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| Copyright: 2013 Weston Brownlee, Eternal Sun Studios |
For the time being I'm hoping to remain very active both here and on the newly created Facebook page. At this phase, my primary goal is to generate a serious interest in the series, and so far it's been fun to see there's already a strong reaction to it.
As for the blog itself, things should start looking a little more polished and fine tuned, but for now there's nothing wrong with a little simplicity.
Keep checking back to get the word on the big reveal of the series website. I promise you won't want to miss it. There should be some exciting sneak peeks into the world, which will include at least three short stories that will be published digitally through venues like Apple and Barnes and Noble.
That said, this first post isn't so much about the story of the Amaranthine, but the even bigger story behind it. Believe it or not, work on the first novel in the series began about twelve years ago as a short story for a class in school. After some encouraging words from my teacher, I set out to turn it into a novel. While the early fruits of my efforts are of such a nature I'd be mortified to let anyone see them, the entire process has remained a lot of fun in the way I've seen ideas evolve as my skills matured. By the time I entered college, I had completed a 450 page manuscript. In a sense, I grew up with this story. I thought about it all the time, wrote often, kept notebooks full of information on it, and even filled my room with artwork, (some of which is still on display in the room my wife affectionately has termed "the man cave").
College was the time I came to a real juncture, consistently hearing that while I had really accomplished something great, it was time to put it aside as my "apprentice novel" and develop new ideas. While I did spend my collegiate years developing other projects, this story never left me and I always knew I would see it through. The world was always growing bigger, the history richer, and the characters more real.
For a long time, finishing the first novel was truly a struggle, but not so much in terms of the writing. The challenge in standing by a story I had started so young was the vast measures by which it had to change to be viable. This meant what now feels like countless rewrites and completely gutting previous versions. While elements of the story have carried across the years, the presentation and writing itself certainly have not.
In hindsight, what used the be my greatest frustration is now something I appreciate tremendously. The Amaranthine could not be what it is now without all the time it took me sloughing through earlier drafts. Being poised to send it out into the world for readers leaves me in the most exciting place with my writing I have ever been and I cannot wait for everything that lies in store.
College was the time I came to a real juncture, consistently hearing that while I had really accomplished something great, it was time to put it aside as my "apprentice novel" and develop new ideas. While I did spend my collegiate years developing other projects, this story never left me and I always knew I would see it through. The world was always growing bigger, the history richer, and the characters more real.
For a long time, finishing the first novel was truly a struggle, but not so much in terms of the writing. The challenge in standing by a story I had started so young was the vast measures by which it had to change to be viable. This meant what now feels like countless rewrites and completely gutting previous versions. While elements of the story have carried across the years, the presentation and writing itself certainly have not.
In hindsight, what used the be my greatest frustration is now something I appreciate tremendously. The Amaranthine could not be what it is now without all the time it took me sloughing through earlier drafts. Being poised to send it out into the world for readers leaves me in the most exciting place with my writing I have ever been and I cannot wait for everything that lies in store.
