More on Illustrating Your Book

Two more short videos on my experiences working with an illustrator.

Choosing One Illustration Over Another

Streamlining Workflow

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THE DRAGONDAIN

The Dragondain Now Available on

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes

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The Chronicles of Narnia meets Game of Thrones

Precocious reader to adult: 304 paperback pages, 85,000 words, full-color illustrations. Book one of the Moon Realm series.

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When Lily and Jasper’s uncle disappears, Lily must search for him in the most unlikely of places: the fading realms of her childhood bedtime tales.

Gold Medal Winner of the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award.

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It’s the middle of the night, you need to send your brother to the Moon Realm, and he won’t wake up. So you improvise. . . .

When a confused Jasper awakes, he’s convinced he’s dreaming. But by the time he meets Greydor, Jasper understands that this is no dream. In fact, persuading the King of the Rinn to work with the men of Dain to defeat their common enemy is a nightmare. Then there’s the other side of the coin: convincing Tavin and Dubb that saddling a Rinn isn’t certain death. (“It’ll be fun!”) And perhaps even a greater worry: can he make friends with Dubb’s daughter Darce before she punches his lights out?

Lily has problems, too. There’s a little mousie scratching in her closet. Or at least, it sounds like a little mousie. Oh, and her second confrontation with Curse, and trying to form her first peerin. (Don’t you have to be from Dain to do that?) And where’s Ebb?

One thing’s for sure: now that Lily and Jasper have entered the Moon Realm, nothing can ever be the same again.

Illustrated by Carolyn Arcabascio. Volume Two of the The Moon Realm Series.

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Two chapters formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF.

Please share these files with your friends. Enjoy.

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The Dragondain

Now available in paperback and ebook.

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes iBookstore.

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Paperback Edition

On Sale at Amazon

Click HERE.

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 The Moon Coin

Book One / A Moon Realm Novel

Now available in paperback and eBook.

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Amazon, Second Looks Books, and Back to the Books.

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Paperback Edition

On Sale at Amazon

Click HERE.

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Available for E-Readers:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes iBookstore

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved. Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^® The Moon Realm^®

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Win Autographed Copy of THE MOON COIN

via GoodReads.

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Click HERE or the image directly above.

Plus a T-Shirt!

Here’s a quick visual tour of the paperback:

For a higher quality video, click HERE.

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Click HERE to get a Six Chapter Preview

2012 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards: Gold Medal Winner

Tales, unlike stories, never lie. You see, a tale is an account of things in their due order, often divulged secretly, or as gossip. Would you like to hear one? —Lord Autumn

Uncle Ebb was so good at telling his tales of the Moon Realm that Lily and Jasper used to wonder if he’d been there himself. But as teenagers, they’re beyond all that—up until the moment they’re plunged into the fantastic bedtime tales of their youth. Now, armed with nothing more than memories—and the moon coin—Lily and Jasper must piece together Uncle Ebb’s shattered tales and unite the fractured Moon Realm, or lose the moons they loved so much . . . all over again.

Illustrated by Carolyn Arcabascio. Volume One of the The Moon Realm Series

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved. Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink™ The Moon Realm™

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The Paperback Pursuer Reviews THE MOON COIN

Clean Getaway (5/5)

Click HERE or the image directly above to read the review.

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THE MOON COIN Adds New Content for eReader Devices and Apps

New Content for eReader Devices and Apps!

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Amazon introduced a new Kindle format with the release of their Kindle Fire, called KF8. It allows me to do things I couldn’t do when The Moon Coin first debuted in September of last year. With KF8 I can embed fonts and add fun formatting features that heretofore were only available on the iPad. If you already own The Moon Coin and you want to get these new features and content, just email kdp-support@amazon.com. Include your Kindle account email and tell them that you want to re-download The Moon Coin. They’ll email you back with instructions. It’s completely free. The new content (cover, map, and character pages) is available for all the Kindle Reader Devices and Apps.

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If you have an iPad, simply open the iBooks app, hit the edit button, tap on the old version, hit the delete button and then download it again. Very intuitive. I didn’t even have to google that one.

