Kalijor Daily

This blog has officially moved...

2011-10-03T13:56:00.001-06:00

To Kalijor.com

There will be no further posts here as the new site is up and running wonderfully.

Thank you all for hanging out with us here, and we hope you will join us at our new and improved home on the web. :)

Gen Con!!

2011-08-01T22:14:00.002-06:00

So, the car is mostly packed.

I think I've got everything I am going to need. If I don't it isn't going to get there.

I will be leaving for Sidney, NE tomorrow afternoon/evening sometime, then on the road to Indianapolis at the crack of dawn Wednesday morning.

Here we go folks, please come out and see us at Gen Con Indy (Author's Ave, Table 'N')!

End of Line

Sale on physical books!

2011-07-12T08:30:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

Head to my store on Lulu.com and use the coupon code BIG305 to save 20% on everything you order!

Pass the code (and the link) on to family and friends and let's get the energy going!

And the sale goes on!

2011-07-05T13:41:00.001-06:00

I have decided to keep the price of 'The First Key of Kalijor' at $0.99 for the rest of July (on iBooks, Kindle, and Nook. Physical books prices remain at the mercy of whatever retailer is selling them).

Thank you all for your continued support, and please let others know! Together, we can make Kalijor a hit!

Free,today only!

2011-07-01T08:22:00.002-06:00

Today, July 1st, 2011, Th First Key of Kalijor is free on the iBooks store. It is also reduced in price on Kindle (since they have very different price controls that don't seem to allow for a drop to free without a much longer turn-around), to $0.99!

You can find it in iBooks by searching for my name, Paul Lell, or Kalijor, and on the Kindle store, here: http://www.amazon.com/First-Key-Kalijor-Keys-ebook/dp/B000ZH6VH4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1309524711&sr=8-2

This is the full, revised and expanded version, not some sawed-off, promotional version, so please enjoy, and tell your friends and family. :)

Goal Met!!

2011-06-30T23:31:00.000-06:00

40,500 words before the end of June!

Okay, off to bed now. Please don't forget that tomorrow, July 1st, 2011, the First Key of Kalijor is free to download from iBooks, and reduced to $0.99 on Kindle!

These are full and complete, DRM-free ebooks folks, not truncated or old versions. Please, enjoy them, tell others, and write reviews!

Free Friday!

2011-06-29T23:05:00.002-06:00

Hey as all!

Just a quick couple of items and I'll let you get back to your day.

Firstly, The Third Key of Kalijor has appeared on Amazon! It is $19.99 in 6x9 American novel, perfect bound format. no sign of it at B&N yet, but it should be up there soon.

Next up, Kalijor Press will be offering The First Key of Kalijor for free on iBooks, this Friday, July 1st, 2011! Log in and snag your copy, if you don't have it already. :) I would do this for Nook and Kindle, but they don't have the same ability to quickly adjust prices. I'm looking in to other ways to make it happen, but in the meantime, this round will be iBooks only.

That is it for now. More soon!

Oh, I'm just about 40k words into the fourth key now. :)

End of line.....

Just keep swimming....

2011-06-12T16:19:00.003-06:00

A couple of things today. Firstly, I know it's been a while since I posted, and that is largely because I have just been really busy working on book, latex, and convention projects. That said, there has been a lot of little movement across all fronts that I would like to report upon!

So, secondly! All three Kalijor novels are now also available on the Nook, via the Barnes & Nobel book store, which means that if you stop by their brick and mortar stores with your Nook, you can browse any of the books on your device to decide if you'd like to invest in one (or all three). They are priced at the same $2.99 as on all other digital platforms.

Thirdly, I have been making moulds, to make props for my friends, family, and model(s) to use when cos-playing at conventions! It's been fun, and educational, although I have to say that my sculpting skills are extremely limited. I can see these things perfectly in my head, but the translation into three dimensions is just not as accurate as I want. They're still cool. Just not as amazing as I picture them in my head.

I need to get a rapid prototyper in the house. With that, and some 3D Studio/Maya action, I could really knock these out of the house!

Fourthly, we are getting geared up for GenCon, which is amazingly, only a month and a half away now! I need to get books ordered, and I'd still like to get a new banner or two put together as well... One piece at a time, we will build an impressive convention display/booth!

Fifth(ly?), I am currently running a contest on the Kalijor Press Facebook page, to give away a free eBook (your choice of mobi or ePub format, and your choice of which novel). All you have to do in order to be eligible, is 'Like' the page. Once we get to 50 'likes', I'll roll a D50 to select the winner and ping them via PM to ask which format/book they want. I'd love to make a regular thing of this, to spread the word, as well as to start building out that fan base. You can find the Kalijor Press FB page, here.

I think that's about it for this update, and I need to go fry some chicken, so I am going to call it. Thank you all for your energy, and keep those imaginations burning brightly!

End of line...

Paul

...and it was good...

2011-06-01T17:54:00.003-06:00

Okay,

So, while Apple's submission process seems terribly long and fraught with undocumented pitfalls, and while there most certainly ~are~ a few true breaks in there (soon to be rectified, from the sound of things), it is not completely unnavigable.

I am pleased to announce that, as of yesterday afternoon, all three books (second editions of the First and Second Key of Kalijor, and the debut of the Third Key of Kalijor) are now available on both iBooks, and Kindle!

The books are looking ~much~ improved over the previous electronic versions, and I now have direct control over them, so any necessary updates can be made in very short order, should they become necessary.

The next bit of news about this awesomeness, is that I have lowered the prices on the electronic versions of all three books from $6.99, to $2.99 (about 1.5 pounds sterling)! This is ~not~ a sale price. This will be, going forward, the staying price for all of my digital sales, and I have no intention of ever raising them.

As always, if you buy, or have bought, a physical copy of one or more of my books, send me an email (Paul_Lell@Kalijor.com) with a picture of you holding it/them, and I'll send you a digital copy in your format of choice (ePub, or Mobi). I don't want people buying my books more than once for their own reading purposes. Once is enough. Just, tell your friends and family about it, if you think the story is worth reading. New readers is where we need to be!

In related news, the physical book version of The Third Key of Kalijor is still in red-tape mode with Bowker, so it has not landed on store shelves yet. Hopefully there will be no hiccups in the process and we will see it landing soon (it takes about 8 weeks, so we aren't worried about it yet). I'll let y'all know when it lands, but if you'd like a copy in the meantime, you can get them from my lulu store, or you can email me and I can send you a personalized copy directly!

I think that's about it for now, so I'll get back to it.

Paul

End of Line...

Not to sound like I'm complaining....

2011-05-17T07:12:00.002-06:00

So,

I received emails from Apple yesterday (after the 13 days of my 10 day waiting period), telling me that all three of my books had incomplete or non-functioning tables of contents, and were therefore rejected from iBooks. Of course, I am rectifying the issue, but here's my problem(s).

Nowhere can I locate a copy of any sort of actual requirements for books to be included in the iBooks store, save for the need of a fresh ISBN, which I have. I can find all manner of 'suggested guidelines' documents, all of which tell you how to format a document to be converted into the best possible ePub file. These documents do include tips on formatting for a table of contents, but do not, ever, list any kind of requirements. And these files are ~from~ Apple~

Second, I currently have 26 books in my iBooks library (small, I know, but I work a lot), that I purchased, or acquired from the iBooks store. Of these 26 books, SIX (6) have tables of contents. Of those six, one of them is not "active", meaning you can't touch a chapter in the table of contents and be instantly whisked away to that chapter in the book. So, 20 books with no table's of contents, 6 with...

Lastly, two of my three novels were already included in the iBooks store without tables of contents! When I was published under Smashwords, with all their terrible formatting, and profit-stealing, Apple accepted the books without question and put them up for sale, sans tables of contents. But now, with me trying to raise the quality of my books on the store, and take a third party out of the system to further make the products I sell higher in quality and quicker to adjust if needed. NOW, suddenly, a table of contents is required?

Needless to say, I'm a little peeved about this. I've sent them an email asking for specific documentation that points out requirements, and where in that document it says a table of contents is required. Meanwhile, I am working to get a table of contents into each book (easy, already done) that will properly export to an ePub document (seemingly much less easy...)

I guess we'll see how it goes, but it looks as if there will be another couple of weeks before the books are available in iBooks. :(

Alright, I'm off to save the world folks...

End of line...

iBooks, pending...

2011-05-05T16:36:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I emailed Bowker and asked them what the expected wait time was for an account approval, and they responded the next day with a message saying they essentially lost me and were very sorry but it was up and running now.

What's 10 days between friends I guess, eh?

Oh well. It's done, the new ISBNs are on record, and all three books have been submitted to Apple for placement in the iBooks store.

Additionally, I have unpublished the books with Smashwords, which means they may soon (but haven't yet) disappear from iBooks for a little while before Apple approves the new versions. (Yes, the first two books were already in iBooks, but the formatting was terrible, the royalties were awful, and I had zero control over any of it). The prices of all electronic books from Kalijor Press have been submitted at a significantly lower rate (excepting Jumah's World which is a charity book, so I can't really change the rate on that one), and I intend to keep them where they are, or lower, never higher.

Stay tuned for an announcement as soon as they go live!

I think that's about it for now. I hope you are all having a great day, and I look forward to seeing you the next time there is opportunity to do so!

End of Line...

Some News

2011-05-01T23:27:00.003-06:00

Okay, just a bit of news to drop real quickly before I hit the hay (odd term that.. hit the hay? Even granting the origin likely stems back to when it was much more common to sleep on, or in, hay, why hit it?).

Anyhow, The second editions of the first and second key are done. Whilst I await approval/activation from Bowker in order to buy more ISBN's so I can publish to iBooks directly through Apple, I went ahead and cleaned up and re-released the Kindle versions. If you have a kindle, and you'd like to check out the books, now is the time.

Also, I have lowered the prices from $6.99, to $2.99, indefinitely. I may go lower in the future, we'll see. I just want to throw it in the face of these big book companies who are behaving like the damn record labels. A bunch of dinosaurs who are afraid the world is about to leave them behind, so they have to squeeze every penny they can, before they can't squeeze any more.

Sorry, didn't mean to rant there. Still, take that! Ya dirty rats! The Third Key is processing through on the Kindle as well, and should be available, at the same $2.99 price, very soon. Apple versions are coming as soon as Bowker decides I'm okay. They're all ready to post to the Apple store, just need ISBN's.

Soon, the print versions will be in second edition as well, with all the new formatting, as many error fixes as we could find, and a little bit of tweaking here and there. But they are still very much the same stories, so no need to rush out and buy copies as soon as they're live. Unless you want to, I guess... I mean, I can't really stop you, but I'd really just prefer you convince between 1 and 50,000 other people to buy copies.

