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 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!

Exciting News in Christian Fantasy/Adventure!

Author Eric Reinhold was up my way this past week. I first met Eric on the Fantasy Fiction Tour "Motiv8" a few years back. What a cool guy. Big heart, friendly, devoted to the Lord and his family. Well, since then, God has opened the floodgates of Heaven on his Ryann Watters book series. The folks who made Facing the Giants and Fireproof decided to make his book into a movie--a real, honest to goodness--take your kids to the local AMC, get popcorn--wide release movie! And since then, things have just gone off-da-hook. Some investors have come on board, pumping capital into the project. And now, it looks like it's going to be TWO movies. You can find out more by clicking on the links below.

Sir Eric of Reinhold

Book and Movie News!

In other news, there's a new author on the block, someone you should look into: Brock Eastman. A long time talent man with Focus on the Family, Brock has taken to penning some incredible new fiction, covering a wide range of genres and reader ages. Want something for elementary aged readers? Brock's got it. Middle School/YA, yup, Brock's got a title! High School readers--that too! For more info, click on the links below:

Sir Brock of Eastman

Book News and More!

And finally, of all the reader mail/eMail I get, the question I get asked the most is: Is there a 3rd pirate book? There was Isle of Swords and Isle of Fire, but what about a 3rd book? See, I finished the storyline of Griffin "Cat" Thorne, Declan Ross, and his daughter Anne--in their dealings with the infamous pirate Bartholomew Thorne. But...I did leave a few strands purposefully hanging at the end. And apparently, a ton of my readers want more. Up till now, I haven't been able to even explore the possibility. I was under non-compete contractual agreement. But now, I'm released, free to write a new pirate adventure. I guess what I need to know from you is, are you interested in an Isle 3?

Amazing Reader Art!

One of the central messages of the Berinfell Prophecies (Door Within series, as well) is that you are more precious and more important than you could ever imagine. Each of you is unique and utterly rare. One of the reasons we can all be sure this is true is that each of you have a completely unique talent/interest profile. Some are athletic, some are musical, some are artistic, some are linguistic, on and on the list goes with no end in sight.

From time to time, my readers share their talents with me. And recently I received two stunning pieces of reader art. Please take a look and enjoy. Post a comment if you feel so led.

This brilliant portrait of the "Sea Wolf" was drawn by Nichole!

This phenomenal rendering of Falon was created by Elizabeth!

I found TREASURE on YouTube

Okay, so I admit it: I occasionally Google my books. Just a little. Okay…more than I should. Sometimes even when I should be writing.

Well, tonight's search turned up gold. You have GOT to see these two videos I found on YouTube. I was absolutely rolling as I watched these. Check 'em out!





What do you think?

Reviews…and the Final Quest!

Greetings, all! I just received a very nice surprise from TitleTrakk.com. One of their staff wrote a phenomenal review of Isle of Swords...with a promise of reviewing Isle of Fire soon. Please check it out by clicking one of the links below:

TitleTrakk Review

Also, just three weeks left on the Isle of Fire Treasure Hunt, so it's time for the FINAL QUEST.

Your Task: Write a review of Isle of Swords and/or Isle of Fire for Amazon. Email me the body of the review and when you posted it. Because I'm trying to build buzz for the pirate books right now, I'll award you 200 points for the review (400 for both). If you've already written one, that counts. Just email me a reminder with the body of the review.

Multiplier 1: Get someone else to write an Amazon review for IOS and IOF. Just email me who you encouraged to do it, the body of the text, and when it was posted.

Multiplier 2: Isle of Swords currently has 32 reviews. Isle of Fire has 8 reviews. I want to see Isle of Swords reach 50 reviews. If we get the 18 reviews to push to 50 by the end of the Treasure Hunt (Oct. 18), everyone who wrote a review gets a bonus 1000 points. If we get the 22 reviews for IOF to push it to 30 reviews by the end of the Treasure Hunt (Oct. 18), everyone who wrote a review gets 1000points.

NOTE: If this happens, I'll need you to email me your review and personally claim your points--even if you wrote your review long before this quest began!

Multiplier 3: If we write enough reviews to get IOS to 50 --AND-- IOF to 30, everyone who wrote reviews gets 3,000 points!

NOTE: If this happens, I'll need you to email me your review and personally claim your points--even if you wrote your review long before this quest began!

About reviews--Make sure your Amazon review adheres to the following:

1. Reviews must be at least 5 sentences.
2. Reviews must include a little about the story (but NO SPOILERS).
3. Reviews must include what you like and don't like about the story.
4. Reviews must include who you think would like the story (Ex. Teens will especially love Isle of Swords because many of the main characters are all teenagers.)

PS: If you are in the contest and are too young to leave a review on Amazon, your parent can post one for you.

Spring Author Events and New Desktop Art

Happy Spring, everyone! I don't know about you, but I am so stoked for spring. I'm ready for warm weather, for green, for colors in nature, and...for book events! I have a JAM-PACKED spring schedule: seventeen events in April and May alone.


In case you're in the area, here's a list of all my events for the remainder of March and into April. More to follow.

