Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey I finally figured out what's going to happen in this book besides fighting the Kraken that have invaded the coast of Dorelle's home.
I will explore what happens when a dragon-rider team does no work out and a clever dragon becomes dominant. It's not going to be pretty...
I'm finally excited about this one. So now I'm writing.
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey Finished the first draft on August 31st, did a first editing pass on the day after that, and sent it out to beta readers.
First feedback... need to add two more Ferren scenes (that guy appeared once and then dropped off the radar), cut down a little bit of whaffle, and make the Kraken War itself a bit more prominent, as opposed to the rogue dragon plot line.
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey Working on Part 3. Still need a name. Maybe "Return to the Cloud Lands" but that sounds lame.
At any rate, the villain took over yesterday and is stalking Dorelle. Still trying to work out an ambush, and then I need to get the villain to become a full traitor and defect to the Carmine Empire. (Tricky, that.)
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey Released! Due to a slight mixup, "Kraken War" has been released this week already!
I think the cover is awesome, even if I can only link the little Amazon one at the moment.
Blurb:
Dorelle's warning came just in time. Now the Kraken War begins.
To rid the Western Kingdom of the aggressive beasts and to protect the fishermen, Dorelle and the Crown Prince Orlen are given five Dragon Wings and joint command for the task.
What they don't know is that treachery is already brewing in one of the Wings.
The war starts poorly, decimating the Wings. When two of the five Wing Commanders vanish, the company is further weakened, dictating drastic measures.
As the fighting reaches a new level of intensity, will the dragons and their riders be able to overcome the dangers that surround them?
Be swept away to a foreign land full of adventure, love, treachery, and heart-wrenching loyalty.
"Kraken War" is the second book in the Cloud Lands Saga, an ongoing novella series. If you are new to the series, you should start with "Dorelle's Journey" for full enjoyment.
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey I really do hope I'll get something out this year. I had an epiphany the other day that is helping me plot/outline one of my book ideas. I'm pretty sure I've read/heard of the Rule of Three before. But after becoming a fan of 'Oulander' and reading a thread by the author where she mentions 'The Rule of Three' . . . and uses it as a means for her hero/heroine to go head-to-head, and toe-to-toe, with the antagonist before the climax gave me a light bulb moment. For some reason that seems easier than trying to figure out Turning Points.
I'm also learning about beats. I don't know if that is any easier than acts, but whatever can get the juices flowing, I'll take.
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey I believe I've seen you mention it before. I just hadn't gotten around to checking it out. Had too much going on with Mom being in the hospital and nursing home. She's at my sister's now, so I've been trying to do catch up on projects and reading books on writing.
Unfortunately, I'm having health issues of my own, so I don't know how much that will set me back. This is not a good year.
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey I asked for a review on Goodreads (that was hard!). And the lovely lady was delighted to read my book and write one.
Here it is:
quote:
The author kindly sent me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Almost everything I said about "Dorelle's Journey" ("everything just feels right - the writing, the story, the pace, the setting, the characters... everything. It's all perfectly blended and seamless.") remains true for "Kraken War" - the second book in "The Cloud Lands Saga".
"Almost everything"? Well, I recommended book 1 for younger readers. The mating of dragons (and the effects on their riders) in book 2 is not for young eyes to read, so I'd now recommend this series for young adults and older.
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey I'm learning GIMP so I can produce graphics for my books, as well as ads. In fact, I'm also learning photography, so I can use my own pics for backgrounds and such.
This is my latest result, and I'm actually rather proud of it. This morning, I discovered drop shadows, frames and something called an Xach-effect. I think they all improved the pic. And it scales well on FB.
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey Very nice. I recently came across a YouTube channel where the cartoonist uses both Gimp & Paint when creating her books. She doesn't go into detail, but in case you might want to check out her YouTube channel:
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey Thank you, Jox.
I tend to avoid "how-to" books and videos, unless it's something I really need to know in that moment. It feels like it stifles creativity and learning. I learn much better by trying things out - and then I can relate to tutorials.
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey You are most welcome.
The videos aren't "how to" lessons. The channel is about a Texan in Tokyo who is married to a Japanese man. She has indie published comic books of her life with her husband and living in Japan. She just mentions in one video of how she uses both Gimp & Paint when working on the digital side of getting her comics ready for publication, and for her blog posts.
One thing I did learn from her is that she buys her books in bulk to autograph, and then sells them from her Etsy shop. I thought that was a clever idea. Her husband has edited her last book, translating it into Japanese. I happened on her videos a week or so ago, and I just can't stop watching them.
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey Oh, I see! I'm sorry for misunderstanding you.
That does sound interesting.
I buy my print books (not in bulk, but about five copies when I run out) from Amazon to sell as authorgraphed copies, mostly to friends. But I don't do it through Etsy.
I buy them directly from Amazon instead of getting author copies from CreateSpace because I'm in Germany. I pay full price, yes, but I do get full royalties, and pay nothing for shipping, plus I get them within three days. Shipping from the US (because CreateSpace won't use Amazon's printer partners in Europe ) is just too expensive, and it takes weeks. And if I really buy bulk, I will also have to pay import tax...
Anyway, thank you. Defintely something to think about!
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey No worries.
IIRC, in one or more of her videos she mentions she raises the money to buy the books in bulk from her Kickstarter account. Those who donate money get an autographed book, and if more money is made than people, the extra books are sold on her etsy shop. She also has a Patreon account.
Re: Kraken War - Sequel to Dorelle's Journey An author I follow on FB (one who has a lot of trouble marketing herself because of a speech impediment) is using Kickstarter and Patreon. I've backed her once or twice, and I watched her develop the Kickstarter rewards with interest.
Now that she has a Patreon, she hasn't done another kickstarter yet. But she has about seven horses to feed, which certainly isn't easy. Most of them are elderly, so there's no way she can sell them, not that she would. One is a rescue (and the mother of one of the others).
I've watched her struggle for years. It's very sobering, because she used to be quite successful with trad publishers, a solid, midlist author. Until she couldn't make a living on the advances anymore... now she's trying to be indie, but it's been a difficult transition, mostly because she's having a hard time with the marketing.
I bought her latest novel but haven't read it yet.