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 
Posted in Bran Hambric, Videos
Tags: Bran Hambric, Hotel Arista, Sourcebooks, Videos
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…
Posted in Bran Hambric, Photos
Tags: Dominique Raccah, Lyron Bennett, Publishing, Richard Curtis, Sourcebooks
I leave today for Chicago, to meet my publishers for two days of marketing and book talk!
We’ve been planning for this trip for the past year, and now that the release of the book is getting so close, we’ll finally get to meet in person and talk over publicity plans, as well as cool stuff like the cover art…the release date…future books…singing goats…etc.
I’ll post updates to my Twitter and blog if I can!
Posted in Bran Hambric
Tags: Bran Hambric, Publishing, Sourcebooks, Writing
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
————————————————————————————————————–
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:
-
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?
Posted in Bran Hambric
Tags: Bran Hambric, Brandon Dorman
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!
-
Posted in Bran Hambric, Videos
The content of this website is the property of Kaleb Nation and cannot be copied without prior permission.
