Finally, I know--News From the Realm! Cue the flying pigs.

Developmental Edits Under Way!

• And that’s it, that’s the real story. I’m working with a fabulous professional editor who got a lot of books sold and careers under way in New York. We met and I have the first returns back from her regarding my manuscript. 

• I feared the worst, but her changes are not monumental. In fact, she said some incredibly inspirational things that were very humbling about the overall story--particularly the world building, but I’ll leave it at that, because...

• I do have a major rewrite to complete as my narrator and point of view need to change. If it sounds horrific and difficult, it’s not, just a bit of time needed to complete. I’ll explain later, but it was the right call. I will also write an epic, slightly depressing post one day about how many drafts this story has gone through, but not until we have a polished manuscript. ;-)

So I have great momentum, yes? Yes! So things will speed up? Ha! says life. We’re expecting our second child, I’m ramping up a new job, yadda, yadda, yadda. Seriously, if any of you are getting ancy, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m actually still ahead of the usual time to publish by about 6 months to a year. Pretty crazy, right? 

The good news is Inkshares is starting to crank out projects that are ready. So once the professional edit is complete, we have options. That’s when you won’t be able to get me to shut up. But until then, I appreciate your continued support and good mojo. 

Stay well,

Kevin

Hey everyone, I realize it’s been a ridiculously long while since I sent out an update, so my apologies for the radio silence. I will update the instant something interesting happens, but otherwise, I’ll try to send something at least once a month. A couple of significant things have happened: 

1. Editor Chosen!
   
2. Sequel to Kingdom of Dreams! Decisions, Decisions...
3. NEXT ISSUE: Illustrations

1. Editor Chosen!

One thing I’ve learned during this book building process is that the winds of change blow frequently and often! It took me longer than expected, but the narrative portion of my manuscript is complete. After a diligent search, I’ve chosen a professional editor I’m thrilled to have on board with this project. This person has helped produce some award winning books in the middle grade/young adult genres. She also seems to "get" my voice and the full intention of the book. The bad news: she won’t be able to begin until July with a likely finish by the end of September. So that’s one timeline for when the book might be ready.

2. Sequel to Kingdom of Dreams! Decisions, Decisions...

While I wait on the developmental editing to begin in July, I have a bit of good news: I started writing the sequel to Kingdom of Dreams! I wasn’t sure if such a book was possible, but after an initial leap of faith, the story came to me much easier than expected. Certainly much easier than KOD came to fruition. So, the decisions...

• First and foremost, I’ve started tracking down the best and most inexpensive way to get my author website out there. Once I build a simple but tactical author page, I’m going to shift my updates to come from there as the plan is to get quite a few more supporters. 

• Now that there’s a sequel to KOD in the works, I will also need to figure out how to market both books according to release dates, etc. I have some pretty progressive ideas, but much of that depends on if I can have a MANOWRIMO or JANOWRIMO May and June of intense writing. I’ll keep you posted. Incidentally, that’s why I also haven’t blogged yet or tried to promote KOD, I decided it’s too early in the process for that until there’s a finished manuscript on its way to a printer.

3. NEXT ISSUE: Illustrations

Along with the intense writing, I need to complete the illustrations for KOD. Unfortunately, my plan to use live models to play my cast of characters didn’t pan out for this project. So in lieu of time and the fact that this author REALLY wants to move on, I think I found an alternative way to accomplish this. I’ll begin working on these immediately, and will give a sneak peak of one or two of my experiments. 

Stay well everyone. Thanks for your continued support and encouragement! 

Best,

Kevin

Happy New Year, everyone! A lot of things are now transpiring with Kingdom of Dreams...

1. Officially In Production!
2. What now? Casting Call!
3. Next Steps...

1.) Officially In Production!

Has everyone noticed the new page? We have shifted from funding to in production. Because Kingdom of Dreams will be published, you’ll notice the book has also been slightly reduced in price. 

We have earned a third badge as well,  this one as part of the Quill collection. What is Quill? Well, it’s an opt in publishing option that Inkshares offers for projects like this one that didn’t hit the full publishing quota of 750 pre-orders, but did reach a minimum threshold of support that suggests there is enough backing to publish. Read more here for a complete breakdown.

2.) What now? 

When will my readers have the book in hand? 8-12 months from now minimum. Though it sounds morbidly slow, it’s pretty typical for publishing dates. There is a significant queue of books to be published in front of this one. But I will try to expedite this process as much as possible by completing the following steps in short order:

• I will finish editing and any new rewrites over the first quarter. 
• Complete Illustrations as well. 
• I turn over the manuscript to a professional editor, then to Inkshares. At that point a timeline to publication should appear on my page with the approximate shipping dates.

Casting Call: Now that the project is official, I have an open casting call for 4 roles to help complete illustrations for the book:

• Jimmy Reve, the main character. An imaginative 6th grade boy that is picked on by the bullies at school.
• Lem Reve, Jimmy’s big sister. An 8th grader, decorated swimmer that while protective over Jimmy, enjoys picking on him relentlessly as well.
• Clay Rakes, a huge, intimidating eighth-grade bully. 
• Bucky Brees, a lanky, devious seventh-grade bully.

If anyone knows any kids close to this age range that might be interested, please contact me as I will pay them to use their likeness. I hope to have the children cast by the end of the month. All ethnicities are welcome and encouraged.

3.) Next Steps...

Thanks again to everyone for backing Kingdom of Dreams to a guaranteed publishing deal. That said, we have a ton of work to do to get this project known to the masses. The more pre-orders we can get as this project gets closer to completion, the better the chance Inkshares will give it full marketing attention and start a distribution plan of getting it in bookstores, and supporting it at key conferences. 

I’ll keep you up to date on my progress, but please continue to evangelize as much as possible. Look for new updates as significant milestones occur. Thanks again, be productive and stay well!

Best Wishes,

Kevin

Toys For Tots Donation:

This update’s all about the children. 

As promised, together we donated $360 to Toys For Tots. Thanks for your support of my book and this wonderful cause:

There will be a some happy children on Christmas morning. Some will get toys, others will receive books! Thank you all again and happy holidays! 

Kevin