WOOT! WOOT! Wanted Hero website is getting a tummy tuck!
With the next novel progressing nicely and Höbins first book about to surface, we wanted to take the main website and give it a little overdue love.
..ok, major surgery is more accurate.
WANTED:HERO started as a comic book and has progressed into so much more. Enough so, that some readers were getting confused when they came to our site. The fonts, the comic books for sale, the cartoon artwork, etc., instead of a focus on the new novels and the full impact of Wendell’s story.
So for the next few weeks we have taken down the website to make the changes we felt were long overdue. A new logo (though the smiley face will remain…and you’ll understand why once the next novel is released), a new layout to make navigation easier and what you’re looking for a snap to find.
But there’s more:
We’re building a ‘mature’ look into the site to show the progression of the story, with watercolor paintings instead of black and white sketches. We feel the new look will appeal more to the young adult readers and create a better overall experience when you come to visit us.
In addition, we are working hard to include four new aspects of the site in particular, which will expand over time:
1) A new “WantedWiki”; An online encyclopedia based on the WANTED:HERO world. If you have a name, a plant, animal, race, form of magic (or magic spell) you want to know more about or understand, we’ll be putting it in there.
This should cut down on the blog entries and speed up the surfing between pages and purchasing books…
2) A newsletter signup form; We know many have wanted this feature for some time–to be told when a new book comes out, a new review or when the games and swag would be available (soon…). The process will be simple: you can share your email with us and when we make any announcement we deem of worth to our club, we’ll email you. You don’t have to worry about the daily blasts, hammering you about every day-to-day detail.
That would bore the crud out of us…so we promise not to bore you, first.
3) A Books & More section; This is where you’ll be able to purchase our books, the original comic books and a lot more. We are working with the Evolu, the Kutollum and even the Iskari and Gnomes to bring you products DIRECTLY FROM THE WANTED:HERO WORLD!
That’s right. Products hand made by the actual characters of the books will be made available to you through our site. This doesn’t include our games, T-Shirts and other delectable secrets we will add over time.
4) BE A HERO when you buy books and certain merchandise from our main site. There’s a need for Heroes in the world and now’s your chance. When you buy certain items from us, we will use half of the proceeds for helping others.
Right now, when you purchase any copy of Prelude to a Hero, in any form…we are donating half the proceeds to a Heart Transplant family to help them in their financial struggles with day-to-day survival. You can help! Just buy a book/eBook and tell a friend…
We will be looking for ways to help those who cannot help themselves…all you have to do is buy the same books/products at the same price and tell your friends! THAT’S IT…How cool is that!?!
As always, we want to interact with you and share the world of WANTED:HERO in all its forms…especially the main story of Wendell P. Dipmier, Chuck and Dax.
…so visit http://www.wantedhero.com.
Leave us your email and tell a friend.
Jaime Buckley
Creator of WANTED:HERO
Demoni Vankil: Trapping the Devil
You know what the most challenging aspect of writing is IMO?
It’s playing both sides of the fence!
I have spent this last week plotting and outlining the conflicts of the next book in the Chronicles of a Hero series. The challenge has been trying to imprison evil in such a way that they cannot escape. Ok, we can do that. Designing the prison, the magic, the symbols and mechanics of the stars and the dynamics of the process…hiding the components so they can’t be found. Done.
…only to switch sides and plot the escape of the devil himself so he can wreak havoc on the inhabitants of Elämä.
*sigh*
It’s a challenge I love–while pulling my own hair out at times. It comes from living so close to the characters that you start to feel the pain, the anguish and the pressure of their choices. Awesome.
I know I’m on the right track when I took a break and created the voice of Mahan as he whispers to Wendell and it scared me so bad I refused to listen to it after the sun went down…
Ooooh I love this job!
Read More
Adventures in the Impossible
Wondering what happened to Wanted Hero? Wondering why the novels haven’t come to pass?
It’s nothing more than life.
The baby was born, I got a new job and opportunities opened up to use every skill and talent I had to improve the lives of others around the world. Truly. It has been a whirlwind of a ride and it has taken all of my strength to hang on.
