The Myridian Constellation Continues to Grow, thanks to YOU.

30 years ago, even before The Door Within, I had an idea for a fantasy story centered around an assassin seeking redemption from a haunting past. The story began with "A Sword in the Stars." Here's a peek at the new cover concept.

The story begun with "A Sword in the Stars" continued to reveal itself to me with a reluctant young king, trying to live up to expectations and struggling to avoid his father's mistakes. Before I knew it, there was a really nasty red dragon and a devastating unexpected invasion. A sneak peek of "The Errant King" cover concept is below.

From the very beginning the Dark Sea series (now The Myridian Constellation), had 7 books outlined. Book 3, however, took me by surprise when it became such a behemoth that Amazon wouldn't even publish it in paperback at its size. It became clear that there were two very unique story arcs, and so I made the decision to split the third book into book 3 and book 4. I never imagined how much work and time it would take to re craft those tales into individual books of the series. "The Forsaken Continent" became book 3 and took nearly 5 years to complete. Here's a peek at the new cover concept for TFC:

"Mirror of Souls" was going to be book 3, but I quickly realized that too much needed to happen to lay the groundwork for what I think has become the turning point of the series. Here's a peek at the full cover of Book 4, Mirror of Souls. Release date is August 9th!

Author's Note: Thank you, readers for the opportunity to write for an audience. I'm no Tolkien or Rowlings, but you've all been so very kind to make it clear that these books have an audience. God made my dream come true and gave me a mission, but I'd get nowhere fast without knights and swordmaidens like you. I'm forever grateful.

Some Good News from ...Myriad!

Like my close friend {cough} John Krasinski always says, "It's time for some good news!" I am throwing a FREE Kindle Sale of Sword in the Stars, Errant King, and The Forsaken Continent from June 8th through 12th. You can get all three ebooks free from Amazon on those dates! Epic fantasy goodness coming your way! Never alone.

https://www.amazon.com/Wayne-Thomas-Batson/e/B001JRVV9C?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2&qid=1591112857&sr=1-2

Summer's here and the time is right for dancin—er, for READING! I've got TWO new books for you to check out. If you are a fan of the series called "The Dark Sea Annals," I've completely revised and republished the "Author-ized" version of Sword in the Stars and Errant King. The series is now called The Myridian Constellation, and the long-awaited third book in the series: The Forsaken Continent is out now in Kindle and Paperback!

And if you're the type who likes Christmas in July, I've released my modern retelling of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I've titled it "A Christian's Carol," and some have said it's a much needed wake up call to the modern Christian. True to the original, but updated with many of today's social issues, A Christian's Carol is (as one reviewer said) worth reading at any time of the year.

Here are the links:

New Sword in the Stars:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1974639037/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i8

New Errant King:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C1HWZCF/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i12

BOOK 3: The Forsaken Continent:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1090136129/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

A Christian's Carol:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1790977010/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i20

Go get 'em and enjoy some great beach reads!

The Forsaken Continent - Paperback and Kindle - Available beginning March 18th!

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I've got some good news. "The Forsaken Continent" Paperback -and- Kindle will be available on March 18th! 

 

Originally, I expected the release date to be 3/21, but turns out, it's EARLY!!! Here are the links:

Kindle: https://amzn.to/2UD8XAp

Paperback: https://amzn.to/2UD9suh

 

 

Hallooo, readers! Thank you for helping make 2018 my best year for self-published titles! I'm hoping to deliver a ton of epic goodness to you in 2019. Here's an update:

1) Book 3 of The Myridian Constellation: "The Forsaken Continent" is in the pipeline (see early draft of the front cover below). With the help of some great editors, I'm cleaning up the manuscript. That should take me a couple more weeks. After that, it's off to interior design and uploaded for Kindle. I'll also be asking Dave Cruse to continue voicing the series in book 3. Can't imagine any else reading for this series. If you haven't heard him in Sword in the Stars or Errant King, go listen to a sample on Audible. He's just ridiculously talented and skilled.

