Waterstone Media

Adventure Stories

Waterstone Update May 11, 2018

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Hey everyone,

I hope that all of you are going into the weekend excited! My family is traveling for a wedding this weekend, so I’m looking forward to spending time with both my immediate family and my extended ones.

Since the last update there hasn’t been a whole lot of change. The four projects mentioned there are still ongoing, with one major change:

I have finished the first draft of the conclusion to the Blades of the Fallen series. Unfortunately, the first draft is a really long way from the finished product, but it’s a step in the right direction!

The big question I often receive is when the book will be out and the series concluded. The short answer, right now, is that I don’t know. I don’t know if I will end up publishing through 47North (my preferred method), or if I’ll end up publishing it here through Waterstone. Regardless, my hope is that the book is out by the end of the year.

The other news is that the Primal Trilogy is now out and collected in one place. The ebook is live, and the paperback should be approved within the next two-three weeks. If you’re interested in checking out the story, there’s never been a better time.

Other than that, I continue to write and edit (and get in my daily round of disc golf if I can). I hope you all are doing well, and that you enjoy the weekend!

Ryan

Nightblade Announcement

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Top of the morning everyone!

I’ve got some big news today – news I’ve been sitting on for almost a full year now. This fall, a new book in the Nightblade universe is coming out. It’s called Nightblade’s Vengeance, and I’m really excited about it. If you’re interested in checking out the sales page, here it is:

Nightblade’s Vengeance

The reason I’ve been sitting on this for so long is because this is going to be my first book published through more traditional channels. I’ve partnered with 47North (Amazon’s sci-fi and fantasy imprint) to bring this book to life, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

Of course, everyone will have their own opinions, but I think this is the best book I’ve ever written.

The book comes out in all formats October 24, but it is available for pre-order right now. I know it’s still a long wait for the book, but I did want to let people know ahead of time. Right now the ebook is $3.99 in the US store, and it sounds like it’s selling for about the same in the UK store. I don’t have control over the final list price, so I wanted to let everyone know now.

I’ll be talking a lot more about the book in the future, but that’s enough for today.

Take care!

Ryan

NaNoWriMo and Halloween!

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Happy Halloween!

Bryce here. I hope you all have a great Halloween. I will be spending my evening watching my baby and editing my first draft. Scary right?

I wanted to talk about NaNoWriMo a little bit. Officially starting tomorrow, National Novel Writing Month prep has been going on for weeks now. This will be my first NaNoWriMo since I decided to start writing seriously. It took me a long time to finish my first book, and the one I have planned for November is an entirely different genre. I’m a little nervous.

I find it funny (and awesome) that a self imposed event with no actual accountability can carry such weight. I think that speaks to the success and widespread adoption of NaNoWriMo.

I am also amazed and comforted by the support groups and events that have come about. It seems like every week there is some writing group or a Skype session to help people stay on track. Hopefully I can make it to some!

I will keep you updated on my progress throughout the month. Ryan is working like a mad man (like always), so November won’t be much different for him!

If you are also participating in NaNoWriMo, let us know! We would love to compare progress and share war stories.

Have a spooky evening!

Bryce

Primal Dawn & Baby Kirk

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Hey Everybody!

First of all, a warm welcome to all the newcomers to this email list!  It’s been quite a while since I wrote (which I’ll explain below), and this list has grown substantially.  My sincere gratitude for allowing me into your email inboxes!

This email is going to be longer than most I send out, but it’s because I have both business and personal news to share.  I’ll do business first, so those of you who only want that can read it first and skip the rest of the email.

Primal Dawn!

I’ve hinted at this a little, but as of yesterday, my newest work, Primal Dawn, is available for pre-order on Amazon. Check it out here.  It officially releases on Sept. 26.  Primal Dawn is a shorter story, sitting somewhere between a novella and a short novel, depending on who you ask (about 50,000 words).  It’s a sci-fi story about first contact, with an advanced race coming into contact with a far more primitive one.  But, not everything is as it seems.

The cover and synopsis and link to the book are below:

Tev is a hunter, one of the best in his clan. Trained since birth in the art of tracking and killing, Tev has never met a challenge he couldn’t overcome. But when a mysterious fireball falls from the sky, Tev will question everything he has ever known. For the first time in his life, he isn’t the one doing the hunting.

He is the prey.

Primal Dawn is the first short novel of the Primal Series, spanning centuries of conflict following first contact. Each novel tells a complete story in the ongoing saga of two cultures learning to explore the vastness of space together.

Also, for those of you who are curious, I’m a little over halfway through the first draft of a new book set in the world of Nightblade.  I’ll have more on that later.

