New review of Journey to Altmortis

Been a shade quiet lately, but I'm hoping to post a bit more regularly in the nearish future (off-chance the internet may go wonky in the next few weeks, though).

Anyway, that top chap Brian Wilkerson has very kindly reviewed Journey to Altmortis. You can read his wise and insightful thoughts (as you may've guessed his review is mostly positive, but he does raise some areas for improvement) by clicking here.

Assuming I don't run out of electricity I plan on reviewing Ammianus Marcellinus' history of The Later Roman Empire in the next couple of days. A short version would be that it's a very good book.

Thaddeus

New reviews

Ahem, I’ve been a bit lax updating ye olde review list. So, I shall fix this now.

Journey to Altmortis:

Kyra Halland - Four Stars

Duane Vore - (The review does not include a rating, but ispositive)

Sir Edric’s Temple:

Boom Baby - Four Blazing Balls of Fire

This very day a new review of Sir Edric’s Temple has been posted by Jo Michaels, giving it a score of 5/5. Here’s a brief excerpt:

“I can't tell you how many times I laughed while reading this book. Sir Edric's inner monologue will have you rolling on the floor while understanding this is probably what 9/10 of the male population is thinking at any given point in time.”

Incidentally, the above sites are all good sources for regular reviews, and (as mentioned in the review), Jo Michaels’ blog will have reviews of many independent authors you might not otherwise have stumbled across. This is a very good initiative and will hopefully help authors (including me) get a higher profile, as well as helping readers find good but lesser known writers.

Right now I’m working on Kingdom Asunder (set in the Bane of Souls/Journey to Altmortis world) and have some vague ideas of more misadventures for Sir Edric and Dog in the future.

So, if you got some money/Amazon codes for Christmas, why not give Journey to Altmortis and Sir Edric’s Temple a try?

Thaddeus

New Review for Journey to Altmortis

I’m delighted to say that there’s a new review of my most recent book, Journey to Altmortis, up here [second review down]: http://themindpalace.net/the-indie-pub/4576795387

It’s full of rather encouraging phrases: ‘By this measure, Journey to Altmortis succeeds magnificently’

‘…I found it difficult to allow myself to put it down at all as it was quickly apparent that the more you read and build on what you've already read, the more you're going to appreciate what comes next…’

Anyway, it’d be rude to copy the whole thing here, so do have a click and a read, and if you haven’t already given Journey to Altmortis (or Bane of Souls) a try why not download a sample and see what you think?

Thaddeus

Journey to Altmortis Review and my first Chrons article

Delighted to say that Journey to Altmortis has another review. It’s got a pair of 5* ratings on Amazon’s UK site, and now Bella of Boom Baby Reviews has offered her thoughts.

It gets 4*, and whilst (as always) it was nicer to read about what she liked it was probably more instructive to learn what she thought could be improved. The secondary cast seems to have got a big thumbs up (I thought Roger would go over well, and Anja’s also been praised via Twitter).

I’ll link to this review both on my website and in the Review tab on this blog.

As well as that, I’ve got my first article for SFF Chronicles (Chrons, for short), published. Reading Sean McGlynn’s By Sword and Fire (review here) got me thinking about the comparison between grimdark and the reality of yesteryear (or even today).

I actually bought By Sword and Fire because, as well as sounding interesting by itself, I wanted to get the level of mercy and brutality right for Kingdom Asunder, the title of the first instalment in my forthcoming trilogy (no ETA except that it definitely won’t be this year as the first draft hasn’t even been started yet). In that regard it proved very useful.

Anyway, I hope you like the review (and buy Journey to Altmortis if you haven’t yet) and find the article interesting.

Thaddeus

Journey to Altmortis update and quiz

Journey to Altmortis is my second fantasy novel and, like Bane of Souls, is stand-alone. It’s gotten a couple of five star reviews on Amazon, which was a very nice surprise (Bane of Souls got 7/8 four star reviews but no five star).

In addition to Amazon and Smashwords, I’m delighted to report that Journey to Altmortis can also be bought from the following retailers:

Because the release of Journey to Altmortis was a little rushed (due to computer woe) I didn’t put up a quiz right away. However, this has been remedied and is now up at Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/results?id=27595

Thaddeus

Getting the blurb right

The 'blurb' is the name given to the fairly short description of a book that the publisher/author writes.

It's hard to quantify how important the blurb is for attracting new readers, but I do think it matters quite a lot. When I'm considering buying books I usually check the blurb before reviews, and, whilst a description's unlikely to immediately persuade me to buy a book, a bad one (or one which paints a picture I dislike) could put me off.

For Bane of Souls, my first book, I had one put together but had to mangle it a little so that it would fit within the character count (Smashwords has two lengths, 400 characters and another which I think is unlimited).

