D.B. Swift's Blog, page 2
December 6, 2012
Update: Gap in the Fence and Affinity book 2
Gap in the Fence Part 4 has run into a snag. Nothing too terrible. I don't even think of the snag as being particularly negative, just a little annoying and not according to plan. The problem is that the last two sections have not presented themselves with an obvious break in action that would allow me to easily turn them into two distinct stories, rather than a single, longer one. That being the case, I will do my best to turn it into two separate posts without sacrificing quality. If it is not possible to do this, it will be one ENORMOUS post. Potentially a ten thousand word post. Yikes!
On the bright side, the last two stories of this web serial are fully outlined, except for a little bit at the end, which is resolved in my head, just not added to the "official" outline yet. I meant to write the last two segments this last weekend, but a different short story captured me so completely that I had no choice but to write it. It's almost done, and this weekend, I will get back to the business of writing Gap in the Fence and the second book in the Affinity series, which is tentatively entitled Inheritance. That title is likely to change before it is released, but that is what I call it in conversation, so I might as well share it with my readers here.
Once the first set of web serials for Gap in the Fence are complete, I will release them to eBook and paperback in early 2013. The book will contain a new bonus story, bringing the total number of stories in the volume up to six. January is my goal, but since my plate is kind of full at the moment, we'll have to see. It could happen as late as early February.
Inheritance is plugging along nicely. I'm more than halfway through the Mariah chapters, and I have a nice start on the Charlie chapters. It will be ready to release next year. As far as the blog is concerned, I will continue to churn out short stories, some of which I will publish here for my regular readers. I would like to have one short story per month to add to the blog, but we'll see where things take me as I get closer to finishing Inheritance.
That's where things stand for now.
On the bright side, the last two stories of this web serial are fully outlined, except for a little bit at the end, which is resolved in my head, just not added to the "official" outline yet. I meant to write the last two segments this last weekend, but a different short story captured me so completely that I had no choice but to write it. It's almost done, and this weekend, I will get back to the business of writing Gap in the Fence and the second book in the Affinity series, which is tentatively entitled Inheritance. That title is likely to change before it is released, but that is what I call it in conversation, so I might as well share it with my readers here.
Once the first set of web serials for Gap in the Fence are complete, I will release them to eBook and paperback in early 2013. The book will contain a new bonus story, bringing the total number of stories in the volume up to six. January is my goal, but since my plate is kind of full at the moment, we'll have to see. It could happen as late as early February.
Inheritance is plugging along nicely. I'm more than halfway through the Mariah chapters, and I have a nice start on the Charlie chapters. It will be ready to release next year. As far as the blog is concerned, I will continue to churn out short stories, some of which I will publish here for my regular readers. I would like to have one short story per month to add to the blog, but we'll see where things take me as I get closer to finishing Inheritance.
That's where things stand for now.
November 29, 2012
Book Recommendation: The Complete Atopia Chronicles
I am currently reading Matthew Mather's Complete Atopia Chronicles. It's a series of intertwined scifi stories dealing with the complications of virtual reality and artificial intelligence in the lives of humans. Maybe not unheard of in scifi, but Mather's take is interesting. I'm really enjoying the book (though I haven't quite finished it), so I thought I would recommend it. Unless the rest of the book absolutely sucks (and I really doubt it does), this is turning out to be a solid 4 star book. I don't often recommend books to others before I've finished them, but this one is that good. You should check it out :)
November 20, 2012
Open Call for Epic Fantasy Recommendations
I'm looking for a list of epic fantasy to devour over the next few months as I gear up and get in the mood to research the writing of an epic-ish fantasy. I want books that have good pacing, interesting characters, and interesting challenges. This is an open call, and if you know of a sci-fi series, or even something historical that fits this bill, let me know. I've read fairly extensively, but haven't been into epic fantasy much for the last few years for a number of reasons, but mostly because I was kind of burned out on it. I think the burn-out is done, and I'm ready to jump back into the genre.
Please do not recommend the following:
Wheel of Time. Read it. Stopped at Winter's Heart after 3 separate attempts to read that book. Someday I will finish the series, but not today. Please don't hate me!A Game of Thrones or the entire series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Read it. Loved it. A Dance with Dragons is sitting on my bookshelf until I have time to reread the entire series again so that everything is fresh in my mind when I start it. Again, please don't hate me!Robin Hobb's Assassin's Trilogy or Tawny Man Trilogy. Read both. Loved both. In fact, don't recommend Hobb to me at all. I am already in love with her ;) I am probably the only fan who loved her Soldier's Son trilogy...Lord of the Rings. I mean, really. Do I have to spell that one out? Ditto for The Hobbit.Anything D&D, Forgotten Realms, Dragon Lance, Your Favorite Gaming Series, etc. I've read a smattering of them. They aren't really my style, but I totally respect people's love of them. Just don't happen to like elves or dwarves. I should probably add Star Trek and Star Wars to that list as well...Elantris or anything Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. I've read Elantris (as well as a few other things from Sanderson--all of which I enjoyed), and Mistborn is at the top of my list :)Dark Tower anything. I've read the first three or four in that series already.Ender's anything, or anything in the Ender universe. I've read it. I probably loved it, or liked it well enough that I stayed up way past my bedtime finishing it. Twilight or Harry Potter, or anything in that vein. I'm looking for something written for adult audiences that does not involve a magic school, a magic school bus, or vampires/werewolves/whatever. I don't think that I have to spell that out, but just in case... David Anthony Durham's Acacia Trilogy. Really enjoyed it.Anything Robin McKinley, because I have probably read it.Anything from L.E. Modesitt's Recluce world, because I have probably read it.Anything by David Eddings, because I probably read it.Anything by Raymond Feist. See above.Anything by Anne Bishop. See above.Anything by Terry Goodkind. See above.Anything by Terry Brooks. There. Did I make it challenging enough? I think I have mentioned many of the common fantasy recommendations. Anyway, ready, set, go. Leave your recommendations in the comments, and feel free to gush about your favorite authors. I am always looking for something great to read!
Please do not recommend the following:
Wheel of Time. Read it. Stopped at Winter's Heart after 3 separate attempts to read that book. Someday I will finish the series, but not today. Please don't hate me!A Game of Thrones or the entire series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Read it. Loved it. A Dance with Dragons is sitting on my bookshelf until I have time to reread the entire series again so that everything is fresh in my mind when I start it. Again, please don't hate me!Robin Hobb's Assassin's Trilogy or Tawny Man Trilogy. Read both. Loved both. In fact, don't recommend Hobb to me at all. I am already in love with her ;) I am probably the only fan who loved her Soldier's Son trilogy...Lord of the Rings. I mean, really. Do I have to spell that one out? Ditto for The Hobbit.Anything D&D, Forgotten Realms, Dragon Lance, Your Favorite Gaming Series, etc. I've read a smattering of them. They aren't really my style, but I totally respect people's love of them. Just don't happen to like elves or dwarves. I should probably add Star Trek and Star Wars to that list as well...Elantris or anything Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. I've read Elantris (as well as a few other things from Sanderson--all of which I enjoyed), and Mistborn is at the top of my list :)Dark Tower anything. I've read the first three or four in that series already.Ender's anything, or anything in the Ender universe. I've read it. I probably loved it, or liked it well enough that I stayed up way past my bedtime finishing it. Twilight or Harry Potter, or anything in that vein. I'm looking for something written for adult audiences that does not involve a magic school, a magic school bus, or vampires/werewolves/whatever. I don't think that I have to spell that out, but just in case... David Anthony Durham's Acacia Trilogy. Really enjoyed it.Anything Robin McKinley, because I have probably read it.Anything from L.E. Modesitt's Recluce world, because I have probably read it.Anything by David Eddings, because I probably read it.Anything by Raymond Feist. See above.Anything by Anne Bishop. See above.Anything by Terry Goodkind. See above.Anything by Terry Brooks. There. Did I make it challenging enough? I think I have mentioned many of the common fantasy recommendations. Anyway, ready, set, go. Leave your recommendations in the comments, and feel free to gush about your favorite authors. I am always looking for something great to read!
