Before I started writing fantasy novels, I wrote short stories. Over thirty of them were traditionally published in various literary magazines and anthologies. When I wrote the first novel of my fantasy trilogy, Galadria: Peter Huddleston & The Rites of Passage, I was traditionally published as well. For the first edition of this novel, I went the usual route and sent a list of publishers a query letter. One publisher was interested, and after they read the whole manuscript, they offered me a contract and published the book.

Since the first edition of my first novel was published, a lot has happened. After the completion of the initial run of the first edition of Galadria: (Book 1) Peter Huddleston & The Rites of Passage, I then published the entire trilogy myself, including Galadria: (Book 2) Peter Huddleston & The Mists of the Three Lakes, and Galadria: (Book 3) Peter Huddleston & The Knights of the Leaf.

My current book, Galadria: Peter Huddleston & The Knights of the Leaf is the third and final book in the Galadria YA fantasy trilogy. The entire series is about the magical adventures of Peter Huddleston, a young boy who finds out that he is the heir to the throne of another realm! In Galadrian culture, each noble carries around their own enchanted weapon, drinking healing honey tea is very popular, dancing flowers and watermelon sized ladybugs are an everyday occurrence, and one could choose to be friends with serpent priestess, paper-thin tree nymph, political fairy, fierce werewolf, or screeching harpy alike!

Once I took over the handling of my fantasy trilogy, I really learned a lot about book design, promotion, pricing, eBooks, and all the details that come with publishing and marketing a book. In the last few years, the publishing industry has changed so much. These days, publishing your own books isn’t a cliche anymore, in a lot of ways, for a lot of writers, it’s more practical. For myself, I enjoyed the process of taking control of my own books, just as much as being traditionally published. One is not better or worse than the other, it just depends on what you want, and what you are able and willing to do.

What constantly surprises me about the publishing industry is the way it is constantly changing. With eBooks, POD, online retailing, the evolving of social media, and the way most people are completely dependent on technology (Their phones!) for everyday life, the way books are thought of has changed as well.

Books need to be just as convenient to find and buy online as any other product, which has led to a growing shift to eBooks, online editors, online book promoters, and every other online author service you could think of. The playing field between self published authors and traditionally published authors is evening out considerably.

About Miguel Lopez de Leon

Miguel Lopez de Leon is a prolific fiction writer with over 30 short stories published in a variety of international literary magazines and anthologies. De Leon, who prefers to write in the mornings, began working on his first novel as a hobby. That first book blossomed into the Galadria trilogy. “One part of the writing process I really enjoy is writing the first draft of a novel…For me, it’s the time when you can lose yourself in the story the most.” De Leon lives in Los Angeles and enjoys reading historical biographies and collecting vintage comic books.

You can connect with Miguel via: Website | Facebook | Twitter

About the Book

In book three of Miguel Lopez de Leon’s Galadria fantasy series, GALADRIA: PETER HUDDLESTON & THE KNIGHTS OF THE LEAF, Peter and his family command a mystical cast of powerful, exciting new characters in their war against the blood-thirsty tyrant, Knor Shadowray.

In book one of the trilogy, GALADRIA: PETER HUDDLESTON & THE RITES OF PASSAGE, 12-year-old Peter leaves his friendless, uneventful life in the suburbs and suddenly finds himself spending the summer chomping down magical chocolates and tossing around an enchanted boomerang at Hillside Manor, the 3000 room home of his aunt Gillian Willowbrook. While there, Peter learns he is the next in line to the throne of a magnificent realm called Galadria where his aunt is queen. His position is being challenged by a ruthless nobleman, Knor Shadowray.

Book two, GALADRIA: PETER HUDDLESTON & THE MISTS OF THE THREE LAKES shows Peter struggling to play the role of a prince. After being accepted as the heir of the Golden Realm, his new challenge is to gain command of Galadrian princely etiquette and survive dangerous adventures with his fearless white tiger, Rune. At a parade held in his honor, Peter and his aunt are violently ambushed by a band of screeching monstrosities and a merciless dark army led by the fiendish Knor Shadowray.

In the final book in the Galadria series, GALADRIA: PETER HUDDLESTON & THE KNIGHTS OF THE LEAF, the story continues where book two left off: Knor Shadowray’s relentless attack on the ruling Willowbrook family. In a desperate attempt to save her kingdom, Queen Gillian Willowbrook sends Peter and his grandfather to the Forests of Fernell to recruit a multitude of diverse warriors to defend the crown. Populated with serpent priestesses, nature-loving knights, magical weapons, paper-thin tree nymphs, and political fairies, the final installment of the Galadria trilogy shows the Galadrian populace at their breaking point as the realm explodes into a full-fledged civil war. A flurry of riotous battles are fought against the villainous Knor Shadowray’s ambitious attempt to capture the crown of Galadria.

De Leon developed the GALADRIA series out of a love of the fantasy genre and the thrill of creating “new worlds, creatures, and story lines…enhanced with magic and otherworldly mystery.” The trilogy also tells the coming-of-age story of a boy as he learns to accept himself and discovers the family he never believed he would have. “The Galadria trilogy is mainly about a lonely boy who, through overcoming obstacles, finds out who he really is. I think everyone has an element of the extraordinary in them, and I hope Peter’s story shows that,” de Leon says.

amazon

barnes and noble