The Amazon KDP Honeymoon...Is it Over?

Looks like the honeymoon with Amazon is over.

A friend recently dropped me this small bombshell of a link to another writer's blog post: http://www.derekhaines.ch/vandal/2012/11/self-published-authors-get-ready-youre-being-dumped/

As much as I love the ease and simplicity of the Kindle upload and KDP programs, I'm not blinded to the fact that Amazon is becoming Godzilla. And you don't get to grow that big without stomping on an awful lot of stuff along the way (whether you intend to, or not).

The upside of coming across this blogger's post was twofold: first, it reminded us that there's no such thing as a free lunch unless your host wants something out of you in return (and I've been guilty of eating a great deal of lotus lately); and secondly, that putting all of one's eggs in one basket is never a good idea. I can say that a certain air of complacency has probably crept in since we started to see some success with Kindle (actual sales, a clutch of reviews - even if one or two seem to be hilariously misguided) - all within the last few months, and due entirely to the KDP promotional tools. The fierce self-promotional zest has faded but that's been due to heavy client artwork commitments lately, as well as the act of writing and publishing three new books this year alone. Promotion should never come that far down the priority list, of course, but Amazon's KDP system has served to isolate us in a little self-contained world where free promo offers yield distribution, which leads to real sales and reviews - which again, help the promotional cycle to continue.

A change in our outlook and long-term investment has been needed for a while, it just took somebody else's observations to point the fact out to us.

As a result, I tried an experiment in uploading our new cyberpunk thriller, Malaria 9, to Smashwords, just to see how difficult it was to fulfill SW's rather hefty and off-putting formatting and style criteria. I downloaded the thing last summer, took one look at it and thought "Urgh! Later."

'Later' never happened, until now.

With a tiny bit of tweaking, the MS was ready and without too much wailing and gnashing of teeth, made live on the site. No ISBN was assigned (though I still do have a bunch of those, somewhere) - I could aim for the hip vote and say this was me keepin' it real and refusing to sell out to The Men at Apple and Sony (ISBNs are required for their retail and seemingly universal EPUB format), but it was also part of the experiment to see how far something that wasn't available on those platforms could be pushed. If it dies its death, then fine - I'll know better next time, and 'M-9' is still available on Kindle and selling copies on a regular basis. The 'Trinity Chronicles' books will be ISBN'd when they go live on SW later as they are still in effect the flagship titles for FWB, even if the third and final book in the trilogy is still a long way off (all those other pesky ideas kept getting in the way).

So the honeymoon with Amazon may be over, but it just means that we're becoming polygamous now. It'll probably be happier that way.

The Proof Editor's Survival Checklist

Editing, schmediting, eh?

Yes, it can be a pain. But it's an essential one.

Let me start with my favourite author's quote, by Hemingway: "You never regret cutting anything out of a novel". And I never have, either – I probably have several novels' worth of excised material that wouldn't even make it into the most self-indulgent “director's cut”. Everyone edits a different way - I usually just bash down words first and then go back (repeatedly) and chip away, or add arms and legs, in what I call 'sculpturing' the writing.

Here's a few things I'd advise every writer to aim for in their editing:

i) keep it tight: don't waffle, stay on track. Don't do tangents. Consider 2 or 3 brief sentences over 1 long one. If you're stuck over a particular passage, try recording yourself reading it aloud, play it back, and see how it sounds then.
The ear (or indeed, the voice) often picks up on things that the eye doesn't.

ii) consider your vocabulary. Who's your audience? Are they likely to feel insulted, or intimidated, by your choice of words? That is, don't pepper your prose with Graeco/Latin highbrow terms if you're writing simple general fiction, or 'dumb down' either if you're aiming for a more sophisticated readership.

iii) avoid slang in the narrative voice - it's easy to slip it in, but it cheapens writing and makes it feel amateurish. Look out for it and kill it when you find it.

iV) cut down descriptive passages. Everyone writes them. But not everyone wants to read 'em. Readers need enough for the scene to be set, but not too much or they'll get bored and skim. Once they start that carry-on, you've lost them. On the other hand, don't skimp on setting - pick up on a few key points to suggest the mood, the surroundings, and how they relate to the characters. Be sure to consider all five senses - smells and sensations as well as sights and sounds.

