Bookland

I like to think I'm better at writing books than I am at marketing them. That's not to say I'm necessarily all that good at the one, but I have no doubt that I'm pretty bad at the other. It's not really just a personal problem, though; getting people to read new authors is an incredibly hard thing to do. And, honestly, it's a lot more fun to write a new scene in a book than it is to come on here and try to get people interested in it.

With that said, I'm going to try to do better. This blog has been rather dormant since I first put it up, and I'm not saying I'm going to start doing a daily post, but... maybe weekly? That can't be too hard, can it? We'll see. Anyway, I'm probably going to have to go outside my own writing for this. Knowing me like I do, that probably means football or baseball. Maybe I'll write some kind of serial or just some short stories to whet your appetites. Like I said, we'll see.

Tonight, I actually have a bit of news to pass on. So far in my writing journey, I've written exclusively in Fulorn. I love the world. It's great. You should read my four-novel series set there, The Kinmark Saga, and the two follow-up novellas, Ranger and Outcast. You totally should. But I'm about to release something completely new and different, and I think you should read it too. In fact, you should read it even more than my other stuff. You should read the heck out of it.

What is this it of which I speak, you ask? It is Bookland. Remember when I said it was new and different? Yeah, it's different. You see, Bookland is the name of the book. It's also the name of the series in which that book is the first, and it's also the name of the world in which that series takes place. It's a world where the characters know that they're characters in a story and act accordingly. Different.

As for that story, it's meant to be somewhat funny. At least, I think it's funny. There's some mockery involved in Bookland, and I don't shy away from taking a few shots at my favorite works within the fantasy genre. In real life, such criticism can get a person in trouble. In writing, we just call it parody and go about with our regular lives. By the way, I really hope that last part is true. I've never done any parody before, and I guess it's possible some crazy fan of one of my fellow authors might come find me and beat me up. Only time will tell.

Now, I shouldn't paint with too broad a brush here. Bookland is funny in places, but it's not comedy. If you're familiar with my Fulorn writings, you know I'm not exactly a teddy bear with my characters. It's just not within me to write peachy stories. I create worlds and characters, and I inevitably want to put them through the some terrible stuff to see what they'll do. "Struggle makes strength." That's a quote from Outcast, by the way. You should read it.

Anyway, bad things happen in Bookland. I've toyed around with a few ideas to describe it, and I think the best way might be to say that it's a gritty story told through the lens of parody. That's not to say that the world is going to burn all around my characters as they cry over the dead remains of their loved ones, but it might. I don't coddle my characters, but I don't stop them from finding happiness, either. They just have to earn it sometimes.

So, if I've said anything that you're actually interested in, simply let me conclude by saying that Bookland should be out around the first of October. It always takes a few days for things to get squared away after I actually publish a book, so it could be a day or two later. However, I'll be sure to keep you updated! After all, I'm going to start doing better at that sort of thing, right? Right? Yeah, we'll see.