Tag Archives: writing

Blogging, David B. Coe, LonTobyn Chronicle, Lore Seekers Press, Writing

The Summer/Fall 2016 Blog Tour

Children of Amarid, by David B. Coe (jacket art by Romas Kukalis)Internet problems and other issues have kept me from updating, and so I have a couple of posts to tell you about today.

I have a post up at the blog of my friend Gail Z. Martin on my return to epic fantasy after so many years of writing urban fantasy. Gail is an epic fantasist who has also done UF as well, so it seemed natural to post about this on her site. I’m grateful to her for hosting me. You can find this post here.

You can also find a synopsis of the first book and information about purchasing the book and/or entering the giveaway for gift cards at Drey’s Library and at Joelle Reizes’s blog Slippery Words. Check them out!

D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, LonTobyn Chronicle, Lore Seekers Press, Writing

Then and Now in Publishing: A New Blog Tour Post

Children of Amarid was first published in 1997, which is a really, really long time ago. The person who wrote that book must be, you know, old. Not “Rime-of-the-Ancient-Mariner” old, but at least venerable. Perhaps even vintage. Certainly grizzled.

I’m not sure I was ever the Hot New Thing in Fantasy, but if I was, I’m definitely not anymore, and haven’t been for a while. On the other hand, at this point I’m a Survivor, someone who’s Been Around Forever and Seen It All. And I suppose that’s kind of cool.

Today the Summer/Fall 2016 Blog Tour stops by the site of my wonderful friend and fabulous agent, Lucienne Diver. In my post, I use the recent release of the Author’s Edit of Children of Amarid, my first novel, as a jumping off point for a discussion of changes I’ve seen in publishing over the course of my nearly 20 years in the business.

You can find the post here. Please feel free to leave a comment or question. I’ll be checking in during the course of the day. Thanks!

Blogging, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, LonTobyn Chronicle, Lore Seekers Press, Writing

On the Blog Tour: Visiting With Faith Hunter

I knew that I would need to revise the book before it could be published. Kind of the way I knew I would need to rotate the tires on my car at some point. I acknowledged it as part of the production of the novel, but I gave no thought to what it actually meant. Talk about rude awakenings.

Today the Summer/Fall 2016 Blog Tour stops by to visit with my friend, New York Times bestselling author Faith Hunter. My post is about the process of editing Children of Amarid and the other books of my LonTobyn Chronicle for reissue, and about all I learned when working on the original books, back when I was a writing newbie. I knew so little about publishing back then, and was confronted with some difficult lessons. But I emerged from the process stronger, smarter, and better equipped to pursue a career in the book business.

I hope you enjoy this post, which you can find here.

D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, LonTobyn Chronicle, Lore Seekers Press, Writing

Quick-Tip Tuesday and a Blog Tour Update

It’s Quick-Tip Tuesday, and I’m back at Magical Words with a post about how to establish and meet work goals without setting ourselves up for disappointment and discouragement. You can find the post here.

Children of Amarid, by David B. Coe (jacket art by Romas Kukalis)And the Summer/Fall 2016 Blog Tour rolls into SFF World today, where a new review of Children of Amarid has just been posted. For those who don’t know, Children of Amarid is my first novel, originally published in 1997. It, and the rest of the LonTobyn Chronicle, my first trilogy, won me the Crawford Award and established me both commercially and critically. But it also suffered from many of the flaws one finds in a first novel. So, I have recently reissued the Author’s Edit of the book. The review is of this new version. You can find it here.

Blogging, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, LonTobyn Chronicle, Lore Seekers Press, Writing

The Summer/Fall 2016 Blog Tour Rolls On

Today I have a post up at Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist. I first “met” Patrick St. Denis in 2005, when he began his list with a number of book reviews, including very kind reviews of my LonTobyn Chronicle. And so it seemed natural that as I tour the intrawebs publicizing the release of the Author’s Edits of Children of Amarid, The Outlanders, and Eagle-Sage, I should stop by Pat’s wonderful site.

Today’s post is called “Learning From a Younger Me,” and you can find it here.

