Storm Clouds

Yesterday, I was having a conversation with a friend about silver linings. With the economy the way it is, book sales—along with almost all other sales—taking a beating, and lots of gloom and doom on the news, it’s easy to get depressed and start thinking that this is a crazy time to publish a book, or write a new manuscript, or look for a job, or whatever it is that you know you should be doing, but feel too down to even try. We both agreed that in retrospect, some of our best opportunities came as the silver lining on otherwise dark stormy clouds.

I guess the timing of the conversation was pretty appropriate, because today, about an hour after I came into work, my boss entered my office and closed the door. We chatted for a few minutes about how he wasn’t feeling too great, and stress of the economy, etc. Finally, he kind of sat back in his chair, and said, “I didn’t come here to talk about me.”

Ahhhh. Suddenly the dime dropped. This was that conversation. I have to admit, I was not expecting this at all. We’d just had layoffs, and the management assured us they were the only layoffs planned. Apparently this was not planned. (Hey, I know how that goes. In fact a couple of our best kids were . . .) Anyway, back to my point. He was coming in to tell me that I was being let go the end of this week.

I guess he was surprised that I wasn’t angry, or didn’t burst into tears or something, because after I told him I understood, he said, “Wow. You’re taking this a lot better than I am.” In fact I’m pretty sure he thought someone had given me advance notice. They hadn’t. And I admit, it took me a while to digest the information. But the thing is, what’s the point in getting upset? They have their business to run. I have my business to run. Hopefully the two are in sync. But sometimes they aren’t. And when they aren’t, one of us has to make a change. That’s what they were doing.

After letting my sales team know about the change, I took the rest of the afternoon off to get my thoughts together. I called my wife, and said, “Well, Honey, the good news is, I have a lot more time to write.” She picked up on that pretty quick.

Once we talked things out, we realized this might be one of those blessings in disguise. The good news is that over the last couple of months we’ve paid off both of our cars and all of our credit cards. Only a week ago, we finished refinancing our house. And we’ve got a little money in the bank, which hasn’t always been the case. And I get my first royalty on Farworld in January. So we aren’t going to starve any time soon.

But even more than that. I’ve really felt for the last few months like I needed to spend more time on my writing, and marketing my books. Yes the economy is tough, but as I wrote about a few weeks back, people are still buying books. They are being more picky, but they are still buying. I just need to make sure that it is my books they are buying. I also have several projects I need to finish up. Farworld Book Two of course. But also a regional mystery series I write, that I am far overdue on. I also have a couple of other projects I’m really excited about. One about a boy who gets turned into a zombie and another about a boy who is afraid of everything, who discovers he is a facilitator—a person who talks monsters out of their fears.

When I first got home, my stomach was still a little in knots. But the more my wonderful wife and I talked, the more we realized that we may have been pushed out the door a little sooner than we planned, but this is what we’ve both wanted to do. At least for the next few months, I will be a fulltime writer. I will be able to focus on nothing but writing and marketing. I can do what I love, and get paid for it. Will it last? I probably won’t know that until sometime around late January. At that point, if I have to go back to work for a while longer I will. But rather than stress, I plan on enjoying the next couple of months. If things work out, I am a fulltime writer as of this Saturday. But even if they don’t, I am still a fulltime writer as of this Saturday. I may just have to take a little break from being a full time writer, later in the year.

So here are just a few of the things I plan on enjoying during that time. Eight plus hours of writing, without feeling like I am neglecting my family, my job, or my yard. (Thank goodness for snow.) Speaking of snow; watching the snow fall without worrying about how bad it will be to drive to work in it. And for that matter driving an hour and back to work every day. Responding to e-mails and postings from my friends and readers the same day. Finishing writing two books and getting well into a third by Christmas. Being here when my boys come home from school. Enjoying my daughter’s plans for getting married in the spring. And finally, doing what I want to do. Not what someone else wants me to do.

