Change

I Love Maps. I Really Do. HYMN OF THE ANCIENTS Updated Map & Progress Update!

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So I’ve been working on my next projects (Book 2 of HotA and a few others), but nonetheless I’ve been continuing to tinker with Hymn of the Ancients, mostly just correcting grammatical errors missed in the edits. But also I UPDATED THE NEW MAP OF DEMAREST!

Man, it’s so beautiful. I LOVE MAPS.

I’ve been using this super fun mapmaking software called Wonderdraft, it took a little while to learn but it’s so much fun. Certainly gives me something fun/productive to do when I’m procrastinating writing anything.

I decided to go with the classing “paper” version of the map rather than the color one. I think it just looks classic and cleaner, and the other version came out a little dark in the paperback, so I updated that as well.

Anyway, I wanted to take a minute and thank everyone who’s been reading Hymn of the Ancients, and everyone who left a review or gave me feedback I really appreciate it! I know there were a few grammar errors that were missed in editing but I believed I’ve cleaned just about all of them up at this point. I’m really proud of this book, and it’s fun jumping into a new genre and seeing how it flies on its own like a bird leaping out of the nest.

I’ve got some more projects percolating, both fantasy and post-apoc, so stay tuned.

Much love y’all.

-Evan

Second Edition of HOOD, Free Release!

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Surprise!!

I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile, and while I was on vacation in New Hampshire I decided it was time to finally get it done.

I’ve officially released the SECOND EDITION of Hood: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel!

I know what you’re thinking… What’s different? Why do this? Do I have to pay for it?

  1. You do not have to pay for it if you already own the HOOD eBook. Simply go into your Amazon, go to “Manage your Content and Devices”, and scroll until you see HOOD and press the UPDATE AVAILABLE button. Also, your kindle might already AUTO-update all books, if not you can set your kindle to auto-update under the SETTINGS tab once you’re in “Manage your Content and Devices”.  If you’re using any of the other booksellers… I’m not sure how it works yet :\ I will be updating it on other retailers shortly.
  2. Why do this? In short, I merely wanted to take the time to improve the writing, make small changes, and just bring the overall quality of the book up. It’s not that I was unhappy with it, but it is my baby, and giving it some TLC was something I’ve wanted to do for awhile.
  3. What’s New? So by in large the book is the same…I am not overhauling the story or anything. This is mostly just to make some small content changes but the overall story remains the same. Features:
  • About 1.5 New Chapters worth of content in the beginning of the book/Clearwater era! This is mostly just to set the stage more before the first plot point. I’m really excited about it though, I think it really beefs up the story.
  • Cleaned up the prose/diction and some of the internal/external dialogue throughout the book. Mostly little things, I wanted to trim down a little bit, replace a few others, just tighten up the prose and make it more readable. I think with a light touch of changing things, the book is vastly improved.
  • For those of you wondering, The ending remains the same, but I changed a few little elements throughout the book that I think make it a bit more powerful and give the reader some foreshadowing to the larger story at work throughout the series.

So yeah, I’m blessed that I have the luxury to be able to do this as a self-pub. One of the awesome perks. I love this book, and I wanted to really make sure it was as powerful and as meaningful to both myself and the readers as it possibly could be. Giving it a little love was well worth the time.

NOTE: If you look in the front matter of your eBook, and it does not read “Second Edition” in the title page, you do not yet have the updated version!

I’m really glad I did this. If you decide to go back and give it a re-read, please let me know what you think! The new content is in chapters 3 and 4.

Alright, now its back to all the thousand other things that require my attention.

Happy Summer All!

-Evan

Final Book 3 Update!

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So as you all may know, I finished the draft of American Rebirth, edited it once, and gave it to my Beta readers. So here’s the news:

The Bad: I just got back the book from my Beta readers, and I do need to make some changes. A bit more than I expected, maybe.

The Good: All things considered, it’s mostly tweaks and alterations, only one chapter needs to be overhauled, as far as I can tell.

The VERY Good: I have this week and next week off for Easter break. So I’m going to ballistic editing this thing. I have no doubt I can have it finished by then. I’m goin’ into grindmode, muddertruckers. Furthermore, I am really, really excited about the changes I’m making. I am very happy overall with the quality of the draft and how much my Betas enjoyed it, and I think after these edits it’s gonna be BALLIN OUTTA CONTROL.

Or at least, that’s the plan.

TL;DR The book is nearly done, I should have it completed by the end of the first week in April.

Next time you hear from me, the book should be out.

GET HYPED!!!

-Evan

 

 

New Cover Reveal for BOOK 2!

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As promised…

legends3

I’m really excited about this one.

I’ve been working with Jeff Brown with creating new covers for the series. And while it is bittersweet changing the old covers, I’m pretty excited with how the new ones look.

This second one, in particular, is quite gorgeous and does a sick job capturing the scene from the beginning of Book 2. And in general it’s just a gorgeous-looking work of art.

So yeah, I’m pretty psyched. The level of detail and how beautiful the scenery is really just blows me away. I think it also conveys the mood and tone of the book and the series really well.

Now it’s on to book three. All I have to do now is finish it!

