Keith Robinson's Blog, page 13

Prison of Despair (Island of Fog, Book 8) is published!

I like these posts, the ones where I say a book is finally published after many, many months of hard work. I started writing this one, Prison of Despair, in February 2014. It's now July, a mere five months later, and I've not only finished it but am very close to finishing the NEXT book as well. I'm on fire! (Not literally. That would be awful.)

So here it is, Book 8 in the Island of Fog series, published today on July 20, 2014. Exactly a month from today will see the publication of Book 9, but we'll get to that later. I mention it because Books 8 and 9 form a two-part story split down the middle. Because of this, I've made a note on the covers to let readers know.

Prison of Despair (Island of Fog, Book 8)

Three months have passed. Spring is around the corner, and so is Hal Franklin's thirteenth birthday. Everything is quiet in the village of Carter. Too quiet.

When nighttime intruders take dozens of villagers hostage, the shapeshifters find themselves up against a familiar enemy: the scrags of Old Earth. And the constant threat of executions renders them powerless to do anything to stop them. Instead, they're forced to cooperate and spend time in the dreaded Prison of Despair, a dismal place in the woods with an insidious curse.

Hal and his resourceful friends find ways to escape the prison undetected. In doing so, they discover the true reason the scrags have walked into the village...

PRISON OF DESPAIR is the eighth book in the ISLAND OF FOG series and the first of a two-part story that concludes in the ninth book, CASTLE OF SPELLS, due for release on August 20th, 2014.

This book is available on Kindle US, Kindle UK, Nook, Kobo, and Apple (I'll update these links as soon as it shows as published). The book will also be available in print as usual, but this won't be for another few weeks as that's a whole different kettle of fish. Enjoy, and please remember to add your reviews and ratings to Amazon, Goodreads, and so on!

Castle of Spells on the horizon

I had to give up posting on my blog over the last couple of months. I was just too busy working and writing to muster the energy to write here as well. Plus I went on a cruise!

The cruise was great. We spent eight days at sea, visiting three islands along the way, and I often sat on the little balcony overlooking the clear blue ocean while typing on my laptop. Yes, I was busy writing Castle of Spells (Island of Fog, Book 9), and I got quite a bit done while I wasn't stuffing my face with "free" food.

So what's the status of the last two books in the Fog series?

Book #8, Prison of Despair, is finished except for some minor edits. This book is on course for publication on July 20th, just over a week away! All those who have beta-read it, please consider adding your review to Goodreads now and then to Amazon when it's published.

Meanwhile, I'm about two-thirds of the way through Book #9, Castle of Spells, and naturally this hasn't yet gone out to beta readers. I expect (hope!) to send it off around August 1st. I'm still aiming to get this published on August 20th, which will be exactly a month after Book 8, so this means beta readers will have only two weeks to read it and get it back to me so I can do some finishing touches. Two weeks seems to be plenty of time for most beta readers, though.

So -- July 20th and August 20th, my two deadlines for the final two books in Hal's story.

I want to reiterate that there will definitely be more Island of Fog books, just not from Hal's point of view and therefore not part of the main series. They will be one-off "Island of Fog Tales," following various characters that have cropped up in the series. Want to see what happened to Thomas all those years alone in the woods with manticores? How about Queen Bee's struggle to form the Swarm? Or Miss Simone's creation of the Shapeshifter Program? I see endless possibilities for these shorter, one-off tales. They will be self-contained standalone stories, but fans of the series will enjoy seeing how they tie in with the series.

I'm off now to continue editing Castle of Spells. I'm running through the first seventeen chapters before writing the final five. I expect the last one or two chapters will be kind of a wind-down period. I don't want to end on a cliffhanger or have anything unresolved. The series really is ending, and I intend to do it properly.

*wipes eyes*

Prison of Despair beta readers!

It's time! Book 8 in the Island of Fog series, Prison of Despair, is now ready for beta readers.

If you'd like to sign up, please click here and fill out the very short form. You'll be emailed a unique link so you can download the book in your preferred format. The book is available right now, and you can start reading as soon as I "approve" you.