 

Welcoming the newest member of Waterstone!

The really big news in my life is that a few weeks ago, my wife and I welcomed our little baby girl into the world.  Baby Kirk came in at 7 lbs, 7 oz, and arrived exactly on her due date (I like to joke that my wife really is a rule-follower!).

There were some minor complications after she was born, but everyone is happy and healthy now, even if I’ve forgotten what a full night of sleep felt like.  But, because of her, I haven’t been as active writing and interacting as I’d like.  I expect that as I figure out this whole fatherhood thing, that will improve.

In any case, as always, I’m grateful for all of you.  Thank you for your support, and I hope you are all doing well as well!

 

With sincere gratitude,

Ryan

Introducing Primal Dawn

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Top of the morning, everybody!

It’s been quite a while, and I’m grateful for your patience.  I’m excited to announce today my new book, Primal Dawn.  It should be up for pre-order on Amazon within three weeks, with the actual release date soon after.

I’ll be writing in the near future more about the story itself (it’s about a clash of civilizations in a brand-new, sci-fi universe), but today I wanted to talk about how the book came to be.

After writing in the Nightblade universe for several years straight, I decided I wanted to take a little bit of a break from it.  I love the Nightblade world, and I never want it to become a chore for me to write in it.  I had an idea for a series of shorter stories that had been bouncing around in my head for a while, and I decided to take some time to actually write one out.

Cheers,

Ryan

Welcome the Newest Member of Waterstone!

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Ryan’s Note:  Hi Everyone!  For those of you actually interested in the behind the scenes here at Waterstone, we have big news today!  Our company is growing.

When I started Waterstone last year, it was intended to be more than just my own books.  My goal was to create a home for the type of fiction that I enjoy, fiction that is exciting and moving.

I recently hired Bryce Allen, a fellow writer I met through my own experiences with martial arts.  He’s been working on a fantasy series that I think is really, really cool.  But as he’ll mention below, he’s a new father focused on raising a gorgeous little girl.  It provided an opportunity for him to join my one-person team.  Although he’ll be doing a number of odds and ends, in general he’s helping me with the administrative side of the business and keeping me on task.  This should allow me to spend more time doing what I love:  writing stories.  I’ve asked him to introduce himself.

 

Hey everyone, my name is Bryce Allen, and I have the honor of being Waterstone Media’s first employee! I will be helping with a variety of awesome projects that Ryan has in store for Waterstone Media’s future. I wanted to take a second and introduce myself to you all.

I enjoy long walks on moonlit beaches and working out every day…. Sorry, wrong blog!

Let’s get the basics out of the way. I am 27 years old and live in the Twin Cities with my beautiful girlfriend and our baby girl. I am new to the father thing, but I learn something new every day. Family life is definitely my priority right now.

I grew up in small-town Minnesota. I made all the mischief I could in High School, and somehow ended up in college. I made my way through college by arresting shoplifters for a major retailer. It provided its fair share of adrenaline rushes, but also exposed me to lifestyles I’d never experienced in my hometown.

I attended college for about six years. I was lucky enough to spend some time in France. We studied and documented Roman ruins, and it was amazing.  When I returned, I juggled different majors until I settled on political science. By some bizarre twist of fate, I actually earned a degree.

Armed with my shiny new piece of paper I set forth into the world, ready to earn millions of dollars… That didn’t immediately work, as you may have guessed.

These days, I have two primary interests: martial arts and writing.

I have been training in Shotokan Karate for roughly 15 years. It has been a major part of my life as far back as I can remember. The only thing I enjoy more than doing karate, is teaching karate. As soon as my instructor allowed it I began instructing. I currently hold a Nidan (2nd degree black belt) rank in Shotokan. Paired with my martial arts experience, fitness has been a priority in my life. I am constantly looking for new workouts to research and perfect.

Writing has also been an important part of my life. Throughout my childhood, my passion for telling stories grew. I would write for the joy of it, rarely showing anyone my work. However, as I entered college, that passion faded a little. Pressure from my peers to make money and avoid the arts contributed to my writing hiatus. I allowed myself to dismiss the art of storytelling altogether.

That is when Ryan came along. He helped to reignite my passion for writing awesome stories. Under his mentorship, I am currently working on a series of my own. This is also part of my work here at Waterstone Media.

In addition to writing books for Waterstone, I will be doing research for future projects, helping manage the administrative side of the business, and grooming Ryan’s cats. I consider myself a bit of a renaissance man.

I’ll be doing odds and ends around here, but if you have any questions, please let me know down in the comments!

Bryce