+ March 26th, 7-8:30--Reading and Signing at Eldersburg Branch Library 6400 Hemlock Drive, Eldersburg, MD 21784 410.386.4460

+ Thursday April 3rd ELDERSBURG His Way Bookstore from 5 to close (8pm) Special Event with George Bryan Polivka, Author of the Trophychase Trilogy

+ Friday April 4th GLENBURNIE His Way Bookstore from 5 to close (8pm)Special Event with George Bryan Polivka, Author of the Trophychase Trilogy

+ Saturday April 5th ELLICOTT CITY His Way Bookstore from 5 to close (8pm)Special Event with George Bryan Polivka, Author of the Trophychase Trilogy

+ April 9th Mount Airy Branch Library, Mount Airy, Maryland 7pm-8:30

+ April 11, 2008 Deer Park Middle Family Reading Night at Barnes & Noble, Pikesville, Maryland. I'll be doing readings at 7, 8, and 9pm.

+ April 16th, Featured Author at SoMIRAC Conference, Hunt Valley Marriott

+ April 25th a Visit to Patapsco Middle School, 1:30-3:00pm.


Also, enjoy the desktop image above. It's a feisty volcano from Isle of Swords. Click on the image to see full size and then save the image to your desktop.

Oh, and one more thing: There's a very good chance, in the next couple of weeks, I could have a HUGE announcement to make. But for now, I will say no more.

Treasure Hunt Winners!

After hours and hours of trying to sort out the last FLURRY of treasure points, I have at last determined the final Treasure Point totals and our winners. There were a few point misunderstandings, as well as, some unintended spamming for recommendations, so I had to make a judgment call about some of the points. There were so many variables and so many qualifications not me (esp. naming people, places, etc) that I hope you'll all just trust that I added the points as accurately as possible. In some cases, I'll provide some extra explanation because some of you actually earned a lot fewer points than you at first calculated. Please email me directly if you have a concern.

Please know that I am thankful beyond words for everyone's incredible effort on behalf of God's work through my books. You all went way beyond my imagination on this, and I am absolutely thrilled. Win or lose, I hope you had a good time in the process. You are ALL Knights and Swordmaidens of Alleble, forever.

And now the list:

HannahShoop: 4985pts.
*Did not count all email recommendations, but awarded 1000pts for the effort.

FlinnFanofTwins: 3930 pts.
*You did not actually have the 3000 point Mega Treasure as Christopher Hopper's Books and my own were not included as purchased during the final week. You were awarded the points for the individual books purchased.

Haley: 1950 pts.
*Had an error in points totaled. This is my best estimate.

Ellie: 1870 pts.
*Did not count the oral book report as individual recommendations, but gave 500 points for the effort.

DragonRider: 1565 pts.

Pais: 1555 pts.

Jconn: 1340pts.

Scoutboy: 1150 pts.

Shane: 905 pts.

Kim: 860 pts.

MasonWilde: 715pts.

Pososhle: 695 pts.

GsusFreak: 675 pts.

Paige: 485 pts.

Tbon100K: 475 pts.

BeckyS: 460 pts.

Josiah's Mom: 450 pts.

TheWriter: 435 pts.

DerekRains: 400 pts.

Theophilus: 400 pts.

KareAlethias: 400 pts.

Lenore: 360 pts.

AmyBrowning: 190pts.

Will: 155 pts

Sarmjornn: 110 pts.

Melissa: 75 pts.

LindsayWest: 75pts.

Shadow: 55 pts.

SaphirraAdi: 50pts.

BrianTubbs: 50 pts.

Kay: 50pts.

Eve: 45 pts.

Paul: 20 pts.

HUGE Congratulations to Hannah, Flinn, Haley, Ellie, and DragonRider! The Five of you will have characters named after you in my next fantasy series. Remember, of course, that these characters may be killed off in remarkably unpleasant ways. LOL You also receive a signed book of your choice. Email me and let me know which of my books you'd like.

I'll need the three of you to email me the name you want me to use in the story. Hannah, Flinn, Haley could all work, but if you have a fantasy name in mind you'd rather me use, let me know. Ellie isn't really fantasy-esque, so do you have another name that would work? Dragonrider is cool, but my next series won't have people riding dragons. So let me know if you have another name you'd like me to use.

And Hannah, you are the grand prize winner. You will receive signed books from me for life. That means every time I have a new book released, you will get a signed copy of that book in the mail! Just email me your mailing address. Your first books will be Isle of Fire, due out August 13th, 2008.

Again, to all, YOU ROCK!!

Never alone.

-Wayne Thomas Batson

One Week Remains in The Isle of Swords Treasure Hunt, and that means: Double Points Week!

Greetings, or should I say, Avast! The Treasure Hunt has been a great success. Thanks for all the great Door Within & Isle of Swords promotion. I've really enjoyed reading all the reviews, and am amazed at the networking you've all been doing on behalf of my books.

I'll be updating the Treasure Point totals soon, so that you all can see where you stand in the rankings. Christmas Day is the Official Deadline for Treasure Points to count. That gives you just a little over a week to add up some points.

