A New Year

Let's start off with wishing everyone a Happy and Safe New Year!

2012 was a difficult year for myself and my family. We faced many trials but with God's grace we made it through safe and sound.

2013 is going to be a busy year for me. I will be promoting Ascent of the Holy Blade, attending classes at Ivy Tech, working my day job, finishing Hand of the Black Blade, and still spend ample time with my family. It's going to be a challenge, but I feel I'm up to the task.

It is my hope that the second book in the Blade's of Allura series will be ready to publish around early summer and into print early fall. I am currently working on a couple of short stories that I plan to post once a quarter. We'll see how things work out as the year progresses.

I would also like to bring to attention a short story I just read by fellow 2 Moon Press author Steven Lake. It is a tale of a man's fall from what he feels to be the just and righteous life and how he comes to cope with the changes it brings for him and his family. It's titled The Castoff and can be downloaded on Mr. Lakes website:Realms of Imagination. I really enjoyed the story myself and found there were several moments I could relate to that brought a cheerful smile to my face or a moistness to the corners of my eyes.

Happy Reading

-EW-

Under my Belt

     Well, my first book event has come and passed and considering the lack of publicity that was done it went as well as could be hoped. Over all it was a very enjoyable experience. The staff at Hard Wood Coffee Co. was enjoyable to work with and the locale was very charming and homey. I was pleased with the event kit that I had put together and with a few minor tweaks I think I am comfortable with it so I can scratch that off my pre-events list.

     Looking forward, I am having a banner made that I will be able to place at events that will quite loudly proclaim who I am and what I am doing. I am also having a second banner made that will be a "meet the author" type that I will hang at my table.

     I won't be doing anymore events until after the new year as there are some issues with my publisher I need to get worked out and then it will back to the grind of promoting Ascent of the Holy Blade and finishing up the second book in the series. Also, there have been a couple of short stories that have started to form from the mists of creation that I hope to post here over the next couple of months.

    Enjoy the holidays as they rapidly approach us. Eat, drink , and make merry with friends and family as they are the keys to a happy life and the shield that keeps the late winter blues at bay.

     Happy reading.

-EW-

My First Book Signing!!!!

I will be doing my first book signing event on Friday, October 12 from 1 to 2 PM at North Wood Coffee Co.  They are located in downtown Coldwater, MI.

I'm pretty excited about this event as I grew up and graduated in Coldwater. The place that the event is happening at was the home of Branch's Department Store and where Bob Branch worked. Bob was my stepfather and can be credited with my love of the fantasy world.

When we moved into Bob's house on Coldwater Lake he had a boxed set of the Lord of the Rings on this shelving unit he kept knick knacks. I asked if I could read one of the books and he said to start with The Hobbit. I was hooked. Recognizing my interest in fantasy and SF, Bob and my Mom bought me the first four books in the John Carter of Mars series. My first "Big Boy" books. I treasured that gift through all these years and still have them tucked away safe and sound.

Hope to see you there and happy reading :)

-EW-

They're here!

Just wanted to let people know that the eBooks for Ascent of the Holy Blade are now available. I have previewed both the Nook and Kindle versions and they look pretty good. Following you will find links to both the Nook and Kindle versions.  Happy reading.

-EW-

Nook eBook

Kindle eBook

A Dream Come True

     My novel, Ascent of the Holy Blade, has made it to print and is available in paperback from 2 Moon Press and Amazon!  Hopefully it will be available in e-book form soon.


     As a fledgling writer this has been a good learning experience for me.  We had some issues with my manuscript translating into the layout and editing programs because of the word processor program I used so I will be purchasing a new program for my following books.  The second and probably most important thing I learned was edit, edit, and edit again.  Several mistakes have made it into the finished copy and I am very sad at that.  I have proofread that manuscript till my eyes popped out but I and my publisher missed some...some that were pretty obvious.  But I promise if you read my novel you will truly love the story I weave and I swear that the mistakes won't be there in my following novels.

  Happy reading!  I hope you enjoy my tale as much as I enjoyed writing it.

