The Survivor Chronicles
The Survivor Chronicles series. A series of novels detailing survivor accounts during the zombie apocalypse of 2013.
First Half of A World Forsaken
November 17, 2011 | 
Author Though long overdue, the first half of A World Forsaken is now released for free from this website. Until I can get the page built, here are the links (and you may have to shift + click or right-click and “Save As…” to get them properly):
PDF format: A World Forsaken, Part I of II
MOBI format (for Kindle): A World Forsaken, Part I of II
EPUB format (for most eReaders): A World Forsaken, Part I of II
LRF format (for some older Sony eReaders): A World Forsaken, Part I of II
PDB format (for some Palm devices): A World Forsaken, Part I of II
This is the first half of the last book (book #4) of The Survivor Chronicles, a zombie apocalypse series.
I went ahead and formatted them for devices in the most basic way to go ahead and get them out. As always, these are my free stories and haven’t been run through my editor. So, love ‘em or leave ‘em. 
The Survivor Chronicles now Free
I have decided to make the Survivor Chronicles (my zombie apocalypse tales) free to the public. You can find them and download them in many popular formats (and those which are only in PDF now will be in other formats soon, so check back). I hope you enjoy!
Posted in Novels, The Survivor Chronicles | 
Tags: novels, Prisoner and Survivor, The Dying Times, The Survivor Chronicles, The War of the Dead, zombie | 
4 Comments » Mommy, Where Do Zombies Come From?
I write about zombies, and I’ve found that I don’t talk about them hardly enough. Of course, I’m trying to write the final novel in the series, so there’s precious little time to indulge the blog sometimes. When I have a free minute, I tend to use that for posting tutorials and articles, as well as news and updates about how things are going, but I want to indulge, for a moment, the subject matter of the books: zombies and the undead, specifically those affected by the Revelation virus.
The Circle of Sorcerers in Editing
The Circle of Sorcerers is in editing, and I’ve set a tentative date of September 25th for release. I should get the book back from Lynn O’Dell sometime this week or maybe next week, and then go through and make revisions as needed. If I’m confident for a September release, I’ll go ahead and begin finalizing everything for the 25th. I think this one can get out the door by October 1st.
A World Forsaken is cranking along as described in the other post I made today. It’s taken a bit longer to write than I would have liked, so it will be before the end of the year, and hopefully it will fall in September or maybe the beginning of October. Though I wanted to avoid it, we may see two new releases in the same week.
Posted in Novels, The Survivor Chronicles | Tags: book, circle of sorcerers, Mages of Bloodmyr, novel | No Comments » A World Forsaken – First Half to Betas
If I get a few thousand more words in today, the first half of A World Forsaken should be going to the beta readers. They’ve helped me through the entire series catching problems and proofreading, along with giving critiques of the storyline. I’m going to go ahead and send them about the first half of the book so we can get started on the process — there will be less work to do closer to publication, and we can hit the target a little sooner if we do it in two (possibly three) parts.
Posted in Novels, The Survivor Chronicles | Tags: a world forsaken, Survivor Chronicles, zombie, zombies | No Comments » The Dying Times Goes Free
In an effort to give readers a free chance at an extended sample, The Dying Times is free on major retailers in eBook format. Here are the links to save you some time:
- Amazon Kindle
- Barnes & Noble Nook
- Apple iTunes
- Smashwords (multiple formats with online/browser reading option)
There are others, but these are generally the most popular I’ve found. If your preferred retailer isn’t listed, try a search for “Brian Kittrell” on their local search engine, and it should pop up on most. If there is a retailer that you would like added, I’m more than happy to explore every distributor, so email me and let me know.
Posted in Novels, The Survivor Chronicles | Tags: novel, The Dying Times, zombie, zombies | No Comments » Work Continues on A World Forsaken
Work continues, slowly but surely, on A World Forsaken, the conclusion of The Survivor Chronicles series. The farther into the series I go, the longer I find it takes to write the books, but I’m trying to make this one the best one yet. We’ll likely surpass the August release I had planned due to another book needing to make it to my editor, but I’m continuing work on the book and hope to have to ready to go by October. I know there are many fans waiting for the conclusion, and I want to get it out there more than you may ever know, but I also want it to be the best yet in the series. That takes time and careful planning.
