Call of Elespen - Epic conclusion to a sweeping series

Full disclosure: I'm only on book three of this series, but I'm a huge fan

Author/Illustrator Missy Sheldrake concludes her Keepers of the Wellsprings series on November 29th with Call of Elespen.

AND if you happen to see this on November 29th, 2017, you can get the rest of the series for FREE.  Yes, books 1-4 will each be FREE on the day book 5 is released.  Buy book 5 and it's like getting the entire series for $3.99!

Look how beautiful they all are!

What do I think of these books?  The short answer is, I think they are fantastic.  I was a little unsure when I saw they had fairies, but honestly they've turned out to be the best part.  For a bit longer answer you can check out my reviews of book one and book two.

So, what can we expect from Book 5?  In the words of Missy:

“Four offerings claimed. Two left. One, I can easily get. Ceras’lain. The other, Elespen. I don’t know much about that place. Only what I saw from the ship while I escaped from Sunteri. A jungle on either side of a wide river. A city I was forbidden to enter. Forbidden, even though I didn’t even realize it at the time…” -Tib, Dreamstalker, escaped slave

“They know our victory is nearing. They know we’re the Champions of Light. They’d rather keep us here, trapped in their lair, distracted from our quest to restore Brindelier and claim the Wellsprings.” -Flitt, fairy companion to Sir Azi Hammerfel

A vindictive Sorcerer King with a century-old grudge has spent decades gathering an army obsessed with claiming what their master feels he’s owed. Threatened by his dark dealings and sinister followers, will the Champions of Light succeed in claiming Brindelier’s Wellspring for the Dawn, or will its vast power fall forever into the hands of the unforgiving Dusk?

Who will triumph, Dawn or Dusk? Ally yourself with dragons, fairies, mages, knights, and muses in the epic conclusion to the Keepers of the Wellsprings series.

Now, that's a blurb!  And much better than my suggestion: "Hey, it's book 5! You know you're gonna read it, so come and get it!"  What can I say besides what I said in the beginning - I'm a fan.  I knew I was going to read the entire series as soon as I finished the first book.  Missy has built an enchanting world with engaging characters and adventure.  I'm excited (and a little saddened) to see the series conclude, and can't wait to see what she has in store for us.

I did mention the first four books are FREE on November 29th, 2017, right?  Here's the links - go get 'em!

Call of Kythshire (Book One)
Call of Sunteri (Book Two)
Call of Brindelier (Book Three)
Call of Hywilkin (Book Four)

Not only is Missy a great author, she's also a talented artist, and all around awesome person.  Be sure to check out her website and follow/friend her on social media.  Links below.

Website
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Goodreads

Why do I even have a blog?

Probably for the worst possible reason...someone told me I had to have one.

I've noticed a trend of people telling authors what they "need" to do and what they "must" have in order to be successful.  These things typically boil down to accounts on every social media platform available, a web site, a blog, and a mailing list.  I'm sure I've forgotten something, but these are the biggies.  My first reaction is: what the eff for?!

If I was a famous writer, sure.  All of those things would be useful and perhaps even necessary.  But as an unknown?  Why bother?

I will admit, the social media accounts are fun.  Pick one or two that interest you and throw yourself out there.  If you're lucky, you'll likely connect with other authors (as opposed to connecting with spambots, or no one at all).  Not exactly the audience you'd like to sell to, but they can be a fun group to chat with, as most can relate to your struggles.  Try not to scare anyone off by constantly pushing your book in their face, and if you wind up with an actual reader following you, count yourself as successful.

Yes, I have a website.  What's on it?  A little bit about me and my books.  That's it.  What else could people possibly care about?  When has anyone ever said, "Hmmm, I'd like a new book to read.  Wonder where I can find one?  I know!  I'll search for author websites on the Internet!"  Or when has this ever occurred: "I like the cover and the blurb, but what does the author's website look like?  Better check that before I purchase their book."  I'd be willing to bet the number of times either has happened is close enough to zero to BE zero.