I'd really like to see a promotional blitz this last week before Christmas, so beginning Sunday and ending on Christmas Day, all Treasure Points will be doubled! So if you're a last minute shopper and decide to go out and buy the whole Door Within Trilogy and Isle of Swords, you'll earn 800 TREASURE POINTS instead of the previous 400 points!


For the remainder of the Treasure Hunt, please post ALL treasure points accomplishments on THIS THREAD.

Please see below for the treasure points key and potential prizes! NOTE the new "Ultimate Treasure of the Century" Opportunity!

To the Winners Go the Spoils:
(uh...here's what you can win)

The Top FIVE Adventurers who accumulate the Treasure Points will receive a signed book of their choice. AND for each of the top 5, I will name a character* in my next fantasy series after you. That's correct: I'll use your real name, your username, or a character name you create as a character in my new fantasy series. Of course, if your name is Bob, we might want to go with something a little more fantasy-ish.

For the #1 Treasure Points getter, I will give you one copy of every new book I write...for LIFE. That means, should the Lord allow me to live long enough to write all the stories rattling around in my head, you will get a signed copy of each one sent directly to you. Of course, if you move and don't give me your new address, then…someone else will be getting all those books. Doh!

*No Guarantee that your character won't get killed off in some horribly unpleasant manner.


Your mission, should you choose to--ah, you know the rest--is simply this accumulate the Most Treasure Points possible by Christmas 2007 by completing any and all of the tasks listed below:

Treasure Points Tasks Key


10 Treasure Points:
•Mention ANY of my books in a blog thread--your blog or someone else's--post the link in your comment.
•Recommend ANY of my books to someone you know--say who it was.
•Post a link to my blog anywhere on your blog--then, post the link here.
•Post a review of any of my books on a non-review site like a blog, school page, etc. Post a link here.

20 Treasure Points:
•Write a review of any of my books on Amazon or any online review site. Post the link for the review once it's up.
•Post cover artwork from any of my books on your blog and make it a link to Amazon or CBD. Post the link in your comment on this thread.
•Post a link for my book's Amazon or CBD page on your blog. Then, post the link here.

40 Treasure Points:
•Write a review of any of my books and post it on three different online review sites. Post the link for the review here once it's up.

50 Treasure Points:
•Recommend ANY of my books to someone you know--say who it was. And then, this person chose to buy the book!
•Spot ANY of my books in a bookstore outside of the state in which you live. Post here to let us know where and when.

100 Treasure Points:
•Buy a copy of Isle of Swords and post when and where you bought it.
•Buy any of The Door Within Books and post when and where you bought it.
•Write a review of ALL of my books and post ALL of them on THREE online review sites. Post the links for the reviews once they're up.
•Buy a copy of any book by one of the Fantasy Fiction Tour Authors: Sharon Hinck, Bryan Davis, and Christopher Hopper.
•Create an Amazon Listmania List that includes The Door Within Books and Isle of Swords.
• Write AND present a book report on any Wayne Thomas Batson, Bryan Davis, Christopher Hopper, or Sharon Hinck book at school. 100pts. if you earn an A+ for that assignment.

150 Treasure Points:
•Go to a store that does not carry my books and special order it from that store.
•Go to a store that does not carry my books and persuade them to carry any of my books. Then, post here to tell us what store has now agreed to carry my book(s).
•Buy any of my books and donate them to your church library. Then post here to say where you bought them and what church received them.

200 Treasure Points:
•Buy a copy of ANY of my books for the Youth Group Leader of your church. Post a comment here to tell who, when, and where.
•Buy one copy of EACH of the Fantasy Fiction Tour Authors: Sharon Hinck, Bryan Davis, Wayne Thomas Batson, and Christopher Hopper. (4 Books total) Post here to say where and when.
•Buy both of Christopher Hopper's books: Rise of the Dibor and The Lion Vrie. Post here to say where and when.
•Buy both of Sharon Hinck's Sword of Lyric Books: Restorer and Restorer's Son. Post here to say where and when.

800 Treasure Points:
•Buy The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, The Final Storm, and Isle of Swords (ALL FOUR of my books). Post here and tell where you bought them and when.
•Buy all of Bryan Davis's Dragons in Our Midst Books (4) Post here to say where and when.

Ultimate Treasure of the Century: 3000 Treasure Points:
(only for purchases between December 16th and 25th, 2007)
•Buy all three Door Within books, Isle of Swords, BOTH of Christopher Hopper's White Lion Books, the Complete Dragons in Our Midst --OR-- Oracles of Fire set from Bryan Davis, the first two Restorer Books by Sharon Hinck, and one books from any of the following authors: Donita K. Paul, LB Graham, Jonathon Rogers, or Jeffery Overstreet.
**Please Post Where you purchased the books.



Note: Each of the preceding MAY be repeated as many times as you like.

Note #2: Each of the preceding must be performed from this day (September 18th, 2007) forward. But, upon further review, I have decided to allow contestants to count THREE past book purchases for Treasure Points. So, if you bought The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, and The Final Storm last year, you can count those three, but no others.

Note #3: To claim ANY Treasure Points, you must post a comment on THIS thread explaining how you accomplished it.

Note #4: I may add to the list of Treasure Point Tasks at any time--and likely will because my twisted mind is always churning...

