Tag Archives: Life

JUNE UPDATE

Howdy folks! It’s time for another life update! I’ve got a number of things to update you all on!

KOI2 Cover!

Last week I announced The Knight of Iaddash 2’s book cover and shared the final product in a blogpost. But I wanted to share a little bit more of the original artwork with you. The artist for this book is Andrew Lindberg and his expertise is in watercolors. He was also my elementary school art teacher, who has been such an encouragement to me when I was little, so it was such a joy to have him working on this project! If you want to see more of Mr. Lindberg’s art, check his website out at Walkonwatercolors.com

After the art was completed, it was time to add the title, which was something I wasn’t quite sure I could do. I also didn’t quite realize how much blank space I would need on the cover for book 2’s title, so a few edits were needed, and completed in a professional and timely manner by David Brandt, he was also a mentor to me and many others in my Church’s youth group. I think it’s very neat that I was able to work with two godly men who were formational in both my spiritual and creative growth, on this project! If you want to know more about the work he does, check out his website at DavidBrandtDesign.com

We had to change a few of the shadows at the top to fit the title in, but, if you’d like to see Andrew Lindberg’s the unedited painting, here it is! Isn’t stunning!?

In every creative work, there are some sacrifices that need to be made, I’m just happy that I get to show you guys both the final cover version, and the hand painted version as well! In the end, despite some hurdles, we’ve got a beautiful cover that will look great on your shelf!

The Knight of Iaddash 2: Into the Gates of Sheol will be released later this year.

Audio Drama Update:

Here is another exciting development! If you’ve been reading here for a while, you are probably aware that Cory Rosen and I have raised enough funds to pay the Cast for the audio version of The Knight of Iaddash Book 1! This, is all thanks to our many lovely supporters! Without you none of this would be possible.

As of last week, we have begun recording! Feel free to follow The Knight of Iaddash on Instagram where I will post a variety of updates on the project, as well as K.A.Bechtel!

https://www.instagram.com/theknightofiaddash

https://www.instagram.com/k.a.bechtel

Anyways, we recorded most of chapter 1 character wise, which featured lots of Agar and Stratia lines! Here a photo of John and Kimberly, after day one of recording!

And, of course, here is Cory showing off his MASTERFUL concept art that our Kickstarter Artist (Megan Cerise) used as a reference for the kickstarter art. Haha.

It’s so much fun working with so many amazing people. You usually think of writing and creating as a more solitary work, but sometimes it’s the exact opposite! Though, usually it’s a bit of both! My extraverted introvert self is thriving! It’s so much fun getting to work with and meet so many amazing people! And I’m so excited to see how all of this turns out!

We’ve got some more recording happening this month! Maybe I’ll have more pics to share next month!

Beyond Iaddash

Outside of Iaddash, life has been pretty good. I got a good job where I get to genuinely care for some pretty cool people. And I’ve also been working busily on some Bible lessons and sermons I’m going to teach! One of my sermons was going to be over an hour long, and for the sake of everyone involved, I am desperately trying to shorten it! It’s more of a topical sermon which is a little nerve racking cause I’m not really used to topical sermons. Regardless though, I always appreciate any prayers you’re willing to send up to heaven, I always need God’s help teaching, and further more, I always need God’s help to keep my faith solid. Some days I doubt God’s presence or work in my life, but on days like today however, it’s hard to ignore.

Aside from that, I’ve been playing video games when I have time, currently Final Fantasy 7 (not the remake, the original), and Deltarune is on my gaming plate. But, I’m also meeting with friends, and brainstorming other creative projects, so gaming has been slow these days. And honestly, that’s a good thing! It’s better to use gaming as a reward for hard work! It’s more fulfilling that way!

Anyways, look forward to more Iaddash news in the coming month or so, I’ve still got to share the back cover with everyone, which I absolutely adore, as well as the release date! All that remains is a few minor interior edits, finalizing the blurb, and getting some proof copies once I have things uploaded!

Praying that God establishes the work of my hands, in all areas of life!

And may he do the same for you!

