Category: Young Adults fiction

‘Behold!’ Is In Kindle Now

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

Behold! (Bell Mountain, 14) by [Lee Duigon]

The sales figures aren’t bad today, but I don’t have a single customer review on amazon.com and therefor have absolutely no idea of how my book has gone over with the reading public. In fact, I probably can’t prove there is a reading public.

Behold! in Kindle format will cost you $4.99. In paperback (so you can read it in bed, like I do) it’s an exorbitant $18. I think that’s less than it costs to go to the movies anymore. Yeah, that’s another nice little amenity in life that’s pretty much vanished. Unless you don’t mind shelling out for yet another comic-book movie with a wokie subtext… but I digress.

So how about it, Ms. and Mr. Public? Do you like the book? Don’t worry about crushing me by saying “no, it was bloody awful.” ‘Cause I know it isn’t!

Reading My Own Book?

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

Behold! (Bell Mountain, 14)

Our landlord saw me doing something yesterday which made him look twice.

“You’re reading your own book–that you wrote?” he marveled.

I could’ve said, “Oh, how about that! I thought there was something familiar about it!” But instead I just explained, “When you write a series of books, like I do, it’s so easy to forget details as you go on from book to book. You’d be amazed by the things I forget.”

That’s all true.

Now jump ahead to the next book, The Ocean of Time. For that book I tried something very challenging and only rarely seen–a double climax. In fact, I can’t think of any examples of one, just now. So part of the job of Behold! was to set the stage for events covered in the next book–

Which it does! And don’t ask me how, because when I was writing Behold!, the next book wasn’t even a half-formed thought. And yet the one book flows beautifully into the other. I really have no idea how that happens. Give God the glory.

(After Ocean of Time comes Ozias, Prince in Peril. That would be 2,000 years before the present time in Obann.)

Behold ‘Behold!’ Is Here!

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

I got my box of author’s copies yesterday, so I guess it’s official–Bell Mountain No. 14, Behold!, is now on sale.

Can our heroes use an ancient weapon to defend themselves, or will it wipe them out along with the enemy? Is there power left over from that vanished world?

Behold! is on sale at the Chalcedon Store (www.chalcedon.edu) and will soon be on sale at amazon.com and elsewhere. A paper shortage held up publication somewhat, but now it’s in print… and the rest is up to you, the readers.

I hope you’ll read this and let me know what you think of it. Let’s switch the lights on in the stadium, shall we?

‘Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus’

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

*Sigh* No hymn requests this morning. Oh, well… it’s been a while since I posted one by Alan Jackson, isn’t it? So let’s go with this one–Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.

The hymn shop’s open, everybody…

Bell Mountain Illustrations, No. 6

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

everybody with lee

Whoa! I got so busy with the “ban gas stoves” nonsense, I almost forgot to post this picture–another Bell Mountain illustration by Katheleen and Kerolyn, young readers in Brazil.

So here we have a group portrait of Helki the Rod, Jandra the little prophet, Jack and Ellayne, King Ryons–and some bearded guy in a black T-shirt. Holy cow–that’s me! They drew me, too.

I love these kids, and it humbles me to think their artwork was inspired by my books. Gives me something to live up to!

Bell Mountain Illustrations, No. 5

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

banjo real

Here we have Obst and Chief Uduqu giving King Ryons a bath, which he sorely needed at the time–another Bell Mountain illustration by Katheleen and Kerolyn, young readers in Brazil. I would love to use these inside the books, but we’d need a new edition for that. Think of it, though–a book illustrated by its own readers. I don’t know that that’s ever been done before.

I have one more picture of theirs to publish, and that’s scheduled for tomorrow–so stay tuned, I’ve saved the best for last.

Bell Mountain Illustrations, No. 4

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

jack corta

Jack and Ellayne in Lintum Forest–I think this is one of Kerolyn’s, although it’s not that easy to tell them apart.

Stay turned day to day, because I’m saving a real corker for last!

(Young Readers’ fantasy novels–we are pioneering a new trend! Books for young readers illustrated by young readers–how cool is that?

‘Bell Mountain’ Illustrations, No. 3

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

apos

Here are Ellayne and Jack on the summit of Bell Mountain, with Martis trying to collect his wits and get up from the snow. This is from Katheleen and Kerolyn, in Brazil–these are gifted girls!

I wish we could get some of these illustrations into a new edition of Bell Mountain. When have you ever seen a book illustrated by some of its readers? That would be so cool! But first we’d have to sell out the edition we already have.

Bell Mountain Illustrations, No. 2

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

eremita

Here are Jack and Ellayne with their donkey, Ham, meeting Obst, the hermit of Lintum Forest. I love these pictures by Katheleen and Kerolyn, our girls from Brazil… and I wonder if we could ever get them into the book someday. But first we’d have to sell out the current edition of Bell Mountain!

I don’t have much to show in the way of sales; but I do have gifted young readers who’ve done honor to my work. I’ll try to live up to it.

‘How to Write Good’ (2015)

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

7 Great Fantasy Novels for Teenagers - The New York Times

It isn’t often we hear from a best-selling author of young adults’ fiction, so let’s make the most of us. He insisted on concealing his identity, but you can probably guess who it is. You just can’t hide that kind of fame under a bushel.

How to Write Good

You will also notice how the market strives for Diversity by making sure that published novels, no matter how many there may be, are so shaped to be indistinguishable from one another. That way, if you’ve read one young adults’ fantasy, it’s sort of like you’ve read them all. The new ones won’t be so confusing then.