It is with a sick child in my arms and a heavy heart that I come before you today. Well, more like a busted ego than a heavy heart. You see, this morning I realized that I, Dark Lord simply isn’t ready to be released on June 30th as I’d originally planned. I chose that date because it coincided with the birthday of my oldest child, and I’d already released I, Minion on my (now) 3 year old’s name-day. Figured it wouldn’t be fair of me to put a book out there on one kid’s birthday and not the others, right? Right! It would be even more unfair, however, to both you and me, if I were to release my second book without being absolutely confident in it’s erm…completeness.
I, Dark Lord is a bigger book in many ways. Not only in word count, (over twice as long as the first) but in ambition and scope. Here we have a character who has changed in so many ways, struggling with his feelings and with his guilt while simultaneously counting his lucky stars. We also have the titular Dark Lord — Sakroth, before he was in fact the Dark Lord. After all, nobody starts off bent on becoming a tyrannical overlord. Something has to happen along the way to transform them. What is it they say? The road to hell is paved with good intentions…
Now, I’m sure many writers struggle with the “second book blues.” I know I do. Worried that it’s not going to be as good as the first. That it won’t sell as well. Will anybody even want to read it? Are my characters evolving? Or is it just more of the same? These fears plague me constantly. But it wasn’t to their incessant whisperings that I finally succumbed. It was to my own. It’s not ready, plain and simple. Nor would it be by the 30th.
Does that mean I don’t believe in my book? Absolutely not! It’s precisely because I do believe that I know this is the right decision. Okay okay okay. So what’s the new release date? To be honest? I’m not sure. But right now I’m aiming for the 11th of July. Both ebook and print format. And I’ll be starting right away on I, Champion, because I’m sure you’ll be chomping at the bit to see how it all unfolds. I know I will be!
And since I feel bad, I’m going to leave you with a little teaser. This was the sketch my cover artist sent to me when we were first discussing how I wanted the cover for I, Dark Lord to look. It’s come a long way since…but still, it’s something.
I, Dark Lord is a bigger book in many ways. Not only in word count, (over twice as long as the first) but in ambition and scope. Here we have a character who has changed in so many ways, struggling with his feelings and with his guilt while simultaneously counting his lucky stars. We also have the titular Dark Lord — Sakroth, before he was in fact the Dark Lord. After all, nobody starts off bent on becoming a tyrannical overlord. Something has to happen along the way to transform them. What is it they say? The road to hell is paved with good intentions…
Now, I’m sure many writers struggle with the “second book blues.” I know I do. Worried that it’s not going to be as good as the first. That it won’t sell as well. Will anybody even want to read it? Are my characters evolving? Or is it just more of the same? These fears plague me constantly. But it wasn’t to their incessant whisperings that I finally succumbed. It was to my own. It’s not ready, plain and simple. Nor would it be by the 30th.
Does that mean I don’t believe in my book? Absolutely not! It’s precisely because I do believe that I know this is the right decision. Okay okay okay. So what’s the new release date? To be honest? I’m not sure. But right now I’m aiming for the 11th of July. Both ebook and print format. And I’ll be starting right away on I, Champion, because I’m sure you’ll be chomping at the bit to see how it all unfolds. I know I will be!
And since I feel bad, I’m going to leave you with a little teaser. This was the sketch my cover artist sent to me when we were first discussing how I wanted the cover for I, Dark Lord to look. It’s come a long way since…but still, it’s something.
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