If anyone was wondering where the heck I've been and what I've been up to, this is the answer. My new book, Carnival of Time, has just been released in both Kindle and print editions.

From the official website:

"Alan MacRaffen's debut novel, Carnival of Time, tells the story of how our world ends, and another begins.

Caleb Owen was there as a young child on the Day the Lights Went Out, when the dinosaurs first reappeared. Forced to fight for survival in a world of prehistoric beasts, Caleb grows into a lone wanderer in a terrifying new wilderness.

When Caleb crosses paths with a roving caravan of remarkable outcasts, he begins a new journey: not only to survive, but to finally find a place for himself in a changed world."

Visit the official site, macraffen.com [link] to learn more about the book, purchase Kindle or print editions, join discussions with other readers, and access additional content. Alternatively, you can go directly to my eStore for the print edition [link] , or Amazon.com for the Kindle edition. [link]

I will also be posting some of the Carnival of Time concept art and sketches here on deviantART as well as on my official site.

As an added note, for those who know me as Alan Matthews, the pen name of Alan MacRaffen may require a little explanation:

I chose to publish my book under the name Alan MacRaffen because it will soon be my real name. A while ago, Molly ( =temiel ) and I discussed our plans for name-changes when we get married, and came to an idea that we both like. Rather than her taking my name (or me taking hers), we have created a new "married" surname for ourselves. It combines elements of both of our ancestral cultures, and can also be interpreted as meaning "Children of the Raven" (since ravens and crows have a special, personal significance for us; kind of a good-luck omen). The whole process of creating and choosing a new name was pretty exciting for us to think about, and we had a lot of fun creating one with its own imagined "history" and etymology as well.