Update

I've been paying attention to the boards, and I know all of you are anxious (except you, there, in the third row -- wake up!) for the release of Magelord, as am I, so I felt obligated to at least throw y'all an update.

I'm essentially waiting my editor returning the last portion of the book.  I'm not going to bug her about it because a) it was a real bitch to edit, 300,000 words (yep, you read that right) and parts of it were very rough; b) her day job is a Professor of Journalism, and classes just started c) she's a mom, and school just started and d) she's one of my wife's best friends from childhood, and undue pressure on my end could conceivably result in marital strife.  As I'm allergic to marital strife, I have resigned myself to be patient.

The good news: I like the book.

The bad news: Some of you won't.

I say that because I've learned that different fans like different things in my books, and I'm good with that.  Those who are looking for a lot of action and a high body count might be disappointed (there is a body count, promise).  Those who are looking for exposition and world-building are going to be orgasmic.  That's not to say that there isn't action, it's just not a war story.  Even though there are two wars in it.  Maybe three.  I lose count.  It's the story of what it means to be a magelord.

But even as I wait, and you wait, I'm writing my ass off.  On three other projects.  And going back through my corrections on Magelord to see if I missed anything.  And getting my own kids to school, working my day job, and other stuff.  But I'm even more anxious than you to get it out, and it's requiring a lot of patience.

Here's the even better news: I've used some of my "free time" (when real people are sleeping) to publish a Second Kindle Edition of Spellmonger, along with a new map of Boval Vale and a revamp of the Ugly Cover.  It should be up shortly.  Those who bought the book early will be pleased to note that the 2nd Edition has 70% less typos.  I also smooth out a lot of rough spots.

Which brings me to another point: some people complain I am wordy and put in too much exposition.  Some writers do this because they can't plot - that's not why I do it.  I'm wordy and I put in too much exposition because I'm on Book 3 of a book series I've plotted to at least a dozen novels, and in some cases guns I put on the mantelpiece in Spellmonger won't be used until Book 8 or 9.  Indeed, there are goofy parts of the story that become vital plot points, later on.  Pay attention.

Now, to whet your appetite a bit, may I present . . . the cover blurb:

MINALAN GETS MEDIEVAL!

When you defeat the invading goblin army, get knighted on the field of battle by the Duke himself, and are gifted with lands and gold, usually your happily-ever-after is . . . happy. 

But now that Minalan the Spellmonger has been enobled and enfiefed, Sire Minalan has a task cut out for him that makes defeating goblins seem like child’s play: moving his very pregnant bride and a few thousand refugees from Boval Vale into the remote, sparsely-peopled Domain of Sevendor.  

But when he arrives, he finds the land withered from neglect, filled with superstition and suspicion, a third of his domain has been conquered before he got there, and the castle he now owns hasn’t been maintained in decades.  As Minalan manages the challenges of being a noble, being a mage knight, being the lord of the manor, being a landlord, and fending off a belligerent (and well-armed) neighbor, he also has to learn how to be a husband, father, and a leader of a people.

Then the fateful night his son is finally born, Minalan learns the nature of fear, as he, his family, and his very realm are forever changed when the spell he casts to save their lives transforms the land.  Minalan, his apprentices Sir Tyndal and Sir Rondal, his dour but efficacious castellan Sir Cei, and his moody wife struggle through the winter and defend their domain in his attempt to prove what a Magelord can do for his people when he puts magic in their service.

But in the distance, the threat of a renewed invasion of goblins looms as they approach the the cotton-rich Gilmoran baronies that are the heart of the Riverlands.  The contentious High Magi convene to constitute the new Arcane Orders while the fanatical Royal Censorate of Magic plots defeat them.  Thousands of hedgemagi, witches and footwizards the Censorate once terrorized now see Minalan as a hero.  The sinister Family schemes to promote Duke Rard II to become King Rard I of the newly-united Kingdom of Castalshar – over a pile of bodies, if necessary.  And suddenly, out of the sky fall dragons in the service of the Dead God to strike at the strength of the nascent Kingdom.

How can Sire Minalan fight goblins, plots, poverty and politics, all from his remote and rustic vale while keeping the peasants in line and the 'Warbird of West Fleria' at bay?  With wit, courage, determination, and a healthy dose of magic. 

And when the new King tasks him to find a way to slay a dragon, an ordinary knight might shy away from the quest.  For Sire Minalan, it’s just another day on the job as 
 MAGELORD!



Hope that gets y'all excited.  And yeah, I read the forums every day.  I just don't write very often . . . because I could be writing fiction instead.

So release date?  Real Soon Now.  Heck, I'll even take a couple of questions while we're waiting . . .

Comments

  1. That's a long cover blurb.

    Found what looks like a misspelled word, and a possible word swap which looks better to me, for what that's worth :), as well as a missing word.

    But now that Minalan the Spellmonger has been enobled (ennobled?) and enfiefed, Sire Minalan has a task cut out for him that makes defeating goblins seem like child’s play:

    But when he arrives, he finds the land withered from neglect, filled with superstition and suspicion (might I suggest suspicion and superstition instead?), a third of his domain has been conquered before he got there, and the castle he now owns hasn’t been maintained in decades.

