Great cover photo on this blogger’s site . I especially like the third book from the top.
Kaltgestellt is the German version of my U.S. book, Impasse.
What’s on your Reading List? A German Blogger has 2017 Stacked Up.
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Terminals Listed as Great Read for Teens
Thanks to Great Reads for Teens for including the Terminals! Check it out.
http://www.greatreads4teens.com/
The SFF All-Time Sales List
Someone (Adam Whitehead) took a lot of time to compile author book sales in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Genres. Fun to see my name pop up.
http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-sff-all-time-sales-list.html
And remember, both of my best selling German series, Demonkeeper and Mapper, are now available in the US. You can purchase for your eReader now and they will be available in print really soon!
Book Review: Die Rubinrote Konigin (Red Queen and Dark King)
Thanks to Google searches and online translators, I get to see what German readers are saying about my stories. I recently found this little gem shared on the German Fantasy Review Site, fantasybuch.de for Die Rubinrote Konigin (The Ruby Red Queen). For English readers, Die Rubinrote Konigin is books 5 and 6 of The Mapper Series – Red Queen and Dark King – now available in the U.S.
Below is the review…just in case there is any trouble with the link.
When the veil Villagnan and Adara spit out, they do not know how much time they have lost. While Adara is still trying to kill her archenemy, who has slapped her family, even her whole people bestialized, Vill. He can hardly convince Adara that he has changed and is now one of the good guys. And good can Abrogan need now. After the Red Army has rolled over it, now a black man is ready to wipe out the survivors’ remains.
The cover shows Skye, the capital of Abrogan. The picture is a mixture of painted map and built city. I find it wonderful for the book chosen because it shows for me a mixture of unreality and tangible. A mixture that perfectly mirrors the event.
The Ruby Queen is part three of a wonderful series about the chart writer Wexford Stoli and the country Abrogan. With every band I thought that Royce Buckingham could not possibly improve, but somehow he managed to do it again and again. Perhaps it is because he has remained a child deep inside him and shares this with his readers. He takes us into a world that could not be more fantastic. Playful yet serious, light and yet thoughtful, fantastic and yet real. If Buckingham understands one thing, this is definitely a way of living life and amusing me.
His writing style is characterized by exciting tension, which keeps the entire book high. One event chases the next and leaves me hardly resting. Not only that, but also permanent change of scenery kept the tension upright and made it difficult for me to put the book aside. In addition, there were also the pictorial descriptions of the author, which let his world Abrogan arise before my inner eye. Abrogan is a world that is similar in many respects to ours and yet quite different. The buildings are slightly different, just like the forests and mountains, the people, beings and animals. A completely new and very lively world that captivated me and which I was very glad to kidnap.
The plot is hard to describe, because it is incredibly diverse and always new directions, with which I had never expected. War, feuds, personal destinies, myths and magic; Everything is represented and yet the event does not seem unstructured or confused, but comically, straightforward and goal-oriented. Again, a mixture that the author seems to love.
Villagnan and Adara are at the center of the events. Both of them had been trapped in the veil for a long time, and suddenly faced their home, which had developed without them. Friends, family, and acquaintances have died, and nothing else but the connection with the past. However, while Adara is only eating her hatred for Villeneuve, since he has slaughtered her people, a new life begins for Vill. For in the time before the shadow, he was a mass murderer and butcher. But when the darkness released him, she also let the shadow of his soul be lifted, and Vill returned his humanity. The development and how he is with all the knowledge of his atrocities, came close to me and I could build a deep connection to this truly extraordinary character. Adara also liked me very much, seemed alive and alive, but I believe that Royce Buckingham has laid all his heart blood and abilities in Villmagnan.
My little personal highlight was, of course, the reunion with the card writer Wexford Stoli and his cows. In the first part he stole my heart and since then he has taken a place that no one can take him anymore.
My conclusion
The Ruby Queen is a true masterpiece from the first to the last page!
New Releases for Fantasy Lovers by Royce Buckingham
Enter a world of uncharted lands, fantastic creatures, emerging civilizations and the darkness that will define it all. Enter Mapper – Royce Buckingham’s best selling German series, today! Download yours – Click Here!