v) Grammar, punctuation, spelling. Those three are so important, I'll repeat them: grammar, punctuation, spelling. Sounds picky, but it's not. Trust me, any serious pro editor/reviewer/book industry employee will bin anything that looks like it hasn't even been shown to a spell-checker. Ditto for paragraphing, layout, indents, etc. Reviewers will trash you for it - just check out some of the killer comments in the Self-Publishing Magazine (on serious, expensive ISBN'd books, not just typical Lulu fare). If you're aiming to be a pro, or stand alongside professionals, you have to look like you deserve to be there. Don't let down good writing and ideas by not tightening up the nuts and bolts.

vi) really READ what you've written. Don't skim passages, thinking “Oh, but I know this bit off by heart” - because you don't. If, like me, you tend to hammer out words fifty to the dozen to capture those valuable stream-of-consciousness seams of ideas, then chances are you'll miss out words, or even use the wrong word ('theres' and 'theirs' can often creep in unwittingly in a kind of subconscious word-association substitution type thang). Re-read such passages to death, to hone them and shape them to what they ought to be.

vii) dialogue. Less is more. Nothing reads more amateurish than two characters having a bitching argument for two pages which does nothing to either define character nor advance the plot. Yes, real people do talk like that, but as countless 'reality TV shows' over the years have shown, reality is actually incredibly boring. Drama, as Hitchcock said, is 'life with the dull bits cut out'. So identify all those dull bits, cut them out, and what's left ought to be a lot more interesting.
To see just how klunky and repetitive real dialogue can be, read the transcripts to JFK's tapes of the Cuban Missile Crisis meetings, or Nixon's Watergate tapes. Then watch one of the excellent movies based on those events, and see how completely different the dialogue runs.

'Venus' on Kindle!

'Venus in Saturn' is now live on Amazon Kindle - in the standard text-only edition without any illustrations. Chaz has experimented by dropping his royalty share on this one to see if the lower price will attract more sales. In any case, this is still dark and creepy stuff - the darkest Chaz has ever written.

US Customers can get it here.

Our UK customers can download it here.

The third volume in the Trinity Chronicles series is now in production, and sees the return of many old characters from the first two books.

Writing For Fun, Profit and Other Reasons...

Another guest post from Chaz - this time, over at Natasha Larry's Paranormal Wire page.

This was a little piece discussing the relative merits (and otherwise) of commercial writing, writing for personal pleasure, and whither the twin may met.

Read the full article here!

Thanks to Natasha for having me. Check out her page and her friends while you're over there!

Labels, Genres, and Pigeonholes...

Chaz recently contributed an article on the use and value of labels, genres and pigeonholes in promoting and publicising fiction to a friend's blog. The post addresses general issues of promotion, and also deals with his current progress in determining exactly how to promote the 'Wish & the Will' fantasy series - specifically, how far one should go in making use of sub-genres and categories to reach one's target audience.

Read the full article here and show Julieanne some support on her page while you're there!

Book Reviews: Chaz's Views

Chaz just got another guest article featured over at Erin o'Riordan's 'Pagan Spirits' blog - all about the value of reviews for writers (with just a hint of personal experience thrown in).

Read the whole post here.

We hope you find something there of interest. Be sure to check out the rest of Erin's pages while you're there!

The Wish and the Will Episode 2: Promo Trailer

A new promo trailer for Episode 2 of the 'Wish & the Will: Sundancer's Regret', again featuring the further voice talents of Mr Dave Allison. With his help and collaboration, we may end up even extending these into small animations (rather than glorified slideshows), as he is proving particularly adept at producing individual character voices for many of the cast!



I feel the first effort was a bit too epic and ambitious for its own good, so I'll be making shorter, snappier clips in future. In any case, it's great to have somebody else on board the Fenriswulf boat who's enthusiastic about the projects and getting involved.

(If any browsing reader is interested in Mr. Allison's voice talents, he's readily available for all occasions, including weddings, birthdays, and bar mitzvahs.)

Guests Bloggers & Writers: Welcome!

