Wednesday 31 August 2011

The Time is Nearly Upon Us

I am so pleased to be able to announce that the Wolf Guard Encroaching Dark, my first self-published novel is on the cusp of being released!

The cover art is just going through some final finishing touches for the ebook version and then the full cover for the print version with be completed shortly after.

I took the opportunity to format the novel into the ebook version for publishing on Kindle and I am that much more excited for the release after seeing a preview of it on the Kindle viewer! After the countless hours spent writing the novel, editing it, formatting and then re-formatting, editing some more and stressing over what the final product would look like....I am blown away. All the hard work has come together to create something that I am genuinely proud of. The whole process has been so enjoyable and I am looking forward to releasing more novels in the future. The second novel of the Wolf Guard series is half way to completion so it will not be too long until I am releasing it as well! I was able to place a small preview of Unleashing the Underworld at the end of Encroaching Dark so that readers can get a taste of the second novel after having purchased the first one.

It is all coming together so nicely and I appreciate all of the support along the way.

Next post....the release date.

C.R.

Thursday 25 August 2011

Ebook and Print Copy of The Wolf Guard Encroaching Dark

It looks as though the cover is on track for being completed some time this weekend which I am very excited about.  I have really enjoyed the whole process thus far and look forward to projects in the future. Working with Patrick Parish of COG Studio has been a delight. He has been able to interpret all of my crazy ideas and incorporate them into the cover in a very skilled way!

The Ebook should be up and running on Amazon and Smashwords (website that distributes to a number of other sites) within a week and then the print version should be available not long after that!

Thus the countdown shall begin some what as we are only a week away from publishing.

Once I get down to the 24 hour mark I shall post yet again!

C.R.

Monday 22 August 2011

Cover Update and Unleashing the Underworld Update

Today has been a very productive day! I have received news that the cover is on track for completion within the next week or so. Hopefully, if all goes according to plan it will be completed by this weekend! Then it will just be a matter of getting the book up and running on a number of sites!

I did some further research and it looks like for the initial launch I will be trying to publish the book to Amazon, Smashwords (distributes from their site but also for Barnes and Noble, Apple (ibooks) and a number of other companies) as well as Create Space which is an affiliate of Amazon and does on demand printing for traditional paperback books ordered off of Amazon. What this means is that I am hoping that for the initial launch, The Wolf Guard - Encroaching Dark, should be available for every type of Ereader on the market as well as in the traditional format. As long as there are no administrative snags this should all go off without a hitch!

Now for some news on the second book of the series, Unleashing the Underworld. I am about half way through the first draft of the book and that means it may be completed even earlier than I had anticipated, which is certainly a good thing. It will all depend on how long the editing takes though, as well as writing the second half.

At the moment I am moving into a new house so I may be busy with that while at the same time working, writing and publishing the first novel. Busy next little while ahead of me but it is all very exciting. I appreciate all of the support!

C.R.

Awake and Alive - Skillet

Yet another song to be added to my writing playlist! Eventually after Encroaching Dark is released I shall also post my playlist. Music always fills me with so much inspiration when writing and this song is one of the best! Enjoy!


C.R.

Wednesday 17 August 2011

The Wolf Guard Encroaching Dark (Description)

******
"A darkness is falling upon the Druid civilization of Cathenia, as the demon Vampire Antrocius sets out to destroy the natural world once and for all. As dire as the situation has become for the Druids, there is light to be found, even in the darkness. A hero shall rise to fulfil his role as a beacon of what is right, as the protector of the natural world...the Wolf Guard shall return."

A novel depicting the eternal battle of light versus dark as the natural world inhabitants, the Druids, face off against a demon vampire and his horde of Troll soldiers. The balance shall be tipped with the finding of the protector of the natural world, the Wolf Guard. Unfortunately, the current Wolf Guard, Rolf Lupus, who is destine to lead the Druids to victory, has no idea of his fate. Rolf must learn the ways of the new world he finds himself in while discovering his true power and gaining an understanding of what love truly means. Time is quickly running out for him to find his place in his new role while summoning his inner strength before the world is engulfed in the flames of war, and all hope fades into darkness.
*******

The Wolf Guard - Encroaching Dark is soon to be released! Currently I am awaiting the cover art to be completed.

A semi-urban Fantasy novel that opens our minds to the magical world laying right outside our door step. A good read for adults as well as mature teens.

Look for the Wolf Guard - Encroaching Dark to hit Ebook stores soon!

The Wolf Guard - Encroaching Dark Coming Soon...

C.R.

Tuesday 16 August 2011

The Wolf Guard - Unleashing the Underworld

Yet another update on The Wolf Guard - Unleashing the Underworld. I have just completed the seventh chapter and once again I am very very happy with the direction the novel is going. It is currently at 18,000 words and I don't know where it will end up at! Encroaching Dark is approximately 63,000 words although I think Unleashing the Underworld may possibly exceed that. All of that aside, I did a fair bit of driving today and came up with a lot of answers to questions I was having for the story. That has always been my best creative time, when I am alone in the car for hours on end.

I have also decided to include the opening scene of Unleashing the Underworld as a preview at the end of Encroaching Dark. Ideally, once Encroaching Dark is released it will not be too long until Unleashing the Underworld follows.

Today was an especially good day as I came up with the main body and the ending of Unleashing the Underworld as well as a portion of the third untitled novel in the series. I seriously can not get the information down on paper fast enough to keep up with my thoughts!

I need to remind myself to stay focused on getting Encroaching Dark released as I am already getting excited about the upcoming projects and the first has not even hit stores!

Patience.....

C.R.




Breaking Benjamin - Diary of Jane

Alright, it is time for yet another song I am currently listening to. This one is from a band I had not listened to for a long time. I just stumbled across them again not too long ago and have been enjoying this song all over again! Hopefully you will enjoy it as well! Breaking Benjamin - Diary of Jane.

P.S. This song is one of the songs on my writing playlist!


C.R.

Cover News

As I was making my way through Home Depot today I received a very exciting email on my phone. The email was about the cover for The Wolf Guard - Encroaching Dark. It was a rough sketch of the cover! After seeing the rough beginning outline of the cover, my jaw hit the floor!

I am very fortunate to have an extremely talented artist by the name of Patrick Parish of COG Stuidios doing the cover art. Check out Patrick's website
at http://www.cogstudio.com/

Looking at the cover was like looking into my imagination and seeing the scene I had created come to life! Patrick does awesome work!

And now here is the sketch.......




Just kidding, you will have to wait for the finished product!

Thanks again for all the support!

C.R.

Monday 15 August 2011

Possibilities?

After further research, it looks as though I will be trying to publish The Wolf Guard - Encroaching Dark through Barnes and Noble for the Nook and Chapters Indigo for the Kobo. This is all dependent on the submission process going smoothly that is. Either way, the first place you can find The Wolf Guard - Encroaching Dark is on Amazon, after that I will look into other possibilities!

The Wolf Guard - Unleashing the Underworld

I am feeling rather good, I have just completed the sixth chapter of The Wolf Guard - Unleashing the Underworld, the second book in the Wolf Guard series. Mind you I may have completed another chapter but after the book is finished there is a large amount of editing, revising etc to do. Although it just feels great to have a clear direction of where the second novel is going and to see it coming together. I think that is one of my absolute favourite parts of writing. You take a story that never existed and are able to create and share it. It is a really amazing feeling!

As I have said, I am very excited about where the second novel is going, just the feel and the atmosphere of it all is exactly how I wanted it to go. I am hoping for great things from this series!

It is also exciting to be underway with the second novel when the first is not even on sale yet! It feels as though I am ahead of the game! Not to mention it helps to pass the time with all this excitement and anticipation.

Thank you to everyone who has shown an interest thus far in my writing. Although you have not been able to see any of it yet, I hope to not dissapoint!

C.R.

Curry Omelette?

As you may have seen on the little blurb about me by my picture, I am a fan of food as well as writing. I really enjoy cooking and creating different dishes. It is a wonderful hobby to have considering I also like to work out...thus the two interests play off of one another perfectly. I like to eat lots...I like to work out lots, I need to eat to be able to work out and I work out because I like to eat (plus a number of other reasons). Thus, to recap, more working out equals more eating which makes me a very happy individual.

All that being said I am just about to go work out so I had a meal that I can turn into muscle...eventually. For that meal I decided to make an omelette, having nothing better to put into the omelette I used a combination of curry powders. I had absolutely no idea what the omelette would end up tasting like, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Recipe:
4 eggs
Organic Hemp Milk
Herbamare (Spicy) sea salt
Olive oil (for the pan)
Madras Curry Powder

Now, I use all organic food, free range organic fed chicken eggs etc. Although I am sure it would taste just fine without organic ingredients. Give it a try! (Do not hold me responsible if you don't like it what so ever. I have been known to create some odd things.) Unfortunately, I don't measure when I cook so just play with the ingredients a bit!

Off to convert that protein into muscle!

C.R.

This is Getting Ridiculous

Alright, so I have read on some forums for self publishers how addicting the whole process can become. I thought I was immune to the addictive qualities of this amazing form of entertaiment/employment/time consuming process, but apparently I am not. There is seriously so much to be done and so many itneresting new tasks to embark on within the literary world. I thought it was bad enough how obsessed I was getting with writing, and now the publishing side is just as bad. Perhaps it is due to the novelty of the whole thing. It is new and there is so very much to learn. Hopefully I can get a hold of my new addiction over time.

