Everything Epertase has moved. Go to epertasepublishing.com for all the latest. I even gave you a link to make it easier. My new website is badass. CHECK. IT. OUT. See you over there. I'd love to get your feedback on the new site.

Evolution of Legends Reborn

When I started writing my first fantasy novel, I did so mostly for fun. I never expected to get a publishing deal and I never expected to be right where I started nearly a dozen years later. When I first wrote The Light of Epertase, I didn’t have a publisher, an editor, a cover artist, or really anyway to put the book out into the world. So, I decided to have a little fun with it. I took my book and used a print on demand company, I believe it was called Lulu, to make a hard cover of my story. I used my super limited photoshop knowledge to create this cover. Take a look.

 

 

Shortly after creating my hard cover, I was offered a 3-book publishing deal with Rhemalda Publishing. I was so excited when I received the first copy of my first ever published book. Here is that cover.

 

 

However, even with the hard work of my aunt (who is an editor), Rhemalda, and their editor, I was still quite new at writing and Epertase wasn’t everything I knew it could be. That’s not to say it wasn’t the best work I could do, I was just pretty green.

 

Rhemalda closed their doors in 2014, I stopped writing, and yadda, yadda, yadda, here we are.

 

As COVID took us all by storm earlier this year and locked us in solitude, I refocused on my writing career. My forthcoming novel, Death of the Grinderfish, will be released in May of 2021 and I’m super excited about it. But before I release my Grinderfish story, I wanted to accomplish one other goal. And it has been quite an undertaking, to say the least. You see, I wanted to revisit my Epertase trilogy with my current eyes and current writing chops. Over the last 6 months, I have methodically and completely revised my trilogy. Included with this revision is a brand new edit from a very talented editor. She’s quite good and quite brutal. For example, here was her first comment from her first pass through. “I hate this opening sentence. In fact, most of the first chapter needs rewritten. And here’s why …” You can see how I had to leave my ego at the door. It’s important when you have a good editor to start with the philosophy of “the editor is always right” and work backward from that. A good editor’s job is to make your work better. That’s it. They’re not trying to inject their own voice or make you feel all warm and fuzzy. If something sucks, they should say, “This sucks and here’s why.” Now that Legends Reborn is finished, I can say confidently that she was always right. She currently has my Grinderfish book and I’m almost terrified to get it back after her first hatchet job. It’s very hard to hear someone tell you your son is ugly. It’s even harder when you later realize they were right.

 

And the final evolution of my Epertase trilogy begins today. My announcement is that as of September 4, 2020 the new, final, and best ever edition of Legends Reborn is available for purchase. If you’ve already read my trilogy, you won’t see many changes in the actual story and probably wouldn’t need to revisit it. But if you’ve never read it, or you want to see how it’s improved, now’s the time. Books 2 and 3 are getting the same treatment and will be released as soon as they’re shredded by my editor later this year. I’ve already revised them. If you’ve ever wanted to try my work, now would be a good time to pick up Legends Reborn either in paperback or ebook.  Because I’m such a swell guy, I’ve even provided a link.

Here’s the current cover.

And wait until you read Death of the Grinderfish.

Coming soon

As we move through the Corona virus here in Ohio and the rest of the world, I’ve found myself returning to one of my loves. I have a few passions in life. My family, friends, and work come first. But I also love choking my friends unconscious in jiujitsu. Wow, that sounded weird, huh? I might have issues. But anyway, what this blog is about is rediscovering my love of writing. I’ve decided to rededicate my efforts to reviving my dead career, not for money but for the love of creating.

Writing for success is a losing battle for most of us if success is measured by book sells. While I started writing a long time ago because I loved it, selling books became more of my focus than writing them. Losing my publisher and most of the momentum I had built discouraged me greatly. I realized I was measuring my success by how many books I was selling and my sells fell into the crapper. But being locked in my house 75% or the time (I still go to work as a firefighter) encouraged me to delve back into writing as a hobby with one subtle difference. I am no longer concerned about selling thousands of copies of whatever I write. Or even one. Of course, I hope I sell some, but that’s not my goal. It wasn’t at the start of my career and it’s not once again. I want to write to write.

