Happy New Year.
So I’ve said for the past few months my new novel, The Jinxed Pirate, is supposed to be up for sale this month. How’s the progress on that..?
Allow me to explain…
First things first, the cover is being worked on and I expect it soon.
As of right now, regarding the actual story, I’m currently making finishing touches. Touching up a scene here or there, but mostly editing, cleaning up the prose, and hunting for typos.
Now, although that might sound like an easy and quick job, it’s easy to underestimate — and I’ll admit, I’m guilty of this — how long it takes to do that with a book of this length. The Jinxed Pirate is going to be about twice as long as The Ghost Princess. Therefore, reading through each chapter and doing touch-ups, while a relatively easy job, does take time.
Once that’s complete and the book is ready to be published, next comes formatting.
Formatting for the print copy won’t be a problem. I’ve already done most of the work — when it’s ready, it’s just copying and pasting. However, once I set it up for print, I first need to receive a proof copy to make sure the cover and physical book looks okay. That means having a copy delivered to me by mail, which will take about a week. Once I approve the proof, the book can go up for sale.
That leaves formatting for Kindle, which — without getting into it — is a massive pain in the ass. I’ll likely be doing that while I wait for the proof copy to be delivered.
So what does all this mean for The Jinxed Pirate‘s release?
Nothing drastic. I might still be able to get it for sale before the end of the month, but it will be closer to the end of January. If not, then probably the first week of February…so not too bad.
So I’ll keep on working, and in just a couple weeks, The Jinxed Pirate should be up for sale, and I hope you’ll give it a read and enjoy it.
In the meantime, here’s one last small excerpt….
Once upon a time, there was a boy who was nobody.
He was the second son of a carpenter and a teacher, and aside from a talent for drawing, there was little worth noting about the boy. He was average looking at best and not particularly strong, athletic, or intelligent. But he was a nice enough young man who, although rather forgettable, was loved by his family.
On the boy’s nineteenth birthday, his older brother decided it was past time he got with a woman—for the boy, not very adept at wooing the girls, was still a virgin. So his brother took him to a seedy little village several miles from their home where they got good and drunk and a meeting with a prostitute was arranged.
The boy was told to find his lady in a private hut outside, but left on his own, he couldn’t find her. Drunk, confused, and lost, he passed several identical looking huts, having no idea where his arranged meeting was to take place.
And that was how he met the sorceress.
The sorceress was a striking woman of great beauty with long violet hair and burning red eyes. Earlier that night, she had a vision she would meet a great warrior. A barbarian of tremendous strength, destined to be a mighty conqueror. The sorceress planned to bed this barbarian in the hope his seed would give her a child.
What her plans for this intended child were, no one would ever know, but she found the boy drunkenly wandering about outside and assumed him to be the warrior foreseen in her vision. She beckoned him to come into her tent and warm himself by the fire, and the boy foolishly assumed he had found his brother’s birthday gift.
Little seduction was required on the part of the sorceress, for the boy was quite drunk and not bright. They made love, though the boy would remember very little of it. The sorceress spoke of his destiny as a great warrior whose very name would inspire fear and awe wherever he went. The boy assumed she was being paid to spout nonsense to build his ego. He played along, nodding with a ridiculous smile on his face while mumbling agreements and gibberish.
Their sex was brief and unspectacular—as befitting a boy’s first time. The sorceress was disappointed, though the boy didn’t notice. He was going to mention her payment, when he passed out.
The following morning, he awoke to the sorceress screaming and hitting him, for she discovered he was not the great warrior she had foreseen. Hung-over and confused, the boy tried to explain the situation, which only served to enrage the sorceress even more. Still not understanding her anger, he offered to pay her extra, but ended up vomiting on her.
In her fury, the sorceress cursed the boy as revenge. She declared he would indeed be known as a great warrior, whose name would spread fear and awe forevermore. But there would be no glory or joy in this reputation. He would spend his days as a fugitive—hunted by mercenaries and the authorities, surrounded by pirates, and hounded by rival warriors seeking to kill him to prove their strength and skill.
No one would believe he was cursed. All would assume he was lying or trying to trick them. He was driven from his home, remembered as a disgrace to his family. He would know no peace, doomed to a life of “adventure” he never asked for or wanted.
And that little boy, who nobody liked, was none other than …
“Krutch Leeroy!”
Krutch was jerked from his sleep, and his heart shot into his throat. Expecting any number of things coming down on him—Sentry Elite, the Enforcer, bounty hunters, demons, his crazy grandmother—he reached for his pistol on reflex, but it was nowhere in sight.
“Sorry,” said Audra, sitting beside him on the bed. “Didn’t mean to scare you, but you’re a pretty deep sleeper.”
If you haven’t already, give previous excerpts featuring Krutch, Katrina, and Lily a read.
And be sure to pick up The Jinxed Pirate when it goes on sale later this month (hopefully) or, failing that, early February.
**UPDATE**
The Jinxed Pirate is now available
Graylands ©2017 by M. Walsh
M. Walsh 