Indie fantasy authors to watch

"There’s a new breed of author on the frontlist: the indie."

You can read the rest of the article and my most recent interview with Greg Hamerton at http://greghamerton.com/2011/11/indie-fantasy-authors-to-watch-k-c-may/.

Guest author

I'm the guest author today on Nathan Lowell Presents. Recently, most of my interviews have been about how I got my books noticed so they sell well, but this one was sort of an open format where I could pretty much just blab about whatever I wanted. So I talked about one of the ideas behind an upcoming science fiction novel (as yet untitled). Feel free to add a comment at the end!

KBR Indie Awards

The first ever Kindle Book Review Indie Book Award was announced today, and to my absolute delight, The Kinshield Legacy was selected as the second place winner! I'm thrilled and honored to have my book listed among the other winners and finalists.

Be sure to bookmark The Kindle Book Review site for your next read. Site owner Jeff Bennington says, "All books will have no less than 20 reviews with a rating of 4.0 or higher!"

Believe it... or not!

What happens when a major publisher approaches the artist to buy the artwork on the cover of this book

and the artist refuses to sell? You've got to see it to believe it! http://www.lkrigel.com/2011/08/should-i-be-upset/

New release announcement

Debra Martin of Two Ends of the Pen blog has graciously featured The Wayfarer King on her blog today as a New Release announcement. Everything you ever wanted to know about the book can be found there. :)

Not only that, but author Michael Wallace has posted an interview on his blog.

And if that wasn't enough...The Kinshield Legacy has reached new heights in the Amazon store! Here's a screenshot of it on the Movers & Shakers list. I'm almost afraid I'll wake up soon! (Now, if only I could get nook readers interested. hahaha!)

Release day success!

Yesterday was the official Release Day for The Wayfarer King. So far two book bloggers have given it 5 stars:

"This is another fantastic book by K.C. May.  I have enjoyed everything of hers that I have read and was extremely excited to get a chance to read The Wayfarer King (The Kinshield Saga)."
http://indiebookblogger.blogspot.com/2011/08/wayfarer-king-by-kc-may-review.html

"I've said before that the enjoyment factor is worth a lot when it comes to the awarding of stars, and this story was immensely enjoyable."
http://www.gracekrispy.com/review-the-wayfarer-king-by-k-c-may/

It went as high as 751 in the Kindle Store rankings, and #2 in Hot New Releases in Epic Fantasy. 

I honestly didn't expect such wonderful results on Release Day, and so I blow kisses to all of you who one-clicked. Thank you! I sincerely hope you enjoy the story!

New review from Motherlode blog

GraceKrispy at Motherlode blog has posted her review of The Wayfarer King! Check it out -- and be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy.

Announcing... The Wayfarer King

Finally, after all theses months, the book is done, formatted and uploaded to the various ebook retailers. It's available at Amazon already (early!) as well as Smashwords. Other retailers will be along soon. I'll post the URLs here and on my web site at www.kcmay.com when they're ready.

Thank you to all my beloved readers for your ongoing support. I hope you enjoy the story!

A Teaser

Reviewer Grace Krispy posted a Teaser Tuesday sample of The Wayfarer King on her web site. Look for her full review on release day, August 4th!

Launch day festivities

In The Kinshield Legacy, Gavin is asked how he lost his eye tooth, but he never gives a straight answer. The truth will be revealed in The Wayfarer King. Select your best guess, based on your understanding of Gavin's character. If you pick correctly, your name will be entered in a drawing for a Kindle or nook and $25 gift card! If you guess incorrectly, you could still win a $10 gift card to Amazon or BN.com. Visit http://www.kcmay.com/twkcontest.html to enter before July 31.

On release day, August 4, Grace Krispy will post her review of The Wayfarer King on her blog, Motherlode. Set your bookmark and mark your calendar!

Release date set for The Wayfarer King

The sequel to The Kinshield Legacy is finally almost here! I'll be wrapping up revisions soon (maybe this weekend), and I've started the I-dotting and T-crossing phase. I plan to send the manuscript to my editor (Anne Victory at http://www.victoryediting.com/) for a final pass, and then it's off to the presses for an August 4 release! (It could become available for sale shortly before then because it takes Amazon and Barnes & Noble about 24 hrs to process a new book, but sometimes they're quicker than that.)