The Demonkeeper Series
Demons are all around us – most of them relatively harmless, like ones that go bump in the night. But some are dangerous – some can kill. Since orphaned as a boy, Nat Grimlock has been trained by his aged mentor Dhaliwahl to be a demonkeeper controlling a menagerie of demons in their rickety house in Seattle. but now Daliwahl is gone, and Nat is on his own.
When Nat goes on a date with Sandy, a librarian’s assistant, it’s a disaster in more ways than one – a very scary demon called the best escapes. Can Nat get the Beast back to the house and make things right with Sandy?
With its fast-paced action, slapstick humor, and a winning, unlikely hero, the Demonkeeper Series is a high-spirited romp that will keep readers glued to the page!
Demonkeeper – Urban Fantasy
Demonkeeper II – Urban Fantasy
Demonkeeper III – Urban Fantasy
Great Writing Retreat Reveals for Children’s Authors
When I returned from the SCBWI’s Weekend on the Water writer’s retreat in Dumas, WA last month, I dove back into the hustle and bustle of my day job, sports carpools, parenting, and an onrushing deadline for my latest 500 page project for Random House-Germany, Princess Assassin. It’s due Dec 1st. Am I panicking? The answer is “absolutely.”
Despite all this life happening to me, I have a moment to share some great stats and insight I learned from Chelsea Eberley at the retreat. Chelsea is an editor for Random House Books for Young Readers, which is a big reason I decided to attend the retreat. Coincidentally, I write books for young readers, and I have more stories for young readers to tell. I appreciate Chelsea’s time and insight and want to share some of it with you.
If you ever wondered….here are the Page Counts/Word Counts for different types of children’s books:
- Board Book: 100 words; 1-2 words per page.
- Picture Book: 400-800 words; 24, 32, 40 pages.
- Beginning Readers: 32 pages or 48 pages.
- Chapter Books: 8,000-11,000 words; 100 pages.
- Middle Grade: 30,000-50,000 words; Protag 10-13 years old – kids want to read their age or a little older.
- Young Adult: 60,000 – 80,000 words; Protag 14+ years old.
- New Adult: 60,000-80,000 words; Protag 18+ – early 20s and in college.
Other tips:
- Avoid “Manufactured (artificial) Urgency”
- *Avoid an unnecessary prologue (*I star this one, because this was Chelsea’s comment on my piece).
- Avoid opening with dialogue. Who’s that talking???
- Avoid jumping in with a fight scene. We don’t care who wins yet!
- Climactic scenes should (at least) have logic and the main character.
- Take a moment to describe the setting.
- Wounded characters need time to heal. Duh.
- Climactic scenes should be tightly edited to convey urgency.
Here’s a Good Exercise to Try: Pretend the scene is being used as a cover quote, and read it aloud.
And finally, some parting words and advice from Chelsea…
- “I don’t expect perfection, just forward momentum.”
- How to respond to editorial letters: “Thanks for your notes. I understand them. I’ll think about them and get back to you by _____.”
- If you disagree with the editor, say: “I feel strongly that…” “My priority is…”
- Avoid these responses to an editor: “No!” “I’m the writer.” “Who in the world gave you a fine arts degree?”
While it is hard to take the time out to attend conferences and events, the connections made are excellent. The information that I have shared above is uber-useful (like a reasonably priced ride on the path to publishing) and, as important, not copyrighted.
Additionally, the opportunity to talk personally with an editor who is in tune with current trends and willing to take the time to discuss my very own current story pitches is invaluable.
A big thanks to Western Washington’s Chapter of SCBWI and Chelsea!
Judging Bleedingham: What I Learned
I recently had the opportunity to judge a bunch of short films vying for awards at the Northwest Horror Short Film Fest Bleedingham, and it turned out to be even cooler than I thought it would be. Here’s why:
As I embarked on my marathon viewing of 26-short amateur films, I wondered about the time commitment, as I am on deadline to finish my next book, Princess Assassin, for my friends at Random House-Germany. Nevertheless, I settled in to watch….and at first I thought, “Oh wow! Some of these are respectable, but some of these are not so great!”
I shared my opinions with my family. I gave them examples. We shook our heads. We laughed – who wouldn’t get a chuckle out of the title “Bearzooka”? Shockingly, it’s about a rampaging bear with a bazooka. And then I went back to my study to watch the rest.
