Daniel T. Jackson's Blog, page 2

Hi, The Illborn Saga has reached a couple of significant milestones recently, which I wanted to share with you today.

Firstly, Aiduel’s Sin has passed 1,000 ratings on Goodreads, with an average rating of 4.47 / 5.0. I am proud that the second book in the series has been so well-received, and it is a good indication for me that people who liked or loved ILLBORN are also very likely to enjoy the sequel (if you enjoyed book one but stopped there, I’d love for you to continue on to book two).

I have never talked about sales figures previously, but I realised recently that the series has passed the mark of 20,000 books sold, which is far more than I had ever imagined when I self-published ILLBORN. At that time, my first print run was for 300 copies for sale, and I had set myself a target of trying to sell 500 copies in total (including ebooks). I’m therefore delighted that the books have reached a far larger readership than those original expectations, and that they continue to find new readers.

Thanks to everyone who has been a supporter of me and of the The Illborn Saga, and who has helped to encourage others to read the series. Your support and kind feedback is greatly appreciated, and I’m continuing to rely on the support of fans of the books to help me to find new readers.

Finally, I will be posting a detailed Book Three update (including the title reveal) within the next couple of months! Watch this space!

Thanks again for your support.

Hi, I am posting an update about The Illborn Saga on Goodreads for the first time in several months.

During the past year, I have made good progress in writing book three of the series, and am now past 165k words (80% + of my 'first draft'). I am well on track to finish writing the book during 2024, and am very excited by the story so far.

I am happy with what I have achieved as an author this year, with the successful release of Aiduel's Sin (book two), the publication of the beautiful Broken Binding ILLBORN Collector's Edition, a significant increase in the series' readership, and substantial progress in writing the third book of the four book series.

I greatly appreciate (and thank) everyone who has been a friend on social media, or who has supported me and my books. Without your support, the series would not have become or remained popular, and I hope that you will continue to support both me and my writing in the coming year.

Best wishes for 2024.

Kind regards, Daniel.

Hello, I am delighted to announce that I am releasing a limited-edition (1,000 copy, signed and numbered) hardback Collector's Edition of ILLBORN, produced and published in association with The Broken Binding online bookstore (with artwork by the immensely talented Catrina Barquist).

The features of this Royal-sized sewn-bound hardback include:

- beautiful dustjacket including gold foiling on the front, back and spine
- gold-foiled clothbound boards
- gilded (golden) page edges
- a full-colour double-page gloss map
- a full-colour double-page gloss artwork featuring images of each of the 4 main characters
- 2 single full-page black and white illustrations capturing 2 of the key scenes from the book
- unique designed endpapers, signature page and chapter heading

The book will be sold exclusively through The Broken Binding, and will go on sale for £55 on the following dates (all at 12pm BST):

Tier 1 TBB subscribers - 9th June
Tier 2 TBB subscribers - 10th June
General sale - 11th June

I am expecting to visit TBB on 15th June for the book signing, with shipping expected shortly thereafter.

Thanks for your support.

ILLBORN – PRONUNCIATION LIST FOR MAJOR CHARACTERS AND PLACES

A selection of characters from ILLBORN (pronunciation emphasis on the capitals)

Agbeth – AG-beth
Aiduel – AY-djoo-ell (AY sounds rhymes with ‘day’)
Allana dei Monis – a-LARN-a DAY MON-ee
Akob – AY-kob
Amyss – AM-iss
Arion Sepian – A-ree-on SE-pee-an (SE vowel sounds like vowel sound from ‘men’)
Arnas Roque – AR-nass ROHK
Borrik – BO-rik (‘O’ sound – see Corin)
Caddin Sendromm – CA-din sen-DROM
Cillian Maddoc – KILL-ee-an MAD-doc
Colissa – co-LISS-a (‘O’ sound – see Corin)
Corenna – co-REN-a (‘O’ sound – see Corin)
Corin – CO-rin (first part sounds like ‘sor’ from sorrow – name rhymes with florin)
Delrin – DEL-rin
Elisa – EL-eyes-a
El’Patriere – EL-PAT-tree-AIR
Ernis dei Bornere – ERR-nee DAY Bor-NAIR
Evelyn dei Laramin – EE-vel-lin DAY LA-ra-min
Gerrion – GE-ree-on (GE vowel sounds like vowel sound from ‘men’)
Inneos – INN-ee-oss
Jarrett Berun – JA-rett BE-run (BE vowel sounds like vowel sound from ‘men’)
Jonas – JOH-nass
Kalyane – Kal-YAN
Karienne – Ka-ree-ENN
Kernon – KERR-non
Leanna Cooper – LEE-an-na COO-per
Lennion Rednar – LEN-ee-on RED-nar
Mariess – Ma-ree-ESS
Markon El-Augustus -MAR-kon EL-or-GUST-us
Marrix – MA-rix
Menion – MEN-yon
Munnik – MUN-nik
Nionia dei Pallere – NEE-oh-nee-a DAY Pal-AIR
Rekmar – REK-mar
Ronis dei Maranar – ROH-nee DAY MA-ran-ar
Seilana – Say-LARN-a
Sendar Pavil – SEN-dar Pa-VILL
Senneos – SEN-nee-oss

