Kaleb Nation | Official Website
Here’s a video I made while in Illinois meeting my publishers, about the trip and the awesome, hi-tech hotel room that had me never wanting to leave 😀
The trip to Chicago and Naperville to meet my publishers went wonderfully! So many things happened in 48 hours that I can hardly list them all here. Suffice it to say, from the photos above, that everything went even better than I expected, and this book release is going to be awesome!
Here’s the rundown of the trip. I left Dallas around noon, and arrived a few hours later after a flight filled with turbulence and The Dark Knight on my laptop. When I arrived at the Chicago airport, I was immediately picked up by a sedan. I’ve only been picked up by a sedan once before — this new one was quite different. There was a remote control built into the arm rest that would allow me to change the radio and the temperature of the car, as well as move the driver’s seat forward without even asking — clearly built for those who wish to avoid speaking with the peasants . Also, the car was stocked with magazines one does not normally see. The one I read had an article aimed at those who make over $50 million per year. One listing was selling a jet (yes, a full featured, private jet) and another was a $39 million vacation home in France (note the word vacation).
Bathroom Mirror TV
As evidenced by the photo I brought back, the hotel was wonderful. I got a big screen, HD TV in my room (Norbit was on, ha ha) plus, the infamous Television-In-The-Bathroom-Mirror my Twitter followers have so enjoyed. Whilst brushing my teeth, I managed to catch the news. I don’t know how I would have survived otherwise (I might have been forced to watch the news while not brushing my teeth — the horror!).
The first evening of the trip, my publishers, agent and I met at a wonderful restaurant to discuss plans for the next day’s meetings. I got to talk with my publishers for the first time in person, and meet most of the core team that will be managing my book. They have so many wonderful and exciting ideas coming up, especially with the release only about six months away (this Fall!). It was very odd, since it seemed that nearly everyone in the company had read The Farfield Curse already! I can’t even begin to say how thrilling it was to see how everyone was behind the book.
The Book Cow
I got a tour of the offices of Sourcebooks while I was there. The most interesting thing of all was the Book Cow, which is covered in writing and stacked high with books on its back. Notice the drum on the left: as my editor explained, it is company tradition that anytime someone has big news, they must immediately dash to the drum and pound it until everyone comes out of their offices to find out what happened. He told me it will get a good beating the day my book is released 😀
Most of what we discussed will be slowly released via my website here and BranHambric.com (which will be receiving its new design soon!). However, there are some things I can say. First, the Kaleb Nation Facebook Page (which is being run by the same people who manage the Twilight Facebook with 2 million members!) is now the official page for me on that site! I know many of you have been adding my personal page, but I only add people I personally know: if you join the official page, I check in a lot to see what people are saying.
Another thing, since we have such a short time until the release, I will have many big updates coming up, including things like the release date, the cover art, preorder times, etc. We are planning something at least once a month, so be sure to check back or follow me on Twitter so you get the latest (the cover art, I will say, should be here VERY soon!). I’ll keep everyone updated!
ADDED: I just realized that I had the meeting with my publishers on March 6 — exactly 1 year after I got the call from my agent saying Sourcebooks was interested in my novel! Fate is a funny thing…
Brandon Dorman, the award winning illustrator of SAVVY and FABLEHAVEN, has signed on to illustrate the upcoming novel BRAN HAMBRIC: THE FARFIELD CURSE, by Kaleb Nation. Dorman’s cover art for SAVVY by Ingrid Law was chosen as the ” “favorite book jacket of 2008” by Publisher’s Weekly. His previous works also include covers for the FARWORLD and GOOSEBUMPS series.
THE FARFIELD CURSE is the first in a new series of books by Kaleb Nation. In THE FARFIELD CURSE, a boy named Bran Hambric discovers he is at the center of a plot that started years before he was even born: the plot of a deadly curse his mother created that her former masters are now hunting for him to complete. The novel is set to release in stores Fall of 2009 from Sourcebook Jabberwocky.
Kaleb Nation began writing THE FARFIELD CURSE when he was fourteen years old. Now 20, he attends college in Texas and blogs regularly at www.kalebnation.com. THE FARFIELD CURSE is his debut novel.
More info on the illustrator can be found at www.BrandonDorman.com. More info on Bran Hambric can be found at www.BranHambric.com
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I can’t even begin to say how long I’ve waited to announce this!
Here is how it happened. A month or two ago, I emailed my editor the names of two illustrators I really liked, hoping that he would take a look and consider them doing the cover. He wrote back saying they were already far ahead of me, and were in talks with my top pick for the illustrator before he even got my message! So in the end, and through wonderful fate, my publishers signed on my dream illustrator without even knowing.