Regarding Book 3…

I had hoped to have it released by the end of Summer. Clearly that hasn’t happened. Various circumstances in my life has slowed the writing process considerably for me. I still am determined to get it out as soon as possible, but more importantly…

I want to make sure the book is as good as it possibly can be. This book is tremendously important to the overall story arc of the series, and I don’t want to rush it. I thought I was going to have all Summer free like last year when I produced Book 2, but it didn’t work out that way.

So, I am still writing, I’m happy with how it’s coming out, so that’s really the most important part. But it still is going to take some time until it’s completed.

Feel free to leave thoughts and comments below!

-Evan Pickering

Brand New Cover for HOOD!

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After some time deliberating and hand-wringing about how much I love my homemade covers, I finally decided to invest in some professionally made covers.

Because it’s about time. While I am proud of my covers, for what they were, and as a creative maniac I love being able to design them myself–but reality is given how well my series has done, I’m doing them and myself a disservice by not having professionally made covers.

So, I contacted Jeff Brown, who designs covers and graphics, and started working with him on a design. After he dealt with me asking for a thousand different things, we have reached a finished product:

 

hood_final

So what do you guys think? How does it stack up to the old cover? I haven’t put it up yet, since I’m deliberating on whether I should wait for the cover for LEGENDS to be done as well so I can change them both at once, or just do it piecemeal.

Part of me just wants to put it up now, because I’m excited about it. But I know for branding purposes it’s probably better to wait.

I hate waiting.

Anyway, I’m excited about the art. Feel free to share your thoughts with me!

-Evan

My Words at 30.

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God I still love this song. Such a classic.

I first listened to this song when I was somewhere around the age of 18. Twelve years later it’s still great.

I thought I’d be scared or freaked out by thirty.

But I’m pretty happy about it. I’ve got a lot of reasons to love where I’m at in my life. Looking back at all the things that I’ve done (get it?) brings me more joy than anything else.

There are many various ways to measure how my life has gone, but…

I have so much love in my life. And I have given so much love and happiness to others over the course of my thirty years. Of all the things that I’ve done, that’s really all that matters.

As a thirty year old man, I feel in many ways like a better, stronger, wiser version of my younger self. I’ve grown up in the ways that are valuable, and I’ve stayed young in the ways that matter.

I can’t ask for much more than that.

I think one of the strongest truths that I know now at my age is this:

Words mean everything. 

The words you tell yourself in your head will define you. Positive or negative you will make them real.

The words you say to others about yourself–sooner or later you will accept them as truth even if you didn’t in the beginning.

The things you say to other people and the things they say to you is the fabric all of humanity is built on. Say good things, meaningful things, useful things, funny things–be careful with the hammer that is your anger and frustration. Saying harsh or critical things is necessary in life. But do not make it something that gives you power or satisfaction.

Many people live in fear of saying positive, kind or flattering things to others. They only do so sparingly as if it somehow is a risk that makes us lesser, weaker or vulnerable. It does not. Do not believe the lie that kindness is weakness. Kindness is true strength.

Thank you to everyone that has made my 30th birthday something special. I love you guys. And to those that have never met me or do not know me, I love you too. I hope all’s well.

-Evan

 

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes…

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So, I’ve pulled the trigger.

whiskey-cover-final-green

After a goodly bit of deliberating, talking to my readers, some hand-wringing and objective analysis, I’ve decided to change BOOK 2 of the American Rebirth Series.

The changes are as follows:

  • New Title: LEGENDS
  • New Cover
  • Added Content: Prologue – Survivors

It wasn’t easy deciding to make these changes, but they are decidedly the right ones, in my mind.

Truth is, I’m still learning as an author/publisher. As much as I loved WHISKEY as a title and the cover, I don’t think it was doing my story due service.

Truth #2, it’s not sexy to think about, but things like Cover, Title and Blurb are just marketing tools. They are the 9mm, salted meat and purified water to the wasteland survivor that is my series. The story itself, that’s the heart of the survivor. That’s where the good stuff is.

So, my job is to make those things as effective as I can. Here’s why I made the changes I made:

  1. WHISKEY is a title I love, and a character close to my heart. But the story is about much, much more than just Whiskey. If someone who reads HOOD loves Whiskey, they’ll read book 2. If they are lukewarm or worse about him as a character, they certainly won’t buy a book that seems like it’s all about him.
  2. When thinking about the big picture in terms of the title of Book 3 and beyond, I want to have more inter-connectivity between my titles. Choosing only character names hems me in a goodly bit. It can also confuse the shit out of prospective readers who haven’t read any of them.
  3. BOOK 2 is a story that truly continues the Legends of HOOD. The cover and title then need to convey that this book truly is a spiritual successor to Book 1, and not a giant left turn that follows a different character from now on.
  4. Making thematic-color commonalities between books seems to be a pretty good way of making sure readers recognize your sequels when they see them. Hence the color change on the Cover.

So that’s it.

I really appreciate the feedback from everyone who I talked to. To those who loved WHISKEY as a title and cover, I hope what I’ve said above makes sense as to why I changed it. I really appreciate everyone’s support.

