S.E. Doster's Blog, page 5

Sacrifice Illustration Full Color Reveal

I’m finally revealing the full-color art print created by P.R. Dedelis. This beautiful art print will be one of the many rewards in various tiers of my Kickstarter project. This piece showcases our humble protagonist, Kat Reese, as she defends her girlfriend from werewolves.

 

Tomorrow I will begin releasing the concept art created by Jerry Buckholt. I’ll do a character reveal that will include a bio so that you can get introduced to the characters of the Sacrifice novel.

 

 

SACRIFICE Kickstarter Reward Tiers

Looking for some people to read over my reward tier to see if this a reasonable list. Please remember that the money for backing the reward has to go towards the physical reward items, shipping, and most importantly the project’s goals. The money from my Kickstarter that doesn’t go to the rewards, goes toward the professional editing, professional cover design, formatting for paperback, formatting for ebook, and more. I’d also like to pay my friends for their time in helping me create concept art and banners. Let me know your thoughts of the reward tiers, and which you feel holds the most value.

 

TIER ONE $1 – website shout out/thank you

 

TIER TWO $15- PDF of the final product. Plus tier one

 

TIER THREE $30- Paperback copy of the book signed. Plus tiers one and two.

 

TIER FOUR $50- Paperback copy of the book signed, art print, plus tiers one and two.

 

TIER FIVE $75- Paperback copy of book signed, choice of two art prints, plus tiers one and two.

 

TIER SIX $100- (limited to five backers) Everything in tier four plus an acknowledgment in my book.

 

TIER SEVEN $500- (limited to two backers) The backers name will be used as a minor character in the book- most likely a werewolf or mage that will be killed off in a fun and brutal fashion.Will also receive everything in tier four.

 

If stretch goals are reached (meaning I exceed my goal of $3,000) then I will add extra rewards. If I completely blow away my initial goal, then I will try for a mini comic and extra prints. I’d even like to do a hardcover version with some illustrations. Maybe even some bookmarks and postcards?

Sacrifice Kickstarter Illustration Pt1

I know I promised an art reveal a few days ago, but the Kickstarter has been delayed again. I’m waiting on character concept art to be completed for my video. I don’t want to record myself on webcam just talking about the project when I can introduce you to the characters instead. I’m really frustrated with all the delays, but I would rather postpone to make sure everything launches successfully.

Here’s the pencil sketch of the Sacrifice illustration done by artist P.R. Dedelis. He is also the artist for my Extinction comic. You can find more of his work on his FB page or you can email him directly at arucardpl@gmail.com

I’ll reveal the finished color piece in a few days, but I hope this will suffice for now. Here we see the protagonist, Kat Reese, defending her girlfriend from some pretty grumpy werewolves. She’s a badass meta-human, but she’s still at risk of infection without the proper armor! There’s absolutely no cure for the Were virus.

 

Thanks for your patience and stay turned for more updates! And please message me if you are a blogger that would like to do an author interview, a Sacrifice preview, or just discuss diversity in literature.

Sacrifice Novel Kickstarter Project

Today, I am officially announcing my Sacrifice novel Kickstarter campaign that will launch in June. Originally, I was going to use one of my comic book projects to attempt my first Kickstarter but decided against it.

Why did I choose Sacrifice instead?

I felt that this story embraces diversity of both race and sexual orientation.

I knew my first novel, The Alliance: Bloodlines, lacked diversity in a major way. At the time of writing Bloodlines, I was too scared to attempt such diversity even though I wanted too. There were characters that I originally intended to be gay, but changed it to make their sexual orientation much less obvious.

Why?

At the time I hadn’t read many books that had gay characters and was hesitant to take the risk myself.

Looking back on it now makes me feel silly for not going with my original plan, but even then all of my main characters were still white.

Why?

Almost every book that I read growing up featured a white male protagonist. The reason that I added a female protagonist was through the influences of the awesome power of Joss Whedon. After watching Buffy as a teen, I knew that I wanted to write powerful and inspiring female characters, but I wanted my heroine to be gay and not just surrounded by white supporting characters.

Sacrifice was a story that worked its way into my head a few years ago, and I let it sit and simmer for several months before taking action. I took notes and created in depth characters while I built the outline that would be the foundation for this novel. I knew that this was the time to take the risk and write the story I’ve been dying to tell.

Why?

