The Intermine Legacy

I think you all deserve a reason for why I haven't been updating. That's fair, right? I feel like writing this out will also help me figure out where I am professionally and personally.

I guess it all started in mid-September when my uncle, who was only 28-years-old, died. I won't go into detail, because to be frank, this is not the place to go into details. This shook me to my core, because I'm only 21, and it kind of made me think about how it doesn't matter how old you are, when it's your time, it's your time.

So I went home, I was there for my family, and then I got back up to Waco as soon as I could. I mean, regardless of what happens, life goes on, you know? But nope, I would be going home again, for yet another unfortunate circumstance.

Two weeks later, my father passed away. Needless to say, I was broken. It snuck up on me, and I could have never anticipated it. So yet again, I made the venture back home for a week, and got everything settled. Then I got back up to Waco, because like I said earlier, even in the worst of circumstances, life goes on.

So of course I assume you understand, I've been in a creative slump since all of this happened. Both my Dad and my Uncle were huge fans of what I've been doing in the Intermine universe, and they were always there to serve as sounding boards for ideas and marketing tactics and whatnot. Now, they're not. While the right answer in my head is to keep working in their memory, and to make the novels bigger and better than they ever have been, at the moment I'm having trouble finding time to dedicate to them.

This is not me saying I'm giving up. Because I'm not. In fact, I feel more inclined to get stuff done than I ever have been. As of now, I am changing my tentative release date for book two to a T.B.A. status, understandably. But it IS coming, just bear with me for the time being please.

Also, I will let everyone know that, this applies also to the upcoming reboot of the "I am the Darkness" audio drama. Hopefully, production will begin on those soon. Thanks to a bit of an issue with someone on our production team, we've been a little behind, as well as all of the above. So just hang with us, things will get back on track soon.

The point of this post was to let everyone who cares know what's been going on, but also to organize my thoughts and let myself figure out how and when I'm planning to get the books completed.

I will make them even greater. I will put more of my heart and soul into these books than I ever have before. Keep rooting for me, and I'll keep everyone in the loop from here on out.

If you'd like to follow me on Twitter, I post under the handle @PixcelJames. Thanks so much, and I look forward to writing again.

Sincerely,

Things have been slow on this side of the globe. I'm slowly working on book two, and I have set a very TENTATIVE release for Christmas 2014, or a little before then so you can have the book ready for friends and family who may be interested. 

I may also be open to doing a package deal that includes book one and book two, but I haven't yet decided on that yet. 

I am planning to launch a kickstarter for the series soon to help raise both publicity and help raise money to bring the Intermine Legacy all around the continent to various anime conventions. If you'd like to see us at your local con, just let me know the name of it, and we'll consider it!

That's all for now, so I'll leave you with a discussion question for those who have read the first novel. What do you think about the character of Isshin Tartakovsky? Do you like him? Or do you hate him? Let me know why! 

Until next time,

Hey everyone! I'm trying to make an effort to post here more often, I hope you haven't all forgotten about me! 

Things have been quiet on the book-front, which is disappointing, but I'm keeping positive about it. It's the life of an author, you can't expect everything you do to gain traction by itself. So this is where you can help me out.

I'd like to get the word out to as many people as possible. So if you could take one of these links and post it on your respective channels, I would greatly appreciate it. 

I'll be giving more information about book two soon! Until then, help me build up this series from the ground up! Thanks so much!!

Hey everyone! And by everyone, I mean the few who actually follow this progress blog. 

I've been kind of absent lately, but that doesn't mean work is not being done! If I had to guess, I'd say I'm about 25% finished with Book Two of the Intermine Legacy! Whether or not I can keep up with the yearly release schedule that I envisioned initially is to be determined. I'm a fan of actually putting care into my works, and only releasing them when they've met the quality I expect of myself. So if for any reason Book Two is delayed, I apologize, but I assure that when it does release, the wait will hopefully be worth it. 

Also, I've been thinking of more ways to tie together the entirety of the Intermine Legacy, and I think you're all going to like what I've come up with. I'm so excited for everyone to read. 

I can actually say it now. I have published my first novel. An idea that I came up with back in early high school, one that I spent the last 5-or-so years on, is now a reality. In Print. Formally, I am now a published author. 

I am typing this at 1:10 a.m., and so my words are a bit scatterbrained, but I hope I am conveying the amount of excitement runs through my veins. I am so excited as to what 2014 holds in terms of my growing literary career, so much so that I have named my new years resolution: to be within the top 100 on the Amazon book charts. 

I know that 88% (or so, I've never been good at made up numbers) of people who try new years resolutions never go through with them, but I would like this to be less of a new years resolution and more like a solid, attainable goal. Let's see how well it does! 

To anyone who may be reading this, who want to pursue a desire or dream of your own in this upcoming year, I have only select words: Just go out there and do it. I know many writers who are just as good if not better than myself, who aren't confident in their skills or whatnot. If you want the world to hear your voice, you just need to speak up. 

