Richard Raley's Blog, page 43

September Writing Update

There's not a whole lot to say about the last six or so months.  After the publishing of FM2 and KH Short 2 by April I was completely worn out.  3 books, 3 shorts, and a fan fiction serial published within one year, totaling about 500k words of work in all...the tank was empty.

I've been resting up and taking a well deserved break through August.  There's been some writing because I'm a writer and it's just what I do sometimes.  Think 5k to 10k a month instead of the usual 15k-20k+.  And none of the chaos or the crazy...no editing or formatting or all the extra it takes to be an Indie.

I've also spent that writing time away from King Henry for a bit, on a pair of writing experiments that might turn into stand alone novels.  "Foliage" and "Rockets", codenames, not titles.  "Foliage" is New Weird, no human characters...and it's crazy and violent and I promise I don't do LSD.  Way crazy even for me.  I'm really doubtful it will ever see the light of day given the weight of needed world-building exposition but...how are you going to know if a main character can be a Tree until you've tried it?  "Rockets" I'm more hopeful for, it would be a fantasy novel set to WWI tech, a mix of Steampunk and Space Opera....so Steam Opera.

As for King Henry, I have written half of the School Story for FM3 so far and started one of the two shorts that will be releasing leading up to that book.  One is from Tyson's POV about the first time he met King Henry in Fresno and the second is from Welf's POV the first day of second year.  New teachers, new classes, etc.

So far, so good.  I'm really excited about FM3, it's going to be longer, it's going to raise the stakes.

These are the five projects I plan to work on over the next year.  Mostly King Henry, with some "Rockets", and maybe taking another crack at "Foliage" to see if I can fix the exposition problem.  After that...don't make me think that long term please...

The Foul Mouth Spreads

More FANGED LADY freeness!
Blio:  NEVER HEARD OF IT BUT I'M SELLING ON ITAmazon.co.UK:  OLYMPICS SMOLYMPICS

Free the Foul Mouth

Just to say it one more time:  FOUL MOUTH AND THE FANGED LADY IS FREE!

This is free...just FYI...ehm...

Amazon.com:  ON THE KINDLE
Apple:  ON THE iPAD AND iPHONE AND iMANCYKNOWSWHATELSE
Barnes and Noble:  ON THE NOOK
Smashwords:  ON THE...WHATEVER IT IS THEY SELL TO, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE...

Spread the word, yee disciples of the Foul Mouthed Price...

Back Up on Barnes and Noble!

Here's the links!

The Fanged Lady:  Barnes and Noble Nook (FREE)
Cat Killing Coyotes:  Barnes and Noble Nook (for the first time ever)
Little King Henry:  Barnes and Noble Nook 
Prime Pickings: Barnes and Noble Nook 
The Betrothal:  Barnes and Noble Nook

Try not to have too much fun.

Back Up on Apple iTunes

Here's the links!

The Fanged Lady:  Apple iTunes
Cat Killing Coyotes:  Apple iTunes (for the first time ever)
Little King Henry:  Apple iTunes
Prime Pickings:  Apple iTunes
The Betrothal:  Apple iTunes

Still waiting on B&N, Kobo, and Sony, will let you lot know when they're all the way up.

Back Up on Smashwords

Here's the links!

The Fanged Lady:  Smashwords
Cat Killing Coyotes:  Smashwords (for the first time ever)
Little King Henry:  Smashwords
Prime Pickings:  Smashwords
The Betrothal:  Smashwords

Of course the big news is that THE FOUL MOUTH AND THE FANGED LADY is free and will be free at least for the rest of the year, maybe all the way through 2013 as well.  I'm doing the whole "free sample and get them addicted" trick for the series.  This isn't just a Smashwords thing and will also be true for their distribution network (Nook, iTunes, Sony, Kobo, etc).  After it's up on those hopefully Amazon will price match and you King Henry fans that already exist can have some serious company.

Also, you might have noticed that the Conquering Hero short story is missing, it won't be cleared from Kindle Select until July 18, I'll post it then.

Transitions

Thought I'd let you lot know that I'll be moving away from Kindle Select and putting my books back out through Smashwords, Kobo, Nook, itunes, etc. over the next month or so.  I've had some limited success with Select's free day system, but not nearly enough to keep myself tied to one source.  Plus, not really fair to people with Kobos, Nooks, iPads, and the million other types of ereaders out there now.  You all deserve to have King Henry Price curse at you too!

