It's so exciting to see a positive review for Publishers Weekly just as I'm finishing up SIEGE.
It's not a starred review, but it is a very good one. I really loved the last line.
Fighting to Survive:
As the World Dies, Book 2
Rhiannon Frater. Tor, $14.99 trade paper (368p) ISBN 978-0-7653-3127-4
First self-published in 2009, this revised and expanded edition continues the story begun in July’s The First Days. When the world was overrun by zombies, a small group of quick-thinking survivors led by construction worker Travis converted a building site into an ad hoc fortress secure against the ravening hordes. Now overcrowded and pressed for supplies, the survivors must clear and secure the zombie-infested hotel next door while dealing with internal divisions, profound survivor’s guilt, troubled romances, and a heavy-armed, brutally predatory biker gang. Centering on the travails of close friends Jenni and Katie, Frater’s novel explicitly draws from Romero’s works while developing optimistic themes untapped by the pessimistic filmmaker, embracing the possibility of creation even in the face of the end of the world as we know it. (Nov.)
Reviewed on: 08/15/2011
My only beef? There is no biker gang in the book, just a group of bandits riding around in trucks.
After I initially self-published THE FIRST DAYS, the first book in the AS THE WORLD DIES TRILOGY, the excitement wore off and I realized it was time to do all the hard work again on the second book in the series.
FIGHTING TO SURVIVE was the slimmest tome of the three (at that time) and was the most disjointed in its original online form. It would take months to flesh out the plot to make it a more dynamic book (little did I know the Tor version would end up with even more material!). In the meantime, Detra sent me a painting of a broken down car on a lonely country road with dawn breaking over the trees and wondered if it would work as a cover.
I stared at the amazingly beautiful painting and told him that it would not. The first cover in the series had been very successful because the fans liked seeing Katie and Jenni. I asked that both of the women be armed with weapons. So, he added Jenni and Katie to the second cover and threw two menacing zombies on the back. I loved it!
So this was the first cover for FIGHTING TO SURVIVE.
Flash forward to 2011-I had just finished the massive revision on FIGHTING TO SURVIVE when my email dinged. It was the cover art for the new book. I was pleased with the cover for many reasons. I loved that the two women were on the cover again, I loved the menacing zombies, and I loved that the artist used the ballroom of one of the derelict luxury hotels in the Texas Hill Country. The colors really popped for me and I loved the fragility of Jenni's crossed arms.
Then it hit me. The two women were unarmed and merely gazing at the zombies.
Wait a sec!
I sat back in my chair, staring as I came to the realization that Jenni wouldn't be fragile in that moment and Katie wouldn't be standing with her hands on her hips.
Wasn't the strength of the women the one thing fans loved? The fact they didn't wait around to be rescued, but fought to survive?
Nervously, I emailed the editor with my impression. She thought it was a valid point, though she loved the first cover. A few days later a second cover pinged into my email.
I opened it up and was immediately conflicted.
I loved that Katie and Jenni now had weapons to defend themselves. I loved that we could see Jenni in "loca zombie killer mode." Yet, somehow, the Katie in the first cover felt more like the character. I stared at the covers side by side. I called my husband over to look at them. I emailed the covers to friends for their opinion.
At last, I went on the AS THE WORLD DIES and my personal facebook pages and asked:
I have a question for y'all. Do you like seeing Jenni & Katie holding guns on the cover or with empty hands?
The responses were pretty unanimous.
I'm all for seeing our bad a$$ chicks with guns. :)
Definitely guns!
I even received a few emails voting for the weapons. I forwarded the information to Tor, but knew that in the end it would probably be marketing that made the choice on the cover. I still really like both covers, but I do believe the second one really captures the mood of the entire book. I think it's Jenni's face that really sells it.
Though I have heard horror stories about authors hating their covers, I have to say so far I really love the Tor covers. They are truly beautiful and are good solid representations of the stories inside the cover. I have also been flattered that Tor has listened to my opinion on the covers.
I was hoping to share both covers with you, but wasn't sure if I should or not. Now that the Tor Fall catalog is online and features the first cover, I wanted to share with you the stories behind the three covers for FIGHTING TO SURVIVE.
As The World Dies: Fighting to Survive is on sale NOW at my online store located here. I am not sure when it will be on sale on Amazon.com, so if you want your zombie goodness with Jenni and Katie now, you can order it from my createspace store.
Please ignore the estimated date of arrival on your book. The books always arrive within 10 days or less. I'm not sure why there is such greatly exaggerated arrival dates listed on the online store.
We have uploaded the Kindle version to Amazon.com, but it has not gone live as of this post. We're not sure what the issue is, but hope to have it resolved.
