Keith Robinson's Blog, page 3

Island of Fog Box Sets now available... and FREE on Kindle Unlimited

I'm happy to announce that my Island of Fog books are now available as double-feature box sets on Amazon. They're much cheaper than individual books (for now), and because I've enrolled them in the Kindle Unlimited program, members of the exclusive Amazon readers club can read my entire series for free!

For those who are not aware, Kindle Unlimited ( US | UK ) is a program where readers pay a monthly subscription and read as many book as they want for free as long as those books are enrolled (and let's face it, most are).

It's like Netflix, only for readers.

It's a pretty amazing deal if you read a lot of books. I personally know people who only read books that are in the program and won't pay extra for anything that's not, which is what got me thinking about this. What if they never tried mine?

This was a real dilemma for me. If I made my individual books available for Kindle Unlimited readers, I'd have to remove them from Nook, Kobo, and Apple. That's the deal -- the Unlimited program requires exclusivity. And I don't like that idea.

The solution is to do both!

The first three books in the Island of Fog series have been available for some time as a box set in various online stores. Well, recently I bit the bullet and made that box set exclusive to Kindle Unlimited just to try it out.

Box Set 1-3:

Island of Fog Labyrinth of Fire Mountain of Whispers

As of today, there are three more box sets available, each with two books:

Box Set 4-5: Lake of Spirits Roads of MadnessBox Set 6-7: Chamber of Ghosts Valley of MonstersBox Set 8-9: Prison of Despair Castle of Spells

And in the fall...

Box Set Crossover: Island of Fog #10 -- Forest of Souls Island of Fog Legacies #5 -- Death Storm

There's reason for my madness. First, why two books in each? Because after the first three, the books naturally fall into pairs. If you read Book 4, you have to read Book 5. And if you read Book 5... etc. The way I have them bundled makes perfect sense. Trust me on this.

As for the Box Set Crossover... This is an interesting one. The downside to book sets is that you have to wait for enough books to be available to make a set. But Forest of Souls pairs very nicely with its twenty-years-later sequel Death Storm (due out in the fall). So that's what I'm doing there.

So, if you're a Kindle Unlimited member already, get on over to Amazon and check out these free bundles.

If you're NOT a member but want to give it a try, then sign up here:

Kindle Unlimited: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Then search for my books, or come back here and use the links on the main Island of Fog page.

What does all this mean for non-members?

If you shop on Amazon, then there's no difference at all -- you can buy these box sets as you would any other book. And, for the rest of August, these two-for-one sets are 30% cheaper than individual books. I intend putting the prices up next month depending on how things go.

If you're a Nook, Kobo, or Apple user, then sorry, these box sets will not be available. But the individual books are, and they will always be.

And yes, in the future I intend adding my other series to box sets so they're available for Unlimited readers as well. :-)

Go to the Island of Fog page for country-specific direct links to Amazon

Get ready for a World of Fog

First up, a quick reminder that the Forest of Souls mini-contest is closing tonight at midnight. If you've already bought and read the ebook, a huge THANK YOU for being a part of my launch efforts! Now you have a chance to win a signed paperback copy by answering this simple question:

Q. How many gargoyles were featured in the story?

Just email me@authorkeithrobinson.com with the answer. I'll draw a winner tomorrow, August 1st, and post the result on the website. Good luck!

Now then...

If you're an Island of Fog fan, you'll love what I have planned for the next six months and beyond. Exclusive to subscribers only, I'll be adding a "secret" section to the website containing all kinds of special Fog-related goodies such as:

Detailed timeline including short stories and books Character and creature studies Short stories and novellas Author notes, ideas, and inspirations Discussion board for fans of the series Special offers on books

...And plenty more. Basically, it'll be a place to analyze the books -- a compendium of fun and interesting facts related to the Island of Fog world. You'll be welcome to join in as well, if you like.

I've done a similar thing over at a fansite I run for the much-loved English author Enid Blyton, who died in 1968 after publishing hundreds of books and thousands of short stories. On that website, I reviewed her most popular books and added a bunch of articles, and then other Blyton fans joined in with their own discussion points and ideas. It became a community effort, a place to drop in and say hello to other fans.