Next came the numerical judging. I evaluated each film on the following categories: Cinematography, Editing, Sound Design, Story, Special Effects, and Scary Factor. Here is where I had an epiphany. As I assigned ratings, I really started to see what each films’ creators had in mind–what they were trying to do. Sometimes they nailed it, sometimes they got close, sometimes they missed. It reminded me how very difficult it is to get all of the pieces just right to communicate an original idea on screen (which I’ve tried to do myself…and nailed, got close, and missed). I had to respect the teams who worked on the films whether they nailed it this time or not.
My wife asked me if the process taught me anything about my own work. I thought for a moment and nodded. The film making process takes time and collaboration, and it’s incredibly difficult to get things just right. Those of us with stories to tell who actually do this sort of creative work know this and have respect for those who try, fail, or succeed. Judging Bleedingham was a perfect reminder.
To all of the writers, directors, camera crews, sound, actors who did the work to get to Bleedingham, congratulations! For those who nailed it…double congrats. For those who didn’t, good job learning and keep at it. That’s the process.
P.S. For local peeps that want to check out the winning films, there will be a showing this Sunday, October 30 starting at 7:15pm at The Pickford Film Center in Bellingham, WA.
Writer’s Digest Article Shares Novel Writing Tips
Some really great tips here…and not just from yours truly. 🙂
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/5-helpful-lessons-writing-novel
8 Spooky Halloween Books for Kids
Thanks to to Hannah G for including Demonkeeper (Book I) in her ‘spooky book list’!
Is Halloween your favorite holiday? Do your kids like books? Do you want your kids to appreciate your aesthetic, without being traumatized for life? You’ve come to the right place! I’ve…
The Great Cover Design
Designing book covers is fun! I’ve always thought so but have not been so intimately involved in the process until recently. I’m working with ePublisher Gere Donovan Press to bring my best selling German series, Mapper, to the United States. We decided to expand the three book series into six parts for U.S. readers. Here’s the visual process we went through to come up with our final (and awesome) designs!
In August, Gere Donovan sent me this image with the idea that the cover would stay the same for all six books but with different titles.
It didn’t win my team over – spoiler, there is no giant spider in my story – it was a little busy for the eye, we wanted different cover images for each book, and there was something oddly familiar about the illustration. Upon some research, I discovered that it was the same image used for Author/Illustrator Walter Moers’ book, A Wild Ride Through the Night.
The illustration is in the public domain, as it’s one of hundreds of engravings created by Gustave Dore. That got me thinking…
….I looked up Gustave Dore and found other images. Did I mention there are hundreds?
‘Hello, Photoshop!”
While I messed around on Photoshop, I conducted a highly scientific survey of friends (a one-line Facebook post) about the proposed book cover from Gere Donovan. Many liked the artistic look of Dore’s work. But my team and I wondered…”will it sell books?” I recalled once talking books with THE buyer for a major retailer who said definitively, “I can tell if a book will sell by its cover.”
She then looked down at the copy of my soon to be released book The Dead Boys. Let’s just say she did not immediately place a big order. (Insert sad face here and shameless plug – if you loved the new series Stranger Things, you will also love The Dead Boys.) Anyway, back to the Mapper Series covers. My team decided to experiment with something more modern-looking.
We raided iStock and other photo sites to find some images with cool looking knights and came up with these.
We kind of liked them. But some of our friends from the follow-up Facebook survey thought they were boring. Too traditional.
We probably spent way too much time on this process (but hey, I was having fun) and then decided we should have a conference call with Scott from Gere Donovan. We fretted about letting them know that we weren’t sold on their first idea (the Gustave Dore image). But we shouldn’t have been so worried. Five minutes into the call, Scott said he was really happy that we didn’t like the cover! Upon reflection, he had already decided he didn’t like it either. Phew! After further discussion, Scott suggested that we could use more modern images and cited some trends he’d recently noticed in book covers. We liked his thoughts and, after several rounds of shuffling images between six books, Photoshopping, and further extensive surveying of our beta viewers, we loved what they came up with!
Oh…and by the way, they are Kindle-ready by by clicking here!
Enjoy!
ROYCE BUCKINGHAM 