History of: In the Company of Elves

The history of my book, In the Company of Elves. Where do I start. Well, I guess I'll start at the beginning when the story was just written in a spiral notebook. At first it was just notes, later in 2003 I started putting the story together into a word document. I was inspired by fantasy books such as, Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, the Shanara Chronicles and other fantasy books I've read throughout my life.

 I do want to mention that Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz also played a part in my inspiration. Originally, when I was working on the story, I was uncertain about the title. I didn't know what to call it. I played with various titles. Agartha, Melissa's Journey, The Elves of Agartha and In the Company of Elves. I chose the the last one on the  list. 

 At first, I decided to make this book as a novelette, however in 2011 I changed my mind and during the time I was re-writing it, I added a few more chapters.
The original copy was 120 pages. Revised version is close to 200 pages. 

2009

2018

(the eBook was published in 2017)

Despite of going through writers block back in 2006 through early 2008, I was able to overcome it, but writer's block did set me back a bit. I finally completed re-writing In the Company of Elves and published it in 2018.

What I would want to see:
Since, In the Company of Elves is a juvenile/young adult book, I would love to see this in my local bookstores or anywhere Indie books are sold.

Here are some bookstores where you can find this book:

Cellar Door Books

5225 Canyon Crest Dr Ste 30A-B

Riverside, CA 92507

17.1 mi

Print and Page Booksellers

514 South Smith Avenue B113

Corona, CA 92882

26 mi

Once Upon A Storybook (Online Only)

Tustin, CA 92780

37.2 mi

Laguna Beach Books

1200 S Coast Hwy # 105

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

37.8 mi

BookPal (Online Only)

Irvine, CA 92612

39.4 mi

Vroman's Hastings Ranch

3729 E Foothill Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91107

58.7 mi

Print and Page Booksellers

514 South Smith Avenue B113

Corona, CA 92882

20.9 mi

Hudson Booksellers/Vroman's LAX (985)

Los Angeles Int'l - Hudson News

Carson, CA 90746

22.3 mi

Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach

2850 Artesia Blvd Ste 101

Redondo Beach, CA 90278

28 mi

Hennessey & Ingalls

300 S Santa Fe Ave Ste M

Los Angeles, CA 90013

Eso Won Books

4331 Degnan Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90008

31.4 mi

If you want a paperback copy, you can order it from Amazon or Barnes &Noble. However, if you live in the area where any of these bookstores reside, please feel free to visit and ask them about the book.

Throw Back Thursday: In the Company of Elves

Here is my TBT for In the Company of Elves. I am posting two reviews that I recieved long ago for the original copy of  In the Company of Elves. The book was 120 pages long, and was a 4 by 8 inch in size. 

Only a selected few ever read my book. I had it up for sale on Amazon when I first published it through InstantPublishers.com. I was a third party seller on Amazon so i did sell my books there. I stopped selling being a third party seller on Amazon, about two years after I published In the Company of Elves.

This review was posted on Amazon for the 1st edition of In the Company of Elves:

"I'm not much of a reader (my daughter is) but have to say i did read this one & I liked it I even finished it. Liked the romance part myself.. (Christina White)

The review below was emailed to me by a member of a group of teachers who live in Placentia, California. They have a book club and review books of authors of all genre.

 "My name is Jeanette, and my girl friends and I just read your book. We belong to a book club here in Anaheim. WE enjoyed reading your book. It reminded us a little of "Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Rings & Wizard of OZ. Also, we felt the age appropriate level should be teenagers through adult. Remember the members of the book club are teachers. Again, we enjoyed reading your book and wish you luck in your endeavors. Keep writing you have a nice quality to your work. (Jeanette)

Yes, these are official reviews by real people and no I do not personally know them, just to be clear for those who question the authenticity. 

Well, I am happy to share this with my readers and if you have read any of my books, please do Rate and Review. Reviews help an author grow and learn. it gives them confidence and makes them a better writer.Visit my website for more info.

Author's Website

In the Company of Elves

Where to Find My Books

The links below will direct you to where you can purchase my books online other than Amazon, which is a top seller in books. 

Barnes & Noble

IndieBound

AbeBooks

Alibris

Better World Books

Better World Books

AbeBooks

Book Depository

Alibris

IndieBound

Barnes & Noble

Better World Books

Better World Books

There you have it. You can always find my books on Amazon. If you have Prime, you get a discount. Chandra's Quest has the most stars and can be found in various online book stores. In the Company of Elves has not been rated yet and no stars, but it can be found in various bookstores online. If you want your local book store or library to carry any of my books Please do request it from them.


My Website

My YouTube

How Long Does a Copyright Last?

I was asked this question several times. It’s not that hard to search for info on the subject but when your written work is questioned in whether you have copyright papers or not, I need to emphasize that everything you write and publish needs to be copyrighted. I’m not talking about fanfic, or blog entries, only books you plan on publishing. A few years ago, CreateSpace wanted proof that in the company of elves was my written work, and that I did not steal from that other author, Sandie Bergen. Really? I do not know that author, I only know that she used the title, In the Company of Elves for one of her books and it was in recent years that she wrote and published her book. February 1, 2016. Her book is a part of a trilogy, whereas my book, is a single novel. By the way, the author died in 2015. Just noting.

 As for my book, I originally published it in 2009, then revised it and published it as paperback in 2018 but published it as eBook in 2017.

2009

2017

 I came up with the title back in 2004, and started writing the book so yes, I have copyright papers for it. I had to prove my book was mine and by showing CreateSpace the copyright paper for the book, all was cleared.

After I researched the length a copyright for written work last, well I was amazed! This is what I came up with:

*The duration of copyright in these works is generally computed the same way as for works created on or after January 1, 1978: A copyright lifespan is 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first.

What happens to the copyright when an Author dies?

In modern US copyright law, for works made by individuals (not works made by corporations), works are protected for the author's entire life plus 70 years. In the U.S. and Europe, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. When an author dies, the ownership of the copyright changes. So, ownership in a copyright can be passed to an heir or to a third party via a will.

And that is why I say get a will and last testament set up.

I want to tell you that when you copyright your work, it will cost you. Digital copyright registration will run you $55 each written work. They will send you the paperwork through regular mail. However, if you're filing for one creative work and you're the only copyright holder, it only costs$35. Paper filings have $85 copyright fees.

I suggest spending the $85. You download and print the paperwork, fill it out, sign your name on it and send it to the Copyright office. I know, $85 can be quite a bit for some people but in the long run it’s worth it.  

Side note: Copyright your written work. I want to add that titles can’t be copyrighted. Copyrights cover works fixed in a tangible format, but because titles are typically short, they don't fall under copyright protection. So no, you can't copyright a title to a book, song or movie.

That is why when you search for a specific title on Amazon or other online bookstores, you might find various similar titles, but the content is not the same as what you’re looking for. I was searching for, Stranger Things, just to see how many books were out there with a similar title and wouldn’t you know it, I found many. So instead I decided to call my book, The Stranger Things: Paranormal, Supernatural and Unusual phenomenon, instead of Stranger Things: Paranormal, Supernatural and Unusual Phenomenon.

You can find this book on Amazon, just the eBook version.

The Stranger Things