Hey everyone,

There’s been a bit of a break between updates, but things are sort of at a point where weekly updates don’t really make sense anymore. So from now on they’ll be going out when there’s actually something to update you all about.

This is one of those times.

Some of you may have noticed that there’s a new cover. If not, well, there’s a new cover. 

Since Ghosts is being published under Quill, cover design isn’t something that’s......covered. 

To use my existing concept, I would have had to probably re-draw/paint the whole thing from scratch since it was just a cobbled together, photoshop thing. I wasn’t wholly confident in my ability to produce something publishable in that style, so I decided to try out some simpler designs.

What I’ve settled on is something that’s a bit more traditional, and feels like a more polished version of the very first cover I ever did for Ghosts. I’m pretty happy with it and I hope you all like it as well.

When I finished the cover I was in a bit of a creative groove, and in a move that’s part ’getting ahead of myself’, and part ’being prepared’ I did up some covers for the 2 sequels to Ghosts.

Here’s all three together:

What’s a Kylgor? Why does it have a shadow? And what’s in that shadow?

You’ll just have to wait until later in the year to find out...

Oh! I almost forgot... Writing is chugging along. Think of me like a duck on the water: Calm on the surface. Furiously flapping my feet at a keyboard beneath it. 

I will leave you with that image.

Until next time...

Greetings!

Just wanted to let you in on a little event I’m participating in and that you can help with.

With the Blood Dawn year long funding campaign coming to a close soon, John Robin will be hosting a game to stir up support and interest in his project.  I’ve been following John for several months now and his novel is a very intriguing fantasy work I think will be a classic someday.  I can hardly wait to get a chance to read it.  Anyway, in the Nerdist Contest I was lucky enough to win, I supported John at his highest level possible (in fact, John was one of the pioneers of the different levels of funding here and giving them themes) and have had a dragon in his world named after me.  What is that dragon called, you ask? 

Branakataurai

Gesundheit!

As a competing dragon in the game, I’ll have a unique role to play and I need your help to strengthen my dragon in this game.  Will you rally to my cause and pledge a pre-order of any level of Blood Dawn once I give the command?  Will you help fight a mighty battle that, in the end, will help see another author’s dream come to fruition?

If you are interested in helping Branakataurai, then contact me at colberra@gmail.com with that name in the subject line.  I’ll keep you posted and when the time comes, if you are able to charge into battle with me, John Robin will be very grateful for your support of his novel.

Brian Guthrie, Author of Rise and its now in edit sequel Fall.

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John Robin’s update regarding the game:

Coming soon, to see the Blood Dawn funding campaign to an end, I will be hosting a game! 

I wanted to take a moment today to discuss some of the features of the upcoming game, its purpose, and how you can personally get involved. 

Blood Dawn Risk will see God-Kings and Dragons competing for control of territory in the world of Blood Dawn.  Those who have achieved official God-King or Dragon status as of today — by pre-ordering three or seven copies of Blood Dawn, respectively — will be prime competitors on the map.  Did you only order one copy?  Or did you miss your chance to be a God-King or a Dragon in time for the game?  There’s still a role for you in the game!  If anything, you’ll be courted by other God-Kings and Dragons, hoping to get you to ally with their forces.

In the set-up of the game, laid out on the official Blood Dawn map, God-Kings will have Houses assigned to a territory.  Houses want to gain control of as much territory as possible, by expanding into neighbouring territory.  There are rules in place, though, so Houses can’t just rampage across the land, doing what they want!  A house must have a troop strength equal to or higher than that of the territory they wish to claim.

Houses may wish to overtake territory already claimed by another house!  If this happens, then the Houses will move to the game’s built-in dice combat system to battle against each other.  The winner will claim the strength of the House they’ve overpowered.  Houses may also form alliances with each other, if they choose to get along.

But this is the world of Blood Dawn, where nothing is easy.

Hidden covertly in unclaimed territory will be the Dragons.  If a House tries to claim territory that a Dragon is inhabiting, the House must battle the Dragon, using the dice combat system.  If the House wins, it adds the strength of the Dragon to its troops.  But if the House loses, then the Dragon can start roving the land, leaving death and destruction in its wake!

Houses and Dragons can add to their troop strength by pulling their friends in to pre-order a copy of Blood Dawn.  Each pre-order equals one boost in strength for a House’s troops or hit points for a Dragon.  So, to win, you or your alliance, must bring your fantasy-loving friends into the fold, selling them on Blood Dawn!

And with this game, there are lots of fantastic prizes.  While some of the prizes are yet to be determined, the grand prize, awarded to the Dragon or House that emerges triumphant, is one to make any Blood Dawn fan envious!  The winner (or winning alliance) will receive a one-hour Skype conversation with me to discuss the formation of a unique nation that will then be worked into the next revision of Blood Dawn!  That’s right — the winner of this game gets to help craft the novel!

Through this game, we will achieve a boost in pre-orders of Blood Dawn.  If we can hit 750 pre-orders, Blood Dawn will qualify for the full Inkshares publishing imprint, which includes comprehensive editing, full publication, wide distribution, and promotion by Inkshares.  So, by helping to win this game, you’re helping Blood Dawn reach many more readers.

The official rules, game web page (complete with dice combat and a chat terminal), and your place in the game, will all be announced soon!  Houses and Dragons will have a chance to amass allies shortly before the game is officially launched.

I want to take a moment to thank the amazing people that are helping see this game from vision to reality.  Joseph Terzieva, author of The Lost Generation, is writing all of the game code and compiling all of the programming.  Cara Weston, author of She Is The End, helped craft the initial idea and really pushed me to see it through to completion.  And John Anderson, my artist, has coloured my map and is creating custom emblems for Houses, Dragons, and other game components.  If you haven’t already pre-ordered Joseph or Cara’s books, please click on the links above to pre-order their books and show your appreciation for the incredible work they’ve done.

I will be contacting all of the God-Kings and Dragons soon to get them started on preparing for the game — so if you’re one of these people, keep an eye on your inbox for an email from me.  And if you’re not one of these individuals, still keep an eye on your inbox for the email announcing the start of the game — you can check out the webpage and follow along, and perhaps pre-order a copy and ally your strength with a Dragon or House! 

Thank you so much for your time. 

John Robin