I finally realized that if all writers simply write or modify their stories to fit the “norm” then nothing would ever change, and ten years from now a new generation would still be reading tons of books that mostly featured a white cast of straight characters when that doesn’t reflect real life. Writers of today have the power to break the vicious cycle and set new standards for the future generations. So I have chosen to write a story that’s true to my real life diversity, but of course with added supernatural elements and meta-humans!

So what is Sacrifice all about?

Sacrifice contains the romance of a lesbian couple, but that factor doesn’t define the story. This is an action packed thriller involving meta-humans and supernatural characters —some of which just happen to be gay.

The story showcases a diverse cast of meta-humans that have dedicated their lives to protecting the human race from dangerous supernatural forces. The overall theme questions how far one person would go to protect their loved ones. The protagonist, Katherine Reese, relinquishes her freedom to the meta-human military in order to keep her family safe, but she finds an even greater sacrifice is required—possibly even her life.

Rogue werewolf attacks and dastardly mages have everyone on edge when the meta-human military sends their top team to investigate.

Katherine Reese leads the powerfully stacked alpha team on a search for answers that reveals a larger threat. Supernatural leaders have set a plan in motion that could destroy the balance between the human and supernatural world.

More information will be revealed over the next few days. Stay tuned and you can stay updated by subscribing to my blog or via Facebook updates. https://www.facebook.com/SeDoster

The Alliance: Bloodlines for 99 Cents?

Have you purchased your copy of The Alliance: Bloodlines yet? Amazon will have the ebook format on sale for 99 cents from May 14th at 8 AM PST until May 21st at 8 AM PST. Don’t miss this great deal! Still not convinced? Read the five star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads! Some examples below.

“ The story is suspenseful and moves well.  “

“This book is in a similar genre as Laurel K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison, written in a present day setting and with strong female characters.”

Why I Write: The Tale of a Young Geek’s Inspiration

My mother was the one who always encouraged me to read a lot as a kid, but there were select books and shows that fueled my desire to tell stories. I’ve always been a daydreamer. My mind creates stories whether I like it or not, and there were several influences from my childhood.

As a kid I enjoyed comic books filled with heroics, but I also loved horror, sci-fi and fantasy. The books that most influenced me were R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series and pretty much anything written by Stephen King. I have an entire bookshelf filled with King’s books, and people always ask what my favorite King novel is. As much as I love his popular classics, my favorite would have to be the Dark Tower series as a whole.

I loved dark twisted stories that would make your heart pound with every page turn, but television also greatly inspired my creativity.

There was a show on Nickelodeon when I was young called Are You Afraid of the Dark where a group of kids would sneak out and tell spooky campfire stories. I was always fascinated by the idea of telling haunting tales by a campfire, but sadly this is still something that I’ve never done.

I can’t remember how old I was when I saw the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie on TV, but I thought it was the coolest idea I’d ever seen. The movie was not nearly the same caliber as the TV show that later followed, so why was the movie so important to me? Almost every book I read had a male protagonist, and if my memory serves me correct, this was a point where I said, “Wow this girl is a hero!” I don’t think I even stopped to question why all my books had male protagonist. I’d seen some females in comics, but this was different somehow. It was empowering to see Buffy kick ass as she went from cheerleader to vampire slayer.  I later rejoiced when the TV series was announced for the WB, and I have faithfully followed Joss Whedon ever since.

I read every book I could get my hands on and always daydreamed about my own stories. I tried to write a few novels in high school, but never stuck with the writing. What inspired me to try again? That would be Joss Whedon. My love of Buffy and all things Whedon inspired me to try again, and I finished the draft of The Alliance: Bloodlines.

I’ve since lost my love of horror, and i’m not even sure why. Maybe it’s because everything seems less scary now? Or the new generation of horror movies seem stale? My current inspiration comes from writers/creators: Whedon, Felicia Day, Brian K Vaughan, and Jane Espenson. When Joss Whedon first announced that he would be writing The Astonishing X-men, I decided that I would also try my hand at writing comics. I adapted Bloodlines into a limited series comic book which I pitched to publishers. I didn’t give up even when that project failed, but instead I kept practicing and have worked on scripts for several other projects.

So I guess if I could say anything to potential writers or even current authors, I would say take risks, be bold, write lovable characters, create breath taking worlds and send positive messages through stories.

The stories we write now could hugely impact the next generation of writers.