2) Book 4 of The Myridian Constellation: "Mirror of Souls" is about 40% completed. I'll be working on that hard and heavy, hoping for a summer 2019 release.

3) This summer, to celebrate my lovely wife's and my 25th wedding anniversary, we will be taking a 10-day trip to Scotland. During this trip, I'll be visiting many of the places that are key settings in "Ghost 2: Minister of Fire." I'm about 30% into that book, but decided to postpone until after Scotland. I plan to bust my rear on that book all summer and am hoping for an October 2019 release date.

4) Somewhere in and around all this, I have a short story called "Will o' the Wisps" for the Realm Makers Consortium anthology that will debut this summer.

5) And for Door Within Trilogy fans, I -MIGHT- have a huge surprise for you. But, right now, it's super hush, hush. I'll reveal what I can whenever I can. :-D

The NEW Author-ized Editions of Sword in the Stars & The Errant King—what's the deal?

A lot of readers ask me, what's new about these "Author-ized" editions of Sword in the Stars and The Errant King? Many readers purchased the original editions back in 2012 and are wondering if the new versions are worth getting. A little background might help answer those questions:

The original Sword in the Stars and The Errant King were published by AMG/Living Ink Publishing. I am grateful beyond words that AMG contracted me for those books and the whole Dark Sea Annals series. Unfortunately, changes in the publishing market made events go in a direction neither AMG nor I wanted. eBooks hit publishers hard, and AMG became stretched too thin. In the end, their fiction brand collapsed. After that, AMG was gracious enough to grant me back the rights to the whole series. 

Explore Sword in the Stars Paperback

That was a huge relief because I really feel like this series, now The Myridian Constellation, is the passion of my writing life. God has given me bits and pieces of this 7 book epic, and I hope and pray that all seven books will rock your world, honor God with craft, skill, and accuracy, and ignite passions within readers to dare to adventure in God's kingdom.

Explore Sword in the Stars Kindle

To those ends, I hired a professional editor so that we could clean up the manuscripts. With her help, I've added thousands and thousands of new words to each book. Don't worry! I didn't change any substantial plot lines, eliminate characters, or make any other drastic decisions that would warrant a good shin-kicking. What I did do is quite a bit more character building, a ton of foreshadowing for the rest of the series, and (HOPEFULLY) upgraded the language of the written craft. 

Explore The Errant King - Paperback

On top of that, I've hired a new interior designer (Malachi Armas) to give the series a more epic feel. I've hired the amazing (Caleb Havertape-illustration) for new cover art—and am completely blown away by his work. All in all, I feel like the series is becoming all that it was meant to be. 

Explore The Errant King - Kindle

Book 3 in the series "The Forsaken Continent" should be released this Summer. Book 4 "Mirror of Souls" will likely be early 2019.

I hope some of this info will help you make a good decision regarding the purchase of the new books. Thank you, as always, for your devoted readership. Never alone.

Reader Art

Greetings, most excellent and admirable readers!

I just received a righteous piece of reader art from Samuel Stocking. This is his rendition of Alastair arriving at Chapparel during the Gorrack Invasion in Sword in the Stars. So crazy how well Samuel envisioned the scene. I was just listening to the audiobook proofs for that chapter, so the image really struck me. 

Here it is:

To Arms! To Arms! The Amazon Blitz for Errant King is Upon Us!!

