Update on my book~By Kyle

  Hi Everyone! I am finally getting excited about my book! After getting it to a point where it is edited correctly (well, at least 99.999 percent of it), I am well on my way to becoming a published author.:0) I decided to publish with FriesenPress (http://friesenpress.com/). FreisenPress is a perfect publisher for me because it is a mix between a self-publisher and a traditional publisher. I do quite a bit of the work, of course, in getting my book ready, but the people at FreisenPress will help me with some of the more complicated stuff (Book cover, text body design, publishing, exc.) I have filled out a lot of the forms and stuff already, and come Monday I am going to download my manuscript. This will start what my publishing consultant calls " the book layout phase". This phase is the one where my book, the book cover, and all the other stuff like the table of contents will be pieced together and made ready to publish. I will be sent a "proof" of my book after this phase, and if I am pleased with how my book is laid-out and everything, I will give FriesenPress the go-ahead to publish my book! I have not been given an estimate yet, but I would imagine that my book would be published sometime this spring.
   Something I did recently in my book was removing the name "hobbit" from it. After learning that J. R. R. Tolkien invented hobbits and that they are not a widely used race like dwarves of elves, I just didn't feel right including them in my book. Instead, I created gimbits. They are similar to hobbits, but not so much as to make them look like I was copying Tolkien. Here is how one of the characters in my book describes them:
  

"‘What is a gimbit?’ Well, I suppose I should start by explaining what they look like. Gimbits are very short, the shortest of all the halflings, and are very stout for their stature. They have large, flat feet and usually sport them off by walking barefoot. Consequently, their feet are very tough and leathery, and they seem to be all the more proud of them because of this.

      “As far as their personalities, they control their emotions much better than dwarves do and are more thoughtful, if not more wise, than most halflings, but in a negative sense they are slower to action as well. They will have four meals a day when they can and call their four meals ‘breakfast’, ‘brunch’, ‘linner’, and ‘dinner’. Many believe that Elrahin created gimbits as the only halfling race, that dwarves are only gimbits with the blood of men mixed in their veins, but I find it easier to believe that Elrahin created both dwarves and gimbits as separate halfling races. They are a unique race for sure, the most obvious difference in the gimbit and dwarf’s personality being in the gimbit’s firm dislike of mining stone. They will dig their homes in separate hills like the dwarves do, but they would rather have a house above ground than mine into a mountain. That, I guess, is a definition of a gimbit in a nutshell, though they are far, far more complex than that.”

Also, here is the picture I found for the cover of my book:

 The right-hand side of the picture will need to be cropped quite a bit to make it the right size, but I am pretty happy with it for the theme of my book. My book cover designer will add the title and my name when he/she designs the cover of my book. Can't wait!

Here is the updated synopsis:

Join the adventure of Aaron, Amy, and Michael, three teens who are thrust into a world inhabited by elves, halflings, talking animals, and other such creatures. In this other world there are many paths leading to places both good and bad, and magic swords that can guide you onto the right paths . . . and guard you from the wrong ones. The three teens are soon plunged into plans of a war between the ancient powers of the light and darkness and must travel to Burrowhill, a halfling city, to save it from destruction. But after one of the teens chooses a path that leads him into enemy hands, his friends embark on a desperate journey to save him before it is too late.

 Through fierce battles with foul creatures, to a journey into the beautiful elven city of Evantiell, the teens and their friends must trust more and more in their swords and the lord who made them as they become brave warriors for the light.

Stay tuned for several "sneek previews" of my book in the next few weeks. :0)