From Terror to Valor is Now Available for Pre-order

The first time publishing a novel is as electrifying as it is terrifying! As “Terror to Valor: Echoes and Shadows” moves into pre-order in digital book stores; the learning curve for me as an author and a self-publisher will remain with me for the rest of my writing career.

There can be no doubt that courage is a cornerstone for any author in pursuing their literary craft. The story of Jack Debaut and his war on terror maps over a long time frame. This alone gave me every opportunity to veer off course into the many plots and storylines associated with the subject areas. 

Squeezing one man’s story into one novel to bring the reader up-to date was a priority for me as a debut novelist. I felt like I needed to set out the world of my debut novel into its proper context. The outcome will hopefully thrill the reader, as they follow the life of Jack Debaut from the US Army Rangers into the murky world of intelligence and counterintelligence.

With context and the bigger picture set, the story unfolds with its thrills, spills, ups and down; all the way to the novel’s end. In this project, I can say that writing the novel was the biggest thrill for me. The business end of self-publishing was less of a thrill than one can imagine.

Terror to Valor required methodical research

While I would recommend methodical research for any debut novelist, self-publishing requires some investment in cash and even more investment in time. It has many pitfalls that I uncovered, yet nearly made known errors down the project’s story line. For example, print editions require a manuscript that is in a ‘safe font’.

No rights to certain fonts for print publications can lead to legal complications, along with resulting royalties. You must be using commercially allowable open source fonts or have purchased the rights to use your desired font and typeface. After catching this oversight in draft form, I used a free open source font, which is commercially okay to use in my work. Testing over several type faces, e.g. italics, led to the validation of my choice.

While I cannot say that novel writing is for everybody, it’s a thrill for me. Loaded with learning and learned lessons, my debut project has been an education in how to get my stories out into the world. As “From Terror to Valor: Echoes and Shadows” is deploying over a wide range of digital stores, a rough draft of my second project has made it into my tracking software.

I hope you check out my debut novel, which is for release on September 11th, 2024. You can also find more about me, and Jack’s story on my author website at https://authormulhall.com. Drop me a line, check out the novel, or maybe some real-world news related to it. It’s all waiting for your visit!

About the Author

John is a versatile author known for his gripping fiction narratives in the thriller, action, and suspense genres. With a background as a journalist since 2016, and expertise in cloud technologies as an engineer; John brings a unique blend of storytelling prowess and technical acumen to his work.