Although I’m still working on the line edit, I made a lot of progress on other aspects of Book IV in July. Here’s a look at some of the new content I’m excited to share as I take a monumental step closer to publication!
Front & Back Cover w/ Blurb
I revealed the front cover way back in January, but the back cover has been hanging out on the to-do list for quite some time while I was focused on the editing. When I needed a break from the line edit, working on the good was a good (yet still productive) distraction.
Three weeks ago, Patreon subscribers finally got the first look at the full cover.
On the left, you can see the photograph of the materials I used for reference. The back of Book IV will have a similar vibe to that of Book I. Instead of Kit’s pendant on a gray/black gradient, Jay’s whistle is featured along with a pair of black feathers.
I’ve owned this whistle for many years. Back in 2013-2014 when I was doing my year-long internship and working feverishly on the first draft of the series (which was a trilogy at that time before the gigantic novels were divided into smaller books), I had a tendency to seek out and purchase items from the story. This included Jay’s whistle, Phantom’s mask, and a ring that I unfortunately misplaced several years ago.
The feathers have been part of my booth display for a long time, ever since my Barnes & Noble book signing tour in 2019 when AFH was less than a year old.
This back cover is a bit simpler than the second and third installments, but I think bringing in the gray ties in well with Jay’s gray hair and silver eye on the front, and the callback to Book I is extremely relevant with this book.
I’ll likely need to tweak the cover a bit after I receive the proof copy and see how it prints on the matte material. Images look different on a computer screen compared to a dust jacket, so I expect I’ll need to make some minor color, brightness, and contrast adjustments. I also left a blank space for the barcode to be printed, so I might need to shift some elements around that addition once I see how it all looks.
New Map: Project Alpha Floor Plan
A LOT of hours have recently gone into this project to get it over the finish line. It’s close, but it still needs a little more work, including a reconfiguration of the staircase around the elevator.
This map has gone through four phases over the last few months, from the earliest rough concept, to a revised concept sketch that expanded Quarantine into a much bigger, more functional wing, to the base linework drawn by hand, to the final rendition edited in Photoshop with labels added. As you can see, the design evolved in each phase as I worked through various challenges with the layout and considered how the Agents would be traveling through and utilizing this floor of the AGC.
Project Alpha will join the other three maps (Avilésor, Phantom Heights, and Saros Manor) in Book IV. I wanted this new map to be done in the same style as the other three, which is why I drew the base linework by hand rather than using a vector-based program like Illustrator or AutoCAD to create a more precise architectural drawing. Like the others, this new art is a blend of hand-drawn and digital.
Here’s a look at Project Alpha with the other two maps from the Human Realm:
Although the styles are similar and I used the same drawing/editing method, each one definitely has its own look and feel.
My amazing Patreon supporters have been getting updates every time I made progress on this project, so they’ve seen every phase and learned a lot about the process. Yesterday, they unlocked an exclusive timelapse video showing just how much work went into the final two phases. This video contained so many recordings that putting it all together and speeding up the clips nearly crashed my computer multiple times!
Below, you can see a brief sneak peek. The full video is available for Level 2 and 3 Patreon members, or you can purchase access to it for $3, which is the lowest amount Patreon allows me to set for individual paid posts.
Interior Bonus Content
I’ve teased some additional content in Book IV that I think fans are really going to love! Included in this list is a thorough glossary of terms that have appeared through the first four books, a complete character list, and a pronunciation guide.
This supplemental content will serve as a quick resource for casual readers who need a definition or refresher, or an in-depth worldbuilding guide for more dedicated fans who want to dive into the lore. Either way, it’s definitely going to enhance the new book.
Also planned for the novel… which I haven’t officially mentioned yet… will be a handwritten note to readers!
Final Steps to Publication
July was definitely a big push toward the finish line, and I’m feeling better now that the map and cover are just about done! So, what’s left to do?
I’m about 75% of the way through the line edit, so that’s my next focus. After that’s done, I still need to review my line editor’s notes about the supplemental material and finish the interior formatting for the hardcover before I copy the edited manuscript into the new file. Getting a new author headshot is also on the list.
From there, I should be ready to upload the files and order a proof copy! Until I have everything put together, I won’t know how thick the spine will need to be, so I’ll need to adjust the cover file once I know how many pages the book will have.
This time, I’ve recruited a handful of readers who will receive ARC (Advanced Reader Copies) to help me with the final proofreading. Hopefully, the extra pairs of eyes will make sure that I don’t miss any residual typos or formatting errors that slip through.
(As any author will tell you, there will ALWAYS be at least one or two errors that somehow slip through no matter how many times we proofread the manuscript!)
Once I’ve reviewed the proof copy and made any final updates, it’s off to the presses! You can preorder a collector’s bundle on my website to receive a numbered copy from the first batch, along with some other goodies. The ETA is still TBD, but I hope to wrap everything up this month and receive the proof copies in September.
I'm an award-winning fantasy author, artist, and photographer from La Porte, Indiana. My poetry, short fiction, and memoir works have been featured in various anthologies and journals since 2005, and several of my poems are available in the Indiana Poetry Archives. The first three novels in my Chronicles of Avilésor: War of the Realms series have received awards from Literary Titan.
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