Song of the Elves

Posted By David Shepherd on July 12, 2009

This is going to sound like a terrible cliche, but writing a book really is a journey.  You begin with the idea, start to flesh out a few plot lines and tentatively begin to put the meat on the bones.  Before you know it you are writing, forging ahead with imperfect passages but getting the tale down nonetheless.

Eventually, after two years of hard slog, cramming in hours after work, you have a book.  And that’s just the beginning.

Then begins the endless agonising over what you’ve created, the tough decisions over what to chop and what to keep; the scrutiny of words and seeking of alternatives.

After an eternity you get to the stage where you can see the end in sight.  The book has taken shape, all the ingredients are in place, but it just doesn’t feel right.  This is when the real work begins; the decisions that will make or break the narrative, create a flow or engineer a stuttering mess. 

I feel I passed the last point a long time ago, and having the paperback proof of A Shadow Falls finally in my hands after three years of work feels like a major achievement. And yet there is more to be done.

I know from your feedback that I’m in the right ball park, but still there is some tweaking and pruning to carry out.  The odd word here, the occasional passage there – final changes to make the product as good as I can make it.

Perfection will never be achieved, but I will keep going until A Shadow Falls can be delivered to you as I imagined it to be.  My favourite books as a kid were the ones that I read without really noticing the individual words;  the stories just flowed and surged to heart stopping, pulse pounding conclusions – Bradbury, Brooks, Heinlein, Chandler. 

You don’t have to be one of the greats to strive to deliver your best.  In short, I guess what I am saying to my dear readers who have offered such support, is bear with me a little while longer while I make Book One of the Song of the Elves the best that I can make it.

It won’t be long now and I think you will like the results.  Thank you for your patience.

Up the Elves!

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Posted By David Shepherd on July 4, 2009

I wait with baited breath for the paperback version of A Shadow Falls to land on my doorstep.  The first copy of the book has been printed by on-line publishers lulu.com and is winging its way to Song Of The Elves HQ from the United States.

After I’ve proofed the book it will be made available for general sale.  Details of how to purchase a copy will be published on this website and a link will be created to make the process as easy as possible.

Here at SOTE HQ we are very excited about this next phase in the development of the book.  We’ll arrange a viewing of the cover for you in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for keeping the faith.  Until next time – up the Elves!

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Posted By David Shepherd on June 26, 2009

After spending the weekend inputting the new ‘creature’ feature to the website, I had a day of getting close to the ‘beasts’ of my garden whilst repairing the back fence.  Our cats Bob and Alf have seen off the local squirrel population, but the outdoor catbowl seems to be attracting a whole new set of visitors – Spike the hedgehog, Blackie the Blackbird and Sooty the farm cat have all invaded.  Bob and Alf need to up their game!

This weekend the technical team here at SOTE HQ will begin the final process of readying A Shadow Falls for paperback release.  Watch this space…

I’ve also begun mapping out part two of the mini-series The Wolves of Winter, a thrilling saga from an earlier age of Rhoderica (check out Part 1 now in the chapters section) and aim to make it available in time for Christmas.  Thomas is now a teenager, but his grandfather Malakai can still spin a tale to keep him on the edge of his seat.  This time we get a peak at life during the Black Rose Wars.  We will also see a little more of the relationship between Tom and Malakai and gain an understanding of the strain between Thomas and his father, who seems to shun all notion that the Wolves of Winter ever existed.

As for the summer, well I’ve ear marked time to complete The Mirror of His Soul, my stand alone sci-fi thriler.  If only there were more hours in the day…

Up the Elves!

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Posted By David Shepherd on June 17, 2009

Now that I’ve completed the final draft of A Shadow Falls, I’m taking a short break from editing the next installment  of Song of the Elves while the SOTE technical team prepares Book One for paperback release.

As a result I’ve got time on my hands, which I aim to use to expand the content of the website.  To get the ball rolling I turned to the beasts of Rhoderica.

Check out the Creatures page to find out what manner of beast Kirik and his friends can expect to face in their forthcoming adventures.

Boarbacks, Darklings, Gnarls and Zelts are just a few of the wierd and wonderful animals that inhabit Rhoderica.

Enjoy, but be warned – many of these creatures hunt at night, when the shadows fall…

Up the Elves!

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Posted By David Shepherd on June 14, 2009

Finally, its done – the final ammendments to A Shadow Falls are complete.  After an extensive scrutiny and partial re-write I feel that I’ve finally got the mauscript to the level of quality and excitement that I originally envisaged.  At Song of the Elves HQ we will now begin the task of making it available as a paperback.

For those of you who have read the draft on the website and might be wondering what’s changed here are a few teasers…

Several key moments have been re-written to increase the emotion and intensity of the scenes.

Two plotlines in particular have been ‘beefed up’ so that they will run more smoothly in to book two.

Every effort has been taken to make sure that each scene of the story feels right, and to ensure the sounds and smells of Farsee Forest ooze from the pages.

It won’t be long before the paperback is available.  I hope you think the wait will have been worth it.

Up the elves!

