Press Release: F.C. Shultz Releases, WAVEMAKER, First Book in New Series
A High-Seas, Pirate Adventure for High Schoolers (Especially Young Men)
Daath Stone Books is proud to announce the first book under the DSB banner, WAVEMAKER by F.C. Shultz, now available in print and digital.
From the Back Cover:
“When Searlus, a young barrel maker, gets the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sail to the sacred island of his ancestors, he considers this a sign that his deity is finally turning the tides to destroy the Saluman Empire who has been oppressing the Horak people for generations.
But, when pirates surround the fleet, a storm blows in from the east, and a sea monster attacks the ship, Searlus’ trust in the Wavemaker will be shaken to the core, testing his loyalty, and forcing him to come to terms with his violent crusade.”
A Six Year Voyage: From Idea to Publication
Hello! My name is F.C. Shultz and I’m the author of a handful of grounded fantasy and sci-fi novels, including the WAVEMAKER, book one of The Wayward Sails Trilogy.
I’ve been working on this book, originally titled Wild and Waste, for nearly six years (May 2020). I spent most of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 making the outline, and then in February 2021 I emailed an agent with a somewhat unique question.
I sent him the title, genre, and logline for three novels I planned to write, and told him I can usually write one first draft a year in my current phase of life (working full time, husband, two young kids), and I asked him which one he would be most interested in receiving a full, proper query for.
He was interested in WAVEMAKER, and we actually had a phone call to discuss it more. After that call, feeling energized (I talked with a real agent!), I got to work (I hadn’t even started the first draft yet).
The Beard of Shame
Once I finished the outline, I decided to grow my beard out until I finished the first draft. This wouldn’t have been such a horrible idea if I hadn’t told anyone, but I did , in fact, tell everyone.
Then, as progress slowed, and the months went by, my beard became a badge of shame. I’m sure everyone was looking at me thinking, “Wow, his beard is super long, does he even care about his book? What a giant failure.”
Okay, I doubt anyone even cared except me (and my one year old daughter who loved to pull on it). But, alas, on a frozen day in mid-December, ten months after my phone call with the agent, I typed THE END and shaved my beard.
The first draft was complete.
Sending My Book to the Agent
After many rounds of edits, and beta readers, and more edits, I sent the manuscript and a proper query back to the agent in early July of 2022…and I held my breath.
Later that month, on my birthday, I was at a Kansas City Royals game and checked my email between innings and saw I had an email from the agent.
A rejection email.
He said many kind words, including, “The themes are compelling, universal, and relevant for your young adult target audience.”
But ultimately said, “Based on your platform size and sales figures, we’d encourage you to consider some smaller publishing houses that you can approach on your own, those that don’t require an agent.”
So, I thanked him for reading and considering the project, and took his advice to shop the manuscript around to some smaller publishers.
I wish I could go back and tell this guy, “Don’t check your email until tomorrow!”
Trying to Find a Home for My Book
From October 2022 through June 2025 I emailed a handful of small publishers who ultimately rejected the manuscript, but not before saying kind things like, “While your project exhibits merit it is not quite what we are looking for at this time.” and “I like your book idea and I think it has potential. I wish I could pursue representation, but unfortunately the large publishers with whom I work require a more fully-developed platform.”
I’ve had social media over the years, and keep deleting it because it’s pretty much the antithesis to everything good in the world, so, not wanting to give in to building a “platform,” I decided I would try to make a living with my writing the old fashioned way: By writing good books people want to read and share.
This is the long route, for sure (confession: my sister helped me start an Instagram again and she’s running it for me), but after that last rejection, and seeing the quality of books and covers small presses publish, I decided I could do that quality of work (or better) myself.
Enter Daath Stone Books
I was already making most of my own covers (something I enjoy), and I do the formatting and typesetting for all of my books (and I’ve done this freelance for others), so it felt pretty natural to just go ahead and publish all my work under one umbrella (more on my long term vision for Daath Stone Books soon).
All that to say, I did want to take seriously the critique of WAVEMAKER that nearly every rejection mentioned: it’s too short.
That’s completely valid. It currently sits at 252 pages, which is roughly 20K-30K words (100ish pages) shorter than a typical YA fantasy, but even that was intentional.
Back in the summer of 2023, I made an outline for a different POV character, which would add about 40K words to the story, and the book would alternate between characters.
But, when I started writing the first draft of this POV, it felt like I was fundamentally changing what kind of book it was, and going against the reason I wrote it in the first place.
Writing a Book for a Small Audience
This book was written with a specific church group of fifteen-twenty high school guys in mind. Because of that, I wanted to keep the chapters tight, the action plentiful, and the overall length not intimidating. I wanted it to be easy to get lost in, and easy to be reading it and say, “Just one more chapter.”
Adding the additional POV character would not only have broken up the flow of the novel, but it would have nearly doubled it’s overall length. It didn’t feel like the right move for these guys.
So, I decided to keep it with one POV, but the notes for this other character will definitely come into play in book two.
I was able to gift the book to the guys in my group (who are now seniors) this past Christmas.
So, is it “Christian Fiction?”
WAVEMAKER very obviously has religious themes and influence, but, no, it’s not “Christian Fiction.”
I tried hard to weave in any religious influence in smooth, subtle ways. It can stand on it’s own, even if you have no background in Christianity. It’s not preachy.
I wrote it with this quote in mind from Steve Turner’s fantastic book Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts:
“Jesus surely didn’t mark all his carpentry with a relevant saying, and Paul didn’t embroider memory verses on his tents.”
If you’re a parent reading this, you might be asking, “Is it clean?” As a parent of young kids, I sympathize with you. But that’s a tough question to answer.
I will say, it’s pirates, and pirates are not “clean.” There are instances of violence and death, but there is nothing gratuitous, nothing without consequence. If it was a movie, it would be rated a low PG-13. Closer to PG than R.
Also, with parents in mind, there’s a small section at the end of the book called “Keep the Story Going” with relevant questions to ask your kid after they finish the book, if you want to help them think through it (without having to read the book yourself).
Early Reviews Are In: “An incredible seafaring adventure"
After such a long journey to publication, I’m excited to get this book into your hands. One of my goals with writing and publishing books has always been to make my books accessible, which is why I’ve tried to price WAVEMAKER is a way that makes sense.
I’m a fellow reader, and love switching between physical and digital mediums when reading a novel.
With that in mind, I’ve priced WAVEMAKER at $12 for paperback, and just $3.99 for the kindle version. That way, if you want, you can switch back and forth for just $16! It is also available on Kindle Unlimited.
If you decide to check it out, thank you. I’d be happy to hear your thoughts. I’ll be checking all Amazon and Goodreads reviews for the next few months, or, my email is always open (and I reply to all emails).
