r/NewAuthor

It's so exciting. I've spent years working on this novel and it's finally published. I've already gotten a few positive reviews as well. One on Amazon and 2 on Goodreads.

I'm humbled by the people who've already said nice things about it. If not for my wife constantly encouraging me, I'd have never published it.

My book is available on Amazon now!

https://us.amazon.com/Echoes-Void-Trilogy-Mark-Young/dp/B0HHB2CGTX

https://amzn.eu/d/09PxHP7n

I genuinely never thought I could have this much fun writing. It’s been truly amazing, from spending a year trying to craft my first story and then spending nearly another six months trying to get my head around how to get it published. And then one day accepting that self publishing was also a really genuine route to market. Now having finally pushed the button and got it out there I’m just so blown away by all the really kind support of friends family and people who purchased the book. People have gifted it to friends and family and even asked for personal signed copies. I feel blessed.

The day I got my first review was something truly magical too. Well I’m not finished yet. I’ve moved on to the sequel. I’ve taken everything I’ve learned from the first book and I’m putting  it into the next one. I can’t wait to share the next book with you when it’s ready and I’ll definitely be looking for ARC readers when the time comes.

But for the moment I’m trying to get about 1000 words down a day and get a first draft out and that’s going really well. I’m falling in love with all the characters all over again and remembering why I wrote the original book in the first place.

So a massive thank you to everyone who shown such love and support to A Small State of Chaos

AJ x

It’s available to read here: https://amzn.eu/d/09PxHP7n

This book (first in a series) is a bit of a passion project of mine starting from all the way in high school. Been working on it for years and it’s seen so many revisions and rewrites and complete overhauls. I’d love to have your guys’s opinions on it! Been published on Amazon and Patreon, too. Book 2 is currently being posted on Patreon.

Hey everyone! I’m Mo, and I’ve spent the last couple of years quietly working on a book. It is officially finished, and putting myself out there feels both incredible and a little intimidating.

It’s a fast-paced YA urban fantasy novel called Into the Inferno: From the Book of Michael.

The story basically follows our main man Michael as he gets dragged into a modernized version of Hell. He has to travel through the Inferno alongside his friends (and a very bitter spirit guide named Dante Alighieri) to stop the Apocalypse and prevent a certain someone from escaping.

If you are into ancient myths, angels vs. demons, and characters who deal with stressful situations via intensive sarcasm, you'll feel right at home here.

I’m completely new to the community side of things and really just want to find my people, make some fellow writer/reader friends, and talk shop. I’d love to know what you think of the premise, or what your favorite urban fantasy tropes are right now!

You can check out the book here if you're interested: https://a.co/d/05XJe99o

After over 5 years of the entire process, my debut indie, Fate, is published and out in the world! It’s a trans sapphic fantasy romance that’s pretty niche, and while I’ve already grown a lot as an author since laying down my pen for this one, I wouldn’t change the experience at all.

I can’t believe it’s finally out there for people to read it. And so far, reviews (while barely double digits) are mostly positive. This little story means the world to me and just for that alone, I’m gonna take a victory lap today.

There's something completely different about seeing it in person rather than looking at a cover file on a screen. This book took about a year from the first words to publication. There were plenty of times during that year when I genuinely wondered whether I'd ever get to the end of it.

Writing the book was one thing. Then came editing. Then formatting. Then the cover. Then trying to work out how to actually publish the bloody thing. And now it's a paperback! And an ebook. I'm really proud of how it turned out, especially because there were so many points where I nearly convinced myself I was never going to finish it.

It's also enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, so if you're a KU subscriber, you can read it at no additional cost. It should now be available across all marketplaces.

For convenience, I've included some links below to help you find it. Thanks again for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy the adventure if you decide to join the ride!

UK

USA

GERMANY

CANADA

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My website, where you can learn more about me and get a free exclusive sci-fi thriller short story.

Thank you. You reading this means the world!

The culmination of a frankly ridiculous history project is finally on sale!

I'd always had this idea to choose a street and research every single person who lived there so I could really immerse myself in a set time and place in the past. But it seemed preposterous, I had no history or writing qualifications, and it felt selfish to even carve out enough time to do it.

Then along came breast cancer. 18 months of treatment. A realisation that I had been putting myself last for most of my life. And writing a first book suddenly seemed less scary after surgery and chemotherapy.

I chose Romiley Road on the day of the 1871 census. A huge spreadsheet followed, along with all the old maps I could find to work out who lived where (no house numbers back then). It was initially over 100 households, pared back to 83. Around 30 appear in the book.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed, I chose the most interesting looking family to research first. A hat manufacturer named Samuel Robinson with his wife, daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. It turned out his entire enterprise, which had sustained hundreds of residents from the village, had vanished completely from history. I used newspaper articles to piece together the timeline and squinted at old photographs to verify where it all was. I followed Samuel through the parties he threw for his employees, the loss of his first son, then his second, and his second marriage to his niece (not blood related but still...). I visited the grave of Samuel and his family and felt genuine sadness.