Here's what I came up with:

"The trade festival of Mascezad is normally a time of plenty for Horst and his trader uncle, but when they visit Highford Horst finds himself conscripted by the city’s mages. Unable to return to his own people and abandoned by his uncle, his fortunes go from bad to worse when he discovers that the city is being terrorised by a spate of murders, and the killer has a particular taste for dead mages…"

I think the painting of the premise is sound, and the ending's nice, but the start could be rather hookier. Primacy and recency effects are something authors should consider for their books as a whole and also for the blurb in particular. Essentially, people pay most attention to the last and the first things that they hear or read. That's not to say the middle's unimportant (if the middle of a book is rubbish the end won't be reached) but that more weight is given to the beginning and end.

Because I tried to get some of the donkey work for Journey to Altmortis done ahead of time I wrote the blurb (a few versions) prior to releasing the book. I found it quite useful to check some bestsellers (I looked at books by Joe Abercrombie, George RR Martin and Scott Lynch) to see if any patterns emerged from the way they'd written theirs.

Happily, there were some pretty basic lessons to learn.

1) Have a hooky start. A single line can work well, something to pique the interest of the potential reader.

2) Have a dangling question/precarious situation at the end. Again, a single line can work or it can be a smidgen longer. This should try and make the reader wonder how the storyline of the book develops beyond the basic premise. And, whilst not essential, an ellipsis can be a good way to end…

3) Concisely set up the premise in between the hooky start and hooky end. If there's no overriding protagonist then this might explain the world/general situation, but if the story revolves around an individual or group it should probably focus on them. Don't try and explain too much. If you have a character limit then that'll be impossible anyway, and even if you don't an info-dump probably isn't the way to go. It's all about the basic premise of the plot, and trying to make it interesting. Spoilers can sometimes be tricky (Bane of Souls was especially hard in this regard because the plot is quite twisty and I didn't want to give anything away). I'd guess a good rule of thumb would be that anything in the first few chapters can be given away (it'll fall within the sample section anyway) but later stuff should be kept hidden.

4) Quotes from reviews can be a nice addition, but ask permission first. For the Amazon release I included a couple of quotes from reviews (with permission). Obviously if you happen to have one from a big organisation (say, a national newspaper) or a big name author that's the best.

Enticing readers can be tricky, and the blurb can work well. Or, it can put off readers if it's written badly. Here’s the Amazon.co.uk longer blurb:

“Never steal from a thief.

Years ago the Brothers Whitworth stole priceless heirlooms from Thaddeus and Lynette Falchester, but when the siblings learn of their whereabouts the hunt is on. The Whitworths have broken into the dead city of Altmortis, rumoured to hold the ancient treasures of the Kuhrland.

Accompanied by assorted ne'er-do-wells, they brave the harsh Kuhrisch winter, a forest dripping with blood and a village of monstrous demons to reach the remote city.

But when Thaddeus and Lynette delve into the depths of Altmortis they find more than robbers lurking in the shadows…

What reviewers said about Bane of Souls, the first novel by Thaddeus White:
"An excellent Fantasy Novel… As a read it is fast paced, fun and entertaining. What more could you want?" - Perpetual Man (Goodreads and Amazon)

"I hear tell from the author that the next book will have a lot of focus on the Kuhrisch, so I will definitely be checking that out. For this one? 4 stars." - Bella at Boom Baby Reviews”

Incidentally, as well as Smashwords and Amazon, Journey to Altmortis is now out at Diesel, where you get $0.50 (apparently) for writing a review, cutting the price to effectively $2.49.

The XK87G code (for use at Smashwords) expires on 14 May 2013, and cuts the price there from $2.99 to $1.02. It’s been granted premium status at the site, which means it’ll be (over the coming days and weeks) shipped to a variety of online retailers.

Thaddeus

Journey to Altmortis is now up on Amazon

Yes, the little delay is over and I’m delighted to say that Journey to Altmortis, a tale of plunder and revenge, is now out on Amazon (I believe it’s only the Anglophone sites right now, but non-English sites should follow in the next day or two).

The price tag is an incredibly low $2.99 (£1.98), although I would remind readers that until the 14th if you buy through Smashwords and use the code XK87G you can get it for a positively criminal $1.02.

So, please do buy it, tell your friends, tweet, rate and review it.

I also hope you like the map, which proved a bit fiddly to put in, but next time (well, the time after next, the comedy will probably not have one) it should be much easier. A bigger version can be found on my website under the Artwork tab (http://thaddeuswhite.weebly.com/artwork.html). Click on them for an enormous version. (I did the map almost entirely myself, but I must thank Yoong, my cover artist, who helped out with the background).

Word of mouth and reviewing books really helps authors, both in terms of getting noticed and finding out what people like and didn’t like.

Although I obviously enjoy reading positive reviews more than negative ones, when people raise areas for improvement that hopefully means I’ll be able to take their thoughts on board and make the next book(s) better.

Thaddeus

Journey to Altmortis is now on sale!