I want to thank everyone who had a hand in making the dream a reality. To God, who gave me the drive and inspiration to actually create a novel; to Sarah Elrod and Robert Torres, who read selections from the novel back when it was in its infant stages; to Matra and Hannah Kreig, who beta tested the novel when it entered stage two and beyond; to my family (including but not limited to my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins); and Gytha Nydam for beta reading the novel in its later stages. 

If you would like to purchase a copy either on your Amazon Kindle, or on the Amazon Print Store, you can do so! Kindle e-books are $11, while print copies are $15. 

Kindle e-book version: Click Here Print copy version: Click Here

Thanks, and I'll try to get back into the habit of posting on here! Look forward to the rebooted audio podcast of the novel coming soon!

Overlord of Intermine,

So I've been told lately that I haven't been too clear on what this novel is about. Let's fix that, because it doesn't help to be posting all of this cool stuff if no one knows anything about The Intermine Legacy!

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The first book in the series, which is known as "I am the Darkness," follows a secret, underground cryogenics laboratory known as Intermine Laboratories. Created in the wake of a post-apocalyptic event known as "The Cataclysm" to the survivors, it created as close to a society like the one before the Cataclysm that it could, providing fresh, filtrated air, and electricity to its inhabitants. The only catch was that you devote five years of your life frozen inside of a cryogenic berth in the name of human research. 

50 years after its foundation, Intermine Laboratories is exactly what it aimed not to be, a horrifying hive for villainy and wickedness. When several random test subjects are awoken from stasis unexpectedly, they will find that they are destined to play their part in a war between the Light and the Darkness that has been raging for thousands of years, outside the walls of Intermine. But some things they are made to witness will make them wish that they never woke up.

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As I write this entry, I'm sitting on the couch of the artist who is working on the cover art for the first entry of "The Intermine Legacy." It is now that I realize that this isn't just a dream. This is reality. 

So I figure we should start off serious blogging by talking about how I began writing. 

I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I've been reading for even longer. I remember my grandmother applauding me for reading the TV Guide at 4-5 years of age, if that gives you an idea. 

Ever since then, all I've wanted to do is write a book. But back then, my attention span was (as can be expected from a child) short. So the chapters would be one page maximum. Typically dealing with what I would soon find out was really bad fan-fiction of Dragon Ball Z, eventually I would take a break from the whole writing scene, picking it back up whenever I would get a good idea. 

This was that good idea. 

It was around my Sophomore year of High School. I had been piecing together the basic plot elements of a story together, but it was originally going to just be a movie script. I remember the loose concepts would pop into my mind while I was working with my grandpa on his bread delivery route. Listening to a indie-techno band named I Haunt Wizards, I sort of created a scene-by-scene song guide, where each scene would match up moderately well with one of their songs. 

Then came the writing process. What I was calling "Haunt" was originally going to be, like I said earlier, a movie script. I even considered trying to get the members of I Haunt Wizards to be IN the movie (I had BIG aspirations back then, mind you.) 

"Haunt" went through several story changes throughout its life, Originally, it was going to be a really vague "battle" between two kids who had some sort of relation to each other. Yeah. That's how vague. I can't even remember anything specific. 

Then the novel came into being. I remember that I was in Algebra, and I told my friend Eric Sandell about it, and he got himself involved in planning it out. Little known fact, he actually became the rough inspiration for current frenemy Eric Eastwick (though they share literally no likewise characteristics other than their names. 

The first draft of the novel was a LOT more specific than the movie script, yet it still wasn't final. It was originally a story about a normal kid named Joseph McPherson (the name stuck with the final product) who encounters an extraordinary person named William (the first name stuck, I hadn't really came up with a last name for him yet), who is searching for a stone known as the "Omnipotence," which could grant wishes...or something. I seriously can't remember much about this first draft. 

After that, it was rewritten like, 5 or 6 times until we have the version that is going to be published this year. I will be publishing more posts that deal with my beginnings in the future. This one is already long enough. 

Have any questions for me? Ask away! 

Till next time,

Anyone who watched "Breaking Bad" tonight knows how amazing it was, as usual. It's times like this that make me hope that I can someday create an epic as big as this, or bigger. 

Heyo!

As it says above, this is going to be the place that I go to discuss all things about my upcoming novel series, "The Intermine Legacy." So I guess let's talk about myself, shall we?

I'm currently a Junior at Baylor University, studying Journalism. I guess novel writing fits in there somewhere, right? Either way, as you could probably guess, I love to write. I have been told that my imagination is unrivaled, and I like to try and create full worlds on paper. For me, it's not only a stress reliever, but it allows me to collect my thoughts into a linear form. 

Through "The Intermine Legacy," I hope to share a little bit about my thought process with the people of the world, and share the results of around 5 years of overall planning, writing, rewriting, and finalizing. Book 1 is on its way, and I hope everyone is pleased with it. I feel like you will be. 

To anyone who wants to write, but don't know where to start, I have one thing to say to you. Start. Just Start. Once you get that first page, keep going. If you enjoy writing, it'll be one of the best experiences of your life. I highly recommend it. 

Follow this blog if you're interested in receiving updates about the entire "Intermine Legacy" series of books. I'll make sure everyone knows about them when they're out. Until then, thanks for reading!