Isn't it fantastic?  I think it is.  The Grumpy Artist's best work, if you ask me.

Now, in regards to the paperback, it should be available very soon.  We had some issues with the spine, which are slowly being resolved as we speak.  Hopefully, it will only be a couple days away from completion.

That's it for now, folks.  Keep reading!

RJD

Here we are, everyone.  May 1st.  This date means something very special to me, so I thought I'd post about it right here, right now.

The Fall first went live in paperback on April 21st, 2010.  That means that Jesse and myself ave been going at this little thing called publishing for a year now.  This is as good a time as any to get everyone up-to-date on how the experience went for us.

As I said, we released the first book on April 21st.  In the last nine days of that month we sold 15 copies of the book - exclusively to family and friends.  I watched our rankings drop and thought, "well, this is how it's gonna be.  We're a hit!"

Then...reality struck.

Sales dropped in May, and we saw little to no movement.  In that time I decided we best get into this burgeoning ebook market.  On June 5th we released The Fall on the Kindle, and again I thought things would just take off. 

I sold a grand total of 5 ebooks that month.

However, this slow progress didn't deter me.  I kept plugging away at other projects while constantly updating our books with new corrections and edits.  I started my review blog, "Journal of Always", in July, and started to gain some exposure.  By the time October rolled around, when I took part in Amanda Hocking's "Zombiepalooza", her dedication to Halloween, things really started to take off.  In November we broke 100 sales in a month for the first time, along with releasing "The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales".  We were on our way.

So here we are now, with three books out there and one more to be released this coming June.  Our sales have been relatively consistent and we've made some more-than-significant progress.  Reviews have been (mostly) good and the reception has been greater than I would've hoped.

I know some people only believe numbers, however, so here you go.  This is how our books - The Fall, Dead of Winter, and The Gate - have fared over the last year:

The Fall: The Rift Book I

Paperbacks Sold - 65
Ebooks Sold - 2783
Total Sold - 2848

Dead of Winter: The Rift Book II

Paperbacks Sold - 19
Ebooks Sold - 1276
Total Sold - 1295

The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales

Ebooks (and Total) Sold - 1254


Overall Sales for TRO Publishing, our little baby here:

5397

Boo-ya!

Peace, folks

RJD

Well, here we are, folks.  If you've been following this blog, you know that the deadline for the competition between Mercedes Yardley and myself has been pushed back to May 1st.  However, this obviously doesn't mean that I've stopped working.  As of this moment, Silas is sitting at 97,000 words.  with my best guestimation, I'd say I have another 5000 words to write, perhaps a bit more.  The problem with endings, at least for me, is that I start to fidget.  I can see the finish line, and my knees start knocking and my fingers just want to fly away on the keyboard.  I actually have to slow down - otherwise the words I put down will be, erm, less than satisfying.

That being said, I plan on finishing this rewrite (and it is a rewrite; much like The Rift, it's a completely different book than what it started out as) by Wednesday, April 6th.  With this done, I can set it aside for a few days to hang out with Artwiffy, and then it's full-steam ahead on editing.

It's difficult to describe to you the feelings that go through my body when I'm this close to finishing a novel.  It's a strange mixture of confidence and complete dread.  One part of me thinks it will be the best thing I've ever written; another part fears it's absolute drek.  It's these contradictions that I assume plague every artist in every medium...at least I assume so.  I wonder if Stephen King or Clive Barker, upon finishing The Stand and Weaveworld, felt these same emotions.  I'd love to one day sit down and talk to them, to my favorite writers in general, and discuss the amount of fear that comes with putting yourself out there.

Does the skepticism ever end?  And if it does, are the emotions that replace it satisfying, or destructive?   Just like with Silas, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

RJD

Here it is - the first review of DoW from the review copies I sent out.  And it's a pretty durn goodun' if I do say so myself.  Feel free to click on the link below to read it!

http://readersfavorite.com/cat-71.htm?review=3983

So 2011 is here at last.  Time for some updates!

It turns out the full release of Dead of Winter will only be delayed for a month.  Jesse is hard at work on the illustrations, and we'll be getting together the 15th of January to put it all together.

Also, for some even better news, the prices of both books will be dropping.  I've decided that I didn't use my space appropriately last time.  We will be changing the format of the first book (along with DoW) in order to drop the page count, which in turn will drop the price.  Look for both to be in the $10 to $13 range.  Condensing makes them that much more affordable...not to mention appearing more professional.  Which they are, by the way.

As a final note, after the release of the final DoW version, we'll be hard at work constructing the print for The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales.   This one should come in the $5 to $6 range - a small and affordable book of shorts.

So we'll be seeing you soon, folks.  Remember to post reviews on Amazon or Goodreads whenever you finish a book.  We need your support.  There wouldn't be an us without you.

Peace,

RJD

Well, for anyone who's been waiting for book two of The Rift to be released, your wait is over!  In a way, anyhow.

