Demon Days just went live

Here's the link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MDL6YMY

The cover picture isn't loading on the page for some odd reason (hopefully that'll get fixed soon.

So here's the cover again:

I have pushed the button!!

Okay, my editor did a hell of a job and got the manuscript back to me tonight and I just finished going over it and uploading everything on Amazon. The book is now in review, so I'd say in about 4 to 8 hours from now (11pm Central Daylight Savings time or 5AM UTC) it should go live.

Remember to tell all your friends :-)

Now on to the next Wives Tales.

There's going to be a slight delay, sorry

I want to apologize for the fact that Demon Days is going to be delayed a little. As I believe I mentioned here earlier (or may not have, I forget) I went to NY to visit family last week. While there I screwed up my back, and well, I've been in a lot of pain. While I can still write, being in pain has slowed me down quite a bit. It kind of distracts me from the creative process.

I am soldiering on to get this done, I've still got a bit more to write before it's finished. There are things I really can't put off to the next book.

So, again, I'm sorry this is running behind. Very sorry.

It's Getting Closer...

The next one should be out around the 14th

Valens Legacy #12, Demon Days is getting near the end. I'm flying to NY for a few days to visit family. Not sure how much writing I'll get done then, but I'm still hoping to release around the 14th.

Sets of 6 prints are now for sales

Okay, remember when I said I was going to sell sets of six prints, one of each of Sean's wives?
Well, they're ready. I've got them sorted, bagged, and set for mailing. Each set contains all six of the images below, on glossy stock, 5 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches. The price is $40 (US) and that includes shipping to anywhere in the USA. Outside of the USA may cost more.

Money can be paid to me via paypal (vanstry at snowcloude dot com) make sure to include your address. Quantities are limited, so if you really want a set, don't hesitate. If you live outside of the USA, send me an email (stryvant at gmail dot com) with your address and I'll find out if shipping will affect the price.

As a reminder, here are each of the pictures in the pack.
If you'd prefer other items with these pictures (but minus the colored background) remember that I have an account now on redbubble that you can also peruse: Click here for Red Bubble offerings )

And now for something a little different

I have a friend who lives down in the Bay who likes to write YA (Young Adult) and Steampunk. Now I realize that this is quite a bit different from what I tend to write, but this story (trilogy actually) is really quite good and everyone I've had ask me about a YA story or a Steampunk story that I've pointed to it, has enjoyed it, and told me so.

It's not overly 'Young Adult' for all that it is a YA story, and it's definitely a fun romp. So if you're looking for something a little different, or want a good Steampunk type story, go give it a look. Remember, previews are free!

For Steam and Country: Book One, the Adventures of Baron Von Monocle

Red Skies is now live on Amazon!

Red Skies, Valens Legacy #11 is in processing...

I submitted it about seven hours ago. I'm kinda surprised it's still in review. Normally it'd be publishing by now. Hopefully you'll all be able to buy it in a few more hours.

I've added more pictures on RedBubble

I put up each of the wives' pictures (the ones without a colored background) as well.
Will probably add the ones with a colored background tomorrow.

So if you have a particular favorite you can go check it out.
The six packs of prints will still be going up for sale, probably a few days after I get them.

Redbubble Link

Shadow is now available as an Audiobook

Here's the link: Shadow

Merchandise!

Okay, I'm a bit new at this, so let me know what I need to change / add and I'll take care of it.
First off, on the 5x8's, I've ordered them, and once I have them in my hands I'll be making up packages of six (with one of each of the girls), that I'll be selling. I don't have a price yet, because I don't know what shipping and handling and packaging are going to cost me.
For anywhere in the US and Canada, I think the price will be the same.

If it's in another country, there may be a surcharge, depending on the costs of shipping. I've ordered a hundred sets, we'll see how that goes.

Next up, I put the montage picture up on Redbubble, where you can get it in a number of formats. The link is here: Wife Montage on shirts and posters

I may go back and upload each of the girl's pictures individually as well, so people can buy them singly. Again, it depends on if demand is there.

And if you want shower curtains, let me know, and I'll put those up on Society6 ;-)

(This might be a better link: Wives picture )

Valens #11, Red Skies, almost done

It's a couple of hundred words from being completed. Then I'll spend a day or two on the re-write and send it off to the editor. Cover art is being worked on as we speak. So with any luck it should be released by next Friday.