So if you have an old copy of WHISKEY, well, now you have a vintage/collector’s item. 😀 LUCKY YOU!

Happy holidays everyone,

-Evan Pickering

 

 

To The Readers…

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As I am in the process of outlining & writing Book 3, I’ve been reflecting a bit on what I’ve done so far. As I hope to wrap up this three-book arc (more novels in the series sure to come thereafter, but I want Books 1-3 to come to a satisfying completion) I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ve done well and what I can improve on.

I’ve done plenty of self-reflection on the matter. Some things are clear, others are not. That’s where you all come in.

I’d really love feedback from you–the reader. So I’ve tossed a few questions together. As some of you may know I’ve been mulling over a title/cover change for Book 2… So in the spirit of feedback:

Feel free to answer in the comments, or email me at EvanPickering@EvanPickeringAuthor.com

  1. What do you think of the cover of WHISKEY, Book 2? Does it or doesn’t it make you interested in reading the book?
  2. What do you think of the title of WHISKEY, Book 2? If you had to choose between WHISKEY or LEGENDS as the title, which do you think would be more appealing?
  3. What was your favorite thing about the Book(s)? This could be as simple as a character dynamic, or a scene, or facet of the world, etc. No wrong answer.
  4. What was your least favorite thing about the Book(s)? Again, no wrong answer. Don’t worry about my feelings (lol) I want feedback!
  5. Any comments/questions feel free to speak up. It can be regarding the above or anything else.

This is your chance to pick my brain, help me out and ask me some questions!

I’m hard at work at Book 3. Life has been crazy but I’m making headway. I’m hoping to get it done much faster than the 9 months it took to get Book 2 done. With two books under my belt hopefully I’m getting better (and faster) at this!

Hope you all are enjoying your holidays.

-Evan

Mulling over Title/Cover Change…

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So I’m considering changing the title and cover for WHISKEY.

Truth be told, I like the cover and the title as it is… but I’m concerned it isn’t “connected” enough to HOOD so that the casual observer who sees it will recognize that it’s the sequel.

Maybe I’m overthinking things. But I’ve been toying around with covers to satisfy my meandering mind. Arguably, I’m not a digital design artist so my skills are pretty damn limited…

But I need some input from you, the reader/casual observer. Please let me know your thoughts on this matter…

Here’s the original cover:

whiskey-cover-final-42

And here’s the new one I’ve been playing with:

whiskey-cover-final-green

So, what do you think? Do you prefer the old one or the new one? Perhaps a mix of both? What do you think of the potential title change? Or the change of coloration to be more like HOOD?

Truth be told, things like title, cover art… these are just marketing tools. And I want BOOK 2 to feel as much like a spiritual successor to HOOD as possible.

 

Thanks peeps,

Evan Pickering

Why Every Problem You Have Is Bull***t

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I’m coming clean. I’m guilty of something.

It’s something every single one of us does, but I’ve been embroiled in it lately.

Misery.

Something ‘bad’ will happen, and a certain kind of rhetoric entrenches in my mind:

  • I don’t know what I’m doing with my life.
  • Everything feels like it’s going backwards.
  • I feel like I’m half the man I was five, ten years ago.
  • I’m making decisions with zero certainty that they’re the right ones.
  • I feel distant from everything and everyone I love as we all get older.

All of this, every single shred of it, is bullshit.

I could sit here and say “I shouldn’t be feeling this way, I’m healthy, living in a (relatively) free country, I’ve had an awesome life, I have people I love who love me back. I could be starving in [insert third world country].”

And yeah, that’s true. But in reality, all suffering is relative. If we lived a life of luxury and riches and ease, the simplest problem would feel life-crushing.

But I digress. The real reason all those aforementioned thoughts I have are bullshit is simple:

They are pure undiluted fear, disguised as the truth.

Some people might only have days to live, or are facing incredible adversity. Even those heavy, truly significant problems, are only events–we decide what they mean. The fear that they can create will only paralyze you. It will keep you from enjoying the moments of your life as they happen. It is bullshit.

We all have problems. We all have doubts, we all live in a world of uncertainty. While I’m carrying this weight around, I’m sleepwalking through precious, beautiful days of my life.

So maybe I have no idea what my future is. Maybe I’m nothing like the me I was when I was younger. Maybe some things in my life are going completely awry. Maybe I’ll never know if the decisions I’m making are the right ones. Maybe what I thought I wanted out of life has changed drastically. So it goes. So it has ever gone, for me and for everyone else.

Just let go. To hell with all the paralyzing fear that makes you want to never get out of bed. Change is inevitable. And not just the change you expect. Change you always secretly feared or never wanted will happen. But change is the nature of being alive.

Every problem can be described as this: You have a plan, an expectation. That expectation is not met or goes sideways. Anger, fear, doubt ensues.

I won’t sit here and tell you to live a life without expectations. But I will say this:

Life will probably go nothing like you thought it would. That’s alright. It is full of incomparably beautiful moments. Enjoy them, and the wildly different experiences that will follow. You cannot stop change. Fear is bullshit. Let it go.

-Evan Pickering