It’s been a long time since I’ve posted an update here. For well over a year, I was hard at work on my graphic novel, Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows, which published in weekly installments on chadhiyana.com from October 2013 until December 2014. If you’ve been keeping up with my blog (on jmdesantis.com) or were reading the comic online, you already know the big news: the graphic novel officially has a publisher!
In March of this year, the announcement was made that Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows had been picked up by Rosarium Publishing for publication (you can read the original announcement and my excitement about it here: jmdesantis.com/2015/03/the-big-news). At that time, all but twenty-four pages of the then published seventy-two were taken down from chadhiyana.com; the first twenty-four will remain as a free preview of the book. The graphic novel will be divided up into individual comic issues, released bi-monthly through Comixology, the Rosarium Publishing website and other digital comic distributors. The tentative release date for issue one is July 13th.
For those of you unfamiliar with the graphic novel (which I imagine is most of you), it is a medieval Indian fantasy book centering on the title heroine, Chadhiyana. This first graphic novel tells the story of the Tal-Ifatiir, a shadowy order which is on a quest to destroy the demon lord, Aghal-Paraag. To this end, they capture the demon lord’s servant: a powerful witch with a dark agenda of her own. However, Chadhiyana, the order’s first female member, holds a troubling secret. As the company journeys to Aghal-Paraag’s prison, one misfortune after another befalls them. Is it the witch? The demon lord himself? Or perhaps Chadhiyana and the secret she keeps?
As can be imagined, I am extremely excited, as I’ve wanted a publisher behind my work for a long time, but it’s only the beginning of what I hope will be a steady and successful journey. You can keep up with all announcements and news related to not only this graphic novel but all of my work on my website, jmdesantis.com, the Chadhiyana website, chadhiyana.com (for Chadhiyana news only) and social media (follow me on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/jmdesantis.writeist>, Twitter <http://twitter.com/jmdesantis/> and Google <https://plus.google.com/+JMDeSantis/posts>). You can also find an always up-to-date list of my convention appearances on the Events & Shows pages of my website (jmdesantis.com/events/).
I hope many of you will begin following me as the release date approaches, and more, that you will pick up a copy of the first issue. It’s really a great book (I know I’m biased), and I’m very proud of it. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to tell Chadhiyana’s story in its entirety, and to hopefully many readers enjoying it in the years to come.
Cheers!