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On to the Next Project!

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

First off, I’d like to say that on this day of celebration in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. I hope that we can keep in mind our past and the struggles that many faced to bring about change in our world. Things can get pretty dark at times, and the civil rights era was just one of those times. The fight against racial discrimination continues today, but in different ways than before. Whatever your stance is on politics or religion or simply the proper way to act toward others, I hope that you can push yourself toward being kind and considerate and (perhaps to some degree) tolerant of those different than you. Life is a precious thing; it would be a shame to waste it by hating others. It’s not important that Martin Luther King was black – it’s simply because he was human that made his struggle so great.

As 2016 continues to unravel and reveal what’s in store for us, I hope that you’re finding yourself striving toward achieving your goals and reaching for your dreams and aspirations, as well as being the best version of yourself that you can be. I have only a few items to talk about today, so let’s get down to it…

The Faces of the War Collection

With the release of Imminent in its second week, I am pleased to say that so far it has been received well. It was fun to research and write, and I’m glad that it went off virtually without any major hitch. The pre-order price of this book was $2.99 and I ended up deciding to leave it as such since the book went live. But that won’t last too much longer, so pick up your Kindle copy before the price goes up! The print price, of course, is still $8.99. Now that that story is behind me in terms of new writing, my focus now shifts to the next project.

I’ve mentioned in my YouTube vlogs before that I plan on writing the final two books in the collection simultaneously, testing my boundaries and experimenting with new things. And I think that doing it this way might lend to keeping the content I write fresh in my mind so I’m not sticking to the same project for such a long time. So today marks the beginning of the next stretch of my writing journey, but this time I’ll be tackling two books.

The tentative release details for Book Four include a date sometime in late 2017, with Book Five releasing sometime in 2018. This, again, is because I’d like to have some uniformity and a streamlined look to the books and their details. Here’s what it will look like when it’s all over:

Resistant (2014)
Unguarded (2015)
Imminent (2016)
Book Four (2017)
Book Five (2018)

You can see how my OCD and attention to detail really kick in here! So that’s where things currently sit with my WWII historical fiction work, and I hope that I can produce two more stories with the same feel yet explore new or unique perspectives and challenges for my characters. Most important of all – I hope that you will join me on this journey (or stay with me if you’ve been a part of it for a while) and we can see how it ends, together.

Writing Tip: When writing action tags for your characters, try to picture yourself in their shoes in order to get an idea of sensory details in any given moment, especially during an action sequence. 

The Short Story Collection

At the moment, I am working toward completing the next volume in the collection. The tentative release date is sometime this summer. I’ll have more details as winter turns to spring and progress is made on the stories.

As for my most recent volume (#2), there will be a free promotion all next week! You can find the Kindle ebook on Amazon and pick up your free copy if you don’t already have it. This volume was the follow-up volume to my first, which released in the fall of 2014. I hope you enjoy it, and would appreciate a review or direct feedback to me via email or social media. I like to know how I’m doing and where I can improve!

That’s about all the news for this week. I am very excited to get things rolling on these new WWII books, and I hope you’re excited to read them when the time comes. Thanks to all who have offered me encouragement and support, and to my readers – for without all of you, my work would be nearly impossible!

Until next time,

-Eli

Much More News!

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

I have much to tell you today, so let us jump right into it, shall we?

The Short Story Collection

I mentioned in last week’s blog that I would be releasing the first of many volumes (hopefully) that will come to comprise my Short Story Collection soon, as in sometime by last Friday. To my surprise, and a welcomed one at that, the publishing process through Amazon KDP was very easy and much faster than I thought it would be. I submitted my story Monday night and by Tuesday morning it was live. Since then, I have made a few changes here and there–mostly formatting and aesthetic changes–but I still got it “out there” long before I thought I could. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can go to the tab on my website that says “The Short Story Collection” and find information there as well as the sales page. Note that it is only available for the Kindle.

Volume 1 - Cover

I am very satisfied with the effort and work put into this first volume, and I can safely tell you that I already have a handful of more stories in the works for upcoming volumes. So stay tuned!