Note #5: Keep track of your own Treasure Points. I will keep a running tally in my sidebar and try to update it every week or two. But you should keep your total as well.

Note #6: You cannot kill several birds with one stone. Make sure you indicate in your post how many Treasure Points your accomplishment earned you. In other words, you can't buy one copy of The Door Within, count it for 25 points and then count it AGAIN once you buy the whole series 100 points.

Note #7: Any and all of the requirements are subject to change as I see how this develops. I want to keep it fair.

The Hunt Continues...and Misc Cool Items of Interest

Ahhhhh, the turkey is done. Delicious, I must say. My mom makes this spectacular stuffing with sausage and walnuts in it--YUM! {Ducks as shirt button pops off and ricochets around the room} Wow.

Misc. Cool Item of Interest #1: Just discovered that Rob Bedford over at supercool fantasy mecca SSFworld.com has a review up for Isle of Swords. Check it out by clicking the link below. For Misc. Cool Item of Interest #2, read all the way to the bottom. I promise it will be worth your while.

Isle of Swords Review from Rob H. Bedford at ScienceFiction and Fantasy World

AND...

Just a reminder that you have until Christmas 2007 (Just one month left) to *enter the:

Isle of Swords Treasure Hunt

*By the way, all it takes to enter is to post here saying, I'm in!
**Holiday Shopping time is upon us. Know anyone who likes fantasy or pirate adventure? Buy 'em a Door Within or Isle of Swords book and join the contest!

Here are the details once more for anyone new to The Hunt:

Might Ye Be Lookin' Fer Treasure?

Announcing the Isle of Swords Treasure Hunt Extravaganza!

To the Winners Go the Spoils:
(uh...here's what you can win)

The Top FIVE Adventurers who accumulate the Treasure Points will receive a signed book of their choice. AND for each of the top 5, I will name a character* in my next fantasy series after you. That's correct: I'll use your real name, your username, or a character name you create as a character in my new fantasy series. Of course, if your name is Bob, we might want to go with something a little more fantasy-ish.

For the #1 Treasure Points getter, I will give you one copy of every new book I write...for LIFE. That means, should the Lord allow me to live long enough to write all the stories rattling around in my head, you will get a signed copy of each one sent directly to you. Of course, if you move and don't give me your new address, then…someone else will be getting all those books. Doh!

*No Guarantee that your character won't get killed off in some horribly unpleasant manner.


Your mission, should you choose to--ah, you know the rest--is simply this accumulate the Most Treasure Points possible by Christmas 2007 by completing any and all of the tasks listed below:

Treasure Points Tasks Key

5 Treasure Points:
•Mention ANY of my books in a blog thread--your blog or someone else's--post the link in your comment.
•Recommend ANY of my books to someone you know--say who it was.
•Post a link to my blog anywhere on your blog--then, post the link here.
•Post a review of any of my books on a non-review site like a blog, school page, etc. Post a link here.

10 Treasure Points:
•Write a review of any of my books on Amazon or any online review site. Post the link for the review once it's up.
•Post cover artwork from any of my books on your blog and make it a link to Amazon or CBD. Post the link in your comment on this thread.
•Post a link for my book's Amazon or CBD page on your blog. Then, post the link here.

20 Treasure Points:
•Write a review of any of my books and post it on three different online review sites. Post the link for the review here once it's up.

25 Treasure Points:
•Recommend ANY of my books to someone you know--say who it was. And then, this person chose to buy the book!
•Spot ANY of my books in a bookstore outside of the state in which you live. Post here to let us know where and when.

50 Treasure Points:
•Buy a copy of Isle of Swords and post when and where you bought it.
•Buy any of The Door Within Books and post when and where you bought it.
•Write a review of ALL of my books and post ALL of them on THREE online review sites. Post the links for the reviews once they're up.
•Buy a copy of any book by one of the Fantasy Fiction Tour Authors: Sharon Hinck, Bryan Davis, and Christopher Hopper.
•Create an Amazon Listmania List that includes The Door Within Books and Isle of Swords.
• Write AND present a book report on any Wayne Thomas Batson, Bryan Davis, Christopher Hopper, or Sharon Hinck book at school. 100pts. if you earn an A+ for that assignment.

75 Treasure Points:
•Go to a store that does not carry my books and special order it from that store.
•Go to a store that does not carry my books and persuade them to carry any of my books. Then, post here to tell us what store has now agreed to carry my book(s).
•Buy any of my books and donate them to your church library. Then post here to say where you bought them and what church received them.

100 Treasure Points:
•Buy a copy of ANY of my books for the Youth Group Leader of your church. Post a comment here to tell who, when, and where.
•Buy one copy of EACH of the Fantasy Fiction Tour Authors: Sharon Hinck, Bryan Davis, Wayne Thomas Batson, and Christopher Hopper. (4 Books total) Post here to say where and when.
•Buy both of Christopher Hopper's books: Rise of the Dibor and The Lion Vrie. Post here to say where and when.
•Buy both of Sharon Hinck's Sword of Lyric Books: Restorer and Restorer's Son. Post here to say where and when.