Then it's on to the next one!

Yes I should be writing

The book's at about 56K words and I'm almost ready to wrap up the first draft, though I do have a handful of scenes I need to go back and write. But for all that I've had a fairly productive week, it's been a week full of interruptions. And we just got a puppy, so the current dog is combination excited and I think freaking out.

Thankfully I'm not the one who has to take care of the puppy, but our other dog is my dog, so I have to deal with him. I'm hoping he calms down tomorrow. So I can calm down.

The house in California sold yesterday! So that's out of my hair. When a bunch of squatters broke in I was worried, but we got them out and cleaned up the mess (or my neighbors, realtor, and the police did, I'm 1800 miles away, so all I can do is worry and sign checks).

Our Furniture is supposed to arrive tomorrow or Saturday. And the rest of the stuff we hired the movers to move. There were a lot of worries there the last few days as it's been over a month. But I'm hopeful this has been resolved.

The garage into a den remodel is done and looks great. Once the carport is done, there are a few minor things to do with the other garage, and all the major crap we needed dealt with is finished. Yea.

There are dozens of tasks I still need to deal with, and I'm hoping that once this book is done I can take a couple of days to knock them out before I start on the next one. The title of this book is most likely going to be: 'Red Skies' but I'm having trouble coming up with the cover scene. Sometimes it's easy, and sometimes it's not. I'd hoped to be going to press tomorrow, but with all of the stuff that happened last week (the house issue was just one of them, there were a bunch, and they all demanded my attention), it got pushed back. But it is coming, and it should be ready soon.

Thanks all!

Prints - Remember when I mentioned I was having some done?

Back before the move started I had commissioned a set of pictures of each of Sean's wives. I was thinking of selling them as a set of say 5x8 prints. Is anyone at all interested in such a thing? Or these in a different format?

As prints they were looking about a dollar a piece plus shipping and handling.
I could go smaller sizes, larger sizes, etc. The only problem of course is I have to order at least 50 or each (which would be 300 with all six).

If there is an interest, I'd like to know which size would be most popular, then I'd either sell them here, or do a kickstarter, this way I'd be guaranteed at least enough orders for a minimum order.
As for what the pictures look like, well here's all of them stuck together in a low res print:

Shadow is coming out as an Audiobook Nov 6th

Yup, the same people who are doing the audiobooks for the Valens Series (though it's a different narrator) are doing the book Shadow as well. Considering that Shadow is a bit more ahhh... 'Adult' than Valens, I was surprised that they wanted to do it. But they did, and it's in post production now and I'm looking at a new book cover for it.

I can't blame then on wanting a new cover, I whipped that one out in about two hours, and half of that time was spent shooting a couple of models for the cover. I never expected Shadow to do at all well, and was pleasantly surprised at how many people liked it. I may have to start thinking about a sequel eventually. There are a few side shorts that I could probably put out. I really did cut a lot out of the story when I published it.

Here's the cover they're thinking of updating to:

Link for next audio book (7&8)

For some reason Audible screwed up and put it up late: Valens Legacy Publishers Pack, books 7 & 8

Valens Legacy book #10 is now live

Link: It Ain't Easy
Book Ten is now live on Amazon.

Book 10 has been submitted.

I just pushed the button on book 10. It should be up in a few hours on Amazon.

Book #10 Cover

Still out at the editor's, but the cover is now done.

Will be semi-incommunicado for the next week

Tomorrow I drive to Texas. The internet won't be hooked up until probably Wednesday at the soonest (they have to put the gear on the tower). So I'll only have sporadic access until then.
Waiting on the cover and my editor for book #10. Once they both come through I'll see about getting it put up.

A Quick Update on Book Ten: It Ain't Easy

Hi all. I apologize for how long book #10 is taking to get out. With the move, I've been running back and forth to Texas a LOT and I've had a large number of other things I've had to deal with in the last two months as well. Plus this weekend I went to the Reno Air Races, my one vacation each year.

