Dustin Porta's Blog

It's weird. I keep writing these posts that start as advertisements for my books then devolve into writing journals and behind the scenes confessionals, stuff that, honestly would make more sense as a blog post. I post them like that anyway because most people on FB won't see the extra stuff unless they click, read more., but those who do might kinda like it.  Here's the last one:
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A Sword and Sorcery with all the trappings of Cozy Fantasy, makes for comfy (if somewhat bloody) winter reading.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BZBYJD8W
When I first pitched this series to D.K., I knew he'd be into it. I knew he loved assassins running foggy rooftops and hiding out in cozy taverns. I knew he loved quirky sidekicks and tangled magic. I'd edited for Holmberg long before we ever wrote together, so I knew the kind of story he liked to tell and I had my favorite "Holmberg-ims".
At the same time, I have my own Progression Fantasy series, I knew my readers would like a protagonist who grows stronger each book. They know I like to dwell on quiet moments, they know I like cinematic fights a bards reciting ballads.
That's how The Dragon's Hide came to be.
It's not Cozy Fantasy, per-se, but it's a type of Fantasy Adventure very interested in the moods and places that cozy stories inhabit.
We're five books in, and writing a sixth, closing out the second three book arc of the series. So it's a good choice for readers who like "completed" series.
D.K. writes like crazy, so you've always got more to read from his side. But I'm a bit slower and this collab has been my main focus for the last three or four years. When book six drops and we take a step back, I want to do the works, hardcovers, special treatments, audio editions.
But that only works if people keep reading it and I only know that you've read it if you tell me. So if you like the books or have read them before please, let me know in the comments, or leave a review, or join my newsletter at http://www.dustinporta.com
Until then, happy reading, and Happy Holidays!
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Weird, right? But it kind of works to sell books. Anyway, I don't use it much but if you're still on FB you can follow me here. https://www.facebook.com/dustinportaauthor

In the five years since moving to Newfoundland, I've written a 4 book LitRPG series Enroa Unleashed, a 5 book Fantasy series, The Shadow's Dragon (with the help of coauthors) made three card games, and edited almost 100 novels for other authors (ask me for book recs).

Sometimes I look at that number and think "what if I'd done something different with all that time?" What if I had all the money in the world? Would I still be doing this?

The answer is, "I'd have found a way to write more books."  Sometimes I imagine writing from a family beach bungalow, or a manhattan loft with leather armchairs and a library of first editions. Sometime's it's just one very, very good book. But, I'm always writing.

Year 5 in in Newfoundland, I'm doing everything I can to spend more time with family. But also more of the workday writing. I'm winding down the editor business (never entirely, because it keeps me sharp), worrying less about trying to sell books, instead trusting eager readers to do that for me.

I'm eyeing new projects and thinking what's next. Shadow's Dragon isn't finished yet, there will be a release in 2026, but we're ending the second 3 book arc. Even the card games have reached a place that I'm happy with.

So what do I want the next five years of writing to look like? Do I launch another big series?  Do I focus on one perfect book? Do I try something experimental like a web novel or a narrative card game? Do I slow things down and focus on the back catalog? (Atlas and Whalemoon are two older projects that never got the sequels they deserved. Unleashed has spinoff potential. Rime and Treylen are winding down but they could have more adventures ahead of them.) 

One thing is sure, I'd like to do a better job of connecting with readers. It's nice to have more fantasy worlds to play in, but I miss the back and forth I used to have with readers when I had just one book to share. My question for you, if you've read this far: how do you engage with books and authors? Do you collect signed hardcovers? Do you comment on webnovels or meet authors at book fairs? Are you into book contests like SPFBO? Do you read in stolen moments on your phone?

And what are you reading next? What do you want to read in the next five years? What weird and out-there book are you hoping for that hasn't been written yet?

Speaking of untold stories, here's me standing in front of the C.S. Lewis door in Oxford.  Supposedly this door predates and inspired the novel. I don't think I've written my "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" yet. Maybe I need to find my own funky door.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7c1t...

Just a quick video update of everything I've got going on. Really liking this new microphone.

It makes sense that  a year where everyone stayed home and used technology to stay connected, would be the year that I get into the LitRPG genre. I have written three in the last year with the help of a friend. We're gearing up to write four more and we'll be releasing them all this summer and fall.

LitRPG is a subgenre of gamelit. The main character lives in a fantasy world that follows the rules of a video game. It is not a new concept. Movies like Tron were early versions of gamelit. Mangas like Sword Art Online  have been around for almost 20 years. I watched the anime version of that manga when I was younger along with another gamelit anime called .hack//Sign.

