New Cover Design for Killer of Killers

Well, with a new cover artist comes a completely new style for my Killer Series. I was always happy with the first cover for Killer of Killers, but when I asked for a matching cover, it just didn't work. I have included with this post a "screen shot" of the four covers, meaning the original cover for Killer of Killers and a potential matching cover for the sequel, Killer Eyes. They're the two on the bottom and you can see it doesn't work. They look nothing like sequels, or a continuation of the same story.

The two covers on top exemplify the new style. I like the new style, and they certainly do match, meaning they look like they are sequels and a continuing story. They work very well together.

But for Killer of Killers, I asked to switch the text and author name so that the text is where the author name is and the author name is where the text is. That's from the original design format and I want that to remain. Killer Eyes has it that way, and it looks right that way.

Sending Advance Copies of John Dunn

Some people have responded already to my request for endorsements/reviews for the advance copy of John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu. When my publisher asked me to do that, I thought maybe I should wait until after the edits were completed. But she said, no, get started right away, and I did.

A couple gentlemen from the UK have responded, and one of them, Ian Knight, is the world's foremost authority on John Dunn, the Zulus, and the Anglo-Zulu War. It was only a stroke of luck that I was able to get his email address, and his permission to email him, but it happened, and now he has a PDF copy of my manuscript. I advised him that it's not yet  edited, but still I look forward to his thoughts.

I've also sent some images to the publisher in hopes their cover design artist can get some ideas on a cover for the  book. I included the lithograph of Dunn, and several illustrations from the Internet of Zulus and British soldiers from that era.

So things are rolling, and I look forward to how this pans out. It's even more exciting than when I got my first two books published. Now, my third and fourth books are going to be published. Can't wait.

Book Description, Author Bio, and Author Photo for Book Cover

I am finally finished with these things, and sent them today, so I'll share them with the blog.

The Book Description needed to be 250 words max and I got it written in 228. It's going on the book's back cover, along with my photo, and here it is:

John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu is based on the true story of John Dunn, the white chief of Zululand, beginning with the Battle of enDondakusuka in 1856 and concluding with the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The compelling South African events and Dunn’s incredible experiences during those turbulent years rival the greatest frontier stories of the American West.

Despite fighting against Prince Cetshwayo in the Battle of enDondakusuka, twenty-two year old John Dunn becomes best friends with the future Zulu king and his most trusted advisor. For that friendship, Cetshwayo awards Dunn a vast subkingdom in Zulu territory, bestows upon him several Zulu wives, and elevates him to the status of a Zulu chieftain.

For the next twenty years, Dunn lives like an African king, but not without enemies. Theophilus Shepstone, the Natal Secretary of Native Affairs, despises Dunn for his lofty status amongst the Zulu people. And Cetshwayo’s brother, Prince Dabulamanzi, resents Dunn for surpassing him in wealth and for his friendship with the king.

At the outbreak of the Anglo-Zulu War, King Cetshwayo permits Dunn to stay neutral. But the British tell him to choose a side, and if he doesn’t choose them he’ll stand trial as a traitor. Can Dunn remain loyal to Cetshwayo and fight against his own people? Or must he betray the Zulu king and join the British side of the conflict?

 

And here's my Author mini-bio. It's going on the Knox Robinson Website along with the photo.

Mark M. DeRobertis is an art teacher in San Jose, California. He attended San Jose State University where he earned a Master's Degree in Education, a Bachelor's Degree in Art, and a California Teaching Credential. In addition to creative writing, his specialties include painting, drawing, and ceramic sculpture. Mark’s interests include martial arts, American football, and world history. He has written five novels: Killer of Killers, a martial arts thriller, The Vase, a story of suspense in the Middle East, Killer Eyes, Book Two in his Killer Series, John Dunn - Heart of a Zulu, and Second Chance, a story of American football. Author’s Web Site: http://swampfox.weebly.com/ Author’s blog: http://metazoid.blogspot.com/

 

And here's the photo I chose. It's from one of my school photo sessions a couple years ago. I chose this one because at least my hair's combed.