So, I'll post as more changes arise, but that's where we stand just now. Oh! The forums are still down, because some self-important @$$hat hacked the calendar and filled my SQL database to overflowing with stupid pr0n garbage. I'm working on rebuilding them, and getting them overhauled and updated to the newest software version, but there are other things on my plate as well and the forums, as much as I love them, are not so popular as to be a major priority just now. Soon though, so hang in there if you're jonesing.

I think that's about it for now, so I'll get back the hitting of the hay... whatever that means...

End of Line...

And we're waiting.....

2011-04-27T09:09:00.004-06:00

So, I am currently waiting for Bowker to approve my account, so I can buy ISBN's directly from them, rather than spending the extra money to go through my publisher. This hang-time is the cause of the current pause in productivity.

I can authorize the second editions for physical print without new ISBN's, but I cannot get the new digital versions live until I have them, and I'd like to get this all done as close to the same time as I can. So... I wait...

In related news, the revisions are done. Once I get the new ISBN's, I am confident that I can have second editions out to teh public in a matter of hours, plus whatever processing time is required on the other end (Apple will review copies before they go live, as will Amazon). There will ~not~ be new cover art for the first key on this edition. I thought about waiting for it, but my cover artist has other stuff to do, which keeps him in his home, so that needs to take priority at times. In the end. I'd rather get the newly formatted (and cheaper) versions of teh books out ASAP, then do a revision for the new cover art later.

All this having been said, I am hopeful that Bowker will get on teh ball, and I can order the ISBN's this week. Here's hoping, at any rate...

End of Line...

Still in the works

2011-04-26T08:22:00.003-06:00

Okay, things are still moving along.

There ~will~ be a more substantive update coming soon, but I want to make sure that whomever reads this, is assured that I am still working on any one of ten different things, at any given time.

Firstly, the Kalijor forums are currently down. Some...... person..... hacked the site and had the events/calendar page randomly generating spam events at a prodigious rate (the calendar table in the dB was already over 4 GB in size, and events were stacking up at a rate of 3-5 a minute). So, I have taken the forums down pending a clean-out of the guilty code. At the same time, I will be upgrading the forums to a new software version. I hope there will be no data loss, but I cannot say for certain.

Secondly, the second editions of the first and second keys are nearly complete. I have a couple tweaks to make on the second key, then it is live time! If you were at StarFest and asked for a digital copy, it will be forthcoming, imminently. Please stay tuned.

The Third Key is still in the pipe, awaiting approval by the powers that be. Hopefully it will be available in stores soon.

The Fourth Key continues to evolve/be written. No announcement on availability as yet, but hopefully sooner than later (hopefully next summer?).

The website will hopefully be getting another revamp in the near future. No word on when, yet. Still looking for good software.

I hope to have some great prints from Full Spectrum Graphics at Gen Con, as well as some apparel, and maybe a few other odds and ends to bolster the Kalijor product line. Stay tuned for more.

Okay, I am off to work on some... work... oddly enough. I hope you are all well, and look forward to our next interaction!

End of line...

Update coming soon, I swear!

2011-04-22T00:05:00.002-06:00

So, StarFest was awesome, and I will be offering up a real post-op debriefing here soon. I am busy working to get the second editions of the first two books out, in print, and in ePub/digital formats. The first key is done, and the second key should be done by the end of this weekend.

After that, more will be said here,about StarFest, and other news as well!

Stay tuned for more, and thank you all for your support!

End of line...

StarFest is go!

2011-04-10T16:14:00.002-06:00

So, we are all set for StarFest this coming weekend!

The fun begins Friday the 15th, around 4pm at the DTC Mariott! I will be there all weekend, from open to close, and I will have David (the cover artist and much much more), Taeva (the official model for Riana and Katrina), as well as various other supporters there on and off throughout the weekend. As usual, Saturday will be the big day for costumes, attendance, and fun, so if you can only make one day, that's the one to make it happen. Taeva will be there in full Riana cos-play, with tattoos and everything!

StarFest attendees will have the first chance to see, buy, and read the Third Key, as it's still working its way through the book databases and won't be available on shelves for at least another month, maybe a little longer (we are dealing with bureaucracy, after all). So, if you want one sooner than later, you need to get there! If we don't sell out, then I will have a limited quantity to ship from here, so if you can't make it this weekend, you may still be able to get one before they hit shelves. I'll post after the fest and let everyone know how we look for stock.

Also, that big announcement is going to be made at StarFest as well, the one concerning digital copies, and other projects. Again, an announcement will be made after next weekend, if you can't make it down.

Okay, I am off to work on writing and revisions, so I can keep the stories flowing. I'll talk to you all later, and sincerely hope you can make it to StarFest this weekend!

End of Line...

Paul

Faster than expected!

2011-04-03T23:33:00.002-06:00

Well, the publisher keeps getting faster and faster! I ordered 50 books on Monday, was told they would arrive in about 2 weeks and change, and was then informed they had shipped less than 24 hours later I received them Friday, and they look amazing! I am loving the new formatting. It is a little denser, which means less page turning, but the font is still good for easy reading.

Also, the formatting change is saving about 200 pages, which is also great, as it keeps the cost of books down, and saves paper too!

I think we can call that win-win-win!

So, I will have copies of the Third Key at StarFest, beginning the evening of Friday, April 15th (I think they open officially around 3pm) and will be there until the kick us out on Sunday, early evening! If you want a copy, and can make it, do so. Copies will not be available from book stores for another 6-8 weeks, due to the processing time required to get it through all the systems and into the databases.

So, those at StarFest will have a chance to read it before anyone else who wasn't a test reader or editor!

All that said, I also got the formatting down for the ePub version of the book (it's looking very solid now, and handles resizing of the font wonderfully!), so I can now move on to the second editions of the first two books to get the formatting in line, clean upma few odds and ends, and get them ready for the big post-StarFest announcement!

So, I think that's about it, for now. I hope you are all doing wonderfully, and hope to see you all there the weekend of the 15th!

End of Line...

Paul

Done!

2011-03-28T17:40:00.002-06:00

So David, the amazing force behind www.fullspectrumarts.com came through in style today!

I am ecstatic to announce that The Third Key of Kalijor is 'in the can', to use the vernacular. The cover art came in today, and looks phenomenal! I was able to get all of the files updated and uploaded, and copies ordered. It looks like, if everything in the printing and shipping process takes the maximum amount of time, we will have copies available the day before StarFest.

It's close, but I'll take it! I was pretty worried there for a little bit, but I kept calm (albeit with plenty of venting upon friends and loved ones, thank you all for your understanding), and collected. So here we go everybody, round three, with only two more to go for this story to be wrapped up (don't worry, there're plenty more tales from Kalijor after the keys have been handled)!

I've been receiving plenty of emails and notes form folks excited to see the new book, and I am very pleased to say that we are really working hard at outdoing ourselves on these as we go forward. We keep learning from industry insiders, and fans alike, and there are big plans for the future of the series, as well as the world of Kalijor.

Some insight into what's in the works:
-Second editions of the first and second keys (fixing some issues with text and punctuation, etc, inside the books, plus refreshing the cover art of the first book to bring it in line with the others), these will include new formatting to bring the books' interiors in line with the new style of the third key, and I think you are all going to love it!

-Re-releasing the digital editions! All of the digital editions of the Kalijor books will be re-released after StarFest. These new editions will have much better, tighter formatting, and take better advantage of all the benefits of digital publishing, including tables of contents, and a significant reduction in white space and empty pages.

-Repricing of digital editions! As part of the above revamp, there will be a huge change (for the better) in pricing on the digital editions of the books (if you haven't bought one yet, and you can wait a month or so, then you should do so. Or, buy a hard copy and send proof that you have it, and I'll send you the digital copy of your choice)!

-A new iOS app is in the works that will allow you to enjoy not just my own prosaic musings on a regular basis, but those of other, equally crazy, folks as well! Look for a preview at StarFest. I have it in my hands now, and it looks amazing!

-The first ever Kalijor COnvention short story book will be on hand at StarFest. It's a short story that will only be available at conventions (until we have enough of them to publish a short story collection, but that will have different cover art).

-The first Kalijor graphic novel is still in production. If we can have it in time for Nan Desu Kan, then we will be there, but we aren't rushing this one, because we want it to be amazing, so we'll see.

-Plenty more, that I can't talk about yet, so stay tuned!

Riana=Mary-Sue? Maybe, read and find out!

2011-03-20T18:54:00.000-06:00

Just to pass the time. A Mary-Sue test for Riana, the main character in the Kalijor Novels. If you don't know what Mary-Sue means, note me and I'll give you the low-down.