I guess when my boss asked me why I didn’t look more upset when he told me I was being fired, I should have answered. “Monday, you’ll be driving to a job. Monday, I’ll be doing one of the things I love most in the world. Thanks!”

Thanks goodness for dark clouds, and the silver linings that come with them.

Book Stuff and Protagonists

Just got back from meeting with Chris, Angie, Patrick, and Roberta, at Shadow Mountain headquarters. For those of you who haven?t been there, it?s right across from Temple Square in Salt Lake. Next door is where they are rebuilding the whole downtown mall area. I could sit in their conference room all day and watch the construction equipment work. What is it about watching other people work that is so relaxing? Apparently I?m becoming enough of a regular now that the older gentleman at the front desk recognizes me. (Hey, I?ll take whatever fleeting fame I can get!)

Anyway, the purpose of the meeting was to finalize my tour schedule, go over my school presentation, and?as a surprise?they gave me an actual dust jacket for Water Keep. Whoo hoo!
So here?s the official tour schedule. September 22 and 23rd I will be in Houston. On the 24th and 25th, I will be in Phoenix. And the 26th I will be in Portland. The following week I will be in Pleasant Hill, Ca, Roseville, CA, and Bountiful, Utah. This is still subject to a little bit of change, but if any of you are in those areas and would like to schedule an event, let me know. Also if you have contacts in the PTA in those areas, that would be much appreciated! I can?t wait. I will definitely be doing more visits during the year, so if you?ve got a great idea about where I should come, let me know.

The next thing on the agenda was my school presentation. This involved doing magic tricks in front of the whole crew, telling stories of my misspent youth, and dressing Patrick and Roberta up in capes and top hats. I have to admit the last part was pretty fun. Still working out the details of the presentation. But I can tell you it will include this picture of yours truly and his cousin. (Okay, I?ll admit it?s a pretty goofy pic. But at least it wasn?t as bad as an author who shall remain nameless. His childhood pics were apparently so bad they were pulled, for fear of frightening small children.)

Finally I got to see my actual dust jacket today. I keep running my fingers over the embossed lettering and sighing. Not sure what the other employees in my office think about this as they are keeping a provident distance.

The last item I wanted to discuss is what makes a good protagonist. Recently I posted about the ten top movie villains and got some great feedback about what makes a good villain. It was interesting how many of the best villains are women. Kathy Bates?shudder. You liked villains that weren?t as expected. Voice of the villain seemed to be a big deal, as was believable motivation.

So what makes a good protagonist? Does he or she have to be likeable? Or do we just need to empathize with them? I?m rereading Lord Foul?s bane. The protagonist, Thomas Covenant is really kind of a jerk. I mean he rapes an innocent young woman shortly after arriving in the fantasy world. But yet, we see what has turned him into such an unlikable person. His leprosy has alienated him from people so much, that the girls? acceptance basically breaks him.

What makes a good protagonist for you?

Oh, and also a couple more fun stops on the blog tour:

Rachelle and I floated down the Snake River. If you can't tell from my books, I've got a little thing about snakes. Hope the name isn't because of the reptiles! You can read our Q&A at Rachelle Writes

An interview with the my friend and fellow author Marsha Ward of Writer in the Pines

An interview with Jewel of Jewel's World

An interview with Dominique of The Book Vault

What's In A Name

In my last post, I talked about book covers. Today I?m going to discuss the actual title of the first volume. Again you?d think that would be addressed early on in the process. But like the cover art, the title of a book can have a huge impact in its sales?at least initially. You have to consider the age of the target audience, the genre, and other books that are out. An unusual title can stand out, but if it?s too long it can be hard for readers to remember. A shorter title can be good, but does it say enough to hook a prospective reader.

I?ve always loved the Farworld series title and my publisher did too. Surprisingly, it hasn?t been used much in fiction?although the website is taken by a tech company of some kind. (The official website will be at www.readfarworld.com, but it will be awhile before that goes up.)