Readers of my blog might recall me listing some of my favorite covers months ago, and it turns out that Brandon did one of them:
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His artwork is stunningly colorful, and I’m certain he will do a wonderful job for The Farfield Curse! This also means that Brandon will most likely do the entire series: just like Brett Helquist did all the Lemony Snicket books, and Mary GrandPre did all the Harry Potter’s, it looks as if Brandon will be the illustrator for Bran Hambric!
He has already finished the early draft sketches of the cover art, one of which will turn into the final cover for the book. I doubt it will be any longer than 3 months (and perhaps, drastically shorter) before the cover is finally ready!
Question for the comments: What do you think of Brandon Dorman’s art? Do you think he’ll do well for the Bran Hambric cover?
As part of this wonderful Branniversary, I will obviously be posting on my blog three times in a single day! This is a video I made earlier that goes back through parts of writing the book and the different drafts through the years. It’s NOT the big news I mentioned earlier, so check back later today for that post!
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Today is the third day of the third month: and exactly six years ago, I had an idea that changed my life.
The photos above represent bits and pieces of those six years — from the first idea, to plotting the story, to the various titles, to the deal — and my first early steps in writing. Now, in about six months, the book will finally be out. When I first started on this story, I had no way of foreseeing that it would actually work out, and I would finish it. Now, I’m happy that I finally did.
Later this evening, I will be announcing the first bit of major news regarding The Farfield Curse. I plan to have it up here by 7 PM CST, barring any sudden distraction that comes up (I will Twitter the news immediately when it is up, so you’ll know). In the words of my project editor: Happy Branniversary!
If you are one of the millions of people who visit Youtube.com every day, you might have randomly seen this at some point:
Who's that on mah Youtubes?
Yes, thanks to my huge Twilight Youtube Contest Of Awesome II, my name has been appearing on the front page of Youtube many times throughout the day. This, paired with the fact that I’m giving away a Robert Pattinson autograph, has already landed the video at #1 on most of the Youtube charts (think 56,000 comments and 3,000 video comments in less than 24 hours. Yikes!).
The contest runs for two weeks. If there’s this much buzz before the first day is over, I don’t even know what to expect by the time the contest is done!
NOTE: You can download this song for free. Click the link below the preview!
In the beginning of writing The Farfield Curse, I had a particularly hard time connecting with Bran. This, obviously, was not a good predicament, as the main character should usually be the one the author connects with the most.
I later realized that the reason for this was because I was suppressing who he really was, in favor of who I wanted him to be. When I came to this conclusion, all of a sudden Bran seemed to explode off the page in front of me with all these new facets to his character: one of these, which followed automatically, was his penchant for drawing. I discovered that Bran was actually more like me than any other character in the book – just as I connected with my writing, so also did Bran connect with his drawing. This small piece of Bran’s life, that has nothing to do with magic, is an enormous part of who he is.
In a way, this song seems to represent for me the wall in Bran’s room that is covered with drawings, and all the stories that are connected to each piece of paper.
TITLE: |
The Wall of Drawings | December 2008 |
| ALBUM: | Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse [Official Soundtrack] |  |
| ARTIST: | Kaleb Nation | |
| STYLE: | Classical/Soundtrack | |
| LENGTH: | 2:39 | |
| [audio:http://kalebnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/5-bran-hambric-the-farfield-curse-the-wall-of-drawings.mp3|rightbg=0x5b5ea4] | ||
| CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOR FREE |
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As always, there are plenty more on my music page. Also, I have another song almost ready (the one I played a preview clip of in BlogTV last week) that might be in another video I’m working on. As usual, if you want preview chapters of the book, email me or check out BranHambric.com for more info.
Opinions in the comments are welcome!
Due to my sites recently passing 2 million hits (thanks everyone!) and the resulting ad revenue, I have finally saved up enough to justify buying a PO Box. The address can be found here.
There are a few things to note about this new box. It is for mail from my readers only, and any business correspondence from professionals regarding my books should be sent to my agent. Also, since this box resides outside my immediate homeland, it takes me a bit of time to get over there. I got the small size as opposed to the jumbo-maximus drawer size (keeping it realistic here) but if it happens to get stuffed, they will hold it in the back, so no worries if you want to send a pet boulder-in-a-box.
My PO Box Is Not Quite This Size
Hopefully this will be able to survive long enough until my publishers set up the customary address in their offices for mail (assuming they do). I know that some people have been waiting on this since day one, but I’ve always been hesitant on it, due to stories of other writers receiving hatemail/bat wings/unwanted relatives to their boxes.