Yes, you lucky people, Journey to Altmortis has been released extra early. Admittedly, that’s because my computer may explode at any second and I’d rather willingly publish early than be forced to delay, but it still means you get to enjoy my second book (also stand-alone).

It’s only on Smashwords at the moment but the site offers a wide variety of formats and, if you use the code XK87G the already low price tag of $2.99 will tumble to a positively criminal $1.02.

The code expires on the 14th, so don’t dally.

 

After much fiddling, the Amazon version is in the pipeline (it takes a while to be verified) and the Smashwords version should be shipped off to numerous other retailers as time progresses.

So, please do buy a copy, and if you like it why not write a review or rate the book, and emotionally blackmail everyone you’ve ever met into doing likewise suggest buying it to your friends and family?

To whet your appetite, here’s the description:

Never steal from a thief.

Years ago the Brothers Whitworth stole priceless heirlooms from Thaddeus and Lynette Falchester, but when the siblings learn of their whereabouts the hunt is on. The Whitworths have broken into the dead city of Altmortis, rumoured to hold the ancient treasures of the Kuhrland.

Accompanied by assorted ne'er-do-wells, they brave the harsh Kuhrisch winter, a forest dripping with blood and a village of monstrous demons to reach the remote city.

But when Thaddeus and Lynette delve into the depths of Altmortis they find more than robbers lurking in the shadows…

Thaddeus

Three Works-in-Progress

At the risk of suggesting I've suddenly become productive, I've got three works-in-progress (WIP) at the moment. I know the blog tends to be about reviews and musings, and more serious stuff is left for my site (http://thaddeuswhite.weebly.com/index.html) but given writing is why blogging has been lighter of late I thought I'd go into them, briefly.

First up is Journey to Altmortis. It will be a stand-alone novel of approximately the same size of Bane of Souls, and set in the same world. There will be some character overlap (mostly minor characters), and will be largely set in the Kuhrland. It has a slightly darker flavour and, because of the setting (the Kuhrisch hate magic), less magic. 

 

For a while now I've had the vague target of the first half of this year for its release, and I'm hopeful that it will indeed be out in the next month or two. I'm currently in the latter stages of the final 'real' redraft (after that's done I will read through it again to check continuity and for typos and the like). The maps done for the book can be found here.

The second work is something I was unsure of, at first. It's a short comedy, for which I have an approximate target of 20-40,000 words. Although still fantasy it's set in an entirely different world to Bane of Souls and Journey to Altmortis, and is currently untitled.

It's my intention to get this done and published this year. Weirdly, comedy seems an utterly different beast to serious stuff. For my other books writing can be easy or hard, but when hard it's possible to work through it. Comedy appears to only have two settings: easy and fun, and impossible.

Last, and I very much hope not least, is a trilogy which will be set in the same world as my two serious books. Building the plot, world and characters is probably going to take some time, and part of the reason for writing the comedy is to keep my writing from going rusty and to reduce the wait between Altmortis and the next book. Although I'm planning the plot for all three books together they will be released one at a time.

No date in mind, but I do plan to offer a free Regency Edition, which will include half of the first book. The trilogy will revolve around a civil war, and the Regency Edition will include all the relevant parts from the perspective of the Regent, and his allies.

So, if you liked Bane of Souls there's much more on the way for you to enjoy.

Thaddeus

Altmortis Begins

Unfortunately Bane of Souls is taking rather longer to get released than I’d hoped. It feels like a date where I get back to the girl’s house, she’s waiting in bed and I’ve managed to lock myself in the bathroom.

And so I climb through the bathroom window and find myself getting stuck into her sister, as it were.

Altmortis is the book which follows Bane of Souls. There are some characters that are in both (I won’t say who, as Bane of Souls has a relatively high death toll and I don’t want to mark anyone as safe) and a couple of new faces. It’s set in the Kuhrland, which is a kind of Germanic/Gothic/Viking realm. No kings or lords, and only a few Godi and elders who handle legal and ritual matters.

The theme of the book will be revenge, whether it’s really a good thing to attain and whether lusting for it might cause harm to the vengeful as well as those that wronged the victim to start with. Hopefully it’ll be interesting to write and read about the corruption of a man’s heart as he’s torn between rightful restitution and murderous retribution.

Unlike Bane of Souls, which has tons of magic, there’ll be almost none in Altmortis. This is largely because the Kuhrisch almost never have any talent for it. Because of that and the overarching theme of the book it’ll be a somewhat grimmer and grittier affair. The death toll will be smaller, although that’s largely because of the smaller cast list.

Got quite a bit of good background stuff done which helps, and there are a few scenes of particular violence and fantastical happenings that I’m really looking forward to writing. It’s always a bit weird getting back into the swing of first drafts after redrafting something several times and writing only little scenes and paragraphs, but I’m doing ok so far.

With luck, Bane of Souls won’t be too much longer. The lock on the bathroom door can only take so much hammering.

Thaddeus