FRIDAY, December 9th between the hours of 6pm--10pm Eastern Time.  Can you say EPIC? Greetings, faithful readers! Wayne Thomas Batson here. With Christmas not far away now, I wanted to let you know I've got a new series of fantasy books out. The Dark Sea Annals, an Epic 7-book Fantasy Series with AMG Publishing. Book 1: The Sword in the Stars came out in 2010, and Book 2: The Errant King just came out last week. So if you loved The Door Within Trilogy or any of my other books, please check out my new series. If you think you might get The Errant King, please consider, joining our Amazon Blitz! See below!  Buy Sword in the Stars or The Errant King from Amazon.com on FRIDAY, December 9th between the hours of 6pm--10pm Eastern Time. I'd like to announce the official Errant King Amazon Blitz! If you've never done a blitz, the concept is to slam Amazon with book orders during a concentrated period of time. This accomplishes two very important things:   1) Tons of orders in a concentrated time will make The Errant King jump up high on Amazon's bestseller's list. This creates high visibility, more sales, and so on.   2) Also, getting tons of orders right around a new book's release date influences the publisher to pump up the marketing and even increase print runs.   Buy Sword in the Stars or The Errant King from Amazon.com on FRIDAY, December 9th between the hours of 6pm--10pm Eastern Time. Here's the purchase link: Errant King Amazon Blitz Link I'd like to thank everyone who participates, so if you purchase a copy of Sword in the Stars OR The Errant King during the blitz, and then email me your snail mail address, I'll personalize a special Sword in the Stars/ Errant King bookplate sticker and send it to you. I doesn't matter if you buy one book or fifteen. I'll send as many stickers as you need. Thanks so much for reading my stories and being so faithful! Never alone.    WayneThomasBatson Bestselling Author of The Door Within Trilogy, Isle of Swords, Isle of Fire, The Berinfell Prophecies, Sword in the Stars,  and The Errant King  www.enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com www.heedtheprophecies.com www.swordinthestars.com

The Seek the Stars Contest is HERE!

Welcome to Dark Sea Saturday! I hope the turkey nap is over and the shopping cramps are all worked out because you are about to have an adventure...

To celebrate the release of The Errant King, in association with AMG International Publishing, it gives me great pleasure to announce to my readers: the 1st Seek the Stars Contest!

WHAT IS IT?
The Seek the Stars Contest is an opportunity for my readers to have EPIC fun, exercising their God-given talents to form communities of readers and spread the word about books they know and love.

WHAT’s AT STAKE?
Fun. First of all, we all love to communicate with others about the things we love. We all need friends. Competing in the Seek the Stars Contest gives you the opportunity to do both. But there are, shall we say, a few prizes involved as well. More to come soon about all the specifics, but here are some items you could win:
• A Brand New Amazon Kindle!
• Ownership of your very own Star. Not kidding. Some winners will be able to have a real star registered in his/her name or even in his her team name!
• Free eBook downloads.
• All kinds of unlockables: behind the scenes Dark Sea Annals stuff, custom artwork, desktops, posters, Original Dark Sea Music Tracks, online games and more!
• A few hard-working winners will become Books-For-Life Guild Members. These folk get a signed copy of each and every book that I ever write!
• Get your name in the Acknowledgment Section of my next book.
• Get a character in my next book named after you!

WHEN DOES IT START?
The contest kicks off on DARK SEA SATURDAY, that is: Saturday, November 26th and ends SEVEN months later on Tuesday, June 26th. The number Seven is significant. Remember it! The start date is today. But, of course, you kinda know that, right?

When you click the link below, you'll come to a screen that looks like the picture at the bottom. Just click the button, enter the security random letters thingy, and it should download. You don't have to join the club or sign up for FileDropper.

CONTEST UPDATE #1:
All Constellations have been Founded! In less than 24 hours, all seven Founder positions have been claimed! I still have dozens of emails to sift through, but I suspect there are lots of anxious Starseekers anxious to get started. So...GET STARTED. Don't wait for me to email you with your Constellation Team. Just start loading up on points however you can. 

Here's the list of Official Constellation Team Founders:

1) Winter's Read from Washington State
2) KK* from Ohio
3) Belac from Michigan
4) Songkeeper from Texas
5) Star Dreamer from Illinois
6) Vocal from Colorado
7) Sir Nagek from New York State

*I used initials for folks who didn't give a Fantasy Name alias. 

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE RULES HERE!

Look What the Stork Delivered!!

Greetings, Knights and Swordmaidens! No, the Batson household hasn't welcomed a fifth child. But in many ways, the moment a writer gets to hold his/her book in hand, well…it's just pure joy. I came home very tired from teaching today. And BEHOLD, there be boxes on me doorstep! Big FEDEX boxes! Immediately, I'm turning cartwheels!

