We're a Third of the Way There!

 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnvanstry/dans-inferno-book-v-dominance-ebook-audio-and-print

The Kickstarter for Dan's Inferno, Book V: Dominance is now ONE THIRD Funded!!

That's right, we're one third of the way there and quickly closing in on Half!

I will be offering some new add ons later in the week, as I work through some of the plot in my spare time. First will be villian slots - there will be at least three villians in this story (who will die, horribly I'm sure) as well as a number of just hanger's on and henchmen.

Those spots will be offered if you want to be one of them! (Villains won't be cheap, but then they never are, are they?) Henchmen, eh, not so much... 

I may even offer a spot as a demon or two later on. And of course once we draw closer to the goal, I'll start offering stretch goals, which will be short stories for those Zoo Level and above.

So keep an eye on this space!

If you haven't looked at it already, please go take a look.You might just like it!

 

I just launched the Dan's Inferno Book V: Dominance kickstarter!

 If I get enough money, I'll even throw in some short stories for those at the Zoo level and above!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnvanstry/dans-inferno-book-v-dominance-ebook-audio-and-print

I'm seriously considering a kickstarter for Dan's Inferno, Book 5

 Seriously considering this. Have to think of what the rewards are that I would offer.

Understand the level on this is probably going to be around 20K just to get the book written. Because costs and taxes. The book title is 'Dominance' and the reason it never got written was that book 4 sales went soft during Covid (all book sales did to be honest). But sales have since come back up.

So I'm thinking of doing a kickstart or gofundme or whichever. Then I'll know if the interest is there or not.

What do you all think?

Something I wrote on Substack

 So I thought I'd share it here - so folks can follow me there too if they like. 

Though that's a bit more focused on writing than what I put here.

On Letting Go 

Ghost Warrior Book 2 - Necessity is now out!

 I realize it's taken a bit longer than expected, but Wolfhounds has been eating up a lot of time, and I did have a few obligations that I needed to deal with. But! It's done! Check it out!!

Ghost Warrior Book 2 Link

 

Also, this Sunday (9/22) Stand Alone, Book 1 in the Wolfhound series will be on sale for 99 cents. This is an Amazon sale, and it will be in the US and Canada.

Hello everyone! I've got a couple of announcements:

1st I have a new Novella out in the Portals of Infinity (POI) world. Well, it's not exactly new, I wrote it a long time ago, but I never published it. It's the story of how Will's sister Nikki ended up as a champion for Arianna, but told from Her viewpoint. You got to see some of it in POI #3, well now you see all of it.

I showed it to my patrons on Patreon, and they liked it said to publish it. I'd honestly kinda forgotten that I had it. But it's up on Amazon now, so if you want it:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGHWR9W3

2nd, the third Wolfhounds Audiobook for Force Majeure is now up for pre-order on Audible. It's release date is October 1st and here's the link:

https://www.audible.com/pd/Force-Majeure-Audiobook/B0DFHR4NKR

(Note: Podium is working on Book 4, War Child, but I don't know when that will be released. I'm currently writing #5 - End Game and hope to release it sometime in October).

3rd, Necessity, Ghost Warrior #2 is almost ready for release. Right now I'm waiting on cover art and to hear back from some of my Beta readers. If could be out as soon as next week! I've got the cover art sketch, so the process after that is usually a quick one.

 

Will There Be Any More Valens Books?

 In short: No. It's done. I may, may finish the book I was working on when my dog died, which I set aside to write Troyland, because I needed something a bit more upbeat. But understand Sales on Troyland sucked.

I lost money.

Sales on Bellicose, also sucked, though they were about 12 percent better than Troyland. People said after Bellicose did poorly that they really wanted another Troy book. Well, no, turns out they didn't. So I know, from years of experience that I will lose a lot of money if I finish that other book and put it out. It's only 10 percent done, so it'd take at least a month to finish, unless I made it really short. 

So please don't tell me 'I'll buy it! So you can't say nobody wants it!' because for me to PAY for the cover and the editing I need to sell a thousand copies. And I don't think it'll sell even that when I look at the numbers of the last few books in Valens Heritage.