As of right now, Dead of Winter is live on Amazon for the Kindle.  I know, I know, the print book is supposed to be available, too, but we've run into a couple snags along the way.  It won't be too long, however.  We're looking right now at the second week of January for the release.

That being said, anyone who wants to pick up Dead of Winter can simply click here to find the Amazon product page.  As I've said many times, this is my favorite book in the series, and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.

I hope you will be, as well.

I'll now leave you with an image of the cover - which will change slightly, because the font is a little, well, weak.

It's a fantastic piece of art, folks.  And the interior illustrations are going to be just as good.

Peace. 

- RJD

Buy Dead of Winter for the Kindle:

#1 - Reviews are important.  Whatever anyone thinks of our books, good or bad, feel free to post a review on Amazon.  It helps us gain a readership and guides potential customers to the page.

#2 - If anyone doesn't know yet, here is a little bit about our library for all you Kindle owners out there:

The Fall: The Rift Book I

Available for $2.99 in the Kindle Store

An ancient evil, trapped in the ruins of a lost Mayan temple for centuries, has been unleashed. It takes the form of a deadly virus, one that causes violent insanity in the living and the recently departed to rise and walk. It spreads around the globe, throwing the world into chaos and war.

As it progresses, those in the States who find themselves far away from the epicenter watch it unfold with unbelieving eyes. From Washington D.C. to Dover, New Hampshire, regular people are hurled into an existence outside their control, left to deal with catastrophic situations that they aren't prepared to handle. Life becomes a nightmare, and that nightmare is spreading.

First time author Robert J. Duperre presents this scenario with The Fall: The Rift Book I, the first of a four-part series. In this book, he throws his characters into a gambit; when the alternatives are life or death, self-preservation or the protection of others, what path will they choose? Is there a darkness that resides in everyone, from every walk of life, that is screaming for release? When society falls apart and we are left to our own devices, will we make the right decisions, or let the tide take us where it may? There is horror, there is death, there are the walking dead, and all around are choices.

The Gate: 13 Dark & Odd Tales

Available for $0.99 in the Kindle Store

...Three brothers traipse across a post-apocalyptic landscape, encountering unspeakable horrors...

...A young boy growing up in suburban hell thinks there might be more to his home town than meets the eye, what with all the children going missing...

...A woman dying of cancer is given a way out, if only she is willing to pay the price...

...The crew of a space station must battle their fears and a strange alien relic when they are isolated from humanity...if humanity exists any longer...

These stories and more await inside the pages of The Gate: 13 Dark & Odd Tales, the new compilation by Robert J. Duperre, author of The Fall: The Rift Book I. Also contributing to this collection are the talented Mercedes M. Yardley, David Dalglish, David McAfee, and Daniel Pyle.


Enjoy, folks, and remember - we can't succeed without you, gentle reader.  I hope you enjoy the experience we bring you.

- RJD

Here is where we stand right now when it pertains to the two separate projects we have going on right now:

#1 - Dead Of Winter

Yes, the final round of edits for the second book of The Rift are now finished!  The manuscript has been sent off to our first editor to look over.  When it comes back, it will be sent to yet another editor.  By the time it comes back to us complete, it should be a pretty spit-and-polished final product - unlike the many versions of The Fall in which the mistakes we (I) made cost me a ton of money and will not be repeated.

Jesse is also hard at work putting together the cover and interior illustrations.  When he's finished, we'll be putting it all together, producing the paperback and hardcover, and then it's up to me to format and upload a version for the Kindle, Nook, and iPad.  Yes, it's still a lot of work to do, and many more sleepless nights.  But in the end, it's all worth it.  This is going to be a fantastic book, better than the first, and will hopefully please those looking forward to following the exploits of Josh, Kyra, Colin, and a host of new and interesting characters.  And yes, our release date is still tentatively scheduled for around December 15th.

#2 - The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales

This is a special - and now collaborative - project.  I have collected nine of my best short stories, and gathered contributions from a few great writers I know - David Dalglish, Mercedes Yardley, David McAfee, and Daniel Pyle.  These shorts will all be gathered in this 50,000 word tome.  It will be released at first for the Kindle only, again with Jesse's artwork adorning the cover.  Then, after we put finishing touches on Dead of Winter, we will go about creating a digest-sized paperback, complete with sketches from the fabulous artist himself based on the stories included.

There are a wide range of tales in here, everything from straight horror to science fiction to slipstream.  It's quite exciting for me, and all the stories (even mine) are good.  Look out for this to be released by the middle or end of this month.  Here is the table of contents in the order I have them right now:

1 - The Gate
2 - Sullivan Street
3 - Container of Sorrows (Mercedes M. Yardley)
4 - The Sins of the Father
5 - Blight (Daniel Pyle)
6 - Feeding the Passion
7 - Dispatch #337
8 - Exhibit A (David McAfee)
9 - The Bandits of Yaddo
10 - I Spy
11 - Kitty in the Cellar (David Dalglish)
12 - Perfect Blue Buildings
13 - Empty Spaces

That's all I have for now, folks!  Check back later for more.