This book is due for release on July 20th. I'm giving beta readers three weeks to read it and offer feedback. Only sign up if you:

Will read it by June 7th and offer feedback;Will offer fairly substantial feedback;Will strive to make note of typos and other errors;Will consider writing a review for Goodreads and Amazon.

I'm not asking you to write pages and pages of notes just for the sake of something to say. I'm asking you to give me whatever thoughts you have instead of holding back. Good or bad, I want to know. Also, look for typos and word choices, repetitions, continuity, and so on.

Sign up to beta read Prison of Despair (Island of Fog, Book 8)

Thank you!

Last day of April

You may look at the title of this post and think, "The last day of April? So what?" Well, fair point. There's nothing significant about the last day of April. It's just that this blog is looking a bit sparse these days, and I thought I'd add another post before midnight so it shows up as part of my April blogging. So here I am.

Ho hum.

Well, I do have a few things to report. Prison of Despair (Island of Fog, Book 8) is written and has now been seen by my author buddy Brian Clopper, and he's offered a few suggestions such as:

"Decent chapter, but it reads sluggish since it takes so long to get the meeting started. Maybe trim it down. It serves its purpose to get everyone on the same page with the info, but it does need some thinning."

And:

"This chapter feels a lot like explaining. You go here, I go here and you do that. So close to the meeting chapter, it slows the action down. Get them going on their missions rather than talking out what each is doing."

In retrospect, it's obvious he's right, so it's GREAT to have someone point this stuff out. Brian is the only person in the world (other than me) that will ever get to see the first draft. The second draft will be mostly the same but with a few improvements such as the trimmed scene mentioned above, and this one below, which I've carefully edited to avoid spoilers. What you see here might just tease you a little bit...

"This is the only chapter I am not buying. I really think the scarf woman confession about performers isn't working and is plot hammering. I would have the village on edge and do a tense scene where Hal and company start to spot scrags hidden among the citizens. They're there to keep the village from getting word out. They wouldn't make up a silly performance excuse. They would rule by fear. I think then having them chase down some scrags who are running through the village to sound the alarm as the helicopters approach would be more interesting."

Brian and I often swap our books for early critique, and we don't mince our words. I didn't hold back when I saw a few problems with one of his recently finished drafts. He cleverly rewrote a few scenes where necessary, and the result is a superior book, Irving Wishbutton: The Revision Ravine. I'll be doing the same with Prison of Despair, just altering or deleting a few scenes so that the final result is better. The second draft will be sent out to beta readers in the next couple of weeks, and they will find more to fix. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, I'm on Chapter 5 of Castle of Spells (Island of Fog, Book 9) and it's coming along nicely. Too early to comment on it, though. As a reminder, Book 8 will be published in July, and Book 9 will follow exactly a month later in August.

I'm also doing some small edits to Sleep Writer (Unearthly Tales #1) and I expect to get this out to beta readers soon as well. Again, stay tuned!

This month I ran a promo with BookBub, and the result was 12,000 free downloads of Island of Fog (Book 1). Following that, my sales of other books in the series nearly doubled, and I expect that trend to continue awhile as we move into May. Still, I'm not rich yet. I can't give up my day job anytime soon. Perhaps the release of Fog Books 8 and 9 will help me out.

Funny enough, with an ever-increasing series like this, it's possible to see the potential worth of each new book I add. I have enough sales history and averages, etc, to figure that a new book is worth x amount per year, therefore five new books should be worth y amount per year, and so on. Armed with this information, I can plan my retirement. All I need to do is write about twenty more Fog books...

What, you think I'm kidding? :-)

Someone asked me recently how I juggle self-employed work as a website designer with writing novels, and I thought that topic might be vaguely interesting to some, so look out for that in a forthcoming post.

But now I must say goodnight. The end of April is nigh.

Coming up in 2014

I've been slow on the blogging front lately because I haven't had a whole lot to blog about and have been busy writing. And I deliberately avoided posting around April 1st because I didn't want to be accused of pranking. (Me?)

Anyway, here's the latest:

Prison of Despair (Island of Fog, Book 8) is written and I'm currently running through some edits which should be done in the next few days. Then it'll be off to my first beta reader to "test the water," and after that to a bunch of beta readers for a wider range of feedback. I'm confident this book will be published in July.