[ ] They are possessed by an angel
[ ] They are possessed by a demon
[ ] They are a werewolf/vampire/faerie
[x] They are physically strong.
[x] They have a rare hair/fur color
[x] Their eyes are an unusual color
[ ] This happens to be red
[ ] Their eyes change color
[ ] They have wings
[ ] They can grow extra body parts/shapeshift
[ ] They are immortal (This is unconfirmed and still, as yet, undecided, so I'm not checking it.)
[ ] (if a female) they have large boobs (I've never really specified, so I'm not checking this one either. I leave it in the hands of the individual reader.)
[ ] (if a male) they are very muscular
[x] They are very attractive to the opposite gender. (Probably true. Although she's actually kind of creepy too. She's perfectly symmetrical, which people just aren't meant to be... Checking it just in case.)
[ ] They are telekinetic/pyrokinetic/etc
[ ] They have sixth sense/can mind-read/etc
[x] They have an object of some sort that gives them powers (The artifacts she is collecting give her powers, yes, but none of them are really all that amazing yet.)
[x] They have a special ability/power, but they don't know about it yet (This is a 'kind-of'. Checking it just to be safe.)
[ ] They were bestowed/cursed with these powers
[ ] They are a healer
[ ] They are from a very rich/royal family (Technically, yes, but it really has nothing what-so-ever to do with the story, so not checking it.)
[ ] They don't know that they are from a very rich/royal background
[x] They have lost one/both of their parents
[ ] They ran away from home
[ ] Their parents are cruel, uncaring, abusive etc.
[ ] They witnessed one/both of their parent's death
[ ] They are part angel/demon/faerie/some other mythical creature
[ ] They never knew their parents (Never knew one of them, but they're getting to know one another now, so it's all good. Not checking this one.)
[ ] They were abused/spoiled as a child
[x] They are very attractive to the same gender (at least in one case, thus far. And the same creepiness is likely to apply here as to the opposite gender one. Checking it just to be safe.)
[ ] They have lots of friends/no friends
[ ] They are emo/cutesy
[ ] They look much younger/older than they really are. (She's an elf and a cyborg, so does this really apply? Both are very long lived and remain physically young forever... Not checking this one as it's by race, not some special feature...)
[x] They are currently in a relationship (Yes, but I'm not sure why this applies to this particular case study...)
[ ] They have lots if morals and state them a fair bit for example: 'I would rather be with my friends than with my boyfriend/girlfriend' 'Nothing matters more to me than my friends/family' 'I wouldn't hesitate to die in place of a friend' etc. It's fine if your OC has these beliefs/values, but if they constantly say them out loud/preach them to others, then we have a problem.
[ ] They have a mental disorder
[ ] They have an emotional disorder
[ ] They struggle to stay sane
[ ] They are a psycho
[ ] They have multiple personalities
[x] They are very intelligent (I guess, technically. She has a computer-aided brain. So, yes, she's smart. But she's also very, very dumb..... Checking it, just in case....)
[ ] They have hallucinations (She thinks she has visions, but they aren't. Not checking this one...)
[ ] They can summon spirits/demons/angels etc.
[ ] They have an unusual/unrealistic pet
[ ] They have a guardian spirit
[ ] They have a 'special type' of soul
[ ] Their soul is not the same as them
[ ] They can talk to spirits/ghosts
[ ] Some part of their body glows (only when casting spells... Not checking this one....)
[ ] They have a rare/unusual name
[ ] They were born on an important date, such as New Year's Eve, Midsummers Night, The Winter Solstace etc.
[ ] They have a twin/sibling that they were separated from at birth/a young age
[ ] They are connected with a certain element
[ ] They are connected with a certain animal
[ ] They always dress like a certain 'label'
[ ] They look quite a bit like a character from a popular anime/manga
[ ] They are a race/species that is discriminated against/misunderstood
[ ] They have a certain power that is misunderstood/feared
[ ] They live/lived on the streets at some point in their lives
[ ] They are hiding from someone/something
[ ] They have a rare blood type
[ ] They cry blood
[ ] Certain noises/smells/situations/etc make their powers activate/give them a nervous breakdown
[ ] They are from a different country to where they live
[ ] They are very mysterious/dark
[ ] They are very lively/happy
[x] Their mood changes a lot/very quickly (She is a drama queen at times, yes... Just to be safe...)
[ ] They are very patient
[ ] They are from a long line of (insert profession/power here)
[ ] They have a piece of jewelry/clothing that they always wear
[ ] They have amnesia
[ ] They have some sort of permanent medical condition
[ ] The have a curse upon them
[x] They are involved in some sort of prophecy (Aren't we all though? *Looks hopeful*)
[x] They are 'the chosen one' (Again, nobody knows for sure... Can I half-check one? No? Alright, I'll check it.....)
[ ] They have insomnia (She doesn't have insomnia, she just doesn't need as much sleep as most other people! I'm not checking this one, as insomnia is indicative of a disorder, which she does not have.)

Overall points: 12

Take points off your OCs overall score if they fit any of the following statements:

[ ] They smoke
[ ] They are an alcoholic
[ ] They are overweight
[ ] They are addicted to drugs
[x] They have a short temper (Yep! She flies off the handle at a moment's notice. Actually, she may be a bit bi-polar...)
[ ] They enjoy bullying others
[ ] They do not care much about others
[ ] They are emotionless

Point Reductions: 1

Final score: 11
Results: Balanced Character (actually a bit of a surprise. I always thought Riana was a bit Mary-Sue. I should find another dozen assessments and average the results to get a better sample.... I'll uh.... get right on that, and get back to y'all...)

___________________________________________

< 5 Anti-Sue
Your character may be a bit on the boring side. Of course, this does depend, but generally if they are scoring that low, it wouldn't hurt to 'spice them up' a bit ^^

6-15 Balanced Character
If your OC scored around here, then they are probably quite a well-balanced and interesting character. Those scoring in the higher end of this category may be a bit too much though.

16-25 Borderline Mary-Sue
We have a problem. You need to tone your character down. They are most likely a bit annoying to others, too.

26 < Mary-Sue

____________________________________________

Okay, I think that's about it, so I'll leave you with this.

StarFest: April 15-17
GenCon Indianapolis: August 4-7
Mile Hi Con: October 21-23

Catch us there!

End of Line...

Things are moving along...

2011-03-16T10:16:00.002-06:00

So, the Con Book is done and ready for copies to be ordered. It's only 30 pages, so I had to get it stapled, rather than perfect bound (or square bound, depending upon where you're from), but that has the added benefit (or is that an undocumented feature) of keeping the price down. Now all I need to take a wild guess at, is how many to print for StarFest......

On the subject of the Third Key of Kalijor, the typesetting and layout is all done. The ISBN is in and the bar code is in the hands of the artist, who is in New York for a week... *deep breath*

It should all be good though. He's sent along what he has so far, and it looks amazing. I think you will all be very happy with it, I know I am. The timeline is going to be tight, but we will definitely have the book available beginning at StarFest, on April 15th. It just may not be available in stores until May some time, but that's okay, it just means that convention-goers get an exclusive preview!

In other news, we are kicking around some ideas for a Kalijor (and other worlds) periodical, which we hope to get off the ground this summer. Plus, the graphic novel is still in production, and I will be speaking with someone directly about licensing the RPG engine I want to use for the Kalijor RPG during my trip out east in August. With any luck, we could have a Kalijor RPG main book available for the holiday season. *crosses fingers*

Lastly (I think, anyway, I do tend to ramble at times), I have just entered into an agreement with Apple to distribute directly through iBooks. I know the books are already available there, but I am not at all happy with the formatting, so I've decided to do it myself, so I can have much better control and oversight. I am currently involved in revising the first and second keys (mostly reformatting to save space/paper), and intend to re-release those, as well as launch the Third Key in the iBooks store in May after things calm down from StarFest a bit. I'll let you know when it happens. :) Interestingly, that will be the first time anyone will have access to the second editions. Landing in digital book stores before print. Also, expect huge news about pricing when this all comes to pass. *grins*

Okay, I think that's about it, so I'll leave you with this.

StarFest: April 15-17
GenCon Indianapolis: August 4-7
Mile Hi Con: October 21-23

Catch us there!

Working hard, I swear!!

2011-03-09T07:32:00.001-07:00

Doing final edits and typesetting on the Third Key. Just put in for the ISBN so it can go to book stores the world around. :) all we need is that, and the cover art, which is nearing completion.

Also, the convention short story book for 2011 is also set to publish, it just needs the title image and it can go live.

We are, at this point, still on track for a StarFest (April 15) launch of both books!

Mysticon fell down and broke itself...

2011-01-19T21:13:00.001-07:00

So. Mystic on is off.

Someone on the coordination team fell and injured themselves and this, apparently, means the entire convention must be cancelled 72 hours ahead of opening the doors. So, Kalijor Press will ~not~ be attending either Mysticon, or COSine this year.

My apologies folks. I hope to see you all at StarFest in April with a new novel for you. The Third Key of Kalijor is nearing print!

Okay, back to revising.

Plugging along!

2010-12-22T20:39:00.002-07:00

Keep on swimming, keep on swimming...

Just a note to say things continue to move forward, or possibly a bit to the side like......

The first copy of the Third Key is back from test reading and I am going through the comments and making adjustments. Still waiting for more, but I know for a fact they are under way, so we are hopefully on target for an unannounced release date.....

Additionally, I am working on some revisions to the Kalijor RPG main book, and adding a bit to the Avian sourcebook (Winged elves anyone?)

I should be laying out the costume for Taeva tomorrow and Friday, and cutting and cleaning it up after Christmas. Shouldn't take too long to build out, but the details will take a while, so I need to get this part done as quickly as possible. The boots are in, so we're getting there!

Okay, moving on. Talk to you all later!

Paul

Sticking with it...

2010-12-17T14:49:00.002-07:00

Not that it's a huge chore or anything. It's just remembering to post periodically that seems to constantly vex me...

So, I built a couple quizzes for fans of teh books. You can find them over at Goodreads.com if you are interested.

Other than that, I don't have a lot going on just now. The books I ordered for Mysticon shipped today, so I should have them before New Year's eve. I also ordered two pair of boots for Taeva, one for the Riana Fantasy cos-play and one for the Riana Sci-Fi cos-play. THose have also shipped, and should be arriving in the next week or so.

I should be starting her outfit this weekend as well. I don' timagine that will take too long to make, but I wanted to get a jump on it so I have time for the details this round, especially as she'll be using this one a lot more than Selene used/will use the other one I made. Looking forward to doing it again too. Lots I'd like to do differently, and I can, now that I have some time to do so.

More soon, so stay tuned!

Ciao

Baby Steps...

2010-12-15T12:47:00.002-07:00

Okay, so a friend of mine just turned me on to this website, goodreads.com.

Alright, so it wasn't such a huge leap, in retrospect, but it wasn't something I knew about before. Mostly as a function of my being really bad at this self-promotion gig that writing these books has sort of thrust upon me.

All that aside, however, the site looks to be pretty awesome, especially if you are looking for a place to find a good book that is right up your alley. THere are tons of reader reviews so you can get to the simple truth of how good a title is pretty quickly.

Add to that, the fact that it is cross-indexed and hot-linked like any good wiki, and suddenly it's an extremely powerful tool for both authors, and readers.

So. Those of you who know me, probably know that I don't make New Year's resolutions. Instead, I resolve to keep any resolutions I make during the year. As such, I am now resolving to pay more attention to this blog, and really step up the promotion of Kalijor!

2011 is going to be a strong year for us here at Kalijor Press... There is somethign in the wind...

It's been ~how~ long?! Yeesh....

2010-12-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

Okay then....

Has it really been... what? Months? Since my last journal update?

All I can say is, I apologize, to those of you who read and, for whatever reason, look forward to these updates. I'm really bad at keeping up on them, and this is the one I do most often. Which is sad, if you consider the fact that I have a blog on my Kalijor.com web space and I am trying to break down the doors of the literature world.... *sigh*

Well, at any rate, I have not been sitting on my laurels over here...

We broke even at Mile HIgh Con, which was pretty good considering how terribly organized and run that convention was. THe fans were awesome though, and I met and chatted with a ton of amazing people. I got a lot of new insights into the publishing world, and am happier every day that I am self-published and own my own Intellectual property. More hope for the future of the franchise!

While at Mile HIgh Con, we were invited to Mysticon, which is in Colorado Springs, the weekend of January 21st. So we'll be there all weekend. It's a new convention and is all about faeries, fae, and other faerie tale worlds, but will be sharing a hotel with a science-fiction convention as well, so the whole thing should be amazing, and the audience will be right up our alley!

