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Sunday, August 1, 2010

Sorcerers and Seer Cover Revealed--Update

I'll let fans and followers see it first. Here's the new cover for Tennis Shoes Volume 11: Sorcerers and Seers. I'm not sure it's my favorite cover, but it is my favorite book, so that makes up for it. :)

The book heads to press next week. They say its release is still set in stone for September. Hard to believe they can turn things around that fast now. I still have at least two full days left before I complete the unabridged audio recording. Then Covenant's audio editor has their work cut out for them to meet the deadline.

Fans can still pre-order Volume 11 by going to: Link

The book and audio tape are both discounted. Some fans have asked if the ordering site is secure. Yes, I've paid the "protection" money (sounds like the mob!) to my Merchant Account, but I've left it to my webmaster to post the "Secure Certificate" info, and he has not done so. An error message also shows at the top of the page, but please ignore it. The so-called "error" has nothing to do with the ordering part of the site. Pretty rinky-dink, I know. The best option for some may be to just call me directly. Then we skip the website and go directly to the Merchant Account--no middle man. Many have called to order this way. I've had a few people express reservations about calling the author directly. I guess I understand that. Some would like me to remain like the magician in the back room, too mysterious to actually speak to folks. But, hey, I LIKE talking to fans, and this is how I make a living, so if you don't want to order online, please feel free to call me at 801-495-0555. Leave your number if I'm unavailable and I'll call ASAP.

For the audio recording we settled on four separate narrators. Me, Carlyn Blake, Dave Walker, and Summer Naomi Smart. Summer and Dave were the hardest to nail down. Dave has narrated many Covenant audio tapes, and has traditionally done the part of Marcos for my stuff, but for the last year he has been bogged down in a start-up business. Both he and Summer did this as a personal favor to me, so I am deeply grateful. My sister, Carlyn, as usual is wonderful to work with. She flew down from Boise and reprised her role of Meagan, doing a spectacular job.

So who played Joshua??? Well, I looked into possibly hiring another narrator, but in the end, I decided to read Joshua's part myself. Joshua has some intense stuff in this book, and I wanted it done right. If I'd looked hard enough, I'm sure I could have found the perfect narrator for that part, but who has time? This product will be ON THE SHELVES in a month! It seems like this has all happened very fast, but I got to hand it to my publisher. They pulled out all the stops.

The page count on this book ended up over 500 pages! NOW we're in Harry Potter-length territory. I'm certain fans won't care. They're just getting more adventure for their money. It's very cool, because my initial impression was that they were going to expand the margins and decrease the fontsize so that they could keep the book the same basic length as the previous book, or as we call it in the publishing biz, keep the same "pagination." The best part is, even with this book almost 100 pages longer than any other Tennis Shoes book, they only raised the price a buck. And the audio book, at least for now, is the exact same price as the unabridged audio for "Kingdoms and Conquerors". To accomplish this, there may be some modest, undiscernable time compression and 13 CDs instead of 12. Sure, it means I don't get a "raise" in royalty, but at this point, after making fans wait for so many years, I'm more pleased that the publisher has been price conscious and tried to keep down costs.

As I have said, I personally feel this is the strongest book I've written to date. It tackles so many subjects that no fiction author--LDS or non-LDS--has ever tackled. Great fun. As long as it remains a challenge, it also remains fun, and that's the most important thing for me as an artist.

22 comments:

  1. its not my favorite cover either, but i'm sooo happy we finally have it! it does look really good! i'm so excited! only a month left!

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  2. We are looking forward to being able to read this book!

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  3. Very cool. Been waiting a long time for this.

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  4. Hi Chris,

    I can hardly believe how long I've been listening to this series (which is since I was in elementary school), but it's been amazing all along. To be honest, I felt like I could identify with you during those years, and, now that I'm a freelance writer myself, I have to say that you certainly played a part in getting me to start writing (among other things). In short, thanks. =D

    I can't wait to listen to this book (I've read a few of them, but I really only get the old "warm fuzzies" by listening to them)!

    One more thing, and it's not a big deal, but allow me to put myself out there. I know you already have all the readers for this book, but, in the future, I'd be happy to come and audition for a role. I've been careful, since I was young and first heard how you and others read audio books, to read with careful and entertaining inflection. People compliment my reading voice often (which is a little wierd sometimes, actually), and I do a weekly Podcast, which keeps my speaking and reading (listener e-mails) aloud sharp.

