How to use this Page

In this new age, books are being published in so many ways. Here's a fresh example and a chance for you to participate in the launch yourself. Listen in as Jon S. Lewis shares the latest news about Grey Griffins. What caught my attention is that 100% of his profits from the accompanying anthology will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Kids Need to Read.

readergirlz who write, there's an opportunity for your query letter or partial manuscript to be reviewed, a possible Skype session with Jon, and a chance your short story might be included in the final Grey Griffins Anthology. Check it out, and let us know what you think.

Best to you, Jon!





THE SEARCH FOR DRAGONS (Cover)
by Scott Altmann 

How to Unlock Stories By Bestselling Authors
I’ve been lucky enough to publish nine books with Scholastic, Little Brown, and Thomas Nelson. I hope to work with them again one day, but I’ve decided to selfpublish my next book (Grey Griffins: Night of Dragons).

According to BookStats, sales of e-book trade titles rose 44% in 2012 and e-books represent 20% of all books sold, which is up 4% from the prior year. It won’t be long before digital overtakes print.

Companies like CreateSpace have made it easy for authors to go direct to market without a publisher, which means we have the ability to take control of our careers. Look at Amanda Hocking. She  couldn’t find an agent to represent her (much less a publisher) and yet she went from an unknown commodity to a literary rock star in less than a year. Amanda isn’t alone, either. There’re authors like Hugh Howey, John Locke, Rachel Van Dyken, H.M. Ward and dozens of others who are flourishing in the new paradigm. And don’t forget Barry Eisler, who turned down a $500, 000 advance to publish his own books.

I’ve talked about publishing my own books for years but I was always worried about the stigma of being a self-published author. But everything is different now and it’s time for me to jump in.

Why I’m Going to Publish Two Books Instead of One
When I decided to self-publish I knew that I had to make a splash, so I asked some author friends if they would help me out. So while I write Grey Griffins: Night of Dragons, they’re going to write Grey Griffins short stories. We’re going to collect those stories in an anthology, which means I’ll be releasing two books instead of one. And the best part is that 100% of the profits from the anthology will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/) and Kids Need to Read (http://www.kidsneedtoread.org/).

Check out the roster of authors who are involved:
• Brandon Mull | NY Times Bestselling Author, Fablehaven
• Aprilynne Pike | NY Times Bestselling Author, Wings
• Frank Beddor | NY Times Bestselling Author, Looking Glass Wars
• Michael Spradlin | NY Times Bestselling Author, Youngest Templar
• Dean Lorey | Co-Executive Producer, Arrested Development
• Shannon Messenger | Let the Sky Fall, Keeper of the Lost Cities
• Tom Leveen | Party, manicpixiedreamgirl, Sick
• Joseph Nassise | International Bestselling Author, Templar Chronicles
• Matt Forbeck | Leverage: The Con Job based on the TNT television series
• Janette Rallison | My Fair Godmother, Slayers

The Drawback
Each short story in the Grey Griffins anthology will be professionally edited. It will also have a cover painted by the incredibly talented Scott Altmann (http://www.scottaltmann.com/). The final product will look every bit as good as what the major publishing houses produce, but there’s a drawback. When you publish your own books you have to come up with the money to pay the artists and the editors. That’s why I’m turning to Kickstarter.

Crowdsourcing with Kickstarter
Right now those short stories are locked and they won’t be released unless I can make enough money to cover the costs of the artwork and the editorial. I want to be able to make a ton of money for those amazing causes, and here’s how you can help…

Kickstarter provides a way for you to pre-order the book and in return I’ll invest that money in the product. And trust me, I know what it means to have a tight budget. It’s why I made sure the pledge levels started at $1. There are some fun rewards, too, like custom Grey Griffins short stories, collectible character trading cards and sketches from the cover artist. For the writers out there, we’re offering the chance for a query letter review, a partial manuscript review, and even a Skype brainstorm session where I’ll help you come up with ideas for your story. You can help fund the Kickstarter campaign here. http://kck.st/1aXVQQC

You Can Even Get Your Story Published in the Grey Griffins Anthology
Because I also have a passion for helping new writers break into the industry I thought the best way to do that with this project was to give someone a chance to get a short story published in the anthology. Your story will end up in the same book with all those New York Times bestselling authors. If it sounds like something you’re interested in, you can find the submission guidelines here: bit.ly/gg-anthology.

Thank you
Thanks for taking the time to read this and for your consideration to back the Kickstarter campaign. I’m going to need your help to make this project a reality, and I know that together we can do something incredible!