 

Honorable mentions from my childhood must include: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, TMNT, Alice in Wonderland, Superman movies and Batman movies, X-men comics, and more.

Taking a New Approach to Self Publishing

In my previous post I discussed the mistakes I’ve made in my adventures of self-publishing. Today I just want to talk about ways that I am trying to learn from my mistakes, and attempt a different approach to making a new WIP more successful than The Alliance: Bloodlines. Now Bloodlines has received some amazing five star reviews, but that means nothing to readers if the cover, description, or editing isn’t strong enough.

 So what happens now? If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!

Now that I know I can’t skimp on a cover design or editing, I must find a way to provide those things. Unfortunately I don’t have the money for pay for the hefty costs of professional editing or design. Editing costs can really break the bank depending on the length of the book or different types of editing. I’ve seen recommended professional editors quote as much as $2,000-3,000 for editing one book.

So in order to offer these necessities for my new novel, I will be turning to Kickstarter to try crowd funding enough money to pay for some of the harsh expenses.  Now crowd funding is not easy feat, but with the right planning it can be successful.  You still need to build your audience first (another mistake I mentioned in my previous post) because you shouldn’t assume that enough people will magically stumble upon and back your project. A lot of your backers will come from friends, family, and word of mouth.

I’ll be doing a lot of research and planning before I release my project in May. I would recommend checking out some of the successful Kickstarter projects to get some great examples. I’ll probably do a more detailed blog about Kickstarter once I’ve had more experience with creating a project on the site.

I’ve read a lot of opinions about using Kickstarter for a novel, and I noticed several people have their doubts. If you build enough interest and plan to use the self-publishing route anyway, why not give your book as a backer reward? If the project is successful then you have just put your novel in the hands of many, and that can equal book reviews for you! My goal is simply to get my book into the hands of as many people as possible, and Kickstarter feels like a great outlet for that.

Regardless of what path you take, you should never give up on your passion. If your novel isn’t successful that isn’t your warning sign to quit, but instead evaluate the whole package and determine how to improve.

I’m posting the announcement that I made on my Facebook page for anyone who don’t follow or might have missed it. This gives a very brief explanation of my project. I’ll be providing more details and art as time passes, but for now I just want you all to know why this project is important to me. Please read on if you haven’t caught up with my Facebook page!

 

“I’ve decided on my Kickstarter project! After much consideration, I chose my latest WIP that is currently titled Sacrifice. This title may not stick, but right now that’s what i’m calling it. The story centers on a gay protagonist who also happens to be a meta-human. I’ve gotten great feedback from beta readers, and I really feel like this is a story that needs to be told. There needs to be more quality LGBT friendly novels. I’m sick of seeing a small selection, and most of them don’t even look professionally done. I will work my ass off to make Sacrifice a well written story that positively represents the LGBT community and can be enjoyed by anyone.

I’m planning to launch this at the first part of May and more details will come soon. I have a strong well-thought out game plan, but I also need to build an army to make this successful. I have a great group of friends that have offered their time to help me create art, beta read, edit and much more. I am very grateful to have such awesome people supporting me. I’ll need more help spreading the word, and if you have a blog or know someone with a blog/site that might be interested in an author interview/Q&A or whatever, i’ll be looking for every opportunity possible. Stay tuned, and stay awesome.”

Mistakes I Made in the Adventures of Self-Publishing

Prior to self-publishing my first novel, The Alliance: Bloodlines, I did research on my options for publishing. I read countless blogs and other resources that explained the “Do’s and Don’ts” of self-publishing. I listened to some of the advice, but disregarded the huge chunks of info that would require me to spend more on my novel than I could afford.

Publishing your novel is a hugely gratifying experience. Hell you should pat yourself on the back right now if you’ve finished writing a novel—regardless whether or not you’ve published yet. Completing a novel is no small feat, but when you put your heart and soul into a story it seems only right to give your story the best chance at success. You want the world to read your story, right?

I think I speak for most writers when I say that we don’t do this for the money. If you’re a writer simply trying to make a buck, then you’re probably going to be awfully disappointed. A writer of fiction simply wants to give readers the same experience that they receive themselves when reading their favorite books. A writer wants to make the readers drift off into their fantastically crafted worlds and forget reality. They want their readers to have a great experience and grow with the characters, or simply fall in love with them.

So what care should indie authors take in order to give their self-published book a fighting chance?

