The Beginning of the End

Once upon a time not so very long gone, I began my self-publishing adventure with a walk beneath the boughs of an enchanted forest. Step followed step, and story followed story – from the mystery of “The Swan Prince” to the legend of “The Stone Kingdom”, through time with “The Seventh Spell” and to the music of “The Song Caster”, under the dueling lights of “The Sun’s Rival” and into the storm of “The Surrogate Sea”, taking a side jaunt with “The Sky-Child and Other Stories” along the way. And now at last, the journey nears its end.

From the inspired hand of Yana Naumova, I present to you…

…the face of the final Wilderhark Tales novella.

(Click to zoom in for a closeup)

For Gant-o’-the-Lute, “ever after” has been less than happy. With the last of Carillon’s charm over him gone, the minstrel-king puts royalty behind him in pursuit of the music he once knew and the lifelong dream he let slip through his fingers. But dark whispers on the wind warn that time is running out – not only for Lute and the apprentice in his shadow, but the whole of earth and Sky.

“The Story’s End (Book Seven of The Wilderhark Tales”, coming October 13, 2015; now available to add to your Goodreads “To Read” shelf.

The Outside

Those of you who’ve laid hands on hard copies of the previous Wilderhark Tales may be saying to yourselves, “Is it just me, or is the spine of Book Seven looking pretty fancy?”

To which I say, “It’s not just you.”

My perfectionist eye has grown disgruntled with the comparative plainness of my Wilderhark covers’ typography – particularly on the spines. I want my book babies’ exteriors to flaunt a touch more pop!, and I just may have finally figured out how to achieve it. This means that by the time the last novella launches (barring insurmountable shenanigans), all of the preceding Tales will be gussied up to match it. Sing hey for self-pubbing with print-on-demand, where such tweaks can be made without bringing the world to its knees!

The Inside

I shall be frank with you: This story both pleases me and breaks me every time I read it. It is an emotional, bittersweet, and straight-up painful goodbye to the series that’s become so dear to a number of hearts. I hope you love it and/or curse my name through your tears.

In the meantime… what do you think of the cover? ^^