The Nectar Trilogy

In the darkness of my sister-in-law’s basement, clacking on the backlit keys of my son’s laptop, I wrote the final scene of Amo. The journey began last June. The plan was to finish the manuscript last year, but the Book Architects advised me to stop writing the second book and focus on publishing the first. I took their advice and published Pleroma this spring. In June of this year I resumed writing Amo.

I know the story needs a great deal of work, but it is a good feeling to get the first draft out of my head. Now I will let it sit for a while, then come back to it with critical eyes. Ever onward!

The day has finally arrived. The kids are out of school. I have the precious morning hours to myself. Now I can climb back into Lane’s world and resolve this second story in the Nectar Trilogy. I’ve spent the last two weeks reading what I wrote last summer. The good thing is that I still like the story. That’s a good sign. I left Lane, Josh, and Quinn in a precarious situation when I stopped writing last year. I need to get them out of it and on to the climax of the story. Exciting.

Stay tuned…

Pleroma is available at The Valley Bookseller in Stillwater, MN. If you know anyone in that area, let them know they can pick it up there. It is a wonderful local bookseller located right on the St. Croix river. Definitely worth the trip!

Pleroma has been added to the “Living Social” page and is available to review. Here’s what the readers said,

as my “left to read” pages got fewer and fewer, i knew i was going to wish i had book two at hand! great story, great message…favorite quote “he remembered the crows who used to taunt him on his way to school and felt ashamed that he, with a small taste of power, could act just like them.”
a great book to read with your teens, will keep your interest, but no inappropriate stuff!!!

Would you like a sneek peek at Amo: book 2 of the Nectar trilogy? download it here. Enjoy!

I had to rebuild the site. It is a little different from before. I think I like it better now. Sometimes crashes can turn out to be a good thing.

I don’t have time to fix it right now. Hopefully I’ll repair this damage soon.

From an Amazon Customer:

read a short synopsis of the book before I purchased it. The author’s imagination is amazing. The story drew me in from the very first page. I can’t wait for the sequel to be available. I know it is the first of a trilogy, and I must purchase the entire set. Love it so much that I recommended it to my entire family.

Have you had a chance to check out Pleroma? It is also available at Barnes and Noble. Soon it will be available on the nook. If you have a nook and would like a free copy, just send me an email and it’s yours!

Below are the two reviews I received from the people who read the 5,000 word excerpt for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel awards.

Do you agree with them? Disagree? Thoughts and comments welcome.

ABNA Expert Reviewer

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?

Very well written excerpt. The story is engaging and interesting and I think the target audience will relate to Lane and his struggles.

What aspect needs the most work?

From just this excerpt, the order the story is told in seems a little awkward. The complete story might not be that way, but this small section of the story is. Other than that, I thought this piece was great!

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?

I really liked this excerpt. I thought the characterization was strong and that the YA audience can relate to the main character. The writing is strong and engaging. I’d like to see how this one ends.

ABNA Expert Reviewer

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?

The opening scene is strong. It grabs the reader and pulls him quickly into the story. I could feel Lane’s panic, even as I wondered what his emergency was.

What aspect needs the most work?

The scene in Mr. Lancaster’s AP physics class was the least believable. I’ve been in a lot of AP classes and I’ve been around a lot of serious students. Firstly, I just don’t see a teacher setting class time aside to discuss parallel universes. Secondly, if he did, I don’t see any students trying to redirect the teacher, especially for the reason that “the world is in too much danger.” Thirdly, if he were redirected, I don’t see the teacher speak with scorn towards a serious student. “Mr. Reality, huh Lane?” Mr. Lancaster is a teacher, after all, not a student.

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?

Although the excerpt opens strongly, the shift from present to past leading back to the present is a little jarring. Maybe opt for a slower pace opening beginning more in chronological order or a past that is further back, developing more background, so that the time shift doesn’t have to occur so frequently.