Holed Up And Waiting, and Other Odds and Ends.

"Waiting". 2016 Brian L. Braden Photography.

It's all over except the waiting. The eBook and paperback are submitted and awaiting KDP/Createspace approval. I've ordered my proofs, and they should arrive by Tuesday. I'm hoping the Kindle version will be available for pre-order tomorrow. So now I'm drinking coffee and doing a bit of recreational writing. 

Yes, recreational writing. Hence, a new blog entry to burn off some nervous energy. 

I spent a good part of yesterday outside cleaning up the yard.  Funny how you use muscles in the yard you don't use at the gym. I'm sore. I'm also tired. Exhausted, actually. So today I'm holed up in the house, taking a day of rest on this beautiful Sabbath. I feel the strong urge to recharge my batteries. I'm feeling that typical edginess before I release a novel, the urge to isolate and wait.  I ask the question all authors do when they let go of a manuscript and hand it over to the public: Is it any good? Ah, the doubts.  Whether it's any good or not is irrelevant now. It is what it is )haven't we all said that way too much lately?) Regardless,  in eight short days it will be in your hands, and you can decide.

This book release feels different from my last one in 2016, and those that came before. First, I've lost a great deal of my support network. This is the first release without my platform Underground Book Reviews. My business partner, Amy Biddle, and I closed that endeavor down several years ago for various reasons. It was nice to have a large platform to announce new books. I am no longer a part of Deadpixel Publications, either. That author community (which I enjoyed immensely) evaporated not long before UBR went under. I also suffered a beta-reader loss due to five years between my books.  This book release is very solitary endeavor. I'm expecting only a few initial sales, and then the sales will likely fall into line with the Tears of the Dead. By that, I mean when I sell a Black Sea Gods, it is usually matched soon after by a Tears of the Dead. As a writer, that's a metric of success. 

 At least for me, platforming often detracts from writing. I have very little spare time in my life. If I'm going to write, I need to WRITE. The objective of finishing this series is finishing this series, and finishing it well. It will find the readership it is destined to find. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Speaking of readership, the Chronicles of Fu Xi seems to have had a streak of good luck in the UK lately. For those new readers across the pond, thank you and I hope you enjoy the series. Please leave a review on Amazon UK or Goodreads if you enjoyed it. 

 I'm plowing forward on The Chronicles of Fu Xi Book IV.   What you're going to find in these next two books? Character pivots, lots of them.  You'll find more emphasis Atamoda, Okta and Nuwa. Why? Because that's where the story is taking me. Atamoda has changed. She's become very real to me, with great depth. With only a few plot twists her story opened up and she's been a joy to write.  Nuwa will be a star in the final novel, and all her secrets, especially those regarding The Black Dragon, will be revealed. Okta is also one of those characters that opened up. In many ways, and he is central to the entire series. In novel 3, you're going to get to know minor characters from Book 2 much better, including the scholar Amiran, and the two children Elda and Ercole. You're also going to learn A LOT more about Leviathan.  Oh, and of course there is plenty of  storyline about Fu Xi and Aizarg. 

There's a lot of action in this upcoming novel, too. Lots. Spoiler - some characters aren't going to make it. 

If you haven't read the series prequel, The Golden Princess, it might be a good time to pick it up. There will be reference to events that happened before Black Sea Gods that impact the plot. Once again, if you haven't listened to the audiobook, you're missing out. It's excellent. 

Some upcoming projects: 

I'm going to make a new cover for the Golden Princess. The current cover is a good cover, but it needs more. I'm working with a excellent professional digital artist. On a related note, when Book 4 is complete, I'm considering making new covers for the entire series, and pulling in The Golden Princess from prequel to actual Book 1. Thoughts?  Let me know in the comments.  will also be making a new cover for my short story compilation The Illusion Exotic, and issuing it in paperback, too. 

I guess that's about it. Its time to go back to writing. Thanks for dropping by. 

#books #epic #fantasy #writing #chroniclesoffuxi #blackseagods #grahamhancock #youngerdryas #bookseries #author #authorblog #bookrelease #KDP

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