Posted in Novels, The Survivor Chronicles | Tags: a world forsaken, Survivor Chronicles, zombie, zombies | No Comments » Guest Post and Giveaway on Alaskan Book Cafe
Just wanted to drop by and mention the guest post and giveaway event on Cristina’s Alaskan Book Cafe! Everyone is able to participate in the Omnibus giveaway (all three books currently out) toward the bottom of the page.
Good luck, and thanks, Cristina, for having me and hosting the event!
The Dying Times Reviewed by Jackson Free Press
How exciting! A favorable review from the Jackson Free Press, a local newspaper in my area. I’m stoked!
To read the full article, click here.
Basically, I was wallowing in my own self-pity for slogging along through The Circle of Sorcerers and worrying over finishing it when I checked my email on my phone. I have Google Alerts for my book titles plus my name, mainly for thanking reviewers or getting involved in conversations about the books when they pop up. I send out so many review copies that it’s hard to keep up with, and it saves me time using Google Alerts instead.
So, I saw the new review posted, then I saw it was Jackson Free Press. My pulse raced as I opened the email, reading every bit and soaking the information in as fast as I could. Then, I ran into the house like a madman, pushing the phone in my wife’s face. She, as always, was obliging and didn’t punch me out of fear, so that was another positive thing this evening.
Thanks for all the support from everyone, everywhere. It means a lot to me.
Posted in Novels, The Survivor Chronicles | Tags: bloggers, reviewers, The Dying Times | No Comments » 22,000+ words in two weeks?
And I’m still not fried somehow. It’s been a little over 10 days, and I’ve averaged 2,200 words a day, but I’ve only written for four of those days. I got burned out after the first 11,000 in two days, but I’m back at it.
Why, you ask?
There are two books coming out this year, of course. A World Forsaken is due out by the end of September, and Circle of Sorcerers needs to go to editing by August 21st. It’s mid-July now, that’s why!
Why finish so late, you ask?
There was a lull between book 3 and work on these two titles. Frankly, I got depressed. Real depressed. Sales were declining, a string of terrible reviews were cast, and I lost hope and confidence in my ability. Is this what I’m supposed to be doing? I asked myself on a daily basis. Well, the answer I came up with is simple.
No one is perfect, and very few will write a best-seller when they first get started. Even if you write a great book, there are plenty of people who won’t like it. Forge ahead, find the audience, and speak to their hearts. It’s all you can do.
I’ve never been the egotistical type of writer; I have passion and dedication to what I do, but I don’t think of myself as the best thing since sliced bread. I’m a writer – I write stories, and people either love them or hate them.
I’ve already enjoyed a great deal of success with my stories, so I take that as a sign that somebody somewhere is enjoying them. Although readers don’t often share their feelings in reviews, and no matter how much I wish they would when they enjoyed the books, I get encouragement from those who take time to write to me on here, on Facebook, or through email and tell me about it. So, to the fans, I respectfully say, “Thank you!”
In closing, I’ll summarize: we’re on schedule.
Posted in Mages of Bloodmyr, Novels, Self-Publishing Blog, The Survivor Chronicles | Tags: self publishing, writing | No Comments » d10 Core RC1 and More
I’ve mashed the d10 Core rulebook into a release candidate status, so it can now go through playtesting and beta reading. Hopefully, we’ll get this thing whipped into shape before the end of the year.
Circle of Sorcerers just hit 30,000 words at just under 100 pages. That should be at least tripled when it goes to editing in August. A World Forsaken (Survivor Chronicles #4) is still at 30,000 words, and it should triple or more also by its release at the end of September. My poor vampire story still hasn’t hit page 20 yet due to neglect and other concerns. Order of necessity and all that. 
Just a small update today.
Posted in d10 Core, Mages of Bloodmyr, Novels, Roleplaying Games Blog, The Survivor Chronicles | Tags: d10 core | No Comments » The Omnibus Cometh
Survivor Chronicles Omnibus cover
I am in the process of releasing an omnibus edition of The Survivor Chronicles released so far. It is the compilation of the first three books of the series in one eBook. That way, people who haven’t read the books yet have a chance to catch up before the last one is released around the end of September. It also comes with a slightly reduced price tag, making The Dying Times free when all three are purchased at the same time.
Thanks to the readers who have made these books a great success. Raise a cup to the fans!
I will post some more info here when it is available for download.
Note: At the present time, this is an eBook-only edition, but I do plan on combining the paperbacks into a single ISBN so they can be purchased all three at once, also. I’ll be putting a discount on those, also. I just have to get in touch with my distributor to make sure it goes smoothly and find out what all is needed.
