TO FANS OF 'THE LEGENDS OF KARAC TOR'
a.k.a. "Dude, what happened to my series?"
First of all, I'm deeply sorry it's taken me so long to correspond. After receiving the early news from my publisher that the series had been canceled, I was knocked on my heels for several months, trying to sort through how best to respond (renegotiate, move on, self-publish, abandon hope, etc). About the time I had that part figured out, my wife and I (and our eight kids) began gearing up for a move to a new city in a new state — from little Fort Gibson, OK to the mighty metropolis of Kansas City, MO. That's when life got really busy: packing, unpacking, searching for a home, selling a home, moving, settling, heading in a new direction. I am so thankful for the many notes of personal encouragement during this period, as well as the expressions of disappointment that the series had been cancelled. In my heart, I believe we were really starting to make headway. My Amazon reviews (and numerous blog and ezine reviews)
were uniformly excellent, all from readers like you. Anyway, The Book of Names
came out right as
the recession was hitting hard. As publishers all over the country
began slashing staff and projects to limit the damage, my publisher eliminated their entire fiction line! Kaboom! Series gone. (Last March, I
posted a note on my Facebook page to this effect. You can read about it here.)
UPDATE: I am securing all rights back from
Navpress as we speak. Once the paper work is finalized, I hope to
locate another publisher soon. How soon? Don't know, but I've had a
couple of random inquiries with no real effort on my part, so I'm
hopeful. Please be patient. My personal
schedule is tied up until at least the first of October. The good news
in all of this is that Books 1-3 are complete! They just need a home. Ironically, TheBook of Names
is a Finalist in the ACFW Book of the Year contest (Speculative Fiction
category). I'll know the results next month. So...lose my contract, get
nominated. Go figure. :)
I am so grateful for the support of all the fans of the first book! Thank you!And just so you know, I am
hopeful to see the series completely resurrected as God permits. I wish
I had better news, but I am not discouraged. I've been through worse,
and God is still on His throne. Please know, I will continue to develop the series as I am able in preparation for (and hopes of) republishing. However, at present, further site content will be limited to updates like this one. I would encourage you to register your email address here at hiddenlands.net so that I can keep you informed as new information presents itself.
Finally, if you wish to send a note sharing your support of this series, I would love to compile all such correspondence to present on behalf of the fans of Karac Tor to any publishers I contact.
Stay tuned to Hiddenlands.net or my Facebook for information as it becomes available. I'll try to do better at keeping everyone in the loop! :)
Dean Barkley Briggs is an author, father of eight, and prone to twisting his ankle playing basketball. He grew up reading J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lews, Patricia McKillip, Guy Gavriel Kay, Stephen R. Donaldson, Ursila K. Leguin, Susan Cooper, Madeline L'Engle, Terry Brooks, Andre Norton and Lloyd Alexander (just to name a few)...and generally thinks most fantasy fiction pales in comparison. (Yes, he dabbled in sci-fi, too. Most notably Bradbury, Burroughs and Heinlein).
After losing his wife of 16 years, Briggs decided to tell a tale his four sons could relate to in their own journey through loss. Thus was born The Legends of Karac Tor, a sweeping adventure of four brothers who, while struggling to adjust to life without mom, become enmeshed in the crisis of another world. Along the way they must find their courage, face their pain, and never quit searching for home.
Briggs is remarried to a lovely woman, who previously lost her husband. Together with her four children, their hands are full.
The Book of Names is the first book in the Legends of Karac Tor. IN STORES NOW!
Briggs previously authored two medical thrillers, God Spot (1999) and The Most Important Little Boy in the World (2001)
