I've been looking at it for months, and I'm still impressed with how well this cover art turned out.
So it's official, as of April 22nd, I am a published author. This is my first blog post since the big day, so I want to start by apologizing for not updating more often. Between work, the kid's extracurriculars, the big push for book release, and my all-consuming street fighter habit, writing time has been hard to come by. Luckily, I've been adhering to a strict drug regimen to keep my mind limber.
If you haven't read the book yet, you're missing out. Pick it up HERE, what are you waiting for?
You probably noticed I used a pen-name for my novel. I did this for two reasons, First, there are a lot of Brian Smiths. I know two others, and I live in a tiny Montana town. I wanted a more memorable name that stands out and makes you remember it. The second reason was more practical. If you google Brian Smith, you will scroll for ten pages before giving up, never having seen me. But when you google Guile Branford, BAM top result is my book with my picture.
I don't have any regrets picking that for my pen name, but it isn't perfect. I have been asked several times how to pronounce that first name, with one person calling me GEE-OO-LEE in conversation. I suppose I shouldn't too harshly judge those troglodytes that are unfamiliar with classic video games (it pains me to refer to the games I grew up playing as classics), but you would think that librarians, book store owners, and editors would have at least seen the word guile before.
The other problem with this pen name arises when it comes time to sign the book. It would be embarrassing to admit just how much time I've spent practicing this signature, daydreaming about lines of adoring fans waiting for a chance at meeting the Guile Branford. But even after all those practice runs, muscle memory kicks in when I start signing BRANFORD. The BR comes out, my brain, thinking I'm about to throw down the same signature I've been using for decades, signs Brian (like an idiot). I have signed more than a few books now as Guile Brianford, and then i have to smile and hope they don't notice that I don't know how to spell my own last name.
Guile, from his first appearance in Street Fighter II on the SNES (1991)
Terra Branford, from Final Fantasy VI, also on the SNES (1994)
So, my pen name was selected from the two franchises I most adore in all of the video game kingdom: Street Fighter and Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy in particular has shaped my love of good story telling and fantasy epics.
Read the book. Tell your friends. Write review (unless you hated it, keep that shit to yourself). Spread the word far and wide that Guile Branford is a name you should remember.