Photo by Scott Mitchell

Jon Samuel Lewis is an American writer best known for the acclaimed Grey Griffins series published by Scholastic’s Orchard Books. After selling nearly a million copies in the original trilogy, Lewis and his writing partner, Derek Benz teamed with Little Brown to publish the Grey Griffins Clockwork Chronicles. He is also the author of CHAOS Novels, a young adult urban science fiction series published by Thomas Nelson and has written for DC Comics. Lewis is also a marketing executive and content strategist who works with Fortune 500 companies on their digital marketing strategies.

• Blog: http://www.greygriffins.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greygriffins
• Twitter: @jonslewis

A Review of the first three books in the Grey Griffins Series

Reviewed by: Chris Tilley

About the authors:

Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis have been best friends since diapers. They grew up sharing birthday parties, Saturday morning cartoons, comic books and baseball cards, and spent much of their childhood exploring the sprawling woodlands behind Derek’s family farm, which they secretly suspected was enchanted. They are the authors of three previous books featuring The Grey Griffins: The Revenge of the Shadow King,The Rise of the Black Wolf and The Fall of the Templar.

Derek Benz currently lives with his wife and son in New Jersey.

J.S. Lewis lives with his wife and daughters in Arizona.

About the books:
THE REVENGE OF THE SHADOW KING
Max Sumner and his three best friends, Harley, Ernie, and Natalia — who form the secret club, The Grey Griffins — seem to be the only people in their very normal Minnesota town to notice that strange things have started to happen. When creatures like goblins and fairies and unicorns, all characters from a card game the Grey Griffins play begin to make appearances in Max’s backyard, Max and his friends know something is terribly wrong. And it’s up to them to stop the wicked creatures of the cards from destroying their town – indeed, their world. A thrilling new legend is born in the first book of the Grey Griffins’ magical adventures.

THE RISE OF THE BLACK WOLF
When Max Sumner and the Grey Griffins (Ernie, Natalia, and Harley) are invited to Lord Sumner’s castle in Scotland, they look forward to a relaxing vacation. But things go horribly awry when Max’s dad goes missing, and a band of seemingly indestructible werewolves comes after them. Will Max and the Grey Griffins be able to save his father and keep the powerful Spear of Ragnarok from falling into the wicked clutches of Morgan LaFey?

THE FALL OF THE TEMPLAR
The secrets to the Spear of Ragnarok have been unlocked, unleashing a power th

I have to be honest, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book, since it's all science fiction and X-fileish....however I loved it!

Colt McAlister was having the summer of his life. He spent his days surfing and his nights playing guitar on the beach with friends. He even met a girl and got his first car. But everything changes when his parents are killed in a freak accident. He's forced to leave his old life behind and move to Arizona with his grandfather. To read more of my review, click here.

The Grey Griffins Clockwork Chronicles: Book 1 – The Brimstone Key by Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis

Reviewed by: Chris Tilley

This is Part 2 of a the review. Read Part 1 here

Like father like son, I had to turn off the lights on him two nights in a row. One of those nights it was close to midnight. He had gone to bed, lights out and couldn’t sleep. So he turned on his light and started reading. I got up to get a glass of water and walked past his door. It was a little tough getting him up in the morning. The bottom line is he loved the book and had trouble putting it down.

What my son liked about the book

* What was your favourite part? Why?

This turned out to be a tough question because he liked all of the book. He kept thinking about what was the best part and finally settled on the end of it.

* Who is your favourite character? Why?

Ernie. Because he’s a changeling. He can go really fast. My son at this point bolts from the room, runs down the hall and back.

* Did any part of the book surprise you?

Yes. We had a good conversation about some of the twists and turns of the book that I won’t mention so others can be surprised as well. He was surprised by some of the same things that got me. For me that was part of the charm of the book was that it kept me guessing. I asked him if he found it hard to put down because of the twists and he agreed.

* Should we put the first three books on your Christmas list?

Yes. So they are now officially on my and my son’s Christmas lists.

* Did you find any part of the book scary?

Some but not too scary. Again we can not mention the scenes. Needless to say the book is an adventure and scary things happen.

* What was the coolest technology? Why?

The zephyr, a subway train that was alive.

My son also came up with three questions for author, Jon Lewis:

Question 1: What would you advise to an 8 year old who wants to be a writer?

To write whatever he/she loves to write about. If you love stories about sports, then write lots of stories about sport. Dragons? Then fill up a notebook with stories about dragons. Spies or detectives? Then write about them, too. Writing is like practicing a sport or an instrument, the more you do it the better you get — but you’ll work even harder if you focus on subjects you really like.

Question 2: What were your favourite books growing up?

Picture Book: Where the Wild Things Are
First Chapter Book(s): Narnia series
Novel(s): Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Question 3: What gave you the idea of Grey Griffin’s Series? Did the story change from your original idea?

Derek and I wanted to write a mixture of our favorite mythologies with our own exp