A year of research uncovered so many interesting stories of tragedy, crime and loss, but also stories of joy and moments of fun amidst the long working days. I began writing and discovered that I loved the process. Going back and honing each sentence to sound just right to my ears.

Then illness struck again. First depression, brought on by my hormonal treatment (tamoxifen), and just as I was recovering from that I developed breathing issues. A total of 7 weeks in hospital. They still don't know what's causing it. Lacking in energy and not knowing what the future would bring, I came incredibly close to giving up on the book. Thankfully, a friend I had made on TikTok urged me to continue.

I'll admit that the final proof editing and the formatting were substantially less fun than the writing had been. But creating a cover and receiving the proof copy were so exciting. When I hold the book in my hands those hundreds of hours of work seem like a distant memory, almost as though somebody else wrote it.

But it's here. My local bookshop has agreed to stock some copies, some very kind people from local organisations have agreed to feature it in their newsletters and a few flyers have been distributed. I would have loved to have done a launch event but my current health would have made that very difficult.

My hope is that people who love A House Through Time and books like The Five will somehow find it and enjoy immersing themselves in 1870s Romiley too. Or descendants of the original residents will read the book and contact me. But whatever happens, I made a thing. And that's cool.

I had a really great time with Out of the Fold at WOTS! A lot of interest. A local youtuber interviewed me about the book, which was a fun experience. Even got a person who said they saw my book on reddit and had to come down to get one, which was very touching. (So much so that I forgot to offer to sign theirs. If that was you, sorry!)

It was exciting to get the book into new hands. While I didn't quite break even, I consider it a success for sure, and now I want to do more!

Today on Amazon, my ebook is #1 in tragedies, 4th in 19th century fiction and the paperback is also 4th in 19th century fiction #12 in westerns.

What’s more amazing to me is that my book (on the westerns best seller list) sits between a Cormac McCarthy book and Charles Portia’s.

Yes, it’s a new release. But this is amazing to me.

Amazon link:
https://a.co/d/0dcs0ToK

This is thanks to a combination effort in my marketing. It cost a pretty penny too. Hopefully over the course of the month I’ll break even. Time will tell.

Along with the Bookbub Free Reads promo, I also marketed that my book was temporarily free on Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. I’m very pleased with the results so far!

Day two after release!

#5 in 19th Century Historical Fiction and #11 in Westerns on Amazon.ca.

Thank you to everyone who picked up a copy.

I’ll have signed copies with the limited edition fold-out map of Anjeer State this Saturday, October 3, 2 to 4 p.m., at 948 Brewing Co. in Airdrie, Alberta. Or order from my website www.danpenton.com/signed for personalized copies, shipped in Canada.

Buy on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0hEHiZaz
Buy on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-thats-left-behind-daniel-penton/1151382386?ean=9781069927712
Buy on Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/all-that-s-left-behind-3?sId=911f491b-4987-4a8f-bf68-08f50e63cf44&ssId=uuR4mJIOa-_L4r6wKUAOm&cPos=1
Buy on Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/ca/book/all-thats-left-behind/id6813276157

#DanielPentonAuthor #Westerns #HistoricalFiction

As the title says, idk if my literary novel have good writing. I mean, people on Royal Road says it's good, but they didn't spend money on it, and the few who did, didn't leave a review.

It's written more like a diary entry turned novel than a regular epic, so most things just happens without much ties to the plot. I guess that's bad?

This is from later on in the novel, btw. Galan and the waitress are multi-lingual while Masahiko can only speak Japanese.

It took 18 months to get here after countless other failed attempts. Doubt was constant. I found my therapy in writing, turning my energy away from some very dark and self destructive create my own world where I had control. The entire process has been a journey, and at times, a fight. Still, it's a huge personal achievement, and for the first time in a long time, I can say I am proud of myself.

Thank you guys for your continued support! Going from 6k to 30K this year alone is an insane feat of its own. Really proud of you guys for making this community what it is today! We couldn't have done it without you c:

Brendan, the teenage prince of the medieval kingdom of Palatia, is a kind and merciful young man...but his father is the opposite.

When Brendan encounters a pair of orphaned thieves, will he follow in his father's footsteps and execute justice?
If he chooses to spare the thieves, the consequences could be more dire than he could ever imagine.

If it sounds interesting, get your own copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Prince-Palatia-Micah-Madera/dp/B0HLBSLPT5/

Hi everyone! As I wait for the manuscript edit to come back, my illustrator and I have been working on the single all-important image. The book cover.

