"Lies" Official Release Statement!

The buttons have been pressed. "Approve." "Publish." Here we go. Round three of this incredible adventure is about to begin. Wow. Thank you.
— Oliver Dahl (@OliverWDahl) March 11, 2014

Sometimes I think the 140 character limit on tweets just isn't enough. Yet this tweet really encapsulates my feelings very well. Both books that I've previously published have brought something new and exciting into my life--really changing it for the better.

And I am SO PROUD of this book. At this point, I feel like "Lies" is my "Mona Lisa," my crowning achievement so far. I don't know that I anything else I have ever written can really compare. It's that good. (Or at least, I think so, anyway).

And TODAY, March 11, 2014, I am able to change my life even more by adding a third addition to my published repertoire. (Ooh, I like that word. Repertoire). And to have this addition be a work that I am as proud of as I am is already incredible. "Lies," this beautiful historical fiction novella about the Salem Witch Trials, means a lot to me.

Why March 11th? Well, on this date in 1692, Ann Putnam Jr. first showed symptoms of affliction by witchcraft. (source) Ann is the main character in "Lies," the entire story being told from her point of view. The real plot of the story historically began 322 years ago. 322 years ago today. These kinds of things blow my mind. What I wrote about actually happened. Sure, I bent and twisted things into fiction to fit the story, but the basic events actually happened! I love historical fiction for this reason.

322 years ago. That's strange, isn't it? 1692 seems like it took place longer than 322 years ago. 322 years is only four 80-year-old lifetimes ago. Giles Cory, a victim of the Salem Witch Trials, was over eighty years old when he was pressed to death. If the time span of his life happened just four more times, we'd be here again in 2014.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that history isn't too far away. It's fun and interesting to feel closer to it than we thought we were. "Lies," I would like to hope, is a great way of accomplishing that.

Summary:
Salem Massachusetts, 1692: Tituba curses two young girls, but Ann Putnam Jr. isn't one of them. In order to help save her friends, Ann develops a plan to accuse the remaining supposed witches of Salem. As the death count rises, each lie buries her deeper and deeper under a curse of her own doing. This tragic experience of guilt, abuse, power, and love gives a first-person view into the spine-chilling months where neighbor turned on neighbor at the word of a little girl.

Learn more about "Lies!"
Grab a copy on Amazon!
Find other places to purchase at www.oliverdahl.com/lies

Thank you for being a part of my journey. Hopefully this is just the beginning.
Oliver Dahl

"Lies" Release Date Announced!

March 11, 2014

The above date marks the day in which my 3rd book will be released. "Lies," my first endeavor into historical fiction, is from the perspective of Ann Putnam Jr., during the height of the Salem Witch Trials.

Unquestionably my best writing yet, I am so excited to get this out to you guys. You are going to love it.

You can learn more on my website, at www.oliverdahl.com/lies!

You can also download a two chapter preview absolutely free on NoiseTrade, genuinely one of my favorite websites on the internet. (You can download your preview here). (PDF, ePub, and Kindle format)

 NoiseTrade is a collection of eBooks, audiobooks, and mostly music that the artist encourages you to download for free! Tips given help fund upcoming projects, tours, production costs, and advertising to help get the artists/authors off the ground. There are some phenomenal albums and eBooks to be found there!

You can CLICK HERE to be notified when "Lies" is out, and to see a countdown!

March 11th. Get excited, guys. I sure am!

Oliver Dahl

An Abundance of Things

WOW, a lot has happened since my last post! I feel bad for falling so far behind. I hope you guys will forgive me! I'll just do my best to make up for it with an intense post. How does that sound? And to get you guys excited, there is going to be some REALLY AWESOME NEWS about a certain sale going on at the end of this post. And maybe a funny picture or two for you. Maybe.

First order of business: New author photos! I got a few pictures taken, that now are on the back cover of The Dreamers Second Edition, and The Nightmarers as well. New author photos on ALL the books!

