The Forgotten King's Release and New Year's Day Tidings

Man, it's been a hell of a year.  I self published my first novel, finished the first draft of the second, moved to a new state, got a new job, and have gotten to watch my infant son blossom into the most awesome toddler of all time(no offense to anyone else's kids :)).

So, to kick off the new year, or, rather, go out on the current one, I want to announce a change to The Forgotten King's release.  I was originally going  for a mid to late March 2013 release.  I'm pushing the anticipated date to mid-April 2013.

Why?

Well, I've been at work on editing The Forgotten King after a wonderful proofread by JJ Proofing.  One thing that stands out to me now is that The Forgotten King is going to be so much more polished than The Dragon Gem.  When I got into the whole self-publishing scene, I was really naive, thinking I could do it all on my own.  I quickly learned that no, I couldn't.  Not if I wanted my books to be the best they could be.

Anyway, I have the advantage of hindsight now, having received tons of feedback for The Dragon Gem.  Also, I have the advantage of having been distanced from it for the past year while working on The Forgotten King.  I see how much better it can and should be.

Okay, I'm really getting to a point here.  Seriously.

My plan is to do a MASSIVE edit on The Dragon Gem and release a Kindle update and a re-release in print on CreateSpace to coincide with the release of The Forgotten King.   I'm even having a new cover done by the uber-talented Janette Ramos, the same artist working on The Forgotten King's cover now(which by the way, can't wait to reveal.  It's looking incredible!).  For those who have downloaded The Dragon Gem before, this will be a free update when released(though Amazon usually takes a decent amount of time to make an update available for previous buyers).  I just feel in my heart that this needs to be done.  I care for the story and want it presented in the best way possible.  Any writers out there will understand.

Anyway, obviously, this will take more time.  I am still going to devote 99% of my writing time to The Forgotten King revisions/edits so that if it looks like I can't hit the mid-April deadline I'm setting for myself, I can go ahead and release The Forgotten King anyway.  I feel strongly that I can get them both out by then, though.

This also means my other projects are on a 100% hold until both of these are finished.

If you're still reading(this is really long, I know)I just want to say thanks for all your support and patience.  Starting on March 1, I plan to post a chapter of The Forgotten King on here each week until its release for all those(read: all one) put off by the delayed release.

I wish each and every one of you(read: all two of you) an amazingly wonderful, successful, joy-filled, and productive new year.

Brian Beam

Happy New Year!