The first things I'll add to the World of Fog is a general introduction to the series, then a detailed timeline of all the books and short stories. I'll add to this timeline as I write more books. There will also be a free short story, a series "teaser" if you like, taking place right before the first book.

All of this will be free to subscribers.

Of course, not all of you have read every Fog book. Some of you haven't read any of them. That's okay, but to avoid spoilers, you'll have to tread lightly when you enter the World of Fog. But for those who have read every single book, there will be plenty for you to dig into!

I'll most likely open the portal to this secret place sometime in September.

Until then, I have Death Storm to write...

Get ready for a World of Fog

If you're an Island of Fog fan, you'll love what I have planned for the next six months and beyond. Exclusive to subscribers only, I'll be adding a "secret" section to the website containing all kinds of special Fog-related goodies such as:

Detailed timeline including short stories and books Character and creature studies Short stories and novellas Author notes, ideas, and inspirations Discussion board for fans of the series Special offers on books

...And plenty more. Basically, it'll be a place to analyze the books -- a compendium of fun and interesting facts related to the Island of Fog world. You'll be welcome to join in as well, if you like.

I've done a similar thing over at a fansite I run for the much-loved English author Enid Blyton, who died in 1968 after publishing hundreds of books and thousands of short stories. On that website, I reviewed her most popular books and added a bunch of articles, and then other Blyton fans joined in with their own discussion points and ideas. It became a community effort, a place to drop in and say hello to other fans.

The first things I'll add to the World of Fog is a general introduction to the series, then a detailed timeline of all the books and short stories. I'll add to this timeline as I write more books. There will also be a free short story, a series "teaser" if you like, taking place right before the first book.

All of this will be free to subscribers.

Of course, not all of you have read every Fog book. Some of you haven't read any of them. That's okay, but to avoid spoilers, you'll have to tread lightly when you enter the World of Fog. But for those who have read every single book, there will be plenty for you to dig into!

I'll most likely open the portal to this secret place sometime in September.

Until then, I have Death Storm to write...

Exactly how many times does an author edit and proofread a novel before publishing?

I'm asked this question a lot.

I can't speak for other authors, but I can give you a glimpse into my own writing habits. Take these past two weeks, for example. In the days leading up to a new book launch, it's all hands on deck (as the tired old phrase goes). Being an author, "all hands on deck" literally means both hands on the keyboard for longer than usual, and my eyes glued to one screen or another!

Back in my early days of writing, it took me eight months to write a book. A few books later, I got that down to five months, then three. I used to bang out my first draft pretty quickly, but then I would run through it a second time and change almost everything, rewriting each paragraph as I went. At the time, that seemed normal. The first draft was just a draft, and the second pass was the forming of a "real novel." All subsequent passes, therefore, were for polishing things up.

Then, without realizing it, my first draft got better and better, so good that my second pass became the start of the polishing stage. I no longer had to rewrite every paragraph. I had effectively combined the first and second stages into one. I was rocking it!

Except... not really. In truth, my first draft takes much longer than it used to. I'm more careful with it. But it's far cleaner by the end, meaning there's no need for that rewrite. So I think, in all, I take about the same time as I always did, but in one pass rather than two. It's a case of "getting it right first time."

But there's more to a story than just a bunch of nicely formed sentences!

This is true. There's plot, pacing, character building, and everything else. That's another skill I had to work on, because I used to suck at it.

My very first published book, Island of Fog, took six years to write. Admittedly I had a couple of years off from writing when my daughter came along, but still, four years is a long time. I was writing in my spare time, and I didn't really envisage actual publication, so I didn't have the drive that I have now. Even so, I spent a lot of time fumbling around. I wrote eight chapters and ditched them. I wrote fourteen new chapters and ditched the first four. I rearranged everything a few times. I wasted a LOT of time because I didn't plan properly.

All that said, I'm proud of the finished result even today. There are things I could streamline to make it a "faster" read, but overall, it's pretty tight.

