Author: jspeet

In case those of you who actually read my books are interested, my third book is about 1/4 of the way done. I’ve decided to up my game and put books out at a faster pace, so don’t expect to wait another year for Explorer to hit the market (I’m already discussing covers with my cover artist).

Of course, since writing is mostly limited to evenings and weekends, that means little to no TV*.

 

 

 

 

 

*That’s a joke – we don’t have television reception of any sort, and limited bandwidth on our satellite internet

I just checked. Trekker is available on Amazon now.

Of course, if you haven’t read Surveyor, you might want to do so before delving into Trekker (but it’s not necessary).

The intent was to release Trekker  in ebook and the paperback formats simultaneously, but I think I’ll mix things up. After spending an hour (or more) trying to format Trekker into a Mobi file (that’s the file format that Kindle reads), I’ve finally gotten Trekker ready to publish on Amazon.

There are some issues with it, though, that I haven’t resolved. First, is the whole Chapter thing. Scrivener, which is the software I use to write with, doesn’t seem to let me put my chapter titles in without having a Chapter number inserted before it.  You know, that whole “Chapter 1” thing. I don’t want the chapter numbers in it, though!  Grrr. So, special for Kindle, I eliminate the chapter headings and just put in the chapter numbers (until I can find out how to do that – the manual – yes, I RTFM – doesn’t give a clue on how to do that).

So, those of you getting Trekker in Kindle format will miss out on chapter headings. Those of you who wait for the paperback will not.

My expectation is that I’ll have Trekker published on Amazon this weekend, sometime (partly due to how Amazon handles these types of things). I’ll make an announcement when that happens.

For those that haven’t seen this on Facebook, here’s a little thing my artist for Trekker put together for promo purposes. I hope you enjoy it. I think it’s kind of nifty.

 

 

Well, the artwork for Trekker is almost finished. Got the e-book covers and promo stuff, now just awaiting the traditional book cover (front, back, and spine). Looks interesting so far.

Well, due to my procrastination, and then an artist having to bail (bummer on that – I loved her art work), the cover art for Trekker has taken a while. Good news, though. I have an artist working on it right now.

Most cover art for Indies (independently published authors – which is what I am) is usually done with a graphic designer taking stock images and slapping a title on the book. There might be some manipulation of the image to make it look more illustrated than photographed, but that’s about it. And, for some reason, they always have the person’s back to you, as if the protagonist is looking at something you, too, can see.  I hate that style!

Hence, my long delay in getting an artist. I had to find an illustrator who could create what I wanted, not just pull stock images and slap them together. Yes, it costs a bit more, but I believe the cost and effort is worth it.

I’m really looking forward to what my artist comes up with (based, of course, upon the concept art by my daughter). It will be illustrated, and it will also have Bill and Meri on the cover. I’m aiming for a cuter Meri (just google “cute redheads” and pick one and that will do).

Okay, between formatting Trekker, investigating fraud, and moving youngest spawn into her new apartment in Redmond (she’s attending DigiPen Institute of Technology to earn a BFA in Digital Arts and Animation – she currently does the concept art for my covers – one day to hopefully do the covers), I managed to take a break and see a couple of movies – one with Spawn 2 and the esposa, and the other with just Spawn 2 – Crazy Rich Asians and Alpha.

I truly enjoyed both movies and think both are Oscar worthy. I’m sure many of you have already heard about Crazy Rich Asians, so I won’t go too much into it other than to say it’s predictable but fun.

Alpha, on the other hand, was just amazing. Also predictable, but in a different manner. Many interesting plot twists along the way (and sort of reminds me somewhat of Trekker). I’d love to know who developed the language (or what language it was based on). The entire movie is in this language with English subtitles. Fortunately, there isn’t much dialog, but some of it is truly funny. I’d say this is probably based on a YA novel, but I couldn’t find anything to support that assertion.  Kodi Smit-McPhee does an amazing job as the boy, Keda, and Chuck, who plays the wolf Alpha, also did a great job (I think both deserve Oscars).

Reckon I’ll have to make more room on the DVD shelves in the library (yes, we do have a library in my house, occupied with wall-to-wall built in shelves – which I made – all filled with books and DVDs) for both movies when they come out on DVD. Alas, the library also has a couch and television (where we watch movies – but fortunately don’t have cable/satellite/antenna reception – gag me with a spoon when it comes to the drivel that’s on television).