WOTHLONDIA RISING FREE

FREE on SMASHWORDS!

I have taken the great plunge into Smashwords and all of my books can be found there now. Soon enough they will flow out to Sony, iTunes, B&N, Kobo, etc.

And the cool thing, is that WOTHLONDIA RISING IS NOW FREE! Indefinitely!

Yes, the anthology of short stories that introduces you to my world, its history, my protagonists, having them face off against demons, undead monstrosities, giants, ogres, rogues and blood rot zombies, is available to you for free!

I feel that if you give these a read, you will have a rather intimate knowledge of both the world, the characters and their motivations. And when they come together in Covenant of the Faceless Knights, you will have met them already, establishing a rapport as they move along on their quests. It makes for a natural and organic transition into the first novel, I believe.

I have also placed samples at WattPad , including the entire Wothlondia Rising book, if you prefer reading it there.

http://bit.ly/18IvgFS

So, when you finish with WOTHLONDIA RISING, feel free to check out my books on Smashwords. or click the links on the right side of my page to check out the kindle versions. If you haven't indulged yourself in them yet, they would make a great gift for any lover of epic/high fantasy with character-driven action.

Enjoy and have a great holiday!

Covenant of the Faceless Knights Re-Release! (kind of)

As a writer, artist, musician, or whatever it is that you do for work, hobby, fun, torture, etc...there comes a time when you find your stride. It is something inexplicable and as mysterious as the cosmos. But, when it happens, suffice to say, you will know it. The reason I am bringing up the topic, is because I believe I have finally hit a stride with my writing. It is just coming much easier to me these days and with fewer drafts/revisions. As my writer friends might empathize, that stride occurs when your voice takes the jumbled mess in your head and spits it out on the page in a cohesive way that makes you say: 'yep, that's what I meant to say!'

And I could not be more excited.

I had been working my 4th manuscript in the series over the last year, entitled Tower of Torment. This was in between medical issues, starting a new career and other nonsense, but I have since finished it up. I have an editing procedure in which I read my written word out loud. (not gonna say how or go into details to bore you) Anyhow, I wrote it, listened to it one time, did my edits, and am happier than a pig in...well, you know what.

William Kenney's artwork, unimpaired by words!

For those of you who do not partake in the often torturous and typically flighty mistress that is independent writing, finding your voice is something to be achieved and somewhat expected...hopefully. Spending less time editing is just a boon! Independent writers more so than any other author, can relate to this arduous task. I liken finding your voice to when a musician identifies a note clearly for the first few times, or an artist sees the image inside his or her head so vividly, that the image comes out with ease, clearer and more vibrantly than ever. All writers hit their stride at some point in their career and I feel that I have recently hit mine.

Let me clarify something. That is not to say my prior work was poor, it simply means that I can say what I meant to say a few years prior with a bit more clarity and ease.

So, I have spent the last few weeks painstakingly re-working Covenant of the Faceless Knights, my first written work, and have made some changes, edits and other things. The content is much the same, but the minimal changes in sentence structure, dialogue and action, I would hope are worth another (or perhaps an initial) look! This is something that I had wanted to do for a long time, but could not find the time or patience. Now I have a publisher that may or may not be interested and decided that this was the right time. I was going to do it anyway, so this was as good a time as any after finishing the 4th manuscript in my Realm of Ashenclaw series.

Also, as a one time courtesy, if you have purchased the book before, and would like the updated version free of charge, please contact me with a DM on Facebook or twitter and I will gift you a copy! Or email me your contact info at the address below.

The almost-chosen blue background!

And for those of you who haven't read it yet--and you know who you are!--I am giving away up to ten free copies in exchange for reviews. All you have to do is comment below using the tag, 'give me my free book!', and then send an email to info@ashenclaw.com with the same subject line and body text. That's it! It’s that simple! The first ten to place comments below are the winners. First come, first served. PLEASE understand that I would like the review! I have given away work in the past and have yet to receive the promised reviews, (some) so please keep this in mind.