I'll throw up more posts as each site gets updated.

Oh, writing wise...still working on FM 3.  Not so much with the typing as with the thinking.  A lot of my process comes from me running scenes through my head over and over and the typing is a small part after the hard work is already done.  This means I get to claim I'm "working" even if I'm playing Magic Duel of the Planeswalker 2013.

Now if they'd just release an update with a Blue/Black ultimate "you're a dick for discarding my hand and then my whole library" deck...

Montage Powers Activate!

Every once and a while I like to collect the reviews that have come out for my novels over the past few months and give the bloggers some credit.



THE FOUL MOUTH AND THE FANGED LADY

Bending the Spine (5 Stars)

"Raley’s new world of mancer’s, who are people that have the ability to manipulate a certain element, is such a nice break from other paranormal and urban fantasy books I have read lately. I liked the rules Raley placed on his characters when it comes to the use of their powers. I also like that everything has a new twist, like vampires: they are not fangy, sparkly, or cloaked in black. No, vampires were all together new in The Foul Mouth and the Fanged Lady in a really cool but gross way."

Boekie's Book Reviews (5 Stars)

"If you’re looking for a FANSTATIC novel to read, look no further because The Foul Mouth and the Fanged Lady by Richard Raley is one that you will never be able to put down! Personally, I have never been a fan of vampire and fantasy books, but this one was far beyond any I have ever read. It wasn’t your average “Twilight, sparkly, romance” story, which, in my opinion was a good thing LOL"

Offbeat Vagabond (5 Stars)

"This book truly took me by surprise. It was so unique and hilarious. I laughed so hard, I had tears. I love the idea of King Henry recollecting all he knows through videotapes for the Asylum. This would make a very fun TV series. I would love that. It is action packed and surprisingly heartfelt at times."

Paranormal Itch (4 Stars)

"King Henry is bad ass and I would definitely love to read more about his world. Please go out and get this book...its awesome!"

Books, Cats, Movies, and Coffee (4.5 Stars)

"After a while the story really sucked me in and I read until 3AM to finish it. If you want to laugh until you cry (I did!) ...I can recommend this book to all Urban Fantasy fans out there."

THE FOUL MOUTH AND THE CAT KILLING COYOTES


Offbeat Vagabond (5 Stars)

"I am a huge fan of this series. It is so entertaining. Raley definitely has a way with words. I already have some quotes highlighted in this book I plan to live by. And again, the mancy idea is so fresh and cool. It is nice to have some fresh blood in the supernatural world. As I said with book 1, Raley's idea of vampires is so unique. And his take on Weres is just as original and fresh. I love it! So if you are looking for something truly unique and out of the box, start this series today. You won't regret it."

THE BETROTHAL


Gabbing About Books (5 Stars)

"OMG!!! Seriously this was a much needed read! I have never cracked up from a book so much! I was hooked from the first chapter and the rest of the book just continued to reel me in! I mean how can you not love footnotes, and FYI these footnotes are not your average foot notes which adds to the book!"

Cocktails and Books (3 Stars)

"This book is at times clever, witty and funny. However, there are a couple of literary devices the author employs that I found unnecessary. The use of footnotes is distracting but luckily seems to abate as the book goes on. The author also talks directly to the reader, something that could create a bond between writer and reader, or do just the opposite. 50% of the time I appreciate it, the other 50%, not so much. One of these literary devices would probably have been enough to give the novel a little originality but both were too much for me."

The King Henry Tapes FAQ

Seeing as the second book in the series is now out, I figure you all have questions and instead of being barraged with emails, here's to expediency!

Q:  What's with the Pulpanormal tag you gave to the series?

A:  It's a catchy marketing gimmick but it also comes out of the Urban Fantasy and Paranormal genres being so beaten down by clones of clones of clones.  My attempt to carve out my own niche in the nichey niche.  The King Henry Tapes returns to the heart of Urban Fantasy and brings back some of that original spirit.  It's pulp, it's got some New Weird blood running through it, but it doesn't go overboard.  It's a healthy mix of the old creativity and the new vampire/were/fae/magic school stories that readers want.  Hence Pulpanormal.