In other news, don't forget: Mark your calendars for...

1) Dark Sea Saturday: November 26th--visit Enter the Door Within (HERE) for a HUGE announcement. The kickoff of the biggest contest I've ever been a part of.

2) December 3rd Lunch, Signing, Errant King Release Party:

WANNA DO LUNCH? Author chat and booksigning for The Errant King coming soon: December 3rd 12-3 pm in Ellicott City at His Way and Nora's Cafe. Contact Michelle Audrey Black (410) 549-8746 to reserve your seat!

Dark Sea Saturday is Coming!

Forget Black Friday.

Dark Sea Saturday is better.

A ridiculously fun announcement coming soon.

The Unthinkable Has Happened! Hear ye, hear ye! The Battle of the Books has Come!

My books have declared war on...each other. How can this be? I have no idea. But my question to you is, who would win? I mean if each of my series of books went to war against each other, the main characters and supporting cast--who would win? You the readers will determine the victory!

It's the First Annual Battle of the Books! We're setting it up in playoff fashion. Who will win the first round?

ROUND 1: The Matchups

The Door Within Trilogy  

versus

 Isle of Sword/Isle of Fire

The Dark Sea Annals (Sword in the Stars, Errant King)

versus 

The Berinfell Prophecies

Readers and Fans: you will determine which series move on to the Ultimate Book Championship. Starting now, I will keep track of votes that you post as comments! All you have to do is say which books series will win each matchup, and why you think so! Voting for the first round will remain open until November 15th!

What say you, then? How will Aidan, Antoinette, and Company fare against swashbuckling Cat, Anne, and the crew of the William Wallace?

Can unbeatable exAssassin Alastair Coldhollow and young King Lochlan hope to match arms against the likes of Tommy and Kat?

We'll find out! Let the games begin!

Bat Fiction Update: The Incredible Shrinking Author and More!

Happy Fall to everyone! As always, thanks for being faithful readers!

Lots of news to pass along. First:

The Errant King, the 2nd book of the Dark Sea Annals, is due out at the end of October. And this just in, the final cover image. What do you think?

Speaking of covers, I need your help! I'm working on Imagination Station book 8: Mystery of Starlight Island for Focus on the Family. And we've got three cover images on the table. These are black and white sketches of what the eventual cover may be. Which of the three do you like best and why?

And last but not least: Anyone else out there battled weight issues? I have been since the 5th grade. But in recent years, with all the deadlines and teaching (and 50 other excuses), I've really let myself go. I got on the scale and it literally said, "Ouch!"

I've tried tons of diets: South Beach, Atkins, Body-4-Life, The Real Food Diet, etc. etc. ad infinitum. And mostly, they work--to a point. But they often do your body a disservice in the process and make it easier to gain back and then some.

So, this summer, I found myself tipping the scales at the highest I've ever been. I won't tell you the number, but let's just say there are professional linemen in the NFL who would blush to see the number I put up. {Sigh}. I began to find my quality of life and my usefulness to others dwindling. I certainly understand that there are those who have legitimate metabolic issues. That kind of weight gain must be an awful burden for those who have it.

But for the vast majority of overweight folks, folks with normal metabolism like me, we just do it to ourselves. And it impacts absolutely EVERYTHING. Every part of our lives. How much we can get done at work. How much we can play with our kids. How active we can be. And seriously, I believe that we disgrace the Temple of the Holy Spirit and make God look bad when we're fat.

Now, I'm not calling eating a sin. God made it pretty clear to Peter that everything God made was good for food. But somehow I don't think God was urging Peter to eat a whole triple cheese, meat lovers deep dish pizza and follow it up with three pints of Ben and Jerry's. I won't speak for others, but for myself, I've committed the sin of Temple Abuse...over and over and over again. And now, I'm paying for it.

That said, God has given me a fairly resilient body. And I'm just 42. So I'm not throwing in the towel. Rather, I'm getting out of the premature grave I've been living in. And I'm making a change. Or rather, God's empowering a change in me.