Taeva, who is posing as Riana in the couple of pics I posted from Mile High Con, has agreed to become the official model and face of Riana and Katrina for our trips to cons, as well as for all of our novel covers going forward. So now we have an official model, an amazing cover artist, and a dedicated group of phenomenal test readers. Add to that the growing legions of readers, and some great reviews, and I think we'll be just fine before too long, and should be expecting Lucas and Bruckhimer to be knocking on the door any day now!

After that, we have Star Fest in April, and We'll be trying to get to Nan Desu Con in September sometime, I think. I"m going to build a new cos-play for Riana, that Taeva will be wearing at Mysticon. It will be similar to the one worn by Selene at Star Fest, but unique, and much closer to what I was trying to do when I ran out of time making the original. Then I will be making a sci-fi cos-play for her to wear, so she can trade back and forth at Star Fest. After that, we'll start working on some Kat cos-plays for her!

Also, We're cleaning up one of the Kalijor short stories to use as a limited release book to be sold at conventions this coming year (2011). My intention is to have one short story book available per year, at conventions only, and then to collect them all into a compilation that will be offered through book stores once they are all done and have seen convention releases. So if you're a completist collector (like I am ) then you'll need to get to the cons, at least once a year, to get the short stories in their own covers!

Mile High Con this weekend!

2010-10-18T22:26:00.001-06:00

So uh, I am bound for Mile High Con this weekend!

Unfortunately, at this point, I have no idea when I will be at table there, or for how long... It seems that they offer free tables to local authors (hooray!), but they must be signed up for, in hour-long blocks, on a first-come, first-served basis. So how much time I get, and when those times are, depends entirely upon how many authors attend, and when they get there to sign up.

So, I have taken Friday off work, and I will be at the con hotel a couple hours, at least, before they officially open their doors. I hope to get at least a few slots, and both my cover artist (for the Second Key of Kalijor, and all books going forward), and the model that posed for Riana and Katrina on that book (and will be our model for the foreseeable future), will all be there together!

So, in short. Mile High Con, this weekend. Kalijor Press will be there, with artists, models, authors, and goodies (including a sneak peek at the first edition of the Kalijor Graphic Novel!!). I'll post here Friday, the instant I know times etc. And I hope we will see some of you and your friends and family there!

Also, as an aside, Kalijor Press can now accept Cash, Check, PayPal, and all Major US credit/charge Cards (Visa, American Express, Master Card, and Discover), as well as barter, precious stones and metals, and the occasional soul, if it is a really good one. Please, no children however, as we are full up at the moment and even first-borns are just not going to be accepted.

End of Line...

This blog has moved

2010-04-28T06:46:00.001-06:00

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How long?!

2009-10-31T22:19:00.002-06:00

For crying-out-loud!

Why does this blog experience so much neglect?!

I think it is partially due to the fact that I do most of my actual blogging on my deviantart site, and partially due to the fact that I am inherently quite lazy. It's true!

I have to take on additional projects in order to create a sense of constant panic/pressure in my world. This panic/pressure is what keeps me working on things, instead of sitting idly by and watching them roll through my field of vision.

The other day my wife told me I was just like my mother, in that, if there was no emergency, I wasn't happy. I am not (yet) convinced that she is entirely correct about the severity of this condition I have, but I am beginning to understand that she is, at least, correct about it's existence.... *sigh*

Ok then, why not just add another log to the fire then eh? Alright, I think I will!

NaNoWriMo! Why the heck not? So, beginning tomorrow (the 1st of November) I will begin my second year's participation in this wonderful little event that challenges one to create from scratch, a 50,000 word or more novel. Start to finish.

Last year I did 74k words, but I didn't have as much going on in my life. I won't bore you with details, but suffice to say that this year my time is even more accounted for going in. So we'll see what happens. If I pull it off again this year, then next year I will adjust my word count goal.

What will the book be about you ask? I think it will be another Alina Martin novel. I really like her character, and feel she still has a lot to offer story-wise. Left undone from last year is what happened with her parents (is her father really a terrorist? And how could he take all those rifle-blasts to the chest? And how could her mother just turn around and walk away from them like that?), what happened to Niko, how Alina dealt with Daray after the incident in the alley, and much, much more (not even mentioning Turin and Almon... Doh! I just did!).

So I think that will be the subject of this year's novel. If you want to look me up on the NaNoWriMo site, my user name there is *gasp* PaulLell Come on over and say hello!

Kalijor on the iPhone!!!

2009-09-26T07:14:00.000-06:00

I just received word that 'The Second Key of Kalijor' is now available on the Apple App Store! Now you can enjoy the entire published Kalijor series on Kindle or as a native app on your iPhone or iPod Touch!

I'll be putting the hard-cover book together next week, so stay tuned for that as well. Also, 'The Third Key of Kalijor' is now well over 300 pages and going strong. Hopefully the momentum holds up and I can see this through to the end before NaNoWriMo time.

'Kalijor: The Aegis Protocol' (working title) is currently being looked at by my amazing editor to get it ready for next year's release, then The Third Key should be hot on its heels.

Lastly, for those able to swing it, I will be signing books at Leisure Mountain Studio in Yampa tonight (Saturday the 26th) from 4 to 7pm. We'd love to have you stop by, enjoy some snacks and wine, and chat with the locals and tourists! C'mon, it'll be fun!

Moving forward.

2009-09-13T09:55:00.002-06:00

OK,

'The Second Key of Kalijor' is now available the world around! Go to your nearest book store, and order a copy today. Right now even. It's OK, I'll still be here when you get back, so go ahead!

The price was finally fixed at Amazon, Barnes & Nobel has it, and you can get it from my LuLu store front (via Kalijor.com, then a link right on the front page). Or, if you'd prefer, you can email me, and we can arrange payment and delivery for a personalized/signed copy. I will be getting desktop images of the cover up this week, and believe me folks, this art (by the amazing David Magoun over at Full Spectrum Arts & Services) is totally worth having on your desktop!

This year, I am really going to start pushing Kalijor into the public eye, so expect to see announcements about local conventions, book signings, and hopefully some media coverage here and there.

To start off with, I will be signing copies at the Mile High Karate in Thornton (120th Ave and Colorado Blvd) this Thursday the 17, from 6:30 to 9 pm.

Then I will be signing copies in Yampa, CO on Saturday September 26th, at Leisure Mountain Studios, from 4 until 7pm!

More to follow there, so stay tuned!

Coming up......

OK, since I know you're wondering, here's the scoop on what's happening now that the Second Key is available. First off, we have begun revision/editing on a spin-off novel that takes place between the second and third key books, and involves Riana, Willhelmina, Vincent, Xavier, and more, but centers on a new character who makes his living as a professional, corporate thief!

While that edit/revision is going on, writing continues on The Third Key, and let me tell you, it is coming along quite nicely. I'm about 300 pages in, and going strong. If the story continues as it is going now, this book should be killer (and even bigger than the first two)!

Editing continues on the Kalijor RPG man book. It's over 400 pages now, without any interior art. The Rathalon source book material is being play tested, and as many as 5 more sourcebooks are well into being written. I'm doing what I can to appeal to the publisher I have chosen to support the material, but they have a lot going on in their world just now, so things are going slowly. But fear not, I am confident that we can expect to see a Kalijor RPG in print in future!

OK< that's about it for me. I'll put up more soon, but for now, I have things to attend to, so I will let you go. THanks for tuning in, and I look forward to seeing you al on the forums, at the signings, and on the streets!

Iiiit'sss Heeerreeeee!!!

2009-08-12T22:34:00.003-06:00

OK,

Terrible spelling in the title of this entry, I know. But it's been a good day and I am excited, so humor me please!

This is just a brief notice to any fans that are reading this blog that, 'The Second Key of Kalijor' is now in print, and available to the general public!

You can currently find a copy at my Lulu store front, here, or through the Kalijor.com page. In the next couple of days, to a few weeks, it will become available at amazon, Barnes and Nobel, and all other major book stores the world around.

Also in the pipe are all of the electronic versions. The Kindle version is submitted and awaiting the push to the online Kindle store, and the iPhone/iPod Touch version is waiting on a bit of paperwork, but all the files are set and ready to fire off the instant that is covered, so I would expect it to show up in the app store over the next week or so, very possibly much sooner than that.

I updated Kalijor.com with all the new sales/book links, and will be putting in some new desktops to the media section of the page over the next couple days, but I need time to get the files all set up and ready for you lot, so please bear with me.

OK, that is all for now, except to say that the Third Key is already over 300 pages and going strong. I have a fashion gig at the end of this month that I need to fabricate some stuff for, but in September I will hit the Third Key hard, and get it finished up, hopefully before November, so I can let it cool down for a little bit before first revision (although the first 250 pages have already been revised once since I had to reread it all after I nearly lost the file!).

SO, good night all, please stop by the forums and let me know what you think of the new book after you read it! :D

The proof is in the pudding!

2009-07-31T23:41:00.001-06:00

The proof copies arrived today and looked amazing, so they have been approved and are off to the printer for final book store approval. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks 'The Second Key of Kalijor' will be available in book stores the world around!

Also, I just updated the writings section over at Kalijor.com with an excerpt from the new book, and another short story about the twins before all the madness began!

The Second Key of Kalijor

2009-07-20T20:29:00.001-06:00

'The Second Key of Kalijor' cover art is mere days away from being delivered. The artist has sent the preliminary piece and it is awesome! He is now finishing up the back cover text, ISBN/bar code, and other odds and ends. I am in awe of his amazing work and I think you will be too!

And then?

2009-06-07T19:04:00.002-06:00

Ok,

Just so everyone knows (I know the both of you have been wondering), I am still here, and still alive!

I have no idea why this blog is so difficult to maintain regularly (maybe it's because it cost me my last job uh? Meh). Anyway, Just an update on all things Kalijor.

To begin with, The Second Key of Kalijor is done and waiting for cover art. My artist assures me that he is making headway, but he has to pay the bills, so a couple other projects have had to be put ahead of the book cover. I trust it will be done as soon as it needs to be, and am hoping it is before the 4th of JUly, since I will be able to get it in front of my fans in Yampa when we are up there for the celebration!

I have gone through what I have of the The Third Key of Kalijor, checked it for continuity and flow, as well as some general editing, and dived back in to the writing (nearly 60 pages in the last three days). So that is coming along nicely again and may be done before the summer is over! Of course, there will then be loads of editing and rewriting to be done, but that could easily put The Third Key of Kalijor on track for a summer 2010 release (no promises of course though!).