400 Treasure Points:
•Buy The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, The Final Storm, and Isle of Swords (ALL FOUR of my books). Post here and tell where you bought them and when.
•Buy all of Bryan Davis's Dragons in Our Midst Books (4) Post here to say where and when.


Note: Each of the preceding MAY be repeated as many times as you like.

Note #2: Each of the preceding must be performed from this day (September 18th, 2007) forward. But, upon further review, I have decided to allow contestants to count THREE past book purchases for Treasure Points. So, if you bought The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, and The Final Storm last year, you can count those three, but no others.

Note #3: To claim ANY Treasure Points, you must post a comment on THIS thread explaining how you accomplished it.

Note #4: I may add to the list of Treasure Point Tasks at any time--and likely will because my twisted mind is always churning...

Note #5: Keep track of your own Treasure Points. I will keep a running tally in my sidebar and try to update it every week or two. But you should keep your total as well.

Note #6: You cannot kill several birds with one stone. Make sure you indicate in your post how many Treasure Points your accomplishment earned you. In other words, you can't buy one copy of The Door Within, count it for 25 points and then count it AGAIN once you buy the whole series 100 points.

Note #7: Any and all of the requirements are subject to change as I see how this develops. I want to keep it fair.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Misc. Cool Item of Interest #2: Remember we just learned that Corner of the Sky Entertainment decided not to pursue The Door Within Trilogy for a future movie? Well, I've recently learned that another incredible opportunity may be on the horizon. I can't give details yet, but soon, a very connected person on the West Coast will be getting copies of The Door Within Trilogy and Isle of Swords for review. If he likes what he reads…good things could happen.

Please pray. I'll provide more details when I can.

Never alone.

--Wayne Thomas Batson

Treasure Hunt Update!

Hello, all! I'm happy to say I've met the deadline for Isle of Fire--thank you for the prayers and most of all THANK YOU, GOD!! More on that soon. Look for a post called "The Joys of Clicking Send" coming soon.

I wanted to UPDATE everyone on the Isle of Swords Treasure Hunt Contest. See the sidebar for new scores.

From now on, please post your new accomplishments as COMMENTS on this POST. I've listed the rules below for easy reference. Note the new Point Getter: Book Reports in School.

Also, if you're new to the contest, please don't feel like you cannot possibly catch up. You absolutely can. We have now entered the preChristmas corridor. Buying books as gifts could allow you to amp up your points in a hurry.

There are also lots of nonCostly methods of adding up the points: recommending the books is really easy, esp. if you make a recommendation to lots of friends.

And remember, all of the tasks are repeatable. I mean you can't post the same review twice on Amazon, but you CAN post the same review on a GaZillion different review sites.

Until next time: Never Alone!

5 Treasure Points:
•Mention ANY of my books in a blog thread--your blog or someone else's--post the link in your comment.
•Recommend ANY of my books to someone you know--say who it was.
•Post a link to my blog anywhere on your blog--then, post the link here.
•Post a review of any of my books on a non-review site like a blog, school page, etc. Post a link here.

10 Treasure Points:
•Write a review of any of my books on Amazon or any online review site. Post the link for the review once it's up.
•Post cover artwork from any of my books on your blog and make it a link to Amazon or CBD. Post the link in your comment on this thread.
•Post a link for my book's Amazon or CBD page on your blog. Then, post the link here.

20 Treasure Points:
•Write a review of any of my books and post it on three different online review sites. Post the link for the review here once it's up.

25 Treasure Points:
•Recommend ANY of my books to someone you know--say who it was. And then, this person chose to buy the book!
•Spot ANY of my books in a bookstore outside of the state in which you live. Post here to let us know where and when.

50 Treasure Points:
•Buy a copy of Isle of Swords and post when and where you bought it.
•Buy any of The Door Within Books and post when and where you bought it.
•Write a review of ALL of my books and post ALL of them on THREE online review sites. Post the links for the reviews once they're up.
•Buy a copy of any book by one of the Fantasy Fiction Tour Authors: Sharon Hinck, Bryan Davis, and Christopher Hopper.
•Create an Amazon Listmania List that includes The Door Within Books and Isle of Swords.
• Write AND present a book report on any Wayne Thomas Batson, Bryan Davis, Christopher Hopper, or Sharon Hinck book at school. 100pts. if you earn an A+ for that assignment.

75 Treasure Points:
•Go to a store that does not carry my books and special order it from that store.
•Go to a store that does not carry my books and persuade them to carry any of my books. Then, post here to tell us what store has now agreed to carry my book(s).
•Buy any of my books and donate them to your church library. Then post here to say where you bought them and what church received them.

100 Treasure Points:
•Buy a copy of ANY of my books for the Youth Group Leader of your church. Post a comment here to tell who, when, and where.
•Buy one copy of EACH of the Fantasy Fiction Tour Authors: Sharon Hinck, Bryan Davis, Wayne Thomas Batson, and Christopher Hopper. (4 Books total) Post here to say where and when.
•Buy both of Christopher Hopper's books: Rise of the Dibor and The Lion Vrie. Post here to say where and when.
•Buy both of Sharon Hinck's Sword of Lyric Books: Restorer and Restorer's Son. Post here to say where and when.