 Next order of business: This little award! The Idaho Book Extravaganza, a program held every year to help educate and support authors, writers, publishers, readers, and books of Idaho, holds an awards ceremony every year. They award people who produce the best books, covers, interior design, and more in Idaho. These award categories are split into subsections for fiction and nonfiction. This year, The Dreamers Second Edition won an "Honorable Mention" for Idaho's TOP 10 FICTION BOOKS!

Many other extremely talented writers and inspiring people were awarded at the event. Lots of hard work went into the event, and it was a great success. Everybody in and out of this picture is fantastic. 

(And I'm not excluding you, dear reader).

Can you find me in the picture? Where's Waldo Oliver? :)

Earlier, I had the opportunity to speak at my local library for a few minutes on self-publishing, and how I published my books. It was pretty fun, and also inspiring to see young kids interested in how to accomplish something. (Back in June, I taught a week-long publishing course at CSU to kids of the same age group for the second time, which was also a LOT of fun!)

And on to more recent news, (as in, earlier TODAY news...)

I finished NaNoWriMo! 50,000 words in the month of November. This is my second consecutive win, third win overall, and fourth year participating! More information on the book I wrote for NaNo (and am continuing to write!) can be found here.

The moral of this post:

BONUS CONTENT: ("But wait, there's more!)

Do you know what this is? This is the schedule for my Kindle Countdown Deal! (Cyber Monday, Holla!) Next to the date, it has the price that the book will be on that date. This means that on December Second, you can get The Dreamers for just 99 CENTS! Each following day will add a dollar to the price until it's back to its normal price. (So hurry, before the price goes up!) Here's where the SPECIAL part comes in! The Nightmarers will have the same deal going on at the same time. So you could pick up the entire series so far for less than the price of ONE of them normally!

Just like last time, with great power savings, comes great responsibility. Well, not really. But it sure would be nice if you could leave a nice review of both books on Amazon, and share the deal with your friends! This helps lead to more sales later down the road, so I can afford to keep writing and entertaining and stuff. I don't want a deskjob. Or a job at McDonalds. Or Burger King. (Though Wendy's wouldn't be that bad, would it?) This promo helps you get a great deal, and if you help me out a little in return, helps me out a LOT!

Thanks, you guys are awesome! Stay sweet!

Dream on!

Oliver Dahl

&

Sam Kullen

Online Writing Extravaganza!

All of you awesome, amazing people are in for an equally awesome and amazing surprise. Well, I guess it isn't as much of a surprise as I had hoped, since, y'know... the title.

Regardless, the "surprise" remains awesome. For the next two or three weeks, I have had six incredible other teen(ish) writers from the Facebook page, Go Teen Writers volunteer to write guest posts to you guys about different aspects of the writing process. From characters to editing groups and settings to plot, we're going to have an awesome next couple weeks. These posts can help you out with Camp NaNoWriMo, if you're participating in that, or just your writing in general.

Look for the following posts soon, or subscribe to my blog to be notified when they're up! (The subject of the post is a link to their post, their name links to their various respective websites/blogs)

Zara Hoffman - Inspiration

Kara Harris - Motivation

Adriana Lister - Plotting vs. Pantsing

Caitria Karis Cymbaluk - Setting

Elle Loughran - Characters

Carilyn Anne - Community Critiques

Oksana Carlier - Suspense
Jo M Coleman - Villains

I like how somehow Oksana, writing about suspense, ended up being last. I guess we'll all have to experience some suspense for ourselves waiting for her post to be up!

Anyway, I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that we have quite the line up. I hope you are all as excited for these as I am! It's gonna be great!

Meanwhile, I have traded guest posts with these awesome people. I'm posting on their blogs as they post on mine. Here's a link to all of my posts on their blogs. Be sure to check them out, learn a thing or two, (or three or four...) and get these people some blog traffic. They all deserve it.
 