After publishing that book and realizing I could actually do this, the second book only took eight months. And so did the third. I had learned to plan better, which cut out a lot of wasted time. A few books later, I was down to a mere three or four months if I pushed myself. Meanwhile, the quality was (and I believe still is) improving all the time. Better quality in a shorter period? Yay me!

And then there's the proofreading...

This stage, like everything else, has always been of paramount importance to me. I've listened in amazement to authors who happily claim to put their books up on Amazon as quickly as possible to get sales NOW, and then spend the next few months picking up typos and correcting them -- while the book is on sale! Needless to say, they get negative reviews saying "poorly written" and "needs editing," and these reviews can never be undone.

Obviously, the proper way is to proofread the book to death before it goes live. That's not to say there won't ever be any typos in the published book. There will. I can almost guarantee you that every book every author puts out will have a typo somewhere. The question is how many? When you write 85,000 words, typos are inevitable. My hope is that one or two will be acceptable to the reader or will pass completely unnoticed. But if anyone spots a typo in my books, I want to know about it.

So, how many times do I proofread?

As you know, this week I've been busy getting Forest of Souls (Island of Fog, Book 10) ready for publication. As far as proofreading goes, it's been a pretty standard procedure...

First, I wrote the book. I ran through a second time doing a careful polish. I ran through a third time checking for pace and consistency, and adding/deleting scenes here and there. I ran through a fourth time on my phone, making edits directly to the document where necessary. Then I passed it to two beta readers who found a LONG list of things to fix (as usual). I tidied up those things, then passed the book to a third beta reader, who also found a list of things that somehow we'd all missed. I fixed up those things, and then I put the phone on my Kindle and read it through a final time -- and found yet another list of things to fix, though most of them were improvements rather than amendments.

And that still wasn't enough!

When I uploaded the book to Amazon last night, Amazon's instant spellchecking tool found the usual list of "errors" -- most of which are not errors at all but exclamations like "arrghh!" or made-up names or fantasy creatures and so on. But it did pick up the word "pretting." Huh? Turns out the word "pretting" should have been "pretty." Somehow, that word slipped past all those read-throughs and three separate beta readers. (I fixed the typo and re-uploaded.)

This is why I almost guarantee readers will still find the odd typo or two. I do my very best, and I'm proud of the number of readers who have told me my books are super-clean and polished, but I know in my heart there's still a typo or two lurking in there somewhere like a fiendish little gremlin. :-D

All that aside, Forest of Souls is now online as follows:

Amazon US   Amazon UK   Nook   Kobo   Apple

Now here's a special bonus!

Do you want a signed print copy of the new book for free? If so, just buy the ebook, take a week to read it, and answer this simple question:

Q. How many gargoyles are in the story?

That's it! You don't have to be the first to answer. Just send me a private email with your answer before midnight on July 31st, and your name will be entered into the draw. I'll pick a winner from the entries on August 1st.

Did you know? Forest of Souls marks a return to the series after a four-year absence. In fact, it was July 20, 2014, when Castle of Spells was published. Fun fact!

If you'd like to read the first three chapters for free, you can do so right here on this website:

Forest of Souls -- A Sneak Peak at the First 3 Chapters

Thank you, everyone!

Exactly how many times does an author edit and proofread a novel before publishing?

I'm asked this question a lot.

I can't speak for other authors, but I can give you a glimpse into my own writing habits. Take these past two weeks, for example. In the days leading up to a new book launch, it's all hands on deck (as the tired old phrase goes). Being an author, "all hands on deck" literally means both hands on the keyboard for longer than usual, and my eyes glued to one screen or another!

Okay, a quick time-out just to say welcome to the slew of new subscribers these past couple of weeks! And a hello again to all those who have been following my blog for years. At the bottom of this post are links to the new book Forest of Souls, published TODAY, plus a quick contest for a chance to win a signed paperback edition.

But back to the program...