Play-testing on the Kalijor RPG is moving along quite nicely, only a few major issues have been turned up, along with a heap of typos and other technical foibles. It should be in second draft soon and ready to really move into the hard pitch with Palladium!

In similar news, the first source book is done (Rathalon) and several more are in various stages of completion. These new source books include, Earth Ring Station, Pandoria, The Moon, and Avian. Currently the Earth Ring Station is the furthest along (around 30 pages), but they are all sort of being built simultaneously so anything can happen!

For those who aren't aware, the Kalijor universe is in multiple formats now. You can buy the soft cover novel in any major book store around the world or online as always, but you can also get the hard cover special edition on Amazon Marketplace! Also, the books (The FIrst Key of Kalijor and Jumah's World) are both available on Amazon's Kindle platform, as well as the iPhone and iPod Touch via the Apple App store!

The electronic versions are quite affordable (all of them under $10US), and all profits from Jumah's World still go to the Children's Hospital no matter the platform you choose to enjoy it on, so dive right in!

OK. I think that's it for now. Hopefully this will not be the last time I update this blog this month!

Thanks for hanging on for an update, and I look forward to seeing you at the next release party!

Layout and Typesetting

2009-04-01T18:02:00.002-06:00

OK, so 'The Second Key of Kalijor' is all but done!

I finished the final revision this afternoon around some other projects, and then went through and did the typesetting and layout. At this point I am waiting for the title page image and the cover art, and then we are ready to go to print!

The cover artist and I had a good long chat the other day and came up with some great ideas and he is working on roughs now (around other projects of course). Hopefully we can get the final piece under way soon!

All in all, I am very happy with the book and the feedback I have received, so I think you will all really enjoy it when we get it to you!

Stay tuned for more, and as always, please email me, or post on the forums if you have questions or comments (or use the comment feature here if you like :) )!

Kalijor on the (internet) radio!!

2009-03-23T16:11:00.002-06:00

On Friday, March 19th I was interviewed by Sean rima on Castle Rock Radio's "Big Fat Radio Show"! We had a great 20 minute talk and I was invited to come back again, which I will do for sure when the new book comes out (around June 1st), if not sooner.

Anyway, the MP3 recording can be found here: http://www.kalijor.com/Media/CRR_March_19_09.mp3 if you'd like to check it out!

In other news, I have the first test copy of 'The Second Key of Kalijor' back and it looks pretty good! THe cover artist is excited about the art (as am I), and we are all still of the opinion that Jerry Bruckheimer should be calling any moment to option the material!

'The Second Key of Kalijor' Out to test readers!!

2009-02-12T07:32:00.000-07:00

OK, I finished the first revision of 'The Second Key of Kalijor' yesterday! I will get a couple copies made and out to test readers today and tomorrow and am putting a return date of the end of March on them. This gives me a couple months to get the next revision done, coordinate the cover art, and work on the layout/type-setting.

At this point I would have to say that I am on track for a June release, but remember, nothing is set in stone!

Kalijor on the iPhone!!!

2009-02-07T17:54:00.002-07:00

Heyas all!

I just wanted to touch base with you and say that, as of 11am February 7th, 2009, both 'The First Key of Kalijor' and 'Jumah's World' are available on the Apple App Store. This means that you and your family and friends, can fire up your iPhone and/or iPod Touch and download a copy to read while you are out-and-about!

They are both stand-alone applications, which makes them easier to access (as opposed to opening up an eBook reader, then browsing for the files). They remember where you left off last, have adjustable font size, reversible colors and are searchable.

Please check them out, and tell your friends and family to have a look as well! :)

On a side-note, all author profits from the sale of 'Jumah's World' are still going to the Denver Children's Hospital, even iPhone/iPod and other digital formats (my books are also available on Amazon's Kindle platform).

OK, I am off to get ready for P&P gaming. I hope you have a great evening/day and I will talk at you later! :)

Paul

News about 'The Second Key of Kalijor'

2009-02-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

Cover artist for The Second Key of Kalijor is in the pipe, and the cover design has been agreed upon for preliminary sketching. The manuscript revision is about 33% done, and could be done this week if all goes well. We'll see.

At that point, I will get a couple copies out to test readers for feedback and then get into another revision. After that, it will likely need another technical editing pass, then we could be ready for publication.

If all goes smoothly, that should all be done before June. No guarantees however, I'd rather miss my date by a bit than rush the product. I rushed Jumah's World a little bit and it shows in the product, I'm sorry to say. It's still an incredible work, don't get me wrong, but there are things I should have done, that I didn't. I don't ever intend to let myself do that again.

So, stay tuned. I'll keep the status of the new novel in the public eye so you all know where things are at.

Only two weeks this time!!

2008-10-20T08:37:00.002-06:00

Heyas everybody!

It's been almost two weeks since I posted an update here so I just wanted to touch base and let everyone know what is going on.

I am still thinking through my NaNoWriMo project, trying to make sure that I have a good idea of the characters involved and what, generally, I would like the plot to look like. I have decided that it will definitely be set in the world of the future in which Kalijor resides. There may be a few cameos from some major characters, however the focus will be on a new person with some interactions with/from Daray. If you are interested, there is some bio information concerning Daray in the encyclopedia at Kalijor.com although I still haven't posted any of that novel to the site. I should be able to get to that this week, although it won't be much more than the first couple of chapters!

Next up, I think I have finished all of the major additions to the Kalijor RPG manuscript and have spent the last couple of days going through and adding metric equivalents for measurements, looking for spelling and grammatical issues and formatting. My next pass will address some of the ordering of the book's sections to get that into a better/more user friendly arrangement and then it should b down to whatever mechanical tweaks we continue to uncover through play-testing! Now, I just need that call from the publisher and it will be golden!

Other news? Um.... Oh, I beat Crysis Saturday! Very cool game! Although I must admit that the T.A.C. Hammer is the most annoying weapon I have ever used before. The damn thing is useless unless you are pointing it at the one, single, eligible (according to the game engine) target. I died like, ten times before shutting the game off and taking a twenty minute break before I threw something at my new computer. Then I looked up an online level walk-through just to see if there were any notes on how to use the damn gun and realized that it was more of a plot device than a weapon. Once I knew that it was pretty easy to figure out, but I still think it was a bull-shit game mechanic!

Other than that however, the game was amazing. Very well written, amazing game-play, loads of different styles of play, some unique mechanics that I've never seen done before, and generally very fun to work through. Plus, it had customizable weapons, which always scores points with me. I love playing with the options/functions o weapons in my games!

Coming along!

2008-10-04T12:52:00.003-06:00

OK, so Kalijor.com is basically up and running well enough that I am alright with saying I am done tweaking it for the time being.

I hope to get some more content going in now. Most of it to the encyclopedia area as I continue to flesh out the universe. Bear in mind that most of the stuff there is already in use in one form or another, much of it in the RPG book I am building and play-testing with the help of my amazing group of friends.

So don't expect a lot of cosmetic changes to the site, or even functionality changes. But there will be some content additions/updates coming in here and there. I still need to get the meta tags running, but that is a short job that will probably be done before anyone actually reads this blog! :D

In other news, I finished the Darren/Daray story and am now giving a name for the book some thought. It ended up being 410 6X9 pages in a 12pt Garamond font (smaller size but same font as the Harry Potter books). Which is WAY more than I was ever planning to write on the thing. As it happens I think I have more to add, so my NaNoWriMo project will likely be a companion book, detailing a parallel story that fills in a few gaps and then carries the story on a little further beyond where it left off.

It will be a while before the Darren/Daray book(s) see print however as I want to focus my print efforts on the 'Keys' books as that is the primary story arc. Fear not however, as there will be print copies coming, down the road a ways. In the mean time, I will post the first couple of chapters at kalijor.com here in the next couple of days.

I am still awaiting publisher approval on Jumah's World, but it hasn't been kicked back in a couple weeks so I hold out high hopes that it will be hitting book store websites very soon. Expect an announcement, followed by a flurry of press activity once that happens as I will be trying to get a signing put together at the Denver Children's Hospital!

OK, I think that's about it for this round. Trying to keep up this blog now that things are moving along so hopefully more will be coming along soon!

Have a great weekend and I'll see you next time! :D

Catching up

2008-09-27T06:32:00.003-06:00

OK, so the largest portion of the Kalijor.com update is finished. Everything is transitioned into the new look/style and for the most part, is functioning. I am trying to figure out the web-ring code to A) Make it work properly and B) Make it look a little less gaudy. We'll see what happens there. I may just end up putting a links page back in and put that there.

Next up, I need to sweep through and pick up the minor things, such as the links to the books not working on the front page and so forth, should be just a little while to get that sorted out. I also have a bunch of character art that I have commissioned for the site and am trying to figure out where/how to best place it so stay tuned for those tweaks in the very near future as well!

In other news, the Darren/Daray story is coming together, possibly winding down to a climax/finale, but you never know. I'd just like to be able to check it off before NaNoWriMo comes around so I can stay focused on that.

All-in-all I think that's about it for updates. Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to seeing you back again soon!

Have a great weekend! :)

Three MONTHS?!?!

2008-08-28T19:37:00.002-06:00

Um. Ok....

Wow. I didn't realize that I had been SO busy as to have neglected this blog for three months. My bad...

Alrighty then. No drivel about not doing that any more or how sorry I am. Just to the point!

The Jumah's World charity book project is well under way. I have received the first proof and had to make a couple changes so we are still a couple of weeks out on that project, but I may have been able to sneak a few rare copies out before the changes went up. If so, I will have 26 extremely rare copies with unique covers that will never be printed again!

Here's hoping they got out the door before the changes were made.

In other news, I have piled up a pretty substantial pile of prose about a new character in the Kalijor universe. His name is Darren, or was rather, but that's all explained in the text. I plan to get it up onto the Kalijor Writings page in the next few days, although work and a trip up to Yampa, CO may put that off for a couple of days. Soon though!

Also, I have been able to finagle a few commissioned drawings of some of the cast of the books/stories! They are coming together and should be done in the next few weeks (art takes time folks! Be patient, I am just as excited as you are!). With my next update to the site, again, in the next few days barring any life intrusions, I will put up the one or two completed pieces I have and some of the rough sketches I have for the others that are still very much in the works.

The RPG book continues to be refined as play-testing progresses, and there has even been a little work done on the first two supplements. Here's hoping that the folks at my favorite RPG publishing house are up to the challenge of making Kalijor a little more alive than it is today! As Kevin Siembieda is often heard saying, I think I suffer from an overactive imagination. Not that it hurts these projects any, but damn if some stuff doesn't just get lost in the sauce from time to time!

