Drunk Calendar

Posted on February 21, 2016 by The Imbalance

I think the calendar countdown running on the right side of my home page is drunk. Or at least inept at basic math. Today is February 21, 2016 and the release date – as clearly stated on the calendar itself – is April 5th. And yet it insists that my book is dropping in ONE MONTH on, I suppose, March 21st – 16 days prior than reality. Is this widget only accurate once you’re within a month? You’d think an algorithm to calculate how many months AND how many days would be equally simple to make while being 1,000 times better.

In related news, between this and my last post you totally witness my range as an author: it’s the same as the range of iHawk on Futurama: maudlin to irreverent.

March 1st

Posted on February 17, 2016 by The Imbalance

Nothing like a post saying a post is coming later.

I have a March full of excitement queued up and I am eager to do away with ruddy February to get to it. Waiting, in all capacities, is an exercise in patience – and the strain intensifies the less patience necessary. In other words, it’s the final days before Christmas (in my case) that hurts the most. Purge of Ashes is one of the latest releases in Realmwalker’s first quarter – which is fine, even ideal, but tough in the manner described above. The successes of Daniel Beazley’s Goblin’s Know Best and Keaghan in Dreamside whets my whistle to get Purge into people’s hands.

Anyway, the party gets started March 1st.

Steven Erikson on Queries

Posted on February 9, 2016 by The Imbalance

I often end up explaining the gist of a Reddit AMA answer I got from acclaimed author Steven Erikson regarding the value of queries and summarizing your novel in 250 words. It resonates strongly with me as my own query does little justice to the Imbalance series as a whole, and no amount of shaving, mincing or dissecting is going to change that. Queries allow no space for B or C plots and no means of demonstrating how carefully interwoven they are to the central A plot. They function more as an easy fishing system for publishing companies and agents, with unique never-before-seen-quirks as the prized catch of the day. Thing is, an excellent novel of tropes is still better than a garbage novel with a one-of-a-kind premise.

AMA-with-Steven-Erikson

Having taken a screenshot, the above answer is due online so I can point those interested to the source. As a new author come April whose publisher never even read my query, I once again ascribe to the Path of Erikson in selling the book and not the pitch.

The Calm Before the Purge

Posted on February 4, 2016 by The Imbalance

If things seem quiet around here for an author whose first book is going to be released in two months, it is because I am storing up for an exciting March. In addition to preparing an interesting series of articles that cover a wide range of subjects – and posting them daily no less, I will be going through the throes of editing and confirming front and back matter. I may also have some new maps for everyone. In addition to all that, I will be naming my cover artist as well as debuting his or her work when it is ready.

The cover is a big deal. It sets the tone of the book, often conveys both accurate and inaccurate information, and can be the difference in the thousands for sales. There is a harmony necessary between all parties when putting art to words. Like most authors I have feared attaching my work to a cover I despise for years, since being a teen at least. That said, a good cover and unique symmetry between novels in a series can really bring an author’s universe together in a manner not quite told by the words.

By then RPG will no doubt have yet more news of expansion and success. For example, it was recently announced that our titles will now be available Indigo.ca. We’re everywhere!

And in March I will be, too.

RPG 50% Off Sale

Posted on January 30, 2016 by The Imbalance

All the details you need for how you can get 50% back on your purchases from RPG this weekend only, Jan 30-31st, 2016: Realmwalker Rebate Sale.

Purge of Ashes isn’t there… yet. But it is exciting to be part of a rapidly-growing company that is no longer just Amazon exclusive and now offers titles on the Kobo, with the Nook, Smashwords and iTunes on the near horizon. Plus more surprises every day.

All of this reads well for April 5th and the birth of Imbalance.

JM.

RELEASE DATE: April 5

Posted on January 25, 2016 by The Imbalance

Realmwalker just announced that the release date for Purge of Ashes will be April 5. All we’ve got to do between now and then is cook up a cover, rally the banners, and convince a celebrity fantasy author to give it a go. I’ll do the first two.

This means the countdown clock can finally be set, Aneom bend his hand!

Welcome

Posted on January 24, 2016 by The Imbalance

A welcome to everyone who is viewing this site for the first time thanks to the new ‘Joel Minty – Author’ page on Facebook! You can also link there from here in the ‘Contact’. This site will be the source for most of the publishing and book news in the future, all broadcasted to Twitter and Facebook both. Click HERE to read the blurb for Purge of Ashes.

Today’s major announcement is still yet to come!

JM.

Exciting News Coming This Weekend

Posted on January 22, 2016 by The Imbalance

The title says it all, really. Although that does not prevent me from saying other, less useful stuff in the post itself. Seems like a waste of time, though.

Sprucing

Posted on January 19, 2016 by The Imbalance

The sprucing up of the map has occurred. I searched through Purge of Ashes noting all instances where characters refer to distance traveled or distance yet to travel down The Longest Road, and then compared my findings to the Scale (in Runs) in the bottom right of the mega map. It fit as it should: each offhand comment on distance mathematically matched the actual distance according to the mega map – which speaks less to luck, I think, than of an unconscious understanding of the real-world conversion of my fictitious distance unit. Suffice to say, appeasement.

My front matter has been submitted. My manuscript has been submitted. What next but to produce a scintillating synopsis?

And a comparison, of course:

This…

Sventium

…trimmed to this:

Sventium

Details matter. Earn your place.

Shoreline Bulldozing

Posted on January 10, 2016 by The Imbalance

It came to my attention tonight that my map for Imbalance somehow got a little screwed up along the way. See, the .PSD for this project is massive. It takes enough minutes to load and save that I immediately hop to my cell phone to play chess. Suffice to say, that means things sometimes move slowly in-program and it took a lot of tries to get the shading effects right on the land and water both. In other words, it’s busy.

At some point the shoreline pixelated wherein it still looked GOOD but also didn’t. It suddenly was built from tons of tiny beige boxes instead of a smooth shoreline. I am certain I had a superior model at some point, but must have saved over it without noticing or the whatnot.

Now it falls on me to clean the sucker up before I vouch for it to Realmwalker’s in-house cartographer… and Xyn’s arse, that’s a lot of shoreline to massage.

Imbalance

The Epic Fantasy World of Author Joel Minty

Category Archives: Imbalance