Books by Michael D. Young

Next Stop–Action Figures!

May 22nd, 2012

I feel like I have arrived as an author. A company has put up a non-literary piece of merchandise based on my books. (See the picture above, which is put on a mug) Next stop, action figures!

Thanks to all of you who stopped by during the LDS Authors Blog hop. I’m happy to announce that the winner is: Tobi H. If that’s you, please shoot me an email at thecanticlekingdom@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Sad News

Let’s get this out of the way first—my hard drive could not be recovered. Everything I had on there is gone forever. If you are reading this, go back up something precious to you now. This blog post will still be there when you get back.

I firmly believe things happen for a reason. Perhaps I was simply meant to rewrite the stuff I lost. The phoenix that rises might be better than what I had before. I’m going to go with that train of thought.

Canticle Kingdom eBook

In case you didn’t hear the great news before, “The Canticle Kingdom” is now available as an eBook! You can get the Kindle edition here: http://amzn.com/B007TWN5KY and on the Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-canticle-kingdom-michael-young/1018964936. Many of the Canticle Kingdom prequel stories are going eventually to be in eBook form as well, and the two sequels I am writing will be in eBook form as well, so this makes me very happy.

Canticle of Dawn

My next Canticle Kingdom serial is wrapping up soon. Go listen or read for free at http://www.bigworldnetwork.com/CanticleofDawn.html

They even have swag now! Check it out: http://www.cafepress.com/bigworldnetwork/8881465

CONTEST

All the stories are in for the Christmas Anthology, and one of the major steps that now needs to be made is to name it.

To this end, I’m announcing a contest. Send me in your best name suggestions and we’ll take a vote. If you suggest the winning name, you’ll get credit in the anthology, a free copy of the anthology when it comes out and your choice of one of my books or a free three-chapter edit from me if you’d rather.

Keep in mind the nature of the anthology, which is that it is comprised of short stories based on Christmas songs. Please keep all suggestions family friendly, and be creative as you can be. Send all submissions to: thecanticlekingdom@gmail.com.

‘Til I see you again, live bravely and write well!
Mayday Update

May 8th, 2012

April is a Winning Month!

Welcome to another month! April was a very difficult month for writing. I had the opening of “The Secret Garden”, the crash of my computer and a thousand other things vying for my time. I’m pleased to report, however, that on April 30^th, I jumped over the finish line for 50,000 words in April. That was a close one! I had to find all sorts of little times to write a little here and there. It really does add up.

My hard drive situation is still not taken care of, but I have high hopes. I will get back to posting writing stats once I get back my old records. Until then, just know that I’ve done about 200,000 words already this year! Many fun projects coming your way soon.

Canticle Kingdom eBook

Great news! “The Canticle Kingdom” is now available as an eBook! You can get the Kindle edition here: http://amzn.com/B007TWN5KY and on the Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-canticle-kingdom-michael-young/1018964936. Many of the Canticle Kingdom prequel stories are going eventually to be in eBook form as well, and the two sequels I am writing will be in eBook form as well, so this makes me very happy.

Conferences

I went to the LDStorymakers conference this weekend down in Provo and it was just to soak in all the knowledge and to get a chance to pitch to agent Holly Root. I think it all went really well! I also loved seeing all of my writer friends and catching up on their amazing projects. We are in good company in our organization.

Last week, I attended a great workshop given David Farland about outlining. If you ever have a chance to take anything from him, jump at it. He has trained many NYT bestsellers and is one himself. You can find more about him at http://www.davidfarland.net.

CONTEST

All the stories are in for the Christmas Anthology, and one of the major steps that now needs to be made is to name it.

To this end, I’m announcing a contest. Send me in your best name suggestions and we’ll take a vote. If you suggest the winning name, you’ll get credit in the anthology, a free copy of the anthology when it comes out and your choice of one of my books or a free three-chapter edit from me if you’d rather.

Keep in mind the nature of the anthology, which is that it is comprised of short stories based on Christmas songs. Please keep all suggestions family friendly, and be creative as you can be. Send all submissions to: thecanticlekingdom@gmail.com.