Q:  So how many books are going to be in this series anyway?

A:  If all goes to plan then there will be 12 books in the series.  Actually this number is pretty concrete based on carrying "Session" numbering from book to book.  If one did math--which I do not recommend--they'd find that at 8 sessions per...okay, I'm not doing math either.

Q:  I did the math and it actually adds up to 13 books worth, so are you stupid or something?

A:  Stupid or crafty, you'll have to decide when all this is over.

Q:  Are you going to keep up the two storylines of "School" and "Shop" throughout the whole series?

A:  Yes, however the "Shop" stories will gain prominence and complexity the further along we go.

Q:  What's up with the mixed up mess of a prophecy at the end of "Fanged Lady"?


A:  It's not a mess, it's just coded.  Have fun.


Q:  Where's my Annie B?

A:  She'll return, keep reading.

Q:  Are some of the classmates like Welf, Pocket, or Valentine going to pop up in the "Shop" story?

A:  Yes!

Q:  Where's Susan Price at?

A:  Read and find out...

Q:  How did you come up with King Henry?

A:  There's a lot of influences for this series.  Lost for narrative structure, any Tarantino film for absurdity, I went with a straight up Magic System that's Epic Fantasy in style, but the idea for King Henry actually came from a reread of Wheel of Time.  Wait, what?  Yeah, really.  Wheel of Time has these magic items called ter'angreal that have all these weird uses and I thought...gee, a character that was using nothing but a bunch of ter'angreal would be interesting...

Q:  But what about the obvious Harry Potter link?

A:  Right, that was next.  Over ten years and still America didn't have itself an American Wizard.  We had Dresden but he has more in common with DnD than Potter.  What really worked with Potter was that you begin young and he grows.  That's what I wanted.  Plus...that meant I got to write a School Story, which are the most absolutely addicting type of story in existence. (Just ask Buffy, Ender, Veronica Mars, Kvothe, Peter Parker, the X-Men, or Percy Jackson to name a few)

Also, outside of the wizard school aspect...Potter is such a classic Hero's Journey Goody Goody  that I just had to mess it up with a tire-iron.  No kid raised in a cupboard is going to turn out that nice.  So I made the screwed-up version of how that character would have actually been.  It helps that I live in a part of the United States with a high Redneck to Normal Person ratio and grew up with plenty of kids just like King Henry.

Q:  So you're not like King Henry at all?

A:  No, it's important for people to realize that just like Christian Bale isn't Batman (we think) no I'm not King Henry.  He's a character I put on and kind of perform.  We do have some similarities...um...um...well, I'm a 20-something white guy living in Fresno, there's that...

Q:  Why name him "King Henry" of all things?

A:  This starts with the vampires and the realization that I wanted the female vamp in the series to be a famous person from history.  I thought about it for a few days...  Cleopatra?  Too old.  Helen of Troy?  Even older.  Joan of Arc?  No, but...  Anne Boleyn?  Bingo!  Once Annie B was in then our hero had to be named King Henry.

Q:  When does the next book come out?

A:  When it comes out...  My goal is one a year.  But, I'm an Indie.  So my writing time can hugely fluctuate.  Cat Killing Coyotes was set for March 2012, then I got a huge respiratory infection and was in bed for four weeks so it got pushed back all the way to May.  Then editing went insanely awesome (no rewrites) and we ended up back in March.  I can't give you readers exact days, just guesses.

Plus, while King Henry is my current main focus I do have other ideas I like to pursue.  I have SIX fully outlined stand-alone highly-awesome Fantasy novels that are just sitting in a queue waiting for me to write them.  They deserve loving too.

So, best guess:  one a year.  Which means Book 3 = some time in 2013.  Estimate.  No promises.  Don't chain me down!

If you're a King Henry fanatic your best bet to get more than one a year is spread the word and actually create more King Henry fanatics willing to buy the books and gnash their teeth along with you when I work on side projects.

If you have any other questions, post a comment already.

Brought To You By the Letter "F" -- May 1st

Foul Mouth and the
Fanged Lady will be
Free on Kindle the
First of May.





Please spread the word, tell your friends, your family, even your cat...especially your cat, you don't want to make it mad...