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Archives for August 2020

How NOT to Self-Publish – Self-Publishing Companies to Avoid

August 24, 2020 by Ben Galley

If you’re an indie author, here’s how to avoid being conned by so-called self-publishing companies.

Time to dive into the subject of self-publishing, and we’re going straight in at the deep-end with how NOT to self-publish. In this episode, I show you how to dodge a mistake a lot of authors have made: trusting in companies run by Author Solutions.

I believe these companies regularly prey on authors’ dreams and lack of knowledge to sell ridiculously, overpriced packages, deliver sub-standard services, and make it insanely difficult for an author to see success. Watch me prove it, see their tactics up close, and note down some red flags for avoiding companies like these.

Ben’s Books

Filed Under: How To

How to Come Up with Fantasy Character Names

August 14, 2020 by Ben Galley

Time for another How To. This time, I’m sharing some tips for stimulating that imagination when it comes to fantasy character names. In this episode I go through a few methods for generating ideas for names, and a few rules I try to follow to get the right name for the right fantasy character.

Things such as:

– Originality
– Pronounceability
– Using maps
– Google Translate
– and the ultimate Keyboard Mashing Technique.

Enjoy.

Ben’s Books

Filed Under: How To

August Update – Forever King Book Reveal

August 7, 2020 by Ben Galley Leave a Comment

How is it August already?! The calendar is almighty. Perhaps it was another whirlwind month of busyness and activity. I thought things would calm down after working 200 hours in June, but they ended up being just as busy. You know what, though? It means I’ve got a shit-tonne of things to tell you about. Prepare thyself. Here’s everything that went down in July.

The juicy news this month is all about The Forever King, so let’s jump into that so you’re not fidgeting with excitement. First thing you need to know…

The Forever King is Finished!

If you missed it, I decided to finish The Forever King out in the wilds of Vancouver Island by a lake and some mountains. You can watch my adventure in the last BenCast. I’m pleased to tell you that the first draft of The Forever King is now complete at 150,000ish words, and I’m currently neck-deep in the second drafts edits. Second thing you need to know…

The Forever King Book Cover

This week, I also revealed the book cover for The Forever King! Go on. Drink that fantasy goodness in:

Forever King Book Cover

DAYUM, am I proud of that artwork. I can only claim the concept and colours, and all credit goes to cover designer Pen Astridge for turning my fevered, chimpish scribbling into this cover. I think you’ll be glad to see I kept the same style as the Emaneska Series. Let me know what you think of the design and this badass new character, Mithrid!

I’m pleased to say The Forever King will be available to pre-order from September 1st (ish) and launching on December 1st 2020. That’s barely four months away now and not long to wait. You can add The Forever King to your Goodreads, too.

The Last BenCast

In the last update blog, I told you about bringing my vlog series – The BenCast – to an end. 10 years and almost 100 BenCasts later, the end has, alas, come. I decided it would be a fitting end to the BenCast to film my writing excursion to the wilds and finish the new book on camera. You can watch in on my ‘Tube, and look out for the new vlog series starting this month: Road to a Million.

Whaaat? A new short story?

Earlier this year, I got to grimdark it up with another short story, called Road to Hella. Even better, the illustrious Grimdark Magazine were kind enough to publish it! It’s a new story about a hunter, the goddess of death, daemons, and big ole magical guns, and I’m honoured to have it amongst such fellow authors. Get yourself an issue or two of this awesome mag: https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/product/grimdark-magazine-23/

The Fantasy Fiends podcast

Andy Peloquin and Stevie Collier are hilarious and brilliant authors, and the scurrilous pair were kind enough to invite me onto their fantasy podcast. We had a chat about how great power can lead to great evil. Watch on YouTube or Facebook.

The co-writing has begun!

The co-writing project I announced last month has officially begun. David Estes and I have been shaping up our world and making it into something dark and delicious. I don’t think I’ve done this much world-building in years, and this week I’ve broken ground on the first chapter.

And that is pretty much all of this month’s exciting news. Hope you’re looking forward to the release of The Forever King as much as I am. I’ll be back at the start of September with the August update. In the meantime, I think I need a godsdamn day off…

Peace,

Ben

Ben’s Books

Filed Under: Blog, Update

Fantasy Author Lounge #12 – Interview With T.L. Greylock

August 3, 2020 by Ben Galley

Who’s in this month’s Fantasy Author Lounge? It’s amazing epic and nordic fantasy author T.L. Greylock!

I’ve been a fan of Taya’s Song of The Ash Tree trilogy, so when I heard about her new book Shadows of Ivory, launching TOMORROW, I had to invite her to the Lounge.

We chatted about:

– a unique journey into self-publishing
– the brand new Godforged Chronicles
– the issue of sexism in SFF
– writing to music
– the benefits of writing every day

Thank you to Taya for stopping by, and go check out her books at www.tlgreylock.com!

Ben’s Books

Filed Under: Fantasy Author Lounge

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