Ok,I think that's about it for now. See below for a list of what the heck I am working on around my job, family, and whatever else is going on these days!

_________Project List__________

-The Second Key of Kalijor (First major edit/revision)
-The Third Key of Kalijor (about 150 pages into writing)
-Jumah's World (Proof reordered)
-Darren (Still writing. Also, I need a name for this book...)
-The Kalijor RPG Book (Play-testing/revising and still adding a few odds and ends here and there)
-Kalijor RPG Suppliments (Very early stages, but starting to ramp up)
-Requiem (Comic with a friend)
-AI (Comic with a friend)
-Short Film (Screenplay for a short, CGI piece my brother intends to make)
-Feature Film (Screenplay for a pretty amazing movie idea, can't really say any more than that at this point)
-Mysterious Ghost Writing novel project (Still simmering)

Contest deadling extended!

2008-05-21T14:30:00.003-06:00

In order to accommodate more people getting their entries in order around the rest of their lives, the deadline for the contest has been pushed out to the end of June. Everything else is still the same with the exception that the events described as following the contest's judging will, of course, be pushed out as well.

Contest rules/specifics can be found here.

Sorry for the lack of updates. This whole looking for work thing tends to take up some time. Hopefully soon things will be back to a more normal schedule.

Book Art Contest, proceeds to benefit children's hospital

2008-05-01T06:18:00.002-06:00

May 1st 2008!
I know I have been promising this for a long time now, but a great many things have happened in the interim to slow this project down a bit. However, I am now ready to proceed and the text is entering its final stages of revising for publication. So now, I want to pass on a couple of details and get this contest rolling!

To begin with, I want to share with you the intent of this contest. Here in Denver there is a local radio station that does an annual fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital and I am always so tight on my budget that I am never able to contribute anything. However, I always force myself to listen to the telethon for its entire 36 hours because I know that facility has been there for me when I was young, and more recently for my own children as well.

So, I would like to start off this contest by saying that ALL proceeds (that’s 100% of the profit from all books sold) will be donated to the Denver, Colorado Children’s Hospital. It may amount to $25, or it could be $1,000,000 (wouldn’t THAT be cool?), but either way, all proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the hospital, so please, participate with the knowledge that we are helping kids and their families through some potentially trying times.

Alright, that having been said, here’s the deal. Beginning today, May 1st 2008, I am accepting art submissions for one full color cover and nine (9) black and white chapter header images for the Jumah’s World: A Tale From Kalijor novella. Submissions will be accepted through the month of May with the final submission deadline being 11:59:59pm MDT, May 31st, 2008.

I am afraid that, unless any interested parties wish to sign on as prize contributors, the best I am offering in the way of prizes is a free copy of the finished book, and the knowledge that your artwork is not only in a published book, but going to help children in need!

Judging will be performed in two rounds beginning on June 1st. The first round will be myself and a panel of others that know my writing and will be able to identify which pieces are in keeping with the theme/spirit of each chapter or the whole work. Together we will select the five (5) pieces that best represent the chapter they are submitted for, or the book as a whole. After that, the selected finalists will be displayed here and on my website at WWW.KALIJOR.COM where you, the community will vote for the winning pieces. The first round of judging will be finished, and the finalists posted by Wednesday, June 4th. Community judging of finalists will be closed at 11:59:59pm MDT, Saturday, June 14th. Winners will be notified on Sunday, June 15th.

After winners are selected and notified, the art will be laid out, added to the book and submitted for publishing at my expense. The process typically takes 2 to 4 weeks for proofs to be made, sent out, approved and then accepted as final so the publishing date should be around mid July somewhere.

Submit as often as you like and in as many areas as you like, but in order to involve the entire community I must insist that any single individual can only be featured in one place in (or on) the book, so keep your submissions to the area you most want to see your work appear. All work must be rated PG-13 in order to stand any chance of being published with this piece. All submissions shall be submitted to me via posting in your own deviantArt gallery and sending me a note so that I can add a link to the contest update page (If you do not have a dA gallery/account then email the image to me and I will post it there for community voting). Finalists will need to forward high-resolution digital files to me via email so that they can be compiled and displayed in my gallery and on my web page at WWW.KALIJOR.COM for final community voting.

Ok, that’s the basic run-down of the rules. Please see the bottom of this post for more detailed information on sizes/specifications for submitted images. Here you will find links to the individual chapters of the story (bear in mind that these are not the final, edited, copies, but the story is complete and cohesive enough that we can proceed without fear of any severe changes). I have intentionally been vague with details about settings, people, and things in order to allow you, the community, to express the world as you see it in your mind’s eye. This is a community project so I want it to be reflective of the community more than my own personal vision.

Jumah’s World Volume I
Jumah’s World Volume II
Jumah’s World Volume III
Jumah’s World Volume IV
Jumah’s World Volume V
Jumah’s World Volume VI
Jumah’s World Volume VII
Jumah’s World Volume VIII
Jumah’s World Epilogue

Cover Image:
The final cover image size is 12.4” X 9.25” (31.47cm X 23.49cm) and the focus of the image (the cover of the book) will be on the RIGHTMOST 6.125” X 9.25” (15.6cm X 23.49cm). The background or ancillary image area will wrap around the spine and the back cover of the book. This image will be in full, high-gloss color and you should allow for an area approximately 3” X 3” (7.62cm X 7.62cm) to be partially covered by the book’s title within the cover area. The cover art should be in keeping with the spirit of the story and characters within and must be rated PG-13 in order to be considered for publication.

Interior/Chapter Heading Images:
Interior art shall be black and white and shall not exceed 4” X 4” (10.16cm X 10.16cm) in area (or can be submitted in any square size above that with the understanding that it will be reduced to approximately 4X4 which may result in the loss of detail). Each piece must be in keeping with the spirit of the contents of the individual chapter for which it is submitted, and must be rated PG-13 in order to be considered for publication.

Legal stuff. By submitting art to this contest you are affirming that A) the art is your original work and not legally spoken for by any other party or entity and that it is legally available for publication and B) that you are forfeiting your own right to any form of compensation, monetary or otherwise, for this piece of art as it relates to the publication of this piece of written fiction. You the artist still retain the full, legal copyright to the piece of art but are hereby releasing myself (Paul Lell) and my organization (Kalijor Press) from any legal responsibility to compensate you monetarily, or in any other way, for any sales of this book or any other media (whether printed, digital, or in any other form heretofore known or unknown) related to or derived from this book or its sales. I the author am hereby bound to release all profits generated directly through sales of this work to the Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado on a quarterly basis, in perpetuity. I the author also reserve the right to use this book and all associated works of art in the promotion of my other books and am not legally obligated to compensate any of the participating artists in any way for any monetary or other gains that result from said promotions.

And then.....

2008-04-28T13:51:00.002-06:00

Hello again!

Well, the signing/reception up in Yampa went smashingly! We had a packed house for over three hours and met a lot of great folks. I sold a bunch of books and my wife sold a ton of art to boot! We really enjoyed ourselves and owe a debt of gratitude to all of the people who made it happen, my mom, Debbie at Leisure Mountain studio, and all the folks in attendance from Yampa, Steamboat Springs and everywhere in between.

Also a special thanks to the folks at the Steamboat Pilot & Today for an amazing article (and follow-up articles) that, I am sure, brought in a bunch of folks.

Now on to other matters. My new business venture is now up and running! So if you or anyone you know needs any footage of trains, or any high definition interval clips to use as stock in any projects, broadcasts, or what have you, please come check out our new site!

The major revision on Jumah's World is done and it is in the hands of a reader now. As soon as I get it back and make any final adjustments I will be announcing a contest to have cover and interior art made for the book. My hope is to get that going on or very close to May 1st so I can get the publishing process rolling by early June.

That's about it for now. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again in the near future.

Have a great day!

Paul

Signing! And more news...

2008-04-10T07:10:00.003-06:00

Ok all, I hope this message find you well.

As or myself, I am still looking for work. I am trying to break into something involving writing, preferably creatively, although I am not really about to complain if something else comes along. I am accepting writing commissions as well if you need anything done. Rates are as follows:

I am very open to feedback and negotiation so don't let these figures stop you from PMing me with questions!

Creative writing: $10 per typed page
Creative writing with 'world building' services: $15 per typed page

Technical writing (all information provided, outline, specs, etc...): $10 per typed page
Technical writing (including research): $30 per typed page

Editing (in the form of a 'marked-up' Word doc with comments/annotations): $15 per typed page
Rewriting/Editing (in the form of a 'marked-up' Word doc with comments/annotations and accompanied by a separate Word file with the altered text): $30 per typed page

The technical writing section will include reports, white papers, methods and procedures, instructional materials, job aids and the like.

All writing will be in the form of a Word document, 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches in a 12 point Times New Roman font with single line spacing. Rates are based on these numbers so any requested change may result in a cost adjustment (so writing in a novel size formate of 6x9 would cost less since the pages are smaller).

On another note, I have a book signing set up at an awesome little place in Yampa, Colorado called Leisure Mountain Studio. My wife has been accepted as the artist of the month there (she sold one piece before it was hung up on the wall, and several since) and the proprietor was gracious enough to put up a few copies of my book as well.

Anyway, the reception for the art show is on Saturday April 26th from 4pm to 7pm MDT and I have been invited to do a signing at the same time. So, if you want to come by and say hello, get a book signed, or see my wife's awesome art, the happening is in Yampa on the 26th. For those that don't know, Yampa is a nice little railroad town on Highway 131 about 20 minutes outside of Steamboat Springs. So come on up, make a weekend of it, I hear Steamboat has received more than 50 feet of fresh snow this season so the skiing is likely very good, and the weather is warm enough to really enjoy it.

Also, 'Jumah's World' is back from the editor and has been revised! I have passed it off to a couple people for review and as soon as I get it back and have a talk with them, I will make any final adjustments and get the cover art contest rolling. My plan is to have it in full swing by the end of next week!

Also in the works:
-My Palladium Books 'Rifter' subscription is about 80% done and should be getting much closer through next week, if not finished.
-My new business should be getting off the ground next week some time as well. Stay tuned for more on that, but if you are in to High Definition video, interval photography, or even trains, you may want to watch this space for that announcement.
-The Kalijor RPG book is being tightened up nicely, although I still want to add a lot of content yet. The test group has been on sabbatical for over a month now due to scheduling issues but we are on again as of this Saturday!
-It's Spring time!

Ok, I think that's about it for now. Sorry for the infrequent updates, but I have been swamped with stuff, and in the middle of looking for a job too...

Anyway, I hope this message finds you all well and I look forward to seeing you all in Yampa on the 26th!