Cover art to Wothlondia Rising

And in celebration of this accomplishment, I am reducing the price of Wothlondia Rising: The Anthology back down to 99 cents indefinitely! Get all of my previously released short stories that build up our favorite heroes together in 1 tome! Plus the never-independently-released tale of our favorite half-ogre barbarian, Orngoth, entitled REFLECTIONS.

Ever wonder what a sets a hero  on his or her path? Wonder no more! Grab your copy today!

Thanks for listening to my rants and pitches as usual, and please feel free to comment on how you may have found your own writing voice or artistic stride, or musical ear, or whatever it might be that you do well!

GENCON 2012...The Experience

Here's what I was doing end of last week and beginning of this week...in case you were worried.


The bad: Surprise, surprise! The hotel and accommodations again were less than spectacular and extremely overpriced. I got slammed with a valet parking bill that was added to my bill daily for $28.00 per day. Holy crap. Lesson learned the hard way again. Oh, well.

Hey, that's my book!

hey, that's my name!

The good: Everything else!

What can I say? Awesome. That’s what.

I had an incredible time! Aside from my hotel bill…again…which I cannot seem to do anything about.

I met some amazingly interesting people that I must say were very cool. I met Jason Klimchok, (@runnetib on twitter) a fellow author who found me in Author’s Avenue and introduced himself. Very cool of him to seek me out and say hello. Mr. Erik Scott de Bie, he of the Forgotten Realms fame (game designer and author) and Shadowbane fame, made his way over to my table to chat before he went off to sign books himself in the D&D booth. I also had breakfast on Sunday with Mr. De Bie, which I will detail a bit later.

I met and introduced myself to Jeanette LeGault who runs the whole thing and who was responsible for getting me in this year. She was very kind and spared time even though she was constantly busy.

my table at GENCON 2012

Special kudos to my son, who was with me all four days (way to go, Nick!) and who endured the 10+ hour drive both up and back with me. We had a great time bonding, which I will treasure always. Nick was awesome as my ‘booth monkey’ as he so eloquently put it.

I met fellow author Chris Jackson (@ChrisAJackson1 on twitter) and his wife (Anne, I believe) and they were very nice to me as well. I sat across the way from Tammy Blackwell, a librarian and fellow author who is writing an incredibly popular coming of age series about Seers and Werewolves, which I would check out. She can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Tammy-Blackwell/e/B005A9B3XO. Tammy was also kind enough to gift a copy of her book to my wife, who I believe will enjoy it. 

I also gave some books away to librarians, interested book bloggers and a young woman who gave me this 'token of appreciation'.

my token of appreciation

Some of the people that I met come to mind when I write this that made an impact. I met a British fella named Adam that I really enjoyed talking to. Another long-haired college kid I chatted with a few times made an impression, though I cannot remember his name. A woman named Jeanette who purchased the books was extremely nice and she came back to snap a pic of me the next day (very flattering...I think?). I met a couple who chatted with me about Pathfinder for about an hour named Blake? he and his wife are inspiring me to possibly make a Realm of Ashenclaw RPG supplement for Pathfinder... might be coming.

Here are the best two experiences. I met a man named Tony Rodriguez who wanted the books and purchased them from me on Saturday and had me sign them to his son, Alex. He happened to bring Alex in on Sunday and he was happy to meet me, told me he’d read up to chapter 6 that morning and was loving it. Wow! That made my day. And it got better. The second was a man named Scott, who had downloaded Wothlondia Rising: The Anthology (The short story prequels) to his kindle. He went out of his way to come back on Sunday morning to tell me that he was 94% through the book and thought it was amazing…and that he had downloaded the other two books that morning!

I was again completely humbled by their expressions of how I had affected two different people in such a great way. I felt honored that they had chosen me and my writing in order to escape from reality. I was honored that they both entered into my Realm of Ashenclaw with open arms and with an open mind. I cannot express in words how that makes me feel as an author and a human being.