Book #10 is now titled: It Ain't Easy
I've submitted the cover details to my artist and the book is almost complete. I probably have another five or so thousand words to finish it. I'll then to do the rewrite and send it to my editor. As I have very little to do this week (it's the final week of the long drawn out move and we hired movers for this part), I'm hopeful that the book will be completed before we leave here for the final time.

So again, I'm sorry it's late, I'm sorry I haven't been around here as much as I normally am, it's just that I've been incredibly busy and have been doing a lot of traveling. Moving 1800 miles is not all that easy.

Thanks for your patience!

Back in the Kindle Unlimited Program

Effective Immediately I have returned all of my books to KU.
Hopefully they've fixed all of their issues and things will go back to the way they were.

The next Wives' Tales installment is out

The next audiobook will come out 9/25

Hi all, just a quick note. The next audiobook which will contain books 7 & 8 should be out on September 25th. Preorders will hopefully be available before then.

I'm driving to Texas for round two of the great move this weekend. I'm -hoping- to have Wives Tales #2 out on or around that time frame, it's in process.

Book #10 is halfway done. I'm going to try and get a lot more work done on it this week, and next week while I'm in Texas again. I'll be dealing with a lot of contractors in Texas next week as well, so I'm hoping to have most of the work done this week as I really want to get book #10 out before the end of August.

September I go to the Air Races, as always (if you go, let me know and maybe we can hook up). If you ever get the chance to go to the Races, even if for only one day, by all means check it out. It's pretty interesting. If you're into airplanes, definitely check it out at some point in your life. After the Air Races are over we'll be making the third and (hopefully!) final part of the move. It's definitely been insanely busy for the last several weeks, there has just been way too much to do and often not enough time to do it.

May be returning to KU

While Amazon still hasn't told MSE just what he did that was so wrong, they are allowing him to sell through another publisher. It's not a hundred percent win, but it is still a win. So I'm considering taking my books off the other booksellers that I'd just put them up on, and once they're not anywhere else, signing back up for the KU program.

Monday is when I'll probably make my decision. With all the moving stuff, life's been kind of hectic.

Had a very interesting discussion with Amazon today

I had a very interesting discussion with someone from Amazon today. I told them about my fears, why I left KU, what happened to MSE, and that I would love to come back to the KU program. However I think I'm entitled to a warning if there's something wrong so that I can fix it, rather than just end up completely banned. I've been with Amazon for seven years now, and I've worked hard to get where I am and have never abused any of their programs  Nor would I, it's just not worth it.

They agreed with my sentiments and said that they would take my case up with the business unit and see if my fears, and the fears of a lot of other folks, could be addressed. If I get a positive response to this, I will definitely go back into KU.

I just don't know how long it will be until I hear something however. It took them two months to get to the awareness of this problem, so I have no idea how long it will take them to address it.

Going 'wide' and writing Amazon

First off I'd like to thank all of you for your support.

Now that I'm no longer exclusive to Amazon by being in the KU program, I'm free to put my books up on other booksellers. I just started putting them up on Barnes & Noble (B&N), and will be putting them on Kobo soon as well. Apple (iTunes or whatever they call it for ebooks) and Smashwords will probably follow.

It will take a few days, I have a lot of stuff to move over.

As far as contacting Amazon, I would suggest jeff@amazon.com. BE POLITE!! Ask for them to restore Michael-Scott Earle, or at least to provide evidence. Ask the to consider if perhaps this was  a third party seeking to remove competitors? Let them know that other authors are leaving KU out of fear, because of Amazon's draconian actions (no warnings, no removal from KU, just a total ban).

I don't know Cipriano, so I can't speak about him (though I honestly doubt he was gaming the system) though I do know MSE, and I know he wasn't doing anything illegal or wrong. He had no reason to, when you consider how many fans he has. I may someday return to KU, IF they stop acting like complete idiots. It's incredibly sad that after years of working with Amazon, that they would engage in this kind of treatment to people who have toiled long and hard and made them a fair deal of money.

Again, thank you all.

Leaving KU ASAP. Sorry, but Amazon is being a dick.

Effective immediately I am pulling all of my books out of Kindle Unlimited (KU). Apparently someone at Amazon is engaging in a witch hunt and is shutting down authors, completely destroying their livelihoods.

I'm not talking about small time authors either, I'm talking about the name authors in the genre in which I write. I realize that I will probably be next, and I can not afford to lose my income, that it is far better for me just to take a hit from no longer being in the KU program.