Back in my early days of writing, it took me eight months to write a book. A few books later, I got that down to five months, then three. I used to bang out my first draft pretty quickly, but then I would run through it a second time and change almost everything, rewriting each paragraph as I went. At the time, that seemed normal. The first draft was just a draft, and the second pass was the forming of a "real novel." All subsequent passes, therefore, were for polishing things up.

Then, without realizing it, my first draft got better and better, so good that my second pass became the start of the polishing stage. I no longer had to rewrite every paragraph. I had effectively combined the first and second stages into one. I was rocking it!

Except... not really. In truth, my first draft takes much longer than it used to. I'm more careful with it. But it's far cleaner by the end, meaning there's no need for that rewrite. So I think, in all, I take about the same time as I always did, but in one pass rather than two. It's a case of "getting it right first time."

But there's more to a story than just a bunch of nicely formed sentences!

This is true. There's plot, pacing, character building, and everything else. That's another skill I had to work on, because I used to suck at it.

My very first published book, Island of Fog, took six years to write. Admittedly I had a couple of years off from writing when my daughter came along, but still, four years is a long time. I was writing in my spare time, and I didn't really envisage actual publication, so I didn't have the drive that I have now. Even so, I spent a lot of time fumbling around. I wrote eight chapters and ditched them. I wrote fourteen new chapters and ditched the first four. I rearranged everything a few times. I wasted a LOT of time because I didn't plan properly.

All that said, I'm proud of the finished result even today. There are things I could streamline to make it a "faster" read, but overall, it's pretty tight.

After publishing that book and realizing I could actually do this, the second book only took eight months. And so did the third. I had learned to plan better, which cut out a lot of wasted time. A few books later, I was down to a mere three or four months if I pushed myself. Meanwhile, the quality was (and I believe still is) improving all the time. Better quality in a shorter period? Yay me!

And then there's the proofreading...

This stage, like everything else, has always been of paramount importance to me. I've listened in amazement to authors who happily claim to put their books up on Amazon as quickly as possible to get sales NOW, and then spend the next few months picking up typos and correcting them -- while the book is on sale! Needless to say, they get negative reviews saying "poorly written" and "needs editing," and these reviews can never be undone.

Obviously, the proper way is to proofread the book to death before it goes live. That's not to say there won't ever be any typos in the published book. There will. I can almost guarantee you that every book every author puts out will have a typo somewhere. The question is how many? When you write 85,000 words, typos are inevitable. My hope is that one or two will be acceptable to the reader or will pass completely unnoticed. But if anyone spots a typo in my books, I want to know about it.

So, how many times do I proofread?

As you know, this week I've been busy getting Forest of Souls (Island of Fog, Book 10) ready for publication. As far as proofreading goes, it's been a pretty standard procedure...

First, I wrote the book. I ran through a second time doing a careful polish. I ran through a third time checking for pace and consistency, and adding/deleting scenes here and there. I ran through a fourth time on my phone, making edits directly to the document where necessary. Then I passed it to two beta readers who found a LONG list of things to fix (as usual). I tidied up those things, then passed the book to a third beta reader, who also found a list of things that somehow we'd all missed. I fixed up those things, and then I put the phone on my Kindle and read it through a final time -- and found yet another list of things to fix, though most of them were improvements rather than amendments.

And that still wasn't enough!

When I uploaded the book to Amazon last night, Amazon's instant spellchecking tool found the usual list of "errors" -- most of which are not errors at all but exclamations like "arrghh!" or made-up names or fantasy creatures and so on. But it did pick up the word "pretting." Huh? Turns out the word "pretting" should have been "pretty." Somehow, that word slipped past all those read-throughs and three separate beta readers. (I fixed the typo and re-uploaded.)

This is why I almost guarantee readers will still find the odd typo or two. I do my very best, and I'm proud of the number of readers who have told me my books are super-clean and polished, but I know in my heart there's still a typo or two lurking in there somewhere like a fiendish little gremlin. :-D

All that aside, Forest of Souls is now online as follows:

Amazon US   Amazon UK   Nook   Kobo

(I'll add the link for Apple as soon as it's available.)