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The update has gone live for the Nook devices (Barnes & Noble), too!

First up: it’s got a new cover!

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DropCaps at the beginning of every new chapter! Yay! (For the Kindles, this feature only works if your device supports the new KF8 format.)

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This map of Treling, which was made for the print edition, is now available for all eReader devices and apps , and if you have the iPad, Nook Color, or Kindle Fire: it’s in color! Whoo-hoo!

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These character pages were another addition planned for the print edition that’s now included with the eBooks. And if you have a Kindle Fire  or iPad, then you’ll get to see the character names in sporty SmallCaps! These are the features that make typesetters drool, people! 🙂

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Free Sneak Preview!

Six chapters formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF.

Please share these files with your friends. Enjoy.

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved.

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Gibbering Gnome Press, A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^®

The Moon Realm^®

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Blue-lines!!!

Some pics of the blue-lines the printer sent me:

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Technically, these are digital proofs, but they’ve been made to look exactly like traditional blue-lines burned from negatives, which I think is really cool! (Although dang hard to read!) Each page is a separate piece of paper, double-sided, formatted, and paginated exactly as it will appear in the book—except, of course, the light blue will be replaced by black ink! 🙂

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I love the Gibbering Gnome Press colophon (that’s the little silhouette thingy above the press name) Carolyn designed.

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This map of Treling is new for the print edition.

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The pages with illustrations are on normal paper so I can spec the color.

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Paperback and eBook now available:

Amazon and Second Looks Books.

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Click HERE to Read Reviews of The Moon Coin.

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved.

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Gibbering Gnome Press, A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^®

The Moon Realm^®

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Universe in Words Reviews THE MOON COIN

“Lily is a great protagonist. In books, female protagonists are often dependent on men and I could never recognize myself in them. But Lily has an adventurous spirit that makes it more feasible she would survive all the different moons she is thrown onto.”

4 Stars

Click HERE or the image above to read the review.

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The Muses’ Circle Reviews THE MOON COIN

“The Moon Coin is truly a beautifully written fantasy novel with rich, memorable characters and gorgeous illustrations that brings the Moon Realm to life.”

4 Stars

Click HERE or the image directly above to read the review.

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New TMC Poster

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After the print editions of TMC arrive, a 20″ x 30″ poster of this is going to go up on the door at Second Looks Books.

Here’s the blurb:

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“Tales, unlike stories, never lie. You see, a tale is an account of things in their due order, often divulged secretly, or as gossip. Would you like to hear one?”

—Lord Autumn

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Uncle Ebb was so good at telling his tales of the Moon Realm that sometimes it sounded like he’d been there himself.

As children, Lily and Jasper listened raptly to his bedtime tales of a place where nine moons swirled around one another, each inhabited by strange and wondrous beings: magical lunamancers; undersea merfolk; wise birds; winged dragons; and Lily’s favorite, the heroic, leonine Rinn.

There was only one rule: don’t tell a soul.

But now, years later, Uncle Ebb is missing. Lily has learned the secret behind the tales, and soon Jasper will too. But there’s one big problem. You see, something terrible has happened in the Moon Realm. . . .

Featuring twenty-two stunning full-color illustrations by Carolyn Arcabascio. Volume One of the young adult fantasy adventure series The Moon Realm.

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Preview: The Moon Coin.

Six chapters formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF.

Please share these files with your friends. Enjoy.

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Paperback and eBook now available:

Amazon and Second Looks Books.

For more information, visit: TheMoonRealm.com.

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Click HERE to Read More Reviews of The Moon Coin.

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved.

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Gibbering Gnome Press, A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^®

The Moon Realm^®

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Book Nerd Review and Interview

Book Nerd reviews The Moon Coin, plus interview.

5 Stars

Click HERE or the image directly above to read the interview and review.

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The Moon Coin Print Edition Book Cover

“Tales, unlike stories, never lie. You see, a tale is an account of things in their due order, often divulged secretly, or as gossip. Would you like to hear one?”

—Lord Autumn

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Click the image above to enlarge or HERE to download a PDF.

