Friday 29 June 2012

It's here - the real book!


It’s time to blow my own trumpet and inform you all that my wonderful, fantabulous and understatedly brilliant book Pike’s Quest is now available in paperback as well as in Kindle format.

Am I enthusiastic? Yes. Should you buy a copy? Of course you should: don’t hang around.

Oh, you may have to hang around. Currently it’s available via the CreateSpace e-store  - (good if you're in the USA), but by 6 July it will be available from Amazon UK/US/IT/ES/FR/DE/IT.

Now, view the outrageously good - and again, understated – promo video:


Please feel free to spread the news, share the video, embed the video on your own sites, blogs, Facebook pages, etc, and you may consider buying a copy of the book (£6.99 UK, $8.99 US, €7.99) when it’s available through your friendly neighbourhood Amazon outlet!







Friday 22 June 2012

The story so far ...

The new proof copy arrived on Tuesday, much to my delight. Pretty impressive stuff, I have to say. The print quality is great and it feels really good to hold a paper copy of Pike's Quest in my hands and to look at the cover art over which I have lost sleep.


Ardent followers of Pike may have noticed that the cover has recently gone through a series of iterations - from the orange-coloured silhouette, through to the clean-cut Pike in yellow tunic, going head-to head with a brown horse. Then Pike's hair grew, and Horse remained brown.


I started to read the proof and realised that it was not the fully corrected version. Dammit!


When I formatted the paper copy it turns out I did so with the last but one script of the Kindle versions, which contains around about 6 errors/typos. I can't remember what they are. I only knew of this when in the first chapter, Moorlock the Warlock says, "Look at your mouth ..." The proof copy still contained this - "Look at your youth ...", which is slightly confusing, to say the least.


I have found two more of the errors, and the hunt is on for the final ones. I have to say, it's easier to read the book and check for them than it is to reformat the corrected Kindle copy.


Finally, the cover art has had another make-over. In the book, Horse is a piebald stallion. My cover image showed him to be plain brown, and probably not big enough (in fact, the promo video that I have in the back ground, waiting for the paperback release, still will show a brown horse so it doesn't distract from the overlaying text [EDIT: or maybe I'll change it!]). Also, because of the bright yellow tunic on the right, from a  distance you can't see that there actually is a horse in the picture: it was tonally imbalanced. I have also had to lighten the image for the print version, as for some reason, the CreateSpace cover print comes out several shades darker than what I see on my screen and what I see when I print it on high quality photo paper at home.


So now I can reveal this - positively the last version of the cover (for the time being)!



Pike, with long hair, a piebald stallion and a sparrow.
Don't make me re-do it again.

Sunday 17 June 2012

Coming soon ...

... (but exactly when is yet to be finalised) - "Pike's Quest (the not quite a movie) video"


I have spent some considerable time putting together a promotional video for the launch of the paperback edition. Thanks to some useful advice from friends at Verulam Writers' Circle I think I have got it as good as it's going to get. However, I am awaiting the 'final' proof copy of Pike (should be with me by 22 - 23rd June, and then I can approve the print and away we go.


An update will follow as to when the paper version is released, and then the video will be premiered!!! 


In the meantime, here are some screen shots to garner your interest -


Home, sweet home


No one-eyed winglekrats were
injured during the making of
this "not quite a movie" ...

... nor were any Pikes.



Check back here for updates.

===============
All images and content Copyright © K J Bennett 2012
You may reproduce these images only if a full link to
this blog entry and a picture credit is 
assigned to K J Bennett.
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Saturday 9 June 2012

Pike will be a REAL book!

Great news, in just a few weeks, Pike's Quest will be available as a paperback book from Amazon.


I've just reviewed the proof version and it's pretty damned good. However, my cover art was sadly lacking in clarity and I need to change it. Here is the great reveal of the new cover image -


Pike's Quest cover image

Pike's Quest - new cover


I've just uploaded the new Kindle cover, and will be making my amendments to the print file tonight and tomorrow. Then, in maybe five weeks or so .... A BOOK!

Now I need to chase around the web and replace old cover images with the new.