Following the recent flurry of interest in Rainy's recent and very helpful guest post, we'd now like to extend this offer to any blogger or writer who has something to share. We're now looking for guest posters for this very Fenriswulf Books blog.

Whether personal experiences, advice, or anything interesting relating to the world of writing and self-publishing, we'd be interested to hear it.

Generally we'll accept mostly any pieces that are on-topic: self-publishing, fantasy/sci-fi/thriller writers, graphic artists who also write - graphic novels, writers' experiences when it comes to dealing with Print on Demand suppliers, etc. Feel free to contact us with ideas for content.

All-out promotional items won't be considered at this stage but if you can give it a spin and tell an interesting story of creative development, discovery or personal advice along the way, then feel free to include links, images and such. Also if anyone's interested in banner or link exchanges - as a graphic designer I've no problem throwing together a banner for someone who wants one, so long as we can add our banner to your page in return.

Where to Find Your Audience: A Guest Post by Rainy

In the first of what we hope will be a new phenomenon here at the Fenriswulf blog - featuring guest bloggers and writers with something to say - here's Rainy getting us off to a flying start with a thoughtful article on targeting your potential readership. We've shared many interesting views on promotion and marketing for the indy and self-published writer in the past, and that looks set to continue. So, take it away...

When Rainy Kaye isn't plotting world domination, she enjoys coaching others about it on her blog. She also likes fluffy kittens.

The word "platform" is making authors squirm more than ever. Because publishing houses are cutting costs, writers are turning to self-publishing, and the internet is becoming the primary avenue for marketing, artists are becoming aware of what it means to create their own platform. For some, a platform is the matter of pinpointing where their art belongs and then amassing followers of the genre.

But what about those who are carving out their own niche? Where do the entrepreneurs of the artistic world begin? Creating a platform with defined followers is hard enough, but it requires even more creativity for those who aren't following a well explored path. More work, yes. Impossible, no. Here are a few ways to get started:

What is it at the essence? No matter how creative your project is, it's still something familiar at its core. For example, it's still electronic music, a comic book, or handmade art. Forget the enthusiasm (or horror) that you've created something never seen before, and strive to find its most basic foundation.

What makes it different-and why does anyone care? Now that you've concluded what makes your project like everything else on the planet, decide what makes it different. Write down three points that make it unlike anything else you've seen, and what that means to your potential audience. These are your selling points. Even artists with a fairly common niche has to understand what makes their work the same, and then what makes it different, than others on the market.

Now, sum it up. I've talked many times about how important it is to be able to explain your work in 140 characters. This has nothing to do with Twitter; it has everything to do with the short attention span of your potential audience. If you're marketing something extremely different, you should be able to tell someone what it's like, why it's different, and why they should care, also in about 140 characters. Work this into your normal pitch. You do have a pitch, right?

Once you've completed the above-and I do mean, completed it, not just skipped down to the next steps-consider where to find your people. I know, you want to get right to the people, but if you don't know how to pitch your idea to them, then you're only going to annoy them. And depending how different your work is, you may have a limited audience, anyway. Have a perfected pitch before you even think about talking to people. Then try these ideas:

Branch out your partnership. You may feel like there are no partnerships available because your work is so different. Wrong. Check out the first step above, when you concluded what your work is at the core. Now find others who also fall into that simple niche. Remember, most people are also trying to promote their own endeavors, so they are often willing to exchange links or other promotional activities even if your projects are slightly different. Ideas don't have to be identical to be successful together.

Consider your audience's other interests. This one is not fool-proof and certainly doesn't apply to all artists. However, for some, it might be the golden ticket. Consider what other entertainment your potential audience might like. For example, what movies and TV shows would they watch, what music would they listen to, what book they would read, what locations would they hang out at, etc. Not sure what your audience would be into? Chances are, many of these answers will be the same as your own.

Go get 'em! Now that you have a solid pitch and can answer what your project is like and why it's different, as well as have an idea of who your potential audience is, go seek them out. Join standalone forums and community groups (GoodReads, Facebook, Ning etc) on not just your "essential" niche, but ones pertaining to your audience's potential other interests. When you find someone who enjoys your work, mesh into their world. Get to know their friends (don't spam!), comment on their blog (don't spam!), follow them on various social networks (don't spam!).

