New series about to be launched

Posted on September 4, 2014 (Subscribe to Blog)

I've mentioned a few times in the past about Sleep Writer, the first book in a new series of Unearthly Tales. This is planned for publication on September 15th, but I'd like to get the opinion of a few beta readers if anyone is interested.

SLEEP WRITER
(Unearthly Tales #1)

Everything changes for twelve-year-old Liam when a girl moves in next door. Madison is fifteen, pretty, and much weirder than she seems.

Sometimes when she's sound asleep, she scrawls a message on a notepad by her pillow. She finds these cryptic words when she wakes the next morning -- a time and a place. But for what? Liam and best friend Ant join her when she goes hunting around a cemetery late one night, and life is never the same again...

So begins one freaky adventure after another involving all manner of aliens, monsters, and ghouls. SLEEP WRITER is the first in a brand new sci-fi/fantasy series by the author of ISLAND OF FOG.

Due for publication on September 15, 2014.

The book has been read by three people including myself. We all like it. However, we're all boys who like sci-fi. I'd like to get a few female opinions as well, so if you're interested in something other than Island of Fog that has strong science fiction elements, then maybe you'll like this. It's written for the exact same age group as Hal and his friends, and the three main characters are Liam (12), Ant (12), and Madison (15). They encounter some weird creatures from other worlds as well as dabble in a bit of time travel. It's a pretty wild ride.

One of my other two readers said:

How you wrapped the book up and answered all the questions I was getting ready to email you about... The ending was perfect, you left it so far open you could write another 100 books but ended it so gracefully that I... I don't know the word!!! I'm going to give you an analogy: Fog was like a roller coaster; it had a slow but fun climb before you were thrust into an amazing ride. Sleep Writer was also like a roller coaster, except it was one of the ones that take you from 0 to 100 in two seconds flat, before you're thrust into an amazing ride. I don't know which series I liked better so I'm not choosing.

I quoted this because it mentions the nicely wrapped-up ending and also gives you an idea how it might compare to Island of Fog. Thanks, Grant! :-)

Sleep Writer is 51,600 words, which is a little over half the size of a Fog book. So it's a fast, zany read that will hopefully suck you in straight away. The price will be $2.99. The next few books are already knocking around in my head, and the second in particular is pretty well planned out. I aim to write at least two of these books per year and quickly expand the series. Each book will be a standalone story -- no cliffhanger endings! -- with a brief introduction at the start to say what happened in Book 1, thus setting the scene kind of like the opening credits of some TV shows.

What I love about this series is that the characters can be thrown into virtually any unearthly situation. The possibilities are endless. Transported to another world? Check. Thrown into the middle of a battle between alien species? Check. Visited at home by ghouls in the night? Check. I even have an old, shelved novel about an impossible underground world that I might adapt to fit into this series. It's got a great first half and needs work on the second half, but it seems like it's a perfect fit for any one of the three characters to step into.

If anyone is willing to beta read this, please drop me a line. I want to keep this quick and simple, so make sure you have time to read it in the next five days. The book is pretty well polished, so I'm hoping you won't find any typos. You should be able to read pretty quickly and give me a general opinion about the whole thing.

Please email me at keith@unearthlytales.com. Also let me know what format you want the book in (Kindle, Epub, or PDF).

Thanks!

Comment by ROGER ESCHBACHER on Thursday, September 4, 2014...

Great idea for a series! I like how flexible it is. These kids can go anywhere!

Comment by MICHAEL AMADIO on Thursday, September 4, 2014...

Love the premise (just looked this word up to make sure it's correct, still not sure though!) the story line sounds fun and exciting! Reminding me of my youth and those certain types of friends where none of us fit anywhere else but, still alone to each other! How far can each of us trust in the other for the adventures ahead? I'd love to beta read this Keith!

Comment by MARY SMITH on Saturday, September 6, 2014...

Thank you for allowing me to be one of the first to read Sleep Writer I enjoyed it..I would love to have a paper copy someday and would like to know what happens next. I have read all the island Fog books and I am reading the Castle of spells now. I enjoy your writing. Be blessed.

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