Castle of Spells (Island of Fog, Book 9) is next up, and I'll be starting right after my Book 8 edits are complete, so probably Monday onwards with a view to completing by the end of May. Then I'll work through the edits for another couple of weeks, and then ship it off to beta readers in June. This book will be published exactly one month after Book 8, which means August.

I had expected to publish the first of my Unearthly Tales books, Sleep Writer, by now. But after letting it stew for a bit, I decided to adjust a couple of scenes in the story. I'll send it out to beta readers later this month (April), and Brian Clopper, who is both an author and a fifth-grade teacher, has offered to give it a test read in his classroom. This kind of attention and feedback before the book is even published is invaluable! See, this is the first book in a new series, and it's essential that the story works. What if I end up with twenty books in this series? The first one MUST work. It has to pull the readers in and make them want to read the others. I want to make sure I get it right.

Brian and I now have now agreed to start on Unearthed (Fractured, Book 2) in July or August with the intention of publishing later in 2014. We're hankering for some Kyle and Logan action and can't wait to get stuck into the amazing underworld we're conjuring in our heads. I can't help wondering if there's enough material to split this sequel into two... but at the moment I'm expecting Unearthed to be a single, very intense book.

Anything else I start writing this year will be a bonus -- for instance the second Unearthly Tales book and also the first spinoff Island of Fog Tale (though I haven't decided on who it will be about).

Thanks, all, for your patience and readership! And by the way, if you haven't tried Fractured or Quincy's Curse yet, please give them a look. I'm not just about fog, you know! :-)

Fractured

FREE on Apple | Kobo | Issuu$0.99 on Kindle (US) | Nook£0.77 on Kindle (UK)

Quincy's Curse

FREE on Apple | Kobo$3.99 on Kindle (US) | Nook£2.52 on Kindle (UK)

The timeline in a long-running series

When I was a young 'un, I read mystery and adventure books by a popular author from England by the name of Enid Blyton (see my fan site, which I created about ten years ago when I started collecting the old original hardbacks). Americans will be more familiar with the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, The Three Investigators, and so on. But one thing all these books have in common is that the main characters remained perpetually young.

I understand the reasoning behind it. Take the Famous Five series. Enid Blyton originally meant to write six books in this series, but they were so popular that her publisher persuaded her to keep going. Between 1941 and 1963 she wrote 21 Famous Five books. In the beginning, the four characters were aged 10-12. Since each adventure took place during school term breaks (Easter, summer holidays, Christmas, etc), it made sense to age the characters accordingly, and by the time they got to Book #9, they were 14-16.

But the series kept going, and the children were starting to outgrow the intended age group, so the author "stuck" them at that age for another twelve books. As I said in an article about the subject, "This is probably a good thing, because the idea of Julian at 23 years old in the last book and STILL without a driver's license or girlfriend... well, it's just not right." (Oddly, a secondary character described as age 9 late in the series returned two books later at age 11, proving that some sort of aging was still going on while the main characters were frozen in time.)

When you consider the Hardy Boys, there were 58 novels in the "original canon" or 190 if you include the more modern stories. Obviously it makes more sense to completely suspend their aging! If you have them grow older even by one year, it brings the rest of the chronology into question. Sometimes it's best not to go there.

Harry Potter ages naturally through his seven books because each book is a term at Hogwarts. That works nicely, and is perfect when a series has a definite end in sight. But many series don't.

As for me... Right from the start, I intended the Island of Fog series to occur within a fairly short space of time. I didn't want the characters getting old on me. The first book starts in the fall (evidenced by some crispy brown autumn leaves), and I chose a date of October 16th even though the actual date is never mentioned. It's more for my own purposes than anything. Here's a quick rundown of the chronology. Some of this might surprise you...