Blog Posts I Wrote in Return: 

(Be sure to check them out and give these fabulous blogs some comments!)

 Self-Publishing Difficulties

The Short Story Revolution
From Reading to Writing
How I Started Writing

Dream on!
Oliver Dahl

The Nightmarers Preview 3

Well, it's that time of the month again! Today, I present not only Chapter 3 of The Nightmarers, but also exciting news as to its release!

The Nightmarers will be live and published on... [drumroll!] February 12th! The news is out, the word is final! Look for it on that day on Amazon, or request it from your local bookstore!

Now that we have our exciting news behind (or rather, ahead) of us, I present to you... Chapter 3 of The Nightmarers!

If you missed the previous excerpts, they can be found at the links below:

The Nightmarers Preview 1

The Nightmarers Preview 2

Enjoy, and happy reading!

* * *

In the blazing cold where the Ice Caves used to be, I had but one thought. Where were they? I had no idea, but they were beginners and I decided that was a good enough excuse.

Then again, checking my watch, I saw it was still quarter 'til. These kids still had a few minutes.

With a start, I realized I didn't even know their names—or... anything about them! I made a mental note to find out.

I shivered. I showed up nearly half an hour early, so... where were they? I tapped my feet on the ice, trying to keep them from freezing.

Finally, there was a blur in the air, and two figures appeared. One was wearing a large T-shirt and sweatpants, while the other, slightly shorter, was wearing pink fleece pants, and a large T-shirt as well.

By the time they finally came up, it was nearly ten after the hour! I couldn't help but give a slight complaint.

“What took you so long?” I chided.

The boy answered, “What? I didn't think this would work!” The girl was pale-faced.

“Kris... where are we?” she murmured. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and worried eyes. I guessed she was about thirteen.

“I don't have a clue, Andromeda” The boy, Kris, replied. He also was around thirteen and had brown hair spiked up above his forehead.

“Why were you late?” I asked again.

The two (siblings? twins? friends?) just now seemed to notice me.

“What?” they asked in unison.

“Why were you late?” I repeated, much slower than necessary.

Andromeda glanced side-length at Kris. Kris nodded slightly.

“Sorry... we have... sleep issues.”

“Sleep issues?” I asked, incredulously

They looked at me like I was some martian.

I guess I was to them. I realized I was being kind of rude.

“Look, sorry.” I apologized. “I just wanted to know why you were late meeting me here.”

“That's okay,” Kris said, shrugging it off. “We told you—we have sleep disorders. We're twins, and we were born with narcolepsy. Both of us took longer naps than usual in the day, and so we couldn't fall asleep sooner.”

I was shocked. I couldn't think. Well, I could, but the only thing that echoed in my brain was, How ironic! The first Dreamers I get have sleeping issues! This was perfect. Just perfect.

“How bad is it?” I asked, numb.

“Not bad,” Andromeda assured. “We just have to take naps in the day, and then we're fine.” Kris nodded.

“Okay.... Never mind that. I've got a lot to tell you.”

* * *

Catch your interest? Buy The Nightmarers now on Amazon.com!

What do you think of this twist in events? Let me know in the comments below, and tell me what you're looking forward to most in The Nightmarers!

Dream on!

Sam Kullen & Oliver Dahl

Let's Turn it Up!

I'm a fan of good music. Aren't we all? Some may argue over the definition of what exactly that means, but to me, lots of genres come across as "good music." I've been kind of a stiff blogger, and I think it'd be fun to let you guys get to know me a little better; and I you through our musical interests.

And then I'll tell you some exciting news concerning music, and give you an artist recommendation. Sound good?

All right then, let's get started, shall we?

