New Release: The War for Truth

This week sees the release of my latest novel The War for Truth on Thursday May 10th. With this book, I conclude my Forgotten Chronicles trilogy. If you’ve read the first book in the series, The Selection, now is a great time to pick up books 2 and 3 (especially since book 3 is on a special pre-order price of only .99!)

I’m thrilled to share this strange and dangerous world with you and hope you find enjoyment in the series. It was a series that I created with my son in mind. I wanted to write something he’d enjoy and so far, I’ve nailed my audience! Having new readers discover the books has been amazing and humbles me. To know someone who doesn’t know me personally has enjoyed a story I wrote means so much to me.

 

Book 1, The Selection, is available for $1.99 in ebook form or you can get it as part of the 22 novel collection On the Horizon for only .99. Book 2, Rise of the Forgotten, can be yours for $2.99 in ebook.

Both are also available as an audiobook narrated by Paul Jenkins (he’s currently working on book 3 for a June release!) Grab The Selection or Rise of the Forgotten from Audible, iTunes, or Amazon.

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement!

 

Behind The Story

Not many readers know I like to hide surprises in my writing. I want to share one of those with you today.

 

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

My young adult scifi series “The Forgotten Chronicles” is set on an alien world similar to ours yet orbiting a red sun. I based it off of a NASA travel poster released several years ago for the planet Kepler 186f. I wanted an Earth-like world where readers were familiar enough with how it worked yet still completely alien. If you’ve read The Selection or the follow-up book Rise of the Forgotten, you know what I mean.

What hardly anyone knows is they may have read a story about this series before it was ever released. I had it hiding in plain sight.

I honestly didn’t know if The Selection would ever see publication. I enjoyed the story but still wasn’t sure if I was going to put the time and effort (and money!) into making it a novel I wanted to release. I wrote the book leaving the ending in a way that if enough readers enjoyed it, I could continue the series. As it happened, many readers loved the book and that gave me the impetus I needed to write Rise of the Forgotten. The final book in the series, The War for Truth, is due out in May (and can be pre-ordered for the ridiculously low price of .99. Go here to get it: The War for Truth)

However, one of the questions I often get asked is why are there so many boys born on the planet Anastasia? What causes this? Why does it happen?

As an origin story mostly for myself, I wrote a short story called The Long Sleep which answers these questions. If you’ve read any of my short story collections, you may recognize it. I released it in my first ever book, (Almost) Average Anthology, back in 2016. It was the last story in the collection and gives a great explanation as to how things got to be in The Selection.

I released (Almost) Average Anthology in Jan. of 2016, well over a year before I released The Selection. The story The Long Sleep isn’t my favorite of the collection, but it most certainly belongs with my series as an origin story.

So, for fans who like to know behind the scenes info, there ya go. You can get the entire 16 story collection (Almost) Average Anthology for .99 or if you subscribe to my newsletter, you get it for FREE. Either way, I hope you enjoy the dark tales and I hope you continue to follow along with my scifi series. It’s been so much fun to write and the reader response has been amazing.

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For those interested in the series, here are the links.

The Selection: ebook, paperback, audiobook.

Rise of the Forgotten: ebook, paperback.

The War for Truth: ebook (special low pre-order price)

 

Book Promos

Hey everyone, I wanted to bring your attention to a few book promos I’m currently running.

The first one is for my book The Selection. I’ve joined with Art of the Arcane to offer over 40 books for only .99 each. You can get The Selection right now for less than $1! Go to Art of the Aracane to see all the amazing titles or go here for The Selection.

 

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The next promo is for my newest book Rise of the Forgotten. This is the second in the Forgotten Chronicles series and depending on the day you buy it, can be .99 or $1.99. I’m running a Kindle Countdown deal so grab it early on the cheap. If you’ve read The Selection and want to know what happens next, this is what happens next! Get while it’s on sale here: Rise of the Forgotten.

 

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Finally, my short story collection Moments of Darkness is part of a free selection of books available at Book Funnel. There are over 40 horror/dark fiction novels and collections available for free here: Things That Go Bump In the Night.

 

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Feel free to grab the discounted (or free) books and share with others. I sure would appreciate it. If you have a book on sale or for free, please leave it in the comments below so others can find out.

Thanks!

Sometimes Ya Gotta Change

Writing a book is an exercise in patience and resolve. At some point the end comes and whether it’s good or not, it’s time for revision after revision before it’s time to share it with someone else. At least, that’s been my experience.

With my Forgotten Chronicles Series, each book has been written with different methods that may or may not turn out for the best. You the reader will be the judge of that.

When I wrote The Selection, it was a NaNoWriMo novel written with very little planning ahead. If you’ve read it, you might pick up on some of the rambling sections or plot points that might not be as solid as I would’ve liked. I wholeheartedly believe it’s still an amazing story worth a read. The action is there and much of the world building was alive in my mind and continues to be so today. It was a story based off an idea I pitched to my wife and son. They thought it sounded interesting and that was that.

After it’s release and the positive response I received from the twenty or so brave souls who tried an unknown author, I started work on Rise of the Forgotten (my latest release). For that book, I wrote a three page outline detailing what and where I wanted the story to take place. The book is much more in-depth than The Selection and explores more of the world I introduced in the first book. The characters have more depth and the story follows four main storylines. Was the change in my approach worth it? You’ll have to tell me.

