23 February 2012, Publication – more Book Information
Introduction: I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little. I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon, the working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel. Over the last year, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel.
I’m using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I’ll keep you informed along the way. At this moment, I’m showing you the marketing material I put together for a novel.
Today’s Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select “production schedule,” you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.
Author Central also allows you to enter more information on your novels. I give an example from my novel Centurion, www.CenturionNovel.com. You can add:
A Review
I have a couple of reviews up.
A Product Description
Hauntingly compelling, Centurion gives life to Abenadar, the man who was entrusted with the controversial and potentially explosive crucifixion of Christ. A longing heart. An unlikely friendship. Love…and the bitterest of betrayals. The son of a Galilean concubine-a Jewess-and a Roman ambassador, Abenadar suffered disapproving stares in the village of Natzeret, but so did the boy Yeshua, son of Yosef and Miryam. Perhaps it wasn’t unusual the two became fast friends. As Abenadar rises through the ranks of the Roman Legion to assume the rank of Centurion, he finds love with Ruth, a woman he rescues from the streets of Jerusalem. She believes the prophet Jesus is the One-the Messiah-everyone has been waiting for. Abenadar is dubious. He’s seen too many messiahs.and they all died on Roman crosses. But what if Jesus is telling the truth? As advisor to Procurator Pontius Pilate and a Roman, Abenadar has a duty to uphold…but it may cause him to lose everything.
From the Author
I was always intrigued by the statement of the centurion at the foot of the cross: “Surely this man was the son of God.” Perhaps my interest was because I served in the military and felt that my life was something like that centurion’s. In any case, I always wanted to know more about this military man and his statement. When I read Wallace’s book, Ben Hur and Douglas’s The Robe, I was left with more questions than answers. I wanted to delve deeply into the centurion’s life and know exactly who he was.
I began research into the centurion in the 1990s. Already, I knew his name. In Christian legend, it is Abenadar. He was said to be a man of mixed Roman blood. In early 1995, I wrote a short story about Abenadar. The main character was the woman who lived with him and the setting was their house following the crucifixion. Already I had begun to flesh out Abenadar. I made him a man of mixed lineage: Roman and Jew–otherwise Pilate would not have given the job of the crucifixion to him. He had to speak the languages of the people–again, otherwise Pilate wouldn’t have trusted him with the job. The woman who lived with him had to have been a woman of the streets–no other woman, other than a slave, would be able to associate with a Roman of mixed blood. He had to be competent. He had to be divided somewhat in his mind, but not his loyalties. The picture of Abenadar began to build. The picture of the woman he lived with began to come into focus. In the short story, I made both of them rougher than they ended up eventually, but that story was where the novel began.
I started writing the novel, Centurion, while I was flying in Europe in 1995. The first few chapters flowed. When you write a book about the life of a man, you need to start with his beginning, and the beginning of the centurion’s life was fundamental to his character. To be a member of a Roman Legion, he had to have a Roman father. To know the languages of the people, he needed to have a Jewish mother. Since the Romans, at the time, were attached to Herod the Great’s court in Jerusalem and there was a connection with Tiberius in Galilee, it was easy to build the character of both the centurion’s mother and father. She became a local bride to the Roman ambassador. Her home town was one of the largest in Galilee, Nazareth. From that, it wasn’t difficult to construct a possible interaction between Mary, the mother of Jesus and the mother of Abenadar.
The next step was the most difficult for me. I had to build the entire life of Abenadar. I chose to begin with his great step into the Legion. That was the real beginning of Abenadar as a military man. Years of research was poured lovingly into this portion of the book. It was a necessary and fulfilling step to build up the man who was to become the centurion at the foot of the cross. In the novel, the history about the Legions and about training, promotions, leadership, and structure is exact and exciting. At the same time, I laid the foundation for his loss of faith and his return to faith. He was, after all, a Jewish man in the Roman Legion.
Abenadar moved up the ranks to finally reach the position from which he would be called to play his greatest role in history. He wasn’t a man divided. He wasn’t incompetent. He wasn’t weak or foolish. He was one of Pilate’s favorites and yet a man of mixed lineage. I had not given up on his wife, or rather the woman who lived with him. The why of her existence was coupled with his. It had to intertwine. She had to be Jewish too, but able to live with a Roman Centurion. She had to be a woman of the streets. I chose to make her a woman who desired nothing but a home and stability. She had not lost her innocence in spite of her forced harlotry. She became a much less rough character than I first envisioned. She became the Centurion’s link to Jesus the prophet, the man he must eventually crucify.
So, in a nutshell, there is a part of the journey I made to write Centurion. It took a while and it was difficult, but when the manuscript was finished, it was whole and the men and women in it were whole. It let me understand just who was this man, Abenadar, the man who crucified Christ and who stated “This man was surely the son of God.”
From the Inside Flap
From the Back Cover
He was the son of a Galilean concubine–a Jewess
and a Roman ambassador…
Step into the first-century life of Abenadar, who grew up among the people of Natzeret. He and the boy Yeshua, son of Yosef and Miryam, live in different realms, but both feel out of place. Perhaps that’s why they defended each other …and later became friends.
Follow Abenadar’s rise through the ranks and units of the Roman Legion in Palestine until he becomes one of the lead Centurions in Jerusalem. When he accidentally rescues Ruth, a prostitute, and redeems her for himself, he becomes connected to the rumored prophet, Jesus. Ruth believes Jesus is the Messiah they’ve been waiting for. Abenadar is dubious. Yet, as part of the Roman Legion, he must follow the orders of Pilate–to crucify the prophet. If he does, will he lose Ruth’s love?
And what if Jesus is telling the truth?
About the Author
The about the author is the same as my usual bio, so I won’t bore you with that.
These show up on the product page for your book. Fill these in and make sure you get the word out about your book.
I’ll give you more about Author Central tomorrow.
I’ll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.
Aksinya Cover Proposal