I'll start off. I like music with gentle energy, that gets you moving, and tapping your feet along. The catchier, the better. (In most cases, definitely not all. *ahem, Gangnam Style, ahem*) my favorite genres span Alternative Rock, gentle electric, and, if I were to be honest, Dubstep is beginning to grow on me. Some of my favorite artists include Maroon 5 and Owl City, (who I'm going to see in concert this March in Seattle with Neon Trees!) along with Mat Kearney, Train, The Fray, OneRepublic, Imagine Dragons, All Time Low, Switchfoot, Keane, Two Steps From Hell, The Piano Guys, and countless others that I couldn't fit in this already lengthy list.

Tell me about the music YOU like! What gets you in a writing mood? Or an exercising mood? What do you like to listen to? Tell me in the comments below! I'd love to compare interests with you guys. (Just please keep it civil). ;)

A site recommendation for ALL music listeners - www.NoiseTrade.com. There, you can (legally!) download free albums as promoted by the artist. There are a lot of fabulous Indie albums that match the quality (and even succeed that of) many chart-topping albums, in my opinion. Check this place out no matter what your preferences are--there's something and more for everybody.

Now for my "exciting news!" I recently contacted some musical artists that call themselves "White Wall." I asked them if I could use one of their (AMAZING) songs in a future book trailer. (For my upcoming Salem Witch Trials novella, Lies) They agreed to let me use it, and I am very grateful for their willingness and support. I have included some information about them further down, and I really hope you guys will check them out, give them support, and enjoy them as much as I do.

White Wall writes really beautiful music, and the best I could compare them to is Two Steps From Hell. They write instrumental epic pieces as movie/video game (trailer) music. To those who enjoy The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, or other fabulous movie soundtracks, you are sure to love White Wall. I enjoy listening to their type of music when I write, as it helps me see what I want to write as a movie, and helps put me in the mood of the story. Below is the piece of music that White Wall has so kindly allowed me to use.



More about White Wall:Their album can be downloaded as a pay-what-you-want on Band Camp here. (It's pretty awesome!)

Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter, and to visit their website here.

Look for The Nightmarers Preview 3 Next week! But meanwhile... Enjoy, and happy listening!

Dream on!
Sam Kullen & Oliver Dahl

Holiday!

Hello, Dreamers of the world!

I apologize for not posting in a while, and not even posting consistently & regularyly. Now, for the holiday season, (already, can you believe it!?!) I will post once every two weeks. Every other week. And... hopefully consistently afterward at the beginning of the respective week. I look forward to hearing from you, and hopefully, you, I.

In addition to the holiday season, it is NaNoWriMo again! For those who don't know... NaNoWriMo is the program in which I wrote The Dreamers... a program that challenges writers all over the nation and world to write a novel... in a month! This proved to be a LOT of fun last year, (Trust me, you have to have quite a bit of insanity in you for it to be fun... let alone to participate!) So... I am doing it again this year. My word count goal is quite a bit higher than last year, and I am giving myself more of a challenge. This Wednesday, November 16th, I will be signing books for a NaNoWriMo Midway Day party to help celebrate being halfway done with NaNoWriMo. (Though in my case, NOT my book! I still have a few tens of thousands of words to go...) This year, I am writing a book entitled, Beneathe. Yes. It is spelled funny on purpose. : )

This book takes place underneath the city of Paris, France. Under the Eiffel Tower, the sewers, the trains, the catacombs... there is an unknown world inhabited by strange creatures, in strange lands. Ian Grant gets thrown into this setting by a cereal box. He won a trip to Paris sponsored by the cereal box company, and soon finds himself deeper than anyone before into the mystery, danger, and horror of this world. He is enslaved, freed, challenged, and sent on quest after quest to save this world... and his life.

I am very exited about this book. (Thank you SO MUCH to Evan Lenn, who gave the original idea for this story to me. I hope to use it well!) This will definitely take a lot longer than a month to write. Maybe the first draft... but the final draft will take several months, if not years. There is so much that can happen in this book... It could be hundreds of pages long! (Over 500, at least!)

