Hello, fellow Ravenites! I hope this beautiful Sunday is finding you well. I had not planned to wait so long between blogs. I had a lot going on, but not much interesting to write about. I did finish my first draft of The Raven Chronicles 2 and am now creating a Second Draft of it, and am nearly finished with that. I have a section to add that I thought of this morning. I should be finished with the Second Draft this week. I have been spending some time looking for editors, and I think I have narrowed it down to one in particular. As my manuscript goes through the editing process, I will be writing query letters to send out to literary agents as I may try a different publishing route this time. In no way am I unhappy with what Page Publishing has done for me, I've grown and become more knowledgeable about the publication process, and am looking at different options. Page will definitely be an option if needed.
February 22nd was my one-year anniversary of when The Raven Chronicles: Magic Reborn was published. My life has been a whirlwind since then. As a self-described introvert, doing interviews and putting the spotlight on myself has not been an easy transition for me, and I still struggle with this. I never have been a 'Look at me!' type of individual, and I'm not sure that is something I will ever be completely comfortable with. Other than that, I do enjoy hearing from people about what they think of my writing so far. As long as you offer constructive criticism on what you think I could be doing better, I welcome tips and advice. I'm learning to ignore or avoid negative or trolling comments that bring nothing intellectually to the table. I know I have a lot of growing to do as a writer, and I like to believe I am doing just that.
Looking ahead to Book 3, I have a lot of ideas I think will make it an interesting read. Book 2 has been fun to write, and while it's taken me longer than I wanted it to, I think not rushing it will make it better. Whether the series goes beyond three books is still up in the air at this point. I have ideas for other books in different genres, but in no way am I going to kill the series at three books. I like the characters I've created, and I feel the core group has many adventures ahead of them yet. There are a couple of characters I'm introducing in Book 2 that could have long-lasting influences for years to come, or I could just kill them off in Book 3. Who knows? Guess you'll have to stay tuned for that.
I have teased the possibility of doing a podcast for a while now. I need to create a script first and once I do, I'll do a test run and see if it's something worth pursuing. I don't want to do one just to do it. I want it to be interesting enough that people would want to take the time to listen to it. If you have any ideas of what you would like to hear about, drop me an email at deshawn70@gmail.com. Add "Podcast Idea" to the subject line so I see it. You can also DM me on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. I'm going to avoid politics as I don't want to alienate half my audience. If I do mention a story that is all over the news, I will try to be as non-biased as possible, and try to steer the subject as to how it would affect us locally or as a nation as a whole. I want this podcast to be about writing, whether it be in the fantasy genre or others. At times, I might venture into music and highlight micro-niche artists that have influenced my writing somehow. I've never done a podcast before (again, introvert), but I'm curious to see if it's something that will do well or crash and burn. I'm not being negative, but you never know either way, unless you try.
I hope you found this post informative, and I plan to post more often, especially as the weather begins to warm up, and my wife and I start up our weekend drives again. I hope everyone has a good week, and remember to visit your local bookstores. Reading physical books is becoming a lost art, but there are so many adventures to be had at every turn of the page! Until next time!