Finding, and then creating, your platform is never easy. Take the time to understand a few simple rules of thumb, such as why a pitch is so important, and that people usually have a pattern to their interests and tend to hang out with like-minded individuals. Then you'll not only be able to develop your platform, but meet interesting people along the way.

Thanks again, Rainy.

Additional: Rainy asks - "What creative ways have you found an audience for your project?"

Feel free to post a comment and share your views.

This is the End, My Friend…

No, not of Fenriswulf Books or anything, but of the long-winded Lulu.com support query involving our missing block of ISBNs.

Seven weeks after the support query was first raised, and last night Chaz received his details as originally requested. While the relief has been tangible and welcome, it’s not encouraging that this simple query took so long to resolve, and seems only to have been accomplished with a good deal of wailing and gnashing of teeth, not to mention prodding Lulu’s support agents, and their public Facebook provile page, with long sharp objects.

So, the arduous mission in to the heart of darkness is over, and a new era can begin: when Fenriswulf can once again publish and globally distribute its current and pending catalogue of new books. This awkward voyage has resulted in Chaz’s original plans to release the new edition of Maranatha on Easter Sunday being completely shredded, but no matter – the book ought to be out in the next few weeks, with its new prequel, Venus in Saturn, to follow soon after (or as quickly as Chaz has figured out how to use Lulu’s new global distribution services).

As such, normal service is resumed!

Lulu.com Reply...at Last

Further to an earlier (and rather belligerent) post on this very blog regarding Lulu.com's lack of response to Chaz's ISBN problem (now 6 weeks and climbing), and a few comments and responses on the front page of their Facebook profile, Chaz has finally found someone at Lulu who has been willing to apologise for the delay, acknowledge his patience in this matter, and escalate his query.

That was really all Chaz had been wanting to hear from someone - anyone - at the company, yet it has taken 1 month of waiting, regular emails to their support team and finally the threat of public humiliation in front of Facebook's half-billion users to get a result. But Chaz is happy that at least some movement on the issue has occurred, with promises of the case being put to the top of the queue.

We shall wait and see. With luck, our next major releases: Maranatha (2nd edition) and Venus in Saturn will be out before too long, with Last Rose of Summer to follow. In any case, we'll keep you posted.

P.S Chaz has now removed the earlier 'complaint' post leveled at Lulu's customer service teams. It served its purpose at the time, to vent his frustration in public and try to raise some awareness of the issue, but its time has now passed. And it is now time, as they say, to move on. (Ironically, it also proved the most viewed post on the Fenriswulf blog this year, by far...perhaps our readers enjoy rants and complaints?)

The Wish & the Will: Episode 1 Now Available!

THE CARDS ARE STACKED...

The world is in turmoil!

In the solitary city of Middengarth, the strange and sinister Daemonlords rule the inhabitants with ever-increasing firmness. The great City Clock stands still at one stroke before midnight, and the whispers on the street are that soon the Clock shall strike - to signify an event of literally world-shaking proportions that none could ever foresee.

In the Outside, the untamed lands far beyond the City, a cruel warlord known only as the Moderator kills or enslaves all those who wish a new society free of the Daemonlords and to exist in peace.

But one insignificant human is worrying only about his own skin. That is, until Fate decides to lend a hand.

When down-on-his-luck gambler Jeth Sundancer reluctantly teams up again with old partner Renzo K. Castello to perpetrate the 'biggest-ever bank job', the brainchild of the appealing but mysterious Claudia, he soon wishes he had stayed among the anonymous outcasts in Middengarth's Warrens...

For Jeth Sundancer; sardonic, weary and distrusting of his only friends; the cards do indeed seem to be stacked.

You can download the e-Book version of Sundancer's Regret: Episode 1 right here. 77 Pages, illustrated in full colour. Price: 0.99 GBP.

Read more about the Wish & the Will series here.

Forthcoming Fenriswulf Fiction…with Freebies?!

