Author: J.S. Council
Series: Airion Series
Genre: Young Adult Epic Fantasy
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: July 2 2011
Aside from his outward appearance, Kobi is a normal thirteen-year-old boy. Living with his mother, his father, and his identical twin brother, Raili, with whom he spends most days at the cove watching dolphins and whales feed, he is happy with his life just the way it is. But his fourteenth birthday is coming and Kobi has no idea how much his life is about to change.
When
Raili is pulled through a puddle in the floor of their second floor bedroom by
a monster armed with poisonous, spiked tentacles, Kobi goes in after him. What
he finds isn’t Raili, but a new world all together, buried beneath the ocean.
With a bounty on his head that has been there since he and Raili’s birth, Kobi
will have to learn to fight or die before he can be reunited with Raili again.
Everything he knew to be true was a lie.
People
he loved and trusted are not who they seem. He isn’t the normal boy he thought
himself to be. A transformation is coming. Raili is gone. Blood is shed.
Traitors lurk, waiting for their chance. War is inevitable. The fate of the
world of Airion rests in his hands. The Wiseone speaks. Failure is certain.
“If the Cellians just wanted us dead, why didn’t they just kill Raili instead of taking him?” asked Kobi.
“That is the question, isn’t it?” said Kaiyen slowly. “If they only wanted to use his power, wouldn’t they have taken them both?”
“Not necessarily,” said Rick, fist to his chin. “Having both would probably be too dangerous to risk. They may have been afraid of being destroyed from the inside if they worked together to free themselves. Even with one son of the prophecy, they could cause considerable damage, or so they may think.”
“But Raili would never do that though,” Kobi protested. “Dad…I…I mean, Black Master Rick. You know Raili; you know he wouldn’t do anything like that.”
“It may not be his choice,” said Kimi. “The Cellians can be very persuasive.”
Kobi’s heart sank. “What would they do to him?” he asked, not wanting to hear the answer.
“Whatever they had to,” said Kaiyen. “That is why we must focus on a plan of rescue, before Raili Saio acquires the powers they seek.”
“On our fourteenth birthday,” said Kobi.
“Yes,” said Kai Ventra. “Almost all Airians change on their fourteenth birthday. Along with the natural changes they undergo, such as growing gills, they also acquire unique individual skills, allowing them to thrive more than most others in that ability. These abilities can be anything from designing exceptional clothing to controlling the elements.”
“The stronger the ability, the harder it is to control,” said Kaiyen. “No doubt Cella is depending on this.”
“It won’t work,” said Rick.
“Agreed,” nodded Kaiyen. “But there is another matter that must be discussed, if I may.” Questioning eyes turned to Kaiyen. “Lady Sara,” Kaiyen continued after a swift nod from the King. He was addressing the old woman seated beside Kimi, “have you seen anything in your Kubec about a traitor in Zire.”
Whispers filled the room. “You go too far, Captain,” said Bran.
“What are you saying,” said the advisor to Bran’s left.
“Silence,” said Sai Thayne. The talking ceased instantly. The King’s questioning eyes fell on Kaiyen then turned to Lady Sara. “Wise One?”
“This man possesses a tainted heart,” said the old woman, her eyes gazing into the diamond block. “His treachery dives deep.”
“Do you know who this man is?” asked Kaiyen.
“I see not his face nor his rank,” said Lady Sara, her brow creased and her hands resting on the Kubec. “However, he knows all that we know and some we do not.”
“It is as I thought,” said Kaiyen, “Zire’s traitor has resurfaced.”
Pros and Cons of Book Marketing for You As An Author?
I will admit. When I decided to make writing my career choice my sophomore year at the University, I didn’t give much thought about how I would market my work. I was excited about writing, putting words on paper to tell a narrative that many could enjoy and some could relate to. At twenty years old, I was naïve, thinking that all I had to do was write and someone would just publish it. No problem!
Problem.
What I didn’t take into account was the competitive nature of this career choice. There are many great authors out there who have not been discovered. There is such amazing talent out there that gets looked over because the story lines isn’t “in” right now, which basically means you should throw a vampire, werewolf, or some other supernatural creature in a love triangle and try again.
When I finished Airion: Return To Zire I was so excited. I would send it out, someone would take it and publish it and market it for me and I could just worry about writing the next book, right?
Wrong.
I was living in Japan when I finally decided that book one of the Airion Series was ready for the world. Being half a planet away and living in a non-English speaking country, I didn’t put much thought into traditionally publishing. So I looked into Self-Publishing options. They were aplenty. But then I realized that this was now a one-man show. All writing, editing, publishing, and yes, that dreaded word, marketing (Ba-ba-baaaaammm *thunder and lightning crack the sky*) had to be done by me.
Pros to Self-Marketing
• Freedom: The Pros of marketing my novel, as a self-published author, is definitely the freedom involved. There are no limitations or constrictions to how I can or cannot market myself. I use Facebook, Twitter, My Website, My Blog, and any other network that I can to promote my novel. You have the freedom to meet like-minded people and help each other over time, gaining friends and followers as well as people to follow.
• Conviction: Marketing my own work definitely brings me closer to the work that I have done. It takes a certain level of belief in oneself to tell another person that they should read your work, to assure someone that they should take time out of their busy lives for your cause. This warrants a degree of confidence that I have not always possessed. Not until I realized that, in the realms of marketing, as a first time, self-published author, if I didn’t do it, it wouldn’t get done. Talk about lighting a fire.
• Organization: Managing your time and schedule are key in marketing. I like to use both my own website as well as my facebook page to reach my audience. Hosting Book tours and managing my own blog as well as writing, creating my book cover, and everything else I do in life can be a difficult job. But it teaches me organization and planning, two very useful skills that I have had to develop over time.
Cons to Self-Marketing
• One-Man Show: Although there is a lot of freedom and much to be learned as a self-promoter of your work. There is still A LOT to do and there is only you to do it. When I first started trying to market my novel and get my blog off the ground, I had to realize that, unless I wanted to spend money for marketing schemes that may or may not work, it was just I. I had to figure out the best way to go about getting my name out there. It isn’t easy.
• Discouragement: It is easy to feel like your efforts aren’t good enough. Especially when you are honest with yourself and are your own worst critic. It is easy to become discouraged after marketing for a months and months, gaining only peaks of success at a time. Having a support group always helps with this; family, friends, writer’s groups, or the like are always good ways to combat these feelings of self-doubt.
• Breaking in: The world of writing is huge, with many people well into the game. They know how to market and know whom to know. As a new kid on the block, so to speak, it can be very difficult to break into this world and become someone worth remembering. During a time when originality is scarce but key and marketing is the ticket, this can be the toughest realization of all.
Despite the difficulty, self-marketing, whether you are self-publishing or traditional publishing, is very important. Knowing your trade is key and fighting through the cons is necessary for success.
“Although
I didn’t fully commit to making writing my life’s work until my sophomore year
of college, I have always been a writer at heart. I was the only student in
class to get excited about school papers, even asking to write a few for extra
credit on occasion. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at
Wilmington with a degree in Creative Writing – Fiction. After graduating, I
moved to Japan where I wrote most of my debut novel, Airion: Return to Zire and all of my second novel Airion: Light and Dawn – the first two
of a four book series. Japan was a peaceful place to just sit and write, but
life in Japan was also filled with adventure. However much I loved it there, I
had to return home to do what I love most. Write.”
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Thanks for hosting me! It was awesome being posted on your site!
your welcome and you are welcome back at anytime
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I would love to hear your thoughts. :) HAPPY READING !!!!