If you are an author, I would highly recommend you drop out of KU as well. Remember, Amazon can not be questioned or appealed to. You can sue them, that's about it.

Now, some of my books will still be in KU for the next few months, because it's a 90 day sign up. I will be contacting them tomorrow to see if I can get everything pulled immediately. Financially, I just can not take this risk.

EDIT: Just to be clear, I'll still be selling on Amazon, I just won't be in their subscription program (KU) anymore

I have a mailing list

A number of you (a shockingly large number actually) have been telling me that you don't know when the new book comes out until a week or so after the fact. That Amazon is slow to update you on my releases.

Well, I do have a mailing list, and it only gets updates on when Stryvant books or Van Stry books are released (I really don't want to spam anybody). I admit that sometimes I'm a day or two late on the mail, but it does go out.

So, if you want to be sure you get up to the minute updates on my releases, please sign up for my mailing list. I promise that I'll never turn it over to anyone. Actually, I don't even have a copy of it, it's all on mailchimp, the people who provide my mailing services (I probably should back that up one of these days), and they're not allowed to share it with anyone.

Subscribe to my mailing list

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It's live now, so here's a prettier link

Here's a prettier link:


Paperback should be available soon.

It's not live yet, but here's the link...

I have the link for the book now, but as of 1am PDT it's not working. I suspect that'll change soon, usually the link goes live pretty quickly after they give it to me.

Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FKVCWGV

In the hands of Amazon

I submitted it at 8pm PDT. Hopefully it will go live at midnight.

For those who are looking for a cast of characters list for the series, I started on one. Currently it can be found here: Jan Stryvant home page Link
Look in the menu list on the left side for the link.

Shadow will be put out in Audiobook format

I've just entered into an agreement with Podium Press to release 'Shadow' as an audiobook. When a voice artist and a release date has been identified, I will be sure to let everyone know.

Secret Treaties will go up for sale on the 13th

But due to changes in the way Amazon handles Pre-orders it will NOT be available for pre-order. Used to be you could set it up and didn't have to have the final manuscript in until 48 hours before release.
Well, I guess too many people were abusing that, because now you have to have it in 108 hours (4.5 days). I was going to set it up tonight, and then drop the cleaned up version from my editor in on Wednesday with all the typo fixes and such. Like I used to. But, you can't do that anymore.

So sorry about the lack of pre-orders.

First draft for #9 is done

The first draft for Secret Treaties is now complete. I'll start the rewrite tonight, and hopefully by tomorrow or Monday it will go off to my editor. Expect to see it up for Pre-Order by Monday.

Cover for #9 is done

The cover for #9 is done. I'm aiming for a 7/13 release date, hopefully pre-orders will open up on Monday.

Just an Update

Things have been incredibly hectic here for the last several weeks. As some of you may know, I'm in the process of buying a house, out of state. This involves a lot of travel, and as the first house we went to contract on turned out to have serious issue (like $50K minimum to fix issues, probably more like a $100K), we had to drop out of that and start all over.

So now I'm in contract on another house, and this one looks fine. But I have to fly to Chattanooga at the end of next week for a convention that I really want to go to (LibertyCon - if you're there, look me up) and as I'm doing a panel, well, I'm gonna be busy some more.

And don't even get me started on the lawsuit I'm about to file to protect my copyrights, against someone who doesn't seem to understand that violating them is a crime. (BTW premier law firms ain't cheap!).

So yeah, it's been busy. I'm hoping to pass the halfway mark on 'Take California' today. I'm also hoping to order the cover at some point today as well. I've got several days of (hopefully) uninterrupted time ahead of me, so I'm hoping I can get the first draft finished here in the next few days. It's just been very very very hectic.

So I haven't forgotten about you, or the next book in the Valens Legacy, it's just been busy.

On the Audiobook front, the next one will be released next week, and Podium Press has indicated that they will be doing books 7 & 8! So now I have to write 9 & 10, so they'll do them too :-)

Thanks to all of you for everything!

Wives Tales #1 Should be out Tomorrow

Just put it in tonight. This contains two short stories, one about Roxy's past, the other about Jolene's.