 

 

So yeah, things are rolling. Knox Robinson rocks! Can't wait for the edits to begin. Speaking of edits, I better get back to finishing those edits to Killer Eyes. I'm excited with how that one's turning out, too. Then Second Chance revisions are next. Then the third book in the Killer Series. What a great summer this is turning out to be. Maybe this will be the best year of my life!

KRP Wants Photo, Bio, Jacket Copy

So, like my other publishers, Knox Robinson wants a photo of me, a short biography, and the text for the back of the book jacket, also known as Jacket Copy. I wrote the bio and the jacket copy last night, but I have to get a photo that has a resolution of 300 dpi. They also want some author's endorsement of the book so they can put that in there. (I've seen them on their other books, and it's a good idea.)

DPI is dots per inch, I believe, and that makes the image high resolution so that it can be copied and placed on their website and on the jacket of the book, too.

For the endorsement, I was thinking of contacting a man named Ian Knight, because he's probably the leading authority on the Zulu War, and he even wrote a short piece on John Dunn, which I credit in my book as one of my sources. But he's a strict historian, and my John Dunn book is historical fiction, so I'm not sure he'd be interested in reading it. I would only hope that he would say something nice, but again, being a strict historian, maybe he's the wrong guy to ask. I did put some fictional things in there, so yeah, maybe I should find some historical fiction writers instead.

Nevertheless, things are rolling since I received the contract with the publisher's signature on it, and I said before how important that was to me. I can't wait to see how my KRP books differ from my Melange and Penumbra books. I look forward to hardbound editions for one thing. Can't wait.

Publisher Signed Contract

I received a copy of the Knox Robinson contract today with the publisher's signature on it. That might not sound like much of a big deal, but believe me it is a big deal. If the publisher does not sign their own contract, then they will have no legal obligation to abide by the terms of that contract. Meaning, they won't have to pay you!

And yes, that has happened to me before. With Cogito. Cogito was the publisher who had accepted my second novel, The Vase, for publication. They sent me the contract. Unlike the contracts I received from Virtual Tales and from Melange Books, this contract had no publisher's signature on it. Sure it had the book's name, The Vase, and my name, and a place where my signature and the publisher's signature belonged, but those spaces were blank. Of course my signature place was blank, because I had yet to sign it, but the strange thing to me was that the space where the publisher's signature belonged was also blank.

Being a relatively new author, I went ahead and signed the contract and sent it back to them. But they never sent it back with the publisher's signature on it. And then, of course, none of the terms were met. I had no recourse because the publisher never signed it. And another red flag was that the publisher made himself unavailable to me, and to all authors I'm guessing.

So when my Cogito editors revealed to me that they were quitting the place, even suing Cogito for not paying them, I put two and two together. When the time allotments for editing passed, I used that as a legal way out of the contract. And then I found Penumbra to publish The Vase, and their contract had a publisher's signature on it, and there was no problem with them.

So yeah, getting the KRP contract with the publisher's signature on it was huge for me today. And they want my photo, mini bio, and jacket copy for the story, too. That means things are rolling over there at Knox Robinson Publishing. They also sent me a letter welcoming me to the KRP family and said that they plan on publishing all my future books as well. That is a great thing, too. Meaning when I write another book, I'll know that I already have a publisher willing to publish it. And not a small POD publisher, but a real print run publisher who gets their books into bookstores. Things seem to be working out for me. Hope it all pans out. We'll see.

Side note. I've made it clear to KRP that I will remain loyal to Melange Books for the Killer Series. So any future Killer books like the soon to be released Killer Eyes and the third book in the series tentatively titled The Killers Guild, will be published by Melange.

John Dunn Copyrighted

I just registered my John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu book with the copyright office, also known as the US Library of Congress. Yeah, I know I didn't invent the character John Dunn, nor the events that occurred in the story, but the prose is mine.

I did have a lithograph image of Dunn in there, but I removed it for the copyright office. Since that image isn't mine, meaning I didn't draw it, I didn't want to take any chances of being denied the copyright. I figure, however, that since it's been over a hundred years since that image was made, it should be public domain right now, so no need for it to be copyrighted anyway.

Now, I'm waiting for the publishing process to begin, but while I'm waiting, I'll be wrapping up the edits to Killer Eyes. That one should be released next month, so how exciting is that? Well for me, it's very exciting. Times are rolling for me right now.

