Ponderous Things: The Reboot

Hello, and thanks for visiting. I'm afraid time has gotten away from me again, so I have a fair amount of catching up to do.  First, I'd like to say thanks to the good people at Readers' Favorite for all the wonderful reviews of The Cautioner's Tale , the first book in my Mary Morgan's Journal series. It received five 5-star reviews and was awarded this swanky silver seal.  Here are a few quick quotes, but for the full reviews, please visit the Reviews page on my website: "...an excellent tale of sabotage, deceipt, and adventure." - Patricia, Readers' Favorite reviewer "...thought-provoking, frighteningly realistic..." - Rosie, Readers' Favorite reviewer "...grim and gorgeous, with just a hint of hope..." - Jack, Readers' Favorite reviewer "...an exceptional graphic novel - The Cautioner's Tale's artwork is simply stunning..." - Charles, Readers' Favorite reviewer "...amazin...

Hello, and thanks for stopping by. Lots of good things happening here, so I'll jump right in. First, I'm happy to report The Rescuer's Tale, Mary Morgan's Journal Book 2 is now available on Amazon.com in ebook and paperback formats. It's also part of the Kindle Unlimited program so all you subscribers can read it for free.  Here's a link if you'd like to have a look: https://www.amazon.com/Rescuers-Tale-Mary-Morgans-Journal-ebook/dp/B076JFKVSY Also, here's a shot of the back cover so you can get an idea what you're in for this time: Next comes The Hero's Tale, Mary Morgan's Journal Book 3, due out in March of this year. It's well underway and is proving to be a fun and exciting wrap up of the series.  Shown here is a preliminary cover shot which is likely to change slightly prior to publication, but you get the idea. I'm holding off on showing you the interior title page for now because I think it gives away too much of ...

Hello again, and thanks for visiting in this busy holiday season. It's been nearly a month since I last posted, so let's get right to it. In early November, I shared a conundrum with you pertaining to the title page of my upcoming book The Rescuer's Tale ( Mary Morgan's Journal, Book 2 ). I couldn't decide which of two very different pages I should use in the finished product so I left it up to my blog readers, my newsletter subscribers, and also members of the Facebook group Writers Assembled . The response was fun and very enlightening! As a refresher, here was the first choice I made available:   And this was the second choice: Thanks to so many who responded (predominantly by email via the newsletter), I can say the winner is #1! The race was very close right down to the end when #1 pulled away by about a 10 vote margin. As a result, I've since polished up that page and readied the book for pre-order. You're welcome to have a look at its Am...

Hello and thanks for visiting again so soon! This will be a quick post just to let you know that very exciting things are happening around here today.   First, as you can see, I have a new book trailer for The Cautioner's Tale .  It's pretty snazzy, I think, so I hope you'll take a minute (less, actually) to have a look. It's also posted on my website , so if you haven't been there lately, you should probably visit. I've fancied that up a little, too. Also, I wanted to share some links of a few of the online places where The Cautioner's Tale is now available with special holiday pricing ($2.99): Amazon    Barnes & Noble Kobo Smashwords If you know someone who would enjoy The Cautioner's Tale , please pass on the links, or just gift them a copy. There's now a link in the back of The Cautioner's Tale ebook edition so it's easier to pre-order The Rescuer's Tale , Book 2 in the Mary Morgan's Journal ...

Hello and thanks for visiting. Once again, I've landed myself in a pickle. For the past couple weeks, I've been wrapping up the layout for The Rescuer's Tale (the second installment of the Mary Morgan's Journal series), and while it sits simmering on the back burner awaiting its final edit (12/1), I've been working on the title page. I have two versions. Here's the first: Please remember this is NOT the book's cover. (That's a pickle for another time.) This is the interior title page. It's the first page a reader will see directly after the copyright page. It shows the title of the book as well as a poem that generally sets the theme for what's to follow. The other items are clues and "evidence" that Mary gathers during her adventure. I like this image, but my concern is that it's too similar to the title page in The Cautioner's Tale. Here's a quick side-by-side:   Obviously, the "nameplate" and th...

Exhibit A: The Sketch Hello, and thanks for stopping in. A funny thing happened yesterday while I was working on a character for my upcoming book The Rescuer's Tale (the second book in the Mary Morgan's Journal series). For only (maybe) the third time since I've been working in Photoshop for character development, a character actually turned out almost exactly as I'd originally sketched him! Since this rarely happens, and is as curious a mystery as I've ever known, I wanted to sort of "Big Deal" it here with some evidence. (In case you're curious, his name is Sparse Heckler and he's a petty criminal who may have a future in government - where he's likely to become even more of a criminal.) Exhibit B: Primary Paint I usually leave the sketch layer turned on while I begin painting on a new layer above it. If you've ever worked with Photoshop, you know that the files consist of many layers, one atop another, and each can be...

The Cautioner's Tale Hello and thanks for visiting. It's been a couple weeks since I last posted, so in case anyone's wondering, let me report what I've been up to. It's been a very exciting time! First, I finally got The Cautioner's Tale up for pre-order on Amazon . It looks wonderful and the images are sharp and crisp, so I'm truly happy with it and I think readers will be as well. It's also received a couple more 5* reviews since I last posted, so I know I'm at least headed in the right direction. The paperback edition is still a work in progress, but will likely be ready by the end of this week. There's a lot that goes into color and brightness adjustments as well as specific formatting when it comes to a print edition. (Ebooks are far easier!) For the time being, The Cautioner's Tale is printed on uncoated white pages, meaning it has more of the classic comic book feel than the slick graphic novel, but the images are shar...