"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

 

NaNoWriMo and More 2012!

Wow! It's that time of year already! November! And with it, the holidays, and NaNoWriMo! I'll spare you an immediate explanation in this post, but if you want to learn more about what the heck NaNoWriMo is all about, check this out!

This November is a special time for me, because it marks two years since the initial writing process of The Dreamers. It is crazy to think that two years ago I sat down at my computer, locked myself in my room, and cranked out a novel in just a month! Something I failed to do the next year.

This NaNoWriMo also marks my 3rd year participating! I didn't learn my lesson the first time, I guess. Last year I wrote part of an unsuccessful draft to a book that takes place in modern days underneath the catacombs in Paris, France. I haven't done much ith that story since, but I am still really eager to really start on it and finish it up. I think it will show the best of my writing yet, and be an epic story, while being massively entertaining at the same time. I am just really excited in general to get that out to you guys.

Of course, there's also the series I began working on in 4th or 5th grade. I have done even less with this story, but I still love everything about it, despite it's 6th grade writing style. Due to its massive size, weighing in at over 100,000 words, or 550 pages, I am somewhat afraid of returning to it. All in due time, I suppose.

Though these stories are temporarily postponed and in the past, I have been working on getting The Nightmarers out to you guys. I am so close to finishing, I can see the end result! I am so excited for you guys to read it!

However, for NaNoWriMo, I am putting other writing aside to begin something else. (I will still try my best to get further editing complete, however. Don't you worry about that!) I am hoping to complete writing the first draft during NaNoWriMo, and then work on polishing it up in my spare time. Are you ready??

Lies - an in-depth novella immersing the reader into a world of witchcraft and trials, truth and lies, spectral horrors and shocking truths about Salem during the 1690's.

What do you think? I'm equally excited about writing this one, and seeing as I'm planning to make it shorter, I think it will be easier to control and edit, and will make a nice $.99 read on your kindle.

Off to other news, I am planning a very exciting progressive release party for The Nightmarers... Right here on TheDreamersAdventures! Every week or so, I will release a chapter excerpt from The Nightmares until its release, counting down the weeks with exciting new content until The Nightmarers becomes internationally available!

Before I end, I would like to thank Helena Martin for taking this picture of The Dreamers at a large bookstore here in Idaho (and a few surrounding states). It's always exciting to realize that your book is selling in a place you weren't aware.

 

I look forward to sharing my future writing with you!

Dream on!

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.

Giveaway

Hey, everyone! I think it's about time I do a giveaway! What do you think? For those fans with eReaders--Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Sony, etc.--who would like a copy for their device, now is their chance to get one FREE! Not only that, but when you order now, we'll double your offer! ...Okay. That's not entirely true. I'm getting sales pitch-y. Sorry.  : )

Anway... The winner receives a FREE eBook edition of The Dreamers which ALSO will happen to be signed TO the winner in the eBook. They will receive an autographed eBook, just like a print reader would get their copy signed physically. How does this work? Click here to learn how!

The giveaway will last until July 31, and will start at the end of June. To get your name entered multiple times, you can follow the instructions in the giveaway. Best of luck to everyone!  : )

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CSU Writing Project

This week, I was able to teach two separate, weeklong classes at CSU (Colorado State University) to students interested in writing. I was able to work with some great people, and inspire a lot of amazing young writers. I was flown out to Denver and taught two different age groups.

Students going into 4th and 5th grade were taught the writing process, as well as writing tips. They interviewed their characters, learned some pointers on how to brainstorm and prewrite, and got a taste of how to get published. They had fun learning about how to make their writing shine.

Students going into Middle School, (6-8th grades) were taught a weeklong, in depth discussion on how to get published. They were educated on how to prepare their work, publish it, and then promote it. (The Three P's). Lots of questions were answered, and information learned. These kids now have the knowledge they need to get published.

 I love helping and inspiring anyone, but especially fellow students. One of my favorite parts about my week stay in Colorado was hearing from two kids that I helped inspire them to co-write a book together and get it published! Hearing that you inspired someone, from the person you inspired, to do something as great as publishing a book is truly amazing! Since they both will probably end up reading this, I wish them the best of luck!

To any other young writer who didn't attend, or needs to hear the advice I shared again, I departed with some "words of wisdom" during the concluding day. This is worth repeating. Don't give up. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't. You CAN! You can always write! You can always publish! Nowadays, publishing is even easier than ever with the introduction and success of self-publishing. Don't give up! Keep to the Dream and stick in there! Seeing your work in print, or your name on a book or website is worth every hard moment, every button on your keyboard you press, and every minute past the hour that you spend laboring on your writing. Keep that in mind. Keep up the good work!

 Dream on!
Oliver Dahl