My apologies for not keeping up here. It has been madness. Not to bore anyone with the personal details, but in the midst of a life overhaul, divorce, co-parenting, finding an amazing person I’m now engaged to, going back to school, and writing and illustrating a graphic novel, I don’t always think to update. 

But thanks for hanging in there. And if you haven’t seen it or heard it already, demiGod Part II the audiobook is out! You can check it out on my site here. 

And did somebody say graphic novel? Yes, yes I did. The script is pretty far along, but I feel that the art isn’t coming along nearly as quickly. Can’t rush the magic though!

The first chapter (or issue, as they say) of my scifi drama is almost done (pencils, inks, colors, etc), which I think is pretty snazzy. Here’s a little snippet about the project.

Speaking of snippets, I’ve been working on an app to bring my website a little closer to the masses. Stay tuned to JALaflin.com for news about the release.

As always, stay tan out there. 

demiGod Part 1 the Audiobook!

Hey fans, friends, and potential future enemies!

As you can see, the demiGod audiobook is here, and has been for a bit. Life’s been a little too crazy to promote it (or update this blog) as much as I’d like. But alas, Part I is here, and read by the very talented Bryant Sullivan.

So yeah, that’s some stuff going on. Part II is in the works btw.

Also in other news, I have been working on some science fiction–obviously not related to the demiGod story–but a sci-fi world that’s been in the makings since maybe junior high…? Yeah, it’s been a while. If you’re a sci-fi or sci-fantasy fan, I think you’ll enjoy what’s cooking in the ol’ noodle for this next book. So stay tuned for more of that.

While you’re waiting for more of my stuff to come into being, you should definitely go check out some amazing stuff by friend and fellow artist/writer Joel Lux.

Slow and Steady

Ugh. My least favorite part of being a writer is promotion. Well, that and ya know, the whole being poor thing. But I’d still be writing even if I were never shooting for publication.
Although in keeping with the season, I have to say that I’m thankful that people are actually reading my books, and even paying money to do so.
Now I’m stuck in the promote zone, and being a humble introvert, even online marketing isn’t always the easiest thing in the world. I just want people to read my work and let the material speak for itself.
So in light of this, I’m releasing part 1 of demiGod as a free book app for your smartphone or tablet. It’s still in the last stage before release, so I’ll keep you updated on that.
Actually I’m pretty excited about it. It’s sort of like being able to personally hand a free gift to hundreds of people all at once.
But naturally I hope you will want to continue reading and go on to get yourself a copy of Part II. 🙂
There’s also talk of an audiobook in the works. More to come on that later.
So some good things are happening, but as with all things, it takes some time.
Stick around for updates, and thanks for reading!

demiGod Part I is here!

Hey everyone, it’s been a long time coming, but the first part of my book is finally available exclusively for the Kindle!

From the description:

At fifteen, Aiden could set things on fire with his bare hands. When Master Vodin appears in Aiden’s Philadelphia apartment and promises to teach him the ancient D’Tari ways, Aiden begins to see his true potential. But not everyone is happy that he’s joining the D’Tari ranks. To make matters worse, when Aiden acquires an ancient artifact, he finds himself pursued by violent men in white who will stop at nothing until they have it.

Two things to note: This is the first official release by my company Agnec Press, and a percentage of each sale goes to the HCMA (the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association–a heart disease that affects 1 in 500 people, including yours truly). For more info on HCM, see here. For more about Agnec Press, see here.

If you enjoy modern day fantasy with an urban edge, check out demiGod : Part I today. And if it’s not your thing, then share the link. 🙂

I’ll try to keep the updates going a little more frequently, and hopefully they won’t sound too much like a sales pitch.

Update: Editing… And Rewriting…

Wow, sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted. So, essentially my editor got back to me with suggestions, comments, developmental issues, etc. etc., and shredded my manuscript apart. This is good though. This is what every good editor should do.

I’m re-writing much of the first half of the book, and it’s turning out much better than it was. So for that I’m excited, but it is a lot of work. Good work though. 🙂

I’ll try to update more often, but sometimes I just want to spare my brain power for writing. On a side note, I got my business officially up and running (if you follow the links to my official website on the sidebar, you’ll run into the page about Agnec Press). While I was in limbo between writing and editing, I did design a book cover. I think it’s pretty snazzy, but of course, like everything, anything and everything could change before it hits publication.

Good times, good times. I’ll leave with that, because with a lot of things in life, the process takes some time. I’d love to have my story complete in all its glory sometime before June so I can plan for a release date around the end of summer or early fall… But we’ll see. Either way, it’s going to happen.

Stay creative everyone

It’s on!

Just sent my manuscript in to the editor. Thanks to the fundraising, and other things, I’m able to get this party started. Strange feeling, really. It’s as though I’m sending my own child off into the world, even though he’s still in Kindergarten…

But, it’ll be good. I’m looking forward to the process. There’s a lot to learn by doing this. Not only learning to make my book better, but learning things that will help me self-edit better. Really just the process of prepping for publication is a huge jump into learning.

I’m pretty excited, and I can’t wait to delve deep into this thing.

A Big Thanks to Those Who Helped Out My book!

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who’s helped fund my novel this last month. It’s been sort of a crazy ride, but I felt like thanks is in order! Check out the list here at my site:

http://www.expositionoftheinner.tk/

And in other news, I’m still in that weird interim between writing and editing, so I’ve also been working on possible cover designs. Nothing’s official yet, but I do have a couple serious contenders, not to mention I just did some possible promo art. Hard to say when and where that will be used.

I’ll have more to say in the near future, in the meantime, stay tan, or pasty, or whatever. 🙂

The End is Near!

Just a quick note:

I’ve got 50 hours left to fund-raise for the editorial work on my book. So, just thought I’d share this:

Help Me Get My Novel Edited!

But seriously, you should check it out. This is about my book being the very best possible version of itself, and it’s also about me starting up my own publishing company in order to be fully independent as an author. On top of that, if I haven’t mentioned it before, it’s also about helping others beat heart disease.

Just FYI. 🙂

The In-Between Blues…

So, I’ve finished my 90k+ word novel, and I’m raising money to get it professionally edited. In the meantime, I can’t start the editing process until after the first of the year. It’s sort of like I’m crashing from an amazing high. I worked day and night (especially night) for months straight, writing, writing, writing…

Now, I come to a crashing halt, so to speak, waiting for things to happen. I sort of feel as though I can’t just delve into other projects until I’m truly done with this one. It’s almost in limbo.

I hope to use this blog as a way to redirect some of my creative urges. Maybe write about my world a little bit. Let people know about my process. Also, I honestly think WordPress still has one of the best blogging systems out there. Sorry, other guys. Makes my life a bit easier.

Anyhow, if you’re interested, or wondering, about my fundraising campaign, I put a link in the sidebar, but here’s another: Editing demiGod

For lack of a better word, it’s urban fantasy, minus the overly romantic stuff that tends to accompany much of the genre. It’s really just a story that has fantastical elements and happens to take place in the modern day, and a story about real people that happens to take place with fantastical elements.

That said, I’ll say that I’ve been struggling to figure out what I can do in the interim between writing and editing that won’t end in me overly committing myself creatively. For now I’m thinking of making a little music here and there. But, I don’t want to stop the flow of writing.

Any other writers out there have any similar conundrums after finishing a book?