Oh boy, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything. Sorry about that. So I figured I should do something big to get back into the game. But rather than force you to sit down and read an extended blog post about all my updates, I’m trying something new.
This is the first of what will hopefully be many videos from me. And if everyone likes it, I’ll probably keep it as my primary form of communication. This one is a bit long to cover introductions and five months worth of chaos…but normally I’ll keep them shorter. Thanks for sticking around, and let me know what you think!
Initially I didn’t think everything would make it out on the same day, but somebody at Audible must love me. And I love them right back.
Now that I have a bit of a break, I’m going to try posting more regularly to talk about the process and maybe do some videos of the recording and editing. And I’ll definitely be working on getting some book plates done for anyone with physical copies who wants my messy signature. But for now, thanks for sticking with this series. I’m genuinely honored to be allowed to entertain/distract/delight you, and I’m just so glad to be here.
I’ll talk more about why it’s cool and fun later, but for now, the illustrious Fantasy Book Review was kind enough to host the cover reveal and release date, and you are all invited.
Two quick things! First, I’m headed into the booth in ONE WEEK to start recording Blight Marked, the next book in the Ethereal Earth series. And I’m ridiculously excited to be voicing these characters again! I should hopefully have a cover to reveal to you soon too…
And second, I have a bit of an appetizer for you that I’ve been promising for a while. It is a short story staring James (Jacob) from Hero Forged, and it leads into some of the events in book 3. The audio and text are both available super free right now, so get it while it’s hot with my compliments. You are incredible for following me here and reading my stuff, so this is my way of thanking you.
“No, no. When you have to explain your jokes they’re not clever anymore. We’ve talked about this, Josh.”
This post is about how book 3 is coming along (spoiler: great!) and also some ideas I’ve been mulling to keep you folks up to date in fun and useful ways. A very cool lady at Facebook told me I should be updating my blog more often to build better communication with you awesome people, and…yeah, she’s totally right. I live so much in my own head that sometimes I forget to actually interact with reality. So here I am! In reality! …Virtually.
First, book 3 is so much fun right now. I wish I could tell you more but I don’t want to spoil any of the coolness. I will say that it’s shaping up to be a bit of a marriage between the styles of Hero Forged and Fate Lashed, and I really like it so far. The story is going exactly where I’d hoped, while also doing things I honestly never expected along the way. The whole thing goes in for various rounds of editing starting in October, so I’m still shooting for this Winter to release it in all formats. But some of the voices, you guys…I’m so excited to start recording this thing!
I’ll also say that I still have that short story coming soon. It went slightly over my goal of 5,000 words, (11,000…oops) and the events happen right near the end of Fate Lashed. James is the main man in this one, and I’m hoping to get some time to record it when elementary school starts back up in a week and my house gets quiet enough for it again. 🙂 There’s also another short(er) story on the way, but that’ll get finished and polished when book 3 goes in for edits. If you’re signed up for my newsletter or you clicked on the button to follow this blog you’ll get those stories, including audio, for free.
“Ooooooh! Something from Josh! I wonder what informative delights he has for me this month? Good thing I’m amazing and decided to follow his silly blog!”
And now the rapport part. See? It came around.
I’m trying to figure out the best way to keep everyone informed without bugging people too much…and while still maintaining a decent flow of information for folks who like that sort of thing. So I’m considering options like recording audio versions and even possibly doing videos. Though for the latter, I suppose I’ll have to shave and be presentable and not be constantly eating pie with my bare hands. I guess.
Is there anyone on earth that actually wants to see a video from me or hear me ramble without a script? Drop a comment below if you have any opinions (or good pie recipes) and I’ll try to work up a couple trial runs for the different formats in the next few weeks. And, as always, thanks for being cool!
You and I are both busy, so I’ll keep this short. Book 3 is shaping up nicely, with a crazy plot and some new and returning characters, and my plan is to get a solid draft done by mid-summer. The intention is to have the whole thing edited and recorded and released by early winter, which keeps me on track for something like eight or nine month between books. It’s an aggressive schedule for something I’m writing, narrating, and mastering myself, but I suppose I have to be aggressive about at least one thing in my life.
Pictured: Me
The reality is that my books are longish for the genre, and I probably make them more nuanced than they strictly need to be. And I definitely fuss over the audiobook narration way more than is recommended… But I just can’t do it any differently, you know? I like writing layers into the story, and I love letting the characters grow across the pages. And for me, that takes at least 130,000 words per book…if not way more. Could I make them shorter and faster? Sure. And they’d probably sell better for the quicker release times. But I wouldn’t be happy about it. And the stories wouldn’t be the same.
Less unsettling weird crap, for instance.
So to keep things rolling while you wait, I’m also working on a few short stories to fall between releases. And once those are done and polished, I’ll be recording audio versions to send to newsletter and website followers. (Like you, right?) The first one is about James, and it falls during the events of Fate Lashed to let you know what he’s been up to. And the second one goes back a bit to fall between books 1 and 2 to expand on the time Gabe and Heather spent in the cabin. There’s no firm release date on those yet, but keep an eye out in the coming months. I’ll try to get them recorded as soon as book 3 goes in for edits.
Oh! I should also let you know that Fate Lashed finally became available in Whispersync mode on Amazon a few weeks ago. So if you already picked up the kindle version, you can get the audio at a sweet discount.
As always, thank you for being around and being interested. I’m having a blast with this series, and it’s nice to know some of you are too!
Ultimately, it came down to me being slightly too optimistic about how fast I could edit the last tracks. Plus, I really wanted it to be as perfect as I could make it. I did way more than I expected to, and still never enough. But now it’s out and I hope you have a good time with it! I had a blast writing and recording it, and I’m so thankful I get to do it all again for the future installments.
Thank you so much, as always. And I’d love to hear what you think when you’re done! With any luck, I didn’t mess this up too badly. 🙂
I’ve got so much to do yet, so I’ll be quick with this one. Fate Lashed is out today in ebook and print!
This cover still makes me so happy.
This is the next book in the Ethereal Earth series after Hero Forged, and I should warn you right away that it has a bit of a different feel. This is going to be a long series if I have my way, so I want each book to be a little different from the last to keep things fun. This is where that starts. While we began in Hero Forged with introductions and hints and laying out the map, Fate Lashed is like hitting the gas to get on the open road. It’s more action/adventure this time, and the next book will be different too. Maybe an intricate mystery? Maybe a deeper dive into horror with all that snark to keep it fun? Or maybe we’ll go really crazy and do a prim Victorian Romance… Who am I kidding? There’s no way I’d get Heather into a corset.
And as for the audiobook…it’s soooo close! Everything is recorded, and it’s about 75% edited as of today. And as soon as I’m done writing this, I’m going back to it. My hope is that I’ll be back here in less than three weeks to give you that beautiful Audible link. Audio is my favorite though, so I have to make sure it’s as close to perfect as I can make it!
As always, thank you so much for reading and listening! I absolutely couldn’t do this without you.