Things haven’t been quiet on the Fenriswulf Books front of late – in fact, they’ve been positively deafening (or at least that’s Chaz’s excuse for not getting enough sleep of late).

While Lulu.com go about the interminable process of trying to re-discover Chaz’s remaining block of ISBNs (purchased in 2008 and now seemingly lost in their cavernous system somewhere, and still no customer support in 4 weeks of emailing and livechat), Chaz has pushed on ahead with 2011’s release schedule as follows:

Trinity Chronicles - Maranatha (2nd revised edition): to be released ASAP
Wish and the Will: Sundancer’s Regret, Episode 1: ASAP!
Trinity Chronicles – Venus in Saturn: scheduled for summer 2011
Last Rose of Summer: Late 2011

Jolly good, you cry. Glad to hear Chaz is so busy and creative. So what about those freebies you spoke of earlier?

Well, we’re seeking “beta readers”, as they seem to be referred to in these circles, or kind people who love reading, with lots of time and their hands, who don’t mind going through the proof of a text and providing constructive feedback and opinion to the author.

If anybody out there would like to take part in this, we’re currently looking to gather opinions on Venus in Saturn and Sundancer’s Regret, ideally within the next 4-8 weeks. Leave a comment here or send us an email and we’ll pop you a proof of the text in PDF format. Your payment, should you wish it, will be a free copy of the finished product (signed, print edition of Venus, full-colour illustrated edition of Regret in e-book format) when all the work is done.

Maranatha Makes it to Kindle

It took a while to get the official Amazon-branded e-book out there, but Chaz has now released Maranatha in Kindle format. This edition is branded with the 'Trinity Chronicles' series title, foreshadowing the release of Venus in Saturn later this year and the second book in the series:

for Amazon.co.uk customers;

for Amazon.com customers.

The whole practice of uploading and conversion takes a little longer than that of Lulu.com, which is pretty instantaneous, but was still completed inside 48 hours.

Promoting and marketing e-books seems to be somewhat easier than pushing print copies, and Chaz will soon be turning his attention towards certain online groups and communities devoted to this very practice. Details of his experiences in this field will follow in due course...

Fenriswulf in the Self-Publishing Press

While in the process of seeking reviews for Maranatha, Chaz started talking to Sarah at the Self Publishing Magazine, a UK-based periodical devoted to all aspects of this very subject. While the review may be forthcoming in future, Chaz also submitted an article on Maranatha and his decision to go it alone with it through the medium of Fenriswulf Books - a personal case study in self-publishing, if you will - which saw print in a splendid 2-page spread in the recent autumn issue of the magazine.

Content from Self-Publishing Magazine issue 16

Packed with wholesome advice and useful information, the Self Publishing Magazine is well worth tracking down, either in print or online, here. They also provide highly-rated publishing services with Matador Publishing.

On Marketing One's Own Books

In the last month or so, Chaz has been making new online friends, seeking (and finding!) reviews for Maranatha (remember that?) and also, considering the vast and, at times, rather intimidating world of marketing - specifically, how, and how not to go about it.

Having done the easy bit (write and publish a book), the self-published or small-press writer then decides that a quick plug somewhere like Myspace or Facebook with a hyperlink and a begging note attached will get sales. Typically it will follow this kind of formula:

"Buy MY book! Look at MY stuff! Vist MY website!"

To which the neutral, casual viewer could be forgiven for replying: "Why?"

This is little short of spamming, and usually about as successful.

That question "Why" is one of the biggest, and stickiest problems, of any kind of marketing campaign - how to convince an apathetic somebody that their life experience will somehow be enriched by the end of whatever sell (hard or soft) you're about to unleash upon them. That's if they stay around long enough to get to the end. (One way to ensure this is, of course, to make your marketing tag-line exceedingly short - but that takes skill, and practice.)

Film studios, publishers, record companies and such spend very large sums of money to people whose job it is to do nothing but answer that "Why?" question for thousands and millions of their potential customers. Authors are by their nature not generally pushy salespeople. Yet in the field of self-publicity, they will have to assume some aspect of that role in order to get their works to the widest possible readership.