Sine right around Christmas, I’ve been working on the third book in the series, The War for Truth. This one has been tough so far. I wrote an outline like I did with Rise of the Forgotten, but several chapters in, I needed to change it. I then rewrote the outline, rewrote some of what I’d already done, and continued. A few chapters later, I had to revisit the outline and rearrange chapters to flow better. I also feel I’ve grabbed hold of plot issues early enough to work through them with greater efficiency and skill. I like the process I’ve developed with this book. It doesn’t feel like full-on plotting, but maybe it is. I still feel like I can be creative and not pigeonholed into the outline. It’s something I intend on using with future books.

I share all this because as a writer, it’s imperative to grow. I cannot stagnate with what used to work unless it was phenomenal. I tend to not believe I write the greatest books in the world, therefore I have to improve. Through this series alone, I’ve tinkered with my process so I can write the best story possible at the time.

I encourage you to re-evaluate your process and seek ways to improve. We can all be better.

If you wanna see my progress, feel free to pick up my books The Selection: The Forgotten Chronicles Book 1 (in ebook, paperback, or audiobook) and follow it up with Rise of the Forgotten: The Forgotten Chronicles Book 2 (in ebook or paperback). Let me know what you think.

 

New Year, Better Plans

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you can take the best of 2017 and carry that over to this year. Let’s leave all that negativity and hate in the past and move forward with a purpose and a bright future ahead.

2017 saw the release of my first novel, The Selection. It has since been rebranded as The Selection: The Forgotten Chronicles Book 1. It’s now the first in what I’m planning as a trilogy, set on the planet Anastasia and following Eron as he moves beyond the Selection. As the series title suggests, the Forgotten play an immense role in all of this.

I’ve had mostly positive responses to the book and it’s brought me more readers which I hope to continue into 2018.

To further that, the audiobook release of The Selection: The Forgotten Chronicles Book 1 is due within a week or so of this post. It’s narrated by Paul Jenkins and sounds AMAZING! I cannot wait for its release. I think you’ll love it!

The second book in the trilogy, Rise of the Forgotten comes out on January 19th. You can pre-order the ebook now for only .99. ( A little under the radar pro-tip: if you really don’t wanna wait, the paperback is actually live and available to purchase now.)

I’m working on the third book of the trilogy, The War for Truth. I’m about 8,000 words into it and I’m planning a late Summer release, maybe July. If all goes well, you may also get the release of a series of novellas in the Fall that relates to 4-5 characters from the series.

Other than the scifi series, I’m planning on releasing two horror novels in 2018. One is titled Brown’s Sacrifice and the other is Soul Windows. Both are set in Brownsville, my pseudonym for Murphysboro, where I live. I’ve thought about branding those as Brownsville Oddities Novels and see how that goes. I have a possible third novel to include in that series, however I’m not certain about that yet.

In May, my book The Selection: The Forgotten Chronicles Book 1, will be re-released as part of the On the Horizon book bundle which includes 22 full-length scifi and fantasy novels with the theme “little to no tech.” My book fits perfectly with the theme and to make it enticing to those that have already read my book, I’m going to include an exclusive short story that’s only part of this bundle. The best part is you can pre-order it for only .99! I highly encourage you to check it out and pre-order your copy today. Even if you’ve read my book, that’s still 21 other full-length novels for less than a $1!

Finally, I’ll be working on a fantasy novel for a 2019 release as part of a larger shared world project. I think at last count we had something like 20-25 authors committed to the project. Our plan is to release a book a month, all tied into the same world. It’s a fascinating concept and will finally get me to write the fantasy novel I’ve been wanting to write since I started creating stories.

This is what you can look forward to from me in 2018. I’m grateful to those of you who’ve supported me by buying a book, sharing my posts, or offering words of encouragement. It’s lonely sometimes as a writer and you make it all worthwhile. Thanks again for everything! Let’s crush 2018 and make it the best yet!

 

 

Rise of the Forgotten Pre-Orders

Wahoo!! I’m crazy excited to announce the sequel to my novel The Selection is available for pre-order on Amazon!

The next installment in The Forgotten Chronicles series is titled Rise of the Forgotten and follows Eron and Timo after the events of The Selection.

Here’s the blurb for the new book:

After brothers Timo and Eron are separated by the ritual of the Selection, they’re forced into vastly different lives. Accepting their fate, they make the best of their situation. But when Timo’s home among the Forgotten is invaded everything changes.

Eron must decide if he will join the invaders or risk the life he’s earned and fight alongside the Forgotten.

Though hidden for centuries, the time has come… the Forgotten must rise.

Grab your copy today and please share with others! Pre-order it here: Rise of the Forgotten.

Oh, as an added bonus, right around Christmas, I’ll have an audiobook version of The Selection available as well. I can’t wait to get this out there!

 

Thanksgiving Sale!

Hey Everyone, I hope you have a nice long vacation ahead of you!

I want to share a sale I’m running on The Selection: The Forgotten Chronicles Book 1.

As a way fo saying thanks for being such awesome readers, I’ve discounted my novel The Selection: The Forgotten Chronicles Book 1 to only .99 from now through the 26th on all ebook stores! I’ve recently renamed the book, making it the cornerstone of a series and will have a slightly new cover soon. Until then, please consider picking up a copy and sharing it with others, I’d be so thankful if you did.

Get your copy of The Selection: The Forgotten Chronicles Book 1 today!

(Oh…as a sneaky bonus that no one knows about yet, I do have the second volume in the series titled Rise of the Forgotten up for pre-order. The cover is NOT the final cover, merely a placeholder. The final and bad-as@ cover will be in place in a few weeks. Feel free to pre-order the next adventure in The Forgotten Chronicles!)