Contract Signed and Sent!

Big news for me. My fourth book John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu is now under contract, having been accepted for publication by Knox Robinson Publishing of London and New York!

One of the terms of the contract was something that is great for me. They want to see my next work, the Second Chance book I've been blogging about the past year. The contract say they want to see future work by me, and have first dibs, so to speak. It's not how they worded it, but that's essentially what it means. That means I've already got a publisher interested in all my future books, as well.

Not that I'm forced to have them publish my future works. The contract says that if I get a better deal somewhere else, I have the right to go with it. How nice. What a great publisher.

The only thing, and I mean the ONLY thing is the half movie rights. But like I said before, I didn't invent John Dunn. He was a real life dude. The events in the book are real life events, meaning real history. All of them. So, hey, if Knox Robinson gets this made into a movie, they'll have earned the 50% of the dough. I'd have zero chance without them, so there you go.

Now to go on with the second round of edits for Killer Eyes. Just got that today, too. By the way, I did clarify that Melange has the rights to the Killer Series. Dana, (the publisher at KRP) had no problem with that. What a summer I'll have. Can't wait.

Newsflash! Knox Robinson Contract Arrived!

Again, a newsflash making a second post on the same day necessary. As the heading says, the contract from Knox Robinson arrived today. I'm reading it, and it's a typical big publisher contract with some similarities to that Cogito one I had a few years back. My main issue with this contract is their demand for 50% of movie rights, (that is, if there were to be a movie made of this book.) But I had said I would be willing to make concessions, and this may be one concession I won't mind making. Why? Because if this book isn't published I'd be getting 0% of movie rights. Again, John Dunn is not a character I made up. So,  yeah, that won't keep me from signing the contract. I'll probably have it signed and emailed back by tomorrow, (after I print it, sign it, scan it and attach it back onto an email that is.) That means making time for Kinko's. I'm pretty thrilled right now. Can't wait.

Russia Leads Visitors to Blog

During this short week, at least, Russia is leading all viewers of this blog. I don't know why. I mean, do Russians even read/speak English? I would think if I wrote this blog in Russian, then that would be a reason Russians would read it. But my blog's stats page indicates in the last seven days, 91 visitors have been located in Russia. Compare that with the second place country which is the United States, and only numbering 16.

Certainly, just because you're not from an English speaking country doesn't mean you don't read/speak English, but how do all these Russians even know about this blog? None of them know me, of that I can be sure. So what's up with that? I don't suppose I'll ever know. And I don't suppose it matters, either. As long as they read English, maybe they'll check out one or more of my books. I'm sure the Russians can enjoy a good action adventure like Killer of Killers and the soon to be released sequel, Killer Eyes, which, btw, has a Russian character in it--Dr. Vladimir Blitzkin.

As for my upcoming book, John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu, I would think the British people might be interested in reading that one. Seeing as how it was British film makers who made the movies Zulu and Zulu Dawn, and made the TV miniseries, Shaka Zulu, the British might also enjoy the John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu book because it's basically the exact same subject matter--the Zulus. It features the friendship between the Zulu king Cetshwayo and John Dunn.

It's an interesting story, because it covers the twenty-three years of Dunn's life and experiences beginning in the year 1856, which is the year the War of the Princes took place, and 1879, which is when the Anglo-Zulu War concluded, and Dunn fought in both of those wars. Even more interestingly, both times he fought against Cetshwayo. It was due to circumstances. You'll have to read it to find out those circumstances. But if you do want to read any of my books, start with Killer of Killers, and then The Vase. Then Killer Eyes. And then John Dunn should soon be out. Can't wait.

STARZ show Outlander - big let down

I've been watching the STARZ show Outlander with mixed feelings, but I believed it was good enough to keep on watching. It was a tough sell at first. After watching the first episode and seeing it was a Romance time travel premise, I tried watching another show with a time travel premise called Atlantis. I was hoping for action adventure instead of romance, and I hoped Atlantis would fill the bill.

The first thing I noticed when comparing the two shows was that Outlander was the far superior show. The production values, the scenery, the writing, the directing, the acting, heck, everything was far better than the Atlantis show which reeked of very low quality production values. Atlantis was that bad. So bad, I couldn't even finish the opening show.