The working title of Book 1 was ?City Under the Water?, which was originally what I called the place where the Water elementals lived. That title quickly changed to ?Farworld?Water?, as each of the first four books deal with finding a different elemental group. The thing is, the more we talked about it, the less my publisher like that title. The problem is that ?Water?, by itself, doesn?t have much kick to it.

The publisher liked ?The Water Elemental.? But to me that made the book sound like it is actually about a water elemental as opposed to searching for their city and their help. After getting quite a bit of feedback (including some great thoughts from the Green Dragon gang over at Librarything.com) I talked to the publisher about going another direction.

Awhile back I had decided to change the name of the elementals? home to Water Keep. We all really liked this as a title. It?s something you can repeat in future books Fore Keep, Air Keep, etc. It?s cool for people who know that a keep is like a castle and for people who don?t, it?s mysterious enough that hopefully they?ll want to know more. It goes great with the cover art, and yet it?s simple enough that people can remember it. And best of all, when I did an Amazon search for it, nothing showed up.

So unless something changes, Farworld?Water Keep it is.

By the way, tomorrow I get to see a more detailed sketch of the cover art, before Brandon does the actual artwork. Can?t wait.

Cover Art

So, I get a call from Chris at Shadow Mountain yesterday. ?Scott, I don?t know what your afternoon looks like. But Brandon just sent over some cover sketches and . . .?

I think I might have been at his office before he finished the sentence. Okay, not really. It?s about a twenty minute drive from my office to his. So it probably took me five to seven minutes to get there. I?ve been excited about this meeting for a couple of reasons.

First, and foremost, it?s a freaking fantasy cover for my new series. What?s not to get excited about? I?ve never put a book poster from any of my other books up on the wall, but this baby is going to be framed, spotlighted, and put right in the center of the living room wall where you have to see it as you come in the house. Okay, not really, that spot is actually taken up with a giclee of the prince rising on his white steed to rescue Sleeping Beauty painted by one of the illustrators who did Marie Poppins, among many other Disney films. But I am going to frame it and put it up in my office.

The second reason is that despite what most readers think, authors often get very little say in what their covers look like. I?m sure bigger authors have this benefit, but with my regional novels I never saw the cover art until it was actually in a catalog. So to have Shadow Mountain not only give me a sneak peek, but actually ask for my input, is incredible.

Once I got to the office, Chris and Richard, the art director, met with me in a conference room overlooking Temple Square in Salt Lake, which is really beautiful this time of year. The first thing they did was show me the font they?ve been working on for the Farworld title. Now I?ll admit, this isn?t something I?ve paid much attention to before. I mean I know font is important and all, but these guys take it to a new level. They actually look at the series font the same way a company looks at a logo. In fact it is the logo for the series. For example, look at the logos they did for Fablehaven and The 13th Reality. Cool huh?

The font they are working on for Farworld totally blew me away. Think Gothic (You know where the O?s have little plus signs inside and all) but souped up with all kinds of fantasy feel to it. A font shouldn?t be able to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up, but it did!

Then we discussed the title. This has actually been something we?ve been playing with for awhile. If you haven?t read the overview I put together in my ?hooks? post, the first four books in the five book series focus on finding the four elements of water, earth, air, and fire. (In this case land instead of earth, because Earth means the planet in this series.) So the original idea was to just call it Farworld?Water. But we all agreed that Water just doesn?t have that much kick to it. We?ve been playing around with Water Elemental, because the protagonists are looking for the elementals. But that felt a little too young, and the story is not about the elemental as the primary character. It looks like we?ve decided on Water Keep, which is where the elementals live. So that?s cool.

Then they spread out the different sketches.

Can I just say my heart leapt right up in my throat? Brandon Dorman is an art god. He just whips out six different cover ideas and all of them blew me away. It was like being a kid in a candy shop. I?m sitting there going, ?Oh this cool. But I really like that too. And, oh my gosh, look at that one.?

