Kevin M. Turner's Blog, page 6

Blog Update...Under Construction

Hello Friends,

If you visit The Savenridge Archives with any kind of consistency, you'll probably notice that I haven't posted in a while.  There's a reason! 

I'm getting ready to handle a larger amount of traffic that will hopefully be coming soon as I have a few reviews and publicity lined up during the next few months.  Plus, I'm planning and working on a sort of blitz where I will try to get as many people as I can get to purchase and read The Magi during a short period in order to kickstart the promotion of my book.  Kind of like a cyber release party of sorts. 

In doing all of that, I have been hard at work trying to manage everything and one of those things is the blog layout itself.  I'm not perfectly happy with the layout as it is so I will be working on trying to fix that in the coming weeks.  So don't freak out on me if you see frequent changes.  I still plan on posting profiles of The Magi and other such things I promised, but it may be a small bit.  Thank you for your patience. 

Also, be on the lookout for word being spread on The Magi Blitz!

Kevin

Blog Hop Giveaway

I'm trying out a blog hop giveaway this week.  I've never done one before, so here goes.  I hope I'm doing it right.

I'm giving away one e-book copy of The Magi (YA Fantasy/Adventure by Kevin M. Turner) from now until Monday, October 17.  The Magi is available for almost any e-reader. 

For each of the following actions, you will get one additional entries.  All entries must be left as a separate comment.  (i.e. 3 entries = 3 comments)

1.  Post a comment (e.g. I want this item, You are the most amazing person ever...)

2.  Follow the blog (make sure to comment that you followed the blog for your extra entry)

3.  If you have a blog, share the giveaway on yours (again, don't forget the comment)

Make sure to leave your email address so I can contact you.  Here are a list of other giveaways thanks to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

Check Out an Interview

Rachel Keys book Blog (Rai29 Book Read n Review) has interviewed me and published it on her blog.  Go check it out!

http://rai29bookreadnreview.blogspot.com/2011/10/author-interview-kevin-turner.html

Free Giveaway and Help

The Magi will be available to most e-readers soon!

However, I want to make sure the formatting looks okay for most e-readers.  So here's what I'm offereing:

If you have one of the following e-readers and you're the 1st to email me, comment, send me a pigeon (which would be much slower), I will send you a copy of The Magi for your e-reader for free.  Here's what I need:

Nook  (already taken)
Kindle  (already taken)
iPad (1 and 2) (iPad 1 taken)
Sony Reader
Kobo
Palm
or any other devices not on here. (iPhone taken)

Thanks!

Kevin

Chapter 5 is up!!!

5 of 21 chapters are up on the blog.  Just go to the READ PARTS OF THE MAGI tab at the top and click the link.  Let me know what you think. 

Kevin

Cover Work

I just received my bundle of self-published books I made for reviewers and my kiddos to check out from me this year, and this is the cover.  I wanted it simple, so this is what I came up with.  Here's the back:
Blogger modifies the size of the images, but this one is much smaller than the cover and takes up just a portion of the back (which is mostly text). 

It'll do for e-copies.

Thanks to The Slowest Bookworm

Thanks to The Slowest Bookworm for agreeing to review The Magi.  Check out her blog here:

http://www.theslowestbookworm.com/

The Magi Coming Soon to Kindle

I'm sorry I've been away.  A promise to put up chapters and Magi profiles this week has been broken.  Not a good way to start.  Those will be up as soon as I can.  The reason is that I've been working on formatting The Magi for Kindle.  Until recently, I've been torn on whether to publish myself or wait around for an agent or publisher to pick it up.  However, with a few reviews coming up (hopefully they will be good), I want those who want to be able to purchase the book.  So I've decided to publish it on an ebook format for now.  

As of now, I do not have a date or details, but they will be coming soon.  Thank you for your patience.  I will be getting up new chapters soon.

Kevin

Two Ways to Experience the Archives

Now that I have a few posts under my belt (just a few), I thought I'd clarify a few things that may not have been so obvious to many readers.  The purpose of the blog is to give a little supplemental information to my novel, The Magi.  It's the back story behind the book.  However, if you haven't read it, some of the jargon might be a little confusing unless you really work to do some research.  So there are two ways to approach the blog:1.       If you have read the book, enjoy the archives.  As the days go by, some of the archives will begin to connect directly with the book.  Some will just give some of the history and back story of the Magi.  You'll also see some archives come up in future books.
2.       If you haven't read the book (which at this point is the majority of you), you can approach the archives as a story of a people you will meet if you (hopefully) read the book.  And when you take the journey with Elijah to Savenridge, you'll know more than the casual reader.  Either way, the blog is meant to build the world of the Magi.In order to make some of the jargon clearer for those of you who haven't read the book, I will begin a posting series called "Profiling the Magi".  Here I will give small amounts of information on the characters, places, and names that will come up on the blog.  Some of the information may give away the experience of being introduced to these people and places in the actual book, so if you plan on reading it at some point and you don't want this information yet, you may want to steer clear of those posts.  I'll put in a spoiler alert in case you fall into that category.  Thanks again for all the support.      
Kevin

The First Ever Magi Archive

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The first ever recorded Magi archive is from a woman named Roshena.  Roshena's writings come up a few more times in the later part of the 9th century B.C., and she is mentioned briefly in the Chronicles of Gormandel, which is where the Magi get the majority of their history.  I have obtained several excerpts from the Chronicles of Gormandel, which I will release later.  However, this is the first ever recorded archive period.While her account is brief, it is rich with information.  The Magi believe that this was part of a larger scroll, which has not yet been discovered.  They believe that Roshena was writing something like a diary or journal for her family history.  As you will read, this spells out some of the first discoveries of elemental control:(Translated into English)            "It happened again today.  A few citizens from the Academy
                have spent days out in the natural world all alone and have
                come back saying that they think they have connected with
                the world around them.  I had been trying for weeks and
               haven't been able to do what they claim they can do.  However,
                just like last week, I think I was able to change the wind patterns
               around me.  I haven't said anything to anyone yet, but I think it
               has something to do with my mood.  Both times I was able to
                control the winds when I felt impulsive.  I'm not sure what this
               means, or if it means anything at all.  Tomorrow, when the
              Peacekeepers go out to search for truths, I will try
              again."                                                                                                                                                          
                   -Roshena (830 BC)

Again, since Roshena talks about another instance where she was able to control the wind, "just like last week, I think I was able to change the wind patterns", there is reason to believe there is still an uncovered document. 
According to the Chronicles of Gormendel, the Peacekeepers were the group of people who looked for good in the world despite the chaos around them.  They would later call themselves the Magi.