Blogging, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, LonTobyn Chronicle, Lore Seekers Press, Writing

Today on the Summer/Fall 2016 Blog Tour

As the Summer/Fall Blog Tour continues, I visit today with friend and fellow writer Ken Schrader, who interviews me about the Author’s Edit of Children of Amarid, and writing stuff in general.  Come on by and join the conversation! You can find the interview here.

Blogging, David B. Coe, LonTobyn Chronicle, Writing

First Stop on the Summer/Fall Blog Tour!

Children of Amarid, by David B. Coe (jacket art by Romas Kukalis)Today I kick off my Summer/Fall 2016 Blog Tour with a stop at the Word Nerds blogsite, where I’m interviewed by Bethany Warner. We discuss the re-release of Children of Amarid and the rest of my LonTobyn Chronicle, as well as the process of editing these books, which were the first I wrote as a professional. Come by and read the interview here, and you can enter for a chance to win a Blog Tour gift certificate!

Blogging, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, Writing

Quick-Tip Tuesday: Emotion and Narrative

So how do we imbue our prose with emotion? Well, we DON’T do it with a sledge hammer. I am not telling you to bludgeon your readers with paragraphs-long explorations of your characters’ emotions. That would be no better than a data dump. Sometimes all we need is a gesture or moment’s expression — the twitch of a lip, a nervous gesture with the hands, the refusal to look someone in the eye. Delving into emotion doesn’t mean eschewing subtlety.

Today’s Quick-Tip Tuesday post is up at Magical Words, and it’s about imbuing our writing with emotion. To my mind, few things are more important for effective story telling. Read more here. Enjoy, and keep writing!

Blogging, David B. Coe, LonTobyn Chronicle, Writing

Quick-Tip Tuesday: More on Self-Editing

This is still the work of an inexperienced writer. Comparing The Outlanders to the work I’ve done more recently, I still cringe a little at the habits of that younger me. But I also see growth, a writer beginning to master elements of his profession.

And, to my surprise, I see as well things that I need to be reminded of today as I think about where I ought to go next with my career and my craft.

Today’s Quick-Tip Tuesday post at Magical Words again discusses my revisions of my first series, the LonTobyn Chronicle, and what I have learned from that younger version of myself. It’s not just a matter of correcting youthful mistakes; at times, I’m finding that I need to emulate more some of the things I used to do. Sounds interesting, right? Then read the post! You can find it here.

David B. Coe, LonTobyn Chronicle, Tor Books, Writing

The Re-Release of My First Novel

To fans of the original, thank you for the support you’ve shown me over the years. I couldn’t be more grateful. To those coming to the series for the first time, welcome. I hope you enjoy reading these novels as much as I have enjoyed revisiting them.

Children of Amarid, by David B. Coe (jacket art by Romas Kukalis)Nineteen years ago, I realized my lifelong dream of becoming a published author of fantasy with the release from Tor Books of Children of Amarid. I followed that up with the second and third volumes of my LonTobyn Chronicle, The Outlanders and Eagle-Sage, books that would win me the Crawford Fantasy Award and establish me in the business.

I have always loved these books, and yet, as I’ve moved forward with my career, I’ve also been aware of their flaws. They were passionate and decently written, but they were also plagued by many of the problems endemic to first novels. For years, I’ve wanted to go back and edit them.

In 2005, they went out of print. Eventually, the rights to the books reverted to me, and at last I was able to revise them. This month, the long process of preparing the books for re-issue finally comes to fruition.

Children of Amarid, art work by Romas KukalisI’m delighted to announce that the Author’s Edit of Children of Amarid is now available from Lore Seekers Press in ebook format and trade paperback. The book bears the original art work by Romas Kukalis, as will the subsequent volumes, which we hope to publish in September and December respectively. I have not changed the story in any way. The plot twists, characters, world building, and magic system all remain as fans of the original novels will remember them. But the prose has been polished, made leaner and more concise. The result is a novel that reads as I wished it had all those years ago.

To fans of the original, thank you for the support you’ve shown me over the years. I couldn’t be more grateful. To those coming to the series for the first time, welcome. I hope you enjoy reading these novels as much as I have enjoyed revisiting them.

And finally, to those attending ConGregate in High Point, North Carolina next weekend, please come to the Friday night book launch. My book will be one of several feted that evening.