One of the core principles for Capyhero is to have everything be hand made and give absolutely no chance of ai generated writing or art. Nick (the project's illustrator) is a traditional artist and is doing all of Capyhero's 100+ illustrations in fountain ink. In that vein, we'd like the book cover to also be created through traditional methods.

Nick has been brushing up on his painting skills as we plan the front cover. Here's a practice piece (gouache paint) of Jake, the Piper, a minor character from the book.

I’m loving the natural brush strokes and handling of lighting and fur rendering. It’s been great to see this and imagine our main protagonist, Capy, receiving similar treatment for the cover as well.

How do folks here feel about traditionally painted book covers versus the much more common digitally illustrated covers these days? I will openly say, we're happy to evoke *Redwall-*esque nostalgia with Capyhero. Is anyone here working on a book and thinking of doing their book cover traditionally as well? Any lessons learned?

Part of me worries about how book covers these days are super vibrant, graphic, and have heavy contrasting elements. Would a traditionally painted cover not be attention-grabbing enough? If you were to see a book at a bookstore with a cover like this, would you be interested or would your eyes just pass over it because all the books next to it are "louder"?

And what do folks here think of this practice piece of Jake, the Piper? Nick and I are quite fond of him 😄

Thanks for reading!

It's a sci-fi adventure featuring a bounty hunter with serious attitude. If you regretted everything about the Book of Boba Fett, this story might show what they could have done with that great character instead. This isn't a fan fiction, but the Fett man is my favorite Star Wars character and his character definitely had an influence on this one: https://youtu.be/av74-l6__OU

Feels so surreal to have my book in my hands!

ARC applications are open if you love SciFi mystery!

ARC Applications here!

My novel, The Echo of It All recently received its first 1-star review. And damn, the book wasn’t even a week old. That review devastated me. Not just a little. A LOT. To a point where I found myself unwilling to drive after dropping my kid off at school. Ten minutes later, I found myself sitting in the car, still in the parking lot, staring at a fence, where leaves danced and the clouds above the beautiful church tower behind the fence drifted poetically on the wind. Not even the soothing classical music on the radio eased my mind.

I thought my reaction was too dramatic, but I just couldn’t shake that heavy feeling. We’ve all heard the stories before, about artists, writers, and musicians who’ve received reviews that shattered their spirits, and I expected that to happen to me, eventually, but not like this.

So I read and re-read that review, trying to figure out where this reader was coming from.

That review title... "Would not recommend, definitely not for children."

The comments...
"Characters miraculously develop opinions and acquire information about other characters, out of what seems to be thin air..."
"Character traits abruptly changed, it was unconvincing..."
"Comical and juvenile... not for children..."
"Underdevelopment" and "inconsistent."

That 1-star review was totally puzzling to me. Vague. Misleading. It seemed to have completely missed every point I had tried to make in the novel. How could a reader misunderstand the novel so badly? The reviewer didn’t seem to understand the very basics of the novel’s mechanics, and to top it all off, she’d dismissed and demolished the book after reading only ten chapters… that alone shocked me. Ten chapters out of thirty-eight… I felt as if that person knew me and posted a hate review just out of spite... our minds really go to dark places when this happens.

My only saving grace was the earlier review from an ARC reader who’d given the novel a 3-star review. That reviewer had enjoyed the characters, the story, and most of all, the atmosphere! The only thing that prevented the 3-star reviewer from liking the book even more was the plot. She’d thought there was too much happening all at once, and had become a bit confused, fearing she’d missed a few stitches in the process. But she still recommended the book!

I understand how complicated the plot of The Echo of It All may be to some readers. I knew from the very beginning that the story was chock-full of lore. I knew it would require a level of immersion from readers. But… for that 1-star reviewer, no amount of immersion seemed enough. That seriously bothered me… because that meant something was seriously wrong with the novel.
And with me.

Then suddenly something dawned on me... or rather, smacked me upside the head like a ton of bricks: what if that reviewer is a child? Yikes... I’d written a middle-grade book before, my first book, Fantastical Nature. But I'm not a "middle-grade writer." I must have gotten a young reader who’d read Fantastical Nature, and assumed I was writing the same type of book without checking the details of it first...

That actually would explain everything.

The “not for children”  title, the “juvenile”  complaint, the bafflement at the complexity, the missing of basic plot mechanics like mind-reading... it all tracks if this was a kid (or a parent buying for a kid) who grabbed my book based on name recognition from your middle-grade work.

I’m not a hundred percent sure that this 1-star review is clearly about reader error, and I may never know who Amber J. W.... but I hope she's alright.

Talk about subverting expectations!