 So, this is happening! Get in on it! You guys know how much I love giving away free stuff!
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One short week ago, Monarch was released to fly into the hands of readers just in time for the summer. I was thrilled to see that in less than 24 hours, Monarch rose on the charts to be the #1 Best-selling YA Steampunk book. Rankings like this change like the tides, so as you read this there may have been some fluctuation, but screenshots were taken to commemorate the event. Hurray, War of the Princes! It was awesome to see Dragoon pop up on the Top Rated list too! Thank you guys for being such active readers!  Series Length
When I released Dragoon, I announced that there would be a third book (Monarch) and the response I got through mail was brilliantly positive. One common request (perhaps made half-jokingly) was that the third book be extra-long so the story wouldn't come to an end as quickly. Well, I took that to heart. I'd been planning on ending WotP as a trilogy, but after so many people hoped for the same thing, I had another look at my series outline. I determined that the world, history, and overall plot are all deep enough to spread out a little more. Life is full of surprises, but all too often they're not the kind we hope for. It might not be much, but I thought I'd contribute a positive surprise and wait until Monarch's release to let everyone know that there will be a fourth book! I hope that brings a smile to your face (and maybe a sigh of relief). Will the series end with the fourth book or will there be yet another? I can't say. I'm not the kind of author who will drag a series along past the natural length of the story-- a complete ending is easily worth as much to me as the idea of the story itself. The backbone of the over-arcing plot has already been set, the characters all have fates that have been determined, it's just a matter of how long we move through each event- that will determine the length of the series. I'm going to let this series live as I write and find the perfect place to let the curtain close. It could be the fourth book... or perhaps not. All yours, ~A.R. Ivanovich  MONARCH The hard work has paid off and I'm thrilled to announce: Monarch, War of the Princes: Book 3 is now available on Kindle on Amazon.com! Get your copy and kick off the summer in style! I'm excited that you'll all be reading it soon, and according to the mail I receive, so are you! Well, don't let little-old-me distract you! Katelyn Kestrel awaits! Print
The print version will be released sometime in July. More updates will be posted here, as usual! Check back for updates and giveaways. I have plenty more planned for the future! Other Updates Be sure to check out Home, here on the website! I've added a new issue of the Bird's-eye View, complete with semi-in-character articles and ads! There is also a new map (included with your purchase of Monarch) in the Maps section of Spoiler City, so enjoy those little tidbits! A dab of random info: The publication date for Monarch says the 25th because I'm on Hawaii time and it's only 10pm at the moment. I wanted to make sure that the book would be released as early as possible for all of the other time zones on the 26th. So, that's that! And hey, thank you for everything! All yours, ~A.R. Ivanovich 
Only seven days remain between you and the War of the Princes! Thrilling book three, Monarch, will be available on May 26 at Amazon.com. The print version will be released in July. All of the best things happen in the summer time. If you're excited, you're in good company!
Three Major Updates Update 1: Meet book three! Below, you'll find the cover art and back-of-the-book description. Hurray for surprises! "Why is the butterfly upside down?!" you might ask, intentionally invoking the interrobang at the end of your exclamation. As with Haven and Dragoon before it, the cover of book three has direct involvement in the story. And as for it being upside down, well, it insinuates that things are perhaps not as they should be. That's the only freebee I'll be offering today. ;) Update 2: The release date of book three is Memorial Day, Monday, May 26th, 2014. Want a reminder the day it is released? Sign up here to join the single-email mailing list. Update 3: Don't miss this! Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 5th, I will be posting a promotional flier on Facebook. Everyone who clicks "share" will be entered in a drawing to win a signed print copy of both Haven and Dragoon! There really is a winner, I really do sign the books and mail them out to you, and you really will receive them. The chances of winning are quite realistic! What are you doing still reading this? There's a highly anticipated book cover awaiting you!
Exciting stuff, guys! As far as the print copy of Monarch goes, I'm assuming it'll be ready for release sometime in July. As always, I'll let you know here.
All yours, ~A.R. Ivanovich The lovely and talented Karen Kincy (Shadows of Asphodel), has opted to host a massive indie steampunk giveaway throughout the month of January. We're midway through it now, so jump in there if you're interested in winning some free books. Haven is one of the featured titles, and it's in good company! Click the image for more details!  Click me! Well, me, as in the picture above, not the text. ;) Elsewise...