I've begun the Jenny Craig program. What? Another diet? I thought you said--actually, I did say. And yes, I am starting another diet, but just in name. Jenny Craig is all about learning to eat the right kinds of foods at the right times and in the right portion sizes. So, really, it's more about life modification than some fad diet. The fantastic thing about Jenny Craig for me is that they provide meals. Yep, it costs. But really, it works out to be just about 30% more than my personal grocery footprint. And to have the menu made for you, the food right there, is absolutely essential for someone with a crazy schedule like mine.

Go to Jenny!

Yeah, I know, I know. Jenny Craig sounds girly. But seriously, there are tons of men on the program doing very well. Everyone from pro surfers to actors to regular Joes like me. Still, I wish they'd have a men's branch called, Stone Cold Craig or some such. Appeals to the macho in me.

So, how did my first week go? Pretty easy, really. And I showed up on Sunday for my weigh in 14lbs down. That's right 14lbs in one week. The Jenny Craig consultants told me it was a site record for their office. Praise God. Week two is going well. Can't wait to see what I weigh in on Sunday. I know it won't be a ridiculous number, but it WILL BE DOWN.

So, I pledge to you, my readers, that I will do this. And I will get down to my healthy weight. And I will come on here every week and let you know how much down I am. And if I don't, you can yell at me! Deal?

PS: If anyone else out there wants to use this as an opportunity to get fit as well, just post comments right along with me. Iron sharpens Iron.

Never alone.

Bat Updates!

Hi, All! I just realized that I haven't posted since July 13th. DOH! Lots of life has been happening. School ended for me on June 23rd, but it was off to OC with the fam. Back from that, I continued working on GHOST.

I expected to get the edits back for The Errant King (Book 2 in Dark Sea Annals) in June, but they didn't come. So, I started working on a book for Focus on the Family's Imagination Station Series. Book 2 (Shown Below) just hit the CBA Bestseller List! I'm writing book 8 in the series, a pirate tale called Mystery of Starlight Isle. This is for a younger audience than my usual, but lots of fun I must admit.

I had a couple of trips in July: Eastern Shore to crab and fish with my son Bryce, Atlanta for ICRS convention. Then, right at the end of July, BOOM, the edits for Errant King show up. Great stuff from Jeff Gerke. I think you're really going to like Errant King...a sprawling, epic adventure.

First week of August, my fam took off for our annual North Myrtle Beach vacation. Didn't do a stitch of writing, but had a very rich family time. Upon return, I had to jump into my classroom to start the castle construction. Long story.

Next week my teaching year begins. Wow. Summer went by so fast. For the Fall, I have this on my plate: Books 8 & 9 of the Imagination Station Series; eBook thriller GHOST; Berinfell Book 3 with Christopher Hopper; Dark Sea Annals Book 3...got any spare prayers?

The Book Battle--Game, Set, and Match!

The Book Battle Is Over: Ladies and gents, it gives me great pleasure to announce the end of warfare, a cessation of hostilities between Christopher Hopper's Chrome Dome Crew and my own Lavish, Long-Haired Freaks!

For as of 6:39 this afternoon, I have completed the principle manuscript of The Errant King! Thank you, Lord!

As to the final word count and the winner, see below. But I have NO idea who guessed the closest. The best thing would be this: if you posted a close number and think you've won, check all the other posts here and on Facebook to make sure no one posted a more accurate number earlier than you own!

So without further ado, the final word count is:

140,352

As most of my readers know, Author Christopher Hopper and I are good friends. But that doesn't mean we won't engage in a little friendly competition and ribbing. If you've ever been to one of our "Duel Book Events," you'd know we tend to fight…a lot. Mostly about which type of hairstyle makes a warrior more…er, warrior-ish. I contend (and rightly so) that the long hair style is the best for warriors. Whereas, Sir Christopher contends that the shiny, no hair, chrome dome is the warrior's style du jour. It's quite the controversy (in his mind). And I suspect we will duel over it again soon. That said, we've recently discovered something else to fight over.

