Saturday, November 29, 2014

My Book Trailer for Escape from Netherworld is up on YouTube now

My book trailer is up on YouTube now.  A lot of hard work went into making this trailer, along with some amazing editors, including the great music and sound effects.  At first I was not even sure what exactly a book trailer was, so I went out and researched the subject.  Everyone knows about movie trailers, but there are some unbelievable book trailers available to view on YouTube.  Just doing the research, I ended up purchasing a few books as the trailers intrigued me and made me want to learn more about the books.  Here is the link on YouTube http://youtu.be/8YU33s_o1uk  or you can watch the trailer below as I am including it in the blog post.



I would really love to get some feedback from anyone who watches the trailer.  All the music and sound effects are original. It was so much fun putting this together, of course after multiple drafts.

 A funny story, I always wanted to somehow use the theme music from Omen II in something that I created, but I realize you can not use someone else's intellectual property without consent.  The two things that always got to me when I was a kid was Damien in the Omen movies when the suspenseful music played (you knew something bad was going to happen) and the twin girls at the end of the hallway in The Shining.  The first time I saw that movie as a kid, I had a dream about the twins wanting me to come play with them. To this day, I am not a fan of Twins!!! (I am just kidding about that).

I hope you enjoy the book trailer as much as I did making it for the book Escape from Netherworld and any and all feedback is welcome.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Escape from Netherworld Illustrator John Manders

My book, Escape from Netherworld, was illustrated by an amazing artist by the name of John Manders. John's work has been featured in over 30 children's books and a ton of children's magazines. I can't thank him enough for the dynamic job he did on the cover and a special drawing we included on the inside of the book at Chapter 4.

John's incredible work has been exhibited at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh gallery, the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum, and he was honored in the 25-year retrospective of Cricket magazine covers, held at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1999. That year, he was also a participant at the Children’s Book Fair in Bologna, Italy. In May, 2006 he was named Outstanding Illustrator/Author by the Pennsylvania School Librarian’s Association. 

John Manders' helped bring this book cover to life by using his special art technique, that you can read about on his website,  http://www.johnmanders.com/index.html

Check out his website and he also has a blog that you can take a look at and follow as well.  He is a great artist, illustrator and man.  Thanks again John.

Escape From Netherworld jacket

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Going from playing the Game ...... to living the Game!

Everyone who has ever played the game of Dungeons and Dragons, or a similar role playing adventure, has at one point thought what it would be like to actually walk a mile in their character's shoes.  To become that character, for just a while, always fascinated me and played a major part in the writing of my book.

The premise of my book, Escape from Netherworld, is a group of friends decide that they want to dress up as their characters that they created and play outdoors instead of around a table.  As they are playing the game on a set of caves near their home, one of the caves gives way.  The friends believe they are falling to their deaths but they are actually being catapulted into an alternate realm, where they actually become the characters that they were playing.  The ones dressed as elves and a dwarf have literally become just that.  All the weapons and armor are now real and so is the magic.




As a kid, my brother and I always imagined living in medieval times.  Trying to decide if we would have fought for the king who ruled the land or went against him as hired henchmen who lived off the land and fought for everything that we had.  Walking into a tavern, knowing the townspeople were watching us, not knowing what to expect that night.  Living in dangerous times, but much simpler times, without all the technology that rules our world today.

I hope you continue to follow along with me on my adventure.  I am expecting to have my book trailer up on YouTube soon. I an just finishing the final touches, a very fun project, being able to bring my book and some the characters to life in video.  Keep an eye out for it.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

     A Big Part of the inspiration for this book was my Uncle Joe and my father, Vince.  My Uncle Joe was a marine, who was paralyzed from the neck down by a grenade, during his second tour of duty in Vietnam.  My dad, my brother and I would always be trying to find something new to help keep my uncle busy, as he ended up being bedridden when he finally made it home after hundreds of surgeries.

     We played every card game and board game probably available at the time.  But the day my brother, whose name is also Joe came home with the game of Dungeons and Dragons, we finally found what fascinated us the most and still does to this day.  It allowed our imaginations to run wild and it kept my uncle busy as he liked to be the one who ran the game.

     Some of the characters in my book where the original ones that we created over thirty years ago.  It easily became understandable why millions of people enjoy playing this game.  You were able to remove yourself from everyday life, and just for awhile, let your imagination take you to an amazing place with magic and monsters.

     My dad's first character that he created was a dwarf named Twiggy, who happens to be a major character in my book.  He based Twiggy off of himself.  The dwarf was a loyal friend, who had a massive beard and reveled in engaging in battle.  He would do anything for his family and friends.


My illustrator on this book is a man named John Manders, whom I can't say enough good things about.  I gave him creative freedom with just a few ideas of what i was looking for in Twiggy.  He read the book to understand the characters and could not have done a more amazing job on Twiggy than he did,  When I saw the final drawing of Twiggy, the only word I could think of was, Perfect!

Even though my uncle and dad have both passed on, they are still very much in my thoughts and have inspired me to become the man and author that I am today.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Sci-fi Fantasy Comes to Life

"Escape from Netherworld", a thrilling saga of heroism, bravery, duty, and passion, where seven friends, mysteriously transported into an unknown realm, unselfishly fight to help free the inhabitants they find there from the dark forces ruling them while attempting to battle their way back to their own world; a world which they may never see again.
http://www.escapefromnetherworld.com

My name is David Kuklis,author of Escape from Netherworld, a book for young adults and fantasy fans of all ages. I am a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Mathematics and I currently work as an income analyst for a bank. I have lived in Pittsburgh my entire life.

I would like to bring you on my journey of writing the book, what my plans for the future entail and even involve the characters themselves. This is just the beginning, I hope you will come on the adventure with me.