A Review Of My Book

A few thoughts on some book series

One thing I can't stand is when authors string out a series for no reason other to sell books. For example: The Wheel Of Time by Robert Jordon. This was one of the first fantasy series I really got into. It had an extremely good start, and would have made a fantastic trilogy. Instead, Jordon turned it into a 12 volume behemoth, mired down in details. Then, when he finished book 11, he DIED! Personally, I made it to book 6, then quit reading it all together.

I'm thankful that J. K. Rollings didn't do this with Harry Potter. Although a few of her books, especially book 5, could have been a hell of a lot shorter.

My series, I am going to limit it to 7 books. Five in the main story arc, and two collections of short stories.

Blood Of The Righteous (Published and available in both physical form and e-book)
Fall Of The Righteous (Writing this one now)
Redemption Of The Righteous
The Ki Kalendeen Chronicles - A Collection Of Short Stories
Return Of The Righteous
The Ki Kalendeen Chronicles - Tales Of The Blackguard
Wrath Of The Righteous

Afterwards, I have some ideas for a trilogy involving one of the minor characters from the first series.

Lesson learned

When I set up my CreateSpace account, I paid an extra $25 to make my book available to "extended distribution" channels. The way it works, your book is available directly from CreateSpace (Author gets about 45% royalties), Amazon (Author gets about 22% royalties), or Extended Distribution (Author gets 3% royalties).

So I selected Extended distribution. What that means is that bookstores can buy your book for a lower cost. I looked at amazon, and I found that 5 parasite bookstores were offering MY BOOK on Amazon cheaper than getting it directly from Amazon! Needless to say, I turned off that channel, as it is nothing more than a way to cheat authors out of royalties. I can't stand parasites. I put months of my life into my book! Now, the only way it is available is directly through Amazon or CreateSpace.

I did, however, leave the library extended channel open.

Lesson learned.

Blood Of The Righteous now available for the Kindle!

The book is ready!!!

WOOHOO!!! The book is finally available!
Buy Blood Of The Righteous today!

World Map

Here's a map of the world in Blood of the Righteous:

Why J. E. Sandoval?

J. E. Sandoval is not my real name. So why did I chose it for my pseudonym?

I was adopted when I was 3 months old into a lower-middle class family. Growing up, my idea of luxury was going out to eat at McDonald's once a month, on the Friday of my dad's non-mortgage payday. Those fairly meager beginnings gave me a very good perspective on life, and an appreciation for any blessing that may come my way.

It was a good thing my biological mom put me up for adoption. She was 18 and an unmarried college student. Fortunately, it was 1969. Her pregnancy shattered her relationship with her father. After I was out of the picture, given to a loving family, she was able to go through medical school and became an MD.

When I was 30, I got in touch with her again. The first time I met her, her husband, my two biological siblings, and my biological grandmother and grandfather was at my adopted dad's funeral. My dad was the rock solid foundation of our family. Giving me my biological family kind of felt like God's way of softening the blow.

Anyway, I digress. The name of my adopted family just doesn't roll off the tongue. It turns out that my biological father, whom I've never met, is Hispanic. This is why I chose the last name Sandoval. Plus, on book shelves in the bookstores, it will put my novels next to R. A. Salvatore!

Serendipity, baby!!!

Covers are ready!

The cover to Blood Of The Righteous is done! Thank you Steve Till, my cover artist (visit his blog here).