You see, Christopher Hopper and I both have NEW books in the pipeline. And we are currently both writing these books. Christopher got off to a huge head start, but due to his ridiculously busy schedule, I've almost caught him. And now, I've thrown down the gauntlet…and it landed on Christopher's big toe. {Notice the limp next time you see him}. After the ER visit, Christopher picked up the gauntlet and has decided to answer the challenge. It's a race…to the death {well, sort of}. And YOU get to play along!

THE CONTEST: Simple! The first man to finish his book wins. I'll be completing The Errant King, book 2 of the Dark Sea Annals. Christopher Hopper is working on a book I'll just call SR for now. Christopher will tell you more about it as he sees fit. Very hush, hush that shiny-skulled brute!

Where do you come in? Well, we'd like to invite you into the carnage. {Nice of us, eh?} All you need to do is choose a side. Who do you say will win? Post here or on CH's site, or on FB or wherever we have posted first! Say who will win and then tell us approximately how many thousand words the book will be.

Everyone who picks the correct winner and gets the wordcount within +/- 5,000 words wins a prize!*

Whoever picks the correct winner and has closest to the actual wordcount, wins a bigger prize!**

Hint: the final word count of the winning book will definitely be OVER 50,000 words. If you're looking for a ballpark figure, you might consider investigating our other books:

Sir Christopher's Books:

Rise of the Dibor
The Lion Vrie

Sir Wayne's Books:

The Door Within
Rise of the Wyrm Lord
The Final Storm
Isle of Swords
Isle of Fire
Sword in the Stars

Together:

Curse of the Spider King
Venom and Song

What are you waiting for? Choose your side now: The Valiant, Long-Haired Warrior Clan or the Follically-Challenge Side. Who will finish his novel first and how long will it be?

*Note: the prize will definitely be better than a dirt clog but somewhat inferior to an all expenses paid trip to New Zealand.

**Note: the bigger prize will definitely be better than a bag of moldy bread but somewhat inferior to a stack of gold bars.

Science Fiction and Fantasy World Weighs in on Sword in the Stars

Hi, all!

I've talked to you about Science Fiction and Fantasy World.com before. They are one of the largest, if not the largest, fantasy and SciFi reader website in the world. Their members include Fantasy heavyweights such as R.A. Salvatore, Joe Abercrombie, Alison Croggon, and many more. A vote of confidence from SSF.com means a lot for the long term interest in a novel. So, I'm stoked to announce that SFFworld.com Moderator, Rob Bedford has given Sword in the Stars a rating of "Recommended." Click below on the cover image to read the review:

Also, in case you missed this one: Wonderful Kat G. over at Science Fiction and Fantasy World just posted a new interview with me. If you'd like to know a little more about where Sword in the Stars came from and where The Dark Sea Annals are going...click on over:

Sword in the Stars now available for PreOrder!

Hi, all! Well, this is a first for me. I actually have two new books about to come out within a few months of each other! Venom and Song, coauthored with the multitalented Christopher Hopper, comes out in late June. Then in August, my first book with AMG publishing, Sword in the Stars, will be released. Check out the preliminary cover art and the teaser below:

 

 Click HERE to PreOrder Sword in the Stars!

Haunted by memories of a violent past, Alastair Coldhollow wagers his life on the hope that a sword will appear in the stars and the foretold Halfainin, the Pathwalker, would come. Meanwhile, tensions simmer between Anglinore and the murderous Gorrack Nation, threatening war on a cataclysmic scale. The fate of all could rest on an abandoned child and the decisions of those who desperately seek to identify him. Sword in the Stars is the first release in The Dark Sea Annals series.

New Art for Your Desktop!

It's alive, ALIVE, ALIVE!!! Sorry, slipped back into the previously mentioned mad scientist. And, as I mentioned in the previous post about creative types, I've been crafting away at a new piece of 3D artwork. I finished it this afternoon and wanted to let everyone see.

I'm calling this Voices on the Wind. It is one of the principle settings from one of the Dark Sea Annals book I'm working on.

Voices on the Wind