Working for Crocodiles International and Roger Anthony is wonderful and the relationships formed have opened doors to publication resources unavailable before. That means Wanted Hero is MORE of a probability now than ever. It does mean Kathi and I need to get back to completing the editing of the first book, but that was only put off due to the new baby and the wedding. Those are past and complete now. We are settling in with the papers before us, so know that Wendell, Dax and Chuck are soon going to be on your doorstep once more.
What is the current project at work? The CROCademy. What one of our programmers says will be the very first TRUE social network on the planet. He explained the comparisons, but I think that when they rushed me to the hospital with blood flowing form my ears. I don’t understand the technical definitions, but it sounded cool.
So life moves on, we are getting back on track and the big hopes and dreams of this author are soon to come to fruition.
Read MoreDo you have an idea for your eComic?
This may sound like a simple matter, but trust me when I say it deserves a measure of time for your consideration.
Do you have an idea for your eComic?
Sure, Brit-Boy is a Superhero from the UK, who has the phenomenal power of mind-over-cheese. He can also flip nunchakus of Leafield at deadly speeds, and slide under doors by transforming into liquid Lincolnshire Poacher…but will that be enough?
‘Enough?’ you ask, flinging your body over your sketches of Cheese-boy, like a protective parent.
What I mean is: ‘Will your storyline hold the interest of your readers?’
Yes Melanie, this even applies to your project, because anyone who draws a cartoon to entertain or convey an idea needs to consider what needs to be conveyed. From a simple one frame comic to a full blown comic book, will it be of interest to your readers. Now that you’ve decided to plug into the electronic center of the Universe (the web), what is it about your story that will set it apart? What have you created which will grab a readers attention…and KEEP it?
This is not a subject to take lightly. This question can actually help make or break your success. Simply being able to draw dynamic heroes, who can shatter meteors in a single blow, will only get you so far. Ok, you can also draw the bodacious babes wearing liquid clothes, but that won’t solve your problem, either.
Wendell soon learns no everyone is interested in "peaceful" negotiations.
In WANTED:HERO, many of the characters were developed over a period of nine years, some even longer. Now, you certainly don’t need that much time…but how well do you know your characters? How detailed is their background? Could you do genealogy on the people in your story? Yes, your Hero can rip apart the world with his bare hands…but what would he say in a normal conversation? Or, how would he react when he finds out his widowed mother, now has cancer and can’t taker care of herself??
In your case Melanie, what is the story about? Do you want people to laugh, cry, or send the author hate mail? Is there a main character that can be used as the center of attention with supporting characters as the ‘landscape’?
That might sound silly to you—but knowing the past of your characters, help you shape a believable future.
Another point to consider–is creating a storyline people can relate to.
Wendell P. Dipmier, the lead character in WANTED:HERO is just an average kid, fresh out of high school, who finds himself mistaken as the last in a royal line of heroes. Many readers write to me and tell me they actually relate to the simple guy who used to live with his mom and was a complete outcast of ‘normal’ social structures (read Wendell’s journal to get an insight into the character). The guy who had an opinion, but was never in a set of circumstances which allowed him to share those views. The guy who loves the band Keane…just like millions of other youth in the US and UK. They watch Wendell’s development through each issue (or reading his personal blog) and see how becoming a ‘hero’ may actually be possible for people like us, after all.
…and yet, all I was doing was telling the tale of my buddy, Wendell.
Asking this question may be a simple matter….but it’s an essential one.
Do you have an idea for your eComic?
Read MoreDon’t Get Confused…
Don’t panic if you go to Wanted Hero and feel a bit disorientated. I’m making some big changes to start fresh here in 2010, so i can build the blogs as I’ve wanted to for years. The struggle I’m coming up against is the timing and date stamps of the entries.
Wendell has started his blog while still in High School, but many of the previous entries have been on one version of the main site or another for the past five years. This could throw readers off, so I’m making changes. Any references to me or posts by me will be moved over to this blog, leaving the rest of the posts in the hands of the Gnomes and Wendell.
Read MoreMy Latest Book