400 Treasure Points:
•Buy The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, The Final Storm, and Isle of Swords (ALL FOUR of my books). Post here and tell where you bought them and when.
•Buy all of Bryan Davis's Dragons in Our Midst Books (4) Post here to say where and when.


Note: Each of the preceding MAY be repeated as many times as you like.

Note #2: Each of the preceding must be performed from this day (September 18th, 2007) forward. But, upon further review, I have decided to allow contestants to count THREE past book purchases for Treasure Points. So, if you bought The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, and The Final Storm last year, you can count those three, but no others.

Note #3: To claim ANY Treasure Points, you must post a comment on THIS thread explaining how you accomplished it.

Note #4: I may add to the list of Treasure Point Tasks at any time--and likely will because my twisted mind is always churning...

Note #5: Keep track of your own Treasure Points. I will keep a running tally in my sidebar and try to update it every week or two. But you should keep your total as well.

Note #6: You cannot kill several birds with one stone. Make sure you indicate in your post how many Treasure Points your accomplishment earned you. In other words, you can't buy one copy of The Door Within, count it for 25 points and then count it AGAIN once you buy the whole series 100 points.

Note #7: Any and all of the requirements are subject to change as I see how this develops. I want to keep it fair.

Isle of Swords Release Party: The Aftermath

I really need to hit the writing trail, but I just can't NOT say something about the event this past Friday. I was driving to the Barnes and Noble store prior to the event, and a special song between me and God came on: Nichole Nordeman's Brave. I head that and just started praying, God you love me, and you have big plans, don't you?

I was instantly reminded of Nathaniel being wowed when Jesus said He'd seen Nathaniel beneath the fig tree...even when Jesus wasn't there. Jesus said (WIV translation*), "Dude, you believe because I saw you under the fig tree? Get real, I have other things to show you that will blow your shoes off!"

I felt like God was saying to me, "You think me putting a song on the radio was big? You just wait."

And God had incredible things in store:
• 70 people were there for the readings
•That quadrupled before the night ended
• @180 Isle of Swords books sold
• @80 Door Within books sold
• That's about triple my best turnout ever
• The line was SO long that one of my students read 100 pages of Isle of Swords while waiting!
• I signed from 7:30-10:15...Straight.
• Lines stretched all over the store.
• The store had great decorations, contests, food, etc.
• Folks had a blast.
• God is awesome.

Thanks to Scribe for taking lots of photos and putting together this slideshow. Apparently, Photobucket needs to make its advertising money by plastering Disney all over the slideshow. Doh.

I've also included some other good shots outside of the slideshow.

*Wayne's Ignoble Version

Isle of Swords Release Party: Come as you are, or be a pirate!

Presents

Isle of Swords Release Party
Friday, September 28th, 7-9pm
Barnes & Noble
4300 Montgomery Rd
Ellicott City, MD 21043
(410) 203-9001

I'd like to personally invite you to come to the Isle of Swords Release Party. This should be a very exciting evening. I'll be there doing dramatic readings from Isle of Swords, as well as, a special sneak peek at something else coming in the not to distant future.

•Pirate Costume Contests

•Special Photo Op Sessions

•Snacks

•Prizes

•Book Signing

Thomas Nelson Publishers will even be flying my publicist in to help with the event. Secretly, I think they want to know just what I do at these things. ;-) There may also be local press.
That said, the bigger the turnout, the better. I'd like to see that Barnes & Nobles store absolutely swamped with folks...and pirates. I'll be dressed in full pirate garb, including my new cutlass from RealArmorofGod.com. See below:

Come if you can. I'd love to see you there!

Never alone.

Wayne Thomas Batson

PS: Please do not post any Treasure Points on this thread. Post them HERE.

Isle of Swords Treasure Hunt Extravaganza!

Might Ye Be Lookin' Fer Treasure?

Do you like to solve mysteries?

Do you like to hunt for hidden treasure?

Would ya' care t'hit the high seas on a noble mission fraught with danger?

Do you like to talk like a pirate? Arrrrr....

And, finally would ya' care to help a brother out?

Beginning today, I'm embarking on a journey, and I'm hoping you'll come along for the ride.

Announcing the Isle of Swords Treasure Hunt Extravaganza!

Your mission, should you choose to--ah, you know the rest--is simply this accumulate the Most Treasure Points possible by Christmas 2007 by completing any and all of the tasks listed below:

Treasure Points Tasks Key

5 Treasure Points:
•Mention ANY of my books in a blog thread--your blog or someone else's--post the link in your comment.
•Recommend ANY of my books to someone you know--say who it was.
•Post a link to my blog anywhere on your blog--then, post the link here.
•Post a review of any of my books on a non-review site like a blog, school page, etc. Post a link here.

10 Treasure Points:
•Write a review of any of my books on Amazon or any online review site. Post the link for the review once it's up.
•Post cover artwork from any of my books on your blog and make it a link to Amazon or CBD. Post the link in your comment on this thread.
•Post a link for my book's Amazon or CBD page on your blog. Then, post the link here.