Don't forget, the book is on sale this week only at 20% off, which in the US is $3.99 rather than $4.99. The price will go up next Friday 27th to $4.99. So you have 7 days to get it at a cheaper price.

Now here's a special bonus!

Do you want a signed print copy of the new book for free? If so, just buy the ebook, take a week to read it, and answer this simple question:

Q. How many gargoyles are in the story?

That's it! You don't have to be the first to answer. Just send me a private email with your answer before midnight on July 31st, and your name will be entered into the draw. I'll pick a winner from the entries on August 1st.

Did you know? Forest of Souls marks a return to the series after a four-year absence. In fact, it was July 20, 2014, when Castle of Spells was published. Fun fact!

If you'd like to read the first three chapters for free, you can do so right here on this website:

Forest of Souls -- A Sneak Peak at the First 3 Chapters

Thank you, everyone!

New book hurtles toward publication

It's a mad dash to the finish line as I prepare my newest book for publication!

Actually, it's more like a slow, methodical plod. If this were the fabled tortoise-and-hare race, I'm definitely the tortoise. When it comes to writing, there's no such thing as a mad dash unless it's in the story itself. Cranking out an 85,000-word novel is a long, drawn-out process fraught with anxiety, frustration, and multiple cups of tea. Anyway, I'm pleased to say that Forest of Souls (Island of Fog, Book 10) is written, edited, proofread, and ready for launch this coming Friday, July 20 -- just a few days away! "Go, Tortoise, Go!"

But is a book ever really finished? It's a bit like decorating. You complete the job and stand back to admire the work, aware that there might be a couple of small things to touch up but knowing other people probably wouldn't even notice. On the other hand, some eagle-eyed types will come in and point out a few things so you can quickly fix them up. If they're too worried about hurting your feelings, then those imperfections might remain forever. Eventually, all the touch-ups are done, and the job is truly finished. (Until a few years later when you decide it needs redoing.)

With this in mind, I'm reading the book through one more time. No doubt I'll find a few things to change, most of which will be entirely optional rather than actual errors. When the book launches, it should be as clean as a whistle, and if not, I'd like to know about it so I can make tiny tweaks for a future edition.

Not all of you reading this email are Island of Fog fans. You may be into Sleep Writer, Fractured, or Quincy's Curse. Still, maybe you'll enjoy what's below. I decided to post three chapters just to whet your appetite. Who knows, maybe all you non-Fog fans will be tempted to give the series a try. After all, the first book in the series is free, so you have nothing to lose, right?

Now, a quick word about the launch on Friday. If you plan to buy the book, then great, thank you in advance! If you do, the book price will be 20% cheaper for the first week only ($3.99 in the US and up to the regular price of $4.99 thereafter).

Okay, so in advance of the launch, enjoy this excerpt for now, and I'll see you on Friday when the book is live!

Forest of Souls (Island of Fog, Book 10)
The First Three Chapters: Exclusive Preview

Female fauns and other imponderables

I love mythology and all the stories of fantastic beasts and tragic monsters. And I love giving these mythical creatures my own spin, fitting them into my Island of Fog world with a few unique traits that make them "mine."

My latest book, Forest of Souls, features a female faun. She's right there on the cover, her hair slicked back and some kind of gold warpaint smeared across her head and face. A little unusual, no? You'd be forgiven for thinking she's not your traditional faun. In fact, some people may think a "female faun" is an oxymoron on the basis that a faun is, by some definitions, male:

"One of a class of lustful rural gods, represented as a man with a goat's horns, ears, legs, and tail."

Then again, others will argue that the above description is in fact a satyr, and that a faun is a much gentler and rather foolish creature. But the satyr is from Greek mythology, and the faun is Roman, so in that sense they might be seen as the same creature:

"Faun, in Roman mythology, is a creature that is part human and part goat, akin to a Greek satyr. The name faun is derived from Faunus, the name of an ancient Italic deity of forests, fields, and herds, who from the 2nd Century BCE was associated with the Greek god Pan."