It's really a case of psychology. How many people in all honesty would really buy something from someone who was basically begging you to do so? "It's great, you'll love it, honest". A certain coldness, detachedness, can be desirable in this situation. Look on the work as a product, not your personal beloved baby. Decide why it's worthy, why you spent so long on it, and how well it ought to sell. Get inside the head of your ideal customer (not reader - customer) and give them a quick sentence or two advising why they really must buy YOUR book, look at YOUR stuff, visit YOUR website. Appeal to their emotions, to their mind, to their desires, to their fears, even. Hint at a great mystery to be solved, an unthinkable conclusion, a dastardly conspiracy, of success against all the odds. There's a reason why many successful writers produce formulaic work - they found a way to give readers what they were looking for in a certain genre.

Look closely at how succinct and punchy most adverts are. Be the customer, that indifferent, apathetic slob who couldn't care less whether you were a writer or an air-traffic controller. Then tell them why they should care.

As an example, here's a quick tag line I constructed for a hypothetical ad campaign for Maranatha:

Through the dark, distorted mirror of history and religious heresy, it is the dawn of the Second Coming...and the Fourth Reich.

Or, to elaborate: So, it's a dark book - great for anyone who likes gritty, graphic, sinister stuff. It's got historical background. Good for people who like something that's got a bit of research behind it. It's got heretics in it. It's got Jesus, and nazis (and they're always popular subjects for all kinds of fiction). And it sounds like people are messing with the past in order to really mess up our future. How can they be stopped? Will Jesus return and save us all, or is it He and His name that is being manipulated by bad guys? What sort of heroes can stand up to such strange unpleasantness? Why is this happening?

...and so on. I only gave that five minutes' thought, but I'm sure you could all do a lot better for your own book. After all, it's your book - you must love it to have come this far - so share that love and enthusiasm.

Try a role-playing situation:

"Buy my book."
"Why?"
"It's amazing."
"Prove it."
"You have to read it first."
"No-oh. I'm not one those who was born every minute."
"Look, have you ever read X written by Y?"
"Yep."
"Well, if you liked X, then you'll love this!"
"OK. Tell me more."
"It's a rollercoaster ride of emotion, and a physical adventure from the plains of South Africa to the highlands of Scotland...all in the name of love!"
"Sounds vaguely interesting."
"And you'll never believe how it ends...but you'll love the journey that takes you there, a journey you'll wish you had taken yourself!"
"Fair enough. Where can I see some samples? I'm a miserable cheapskate, you know."
"Just visit this website. You can buy a book there too. But don't take my word for it. You can read some reviews of people who loved it."
"Awesome. I'll buy an e-book now, then."

That wasn't so hard now, was it? So we went from desperate to sold in less than ten steps.
You may not always get the sale. But you surely won't get anything if you don't pique the interest of the casual browser, give them a reason to do more than glance over your first half-dozen words and move on to the next random website or distraction. And these days, you have to grab people from the word 'go' - web browsers have attention spans shorter than hey look up there, a helicopter!

Networking Works!

During a busy old week of being snowed in, Chaz decided to use all that time in the house to do some real networking online, meet like-minded people and even try to find a couple of book reviews. Result: success, in spades...

Facebook has been a bit of a revelation lately. At first very sceptical about its use for an unknown writer, Fenris managed to make some very interesting, and extremely helpful and kind contacts (you know who you are!), with the result that both the blog and the books are now getting some attention. In return, we'll be doing what we can to promote anybody via this very page, or on Facebook, with links, banners, or anything else that can be conceivably useeful.

Also highly recommended is the site Goodreads.com where authors and book fans can meet, talk, share views and texts.

On top of all this activity, Chaz has still found time to re-edit Venus in Saturn (again), keep on top of illustration commission works, and a new un-festive short horror story may also be making an appearance before too long. Keep watching this here space ;)

Venus in Saturn: Sneak Preview

Something a little different: a taster of some content from Venus in Saturn, the soon-to-be-released prequel to Maranatha.

Wherein Inspector Jack Carpenter expresses his frustration with his top freelance CSI investigator, Vanessa Descartes, for going above and beyond the call of duty...

