Chesney Infalt's Blog, page 2
January 29, 2020
Haeven Short Stories Collection Out Now!
After the past year of writing, editing, and waiting (sometimes rather impatiently), I finally am getting my Warrior’s Song series out! It starts with Haeven Short Stories Collection, which introduces the main characters and lets readers get to know the world before the series officially starts. It’s available now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. If you want, you can get a free eBook of the first short story by signing up for my email list. (Yes, I’m bribing you. Is it working?)
In other news,...
January 22, 2020
I’m Baaaack!
Hello! It’s been a while. Fixing up this website took longer than we anticipated due to a number of things, but it’s finally happened, and I love it a lot more than my previous one.
So much has happened since I last made a blog post. If you missed my post on social media, I left Lucky Bat Books and started my own publishing company called BookDragon Publishing. For the foreseeable future, I am only publishing my own works, but I am open to expanding eventually. The decision to go out on my own allows me to have a lot more control over my craft and gets me well-acquainted with everything it entails. So far, it’s been a fun and frustrating challenge, but it’s worth it!
That being said, the Warrior’s Song series is still coming soon! The first two short stories are available now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited as e-books. The third will be released on January 28th, and the fourth and final one will be released on February 4th alongside the complete collection. The complete collection is the only way to get them in paperback format. Pre-orders for all of the e-books are available now, and the pre-order for the paperback short stories collection will be available soon.
Lastly… there is another surprise release coming soon! Details will be shared on my social media accounts, so stay up-to-date by following me (@chesneyinfalt)!
October 16, 2019
Commission Work
Hello!
I hope your week went well. I had a family emergency this week, but things are good well.
I got a lot done! I have finished writing The Fae-Marked (book #3 of A Warrior’s Song Series). I’ll be moving onto the fourth book, titled Scale of War, as well as a commission piece. Commission work is interesting because I have to try to capture what the client is looking for instead of letting my imagination run wild. This is definitely an interesting project because it is a short story that will go along with a battle angel sculpture (made of metal) my husband is making for a non-profit organization. His sculpture will be going up for auction in December, and all of the proceeds will be going to the non-profit. He and I are working together to create a short story about the angel.
In other news, I officially have a cover artist, and I could not have found a better one to fit my series! He is a good friend of mine, and I look forward to seeing what he comes up with. As soon as I have permission, I’ll be showing off the cover for The Three (book #1).
Have a fantastic week!
October 9, 2019
“The Three” Update!
Hello!
I hope your week went well. Mine was pretty busy, which is not a bad thing.
I finally have news about my new fantasy series A Warrior’s Song! My publisher and I have a schedule set for the publication of the first four books. The first is “The Three,” which is due early December. Four free short stories will be coming out leading up to its release, and they will allow you to get a taste of the characters and world before you dive into the first novel. For now, here is the back cover blurb.
“THE THREE” BACK COVER BLURB
One has magic in his veins that puts those he loves in danger, keeping him on the run.
One is trying to secretly finish a quest before anyone catches up to her and finds out.
One has been in hiding to keep the world safe.
Two are tied to a fate that was written by their ancestors centuries before they were born. The third is forced into it.
Kory has taken many precautions to make sure that he will not be found, that way his mother and the royal Elven family will not be killed by the Shades like his father was. The Ancient blood in his veins is strong—whenever a Shade gets loose, it always finds him.
Always.
So when fate brings Lili, a member of the royal family, back into his life, Kory knows that, with the help of the Ancient-in-hiding Katiya, they have to bring this to an end once and for all, before the Shades break free of their prison realm and conquer everything.
Lili knew that there was little time to find an Ancient before the Shades arrived. She just had no idea that they were already here.
Hope you have an awesome week!
P.S. Indie author shoutout of the week is Lydia V. Russell!
Website: https://lydiavrussellauthor.com/
“Darling, There Are Wolves in the Woods”: https://www.amazon.com/Darling-there-are-wolves-woods-ebook/dp/B07S1P2CVZ/ref=sr_1_2?crid=LL46T2V6R3UF&keywords=darling+there+are+wolves+in+the+woods&qid=1570628360&sprefix=darling+there+are+wo%2Caps%2C328&sr=8-2
October 2, 2019
Judging the Book by Its Cover
I hope you had an awesome week. I got a lot of editing done, and I have a meeting with my publisher this week, so I’m hoping to be able to finally give you guys some news soon on the release of The Three.
I’ve always heard the phrase “never judge a book by its cover.” While the saying is great for applying to how we view others, our instincts when browsing books tend to not follow it.
When you see a book on the shelf or online, what is the first thing that pops out at you? Your eyes automatically are drawn to certain covers, whether it is something you like or something that stood out for one reason or another. Think about some of your favorite books: do you like their covers? For me, there have even been times that authors re-release their books with new cover art that I instantly rank against the originals. I have definitely been guilty of judging books by their covers.
The cover needs to convey something about the contents while also grabbing the attention of anyone browsing. If you do not look long at the book, then chances are you will not pick it up and read it. Covers are a huge part of marketing books, which is why both authors and publishers are particular about what goes on them. A lot goes into the process: artwork, font, formatting, size, gloss or matte, hardback or paperback, what type of coating, quotes, reviews, etc. There are so many options that it can be overwhelming!