The LitRPG we are writing feels like a portal fantasy. A human from our world, gets too involved with a game, and gets transported into a high fantasy setting, that follows video game rules. Complete with levels, hit points and character classes. We like action, fun, and all of the exciting fantasy stuff the make fantasy games so popular.

I hope you'll check it out, but I understand it's not for everyone. I do have a followup to Whalemoon sitting in a folder on my desktop, waiting for me to come back to it. So keep an eye toward May or June for some big announcements and cover reveals. 

With the lockdowns and people reading more, I have been waiting eagerly to make one of my books free. And finally, Whalemoon is free in ebook format on pretty much all major retailers. And it should stay that way for the rest of the year.

I've had a ton of downloads already and I hope everyone who reads and enjoys will take the time to leave a comment somewhere.

It's a little book and I don't have super high expectations for it, but that reader feedback sticks around and helps me well into the future, not just with Whalemoon but with sequels and other series in the future. 

Whalemoon is also available in audio and a very affordable paperback. Hardcover: not yet. 

Quick update:  Cast in Sand is now 99 cents. Whalemoon 2 is about 70% written but I paused it until after New Years and am cowriting a LitRPG series. Very quickly I might add. It's coming out next year. (More info on that later.) And I still have that completed poetry book that I'm just hanging onto it until I feel like putting it out there...

My second book, Beneath the Black Crescent, is temporarily unavailable while I make some changes and get ready to release a second edition.

The first book in the series got an update mid 2019. It was the first novel I published and I thought it deserved better editing. Then, last year I updated the side story, Cast in Sand, with a brand new cover.

Black Crescent will be online again in a few months with a better polish, then in 2021, both books in the series will be getting new covers. 

This is all in an effort to bring my oldest books up to snuff because I've got a new series coming in 2021 and more Atlas books in the works. 

Thanks for your patience.

And if you just finished Children of Atlas, and simply can't wait to read the next one... drop me a line. I'm sure we can work something out.

Whalemoon may have been eliminated from the Self Pub Fantasy Blog-Off, but the judges were fairly kind to it. I'll be reposting their finalists, too, because regardless of what you think about indie books, best out of 300 is a pretty high bar and previous years have uncovered some excellent books.

You can read all about it here.

https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2020/09/sp...

It also got an horrible mention in the cover contest.
​https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2020/06/spfbo-6-intro-and-cover-contest/ 
So big thanks to Perie Wolford for always doing such a fantastic job. 

I keep changing blogs. I just haven't found a service I like yet. So for the time being I'm going to post here, because it's free. Here's a link to my previous blog. I quit posting here because it was full of ads. https://dustinporta.home.blog/

I wasn’t planning to make this announcement so soon, but: The second book in Wyrmwind Tales, has a title a cover and a release date.

But first, I just want to thank Dean F. Wilson for including me in his SFF Book Bonanza: New Releases, for November. 

If you don’t know Dean, he’s a science fiction author, a big supporter of the Indie Author community and he has been running this newsletter for a while now. Here, take a look:

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You can check it out right here. I follow the SFF Book bonanza just to keep up with what’s new in Indie Publishing. Also, if you haven’t read Whalemoon yet, you can link over to the SFF Book Bonanza to get it.

Alright, enough ado, check out Dragon Wind and tell me what you think of it.

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You can see the full cover over on the book page. It doesn’tcome out until next year, but I had all the pieces so I figured ‘d make it official.

It is…admittedly a little cheezy. Over the top.  But that’s the idea right?

Had I more time to nit-pick, I’d have found practical suit or armor. But this the art I had to work with. My designer took what he was given and knocked it out of the park.

On to the last bit of news: 2020

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I’m in the Maritimes now. Yes it’s cold. No I don’t miss Florida yet, but I probably will, come January. It’s not full time, but I’ll be here a few years at least.

I’m writing full-time! So if you’re eagerly awaiting the next book, you can expect it to be ready a lot sooner.

Okay, technically I am working full-time as an editor. But it’s going very well for my own work.

I’ve got one poetry book just shy of being finished. Halfway through Dragon Wind. And…hmmm four or five chapters through the third Atlas Book.

I could use a few advance readers for the poetry book, so drop me a line if interested and I’ll send you a paperback in a few months.

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Finally:  Conferences

I want to hit up some cons in 2020. Is there a Science Ficiton or Fantasy con near you that is too good to miss?  Let me know and I’ll put it on my list.

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Imprisoned there on atoll bare
and spoke out from the deep
a warding poem inscribed in bone,
was bound in blood to keep.

Okay, so it’s not a world map, but it’s a start. I might wait until book three or four to do the whole world. I’ll probably do a map of the Dragon’s Gyre next, followed by a map of the Flowered Isles. I like the idea of starting small and building. It fits with the story.