But honestly? It's to be expected. We're talking book Twenty-SEVEN here. The first series was 18, and the second is now 9. While Valens Heritage started out okay, it really wasn't doing any better than Valens Legacy #18. You always lose people as you go through a series. Nobody gets a 100 percent read through. Almost nobody gets 90 percent. I typically get 85+ percent, and that's unheard of for most series.

So I knew this was coming. 

What happens next? Well I may work on it a night or two a week, cut it down in size to maybe 40K or 50K words, not buy a cover, not get an editor, and just toss it out there when it's finished. But understand that this is a MAY. I just as well MAY NOT. And it could be a year or two. I have a LOT of active stories going on that make way more in sales, and I've got several commitments to publishers. I have a lot of books I need to get written. I have a lot of promises to keep. I know from experience that this book will sell poorly, and probably get pirated to hell and back, because whenever I break down and do something like this, that always happens to me.

So yeah, sorry that you may never get this book. But the truth is, my fans don't want it. Oh, some do, but most? No, most of my Valens fans moved on after Legacy ended. Some read Mihalis, and stayed for a few more books, but that was pretty much it. 

I am very much considering a new 4 or 5 book series that is not related to Valens in anyway, for my Stryvant name. Something new, with new characters and a new story. Because that's what my fans want Something New.

Again, sorry that we're at this point, but the overwhelming majority of my fans have spoken with their wallets and they just don't want this book. Oh, and if I do write it? It won't be KU, because I'll want to try and make some of my time back. 

So please, stop bugging me. Yeah, I love the series too, but I've got bills to pay myself.

If you're a fan, SIGN UP FOR MY MAILING LIST!!

 If you're a fan and want to know when my books come out you MUST SIGN UP!

Because Amazon is NOT going to tell you about my new release for WEEKS IF EVER.

Got that? Amazon is NOT telling people about my new releases anymore. So the ONLY WAY you will know, is by signing up for my mailing list! (and make sure it doesn't end up in the SPAM folder).

I only send out notifications when:

• I publish and release a new book.
• I release an audiobook.
• For occasional sales.

I will NEVER sell your information. I will NEVER share your information. It is private!

So please, if you're a fan, and you want to know when I release a new book, as either John Van Stry or Jan Stryvant, sign up for my mail list!

Mailing List For John Van Stry and Jan Stryvant

Also, if there are other authors you are a fan of? Sign up for theirs too!!

Wolfhounds, Book #4 - War Child is now live on Amazon!

 Wolfhounds #4 - War Child is now live on Amazon:

Link -> War Child

 

Yes, I'm still alive...

Sorry I haven't posted here much of late. I've been a bit caught up with the Wolfhound series, and book #4 will be coming out soon. Also, there's been RL stuff I've been dealing with. Some of which you may know, some of which you may not. But it's been slowing my output down a little.

I want to try and write Ghost Warriors #2 next. I also need to write another Valens Heritage book. The one I was going to write, but ended up writing Troyland instead because of where my head was at, at the time. Troyland didn't do as well as I would have liked. The next one will be about Mihalis AND Sean. Mostly. Because they're going to deal with a certain Dark Elf House and put Sawyer on the throne.

After that, I may just call Valens Heritage done. Though the possibility of a anthology of short stories and/or novellas about some of the other family members could happen. I'm just not sure that the interest in Valens is that great anymore. I have to look at the numbers.

I am considering a new short series (4 or 5 books), about a man who has an encounter with a Succubus and things sort of go on from there. It would be in the same world as Dan's Inferno, but it would be taking place in Texas. It won't exactly be harem, because someone is going to end up with a bunch of Succubi tht they're going to be using to 'take over' things. I don't know if that'll outrage people or not. I know some people get seriously bent out of shape over shit like that. There are people who got pissed about the First being in Sean's head while he was having sex with his wives (and I mean they went apeshit!).

So, we'll see. 

Oh, and there will be more POI storied. Want to get another one out this year.

Today Sucks

 

 So Yesterday I released the New Wolfhounds book.