All three of my novels are on sale at Smashwords.com to support "Read an eBook Week."
But if you want a shiny, beautiful paperback of the latest adventures of Jenni and Katie, head over to my online store. (Plus, I get a bit more of a royalty if you buy it there.:)
I thought it was time to share the amazing artwork of Detra and my husband's mad layout skills. For your enjoyment, the cover of As The World Dies: Fighting to Survive.
Isn't it gorgeous?
I absolutely love it from top to bottom. Katie and Jenni look amazing in the painting and the detail is just beautiful.
Since the first cover was our "night", this one is our "dawn" as a homage to George A. Romero. Yes, the last cover for As The World Dies: Siege will be "day" and its going to be amazing.
I have also included the back cover for you to take a peek at.
Don't you just love that zombie action???
A lot of readers really loved the back cover of the first book with the enormous full moon and that beautiful tree. Detra definitely surpassed himself on this back cover. I love how both covers just rawk it on all cylinders.
The proof copy arrives tomorrow. I cannot wait to hold it in my eager lil' hands. I'll be handing it over to the proof copy editor tomorrow as well. The first one that is. We are still on target for an early March release date.
My husband finished the cover formatting for As the World Dies: Fighting to Survive and I put the final changes on the interior. All the files have now been uploaded to the publisher and they should respond in around 24 hours. Once they give the all clear that the files fit their criteria, we will be ordering the proof copy of the novel!
Yay!
Then it goes through the final two editors.
Any revisions will be made.
And then it will go on sale.
Our hopes for an early March publication date are looking good right now.
The final requested edits to the cover artwork has been sent to Detra. I'm just waiting for the final version now.
Last night I finished the edits from the first editor and will start on the edits from the second editor tonight. I plan to finish those up this weekend if at all possible. After that, I will do the final formatting on the book and submit it to Createspace.
Once we get the artwork from Detra, we need to lay out the cover and submit it to Createspace for review. If they say both the interior and exterior files are good, we'll order the proof copy of the novel.
What follows after the proof comes in?
The two proof copy editors comb through the book for any last revisions.
What does this all mean?
We're probably on track for an early March publication date.
Detra posted the cover for As The World Dies: Fighting to Survive on his deviantart page. You can hop over to see his remarks on it and leave a comment.
So...what do you think?
I'm still in total shock over how well he captured Jenni and Katie's personalities. And those zombies RAWK.
Just so you know, Detra is working on the second cover of The As The World Dies Trilogy. I'm so excited!! He is such an amazing artist and I love how he perfectly captured my girls on the cover of the first book.
He's going to take his first version of the cover and modify it so Jenni and Katie will be on the cover along with zombies!! YAY!!
One major reason I did not sign with the publishing house that made an offer on the trilogy is because I would have lost creative control and not having Detra's amazing artwork on the covers just does not sit well with me. He is freaking awesome and I just could not imagine his artwork not being on the covers.
Even if one day I were to sign with a publishing house and they would release new editions of the trilogy, I would cherish the ones with Detra's artwork. They reflect my vision for the books perfectly.
This weekend was an epic fail on all counts. *sigh*
Basically, I was sick all weekend, miserable, cranky, weepy, and heavily medicated. I laid on the sofa and stared at the TV most of it. The upside to being taken down and out by the common cold was that I actually relaxed and watched some movies I had been meaning to see. The hubby and I saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Doom Generation, The Orphanage, and 2001 Space Odyssey. Yep, that's a pretty diverse set of movies, but they were all very good in their own way.
Because of my illness, I didn't get any writing down that I can boast about. I did get a little bit written on my newest short story on Friday night, but Saturday morning I woke up feeling like a zombie and that was that. I hope to jump back in really soon and finish that story up. I really like it a lot.
As The World Dies: The First Days continues to sell really well. I want to thank everyone who has recommended it to friends, forums, family members, and zombie fanatics. I sincerely believe that the fans are the ones fueling the sales. Just on Amazon.com alone, the book has sold over 400 copies since it was published on August 15, 2008. The sales from Kindle and other sources have pushed the total number ever closer to 500. It's very exciting as an Indie Author to see this number increasing. In all honesty, I did not know how well the book would do when I decided to go on this path. I had read where some Indie Authors only sold 50 books in the first 6 months after publication. To have the book doing so well is a confirmation that zombie fans are embracing the story with two female leads and enjoying it.
As The World Dies: Fighting To Survive continues to be on track for publication. I received the edits from the editor today in the mail. It feels awesome to have the edits in my anxious little hands.
