Author Update: Back on Track (Mostly)

Hello Everyone!

A bit of a break from the normal schedule, but I wanted to provide an update on book 3 of The Legend of Nariko series. It’s been about two years since the second book, The Legend of Nariko: The Goddess Prophecy was published and since then I’ve fallen into pretty bad lows of productivity and writing. Like I said in the previous article, 2022 was an awful year for me and I couldn’t bring myself to stay on track and work. However the last few weeks have been very productive and I’ve been able to focus on writing more. In a sense, I’ve gotten my workflow re-established and I’ve been able to write more and write consistently. Last year became more about learning to be a better artist and I want this year to be focused on writing more.

I am hoping to finish the first draft of book 3 by the end of this week as ambitious as that may sound. However I am on the last part of the book and I’ve figured out the remaining plot points to finally finish the first draft of The Legend of Nariko: Hellfire Rising. Potentially that name may change but for now it will stick. At this rate, I’m hoping to have the book published by the fall of this year.

But, unfortunately, there’s more to being an author than just writing books I’m afraid. Though the last two years have been rather miserable, I do need to get passed that to focus on getting my books out there. While sales have been relatively consistent, reviews have been stagnant as I haven’t reached out to reviewers or sent review copies in the past two years. Marketing is something I’ve always struggled with as I don’t fully understand it but that’s no real excuse to ignore a vital component of publishing books in this day and age.

While I’m planning to publish book 3 this year and start the draft for book 4, I also plan to publish a new cover art for book 1 (i.e. a new edition). None of the content will change but I want the cover to be more visually interesting and eye-catching. As bad as it sounds, judging a book by it’s cover very much is the norm that gets people to check out the blurb, first few pages, and the reviews. I also want to start an outline for a new story unrelated to The Legend of Nariko series. I have an idea for a few prequels and a potential sequel to this series, but I would also like to try my hand at a sci-fi story.

Hopefully this year will be much better than 2022. Thanks for sticking with me this far! 😊

– Raphael