It has been a busy and successful holiday season, and the new year is looking rather bright. A most sincere thank you to all my fans who have made the Scarlet Hopewell Series a success. There are a lot of good books out there and only so many hours in a day; it is humbling that so many of you have chosen
Scarlet and the Keepers of Light to occupy some of your precious time. I hope that I have given you a magical experience that has allowed your imagination to run away with you. At the very least, I hope you've had fun.
Writing
I finished the first draft of the fourth and final book in the
Scarlet Hopewell Series. The title, for those who haven't been keeping up, is
Scarlet and the Barrier's Fall. It was a bitter sweet moment that occurred in the wee wee hours of the morning. It's been quite a journey with Scarlet and her family and friends, and although it certainly isn't goodbye (lots of editing, reading, and rewrites left in the coming year) I now know how it all turns out; I had an idea of course, but you never
really know until it's out of your brain and on the page. You might ask what a writer does after pulling an all nighter and wrapping up an epic fantasy series (and the fourth book is definitely epic). He sleeps most of the day, wakes up, prints a copy, and goes to pick up his kids from school. Not the most exciting celebration, I know, but true nonetheless. Perhaps we'll have a big party when the last book releases. I'm still toying with the idea of providing some background and insights into the world of Satorium, perhaps on the website, with the opportunity to add some short stories and essays, but right now I'll be focused on the post writing for books two, three, and four. There is also a new novel to be written this year, although I haven't decided which one as yet.
Promotion
Next bit of news is promotional, both of the shameless self variety and for my publisher and some fellow authors. If you haven't already, you should certainly click on the link for my publisher,
Manor Minor Press and sign up for their news letter. Doing so with give you access to information on my upcoming release dates and information on some other authors you may have yet to discover. You can try their website at
http://manorminor.com or if you're more of a Facebook person,
https://www.facebook.com/manorminorbooks.
Scarlet and the Keepers of Light is doing quite well, remaining in the top 100 on various children's and teen genres on Amazon Top Sellers Lists, even reaching as high as number 3—my highest ranking to date. If you are one of the many who have bought and read Keepers, I would love to hear what you think. Amazon reviews are a great way to both help me out and start a dialogue. Of course you can always just jot me a line and send it via my
Facebook Page,
Twitter, or the blog, but Amazon Reviews are still (here's me humbly begging) much appreciated.
Dragon's Burden
Scarlet and the Dragon's Burden releases on Groundhog Day, February 2, 2015 and is currently available for preorder. This is the book were the action and adventure really take off and I can't wait for you all to read it. In my opinion, it's even better than Keepers. Pirates, riddles, new magical abilities, a dragon—Dragon's Burden is where the scope of the series begins to open up and you see the breadth of just what Scarlet and her family are facing. And of course, there is a plot twist or two that you might not have seen coming.
While we wait, I thought you might like a sneak peak at the cover. Still some tweaking to be done, but the concept is complete.
I really like the old world charm of the piece. Reminds me a little of a book I might have had on my shelf as a kid. Miranda and Krister, the artists, continue to come through with amazing artwork that reflects the characters and events of the books in wonderful and imaginative ways.
