I’m working with a small team of talented actors and filmmakers to craft a fantastic book trailer that meets the strict standards that The Camelot Kids has stuck to so well.
Here’s an audio clip of the official tagline for The Camelot Kids series. The voice is Michael Belfiore’s, a writer, actor and friend of mine for over 20 years!
WARNING: It’s an energetic reading, so adjust your volume downwards — just in case.
My nights were Merlin. My days were Simon.
Meetings at work were doodles — what did the characters look like? What made Excalibur special?
Plot twists popped out of a martini. Oh yeah, one crucial theme sparked from a spicy chicken wing during Date Night in SoHo.
About 1000 pages were written right after Jack was born. I read the first draft in the middle of a forest and decided it was inspiring and horrible. Robin talked me off that cliff.
I hope you enjoy Simon’s butting heads with Merlin. I hope Maille Rose (pronounced Molly Rose) becomes a favorite of yours too. Oh, and I hope the ending leaves you wanting more. Because I want to write much more.
The Camelot Kids has been a part of my life for almost nine years. It was mine. Now it’s yours.
I love Hugh Howey. Sure, he’s a good writer, but he can be a helpful one too! In addition to all of his efforts to make self-publishing a transparent and optimistic community, he also spends a lot of time doling out indy tips and tricks. Hands-Dirty tips. Rubber-Meets-Road tricks.
But this one may be his best.
InDesign is a wonderful, complex mess. It will definitely help you make a beautiful book, but it will also kill you slowly with obtuse logic that hammers your head, and drop-down menus that will chop your fingers off. Mr. Howey (a name to envy) spends 50 minutes showing us how to take your doc and turn it into a book. You’ll be pausing every few seconds as you follow his steps, which will effectively turn his video tutorial into a 29 hour lesson, but that’s the beauty of it.
Thorough, clear, with a pause button. Perfect.
We’re going to do something different here. I’d like to show off Ian Greenlee’s art in a unique way.
Piece by piece.
Ian’s work is spectacularly detailed. He works on a canvas the size of a house and loves to dive into minutia like no one else I know. To show this talent off I’m going to reveal his latest piece. It captures the moment that Simon Sharp walks into the fantastic town for the first time. I think Ian does a brilliant job of making us feel the awe that Simon felt. When you see the full piece all together, you’ll see what I mean.
I’ll update this post once per day until the softcover launch on December 12th, so bookmark it and come back to see the full illustration slowly come to life!
Any of these illustrations have enough detail to satisfy most artists. Not Ian.
Yeah…
And HERE is the full piece!
I miss Shirley! I’ve been working so hard on The Camelot Kids that she’s had to have some adventure all on her own. I’ll get back to her soon in a book titled Shirley Link & The Party Poopers, but until then you can snag a short story! Shirley Link & The Ghost of Christmas Presents is in the Book Elves Anthology: Volume 1 along with some of my favorite Middle Grade authors.
Here’s an excerpt. Then head to Amazon and order the Kindle version or the softcover!
It’s not easy for me to enjoy the holidays.
Halloween was fun for awhile. Until I got my first stomach ache from one too many Resses Peanut Butter Cups.
I guess Thanksgiving has its moments. But you know what? I just don’t like the taste of turkey.
I especially have a hard time with my birthday. Yes, I know it’s not a holiday, exactly, but you wouldn’t know that from the way my parents act. When I’m 21 they’ll probably still look at me like I’m a four year old, with their heads bent a little bit to one side and a proud grin on their faces.
But one holiday is okay. Somehow, it promises a hopeful morning, an afternoon packed with joy, and an evening of peace.
Christmas.
My family does volunteer work every Christmas day. We’ll help out the Northeast Food System Partnership or the Organic Trade Association in Greenfield. I think my soft spot for Christmas comes from the year my family volunteered at Trinity Church in Shelburne Falls. They give out toys and a fantastic Christmas lunch to families less fortunate than mine.
So that morning a couple of years ago, the whole Link family piled into the car after a humongous breakfast. We slid our way through the icy town until we got to the church. The parking lot was pretty full.
I arrived a little sleepy. Seven pounds of pancakes will do that to a person. Also, I hadn’t enjoyed a good nights sleep. My good friend Wylie had called me up on Christmas Eve and talked non-stop about the new Marvel Avengers video game he was hoping to get for Christmas. Somewhere around his description of Starlord’s powers I fell asleep. When I woke up who-knows-how-much-later he was still talking.
So as Mom, Dad and I got out of the car I wasn’t at the top of my game. It was Christmas! Who knew I’d have to take on my newest case as an amateur detective?