Meet my characters

Everyone has been so great to me and my Kickstarter as I dive deeper into the world of The Evenarian.

It is day 26 of the Kickstarter campaign and we have reached $5,159. That 103% of our goal. I’m overjoyed with the early progress of this project. In fact, the campaign has done so well that I have created a stretch goal of $7,000 to reach in the last 4 days. 

As a thank you to everyone that has helped get me this far, I wanted to give all of my fan-supporters a glimpse of some of the characters that are in my book. I hope you find them and the world I’ve crafted just as gripping as I do.

Turo:

The story's narrator and age 18 when The Evenarian begins. Turo was the youngest son born to a well-off textile merchant. He grew up in a small town outside the northern capital. 

Though the town lies along major trade routes, Turo has rarely ventured beyond the town limits. Unlike his older brothers who showed an interest in warfare or taking up

their father's trade, Turo has always been meek, quiet and bookish. 

He has an excellent memory and a talent for facts and figures. Afraid that he would be forced to become a clerk in his father's warehouse, Turo decided to join the local cloister and become a student of magic (AKA a Seeker of Truth). 

While other young seekers aspired to greatness, Turo only wanted to be left alone with his studies. His life of contemplation and study is disrupted in the late summer of his 18th year when he stumbles upon a stranger man wandering in the woods near the cloister. 

Short and a bit overweight, Turo is used to being overlooked by other and is generally subdued and withdrawn. But the stranger's revelations, coupled with his own knowledge of history and prophecy, spur Turo in to action for the first time in his life.

Josh:

A stranger from parts unknown, Josh is discovered wandering in the woods. He is likely in his mid-20s. Taller than most northern men and apparently unable to speak, Josh briefly becomes an object of fascination in Turo's small cloister. 

He is dressed unusually and has a large, strange-looking bag slung over his shoulders. Over the course of one afternoon, Josh miraculously regains the ability to speak and

soon begins asking odd questions and make even odder statements that mark him as a foreigner, and perhaps something more. 

He insists that he needs to go to the capitol to see the northern king. Meanwhile, Turo's fellow seekers argue amongst themselves: is this man trustworthy, or is he a charlatan trying to pull off an elaborate ruse? 

Turo comes to believe that Josh is the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy—that mages from magic's earliest days went into an enchanted sleep and would reawaken when the world needed them—and decides to help him. Josh also displays an impressive array of magical abilities, which help him and Turo on their journey, but also brings them a good deal of unwanted attention. 

He never claims to be a mage, or anything else for that matter, allowing other people to cast aspersions on him. As Josh becomes more comfortable in his new surroundings, he shows himself to be arrogant, harsh, pushy and single-minded in his quest to assassinate a shadowy figure known as the Evenarian.

Elena:

A young woman from the southern republic of Sone, Elena is a diplomat sent to the northern capital to negotiate a trade agreement. Although Sone and the northern Kingsrealm made peace many years ago, tensions remain between the cultures. 

Like most northerners, Turo was raised to be suspicious of Sonans and only accepts Elena's help under duress. She is not conventionally attractive by Turo's northern standards, having a dark complexion, short hair and a commanding, confident manner. 

Turo and Josh meet her on their journey to the northern capital. She sees a certain potential in Josh and eventually ropes the two young men into her entourage under the pretense that Josh is a mage from the unexplored “lands beyond the map.” 

Elena is somewhat two-faced. She is capable of massaging the thorniest sovereign’s ego. But in her private life, she is fond of gossip, especially scandalous tales of the northern kingdom's leadership, and has a sharp tongue and scheming nature, both of which she seems to delight in. She firmly believes that history is written by the victors

and intends to be on that winning side.

If you can't tell, I love crafting unique, interesting characters. I'll roll out some chapter excerpts in the near future. Stay tuned! And if you haven't already, consider pledging to the Kickstarter so you can find out what happens to The Evenarian's characters.


Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section and share this with any literature-loving friends so I can reach my stretch goal too!!!

Halfway on the second day!

Thank you EVERYONE for your help thus far! We're already past the halfway mark for the campaign's goal of $5,000. Your contributions will help make publishing The Evenarian a reality. To show my deepest thanks for your overwhelming support, I want to give something back.

I was hesitant to offer a reward level that basically amounts to pre-sales of the book because negotiating with publishers is notoriously difficult and because, as Kickstarter has stated, this website is not a store.

But with this much support already, I am prepared to buy the books from the publisher and mail them to you my making a new pledge level of $41. If you've already pledged at a lower level, you can still adjust your pledge amount.

