"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

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

The Dreamers Series

The Dreamers by Oliver Dahl

About The Dreamers: Sam Kullen is a Dreamer. Every night he dreams, and he lives in each one. Together, the Dreamers must stop Malfix from taking over the Dream Realm, and earth itself. The Dreamers also have the ability to control events on earth through their dreams. Sam and the Dreamers must prevent Malfix from controlling things... for the worse.

Praise for The Dreamers: 

"...an adventure with colourful landscapes and fantastic feats of manipulation of dream-stuff that rivals the magic in tales of wizardry that are the manna of the Fantasy reader...."

"...You won't be disappointed!"

"Holds...well against many books written by much older authors... Never a dull moment...amusing and undeniably creative..."

The Dreamers has won the author several awards, including Top 50 ID Author 2011 (as chosen by Friesens) and Idaho Student of the Year (selected by Idaho PTA). At times, it has remained in the top 3-5% of all books and Kindle books on Amazon.com, and even outsold other popular, traditionally published authors at these times. Several famous authors own autographed copies of The Dreamers, including Brandon Mull, Richard Paul Evans, and Obert Skye, to name a few.

Need something else? You can read the introduction to The Dreamers for free!

The Dreamers can be purchased in most online bookstores, as well as a few brick-and-mortar (physical) stores. It can be requested to be added to inventory at any Barnes & Noble in America. As for online stores, The Dreamers is available in the following places:

• Amazon Paperback
• Amazon Kindle
• Barnes & Noble Nook
• Sony Reader
• Apple iBooks
• Kobo Reader

About The Nightmarers: After losing all of its members in the war with Malfix, Sam Kullen has to rebuild his team of Dreamers in time to face the ultimate nightmare. After being wrongly accused, Sam and The Dreamers must come together to prove their innocence, rescue those imprisoned after the war, and unveil the true culprit. Once again they must save the day, all the while trying to maintain their underground status; not only in our world, but in other realms as well.

* * *

What people are saying about The Nightmarers: 

"It felt new and fresh but in a familiar context - a rarity for a second book in a series. Plenty of action and good versus evil"

You can read through chapter 4 of The Nightmarers without even leaving my blog!


The Nightmarers:

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4

You can also read through Chapter 8 in the Kindle preview on Amazon.com.

The Nightmarers is also available in many places online. Below are just a few of the most popular places/formats to get it!

• Amazon Paperback
• Amazon Kindle
• Barnes & Noble Nook (coming soon)
• Sony Reader (coming soon)
• Apple iBooks (coming soon)

If you have read and/or purchased The Nightmarers or The Dreamers, I'd like to thank you right now for doing so. It's because of people like you that independently and self-published authors can be successful. Your help and support means a lot. Thank you.

Follow @OliverWDahl on Twitter.

Like The Dreamers on Facebook!  

And forget about Google+, because screw them.
But, if you really want to...


Dream on!
Oliver Dahl
&
Sam Kullen

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

"LIES" Completion, Covers, and Thankfulness!

Hello, Dreamers! It's Thanksgiving Break, and that means I'm working on The Nightmarers for you guys, and then finishing up a few other stories I can't wait to publish! This includes Lies, my historical fiction novella about the Salem Witch Trials.

I finished writing it yesterday evening, weighing in at an impressive 25,000 words long! (Or over 100 print pages). Since I have written it for NaNoWriMo, that number was written entirely in 15 days--half of the month of November! Looking back, I am shocked that I was able to write so much! Proud, for sure, but surprised I was able to!

I can't wait to get it edited and out to you guys, (after The Nightmarers, of course!) I don't know if I have ever been so excited and firm about the storyline before... Everything seems to click with me in the story, and so I just can't wait for you guys to be able to feel that excitement about it, too!

In the meantime, I have created a few basic cover designs for this book. None of them are final, and all are certainly open to criticism and advice.

If you guys would tell me which of them you like the best, that would be awesome! Any additional info abut why, of other advice would be great too, but isn't required. :)

 

Thanks for your support guys, I'm very thankful for it! Speaking of thankfulness... It's Thanksgiving Break here in Idaho, so... What are YOU thankful for?1, 2, 3 or 4? Any advice? Criticisms?

Leave your favorite cover's number, and/or what your thankful for in the comments below! I would love to hear what you guys have to say!

 

Oliver Dahl

 

1 Year Anniversary of The Dreamers!

It's hard to believe. One year ago, today, August 9th, The Dreamers: A Story of Sam Kullen launched into publication. It's been held on bookstores' shelves (online and off) for an entire year. And what a year it has been!

As the author, I have earned several awards from The Dreamers, including Top 50 Idaho Author, and Idaho Student of the Year, to name a few.

To this day, The Dreamers has maintained ONLY 5-star reviews on Amazon.com, and continues to get very positive reviews at places like Goodreads, and others.

TheDreamersAdventures has gained nearly 7,000 views since The Dreamers' publication, and the stats continue to steadily grow. Sam's blog has also had views from nearly 30 countries worldwide.

I've had book signings all over, as well, from Idaho to Colorado, signing books to people of all ages.

This last July, I taught two week-long writing and publishing classes on a college campus. See my post, CSU Writing Project for more information about this.

With over 11 HUNDRED twitter followers, nearly 100 Facebook Likes, and guest posts, interviews, and spotlights all over the Internet, The Dreamers is becoming more and more "famous" online! :)

With The Nightmarers' release looming ahead, this audience is sure to get bigger, and the series itself more popular. I am very excited to be able to say that I published the greater part of a series before finishing my first year of high school.

As I build my audience and platform, I plan to submit some of my other ideas to "mainstream" publishers, and lead myself to my ultimate goal, New York Times Bestseller.

As future years come and pass, I know that I will be getting closer and closer to that goal. I thank you so much for reading this post, The Dreamers, other bits and bobs about me online, or all three. Thank you for helping me achieve my goal, and getting closer and closer to living MY dream.


Thank you for the great year, and for many more to come!

Dream on!
Oliver Dahl
&
Sam Kullen

P.S. As a technical difficulty, my past post, "News and the New Look" has been deleted, along with its comments. Don't ask me why, it just happened. I am angry and sad about it too. It truly was a great post. It will be missed. Sorry, everyone.

Almost out!!!!!!!!

Yes, that is a lot of exclamation points, but it's worth it! The Dreamers is almost out! I just submitted the files for review only hours ago!

Just have to receive an e-mail back, click a few buttons, and it's out! I'll post again as soon as it is with some pictures, videos (maybe), and some other stuff for you guys. It's gonna be AWESOME!

The countdown is on guys!
Dream on!
Sam Kullen