Edit: Here's the Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DQHMFJB

For those looking for the next audiobook

Here's the pre-order link for Audible: The Valens Legacy, Publishers Pack 3

Here's the link

Link: Desperate Measures

 

Desperate Measures is in the process of publishing.

Sometime tomorrow morning, this should go live, (I'll put up a link once I've got it).

Status on the next book

I thought I'd drop a line here on the status on the next book. Right now I'm shooting for a May 25th release date. I don't know for sure if I'll set up a pre-order for it, because it'll have to be done and loaded by the 22nd in order for me to do that. And right now I'm running just a little bit behind. I'd hoped to be done by Saturday, but I don't think I'll be done until Monday. And then I have to send it to my new editor so she can take a look at it.

Still not sure on the title or the cover picture, which I know I need to finalize in the next couple of hours so I can order the cover. I don't know why sometimes I have so much trouble with this, but I do.

I'll be at BLFC tomorrow for a few hours

I'll be driving up and spending about half the day there (which is about as long as I figure the dog can hold out). Mostly going up to be with friends who are already there, and see some old friends who I haven't seen in years.

If you're there, look me up. I'll be around. Somewhere. Odds are I'll be wearing a shirt with a black leopard on it. That should make it easy, right? :-)

I hired an Editor

Something that didn't get mentioned in the last few days, because of all the Amazon issues: I hired an editor. I had Vegas Rules edited first, and put that up yesterday. She's now going through Black Friday, and then I'll have her go through each of the stories, in order.

Book number 8 is in process, I'm about 6K words into it currently, and with all of the issues resolved, I'm now free to focus on that a lot more. Book 8 will be completed and released sometime this month. Most of the plot for it is done, so it's just a matter of writing it. I'll have a date when it's a bit further along.

Yea! They fixed it!

So yes, as of today the issue has been fixed. Hopefully my sales will soon recover.

On the Amazon Problem / Glitch

To all of my fans and readers, Amazon is aware of the problem and is working hard to fix it. I suspect once they do fix it, they'll then have the even bigger problem of trying to help all of the authors who got hurt by it.

So, just a reminder, if you are a fan of any particular author, please go check their author page on Amazon, or their website, to see if they have any new releases out in the last week and a half. Not only have I been hit (Jan Stryvant), but so have authors like J.A Cipriano, and Micheal-Scott Earle.

If you are fans of these writers, please take a few minutes to see if you're up to date on their releases, as well as any other author you are a fan of.

Thanks!

Please tell your friends the new Valens Legacy book is out

Because apparently everyone who published a new book between 4/20 and 4/23 got all of the books in their series pulled down from the Also Bought and notifications lists.

Yup, the Valens Legacy series, which used to be in a slew of  'Also Bought' lists on many other author's books has completely disappeared from Amazon. Along with several other series by other authors who published in that date range.

I've written Amazon, but if they fix it, it won't happen until Monday when they're back at work. So a lot of people who would have read this book are never going to know that it's out. And nobody new is going to be exposed to the series for a while.

Which seriously sucks. I was wondering why sales were off.

Last week really was the week from hell. :-(

So today has really been a struggle

I thought a few days ago that I'd sign up for bookbub, and get an author's account there.
Well apparently the rules have changed, because they will not approve you, unless you have a facebook or twitter account.
I have neither, and so they refused me.

So, I created a twitter account. Then I go back to bookbub, and guess what? You have to give them the password to your twitter account. Gee, nice guys. Sixty seconds after I do that, the twitter account is suspended for 'automated activities.' I try to appeal that, but you have to give them your cellphone number. WTF? why do they need my cellphone number? They want to send me a text? Well, professionally I only have a landline. But that's not good enough.

So yeah, twitter account is suspended after one tweet, and bookbub account won't be confirmed obviously.

Then I say screw it and go work on the bass I'm building. It's time to start polishing out the finish so I can start building it. Problem is, a one inch piece of finish, right down to the wood, came off in a highly visible spot. Obviously there was some contamination in the body I got. Ideally you're supposed to sand the entire piece back to bare wood and start over from scratch (about a weeks worth of work). Yeah, this is a hobby, I'll throw it out and buy a new piece before I do that.
So, I had to sand that spot down to bare wood, an then into the wood a bit, because nothing would stick. Obviously it was contaminated, and whatever it was rose to the surface while the finish was curing. I may have saved it, I won't know until I get a few more coats of finish on the small area I taped off and start to sand it. If it comes off again, well, that's a waste of four hundred dollars and a week of work. I'll probably trash it and buy a new body.