Ciao

Paul

Still here!!!

2008-03-02T13:23:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am still about. I am pretty deep into looking for a new job as well as writing up a pile of submissions material for Palladium Books' quarterly publication called 'The Rifter'. I can't really discuss it much as I can't have the material showing up or being discussed online at all or it will greatly reduce my odds of publication. So, suffice to say that I AM here and I AM working on something pretty big.

Hopefully I can get 'Jumah's World' back from my editor soon so I can get it all set up and formatted for publication. Once that is done then I WILL be holding a contest for cover, and possibly interior, art for the book. When that is all said and done, the book will be available for purchase online and through local book stores for somewhere under $10US. Those individuals that get art in the book will receive free copies for their portfolios. Not a huge prize but at this point it is all I can really afford to do.

Also, I am still open for writing commissions, information here:

I am very open to feedback and negotiation so don't let these figures stop you from PMing me with questions!

Creative writing: $10 per typed page
Creative writing with 'world building' services: $15 per typed page

Technical writing (all information provided, outline, specs, etc...): $10 per typed page
Technical writing (including research): $30 per typed page

Editing (in the form of a 'marked-up' Word doc with comments/annotations): $15 per typed page
Rewriting/Editing (in the form of a 'marked-up' Word doc with comments/annotations and accompanied by a separate Word file with the altered text): $30 per typed page

The technical writing section will include reports, white papers, methods and procedures, instructional materials, job aids and the like.

All writing will be in the form of a Word document, 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches in a 12 point Times New Roman font with single line spacing. Rates are based on these numbers so any requested change may result in a cost adjustment (so writing in a novel size formate of 6x9 would cost less since the pages are smaller).

On that note, I am off to work on these submissions a bit more. I hope everyone is having a great day and I will speak at you all later!

Commissions!!!

2008-02-14T13:51:00.001-07:00

Hello there!!

Well in an interesting turn of events I find myself giving serious effort to reevaluating my career and goals. It may seem a little late in life but the fact of the matter is that until just recently, maybe as much as two years ago, I didn't really understand what it was that I wanted to be when I grew up. Now I make no claims to have actually grown up as yet, but I do know now that what I want to do is write. I want to pay the bills through my writing and the only way to do that is to get a body of work out there to support my skills when I go talk to employers about what it is exactly that I can bring to them.

As such, I am going to offer my services to you, the community at large. I will take commissions for writing whatever it is that you want, although I do reserve the right to decline a job at my own discretion and for my own reasons. At this point I have not ever been asked to write anything that I didn't like in some way so I can't imagine what would make me decline an offer, however I DO reserve the right to do so.

My usual method of writing for others is to have them give me a prompt. Something about what it is they want to see. The more detailed the better, although I am more than willing to 'world build' if that is your wish, although it may cost a bit more depending upon the complexity of what it is that you would like done. I am also perfectly willing to do fanfic, although that will cost a bit more as well since I will likely have to familiarize myself with the subject matter in question, characters, worlds, interactions and so forth (if I am going to turn work down it will likely be in this category since it is going to be by far the most labor/time intensive).

I do not limit myself to creative writing either. If you need/want a resume or technical document written up, I am more than happy to oblige. If all necessary information is provided then rates would be pretty low, but again, if I have to start doing research then I am going to have to ramp up the costs a little bit.

On the flip side of all of this, I will also offer editing services for works that are already written, and rewriting services as well. These will be handled case-by-case but rates will be generally similar to writing since there is still much to be done in the editing process.

Anyway, here is a quick rundown of rates, bearing in mind that this is the first time I have done this, so at this point everything is subject to change and I am very open to feedback and negotiation so don't let these figures stop you from emailing me with questions! :)

Creative writing: $10 per typed page
Creative writing with 'world building' services: $15 per typed page

Technical writing (all information provided, outline, specs, etc...): $10 per typed page
Technical writing (including research): $30 per typed page

Editing (in the form of a 'marked-up' Word doc with comments/annotations): $15 per typed page
Rewriting/Editing (in the form of a 'marked-up' Word doc with comments/annotations and accompanied by a separate Word file with the altered text): $30 per typed page

The technical writing section will include reports, white papers, methods and procedures, instructional materials, job aids and the like.

All writing will be in the form of a Word document, 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches in a 12 point Times New Roman font with single line spacing. Rates are based on these numbers so any requested change may result in a cost adjustment (so writing in a novel size formate of 6x9 would cost less since the pages are smaller).

I thank that's about it, so if you have any questions, please post them, and if you have any requests, please email me me! Oh and tell your friends, tell your family!!

Going on February...

2008-01-31T13:00:00.001-07:00

SO. All seems to be going along fairly well here. I just pushed a pretty big story update to the Kalijor main page. A bunch of new stories were added along with some final touches on a couple of the series I had going there.

I am still writing daily. Right now I am working on a submission for The Rifter, which is a quarterly publication from Palladium Books. Along with that short story I will be statting out some of the characters, classes, races, and a town from that story for use with the Palladium Books system. Hopefully they will be interested in picking it up for an issue or two *crosses fingers*.

As soon as I am done with that Then I am going to finish a book I began before Chrsitmas. It is a book concerning my own personal experiences in management. Sort of an autobiographical do's and don'ts of management if you will. I have no idea how well received it will be but it is something I feel I need to write, so I will!

In other news, I have applied with a couple of game developers her ein Denver for some content building positions! That would be the ultimate job for me!! I can't even tell you how exciting it would be to go to work every day and create stuff for other people to play with!! Simply amazing! I will keep you informed.

Did some basic work around the house today. Regrouted a bunch of tiles in my shower stall. Next up is the drain in the kid's bath tub. It's leaking so I need to get it all sealed up and squared away, then I can move on to patching up the cieling in the kitchen where the kid's tub leaked through! After that... I have no idea... but I am quite sure that something will present itself in due time.

Alright. I am off to get some more writing done. I will gab at you all later! Here's hoping you all have a great day, and a wonderful however many dayes it takes before I post again!

2008!

2008-01-11T12:47:00.001-07:00

That's pretty much all I have to say about that. By this stage the whole 'new year' thing has pretty much been done to death. So at this stage I will simply say that I hope each of you has an incredible new year that is filled with all of the things you bring about for yourselves!

For my part at least I have a lot going on. I have finished up my Novella about Jumah and it is in my lovely editor's hands. As soon as we get it cleaned up I will be hosting a competition on Deviant Art and the Kalijor web site. The contest will be asking for all interested artists/fans to compose a full color, cover image for the book. The finalists will be chosen by myself and then the winning piece will be selected via popular vote, most likely on dA just to keep things easily accessible and totally impartial on my part. Once the image is selected, I will composite the cover together (adding titles, text and so forth) and then assemble it for publication. I will also purchase an ISBN for the novella so that it can be purchased online and in local book stores the world around.

The winning artist will receive not just the by-line, but also a signed copy of the book.

At this point I am also kicking around the idea of taking submissions in black & white for interior art at the head of each chapter (which would be nine pieces I think). Judging would take place in a similar fashion and prizes would be the same for everyone since I am still not exactly rolling in the dough.

In other news, I have just begun work on a story submission for "The Rifter" Which is Palladium Books' quarterly gaming publication! I have outlined all of the characters and the plot and am now refreshing my knowledge of places, names and equipment (damns, it's been a long time since I was in the main Rifts book!!). The first page is written and immediately took on a life of its own, so I have high hopes that the project will move along pretty quickly. That having been said, if it does move as quickly as I think it will, then I will likely also pound out a new O.C.C. and two new alien races for submission as well. If that is well received then I may have a better shot at getting my source book into their hands as well. Here's hoping!

Anyway, I hope this finds you all well and I intend to keep better track of this blog during 2008. My goal is at least weekly posts. Shouldn't be too difficult..... should it?

The day after...

2007-12-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

Heyas all!

First off let me say that I realized about ten seconds after I sent out that news letter that I had typo'd 'meat' in place of 'meet'. My bad. I don't think that was a freudian slip or anything, just a case of being distracted whilst typing, that and I think I wrote that on my Windows machine instead of my Mac... My Mac does a much better job of keeping me in line when I start running on. Not that that ever really happens....

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I hope you all out there in reader-land had a wonderful holiday of choice and that I am still off for another week yet. I am about half way through a short story that I promised for my dA watchers a while back. Unfortunately I have had a ton of stuff going on at home and at work so I have not had a lot of time to devote to it recently. However, I have put on about four pages in the last three days (one of those being Christmas day, on which I did zero writing due to family visitation), and I hope to finish it out tomorrow.

That having been said, you never know what tomorrow will bring. Next up I have plans to finish out the Jumah's World story arc, and get it put together for editing so that I can start up a cover art contest on dA and the Kalijor site. After that I have another, non sci-fi/fantasy book that I am writing (shouldn't take too long really though so no worries) and then it is back to the Third Key of Kalijor. My editor is still working on the Second Key of Kalijor (thanks hon!!) and I will probably get on the first rewrite after I finish up the Third Key for her to dive into.

So, Lots to keep ME busy, how about all of you?

I hope the holidays find you all well and the new year is everything you hope that it will be. Personally I am looking forward to a great deal of fun and some serious pushes to get the book out there in front of people.

Have a great day and I will talk to you the next time!

Ciao

Paul

December book signing.

2007-12-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who came out to see me at Black & Read last Saturday! I personally enjoyed the experience very much and was privileged to meat some very interesting people.

Please stay tuned to my web site at www.kalijor.com where I have a blog and community forums for everyone to partake in. Also there are a dozen or so short stories on the main page under the 'Writings' link on the main menu, with more to come soon as I move into a little vacation time from the regular job (one such story about Katrina and Riana is well into being written already).

When you finish the book please take a moment to stop by Amazon.com Or Barnes & Noble and add a quick review of the book so others can read your thoughts.

That having been said I am out of here, so a merry Christma-hanna-kwanza to you all!

Ciao!

Paul

Friday...

2007-11-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

Damns, wasn't it JUST Friday?

This is crazyness! Crazyness I say!!

Ok, well aside from the cruddy cold-like thing I have going on, things are pretty good now. I just sold four more books to some folks from out of town (more visibility in another state is avery very good thing! The signing is set up for the 12th and the books are ordered (along with some posters to spruce up the signing a bit), and all is well.

Work continues on the RP book. I have spent the last few days statting out the few major characters from the first novel so players will have an idea how I see them and how they look compared to one another in game terms. I have a couple more to do before I paste them into the book (which will push it up over 300 pages finally, for real), then I need to do a few more spells, some programming tricks and I would like to get a couple more robot vehicles in as well, since there is only one currently.