With this new funding level, I hope we will be able to reach $7,000. So tell your friends that they can pledge and "pre-purchase" the book for $41. And if we reach this second push goal of $7,000, then I will add a very affordable level where I mail you a map of The Evenarian's world. So after all is said and done, you'll get a little tube in the mail with a map that you can hang on your wall - but only if we can reach that second push goal.

I love you guys. No, really. Everyone who contributed, even at the $1 level. Your support means everything. I hope you will share this Kickstarter campaign with your friends and ultimately enjoy my book.

Click here to make or adjust your pledge.

Also, I'm going to post another excerpt from the book on my blog shortly. So stay tuned for that!

Kickstarter campaign is LIVE

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Come one, come all! The day I've been telling you about is finally here. No, the book is not yet complete, but I have shot past the half-way point, for those of you keeping track. Today The Evenarian Kickstarter has launched and you are cordially invited to check out this crowd-sourcing campaign and make your pledge.

As I have been hard at work banging out gripping pages for my upcoming fantasy novel, many of you have asked when you can contribute to the cause. Today is the day you finally can.

Since success on Kickstarter is closely tied to a campaign's starting momentum, I'm asking for contributors to make their pledges on Day One for maximum impact.

How to pledge:

1.              Go to this link

2.              Choose the level of support you wish to give.

3.              If you are new to Kickstarter, you can create an account or link it to your Facebook account for speed and ease.

4.              Then click on the “continue to Amazon” link to complete the payment.

5.       Once you have pledged your chosen amount, you can share this pledge via Facebook or Twitter. I would greatly appreciate everyone spreading the word!

Remember that the campaign runs for just 30 days (the month of November), and if the $5,000 goal is not reached, then we don’t receive any of the pledged funds.

I will keep all of you apprized of the campaign's progress throughout the month. If you haven’t done so yet, join the Kickstarter Facebook event page, check out my blog, Kickstarter profile, Facebook and Twitter where I will be sharing this experience and the process of creating a novel.

Stay tuned, because in coming days I will be sharing some sneak peeks into some elements of the novel that I can’t complete without your support.

Thanks again!

Scratch my back

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Why is launching a Kickstarter campaign so exciting? For me, it's the feeling of letting you be a part of this book, The Evenarian, in a very special way. Some authors are all secluded when they write their book, not giving the slightest glimpse to strangers or family alike. But I want to share my book with you, and let you get a sense of what it's like to write and publish a novel.

All my life I've been training to be an author. I've saved up money while working as a journalist so that I can do this. Every day after work I would come home and work on a novel that I self-published online because I wanted to perfect the art. Since it received many positive reviews, and I had enough money saved up to get started, I went for it. I'm writing full-time now, and it's going great. I'm writing conflicts and resolutions, build-ups and action, plot and subplots. The story will be spellbinding - not in the least because there's actual spells in it.

Sadly, I recently realized that I have enough funds to get me through writing the book, but not enough to build an audience and get the novel published. That brings up all sorts of troubling questions.  What if I write a great book but nobody will be able to read it because it just needs an extra boost to get a bit of press and an editor who will make it shine for a publisher? That's why I need you to donate to my campaign.

But this isn't a one-way street. I can give you an inside scoop into writing and publishing, and you can give me a chance to go all the way to bookshelves and living rooms all over the world. This is where Kickstarter comes in. With each donation comes a prize.

For the price of a movie ticket, you can get the first level of inside scoops into the book and writing process. You can get a postcard in the mail with new and improved Evenarian cover art and a heartfelt thank-you note from your truly. You can also get an inside view into what literary agents see when I send them the package about my book. You can get a phone call with me where you can ask me about the writing and publishing process, or just what it's like to live in California. It'll be a blast. You can even get an invite to the book launch party. And most importantly, for all of the prize levels, you get your name in the book's thank-you section!

Thanks in advance for your support. I promise it'll be worth your while.

Editing is a dirty job, but someone has to do it

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Have you ever read a magazine article or even a menu at a local restaurant and been struck by a glaring editing mistake? It happens to me all the time. From simple misspellings to just plain bad grammar, I can't help but see it. My years in journalism taught me that editing mistakes take away from the reader's experience and can be embarrassing to boot. 

As an author, I have experienced both the frustration of running into these errors everywhere I look as well as catching mistakes that I make while writing The Evenarian.

When you are churning out hundred of pages and already going through multiple rounds of edits, all those paragraphs start to look like alphabet soup. This is why I have decided to push my inner copyeditor aside and hand my novel over to a professional editor with a fresh set of eyes. Because heaven help me if there's a single subject-verb disagreement in the book!

However, the real issue with getting a professional to dive into editing an entire novel is that they tend to want to be paid for their time - and rightfully so.

In order to fund this quest for the most high-quality novel possible, I am asking friends, family and grammar sticklers alike to support my upcoming Kickstarter campaign to offset the editing cost before I shop for a publisher.