#1 Island of Fog (7 days, Oct 16 -- Oct 22) #2 Labyrinth of Fire (6 days, Oct 23 -- Oct 28) gap of 2 days #3 Mountain of Whispers (3 days, Oct 31 -- Nov 2) gap of 1 day #4 Lake of Spirits (1 day, Nov 4) gap of 10 days #4 Lake of Spirits (cont'd) (4 days, Nov 14 -- Nov 17) #5 Roads of Madness (5 days, Nov 17 cont'd -- Nov 21) gap of 2 days #6 Chamber of Ghosts (1 day, Nov 24 -- Nov 25) gap of two weeks #6 Chamber of Ghosts (4 days, Dec 8 -- Dec 11) gap of one lunar month #7 Valley of Monsters (10 days, Jan 7 -- Jan 16)

I think the surprise here is that Mountain of Whispers is only three days. But when you look at the story, much of the action is in "real time" with little rest, while other books skip from day to day. As Peter Jackson said about The Hobbit, the author Tolkien briefly describes in one paragraph a huge battle in the mountains, whereas a movie adaptation would need twenty minutes to show it. Time can't be measured by the number of pages a scene takes up.

So, all in all, the Fog series has taken exactly three calendar months so far, from October 16th to January 16th. The next book, Prison of Despair, skips to March 9th (an arbitrary date) where winter is behind them and spring is around the corner. Books 8 and 9 will take place over 5-10 days or so, which means overall we're looking at about five months from start to finish.

Does this surprise you? Some readers assume there are large chunks of time between each book and wonder why the characters don't age. I suppose this is natural when you read a book and wait 8 months for the next one. Yet many others have picked up on the relatively short chronology overall. One thing I want to mention in Prison of Despair is that the children are coming up on age 13. As you know, their parents were all experimented on around the same time when Miss Simone's Shapeshifter Program started, thus the friends were born nine months later, and their birthdays are very close. It's not a big issue, but I think it would be neat to mention.

What I didn't mention at all was Christmas, which would have occurred between Books #6 and #7. It's hard to imagine what sort of Christmas they would have had, though. I'm sure their parents would have kept the tradition going back on the island, and probably in Miss Simone's world as well, but the rest of the village...? I doubt it would have been very Christmassy, which is ironic because this world has plenty of naughty elves as well as a number of flying four-legged animals that might pass as reindeer. Maybe there's a short story here somewhere!

To finish off, my entire point is that I'm the sort of person who feels a need to carefully log the actual passing of time instead of turning a blind eye to it. This is why the series happens over months and not years. Yes, it's a lot for the children to go through, but hey, one story leads right into the next. This is the story of Hal and his friends and the tidal wave of aggravation they and Miss Simone have brought into the world of the poor villagers. There will be a reckoning at the end of the series. In Prison of Despair, the village council is already pretty upset at Miss Simone, complaining about all that's happened as a direct result of her meddling in the Shapeshifter Program.

They have a point.

What future Island of Fog tales would YOU like to see?

This is a hot topic for me right now. Currently I'm working on Book 8, Prison of Despair, and it's going great. I'm already at Chapter 11, a little under halfway through and ahead of schedule. Then I'll be moving straight on to Book 9, Castle of Spells. But I'm already thinking about what comes next...

For a long time now, I've had it in mind to write individual spin-off stories surrounding the Island of Fog series but involving characters other than Hal and his friends. So you'll have the 9-book core series, and there will be any number of one-off supporting tales about varying characters -- for instance, one book might be about Queen Bee and her Swarm, and another might be about Bo and Astrid growing up, and another might be a character we've never actually met before, and so on. These books will have the series title "AN ISLAND OF FOG TALE" to tie them to the core series.

The question is, what should be my first? I have a number of ideas knocking about but am unable to decide what to tackle first. Chronological order doesn't matter. Some will take place in the past, some in the present, others in the future.

I always had one idea in mind where, in a world largely recovered from the virus, a sullen youth gets a job at a special kind of zoo where certain "fantastic creature from another world" are gathered. The zoo's ethics are already in question over this, but the owners insist all the creatures were rescued or born in captivity. Yeah, right. Of course, people are drawn to the spectacle of dragons, unicorns, and other amazing animals they might not otherwise get a chance to see up close. But as the youth delves deeper, he discovers a darker side to the zoo -- the "underground exhibits" where some of the more intelligent species are held captive, like centaurs and naga and goblins.

This raises all sorts of questions that we humans don't normally have to think about. To us, anything non-human can be put in a zoo. But what about centaurs, which are only half human? Or goblins, which are not human at all but speak almost perfect English? Obviously they shouldn't be kept as exhibits in a zoo! Yet they're just as interesting to look at as dragons and unicorns, right?

