Necromancer Falling Hits 3 Bestseller Lists in UK

Nat Russo Books, Necromancer, News, Publishing, Releases 4 Comments

I woke up to some amazing news this morning. In less than 24 hours since publication, Necromancer Falling has hit 3 Amazon bestseller lists in the UK, and two “Hot New Releases” lists overall! Thank you all so much for the overwhelming outpouring of support you’ve all shown. This is truly mindblowing!

In the US:

#22 in Hot New Releases for Metaphysical Fantasy

#35 in Hot New Releases for New Adult & College

In the UK:

#65 on the Metaphysical and Visionary Fantasy Bestsellers list (both “Books” and “Kindle Store”…which I don’t understand since there’s no paperback yet, but I’ll take it!)

#72 on the Low Fantasy Bestsellers list.

Thank you all so much!

Necromancer Falling hits Bestseller Lists

 

Necromancer Falling: Chapter 1

Nat Russo Necromancer, Writing Leave a Comment

Necromancer Falling, the sequel to the 2014 #1 fantasy bestseller Necromancer Awakening, is almost upon us! Just as I did with Necromancer Awakening, I’ve decided to post chapter 1 of Necromancer Falling here on the blog to whet your appetite.

If you like what you see (I sure hope you do!), you don’t have much longer to wait. Necromancer Falling, in its entirety, will be in your hands by the end of this month! 

[Update: 5/30/2016 – Necromancer Falling is now available on Amazon!]

***SPOILER ALERT*** If you haven’t read Necromancer Awakening yet, you’ll regret reading this chapter if you hate spoilers.

BookCover_Kindle_WORKING-COPY

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Where’s Nat?!

Nat Russo News, Releases 4 Comments

Where's Nat?

Still here. I promise.

I’m currently doing “stuff and things” related to the upcoming release of Necromancer Falling. And playing a ton of EverQuest 2 because my Freeblood Swashbuckler is almost max level.

Necromancer Falling has been one of the most challenging projects I’ve been a part of. I’ve found it’s never easy to pull off “book 2” of a trilogy. Though it’s a “book 2”, the story needs to be self-contained. You can’t make too many assumptions about how much a reader remembers from “book 1”. You have to reintroduce old characters without boring the people who have great memories. The list of potential problem areas goes on.

And…once you’ve managed to get to a point in your craft where you no longer make the same mistakes you made in early drafts of “book 1”, you invent a whole new set of problems and habits to break.

But we’re in the home stretch now! The cover art is complete, and I’ll be sharing it with you all shortly you can see it over on the right-hand side of the blog! I’ll be spending the next three weeks or so in final edits. And, come hell or high water, Necromancer Falling will be in your hands toward the end of May!

Cheers!

 

3 Myths About Social Media Marketing for Authors | Tim Grahl

Nat Russo Marketing, Social Media Leave a Comment

I stumbled on this article today and knew immediately I needed to share it with you. Many of you who frequent this community come here for the articles on how to leverage social media as a writer. Social media (specifically for writers) has become a side passion of mine since about 2012. I can tell you that everything Tim writes in this article rings true to me. In many cases, it actually mirrors my own experience with social media marketing.

In short, it’s well worth a read. Click the “Source” link below for the original article.

Social-Media-Marketing

The truths and myths about how social media helps authors build their platform, connect with readers and market their books.

Source: 3 Myths About Social Media Marketing for Authors | Tim Grahl

3 Pillars of Character Development – A.J. Flowers WordPress Connection

Nat Russo Basics, Characterization, Writing Leave a Comment

While work continues on Necromancer Falling (still on track for a spring release! Yay!!), I periodically stumble upon articles I think will be of interest to our community. This article, “3 Pillars of Character Development” is one such article. And it ends by recommending a book you’ve seen me talk about here!

I’m particularly fond of “Pillar 3″… (my version of “and what happened next will both shock and delight you!” 🙂 )

characters2

 

3 Pillars of Character Development – Achieving Complex and Real Characters While any novel will likely struggle with enough Character Complexity, I find that novels with high-worldbuilding el…

Source: 3 Pillars of Character Development – A.J. Flowers WordPress Connection

Rules and Guidelines

Nat Russo Basics, Writing 1 Comment

Here on A Writer’s Journey, we often talk about about the rules and guidelines of writing. Whenever the subject comes up, it’s met with a lot of skepticism and a healthy dose of “but I’m an artist!”

hipster-thoreau

No, people don’t often say “but I’m an artist!” But what they do say is rarely more than a variation on the theme:

  • “There ARE no rules in writing.”
  • “But <their favorite author> breaks that so-called rule all of the time!”
  • “Hey! You owe me 20 bucks!”

I can’t be the only writer who gets that last one. Am I right? Am I right? 🙂

 

Today over at the Kill Zone blog, bestselling author and writing coach James Scott Bell addresses the notion of rules and guidelines. You’ll find the source link below.

Source: The Exception That Proves the Rule About Opening With a Scene |

Defending Your Style Vs. Being Stubborn

Nat Russo Basics, Opinion, Writing 12 Comments

Note: The following article is based on a recent conversation I had with a writer I mentor regarding style. While it’s been heavily edited to read like an article, this is the gist of what I said.

There’s an important step on the way to developing your own style and voice as a writer: learn how to write good prose. It may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people think they can sidestep this requirement altogether. Sure, it’s difficult. Anything worth doing is difficult. Anything worth doing will make you stretch, both as a student of the craft and as a person in general. The good news is that much of this process is well-documented by masters of the craft. It’s simply a matter of allowing yourself to learn and grow.

But there’s a pitfall along the way. And that pitfall will guarantee you learn and improve the least. You’ll know you’ve fallen into it when you’re tempted to chalk everything up to a “stylistic choice”.

stubborn

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Smashwords: 2015 Smashwords Survey Reveals Insights to Help Authors Reach More Readers

Nat Russo Marketing Leave a Comment

Edit: Oops! Got a little trigger-happy with the “publish” button. I intended to add some comments first. I’ll keep it short. A friend on Twitter shared this article with me this morning, and I had to pass it along to all of you. Mark Coker released some statistics that may greatly impact the way you choose to market your stories. I strongly urge you to read this article.

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