So this blog post will be short and sweet. I’m currently working on the final details for a special blog mystery tour for Hy Conrad and his brand new Seven Realms title Rally ‘Round the Corpse, so I didn’t have a lot of time to work on the blog this week. But then I realized, I’ve had a LOT going on this week that maybe you guys might want to know about…so I figured I’d take this opportunity to share with you.
First of all, I wanted to make sure you got to see the brand new cover for the upcoming third book in The ENIGMA Directive series entitled DEVIL’S CHILD. Just as all the other new artwork for the covers of the series, this one was created by the awesomely talented Christian Guldager (http://www.chrisguldager.com/ ) and I honestly couldn’t be happier about it. It’s just an amazing piece of art…but don’t take my word for it. See for yourself!
See what I mean? Pretty awesome, right? Anyway, Devil’s Child is still being written, but should be available sometime this fall. I’m about 3/4 of the way finished and I can tell you…it will be the best of the entire series easy. Still don’t have a product description for it yet, but I did jot this down the other day and thought it might give you a little taste for what it will be about:
What would you do if you only had 6 hours to find a single infant cryptid cub hidden somewhere in the heart of New York City before a pack of twelve full-grown Jersey Devils started tearing up city in search of their kidnapped offspring? That’s what Jack and the ENIGMA team have to figure out in my upcoming novel Devil’s Child!
I’m so proud of this story. It’s richer and the plot stronger and thought out than any other book I’ve ever written. It’s got a fantastic whodunnit mystery, while at the same time giving the typical thrills and chills the series calls for. But the back story that I created to propel this novel…wow…I think one day, I could probably write an entire novel just based on the back story. The thirteenth century. Gothic castles. The Gateway to Hell. Winged demons terrorizing a small populace to the point where a king has to build a fortress to contain them. Yeah, I’ll definitely be exploring that in more depth at a later date.
But the book cover and the progress of Devil’s Child isn’t the only thing that’s going on. I also have just released an ENIGMA Directive short story…FREAKSHOW…as a stand alone e-short on Amazon Kindle. Yes, I opted to do the Amazon Select program for this one as it allowed me to make the book absolutely free for five days (I think there’s still two days left!) Freakshow is the same short story that appears in THE GAME anthology released from 7R last year. But I thought it was important to release it as a single story because the title character, the insane villain that gave Jack a run for his money in the story, will be playing a very important role in Devil’s Child. I wanted to make sure as many people knew the back story behind the character as possible…so, that’s why I released it. And let me tell you, it’s made quite the splash on Amazon! In the first 48 hours of release, the story was downloaded more than 500 times! I held steady at #7 for a full day on Amazon’s charts for short stories. So that’s that many more people who have now been exposed to my character Jack!
Here’s the link to Amazon where you’ll find FREAKSHOW: http://www.amazon.com/Freakshow-ENIGMA-Directive-Short-ebook/dp/B0084VK9OO/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_2. You still have a day or two to get it for free…then it will be just $0.99 after that (so it’s still a good deal). Or, you can just download the full THE GAME ebook for just $2.99 and get ten other awesome stories to go with it!
Finally, the BIG news of the week! I finally released my long awaited very first children’s picture book…WILLIE WIGGLES AND THE WEAVING WEB! This fun, rhyming Christian story, is about a little silk worm that learns what it means to help those in need…and in doing so, give honor and glory to his Creator. It’s not only just a humorous little story, but it teaches children that doing good deeds makes us feel good. That being selfless and taking care of people is what we’ve been put on earth to do. The book, which is illustrated by the uber-talented Carrie Lee, also has a really neat little study guide at the end so that parents and teachers and even big brothers and sisters can talk to the kids in more depth about helping people.
Now some people are going to be asking…is the book available in print? The answer to that is: not right now. The reason for that is simple. The majority of the print editions published by Seven Realms are done through Print on Demand technology. Therefore, since the books are being printed individually upon order, the retail cost would be just way too much. And at the moment, I just don’t think it will sell enough copies to warrant an extended print run. However, if the demand is great enough, I might be talked into running a limited edition set…but I’m not promising anything. Anyway, once again, Willie Wiggles and the Weaving Web is currently only available on the Kindle (preferably the Kindle Fire which is in color and can be turned to read in profile) or the Kindle apps for your mobile devices such as iPad, iPhone, or Android apps. Eventually, yes, it will be available for other ebook formats. But keep in mind, Willie is also DRM free!!! So that means you can always buy it on Amazon and convert it using ebook conversion programs like Calibre!
Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/Willie-Wiggles-Weaving-Web-ebook/dp/B0085MCH4M/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_1. Oh, by the way! Starting tomorrow (05/25/2012) Willie Wiggles will also be absolutely free for the next five days!!! So take advantage of it and share with your friends.
Anyway, that’s what’s been going on this week for me. Yeah, busy, right? But also awesome! It’s just been a great week.
Now, stay tuned for next week…which will usher in the OFFICIAL release of Hy Conrad’s RALLY ‘ROUND THE CORPSE! A little preview of the plan: Hy has devised five of the most sinister mini-mysteries imaginable. Mini-mysteries that you can solve yourself. What will happen is that one of these mysteries will be posted with the solution. You guys will try to figure it out. Once you do, you’ll email me your answers. After all five mysteries have been revealed, I will choose the emails that have guessed the most correct answers to the five puzzles and will draw their names at random. The grand prize winner will win a KINDLE FIRE!!! Other winners will receive free print books and still others will be awarded a variety of other prizes.
I’m also working on coordinating with a few other blogs to sort of “simul-cast” these mysteries on as many blogs as possible. Needless to say, it’s going to be a blast and you’ll definitely want to dust off the ol’ deerstalker cap and magnifying glass as you get ready for next week’s post!