Outlander, on the other hand, was a great production. So great it would rival any top A list feature film. But it's a Romance genre, and I'm not too keen on those. It's a show about a woman, and it's a show for women, so I'm watching with my wife, you know, to spend time with the wife. But we just watched the show's first season finale, and my god, it was so bad, I mean like over the top bad.

STARZ has proven already from prior shows to be over the top. For example, Spartacus was over the top, as I may have mentioned before, but it was over the top violence, blood, gore, and sex. Outlander, especially this last episode, was just over the top disgusting, and I'm glad it's over. I probably won't watch the second season if there is one. It's just not worth my time anymore. Even my wife couldn't take it. I just can't buy in to the protagonists, the female lead and her male companion, being captured, imprisoned, tortured, whipped, flogged, and victimized over and over again, every episode. It's one thing after another, and all of it to the point of disgust. I mean, come on, enough is enough.

And the evil antagonist, Captain Black Jack Russell, is so unbelievable, he makes Adolph Hitler seem like Cinderella. I don't buy into that character. He's sensationalized to the point he's just disgusting. No. Don't waste your time getting into that show. Like I said, it was the production values that made me think at first it was worth watching, but the constant and never ending victimization and over the top brutalization was just too much for me.

Outlander -- you blew it. No one is as evil as Jack Russell. Not Hitler, not anyone. It's like the guy lives only for hurting innocent people, who've never done anything to him. It's like he's thinking let me go out and find some great, innocent people, and let's hurt them, rape them, whip them, torture them, maim them, and when they escape, hey, let's capture them again, and torture them again. And then when they escape again, let's capture them again and torture them again. And then, let's do it again, and again, and again, and again, and again...

Knox Robinson Explains Delay

Okay, I received an email this morning from the publisher of Knox Robinson Publishing explaining the delay in sending the contract. She has been out of the office, but will send the contract when she returns. That's fine. I'm still very much excited about the prospect of receiving that contract, and reading it, and comparing it to others that I've received.

But at the same time, Knox Robinson is a larger publisher than most of the publishers from whom I've received contracts. I might say they are the largest. They have offices in London and New York, so that is evidence enough to believe it. My two current publishers, Melange and Penumbra are small independent POD publishers, and although I have a great relationship with both of them, and eternally grateful that they published my first two books, (first three books by next month,) I did have the goal to take a step up in publishers.

And finding a publisher that was not POD will achieve that goal. Knox Robinson is a publisher who puts out hardback editions and gets their books in bookstores. That means Knox Robinson might be more the size of Cogito, or even larger. Cogito fit that description too, and I came very close to being published by them, having signed a contract with them for my second book, The Vase. But their contract was not a good one, and I'm hoping that Knox Robinson's contract will be better.

Still, like I said before, as an author striving for a non POD publisher, I might have to make concessions, like I did with Cogito. I have to believe that Knox Robinson will be a much better experience than the experience I had with Cogito.

For one thing, I never had any communication with the publisher at Cogito. I was only contacted by editors, including the acquisitions editor who was the one who offered the contract, and then another editor who was editing the manuscript. But it was only when the acquisitions editor contacted me about leaving Cogito did I realize that Cogito was having some in-house problems, and then the other editor told me she was suing them, so I realized I had to get out of there, and I did.

From the start, it's been the top person at Knox Robinson contacting me, and offering the contract, so that is a good thing. Better to be dealing with the top person, (known as the publisher,) like I did with Melange and Penumbra. Nothing like having a great relationship with the boss. So I'm looking forward to a great summer. More later.

Last Day of School Today

You may or may not know I am a teacher. And today is the last day of school. Summer break starts today at 1:48, and I will have more time to write. But what should I write? Well, I can go with revisions for my fifth novel, Second Chance. I will continue with the editing of Killer Eyes. Maybe I'll begin a new book entirely, like the third book in my Killer Series or the MG/YA novel I've been thinking about for a few years. Perhaps the editing will begin with the John Dunn story, but I haven't signed any contract yet for that book.

Funny thing is, after Knox Robinson said they wanted to offer me a contract, they still haven't sent it. That doesn't mean I'm going to blindly sign it if and/or when it does come. I am going to read it very carefully. Now that I'm a somewhat experienced novelist, I know the difference between a good contract and a bad one.

