Onward

[dr_phil_physics]

I've invited a few people to read the Beta 1 version of A Princess of a Lost Kingdom. If you're interested, there may be more slots.

Now it's waiting. Oh sure, I've got prep work for classes after Labor Day. But waiting to find out if anyone even likes my book -- this is worse than childbirth at eleven months of work!

So after I started shipping invites out, I went ahead and created mockups for Books 2 and 3. I already had the covers designed, though like Book 1, I had to redo them with the final book numbering scheme:


Books 2 and 3 -- The Loneliness of a Lost Kingdom and The Royals of a Lost Kingdom -- have been through the Edit Pass 1 process. Next is Pass 2, where I fill in on the names of people and places, expanding a bit because I now have a longer cast list and a map. Then more serious editing. When I try to sell Book 1, I'd really like to have Books 2 and 3 fairly clean, if not Beta 1 tested as well.

But, I'm not sure I've ever read either 2 or 3 as a complete book before. And of course, I immediately discovered a major continuity error early in Book 2. It's left over from discovering I'd lost a year in what is now Books 4 and 5 (DW) (LJ), and a chapter got moved... to a place that's too early.

Okay, that's fixable. But surprising.

Still, despite not quite being finished, Book 2 moves along and has a real kicker of an ending. And Book 3 leads directly into the second trilogy. Rather pleased with the timing of it all. Because these were all written together, one of the things I am proud of is how the transition between books is seamless. The story picks up right where we left it. Cool.

But reading the PDFs in the Acrobat Reader on the Kindle Fire HD is fast. So I got through Books 2 and 3 each in a late night session. I had a doctor's appointment Thursday afternoon, and when I got home I didn't feel like doing real work. Now what?

Well, I might as well play with the covers. So here are all nine books of the three trilogies. You might notice that there's some height variation. I am working from stock photos and didn't bother compensate completely for different source sizes. Like I keep saying, I'm doing this part for fun -- I am not self-publishing the stories. I did six covers in about two hours. But I am rather pleased with my results:



And I've just done some necessary file updating in the two files which contain Books 4-6. So late night tonight I went ahead and made mockups for Books 4 and 5 --

By the way, the stock photo credits from Maria Amanda Schaub are:
The Private Trilogy
A Princess of a Lost Kingdom
http://mariaamanda.deviantart.com/art/White-Fairy-Stock-458582312
Photographer: Helle Gry

The Loneliness of a Lost Kingdom
http://mariaamanda.deviantart.com/art/Royal-Stock-432044020
Photographer: Martin Lindeblad Jørgensen

The Royals of a Lost Kingdom
http://mariaamanda.deviantart.com/art/White-Fairy-Stock-455357803
Photographer: Helle Gry

The University Trilogy
The Heir to a Lost Kingdom
http://mariaamanda.deviantart.com/art/Closeup-Right-Stock-312152604
Photographer: Maria Amanda Schaub

Sisters From a Lost Kingdom
http://mariaamanda.deviantart.com/art/Closeup-Left-Stock-312152784
Photographer: Maria Amanda Schaub

A Queen of a Lost Kingdom
http://mariaamanda.deviantart.com/art/Blue-Silk-Stock-Concept-by-Faestock-341209992
Photographer: Jan Holte Teller
Concept: Faestock

The Reign Trilogy
A Doctor of a Lost Kingdom
http://mariaamanda.deviantart.com/art/On-Ice-Stock-355114334
Photographer: Helle Gry

The Norwegian War
http://mariaamanda.deviantart.com/art/Winter-Portraits-Stock-361742326
Photographer: Helle Gry

A Deposed Princess of a Lost Kingdom
http://mariaamanda.deviantart.com/art/Radiant-Darkness-Stock-323142621
Photographer: Helle Gry

And as usual, you can't tell too much from any of this as to what's going on. (big-grin)

Dr. Phil

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