August 1st, 2008 by Melanie
Okay, for all the dragon fans out there, check out my series page for some new PDF downloads of the world of the Legend of the White Dragon. I put it all together into one file–all the world-building info to introduce you to the major races, creatures, and history of Gairdra. I also added a timeline of the major events leading up to the point where Dragon Prophecy picks up the story of this world.
I promise I am looking for a new publisher for the rest of the series, but that takes time. I apologize for the poor editing of DP and the cancellation of a sure contract for the rest, but this can be much better. With your support, I hope it will. If not, I’ll find a way to supply you with the rest of the story. It is finished, but needs a good editor. I will not leave anyone hanging. Barring anything major happening to me to interfere with my plans, your loyalty and patience will be rewarded.
The only major world-building information not yet provided is the language file I keep. Although it’s hardly used, having my own language was useful to create, as it helped me to better understand the cultures of the world. That will stay off, unless someone makes a request to see it.
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August 1st, 2008 by Melanie
I see that the character interviews and appendices are still quite popular for downloads. If anyone is interested in further downloads of information, I’d be happy to provide them as PDFs.
It may be some time before the actual canon story is published, now that I’m searching again for a publisher. However, if you’re gaming or interested in the world, I’m happy to oblige your interest. Please comment or send me an email if you think I should make further information available.
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July 23rd, 2008 by Melanie
I must admit, that seeing that anyone has read the ebook version of Dragon Prophecy is exciting. But to see on fictionwise that the ratings lean to the “poor” end of the spectrum is not unexpected, although it is disappointing. I always felt that the story could have been stronger with better editing. But the editor assigned by the publisher didn’t edit the story the way he should have. He was too “nice” and afraid to really step up and address the real issues.
I never did like the first half of the story but couldn’t figure out what to do to make it better. Now I know–hack it off. Had I a choice now, I would have done exactly that. But, alas, it’s too late since the book is out. I could cancel it, but why? I’m sorry it wasn’t satisfying to those who rated it poorly, but I must say the story beyond it is far better. That first book was all set up of what was to come. It should be considered almost as backstory.
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July 23rd, 2008 by Melanie
It’s done. Dragon Prophecy is out but the others will not be from the same publisher. You’ve probably noticed that all the books except DP have been taken off my website. When I find a new publisher for the rest of the series, I’ll be sure to post about it. For now, I’m back to the query/submission queue. It’s a lottery I hate playing, but hopefully, someone will see the value in the story and pick up the rest of the series.
Actually, the rest of the series could stand alone well without Dragon Prophecy. DP introduces all the characters and their backgrounds and brings things together. The next part picks up where that leaves off, and it’s easy to jump into the action. In fact, it almost works better, since by not having info dumps or slow scenes to show things, the action is faster paced and more exciting. It also leaves lots of questions to be answered about how one character relates to another and what happened to get them where they are. (I’ve been editing.)
Now, the hard part is writing that darned summary called a synopsis. With 300,000 words of manuscript total, condensing that down with more than two dozen characters is quite a chore. I know I can do it, but it will take some time to get it right.
In the meantime, I’m finishing up an editing pass on the entire three books worth of manuscript. It’s been interesting, but I’m so ready to move on to something new that it’s almost sickening. I love the dragon series. Don’t get me wrong. But I can only digest something so much before that cud is over-metastisized. I need something fresh and exciting. This isn’t exciting and new anymore. I’ve worked on it for almost eight years, give or take a year, even around other writing projects, and I want it done.
Moving on will be exciting again.
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