If you are a fellow fan of error-free reading, then please pledge support for my campaign and share the event with friends and family.

My red pen thanks you!

Support an artist -- It's good for you!

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Everyone has a special talent, a gift that lets him or her shine as an individual. Some people plan exceptional parties or decorate their home and others can craft a piece of furniture or design jewelry that puts a smile on someone’s face.

Whether I am basking in the beauty and skill of historical art pieces in a museum, passing by alley murals or watching performers along the street, I am constantly reminded that art can truly be awe-inspiring. However, my path into this world has always been the written word.

I have been enamored and connected to the literary world for as long as I can remember.  Creating something with little more than your imagination and words is both challenging and rewarding.

As I continue to pour ideas onto pages while creating The Evenarian, I am reminded of just what a challenge it is to be creative full-time. While many people indulge in their creative side as a hobby to unwind from a less-creative work life, I have taken the plunge to be a full-time artist.

And let me tell you, I have a newfound respect for people who have devoted their lives to their art all along.

Through this process I have become much more generous and supportive of various artists I come across from buying more books and art to supporting projects I have found on Kickstarter.

It is easy overlook all the sweat and tears that go into creating something from the depths of your imagination. So I just wanted to remind and encourage everyone out there to support artists that they admire because not is it a financial commitment to get new art out into the world, but we do appreciate the feeling of being appreciated by others.

So buy a book, tip a street performer, share a new artist with a friend or, heck, hug an author.

If you would like to support my efforts to get my book to print then please “like” my Facebook page, attend the Facebook event preparing for the Kickstarter campaign, pledge to donate to my Kickstarter, share the event and page with friends, follow my blog, follow my tweets or send me an email to theevenarian@gmail.com

Meet my new friend Kickstarter

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Happy Friday, fans! It’s been a few days since I sprung my latest endeavor on you: The upcoming launch of a Kickstarter campaign to get my book edited and out to publishers.

So far, I've gotten a lot of positive feedback, but also some questions about what Kickstarter is and how people can help with the campaign. I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you all more about what Kickstarter is and why I'm using it to help complete The Evenarian.

Kickstarter is an online funding platform for a host of creative projects, from films, books, and music to art, design and technology.

People interested in funding creative projects create a campaign on the website and encourage people from all over the country (and the world) to support their cause. But unlike many donation-based services, the only way for a Kickstarter campaign to see any of that money is by reaching their funding goal. Otherwise, no money is received.

In other words, if you pledge to support my Kickstarter but I don’t make the goal of $5,000 within the allotted timeframe, you don’t get charged anything. But on the flip-side, the project remains unfunded.

This campaign runs for just 30 days (the month of November) so that means it is crucial to get support on DAY ONE. You can help by making your pledge on that day.

Also, Kickstarter promotes campaigns that get an early wave of donations (whatever the size) by putting them on their front page. This exposes campaigns to a huge number of prospective backers.

For The Evenarian's campaign, there are different levels of support, from a single dollar up to $3,000. Each contribution leve comes with its own rewards (think the totebags PBS gives out during pledge drives). Who doesn’t love rewards? And for those of you who can’t spare much, know that a bunch of supporters giving a dollar apiece can still make a huge difference!

You may be asking: What else can I do to help?

Until the Kickstarter campaign goes live on November 1st you can join the Kickstarter Facebook event page and pledge to donate on Nov. 1! Also, “like” The Evenarian's Facebook fan page to get updates on the campaign and the novel's progress. And don't forget to read the author's blog, comment, retweet and pledge!

Thanks so much for all your continued support!!!

Kill Hitler

The Evenarian will be fantasy book, like Game of Thrones, but it has a character who had time-traveled to kill a historical figure who will be responsible for causing the future world's problems. It's a takeoff on the old "if only someone would go back in time and kill Hitler" idea. But would that actually work out?
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We assume the kill-Hitler scenario would work because that era is so well-documented and we have many first-hand accounts of what happened (let's face it, The History Channel owes its success to World War II's thorough records), so a prospective time-traveling assassin would be able to pinpoint the perfect moment to swoop in and complete his mission. But even though those events took place less than 100 years ago, there are still many gaps and unsolved mysteries of the era.

So...what if someone went back in time several centuries, even thousands of years, with a similar goal? What if the man they try to kill had been prophesied? Can one really kill a prophecy to save history?

Ironically, we rely on history to help shape our worldviews and often our own identities. But can we really know everything in history? No. It's impossible. Just think of all the mistakes one over-confident person could make if they were actually able to go back in time.

Suddenly that whole kill-Hitler thing doesn't sound so simple. Nether is killing The Evenarian.