There has been a stigma for a long time against self-published books, which seems to be changing with the increase of self-publishing authors. Just because a book is self-published does not mean that the cover is automatically going to look cheesy or less than. I have found that a lot of freelance artists and cover designers are out there, as well as programs like Canva that help you to create your own, complete with templates and images that are a mix of free and paid. There are plenty of ways to get the covers that you want, no matter which way you want to go about publishing. This is a great time to be an author, especially with all of the avenues you can take and all of the tools at your disposal. To prove that point, just check out all of the books I put on the cover of this blog post: all of them are by authors that are not being traditionally published, and they all look great! (Plus they are written by some really cool people.)
That’s all for today, so check out the authors posted below and have an awesome week!
Pomegranate by Nicole Scarano
The Winter Prince by Lauren Scharhag
When Nothing Stares Back by Marcus Vance, cover by Torie Jean
Torie Jean: https://www.authortoriejean.com/
September 25, 2019
Editing is Necessary
Hello!
I hope your week went well. Football season has been going on, so Neil and I have been watching lots of football with his family. I bring my books so that I can survive (it’s not my thing, but he loves it). One of our dogs, Maximus, has been licking his legs to the point of causing hair loss and agitated skin, so we are trying to put things on to help him heal (the things we are using were what our vet told us to, I promise). Trying to get him to stop licking is a difficult task, let me tell you.
Work-wise, I have been writing a little bit of my own stuff, but a friend of mine’s manuscript has been in my inbox for way too long (probably about four months… oops). I’m finally getting around to editing it thoroughly for him. As much as people tend to despise editing, it is imperative that we do it. I have a few family members and friends who are great beta readers, giving me helpful feedback. One of the tools I use for editing is Grammarly, a program that helps fix some mistakes and suggest better word choice. While it is not correct 100% of the time, it does catch a lot of things and even gives weekly stat reports of how I have been doing with my word choice, amount of words written, my accuracy, and what kinds of things I most often mess up. I like to utilize all of these options before I even send my manuscript over to my editor. For anyone even considering writing a book, I would highly recommend investing in editing. Yes, you can edit your works yourself, but oftentimes we know what our work is supposed to say, so our brain auto-edits, making us miss the mistakes we made. I have read plenty of books, both traditionally published and self-published, that could have used another round or two of edits. Oftentimes the mistakes are not enough to make me put down the book, but there have been times where they completely pull me out of the story. For those of you who have thought that writing a book is not a big deal… there is a LOT that goes into the process, even more than the editing. For me, it’s worth it because I love being an author—the love of my work outweighs the cumbersome things that come along with it. I wouldn’t want to be anything else.
Hope you have an awesome week!
September 18, 2019
Interview
Hey everyone!
I hope your week went well. I finally feel like I am almost completely healed from that terrible whiplash (Thank goodness!).
I’m almost done with editing the short stories that come before The Three. Editing and revising are not my favorite things to do, but they sure are important! It seems like they actually are not nearly as bad to do as what I make them out to be in my mind. Being disciplined helps with those processes so that I can get to the fun parts!
While we are trying to get together everything so that we can give you an official release date for The Three, feel free to check out the interview I did with the amazing Maddie M. White! She is another author whose passions also include advocating for mental health. If you are interested in what I had to say, feel free to check it out: https://maddiemwhite.com/2019/09/18/ask-the-author-chesney-infalt/
Hope you have an awesome week!
September 11, 2019
Remembering
Hello!
I hope your week went well. Neil and I are getting back into the swing of things after having been gone for a couple of weeks. I’m still trying to recover from my whiplash and the side effects that come with it, but, overall, I am doing much better.
Today marks eighteen years since 9/11/01. I was only eight when it happened, so I did not understand the gravity of the situation, but I do remember the concern my parents and grandparents showed. That entire day, we had the news on the TV, watching and praying as everything was being covered by reporters. It was a tragedy that will not go unremembered, and if you were affected personally by it, my condolences to you.
I am currently working on getting some editing done for the short stories that will lead up to the release of The Three. As of right now, it looks like the release of that novel will be postponed until we can get a few more things in order. Hopefully I will have more concrete details to give soon!
Have an awesome week!
September 4, 2019
There and Back Again
Hey, everyone!
Hope your week went well. Neil and I had an amazing time on our trip and finally got back home yesterday. We missed our fur babies so much. Now we need a vacation from our vacation. In all seriousness, we are excited to get back to work. Neil has some cool sculpture projects lined up for the rest of the year—and hopefully will have his social media accounts and website set up so that he can show them off. (I promise I keep reminding him.)
As for my work, I am reaching out to my editor to see how the manuscript is coming along. I also have some more ideas that I need to jot down before they leave my head… I’ve had that happen before—what a tragedy! In the next week or two, I should have a clearer idea of when The Three is coming out.
Hope you have a blessed week!
P. S. Yes, the title was a reference to The Hobbit since we just finished our “journey” back home.
August 28, 2019
Inspiration
Hey, guys!
Hope your week went well. Neil and I have been on our grand roller coaster adventure/vacation since Friday, and we have made lots of new memories.
While we are having fun, not having the time/place to write makes me miss it. My mind has been going over all sorts of ideas for my stories, which I look forward to playing around with when we get home. I will say that inspiration can come from anything or anywhere. Riding some of the roller coasters has given me a better idea of how to describe flying on the back of a dragon, and the woodsy areas and gorgeous lakes we have been around tend to make my mind think fantasy. When we get home next week, I will definitely have some things to write!
Speaking of which, I am supposed to get my manuscript back from the editor next week, so that will be a lot of what I will be working on. I also have a written interview scheduled soon, so I’ll post the link when it becomes available!
Have a blessed week!