Fortunately once my heart resumed a somewhat normal rhythm, I could look objectively at them, and we all zoomed in on the same one. I can?t say a lot about the sketch, because it will change a lot before it becomes the actual cover. But let me just say, I think it will stop people in their tracks. It combines several different parts of the story with the feel of the actual cover being water. It nailed a couple of minor characters which I really liked so well that it felt like Brandon had pulled them straight out of my imagination.

There are a few changes we discussed, but really just minor tweaks on how a certain part should look or how the covers of the series would tie together. But I walked out of the office and to my car floating on clouds. Some time this month I should have the final cover and I?ll post it here before I show it anywhere else. I?ve said it before, but let me repeat, being a fantasy author has to be just about the best job in the world.

Marketing Part IV?The Blog Tour

As promised, I am officially kicking off the Find Your Magic, Farworld Blog tour. Since I haven?t done this before, I am going to kind of make it up as I go. It?s pretty simple, so that shouldn?t be too hard. But if any of you more experienced bloggers think of a better way to do it, or catch something I missed, let me know. Here?s the deal:

My publisher, Shadow Mountain, is providing me with 400 advanced reader copies of the first book in the Farworld series, Farworld?Water. The books will be used for a blog tour running from July 1 to August 31. (The book should hit the shelves the first week of September. It appears the official release date is September 5th.) I will send the first 200 bloggers who sign up to take part in the tour an ARC, and will also drop ship a second copy for them as part of any type of contest they would like to run.

What: Farworld Blog Tour
When: The tour will run through the months of July and August. Signup will begin Friday, April 11th. (But you can get in early. See below.)

Here?s what you do:

1) Send an e-mail to me at scott at jscottsavage dot com any time after 7:00 am MST Friday, April 11th telling me the name and URL of your blog, the mailing address where you?d like the book sent, and any preference you have as to when you want to post your review. I?d kind of like to spread out the reviews over the two months prior to the release, but I don?t want to tie anyone to a specific date. Let?s just make it easy and say first half of July, second half of July, first half of August, or second half of August.

2) Agree to run a review of the book and do a Q&A with me on your blog during the tour. You don?t need to send me your questions now, since you may come up with different questions once you?ve read the book. (I?d imagine something like, ?If you can get this trash published, doesn?t that give hope for everyone??) Okay, I hope that?s not really the first question that comes to mind, but it would be great if sites asked questions that are most tailored to their audience so they aren?t all the same.

3) When the time comes to do the review and the Q&A, run any type of contest you?d like. When you have a winner, send me their address and I?ll send them their book. On both the book I send you and the one I send the winners, let me know if you?d like them signed and personalized in any way.

Here?s what I do:

1) I will provide Shadow Mountain with the list of blogger addresses. As soon as the ARCs come out they will be mailed to you.

2) I will post here on the site when the tour is full, and when the ARCs are sent out. If you don?t get your book within a week or so of the mailing, let me know and I?ll check on your copy.

3) As soon as I get your questions, I?ll send back my answers.

4) If we get too many people signing up for one part of the tour, I?ll ask for volunteers to change to another part of the tour.

Random Notes:

G sharp, E flat, D.

Sorry.

The only real rules I can think of are that you must be using a blog that is fairly active. No fair using sites that haven?t been updated since 1999, cool as that year was. If you have two blogs that have different audiences, I think I?d be okay with you posting and running contests on both of them, but I?d only send you one review copy. Also, if you are part of a blog that you share with other people, it will be first come first serve. Only one review and contest copy per blog.

Oh, this might be kind of a pain, but since the initial release will only be in the US, I?m going to limit the tour to US and Canadian addresses only. I promise to do another tour in other countries when foreign rights are sold.

If you don't have a blog, not to worry. I'll link to all the blogs on the tour, so you'll have 200 chancea to win one. And I might be able to snag a couple of extra copies to give away here too.

Finally, thanks everyone. I really appreciate all of you who have given me such great feedback and support. It?s great to have good people helping you, and I hope I can return the favor. But in all seriousness, review the book honestly. I?d much rather have someone say they didn?t like this or that so I can try to improve with the next book in the series. But, hey, if you really do think I?m the next JK Rowling, say what you have to.