So yeah, today hasn't been going very well. I just hope everyone likes the new book and it sells well. It would be nice to have something to cheer me up after I get back home from practice this evening.

Vegas Rules now up on Amazon!

Click on pic or link -> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CM2TL2M

Coming Soon

Just a teaser. First draft finished today, working on the rewrite and doing some editing. Will have a date for you all in a few days.

Here's the link for Audible for the next Valens Legacy installment:

Valens Legacy, audiobooks, 3&4

Pre-order link for next Valens Legacy Audio book

Here is is:

https://www.amazon.com/Valens-Legacy-Over-Heads-Books/dp/B07BZL52BF/

Release date for the next audiobook is April 17th!

With any luck, pre-orders will be allowed a week or so in advance.

Just a quick status update

For the last few weeks I've been dealing with some pretty serious insomnia, a combination of things interrupting my sleep (outside factors) as well as just not being able to get back to sleep. Well for now it looks like I've finally gotten than dealt with and gotten back a more normal sleep schedule.

That being said, this morning I revisited and finished up the major (and a good deal of minor) plots for the next six books. I even got some of the plots points for the third arc listed. So now with that all taken care of and a decrease in my day to day stress level, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to start burning through the writing of the second arc and get back to my 'book a month' schedule (yeah, ambitious, I know).

Book seven is being written, but it had been slow going as I had a lot of plot issues I was concerned with (I have two whiteboards in the house full of notes). Now that those are cleared up, things should start progressing much faster. Thanks all for your patience.

Last Day of Voting!

If you haven't voted for Black Friday for an Ursa Major Award for best novel, today's the last day.

http://www.ursamajorawards.org/Voting.htm

 

 

The More You Know: The word 'Printing' as it relates to guns.

Apparently a few people don't understand what it means to say to someone, who is carrying a concealed weapon that they are 'printing'. Printing is the term used to tell someone that you can see the outline of their firearm or the holster for their firearm, under their clothing.

The gun is 'printing' an outline that shows on the shirt/pants/jacket/whatever. So no, it's not supposed to be 'pointing' or some other word. I understand that a lot of people may not understand this term, as they're probably not up on certain aspects of carrying a concealed weapon. So I figured I'd mention it here, as I have been getting some 'comments' as it were, via Amazon.

Work on the next Valens Legacy book has begun

Just wanted to let you all know that I have started writing the 7th book in the Valens series. I don't have a title for it yet, nor a release date. But I will keep you all informed.

I've been getting questions on this, so I decided to add this post just to make sure everyone knew.

The Audiobook is finally here!

For all of you who have been waiting for the audio version of the Valens Legacys series, the first two books are now available on Aubible:

The Valens Legacy

Here's the cover:

Just a Status Update

I thought I'd make a status update here, as I really haven't made one lately and I figured you all might appreciate it. I'm currently working on Portals of Infinitey, Book 8 (working title: On The Border). I'd hoped to have the first draft complete last Friday, but I had outpatient surgery last Tuesday and I ended up getting very little work done after that. So I'm hoping to be first draft complete by the end of this week. I don't have a target date on release for that one yet, it will be sometime this month.

On the Valens Legacy. I'd hoped to start writing that this week, but odds are that won't happen until next week. I'm still hoping to get that out by the end of this month, but with losing a week that may slip a little.

So that's where things stand currently. Hopefully I'll have some more interesting stuff for you soon. There are a lot more Valens stories to come, and a few other things in the works as well.

Wow! I made it into the Ursa Major Awards!

So, enough of you nominated me that 'Black Friday' is now up for 'Best Novel' for the Ursa Major awards! (Click here to vote) I've never won a 'literary' award before, and I'd appreciate it if you'd take a moment to vote for me.

Thanks to all of you for making this happen! True, it's not a major award, but still, it's kind of neat to be nominated. Thanks again!