I thought this would be an interesting tale even if it's only vaguely related to Hal and his friends. Or I could write about something closer to the shapeshifters as mentioned above -- how Queen Bee formed her Swarm, or how the twins, Bo and Astrid, were fostered and pushed into the Oracle business. Or what about a family emerging from a bunker and going to live in a bright new world of monsters? Or the reverse: a boy or girl who grew up in that same bright new world of monsters and foolishly cross over into a dismal, abandoned city of scrags? How would someone who's learned to tame unicorns and steal dragons' eggs cope with dangerous gangs of scarred virus survivors?

Then there are short stories. I can see these being more directly related to Hal and his friends. For instance, we could get into Abigail's head when she first discovers she has wings -- or any of the shifters, for that matter. It would be interesting to see their side of what we know as Hal's story.

And there's something else I want to do. Recently, I've been in contact with Deb Potter, who writes "choose your own adventure" books where the reader is faced with a choice of what do to next, such as going down the ladder into the hole or through the door behind the suit of armor. The story then continues with that choice in mind. Check out her books. They're for readers 9 and up.

I've been meaning to do a "choose your own adventure" for my own series, a completely new story where you read for a bit, then make a choice of how the story should continue, then another choice, and so on until you either save the day or die horribly. (Well, maybe not die horribly.)

Anyway, I'm just spit-balling at the moment. But I'd be interested in some feedback on this. Do any of these Fog-related ideas grab you? Do you have ideas of your own? Anything you'd like written about? If you shout loud enough, or if your idea appeals to me, I might just work on that next.

My new writing regime

2014 started well. I have a lot on my plate this year with two Island of Fog novels, two Unearthly Tales novels, and whatever else I can cram in, so I wanted to get into a habit of using my time more productively.

One thing I kept doing before was "having a rest" between books. I would finish a Fog book and sit back for two or three months thinking about the next one, and when I finally got started, I wish I'd got started earlier! So the first change in my new writing regime is the total abolition of rests. (I get enough rests when I sleep at night. What more do I need?)

Another change is something that's occurred naturally, and that's my ability to write betterer that wot I did afore. I have several steps during the writing process that involve different devices and programs, and this has changed over the years. Here's how it used to be:

Write first draft on laptop (includes multiple recaps) Re-write on laptop (again, includes multiple recaps) Read through and correct on laptop Print on paper and read again for final typos Print as hard copy paperback and read again Send to brother Darren for his exhaustive proofreading skills Last looks and publication

Those were the early days. Where I mention "recaps" above, those are multiple re-reads of the bits I'd just written in the days before, so the whole process was more than just five complete sweeps. Overall I probably read the book seven or eight times, initially in small chunks and then as a whole. It actually got really tiresome, and that's why I always had a rest between books!

My methods have changed bit by bit with each book. Lately, I've found that the second step is not so intensive. Apparently I've got better at this writing lark over the years, and my first draft is more polished than it used to be. This means I can sort of merge Steps #2 and #3.

Also, in the last couple of years, I've been making more use of my phone while out and about with the help of the Google Drive app, which allows me to read, edit, or comment "live" on my book -- "live" because it uploads my changes immediately, in real time, to my Google account. And when I get home, I can open up Google Drive on my laptop and see the same book complete with all the changes I just made while sitting in a parking lot waiting for my wife to finish shopping (*ducks to avoid thrown brick*). So it's a very mobile way of working.

Using a phone to edit is limiting, though. The screen is tiny, and the keyboard even tinier! So this month I bought a tablet -- just a cheap $140 Asus MemoPad, nothing fancy, just something bigger to work on instead of my phone. With a 7" screen, my book in Google Drive looks fabulous and is so much easier to read and edit. (And by the way, the tablet may not be anything fancy, but it's far better than the Nexus I tried a year ago, and about half the price.)

Another big change is the use of beta readers. I try to whip the book into the best shape I can before putting it out there, and even then I end up with a long list of typos and corrections when beta readers are done with it.