The Faces of the War Collection

Last week, I began Monday morning with ZERO words typed for Part III of Unguarded, the second book in the collection. By Friday, I had nearly reached 10K words. For me, that is an incredible accomplishment. I have never written that many words in such a short amount of time. I am in no way meaning to boast, but rather to use it as encouragement for others, especially if they are experiencing a rut or bump in their own writing path.

If ever you find yourself encountering an obstacle in your writing, do not give up. I repeat…DO NOT GIVE UP. Find a way around that obstacle. In most cases, or at least in my experience, the best first option to take is to give yourself a break. Even if it is only for 5-10 minutes, that little bit of time away from a project can work wonders. There is more I can tell you, but I am putting together material and ideas for a blog post related to this topic, so keep an eye out in the coming weeks for it!

The point is, a vast majority of beginning writers–and sometimes even not-so-new writers, quit writing even for a time because of the obstacles they face. That is part of the whole process. Writing is not meant to be easy…not good writing, anyway. It takes time and practice to come close to reaching whatever it is that you consider “perfection” for your own process and purpose. I am by no means “perfect” myself–not by anyone else’s standards or my own–but I accomplish most of what I set out to do because I make it work. I don’t give up on myself or what I am aspiring to do.

In Other News…

I’m sure you’ve noticed that I revamped my website. I also mentioned that in last week’s blog as something that would probably happen in the coming weeks. I felt compelled to do it sooner, apparently. I’m sure you don’t mind, as it is hopefully a pleasant surprise for you. I feel that it is more streamlined and better looking than the old website.

As for the mailing list, it is slowly growing! I am very pleased that I have gained some readers in my “inner circle” if you will. That is, after all, the intention of the mailing list: to reach readers on a more personal level. I think it is great when readers can connect with authors whose work they enjoy. It helps you appreciate their work more, I believe. If you haven’t joined yet yourself, or if you know someone who you think would like to join, you can find the (free) subscription form under the “About” tab on the website.

The last thing I wanted to touch on today is regarding ratings and reviews. I recently reviewed a memoir on mental illness (something I don’t usually read about), which turned out to be a very interesting read. It is entitled, “Please Save Me From Myself” and is written by Sebastian Aiden Daniels. Afterward, he told me he was very appreciative of me for leaving him a review. If you aren’t aware, ratings and reviews really help spread the word about someone’s work. Not just of any one particular book, but of all the work of an author in general. Writing a review literally takes no longer than fifteen minutes, tops. And it goes a long way, let me tell you. So to close this spiel, I encourage you to leave a review for books you read. If you didn’t like the book, that’s one thing. But it really encourages an author when he/she sees a new review, and it inspires them to keep on doing what they love. So please, think of that the next time you finish a book!

Until next time,

-Eli

A Little Bit of Everything

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

I hope this blog finds you in good health, and that you are fairing well in whatever project you might be working on!

This past weekend, I forwarded the first part of Unguarded (roughly one-third of the book) to my editor, and writing has continued on the second part. I am getting very excited to see where the next couple of weeks take me in my writing. I am even more excited to see what you, my readers, think when you first journey through the story.

I would like to encourage you to subscribe to my mailing list, if you haven’t already. I send out a newsletter twice a month via email that includes book-related information and behind-the-scenes details of my upcoming projects. Not only would you receive the information before “everyone else” in the Eli Kale community, but it is more detailed information tailored to a VIP-type of audience. I want to really have a personable relationship with my readers!

Here’s how you can subscribe:

1. Go to this link: https://elikaleauthor.wordpress.com/mailing-list/

2. Input your name and email address, and include a little note to me stating that you wish to be added to the Mailing List. 

3. You’ll receive the newsletter that is next in line to be published. If your subscription is close enough to a recently sent out newsletter, I’ll send a late copy of it to you personally!

And that’s all it takes! There is already some good information coming out through these newsletters regarding my upcoming book, Unguarded, which is the second book of the “Faces of the War” collection. You can find sales links and reviews for the first book, Resistant, here. The next issue of the newsletter will be posted this week, so sign up today!