    The contentious High Magi convene to constitute the new Arcane Orders while the fanatical Royal Censorate of Magic plots (to?) defeat them.

    Really looking forward to the release. I wouldn't suggest pressuring your editor, but bribing her with ice cream may be a viable alternative :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Or high quality chocolate bribes of that caliber tend to work wonders

    ReplyDelete
  3. Also, question here, will min get his hands on the archmagi staff soon and give it the glass it needs? The foreshadowing is killing me

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh. It will happen, but not for a couple of books yet. It's hard to get your hands on it when it's locked up in a palace behind enemy lines (Vore).

      Delete
  4. How did you come up with the concept of the spellmonger series?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Believe it or not, it all flowed from the title. I was working in an oyster bar in Durham, NC, Fishmongers, right after I sold my first book and was kicking around concepts for something original. The term "spellmonger" occurred to me, while I was shucking about 1000 oysters one night, and I started asking myself just what kind of life a spellmonger might have. I plopped it into a medieval fantasy setting, blatantly stole some elements from various fantasy authors, filed off the serial numbers, gave it a new coat of paint . . . and it was horrible. I got the character right, but the world and story were all wrong.

      I shelved it for a few years while I played around with other things, and then went back to it on and off for a while. I got it into the rough form of the current book, got it rejected politely by a lot of people, and then shelved it for a few more years.

      When Lulu came around, I had this complete novel that, while flawed, also had some charm to it, so why the hell not? It lingered on in lululand for a while, and there are a few dozen "first edition" print-on-demand copies out there, but then Kindle came around and I said, why the hell not?

      I kinda forgot about it. Then just around the time I published my Space Viking sequels, it started selling.

      And selling.

      And selling.

      So I said, why not a sequel? I mean, it was flawed but why the hell not? There are far worse authors out there making more money than I am, and I really loved some of the elements in Spellmonger, so . . . what would the life of a Warmage be like?

      So hopefully soon you'll see what the life of a Magelord -- or at least this particular magelord -- is like. And the next novel will show you what being a Knight Mage is like, through the eyes of Minalan's elder two apprentices. After that there will be several others, exploring other characters or aspects of Minalan's ongoing adventures, that will culminate (hopefully) about ten or fifteen books out.

      In short . . . I want to be Steven Brust when I grow up.

      I write these books for my own entertainment, first and foremost, not a particular audience, but if you like my imagination, I'm willing to share. I have an almost irresistible urge to create, and I've spent the last twenty years or so trying to perfect my craft, and I'll likely spend the next twenty continuing that mission. Not every book will be a bloodbath -- some stories will be more political, some more martial, some just plain damn funny, and maybe one or two sexy ones, just because chicks dig that sort of thing.

      But it's mostly this story of a guy who largely through luck found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and what he did to deal with it. He's got Talent, intelligence, a sense of humor, some sense of social class and justice in an unjust world, and he's got some serious flaws. He's also got a bunch of friends and enemies (and sometimes they're one in the same) he has to deal with to overcome the long-term threat of the Dead God. If he doesn't . . . everyone dies. No pressure.

      I've probably crossed the literary TMI barrier at this point, but if you wanted to know how the sausage was made, well, there were oysters involved.

      Delete
  5. Please i'm dying to find out when the release date is. Also thanks for the post. The map looks better and seeing the blurb is nice aswell. Keep doing your thing Terry! No pressure and take as much time as u need. (I'll wait :) )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you liked the map, you'll probably like the other things I have in the hopper.

      Delete
  6. I just wish to express one simple idea I am a very avid reader because my aunt left me her house, because of my love of her library which spans three stories and is 100ft by 100ft, big I know. I grew up on the classics like Ben-Hur and The count of Monte Cristo and I personly believe you should think about doing a hard copy with the spellmonger series because I would pay for a hardback copy im old school like that and ifyou ever need someone to bounce ideas off of my e mail is matthartzel94@gmail.com I would be honored to here from you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Two good bits of news for you, then.

      1) After I get Magelord out, I plan on doing print-on-demand editions of all of the Spellmonger books, so you should be able to get hard copies within the next 12 months.

      2) I'm planning on going to the Baltimore Comic Con in a week or so to look for artists to turn Spellmonger into a graphic novel. And a few other projects, but Spelmonger is a priority.

      3) As a result of this, there may be another Spellmonger-associated work out before the end of the year. No promises. No hints. I'm shy, that way.

      I've also considered the vanity-appeasing appeal of privately printing the series on parchment paper, and having ten limited-edition copies hand-bound in tooled leather and autographed by the author . . . but that might just be the drugs talking.

      Delete
  7. Are we still on for an august release? Are you waiting for monday? Can we get some clues or maybe a riddle as to a possible release date?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The book was with the editor on 8/27. When it comes back from the editor, Terry will have to consider any revisions suggested by his editor, fix any continuity issues that may have been found, possibly send the revisions back to the editor again (at least this is how it happens with a publisher). Once the book is finalized, he will need to format the book for Amazon which at over 300K words will probably take another day, then submit the book to Amazon. Once the book is submitted to Amazon, Amazon checks to ensure it is an original work and checks the formatting. This takes about twelve hours. If the book is rejected for any reason, then Terry will have to fix whatever issue came up, resubmit the book, and wait again.