Marketing Part III?Finding the Magic

When I was in eighth grade, my family moved from Pleasant Hill, CA to New Providence, New Jersey. I soon met another boy my age who lived just down the street. He was seriously into rock and roll, and introduced me to a lot of the groups I came to love. He also taught me the basics of playing the bass guitar. One day I asked him what kinds of books he liked to read.

I have to stop here for a minute to point out how important books have been in my life. Some kids played sports, some played musical instruments. Some kids spent all their time watching TV, or in generations after mine, playing computer or video games. Some kids spent all their time at the movie theater. I spent not all my time, but a great deal of it, with books. I actually used to cut school to go to the library. (Not suggesting that at all Brian and Anna!) The point is, I grew up surrounding myself with all the books I could get my hands on. That?s why I was beyond shocked when my friend told me he didn?t read books. Not that he couldn?t read them?he was fully capable of reading?he just didn?t like to.

That very day, I gave him a copy of S.E. Hinton?s classic novel of rival gangs, ?The Outsiders.? I remember coming to his house a few days later. The first words out of his mouth were, ?I had no idea anyone wrote books like this.? Within the month, he?d read every Hinton book published at the time and was looking for other books to read as well. I don?t know if reading those books changed his life or not. We moved a few years later. But I do know the statistics about kids who read vs. kids who don?t, and let me tell you they are astounding. Do a little research on the effects of literacy and you?ll be amazed.

Here I am, thirty plus years later, with the incredible opportunity of making a full time living writing the very kinds of books I loved to read as a kid (and still do for that matter.) It seems to me, I have not only the opportunity to share the?I was going to say importance, but that?s the wrong word. To share the love of reading with kids who think the only thing that can hold their attention comes on a screen or a monitor.

Fortunately, my publisher feels the same way. When my book comes out, they will send me on a two week tour of schools all across the country. In addition, they will send me to even more schools throughout the course of the year. Every one of their YA fantasy authors has the opportunity to do this. In addition, each of the authors brings a unique message all their own. James Dashner calls his tour the ?Change the World Tour.? Brandon Mull?s tour focuses on using your imagination. I?m planning on calling my tour the?and this shouldn?t surprise anyone here??Find Your Magic Tour.?

My publisher will probably shoot me for this, but I?m going to post a small section of my book. Since I haven?t received my final edits yet, this could change. But I?ll take my chances. I want you to understand a little of why I call this blog, the Find Your Magic blog and why my tour will focus on the same thing. Here?s a little snippet from Farworld?Water.

Master Therapass glanced suspiciously up at Riph Raph, and the skyte quickly averted its big yellow eyes. ?Come, little one, and sit.? The wizard pointed a finger at Kyja?s chair and she reluctantly took a seat.

The old man stroked his long gray beard, his face crinkled in thought. ?Kyja,? he said softly. ?A horse may wish to fly. And it may briefly be able to launch itself into the air. But shortly it must return to land again. A duck may wish to carry a melody like a song bird. A goat may wish to swim beneath the waters. But ultimately, every animal, plant, even the rock in the field, must accept what it is, and in doing so, fulfill the measure of its creation.?

Kyja could feel her lips trembling as her eyes began to fill with tears. ?You?re saying I should quit trying? Just give up??

?Is casting spells really so important?? he asked, his deep brown eyes mirroring the pain in her glistening green ones.

?Yes!? Kyja cried leaping from her chair. ?Everyone has some magic. Cooks, farmers, blacksmiths. Babies turn their rattles into sweets. Mothers command scrub brushes to wash their children. Even plants and animals have magic.?

?Everyone but you.?

?Exactly!? Kyja began pacing about the room. ?I?m an outcast. It?s not bad enough I can?t do magic. But I can?t even take part in the magic the other kids do. Charms don?t work on me, spells bounce off, potions might as well be water for all the good they do me. I can?t play in any of their games.?

Master Therapass traced his boney fingers across the surface of the table. ?Don?t you see, little one? The very fact that magic does not affect you makes you special.?

?Not special?strange.? Kyja said, unable to stop the tears from dripping down her cheeks. ?Do you have any idea how I feel when the other kids make fun because I can?t do spells? They laugh behind my back and call me halfwit. They say I have to live in a barn because I?m as dumb as a cow. I don?t want to be different. I want to fit in.?

She waved her hand up at Riph Raph. ?Even he has . . .? Sudden understanding dawned on her as she stared up at the little skyte. ?It was you, wasn?t it? You were the one who made my hairclip move.?

Riph Raph tucked his head under his wing in shame. ?I?m sorry,? he said, his voice muffled. ?I just wanted to help. I was watching you try so hard. And I was concentrating with you. And suddenly . . .?

?Ohhhh,? Kyja cried. She dropped into her chair, burying her face in her arms. ?I?ll never be able to do magic. Never!?

?There, there.? The old wizard hobbled around the table and laid his hand gently upon the back of Kyja?s head. When her sobs changed to sniffles, he took her chin in his knobby fingers and raised it so she was looking into his eyes.

?Listen to me,? he said, his face dark and serious. ?You are right. Everything does have magic in it. From the smallest insect to the mighty trees of Before Time.?

Kyja looked up at him miserably. ?But not me.?

Master Therapass smiled. ?Even you, little one. But magic is not just spells. The magic you see on the outside?making pots and pans fly or brewing potions to make boys swoon before you?is but a tiny fraction of the power of true magic. The real power of magic lies within you. Who you are, what you do, and most importantly of all, what you may become.?

Kyja wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. ?You really think I might have some magic inside me then??

The wizard nodded. ?I know it.?

There you have it. The first public posting of any content from Book 1. If you see Lisa or Chris, we?ll just keep this quiet. But hopefully this will give you a small taste of a theme that seems to keep coming back in the book, and I?m sure in the series, although I didn?t intend that when I started writing. Every one of us has magic inside. I know that sounds corny, but I believe it wholeheartedly.

I can?t sing if my life depends on it, but when I listen to someone with a beautiful voice sing, it feels like I?m witnessing magic. When you see a painting that seems so incredible you can?t believe anyone made it with their own hands, tell me a part of you deep inside doesn?t believe some kind of magic had to be involved. Those are big examples, but little acts of magic happen around us all the time. One little kid cheering another kid up. A girl discovering she can play the flute. A boy discovering he stinks at kickball but is good in drama.

That?s the message I want to take to kids all across the US, and hopefully across the world. Every one of you has magic inside. All you have to do is start looking for it and eventually you?ll find it.

Of course this is still marketing. I?ll be selling books along the way. That?s what pays for the tour. But in way, that?s a kind of magic too. Because people buying books provide enough money that I can go to even more schools and spread the message to more kids. All of you have magic inside you and what better way to discover what it might be than reading books about different people in far away places.

I?m sure there must be a better job than writing books and telling kids how great they are, but if there is, I can?t imagine what it would be.

Q&A #3

Keep them coming Anna. I've got four more days to go!

Q: Got any advice on how to write really awesome villains? They are so hard! The one I have now also has a pretty dumb name. I think my plot is improving though, and the over the past couple of weeks I somehow came up with some really good plot twists. Surprising, but I did.

A: Keep working on that plot. Remember, it's easier to go back and edit later, than to get the momentum back if you stop and rewrite all the time.

The key to good villains is giving them real motivations. Just like your hero needs a noble quest, your bad needs a reason for being bad, other than that he/she is evil. For example, in the first chapter of Farworld, I have a dark wizard named Bonesplinter. He is going to meet with the head of The Dark Circle. In the first draft I had him simply be scared of the Master. But in rewrites he turned into a power hungry schemer. Even while he is groveling before the Master, he is thinking about what he would do with that kind of power. By adding more depth to him, it makes him more real and gives me options down the road.

