Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Fearless Three...wip

Well, my kick ass mom agreed to do the covers for the children's book series I talked about. And I have the first in that series underway...already 17 pages into it. I also added some to my other novel, so that is up to 50 pages and still going strong.
The kids books will probably be about 50 pages long, aimed at kids in the 8-12 age group as far as reading level and I'm super excited about it. Will keep you posted as it comes along!!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

SOLD OUT!

So crazy...I dropped off 6 copies to Pineview Grocery for them to sell, the co-owner bought her copy right then, leaving 5 for the shelf. Well within a few days they have sold all five! It's insane! And they have 7 more people waiting until I bring the store more. Whoo hoo!!!
So, needless to say another order is going in soon! And for more than just 5 this time!

I was talking with Tom today about starting a series of children's books based on our kids and the fantastic adventures they have in their own imaginations. Already soliciting my mom for her hand at the cover work. So during the in between times of working on my latest novel, I'm going to be working on those, too. They'll be shorter and definitely kid oriented, aimed at readers about age 8-10. So I'll keep you all posted on that, too.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Tom Update 11/25

Well, I am now 30 pages from being done editing my first book. When I finally get that done, I will be putting it on Lulu and going the same route that Rachel went, so hopefully it will soon be available. Rachel's friend Mindi is working on some cover art for me, which I'm sure will turn out really well. So, I'll be done with the edit tomorrow then get it on Lulu, so with any luck it'll be available soon and I can get back to the rewrite of my second book in the series. I'm about halfway through that, then I'll edit it and get it to Lulu. When all that is finally done I'll be able to focus on writing some new stuff, new to me anyways, like the third installment and some shorter stories I'll be trying to send out to magazines and such.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Descent Into Temptation in stores near you...

...if you live in Sanford Michigan, that is. The order has been placed and the books are on their way and will be fore sale at 3 (count them...3!) locations in Sanford. Pineview Grocery, Timbers Party Store and Afterdark Fantasies.
Afterdark is a "novelty" shop I called on whim since there are very adult situations in the book. And I'm glad I did. I spoke with the owner and turns out he has written and self published 2 books himself (about baseball of all things..you'd think being surrounded by the inventory in his store that he'd have some other book ideas, but I guess after 10 years those sorts of things get old...) Anyway... He has contacts at major chain bookstores in the Bay City, Midland and Saginaw Malls where he has arranged book signings and now has his book for sale on their shelves. He's already agreed to sell my book commission free as well as share his contact information and give me some tips on how to win over a bookstore!
Wish me luck, hopefully soon I'll be announcing my first book signing!

Book #2 is still going strong...about 40 pages in so far and the story just keeps on coming, so clear a spot on your shelves...it'll be heading your way sooner than you think!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Rachel Info...what I'm working on now.

I am in the first stages of writing my second novel. It's going to be a big step away from Descent Into Temptation (DIT). DIT is based purely in reality, while much of the book is spent with the main character losing himself in his own fantasy world, but the situation and circumstances are entirely reality based outside of his mental issues.
The current piece has a working title, but in the end that may change, so I'm going to hold off on letting that out of the bag just yet. Let's just call it #2 for now. But it is going to be based in realms beyond normal human experience...Witchcraft, long running conflicts and ancient battles being waged in the modern world.
So far the writing is going well, this story has been in my mind for months now, but just started getting it down on paper as of October of this year. I didn't focus on it very much at first. I spent a lot of my free time getting DIT ready to publish, but now with that done and more time to work on it, the new book is going great. I'm about 32 pages in at this point, which is wonderful. And the little idea it started out as is rapidly growing and evolving all the time.
DIT took me about 14 months to write, then I let it sit untouched (mostly out of self doubt) for months. then with Tom's gentle pushing, I pulled it out and edited it over the course of a week, I think. This new book...I don't think it will take nearly as long to write, since I know I can start a book and complete it! (That alone is a big boost to keep at it!) Plus, this story is coming so much easier than the first, the writing is more natural and seems to just flow from my imagination to the page.


In the down times between writing, I'm working on promoting DIT. I'll keep you posted on how that goes and what avenues I find that work!

Tom's update

I am currently in the final stages of editing my first book, a fantasy novel about a human in a magical world. Kind of sounds like a familiar tale, but I think my story has a lot of unique aspects to it and can stand up with most fantasy books. Every creature in the book is my own personal take on mythical creatures you may have heard of, trolls, elves, goblins and so on. There are elements of action, adventure and hopefully a few twists you may not see coming. This is the first in a series of books that may go beyond the human's trilogy. I have already written the second book and am in the midst of rewriting that one. When I finish editing the first book I'll probably have it on Lulu, but I plan to shop it around to literary agents, too, so it may not be for sale right away. I enjoy the story, I believe it has potential, and I hope you will all give it a chance once it's out.

Introduction







Let us introduce ourselves, we are Tom and Rachel Funk. We are a married couple working hard to get into the published world. Rachel has one published novel and is currently working on another. Tom is in the process of the final edit of the first installment to a trilogy.
Rachel's novel, Descent Into Temptation has been published through Lulu.com. And is available at:
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=2374698 .


Lulu has been a great experience so far.
Now that the book has been published worldwide, it's on to marketing... Will definitely keep everyone posted!