Selected countries and places:
Andar – an-DAR
Andarron – an-DAR-ron
Angloss – an-GLOSS
Elannis – Eh-LAN-niss
Dei Magnus – DAY MAG-nuss
Septholme – SEPT-home
Arlais – Ar-LAY
Karn - KARN

Hi, I am delighted to announce that I have finalised the manuscript of AIDUEL’S SIN, Book Two of the Illborn Saga (and the sequel to ILLBORN).

I have also submitted this manuscript into the typesetting, printing and publication process of the self-publishing service which I use.

I am therefore happy to share that the publication date of the novel will be… 28th JANUARY 2023.

I am excited that the writing process for AIDUEL’S SIN has now finished, and that I am on the countdown to the release of the book. I cannot wait for the readers who have enjoyed ILLBORN to read this second novel in the planned four-book series.

Apologies that I have not been able to hit a publication date within 2022, but I wanted to take a little more time to do a final couple of rounds of edits on the book, and I believe that this extra work has been worthwhile.

AIDUEL’S SIN has finished as a 200,000-word story, compared to 220,000 words for ILLBORN, so it is another long, epic fantasy tale! I was thrilled by the positive response of my beta readers to the book, and I hope that it will produce a similar reaction amongst ILLBORN’s wider readership.

I am planning to share lots more information on AIDUEL’S SIN across the period between now and publication. I have now received the artwork for the cover (which I love), and I am excited to reveal the finalised cover and book blurb (within the next 2-3 months). I am also looking forward to sharing lots more news on The Illborn Saga series across the remainder of 2022.

If you have read and enjoyed ILLBORN, thank you so much for your support, and I hope that you will continue on with the story onto AIDUEL’S SIN.

If you have not read ILLBORN but are interested, the next few months would be a great time to start the series, to allow you to have the story fresh in your mind for when January 2023 arrives!

Best wishes, Daniel

Hello! Today, I am going to talk about my progress in writing Book Two of The Illborn Saga (as of 1st May 2022).

But before that, the title of book two is going to be… Aiduel’s Sin.

(please note that I shall remain steadfastly tight-lipped in response to any queries as to what the title refers to!)

I finished draft one of Aiduel’s Sin at the end of last December. Since then, I have been working hard on rewriting and editing, and generally on improving the book. I have now completed c85-90% of that editing process, and intend to complete the rest of that work during May.

I have also sent the first two thirds of the edited book out to my beta readers, and I am delighted with the positive reaction so far.

After I have finished edits and rewrites, I want to spend a few weeks doing a final ‘polishing’ edit of the whole book, and my target is to have the manuscript completely finished before the UK school summer holidays in July (but if I decide before then that it needs more time and work, that is what it will get!).

The publication date thereafter will be dependent on what publishing route I decide to go down, so unfortunately, I am still not able to state a specific publication date. I will aim to announce a definite publication date before the end of the summer.

I hope that the above is of some interest, and apologies that I am still remaining vague about precise dates.

In conclusion, I am excited to finish writing Aiduel’s Sin and to share Book Two of The Illborn Saga wih my readers. I am massively grateful to everyone who has read and enjoyed ILLBORN, and I would love for you to continue the journey onto book two of the series.