Congratulations!

Congratulations to Mandy, Janet, and Megan, for winning the Goodreads giveaway for Ransom of the Healer! If you entered but weren't selected, the book is now available for purchase both in trade paperback and Kindle versions. In case you were curious, Ransom of the Healer fits perfectly in the average stocking, hung by the chimney with care. It's also highly compatible with wrapping paper, bows, and gift boxes.

Goodreads Giveaway

There are only five days left until the Goodreads giveaway closes for Ransom of the Healer. Enter to win one of three free copies. Just in time for the holidays!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Ransom of the Healer

by A.C. Autry

Giveaway ends November 30, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Post Countdown

Yesterday was one of celebration. I officially launched my website, as well as the paperback and eBook formats of Ransom of the Healer. It occurred to  me later that I never finished the countdown on my blog. Oops. I'm still getting the hang of a media platform, and to be honest, I'm not sure who really reads this blog anyway. If you are reading this now, thank you!

I hope you enjoy reading my book as much as I enjoyed writing it. More than that, I hope that you have an area of your life that brings you joy and a sense of purpose and accomplishment. We were all meant to do amazing things. (Don't get caught up in the definition of amazing, just live fully and actively.)

So the moment of possibility is over. The book is now out there for anyone to see and whatever is going to happen with it is already in motion. As for me, I'll now get back to writing the sequel, Rise of the Seer, because I am quite curious to see what happens next.

One Day Left

"I'm so sick of the idea of a big strong prince riding in and saving the damsel in distress...I don't want to be saved. I want to slay the dragon."-Ransom of the Healer

Two Days

Three Days

Four Days

Five Days

Six Days

Seven Days

Eight Days and My Favorite Reading Blanket

Nine Days

The Countdown Begins!

List Prices and Traveling Proofs

We have an official release date for Ransom of the Healer! On November 19, 2013, it will be available for purchase both in paperback and electronic editions.

After much calculation and deliberation, we've come to the conclusion that the US list price will be $11.50 for the paperback version. Self publishing is an interesting creature. While you do have complete design control and a much larger voice, you do still have to submit to the "Royalty Dragon." It turns out that with a price less than the one listed, I'll actually be losing money with every sale in my expanded distribution market. Since I'm paying for every aspect of this book out of my own pocket, I can't have a loose end out there like that.

The first copy of Ransom of the Healer is currently traveling towards me via the postal system. After three long years, I will finally get to hold my book in my hands and put in on my bookshelf. My ultimate goal after I decided to publish my book was to be able to check it out from my local library. That's next up on the agenda....right behind dancing around in the living room with my book in my hands as I throw it an incredible "Welcome Home" party.

Introverts Unite

I submitted my final interior layout changes today. This process has taken longer than I anticipated. It's a terrifying thing to put yourself out there for others to see, particularly when you've spent the better part of the last decade and a half trying to be invisible. Maybe you're like me and have a million thoughts, ideas, and constant stories buzzing around inside your mind. Maybe it's just as much of a challenge for you to stand in the spotlight and introduce the project you've been working on for the last several years. But if you're standing and speaking, you're living...and if you're working on a project, you're doing more than existing. Here's to all of the introverted creative types who suffer sweaty palms and bouts of near panic at the thought of leaving our warm, isolated bubbles! We can do this together....albeit a civil, separated, together. Know an introvert? Here is some helpful advice.

Ransom of the Healer

Possibility is the moment before reality occurs. This is where Ransom of the Healer is currently floating. What started out as a few lines of prose, is now a novel only a few weeks away from turning into an actual paperback book. It hasn't been a quick process, and it most certainly hasn't been an easy one. The idea of letting other people visit the world I have lived in alone for the past three years, is terrifying to say the least.  There have been countless moments when courage has faltered and I almost gave in and let fear of failure dictate my passion. I believe it was Karim Seddiki who said, "Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will." And how.

A life without passion and enthusiasm is one only partially lived. We don't have to quit our day jobs to see the beauty in the world around us. While I admire the adventurous spirit of selling everything and moving away to live life to the fullest, I understand that isn't always the best approach for everyone. We have jobs. We have responsibilities. The challenge is to find your passions while living a 9-5 life, so that the 9-5 life isn't the one thing that defines you. We're all more than an occupation. Until we find those moments of joy, the things no matter how small, that bring us bits of true happiness, we will never feel fully alive or that we are doing anything more than functioning.

Ransom of the Healer is my moment of true happiness. When I am shut away in a room with nothing in front of me but a blank screen and an idea, I am happy. Sentences begin to appear and I am completely lost in the flurry of words that flow from my fingertips. Even if no one else appreciates or even enjoys my work, it's still my passion, my way of doing more than just existing. I hope everyone is able to find the things that make them truly happy, and hopefully, can find a moment of it in The Ransom Series. Live with passion, my fellow readers.