November 3, 2012
AFFINITY free on Smashwords
In celebration of (finally) releasing Affinity through Smashwords, use the following coupon code to obtain a copy for free (it isn't case sensitive). For those who don't know about Smashwords, it is an eBook distributor that makes ebooks available in all of the major formats, and conveniently for sale in one place. So regardless of your e-reading proclivities you can get my book for your device, and free of charge for the next month, if you use the coupon code. You can find Affinity here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/251457
Be sure to tell your friends! This coupon is good until December 1, 2012.
Coupon code:
PE44Q
Be sure to tell your friends! This coupon is good until December 1, 2012.
Coupon code:
PE44Q
October 19, 2012
Publishing Update
Affinity is now available at Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. I needed to adjust the prices at B&N and Kobo, so at each of those places, Affinity will temporarily appear at $3.99 rather than $2.99.
October 18, 2012
And...we're live!
Affinity is now available to purchase from Amazon.com, for Kindle devices. I wouldn't download it yet. I found a small error in the formatting that I want to address first. But it should be fully ready to download by Saturday, and by then, it should be up everywhere else, except for Smashwords, as well.
All I can say is: Yay! Now I can finally move on to other things :)
All I can say is: Yay! Now I can finally move on to other things :)
October 12, 2012
Final Cover for Affinity
This is the final cover for my debut novel, Affinity. I would like to thank my friend, Matthew Acker, for doing the artwork.
So far, things are on track for an October release. Next week, Part 2 of Gap in the Fence should be ready to put up here.
September 29, 2012
Quick Update
Got a glance at a cover sketch for Affinity tonight. All I can say is...squeeeee!!! It's going to be awesome!
And that's all I have for now :)
And that's all I have for now :)
September 24, 2012
A loose publishing schedule
I don't know if this is the sort of thing to publish on a blog, but since I don't care, I'm going to do it anyway :)
Currently, I am working on 2 projects, and wrapping up another. My novel, Affinity, is being reviewed and edited, and someone is working on the cover for me. I would like to have it available for purchase in October. Some computer issues forced me to push that date back a little bit, since I originally intended to have it available by the end of September. That could still theoretically happen, but it's unlikely.
I will write, edit, and publish to the blog at least one more story for the Gap in the Fence serial. Then, I will have it professionally edited, and available for purchase by the end of October, definitely in time to run some sort of Halloween promotion on it. I have story #2 roughed out, sort of outlined, and ready to write.
As of Friday, I am 10% finished with the sequel to Affinity. It's working title is not something I want to share right now. I've estimated that I can finish that by December, and have it out for edits (hopefully), and ready to publish in early 2013. That is assuming that things go moderately well, which might be a dangerous assumption ;) I've never put my writing on a schedule before, so we'll see how on schedule I can stay.
Currently, I am working on 2 projects, and wrapping up another. My novel, Affinity, is being reviewed and edited, and someone is working on the cover for me. I would like to have it available for purchase in October. Some computer issues forced me to push that date back a little bit, since I originally intended to have it available by the end of September. That could still theoretically happen, but it's unlikely.
I will write, edit, and publish to the blog at least one more story for the Gap in the Fence serial. Then, I will have it professionally edited, and available for purchase by the end of October, definitely in time to run some sort of Halloween promotion on it. I have story #2 roughed out, sort of outlined, and ready to write.
As of Friday, I am 10% finished with the sequel to Affinity. It's working title is not something I want to share right now. I've estimated that I can finish that by December, and have it out for edits (hopefully), and ready to publish in early 2013. That is assuming that things go moderately well, which might be a dangerous assumption ;) I've never put my writing on a schedule before, so we'll see how on schedule I can stay.