20 Treasure Points:
•Write a review of any of my books and post it on three different online review sites. Post the link for the review here once it's up.

25 Treasure Points:
•Recommend ANY of my books to someone you know--say who it was. And then, this person chose to buy the book!
•Spot ANY of my books in a bookstore outside of the state in which you live. Post here to let us know where and when.

50 Treasure Points:
•Buy a copy of Isle of Swords and post when and where you bought it.
•Buy any of The Door Within Books and post when and where you bought it.
•Write a review of ALL of my books and post ALL of them on THREE online review sites. Post the links for the reviews once they're up.
•Buy a copy of any book by one of the Fantasy Fiction Tour Authors: Sharon Hinck, Bryan Davis, and Christopher Hopper.
•Create an Amazon Listmania List that includes The Door Within Books and Isle of Swords.

75 Treasure Points:
•Go to a store that does not carry my books and special order it from that store.
•Go to a store that does not carry my books and persuade them to carry any of my books. Then, post here to tell us what store has now agreed to carry my book(s).
•Buy any of my books and donate them to your church library. Then post here to say where you bought them and what church received them.

100 Treasure Points:
•Buy a copy of ANY of my books for the Youth Group Leader of your church. Post a comment here to tell who, when, and where.
•Buy one copy of EACH of the Fantasy Fiction Tour Authors: Sharon Hinck, Bryan Davis, Wayne Thomas Batson, and Christopher Hopper. (4 Books total) Post here to say where and when.
•Buy both of Christopher Hopper's books: Rise of the Dibor and The Lion Vrie. Post here to say where and when.
•Buy both of Sharon Hinck's Sword of Lyric Books: Restorer and Restorer's Son. Post here to say where and when.

400 Treasure Points:
•Buy The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, The Final Storm, and Isle of Swords (ALL FOUR of my books). Post here and tell where you bought them and when.
•Buy all of Bryan Davis's Dragons in Our Midst Books (4) Post here to say where and when.


Note: Each of the preceding MAY be repeated as many times as you like.

Note #2: Each of the preceding must be performed from this day (September 18th, 2007) forward. But, upon further review, I have decided to allow contestants to count THREE past book purchases for Treasure Points. So, if you bought The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, and The Final Storm last year, you can count those three, but no others.

Note #3: To claim ANY Treasure Points, you must post a comment on THIS thread explaining how you accomplished it.

Note #4: I may add to the list of Treasure Point Tasks at any time--and likely will because my twisted mind is always churning...

Note #5: Keep track of your own Treasure Points. I will keep a running tally in my sidebar and try to update it every week or two. But you should keep your total as well.

Note #6: You cannot kill several birds with one stone. Make sure you indicate in your post how many Treasure Points your accomplishment earned you. In other words, you can't buy one copy of The Door Within, count it for 25 points and then count it AGAIN once you buy the whole series 100 points.

Note #7: Any and all of the requirements are subject to change as I see how this develops. I want to keep it fair.

To the Winners Go the Spoils:
(uh...here's what you can win)

The Top FIVE Adventurers who accumulate the Treasure Points will receive a signed book of their choice. AND for each of the top 5, I will name a character* in my next fantasy series after you. That's correct: I'll use your real name, your username, or a character name you create as a character in my new fantasy series. Of course, if your name is Bob, we might want to go with something a little more fantasy-ish.

For the #1 Treasure Points getter, I will give you one copy of every new book I write...for LIFE. That means, should the Lord allow me to live long enough to write all the stories rattling around in my head, you will get a signed copy of each one sent directly to you. Of course, if you move and don't give me your new address, then…someone else will be getting all those books. Doh!

*No Guarantee that your character won't get killed off in some horribly unpleasant manner.

And the winning title is...

Probably Crossing Swords. Turns out a pirate novel for YA readers called "Dead Reckoning" came out last year. I searched all over, checking all the names, but never saw that one. Oh, well.

Thanks for all the quick help. You all rock.

You Are Invited!

Please click on the invitation below.

I know that visitors to Enterthedoorwithin come from far and wide, so it might be impossible for you to get to Maryland for this event. But if you know anyone in the area who likes pirates, please forward the invitation to them. The more the merrier!

They're Here...

No, I'm not actually talking about the arrival of malevolent spirits planning to kidnap small children. I'm talking about...drumroll please…



That's right, my new pirate adventure novel, Isle of Swords, has been spotted. Amazon is apparently shipping IoS now, and several bookchains have them in stock!

You can purchase Isle of Swords here!

If you are planning to get yourself a copy of this here pirate tale, first of all, thank you. Secondly some food for thought. The first month of sales for any novel is a critical month. Here's why:

• Prior to the books release, all preorder sales are allocated toward the first month sales numbers, meaning that the potential is there for a book to hit all kinds of Bestseller lists. If presales were good, and nonPreSale purchases continue at a high rate in that first month, good things can happen. And, of course, success begets success. If Isle of Swords appears on bestseller lists, more people find out about it, leading to more sales and a higher place on the bestseller list...of it goes.

• Publishers set marketing budgets well ahead of a book's release, but if the book does well early, publishers will often jump in with both feet to promote the book even more. If sales are low, some initial promotional ideas might not come to fruition.

