Author: Josh

Yikes, things have been quiet here for a while… Sorry about that! I’ve been frantically working on the latest draft of the sequel to Hero Forged, and I wanted to have something really juicy to tell you about when I kicked out a new blog post. Fortunately, I have several things!

First, I wanted to thank you for being here at all. I’ve had a bunch of new people sign up for updates since the audiobook came out, (woo hoo!) and I can’t tell you how cool that feels. I tried to do the professional author thing and get links and ads and stuff synergized to direct everyone to the right places, but I’m still not convinced I did any of it correctly. That means you probably had to make an extra effort to sidestep my clumsy directions to get here…which is so awesome of you.

Second, I wanted to thank everyone that’s gone the extra mile to leave comments, ratings and reviews. As I write this, Hero Forged has something like a thousand ratings and reviews across Audible, Amazon, and Goodreads combined, and that absolutely blows my mind. I’ve read them all multiple times, and I’ve loved getting that feedback and motivation as I tweak the next book. I wish I could respond to all of them personally, but most of the platforms don’t let me. Or maybe I just haven’t figured out how yet.

Next, I have Book Two news! The latest draft is finished and off to the editor, who will then hopefully help me find where I’ve gone wrong or stupid. I personally think it’s a really fun story, and it definitely kicks off quite a bit faster than the first book. The artist is also working on the cover design now, so I hope to have some news about that and the official title in the next month or two.

Which brings me to the release date for Book Two… I don’t quite have it yet. I mean, I’m 90% sure it’s going to be in January 2019, which is really not so far away, but there are a few too many moving parts to nail down an exact date. The book itself will probably be done and ready in another month or two, but I REALLY want to release in all formats at the same time. That means getting the recording and audio mastering done and submitted to Audible, which might not go perfectly to plan. So it will likely be November or December when I post a release date, and that’ll be followed with a flurry of news about preorders, cover reveals, contests, and other fun stuff. I promise it will be worth the wait.

Finally, Hero Forged is in a few contests. The first one is SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) run by Mark Lawrence of Broken Empire and Red Queen’s War fame. He and ten big book bloggers run this year-long event to whittle 300 entrants down to 60(ish) semi-finalists, then 10 finalists who’ll compete for the lauded selfie stick trophy. It’s a really cool community with a bunch of amazing indie authors and bloggers, and Hero Forged moved on to semi-finalist status in the first round of reviews! It’s unlikely I’ll make it any farther than that based on the competition, but I’m thrilled to be where I am. You should definitely check out the other books in this thing. There are some real gems in there, not to mention some great bloggers reviewing great stuff you might be interested in.

And finally, I just found out today that Hero Forged has been shortlisted for Best Self-Published Novel in the Booknest Fantasy Awards! I’m not sure how it happened, but I’m thrilled all the same. And there’s a public vote going on right now for that and a few other categories until Oct. 31st. If you find yourself with an extra second or two, and you want to saunter over there to drop in a vote for me, that would be mighty nice of you! Again, I don’t really expect to win based on the quality of the competition, but it would be pretty cool if I did. The trophy is an engraved sword, you guys…

Thanks again for everything. If you want smaller, more regular updates, check out my Facebook page. Otherwise, I promise to get these blog posts out a little more often while still keeping them relevant to the books. I suppose I could pad out my posts with my random day-to-day thoughts, but I like you way too much to inflict that on you.

Yes, that blog title is supposed to be spelled that way. The audiobook version of Hero Forged finally released today!

This is a big deal for me, because…man it was hard to do. I’m not a professional voice artist or an audio engineer, but I LOVE audiobooks and knew I wanted to do one for this release. But it’s extremely expensive to get one produced by professionals if you’re just starting out like me. Totally worth it, I’m sure, but tough to justify at this point in my career.

So I rolled up my sleeves and learned how to do it myself. First, my friend Geoff figured out what I’d need to get the best results in a home studio. Then my friends and family pitched in and got me the stuff for Christmas last year. It was a fun couple of months learning how to use everything and finding out EXACTLY why it costs so much to produce an audiobook, but I think the end result turned out fairly well. I was able to parlay some years of acting and singing experience into something like competence in this, so I hope everyone really enjoys it.

 

You can find the audiobook on:

Amazon

or

Audible

And if you’re not a member yet, you can get a free 30-day trial and download my book for the low cost of nothing. Everyone wins!

If you do check it out, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads afterward to let me know how you liked it. The same goes for the e-book version if you’ve read that. Every positive review helps me out quite a bit, and I really appreciate them! Thanks!

Josh

It’s finally here! I’m not going to make this post super long because we’ve all got better things to do. But I’m pleased to announce that HERO FORGED has officially been released! It’s out in the wild and there’s nothing I can do to make it any better than it is. As an eternal tinkerer that’s a tough reality for me, believe me, but I sincerely hope you like it.

I owe quite a few people thanks for helping me get to this point, but most notably my family and friends. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support and interest and likes and shares and overall general lack of making fun of me for giving this a shot. It’s a powerful thing to be believed in by even one person; it’s even more so when it comes en masse and without reservation. Thank you.

Here’s the Amazon Link.

Or if you’re outside the US, try this one. It’s a Universal Book link that will redirect you to the right page no matter where you are in the world.

I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think. Even if the book doesn’t sound like something you’d be interested in and you’re just checking out the page for fun, I’d still like to hear from you. Every ounce of feedback helps me get better at this, and that’s valuable in its own right.

Now I’m off to pace a hole in my floor…

This is just a quick update to let you know that Hero Forged will be released on Amazon on June 2nd, 2018! That’s the e-book and print copy, which will be priced at $3.99 and $14.99 respectively. I make around the same amount either way, so order your preferred format. Paper and ink are expensive, you guys.

As for the audiobook, that should be coming soon too. It’s about 70% recorded and 20% edited, and I anticipate it being finished a week or so later than the books. So you don’t have too much longer to wait if you’re really looking forward to hearing me curse and do about a thousand different voices.

And that’s it for now. I’ll have more information coming soon about the release, so if you want to stay informed, please consider signing up for my mailing list!

Welcome back!

I’m sorry it’s been so long, but I finally have something to write another post about. A few things, actually. Quite a bit has happened since my last batch of words here, so I’m going to deliver it all in three distinct acts. That way you can experience it with the same excitement and foreboding that I did as it unfolded.

Continue reading “Publish(ish)” →

“Writing and publishing a book can’t be that tough. I can definitely do it.”

          -Josh 2016

“Holy crap…”

          -Josh 2017

Writing a book really isn’t that hard. I mean, writing a good book is pretty challenging, but really anybody can knock out a coherent story if they want to. It turns out that’s the easy part. The hard thing is getting anyone to actually care that you did it.

At first I thought the book I wrote, A Hero Forged, was in fairly decent shape. I knew it needed the touch of a skilled editor, but otherwise I was ready to send it out the door. The story is done. Time for the sequel. Then I started researching all the rest of the steps involved in the process, and I got super sad. It turns out that publishing a book is hard freaking work.

Continue reading “Crime and Publishment” →

This site is brand spanking new. I just pulled off the plastic this morning, in fact, and it still has that fresh-from-the-keyboard smell. So if you happened across this page by a missed turn or something, please bear with me as I populate this world. Eventually it will be a bustling hub of activity related to my thriving writing career and probable yacht-racing exploits, (it could happen…) but for now please check out the Books section to see if you have any interest in buying my stuff when it gets released. Or head over to About Me to answer that question that’s been burning up your brain since way back at the start of this paragraph.

Thanks for making it this far, and please consider signing up for my mailing list by clicking the “Follow” button for future updates!