SPECIAL, BREAKING NEWS!!!! Something you'll only read here!!!!

MORE SPECIAL NEWS:  CONTEST IS OPEN INTERNATIONALLY!!!! CHELSEA HAS APPROVED IT!  HOWEVER, IF WINNER IS INTERNATIONAL PRIZE MAY NOT ARRIVE BEFORE HOLIDAYS.  KEEP THAT IN MIND!


Yes, Virginia, there is a Renegade X sequel...

Or at least there will be.  That's right.  Not only is Arrested Development coming back, not only did Red Dwarf finally make their movie (that I, um, still haven't seen), and not only are we all eagerly awaiting the release of Diablo III (well, we are, aren't we?), but there's going to be a sequel to The Rise of Renegade X.

I know because I'm publishing it myself, and I couldn't be more excited about it.  Like, crazy, can't stop thinking about it, reading everything I can about self-publishing and telling anyone who will listen way more info than they wanted to hear, excited.  And all this from me, someone who honestly never thought she'd self-publish anything.

But you know what?  There's no reason not to.  Renegade X fans have been asking me about a sequel since before the book came out, and now I'm going to put on my entrepreneur hat and make that happen.

So what does this mean for readers?  Well, for one thing, it means the book will be coming out sometime in 2012.  I'm shooting for May, but that might be too tight of a schedule, depending on any contracted work I get and how much homework I have next semester.  Plus, I've never done this before, so I'm sort of playing it by ear.

The book will be available as an ebook AND as a print on demand (POD) paperback.  You'll be able to order a physical copy from Amazon like you would any other book and, while it's very unlikely the sequel will be on the shelves at your local book store, you WILL be able to walk up to the cashier there and ask them to order you a copy.  (I ordered my copy of Glamourpuss http://kittywigs.com/book.html that way and was disappointed that the cashier kept a straight face the whole time.  Even when I came to pick it up, no reaction.  Sometimes you just can't win.)

I'm going to do everything I can to make this book awesome.  It will be professionally edited.  The interior layout will be well-designed.  The price will be under $10, even for a physical copy.  And I've already got an amazing cover artist lined up.

You guys have been so supportive of me and my book, and I want to thank every single one of you who wrote to me or left me a message saying how much you loved Renegade X, or who promoted it on your blog.  It was your guys' efforts that inspired me to do this.  And now you get to be with me each step of the way of continuing Damien's story.  There will be contests.  There will be swag.  There will be the inevitable discussion on Twitter about finding the right title.  And I'll be keeping you guys up-to-date on all things sequel on my website.

“Yes, Chelsea,” you're probably saying, “that's great and all, we love you too, but OMG WHAT IS THE SEQUEL ABOUT?!?!?!”

It's about Damien enrolling at Heroesworth Academy.  It's about him trying to get comfortable with his hero side... and getting a villain power instead.

And that's all I'm saying for now.  In the meantime, I have a super special prize up for grabs.  It's a copy of The Rise of Renegade X, annotated by me.  It's loaded with behind the scenes info about how I wrote the book and tidbits you haven't heard before.  Like, did you know that for the first half of the book, I thought Gordon being named Gordon and being named the Crimson Flash was too reminiscent of Flash Gordon, so I changed his name to Herman.  I know.  Ew.  (Sorry, anyone reading this named Herman.  It's not you, it's him.  It just didn't fit.)  But he wasn't a Herman, he was a Gordon, and eventually I couldn't take it anymore, sucked it up, and changed it back.  Did you know that?  No, you didn't.  But you would if you had this annotated copy!

And if you don't want it for yourself, it would make a great gift for the Renegade X lover or the aspiring writer in your life.  All you have to do to enter to win is comment here.  For extra entries, tweet or blog about why you loved The Rise of Renegade X, or tell me what your superhero/villain name would be and why.  (If you tweet, use the hashtag #RenegadeX, and if you blog, post a link in the comments so I know to count your entries.)  The contest will run until December 11^th, so be sure to get your entries in by then.

One grand prize winner will get the annotated copy.  When I contact you, you can tell me how you want the book personalized and where you want me to send it.  It will arrive by Christmas, and I will even gift wrap it for you if it's a present, though I promise no aesthetic miracles. ;)

Three runners up will each get Renegade X swag packs with signed bookmarks and embossed H, V, and X stickers.

I hope you guys are as excited about all this as I am!

--Chelsea M. Campbell

Marked-up first page of The Rise of Renegade X

Swag Pack