I haven't updated since JANUARY? Wow! I still exist. I'm even still writing! I'm working on a few projects right now. I'm continuing the Warrior of Souls Series (of course). I'm just trying to decide if it will be two more books or three for the current storyline. You know I like to keep things succinct and tight, and don't pad my books with a bunch of fluff!
Anyhow, I'm also working on a dungeon-based fantasy series. If you like dungeon crawlers, RPGs, litRPG, you'll probably like this (but this is reality-based, not game-based). Basically, a game is based off of something that is supposed to exist in a fictional reality, right? A person going on quests, delving into dungeons, etc. Hitpoints, mana, etc. are merely game representations of physical/mental attributes from the "real" fantasy world. So this series will be based on the "reality" that a game might be based off of. Basically it's a traditional fantasy where the characters will continue to grow stronger and "level up" as the series progresses. I also want to point out two good book promotions going on right now: https://books.bookfunnel.com/99fantasyscfi/nzqmlefkqz This is for books that have been marked down to .99 for June. https://books.bookfunnel.com/summer_is_coming_ku/22f1j0aor5 This is for books in Kindle Unlimited (so if you are a member of KU, these are free). As usual, contact me if you have any suggestions or questions.
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Happy New Year! 2018 was a hell of a year, in many ways. I started a new job after working at the same company for 14 years. That was a MAJOR (and demanding) change. This resulted in less writing time. I think 2019 will be different, as I've settled in. So, the Warrior of Souls series now has four books in it (counting Sword of Order as book 0). I plan on 2-3 more books in this series for the immediate future, wrapping up the war of the vampire lords story arc. I may return to the series later on, as there is room for a lot more stories, but there are a lot of books I want to write (just not enough time and energy to write them all while working a demanding full-time job). Superheroes, Fantasy, maybe some litRPG. My next book is going to be a dark dungeon-crawling exploration book. A man with no memory finds himself locked in a treacherous dungeon, filled with monsters, traps, and other dangers. He starts out with nothing but a loincloth and must find a way to survive long enough to figure out the secret of the dungeon. After that will be Warrior of Souls Book Four. We know that Book Three left the heroes in a bad predicament, and virtually no hope for victory. But the vampire lords will find out the fight is just getting started. I just want to mention a contest for an Underworld Prize Pack that I'm helping to sponsor, along with several other authors. I've always felt like Underworld universe was a kindred spirit to the Warrior of Souls universe. Modern day wars between supernatural creatures and humans, gadgets, martial arts and other advanced weaponry. I just try and add a little more humor and levity to the story. Click the image below if you are interested in learning more about the Underworld Prize Pack giveaway. Underworld Giveaway
Book three of the Warrior of Souls series, Curse of Blood, is now live. It picks up after the startling revelations of book two, where the enemy vampire lords are found to be more of a threat than first realized. In book three, the heroes learn they've all underestimated the danger by a large margin.
Sverre still struggles with control of his werewolf form. Jessica attempts to fill the shoes of her father and grandfather, while preparing her troops for the war to come. October! One of my favorite months of the year. Cool weather and Halloween. Horror movies all month, and TV shows play their special Halloween episodes. Alright, enough of the jibber jabber. It's time to get to business.
I said I'd have book three of the Warrior of Souls series done in September. Then I said October...now I say...maybe October? It's in the editing stage now, so once I get it back, I can make my edits then send to the proofreader. One holdup: I intend on putting the series back in Kindle Unlimited, which means it will no long be available on Kobo, B&N, iTunes, etc. So I want to release book three into Kindle Unlimited when the other two books are in there. But it takes time for the book to come down from the other online bookstores. I'm still aiming for an end of October release, but it might roll into November. In another week or two, I'll post the cover as a teaser. Book three picks up right after the end of book two. The heroes must split up. Jessica and Malcolm return to the Order to figure out how to stop the war, while Sverre, Izzy and Angel return to Xibalba to determine how Sverre can regain control of his "alter ego". However, while the heroes are figuring things out, one of the vampire lords puts his plans into motion and the world will be changed forever. First, the news. I'm hard at work on the third book (fourth if you count Sword of Order) in the Warrior of Souls series. I still expect to release in October, probably toward the end of the month. I ended up having to go out of town for work this month, so that might eat into my schedule, but I'm determined to finish it, because that's what I promised!
I'm sponsoring a giveaway with several other authors for a Deadpool prize pack. Now, I've been a Deadpool fan, even before the movies were out, so I think this is a pretty cool giveaway. Click the image below if you're interested in joining for a chance to win. So, some stuff. Working on Book Three of the Warrior of Souls series. I'm trying to gauge how long to make the series. The next 1-2 books will determine this. I can probably wrap the series up in 2-3 more books, or I could choose a different path and stretch it out longer (this doesn't mean I'm going to pad the books or anything, this just means a much longer story arc with lots of new characters, powers, threats). If you've got a preference, now is the time to speak up!
I've got some ideas for some other series. I'd like to start a superhero series, a fantasy series, maybe litRGP, maybe harem. I've started on a book where a man wakes up in a dungeon and has no memory of who he is or what he's doing there (yeah, cliche, but I've always liked it), and he must find his way through it. Too many ideas and not enough time. Or motivation. Motivation is hard to come by. One day you feel like you want to write twenty books, the next day you wonder why you bothered in the first place. It's the little things that help. For instance, I had only 2 reviews on one of my books. One was very positive, one was negative. The positive one disappeared. That means Amazon deleted that reviewer's reviews (they do this sometimes, if someone leaves too many positive reviews). So that left me with on single bad review. That bummed me out. You've got to understand, reviews are like unicorns to authors. You basically get 1 review for every 150-200 book sales. Reviews are important because there are certain promotional services you can only use if you have a certain number or average of reviews. Without promotional services, we can't get eyeballs on books. No eyeballs on books means no sales. No sales means you are not making any profit. Not making any profit means you are paying for covers, editing, proofreaders, marketing out of your own pocket. Paying for that out of your own pocket means no money for electricity or clothes. No food and electricity means you die naked, frozen to death in a corner. So, as you can see, reviews are important. Back to the story - so I had one bad review on a book. I'm totally fine with bad reviews. If you didn't like it, you didn't like it. My wife likes fish. I don't like fish. She doesn't like Star Wars. I love Star Wars. I like horror movies. She won't watch them. This morning and I woke up to a new positive review. It said "keep going". That was enough to motivate me to get back to work, after a hard week of work. See, I work a full time job and bust my butt at it about 50-60 hours a week. I can only write in my free time, but sometimes I'm too drained and just want to rest. But when I get a fan email or a positive review, it rekindles the fire. So if you have an author you really enjoy reading, be sure to drop them a line or leave a review or just give them a little nudge or hug or something, because writing is really hard work, and sometimes people get worn down or depressed, and one little bit of kindness is all it takes to jumpstart their creative energy. |
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