This is the history of how Chandra's Quest came to be.
Chandra’s Quest was the
first full length novel I wrote.
It was 1996 when I
started writing notes that I would use in the story. I was inspired by sci-fi TV shows, movies and books, when I started writing my first book. The book
was called, Shandara’s Journey when I started writing it. It was categorized
as alternative sci-fi, adult book. Originally, the first two chapters of Chandra’s Quest, started out in a post-apocalyptic Earth after an alien invasion took place and devastated the major cities. Humans were taken to another solar system and became slaves to aliens that lived on those planets. After I finished writing Chandra’s Quest
book 1, I realized that only a certain group of people would be interested in reading it, so I decided to make changes to the story before I published it. I took out the most obvious adult content, then changed the title from Shandara’s Journey to Chandra’s Quest.
Why start the story at
an alien brothel? This question was never asked but I thought I should bring it
up. The main character had to start somewhere and as I stated before, the book
itself, was an adult book before I made changes. I wanted it to be read by those who are 14 and older.
I first published the book through Instant Publishers, a subsidiary publishing company. The book was written as a first-person narrative, based on the main character’s journals. For those who have read the Atlan Saga by Jane Gaskell, the main character from those books, carried a journal with her throughout her journey and the whole trilogy is based on her journals. I liked the concept of it, so I went with it for my book.
I first published the book through Instant Publishers, a subsidiary publishing company. The book was written as a first-person narrative, based on the main character’s journals. For those who have read the Atlan Saga by Jane Gaskell, the main character from those books, carried a journal with her throughout her journey and the whole trilogy is based on her journals. I liked the concept of it, so I went with it for my book.
I published Chandra's Quest Book 1 in 2002, I ordered several copies and
distributed them to local small bookstores. I only donated them, I did not ask for any royalties from the sales of the books. Someone bought a copy of my book in 2004
and posted it on Amazon for sale. It was a third-party seller. He/she sent me
an email and a link to my book. I then, signed up for Amazon as a seller and
started selling the copies I had left. I sold a few copies.
Later, I published book 2. Book 3 was still in the process of being written when in 2007 I decided to re-write the whole story.
Why did I re-write it? Well it wasn’t because trolls made disparaging remarks in forums about my book, that's not the case and it would be ridiculous. I wasn't satisfied with it and I just felt I could do better.
Later, I published book 2. Book 3 was still in the process of being written when in 2007 I decided to re-write the whole story.
Why did I re-write it? Well it wasn’t because trolls made disparaging remarks in forums about my book, that's not the case and it would be ridiculous. I wasn't satisfied with it and I just felt I could do better.
So, began the
long process of re-writing the story. Chandra’s Quest book 1 the revised version
was published through CreateSpace in 2013.
I was going to make several
novelette books out of the story but chose to just make three books as originally
planned. In 2016, I revised book 1 again, adding a different book cover image
and pulling some of Chandra's Quest Book 2 chapters and putting them into Book 1.
When CreateSpace merged with
Kindle Direct Publishing, I changed the book cover again but noticed a few
typos in the book and changed the typos as well. Book 1 was complete and it’s for sale as
an eBook and paperback, not just on Amazon but on Barnes and Noble.
Chandra’s
Quest Book 2 was easy to put together. Of course, I had to do much needed editing and in the end I was satisfied with the outcome.
Book 3 is still in the works. Almost complete
but it will be the editing that will determine how long it will take before
publishing the book.
So, that’s the story
of how Chandra’s Quest came to be. It was my first book so yes; I care about it
and it took me awhile to put together. I am pleased with the end results.
What would I change if
I could do it all again? Well, probably the first-person narrative idea. It
only works for regular fiction or non-fiction, that’s just my opinion of
course.
Feedback:
The only feedback I got from someone who never really read Chandra’s
Quest was from my cousin who said, “I don’t understand it.”
Of course, her and I have been at odds with each other for as long as I can remember. I found that you get bias feedback from those that know you and don’t like you, verses people who are total strangers. But without their mean-spirited feedback, an author wouldn’t grow to be the best they can be.
Of course, her and I have been at odds with each other for as long as I can remember. I found that you get bias feedback from those that know you and don’t like you, verses people who are total strangers. But without their mean-spirited feedback, an author wouldn’t grow to be the best they can be.
Note: I will write the history of In the Company of Elves in my next entry.