‘Til I see you again, live bravely and write well!
The Great Data Crash of 2012

April 26th, 2012

Thank you all for your patience. Today I’m going to be blogging about something can really put a wrench in your finely-tuned writing machine.

A week ago, everything was going fine until I fired up my computer and saw a dreaded sentence—an error message on my computer screen that my hard drive had crashed.

As a writer, I know the value of backing things up and had been using www.dropbox.com.  When I went to go see what I could get, however, it appeared that the service had not been working properly for about two months. Luckily, I had also emailed myself a few things, but many things were simply gone.

My hard drive is now at a data recovery service, and I’m assured that will be very expensive. I hope that they will be able to recover the data, because it is priceless.  I do not know yet.

What can we take away from this? Here are a few of my thoughts:

1.   Backup in multiple locations. You may think that what you are doing is enough. You never know when multiple things could go wrong, as in my case. Use your email, a service like dropbox or Carbonite, and external media such as external hard drives and flash drives.

2.   Backup often. I would recommend doing it every day. That way, if something does happen, you will never lose more than a day’s worth of writing.

3.   Don’t get complacent. I let myself get caught up in other things and didn’t worry enough about important things. Don’t let that happen to you.

As such, I’m not exactly sure what my word count is.  I’m plugging along with my goals for April and will try to figure things out as I get my data back.

I hope this will help some of you out there o prevent what has happened to me.

I’ll be back later this week with an update on “The Secret Garden”. See you then!

Until then, live bravely and write well!
Autism Awareness Hop Winner

April 19th, 2012

Thank you to everyone who entered the Autism Awareness Blog Hop. I wanted to announce the winner of a signed copy of “The Canticle Kingdom” as Dawn Saenz! Just in time to read the first volume in time for the second volume to come out sometime this Summer.

It was a very busy and stressful week, but I’m so glad to that so many of you visited my blog. Have a wonderful week and I’ll see you back here on Monday.

Until then live bravely and write well.
Autism Awareness Blog Hop

April 11th, 2012

For the next little bit (April 11th -17th), I am suspending my usual activities to participate in the Autism Awareness Blog hop.

My oldest son, Jarem, has a form of autism and I hear all the time how much more prevalent it is becoming. I’m very glad that there are so many resources to help people with autism.

I encourage you all to go to http://www.autismspeaks.org/in order to learn more.

In honor of this blog hop, I’m giving away a free signed copy of “The Canticle Kingdom”. You can use the widget to enter below, and don’t forget to follow the other blogs who are participating in the hop for more ways to win.

Also don’t forget to check out my web serials to which I have contributed.

http://bigworldnetwork.com/CanticleofDawn.html (Mondays)

http://bigworldnetwork.com/PhineasFrakture.html (Wednesdays)

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April is Great…No Foolin’!

April 7th, 2012

A happy Easter weekend to you all!

Hello, everyone. I apologize for not checking in earlier this week. Between singing in LDS General Conference over the weekend and doing dress rehearsals for “The Secret Garden” at the Hale Center Theater Orem, I’ve been pretty booked. It was a bit of a rough start for the first part of April as far as writing goes, but I made up for it with a good writing day yesterday.

Here’s a few announcements:

I’m going to be in Ephraim Utah at the “Write Here in Ephraim” event, teaching my class on avoiding cliché and signing books. It will be held most of the day on Saturday April 14^th at Snow College, so stop by if you are in the area.

All the submissions for my Christmas anthology are in and there are great things in store. I have an editor and a cover artist on board and I’m ready to go. One of my favorites is a historical fiction piece that centers around the legend of Good King Wenceslas. Look for that and more this holiday season. (Sounds like I need a movie trailer voice there.)

If you’d like to see me and many other wonderful actors and actress’s in “The Secret Garden” you can get your tickets online at http://www.haletheater.org. The first performances start April 13^th and the show runs all the way until June 2^nd. I will be performing every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night as well as some of the Saturday matinees. (I’ll post those later). I highly recommend you come see this one. It not only has incredible music, but a timeless and touching story that will stay with you long after the show is over.

Also don’t forget to check out my web serials to which I have contributed.

http://bigworldnetwork.com/CanticleofDawn.html (Mondays)

http://bigworldnetwork.com/PhineasFrakture.html (Wednesdays)

Stats:

Running Total: 173357

Month to Date: 8731

Yearly Percentage to Go: 71.1%

Writing Tip of the Week:

It really pays to plan. I’m reading over some things that I wrote in my early writing days when I just went for it without taking much time to plan. I found things rambling more often than not. I don’t think there is one true way of planning, but I think whatever works best for you is the way you should go. I’m attending David Farland’s Million Dollar Outlines workshop this month, so I’m sure I’ll have more to say on the subject later.

Writing Update:

Wandaful is finished! I see that one as a series, but I’m not sure exactly how long yet. I’m going to let that one sit for a week before taking it up again so that it has time to ‘simmer’. Now I’m just wondering what to do next. I have several options, and I’m not sure which one would be best. I’ll be sure to let you all know.

‘Til I see you again, write bravely and live well!
Stick a Flag in March

March 28th, 2012

Stick a flag in March. Two days ago, I already hit my 50,000 word mark for the month. I’m about 8,000 words ahead, which is a pretty nice padding. Hope I won’t need it. I’m spending the last days of March trying to widen that lead, but also finishing up another edit of the 2^ndCanticle Kingdom book so that it can go off to the editor I hired.

It is the last chance to submit to the Christmas Short Story Anthology. The deadline is March 31^st. Check out “current projects” for more info. I have a bunch of great submissions, including an epic historical piece about Good King Wenceslas, who was apparently much more interesting that I had ever considered.

Please be sure to check out my audio series, especially if you liked or would like to read “The Canticle Kingdom”. I think it will make it a much deeper experience. The second one that I’m narrating is called “Phineas Frakture and the Dolonites” and it shaping up to be an interesting adventure with great characters.

http://bigworldnetwork.com/CanticleofDawn.html

http://bigworldnetwork.com/PhineasFrakture.html

If you’d like to play a game of “Where’s Waldo” with real people, I’m singing in LDS General Conference this weekend with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. You can stream it live, or watch the videos after the fact at http://www.lds.org. Leave a comment if you were able to spot me!

Stats:

Running Total: 158090

Month to Date: 51,758

Yearly Percentage to Go: 73.7%

Writing Tip of the Week:

When bringing a project to a close, make sure it is going to make the reader’s happy. Not all ending have to be rainbows and roses, but make sure that there is something that made the journey worthwhile. Someone, typically your main characters, should have made progress, and at least something about the world should be better or more hopeful than before. You want your reader to feel at rest at the end of your story at least to some degree.

Writing Update:

The big finale of Wandful is in the bag, and I’m trying to decide which project to work on next. I’ve been hearing that dystopian novels and paranormal romances are less in demand these days. (Good thing I’d only ever write one of the two.) I have a whole stack of ideas I’d like to try, which I feel is a good problem to have.

I’m also considering what new web series I might try to write. I’m doing this current one and one more for my Canticle series, after which the reader is taken up to the time of the first novel. I’m thinking about giving the same treatment to “The Last Archangel”, especially because Xandir obviously has a long and interesting backstory at which he only hints at in the novels. More on that as it develops.

‘Til I see you again, write bravely and live well!
Book Bomb for Caller ID

March 22nd, 2012

A book bomb in an effort to have many people buy a certain book on a certain day in order to shoot the rankings up on Amazon.com, which helps authors gain exposure. Today, we are doing one for “Caller ID” by Rachelle Christensen.

Rachelle is making it well worth your while. If you buy the book tomorrow, you will get a whole truckful of free stuff. Check out http://rachellewrites.blogspot.com/ to get the great details.

Here’s a link to order the book and help out:Caller ID on Amazon

Thanks for helping!
Two Hundred Posts and Counting

March 20th, 2012

Happy 200th post!

A couple of really exciting things today. The first is that my next web serial debuts today! It is called “Canticle of Dawn” and is a continuation of the story begun in “Canticle of Night”, though it picks up some years down the road. It takes place completely inside the box that is the Canticle Kingdom, and delves deeper into the events that shaped what happens in the novel.