A regular blog post.  This one I really don't get.  If I'm writing something regularly, it should be my next novel.  Blogs gain followers for having interesting and entertaining content, but why do we believe a follower of a free blog will become a reader who will buy your next novel?  What am I going to post about?  My writing progress?  That's what Facebook is for, if you're in to that kind of thing.  Writing tips and tricks?  That's going to get your blog read by other authors, and remember, that's not necessarily the audience you're looking for.  Book reviews?  Possibly the only thing that might attract actual readers, but reading and writing the number and type of reviews needed to gain a decent following is going to take time away from your real job as an author.  This is also more likely to get readers to pick up the book you're reviewing rather than any book you've written.

A mailing list.  I get too much email as it is, and creating a regular email to send out sounds even more terrible than creating regular blog posts.  Honestly, if you're following me on any social media, you're going to see when I have a new book coming out.  Do you really need an email to tell you that as well?

There will be those who say that having all these things is "covering all your bases", making sure you're reaching everyone you can.  To those people I say, knock yourself out.  If you can do all that and still make decent progress on your next work, then go for it.  I'm not going to stop you, or even tell you you're wrong for doing it.  And if you're seeing results from doing some or all of these things, I'm happy for you, but they aren't necessary.

What it all comes down to is that I'm writing things I'd like to read.  I am my audience.  So, how do I sell to me?  I can tell you it's not with a blog, a website, or even an email.

My point is that for me, putting out that next novel is my priority.  That's what I love to see.  I don't care about the next blog post or email or even social media post.  It's the book I want to see finished.  And then the next and the next.  I'm betting that's what readers really want to see as well.

Giving a five star review

At the time of writing this post, I have given exactly one five-star rating.  The only criteria I've used to separate a four star from a five star is that I would read a five star novel again.  After reviewing books for a few months, I now believe that to be flawed.

I'm very picky about what I read, which means I enjoy most everything I read.  As a result, most of my reviews wind up being four-stars.  That's not to say I haven't found a few I didn't enjoy, but life is too short, and my time too precious to waste it on a story that isn't keeping my interest, and I don't review a book if I don't finish it.  The problem I've run into now is I have all these four-star reviews, none of which I may ever read again, but some I liked a good deal more than others.

So, just give more three star ratings, you might say.  No, these aren't three-star books.  I wouldn't finish a book I would give a two-star rating, and there aren't any of these books that deserve a rating just above "couldn't finish".

My solution: I need to start giving more five-star reviews.  Now I'm not giving these out willy-nilly, or they lose all value.  Know this, if you get a five-star review from me, it means I didn't just read your book when I got some free time.  No, I made time to read it, carved it out of time I should have spent doing something else, suffered nasty looks from my wife, and neglected my own work to read yours, all without a single regret.  That's my new criteria for a five-star review vs a four-star review.

Who am I, and why does this matter?

I'm nobody, and to most people this change won't matter at all.  The only ones who may appreciate it are the authors, and I'm more than happy to give them my support.

I've read several posts and blogs from people emphasizing the need to write bad reviews, all of which have convinced me of one thing: I don't need to write a bad review, as it seems there are plenty who will.  Writing a bad review about a book I didn't enjoy seems like it would be an awful experience and a waste of time, neither of which interest me.  What does interest me is writing a review and giving a rating that will perhaps encourage someone else to take a chance on a book I feel is definitely worth it.

Free story

I posted this on a Goodreads forum and received a couple of positive responses, so I thought I would share it here.  My original intent with this idea was to bulk it out and make it into a short story, but making it a much shorter work was a good exercise for me.  Feel free to let me know what you think (good or bad) in the comments.

Enjoy!

Warnings

The toy fire engine had seen better days, but Johnny loved it.  He pressed the siren button non-stop, except to switch to the radio button.  It wailed and called out commands in what was definitely not an inside voice.  Johnny's dad hated the toy, and had a small smile as the siren slowly changed from a screech to a muffled warble, and the voice became a mumbled whisper.  Then one day, it happened.  The toy was silent.