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Here’s the final cover. The book measures 7.5″ x 5.5″, has 3″ flaps, and an inch spine. It’ll will weigh in at 304 pages. Should be ready by June.

2012 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards: Gold Medal Winner

Preview: The Moon Coin.

Six chapters formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF.

Please share these files with your friends. Enjoy.

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Paperback and eBook now available:

Amazon and Second Looks Books.

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Click HERE to Read Reviews of The Moon Coin.

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved.

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Gibbering Gnome Press, A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^®

The Moon Realm^®

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The Bookworm Chronicles Reviews THE MOON COIN

Click HERE or the image above to read the review.

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Typesetting THE MOON COIN: The Print Edition

These are some screen shots from CS Indesign 5.5.

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When I was working on the eBook version of The Moon Coin, I was very limited in what I could do. Since then, Amazon has introduced a new Kindle .Mobi format that promises a slew of new features, including embedded fonts. After I finish evaluating what that means for users of older kindles, I may adopt that new format later this year. Similarly, Apple has recently introduced iAuthor, a new proprietary software program to build their ebooks. It also promises a slew of new features.

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First up, a presentation shot.

Click HERE or the image directly above to enlarge.

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Here’s a detail shot of the graphic elements in the header.

Click HERE or the image directly above to enlarge.

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Here’s a detail shot of the graphic elements in the footer.

Click HERE or the image directly above to enlarge.

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The Howling Turtle Interview

Howling Turtle

Click HERE or the image directly above for the Interview.

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The Joys of Sick, or, Knowing When Your Book is Finished

I reached one of my favorite book-writing milestones today. I’m sick of my book! Don’t worry. It’s mostly temporary, I hope, and it happened at just the right time: seven years and about twenty-five editing passes in. (If I’d gotten sick of it earlier—trust me—I’d be seriously depressed.)

What did I do to celebrate, you ask? Well, yesterday, as the printer in my hallway was still warming down its jets (ink-low lights blinking furiously), I slid into the Post Office just ten minutes before closing time, slapped a delivery conformation sticker on my handmade cardboard box, and sent it roaring off to Carolyn Arcabascio, the illustrator extraordinaire for The Moon Realm Series.

Sure, The Dragondain still needs more work, but I’m looking forward to being truly ill? during the final read-through and polish. 😀 I’M SO HAPPY!

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Howling Turtle Reviews THE MOON COIN

Click HERE or the image directly above to read the review.

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ForeWord Reviews Reviews THE MOON COIN

“The Moon Coin is a beautifully written fantasy novel, perfect for middle graders to pore over themselves or as a bedtime story for younger kids. The descriptions of everything, from Uncle Ebb’s electronic fish-bird hybrids to the fanciful creatures Lily meets in the Moon Realm, are so rich that the action instantly comes alive for the reader.” —Molly Horan of ForeWord Reviews

Click HERE or on the image directly above to read review.

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Courtney’s Book Nook Reviews THE MOON COIN

Click HERE or the image directly above to read the review.

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Brazen Broads Book Bash Get Their Rave On

Brazen Broads Book Bash review The Moon Coin.

Click HERE or the image directly above to read the review.

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A Sampling of First Pages

Some first pages, featuring illustrations by Carolyn Arcabascio.

You might not want to read the chapter text below the illustrations too carefully. I don’t think you’ll find any huge spoilers, but you could pick up on some cool bits that you might not want to know beforehand. 🙂

Click HERE or on the image directly above to enlarge.

Click HERE or on the image directly above to enlarge.

Click HERE or the image directly above to enlarge.

Click HERE or the image directly above to enlarge.

Click HERE or the image directly above to enlarge.

Click HERE or the image directly above to enlarge.

For the curious, these are iPad 2 screen shots that I later stitched together with Pixelmator 2.0.1.

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Preview: The Moon Coin.

Six chapters formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF.

Please share these files with your friends. Enjoy.

2012 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award winner for pre-teen fiction: Gold.

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Paperback and eBook now available:

Amazon and Second Looks Books.

❍

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved.

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Gibbering Gnome Press, A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^®

The Moon Realm^®

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