Please check out the first episode, and “like” it on Facebook if you do like what you read and/or hear. Who knew narration could be so fun?

http://bigworldnetwork.com/CanticleofDawn.html

Speaking of narration, I am also narrating another series called “The Adventures of Phineas Frakture”, which is a fun Steampunk adventure. It also debuted recently. Here’s the link to that one as well:

http://bigworldnetwork.com/PhineasFrakture.html

I was also featured on a guest post, which you can check out here:

http://apryl-baker.blogspot.com/2012/03/introducing-author-michael-young.html

Thanks for having me, Apryl!

Stats:

Running Total: 144,907

Month to Date: 38,575

Yearly Percentage to Go: 75.8%

Writing Tip of the Week:

When writing dialogue, make sure you keeping pacing in mind. If you have a lot of speaking without talking what the speakers are doing, the pace is going to feel quick. This kind of pace can tire out the reader if you use it too much. However, if you talk a little more about what the speakers are doing and their interaction with their environment while they are speaking, you slow things down a bit. I think your writing should have a little bit of each so that the rhythm of conversation ebbs and flows much like it does in real life.

Writing Update:

I’m writing the final climatic scene for Wandaful, and I think I’ll have that one done in a week or two. I had a great idea of another novel drop into my laugh this week, and I think it grown out of me following the elections this year much more closely than usual. I’ll post more thoughts about that project once I set them into place.

‘Til I see you again, write bravely and live well!
Loving the Ides of March

March 15th, 2012

My March sprint has started out strong. I’m well over the halfway point today and it is only the 15^th. (Got to love those months with 31 days.) The point, however, is not to get complacent. I found out how much a sudden sickness can put you behind. I’m starting up a small side business as an editor for both short stories and novel length works. Keep in mind, my “aspiring authors” program is still free and in effect. I am offering a discount for young writers, which I define as being under 19 years old. Here are the details that I will also post permanently on my site.

Rate: $1.00/page (standard manuscript format, 12pt font, double spaced)

Special rate for writers under 19: $0.75/page.

Recommended Genres:

Fantasy (all kinds), Science Fiction, Historical Fiction

Other Genres I’ll Accept:

Mystery, Horror, General/Literary

Genres to Avoid:

Romance, Erotica, Self-Help

To submit, email me at thecanticlekingdom@gmail.com. When I request the manuscript please send it in .rtf, .doc, or .docx format. It should have a common 12 pt font such as Arial or Times New Roman with 1 inch margins all around, and be double spaced. Manuscripts not formatted correctly may be sent back for reformatting.

Time Frame: The time frame is negotiable, depending on the length of the work. Please give me as much time as possible before a deadline.

Stats:

Running Total: 136,221

Month to Date: 30.434

Yearly Percentage to Go: 77.2%

Writing Tip of the Week:

Hang in there. I had a hard day for writing and it happens to be my birthday. I got two rejections from markets that had looked very promising. It is so hard not to be discouraged, especially when publishers and agents offer no more than form letter and send you on your way. In order to combat this, I’m going to do four submissions today, double the number of rejections.

I firmly believe that rejections are not necessarily a reflection of your writing, but that publishing is a strange and twisted game of trying to match your supply with a demand. I will keep trying no matter what.

Writing Update:

I did the first recordings for “Canticle of Dawn” this week and it is going to be great. I’m getting the hang of being a narrator now, which helps a lot. I’m also narrating a further series on the same site called “The Adventures of Phineas Frakture”. It is a set in a world where automatons replaced slaves in our nation’s early history, averting the Civil War, and vastly changing the course of history.

I’m about 2/3 of the way through writing “Wandaful” and about a quarter of the way done on the third books of the Canticle Chronicles and the Last Archangel series. I’m also hard at work doing my final edit of the sequel to “The Canticle Kingdom” and am excited about letting that see the light of day soon.

If you want to listen to or read “Canticle of Night”, please visit my page at http://www.bigworldnetwork.com/CanticleofNight.html