It's strange to me that publishers will offer bad contracts. I mean who do they think they're kidding? Apparently it works for them, after all I did sign the Cogito one. But that was when I was relatively new to the publishing world. I'm no longer that.

But there is the case of compromise. And because there are some things I want from a publisher this time around, I may end up compromising. That remains to be seen, however, because I've yet to see the contract. When I do, then I'll decide.

Umuzi Out

As perfect as I thought Umuzi would be, (with a Zulu name and all,) they declined John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu. So that means my second choice, Knox Robinson is the publisher to go with for that book.
Just as soon as the contract arrives, I'll be eager to read it and sign it. Hopefully it will be arriving sometime today or tomorrow.

Of course, publishing contracts aren't to be signed automatically. I've learned there are good and bad contracts. For instance, the Cogito contract I signed was a bad contract. Fortunately for me, they went through an upheaval, and I was able to get out of that contract. The Melange and Penumbra contracts were both good ones. Hopefully, the Knox Robinson contract will be even better. We'll see.

Random House Imprint Umuzi

I'm still excited about yesterday's big news, that Knox Robinson contacted me conveying their interest to  publish John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu. Truth be told, I'd be very happy with them publishing that book. But my first choice of a publisher for that book would be Umuzi. Umuzi is the South African imprint of Random House, and Random House is one of the Big Six. Actually, Random House merged with Penguin, (another Big Sixer,) so that means the Big Six is really the Big Five now.

And a Big Six (or Big Five) publisher is every author's goal. It's like being what the media calls an "A" list actor. The Big Six/Five publishers are the "A" list publishers. It's like MGM, Disney, or Paramount Pictures compared to the many independent film makers out there. It doesn't really matter, though, because those independent film makers can make movies just as well as the "A" list movie companies, and so too can independent publishers make just as good books.

But the thing is John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu is a story about South Africa because it deals mostly with the Zulus, takes place mostly in Zululand, and features a pivotal event in Zulu history--the Zulu War. So Umuzi, (which is a Zulu word, by the way, it means hornet or wasp) being a South African publisher, would be the ideal publisher for a book like John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu.

Still, Knox Robinson is located in London, and that fact bodes well for the John Dunn story, because the British and their colonies in South Africa are the other major players in the story. And John Dunn is the son of a Scottish immigrant. The fact that Knox Robinson also has offices in New York bodes well, too, since I'm an American author, and the international thing won't be a factor. So whichever way the wind blows is the way I will sway. I heard a variation of that saying somewhere. It definitely applies to me.

News Flash! Contract Offered for John Dunn book!!

I never post twice in the same day, but the news flash is, as the headline says, a publisher, (Knox Robinson,) has just sent me an email offering me a contract for John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu!!

This is big news for me. Knox Robinson Publishing is a print run publisher with offices in New York and London! So this is very exciting for me.

They are not one of the Big Six, however, and I did submit to three of the Big Six publishers, and I'm waiting on their replies. But wait a minute. How did I manage to submit to Big Six publishers without an agent? After all, weren't agents the only ones allowed to do that?

Well, my relentless research uncovered a way to do that. At least four of the six Big Six publishers (or three of the five if you count Penguin and Random House as one) have imprints or International offices that will accept submissions from authors. So that's how I did it. And those three are sitting on my John Dunn submissions right now. How much more time will it take them to decide? When I asked my brother, the lawyer, what to do, he stated the old adage: A bird in the hand...

Knox Robinson is not one of the Big Six, but they are a step up, (maybe two steps up) from my current POD publishers, Melange and Penumbra. Now, be clear about this. I have great relationships with both Melange and Penumbra. In fact, Melange is in the process of publishing my third book, Killer Eyes, right now. Killer Eyes will be released as soon as next month.

The only knock on POD publishers is they don't usually publish hard bound copies and they have no placement in bookstores. And that's the reason I was seeking a bigger publisher who can make those things happen. So I've got some serious thinking to do. Regardless, this is a big day for me!