This morning I wake up to a wet floor in the den. I figured it out quickly, someone knocked the line off of the dehumidifier up in the attic, some time ago. Maybe two weeks ago when there was service being done? And it was knocked off because it wasn't installed correctly last year.

So, WATER everywhere in the attic. No idea what the final damage will be, hopefully we won't have to have any walls replaced as so far, the water only ran down inside the wall. Still there's a lot up there and trying to dry it out. The company who does all the work for us have sent people out, because I'm VERY concerned about an electrical fire. Because water on top of electrical equipment up there. Also with all that powered off we have no AC and it's gonna be in the 90's today with about 90 percent humidity.

THEN, on top of all this:

Someone HATES Wolfhounds book #3, Force Majeure. They hate it SOOOO MUCH, that they posted a negative review with blatant spoilers about EVERYTHING they HATED. 

I'm guessing that they're 10? Maybe 12? We know how puberty can be tough on boys...

Look, I get it if you don't like the way a book ends. I'll admit I was still dealing with the death of my dog (and long time friend) during all of the writing of that book. Perhaps it's a bit darker in places that it would have been. But it was always the plot to have certain things happen and I floated ALL of it past my Patreons and SubscribeStar members to make sure it wasn't out of line. I also floated it past a bunch of my Beta readers. None of them had a problem with what I did.

But this young man just couldn't deal with the kinds of things that adults do in life, and that yes, bad things happen to people, even when they're doing good. Or that SOME PEOPLE have different moral standards than HE does. 

I mean, I don't care if he doesn't like the book. I don't care if he gives it a bad review. I DO care that he put spoilers up, and there's only two other reviews, so that everyone has some of the plot elements given away. People like this are why we can't have nice things. They can't let anyone else enjoy things that THEY don't like. They just can't keep their pie-hole shut.

It's like the people who complained that Rape is MENTIONED in the book. Your NEVER SEE IT, but to show just how bad the bad guys are, we learn that they rape and murder women. 

OH MY GOD!!! YOU MENTIONED RAPE!!! Mind you, you never see it. You just hear about it.

Seriously, WHAT THE H**L PEOPLE? You can't deal with hearing about bad things? Have any of you watched the news, ever, in your life? Studied history? I've had to deal with incredibly nasty things in real life. I've saved women from being raped. I've saved people from dying. If you're such a fragile flower that you can't deal with just hearing about something happening in a fictional story, off screen, I'm worried for you and your ability to just function in life! 

Yesterday was my birthday. It's also the anniversary of my mother's death (Yes, she died on my birthday 4 years ago). So I don't celebrate it anymore. Instead we were going to celebrate it today, and then all of this happens. So yeah, today sucks. Yesterday sucked. Tomorrow isn't looking any better.

If you want to help me, WRITE a review, don't just give a rating, WRITE a 4 or 5 star review to push that idiot off the front page. Maybe report it. BUT!!! Don't do it if you haven't read it AND enjoyed it. Maybe the book does suck. Maybe I should just give up on writing this series. Hell, I almost quit when my dog died. 

Maybe I should have.

Wolfhounds Book 3 - Force Majeure is now live on Amazon!

 Sorry it's a month late, but there were some RL life things that got in the way.

But enough about that! It's here now!

Force Majeure

 

 

Wolfhounds, Book 1 - Stand Alone on sale now!

 

Stand Alone, Book 1 in the Wolfhounds series is on sale on Amazon for 99 cents!

This is an Amazon sale, so please do take advantage of it, if you haven't already bought a copy.

The sale runs from the 6th (today) until the 12th.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJT8JTBP

 

 

Valens Heritage #9 is now out: Troyland

Everyone, Valens Heritage, book #9, and the third book about our former goofball cheetah, Troy, is out. Obviously his thoughts for his new Mongolian based theme park, are still very much on his mind!

Link-> Troyland (Valens Heritage Book 9)

 

Yes, I'd hoped to do the next Mihalis & Sean book which takes place in Nighthome / Faederland, the place of the Dark Elves and the Goblins, but with the things I was dealing with at the time, I needed something a little 'lighter' to write. Though I did give Ian and Craig their very own chapter! (Of course now those ungreats want more...) 