Professional editing is a MUST. I did not listen when this rule came up in several blogs and articles. Professional editing can be a costly venture, but you can significantly diminish your chances of success by skimping on the editing of your novel. No matter how much you think you can edit yourself, trust me when I say it’s just never good enough. Professional editors get paid to catch errors with a trained eye, and it’s best to let them work their magic. Do your research and pick an editor that is qualified to work on your novel. I made the mistake of hastily hiring someone to work on Bloodlines, and paid almost $800 for a nightmare of edits that ended up being tossed out. I had several friends help me re-edit Bloodlines after several more revisions, but we did not catch all the mistakes.

A professional cover is also important. The saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” can be thrown out the window. You should take time to plan out your cover ideas, and don’t forget to consider covers for sequels if the book will be a part of a series. It never occurred to me at the time of self-publishing that I needed to have a plan for my covers, but you want them to have some kind of cohesion. I love the cover that was made for me, and my designer gave me exactly what I asked for, but it wasn’t well thought out on my part. I should have made something more enticing than the playing cards. Unless the person scrolling through Amazon just can’t resist a good game of cards, I am probably not luring anyone in with my cover.

Build a fan base. I read in so many places that I needed to build a fan base first and then release the product once I generated enough interest. This applies whether it’s a novel, comic, or whatever. I was hasty and didn’t wait, with my Facebook page only having a handful of fans and no one really knowing what Bloodlines was all about. Some people might stumble upon your novel on Amazon, and they might buy it without knowing anything about it, but you have way more chance of success if your interest is already there. If you have time and patience, I believe this approach could be valuable to you.

Now these are some of the biggest mistakes that I’ve made, and I would love to hear from other authors that have learned from their own self-publishing woes. In my next blog I will discuss how I am taking a different approach with my latest WIP. Just remember not to get too discouraged! Mistakes are simply a way of learning.

Tips for Writing Sequels

I am currently re-writing Drakon, the sequel to The Alliance: Bloodlines, and thought I’d give some tips for new writers.

When I first started writing Bloodlines, I knew that I wanted the story to at least become a trilogy. At that time I was young and excited, but never really thought about what it would require to write a compelling sequel.  So what do you need to consider when writing your series?

You must always remember to be consistent and keep continuity throughout your whole series. If you make a set of rules in your first novel, those rules need to stay consistent in the sequels. Why? Your readers will remember the rules. If you set a rule of magic or law in book one, but then that rule is not kept in book two, your readers will remember and question you. They will lose belief in your story—in the world that you took so long to create. Make sure to always fact check the events and rules in the previous books to keep the continuity accurate.

The same is true of the actions of your protagonist. Events that happen in book one should have consequences, and in turn those consequences should carry over to the sequels. Example: In Bloodlines there is a character death at the end of the book, but I knew that death couldn’t be forgotten in book two. The death had an impact on the characters so that needed to be expressed in the sequel.

Now while you keep the storyline consistent in each installment of the series, also remember to mix up the plot and formula. If you write each book in the series with the same plot formula, you run the risk of boring your audience with a predictable story. The protagonist should grow with each story, and the challenge should become greater with each book.

For Drakon I know that my characters and story must have continuity, but I will add a fresh element to keep my readers intrigued. I’ve sent them to a new place and put them in a situation of greater peril, but they still have their same voice. The events and their actions in Bloodlines will carry over and effect how they handle the greater challenges that they face in Drakon.

Remember if a character suddenly has a different voice in the sequels, you better have a good explanation for it. Show how the character developed, but never just change the characters personality for no specific reason.

I’ve found it very helpful to make a Word document that lists certain notes that I may need while writing the sequels. While writing scenes that I know will have an impact on possible sequels, I will make a note of it and move on. This keeps me from having to scroll through a complete manuscript a million times trying to remember a specific detail later on.

That’s all for now, but I hope these tips become of some use to someone that is currently or planning to write a sequel. As always keep writing and never give up.

Just a Hello and an Update!

Just wanted to say hello to all my readers and give a quick update. The site has been quiet while I worked on my entry for The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. I have submitted my piece to ABNA so all I can do now is play the waiting game. 

I’m back to work on the sequel to The Alliance: Bloodlines. I included more of the art from the unfinished comics project. So you can now see what Bailey and Jameson would look like in comic book form! The art can be found under the “Other Comics” tab or just click here if you’re lazy. ;) http://sedoster.com/contact-info/

Hope you enjoy the art and stay tuned!