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Release date set for The Wind and the Void!

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It’s been a very busy month over here at Waterstone Media, and I continue to be really excited about what 2016 holds.  But I’ll get right to the point today:  I can finally commit to a release date for The Wind and the Void!
The Wind and the Void should be live on Amazon on Saturday, March 26th.  Like World’s Edge, it will debut at $2.99.  On Tuesday I will raise the price to its regular price of $3.99.
I think that’s all for now.  I’ll let everyone know once the title is live, but for today I’ll leave you with this – the cover for The Wind and the Void.
audio book cover - The Wind And The Void - Ryan Kirk
With gratitude,
Ryan

Behind the Scenes of The Wind and the Void

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I hope this finds you all doing well!

First of all, I wanted to apologize for my silence on the website as of late.  I think I’ve broken almost every resolution I made at the beginning of the year, and that’s entirely my fault.  I will be trying to get better!

Today I wanted to take a moment to talk about The Wind and the Void, the third and final book of the Nightblade Trilogy.  It’s been quite a while since World’s Edge was released, and everyone has been more than patient with me waiting for the third book.  But for those of you interested in how the series has developed, perhaps this will be interesting reading.  It will hopefully also explain why the book has been so late in coming.

The Nightblade Trilogy began back in 2011.  At the time I had written several novel-length stories (all of which were beyond horrible and will never see the light of day) and had an idea for a great story, a story about a boy who discovered he had the power to be an amazing swordsman.  From that single seed the story grew, and I wrote while holding down a full-time job, writing about a thousand words a day for about 150 days.

When I was finished, I was proud of what I had written, but at the time I was writing simply for the sake of writing.  I had no greater goal.  I set the first draft aside and moved on to other projects.

In 2014 I made the decision to attempt to publish my story as the first part of a trilogy.  My first step was to try to write the first draft of the second book.  Then I went back to Nightblade and worked a second draft.  In the summer of 2015 I wrote the first draft of the third book.  Then, knowing how the series would end, I went back for the final draft of Nightblade.  Don’t worry if that all sounds confusing.  It was for me too, and I’ll not do that again.

The important piece of all of this was that while I had the entire trilogy written, it wasn’t as close to done as I thought it was.  In my head, I thought I would have all three out by December of 2015, which now seems foolish.

In August of 2015 I published Nightblade and started editing World’s Edge.  But as I edited, the story changed, substantially.  I won’t put any spoilers on the page, but Moriko’s story was originally half as long and didn’t have her going into Azaria.  Needless to say, the final product is a far cry from the first draft.

I published World’s Edge in October of 2015, still thinking there would be a chance of finishing the trilogy by December.  But as I re-read the first draft of The Wind and the Void, I knew I was wrong.  The story had changed so much there was almost no connection between the second and third stories.  It took me a few days of deliberation, but I decided to scrap the entire book.  I saved a few sections I knew would still be good in the new book, but I figured it would be faster to just rewrite than try to edit what was there.  In the end, I threw away over 130,000 words.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t that disappointing.  I thought I’d be sad to lose so many words, but I knew I was doing the right thing.  I’ve lived and breathed the world for six months, and I knew I could do better.

And that’s the reason why The Wind and the Void has been so far behind the others.  I’ve written the entire book twice, but I’m very happy I did so.  It did mean I pushed myself pretty hard to get it done in a reasonable time, but I’m happy with the book right now.

The book has been with the editor for a while now, and if all goes according to plan, the book will release on March 25.  It’s not a promise yet, but it is my goal.  I can guarantee, and will promise, that at the very latest, the book will be published by the end of the first week of April, but I’m hoping it’s done sooner.

Moving forward, I’ll try to be in touch more!  Take care, and keep reading!

Ryan

Waterstone Media in 2016

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January has been an excellent month for me, and it’s hard to believe that it has already almost gone.  I’ve been diving deep into The Wind and the Void, and I’m excited to bring this story to its conclusion.
I wanted to both say thanks and to keep you updated on what is happening behind the scenes here at Waterstone Media.  First, I do need to say thanks, to all of you.  Your support and kind words have been welcome, and I’ve enjoyed the emails, tweets, and facebook questions and comments.  It means a lot to me to be able to tell stories for a living, and you make it all possible.
2016 is shaping up to be a pretty big year for me here.  I will definitely be switching over to writing fiction full time, and I’m excited to be able to put more stories out this year.  Here’s the short version:
1.  My first and most important job is to finish The Wind and the Void and get it into your hands.  Right now, it looks as though it will be sometime in the month of March, but I should be able to commit to a firm date within the next 2-3 weeks.
2.  The Audiobooks from the Nightblade series are also in production.  I expect World’s Edge to be released in the first half of February, and The Wind and the Void to be released a month or two after the digital release.  I will let you know when they are finished!
3.  I do plan on seeking a traditional publishing deal this year.  It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m hopeful that someday you’ll be able to see my work on your local bookstore shelves.
4.  Finally, I plan on writing and releasing at least three other stories this year, independently, in addition to wrapping up the Nightblade series.  I’m excited to write in some other worlds, and I hope you all will enjoy the stories!
Take care all, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re interested!
With gratitude,
Ryan

