Xenolith: Contemporary Fantasy - Page 15

ASparrow · 09-01-2010, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alvico

I'm waiting to check out your non-fantasy thriller. How's that going?

Cheers
Vicki

After an initial rush, my plot stalled, but I've recently found a way forward. I only have about 20k words so far. For a thriller, its turning out a bit lighter hearted than I anticipated, though not quite a comedy. Let's just say that the protagonist is not the most competent fellow, and neither are his adversaries.

alvico · 09-01-2010, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASparrow

After an initial rush, my plot stalled, but I've recently found a way forward. I only have about 20k words so far. For a thriller, its turning out a bit lighter hearted than I anticipated, though not quite a comedy. Let's just say that the protagonist is not the most competent fellow, and neither are his adversaries.

Sounds great. Don't you love it when a book has a mind of it's own? It's what makes writing so much fun. Please keep us posted.

Cheers
Vicki

mores · 09-02-2010, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASparrow

After an initial rush, my plot stalled, but I've recently found a way forward. I only have about 20k words so far. For a thriller, its turning out a bit lighter hearted than I anticipated, though not quite a comedy. Let's just say that the protagonist is not the most competent fellow, and neither are his adversaries.

Sounds like something I will love! Can't wait!

ASparrow · 09-05-2010, 04:36 PM

21 unsolicited reviews for Xenolith. (Pay no attention to the typo business in the early reviews, that's long since cleared.

1 unsolicited friendly, insider review for Peregrin, though I have no idea whether it succeeds as a sequel. Dangerously, story lines extending to a third book with Liz and Frank back in the States have begun intruding on my thoughts. Dangerous, because I'm currently drafting out two other novels (16k and 32k so far).

ASparrow · 09-16-2010, 09:42 AM

XENOLITH is still free, and coming up on it's 1-year anniversary.

For the uninitiated, it's a quirky story, not quite a fantasy, not quite reality, perfectly positioned to disinterest both fantasy geeks and literary aficionados.

It's generated mostly positive reviews, no raves. It won't blow your mind or change your life, but its a good value for the price.

Meanwhile, 41k words of the next novel in the pipeline have been written (SONANT).
Unlike, PEREGRIN, this is not part of a series, but is a completely new story. SONANT had to be written first to unclog the mental plumbing. It's another semi-fantasy, about music and religion and faeries.

ASparrow · 09-23-2010, 04:29 PM

Tonight I break 50k words on Sonant. Another 10k and I will have the story arc from one POV fully drafted and just have to fill in the other POVs that are essential to the story's tension.

Vultures is at 16k words, and about to bust through a significant blockage (one of my characters has been a little shy in revealing himself to me. But now I see precisely who he is.)

XENOLITH will acquire a price on October 12 (0.99). My other books will be offered for $1.99 or $2.99, I haven't quite decided. For now, they'll all still free.

ASparrow · 09-28-2010, 12:00 PM

XENOLITH gets pricier on October 12. Not a big deal, though, as you can see above.

Meanwhile Sonant is now a 53k skeleton undergoing its first rewrite. I'll be interspersing some new chapters among the bones. For those who like sausage making, I'll be posting the chapters serially on Wattpad as they get done.

ASparrow · 10-03-2010, 03:41 PM

XENOLITH is free for one more week.

(as are PEREGRIN and LETHE)

Reached 57k for the second draft of SONANT.

ASparrow · 10-07-2010, 06:03 AM

A few more days and XENOLITH will reach its 1 year birthday (October 11). It's been downloaded 2,805 times, most of them for free.

Come October 12, though, I'm going to slip a modest price tag on it and the other books, so this will be the last weekend to get XENOLITH, its sequel PEREGRIN, and my other bastard child LETHE, for free. Here's a blurb, for those averse to clicking:

"Lassoed, knocked down, face planted in the dirt -- best thing to happen to Frank Bowen in years. When wife Liz went missing in the wilds of Belize, the constables of San Ignacio could find no trace. Years later, on a pilgrimage to her remote 'grave,' Frank is abducted and whisked away to a place he can't identify, by people whose motives and origins baffle him. Could this be what happened to Liz?"

REVIEW (Amazon) - ****
"Tight writing (especially at the start) and a particularly strong sense of place drew me into this story. Frank's strength of character, despite his heart problems, carried me through to the end. Multiple plotlines and points of view keep the interest high, moving the story forward at all times.

I only have one quibble and it's minor. Because I was most vested in Frank's storyline and finding out what happened to his wife, the ending was left a bit too much up in the air for me. I wanted to know more! With a sequel in the wings, I realise this was probably intentional. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read."

GeoffC · 10-07-2010, 06:29 AM

Peregrin and Lethe are indicated as "buy", is that correct; Xenolith is certainly free as available for direct "download" ?

ASparrow · 10-07-2010, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Peregrin and Lethe are indicated as "buy", is that correct; Xenolith is certainly free as available for direct "download" ?

PEREGRIN and LETHE are currently "You set the price," which if you enter 0.00 is equivalent to free (although a little less direct). This also entitles the reader to any future updates/revisions (for free, even after these acquire an actual price tag).

GeoffC · 10-07-2010, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASparrow

PEREGRIN and LETHE are currently "You set the price," which if you enter 0.00 is equivalent to free (although a little less direct). This also entitles the reader to any future updates/revisions (for free, even after these acquire an actual price tag).