                   - EW-

    http://www.amazon.com/Ascent-Holy-Blade-Eric-Westfall/dp/1938110102/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342540077&sr=1-1&keywords=ascent+of+the+holy+blade

Closer...inch by inch...

I heard from 2 Moon Press last week and they have sent Ascent of the Holy Blade to the printers, so I should be seeing a finished copy of the book in a week or two.  Pretty exciting stuff.  Also the work on the sequel Hand of the Black Blade is coming along at a steady pace.

In the new book we get to meet a new race of monsters that are the by-product of a demon mating with a mortal, the gray orcs. The gray orcs appearance and abilities are determined by their mortal parent. Elven half breeds can wield fel magic, dwarven half breeds are stout and powerful warriors, and human gray orcs are cunning and intelligent while all are blood thirsty and ruthless.

I am really enjoying this new story as it develops. It will be a bit darker than Ascent of the Holy Blade, but also a more personal story on many levels I believe. I hope to be going to print with it a year from now.

When I next post, hopefully it will be to say that Ascent is finished and ready for your reading pleasure.

Time to get back on track

      Just a quick update to bring everyone up to speed. Last week my son, Ethan, had spinal fusion surgery to fix his scoliosis and after a long week at the hospital he is safe and sound and recovering very well at home.
     Also some good news on Ascent of the Holy Blade. I signed off on the layout Wednesday and we should be going to print soon, yay!  Hopefully the book should be finished within the month. For the most part I am pretty happy with the product so far, the new cover is pretty sharp and the layout looks really nice.
     I have slowly, but steadily continued to work on Hand of the Black Blade and with the surgery now in the past I can focus more soundly on the next book in The Blades Trilogy.
     Well I'm gonna close for now, it's Father's Day and my wife is making BLT's and sundaes to celebrate it.

About time eh

I just published my newest short story entitled Blue Collar Fable.  My family and I really have enjoyed ABC's series Once upon a Time and it inspired me to write my own fairy tale.  I hope you enjoy it as it was a lot of fun to write.
Enjoy...

The Mist is Beginning to Part

 Its been a little while since I last posted anything.  I've had some crazy things happening at work and haven't had the time to update my blog with what's going on.
     It looks like Ascent is getting closer to a finished product. I have seen the first revision of the cover and I am very excited about it.  There a couple of changes that need to be made, but all in all I was pleased with its look.  Also the editing has been completed and I am waiting for my copy to sign-off on it.  Yep, good news.
 I've been working on Ascent of the Holy Blade's sequel called Hand of the Black Blade (see the theme?)  and I hope to finish the trilogy with The Blade Reforged, putting out each novel a year apart.
   Also I have nearly finished another short story entitled Blue Collar Fable which I will be posting in the next few days.  Its the classical princess rescue but from a slightly different point of view.
 

Time to Make My Dream Come True

     Well, I have finally done it. After much deliberation and research I have decided to self-publish my novel, Ascent of the Holy Blade. At first I felt the need to pursue the traditional form of publishing by being "picked-up" by a big publisher, but after doing some soul-searching and a receiving a few suggestions, I believe that self-publishing is the route to go.
     I chose a small publishing company in Marshall, MI called 2 Moon Press after spending the better part of two years shopping around. 2 Moon was one of the first companies I looked at but I kept an open mind and kept looking around.  I always came back to 2 Moon though. The number of satisfied authors they had, little to no bad press about them, the fact that they seemed to constantly be upgrading their equipment and their staff, and finally their commitment to the local community seemed to say this is the one. So two weeks ago I made an appointment with their CEO after they reviewed my manuscript and agreed that it fit their publishing requirements.
     After visiting the establishment and meeting with Don and his staff, my wife and I felt that 2 Moon would be a good fit for our goals. I work a twelve hour rotating work schedule that makes it sometimes difficult to find time to do extra things and 2 Moon has a package where they do your editing, layout, cover design, and marketing which was the real clincher for me.
    The future is a blank page and with my partnership with 2 Moon Press I feel the story that will unveil itself will be a great adventure. I am very excited about this partnership and eventually holding my book in my hands.