So, on to my breakfast meeting with Erik Scott De Bie on Sunday. I must tell you that it was a tale of mishaps and odd misunderstandings as Erik and I exchanged texts as to where to meet, but after an hour, we finally caught up at a Starbucks there. Interestingly enough, Erik is a rather tall and imposing individual and carries himself very well in conversation. That being said, Erik and I talked about many things. The most memorable to me was his advice. He gave me some constructive criticisms, advice on becoming a better writer and talked to me as a peer. I cannot tell you what his respect means. He not only gave me the critique, but he also made a point to give me the good news, and I am paraphrasing, but, it included the following: My covers were eye-catching and consistent, my branding and logo (Realm of Ashenclaw) was extremely professional and most importantly, that my writing was compelling. He went out of his way to say that I was passionate about my work, that he thought I was on to something and that he was happy to see what I was able to do as an independent author.

All of this was extremely humbling to hear from an author who works for Ed Greenwood and Dungeons & Dragons. After we parted ways, I went back to my booth for the last day and Erik stopped back one more time to gift me a copy of an anthology that he had contributed on for GenCon, which was above and beyond. I highly recommend any fans of fantasy to check him out and follow his writing, as I believe he is worthy of being included in the Forgotten Realms gaggle of writers.

Go buy his stuff! Erik’s site is here if you are interested in seeing what he is up to. http://erikscottdebie.com/

Well, that about wraps up my details. Next post will include pics of all of the scenes and costumes that I was able to get! Stay tuned.

Oh, and all of my books are currently resting at 99 cents on the kindle for a post-GENCON sale! Go download 'em before I come to my senses and raise the price...lol.

Hugs and kicks,
Gary

Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

Start by going to my REALM OF ASHENCLAW FAN PAGE! 


SHARE THE POST pinned at the top of the page on YOUR OWN FACEBOOK PAGE for 1 chance to WIN. 

It reads:

≫ Let your imagination loose! Leave this world and escape to mine: Book 1 in the Beginnings series contains 6 short story prequels that give a glimpse into the history of my main characters in WOTHLONDIA RISING: THE ANTHOLOGY! Or jump right into the full-length novels with Book 2 of the saga: COVENANT OF THE FACELESS KNIGHTS. Continue the epic journey with SECRETS OF THE EBONITE MINES! Don’t have a kindle? Don’t worry, here is the direct link for downloading kindle apps to any of the following devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, Blackberry, Windows 7 phone, Windows, Mac, iPAd, Android Tablet and they even have a cloud reader. ≪

Don’t want the kindle versions? Check them out in PRINT on CreateSpace!
☞ Wothlondia Rising: The Anthology
☞ Covenant of the Faceless Knights
☞ Secrets of the Ebonite Mines

☞CONTEST GUIDELINES: Like  My Fan Page page (if you haven’t already) and share the post pinned at the top of the page on your wall for a chance to be entered to win one of three prizes!

1. $50.00 AMAZON GIFT CARD

2. $30.00 AMAZON GIFT CARD

3. $20.00 AMAZON GIFT CARD

Click SHARE to get your name entered! 

Contest ends on Halloween, October 31, 2012! I will announce the winners right here and on my Realm of Ashenclaw Fan Page!


❖ If you would like MORE CHANCES TO WIN, here’s how ❖

Purchase any one of my books, copy and paste the Amazon Order Summary section of your receipt into the 'How may we help you’ box on my CONTACT PAGE. Fill in your name and email and I will enter your name again! If you buy all three, now you have 3 more chances to win!

❖ Want even one more chance to win? ❖
All you have to do is leave a review for any one of my books and send an email to info@ashenclaw.com with the link for the review. It’s that simple!

What the readers are saying...

❝Covenant of The Faceless Knights was an epic read that kept me turning the page❞
❝Gary Vanucci is an author to read now and look out for in the future. He has a unique approach to fantasy with his intricate characterization and his eye for the unpredictable❞
❝The writing style and everything was top-notch and I would rate it at ten stars if I could.❞
❝Strong combat scenes will keep you on the edge of your seat.❞

Best of luck!

