Inkabout L. Darby Gibbs

Science Fiction & Fantasy author

Solstice Dragon

Busy in 2020 by an order of 4 maybe 5

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I thought an update was do. I’ve been writing, editing, redrafting, planning and preparing paperbacks.

This won’t be a long post, more of a list of what is in the works.

  • The fourth book in the Solstice Dragon World, To Harbor a Dragon, is now up as a pre-order set to upload at the end of April. A paperback version will follow shortly after the eBook goes live.
  • The third book in the Solstice Dragon World, Dira’s Dragon, is in the works to be available in paperback, tentative deadline is set for mid-March.
  • My new series Kavin Cut Chronicles is moving along nicely. Covers are in the works next week with Ryn Katryn Digital Art. (Loraine has done all my covers. I love her work!) I expect the first to publish about May with the pre-order coming out in March.
  • The two Kavin Cut Chronicles that will complete the trilogy should be out before summer ends and in eBook and paperback.
  • A fifth book for the Standing Stone series will be hitting the drafting board sometime in August, I expect, and will be out before the end of the year.
  • The Standing Stone series should be out in paperback by summer 2020.
  • If all goes according to plan, this will be the year I publish four perhaps even five books in twelve months, a new record: One Solstice Dragon World, three Kavin Cut Chronicles and one Standing Stone. All will be in paperback shortly after the eBook publication.

So that is the plan, subject to change, of course. The fifth Standing Stone is the one that has the greatest wiggle room. It may have to wait until January 2021 for publication, though the pre-order will definitely go up between October and December 2020.

This year is off to a wonderful start. I hope yours is as well. May you find plenty of lovely books to read, lots of adventure in your world and contentment where it counts the most.

My plans for 2021 are very fluid, so if you have a particular series you wish me to focus on next year, post it in the comments. My fans definitely have pull with me.

Something to Celebrate: Covers and their stories

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I have been updating my covers on my series lately. I started with my newest series, Solstice Dragon. And the covers came out so lovely that I knew I was going to have to do the same with my other fantasy series Standing Stone.

Ryn Katryn Digital Art did such a lovely job with the three dragon books that I set up another run with Loraine. I can barely wait to show off the new covers! But I am going to wait until the last one is done. I have a special plan for those Standing Stone covers.

But let me tell you about the Solstice Dragon covers and why I am pleased with them. What I love most about the Solstice Dragon covers is that each tells a story; they capture the emotions of the characters. I know all covers should highlight something in the book, but let me explain what I mean.

The Dragon Question:

Here is Shennon looking at Karlyle and he at her. There is this special emotion captured. It’s tender, and you know looking at the cover that they want to get through the troubles plaguing his kingdom. Shennon will do all she can to help him, and he trusts her to come through for him. It’s all there in the cover, and I love that.

Dragon Bone Ridge:

Maribelle has been charged with finding the stone pieces that have been removed from the stone ridge that is really a dragon who fell asleep during the Summer Solstice. He was trapped in stone when parts of him were removed before he woke up. This cover shows Nyle partially in stone but also visible as a dragon because he comes to Maribelle in her dreams. Seth is falling for Maribelle, but she has so much to accomplish and her own desires that don’t necessarily fit with his. That conflict is there on the cover. Nyle wants his release, Maribelle is feeling overwhelmed and Seth must make a decision. It doesn’t help that Nyle thinks Seth is a dangerous distraction that could get in the way of his release. It’s right there in the cover.

Dira’s Dragon:

Dira has made a bargain with a dragon, and Brundar added Zane to the deal. She’s not too happy having a warrior for her teacher, but he’s growing on her. Zane’s keeping his distance because he and dragons don’t mix well. And then there’s Skrhak, a dragon who’s grown rather attached to Dira. They have to save The Bargain that ensures peace between dragons and humans, fulfill Dira’s original bargain with Brundar and stop a war before every dragon becomes the enemy. Their connection is in this cover. Her attraction to Zane and his reticence to feel anything for her or dragons is apparent. And there’s Skrhak ready to protect her with his life.

I told you earlier I have something planned for the new covers for The Standing Stone series. The story is the real feature of any book, but the covers are the first thing a reader sees. I’m the one excited about the covers. So I want to celebrate in a way that benefits my readers.

Are you wondering what that is? Well, here’s the deal, and it is a deal. When all three covers are ready, I’ll be uploading them to KOBO, B&N, Amazon, and iBooks.

Hold on, that’s not the deal. The deal is I’m going to drop the price on each of the books. The Sharded Boy is currently 2.99. That’s a good price. And The Shifter Shard and The Heart of Lal are both 4.99.

Yes, I said price drop. Book 1, The Sharded Boy will be $1.99. The Shifter Shard and The Heart of Lal will both drop to 2.99. That’s a deal. It will run from March 13 through March 15, and I’ll be announcing it here, on my Facebook page and on Twitter.

Will there be other new covers? I’m thinking about it. My time travel books could use a facelift. I’ll keep you posted for any more celebration deals in the future.

Let me know what you think of the new Solstice Dragon covers.

#covers #dragons #fantasy

Stop, drop and research – sometimes you need the answer right now!

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Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

In March, I started a new series. It’s not really a series
as each novel can standalone, but they are all set in the same world of the Solstice
Dragon. What they have in common is setting, and there is a solstice dragon
that is key to each book.
As I’ve been writing them, I’ve had to stop now and then to
research. Sometimes the research has required an hour or more of reading and
notetaking, such as when I was researching castle building. Other times, I’m
searching for a word or term appropriate to the time or I need to know if a
certain item or clothing would have been used in the 1700s which is the time
period these books are loosely set in, largely just for reference as the world
of solstice dragons is a creation not an actual place on known Earth.
So what have been these little items that take a minute or
two of sleuthing about the internet? That is what this post is about. Just this
week, I have tracked down the following words.

  • What are the three walls that make up the back
    of a fireplace that keeps the heat from damaging the building called? Firebox.

    Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
  • Parts of a horse – namely the withers: the high
    point between the shoulder blades of a horse
  • A particular roof style that has roofing angled
    on all four sides versus say an A-frame: that’s a hip roof.

  • What is the difference between trousers, pants
    and breeches? Trousers go to the ankle whereas breeches stop at the knee and
    are often tied about the waist to keep them up. Pants? Apparently, those
    reference panties in the time period I’m working with. Definitely don’t need to
    mention the lady’s undergarments at inappropriate times.

  • Grains – these took a little more time as I was
    looking into identifying both a grain as well as having a picture to aid
    in describing it properly.
  • A picture of a stove. There’s a kitchen, so, of
    course, I needed to get a good impression of what a stove of the Solstice Dragon
    World would likely look like and how it should operate.

    Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

That’s all folks. Do you stop and search for scraps of
knowledge when you realize you’re missing some information? What did you
search for this week that you thought was pretty interesting?
#words
#writing
#fantasy