/ en-US Mon, 18 Mar 2019 11:58:50 -0700 60 / 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg /author_blog_posts/6163281-sale-weekend Fri, 25 Apr 2014 08:59:46 -0700 /author_blog_posts/6163281-sale-weekend
The first two Central Series novels, The Academy and The Anathema are both free!

My light novels, The Night Market and Paranoid Magical Thinking are both only 99 cents.

Please take advantage while they are free/cheap. Cheers!



posted by Zachary Rawlins on March, 18 ]]> /author_blog_posts/6153136-the-far-shores Wed, 23 Apr 2014 07:44:30 -0700 /author_blog_posts/6153136-the-far-shores The Far Shores is now available on the Kindle Store for just 99 cents.



I hope y'all enjoy it!

posted by Zachary Rawlins on March, 22 ]]> /author_blog_posts/4996834-100k Mon, 07 Oct 2013 10:51:40 -0700 /author_blog_posts/4996834-100k
Anyway, that's the number of words in The Far Shores as of today. Which feels like some sort of accomplishment.

I've still got a ways to go, obviously - the Central Series novels tend to average in the 130,000-135,000 range, and I'm not sure where this one will fall, but I'm certainly in the end game.

For myself, the beginning of a novel isn't so bad. It's the middle that's an uphill battle, a slog where I might only nail down a few hundred words, or just stare blankly at the Word document, on a bad day. But the end - that always flies by, at the rate of thousands of words a day. I'm well on schedule to finish the writing stage before the end of the month.

At that point, I will do a read through and rewrite of my own, bringing the beginning in line with the end, altering things that I changed during the course of the book, and making revisions that occurred to me long after the text was completed and I had moved on. Since I don't go backwards or revise until I have finished the entire text, this is an inevitable necessity for all of my novels. Then it will move to my story editors, who will critique the plot and character development, and I will make the majority of the changes they suggest. Finally, it will head off to the proofer, who will fix up my grammar and polish the text.

And then, finally, into the reader's hands.

I can't wait until The Far Shores is complete. I have a short story collection and two Unknown Kadath-themed light novels (The Mysteries of Holly Diem and the tenatively-titled Yael and the Cats of Ulthar) that are partially complete that I am just dying to finish. Next year will see at least three releases, and maybe even four, if everything works to plan!

Back to work. Best to you all.

posted by Zachary Rawlins on March, 12 ]]> /author_blog_posts/4842421-the-far-shores-update Tue, 10 Sep 2013 09:57:57 -0700 /author_blog_posts/4842421-the-far-shores-update The Far Shores is well underway. I plan on submitting the first draft to my editors in November. After they give me their notes, I will make changes and send it on to the proofer. This process usually takes a couple months, all together. I will let y'all know when I have a firm release date, but it shouldn't be too long!

Additionally, I just got the new version of The Anathema back from the proofer, and will review the manuscript this weekend, with the hope of uploading the new version next week. Then I have to wait for Amazon to review and approve the changes, it which point anyone who has previously bought the book will have the option of downloading the new version (or, if you have automatic updates enabled on your Kindle, then it will just happen!).

I have lots more stuff in the works that I'm dying to tell you about, but I'm going to hold off until I get closer to releasing it. Suffice to say I'm super busy with the Central Series, and a some exciting new projects as well!

Cheers!

posted by Zachary Rawlins on February, 09 ]]> /author_blog_posts/4702557-the-academy---second-edition Fri, 16 Aug 2013 09:18:24 -0700 /author_blog_posts/4702557-the-academy---second-edition
I wasn't idle during my injury downtime, however. I rewrote my first novel, The Academy, improving voice, dialog and flow, and then paid for a professional edit and proofing. The results are currently available - if you haven't bought it yet due to complaints about typos, then I urge you to give it another shot - that problem is fixed! If you already purchased it (thank you!), then all you need to do is download the new version - or if you have enabled automatic updates on your Kindle, then it should have updated automatically.

I have similarly rewritten The Anathema, and the new text is off with the editor being proofed at the moment. I would expect that to become available as well in the coming weeks.

Enjoy!

posted by Zachary Rawlins on March, 07 ]]> /author_blog_posts/3502776-the-night-market Wed, 02 Jan 2013 12:03:04 -0800 /author_blog_posts/3502776-the-night-market
Please check out my new book, The Night Market, now available on Amazon:



Its the story of a girl in a gas mask, a brave talking cat, and the homeless and psychotic Jenny Frost, journeying across a wasteland, in search of a market where dreams are bought and sold. It's a standalone light novel - so though it is set in the Unknown Kadath Estates world, no previous reading is necessary (though if you liked Paranoid Magical Thinking , then you will really enjoy The Night Market!)

It is in the style that some readers have called 'Cthulhu Noir', and features awesome illustrations from Candace Ellis.

I will have more thoughts and discussion on it shortly, but for the moment, if you felt inclined to check out my new novel, I'd really appreciate it!