"What's wrong with it?" Johnny asked, a small hitch in his voice.

"The batteries must be dead," Dad replied.

"Can you fix it?"

"It's not the kind of batteries you can replace."  He had no idea if it was true, but if he didn't check then he wasn't really lying.  Johnny sniffled, but didn't cry, and pushed the toy to a corner of the living room.  Johnny's dad felt bad at first, but a fire engine free evening went a long way to making him feel better.

The toy sat in the living room, silent for over a week.  Then, one morning while the family was getting ready for work and school they all heard its louder than ever, deep voice announce, "LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING THE STREET."  The family walked slowly into the living room, and it announced the same warning again.

"You fixed it!" Johnny said, giving Dad a big squeeze, then dashing over to the toy.

"No," he admitted.  "Must have been a little juice left in the batteries," he added, noticing it wasn't responding to his son's button mashing.  Johnny soon gave up and sat down for breakfast.  The fire engine made the same warning while they were eating, then bellowed it out one last time as they were leaving the house.

By the time lunch time rolled around, Johnny's dad had forgotten all about the toy, and was headed out to his favorite food truck for some spicy tacos.  He exited from the back of the building, like he always did, but his ringing phone stopped him from walking blindly into the alley.  Caller ID showed his home phone number, which was odd because no one should have been home.  He clicked the button to answer and a car raced down the alley, the wind rippling his dress pants.  "Hello?" he answered hesitantly, a little shaken by how close the car came to hitting him, but the line was dead.  By the time he got home from work, he had put the incident out of his mind.

The next morning they all received another warning from the toy.  "DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS."  Again Johnny was excited, but couldn't get any more response from the toy.  It made the same announcement two more times before they left the house, but Johnny's dad pretended not to hear it.

At lunch time he looked both ways before crossing the alley, but it was empty, like always.  Well, except for the day before, of course.  The entire day was uneventful and he had forgotten about the toy's warning by the time it was time to go home.  He was walking through the parking deck towards his car when he saw someone approaching him.

"Can you tell me how to get to Main Street?" the smiling stranger asked him.

Johnny's dad's phone rang, and he put a hand up to the man as he saw it was a call from home.  "Sorry," he said, "It's my wife.  Give me just a minute."  The stranger stood there as Johnny's dad answered the phone call. "Hello?" he answered, and received garbled static as his reply.  "What?" he said, putting a finger in his ear, and moving away trying to get a better signal.  "I can't hear you," he said as he reached the edge of the deck, and then the line went dead.  He looked back at the stranger, still waiting on him, and shrugged.  The stranger shrugged back, then was plowed over by a driver coming too fast around a blind corner.  The stranger died instantly, and right in front of Johnny's dad.  He was late getting home, and while he talked to several police officers that night, he didn't talk to any strangers.

The next morning Johnny's dad felt like he was holding his breath, waiting for the warning.  There was only silence.  Johnny tried the buttons again, but the toy wasn't talking.  Breakfast was quiet, and no voice called out to them as they left for the day.  Johnny's dad looked both ways before crossing the alley at lunch, and made sure he stayed out of the lane in the parking deck when it was time to go home.  He checked his phone for any missed calls, but there was nothing there.

When he got home he noticed the toy wasn't in the living room corner.  "Where's Johnny's fire truck?" he asked his wife as casually as he could manage.

"Oh, it started talking again, so I made him play with it outside."

He grabbed her shoulders, "What was it saying?"

"What?" she said, trying to wriggle free from his grip.

"What was it saying?" he repeated, squeezing her harder.

"I don't know," she said.  "Something about calling 911 in case of an emergency.  Ow! That really hurts!"

He didn't hear anything else she said.  He just ran for the phone dialing the numbers even as he heard the screeching tires outside.

Responding to Reviews

Don't do it!

Really?  But it looks so easy!  I mean look what's right there below every review on Amazon!

It's a "Comment" button, just begging to be clicked!

And look at my Amazon Author Central page where I can see all of my book's reviews:

Another "Comment" button!!!  Surely Amazon wants us to make comments. 