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Posted By David Shepherd on June 3, 2009

The final draft of A Shadow Falls is coming along nicely – only two chapters left to check and then we will begin the process of putting the book out for sale as a paperback.  Fingers crossed, it will be available to buy in time for the summer holidays.

The novel will also include an exclusive sneak preview of book two of The Song of the Elves, with the inclusion of Chapter One of The King’s Blades.

Every measure is being taken to ensure that the paperback will be an experience not to be missed.  Just wait until you see the cover art…

Thank you to everyone for your patience.

Up the elves!

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Posted By David Shepherd on May 28, 2009

Hi folks – I hope you are all enjoying the half-term break.  The sun has been shining on Song of the Elves HQ for most of the week.  Apologies for the delay in news updates – I’ve been busy with the final draft of A Shadow Falls.

I’m about a week away now from completing the ammendments to the manuscript, and I can honestly say that I am very happy with the results.  Writing a book is something that could become a never ending task if you let it, as you can always find things that you are not entirely happy with every time that you go back to it.  However, the changes I have made in this final re-draft were necessary to address a couple of issues that I had with the current version of the manuscript that you can download from the website.  

With the benefit of hindsight, having completed books two and three, I wanted to go back and strengthen one particular plotline and to increase the interest in one character.  I feel I’ve achieved that now and will be happy to finally put the book to bed after I’ve finished perusing the final chapters.  There will be no more tinkering after that – I promise.

The end result should be rewarding and, fingers crossed, a few short weeks from now you will be able to see the results for yourself bypurchasing the finished book in paperback.

Thanks to everyone for your patience.  Many of you will be waiting for book two and wondering why I’m taking time to fuss over part one.  However, as I said a couple of weeks back, you, my loyal readers, deserve to receive the very best I can manage when the book is finally committed to print.  Not long to wait now…

Up the Elves! 

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Posted By Nick Peirson on May 17, 2009

To make it even easier to spread the word about “The Song of the Elves”, I’ve added an RSS feed for the news articles and added “Share” links to all the news articles and downloads to let you share them on sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Digg, etc.

If you’re not familiar with RSS feeds, they let you subscribe to updates from the site. You should see an orange logo in the address bar, or menu bar, depending on your browser. Clicking on it will let you subscribe to the RSS feed so you’ll get updates as soon as they’re posted to the site.

We want to make it as easy as possible to let other people know about Song of the Elves,  particularly with the printing of the book being imminent. To make this as simple as possible, you can click on the share link on any news article, or download, to share the link via email, social networking sites, such as Facebook and Myspace, search engines, such as Google, news sites, such as Digg and other services such as Delicious and Stumbleupon. Hopefully you’ll take the time to let all your friends know about Dave’s great book!

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Posted By David Shepherd on May 16, 2009

Final preparations are being made for the release of A Shadow Falls as a paperback.  In order to make this book as perfect and special as possible for my loyal readers I am currently undertaking a final revision of the manuscript.  Scenes are being tightened, plot lines strengthened and every care is being taken to make the debut of A Shadow Falls in paperback an experience not to be missed.

Fans of the downloadable version will not be disappointed; the plotlines remain the same, but everything will feel a little sharper – the dangers a little starker, the emotions of the characters a little more raw.  Here at Song of the Elves HQ excitement is growing; we can’t wait to make this ‘ultimate’ version of A Shadow Falls available for purchase as a paperback. 

The front cover looks great: many thanks to the people at Design Office in Crewe for your vision of Farsee Forest – perfect!

We’ll give you a chance to view the cover art in the forthcoming weeks and news on how to purchase the paperback will follow soon… 

For now, long live the Elves!

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Posted By David Shepherd on May 4, 2009

I had such a vivid dream last night that I have to share it with you…

I was rambling in the Lakes with friends and fell into step beside none other than J.R.R. Tolkien – he looked like himself from the pictures I’ve seen, but was tall like Gandalf.  We talked about nature and the world, neither of us mentioning our work and the miles slipped effortlessly by.  When we returned to our hotel, my friends couldn’t believe that I hadn’t tapped the great man up for advice on geting published.

Plucking up the courage, I went along the corridor to where Tolkien was roomed.  Autograph hunters and Lord-of the-Ring-ophiles were hanging around outside his door.  I knocked and Tolkien appeared with impatience etched on his face.  It instantly mellowed when he saw me and he brought me inside.  Around a table in the centre of an otherwise empty white room were seated a number of geeky looking men working on Warhammer figures from Middle Earth.  Gandalf fired comments their way, advising on dress and colour, before turning his attention to me.

His face fell when I produced my manuscript; he looked disappointed and knowing at the same time.  Instantly I wished I had not listened to my friends and I made to leave, apologising for spoiling the afternoon we had shared, one that he had clearly enjoyed, free as it was from the concerns of his work.  Unexpectedly, Tolkien grabbed  me by the arm.  Some of the grandfatherly paternalism of his gandalf-esque demeanour had returned, but there was more than a little menace in his words.

‘If you’re going to go up against the book,’ he said, ‘then prepare to be doomed!’  His eyes twinkled and then he ushered me out on to the corridor where I stood twirling the manuscript with sweating palms.

Great – I get to meet the  legend and end up being hexed!  No more cheese before bedtime for me!

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