Pre-release of The Sky Caller

Alright, friends. So as some of you already know, I have decided to make a pre-release of my book. This is the "unofficial" release of The Sky Caller until I can save up enough money (which may be a while) to have it professionally edited. I have edited the book myself a couple of times but I'm no professional so there are still some grammar and sentence structure issues to work out. However, it's not in such a state that it's completely unreadable! I've had a couple of friends read it already and have said that there are some mistakes but not enough to make it not enjoyable.

So, I present to you The Sky Caller. Follow that link to view my Lulu page and to be able to purchase my book! (For a complete link: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/scottjcallaway)

For the pre-release, I have decided to publish with www.lulu.com. When my book is completely polished I intend on publishing it elsewhere but because Lulu doesn't charge a set-up fee I thought that the best way to go. The only reason I'm making a pre-release is because people would like to read my book, and knowing that it'll be a long time until I can get it edited I have decided to publish my own edited version early for them. But some of you may ask "why would you do this if you felt it isn't ready to be shown?" Well, I wasn't going to release it at all. The idea of people buying my book knowing that it wasn't perfect made me sick to my stomach. But enough people want to read it that I thought if they are willing and purchase it with the knowledge that this IS an unedited version (as far as professional editing is concerned) then I won't feel bad about it. I didn't write this book to make money. I wanted to tell a story. If people want to read my story with that knowledge then I have no problem with it. But like I said, I don't think it's in that bad of condition. Inside the book I have added an Author's Note explaining what I've just said also.

Unfortunately, because Lulu doesn't offer the exact dimensions I wanted for my book, I won't be able to use Jolene McKay's cover art. This brings great sadness to me. However, for the official release of my book I will be definitely be using it. I'm also going to be using it for the ebook version too. For this version I'm using a generic cover design provided by Lulu. It's not bad but nowhere near as awesome as the one Jolene made. Here it is:

So there you have it. For those of you who decide to read my first novel I hope you like it! I am proud of my story and hope as many people as possible can enjoy it.

Publication Postponed

I've made a big decision about the publication of my book. I've decided that it can wait a little longer. I was really excited to have it published; however, it isn't perfect in terms of grammar and sentence structure. I did the best I could with the ability that I have, but I don't feel that it does justice to my book. I believe in my story, so I want to respect it by cleaning it up as best as possible.

So, to those of you who were looking forward to reading it, I'm sorry you have to wait. But rest assured that when it is released it'll be in a lot better quality than it would if it were published now.

Cover Art

With only days away from the release of my book The Sky Caller I am more excited than ever! Last time I revealed the blurb that appears on the back cover, and this time I am sharing the front cover of the book that was designed by Jolene McKay. I think she's done an incredible job and has far exceeded my expectations. This picture is part of the giant mushroom forest I've described in my story.

There you have it! When I hired her to design my cover I had never expected this. I wanted something similar to Neil Gaiman's Stardust cover but then she showed me a sketch of this and I was blown away! She captured the essence of what I've described in my book, right down to the mushrooms casting light from underneath their caps. So if anyone is looking for professional quality work then I suggest looking no further than Jolene McKay.

In a day or two I think I'm going to post an excerpt from my book. That way it will give you an idea if you'd like to read the entire book or not! But if you like fantasy/science fiction and/or young adult stories, then I'm confident you'll enjoy The Sky Caller.

First Post/First Book

Welcome to my blog!

I'm Scott J. Callaway. Recently I have finished writing my first book - a Young Adult/Fantasy/Science Fiction novel. It has been a long process and a lot of work to complete. But I've done it! I've decided to go with the self-publishing route through a local book store where I live called Books Inn and Lightning Demand Press because I really love what they have there. Some people might ask why I'm choosing to go with self-publishing if I could just wait and work hard at getting a traditional publisher to look at it. My answer to that is that I do have a desire to someday pursue this idea, but ultimately all I want is to see my story in book format. I believe in my story enough that I am confident it can go places but even if it never becomes widespread that's okay with me. I wrote this book for myself. However, I do really hope people read and enjoy it also! Now, I should tell you what it's about! Here's the blurb that's going onto the back cover: 

 "For centuries select people and animals have guarded the worlds most important secret from falling into the wrong hands. Gateways to other worlds and dimensions have been protected from those who would dare to exploit their power for the purpose of evil. But when young Everic Ashford visits his aunts lake house and discovers a magical pond, he's thrust into an adventure beyond all his understanding. There he meets a talking raven, a grumpy troll, and other strange beings while fighting to save a world from the universe's most dangerous threat."

Voila! Currently it still hasn't been published but it won't be long. When my cover designer finishes her work, which will hopefully be within the next couple of weeks, then I'm going to bring everything to Books Inn and get the process rolling. Hopefully within the first two weeks of August I'll have them in print. I'm not comparing my humble story to these next few very accomplished books, but if you like the Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia and Fablehaven genre then here's the next entry into the world of Fantasy! If you would like to follow the progress of my book or would like to comment about it then please follow my blog and be the first to receive any new information that comes up!