Often imitated, never duplicated

I repeat: Don't do it!

Take a look at some of the books by your favorite authors.  Go ahead, I'll wait..... Notice anything?  That's right, no replies from the author.  It's just not done.  Technically, those reviews aren't even for you.  They're for potential readers.  People who are trying to decide whether or not your book is a good fit for their interests.  The fact that you can glean any helpful information from them, use them to inflate your ego, or print them out and line your cat box with them is just a bonus.

But I'm an Indie Author, and I can do what I want.  I'm more accessible to my fans, which is part of the appeal.  Down with the ivory towers of solitude!!

That's true - there are no real rules to being an Indie Author.  You're not accountable to anyone, and can pretty much do whatever you damn well please.  However, there are expectations.  And if you don't abide by them you're likely to be labelled unprofessional.  Wondering what these guidelines are?  I learned a lot from other Indie Authors who've been at this much longer than I.  Head on over to the Goodreads group SupportIndieAuthors, or go to their website www.supportindieauthors.com for a whole wealth of information from a group of extremely nice and super friendly people.

Believe me, I understand the struggle.  I look at my reviews and I want so badly to interact with them.  You've already made a connection by having them read your work, and you want to keep it going.

You were smiling at the end?  Awesome!  I was smiling when I wrote the ending.

You enjoyed the humor?  Great!  Can you send my wife an email and tell her I'm funny?

You'd like to see it as a movie?  Me too!!!  Who do we call to make that happen?!


So, how can we interact with fans?  There are all kinds of platforms where it's not only accepted, but also encouraged.  Maybe you've heard of Facebook, or Twitter, or even just a regular old blog.  These are places where people come expecting interaction, and this is where being an Indie Author pays off. It's all about making a connection with your readers.

If you don't follow any other advice in this post, please, please, PLEASE listen to this last bit.  NEVER respond to a negative review.  You're not going to change someone's opinion of your work by arguing with them, and most likely you'll lose potential readers when they see how you respond to negativity.  Remember, these are people's opinions, and everyone is entitled to their own.  Honestly, I think "don't argue on the Internet" is just plain good advice for any situation.  Anonymity can bring out the worst in people.

And don't think you've found a loophole by attacking reviews from another site (like Facebook).  The Internet is a big place, but it's all connected, and links between people are getting more numerous every day.

Enjoy the positive reviews, and forget the negative.  If you figure out how to do that, then share the secret with me!

Am I a little insane?

As the ol' Magic 8 Ball would say: "Signs point to yes".

Spell Fade is doing very well.  Better than I would have ever let myself hope for, actually.  Not better than I ever dreamed, because, hey, I'm a writer, and my imagination had better be pretty big.

It's landed in the hands (digitally speaking, of course) of close to 2000 people now, and the Amazon Kindle stats tell me that KU users have collectively read about 750,000 pages.  It's received 20 mostly positive reviews on Amazon and 54 mostly positive ratings on Goodreads.  A large percentage of those reviews mention wanting to see more of the characters, and even looking forward to a sequel.  So, what am I doing?

I'm writing a vampire novel.

That's right, I'm writing in a completely different genre, with totally unrelated characters.  As I check my stats, read my reviews, and look at sales, I gotta ask myself: am I a little insane?  The answer is 'yes'.  Of course I am.  I have to write the book that wants to be written, and right now, for better or worse, that is this horror novel.

For those of you looking for a sequel, fret not.  I will circle back around to the world of Spell Fade, probably as soon as the next book.  Until then ... how does everybody feel about a vampire novel?

Aaaannnddd NOW I'm a published author

Since completing my first novel over ten years ago, I've considered myself to be a writer, an author.  Today, though I can add "published" to that title.  Spell Fade is the third novel I've completed, and what I feel is the best representation of my abilities. Any of you interested in a fantasy novel can check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01216NR0K

While it is the first, this will most definitely not be my last novel.  I'm currently rewriting the first novel I completed, and I'm digging where it's going.