• Publishers also like to launch books with a promotional bang. Thomas Nelson is doing just that. In some participating bookstores, if you buy Isle of Swords, you can get a free copy of The Door Within Lost Chapters Edition! Call your local store and see if they have the deal. But the deal is only for "While Supplies Last." Hence the call to hit it this month.

• And finally, purchasing a book in the first month of its release is great because authors sometimes like to give away free stuff to people who purchase books early. {Cough} And having said that:

Wayne Thomas Batson's Isle of Swords Promotional Giveaway!

If you, kind reader, purchase a copy of Isle of Swords during August or September, email me your snailmail address, and I will send you very cool piratey bookplate sticker--signed and personalized to you or whomever you are buying for! No limit to number of stickers. If you purchase 4,000 copies of Isle of Swords (Hey, it could happen.), I'll be happy to sign 4,000 stickers. (The last coupla hundred signatures might be a tad messy due to nerve damage in my hand, but I'll do it.)

If you purchase Isle of Swords Aug-Sept, email me at: batguy21784@yahoo.com

**And as a bonus, anyone who posts a review of Isle of Swords on Amazon, CBD, or
Barnes & Noble, I'll send you a sneak preview chapter of the Isle of Swords sequel currently in production. Post a review and email me, and I'll send the chapter right off.

Not sure if Isle of Swords is for you? Did you like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies? Well, Isle of Swords is like that (the first movie, that is) only with more depth. ;-)

Still not sure? Here's a Sneak Peek at one of the opening chapters of Isle of Swords:

Echoes of Cannon Fire

A cannon shot, deep and sudden, trailed off like a peal of thunder. Something cold touched his fingertips. Another shot. Run them all out, boys!

Water trickled over his hand. She’s taking on something awful! Bosun, pitch that leak! Another shot, nearer still. Water surged into his mouth and nose. A wave partially submerged his head and sprayed his back.

He woke, jerked his head up from the surf, and flailed onto his side. His face, his arms, his back—throbbed and burned. “What happened?” he moaned, coughing up seawater and grinding sand between his teeth. He could not see. Has someone cut out my eyes? Hands trembling, he reached up. His eyes were swollen and caked shut . . . but at least they were there.

After several painful attempts, he managed to pry them open. Brilliant white light knifed in, he clutched at his face. His head throbbed, sun blazed mercilessly off the white sand, but slowly his eyes adjusted. He squinted under a cloudless blue sky and saw water. As another wave raced toward him, he rose to one knee. That little bit of movement brought tremendous pain. It felt as if there were shards of glass embedded in his skin.

With another groan, he stood. He reached over his shoulder and, between the tatters of his shirt, he felt ripped flesh, sticky and wet. His fingertips came back glistening with blood, and he became lightheaded. He swayed for a moment, then steadied himself and looked around.

Across a slope of white sand, there stood a deep copse of trees—mostly tall palms, surrounded by sea grape and divi-divi trees. He stared at the leaning, gnarled trunks. Divi-divi trees always leaned to the southwest. That meant something . . . he felt sure it did, but he could not grasp what. He looked along the tree line, up and down the shore, and again, out to sea. “I don’t know this place,” he whispered.

He grabbed fistfuls of his matted blond hair. His welted face felt foreign . . . like someone else’s. A sharp ringing came to his ears. The world seemed to spin. “My God,” he mouthed,
“I . . . I don’t even know who I am.”

A flash of green racing across the sand drew his attention, and he turned. At his feet, a large iguana sat gnawing at the leather drawstring of a pouch that lay half-buried in the sand.
Brushing aside the lizard, he picked up the fist-sized pouch. It had some weight to it. “Is this mine?” he wondered aloud. He thought it had to be, but nothing about it seemed familiar. Still, when he loosened the drawstring and began to pour out its contents, he couldn’t help but feel a strange gravity weighing upon him.

A sparkling green stone fell into his hands first. It was shaped like an almond, but much larger. The brilliant sun flickered within it as if the stone was alive with fire at its core. Next, a lock of lustrous red hair dropped out and lay in his palm close to the jewel. The hair was a little damp but still very soft. He ran a finger lightly over it, wondering. . . .

The surf raced in and covered his feet, just as the last item—a rusty iron cross—fell into his palm. Ancient it looked—and not just from the tarnish. It bore strange markings and a script of some design, but he could not read it.

He dropped the three tokens into the pouch. He did not recognize any of these things. Nothing made any sense! His head ached. Weak and confused, he watched as an iguana scurried away and disappeared over the slope. Then he froze, for nearby the lizard’s trail was a trail of footprints. They wound away from the trees, down from the slope, almost directly to where he stood. A wave crashed with a sound like a cannon shot . . . or maybe, more like the crack of a whip, and he jumped.

The ringing came back to his ears, and he felt dizzy. As his vision blurred, he looked at the footprints leading up to where he stood. The thought, I am not alone, flashed into his mind before everything around him faded into darkness.

Once again, Isle of Swords, a swashbuckling high-seas adventure, is on sale now online and in all fine stores. A cool piratey tale just in time for back-to-school reading!