Posted in Novels, The Survivor Chronicles | Tags: novel, omnibus, Survivor Chronicles, zombie, zombies | 2 Comments » May 2011 Updates
Oh, I’ve been busy lately. Whew! I am presently working on five books, in no specific order:
#1 – Book 4 of The Survivor Chronicles to finish the series.
#2 – Book 1 of Songs of Sorbia, The Circle of Sorcerers, a new fantasy series.
#3 – Book 1 of a vampire book. I haven’t decided on the title yet.
#4 – Non-fiction self-publishing book (instructional)
#5 – The d10 Core Roleplaying Game System core rulebook. (along the lines of D&D, White Wolf pen and paper games, etc.)
Lots of work load. Of course, the Survivor Chronicles takes precedence because it actually has a due date of end of September. I want to get Circle of Sorcerers to the editor in August. #3 and #4 can wait a bit, and I really want to get #5 to final playtesting before the end of the year. I would love to finish it in 2011, but I don’t know if it will be possible. Designing roleplaying systems, although the system for this is basically finished, is not an easy process to outline on paper so others can understand it.
The self-publishing book was slated for this year, but I may wait on it until Q1 of 2012. I don’t want to release it in 2011 if the standards change right after Christmas like they sometimes do. I want the “2012 Edition” to be valid for at least 2012, if not for a year or two afterward.
Just wanted to let you guys know what’s been going on. Some people do read my little blogs.
Prisoner and Survivor Released and Relaxing on the Midlist
Book #3 entitled Prisoner and Survivor is hitting Amazon and Barnes & Noble this week. The eBook version is already out, and I’m ready to relax for a few days before continuing the final book, A World Forsaken. So far, book 3 has sold about 80 copies since it’s been out. Very cool.
Sales have slowed, but I’m in the process of hunkering down on the ‘indie midlist’ for a while. Though it is subjective to say so, I’m a mid-lister with my books – meaning I’m somewhere comfortably in the middle. Being in the middle is not a bad spot, really; the income runs anywhere between $500 and $1,200 per month, and I don’t have to run myself to death doing promotional work and advertising on a constant basis. I actually have time to do some writing, and people are still picking up the books and taking the journey with Nadene, Andy, and (now) William.
Some say that $1,000 per month as an indie is “outlier”, or on the extremely successful end, but I don’t agree. The same rules don’t apply. The outliers these days are making 10x that per month or more. Of course, most of those people have considerably more books in circulation and the number of titles they have produced are normally at least double the number I’ve written so far.
I’m liking it. I think Joe Konrath is right when he talks negatively about advertising and promotion. They’re usually worth alot less in the end for the effect that they have, and readers are becoming much more proactive about finding new authors that they enjoy than they could in the past. I hope you had a wonderful Easter and thanks for reading!
Posted in Novels, The Survivor Chronicles | Tags: Prisoner and Survivor, self publishing | 2 Comments » Giveaway Finished!
I’ve finished the giveaway, and everyone has their prizes. Congrats to Ann for winning the Kindle 3G! Congrats to the others who walked away with some cool Survival Chronicles books and eBooks! Congrats to everyone who won, and a big thanks for everyone who participated.
I was scared to host a giveaway of such a size and scale at first, but it really paid off. Most important of all, it felt good to give something back to the readers. I’ve started another giveaway which I call the Benchmark 200. Basically, when I hit 200 facebook “likes” on my fan page, I’ll give away a $25 Amazon gift card. You can spend it how you like, no questions asked.
Book #3 comes out soon. The eBook always precedes my print releases, and the print release is scheduled for May 1st. So, the eBook should be out in about a week from now. So stoked.
Book #4 is coming along nicely, and I have in mind how the series is going to end. Well, I’ve had the general idea in mind since the inception of book #1 two years ago, but it’s been changed and altered as the storyline has flowed forward. Since I write character-driven stories, sometimes the characters throw something in the mix that I have to account for in the plotline.
As always, I want to thank those who have believed in me and my little zombie series. Several thousand readers so far and still creeping along.
Posted in Novels, Site News, The Survivor Chronicles | Tags: giveaway, Kindle, zombie, zombies | No Comments »Welcome!
This is the official home page of the Late Nite Books imprint and author Brian Kittrell.Connect with me:
Email: brian@latenitebooks.com
Twitter: @Brian_Kittrell
Facebook: Brian Kittrell
On Facebook
W3C Validation