The Storm's Whisper Cover Reveal

 

The path to peace is never easy.

As the first Caller in living memory, Eva struggles to find her footing as the bridge between her chosen people and the mythological race known as the Kyren.

When unexpected arrivals threaten to test the newly formed alliance, Eva and her protector, Caden, fight to hold together the fast-fraying bonds before peace unravels and war once again returns. Should she fail, bloodshed the likes the Broken Lands haven’t seen since the cataclysm will stain the ground red.

The mysterious abilities that lie at the heart of Eva’s power will be her salvation or lead to her becoming an evil far worse than anything seen before. Will this land fall or be reborn into a new age?

I hope everyone will enjoy Eva's new adventures. 

Because I know it will be asked, I will say the preorder has not been set yet. There are still a few moving parts that need to be finalized before I announce the date. This means the book will likely come out in the second week of January.

Ding Dong the Book is Done

 The book is done. This draft anyway. It ended up taking a week (really a month) longer than I expected and about fifteen thousand words more than I predicted but it tells a full story now.  At 134749 words, it's only likely to grow once beta readers and the editor get ahold of it.

Beta readers tend to ask me to add a lot more words when it comes to this series as opposed to other series. For instance, I ended up adding about 10,000 words if not more to The Wind's Call. If that were to happen, this would end up being in the top three longest books I've written. I think Pathfinder's Way and Wayfarer's Keep would beat this book but not by much.

As an indie writer, I have the flexibility to write books as long as I want. That is a good thing because I can't write a short book to save my life. What many don't understand is that even as an indie writer I still have limitations I have to take into account.

A big part of that is cost. Simply put, a super long book is more costly to produce all around. From editing--my editor charges by the word so a book that is 15,000-20,000 more words is going to cost a couple hundred dollars more to edit. That doesn't even factor in the time. It takes longer for beta readers, editors, and me to read through the book to catch all those little errors which can extend publishing time by quite a bit.

To be honest, neither of those things bother me much. I'd much prefer to tell a full and complete story with all the little details I find fascinating than try to squeeze it all into a shorter length. The biggest issue with a long book--in my mind at least--lies in the print production. The print version is going to be much more costly for the reader. You are the ones who will be paying the higher price if you decide on a print version.  In my opinion, my print books are a little higher in cost to begin so every time a book runs significantly over I feel a little worried.

All this to say, the book is written. It is coming. I plan to go through it one more time before releasing it to beta readers and sending on to the editors. A big part of that read through is figuring out the names for all of the characters--I maybe didn't take the time to do that on the last round..... 

Favorite excerpt and snippet

Slowly working through the current book and ran across a scene by a pair of my favorite characters that made me smile.

Roscoe and Ghost are a pair who came out of nowhere in one of the Shea's books and have just refused to go away. Their ridiculousness is something I look forward to.

Snippet

“Shall we make a bet?” Ghost asked in a cheerful tone. “How many bites does it take to bring down a Lion?”

Roscoe and Ghost ambled closer. There were playful smiles on their faces as they watched xxxx with an avarice that said they’d found a toy they looked forward to breaking.

Eva could almost feel sorry for the man. Maybe if he hadn't been so rude and objectionable she would have. 

“Why bet when we already know the outcome?” Roscoe asked.

“Ah, but we don’t know how many bones Sebastian will break in the process.” 

Roscoe pretended to think it over. “Alright, I bet two ribs and at least one broken limb.”

Xxx’s expression got even more freaked out. “Alright! I get it. I was wrong. Are you done?”

Ghost gave Roscoe a quizzical look. “I don’t know, Roscoe. Are we done?”

“Naw. We’re having too much fun.” Roscoe propped a foot on a small bit of debris and leaned his elbow on his knee. “Besides, the kyren’s caller is sure to appreciate our defense, don’t you think?”

Ghost had a thoughtful look on his face. “I see your point. I’ve been waiting to ride a kyren again. Think this means she’ll put in a good word for us?”