    There are, I'm sure, plenty of people who read better than I, but if you're willing to give an audition, I'd try my hardest to blow you away. =D

    Either way, Chris, I've always considered you a friend, and I look forward to seeing your next big project.

    Thanks again!
    Jared Glenn
    jared_glenn@yahoo.com

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  5. I am so happy to find this and I hate that I obviously have not checked in quite a while to see where you are! It thrills me to read what you've posted the last 12 months. I am looking so forward to this new book and will have a Tennis Shoes listening marathon in the car in preparation for it. I have three sets of books that I love enough to listen to over and over again -- Tennis Shoes (all ten), Harry Potter (all seven) and Twilight (all four). Weird grouping, but they are the only fiction I love and trust enought to invest in. Thanks for this!!

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  6. So when is the actual date of its release?

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  7. chris............ is there someway you could make a combo pack of cd's and the book?

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  8. Yes. Just call. Many have ordered both.

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  9. Mid-Sept, I believe, for the book. No release date yet for the CD, but it's usually simultaneous. However, on at least one occasion the book preceeded the audio by a couple weeks.

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  10. thats funny that you say you aren't sure you like the cover, cuz neither am i! at first i didn't like it too much, but now i'm starting to think its pretty cool. i still like the Tower of Thunder cover the best...

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  11. Hi Chris, do you know if there will be a mp3 disc released as there was with the other books?

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  12. I am soooo excited to read this book! My friend, Elle Garlitz, got me to read the first one in the 7th grade. I am currently a junior and I have read this series 4 times!!!! Is that obsessive at all? HAHAHAHA!!!

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  13. Will this make it to iTunes? I would love to put your books on my iPod, but I have a hard time fitting the CDs in there.

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  14. I want to reread the story, so I'm all caught up to date and ready when I get the new one. I don't have time to read all 10 previous books, in which volume does the current story begin?
    Thank you,

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  15. The current story begins in Vol. 8: Warriors of Cumorah. Many have asked about MP3. As of now the publisher has now downloading options, but I think this is on their agenda for next year.

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  16. Oh my gosh I can't wait till the next book! I started at book 5 and 6 (thats all I had)and I read both in less than 12 hours. I LOVE YOUR BOOKS!!!!! I can't wait till the book comes out! Now I have to go back in time and read books 1, 2, 3, and 4.

    -Skylar

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  17. Looking forward to reading the whole thing. Since I was just doing the narrating for Marcos those are the only chapters I saw and now I'm anxious for the rest! :-)

    ~David Walker

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  18. Hey...Chris? Brother Heimerdinger? Lol. Just wanted you to know you are my favorite author in the UNIVERSE and the Tennis Shoes Adventures is my favorite series (yes, over Harry Potter). Everything about your books is perfect - the research, the variety in genres(humor, romance, adventure, suspense, spirituality - just amazing!), how you are able to write for both genders so well , how you keep the audience hooked through the entire of the story. I am your biggest fan and I just hope to one day be as good an author as you are and I can't WAIT for this next book!!
    ~Rachel

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  19. I'm sorry Rachel. You cannot be as good an author as me. They've tried to create such in the lab and ended up with a serious bio-hazard situation that made the area unstable for 75 years.

    However, unfortunately for me, they have developed the technology to create authors who are BETTER than me. Darn scientists anyway!

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  20. Wow, It is nice to read all of these posts to know that I am not the only Tennis shoes "geek" (please understand I say that with affection)in the world. I am a Mother of 3 and when I saw the Seagull book thing with the tennis shoe #11 in the mail I ran screaming through the house. My husband thought the house was on fire! Then I ran to my babysitters house (she was the one who got me hoooked on the books in the first place)and we ran screaming through her house.

    Chris, Thank you for writing these books! You have made the scriptures come to life for many many of our young adults......And me.... A geeky mom.

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  21. I know I'm late to the discussion, but I'm living in Taiwan and only JUST found out about the new book. Anyway, I really don't want to wait until I'm home in August '11 to listen (yes, it has become a tradition for me to listen, not read to these great novels ever since jr. high!).

    In short is there any update on the mp3/downloading option?

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