I think I will start a support group for Writers Anonymous.

Anyway, an update to everything is that the cover is still in the works and editing has been completed. I am currently working on the next novel, Unleashing the Underworld and hope to have it completed before Christmas.

I need to go do something else for now and try to break the trance I am in. I have been lurking on my computer all day reading, learning and promoting. Time for an outing!

C.R.

Sunday 14 August 2011

Avenged Sevenfold - Dear God

This song has always been one of my favourites from one of my favourite bands, Avenged Sevenfold. I have been able to relate to this song on so many different occasions. Enjoy.


C.R.

The Power of the Mountains

Today I ventured to the mountains. This consisted of a gondola ride to the peaks and then a brief, very very brief hike around the top. I will have to go back when I am much more prepared for a very nice long hike. As far as writing goes, I find that my writing influences are based largely on natural wonders. Thus, I can somehow argue that by enjoying the outdoors I am actually doing study for my work....sure lets go with that. It certainly has nothing to do with the fact that I feel so at home in the outdoors and look forward to every hike and adventure I can go on. All that aside, enjoy some of the pictures from this afternoon!




Ah, there is nothing better than the natural images of the world. I never noticed when I first took the pictures but I really like the ominous look of the clouds against the mountains.

More exploring to come.

C.R.

The Joys of Self Publishing

This is all so very exciting...my thoughts are consumed by it. Everything I do at the moment revolves around it. I feel as though I have discovered a long lost world, and the deeper I delve into this world the more at home I feel.

It is........................Self Publishing!

This whole Ebook self publishing has got to be one of the best concepts in the world. Not only does it allow me to do what I enjoy without feeling as though I lose any of my creative voice, it also lets me do it professionally. I am able to turn one of my favourite past times into a means by which to spread my hard work to others so as to allow them to...hopefully...enjoy my work as well!

I have found that this has been the best way I have been able to express myself and my interests without feeling hindered in any way, and I am very excited to continue further down this road.

With the release of The Wolf Guard - Encroaching Dark I will finally be able to say that not only did I accomplish my life long goal of finishing a novel, but I also published that novel. Then I will be able to get back to work on the second novel of the series The Wolf Guard - Unleashing the Underworld which has temporarily been put on hold pending the release of the first book. Unleashing the Underworld is already about 5 chapters in and I must say that based on what was built on in the first novel, I am really excited as to where it is going!

The cover is starting to take shape and I am really really looking forward to seeing the finished product. Not to mention I am enjoying every moment of the creative process of working with the artist to design it.

Time to go eat and release some of this energy from all the excitement with a punching bag workout. Then I will be off to walk the dog! While I obsess over the release of the novel and all the exciting things that come along with it of course!

C.R.

Saturday 13 August 2011

Musings After Midnight

The moon shone bright last night as it hung in the sky. There is always something about a full moon that invigorates me. There was just enough cloud cover to add a very surreal look to the sky as the moon burst through holes in the clouds. As I was driving (around 3:00 am) through the towering Rocky Mountains I was utterly inspired by the look of the moonlight against the trees and mountain tops. I spend so much of my time seeing things that many people do not get the opportunity to see, and I am thankful for that! It is partly a result of the beautiful place I live in and partly due to the fact that the nature of my work takes me to some of the most fantastic....and horrible, places imaginable! So much inspiration, so little time!

Speaking of inspiration, the other day I was hiking in a National Park when I came across a little old cabin, which was literally placed in the absolute middle of nowhere. It was tucked away in the trees off of the main trail. Apparently, it was one man's place of solitude for many years until he was placed in a care home after he was discovered. It is very interesting to think what his life must have been like, in the silence of the forest, just him and the wild things. I must say that I gained quite a bit of inspiration from this discovery for future novels!



I am off to search for my next inspiration!

C.R.

So It Begins...

Welcome to my first ever blog!

I don't quite know where to start with this although I suppose I should begin with the reason for creating this blog in the first place.

I am preparing for the launch of my debut novel that is to be released as an ebook for the Amazon Kindle. I have made it through all of the editing stages (hopefully) and the novel should be released shortly! It is a fantasy novel that is based in a fictional city ruled over by a demon vampire who has been waging a war with the Druid civilization that inhabits the woods surrounding the city. The Druids are losing ground and their only hope is to find their saviour, a shape shifter known as the Wolf Guard. Unfortunately for the Druids, their saviour has no knowledge of his destiny...let alone how to transform into the wolf warrior that is needed to save the Druid world.

The Wolf Guard : Encroaching Dark which is book one of the series, will hopefully prove to be a must read on any readers list!

Currently I am awaiting a cover for the ebook...I believe I have found an artist, although things are still in the development stage.

I shall keep my blog updated as things progress.

Thank you for visiting!

C.R.