My writing regime is now like this:

Write first draft on laptop (includes multiple recaps) Read through and correct on tablet Upload to Google Drive for first round of beta reading (fellow author only) Make corrections and prepare for second round of beta reading (multiple readers) Make more correction as necessary Send to brother Darren for his exhaustive proofreading skills Last looks and publication

You could say it's the same number of steps as before. But it's a far more efficient and less tedious system, and the beta readers give me a way to "test the water" before actual publication, which is nice.

Yet another change to my writing regime is more tea! And by tea, I mean the hot kind with milk and a bit of sugar, not that horrible cold stuff Americans drink. I mean proper Tetley British Blend. Black tea is good for you, and experts recommend at least five cups a day, dontcha know. :-)

So what does all this mean? Well, in a nutshell it means more books! I wrote my first Unearthly Tales novel, Sleep Writer, throughout January and have already re-read and edited it on my tablet. That experiment was a huge success. Now it's in the hands of my writing buddy Brian Clopper, and after that I'll ask for beta readers. I expect to publish it around March (electronic edition only).

This book is half the length of a Fog book though, so don't expect the same turnaround with Prison of Despair, which I started a couple of days ago. I've done the first chapter, but I estimate this book will take about two months for the first draft.

Google Drive + Tablet + Cups of Tea = Lots of Books

A winning formula!

Island of Fog Book 9: Castle of Spells

And here it is, folks: Castle of Spells (Island of Fog, Book 9). This is a first for me -- coming up with the titles and covers for not one but TWO Island of Fog books so far in advance. But it's the right thing to do. Covers don't drive a plot, but for some reason they do solidify things in my head. I know a number of authors who think the same way.

Plus, as a bonus, it's nice to be able to use the cover image to write an accurate description in the book rather than the other way around. Describing it first and then searching high and low for a matching image can be time-consuming and sometimes impossible. In this case, the look of the castle isn't important to me, but its location is. In the story, the castle will be set on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and when I came across this image I thought, "Perfect!" -- even though the castle itself is not exactly as I imagined it. But that's okay, I'll just amend my mental image, and to be honest I think this castle is a better fit, a little more magical than the one I had in my head.

So what's the book about? Well, this is where I have a dilemma. When a new book is due out, I try to reveal as little of the plot as possible so that readers enjoy things as they unravel, and I only reveal a bit more of the plot when the next book is due out 6-8 months later. This time, both books will be released within a month of each other, so I'm going to have to choose my words carefully -- because the events of Castle of Spells occur as a direct result of what happens in Prison of Despair.

For now, I'll just say that Castle of Spells is going to be a huge, rollicking adventure. Obviously it involves a castle. And some spells. Does that help? ;-)

More later. I have books to write!

Island of Fog Book 8: Prison of Despair

Introducing the next book in the series! Prison of Despair (Island of Fog, Book 8) is the first of a two-part story to be published this year and continued in Book 9 just a month later. Yes, you heard correctly. Books 8 and 9 will be released within a month of each other in 2014.

Prison of Despair is aptly named. It features a prison, and its prisoners are filled with... well, despair. The general plot involves a villain who takes a lot of hostages and forces Hal and his shapeshifting friends to put themselves under house arrest in a prison outside the village. Being shapeshifters, they can escape any time... but doing so will bring dire consequences. No matter; the incarceration is expected to be a temporary measure until the hostage situation is resolved. Of course, things escalate and the shifters stay quite a bit longer than planned.

The problem is that this prison is specially designed to bring remorse and despair to its residents. Those who are unfortunate enough to stay there are released feeling like they've been locked up ten times longer than they actually have. A great way to put criminals on the straight and narrow, no? And since it's quicker, it costs taxpayers less.

It's not all doom and gloom. Hal and his resourceful friends do find ways to escape the prison undetected, which is fine as long as they're back in time for role call. Can they resolve the hostage situation while supposedly being locked up in their cells?

The eighth book in the series will feature a villain from a previous book and will pick up on a worry Miss Simone had at the end of Book 7. No prizes for guessing, but I don't want to spoil it here because Book 7, Valley of Monsters, is still fairly new.

Prison of Despair is fully mapped out and ready to be written. I'll be getting stuck in sometime in February right after I've written Sleep Writer, my first Unearthly Tales book. Exciting times!

Stay tuned for news on Island of Fog Book 9, which currently has a title but no cover.