I Do Not Want To Find This Gathered Outside My PO Box
But mainly, now that I have a box, I can actually ship things out from here without being stalked (the box is actually far enough away from Dallas and has so many numbers you would have to sit in the post office for weeks to catch a glimpse of my figure sweeping through the halls, and those are only on the days I forget my invisibility cloak). So, expect some cool contests coming up here and on my BlogTV (I used to be in radio, and have about 150 CD’s I must give away some time or another, besides all the Twilight stuff). Have fun with it!
NOTE: For two weeks, you can download this song for free. Click the link below the preview!
I always liked making songs that sounded somewhat mysterious, but as it happened most of music I’ve made so far has been slow and happy (besides the Prologue song on all the websites). On Saturday I had some free time, so I sat down with a specific part of The Farfield Curse in mind, and tried to set that part of the book to music — and surprisingly enough, the song came out all in a few hours.
In the beginning of The Farfield Curse, Bran is found locked in a vault with no memory of who he is. Years later, when he is 14, he is nearly kidnapped by someone who knows far too much about him, and he realizes there is something dark in his past he hasn’t yet discovered. Searching for the truth leads him to a bookstore, where he discovers something hidden amongst the very townspeople who try so hard to outlaw magic. This song represents the part in the book where Bran first begins to realize how big of a thing he is getting himself into: and how dark and sinister his past could be.
TITLE: |
The Box In The Bookstore | December 2008 |
| ALBUM: | Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse [Official Soundtrack] | |
| ARTIST: | Kaleb Nation | |
| STYLE: | Classical/Soundtrack | |
| LENGTH: | 2:33 | |
| [audio:http://kalebnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/6-bran-hambric-the-farfield-curse-the-box-in-the-bookstore.mp3|rightbg=0x5b5ea4] | ||
| CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOR FREE (Until Dec. 14) |
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If you like it there are plenty more on my music page (also, I have another one coming soon, so maybe subscribe in the sidebar or check back for that one). Also, check out the Bran Hambric music Myspace and as usual, if you want preview chapters, email me or check out BranHambric.com for more info on the book.
For the comments: What do you think of this song? Does it seem to portray what I was trying to show?
I just got back from the Twilight movie premiere a few days ago, and it was honestly a blast. For the trip, I had to be up around 2 AM in order to catch a flight and arrive on time. I was coming a day early so that I could be a panelist at Twilight Live, which was a podcast they were doing before the premiere. People had been lined up around the block for the event since the night before. Lucky for me, I had badges.
There were a lot of firsts on that trip. It was my first movie premiere, my first time to California, and my first time to stand on a red carpet. It was my first time to meet any fans, first time to be recognized in public, first time to be asked for an autograph, and first time to meet actual celebrities. It was also my first time to have passes to a green room, where the stars hang out while waiting for the event to start. I will allow everyone to imagine that it looked like this:
Our Green Room (note the green, hence the name)
During the premiere, I got photos with nearly everyone involved, including the main woman herself, Stephenie Meyer (who I wanted to see more than any of the other stars). I’ve been wanting to meet her in person for a while, after I missed her in an epic fail by not going to her Dallas, TX, book signing (the subsequent emails from people chiding me for not coming when my name was called over the intercom were punishment enough to make me set on being in LA). We even got video and photos together:
Me and Stephenie Meyer
I have loads of photos with people there, which you can see here.
There was so much that happened there, it is impossible to sum it up into words. After the premiere, I was taken to the Twicon afterparty, where I got to hang out with lots more awesome people at the top of the Hotel Angeleno, where a jazz band was playing live music. I got to meet some fans who won a contest for entry and talk to Michael Welch’s made-of-awesome mom, as well as a bunch of people involved in the Twicon planning (at which I will be a special guest next year).
One of the best parts was finally meeting all these people I know online and from Youtube in the Twilight community — of which I have only been a part for 7 months, and yet have been welcomed into so warmly. I was also shocked to find how genuinely nice the movie people and their agents were (I don’t know why I expected everyone in the movie business to be beastly trolls):
Beastly Troll
When we got back to our hotel, we realized there was a desperate demand for videos, so I immediately uploaded my Rob and Stephenie clips (this is only possible through the use of a Flip camera, which is one of the most awesome devices on the face of the earth). The Robert Pattinson interview got about 33,000 views in 1 day, and the Stephenie Meyer one isn’t far behind.
My video blog about the event is here if anyone wants to see footage of the event and exactly how much screaming was going on:
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So it was honestly one of the greatest days of my life, and later on I saw the movie, which was hilarious and far better than I was even expecting (see my review here).
Someone on my other website pointed out to me how strange it was: how I’ve come from writing about how Bella should drive a fire truck, to being on the red carpet for the movie. What would have happened if I had decided to take my blog down months ago, as I had planned? How would things be different for me? It is strange how things happen the way they do.
Just in today: they announced there will be a New Moon movie. I guess that means I have another premiere to look forward to 😀
