JD Estrada

Introducing a new monthly feature, Book Club Mom’s Author Update. Open to all authors who want to share news with readers.

Today let’s hear from JD Estrada and J.P. McLean:

Catching up with JD Estrada

There’s a lot that can happen in a couple of months, and when it comes to JD Estrada, that can include one or several books. After publishing his first two non-fiction books this year (For Writing Out Loud & Peace, Love, and Maki Rolls), he wanted to end the year on a whimsically high note with his first full length middle-grade fantasy, Given to Fly.

John Rivers is a kind and curious 11-year-old and he definitely has a knack for liking whimsical things that fly… so of course he would love to fly himself. After moving to the Pacific Northwest, he finds out that although the new house is very lovely, there’s nothing magical about it… and mainly because magic is nearby. After playing on a hill next to his house, he discovers a beautiful cove with a huge tree growing over it. Although we could talk in terms of feet to have an idea about how big it is, it’s easier to describe the house that’s sitting on its side on top of the tree. After seeing a shadow inside, John decides to investigate and make sure no one is trouble. There he discovers the magical world within the house known as Od Manor, with a true living room with walking furniture, a library pillaging book worm, and countless other wonders.

So if you’re tired of the bad news on TV, maybe it’s time to see if you’re also Given to Fly. For more about JD, visit his blog, For Writing Out Loud, at jdestradawriter.blogspot.com.

J.P. McLean on Remaking a Brand

One of the best things about being an indie author is the flexibility to make changes to your books, whether it’s adding a pull quote from a fabulous review, tweaking the back-of-the-book description, or adding an overlooked thank-you to the acknowledgements.

One of the worst things about being an indie author is not having the broad-band publishing wisdom to help shape early decisions – decisions that pave your path going forward.

Early in my writing, I made a mistake that I didn’t recognize. The mistake was the titles I’d given The Gift Legacy books: Awakening, Revelation, Redemption, and Penance. In hindsight, they read like chapters for a religious studies course. And the beautiful covers only served to reinforce that concept.

With two new books in the series coming out in January 2019, I thought there would never be a better time to address this misstep. I made the plunge and rebranded the books with new titles and new covers. The new titles are Secret Sky, Hidden Enemy, Burning Lies, and Lethal Waters. The first of the newly branded books is out now. Digital editions of Secret Sky are available for a limited time for $0.99 (https://books2read.com/SecretSky).

This time, I’m sure I’m on the right track: Kobo has just selected Secret Sky as one of the ten best covers for 2018 in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category. Voting for the winner will start in December on Kobo’s blog (https://kobowritinglife.com/). I welcome your feedback. Reach me through my website https://jpmcleanauthor.com.

For information about Book Club Mom’s Author Update,
email bvitelli2009@gmail.com.

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