It has been a wild and busy holiday season. I hope all of you have kept warm and toasty. In my corner of the world, there were a great many festivities, visiting relatives and decadent foods in abundance (maybe a little too abundant), but it's January now, and I'm back to work, like so many others. I have a few short stories that I'm getting ready to submit for publication, and, of course, I'm drawing ever nearer to the end of the third WotP book. I'm now figuring that spring will be my best estimate at a release. It's not set in stone quite yet, so don't tar and feather me. It could come out sooner too! I won't really know until post-editing and the cover work is done. :) I'm also going to try and block out more time for correspondence on Facebook and Twitter, so please, don't be shy! Lastly Love you guys! I hope your 2014 has taken a great start, and blows your mind with all of it's collective awesomeness! Getting really excited about book 3... we're nearly on the home stretch! All yours, ~A.R. Ivanovich
Book 3 Updates
I'm more than half way through writing WotP book three, and I'm flying toward my target completion date on schedule. I think a lot of you guys will be happy to hear that book three is likely to be longer than the other two. I do have a title for it, but I kind of enjoy keeping it a secret until the cover art is ready. Suspense! Another important update is that I'm tentatively expecting a first-quarter release for 2014. The sooner I can get it out, the happier I'll be, but I can't control how long the editing phase will take, so we'll see. Once I do hit editing, I'll let you guys know, and maybe even post a few teaser blurbs from the book. The Silver Screen It's truly a pleasure talking to many of you through fan mail, Facebook and Twitter. I've noticed a common thread in a lot of the feedback I get. Many people have said they would love to see Haven and the War of the Princes series hit the big screen. I want all of you to know that I'm with you. I would absolutely love for these books to be movies. I'll do everything I can to make that a possibility, if the opportunity arises. Of course, the more noise you guys make about this series, the closer we come to making that dream a reality. If enough people review, refer, talk, shout, sketch, post and repost about this series, we'll only get stronger and farther. Books don't always do well as films, but oh man, can you imagine seeing a warhorse rip from the shadows or Kat facing the Commanders? All yours, ~A.R. Ivanovich
Shadow chasers, skeletal horses, orange scarves, oh my! What better time to give out this book to new readers? I hope that all of you are having an excellent autumn and are enjoying changing leaves (if you have them) and pumpkin lattes. Mmmmm... why did I have to bring up pumpkin lattes? Now I need to find one.
That makes me especially happy for two main reasons. One, my fans and readers really stepped up to show their support, and as always, I'm grateful for every one of you. And two, I hand-painted Haven's cover myself, so I'm doubly glad people like it. ;)
As StoryFind's cover contest winner, Haven is being featured on the website's 1st Chapter Spotlight, today (Sept. 25th). Click here to check it out. After the initial day, it'll show other books in the spotlight. It's a nice way to preview new reads and browse books of all genres. Thank you again for participating and supporting the War of the Princes series! Book three is in the works, so I'll keep you updated to its progress. Happy Wednesday! All yours, ~A.R. Ivanovich Updates Spoiler City has received some new content. If you go over to look at it, just keep an eye out for the Spoiler Level. It'll let you know which books you need to have read before viewing the pages linked there. If you've already read both books, swing by to check out Behind the Writing: Dragoon. Spoiler City is also home to the War of the Princes maps. I've got a huge one in the works that will be posted soon. Writing Phases: Drafts  A lovely reader on Facebook inquired how writing was coming along, and I shared with her this screenshot of my composition window in Scrivener. The background blocks out any distractions on my desktop. Hey, no groaning! You know I couldn't actually show the text! Writing anatomy is back! Hurrah! As I mentioned in a previous post, I've already laid down the foundation of the entire book, the "bones" of the story. It turned out to be a detailed fifteen page synopsis that covered everything from plot points to character development. Because I was so thorough, I've been able to lay out my chapter titles and brief descriptions in my Scrivener manuscript. I'm currently in the drafting phase of writing, the "meat and muscle", the real body of the process. Because I was able to lay out my chapters, each one acts as a goal projection or a marker so that as I tell the story, I don't go rambling too far away from the main plot lines. I also don't end up losing too much time scrapping whole sections of the book. Sure, occasionally everyone needs to rewrite a chapter or five, but spending a little more time on the "bones" can save you an evening of feeding four hundred pages to your paper shredder. Of course, there is no right answer or uniform method to doing anything. At the end of the day, whatever works for you is fantastic! Some may cry out into the night, "A. R.! You've taken the freedom away from your writing process! Won't I be stifling my creativity if I plan everything out?" My answer to that is, "Why no, of course not." It's all coming from you anyway. All you're doing is rearranging the manner in which you lay out your work. You can't lose your creativity. Ever. Novels are long, there's plenty of time and opportunity for your characters to surprise you, or for a planned chapter to morph into something bigger and badder. It happens to me on the daily. :)
Anyway, this was long-winded, but hey, if you got this far it's because you were interested for some reason or another. I will not apologize for my actions! Not on this day.
All yours, ~A.R. Ivanovich |
AuthorA. R. Ivanovich is likely typing away at her desk, with a cup of heavily caffeinated tea and a cat on her lap. Archives
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