I am hoping to be more or less done with this book in the next couple of weeks so I can get back to some more story-driven writing soon. I need to finish the Jumah's World series so I can work on getting a cover art contest rolling, and get the text collected and edited for publishing.

Anyway, that's it for now. I am going to go try and get some more sleep. See you all later!!

Paul

And the battle wages onward!!

2007-11-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I set up The First Key of Kalijor to be purchased/read on the Amazon Kindle format. At this point I am just waiting for it to drop to their list of available books. However, is has thus far been nearly five days since I did my part of the work and their system said it was 'live' content, and it still has yet to appear in the lists.

I contacted Amazon's tech support through their only available means, which begins as a poorly posted series of FAQ's that are cut up into little categorized pieces, none of which are terribly descriptive as o what category might actually hold the single, tiny nugget of information you are in search of. So I finally posted to the forums asking the question and a very prompt reply told me that in the FAQ's it says to wait 72 hours for your material to 'drop' to the list.

I propose that a single page FAQ would be infinitely more useful as it would be searchable and they would get less of that sort of question. Either way, it has now been WAY more than 72 hours and the book still has not dropped to the lists, so I have posted for assistance yet again. We'll see what happens....

On a more 'holiday cheer' note, we have some company from out of town here for the holiday today and the kitchen and house are a-buzz with conversation and activity as the meal is cooked and stories are told. All-in-all it is very refreshing and fun, I look forward to the rest of our company arriving this afternoon.

The books are ordered and being printed for the signing on December 12th. For anyone that is interested that will be taking place at 'Black & Read' book store at 80th Ave, and Wadsworth Boulevard in Arvada, Colorado. I haven't settled on a time with them as yet but I am thinking it will run from around noon, until six or seven in the evening, or as long as the books last, whichever comes first.

Ok, I am off to enjoy the family experience. So until next time, enjoy the day, in whatever capacity you choose, and I will talk to you all later!

Ciao,

Paul

And the project continues

2007-11-17T07:51:00.001-07:00

Alrighty,

Life is moving forward at a very life-like pace and events are progressing as they are apt to do.

I went by one of the few remaining local book stores yesterday and asked about a signing and they seemed overwhelmingly excited about it. I need to call them back today and speak to a couple different people about when and what they think of the book. I think I will actually go there instead of calling them though. Keep things more personal. :)

I sent a communication to the owner/publisher of the RPG's that I am hoping to have publish the RP book. Still waiting on a reply from him. He is pretty busy and it will be a week tomorrow, so I am not wigging out about that just yet. The frustration at the moment is actually centered around a different local book store that has a bunch of hoops authors need to jump through to get a signing. Well I have jumped through the first couple of hoops and am waiting on a return phone call from someone, waiting for more than a week now for a call from a locally owned business..... I just don't understand that one at all....

Anyway. Gaming tonight! *cheers*

I added a new class to the RPG book and am working on a slew of additional material. It has just been slow going due to the work situation. But it is progressing.

Also, I got the RSS working for this blog so if you want to add it to your aggrigator the URL is: Kalijor Daily!

Ok, back to work on the material. See you all later!

Paul

Friday, Friday, Friday!!!

2007-11-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Odd that it is Saturday.....

Ok, I have missed a couple of days here, but in my defense, I am working three full-time jobs right now so I have THAT going for me. :D

Alright, I have made my first attempt at contacting the publisher of the RPG's that I am hoping to work with on my RPG treatment of the Kalijor series. I have high hopes that they will be amenable to working together on this project since I am a HUGE fan of their work and have been for something like 20 years now.

On the writing front, I am working on a contest entry for a DeviantArt member. It was originally planned as a seven to ten page piece but I have been a bit carried away by the story and it is going on 22 pages now (double spaced, per contest entry rules, but still!). They said the longer and more in-depth the story is, the better odds it has of placing in the contest, so I figured what the heck!

I have plans to do some more work on the encyclopedia of Kalijor, lots of ideas rolling around in my head. Quoth the raven, "I suffer from an over-active imagination." Twenty bonus points toward a fabulous no-prize if you can tell me who said that one!

Ok, I have stuff to do and what-not, so I will get back at it. See you all next time!

Paul

The day before Sunday...

2007-11-03T13:49:00.000-06:00

So not a lot to say today really. The oldest boy just, somehow, managed to pass his belt test and advance to his low brown belt. They said they did it partially for motivational reasons, and partly because the majority of his stuff is actually not looking too bad, all things considered.

That's all well and good as I am sure it will sort itself out naturally. However, at home the youngest one has aparently gone insane while we were here at testing for five hours. I'm pretty sure be will need something more serious than grounding this evening.

At any rate, gaming is tonight so that is cool, more play testing of the new material. :)

I am about ready to pitch the book to the publisher I have in mind. I'm pretty sure tgey will jump at it, however i think there might be some issues concerning rights. I hope not since Ireally think this book can be of huge benefit to both myself and them. I suppose we'll find out soon!

In related news, I am working on a short story for a contest on Deviant Art. It's turned into a pretty significant piece really. Also, I should be getting more in place on my Jumah's World story. I think it will be drawing to a close in the next couple of installments sometime.

Anyway, I need to go as I am posting this from my phone at the belt test! :)

Ciao!

Life in general...

2007-10-28T12:21:00.000-06:00

Well, last week my kids would not stop fighting with one another. They would fight over toys, so we would take the toys away. Then they would fight over pens and paper, so we took that away. Then they would fight over pillows or blankets on the couch so we made them sit on the floor. Then they would fight over what was on TV so we turned the TV of. Not to be out done they then turned to fighting over whom was looking at whom the wrong way.

Suffice to say we got more than a little bit frustrated at this and I finally grounded them for the weekend. Unfortunately that didn't seem to stop it so we started adding days on to their grounding until now they are grounded solidly through next weekend. Here's the kicker though. Next Saturday they have their belt testing for Karate and one of the tenants over at the dojo is that people are behaving well both at school and at home. So I am torn between allowing them to test for their belts despite the fact that they are grounded, or holding them back for a few more months because of their behavior...

Now I am not a total jerk mind you. I did give them an out. Another item that comes from the dojo is what they call a 'self discipline sheet' which is a piece of paper with three sections on it, each section having ten lines. The idea is that every time the child does something around the house or school without being asked, such as picking up a mess, emptying the trash, and so forth, they can fill out one line with their good deed. I told the kids that for every ten lines they filled out they could discount one day from their grounding, which at the time did NOT include the Saturday of their testing.

Since then they have continued to be at one another's throats and the days have been adding up so that now, as I said previously, they are grounded clean through their belt tests. They have not even tried to fill out their self discipline sheets (One of them has about six lines filled out after eight days and the other is at three or four lines maybe).

Frankly I am at a loss for what to do. Nothing I say or do seems to make any impression upon them where their fighting is concerned, nor where the self discipline sheets are concerned. The older boy already missed his promotion last round because he didn't fill out any of his homework cards and he didn't seem too upset about the ordeal. I'm not sure that holding them back is something that means enough to them to actually qualify as punitive measures.

I've tried taking the toys out of their rooms, shutting down their computers, grounding them and everything else I can think of and nothing seems to make any sort of a lasting impression on them. I just don't know....

On another note, the press releases about the book should hit the news wires tomorrow, so hopefully we will see some activity from that. Also, progress is still being made on the RPG book, although it is slow due to work. I hope to pitch it to the company this week or next, we'll see how it plays out. I am still trying to work out a signing with the local Barnes & Nobel but I am not convinced it is going to happen considering their policies. We'll see.

Alright, I am going to try and get some work done on one of these stories so I am signing off. I will talk to you all next time so until then, keep fighting the good fight!

And so it begins...

2007-10-27T15:58:00.000-06:00

In truth it began a number of years ago, but Last month the publishing process was completed and now I am wading into the interesting world that is PR (public relations) and advertising.

Just this afternoon I submitted a press release to a couple of newswire services concerning the release of 'The First Key of Kalijor'. I have no idea how many, if any, publications will pick it up, but at the very least it will be listed on google news and yahoo news. We'll have to see what happens.

If you got here from an address you received from some sort of news article or RSS feed, please drop a comment letting me know so that I have some idea about how useful the last few hours have actually been. Then head over to the storefront and buy a book or two, everyone needs a couple copies. They make great gifts and the gifting season is just around the corner now. THey also make wonderful paper weights, jack stands, fly swatters, projectile weapons, kindling, door stops, and oh yeah, there's a story in them there pages too!!

Ok, so I am a little strange, but anyone who has known me for more than about 10 seconds would have been able to pass that little nugget on to you had you but asked for it! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Let's see, other news...... Nothing really races to mind....

I have been trying to arrange a couple more local book signings, but it seems as though most of the local book stores have been run out of the game. I'm not sure if it is the doing of the big-name stores or just some other economic factor, but it kind of sucks either way. I love Lulu.com and everything they have enabled me to achieve thus far but their one major flaw at this point is that they do not buy books back from stores. The unfortunate (for me) side effect of this is that I can not get in the door there to do a signing with my own stock of books, and they will not buy books that they can not return.

I am going to talk to some PR people about the possibility of me buying back unused stock personally, but I have extremely limited funding for that so it can't happen terribly often right now.

Oh! I would also like to put forward at this point that since I DO have stock in hand at this point, I am willing to send you a SIGNED copy of 'The First Key of Kalijor' for $23US. That's $18 for the book and $5 shipping (only to locations inside the United States, if you are outside the US, please contact me and I will get back to you with shipping costs elsewhere). I will of course sign your copy that you already have, but if you don't live in or around Westminster CO then I am afraid that you will be personally responsible for the cost of shipping the book to me for signing and then back to yourself again. That is not something I relish doing but right now I just don't have the funds to be absorbing such things right now. Although I am sure such a time will come along in the future. :)

Alright, I think I am about done now, so thanks for stopping by and I will see you all later!!

Looks as though it is working....

2007-10-26T19:43:00.000-06:00

SO it looks like this is functioning. Now my next task will be to get it looking more like a piece of my site... Time to brush up on the CSS skills I guess.

Of note, I have added a few more short stories to the Writings page, namely the seventh installment of the Jumah's World story, and the last bit of the Vincent Torres series, along with a little epilogue that may have a bit of a spoiler in it so consider yourselves warned!!!

Getting Started...

2007-10-26T17:58:00.000-06:00

This is the very first edition of Kalijor daily. It is mostly for the purpose of making sure it works and I am sure there will be a much more meaningful post added here in the very near future.

So keep checking back as I am just getting going!

Ciao!

Paul Lell