Heyyyyyyy, I have the first book in my Raccoon trilogy coming out this month — Outlander’s Scar!
(This is not the actual cover — that’s still in production.)
It took me long enough to get Outlander’s Scar published. I’ve only been working on some version of this story, on and off, since sixth grade. I don’t know how many rejections it’s gotten from publishers and agents, and frankly, I don’t want to know. Several hundred, easy. I’ve sent it out a LOT over the years. I tend to get a lot of “This is beautifully written and very good, but I just don’t feel that ‘spark’ etc.” kind of rejections, which is kind of nice until you get a bunch of them, and then it sucks. So I’m finally publishing it myself.
You can’t imagine how good it feels to be clearing off my computer hard drive and finally getting these books out into the world. There’s nothing like it.
This is the mockup I drew for the cover of Outlander’s Scar. It is a totally awesome mockup. I hope to have a finished cover in a week or two — I’ll show it to you guys when it’s ready. This is the first time I’ve contracted a cover to an outside artist. I’m still learning! And it’s great. It’s got to be an illustrated cover, though. Nothing else is working for these covers.
My brilliant artwork, obviously.
I’m also learning some advanced interior design with this paperback book, because I want to create a look and feel that’s different from my other books. Here’s a two-page spread — how do you like it? I’m so proud of it. Now I want to do something similar with all my other books. Stop me! Actually, don’t stop me, this is fun.
Outlander’s Scar is the first book of a trilogy, and I’ll have two follow-ups with this one, wherein the raccoons fight music battles against the sister of Death. The second book is like Watership Down, only with raccoons.
I have a sample of Outlander’s Scar here. Grab a copy and get a sneak peek. I’m having to move the publication date back, because I don’t know how long the cover will take, so please be patient. I hope to have it done by the end of July, Lord willing!