Skulldust Circle Anthology Coming Soon!

I am excited to announce that Skulldust Circle is working on an anthology of short stories! The main goal here is to give our fans and readers who may not know us or that may only know one of us, a sampling of our writing styles. So far, we are putting together stories based on whatever worlds we’ve already created. That should be happening in the next 2 weeks or so, if all goes according to plan, so keep your eyes peeled! We are still in the latter stages of development, but once the book goes live, we will certainly let you know.

Possible titles: ‘Skulldust Circle’ (I know…weird, right?) or ‘A Gathering of Dust.’

The tome shall include works from William Kenney, Jeremy Laszlo, Ross Kitson, Ben Martin & Gary Vanucci (me) at the moment. I don’t pretend to know what the others are writing about, but I expect them to make comments possibly on what it is they are doing or even do their own posts with explanations to that end.

My story is about the scorching drake (more commonly referred to as a red dragon) that started it all: Ashenclaw! Ever want to know what happened those years ago when the land was burnt to ash by the scorching drakes? Ever wonder where my realm got its name? Wonder no more!

And the best part about the whole thing is that I involved some of my friends that I used to play certain MMO’s with and I was able to put a good deal of them into the story! It was a ton of fun to write and I hope that the readers really enjoy it, especially them! The story is simply entitled ‘THE LEGEND OF ASHENCLAW’ and it runs approximately 21K words. I look forward to feedback and would love to hear your comments about the whole Skulldust Circle project! 

Wothlondia Rising Anthology 99 Cent Sale in July!

As of today I have pulled all of my 99 cent single short stories in the WOTHLONDIA RISING series that I had released since January of this year. In their place is the Anthology, now on Amazon kindle AND in Paperback, which includes ALL 5 of the short stories (Distant Familiarity, A Rose in Bloom, Maturation Process, Tears of Blood, Strength of Faith) and includes a never-before-released story about the half-ogre barbarian, Orngoth, called Reflections.

Cover to the CreateSpace Paperback

As an added bonus, the prologue to Covenant of the Faceless Knights follows the story entitled Distant Familiarity which details the events just prior to Covenant. So, as you can see, this is a worthy addition to the Realm of Ashenclaw series and I have given it the name: Beginnings Book 0. It adds depth, history, character and gives you a glance into events that placed these heroes on the path they now walk. If you enjoyed Covenant (and even Secrets of the Ebonite Mines, which is also available), I would recommend you stepping into the past of these exciting characters and learn a bit about what makes them tick!

As an incentive, I have reduced the cost from $2.99 down to .99 cents until the end of July! I hope you take the time to check it out and look forward to any and all reviews you might give.

FREE GIVEAWAY Thru JULY 4th!

Gifting FREE copies of my debut novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights thru JULY 4th in exchange for reviews. I would like to get a few more reviews up on both Amazon & Goodreads (copy and paste is fine). I would like some avid/voracious readers that can get the reviews up in 30 days or one month’s time. The limit I have set is between 50 and 100 copies, first come-first served, so you may have to hurry.

Criteria: This is pretty simple

1.  Must have an active Amazon account
2.  The account must be in the United States of America
3.  Must visit ƦЄƛԼM ƠƑ ƛSĦЄƝƇԼƛƜ and click on the CONTACT tab at the top right (Or simply click this to bring you to the CONTACT PAGE) and fill it out. Under the 'How may we help you line', simply put: Send me my FREE book! 

That’s pretty much it!

In order for redundancy, please leave me a comment here on the blog and say ‘I’m in’ or ‘Yes, I’ll review it for you’ or something along those lines as well as your name. I will look for your email to send you out a copy.

This is not until Sunday, so if you feed me your information before then, I will be better prepared! Hope to see plenty of contact forms before Sunday!