors such as missing beginning or end quotes, missing words or words that were replaced with other words but not deleted out of the manuscript.
Those errors? Those are all on me. My editors catch tons of stuff and request changes. Unfortunately, I sometimes introduce new errors into my revised versions or take out the mistakes my editor marked.
This time I made a bad judgment call. I chose to proof everything myself and upload instead of turning it over to a proofreader beforehand. I obviously don't have the eagle eye I thought I did. That, and I've been badly distracted by events at home (injured spouse with decreased mobility and a father diagnosed first with Alzheimers and then a brain tumor). Those aren't excuses for loading a file that still had problems, and I've learned my lesson with this book. This is just to say mea culpa, and I promise to do all in my power to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again.
The file has been proofed by my proofreader and corrected by me and will be uploaded to Amazon and Smashwords tonight. Amazon usually takes about 24 hours to update. Smashwords is more immediate, but I'm not sure how long it takes for the third party retailers (like iTunes, Kobo and B&N to update theirs).
Many thanks to readers who bought EIDOLON. Because of your patronage, the book debuted on the USA Today Bestseller list last week at #107. I celebrated by doing laundry, but once my spouse is up and about and can go places, we'll go to dinner and order wine and celebrate.
Best,
Grace
After 3 delays on release date, I was too eager to release EIDOLON once I put in the revisions sent by my editors. Thanks to some weird CSS code I couldn't see in my Word document, TOC and chapter headers weren't appearing on some devices. My formatter and fellow author, RJ Blain, came to the rescue and fixed the code gremlins. I reloaded the file to Amazon, and we were good to go.
Or so I thought.
Despite 3 pairs of eyes looking at the manuscript multiple times, there were still errors such as missing beginning or end quotes, missing words or words that were replaced with other words but not deleted out of the manuscript.
Those errors? Those are all on me. My editors catch tons of stuff and request changes. Unfortunately, I sometimes introduce new errors into my revised versions or take out the mistakes my editor marked.
This time I made a bad judgment call. I chose to proof everything myself and upload instead of turning it over to a proofreader beforehand. I obviously don't have the eagle eye I thought I did. That, and I've been badly distracted by events at home (injured spouse with decreased mobility and a father diagnosed first with Alzheimers and then a brain tumor). Those aren't excuses for loading a file that still had problems, and I've learned my lesson with this book. This is just to say mea culpa, and I promise to do all in my power to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again.
The file has been proofed by my proofreader and corrected by me and will be uploaded to Amazon and Smashwords tonight. Amazon usually takes about 24 hours to update. Smashwords is more immediate, but I'm not sure how long it takes for the third party retailers (like iTunes, Kobo and B&N to update theirs).
Many thanks to readers who bought EIDOLON. Because of your patronage, the book debuted on the USA Today Bestseller list last week at #107. I celebrated by doing laundry, but once my spouse is up and about and can go places, we'll go to dinner and order wine and celebrate.
Best,
Grace
January 28, 2016
Incorrect release date for EIDOLON
I'm rarely on GR, so thanks to a reader (thank you, LL!), I discovered that info. is being sent by GR to readers that the second book in the Wraith Kings series, EIDOLON, will go live February 1st. This is incorrect. I'm not sure who on GR marked this as the go-live date, but I'm still working on the book, and due to RL issues that have altered not only my schedule but that of my editor, EIDOLON will not go live for another six weeks (estimated). So as much as I would have liked to have it ready by 01/31/2016, I must fall back on my original, more general date of early 2016. As soon as I have a more concrete date, I will post here, my blog, FB and Twitter.
In the interim, I will ask a GR librarian for assistance in changing that erroneous date.
ETA - shout-out to the awesome GR librarian who changed the date for me. May you live long and prosper, Z!
She's changed the date to May because GR requires a month to be put in on the entry, and while the book will be completed long before then, that time frame will give some breathing room.
Thank you for your patience.
Grace
In the interim, I will ask a GR librarian for assistance in changing that erroneous date.
ETA - shout-out to the awesome GR librarian who changed the date for me. May you live long and prosper, Z!
She's changed the date to May because GR requires a month to be put in on the entry, and while the book will be completed long before then, that time frame will give some breathing room.
Thank you for your patience.
Grace
October 3, 2015
BENEATH A WANING MOON
Been extremely busy with writing, school stuff for kids, etc. Basically, life as we all know it. :-)
I'm working steadily on EIDOLON (second book in the Wraith Kings series after RADIANCE). However, I took some time out to complete a novella-length story (38k words)called GASLIGHT HADES.
I originally planned to release GASLIGHT HADES in serialized format on my blog just like I did with RADIANCE, but due to some unfortunate business issues, I had to abandon that plan. The fortunate side of this is that I was able to once again collaborate with fellow author and friend Elizabeth Hunter to put out an anthology with a touch of Halloweenish-ness in it. :-)
BENEATH A WANING MOON is a duo of gothic romances that contains two novellas - GASLIGHT HADES by me and A VERY PROPER MONSTER by Elizabeth Hunter. The duo went live October 1st and is available on the various retailers such as Amazon, B&N, iBooks, and Smashwords (I believe we're still waiting for Kobo to update). Additional plans are to put BaWM in print format and audio format as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Waning-...
Happy October, everyone!
Grace
I'm working steadily on EIDOLON (second book in the Wraith Kings series after RADIANCE). However, I took some time out to complete a novella-length story (38k words)called GASLIGHT HADES.
I originally planned to release GASLIGHT HADES in serialized format on my blog just like I did with RADIANCE, but due to some unfortunate business issues, I had to abandon that plan. The fortunate side of this is that I was able to once again collaborate with fellow author and friend Elizabeth Hunter to put out an anthology with a touch of Halloweenish-ness in it. :-)
BENEATH A WANING MOON is a duo of gothic romances that contains two novellas - GASLIGHT HADES by me and A VERY PROPER MONSTER by Elizabeth Hunter. The duo went live October 1st and is available on the various retailers such as Amazon, B&N, iBooks, and Smashwords (I believe we're still waiting for Kobo to update). Additional plans are to put BaWM in print format and audio format as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Waning-...
Happy October, everyone!
Grace
January 13, 2015
Radiance - final, edited version
The serial posted to my blog was the rough draft of the story and was taken down on 01/06/15 while my editors worked to polish and improve the story. It was also required in order to adher to Amazon's TOS regarding consistent pricing across venues.
The final, edited version RADIANCE is now available on Amazon and Smashwords.
http://www.amazon.com/Radiance-Wraith...
Thanks for reading!
The final, edited version RADIANCE is now available on Amazon and Smashwords.
http://www.amazon.com/Radiance-Wraith...
Thanks for reading!