Ah - Thanks for that clarification

ASparrow · 10-10-2010, 05:05 PM

Two more days before Xenolith's days as a freebie are over.

In prep for its one year anniversary, I've gone through and re-edited it page by page, fixing some bad punctuation here and there, some of the last remaining typos, missing spaces and two paragraphs of plain gibberish in the middle chapters that had somehow eluded me earlier.

The new version is in the Smashwords conversion queue right now and should be available sometime Sunday evening.

ASparrow · 10-18-2010, 08:46 PM

Thirteen chapters of Sonant completed. This one's taking off for me.

For a sneak preview: http://www.authonomy.com/books/12427/sonant/

ASparrow · 01-28-2011, 11:47 AM

I'm resurrecting this Xenolith thread in anticipation of a new release this Spring.

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09-05-2010, 04:36 PM	#214
ASparrow Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 600000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston Device: Palm TX	21 unsolicited reviews for Xenolith. (Pay no attention to the typo business in the early reviews, that's long since cleared. 1 unsolicited friendly, insider review for Peregrin, though I have no idea whether it succeeds as a sequel. Dangerously, story lines extending to a third book with Liz and Frank back in the States have begun intruding on my thoughts. Dangerous, because I'm currently drafting out two other novels (16k and 32k so far).

09-16-2010, 09:42 AM	#215
ASparrow Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 600000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston Device: Palm TX	XENOLITH is still free, and coming up on it's 1-year anniversary. For the uninitiated, it's a quirky story, not quite a fantasy, not quite reality, perfectly positioned to disinterest both fantasy geeks and literary aficionados. It's generated mostly positive reviews, no raves. It won't blow your mind or change your life, but its a good value for the price. Meanwhile, 41k words of the next novel in the pipeline have been written (SONANT). Unlike, PEREGRIN, this is not part of a series, but is a completely new story. SONANT had to be written first to unclog the mental plumbing. It's another semi-fantasy, about music and religion and faeries.

09-23-2010, 04:29 PM	#216
ASparrow Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 600000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston Device: Palm TX	Tonight I break 50k words on Sonant. Another 10k and I will have the story arc from one POV fully drafted and just have to fill in the other POVs that are essential to the story's tension. Vultures is at 16k words, and about to bust through a significant blockage (one of my characters has been a little shy in revealing himself to me. But now I see precisely who he is.) XENOLITH will acquire a price on October 12 (0.99). My other books will be offered for $1.99 or $2.99, I haven't quite decided. For now, they'll all still free.

09-28-2010, 12:00 PM	#217
ASparrow Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 600000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston Device: Palm TX	XENOLITH gets pricier on October 12. Not a big deal, though, as you can see above. Meanwhile Sonant is now a 53k skeleton undergoing its first rewrite. I'll be interspersing some new chapters among the bones. For those who like sausage making, I'll be posting the chapters serially on Wattpad as they get done.

10-03-2010, 03:41 PM	#218
ASparrow Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 600000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston Device: Palm TX	XENOLITH is free for one more week. (as are PEREGRIN and LETHE) Reached 57k for the second draft of SONANT.

10-07-2010, 06:03 AM	#219
ASparrow Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 600000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston Device: Palm TX	A few more days and XENOLITH will reach its 1 year birthday (October 11). It's been downloaded 2,805 times, most of them for free. Come October 12, though, I'm going to slip a modest price tag on it and the other books, so this will be the last weekend to get XENOLITH, its sequel PEREGRIN, and my other bastard child LETHE, for free. Here's a blurb, for those averse to clicking: "Lassoed, knocked down, face planted in the dirt -- best thing to happen to Frank Bowen in years. When wife Liz went missing in the wilds of Belize, the constables of San Ignacio could find no trace. Years later, on a pilgrimage to her remote 'grave,' Frank is abducted and whisked away to a place he can't identify, by people whose motives and origins baffle him. Could this be what happened to Liz?" REVIEW (Amazon) - **** "Tight writing (especially at the start) and a particularly strong sense of place drew me into this story. Frank's strength of character, despite his heart problems, carried me through to the end. Multiple plotlines and points of view keep the interest high, moving the story forward at all times. I only have one quibble and it's minor. Because I was most vested in Frank's storyline and finding out what happened to his wife, the ending was left a bit too much up in the air for me. I wanted to know more! With a sequel in the wings, I realise this was probably intentional. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read."

10-07-2010, 06:29 AM	#220
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Peregrin and Lethe are indicated as "buy", is that correct; Xenolith is certainly free as available for direct "download" ?

10-10-2010, 05:05 PM	#223
ASparrow Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 600000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston Device: Palm TX	Two more days before Xenolith's days as a freebie are over. In prep for its one year anniversary, I've gone through and re-edited it page by page, fixing some bad punctuation here and there, some of the last remaining typos, missing spaces and two paragraphs of plain gibberish in the middle chapters that had somehow eluded me earlier. The new version is in the Smashwords conversion queue right now and should be available sometime Sunday evening.

10-18-2010, 08:46 PM	#224
ASparrow Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 600000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston Device: Palm TX	Thirteen chapters of Sonant completed. This one's taking off for me. For a sneak preview: http://www.authonomy.com/books/12427/sonant/

01-28-2011, 11:47 AM	#225
ASparrow Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 600000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston Device: Palm TX	I'm resurrecting this Xenolith thread in anticipation of a new release this Spring.