Author Advice from Wells and Bruzzi #EpicFantasy

Author Advice from Wells and Bruzzi

We have had to learn so much over the much of the last decade, it is hard to know where to begin in regard to any advice we could give to future authors. We had no experience, no direction, and no clue. Just a wild idea that had been rattling around in Jon’s head since he was a child. 

We could say that the greatest thing you can do for yourself is to learn what, and where, your resources are. Assuming you have avoided getting in your own way, stopping your progress a thousand times only to start over, and have actually finished your book/novella/story, knowing who to turn to for your next step is critical. Finding a good editor can mean the difference between life and death. 

You may think that you’ve got it under control, and that no one knows your work better than you do, but you could not be more wrong. We sent our first completed draft away to our editor thinking that we had done some solid work in polishing it ourselves, and she even complimented us on how good she thought the story was. But when we got it back, it was covered, front to back, in ink. Changes, switches, notes, comments, and questions filled practically every page, and though our editor maintained that she greatly enjoyed it, there was no question that it was a technical mess. And you know what? When we got through committing her changes to paper, our eyes were opened to just how chaotic our draft had been. It should have been obvious to us at the time, but no one ever wants to see the faults in their own act of creation. Not until someone scribbles all over it, and you dry your tears, do you see how much better it can be. And better it was.

Your next resource is all around you if you’re lucky: trusted people who are close to you, whose opinions you hold dear and respect, to read your work and lend their thoughts. Alpha and Beta readers are your soft introduction to a reading audience, and knowing how people may respond to your work will help you fine-tune it, trim the fat, and bulk up any parts that may be lacking necessary muscle. 

Many first-time authors lack confidence and are often too embarrassed to let anyone see what they’ve done, but we are here to say NO. You are only holding yourself back if you don’t let people in. If your story is just for you, then by all means, tuck it away and we will never bother you. However, if you intend for it to join the world at some point, the longer you delay people getting their eyes on it, the worse off you will be. 

And finally, we will leave you with one last nugget of wisdom: one of the hardest things to do when editing your story is knowing when to stop. Your book will never be perfect, and any attempt to do so will just end up turning you into Sisyphus, rolling the boulder up the hill every day, never to reach the top. Before we released The Blood of a King, we did one last proofread, just to catch typos and little technical errors, and Oh Boy was the urge to start slashing and dicing strong. We had spent so many years editing it from that early chaotic mess to our fine finished product, that the engines were still running. But it was finished. 

We knew it was finished, despite whatever tweaks we may have wanted to add. There is a difference between undoing critical errors and piddling. 

Once all of the problems are gone, and it’s all sanded and smooth, everything else is just you fussing over it because you don’t know when to pack it in. Allow it, and yourself, the dignity and pride of knowing that you’ve created something great. Sit back, relax, and have faith that you’ve done it right. 

Thank you so much for “listening”. We look forward to speaking with you again soon, 

Jon & Dennis

The Blood of a King 

The Rahmirion Chronicles

Book One

Wells and Bruzzi 

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Publisher: New Upper Books

Date of Publication: 4/25/2023

ISBN: Hardcover- 9798986771212 

ISBN: Paperback- 9798986771205   

Number of pages: 474

Word Count: 179,000

Cover Artist: Mert Genccinar

Book Description:

Victory was only the beginning.

Prince Mayson Karrok of Astymere grew up hearing countless stories from the night of his birth. Whispers of murder and betrayal; of war and destruction, all at the hands of an emperor who wanted him dead before he could take his first breath. A night meant to being a peaceful conclusion to the Endless War would become known across the world as the Night of Knives. The scar he bears on his chest is a reminder of just how lucky he is to be alive. 

But over a decade after his father, King Henry, killed that emperor and destroyed his empire, Mayson finds himself fighting to find his own way, fueled by the desire to both follow in his father’s footsteps, and to break free from his shadow to forge his own path. 

Unbeknownst to Mayson, his father set in motion a chain of events that would come to rule his destiny. When he is forced to choose between love and duty, will Mayson have the will to do what is right? For he’ll need all the strength and support he can muster as enemies begin to surround him, both from outside Astymere, and from within.  

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Excerpt

Henry reached out to touch the doors, and the more he fought it, the more the voice of the Raelian emperor mocked him. Tell me, Henry. Does the boy look like you? Does the proud blood of the Avaari flow within him, or has your whore given him too much of her mark?

“Silence,” Henry said, turning from the doors to break the illusion. He nearly stumbled upon a line of burnt skeletons strewn across the floor. “One more word and your death will be slow, I swear it. You will curse the day you first drew breath.”

The illusion had been broken, but the voice remained. I wish to know the face of my enemy, Karrok. When we come together at last, I wish to know it well.

“You will never touch him! Do you hear? You will never lay your hands on him!” Henry swung about, striking at the source of the voice, but it came from within, as slippery and foul as pond scum. The Beast will have his day, Karrok. You know it. One by one, those you hold dear will fall under his might. Your wife, your mongrel—even your precious Rahm shall be consumed by the Second Flame. But first, they shall all weep for you. You shall mark the beginning of the end.

The voice dragged Henry back into his false vision, forcing him to once again see the devastation he could not prevent. The windows blew apart around him as fire rained from the sky, drenching the White City in blazing destruction that consumed flesh, stone, and steel. It seemed like minutes before Henry finally took control of himself and stood before the emperor on his balcony, overlooking the growing inferno, listening to the sounds of screams. Tiberian’s hands were outstretched, his arms spread wide. His smile was filled with what Henry could only describe as pure, unhinged madness as he gazed upon the burning city and laughed. Even after Rahmirion took Tiberian’s head from his shoulders, that smile remained—and the emperor’s laugh could not be silenced.

“Nooooo!” Henry bellowed into the empty corridor. The vision was gone, and so was the voice. Those words stayed with him for nearly twenty years, but he had never heard them so clearly. He had tried to forget the look of glee on Tiberian’s face as fire bled from an otherwise clear sky.

About the Authors:

JONATHAN WELLS, lifelong fantasy and sci-fi lover, has been making up stories for as long as he can remember. Some have been scribbled on scraps of printer paper, others were left to just rattle around in his head. And that is exactly how this novel came to be.

The seeds for this epic fantasy were first planted in his 12-year-old brain, a day-dream world where he could wander off when school became too boring. After ten years, the daydream had taken on such a clear shape, with a linear plot and fully fleshed out characters, that he decided it was time to give it a proper “birth.” 

After showing rough sketch of one of his characters to college roommate, DENNIS BRUZZI, his friend “wanted in,” and the rest is history. Dennis, a proven storyteller through his work in journalism and video production, is taking pen to paper for the first time in the fantasy realm. An avid reader and a fantasy enthusiast, he is ecstatic to have worked with his longtime friend to bring this unique and expansive story to life.

“And The Blood of a King is only the tip of the iceberg,” promise Jonathan and Dennis. There are eight more books planned in this epic fantasy series.

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