Dj Hackney's Blog: Thoughts from the World of Fire Renewed

I'm excited to share that this weekend I completed the first draft of Book Three: Burn Again .

There's still plenty of work ahead, including detailed editing and feedback from my proofreaders, but the story is finally on the page. With the draft complete, I'm beginning to look at potential release dates, and it's currently shaping up to launch around the beginning of the new year.

Thank you to everyone following the series. More updates soon!

Nearly 2,000 readers entered the recent Goodreads Giveaway for First, The Dark.

To say thank you for the incredible interest, the Kindle edition is just $0.99 for the next five days.

Congratulations to all the winners of the giveaway!

I hope you enjoy First, The Dark! After reading, please consider leaving an honest rating or review here on Goodreads, on Amazon, or both. Reviews are incredibly helpful to indie authors.

Thank you, and happy reading!
— Dj Hackney

With two books now published and work underway on the third, life has gotten a little busy. Between family time, school returning to session, volunteering with one of the school booster clubs — and, oh yes, my normal job — I haven't had nearly as much time to promote the Fire Renewed series on social media with the same vigor and regularity I did when First, The Dark was released a few months ago.

Still, I'm quite pleased with the reach the series has had in such a short time as an indie author. At the same time, I believe there are plenty of readers out there who simply haven't discovered it yet — and further believe they would genuinely enjoy the journey.

So, I'm opening another giveaway here on Goodreads!

This time, 100 readers will receive a free Kindle copy of First, The Dark, the book that begins the Fire Renewed series.

If you've been curious about the series but haven't taken the plunge yet, here's your chance. And if you've already read it, perhaps you know someone who might enjoy a little darkness before the fire.

Enter The Giveaway Here

I'm excited to announce that Now, The Fire , Book Two of the Fire Renewed series, has officially been released!

I truly believe this installment is even stronger than the first. Part of the reason is that the original outline always envisioned these events as a single story. As the manuscript grew, however, it became clear that a debut novel of more than 130,000 words was simply too ambitious. Splitting the story into two books allowed each to have its own satisfying arc while keeping the pacing tight. Perhaps one day I'll have the luxury of publishing novels the length of Stephen King or J. K. Rowling. Until then, I'm simply thrilled to finally have the second half of the story in readers' hands.

To celebrate the release (and to introduce more readers to the series) I've launched another Goodreads Kindle Giveaway. You can find it on Goodreads, or if you'd like a direct link, visit FireRenewed.com.

The giveaway opened today, and when I checked just a few moments ago, more than 170 readers had already entered! It's wonderful to see that kind of enthusiasm. If you're interested, be sure to enter before the giveaway closes on July 9.

Finally, I'll be keeping the Ask the Author section on my Goodreads page active. If you've read either book and have questions about the world, the characters, or the writing process, I'd love to hear from you.

Thank you again to everyone who has supported the series. I hope you enjoy Now, The Fire as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Today is the last day of the GoodReads Giveaway of First The Dark. Only a few hours remain.

I have been blessed with over 800 people requesting a free kindle copy. Unfortunately, only 100 will be chosen at random by GoodReeds. However, that means that the other 700+ are welcome to purchase it. And I hope at on $2.99, those who didn't win will find that a value worth spending.

Thanks again for everyone involved.

I am just dropping by to give an update on the Goodreads Giveaway. There have been 431 request a free copy of First, The Dark. For a first-novel, debut-author, this is a significant reach. I'm very excited for this and look forward to see the final numbers next week. Best of luck for all those who entered.

As promised, here is the link to the book giveaway. Best to you all.

Goodreads GiveAway - First, The Dark

I'm Dj Hackney, author of First, The Dark, and I'm excited to begin sharing updates, worldbuilding notes, writing thoughts, and occasional behind-the-scenes looks at the stories and characters that inhabit the world of Fire Renewed.

As a debut indie author, the past few weeks have been both exciting and humbling. Seeing readers discover the book, leave ratings, and share reviews has been incredibly encouraging.

Now how can I reach more readers?

Perhaps a giveaway. Yes! To celebrate the launch and draw more to the world of Fire Renewed, I'm running a Goodreads Kindle giveaway forFirst, The Dark, beginning June 5. If you've been curious about the novel or know someone who enjoys epic fantasy, I hope you'll consider entering. I will post the link tomorrow when it starts.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you'll join me as we explore a world where darkness came first, and fire followed.

— Dj Hackney