Inspiration

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Not long ago on Twitter, I received an awesome question from a reader who really enjoyed both Nightblade and World’s Edge.  They were asking where the inspiration for the stories came from.  I did my best to answer in 140 characters or less, but felt like it was worth saying a little more.

The first fact to realize is that I’m very much a fan of science fiction and fantasy.  Historically, I’ve actually read much, much more science fiction.  It’s only in the past few years that I’ve really started to dive deeper into fantasy.  Not only do I read a lot, but I’m also interested in movies and television series.  It’s probably safe to say that everything I’ve read and watched has had some effect on my writing.  The strongest influences directly related to Nightblade are probably Lian Hearn and Takashi Matsuoka.  Both are authors that have written stunning books taking place in Japan or a Japan-like culture.  I was probably watching too much Rurouni Kenshin at the time too (I wrote the story several years ago, so it’s hard to remember).

When I first started writing the story, Ryuu was the only Point-of-View character.  I was interested in writing a story about what happens to a person when they discover they have a great power.  I’ve always been fascinated by how people react to being powerful, and I wanted to see how a character would react if they discovered this power at a relatively young age.

From those beginnings a story about the sense was born.  As I was writing Ryuu’s encounters with Moriko the monk and Takako the prostitute, I realized I wanted to know them more, and went back and found their stories as well.

I hope that more thoroughly answers the question.  If there’s anything else you’d like to know, just let me know in the comments below!

With Gratitude,

Ryan

News, News, News!

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Good Day y’all,

I’m sorry that I’ve been so silent lately.  Life here at Waterstone has been crazy busy, and I’m looking forward to a short break here.  That being said, I’ve got a ton of announcements to make.  In the coming days I’ll maybe do a longer post on some of these, but here goes!

  1. World’s Edge is currently out for presale.  It will be on presale until the 20th, when it is actually released.  I’ve been blown away by the response so far, and I hope you all enjoy it!  I should mention that if you want World’s Edge, now is the best time to get it, because it’s on sale.  I will let it stay on sale for a few more days, and then I’ll be bringing it up to its regular price, probably on the 22nd.
  2. My other big news – Nightblade is now an audiobook!  This is something that I’ve been really, really excited by.  It has been narrated and produced by Andrew Tell, who is a wonderful gentleman who did an amazing job bringing the world to life.  I’m incredibly grateful for his work, and I hope that those of you who are fans of audiobooks will enjoy it.
  3. I’m in the process of finishing the paperback version of World’s Edge.  Look for it to be up on Amazon in the next week or two.

Other than that, in a week or so here I will be starting edits on The Wind and the Void, the conclusion to the Nightblade Trilogy.  I expect that the process is going to take me quite a while, but I’m very excited to get to work on it.

Thanks again to everyone for reading, and I hope that November is treating you all well!

Ryan

Reading The Hobbit

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So this morning I finished reading The Hobbit.  It’s not the first time I’ve read it, but it is the first time I’ve read it in many, many years.  I would guess it’s been over a decade since I read it last.  I’ll be honest, I enjoyed it far more than I expected to.  I should also warn y’all-spoilers ahead.

I was surprised because in many ways, The Hobbit doesn’t have the qualities I look for in my favorite books.  It doesn’t have a well-developed antagonist, and although the company goes through an enormous set of trials, it is only at the very end they suffer the consequences of their actions, and even then the consequences are glossed over (with the exception of Thorin, who gets a short death-scene).

Despite this, I found myself in love with the story.  I think what I loved most about the story was the sincerity of it.  It’s a small, heartfelt story, and one that I could see myself reading to my children before bed some time.  Tolkien describes his world with beautiful imagery, and I found myself getting lost in the descriptions of the places, where usually I skim through them to get to the next action or conflict.

I’m curious to see if I like the rest of the series as much.  Like The Hobbit, it’s been over a decade since I’ve read any of them, but I have to imagine the tone is much different.  I’ll let you all know how I feel about it when I finish.  Until then, keep reading!

Ryan