Cheers!

posted by Zachary Rawlins on March, 17 ]]> /author_blog_posts/3186049-the-grand-experiment Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:27:16 -0700 /author_blog_posts/3186049-the-grand-experiment
For those of you who don't know, writing books isn't my only job. I have a full-time day job working for an engineering firm. In order to complete the books I have published so far, I have been working between 60-80 hours a week for the past couple years. It has been very rewarding, but also totally exhausting and overwhelming.

With that in mind, I plan on taking a vacation from my day job for a week in November so that I can try out being a full-time writer. This will allow me to complete a couple projects that are waiting for compiling and conversion, put some serious work into The Far Shores, and do various edits and sundry tasks. It probably doesn't sound like that big of deal - it is only a week, after all - but I am very excited. I have never been afforded the opportunity to spend so much continuous time on my writing. It will also serve as a test, contending with the distractions of an empty house, an adorable Corgi, a stack of unread books, and a PS3.

And, yes, I do hope that this is merely a preview - and some day in the near future, I will be writing another blog post to celebrate not an experiment, but an occupation.

posted by Zachary Rawlins on March, 19 ]]> /author_blog_posts/3105768-another-day-in-the-program Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:58:47 -0700 /author_blog_posts/3105768-another-day-in-the-program
Alex closed his eyes and scanned for her Etheric signature. He came up with nothing, which was impossible. He put more effort and energy into his search, but if there was any fruit to his efforts, Alex never experienced it.

There was a brief sound from the ledge above him, then Alex was knocked over by something heavy landing on him. Alex was winded by the impact and pinned to the sidewalk by the weight on his chest. He decided it would be a good idea to smile diplomatically at the girl who was sitting on his sternum.

“Tag.� Katya cheerfully poked him in the forehead with the business end of one of her feared sewing needles. “I win again! Unless you wanna fight it out?�

“No way,� Alex said, muffled and straining. Katya wasn’t the smallest girl in the world, not that he was stupid enough to say anything about it. “You totally win.�

“Cool!� Katya stood up carefully, one hand pressing against the front of her skirt for the sake of modesty. “The Program is so much fun.�

Alex sat up and rubbed the back of his head, sore from where it hit the concrete.

â€Áè±ð²¹±ô±ô²â?â€�

“Oh, yeah.� Katya nodded seriously while she helped him to his feet. “You think this sucks, you should try assassination school.�

Alex could see where she might have a point.'

-The Far Shores

posted by Zachary Rawlins on March, 11 ]]> /author_blog_posts/3075506-on-the-purge-of-the-parsa-cartel Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:21:09 -0700 /author_blog_posts/3075506-on-the-purge-of-the-parsa-cartel
His first concern was lighting. Despite the massive chandelier and scattered wall sconces illuminating the room, the space was choked with antique furniture that cast long interlocking shadows on the walls.

Which led directly to the second issue: Alice Gallow strolled casually out of the darkness behind a grandfather clock, clutching a sawed-off shotgun and grinning like a game show contestant who has just won a new car. She tugged Xia along behind her like a recalcitrant child.

"Alice. Xia. Wasn't expecting you to arrive so soon," Alistair said, his voice light and smile firm for the benefit of the troops that flanked him. "Where is Mitzi?"

"Right behind you," Alice said, feeding fat plastic shells in to the sawed-off Mossberg. "Why don't you take a look?"

Alistair declined to do so. In retrospect, that turned out to be a bad decision.'

- The Far Shores

posted by Zachary Rawlins on March, 08 ]]> /author_blog_posts/2981489-i-m-good-i-m-gone Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:34:14 -0700 /author_blog_posts/2981489-i-m-good-i-m-gone
First things first, I'm way behind in responding to emails - sorry 'bout that. I've been working so hard that I haven't had time - but I will respond, I swear.

Second thing - The Central Series short story. Quick version - I planned to release a free short story, as a thank you to my totally awesome fans. Unfortunately, Amazon did away with the ability to sell free books. Since the short story was always meant as a give away - and to avoid screwing with the 99 cent price point, I decided to integrate the short story material into next year's The Far Shores , making that novel extra awesome. I also set in motion another secret plan to reward my loyal readers that will start soon - make sure you are signed up to The Central Series FB page if you want in on it!

Final Thing - What the hell have I been doing? Well, a great deal. I'm doing final polish on the new version of Paranoid Magical Thinking, complete with new cover, revised text, and new illustrations. Should be up (and free, if you bought the original!) in the next couple weeks.

Also, The Night Market is in second-stage edits. A stand alone novel that I wrote which just happens to tie into my 'Cthulhu Noir' series, Unknown Kadath Estates, I think you all really enjoy this one. I know I'm really proud of it.

And yes, I am writing The Far Shores, but that is still an indeterminate ways out. Those novels take a very long time, a great deal of effort, and a whole bunch of editing. So, I can't be firmer than 2013, no matter how much y'all email me to demand it (but I appreciate it anyway).

Alright, back to work, writing, and daily life. Cheers!

posted by Zachary Rawlins on February, 16 ]]>