      What does this mean to you and me? It means that we're going to have to wait a little longer. Probably another week or two. It should definitely be out before the end of September. If Terry gets the book back soon, or has already gotten the book back and is working on revisions, then maybe sometime next week. If he's still waiting, then hopefully his editor will finish it up this weekend, but it is a holiday, so don't count on it.

      I would council patience. Terry isn't going to publish the book until it's ready, and that is the way it should be.

      Delete
    2. Nah Mate. He said the last section was with the editor who with a busy life at the moment and still quite a lot of words (maybe 50k, I don't know) could take 4 - 6 days maybe, with better progress at the weekend. Then there are revisions but Terry said that he was revising the previously revised parts when the editor was going over the current part so maybe 2-4 days. So maybe monday to friday hmm?

      Delete
  8. So who's going to realize that they can probably raise up the wealth of Irionite that was sunk at Perwin?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I said that on a post on amazon about 5 months ago. Also disscussed else where the point of making arrows charged like the over loaded wand from the frist book to take out large groups of goblins.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey Terry, I have heard that when Amazon checks the book to ensure it's an original work, and that having sample chapters up can interfere with the process and garner a rejection. I'm not sure this is the case, but I thought I would shoot you a reminder that you have a sample chapter up for this book at

    http://thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/interview-with-terry-mancour-author-of.html

    Might want to ask them to temporarily pull it unless you don't think it will be a problem.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I.want. My. Fix. Of. Spellmonger!!!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I just want some kind of time frame. Can't handle checking everyday.

    ReplyDelete
  13. If you are reading this then can you let us know how far through the process you are that you outlined above?

    ReplyDelete
  14. I like the map, in keeping with the medieval theme. Maps put some perspective while reading the book[s].

    I think the other map in Warmage could use a few tweeks. There's a bunch of small towns and hamlets mentioned, that would be nice to know where they are on the map...

    ...Like where the devil is Minalan new domicile,.. on the map?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Any updates on when the book is coming out?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Terry really needs to learn how todeal with people once again you have given a release date and not lived up to it... (you'll put out the wedding a couple weeks before Mage lord to drum up interest) bad Terry, you're a couple days from it being a month Terry...

    ReplyDelete
  17. He origionally said it was going to be out last fkn year.

    I mean, what holds you up for 9 months?????

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My son was abducted. It kinda ate into my schedule.

      Delete
  18. Sorry about your son. I think you could put if up now and in big bold letters let everyone now it is a arc and the final version will be put up when you get the final changes back. I love your series and would not mind it in this form in the interim. That should shut up all us fanboys and relieve a little pressure off you from our BS. I can also understand if you don't want to do this because the complaining some will do over the unedited part. Either way is fine with me although I am partial to the arc idea since it gets in my grubby hands sooner. Thanks for an enjoyable series so far.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Seriously guys, he's an amateur (relatively) writer who informed us in his last post that he's got a friend working as his editor in her spare time. What do you expect? You can't hold them to the timetable of a major publisher, that's just not fair. It's one thing to ask when it'll be out, it's another to start complaining. I really... REALLY am looking forward to this book, and the last post talking about Minalan building a fief only makes me want it more, sounds all kinds of entertaining... but just cause I want it now, doesn't mean I get it now, and whining about it isn't gonna get it here any faster.

    Terry, I hope you're enjoying writing, because I'm really enjoying reading your stuff. Any chance we'll ever find out what the 'secret projects' are? Or, failing that, (and I know you said you wouldn't say, so probably going with 'failing that') can you at least tell us if it's a similar genre? I'd hate to be missing another good read just because I don't know some alternate pen name.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. side note: amateur not the right word, was buggin me... self published maybe? clearly some significant time has gone into the skill by the time you're selling a ton of novels.

      Delete
  20. Hi Terry, It would be gr8 if we can get an arc version!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Or an update on where you are in the process. Not asking for anything firm, just information on what is currently happening. Is the last portion of the book still with the editor? Were there a lot of revisions? Is it back with the editor? Did you accidentally delete the entire book off your computer? Was it submitted four hours ago? Inquiring minds want to know!

    Thanks for any info.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Replies
    1. You sir have an evil sense of humor

      Delete
    2. Wouldn't it be a hoot if he was correct?

      Delete
    3. If he was, the next thing I would be asking wouldn't be release dates, they'd be lottery numbers! lol!

      Though I will admit Mr. Mancour, I rechecked Amazon right after you said that. I know you're working hard and may God grant you an imaginative mind and a quick release of Magelord! ;)

      Delete
  23. http://www.amazon.com/Magelord-The-Spellmonger-Series-ebook/dp/B00F7V28VG/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1379321107&sr=1-4&keywords=magelord

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you sweet insomnia! Else I would not have heard this joyous news til the morning!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts