Bodacious Creed - Finished!
My latest novel, the one I've been working on for the last four years, Bodacious Creed: a Steampunk Zombie Western, is finished!
Release date is set for August 18, and you can already pre-order the paperback. Just click on the cover image.
The Kindle version should be ready shortly, and will also be available for pre-order.
I am so, so excited about this book. I think I've crafted a pretty amazing story. I'm eager to write some short stories in Creed's world, which will be free to my newsletter subscribers. (Want to read those? Subscribe below!) Then, I'm eager to start writing the sequel.
That's the big news! If you're curious about the details, read on. I like to share how I accomplish things because I believe that's a great way to help others.
The Pitch
Writing a novel is one thing. Though it's time consuming, I know how to do that. Writing short pitch, though, is a totally different beast. So, recently, I bought a book that Tim Grahl recommended, Gotta Read It! by Libbie Hawker. This 99c beauty of an ebook helped me craft what I think is a pretty good book description, which you can read here. (Incidentally, it's also on the main Bodacious Creed page here on my website.) U.S. Marshal James Creed has known loss, starting from the untimely death of his wife and daughter in a sudden fire. His work, chasing down and arresting outlaws across the Wild West, is all he has left to live for. Then one day, in 1876, the infamous killer Corwin Blake catches Creed by surprise and guns him down.
Creed awakes after a mysterious young woman resurrects him in a basement laboratory beneath a brothel. Half alive, Creed feels torn between his need for justice and his desire to fall back into the peace of death. Creed's instincts drive him to protect the city of Santa Cruz, California, from the outlaws it harbors while searching for Blake.
He uncovers a secret criminal organization, likely protecting Blake, determined to use resurrection technology for its own ends. The former marshal, now faster, stronger, and a more deadly shot than ever before, must work with a brothel madam, a bounty hunter, and the remaining marshals to uncover the criminal syndicate before they can misuse the machines of rebirth and create more mindless zombies. Meanwhile, he must also stop Blake, before the outlaw kills the only people he cares about.
His own death can wait.
A Flurry of Action
Grammarly
After reading the book aloud and fixing every grammar and consistency issue I could find, I was all set to read the book through one more time. Then, I decided to give Grammarly a try. If you're an author and haven't used this tool, I recommend it. In fact, it has a MS Office plug-in. So, for the final polish, I used that, and it caught a bunch of small errors I wouldn't even have noticed.
Like all grammar and spell checkers, it's wrong some of the time, but I'm really happy it caught and allowed me to fix certain errors. So yes, this is a recommendation for that new, useful tool, as something to use at the very end, when you think your book is ready, but want to make sure.
The Map
I didn't know if I could do it justice, but I think I did! I created a map of my 1876 version of Santa Cruz, California, both my home town and where Bodacious Creed takes place. Fortunately, my hard earned skills from art school came in handy. You can check it out here, but newsletter subscribers get the full-sized map as a pdf, so sign up below!
The Paperback
I recommend using CreateSpace to publish, because that will get you right onto Amazon. The prices and quality are also excellent. Plus, CreateSpace has a book template. I pasted each chapter of Bodacious Creed, in turn, into the template, and it looks great. I also inserted the map into a page of its own, right before Chapter One. Last night, I uploaded the book, and the finished wrap-around cover, so pretty soon I should be able to order my proof copy. Also, CreateSpace will convert it to Kindle, so pretty soon I'll be able to put the Kindle version up for pre-order at $1.49. The full eBook price will be $3.99, so if you order early, you'll get a great deal!
The Hardcover
People who backed the Kickstarter for Bodacious Creed at $65 and up are getting a limited edition hardcover of the book. To print these, I decided to go with Barnes & Noble's Nook Press. As it turns out, the interior size is identical to the trade paperback at 6x9, so I was able to use the same interior I'd prepared for the paperback version. I had to expand the cover, as it will have a dust jacket. That was cool, actually, because I decided to put the editorial reviews on the inside flap. Nook Press also allowed me to order a proof copy immediately, and that's supposed to arrive on the 25th. Once I see that it looks good, I'll order the backer copies.
I Sent Out Invitations
My Kickstarter backers get to read the book now! Yes, more than a month before the official release date. And why not? They've been waiting for four years! This will also give them time to read it before the release, and then to review it if they wish.
Closing Thoughts
Over all, it feels amazing to have this novel done. It has occupied so much of my mental power and time over the last four years, and I think I've created something that most people will truly enjoy.
Shortly, I'll start writing some short stories set in the same world, take copious notes for the sequel, and then start on that. I'm thinking of using NaNoWriMo to write the first 50,000 words or so of the sequel this year. If I do, I'll announce that in the blog.
I hope you'll all subscribe to the newsletter below for those freebies. Also, through August 18, 2017 (the book's release date), you can enter to win a free limited edition hardcover!
Thanks for reading, and write on!
