Greetings Journey supporters. The official release date for the hardcover and eBook is December 1 but everyone who pre-ordered the book will receive it by the middle of November.

I've been giving away advance (paperback) copies at an influential website (Goodreads.com) and have seen mixed reviews, so far. Anything above a 3.5 average rating is considered pretty good and 5 star ratings at Goodreads are fairly rare. The book is curently averaging a 3.9 rating (out of five) so that's not bad at all.

At Goodreads, One Star means they did not like it.
Two Stars means if was "just OK".
Three Stars = "I liked it"
Four Stars - "I Really Liked it"
Five Stars - "It was Amazing"

Amazon doesn't allow ratings and reviews until we get close to the release date.


Here is the review I just posted on Goodreads. (It's more like a review of the existing reviews)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1388362740

Greetings gentle readers, 

I am one of the authors of this book, so I expect you to take my author-bias into consideration here.

As of the time of this writing, 90% of the ratings and reviews have come from those who won a Goodreads Giveaway.

I appreciate all of the reviews & ratings of course, but I am especially attuned to the bad reviews (1 or 2 stars). I expect to learn the most from these and to be able to improve future volumes in this series, based on this valuable feedback. 

Upon analysis of these poor reviews, some things have stood out that I think everyone should be privy to. I’ve noticed a pattern in the bad reviews – it seems that many people enter the Goodreads Giveaway contest not because they are fans of the genre, but mostly because they like to win. I can’t say I blame them, I like to win also.

However, I’m not sure it is in everyone’s interest for someone to review a book in a genre that they don’t like. I see that one of my two star reviews is from a reader who also gave “The Martian” by Andy Weir only two stars. She didn’t like the science in my book or Mr. Weir’s. She didn’t like having to “figure things out”. 

Andy Weir wrote a brilliantly entertaining book, and if someone can’t appreciate that work, they have no chance of liking my book, which is (I hate to admit) not as good.

Another (one star) reviewer scolded me because I obviously didn’t know the meaning of the term “polygenic deviation”. She stated that since I didn’t know the science as good as she did, she stopped reading the book.

This is pretty amusing because I invented the term “polygenic deviation” over 35 years ago. So, at least in this book, it means what I say it means. The book is fiction and takes place in an alternate universe on an “earthlike planet”, so even if I hadn’t coined that term myself, a fiction writer should be able to enjoy some license to play with the language without causing offense or indignation.

Polygenic deviation – Definition from the author:
“A genetic anomaly occurring within a series of genes in two or more chromosomes.”

Still another one star reviewer (an 18 year old) thought that my work was much too difficult to understand. She said it was harder than the philosophy course she recently took in college and according to her; “philosophy is damn hard!”

Once again I was amused – I always thought that graduate level theoretical physics and rocket science were potentially difficult courses. I personally took courses like undergraduate philosophy as electives because I thought they were wicked easy! 

In philosophy, you don’t even have to provide the right answers! All you need to do (to get a good grade) is to have an opinion and intelligently support your opinion. (Try that with calculating rocket trajectories:-)

Anyway, the conclusion I have drawn from examining these poor reviews is that my book is NOT for everyone – but that fact doesn’t make it a “bad” book. Of course I already knew that, but it is good to see the supporting evidence come in from unbiased, honest reviewers and I thank them for that.

For readers who are looking for light escapism in books that are easy-reads, then my book is not going to satisfy that need. 

If you don’t wish to have to think very hard and figure things out, this book is not for you. If your primary genre is romance novels, my book is not for you.

But if you like science-fiction AND historical-fiction; if you like to start out confused and enjoy gradually figuring out what is going on, then this book might be something you will cherish.

I find that gamers, people who are accustomed to complex layers of thought and those who like to solve puzzles seem to be my most fervent fans. 

There is a joy that many of us experience when we undertake a difficult read and eventually reach that aha! moment, when we get it. You can’t experience that joy in a novel where everything is handed to you and explained to you. So if you like to be intellectually challenged, this book might be something you will enjoy.

There are many places in the book where my editors asked me to provide explanations. I declined because I believe that if the reader really wants to know more, they will investigate for themselves. 

For instance, you will come across a brief reference to “Rennes-le-Château, France”. Some readers will immediately understand the reference – others will just gloss over it – and still others will have their curiosity piqued and will Google it for more information. 

Those curiosity seekers are most like me and are probably my core-target audience.

I wish that everyone would love my work, but know that is asking for the impossible. I will have to be satisfied that Some readers will love my work. 

If you took the time to read the book but failed to enjoy it, you have my most sincere apologies for wasting your time as I fully appreciate how valuable your time is.