And that's another thing. Sometimes the satyr is described as part goat and the faun as part deer. In any case, both have the same "backward" legs with cloven hoofs, and horns on their heads, so maybe that's a minor quibble.

Some suggest a workaround to all this confusion, suggesting there's a male satyr and a female satyress, both of whom are fauns in the same way a rooster and a hen are chickens. In which case, it's okay to have a female faun.

Right?

Just a few of the many depictions of fauns, from cutesy to scary -- and actually quite a few females once you start looking for them!

Let's digress for a moment. Throughout my Island of Fog books, I ignore the fact that certain mythological creatures might be one-off monsters or unique tragic figures. Instead, I write them as full-blown species in their own right. Take Medusa, for example. The sinister, deadly woman has a head of snakes and a stare that will turn you to stone. In fact, Medusa was one of three Gorgon sisters (the other two being Stheno and Euryale), and their story is way more complex than the simple one described here. But a head of snakes and a deadly gaze is what everyone thinks of when referring to Medusa, so those are two ingredients a fantasy writer will normally include whenever speaking of that Gorgon sister.

But why stop there? If I clung to the legendary story of Medusa, I'd have to concede that she was slain by Perseus thousands of years ago, and then I couldn't use her in my books in the modern world. So instead of treating Medusa as the tragic figure she was, I (like many other authors) turned her into a full-blown species. The Gorgon sisters became simply gorgons, a rare creature you don't want to meet.

(With a nod to the fantastic original Clash of the Titans movie and its remake, my gorgons have the same serpentine body from the waist down. Some writers depict them as simply human women with viper hair and a mean stare. In my books, Molly the gorgon is a shapeshifter, so I get to do both versions.)

The same came said of the Minotaur, who was an embarrassingly monstrous half-man, half-bull creature with an appetite for human flesh, and whose father Minos built a labyrinth for him to run around in, a kind of walled playground with occasional sacrificial offerings tossed in. Yes, this is grossly simplified version of the story. But again, many fantasy authors, including me, have turned this undesirable offspring into an established species of bullheaded creatures.

I did the same thing with the Harpies. Some ancient stories state they're two sisters, the offspring of Thaumas and Electra. Other stories suggest they're "the hounds of mighty Zeus" or "ministers of the Thunderer," or simply wind spirits. Their name means "snatchers" or "swift robbers." This is pretty much how I portrayed them in my books. The only difference is that I included male harpies as well -- because if you have a full-blown species, you have to have males, right? That said, I kept the females as the dominant sex, with their nest run by a queen and the males insufferably weak. So, in that sense, I maintained the perception of harpies being female.

Which brings me back to fauns. In the latest Island of Fog book, Forest of Souls, the villain is a female faun. At some point, I mention satyrs as being gruff, overbearing males. Since I don't really like the word "satyress," I went with the idea that males and females alike are fauns while the alpha male in each clan is known as a satyr.

I think that fits with the general perception of a satyr being manly and domineering. And it's nice having clarification within my own Fog universe. I'm taking away the confusion and keeping it simple. The fact that I'm combining both Roman and Greek mythology is irrelevant; in my Fog world, all cultures are included as one. The way I see it, the Fog world has been around many thousands of years and is the source of all myths and legends as we know them today; they all arose from multiple sightings of fantastic creatures that crossed over from the Fog world in the distant past.

I haven't delved too deeply into faun culture in Forest of Souls, but I want to expand on it when this particular faun returns twenty years later in Death Storm, Book 5 of the Legacies series. One thing I did touch on, though, is her "place of tranquility." I don't believe I've read anything about this anywhere, but it popped into my head as being a likely faun trait -- that each has a personal tree they call their own. But it's not just any tree. It's a place that lies just outside the normal realm. I'm looking forward to exploring that idea a little more later.

And speaking of fauns, I'm off to the Fanboy Convention in Knoxville next weekend, where I'm sure everyone will have a faun time. (Sigh.)

This week marks the final few days of June. I intend sending out Forest of Souls to beta readers very soon. They'll have a couple of weeks to read it, and then I'll have a week or so to work it over, and then the book will be published on July 20th as planned. I'm very excited! This will be the first original-series Fog book in four years.

