Riley is the Official “Book of the Day”

The Adventures of Riley Raccoon has been knighted “Book of the Day” on the UK book review site, Flurries of Words. This is pretty exciting, actually; it’s the first time Riley has earned the title “Book of the Day.” Even though it’s not the New York Times’ Book of the Day, it’s still noteworthy, especially as Flurries of Words is all the way across the pond.

Check it out for yourself!

A Lesson on Revolutions

Time for a history lesson, so wake up!

Throughout history, there have been many revolutions, mostly from an overpowering, unfair dominion over its oppressed and suppressed people. So eventually, the people get fed up with being trodden upon and fight back with guns and yelling. Also, all these revolutions were usually led by what we call a “revolutionary,” who goes down in the history books as the impetus or leader of said revolution. Just a few, well-known examples of revolutions and their respective revolutionaries to get started (and jog the memories of those who’ve been out of school for a little while longer than they’ve realized):

• The Glorious Revolution: William III of Orange and his wife, Mary II of England
• English Civil Wars: Oliver Cromwell
• American Revolution: George Washington
• French Revolution: Napoleon Bonaparte

KDP Select Getting in the Way

As some may already know, I’ve finished my second book in the Riley Raccoon series, “The Adventures of Charlotte Raccoon.” In the ideal world, here’s what would happen in the next week or so:

1. I fine-tune the book, proofread, edit it, format it (all that jazz indie authors have to go through), and ultimately publish it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords, along with their affiliates, including Apple, Sony, Kobo, and Diesel, to name a few. I’m not attached in any weird way to Amazon or anything- I want my book to be available in all ways possible.
2. I put the first book (“The Adventures of Riley Raccoon”) on sale temporarily for free across all platforms, to encouraged readers to get into the series and purchase the second book, as well as read my blog and join my upcoming newsletter.
3. Heck, if things turn out well, I might even keep the first book free!

But, since I daringly signed up for KDP Select, and have sold my soul to Amazon for 90 days (ending on May 20th), it would make little sense for me to publish the sequel to platforms on which nobody has read the first book.

The Adventures of Charlotte Raccoon

Today, March 21, 2012, I am announcing the completion of “The Adventures of Charlotte Raccoon,” sequel to “The Adventures of Riley Raccoon.” I have yet to go through any proofreading or editing, but as it stands now, the book is 31,555 words long, and 22 chapters. As you can see, that’s over twice as many words but the same number of chapters as the first book. I have really fleshed out the story this time around, delving deeper into the characters, and the morals and philosophies woven into them.

The book tells the tale of Charlotte before she met Riley in his hamlet. It details her growing up in an urban environment, where resources are scarcer, creatures more dangerous, and raccoons more ruthless than in Riley’s peaceful little woodland habitat. She lived with her Uncle Tom in the suburbs, which are relatively peaceful compared to the downtown area, where her first best friend, Jack, is from. Going on adventures with Jack, she learns many things about the world, and about humans in particular. She takes up studying human behavior in an effort to understand why they do the strange things they do. Without spoiling any details, Charlotte’s and Jack’s morals are both tested against a force unbearably tempting.

This book is about standing by your moral beliefs, maintaining
your personal independence from others, and the importance of independent thought.

Look for it soon on Amazon!

Twitter Deactivation

I have decided to delete my Twitter account (@Riley_Raccoon) for personal reasons. My blog will still be fully operational, and emails (adventuresofriley@gmail.com) are still welcomed.

Here’s to Riley’s continued and Charlotte’s upcoming success!

Conversations with a Publisher

As you may know, I have maintained a rather extensive conversation with a prospective publisher of mine, Diamond Heart Press. In our correspondence, I have learned much about the publishing industry as a whole, including both the self-pubbing and trad-pubbing aspects of it, marketing, and promotions techniques. One thing they mentioned in a recent email was my age. Few readers, authors, and publishers out there know how old I am, and fewer have even thought about it. I agree- age has nothing to do with the quality of a book, or anything about anything at all. But Diamond Heart Press suggested I mention my age in my bio’s and author descriptions. So I guess I’ll give it a shot:

The Diamond Heart Press letter

After a few weeks of emails back and forth, publisher Diamond Heart Press and I finally came to a definitive conclusion: