Book 8 is almost here!

Book 8 is nearing completion with its final edits. I'm hoping to have it out by the end of the week.
Here's the cover --

The scene on the front is one my absolute favorites, and I hope you enjoy. Thank you to Tim for the amazing cover!

Book 7  - Hidden Relics is here!

http://www.amazon.com/B00AQSF0QA

Update on what's coming....

Here's my latest update for what's coming.

Book 7 - Hidden Relics

The cover is finished (see last post), and the manuscript is in its final stages of editing. It should be posted online by next Wednesday.

Secrets in Stone

Look for this one towards the end of the year, hopefully soon after Book 7.

Book 8 - Torch of Life

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the first draft. This particular book is a lot tougher than I thought due to the large number of POVs that I'm juggling. Right now, I have 11 POVs, including Natalie, Jackie, Daphne, Caira, Jackson, Karan, Tess, Tanner, Caleb, and Cody. I don't want to spoil the 11th one as it would be revealing one of the surprises in the book.

One other observation that I made as I started writing is that this book is much darker than any other. The story has reached a new level of violence which I wasn't prepared for at first. I think it will be one of the best in the series so far, mainly because of the revelations and an epic battle at the end. Tim's finished the cover already, and it captures the dark feel of the story very well. I'll post it sometime after Christmas when I'm finished with the second draft. I'm hoping for a late January/early February publishing date.

Book 9

I've put more detail in my outline for this book and will start it as soon as I send Book 8 off to the editor. This book will be very interesting as it will have a very short span of time that it deals with. Right now, I'm thinking the events of the book will all occur in the span of maybe two days, with the last half occurring all within a few hours. The last half will basically be one epic battle scene told from at least ten perspectives. As with every third book, the story takes a drastic turn and sets everything up for the end of the series.

Cover for Hidden Relics

Now that I'm about 10 days away from releasing Book 7 - Hidden Relics, I figure I could post a preview of the cover.

 

 

As always, Tim has done a wonderful job. For this cover, I wanted to go with the main villains.

I'll post another message when the book is uploaded, which I'm hoping will be next Wednesday.

Update on what's coming....

I've got quite a bit in the pipeline now for the Department of Magic series, and just wanted to share that with you.

Book 7 - Hidden Relics
The first and second drafts are finished, and it's been e-mail to the editor. It will be ready about a week before Christmas. I'll post the cover in a couple of weeks. It's a great one!

Book 8
Both 8 and 9 have very detailed outlines, which will make the drafts much quicker to produce. Right now, I've just started the first draft for Book 8, and should be finished before Christmas. I'm hoping for a late January publishing date for Book 8. I'll announce the title and show the cover (which is ready) in December some time. Book 9 shouldn't be too far behind, with an expected publishing date of late February.

Secrets In Stone: Gabe
The long-promised short story will be out by Christmas. It's with the editor right now, and unfortunately that's all I can promise at the moment. :)

Science Fiction
My side project is coming along nicely. I'm still in the outlining stage before i start the first draft, and Tim is working on some designs for the details and the covers. I will start drafts of those as soon as DOMA 9 is finished. I'm pushing for a January or February release for the first Sci Fi. More updates to come on that.

Blog Hop

The Next Big Thing

Author Kate Aaron last week tagged me in her blog post. What does that mean? Well there's a series of questions doing the rounds and when you're tagged, you've got to answer them. The questions relate to my upcoming publication, Hidden Relics, the seventh book in the Department of Magic series.


What is the title of your next book?
The title of the 7^th Department of Magic book is Hidden Relics.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
The idea for this book started to develop earlier this year. It bridges the gap between the first half of the series and the last half.

What genre does your book fall under?
Young Adult and Fantasy

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
That’s a tough question. I’ve put a little thought into it.

For Cadan Ogden, I would cast Drew Van Acker, from Pretty Little Liars and Tower Prep. For Jude Bishop, I’ve always gotten the Alex Pettyfer vibe, and for Madison Taylor, I would cast Ashley Benson, also from Pretty Little Liars. Josiah Ogden would probably have to be Josh Brolin.


What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Cadan Ogden has spent 6 books trying to get everyone together and away from the evil Department of Magic, but in Book 7, he basically splits everyone up and sends them on various missions that need to be accomplished to defeat the Department of Magic, and the end will put the characters in a worse position than they’ve been yet.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self-Published


How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The first draft for this book took a significantly less amount of time to produce as I have had a very clear vision of the book’s direction for some time now.


What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
That’s a tough question. Most fantasy books deal with imaginary worlds, and this one is set in our Earth. I’ve taken Epic fantasy in the vein of Robert Jordan and George RR Martin, with dozens and dozens of characters and complicated sub-plots and placed it in the center of our world. Elements of this story are inspired by other authors that I’ve read since my teenage years, but I can’t really think of one in particular that it is similar enough to for a comparison.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
The inspiration for this book dates back to a few years ago. For years I designed this fantasy world and populated it with dozens of characters, rich history, and locations. But I didn’t want my first novel to be a traditional fantasy. I always knew that the Ogdens, the main family that I follow in this magical world, would eventually come over to Earth. While I hadn’t developed that story at the time, I decided to start there. Most of what I write after this series will be about what came before.


What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I strive for diversity in everything that I write. So much of fantasy is populated with straight, white characters. In my fantasy and in the world that I created, there is a sense of diversity that I haven’t found in any other fantasy work. My main characters are of every ethnicity, which I personally find refreshing, and several of my main characters are GLBT. It’s less about any kind of political statement, and more from the point of view that I want to represent a real slice of life. I think that anyone can read this series, and find someone that they can identify with.


Now it's my turn to get tagging. Carry on following the hop by checking out the author below to find The Next Big Thing!

Suzie O'Connell

Two more character portraits....

Since I don't have a lot of book news to add, I decided to post two more character portraits: Kyla LaFontaine and Nolan Burrell.

You may recognize that Kyla's appearance has changed for Book 7. In previous books, she was described as wearing elaborate dresses and fur coats, but now that she is going to reside in a different location, her look has changed. As always, Tim did an amazing job capturing the look and feel of both characters.