Stay tuned!

Female fauns and other imponderables

I love mythology and all the stories of fantastic beasts and tragic monsters. And I love giving these mythical creatures my own spin, fitting them into my Island of Fog world with a few unique traits that make them "mine."

My latest book, Forest of Souls, features a female faun. She's right there on the cover, her hair slicked back and some kind of gold warpaint smeared across her head and face. A little unusual, no? You'd be forgiven for thinking she's not your traditional faun. In fact, some people may think a "female faun" is an oxymoron on the basis that a faun is, by some definitions, male:

"One of a class of lustful rural gods, represented as a man with a goat's horns, ears, legs, and tail."

Then again, others will argue that the above description is in fact a satyr, and that a faun is a much gentler and rather foolish creature. But the satyr is from Greek mythology, and the faun is Roman, so in that sense they might be seen as the same creature:

"Faun, in Roman mythology, is a creature that is part human and part goat, akin to a Greek satyr. The name faun is derived from Faunus, the name of an ancient Italic deity of forests, fields, and herds, who from the 2nd Century BCE was associated with the Greek god Pan."

And that's another thing. Sometimes the satyr is described as part goat and the faun as part deer. In any case, both have the same "backward" legs with cloven hoofs, and horns on their heads, so maybe that's a minor quibble.

Some suggest a workaround to all this confusion, suggesting there's a male satyr and a female satyress, both of whom are fauns in the same way a rooster and a hen are chickens. In which case, it's okay to have a female faun.

Right?

Just a few of the many depictions of fauns, from cutesy to scary -- and actually quite a few females once you start looking for them!

Let's digress for a moment. Throughout my Island of Fog books, I ignore the fact that certain mythological creatures might be one-off monsters or unique tragic figures. Instead, I write them as full-blown species in their own right. Take Medusa, for example. The sinister, deadly woman has a head of snakes and a stare that will turn you to stone. In fact, Medusa was one of three Gorgon sisters (the other two being Stheno and Euryale), and their story is way more complex than the simple one described here. But a head of snakes and a deadly gaze is what everyone thinks of when referring to Medusa, so those are two ingredients a fantasy writer will normally include whenever speaking of that Gorgon sister.

But why stop there? If I clung to the legendary story of Medusa, I'd have to concede that she was slain by Perseus thousands of years ago, and then I couldn't use her in my books in the modern world. So instead of treating Medusa as the tragic figure she was, I (like many other authors) turned her into a full-blown species. The Gorgon sisters became simply gorgons, a rare creature you don't want to meet.

(With a nod to the fantastic original Clash of the Titans movie and its remake, my gorgons have the same serpentine body from the waist down. Some writers depict them as simply human women with viper hair and a mean stare. In my books, Molly the gorgon is a shapeshifter, so I get to do both versions.)

The same can be said of the Minotaur, who was an embarrassingly monstrous half-man, half-bull creature with an appetite for human flesh, and whose father Minos built a labyrinth for him to run around in, a kind of walled playground with occasional sacrificial offerings tossed in. Yes, this is grossly simplified version of the story. But again, many fantasy authors, including me, have turned this undesirable offspring into an established species of bullheaded creatures.

I did the same thing with the Harpies. Some ancient stories state they're two sisters, the offspring of Thaumas and Electra. Other stories suggest they're "the hounds of mighty Zeus" or "ministers of the Thunderer," or simply wind spirits. Their name means "snatchers" or "swift robbers." This is pretty much how I portrayed them in my books. The only difference is that I included male harpies as well -- because if you have a full-blown species, you have to have males, right? That said, I kept the females as the dominant sex, with their nest run by a queen and the males insufferably weak. So, in that sense, I maintained the perception of harpies being female.

Which brings me back to fauns. In the latest Island of Fog book, Forest of Souls, the villain is a female faun. At some point, I mention satyrs as being gruff, overbearing males. Since I don't really like the word "satyress," I went with the idea that males and females alike are fauns while the alpha male in each clan is known as a satyr.