Part of the creative process that I’ve enjoyed includes the presentation of my work in a professional manner. Years ago that meant one needed a publisher. But now, with the internet and freelancing, I can achieve that goal on my own. Reaching people will still be the challenge, but I’m not going to worry about that anymore. So, my big announcement is that I am self-publishing from here on out. Ahhh. That feels good. No more agent searching or publisher querying. Just putting out what I want and seeing what happens. Self-publishing used to mean to some people that an author’s work just wasn’t worthy to be read. Well, that may still be the case. But I don't give a shit. I think my stuff is good and I have plenty of reviews to know others like it as well. Maybe my future stories will suck and someone who buys them will feel ripped off. I truly hope not. All I can do is promise that I will always put my entire heart into presenting you the absolute best story I can.

Here’s my loose schedule. I have begun completely revising my Epertase trilogy. As I said, I want what I present to be the best I can make it. Part of that is fixing flaws that I have since determined I had early on with my writing. When I wrote Epertase Book One, Legends Reborn, I was an amateur in every sense of the word. My writing has improved greatly since. I might still suck, but not as bad as I did.

My current manuscript is titled Death of the Grinderfish. It is a stand-alone, dystopian fantasy loosely using the Robin Hood theme of stealing from the rich to give to the poor. I will spend a chunk of money on this venture, which is different than when I was with Rhemalda, but it’s worth it to me. I likely won’t sell enough copies to recoup those expenditures since I'm selling them on my own, but that’s fine. The one thing I can guarantee is that I’ll only release something I am 100% excited about. Maybe you’ll buy it. And maybe you won’t. We’ll still be friends either way. In the coming months I will reveal the cover here as well as updates to the May, 2021 release. I hope you’ll join me for this next adventure.

Woah

I wish I still looked like this.

Well-wishes in this Troubling Time

With the COVID-19 apocalypse upon us, I’ve had a little extra time on my hands as has everyone. While I still go to work every third day as a firefighter/paramedic, my jujitsu obsession (hobby) is pretty much stuck in the mud for now. Since I live in Ohio, the weather sucks, so going outside isn’t much fun. It’s raining right now. Today, I ran on the elliptical. Yikes. How could I lose so much cardio in only two weeks? Oh yeah, I’m almost 47 years old and watching movies all day doesn’t constitute cardio. Wouldn’t it be great if it did, though?
Anyway, I wanted to check in and see how you are all doing. I hope everyone is finding ways to endure your various (and I’m sure numerous) challenges right now. Whether you’re dealing with a terrible loss of income or lack of physical fitness, or if you’re mentally struggling with the isolation and lack of social gathering, I want you to know my family cares about you. (Well, not you, Bill. Fuck you.) Obligatory disclaimer: If you’re name is Bill that wasn’t directed at you and no one here (me) at Epertase mean any offense. Anyway, I hope you understand we are all in this together and, though we might not know each other personally, you’re in my thoughts. Yes, even you, Bill.
I realize I am fortunate to be an “essential employee” (whatever that means) and get to keep working. For what it’s worth, I think everyone who works in society is essential for many different reasons.
As a firefighter, I’m on the front lines and I’m seeing potential cases everyday. I assume I’ll eventually contract COVID-19, but I’m being as careful as I can. I only hope when/if I do get it, I can fight it without needing the assistance of our overloaded healthcare system, or by then the curve has become more manageable. Back in 2009 I got H1N1 (swine flu) and it was a pretty miserable few days quarantined to my bedroom.
Anyway, this blog was to simply check in with everyone and see how you’re doing. I know you’re strong and we’ll get through this together, but I also know it’ll be a tough sludge. Try and hold your head up and grind through the rocky road. I heard a quote today and now I’m going to butcher it for you. When you’re traveling through Hell, it’s best to keep moving.
Also, apparently this was my coming out party for the use of parentheses. (Now, you’re going back and looking at how many times I used them, aren’t you?)