“You’ve gone and done what?”
Carpenter threw his pen to the desk in exasperation, though Vanessa knew he would have preferred to have stabbed it into her eye at that moment.
“Look, someone needed to get close to them.”
She had guessed that Carpenter might have had some quiet reservations about her activities that morning, but the volume of voice was far in excess of what she had ever feared. “Now, you can’t get any closer than being on the inside, can you? I won't be billing you for it. Call it freelance undercover work.”
“No. I'll tell you what I call it: sodding up our enquiry. You realise I can’t do anything for you in there? Any possible future sting or inside job we could have had planned, is out the window for as long as you’re involved with that shower? And if you make one slip - one wrong word - and blow your cover, then they could do a moonlight and then we're all stuffed! Or even worse – they suss you out, and you're the next one to end up gutted like a bloody kipper.
"Now think, Vanessa. If they’re involved, then we have to approach very carefully. And if they’re not involved and it’s just a coincidence, you’re gonna get yourself all stressed out over nothing. You can't be neutral and rational in there, because you have an emotional stake in all of this. Worst case scenario, anything you pick up gets thrown out as inadmissible, and there'll be no justice for Sandra.”
“Then why can’t you set up something, using me as a decoy?”
“Jesus, what did I just say? I know we all think they’re involved, in some kind of way. Whether they had anything to do with Sandra's death is up for debate, but you’ve already convinced yourself that they were responsible for what happened to your big sister as well.”
She shrugged, jerked her head. Not so much of a nod, more an acknowledgement of his words. “I’m still hoping I can be proved wrong.”
“But you’d prefer to be proved right. Because it gives you a rationale, someone to blame. Right?”
“Wrong. There's a connection somewhere in all of this, Jack, and I intend to find it. It combines me, my sister, this case, and this unorthodox religion on some level and if I don't get a better idea of where they're coming from, we may never solve this one. I've had weird shit happen all through my life when I never asked for it. It's time I went looking for some answers, to all of it.”
Carpenter's gnawed fingertips played a slow funeral march on the edge of his desk.
"You know, Vanessa, you're brilliant. You really are. You've helped me get results on every case I've worked with you in nearly two years. But sometimes, you really piss me off. Now get out, and don't come back until I call you, or you have some facts so hard, they could crack diamonds. Okay?"

Work-in-progress illustration for the above scene:


All content (c) C. Wood, 2010.

Of Swords, and Other Tools of Mayhem...

The second issue of 'The Sword of Lochglen' comic series is now just about to be released! The cover is a true collaboration between Chaz and Frang, with Frang pencilling the whole thing and doing much of the inking and colouring. As a result, 'Lochglen' now has its own dedicated webpage, located here. Currently we're only awaiting the arrival of the first set of proof issues from Lulu.com (which with the current weather could take us into 2011...though I seriously hope not!). Once the proofs have been approved, then the direct link to buy a download, or a print copy will become active on the Lochglen homepage.

Speaking of which, it appears that Lulu are current working on some new APIs to improve the digital commerce side of their services - out of all the new improvements, the addition of a 'shopping cart' for creators to place on their websites looks like the most useful so far.

In other news, Fenriswulf has now made it onto Facebook. The profile page is here, where we're looking forward to meeting lots of interesting people, and sharing opinions on comics, books and other things.

Start Press

(Or, Better Late than Never?)

In between art commissions, Chaz finally found the time to query one of his clients on good sources of reviews for self-published and small press books. A fair old list was put together and not before time - in almost 2 years, neither Maranatha or Mandrake have had much in the way of publicity, apart from a few column inches in the local newspaper and some self-penned press releases back in the day (however, some kind buyer or passer-by has recently awarded our Lowbrow Pinup Art Calendar a 4/5 star rating...)

The delay was mainly due to other ongoing projects getting in the way, and Chaz's total distrust of any company or individual requesting payment for book reviews - which also happen to be the ones most likely to show up in internet searches on the subject ("Professional marketing packages for YOUR book from ONLY $499! Use your credit card NOW!" screams the typical blurb on such sites, and their associated spammy/scammy robotic emails which find their way into the Fenriswulf mailbox on a daily basis).

So, some reviews for Fenris' two full-length books ought to be forthcoming before too long. Watch this space...