Well, behold, my latest project, Heaven 1. It is a new saga I’ve been working on, and let me tell you, my mind hasn’t been this electrified since The Journey Scroll, only this time I want to bring all of you along for the ride as it unfolds.
Click here to read the first chapter of Heaven 1 right now!
This story has been on my mind for a few years now, but only in the last couple of months have I started getting it out. There are a couple things I want to address. Firstly, I’ve struggled with whether or not I should get these preliminary chapters edited before I post them openly on my site. I have decided not to for the time being. I want to post each chapter as I write them and leave myself room to change things as needed. I feel like it would be a waste to have them edited if I am going to need to go back and revise and change things again before the final product comes together. So, just keep that in mind. These chapters that I’m posting are pre-edit and are straight from my mind to yours, reveling in all of their grammatical deficiencies. I do have a board of reviewers though whose insights have, indeed, been taken into consideration. This constructive criticism, however, offered to me by one of those reviewers remarking on the weight of the story “Each sentence you write is so epic and huge in scale that it almost seems possible to write an entire novel based on each of your sentences” I am taking as a compliment! I hope you don’t mind that I just quoted you, by the way. You know who you are! In all seriousness, the feedback I’ve received has been indispensable and I am looking forward to all of my readers thoughts on the story as it unfolds. Thank you, all of my reviewers, and all of my dear readers.
I am also excited to share with you the artwork of a good friend of mine, Blake Fruits. You will see his portrayal of the first chapter of Heaven 1 “The Whu-Thada” below this in the Heaven 1 Blog. His talent is going to and has already brought this project a unique life. I intend to utilize his skills for upcoming chapters and will most definitely use his work in my final book once this project wraps up.
Blake Fruits
Here is the process and the ultimate goal of this project.
I write the first draft of each chapter.
I post the chapters to the Heaven 1 Reviewer Page for my panel to offer their thoughts and criticisms. (This page is to remain exclusive to those who’ve received an invite. It is password protected). For info on becoming a reviewer contact me at jakeskate8@gmail.com
Once I’ve revised the chapter and considered their thoughts, I will, as often as I feel it necessary for the promotion of the story have art produced for the chapter.
Finally, I will post the unedited version to two locations: the Heaven 1 Blog for those who are keeping up on the story as it progresses, and also to the Heaven 1 Main Page where newcomers will be able to read the entire story from the beginning, top to bottom.
Once I feel comfortable with ending the story, the ultimate goal, here, is to produce a finished novel. At that point I will revise and reevaluate the entirety of the manuscript changing anything I feel needs to be changed, get it professionally edited and get some cover art done for it, finally publishing it in paperback and hardcover making it available for purchase.
A possible road trip will ensue. But let’s take this one step at a time.
On a final note, I am only posting all of this, and the first chapter almost solely because of the encouragement I’ve received from family and friends. On a level I feel almost unfathomable, I worry about nearly every word I write, and I am so incredibly self conscious of my stories that I have kept many of my works hidden in the hard drives of my computer. I post the first chapter of Heaven 1 largely on faith. No, I don’t aspire in the least to be a famous author. I feel that the burden of such an endeavor is not worth it. I merely want tell a story that I hope resinates with those I care about. My soul delights in the thought that my posterity will remember me in the words I’ve written for them. Yet, the thought that the world might be shaped by my words chills me to the bone and strikes me with a great fear even to the center of my soul. It is a burden that maybe one day I will face. But for now, I just want to tell my stories without a thought to what might become of them. Thank you my dear friends and my family.
I will use this blog from here on out to post new chapters and anything related to Heaven 1. So, without further ado, I present to you Heaven 1. Enjoy.
Continue to scroll down or click here to read the first chapter of Heaven 1.