Hey Everyone!
It’s been a while since I’ve updated on Inkshares! BUT... I have news!
For all of you who supported me during this first Nerdist Contest, I’ve had a busy writing run! I did a massive 5E Campaign called The Red Opera: Last Days of the Warlock, tons of Geek & Sundry and Nerdist articles, and working on the next books...
BUT...
Today I bring different news:
My Sequel to THIS book: The Seventh Age: Dystopia is officially live and published!
For those who loved the first book, you can grab a copy RIGHT HERE!
And... if you would be so kind as to leave a review when you are done!
Don’t forget you can find me on the interwebs @crankybolt on Twitter and everywhere else.
THE END IS NIGH!!
Ready to have some fun?
You’re looking at some initial Animal in Man cover designs!!! Somebody pinch me - - This is really happening, isn’t it?!? There are elements from all three of these that I really, really like. While #1 definitely captures the proportions of the animal-creatures I see in my head, Inkshares has wisely advised me against endorsing a cover that potentially forms images for readers. I couldn’t agree more. #2 is probably the closest runner-up. I really like the minimalist design, how the cover managed to take my story and form an icon from it. Pretty cool! But what’s it really saying? There’s a fox… Some swords… Hmm… Exactly. Not much. #3 is solid too, since it really accentuates a defining characteristic of the story’s hero, Maxan, a fox with mismatched gold and green eyes. (That’s important, I swear.) BUT… again, his eyes aren’t what the story’s all about.
Now this… This is what the story’s all about.
May I present to you the desired direction, ladies and gentlemen, for The Animal in Man’s cover!! This one truly captures the sense of violence, danger, brutality, and darkness that Book I: Violent Mind is going for. It captures it so well, in fact, that I’m already dreaming of the cover variations for the rest of the series, Book II: Ferocious Heart and Book III: Undying Soul. Remember, my dear animals, this is not the final cover. Believe me when I say that you’ll be the first to know once that comes in. Thank you all, as always, for all the patience and support.
Hey. Hi there.
I have news. A couple of bits actually. I shall save the best for last though.
New book title
Ghosts of War is now.....Ghosts of War: Retribution. The change was made by me to help the title stand out a little more, and it gels better with what the story is actually about (and with the titles of the series going forward). I’m quite pleased with the change.
With that change though, means something else...
A new cover
Production Status
Very good news on this front. This last Monday, Ghosts of War: Retribution winged it’s way across the interwebs into the hands of it’s copy editor. That means it is getting a thorough going over as it moves ever closer to release later in the year. Typically the time frame is 6 months from kickoff to publication, so it should land somewhere around the middle of the year.
I should be hearing back from Inkshares soon with some more solid dates related to the production schedule and release, and I’ll keep you guys updated where I can.
Praise for the book
I’ve been getting the first lots of feedback on Ghosts of War: Retribution in the last few weeks, here’s a few blurbs that’ll be showing up in various promo materials going forward.
"Imagine that bastard you hate. Got it? Now imagine yourself gut punching them then throwing them down the stairs, and stealing their last donut. Robinson’s debut novel takes arch-rivalvary up a notch while giving that oh-so-satisfying desire to chew bubblegum and kick ass." - Rick Heinz, Author of The Seventh Age: Dawn
"Sci-Fi action-adventure at its very, very best. Paul Robinson gives us complex characters facing complex conflict in a futuristic world that, although dystopian, always carries the ring of truth. There’s revenge, retribution, heroism and, sprinkled throughout, satisfying bits of wry humor. A winning combination, and a debut author worth watching." - Jason Pomerance, Author of Women Like Us
“Ghosts of War: Retribution is an adrenaline-fueled adventure perfect for fans of fast-paced action sci-fi.” - Robert Batten, Author of Blood Capital
"Paul Robinson thrills his readers in the style of James Rollins and John Grisham, and then brings them to another world in the style of Robert Heinlein. You should pick up Ghosts of War: Retribution, though be warned: it’s hard to put down. ★★★★★" - Jonathan Maas, Author of Flare
What now?
As production finally ramps up on Ghosts of War: Retribution, I’ll be working hard with Inkshares to get it into your hands and I’ll also be continuing to work on the sequels which are now called Ghosts of War: Reprisal and Ghosts of War: Reckoning.
As always, stay tuned for updates.
It’s been a full 1 year anniversary! So, time for a bloody damn hand-biting update.
I’ve finished the first draft of the sequel! Pix Pl0x is 100% done and is going up on Amazon later this week (announcement on that soon) and I need more reviews on the original.
If you’ve read the first book - Please go here and leave a review.
Click Here!
In other news, now that I’m done with the 1st draft of book 2. I’m in the market for more awesome art. If you know anyone who wants to do some doodling so I can start building more awesome art like this Death Lords from the 7th Age!
But please please please - It’s review time guys.
You’ll hear more in the coming weeks now that projects are finished and work on production begins in earnest.
Thank you for everything in the past year!
I got some numbers for you.
Do you know what this means?!?! I FINISHED EDITING MY NOVEL!!! It was quite a slog for me. I’m not one of those writers that can easily overlook the minutiae in order to focus on the bigger picture. My editor gave me some great notes calling for some big sweeping changes and clarifications, but even still, if I saw something on the page that bothered me (and gosh was there a LOT that bothered me), I had to change it. Staring at pages like these was how I spent what little free time I had for the past four months:
Look at all those revisions!!! Just to be clear, this is not the end of the editing process. It’s back with the Editor / Head of Story at Inkshares, Matt Harry, who’ll look over the changes and make further suggestions. (Hopefully I cleared the higher hurdles the first time around the track and the next lap is easier.) From there, somebody’s gotta clean up my terrible, awful, hideous, redundant word choice… Cover design conversations with the artist… Where is this all going, you ask?! Well, it means it will still be a wait. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a 2018 release, but I can’t say for sure.
In the meantime, I literally don’t know what to do with myself any more. If I’m not working on something, I’m getting ANTSY. While I wait for the Inkshares wheel to turn another notch in Animal in Man’s production track, I’ll be putting more words down for my next novel “The White Shadow”, which you can read the first few chapters of HERE. (I added a chapter to my website since the previous time posting about it, and I’m eleven chapters beyond that point in the writing.) I might even be putting up an Inkshares draft page for the book soon. Who knows.
To all of my supporters, all of you who’ve hung in there this long and longer: Thank you.