NEW EDITION OF GRAHAM OUT THIS WEEK
Posted on November 7, 2013
The new edition of Graham the Gargoyle 1 is coming out tomorrow on amazon. It is a lovely thing. To explain why I am rereleasing this book, I am reprinting the Author's Note from this new edition:
Almost fourteen years separate this revised edition of Graham 1 from its original. Graham the Gargoyle: First Flight was written on January 1, 2000, and came in at 14,267 words. It was an experiment to see if I could write my first novel in one day. I succeeded.
Now flash forward to 2013. Graham 2 has been published for a year and I had just finished writing the first draft of Graham 3. Upon rereading the first Graham, I could see the problems with my inexperienced writing. I vowed to rework the book. With both the second and third volumes in the series over 75,000 words, Graham 1 felt slight. Graham the Gargoyle Book One: Graham's Grief is the new title. Its alliterative title now syncs up with the other books in the series.
I set to work rewriting the book. I didn't change the events or the chapters. I did add two new chapters that embellished how lonely Graham was feeling and helped justify why he left with his grandfather. In addition, the dialogue was tightened up and scenes were smoothed out so that transitions flowed. I found it easy to add hints of what was to come in the next two volumes. It came together incredibly fast.
While it was no one-day affair, I did get the 22,500-word novel done in five days of intense creativity. So I grew the story by 8,756 words and not one of them feels like padding.
It was a very rewarding experience. The differences and signs of growth with my writing were easy to spot. I'm so pleased with the result.
For those of you new to Graham's world, Books Two and Three, Flenn's Folly and Ot's Ordeal, are available right now. There's also a companion piece that takes place in Cascade called Norton the Vampire. His story unfolds at the same time as Graham's and even has a crossover chapter with Graham 1 in it that hints at what happened after Graham's First Flight.
With Books Four and Five, Laroonae's Lament and Blord's Burden, in the planning stages, I'm looking forward to many years of adventures with Graham and his supporting cast. I am hoping to rope in a whole bunch of gargoyle groupies with this revamped edition of Graham 1. Please visit www.brianclopper.com to keep up on the new books in this charming series.
And if anyone wants to read the barebones original to compare it to this newer version, I will happily send along a review file to peek at the early rendition.
Graham's Grief, now with 56% more gargoyle!