Here is a new review for Resistant from Amazon:

“The book is a fictional story of a woman’s journey as a resistance fighter during WW2 in France. Something I noticed at times was a grammatical error or interesting sentence structure, which is okay since the book is self-published, and at the same time I thought it was brilliant if it was intended. The reason I think it would be brilliant if it was intended is because the narrator is a French woman by the name of Rienne. It is written in a way as if she is talking to you telling you the story. I pictured her as an old French lady with a French accent, so it would only be natural that she might have an error or two as she speaks since English wouldn’t be her first language. It made me appreciate the story even more and relate to her character.

The best part of the book was the description of the battle scenes. The author strikes an amazing balance between carefully detailing the scenes without hitting you over the head with details so you know exactly what is going on and can picture it in your head. The main character was also very likable, which is a huge plus. I recommend that you check it out.”

I hope that you too will leave a review and star rating for Resistant on Amazon if you have already read it or plan to read it. I would greatly appreciate it!

I would like to leave you with a quote I really like:

“We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.”                                                                              –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Until next time!

-Eli

Book Two Begins

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

Today is the first day of writing for Book Two in the Faces of the War collection. Before my wedding in May, I had roughly planned out the storyline for the book, but today I begin getting into the meat of the writing process. It is definitely an exciting moment!

Image

If you’re new to this blog and haven’t been up-to-date on my work, here is a link to my first book on Amazon, where you can preview the first pages for free: “Resistant”

The second book in the collection, entitled “Unguarded,” is the next biggest project I’m working on. I am also currently in the process of releasing a three-title collection of short stories early this autumn, entitled “The Short Story Collection: Volume 1” by Eli Kale. I mentioned this in the previous blog post, but I’ll restate it here: these short story projects will help keep my writing fresh and give me opportunities to write about things not related to the content of my novella collection. Keep an eye out for Volume 1 come this fall!

So far, “Resistant” has received good reviews! You can give them a quick look on Goodreads. Reviews and ratings really help the book become known, so please leave a review and/or a rating if you do pick it up. I can’t give you too many details on Book Two, other than the title and that work has begun. I would really love to tell you about the story, but it’s too early for that right now. I am responding to some of the reviews I’ve read, adjusting my method for this next book. I hope I can make it better than the first!

If you’re new to my blog entirely and like what you see, take a hop, skip, and a jump on over to my social media profiles and other sites:

Twitter

Facebook

The Independent Author Network

Book Viral

Even if the story doesn’t strike your fancy, please pass the word along to a friend!

I look forward to moving ahead in this process yet again, and to informing you about my progress.

-Eli

I’m Home!

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

How good it is to be back in the United States! If you were not aware, I recently got married and went on a honeymoon to Italy. That’s why I’ve been absent from my work for a while.

I had finished my debut book, Resistant, in late-April and had both print and ebook versions of my book on the shelves by the time I was married in late-May. I decided to treat my wedding and honeymoon as a natural break from my work, and to continue on with new projects upon returning home. If you haven’t gotten the chance to check out my book, you can see it on Amazon here.

That’s also what I wanted to briefly discuss in today’s blog–the aforementioned new projects. As you can already tell by the title and subtitle of my first book, there are more books to come in the “Faces of the War” collection, a grouping of WW2 stories told from different perspectives. I am also working on short stories. My goal is to get back to writing on both projects between now and next Monday. I will finish the short stories and get those published through Amazon KDP by (hopefully) the beginning of August. I will then continue working into the autumn on the second book in the “Faces of the War” collection. More details regarding that book will be revealed in the coming months.

I really enjoyed creating the first book, and I truly hope to find that same enjoyment as I continue. I got to read the book’s first reviews last week, and seeing what others think of my work is very gratifying and humbling. And reviews are what are needed to help further boost my book, so if you are thinking of reading my work (or perhaps you already have), I’d greatly appreciate a review and rating from you. You can do it through whatever site from which you purchased the book, or through Amazon (my primary “shelf”). Also, please check out my social media pages, like Twitter and Facebook.

Thank you for all the support and encouragement thus far in the process. I am really looking forward to continue writing, as it is a passion of mine. Please pass the word along to a friend…you never know who else you’ll run into who will like reading the books you do!

-Eli