Thanks for reading! I hope you will look forward to future posts as much as I do!
Dream on!
Sam Kullen
&
Oliver Dahl

Blog Update

Hello everyone, just posting to let you know that The Dreamers Adventures has been updated. Several new pages have been added, including "Videos", "Events", "What People Think!", "Upcoming Projects", "Where Else?", and "Publishing." I will go through each of them to briefly describe what is contained in them.

Videos- This is where book trailers, author readings, and other promotional videos can be found for your enjoyment and entertainment.

Events-Want to meet the author? Do you want your copy of The Dreamers signed or personalized? This is the place to go.

What People Think- This is the place for reader feedback. Have something you want to say about The Dreamers? email it to oliverdbooks@hotmail.com, or leave it as a comment under a post, and you might see it here!

Upcoming Projects- The Dreamers isn't my only book (or series!) I have many more books planned and in the process! Want to learn more? This is the page for you.

Where Else?- This is a hub to all of my social networking places, as well as links to pages about me, and where you can get the book.

Publishing- Are you a young writer trying to get published? Are you tired of "writing" tips, when you are done writing your first book? This is where you need to go.


I hope that these pages add to The Dreamers Adventures, and that you will enjoy them. If you have any questions concerning these, leave a comment below.

Dream on!
Sam Kullen
&
Oliver Dahl

Sneak Peek on The Nightmarers!

Today I finished writing The Nightmarers. Editing will take a while for sure, but for now... the writing process is complete! Since the story line may change, I won't go into any detail about it's story line, but I will tell you the basic idea. Sam rebuilds the Dreamers, and soon they have replenished the missing numbers. Soon, however, they discover another world... another Dream Realm. While exploring, Sam discovers that The Dreamers aren't alone... that there is another group like them. And the Dreamers they thought were lost in the battle with Malfix aren't as lost as they had once thought....

I am really excited about The Nightmarers, and I hope that you are, too! As a teaser, I just bought the cover image today. (It's pretty awesome if you ask me!)

What do you think? It looks pretty cool! I'm pretty excited for this to come out. I hope you guys are too!
Also, The Nightmarers trailer is complete. Enjoy this as well!





Dream On!
Oliver Dahl



Within a month!

You read the title--In 1 month The Dreamers should be out. Of course, I can't know that for sure, but that's the goal, and right now that seems extremely plausible! It's pretty mind-boggling, thinking that a month from now (hopefully less than that!) Anybody in the entire world will be able to read what I have written by buying my book on Amazon.com. Being an author has got to be one of the most rewarding jobs out there!

Okay everyone--the countdown is on!

Dream on!
Sam Kullen/
Oliver Dahl

Author Reading

Hey, I'm Oliver, the REAL author of The Dreamers. I'm intruding. Sorry for the interjection, Sam.  :)

Anyway, at my school today, I was chosen to read an excerpt of The Dreamers in front of my school. I read the introduction, which explains what the Dreamers are and how the group formed. The video's shown below. Check it out.



Congratulations! You've officially seen an author reading! What do you think? I LOVE to have feedback, especially from my readers. And now that you've seen this... you are one!

For you who are curious about the REAL author of The Dreamers, this is for you. I am thirteen years old, and am going into the eighth grade this school year. I live in Idaho and am the oldest of five children. I am a rewarded musician, engineer, and, of course, writer. I wrote this book for NaNoWriMo. What's this? Check it out! Google it. I self-published it after a LOT of editing, re-writing, and revising. The rest is history.

Today I hope to become an accomplished author through writing. I have many, MANY, ideas for future books, and feel as if The Dreamers is only the top of the iceberg, as they say.

Again, The Dreamers comes out this Summer, and I am looking forward to having it out. I hope you're as excited as I am to have it! Thanks SO much!

Dream on!

Oliver Dahl

The Dreamers Out Soon

With more and more of my time spent in the Dream Realm, the publication of The Dreamers has been delayed. I had been expecting for it to have been out last month, but it may not be out until this summer or later.

Sorry for the delay,
Sam Kullen
(And Dream On!)