An Un-Paid Advertisement, of sorts

So a friend of mine made an app for cellphones. It's on the itunes store and the Google play store (there's a free version if you don't mind ads). Now my friend isn't the most technically minded when it comes to programs. Machines, watch out, guy's amazing. But he had this idea for a cellphone app to use on all of those people who just annoy the hell out of him (this is the guy I go gold mining with, his knowledge of geology is seriously impressive).

So, the app is called 'Blah-Over'. You record a bunch of things like 'Blah' or 'I don't care' or 'Un-huh' or whatever even ruder phrase you want on it. Then when someone is going on and on at you, you call the app up on your phone and just hold it up. It responds to what they're saying (voice activated) with whatever you've put in it (he put some pretty rude ones in his of course, cause that's just the kind of guy he is).

Anyways, I think it's pretty funny, and while he made it mostly for himself to use on annoying people, I figured I'd plug it here. It's the kind of thing I can see one of my characters using to piss someone off and end up starting a war. (Honestly, I've really been thinking of using it in a story, ala Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and one of Arther Dent's many accidents).

So yes, free plug: Blah-Over

And it's Live!

Stand On It

Just got back, and it's now live on Amazon!

Enjoy.

Processing....

Okay, it's been submitted, I'll put up a post when it's available. It's 1:30 here currently, (PST) I figure it'll be available in 4 - 6 hours. Usually Amazon is pretty quick.

Book #6, Stand on It, Cover (Color) plus a labeled version

Okay, I just finished the first re-write and I've sent it out to my Beta Readers, while I do the final edit and look for types and other issues. Right now I'm shooting for a January 30th (Tuesday) release date. If I get stuff back sooner, it could conceivably go out on Monday, the latest it will go out is Wednesday.

I'm attaching two copies of the cover, the first is as it will appear, the second is for those of you who aren't sure who's who.

Thanks, all of you.

Just a Small Tease

So yeah, about that ending...

So yeah, about that ending. In the last four months I've put out five books and made it clear that this first part would be six books. And I think it's safe to say that everyone knows that book six will be out before the end of this month.

Yeah, it's a bit of a cliff hanger, sorry, but that's just the way it worked out. I find it a litle strange tht the people who have read the last FIVE books think I did it because I feel I need to get them to buy the next book? Honestly, I figured that if you've bought the first five, you're going to buy number six. It really wasn't any attempt to get people to buy the next book.

Yes, I guess I -could- have cut that last chapter out and started the next book with it, but then it wouldn't quite play the way I wanted it to, if that makes any sense to you at all. I do think a lot about endings and layout and the rest of that. A story is more than just a tale. You can't just end it anywhere, you have to end it in just the right place.

I know some people are upset with it, and I know some are mad at me for it, but sometimes as an author, as a writer, sometimes you have to go there. I have my reasons for why I ended #5 where I ended it, and no, it wasn't to make people mad or 'force' them into buying the next book. As a rule I don't like cliff hangers and avoid them. But really, one out of six isn't something I would have thought people would have gotten so upset with.

And yeah, I really did think about it, because one of my pre-readers also gave me some grief over it. But that was just the way it had to go.

I'll do what I can to get the next one out ASAP. So you're all not left hanging for long.

A really great book, if you haven't read it already.

I just started reading 'Lion's Quest: Undefeated' by Michael-Scott Earle. Wow, this is an amazing book. I'm about 2/3rds through it. If you haven't read it, I'd say to give it a look.

Lion's Quest: Undefeated

I honestly don't get to read enough, too busy working. There's a bunch of books I need to finish, along with book 2 in 'Super Sales on Super Heroes' which so far has also been a lot of fun. There really are a lot of good books out there these days.

When It Falls is now Processing with Amazon

Okay, I put the book up with Amazon about an hour and a half ago. The status is publishing, which means I have a possible link for it, BUT until it's actually published, that link won't do anything.

So, here's the link, right now it'll tell you that it can't be found, but hopefully in a few hours that'll change. It'll definitely be live by tomorrow.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078RGJ2PY

Again, right now you just get a 'Sorry' page.

Here's the cover, it came out a little more 'fan servicey' than I intended, but unless I hear lots of complaints, I'm gonna stick with it. In my defense I had the flu when I ordered it, and that's my story and I'm sticking to it! :-)