Welcome to my blog...

Here's where you will find the latest on what's going on with my books and the movie. It's also a great place to ask questions, where I recommend other books, and post different things bouncing around in my head. Look me up on Facebook and if you want to buy, signed, discounted, copies of my books, head over to http://www.ryannwattersbooks.com/.







Thursday, January 22, 2009

Clacking Away on my Keyboard


DRAGONS

Clackity Clack Clack... goes my keyboard as I go back and continue revisions on book 2. I was a tad premature on turning in my manuscript (see previous blog entry). With the friends I have made in the Christian Fantasy genre, I was honored to have Donita K Paul, offer her assistance in "polishing" my latest work. So now, we are going back and forth daily on two chapters of my book and all I can say is that it is a fantastic blessing.


Donita is awesome and I get a kick out of the comments she makes in regards to my story as well as the suggestions. This will not delay the printing process, but I guarantee that it will make book 2 a more enjoyable read!


Off to the right we have my version of "Sorcha." One of the key characters in book 2. As you can see from my screen saver above that, I really like White Dragons! I have several other characters from my book in plastic figurines, which I custom paint for realism and motivation.


Here is a close up...

If you want to see more, let me know and I'll put a few up of Ryann, riding the Pegasus, Adain, also in book 2 and the main character, Carwyn, who is a white unicorn.

Thanks,
Eric

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Whoopee! Shield of Faith Manuscript Submitted

Today is a cause for celebration!




I have officially submitted the manuscript for book 2 in the Annals of Aeliana series - Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith. It ended up being 95,250 words and 400 pages versus 55,000 and 224 pages for book 1. It will be in the editors hands for a few weeks and then back to me for revisions. In the meantime, they will be working on layout for the cover and interior pics etc.

I will try and post some of the art work to give you a taste of what's to come! It is very exciting. I have mentioned that I have a new interior artist, Jared Sloger, and he is doing an amazing job. Corey Wolfe is still the cover artist and updated the Aeliana map, inside, to expand to 2 pages instead of 1.


For now I will leave you with a still to be revised front cover for book 2 and the back cover. I'd appreciate any comments you have. Some of the issues still under consideration are whether to put "Book 2 in the Annals of Aeliana Series" line on the front or along the spine. What do you think? Also, the moon will be removed from the backcover (in case you're looking at the details) and there will be two moons on the front. If you've read book one, you know what that's all about.


I had a totally different idea for book 2's cover, but when I was visiting the Northwest this past summer with my family, we visited Corey Wolfe in Portland, OR. It was then that I say down and brainstormed with Corey. He listened to my idea for the cover and then asked me if there was another scene in the story in which a lot of characters are involved.

He sketched out the idea for this scene as we talked. Ryann is on the Pegasus, Adain, and Liddy and Terell are on the White Dragon, Sorcha, escaping from the Black Unicorn, Narcissus. There are thousands of bats chasing them, but also hundreds of Hugons on the ground. Hugons are part of the bad army of Narcissus and are "half Human and half Dragon." I know, such a clever name! I also had a chance to work in "the Shield of Faith," with Ryann carrying it. The White Unicorn, Carwyn, is the hero of the story.

Thanks again for your feedback. I can't wait to share the story with you. Look for it on my website http://www.ryannwatters.com/ in pre-release in April and on Amazon and stores in May 2009.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Eric Reinhold meets President Bush!


Well... sort of. The above photo was taken at "The Gathering 2009" in Orlando last night. It is an annual event specifically designed for those who manage church bookstores. It lasts for 4 days, but for Wednesday night they invited around 30 authors from numerous publishers to attend, be a guest at a table of attendees, give a 30 sec. talk on our book and then go to the convention hall to sign books and interact with the rest of the attendees.

The Presidential Impersonator above is John Morgan, who resides here in Orlando. John was at a Dreambuilders meeting I went to one morning here in town when I gave away a copy of my book to the 35 men in attendance. Apparently that made an impression on him that a financial adviser could become an author and he decided he would write a book. He's a very funny guy and does stand up as "W" at corporate events and other functions. A strong Christian, his book is published through the same publisher as mine (Creation House) and is titled: "My Life as a Bush... and my heart for imitating Jesus."





It was a fun morning, today, as I met with one of my favorite clients, Hall of Famer NFL Cornerback, Darrell Green, formerly of the Washington Redskins. He's down here in Orlando to help train college players preparing for College All Star Games and the NFL combines.

A great Christian man who is also quite savy as a business owner. You can check out more about Darrell at www.darrellgreen.com.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Yeah! I've finished Book 2!!!


Wow! I can't believe that I've finished the draft of Book 2, "Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith!"

For me this was a big feat. Book 1 was seven years in the making. Granted I only wrote for around 1-1/2 years of the seven, but none the less, there were revisions and a lot that went into it. Book 2 was outlined over the first 3 months of 2008, then between work, vacations, the Fantasy Fiction Tour, more work, and family commitments, I wrote Book 2 (which is almost twice as long as book 1) in the remaining 9 months of the year.

Yes, this is a picture of me in "my dungeon," as my wife Kim refers to it. Details include my sword, in the background from the Fantasy Fiction Tour (courtesy of Real Armor of God - www.realarmorofgod.com) and the shield I purchased from them. The shield is awesome, in that it has a white unicorn on the front, who is the main character in book 2. The shield also shows up on the front cover. Next, you may notice 3 figures on my printer. Yes, they are Ryann riding a Pegasus - Adain, a White Dragon - Sorcha, and the White Unicorn - Carwyn... I'll take a few close ups for another blog.

Corey Wolfe, my cover artist, finished the map for book two, which is an expanded map from the first book. I love the way he drew, "The Island of Skulls." He did an awesome job on the cover for book 2 and I'll get it posted soon.

I also have an artist making his debut by drawing the chapter pictures for book 2. God has gifted this young man with amazing talent and I want to save a special blog posting just for him to introduce a few of the interior pictures. I know you're going to love them. They really help the story come alive for the reader.

Right now I am going through my own editing and should have that completed by next week to forward to the publisher's editor. Everything is on track for a store release date of May 5, 2009, but I'll have some pre-release copies available on my website and special book signings in April. I am also looking forward to getting feedback from a few of the authors from the Fantasy Fiction Tour (www.fantasyfictiontour.com) including; Donita K. Paul, Wayne Thomas Batson, and L B. Graham... thanks guys for whatever insights you can provide! My daughter Kara (13) has been very diligent to provide me her comments along the way, from the eyes of a young teen. EJR

High School student, Jason Derfuss films a summary video of book 1