Grace and Peace,

K. A. Bechtel

AUGUST UPDATE

Well. It’s been a bit, hasn’t it.

The last post I released here was the day before releasing The Knight of Iaddash hyping up the project, and then I went radio silent. Well, not entirely, I still use my author’s instagram and facebook.

I was planning on posting more information regarding the Knight of Iaddash here after its launch, but I ended up using Instagram to do most of those things.

BEHOLD, THE KNIGHT OF IADDASH!

Since I’ve last posted, The Knight of Iaddash had released! All of the feedback I’ve heard so far has been rather positive. During the first week it reached #11 in the YA Christian Fantasy bestsellers category on Amazon!

If you’re interested in buying, feel free to buy on Amazon! You may also buy it at Barnes & Nobles! Other booksellers may pick it up as well, since it is available from IngramSpark. If you’re interested in seeing it at a local bookstore or library, you can always ask if they’d purchase it!

Also, please leave a review wherever you purchase it! It really helps the algorithms get my book to a wider audience! It doesn’t take more than a minute to give it a good rating! But also, if you take a few extra minutes to write a brief review, I’d be eternally grateful! I really want this story to be read by as many people as possible!

AUDIO DRAMA?

The Knight of Iaddash Audio Production is getting closer to being made! Cory and I are in the process of setting up the Kickstarter! Creating the rewards and the trailer is taking some time, but we’re making good progress! We’ve also been able to read through the script with the cast, which has been a pure joy! We’ve got a really good cast and I’m excited to see how they do in each of their rolls!

Also, have you noticed that cool picture of Agape at the top of the page? That’s one of the stickers that we’re planning on making available through the Kickstarter! It was designed by Megan Cerise, if you want to see more of her work you can see it at her instagram account!

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EBOOKS?

I still intend to release The Knight of Iaddash in ebook format outside of Kindle, I’ve just run into a snag. I’m a little stubborn and like to do everything individually by hand. I’ve considered uploading my ebooks via a service like Draft2Digital, which seamlessly releases your ebook across a host of digital platforms, but they also take a cut. As someone who is trying to pay off college loans, I’d rather do things by hand and put in the extra effort. I have the ebook files prepped and ready to upload, however due to certain laws across the sea, to publish on certain platforms and be released worldwide you need to put down an physical address that is public to all. I don’t think my family would appreciate me putting their address online, so I’ve decided to wait till I have extra money to potentially get a new business address. This is taking longer than expected thanks to, well, college loans.

Honestly, if I don’t have the ebook available worldwide by next year, I may just end up biting the bullet and using Draft2Digital. I’d like the story to be available in all places before the sequel is released.

INTO THE GATES OF SHEOL

Ah, yes! The sequel!

I’m really excited for book two of the Knight of Iaddash. I’m hoping to release it around April once again. If you like the first book, I really think you’ll like the second one. Kahsa had a rough time at the end of the first book didn’t he? Hopefully nothing else bad happens to him!

I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll stop here! But I am extremely happy with how this story turned out!

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

I’ve been active. There is a lot of moving pieces in my life right now, and I’m not the best at running multiple things at once. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’m great at jumping between tasks, but usually one of them get’s put on the back burner. That’s what happened with this blog. And, mentally, it still is on the back burner. The Audio Drama prep has been taking a lot of time! I’d rather focus on that as opposed to this blog!

I’ve been doing plenty of other things however! This summer I’ve been teaching some of my friends with IDD from the Bible at a day program! It’s all volunteer now but I love doing it once a week! However, that means I need to write and prep lessons, so that does keep me busy! I don’t know how long I’ll be doing that, but while I do I want to do it well!

I’ve also been writing! I’ve written about 3/4ths of a book now. I keep hitting snags with this one, but I’m excited about most of it. I won’t release it until I’m excited about all of it though, so it may be a bit of time! I’m also working on a comic concept that’s been invigorating my imagination. I don’t know if I’ll ever pitch it to any publishers or publish it myself, but I’m having fun at least. It’s nice to have fun!

Oh! And also really enjoying getting connected with my church family again! It does take some time away from other things, but I think fellowship is important. If I’m not close to God or other Christians, then nothing I accomplish really matters.