Second Chance over 86,000 and about done

I'm pretty much finished with my fifth novel, Second Chance. It's a football story about a man who loves football, missed out playing his senior year in high school because of an injury, and then gets a second chance to play when he's twenty-four. Sounds farfetched? Maybe. But stranger things have happened, and I tried to keep it realistic. But it's fiction after all, and so I ran with the story. I actually dreamed it. Then I ran with it.

It was around this time last year I had the dream. So I came in to work and wrote an outline or a quick synopsis of the story. I thought it was interesting enough to proceed, so I started writing it. And during every break I would write a little more. Until now, one year later, the first draft is just about done. I have to polish up the denouement which I wrote just yesterday, and I know I have to write a better conclusion to the story. I like ending books with a little something to think about for the reader, and I've yet to make that happen in Second Chance. I don't think that will be too hard, and then it will be finished.

Shall I try to find an agent for it? First I'm looking for a publisher for John Dunn. Killer Eyes is getting published this summer and I'm excited for that. As for an agent? Maybe. As for John Dunn? Fingers are crossed that I'll get a larger publisher. So many things are still ahead of me, and they're all still beyond the horizon. But you keep on truckin' until you get there, that's all.

Finished Round One Edits, but...

I completed the edits to Killer Eyes last night and sent them to Melange. It was bedtime so I didn't double-check the file I sent, (like I usually do,) but when I came to work this morning, I accessed my email account, and went to the "sent" section of my email and double checked the file. For some reason, all the changes I made were not showing. I was like, "WTF?"

I emailed Nancy just now and asked if my changes are showing, and I hope she answers they are and all is good. But I don't know why the file on my work computer seems all screwed up. I can't go home and check the file on my home computer. Not for another seven or eight hours, so in the meantime I'll be in limbo, unless Nancy answers that it's all fine on her computer.

It's another 'wouldn't you know' kind of thing. Of course things can't go smoothly. Even when your publisher and you are on the same page, something else has to go wrong. Maybe it's just some quirk on my work computer and nothing more, so we'll see.

UPDATE:
Nancy just replied that the changes and comments are indeed showing. So I guess it's just a glitch on my work computer and all is well. What a great publisher I have to reply so fast.

Killer Eyes edits going well

I was talking about how much fun it is doing the edits for Killer Eyes. I'm fortunate that my publisher was agreeable to releasing the book this summer. That means in just over a month or so, Killer Eyes will be available for purchase, and to me, that's exciting. I've learned that people who've read Killer of Killers are looking forward to reading Killer Eyes. At least that's what the reviewers indicated. They said things like they hope a book two is in the works, and that a sequel was needed.

And it's happening. The edits are almost done, and when I send them back, I may or may not get another round of edits. That's why I'm taking my time, making sure I get everything right. I've found an error in there, which surprised me. I had written during a car chase scene that a car made a three-sixty spin and then was headed in the opposite direction. But of course a three-sixty spin puts you in the same direction you were headed originally. It was supposed to be a one-eighty spin, which I've corrected it to be now. And that's where the edits come in. They catch things like that. Although in this case, it wasn't the editor who caught it. I caught it while I was going over the edits.

It doesn't matter who caught it, as long as it's caught. The editors did catch a couple typos, though, and I could have sworn that I had fixed all typos, so there you go. Killer Eyes is going to be a great follow up to Killer of Killers, and I'm looking forward to its release, probably some time in July.

Doing Edits is the best

I've always said that the revising phase of writing a book is the most fun, but I might adjust that to saying the editing phase is the most fun. Why? They are related, of course, but during the editing stage you're working with another person--an editor--and that means you're book is being published. Yeah, I know some writers hire an editor to edit their manuscript before it's been sold. But normally, a writer has his or her manuscript edited after it's been accepted by some publishing house. It was during the editing of my first two books I learned so much about writing a novel. And since then I consider myself a much improved novelist.

I applied what I learned into both of those first two books during the editing phase, and I applied all that I learned in my next two books in the revising phase. And for every book after that I'll be applying what I learned in the first drafts. Like I'm doing now for my fifth book, Second Chance, which is coming along nicely. I'm very near finished. At this time I'm wrapping up the climax of the story, so all that's left is the denouement. That won't take more than a week. Looks like I'll meet my objective, which was to finish the book during the course of the school year. And the school year is over in about a week.