Tag: novels

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THE BARREN PRISON Cover Reveal!

I’m so excited to reveal the cover for The Barren Prison, book #2 in The Runners of Abra series! Book one, The Last Runner was a ride I will never forget writing. From the first page, I knew I had stumbled upon a world and a story that begged to be told. And as Eric’s journey spiraled out of control throughout the first installment, I cannot wait for you to read what happens to him and his friends in the second book!

Writing The Last Runner as a serial novel was a fascinating experience. I wrote chapters weekly and as they were posted, I realized I couldn’t go back and change anything that had been published already. The story morphed along with reader reaction, and it was definitely an adventure to figure out how to get Eric past the various monsters, traps, and adversaries that came his way.

And then, (no spoilers!) where I left off with book one wasn’t where I had originally intended to take the story at all. It threw my plans for the rest of the series for a spin, and I had to go back and look at all my notes and outlines and tweak them to fit where everything left off. And I must say, I am so excited about where Eric is heading and what is going to happen.

I’ve written the first few chapters of The Barren Prison, and it’s going to be crazy. Definitely buckle yourself to the saddle for what’s about to happen in the world of Abra. Chapters will be posting weekly soon!

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Passing the Finish Line

This morning, I read about a winter Olympian named Shiva Keshavan. Keshavan is a competitor in the luge events at the Winter Olympics and has been since 1998 when the Olympics were held in Nagano, Japan.Keshavan has never won a medal, but he has also never given up. He keeps competing, keeps going, even when his sled broke, and he needed an assist from fellow competitor Daria Obratov of Croatia.

This coming February will likely be the last time Keshavan competes in the Winter Olympics. Reflecting on his experiences, he said: “I gave my best. Maybe that’s the thing I want to be remembered for: He gave his best and he never gave up.”

A few days ago, I finished writing the first book in The Runners of Abra, The Last Runner. It’s been a whole year of writing, planning, editing, and getting the storyline just right so it can be finished. And now it is, awaiting the final revisions before it comes together in novel format.

Finishing a novel is always hard, but worth it. I’m so excited about where the story of Eric has gone. From the rice fields of Jedros to castles and inlets hidden by the fog, he’s had to journey through so many hard things. But never once does he give up. Even when things are dire. Even when it gets difficult. Eric keeps going.

As 2017 winds down to a close, I want to encourage you to keep going. Maybe you’re facing a hard time in life, or maybe things have been going well. Either way, God calls us to never give up fighting the good fight, to never quit the race, to run to the finish line.

2018 is days away and people will be making their new year’s resolutions. Maybe instead of a year resolution, make a life resolution: to keep going. No matter what. To make it to the finish line, no matter what hills come in the course of running.

Keep running,

Shaun.

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New Series Coming! The Runners of Abra

I am so excited to announce that I have signed on with Crimson Pulse Media to author a serial story in 2017! THE RUNNERS OF ABRA will debut on January 7th on BrockEastman.com!

THE RUNNERS OF ABRA:

When Eric was only thirteen, he was taken from his family and the peaceful rice fields on the island of Jedros to become a Runner. Roaming the five islands of Abra, Runners are tasked with jobs — jobs they must see to the end. Either finish the job or die.

And then a mysterious benefactor arrives with a bag of gold and Eric’s first job: find the girl spotted somewhere in the northern islands responding only to the name Bella. Simple enough. But this job is not what anyone thought. Others are searching for the girl. Others who will kill to keep Bella a secret.

But Bella has her own secret to keep. And if it gets out, the very fabric of the known world will change forever.

Join the launch party on Facebook!

Happy reading!

-Shaun

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Updates & Novels

Editing a novel is a big undertaking. Have I mentioned that before? Well, trust me, it is. Trying to comb through a 71,000 word middle grade fantasy novel is tough stuff. I want to make sure the plot threads are tied together correctly before I start sending this thing out to the wonderful world of agents. I’ve spent quite a few hours working through each chapter, taking time to make notes and try to answer the new questions I keep bumping up against. I’m hoping to have this thing edited by the end of the month.

In other writing news, I feel like I’ve been generating so many ideas for stories and novels lately that I’m having a tough time keeping track of all of them. As soon as an idea comes to me, I’ve rushed to my computer to type it out or if I’ve only got my iPhone handy, I’m busy tapping up a new Note. Some of the projects I’m currently working through:

  1. An Arabian Fantasy Novel. Back in 2008, I wrote a novel set against the backdrop of ancient Arabia. I loved that book a lot, but as I spent time working on it after that initial draft or two, I realized some fundamental pieces of the book were broken. It had been written as a middle grade fantasy novel, but the protagonist was a 20-year old Arabian Prince. The general rule for lead characters is to make sure they are at the most 2-3 years older than your target audience. Since the rest of the book was geared for middle grade readers, I realized my main character would have to change ages, but that would affect so many other threads throughout the book that I decided to start from scratch. So I’ve gone back to the drawing board, and I’m about 20,000 words into the story, and loving it.
  2. An Adventure Novel. Way back in the day, I created a character named Chip Fields. He was a favorite of mine and appeared in a few short stories I had written, but I had never done much else with him and the menagerie of supporting characters that filled his world. Well, the other night, an idea came to me as I was working on some scripts, and I knew that the world of Chip Fields had finally found a home. Right now, I’m in the plotting phase (I’ve realized I love outlining books and writing from the outline), and hope to start on Chip after I finish the Arabian novel.
  3. A Pile of Novelettes. I’ve got a bunch of old scripts that I’ve written that I’m currently in the process of converting into novelettes and novellas that will be released exclusively through Amazon.com. First up, my personal take on the Sherlock Holmes mythos, and then I need to write the third Dack & Zara novella.

In the business side of things, I now have three ebooks available on Amazon.com for download. Stars: A Viking Christmas Tale, has been my most popular ebook yet, with over 400 downloads since it was released on Christmas Eve. It’s been so much fun to watch the progress of that little novelette and see the response it’s been getting. If you have read Stars, please take the time to leave me a review on Amazon! I would greatly appreciate it.

That’s all for now. If you write, keep writing. If you read, keep reading.

Until the next story,

Shaun Stevenson