Oh, also, I did finish moving from Lancaster. Which took some time too. It has been a blessing being with my family again, but I’ve been really focusing on paying down some of my student debt. I’m hoping to one day be debt free! Please pray that God will help me continue to be responsible and get me to that place!

That’s all from me. I hope you guys enjoyed the life update. Maybe I’ll do more of these!

Grace and Peace,

Kenny

A Brief Update (September)

A bright-eyed, blog bored writer, once wrote, “I’m going to blog again. “

Aside from one very simple update, he did not.

That writer is me.

What happened?

So, What happened?

Simply put. I forgot. I got a little distracted by life and decided to focus on other things. And then, just as I felt my life was turning a lovely little corner, BOOM, everything came crashing down all at once. Life got rough.

And it still kind of is. Prayers are always appreciated.

But my God is good! He’s been teaching me a lot. A lot about myself. A lot about others. and even more about him.

What happens next? I’m trying to figure a lot of that out.

There are a few things that, Lord willing, I’m fairly certain of.

The Knight of Iaddash

The Knight of Iaddash will release. I have a time period in my mind, but I’m not quite ready to share when that is just yet. However, things are coming along beautifully! The book is complete and fully edited! I’m mostly just waiting for the cover art. AND LET ME TELL YOU, THE COVER ART IS 1000x BETTER THAN I EXPECTED! And I expected a lot! I can’t wait to share this book with you! It’ll literally be a dream come true!

If you want to learn a little bit more about this project, check out this blog post where I share a snippet from the story! There is also a preview of at the end of Poems for the Redeemed Heart, a book of poems I’ve published a few years back! You can buy it on Amazon if you’d like! That book is full of Jesus! Lol.

Anything else?

Is there anything else I’m working on?

Heck yea! However all of it is in early concept and planning stages, and if I ever choose to turn them into reality, I’m sure they would take literal years. These past few month I’ve really had my creative juices running!

I’m also trying to learn some SEO skills as well. Have you noticed that this blog post has some links that leads to other blog posts?!

Here is another link you can click!

Let be honest, my dreams of being a full time writer floating on down the Susquehanna river on a yacht made of chocolate will likely never come to fruition. That’ll never happen (prolly for the best), but I’d like to at least be more self-sufficient. So, I’m trying to learn skills to maybe try a new career. And if it doesn’t fit me, then I’ll try again with something else. Honestly, learning is kinda fun!

With that said. There is a rather good chance your buddy here is going to try to fix this website and make it more functional, as I learn of course. Especially as I inch closer to potentially releasing The Knight of Iaddash. Could be a fun challenge! It’ll be the true test of skill!

Are you done blabbering bro?

Actually, yes I am.

Once again, I just want to thank everyone for their patience. I hope that one day I’ll be able to foster a community of people who can enjoy the hard work I put into my future projects, and that I’d be a creator who can show my readers love and respect! Many prayers have gone into The Knight of Iaddash. I believe that God will establish the work of my hands. If my book is able to encourage one person who needs it, then I choose to believe it was worth my time. Stay tuned friends!

Grace and Peace,

Kenny

Sighs of a Discouraged Writer

I am discouraged.

There, I said it. I am discouraged. Lets be real. Writing is not for the feint of heart, and even if my heart is feinter than most my mere stubbornness and sense of calling practically forbids me to stop. There are somedays where I absolutely love writing, I find it refreshing for both the mind and the soul. But there are other days where I just want to throw in the towel, throw my hands up, and say I’m done.

Sometimes I look at an hour or two of work… and just sigh.

Maybe you’re a writer and you feel the same way. If you are not but still work and dream of doing something creative, there is a good chance you are often disappointed by your own work. I suppose it is a flaw of our broken world. God created us to get pleasure from our work, and yet often it leaves us drained. And I can say, one month after writing my initial draft of this article, the drain only gets harder when you have a full time job. Writing has been sparse over the past few months for me, both time and disappointment can really hold you back.

Today I would like to share with you three reasons I typically get disappointed. Maybe you can relate.

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