I think that fits with the general perception of a satyr being manly and domineering. And it's nice having clarification within my own Fog universe. I'm taking away the confusion and keeping it simple. The fact that I'm combining both Roman and Greek mythology is irrelevant; in my Fog world, all cultures are included as one. The way I see it, the Fog world has been around many thousands of years and is the source of all myths and legends as we know them today; they all arose from multiple sightings of fantastic creatures that crossed over from the Fog world in the distant past.

I haven't delved too deeply into faun culture in Forest of Souls, but I want to expand on it when this particular faun returns twenty years later in Death Storm, Book 5 of the Legacies series. One thing I did touch on, though, is her "place of tranquility." I don't believe I've read anything about this anywhere, but it popped into my head as being a likely faun trait -- that each has a personal tree they call their own. But it's not just any tree. It's a place that lies just outside the normal realm. I'm looking forward to exploring that idea a little more later.

And speaking of fauns, I'm off to the Fanboy Convention in Knoxville next weekend, where I'm sure everyone will have a faun time. (Sigh.)

This week marks the final few days of June. I intend sending out Forest of Souls to beta readers very soon. They'll have a couple of weeks to read it, and then I'll have a week or so to work it over, and then the book will be published on July 20th as planned. I'm very excited! This will be the first original-series Fog book in four years.

Stay tuned!

Save 20% on Island of Fog titles for a limited time

If you've been thinking about buying the next book in my Island of Fog series but haven't yet committed... well, you're in luck. I've now set up a simple credit card / PayPal checkout right here on this site – and for a limited time, you can get 20% off my Island of Fog books.

Welcome to   [image error]

The highly secure and super-easy checkout system provided by Gumroad is very simple. Just go the Island of Fog book page and click on a Gumroad logo to add a book to a mini-cart. Add as many books as you like. When you're ready, check out and apply the promo code 20off before paying. You'll get the books in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF format as you wish.

Or you can go to my Gumroad profile page, which shows all my books together. Book 1, Island of Fog, shows a price, but it's always free if you use the coupon code freebie (or just click here).

Feel free to add your email address to keep up to date with latest promos.

Gumroad opens up a number of possibilities for readers. It means I can very easily offer discounts at any time AND bundle books together in special promotions, something I can't do with Amazon and other platforms. I aim to add ALL my books to Gumroad within the next few weeks, so keep an eye open for more deals.

You can also pre-order my brand new Book 10, Forest of Souls. It's due for release on July 20, and if you pre-order, the book will be delivered to you the very instant it goes live. Totally up to you, of course, but remember that the 20off coupon applies to Book 10 as well -- for a limited time only.

Happy saving!

Save 20% on Island of Fog titles for a limited time

If you've been thinking about buying the next book in my Island of Fog series but haven't yet committed... well, you're in luck. I've now set up a simple credit card / PayPal checkout right here on this site – and for a limited time, you can get 20% off my Island of Fog books.

Welcome to  

The highly secure and super-easy checkout system provided by Gumroad is very simple. Just go the Island of Fog book page and click on a Gumroad logo to add a book to a mini-cart. Add as many books as you like. When you're ready, check out and apply the promo code 20off before paying. You'll get the books in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF format as you wish.

Or you can go to my Gumroad profile page, which shows all my books together. Book 1, Island of Fog, shows a price, but it's always free if you use the coupon code freebie (or just click here).

Feel free to add your email address to keep up to date with latest promos.

Gumroad opens up a number of possibilities for readers. It means I can very easily offer discounts at any time AND bundle books together in special promotions, something I can't do with Amazon and other platforms. I aim to add ALL my books to Gumroad within the next few weeks, so keep an eye open for more deals.

You can also pre-order my brand new Book 10, Forest of Souls. It's due for release on July 20, and if you pre-order, the book will be delivered to you the very instant it goes live. Totally up to you, of course, but remember that the 20off coupon applies to Book 10 as well -- for a limited time only.

Happy saving!