Will there be a third book in the series? Hahahahahahahahahahahaha no. As much as fantasy readers enjoy trilogies, this story ends with book 2.* :)

What about the cover art? I've posted an interim cover on my web site, but it's not what I ultimately want to go with. For the release, I'm planning something special -- artwork by T.M. Roy! You'll have to wait until August 4 to see it. :)

*This is not to say I won't write another book with these characters in this world. :)

Relief!

The hardest part of The Wayfarer King is written: the climactic conclusion of the main struggle. WHEW! It's one thing to know in your head how it would all come together, and quite another to write it down with all its details and have everything line up and make sense within the context of the rest of the story. That's one of the funnest parts of writing, but also the most challenging.

I have the "epilogue" left to write, and then the revision phase begins. I've been revising all along, fixing and fitting and adjusting story elements so things line up (I could never just write a story straight through without fixing stuff as I go), so revisions shouldn't take too long. Then will come the clean-up edit, and it'll be ready to go! I'm excited to finally have the story finished. :)

Estimating time to launch

For the last few months, I've been working on the sequel to The Kinshield Legacy which I'm calling The Wayfarer King. What I've learned is that sequels are much harder to write than the original book was! There are all kinds of story facts and events that have to line up. I wouldn't want to write something in The Wayfarer King that would require an event in The Kinshield Legacy to have happened differently. I have to work with what's already happened and "fit" future events around them. If you've read The Kinshield Legacy, you know that what Gavin is going through is a direct result of something that happened 200 years earlier... and a lot happened back then!

So presuming I have everything written the way I want it by the end of May (my goal date), I can get my revisions done in June and edits done in July. Somewhere in there, I hope to find a beta reader or two to keep me honest, and then hopefully, if I make all my goal dates, launch in August! I'm really excited to get this story finished and into readers' hands. I think y'all will like it. I hope you do, anyway. I'm taking a little bit of a risk with one aspect of the story, so we'll see!

Romance in fantasy

I admit, I've never been a fan of romance in fantasy, although if it fits the plot, I certainly don't mind it. Now I find myself needing to include a romantic subplot in my fantasy novel, and I'm not quite sure I know how I feel about it.

Writing the kissy, emotional scenes doesn't bother me. I don't plan to include anything R rated, so if my characters do end up in bed, it'll be behind a closed door. What makes me squirm is the need for it in the first place. For those who know the story of Gavin Kinshield, it makes perfect sense that he would need to find a wife -- and quickly (in case he croaks). In fact, omitting it altogether would be completely illogical from a story standpoint. Glossing over a subplot is, well, not who I am as a writer. If I'm going to include it, it has to be an integral part of the story. It has to pull its own weight.

Yet, I hesitate. When I ask myself why, the only answer that comes to mind is that "romance doesn't belong in fantasy." I know, I know. It's a subjective preference, one that many other fantasy readers share. Will they forgive me this one indulgence? Will I forgive myself?

Game of Thrones

All I can say is WOW! Even if you're not particularly fond of fantasy, this series on HBO is definitely worth watching. Based on the book A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, it's more a story of kings and wars and back-stabbing and manipulation than the typical fantasy with magic. You won't find any fairies or unicorns or elves in this story. It's raw and gritty (intended for mature audiences) and very well done!

Anyone who appreciates excellent prose and an epic story should consider reading the series, called A Song of Ice and Fire (of which A Game of Thrones is book 1). I found myself completely immersed in the story such that I don't notice the writing. As an author, that's my goal -- to make the writing disappear and have the story take shape within the reader's mind as he reads. Mr. Martin is a master!

I'm betting the HBO series shoots his books to the top of the sales charts (again?) as new readers discover his amazing talent for storytelling. I've read the first three books in the series, and now I'm eager to start on book four, especially knowing that the conclusion of the story, A Dance With Dragons, is due to hit store shelves July 12.