I'm sorry about the time gap in publishing, but as I've mentioned before, the place I publish these was starting to show signs of banning people for writing 'harem' and a number of authors took measures. I decided to just wait and see what happened. Apparently cooler heads prevailed because the things we all feared didn't happen. 

So please! Give it a look!

Numb, I am Numb

 

Today I put to sleep my best friend (after my spouse) - My dog King.

King's birthday was the day after mine, and I got him in '11. He would have been 13 in two months. Which is old for large German Shepherd. Our last one I don't think made 12.

King was my first (and now last) dog. The dogs I've lived with throughout my life were never mine. They typically were either family dogs or someone else in the family. Now this isn't to say I've never had pets, I've had several domestic cats and about a half dozen 'wild' or 'exotic cats. Four of which were big cats. So I'm used to animals.

But King was very much my dog. German Shepherds are one person animals. Sure they'll get on with everyone in the family, but the are very much one person's. I'd never had a dog before that was truly 'mine' and so I decided I was going to get a 'large' old school square-back GSD. I got him at 8 weeks of age, so he and I were together for 12 years and 8 months.

The last two years started getting hard. Mostly little problems. The last year his hindquarters started giving him issues - this is a sign of age in all quadrupeds. It has nothing to do with breeding. He lost a lot of weight in the last six months and started having appetite issues about a year ago. We'd resorted to a series of 'bribes' to get him to eat. For about the last month I was hand feeding him his meals, because he just couldn't eat standing up.

Through all of this he was happy, he was alert, he was engaged. He could get around, though not well. As long as he was happy, I was fine with things.

Yesterday he lost the ability to walk. It wasn't 100 percent, just 99. Trying to get up and failing would make him so tired he wouldn't try again. Now he'd been having problems for the last two weeks, but only rarely and if I grabbed him and steadied him or lifted his rump, he'd recover and be fine. But yesterday you had to hold his hindquarters off the ground and 'wheel-barrow' him. Which for a 100 lb dog, isn't easy.

He'd also been waking me up at night for weeks now. The last couple of nights I was up with him most of the night. Last night, I was up with him all night long. Not being able to get up was hard on him, and he was no longer happy and I think he was starting to hurt as well. So today I took him to the vet and said goodbye.

We buried him when we got home. His grave is next to that of my cat that died about 3 years ago. He's in pretty deep, and there are heavy stones on top of the grave. But it's also inside the fence, so the coyotes shouldn't cause any issues.

But still, it's been a rough few weeks and a very rough day. I started my independent writing career in March of '11. I got King (Full name: King of Rancho Cordova - yes he was a registered pure breed) in July of '11. He was there when I decided to go full time and he's been there throughout my entire career.

And now he's gone.

I will miss him.

Audiobook for Wolfhounds Book 1 - Stand Alone is now live on Audible

 Here's the link:  Stand Alone Audiobook

Wolfhounds Book 2 - Taking Ground is now Live on Amazon!

 Taking Ground

 

With the Battle of Portlandia behind him, Chase is a hero now and the rank and file truly believes that he's the prince the Command Team claims he is. For his part, Chase has made his choice and now he's committed. As the face of the revolution he's 'in it to win it' because anything else will lead to his death. The twenty-five million-credit bounty on his head will see to that.

The problem he faces now is convincing Fleet Captain Witner, and his Command Team to trust him, when Chase still doesn't trust them enough to tell them who he truly is. Chase had been betrayed too many times in his past to come clean easily, and for all that he's doing everything they ask of him, until the Captain and his team gives him a seat at the table, he's not about to start trusting any of them.

So he's content to let them continue believing he's a fraud of their own creation to justify the search for a 'real' heir.

 Still, he now has Claire on his side, and he can't think of anyone else he'd rather have there. She's as driven as he is, and at least as crazy. He's never met a better fighter and probably never will. As a duchess she's been teaching him valuable lessons about how to act and what to say. As a friend and lover, she's giving him something that he never thought he'd have - a reason to win.

See it on Amazon - Taking Ground