Alyth is out!

Alyth is out on Amazon Kindle and on Barnes and Noble Nook.  Sorry about the rest of the e-book platforms. I’m just doing the big three this time around. Let’s be honest, the vast majority of you are Kindle readers, aren’t you? Go ahead, just admit it.

For those looking for the hardback, it will be in about 3-4 weeks, give or take. I don’t have a firm date, it’s in the cogs of printing, distributing, contract approvals etc.. I figured I could’ve held back the e-book until print was ready, or just release it now and let the print catch up. I opted to just release it. I don’t know if Barnes and Noble will be stocking it on shelves this time, same thing goes for Costco and the other small retailers. However, if you’re just terrified of this new-fangled contraption called the internet, and, as a recovering IT security analyst, I feel your paranoia. My mouse is wrapped in tinfoil as we speak. I prefer my personal information be stolen the old fashion way. Any bookstore should be able to order it for you.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Jared%20Southwick

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Jared-Southwick?keyword=Jared+Southwick&store=allproducts

Enjoy!

Jared

Odds and Ends

Just wanted to give a quick update. You can follow my blog tour here. It's pretty much just reviews about Marysvale. As you can tell, I don't update my blog often. I'm a little better with facebook. Don't even ask me about twitter. I think you all know how I feel about that. It's nothing against twitter. It's just I'm not going to post the same things in three different spots.

Okay, back on topic. Alyth is done, except editing, but the cover is finished. You can see it on the facebook link above. So when will it be released? Well, I'm hoping to have it out by October. I think that would be fun since it takes place in that time frame and there is some All Hallow's Eve stuff worked in. However, it could be as late as November. There's a lot of stuff that has to happen between now and then. If you want to be notified when I know something more solid, you can friend the Marysvale site on facebook, or sign up for an email alert on my website www.jaredsouthwick.com

I've been going to some amazing book clubs. There has been great insight from you all about Marysvale. There have been some things and meanings pointed out to me that I hadn't thought about, or noticed. Of course, I simply nod and say, "Oh yeah. I totally meant to do it that way." They are a lot of fun and I really enjoy meeting you all.

Lastly, I want to thank all of you for spreading the word. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it and how much it means to me. So, Thank You!!

April schedule

Marysvale is now available in Barnes & Noble, and Costco. Visit www.jaredsouthwick.com for my signing schedule.

Update

Sorry about the lack of posts. I have a few reasons for not posting much. For one, I'm not a huge social net worker. I have this blog where I occasionally post stuff, and a face book account where I occasionally post stuff too. It's not that I have anything against it, it's just not me. I've tried, but I guess the fire never caught on. I mostly do it to let you know that I am still alive and kicking. And let's face it. My life is pretty much like the movie Groundhog. Wake up to the same music, do the same things day after day. There really isn't a lot of excitement. Unless you count those trips to Cafe Rio, which I do! The other reason I don't do a lot of posts is because of time. Would you rather have me spend time on posts, or writing? I'm opting for writing. I hoped to have Alyth finished by last December, but there have been some serious personal family issues I've had to deal with over the last three to four months. Between that and working, they have literally taken all my free time, and I'm not just exaggerating. So my December goal faded to the end of January, and now the end of February. I think I'm in the storm before the calm. On a good note, Alyth is getting close to completion. It better be, I'm running out of time. It's so close I can taste it. I'm itching to get the story out. Keep your fingers cross, maybe I can finish it in the next week...Yeah right. Better give me two weeks...Okay, three tops.

Just thinking.

Just digging through some old files and I came across another book that I'd started after I'd finished Marysvale. When B'lue, and a few others found out that I'd stopped writing Alyth in favor of something else, I had a mini riot on my hands. In my defense, I didn't think anything would happen with Marysvale. I didn't even know if Marysvale was good. I believed it was, but I didn't know for sure. I mean, everyone thinks their kids, and books, are the cutest. Anyway, It got me thinking, which I know can be dangerous, but I'm not ready to give up on it just yet. I enjoy it, especially without distractions, and especially in Moab in the winter. I know what your thinking. "Does everything break down to Moab?" Why yes, yes it does. Although, I'd accept a few other southern Utah destinations in place of Moab, but I digress. So, what was I thinking about? Well, I'm not sure what to make of this whole writing experience. It definitely is a stretch outside my comfort zone, which is good. I suppose it's like anything when you're trying something new, it has its ups and downs. I don't know where this writing thing will take me. I've committed to finishing up the Marysvale series, but after that I'm not sure what I'll do. There are days where I long for the simplicity of the way things use to be, meaning I actually have free time, but I also love creating, getting positive feedback, and meeting people who enjoy the story. I think I'll continue writing, at least for fun, perhaps I'll share them when I'm done. I have three more stories building in my head and I have to keep shoving them out of the way so I can finish Alyth. Quite frankly, I'm okay with whatever God has in mind for me...or at least that's the way I feel today.

Just Writing

I'm home writing Alyth and looking out the window upon a very dismal day. I miss Moab. It's usually sunny and dismal free, even if it is cold. The camera at Red Cliffs Lodge is showing gorgeous red rock just begging to be hiked or ridden all over, and they sky is sooo blue. The sun is just setting, bringing to life that deep red color. I love it. Okay, this isn't what I really wanted to talk about. So, back on topic. I'm well over half way done, in fact I only have about a third left of Alyth to finish. What I find interesting, is that I've written two thirds of the story, but I'm at a point where I though it would only take a few chapters to get to. I'm on Chapter 19 if you counting...assuming the chapters stay intact at their current breaks. So does that mean that I'm not really two thirds done? Is it going to be longer than Marysvale? I was thinking it was going to be a few thousand words shorter, but now I'm not sure. And last time I added in all the change requests to the Marysvale manuscript, I added nearly 10,000 words! In case you're wondering, the average length of a novel is roughly between 80,000-120,000 words. This is generally speaking. It varies depending on who you are and what category you write in. Marysvale clocked in at 101K words after editing.

How many books?

So, how many books are going to be in the Marysvale series? Well, I don’t know exactly. When the concept of Marysvale came to me, I always thought that I would just write the story. If it took one book, then that would be it, if it took four, then it would be four books. I’ve always had it in my mind that I wouldn’t try to drag things out in the interest of just creating another book to sell. I also wanted to make sure that things clip along and that the books don’t get muddled down in boring things that don’t advance the plot. At least that’s my goal and I think I kept true to those goals in Marysvale. I was concerned about the parts when John was in the forest both on his way to Sarah’s, and to Marysvale. I didn’t want it to feel like the never ending journey. So far, Marysvale feels like it’s going to take three books to tell the story. Why yes, I do know how it ends, and the major plot points in between. And no, I won’t tell you.