For those of you who have stayed with this review and are still reading, here’s a little bonus payoff. 

All of the material in the “sneak peek” section of the novel, (which starts in the year 1994) are examples of my “method-writing” technique, which is described in the forward. 

What this means is that (with the exception of the supernatural aspects) all of these pages contain true stories which have been only slightly fictionalized. The Don Breen character is actually Dan Brown – and Daniel Trask really is Donald Trump, etc.

These stories describe my real-life interactions with these famous personalities, while I was “acting out” my great impostor schtick; impersonating the protagonist, Lawrence Howard. 

It is this aspect that separates the book from everything else that has ever been done and is what makes this work groundbreaking – at least in my admittedly biased and perhaps not so humble opinion. 

Still, I realize it is not for everyone. I hope you like it.   

Kind regards,

Richard Saunders

Hello, my wonderful Boulderoleros!  Glad tidings are upon us!  Pre-orders are now available for Tale of Boulderoth!  Get your copy today!  Much love!

ESE, NDF

I’m trying not to spam you with updates, but anxiety is killing.

820 copies pre-ordered; 180 more to go. Sales have slowed down quite a lot. I’m hoping the interviews I am doing the next couple of weeks will help me regain momentum.

In the meantime, I am furiously writing and revising my manuscript. I don’t want to sound pretentious, but I’m quite proud of Chapters 11 and 12 which I have just finished (even though the work is never done)

My fellow author and friend Rick Heinz –who has been incredibly supportive- (order his book here, it is awesome: https://www.inkshares.com/projects/the-seventh-age-dawn?referral_code=5a8ac53b) said to me the other day “I got so many copies of your book, it better be good!” He was joking, but, believe me, I feel the pressure and take your support very serious.

I honestly think you are going to enjoy The Catcher’s Trap. When it becomes a Syfy series directed and produced by Ronald D. Moore, you will say, “I pre-ordered a copy of that book when the annoying author was spamming me more than a Nigerian prince.”

You know the drill. If you haven’t pre-order a copy of The Catcher’s Trap, please consider doing it. If you already did, get another one for a friend or family member. If you are a fellow author, let’s support each other!

Please feel free to share the link and spread the word.

Have a great day!

And with that, all chapters of The Children of the Forest have been officially updated. Readers will find a more refined version of the story, and many (although I hope all) of the issues with the first-draft have been cleared away. Thank you to everyone who has helped me edit the manuscript and get to this point! 

It's still Museday, right? It is in Minnesota!

So far, every single person I've asked reports that Tannor is their favorite character after reading my first 3 episodes. She is pretty kickass... but can Relai trust her?

I can't wait to get the book into your hands so you can find out.

Museday Mix: Tannor Edition! (seriously click "play all" and jam ok this one is fun)

Bang Bang - Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj

Royals - Lorde

Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) - Nico Vega (cover)

Lips are Movin' - Meghan Trainor

Electric Lady - Janelle Monáe

Never Let Me Go - Florence and the Machine 

You Could Be Happy - Snow Patrol 

Bad Blood - Taylor Swift

I Remember - Damien Rice

(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight - Bastille (cover)

Neon Lights - Demi Lovato

Tuesday already, this past week has flown by for me.  Still not much new to report.  Continuing to work to get word about the book out, slowly transitioning from my frantic "I have no idea what I'm doing" campaign to a more focused "I'm starting to get the idea" campaign.

We haven't hit the first milestone of preorders yet, so no posting of new content today.  I'm continuing to use the time saved from not having to upload and then fix the formatting in order to work on other material.  The current main project is the writing of a gazetteer focused on my book's world, or more specifically the continent in which the action of this series takes place on in said world.  I'm writing it as told from the perspective of one of my favorite characters in the series, who won't be making her true first appearance until book 5 or 6 of the series.  I decided the gazetteer would be an excellent chance to give a very limited sneak peek of her since she is perhaps the most well traveled character in the series, or at least the most well traveled among the mortals in the series.  Make sure to follow my Facebook page to stay most up to date on what I'm doing.

To go along with this I'm trying to convert my own old, crude maps of the continent into something worth posting up, but my art skills are quite lacking.  I'll start posting up the maps in advance of finishing the gazetteer so that you all can have an early look at them.  First up will be the Isle of Karpa which houses the dwarven kingdom of Thierdenvolgenlund, homeland of my main character Pentaz, as well as the rather inhospitable subterranean cities of the numerous troll tribes.

That's all I've got for today.  Remember to place your orders if you're enjoying what you're reading, and don't be shy about letting others know about the work.  And as always, thank you all for your time and support.