Time for a little "Reflection"

[Erebus]

Hi everyone,

Dag has been kind enough to post a short synopsis and extract from my novel "Reflections". I know it's only a small taste (12 pages) but I was hoping a couple of you may like to give it a whirl and let me know what you think, please.

I'll have a short story posted soon as well, I hope (Ghost of Elysium). For anyone who's interested, you can find out more about my fantasy series "The Erebus Equilibrium" here: www.wn.com.au/clubclad/erebus/

Thanks, Neil

[This message has been edited by erebus (edited March 10, 2001).]

[lior]

Greetings, Neil.
Your extract is impressive, it picks up the pace from around page 4 or 5 and ends in a breathtaking cliffhanger. I thought the storm sequence was very well written and it was extremely realistic, brrr...
the premise is highly original, Jonathan seems a truly intresting character.

I felt sorry for him after what he went through, he's only ten, for heaven's sake.

the suspense build up is truly effective.
it's hard to say more about the characters since this is just the beginning of the story,so it's just a first impression.

I didn't understand where the story takes place. the u.s? Europe? Australia?

All n' all, a great, well written tale,
I recommend it to everybody.

p.s. everybody, check out Amazon for reviews on the complete novel, theyr'e great ones!


[This message has been edited by lior (edited March 11, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by lior (edited March 11, 2001).]

[Erebus]

Thanks, Lior,

I'm glad you liked it!

Yes, it's always difficult to judge a novel from just one small extract, and of course, it is only the beginning of a wonderful tale that continues across all three books in the series.

Someone once said that you never get a second chance at a lasting first impression, so, reading your comments tells me, that at least in your opinion, the story and premise have been sufficiently set up to ensure the reader reads on! (Others have said as much as well.)

Waimerie can be anywhere you wish it to be, really. Just use your imagination...however, the remainder of the story takes place in the US, and in Erebus, of course!

Again, thanks for your feedback, and for the plug for the Amazon reviews!

Does anyone else have any feedback for me yet? All comments are welcome, though I can't change anything now as the paperback's already been printed and released!



[This message has been edited by erebus (edited March 12, 2001).]

[KATS]

I haven’t been able to read it yet. Hopefully I’ll have some down time today and I’ll be able to catch up on my reading.

Anyway, you said this is a trilogy? I don’t know if you have been reading these boards for a while. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been out of the writing scene for a few years and I’ve recently started to get back on the proverbial horse. I attended a DragonCon in Atlanta some years ago and had the opportunity to visit with some published authors. They gave some great advice about agents and getting published. I also remember them mentioning that it was easier to sell their first book than their third book. If I’m remembering it correctly it had something to do with the publishers having to pay more for a third book than for a first book. That’s also where I had my bubble burst about authors being able to quit their day job. But then, I guess most of us don’t write to get rich anyway.

I was just wondering, since you said this is a trilogy, did you have any problem with selling the whole series? Also, did you get an agent to help you with the contract?

If you want to be politically correct, call me curious. Truth is I’m just plain nosy.

[Erebus]

Hi Kats,

Thanks for your interest!

Yes, I did have trouble trying to get a mainstream publisher to take me on at all, both in Australia and the US, but ended up being picked up by Virtualbookworm.com Publishing Inc. in the US for the first book.

They offer a sort of cross between self-publishing and mainstream publishing, have reasonable contract terms and excellent royalties. They have also agreed to publish the whole series, and are at present securing some distribution deals to the major bookstore chains in Australia!

Another of their published authors, Eric Gilmartin, has also posted an extract of his novel Wolfpack Stories, on this site.

It's a good way to get a foot in the door without having to sell your soul with vanity publishing! So far I have no complaints with what Virtualbookworm are doing and can highly recommend their services!

[Erebus]

BTW, Kats and Lior,

My short story, Ghost of Elysium, has now been posted. I've started a new topic for any feedback for this as well!

Cheers,

Neil

[Erebus]

Just wondering if anyone else has had a chance to read this yet, and if so, what were your thoughts?