Let me ask you a question: When you finished reading Morrigan’s Brood and Morrigan’s Brood: Crone of War, did you want to find out what Marcus, Maire, Mandubratius, Mac Alpin, Claudius, and the others have been up to since the end of Book Two? If the answer is “yes”, then I have a treat for you… Morrigan’s Brood: Dark Alliance is back from the editor, and we are in the process of getting it ready for publication.
Getting a book ready for publication is a long and arduous process. It includes writing elements (including incorporating suggestions from the editor, rewrites, corrections, proofreading, and sometimes new story content), interior book design elements [including laying out the text, typesetting, interior graphics, (map, scene breaks, drop caps, etc.), and developing new content for the front appendixes (i.e. pronunciation guide, lines of blood drinkers, etc.)], and cover design elements (including the cover art, spine content, rear text, barcode, and ISBN/EAN). In addition, we have to order ISBNs, research eBook formats, set up with our printer, and buy into distribution packages. On the promotional side, we have been developing a promotion and marketing plan that includes interviews, reviews, guest blogs, book signings, and other events.
From time to time, as we go through this process, Heather or I will be providing an update on our progress. As of last week, I converted the manuscript into a book format and combined most of the graphical and font formatting elements, using prior books as a template. Heather making her first pass reading the book. She is incorporating suggestions from our editor, Sarah (Sally) Aalderink, correcting historical inaccuracies, adding content we wrote after sending the manuscript to Sally, and seeing how the work flows.
Khanada Taylor, our cover designer, web mistress, and graphic artist, has already drafted the cover art in black & white, and Heather and I are enamored with what she has shown us thus far. Khanada has previously designed and drawn the cover art and interior art for Morrigan’s Brood and Morrigan’s Brood: Crone of War, with the exception of the triscelle logo, which was designed by Dayna Hartley and me (Christopher).
I will be putting together some free reads and other marketing materials for the new book in the coming weeks. We will also have some book signing events coming up, so we will be sure to announce them when they are confirmed. Oh, and when we can squeeze in the time between getting Morrigan’s Brood: Dark Alliance ready for publication and writing books six through eight in the series, we will write and release scenes between books two and three. When are we going to find the time to write those… *shakes head*.
Suffice it to say, there will be more to come. Oh, and we are looking for a summer 2011 release date, either 6/1/2011 or 7/1/2011 (which would be one year after the release of Book Two.)
Cheers!
Christopher Dunbar