The other thing to think about?especially in a fantasy series?is the hierarchy of bad guys. If I start with the top bad guy in the first book, where do I go from there? As my hero/s become stronger, I want my bad guys to become worse, so I need to use balance and restraint in the first book.

Another thing to consider is language. I am writing a YA novel so I don?t want my bad guy to be cursing up a storm. But I do want the reader to get how bad he is. So I use imagery in his language that makes you go, ?Oh, this guy is creepy.?

For example:

Marcus says, ?What are you going to do to me??

Bonesplinter answers, ?I?d like to spend a little time getting to know you. I?d like to study you like a fine watch and see what makes you tick.?

And later

?Unfortunately,? Bonesplinter whispered, ?it?s not up to me. It won?t be long before the others come looking for you, and my orders are quite clear. I?m afraid, little bird, that you won?t be returning to your nest.?

See, I don?t use bad language, but the reader hopefully will get that this is a bad dude.

So what do you like to see in your villains?

Q&A #1

First, let me apologize for not posting last week. I was really sick for most of the week with a stomach virus and then I had two writer events which I was speaking at. I promise to make up for it by posting every day this week.

Today I thought I?d answer a couple of questions. Please if you have any others, post them and I?ll put them on the blog. And a special thanks to some of my new younger readers who have started dropping by regularly. You are great.

Q: Lauren asked, ?So, Mr. Savage, did you get to choose any artist you wanted for an illustrator (who agreed to do it, of course), or did you have a group of artists working for your publishing company you had to choose from? I've always wondered how the illustrator thing works.?

A: Good question, Lauren, but really, you can just call me Scott. I?ll tell you what I know. My publisher, Shadow Mountain, is constantly on the lookout for good artists. But there are a lot of issues involved. How much does the artist charge for their work? How quickly can they work? How much experience do they have? And most importantly, how good are they?

A lot of times, artists will bring their portfolio to publishers to try and get future work with them. In my case, I talked to the person managing my book and told him how much I admired Brandon Dorman?s work. I really liked that he could do what I call hard fantasy?illustrations that didn?t look cartoonish. I wanted a cover that would make people see it and go, ?Wow! That is cool.?

Honestly, I didn?t expect to get Brandon, because he is very busy with a lot of other projects. I just wanted Chris to know what I was looking for. So when he came back and told me that Brandon had agreed to do my book, I was literally floored.

The week before last, Lisa, my editor, asked me for a list of illustration suggestions. Basically she wanted me to go through each of the four parts of my books (about 25k words per part) and suggest 4-6 possible inside illustrations. That was both fun and hard. I really try to fill my books with lots of action and adventure scenes. So I was going, ?Would it be better to have the part where the dark wizard turns into a snake or where the army of undead attacks?? To tell you the truth, I will be excited as heck just to see any scenes from my book made into pictures.

It looks like the cover will be a scene from City Under the Water, since the first book is actually Called "Farworld?Water." I think the actually cover itself will also look like it is made of water. Should be fun.

The next question, asked by several people is when my book will actually come out.

A: I don?t have a firm drop date yet. But one thing I have learned recently is that until your book gains enough clout, the date your book goes on sale is not as firm a you might think. A Stephen King book or something like Harry Potter, can not be sold until the drop or release date. But books that don?t have as much clout may be sold by stores whenever the get them, even though the publisher wants you hard sell date.

The reason a publisher pushes for that hard date is that sales numbers are reported weekly. So you really want to launch your series with good sell through numbers the first week. But it takes more work for a bookstore to hold books until a certain date, so they only really stick to it if the book is big enough that they could get some backlash from the publisher or other stores.

As soon as I have a more firm date, I will let you know. I am also going to do something fun for people who have blogs, that will give you a chance to get a review copy early. And I?ll even run a little contest for people without blogs to win an Advanced Reader Copy. I expect that to be sometime in mid to late April.