JUNE 2008 UPDATE! Editing continues. I'm down to under 130,000 words (from 200,000). That's good because I've recently heard that Borders and Barnes&Noble don't like fat fantasy anymore. I'm 2/3 of the way through what I'm calling my 6th draft (but it's probably more than that.)
My Fantasy Novel
Sword of Memory - by Mike Shultz
Knife is cruel, violent, vulgar... and his people's only hope against the unstoppable demonspawn raiders. His people believe that he is the Chosen One, destined to defeat the demonspawn commander and end their reign of terror forever. Because of his revered status, the people let Knife do whatever he wants, and the things he does are terrible.
Ankmet is a foreign refugee, hired by a warrior to teach his weapon-crafters how to make composite bows. All is well until he stumbles upon Emerald, one of his students, about to be raped by Knife. If Ankmet intervenes, the much-stronger Knife will probably overpower him and rape her anyway, but he cannot bring himself to leave her. Although brutalized, he fights with a tenacity that surprises Knife and stops the rape. But Ankmet has started a conflict that can't end until one of them dies. Can he become a warrior, defend himself and Emerald, and convince the people that they can't accept a savior like Knife?
After the attempted rape, Knife continues to harass Emerald. She decides to spy on him, hoping to catch him in the one crime that will ruin him--breaking the warrior code. In the process, she discovers that Knife has learned to communicate with a captive demonspawn. The demonspawn takes special interest in her, and tells her that she is the true Chosen One, not Knife. Will she seek her promised place as queen of the demonspawn, or forge a course of her own?
For those interested in the process of getting a book published, here's what I do when I'm finally finished revising (which will take me another six months to a year.)
First, I try to get an agent, who tries to sell the manuscript to a publisher. This takes me six months to a year if I'm lucky.
Then the publisher asks for various changes, hopefully improving the story instead of ruining it. A year or two goes by.
Then it hits the bookstores, and it's an instant bestseller! Or so I hope.
Even if I follow the above steps as fast as I can, it will take at least three years until the book actually ends up in a bookshelf. That's the publishing industry for you. SOOOOOOO.... THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE MY NEWSLETTER. Then, if and when I ever get a novel published, you will be among the first to know!
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