Meanwhile, Pretty When She Dies is having a slow start. I anticipated this because I haven't really done much promotion for the novel. The first two interviews for the novel are not happening until February and I have yet to send out the review copies. Also, without the Look Inside feature and more reviews up on Amazon.com, I think its going to be slow going for a little while. But I do believe that once vampire fans discover the book, it will do well. Hell, I'm a vampire fan and I totally love it. And I'm VERY hard on my own writing.
One last thing, As The World Dies: The First Days is the book club selection of the book club I'm a part of. Oh, my gawth! I'm nervous! But the hostess finished the book in 24 hours and told me she loved it, so maybe I won't get burned at the stake.
*bites nails*
I'll keep you updated as things move forward on the next book in the zombie trilogy.
I handed off the proof copy of Pretty When She Dies to the final proof reader on Tuesday. She was pretty excited to get her hands on it and gave me the biggest grin. I anticipate her getting the final edits back to me next Tuesday. After that, I just have to make the changes and upload to the publisher. I believe we are on track to have the book out the final week in November.
I've been handling a few queries about Pretty When She Dies, which I find very exciting. The As The World Dies Zombie Trilogy was originally online, so it had a built in fan base. I was a little concerned about Pretty When She Dies because it did not originate online. But the response at Fear Fest to the novel and the queries I have received do give hope that readers will find it intriguing.
Update!
The proof reader is loving the book and moving through it swiftly. It looks like we're on track!
I do feel that Pretty When She Dies has something to add to the vampire genre. It's a break away from the paranormal romance and recent urban fantasy novels. I'm not sure what I would classify it as, but it has got its own pulse going.
Meanwhile, I'm almost done with the As The World Dies: Fighting to Survive rewrite. I hope to have it with the editors sometime next week. Which feels AWESOME!
All in all things are going well right now. I can't complain. If you have any questions about the Indie Author movement or about the books, please drop me a line at gothgoddessrhia at gmail.com.
My interview Monday night with AngelLesa of The Odd Mind Magazine was quite a bit of fun. I rambled on (as I'm tend to do) a few times, but I felt we had a good discussion on why I chose to be an Indie Author and about As The World Dies: The First Days.
Indie Author Thoughts
Being an Indie Author is a scary, but fun experience. I do feel, sometimes, that I am flying without a net, but it is exhilarating. I'm not sure where all this is heading and I'm fine with that. The reality is I wanted to take creative control of my writing and I have. What comes next is a big unknown, but I'm happy with how things are progressing thus far.
Someone asked me if any publishers have approached me. The answer is yes. What did they discuss with me? That is private, but I am still standing firm at this time to being an Indie. Will my mind change in the future. I don't know. I would have to consider any offer made very seriously and see if its in sync with my personal writing goals.
But even if I do sign with a publisher at any point, I will STILL be putting out my own books and free fiction. I just love the whole process of creating my own novel from the story itself to how it is presented.
Progress
Edits for Pretty When She Dies are almost done. The proof editor is doing a GREAT job catching the tiny stuff (that I tend to not see) and it's coming along nicely. I hope to order a proof copy of the novel very soon. The cover looks amazing. My husband has done a really great job. I cannot wait to see it on the cover of an actual book.
Website Update
My husband is also revising my website. Since we are new to the publishing game, we're still figuring things out and he realized we needed to revamp the site. The new version should be going live soon. Once we're sure we have what we like, we'll most likely be moving the site to rhiannonfrater.com at the end of the year or the beginning of next.
As The World Dies: Fighting To Survive
I'm writing away. Writing on the way to work, on my lunch hour, and on the way home. The evening is left for spending some time with my husband and having dinner, before diving into the edits for Pretty When She Dies. But what I am writing out by hand for ATWD2 is really, really awesome and a lot of fun. Today was a huge Jenni scene that I forgot to write the first time around. Or maybe I thought I had written it. I was shocked to not find it when I read through the story. It left a big huge plot hole and it left me shaking my head.
That is definitely one good thing about the rewrite: patching up the holes!
First self-published in 2009, this revised and expanded edition continues the story begun in July’s The First Days. When the world was overrun by zombies, a small group of quick-thinking survivors led by construction worker Travis converted a building site into an ad hoc fortress secure against the ravening hordes. Now overcrowded and pressed for supplies, the survivors must clear and secure the zombie-infested hotel next door while dealing with internal divisions, profound survivor’s guilt, troubled romances, and a heavy-armed, brutally predatory biker gang. Centering on the travails of close friends Jenni and Katie, Frater’s novel explicitly draws from Romero’s works while developing optimistic themes untapped by the pessimistic filmmaker, embracing the possibility of creation even in the face of the end of the world as we know it. (Nov.)
